This chapter's song is Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. It fits.
"Listener." Morrigan breathes, and I look at her in interest, tilting my head to match hers.
Hibiki pauses, whispering something in her ear, and she nods, smiling at me. "We'll be back."
They start to circle the dance floor again, much slower this time, and Orion comes over, bringing me a glass of champagne. I smile at him, as Nexus and Kurohebi talk, going to get some punch. Light appetizers and drinks are on a table hewn of oak at one side of the dance floor.
"So, Orion, how have you been doing?" I ask, looking at the bandages immediately made obvious by his rolled up sleeves, the suit jacket on his chair down below.
He smiles, taking a sip of his own drink. "Better. Porlyusica is a wise wizard, and very good at healing. If you don't make too much noise."
"Reminds me of Neloth." I mutter into my drink, and Orion laughs. "Very true."
"Anything else of interest?" I ask, watching the dance floor again.
"I noticed that Rogue is starting to get closer to Nightshade…. Might you want to look into that?" Orion suggests, a concerned expression on his face, though a smirk threatens to break out on his face. Mixed feelings for Nightshade with him. (176)
I glare at the offending Dragon Slayer, who feels it, and looks up, frightened, while Nightshade doesn't notice, looking uncomfortable. Like me, she cannot dance, at least very well.
"I should petrify that man." I growl, and Orion laughs even harder. Morrigan and Hibiki arrive just in time, blocking my path to the Shadow Dragon Slayer and not allowing me to throw firebolts at him, or worse.
"Listener."
"I have a Dragon Slayer to murder, what is it?" I ask, impatient.
Hibiki looks rather concerned, looking behind him to try and identify it. Sadly, the man in question has moved out of target range.
"Hibiki would like to be considered to join the Brotherhood."
I stop glaring over their shoulders, and blink in surprise, looking at Morrigan. "Seriously?"
She nods. "Yes. His Archive magic and Gravity, as well as telekinesis and telepathy could definitely work in our favor, although he only wants to hunt down the really terrible people." She explains.
"I can definitely see a spot for you in our organization, Hibiki. The contracts for the terrible people shouldn't be too hard, it already works for Nexus and Morrigan, as well as a few other people. You would be most welcome in our Family. Morrigan could even teach you our ways." I look at the pair, and see something there.
I smirk. "Of course, I could always pair him up with Nexus. He knows the code just as well as you do, Morrigan."
Hurriedly, she objects. "No! I, I mean, no, I think it'd be better for both of us if it was me who taught him. I mean, we've already bonded a bit."
I pretend to consider it, and then smile. "Very well. You can guide him to one of our Sanctuaries and start teaching him as soon as this event is over, or you can stay here for one more night and then travel out. The dark does give good cover, though, for all sorts of dark deeds." I suggest, smirking specifically at Morrigan.
She blushes, and Hibiki does as well. "We'll wait for tomorrow, get a good night's rest."
"I'm sure you will." I reply, amused.
The pair blush even more, Hibiki starting to protest, before I wave them off. "I kid. Go do something."
Morrigan smiles at me, and pulls Hibiki back towards the dance floor, this time heading for the refreshments and appetizers.
I've lost sight of Nightshade, and I move my head, pushing my hair back slightly, tired of it flashing itself in my face. While I take pride in it, it's a heavy price to pay for it's gorgeousness. It's pulled back, tied above my circlet and forming a bun that has extra hair cascading down, arranged to the left of my face. In doing so, I catch a glimpse of the doors opening again, and in comes Neloth, pulling Bickslow behind him, who looks like he wishes to be anywhere but here. The Telvanni Master Wizard takes a quick glance around at the tables and the chairs, finding the only open seat left and swings off Bickslow's cloak, putting it on the chair to hold his place. He looks up, waving at me. What is he doing?
The Dark Elf huffs at Bickslow's inactivity, and pushes him up the staircase, in a very comical fashion. I giggle quietly at the sight, knowing the Neloth could probably never push him up the stairs. Undeterred, he continues to try, until Bickslow finally sighs and moves up the stairs on his own, his visor covering his eyes still, but a smirk on his face at the valiant effort of Neloth. He slows halfway up the stairs, looking up and feeling my gaze. He flushes, and I reevaluate my choice of dress. (177)
My red to black gradient dress is perfect, with a slit in it that goes up to about my knee, and trailing behind me is some extra fabric tied off. Colors to show off my allegiance, and the slit allows me to show off my shoes, gladiator sandals, flat so that I'm not towering over anyone anymore than I generally am. The gown itself dips into my cleavage, covering me fully but going a bit further than necessary, just a few inches in the crevice between them. On my arms are sleeves, a darker red than my dress, going from where my arm becomes my shoulder to my hands, covering the backs of them in a triangle form. A black framework and white stone necklace takes advantage of my exposed skin around my neck and trails into the dip just by a tip, and my earrings are as long as I could find, metalwork from a talented silversmith in Markarth, not so long ago that I found them at their establishment. Dark red lipstick and black eyeliner complete the look, giving me an authority look without even trying.
The Telvanni wizard catches up to my Mate, chatting breathlessly and making Bickslow look at him with concern. I didn't know that vampires could pass out from lack of oxygen. (178)
Bickslow helps him up the staircase, the Telvanni wizard panting heavily. He inclines his head towards me.
I raise my eyebrows, questioning why he would even do this, but don't say anything until he's gasping for air in front of me, hands on his knees.
"Hello, Neloth." I greet him, and he waves at me, immediately putting his hand back on his knee. Too much blood, I suspect.
Bickslow and I refuse to look at each other, until Neloth has regained his breath. Over their shoulders, while they're still distracted, I mouth to Morrigan, 'Distraction.'
She nods in understanding and changes the music, from a slow dance to something you dance to in the club. This also activates the lights, making it hard to distinguish us not on the dance floor.
Neloth finally rights himself, and grins. "Listener, I thought it would be prudent for Bickslow here to meet his progeny."
My eyes widen, and I blink at him. Bickslow looks at him, then at me confused. "What?"
"Your child, Bickslow. I believe she's the one called Nightshade, correct?" The Dark Elf Volkihar Vampire points out, and every Dragon Slayer in the room turns, looking at this altercation.
Nightshade herself turns to look at Neloth, and notices the look on my face.
"Neloth, run." she speaks, and he glances at her.
"Why would I do that?" he scoffs, and then looks back at me.
"Oh…. that is, unless, of course, he didn't…. ehheheh…. didn't know." The master wizard backs away slowly, and then runs down the staircase. My eyes follow him, and as soon as he's out of my sight, I run after him, in formal dress and all.
"Listener, wait! We should talk about this!" Bickslow calls down, confused still, but I have to go hurt that damn arrogant bastard.
"We'll talk later." I growl out, making the floor rumble slightly from the power of my Thu'um.
I'm losing control of it.
I'm glad.
Neloth is running down a long straight corridor, and for a moment I wish I still had my wolf form, so I could transform and tear his throat out.
I am a vampire, however, and don't quite wish to taste the elf's blood. I hear something like footsteps behind me, but I keep running, not caring about anything but hunting down my prey. Calling up a lightning spell, I fire it at him, and he winces, but continues running. (179)
I tap into more magic, pulling out a Black Lightning spell, and firing it at him, scorching the hallways floors and walls. It hits him, forcing a startled shriek out of him and sending him flying into the wall.
A Neloth shaped imprint is all that remains, and I hear him running down the hallway, slower than before, taking to his left, my right.
I follow the trail, and smile when I find him cornered, desperate to move but he cannot without passing by me. I love hide and seek this way.
He's terrified, but smiles, and offers his hands up. "Sorry?"
I'm more incensed by this, and slam him with a Black Rondo, going to familiar spells within my rage.
"Krii Lun Aus!" I Shout, and he whimpers at the shout, feeling the effects drain him of his health and any defenses he has.
Another lightning spell silences him temporarily, and I watch the sparks play along his skin with the most basic of destruction spells of lightning. He groans in pain, his vocal chords not able to put out the amount of volume required to express his pain.
Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"I think that's enough." I hear Bickslow say, and I stop the spell, putting it away and scowling at the Dark Elf.
Bickslow guides me back to the ballroom gently, and I can feel confusion radiating off him in waves. This is going to be a fun night, isn't it?
On the walk back to the ballroom, I look at the walls and the damage wrought on it by me in my rage. I didn't even notice the fact that I had an aura surrounding me, which twisted the hallway into not so nice shapes. I touch one, pulling my finger back and looking curiously at the blood. Not so nice indeed. They're shaped like jagged rocks, stalagmites and various other dangerous things that I've seen in the world.
It would be beautiful if one doesn't know what caused it. Pure, unfiltered, raw rage. At a certain Dark Elf Telvanni wizard.
My hands spark just thinking about it, and Bickslow, knowing a thing or two about losing control, grabs them, and tells me to breath. I do so, empty as anything because of what just happened. It's not easy to keep a secret for almost 16 years and then have it blurted out before you're ready for that to come to the light. Is it?
The doors before the ballroom remain closed, and Bickslow waves his hand in front of my face.
"Listener, I know that you don't want to talk about it, or even act like it happened, but it did. We can talk about it later, but we can also pretend like everything's fine until you feel ready, or I force it out of you. Can you do this?" he says, gripping my face and staring into my eyes. I see the red irises, outlined in green through the visor, and I feel some semblance of myself start to return.
I nod, and close my eyes, focusing on my Thu'um. I fill myself up with the word, Qahnaarin, one of my many titles, and one that I bear most proudly, right after Listener. I am the Vanquisher; I am the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, and the most worthy of anything that life can throw at me. The world itself has called upon me to save it- I can handle this. If nothing else, I can do damage control well. I can control this, as long as I control myself.
I reopen my eyes, my sense of self returned, and we enter the room. The last few dregs of the songs are rebounding down to the lower levels, and luckily no one has moved down here yet, except us. I take my Mate's hand, pulling him towards our seats, and he follows. (180)
Nothing stands in my way of conquering the world. Absolutely nothing, with my Mate by my side. I can conquer this just as easily, if not more so.
I fix a smile on my face and sit calmly, looking at the menu and ordering something that I couldn't care less about. The people are starting to come down from the dance floor, Morrigan and Hibiki the first ones, as he is still injured from their battle. Surprisingly, Nightshade walks down alone, for Rogue to follow with his eyes fixed on her back. I glare at him, not able to control it, but knowing he can't control his instincts either.
Bickslow appraises Nightshade, leaning over to me. "How?"
"I'll explain later, but essentially, magic." I whisper, knowing that the music up a floor is still too loud for any Slayer of any kind to hear us. The guards, however, reach through their link and tell me that they're in position to stop any kind of escape attempt from any of the Crime Sorciere. I'm pleased, taking a sip of my wine, and smile at Nightshade, who smiles back. Her eyes are still hidden, and Bickslow won't stop staring at her, even though it's hard to tell because of the visors on both of them. I'm positive that they're having an invisible staring match, though; that seems like something they would do. (181)
176- Due to the fact that he's got to protect her as a member of the Family, but conflicted because she injured him heavily when she was supposed to face the Wrath of Sithis. I can't blame him.
177- Mates. Making you do everything to please them since the dawn of time.
178- Technically we don't need oxygen, only blood. We use air for talking, and that's about it. It's nice, though, to have it available in a pinch. The longer we go without it, though, the easier we go feral. I've met a few that went too long with oxygen deprivation, went absolutely bonkers.
179- He knows he's no longer a match for me. He's doing the wisest thing he can; run. He won't be running for long.
180- I think he's doing this just for Nightshade, but he doesn't even know if it's true. So... what is he doing this for?
181- I mentally sigh at this point. I wonder what kind of childhood Nightshade- all right, Luna Laila- would have had if both of us had been there. Probably a confused one, unless I had gotten Bickslow to join the Dark Brotherhood beforehand, or when she was small.