A/N: I have a couple of important announcements to make.
I wouldn't be doing this if I had a choice, but I don't. I won't be uploading chapters for the next two weeks. There is a State-level NSS (National Service Scheme) camp that I'll be attending from 9th to 13th, after which I'll be going to Manipal for two days, and returning back home only on Saturday afternoon after finishing dissection class. This week I won't be able to upload even if I have the time to write, and next week I won't have the time to write even if I can upload. I really wish I could do something about it, but trust me, I would if I could. I will be carrying my story note book with me and writing down stuff during this week and once I'm in Manipal, but I can't carry around my laptop with me, especially when I won't be able to use it.
Another heads-up I want to give y'all is that I've enrolled for an animal welfare camp, which will be for three hours every Sunday, plus another three hours of travel time. It'll take up my entire Sunday morning + afternoon, and since I'm driving, I'll be tired af in the evening. It started today, and it'll be for another twenty Sundays, which means it'll be all the way till August 14, which will be a lot of me being tired. I will stick to the schedule, or I will change it to Wednesdays uploading instead of Sundays, whatever works out. Or even Saturdays, I don't know. I'll have it worked out, and I'll inform you when that happens.
The third thing is my soon-to-arrive exams. Nothing's been announced, but I will be having my sem end exams sometime mid to late May and throughout June and maybe even July, so my uploads might become lesser at that time, because I'll have one internal and two externals at the time. I'll let you know from when to when the exams are, but I'm 95% sure I shan't be uploading during my exams. It's too much pressure, and I won't be coming back home at the time. If it helps in dealing with stress, I will continue to write, but I highly doubt I'll be in any position to upload. But I will say this - once my holidays come along, I will shift to a once-in-three-days schedule, to make it up ;)
31 reviews! YAAAAAAAAAY! Guys, keep up the support! Thank you all for reviewing!
Thank you pinkdoughnuts, Chromiumface, Yournamehere, and TheEnglishMuffin for reviewing! My replies are at the section at the end, so do check them out! And do keep reviewing - they put butterflies in my stomach :D
Enjoy!
Net - Rus - No
Zima - Rus - Winter
Dorogoy - Rus - My dear
Da - Rus - Yes
Duruni - - the title used to address or refer to Om
Brat - Rus, Bel - Brother
Chapter 20
Someone was watching him.
Alfred tensed, his senses scanning his surroundings as he let another mugful of water slide over him. One of the annoying things about these temples was how there were no showers - it was almost unimaginable when he'd started off on this journey. A huge hall served as the common bathing area, with one side holding cubicles for private bathing, another far off corner holding toilets, and the majority of the remaining space elevated and holding pond-sized bath tubs or bath spaces. Some of those spaces were specific for meditation purposes, and others were common bath spaces, holding hot, lukewarm, or cold water.
A corner of the bath had spaces like the cubicles, but its height came up to half the size, and did not have doors. It was usually used by children, and its lack of doors allowed their fathers to monitor their children whilst using the common bath.
Alfred preferred using the bath area usually in the afternoon time or late at night, when the bath hall was empty. He hated closed spaces, like the cubicles - it reminded him of his 'home' for seven years. He didn't use the common baths because while it could hold fifteen people comfortably, it took fifteen people to fill the bath, and fifteen people to drain and dry the saucer shaped bathing space, and Alfred was not fifteen people. Alfred only used the half-height cubicles, and only when he was sure there was nobody else there.
But now, someone was watching him.
Alfred picked up another mugful of water. Initially, he didn't understand the concept of filling a bucket with water and washing himself in mugfuls, but it saved a lot of water, he realised, and he could reach and clean himself thoroughly.
He poured the mugful on himself, his senses narrowing down on the intruder. He picked up the next mugful, and in a blink of an eye, he spun around and flung water in the direction of the intruder.
His intruder, unscathed and dry, shrugged sympathetically. "You almost got me, comrade."
"What are you, a peeping Tom?" Alfred said disgustedly.
Ivan pouted thoughtfully, then shrugged again. "Well, I did say I was interested in your behind - but I find your front much more...interesting."
Ivan walked towards him, and Alfred blinked, trying to comprehend what the man before him had just said. By the time he figured it out, however, it was too late - Ivan had entered his cubicle, and Alfred's lower back was pressed against the upper edge of the wall.
"What the hell are you doing, man?" Alfred gasped in shock. "Didn't you say you didn't swing that way?"
Ivan smiled, his unique brand of cruelty showing up. "I said you interested me, if I swung that way." Ivan put his hands on the edge of the wall, on either side of Alfred, trapping him. "And I decided that I do swing that way." His eyes roamed over Alfred's wet, naked chest, and Alfred had never felt so violated in his life.
"Bro, get off me now," Alfred growled. He darted his gaze downwards, and felt himself blush involuntarily. The lecher was as naked as the day he was born.
Alfred leaned back, trying to keep as much distance from Ivan as he could, but he was the one trapped, and Ivan was trying to close whatever space there was between them.
Alfred braced his hands on the edge of the wall, and put his entire weight on his arms. He swung his feet put, planted his feet of Ivan's chest and kicked him away in a matter of fraction of seconds, putting his entire force behind the kick.
Ivan was pushed away, and Alfred spun upwards and landed behind the cubicle wall. He grabbed the towel, and ran around the cubicles.
Ivan was fast, and without his clothes, his speed was no more a secret - the man's reaction time was amazing, and the time his body took to react was still amazing. Alfred was behind the cubicles, and Ivan in front, and whichever direction Alfred feinted in, Ivan followed.
Tony, man, I don't know where you are, but I need your help now, man -
"Don't call out your demon, comrade," Ivan said. It will accelerate the binding process."
Alfred growled, and decided to take the man head on - he jumped over the cubicles, and charged at Ivan, grabbing his torso and trying to throw him off balance. But Ivan was much stronger than what Alfred credited him for - Ivan grabbed Alfred, and swung him into the air.
Alfred twisted his hips, and his loosely tied towel fell down, falling over Ivan's face. Twisting his entire body, Alfred spun out of Ivan's grip, and kicked his back, his leg swinging from mid air like a hammer into his back.
Ivan let go of Alfred and stumbled forward, and Alfred looked at the man. "What the hell's on your back?" Alfred yelled at him, unable to believe his eyes.
The most beautiful, nine petalled flower bloomed over the entire length and breadth of Ivan's back, its white petals streaked with red and lilac. Within the petals were letters of the holy language, and the flower looked so real that all Alfred could do was look at it in shocked awe, and it was this same look which greeted Ivan when he turned around.
"That, comrade, is a contract seal," Ivan said. "Unlike your demon friend, my demon hated my guts, and tried to kill me. I'm sure you've seen these," Ivan said, his fingers running over the tattoos of his neck. "Or at least, you had seen these when you were under the control of your demon friend."
Alfred looked at the man. His neck and arms were heavily tattooed, and Alfred could make out a pattern. The tattoos in themselves were beautiful, and Alfred couldn't see a single image out of place - neither could he see any of the man's actual skin, until where the tattoos ended at the wrists. And all over his neck and arms were scars - if the tattoos were not there, the scars would have completely covered the skin. But the scars did not deface the tattoos - in fact, Alfred doubted that any of those tattoos were normal. When he focussed on the scars, the tattoos seemed almost translucent, as if it was a sheath under which the scars existed.
"Those are not normal," Alfred said, indicating in the direction of the tattoos.
"Net...they are not," Ivan agreed. "These are made through a wholly different process than tattoos."
Alfred frowned at the man before him. "You aren't here to...get lucky, are you?" he said, shuddering at the thought.
Ivan grinned, and Alfred was surprised at how handsome the man could be by just a genuine smile. "I hope to...get lucky, as you put it. But more than that, I've come here to help you."
"Help me how" -
"Alfred!"
Both of them couldn't react fast enough when Natalya appeared at the doorway, chest heaving, eyes wild with fear. "Alfred, you" - and her jaw dropped open at the sight of two gloriously naked men, standing at arm's distance from each other.
Nat's face turned completely red in a matter of milliseconds. "Both of you get some clothes on!" he yelled, and stormed out.
I cannot lend my power to you right now, Alfred, but I brought her along.
Alfred brightened, and immediately turned sour. Bro, I'm glad you're back, but that didn't help. This asshole here wants my asshole, and I'm not going to let him -
He's coming this way -
But it was too late - Ivan had knocked Alfred's legs off the ground, and had him pinned even before he hit the ground.
"I'm going to train you," Ivan murmured, "to control your physical strength, and to use your demon's powers to increase your strength. And, in return," - Alfred squeaked as Ivan nuzzled Alfred's neck - "I expect" -
"I don't want any training," Alfred grunted, struggling until something hard brushed his stomach. Fuck.
Ivan grinned as he rose, tilting his head as he studied Alfred's red face. "I see you have met my friend, comrade. Besides, Shree said you'd be excited...to learn."
Alfred's eyes widened, and quickly turned his face away from Ivan's descending puckered lips, opening his mouth to yell.
"Shree, you demon!"
-O-
Shree bounced through the field towards Matthew. "Hey, Matt. Whatchu doing?"
Matt looked up and grinned, and Shree found herself looking at Heaven personified. "Hey, Shree. Alfred's really pissed off at you."
"Oh, no! Why?"
Matt rolled his eyes at the obvious falseness of Shree's concern, and Shree stuck her tongue out. "I might have told Ivan that Alfred can be compliant. Why, what did" -
"Since when is Alfred compliant?" Matt asked.
"You don't know, Matt, how he is, in his heart of hearts, compliant and waiting for someone to show him the way," Shree said in mock seriousness, and Matt had a feeling she was telling him what she'd told Ivan. Matt would have believed that Shree could never be serious if he hadn't seen her while she fought. "Why, what did he tell you?"
"More like what I saw," Matt said as he walked in step with her. "I was searching for him when I met Natalya, who yelled 'bathroom' at me when I asked her where he was - that was really weird, and her face was all red, and - Anyways, so yeah. I go to the bathroom, and he's pinned to the floor, and Ivan's on top of him, trying" -
Shree slapped his forearm and chortled gleefully. "Oh, stop! This so so exciting!"
Matt shook his head, chuckling. The woman was truly a devil. "Anyways, I got Ivan to let go of Alfred, who was completely shook up. And Ivan told us to meet with him before dinner. Is that where you were going?"
"Yeah," Shree said, and her face brightened. "Well, well! Look who decided to show up after so long!"
"Aww, Shree. Did you miss the awesome me?" Gilbert asked as he and Elizabeta approached them.
"Where have you been?" Matt asked Eliza, who came to stand near him.
"Priest Ivan sent us with Dmitri to get some books for him - it took us two days to get all of those things," Eliza said, and the two of them walked in their mutually slow pace, watching Gilbert and Shree picking up the pace and walking in front of them.
"Some books," Matt joked.
"He wrote down one title, but failed to mention it came in eleven volumes, and each volume was the size of a tome," Eliza said, rolling her eyes. "I spoke to a lot of people when I'd gone out. Matt, the people we're moving around or meeting are exceptionally powerful" -
"Yeah...they're really strong," Matt agreed, but Eliza shook her head.
"Not like that, Matthew. They are the kind of people who run this world. People from their own temples vie for a chance to see them. Nat is personally known by slightly more people, but people like Ivan and Shree are rarely seen. They were curious to know how we were related to the three of them."
"That kind of powerful," Matt said, and Eliza nodded. He looked at the older woman. "You know, we aren't unfamiliar to that kind of power. We're at the same position in our world, too," he said.
"That is true...Nat and Shree are absolute celebrities."
Eliza kept quiet, and Matt couldn't help himself. "And Ivan?" One look at her face had Matt concerned. "What is it, Eliza?"
"The things they said about the man, Matthew," Eliza said, shuddering. "If we were back in Fitzgerald, Matt, I would never let you meet him" -
"I second that."
Matt and Eliza stopped, and Gilbert looked on, confused, as Shree turned around, a knowing smile on her face. Realising that Shree had overheard them, Eliza grew embarrassed, and opened her mouth to apologise.
Shree held up a hand, and looked at the three of them. "Most of those rumours have an inkling of truth in them. But only if you know him well enough, you can tell which parts of those are true. He is a dangerous man, Eliza, and if it had been five years or so, I would have agreed with you, and we would have never come here, and Mathias would have never suggested that we come here. The reason why we're here, and why he's helping us is because his story is not very different from Alfred's. Both their fathers trapped demons within them. But where your father was more merciful, Ivan's father...he trapped one of the most powerful demons ever summoned into his son, in all of its entirety, and almost immediately tried to kill him. The remaining priests stopped him, but the demon within Ivan tried to kill him as well...the marks on his neck are proof of that. The priest who took him in and raised him was the then Deputy of the House of Flame, and he went on to become the Head Priest of the House.
"Ivan's had people hate him or be scared of him all his life, and he's done nothing to prevent that - in fact, some of his actions...let's just say that those who have survived have been completely right in hating him. But ever since General Zima put him up to becoming Head of the House, he's pulled his act together, and he's put himself on trial against all of his misgivings. Nobody knows if he's truly evil, or if it's that demon within him. All I know is that whenever I have asked him for help, he's given it to me.
"Listen," she said. "I've had the same inhibitions you are having now. All I did was judge him on his actions towards me. And, for me, it's worked perfectly fine. As your friend, I'll just suggest you do the same."
The rest of them nodded, and walked into the building, making their way to Ivan's office in the temple campus.
When they entered the room, Ivan was standing behind the desk, assembling bundles of paper. He looked up at them, and smiled. "Ah, comrades. Welcome. Thank you for coming. If we're all here, we can begin."
"You scared Alfred away," Shree laughed. "He's not coming."
Ivan frowned. "I was just being friend, dorogoy. And a majority of this plan has to do with him" -
"We're here," Nat said as she entered the room, but she stayed at the door. She looked at Ivan dead in the eye. "I don't know what you two did in the bath, but he's begged me to protect him from you...You'll have to stay away from him." she said curtly in her native tongue.
Ivan dismissed it with a hand. "I shall not be friendly, then. Get him in."
Alfred came in before Ivan could stop talking, glaring at Ivan. With a nod towards him, Nat walked towards Shree, moving into the room.
"Stay away from me," was all he said, and sat on the chair by the door.
"Alfred, comrade" -
"I'm not your comrade."
"That's the doorman's chair."
"It's good enough."
"Do you wish I shout across the hall?"
"That'll be perfect, thanks."
Ivan sighed, and came in front of his desk.
"Stay right there," Alfred warned. "I swear to God, you come in arm's range and I will aim for paralysis or death."
"It is misunderstanding" -
"I understand perfectly" -
"Ivan," Shree snapped, stopping their conversation. "You called us...?"
"Ah, da," Ivan said. "I have a couple of things to tell all of you."
Ivan picked up a couple of sheets from his table, and sat down lightly on the edge of the desk. "I am not going to make any modifications in Duruni's prescribed nanogram, but I have made changes in the route, to get us around faster. There are higher chances of us being accosted by demons on our way, due to the negative spiritual energy along these routes, but I am sure everyone here can handle it. Everyone except him," he said, pointing at Alfred.
"Come right up, baby, and I'll handle you just fine," Alfred said, his eyes hard as diamonds.
"I am serious, comrade" -
"I find that hard to believe" -
"Alfred," Shree said with finality, and Alfred crossed his arms, his mouth drawn in a tight line.
"Comrade," Ivan said, and his tone made Alfred look at him. "For someone to be able to control your demon without much help in that direction is impressive, but there is one problem. You have all this power, but you can control only very less of it. If you were to hold a large amount of demonic energy within you, your body starts to burn. The only way you can unlock a bulk of your power is to lose your mind in a rage, and then you become a liability, because your powers are in control of you. You can hurt anyone around you - everyone is fair game. The natural way would be to expose you to a little bit of your power over a long period, so that your body gets accustomed. But we don't have that much time."
All of them silently digested what Ivan said, without interrupting him even once. Alfred wanted to yell at the white haired pervert, but he wasn't being a pervert - he was being honest, and what he said made sense.
"Can't Natalya or Shree do what you can?" Alfred asked.
"I've lived with a demon inside me since I can remember. They haven't."
And that sealed the deal for Alfred, but...he didn't like Ivan. It had nothing to do with what had happened in the bath - it would take him a really long time to get over it, but it wasn't the first time a guy had thrown himself at Alfred although it had been a long time ago. A part of him did find Ivan attractive, but he put it down to how similar Ivan and Natalya looked.
There was something about his eyes...he wasn't truly evil, but neither did his eyes show that he was truly good. Ivan moved in a grey area, and Alfred had never seen someone so comfortable in their moral ambiguity. There was no way to say what he would do or wouldn't do given the circumstances, but the one thing that was sure was that he would do whatever it took for him to get what he wanted.
Alfred didn't disagree with that, but it was what he saw in those purple eyes.
He saw his father in those eyes.
Worse yet, he saw himself.
Alfred got up, and looked at all of them. "Alright, then. But when we do fight, I will aim for paralysis."
Ivan smirked. "Once I have finished teaching you, comrade, then you will be capable of harming me. Then, however, I shall fight to the death. I hope it never has to come to that."
Alfred snorted. "You'd better hope." With a wave, he left the room.
Ivan sighed, and looked at the rest of them. "Mr Beilschmidt, Ms Hedervary, would you please continue to go through the books with Dmitri? Your short notes are turning out to be very helpful to me. If there is anything you need, Dmitri will be more than happy to help you," he said, smiling sweetly. "Don't let me keep you."
The two of them didn't trust that smile, for their own reasons. They nodded, and left the room as well.
Matt watched the transformation in Ivan's demeanour as soon as Eliza and Gilbert left - the aura around him died out. His shoulders and face drooped with weariness, and his intimidating presence was no longer to be sensed. He seemed exhausted, and he rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm too old for this," he muttered. "Why did I agree to do this?"
"Ivan..." Shree said, and sat down next to him, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his hand. "It's fine. Relax."
"We don't have much time," he said, and Matt was more shocked by the man's tone than what he was saying. He sounded like he was close to giving up. "Whether he accesses his powers or not, the seal is going to continue to scribe itself until it is complete. But if he doesn't learn..."
"Brat."
Ivan looked up at Nat. She walked to him, took his hand in both of hers, and place a long kiss on the back of his hand. "It is alright. He will not stray," Nat said.
Matt looked at Ivan, and the two women beside him who were trying to give him comfort and confidence. He suddenly remembered what Shree had told him about the demon in Ivan, and he understood what was going on.
Ivan saw Alfred as what he had been a long time ago, before he had learnt to control the demon. He saw Alfred as what he could have been, but never had the chance to become.
"Shree...I need your help."
The three of them looked at Matt, who had just spoken. "What is it?"
"I need you to get me into Alfred's psyche."
"What are you doing here?"
I was shocked to see Mattie there. Honestly, it was bad enough that I had to re-establish my relationship with Tony - which is why I didn't let Shree in for a long time - but to see broski there was something I didn't expect.
Matt smiled at me, and turned to Shree. He whispered something to her, and she nodded before she disappeared.
"Mattie? What is it?"
Matt walked towards me, and looked around to see Tony sitting at some distance from me. I was worried as to how Tony would react, but he was looking at Matt with curiosity.
"If your father could be tamed, he would look like you."
Matt looked taken aback, but I understood what Tony meant. He;d told me I looked like the dead old man, but I was missing something that he had. He'd also told me that he saw that something in Mattie, but it was a much more mature, evolved form, one which the old man tired to achieve but could never reach.
"I was writing down what I remembered about Dad's life," Mattie said, and nodded at Tony. "Hello. I'm Matthew William Fitzgerald."
"You reminded him of his mother," Tony said.
Matt sat down, and I sat beside him, the three of us facing each other, at the apices of the triangle between us. "Dad's mother?"
"You have her hair, and her demeanour."
"I didn't know that," Matt murmured, and looked at me. He grinned. "Well, that explains who I take after. You take after mum, but I knew I never took after Dad." Matt kept quiet for a while. "You know, that's why I'm here. As I wrote down stuff I remembered of Dad's life, I realised the things I knew would be irrelevant, unless I knew the context. You knew the context, but none of the stuff you would see would make sense to you, since you didn't know the backstory. So I thought I would meet Tony, and we could make sense of why Dad did...what he did."
That made sense, but... "How are you here in the first place?"
Matt smiled, and I swear to God I saw him blush. "Shree helped."
"How is she not here?"
"She didn't explain...but she said she would pull me out if it got too dangerous for my mind. She said it's risky, but I can do it for a few minutes at a time, probably for half an hour a day, at the most for an hour."
"Okay...so what do you want to do? Have Tony here tell us what he knows?" I asked. Honestly, Tony took a long time to open up, and I could not imagine him telling us anything.
"Actually...that was not what I had in mind," Matt said slowly. "Do you remember how you saw flashes of Dad's life in the beginning? When we were with Priestess Katyusha and then after we left her place?"
"Yeah..." I said uncertainly. I didn't know where he was going with this, but I could sense Tony's growing interest.
"Well, I was wondering whether Tony could make that happen again, but instead of just you...I could come with you, too."
I was speechless. Honestly, I had no clue how those 'flashbacks' had worked in the first place, but I knew Tony had been doing it to get me unsettled. I kind of saw where Mattie came from - if Natalya could have been there with me at that point of time, there was no reason that Mattie couldn't be there, either. But I didn't know how it worked, and I didn't know whether Tony could do it or not.
Tony, however, was thinking very hard; he was actually considering it. We just sat in silence, staring at Tony, until he looked up at us. "Yes. I can do that."
I blinked. That was quick, and...unexpected. "You can?" both of us asked at the same time, but our voices carried very different tones - Mattie was excited, while I was...well...shocked.
"Yes. I can do that. But it will cut down your time in this psyche by half, until your mind gets used to it. Also, you will suffer from terrible headaches afterwards." Tony studied Mattie. "But you would cut your limbs off by yourself if it helped your brother - that is how you are." I didn't have enough time to stare at the both of them before Tony said, "I will do it. Are you ready?"
I sure as hell wasn't, but Mattie looked as if he had been born ready. "Yes."
"Hell no." But nobody cared to know what I thought anyways.
"Alright then. Let us do this."
And we went down the rabbit hole of memories, that led straight to my dead old man.
A.T.: Well, that's a good chapter there. I wrote down 4500 words, and added the rest while I was typing it out on my laptop. My Wednesday classes suck, so I get two hours to write then, as well as the afternoon to write...also, Saturday mornings I get an hour to write. The rest I write before I upload it, when I'm typing it out.
Well, my best friend got to know about my dream, and he did exactly what I'd typed out he would do. We're even, he says, because he had had a crush on me a year ago. Choo. That's cute right there. Oh, and he caught up on the story and reviewed the previous chapter, too.
R. K. Iris has averted a crisis. Hurrah for R. K. Iris!
And my ex stopped texting me after I told him I want to stay friends. Felt bad for a day, but then shrugged my shoulders and got on with my busy life.
R. K. Iris has averted a second crisis. Hurrah for R. K. Iris!
And I went out to this amazing place which makes continental food for lunch with one of my favourite seniors. And me and my bestie rescued a crow with Vit-B deficiency - it causes their toes to curl up. We gave it medicine and water and food before setting it free.
R. K. Iris has averted a third crisis. Hip Hip Hurrah!
I'm sorry, I'm being a kid.
I just decided that I am not going to go the extra effort when it comes to any relationship, unless the other person reciprocates. I feel I have some meaningful relationships without jumping through the hoops I used to go through before, and if anyone wants me to jump through those again, I don't have the emotional energy to bother, or to maintain any state of mind other than utter contentment and apathy. Which is why I write - it helps fulfill me where other things will never be able to.
And I got my doggy Dingo a bright red collar - he looks like a darling.
Well, I'm exhausted. A week well spent, I'll say.
I'll see you darlings as soon as I can. Until then, enjoy!
Love,
R. K. Iris.
Review answer section:
-O-
Pinkdoughnuts:
Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm so glad you liked the chapter!
As soon as I read about what you thought about Matt and Shree's relationship, I opened my story note book and checked my notes for the story, and there it was, at the end of the page:
'Shree and Matt's love story is cute.'
And I thought to myself: Mission Accomplished.
After what they've been through (and what they'll be through) they totally deserve it.
Well, if my pent up frustration has helped ease other pent up frustrations - Yay! I totally enjoyed writing that scene, and that too to 'Can't remember to forget you.' And between Alfred and Nat, Alfred is the more sensible one in relation to these things - Nat's too busy enjoying herself (ehehehehe). We are all, at the end of the day, pervs.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Have a wonderful week!
-O-
Chromiumface:
A. It's chromiumwhat'shisface. Get that right - although I forgive you about the character space shortage problem.
Thanku :D
And I'm glad the fighting scenes got your approval ;)
-O-
Yournamehere:
I'm glad you found it hot ;)
Well, I have, but I don't think I've ever put it on here. You could check out my other stuff to see some more hotness going on - I was more in touch with my inner pervert back then. If you make an account, I could PM it to you ;) :p
-O-
TheEnglishMuffin:
I was waiting for your review! Heyyy!
Well, I hope next week gets you a lot more better stuff than this week did. And I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter :)
Ivan and Nat's supposed 'relationship' will be explain by our very own best friend, Shree, to our other very own best friend, Alfred sometime in the later chapters, because he'll get the same question you're asking. But, I'll give you a hint: it's not the first time it's happened, and Nat had nothing to do with initiating it either time.
Like I said, things get better for Alfred after they get worse...it'll look up, don't worry.
Matt and Shree are what I would have wanted for the past me - I draw a lot of Shree from the character sketch I'd created for my pen name, Iris. I used to be a hyper, bubbly, crazy character - now I'm just crazy - but Iris was always more than that, and if Iris had a form and a life, it would be Shree's life. And someone like Matt, who's calm, composed, sane, but at the same time more than all of that is the kind of guy who will excite someone like Shree, or Iris. I live my hopes of a future love life through them, honestly, but I don't really expect it, because the kind of person I am draws in the kind of character Ivan is. And when the next pairing appears in the story, I'll explain what I mean then.
And, honestly, if I find a Canadian guy called Matt who has all the qualities of our Matt and he likes me...hell, I'm marrying the dude. Try and stop me.
Emotional rant over.
Well, like I told pinkdoughnuts, Alfred's the more sensible one in this. You'll get to know more about his past, where he was this total womanizer and had too much experience for one guy to have. Nat's just going with the flow - she's too busy enjoying herself to figure out what is going on, much less what it'll lead to. And I'm relieved that no one went OOC in that scene.
I try to be as accurate as possible to their characters, but I can't copy it off someone else, even if that someone happens to be the creator of the form and names of the characters. I need to make them mine and then let them play out the story in their own way - otherwise, it will never feel real for me, let alone for someone else.
Oh, Nat's a total baby in these things. More of that to come later. ;)
You red MFN! Oh my god! You don't know how happy that makes me feel - MFN is something so very close to my heart, and I love the soul of that story and all the things it has ever given me. One of my best friends whom I met through MFN is the person for whom I'm writing this story for, and I can totally see her loving and enjoying this story. Her death anniversary is going to come soon, and I can just imagine her going crazy, partying like the badass she is and gushing over this story to everyone involved.
I love you loads, darling! I wish you all the luck in anything you want to do - you're a beautiful person, and you must know it. Thank you - I need all the luck I can get with relationships (and any French you can send my way is very much appreciated, darling :D so, I encourage you rather than pardon you),
Have a lovely week, darling!