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May 26, 2003
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Gideon Club, Study...
Stone trails after Lisle, raising an
eyebrow briefly before turning, hearing Yosannah enter.
Yosannah pauses at the doorway, leaning
casually against it and crossing her arms, "Well, what do we have
here?" She smiles.
Lisle was just smiling at Stone, when she
hears Yosannah. She turns to face her, a smile still lingering,
ghostly dimples prominent.
Stone grins, "Heya Yo. You look better."
He then glances at Lisle, "The two of you have met,
right?"
Lisle says, "We have not met," her accent
of Amber, and of Earth. She looks terribly curious.
Yosannah nods at Stone, "Yeah, I feel
fine, actually. Few scars, but they'll heal." She looks to Lisle and
then moves forward, extending her hand, "Yo."
Lisle offers her hand in the same way,
"Lisle," which she pronounces Lee'-sl.
Stone steps back, letting you two
shake.
"Pleasure." She releases the woman's hand
after a moment, "What are you two up to?"
Lisle says, "Same," her smile still
there. She steps back, glancing at Ben, and asks at the same time as
Yo asks her question, "How do you two know each other?"
Stone tells Lisle, "Yosannah and I once
made the mistake of dating. We make far better friends. And she is
ultra powerful and thus, worships the ground upon which I
stand."
Yosannah rolls her eyes, "Something like
that."
Lisle says, "I see," still smiling. Hands
go into her pockets, and with mischief touching her smile, and her
eyes, she asks Yo, "He wasn't a good boyfriend?"
Yosannah lowers her gaze as she smiles.
She shakes her head a bit, "Well..." She lifts her gaze to Stone, "We
live difficult lives."
Stone tells Lisle, "She got mad because I
wouldn't watch Steel Magnolias for the fifty ninth time." He grins at
Yosannah, "And we live difficult lives. I, for instance, am an
egomaniac."
Yosannah nods with a smirk "That last
part is true, yes."
Lisle slips her hands into her pockets,
all casual, or at least as that too-straight posture can manage, "Ah,
that I can understand. But I've never observed Ben to be an
egomaniac, but perhaps I'm comparing him to my immediate family. My
father, for example, has an ego so energetic it can be
blinding."
Stone gestures a thumb at Lilse,
explaining, "She means Regent Eric."
Lisle says, "Anyway, it's nice to meet
you, Yo. I guess you've know Ben for a long time."
Interested.
Yosannah crosses her arms over her chest
again and nods, "Almost..." She thinks, "Ten years now."
Stone thinks and then nods, "At least."
Lisle asks Ben, "How long have we known
each other? Five, six years?" Then, "Seven?"
He then replies to Lisle, "Amber time,
yeah. She's talking Suntime. Amber time is half that. I
think."
Lisle says, "And you never introduced
us."
Yosannah hehs and then looks to the
floor, seemingly surpressing an urge to comment.
Lisle is teasing Stone. She must be, the
way she smiles. She also notes Yo's posture. Blonde brows
raise.
Stone chuckles, "I know a lot of people.
If I introduced them all I'd have no time to plot and whatever else
it is I do."
Lisle suggests, "And bask in your
ego?"
Yosannah smirks, "Stone is a busy busy
man. Or so he tells me."
Stone nods, "Exactly. Basking in my ego
takes a lot of time."
"So, you guys didn't say... What are you
up to this evening?"
Lisle says, "Just chatting, I think. We
work together on a project to two."
Stone nods to Lisle's words asking
Yosannah, "How about you?"
Yosannah bites at her lip, "Get'n some of
my things together and then I was gonna head back to the Courts for a
few days."
Lisle, brows up, "The Courts?"
Stone asks Yosannah, "With your friend
from the other night?"
"Mmmm. Which friend are we talking
about?"
Lisle persists, "The Courts of
Chaos?"
Stone says to Yosannah, "Your guy
friend." He then looks at Lisle, "Yep." he answers her.
"I have lots of 'guy' friends." She
smirks and then nods with Stone to Lisle's question, "Yes."
Stone sighs, saying to Yosannah, "Never
mind."
Yosannah eyes Stone, "Who are you talking
about? Corey?"
Lisle says, "Ah," now apparently even
more curious about Yosannah. "Do you live there?" Lisle's weight
shifts from one foot to the other.
Yosannah shakes her head, "No. I live
here now. I'm just visiting there."
Lisle studies Stone.
Stone tells Yosannah, "No,
Despil."
Lisle says, "Despil,"
understanding.
Yosannah shakes her head, "Oh. I wasn't
going for the purpose of seeing Dez, no."
Lisle asks, "Is he your
boyfriend?"
Yosannah smirks at that too,
"No."
Lisle's cheeks crest with peach, a little
sorry maybe, to have asked.
Yosannah notes the woman's discomfort,
"No, it's okay." She smiles reassuringly, "It's not a big deal."
Stone nods, "Yosannah's boyfriend is my
partner. At least last I checked."
Lisle says, "Oh... Damien. I think,
right? Damen." Lisle puzzles. Pensive.
Yosannah scratches at her neck, "Yeah, we
were engaged for a while, Damen and I." She shrugs, "But that's kind
of um..." She looks to Stone, uncertain.
Stone ahs, "Yeah. That's kind of Damened.
I know how that goes." He smile with understanding.
Lisle's light-hearted demeanor fades,
"Ah, I know how that is."
Yosannah chuckles, "Don't we all." She
adds for Stone's benefit, "I was spending time in Berkeley again."
She shrugs at that, "But, an Amberite is an amberite when you get
right down to it." She doesn't explain further, as if what she has
already stated should be enough.
Lisle's hand goes to her chest, "I know
of Berkeley, I ..." trails off there. "What's this about Amberites?"
Her voice shows curiosity.
Yosannah says, "Wonderlust."
Stone nods, grinning, "Bunch of
egotistical bastards all of 'em." He says, lowering his shades to
wink at Lisle.
Yosannah adds, "That too."
Lisle laughs warmly at Stone. It's her
characteristic laugh, mostly seen in the depths of blue eyes, rather
than heard. To Yo she says, "You mean he just disappears for years on
end?"
Yosannah offers light heartedly, "Not so
much Damen. He'll only go for months on end. But the guy from
Berkeley," She nods, "Yeah. There was a two year hiatus last time."
Stone chuckles, "Hey, when the road calls
... "
Yosannah finishes, "... you got to
go."
Lisle smiles between them, a tremulous
smile, ghostly dimples coming in and out of focus. "Indeed."
A trump call later that
night...
To the image of Merlin,
Yosannah smiles at you, weary, "Hello."
The image of Merlin smiles. "Well," he
says. "Hello."
To the image of Merlin, Yosannah says
"Every now and again, I get to thinking that maybe you're going to
wander off again." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "But
you answered. Thank goodness."
The image of Merlin's lips purse. "I get
distracted sometimes," he says. "How are you doing?"
To the image of Merlin, Yosannah nods and
offers, matter of factly, "Okay."
The image of Merlin tilts his head.
"Okay?"
To the image of Merlin, Yosannah swallows
and nods lightly, "Yeah. You know what. Let's not talk about me.
Let's talk about you." She smiles softly, "How's that?"
The image of Merlin smirks. "Well, it
-is- one of my favorite subjects."
To the image of Merlin, Yosannah says
"Come on then."
Merlin grasps her hand and she pulls him
through...
Pasture Behind Webber's -- Banished
Sun...
Merlin gives Yosannah's hand a gentle
squeeze as he steps forward, and he flicksa glance over his new
surroundings.
Nestled behind the Inn amidst
wild flowers and the dark woods of Banished sun is the pasture of a
glorious white mare. Her head lifts abruptly to momentarily regard
you before dropping it back to a patch of clover. The wooden fence
disappears through the tattered necklace of virgin trees that
surround the open field and a ghostlike mist hangs over the hills
beyond - blending grey and green together.
Yosannah sits on the fence, her jacket
resting beside her. A light bandage is wrapped around her right arm
and runs from her wrist to her elbow. She smiles at him. Her gaze
falls to his hand.
Merlin doesn't let go quite yet, but he
takes a step back, looking down at Yosannah's bandaged arm. His brows
lift slightly. "You have an accident?"
Yosannah twines her fingers around his,
"Yes. Care of Joshua and crew." She offers, in an effort to clearify,
"That's Emily's dad."
Merlin's eyes narrow slightly. "Yes. We
met just the other day."
Yosannah hmms and then turns her gaze
away from him, letting it fall, instead, on the mare. A light gust of
wind blows a strand of hair across her eyes and she is forced to
swipe it away, "What'd you think of him?"
Merlin shrugs his shoulders. "Seemed
civil enough," he says. "His reputation does precede him,
though."
Yosannah's attention remains focused out
over the pasture, "Civil. Is that what he is. I wouldn't have
guessed."
Merlin says, "It's how he acted,
anyway."
She lets her gaze fall back on him, "I
bet you get that from most folks. Civility." Her tone is mildly
sarcastic, "Must be your pleasing personality."
Merlin smiles. "My disarming good looks.
My schoolboy charm." He gives Yosannah's hand another squeeze and
then turns, to lean back against the fence beside her. "If you hang
around me long enough some of it might rub off."
Yosannah lifts a hand to her chest and
flattens it over her heart, dramatically, "Oooo. I can see that
they're gonna come in fast and furious tonight. Touche." She glances,
sidelong, at him, "Well, in any event, I've had enough of Joshua
Spade during the last two weeks."
Merlin asks, "Is there a story behind
that?"
Yosannah hehs, "There is always a story,
isn't there?"
Merlin smirks. "So they say."
Yosannah tilts her head back and looks to
the sky, "Yes. They do." After a moment of reflection, "I think it
started when He called me a bitch in front of Em and then asked if
you and I were fucking." She clears her throat at that.
Merlin snorts. "Classy."
"Mmm. Either way, he's not the only one
that's inquired about you." She shakes her head, "I don't know that
it's such a good idea that you take me to any more dinners
Court-side."
Merlin's brows lift. "What do you
mean?"
Yosannah lowers her gaze from the sky and
mutters before replying to his question, "... stars look different
then back home." She hops off the fence and then stands next to him,
elbows crossed on the fence, chin in her arms, "I don't think either
one of us needs the gossip, Corey."
Merlin asks, "What gossip? Who's asking?
And who cares?"
Yosannah rests her head on her arms and
looks up at him, "Do you care."
Merlin says "I'm pretty much past
worrying about gossip. I sat on a throne once, remember. People
always talk."
"And you left." She eyes him, "I thought
you were thinking of getting back there."
Merlin says "I do that once in a while.
And then I go back. And then i remember why I left the last
time."
Yosannah smirks, "So, which vibe am I
picking up now. Is it the 'remembering why you left' vibe or
what?"
Merlin just shrugs his
shoulders.
Yosannah looks out over the pasture,
"Yeah... you don't even know."
Merlin exhales, audibly. "So," he says.
"No dinners in the Courts. That's fine. Anywhere else off
limits?"
Yosannah looks to him, "I'm just
saying..." She exhales as well. "You know what. I would imagine that
if a person weren't so sure what his intentions were... politically,
that is... he would make extra special care to make sure that the
wrong sort of gossip wasn't circulating. At least until he had things
sorted out." She shrugs, "Not that I have ever been in that sort of
situation before, mind you."
Merlin says "What qualifies as the 'wrong
sort' of gossip, exactly?"
Yosannah considers, "I don't know. I'm
only talking about gossip about you and me." She sighs, "And I don't
even know that talk about you and I is a bad thing for you. But I'm
not sure that it's a good thing either. I suppose it's about
associations. Who you link yourself to."
Merlin says "I don't think it's worth
worrying about."
"Okay. Fair enough. I was just throwing
it out there."
Merlin smirks. "You can level with me,"
he says, "You're worried I'm ruining your rep, aren't
you."
Yosannah chuckles lightly at that as she
shakes her head, "Of course not." After a moment she adds,
thoughtfully, "I am worried that I could ruin yours." She looks up at
him and smiles. She shivers.
Merlin lets out a laugh - just a single,
sharp exhalation. "Yeah, well. I thinkI already managed that on my
own."
Yosannah reaches for her jacket and
begins to slide into it, "Yeah. Maybe you're right." She begins to
clasp the buttons, "That was very sweet of you though. Taking me to
meet your family."
Merlin says "Bit of a gamble, though. It
could have been a disaster."
Yosannah smiles at that as she tucks her
hands into her pockets, "Yeah?"
Merlin glances over, smiles slightly
himself. "Oh yeah."
Yosannah laughs, "You gonna expand on
that, or should I let it go?"
Merlin shakes his head. "You probably
don't want to know."
Yosannah nods knowingly, "Well, I gotta
get inside. It's starting to get too cold for me out here." She looks
back toward the Inn, "We could uh, go for a quick drink if you like.
Or call it a night."
Merlin tilts his head. "Raincheck," he
says. "I've still got some things I should do tonight."
Yosannah crosses her arms over her chest
in an effort to warm herself. "Fair enough." She lifts herself on her
toes and moves close to him, murmuring, "You know where to find me if
you get done early." She brushes her lips over his.
Merlin's hand falls to her hip and
lingers there a moment. He smiles slightly and nods his head. "I'll
talk to you later."