tampered | Log: Ongoing

Current Mood: anxious

Log: Ongoing

When; Evening
Rating;PG
Characters; Ananova

1st_dream_king
Summary; Morpheus has asked Ananova out on an evening date.
Log;

Ananova was...somewhat nervous. She didn't understand why. And she felt a little...odd, going out again so soon. Of course, the outing with Greed was more like a friend get-together...this was different. She barely knew Morpheus. The King of Dreams. She looked over her scarves and satins in the mirror. Blue and white. She had no idea where he was taking her, or what to expect. He was an enigma in himself. A pleasure to talk to, and quite the intellectual...but shrouded in mystery. And from the looks of his memories, sadness.

Maybe it was a change for the better, being more social. More active. She was still feeling energized from her training session with Miria. Belle was a joy, she was still making friends right and left...she was in a considerably better mood than yesterday...though, God knows how many trips to the past she's taken since then. Their past. Her and Jas.

Oh, this wasn't a time to think about it! She was going out to have fun with someone new. That's all that mattered.

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More a shadow, than a man; all twilight hues of blue, and inky black, save the alabaster hands, and what could be seen of his face from behind a touseled mop of black hair.

His eyes, however, were not so much black, as the absence of color; the absence of sunlight across a sleeping world.
And like the night sky, they too shifted with silver-spangled star fields, galaxies; deep wells of memory.

His clothing was rather mundane in comparison to those exotic eyes; a sensible, long coat, slacks, and boots partially covered by neatly folded pant cuffs. A midnight blue ( or was it black?) scarf wrapped his shoulders, and hung freely across the lapels of his coat, which oddly, had the same un-color of blue shadowed black.

A single white rose, matching his pale hands in color carried as a gift, and the former king of dreams took the more conventional means of asking entrance to one's dwelling; he raised his hand, and knocked on the door.

The knock pushed her out of her musings. "Comming!"

Brushing down her flowing skirts, she walked to the front room, a gentle mantra circling in her head. 'Just...go. Enjoy yourself, you have a right to.'

Ananova gave another hug and goodbye to her roommate. She felt a little guilty for leaving her alone again..One last look in the front hall mirror, adjusting the scarf around her neck and shoulders, untangling her earring from her hair, twisting the clasp of her necklace behind her neck.

There. She smiled. And opened the door.

Starfield eyes shone in a minor display of light, although it could be seen as simple reflections from the indoor lamps, as he looked up with a soft smile.

"Good evening, Sultana."
His voice deep, and mysterious.
A dark, strange sort of echoing sound...A voice that had once inspired dreams, and commanded nightmares.

That small smile hovered between uncertainty, and hope as the former shaper extended the rose to her in offering.

"If you are ready, we may depart..."

"Good evening..Morpheus.." Needless to say, Ananova was caught in those eyes. Like the starriest night at the seaside...she smiled and accepted the rose, appreciating it's gentle scent.

"Thank you...I'm ready, yes." She stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Where are we going?

"It is an establishment that, I believe, to be a recent addition to the Nameless City." His everywhere, and nowhere voice replied. Even with it's strangeness, there was a soft edge to it; a pleasant gentility.

Offering her his arm in a very gentlemanly gesture, he indicated that it was within walking distance.

"I'm always ready for new places." She took his arm with a smile, and allowed herself to be led. It was odd, she felt...at ease. In his presence. She had only known him a few short days, she wasn't too familiar with the way he was, or who he was...

..But he made her feel so..comfortable. "It's a lovely night out."

He simply turned that soft smile, and eyes that evoked summer nights on her, and nodded.
It was a pleasant stroll, made more so when he opted to cross through the square and the fountain was lit up in it's usual display of grandeur.

All too soon the companionable silence came to a close as they neared an out of the way awning that advertised the bistro.
Easily visible from the street, music echoed from the balcony above, and a few couples were easily visible from outside the french doors; swaying and turning on the floor.

Climbing the single step, Morpheus held the door for Ananova, and followed behind as the maitre dee looked up from the elegant stand he stood behind.

"Bonjour. Réservations pour Morpheus ?" The former Lord Shaper asked in flawless french.
The man nodded, and motioned a waitress over.
"Cette voie, s'il vous plaît ?" She asked. If she was startled by the strangeness of Ananova's companion, she did not show it.

They were escorted to an intimate table just off the dance floor, but next to a window as well.

"Would you care for a glass of wine, Sultana?" He asked, after pushing her chair in for her.

She smiled at the french, wondering where he had learned...of course he used to be the King of Dreams, didn't he..? People in Paris dream too.

Ananova's attention was taken by the dancers, smiling gently at them, looking so content...she laid her rose in her lap after sitting down, smiling at him.

"I would, thank you...and you may call me Ananova, Morpheus."

Taking note of her attention to the dancers, Morpheus spoke quietly with the waitress.
After a nod, and a quick note of the label he requested, she departed.

" Very well...Ananova." He replied with a soft smile."

Wild true black hair stirred at the very slight breeze from the open balcony, and the stark contrast of his face echoed the marble columns with it's pale shaded drifts.
Stars twinkled over head...and perhaps were reflected in those fathomless obsidian eyes.

..Or perhaps the night sky reflected them?

He considered her quietly, wondering how best to speak on what was concerning him, when the waitress came again with their drinks, and ready to take thier orders.

The former Dream King ordered simply; angel hair pasta with a variety of spices, and italian cheeses.
He waited a moment for Ananova to order, sipping from his glass.

Once she had finished, he regarded her again, then asked quietly;
"If I may ask, why does the one called Smee seem to despise you so?"

Ananova looked out at the sky from their window, sighing into the night air. She leaned her chin into her hand, gazing out...the princess at her window..dreaming in fairytales...

She would always, of course, be drawn back to those eyes. Those eyes that shown like the night sky. Those eyes of twilight and night...those dark..dreaming eyes...

Ananova sighed some as his question, running her finger around the lip of her glass. "It's a..long story...his Captain is James Hook. Long...long ago, it seems like forever now, I met Jas when he was still a boy. We..fell in love. You could call us childhood sweethearts. I was barely fourteen, he was fifteen. He risked nearly everything just to steal a visit with me...when I was to return to Turkey, he hid on my flagship. We tried to escape together, but...well. We were separated...and he promised to make me his queen. Queen of Never Neverland.

I..heard he had died. In a fire. And I never thought I'd see him again...until he appeared on my doorstep. He was Captain Hook then. He had come to take me away. By then..my father was dead. My mother was gone. I was running my country. I was the Sultana. We were in the middle of a war...I couldn't leave. He gave me an ultimatum. Him. Or them. I was so furious, I...chose them. And he left." She watches the table top for a while, thinking.

"...I broke him. When I refused him. He...lost his mind out there..somewhere. He never healed. His heart refused to. And his Mr. Smee hates me for it. He's threatened my life if I come near Jas...he's the reason why I try not to talk to him...I value my life, and..well, we hardly do eachother much good in this state, do we?" She gives him a sad smile.

As with all stories, Morpheus listened attentively and without interruption.

The story of Jas Hook was not unknown to him, for Neverland had become such a strong story in itself, that it had taken up a permanent place within the Dreaming ( or as permanent as anything was within that ever-changing land).
Of Ananova's particular chapter in this tale, he knew of by repute.
Relinquishing the title and place of Dream had taken much of the individual memories of dreamers with it.

Still, and all the story rang too true.
...Morpheus himself had given a similar ultimatum in his own way.
As she spoke, he reminded himself that he was not that being anymore, and while he had made those mistakes, he would not do so now.

" Mmm. Yes, it explains his animosity" He commented with a slight nod.

Her hand was next to her glass, and the sadness in her eyes was unsettling.
Feeling emboldened from her explanation of Hook, and the obvious blame she placed on herself, he let his pale fingers settle over hers in a slight touch.

" But it does not excuse such deplorable behavior. Hook made his own choices, and you can not be held accountable for that which he chose to do for himself."

Their food arrived, and Morpheus let go her hand once the waitress arrived.
He said little as he refreshed both o their drinks, and ate sparingly.

The Former King had often kept his own council, yet in this case, one might almost call his reticence to speak.....being shy?

She stared on at him, lips parted as he spoke. His tone was so...genuine. And there was comfort behind his eyes. The pale fingers held compassion in their gentle touch...

Ananova looked up at at the waitress and thanked her quietly as their food was placed in front of them. She smiled and commented softly in return to whatever he said. Truthfully, she wasn't sure of what to say either...she felt as if she had relived that story many times in the last few days.

Yet, no one had..said the things he had. And what's more...she believed him.

They both ate in silence for a time, and Morpheus, at least, did not know how to continue after such a statement of the esteem he held Ananova in.

The quiet stretched on even after the waitress cleared the dishes, and brought a second bottle of wine...

...When the live string and piano ensemble struck up the tell tale chords of Moonlight Sonata.
Remembering her wistful look at the dancers, the former King rose to his feet, and extended a pale hand to her.

"Would you care to dance?" He asked softly....yet instead of simply the gentle softness of night's breeze in his voice, a warmth evoking balmy evenings beneath a lover's moon.
One could, conceivably, blame the wine, if one were referring to any other being.
....But in this case, the shift in tone was rather purposeful.

Ananova had been looking out the window at the sky, her glass in her hand. It was so dark, so pretty...he admired the look of night here for quite sometime, but..tonight, it was sweeter. She was sharing it, after all. There was something about this night that...made her so quiet. It was something she wasn't used to. Ananova was a Princess, once a Queen. She had conducted hundreds of people, declarations of war...there was always something to say. She was speechless.

When he rose, she turned back to him, eyebrows raised in question. And when he asked...dance..? Ananova stood, placing her rose on the tabletop. She smiled. And took his hand.

"I would love to dance."

The former king took her hand and led her onto the floor.

The soft smile had returned, but in his starfield eyes, there was a deeper look than the array of lights.
Something very human....and something very masculine at that.

Together they took the first position, and as the returning chords came up the scale, he stepped forward; a graceful dancer, and attentive to his partner.

Another step, and a turn, then a smooth pivot onto the balls of his feet, and together they swayed across the dance floor.To the watching patrons, they made a handsome couple, and there were small murmurs of appreciation here and there as they passed.

Another turn, and Morpheus drew Ananova close to lead her through the next series of steps, his hand on her hip sutly drawing her in close.
They slowed as the music did, but still Morpheus did not release her.....his eyes watching only her in a warm glow of stars reflected on night waters.

His hand subtly drew hers in until it rested easily on his chest..and as the final notes eased into quiet, they ended so close that if she were to take a deep breath, they would be pressed to one another.
....The music was ended, but that look somewhere in his light kissed eyes had not dissipated. If anything, the warmth had increased.

"I would like to show you something", Morpheus's whispery echo of a voice seemed to become a caress in of itself as he spoke with a hint of breathlessness, though neither had exerted themselves in dancing.
"Will you retire with me, so that I may show you?"

Ananova met him step for step, turn for turn, tilting her head some, smiling. She let a gentle quiet laugh here and there, enjoying herself, listening to the murmers around them. Always confident, in her own way. It reminded her of home.

She smiled up at her parter, watching those twilight eyes. He was so different...he wasn't a mortal man, of course. Centuries old...he had seen the world, the most intimate thoughts and feelings of men...experienced the most beautiful things imagine; pure, raw thought and dream...and she, the exiled sultana of Turkey, was dancing with him.

She watched him as they slowed, smiling contently into his porcelain face...the ageless eyes...ancient sparkling eyes...they were so close, and se felt no need to pull away. The music had long stopped, and they were still held in one another's arms. A moment suspended in time.

His whisper seemed to make her realize just how close they were...but the tone left her uncaring. She smiled a little.

"..I will."

As if by design they had ended a bare step from the balcony.
Nebulous eyes never left Ananova's face, as Morpheus stepped back through the thick curtained alcove, pulling her with him.
They passed their table along the way, and without thought, he gathered her rose before continuing on.

The heavy velvet ruffled his wild black hair, but the former Shaper took no note. Nothing else held his attention as the soft press of of her hands against his chest.

Slowly, allowing her the chance to push away if she wished, he drew her up against him, and brought his arms around; one to circle her waist, and the other, her shoulders.
A quirk of pale lips, and he drew her up to the edge of the balcony....

....And stepped off into thin air.

Gravity, however, seemed suspended as he held her easily.
Together he drew her further from the safety of the ledge, and away into the night.

Her eyes never left that place of stars and night. She smiled some as they moved, recognizing the breeze of the night air, but paid it no mind. There were other things to think about, like the shooting stars and passing nebulas in those dark orbs.

As his arm came around her waist, she seemed to wake up some; as they took their final step, Ananova's eyes darted from his face to below them.

"Allah--!" Startled, she clung to him at once, wrapping one arm around his neck, the other holding onto his clothed chest. She looked up at him, bewildered, then around them again, rationalizing that they had -not- fallen. She laughed a little, out of nervousness and wonder, looking back up at him with a breathless smile.

Her reaction elicited a very rare sound; Morpheus' laughter.
As they moved, his coat started to lengthen, change and billow....until it became a cloak that wrapped her in it's folds.

A breeze from their passage ruffled his black hair, and for just a moment, Morpheus breathed the scent of hers as it curled across his cheek before being pushed free.

The warm night enfolded them as much as the cloak, and cool drops of mist beaded in their hair. Each becoming a tiny prism to refract the moonlight until they were painted with fairy lights.
Higher and higher he drew her. Through cloud, and thin air until the city seemed little more than a sprawling handful of glittering lights, or diamonds of luminous quality.

Perhaps it was the moon, and perhaps the magic of dreams, but here the stars seemed larger, and far greater in number than below amongst the robbing artificial light.

The former Lord of Dreams, imagination and stories held his Sultana close. A smile that seemed to chase the ever-present shadow of sadness from him was here, now...only for her.

In all this time, he had not looked away from her, but for a moment he did. A moment...just long enough to extend one moonlit hand toward the stars.
Dreams, or magic, there was no telling, but as he drew his hand back, he cupped his palm, and showed her the secret within.

A handful of points of light shown in his hand, casting blue edged shadows across his face.
Amusement danced in his equally twinkling eyes as he lifted the stars to his mouth, and gently blew the handfull of lights across her.
Stardust flickered between them, and settled in a shower of flickering points across them. Points of light illuminated her hair, her lashes, and across her skin. A fairy queen's ransom in jewels.

As the light settled, the amusement faded from Morpheus' eyes, only to be replaced by the familiar heat that had little to do with warmth.
Starfield eyes watched her intently as the hand that held stars only moments ago rose to push a light-kissed lock of hair from her face....

Eyes that had seen the dawn of creation. Eyes that had known the dreams of kings, and paupers.
Of galaxies, gods, and men alike.
Eyes that had seen them all, but held no single dream in more importance than any other.
...Eyes that now held a look that mortal men had given to women for just as long, only in those beautiful, terrible eyes, it held the promise of so much more.

His skin, for all it's chilled appearence, was as warm and alive as anything.
Smooth, and softer then one might expect, but so...human...all the same.

In silence he leaned very slowly forward. So slowly that if she chose to lean away, she would have ample time.
His hand cupped her cheek, and held her without holding.
Slowly, so very slowly, pale lips to brush gently against hers....then lingered as though wanting this taste of her to last.

She gazed about them, enthralled by the sky and height. It was all so wonderous, so...beautiful...She reached out, hesitantly letting go of him, to touch the wisps of a cloud. She smiled, returning her hand to his chest and smiling at him.

The sound of his laughter was a sweet sound. Like a tarnished silver bell. She watched his face, that rarest of smiles...the happiness...and she felt a well of joy there. Seeing him happy. Every hint of sadness washed away under the forgiving moonlight.

Ananova watched the pale hand take from the sky, and return between them. When the fingers uncurled, Ananova's breath caught in her throat.

Stars.

He had brought down the sky to her.

She watched in pure wonder and amazed thought, the starlight fluttering around them, utterly lost in their beauty. She lifted a numb hand to the shimmering crystals, a soft 'oh' escaping her parted lips. So many nights awake in bed, watching the stars outside her room, and here they were...dancing across her face...decorating her hair...

She felt his fingers on her cheek and turned her eyes to him again, a gentle smile playing on her mouth. He was a dream. A dream, and the night...more than a man, but just as gentle.

He leaned towards her and she stared back...unmoving...and then, a gentle touch against her lips...so tender..caught in the moonlight, starlight; a connection between woman and dream, her eyes fluttered shut...and she returned it.

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Log: Ongoing

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