#‘The Destined’ || Neraine: IC

[darlinrogue]

Shawn 

Starter for @mainevcnt​ with Neraine

Rows and rows of sparkly, sequined, shiny, colorful, luminescent, lacey, dresses filled the store racks. Sweeping floor-length evening gowns, cute prom dresses with frills and embroidered beads, elegant wedding dresses in pale white, eggshell, and cream. The top 100 indie-rock Spotify list played on the store clerk’s bluetooth stereo from the front desk. The college-age woman lounged in her little wood chair with her feet propped-up on the counter. Dressed in plaid and ripped blue jeans she had her nose in the new best selling YA romance novel, Afternoon Stars. It was a lazy and quiet Tuesday afternoon at the large, sprawling mall in downtown. Nobody but elderly couples and a handful of socialites to rich to wait for weekend. There were three dress boutiques in this mall alone, one of them had to have what Neraine was looking for.

Neraine was systematic as she riffled through each dress, checking for color, texture, weight, size, and design. On the other side of the rack a woman and daughter debated the merits of a dress for homecoming. In the far back corner, a flock of women clucked over how to best coordinate the bridesmaid for a wedding. Shawn meanwhile, hovered at Neraine’s left elbow, well out of place in the shape as the only male. Neraine removed a midnight blue, sequined evening gown with a plunging neckline and girlish frilled sleeves. The color was right, but Neraine estimated the fabric would be too tight around the hips for the choreography she had planned. She also didn’t have near the cleavage to pull off that neckline, and the sequins were a bit tacky. She glanced at Shawn and held it up to him. Designed for a taller woman it’d almost fit him with some clever tailoring.

“This seems more your style than mine,” Neraine commented, appraisingly. “But I don’t know if something so dark would suit you.”

[darlinrogue]

The Shop

 Starter for @wildpawed​ w/ Neraine

Tiny shards of glass, stained in a myriad of vibrant, saturated colors dangled on thin twine, suspended from a cast iron frame. Dying sunlight from the window, glinted and glimmered through the lens, casting a kaleidoscope across the hard wood floors. Neraine turned from the oddity and the curio. The shop, dark, and tucked away in a peculiar corner of the City of Angels, captured the imagination. Baskets of little crystals, dumb magic trick books, odd little trinkets, nick-nacks, that was a box of mood rings. Most of it was a red herring, Neraine guessed. The High Priestess was never wrong in the matter of the gut, though. 

Neraine came round the edge of the shelves and approached the front counter. A long limbed man in flannel sat by the register looking like as board as a plank. Neraine waited for him to at least glance-up before she spoke. “I’m not familiar with these sorts of... shops.” She was being generous. “Do you sell tarot cards here?”

[darlinrogue]

🚬 yoink

~~ Tension ~~ 

🚬  :    my  muse  steals  a  cigarette   (   or lollipop   )   from  your  muse   &   puts  it  in  their  mouth .

Neraine and Lexeaus 

Pedestrians fluttered by the alley mouth. Heels and boots cluttered against the cobblestones. Ladies swept by in elegant clothes, heads held high and brow shaded with wide brimmed hats. Men hurried, on their way to work or leisure, noses buried in newspapers. A cat lounged on the fire escape, tale dangling and flicking as gold eyes contemplated the unfolding cityscape. A low murmur of voices echoed from the street, indistinct, but filled with laughter, conversation. The evening grew long and the shadows elongated, painting the brick walls dark. An entire metropolis bustled and moved around them without any regard for their presence. Streetlights illuminated soft light and he was all sharp angles. He loomed over her, jaw stiff and gaze suspicious. Leather stretched as he crossed his arms, waiting on her to explain this unexpected collision. Which, no doubt, would have disastrous consequences. 

Trouble wasn’t far, because Lexeaus was near and for people like them problems never lingered. Lexeaus was like an eye of a storm, the calm heart of in the midst of absolute chaos, danger, and destruction. The wind settled for now but the walls closed in around them. A tightening noose, restricting her breath and constricting her heart, A warning sign of poor weather on the distant horizon. The red glare where the sky met the sea. Churning water, placid clouds, dark with rain across the strait. In the evening as a child, from her bedroom window, she could watch the thunder roll in. He was a bit like that for her and Neraine wondered if she was a bit like that for him. 

Cherry, sweet, popping of artificial flavor and citric acid, rolled between her lips. A sweet treat bought for a quarter at a corner store. The wrapped crinkled between her fingers as she pocketed the debris. Neraine leaned back and her weight settled in her rear heal. Her hands rested on her hips. Hard candy clicked against her teeth, as she maneuvered the lolipop to the other side of her mouth. She was all grins, cocky and over confident, fully aware that she had just ruined his day. 

Well, he was gonna ruin hers.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Neraine intoned. “I’m starting to think you might like me.”

His eyes narrowed, maybe offended by the scandalous suggestion. The hand that gripped Lexeaus’ bicep slacked and then untangled. Inch-by-inch he leaned in, chin ducking to his chest as he stooped to regard her. She was being scrutinized with meticulous detail. Pale blue eyes, like a clear sky, drilled into Neraine. His brow creased with the slightest furrow. Neraine tightened her jaw, challenging and refusing to back down as he crept into her space. Some sort’ve man, behind that cold stare, not sure what kind. She’d seen it, he was not all hallow, cruel shell. There was no way he could hide what lingered beneath when she’d seen him dance. A soulless man could never impress her. And at her age, Neraine no longer belonged in coincidence. She just refused to believe in fate. 

Then, the period of analysis ended and the stasis that held him above her shattered. Lexeaus reached down and he crooked his finger beneath her jaw. He lifted her chin by slightest angle. He locked his eyes with hers. Lexeaus Then he pinched the lolipop stick between forefinger and thumb. By pure instinct Neraine slacked her jaw and her lips parted. He stole the candy, crimson red, pomegranate seeds, the confection glistened. Lexeaus straightened as he placed the candy in his own mouth, against the flat of his tongue. He drew to his full height, far above her. Neraine’s teeth dug into the inside of her cheek.

She saw the flash of white teeth as he smirked.