35 replies to this topic

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra chuckled quietly under her breath. Etienne wanted her to laugh, so for now, she would give him what he wanted while she plotted out her next move. There was obviously some complex feelings between Etienne and his cousin. If she couldn't use them to get to Damien, perhaps she could use them to get to Etienne instead.

"Is Damien immune to your charm? If laughter truly is the bane of all ills, I would expect that you would do your best to make him smile." Daerra let her lips crinkle into a conspiratory grin. "Damien Deveaux laughing out loud. Now there is something I simply must see."

[Etienne Deveaux]

"He seems to be," Etienne said in woebegone tones, "and the most I've ever had from him was a chuckle. Of sorts. Not even quite a laugh, and I couldn't say it was out loud."

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra set down her wine and began to twist a loose strand of hair idly around one of her fingers. A single jeweled clip at the back of her head held her hair back from her face, but the rest hung free just passed her shoulders. She had decided to wear it mostly down today, thinking the free spirited Etienne would approve. Now to get what I came here for.

"I must confess, Etienne, your cousin's temperament puzzles me. It makes me wonder if something troubles him. He must have a reason for not wanting to be happy."

[Etienne Deveaux]

"I…" Etienne was slow to answer this time, a touch of a shadow crossing his face. "I don't know. He isn't not happy. He just isn't...anything..." He knew more than he was saying, of course. There was much more underneath that. He'd never forgotten what Damien had said to him once. It reminded him painfully of something he'd tried to forget.

"I can't. I'm a Mistborn." They'd been talking about their dreams again, but that was her answer to every one. As if it was all she was. Maybe it was all she was anymore…he barely knew anything about her now. She smiled the same smiles and laughed the same laughs with him that she did with everyone else, a perfect imitation. If Etienne hadn't known better, he might have been fooled, too. She was gone…and it was his fault. He'd run away from her when she didn't have anyone else.

Damien acted as if he was defined by his duty, and there was nothing else to him; nothing but the businessman and the Mistborn. But Etienne had found a crack in the ice.

It was a problem. How was he supposed to disappoint Damien at the same time he wanted to reach out and pull his cousin out of his loneliness?

Edited by Comatose, 27 January 2016 - 04:50 AM.

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra watched as the shadow passed over the young man's face. "I'm sorry," she said. She hastily dropped the lock of hair she had been toying with and folded her hands in her lap. "I was only curious. I should have known the issue might be sensitive in nature. You don't have to tell me if you are not comfortable."

"He just isn't anything." Though an interesting observation, it was nothing Daerra could not have figured out for herself, and it was hardly of any use to her. I need to get to the bottom of this! But how? If she pressed Etienne to much to soon, she would seem suspicious and lose his trust, as she had with Damien.

In the end she decided to let Etienne tell her what he would for the time being. I'll let him think I am at a loss for words Sitting in awkward silence, she listened to Lord Neiselle drone on, and glanced at Etienne out of the corner of her eye.

[Etienne Deveaux]

"No, no," Etienne muttered. "It's not…I just don't know, that's all." He was at a loss for words now; she'd made him think of something he tried very hard not to think about, and now it was hard to leave it alone.

He realized he'd lost his smile and put it straight back in place. She had said she didn't fancy listening to Lord What's-His-Name droning, so he supposed he had better think of something to say quickly.

"It's a gneiss presentation, don't you think?" Etienne said brightly. "But most of the guests are taking it for granite."

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra gave Etienne a flat look, but softened it with a sly smile. You're not getting away that easily... "Etienne, I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable. If you have something you'd like to get off your chest, I'm here to listen, but if you don't want to talk, that's fine as well. There's no need to fill every silence with a joke." Daerra crinkled her nose and gave him a playful wink. She wanted to make him more trusting and comfortable. If a lighter tone was required to do that, then that's what she would give him. She would figure out a way into his secrets with time, but for now she could afford to be a little patient.

"Especially with puns like those. I thought you wanted to make people laugh, not groan."

[Etienne Deveaux]

"But I had to get those puns off my chest," he answered ingenuously. "After I thought of them, it would have been painful to hold them back." Etienne grinned. "I know, I know. I'm full of schist."

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra playfully swatted him on the arm and rolled her eyes. Etienne had chosen to ignore her invitation to confide. Now they were definitely leaving her topic of choice behind. That was fine with her. Daerra had prepared herself. Now she just needed to build up more trust with Etienne before she could make use of him.

Through an open stained glass window, Daerra noticed the sun streaming in red and warm, and that there was no sign of ash. Rhetoric and sensitivity didn't work. Perhaps spontaneity will. "It seems a shame to sit inside being bored to death on such a nice day. Fellise is beautiful this time of year. How would you feel about skipping out early and enjoying ourselves a little?"

[Etienne Deveaux]

"I vote yes; the motion passes by a landslide," Etienne said, and then rapidly ducked in case she swatted him again. "You know, I lava woman with a talent for subduction," he added, impishly. "Shall we escape?"

[Daerra Elariel]

In answer, Daerra raised an eyebrow, stood gracefully and started heading for the door, keeping her pace measured. She might be indulging Etienne's childish sense of humor, but she still had to maintain the power dynamic in the relationship she was trying to foster. Hopefully, her abrupt departure would also give their exodus from the manor the hint of spontaneity she was aiming for. She tried her best to be discrete, but she could feel more than one set of eyes following her all the way out. She wondered how her early departure would effect Lord Neiselle, and what sort of rumours would spring up when Etienne followed her out.

[Etienne Deveaux]

Etienne sprang up just behind Daerra, catching up quickly to walk at her side. He didn't really care about geology anyway, this was all about Daerra, and it sounded much more fun to be out walking with her in Fellise than stuck at the table listening to a bunch of stodgy old men talking. Only just barely did he remember to look at where he was going as well as at Daerra, so that he didn't run right into something. How did she do it? That thing with her eyebrow and the cool look that made Etienne feel about two inches tall, and yet made him more determined than ever to somehow impress her and make her like him.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked eagerly as soon as they were out of the conference room and in the hallway of the hotel. "What do you like doing?"

Edited by Borborygmus, 02 January 2014 - 09:10 PM.

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra's lips quirked into a secretive smile and shrugged. "Wherever. Where do you want to go, Etienne?" She still wasn't done with him, of course, but if she was going to get any information out of him, he needed to feel comfortable with her. Letting him make decisions would make him feel more in control, and hopefully more likely to give something away.

"For once in your life, your humourless task master of cousin is out of sight, and you have a beautiful afternoon to kill, what do you do? Or are you too busy making geology puns to decide?"

[Etienne Deveaux]

He always had some idea up his sleeve. Confronted like this, though, with that smile of hers, Etienne couldn't pull one out. Daerra just fogged his brain right up. "I'd just like to spend it with you," he blurted. But she expected him to come up with something, she was still looking at him and Etienne flailed for something to say. All the things he typically did, she'd surely find ridiculous.

"The groves! Would you like to walk in the groves?" Fellise was renowned for the trees that lined the streets and parks! "Or - or the Fellise Gallery!" Everyone went there! ...that meant she'd have seen the paintings and statuary five hundred times...something original, he needed something original. "We could feed the waterbirds in the - " Etienne stopped himself. Seriously? Daerra Elariel throwing bread to ducks?

[Daerra Elariel]

Daerra caught the wistful tone of Etienne's voice as he trailed off, and stopped walking. Daerra had never wasted her time feeding animals, and was not about to start doing so on her own time now, but she had recognized what she heard in Etienne's voice. A wistful longing to indulge in a childhood pastime, followed by a reluctance to share more due to embarrassment. If she indulged him, she would also share in his secret, and her enjoyment of the activity would hopefully make her more endearing. She could let him 'teach' her the ways of the ducks, giving him a feeling of power and control within the obvious vulnerability already attached to the activity. It would be the perfect environment to get some information out of him.

Her tone would need to be soft, with a hint of innocence, but not so much as to be comical. An element of curiousity would help with that. After all, his reluctance indicated he thought she would not enjoy such an activity, so showing curiousity would fulfill his expectations that the experience was something new for her, while subverting the expectation that she would not enjoy it. Yes, a soft curiousity, coloured by amusement, and a growing fondness of her companion that would make him eager to accommodate her.

"Feed the waterbirds where?"

[Etienne Deveaux]

She didn't give him another withering eyebrow; instead she sounded interested, amused, maybe - he wasn't sure. Etienne wasn't talented at reading what was going on behind anyone's eyes, but especially not Daerra Elariel. Still, he thought... instead of finding the suggestion ridiculous, she was intrigued. A little slowly and uncertainly, he said, "I thought, the waterbirds in the canals. They're wary at first, but some of them will come right up and eat out of your hand if you're quiet and patient enough. We could stop by a bakery and buy some bread."