[I blame my partner completely--I'm like 100% not a gamer, but he has played from this franchise since GW1 and eventually he dragged me kicking and screaming into playing it. I always figured I'd hate any MMO, but once I tried it I got hooked. It was the lore that really grabbed me that and all these talking cabbages.]
Charles' assessment of Aurus's difference was about as accurate as anyone could ever come. Aurus had always marched to the beat of a different drum. It was in his pith and his sap, and he didn't actually want it to change. Years ago, before he'd left the Grove, one of the Firstborn had tried to convince him to become a mender, given his already extensive knowledge and interest in drugs and their effects. For Aurus, the suggestion sounded about as appealing as stuffing cotton batting down his throat until he stifled himself.
Working alongside the right group of people he could (and would, whether he knew it right now or not) become a valuable asset. But whereas one of the Firstborn had now become the Pact's Marshall and leader, Aurus knew that the last place he belonged was in a similar role. It wasn't self-deprecation or humbleness that drove that assessment; it might almost have been the opposite.
That didn't mean for a moment that he disregarded Charles' words though--it was something quite significant, he felt, for the man to tell him these things aloud, to say to him that he considered him something special. What Aurus took from the remark wasn't a sense pride or flattery, but instead a focus on the on the honesty and intimacy it carried. "It pleases me that you think so," he smiled, not bothering to disguise the fact that what mattered to him most was less the praise than it was Charles himself.
And then, since Charles had asked to see more of his magic, Aurus decided to take the opportunity to show him some.
Stepping just to the side of the path, he knelt down and pressed a hand to the grass. He gestured towards Charles with a tilt of his head, encouraging him to come closer though it would be easy enough to see regardless: Aurus closed his eyes for a moment in light concentration, and things began to grow--wildflowers of yellow and white and blue, trillium, blue aster, birdfoot violet, all spreading in a tidy, obedient line edging the path. They were New York's flowers, native things to this soil, but for many this was not their time of year, and they'd not bloomed or been planted there regardless. It took only moments before the blooms were full.
Aurus selected the one that grew nearest his hand--a broad purple aster with a golden center--and plucked it. Turning to Charles, still on one knee, he presented the blossom to him with a slightly coy smile. For the moment, he was most definitely flirting with him, but a lighthearted, sweet flirting that was deliberately a bit corny. Hopefully Charles would take it well.
no subject
that and all these talking cabbages.]Charles' assessment of Aurus's difference was about as accurate as anyone could ever come. Aurus had always marched to the beat of a different drum. It was in his pith and his sap, and he didn't actually want it to change. Years ago, before he'd left the Grove, one of the Firstborn had tried to convince him to become a mender, given his already extensive knowledge and interest in drugs and their effects. For Aurus, the suggestion sounded about as appealing as stuffing cotton batting down his throat until he stifled himself.
Working alongside the right group of people he could (and would, whether he knew it right now or not) become a valuable asset. But whereas one of the Firstborn had now become the Pact's Marshall and leader, Aurus knew that the last place he belonged was in a similar role. It wasn't self-deprecation or humbleness that drove that assessment; it might almost have been the opposite.
That didn't mean for a moment that he disregarded Charles' words though--it was something quite significant, he felt, for the man to tell him these things aloud, to say to him that he considered him something special. What Aurus took from the remark wasn't a sense pride or flattery, but instead a focus on the on the honesty and intimacy it carried. "It pleases me that you think so," he smiled, not bothering to disguise the fact that what mattered to him most was less the praise than it was Charles himself.
And then, since Charles had asked to see more of his magic, Aurus decided to take the opportunity to show him some.
Stepping just to the side of the path, he knelt down and pressed a hand to the grass. He gestured towards Charles with a tilt of his head, encouraging him to come closer though it would be easy enough to see regardless: Aurus closed his eyes for a moment in light concentration, and things began to grow--wildflowers of yellow and white and blue, trillium, blue aster, birdfoot violet, all spreading in a tidy, obedient line edging the path. They were New York's flowers, native things to this soil, but for many this was not their time of year, and they'd not bloomed or been planted there regardless. It took only moments before the blooms were full.
Aurus selected the one that grew nearest his hand--a broad purple aster with a golden center--and plucked it. Turning to Charles, still on one knee, he presented the blossom to him with a slightly coy smile. For the moment, he was most definitely flirting with him, but a lighthearted, sweet flirting that was deliberately a bit corny. Hopefully Charles would take it well.
"There are a few things I'd like to see, yes."