by Mysti » Wed Aug 23, 2023 7:34 am
"Of course there is someone else." Mysti's tone was like someone saying "no duh" or "no shit Sherlock" had they lived in another place and time. She knew there was someone else the moment she walked into this bar. She knew there was someone else when she saw him at the New Sensation senorama or whatever the hell it was.
She hated ever having stepped foot into that place -- watching Cyprian dancing with some other woman. But that's not what bothered her. It was how he never said a word to her. He ignored her like she wasn't there at all. Of course, so did everyone else. Then she watched as Akh entered - and left in a huff. Everyone trying to win over Cyprian. She was better than that - she wanted to be better than that - but she was so horribly tired of being alone. There was a massive difference between being a stealthy infiltrator -- and persona non grata.
Like a servant in a noble's bedroom -- she had been there, but no one saw her. Every person in the place seemed to be having a wonderful time. Including Cyprian. But she wasn't. In fact, that was the moment she had decided to put all of her resources to bear on finding a portal away from here. She didn't care where. Some Prime world. Toril, perhaps. Or Oerth. Or Mystara. She had even heard some vague talk about a world almost completely devoid of magic called Earth. No magic but technology that resembled it. Or so it was said. Anywhere but here.
Cyprian, of all people, should know what Mysti was able to do. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. She had been here for 20 years. The Mysti he had known back in Zobeck was but a mere fawn compared to what she was capable of now.
And perhaps because she was like that unseen servant standing alone in the shadows -- she had seen Cyprian dancing with that other woman. At least Mysti had never demanded full-on monogamy from Cyprian. Just wait, my dear. Just wait until you'll have to spend this side of forever never touching another woman but her. Can you do it, dear Cyprian? Because when he ultimately failed in a moment of weakness -- good ol' Mysti would not be here this time for him to run to.
Because she had also seen the blonde enter the room. The one with the little siglls and runes flying around her head. What the hell was that all about? Not that it mattered a whit to Mysti. It just reminded her of drawings she had seen when someone took a blow to the head -- stars and birds and sparkles could be seen floating around their heads. Just like that blonde who arrived. Alone.
No one arrived alone. Well. Except her, apparently. The blonde had expected to meet someone there. A certain Cyprian someone. Because Mysti couldn't help but notice when the blonde had arrived, the moment she saw Cyprian dancing with the other woman, she turned and left the building in a disgusted huff.
Perhaps ... perhaps Cyprian would have, at that point, discerned a somewhat amused smirk on Mysti's face. The very tips of her two elongated canines could be seen against her lower lip, giving her a decidedly wicked, feral appearance. Something amused her at that moment. But whatever it was, Mysti wasn't giving anything away to Cyprian.
Had Mysti been the blonde -- if Mysti had arrived to see Cyprian dancing with someone else, the most she would have done was ask to join in. Perhaps inquire if anyone knew a three-person dance they could ALL enjoy together. Would Mysti feel jealous? Of course. But she understood Cyprian -- unlike the blonde apparently -- and knew never to act on that jealousy.
But ... heh. Heh heh heh. Cyprian had decided to dump her for a battleaxe. The feral smirk disappeared as quickly as it had come. So ... he preferred a battleaxe to her? Someone who was intolerant and rigid? THIS is the person Cyprian wants to "better himself for?" Well fuck me for not getting out the whip and demanding Cyprian conform to how she expected him to live his life. Mysti could have been a ball-breaker, a dragonlady, a taskmaster and demanded that Cyprian give up his philandering ways. She could have insisted that Mysti be the ONLY woman in his life, and by god, mister, if that little rogue caught him with someone else ... yes, she could have stormed out of buildings in a disgusted huff without even a, "Hello Cyprian ..." just like Rune Lady with the weird ring around her head.
But she hadn't thought Cyprian would have been happy that way. All Mysti had ever cared about was that Cyprian remembered the way home. And his happiness, of course. How many times had she endured the humiliation of Cyprian with someone else? The flirting, the intimacy ... and with her, the jealousy, the feelings of doubt -- and fear. Yes, the fear that he would find someone else and forget where home was. She lived with all of that ... and so much more for the sake of letting him be happy, letting him be who he was.
However -- never before, not until this very moment as she sat there studying her mug of ale -- had she ever felt ... inadequate. And the fact that he made her feel that way made her ... well, forget it.
Because, see, the most damning piece of evidence, of course, was watching quietly from the sidelines as Cyprian immediately dumped the first woman with the barely-understable accent and rush after the blonde battleaxe. Yes. It wasn't the first woman. It was the second. THAT was who our illustrious bard was courting now ... and yet Cyprian had cheated on this woman with herself and now was dancing with a third woman.
That's right, Cyprian. Make promises to the devil you cannot possibly keep.
All of these thoughts and observations flitted through Mysti's head in but a few seconds. No one could have known -- and doubtless even if they did, no one would have cared much -- that something snapped in Mysti at that point. Something that would irrevocably change the dhampir rogue on a fundamental level. With all the times Cyprian had played the field, she had never once raised an objection. He was who he was -- and unlike most women, Mysti wasn't out to "change" Cyprian as if he were some kind of "fixer-upper opportunity" she had found for cheap. Somehow he had always come back to her -- and when he was ready to settle, she would have been there for him. Would have. Would. have. Emphasis on past tense.
Of course there was someone else.
My god did she feel used. Especially for that last night they had spent together. What had THAT been for? Just a "for old times sake" roll in the hay? And only after the fact does Cyprian bother to tell her, "oh by the way ..."
Cyprian wasn't ready to keep his hands to himself. In less than a week he had been with two different women -- she had seen them both because she WAS one of them. It was just a matter of time before Cyprian's ... heh ... domestication house of cards blew away in the wind. And bags of domestication that -- for some bizarre reason he had brought with him here -- wouldn't save him. Was he moving in with her? The blonde? Is that what those bags were about?
And if so ... if so ...
Of course there was someone else.
Someone he wants to be better for. But not for Mysti. No. He hadn't cared enough to be better for her. Only to this blonde with the blow-to-the-head stars and planets circling her head.
She sat there looking into her ale. She could have boiled it with the glare she saw on her own face reflected back at her. Outwardly, she was as calm as a placid rural pond. Inwardly, she was raging. Her self-control and discipline at that moment were positively phenomenal.
After all of that ... all of those thoughts running through her head. Thoughts and emotions that Cyprian would be completely unaware of ... all Mysti asked was:
"How long did you say you've been in Sigil, Cyp?"
[i][color=#00FF40]"Of course there is someone else."[/color][/i] Mysti's tone was like someone saying "no duh" or "no shit Sherlock" had they lived in another place and time. She knew there was someone else the moment she walked into this bar. She knew there was someone else when she saw him at the New Sensation senorama or whatever the hell it was.
She hated ever having stepped foot into that place -- watching Cyprian dancing with some other woman. But that's not what bothered her. It was how he never said a word to her. He ignored her like she wasn't there at all. Of course, so did everyone else. Then she watched as Akh entered - and left in a huff. Everyone trying to win over Cyprian. She was better than that - she wanted to be better than that - but she was so horribly tired of being alone. There was a [b][u]massive[/u][/b] difference between being a stealthy infiltrator -- and persona non grata.
Like a servant in a noble's bedroom -- she had been there, but no one saw her. Every person in the place seemed to be having a wonderful time. Including Cyprian. But she wasn't. In fact, that was the moment she had decided to put all of her resources to bear on finding a portal away from here. She didn't care where. Some Prime world. Toril, perhaps. Or Oerth. Or Mystara. She had even heard some vague talk about a world almost completely devoid of magic called Earth. No magic but technology that resembled it. Or so it was said. Anywhere but here.
Cyprian, of all people, should know what Mysti was able to do. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. She had been here for 20 years. The Mysti he had known back in Zobeck was but a mere fawn compared to what she was capable of now.
And perhaps because she was like that unseen servant standing alone in the shadows -- she had seen Cyprian dancing with that other woman. At least Mysti had never demanded full-on monogamy from Cyprian. Just wait, my dear. Just wait until you'll have to spend this side of forever never touching another woman but her. Can you do it, dear Cyprian? Because when he ultimately failed in a moment of weakness -- good ol' Mysti would not be here this time for him to run to.
Because she had also seen the blonde enter the room. The one with the little siglls and runes flying around her head. What the hell was that all about? Not that it mattered a whit to Mysti. It just reminded her of drawings she had seen when someone took a blow to the head -- stars and birds and sparkles could be seen floating around their heads. Just like that blonde who arrived. Alone.
No one arrived alone. Well. Except her, apparently. The blonde had expected to meet someone there. A certain Cyprian someone. Because Mysti couldn't help but notice when the blonde had arrived, the moment she saw Cyprian dancing with the other woman, she turned and left the building in a disgusted huff.
Perhaps ... perhaps Cyprian would have, at that point, discerned a somewhat amused smirk on Mysti's face. The very tips of her two elongated canines could be seen against her lower lip, giving her a decidedly wicked, feral appearance. Something amused her at that moment. But whatever it was, Mysti wasn't giving anything away to Cyprian.
Had Mysti been the blonde -- if Mysti had arrived to see Cyprian dancing with someone else, the most she would have done was ask to join in. Perhaps inquire if anyone knew a three-person dance they could ALL enjoy together. Would Mysti feel jealous? Of course. But she understood Cyprian -- unlike the blonde apparently -- and knew never to act on that jealousy.
But ... heh. Heh heh heh. Cyprian had decided to dump her for a battleaxe. The feral smirk disappeared as quickly as it had come. So ... he preferred a battleaxe to her? Someone who was intolerant and rigid? THIS is the person Cyprian wants to "better himself for?" Well fuck me for not getting out the whip and demanding Cyprian conform to how she expected him to live his life. Mysti could have been a ball-breaker, a dragonlady, a taskmaster and demanded that Cyprian give up his philandering ways. She could have insisted that Mysti be the ONLY woman in his life, and by god, mister, if that little rogue caught him with someone else ... yes, she could have stormed out of buildings in a disgusted huff without even a, "Hello Cyprian ..." just like Rune Lady with the weird ring around her head.
But she hadn't thought Cyprian would have been happy that way. All Mysti had ever cared about was that Cyprian remembered the way home. And his happiness, of course. How many times had she endured the humiliation of Cyprian with someone else? The flirting, the intimacy ... and with her, the jealousy, the feelings of doubt -- and fear. Yes, the fear that he would find someone else and forget where home was. She lived with all of that ... and so much more for the sake of letting him be happy, letting him be who he was.
However -- never before, not until this very moment as she sat there studying her mug of ale -- had she ever felt ... inadequate. And the fact that he made her feel that way made her ... well, forget it.
Because, see, the most damning piece of evidence, of course, was watching quietly from the sidelines as Cyprian immediately dumped the first woman with the barely-understable accent and rush after the blonde battleaxe. Yes. It wasn't the first woman. It was the second. THAT was who our illustrious bard was courting now ... and yet Cyprian had cheated on this woman with herself and now was dancing with a third woman.
That's right, Cyprian. Make promises to the devil you cannot possibly keep.
All of these thoughts and observations flitted through Mysti's head in but a few seconds. No one could have known -- and doubtless even if they did, no one would have cared much -- that something snapped in Mysti at that point. Something that would irrevocably change the dhampir rogue on a fundamental level. With all the times Cyprian had played the field, she had never once raised an objection. He was who he was -- and unlike most women, Mysti wasn't out to "change" Cyprian as if he were some kind of "fixer-upper opportunity" she had found for cheap. Somehow he had always come back to her -- and when he was ready to settle, she would have been there for him. Would have. Would. have. Emphasis on past tense.
Of course there was someone else.
My god did she feel used. Especially for that last night they had spent together. What had THAT been for? Just a "for old times sake" roll in the hay? And only after the fact does Cyprian bother to tell her, "oh by the way ..."
Cyprian wasn't ready to keep his hands to himself. In less than a week he had been with two different women -- she had seen them both because she WAS one of them. It was just a matter of time before Cyprian's ... heh ... domestication house of cards blew away in the wind. And bags of domestication that -- for some bizarre reason he had brought with him here -- wouldn't save him. Was he moving in with her? The blonde? Is that what those bags were about?
And if so ... if so ...
Of course there was someone else.
Someone he wants to be better for. But not for Mysti. No. He hadn't cared enough to be better for her. Only to this blonde with the blow-to-the-head stars and planets circling her head.
She sat there looking into her ale. She could have boiled it with the glare she saw on her own face reflected back at her. Outwardly, she was as calm as a placid rural pond. Inwardly, she was raging. Her self-control and discipline at that moment were positively phenomenal.
After all of that ... all of those thoughts running through her head. Thoughts and emotions that Cyprian would be completely unaware of ... all Mysti asked was:
[i][color=#00FF40]"How long did you say you've been in Sigil, Cyp?"[/color][/i]