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[drowlynx]

*Outside his church in the rain, the drow hybrid is apparently busy: water sluices over his shining white hair, plastering it flat to his head. The sharp points of his ears seem all the more prominent in contrast. He is crouched over a fallen piece of carved masonry, and in his clawed hand is a long kris knife, which he seems to be whetting*

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[drowlynx]

*He sits straight, still touching her face, thumbs pressing into her temples with a smile*

Tell me some of the things you like. Good memories feel quite different to bad ones. Tell me about the good things and it will be easier to find the bad.

[vicioussweetie]

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to relax. How she hates having people in her mind, after seeing how much it hurt Nagi...

"Babies. I love babies. And Mortimer. Sasha." Sasha is by far the best thing ever, as far as she's concerned. "Jas. Chocolate. You."

[drowlynx]

*He smiles a little. Having Astar inside her mind will feel rather like having shoved a whole packet of sherbet onto your tongue in one go: fizzy, frothy, not unpleasant exactly. His fingers glow and spatter light like sparklers*

I love chocolate. *His purple eyes are wide, images flitting by behind them. A man with green skin? Cocoa. Chocolate mousse. A beautiful, pallid woman. A crib with a tiny hand reaching up out of it. A dark, curly-haired man, frowning slightly*

Now. Tell me about the bad.

[vicioussweetie]

"The Count." She can hardly say his name out loud now, like it were a curse. "He is so beautiful. Sometimes he would let me comb his hair. It was so long and dark, like ink. He hates strawberries. He would always frown when he saw them, then try and hide behind his fan and say that nothing was wrong.

"He's insane. He wants to kill every single human being on earth. I used to try and talk him out of it, I would try and appeal to reason and point out he was doing nature no favors by doing that, but he was set on his course.

"Sometimes I wonder if he'll ever love Delaine properly, because Delaine is half-human. He says he can't love anyone, not really, not except for his family. Maybe that's why I let myself become Delaine's mother...maybe I said yes because I wanted him to have a way to love me." And now she's crying.

[drowlynx]

*Crying is the most useful thing she could have done. Emotion highlights memory in what amounts to neon. Astar grins savagely. There he is...*

Tell me one more thing, Scherazade, one more story to save your life. Tell me what you would replace this man with, if you could. *the fizzing sensation steps up a notch, growing to a focus. Static lifts Ali's hair and crawls over her face*

[vicioussweetie]

Her eyes widen a little. That was such a strange feeling, and she was starting to get nervous. "Replace him with? I...I should have spent that time doing other things. Studying, practicing, working. Painting. I should have painted more."

[drowlynx]

*It is right she should be nervous: not being nervous around Astar is unwise. He persists, pressing his hands closer to her head. The sensation increases to a sharp ache, then abruptly vanishes. The glow around Astar's fingers grows dull*

Cinderella, you shall go to the ball. But be a dear and leave your glass slipper. Glass slippers are so fragile, and if they break they cut your feet...

*On the word "feet" Ali's memories should begin to fade. First they will seem like memories of dreams...then memories of someone else's dreams...then finally gone...*

[vicioussweetie]

She whimpers softly at the pain, but does not retreat. It's nothing compared to the heartache she'd felt before.

"What should I wear instead, slippers lined with fur?" Don't think, don't think, let it go and don't fight. It was easier said.

[drowlynx]

Yes, yes. Fur. Lovely fur. It's all in the translation, you know. Or slippers lined with chocolate. Or babies. Or boots with springs in the heels. Or pirate boots. Anything and everything.

*Astar smiles, lowering his hands.*

[vicioussweetie]

"I have pirate boots," she murmurs, touching a finger to her forhead. "I like boots. I don't have any lined in fur, or chocolate, and certainly not babies.

"...what were we talking about?"

[drowlynx]

*Astar gives her a big, cheerful, and above all quite believable smile. You'd buy a used car from this elf. You'd even buy his stories.*

You were telling me how much you liked painting.

[vicioussweetie]

"Oh. Yes, I love painting. I'm not terribly good at it, but practice makes perfect right?" She smiles, relaxing. "I like watercolors most, they're soft and sneaky."