pennysheets | Swept into Faerie for @punched

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Swept into Faerie for @punched_hitler

The realms of faerie love their frivolity. Great gatherings with music and food and dancing and chatter. Soldier doesn't know which great fae lord this is; it isn't like it matters. He's not here to kill any of them. He's here to prevent anything from happening to his own master, so he keeps his attention on him, as is only appropriate.

Though he does find his gaze drifting from his master to the swirl of movement and color from the ballroom floor, from time to time. There are flashes of leaves and talons and raven wings among the dancers, in cloths and hair and eyes, but the rhythm is engaging, the melody is pleasant, and he knows the steps. His feet itch to move, even though he knows he could probably never keep up with the true faerie dancers, and might lose what little he has left of himself if he tries. He still kind of wants to.

He knows he mustn't ask. But apparently his master can tell what he wants, because he finds the cool eyes on him when his gaze wanders back where it belongs. He straightens up, guilty and afraid, but the old fae just smiles indulgently.

"Go on, pet," he says. "I am safe enough for now."

Soldier goes. He doesn't have the same grace as most of the people on that dance floor, as heavy as he is with the metal growing out of his bones, but he has some value as a dancer still. He spins the real fae around to the beat as it picks up in response to the newcomer, strange steps from another life that they manage to pick up with laughter and chattering amongst themselves-- not for him, never for him, but still pleasant to have around him-- and feels almost happy enough to smile. It won't last, it never lasts, and he might come away from the dance with new fangs hooked into his mind, but he doesn't care. He wants to dance.

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Steve is not much of a dancer - or, rather, he doesn't much enjoy dancing as much as most fae. Oh, he can dance just fine, he's quite good, actually, but it calls attention to himself in ways that he tries not to encourage, and he'd much rather enjoy the swirls of color and laughter and music from a place where he can get a better view of it all. So, he stays on the periphery, dressed in dark blue that offsets his hair almost unintentionally well, and watches.

But it means he has an excellent view when the... he's not fae, is he, that man who steps out onto the floor picks up the dance in such an intriguing way that Steve finds himself putting his drink aside and drifting closer. He watches for a moment more before making an impulsive decision - well, he's never been one to pass up a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - and slipping into the crowd himself, weaving between them fluidly like water despite his size until he's close enough to cut in on the next dance.

"I don't know this one," he says, because he doesn't quite know the steps the other is taking, but he's a quick learner. "You'll have to lead."

One of them actually talking to him is different enough that Soldier pauses to size the fae up, in return. Not an immediate threat; they're all threats, just for being what they are, but he's learned to recognize the signs of imminent danger.

So he offers his hands, one flesh and one elaborately tooled faerie metal. He doesn't speak as is only proper, but he can guide with hands and feet alone. He's done it before, though he can't remember more than echoes now.

Steve takes those hands, curious about the metal one - it is curious, and also quite beautiful - but he doesn't ask. There's a moment where he wonders if this fellow can't speak, but that's just as likely true as not.

He tells himself to just dance for now, but it's kind of hard to ignore all the questions that are filling him up, threatening to spill out. He's never been all that great at holding his tongue. Or with standing on formality. "Have you been here long?"

This realm, he means, instead of the human one. He doesn't think the man is quiet because he's overwhelmed, but that's certainly a possibility.

There's just the barest hint of an accent under his words, something close to an Irish brogue.

As Soldier spins the fae man in a slower version of the steps he knows in his bones, he frowns to himself at the question-- both at having been asked, and having to come up with an answer. Because he can't just ignore a direct question. Even if it were against his master's laws, it would be... rude.

"I don't know," he finally answers, voice softer than it looks like a man his size should have. "A long time. I don't really remember anywhere else." This is where he belongs. He's been told so.

Steve hums at the response; it's almost a sad, disappointed sound, though he doesn't want the other to think it's disapproval of him. It's just a sad thing to hear. Typical, for what he knows of humans that end up here, but their stories are typically sad.

"Well, that eliminates the next question," he says, affecting a lighter tone again, because he was going to ask about the arm. Where he'd lost it. Which is probably rude to ask, anyway, but Steve's curious.

"You're here with someone?" he asks, instead, though it's more of an assumption than a real question. He doesn't expect that answer to be in the negative.

"My master," Soldier answers simply, and turns Steve on the floor so he can see past his shoulder to where the older fae, patriarch of the Pierce lord holding, is watching the pair of them while in the midst of a conversation with another cluster of courtiers. Lord Pierce's eyes fall on Steve in particular, brows going up a little, but more with amusement than derision. Probably, anyway.

Steve's eyes land on the lord and narrow, just a touch, before he glances back to the human in his arms. "Lord Pierce," he says, quietly, clearly recognizing that face. "He's powerful."

He doesn't sound awed so much as... maybe a little tired. And a little angry, if his companion is listening carefully. "How does he treat you?"

There's a part of him that wonders if he'll get an honest answer. Especially here. But again, he can't keep himself from asking.

The look he gets in return is blankly confused. What does how he's treated have to do with anything. And why does it make this fae angry. Anger is-- unsafe. He needs to come up with the proper answer to make that go away.

"Like a soldier," he comes up with after a couple more turns. "Like his Soldier. That's what I'm for. I protect him." And kill who he says to kill. But he knows that should always remain unspoken. Most of faerie understands that without it having to be said, and those who don't, would not react well to hearing it spoken.

Perhaps unfortunately, this fae is easily angered, though it's not aimed at the man in front of him. The clearly not-helpless human, though he again wonders how he got that arm.

And why.

His eyes flash back in the direction of Pierce, again, before returning to the face before him. "And did he recruit you for this task willingly, or do you - not remember that, too?" he asks, as carefully as he can.

Yeah, this conversation is not going how Soldier would like it to go. "I don't remember anywhere else," he repeats, carefully uninflected, turning the fae in a slow circle further away from Pierce. Maybe if they can't look at each other, there will be less anger? He definitely doesn't want his master to decide to intervene. That will not go well for anyone involved.

It's a nice attempt; Steve isn't less angry, but he can tell he's worrying the human. Which alone tells him a lot; combined with what he does know about Pierce, tells him more. None of which he likes, and most of which he knows is speculation.

He sighs quietly, offering his dance partner a rueful smile. "You just wanted a dance," he says, almost apologetic. "And you ended up with me as a partner."

Well, to be fair - Steve had wanted to dance with this man. And he doesn't regret it. "I think we might be a little alike, though. Neither of us really belongs here."

That's even more baffling, but he does like the smile more than the threatening thundercloud. Even if no fae should be apologizing to a mere mortal. "You are faerie," Soldier says, because it's clear to Soldier that he must be. Very few people here are human, and and the ones who are, are obviously so. "This is your home. Your realm." Where else would a faerie belong?

"I am," Steve agrees, but the words come out on an exhale. A sigh. "But I'm - " He laughs, a little, but it's somehow a self-deprecating sound. "Do you know of merrows?"

He might not. But he might; the Irish fae mostly keep to themselves, but as the human world shrank and times changed, so too did the fae realms, in much the same way.

Of course, if anyone here - this human included - has ever heard of merrows before, they'd know a merrow is always female.

(Well. Almost always. With incredibly rare exception.)

Soldier has, at least, been thoroughly schooled in the types of fae, so that he can ~~hunt them down on command~~ know who he's dealing with and not offend when in public settings. So he nods. "Called muruch in the Irish. Water spirits. Capable of minor shapeshifting in a similar fashion to a selkie." And yeah, mostly female, though that seems rude to point out, even if he is leading the guy like a dame around the dance floor.

"That's us," Steve confirms, if wryly. That self-deprecating tone is still there. "And have you also heard the bit about how, ah. Hideous the males are supposed to be?"

That part is also pretty well-known. Merrow males are not only vanishingly uncommon, but the few that do exist are not supposed to look like the one Soldier is currently waltzing around the floor.

"I do not take rumors about types of appearance at face value," Soldier says, partly politeness and partly out of an honest inability to tell what counts as attractive. Is Steve supposed to be hideous? Is he supposed to not be and that's the reason he sounds like he thinks he ought to be? Soldier doesn't know.

Still: "You don't seem hideous to me."

That makes Steve smile, almost bashfully, if Soldier might happen to pick up on such a thing. "Well. It's not actually a rumor," he says, because it is actually true. Those very few merrow men that exist don't look like Steve.

He didn't always look like this, either.

"But thanks," he adds, and now there's a hint of self-consciousness under it, too. "That's a really nice thing to say. A dance partner who's talented and kind, I'm definitely glad I came to this party."

Emotions are much easier to read than attractiveness, so Soldier definitely picks that up. Bashfulness suggests humility. Soldier has never yet met a fae who can, who would, be humble with a mortal. He is... curious.

"I don't think saying you don't seem hideous really counts as nice," he has to point out. "That's just common decency." There's a hint of Brooklyn to that, some long-dormant accent attempting to reassert itself.

That makes Steve laugh a little, if only because, "A thing sometimes lacking among the fae," he points out, and maybe he means it just in general, but he also might mean it about some fae in particular. Some certainly more than others, if nothing else.

But not an issue with his dance partner. The soft laughter dissolves into a smile, then, because he hears the hint of an accent and while he doesn't quite recognize it, it feels like he's getting to see more of the man than others might, and he likes that. It proves there's a personality under the professionalism. "You seem like a very decent sort of man," he adds. "I appreciate that. But my point was, I guess, I don't fit what they expect, so I don't always find things very... welcoming."

Considering he murders people for his master, and is in fact very good at it, Soldier would disagree about the decent thing. But arguing is also not safe, so he lets it be. "Making life hard for the different ones," he surmises instead with a sober nod. "It's the same everywhere, I guess."

The song ends, and Pierce is beckoning him. Possibly the song ended because Pierce was beckoning him. Soldier steps back from the merrow. "I need to go."

Steve's nodding as the music fades away and his dance partner steps back. He feels a distinct, almost surprising sense of loss, but - well. He had been enjoying himself much more than he'd expected, when he'd decided he ought to at least put in an appearance today.

His eyes flick over to Pierce as well, then back to the dark-haired man. "You don't seem like someone who gets much free time," he says, and he sounds unhappy about it.

Soldier hitches one shoulder, the fully flesh one, in a shrug, but he agrees, "No."

A pause, then he says, quickly and quietly, "There is a hunt at the Hill Holding on the next full moon. My master will be there." Which means his Soldier will also be there. If this merrow really wants to see him again, that's the next easy way to do it that doesn't include following him home. Soldier is not particularly hopeful that anything will come of it, but he wants that unhappy expression to go away.

Yeah, that's exactly what Steve had expected, and he starts to look a little resigned - but then Soldier goes on, and the message is clear. Steve's eyes sparkle a little; "A hunt, hm?" Not the type of event he would normally attend, but then, these are not normal circumstances.

The unhappy expression is definitely gone. "Maybe I'll find myself there, then. You never know."

The truth is, he will absolutely find himself there. As usual, he keeps to himself, mostly, lingering on the periphery dressed in clothes that are so deep blue they're almost black. But he also keeps his bright eyes out for Lord Pierce's entourage; particularly, one figure in said entourage. He doesn't want to approach too eagerly, though, given that it's not Pierce's attention he wants. So he watches, willing himself to wait for a good moment, and maybe tries to catch the Soldier's eye, if he can.

The weeks since the dance haven't been particularly busy ones. Soldier has only had one accident to arrange, and has mostly been at loose ends. Reading in the Pierce Lord Holding's library, practicing with his weapons and the arm, standing around at attention at his master's side, and thinking about a merrow whose name he doesn't even know. Pierce hadn't seemed fit to tell him when he returned to his side-- hadn't even commented on the dance-- and of course he hadn't asked.

Mostly his feelings about the man are of confusion. Nothing he'd done made sense, for a true fae interacting with a human. It gnaws at him, but it's not unpleasant to think about, either. Still, he fully expects to be forgotten by the fae, because humans are only noteworthy to the fae as tools or toys and Soldier is already owned thoroughly by a powerful Lord. Thus, he is definitely not looking for him among the gathering moonlit crowd at the hunt.

All of which means Soldier is surprised when he does see him lingering among the courtiers. The merrow from before is looking at him. Looking for him. His gaze hits Steve's, but it's brief, sliding away again after the moment of connection, and his expression doesn't change for more than that flicker of surprise, but it's not an unpleasant surprise. He can't leave his master's side yet, but there will be talks after the hunt itself when a Soldier would unwelcome, and he'll be free to slip away then.

Or Steve can try to join the actual hunting party. That could be fun, too.

There - he'd definitely caught the Soldier's gaze, if only for a second. Steve hides his smile, half-relieved and half-satisfied, behind one hand for a moment, watching the way the man moves with his master. It seems clear he'll be going on the hunt, and Steve is torn - he hates hunting, and is terrible at it to boot. He would much rather catch the Soldier alone later, and he thinks he can.

But what if he can't? They certainly can't have a meaningful conversation on said hunt, but on the other hand, it will mean he didn't come here only to leave with nothing. At least he'll have gotten a little time with the man, even if not the kind of time he'd like.

He'd better join the damn hunt. And try not to stick out too much. Oh, well - if he does, it'll at least give the rest of them something to laugh over later, and maybe it'll give him a better chance at a little more time with the human.

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skipped ahead a little, but please feel free to fill in

exactly as planned :3

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