paradisa | seventy-sixth labyrinth

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felix harrowgate

seventy-sixth labyrinth

[There's nothing from the journal at first except the sound of fluttering pages and shuffling foostepts before a (to some) familiar voice pipes in, set somewhere just south of shrieking and indignant]

I've given you want you want, now just go!

[Another voice answers, heavy with the accent of one of the locals.] You should be thankful we're helping to save you from these vanities you cling to.

I'll thank you for getting out of my house.

You are so eager to be free of us. Are there other things you are hiding, Signore Harrowgate? There are rumors of your indecency.

False accusations and none of your business!

Are you keeping boys back there? Perhaps there is more you have to pay for.

Now see here---[There is a gasped and a clattering of furniture]---that is valuable scientific equipment, don't touch that!

[The exclamation is cut off rather abruptly by the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting flesh]

((ooc: interactions over the journal are unlikely to be answered, but the door to Felix's home is wide open as he's being accosted by a small group of the friar's followers. Rescuing is greatly welcomed.))

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Enough!

_{[ He stepped forward, imperiously imposing himself between the friar
and Felix, golden eyes like daggers. ]}

Leave this place. You have taken your tithe, or shall I send to Rome decrying the greed of the Lord's servants, turning from his light into sin?

_{[ Inside, though, his heart was pounding, hoping this would take and
they would leave, satisfied in their superiority, however unearned. ]}

[The man glares at Ashura]

What stake do you have in the life of sodomite?

He is my companion and my tutor. And he is a child of The Lord. Should not that mean you have a stake too? Or shall my letter to Rome also tell of how the Lord's men have turned to lies as well as greed?

_{[ his heart continued to pound, doing his best to look at the men and
not at Felix. He kept his head canted slightly high, looking down upon
them, giving them no advantage.}

Please, lord God, let this work. ]

[The man stared Ashura down for a long moment, his face tight with fury]

You have bought yourself time, but do not think your words to that false Pope will have any meaning.

[He waved, and the other man landed one last punch to Felix's jaw, and stepped away to let him fall to the floor as the men turned to leave]

...you didn't have to do that.

_{[ Ashura made sure they were well gone from the house before he came
back to Felix with a bustle of skirts. It had taken all his effort not to
run to the man as soon as the monks began to leave, but he did not think
weakness would be left unnoticed by them. They were animal, and if he was
not careful, they would fall prey.}

Skirts shifted as he knelt, offering him a strip of cloth to dab his lip. ]

Of course I did. They're a bunch of ruffians, and I will not be intimidated. I am only sorry I had to stand letting them touch you as they did.

_{[ His fingers smoothed the bright copper hair he adored so and looked
about the room, his heart shifting with pain. ]}

We should clean up. I shall find a broom.

[Felix clutched at the cloth and held it in place where a vicious jab had made his lip bleed. He'd probably also bit himself in the process. It was difficult to discern one pain from the next at the moment. Bruises were already beginning to show on his pale skin]

They may be back. I will never be blameless in their eyes. Not after catching their eye in the past. Perhaps I should think about leaving the city.

_{[ The thought galled Ashura. What would he do without his friend,
his.... lover? He bit his lip, but admitted, it might not be a bad idea.
The monks had begun to look upon him suspiciously, and his friendship with
Felix was not helping.}

He came over and knelt again, cupping his cheek and kissing his forehead softly, and then his fiery hair before rising again and seeking out the desired cleaning implements. ]

We can discuss such matters once we are no longer in danger of cutting ourselves on glass. Go and wash your face. Remove their stain from you.

[He rose to his feet with some difficulty, wincing a little]

It isn't fair. It is one thing to have our lives dictated by the Pope, but another entirely to have to fear from some friar with high ambitions...

_{[ He sighed, knowing what he meant. They were pushing boundaries of
late, throwing on airs more reminiscent of a lord's sons than men of God.
Which was worrisome. Not even lords were safe from God's eyes. Have swept
the glass into something of a manageable pile, he came over and slid an arm
around the slender waist he loved so much. ]}

Come. We should see you to bed with a cool cloth.

[He mutely accepted the assistance, his eyes glancing over the ruin of glass and scattered tomes on the entranceway floor with sour expression.]

Bar the door. I don't want any more guests today...

Already done, my love.

_{[ He smiled softly at the other, touching his cheek, and then wrapped
his arm around his waist to help him back into the chambers they shared for
many purposes. ]}

Believe me, I want them even less than you do. Perhaps I should write to Rome. They are getting far out of hand of their station.

_{[ He shook his head, hair coming out of the delicate coif he had kept
it in and falling across his pale collar bones. ]}

Don't. We don't need any more attention than we've garnered so far. Just because these charlatans are charlatans doesn't make them right about certain things that Rome would not approve of either.

[And beaten or burned to death was probably a kinder face, in comparison]

_{[ He frowned, but nodded, accepting his council. He set him down upon
the bed and helped him work off his boots and undo the laces of trousers
and shirt. He urged him to lay back, than went to a wash basin to get a
cool, wet cloth. Skirts rustled as he moved, coming to sit on the edge of
the bed and tab the cloth across his lover's face. ]}

You are sure I should not call a physician?

_{[ His face continued to be creased with worry, taking a moment to lean
in and kissing his lips gently before continuing with the dabbing. ]}

Stupid brute...

[He lay back, though the tension didn't leave his shoulders. The shame was one part of it. The rest was a lingering worry]

I don't think anything is broken.

[Lightly, he grabbed Ashura by the wrist]

If they had attacked you...

Edited 2013-12-02 08:48 (UTC)

_{[ He looked down at the wrist and quietly shook his head. He rested
his other hand over it before shifting himself to lay down beside his
scholarly lover. His fingers lightly traced his collar bone, cloth still in
his hand.}

The monks may come after him, but Felix was the more likely target. It was easier for them to bring down scholars than it was nobles, whose coffers funded them... ]

Let us worry of you, my love. You are the one with bruises no doubt coming. I shall have to be more careful in our love making for a bit, I think.

[His cheeks actually colored at that. Not the mention of their activities, but because of the affectionate name]

You have more to lose than I.

Perhaps, but I do not mind losing things so long as I can keep you. I can give up pretty dresses and jewels and parties. I like learning the stars with you much better.

_{[ He sighed and rose, undoing the laces and clasps of the heavy silks.
They dropped, leaving him in a bare, plain shift as he took his place on
the bed against Felix again. ]}

I will not abandon you to them, love.

I am concerned that this ruse will not hold forever. Already I feel it slipping...

[He shifted slightly, turning to face Ashura, and placed a tenative hand flat on the other man's stomach]

Well, I suppose it is best we start planning a new lie then.

_{[ He had perpetuated the assumption and belief he was a woman for many
years, and since he was from Rome, no one really had the means to check on
his previous holdings or dared to. He claimed to be a widow, but that was
not the case.}

His fingers threaded with Felix's on his stomach, coming in close so their foreheads touched. ]

I wish for nothing more than to live freely with you, Felix. I will make it work, however I can.

What if that meant leaving?

_{[ He nodded. ]}

I am not so attached to pretty silk dresses as you might think, my love.

_{[ Which was true enough. He did not mind them, but some days he did
just enjoy a good tunic. He moved his head in, kissing his lips tenderly,
but with the intimacy of long time lovers. ]}

[He was hesitant for a moment only because of the pain and the last lingering tension of what might have easily been his capture or death, but he warms to the kiss, his fingers tangling in the fabric of the shift]

_{[ He had no wish to press his lover for anything more physically
amorous than that at the moment, given his state, but he was glad for the
return of interest. He did not want to speak of dour things anymore. It
could be accomplished later, in the light of day.}

With only a bit of creative wriggling, Ashura got them both properly settled in the red head's bed amidst further kisses. He was loathe to stop those, and his own hands gently made their way across the fabric of Felix's tunic while their mouths remained occupied. ]

[Felix sighed into the kiss and lazily draped an arm over Ashura's waist. How good it felt to be himself for a little while, though much of that was in credit to the quality of his company.]

Be gentle with me...

[He smirked against his lover's lips, his humor wry. Despite the bruises, his body had it's own ideas about what it wanted at that moment]

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