To Dance for Life [open]

[Eryle Darlusk]

"Concentration...no, maybe for you, as youre so tied to it...but I would need to develop a ritual or specific spell for it", he says quietly, pondering, "Maybe if you showed me...stepped through and let me study it, and follow you...I could learn", he suggests, perhaps a bit too eagerly, all things considered. Definitely overly curious, he was.

He let her take his hand, which was somewhat cold when first touched, yet seemed to warm as energy naturally flowed between the two beings, if not a natural occurrence then because of the half-demon's subconscious will for connection between himself and other such individuals.

"Many things...there's a connection and understanding of the world you can only get by learning of the aspects of the hidden beings amongst it", he explains to her, enthusiastic about his opinion as he talks , smiling a bit, "I'd be glad to help show you, if you let me learn more about you in whatever ways necessary", he offers, tone lowering a little.

[inara]

Inara thought for a moment then flipped her dagger out of her boot and into her hand. "This is what I use." she said, holding the dagger out, hilt first for Eric to take and look at. "My first boyfriend gave it to me. It is a work of art."

She stared at the dagger, lost in one of her many memories then snapped out of it. She smiled at Eric, looking suddenly tired. "I think the dancing may have finally gotten to me." she said, slipping the dagger back out of sight before Eric could take it. "Do you know any good places to sleep? I find myself lacking an apartment that I like. Preferably dark and sort of... magical." Inara sipped her Sprite, her eyes wandering around the dance club.

[Eryle Darlusk]

((Quick Note: At work now so don't expect responses to be quick ))

His eyes scanned over the dagger as it was pulled out, studying the magic as best he could through mere proximity and eyesight, unable to visibly enhance his perception in such a place without drawing attention. Of course, as she put it away, he frowned, having been unable to get the best overall read on it.

At her comment, her pondered a bit, going over several options in his mind, "Well, my dear Ina, there is one idea I have that suits your descriptor perfectly...if you don't mind stepping through a rift into a private sanctum of mine", he suggests quietly.

If she agreed to, he'd take her hand and begin leading her through the club and out towards the back, looking for a suitable place to do this.

[inara]

Inara smiled slightly then slipped her hand into Eric's, getting ready to re-draw her dagger if Eric showed any signs of doing an funny business. She let Eric lead her through the club and out the back, her eyes darting around trying to drink in all the sights.

As they past the dance floor Inara had to struggle not to break free of his hold and re-join the humans still lost in the music. "How far is this place from here? I know we are going through the rift but I like this place. It calms me and I'd like to be able to find it again without tramping all over the city." Inara smiled to herself and moved so she was walking next to Eric instead of following behind and tightened her hold on his hand.

[Eryle Darlusk]

"Don't worry, ideally we will return where we came from", he explains to her. He glances down, having noticed the grip she had on his hand, although he didn't seem adverse to it and didn't say anything, actually smirking slightly as he continued onwards.

Eventually he lead the two of them to a deep, barren, and very darkened alleyway, secluded enough and with more than enough shadow, he figured, to work his magic, "This should do", he comments idley

He clenches her hand, and somewhat instinctively pulls bits of fae magic off of her form, his other hand moving in a few complex gestures as the darkness of the area seems to come alive, drawing towards him and absorbing into his pattern, causing his form to become whispy and partiality insubstantial, and because of his proximity and contact with her, Inara would likely feel some of the dark power he commanded as well...

Suddenly, his form reconstitutes as the energy flies forward in a dark, focused beam that tears into the fabric between realities, a rift slowly growing, crackling with the dark, demonic energy powering its creation.

His eyes glowed bright red as he focused on finishing the spell, breathing heavily form the stress it put on him, looking back to Inara to see how she responded to all of that.

[inara]

Inara looked around the alleyway, feeling doubt start to creep in. She shook her head slightly, forcing the feelign away. She froze as Eric drew some of her magic from her and felt like throwing up but she forced herself to keep watching.

She gasped as Eric became little more than a shadow and wanted to run her fingers through him to see if he was still solid or if he was like a wisp of smoke. Before she could the dark energy Eric was commanding trickled in through her fingers and she bit her lip to stop from crying out as the dark brought with it a range of feelings she hadn't felt before.

As the veil was torn by Eric's spell Inara felt a twinge in her heart. It seemed she was connected to the veil and her body didn't take kindly to it being torn like a rag. Unknown to her, she had gotten very pale, loosing the soft golden tan she had managed to get. She looked at the rift, not really wanting to go through it.

She turned to Eric to say so and she saw that his eyes were glowing red. Instinctively Inara moved to support him, noticing his heavy breathing. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, eyeing the rift.

[Eryle Darlusk]

He noticed her own reactions, the way she'd taken to the magic, though he could sense the doubt and ache in her head as well. "I'm fine, it just...takes a lot of energy to do that. What about you?", he asks, running a hand over her paled skin, the slight crackling of their now somewhat sympathetic energies meeting following as he does so, given that his form still trickled with the shadowy power.

As he recovered, he looked back towards the tear, magically studying it to make sure it was stable and safe, which took him a minute or two to do, but was a needed step for any intelligent warlock traveling worlds.

"If you're not having second thought, and you're alright...are you ready?", he asks quietly, looking back to her, not wanting to force her through when he'd already forced a slight exchange of magic between them, and didn't want to push it further if she was uncomfortable

[inara]

Inara closed her eyes as Eric touched her skin and a soft sigh escaped her. She looked at the rift as he did too and bit her lip. Compared to her own portals this one was a hulking monster that looked like it wanted to swallow her whole. Inara lifted her foot and pulled out her dagger, flipping it in the air.

When Eric asked if she was ready she nodded slightly and moved closer to him. She wanted to feel what it was like to walk through one of his portals then maybe she could show him one of her own. inara made herself let go of Eric's hand then grabbed it again as the rift seemed to become more menacing. she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't." she said, letting go of her hand and taking a few steps back. "I'm so sorry."

Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away angrily with the hand that wasn't holding her dagger.

[Eryle Darlusk]

As she steps away from him, apologizing and gripping her dagger, he frowns, "What's wrong, Ina?", he asks her, cautiously stepping towards her again, a confused look on his face. She was so eager just a moment ago, he could feel it in her, and then...something changed.

The shadows began to thicken again as his power returned, and behind her she'd notie it was happening quicker, his subconscious will wanting to keep her form running off, telling people about him or whatever else she might be thinking of doing.

"Tell me....I'm only trying to teach you...", he says quietly, his voice taking a slightly hollow tone to it.

[inara]

Inara looked at Eric then back over his shoulder at the rift. "That's not how its supposed to be. It's being forced. Like the veil is nothing more than a rag to be torn apart again and again." She loosened her hold on her dagger then gently brought it up and sliced through the air. Her portal appeared next to Eric's, a simple hole with a faint gold light around the edges.

She saw the shadows thickening and the spell on her dagger hummed into life. "don't force me Eric. Call off the shadows or I'll disappear. I'm not going to tell anyone what you are. There is no point, they would call me crazy and lock me up. And that's the one thing that would kill me." the dagger's twin appeared in her hand seemingly by magic and she held them both steadily. "What's your choice?"

[Eryle Darlusk]

He frowns, baring his teeth slightly, which were slightly sharp looking, looking insulted, "It's a portal to a different realm....it works differently...", he says with a cold, darkened tone, and his eyes travel to look at the portal she made.

Unable to help himself, he began to study the magic of it, trying to figure out how that link worked, and how he might be able to try replicating that to travel to fae realms.

Still, he had little time, as the portals being so close to each other didn't seem to mesh, and their energy could be seen crackling between each other before a flash of energy consumed them both, sending a ripple backwards that sent Eryle, and probably Inara as well, flying backwards into a wall as the two portals disappeared, the shadows nearby fading to mundane levels.

Eryle, however, seemed to be out cold.

[inara]

Inara opened her mouth to reply when the portals were consumed. She had an instant to jump, moving with the ripple so that she landed safely, her back against a wall. She waited until the ripples were all gone then looked for Eric. She saw him lying on the ground and moved over to him. "Eric?" she asked, kneeling next to him. "Please be okay."

She rolled him onto his back and her fingers searched out his pulse point. She counted silently and was relieved that his heartbeat was normal. The urge to kiss the unconscious half-demon came over her and Inara leaned over, her lips barely touching Eric's.

Her fingers brushed Eric's cheek gently and she pressed her lips to his gently, hoping he wasn't about to wake up and be all grouchy.

[Eryle Darlusk]

Despite the fact that he had to deal with mortal reflexes and a mortal's ability to be wounded, he was still resilient and could subconsciously utilize his magic to help him recover; the dark spot he was in seemed to lighten a bit as he absorbed the remnants of energy the dark corner held.

When he woke up, he definitely didn't expect the touch of a fae's lips to be the first thing he experienced, and he ended up kissing her back as a natural reaction, before even realizing what was happening. After it ended, he coughed a bit, sitting back up.

She clould see a visible bloody gash in the back of his head, which would perhaps be alarming if the little strands of sahdowy energy present began slowly knitting the wound up for him.

"Wha...you kissed me...", he comments, still coming to and trying to organize his thoughts.

[inara]

Inara helped Eric sit up and winced at the cut on the back of his head. She watched the shadows knit it up, waiting until they had completely fixed it before she turned her attention to anything else. Her fingers ran down his arms, looking for any broken bones and prodded gently at his ribs.

"You don't seem to be too damaged." she said, her voice soft and gentle. "But maybe you got a bit of a hard bump to the head. I didn't kiss you. she laughed, silently thanking her ability to lie.

Her laughter trailed off. "Sorry about changing my mind. But it was... I'm sorry. And you got hurt because I made a different portal. I shouldn't have been so stupid. she was still supporting Eric, hoping he would really be alright because he seemed rather confused. "I wish I had some rum or something. That would probably wake you up a bit."

[Eryle Darlusk]

He leaned back, sitting against the wall he'd crashed into, looking to Inara's ahnds as she felt his arms and poked at his ribs, "Of course I'm undamaged. Anything that doesn't kill me is a scratch, comparatively", he says with a conceited chuckle and another cough.

There was a confused expression on his face at her lie, "What? I'm sure...well, maybe...guess it was a shock", he mutters, frowning a bit as he seemed uncertain with his memory for the moment.

"Yeah...even two -similar- portals near each other can cause trouble", he explains, looking to her, "And I don't drink. Bad to let one's mind get clouded. At least I don't usually", he grumbles a bit, still feeling the pain despite the damage being repaired from the wounds