Movie Night {Open}

[marius]

A sequence of one frame after another and you had the illusion of movement, moving pictures that told a story. Something called movies. Such a thing could only be made by mankind, couldn’t it?

Ah, Marius knew that there was a reason as to why he had chosen to stand amidst mortals than be bored to death with the other gods. That and the popcorn he was eating as he wandered down the street. Well, maybe not bored to death since he wouldn’t have to worry about death…or would he now that he had been reborn as a mortal? The aging process had ceased completely once he had reached a certain age, but he worn a mortal shell. Would he die if it came to it, or he would go back to his former godly glory? He had never read the fine print, but why should he concern himself with such pesky details right now?

Some believed him to be a purely frivolous deity, it even suited him, but it couldn’t be farther off from the truth. But the roman did enjoy the little things, the simple pleasures, didn’t take them for granted like most did. When the others disregarded him, it gave him more freedom to move and the look of surprise on their faces was oh so hilarious. Marius had a cunning mind, and when challenged, his opponent would regret it.

Take the idiot pointing a gun at him as an example.

“Don’t move. Give me your money!”

Did he believe he could order a deity?

Marius smiled and shoved another handful of popcorn in his mouth. When the man fired at him, the roman moved so fast that it made the assailant eye’s water. Stopping behind him with a smirk on his lips he tilted his head and looked at the man. Sure he was acting like a brat, the man told him to not move and he did…real quick…godlike quick.

“You missed!”

Nervous, the man turned around, surprised to see him there and confused, fired again. And once again by the time the bullet left the gun’s barrel, Marius wasn’t there any longer. Shoving another handful of popcorn in his mouth, he raised a brow.

“I believe you missed again.”

The nervous robber turned around startled and fired his gun, over and over again at the several directions the blonde man seemed to appear until only the hollow, empty click of his gun sounded along with Marius’ laugh.

And when the old god was tired of such distraction and the man was looking about frantic as if he was a ghost, he couldn’t resist but run to stand right at his face and give out an audible “Boooo!”

-HA! Look at him run –

Ah yes, he did loved the simple pleasures! Not to mention the delicious popcorn.

[elise]

"Hey! Watch it!"

The female voice came from the direction that the man ran, sounding highly irritated as he nearly plowed her over in her terrified flight.

Looking at the man like he'd gone insane she continued up the street with her hands shoved into the pockets of her snug black leather pants that were low slung, revealing the gym honed abs and those shapely hips as she walked. With it being summertime her tops of preference tended to lean toward the skimpy side, or at least...skimpier than usual. The poison green halter top revealed all her midriff and was cut low. She wasn't in the least bit worried about being accosted in the night.

Uh uh....not this girl.

As she walked the scent of buttery popcorn filled her nose and she looked up to find the source seeing the face of the man and groaning a bit, ready to turn and walk in the opposite direction. All she needed was an encounter with one of those uptight Council types. But she'd be damned if she turned tail and ran.

Instead she squared her shoulders and walked on, nearing the godling and smirking a bit, her attitude that was her armor coming to the fore.

"I should have know it was one of your kind that had that fool nearly knock me on my ass running away. What'd ya do? Play 'Got yer Nose' with him for real?" she asks, stopping about ten feet away from the man and shifting her weight to one hip.

[marius]

A quick laugh departed his lips in amusement. What was worth it if he didn’t amuse himself? That was a lesson that the thief wouldn’t forget, and hopefully give up on that line of work. Sometimes a little scare worked better than breaking one’s arm.

Sure in his roman gladiator or soldier years, he would kill him and place his head into a pike for all to see, but those were different times now and he was a different man that he wasn’t back then, although it didn’t mean he was any less lethal when needed, but Marius rather solve those little run ins without spilling blood. Call it a benevolent streak of the old roman god.

A few steps forward and his eyes were graced with a sight of pretty curves and fiery hair. Tilting his head he took a second to take in the scene, he remembered her, didn’t forget the attitude, the face…and the long legs.

“Well well well…If it isn’t little miss ‘I don’t want to be here’!” he greeted her with a grin, “Haven’t seen you in a while. Do you still have the habit of showing up from thin air and storming out of rooms?”

The happening had captured his passing curiosity, it wasn’t everyday some unfamiliar face appeared in the council chambers, a place only members were supposed to be allowed in and she somehow made an appearance.

With unnatural speed, the ancient one crossed the distance between them and stood a mere two feet away from her and held forward the bag in his hand.

“Popcorn?”

[elise]

The smile was damn close to disarming as it flashed her way, the rich playful lilt of his tone. But she knew if he was sitting in that Council Chamber that he had some serious mojo brewin' up in him. Enough to make her at least a bit cautious internally of him.

Outwardly she gave no such sign of any fear or intimidation though, keeping up her hard shell of sarcastic, caustic spitfire personality as she listened to his question and merely lifted a shoulder in a shrug in reply.

She had been doing well, keeping her act up. That unphased, don't fuck with me expression on her face as if she had no cares in the world ....until that little speed trick brought him close enough to make her flinch back and come to a quick balanced stance. As a former warrior he would have read that easily, the way the muscles slid into that stasis of waiting, anticipating and her body found it's center of balance. Oh no... this one was no cream puff.

But more telling than her reflexes, her body preparing to fight, was the heat that sizzled in the air around her, little whisps of crimson hair here and there lifting on the thermal currents around her, a thin sheen of flames sparking from her fingertips and up her hand, giving it a living flame for a glove.

However she did not attack in her spooked horse behavior as she saw the popcorn offered out to her, looking a bit confused at it and slowly her hand lifted to pluck a few kernels from the bag aws the flames along her hand dissipated as rapidly as it had come.

"You always offer popcorn to strange women in the streets chere?" she asked before popping the fluffy white (but drenched in butter) popcorn to her lips and ate two pieces at once, her eyes never leaving his as she chewed.

She was wary still but thought better of trying to instigate anything with one such as himself. She had no idea who or what he was just yet.

[marius]

She was so ready to fight, to defend herself…from the offering of popcorn. That made Marius wonder how she would react if it was chocolate.

A smirk crossed his lips.

When people had their backs against the wall, the roman god knew they revealed their true nature and hers was as fiery as her hair it seemed. Fire, it was a neat trick. Gave a new meaning to calling her a hot lady, didn’t it?

Raising a brow, Marius laughed. “That really depends…if I have any popcorn at hand.”

With a playful grin, he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and gazed at her in amusement. She was obviously jumpy at recognizing his face as one of the council members, he wasn’t quite sure why, the roman had never cared much about politics but he had no doubt she was probably entitled to one of the seats in that chamber.

“So you’re a witch I believe? Correct me if I’m wrong but someone offered you a seat and you’re not very fond of the idea? Can’t say I blame you, politics are so incredibly boring. Everyone with their hidden agendas and goals. Not to mention everything is the end of the world for them…trust me, most of times it is about maintaining the status quo.”

Starting again in his tracks, Marius peeked over his shoulder at her.

“Will you walk with me for a moment? I will admit I’m a little curious about you. Will you indulge me for a moment?”

[elise]

Damn him and that grin!!

Hot men had often been a weakness for the little witch, letting herself get sucked in even when she knew better. This wasn't one she could merely toy with, have her way with, and then discard. Gods only knew what she'd get herself into if she tried but it didn't lessen the curiosity that was mounting.

"No.....not exactly offered." she said as she watched him. Finishing off her popcorn and slapping her hands together to clean them off she brushed her hair off her shoulder and turned so that she was in profile to him a bit, revealing a small birthmark on her right shoulderblade. A small almost circular birthmark that was strangely shaped almost draconianly.

Depending on how long Marius had sat on the Council he might recognize the mark. The same one was on the former Head Chair for the Witches, Alyssa O'Shea. That woman had been down right stately, her manner regal and imposing when warranted but kindly. The Firebringer had ruled with wisdom and fairness in her seat.

But this woman before him that bore the same mark was the polar opposite in many respects, lacking the patience and wisdom that age had given to her grandmother.

"More like...expected to take over the vacancy. I want no part of it. That Council was what led to my Nana's death. I just know it.", she stated her suspicions put out there.

There was a shrug as he asked and since he was heading the same direction she was....well she'd feel safer to not have him behind her. Though, she thought with a tilt of her head as she glanced down at the derrier in front of her, she wouldn't have minded walking behind him to watch that cute butt in motion. A small smile came to her lips as she started walking toward him, not stepping too close mind you.

[marius]

His eyes hadn’t failed in catching that birthmark on her shoulder, and his memory was keen enough to make the connection. What was her name again? Oh right, Alyssa. So she was the descendent of Alyssa…but no wonder Marius hadn’t made the connection right away, even with the family resemblance, that woman was so different from Alyssa.

Giving a little smirk when he noticed she had decided to join him, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the distance she kept between them. She was so untrusting…that generally would be a good trait, but it amused him for some reason, to be regarded as some sort of boogey man was something he wasn’t used to.

And conspiracy theories, ah yes, the council was full of them. And often times they weren’t just the creation of paranoid minds. Most of them were always vying for power and the upper hand, stories of blackmail were not uncommon. Luckily the roman had managed to remain one step ahead so far and not fall in such a situation. HA! Some believed his only concerns in the world were about food and women anyways.

Even when that shifter Kyle appeared, he had seen the scowl in the shifters face when he made little of his own meeting with Lillie.

Shoving another handful worth of popcorn in his mouth, he turned his eyes to the red headed woman.

“And you never do as you told to, right?” He asked with a shrug, “Be part of it, don’t be part of it….your path is your own, it is your choice. But if you’d ask me, this world would benefit of having the granddaughter of Miss O’Shea there.”

[elise]

"Damn straight." the fiery little witch replied with a nod, looking straight ahead as she walked.

Oh she kept her in her peripheral vision of course but didn't risk meeting his gaze full on. Of course that was more due to her over active libido at the moment than anything. She'd filled in at one of the clubs tonight as a bouncer and the fights that entailed when some big, dumb, drunk guy thought she wasn't a threat had revved her gears. What was it about a good fight that made a person get so worked up and randy? And this man....or whatever he was...had an ass that just didn't quit.

Oh no. Much safer to look straight ahead than to fall prey to her own proclivities.

However his final words struck her as odd and she glanced sideways at him, a bit suspicious. She couldn't help it. People had never been nice to her or tossed compliments her way before without there being something in it for them. Well...no one but her dear old grandmother. She was the only person to ever truly show her love. Even her own mother had split and left her like she was a bag of clothes for the Salvation Army.

But it also struck a nerve in her, twanging that need for acknowledgment and acceptance. Something she'd never admit in a million years.

"Is that so? And what makes you think that? The world's doing fine all on it's own. It don't need me. Chere, it just keeps on turnin' like it always do." her words were hard, no self pity showing but no love for the world at large either. She'd been dealt a hard hand and frankly wasn't too interested in things beyond her scope of control. The world...well that was one of those things. Of course....


....she had no idea the state of things in that world she lived in either. Unaware that the strange rips in the veil seemed to be more than just the random occurrences that she had come across.

[marius]

Marius denied himself the urge to roll his eyes. She seemed to have this forever pissed rebel attitude like a shield to don’t let anything get through to her. Like everything was damned fine for her just the way it was, but the roman noticed she was trying it too hard to be so sure.

“Ah yes, the world is just perfect as it is, right?” he asked her in a sarcastic rhetorical tone. “Everything is just the way it should and there is no reason to think some of the members of the council are insane power hunger megalomaniacs that wouldn’t mind if one realm or another burn just so they get their way or that a major war is coming and a lot innocents may loose their lives.”

Sure it would be oh so easier to play the frivolous deity, pretend he didn’t care about a thing and be on his merry way. But he wasn’t going to push it regardless, if she took her grandmother seat on the council, it would be from her own mind, he wasn’t a puppeteer to pull the strings. Even if he believed someone with such passion would be a welcome addition to the council, she just needed to focus that fiery personality in what mattered.

Crumpling the popcorn bag into a ball with a sigh when he noticed it was empty, he moved with unnatural speed to throw the paper bag into a trash can down the street and them move back to her side, if she’d only blinked she would have lost this happening.

“So you and Alyssa were close?”

[elise]

She cut her eyes toward the Roman at his sarcastic tone, and narrowed them a little. Sure she had a thing or two to say about that. But for once she kept her mouth shut. His words hit their target as no doubt he intended and she processed them. A war?

A shiver ran through her spine as she recalled the increased activity lately. More and more things from the other side of the veil had begun to make their presence known in this plane. Just last week she'd been paid to perform an exorcism that turned out to not be what they thought at all. It wasn't a possession... it was a doppleganger. The thing had grinned and it's eyes shone in the light of her candle through the haze of the incense in the room.

It had taken some quick action and thinking as she laid the trick to switch the two once more, but not before it had attacked her. of course fire was no friend of those kind and she'd sent it back extra crispy.

The mystical vibrations in the city had been all off for a while. His words only served to hint at an explanation to those facts.

She noticed the blur but didn't speak of it as she looked over to him when he spoke. There was a pain and a sorrow so deep it showed in her eyes even through the defiant gaze she leveled on him. A small shrug lifted her shoulders as she tried to not give away too much and looked away.

"She was my Nana. Mother's mother. She raised me, taught me everything I know about magic. Close? Yeah you could say that."

Her voice was softer as she looked down the street, quieter as she added almost as an afterthought, as if the words were thoughts that slipped into speech unintentionally. "She was everything to me."

[marius]

It was obvious his words had its intentional effect, but Marius wasn’t no council poster boy for recruitment. Heck, most of times he didn’t want to be there. Still he believed she would be a good addition to the table if she was anything like the Alyssa he’d known.

But he was also a strong believer of free will. Having lived the start of his mortal life as a gladiator and a slave, the god Mercury had made a solemn vow to never be a slave to another ever again, and he certainly wouldn’t want that to anyone else as well.

“You know your grandmother used to speak of you? She always seemed so…proud, even if you used to drive her insane at times. She used to say you had a great heart and if she believed it, so do I.”

His words were simply and honest. Not that Marius was buddies with every council member, but he had admired Alyssa’s strength and conviction. She was a mortal woman of great wisdom and compassion. Her death had been a grave loss, but she wouldn’t be forgotten.

Turning his head to face the fiery red haired woman walking next to him, Marius smirked. The old woman had left a beautiful granddaughter in her awake. He wouldn’t mind seeing those long legs in the council chamber more often and he believed neither would Bael. It had been the first time he had seen the big demon lose his composure, even if for a little while.


(Hope the post is alright, if not let me know and I will change it)

[elise]

Marius managed to do what very few could accomplish, he had caught her off guard with his comment. Her brilliant aquamarine gaze shifted to him quickly as he spoke of her Nana. She caught that smirk that shone from his lips and looked a little puzzled, and something more. Troubled. Pained.

"She did?" she asked the question lightly as if rhetorical. She knew her Nana had loved her, more than any other person on earth. Which, albeit, wasn't hard considering her charming and winning ways with people. But she was proud of her hot headed, rebellious grand daughter? She believed she was good of heart? And unfamiliar emotion crept up inside her heart and nested like a bear in winter, guilt.

"What's your name cher? What kinda being are you? How do I know you ain't one o' them tricksters? Sure you easy on the eyes boy, for true. But you wouldn't be the first sexy as Hell no account I've ran across in my life. I aint one to be fooled so easily." A bit of power laced her words as she asked of his name and species, a gentle magical compulsion that lay on the words like the delicate frost of autumn.

She wasn't taking chances. He could be telling her only what she wanted to hear. It was the easiest ploy in the book, one she herself used when conning tourists out of their money. One hand flicked her long red locks over a shoulder as they walked, stepping around other persons that strolled up the street, ignoring the laughter and merriment that trickled through the air on this hot summer's night.

If his words were true she would know it and more importantly she would ask to find out more about this coming war. Could it be a matter of saving the world? If so, could she afford to turn her back to it? Her Nana's face swam into the forefront of her mind as she thought of it and she knew that if push came to shove that she would have to throw in and win...or die trying. She owed her Nana that much. Something she worked so hard to maintain and better...Elise couldn't just watch it all swirl the drain. She would make her Nana proud of her in this life or the one beyond.

[marius]

His eyes wandered around, to the street lamp humming, to the news stand in the corner, to the couple buying hotdogs form the street vendor. Little did they know about their world and the war that was happening in the shadows, away from their unconcerned eyes. And perhaps ignorance was a blessing.

His head turned back to Elise when she spoke, a small smile creeping in his lips. Did she really wasn’t aware of how much Alyssa was proud of her? He could very well remember the times her grandmother had confessed it to him, her granddaughter was brash and a hot head, but she was a great woman who would grow up to do great things.

Marius liked Alyssa, she never looked at him like he was a shallow deity, she always could see the truth behind his eyes and his smile.

“Some call me Marius, some call me Mercury, you can pick the name that suits your fancy. As for what I am…it is a little complicated. I was a god once, but I was curious about your kind, wanted to experience life through your eyes and arranged to be reborn as human. So now I’m mortal…or perhaps not, I’m not quite sure.”

And he spoke of that as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world, and for him it was after thousands of years.

He didn’t age anymore…or if he did, it was in a really slow rate. He could get hurt, but if he could get killed or if he would return to his previous godly glory was a mystery. But Marius was just too comfortable in his skin right now to test it.

“But thanks for the hot as hell compliment…you’re not so bad yourself.”

[elise]

Well that certainly stopped the red-head in her tracks as she heard his words. For a moment she stared at him a bit open-mouthed. Speechless.

"You're shittin' me right?", she said staring at him as if she could see something that others couldn't if she looked deep enough. Soft words were uttered under her breath and a flare of light crossed her eyes as she finished the incantation that gave her true sight, revealing masks that people often wore. "Holy shit...you're not.", she whispered to herself mostly.

A god... a real one. Right here in front of her. Sure her Nana had spoke of speaking with Gods on the Council but Elise had always thought it was more of a metaphorical thing. Like group chant or divination. Not in the flesh. "Mon Deiu!"

The compliment almost went over her head as she stared at him till the glow behind her eyes faded a bit and she blinked slowly, clearing and dismissing the spell silently. Opened once more they were merely their usually crystalline aquamarine.

"There's more like you on that Council isn't there? Along with the wolves and the demons and the fairies." It wasn't so much a question as a shocked statement. It reinforced what he'd said before about megalomaniacs and power hungry persons. A hand was thread through her locks as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"So that's why things have been all screwy lately. The things that shouldn't be in this world are coming through somehow. It's not because some idiot novice is out there casting spells willy nilly or dabbling in things they shouldn't. It's something else. Someone else."

The thought chilled her fiery blood and made a knot form in the pit of her stomach. "Shit!" she hissed under her breath, leaning back against a building.

[marius]

Marius allowed a laugh to roll off his lips at her reaction. For the most part, the old gods were forgotten to mankind. They were regarded as foolish old world superstition, no longer revered or feared. Tall tales…but they were wrong.

Mercury himself had never cared for the adoration and the temples. Why should he? A bunch of ants worshipping him?

But somehow in time mankind started to capture his interest. They were flawed, weak…but they strived to be better, to improve themselves and the world around them. They weren’t immutable like the gods that were trapped in their selfish whims and ancient struggles for power. No, and for such short life they held, they truly lived it. That was why the old god decided to be reborn as one of them.

“What can I say? I love mortal food.”
As if that explained everything.

Stopping as she did, he watched her with an amused expression on his eyes. He did catch the incantation, the light flare in her eyes. She was a skeptical, had to see it for herself. Good, that meant she wasn’t easily swayed by whatever lies others may try to feed her.

“Now you see Elise. Now you understand my concern. This war that is coming and the others that may follow, the world won’t be a safe place if there aren’t good people doing their best to protect it. And I do believe you are one of such people.”