Darkest Before Dawn [Luther]

[Luther Verhulst]

Next up in Luther's bizarre grooming practices came his teeth. He made that horrific grin that he often gave people when he was agitated, but it was directed at the mirror so he could examine his teeth a little more closely. Mostly it was the fangs he was interested in--he needed to keep those sharp. He reached a finger upwards and ran it across his teeth and gently tapped the points. After a few moments he used the tip of the knife that he had just cut his hair with and he picked something out of his teeth.

At this point Luther just insisted on performing his grooming as though Naelona were not present. He had become distracted by her questioning and neglected to finish earlier. Now he was giving her limited time. When he finished here she would have to chase him down if she wanted to exchange any more words.

There would normally be no need for any rush, except for the fact that Luther did not want to risk any more encounters in the hallways than necessary. The woman and her entire family seemed nothing but distractions and personal complications. It was a horrid inconvenience with which he allowed him to be burdened.

Naelona twisted semantics in order to reach an answer. The word Luther should have used was, in fact, 'should'. Regardless of what Luther should have said to convey his meaning, Naelona had reached an answer and her answer was not wrong. "I can and I would, if I were given a reason." Was a 'request' from the youngest Ezel really a good enough reason? Luther felt like being a little smart about that, especially after Naelona's earlier skepticism. "Ezels don't make requests, they give orders."

He looked at the woman before him. The dim light coming into the room reflected off of the backs of his eyes for a brief moment when he turned to face her once again. "I will do what I can. If you are leaving, then I have a question for you." Curiosity had finally gotten its opportunity to speak. At the very least she owed him this now.

"I find it odd that you would be up at this hour, when all the rest should be asleep. Do you have trouble setting your mind to rest in the evening, Naelona Ezel?"

[Naelona Ezel]

When Luther suddenly grinned - a chill still spooked the spine. It was an unsettling image, one a soul quickly desired not to see often, least of all directed at them. Fortunately Naelona's was fragmented already, but it was still unsettling. Even when directed towards no-one but himself.

Ah 'if'. If he were given a reason. Her requesting wasn't reason enough? What else did one require? She ordered slaves, and boogies who didn't think. Commands were the only things they responded to. It was the only thing they were capable of responding to. Luther - as much as she hated to say it - resembled to possess at least some measure of intelligence. That and ordering didn't always work so well with him, if memory served he just seemed to become belligerent and bark something back. The Ezel had the sense he wasn't someone she could intimidate with threats, light trickery, and a smoking pipe.

One of the many things that made her loath his being. Ironic she'd need to speak with him on her hunt to acquire closure on such an old subject. Civilly, no less.

"Then don't do just 'what you can'. Find it." She corrected lightly, though it wasn't blatantly directed towards him. His word that he would do what he could would suffice for now, and for the moment it was a faint surprise that he'd agreed to it at all. Still the insinuation she wasn't an Ezel ruffled a few proverbial feathers. If that was what he expected from the name, Nae wasn't of the mind to disappoint. Naelona really did expect more of a fight and trouble out of the boogie than he'd been presenting tonight. Was he even well?

At his question, the Ezel paused. Curious he would even care to ask, earning him a raised eyebrow. "All should be asleep, but no-one knows if no-one checks." What else would she be about, but for her own duties? It was a peculiar question, and vaguely personal one at that. And was still unanswered. "A mind is never at rest." Any one that was, was either ignorant or blind. Nightmares drove away her rest. They always had to some degree, but had been worse than usual these past few weeks. "Old haunts and a restless mind merely decides the hour." It didn't help Kristopher wasn't around that night either, and who knew where Anolean was off to.

[Luther Verhulst]

The girl before him was beginning to act like the self-absorbed woman he seemed to remember. He did not prefer her agitated behavior to her attempts as civility, but something about civility had always felt false. No one was actually ever civil to him because they wanted to be--they were civil because they wanted something from him... or they wanted to keep him from doing something in particular. People were motivated by what they wanted and desired, and Luther was hardly blind to that fact.

If he could have imagined that Naelona even suspected him to possess a measure of intelligence it might have been enough to amuse him. He was a living and thinking creature, but still little more than an animal. People did not and should not make requests of an animal, especially a wild one.

"Regardless of what I say, I can do no better than my best. You should find this acceptable." If she did not find it acceptable, then he'd have half a mind to tell her 'no' and bite her head off. Still, the 'request' was made with a formal tone and with the intention of an order. That would have to do for now. He didn't care for it.

Her response to his particular inquiry was vague and almost artistic. Luther did not appreciate the finer points of flowery language, except in the rare circumstances when it was truly the only way to convey a deeper meaning. Even so, sometimes deeper meaning was lost on the dim-witted.

"Old haunts." He snorted at that point. "Terrors creep into your sleep--they are the wounds of your past. The one person who would understand..." Luther grasped at a clean shirt and pulled it on over his body. His old armor was waiting for him back at the shed and he would need to polish it. He was done here and did not bother finishing his thought. He simply pushed by Naelona and opened the door to leave. For a brief second he considered being polite and holding it open for the woman just to confuse the hell out of her.

It was a short pause, but it ended with him stepping through the door.