dear_mun | Why must the muse always mother people?

I can think of more flattering attention, of course, but I hate to be obvious and state it outright.

[He stood, hands on his hips, quirking his head]

Still, foray or not, it's always good to see you, Helen.

I am sure you can, Nikola, though your idea of pleasing attentions and that of others can differ greatly.

[clasping her hands in front of her, a small smile playing at her lips.]

It's good to see you as well, Nikola.

Edited 2012-06-12 05:46 (UTC)

Well, what can I say? I'm good at being unique.

[And the smile on his face is rampant and unabashed]

Ah, well, that's greetings out of the way - let's get down to brass tacks. Where has your dear little operator gotten up to with you? I'd hate to reveal the future ahead of schedule, after all.

Probably.

Unique is a word that has been applied very liberally to the entirety of The Five over the years. Though I suppose it's just the three of us now.

[That smile was enough to make her cock an eyebrow, it was never good when Tesla smiled like that.]

She's just started the second season, she's held up well through everything so far, even the loss of Ashely. I have high hopes for her, she seems to have the right spirit.

[And that description tells him everything he needs to know, and he carefully files his commentary accordingly.]

[There is, too, just a hint as he begins to speak that his thoughts on that time are not joyful ones]

Yes. Right. Good that she's held up. [He cleared his throat] So much to come, though. Your best adventures still ahead of you. I feel a bit Obi-Wan right now, knowing what's going to happen. The path your future will take.

[He puts on his best Alec Guinness voice]

You'll be discovering some wretched hives of scum and villainy, but in the end you will find your destiny.

Yes, she's done well. Should I ever need another protege I think she would do splendidly.

[Always so flippant about life in general]

I thought you didn't believe in destiny, aside from your own for greatness of course.

Well. Sounds like somebody whose good side I should endeavour to be on.

[He sat down, with his usual smooth grace, crossing his legs]

I believe in all sorts of destinies. The grand destiny of the species. That scientific genius will revolutionize the world again and again. In you and me as historically inevitable, to plagiarize Marx.

I would advise it, she is already impressed with your genius if not your manners.

[She belatedly gestured to the chair and took her own seat in a chaise to the sire.]

All species have a grand destiny, if we can but make them accept each other or keep them far enough apart to flourish.

[As to the latter...well...]

Inevitable? Really?

Well, where would modern science be if I constantly stopped to think about how to modify my mannerisms.

[He pointed a wagging finger at her following her second utterance]

And that's the trick, isn't it? That balance between contact and comfort. Like juggling grenades. Sooner or later something goes wrong and then everything gets interesting. And explosive.

[And he flashed her one of his trademark grins]

Oh, absolutely. As inevitable as gravity and taxes.

Nearly as advanced and greatly more civil I should think.

[Oh that was just teasing him now.]

I've managed for some time, I will continue to strive for it. Lest we forget we belong to neither world completely, I think that makes us beholden to be guardian to them both.

[Oh none of that wry wit Nikola, tut tut.]

At least one of which I seem to recall you doing the utmost to defy, the latter one I am certain you have never been overly bothered by.

Edited 2012-06-13 03:22 (UTC)

[He laughed, briefly]

Guardian, I like the sound of that. Then again, the improvement of the world has always been my purview. Guardian, as a title, just makes it official, doesn't it?

[He folded his hands, tapping fingers together]

And, well, where would I be if I weren't a bit contrary? I have to keep you on your toes somehow, dear Helen.

Improvement in your eyes can be a dangerous thing. I seem to recall when making pure vampires was your idea of improvement.

[Helen turned aside, her hand smothering the chuckle that rose with his words.]

You have always managed to keep me on my toes, and more often than I care to admit, off my guard. You might well be one of the most dangerous men I've ever known, in your way.

We were the Five, Helen. We were, by definition, danger in potentia. To our enemies, certainly. I seem to remember some Germans who were on the receiving end of our wrath. But then again, certain things shouldn't walk under the light of day.

As for you...off your guard, you say? [A slow grin spread across his face] Well, that's encouraging news.

My goal is to limit the number of enemies we have, encourage coexistence in all forms that it can be peacefully had. There have been times where I, we, have all taken steps to see that peace is an option.

[Some ideals would not allow it and they would always meet resistance.]

And dangerous, it's why I sleep with weapons.

That's my goal as well. Granted, I've frequently approached it from a different angle, but I believe in a better world. Utopia, even.

[As for the latter comment, he just grins]

And don't I know it. But hardly dangerous to you, Helen. Not anymore.

I'll settle for a world that tolerates other life forms.

[Grin all you like, she's still not sleeping without it.]

You will always be dangerous, especially to me Nicola. You know me too well and you manipulate too easily. I may not be immune to your charm, but I am forearmed by being aware of it.

[He simply smiled, as enigmatically as he could manage.]

If you were simple, Helen, I wouldn't love you. Attracted to your astonishing beauty, perhaps, but the point stands. As for dangerous, well. We'll just have to see what the future holds, won't we?

[Said with a teasing air. For once, he knows what's going to happen when she does not.]

[There is that Magnus scowl, she inherited it from her father. Her lips pursed for a moment before she was able to force herself to speak.]

The idea of you knowing my future, let alone you hinting at things here and there is troublesome. I never know quite what to believe from that silver tongue.

[He was silent a moment, leaning his head on a hand, his look thoughtful.]

Then think of where you are now. How far we've come in a short time. I'm not mad, at least not anymore. And after all the decades we've known each other - I suppose I'll just have to ask you to trust me just that little bit.

[He smiled, but it was a fond one.]

What brings us together is, in the final analysis, far greater than that which drives us apart.

[She's still dealing with things Nikola, and she knows she asked for what was done and how necessary it was...but that doesn't make it fade completely.]

Sounds like a theory of magnetism.

Edited 2012-06-13 06:05 (UTC)

Appropriate, don't you think?

[He chuckled again, tapping his arms on the arms of the chairs.]

But I can say this, without any thought of hindering the timestream - you ain't seen nothing yet.

Are you going to start quoting laws of attraction now? I thought electricity was your bailiwick.

[she rose to pour herself a drink, more to spare her the all too steady gaze he had than any real need.]

That could well be said for any point of my life, each year has been filled with more wonder and loss than I might possibly have imagined.

All of science is my demesne, Helen, you should know that by now. I'm just particularly good at electricity.

[He rose when she did, standing behind her a few paces, hands folded behind his back. After all, there might be wine involved here.]

True enough. But there are better times ahead, and greater discoveries than you've ever made.

[She felt him behind her, barely even turning her head to her shoulder to speak]

Did you know I briefly lived in Bordeaux? Some seventy years ago for a short time. I brought this back with me when I moved. The vineyard doesn't exist anymore so the dozen bottles I have are the last of their kind. It will never be made again.

[She poured another glass and turned to hold it out to him.]

Another sip closer to extinction.

Hmm, a metaphor for our lives, I suppose. Rare to begin with, made rarer by events. A theoretically eternal longevity, limited by circumstance.

[He took the wine glass, carefully smelling it with a smile before sipping it almost delicately.]

Exquisite. You always did have a taste for the finest things.

Apt I think; in that life too must be savored for the rarity that it is. Now I can't help but wonder if I have squandered that gift, if there wasn't more I should have been doing.

[As ever, devoted to her cause, and perhaps some regret that she had not always been the mother that Ashley deserved.]

I have had a keen eye for quality from time to time.

[He shook his head]

You couldn't have squandered it if you tried. It isn't in your nature. You forget sometimes you're still human. But you've always done all that was humanly possible.

I don't need the flattery or the false praise Nikola. I am as well aware of my failings as I am of your tendency to offer such words when it suits you.

[He smiled quietly, sipping the wine. One of the ironies of their relationship being that when he was open it was frequently mistaken for something else. But, with his track record, even he had a hard time believing it.]

Take it as you will, Helen. And I haven't said thank you for the wine, yet.

[He'd lied, tried to steal from her, nearly killed her, if it would not be a joke of horrible irony she might say they had bad blood between them for many reasons. But when he was needed he did step up, and when she could ask no one else the most difficult thing of her life, he was there. She had to grant him something for that.]

I believe you just did, in a roundabout way.

Then that goal is accomplished. I'll need to find others.

[He sipped at the wine, considering it with the look of a true connoisseur.]

I almost wish I could watch what is about to unfold, you know. Well, most of it at any rate.

I think you may want to set your sights a bit higher Nikola, it's a shame to waste such an intellect.

[Helen sipped the wine less as a collector and with more nostalgia. So many things had come and gone in her life, she learned to enjoy them when she could.]

With her having seen a good bit more I understand your particular interest in my life's progression. But it hasn't changed me, given food for thought perhaps.

[He grinned]

Don't I always? But a quiet, passive goal, for once...has its attractions.

I find it difficult to reconcile the idea of those concepts and you. I don't believe anyone would ever accuse of you being quiet or passive.

[Helen sipped her wine, swirling thee glass to watch the deep red cling just a moment before pooling again. Nice legs]

So what are your long term goals now, Nikola? Still setting sights on world domination for it's own good?

Now, that would be telling.

[He grinned at her over the lip of his glass, taking a long sip]

You'll find out, soon enough. You'll be there for some very interesting turns of events, I assure you. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Very well then, all in good time I suppose.

[Helen poured herself more wine and sat the bottle to the table between them.]

So then, why have you come? Merely a social call?

You were here, thus I came. Really, Helen, you'd think I didn't value your conversation.

[He sipped the wine again, enough to empty the glass. He refilled it with a healthy measure]

Is it so hard to believe I'd approach you without an ulterior motive?

You never valued my conversation enough to want to pop in and chat before.

[She eyed him flatly, she knew him too well to think this was a mere social call]

Nikola, as much as I do enjoy your company even you have to admit that when you come around there is always something in it for you.

Helen, so unkind of you.

[His tone was admonishing, and a bit sad, perhaps; but only for a moment, swishing away into the recesses of his personality as if it were never there.]

Before our sixty-year interregnum, we spoke all the time, on any number of topics. Chess until the early hours, too, as I recall. You usually won. But not always.

[A brief chuckle]

And perhaps, just perhaps, you don't know me as well as you thought.

[Was he honestly hurt by her comment? Nikola the man for whom all life was a game? Helen frowned more at her own unintended cruelty than anything.]

We did, how could anyone resist the chance to challenge a mind like yours? You are still one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met Nikola, my father aside.

[Perhaps indeed, and now she felt distinctly as the one who did not know what was about to happen. It was not a feeling she had often and it rattled her strict ideas of control.]

On that I don’t think I could argue, and there may yet be more to you than a century has shown me.

We should play again, for old times' sake if nothing else. My style has changed considerably since our last game in..'48, I think it was. June. Yes, June 1948. That cafe in West Berlin.

[He smiled, fondly]

One of the last times we spoke on fond terms, as I recall. But that part is, thankfully, past now.

Was that your fedora phase? Come to think of it that was a rather dashing look for you.

[That smile was difficult to decipher, just how much of that was a joke?]

I think another game may definitely be in order.

[What point would there be, if they didn't dance like this? The lovely cut and thrust of conversation.]

All my looks have been rather dashing. I still miss my cravats. But yes, a game. If you have the time...

[They'd had their moments through the years. Friends, enemies and everything in between. Even their fighting was a sort or poetry.]

You did almost singlehandedly keep cravats in style years after they were done. Nikola, I think the one thing both of us have, is time.

Well then, fetch a board. We have the time, and it has been entirely too long.

[He sipped his wine, regarding her with the grin, really, hidden in the glint in his eyes]

I'll even let you go first.

I know you well even to know going first is not necessarily any advantage to strategy. Though it is a courtesy I will accept, if you pour me another glass of wine while I get the set.

[She rose and vanished off to another room]

[He chuckled, watching her walk away with a pleased look on his face. She had a way of moving, did Helen Magnus. Then, quietly, he poured her another glass for them both.]

[Helen returned with an ivory and onyx board with elegantly carved pieces. She sat the board with a quiet reverence befitting a gift from her father.

Once the board was set she slid pawn to E4, the classic opening move.'

And the game begins.

Why must the muse always mother people?

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