The group from Glacier seemed to be ready to move on, the result of Mr. Alexander's rumbling stomach reminding them all that it was getting late and far past due for dinner at this point. To the observer, it was almost incredible at how casually it all happened... reinforcing the harsh divide between fantasy and reality when it came to the lives of celebrities. In front of the cameras, in front of the crowds, it was the duty of a members of a headlining team to always seem invincible... untouchable. The type of person who lives in a different world than the average and mundane, and someone who sets their eyes on the stars themselves as if the trivialities of every day life were completely beneath them.
That was the image, the mask that was worn. The indomitable conqueror Vahn, the unbreakable spirit of Silver, the dangerous and beautiful flame of Sierra... and though he did not recognize the lupine woman it was obvious from their easy exchange that she was no stranger to wearing that mask as well.
The young man on reflex raised his right hand to touch his own face, almost expecting to feel a mask upon it now even though he knew it wasn't there. Nor was it there for any of these fighters that he was watching... these people. It was sometimes easy to forget that there are lives behind the spotlight, that not every day is a ceaseless battle against impossible odds, and that just how a steady drip of water can carve through stone and a glacier can split a mountain, an iron will was as essential to the every-day as it was to a bloody melee.
Of course, every day is a battle and one cannot fight on an empty stomach. Mr. Alexander's stomach may have saved him from another noogie, and it garnered a chuckle from everyone around including the man leaning up against the wall of the elevator.
'The secret lives of celebrities, eh? ...to laugh, to love, to say hello and farewell to friends, it's easy to forget that people with so much power can be so human.'
Vahn Fah Wrote:
> He half turned at this point, the right side of his body facing back towards the elevator, even as he ran a hand up through his own hair, still grinning that stupid grin as he side-eyed the still open doors "..." and then promptly threw back that same hand, as if saying 'thanks for putting up with us'...which would lead one to assume he knew about the silent additional occupant that had been in the elevator and simply chose to let the guy be. He wasn't much for conversating with strangers either since the altercation earlier had kind of soured him on the notion...but he could not help but feel he recognized the man either.
Silver Alexander Wrote:
> It seemed he had missed the extra guest in the still open, still occupied elevator.
Vahn's gesture brought an involuntary smile to the observer's face and he shook his head roughly to try and loosen up the mild embarrassment welling up inside of him.
'Eyes as sharp as daggers, that man.' It had definitely been the wrong decision to try and hide from the others, but it was a knee-jerk reaction that he couldn't go back on at this point. It would be a bit harder to explain this away than if he had simply said an awkward hello and left it at that, but not as awkward as it might have been if Vahn had recognized him.
It wasn't every day that he accidentally shared an elevator with a man that had stabbed him.
...and though it had been years since then, it didn't change the fact that he felt that scar throbbing under his shirt just from the proximity that man. It wasn't that he was burning for a rematch, but the blood they had shed had been a learning moment for the young man and it was something that, like those scars, would not fade with time. Years had passed, and the boy had become a man, apparently one that was unrecognizable to the senior swordsman. Perhaps it was better that way, there was no need for them to go out of their way to cross paths again and they had no special history off of the battlefield. Not friends or rivals, simply a chance encounter with a starry-eyed youth looking to make a name for himself.
Lady Sierra Wrote:
> She would push them both forward as she called from just behind them now, > > > > "You three go get us a table, I'll be there shortly!" > > > > There was something that had been bugging her since she stumbled out of the elevator; the elevator which still had it's doors open, and hadn't continued it's routine rise and fall with beckoning traffic since they hit the lobby. > > > > A distortion that made her eyes itch. > > > > 'Curious.'
The red-head pushed the others off, but lingered herself. If they had all simply continued on the observer would have had no reason to follow after them... he wasn't attempting to pry into their private lives any more than this, it was just an opportunity to see the softer side of a few celebrities he had followed closely in his youth that had made it difficult to step away from what was happening right in front of him.
However, it didn't seem as if he would have the opportunity to just slip away from the crowd at this point. The elven woman was looking straight at him now with a furrowed brow that suggested she was starting to unravel his little illusion.
"I would like to apologize for eavesdropping, ma'am."
The young man stepped forward out of the elevator finally, letting his finger off of the door hold button and letting the doors shut behind him as he stepped out finally. He hadn't been intending to get off on the lobby level, but it would have been improper to not ask forgiveness for such a rude gesture.
The illusion was different for every observer, and it relied upon the mental focus of the one being deceived. For Vahn, it seemed that he had not been distracted enough to simply overlook the young man and for Miranda, she had seen nothing wrong with him being there in the first place. The technique that he had used, Trick of the Light, was neither invisibility nor disguise but rather made it likely for another person to simply... make a mistake.
Sierra had made the mistake of thinking that the elevator was empty, and so she didn't see anything that conflicted with that. But as time went on and she had more and more reasons to believe that there was someone there, she had started to notice that it was not, in fact, an empty elevator. The realization that the young man was standing there would hit her suddenly, like something that had been completely obvious but overlooked, rather than like the unraveling of some spell or the clearing of a fog.
Much like someone who spent 5 minutes searching for their glasses only to realize that they were wearing them, Sierra would simply realize that he had been there the entire time as he stepped forward.
"I wasn't expecting the two of you to get on just then and, well..." he reached his hand to the back of his neck, fingertips brushing past a golden ponytail as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment, "it seemed almost criminal to interrupt a tender moment like that."
The young man himself wasn't really the type that stood out anyway; no outlandish dress or features, no brimstone teeth or horns or animal ears like one might find on many of the other patrons in this hotel at the moment. He stood about six feet tall, well built but thin, with pale skin and golden hair about shoulder length that was tied back behind his head in a tail.
Setting his duffel bag on the floor beside him, the young man folded his right arm across his midsection and bowed forward to the woman who was likely surprised or angry, as would be the normal reaction to finding someone had been creeping upon a private conversation between her and her beloved.
"Please forgive my rudeness." He said it with his head still lowered, looking at the floor rather than her. "I would feel no guilt over it if I were simply overhearing a conversation on accident, but I hid myself when I saw the two of you. It was improper, it was impolite, and thus I must ask your forgiveness."
He raised his head, looking to the elven woman with a sly but sincere smile and an intrigued look in his ice blue eyes. Honor demanded that he apologize for his actions, but the curiosity inside of the observer still egged him on... wondering what type of reaction this might bring out.
"Please let me know if there is something I can do to make amends for this Miss Sierra... or is it Mrs. Fah these days?" The young man straightened his posture and lowered his arm, instead holding his hands apart and palm-up at about waist height in a common gesture of making an offer. If he spoke any elven he probably would have attempted to say it all in that language simply to see how she reacted to it, but this would do for now.
The mysterious stranger smiled and awaited a response.
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Miranda Ecks Wrote:
