genessia | [video]

Entry tags:

[video]

[Behold, a man in his forties wearing a very dapper blue coat and trilby combination, strolling through Genessia City.

He seems to have all of the new-arrival gear with him as he's glancing about, though he doesn't seem confused or ill at ease. If anything, he has the air of being utterly fascinated by the city surrounding him. When he speaks, he's smiling, giving a faint air of playfulness in his tone of voice.]

Well then. I certainly don't believe I expected to be whisked off out of the blue quite like this. Or at least, rather, if it was going to happen, I wouldn't have expected to be somewhere quite so vast and interesting. What a curious place this is.

And what a curious device this is as well! It's rather convenient, I must say, being able to simply send one's face and voice out to the pockets of everyone in the entire city. I do hope anyone watching this might be able to give me some helpful information about this strange land I seem to have appeared in.

[With a slightly more serious tone, he asks:]

And I must ask if it is true that no one is quite aware of how to leave this place. I do think my students and fellow teaching staff would be rather put out if I simply stopped showing up to class.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The goal might not have been to kill, but a certain point, that's the only thing about it that's left to matter.

[His eyes still don't waver, intent on Gellert's, matching even those intense blue pupils even while warm fingertips trace his skin.]

If you'd turned away from all this -- from the bloodshed, it could have been a tragedy, but a turning point.

Instead it's just a start to worse, a marker of more to come.

Doesn't that say more about how backwards our worlds are, though? That I must resort to killing to make a point?

[He sighs and glances away, checking their surroundings. Then he rises and presses a kiss to the edge of Albus's lips.]

Maybe I wasn't meant for that world, but this one instead? They say Magic is free here.

Even if that were so, is the point well made if that's the way it's accomplished?

[Dumbledore freezes slightly at the kiss. He's still standing the same as ever, not refusing Gellert's touches but not returning them either. It's cowardly in its way, knowing that he should either do what he knows is the wise thing or what he knows he's tempted to. But he hasn't the heart to push Gellert away, nor the recklessness to oblige him.

It's enough that he doesn't really know how to speak. Another of Gellert's many gifts: the ability to knock speech from his tongue. All he manages is a quiet:]

Perhaps. I don't know. Perhaps.

The point will be made and there will be enough people to join the worlds into one world. The Non-Magical will rely on the Magical for guidance and thus we will be in our proper place.

[He is not apologetic about the kiss. Albus hadn't pushed him away and his lips are tingling pleasantly. He likes the feel of the beard and his eyelids lower seductively.]

Think of how we could spend our time... Not fighting, but...

[For all his indecision, that seems to be the line he doesn't dare let himself cross. Without even having to think about it, he jerks back slightly, his skin suddenly feeling far more electric than it was before.

Every emotion running through him feels like it's running through him with the power of a locomotive. He can keep his head mostly aligned even as Gellert runs his hands and lips across him, but letting him go further would unmoor him disastrously. For a second, he shuts his eyes solely to avoid seeing the seductive look in Gellert's eye.]

And how wise would that be, if we'll only be sent back one day.

[Gellert will gladly coax Albus over that line for as long as it takes. He knows the other has a habit of throwing himself into work and forgetting the need for physical contact or stimulation. Gellert will remind him that there is someone who is willing to give him both and more besides.]

I will not regret it. [But what does he regret besides losing what they had? He will tell himself he regrets that because of Albus's power and talent. He has yet to realize that it goes much deeper and that the other Wizard has touched him in a way that will allow him to grieve before his years are done.]

You would be warm... I could relax you, Albus. Think of how well you would sleep for once.

[He lets out a sound that's almost a small laugh, mostly humorless and a little pained. Dumbledore imagines that the opposite would more likely be true, that if he did as Gellert asked, he would spend weeks -- or longer, probably -- agonizing over being so foolish, over how he could be so easily tempted by a decision that he knows go badly in the end.]

Nothing about this situation is relaxing, Gellert. Obliging you won't make it more so.

[He doesn't share the laughter. Gellert is puzzled by Albus's defiance and he cannot fully understand the root of it. Is it Ariana? Is it him? He has no desire to change, yet this Wizard nags at his conscience. If he could silence it somehow, that would be better.

Wouldn't it?]

Have you found someone else?

What?

[His reaction the question is instinctive and genuine, though he quickly realizes that it shouldn't be -- after all, he'd kept his relationship with Gellert a secret for years. Even if Gellert had been keeping tabs on him ever since their departure, he had no reason to assume that Dumbledore might not keep a similar relationship just as secretive and hidden from view.]

No. No, there isn't anyone else. My regrets have only to do with me.

[Secrets are necessary sometimes. In their time, their relationship would not be celebrated. The worlds are not nearly progressive enough and hate is rampant for the stupidest of reasons.

Gellert can easily ignore it all, however, when he lies side by side with Albus after a long night of study. The loss of those moments hurts and irritates him.]

I do not disgust you or else you would have reacted violently to my touch. The regret then lies in how you feel for me.

Edited 2018-08-09 01:28 (UTC)

Does that surprise you?

[He looks at Gellert with a mixture of sadness and curiosity. Dumbledore's lived with his feelings, his pain and his guilt, for so many decades that he assumed Gellert must be able to read it in his eyes or on his face. Perhaps that was silly to assume, but then again, no one had ever read his thoughts quite like Gellert.]

After everything that happened, did you not think I had my regrets?

[He looks around them before focusing intently on Albus.]

The war isn't here. It's just you and me again. Teach me. [His words are soft and cautious.] How might the future you dread be avoided? I can think of one, final way, but you are creative. You are brilliant.

How would you change the world? How would you change me?

[The words genuinely surprise him. For all his hope that Gellert might be changed, he also knew Gellert's stubbornness all too well. He matches Gellert's intent focus, his eyes narrowed even as he grasps the words close in his mind.]

And what if my answers involve giving up your campaign? Would you be willing to be taught?

[Magic is free. They are beyond the constraints that bound them so tightly and Gellert has nothing to lose by giving Albus his agreement.]

If there is another way to ensure we no longer need to cower and hide, yes. I am willing.

[He looks at him for a long moment, gauging his words and the intensity in his eyes. When Dumbledore speaks, his gaze matches Gellert's in its focus and its vehemence.]

I'd teach you to reject bloodshed and violence. I'd teach you to change the world with those lovely charms you're so adept at wiedling and the words the pour off your tongue.

[He doesn't flinch or blink. This is a path he could take and since he is being given an opportunity, he might as well see where it goes. Gellert is passionate, but he is also curious.]

You wish for me to flirt with the Non-Magical world? [The idea is a little funny.] What happens when I die? Will the charms hold?

[He chuckles slightly at that.] Perhaps not flirt. Perhaps just influence and charm. If not the non-magical world, then the wizards who would help you bring about change.

No charms hold entirely after death. The only way would be to have those left behind believe in them enough to keep them strong once you were gone.

[A small smirk follows the chuckling.] Like you? [Albus, are you being suggestive? Gellert frowns, growing serious again.] Trust is a problem. I know politics and if you show your hand too soon, you could be decimated.

I'm not sure anyone is charming enough to manage that. [Except he eyes the other man, thinking maybe, just maybe Albus is - and if Albus is, surely he can be too.]

[He smiles slightly at that.] Like me, I suppose.

If anybody had the charm or strategy to navigate such waters, I imagine it would be you. I think you underestimate your own influence if you think it would not last without you there to oversee it.

[A flush of heat touches his cheeks at the agreement.] I could try it...here. [It's a start. Gellert holds himself stiffly, touching the wand tucked up his sleeve to reassure himself that has it, at least.]

I will make allies the old-fashioned way.

[His expression doesn't change, but there's a swell of sentimentality in him at the way Gellert blushes. But he does not miss the touch to Gellert's sleeve, or the meaning behind it, either.]

You could. There's nothing to lose here. As you said, magic is free. And I imagine there are those that would be your allies.

[He has long sought the Elder wand. As long as he keeps it, he can choose his path without fear. Even if that path is one of pacifism rather than bloody violence.]

I have met...some. They seem eager to work alongside me. [Including a Kelpie!] One of them has given me a riddle. Do those interest you still?

[He smiles wryly and a little fondly.] Somehow I should have known you would have allies even having just arrived. Your charms are certainly formidable.

They do. What was the riddle, pray tell?

Why wouldn't I learn all I could about a new world? Even sleeping is a waste of precious time.

[But he does it anyway. He can't lose his health.]

She possesses the body of a woman, yet she is a Magical creature at heart. She was cursed to be confined in a human form and only her anger keeps her from taking her own life. The others in her herd have given up hope; she is all that remains. Without knowing the curse, can it be undone?

I don't disagree about learning about this place, given its vast complexities and mysteries. Though perhaps not to the extent of refusing rest.

[Gellert you will make him mother hen you with that attitude :P]

Ah, a tricky riddle indeed. I assume this is her actual situation, not just a mere play on words?

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

Re: [Action]

[Action]

Re: [Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]