Tanuchan Posted November 1, 2004 Report Posted November 1, 2004 (edited) Timezones are tricky... I know it's about ten minutes too early for Deg, but I won't be able to post in the morning, so... ~~~~~~ Wyvern slowly enters into the Cabaret Room, his common stride replaced by a sleazy slither as his beady eyes nervously glance in all directions. The reptilian Elder comes to a halt as he arrives at a spot where a replica of Alzoraths "Crying Dragon Whelp" sketch hangs in a picture frame on the wall, and once again casts his eyes left and right before letting out a sigh of relief. Rummaging through his pockets, the overgrown lizard pulls out a cumpled letter, which he carefully unravels and skims over once again. The letter detailed how Tanuchan wanted to meet him near the "Crying Dragon Whelp" picture in the Cabaret Room in order to finalize the last of her plans for Degenero Angelus' birthday celebration. Wyvern quietly ponders what the thoughtful wolf has in store for Deg, and becomes so lost in his admiration of her careful planning and commitment that he doesn't notice her when she arrives at the meeting spot. The wolf smiles and crosses her arms over her chest upon seeing Wyvern, clearing her throat to get the lizards attention and happily exclaiming: "Wyvern! Glad you could make it, did you bring something to give to Degenero?" "Sure." hisses Wyvern, digging through his pockets and producing a ticket after a few minutes of searching. "I'm gonna give him this ticket for an Almost Dragonic Brand Vacation Cruise™, since I've noticed that barren and desolate landscapes have been littering his poems recently. This cruise will offer him a chance to escape the darkness, shadows, and bleak terrains that he's been frequenting as of late." Tanuchan takes the ticket from Wyvern and examines it curiously, frowning when she notices that it has no specific destination listed on it. After a few minutes of contemplation, she asks: "Where do Almost Dragonic Brand Vacation Cruises™ travel to, out of curiousity?" Wyvern twiddles his claws nervously upon hearing this question, and clears his throat of a few ashes as his tail uneasily shifts back and forth. The lizard taps his foot on the ground for a moment, then makes sure that the area is empty aside from Tanuchan before whispering in her ear: "Well... truth be told, it's a cruise around the Courtyards of the Pen when the Sun is out, but you get to see the First Half-Wonder of the World! Plus, it comes with a free complimentary bag of peanuts." Tanuchan sighs and shakes her head, dropping the ticket onto the gift pile for Degenero as she digs through the birthday greetings of other Pen folks. ;-) OOC: Happy birthday, Degenero Angelus. Later that day, Degenero Angelus enters the Cabaret quite curious, dragged there by Elladan and Elrohir, plus Guido and Nuncio, who didn't leave him a chance to say a word of refusal to the invitation. There's just soft lighting and the conversation almost stops as the group enters, but nothing seems out of the normal. Except maybe for some amused looks and a bulge behind a curtain at the back of the room. A curtain Deg's sure wasn't there last time he'd been at the Cabaret. Tanny waves to him from a table, caling him, and as he's gently pushed there by his escorts, a clear and sweet voice, though disembodied, comes from the ceiling and involves all guests in the story it tells. The Wedding (May 11 2001) A wedding done, Between Captian_I, And his dear Dazy, It started off with lots of chat, Though once it starts all other things end, No one notices, The small blue robed man, Standing in the back with a pen and a napkin, Jotting things as the show goes on, Then everything goes quiet, As the bride, in blue, walks out, Followed soon after when her spouse, In black, walks down the aisle, As the song starts playing, And the priest gathers himself, The groom tells a story, That I think no one cared to hear, About how he and his dear, Found each other through the years, And for what seem like hours he continues on, Untill he finally starts the ceremony, The young blue mage looks 'round the place, Sees trees and little animals playing in them, Sun shining through the roof made by branches, The only lights in the place, The priest speaks up and the mage turns to watch, The words he says stir our hearts, He turns it over to the man, To profess his love for the woman, Then her turn comes up, Her turn to show her love for him, She states that she is nervous, And the priest just smiles, She doesn't say much, Just sits and looks into her man’s eyes, They come back together, And the man has a gift, Something of great importance to him, The man smiles, then takes a cross, That he "held dear for many years", And hands it to her, a symbol of his love, They swear their vows and they kiss each other, The people say "aww" and walk away. Deg blinks in surprise, sitting at the place Tanny points to. "That's..." "... a tale from the old AM boards," she completes, smiling. "You haven't forgotten it, have you?" "Of course not... This one took forever to write, and almost as long to read. Got one of my titles, The Poetic Reporter, out of this, from Peredhil." Peredhil appears on cue, hugging Deg. Deg was the Poetic Reporter of Terra Lost. A wonderful friend and a fearsome enemy, protective of those he loves. Highly intelligent, highly creative, misunderstood and abused by life. Handsome without arrogance. Sensitive without being maudlin. I'm really proud of Deg, and that he lets me be in his life. When Nyyark first played Archmage, Deg was his umbrella and protector without Nyyark's knowing. Those who'd attack Peredhil's Son tended to be beaten into oblivion. It let Nyyark have a chance to learn and grow. And Deg' did it without needing acknowledgement or having his horn blown. Just shows the heart of the man. I can't think of a time that Deg wasn't there for me, in Archmage or outside. He has a wisdom far beyond his age and experience. No matter what disasters were in his life, he was always available to listen. And he listened to me too. Whether he agreed with my advice or thoughts, he always gave me the respect of listening. In many ways, I consider Deg another of my sons, with bonds of heart and mind instead of flesh. I look forward to the day we can meet face to face and I can give him the hugs he deserves. -Peredhil When finally Deg seems to recover and turns back to Tanny, she's nowhere to be seen. But there's a flame that appears suddenly near the ceiling, coming down and spreading itself until it frames words that glow in reddish light... Flicker (May 27 2003) A block of ice, So cold, so lost. But a fire burns, Inside of the frost, Fighting strongly, Struggling to stay alive. Holding onto life, By the last flicker of flame, Seeking to burn through, The cold keeps it tame, Though it never truly dies, It could be said, to be seen, Only through lovers’ burning eyes. The fire seems to shrink into itself, forming a ball of glass. Deg stares at it, lost in thoughts for a moment. Wishing I had had some real friends. I really was alone at that point. Merelas smiles at the illusion created by Tanny, who's momentarily beside him in tanuki form, and steps ahead to pick the glowing ball. Then he gives it to Deg, with a warm hug. "One of my hobbies is glassmaking..." Deg examines the ball of glass, reddish-clear and strung onto a chain. "It's superheated with some of my own fire, and it will always be warm to the touch. It will warm you when cold seems to be the only thing around you. A yerfing comes from a shadowed corner, and as some people turn Daryl darts into the room. He picks a parchment from his tail, putting it in a small box that Tanny brings. She nods her thanks at him, putting the box on the floor and stepping back. A thick smoke rises from the box, bringing still another poem. Stone (Jan 22 2003) In Stone we search, Trying to find, What we as humans, Left behind, The pain and pleasure, All thrown away. We hide ourselves, In our own minds, Hoping that no matter what, They'll all just go away, They scare us, And we scare them. They are what we used to be, Breathing, seeing, feeling, They are what we left behind, We became the Stone, 'A weakness' we said, And ran so far away. But even Stone's can bleed, When it's forgotten what it was, We can't go back now, Longing for what is lost, All we can do is hope, That the past will find us. Smiling, Deg mutters to himself, "This had a meaning. I don't remember what it was, though. It's good, and I like it..." Gyrfalcon grinned as his turn came to speak with Degenero, who was looking a bit frazzled by the constant stream of well-wishers congratulating. Gyrfalcon bowed to Degenero before grinning once more. “Happy Birthday, Deg. To aid you in your writing endeavors, I had this made for you.” the half-elf said, handing Deg a simple long, thin box. Deg cracked it open to reveal what looked to be a feather quill made out of metal. “Daryl called it a Pen – basically, you can fill it at the top there with ink and then you won’t have to dip from an ink well as often.” Gyrfalcon said, smiling. Degenero rolled the quill between his hands and paused as he felt words against his finger tips. Rolling the quill over slowly, he saw golden words across the steel feather of the quill. To Degenero, a true Poet. May your quill never grow dry of the words you write so well. With a last bow, Gyrfalcon said “Happy Birthday” once more before letting the next in line speak to Degenero. There's still one more poem coming from the smoke-box, but now the smoke takes the form of a giant Buddha. On his belly, words that come from one more friend. Hokay, here's my poem, dedicated to Deggy (he'll know what I'm talking about): do me a favor so do you want to do a little something nice? do me a favor and don't me come near never me watching you seem to ignore these mute pleas for attention and i have been list'ning in nonchalant ways for the op'ning to set you ablaze with my dazzling wit such a wondrous display and i can't understand now what drew me to You are the gods now amused at my hard-pressed endeavor to paint you a princess but your serf-dirt blots out any striving of mine then to gather a halo around that blond head (that now needs to be washed) and i'll take my paint elsewhere to daub on da Vincis for i will be worthy and you wil soon pine in the absence of light so i ask you now please to get out of my shadow -HappyBuddha The smoky HappyBuddha disappears with a wink, and the Cabaret's door opens, pushed by Solivagus who grins at finding Deg there. Then, he looks surprised on hearing the news. Richard looks startled at the news of Degs birthday. "Deg has birthdays?! Isn't he too old for them yet? What do you mean he hasn't turned 18?!" Richard promptly reaches for two bottles of Glen Morganie, one to send as a present to Deg, the other to keep himself upright. Happy birthday Deg, with all the best (And worst) that it brings ya! Ayshela flies past Solivagus, tacklehugging Deg in an energetic glee that sends both tumbling to the floor; both Tanny and Solivagus step aside to avoid being hit, and Ayshela helps Deg to his feet, before picking a package. "I tried to think of something for you and came up with a beautifully blank mind... o_O So, Tanny suggested this. I hope you appreciate it!" Tanny adds, "They've been enchanted... the ink from your poems won't ever fade, and will hold also the feelings you pour on them." Smiling, both wait while Deg opens the gift and finds a big pile of perfectly blank parchments that glow very softly. The very first page of that pile, however, brings a poem copied in a neat hand. Fevered Delusions (May 18 2004) Dreaming dreams that only I can see Reality waiting on the edge of my mind Days pass by, a part of which I should be People and places, all that I have left behind Waking nightmares that only I can beat Shapeless horrors I see in the blackest night They howl and bellow, the evil screams of defeat With entrance to the waking world, I push back fright. Baring soul for the world to feel and see Everyone takes what they thought was theirs Though they're mine, and theirs they will never be I feel my conscious slip slowly away as the last piece tears Shaking his head, Deg reminds the day he has written that. Again, completely exhausted. This had some amazing imagery, and some amazing symbolism. I miss writing stuff like this, but I just can't do it very often. Katz peers in, and tacklehugs Deg as soon as he puts aside the latest gift. I wanted to say just a quick happy b-day and hope you get more time to hang around with us again. Also, you're a lot of fun on IRC and a talented poet (and werewolfer when you play). Then the tigertaur pushes aside the curtain, revealing a bit cake with 18 candles. Tanny hugs Deg last, and long, smiling. I don't have much to say that you don't know already. But you were the one who first believed in me and gave me the courage to post here. You were the one who really taught me to trust people. If I'm now a member of the Pen, it's because you've always had faith in me... and if I'm a better person today, it's because you knew how to listen and help. So, thank you... and Happy Birthday Crumbling Walls (Feb 16 2004) Your heart touches mine So softly and gently reaching out with love and care to places within shrouded in pain. A healing touch so light and loving chasing away the fear and the shadow coming silently surprising the darkness passing the walls that start to crumble. ~T. Slowly, others appear to give their good wishes as the small party goes on. Edited November 1, 2004 by Tanuchan
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