And The Final Page is All You Write

[Ryn]

"I told you, I tried and it scared her. Now I need it to stop."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Well, maybe you tried in the wrong way. She's no Deva, you know. She's a Diva. Entirely different beast."

[Ryn]

She should really know better than to get her hopes up, especially since Katarina probably doesn't want to see her to begin with, but she can't help it.

"Then what is the right way? And don't lie to me!"

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Lie? Oh, I don't lie. The truth is malleable, for sure, but an outright lie? I have a bit more class than that," Wyll said, a smirk playing across his features.

"And the 'right way' depends on what you're seeking, of course. Do you wish to rut with the beast? Are you looking to possess her? To be worshipped as a Deva? There are a wide range of possibilities, each with their own sets of rules and procedures, refined over the ages."

[Ryn]

"I've never once cared for worship." She wants to go and tell Wyll she has no earthly idea what she wants, but she realizes that's not entire true. She does have the tiny sliver of certainty that made her act in the first place.

"I want her songs to be about me. I wish she would feel about me the way her songs sound."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"You would play the role of muse, would you? And for, what, this somewhat generic dance pop? Dance pop that has, I will remind you, been responsible for the death of innocents? That is what you truly desire?

Or do you just want her as obsessed with you as you seem to be with her? 'Falling fast into this powerful obsession'?"

Wyll had a surprisingly nice voice. Katarina's words coming out of it didn't quite fit right.

[Ryn]

"I'm no muse." she mutters in lieu of having to admit to the second. "And your lips twist all into mockery."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I don't believe it's my lips that drive you to distraction now, is it?," Wyll said, with a lascivious grin. "And you really have no idea how to go about things, do you?

Well, if you wish to sooth the savage beast, I must hear some quid for my pro quo. What would you give for the Wyldclay's help?"

[Ryn]

"I thought you only see disaster and stagnation in me. What could I have to offer that you could possibly want?" she asks, well aware of how dangerous a question that is to pose a trickster spirit. It's how even things as old as her lost names or voice or more.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"You have already refused getting me the Siren's voice," Wyll pointed out. "So, I know there are limits to what you can do. I suppose you could just give me a ... favor to be cashed in later. No questions asked," Wyll said, his grin threatening to stretch off of his own face.

[Ryn]

Oh that is so much worse. In times long gone this kind of offer would have taken place on wind-swept mountains or under the spray of crushing waves and the world itself would have held it's breath as two ancient beings enter a pact. It feels wrong to stand in a hallway of human-schemed rock and flat carpet. Surely as the Wyldclay must do as is asked of him, the heavens would sooner shatter than Ryn be able to break an oath and he knows what he is asking. She's seen Gods tear each other asunder over less. Perhaps she could have ordered him to help before but as the words are spoken now it would constitute acceptance of the deal offered.

"No harm to Katarina through deed or inaction." she says and holds up two fingers. "One favour to the Wyldclay in exchange for his counsel. Useful counsel." she solemnly states and marks an X across her heart. It's a mistake. She knows it. But if there's a chance...

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I swear that nothing I shall ask of you shall harm the Siren, either through deed or inaction," Wyll said, picking his words carefully. "Always a pleasure doing business," he added with a grin, rubbing his injured hand together.

"Now. Tell me everything. You went out and nearly killed yourself because something upset the Siren? She seemed in good enough spirits when she banished me to the restroom."

[Ryn]

And so Ryn regales Wyll with what has transpired. How she observed Katarina to note what she'd missed and how the Siren had ultimately caught her, mistaking her curiosity for being purely driven by Wyll's advice. She notably does not apologize for the resulting 'punishment' Katarina had imposed on Wyll in response because it had been at least partially his own fault, as far as Ryn is concerned. She even tells him of her realization of Katarina's fears as best as she can and perhaps Wyll understands it better, knowing Ryn's nature and how it's probably not something to aspire to in order to avoid becoming a monster. She grows a little more hesitant once she gets to the part about helping Katarina with her scales, in part because it's the most important bit and also because she can't remember a time she's talked this much without pause. Ever. Not to mention still not really having the right words for much of anything revolving around this moment.

"I helped cut her scales. It pained her and she made sounds. I didn't want her to but part of me did." is the best she can manage to express something she can barely wrap her head around, much less vocalize. She enjoys inflicting pain on monsters and she feels bad for even brushing up against the in regards to Katarina, yet she does not fully understand the difference between gasps and moans uttered for any other reason. "I wish she'd make those sounds without the pain. And then she sang. On the television. It made me want. Want something. I tried to tell her, she did not understand. I'd felt it before when I chased her and did not know what to do if I caught her. I thought if I just... I jumped on her. Held her. The look in her eyes haunts me." she says and for once metaphor and literal meaning are close enough it works.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

Wyll stood there and listened -- probably the longest time Ryn had seen him silent since she first saw him when she arrived at the House. He steeped his fingers, nodding and thinking as Ryn did as much heart-spilling as she was capable of. Well, metaphorical heart-spilling, at any rate. She probably was capable of significantly more literal heart-spilling.

"So, we have two separate problems here, twisted up in tangled up knots. So that's fun."

"One," he said, raising one finger. "You have startled the Siren and unnerved her. And for that, you need to make amends. That, at least, is fairly straightforward, and can be taught in an afternoon. The execution of said amends may be tricky, depending on various and sundry factors, but that, I believe, is something you will be able to accomplish, even if the thought of it makes your skin crawl."

"Two," he said, raising a second finger. "The larger problem is that you don't really know why you want the Siren, and you don't know if the Siren wants you the same way. I believe you have some idea why the look in her eyes were there, but only in an abstract, disconnected way. You have her on the line, and don't know what you would do if you reeled her in. That, I'm afraid, may be a tougher project. But counsel you asked for, and counsel I shall provide, as per our arrangement."

[Ryn]

"I won't grovel." she says defiantly and perhaps a bit petulantly. She knows she's scared Katarina and on some level even that it's part of the reason for her own anguish but she doesn't crawl on her belly and beg for mercy. "She glimpsed a truth of me. She doesn't understand. How can I even dare to make her see when what there is to reveal is blood and death?"

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Well, I mean, that goes into the bucket for problem two. If you're just looking for a good time, there's no need to open up entirely. If you're looking for something that lasts, however, you're going to have to breech yourself eventually, and hope she can take it.

And if you're not willing to debase yourself at all, well, then you must not really want anything, yes?"

[Ryn]

"Hrnnngh..." Ryn makes a sound that's somewhere between a growl and a groan of painful acquiescence. "But I will not be made a simpering fool."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"If that's what it takes to win the heart of a Siren, then simper you will, and I shall instruct you how. But I do not believe it will come to that; she doesn't seem the type.

Has she shown any sign of sharing your interests, or are you starting from scratch here? Yes, yes, I know, horrible monster, nothing but pain at heart, the entire sob story. Getting past that for just a moment, is there any there there, or are we manufacturing things ourselves?"

[Ryn]

"She likes to drive and dance and sing and I enjoy watching her do these things. I don't know if she would enjoy running through a storm or chasing the wind and lieing underneath the stars. Maybe. She enjoyed the skating. I do think most of all she wants to be free but I don't know how to show or gift her my kind of freedom and she is scared of who she would be without this cage."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good," Wyll said, with a wave of his hand. "Easy enough to test that out, starting by doing things she likes and slowly incorporating your own tastes and desires; slowly corrupting to her to your ends. That's all well and good.

But does she want you to catch her if you run her down? Does she want to sing your praises? Does she think of you in her private moments, late at night, when she believes no one is watching? Would she have pictures of you as you desire of her?" he said, with a lascivious grin.

[Ryn]

Ryn thinks for a moment. Humans are so confusing at the best of times, saying one thing and doing another, having a dozen different ways to smile and cry and Ryn barely understands any of it.

"Sometimes the things I say make her eyes smile. She's called me a friend and offered to let me wake her in the night if I get lonely." she starts with what she feels are the most important things. "She keeps saying she should put a bell on me." She's pretty sure that's just because she keeps startling her but then there are many things humans say that aren't meant literal. "She's said I hover, but I cannot fly. When I try to tell her or show her that I like her she seems confused." Granted, Ryn's ways of showing affection are probably bewildering but it still baffles her how Katarina can be the one to not understand. Trying to show her unambiguously had scared her and clearly Ryn had done it horribly wrong, but maybe...

"Do you think she could like me and not understand?" It's a longshot, surely, but at times Katarina seemed almost as dense as Ryn about this. She's just better at winding the words away from their meaning as if she's afraid of liking Ryn too much. Ryn's way of reaching out had been too warped by the things she has been witness to, of that she is certain, but perhaps in doing so Ryn had vindicated a fear and confusion already present? That thought almost hurts more somehow.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"It's certainly possible," Wyll said, nodding happily. "Humans are often dumb and don't know their own minds. And becoming a monster is a lot to take in."

"Or, you simply do not have the equipment she desires. Always a possibility as well. I can work on discovering that angle, if you'd like."

[Ryn]

"What does it matter why she does or does not like me." Ryn notes and it takes her a couple moments to piece together what Wyll is even talking about. "Oh."

Which brings a much more pressing question to mind. "Discover it how?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at the trickster.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"No harm through deed or inaction," Wyll reminded Ryn, crossing his heart in a parody of Ryn's gesture. "And I believe she will be more in touch with her needs there than you are with yours," Wyll grinned, in a way that Ryn could tell meant he was doing SOMETHING with his words again, but damned if she could figure it out.

[Ryn]

Something about this is bothering Ryn but odds are slim she'll be able to figure it out. And she does want to know if the possibility of Katarina liking her exists.

"Very well then. Do as you must."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I shall! Do not worry, I shall handle the Siren with care.

You, on the other hand," Wyll said, eying Ryn up and down. "You must change into something inconspicuous, for we are going Out."

[Ryn]

"What's wrong with my clothes?" she asks and looks down at the plain dark and grey sari-like configuration she'd woven her kanaf into. Granted, the extensive bandages would probably raise a few eyebrows. "You mean inconspicuous while being seen." she realizes. "I will meet you out front.."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I think trendy is beyond you, but no fears; it's also beyond most of the people we will be seeing," Wyll nodded. "We'll talk along the way."