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Thread: '...like holding burning coal'

  1. #21
    Maalik felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he listened to Arabella's reply.

    "Then perhaps it is a blessing that your attachment to them is waning," he said, his words warm and reassuring; a stark contrast to his appearance.

    The Nosferatu listened with rapt attention as the Ghoul offered such a personal insight. He would not have been offended had she chosen to keep her cards close to her chest.

    "Ah yes, the paradise that comes next..." he said softly, a knowing smile upon his face, "A question so buried at the heart of humanity that it has been asked since a time before memory... lucky are we who have found our answer, even if that answer is not all too appealing at first glance."

    Throughout his many years, even one as pious as Maalik had experienced the occasional crisis of faith. Each, he surmised, was merely another test to be passed to prove his devotion.

    “It is written in the Holy Qu'ran; God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear. I believe this to be true, even of us who walk in the darkness,” he said, reassuringly, "Even one as old as I cannot assume to have the vaguest idea of what the Almighty has planned for me. But what is faith if not trusting in his plan?"

    Maalik chuckled.

    "Or perhaps he is merely being patient with us and has given us more time to walk our path?"

  2. #22
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    There was always something about Arabella's mouth, not quite a smile, but an expression of perpetual beguilement. Either she was seeing something she absolutely loved, or she was aware of something that someone else was not, or she was simply using the mannerism as a defense mechanism. Presently, it was an expression of true amusement. While she was grateful for the ritual of presenting a visitor with a gift, she wondered if Maalik understood the value of the bottle he was parting with. She rather doubted it. Still, she would not dream of insulting him by refusing it, or questioning it.

    Wry grin still in place, she carefully poured the settled wine over the linen while they continued to talk.

    "Perhaps..", she allowed. "It would be nice to think that maybe this was His plan for me. Complicated family history aside, I can tell you with complete conviction, Maalik. I don't want to be damned, but If our prince is not welcome in that paradise, I won't be going either."

    Wine successfully poured, she removed the handkerchief and picked up the glass to see the results. Luckily it did not seem to have soured into a vinegar with age.

    Lifting the glass with a smile, she waited a moment more. "To sudden appearances?", she smiled, meaning him.

  3. #23
    "Have you considered that there's nothing stopping you believing that?" the Nosferatu asked, a gentle note of teasing accompanying his sincere words.

    A knowing smile tugged at the corners of Maalik's mouth. He remembered how powerful the bond between a Ghoul and their Kindred could be. It was a memory that was tinged with sadness, but at his age, such things were easily tolerable. He bowed his head in polite response to Arabella's toast.

    "To sudden appearances and to new friendships," he replied warmly, regarding the raven-haired woman with great interest.

    Perhaps it was time to return the gesture she had shown through her openness and honesty.

    "I have been around for a very long time, Arabella..." He began, chuckling at how much of an understatement that statement was, "I lived in the times when the foundation stones of our religions had not long been hewed from the Earth. In all that time, I am still far from understanding the mysteries of faith, but I have learned to recognise blessings for what they are. That we are here, now, is a blessing in itself. How many moments across the eons have led us to the experiences we have had?"

    Maalik paused, grinning. He knew whose face would appear behind her eyes when he spoke next...

    "To the people He has placed in our path, and us in theirs?"

  4. #24
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    Arabella lips parted to reply, but she said nothing for a moment. A response that quick might imply she was young and foolish, and she was no such thing. She had considered it. There was nothing to stop her from believing just that. Nothing perhaps but more than a thousand years of patriarchy and scripture, the Holy Roman church, and..her father once upon a time. Breaking some mindsets were more difficult than others, she found. Yet..maybe he was right. If she knew anything, Arabella knew that in the scheme of things, ultimately she was very small. Hers was not to know, but to have faith. That was what she had always believed to be true.

    "That is something to think about.", she allowed, after a moment.

    "New friends.." With the tentative lips of a novice at the communion wine, she sipped and listened to Maalik as he shared some of his story with her.

    Maalik correctly deduced who her thoughts immediately went to. How could they not? What he was describing conjured it almost immediately to mind. A series of otherwise unrelated events that had led Byron right to her. Exactly when she had needed saving in the worst way. If that was not an answer to her prayers, Arabella was not sure what was. Perhaps Maalik was onto something..

    Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was that what Maalik was saying simply resonated so deeply within her, regardless Arabella nodded. "Yes..", she agreed. "You may well be right.."

  5. #25
    "Perhaps I am... but I don't pretend to have answers, of course. I merely offer a different perspective," Maalik said softly, "I may be somewhat biased, for it has been my faith that has protected me through my hardships; guided me to be a better man. I was not always so..."

    There had been a time, before he found his Faith, when he had reflected the suffering of his Cursed existence back upon the world. They had been violent times; the sins committed... countless. Maalik had much to seek forgiveness for, yet he did not let the past distract him from the present for more than a moment. He had questions and curiosities that burned within his mind.

    "Would you do me a small kindness? Tell me of the Kindred world as it is tonight? What latest moves have been played in the great game?"

    As he enquired, he retrieved a few items from the shelves nearby; A large, leatherbound book, quill and parchment. Sitting opposite Arabella, he opened the book and flipped past centuries of notes to reach a blank page. Knowledge was essential to survival, after all.

  6. #26
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    There was something in the way Maalik said that, 'I was not always so...', that gave Arabella the first real sense of pause she'd had that morning. She had a vivid mind, there were images evoked that she could not really stop. She swallowed, not nervously, only the wine. Somewhere above them, the sun was probably out by now. It was first thing in the morning and she was having wine in the catacombs for breakfast. Very droll, even for her..

    "Oh, cher.. that is a very long conversation.", Arabella smiled, though her eyes pleaded for understanding. She covered a yawn that crept up on her. While used to keeping odd hours, the desire to be helpful was present, but her quite mortal body was flagging. She'd had an energetic evening after all. "I'm not sure from where I need to catch you up, for starters."

    "I think, Maalik.. that you definitely should speak with the prince though." She could not wait to hear what her darling one thought of his recently unearthed denizen. "And when you have, then please do feel free to come and see me above. You can find what you are looking for there, and if not I'll get it.", she promised. "That is what I do."

  7. #27
    Maalik found himself chuckling heartily, realising the enormity of the question he had just asked. He had been gone a long time, after all, and the Great Game the Kindred played was unceasing.

    "Forgive me, perhaps a better question would be, who are the players? I have been hidden here since before the reign of your Prince began. While age itself poses no threat to us, we are far from immortal. I'd imagine most, if not all, of the few that knew me passed long ago."

    The old creature paused, stroking his chin as he regarded the woman in front of him. His piousness did not negate his ability to recognise beauty as one might expect. After all, beauty was a gift from Allah, a blessing that could not be ignored.

    "After all, a story is little without it's characters," he said warmly, breaking the brief silence with another inhuman smile.
    Last edited by Maalik; Apr 22nd, 2019 at 08:13:23 AM.

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