11-25-2016, 09:24 AM
Not Long After Seirye Became a Priestess of the Whisper - Temple of the Whisper
“Come on, Seirye, no need to be shy,” the dark-haired woman crooned as she brought her mostly empty wine glass to her lips. “I have been spoiled on my brother’s voice. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think you were close.”
“Petro is a performer, dear Bethany. I am not,” a small laugh trickled into Seirye’s voice as she spoke, and she too was carefully cradling the stem of a wine glass in her slender fingers while a thick, leather-bound tome sat open on her lap. “I do not know how you found out I sang.”
One of Bethany’s thin eyebrows rose and vanished beneath the fringe of her long hair. “You don't know how a priestess of secrets knows secrets…?” She clicked her tongue as she reached for the bottle of dark liquid that sat on the low table between them and tipped some of its contents into her glass. “My, my, Seirye…”
“You know precisely what I meant.”
“Yes, well…” the other woman’s dark lips quirked into a small smirk as she took another sip from her newly filled glass. “Though I’m surprised the entire priesthood doesn’t know. Were you aware you sing in the bath?”
“I… What?” Seirye nearly choked on her wine as she coughed and her free hand immediately went to her mouth as she attempted to catch her breath. While her cheeks had already taken on a faintly rose-colored hue due to the alcohol, it had become several shades darker in the span of a few seconds. “Quietly, yes. Not…”
“The acoustics are surprisingly good in that room. I know I certainly heard it. I do believe you may have young Marco convinced you are some sort of siren… you should have heard him go on. He may have been enthralled enough to take a peek...”
“He what?!”
Bethany paused as she noticed that her companion’s complexion had flushed an even deeper red, and she promptly burst out into a fit of laughter. “Don't worry, dear, the last part was a fabrication. My, you are so easy to fluster after a few glasses. Normally you would have seen right through such a statement. ‘Tis always such a pleasant surprise.”
“....you certainly look surprised,” Seirye replied. Her free hand had come to rest over her chest as she quickly finished what remained in her glass. “You could at the very least spare me while inebriated.”
“Mm, but you should know Notorianis are opportunists, dear, and my do I relish these opportunities,” Bethany swirled what remained of the wine in her glass, and cast a fond glance in the younger woman’s direction. “You really do spoil me.”
Seirye opened her mouth as if to respond, though she closed it again without a word as she set her now empty glass on the table and looked down at the book in her lap. She stared at it for a moment, though her hazel eyes quickly shifted back to her companion.
“What was the passage we were looking for?”
Bethany quirked her eyebrow again. “Do you really think I remember?”
The pair settled into silence as Seirye looked back down to the book, though her attention was once again drawn to the woman at her side as Bethany spoke.
“Why are you here, Seirye?”
“Because you invited me.”
“...Getting cheeky now are we?” Bethany’s lips tugged into a smile for a moment. “But no. You know what I meant. Your family encompasses the Scale’s most devoted, yet here you are. Why?”
Seirye chewed on her lower lip for a moment. Her hands slowly moved to the cover of the large book, and it was pushed shut with a soft thump. “Alessandro and Luciano already represent us with the Scale… I thought it would perhaps be worth spreading our influence.”
“...we really must work on your lying skills if you expect to get anywhere,” Bethany laughed softly to herself as she finished the rest of her own drink and leaned over the overstuffed arm of her chair so that she was as close to Seirye as she could get. Her pale eyes peered intently from behind the angular glasses that had slipped slightly down the bridge of her nose. “Why?”
Seirye traced one of the ornate engravings on the cover of the book with the tip of her nail as she considered the question. “I… Do not know, fully. I enjoy Larassan history. I wanted to serve my family in some capacity. Given I cannot bring myself to support our patron god entirely, I felt the priesthood of the Whisper was an adequate fit…”
Her hazel eyes met Bethany’s piercing grey ones. “The pursuit of knowledge is certainly a noble one, is it not?”
Bethany’s face remained expressionless for a moment, and then she sighed. “No pursuit is truly noble. There is always some selfish gain. Some hidden ambition.”
“So you do not believe me?”
“No. Quite the opposite. As I said, you are a terrible liar.”
There was another pause, and Seirye turned away from the older woman’s piercing gaze. Bethany seemed to pick up on the sudden discomfort in her companion’s posture, and she she too turned away as she leaned back into her chair and absently traced the rim of the wine glass beside her with the tip of her finger.
“Everyone has their secrets, dear. Everyone has something to hide. That is why this priesthood exists. There is not a soul on this world that isn’t somehow disingenuous.”
“You do not truly believe that.”
The hand that Bethany had started to extend toward the wine bottle froze as she heard Seirye’s voice, and another smirk touched her lips as she turned her eyes back to the pale-haired woman beside her. The sharpness of her expression seemed to soften for a moment, and she allowed her gaze to linger for longer than she had initially intended before she closed her hand around the bottle and poured herself another glass.
“I have to.”