Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

862 - To See Her is to Love Her

We’re almost ready, Master, announced Solvei – back in bipedal form – shortly after dawn broke.

Around her, adlets were stretching and gathering up the plentiful leftovers from the previous night’s feast. A few stragglers were still exiting the igloos that Solvei had created with her ice magic – although she could have made a frozen palace for everyone the way she had for Nenet, Solvei had instead opted to provide familiarity over comfort; the small ice-huts apparently being the adlets’ usual type of shelter when traveling – blinking and yawing as they joined in the preparations.

I know I’ve asked this before, but are you sure you won’t need my help when you confront Adagio? she continued, a twinge of anxiety accompanying the question. Yotimo can handle things back at the village-

Her assurance was interrupted by a loud yelp coming from a nearby igloo. A second later, two adlets – Lex recognized them as Solvei’s parents – came scampering out the entrance, blushing and fixing their clothes. A second later Yura followed, scowling at the two of them. Snarling several choice words at the pair, she pointed them toward the uncollected provisions, waiting until they’d slunk off to gather the remaining food before turning and marching toward another igloo, where the scene repeated itself with another young couple a few seconds later.

And if he can’t, my grandmother can, groaned Solvei.

Keeping a tight rein on his emotions, Lex gave a single nod. What I’ve seen of Adagio’s power suggests that she’s far beyond the strength I had as a mortal. But as a titan I’m far less impressed.

It was a response carefully designed to reassure Solvei as much as possible, wanting to minimize any chance that she’d follow him of her own initiative. That was paramount, given that his trans-temporal awareness was still telling him that Solvei coming with him would lead to catastrophic consequences. While he wasn’t sure exactly what those consequences were – her death seemed like a reasonable interpretation, but Lex wasn’t so sure about that; with how easy it was for him to bring the dead back to life now, her dying would likely be exceptionally painful for both of them, but still easily reversed – he had no desire to find out.

That, however, meant not telling her about his premonition. In every potential future where he told her – no matter how he broke the news – her reaction was an immediate sense of alarm followed by an earnest desire to accompany him...apparently because anything that could conceivably do her harm even after all of the power she’d gained was also a potential threat to him. While her reasoning wasn’t wrong in that regard, Lex still found it frustratingly counterintuitive that her reaction to being told about the danger was to insist on heading right for it.

As the Night Mare had said, his ability to discern the motivations of even those closest to him remained nil. Being able to see into the future changed that not at all.

Particularly since he had no justifiable excuse to read her thoughts. Or at least, beyond what their bond let him sense of her emotions. Despite the fact that she was, in a very real way, a part of him, Solvei was still her own person, which meant she was entitled to a measure of privacy.

Even so, the answer he’d given her now only seemed to partially curb Solvei’s fears. But you’ll summon me if you need me, right?

Without hesitation, answered Lex, not adding that he wouldn’t allow things to get to the point where he’d need her help.

She seemed mollified by that, letting out a slow breath before nodding and looking at where Nenet – back in her quadrupedal body – was peeking out from behind him, watching the parade of adlets with wide eyes. “Nenet.”

“Huh?!” The sphinx almost jumped at being addressed, wings flaring in fright. “I mean, yes?”

Through their link, Lex registered Nenet’s embarrassment and Solvei’s amusement in turn, resisting the urge to sigh. Although he’d summoned Nenet to his side nearly a half-hour ago – the sphinx having been so taken with Solvei’s ice mansion that she’d slept there – Lex hadn’t anticipated that she’d be so intimidated by the crowd. With his foresight only extending a few seconds into the future, it hadn’t been until a few moments before she’d caught sight of so many adlets milling about that he’d realized something was wrong.

As it was, Nenet had recoiled when she’d caught sight of the crowd, to the point where Lex had registered panic and confusion from her. Although she’d stared wistfully at the food – shamefacedly admitting that after everything that had happened yesterday, she’d completely forgotten about eating – she’d been too intimidated to go and retrieve any, refusing to move out of leg’s reach of him. Even then, she’d cringed whenever anyone had looked her way.

It had only been because of his ability to anticipate how she’d react to various questions before he asked them that Lex had gotten her to explain what was going on without using the Charismata on her. Apparently, the largest gathering of people she’d seen before now had been when the Grisela had gathered the yetis together for periodic raids. Given that there had been just over two dozen of them in all, the sight of so many people milling about now had unnerved her greatly.

Upset at himself for not having anticipated her discomfort, Lex had retrieved a substantial portion of food for her. Nenet had half-heartedly protesting the gesture, saying that she didn’t want to be a bother, but when Lex had made it clear that he wouldn’t be dissuaded her reluctance had evaporated, eating everything he’d given her.

But even after she’d finished her meal, Nenet hadn’t wanted to be apart from him, staying firmly by his side as she’d nervously watched the crowd. Nor had Lex been able to figure out how to help her relax; for all that he knew he needed to keep his emotions in check, he still wanted Nenet and Solvei both to be happy, lamenting the loss of the joy the sphinx had felt prior to now.

But once again, Solvei seemed to know what to do, smiling as she crouched down in front of the sphinx. “I’m counting on you to make sure Master’s okay while I’m gone.”

Nenet blinked several times at that. “Me? But...he’s a titan, and I’m just...” She didn’t finish, glancing back at her spiked tail with a grimace.

Solvei, however, shook her head. “You know Adagio better than anyone here. That means that you’re the one with the best understanding of what she’s capable.” Reaching out, she put a hand on Nenet’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you to make sure she doesn’t do anything that Master can’t handle, okay?”

Slowly, the downcast look on Nenet’s face morphed into a wide smile. “Okay!” Sitting up straighter, she gave Solvei a firm nod. “I’ll do my best, Solvei! I promise!”

“Then I know I’ve got nothing to worry about.” Standing up, Solvei glanced at Lex. Master, you should say something nice to her also.

Lex frowned internally, but didn’t bother replying, knowing that they were about to be interrupted.

Sure enough, Frode made his presence known as he walked toward them, tail wagging as he glanced at his daughter. “Taking one last chance to stare deep into your lover’s eyes before parting?”

In an instant, Solvei’s equilibrium was shattered. “Dad! I told you, it’s not like that between us!”

“And I told you, that would be a lot more convincing if you weren’t blushing up a storm when you said it,” shot back Frode with a grin.

Huffing, she didn’t reply, instead changing back into a winter wolf as she gave her father a nuzzle. “Give my love to Mom and everyone else, okay?”

Closing his eyes, Frode wrapped a paw around her. “Of course. Just remember to come visit us if you’re ever back here again.”

“I will.”

“And even if you’re not, you can ask Lex to send you here with his seidr from time to time.”

The suggestion made her ears flicker. “I don’t know if it works like that.”

Another playful grin crossed Frode’s face. “Just make sure to lie back and show him your belly when you ask. Whenever your mother did that, I couldn’t say no to her.”

“Dad!” Groaning, she stepped back and gave him a shove. “I swear, you’re worse than Yotimo!”

Chuckling, Frode gave her a playful wink, turning and sending a kindly nod Nenet’s way – who bashfully smiled back – before making the same gesture to Lex. “I know I already said it last night, but thank you for all that you’ve done for my family.”

Before, Lex would have eschewed his thanks as unnecessary, resenting the idea that righteous action deserved some sort of special recognition. Now, however, he could see that speaking to her father that way would have upset Solvei. So instead, he chose the future that he knew would make her happiest. “Thank you for giving me your daughter.”

“Wh-what?!” squealed Solvei, her mismatched eyes widening as she looked between him and her father. Through their bond, he registered a mixture of embarrassment and excitement, her tail starting to wag behind her. “What does that-”

“Um, Akna?” Toklo swallowed he crept over to her, his eyes darting from Solvei to Frode to Lex to Nenet to Nenet’s chest and then back to Solvei. “My father says we’re all ready to go.”

“I, um...alright...” Trying to recover her poise, Solvei turned back into an adlet and walked toward him, glancing back more than once as she made her way toward where Yotimo and Yura had gathered everyone together, the simple cloaks that Lex had made for them now turned into makeshift bundles to carry the food they were bringing back.

Speaking to the old warrior and her grandmother in turn, Lex caught sight of her saying something to Panuk before glancing out over the assembled crowd, one hand reaching up to adjust his circlet on her brow. I’ll see you soon, Master.

Very soon, Solvei.

Shooting him one last smile, she raised her arms and shouted something to the crowd in their native language. Before, Lex wouldn’t have understood it, but now he knew that she was telling them that it was time to go home. The call urged a rousing cheer from the rest of her people, and she cheered with them before gesturing upward, calling for them to take to the wind.

Immediately, the assembled adlets began to change, their bodies turning into vapor which sped upwards. In the span of a few seconds, the entire crowd vanished, leaving a deafening silence as their misty forms flew skyward and headed east.

Solvei was the last one to change, catching his eye as she sent him one final telepathic message before she left. I love you.

Lex knew then, as he had known for the preceding six seconds, that his ability to control his emotions was still dangerously imperfect, as he couldn’t help the feeling that swept over him then, nor could he keep himself from replying as Solvei flew out of sight.

I love you too.

---

Here it is, murmured Nenet, the words carrying an undercurrent of nervousness. Adagio’s hideout.

Lex didn’t bother replying as he looked the edge of the wards over, examining them for any signs that she’d increased her defenses since Nenet’s raid the previous day. The animal within him felt mild anticipation at the prospect, interpreting what was happening as a hunt, and despite his best efforts, Lex felt the same way, eager to see what he could do now.

For all that becoming a titan had resulted in his acquiring tremendous power, it had also taken certain things away from him. His need for sustenance and hydration were among those, along with the necessity of respiration. But one thing that he hadn’t lost was the need to sleep.

Whether it was because dreams were a part of the Night Mare’s divine portfolio, or because he still required mental relaxation before replenishing his thaumaturgical magic, Lex had found that he still had to rest before preparing his mental repertoire of arcane spells. It wasn’t as though he had any reason to otherwise; as far as he could tell, his new body didn’t feel fatigue, no matter how much he exerted himself, nor did a lack of sleep otherwise seem to damage his cognitive acuity. But as far as his arcane spells were concerned, rest was still an absolute requirement.

Fortunately, a single hour of sleep had been all that he’d needed.

Once that had been done, he’d finally been able to do what he’d spent so many years of his life trying to actualize:

He’d prepared his spells without any external assistance.

No solstice or equinox. No Severance. No Tree of Harmony. No battery of any kind. Now – with a body that was its own source of power, and a will that could bend reality itself – he had finally been able to compress the energy enough to fit it into his mental architecture without any outward help.

At long last, he could finally use his magic to its full potential.

And as a titan, his full potential was incredible indeed. As it was, he’d been able to prepare his full allotment of spells – so much larger than before, thanks to his enhanced intellect – in a fraction of the time it would have normally taken him, accomplishing an entire day’s worth of preparation in less than an hour.

Of course, he’d only prepared his spells after spending the majority of the night mentally dissecting all of the spells he knew – including the ones Nenet had taught him over their link the night before – and creating variations on them.

Such as the long-range teleport spell he’d made, using it to transport himself, Nenet, and Frode back to the valley were the latter’s family lived.

Appearing right outside of the cave where he’d once fought Bolverk, Lex and Nenet had bid a brief farewell to Solvei’s father, waiting just long enough after he’d entered the cavern to hear the joyous howls coming from within before departing.

But they hadn’t left via magic.

Instead, Lex had simply flown, ordering Nenet to stay behind as he’d risen into the air and retraced the path Nenet had taken yesterday, wanting to test his limits. In that, he’d been frustrated, because although he’d managed to cross a distance that had taken her several hours in the span of seconds, he’d been able to tell that he’d gotten nowhere close to his top speed. As it was, he’d needed to concentrate more on smoothing his passage through the atmosphere, since otherwise the sound of his breaking the sound barrier several hundred times over would have alerted Adagio to his arrival.

Summoning Nenet to his position – leaving the sphinx confused as to how he’d gotten there in the same amount of time it had taken them to teleport to Frode’s home – Lex had turned all of his thoughts toward Adagio’s subjugation, preparing himself for whatever the wayward Siren had in store for him.

Except that, from what he could see of her wards, she’d made no move to bolster her defenses.

That wasn’t entirely surprising; without Nenet, she supposedly had no way to restore her spells, but at the same time Lex found it hard to believe that Adagio – who had employed daemons, commanded an army of creatures that she’d personally birthed, and had somehow wounded a demigod – would leave herself so vulnerable. Especially after Nenet had raided this place less than twenty-four hours ago.

Are you certain she wouldn’t have fled the premises?

His question caused Nenet to tilt her head in consideration. I don’t think so, Master. I mean, it’s possible, but here she has at least a few preexisting wards to protect her, not to mention Grisela’s awful puppets and those two astradaemons patrolling the Ethereal Plane. If she goes somewhere else, she wouldn’t even have that, and without a spellbook...

Unless she went to acquire one somewhere else, finished Lex, remembering what the mares of Fail Forward had said about Bright Night – a town built around a magic school – being nearby.

I don’t know, answered Nenet doubtfully. If she had any transportation magic, I think she would have used it to come after me yesterday. I mean, she was working really hard on your, um...spine, and with how hard she was fighting to recover it after I grabbed it, I think she would have put getting it back above everything else.

Lex almost let his reply be a simple grunt of acknowledgment, before recalling what Solvei had said to him about saying something nice to the sphinx. You’re probably right. Good thinking, Nenet.

The words brought a smile to her lips, and her emotional state switched from wariness to happiness. Despite knowing that there was no insight for him to gain, Lex couldn’t help but marvel at that. How did such simple compliments elicit such a positive response?

Putting the matter out of his head, Lex passed through the wards, Nenet following closely behind him.

“No puppets,” muttered Nenet, her head swiveling as she looked around. “And I don’t see those astradaemons anywhere either. Do you think she’s pulled them all inside, since narrower hallways are easier to defend?”

“If so, it won’t avail her,” answered Lex, making for the tunnel entrance a short distance away, keeping his senses – physical, mystical, and temporal – ready for any sign of a trap.

But nothing happened as they reached the opening.

Nor did anything leap out at them as they made their way down the corridor, Nenet directing him toward Adagio’s chambers.

As they turned the next corner, however, Lex’s foresight finally picked something up.

Nenet registered it a few seconds later, as the sound filling the corridor reached her ears. “That’s Adagio’s voice!” she exclaimed, before clamping a paw over her mouth. That’s Adagio’s voice! she repeated, this time telepathically. Master, be careful! It sounds like she’s singing!

Lex didn’t outwardly reply, instead readying himself for a fight as he moved down the hallway, knowing that song – including the wordless tune Adagio was now humming – was the preferred vector for Sirens to work their magic.

Except there was only trace amounts of enchantment magic in Adagio’s voice that he could detect, the sort that even Sonata or Aria would have found trifling to use. A moment’s examination showed him that the melody contained a subtle suggestion, rather than a brute-force attack on the listener’s mind. Even then, the suggestion was simple in the extreme:

“Come closer.”

Apparently, the Siren knew they were here, and wasn’t concerned in the least.

Following the sound of her voice, they soon reached the entrance to her chambers, where the sound of water could be heard accompanying Adagio’s vocalizing.

Nenet wrinkled her nose, confused. She’s taking a shower?

For the second time that morning, Lex received a lesson in how far he had to go in controlling his emotions, because the beast inside of gave a sudden yowl, demanding that he take action. As far as it was concerned, fighting several battles in a row with neither food nor sex to show for it was utterly unacceptable. Combined with the intimate lessons that Kara had given him regarding Adagio’s sexuality, Lex found himself crossing the distance to the washroom entrance of his own accord, leaving Nenet sputtering behind him.

And then he saw her, neither the steam nor the foggy pane of glass keeping him from drinking the sight of her in.

Her eyes closed and her head tilted upward as the water spilled over her naked form, Adagio didn’t seem to notice him. Instead, she slowly swayed in place as she caressed herself, fingers tracing lather over wet curves as her hair tumbled down her behind her, barely reaching the tops of her thighs in a tantalizing curtain. Arching her back, Lex watched as she raised her hands above her head, her song coming to an end in favor of a low moan as she stretched.

A moment later, she reached a hand out, lithe fingers stretching for a washcloth that Lex only belatedly realized was draped over the top of the glass door. But rather than taking hold of it, she instead knocked it down, tumbling to land just outside of the shower.

“Oops,” she murmured. “Clumsy me.”

There was a lilt in her voice that reminded him of Sonata. But the smirk that crossed her lips as she opened her eyes and looked right at him was pure Aria.

“Help a girl out, would you?”

Author's Note:

Lex and Adagio meet at last!

Will the Siren seduce the titan, or will Lex make Adagio pay for her crimes? And what about when Kryonex comes to reclaim his divinity?

Comments

[TheVirtuousOne]

I see her angle here, she'll try and lull him into a false sense of security, and while his defenses are down, the artefact she has will come into play.

But come on, we know how neurotic and paranoid Lex can be, I can't see this going well, but you've surprised me with the twist many times! He is also there with Nenet now, so they can predict her moves better with mental planning.

I can't really decide where I want it to go, do I want Lex to win without effort and crush her will under his hoof? Win with his shiny new skills courtesy of Kara, or a joint effort of Lex, Nenet and Solvei/Akna after he gets put up against a challenging situation?

Can you tell I love this story?

[Booster Spice]

Lets see if Lex can stilll Pull an Easter Island on Adagio.

Why didnt he respond to her advanced?

He Dum Dum.

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

There is no way that's gonna work. But I wouldn't mind if it does lol.

[Not so New Brony]

Centuries of experience and she's going with that approach? I know she's full of herself but damn that felt cliche but I guess it also serves a purpose. By doing this, this shows Lex that she's unarmed and vulnerable and given how she's learned that Lex has her sisters as his lover, she's likely taking full advantage of it.

The question is now whether or not Lex will succumb to her seductions or rebuke her advances? Then again, Lex has had a weakness to such things before in the past who's to say he won't cave. To Lex, Adagio has committed many terrible deeds in the pursuit of power likely with many more not known to him but she's also the sisters of his Siren lovers and the fact that she's hot to him even if she's not a pony implies some things.

Then there's the matter of Kara's plans to get back at Adagio, whatever it may be, to consider...

[Alzrius]

11682202 It makes me really happy that you're enjoying this so much!

Adagio is making her strategy fairly obvious, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it won't be effective. After all, her beauty is clearly supernatural in its appeal, and while she seems to be gambling on that, we know that this is an area where Lex is vulnerable. Of course, he knows that he is, and has a massive amount of options and possibilities now that he's a titan, and has his full complement of spells. Plus, Nenet is there with him. So in theory, as long as he manages to keep his desire in check, he should be able to bring everything he has to bear on Adagio...though she might like that.

Of course, it's likely that if Lex doesn't respond to Adagio's offer, things might turn into a fight. But while Lex is doubtlessly ready for that, and Adagio is running low on magic, we haven't seen the full depths of what she's capable of now, even if she's out of spells. So it might be a tough battle either way. Remember, she's the person who supposedly has enough aristeia that she considered fighting Hvitdod an errand more than a hardship. As they say, Hell hath no fury...

[Alzrius]

11682207 There's a moai joke somewhere in there, I just know it.

[Alzrius]

11682592 I suspect that Lex himself is thinking much the same! And the fact that Kara gave him quite the sneak preview where Adagio was concerned apparently doesn't help.

[Alzrius]

11682597 Adagio's opening move is quite blatant, to be sure, but sometimes the boldest move is the best one. All evidence to date suggests that her erotic appeal goes beyond mere appearance, and into some sort of supernatural quality. Of course, as a titan Lex is better prepared to resist that than most, but Adagio is far beyond her sisters in what she's capable of.

The question now is whether or not Lex will respond to her advances or not. Intellectually, it's hard to imagine him ignoring how bad of an idea that is; as you noted, he's cognizant of the fact that she's committed numerous heinous acts. On the other hand, her erotic appeal is the sort of thing that bypasses logic, and even without his instincts howling at him to go for it, we know that he was already drawn to her to begin with. Plus, it's hard to say if Kara's advice helped or hurt things in this regard; from what we saw of his time with her, she was basically giving him pointers of what Adagio likes. That means that he might be able to overwhelm her in bed, but that necessitates responding to her advances in the first place.

Of course, if things turn into a fight instead, that's an area where Lex is likely just as comfortable, and we know that Adagio is low on magic...but she also has a trump card, even if it's one she doesn't want to use. And of course, if she has supernatural qualities besides her attractiveness, Lex might be surprised (albeit with about six seconds' worth of notice). So it's hard to say either way.