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the Project	By : theLureln Category: +M through R > Magic: The Gathering Views: 11901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Magic the Gathering characters or settings, anything else is mine. This story is not being written for profit.

Chapter List
- 1-the Project
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-10
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 38
- 39
- 40
Venser watched Ral the entire time he was speaking with Lorissa, trying to determine the other man’s connection to her. From their body language and expressions, it seemed to be nothing more than a working relationship; although it was obvious he put her on edge and caught her off guard a few times as they talked. But there was no interest between them that he could see; this man wasn’t a rival for her affections. Only her time. Which, admittedly, she had very little of so it was easy for Venser to resent his presence. He already had to share her attention with her boss Tabozav, her guildmaster who had an unusual interest in her, another man who was attracted to her named Jace and her family. He really didn’t want anyone else stepping in on his time with her, his irritation growing as the two talked.
He blinked in surprise at his reaction, he wasn’t normally given to emotional behavior, preferring decisions based on logic. Perhaps it was the pressure of Niv-Mizzet’s request weighing on him. The dragon had not approached him since declaring Venser was to pursue Lorissa as a companion. He sincerely regretted agreeing to fulfill a favor of the parun’s choosing; at the time he’d had no idea it would be something of this nature. He’d thought he’d be asked to do something related to his magical aptitude or research, not a deeply personal matter.
Emotions were not something he was comfortable with. They tended to get the better of people, himself included. He understood it was what separated humanoids from his more intelligent inventions; a necessity developed by evolution to prevent races from killing themselves as well as others. But he firmly believed they were messy and unpredictable. He’d seen carefully calculated plans fall to pieces due to the emotions of parties involved.
He had always thought he had a decent grip on his. He had grown up with his share of tragedy. His mother had died when he was very young; his earliest memories were of his often absent father. His childhood had been one of lonely isolation, but even from a tender age he had been an inventor. He kept his mind occupied with creation to overcome the loneliness. When his father died in the swamps of their home, he came to understand that what he had thought was painful before was a shadow of the unbearable silence that ruled his life after that. He threw himself into his experiments and inventions, longing to leave the place that only held dark memories for him. And then one day Teferi strolled into his life and changed everything.
He had been ensnared in one crazy adventure after another until he had eventually met his demise. Or at least, he thought he had. Yet here he was, alive and well if a bit underpowered. He still had no idea how that had happened and he hadn’t been looking into it as much as he could. He was allowing his feelings for Lorissa to get in the way. Possibly because for the first time in his life he was at peace for the most part. Her family had welcomed him with open arms; it felt like he was one of them. Her mother Salinda was everything he’d dreamed of in a maternal figure; at once upright and kind. Her father Nostav had a big temper and an even bigger heart; a warrior of a man with the soul of healer. Venser sometimes had flashbacks to his best memories of his own father when he was with hers. Her aggravating twin brothers Peyrn and Pardic were the siblings he’d always longed for but never gotten; overbearing but equal parts brawn and brains. He felt blessed to spend the days with such wonderful people.
It was easy to fall for their daughter. To want to belong in a family as he’d never gotten to do. He had power to spare but it had never brought him happiness. In the past, only the act of creation had given him joy. Now, he was able to experience it in brief moments among the deCars and the temptation of it was greater than any he’d ever experienced.
Lorissa herself made it easy to do as well. While he knew she thought she held less value due to her lack of magic, he couldn’t care less about it. Her warmth towards everyone she met, her intelligence and her quirky humor more than made up for that in his opinion. He watched her quietly accept burden after burden from those around her so that she could make their lives easier; what she needed was someone who would put her first. Who would protect her from those that wanted to take advantage of her kindness. He didn’t think they realized what they were doing, any more than she did, or he would have aggressively interfered before now.
But it wasn’t his place to be her protector. She hadn’t granted him that right. She might not ever, as long as Jace was in the picture. It was apparent to Venser that the unfinished business between the two of them was serious and ran deep. Part of him thought he should bide his time and see how things played out, regardless of what Niv-Mizzet wanted. Otherwise she might grow to resent him if he pressed her while she was dealing with her unresolved feelings for Jace. The other side of him warned this would be a mistake in more ways than one. Allowing Jace the time to gain leverage wasn’t wise; nor was testing the limits of a dragon’s patience.
Thoughts of her and his pursuit of her had grown until they took up all of his spare time. He was supposed to be figuring out why he was back, how he had ended up on the plane of Ravnica, how he had powers when he had donated his spark to Karn. Unfortunately his memories were still firmly blank; he could recall nothing beyond the moment of what he had thought to be his death. Had he somehow walked to Ravnica while he was unconscious? Perhaps he’d only thought he was dying but he’d somehow survived transferring his spark. That didn’t seem likely, given it was the origin of his power, and yet here he was alive and well and slowly gaining strength daily. Was it possible he’d retained a fragment of it somehow?
Had someone brought him here then? There were other planeswalkers on this plane, this he already knew. He’d just discovered Ral was one, in fact. Jace appeared to be one as well. What was it about this place that drew their kind here? Was it some sort of power source that had called to him while he was dying? Had walking here somehow saved his life? For that matter, had Karn, Elspeth and his other friends survived?
The complicated series of thoughts brought on a piercing headache and he groaned to himself as he rubbed his forehead. Movement drew his attention back to the woman that was starting to consume most of his waking thoughts. His eyes narrowed when he saw the retreating form of Ral Zarek; the man was using her presence as a shield, correctly surmising that Venser would be reluctant to call him out in front of her. For now, the Sojourner chose to let him go; he knew where the Storm Mage worked after all. Finding him again shouldn’t be too difficult.
“What did he want,” Venser absently asked as Lorissa returned to her desk, his eyes lingering on the doorway, wondering if it was simply in the nature of Planeswalkers to hide what they were, or something more intrinsic to their survival.
She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Just to tell me about some papers that need sorting.”
“He came here to talk to you just for that,” he asked, surprised the mage hadn’t sent some lackey to do it for him.
“It’s emissary stuff,” she explained, clearly not at all concerned.
Venser let the matter drop, still distracted by his discovery of what Ral Zarek was. It couldn’t be a coincidence that there were so many Planeswalkers on this plane. He grimaced as a fresh wave of pain assaulted his head and then nearly fell off his seat when he felt a cool hand gently touch his forehead.
“Are you alright,” Lorissa asked, her eyes concerned as they met his. “You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”
She was standing so close he could almost count her individual eyelashes. Her fingers were lightly resting against his skin and the sensation was at once soothing and absurdly arousing. She touched him casually in passing throughout the day; he’d noticed she was equal parts physical contact and mental focus when she was interacting with people. He tried not to react to it when she did; he knew there was no meaning behind it. But his body had a will of its own and more often than not he had to escape her presence to jack off from the innocent touches.
This was something else; a more deliberate contact as an offer of comfort. She had seen he was in distress and she was trying to make him feel better. It bypassed his hormones and hit him in a far more personal way. Even as he warned himself not to read too much into her actions, his heart wanted it to be true. He’d been alone for so very long. He was tired of it.
He reached up very slowly and drew her hand down to his cheek, turning into the touch, his eyes locked on hers. He saw surprise on her face as he stroked the back of her hand with his fingers, his heart starting to race from the prolonged contact of their gazes. “Did you know that when I’m with you, I’m at peace? I’ve rarely felt that way in life. Thank you.”
Lorissa was struck speechless by the intensity of his look as much as the honesty of the gentle words. He was such a sincere, thoughtful man. It would be so easy to have a wonderful life with him. And she sensed in him a kindred soul, someone who had been alone and hidden his sorrows from the world behind a strong veneer. If only she hadn’t met Jace; hadn’t gotten tangled up in such a messy dalliance that had left her wounded and confused. But she had and Venser deserved someone who could give themselves over to a relationship completely. She wasn’t at a place where she could do that right now, for all she knew it could be years before she recovered from whatever it was that seemed to be between her and Jace.
“I wish,” she started to say, only to stop when he placed a finger against her lips to prevent her from speaking.
“I know,” he replied, his wistful expression tinged with quiet sadness.
The dignity of his response brought the sting of tears to her eyes; Venser felt his chest constrict painfully at the sight. He understood she wasn’t ready. And he wasn’t willing to risk a future with her by pushing, Niv-Mizzet’s demands be damned.
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