Cliodhna stands at the bow of the Ulysses with Memnon just behind her, watching as the ship departs the Kingdom of Wire and heads back out into the Tempest again-- this time on its way to the Kingdom of Ivory. Once the ship has made the transition safely into the Tempest, Cliodhna nods and turns to face Memnon.
"Look Mem-- I'm sorry I wasn't able ta take ye inta see the Tribunal with us...I really am. But when the man said only 4 of us could go in, I knew Ahuru an' Brianna had ta go in, an' Ray bein' the Centurian, an' all...I'm really sorry Mem." Cliodhna holds her hands behind her back, giving Memnon an apologetic look.
Memnon comes up and gives her a winning smile, "It's ok. It wasn't like you were all the way to Ireland. I was right outside the door."
Cliodhna grins in relief and laughs. "Ye know, Mem? Sometimes I think ye truly believe ye're invincible!" she pauses, "An' with that much ego, it's hard not ta believe it, meself!" She smirks up at him bravely.
"Speaking of seeing is believing don't we have a conversation to finish," he says wriggling his eyebrows.
Cliodhna's face goes red, and she turns away quickly to face out towards the water and clutch the railing. "Oh GOD!" she thinks-- her mind a whirlwind. "That was damned fast!" She clears her throat a couple of times while getting her thoughts together. "Why Mem..." she starts, "I don't know what ye mean!" she says in a voice more high-pitched than normal. "We've had quite a few conversations in the past few days...which one do ye mean?" She keeps her eyes straight ahead-- still trying to figure out how to keep control of the situation.
Memnon looks at Cliodhna incredulously and then shakes his head. "I see...well I seem to have forgotten, too," he says as he turns and walks towards the poop deck.
"Aaaah!!" Cliodhna goes into a momentary panic-- never sure when Memnon's joking or serious-- and walks quickly after him, grabbing his arm. "Wait-- Mem! I DO remember! O' COURSE I remember! How could I forget!?" she looks up at him earnestly with a touch of panic behind her eyes.
Memnon turns and smiles at her and starts to laugh, "Gotcha. I knew you remembered...at least I hoped you'd remember!"
"Aaah MEM!!" Cliodhna punches Memnon in the arm and laughs loudly in relief. "Just ye wait...it's YER turn next, me boy!" she pauses, "An' how could ye think I'd forget the best moment o' my entire life so far?" Cliodhna grins and takes Memnon's arm, and they start taking a leisurely stroll down the deck-- Cliodhna grinning from ear to ear and feeling very twitterpated...and brave! "We havena been given much time ta talk since...well...since..." Cliodhna reddens a little and glances up at Memnon.
"The best moment of your life eh? Well that hasn't happened yet," he says with a smile. "I wish we could have finished our talk, say what are you doing right now?"
Cliodhna gapes at Memnon open-mouthed in surprise. It seems their little vacation from being alone together has definitely been felt by Memnon!! Well...felt by her, as well! Cliodhna feels her chest tighten in nervousness, and she takes a deep breath...and then grins. "Well, Mem...what I'm doin' right now is tormentin' ye. It seems ye have a lot o' energy...what would ye say ta helpin' me improve my melee an' brawlin' skills? Never did much o' that when I was alive. Aaron once beat on me using an Arcanoi that left me dumbfounded-- I heard it called "Stonehand Punch?" Cliodhna looks up to see Memnon's reaction-- raising her eyebrows and batting her eyelashes in a "please-please?"-gesture. Then she compliments, "I know ye're the best fighter we have, Captain..."
"Captain," he says stroking his chin, he snaps his fingers, "I think I like that." He pulls out his sword, and twirls it. "Let's begin." He motions for Cliodhna to move aside as he shows her some basic maneuvers. "Now try that..."
Cliodhna grins and slides her Swarian hooked sword from its sheath and holds it aloft, inspecting it. "When I was in me teens fightin' with the caern, we mostly used blades..." Cliodhna executes the maneuvers Memnon just showed her, trying to make them look as good as he just did. "...but my role kept me from fightin' a lot o' the time." Cliodhna pauses after doing the moves and waits for Memnon's critique.
Memnon nods and stands behind her taking her wrists, "Hold the sword this way. You're good, really good. Now let's try some run-throughs." He stands opposite her and takes a couple of swings at her.
Cliodhna stands there gazing at Memnon for a moment, still feeling the butterflies in her stomach from when Memnon was touching her...then-- just in time-- she realizes he's swinging at her! "Woah!" she cries, jumping back and finally bringing her sword up. Then she grins sheepishly. "Sorry, Captain, somethin'...distracted me," she says daringly, looking him up and down with a blush and raising her eyebrows. Then she brings her sword up again. "Come at me again, then!"
"Pay attention, I don't want to take your head off." He says as he comes at her once more. Cliodhna moves her sword quickly parrying, but doesn't see Memnon's fist come out of nowhere and stop right in front of her nose.
"I see the problem. You need to learn that a sword fight isn't always just swords. Use your fists, legs, even your head and you can disarm or even make an opening that way. Now watch." he says as he slowly swings his sword at her.
Cliodhna becomes all business and nods sharply, bringing her sword back up. As Memnon brings his sword down at her, she brings her sword up to meet it and then grabs Memnon's fist as it comes towards her face again. Then-- learning from what he told her-- she sweeps her leg slowly into his to show him that she understood what he means about using more than just her sword. She doesn't smile, but keeps her eyes locked on his.
"Nice, now watch this." He spars with her a moment at a slow pace. Then the two begin to quicken their pace. "Ok watch out," he sweeps his sword up, Cliodhna blocks it, and suddenly Memnon turns the blade slaps her sword down and she finds his sword at her throat.
"Now that's not going to faze a wraith, but he'll have a hard time fighting without a head." he says taking the sword from her throat.
Cliodhna is VERY impressed! "Wow, Mem-- I shoulda thought a usin' the flat o' the blade like that! Great move-- where did ye learn all this?" she asks, looking at him incredulously.
Memnon puts his sword in its scabbard, "Uncle Jack taught me a lot. He was better than anyone at the Caern. Not someone I'd like to face. Ok maybe we're going about this the wrong way. You're good with the sword, but your hand-to-hand is what's lacking." He stands back a few feet and looks her up and down.
"Ok come at me...don't worry about hurting me just come at me."
Cliodhna looks at him, biting her lip. This was always her worst area of fighting. Everyone else in the caern was so much larger than her-- plus most of them had razor-claws, so the elders forbade them from full-out brawling with her. That didn't stop her from WANTING to learn, or immitating what she saw...including her specialty "punching objects when angry!" She was an expert at dodging, however, and at this moment she hoped that would be enough to keep Memnon's respect when he saw how she was lacking in the fighting-aspects.
Cliodhna closes her hands into fists and runs at Memnon. At the last second she spins on her heel and ducks-- hoping her fist will hit Memnon somewhere in the area of the kidneys.
He steps up and grabs her fist with his left hand and her throat with his right. He brings his leg behind her and shoves knocking her on her back. "Not bad but you end up in an awkward position there. You're unable to defend yourself." He extends his hand and helps her back up.
"Whenever you brawl, never leave yourself open for attack. Don't be afraid to throw down, but make sure you're not the one getting thrown."
He stands away from her again, "Now just throw a punch at me."
Cliodhna shakes her head, trying to clear it. "Whoah..." she thinks. "Damn he's fast! I looked like a bloody fool!" She stands closer to Memnon-- clenching her hands into fists again-- and narrows her eyes, watching him. She tries to keep his hands in view while figuring out where to hit him. Then she makes her move. She swings at his chest with her right hand in a feignt-- her fist stopping short-- and then takes a real swing with her left hand towards the right side of his face.
Memnon takes the feint and leans back feeling Cliodhna's fist miss by inches. "Not bad, just move it a little quicker like this." Memnon moves quick and shoots out his hand and lightly touches Cliodhna's cheek with the tips of his fingers.
Cliodhna grabs his wrist in her hand with lightening speed, and leans in. "How are ye so fast fer a big man??" Then while she has his attention, she brings up her right knee fast towards his gut.
Memnon watches in surprise as her knee connects, "Nice hit," he says rubbing his midsection. "I think you're getting the hang of it."
Cliodhna grins proudly and jogs in a little circle with her fists in the air. Then she jogs up to Memnon. "Ah Mem-- you OK? Sorry-- I was as surprised as ye when I actually hit ye!" Then she grins, "We're BOTH lucky that my aim was on!" and then blushes when she realizes she just spoken her thoughts aloud and gives a nervous laugh. "Ahem-- so what do ye have ta show me now?" She can't quite meet Memnon's eyes.
"Both huh?" He says looking at her. "Ok let's try some throws." Memnon walks over behind her and grabs her, wraping his arms around her. "Try to get away," he says in her ear.
Her first impulse is to say flat-out "No. Absolutely not." but she restrains herself. She closes her eyes with a little smile and savors how heavenly this feels, and then reluctantly tries to figure out how she's going to get away. Then something her mother tried to teach her once comes back to her. She turns her head, puts her lips on the side of Memnon's neck, and as she kisses his neck she suddenly jerks her foot back into his shin while trying to push his arms forward so she can slither down and roll away.
Memnon watches as Cliodhna slithers out of his grasp. He shakes his finger at her, "Dirty pool, there Cliodhna, dirty pool."
Suddenly he rushes her, arms outstretched trying to tackle her.
Cliodhna stands ready with a little smirk on her face from his last comment. "Holy God-- Mother was right! It DOES work!" she thinks in surprise. As he rushes her, she ducks and lunges under his arms, placing one hand on the deck to keep her balance as she slides and turns around so she's crouching facing his back.
Memnon stops nearly on a dime and while turning leaps after her. He catches her just as she turns to face him. They go down in a heap and roll, stopping as they hit the side of deck. Memnon looks up at Cliodhna as he holds her in his arms.
Cliodhna looks down at him feeling exhilerated! Then, at last, her barriers finally break down and she allows her corpus to respond to her overwhelming need. She looks at Memnon intently for 2 seconds, and then agressively lunges and kisses him passionately-- wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him.
Memnon kisses her back just as passionately, he begins to stand carrying her with him--
The hull panel in the deck-floor slides open, tripping Memnon and he falls to his back. Friday pokes his head out of the opening, finding his face right between the two lovers.
"Oh jeez I did it again, tsk, I'm sorry I'll ah I'll just ahhh," Friday slinks back into the hull.
Memnon watches Friday slink away with his eyes and once he's gone, begins to laugh.
Cliodhna starts laughing hard, too-- her cheeks pink with excitement as she lays on her right side facing Memnon. She props her head up by placing her elbow on the deck and her hand against the side of her head. Still chuckling, she rests her left hand on Memnon's upper arm. "This damn ship!" she laughs, and then looks at Memnon softly for a moment. Her Shadow had been tormenting her more than usual in Wire...telling her that It had been in communication with the rest of the cohort's Shadows, and had told them who her father was. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of the Shadows found their inopportune moments to notify their hosts...and that included Memnon. She wants to tell him before his Shadow can, but she's terrified of what his reaction will be. The fact is, she knows she's ready to give herself to him now, but if she tells him first, she may lose him forever. She sighs. She wanted this to happen someplace beautiful and secluded-- not in the middle of the godforsaken Tempest! Well-- between her own hesitation and Friday's bad timing, they may NEVER have a moment alone!
"Mem...do ye know anythin' o' the Arcanoi Phantasm?" she asks, still watching him.
Memnon sits up and props his back against the side of the deck.
"Nope not really. I really only studied a few of the arcanoi. I've seen you use it a few times tho."
Cliodhna pushes herself up and sits cross-legged in front of Memnon. "This is a very valuable skill ta learn. If anythin' happened ta either one o' us, it could be used ta create a kind o' mind-link once one person was sleepin'...like what Ahuru an' I did with Amon?" She takes one of Memnon's hands. "I'd like ta start teachin' it ta ye...as a precaution." Cliodhna watches Memnon.
Memnon shrugs, "You might be right. It would be a good way to keep in contact. Sure, teach me."
Cliodhna smiles. "All right Mem, come here." she curls her fingers towards herself a couple of times until Memnon pushes himself up into a cross-legged sitting-position in front of her. "All right then! I'm gonna teach ye the first two levels o' this arncaoi. First let me tell ye the basic abilities ye're about ta learn. When I'm done with this lesson, ye'll be able ta watch mortal sleepers' dreams, tell how far along inta their dreams they are, an' take hold o' the sleeper's soul and bring it inta the Shadowlands! The sleeper would then be able ta travel around like it was a regular Wraith, but it couldna be harmed! Are ye ready?" Cliodhna raises her eyebrows.
Memnon nods, "Yeah I'm ready, let's do this," he says leaning forward.
"Show me."
"All right," Cliodhna nods. "The most important key is meditation. The faster ye can get inta deep meditation, the faster ye can enter the Dreamlands. Sit however ye'll feel most comfortable fer a long period o' time." Cliodhna shows him how she prefers to place the backs of her hands on her knees and slump forward a little. "This way if ye're there fer a while, yer body won't get stiff. No, no, Mem-- shake your arms out an' then let them fall naturally. Aye, like that. Now let yer torso an' head fall comfortably." Cliodhna nods. "All right, now close yer eyes an' breathe in an' out slowly-- I know we don't have ta, but fer me it's familiar. Now when ye feel yerself gettin' very relaxed, push yer mind out, concentratin' on the world o' dreams that we're all familiar with. Because there are no mortals about, the most we'll be able ta do is observe the dreams of any Wraith who happens ta be sleepin' right now. All right, Mem, are ye ready? Mem...MEM?" Cliodhna hears Memnon give a soft snore and snaps her fingers in front of his face. He awakens with a start. "Very fast fer yer first try, Mem, but a little too deep inta a meditative state!" She grins. "OK ready? Watch for me an' I'll guide you around!" Cliodhna gets back into her meditative-stance, the sparkles start eminating from her corpus, and she's almost immediately in Dreamland waiting for Memnon.
Memnon appears next to her and looks about his surroundings. Turning back to Cliodhna he nods, "Interesting...where are we??"
Cliodhna smiles at him proudly. "Great job! We're in the neutral space o' Dreamland. If there's someone ye'd like ta peek in on that ye have a connection with, just think about that person an' if they're sleepin', ye'll pop inta their dream. Right now ye won't be able ta affect the dream, but I'll teach ye that next. Since we can't enter anyone's dream from the Tempest exceptin' those who are sleepin' on our boat or other boats, we'll just concentrate on enterin' the nearest sleeper's dream, aye?"
Cliodhna watches Memnon nod, and then takes his hands, facing him. "OK, yer a fast learner-- I'll let ye try it! Close yer eyes an' concentrate on seein' yer idea of a soft, penetrable boundary..." Cliodhna concentrates, and then her eyes fly open. "Mem!! Get that outta yer head!" Cliodhna flushes bright red as Memnon grins guiltily, and then the two close their eyes and concentrate again. Memnon sees the nearest dream-boundary as the "skin" of a soap bubble. Releasing one of Cliodhna's hands, he holds out his free hand and pushes through the skin while pulling Cliodhna with him.
The two find themselves in a nicely-decorated apartment...a lot of burgundy and black used in the color-scheme. Cliodhna looks around and sees shelves with statues of skulls, Buddhas...some Japanese-looking art...chains and Celtic tapestries on the walls. "Hmm...who's sleepin' on the ship?" she wonders. She and Memnon stay pressed against one of the walls. Soon they hear a female voice coming from another room. They wait, and the female enters the living room where they are, holding a cordless phone in her hand and speaking into it. She's a small girl-- very slender yet curvacious-- with very long, brown hair and large, pretty eyes. She seems to be in her early to mid-20s. And then Cliodhna's breath catches in her throat when she sees Ray follow after her. They're in Ray's dream! This must be his Susan!
"Hey that's Ray," Memnon says. He crosses his arms and watches Ray follow Susan around. A few times Ray tries to touch her but his hand goes right through as if she is not there.
"He needs to find himself a different love interest."
Cliodhna nods. "It sounds ta me like she doesn't return his feelin's in the same way-- I wonder why he keeps goin' back ta her! He's obsessed with her! If she loved him, I could definitely understand him wantin' ta be with her all the time...wantin' her ta be safe..." Cliodhna looks at Memnon out of the corner of her eye as she speaks. "...wantin' ta give up everythin' fer him, er I mean, her..." Cliodhna clears her throat. "Well, I think we should start lookin' fer someone ta hook him up with ta get his mind offa Susan. What da ye think, Mem?" Cliodhna watches as Susan hangs up the phone and then walks over and sits down in front of the television. Cliodhna feels her heart twinge with sadness when Ray kneels in front of Susan and starts pouring his heart out to her, telling her how he doesn't understand why she doesn't love him the way he loves her...and Susan doesn't even see him there.
"I think that's going to be extremely hard. Looks like he is so in love with her..." He says shaking his head. "Let's leave him be, Cliodhna. Let the man be in peace."
Cliodhna turns to Memnon. "But he's NOT in peace! Can't ye see that?" she turns and points at Ray. "Look at him! Look at his face! Ye can feel the anguish in the dream if ye listen! An' this isn't Susan-- this is Ray's dream-interpretation o' her, so ye know she must be just as bad in real life." Cliodhna pauses in frustration. She's about to say something horrible about the fighting in New York, but is able to stop herself in time. She tries to calm herself down. "Well, Mem, have ye seen all ye'd like ta see in this dream usin' this first level o' yer new arcanoi?"
Memnon nods, "Yes I have, let's get going." He says as he turns away from Ray and looks for an exit.
Cliodhna laughs fondly and holds his arm to stop him. "Let's go back ta the ship first so I can teach ye the second level. Besides, I don't want ye ta mess with Ray's dream on yer first try at affectin' dreams. He's havin' a bad enough time as it is!" Cliodhna smiles and turns to face Memnon, taking his hands. "OK, close yer eyes, an' see yer mind returnin' ta yer body." Cliodhna closes her eyes and slowly disappears from view. Back in her body, she opens her eyes and watches Memnon carefully.
Memnon opens his eyes and blinks them again, "Are we back?" he asks putting a hand to his head trying to get rid of the cobwebs.
Cliodhna laughs. "Well...looks like ye mostly are! Ye're doin' great, Mem!" Cliodhna rubs his knee affectionately. "OK, now for the real fun and powerful aspect o' the arcanoi. In changin' a sleeper's dream, ye can terrify them, make them ecstatic, cause them ta cry, turn them on...if ye wished...ahem...ye could deliver a message an' just talk with them, or ye could even see what's ailin' them an' heal them! For example, when I first entered Amon's dream, he was badly beaten an' barely able ta speak. But with this power, I was able ta make his wounds disappear and give him strength! Remember that, Mem. Ye can do anythin' ye wish when alterin' a dream." Cliodhna looks at Memnon steadily for a moment.
"All right. The next important skill that ye need ta learn is mental control." Cliodhna looks around and sees the anchor hanging on the side of the ship. "See that anchor? I want ye ta close yer eyes an' form a mental picture o' that anchor. Make sure ye include every little detail when ye reproduce it. Then once ye've got a good grasp on the picture, make the anchor lower inta the water. Hear the splash-sound it makes, an' feel the ship suddenly slow an' then stop. O' course, none o' this will happen in real life, but I want ye ta try ta experience it with all yer senses, just by thinkin' it in yer head." Cliodhna watches Memnon to see if he understands and can perform this little exercise.
Memnon closes his eyes and tries to visualize the anchor. He can see it plainly in his mind as it drops into the water. "Got it," he says, his eyes still closed.
Cliodhna smiles. Memnon is like no other man she's ever spent time with! So willing to learn from her...so willing to teach in return! She feels her heart swell with happiness as she watches Memnon's progress. "Wonderful, Mem! OK, now all we need is a dream to work with..." Cliodhna thinks for a moment-- going through the roster of people on board the ship-- and then she suddenly gets a sneaky grin on her face. "Hey Mem...I know just the person who would be perfect for this, an' I know ye'll agree!" Cliodhna leans in conspiratorily and whispers, "Friday!" She starts laughing. "Now THERE'S a man who needs ta stop runnin' around an' get some sleep! Not ta mention a man in need of a good dream-- have ye seen the way he looks at Brianna?" Cliodhna chuckles.
Memnon laughs as Cliodhna breaks his concentration. "Let's do it, where is he??"