[ oh. shadows swarm them and consume them. war twists around at the ready, and the bird dives into karlach's hair.
a memory pours like a tidal wave into her mind: ]
She is standing in front of a familiar doorway in a familiar section of a familiar city. The light is dim, lit only by the magic inside of lanterns, the sky overhead a brilliant, luminescent night. It reminds her, in a way, of the Underdark. A fancy version of the Underdark.
She knocks on the door, and her hand is a deeply rich, beautiful dark purple, a few of the fingers encapsulated by silver rings. The door opens suddenly and a tall - not for her as herself, this person is about her height normally, seven or eight feet - bovine-featured man with pink hair smiles in greeting at her. "Oh! Hey!" he says in a languid, cheerful tone.
She glides - it's gliding because her feet are not touching the ground - in, and a dark-skinned human woman inside with others says suspiciously, "Is this a noise complaint?"
"No," you says quickly, "it is nothing like a noise complaint. I just, ah," - and she looks around at all their faces: a green-skinned orc, a scruffy man who looks a lot like Gale, a small goblin woman, a blue-skinned tiefling, a giant (literally) of a woman, the pink-haired firbolg, trying to find a way around the shyness - "I..."
There is a long pause. Uncertainty. They look back at her, waiting. She has not done this in a very long time, if at all, she realizes. Be in the presence of friends and join them for something more intimate than being begged for teleportation, or being carted around a prison.
"...If you would have a guest for dinner perhaps?"
There is another pause - of shock from them, of course, of surprise. This is not like her at all. Her? Dinner? WITH THEM? Their faces quickly break from surprise to elation.
Suddenly, the blue tiefling excitedly waves at her and says, "Come on in, Essek, we invited you before! Come, come, come!"
"I had thought about it," she says to them as she moves farther in. "I hadn't really... done something like this in a while, and perhaps it is... something I should do."
She pulls out a bottle of wine and offers it out. "This is Blooming Grove's diamond plum wine."
"Ohh," says the goblin woman, "I'll decant it right away!"
"My apologies," she says afterward. Carefully, she drops from the float onto the ground - no taller than at least five-feet-six - and begins to remove her cloak and the exquisite mantle around her shoulders and neck. Strangely, all seven of them watch her eagerly as she does this - weirdo behavior - but there isn't anything beneath except exceptional, rich boy finery.
She talks with them about a few things - about being under the expectation to float, about the firbolg preparing to cook, about the strange sound of them playing music she could hear from a distance. A cat jumps into her lap, sleek and brown with familiar striped legs and face and a spotted back. It looks at her with the same sort of iridescent eyes as the sparrow, the owl, the spider, the octopus even if she hasn't seen those forms.
It's comforting somehow. Surprised, she says, "Oh, hello," and gives it a few awkward pets. Somehow, it's comforting before Caleb - that is his name, the wizard, she knows; all their names she knows actually: Beauregard, Fjord, Nott, Jester, Caduceus, Yasha - asks how the mood is here in the dynasty.
[ the bird lifts its head out of karlach's hair as the shadows draw back from her eyes. this is awkward. ]
I know you're a squish under all that. [she teases, tail swishing. she will pet the bird.] I just saw.
... It's weird how close our worlds are, but not quite. You've got goblins and tieflings and half-orcs, and that sort of looked like the Underdark? But not exactly.
the bird tweets and then hops down onto her shoulder, but when it lands it is definitely not a bird anymore. it is a familiar (now) brown, spotted and striped cat. it rubs against her head. ]
It is Rosohna, the capital of our Dynasty, a city in a territory of land called Xhorhas. My people built it above the Underdark after we rose from below. But yes, we have goblins, and orcs, and tieflings, and firbolg, all kinds of races of beings not human.
[ there is some silent hesitation here. the way their head turns ever so slightly as if checking the surroundings. no foot to foot shifting because - well, floating. the energy is there.
after a long moment, they reach up to scoop the mask from the bottom and lift it a little over their head and away from their face. ]
[ beneath the mask is a handsome drow with the same deep, purple skin as the hands in the memory. his hair is short and shockingly white, but matches the eyelashes and eyebrows below. both ears are decorated in silver jewelry, and there is even a loop through the center of his nose. his eyes are brilliantly violet, the expression in them cautious. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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GODS, AUGH.
[every time. also hello frumpkin.]
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they grunt when they're hit, the bird flies up, and they bob down and up again strangely. wtf??? irritably adjusting their robes afterward. ]
Hmph.
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Don't fucking startle me and I won't smack. Are you on stilts or something? [...] Oh, right, hi. Who is the little bird?
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[ STILTS?
the bird comes back down to sit on karlach's good horn. it tweets. ]
He is a familiar.
[ and also familiar, but whatever. ]
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Ohhh, hey! Hey little buddy! [lifts her hand up... to pet...] He got a name?
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[ oh. shadows swarm them and consume them. war twists around at the ready, and the bird dives into karlach's hair.
a memory pours like a tidal wave into her mind: ]
[ the bird lifts its head out of karlach's hair as the shadows draw back from her eyes. this is awkward. ]
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You're hovering!
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Yes, well, I am.
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... This is that little bit of friendship you let in, huh.
Wow, you've got tieflings and everything where you're from! I liked the little blue one. She seems fun.
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[ the tail swishes beneath without impediment. ]
She is a menace.
[ refuses to acknowledge the friendship. DON'T LOOK. ]
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[laughing!!]
That's cute. Honest, I'm not making fun of you, I'm glad. They seemed to be really excited that you were with them.
... Is that your name? I'm not going to say it, don't want to get you in trouble.
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...
[ they are quiet for a long moment. ]
Shadowhand Essek Thelyss. And yes, do not use it anywhere here.
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[tail swish.]
No wonder you can't stand me, actually. [those m9 guys sound fun]
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[ HUUUGH. same shitty energy. ]
I never said I disliked you.
[ in fact, they continued to speak to her; therefore, that is evidence of their resignation (no). ]
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Oh, really? [GRINS REAL BIG AND SHITTY AT HIM] So you like me, then!
[stop]
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the sound of them opening their mouth, then closing their mouth. ]
I....... did not say that.
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I know you're a squish under all that. [she teases, tail swishing. she will pet the bird.] I just saw.
... It's weird how close our worlds are, but not quite. You've got goblins and tieflings and half-orcs, and that sort of looked like the Underdark? But not exactly.
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the bird tweets and then hops down onto her shoulder, but when it lands it is definitely not a bird anymore. it is a familiar (now) brown, spotted and striped cat. it rubs against her head. ]
It is Rosohna, the capital of our Dynasty, a city in a territory of land called Xhorhas. My people built it above the Underdark after we rose from below. But yes, we have goblins, and orcs, and tieflings, and firbolg, all kinds of races of beings not human.
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Oh - so you have got the Underdark. But - we haven't got Xhorhas? [almost like it's for copyright reasons] Huh.
Then I wasn't a big surprise for you. Maybe a bit taller than you'd expect.
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You are quite tall for a tiefling, but I guess people of all races come in various shapes and sizes.
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So d'you actually have horns, then?
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No. I'm a drow. We don't typically come equipped with horns.
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Can I see? [she knows drow don't have horns she wants to see your face hot boy]
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after a long moment, they reach up to scoop the mask from the bottom and lift it a little over their head and away from their face. ]
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