minarcana

[minarcana]

It does make her a little sad that Zenos seems so surprised to be helped. It could just be because it's an insane thing for the person ostensibly hired to kill her to be the one providing help, but Laurel gets the distinct feeling it's because Zenos is not accustomed to any sort of help at all.

Even the most wretched people she's hunted before had someone who would help them, even if that 'someone' was equally worth killing in Laurel's eyes. Really, Varis is up to something Laurel's now firm in deciding she should abandon. "Yeah. I said so. I have pride. I don't do anything that I wouldn't be proud of, and now that I see you? Killing you would be more deserving of shame. Varis can try and kill me himself if he wants to throw a fit about it." Not like he'd succeed. Laurel's felled worse! (She's confident, at least.) "That means you'll take my help? Good!" She perks up immediately and starts digging in the satchel kept strapped across her chest. "Let me see... this will do to hold you over. I'll catch something fresh."

Laurel holds out her hand, proffering preserved meat for Zenos. Fare meant to tide Laurel over if she wishes a snack, not anything grander, but it's all she's got on her person. "I'm Laurel. Scourge of the north, maneater, so on and so forth. Invent a scary sounding title and someone's probably called me it. It's all a complicated way to say I'm good at my job, anyways, and that's most of what anyone needs to know about me." She's showing off a little bit... it's fine! She already warned Zenos about the pride thing, so this counts....

that weirdo. well ! she can’t say she’s ever heard someone directly insult varis, at least without losing their head or limbs in the process. even stranger they’ve made an agreement or deal… she looks the part of a hunter, complete with a weapon. those aren’t unfamiliar- their kingdom has plenty, human and otherwise.

her eyes flinch at the sudden movement, following the orca’s strike— only to watch the coral crumble, freeing the chain attached to her wrist. “ you would… help me ? “ a tentative response, tail almost twitching to propel her away from her potential killer. but zenos does not flee. her other hand rises to rub over the chaffing on her wrist, mindful to be careful. she doesn’t want to worsen the injuries, given her lack of medicinal knowledge. it’ll heal if she lives long enough.

despite the fact this orca is essentially calling her pathetic, she’ll accept help. she’s so hungry. “ my name is zenos. you may have been told. might i have the pleasure of knowing who you are ? “

[minarcana]

Allie seems very nearly engulfed by the amount of decor she's carrying. Gaius is impressed she can actually see where she's going.... or maybe she can't and is just doing her best, judging by how she'd nearly walked into a wall as he'd approached. "Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to miss a moving beacon of glitter." The string lights weren't connected to anything, but that's the only thing that would make Allie more visible.

"I see." Gaius is a bit surprised, he hadn't thought about decor at all yet, and the closeness of holidays comes as something of a shock. Oops. "Of course. I assume you forgot a ladder as well, hm?" He leans to scoop most of her armload into his own. Much easier for her this way. "I can help you decorate, simply direct me. You know as well as anyone that I don't have an eye for aesthetics."

@minarcana sent: "you're ridiculous, sometimes. but that's a good thing." gaius -> allie

the pout on allie’s face grows more exaggerated, only slightly upset she’s been caught. there’s a comical amount of tinsel, garlands, string lights held in her thin arms like they’re worth millions of gil. “ you weren’t supposed to notice until it was all set up… “ allie explains with a theatrical huff, one rusi would be proud of.

“ i’m decorating for starlight! i was going to start outside, then do the inside of the house. “ the plan was to surprise both parents - ah well. “ this… wasn’t greatly thought out. can you help me carry some of this back ? “

[minarcana]

"Leaving you is pitiful, while killing you is boring." She huffs with a grumbling noise. "And you've been caught by a rock, not by me. It hardly counts. Like I said, if I'm going to hunt you, it's going to be fair. It's not like I have any loyalty to that weirdo. I just want something interesting." Laurel rolls her eyes.

Then, she abruptly juts forth and sinks her spear into the coral, catching Zenos's chains and freeing them from their catch with a cracking of reef-bone. It's a quick movement, the practiced aim of a hunter. The spear then gets spun and then reattached to its straps at her side, utterly harmless now to all and sundry. Now Laurel just crosses her arms and hovers, analytical, before her cornered mark. "Now, what are you going to do, little scrap? Do you even have the spare energy to find food? Especially with those chains weighing you down. Hm, hm, perhaps I could help you out. 'Lest you run away from me again-- you're in no danger while you don't even have teeth to bite with."

if she wasn’t so pressed about her miserable situation, the call of a hunt - even against herself - might bring forth a liveliness long since drowned. a playfulness, at least. instead, zenos shrinks back in disdain, baring her teeth in a vicious, soundless hiss.

“ leave me ! or kill me, if that’s your plan. i’ve already been caught. “ her voice is… perhaps smaller, now, knowing her game was set by the very man zenos wishes dead. unsurprising, but disappointing. he won’t even hunt her himself. “ i am. i’m sure they called me a traitorous prince. they’ve no grace. “

[minarcana]

Laurel circles, curious and thinking. Getting snapped at is nothing new for her, and such a wisp of a person is barely even quarry. To think, this is apparently the horrible runaway she's been takes with hunting. But there's no pride or sport in that. Bweh. "You're hardly even a snack, and you think I'd eat you? Please, I'm civilized."

She plays with her game, not with her lunches. Laurel stops her curious looping, floating just out of weapons' reach of the other. She cocks her head, gesturing with a loose jab of the spear at her side towards the chains caught around Zenos. "Don't you want that off? If I'm going to hunt you, I'd like it to be a fair competition. You are the runaway from Varis's kingdom, aren't you?"

“ leave me alone, you beast. “ zenos is… frustrated. her chains caught in a reef, taut and scraping at her skin and scales. she should be terrified of the orca circling her, preparing for death, but she doesn’t feel deeply enough to care either way. she’s starving - to be killed before dying of hunger might be a blessing.

troublesome, though. her green tail swishes. “ you’ve been following me for some time. ‘tis improper to play with food, and I’m toxic besides. “ // @minarcana

[minarcana]

@lcstkey

"the stories told about you that reach back here are... some things i have trouble believing, even though i already know you're a person miracles are attracted to." esugen leans on the counter of his stall in reunion, looking at the traveler before him. "tell me, how far have you traveled, and what novel food have you eaten? i'll consider that payment for the lunch." as if it wouldn't be on the house anyways, but he hands a wrapped serving of grilled skewers to her.

[minarcana]

@thancrxdwatxrs

"To think, I spake so confidently that my sense of directio hath been much improved... I admit, I am lost and, lest thou hath a better head on they shoulders than I, I hath gotten thee lost as well." He had told Thancred so confidently he could manage navagating! Ah, what hubris will do to a man. Urianger hangs his head, embarrassed but also playing up the theatrics of it just a little bit. They're on vacation, that much is fine, right?

[minarcana]

@ryogai // lol. lmao.

"nix!" too late to run. hesperos near about materializes from nowhere behind her, voice far too enthusiastic to seem as if nothing is afoot. "i've had a grand idea how to get rid of those accusations i'm merely freeloading. you and yours are in constant need of holy grails and the like , aren't you? for one of my stature, obtaining one is perfectly feasible. you'll simply have to play your part in the circuit. i dug through chaldea's records and found plenty of precident-- you call them 'grail fronts', your little mock holy grail ritual wars, yes? a simple matter to do another at my behest." hesperos really only gets this excited when there's a creative endeavour, so this much removal from his polite and somewhat quiet mien is... a warning.

[minarcana]

AGH. IVE BEEN WRITING ON BSKY. I CAN DO IT HERE. WHOS STILL ACTIVE. LMS IF U WANT A SHORT STARTER. COMMENT A MUSE IF U CARE WHO FROM. AAAAAAAAAA.

[minarcana]

@radiantencores // requested

hours stretch on. everyone else has long since retired for the night. nero probably should as well; he knows as much as anyone that staring at a project while his vision goes blurry is sign he needs a break and that no flashes of inspiration will save him. he's been tinkering with this augmented paintbrush all day for the next foray and now... well, he needs a change of pace is all. nero stands, stretches, and completely ignores the logical choice of sleep to go find a different thing to occupy himself with.

that would be cid. who is fortunately easy to find and perfectly available for nero to drape himself over cid's back. that basically means he was invited to do this, right? for sure. he takes cid's jaw in hand and stretches him back so nero can kiss him, splaying his fingers to feel the pulse in cid's throat. "time for a break. occasional diversions are important to offer your employees, you know?"

[minarcana]

She would feel that way, wouldn't she. Hesperos sighs a little, but tries to keep concerned resignation out of his expression. He's always been a rather good actor, and Athena rather good at not worrying the finer points of others' feelings. "There is that." Frankly, it's not an entirely unrelatable sentiment even though he's not one for the unethical. Pandæmonium has always been to him a welcome freedom from Amaurotine puritanism. "I would never argue the individual freedom here is greater than anywhere else we might access, and I do appreciate that. But experiencing things beyond walls is important for those still growing." For the twins' case.

Athena's gaze is a slight bit unnerving, has been after she started experimenting in earnest and is more so with the auracite buzz of a goddess behind her. Hesperos dislikes the idea of being seen too much, the protectiveness over his carefully rebuilt walls of self-image. Athena like as not doesn't care about what's behind them, but that doesn't mean standing still and meeting her eyes isn't a slight force of will rather than a habit.

However, when she asks, Hesperos blinks in surprise. The idea that his motives might be questioned simply never occurred to him. "Why would I not? Firstly, as a keywarden it is my duty to ensure every life within Pandæmonium is properly cared for, and that includes the workers as much as it does the concepts. Secondly and more importantly, I view both the children and you as my friends. Extended family, mayhaps, if that doesn't come across as too imposing." However one might define extended.

"Perhaps you and I may not have been the closest, but I still respect you, and you're still the wife of my dear friend." He smiles, and shrugs. Admittedly, whatever personal relations he may have had with anyone other than maybe Erichthonios are rubble, but the sentiment still remains on Hesperos's end. "I would be remiss if I didn't worry about you."

Among the quiet humming of aether around them, his confession seemed to linger and grow heavier with every passing second between the two denizens of the dungeons - and denizens they were in their own right. Athena turned around to him at last, finally letting her attention go of the torrents of aether and instead focus on the other keyward. " I wasn't aware that there's reason to worry about any of us. Compared to the treacheries and social restrictions in the city, this place has been the paradise manifest on this star. No rule will tell you that your research is beyond the possible. Or unethical. " And what else could they possibly hope for?

She shook her head and yet allowed herself a small, if not apologetic, smile toward Hesperos. In moments like those a question often crossed her mind, and that was if Hesperos had ever truly belonged to Pandaemonium or if he had simply reached out for something he had never wanted in earnest. A mistake. A misjudged opportunity, which had locked him here now. Unable to leave for good. With silent steps, her feet carried her closer to her subordinate, whom she regarded closely as if she peered into his very soul in search for something unseen. At least unseen for anyone without a blessed sight.

" Why are you worrying about them. About me? "

[minarcana]

Every time he makes Thancred laugh, Urianger feels a swelling of warmth in his chest and a slight bit of pride in himself for managing. It's a charming expression on him, and he deserves more than anyone else to comport himself with happiness. Urianger too has no intention of moving himself or getting Thancred to leave, perfectly content to keep himself and his hands where they are.

"Hehe. I've become greedy in my complacency, perhaps. The gift I demand is the gift of thy time and tales of any interesting happenings unto thee. Thy presence is always welcome, shouldst any of those fail to be available." He smiles with another quiet laugh, soft enough to almost be a hum. His open affection has gotten easier these days, after the journeys and self-assurance, and it's with Thancred that he shows this off most eagerly. "Here I was joking. I accept all that thou offereth with full joy to be considered."

He was wondering how long till Urianger came to him, a smile unable to keep itself from his lips as the familiar hands cup his face. Everything melts away at the tender smile (the kiss is simply a bonus), and he brings a calloused hand up to rest over Uriangers own. He loves the attention, loves the mage's hands on him. It's comfortable and welcoming.

It's safe.

It's home.

A soft chuckle makes it past his lips at the jest, and he turns his head to press his lips to Urianger's palm.

"Ah, my presence alone isn't enough of a gift for you anymore? I see how it is." He doesn't want to move, doesn't want to let go of Urianger's hand.

"I may have brought something back for you." A part of him feels guilty it's a couple of books, but he's positive he didn't recall seeing the tomes in his beloved's vast collection, and he thought they'd make him happy.

[minarcana]

zenos sounds defensive when she bites back a correction offering laurel's name. it brings the twitch of a smile to ker's expression, a single flicker between his frustration at what has been done to a soul he once knew. there's still that sort of defensive bond between these two people, a marker of what couldn't be destroyed even through sundering and who knows how many rebirths.

just a little bit of pride that ker and kostas shared something that even the star and calamity could not erase. "i do. laurel, my inheritor, the wandering star." he's out of habit of using her name, rarely being able to do so. another nod afterwards. "he knew him. not so well as i. kostas was my partner, the other half of my heart. a quiet soul from beyond the city--" ker's starting to digress, too close to bragging now, and he catches himself-- "emet selch knew him in that i made hem meet." work friends meet each others' partners and all. "he should have known yours was a shard of a soul that was worth protecting." a petulant huff, but quiet and hidden. ker's better at keeping his childishness toned down.

still, though zenos is cracked and bloody, the same thing is true about her own soul, not just as kostas's. emet selch really was... well, ker resists the urge to roll his eyes at the memory of the other. what a bore. "good. as you should have. it is a parent's duty to love their child, and if they fail the the consequences should be theirs to bear." possibly a bit extreme position, but that's not ker's problem. he nods. "i am ker. also called azem, if you have heard aught of those that came before the sunderings. i am the traveler, though now i am simply a wandering dream, gone in the morning no doubt."

amidst ker’s surprise, anger, questions, all zenos responds with at first is a brow lifting uncertainly. she’s read every book in their library, traveled and studied any meaningful knowledge. language, poetry, music, science… she can answer almost anything, yet the ancient’s appearance visibly rocks her. frustrating. their past has always been a strange mystery to her, seemingly unimportant now.

don’t be foolish. spoken to like a petulant child. as though she should be aware of whatever stranger’s soul she took. “ your star. you mean laurel. “ she has a last name, zenos just feels possessive of it. like it’s intimate knowledge, even when known by many. “ and this kostas, emet-selch knew him ? “ zenos isn’t quite sure how to imagine their society. she never imagined where her previous life fit in.

“ my father is dead. i killed him myself. “ she states thickly. it wasn’t laurel’s battle to win. “ he kept us apart. “ yet, here she is, speaking on it to a stranger who reminds her of her favorite person. “ you’re … ker. “

[minarcana]

The atmosphere itself here lends itself to depression, and that's not counting literally everything else going on. It would weigh on any shoulders. It pushes extra on L'Calem, with his history and self-image. Urianger has often doubted his ability to be reassuring-- he knows his language is too convoluted for most, and his ability to speak his feelings has ever left him with the sense that it's wanting, something unconveyed. That's different for Calem, though. It's easier to put his thoughts in order and state them without overthinking that something will be misconstrued.

Maybe because he's stopped worrying about that happening. They know each other's limits and intents. ...Or something like that. Is that too cliché, Urianger wonders to himself, but he's sufficiently convinced that it's fine as Calem leans against him. He smiles down at the other, reassuring. "Thou mayst always rely upon me to be here. Full glad am I that thou did not disappear after Doma, for I would be just as adrift without thee to rely upon as thou say'st thou art without me. We are a team, my dear fierce friend."

He'd been depressed, dealing with all the Garleans calling him a murderer for not rolling over and dying. Knowing they'd hate him even more for their dead Legatus. Being more upset to know there were so many who should be on his side who saw him as a blood thirsty beast the Scions kept on a leash.

Maybe it's why he went to Urianger. L'calem knew he wouldn't lie to him and pretend that he was a more gentle being than he was. But he wouldn't hate him either. He'd see the protective tiger over the slathering monster every time. He loved the man for it.

The kiss on his hand made him blush, and he pulled himself closer with Urianger's hold like an anchor. Finally pressed against him and looking up into Urianger's eyes, chin laid on his chest.

"Thank you, my friend," He said softly. "I'm glad to know you're by my side. I couldn't handle being a scion or on the front lines without you, I think. Would have run away after Doma."

[minarcana]

"But we're not the ones on stage, so does it still count from me?" She replies with a sly little giggle. Stage rules can't apply to her! She doesn't go on the stage, she just watches. But she understands manners, and claps around Mina. The perks of a tiny partner, it's rather easy to move without disturbing their seat. "See. Told you you'd do better." Laurel winks. "And I'd do much worse. It evens out, eh?"

She's only had to perform music once, and the memory still haunts her. But that's for a different time and place! For now, she's grinning at Mina. "It's a nice place, and a nice party. Been ages since I got to relax in Eorzea." Tural is a little better, but the parties aren't the same. This is the sort of carousing Laurel likes. "I'd go anywhere you invite me, silly. And be glad for the invite."

" tis bad form to suggest so, you know. stage rules... " as the music dies off and the many surrounding them clap, mina takes the opportunity to turn enough to look at laurel instead. " ... but perhaps. one was a bit pitchy, or tuned their lyre too tight. probably anxious. " regardless of the ease in which they teased, their tone hinted understanding. they adore their fellow bards and troubadours, for their journeys were their own as well.

mina smiles, tail swaying behind them as they reach to brush her hair from her face. " i'm 'aving a ton of fun, actually. i missed these cozy set ups... all th' drunken laughing. most importantly i'm happy you decided to come with me ! "

[minarcana]

Laurel stares at Zenos, always unable to hide whatever she feels from being reflected in her eyes. It's for now a lingering concern from that time, an intensity and the relief of having Zenos back at her side in her correct shape. Something Laurel went a while without unpacking, considering how busy everything was before and after those times. "You're not wrong. It wasn't fun at all. When everyone spoke of you yet I knew I couldn't reach the real one." Maybe she could, if she tried hard enough, but if he were in a false body it wouldn't be the same at all.

She mutters something a little frustrated, a little sad, entirely inarticulate. Her hand is followed with the rest of her body, and then Laurel's head rests against Zenos's sternum. Her heart beats beneath Laurel's palm. That much is real. And she feels a little better now that she's said this aloud. The wonders of speaking, maybe. "I didn't want you to die. Even if you had, I would have taken part of you to carry with me forever. I already have, with Shinryu, but... I'd never match it to having you with me. My dearest friend." Using Zenos's word for it. That should get the same feeling across. "I thanked all of them, you know! I will again. Maybe I'll bake them a cake. You should thank the, too."

@minarcana sent: ❝ i dreamt every night that you’d come back to me. that somehow it was all a nightmare dawn would undo. ❞ laurel speaks, of course, of the time when zenos wasnt himself, the tales of a prince possessed and the real one vanished. she frowns at the memory of fighting only zenos's body, none of the thrill that was present when she fought the real one. "i was mad. angrier than when you had taken your death from me in ala mhigo. i was scared after ultima thule it would be the same feeling again, after you'd come so far for me."

she imagines herself answering such a statement with disdain. mocking laurel, quite easily, as she shoves down any lingering curiosity on the feelings the hero so readily invokes. t’was different before her death, before the mind games and before murdering her own father. less unhinged, no less violent and bloodthirsty. zenos stares at laurel in quiet contemplation - only recently has she considered kinder approaches.

“ no imposter could match our skill in battle. the ascian was tiresome more than anything, and ill suited for the part. “ her lips quirk into a strange, faint smile. “ were it not for that, i would have returned to you sooner. nightmares drain energy, and i shan’t have my friend exhausted. “ there’s concern, but mostly possessiveness in zenos’ tone. he reaches for laurel’s hand, dragging it towards the slow beating heart in his chest. “ i … realized i was scared too, that our stage was our final place at each other’s side. you should thank your tall friend for keeping me alive. “

[minarcana]

"am i seeing things, or did i just watch as a poppet models of the emissary and ericthonios just sprinted by holding hands...? erich must have been roped into something."

[minarcana]

This is his consort, his with the silver laugh and overfull heart. Nidhogg curls around him and does not let go, making himself comfortable as his tail winds loops around Haurchefant's leg and Nidhogg's claws eventually settle around Haurchefant's hips. "Were it before, two days would be but a blink of time. In this body, time seems so much slower." Which is to say, he gets a little lonely.

And anxious, at times. At least it's better now that he has some chcobos at his house to spend time with and the occasional visitor of one or two very young dragons of his brood, tiny fellows too young to remember much of the war and small enough to live so close to men's settlement without being noticeable or at risk. Still, Haurchefant is his favourite and Nidhogg prefers his favourites close. Such is the way of things. "Then wait the night with me." He kisses Haurchefant again. This is a novel thing still, something only possible in this human form, new ways of showing affection. It doesn't lose the sheen of novelty even now, feeling the soft flesh of man mold so they fit together. Then he pushes his forehead against Haurchefant's nuzzling him with the rumble of a purr deep in his chest. "I would come were it with thee. My worry is not for myself, but for thee coming to harm from standing with me. I can fend for myself, little knight."

@minarcana sent: ❝ stay with me a while, will thou not? tomorrow will come all too soon. ❞ as nidhogg curls his tail around haurchefant's leg, all but tripping him backwards. on the morrow, haurchefant will have to return to his garrison for a scheduled someting-or-other, but the night is dangerous to travel in and could be spent better ways. their time is limited, take what most can be given. he pulls haurchefant into him, curling around the knight and mouthing kisses and bites along the side of his face, angle awkward but not enough to deter nidhogg. all has always been taken from him, may as well make the most of what he has when it's offered before him. guard it selfishly.

haurchefant, despite all the refined training of a knight, is clumsier after his injury. it doesn’t take much of the dragon’s pressure to make him stumble, but rather than worry — no, he’s laughing all over again. a chiming sound he doesn’t hide from his beloved, his eyes closing to savor each adorable kiss.

“ i see no harm waiting the night… and you know i won’t be gone but a few days. just two, if i can wrap things up quickly. then i shall return to your embrace as always~ ” he grins, barely managing to shift himself in nidhogg’s arms so it’s easier to kiss his nose. “ i can leave at daylight. wish i didn’t have to go, really. “ he takes a breath, his hand extending to cup nidhogg’s head. “ one day you should come with me. i would let no harm come to you, and certainly fight anyone who tried. “