#I have a sketch for the backside without the cape covering. All of it. but. uhm. Im lazy? Im sleepy?

[rivalkieran]

NATE RE-REDESIGN I wanted his arm braces to be more visible :P also. his mobility aids got actual designs! yaaay!!

[cyndecreativity]

Inktober Day 1 - Ring

Dried leaves crunched underfoot as two figures made their way through the forest in the setting sun. The larger brute strode with confidence, a feeble attempt to cover his exhaustion. The smaller figure moved slowly, a mask in her gloved hand. So much had happened over the last few days. She glanced up to the brute without seeing him and slowed. White painted wood lifted into her line of sight. So comfortable and familiar. Unlike her naked face. Her crunching stopped.

The crunching before her continued for a few moments. “Rokaria?” She listened, eyes closed behind the mask, as the crunching slowed to a halt. “Hey, what’re you doin’?”

She understood what he wanted to know, why he asked. It wasn’t just about the action. Her shoulders lifted. “Putting my mask back on.”

Crunches approached her quickly. A warm hand covered hers and pulled the mask away. His furrowed brow met her. “You just went through Hel to decide you didn’t need this anymore. I went through with you. I thought we were done with this.”

Her jaw clenched and she bristled. She had been through enough. She didn’t need this, too. “I didn’t ask you to!”

He yanked the mask from her hand. “You’ve never asked me to! But I do anyway! Why won’t you just accept that!”

Bereft of her shield, her hands balled into fists. “Because you always use it against me! You and Khadein always save me and then demand I repay you!”

A growl bared his vampiric fangs and she tensed. The mask angled to poke at her. “I have never asked for you to pay me back.”

Adrenaline flowed through her, though she had no reason to fear him. They had been through literal Hel, visited her kin, freed her new Patron, and not had much time to sleep or even rest. She had never fully recovered from the loss of her Matron or the loss of so many Fairy tribes. Too much had happened to her, to them, and she didn’t need this on top of it. She wanted her comfort back, the things she found normal. She grabbed for the mask. He jerked away. “Grendel, please! You’re doing it right now!”

The mask stretched over his shoulder. Though she did not reach his height, she could still attempt to reach for it. He stepped back. “ I’m… What? How? I’m just asking you to commit to a decision you already made.” He brandished the mask at her. “You don’t need this anymore. Your… magical goddess or whatever told you that. And the other one… the… Meh-fist-o guy, he said he’ll provide you the power without it. So what’s the problem? It’s just in your way.”

Tears welled in her eyes and her nose stung. She blinked carefully so as not to let the tears fall. “It’s not about the power, Grendel.” His brow furrowed. She sighed and shook her head. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. You don’t look any different.”

He bristled slightly. “Any different from what?”

Simple Grendel. She gestured absently outward. “The people out there. You… your clan just looks like humans.” He shifted. Curiosity tickled at her mind but she looked away. “Besides your seemingly odd behavior, you don’t look any different.”

The mask turned in his hand and he glanced between her and the mask. “I mean, the mask looks pretty different.”

She growled. “You don’t get it! You’re normal! You’re…” Her eyes closed and she lifted her hand. Gloves, long sleeves, full dresses or skirts or pants. She kept herself hidden her whole life. “I’m not like you, Grendel.” Her hand lifted to her cover half her face. “Without the mask- You saw them in Hel, didn’t you? Those creatures that I look like? Without the masks, that’s what everyone thinks I am. If I don’t wear it, I wouldn’t be able to…”

“Aw, come on. You look fine to me.” The crunching approached her again. “I mean, sure you have horns and your skin isn’t my color, but what does that matter?”

Her eyes clenched shut, the tears streaking over her cheeks. She ripped off her gloves and tossed them at the ground. “This matters to them, Grendel! My skin is the color of obsidian, of charcoal!” Her clenched fist slammed against his chest a few times, though he seemed unperturbed. “Look! Look at the difference!” She grabbed her horns and turned her head. “No one of this realm has these! These could seriously hurt someone! Only those Indoctrined look like this! Only those that have accepted the God of Darkness!” She pushed back her cape and unfastened the small pouch at her backside. “For Mama’s sake, Grendel, I have a tail!” She stretched the extremity, a thin whip-like appendage with a sharp arrow-like barb at the end. “I have to go through so much trouble to cover it all up, to appear presentable to normal society. They barely stand the Kaylith people, there’s no way they would accept me as I am. Not as a Darkling. They’re feared and hated here! And I’m o-hun of them!” She lifted her hands to her face to rub her eyes. Her chest hurt. “My parents abandoned me because I look like this!” The tears wouldn’t stop.

The shadows lengthened as she wailed into the woods. Grendel stood in front of her, unmoving. They had gone through Hel, encountered several friendly and unfriendly deamons, Darklings, and all of them responded to her with interest and excitement. She hated it. She hated feeling familiarity with them, these creatures of evil. She hated herself. Mama Tatianna let her see herself as something to be loved. But Mama and all her children had been killed. Because she lacked the power to save them.

“Well, they were stupid, weren’t they?”

Rustling leaves pulled her attention. Grendel crouched to collect her gloves. He stood slowly and offered them to her. She looked up to him. He stared at the gloves.

“They made you. They’re meant to love and care for you. That’s their duty-“ He inhaled sharply. She felt the weight of a story there. She would have to ask him later. “Look, it’s their loss, huh? You’re beautiful.” He smiled to her briefly.

Her heart skipped a beat. Had his eyes always been so amber? “You… You think so?”

He shrugged and shook his head slightly, brow furrowed. “Yeah?”

Heat found her cheeks and she sniffled. Her tears calmed. Though her heart beat faster. “Th-thanks, Grendel.”

He smirked and lifted the mask beside his head. “So you don’t need this anymore, right?”

Black-skinned hands curled around the white painted wood. It still repulsed her, but not nearly as much. She nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He offered the gloves again and she tucked them into her belt.

“Good girl.” He chuckled. He turned and started forward again.

She looked to the mask. Her tail flicked into view at her side. She held out her hand. All of it would require getting used to. Rarely had she been without her costumes and coverings even alone. Usually only to bathe or wash her clothing. But if she somehow found acceptance with at least one man, perhaps she could find acceptance with others.

The crunching halted. “Oh… shit.”

Rokaria tensed and spun her head to search for danger.

He turned. “I meant…. You’re a beautiful person.” Their eyes met. He looked to her, his cheeks clearly flushed. “I mean… You’re sure easy to look at, but you’re also… really… You save us, too. And…” He looked up. “Ah man.”

She giggled at his stammering and pulled her pack around to affix the mask to the side and tuck her gloves inside. “It’s okay. Either way, I think having someone on my side will make it easier.” She looped her arm through the backpack’s strap and looked back to him.

Fairy lights danced around him in the darkness. The sun must’ve set. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes focused on the ground. A lackadaisical ring of mushrooms circled his feet. A fairy ring.

He took a deep breath. “Look, we should get back before Khadein throws a fit.” She nodded absently. “He’s probably back in town pouting.”

“Wait!” He froze mid-step, foot hovering inches above the ground. The lights wavered around him. “Just- Stay right there. For a couple more minutes. Stay right there.”

He sighed and placed his foot on the ground. “Fine, fine.”

He started to move toward her again, but she barked again, and he stood in his spot, chagrined.

Her bag whipped off her back and she crouched down to fish out her journal. She smiled to him as he watched her, interested, and she filched around for her charcoal pack. The longer she searched, the more Grendel sighed. She dug out a few items, placed them on the ground, and he turned away, one hand on his hip, the other on the back of his neck. She found the sealed pack of charcoal and exclaimed quietly, feeling her tail extend in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Grendel rolled his neck with a heavy sigh.

“Just… stay there, okay? Couple minutes.” She gestured to him with one her charcoal pieces.

He waved a dismissive hand and shifted his weight. The lights danced around him in a playful ring. A familiar warmth spread throughout her body as she watched the fairy lights, watched this large young man fidget under her gaze. Mama Tatianna maybe be nothing more than a memory, but the fairies, they would return. She pressed charcoal to paper and started to sketch as fast as she could.

She hadn’t really sketched another person for some time, mostly statues or etchings. Sometimes she had tried to sketch out special items like the Kaylith daggers. But she needed to preserve this memory. The fairies’ hint of life used to show their approval and acceptance of Grendel, of her.

“This is more than a couple minutes, Rokaria.” He looked to her again.

She smiled. “Well, you have a lot of details. Gimme a couple more minutes. Sorry.”

His brow furrowed. “What are you eve- Whoa!”

Rokaria’s attention snapped up to him. He jerked back, one hand already gripping the haft of his enormous hammer. His eyes focused past her and she spun around.

Nothing. Her shoulders sank. She turned back around to Grendel. No longer on his weapon, he held his hand before him, one of the fairy lights floated above it. Both the light and the Vampire regarded the other.

Silence. His cheeks darkened again and he glanced toward Rokaria. She smiled and went back to sketching.

[cynicaldesire]

Inktober Day 1- Ring

Dried leaves crunched underfoot as two figures made their way through the forest in the setting sun. The larger brute strode with confidence, a feeble attempt to cover his exhaustion. The smaller figure moved slowly, a mask in her gloved hand. So much had happened over the last few days. She glanced up to the brute without seeing him and slowed. White painted wood lifted into her line of sight. So comfortable and familiar. Unlike her naked face. Her crunching stopped.

The crunching before her continued for a few moments. “Rokaria?” She listened, eyes closed behind the mask, as the crunching slowed to a halt. “Hey, what’re you doin’?”

She understood what he wanted to know, why he asked. It wasn’t just about the action. Her shoulders lifted. “Putting my mask back on.”

Crunches approached her quickly. A warm hand covered hers and pulled the mask away. His furrowed brow met her. “You just went through Hel to decide you didn’t need this anymore. I went through with you. I thought we were done with this.”

Her jaw clenched and she bristled. She had been through enough. She didn’t need this, too. “I didn’t ask you to!”

He yanked the mask from her hand. “You’ve never asked me to! But I do anyway! Why won’t you just accept that!”

Bereft of her shield, her hands balled into fists. “Because you always use it against me! You and Khadein always save me and then demand I repay you!”

A growl bared his vampiric fangs and she tensed. The mask angled to poke at her. “I have never asked for you to pay me back.”

Adrenaline flowed through her, though she had no reason to fear him. They had been through literal Hel, visited her kin, freed her new Patron, and not had much time to sleep or even rest. She had never fully recovered from the loss of her Matron or the loss of so many Fairy tribes. Too much had happened to her, to them, and she didn’t need this on top of it. She wanted her comfort back, the things she found normal. She grabbed for the mask. He jerked away. “Grendel, please! You’re doing it right now!”

The mask stretched over his shoulder. Though she did not reach his height, she could still attempt to reach for it. He stepped back. “ I’m… What? How? I’m just asking you to commit to a decision you already made.” He brandished the mask at her. “You don’t need this anymore. Your… magical goddess or whatever told you that. And the other one… the… Meh-fist-o guy, he said he’ll provide you the power without it. So what’s the problem? It’s just in your way.”

Tears welled in her eyes and her nose stung. She blinked carefully so as not to let the tears fall. “It’s not about the power, Grendel.” His brow furrowed. She sighed and shook her head. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. You don’t look any different.”

He bristled slightly. “Any different from what?”

Simple Grendel. She gestured absently outward. “The people out there. You… your clan just looks like humans.” He shifted. Curiosity tickled at her mind but she looked away. “Besides your seemingly odd behavior, you don’t look any different.”

The mask turned in his hand and he glanced between her and the mask. “I mean, the mask looks pretty different.”

She growled. “You don’t get it! You’re normal! You’re…” Her eyes closed and she lifted her hand. Gloves, long sleeves, full dresses or skirts or pants. She kept herself hidden her whole life. “I’m not like you, Grendel.” Her hand lifted to her cover half her face. “Without the mask- You saw them in Hel, didn’t you? Those creatures that I look like? Without the masks, that’s what everyone thinks I am. If I don’t wear it, I wouldn’t be able to…”

“Aw, come on. You look fine to me.” The crunching approached her again. “I mean, sure you have horns and your skin isn’t my color, but what does that matter?”

Her eyes clenched shut, the tears streaking over her cheeks. She ripped off her gloves and tossed them at the ground. “This matters to them, Grendel! My skin is the color of obsidian, of charcoal!” Her clenched fist slammed against his chest a few times, though he seemed unperturbed. “Look! Look at the difference!” She grabbed her horns and turned her head. “No one of this realm has these! These could seriously hurt someone! Only those Indoctrined look like this! Only those that have accepted the God of Darkness!” She pushed back her cape and unfastened the small pouch at her backside. “For Mama’s sake, Grendel, I have a tail!” She stretched the extremity, a thin whip-like appendage with a sharp arrow-like barb at the end. “I have to go through so much trouble to cover it all up, to appear presentable to normal society. They barely stand the Kaylith people, there’s no way they would accept me as I am. Not as a Darkling. They’re feared and hated here! And I’m o-hun of them!” She lifted her hands to her face to rub her eyes. Her chest hurt. “My parents abandoned me because I look like this!” The tears wouldn’t stop.

The shadows lengthened as she wailed into the woods. Grendel stood in front of her, unmoving. They had gone through Hel, encountered several friendly and unfriendly deamons, Darklings, and all of them responded to her with interest and excitement. She hated it. She hated feeling familiarity with them, these creatures of evil. She hated herself. Mama Tatianna let her see herself as something to be loved. But Mama and all her children had been killed. Because she lacked the power to save them.

“Well, they were stupid, weren’t they?”

Rustling leaves pulled her attention. Grendel crouched to collect her gloves. He stood slowly and offered them to her. She looked up to him. He stared at the gloves.

“They made you. They’re meant to love and care for you. That’s their duty-“ He inhaled sharply. She felt the weight of a story there. She would have to ask him later. “Look, it’s their loss, huh? You’re beautiful.” He smiled to her briefly.

Her heart skipped a beat. Had his eyes always been so amber? “You… You think so?”

He shrugged and shook his head slightly, brow furrowed. “Yeah?”

Heat found her cheeks and she sniffled. Her tears calmed. Though her heart beat faster. “Th-thanks, Grendel.”

He smirked and lifted the mask beside his head. “So you don’t need this anymore, right?”

Black-skinned hands curled around the white painted wood. It still repulsed her, but not nearly as much. She nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He offered the gloves again and she tucked them into her belt.

“Good girl.” He chuckled. He turned and started forward again.

She looked to the mask. Her tail flicked into view at her side. She held out her hand. All of it would require getting used to. Rarely had she been without her costumes and coverings even alone. Usually only to bathe or wash her clothing. But if she somehow found acceptance with at least one man, perhaps she could find acceptance with others.

The crunching halted. “Oh… shit.”

Rokaria tensed and spun her head to search for danger.

He turned. “I meant…. You’re a beautiful person.” Their eyes met. He looked to her, his cheeks clearly flushed. “I mean… You’re sure easy to look at, but you’re also… really… You save us, too. And…” He looked up. “Ah man.”

She giggled at his stammering and pulled her pack around to affix the mask to the side and tuck her gloves inside. “It’s okay. Either way, I think having someone on my side will make it easier.” She looped her arm through the backpack’s strap and looked back to him.

Fairy lights danced around him in the darkness. The sun must’ve set. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes focused on the ground. A lackadaisical ring of mushrooms circled his feet. A fairy ring.

He took a deep breath. “Look, we should get back before Khadein throws a fit.” She nodded absently. “He’s probably back in town pouting.”

“Wait!” He froze mid-step, foot hovering inches above the ground. The lights wavered around him. “Just- Stay right there. For a couple more minutes. Stay right there.”

He sighed and placed his foot on the ground. “Fine, fine.”

He started to move toward her again, but she barked again, and he stood in his spot, chagrined.

Her bag whipped off her back and she crouched down to fish out her journal. She smiled to him as he watched her, interested, and she filched around for her charcoal pack. The longer she searched, the more Grendel sighed. She dug out a few items, placed them on the ground, and he turned away, one hand on his hip, the other on the back of his neck. She found the sealed pack of charcoal and exclaimed quietly, feeling her tail extend in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Grendel rolled his neck with a heavy sigh.

“Just… stay there, okay? Couple minutes.” She gestured to him with one her charcoal pieces.

He waved a dismissive hand and shifted his weight. The lights danced around him in a playful ring. A familiar warmth spread throughout her body as she watched the fairy lights, watched this large young man fidget under her gaze. Mama Tatianna maybe be nothing more than a memory, but the fairies, they would return. She pressed charcoal to paper and started to sketch as fast as she could.

She hadn’t really sketched another person for some time, mostly statues or etchings. Sometimes she had tried to sketch out special items like the Kaylith daggers. But she needed to preserve this memory. The fairies’ hint of life used to show their approval and acceptance of Grendel, of her.

“This is more than a couple minutes, Rokaria.” He looked to her again.

She smiled. “Well, you have a lot of details. Gimme a couple more minutes. Sorry.”

His brow furrowed. “What are you eve- Whoa!”

Rokaria’s attention snapped up to him. He jerked back, one hand already gripping the haft of his enormous hammer. His eyes focused past her and she spun around.

Nothing. Her shoulders sank. She turned back around to Grendel. No longer on his weapon, he held his hand before him, one of the fairy lights floated above it. Both the light and the Vampire regarded the other.

Silence. His cheeks darkened again and he glanced toward Rokaria. She smiled and went back to sketching.