#okahni taraze

[goddesstrolls]

A (slightly late) birthday gift for my beloved @nihils-trolls

Thank you for two years of fun blorbo times (and a little less than that of being my partner 💖)

[bastsoldtrollblog]

> You sit in a covered bus stop, rain pattering on the roof. Beside you sits a very young wriggler, telling you about some stories he’s come up with for his toys, one of which he holds in his lap.

> He speaks in an unusual language for these modern nights- One long since dead and forgotten by anyone outside your very insular group.

> Your gaze flickers up over the boy’s head as someone approaches the stop, perhaps to wait for the bus or just to seek shelter from the rain. You shush him softly, and the boy turns his head to look at the stranger with wide grey eyes. He leans a little closer to you, and you put your hand on top of his head comfortingly.

[goddesstrolls]

took a break from something else i was working on to slap some color on this

[goddesstrolls]

i finished it :]

[goddesstrolls]

we were discussing okahni going to the black pearl lounge with vee.

damn if he doesn't look good tho

[goddesstrolls]

>> You dart along the rooftop, crossbow bolts jutting out of both your shoulder and your calf. You handled your pursuer, but you'd still like to get out of plain sight sooner rather than later. You're in broad moonlight wearing your cloak with your hood and cowl up, someone will notice you.

>> You look before you leap, but the edge of the building happens to obscure the lone troll on the sidewalk below. You land without a sound, not so much as the scuff of a shoe on pavement- Just a slight gust of wind. But silence doesn't matter much when you've landed directly in someone's peripheral vision.

>> Shit.

@lashydsdomain

[goddesstrolls]

> You sit beneath a large tree, waiting patiently.

> It’s been several weeks since you were last here, and by this point you’ve mostly healed.

> Mostly. The gash on your arm is now a fresh and angry scar, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. Sparring will do well to help you get your strength back in that hand.

> As promised, you sent your lusus to fetch Villoh. A large golden eagle- ‘Golden’ being the species and not a descriptor of his color, he’s snow-white like most lusii- Wearing a harness holding a small box. Within the box is a sheet of blank paper and small quill pen, already loaded with ink much like a considerably more convenient ballpoint pen.

> Your lusus waits patiently on some perch where Villoh will easily spot him and be able to approach.

@nihils-trolls

[goddesstrolls]

>> This is getting kind of ridiculous, and you really can't spend much more time than you have on this.

>> You've intercepted several attempts by Almata's ex to break into her hive or otherwise get to her. You'd intended to only do it the one time, figuring he'd throw in the towel after that...

>> But over the course of a week, he's tried multiple times. He doesn't seem to have anything better to do at all besides come up with bad plans to get his ex back, and then execute them.

>> Not your circus, not your monkeys, but here you are. You're going to at least ask permission before you put this down. You head towards Almata's hive, Sen following after you of his own accord.

>> People seem to react a bit better to you when Sen's nearby, and you need to ride him back anyway. You tell him to wait a few feet from the door, and then walk up and knock.

>> You're pretty sure at least one of them is hive.

@lashysdomain

[goddesstrolls]

i think its funny that okahni likes being pinned down

[goddesstrolls]

[TW for poisoning, murder, dismemberment]

Okahni hated taking out targets in the city.

Too many prying eyes and too much light. But getting Almata's ex anywhere less populated would be more difficult, so he would just have to be careful.

The purpleblood in question had left his hive and, based on his agitated state and route, was planning on going to Almata's hive again.

Okahni's previous interceptions had made him wary, moving more cautiously and making an effort to take in his surroundings.

Ashira was waiting in an abandoned apartment on an upper floor, keeping an eye out for the purpleblood's approach. Okahni waited, clinging to a pipe above a dark, damp alley.

There came a faint sound from the gutter pipe. Two taps, then three rapid taps, a code Ashira and Okahni had established to mean the purpleblood was approaching from the south.

Okahni readied himself first, inhaling silently through his mouth as he raised his right hand. He placed his pointer and middle fingers pointing up in front of his lips, and forming a ring with his thumb, index, and pinky fingers. The Garo sign word for 'hide', but with sufficient focus it also activated a spell.

It would cloak him in darkness until the spell were dismissed, or light were shed on him. He was fairly high up, but he wanted to be certain the purpleblood would not notice him.

He shifted his position somewhat, staying on the wall with just an eighth of an inch of brick under one heel and one hand on the pipe. It was plenty steady, the brick wouldn't cave and neither would the pipe, and he wanted to have some freedom of movement.

Taking another breath, Okahni circled the center of his throat with his thumb and then drew his thumb along the bottom of his jaw, and outwards. The sign for 'speak', usually in the context of making someone speak or spill their secrets. This time, Okahni focused on Almata's voice- Activating a spell to steal it.

He'd been following this troll long enough to feel fairly confident that the idiot would fall for this trick.

Finally, he readied his dart. This time he had selected a potent poison rather than a sedative- A strong paralytic which first caused intense sweating and rapid heart rate, and then paralysis of the limbs and body. It would incapacitate him in four minutes, and kill him in ten.

Okahni had tested a range of sedatives on him during his interceptions, and felt confident that the dosage he'd chosen would work like a charm.

He spied the purpleblood's shadow passing in front of the alley entrance. He called out in a soft whisper, mimicking Almata's faltering manner of speech. Her voice came from his throat, calling the purpleblood's name.

The purpleblood's attention snapped over, and he stepped into the alley, looking around.

This was the tricky part. The alley was narrow, and hitting him with a dart in the right spot from this angle was difficult. He wouldn't have chosen this method if he didn't think he could do it, though.

Okahni threw the dart. It sunk into the side of the troll's neck near the connection to his shoulder- Right on the jugular.

Okahni also knew this troll was loud. Taking his hand from the pipe and leaning back so his own center of gravity would help keep him on the wall- Being otherwise held up by just one foot on that eighth of an inch ledge- He focused on the purpleblood and pressed the fingertips of both hands together. He formed a sort of cage with his hands, centering the form of the purpleblood below within it.

The sign for 'stop', specifically stopping whoever the sign was aimed at or was referred to after. In this case, it made the purpleblood freeze halfway through the gesture of reaching up to pull the dart from his neck. He couldn't speak, and could only do as much as breathe and move his eyes.

It would only hold for ten seconds if Okahni dropped it. He held the gesture, pain lancing through his temple.

He would have to hold it for at least a minute, if not more. The pain spread slowly, spearing red-hot through his arms and boring its way through his head. He could see the purpleblood suffering, too- Sweat breaking out on his face and dripping down his jaw, his eyes bulging as the poison took hold.

Finally, the purpleblood's eyes rolled. Okahni held the gesture for another few seconds before releasing it; It would hold for ten more seconds after that.

Exhaling slowly and carefully from the exertion, Okahni dropped down to the still-frozen purpleblood. He waited for the cage spell to release and caught the unconscious troll as he collapsed, and dragged him to the back of the alley.

He crouched between the purpleblood and the alley entrance. His shadow spell would cloak the purpleblood as well and help prevent them from being noticed.

The minutes crawled by. Okahni's limbs ached, nerves stripped raw from the ancient magic he'd used, but he was pleased to have been able to use the signs. It was the first time he'd used the sign of the mockingbird- The spell he'd used to steal Almata's voice.

Several trolls passed by the alley. One spared a passing glance but did not seem to notice anything amiss- Likely seeing only empty shadows.

After eight minutes he checked the purpleblood's pulse. He wasn't breathing and his face had gone purple, eyes half-lidded and rolled back. His heart was still beating, but barely.

Okahni waited until he couldn't detect any signs of life, not breath nor a heartbeat, and then paused to listen for footsteps on the street outside.

He rapped his knuckle once on the gutter. After a moment, another ping followed from Ashira; Confirmation that there was no one nearby.

Okahni hauled the purpleblood onto his shoulders, and scaled the wall into the apartment where Ashira waited.

Okahni dragged the purpleblood to the bathroom and hung him from ropes anchored from the ceiling before slitting him open, and letting him bleed into the tub.

While the troll bled, Okahni returned to the empty apartment and began making himself some tea. Inundated with magic, it would soothe his nerves aching from magic usage. He heated the water simply by cradling the kettle in his hands, and then brewed the tea.

Ashira watched with rapt attention, and Okahni quietly walked them through the steps- Heating the water to the perfect temperature, steeping the tea for the proper amount of time.

He'd done this multiple times, but Ashira knew by this point that he would repeat himself a lot. Learning to brew tea correctly was just the first step in learning to create one's own poisons and medicines.

The tea was pale gold in color and glowing faintly. The warm drink did indeed, soothe his aches, and Ashira had some tea too, trying to repress their expression at the taste and attempting to find something to enjoy about it.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to hide that much, at least." Okahni mused around the rim of his cup. Ashira made a face at their cup of tea.

They quietly enjoyed their tea, and then Okahni went over the poisons he had on his person with Ashira. He'd gone over them before, but now he was going over specific ones in more detail, discussing how they were made and exactly what they did to the troll body- And explaining how this was important to know when choosing a poison.

After more than an hour, Okahni got up to check on the purpleblood. A decent amount of his blood had drained, and Okahni took out one of his larger daggers to begin hacking the troll apart.

Ashira took each piece and wrapped it in waxed paper, tying it with thread to form a parcel, and stowed them in a waxed bag. Once the purpleblood was rendered completely into neatly packed pieces, Okahi used what little water remained in the pipes to rinse the blood off the tub and his hands. Ashira did the same at the sink.

Okahni removed the heaviest parts to carry himself, hiding them in various places in his cloak. Eventually Ashira lifted the satchel.

"It's good." They whispered- It was light enough for them to carry. Okahni nodded.

"Let's go."

Okahni and Ashira took their leave out of separate windows, taking different routes out of the city.

Once Okahni reached the trees, he whistled for Siima, who already wore his harness with a small box which contained some paper and a pen.

He wrote a note:

"The task is done. He will not bother you further."

He didn't sign it. He gave the note to Siima, and directed him to fly to Almata to deliver the news.

[goddesstrolls]

hi have a very low effort scene redraw while i try to make my hands remember how to do the thing

i've been meaning to do this for ages

[goddesstrolls]

they’re good

[goddesstrolls]

c3 for okahni

okahni gesturing at alma's ex whom he knocked unconscious. again

[goddesstrolls]

very quick n dirty expression set for okahni

i might wind up redoing a bunch of stuff on these bc i wound up not liking how it came out. oh well

anyway. rattles him. send asks .3.

[goddesstrolls]

Okahni found himself sitting across the hearth from multiple older trolls- Village elders who had gathered upon hearing the news that a mysterious troll claiming to be a Garo warrior turned up.

It was clear that this other village had been here for a long time- Longer even, than Okahni's village. According to the elders, it was the original village of the Garo.

Okahni knew that the village had moved after the fall of Tanikar Kingdom, but apparently it was a closer wager that some had only branched off from the main village.

A massive earthquake had cut off the two villages from each other- The elders in front of Okahni told him they thought the secondary village had been destroyed in it, and it couldn't be found- Too well hidden, it turned out.

It was decided that another warrior and an elder would return with Okahni to the secondary village to re-establish contact.

The main village was large- Three times larger than Okahni's village, though it had partially been destroyed well before Okahni was hatched- And just at a glance, Okahni wagered that more than a few of the residents were warriors.

Meaning he was not the last. Far from it.

It was a lot to take in.

But he did feel some kind of relief. Like a tight knot loosening in his chest. The slightest weight lifting from his shoulders. If something happened to him, there would be others.

He wished Ashtir were here to see it.

[goddesstrolls]

Okahni squinted into the cavernous darkness yawning ahead of him, and then released Sen's reins.

He had been asked to investigate a recently opened tunnel, and it took him near twelve hours to traverse. It did not, as the stoneworkers feared, lead to the Hall of the Dead, but rather towards and then away from it.

During the Kingdom's peak, many tunnels had been carved out by the Garo, hidden paths across the city. Okahni would believe this to be one such tunnel if it didn't lead away from the Kingdom- Off in a direction that he had no knowledge of there ever being a settlement.

But here, there was an unexpected cavern at the end of the long tunnel. What Okahni did expect, was that any settlement that had been here was long since destroyed, or at least abandoned. It had been sealed off from the Kingdom for centuries, a source of supplies even in its extended decay.

"Stay, Sen." Okahni commanded his mount, and the deer tossed its head at him to indicate it had heard.

He moved onward through the dark cavern. A handful of giant, faintly glowing crystals jutted from the walls and ceiling. They seemed to collect water- Purposefully attuned to it by trolls, perhaps- And from them water dripped, collecting in blue pools glowing with soft light.

Okahni stopped to drink and fill his canteen from one of these deeper pools. The crystals assured that the water was not only clean, it was imbued with a small amount of magic.

He wandered in the near pitch dark, not daring to light a torch. The cavern had many tunnels branching from it, forming an extensive natural maze.

Okahni sensed the troll tailing him first, a shift in the cavern air, the presence of life. It didn't take long for him to notice a trap set for him- A line of black powder, set in such a way that even he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been on guard.

That was usually a trick of Garo warriors to cage their marks. Okahni made to move into it as though he hadn't noticed, but set his foot on the powder as he passed. It erupted into flame, a far more explosive burst than the powder was capable of on its own, and he saw a troll who had been hidden in the shadows, now flinching away from the sudden explosion.

The troll was hooded, garbed clearly as a Garo warrior. That which, up until that moment, Okahni thought he was the very last.