[IC] Realms of Sun & Shadow

[PrinceAlexus]

Syraeia Leela “Sy-a” Inn Keeper

Eye of Beholder”

Debuff. Snek in need of hug. Really. Also Tea. Muse made Snek sad.

Now with 50% more blood alcohol content.
Sloshed snakes can slither too

Sya was reading the guest list for the 5th time and the map of the Inn, tracking the lines, the entry points, the locked warehouse and the entry to the secure storage below. The lower levels were not on this map but she knew them, every bit she had helped design and plan when they expanded the Inn, and her idea for an escape tunnel given by Gadez… it might have been handy ya know. Maybe they needed a hidden…. Citadel of sorts down there, it would be hard to build secretly…buy their ws plenty of land and no one else seemed to be digging down…. Sya was one of few she knew who had such an extensive series of rooms below ground in town.

Hmm. Perhaps he was right, the broken and damaged eggs should make a box, a family of sorts, and look after each other in this harsh world. A family of choice and friendship, not blood and marriage.

She turned her head, the single large expressive eye turned on the grey skin and 4 eyes of Nesna, another blightborn “blessed” like she was with extraordinary features and changes beyond the norm even for their own kind of a sort.

Sya was not concerned about her choice of clothes that fit her more revealing than before, the leather was more snug, but honestly her eye and now cobalt scales seemed to draw more attention than a short skirt and a fortune hugging top. Really, she had died, reborn, changed, lost everything… She was not ashamed about showing her skin.

wait…how did she get there…had Sya been that out of mental notice she missed a woman sitting next to her. Sya sighed her eye and body language showing she was tired, hurt and her spoon draw was far less full than before the day started. “Yes, I just wanted to share a success with my friend, a new venture, my latest achievement, it hurts. Sorry, I'm not the most joyful right now Nesna. My Bakery, distillery, to make something here…” Sya didn't bother to hide her mood and her hurt soul, her eye, tail and nature did not let her. She was in a funk and her supposed grand opening was remembered for such things now.

One of Syas quirks was that she was an open emotional book, an open story for all to read if they could see to understand. “Has it? No one died, sure someone got hurt when some wolves got too close, or alarms when someone thought they saw an Ember beast, but… No, this is a first. Their was a incident with a shoval dad but thay was resolved safely.” She said evenly trying to not dump her trauma on a guest.

The lamia was not sure why she was open to Nesna, but trusted her feelings and her tone of voice, she seemed to be… Sympathetic to the innkeeper.

“Be careful, even after this, the damaged eggs have to stick together. The clean eggs might be wary of us, because this hurts them to the Yolk, which Sir Abel considered was a good egg. The Spoons might be harder than normal. Most are devnt eggs, but bad spoons will try, Avoid Lord Ayel. Of Rum..whatever soft sunlander” Sya tail, gave a weaker wave and made itself known, sometimes it just seemed to have a life of its own. She said the name with disdain but her words before had a tinge of caution and care about them, she did not want to see Nesna hurt.

Her words fell into borderland phrases and sub Language quirks of Sya herself.

Syas' mood changed a little as she noted Nesna seemed to have a little of a… familiar yolk about her, she had been cracked and the spoon had tried to hurt her but she had managed to outlast the spoon for now. “Would you like to join me for tea, some time in the future Miss Nesna, my apartments have a rather nice double height snug and private parlour.”

Syas pride had returned a little as she spoke of what she had built her body language and eye mirrored. Sya was cursed to always tell what her heart felt.

“I purchased a tea set, and I would like friends to share it with Miss Nesna.” She said honesty and vulnerability, she wanted to share her success and make the most of what life gave her, and the chances she had. Sya had a very good understanding of people and Nesna did not cause her to want to guard up like a castle, she felt... like she needed a friend too. Even if the 4 eyes where a little peculiar to where one should look.

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@enmuni

[SpicyMeatball]

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Charlotte’s first week in Dawnhaven had been nothing shy of boring. It truly did feel like the punishment it was intended to be. Being the lowest ranking member of the newest arrivals, she was given the woefully exciting tasks like cleaning up the stables, and all of the bitterly cold and isolated assignments at the outer edges of town.

She couldn’t say that it didn’t give her experience however. The recruit learned very quickly that the Lunarian sections had warm clothing figured out and adapted their practices quickly. These practices were likely the only reason she survived her posts throughout the week-long blizzard, where she spent most of her time huddled around a campfire at the northern edge of town. There were more travellers than she’d expected for such a storm, but most of the days involved staring off into the vast wall of white while using her tower shield as a windblock.

Charlotte hadn’t really made any friends either. She got partnered with someone new almost daily after rumors spread around that she’d--albeit indirectly--caused the death of a civilian back home. Not one had seemed impressed about being assigned as her training partner.

So much for my fellow guards having my back, she made a mental note, I guess the only person I can rely on is me.

Her tired eyes opened, the interior of a dimly lit guard-tower filling her vision. The dying remnants of what used to be a fire glowed gently before her in the brazier, barely providing relief from the biting cold.

F-f-f-f-ffuuuuuck I’m c-c-cold… … … G-great, I can even hear m-my t-thoughts shivering.

Desperate to keep warm, Charlotte drew her legs up to her chest as she sat on the bench. The wind slipped through every crack between the brick walls, relentless no matter where she moved. She pulled her fur cloak tightly around herself and enveloped her now much smaller figure. There was no longer a care in her mind about getting in trouble on the job. Really, how much worse can it get? My own partner fucked-off like an hour ago, what am I supposed to do, really? Leaving my post will just get me more shit with the commander.

She shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the annoyance before tucking it tightly into the soft fur of her cloak. Her eyelids fluttered with increasing difficulty, and though she fought it, the pull of sleep quickly became stronger. The cold had sapped away much of her energy and, combined with a shift now bordering on ten hours, made the lull of rest all too tempting.

No one’s gonna die if I nap for a few minutes.

And with that thought, she surrendered herself to the intoxicating darkness as her eyelids fell shut.

* * *

For a few moments, Charlotte could almost feel the warmth of the Aurelian summer sun on her face. The scents of the city, both pleasant and vile, were just out of reach. She could almost hear the hum of the bustling streets, the cheers of revelry from tipsy patrons, and the occasional cries of merchant’s haggling just down the road.

A part of her longed to be home again, away from this desolate place that seemed to hate her. She could walk back in the front doors to a hero’s welcome and a round of drinks, before heading upstairs and embracing her parents once more. Sure they would question why she was home so early. They may even be a bit upset to see her giving up on her dream so quickly. But there would always be a place for her there.

Maybe being a guard wasn’t what she was destined for.

She’d imagined something much different when she’d first signed up--the joys of comradery with fellow guards, respect and admiration from the townsfolk and perhaps even getting a bit tipsy after her shift had finished. Instead, her days had been filled by frost nipped fingers, aching feet and the feeling that she was a worthless addition to the guard force.

The excitement she’d once dreamed of was gone, replaced by pangs of regret and self-disdain. Back home, her friends had jokingly laughed when they found out she’d been recruited. Too many restrictions and too much trouble for a comparably meager pay, they claimed. Now she wondered if they’d been right all along. She missed their daily lunch-time conversations when the tavern slowed down, and the evenings spent playing cards by lantern-light.

Charlotte’s mind wandered back to Dawnhaven in her slumber. The warmth and light of the capitol faded away to the hollowness of the wind whistling through lifeless trees.

The faint ring of a bell filled her mind as the imagery before her wilted away, replaced by an inky void. Something felt wrong. A sickening feeling began to weave its way into her dreams as she saw flashes of a merchant bleeding out in front of her. In the distance, a hooded individual ran off, coin purse in hand. The scene was all-too familiar to her--it was the very reason she was assigned to Dawnhaven.

But why had her mind suddenly wandered to death?

Another chime of a bell, much more clearly audible and at the center of her attention.

And then it all came racing back to her. Northern gatehouse. Trying to keep warm. Falling asleep under her cloak. Three chimes of a bell.

I fell asleep. Three chimes of the bell.

Charlotte’s piercing blue eyes shot open like a bolt of lightning had struck her.

Oh fuck.

[enmuni]

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The Eye of the Beholder

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The one-eyed innkeeper's accent was difficult to discern, probably from some far-off corner of the world, no doubt. Nesna’s expression remained even and subtle throughout, with her lips curled into a quiet, tight-lipped frown, while her pupil-less eyes offered little indication of where she was looking or what she was thinking other than how her eyelids sat half-open, offering the overall impression that she was first and foremost listening carefully, though nonetheless at least a bit sympathetic.

A new business venture met with such an inauspicious opening day was certainly an unfortunate sight. But if nothing else, all the bad news of the day had seemingly not dissuaded the place from enjoying a healthy patronage. It made sense, really. Between the tensions, the grim state of the world, and the latest news, people would be needing something to soothe themselves. And as far as Nesna could tell, this was the only tavern in town—which surely meant Sya had a healthy and inexhaustible source of clientele. But as Nesna struggled through all the egg puns, it seemed clearer and clearer to her that what Sya was really upset about wasn’t any of the bad news, but rather that the joy she was so clinging to needed to be shared, and far fewer people than she’d hoped had been willing to share in it.

A blightborn sharing joy. What a thought.

Now tea? That was a real idea—the best one since a bath. And hopefully, one that would go better than the bath. Nesna cracked a small smile at Sya’s suggestion of sharing tea amongst friends. Friend was a funny word, but it definitely had a certain appeal. It felt odd to have such an idea thrown around so readily—after all, did true friendship not first demand weeping or bleeding together? Well, if Sya’s egg-talk was anything to go by, being transformed by the blight was something comparable enough, anyway.

“Tea…tea…tea,” Nesna repeated thoughtfully, as that small smile overtook her stoic frown, “A wonderful idea if ever there was one. I’ve missed teatime dearly.”

Nesna brought her hand to her cheek with a soft smile, as if trying to remember the last time she’d had tea.

“I suppose…damaged eggs should stick together, shouldn’t we? A damaged egg is a much nicer way of putting it than what I’d always imagined…

You know, I hadn’t had any particular notion as to what I’d find here. I…had…only imagined that this might be some…blighted leper colony, headed by doomed men.”

Nesna shrugged as she leaned forward and picked up her cup again, swirling the wine around as she spoke. She made renewed eye contact with Sya, gazing into her eye with a more active intensity than she had before.

“But never had I imagined that I’d see warmth in equal measure. I’ll accept your offer of friendship, Sya. I’m pleased to properly make your acquaintance. Now if I may be so forward, may we speak further on this matter of tea? What sorts make their way out here?”

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