Zavakri & Miizel
& The Dungeon Master
Her haste leads her into a torrent of raining golden seeds- which most certainly is not an ordinary weather phenomenon, mind you!- which she regards with the same time and care that a stone might regard the wind. She barrels through, caring not for wishes nor this particular game of whimsy; talking trees and squirrels could be processed shortly. As her haste takes her past the Calliope, she finds herself briefly distracted by the musical tunes therein.
She hesitates but a moment, her gait slowing enough for a carnie to potentially consider it 'interested'. This warrants the triggering of the rhyme and a glance towards Brutrumukk as he entertains the request for a button. The Bugbear's smile was somehow a bit infectious- not that she consciously seemed to comprehend this fact- and as she sped away from the Calliope she herself was smiling a strained smile that made her seem more mad than glad as a nervous giggle emanated from her lips quietly.
Dodging and weaving through the crowd- obscene mathematics whirring in her mind as she orchestrates a no-touch crossing of the carnival grounds, requiring her at one point to carefully weave between the steps of a stiltwalker with impeccable timing- she finally approaches the Lost Property Wagon.
She heaves a deep breath, running a hand loosely through her hair to relax some rension. Her breath catches however upon witnessing the strange tentacle'd feline creature from the nether realms of nightmare playing with two boys. She freezes, as if suspecting the creature might only be able to see things that move- a theory swiftly dashed as the as-of-now-determined female looked directly at Zavakri.
"Erm- Hallo." She manages lamely, waving in a stilted and almost robotic manner. She similarly adopted Elvish in a fluent manner. "I am looking for some...Er...Thing...?...One...?...That I lost. Her name is Detara, is she here?" Her voice gradually rose into an anxious crescendo pitch. Her hands began to busy themselves, one awkwardly housing itself upon her hip, the other seeming to occupy itself trying to find a comfortable and socially casual manner of playing with her hair.
The Displacer Beast lowers the tentacles as Zavakri asks if she's seen a person named Detara. While the older boy who had been roughhousing with her wanders a little away, the Displacer Beast speaks sympathetically to Zavakri, "
Detara...I'm sorry, I haven't seen any child going by that name,"
She then asks Zavakri, clearly thinking about the situation, "
Oh, when did you last see her? I can ask some of the Witchlight Hands to help look for her,"
"Oh, roughly, I don't know, eight years ago to the day. Not that I've been keeping track or anything, mind you, just decided to drop by on a whim. Last I saw her she was a young girl of, say, ye height, about ye width, shares many features with meself- comes from having the same mother and father, you understand- though I'd hazard she was a bit prettier than myself. To be honest, it was always a little frustrating to think that as children. Sure she couldn't handle her numbers and was useless with the laundry, but the gel had a smile that would light up the room and if she screamed you could hear it through a storm. In fact, it was a pretty unique scream if I do say so myself. I recall her using it to wake us all up on many an occasion when she had a nightmare. I can imagine she felt extremely similar to how I do right now, if I stretch the ol' imagination just a smidge.
Now that I think of it, she'd be all grown up now. I wonder how she looks... Oh, drama, I can't even begin to imagine. What if she's got all these horrible scars now? What if she was burned, or had an accident and lost a leg, or decided to shave her head and get tattoos, or fell into company with adventurers and is all brawny now? It wouldn't be dreadful or anything, but it boggles the mind to consider. What if she doesn't even go by Detara anymore? What if she unofficially adopted just 'Tara' like the family always called her? Tara the Adventurer almost has a good ring to it; you could drink to Tara the Adventurer if you were the drinking type. Is she the drinking type nowadays? I hope not, she'd still be a little young for it, you know?
I'm not the drinking type meself. I prefer to keep my head on straight, keep things nice and tidy, helps me keep sense of the world. It's confusing enough and dangerous enough without dulling the mind with the alcohols. When I get a drop of the stuff I start to get fuzzy with my maths- in fact, one night I took to a brandy because it was sweet and treated me well enough, but by the end of the night I was seeing double and thought that there were two Glyths up in the Sea of Night. How ridiculous would that be, seeing two Glyths? That'd be like seeing two Taras. There wouldn't be two nowadays, would there? Some magical accident that split her into two, one Good and one Evil? Those things happen, you know, it has to to balance out all the perfectly mundane things that people like me prefer to see happen. For every chicken that lays an egg, there's a Cockatrice spawned somewhere in the multiverse to wreak havoc, you understand, it's the worst sort of math.
At least it keeps the equation balanced."
She takes a breath.
The Displacer Beast, Dirla, was very attentive as Zavakri speaks. When she starts to ramble out of a panic of sorts, Dirla begins to let out a rumble of a purr, as though trying to calm Zavakri out of instinct. During her mathematical ramble, Dirla speaks to her still speaking in Elvish, "
Breathe, Dear. Take a deep breath,"
As Zavakri takes a breath, Dirla speaks again in Elvish, "
I am so sorry about your plight, dear. I'll let the Witchlight Hands know, and they can keep an eye out for Detara. I, myself, am not a stranger to this..."
She lets out a sad sigh herself, "
I swore to protect all of the children who come, and yet...my own cub, Star...He disappeared years ago as well. I couldn't protect him...."
Someone else expressing a plight of some sort seemed to register within the woman a strange and intrinsic politeness. She nods along to the strange abomination's words, and wipes at her own eyes as the beginnings of a tale is yarned before her.
"Star is a lovely name. You can never be without them; just look up. Stars are always with us. I think that's something you can take some comfort with." She offers sincerely despite her reservations at being near this creature. "I won't pry, but I appreciate you." She concludes. She sniffs, then, and sighs.
"...Witchlight Hands. I suppose that's for the best. I don't know what I expected, really...Running over here like she'd just be standing here waiting for me. That was rather childish of me, eh?"
[quote=@Guardian Angel Haruki]
Dirla shakes her head and she answers Zavakri kindly, "
It's not childish at all. In fact, it's quite reasonable to come here if you lost something. Or at least...it used to be..."
She looks around cautiously, before she informed Zavakri quietly, her elvish voice hushed "
Something is wrong as of late. It's not just the both of us. Many people and items have been disappearing and never returning. I'm worried, the carnival wasn't like this..."
Before she could say more, the older boy of the two Dirla was minding, pulls out a mirrored ball from the toys, and he speaks, "Ooooh! This is awesome!"
Dirla looks and her eyes widen. In an unusual moment of anger, she lets out a roar, and shouts in Elvish, "
PUT THAT BACK! THAT'S NOT YOURS!"
The boy looks surprised, before his face contorts as he cries and runs away. The boy runs past Miizel as he finally finds his way to the Lost Property.
Dirla looks shocked at herself, and she herself lets out a remorseful moan, "
Oh no...!"
She starts thinking out loud herself, "
I have to go after Viro...but I can't leave Allowin alone. Oh, what should I do...?"
“Right. Gondola Swans, Gondola Swans.” Miizel muttered to himself as he walked towards his destination. He kept his head buried in the map and only looked up to orient himself.
“Ok so a left over here, followed by a right, then go straight for a bit, then as I turn the corner I…should…be…at the place…voila!”He pulled away from the map expecting to see a large lake with a couple of boats but was greeted with the ticket booth and the entrance they came from. It seemed as though he had walked around in circles.
“Oh damned of the gods, this is a faulty map.” He grumbled. His eyes landed on lost property where he saw one of the people from earlier conversing with a strange tentacled being.
“Well…might as well go there since technically I am lost.”Miizel started to walk towards them but was interrupted when a kid ran past, nearly toppling him over.
“Hey kid!” He reaches out to try and grab the child running away, managing to just get his fingers on the back of his collar and pull him to a stop.
“You should really watch where you’re going.”He looked over to the creature in charge of lost property who was looking worriedly over at his direction.
“Running off like that isn’t good. Come on.” He starts to pull but the child was stronger than he looked. After several tugs the boy remained stubborn and refused to move. It looked like they were stuck there for now.
Miizel sighed and turned to look at the tentacled creature. Cupping his mouth with his free hand, he casts the message spell and says.
“Well I caught him but he doesn’t want to move. Now what?”Zavakri briefly recoils at the sudden roar from Dirla, her body jerking away as she rises up on the tips of her toes and performs a series of anxious tapping-steps in a slow circle. She watches as the boy runs off, some instinctual thing welling up within her.
"Don't worry-" She began, taking a suddenly bold step after the running boy...
Only to lose all the steam she'd been working up.
"He's perfectly alright and in-hand already! Jolly Good, that one!" She deflated and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, lifting a hand to her forehead as if to ward off her own swoon.
"Thank you kindly, sirrah, that was almost a headache!" She calls out to Miizel in Common. "Who knows where a boy like that may have gotten lost, eh? Things should remain where they should be- as should people!"
She turns back to Dirla and smooths her hands along the hem of her shirt to calm herself. She switches back to Elvish to continue the dialogue;
"I'm interested in hearing more about how things've changed- oh, but I suppose he may have lost something himself. I'll form a Queue. I like those, they're tidy things."
She dutifully steps aside and curtsies to Miizel, partially.
After a bit consoling to the child from Zavakri, and an apology from Dirla, Viro calms down and walks back to Dirla and his brother. Once Viro gives Dirla the mirrored ball back, Dirla turns her attention back to Zavakri and Miizel. She continues the discussion in Elvish,
"
Thank you. I appreciate the help,"
She then continues quietly in Elvish, "
People and items have been disappearing starting years ago. The mirrored ball is the only thing I have left to remember Star. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that, though,"
Miizel looks at the child that was now obediently walking back to the tentacled creature and nodded.
“Thank you.That boy wasn't going anywhere, and well, neither was I.” He said, returning the human’s curtsy with a small bow before turning towards the boy and reprimanding him.
“As for you young man, it’s not good to run away without telling anyone. You’ll have people worried sick.”He paused for a moment after saying those words, eyes glazing over as he recalled something.
“Right!” He placed his hands on his hips and smack his lips a few times before saying.
“I think the map given at the entrance is a faulty one. I tried to go to Gondola Swans but ended up getting lost. I suppose it’s quite fitting that I ended up here.” He laughed loudly, the slight panic seen earlier before entering the carnival seemingly gone.
“Oh right! Where are my manners, my name is Miizel Throe. Pleasure to meet you.”Silence reigns over Zavakri for some time. Serenity, perhaps, in a word. The concept of waiting her turn was a thoroughly relaxing one-
Ah. It was not to last. Realizing she was being addressed by both, she hastily recalled the words they said. She nodded to Dirla once, conspiratorially, before looking to Miizel and curtsying in a common fashion. Neither too ostentatious, nor a mockery of the formality. A proper greeting.
"Zavakri, the pleasure is all mine. Children are a wondrous thing and deserve these kinds of headaches."
She giggles quietly, a reserved sound.
Viro mumbles an apology in response to Miizel after being admonished. Dirla nods in response to Miizel's and Zavakri's introduction. She listens as Miizel talked about the map, and she tilts her head before letting out a small rumble of a chuckle. She looks to Zavakri, and she advised in Elvish,
"
It might be a good idea to have someone accompany him. Our maps and layouts have remained the same over time,"
She then introduces herself, "
It is nice to meet you both. My name is Dirlagraun. And yes, I agree: Children are wonderful and should be protected to the best of our abilities,"
She looks around again and she looks to Zavakri again. She talks quietly again, after thinking for a bit, "
While your sister isn't here at the Lost Property, I'm guessing you are going to continue looking for her?"
The tentacles that held the mirrored ball moved towards Zavakri, and she speaks again, "
I apologize for the sudden request, but...if you find my cub, Star, could you give this to him?"
Zavakri's eyes widen as Dirla speaks, and soon the woman is curtsying once more. She then gently takes the mirrored ball into her hands and balances it gingerly between her fingers.
"Of course." She says softly. "And if you see my sister, let her know that mum is
still incredibly cross about what happened and I'd greatly appreciate her putting in the good word for me."
She releases a breath once again, gently placing the ball into her bag; then, she turns to Miizel.
"The Gondola Swans? They were this-a-way, sirrah, when your business here is concluded." She gestures astray. "I could walk with you there, if you don't mind the company."
Dirlagraun nods once, bowing her head a bit, before answering Zavakri, "
Of course. I will be sure to tell her, if I see her,"
She turns her attention back to the two boys as Zavakri speaks with Miizel.
Just before the two leave, an older woman arrives with drinks in hand. The two boys run to her, calling
"Mom!"
"Mom, you're back!"
The mother soothed her children before giving them their beverages. She thanks Dirlagraun for watching them before she and her two children head off back into the carnival.
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Vampiretwilight