PERSONAL COMM | IC INBOX

[ladiesss]

"Hey, you've reached Krista's voicemail.
Or whatever the equivalent is on this future walkie-talkie thing.
Leave me a message and I'll get back to you."

[ BEEP. ]

[ open for video, voice, and texts. ]

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[ladiesss]

[she huffs, relieved. at this point, his weird voice was pretty expected. she gathers up her dress so that she can sit on it... only realizing about halfway through that this isn't normal and that she's not wearing what she was wearing a second ago.]

Oh.

[...but a quick glance at the door assures her that she's not going to get in trouble, so she... makes herself comfy anyway.]

So... What happened?

[heresyandlace]

[the glance toward the door prompts him to check that his hood is nice and tugged forward into place, as if he were draped in the folds of a mysterious robe instead of blankets.

and he continues to slowly rattle the trinkets back and forth in his hand--eyeing an earring but not committing to it yet.]

What have you heard?

[ladiesss]

Really not much. [she frowns, folding her long spider-hands neatly in her lap.] The only public thing I've found is that a group of people killed a dragon. No one's talking why or who or... anything.

[heresyandlace]

They haven't said anything about it.

[--just verifying, and of course not sounding heavy and bitter about it at all. no sir. and he eats his feelings--finally feeding the ring into his mouth while he quietly glowers down at nothing.]

I suppose I should be grateful that they haven't gone bragging to the whole world about it. Such humble heroes.

[ladiesss]

Tek...

[her small, lidless eyes blink. which is subtly unsettling. she doesn't know if Tek deserved it, or if it was unwarranted, or if the whole thing was a complete mess--and she can't even begin guessing until he talks about it.]

How did it start? Why did you... take your bigger form to begin with?

[heresyandlace]

I had to. I'd waited too long.

[and he hopes she remembers how that goes, because he doesn't feel like using more words than he has to.]

The barrier only lets you go a mile out.

[ladiesss]

[she has the gist of it, at least. her round eyes get a little wider.]

That's right... So you couldn't go anywhere, there was the big burst of energy, and then... Ugh, of course, everyone who would notice decides it's time to go fight the dragon that's showed up in the medieval town.

[heresyandlace]

[he nods. and maybe the subject is ruining his appetite, because he makes a divot in the surrounding blankets to safely deposit his handful of trinkets into, and puts them down. the dragon equivalent of pushing away his plate.]

[ladiesss]

[she's pretty mad. this is so typical. this is exactly what would have happened at home, too.]

So who was it? Do you know them...?

[heresyandlace]

[and he nods again. yeah, he knows them.

but she's going to have to wait a moment if she wants further explanation.

with as much tact as he can manage, he carefully elbows himself forward and leans as far as he can over the edge of the blanket pile--well away from his visitor--and proceeds to lethargically retch up a few mouthfuls of black.

and somewhere in there, two small metallic objects clatter onto the wet floor.]

[ladiesss]

Oh...

[this seems to be a recurring reaction, for her... she watches him retch up more of that black gunk that's on the floor, scrunching her face up in mild disgust. at least she sounds genuinely sympathetic when she says...]

Sorry... That sucks...

[heresyandlace]

[it smells kind of like blood and acid. it's not great.

and he just stays slumped on the edge of the blanket pile for a minute or so, either waiting to make sure that his stomach (what there is of it) is settled, or just too tired to drag himself back to where he was before.

he'll be better in a minute, probably.]

[ladiesss]

[...after an awkward pause, she reaches over him, picks up one of the nice, glamour-infused pillows, and puts it down about where he had been resting previously.

you know. to help. there you go, buddy.]

[heresyandlace]

[oh man... and when he finally retreats back to the center of his nest-pile, he utters a little animal-noise of surprise. the normal thing would be to ask about the enchanted pillow there, or even arrange it like a human would... but he just kind of shoves into it, slowly drapes over, and curls up on it. he can't really feel comfortable in this state, but he's definitely closer than he was before.

he groans a little, and gets settled with a sigh.

what were they even talking about again?]

[ladiesss]

There you go...

[she reaches down to... pat his hair, a little. or maybe the blanket covering his hair. whatever's closer.]

So... Who was it?

[heresyandlace]

[he glances up with one of those weak, conflicted prickly looks that means he can't decide whether he's insulted that she's pitying him, or just wanting to selfishly soak up the attention. he doesn't have the energy he normally does for ego, though. and the question is a good distraction anyway.]

Oh, you know. [his lighter, sickened voice goes well with the sarcasm.] Crewmates of mine. And a necromancer, an elf who's killed someone I know, and some of their friends.

[ladiesss]

[of course he can't just tell her. she's pretty sure she's been in easier interrogations. so she goes back to sitting quietly and thinking through all the people she knows. Fenris is the only elf who's killed someone publicly. who's friends with Fenris? Jove, who is on Tek's ship. the necromancer...

following that logic, it must be... oh, please don't be Dorian. please don't be Dorian.]

What did the necromancer look like?

[heresyandlace]

Beautiful. Fabulous mustache.

[voice weak but still just dripping with bitterness.]

Superfluously strong-willed.

[ladiesss]

[she... drops her face into her hands.]

Goddamn it.

[heresyandlace]

You know him.

[it's not a question. it's a flat, tired statement.]

Don't tell me he's on your crew.

[ladiesss]

No, no. We're just... Friendsss...

[her voice can't get louder, exactly, but her pitch rises in frustration, words getting more close to hissing by the end of it.]

Though I was really counting on him not turning out to be an evil necromancer, jesus fuck. [she groans and raises her head.] Him, Jove, Fenris. Right? And what's his name, Cullen, probably. Anyone else?

[heresyandlace]

[...oh, he probably shouldn't be as suddenly and quietly pleased as he is right then.

seeing someone upset over him being hurt is new. it's been a very long time since something like that has happened. it's kind of nice.

he's beginning to remember why he's invested so much in befriending this girl. it just might pay off.]

Other elves--one by the name of Finrod was once a crewmate of mine. There were others as well, but I couldn't tell if they were faces I recognized or not.

[ladiesss]

Ugh, he's my communications guy now.

[saying that she runs her fingers through her hair is kind of giving her hair too much credit; her fingers catch on knots and there may be a spider living in there.]

They should know better. I'm so mad.

[heresyandlace]

They should.

[now that he's feeling less sick, he settles deeper in the nest, arranging the blanket closer around himself.]

...The whole thing makes me feel very at home.

[ladiesss]

...Me too.

[but it's definitely not a good thing to admit. she was really, really hoping she could trust these people, but... it was scary enough convincing Fenris she wasn't a demon. what if she ever turned herself into a dragon? used magic where they didn't expect it? she could be in a lot of danger...]

Dorian's a big baby. He'll be easy to mess up. Jove is gonna be harder, but... She'd be really stupid if she didn't figure out it was you, so I can probably make her feel pretty guilty. Fenris will never change his mind, though, so I don't think I can touch that one.