"No, no, I mean...is that how women give birth?" he seems at a loss to further explain his question then points to his mouth.
"Instead of..." he doesn't seem quite prepared to point to the location where Triaxian women give birth.
|
"No, no, I mean...is that how women give birth?" he seems at a loss to further explain his question then points to his mouth.
"Instead of..." he doesn't seem quite prepared to point to the location where Triaxian women give birth.
Fin smiles sheepishly. ”Uh…no…women here deliver…uh…vaginally…you know, from their…nether region…or as my Mom use to put it, thru her ‘hoo-ha’,” he says with a grin…
Feeling a bit mischievous, Fin adds, ”Maka is not shy about nudity, she might show you herself, if you have any questions …”
|
“Okay little guy, time to go inside.” Maka chuckled, clapping her hands as he did a wobbly little dance on his chicken legs before disappearing in a puff of sparks and smoke.
Maka stood and headed back toward the Hut’s crooked door. "This a great sign, right?" she asked Quasit, practically glowing with excitement.
Quasit can see how overjoyed her friend is by this bizarre new development, so she takes a moment and answers carefully.
"Yeah, he seems sweet. Um, but-- well-- look, I don't want to rain on your parade, but... don't you think this is all a little strange? We don't really know anything about what just happened here. That thing might be playing on your --um-- affinity for the Murder Hut to gain your trust. You know, to manipulate you or something. The timing is really suspect. What if Elvanna sent that thing to spy on us?"
"OK, I can see from your face you think I'm being paranoid, but -- just, like, keep a little sliver of paranoia going in yourself too, just to humor me. In case it starts telling you to do weird or dangerous things. How many times lately have things tried to charm us or trick us with illusions, you know? As long as it's just playing hide and seek and dancing on his little chicken legs, you know, more power to it and may the gods bless you both."
Quasit realizes she's expressing herself badly, so she looks around for a distraction. Fortunately Kalchine and Findurel are having the world's most awkward conversation mere feet away. She throws her empty food bowl at them.
"Ugh. Could you two NOT talk about the birds and the bees right this moment? I just ate."
|
|
Surprised by the object that goes whizzing by his head, Fin jumps a few feet high, turning around, eyes wide in alert, reflexively reaching for his bow…until that’s followed by Q’s clearly annoyed words to he and Kal…
Fin relaxes, shrugs at Q in apology, while murmuring under his breath to Kal, ”Our lesson in Golarion anatomy is at an end, my friend…and it might be best if you don’t ask Maka any questions right now…she might throw something hotter than a bowl…”
After hanging out with Sakitu for a little while, Fin jots down his wishlist to the Z-man and passes it on to Quasit. ”My list for Zilvazaraat is ready, Q, whenever we decide to summon him…”
Maka gave Quasit a soft smile, then said, "I think Elvanna would’ve sent a little ice guy instead of a little fire guy, but I guess you're right.” Her tone was calm, thoughtful. Not dismissive, just honest.
“If Cluckers ever starts whispering murder ideas into my ear, you’re the first person I’m telling.”
"Ugh. Could you two NOT talk about the birds and the bees right this moment? I just ate."
“Yeah, do they even have bees on this planet?” Maka chimed in, completely sincere in her support.
|
|
“If Cluckers ever starts whispering murder ideas into my ear, you’re the first person I’m telling.”
Quasit seems relieved. "That's all I ask."
“Yeah, do they even have bees on this planet?” Maka chimed in, completely sincere in her support.
"I doubt it. This is probably another ice planet, like Triaxus." says Quasit soberly. She trots up the steps of the Hut and calls inside to Anastasia.
"Hey Ana, do you have bees in Russia?" she asks. "Oh, and do people drink alcohol here?"
*****
"”My list for Zilvazaraat is ready, Q, whenever we decide to summon him…”
Quasit nods and takes the list. "Hopefully we can contact him tonight, once Tez finishes his work. Well, if you're going to find a horse and scout for villages, you should probably get moving. If Saki wants to go with you, it might be helpful to have Flight and Invisibility spells at your disposal, in case of trouble. Plus it might give you some alone time."" She picks up her bowl. "And you can discuss the birds and the bees to your heart's content." she adds with a wink and a smirk.
"Some murder ideas aren't bad ideas," Kalchine points out, wary about one of their most dangerous warriors suddenly turning pacifist.
His ears droop at the loud clattering of the bowl as it hits the wall but then rise in confusion.
[/b]"But what do birds and bees have to do with it? Are you some sort of multigender species?"[/b] he whispers, growing ever more confused by the conversation and beginning to wonder if these differences don't have something to do with Quasit's disinterest in him.
Anastasia had retreated to a corner of the cauldron room after eating, clearly still a bit... nervous around all of the strangeness she's suddenly found herself involved with. She starts at Quasit's question, then looks at her with a kind of "are you serious" expression on her face.
"Yes, and very much yes," she replies.
“Are they normal bees or little bees?” Maka asked, suddenly serious, her head poking through the door beside Quasit’s.
|
|
"But what do birds and bees have to do with it? Are you some sort of multigender species?" he whispers, growing ever more confused by the conversation and beginning to wonder if these differences don't have something to do with Quasit's disinterest in him.
Fin can’t help but snort again. ”Kal, my naive friend, you are good medicine for me. ‘Birds and the bees’ are a euphemism for talking about sex…but we are technically different species, although we are sexually compatible. I’m an Elf, Sakitu is a Kitsune, Bull & Q are human, and Maka is an Aasimar, mostly human but with some dragon blood, I think…”
"Well, if you're going to find a horse and scout for villages, you should probably get moving. If Saki wants to go with you, it might be helpful to have Flight and Invisibility spells at your disposal, in case of trouble. Plus it might give you some alone time."" She picks up her bowl. "And you can discuss the birds and the bees to your heart's content." she adds with a wink and a smirk.
Fin chuckles and nods. ”Aye, I should…but I know we’re in a time crunch and I may not be able to find a horse for each of us…and I can travel much faster alone…and she’d blush deep red all the way thru were we to talk about the birds and the bees. She’s been a bit distant the last couple of days, so I’m trying give her some space…but I will ask her if she can hit me with those spells, that’d help to begin with…I’ll be back as soon as I can…”
Fin gears up and, after getting spelled up by Saki, takes off in search of a horse and a village…
He’ll start by gaining some altitude so he can get a good viewpoint, looking for any buildings, farms, signs of smoke, tracks, or any bodies of water, thinking those would either be good places to start looking for either a horse or a village…
“Are they normal bees or little bees?” Maka asked, suddenly serious, her head poking through the door beside Quasit’s.
"Uh... what is 'normal' size to you?" Anastasia asks, suddenly concerned about giant bees in the middle of all the other craziness.
“First, size, you know, like a small bird. Hum a lot, fuzzy, form an elemental shell when scarred?” Maka looked genuinely puzzled, as if this should be obvious.
“They like music and ripe fruit and will let you pet them?” she offered, trying to be helpful.
“But the little ones are bitey and mean. There’s also always so many of them.”
She tilted her head, thoughtful.
“I was surprised people in the Inner Sea knew about the birds and the bees. I’ve only ever seen little bees there.”
Winter barked with what seemed undoubtedly like laughter at Maka’s obvious misunderstanding about birds and bees.
Anastasia shudders at the idea of bees the size of birds. "Small ones. Most certainly the small ones."
Fin gears up and, after getting spelled up by Saki, takes off in search of a horse and a village…
He’ll start by gaining some altitude so he can get a good viewpoint, looking for any buildings, farms, signs of smoke, tracks, or any bodies of water, thinking those would either be good places to start looking for either a horse or a village…
Fin doesn't find any horses near the camp--it looks like the creepy evil horses the headless riders used were the only horses Rasputin had. He can see some smoke from chimneys a few miles away.
|
|
Fin will fly towards the chimneys he spots a few miles away, as fast as the spell will allow; Saki told him he’d have about 15 minutes worth of both flying and invisibility. He’ll try to gauge the time as best he can, and set down in some nearby woods in 13 or 14 minutes so he won’t be seen, if the spells expire before he gets to the area with the chimneys…
Anastasia shudders at the idea of bees the size of birds. "Small ones. Most certainly the small ones."
Maka wrinkled her nose, clearly displeased. “Oh. So you know then.” She said with a grim sympathy.
Later that night, when the Hut had quieted and the fire burned low in the hearth, Maka approached Quasit.
“Hey, babe.” Maka said softly, kneeling beside Quasit.
“I just wanted to check in. Are you feeling better now that we beat Rasputin?”
|
|
Quasit smiles, patting the floor next to her, inviting Maka to sit. "Yeah, I am. Still digesting it all, I guess. I didn't think we'd ever beat him and all those soldiers, and I was scared to death about disarming that machine. But now we're so close to Baba Yaga we can practically touch her. So yeah, my anxiety is dialed back from a 9 to about a 5."
"I'll probably still have dreams about watching people blowing up in explosions for a while, but every once in a while I might have a nice one too."
"Have you talked to Saki today? Fin says she's been a little distant lately."
Maka lowered herself to the floor with a quiet creak of old boards, folding her legs beside Quasit.
“I haven’t really talked to her today,” Maka admitted softly. “She’s probably having a hard time dealing with Selena… and the camp… and, well, everything.”
She rested her arms loosely over her knees, staring out the frosted window for a moment.
|
|
"Yeah, that's kinda what I figured too." says Quasit. "She's so sensitive. Everything hits her like a ton of bricks." She almost adds something else, but clams up just in time. She quickly changes the subject.
"I wonder if Anastasia would be happy in Golarian. She seems fairly bright, she could probably learn Common in time. She could stay with me, if she wanted, I can afford a better home now. I don't think there's really any place she can go here in Russia. Everyone would want to use her or kill her. Plus someone should look after her in case some other member of Baba Yaga's brood comes looking for her. I don't think she and Colin would get along too well though. Although, I'm not sure I'd go back to Cassomir. Aside from the fact that I'm still a criminal there, I don't have a lot to go back to there, now that my dad is gone."
"You think she's too old to learn to be a monk? How old are your acolytes when they start training?"
Maka brightened instantly. “All ages! It’s never too late!” she said, perhaps with a little too much enthusiasm. "Training is a good outlet, and teaching her how to defend herself is the best way we can keep her safe.
|
|
"It's not an obvious fit for a princess, admittedly." says Quasit, smiling. "But I think she could use something to take her mind off things. And we have a few days to kill while we wait for Mr. Z. Maybe see if she takes to it. I bet she's wondering too about what's going to become of her, and if she's good at being something besides a princess. If nothing else, a little meditation can't hurt."
"Mostly I just want her to feel less overwhelmed, and like she can trust us. I can't think of anyone better for the job."
"And if it doesn't work out, I can always teach her to pick locks and jump off roofs."
Maka smiled as she leaned in, resting her shoulder against Quasit’s. "I'll make sure to teach her how to land then."
|
Sakitu is still dumbstruck at whatever it is that happened to Maka. Or maybe it was something Maka did to herself. She can't tell. But in any case, the strangeness of it is just too much to process. Sakitu sits by herself and eventually Fin comes up to her. He explains that he's going to go off to do some exploring and needs some spells. She quickly casts them on him, without paying too much attention, gives him a quick kiss and admonition to 'stay safe', then continues staring off into the distance.
The others are milling about. They all seem to be making plans and that's fine with Sakitu. She doesn't know what is next but she hopes that whatever it is, it gets her a little closer to home. She misses home.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Fin is able to find a village and arrange for the drained soldiers to be taken care of.
|
|
A tired Fin returns a few hours later and reports to Quasit. ”I found a village a few miles away…after observing them, they seemed like friendly folk so I covered my ears and approached them…long story short, they were very friendly and welcoming to me, fed me even though I wasn’t hungry, and plied me with a potent drink they called ‘vawdkah’ which was very good…between the snippets of Russian I picked up since we’ve been here, and a lot of ‘sign language’, they readily agreed to take in our soldiers. They even lent me a horse for the ride back; I’ll return it in the morning when I return there with the victims…”
He grins at Quasit, reaches into his pack, pulls out a bottle and tosses it to her. ”Thought I heard you grumbling ‘bout something to drink, Q; they were fascinated with my gear and I bartered for it, gave ‘em a gold. They were very grateful and gave me another bottle, but thought we might save that for later…as I mentioned before, it’s called ‘vawdka’ and it’s very potent…they had a still and made their own…comes from potatoes…”
Afterwards he goes and slumps down next to Sakitu, puts his arm around her and gently strokes her hair as he closes his eyes for a moment…
|
|
”Thought I heard you grumbling ‘bout something to drink, Q; they were fascinated with my gear and I bartered for it, gave ‘em a gold. They were very grateful and gave me another bottle, but thought we might save that for later…as I mentioned before, it’s called ‘vawdka’ and it’s very potent…they had a still and made their own…comes from potatoes…”
"Potatoes, huh?" says Quasit a little dubiously. "Some of the Varisian bands would make a sort of moonshine from potatoes, but I never tried it. I was just a kid in those days, and my mom watched me like a hawk."
She unplugs the bottle and sniffs it cautiously. Then she ventures a mouthful and a quick swallow. She squints and gives a little shake of her head, like a cat sneezing. "Omigosh, is that pure alcohol?" she marvels. Then she looks at Findurêl and suddenly grins, then laughs like her reaction was wonderfully funny. "Screw it, it'll work. Thanks Fin, you're a mensch." She takes another longer drink, then after taking a moment to breathe she bellows like a water buffalo rutting. Then she plugs the bottle again and stamps the floor three times. "Now me and Maka both have new babies."
"Anyway, good news about finding the villagers. Let's gather up some of the Russian money to give them for their troubles. Tomorrow we'll make a last visit to the camp and make sure everything is going smoothly, and to help out as we can. Then we'll leave it in the capable hands of the locals. Good work. One less disaster on our plate." She gives the elf a couple firm pats on the arm then allows him to go canoodle with Sakitu.
Stowing away the bottle for safety, Quasit makes her way to find Anastasia. She sits down beside the girl.
"So, I want to give you an update. We've told you we're using this Hut to try and track down and free Baba Yaga. We think we're getting close to her, and after that, we plan to go home to our world, which is called Golarian. It's not all that different really. It's got humans and trees and oceans and all the normal stuff. I suppose it would be like moving to a different country for you. We're willing to take you with us and look after you, help you make a new life, like we said."
"But you don't have to. Fin found some friendly villagers nearby, who are going to look after the wounded soldiers we discovered at the camp. If you want, you could stay with them, as long as they agree to take you. They're poor, and you'd never be able to tell them who you really are, but home is home."
"I think those are the two best options right now. Have a think on it. We'll be here for a day or two. You can meet the villagers tomorrow at the camp, if you like. You're old enough to choose your own path."
She lets this sink in, and waits to see if the grand duchess has any questions.
“And if you stay with us, I can teach you how to defend yourself. If you like.” Maka added from nearby.
|
|
Afterwards he goes and slumps down next to Sakitu, puts his arm around her and gently strokes her hair as he closes his eyes for a moment…
Sakitu snuggles into Fin and smiles. After a few moments of soaking in the comforting feeling of his arms she takes a breath and sighs.
"Don't you ever get tired of all this? I mean, like always in danger and fearing for our lives?" She twists and squirms a little bit, not pulling away from Fin but just repositioning.
"Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get back to normal? Will we even get back to Golarian?"
|
|
Fin smiles, enjoying the warmth as Sakitu snuggles in; his eyes still closed, he continues to stroke her hair…
"Don't you ever get tired of all this? I mean, like always in danger and fearing for our lives?" She twists and squirms a little bit, not pulling away from Fin but just repositioning.
The Elf shrugs, before responding in a somber voice. ”I dunno, Hlao-roo…been that way for much of my life…kinda gotten accustomed to it…keeps me alert, that’s for sure. I can tell you one thing; I never wanna find myself, spiritually or otherwise, crucified on a door…or anywhere else for that matter…I’ve nearly been killed about a dozen times, most of ‘em during this quest of ours…but I’ve never been more frightened than that in my life…it was only for about ten seconds but it felt like forever…cannot get that vision out of my mind…it will haunt my dreams for quite some time…”
"Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get back to normal? Will we even get back to Golarian?"
Fin ponders a moment before answering. ”Hlao-roo, I don’t even know what normal is any more…it hasn’t been normal for me for the longest time…but it hasn’t been all bad here either…definitely been interesting, no question about that…it’s been for a good cause so it was worth doing…
“As for going back to Golarion, there or here, makes no real difference to me. Unlike most of you, I have no family to go back to…I have no home…right now, the Hut has been as much a home to me as anywhere else I’ve lived…although I do find myself remembering rafting across the River Kingdoms, watching the sunrise, watching the sunset…nothing so soothing as watching the sunlight reflect off the river at those times…”
Anastasia does her best to marshall a bit of imperial dignity instead of looking like a child huddling in a corner. "One thing that Rasputin..."
She pauses just a moment on that name. "...wasn't lying about is that my enemies would be searching for me. The villagers might not know who I am, but I... I do not think it is safe for me to stay."
Anastasia falls silent, obviously struggling to keep the fear out of her face. "You say your home is normal, but... just from what I've seen, 'normal' for you is so different from anything here..."
|
|
”Well, traveling around in a magical hut with a skeletal poker player and a giant ape from outer space isn’t exactly normal for us either.” says Quasit lightly. ”And I don’t know what Maka is talking about with the giant cuddly bee thing.”
”Look, I’m not saying things will be exactly the same. But we put our pants on one leg at a time, we have breakfast lunch and dinner, we go swimming on hot days and we have gardens and pet cats. It’s pretty similar in the larger scheme of things. The big difference is that our world has magic, which to you is fairy tale stuff. But our world doesn’t have machine guns and tanks. I leave it to you to decide which is scarier.”
”Just think of it as moving to another country—where the circus comes to town a LOT. We have elfs and dwarfs and gnomes and orcs, but you get used to that. Everyone is just living their life, trying to get by. Honestly, no matter where you end up living, it’s going to be different from an imperial court.”
|
|
"As for going back to Golarion, there or here, makes no real difference to me. Unlike most of you, I have no family to go back to…I have no home…right now, the Hut has been as much a home to me as anywhere else I’ve lived…although I do find myself remembering rafting across the River Kingdoms, watching the sunrise, watching the sunset…nothing so soothing as watching the sunlight reflect off the river at those times…"
Sakitu pulls back so the she can get a good look at his face. "You don't have a home? I didn't know that. I mean I know that you've talked about losing people in your past but I didn't know that meant everyone."
She paused for a moment to think then she started slowly. "If you don't have a home, maybe you can come to live with us. At my home. I mean, I still live with my parents. Or I did, before I left on this trip. But when we get back I'm sure you could stay with us."
Anastasia huddles up a little, the aristocratic dignity she's been trying to maintain flagging. "Moving... without any of my family, or servants, or friends..."
She shakes her head, turning her face away from Quasit. "I... I know it is the best that can be done. I... I'm just scared. And... I haven't... haven't had time to grieve..."
|
|
Quasit gives Anastasia a moment, then scoots next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder.
"You know, I did something really dumb once. When I was about your age, maybe a couple years older, me and my boyfriend ran away from home. We were... I guess you'd call us sort of gypsies, just living on the roads in the middle of nowhere, kinda like your steppes here. After the first day we had been robbed of everything we owned. No food, no money, not sure exactly where we were going or how far away it would be. My boyfriend turned back. But I was too stubborn and proud. I kept going. Alone."
"I decided I wanted to go back to the city where I'd been born. So I made for the coast and planned to catch a boat somehow. I hoped I had family there still, but I hadn't seen them in, like, 8 years and had no word of them. And I soon found out that not only can you not get too far without food, but also if you are going in precisely the wrong direction it doesn't help too much."
"It turned out I needed to travel several hundred miles. It took me six months, more or less."
"By all rights, I should have died. But along the way, I met people who helped me. A meal here, a few coins there, a new pair of shoes, a job for a week. A ship captain who discovered me stowed away on his boat and let me pretend to be his cabin boy instead of throwing me to the sharks. There's a lot of mean, greedy, terrible people out there, but the majority of people everywhere are basically decent and kind. And we all need a leg up sometimes."
"We can't change what happened to your family. I just found out a few days ago that my father died, and it's been tearing me up inside even as we were fighting Rasputin and his monsters. But the reason I'm not curled up into a ball is that I have my friends here with me, and I think some of them are the best friends I've ever had. And I didn't know any of them a year ago."
"You're gonna make it, kiddo." She gives the girl a little squeeze.
|
|
An hour or two after the sun has set outside, Quasit shuffles into the room where Kalchine and Chest Thumper are resting.
"Kal... Kalllll... are you asleep?" she says in a cautious stage whisper. If her voice is any indication, she's had more of Fin's vawdka. She drops to her hands and knees and crawls roughly up to the Triaxian to get a better look at his face, from about six inches away. Then she waves a hand in front of his eyes and she squints to see him in the darkness. Both images of him, probably.
She realizes suddenly that if Chest Thumper sees someone leaning over his 'brother' in the dark, she might get slammed into a wall before she can say Baba Yaga. With the impeccable logic of the inebriated, she holds a finger up to her mouth and quietly shushes the giant space ape, just in case.
And then, because she can't help herself, she begins to tickle one of Kalchine's ears, biting her lower lip to keep from cracking up.
While Quasit was cheering Anastasia up with a story, Winter slowly approached, and if allowed, curled up in the girl’s lap.
|
|
Sakitu pulls back so the she can get a good look at his face. "You don't have a home? I didn't know that. I mean I know that you've talked about losing people in your past but I didn't know that meant everyone."
”My father was a Desert Elf, my mother a Sylvan Elf, we lived in Osirion; the Elves there didn’t care for my mother and I, referring to each of us as Wood Elf. After my father died, it got worse so we moved to Kyonin; other than my grand sire, they didn’t take well to me there either, called me Sand Elf. While things weren’t all bad, never really felt like home. After Mom died and Miriel broke it off, I wandered, living on a raft, hunting, trapping and trading in the River Kingdoms; for five years, that felt more like a home than anything else I ever had. Then Kezhia was murdered, I hunted down and killed the bastard, had a price on my head, and had to leave…and ultimately ended up here…now I guess the Hut is my home…but like the others before it, t’is only temporary…”
She paused for a moment to think then she started slowly. "If you don't have a home, maybe you can come to live with us. At my home. I mean, I still live with my parents. Or I did, before I left on this trip. But when we get back I'm sure you could stay with us."
Fin smiles sadly, leaning down and lightly kissing her forehead. ”Bless you, Hlao-roo, you have such a good heart; I very much appreciate the sentiment. But pray tell, what would your family think of that? And in particular, your father? Would they welcome an Elf of no family nor standing? And an outlaw to boot, with a price on his head? I think we both know the answer to that…”
He looks down at his feet, staring at nothing, still stroking her hair. ”Let’s just treasure the moments we have for now…and cross that bridge when we get to it…”
Whether or not Kalchine's keen sense of hearing could defeat Quasit's impressive stealth skills under normal circumstances is a question that will have to be answered another day. As it is, he if vaguely aware of her voice calling out to him and drifts toward wakefulness slowly.
Only to surge to consciousness at the touch on his ear. He jerks and brushed her hand away like waving away a fly. That abrupt motion awakens Chest Thumper who huffs and growls softly at them both in unmistakable indignation before rolling over to go back to sleep.
"I'm awake," he confirms, slowly sitting up.
With their faces so close together, there was no way that he could not notice that she'd partaken of the vawdka so he wonders where this conversation is about to go.
|
|
”Sorry, sorry, everything is all right.” Quasit says quickly. For the moment she doesn’t pull her face back, and just grins blearily at the druid. ”Hey, I was thinking about it and I want to apologize for earlier and snapping at you about the birds and bees stuff. It’s not fair, you don’t know all our phrases and junk, and stuff about how we make babies. Just like I don’t know how that stuff works on your planet. You know.”
She then sort of slump/rolls so that she laying down with her head is on Kalchine’s lap.
”So if you have any questions about sex and junk, I’m happy to fill you in. Now that we’re not around new-born baby Murder Huts.”
”And by the way, as long as we’re sharing, have you ever had a girlfriend? You know, back on Triaxus?”
She hiccups a small burp. She hasn’t stopped grinning at any point. She reaches up to play with Kalchine’s hair lazily.
|
|
As Fin shares more of his past, Sakitu's eyes grow sadder and sadder.
"Oh. That is so terrible. Why would people do that? I mean, shunning you like that." She doesn't really expect an answer. She's seen it happening before, even in her own village, but it has never made sense to her. It wasn't that long ago that Selena really bothered her and made her so mad. But even then, she didn't want to push her out and ignore her. Well, maybe she did ignore her sometimes. But that was just temporary.
He looks down at his feet, staring at nothing, still stroking her hair. "Let’s just treasure the moments we have for now...and cross that bridge when we get to it..."
Sakitu's eyes grow wide. "What do you mean?" There's an edge of concern in her voice. "I mean 'for now'? What's that mean? Don't you want to stay with me forever."
She pulls out of his arms and twists her body to face him straight on. "And what bridge are you talking about? Are you already planning something?"
|
|
Sakitu's eyes grow wide. "What do you mean?" There's an edge of concern in her voice. "I mean 'for now'? What's that mean? Don't you want to stay with me forever."
She pulls out of his arms and twists her body to face him straight on. "And what bridge are you talking about? Are you already planning something?"
Fin tries to calm her. ”I’m not planning anything, Hlao-roo, that’s just a figure of speech. All I mean is…that we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow…remember Yu Khan? Alexia? Selena twice now? All of us have been close to death multiple times. And do you think your father will allow you to consort with a non-Kitsune? An Elf like me who could live to be 700 years of age, with a sordid background to boot?
“All I mean is we’ll face all that when the time comes…we just need to enjoy the time we have allotted to us…if that be forever, fine…if that be just a little while, better than not at all…”
"You're gonna make it, kiddo." She gives the girl a little squeeze.
Anastasia is quiet, but she's... oh, she's crying quietly, apparently focusing on keeping what little dignity she can by not breaking out into loud sobs. Winter can feel teardrops falling on her fur.
Maka shifted closer and, without hesitation, wrapped Anastasia in a warm, firm hug. “It’s okay,” Maka murmured. “Have a good cry.”
Winter silently supports her by simply being a huggable ball of fur in the girl’s lap.
|
|
"Wait? You are going to live to be 700 years old? What about me? I won't live that long."
Sakitu pulls back and folds her hands in her lap. "I thought we would be together forever. I guess that's stupid, right? So I'll grow old and ugly and you'll just keep being young."
She looks out over the snow covered forest floor before her. It's mostly white but there are black patches around the bases of trees where the snow was unable to fall due to the evergreens' branches. Other dark areas appear where she and her friends have walked and stomped around the house. Thick and heavy clouds hover above the trees, hanging low enough that it looks like the tops of the tallest of the pine trees might rip open the sagging belly and dump more snow on them.
"You know, it doesn't feel cold to me." She turns her head to look at Fin.
"The snow. I think it's my magic. I mean, the magic in my blood or something. But all this," she waves her hand in a wide arc, "It's just the same as if we were having a nice spring day and the forest floor was covered with grass and flowers. I wonder if it is cold for you? If my magic changes that little bit of reality, maybe it can change other things. Other more important things."
Kalchine's eyes widen and his ears go back at Quasit's proximity. He flinches faintly as her alcohol coated breath strikes his nostrils.
"No need to apologize. It is a stressful time, even with our latest foe defeated. It seems that each time we eliminated one link in this chain, there is simply another that must be dealt with. We likely should be focused on more important things than comparative anatomy," he says.
His hands go up to a neutral place at his shoulders as she slumps into his lap. He looks down at her briefly then brings one hand down to rest on his thigh and the other to lightly stroke her face, shoulder and arm.
Leaning back into Chest Thumper, he answers her questions.
"I don't have any more questions. At least none that need to be answered tonight," he confirms.
"As far as girlfriends. I have had two people who could fit that definition. The first was a dragonkin named Verangia. She had the most beautiful crimson scales and a soul that was as vibrant and deep," he says, growing wistful as he speaks.
"We met during a mission and found out afterwards that we could just talk to each other for hours at a time. She was fascinated by my powers and history and I was fascinated by...her.
"Of course, Chest Thumper hated her," he says with a smile.
"We were going to partner bond. That's something dragonkin can do. They can telepathically bond to a single partner," he explains as an obvious aside, then pauses. It takes him several seconds to continue.
"Right before we were going to do it, she died in a raid. She was targeted by a group of archers. I don't know how many arrows it took to take her down and she crashed in a crevasse so we couldn't recover her body."
He pauses again, gathering himself.
"After that, probably too soon after that, I was seeing a woman who had lost her partner bonded dragonkin. In hindsight, it was probably our grief more than anything else that attracted us to each other. Honestly, I think we were both relieved more than anything else when I got transferred after a few months."
|
|
"Wait? You are going to live to be 700 years old?"
Fin shrugs. ”Aye, or thereabouts…might only make it to 600…unless I’m slain before then…”
Sakitu pulls back and folds her hands in her lap. "I thought we would be together forever. I guess that's stupid, right? So I'll grow old and ugly and you'll just keep being young."
”No, Hlao-roo, that’s not stupid, it’s a good thought…and you’ll never be old or ugly to me…and I won’t stay young forever either…I’ll just age much more slowly…I’m already 115 years of age…”
"I wonder if it is cold for you? If my magic changes that little bit of reality, maybe it can change other things. Other more important things."
Fin shrugs again. ”While it’s cool, I find it’s not too cold; did you know I recently bathed in an icy lake, close to where the hut first appeared, during a fishing expedition? I found it exhilarating! Being an Elf that’s resided in the heat of the desert and the cold of the forest in winter, I can adapt to the whims of weather on either extreme fairly well…
“As for magic, you’d know much better than I. While I know of none that can extend life directly, other than reincarnation I suppose, there is magic that can let you avoid the affects of age, in both appearance and physicality…”