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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 19, 2023 20:58:49 GMT -5
She’s not okay. The transition feels slow; a lull in time where only the drop of a few crumbs tell him all he needs to know before he can even ask her the question. Her voice cracks upon answering; Cantio’s golden eyes widen, and he’s already moving around the counter to get to her before she can finish stammering through what she’s saying. “ Oh… oh, Astrid…” he chokes, fingertips sliding across the counter before he opens his arms and pulls the sobbing girl into a hug. He tries to process what he’s heard; someone’s… dead, because of her?
What?
His confusion is swallowed by the feeling of Astrid’s grief and despair; it hits him, ringing in his mind like the crack of the hammer against the metal in the forge downstairs; and though he doesn’t know what happens, he simply holds her close. A sympathetic grief sinks into his very bones, heavying his heart, as concern washes over the fellblood; his hold around Astrid is tight and unwavering even as her shoulders shake with each sob. He wants to tell her that it’s okay, that it’s not true: but he doesn't know what happened.
Instead, he holds her a little tighter. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asks, his own voice hushed in barely a whisper, it cracks with the worry that’s welled in his chest.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 19, 2023 21:29:01 GMT -5
She feels him. He’s confused. He wants answers. But the biggest emotion in his chest is concern for her. He felt the big wash of grief a couple of weeks ago, the occasional overwhelming sadness that would well up out of nowhere, every instance of melancholy, guilt, or fear.
How does she even talk about something like that?
“I-I don’t know,” she chokes out, leaning into him and letting his warmth envelope her.
Astrid cries hard, long and hard, for all the times she tried not to cry sleeping on the side of the road curled up in her tent while traveling; for every time she only checked in with Cantio briefly and gave a fake answer about how she’s doing; for every time she remembers that Vikram’s death is her fault – not just because she fought back the entity that possessed him, but because her carelessness put her in a situation that let that creature in in the first place.
But how does she explain all of that? Does she want to? What if Cantio thinks less of her for it?
Her sadness becomes awash with fear and anxiety.
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 22, 2023 18:52:39 GMT -5
Astrid leans into him, and Cantio holds her close; he leans his cheek against the top of Astrid’s head, brows furrowing in concern and worry as she sobs against his chest.
“Astrid… I’m sorry…” Her shoulders quake with each breath, her words choked even when she can find it in her to speak. “No, it’s okay… it’s okay, Astrid… you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to…” he assures her; his own voice cracks, heart heavy with Astrid’s grief. Like ice, her fear and anxiety crash over him; Cantio squints his eyes shut, tightening his arms around her while she cries. He… he doesn’t know what’s happening; he doesn’t know what happened, but it’s clear that it’s weighing heavy on her. “I’m here,” he promises, his voice hushed. “No matter what happened, I’m here, okay?” He brushes a hand through messy strands of blonde hair, hoping he can get across how much he actually cares without… well, stumbling over it all. “You can tell me anything, or you can tell me nothing at all. Take your time… I’m not going to go anywhere.”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 22, 2023 19:49:08 GMT -5
Reduced to hiccups in her sobs, Astrid finds Cantio’s arms the safest place she’s been in a while. Why didn’t she come home sooner? Just as she starts to find some break in the tears and crying, Cantio promises he isn’t going anywhere, and his resolve in being around for her no matter what shatters the dam holding back tears she doesn’t even know she has.
She never once cried about being left in the streets. Something in her blindly believed that her mother would be back, sometime, eventually, if she just kept waiting. But she never came back, and Astrid found ways to keep busy through the days, finding food wherever she could, smiling in the face of adversity as if it would make everything better. And things eventually were better on that day she met the three adults who changed her life, who had nothing to gain but still showed her kindness.
Cantio and Astrid haven’t even known each other for a year, and yet he’s still so loving, so supportive. She jokingly suckered him into being her parent, and he accepted her with open arms, and he’s done nothing but try his best for her. He’s never thought of her as a burden. Memories of the last few months spent as part of a family with Cantio and Blue and Melodia flash through her mind. That’s what a real family is like. That’s what it means to have people who love you.
She doesn’t have to deal with this on her own.
She never had to.
“I-I know,” is all she can squeak out for another moment.
Pulling away just enough to rub her nose with one hand to try to quell the sniffling, Astrid keeps her forehead pressed against Cantio as she looks down at the empty space between them, a warm tent of Cantio’s arms. Where does she begin?
“U-Uhm…” she stumbles. “D-Do ya r-remember that t-time I came home feelin’ real bad..? After I was fightin’ in the p-pits…” In all of Astrid’s adventures, the competition in the pits for the Fighter’s Guild was the first time she really felt like she was ever in serious danger. Even fighting a dragon and being eaten by a sea monster didn’t compare to the genuine fear for her and Vikram’s lives. The journey home from the Marsh Flats felt particularly grueling, but in that time, she was able to let the emotions settle. By the time she got home, the fight in the pits was nothing more than “a bit of a rough go of it.”
She should’ve been more honest about that situation, but she didn’t want to worry Cantio. She still… doesn’t want to worry Cantio. But he’s already worried. He’s here for her.
“That was… um…” Remembering the situation, fear claws at her heart. Her voice breaks as she continues, letting the memory draw more tears. “I-It was scary.” She can’t help more tears welling up, so she lets them, and they fall between her and Cantio like tiny springs of salt water.
Finally, she finds her voice again. “Th-Things turned out alright cause of who I was fightin’ with. H-His name was Vikram. He’s the one I dueled ta get into the Fighter’s Guild. Kind of a weirdo, real showman like, but I liked him. We partnered up fer fightin’ in the pits, an’ we did well. But fightin’ the champion…” Astrid thinks back to another frightening situation, when she and Blue were in Sol City around Winter’s Crown. “She’s crazy.”
She adjusts herself in Cantio’s lap to get a little more comfortable but still leans against him for support and comfort. “Thin's were bad. Vikram used this fancy magic that protected me, but after we won, he was… he seemed weird. Off… Told me not ta worry, but it was forebodin’...”
Astrid wipes her cheeks again, trying not to keep crying, but the tears fall even without the stinging under her eyelids. “W-When I was in Sol City… Somethin’ happened… Somethin’ was takin’ him over, a-an’ I couldn’t do nothin’ ta help him.” Her voice breaks again, and her body trembles at the thought of how helpless she was. “I-I tried, da. I really tried… but… W-We had ta… We couldn’t… A-An’ no one else could get in…”
She chokes on her words as the tears pour forth like waterfalls. “W-We had ta kill him, da. We had ta fight him 'til he couldn't stand no more an' then we had ta kill him. A-An’ it’s my fault. I-If I hadn’t slipped up a-an’ needed ta be protected in the pits… I-If I’d been stronger, then th-that thin’ wouldn’t have broke into his mind. He said so, that he had ta free it because of our fight there."
Astrid breaks down again, hugging herself tight against Cantio, awash with guilt and helplessness.
"M-Me friend's dead because of me, an' I had ta help kill him.”
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 22, 2023 21:49:18 GMT -5
He just holds her while she cries.
Each sob, each tiny hiccup that squeaks from Astrid breaks his heart.
It hurts to know that there’s nothing he can do in this moment; there’s no magic words that can take away her pain, and there’s nothing he can do to fix what’s already happened. He closes his eyes, doing his gods-damndest to keep it together when Astrid needs him; but he’d be remiss to pretend that each of Astrid’s sobs didn’t cut deep into him.
If anyone asked Cantio how he thought his life might go, it wouldn’t be this: he would have never predicted running into Astrid on the street; and even if he did, how could he predict his decision to adopt her? No more than a few months ago, Cantio was just a traveling minstrel: no responsibilities, no obligations, no commitments.
He was free to do whatever he wanted; go wherever he wanted; with no one to care or worry for but himself, and…
He can’t imagine going back to that.
He’s a wreck; he’s always been a wreck, a nervous mess; and yet, even with all of these new factors? It’s all of the little things that make every second of his jitters and fretting worthwhile. Astrid’s beaming laughter, Blue’s absurd joyousness, and Melodia’s subtle smiles; they’re his family, and he tries his damndest, but it’s…
It’s not always enough. Sometimes he can’t do anything; sometimes he’s not there when it happens, and sometimes there’s no magic word.
Sometimes things just hurt.
Cantio feels Astrid pull away, but he keeps a loose hold around her, ensuring she knows he’s still there. The fellblood lowers his golden gaze, waiting patiently while Astrid stumbles over her words in an attempt to explain. How can he remind her that he remembers every little thing? Every story she’s told him? “Of course I do...” he assures her.
His voice comes softly; he brushes fretfully through her hair while she stares a hole into the floor between their feet.
He remains quiet while she speaks; her voice broken by grief and sorrow that claws into Cantio’s chest with each passing word, each explanation of what’s happened in regards to her friend; and when Astrid breaks down, Cantio is there to wrap her up. He holds her close and presses his cheek against the top of her head while guilt and helplessness wash through him from Astrid like a tidal wave.
“Astrid…” he whispers. “I’m so sorry…” His voice barely carries above her sobs. “I can’t… I can’t imagine how hard this has been on you.” His hold around her tightens, golden eyes squeezing shut while he processes…. All of it.
He can’t imagine the weight on Astrid’s shoulders; even if it wasn’t her fault.
Cantio sniffs, squeezing Astrid tight, before pulling away enough to lower himself down to her eye-level. He looks at the girl with glassy golden eyes, reaching out to brush the pad of his thumb beneath her wet cheeks. “Astrid… Can you look at me for just a minute?” He whispers; he can’t smile, even though he wants to offer her something.
When he’s gotten her attention, he takes a slow breath.
“I don’t know your friend, and I know I wasn’t there… but… whatever he did in the fighting pits that day to protect you…? That was his decision.” Cantio’s throat feels tight while he speaks; almost suffocating. Whatever Vikram did to protect Astrid, on some level he’s… he’s grateful, because she’s the one who came home okay. It’s selfish. He wishes it hadn’t ended like this for him. He would have liked to meet him. “It was his decision to make, and you had no say in it.”
He sniffs, releasing one of his arms from around her to take her hand; he squeezes her palm tight. “Sometimes people in our lives make choices; whether for good, or bad, they make them. We can’t control what they do with those choices, no matter how much it hurts us, or how much we wish we could change their outcome.” He uses his other hand to wipe beneath Astrid’s eyes again, his golden gaze sad, but sympathetic.
“Even if… even if your friend didn’t do what he did that day to protect you, Astrid… there’s no telling if there wouldn’t be some other reason he would free it. Whatever it was you say he freed that day, it was… something that he was dealing with. No matter what happened, no matter how strong you think you should have been, it was always his choice.” He blinks sadly at her; Astrid’s red nose, her soaked cheeks, the grief and guilt sinking into his bones through the earring.
He reaches out and pulls her back into a hug, tucking his chin behind her shoulder. “I know you did your best; and I think your friend knows you did your best for him…” He squeezes her tight. “…That doesn’t change what you’ve gone through, and I’m… Oh, Astrid, I’m so sorry… You've gone through so much.”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 22, 2023 22:42:31 GMT -5
As Cantio draws her attention to him, Astrid struggles to look into his eyes, but he coaxes her gently, and she does. It’s hard to keep his gaze. She can see that he’s hurting now because of her. But… the pain is shared. She can’t say he doesn’t know what she’s going through because they share their emotions over the magic of the earrings she made for him. Gods, she didn’t even know if the magic would work – she just wanted him to be able to feel how much she loves him, not all of this sadness.
But somehow, it’s just a little easier because of it.
Astrid sniffles and listens closely while Cantio talks about choices, and her eyes meet his again with another twinge of sadness. Others make choices, and they might hurt, but they’re their choices to make. Her mother chose to leave her behind, and somehow, despite all the buried hurt, she’s… glad. Because she wasn’t happy, as much as she tried to be. She might never have been. If her mother didn’t make a painful choice, Astrid might not have ever met Cantio.
She wouldn’t trade that for anything now. The way her life has gone, the way it can go, the future she’s shaping for herself with people that love and support her – there’s no giving that up. Not for anything.
Vikram’s choice to release the creature that eventually led to his death hurts. But dying was also his choice. How many others did he save by choosing this fate? Maybe that’s what he always wanted to do – to save people. Helping people, that’s her choice. She could have run the other direction and left the situation with Vikram to others, but she chose to get involved. She couldn’t have known what was happening in that temple when she ran in, but she did it anyway. She could have stood back and let the possessed Vikram completely destroy the temple and hurt others in the process, but she chose to fight. Even if she couldn’t save Vikram, she had the opportunity to try because he saved her in the fighting pits. She has more opportunities because of his sacrifice.
When Cantio pulls her into a hug, Astrid puts her arms around him and holds on for dear life as the last of her tears push their way out of her eyes. “I-I did me best…” she agrees, nodding slightly against him. “That’s all I can do…” She really does feel like she’s been through the ringer, but she’s home now.
For a long few minutes, Astrid just rests against Cantio in his arms. There’s still a lot of sadness, but peeking their way through are resolve and optimism. She’ll do her best no matter the situation. Finally, she peels herself away from Cantio just enough to be able to look at him with puffy eyes and rosy cheeks. Despite this, she offers him a smile. “Thanks, da. I know yer doin’ yer best fer me.” Then she leans forward and hugs him tight again, her throat catching as her emotions threaten to spill over again. Her voice comes out in a cracked whisper, but she means every word she says from the bottom of her heart.
“I love ya, da, an' I'm sorry fer makin' ya worry all the time... But... Of all the choices ya coulda made, I'm real glad ya chose me.”
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 23, 2023 20:42:45 GMT -5
He holds her tight; her voice is still broken when she speaks. “ You did.” Cantio agrees, “ You always have… you always do.” He doesn’t need to have been there to know that Astrid would have given it everything she had; that’s how she’s always handled things. The fellblood brushes his fingers through her blonde hair, nodding weakly when she speaks again. The grief and sadness still bleed through his earring; he feels each little stab of grief as if it’s his own. Heart heavy, he holds onto Astrid in silence; he lets her rest, or cry, or sniffle; whatever she needs to do in this time where she’s here.
Where she’s home; where she’s safe. He closes his eyes, resting his cheek against the top of Astrid’s head while she remains still; at least, until he feels her move. He blinks, his golden gaze glassy as she looks at him. He instinctively reaches out, gently swiping the pad of his thumb beneath her wet eyes, and blinks when she smiles at him.
All of his emotions roil in his chest when she thanks him, and he wants to cry, but gods damn it he’s not gonna cry! “Of course,” he manages to choke out, hugging onto her tightly; her voice cracks as she continues; and all of Cantio’s resolve to not cry overflows. He feels a tear escape from the corners of his eyes, and he chokes on his emotions as he squishes Astrid just a littlee tighter. He feels tiny specks of optimism and resolve drift through the magic of his earrings. “I love you too, Astrid.” he tells her with a sniff, “I don’t want you to apologize for that… if it means I got to be your da, I’d choose you again and again." He breathes a soft laugh, "The worries and all don't even compare."
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 23, 2023 21:14:36 GMT -5
An overwhelming sense of belonging rushes through Astrid, all because he would choose her again. She squeezes him tighter. Of course, they love each other. Finally, Cantio chokes out a tear, and it’s like all the pressure releases for them both. They’re crying; they’re laughing; they’re sharing this moment of absolute vulnerability with each other. And they’re better for it.
After a long moment of holding on to her favorite person in the world for dear life, Astrid finally pulls away, wiping the last of her tears. She can’t help letting out a broken chuckle to mirror his own. “Just cause they don’t compare don’t mean I should keep worryin’ ya,” she says. Gods, they’re both such a mess.
Astrid slaps her cheeks with her hands gently, the wet skin pulling down as she drags her fingers down her face and groans. “Ugggghhhhh, da I didn’t wanna come home an’ do this!” she scolds, though playfully. “I was all excited ta come home an’ show ya what I got fer ya. Why’d ya hafta ask if I was alright, huh?!” Astrid gently pushes against Cantio’s shoulder, looking at him with a faux serious face that can’t hold with the way they’re both looking like absolute messes. She falls into a giggle, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight again.
Sure, she’s still pretty upset about everything with Vikram – that’s not something that’s going to go away – but getting it out after bottling it up for so long feels good. It’s a relief.
Is it weird to want a hug to last forever? She decides not, but it’s also impractical.
The hot snout of Spicy Pawsage noses his way between the two of them, looking at his person and her person with as much concern as a hell hound can muster. Though he gratefully accepts the pets Astrid reaches down to give him, his tail wagging against the floor, letting out little canine grunts of happiness.
“I’m alright, boy,” Astrid assures him gently. “See? We’re fine.” And then her voice shifts into this awful impersonation of an adult man’s voice as if they were speaking with a bubble in their throat. “Don’t mean I haven’t been worryin’ about ya too, Astrid.” Then her voice goes back to her own. “I know, I know. Yer a good boy.” The hound lets out a self-assured boof before he gets distracted by something fluttering in the air overhead. Astrid looks up to see what his eyes are trained on and looks perplexed.
“That’s a biiiiig moth.”
Suddenly her big ass war hammer manifests in her free hand.
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 23, 2023 22:01:24 GMT -5
He sniffs, chuckling softly when Astrid pulls away to wipe her tears; he takes a moment to wipe beneath his own eyes. He laughs a little when Astrid starts to scold him, “Well, I’m sorry! Maybe if you came home more often you could, like… break it up a little.” He smiles when she pushes against his shoulder, and bubbles into a laugh as she hugs him again. “Because I signed the contract to be your father!” He answers teasingly, ruffling her blonde hair playfully.
He squeezes her tight into a hug, tail swaying contently— he knows that she’s not magically okay— and he knows that it will take time for her to heal… but he is glad that she was able to talk to him.
He’s very glad.
He blinks when he feels something warm press against him, and he laughs sheepishly as he steps back to see Spicy Passage. “Hey, boy.” he greets the hellhound, offering the creature a few pets while Astrid does her… extremely inaccurate impersonation of an adult man. He laughs, sniffing and rubbing beneath his nose when he sees Spicy Pawsage look up.
“Oh! That’s right, Astrid I— WAIT, NO.”
A hand claps over Astrid’s after she’s summoned her war hammer, and Cantio looks at her in a panic. “That’s Smoothie! Don’t squash her!”
After bumping into the ceiling several times, the aforementioned Smoothie finally lands against the ceiling. She scuttles around in a half circle to the right, then a half-circle to the left, before leaning her head back to look at Cantio and Astrid, and—
Oh….
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Smoothie’s eyes almost seem to sparkle, hypnotized by the shimmering of Astrid’s Warhammer— it almost seems to be emitting a crackling light every now and then, which Smoothie finds greatly enticing. Almost immediately, the moth releases the ceiling and zooms towards Astrid’s Warhammer with absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 23, 2023 22:25:40 GMT -5
“Well, now I can come home more often! ‘Cause I got a magic key that’ll let me do it!” Astrid declares with a giggle. Honestly, she can't wait to come home more. “Yer the best da a girl could ask fer.” For a moment, she looks a little confused. “Though I don’t remember no paper contract…” And she decides it must have been a figure of speech.
With all of Astrid’s experiences with big bugs, it’s almost instinctual that her hammer manifests, sparking with electricity and a cold mist. Just as she’s about to raise it, Cantio’s hand clasps hers. “Huh? What? That’s Smoo–” The lightning channeling through her hand into her hammer jumps out and licks at Cantio’s hand, delivering a shock that Astrid only barely manages to pull back from being full force in time. It touches his hand with a loud snap in the air, and when Astrid pulls her hand and hammer away, she accidentally knocks it into everything on the counter behind her.
The dish of biscuits stood no chance.
In only a moment, the house devolves into chaos. The plate shatters against the floor. Astrid, in her panic from shocking Cantio, hurriedly checks to make sure he’s not too badly hurt. Her hammer flailing around is a perfect, buzzing, enticing prize for the light-attracted moth fluttering about the room.
“Da, da, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean ta– oof!”
Spicy Pawsage crashes into Astrid and starts barking at the moth beelining for the hammer. He scrambles to get on the counter and into the air to take a bit of the little pink cotton ball with wings. Whether he sees her as a threat or a snack, it makes no difference.
If Astrid weren’t so sturdy, she would have fallen on Cantio. At most, her arm gets knocked to the side…and into Cantio, delivering another mild shock. “Ah! Da! Shoot, shoot! Spicy! Down, boy!!” She flails about. There’s no way to think with all the noise.
Hammer held aloft, Astrid releases it with a little burst of purple sparks. And it just... remains there, frozen in time. The lightning stops sparking along the haft, only leaving a shimmering, icy weapon in the air beside her. Spicy's barking has cracked her last shred of patience. "Back into the pocket with ya!" Space and time warp around the hell hound as he's sucked into a magical pocket dimension for pets.
Things go still again.
"D-Da, are ya alright??"
Storm Lord Immovable Bastion Suspend Item Pet Pocket
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Mar 30, 2023 23:37:31 GMT -5
“ Wah!” Cantio winces, pulling back in surprise when an arc of electricity snaps against the back of his hand; a shock runs along the length of his spine. He barely has time to collect himself when something smashes nearby; the sound of glass falling from the stone countertop. … And then it all goes to hell. Smoothie zooms down towards the hammer, but as Astrid turns sharply, the moth zooms right past it; the little fluffy cotton ball blinks a few times, looking around for the sparkly prize when she hears a great racket from nearby! She turns to look at— what is that!?
She proceeds to panic, and Smoothie zips away from Spicy Pawsage’s open jaws with great speed, and six flailing little legs.
Cantio, meanwhile, chuckles sheepishly. “I-it’s fine, don’t—“ he cuts off, yelping when Astrid hits him in the stomach; the tiefling finds himself winded, shocked, and knocked directly onto his ass while Spicy Pawsage scrambles to get over him, and past Astrid. He blinks a few times, looking confused when everything finally quiets down, and Astrid’s voice fills the air.
“Oh, I’m—“ He takes a deep, wheezing breath and coughs. “ I’m fine— you sure are—“ Another cough. “ —strong, you know that?” He offers Astrid a sheepish chuckle, before remembering that he has one moth who’s still running rogue. “ Ah!” Cantio perks up, choking on another cough as he starts to stand. “ Where is— Oh.” He spots the moth, who has since perched on Astrid’s floating hammer in stasis. She tip-taps over the top and onto its side; her fluffy antennae twitch. She seems kind of disappointed that it’s no longer sparking and electrified. “Oh, thank goodness.” He breathes a relieved sigh, resting a hand against his collarbone. He looks at Astrid; some of his long hair seems to be sticking out at funny angles from the electric shocks. He does not notice. “Well, I didn’t expect your introduction to her to be sooo… eventful.” He looks at the shattered plate on the table, before looking back at the quizzical moth.
Smoothie blinks a few times, her six feet tapping curiously at the surface of the floating hammer, before looking up at Astrid, utterly clueless.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 31, 2023 18:59:29 GMT -5
If Astrid hadn’t pulled her electrical punches, she’s pretty sure Cantio would have withered away. She’s glad that’s not the case. Still, she can’t help fretting over him – a bizarre switching of roles for the two of them. The worry quickly subsides into a surprised chuckling when Cantio remarks that she’s strong. “A-Aye, da,” she giggles. “How– How d’ya think I fight monsters an’ bandits??” Seeing his hair standing on end, Astrid completely loses it, leaning against her dad for support. “We’re a bit of a mess, ain’t we?”
Wiping a tear from her eye that welled back up from her sudden laughter, she follows his eye line to see the large moth pitter-pattering its feet on the surface of her hammer floating in the air, locked in time. “So… So this is Smoothie?” Astrid asks, looking up at the little moth. She reaches a hand up to take the moth off the hammer, wary to take the weapon in hand because it will surely become electrified quickly.
“Yer feet are gonna freeze if ya stay there too long, little fella.” But Smoothie wants the sparkly shiny. Astrid’s brow furrows, then she gets an idea and pulls her hand away, snapping her fingers a few times, making sparks of electricity that are particularly enticing to the moth. The moment the moth moves, Astrid drops the electricity from her fingers and takes her frosty war hammer from its place in the air, ending the spell that suspends it, and turning it over to set it down on the floor gently. As large as it is, her ability to wield it seems as effortless as picking up a twig, which is different from the way her smaller battle hammer – the same one she got in Sky Peak all those months ago – seems to have some weight and heft to it.
“There, no more dangerous stuff fer ya, Smoothie.” Note to self: Moth likes shiny. Keep moth out of workshop.
Then Astrid looks at Cantio again, stifling another giggle at his hair, but collecting herself by clearing her throat. "Erm, right, so... I'm hooome! An' I've come ta drag ya on a revengeture!" A poor combination of "revenge" and "adventure."
"I'm gonna get ya into the Mage's Guild!"
One With the Blade
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Apr 2, 2023 18:13:03 GMT -5
“W-well, I mean! I know you’re strong, I’ve just never really felt it before.” He laughs in return, scratching sheepishly at the side of his face. When Astrid starts to completely lose it, he looks quizzically at her; but as she leans against him for support, he just chuckles with her. He reaches out, ruffling her blonde hair fondly. “Well… maybe a little bit.” He admits with a light sigh.
He looks up to the moth, whose just looking back at them as if expecting Astrid to fix the sparkly hammer it no longer has access to. “M’hm.” He answers, “I found her with…” He blinks, clearing his throat slightly to correct himself; Smoothie, meanwhile, perks her fluffy antennae when sparks come off Astrid’ fingers. The light reflects in her big eyes, and like she’s hypnotized, she opens her wing and flutters towards Astrid’s hand; when the light disappears, Smoothie awkwardly redirects, thumping into Astrid’s shoulder with a tiny puff of pink powder instead.
She stays there, a tiny weight on Astrid while the girl tries to keep her off the hammer, which she has suddenly seemed to forget about. Smoothie taps her way to stand upside down, looking at the hammer briefly, before stamping her way around Astrid’s shoulder, and onto her back.
“She’s, well, she’s not the brightest.” Cantio admits, “But she’s very sweet! She makes cocoons made out of this really interesting silk.” The tiny weight on Astrid’s back lifts when Cantio picks Smoothie up; she stands on both of his hands, her large eyes devoid of any thought as she stares into the distance. “I thought you would like her, too. Probably should have mentioned the moth thing before you came home.”
He still hasn’t noticed his hair, but hearing Astrid laugh fills him with warmth. “You are,” he chuckles; Smoothie starts to crawl up his forearm. “Welcome home, Astrid.” The fellblood’s golden gaze is filled with somber warmth in light of everything that’s happened; but he is, most certainly, glad she’s home safely. “I’m, um… I’m not sure what exactly you have in mind for the revenge…ture.” He laugh softly, brows furrowing slightly. “I hope nothing too crazy? I don’t want anyone to get hurt, especially not you.” Cantio motions for Astrid to join him, heading up the stairs to his room.
“Honestly, I’m not sure they even want me in the Mage Guild at this point,” he admits as he hits the stairs. Smoothie suddenly peeks out from over his shoulder, antennae twitching. “I’ve sent my application in so many times, and it just… well, it just never seems to work out.”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 2, 2023 21:08:39 GMT -5
Astrid giggles a bit. “Yeah, well, that’s cause I’m not tryna snap ya in half every time I hug ya,” she jokes.
With Smoothie safe from the electric hammer and the hammer set gently on the floor, Astrid looks at the cute little (big) moth in Cantio’s hands. “Aye, she’s got about as much knockin’ around in the noggin’ as Blue when they’re hungry.” As she reaches out to scritch Smoothie’s head with one finger. “Would’ve been helpful ta mention Smoothie was a big bug. I’ve had too many run ins with big bugs, ya know. She’s plenty cute at least. Perfect fer ya.”
It’s a relief to finally feel like she’s home again. At least they can both admit they’re messy, but all things considered, she’s feeling a lot better after having let out all the pent up sadness from the last few weeks. The weight feels lifted off her shoulders, even just a little bit, and now she has a new task to focus on: the revengeture.
“Nah, nah, it’s nothin’ too crazy,” Astrid assures the worrisome Cantio, waving her hand to dismiss the thought. Though she leaves out the part about how she does want to pummel a certain purple Fellblood. After taking off her greaves and boots and hanging up her cloak, she works to neatly set them by the door along with her time-warping cuirass. Now that she thinks of it, she hasn’t really been on an adventure with Cantio since the one they went on to get her most prized armor. That makes this even more exciting.
Her feet pitter patter up the stairs after Cantio to his room with a big smile on her face. Hearing him lament that he’s not gotten into the guild only makes her want to help him even more – and it makes her even more frustrated at Morrigan. The whole time they were talking about Cantio being perfectly capable, and they robbed him of it. She really shouldn’t have let Morrigan come along with her and Blue; they should have come right home and brought Cantio with them. That only helps her all the more to feel determined to make this happen for him – and to make Morrigan pay.
"Of course they'll accept ya,” Astrid assures as she slips into Cantio’s room after him. “Ya just gotta bring 'em somethin' interestin' like clues ta some ancient Mystical Archive. That's how Blue an' I got in."
Cantio seems to freeze. "You and blue what." Oh shoot, that was not how she wanted to tell him about that. Suddenly, she remembers the music box, the whole reason she even ran into Morrigan and Blue on accident. GAH!
"Oh right, that’s the whole reason I even came home! Let me show ya! Be right back!” And just like that, Astrid takes off down the stairs, leaving Cantio alone in stunned silence.
Melodia is hanging around so I can send you dialogue if you need/want any
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Apr 4, 2023 22:02:49 GMT -5
Cantio blinks, stunned after Astrid runs off down the stairs and leaves him at the top step to process this information. Her and Blue are… members of the mage’s guild now? He looks quizzical at first, and then his expression falls just a bit: hadn’t he promised to help Astrid get into the Mage’s Guild at the Black Harvest Ball? How many months had it be since then of him trying aimlessly and failing to get into the Mage’s Guild? The first time with Javal, only to lose the artifact at the end; and then with Cirice and Morrigan, only for him to mis-step into a mineshaft… He tries to swallow the self-doubt that rises up in him; is he… really so incompetent of a mage? Maybe this isn’t even meant for him. Maybe the Mage’s Guild just really isn’t in the stars for him; it would make sense, given his rotten luck, but… But he’s still happy for Astrid and Blue; they’re both so talented in their own rights with their abilities; and they absolutely deserve their entry into the Mage’s Guild— his anxiety melts away, replaced by a fond pride. He makes a mental note to congratulate Blue next time he sees them, but he can congratulate Astrid on her entry when she comes back from… from wherever she went. Cantio exhales, golden eyes glinting as he looks down the stairs after the girl, waiting patiently for her return. He can’t keep wallowing about the Mage’s Guild like this; even if things don’t work out in the end, no one can tell him he hasn't tried his best.
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