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Post by Nephele on May 11, 2023 18:10:57 GMT -5
Today was a boring day, or at least Nephele thought it was. The early morning was spent mostly outdoors, as most days did. She and C’Leena ate, they walked around the village for a bit, making a few unwise financial choices. At some point Nephele got that familiar urge again, the need to walk for miles on end without stopping until her legs gave out.
And so with very little convincing, Nephele wore one of her bodices for the first time in three weeks and prepared to walk. Oddly, she didn’t feel good leaving just yet, so she left a few things in the inn. They were outside of the village at this point, a few miles from the Dragon’s Spine. Nephele had only stopped to fix the fishtail braid in C’Leena’s hair after a particular gust made her hyperaware of it possibly falling out, and with a satisfied hum she was back to walking. She hadn’t stretched her legs like this in ages.
Thankfully, Nephele was fine…mostly. (“I’m telling you, a group of sheep should be called a fluff. Have you ever hugged a sheep before? Do you think they’re soft? I always scared them away before I could try…do you think when sheep die they become clouds?? Oh my goodness that sounds wonderful!”) …Probably. They had been seeing a lot of rogue animals on their way, so Nephele’s sudden hyperfixation wasn’t 100% baseless.
“It’s a bit windy today isn’t it?” Nephele remarked after a long bout of whistling and twirling around as they trekked down the path. She was holding her shoes again, kicking up the dirt and twirling around big rocks. Nephele had tied her hair back ages ago, the breeze flipping her translucent hair every which way. It was at this point that they passed a goat, the third that they'd seen in about a mile. Nephele frowned, watching it wander and sniff around the ground with belated bleats and a curious stare their way. "Am I silly or are there a lot of farm animals just wandering about today?"
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 11, 2023 18:39:27 GMT -5
C'Leena was incredibly amused by Nepheles rambling. There was a large part of her that wanted to tell her what clouds really were, but it feels lackluster to say that they're just water turned into a gas. ("Darling, I haven't even seen a sheep before, let alone touch one. They do look really soft, however. Isn't a group of sheep called a herd or something, though? Or a flock? I dunno, I'm a prosthetist, not a rancher.") She opted not to comment on the clouds, not trusting herself to not correct Nephele.
During the quiet moments between conversations, C'Leena was looking around at the location they found themselves in. There is still a new feeling that can only really be described as freeing, especially after living her life in a cramped urban environment back on earth. Wait, how long have I been here for? Ah shit, if I arrived on April 25th, and I think it's been like, 2 1/2, 3 months? So it's like.. July, maybe August? Do the people here use the same calendar system? Hm. Holy shit my fucking birthday is.. still some time away but still. Shit, man. Should I tell Neph-
Her internal monologue is interrupted by the woman herself commenting on the wind. "Yeah, a bit. It's not too bad though, I don't think. It's refreshing." She says passively. A hand absently goes up to the pendant still tied around her neck and gently holds onto it as they walk. C'Leena also notices the large amount of farm animals around. They seem slightly out of place, but she doesn't really have anything to refer to.
"Huh. Yeah you're right, there's a lot, goddamn. This doesn't feel normal, does it? God they look funky, what the hell?" She says, eyebrows furrowed as she tries to get over how weird they look. They look perfectly normal like they would back on earth, but again, she's never seen any of these animals before, so this is incredibly new to her.
"Fucken bigger than I expected, too. I don't know why I imagined them to be smaller."
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Post by Nephele on May 11, 2023 19:28:57 GMT -5
Hearing C’Leena so bewildered by simple animals Nephele had seen her entire life makes her laugh, but then her gaze grows serious once more when she realizes just how serious C’Leena was being. “You’ve never seen any of these? I know you said you’ve never seen sheep, but you’ve never seen wild goats before?”
It seemed that on the basis of knowledge on these animals, she and C’Leena were on opposite poles of understanding: Nephele knew almost too much about sheep and goats and the like. Granted, the animals she knew were all wild, as most domesticated animals avoided her like the plague. Still, she could identify just from a cursory glance that this specific goat was a billy goat, and he probably was just as confused as they were. C’Leena’s utter bewilderment is adorable as well as hilarious.
Nephele slowly approached the goat, crouching onto the ground and placing her shoes down. The horned creature shook its head in warning, so she paused in her approach to stare at it. She then whispered, keeping her eyes on the cautious goat: “They’re just little beasts. This one’s quite mighty, see his horns?”
A few other animals littered their path; goats, sheep, and cows all seemed to be wandering aimlessly around each other. Nephele eventually sat on the filthy ground, realizing the goat was irritated with her persistence to make friends. The billy goat bleated lowly, and spun around to hobble away toward where another goat and it’s kid stood some ways away. Nephele waited a while before turning back around, still sat on the ground. As expected, the sheep were too skittish to touch her, but a small calf approached her to sniff her clothes.
“Still, what in the worlds are they all doing out here?” Nephele muttered absently, ignoring the calf. If the mother was near, she’d be more than cross with her, if wild oxen were anything to go by. “Should we—”
“HEY!!”
The sound of a child pierced the air, startling a few of the smaller animals whilst the others curiously looked down the way. A girl, maybe 11, was rushing down the path with a too big straw hat and coveralls, holding what appeared to be a long staff with a hook on the end. She was gasping and panting, only stopping to slap her palms on her knees, nearly doubling over.
“H-H-Hold on, gimme a sec…” The girl huffed and puffed, wiping her brow and holding up a shaky hand. She used the staff to steady herself, shaking. Nephele regarded her curiously, watching her in curiosity.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 11, 2023 20:02:12 GMT -5
"I really haven't seen a goat until this very moment. Dal'n, Imagine like, Sol City. Haven't been, but people say it's packed. Now, take Sol City, increase every buildings height by five times, widen the island it sits on and the city itself by ten and throw me in the center of it. Thats the sort of place I lived all my life. Wildlife was a vague idea. Hell, when we first met, I hadn't seen nature outside of artificial parks until like, a week prior." She explained with a smile on her face. It was amusing to watch Nepheles bewilderment.
Looking at Nephele more than the wildlife, it's frankly adorable to see her trying to bond with the goat. C'Leena wanted to go kneel with Nephele, but the goat buggered off before she even moved. Shame. C'Leena was about to ask why Nephele knows so much when the young girl scared the absolute shit out of her.
"FUCK!" She exclaimed, spinning around to the sudden, unexpected noise. Her artificial heart was actively trying to either disassemble itself, or it's grown a mind of it's own and is trying to escape her ribcage. Both would be bad. "Jesus Christ, kid! Way to try to kill someone. Ever think on trying to become an assassin? You'd be great at it." She says in a joking manner as she holds onto her pendant a little tighter after the scare.
After a moment of composing herself, she removes her canteen and hands it to the kid who takes it with a breathy "Thanks," who then begins to absolutely demolish the water. C'Leena can't help but chuckle and quietly wonder how far the kid has ran. Their general getup and how ranchers are depicted in children's stories make her believe this kid has something to do with all the farm animals wandering around the place.
In the meantime, C'Leena stands still and waits for the kid to catch her breath with a patient smile. She vaguely looks like a kid that C'Leena operated on years ago. They got into a nasty car accident that needed their leg to be amputated and replaced with a prosthetic. The kid back on earth was scared shitless, but after C'Leena (rather hesitantly) showed the kid her burns and own prosthetics, C'Leena apparently became a role model for the kid. That memory always puts a smile on C'Leenas face. It's always the small things.
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Post by Nephele on May 11, 2023 21:35:42 GMT -5
The girl nearly drained the entire canteen, then let out a heavy and forceful sigh. She seemed awfully energetic for a girl who had just ran like her life depended on it. Nephele could only watch in wide eyed confusion as she straightened her back and picked at what appeared to be a scabbed over wound on her jaw.
She then continued, a bit sheepish but also looking just a little awkward: “Um, I'm sorry thank you for the water, Miss. My name is Aelwyn, and these are my livestock!” She then planted her staff in the ground, dramatically showing off the animals surrounding her with a proud smile. She adjusted her hat continuing: “Well, kinda. They're actually my grandpa’s, but he's gone into the village for a little bit to do some business or whatever. But for the next few hours they're mine!”
Nephele listened on, thoroughly amused. The nymph personally didn't like children all that much, finding that they often had just as much patience she did on a good day. Not to mention, the Wonder Brats that they had transferred a few weeks ago were still fresh in her mind. Still, this girl Aelwyn seemed nice enough. Disciplined, it appeared.
Not nearly disciplined in balance though, as a very gentle headbutt from a passing cow nearly toppled her over entirely. Aelwyn flapped her arms around in a panic, trying to balance herself and just barely teetering on her feet. Nephele giggled softly under her breath, earning an adorable glare from her.
“And how's that going for you?” Nephele teased, still struggling to ignore the urge to pet the calf that had since bounded over to its mother after nearly toppling the girl over.
“Not good as you can imagine. I think they got spooked by something when I was trying to herd them back into their stables in the barn, because next thing I know they're running away through the open gate! I'm good as dead if Grandpa comes back to this chaos!” Aelwyn groaned losing all feigned confidence as she raked her fingers through her dark hair. The hat nearly tumbled off of her head.
Nephele hummed in sympathy, looking up at C’Leena. The nymph was no stranger to animals, so she wouldn't mind helping the girl. However, she wasn't 100% sure if C’Leena would be up to handling possibly 50 plus animals that she had never seen before.
“I think that's rather silly that your grandfather would be so cross with you after leaving you to do his dirty work, sounds quite selfish quite honestly.” Nephele bluntly stated, returning her attention to the increasingly morose girl. “I could certainly help you, we both could, if you're all right with it.” She was looking at the girl, but Nephele was mostly addressing C’Leena behind her.
Aelwyn stopped her dramatic woes, peeking from underneath the hair that she had pulled over her face in agony with round black eyes. It was hard to tell if she was human or not, as she was exceedingly pale even under the sun, but all that really mattered was that she was asking for help. Her eyes shone with stubbornly, unshed tears as she sniffled. “R-Really? Could you?”
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 11, 2023 22:50:33 GMT -5
C'Leena watched on, amused at the goings on of this kid. It was a nice change of pace from the last few events of recent times. Upon being asked to help, she frowned in hesitation before shrugging to herself. "Couldn't hurt. Not sure what good I can do, but I might have an idea to help. Let me try something."
Rolling her shoulders, she glances at the very same goat that Nephele tried to bond with a minute ago. She begins approaching the goat, and as it takes a step backward, something curious occurs with C'Leena that she doesn't seem to notice.
From where Nephele is sat, a golden ring appears on the opposite side of C'Leenas head, slightly obscured. The ring seems to move dependent on perspective to keep C'Leena in the middle of the halo and the observer. For Aelwyn, the ring is not in the same position that Nephele sees it in, but still keeps itself obstructed.
The ring flickers in for a moment before flickering back out, and an odd feeling of.. serenity and calm1 washes over Nephele, Aelwyn and the animals. The goat in question stops backing up and instead approaches in curiosity. C'Leena seems surprised at it's approach, however.
"Huh, I was expecting to have to chase you down. This makes my job a bit easier, though. Hey, lil' guy." She kneels down and reaches out her hand, which the goat sniffs and slowly approaches closer. C'Leena gently places her hand on it's side and looks at Nephele with a - frankly stupid - grin plastered on her features.
"Why the fuck is he letting me do this? God this is so cool, it makes me upset that I can't actually feel my boy here. Oh, right, Aelwyn, where do you need to bring these fellas?"
1. Calming Aura (Celestial)
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Post by Nephele on May 12, 2023 15:50:20 GMT -5
Nephele watches C'Leena work her magic, literally it seemed. She was actually a little nervous when C'Leena began to apporach the billy goat, but whatever she had casted felt like a weighted blanket upon her shoulders, suppressing any worries she originally had. Her shoulders relaxed and her eyes softened as she watched C'Leena handle the animal with a big ass smile on her stupidly cute face. Nephele smiled back, grossly fond. "Animals know good people, dearest."
Aelwyn was equal parts freaking out and simply...not. Like she was trying to scream but was drugged by something that prevented her from doing so. "W-Wha-? He doesn't even let me get that close!" She said, bewildered. The girl stared up C'Leena like she was a unicorn, eyes sparkling. "My home is down the road, not that far. But they really like to travel so it'll be a bit before we heard them altogether."
Nephele was absolutely delighted at the happenstances, standing up and brushing herself off. C'Leena and animals were unfairly cute, she was almost jealous. Aelwyn watched her stand, suddenly rounding in on Nephele with the same muted enthusiasm.
"Can you do that too?" She asked, and when Nephele shook her head no: "Then how would you help?"
Nephele hummed, shrugging her shoulders. "I could try interacting with them now that they're calmed down. Or I could scare them, but I don't want to do that."
She took a careful step toward the cow and her calf, both a pretty brown color that contrasted starkly from Nephele's own pallete. The calf shook its head, still trying to fight the effects of the calming spell. Just like a toddler, it stamped its front hooves on the ground, hopping in place as Nephele minimized her own body language so she looked friendlier. He was just playing, and it was obvious in how he bumped his big head against her side. Yup, she still had it in her. The cow looked fully exasperated. Aelwyn was just watching, mesmerized.
This took Nephele back. Back in the Moonglades, there were a few places with many wild bovine herds, and she and her mother took solace with them often. She remembered sleeping on the backs of bison, playing with their calves in the morning with her mother. Those were the days. Nephele chuckled at the calf nearly headbutting her over. She bumped back against his head with her shoulder, fully crawling on the ground again.
"Silly things, point us to where we should go. We'll do our best to bring them back." Nephele said, keeping her attention on the animals in front of her.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 12, 2023 17:15:55 GMT -5
"Do what, exactly? I just approached and he came to me," C'Leena said, confused. She stood up and looked at Aelwyn. "Seriously, I didn't do anything." The goat attempts to headbutt C'Leenas leg, which causes a distinctly metallic sound to ring out, and leaves behind a confused and possibly mildly concussed goat.
C'Leena had minimal reaction to the bash itself, but afterward, she looked down at the goat who is still reeling from the unexpected solidity of C'Leenas leg. "Sorry lil' guy, fake as hell. C'mon, walk it off, you'll be right. Don't goats headbutt all the time?" C'Leena, during the time they were remaining at the town managed to repair the damage to her arms, so the illusory skin is functional and active across her arms. On top of that, at some point, her eyes reverted back to their gem-like aquamarine.
"Alrighty, you want them rounded up? That can be done easy. Abracadabra-" She does some strange motion with her hands, and a perfect duplicate of her shimmers into being1. The duplicate rolls it's shoulders and looks around.
"What in the Cinnamon Toast Fuck have you done now?" it asks, looking at C'Leena with a mix of concern and confusion. "Man, I just need your help to round these fellas up. If you go far, I can do the same a bit closer. Does that work, Cobber?" "Fuck me, bud. Really going from solo raiding a fucking cultist compou-" The duplicate is cut off by C'Leena. "2 things, dal'n: One, theres a kid RIGHT there. Two, you really don't need to bring that up. How do you even remember that, you're genuinely a magic being." The duplicate looks over at the kid, raises it's eyebrows and then to Nephele.
"Happy to see you doing okay. But uh, yeah sorry 'bout that. I can help, no wukkas." The replicant then begins walking away, beginning it's task.
C'Leena cocks her head to the side as she watches the clone go. "Does this make me insane? I was technically talking to myself like a crazy person. Goddamn." She moves her hands akimbo and looks toward Nephele. "Anyway, lets get started! To work!"
1. Replicant
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Post by Nephele on May 12, 2023 19:07:53 GMT -5
Nephele waved politely to the other C'Leena, smiling as the two launched into banter with one another. Then she fixated her eyes on the clone, watching it leave to help with the massive creatures. Strange. How much did C'Leena's clone remember? She was also fully under the impression they couldn't speak, but that was neither here nor there. Sometimes abilities evolved, shouldn't be anything too concerning, right? Aelwyn began leading the way, trying her best to shepherd the animals down the road to the best of her ability. They were oddly compliant, those in range of C'Leena's spell's affects able to ease their nerves and be guided. Nephele did her best to help too, a bit less orthodox in her movements but they worked well enough. She seemed to befriend the animals well enough, greeting them in their own ways and helping them follow along. Nephele continues to let Aelwyn lead, watching the girl curiously. She was strangely independent for someone her age. Suddenly, the girl cupped her hand to her mouth to emit a loud, songlike call, repeating the sound several times. Some of the calmer animals began following her, and Nephele watched on in surprise as they turned their heads in her direction. Nephele had heard of kulning before, even heard it in person in some regions. Still, Aelwyn's voice seemed to echo for miles, how had she not been able to catch their attention before? Strange, very strange. "Cee," Nephele said, hanging back to watch Aelwyn, who was fighting to stop a lamb from butting her leg and continue kulning (the lamb was winning, cutely enough). "Did you not know that you've been using magic? And I mean before the doppelganger, did you not notice that?"
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 12, 2023 20:04:00 GMT -5
C'Leena was walking some distance away when the kid began doing that call. It sounded familiar somehow, so C'Leena wracked her brain. A bit ahead, the duplicate appeared startled by it, too, and also appears to be trying to remember where they heard it. Suddenly, the duplicate brightens up and looks to C'Leena.
"Kulning! It's a.. Either a Scottish or Swedish herding call! You watched some videos on it back on earth. God I love remembering things." The duplicate says. The animals seem largely unaffected by the duplicates volume, and continue to approach Aelwyn. C'Leena looks mildly startled, but it checks out in her own mind. "Thank you!" She replies, pleased about finally having a name to the call.
The duo turn back to their jobs when Nephele speaks to C'Leena, and both her and the duplicate turn to face her. However, the duplicate quickly realizes that it wasn't the one being addressed, shrugs and goes back to it's task. A frown forms on her face. "Uh, yeah I didn't actively cast anything. Why, what happened?"
C'Leena was now concerned, her featureless eyes still somehow portraying it along with her scrunched up brow. It's not good news if she's casting magic without actually knowing it. She's felt.. off somehow after the cultist incident, but it hasn't been anything to really speak up about, so she hasn't. If it's linked to her apparently magically calming down a bunch of animals, then it might be time to retire as a doctor and become a fairy tale princess or something.
..What if it's linked with the wings? I better not be becoming the 'Good Doctor' unironically. I will hit someone if that's the damn case. For now, she simply waits for a response from Nephele. Time to get to the bottom of this.
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Post by Nephele on May 12, 2023 21:22:23 GMT -5
“Well, I didn't think to point it out earlier because I thought you did it purposefully,” Nephele started, unsure of what exactly to say that wouldn't sound even a little bit alarming. Considering C’Leena’s strange obsession with tinkering with the arcane, only for her to cast things unconsciously when she wasn't thinking about it, Nephele was more than a little worried. “However, I did see something earlier. You casted a form of calm emotions, which is a celestial spell. How did you not notice it? There was even a visible halo by your head.”
The question was mostly rhetorical, but the nymph was still giving C’Leena a look. It was one that she had fixated her with before, but rather than completely endeared and enamored, Nephele looked… nervous. A learned kind of nervous, almost.
“I'm not 100% certain,” Nephele continued, and she really wasn't. “But you’ve probably earned the favor of light magic. Among others, too.” Somehow, at the mention of light magic Nephele looked surprised, as if just putting two and two together. “It comes from the celestials.”
Nephele didn't know how else to explain or further elaborate without talking in circles. While C’Leena was book smart on magic, the nymph was more of a hands-on person. She was no stranger to wild magic, which was what her birth realm’s energy was colloquially referred to on Charon, and she also knew quite a bit about other forms of magic. Nephele often spoke about the life that she and her mother led for the first years of her life, but for the most part she never divulged much about her time in the Land of Wonder. In short, these abilities were very, very familiar.
“It's a good thing,” Nephele said, not 100% sure how much she even believed that. “But I do believe that it has something to do with your wings and other unintentional spells. I mean, you were very aware when you healed me after leaving that mountain, right?”
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 12, 2023 23:36:44 GMT -5
The information being hurled at C'Leena was.. Strange, to say the least. Her first instinct was to dismiss it, but there was something about Nephele that insisted she spoke the truth.
"A Hal- I was kidding about the halo for fuck sake. You're not shitting me?" It appears that C'Leena continues to get her worldview flipped around, even after all this time. Keyke quite some time ago had mentioned a pantheon, but C'Leena never was a believer without proof. "You cannot - Cannot - look me in the eyes and tell me I'm getting a damn halo and gaining 'favor'."
"And yeah, of course I was aware of that - I learnt how to do heal. Initially to try to heal the scars but magic don't fix that apparently - Okay, this is a discussion for later; right now we gotta help the kid out." She says rather quickly while jabbing a thumb at Aelwyn before continuing the way she was going. Her mind is racing through possibilities.
How the hell did this even come to be? You'd think she'd notice something like this, but apparently not. While her mind runs at a million miles a minute, Her and the Replicant simply nudge the cattle toward Aelwyn if they begin to wander off a bit. Even at a distance, it's obvious that there is quite a lot of turmoil happening with C'Leena.
The subject of religion never came up, so just as C'Leena doesn't know Nepheles stances, the same could be said the other way around. C'Leena grew up agnostic, always the 'Show me proof and then we'll talk' sort of gal. She's always enjoyed learning about other religions, however. it's always been something of interest for her. So learning that she may possibly be affiliated with a Celestial is.. something that can't exactly be put to words.
She continues to run through thought after thought as she works, almost entirely on autopilot as she helps herd the animals.
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Post by Nephele on May 13, 2023 3:30:47 GMT -5
It took quite a bit of convincing for some of the animals to be completely rounded up. A small incident where a pair of goat kids ended up wrestling had Aelwyn shouting and panicking. Nephele ended up having to carry one of them, only slightly mollified.
Even with the horrendous smell of farm animals that only grew closer as they walked down the slope to where there was a visible barn and small hut, Nephele Keep her eyes off of C’Leena. Somehow, she felt she really, really should not have told C’Leena what she was seeing. She looked almost completely out of it, with whatever Aelwyn was saying flying out one ear. Was she alright? Had Nephele assumed too much too fast? But she knew that wasn't true. These were all telltale signs… and this is where her worry began to skyrocket.
They walked on in relative silence, Nephele only tearing her eyes away from her girlfriend to resituate the fussy kid in her arms. Then she felt a tiny tap on her shoulder, and she jumped minutely at Aelwyn’s round face staring up at her. Nephele was about a head taller than her, and it surprised her that she had to look down so far.
“What were you two talking about?” She asked innocently, appearing genuinely curious. The rest of the animals didn't seem to care that she wasn't calling them anymore, following the rest of their brethren without much trouble or fuss.
“Hm? Oh, it's nothing.” Nephele dismissed awkwardly, her voice lowered as she felt guilty speaking about C’Leena. “I suppose I'm just a bit worried. Strange things, is all.”
Aelwyn hummed sagely, using her shepherd's staff as a walking stick and to smack rocks out of the way. “I could talk to her if you'd like. Is she like your friend or something? You don't look like sisters, no offense.”
Nephele actually snorted at that remark, earning a protesting bleat from the kid that she was still holding. She shook her head with a smile. “No, she's not my sister, she's my girlfriend. And we’re not arguing dear, just talking about scary things.”
Aelwyn’s eyes went wide, her lips parting in surprise. “Ohhhh! That makes a lot more sense.” She paused to tap her finger to her chin, contemplative and growing a mischievous little smile. “Well I can talk to your girlfriend for you. I'm the in-charge person, so I make sure that everyone's getting along n’ stuff. One moment please!”
Nephele has zero time to protest before Aelwyn is walking backwards, nearly bumping into C’Leena in her clumsy pace. The nymph sighed, equal parts embarrassed and amused. Aelwyn probably drove her poor grandfather mad. Hopefully she didn't say anything too… stupid.
And then Aelwyn greeted C’Leena with a voice that sounded like she was imitating it from someone much older and better contextualized: “Trouble in paradise?” Nephele nearly cringed herself to death, forcing herself to look forward so she wouldn't strangle a child. Nosy little beasts. She scorned in her head.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on May 13, 2023 10:14:19 GMT -5
C'Leena was conflicted. Her life was one where she believed whole heartedly that gods simply didn't exist. Now, apparently she's either simply mimicking a Celestial, or is actively becoming one. She doesn't want to become a damn Celestial, that's not her thing. She considers herself a decent enough person, but not good enough to be angelic.
Her musing is cut short by Aelwyn nearly bumping into C'Leena. She was able to sidestep and quickly stabilize the kids sketchy balance. Aelwyn's tone greatly suggested that she was feigning maturity when there wasn't much there. However, she decides to play ball. C'Leena doesn't mind kids, honestly. When dealing with them, one only needs patience. When she's not growing wildly irritated, C'Leena can be quite patient.
"In a sense, I suppose. I'm sure you don't want me to burden you with my issues, Aelwyn. I appreciate the concern." C'Leena smiles warmly. It's obvious this was an attempt to get Aelwyn to stop prying, but she doesn't seem to be deterred that easily.
"Sure, but my job is to make sure everyone is getting alone okay! You and.. I don't know you guys' names. You and your girlfriend look like you're having a hard time." She explains. C'Leena was caught slightly off guard by the kid calling them girlfriends. While it wasn't wrong, C'Leena assumes that Nephele told Aelwyn, which is actually quite heartwarming. A more genuine smile spreads across her face as she looks at Nephele, trying to get a bead on her.
"I mean, by definition, I guess. Theres no issues between us - at least I hope not. She just seems worried about me, maybe? It's hard to tell when I can't see her face. But yeah, nothing is wrong." C'Leena responds patiently. Aelwyn furrows her brow as they walk, clearly not entirely convinced. C'Leena lightly nudges the kid.
"Something about me, though: I'm a doctor. As a doctor, I tend to avoid lying; it makes me feel real bad and it doesn't really help anybody. It means a lot that you're concerned about us," C'Leena gestures between herself and Nephele, "But you don't need to worry. It'll all be sorted out when we get this done, alright? Now, you have a job to do, don't you?"
Aelwyn suddenly remembers that she does in fact have a job to do. "Oh, right! Sorry! Glad you both are doing okay!" she says, a bit rushed as she quickly makes her way back to the front of the herd, stumbling and nearly tripping over on her way. The massive hat on her head slides down and covers her eyes, but she simply pushes it back up and continues on.
C'Leena has a light smile on her face. Frankly, she's missed interacting with kids. Her usual younger patients would be around Aelwyns age, and there was, again, that one kid who held C'Leena as a role model. Her attention is arrested by Nephele, however, cutting her musing short once again.
Casting a largely unused spell, she speaks into Nepheles mind, this time around, her grip on the spell is deliberate, not letting anything other than words be sent over the connection. She doesn't actually remember much after the Noble Incident, largely due to the blood loss. One of the things missing from her memory was the small message conference and Nephele hurting herself by digging a hole with her hands. She knows Nephele did something but can't actually remember any of it.
"Petal, you doing alright? You look tense. Also, off topic: You're telling people about us being girlfriends? Thats so fucking sweet, I love it and you.
But yeah, look, the only things going on with me right now is just processing implications. This has.. flipped a lot on it's head with me again. If it'll ease your mind, I'll be happy to discuss this with you sometime after we finish this up. Actually, I might do that anyway if you don't mind. My brain isn't doing me any favors." She explains telepathically. For the time being, her train of thought has been halted, but that won't last forever. Getting it out in the open and letting Nephele tackle it too will help a lot.
But for now, C'Leena continues walking, corralling animals that wander a little too far away. Her face still has a smile on it; one that looks genuine and warm. Nephele would easily recognize it as one that she gets when she's at least partially gone into her 'Mothering Mode'.
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Tradesfolk
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Renown
Faeborne
Trying to stay at peace in all its forms
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Post by Nephele on May 13, 2023 14:26:25 GMT -5
Nephele nearly jumped again when she heard C’Leena’s voice in her head. She smiled bashfully at C’Leena’s teasing, pretending that she wasn't affected by it as she was walking in front of her. Nephele had absolutely zero reservations about telling anybody about anything, especially when it came to things that made her happy. C’Leena certainly fell into that category. After getting her entire message, Nephele responded in kind:
“Why wouldn't I tell her? I do not lie or omit things that I love if I am so asked a question. And yes we should speak about this. I'm not 100% sure like I said, but if you are doing all of this unintentionally then it is a bit of a cause for… well let's not worry about that now. We're almost there anyway.”
Herding the animals went by without much fuss, as Aelwyn returned to the front of the line and led to the two-person party down to a rickety fence with a broken latch that surrounded the weathered the barn and its yard. Nephele put down the squirming kid, watching it return to its mother as it realized that it was back at its home. For the most part it claimed that there were only cattle animals that escaped, to which Nephele couldn't be more grateful for as she spotted a chicken coop. Aelwyn most likely was getting ready to take them out before chaos struck.
Ushering the animals into the barn and into their gates and enclosures, Aelwyn locked up the animals with quite a bit of effort. This task would have most likely taken several hours had it been her by herself, what with how some of the animals managed to get around her. Thankfully with C’Leena and Nephele’s help, they were both able to put them away with minimal issue. The billy goat that had C'Leena occupied for a while nipped her pants before stalking away. During the entire endeavor, Nephele did her best to school her expression increase something neutral. The last thing they needed was for her paranoia to catch up with her.
“And that's the last one!” Aelwyn cried, wiping her brows theatrically and placing a palm on her hat to keep it on her head. “Wow, thank you so much for the help! My grandpa would have killed me if he saw what happened here. The latch is broken but I think I can fix it… maybe.” She didn't seem too sure of that. The girl then whirled around to look between C’Leena and Nephele, smiling. “Well that's an issue for future me to deal with! Right now, I think you two deserve a reward for your trouble!”
Nephele already looked like she was ready to adamantly protest such a prospect, until Aelwyn pointed towards the small hut. “I baked some cookies the other day if you guys want those! I’d give you money, but my grandpa is really stingy and doesn't like giving out money to people he doesn't know. You know people who count every last solar they pick up three a day? That's just how he is. We also have milk and some hard cider from the apples from two summers ago.”
Nephele’s eyes lit up at the mention of cider, her ears flipping up for a moment before she quickly shook her head, contradicting her body language. “Ohh, I don't think we should—”
“Don't worry about it! You helped me so I help you! That simple!” Aelwyn’s face was contorted into a smile that screamed mischief. “’Sides, my grandpa always said that deep conversations were best had with some hard cider and a hearty meal. I can't cook because I burn everything otherwise, I would offer. You can take it with you for when you have your conversation with your girlfriend~!”
The inflection that she used on the word “girlfriend” made Nephele’s eye twitch, a little embarrassed that she even said anything. It was a very annoying little sister type of response, a sentiment that went over Nephele's head. The nymph looked over to her girlfriend, sheepish like some of the animals they helped herd on their way here. She looked halfway between asking for backup and begging her to refuse, if not for her pride.
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