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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 10, 2024 14:34:34 GMT -5
"Ah, yes, I'll likely need blades of my own." Lucian agreed, as he started thinking about it.
He had gotten pretty good now at the wooden blades, having been able to pick up the skill after now a couple hours of practice. Well, a couple hours if you include both the training session from earlier and the training session he was doing now. Getting his own blades in town would certainly be useful, as then he wouldn't have to use the wooden blades or borrow Rena's bayonets.
Seeing Rena finally master the spell to being able to near instantly summon her blades brought a big smile to his face. She did it! Wonderful! His tail swished back and forth happily like that of a dog's, his happiness clear on his face.
"Excellent!" He exclaimed, grinning. "I'm so proud of the progress you've been able to make so quickly!"
As Rena said, he too was improving fast. The wooden blades were now finding their target more easily. It was still somewhat shaky and still the skill of a mere novice, but he was sure to actually be able to do some damage with the blades. He summoned the blades back to his claws, a content look on his face because of his progress and Rena's progress.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 10, 2024 15:44:56 GMT -5
Rena blinks down at the bayonet in her hand, tears beginning to roll unbidden and unnoticed down her feathered cheeks as she stares down at the blade as though seeing those amber eyes in its surface for the first time, “...heh…he really is in there…I…guess part of me wondered if Elvira was mistaken…but…it’s like he helped me with it…”
She shakes herself, letting out a wet hiccough as she slowly slides the blade back up her sleeve, “...a-alright…let’s get going…town shouldn’t be too much farther…”
The crow lets out a low trill that seems both glad…and mournful as she moves forward to begin leading them through the forest once more, effortlessly dodging upraised roots and crevices in the dirt as she moves.
Just like she said, it’s only two hours of walking to reach town, and Rena picks the change from the pockets of the richer folks1 until she’s got enough to purchase a brace of knives for Lucian, murmuring a soft, "...don't worry about paying me back. and don't worry about where I got the money. I only take from those who won't miss it...'m not a monster"
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 10, 2024 16:21:22 GMT -5
Lucian held the brace of knives in his hands, eyes wide with awe. A wide, toothy grin crossed his face as his tail swished back and forth in excitement. Yeah, Rena probably stole money from some nobles in the area to buy this, but who cares about that? He had his own set of knives now! He admired them in his claws, adoring the kunai-like shape and grip, with an almost star or diamond shaped blade.
He almost wanted to test them out, but throwing knives in a populated area would be... disastrous to say the least. He did have the skill to probably not hit anyone now, but it would be better to not take any chances. Instead, he kept the knives in their brace as he swiftly enveloped Rena in a tight, firm hug.
At realizing he probably overstepped his boundaries, he quickly let go and cleared his throat, embarrassed from the sheer amount of excitement he had just displayed.
"Ah, sorry! Just got a bit excited there," Lucian apologized. "Thank you so much, Rena. I'll do my best to take care of these blades."
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 10, 2024 17:46:23 GMT -5
The crow giggles, trilling in gentle amusement as grins up at the draconynh, “just do what y’can, and keep in mind this’ll probably be the only set I’ll be gettin’ you, so if they break you’ll have to get your own”
In truth, she didn’t mind the hug. She’d always been rather physically affectionate, so it was nice to have some proper contact every once in a while. Once she acquires the secrets of the Spirit Guardians, her Bell will be able to manifest with…some physicality…she shakes her head, refocusing on the situation before her, “...anyhoo, I…have been working on a home of my own in my…admittedly copious amounts of free time. ‘S not much, really just a hole in the ground…but we won’t have to worry about whether or not Sylvari wants you in her home…”
There's a choice to be made here. the actual house, with furnishing and proper ventilation, or the house-in-progress where they won't have to worry about permission for Lucian to stay there...furnishings and comfort, or convenience...she didn't say much about how much progress her house has gone through, nor whether it was actually ready for habitation.
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 11, 2024 0:11:16 GMT -5
Lucian looked relieved that Rena didn't mind the sudden hug from him. He instead moved his thoughts to pondering on what they should do. It may be better to have the guaranteed place to stay in this case. This way, the two wouldn't have to bother another person just to find him somewhere to stay in the meantime. Perhaps he could meet Rena's friend at some point, just not when there was a need for him to find somewhere to live. This way, he wouldn't be a sudden burden on Rena's friend.
"We can meet that friend of yours another time," he spoke. "It might be better for me to stay with you for now, either until I can find somewhere else to stay, or I get my own place. This way, we aren't bothering... Sylvari, was it? Sylvari with suddenly another person in her home, taking up space and eating her food."
Besides, it didn't really matter to him if the home wasn't quite complete yet. Worse case scenario, he'd just have to sleep on the floor, which he'd been doing the past several days on the ship he rode on to get to the Crescent Isles.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 0:39:48 GMT -5
Rena smiles, trilling happily and nodding a little, “alrighty! Jus’ follow me, I’ve more’n memorized the path by this point,” before setting off back into the woods. It’s not too hard for him to spot the path, crowsfoot tracks having been beaten into the turf for what might have been months by this point.
She leads him through the forest for about fifteen minutes before they enter a clearing with a low hill on the far side…a…is that a porch set into the hillside?
The crow hums softly to herself, striding right up and opening the door in the side of the hill with practiced ease, a few quick motions disabling the traps in the doorway with similar expertise before glancing over her shoulder at the Draconynh, “...well? C’mon? T’ain’t like ‘s gonna fall down on our ‘eads or anything”
With that, she heads inside herself, trilling softly and beginning to putter around the...hill, getting things set up to make her guest comfortable. She sets up a pile of cushions for him to sleep in - if it's a similar set up to her own bed one room over, who could blame her - and begins to make sure everything is in its proper place.
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 11, 2024 14:20:26 GMT -5
Lucian blinked a bit in surprise as the two had approached Rena's home. He hadn't quite expected something so... underground. He supposed that, in a way, it would be a rather safe place to live. However, that didn't account for how claustrophobic being surrounded by earth could be. Not only that, he was surprised that Rena would choose a home where almost all of it was underground, considering she was an aviankin. Wouldn't it be better for her to have a place where she could easily stretch her wings and fly around? But he supposed he couldn't exactly judge her. This was the kind of house Rena had chosen to live in, and he had to accept that.
The draconynh hesitantly entered the home, not used to being surrounded by the earth and dirt. He was used to the open architecture of his home island, where the sea breeze could easily flow through the windows. This felt almost like a tomb to him, but he chose not to bring it up. It would be rude, and Rena had so graciously let him into her home.
He approached the room with the cushions set up for him. He'd be fine, he'd be fine, he just needed to pretend that this place wasn't a mound of dirt threatening to crush him.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 14:38:57 GMT -5
It’s…a little easier now that he’s inside? The place is furnished like a house on the inside, the only sign of its allegedly incomplete nature being the fact that the floors are little more than packed earth, with floorboards leaned up against one wall.
Rena cocks her head at him, having noticed his apprehension as she re-entered the living room of her little home, “...you alright? Y’re lookin’ a little pale there, Luci…”
Was something wrong? Was it something she did? She shudders, eyes widening a little before she makes the connection, “...oh. Claustrophobia, eh? That’s a hard one to deal with…though it makes me wonder how you handled being on a ship for so long…”
The crow shakes her head again, “a-anyhoo, I can figure something else out if you’d like…mostly sprang for this ‘cause of the lor’tyrlr’s’no…1” and wasn't that the truth of it; many clans back in the Valley of Crows had lost whole clutches of hatchlings because they thought it was a good idea to keep the little ones up high...she wasn't going to make that mistake...especially not when she'd nearly been one of those lost hatchlings...
1. little ones
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 11, 2024 18:32:08 GMT -5
Lucian thought about it. How exactly did he handle the boat? Oh, right, he just would step out of the cargo hold and face the spray of the sea. Being able to see the full expanse of the ocean helped ease his fear of being trapped and enclosed within a space. Though the difference here was that this house was surrounded by dirt and underground, rather than being in a metal container in the middle ocean. At least he could jump out and swim in the ocean should the metal tear. Being underground, though, meant that the ceiling could cave him and the dirt pile around him, burying him alive.
Stepping inside of the house itself made him feel relieved, however. It did feel so much more like a home than the outside did. However, the looming threat of dirt potentially crashing down onto his head freaked him out. And, besides that, the structure of the home meant that any floors below the first wouldn't have any windows. Not unless the home was built into the side of a cliff or something.
He steeled his nerves to reply to Rena. "No no, it's fine, it's all fine. I promise everything will be fine."
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 18:55:33 GMT -5
The house is…rather cozy, if you ignore the packed-dirt floors and the floorboards leaned up against one wall…though it does seem to have been built for someone roughly four feet tall, so he does have to stoop a bit to keep his head from brushing against the ceiling…’s not too bad. Honestly the ship was almost more cramped, and at least here there’s no incessant crashing of waves and banging footsteps of sailors…
…Rena’s eyes narrow a little as though trying to pick him apart before she relaxes, “...alright. But you tell me if something’s wrong, alright? I’m your host right now, and that means I’m supposed to make sure you’re comfortable,” then she turns away to head into the kitchen, a quick clacking of flint on steel heralding the faint fwoosh of flames under a stovetop as she sets a kettle to boiling, “...anyhoo, I’m makin’ tea. I’ve got the blends all organized in a drawer…somewhere around here, if’n you want any”
it's...not too hard to find the tea-drawer, actually. for one thing, it has a tea-leaf meticulously carved into it. for another, that first thing is really the only clue he needs.
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 11, 2024 23:33:40 GMT -5
Lucian, getting quickly tired of nearly bumping his head on the ceiling, shifts to sitting in a way where his knees took on the most of his weight. This way, he could walk around on his knees and not risk any head trauma. The shift away from the ceiling also helped him feel a bit better about being within the house. It would reduce his movement when escaping should something happen, but at least he'd actually have a chance to move.
"Ah, I just think that perhaps this place isn't quite built to host someone of my stature," he spoke, a bit of a tight smile on his face. "It'll be fine in the short term, but I believe I may need to find somewhere else to stay long term. Not unless I want to build up a ton of muscle near my knees." He joked.
At the mention of tea, though, he couldn't help but nod. Perhaps the tea could help him relax a bit more in here. He sort of waddled on his knees over to the tea drawer, searching through the drawer for any potential blends he'd like to drink. He ended up picking out a simple, herbal tea.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 12, 2024 0:22:54 GMT -5
Rena chuckles softly, grabbing a pair of mugs from the cupboard, “...mmm, good thing I haven’t done the floors yet, then. I’ll work on digging them a couple feet deeper, I think. I’ll need stairs from the door, but I can live with that…’specially if it means my taller friends can visit comfortably…”
The crow hums, moving to grab some tea of her own - she actually sniffs each little teabag a few times before selecting one she likes - and gently takes the tea that Lucian’s picked for himself before heading back to prepare the stuff.
Even as she sets the bags in their respective mugs she’s asking another question, “do you like anything in your tea? I’ve got milk, honey, cane sugar…” she grabs a little container containing each as she speaks, save for the milk, which is held in a tall bottle kept in an icebox. She opens that up and takes a sniff, frowning a little, “...okay, maybe not milk. Kept this bottle too long. But I’ve got honey or cane sugar, if you like your tea sweetened!”
The kettle slowly comes to a boil, beginning to whistle and steam, signaling that it's ready. The crow smiles, gently picking it up by the handle and moving to pour a measure of boiling water into each mug.
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 13, 2024 21:52:57 GMT -5
Lucian nodded in response to her words, a small smile on his face. "Honey, please."
He couldn't remember the last time he had honey at all in his food. There weren't too many honeybees on the island, as other pollinators had largely moved in and colonized the space. As a result, the majority of goods like honey had to imported. Essential goods tended to be on the cheaper side, but products that required special processes were often expensive. And, although Lucian had honey more often than the common folk of the isle would, it was still a rarity.
His thoughts went back to her comment of possibly digging out the floors further. It would likely be a good idea, especially considering the majority of people would actually be taller than Rena. Although everything would be at a comfortable height for her, it would be difficult for people his height. It might also ease some of the claustrophobia he had towards this place.
"So... What sorts of friends would you expect to visit your place?" He asked politely. Ultimately, it was just small talk, but he figured that Rena would appreciate the interest.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 14, 2024 4:24:09 GMT -5
The crow shrugs a little, trilling softly and cocking her head to one side, “...well, there’s my current landlord and friend, Sylvari…there’s my adopted fledgling Elvira…and I’m hoping I’ll get to meet her lover again sometime…and now there’s you, if you’d like,” Rena smiles, silver eyes bright and a little hopeful. Truth is she’s a little lonely these days, with nothing more than her not quite adoptive sister, her eggs, and her bayonets for company…that’s actually part of why she’s so eager to make her little burrow more comfortable for any potential visitors.
She shakes her head, returning to the present and ladling a spoonful of honey into each mug before stirring it in. Once that’s done, she carefully takes the mugs out to the living room, setting Lucian’s - a simple clay affair with imprinted feathers curling around the outside - on the low-slung table next to him, “...I think it might be a good idea to move your little cushion-nest next to the door, so you can get out of the burrow more easily, y’know?” Rena trills softly, already setting her own mug down on the table and heading over to move the pile of cushions closer to the door.
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Post by Lucian Lucifen on Jan 14, 2024 18:08:45 GMT -5
Lucian smiled a little bit at Rena's consideration of him potentially being a friend. "Of course. I'd love to be your friend." He stated, a bit of warmth in his voice.
He took a sip of his now sweetened tea as he pondered Rena's statement. Moving his temporary cushion nest to be closer to the exit may be helpful. Should the ceiling collapse, he could easily slip out of the exit and run. Sure, Rena would be left behind... But in such a state of panic, he wouldn't consider anything but his own safety. But, of course, this is the worst case scenario. ...Which still felt very likely to occur, as his mind seemed to love constantly reminding him that the majority of this house is underground.
"Yes... That may be for the best." Lucian agreed with a quiet sigh.
After finishing his tea, the draconynh moved to assist her, grabbing onto cushions with a gentle grip. He tried his best to prevent his claws from digging too hard into the cushions, not wanting to accidentally rip apart any of them. Thankfully, his claws weren't all that sharp at all, but he wanted to still err on the side of caution.
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