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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 5, 2024 22:35:21 GMT -5
Elvira stood in the water of the Oasis in a set of clothes that were rather uncharacteristic of her. She wore a white blouse with black leather leggings. The leggings were rolled up slightly to allow her to tread in the water without getting them wet. On the shore nearby was a set of brown boots, not too fancy but they were clean and in good shape. Her hair was fashioned in a series of multiple braids, all of which were tied back with a ribbon. Behind her, a camp had been set up with a campfire ready to burn. Most travelers would have brought more than the bare essentials, but that was not her style. To save weight on her travel, she'd only carried the bare necessities for survival. Rather than a tent, she had built a hammock between two trees with a large blanket covering it from the elements. Her bag was suspended from one of the trees using a rope wrapped around a branch as a pulley system.
While looking out to the glistening lake in front of her, she sang a song in an old Elven language. Her voice carried across the lake, bouncing off of the water and echoing back. It gave an ethereal feeling to her song. She couldn't help but smile and look to the sky at the birds circling overhead. Her mind began to play back all that had happened in the past few months. The journey had been long and arduous. To her, however, it was all worth it.
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 6, 2024 0:42:18 GMT -5
Tatalia sat down for a quick break on a rock, wiping her wrist across her brow and grinning at the desert sun. She set her sizable backpack down upon the ground and stretched her feet out to relax and shake the sand out of her boots. The goblin had made sure only to pack the essentials, only... for her, there were a lot of essentials.
Oh, the little explorer wasn't an amateur adventurer, to be clear! She was actually quite veteran at surviving in the wilderness, moreso than most in fact. She slept in caves, in trees, in marshes, and in the demesnes of monsters. She was a tracker, a trapsmith, a warrior and more... but she could not help that she enjoyed a cup of warm tea. She also had to admit that she loved reading a good book or three, and reading material could be so hard to restock on the road; and she had her journal, her inks, and of course she had her various tools of the trade (both for adventure and archaelogy), and...
Well, that was why Tatalia's backpack was heavier than those belonging to others of a similar profession.
The goblin peered back down at the tracks she was following. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous looking at them. They didn't belong to any great beast, nor to some intimidatingly built warrior wearing plated boots. In fact, she knew exactly whose tracks they were, for Tatalia had been tracking this person for a little while. She was supposed to meet her, obviously. And she was finally almost caught up with her!
But... Tatalia wasn't sure she wanted to catch up with her. Well, no; that was a lie. She very much wanted to catch up and speak with the woman that made those tracks. She was just... Well, you could say she was...
Nervous? suggested a voice in Tatalia's head.
"I'm not nervous!" replied Tatalia aloud, huffing and folding her arms over her chest. "I'm just being cautious, that's all. It's a good habit to have!"
Are you sure it's just caution? asked the voice in Tatalia's head. What do you even have to be cautious about?
"Oh, you know what!" grumbled Tatalia, grasping her head with both hands and heaving out a weary sigh. "It's just... I can't let it get too far, can I? I have to dispel these illusions. I have to fix all this before, before..."
Before you can admit how you feel? Tatalia's mind asked in a teasing tone.
The goblin elected not to answer. Angrily, she scooped her backpack up and started marching down the dune toward the oasis Elvira was staying at.
It didn't take long for Tatalia to reach the relaxing greenery of the oasis. It didn't take long for her to spot the cleric, either... nor to hear the frankly enchanting song.
The goblin watched Elvira sing from behind a tree for a little bit - no more than thirty, forty seconds or so. She had never seen her dressed the way she was, and it was... well, it surprised her? But it also felt a bit too personal, and she wondered if she even had the right to approach the elf afterwards.
Still, Tatalia had come all this way specifically to meet Elvira! She reminded herself that it would be even more rude to break a promise than it would be to approach the elf while she was dressed so. And didn't the priestess show she was willing to be more open with her appearance around Tatalia already? And it would be better to approach than to just... hide in the corner.
Not that Tatalia didn't want to hide in a corner, of course. It felt like the safest option. It just wasn't the moral one.
The goblin climbed nimbly up a nearby tree,1 crawling along its branches in utter silence.2 The tree made a little sound, of course, but nothing more than could be attributed to the light breeze blowing through the desert. Perhaps she could have made her presence known immediately, but Tatalia had a flair for the dramatic. She had to make an entrance!
Because you want to impress someone? the goblin's brain teased.
Seriously, do you ever shut up? growled an exasperated Tatalia at her brain. Well, she didn't actually growl. It was all in her head.
Nevertheless, the goblin followed through with her plan. She nimbly walked along a long branch hanging over the water on all fours. She had left her backpack behind, and the disguise she often wore into towns was stowed away as well. Instead, she was dressed in her loose fitting adventuring clothes: her dark and billowy shirt, her worn pants, her tight sash, and the scarf about her head. Her boots she actually elected to leave behind as well, and so was barefoot as she crept forward. She waited until she was close enough... and then poked her head out over the edge, grinning down at Elvira with her sharp and shiny teeth, her glowing eyes, and her wild, tousled black hair hanging down in a bouncy mess.
"What a discovery I've made! A rare find!" the goblin teased, her voice light and cheerful. "I'm pretty sure beautiful things like you end up in museums when they're found in the desert!"
WHAT AM I DOING?! Tatalia screamed mentally at herself. WHAT EVEN WAS THAT!?
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 6, 2024 3:36:43 GMT -5
Elvira stopped halfway through the song with a gasp and spun as fast as she could possibly move in the water. She looked up to the goblin with a startled face that quickly turns to a wide smile with a deep blush. She shakes her head crosses her arms, shifting her weight to her left side. "If that is so, why don't you bring me there yourself? I'm sure they couldn't be tired of you already, are they? Perhaps I'd make a nice model for the fashion section," she says with a playful flip of her styled hair and a goofy pose.
She giggles softly and gives perhaps the warmest smile she could to Tatalia. It was filled with care and overflowing with excitement. "I can see your curiosity about my particular choice of attire. I decided to try something new in an attempt to become more comfortable with my look. Believe me when I say, it took hours to tame my hair with no prior experience in doing so other than a brush." She shakes her head once more and smiles up to her friend. She raises her arms up to Tatalia and makes grabby hands to her, giggling once more. "Come on down, I don't trust you up there! Here, I'll catch you. Just don't squirm, or the birds might swoop in for you! You already look irresistible as is, I don't need to lose you in such a dramatic fashion as being prey to a beast of the sky."
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 6, 2024 5:17:34 GMT -5
The elf's offer was so sweet! How could Tatalia deny her? She stepped over the edge of the branch to leap on down into Elvira's open arms.
How could she not? It was just too fun not to! The goblin was caught, and she let out a carefree laugh which she quickly paired up with a confident, cocky grin. She glanced up past the cleric's white sleeved shirt and up to her face, staring into those kind blue eyes. Their faces were... close. If she only leaned forward, she could-
"No!" the goblin interjected suddenly, her tone sharp and panicked.
The goblin wriggled herself loose from Elvira's grasp, kicking her feet out until she fell onto the ground. She paced away with surprising haste to the edge of a nearby tree, and she stood rigidly next to it, gripping one arm with the other, facing directly away from the young elf's gaze. Then, suddenly, she smacked her hand to her forehead and dragged her hand down her face, letting out a frustrated growl from deep in her gut. Slowly, she turned about ninety and started marching back and forth along the shore of the oasis, her green feet tapping softly against the ground as she gathered her thoughts.
"I'm... I really shouldn't do that to you," Tatalia began with a cracked voice. "I shouldn't- I already am doing this to you, and it's wrong! I'm wrong!"
The green woman's hands were fidgeting in all sorts of strange ways. She tugged at her pants and at her shirt; she tugged at her hair; she made little ambiguous gestures with her hands. Her mind was embattled with itself, and it showed. She didn't seem to be able to keep eye contact with Elvira. In fact, she was actively trying to look away.
"I'm wrong," Tatalia repeated, looking and sounding smaller than ever. "I'm so very wrong! I've led you along like this, and... it just wouldn't be fair to you, would it? I should've refused you outright before, should've made things clearer, because I certainly shouldn't be allowed to fall in-"
Tatalia sucked in a breath, stopping herself from finishing that thought. She stopped pacing, and instead just... sat down upon the shore, letting her feet soak in the water. She looked off to the side, still trying not to look at Elvira.
"You're such an earnest person," Tatalia murmured, her voice distant, soft. "You... don't hide yourself at all. You bare your heart for all to see, and it's so brave, and you don't know anything about who I am but you trust me so implicitly! And it's just... You're just..."
What could Tatalia say? Was it even right for her to say as much as she had? But she had to. She took a deep breath and turned to look Elvira directly in the eyes.
"We shouldn't do... this," the goblin said in a tired voice. She broke eye contact, glancing away and waving her hand in a frantic manner. "I mean, look at me! I'm not- You don't know anything about me! Not really! I've barely given you a reason to trust me, and you practically uprooted your life to save me!
"Do you really think I deserve that trust? That I deserve to-... to be with someone such as you? Or..."
Tatalia's voice trailed off. She stared down at her hands, and past them into the water's reflection. She kicked the water, sighing and glancing away once more.
"Do you really deserve to be stuck with someone like me?" the goblin asked quietly.
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 6, 2024 14:39:55 GMT -5
Catching the goblin was an ease for the elf. She laughed and looked down to the seemingly carefree adventurer with a wide, caring smile. She catches the peculiar look in Tatalia's eye and blushes, only to gasp at the quick and sudden outburst. When Tatalia squirmed, she panicked and released her quickly. "Tats... wh-what's wrong," she asked, following the small adventurer over to the tree. At the growl, she backed off. She hadn't a clue what was wrong, much less what to do about it. Had she done something wrong? Did she, in any way, hurt her closest friend?
"I'm wrong," Tatalia repeated, looking and sounding smaller than ever. "I'm so very wrong! I've led you along like this, and... it just wouldn't be fair to you, would it? I should've refused you outright before, should've made things clearer, because I certainly shouldn't be allowed to fall in-"
Elvira deflated upon hearing this. She had a feeling that Tatalia had known since that fateful day in the holding cell, but she had hoped that the goblin would have forgotten or passed it off as some strange effect from the healing. When Tatalia sat down, Elvira carefully moved over and sat cross-legged next to her, listening to what she had to say. In truth, the cleric was panicked. The pained feeling of anxious worry presented itself like a knife twisting into her chest. Was she about to lose her closest friend in years, just like that?
"Do you really think I deserve that trust? That I deserve to-... to be with someone such as you? Or... Do you really deserve to be stuck with someone like me?" the goblin asked quietly.
She chuckles softly, more so to cover her mounting anxiety than anything. Leaning back on her hands and looking up to the sky, she sighed and thought for a moment. The only sound for a moment was the water lapping against the shore and the birds twittering about in the nearby trees. "Tatalia, I might ask you the same question. The moment we met, I had instantly dismissed you as less than the litter on the streets. It was you who had given me the time out of your day, stepping away from your passions to give me a chance to redeem myself. Since then, I have become a better person than I was. I once thought of the world as a bleak place, one where we simply come to toil and pass. Now, I simply enjoy myself, but have found somewhat of an oddity in my emotions. I found that... well... I found that I couldn't stop thinking of you. The way you smile, it brightens even the darkest of nights. The passion with which you do everything is rather inspiring. Not to mention, of course, the wild and untamed beauty you possess. With each meeting, my heart simply leaps for you."
The elf took a moment to look out to the lake, taking in the beauty of the moment despite the tension and high emotions. With another soft chuckle, she looks back to the goblin. "I will understand any decision you choose to make, whether you end... whatever it is we have or not, you should do what's best for yourself. I simply ask that you understand that... well..." She paused, exhaling hard and looking away. It was like she couldn't get the words out, as if some barrier had trapped them. She shook her head aggressively, shaking away terrible thoughts, and took a deep breath in. "I-... well..." Once more, a heavy exhale. "Well, you already know how I feel. I presume you felt it when I healed you that night in the cell. I... I care for you, Tatalia. Please understand that, no matter which path you choose to move along going forth."
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 8, 2024 4:26:35 GMT -5
There was so much that Tatalia wanted to say, and so much that she couldn't. She still had trouble looking up toward Elvira. How could she, really? The cleric truly saw her as some sort of... perfect person. But she wasn't...
"Your heart leaps for me?" Tatalia repeated quietly, taking a deep breath. She shifted uncomfortably in place, grabbing at little tufts of grass and grains of sand. "Do you truly think so? Does it leap for me, or does it leap for some idealized picture of me? Are you certain this wild and gold-hearted beauty you claim to see is real? Because..."
Tatalia took another deep breath, finally looking over toward Elvira again. "Because there's so much of me that I haven't shared with you! I've only shared- I've only shared what I've wanted you to know. A-and I don't know if I'm ready to share everything about me!
"Would you be happy knowing that? I mean, if- if we were together, would you be happy being with someone that wasn't sharing their whole self? Because I..."
Tatalia swallowed. She looked back down at her hands. They were shaking, shivering, trembling. She wasn't sure which word fit best. She closed her eyes, gathered her thoughts, then gingerly reached out and took Elvira's hand.
"I... share your feelings," she confessed, opening her eyes to look at Elvira. A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "But I don't know if I'm ready to be open about... everything about me! You're wonderful," she told the priestess sincerely, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, "but it's like there's this... this line..."
The smaller woman stood up, an act which didn't make her much taller than the seated elf, her hand still wrapped about Elvira's. Quietly, she whispered the magical words for a cantrip, and a small gust of wind rolled across the ground between the pair, creating a thin line between separating them, shallow but visible.
"There's a line in the sands," Tatalia said, closing her eyes, turning her head aside. "It's- not's not an insurmountable gap. It would take only a step to cross it. I want to cross it. But I'm... afraid that if I do cross it, I'll like being where I am too much to ever want to go back. And you'll learn just what sort of person I am, and after you find out, you won't give me a choice."
The little lovestruck adventurer went silent, letting the sound of water lapping upon the shore and of curious birds in the trees rise to prominence again. She did not let go of Elvira's hand despite her words. She willed herself to do so, but she did not want to. She felt weak, even a little ill from all her pent up nervousness. It took a monumental amount of effort for her to continue.
"I like you very, very much, Miss Elvira," the goblin whispered, her voice not cutting through the peaceful song of the oasis. "But everything with you feels so fast and sudden, and while... while I act bold, I'm really... not. I am terrified right now, and I... I honestly don't know if, when everything is said and done, you'll still like me."
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 8, 2024 23:55:50 GMT -5
"You have shown me what you love about yourself, and it has given me a warmth that nobody else has been able to," she says with a serious look that was filled with love and care. "Melissenya,1 if you have only shown me what you wish for me to see, then you have shown me your favorite parts of yourself, yes? Yes, my heart leaps for you, it leaps for what I do know and what mysteries you have presented to me about the rest of you."
As her hand is taken into Tatalia's, she smiles and laughs softly from the overwhelming feeling of love and warmth that floods over her. When the goblin said she shared the feelings Elvira only smiled wider, but made sure to listen. The moment Tatalia let go of her hand, she got to her knees to be at eye level with the smaller adventurer and gently placed her right hand on Tatalia's hip. "Tatalia, listen. I want to know more about you, I want to cross this line with you because I want to be with you. I understand every single word of what you're saying, and I'm willing to take the time you need to feel comfortable. Just tell me what you need, Tats, and I will go to the ends of Charon to get it for you. Anything."
She smiles to Tatalia and places her left hand on the goblin's cheek. "I was always missing something in my life. I had gone years feeling unfulfilled, despite the amount of people I had healed. Yet, once you appeared, it was... different. I had fun! I had actually felt happiness being with you. I thought I knew happiness before, but I felt true joy the moment we entered that hidden room together. I still think of that moment in which you had landed on top of me, the way you laughed had brought me unimaginable joy. Tatalia, I want to enjoy that feeling for the rest of my existence on this plane." As she spoke, tears of joy had begun to roll down her cheeks. Her thumb carefully caressed the soft skin of Tatalia's face as she stared deeply into her eyes. She shook her head, stifling a soft chuckle before looking back up. "I could wish for nothing more than to feel the sensation of your lips pressed against mine, melissenya."1
1. "My love"
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 9, 2024 2:45:56 GMT -5
The blush that was on the poor goblin's face was deep and bright as Elvira stroked her cheek and held her gently. Her arms dangled loosely in the air for a moment, like she wasn't sure what to do with them. Then, suddenly, the green woman broke into tears and laughter at once, looking absolutely, positively boggled. With a shake of her own head, she reached up and put a hand to the one on her cheek while nervously twisting her black hair about the fingers of her other.
"You're so strange!" the goblin protested, closing her eyes as one last giggle escaped her. "It's like you stepped out of a fairy tale! And I'm, I'm just me, just some goblin out in the wild, and you wax poetically about my beauty and how I make you feel. It... it feels like it must be some sort of strange dream, doesn't it?"
Tatalia took a deep breath. She pulled her hand away from her hair and reached for the hand that grasped her by the hip. Slowly, she pulled both the hands up and away from her body, holding them between her and Elvira. Then she stepped closer to the priestess, her movements ginger and nervous.
"I'm... not sure I'm ready to put my l-lips on anyone's, to be honest," Tatalia admitted, looking away as she said those words. She looked right back, however, meeting Elvira's eyes with her own, an uncertain but excited smile tugging at her mouth. "Not yet, I mean! But I do think I want to, um... try being 'us,' if that's alright? A-and see how that goes, and where that goes? I- I-"
Then Tatalia let out a sigh and she shook her head again, staring up toward the sky.
"I-I should admit that this is not how I envisioned my first romance!" the goblin blurted out, grinning despite everything. "I mean, I don't know! I had imagined some handsome adventurer, or maybe a nice scholar, um... of the male variety?" The goblin's voice broke, hitting a high and confused pitch. "I- I mean, really, I did not think I had any attraction to someone of, um, a feminine persuasion before! Except... I clearly do."
Tatalia cracked a little smile again, and she clasped her fingers tightly about Elvira.
"Can we... just sit for a little while?" she asked, managing a polite tone through her wracked nerves. "I-if that's quite alright, I mean! I would... I would very much like to just sit together and maybe admire the stars. They seem lovely tonight, and I'm not sure I can speak for much longer before I make a complete buffoon of myself? I- I'd rather much like to stop while I'm ahead!"
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 9, 2024 5:47:38 GMT -5
Elvira didn't think she could possibly smile any wider, yet she managed to do so the moment that Tatalia giggled. Her mind was a blur, flashing through every single moment that had led up to this moment. Despite feeling a slight sense of nervousness for what came next, she felt an overwhelming joy for knowing that Tatalia would be by her side through whatever it was. Tatalia snapped her out of a trance when she said the elf seemingly came from a fairy tale, and that it feels like they had been in a dream. To this, Elvira shook her head with a smile. "They always shafted the goblins in those tales, didn't they? I sure hope I'm not dreaming. Don't wake me up if I am!"
Having her hands taken away, she tilted her head curiously. Her eyes widened with a horrified look at the goblin's next few words, not because Tatalia had done something wrong, but because she felt horribly embarrassed. She quickly gave an embarrassed smile and a soft laugh, though. For Tatalia's talk about how she had envisioned her first love being, Elvira hadn't a clue how to respond. She was worried that she would make the situation awkward by not saying anything, but luckily Tatalia had asked to sit and admire the stars. "I would love nothing more than to do that, Tatalia. I-I'm sorry. I suppose I was a touch dramatic and quick, wasn't I? I understand, however. I will slow down to match your pace, melissenya. I wish not to rush you, only to make you feel as important as you are to me. But... yes. Let us admire the stars together. I have the hammock set up in the most perfect spot for this. You can hear the wind whispering through the trees while feeling the energy of the universe flowing from the stars and through you! I would recommend this over a bedroll any day. Come, let me help you up."
As the two walked over, Elvira looked back to where they had stood on the beach and smiled. She saw the prints of Tatalia's feet had crossed the line in the sands which she had drawn. As they approached the hammock, Elvira aided the shorter adventurer in climbing up into the hammock before joining her. She quickly laid down before pulling the goblin into her grasp and wrapping both arms around her. The two looked up, staring at the stars that seemed to shine brighter this night than the previous nights. The hammock swayed gently in the wind, moving with the whispering breeze through the trees. The lake that gave the Oasis its life seemed to whisper in response, as if the separate elements of nature were having a quiet conversation. Soon enough, Tatalia would feel Elvira's breathing slow as her head rested on the goblin's shoulder, the lullaby of the night having soothed her to sleep.
For now, all was perfect for the elf.
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