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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 13:28:26 GMT -5
The last few weeks have been challenging to say the least. With a certain situation with a prominent member of Darkveil, and then a totally related situation with the patrons of the orphanage, and then also a bunch of weird fae stuff happening lately on top of raiders being more active in Dragon’s Cradle, Astrid needs a break to say the least. While in the swamp with Cyran and Del, Astrid found a little black skewt that was just too cute not to scoop up and take home, but the problem is that this little fellow needs more time and attention than she can give, cute as he is. So, she had an idea that she spends very little time actually thinking about and more time actually doing. As she finds the window to Cypress’ room at the orphanage (for some reason, not going through the front door like a totally average person, which probably draws more attention from the mob’s goons than necessary, but again, all action, no thinking), Astrid’s body becomes wreathed in lightning and she starts to press her hand through the solid wall to phase through. Then it occurs to her that Cypress asked her not to do this, so she quickly withdraws her hand, turns off the lightning, and knocks politely on the window instead. “Cypress!” she calls, breath fogging up the glass as she presses her nose against it to see inside. “Open up!”
Quest details: Quest Name: Do we part? Participants: Two or more Location: Anywhere Post Requirements: 4 posts per person, 200 words per post Reward: +1 Mystical Archive Ticket Description: Chaos has erupted across Charon, Disrupting the nations Hearth Day celebration. You are needed to help, fighting off crazy fae who are trying to destroy things, or helping others caught up in the chaos. The details of the celebration and its disruption is up to you, but the Fae are pushing the limts, so be creative when interacting with the unwanted guest.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 14:04:55 GMT -5
Cypress has, of course, been none the wiser to the dramas surrounding Darkveil these past few months; her letters to Cyran and Del have not slacked, although she has begun to wonder if they will ever return; and she’s been taking what initiative she can to help with the other kids in the orphanage. Granted, it’s mostly assisting them with chores or making snacks; mediating play-time kerfuffles or helping them to the market to spend their allowance; but she hopes that the little things help Andromeda and Oriole all the same. She’s in the middle of making her bed before she heads downstairs when she hears a knock from somewhere.
The satyr blinks, pausing and perking her ears with the fabric of her sheets curled in her fingertips. Naturally, she looks to her door— until she hears her name from the side of the room. She furrows her brows quizzically, “Astrid?” She wonders, immediately turning away from her bed to wander towards her door, as if to answer it; no sooner has she grabbed the doorknob does she hear her call again; and she finally pinpoints the girl at her window. Cypress gasps, ears flopping back as she rushes away from the door to the window. “ Astrid!” She fumbles to unclasp the lock on her window and struggles to pull it up. “ What… what are you doing out there!? You know you can just come in through the—” She finally gets the window pulled up enough for Astrid to climb through and offers both her hands to the girl to help her in. ” —door, right!?"
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 14:13:50 GMT -5
When Cypress finally spots her, Astrid’s face breaks out into an excited grin. “Where’s the fun in that?” she says as she accepts Cypress’ help to clamber through the window, luckily not impeded by any armor at the moment. The half-dwarf ends up in a heap on the floor before shooting straight to her feet.
“Anyway, hiya! How’s it goin’? Are thin’s pretty calm around here?” With a somewhat discerning eye, Astrid looks around then peeks out the window to see if she was spotted (She was.) before closing the window and turning back to Cypress. “Anythin’ unusual? Hear anythin’ from Cyran an’ Del?” Of course, she knows the answers to some of these questions, or at least has assumed answers based on what she has experienced recently, but she doesn’t want to blatantly ask about the lurking goons if they’ve somehow managed to avoid actually coming into contact with any of the kids. She’s not exactly sure what Anselm’s play is, but she’s going to pretend to be none the wiser until she finds out what that is.
"Hope yer doin' alright," she says earnestly. "How's magic practice goin' fer ya?"
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 15:57:40 GMT -5
Cypress puffs, shoulders shaking in a laugh as she grabs hold of Astrid and pulls back, “ It might not be as fun, but at least you’ll have more room to— oop!” Astrid almost instantly ends up in a heap on the floor after clamoring through the window, but before Cypress can fretfully help her up or ask if she's okay, the girl’s already sprung back to her feet to greet her. Cypress covers her mouth to suppress a laugh, “It was a calm morning before someone came through my window,” she jests, grinning widely. “I was gettin’ bored of it, though, so I can’t complain!”
Her line of questioning about unusual things and Cyran and Del makes her pause. “ Unusual…?” She prompts, furrowing her brows in thought. “ Um…” Cypress looks towards her door before she folds her hands against her lap and glances back to Astrid. “ I haven’t heard from Del or Cyran since their last letter, and Oriole and Andromeda seem more tense lately than usual, I suppose.” She admits, keeping her voice quiet; she’s not necessarily worried about eavesdroppers, but keeping her voice low seems more respectful somehow. “ We’re supposed to only go outside with a buddy, now; and we can’t leave without telling them where we’re going. I’ve been going to the market a lot and takin’ the real little ones places when they wanna go and I’ve got the time. I thought maybe it’d take some weight off their shoulders if I helped out, but there’s...” … a lot of kids to help with. Cypress scratches awkwardly at the back of her neck, tail wiggling while she clears her throat; she didn’t intend to start venting about the recent rules. “ Nothing’s really happened that they’ve told us, stuff’s just gotten a bit more strict, is all. We've always had to tell them where we're going, but it feels like more of a... important thing, now? Maybe because of all the construction after what happened with the mountain? Everything’s okay, otherwise!” She nods to confirm her statement; and perks up when Astrid mentions her magic, “ It’s really good!” She agrees, spinning around on a hoof as if to show off. “ Look! No plants!” She beams, grinning widely as she sets both hooves on the wooden floor. A small flower sprouts between her hooves, instantly contradicting her statement; to which, Cypress deflates slightly in her exasperation. “ Less plants.” She corrects herself before shrugging sheepishly. “ They... still happen sometimes, but I haven’t blown up any unsuspecting salesmen recently! So that’s pretty good.” Her expression softens, ” How are you? Did you just come back from somewhere? You didn’t walk all the way here, right?” At the thought of that, even though she knows first hand that Astrid can easily pop into different towns, she starts looking around the room. “ Do you want to sit? I’ve got a chair, but it’s kinda small ‘cause it’s a hand-me-down… I haven’t made my bed either, but you can sit if you’re tired!”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 16:20:26 GMT -5
Upon hearing that things are mostly alright, albeit a little more strict, Astrid nods along in understanding. With the goons watching the orphanage and probably on the lookout for Cyran, it makes sense that Andromeda and Oriole would be more cautious, but that they would also not tell anyone anything to make them worry. But it’s also a relief to hear that the kids haven’t really noticed the extra eyes on them. “Stuff’s a bit hectic around the city right now,” Astrid says, “so it makes sense that they’d want ya ta take a buddy.”
When Cypress’ confident display of no flowers becomes fewer flowers, actually, Astrid covers her mouth to stifle a giggle. “Hey, that’s an improvement!” she says. “Bit a’ practice never hurt ta help. I was worried ya’d be havin’ a tough time with all the weird magic stuff goin’ on around Charon right now.”
Squatting down, Astrid plucks the flower from the floor and turns it in her fingers to look at it. She’s only been here a few minutes, and she’s already feeling a lot more chipper than she has in recent weeks. It feels normal, relaxed, despite all the goings on. Without putting much thought into it, Astrid offers the flower to Cypress. Of course, Astrid has completely forgotten that Hearth Day is upon them and is not thinking about any implications of the holiday whatsoever because they're just friends. Then again, last year she celebrated Hearth Day with family, so to her, that's the focus instead. There's no telling what other people might think about the holiday she's only really just started celebrating last year.
“I’m doin’ alright,” she says with a shrug. “Like I said, lots a’ stuff goin’ on, so I’ve been doin’ a lot a’ runnin’ around. Admittedly, I ain’t had a lot a’ time ta keep lookin’ fer Everett lately.” Quickly, she adds on, “Not ta say that I ain’t still lookin’ fer him! I promise I’ll tell ya the minute I learn somethin’.” Astrid’s eyes trail away for a moment. Last time she came to yoink Cypress into adventure, the prison break wasn’t exactly for the right guy. “Sorry I got yer hopes up last time. Next time, I’ll be extra sure.”
Realizing that they are somewhat awkwardly standing in the small space, Astrid looks around, eyeing the small chair then the bed and deciding that while the chair can probably hold her tiny behind, the bed will be more comfortable. Except she doesn’t sit, she more… throws herself back on it, bouncing a little while the mattress settles from her leap. “I ain’t tired, but I never say no ta layin’ on somethin’ comfy.”
Then she sits up suddenly. “Right, I came here ‘cause I’ve got somethin’ fer ya!” Then she starts digging through her bag.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 17:42:12 GMT -5
Cypress nods her agreement; she’s noticed a lot of construction going on after the earthquakes had stopped; and the mountain coming to life had… well, stopped being alive. Her running theory is that it has something to do with all of the mess; the little kids especially are drawn to obstacle courses of beams and precariously stacked cobblestone bricks like they’re empty castles.
Cypress laughs sheepishly, but Astrid’s praise on her sorta-kinda improvement fills her with a gleeful warmth. “Not yet,” she admits, although she can’t pretend it hasn’t worried her; she hasn’t seen it all first hand like Astrid has, but she hears things when she’s out at the market.
When Astrid swoops down to pluck the flower, Cypress doesn’t really pay much mind; but when she offers it her way, the gesture draws some surprise from the Satyr. She blinks, shoulders tightening somewhat before she relaxes, because no! She’s definitely overthinking the gesture because she’s been hearing so much about Hearth’s Day coming up; and all the treats and flowers have been filling up the market recently.
She chuckles, reaching out to take it gratefully; and spins the stalk between her fingers with a small smile. Cypress watches the way the petals flare out before looking up at Astrid with a blink; she waves a hand, keeping the flower in the other. “Oh! No, it’s okay… I understand. I know you will.” Cypress objects, offering her a small smile; but when Astrid mentions the last time she came to the orphanage, Cypress laughs beneath her breath. “That’s not your fault; I mean, it sounded a lot like him.” She answers, grinning widely as she continues, “Besides! Who gets to say they got to do a break in? Like, aside from actual criminals? It was a little scary, and we didn’t find Everett… but it was pretty fun. I told the little kids the story for bed time once, and they think Dracstrid is really cool.”
She follows Astrid when she makes the decision to go flop down on her bed; and Cypress takes a much calmer seat next to her. The mattress still hasn’t stopped flouncing from the sheer force of Astrid’s throwing herself onto it. She laughs, spinning the stalk of the flower between her hands while Astrid speaks; she’s made a thousand of these flowers, all the same, many of them she considered only a burden. This one’s not, though. She wonders if she can press it in her journal later for safekeeping, but for now, she ducks her head to weave the stalk into her hair.
She is instantly caught off guard by Astrid’s exclamation, though.
“Huh?” She repeats, lifting her head with a wide-eyed blink while Astrid rummages through her bag; wait, a gift? A tiny flicker settles in her chest. The bottom of her hooves begin to give off a small, greenish glow; once again summoning small fronds from the wooden planks beneath them. “Wait, but— If I knew we’d be exchanging gifts, I would’ve gotten you something before you got here!”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 18:14:59 GMT -5
When Cypress seizes up before taking the flower, Astrid’s head tilts and a curious expression crosses her face. Ultimately, the satyr takes it, and Astrid starts to shrug it off before, just for a moment, wondering what that was about. She’ll think more on it later…probably.
Astrid’s smile turns into a grin to match Cypress’. Overall, despite the unexpected… Everything about that whole break-in, she’s really glad that Cypress had fun. Getting out once in a while and doing something absolutely bonkers crazy tends to be good for the soul and help keep you grounded to the mundane, Astrid finds. “Welllll, now you get ta say ya’ve done it!” she says. Then she laughs. “Dracstrid? Is that what ya called me? Do they know it was me or did ya just tell it like a fairy tale? 'Cause if they know it's meeeee.... Well, I gotta give the people what they want.” This is important, because if the children demand Dracstrid, she can be prepared to become Dracstrid. Astrid also finds herself appreciating the play on her name, too. It makes her feel… Well, some type of way.
Still, she can’t help the huge welling of excitement in her chest when she shoots back up to find the gift she brought for Cypress. “Don’t be silly, I didn’t tell ya I was comin’. Besides, yer my friend, an’ I thought this might cheer ya up from all the nonsense goin’ on.” Though, why would Cypress think that they’d be exchanging gifts? Astrid’s hand stops rummaging through her bag finally when it clicks.
Hearth Day.
She suddenly feels heat burning in her cheeks and turns her face away to continue her rummaging. Giving things to friends on Hearth Day is totally normal! Why is her face so hot? Why is she hiding it? Astrid takes a sharp breath in and forces her nerves to settle. It’s fine. This is something for a friend, just like she intended!
Finally, Astrid produces a sealed jar with holes poked into the lid. Inside is a tiny little lizard-like critter with slimy black skin except for the white skull-shaped mark on its head. “I found this little guy in the swamp!” Admittedly, she found him in the swamp while with Cyran and Del, which is why Astrid thought to give it to Cypress, but telling Cypress that might cause her more trouble, so instead, she leaves it out. For now.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 20:07:32 GMT -5
“No, I know! But…” she trails off, glad that Astrid’s focused so much on rummaging through her bag so that she can cover her rose-tinted cheeks with her palms in some attempt to regain her composure without worrying about being asked why— preferably, before she starts growing an entire flower field in her own room. Her palms are much cooler, but the heat transfers quickly; she clears her throat. “Oh—”
Yeah! Of course! Gift giving is for friends on Hearth Day, too! That makes sense. Gods, she’s two for two on misreading the situation!
AGH. She pats her face, taking a quiet breath, and setting her hands in her lap and wringing them together with a sheepish chuckle. She kicks her hooves from over the side of her bed, trying to displace the nervous energy instead of letting it all build up. “I appreciate that, I just… I would’ve liked to get you a gift, too, is all.” She finally gets the words out; and honestly, she really would like to get Astrid a gift.. She hopes she doesn’t sound too much like— oh wait, what is that?
Cypress blinks, face still rosy, but she gasps when she sees what’s in the jar that Astrid pulls out. “Oh my gods! What is he!?” She squeaks, pulling her knees onto the bed to turn and face Astrid and the sleepy little fella in the jar. Cypress reaches out to tilt the jar slightly, ears perking with curiosity as she looks at the little guy; he’s breathing slowly, eyes closed in flat little lines while he dozes. “He’s so cute! Hi there…” Her tail wiggles with delight as she lowers her head to look closer at him. Eventually, the little guy peeks open his eyes; his expression, if it can be called that, is drowsy.
He blinks each eye out of sync and proceeds to open his mouth in a wide yawn. It fills her with a raw sort of glee that overrides the awkward embarrassment. "Oouhhh, look at him!" She looks at Astrid, delighted. "I love him!"
... That glee, though, is why she's a bit worried when she looks back into the jar, because the sleepy little guy isn't there anymore.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 20:27:22 GMT -5
As much as she tries to fight it, Astrid still feels her cheeks burning. Not even the deep breath fixes it, and– Oh, gods, is Cypress fidgeting? Did Astrid cause this whole situation to get misconstrued? No, no, it’s fine. “That’s alright, I appreciate the thought anyway,” she says, before finally procuring the jar. “Yer gift can be spendin’ the afternoon with me!” Somehow that doesn’t help. At all. It does not. Why did she say that after they’re already both bumbling around.
Ah, shit.
She can see the tinge of pink on Cypress’ cheeks when they face each other. Why does that concern her?? Nope, don’t acknowledge it. Wait, she put the flower in her hair. She’s never done that before. It’s kinda–
Focus, Astrid! The little guy! “He’s a skewt, I think,” she explains, eyes darting down to the jar. She’s glad for the subject change but knows fully well that something is going on with her and she dreads the idea that Cantio is going to ask about it.
Somehow, Cypress’ excitement helps Astrid relax, and she smiles genuinely, pleased with the fact that Cypress really likes the little guy. Not that she thought the satyr wouldn’t, it’s just that for all she knows, Cypress could have a terrible fear of creepy crawlies. “I’m glad ya do,” she says, much more relaxed than even just a few seconds ago. “Figured we could build him a nice little enclosure together, figure out what he needs ta be taken care of properly, ya know? Yer good at takin’ care a’ folks, so I figure this little guy wouldn’t be no trouble fer ya.”
But then Cypress’ expression drops, and Astrid follows her gaze to see the tiny creature is no longer in the jar. “Wh– Huh?! Where did–” Her head darts around the room, looking for the skewt, and her eyes land on the window where his formerly head-empty face now seems almost devious. “...He’s been in the jar fer a while, an’ he ain’t gotten out before.” Cautiously, Astrid stands up and opens the jar, poising it for recapture.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 21:17:28 GMT -5
Spending the afternoon together with Astrid and building an enclosure for the sleepy little guy really did sound nice; the idea filled Cypress with a genuine and whole excitement; and she’d honestly love to do nothing more than hang out longer with her. It’s been a while since she got to see Astrid; and frankly, Cypress doesn’t let herself be selfish often to do what she wants to do; but she wants to hang out with Astrid today, and she’s going to. … Of course, when she looked up from the little guy to glance up at Astrid, it’s clear that she’s flustered; face dusted with a rosy hue that compliments her red horns; and so, Cypress’ head fills with static for a second because why is she flustered? Did… did she misunderstand her misunderstanding!? Did she say something weird to make Astrid start fidgeting, too? She doesn’t know what to do about the feelings or the thoughts, so she laughs a little too loudly— kicks herself internally for not watching her pitch— and looks back at the jar to focus all of her attention back on the skewt like he’s their saving grace— but he’s gone. Regardless, it’s sobering enough to snap Cypress out of her bumbling for but just a moment, “He was just here!” She answers, brows furrowing as she sits back on her knees and looks around. “Did... Did I... he can’t… turn invisible, can he?” She asks, grimacing over the possibility that she could have... magicked away a living creature, let alone a gift from Astrid. She tries not to focus too hard on that.
She dangles her hooves off the edge of her bed, quickly checking beneath them for any unsuspecting Skewts, before she sets them on the wooden plank floor below. Astrid opens up the jar and Cypress glances around the room to try and help her locate the little guy— he couldn’t have gotten… FAR? After scanning the room, her gaze snaps to a little dark figure on the outside of her window. “ Oh! Astrid!?” she whispers, reaching over to shake Astrid by the arm. She points fretfully at the window without speaking. The skewt has, somehow, within the few moments it’s escaped from a closed jar, placed itself on the outside of a closed window. It slowly plods its little feet up the window, leaving tiny black marks where it walks as it scales upwards.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 21:35:16 GMT -5
They’re both blushing. They’re. Both. Blushing!? Why?! What did either of them do to cause this?! Astrid showed up here just to have a good time and give a little meaningless gift to a friend and spend the afternoon together and suddenly it has tumbled into a rumble of bumbling. What is happening?!
The skewt. The skewt! “N-No!” Astrid pipes in a panic, accidentally matching Cypress’ equally high-pitched squeak of a laugh. “I-I mean, he ain’t done it before that I’ve seen!” When her feet touch the floor, she realizes there’s a bit more plant growth on the floor. That wasn’t there before. Oh no, Cypress is having EmotionsTM, and it’s making her magic get wacky. Why is this happening today of all days?!
Astrid is pulled out of the distraction by Cypress tugging on her arm, and she follows her gaze to see the little guy on the window, taunting them. That little punk salamander. Since when is it so tricky?! Maybe it also gets magic from emotions. Who knows! At first, Astrid makes to go capture it, but then she realizes it’s on the outside of the window. How the– Oh, forget the questions, Astrid, just get it!
Purple sparks of magic dance along her cloak, and within a flash, Astrid disappears from Cypress’ room and reappears outside and poised to snatch the little bastard up in the jar once again![1] With lightning speed, Astrid closes the jar over the skewt, successfully capturing him once again. This all takes very little effort, and yet Astrid still feels winded by the experience. Maybe it’s the panic? The unexplainable panic that wasn’t even caused by this little fellow’s untimely escape? Oh gods, Astrid, get it together!
He’s trapped, that’s what matters. She takes a deep, sobering breath then carefully nudges the skewt back into the jar before closing the lid tight. Astrid flicks her finger against the jar, threatening the skewt to try that one more time with an eyes-narrowed gaze. Then she taps on the window again. “Could ya let me back in?”
1. Displacer Cloak - Blink
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 4, 2024 22:54:53 GMT -5
Cypress rushes after Astrid to the window, leaving an irregular trail of sprouting fronds, flowers, and ferns in her wake; but she’s far too trained on the skewt and Astrid as the girl blinks out of her room to notice them. She wants to help, but honestly, staying out of the way is probably as much as she can offer for the time being; so she shifts her weight between hooves, wringing her hands together nervously in front of her chest while she watches Astrid poise to snatch up the little skewt, and— she breathes a sigh of relief when the jar successfully clasps over the little guy.
The little skewt continues to climb up the side of the jar, unimpeded— but scoots down a few centimeters when Astrid flicks the side of the jar— leaving a weird little slide of black goo as he does.
This is not at all how she expected this day to go when Astrid first showed up. Cypress wishes that seeing the little guy back in his jar would also whisk away the tight, frantic potion of feelings in her chest; but somehow, she still feels breathless and she hasn’t even done anything! Why is she tired? She tunes back into the world quickly when Astrid taps at her window again, asking to be let in, and she perks up. “Oh—! Of course, hold on…” she agrees, scurrying quickly over to unlatch the window again.
It opens a little easier this time than it did the first. She wiggles to lean herself through enough to offer Astrid a hand, “I’m sorry,” she apologizes, “I don’t even know what happened, I really have been a lot better at the magic stuff recently.”
Not that it looks like it... but she really has!
She doesn’t know what happened in the short span of time that Astrid’s been here, she just feels… frazzled. There’s a bunch of nervous energy in her limbs that she doesn’t know what to do with. It's different than the feelings and anxious fidgets that she normally deals with; the stuff she's been learning how to manage. Slowly but surely. “Is he okay?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 4, 2024 23:15:19 GMT -5
Thank the gods that is over. How could things go so incredibly wrong so fast? For a moment, Astrid finds herself grateful for the barrier of glass between herself and Cypress, but she can’t put her finger on why that is exactly. Still, she taps on it, asking to be let in, and Cypress obliges. She sees Cypress squeezed out, peeking at her, and extending her a hand with her frazzled expression and fluff of hair falling around her face. Yet another mysterious pang fizzles through Astrid’s body. It’s like being struck by lightning, but a lot less painful, and a lot less crater-y.
It takes a full ten seconds for Astrid to actually come back to reality and accept the help, stuffing the skewt jar into her bag and clambering back through the window. This time, she falls in a heap but on the soft grass and flowers that have sprung up in the last few minutes. Instead of popping right up, she just lies there contemplating what in Avasha’s name is going on today.
Finally, she manages to make a joke of some sort, a smile mixed with disbelief on her face. “Have ya? I couldn’t tell!” Astrid stifles her laughter but then lets herself have at it, giggling in the soft blades of grass and flowers and fronds covering the floor. “Ya might have ta come back ta my house an’ practice some more!” It’s a teasing jest, and yet somehow she immediately questions why she asked that. But why would she? Cypress has been to her house before. They had a sleepover and practiced magic and everything! So, she feels the need to quickly follow up with, “If ya want, anyway.”
And then she clears her throat and rolls over on her side to look at all the plant growth on the floor and run a gloved hand over it. “There’s so many flowers, we could make uh… what’re they called? Little flower crowns?” The thought of Cypress with a flower crown is cute.
Oh.
Oh.
Astrid immediately completes her roll all the way to her stomach so she can press her face into the floor. “I’m sure the little guy is alright,” she says, muffled and nasally as the floorboards press her nose into her face. Taking a breath, she lifts her head and looks at Cypress. “What about you? Yer the one that… Made us our own little meadow in yer room.” She stifles another giggle. This whole thing is ridiculous.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 5, 2024 22:12:24 GMT -5
Ivy curls around Cypress’ ankles while she hangs out the window, one hand extended to Astrid, who just looks back up at her without accepting her help at first. She’s all colours in comparison to what’s around her; a sunflower blooming in the bleak shade of Darkveil, and is now really the time for comparisons? Get it together, Cypress! Your friend’s hanging from the windowsill! Why are you being weird!? She clasps Astrid’s hand, clearing her throat awkwardly as she ducks her head and pulls to get her back into the room. Like before, Astrid flops into a heap amongst a patch of sorrel and curls of ivy. A couple of pinkish tulip bulbs bloom around the girl’s fallen silhouette with a puff of glimmering arcana; gods, she doesn’t know what’s going on! She puffs out her cheeks in a little huff, “ Well! I thought I was…” She sighs, running a hand through her hair as she tips back and flops into the grass next to Astrid’s knees. She looks down past her skirt, watching tiny daisies unfurl beneath her hooves; she tips it to the side, and watches the sprout of a bright yellow flower pop to life beneath it with a look of exasperation. Her head tilts slightly when Astrid suggests with restrained giggles that she might need to come back to her house to practice more; and that fills her with a little spark that negates her negativity about the flowers. Cypress giggles, trying to ignore the warmth that rises to her cheeks as she turns on her knees and flops onto the floor on her belly next to Astrid. “ Well, maybe I’ll just stop practicing so you gotta help me more!” she threatens, even though it’s said with a generous amount of cheer. Uh, but her and Astrid seem to be on different pages a lot today, so she adds or clarification, a little quieter; “ I’d like to come visit again sometime, though.” She lets her shoulders relax, ultimately giving up on trying to restrain it, and rests her cheeks in the palms of her hands while she glances towards Astrid. She watches the girl roll over to brush a hand over the plant growth. Little blue flowers spring up, as if following the motion of her hand while she does so. “ A flower crown?” Cypress repeats, lifting her head with a flurry of blinks. Astrid turns away and shoves her face into the floor again, but she’s already internally calculating the colours of flowers that would match best with Astrid’s sunshine-blonde hair. “ That could be fun… I haven’t made those in a long time.” she agrees, sheepishly looking to her side until she’s struck with a thought that neutralizes it instantly. “ Oh! Do you ever braid your hair?” She asks, pushing to sit up on her knees. “ I think it’d look real pretty with flowers weaved in!” Wait. “ Not that it doesn’t look pretty now, because it does!” Why does she feel like she’s said too much? Cypress laughs sheepishly, twisting a loose lock of her curled hair between her fingers when Astrid asks about her, “Huh? Oh, I’m fine! I really am, I just… um… I don’t know why it’s being like this today.” She sighs, exasperated, and rests her palms on her knees.
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The Tinkertons
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 5, 2024 22:54:16 GMT -5
It’s a good thing the plants growing from the floor are soft because Astrid doesn’t think she could muster up the energy to stand up even if she wanted to. Things feel so weird today, and she can’t pinpoint why. Luckily, Cypress decides to take a seat in the floor beside her. A little pop of magic draws her attention, and Astrid can see yet even more flowers have grown. Oh yeah, Cypress has this totally under control.
“Wait, ya can’t stop practicin’ just on account that I ain’t around!” she protests a little too loudly. Not helping! "Ya– You were doin’ good. Ya probably don’t even need me ta get the rest a’ the hang a’ thin’s.” Somehow those words cause a very strange but very intense deep pain in Astrid’s chest. What is this? Is this disappointment?? Her eyes dart down as her brow furrows while she tries to piece together times in her life she’s been disappointed. No, this is just plain hurt. Wait, did she hurt her own feelings??
Unable to figure out what is going on, her face finds itself buried in the froth of green, and she admits, though muffled, “Aye, I’d like ya ta come visit again. Sorry it’s been a while…”
It takes a good minute for Astrid to feel confident enough to mention the flower crowns, and the rate at which she both regrets it and is excited for it quickly overwhelms her enough to dig a grave of green for her reddening face. The only thing that pulls it away again is the mention of braiding her hair. Grass stains manage to hide some of the pink tinging her cheeks.
“Erm, I don’t really do it that often,” Astrid says. “Me da likes playin’ with me hair, an’ he’s braided it before. When I go ta court, he does a um, what’s it called? A crown braid.” Her face is just turned up enough to see Cypress temporarily short circuit and add a clarifying statement. Why did she feel the need to clarify? Why did Astrid feel the need to clarify earlier? Neither of them have had this issue before. They just say what they mean and no one gets upset! Because they’re friends!
Unless–
No. Nope. No. Do not go down that train of thought.
And Astrid very nearly keeps herself on track until Cypress says she doesn’t know why her magic is acting up. After their testing, they largely found that Cypress’ magic reacts strongly to her emotions, which isn’t uncommon for magic. That’s part of how Astrid pulls on magic. If it’s been pretty manageable every day except today, what’s different? Well, Astrid is here, for one. And they’re both kind of fumbling around each other for…some…reason…
“Are things weird fer you too?”
If Astrid lacks anything, it is tact.
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