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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 17, 2024 13:39:02 GMT -5
It took a little too long for Cypress to pull off the rose-coloured glasses from over her eyes after Astrid had left. For a time after Hearth’s Day, she was on a gleeful high. Everything was good; great, even. She felt like she could take on the world! With her confidence high and happiness buzz at its peak, she had already packed a bag for the next time Astrid came back. It’s a lot easier for her to come here, after all, and Astrid had promised to come back and ask her on another date! Of course she’d show up! It made sense to be ready when she did. She wrote Astrid an excited letter about how nice it was to see her, how much fun she had, and how much she was looking forwards to seeing her again; and then she gave her solars to one of the postal drake riders to deliver it to Dragon’s Cradle. And she excitedly waited. Except, Astrid didn’t show up… and she didn’t write… and she heard no news about her at all, actually. It was when she opened up her window to greet the girl, only to find a very surprised bird building its nest in the corner of her window who had been making knocking sounds, that she experienced her first pang of doubt. Embarrassed, she quickly left the bird alone. Cypress did her best to shrug it off and reassure herself that Astrid is a busy adventurer and she’ll show up when she can, but the seed had already been planted. She wrote Astrid another letter that night, including the stupid bird incident- but this time she didn’t end up sending it. She tucked it away in her nightstand, to be joined later with a few other letters she wouldn’t send, either. As the days passed without contact, her bag unpacked itself bit by bit until all of her belongings found themselves back where they first were. Her daydreaming became less and less until she was, instead, looking through each moment she’d spent with Astrid on Hearth’s Day searching for a reason for the silence: was she overbearing? Did she say something wrong? Did Astrid just not want to hurt her feelings? No, Astrid wouldn’t lie to her… but did she scare Astrid off with her letter? All of the miscommunication they’d had weighed on her shoulders like a boulder and every word Cypress had said to her stuck like a leech to her worrying mind and replayed itself in each worse case scenario possible. Sweet moments that had filled her with a sunny warmth began to turn melancholy, and she just… she wasn’t sure, really, how she felt. It was a complicated cacophony of feelings that she struggled to process; and she was too embarrassed to ask for advice from Oriole or Andromeda about what she should do or how she should feel. So she didn’t.
She just let herself feel them. Then, while she was staring at her ceiling one night until all of the wooden planks blurred together into one brown tone in her vision, she had a horrible realization that snapped her out of anxiety-fueled gloom. Is… is Astrid okay? Did something happen to her? Astrid is an adventurer, after all… she travels, explores, and gets into fights with people, monsters, and gods, and… Cypress sat up in bed, a wave of horror falling over her. What if that’s why she hadn’t heard from her after all these weeks? What if that’s what happened, and she has been sitting here moping while Astrid is hurt, or… or… She squints her eyes shut and shakes her head, pursing her lips tightly while she touches the earring Astrid made for her on Hearth Day, and starts to come to a different conclusion: if Astrid hasn’t contacted her, there’s got to be a reason for it… or maybe, she can’t.
Someway, somehow, that’s how she ends up climbing out of a wagon in Sky Peak and offering the driver the last of her allowance as payment. She’s not accompanied by any guardians on this trip; in fact, she… may have lied to Andromeda and Oriole’s faces in order to sneak out her window, scare that bird again, and narrowly avoid becoming a pancake when she blinked at the last minute before hitting the ground.
No turning back! She would tell herself before immediately losing her nerve and thinking about how she should probably turn back before she'd even left the city. Ultimately, though, she didn’t; she’s worried about Astrid. She needs to make sure that she’s okay. Astrid isn’t the only one who can make the trip… she can make it, too.
It just takes her longer, is all. She perks her ears, watching the draft horses pulling the wagon begin down the street after she’s paid the driver and he’s tipped her hat to her; he tells her to travel safely in a tired, gravelly voice. Cypress clutches the quarterstaff she’s holding between her hands (1), sniffing uncertainly while she turns to face a village she’s only set foot in a few times. She’s made the hardest part of the journey, she just… needs to get to the Stormstone Manor now; and eventually, she would show up on the doorstep and knock on the door after standing outside awkwardly for a few moments.
(1) Coldwood Cane
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 17, 2024 20:19:14 GMT -5
Astrid still hasn’t gotten over spending time around Hearth Day with Cypress. With all the other stressful and tragic things going on, to call that day a pick me up would be an understatement. It’s been hard to stop thinking about, honestly. When she does, Astrid feels just about as giddy as she did during the time she traveled with Cantio after the Black Harvest Ball. Somehow that feels like a lifetime ago even though it was only– Wait, has it been a year and a half almost?
At least, that’s how it was at first.
With how few adventures Astrid had between now and when she saw Cypress, two major things happened: Astrid lost an arm, and Astrid got grounded. Receiving a letter from Cypress did wonders to help her spirits because without her arm, doing anything on her own was suddenly challenging. Cantio did his best not to be overbearing, but Astrid often found herself frustrated with the sudden lack of independence. Sure, Cantio couldn’t physically stop her from leaving if she wanted, but Astrid stayed home out of respect for him. In fact, she was kind of happy to be grounded. To her, that was a big step in their relationship (even if Cantio struggled to put his foot down in the first place).
As more days passed, Astrid struggled to keep a positive attitude. She knows there’s no guarantee her choice would yield the results she and Askr hope for, but it’s the choice she made for even just a glimmer of hope. Not being able to talk to Cantio about it only serves to make things worse because she wants to tell him and confide in him and maybe even shed frustrated tears, but she can’t. Knowing what she knows now, she can’t risk putting him in danger by telling him information like that. The time will come. She knows Cantio frets over her, so she puts on a brave face in the meantime.
Astrid struggled to find the right words to write back to Cypress for a while, and when she did, the words were half truths. “Everything is goin’ well.” “Can’t wait ta see ya again.” “Lookin’ forward ta our date.” Multiple drafts got crumpled or stowed away to try again later because no matter how hard Astrid tried, she couldn’t muster up the right words. Instead she just kept reading Cypress’ letter and focusing on the happiness she felt on one of the best days she’s had in a long time. This was a little more long distance than she hoped for.
Things weren’t going well. She was incredibly frustrated and bored without being able to leave the house. There were plenty of projects she’d like to have been working on, but even with her Replicants, trying to get anything done was difficult to say the least. So instead, Astrid spent most of her time penciling out ideas for a prosthetic and some means of being able to see Cypress again and quickly. At the very least, she could mix a concoction of Elsewhere Juice and send a Replicant here and there to check on Cypress, but she oddly never really got any information back. Astrid chocked it up to the distance and hoped for the best.
Eventually, Cantio relented on house arrest, and Astrid got to go with him to town for shopping more often, which helped lift her spirits. It’s a strange thing for a child so dejected and scorned by society to gain so much energy from being around people. Astrid loves people, she always has, even when they’re jerks. She doesn’t think anyone is inherently bad, just misinformed or motivated by the wrong things. Except Baan. Screw that guy.
Being in a better mood helped motivate Astrid, and she finally got word out to Fish that she needed help with a project. Luckily, they showed up quickly and stayed for a few days. It was Astrid’s first time seeing a friend outside of their household since being grounded. Despite having tried her best to build prototypes for a prosthetic on her own, nothing worked out. Needless to say, Fish’s knowledge and unique way of looking at problems suddenly made the process much easier. Within a week, Astrid and Fish created not just a working prosthetic, but a multi-faceted tool at the same time. Finally, Astrid’s independence returned to her.
With her independence, came an improved mood. Suddenly, Astrid could build again. She could craft and create and go outside to test things. Her hobbies became accessible. She could garden with Cantio, craft more potions to send Replicants with gifts and better-written letters for Cypress. With mechanics and golemancy, her new arm quickly became a part of her as if she never lost it in the first place. And the more she used it, the more she could get Cantio used to the idea of her going off again. At least to see her friends (or so she hoped). For now, she settles with being able to venture off into the village regularly for work around town.
Any free time not spent on catching up on hobbies was spent working on this newfangled guild idea she’s been toying with, and Fish finally came around to it! So after working up plans, finding an old building to repurpose, and filing the mounds of paperwork needed, the wait for the results began. It would take some time to get approved, but she was confident in it.
In fact, Astrid is getting ready to head out to harass Count Thadda about the application process when there’s a knock at the door. With only one boot on, Astrid rushes to the door, expecting it to be the answer she’s looking for. When she throws the heavy wooden door open, she find something even better.
“CYPRESS?!”
Astrid struggles not to squeak her name in glee, and Cantio in the other room can feel the absolute explosion of excitement and happiness from the half-dwarf.
Note: Astrid has the door open in a way that blocks her left arm from view.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 19, 2024 20:58:30 GMT -5
Each knock reverberates in her ears until everything falls silent again and it’s just Cypress standing alone at the door to the Stormstone Manor. She hears the distant rumble of thunder in the distance while she stands with her hands folded together around the quarterstaff- a gift from Mister Vonoros- that she’d brought with her just in case she needed to hit someone with it. She didn’t, but it did make her feel more secure. She takes a deep breath and tightens her grip, biting at her lip while she listens for any movement behind the door. In all honesty, she doesn’t know what to expect; her stomach is turning nervously already and it’s only been a few seconds. Will Astrid’s dad open the door? What will she say to him? Or, what if no one answers the door? Does she just… wait until someone comes home? Is that weird to do? What if… what if something really did happen to Astrid? What if… Cypress snaps her eyes from her hooves to the door when she hears footsteps beyond it. Her heart flutters into her chest and she takes a sharp breath while she stands up straight and attempts to fix her hair so she’ll look presentable rather than exhausted. When the door opens, she lowers both her hands quickly, and… her heart back flips into her throat. CYPRESS?!“Astrid!!” Cypress’ eyes light up, and she takes a step forwards; and then her lashes flutter in hesitation when she stops. ”Uh-“ Her voice shakes a little; shoot, she didn’t know what she was going to say to Astrid’s dad, but she realizes now that she knows less about what she’s going to say to Astrid.
She scans Astrid quickly.
She’s got one boot on; her smile is sunny; and there’s a light dancing behind her fern-green eyes when she looks into them. Cypress knew, but maybe didn’t fully process, how much she actually missed Astrid; and it takes every ounce of self-control not to jump into her arms for a big hug because there’s something else nagging at the edges of her heart. Astrid looks okay; and gods above, Cypress is so glad she is- but that raises a different question: if Astrid is okay, if everything is okay, why… why hasn’t she heard from her in the past few months? Has she just been that busy, or...? The hurt stings; it starts slow, but spreads steadily while Cypress sucks in a breath. “ - I was in town, and I wanted to visit- ” That is, unquestionably, not true; Cypress came to town specifically to visit her. “ - and… and I wanted to see you. I didn’t come at a bad time, did I?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 19, 2024 21:55:54 GMT -5
Astrid is so happy to see Cypress that she almost doesn’t notice her hesitation and her shock upon seeing the half-dwarf at the door. Her head cocks slightly to the side when she hears the sharp breath and starts to process the odd phrasing, but that doesn’t make her smile fade whatsoever. It’s easy to see Astrid is almost buzzing with excitement, little shifts in her stance making her look like she's about to pounce.
“Nah! It’s perfect timin’! I was about ta go ta town ta check on somethin’, but it can wait! Or we can go together!” she says excitedly. Finally, Astrid lets the welling squeal out, and she leaps forward to gather Cypress into a hug and lift her off her feet, followed by a little spin. “AAAH! I’m so happy yer here!” Oh, does Astrid relish in this hug, the first one she’s gotten to give Cypress herself in weeks. Gods, she missed her, heck even her smell. “I ain’t heard from ya in a while, so I thought maybe ya’d gone off an’ done some adventurin’ or somethin’. Turns out it was comin’ here!!”
Suddenly, she stops. “But wait.”
Astrid sets Cypress back down and sets her hands on her shoulders, the metal of her left arm clinking. Thinking and processing with a furrowed brow, she stares at Cypress. Did she miss a letter? Why did Cypress travel here presumably by the road? She looks travel weary, and Astrid looks confused. “Did ya get the potion I sent? Looks like ya went the hard way. I don’t think ya got the key ‘cause ya never showed up, an’ I had ta use magic ta get it back. Are ya alright?? Is everythin’ alright in Darkveil?”
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 19, 2024 23:01:03 GMT -5
Cypress still feels conflicted about the questions that have arose; but when Astrid leaps forwards, scoops her into a hug, and spins her around; how could she not melt into her embrace with a squealing bout of laughter? It’s like everything drifts away in those few seconds; her hesitation, her exhaustion, her worry; it’s all scattered to the wind. It’s nothing. She missed Astrid; she missed her a lot. She hugs onto Astrid tight around the shoulders, immediately breaking into a smile that she hides against her collar when she’s spun around. She laughs, stretching her legs out to let her hooves touch the ground when Astrid starts to set her down; and although she’s reluctant to release her, she does, allowing her hands to brush over Astrid’s arms as she pulls away. She doesn’t notice anything strange- not at first- because her thoughts and emotions are a little bit of everywhere all at once. Slowly but surely, though, everything starts to creep back to her; and her smile begins to fade when Astrid mentions she hasn’t heard from her in a while. Cypress’ ears start to turn back, flattening close to the curls of her hair when Astrid’s hands fall heavier than she remembers atop her shoulders. … But something clinks. She looks to her right shoulder and follows the line of Astrid’s hand to her arm, then to her shoulder, while Astrid asks her a small flurry of questions; but the satyr is very clearly not looking at her face. Her eyes widen and her stomach sinks. She won’t get a response because Cypress’ throat tightens and her voice fails her in the moment. Astrid’s not wearing armour. When she finally refocuses, her heart feels caught in a vice grip; she searches Astrid’s face before answering, as if she is only now hearing her words. “I… I never…” Her voice is small and distracted. All of her original worries suddenly feel so far away. “I haven’t heard anything from you since you left, I never got… a letter, or a potion, or a key, I…” She doesn’t have the mind to even ask what they were, or what they were for. “I’m okay, Darkveil’s okay, I just… When I didn’t hear from you for so long, I wanted to make sure you were okay…” Her voice gets smaller; hesitantly, and with great delicacy as if she might break her, Cypress raises her hand and loosely wraps one hand around Astrid’s metal wrist.
She glances briefly to Astrid’s hand, eyes wide with concern when she looks back at her. “Are… are you okay? Is everything okay?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 19, 2024 23:29:23 GMT -5
It feels great to have Cypress in her arms again, to feel her warmth and hear her laugh. Whatever sadness of missing one of her very favorite people washes away in favor of pure unbridled joy. And while she’s very excited, Astrid is also very concerned, and she bombards Cypress with a flurry of questions that quickly seem to overwhelm the satyr.
“Huh? Ya haven’t??” Astrid asks, utterly baffled. Cypress didn’t get anything Astrid sent her?? She pulls her hands off of Cypress’ shoulders but doesn’t extend the distance between them only to realize that Cypress has taken her metal wrist in her hand, and it suddenly occurs to Astrid that Cypress is looking at her arm as if this is new information. Uh oh.
In a panicked attempt to cover it up, Astrid pulls her hand away, and runes light up on Astrid’s prosthetic. In a flash, a wave of magic washes down it from her shoulder to her fingertips like a sleeve being pulled on, replacing the metal with a magical visage of her usual arm, complete with a glove and half sleeve.[1] Astrid lifts her hand and wiggles her fingers as if nothing is amiss.
“Hah…hah… It's a new project.[2] Erm, what do ya mean ya didn’t get nothin’?” Astrid asks, trying to change the subject. “I um… I sent plenty a’ Replicants ta go check on ya ‘cause I–” Her eyes drift down, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m uh… Grounded, so I ain’t been able ta go nowhere.” She perks right up to continue this cover story. “But thin’s are fine![2] Just been mostly stuck at home!” Still, there’s melancholy she can’t fully hide as she looks at Cypress and her voice gets softer. “I’m real happy ta see ya, an’ I’m real sorry it’s been so long… I’ve been missin’ ya a lot.”
1. Arcanatek Prosthetic - Illusion Mode [post 1/4] 2. (Sort of) Smooth Talking
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 20, 2024 21:46:48 GMT -5
“ No, I haven’t…” Her words are distant and distracted; and when Astrid suddenly pulls her hand away, Cypress doesn’t actually let go at first- so, she stifles a surprised sound when her shoulder is pulled forwards. She does ultimately release Astrid’s wrist, and watches with wide eyes as runes flash across the surface of the metal, and then… it’s gone. Cypress’ ears swivel forwards, eyes searching, when her arm suddenly appears normal by all accounts. “ A… new project?” Cypress repeats, her eyes refocusing on Astrid’s face while she tries to explain; Astrid doesn’t have any reason to lie to her, right? She trusts Astrid, but something doesn’t feel right; it could be the speed at which Astrid pulled away, or her nervous laugh; but something feels wrong. She saw what she saw; she felt the chill of metal; didn’t she? “ What… kind of project is it…?” she continues while she withdraws her hands close to her chest; she holds one of her wrists nervously while she gazes at Astrid’s arm, before looking at her face; her long ears turn back against her curls. She’s doing her best to process the sudden subject change, but her head is spinning. Astrid would tell her if she wasn’t okay, right? She blinks a few times before she shakes her head. “ I never saw any of your replicants,” she admits, “ I looked, I even thought that a bird might have been…” she trails off, suddenly pursing her lips while an embarrassed heat rushes to her face. A look of surprise quickly flashes across her face when Astrid admits she’s been grounded, “ Grounded?” Cypress repeats; that... does explain some things. “ W-what happened?” Astrid’s already continuing though, and Cypress watches her with an expression of concern and confusion; something’s still not right, but Astrid isn’t confirming or denying it. It’s confusing. Cypress is still thinking about her arm and about the weight of her concern that makes her stomach heavy and her heart ache. The idea that something bad- really bad- could have happened to Astrid had made her feel sick.
To think that it really could have happened is a nightmare. She meets Astrid’s gaze when her voice lightens; and Cypress’ expression begins to soften despite her befuddled worry. She can’t really… make Astrid tell her anything if she doesn’t want to; but she will eventually… right? After a moment, Cypress closes the gap between them this time; she tucks her arms beneath Astrid’s, and squeezes her into a tight hug. “I missed you a lot, too.” She agrees, her voice hardly a murmur. “I, um... I got worried." She burrows her face into Astrid's shoulder and squeezes her eyes shut. "But I'm real happy to see you now.” When she pulls away, she looks somewhat guiltily from Astrid to her hooves.
“Um… You know how you said I could come over anytime? I might have told Oriole and Andromeda that I’d be staying here for a little bit... Is that okay?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 21, 2024 1:23:36 GMT -5
Hearing that Cypress hasn’t heard a thing from Astrid or her Replicants is really confusing, but it starts to make sense why Astrid never heard anything back. She must have sent half a dozen of them to go check on Cypress. Did they not make it? Darkveil is a pretty long ways away, so if the magic can’t hold up, that makes sense enough… Maybe she was too optimistic in thinking it could hold up. Maybe she should have pressed harder to go out herself, even for a day. Cantio might have relented, but she’s been grounded, and that means sticking to the rules.
Try as she might to hide the prosthetic and play it off, Astrid can see the worry on Cypress’ face. She hates that. She hates seeing that. She sees it from Cantio and Cyran and now Cypress. She’s alright. She made this choice herself. She chose to adventure, and she chooses to let everyone she cares about be her motivation to always come home. They don’t need to worry so much!
But they do. And she knows it. Astrid wishes they wouldn’t worry, but she takes some comfort in the fact that they do. It means they care, and all she ever wanted was to be cared about and loved. Thinking about how adventuring makes people worry about her brings up a lot of conflicted emotions for her that she just doesn’t want to deal with, so the best thing to do has been to stay home.
Because of this, finding the words to explain why she’s grounded is a challenge. She sees the look in Cypress’ eyes, and it makes her want to just push the subject away entirely. “Ah, just um… Did some stuff that got me in trouble,” Astrid says, moving her left hand from its place held aloft to rub the back of her head awkwardly. It’s not exactly a lie, but it isn’t the truth either. In fact, she wasn’t in trouble necessarily, but being grounded became the consequences of her actions, and she fully accepted them. She still does.
So what are the consequences of hiding the truth right now?
Does it matter? She and Cypress missed each other. A lot. So when Cypress sweeps in and wraps Astrid in a tight embrace, Astrid puts her arms around her and hugs her tight. Her face finds itself buried into Cypress’ hair and shoulder. The satyr’s quiet voice pulls strings deep in her chest and make her heart sink. No matter what Astrid did, Cypress still worried. Why didn’t she send a letter sooner? Why couldn’t she put basic words on paper to give her some reassurance and then send it by mail? Who knows where that letter tucked into the pocket of a Replicant ended up? It explains why she never heard back from Cypress…
“I’m real sorry,” Astrid finally says, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to be strong. “I didn’t mean ta make ya worry…” Astrid is reluctant to let Cypress pull away, but when she does, the half-dwarf puts on her familiar confidence to hide her guilt.
Then her expression lights up genuinely as Cypress mentions staying for a while, and she steps forward to clasp Cypress’ hands in hers. “Aye, I did! A’ course that’s fine with me!” she chirps with a bright smile. “‘Specially after ya trekked all the way here! Ya can stay as long as ya–” She stops and looks over her shoulder inside to see Cantio (and now Melodia) peeking around the corner. A wash of embarrassment floods Astrid through her earring when Cantio ducks back behind the wall to pretend he wasn’t just watching.
Knowing that she’s going to get away with this, Astrid looks back at Cypress again. “As long as ya want.”
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 22, 2024 21:30:59 GMT -5
The satyr searches Astrid’s face while she speaks, but there is no further explanation; she can only conclude that, whatever’s happened, she doesn’t actually want to talk about it. The realization leaves something inside of her hollow and achy, because she doesn’t entirely understand why; is it because Astrid doesn’t trust her? Is it because she thinks it will hurt her feelings? Cypress just… cares; she cares a lot about Astrid and the contradictions keep hitting her heart strangely. She knows what she saw and what she felt, and even though Astrid slips around her questions and assures her it’s all fine, something still feels off. What choice does she have but to believe her, though? Cypress missed her, and if Astrid wanted to talk, she would stand here and listen to her every word; but if she doesn’t… she… supposes that maybe she will, in her own time. In the end, her emotions get the best of her; and she swoops forwards for a tight hug. She burrows her face into Astrid’s shoulder and shakes her head when Astrid apologizes. “ I know,” she admits hoarsely; she doesn’t think Astrid would ever try to hurt her on purpose; no matter what her anxious brain whispered to her at the start. “ It’s not your fault, it was just… a lot of bad luck.” According to her, she sent a lot of replicants… where did they all end up? She mentioned a potion, and a key? It wasn’t like Astrid didn’t try to reach out…
Even if Cypress worried, it's not Astrid's fault.
Cypress sighs, letting her shoulders fall as she snuggles against the crook of Astrid’s neck. “ I’m just happy to see you,” she adds before she reluctantly pulls back; and when Astrid clasps her hands, one of them is cold. The feeling makes Cypress’ ears fidget; even though she curls her fingers around Astrid’s and gently brushes her thumbs over the tops of her hands to feel the contrast between what she knows and a cool metal, she doesn’t bring attention to it this time. Why would Astrid’s new project require a metal arm to look just like her real arm? Her expression softens admiringly when the other girl grins- a sight which melts her confused heart. After all the traveling and the stress, Astrid’s genuine smile and enthusiasm is a warm ray of sunshine after a gloomy, cloudy day. Briefly, she follows Astrid’s gaze over her shoulder- is that her dad and ghost mom!? Cypress blinks in surprise, her cheeks reddening over being - well, perceived - before she looks back at Astrid. “ As… as long as it’s okay with everyone,” she agrees, squeezing her hands softly; she smiles up at Astrid, ears turning back to flatten against her curls. “ I’d really like that, a lot... It'd be really nice to spend some time with you before I go back home.”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 23, 2024 0:38:08 GMT -5
With Cypress in her arms, Astrid's eyes flutter closed. And then she clenches them closed tight because the longer she embraces her, the more all the weeks of missing her come roiling to the surface. The loneliness threatens to push itself out in tears, and Astrid doesn't want to cry. Cypress is here. She's happy, relieved even! This is good. It's so good.
But gods did she miss her.
It isn't the same as before they last saw each other, those fleeting thoughts of wondering how her friend is doing and thinking about plans for next time they'll see each other. The idea that they'll make the most of whatever time they can set aside to hang out and spend time together. No, Astrid missed Cypress in a deep-seeded way that's hard to explain; in the same way the first few nights away from Cantio after he adopted her were; in the way that she genuinely didn't know when she'd get to see Cypress herself again.
Maybe she should have asked for a probationary visit...
Cypress' own hoarse voice nearly breaks Astrid, and she squeezes her tighter, both an apology and reassurance that she's here now. Astrid swallows the lump in her throat. "I... Mean... It's kinda my fault," she admits. "I'm the one that got grounded. I'm the one that didn't write ya back sooner... I read yer letter a lot, I just... Weren't so good at findin' the right words ta respond at first."
After a moment, she laments, "... Wish I knew what happened ta the Replicants... Maybe it was dumb ta think me magic would hold up all the way ta Darkveil."
"I did send a letter by drake though," Astrid recalls. "Though... I s'pose ya must a' already left before ya got it." She quietly laments not doing the practical thing the first time, and while she vows to do better, she also doesn't regret spending her time trying to find an easier way for the two of them to communicate or visit with one another.
Feeling Cypress snuggle into the embrace more, Astrid relaxes somewhat and lets out her own sigh. "I'm happy ta see ya too. Thanks fer comin' all this way. I know that weren't easy." With another squeeze, Astrid releases her but quickly takes her hands, her attitude much perkier at the prospect of Cypress staying for, what Astrid declares, can be as long as she wants.
Seeing Cypress looking a bit embarrassed, Astrid can't help that warm fuzzy feeling in her chest welling up, reminding her of their last encounter. "Technically, it is my house, so aye, ya can stay as long as ya like," Astrid says with a reassuring smile only to continue with the most casual admission ever. "I already told Da we're probably gonna get married or somethin' one day, so until then, the spare room is all yers."
It's only then that Astrid realizes Cypress has been rubbing her thumbs along the tops of her hands. Looking down at their hands gently clasped, Astrid forces down a twinge of sadness. With proper feeling in only one hand, she really didn't realize... As much as she and Fish tried to make her prosthetic as close and functional to a real arm as possible, some things are impossible to recreate. Right now, it's the tender motion of Cypress' thumbs against her skin, but also...the metal.
Astrid swallows the lump that grows in her throat. Cypress knows. She can't not know. Lying about this is pointless, but how does she bring it up? She just wants to enjoy the fact that Cypress is here. Only so many jokes and smiles can cover it up though...
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Apr 25, 2024 22:04:30 GMT -5
When Astrid squeezes her tighter, Cypress lets her lashes flutter open against the fabric of her clothing. Her voice falters a little when she speaks; she admits that it was kind of her fault, and Cypress doesn’t answer. In all honesty, she was upset when the weight of the silence started to sink in: she’d felt abandoned. You couldn’t fail or lose if you never had- and that was something she thought for a long time; but then she met mister Cyran, and he gave her the chance to see life from a different perspective. She met mister Everett; and she wanted to try harder for his sake. She met Astrid; and she taught her what genuine friendship and love felt like. She’s a different person now than she was a year, or even a few months ago; and after experiencing such warm, unselfish emotions for the first time, the sting of potential loss of someone so important so soon felt so much worse than she could ever remember. It brought back those feelings; a sharp reminder of the past.
Regardless of how she felt then, though, she knows now that Astrid tried, and that something… happened. She doesn’t want to hold it against her. “ I don’t really wanna… point fingers or anything.” She remarks, “ You tried, and I…” she trails off, “I wrote you more letters, too, after the first one. I didn’t send those; but if I had, you would’ve known I hadn’t heard from you sooner.” She shakes her head and snuggles into Astrid’s embrace, murmuring that, “ It was just unlucky,” into the fabric of her shirt. When Astrid mentions she sent a letter by drake, Cypress perks up a little, “ You mean, I missed it?” she winces; if she’d waited just a little longer…. But, then, she wouldn’t have been able to see Astrid so soon. She frowns, but it’s quick to turn into a soft smile when Astrid thanks her for coming to see her. “ I missed you.” She admits, nuzzling one last time into Astrid’s shoulder before she pulls away and reaches for her hands, instead. Cypress smiles sheepishly but warmly when Astrid reassures her that she can stay as long as she likes- but the expression shifts into embarrassment as she continues. She feels the heat rise to her cheeks, turning her complexion rosy. “ M-married!? O-oh…” she squeaks; almost immediately, all of her melancholic thoughts fly away, replaced instead by the single word. She squeezes Astrid’s hands lightly, brushing her thumbs over the tops of her hands. Oh boy, married… like, forever? To Astrid? Her heart flutters, but she sobers up quickly when she glances up to see the look on Astrid’s face. She looks… upset; pained in a somber kind of way.
Cypress glances down at their clasped hands and lets her lashes flutter closed; does Astrid know that she knows? That she knows Astrid’s been dodging around the subject? Her arm looks like her arm, but… Cypress turns Astrid’s hands over in hers, facing their palms upwards. She’s held Astrid’s hands, and she’s been held by them. Of course she knows. “ Your hands are cold.” She says, taking a little breath that raises her shoulders as she looks behind Astrid to check for her nosy parents before she continues; her brows furrow just a little. She purses her lips and squeezes Astrid’s hands before looking down at her hooves; she feels the difference between them, how one isn’t affected by the pressure of a touch. Still, she covers both in hers, as if to try and warm them, before she speaks again in a quiet question: “ … Astrid? How come you’ve been acting like nothing’s happened?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 25, 2024 22:39:49 GMT -5
Hearing how hurt Cypress is, feeling it in her words and body language, seeing it in her face, makes Astrid’s heart sink. There’s nothing either of them can do to change how things failed to work out. This whole thing ended up being another misunderstanding, but this time, working it out wasn’t so quick or easy. “Aye, it was unlucky,” she agrees quietly. "Wish it hadn't been, but yer here now..." She tucks her chin over Cypress’ shoulder while they embrace.
“Don’t worry about missin’ it,” Astrid says, looking at her. “Just means it’ll be waitin’ fer ya when ya get back.” She looks down at their hands for a moment before meeting Cypress’ eyes again. “I missed ya too. A whole lot.”
At least the mood lightens somewhat, even if it’s brief and slight. Astrid doesn’t expect Cypress to take her the least bit seriously. They’re just kids, and now they’ve got a whole new hurdle to get over. It’s not like anything that major would happen anytime soon, and admittedly, Astrid doesn’t know a whole lot about the concept either. The only married person she knows is Leandros, but if he’s an example of what someone who’s happily married should be like, then Astrid thinks she should like to be like him and Apogee. They’ve probably had to get over their own hurdles.
"Aye, maybe one day..." she manages to say quietly with a solemn smile and eyes turned away.
Right now, the hurdle is her lying. And finally, Cypress says as much. Astrid struggles to meet her eyes, staying silent for a long time before she finally takes a deep breath that moves her shoulders. “Um… Come with me,” she says quietly, gently pulling her left hand free but holding Cypress’ hand in her right as she attempts to pull her along. She closes the front door, not wanting to walk past Cantio and Melodia to get downstairs, and she starts making her way around the house to the basement entrance to the workshop.
Big Frizole, whose domain is the backyard, lifts his head upon seeing his rider and her… Hm… He considers for a moment what he might call Cypress. He has seen this “hand holding” that people do, but he does not have the knowledge for how to associate the behavior. Regardless, he looks at the two of them studiously, observing strange mixed smells from his rider. As Astrid starts to open the door, Big Frizole leans down and nudges her with his nose, taking another whiff of her as he does. Unlike her usual demeanor where she playfully pushes him away, Astrid just looks at him for a moment before slipping inside the workshop with Cypress.
As it has been in the past, Astrid’s workshop is well-loved and well-used. The only gathered dust is immediately around workstations and from projects, not a settled layer from disuse. Most of the floor is swept clean by bootprints through her path of travel, though some less traveled areas are speckled with claw marks of a child-sized bird.
Astrid releases Cypress’ hand and goes to the back corner to retrieve a wooden box with a lid that takes both of her hands to lift properly because of its size. When she returns to the table in the middle, she sets it in front of Cypress wordlessly and takes a step back, shamefully avoiding her gaze and just waiting for her to open it.
Inside the box sits half a dozen completed prosthetic prototypes and even more half finished or poorly made attempts. Molds and casts, spare parts, scrap metal, and other bits and bobs litter the bottom of the box. Pages of diagrams and ideas line the sides of the box, many of them marred by angry scribbles in charcoal and others stained by water droplets – frustrated tears shed over the failures.
All of the sketches and half-finished hands of wood and metal are for the left arm – the same arm that Astrid’s hiding. The same one that isn’t warm and can’t feel.
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