ꙮ Afternoon, after the Festival. Ravhi was, bafflingly, present again, and perpetrated breakfast before anyone else but Luĉja was awake, and then hared off to go do various of important Yazhn business (and have a chat with Qarina.) Including, importantly, preparing a spot in a sturdy basement storage room in the City close to the Temple, for Emberlight’s use.
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#full cast session
#chapter 5: mu
#qarina
#yazhn ravhi
#caion
ꙮ You have, perhaps, gone about your day in the City - or perhaps you’ve stayed at your shelter - but now you’ve gathered together to pack up your things, having done, at least for the time being, what you believe you came here to do. On the counter, there’s an etrog, in perfect condition, with a ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ sign propped up next to it in Salme’s handwriting; it’s been pleasantly scenting the environs the whole time you’ve been here. 🙧
makes generous sniffs about the air, inhaling the essense, and then sniffs Salme for good measure.
, for once in his life, doesn’t look precisely chipper about being back on the road. (Well, for once in his yeresh life, anyway.) But he’s here, with his pack on his back.
continues to fight the never-ending battle against the sun-rust, melting another block of wax.
looks at Awa. “Is this just. A new thing you do?” She picks up the half of the etrog and considers it, then sets it back down, crosses out the previous note, and writes instead: ‘For Qarina and Ravhi to keep in memory. Or eat. Your choice.’
nods. “Smell is one of the more powerful influences on memory! Tied with touch, thought, sight, hearing, numerical order, and navigation coordinates.”
considers Awa, then reaches out and gives his hand a quick squeeze, but doesn’t say anything more.
shuffles in, casting off his hood. You get the sense he must have made a stop at a baths somewhere - his fur looks especially sheen and he’s managed to keep some pep in his step, despite the circumstances. “Hey everyone!”
: “Real precise there.”
waves at Archie.
gives Salme’s hand a squeeze back, and nods at Aury. “Yeah, I covered all the important stuff.” He waves at Archie! “Hey Archie!”
shows up at the door, some time after Archie, with Dyu and Qarina. There’s a little vestibule that’s always open to the outdoors, in almost every building in the City, so that no matter what nobody is ever waiting outside on a response to a knock on the door - not that Emberlight’s ever kept him waiting. He knocks.
is, perhaps not coincidentally, closest to the door, and opens it.
has a lot of waving to catch up on, and does so with all haste and enthusiasm!
’s scales immediately go a little tiny bit dark for some reason, definitely not at all because of a very surreptitious noise Qarina failed to not make in the background behind him, and bows his familiar, formal bow. “Shade and comfort, my friends.”
: “Shade and comfort, Ravhi.” A shoulder-bump as the Kin enters.
enters behind Ravhi, also with a bow. “Shade and comfort, all.”, he says with a smile.
internally grumbles that it would be weird if she didn’t say it now. “Shade and comfort.”
: “Shade ‘n comfort!”
thinks that enough people have said ‘shade and comfort’ so she just says, “Hello. It’s nice to see you three.”
: “Shade and comfort, Yazhn Ravhi.” None of the brightness leaves his demeanor, but the words are carried with the weight of earnestness and sincerity.
shoulder-bumps Wolf back, and doesn’t move away quite as much or as swiftly as decorum might indicate for. “I’ve had the Vehru prepare some supplies for you to take with you when you go, in case it would help you to have them there on the other side. Anything that we could spare.”
: “Probably couldn’t hurt.”
nods in agreement.
: “The City Lemonade is well worth the added weight in the pack.” He nods sagely.
: “Your generosity is always appreciated, Ravhi.” He smiles with warmth beyond what his words really probably merit.
lets out a breath, slowly. Breathes in. Behind him, Dyu’s got a precariously-stuffed rucksack full of things he might need; Qarina does not. Forces himself, after a moment, to take the next step. “Do you have everything you need? I’ve prepared the storage room, exactly as you asked.”
nods quietly, hefts his pack in answer. Breathes in almost exactly the same cadence.
: “Alright, then.” And he nods, and – still largely had himself bundled up for the Sun’s light so he doesn’t have much prep to do before he steps out of the shelter and back into the street, motioning for the others to follow.
ꙮ Enough time, while people get ready to head outside, for Aurelius to do whatever it is that he’s doing - and then the storage room isn’t far away. The basement of a small meeting-hall, sturdy stone, large enough for everyone to stand in comfortably and then some; there’s some neat piles of carefully-packed supplies along one wall.
does try to draw Qarina off to the side for one moment once they arrive in the basement.
winces a little, but allows herself to be drawn aside instead of hiding in the middle of the group.
head to the back of the room when they arrive and begins etching runes and glyphs into the far wall.
says, to her, “I didn’t think you’d come. I know you have a lot of people to protect. I’m not disappointed. I just … wanted to make sure you knew that I wanted you to travel with us, because you’re my friend.” She hands her a small embroidery hoop with a small image, a hammer, her hammer, with shadow-and-glyphs and golden light twined around it. “I made this for you. It’s not much. But.”
: “I might not have, if Dyu wasn’t going. I would have loved to go with you all. Whatever it is you’re doing, wherever it is you’re going. I hope that once you fix it, I’ll be able to go with you somewhere.” She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t cry. She takes the embroidery hoop and smiles. “It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten.” She drops her hammer and launches into a hug that would send most people crashing to the ground. She doesn’t cry. Not yet.
is pretty used to strong tackle hugs from people larger and stronger than her. She stumbles a bit, but stays standing and hugs back with equal force. “Oh for sure. We’ll go on a whole tour once this is all figured out. And next time we come back, we’re getting Ravhi and Chaya and everyone who loves you and we’re doing a piñata.” She says it with a bit of an edge. “You’ll love it.”
: “Ravhi.” Wolf pushes back his hood. “I have something for you, as well.”
nods her head. She doesn’t know what a piñata is. But it must be a great idea.
whispers, “(Ask Wolf to explain via Tomestone. He has trauma from it. It’ll be funny).”
has, largely, said what needs to be said to Wolf, and yet. And yet. A brief moment in response to Wolf pushing back his hood once they’re in shade, where he presses his own forehead against Wolf’s, briefly, and then composes himself enough. Barely. “Yes?”
takes a tomestone from his belt pouch and hands it to Ravhi–almost reverently, with both hands. “Two things, in truth. One is this. A tomestone, so that you may continue to communicate with us, even once we’re gone.” ‘Us’ is, perhaps, doing quite a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.
receives it, as reverently, letting out a slow breath. Almost relief.
does give Ravhi a sharp, slightly intense look when Wolf say ‘communicate with us.’ Not a threat, or at least intended as such, but he probably won’t be without interlocutors with many questions.
: “And the other…is a promise.” He reaches up and takes Ravhi’s head in his hands, pressing his forehead hard to the other’s. “I do not know where this road will lead, or what awaits us on the other side of the door. But I do know this. Though it take a thousand miles, though it take a hundred lifetimes, I will see you again.”
turns away from Wolf and Ravhi as soon as she hears Wolf says ‘promise.’ That deserves what privacy she can grant them. She gives Qarina a last squeeze, and then wanders over to watch Aurelius work on his gate.
steps over to Qarina. “We continue our Work, together, even when we are far apart. I’ll help them as much as I can, for the both of us, and you’ll protect the people here, for the both of us. You’re my best friend, and the distance isn’t going to change that.”, he gives a warm smile. “And when I get back, we’ll have all kinds of stories to tell each other, promise?”
hugs Wolf with both arms, and he’s not very good at hugs, but he’s trying his very best. And just… stays that way for a moment. And, softly: “(Then I will pray with all of my heart that the path to your return to me is short and gentle, and I will wait, as long as I need.)”
, thankfully, is very good at hugs, and pulls Ravhi close, and stays that way for a long moment, fingers tangled desperately tight in Ravhi’s robe. And then…he steps back, straightens the wrinkles carefully, and nods once. His eyes are bright, and he does not speak.
: “Yeah. I’ll do my Work here. You’ll keep them safe. I’ll keep everyone here safe. Pretty sure I got the easy job between the two of us. We’ll always be best friends. Now I’ll just have to bother you on this thing instead.” She waves her Tomestone. “Also. You’re gonna need this.” She pushes her hammer into Dyu’s claws. She does not cry. “I’ll get a new one from the Rohsu. Pretty sure I can beat Elementals to death bare-handed at this point anyways.”
he chuckles, waving his own tomestone, “I expect no less!” he takes her hammer in his claws, grips the handle firmly, and nods. “Now you’ll help me in more ways than one. And, let’s face it, you’d enjoy ripping Elementals apart with your bare hands.” He laughs, and gives Qarina the tightest hug he can.
laughs, and returns the hug. She only gets a little distracted by the thought of ripping Elementals apart with her hands.
steps towards Dyu, then, once he’s extricated himself from Qarina after a moment. They’ve said all that they needed to say before this, really, but even so– he gives Dyu a hug, too. “Be safe out there. Keep them safe. Be a light in dark places. And see everything there is to see out there. (I’m proud of you).”
steps behind Dyu, claps a hand on his shoulder. “Your first step on the great road.” A look shared with Ravhi. “I’ll look after him, don’t you fear.”
returns the hug, “I shall do my best, Teacher. I try to keep them safe, for all of us, and to be a light that illuminates the darkness. (I’m also proud of you, too, Teacher. It’s an honor to be your Acolyte.)”
looks like he’s going to start blinking rapidly all over again at that, but instead he just snorts softly out of his nose, and takes a step back. “Safe travels, then. To all of you. If ever we can give you shade and shelter, it is yours, from this day until the Day.” He bows his head, takes a few more steps back because he’s got to.
bows to his Teacher, fighting back some tears. “Until the Day comes.”
runs liminal gnosis through the etched gylphs, and forms another [KGP] to connect Mu to the void.
offers a deep, solemn, formal bow, followed by a friendly wave. “This is only goodbye, not farewell. And when we do return, it will be in joy. May the memory of the shade and comfort you’ve so graciously shown us here be our light in the darkness, and may any that we’ve been able to provide in return be a symbol of our friendship and a reminder to our worlds that we are whole when we are one.”
: “Keep your scales wet! And if the sky ever darkens, you can look up, and there’s a good chance it’ll be us.” He winks.
ꙮ Light flares up in the glyphs, and the wall they’re carved into breaks apart and falls backwards into itself, and a gate forces itself out of the wall in its place, windows shining with light.
turns from where she is in the back, and gives another wave and a smile, but then turns back to watch Aurelius’ work, simply for the joy of it.
ꙮ The doors crack open, and there’s enough room on the platform (and the piles of supplies are on little rolly carts) that it barely takes a moment to get them through. The Liminal Express, interestingly enough, isn’t waiting for you at the platform, but surely it’ll be running on schedule.
(“Whoa.”)
: “Hm.” She flicks her eyes up at you. How sure about that are you?
ꙮ Reasonably confident!
dashes through the door first, and then waits for when Dyu exits the other side… if they do at all.
looks at the supplies. “Aury, would it be better to pocket dimension these?” She doesn’t mind rolling them onto the train, but.
also, exhales in wonder under his breath at Aurelius’ work, and helps with the supplies, and watches as they head through the Gate. (Especially Dyu, although he’s been assured that it’s safe, now.)
lingers by the door, clearly wanting to go last–ushers Dyu through, watching carefully to see how the Path reacts.
: “No. Also, see ya.” He gives a small wave, pushing the cargo through.
rises and bows to Ravhi and Qarina. “Be safe.” and then turns to Qarina “Fight well, little one. We will return with your friend.” They walk through the portal, happy to soon be rid of their layers of ridiculous fabrics.
gives a final wave to Ravhi and Qarina. “Our Work continues, For Those That Come After.”, and heads through the gate, so they can’t see the tears starting to fill his eyes.
flinches. Almost takes a step. She does not cry. Not yet.
ꙮ Dyu steps through the Gate– absolutely none the worse for wear.
studiously and pointedly studies Dyu with unblinking eyes, watching for anything amiss.
frowns a bit, and shrugs. On her way through, she gives Qarina another bright smiles and says, “I’m just a tomestone message away.” She pauses to meet Ravhi’s eyes as well, and more seriously adds, “I’d like to talk again, soon, if you don’t mind,” and then pushes her own cart through.
replies, “I’m looking forward to it”, and he means it.
is determined to leave with joy, in the confidence that the day will come when they will return. He runs up to the nearest cart and starts pushing it, first with his arms, then flipping over and leaning back as hard as he can to try to get momentum, then back to the arms, then back to the back, flopping and flailing against the cart.
waits for the last cart, and the last of Emberlight, to go through. He steps up to the very edge of the Path, then looks back–just once, for a long moment, clearly doing his best to memorize every detail of Ravhi’s face. Then, he places his hand over his heart, bows–and steps through, closing the gate behind him.
ꙮ Ravhi watches- bows, with his hand over his heart, as the gate closes.
: “ Bye. “
ꙮ On the platform.
ꙮ You hear the sound of the Liminal Express in the distance, and then, rather rapidly, in the closeness–
–kaleidoscope wings beating with their full strength, carrying the train on moonsilver tracks towards the platform–
ꙮ –and it’s grown, significantly, each car easily able to seat at least ten people, more if they get cozy. Did I say ‘each car’? I did – it’s a proper train now, car after car stretching out behind it as it snakes its way to the platform, but you’ll only need the front car for the time being, and seated in that front car, with a face of a cat that ate the canary, as it pulls in to the platform,
just watches and listens, in awe, whispers a “Fascinating…” under his breath.
waves, cheerfully, with his good arm. “Oh, good, I had the timing right after all.”
signals to the Liminal Express by raising a hand and palming a disc of tenebrous gnosis in his hands, a dark violet star shining in his hands–
opens up the cargo hold as the train pulls to a stop, and starts pushing their haul into it.
stares at Caion for a second in utter shock, then starts to laugh. “What in all the little gods…?”
’s eyebrows raise. “…oh! Caion! Glad you could make it!” He greets without thinking through any implications first.
: “I see that you have tested at least one hypothesis about the safety of the portal. You are well, then?”
runs up to him, dropping all custom and pretense, flinging himself around him. “You’re here! How are you here? Not that I mind, of course, but - First Principles, I should have known you’d be the one to find a way.”
rolls her eyes a bit at Caion. “(‘Oh, good, I had the timing right after all’ as if he didn’t plan it out obsessively),” she murmurs to herself as she loads her own cargo.
laughs, and laughs, and curls his arm around Archie and buries his face in his floof and doesn’t let go. “Thank Jorule, really. He’s got a theory that we can use this space to keep as many people as we possibly can safe, and I wasn’t about to send someone ELSE through before testing the transit myself.” And he looks up, at everyone else– peers at Dyu cheerfully. “Oh, hello! You’re new. My name’s Caion!”
ꙮ –and everyone can pile into the train on their own time, once the supplies are loaded up.
: “Have you walked through, or did you cast your Water through as Tasna did?”
bows to Caion with a warm smile. “I am Dyu, a pleasure to meet you, Caion!”
maneuvers to help load the train, and bounds into the lead car. “Did you build the additional cars here? This thing’s a lot longer than how we left it.”
: “Walked through on my own two feet! Apparently the Beast has fewer compunctions concerning human trials compared to the Academy, so you’ve got the Scorpion-Queen and her volunteers to thank as well.”
: “To be clear, Jorule had Jae send some of her pet idiots through before he—yes. That. He wouldn’t have just suggested Caion walk through first, I don’t think.” She takes a seat.
puts their head in their hand and mutters something to themselves.
gives a nod to the Conductor as he boards, and a half wave to Caion as he takes a seat.
: “Honestly, if Jorule told me it was safe I’d probably have been willing to go for it, myself, but there was an ethics review, and–“ -he just laughs, and hugs Archie again for good measure. “It’s so good to see you all again.”
he takes a seat, looking around at everything, taking it all in.
: “Unscrupulous experiments on sentient subjects? From the Acting Academician? Truly, what’s come of Samudra since I left?” He laughs and squeezes Caion harder.
sits next to Dyu, somewhat subdued–but smiling at Dyu’s delight. “Welcome to the wider world.”
Once everyone is seated, the train’s engine begins to beat again, casting a million shards of varicoloured light over the entire front train car; the wings never folded up fully, they just waited, and they stretch out again, and they beat with a strength you’ve never yet seen, and it’s a joyous strength–
looks to Wolf, a bit starry-eyed, before watching the train’s wings stretch out and beat, nearly bouncing in his seat at the sight of it.
ꙮ –and the train arcs its way on moonsilver rails through clouds of shimmering colour, huge swooping spirals – complex figures, this time, and the route seems longer than you’re used to, but eventually, after a little while, far below you, you see the Obsidian Road. ⁂
ꙮ All the colours in the Obsidian Road are somehow– not brighter than they were before. Deeper, and the shadows deeper, and buildings rise out of the Mud in a starburst away from the central courtyard, blacker than black, and veined with purple– reaching up, grasping at the Void in rapturous joy at their own being.
ꙮ The Liminal Express pulls into the station, which has also been expanded, and re-decorated; multiple lines now, going off in various directions, ra’kaznar highlights to match the buildings which suddenly have come into being in proud answer to the call.
The wings fold up, gracefully.
whistles softly. “It really is growing…”
: “Fascinating. It has added Rakaznar with Radiant gnosis?”
: “Nobody told me the entire place was full of what you made your lantern out of! Or– is that a new development?”
: “Ehhh…” He nods like that was always the plan. “-yeah kind of! More like a ‘natural consequence,’ but it makes sense once you think about it.”
: “New, yeah. It periodically expands. Not sure if this is in relation to the Mu Gate, or to more people being here, though. Hmm.”
: “It makes slightly less sense. Rakaznar is the result of fusing tenebrous gnosis into something. Not radiant.”
: “Very new. It seems that each time we return here after going to a new plane, things evolve. Presumably, it’s a response to an infusion of gnosis through the gate, but it may very well prove to be more esoteric of an explanation than that.” He nods to Luĉja. “Especially considering that.”
: “…that’s strange, then, considering.”
: “Then there’s more than one way to craft a Ra’kaznar.” He nods sagely.
: “This is…so much different than anything we had.”
: “It can be done with just the loving sun. Which probably isn’t all that different from Mu’s sun, I’d bet on it.”
: “The … relationship between tenebrous and radiant gnosis has always been a dance, though. At least, silmät told me that—the ancient virtue of selfishness for tenebrous, the ancient virtue of harmony for radiant, and between the two the hamartia of abnegation and solipsism. You have to have a self to build harmony first, don’t you?”
tosses the Conductor a Lucre as he disembarks, then goes to open the cargo hold and move it onto a slightly out of the way part of the platform where it can wait for a bit.
: “(You’d think with additional train cars we’d get like… an automaton porter, too.)”
ꙮ Maybe that’ll happen next time you return.
: “There may well be an explanation. When I observed the Festival ritual, the gnosis used to project the soul-architecture from the gems was tenebrous, not radiant. And when Salme and I looked at the work that goes into protecting the plants in the gardens, we found it was a complicated intermingling of tenebrous and radiant gnosis. It seems fair to say that tenebrous gnosis is as important to Mu as radiant is.”
narrows his eyes and grins co-conspiratorially with the narrator.
grabs as much as they need to. “Then it will be very interesting to see what we find next.”
shrugs and also disembarks to help.
ꙮ Leaving the platform, there’s a courtyard in the middle of the Obsidian Road with a lamppost in the middle of it, cobbled with black stone; there’s also what looks to Dyu and Caion for all the world like a big pile of dried, cracked leathers piled up on top of itself with two little beady slate-black eyes peeking out from in the middle of it, in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly waiting for the Clan’s return. It’s got a violently green hummingbird perched precariously on top of it.
waves, and grabs some figs to leave for Ember.
: “Hmm. Made a friend.”
waves to the pile. “We return, my friend! There’ve been some changes, haven’t there?”
: “Ember! Miss us much?”
ꙮ It looks up at Wolf, specifically, and it blinks its eyes at him, almost urgently, and it begins to sing–
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: Precisely Two Minutes of Utter Silence
ꙮ –or, it tries to.
folds his arms over his chest.
hmms. Sounds the same to me.
: “Not sure we needed an encore of that one, buddy.”
: “Hang on, maybe it’s different, it hasn’t ended yet.”
ꙮ It shifts, twists a little, in what you are utterly certain is frustration and confusion.
: “Yeah, relatable.”
: “Is something the matter, Little Ember?”
rubs his forehead gently. “Yes, I met a very special person on Mu, Ember.” He tilts head head. “I wonder what’s wrong…?”
: “Salme, is there any chance you can link with Ember using methexis to figure out what’s wrong?”
ꙮ Suddenly, there is a truly unholy sound.
walks over to the pile, looking inquisitively at it, before bowing. “Hello, I take it your name is Ember, Mine is Dyu. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
: “I could certainly try, but Wolf has the same skill and … this is about him, I think?”
winces at the sound, covering one ear. “What in the worlds?”
hides his face a little, first in embarrassment, then in pain at the strange sound. “Oh. Right. Sorry, Wolf.”
bumps Archie’s shoulder. “No need to be embarrassed. I tend to use it more often.”
ꙮ The loudest, angriest, most utterly godawful maximum-volume barking you’ve ever heard in your born life, from behind the six of you, and an ENORMOUS dog, black as pitch, leaps over two of you standing close to each other to brace himself in front of Ember. He’s fully as big as a person, with grass and a little dirt in his fur, and curly black hair, and he looks like he’d be TRULY amazing to snuggle with under most circumstances, but right now? Right now he’s got his teeth bared hard, the way that makes a dog look like Death itself, and he shoots off another terrible bark at Ember, growling, snarling, bracing the ground threateningly–
ꙮ –no, not barking at Ember.
ꙮ There’s a growl, deep as night.
ꙮ A snap at the air.
steps, unsubtly, in front of Dyu, naginata forming in his hand from out of nothing–but holding out a hand to forestall any attack from the others. “That dog–!”
: “Smells something we don’t.”
: “By your name be bound, Dust-Drinkers!” He figures it’s worth a shot.
kneels down, and offers their hand, calmly.
ꙮ The hummingbird perches resolute on top of Ember’s head throughout all of this, and then the Dog rears itself back a little bit, and physically takes a swing at it with an utterly unreasonably gigantic paw, and it makes a horrible, strangled screaming noise, and goes – flying. Not on its own power, don’t get me wrong. Just goes sailing off into the black of the Void, and the Dog immediately relaxes, snoofs at Ember, and sits down on his haunches, and then, Ember sings what has been unsung.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: When He Arrives
: “The fuck?”
laughs, a bit … uncontrollably?
stares in horror. “Is that Ravhi’s song?!“
: “Oh.”
very gently pads over to Wolf, and nuzzles his side.
: “This certainly sounds a bit more like an antagonist’s song than … who Ravhi turned out to be. You know?”
looks down at the Dog, not sure whether to recoil or not, a myriad of complicated, unpleasant emotions on his face. “What…are you?”
honestly, has no idea what to say to any of that.
: “Damn if that isn’t one of the harder songs we’ve gotten!” He was straight vibin’ to it for a hot minute, headbanging with the orchestra hits.
rubs at his chin. “Why does it have lyrics.”
looks up at Wolf with the brightest eyes in the world, and whines, a little, and pads over to Ember then, to nuzzle it too, gently. And then Salme.
: “Sometimes, songs have lyrics, to impart meaning.”
: “What do you mean, why does it have lyrics? They all have lyrics.”
: “N. No? The vast majority of them do not?”
gestures impatiently. “The ones for people do.”
gives the Disreputable Dog some scritchings.
: “Your song has them!”
: “No. This is the first song Ember has sung us that has had lyrics. Our songs have them. The Star-watched have had them.”
: “None of the other Overseer’s did.”
nods to Lucja.
: “And lyrics in the common language, no less.”
: “The very first song Ember sang us had words.”
: “Kind of proves your theory, Aurelius, that there’s something different about Mu and, probably, Valaïs.”
: “Yeah it’s weird and breaking the established pattern in some way.”
: “Yeah, that’s how we named them.”
: “My mistake - the songs Ember sang upon our returns.”
: “Well, both. The Palimpsest-King, Jae, Solei—none of them had lyrics. Nor did the songs Ember sang upon our return that … seemed related to them?”
offers the dog a claw to sniff and to offer pets while everyone discusses songs, and lyrics.
glances around the area to see if a floor of radiant gnosis happened to accompany Ember’s song as expected, or if it pointedly did not this time.
frowns, quite unhappily.
: “Okay, well, maybe they should have had lyrics. Because that was pretty foreboding!”
then, pads over to Dyu and headbutt-nuzzles his side gently and snoofle his claw, and then makes the rounds, nuzzling and snuffling at everyone in turn.
: “Tell me something I don’t know,” Wolf snaps at Awa.
: “It was also the best of ‘em, but I think you know that already.”
: “Do you think Ravhi knows that’s his song?”
goes over to Wolf. “Hey. The songs that play for us—do you think they define us? Do I live within ‘Chashitsu de Dare mo Isoganai’? Or do you think we’re allowed to change, grow, reinterpret?” Her voice is gentle, and she reaches for his hand, though doesn’t take it.
is, uncharacteristically, utterly at a loss, here, trying to piece things together from context and not succeeding very well, but.
: “I don’t know. I don’t know.“ He looks at Salme’s hand and lifts his own in a placating gesture, then runs his fingers roughly through his hair. “I need…I need…a moment.” And he stalks away from the group to the edge of the courtyard, coat lashing around his ankles.
follows Wolf, but at a distance. Like a guard dog.
looks concerned, looks, almost, like she wants to go after, but she does not.
: “So… we want to talk about the hummingbird, next?”
watches him leave, holding Caion close. “I doubt he knows his song. Most people don’t. The question is, do the lyrics of the song reflect something he’s consciously aware of, or something unspoken about his role?”
gives the direction the bird when in a glance before looking down at Ember with a ‘go ahead’ motion as Awoken brings the topic back up.
: “I didn’t like the hummingbird.”
: “Why didn’t you like it?”
: “Don’t know. Bad vibes.”
wonders if he should follow after Wolf too, knowing Ravhi wanted him to look after Wolf as well.
: “This… lil’ guy, Ember? It looked from your reactions like he started being able to sing when the hummingbird got, uh, unceremoniously dogged into Virtues know where. And it seemed like it was important to him that… you all hear whatever it was.”
: “Also seems like a ‘no’ on the radiant gnosis swelling to change the … town I guess it’s becoming … this time? Wonder if that’s just because it’s not really a ‘building’ element. Hmm…”
: “It was definitely a bad vibes bird.” Archie nods, solemnly. “But there are unanswered questions about what kind of creature it is, how it ended up here, and how it was able to silence Ember’s song. An agent of silence - it couldn’t be related to the Architect, could it?”
: “Radiant is a building element though. Moreso than tenebrous.” She frowns.
walks back to the group, looking considerably grimmer, but less ‘uncontrolled’–for the moment anyway. “I’ve seen that bird before. The last time I sat with Ember. It didn’t seem to cause any harm, then.”
: “I mean… it seemed to be stopping Ember from singing, but.”
: “Like,”
: “Where are we on how world-ending that is?”
looks over at the Dog. Cautiously, somewhat reluctantly, puts his hand out to it.
raises an eyebrow at Salme. “Weren’t you the one that broke them down into physical and meta elements…? Burning, Pellicuid, Flourishing on the one hand and Radiant, Tenebrous and Liminal on the other…?”
: “Didn’t say it was world-ending, just said it gave me the bad tingles. It was here when I got here, I tried to say hi to Ember and it just looked at me like I had an extra eye growing out of my forehead instead of being down one.”
goes over to Wolf, and gently puts a hand on his shoulder, just enough so he knows it’s there.
twitches a bit at the touch, but nods to Dyu.
whines softly and nuzzles Wolf’s hand.
: “It was a theory and I’m … still not sure about it. But when I held all three—liminal, tenebrous, and radiant—the radiant was the definition, bones and stone, while tenebrous was shadow and wind and cold.”
looks over to Awoken. “Honestly, somewhat high. If things here can and want to cause interference with us and our allies, until we can identify and find ways to prevent or minimize the potential threat, the viability of this space as an escape is called into question. I think it would be wise to investigate, to the extent we’re able.”
slowly–very slowly–untenses enough to pet the Dog’s head…as he breathes, and pets, his shoulders easy. Slightly.
makes a somewhat-happier doggish sound at Wolf and presses his head in for pets.
nods back. “I don’t know what is going on, Yeresh, but I’m here, if I can help in any way.”
: “There was another animal here too, wasn’t there? A jaguar? I didn’t see it, but Wolf did.”
tangles his fingers in the Dog’s scruff, half-scritching, half something like clinging. “Aye. I…gave the jaguar pets.”
is very, very good at being clung to, and doesn’t seem to mind at all. Strong, sturdy, warm. An energy that it’s currently keeping well-banked.
looks like he’s about to say something, suddenly stops, and then it’s like he instantly recomposes. “Yeah… I agree, actually. There’s no way that lil’ thing is far from its nest.”
: “Why do you say that, Awa?”
: “Mmm… how much stock do we put into its assumption of form- being a hummingbird- to be relevant to its ability?”
perks his head up and growls an incredibly soft, ‘if that little fuck shows its face’, growl, but he’s mostly in sticking-close-to-Wolf mode for the time being.
: “I mean… in here…?” Aurelius hand wobbles.
: “I am also…dismayed. Last time I saw that hummingbird, it didn’t seem to cause Ember any distress.”
: “I’d guess any form carries a certain degree of meaning? Whether it’s … a true form is … yeah.” She mirrors the wobble hand.
: “Perhaps it is somehow tied to Mu. Though, I did not notice any birds there during our stay.”
: “Sure, with infinite possibility, anything’s possible. But we gotta have something to go on to really investigate.”
: “There was a marked lack of anything winged depicted in any way there. Beyond the uh, hidden one.”
bonks into Wolf very very gently and nuzzles him again.
: “And I confirmed that Ravhi had never even seen a bat or a bird before.”
: “Just whatever…was in the Sun.”
nods to Lucja. “A bit larger than a hummingbird, but important data point all the same.”
looks down at the Dog again, and slowly kneels to wrap an arm around its shoulders, leaning on it a little. “This one is known to me, too.”
barks the softest, happiest bark.
sits down next to Wolf and the Dog, offering a shoulder to lean on if he wants, or needs it.
: “Oh? How? Also, out of curiosity…” He pulls his spectacles and flicks through them, looking at the Dog. Once he’s seen what its gnosis composition is like, he drops them back down to his pocket and approaches for a gentle shoulder pat for Wolf and a hug for the Dog.
preens! His gnosis is… monumentally, comprehensively Doglike, but denser than you’d expect by far.
scratches behind his head, and casually walks over to Ember. He puts his hands in his pockets, and leans over to… sniff the top of their pile.
: “The first time I brought Ravhi to the Garden. He was curled up beneath the Crystal Tree. Ravhi…couldn’t see him.”
: “I also saw him. In the apostate caves, in front of the pillars of amphilyke. And then I took Wolf there, and we both saw him.” She smiles at Wolf, just briefly, at the memory.
: “He had a different form for you at first, though, didn’t he?”
: “Aye. Wasn’t as shaggy. A very smooth, short coat. Very pointed ears.”
gives Luĉja a wry look. “I didn’t think your budding menagerie was going to become quest-relevant,” though she’s amused.
softly barks, again. Leans back against Wolf as he’s leaned on.
ꙮ The perceptive of you notice black whiskers twitching in the air, lamppost-light catching on them briefly.
turns her head immediately and looks.
glances over, eyes narrowing–fingers tightening on the Dog’s scruff, seeing how it reacts.
whips his spectacles back out, making a full circle, trying to see where it went.
ꙮ A person could, perhaps, turn left or right, walk forwards or backwards. Even fly up into the air, or descend into the ground. One could look pastwards, too, while ever moving futurewards.
ꙮ A soft wet black nose pokes its way through from a direction that is none of these which I have mentioned.
perks his ears up, and his tail wags.
glances between the nose and the Dog before deciding to let it play out.
looks like he’s about to run off, but stops short, wrapping his senses around this new intruder.
: “A friend of yours, then?” Wolf murmurs to the Dog.
looks in that direction which she cannot name but knows. The direction that always pulls to her, or perhaps she pulls to it.
follows other’s gaze.
ꙮ The nose is followed by sleek black fur, which are followed by eyes, and the eyes are fixed on Salme, and by the time its ears are visible, Wolf at least recognises the melanistic jaguar that he met here, briefly, last time.
isn’t the kind of person to lose a staring context. She matches its gaze.
ꙮ The jaguar carefully extends a single paw from– it’s nearly impossible to look at it move, in the moments that it takes to step sideways into here from the there where it was, except, perhaps, for Salme– until after a few more steps that were also down and now-wards it descends and its paws touch the cobblestones.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: Every Void Has A Jaguar
observes its behavior, its movement, the Dog’s reaction. His training and instincts as a naturalist have wholly taken over.
sits down in the middle of all of you, and begins nonchalantly cleaning her paw.
: “Excuse you.”
can’t help but snort a laugh.
: “Ah.” She approaches the Crepuscular Cat, and kneels in front of her, but not touching. “Are you the one who noticed?”
gives Aurelius the universal feline expression of ‘you’re in MY space and I’m permitting it, so excuse YOU, really’. And then blinks at Salme.
listens to the song, not quite sure what is happening, but mutters another “Fascinating…”.
matches her blink, one long, slow, blink matched by another and then another.
whispers to the Dog: “She would bond with the cat.”
snorts very softly and wags his tail. And then, carefully, excuses himself, pads over to the Crepuscular Cat, and gives her one, single, very deliberate, very gentle bap on the snoot, before turning around to go curl back up with Wolf.
looks at the Dog, bemused. “Now what was that for?”
gives the Disreputable Dog the world’s most skeptical look, but she doesn’t seem bothered.
chuckles at the interaction.
giggles a little, so quiet only Caion can hear, as he continues to observe.
reaches up and touches the rose-gold rose that hangs between her breasts.
quietly murmurs. “(Does this sort of thing just… happen everywhere you go, then?)”
: “(Honestly, this is relatively tame, so far. Curious, but tame.)”
blinks at Ember, briefly, with her concentration broken by the Dog’s antics, and Ember blinks back, and she peers at Wolf, not unpleasantly, and curls up on the cobblestones with her tail artfully arranged under a paw.
: definitely looks amused at that. “Well, that may be all the answers we’re getting.”
: “So…” He turns to Caion. “Did they stick around? SQ’s goons, that is.”
straightens and stretches and lets this mystery, at least, stand for now.
: “I don’t think so? It sounded like they ended up back on the Beast, that’s how the Queen knew for sure it was safe.”
: “After everything I’ve heard a part of me was hoping she’d be here too, honestly. I’m sure I’ll end up running into her eventually.”
: “Yeah, apparently they ended up maybe resolving or intensifying a clan feud?”
: “Those are two very different outcomes.”
laughs with Wolf’s retort.
: “Covering all her options, I see.”
shrugs, because if Wolf wants to try to get more precise answers out of Jae, he’s welcome to it. “It does … I’m not sure how many of you saw Jorule’s message on the Linkpearl, but. We have some time before Valaïs and it might be worth thinking about how, and who, we’re going to get people from the irrica worlds here.”
exhales, nods. “I should send a message to Izaak.” He glances at Dyu, a little guiltily.
headtilts at Wolf. “Who is Izaak?”
: “I have some stops to make on each of the irrica worlds. Favors to fulfill, people to check in on. I’m happy to ask the others if they have any ideas while I’m out and about?”
nods to Salme. “I’ve already sent a report back through the Gate to Samudra after my initial exploration, and we’re sending out a message, and then Glass Ships, to everyone we can to gather by Tulinsuojat.”
smiles wryly. “A friend of mine, from back on my world. Someone who I would have trained to be a yeresh had all this not interfered.”
glances at his tomestone, flicking through it several times. He then nods and re-pockets it.
: “I’d… like to stay with you, as long as you’re here, but once you’ve moved on, getting as many people to safety as I can will be my highest priority, as long as I’m able.”
: “Figure out the who. Even if it’s the entire populace.”
: “Ahh! So he would have been to you, like I am to Teacher.”
: “The how…” He tilts his head from side to side.
: “I haven’t heard from Badri in a long moment. People on Almachadta still. Don’t know. Unless Izaak has told them.” A complex series of emotions flicker over her face. “And there’s the problem of the Gate on the Beast, and its location. I—would like to see Jae, before. Before whatever is going to happen, but.” She shrugs. “Someone needs to move it. Several of you are probably better equipped to do so than me.”
: “Aye.” He grimaces a bit. “What with everything, I have not stayed in touch as well as I should have.”
: “Feels like this place has been sprouting even more of these buildings since I got here, so room won’t be an issue, at least. I wonder if we can get hydroponics functioning, there’s clearly water sources… somehow. Anyways.”
: “Yeah, I said I would.”
: “At worst, we’ll need to manufacture a miracle.”
: “This place is already a miracle, if you ask me.”
: “Did you?” She says to Aurelius. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand or read it correctly. That’s good.”
: “Also speaking of water, one of you all should really make sure that dog gets a bath before it enters the building.”
lashes her tail in satisfaction before capturing it with her paw, again.
looks at the Dog, skeptically.
turns to Caion. “I’d like you to do more than to stay with us. I’d like you to stay with me, and here isn’t the only place I’m headed. We still don’t know what we’re up against, but it’s clear that every plane needs an Emissary right about now. So… what would you say to getting a grand tour of the cosmos?”
, meanwhile, perks his ears up at the word ‘bath’ and barks joyfully.
then nods to Salme.
beams at Archie. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, my love.”
chuckles, rubs the Dog’s head. “Huh, well. Suppose that’s doable, then.” He snorts softly. “I don’t think I’d want to be the person trying to get this boy into a tub if he didn’t want to go.”
tailthuds with ominous, devilrous joy. And also, luckily, genuine enthusiasm.