TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
NOTES: -
► Show Spoiler
- - -
- - -
- - -
As Luna voiced her inquiry regarding Hilana's experience with the sands of Atraxia, the elven siblings moved further along through the gallery. As they descended deeper into the building, the work displayed shifted from paintings to sculptural pieces done by a different, yet equally skilled, artist. Luna was not as familiar with this person as she was the painter, though she had met him prior on the opening night of the exhibition.
"She has! A lot of her childhood, actually, was spent out in the sands with her maternal family; however, by that time, her mother had passed. It's interesting, I think, to hear her talk about her life as a nomad, much as the idea of living out in the desert sounds…painful for one of my unique constitution." And though he said this with a bit of a laugh, being half-Winter Court legitimately made the desert heat difficult for him to bear. Doing so was, of course, possible, should adequate preparations be made, but otherwise? On top of the discomfort, there was a significantly increased risk he'd suffer from heatstroke.
Luna's own interest was piqued. "Oh, you'll have to tell me the stories sometime! …either that, or you'll have to introduce me to her. I think I'd prefer that; that way, if she's learned anything fun about you, I'll get to hear it!" The woman giggled, mischief drawn across her expression. "Oh, but speaking of heat, how are you faring with the second sun being raised? I can't imagine that's…exactly ideal for you." The Sceptre of Aværys was as pretty as it was fascinating, but the additional hours of daylight weren't necessarily appreciated.
To what Luna had said regarding getting Hilana to share secrets about him, Æros merely squinted at her. To her question, "...it isn't, no. There isn't a lot that can be done, really, aside from my just staying indoors. Enchanted clothes and crystals do help alongside time spent in the Umbrium, but I do miss the night's respite." And for as much as this might actually irritate him, his tone was pretty relaxed– there was nothing he could do about it, so there was no point in fostering ire.
"If such a thing truly is for the Solar Sovereign's jubilee, then, I imagine, it will not be a permanent thing; you can take solace in that, I suppose." Granted, her voice didn’t sound quite so sure of that. Neither she nor Æros were entirely confident that the sun would fade afterwards, nor were they that convinced of the purpose for which it apparently served.
Before her brother could respond, Luna paused, her eyes lighting up when she noticed something. “You do still have it!” She spoke with a bright sort of glee in her voice.
Æros tilted his head, confused. “Hm?”
“The ring– your gift! I had thought that it had been lost on your way to Tertium; I heard about that, you know, though the details varied depending on whom one asked. Little though it may be, I did want you to know I still cared very much.” She smiled as she talked, looking down towards the ring on his finger upon which was mounted a crescent-shaped dragonshard.
Looking down at the ring briefly himself, Æros smiled softly. “Oh, yeah– I had it on my person; I didn’t lose it….but I can only imagine the varying speculation about that,” and though he rolled his eyes, he was quite curious about what others thought. The official explanation was rather boring, really, and he doubted many believed it.
“I imagine you like that it’s such a mystery, but will you at least tell me whether or not you actually encountered a beast touched by the mists?” Luna inquired, eyes wide with wonder.
To that, he did not at first respond with words. Channeling æther through his rune of Masquerade, he recreated the mist-cursed scorpion to the best of his abilities, at least, as well as he could remember the thing. Ghastly as it was, he couldn’t exactly capture how truly terrible of a situation he had found himself in since he couldn’t exactly make it to scale without terrifying the other patrons within the gallery. Instead, the simulacrum he’d crafted was only about the size of a cat and floated in the air between the both of them.
“I did, actually. One of the already uncomfortably large scorpions was made even, ah, larger…and disgusting, but what touched by the mists isn’t?” Æros said during the process of drawing the image in the air.
Luna looked fascinated by the image, her expression remaining oddly giddy given what was depicted. For a moment, she was speechless. “And I imagine it was larger than one of the wagons, even? How frightful! I’m glad you survived, though I do wish, perhaps, that the thing’s body could’ve been recovered for study…” Her words were quick and energetic at first, though they shifted to more contemplative as she went on.
In response, Æros just laughed. “That is the last thing anyone was thinking about at the time, I assure you.” He was barely conscious when he was carted away in the aftermath and everyone around him was only concerned with finding safety in Tertium.
“Oh, I figured as much, but still!” Luna replied with a shrug.
The two of them now stood before a statue of a many-headed serpent, everything lovingly crafted down to each individual scale on the beast. As the two gazed upon it, both utilizing the Craft of Semblance, there was a lull in their conversation. Æros bounced between moments in the stone’s Echo as the sculptor gradually worked through it to completion. Their process was a fascinating one, enchanting it at the end with a bit of Masquerade, giving the marble a beautiful reflective property.
Once they began to move on to the next piece, Luna spoke up with yet another question. “I do have to wonder, dear brother, wherever did you meet that boy you recently acquired as a slave?” She posed this inquiry with a feigned innocence in both voice and face.
Æros stiffened at the question, crossing his arms. “You would ask after him, wouldn’t you?” He breathed out a sigh; he would have to lie, but at least it didn’t, ultimately, matter whether or not she believed him. She wouldn’t say anything against him. “I heard of him and his family when his house fell– as did many others. People talk; eventually, I heard on the lips of others that he was for sale, and…it’s rare for a slave to have magical talent like he does, isn’t it? So I inquired about his availability and, upon meeting him, decided I wanted him. It’s really all rather tedious…” He trailed off, trying to make the situation far more bland than it really was.
“Oh, Æros, you’re hilarious! I don’t believe you at all; I’ve seen the two of you together.” She giggled, giving him a knowing look. “I suppose I’ll just have to draw my own conclusions, then– unfortunate that we can’t speak more freely…but I do understand that we do have decorum to maintain.” While she did want to know more of the details, her internal assumptions were not actually very far from the truth.
“You may think what you will…just…don’t talk too much. I’d rather not give mother yet more reason to complain about me, though I don’t doubt at all that she’s already heard and has.” From his tone, she could tell she was right.
“Oh, she’s a bit suspicious, but there’s nothing she can really say at the moment, venomous as she is. Regardless, it’s not as if her judgment would do much to split you apart; you’ve got more people that want good for you than you know, Æros,” Luna smiled sweetly.
Eventually, the siblings would wander all the way to the bottom of the gallery, continuing to catch up with one another’s goings on. At the bottom, there was a Traversion portal maintained by a member of staff. Stepping through it, one would find oneself at the entrance, providing an easy way for guests to leave once finished.
"She has! A lot of her childhood, actually, was spent out in the sands with her maternal family; however, by that time, her mother had passed. It's interesting, I think, to hear her talk about her life as a nomad, much as the idea of living out in the desert sounds…painful for one of my unique constitution." And though he said this with a bit of a laugh, being half-Winter Court legitimately made the desert heat difficult for him to bear. Doing so was, of course, possible, should adequate preparations be made, but otherwise? On top of the discomfort, there was a significantly increased risk he'd suffer from heatstroke.
Luna's own interest was piqued. "Oh, you'll have to tell me the stories sometime! …either that, or you'll have to introduce me to her. I think I'd prefer that; that way, if she's learned anything fun about you, I'll get to hear it!" The woman giggled, mischief drawn across her expression. "Oh, but speaking of heat, how are you faring with the second sun being raised? I can't imagine that's…exactly ideal for you." The Sceptre of Aværys was as pretty as it was fascinating, but the additional hours of daylight weren't necessarily appreciated.
To what Luna had said regarding getting Hilana to share secrets about him, Æros merely squinted at her. To her question, "...it isn't, no. There isn't a lot that can be done, really, aside from my just staying indoors. Enchanted clothes and crystals do help alongside time spent in the Umbrium, but I do miss the night's respite." And for as much as this might actually irritate him, his tone was pretty relaxed– there was nothing he could do about it, so there was no point in fostering ire.
"If such a thing truly is for the Solar Sovereign's jubilee, then, I imagine, it will not be a permanent thing; you can take solace in that, I suppose." Granted, her voice didn’t sound quite so sure of that. Neither she nor Æros were entirely confident that the sun would fade afterwards, nor were they that convinced of the purpose for which it apparently served.
Before her brother could respond, Luna paused, her eyes lighting up when she noticed something. “You do still have it!” She spoke with a bright sort of glee in her voice.
Æros tilted his head, confused. “Hm?”
“The ring– your gift! I had thought that it had been lost on your way to Tertium; I heard about that, you know, though the details varied depending on whom one asked. Little though it may be, I did want you to know I still cared very much.” She smiled as she talked, looking down towards the ring on his finger upon which was mounted a crescent-shaped dragonshard.
Looking down at the ring briefly himself, Æros smiled softly. “Oh, yeah– I had it on my person; I didn’t lose it….but I can only imagine the varying speculation about that,” and though he rolled his eyes, he was quite curious about what others thought. The official explanation was rather boring, really, and he doubted many believed it.
“I imagine you like that it’s such a mystery, but will you at least tell me whether or not you actually encountered a beast touched by the mists?” Luna inquired, eyes wide with wonder.
To that, he did not at first respond with words. Channeling æther through his rune of Masquerade, he recreated the mist-cursed scorpion to the best of his abilities, at least, as well as he could remember the thing. Ghastly as it was, he couldn’t exactly capture how truly terrible of a situation he had found himself in since he couldn’t exactly make it to scale without terrifying the other patrons within the gallery. Instead, the simulacrum he’d crafted was only about the size of a cat and floated in the air between the both of them.
“I did, actually. One of the already uncomfortably large scorpions was made even, ah, larger…and disgusting, but what touched by the mists isn’t?” Æros said during the process of drawing the image in the air.
Luna looked fascinated by the image, her expression remaining oddly giddy given what was depicted. For a moment, she was speechless. “And I imagine it was larger than one of the wagons, even? How frightful! I’m glad you survived, though I do wish, perhaps, that the thing’s body could’ve been recovered for study…” Her words were quick and energetic at first, though they shifted to more contemplative as she went on.
In response, Æros just laughed. “That is the last thing anyone was thinking about at the time, I assure you.” He was barely conscious when he was carted away in the aftermath and everyone around him was only concerned with finding safety in Tertium.
“Oh, I figured as much, but still!” Luna replied with a shrug.
The two of them now stood before a statue of a many-headed serpent, everything lovingly crafted down to each individual scale on the beast. As the two gazed upon it, both utilizing the Craft of Semblance, there was a lull in their conversation. Æros bounced between moments in the stone’s Echo as the sculptor gradually worked through it to completion. Their process was a fascinating one, enchanting it at the end with a bit of Masquerade, giving the marble a beautiful reflective property.
Once they began to move on to the next piece, Luna spoke up with yet another question. “I do have to wonder, dear brother, wherever did you meet that boy you recently acquired as a slave?” She posed this inquiry with a feigned innocence in both voice and face.
Æros stiffened at the question, crossing his arms. “You would ask after him, wouldn’t you?” He breathed out a sigh; he would have to lie, but at least it didn’t, ultimately, matter whether or not she believed him. She wouldn’t say anything against him. “I heard of him and his family when his house fell– as did many others. People talk; eventually, I heard on the lips of others that he was for sale, and…it’s rare for a slave to have magical talent like he does, isn’t it? So I inquired about his availability and, upon meeting him, decided I wanted him. It’s really all rather tedious…” He trailed off, trying to make the situation far more bland than it really was.
“Oh, Æros, you’re hilarious! I don’t believe you at all; I’ve seen the two of you together.” She giggled, giving him a knowing look. “I suppose I’ll just have to draw my own conclusions, then– unfortunate that we can’t speak more freely…but I do understand that we do have decorum to maintain.” While she did want to know more of the details, her internal assumptions were not actually very far from the truth.
“You may think what you will…just…don’t talk too much. I’d rather not give mother yet more reason to complain about me, though I don’t doubt at all that she’s already heard and has.” From his tone, she could tell she was right.
“Oh, she’s a bit suspicious, but there’s nothing she can really say at the moment, venomous as she is. Regardless, it’s not as if her judgment would do much to split you apart; you’ve got more people that want good for you than you know, Æros,” Luna smiled sweetly.
Eventually, the siblings would wander all the way to the bottom of the gallery, continuing to catch up with one another’s goings on. At the bottom, there was a Traversion portal maintained by a member of staff. Stepping through it, one would find oneself at the entrance, providing an easy way for guests to leave once finished.
- - -
'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
