Haunting essence

in all chaos

Psyche preferred the waters from the Eye of the Storm to any other in the city for cleansing. Aviya, too, agreed with the woman. So when she was sent, she went. With her basket of jars and her thin cloak, she headed towards the hot spring. Even though Longheat was still here, the evening air bit at her skin in a way that the darkling didn’t enjoy. The cloak was flowy enough that it didn’t cling to her legs as she walked with a stride of purpose, but still warm enough to keep even the memories of autumn’s coming chill off alabaster skin.

At the fringes of the great city, where the cobblestone streets yielded to wild measures, Aviya came to the familiar spring. Crickets chirped and alerted others as she crouched on blended knees to collect the warm water. Aviya worked deliberately but not quickly, with a calculated carefulness that saw she didn’t spill a drop as she filled each empty jar and replaced their lids in turn.

there is calculation

infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky

So maybe it wasn't the most pious response to having just met with a god, but after his prayer Tal wanted to scrub the experience off his skin. It hadn't gone well, and he was having a real hard time figuring out where his consent figured into the last task Frey had set him.

Scowling, he headed out of the Celestine and took a bee-line for the Eye of the Storm. Soh had suggested that he should check it out sometime if he needed to relax, and boy did he need to relax right now. The burly pale dragon that accompanied him was unusually quiet as she padded along a few feet ahead of him, broad talons leaving prints in the grass for her human to follow in.

He was already stripping down, grumbling as he pulled his shirt over his head while he walked, and not being particularly stealthy in his approach. "I dunno, girl. I mean... this is what I wanted... isn't it?" The dragon gave a noncommittal snort, then stopped sharply as she spotted Aviya in the dappled shadows near the edge of the spring. Tal, head still lost in his shirt as he finished getting it off, tripped over her tail with a yelp of "Hey! What're you--" and stumbled forward...

Right into the hot spring, pants, boots, and all, sending up a splash of water all around.

in all chaos

Aviya's gaze flickered briefly as the unfortunate soul plunged into the waters with a resounding splash. Her eyes then flicked to the dragon that accompanied him, the first thing that spotted her. A faint smirk tugged at the corners of her lips, barely noticeable amidst the tranquility of the evening. She continued her task, methodically filling her jars with the soothing liquid, indifferent to the commotion nearby.

With each jar filled to the brim, Aviya's satisfaction grew, fueled by accomplishing the task for Psyche but also in the stranger's struggles. Corking the last bottle, the nightshade's daughter cocked her head and spoke. "It's indecent to be naked in public." In Aviya's world, compassion was a luxury she couldn't afford.

there is calculation

infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky

As he thrashed back to the surface with more strength than skill, Tal's toes found the bottom of the springs and his head broke free of the water just in time for the prim censure from the - oh shit - woman who had apparently been there before him.

"Uh... I'm... I didn't mean..." Tal stuttered, his brown skin flushing dark with a fierce blush of embarrassment. "I've still got my pants on!" he finally managed to protest, even as he cast about desperately for his shirt. The garment wasn't immediately visible, and Boreal was no help at all as the pale dragon sat at the edge of the water, chortling merrily at her companion's discomfort.

The traitor.

"Uh, look, I'm real sorry about... if I splashed you, miss... but..." He paused, edging to the far side of the spring from the woman and sinking down to his chin in a self-conscious effort to hide his bare chest from her. "D'you see my shirt anywhere?"

The darkness was surrounding them even more now, "Correct me if I am wrong," which she hardly was, "but it appears that your intentions were to bath in this spring." The woman shifted her body and set the bottles of the spring water beside her in the grass. She rested on one hand and straight arm, while the other she flicked in the air. "Do you often to that with your pants on?" She couldn't help but notice the general disheveled look about him (which, for her standards, didn't take much to be labeled disheveled).

At his question, Aviya lifted a dark eyebrow and pointed. The white fabric waved as it soaked up the water around it and headed for the bottom of the spring.

aviya nightshade

"I mean... yeah?" He didn't squeak, but the half-naked courier was clearly on the defensive as he watched the primly perfect lady on the other side of the spring. He pushed dripping hair out of his eyes, nose wrinkling as he got the feeling that she was maybe making fun of him. "S--one o'th'locals said lotsa people come soak here!" For some reason he couldn't explain, he was hesitant to name Soh directly to the stranger.

"Not with my pants on, but I have shorts..." Shorts which were currently in his Bag, which was soaking in the water with him. Tal swore as he realized how much of his stuff was in danger. "Hail an' damnation!" He shot back up in another spray of water, revealing a lean but muscled body with the prominent scars of some large beast's claws along one side of his torso. He hurriedly snatched his Bag off his belt and tossed it to Boreal before he dove back in after his shirt. "Thanks, lady!"

Surfacing with the shirt a moment later, he held it protectively over his chest, hesitating again now that he had to decide whether to stay submerged in the spring or slink out under her gaze.

”In more appropriate attire.” She said, voice resonating with a cold scolding. Her eyes narrowed slightly, looking the man over and over. ”So you’re not from around here.” She declared plainly, the cold tones of her voice losing temperature as the seconds passed. She stood up and brushed the front of her clothes down, noting the tiny circles of wet fabric where Talyson had splashed her. ”Soaking and bathing are two very different things.” She looked him up again for good measure, even though most of his body was still submerged in the warm water. ”And it looks like bathing would suit you better.”

aviya nightshade

Tal winced at her chilly tone as much from the realization of what he'd given away... but hadn't exactly been trying to hide it, either. "Never said I was," he responded grumpily as her tone did its best to freeze the hot spring solid. He opted for hiding back in the water, shirt clutched in front of him as her eyes roamed over him--

And clearly found him wanting.

His mouth turned down in its usual defensive scowl as she educated him on the proper use of the Eye of the Storm. Boreal watched the back-and-forth with all the interest of a judge at a ping pong match but wasn't doing anything to offer him backup, so Tal could only push another damp tress of dark hair behind an ear. "Yeah, well, your attitude stinks, lady," he grumbled back at her aristocratic hauteur. "An' there's not enough soap in all Stormbreak t'clean that up!"

Shocking blue eyes turned from man to dragon and back to man, and she smoothed down her skin again. "Hmm." She hummed, a smirk replacing the slight grimace she had taken on while inspecting and judging the man for what she believed he was worth. "I tire of this."

Whatever this was, really.

Gathering her bottles of spring water, all for Psyche, Aviya gave the man another once over for good measure. "I'd say it was nice to meet you, but" she paused for a moment, her smirk opening enough to reveal fangs, if she were to have any, "it wasn.t" then she turned on her high-heeled feet, and stalked off into the night.

FIN

aviya nightshade