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RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 09-22-2024
Hauling her out of the crack in the earth easily enough, Danta focuses at first on getting his bearings as well - for as much as he has gotten used to the changed landscape of The Climb since awakening from his own long slumber, the hot and rugged region can still catch him off sometimes. Finding a landmark he'd used whilst prowling among the rockery, he orientates himself and turns to Ana, only to find her gone.
Gone enough, at least, that he has to take a few steps to see where she's leaped away to, and a laugh erupts from his throat to see that she has snagged a lava crawler to sate her bloodlust. [say]"Those creatures are new,"[/say] he remarks. New to him at least - perhaps they had been rather common in Ana's time, only to disappear and resurface now.
[say]"At your service,"[/say] he trills, offering her his arm so they might begin to pick their way down to the portal he'd mentioned. [say]"It would be my pleasure. And perhaps we can see about getting you a change of clothes while we're at it? Lovely as you look now, I daresay you could look even lovelier."[/say]
So saying, they begin the trek down into the tunnels known as The Burrows, the light turning from bright and garish to deep and glowing thanks to the rivulets of lava that continue to flow. Soon enough, the portal is upon them - a strange and translucent doorway set into an archway of obsidian. [say]"Are you ready?"[/say] Danta grins.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 10-31-2024
Anahita inspected her hands, red-stained, and licked the blood off her fingers on the way down. [say]"It scratched the itch."[/say] She noted with a satisfied lilt in her voice, [say]"Though I prefer something with a little more fight."[/say]
She wiped her hands on her dress, took on the posture of a well-mannered damsel in distress, curtsied with a crooked incline of her head, and hooked her arm under Danta's. [say]"Lead the way,"[/say] she smiled, oddly comforted by the warmth of his skin, and let him guide her through the misty landscape. Her eyebrow raised at the comment on her dress, and she inspected the black fabric - dusty, somewhat discolored and lightly blood-stained. [say]"That's quite possible."[/say], she conceded, [say]"Though it was a new dress but an hour ago."[/say] she finished with an abrupt laugh.
Ana tried to keep track of the tunnels' winding ways as they went, but remained as lost as she'd been since waking. Before long they stood before the obsidian doorway, and the hum of magic filled her ears. Gaze lost in the portal's glassy surface, she was stirred from her thoughts by Danta's question. A pleasantry, no doubt, but [say]"- an odd question to consider,"[/say] she remarked as a sharp grin spread across her face. [say]"As ready as ever for another step into the unknown."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 11-01-2024
[say]"A woman after my own heart,"[/say] Danta purrs, his free hand fluttering dramatically to his chest. [say]"You might find a few things worthy of a fight in the Grounds, though not in the Inner Quarter where we will arrive. That part of the region is quite civilised these days."[/say] Much to his surprise and delight, especially given how inherently chaotic most of the population remains.
[say]"An hour ago for you, centuries for the dress,"[/say] he says; it isn't a disagreement, but equally so, he was also a victim to changing fashions when he first came out of the stone.
Then it's to the portal, and he flashes Ana a sharp, fanged grin at her response. [say]"That's the spirit,"[/say] he chirps, and with a halo of fire appearing around them, he leads them forward.
The reason for his magic becomes clear as they exit the portal - directly into a bonfire held at bay by Danta's manipulation of the flames. Guiding her out until they stand upon neat cobblestone in a bustling square, he gestures to the heart of the Hollowed Grounds. [say]"Let me formally welcome you to the region. Not as warm as The Climb, but more than pleasant enough, I assure you."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 11-02-2024
A breathy laugh escaped her as the flame swallowed them, and spat them out into the square. Green eyes narrowed to discern the shapes distorted by the roaring bonfire at her back, indecernable faces turning towards them as they emerged, houses winding in the hot air, snakelike.
When the roar of the fire gave way to the chatter and clamor of the square the figures closed in like wraiths, malicious and jeering, looking for blood.
Ana froze, gaze fixed, voice caught. Her hand sought Danta's... And just like that, the moment passed, and she saw the square for what it was.
Her hand withdrew quickly. [say]"Mm, yes. Thank you."[/say] she stepped out onto the cobblestone, watching for movement in her peripheral vision. [say]"The Grounds, you said?"[/say], she uttered calmly, the smile on her face a practiced mask. [say]"Come on then, take us somewhere more than pleasant."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 11-04-2024
Glancing down at the hand that closes around his own, Danta barely has time to form the words to question it before the touch pulls away once more. A private individual himself, he chooses not to pry, instead matching Ana mask for mask, charm for charm. [say]"I did indeed. The Hollowed Grounds is its full name - a rather dire moniker if you ask me, but I doubt we could change it at this point."[/say]
He offers her his arm so they might head off across the square, Danta's steps sure and easy as he leads them towards a set of well lit and ornate steps downwards. [say]"This,"[/say] he explains, gesturing to the boulevard that winds off and away at the bottom of the steps, [say]"is an area known as The Last Whisper. My own establishment is down there, a little place called The Dusklight. You can feel free to make yourself home there for as long as you wish. It also has a fine selection of liquor."[/say]
And it's a brothel. But, you know, Ana will probably realise that as soon as she sets eyes upon the place.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 11-12-2024
Happy to keep moving, Ana took the offered hand, her touch turned light and stiff. As they descended down and away from the open square, she let Danta fill the silence as she reasoned with herself:
These were just lingering visions from her stone-sleep. The slick cobblestones beneath her feet, the recognizable fragrance of a living town, the skin of the person leading her onward... they we real, an anchor to keep the murmuring paranoia in check.
Clearly, the Hollowed Grounds, however eerily named, were not a lifelike hallway into a twisted afterlife she was about to be shoved into by a devilishly charming man, straight through the scarlet-lit doors of a brothel.
Her arm slipped from Danta's and she looked him squarely in the eye, incredulous. There was humor in the ancient's voice when she spoke, for wouldn't it be funny if she was led straight from one set of chains to the next. [say]"And is there... expectation for me to work for room and liquor?"[/say], she asked, crossing her arms and licking her lips while they spread into a predatory smirk. [say]"You should know, this is a good idea only if you like your patrons devoured."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 11-16-2024
The Dusklight comes upon them, bustling and salacious and yet, for all intents and purposes, seeming quite safe for a place of chaos and debauchery. And as Ana's hand slips from his arm Danta turns, having been holding the door open for her, only to let a musical laugh spill from his lips. [say]"Of course there isn't,"[/say] he drawls, letting the door click shut once more after nodding hello to one of the staff within.
[say]"You are an Ancient in a city of Ancients, my dear. Accidents happen, should it come to that."[/say] He winks. Granted, it isn't exactly encouraged (not publicly), but Dygra knows Danta would defend the residents of his region should the worst happen. [say]"You aren't the first person I've dug out of the stone. I make it a custom to offer a place here for a few days, until you're back on your feet."[/say] And if it goes beyond that? Well, that's Ana's choice.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 11-29-2024
Patient, reassuring, warm as an oven within a gingerbread house... Gingerbread brothel?
Fangs retreated back behind her lips, traces of a smile frozen into the corners. Crossing her arms, she stepped up to the tall man, eyes fixed on his, focused, as if trying to peel back the pretty words and the pretty face to find the trap hidden within. [say]"See, it's when you say things like that that you make the hairs on my neck stand on end,"[/say] she drawled, a hand coming up to trace the lining of his shirt where it scantly covered his shoulder. [say]"A city of Ancients you say? And you personally go around picking us out of the stone and bringing us here..."[/say]
Her eyes flickered sharply over Danta's shoulder to a lone passer-by that emerged up the street, dragging his feet as he went. A quick look-over suggested he was not one of the shades descending after her from the square above. She shook off the creeping feeling of dread as it emerged, and steeled her focus. [say]"What is your game?"[/say]
A gentle awakening, displacement by at least several hundred years and a house of pleasure to recuperate in? She might have been ready to accept two of the three.
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 11-30-2024
Eyebrows raise as Ana all but squares up to him, Danta tilting his head and trying not to let his smile run away with itself. Given his own past (savage, starved, enslaved) he supposes he can appreciate suspicion in the face of any sort of assistance, especially something freely offered. [say]"I can make your hairs stand on end in all sorts of places if you ask nice,"[/say] he purrs. [say]"And I wouldn't say I personally do it. I never look on purpose, but you're the third I've burned out of the stone, if I had to count."[/say]
As for his game, he can't help but scoff out a laugh. [say]"Ah, you got me,"[/say] he drawls, leaning casually against the doorframe of the Dusklight entrance. [say]"Fine. I don't just own this place--"[/say] he pats the door affectionately, [say]"--I, uh, happen to be in charge of this whole region. I like having useful people here - ones with a shared interest, too."[/say] So, yes, usually Ancients.
[say]"But listen, if you don't want to stay here, I won't make you. You're free to find somewhere to stay here - or to even head back to The Climb, if that's what you want. The portal we came through goes both ways."[/say]