+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: black and white (/showthread.php?tid=9648)
Pages:
1
2
black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
It hasn’t been long since Astaroth had been to this shrine – given he’d only just received his quest not that long ago (enough to make a precursor trip to the Climb to give an offering, before he returned here to give its matching twin). Only this time he requests different company – only because he figures that he can only manage to wrangle Danta in for so many things given his usual duties.
So the letter had been sent to Maea instead, a request to meet him here, close enough to where they’d first officially met when there hadn’t been any crow shifts to spook him out of his skin.
The trek is another difficult one, made somewhat easier by the torch he carries in lieu of his cane and the fire magic at work to keep himself warm, finally breaking into the space for the shrine of ruby clusters and lighting some of the already burnt out torches from within to watch as the light dances along the faces of the gemstones. A bag resides in his other hand, that he sets aside for the moment as he waits for Maea’s appearance, tail flicking idly like a content cat despite the thick coat and scarf he wears.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
He didn't have to wait long, as she was already there. The quiet footfslls approaching him came from within the dark cavern. Preceded by the dim glow of firelight, Maea came into view as she rounded a bend in the crevasse. Pale and petite, she could have been a ghost if not for the roses the chill air had painted on her cheeks. The faint ring of bells chimed from bells dangling from her horns, silver bangles meant to be saved for special occasions quickly becoming a favorite accessory to the usual dark dress and black coat.
[say]"Hi Asta. If I'd heard you coming I would have held the fire for you,"[/say] she greeted him, keeping her voice soft so that the echo wouldn't grow too loud. Something about the darkness down here led her to walk softly, as though making a racket might might be frowned upon.
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
“[say]Hello again, Maea, darling.[/say]” Comes the deep rumble of greeting, dark eyes taking in her appearance and the addition of bells. His smile twists into something broad and sharp as it always had been, and yet ever the gentleman, the butcher inclines his head toward her in a small little bow. “[say]That’s alright. I brought my own.[/say]” Flashing her a slightly sharper smile for a moment, he gestures to the torches he’d relit, before he turns his dark gaze back toward her.
With the fire doing wonders to heat the smallish cavern, Astaroth sheds the scarf wrapped around his face and the outer coat, adjusting his sleeves from having been bunched up and ensuring the vest he has on hasn’t gotten too wrinkled. “[say]I am glad to see that you are back.[/say]” He comments – given that aside from the building of his office, the last time he’d heard from her she intended on staying in the Climb for an unknown period of time.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
[say]"Ah, that's good then."[/say] While more than willing to share from her own magic, Asta clearly had his own way of doing things and she was not about to get in the way of that.
Falling in beside him, she retraced her steps and paused only briefly along the way to pick up a bag she had left when she heard him coming down.
[say]"It's good to be back,"[/say] she replied, with a clear note of relief. [say]"After I'd calmed down, I had a long talk with Charlie... and with Danta. I think... we might be alright again."[/say] The quick smile lit up her face, relief and hope lending a renewed brightness to her expression.
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
Flashing her that same sharp smile, he inclines his horned head a little – the flickering flames extending out the shadow of his pronged horns on the wall behind him, elongating them in spidery shapes. “[say]I agree.[/say]” He muses, by means of becoming a bit stronger since the last time she’d seen him – stronger fire magic and such, to be exact. For now, though, he is his old self, if not for the stitching that appears when he rolls his sleeves up to get to work – a slice clear down his arm, mostly healed, but with stitches to keep it held together while it does. It’s likely it’ll scar, but the butcher doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest.
“[say]It’s incredible the things clear heads can accomplish, is it not?[/say]” He asks, before he nods gently in agreement nonetheless. “[say]You did press quite a few buttons on our dear Theocrat. I am glad that things feel better between you two.[/say]” And he was, truthfully. “[say]Charlie has been a breath of fresh air for us all, it seems.[/say]” Himself included, unable to keep from being drawn to her golden retriever energy and the information of how things were once upon a time for them. It drew him in like a moth to flame.
Either way, he collects his bag and moves toward the bowl where the sharp edge of the ruby sits where blood has dried amongst the gemstone, and he stands on the opposite side of it – like a dark priest as he begins to withdraw his trinket – a carefully crafted bone nest with ramphire feathers and the long since beating heart of a creature nestled in the middle (a replica of the one left in the obsidian cathedral). “[say]If you would like to give Dygra an offering as well, you may.[/say]” It wouldn’t affect his, and he doesn’t mind if she would like to participate in it as well.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
Despite the reluctant grimace that wrinkled her nose, Maea had to agree. No small part of the process had undoubtedly been to unload too - something she still owed Asta a lot of thanks for.
[say]"He hit some right back,"[/say] she murmured, [say]"so we're quite even there. It seems I put far more stock on his opinions than I realized."[/say] She cast a hasty glance at Asta. [say]"Please don't tell him I said that."[/say] Maes didn't want to seem like the type to act based on the approval or disapproval of others. Especially not when it came close to being true.
Reaching the ruby cluster that marked the shrine proper, she set her bag down. [say]"I did bring something. Yours is, uh..."[/say] she gazed at it, eyes catching on the bones; mind grinding to a halt as mental wailing started up in her brain, [say]"... elaborate. Is that - ?"[/say] Human? She shouldn't be asking. Didn't want to know, even when she already knew what he was like.
Slowly withdrawing a small box from her bag, she set it down next to Asta's grotesque creation and opened it. Within lay a plain white feather - one of hers, actually - that had been coated with the blue-tinted steel of her tiger shift. A rather personal offering, it was certainly humble in comparison, though heartfelt.
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
Despite the quiet admission Maea offers, the butcher’s laugh is a deep one that echoes off the walls as he nods his horned head. “[say]He does hit hard.[/say]” There’s some commonality, there, reminded of their arguments and fights from even before they’d both turned to stone and became gargoyles left behind for centuries. “[say]There, now we both share a secret we shan’t tell him.[/say]” Raising a brow playfully (because he absolutely doesn’t want Danta to know he said that the Maverick hit hard), Maea might find that the butcher is in far greater spirits than he has been before – something about getting closer to Dygra, hearing the petname from her falling onto his shoulders really seems to bring him out of his typically quiet and watchful self.
Nodding encouragingly for her own addition to the offerings, Astaroth sets his down and steps aside, arms locking easily behind him as he bows his head while Maea leaves her offering, inclining his head toward her curiously. “[say]Perchance it is better to not ask.[/say]” It was human bones, of course, but these one had been resourcefully collected from the clinic within the Grounds, from those long since passed who’d opted to let their bodies be utilized for science, or something along those lines. He hadn’t asked.
He does lean in, though, to inspect the feather – knowing fully well what it’s from but the addition of the steel certainly lended a beauty to it. “[say]That is a beautiful offering.[/say]” He compliments instead, settling back on his heels, his dark gaze returning to her curiously.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
Sealing the pact in a breath of soft laughter, Maea felt a warmth settle into her chest that had nothing to do with fire. It tided her over the cryptic non-confirmation that her suspicion was true, and softened her reaction to a simple reproachful look at Asta - one that came without words, or any real feeling behind it.
The compliment did surprise her, but she looked rather pleased. [say]"Thank you. What do we do now? Just leave them, or something else?"[/say] Burn them, bleed them - apparently there were a lot of options, according to Charlie. Gazing more closely at the sculpture he had brought, Maea had to admit that there was a certain aesthetic to it. Her feelings about the materials aside, it clearly stemmed from a culture unfamiliar to her, both primitive and blunt in a way that certainly made her feel things.
[say]"Is this a common style from your time?"[/say] she wondered, craning her neck back to look up at him.
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
Sensing her reproach yet seeing her soften at the compliment, Astaroth tilts his head a fraction as he peers back at both of their offerings, as if debating what exactly to do with them. “[say]I was intending on burning mine, however, you don’t have to if you would prefer not to.[/say]” He muses, hands appearing again to maneuver some of the flame from the nearby torch to guide it over toward his offering, starting with the feathers on the outside and charring them before it begins to make its way toward the fleshy heart within.
“[say]Which, darling?[/say]” He asks, referring to the offering style or something else. “[say]I simply had a bit of time on my hands and, despite everything, can be quite crafty.[/say]” Glancing back at her as he carefully maneuvers the flame around his offering, he flashes her an easier smile. “[say]I had plenty of time on my hands back before, so my offerings always tended to be… Elaborate. Not that there is anything wrong with anything else.[/say]” He reiterates her comment from earlier, before expanding on the thought as well, amusement crinkling the crows feet in the edge of his dark eyes.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
Nodding, she guided a lick of fire to the feather as well. A scent of burning keratine spread as the soft down blackened and curled in on itself. The steel did not melt so easily however; it merely glowed at the edges and tried to fuse itself to the rubies.
[say]"The offering,"[/say] Maea elaborated, keeping her gaze on the smoldering sacrifices. [say]"It's just so different from anything I'm used to. It's like... I'm continuously reminded of how little I know of the time you come from. Sometimes it makes me feel a bit left out. Mostly I get the feeling that I should be acting very differently from how I am."[/say] Between him, Danta and Charlie there was this other kind of sense for what was right and normal, that was both alluring and repelling at the same time.
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
Once his offering is charred to his satisfaction, Astaroth removes the flame from his own to watch as Maea burns her own – watching the feather curl in on itself with an internal note of satisfaction to see such a thing, he shifts a bit to go and stand beside her, watching her utilize the fire magic in an attempt to burn the metal part of the feather alongside the conversation.
“[say]It was quite a different time.[/say]” He hums as if in explanation. “[say]Morality, itself, is a swinging pendulum. You follow a moral compass of what society has told you to.[/say]” He shrugs a shoulder relatively casually, tail swishing lightly in light of the idle conversation as his attention remains on the burning feather. “[say]As I have learned from the surviving tomes in the Atheneum, society has become far stricter since I was around.[/say]” And it boils down to that, as far as he’s concerned.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
Her tail coiled slowly behind her. It had to be strange, needing to adjust to new rules when a lifetime of doing something a certain way suddenly didn't apply anymore. Though it was only the faintest of comparisons, she only had to look at herself and the changes wrought to habits and traditions since the LongNight monsters supposedly disappeared. Normally, this time of year would be a frantic preparation for the dreadful end of the year - yet here she was, having done nothing to secure her home.
[say]"Mmh. And yet from what I have heard about some of the worlds the outlanders came from, it's a lot freer than many other places."[/say] Scratching her nose, Maea considered. [say]"Would you want to go back, if you could? To your time?"[/say]
RE: black and white - Astaroth - 06-19-2024
It was strange to get used to, but it wasn’t hard. Especially when you had the ability to learn quickly and adjust, given ground rules as Danta had given him, and with the basic understanding of what this world deemed right or wrong. Of course, he pushed the envelope, he had before he’d become Ancient and melded into a society that believed what he did and allowed him to be himself. He’d been a monster (still was) to many outside of the Climb and even to some of those within.
Again, society played a large part.
“[say]I can imagine.[/say]” Astaroth muses, because it hadn’t been that different back then, too, he’d just been on the freer side (provided he didn’t fuck up, and if he did, punishment was swift, which is precisely why the stitches in his arm keep the skin tight to heal after he’s had an overreaction).
Her next question draws another echoing laugh from him and the shake of his head. “[say]Absolutely not, darling.[/say]” He admits, flashing her that sharp grin. “[say]I quite enjoy being free to my own devices. I do not wish to be used again.[/say]” Even though it had felt like paying back at the time, given that the Ancient’s that found him had saved him from dying out amongst the volcanic rockery. He’s slowly learning. And learning just how easily society pits people against each other for no better reason other than petty, historical upset.
RE: black and white - Maea - 06-19-2024
She was perhaps a bit surprised how much that answer pleased her. Asta's laughter and swift assurance eased a worry that had not been dissimilar to what she'd held for some outlanders in the past. For all its flaws and restrictions, this time and this world was really one she loved, when it came down to it, and she felt better knowing that it was a sentiment they could share. And, perhaps more irrationally, it meant that her friend was not about to leave and go somewhere she could not follow.
[say]"I'm glad,"[/say] came her soft reply, a small smile playing on her lips. [say]"For what it's worth, I rather like having you around. Strange habits and all."[/say] Her tail made a playful swipe at his, and as the flames died down on the altar Maea leaned aside ever so slightly until her shoulder brushed against his arm. It was awkward and tentative, but affectionate all the same.