[RQ] The rest of the world is black and white

Elizabeth

The greatest gift
you can give someone

It took a lot longer than expected to find, so when Elizabeth finally spotted the small opening in the rock, she nearly cried with relief. The heat in the Climb was stifling and she didn't want to be here any longer than necessary. But the Soulfire Reach was an elusive little brat that didn't appear until her back was drenched in sweat and her hair was plastered to her forehead. As uncomfortable as it was, Elizabeth almost forgot them when the glowing crystalline structures were revealed. 

Glancing back at Evie as she made her way into the cavern, she huffed out a laugh. "I think we finally found it." Her eyes turned to take in the vast rainbow of colors that glittered along the walls. It was almost blinding in how much visual input she was receiving, yet she couldn't look away. Not even the sticky sensation beneath her feet or the coppery scent of blood deterred her from the sight. If she had more time, she might have been tempted to figure out how the light seemed to ripple without reason. However, they had an objective to fulfill. "Shall we?"

is the space to be his or her
authentic self.

She's the light in a dark room
She smiles with her eyes and it'll hold you

Evie - a native Grounds girl who is now Halovian through and through - is equally unsuited for this temperature and therefore utterly suffering. As Elizabeth moves forward into the cavern first and turns back to deliver promising words, Evie laugh-sobs in comedic relief. "Thank the gods. Why did we do this in Longheat again?" The answer is obviously because Frey had asked, but Evie still questions the sanity of their collective choices.

The glitter and shine of it all makes the ache of her legs and sweat on her skin feel far away for a brief moment. It's gorgeous. Even with the strange bloody substance around that Evie dearly hopes is similar to the Crimson Cataract's natural hue. "Let's do it," she asserts with a smile, wiping the sweat from her brow. Colorful is easy to accomplish here, it's a matter of unearthing them. With her magic it's hardly a problem, so Evie begins combing for surface level gems that strike her as truly colorful instead of simply reflecting the crimson color around them.

She's a bullet that's about to fire
And she's the steady that will keep you sane

Evie

Elizabeth

The greatest gift
you can give someone

Elizabeth laughs at Evie's question. "From one extreme to another, huh? Maybe we were drunk?" That has to be the only explanation, right? Because who in their right mind, choses to sweat out the entirety of their body's water content? Perhaps a god quest is motivation enough, but Elizabeth is finding it hard to justify that now. 

Nodding along, she joins in the collection of gems. Similarly to the Warden, she tries to find truly colorful stones rather than clear or red kinds that have chosen to copy their surroundings. A particularly blue gem casts a purple light against the wall, and Elizabeth immediately plucks it from the ground, admiring the sapphire appreciatively before dropping it into her empty bag that crosses her body. As she does so, she asks, "How's Erebos?"

is the space to be his or her
authentic self.

She's the light in a dark room
She smiles with her eyes and it'll hold you

Evie barks a laugh that would have her mother rolling in her grave over the lack of poise, teeth oddly blood-tinged in the strange cavern light as she grins. "Not nearly drunk enough, clearly!" Swiping away a layer of dirt covering a gem she's evaluating for color worthiness, Evie tilts her face sideways to peek back at Elizabeth. "When we get out of here maybe we should get mimosas? Something bubbly or fruity. Anything that will make me forget the sweat stains I'm leaving on these clothes." In fact they're hardly salvageable, but luckily Evie isn't exactly high-maintenance or materialistic. Hard to be when you live in the soil as firmly as she does.

Content with the vivid purple of the gem she's unearthed, Evie places it in her bag and then uses her magic to sweep air through the cavern - it's not the coldest inherently, but it's a nice stiff breeze that helps keep the oppressive heat of the cave off their skin. It nearly makes her miss what Elizabeth says, but she can pick her son's name out of nearly any level of murmur as a first time mom who can talk about little else. "He's beginning to crawl!" It's a gush of pride, the eager clasp of her hands luckily not impeding their efforts as her magic sets about loosening another gemstone without having to touch it physically. "I'm partly terrified of that, mind you. If he's anything like either of us, he's going to be getting into mischief the second he can move on his own power." Luckily grey hairs are easily hidden in ginger, right?

She's a bullet that's about to fire
And she's the steady that will keep you sane

Evie

Elizabeth

The greatest gift
you can give someone

Her eyes brighten at the suggestion. "Oooh. That sounds like a great idea. Ice cold mimosas, maybe poolside somewhere?" Elizabeth's clothes are similarly drenched, and she has no desire to spend more than the socially appropriate amount of time in them. A pool would be the perfect excuse. Or maybe even some shopping? She can always use a new set of clothes. 

Laughing lightly, she grabs an orange-y yellow gem from the ground, trying to figure out which color it really is in the red lighting. "Oh no. He sounds like trouble for sure." Her grin is light and playful but having seen Deimos in all sorts of dangerous situations, she's of a mind to agree with Evie. Placing the gem in her bag, she shoots the woman a joking wink as she says, "Maybe you should invest in a leash. Or some sort of magical tracking item." Knowing where the baby is at all times might help decrease (not eliminate) how much trouble he's able to find on his own. "Or just wrap him in so much fluff that nothing can touch him."

is the space to be his or her
authentic self.

She's the light in a dark room
She smiles with her eyes and it'll hold you

Though she and Elizabeth haven't had much time to get to know one another, Evie can't help but rejoice every time they are paired together even if it's only to work. She has the demeanor of someone Evie wishes she'd had close at hand back in the dark days of the barrier and the Grounds; engaging and witty, but not in the catty way Evie had once been as a defense mechanism. "Yes," she gushes, though it's more of a pitiable groan with how uncomfortably hot she is. "Here's the important question though: do you prefer orange juice or grapefruit for your mimosas?"

Maybe it's best not to mention that Evie - landshark-surfing, banshee queen boxing Evie - has similarly questionable traits that have surely been passed on to her son. It will only make her go grey even faster. "Or maybe both - a magical leash. If he gets hurt it can slingshot him back to the house." Her grin is smug, extremely pleased by this safety measure and the embarrassment it would surely also impart. Embarrassment is the best teaching method after all. Pocketing another gem, she turns back to Elizabeth. "Speaking of magic - how has your lightning been coming along?"

She's a bullet that's about to fire
And she's the steady that will keep you sane

Evie

Elizabeth

The greatest gift
you can give someone

"Definitely orange juice. Other options don't exist in my eyes." She raises her head in what she assumes is a 'dignified' manner before crumbling to let her laugh echo through the cavern, tinkling against the gemstones. "Honestly, as long as it's got cold alcohol in it, I'd probably still drink it after this." Her hands lift to point out the unlady-like sweat stains building on her pits and back. Luckily, it's so steamy, she can't smell anything that may have wafted up with the movement. "Do you already have a spot in mind?" It's more a plea than a casual question, wondering if wherever they go would mind the sweat and grime, or if there would be an opportunity to wash up. 

Elizabeth lets her arms fall back down as she picks up another gemstone, subconsciously steering clear of the purple ones to grab the spiky magenta crystal that caught her eye. Her smile twists up at the conversation, trying not to seriously consider the idea. "A magical leash would be really interesting. I think Ludo would have a lot of fun granting that quest." Not that she's ever met the herald, but bouncing a baby around all of Caido seems like something right up his alley. The mental image of a Erebos flying through the sky is enough to get her laughing again.

The next question has her sobering a little, but the smile stays, eyes bright at the exciting topic of *magic*. "It's been good! I actually had a lesson with Sah recently, and he really helped me get a handle on the aiming aspect. I also developed telepathy. That's been really convenient for getting books off the high shelves." She'd previously stuck to lower shelves to keep from having to use the stool Deimos made for her, but now it was nearly obsolete. Magic sure could be convenient in the right situations.

is the space to be his or her
authentic self.

She's the light in a dark room
She smiles with her eyes and it'll hold you

“I’m more of a grapefruit fan, but that just means more for me!” Evie grins over her shoulder as she bounces a gem in her hand jauntily before dropping it into her bag, like a particularly self-satisfied thief instead of a sweaty taskmaster. “There’s a great cafe I know of - they won’t have anywhere to change, but gross as it is I can evaporate our sweat magically before we go in?” It makes her cringe a little to say, but she laughs her way through it because it’s surely better than looking bedraggled and risking getting turned away at the door. 

Evie stifles a laugh as she sorts through the gems currently in her bag, determining the odds of success given the strange cast of lighting. She certainly doesn’t want to have to trudge back in again. “That’s the real issue with being Abandoned - Frey is the most amenable to us, but likely wouldn’t see a need for a leash!” And given Evie’s over-familiarity with death, she isn’t much of a Ludo follower. Drat. 

It’s no surprise Sah has helped her in her lightning journey given his own expertise, and Evie is deeply proud to hear of their combined proactiveness. “That’s amazing! Telekinesis is so versatile, you’ll find an application for it almost everywhere.” Evie has certainly done so, from fighting to pranks to everyday household tasks. “Well I’m a terrible recruiter but if you’re ever interested, I’d be happy to enroll you as a student at the Academy. Our numbers are a bit low so I haven’t been hosting many sessions - but don’t let that pressure you either!” Evie doesn’t want her to join to avoid feeling guilty over enabling the hiatus the academy has been on. Eager minds are the best sponges she’s found. 

Turning from the wall, she moves back toward Elizabeth and touches the stone to command the earth to part from the spiky cluster the woman seems intent on, all resistance vanishing. “I think that’s plenty even if we have a few duds. Wanna get out of here?” Her grin is akin to a schoolgirl proposing playing hooky instead of a regal allowance from a Warden. That sort of ruling isn’t her style even if she didn’t feel much more friendly toward Elizabeth naturally.

She's a bullet that's about to fire
And she's the steady that will keep you sane

Evie

Elizabeth

The greatest gift
you can give someone

As much as dried sweat sounds just as bad as wet sweat, Elizabeth grimaces with a light chuckle. "That's probably our best option." And it may turn out to be worth it for the overwhelming relief of a cold beverage. A shower would just have to wait. 

Palming another few colorful gems, she fills up the last empty portion of her bag. It weighs heavy on her shoulder when she shifts to stand. She rolls her eyes dramatically at the downsides of being Abandoned, her voice playfully sarcastic as she says, "Ugh. The struggles." Like having magic and all. Being Abandoned may have its downsides, but Elizabeth wouldn't trade it for the world, and she is confident Evie shares her sentiments. 

Especially as they talk about the benefits of magic and the Academy. She's pleasantly surprised by the offer, turning quickly to the Warden with a large smile on her face. Her impulse is to interrupt, but she waits patiently for her to finish before saying, "Wow! Thanks, Evie! I don't even have to think about it. It's a resounding 'yes.'" She giggles, excitement bubbling up. The trainings would be helpful, but even without them, Elizabeth is giddy at the opportunity to share knowledge and expertise with other magic users. 

Groaning loudly, she straightens her sticky damp clothing. "I thought you'd never ask." More than happy to play the schoolgirl accomplice, Elizabeth skips forward to join Evie as they exit the stifling cave, determined to quench their thirst on fruity, bubbly alcohol.

[FIN]

is the space to be his or her
authentic self.