(not a critique, Tired. Just made me laugh again is all :) )
(Also, quick reminder that Arcturus does a lot of his magic subconsciously, without even realizing he's doing it. I swear he's not just a jerk constantly trying to use magic on people :/ It happens when he's being earnest or sincere about a thing)
(Lol yeah sknadjnaxkn)
Arcturus furrowed his brow for a second, confused. What I'm trying to do- oh…. He consciously worked to turn off the charms in his voice. I wonder how much I've been doing that to him…
He sighed and reached into his pouch. This time, he pulled out a sprig of lissuin and crushed it into the side of the glass. The fragrance filld the air, for a brief moment, before it faded. He swilled the glass, then sat cross legged next to Bane and held out the glass again.
"There. Shouldn't bother your stomach or make you sick at all now." He was working very hard to keep his voice neutral this time.
Bane looked warily at the elf, curious what he might do. He carefully sat down, setting his legs off to his side. The hound stayed silent, the majority of his face afflicted with a neutral expression. His eyes, however, read distrust. Looking at the elf, his eyes started to narrow and his mouth pulled at the corners of his lips. Calm down, he’s just trying to help. It took time to gain Bane’s loyalty, and right now, he was the equivalent of a scared child. He may have escaped his fathers— chokehold of a grasp, but now the Hellhound was left to wonder the world by himself. And the kicker? He’d never been introduced to any way of life outside of what he knew.
Bane watched Acturus crush the plant into the drink, scared to take it when it was given to him. “You aren’t trying to poison me, are you?” He hesitated, retracting his hand back before taking the glass of wine. He sneezed when he got a whiff of the fragrance, his nose being super sensitive. “I don’t think that plant of yours can change my physiology. But I’ll take your word.”
Arcturus shook his head. "Would probably just try to stab you if I was going to attack. And it just takes all the edges off the wine. It'll taste better, smell better, be less alcoholic, more flavorful, and less likely to bother anyone's body." He shrugged. "Give it a shot. If you don't like it, I'll finish it, that's good stuff."
He looked up at Leila. "You were saying?"
Leila waits, eyes narrow. She doubted anybody had noticed how strange her eyes were, which were pupilless and jewel toned, much less the fact that she was a bit too slim to be a healthy human child. She clears her throat and takes a drink of her wine before continuing.
"As I was saying, I saved you because of a dream. And I brought you here because I saved you. That, and I need company." she replies.
Bane looked down at the glass of wine, watching the purplish-red liquid swirl like a whirlpool. “Please don't attack me. It wouldn't be worth it.” He shakily put the glass up to his lips, the liquid splashing around. “I hope I don’t throw up later.” He took the plunge, tilting his head back and the liquid entered his mouth. Bane moved the glass away from his mouth, puzzled by the taste of the alcohol. “It tastes like fruit.” His nose was scrunched, but it wasn’t in disgust, it was the fact the taste was different. Something he hadn’t tasted before. Some different. He could put his finger on it, only the fact that there were fruity notes. “A dream? Like a vision?” Bane took another sip of the wine, entranced by its odd taste. Probably because of Arcturus’ plant. “Are you going to keep us here forever? Or do we get to go on.. like missions or something?” The hound paused, looking closely at Leila. “You aren't human, are you?”
Leila tilts her head.
"A dream-vision." she sighs, knocking back her wine and frowning. She snaps her fingers and a bottle of some sweet smelling liquid and takes a drink straight from the bottle. Its effects are immediate: her face becomes flushed and her eyes are bright with alcohol.
She casts an appreciative glance at Bane.
"You're right. However, whatever I am, I do not know." she says. "What I do know is that I am 10 years old."
"And as for keeping you here. . . I couldn't. I can't." she says softly.
Eventually, Nix wandered back over to the group, and sniffed Leila in case she had any shiny things hidden on her seemingly plainly dressed person. They then nodded, as if to acknowledge that she was the reason they were here and alive, then said down to comb through their scalp again. When they found a louse, they played a little with it in their fingers, then crunched it between their teeth.
Bane took another sip of the wine, seemingly not effected by its cursed effects. A curious tail manifests, swaying side to side. The hound's eyes widened, and he mumbled under his breath. His manifested tail was that of a wolf's but fluffier and slightly longer. It displayed all of Bane's emotions upfront and only manifested itself under extreme emotion. Extreme curiosity would do it. The thing that upset Bane the most? He had no control over when the tail manifest or demanifested. The second thing he hated about it? He thought it made him look too cute and non-threatening. Sighing, Bane started to ask every question under the sun. "What was this…dream that warned you of us? Why couldn't you shelter us? And how do you not know what you are?" He sat on his last comment. He couldn't imagine being ten and not knowing why you exist. "Did you know the other? The one that quietus' hand took? Because I definitely did not drag his soul down to hell." The hound played with his neckless. A reminder of who he was and what he was. The charm attached? It was the symbol of antimony. A representation of the wolf and the wild.
Leila looks uncomfortable at the first question.
"It's not that I can't shelter you. I can't keep you here. I am. . ." she falters, vulnerable. "Nevermind. It doesn't matter."
She looks away, eyes containing a sadness greater than many adults; she ignores the first and third questions. No point in trying to answer questions you've been trying, and failing, to answer yourself.
"Sardoth? I know. . . knew him." she whispers. Abruptly, she gets up and disappears without any indication of magic.
Arcturus sat, watching. He could sense ripples of magic around the girl, but nothing menacing yet. He nodded with Bane's questions, curious himself, and noted which ones she answered and which ones she didn't. He noticed Bane's tail with some interest. Hellhounds notoriously didn't let those show often. It was either the situation or the lissuin, he wasn't sure. He kept an eye on the goblin, making sure they didn't steal anything.
Leila's sudden departure was a mild surprise, but not terribly shocking. She seemed pretty upset about Sardoth.
An arrogant oaf, but clearly one who has done some good.
He looked around, studying the library, looking for an exit. She said she couldn't keep them, and his brother was waiting back in Edhellond for him.
Still, for all his brashness, something tugged at his heart. The Thenuviel's were a deeply religious family, and in that moment, Arcturus heard the voice of Orome the Huntsman nudge him.
Help this one.
He took a deep breath and settled in his spot, closed his eyes, and reached out intentionally with his magic. He sent tendrils of it out into the air, seeking the girl, telling any who encountered them that he was safe, a friend, and he would help. This was one of the few things his father had insisted he learn to do on purpose.
He sat, and reached, and waited for Leila to come back.
Or for some other light to illuminate his path.
(For the record, this girl's magical power is a ticking time bomb. The pulses coming off her are slow and steady, and actually quite weak, so Arcturus would have no clue that he'd been right next to what is effectively a magical nuke. Quite fun, no? In the end, she's the opposite of Sardoth.)
Leila senses Arcturus searching for her and sends a pulse of energy his way without thinking about it.
But considering how much energy was inside her, she'd already been found. She sighs, wishing, not for the first time, that she were more normal. That she could hide as easily as other people. That she could make and keep friends. And that she wasn't cursed.
(oooOOOO I'm excited. and yes, I just meant he's catching little ripples. no clue what's up yet)
Arcturus felt something, maybe a response? But he knew better than to push it, so he just kept sending the same reassuring tendrils, not rushing, not bullying, just persuading that he was a friend.
It didn't come naturally to him. He was a very neutral Elf in many ways, but he'd worked hard at this skill.
He decided to risk catastrophe and nudged the same tendrils in Bane's direction as well, trying to help the hound calm down a bit.
(And Bane casually freaks out lol)
Bane whimpered, his tail drooping and wrapped his tail tightly around his body. Had he’d done something wrong? It was just a couple curious notions, not like he was asking her very personal questions. Maybe they were personal questions and he just hadn’t understood the severity of the questions. He dropped his wine glass, the shattering of the glass piercing his ears. All the red liquid spilled out onto the floor. His whines got louder. “Did I say something wrong? I was just curious.” Bane stuck his nose in the air, sniffing for a trace of Leila. He stood up and scanned the bookshelves with interest, but he couldn’t find what he needed. “This is my fault, isn’t it? Dad was right. I am a screw up.” The hound was in distress, especially over the fact his questions made the girl disappear. “Am I an issue?” He question.
(Poor doggo, trying to be friendly.)
Leila sighs when the pulses don't relent. Intent wasn't exactly easy to read like this. She activates a mental link between her and Arcturus.
"What are you doing, exactly?" she asks him telepathically.
"Bane. It's not your fault." Arcturus kept his eyes closed, and made sure his voice was steady but soft. "She's a tad worked up, you both are. It's been a weird introduction, you're asking normal questions, you didn't overdo it and you're not a screw up." He pushed more of the tendrils in Bane's direction, not wanting to accidentally try to charm him again, but wanting to help the hound stabilize.
They all needed to calm down a bit.
Also because he needed some quiet. The battle had been very loud, and the library echoed a lot, and Bane's whines were very high pitched and driving his sensitive ears crazy.
But mostly to help.
The link caught him slightly off guard in the midst of his focus, and he jumped internally. Nahar's Hooves! Hello? He took a deep breath and refocused. What am I doing? Just trying to help us make sense of this. We're all a bit confused and you have answers we need. I just want you to know you're not among people who will take advantage of that vulnerability. He nudged her with a tendril tinted more with honesty than anything else, trying to persuade her he wasn't lying.
(Let’s wait for Not Denki pls!)
(Yeah. Pause this for now.)
(Sorry :X hard to stop once the writey brain juices are flowing)
(Lol. I get it; once you're on a roll, it's quite difficult to stop.)
(Remember that they have 2 characters ^^; it’s a lot)
(True. I'll apologize once they get back.)
Sutechi's eyes widened as he saw Leila disapear, and his eyes widened as she did and looked between bane and Arcturus before letting out a soft sigh.
"It probably wasn't your fault Bane, just so you know. You don't have listen to me, because you don't know me really. However just from what I saw I wouldn't say you did anything wrong."
He had taken off all his armor and was just wearing a simple tunic and pants with a cloak.
Emerse made a comment how she didn't like the feel of this and didn't drink the wine that she was offered.