OPEN

[takenblack]

Who: Yenh and anyone else!
What: An adventurer has arrived, with a lot of questions and a lot of free time.
When: Late May
Where: Everywhere, basically.
Warnings: None yet, will update as/if needed!

[Freshly dumped into the village with nothing else but the clothes on her back and a fancy magical book, Yenh decides that all she can do is gather information. After all, the Mistress' books were... enlightening... but not especially helpful for getting the full sense of the situation.]

[It's also a welcome distraction from the feeling of being stripped of power and purpose, which, well, she doesn't want to get into at all.]

[Stuffing the book and white feather quill down the front of her tunic, she begins exploring the land in earnest. Going into the wilderness before she is properly acclimated seems like a terrible idea, so it's time to talk to the locals—and she does get her questions answered, as well as several invitations into their homes, or at least to behind their woodsheds or whatever. She passes them up, but kindly. Much too busy right now.]

[It is in this spirit of anticipating both answers and sexual advances that this short cat-lady with a book crammed into her shirt might approach a certain someone—namely, maybe, you. Her lionish tail twitches idly as she approaches and stands at a very appropriate distance, though maybe a little closer if she has to tap you on the arm to get your attention.]

Hail, stranger! I'm new to these lands. May I ask your opinion on this realm?

Comments

[takenblack]

[She tilts her head and frowns thoughtfully, putting her hands on her hips.]

Truly? [Glancing back at this man who can only be described as "pointy," she considers how much or how little to say. Especially when the first thought that comes to mind is How wicked and wild were the tumbles back home?. Then again, she's only seen a little bit of public sex while wandering around today. Maybe that's as strange as it gets. Maybe you get used to it.]

[So instead, she decides to let him do more talking.] Then, what bores you the most about it?

[ignisvulpes]

[It's probably a good thing she doesn't voice that thought. Kaph is the kind of man who would spin the wickedest and wildest of tales to make himself look good.]

Weeell... The Mistress took a few things away from me when she brought me here, see, and I miss them. That's the biggest problem, really.

[takenblack]

[ Before she can stop herself, her eyes drop to his crotch. Lifting them back up as hastily as she can, Yenh laughs awkwardly. There is no way he meant that, Yenh. Get it together. ]

I see! I see. Whether by her design or by coincidence, I find myself unable to tap into my aether for spellcasting.

Do you mean something like that?

[ignisvulpes]

[Oh, he catches that. And what's more...]

Pretty much, actually! All my powers are gone. It's why I took the apprentice gig, you know... I really feel like I need to get some magic back in my system. You feel me?

[The last chick he tried to talk to about magic just looked at him like he was crazy. This is gonna go great.]

[takenblack]

[ She is happy for him that he still has his manhood. ]

[ Given the way he delivered his slang, she assumes he isn't propositioning her. Yet. The conversation is still fresh, and she loathes to admit that she cannot stop thinking in the gutter. But that's likely to be expected in a place like this, right? Maybe? She's a bit embarassed with herself, truth be told. ]

I believe I understand. [ Her fingers twitch, each in turn, as she thinks about the familiar feeling of the land's power coursing through her. Now, though, it is just a dumb movement with some dumb internal flailing as she reaches for magic and finds emptiness. ]

Tempting as it was to follow that familiar path, I've no idea if the Mistress is a worthy woman to swear fealty to. Do you find yourself content to service- to be of service to her?

[ignisvulpes]

[You know what? He feels firmly in his comfort zone by now. In fact, he's pretty sure if he just handles things the way he usually does, everything will be fine and dandy. Finally, the pure, unfiltered Kaphlar Experience.

... Okay, maybe, like... 10% filtered. He can't get anywhere by being completely sincere.]

You wanna know my honest opinion? She's a goddamn slave driver, is what she is. [He sighs, a little theatrically - but his frustration IS real.] I haven't learned a thing yet! The only thing she's had me do all month is write dirty letters for all her fuckbuddies.

[takenblack]

[She leans back in surprise, wobbling slightly as she fixes him with a wide-eyed stare at his sudden outburst. And then, she laughs. Not at him. It's a surprisingly warm laugh given the situation—one of familiarity, as she's struck with nostalgia.]

Is that not simply the way of the apprentice? I remember my guildmasters having me do similar tasks. Once, they sent me out on their behalf to weep and beg the forgiveness of merchants—for drinking the merchants' wares without payment, of course.

[ignisvulpes]

[... Should he dial that back down?-- Wait, is she laughing?

The tension in his hands - curled fingers readying themselves to summon a flame they can't actually reach anymore - vanishes when he realises she isn't laughing at him.]

What, and you just took it? No complaints?

[takenblack]

[She shakes her head, the smile still on her face.]

None! I've found that doing what I'm told often yields some manner of fruit. And in that case, I learned that sometimes 'tis better to swallow my pride, and to avoid aggression.

And, a lesson my masters had not meant to teach me, but I learned all the same: not to be a complete idiot about other people's property.

[ignisvulpes]

[He is... not exactly impressed. He doesn't get it, really; how can you get anywhere just doing what people tell you? Especially when it's frivolous nonsense?

Kaph slaps his best "casually curious" look on his face.]

Say, what would have happened if you just told your masters off?

[takenblack]

[ She blinks, her eyebrows knitting as she considers his question. ]

Why would I have done that? It would have accomplished little but to make hostile those who could and did teach.

[ignisvulpes]

Eh, fair. [He shrugs.] Would have ruined your chances at learning anything substantial, right?

[takenblack]

Precisely!

[ She smiles, her ears and tail bobbing up in affirmative. ]

My advice is to stick it out a tad longer. Or, I suppose, study more independently! What sort of magic do you usually employ?

[ignisvulpes]

[Studying independently has occurred to Kaph, but he's still a little sour on the idea. He's used to these things coming naturally to him.]

Fire magic, mostly. A little shapeshifting here and there.

[takenblack]

[The smile of familiarity slips immediately into surprise. She's very careful in how she words her next question; it's as neutrally said as she can manage.]

Are you- are you of demonic stock?

[ignisvulpes]

[... Well, that's an interesting question to ask. He raises an eyebrow.]

That probably depends on your definition of a demon. Why?

[takenblack]

[ She manages to sound oh-so-light. After all, neither of them has powers. Finding a knife and stabbing him with it wouldn't accomplish much if he wasn't a present threat to begin with. ]

Curiosity! That particular blend of abilities is rarely found beyond the Voidsent. Glamour is certainly not so uncommon, but actual shape-changing...

How would you define a demon?

[ignisvulpes]

[Well, if he'd been completely honest, he would have used the word "glamour" rather than shapeshifting - after all, all of his abilities were technically illusory.

But he can bring that up some other time. He shrugs.]

Over where I'm from, people usually just call whoever's got magic powers and isn't human a demon. Pretty reductive, if you ask me!

[takenblack]

[ The emotions that pass plainly across her face start at shock, then move into horror, disgust, and finally confusion. ]

Is it truly such an uncommon ability that people believe such nonsense and slander?

It's so a common gift in my land! No one thinks twice about the study of conjury or thaumaturgy or any other school of magic.

[ignisvulpes]

People don't talk about it much. Most don't even believe it's a real thing.

[That said, he doesn't seem too bothered by this.]

[takenblack]

[ She shakes her head. ]

I suppose you must be used to that, but to me? It's truly unthinkable.

[ Sighing, she resolves that there'd no point to being so jarred about someone else's world. She holds her hand out to him. ]

Well! I've been called many things too, flattering and otherwise. But my mother named me Yenh Quryoja, which is what's most relevant here. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[ignisvulpes]

[To him, it sounds like this Yenh is from some kind of... magical, fanciful fantasy land. Which isn't unbelievable on any fundamental level, since he is currently in a magical sexy porno fantasy land. It just seems silly to him; hard to imagine. Not that he spends a whole lot of time imagining what other people's lives are like.

In any case, that doesn't matter. He takes her hand and shakes it with a confident smile.]

Kaphlar Kinra, at your service. The pleasure's all mine.

[He may or may not also be giving her A Look. A kind of "Hey, babe, were you staring at my dick earlier because I'm fine with that" look.]

[takenblack]

[ She sees that look, and chooses to be coy about it. Whatever thoughts are bouncing around in his head, she can't fault him for them. Yenh has no doubt the local culture will get to her, too, in time. For the present moment, there will be no additional dickgazing. ]

Well, Kaphlar. What do you do? I'm an adventurer—and I'm not at all bad at it, if I may say so.

[ignisvulpes]

An adventurer, huh? Sounds like fun! You could call me a free spirit of sorts too, I guess. Just sort of doing odd jobs here and there. You'd be surprised to hear how profitable that can be!

[... For how much Kaph had settled into his life before the Mistress snatched him away, he never could be bothered to come up with a solid line to give people when they asked about his job.]

[takenblack]

[Fortunately, Kaph is exactly speaking her language right now. Her ears perk forward, and she feels a budding kinship that she usually reserves for fellow adventurers.]

Oh, but I'm not at all surprised!

Adventurers often take up odd jobs on their travels to fill their purses; not every deep dive into dungeons will be profitable, after all. I myself have done nearly anything you can think of.