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Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 11:21 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
74 Frost, Year 122
[Closed - Æros]
Hilana had timed her Semblance initiation in order to take advantage of her day off. She had spent the 71st at home, the windows covered as much as Vasilei could manage with the sheer number of plants that Hilana had everywhere. She largely stayed in her bed aside from a few forays to the bathroom and the kitchen. Risdra, as cats were wont to do, did not care a whit that her human was dealing with threshold sickness. Her bowl was empty, mother, and this was a crime against felinity. A travesty of incalculable tragedy. And oh, how Hilana heard about it as her giant cat, who was largely content to stay with her and Tiaz and keep her company, meowed at the top of her considerable lungs right into Hilana’s ear.
But after the first day, she felt much better. Armed with teas and concoctions, the Vastiana made her way to work. Pitas layered with date jam made for a great breakfast, and while Vasilei watched her like a hawk, Hilana deemed herself back to normal and in need of working. Until she got a headache that persisted for a few hours until she took something for it; but the Vastiana didn't complain. She just took her medicines and got on with it. It didn't stop her from using her new Rune on multiple targets. Plants, Tiaz. Fiya. Vasilei. Patients that came in. While it took a lot of effort to focus and determine details, and it may have been limited in how much she was able to glean from her focal point, Hilana was not discouraged. She just had to keep practising. The more she did it, the better she would get.
It took a lot of effort, and just like it had at the beginning of her Elementalism training, it wore her out. It was such a strange way of sapping and sponging off her excess energy when she did it with enough frequency. She used Tiaz as her main model, working to learn to read and recognize the details of the targeted aura that she knew well. In time, it would be easier to understand them, but for a complete novice that was a few days out of her initiation, she wasn't about to stress about it. She focused mostly on his emotions and physical properties, and as snakes went, Tiaz was incredibly easygoing and relaxed. Nothing seemed to rile or upset him, and even if it did, he tended to just curl up in her rucksack or on her shoulders.
The aromas of cooking food and warming spices filled her apartment. The tagine held the chicken as it worked along, and the big pot of couscous that she was making to go on the side of it that would last for days of meals. That suited Hilana just fine - the side dish was versatile enough that it could go with everything else that she made, really, and it was filling. There was a tray of sweet and spicy carrots roasting in the oven, and the tomato salad was in a dish on the table. She didn't know how hungry Dominus Æros would be, but she'd rather have a nice spread than not. As she worked, Tiaz lounged on his table-top stand in the light of the window, and Fiya was hanging out on Hilana's shoulders, all draped and relaxed.
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 12:40 pm
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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On the day of Hilana’s Semblance initiation, the girl had offered to show him around the apartment in its entirety, including the room containing her collection of serpents. Though Æros held ample curiosity, he assumed that doing so would be a rabbit hole of its own and he didn’t want to waste too much of her time that day, and as such, he declined the offer. He was a little surprised to hear how spry she was only a few days after, but given who she was and the medicines she had fairly free access to, he supposed it made sense. Eager as he was to poke around that room, he wasn’t going to decline the offer this time.
Arriving around when she’d told him it was ok, the starry senator knocked on the door, but being impatient, he tried the handle and found it already open. And while he was letting himself in, he didn’t want to surprise her too much, so he did opt to announce his presence. “Hilana?” He called out to her, though it was easy enough to just guess where she was given the fact that the whole apartment smelled of fresh food being cooked. Wandering into the kitchen, his friend would see that, though he was dressed fairly normally for his tastes, he’d brought a friend– little Lydia had wrapped herself around one of his horns and appeared content just sitting up there on his head.
Looking around at the various cooking accouterments that were out as well as what food was present, this was quite a lot. “Cooking for many or just to save some of this for the days to come?” He inquired, one brow raised. This, of course, was not abnormal for her, but still.
Another had taken note of the horned half-blood’s presence– Hilana’s cat, Risdra, who had approached him and began to rub her body against his legs in a manner rather demanding of his attention. Not one to decline the fuzzy feline, he knelt down to pet her.
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 3:43 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
“Hello, Dominus, how are you?” Hilana greeted him when he came in, turning from the stove to smile at him and offered him her small bow before she emptied the couscous into the large serving bowl. The pan of toasted pine nuts went into the couscous, before bowls with the other accoutrements were added to it. Lemon, cumin, cilantro, parsley, shallots, and raisins all went into the big serving bowl, and the girl stirred it around to mix it up. “And Lydia,” she smiled to see his littlest companion hanging out on his horn. That was clearly a very happy, contented snake, and the young woman was happy to see it. She was clearly growing and doing well, but she rather expected that, between Æros’ and Khyan’s combined knowledge and skills. “She’s doing well, isn’t she?” Hilana sounded quite admiring of the lavender female snake that was coiled and enjoying her vantage point. "Hello, beautiful."
She looked at the spread of food on the table and that which she was still stirring. “The couscous goes with pretty much everything, and we have tajine chicken, roasted sweet and spicy carrots, tomato salad, and there’s loukoumades for dessert. Or, at least, there will be, those are always best hot, but the batter is resting,” Hilana explained. “So mostly for us, but the couscous will keep for a few days and I’ll get into it,” she was cheerful. Cook for many, and if others came, then perfect. If not, lots for her, and the Vastiana had no problem eating the same thing for days at a time. “If you like it, then I can pack a big bowl to go home with you, too.” Food was one of those things for her that she enjoyed sharing, and found another level of connection with people that she did share her meals with. Friendship, at its very core, was sharing, after all.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Hilana offered once she’d set the overly-large bowl of couscous on the table and pulled the cone-shaped tajine dish out of the oven with a set of thick oven mitts. The dish went onto the table in the trivet, and even more scents were unleashed through the opening at the top of the cooking vessel before the tray of rainbow-coloured carrots came out and were gathered into yet another serving bowl. She would fetch him whatever drinks desired - he knew from a few days ago what she had, after all. Ouzo, mead, tequila, juice... She smiled at Risdra, who knew she was onto a good thing now that Æros was all too happy to pet her. The big bengal meowed and began to purr, clearly satisfied with being worshiped and adored by their noble guest.
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 8:18 am
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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“Oh, well enough,” Æros began, lifting one hand to his chin and crossing the other arm over his chest in consideration of his answer.
“Not much new since we last spoke. I hope to find more time to practice Reaving in the near future, though.” He’d been a bit busy, but he’d make the time.
When Hilana approached, Lydia’s little beady eyes set their gaze upon her, eyeing the girl curiously. She was bigger than before, and certainly appeared well taken care of. “...and yes, Lydia is doing quite well, I’m just…a bit covetous of her in terms of my concern for her well-being, so I don’t take her out much, but I figured today, why not?” He genuinely was fairly paranoid about that.
“I see you’re handling threshold sickness well enough, which is good, but…don’t exert yourself too much; wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” Ætheric strain was far easier to accidentally wade into shortly after an initiation; this was something Æros was painfully aware of first-hand.
While she spoke of what food she had made, the horned hybrid knelt low to the grown, giving his most obvious attention to Risdra, though he was listening to his friend. “I might want to bring some with me, yes,” he replied, despite not shifting his gaze away from the cat who’d apparently enchanted him.
Her question regarding what he wanted to drink did have him pause for a moment, thinking, because she did have a variety of options, generally. He wasn’t quite sure what she kept ‘round the house, though. “Whichever mead you have on hand that’s the sweetest.” He’d start there, given his preference for sweet things, but also because he wanted that contrast to the mostly savory foods she was preparing.
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 2:08 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
“Why not, indeed?” she nodded, smiling up at where Lydia was settled. “She looks very good indeed, nice and healthy. Did she shed recently? Her skin looks proper.” Hilana knew snakes well enough that she didn’t need the brand-spanking-new Rune that Dominus Æros had so recently painted on her scalp but a few days prior, and while she didn’t reach to touch Lydia without his consent, the warmth in her symphony suggested she was quite pleased to see that he had brought her with him. Fiya’s own tongue flickered where she was settled on Hilana’s shoulders, lifting her head as she scented the other female that she was very familiar with.
When he reminded her not to exert herself too much, the girl did flush. “I will, Dominus. I’ve only started testing it yesterday and today,” she admitted. Which was still faster than she had attempted Elementalism, if only because Semblance, in general, was far less dangerous a Rune to have than the one she had been gifted from His Divine Radiance. But if he had guessed, it was a very good guess... though he likely could have poked right through her mind to see what all she had been up to, and Hilana’s practicing with it, while used briefly for shorter periods was probably more frequent than it should have been, even if she was happily having tonics prepared with the fruit of Una’s Lash.
“That’s not a problem. I always make plenty. Did you like the baklava cheesecake?” she wanted to know as he was busy with Risdra. The enormous cat was purring, winding against Æros’ four-fingered hand, arching her back and waving her tail. She may have enchanted him, but it was clearly mutual, because the big queen was luxuriating in his attentions now that she had them, and she was disinclined to leave him alone. Her purr was as substantial as she was, and her head pushed against him.
When he wanted the sweetest, Hilana went with the apricot mead. It would complement the savoury notes of the rest of the dinner, and she quite liked it. Had they used a different variety of cherries to make the present cherry mead that she had on hand, that might have been different, but the ones that had been used verged almost on sour. It was a great blend in and of itself with a different balance, but it didn’t quite work as the sweetest drink she had. She poured the glass full of the cool drink, and set it down where he had sat before to eat. She surveyed the table and the assorted spread, taking up the oven mitts once again in order to lift the conical lid off of the tajine and set it up on the heavy platter she used to hold it now that they were ready to eat. The mitts were set aside again and she seemed satisfied with the table and its contents before extending a hand towards his chair in invitation. “Shall we?”
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Thu May 04, 2023 9:28 am
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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"She has, actually! A very fascinating process to watch, that. I'm glad it went well; I am…prone to worry." His tone went from enthusiasm about his pet to almost being bashful, embarrassed about how prone he was to paranoid spirals regarding things, animals, people, so on– anything he cared about, really.
The little lavender serpent flicked her tongue and tilted her head in curious recognition, noting the scent of her clutch mate, Fiya, nearby. Her beady little gaze shifted in the direction of the other snake in turn. The world was so vast for such little creatures; Æros could feel the gentle notes of both the curiosity and recognition in their soft Symphonies; he found such a thing really rather cute.
"You can hold her if you'd like at some point– but she has taken a liking to coiling 'round my horns. I think she likes the vantage point," he added with a bit of a laugh. Æros was a tall man, so the view from atop his head was quite vast.
Soon after saying that, he found his focus on Risdra, doting on her as he and Hilana continued to talk. The starry senator did so adore cats…and this one appeared to like him just as much. He hadn't used any magic on her directly, but his Mesmer quirks did make him naturally more magnetic to anyone– animals more easily affected, too. And oh, what a charming animal this one was. He adored her purrs and the shared affection in general, precious little thing that she was.
As such, Ærous wasn't entirely paying attention, and before long Hilana was suggesting that he join her at the table. He would, but of course, he was taking the kitty with him. Lifting Risdra into his arms, he carried her over to the table and let her stay in his lap.
"I hope you don't mind that I'm letting her sit with me," he said, almost in jest, assuming that his friend wouldn't care.
Realizing he'd yet to have answered her question, "...but yes! I did like that cheesecake. I love most cheesecakes; texture wise, it's a favorite of mine. I'll probably be a fan of any flavor you make."
He continued with a question for her, "...and how are you enjoying Semblance? Much as I'll parrot the advice to refrain from strain, I'll fully admit I was using the rune quickly after getting it, too…I can be impatient as well, especially with magic," he further punctuated this sentiment with an empathetic smile.
"And how is Fiya? Tiaz?" He had many things he was happy to talk to her about.
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Sun May 07, 2023 5:59 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
"You had Khyan prepare her a humid hide, right?" Hilana wanted to know. "With the moss I gave you for it?" She was certain he must have, especially with their abilities at Semblance. They surely understood well how and when she was going to shed, whereas Hilana, up to now, had had to rely on her experience and her eyes, and knowing her snakes' behaviour inside and out. Semblance would be a very beneficial extra sense when she got used to understanding the information that she was looking at, but even still... she knew she was better off being careful as opposed to being foolhardy and overdoing it so soon after she had received her Rune.
She would not be helping herself if she fried her brain because she wanted more than she had any reason to have.
"I'd like that," she smiled at Lydia. Perhaps after when they were doing their dinner and the foray into the snake room, after Hilana fried the loukoumades. "She's such a pretty, pretty girl. Her colouring suits you, you know. I'm glad you picked her." When Æros scooped up Risdra, the big queen went right on purring, making her contentment and approval known as she sat there from the Fae's lap, surveying the table and enjoying her vantage point. There was chicken, and she might get lucky and might be able to score some from his plate. The world belonged to the patient cat, and Risdra was very patient. She hadn't wanted for anything, but she could get greedy when there was food around, and while she'd had some fish that morning, she wouldn't have minded more. Plus chicken. Plus maybe even some hare and pheasant and sandcock...
"That's fine," Hilana chuckled to see Risdra looking perfectly regal before the cat looked up at Æros and pressed her head against his arm, demanding more pets. "She's very much enjoying your being here, Dominus, just watch that she doesn't hook your meal. If she does, just set her down." Chances were, he'd know before Risdra tried it, what with his ability at Mesmer, but still... she was very good at suckering people into feeding her if she was given half an opportunity. She was glad to hear that he enjoyed the cheesecake; knowing that it was a winner meant that she would make it again another time.
"I'm really enjoying it, actually," Hilana admitted. "I've mostly used it on my pets, some plants in the shop, and on a few patients today, but I am trying to be careful with how much I use it. The headaches come up when I've had enough and then I have to stop... but I'm getting some gleanings that are very helpful. I think it's also learning to recognize parts of the aura with what I know about the subject already, so it's confirming or denying my initial guesses. I did pick up another book in the market; Vasilei told me to do that at lunch time," she said wryly. "He said if I'm going to put myself into an early grave attempting things, then I'd better learn what I am trying to understand first, and what I'm doing with it."
Once Æros helped himself to the food to fill his plate, Hilana did the same. Tiaz shifted on his branch, coiled and relaxed, his head resting on his muscular body. "Tiaz is good, aren't you?" she addressed the grey, white, and black python where he flicked his tongue out as if to answer her. "Yes, you are. Absolutely best, most champion python ever, so you are." She knew that the words didn't matter much, but tone was everything, and it was very clear how much she adored her oldest noodle. "A picture of health and he's not hungry, but he's pretty content. Probably won't shed again until next season, I think, but he might surprise me. And Fiya, she likes to get into things, don't you?" Hilana looked at the little female that was hanging onto the strap of her shirt and was starting to try to make her way down towards the Vastiana's plate. "That's okay, it's good for them to be curious. I'd rather she be curious and encouraged to explore rather than be fearful and timid. That doesn't help her, but it's just going slowly with the experiences. Lydia will learn, especially when you take her out now and then. And I'm sure she comes out a lot at home." She picked up her glass of mead and raised it to him.
"Sit saluti," she toasted his health. "I take it Khyan hasn't gotten jealous of her yet?" the girl grinned behind her drink.
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Wed May 17, 2023 8:28 pm
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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To her initial question, he nodded. “We did. Easy enough to set up, and with Palæmon’s assistance, creating the correct artificial atmosphere wasn’t that complicated.”
It was self automated, too– Palæmon knew a bit of Scrivening, enough to keep the false habitat functioning mostly on its own, he occasionally stopping by to resupply the lodestones that powered it or tweak the settings depending on need.
To her comments regarding Lydia, he smiled. “Isn’t she just? I adore her coloration…and she’s got such a sweet, inquisitive temperament, too. I feel the same.” It was a difficult choice to pick which of the little serpents he’d wanted, but he was happy with it.
Æros could tell, knowing the nature of cats, that Risdra would try and reach for something of his at some point during their meal. And though he intended to stop her from being too indulgent, weak as he was to felines, he might let her pull a piece or two. When she bunted her head against his arm, he obliged, lifting his free hand to scratch her behind the ears.
“She is just the sweetest thing, isn’t she? …but I don’t doubt her motives are avaricious,” he said with a bit of a laugh.
When Hilana spoke of her initial uses of Semblance, he smiled, because it reminded him of essentially what he had done, too. “Well, as long as you stop before pain sets in, you’re fine…and I imagine the meditative techniques we’ve been practicing help with that, too, no? Stubborn as I have been with those, I will admit that they’ve helped me deal with strain.” He almost sounded embarrassed at that admittance; he’d blown off really dedicating himself to such things for ages, thinking that the effects were little more than placebo. He was, ultimately, happy to be wrong, but his stubbornness still brought him some shame.
As Hilana spoke to Tiaz, Æros shifted his line of sight to rest on the large, lazy serpent. “He does look well,” he commented.
Before he could say much else, Hilana raised her glass in toast– Æros quickly followed suit with his own. “Sit saluti.”
And to her question, he exhaled a breath of a laugh. “No– he knows where my priorities lie, thankfully. I am glad to not deal with somebody overly jealous.”
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Sun May 21, 2023 10:01 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
"She is very sweet," Hilana agreed, smiling at Risdra. The Queen was quite interested in Æros' food. While she always had a substantial appetite for something that seemed so lazy, but Hilana did know that the cat would play while she was away sometimes, and she was a perfectly capable hunter. She'd found her with more than one critter, and she was rather certain that some of the playful air elementals enjoyed the blue-eyed feline, too. Sometimes she enjoyed accompanying Hilana outside the apartment building to hunt bugs and vermin while Hilana practiced her Elementalism and Scrivening and sculpting in the sands. "I'm glad I stole her when I did. She was meant to be mine anyway, just... I was supposed to stay in Tertium with her and the rest of them."
"I stop at the onset of a headache," Hilana admitted. "I'm back at work at least, just need to keep taking my elixirs. Vasilei thought I should have taken a few days off, but that would have been worse than the threshold sickness," the Vastiana had a bite of her meal, scooping a piece of bread to tear it so that she could gather up up her next mouthful with it from her plate."But you are right. Those centering exercises have been invaluable. I have to do them a few times a day, especially if I'm trying to read auras more than once or twice. It's very tempting, perhaps more than it was with Elementalism, because at least then the spirits encouraged me to stop and rest. Semblance? More. More, more, more."
Tiaz was quite content indeed, and lifted his head to look at the Fae when Æros looked at him. It was perhaps surprising that the grey, black, and white python was not jealous of the little one that Hilana had deemed his sister. Fiya did get a great deal of time with his Vastiana, but he got all of the attention he wanted and more. The snakeling helped when Tiaz just wanted to be content and lazy. Besides, they were on different feeding and shedding schedules, so that worked out well enough, surprisingly, for all three of them.
"That is a good thing," Hilana agreed. "Small blessings, at least. The mambas arrived, by the way. They're a bit spicy, but their venom yields are very impressive so far." She seemed rather pleased about that, which was something of an absurd topic when it came to the fact that they were eating dinner. But snakes and everything to do with them were right up Hilana's alley. "Just need to get more, but I'm also getting a bit full. Suppose I could just turn my bedroom into the second snake room and sleep on a bedroll in the living room." That amused her at least. She had never meant to acquire so many, but as Deus and Domina had bade her, Hilana had work to do on those particular skills. If she wanted balance between healing and harming, they invoked her more towards the latter. And that meant looking into a second job, too, but that was... somewhat less feasible with all of her lessons and her work and research underway. But the girl was always up for a challenge.
Re: Into the Den of Snakes [Æros]
Posted: Sun May 28, 2023 9:59 pm
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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Æros was quite enamored with the fuzzy feline in his lap, though he could tell from her Symphony that a not insignificant portion of her current interest was, indeed, his food. However, when Hilana mentioned that she ‘stole’ the cat, he paused, looking at his friend with an expression of intrigue.
“Oh? You…stole her?” He almost laughed; that was apt for Hilana, if he were honest. “...no harm done if she was meant to be yours, but I do wonder about the story there.”
Regarding Semblance, he nodded at her words. “That is true…your rapport with the spirits had them actively trying to assist in your training; I hope to do the same when I pursue that Craft, but…with Semblance? Your limits are your own discretion– well, until your body or mind break, but the hope is to stop before you get there. Finding a balance is difficult, but certainly doable.”
He sighed a bit, “...but such is the necessity of self-discipline, as much of a pain as that can be to invoke.” There was a bit of an exaggerative jest to his tone, almost as if he were, in a way, making fun of himself.
As Æros looked to Tiaz, the subject shifted more directly to her collection of snakes. “If you want any help subduing them, I can Mesmerize them for you– I’m sure you’re fully capable of handling them yourself, but an extra safety measure couldn’t hurt, no?”
And at the notion that she wanted ever more serpents, the horned half-elf almost seemed surprised. “More? What for? …or do you mean more unique types? …or…what are you planning? And I mean no judgment; I’m intrigued.” As he spoke, he leaned forward, clearly interested in whatever her goal was.
As they ate, the conversation had shifted several times, but that was par for the course for these two, especially now that their rapport had been largely restored. The spread of food Hilana had put out today was lovely and, as much as he enjoyed it, Æros could not help but give Risdra a few pieces of the meat she’d served throughout the meal; the little feline’s gaze was as if she herself had Mesmer– impossible to resist.
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"