Seekers of Flowers and Fortune II
Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 9:31 am
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
NOTES: -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Having one’s formative years removed from them was weird and, in some ways, it made Hector feel sort of purposeless. He knew what he’d been told, and he had the residual knowledge he’d gained from those years that naturally drew him towards paths stemming from botanical roots– but without the memories to go with that knowledge, he didn’t feel the obligation, necessarily, to follow those roads. And here, now, he was used almost entirely as an accessory to Vergil or an interrogator; he either assisted another or was an instrument of pain– in the case of the latter, another more senior Inquisitor would usually be the one asking the questions.
That being the case, it was easy to sway him into something like what Carina was requesting, because though he was relatively content with his day to day now, he still felt almost restless, in a way. While he doubted he’d find something in the Warrens to give him purpose, at least, not right away, it would nevertheless be a welcome change of pace.
“He uses a lot of different things with his Necromancy…but also has an addiction to fancy teas, so finding rare flora down there would be a draw, I think…I’ll admit, though, that I know little about the Warrens, so…it might be you that has to give examples of what he might find,” he’d give a slight, awkward laugh at the end there. It was clear that his complete lack of knowledge on the subject made him uncomfortable.
The latter part of what she said elicited a puzzled expression; his head tilted slightly and his brow would furrow briefly, but then his face would relax; there was no need to think too hard about it since…she just said she’d show him. “Oh? Yeah– in that case, show me,” he tried to conceal his eagerness, but he didn’t do the best job.
When she left, he’d follow her out the store and through the portal. He understood why she wanted a more clandestine space to craft the portal, though it wasn’t necessary; Hector would’ve had her magic use excused because it was, technically, requested by him. Nevertheless, the projection of the apothecary’s blueprints was more than a little novel; he’d blink several times as if trying to adjust to the strange aetheric sight. At first, he had no clue how she’d created this, but following along the lines of some of his other assumptions and what he knew about her, he concluded this had to be some quirk of her Semblance. Or maybe, all Semblers could do this? He had no idea.
Her explanation, however, drew this projection back to her desire to explore the warrens. For Carina, ‘explore’ was less vague than it sounded– she intended to map the place, only using her Sembler’s eyes instead of traditional cartography.
“Oh– that’s…fascinating, actually!” He’d say, not actually sure how to express his interest, but still wanting to make it known.
“With that ability it’d be hard to get lost, yes, but it’ll be even harder with me there, too. I have Animus,” he’d pause, then utilizing Chimerism, he’d lift his hand and morph it into a pigeon’s foot. “...see?” Perhaps unnecessary, but he liked to show people his magic over talking about it when possible. His hand would start to revert after it had reached the other form, this process taking a little less than a minute.
But while he showed her, Hector kept talking. “I…used a random feather I found on the street as a totem and ended up with a pigeon,” he giggled, almost embarrassed. “I don’t regret it, though, because the trait I inherited is their navigation, ah…it’s called ‘magnetoreception,’ I think. Anyways, I don’t know how it’d work in the Warrens, but it’s helped me a lot otherwise.” Prior to doing this, he’d been awful with directions; he considered this gift to be invaluable.
That being said and his hand being normal again, Carina made another portal and both of them passed through it. On the other end was the door to his apartment– Hector wouldn’t have minded simply walking up the stairs, but the unit was on the third and final floor. He did appreciate the minor convenience. He’d pull a key from the front pocket of his pants, the door being secured with a manual lock and minor warding. It was clear from the almost reflexive way that he unlocked and opened the door that he either lived here or frequented this place very often.
“Vergil?” He’d say upon opening the door and starting to cross the threshold, lightly knocking at the same time.
“Welcome home– I’m in the kitchen,” another voice would answer. Also male, but lower than Hector’s.
Gesturing to Carina to follow him, he’d cross the living area and into the kitchen, placing the little parcel of herbs on the counter when he arrived. Vergil was just sitting there, one of his own journals– a thick, leatherbound thing– open alongside a volume that, at glance, appeared to be about artificing? To Hector’s perception, this was new. Looking up from the book, there’d be subtle confusion in his brows accompanied by a slight widening to his eyes, each lasting for only a moment; Vergil had rather muted expressions and was generally a lot less readable than Hector.
“You brought a friend?” The chirurgeon would ask, no clear reaction in his voice; he’d abstain from doing so until Hector clarified.
“Yeah, uh…this is the one I told you about, um…back in Ash. I told you I met her when I got you that pesticyte–” as he said this, he pointed to visible dragonshard that Vergil was, coincidentally, wearing on his wrist. “...remember?”
Vergil would just nod; still, he bore no discernable reaction.
“So-...I found her again and she needs help with something, and I want to, but we’d need your help and, um…” Hector cut off, not actually sure how he wanted to explain this request.
“...and?” At this point, Vergil’s brow rose asymmetrically, and he almost looked amused, but at the same time, it was more of an ‘oh, here we go again’ sort of expression.
Hector, clearly a bit nervous, would look to Carina, hoping she’d interject with what she wanted to do. In his mind, he thought she’d do a far better job explaining her intent than he would.
That being the case, it was easy to sway him into something like what Carina was requesting, because though he was relatively content with his day to day now, he still felt almost restless, in a way. While he doubted he’d find something in the Warrens to give him purpose, at least, not right away, it would nevertheless be a welcome change of pace.
“He uses a lot of different things with his Necromancy…but also has an addiction to fancy teas, so finding rare flora down there would be a draw, I think…I’ll admit, though, that I know little about the Warrens, so…it might be you that has to give examples of what he might find,” he’d give a slight, awkward laugh at the end there. It was clear that his complete lack of knowledge on the subject made him uncomfortable.
The latter part of what she said elicited a puzzled expression; his head tilted slightly and his brow would furrow briefly, but then his face would relax; there was no need to think too hard about it since…she just said she’d show him. “Oh? Yeah– in that case, show me,” he tried to conceal his eagerness, but he didn’t do the best job.
When she left, he’d follow her out the store and through the portal. He understood why she wanted a more clandestine space to craft the portal, though it wasn’t necessary; Hector would’ve had her magic use excused because it was, technically, requested by him. Nevertheless, the projection of the apothecary’s blueprints was more than a little novel; he’d blink several times as if trying to adjust to the strange aetheric sight. At first, he had no clue how she’d created this, but following along the lines of some of his other assumptions and what he knew about her, he concluded this had to be some quirk of her Semblance. Or maybe, all Semblers could do this? He had no idea.
Her explanation, however, drew this projection back to her desire to explore the warrens. For Carina, ‘explore’ was less vague than it sounded– she intended to map the place, only using her Sembler’s eyes instead of traditional cartography.
“Oh– that’s…fascinating, actually!” He’d say, not actually sure how to express his interest, but still wanting to make it known.
“With that ability it’d be hard to get lost, yes, but it’ll be even harder with me there, too. I have Animus,” he’d pause, then utilizing Chimerism, he’d lift his hand and morph it into a pigeon’s foot. “...see?” Perhaps unnecessary, but he liked to show people his magic over talking about it when possible. His hand would start to revert after it had reached the other form, this process taking a little less than a minute.
But while he showed her, Hector kept talking. “I…used a random feather I found on the street as a totem and ended up with a pigeon,” he giggled, almost embarrassed. “I don’t regret it, though, because the trait I inherited is their navigation, ah…it’s called ‘magnetoreception,’ I think. Anyways, I don’t know how it’d work in the Warrens, but it’s helped me a lot otherwise.” Prior to doing this, he’d been awful with directions; he considered this gift to be invaluable.
That being said and his hand being normal again, Carina made another portal and both of them passed through it. On the other end was the door to his apartment– Hector wouldn’t have minded simply walking up the stairs, but the unit was on the third and final floor. He did appreciate the minor convenience. He’d pull a key from the front pocket of his pants, the door being secured with a manual lock and minor warding. It was clear from the almost reflexive way that he unlocked and opened the door that he either lived here or frequented this place very often.
“Vergil?” He’d say upon opening the door and starting to cross the threshold, lightly knocking at the same time.
“Welcome home– I’m in the kitchen,” another voice would answer. Also male, but lower than Hector’s.
Gesturing to Carina to follow him, he’d cross the living area and into the kitchen, placing the little parcel of herbs on the counter when he arrived. Vergil was just sitting there, one of his own journals– a thick, leatherbound thing– open alongside a volume that, at glance, appeared to be about artificing? To Hector’s perception, this was new. Looking up from the book, there’d be subtle confusion in his brows accompanied by a slight widening to his eyes, each lasting for only a moment; Vergil had rather muted expressions and was generally a lot less readable than Hector.
“You brought a friend?” The chirurgeon would ask, no clear reaction in his voice; he’d abstain from doing so until Hector clarified.
“Yeah, uh…this is the one I told you about, um…back in Ash. I told you I met her when I got you that pesticyte–” as he said this, he pointed to visible dragonshard that Vergil was, coincidentally, wearing on his wrist. “...remember?”
Vergil would just nod; still, he bore no discernable reaction.
“So-...I found her again and she needs help with something, and I want to, but we’d need your help and, um…” Hector cut off, not actually sure how he wanted to explain this request.
“...and?” At this point, Vergil’s brow rose asymmetrically, and he almost looked amused, but at the same time, it was more of an ‘oh, here we go again’ sort of expression.
Hector, clearly a bit nervous, would look to Carina, hoping she’d interject with what she wanted to do. In his mind, he thought she’d do a far better job explaining her intent than he would.
- - -
Aidolon Speech
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"