What? The World needs saving AGAIN? IC Thread 7

[Xihirli]

Velza wrote out a brief document as she appraised the gemstones, valuing each of their crystals at 5000 gold coins of the standard weight. She signed it with a flourish and passed it over, taking the offered gemstone and coin. "Have a wondrous day."

[Valmark]

Spoiler: Ooc

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Is it a rare or very rare day?

"Thank you" Eris said pocketing the leftovef coins, the remaining gemstones and the written permit, and waving her off as they left.
"So, we can go take Aklah and leave?" she inquired heading back to the stables.

[Xihirli]

"Absolutely," Leff answered, and as they walked, a gray frog-bat homunculus flapped over and perched on Leff's shoulder. It opened up her spellbook and started to read it.

[Valmark]

"Mmm... You have someone on your shoulder" Eris said.

[Xihirli]

"This is Razimith's Homunculus," Leff said, nodding to it.
"My name is John," the homunculus said.
Aklah tackled Eris and started licking her on sight.

[Valmark]

"Yes yes I love you too you big predator" Eris smooched Aklah as they wrestled with the same lips she kissed Leff with. Look, it was her wife's problem, not hers. And the wyvern was generally clean.
"You ready? We'll go traveling today! And a bit of hunting too" she told Aklah, dropping the key words.

[Xihirli]

At "hunting," Aklah took to the air, looking down at Eris waiting for her to fly as well.

[Valmark]

Eris pointed at Leff, looking up at Aklah.
"You expect me to fly slower while carrying people while you fly circles around me, you lazy bum?"

[Xihirli]

Aklah shrieked, annoyed, and slammed down next to Leff. She sniffed John and growled. The Homunculus hid behind Leff's head.

[Valmark]

"Be niiiice" Eris said scratching booping Aklah's nose in admonishment "Think about deers. Big, tasty meat that you can terrorize before killing and eating up" she said distracting the wyvern with petsies as they got on.

[Xihirli]

Aklah rustled her throat and thumped the ground with her tail, causing a few kids to run away. Leff piled on back and gave Aklah's neck a hug from behind. "Hey there, girl," she whispered, and Aklah got back in the sky.

[Valmark]

Eris smiled and flew after her family- well, those of her family that were present at least. She half guided, half chased after Aklah towards south, where 'half' depended on Leff controlling Aklah's speed. After hunting the tiefling was going to stay on saddle too.

[Xihirli]

Leff leaned back against Eris as they flew, smiling as she closed her eyes, looking through Ishat as she read her Tome of Clear Thought. "Hey," she said at one point.
"I love you."

[Valmark]

"I never knew!" Eris exclaimed, embracing Leff "I'm so happy to hear that! I love you so much my heart felt crushed by the weight of it!" she giggled and kissed her wife's neck.
"In case it wasn't obvious, anything after 'knew' it's true. It was hard to breath sometimes before I confessed- and it's not because I was getting used again to having working lungs. It's because this genasi is one ho-" she looked at John and shut her mouth.

One hot piece of smart and heroic badass genasi.

[Xihirli]

Leff shuddered, her back pressing against Eris. "Yours forever," she said simply.
Morrigan, who had grown tired of flying, came down on Eris's shoulder. "This genasi is one ho," the raven mimicked. "Waka waka waka waka."

[Valmark]

"I think that if I had a raven familiar it would know a lot of unsafe words" Eris noted and gave Leff another kiss.
"You haven't got a choice" she whispered very softly to not be heard by ravens, homunculus and Mávro.

[Xihirli]

"It's why I very rarely take mine out," Leff said. I know, she Sent.

Aklah eventually whined in exhaustion and touched down for the night. Leff fashioned a stone igloo for the night, and Mávro came out to begin meditating, keeping a watchful eye on the campsite.

[Valmark]

"As if I ever said anything bat to it" Eris sighed.

When they stopped for the night, Eris frowned.
"I thought it was going to be closer. I hope... I hope they are alright" she looked nervously in the distance, thinking about Stacia and Maiken.
"I'll take first watch"

[Xihirli]

Leff gave Eris a kiss good-night and snuggled up with Aklah before falling asleep.
Mávro was silent for a time during Eris's watch, until she spoke.
"Your friend is in danger."

[Valmark]

It took a second for Eris to realize what Mávro said out of the blue.
"Wh- which one? What is happening exactly?" she exclaimed and went to wake Leff up "I probably need a Circle to rush all the way back!"

[Xihirli]

"Hold," Mávro said. "You are worried about your friend Stacia who is in captivity. I have not received a message, I was merely wondering if you wished to discuss the difficulties you are facing."

[Valmark]

Eris looked about to strangle the elf. Her tail surely slammed on the ground almost painfully.
"Next time" she said, slowly "Don't start with 'Your friend is in danger'. It... Could... Be misleading" and sat back down, taking a breath.
"I'm worried about Maiken and Stacia, yes. It's... I'm not bad at these kind of trickster things like infiltration and the like, but my way is to beat up the bad ones. Knowing they have been collared like slaves and at the slightest error they could be killed... It fills me with dread"

[Xihirli]

Mávro's eyes widened in shock and she nodded, her head hanging down. "I am... sorry."
They were strange words in infernal. The connotation tended to be, "you caught me trying to kill you and I am saving face."
"Stacia was... a friend of yours before you met your wife, yes?" Mávro briefly reached into her pack and withdrew a gauntlet with small spikes facing inward. She opened it up and began tying it in place around her wrist.
"Where I am from, everyone is in danger, all the time. So it is a common... conversation opener, I suppose. It is strange, to see fear and hardship as a deviation from the norm. But I am sorry about your friend. She is good at dealing with this sort of thing, yes?"

[Valmark]

"What are you doing?" Eris asked looking at the gauntlet as Mávro spoke, then when she actually started putting it on Eris almost tackled Mávro, grabbing her hands to stop her from what looked like hurting herself.
"What- how- why would you ever put such a device on yourself!?" she hissed out stupefied by the elf's actions, trying to not raise her voice even if she felt like screaming. Eris had a vague idea of what the reason could be given what she learnt of Shadar-Kais, but maybe she was wrong.

[Xihirli]

Mávro looked to Eris, confused. "There are many reasons. Those of us most effected by the curse do so to maintain our connection to our body. In my case, it was because I displeased you." She held out the gauntlet to Eris. "Is there an issue?"

[Valmark]

"Yes. Yes I take issue at you hurting yourself. Idiot. Of course I do" Eris scowled and dumped the gauntlet aside, staring Mávro down. Then she hugged the elf tightly without hesitation or particular care of wether Mávro was against it or not.
"Never do that again. We're friends- if you think you did something bad, just apologize. Don't hurt yourself. Surely don't hurt yourself just because you gave me a scare! I don't want to see you hurt" she sobbed slightly, not letting go. Rather, she coiled her tail around them.
"...friendship exists in the Shadowfell, I hope" it was a legitimate concern.

[Xihirli]

Mávro was taken aback by the movement and criticism, then the embrace. A hand gently tapped Eris's back before letting go. Mávro swallowed, looking down at Eris's shoulder. "Friendship is... a risk. It hurts... so much worse to watch your kin die when you love them." A sob broke through her throat, and her arms wrapped tightly around Eris as the elf began to weep.

[Valmark]

"Yes... I can only imagine how worst it is to grow attachment in such a place" Eris smiled weakly and put a hand behind Mávro's head, stroking it lightly and letting her cry.
"I... I never experienced that kind of loss. I can't tell you what to do on this... But I really hope we can treat each other as friends. As family. To be happy with people you love... I want this for you too. You shouldn't need to... Protect yourself from the pain. Ours is a dangerous life... But that's why we are strong. Our bonds make us stronger. They make us fight harder for what we want" she sobbed openly, holding Mávro in her arms "I hope... I hope you'll make me your strenght. Just like I do with you. I hope... I hope you'll be able to call me a friend because you believe it. That we can laugh and all the stuff friends do. Certainly not harm yourself because you wronged me. You should never feel the need to hurt yourself like that because I didn't like something"

[Xihirli]

Mávro nodded, holding Eris. "You are my friend. You are my friend because you are kind to me. And... I love you," she mumbled. It was not a sentence that existed in Infernal. A literal translation was "I anti-hate you." But the message was there.

"I... push through the pain. Giving up hurts worse. That is all I ever had. But now... perhaps I have more." Mávro sniffed and wiped her eyes. She held Eris for awhile.
"I am sorry your friend is in danger. I will help you save her."

[Valmark]

"Thank you... Thank you Mávro" Eris said, uncoiling the tail- she kept hugging Mávro though "I know you will. I love you, too. And... Yes, Stacia's good at it. She'd tell me I worry too much" she giggled, cracking a smile. She glanced at the gauntlet.
"I'm not saying you must throw it away, but I hope you won't use that on yourself anymore"