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The Golden Age. Act 2: Converging Paths.


riariadne
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There was once. Her. Is there anyone you like? Telmara paused, staring down at the floor. Did she have the courage to do this now? Or should she just... Let it lay, and lie? Would another moment concoct itself? No... She quietly pointed a claw at Kaya, and hoped she didn't have to say anything.

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"Sure." Velvet handed over the lance, scanning over the money quickly, and dropped it into her pouch before voicing her opinion again. "Potential customer... that's an awfully one-dimensional way of looking at things, especially since we've been interacting for over a week. We're adventurers together, but you don't even seem willing to give me the time of day. Or is that how you act to all the 'cute girls' you meet? You're not really so, so busy as to have a friendly discussion with me beyond selling that spear, are you?"

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"That's 'cause you never ask," Kolmar replied evenly, knowing full well Velvet didn't mean the literal time of day.  "If I ain't huntin' and cookin' for the lot of ya, I'm keepin' my stuff in shape.  It would be bad if I wasn't able to keep off of ya safe.  That's part of my job."  He paused, fairly certain that he wasn't going to win anyone over this way.  "So, where were you headed?  Weather's perfect for a stroll."

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Velvet's pretend pouting from before was slowly transitioning to a genuine frown. "You're no fun. If I hadn't asked, you'd probably be running off already. Fine, let's walk." She moved her hand through the bag once more before withdrawing her purple cloak and fastening it around her. "If we're going very far at all, then this is probably better. You never answered me earlier, first of all! Where were you scurrying off so quickly to in the first place? There's plenty of time to enjoy the city still instead of making a big fuss about maintenance right away. Most of the stores don't even close until late."

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No words. Just a gesture. A single finger, pointed at her. Wait. She can't mean... "Me? You like... You're joking, right? You like me? That can't be right. I mean... you yell at me and you don't trust me and... and... and you barely know me and most of our interactions have been yelling. I mean... why?" How would that even work? I mean, I'm supposed to be the leader and that means I'm technically her superior, right? That could be awkward if things got serious. And I mean she's half snake which is kind of weird, but she's cute which is nice, and I can't...

She realized she had trailed off without really saying anything and she tried to pick up her train of thought in words. "I mean... I like you. I just don't know if I like you like that. I mean... I don't not. I just... We've barely known each other, right? And I just... Why? Why would you like me?"

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"We're here to gather information," Kolmar started, "so I wanted start with the most obvious sources - the shopkeepers.  Madrigal's got a lot of places, an' I'd like to hit as many of 'em as I can.  'course, I didn't wanna do it while luggin' around a bunch of booze.  Gives people the wrong idea.  So, where didya wanna go?  You seem familiar enough with Madrigal."

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Telmara could only shake her head. Words were lost at this point. You asked Raz to do this. This was a huge mistake. You should've went to see Mihkaila or Raz or anyone-- even Aaron! At least you could've argued with him instead of getting stuck in this mess! Why are you so stupid!? Kaya rattled off more questions, as if it wasn't hard enough to keep up. "But, I-I, I just-- Yelling, i-isn't... You don't... S-Slow down!" This is too much, way too much! Does she seriously expect me to answer all of this without pause? Can I even answer all of this? I just...

Even her mind had begun racing, trying to keep up with things, and when that happened, there was only one course of action. "I... I-I'm sorry!" With her quick apology, she turned and sped around the book cases, racing towards the other section of the floor. Please don't follow me, please don't follow me, please don't! She could try to find a corner to curl up and hide in, but she had to get away from Kaya first.

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Festive Dresses

"Certainly, mademoiselle. We have quite the selection available. In fact, I may be able to think of some things with dual functionality if you'd like." Cornelius lead the way to an aisle in the store, and picked out three dresses and a white robe. First he showed her the three- one orange with a red flame pattern, a yellow one with a dark blue electricity pattern, and a light blue one with a purple snow pattern. "These may look ordinary, but they're quite durable to wear when traveling. And in addition, they're resistant to the elements shown! Or, alternatively, if you just want something to put over your normal wear, there's this Seraph Robe, made long ago. It has no such resistances, but is said to be very healthy to wear through magic. Of course, we also have more normal clothing, if you'd prefer something more specialized."

Same Old Song and Dance

"Wow, that sure must be exciting. I don't really have adventurer skills, though, so if I was traveling it would be as a musical band or something. I didn't know there were magic schools in Vespen, I thought most of them were in Jotun. Then again, I'm not a student of magic, so what would I know?" Layla looked around the hall with some annoyance that the performance hadn't started yet. The woman on the stage, Higana, seemed similarly annoyed. It took a few moments before Layla pointed to an empty seat at the front. "Oh, great... Councilor Georus is late. He has enough power that he always holds up shows, since he says he'll get the place shut down. Lots of people make a big fuss about what the Commander does, but at least she's an honest woman who looks out for the people. I don't care how many of her investigations she starts, because most of the people she does them on are scumbags anyway. Oh, but you're not from here, you said- do you hear about those? Recently an awful lot of people are upset with the Commander since they say she's overreaching her power since she's not a real Queen. But, it's been four years of all the greedy people getting away with too much because of that. So I think she's doing great."

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Well that had gone well. Off Telmara went after apologizing for something. Kaya wasn't entirely sure what, and she knew she couldn't just leave things like this. Even if Telmara didn't say anything more about her feelings, she couldn't just let the woman run off like that. Heading after her, Kaya didn't rush, trying to take the few seconds to figure out her thoughts. I just don't get why she likes me... she doesn't trust me and she hates my dragons and beliefs. But apparently that doesn't matter? I just... I don't get people some times. She turned down an aisle and saw Telmara at the end, seemingly trying to hide in the corner. Which might have worked better if not for the bit where she was half snake with a giant tail. It didn't look like she'd noticed Kaya yet, so Kaya slowly approached, hoping to not scare Telmara away again.

When she was closer, she quietly called out, "Hey, I... I'm sorry for overwhelming you i guess? I didn't mean to ask so many things so quickly I just... I don't get it I guess. I don't understand why you would like me, that's all. Given the lack of trust and the issues you have with my beliefs... But I don't want you to run away. Even if we have to pretend like none of that happened to make you feel comfortable, I just want to spend time with you and get to know you. Ok?"

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While Mikhaila was a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of the woman behind her, though her words seemed to be genuine. Search as she might, no spirits had made themselves known to her, and this woman's look, as well as her words, spoke volumes of her knowledge. She even had managed to decipher her mask and quest, or so her words would imply. Turning towards her, Mikhaila looked to this older woman, putting her response together.

"You may well be right, I've found nothing since I've come to this place... it is pure, clean, much unlike Shakruln. Even I can feel your presence... with a guardian like you within it, it is no wonder that spectres leave this place unperturbed." Mikhaila replied, though she took pause at the woman's thoughts on her mask.

"As for that... you may well be right once again. My teacher had perished before I ever came into contact with this mask... and it has made me stronger. Perhaps it is foolish to try to remove it, at times I forget it's even there, until the incredulous looks come. But... I have no intention of becoming slave to it. To use this thing, I will do so under my own terms... that is the hope. I still know little of it, I could find no texts to describe it, learned through feeling it's might course through my veins, through feeling it sap my strength in return... if you know what this is, I would wish you tell me." Mikhaila asked, with some trepidation. Whoever this woman was, she exuded a presence unlike what she could recall feeling before. Perhaps her grandfather had been stronger? It had been too long, and he had been in his fading years, she just could not be sure.

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A nice, cozy corner in a library. That would normally be alright. But with Kaya not giving up, Telmara was soon cowering with her tail curled up around her, hiding her face behind the book. You know you can't do this forever. You couldn't keep your trap shut, and now this all has to spill out... Even if you don't want to have to put up with the consequences of it all. Too late. Too, too late...

"I dont... H-Hate your beliefs..." That was a decent place to start... Probably. "I... I-I just wanted something t-to blame. For this... The Dragons... W-Were a good target." That wasn't the whole truth of it. Telmara wasn't religious by any means, so she'd never held any particular like of the deities in the first place. Her choosing them as a scapegoat for her fate, that part was true. Surely nothing other than the most powerful creatures on the continent would be able to make such a change, she'd told herself. It spiraled from there, in poor fashion.

"And... It's n-not that I don't... Trust you." She slowly perked up just a bit, sitting up some against her corner. "How can you... E-Expect me to? So quickly... We just met, and... H-Having to trust a human, after everything... W-Without question. It's hard. I-It's really hard..." I want to, but then you make naive choices, and my paranoia springs up, and I lose control. That part is my own fault, but honestly Kaya, you can't expect me to just be able to trust you without giving me the time to, can you? We've barely spoken; trust is far too much to ask for...

"As... F-For why I like... You..." That was too much to get into without preparation, shrinking back down and trying to find the words as her mouth hung open. "There's... A, a l-lot of reasons... A-And I don't have wh-what it takes to start... L-Listing, then all. You'll... Heh..." She smiled, for a moment. "J-Just have to trust me..."

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Kaya sat down near Telmara, leaning against one of the bookcases, just staring at her. "I... I guess I just don't get it. You say that you can't trust me because you've only known me for a short time but you can have feelings for me? I mean, somehow you've fallen for me in so short a time?" She shook her head, absentmindedly running a hand through her hair as she thought. "I... Let me try and figure out how best to say this, ok?"

She leaned her head back against the bookcase and stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking back. "I guess... I mean I think I just... I don't get it, right? Mostly just because... Trust is easy for me, right? I mean, you think too easy, but it's still easy for me. It makes sense. You need to be able to trust people quickly, otherwise how will you ever be able to work together and such? But feelings... Feelings are hard. They get all jumbled up and it's impossible to sort them out. And they take time. They don't just pop up out of nowhere. At least not romantic ones. Not really. I mean, knowing someone is attractive, sure but real feelings? I don't... I just don't know."

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"I can't t-trust you easily because I've been hurt... By a lot of people." That was the best way to put things. She didn't have to spell it out, being a half monster didn't lend itself to being treated well. "But that doesn't mean... I, I n-never will. Okay...?" That was that hardest thing to say. To give that promise that, one day, she would be able to trust again, was tough. She didn't know if she could, but she wanted to try...

"As f-for you... And my feelings... You, r-remind me of someone, I used to know... But, y-you're also yourself. And... P-Please don't make me get sappy... I'm already enough of a mess, r-right now." That was a big part of it, who Kaya brought to mind. It wasn't entirely the same, of course, but the spark was there, no matter what Telmara wanted out of things.

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"Oh... right. I guess that makes sense. I... I should have thought of that." Kaya looked away embarrassed that she hadn't made that connection, until the next bit of Telmara's explanation came out. Looking back at her, she winced and then did her best to smile. "Ah... I see. It's because I remind you of someone you cared about... So really you like her. Not... not me. That's probably for the best though, right? I mean, you... It means it's just a crush, right? Nothing permanent. Once you realize that I'm not her, you'll get over it. And then you'll be more comfortable and happy. Ri... right?" I mean... she doesn't really like me. That's good, right? It means I don't need to figure out how I feel about her. I don't need to worry about dealing with all of this...

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This girl... Seriously? "Kaya..." Telmara slowly sighed, swallowed and tried to compose herself. "Are you an idiot...?" Telmara was having trouble piecing together how dense someone would have to be. "I said y-you're also you... Just because it started that way, doesn't mean that's how it is... I kept f-freaking out and being over protective because I-I want to keep you safe... I really... Don't think I should need to s-spell this out."

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"I just... I kinda am an idiot I guess. Or maybe just naive. I thought that if you wouldn't like me, I wouldn't... I wouldn't need to sort out all my issues about if I like you or not? I mean... I like you. But I don't know if I *like* you, you know?" She was starting to ramble again, not really sure what to say. "I mean, I appreciate that you want to keep me safe and everything, and I guess that makes sense, but it's just a lot for me to take right now, you know? And I haven't really thought about any of this, so I don't really know how I feel. And I don't know how everyone else would take it, what with me being the leader if we got involved so that's something else I need to consider and I hardly know you... I just..."

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"That's fine... I didn't a-ask for an answer. Or... Anything, l-like that. You just... K, Keep saying I hate you. I don't... A-And if nothing else comes of it... I've a-asked Raz to help, k-keep me in check. So I don't... Get crazy in a fight, a-again. Okay?" That was all Telm had to say on the situation. She didn't expect anyone to reciprocate any sort of feelings, especially not now... So knowing Kaya had a bunch of issues just made her calm enough to realize it was a pining too far. It's probably better with this out in the open, now. I can take my time to get over it...

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"Look, I mean... I just don't know. But I want to know. I just don't have any experience really in this, ok? Maybe I do like you, I just don't know. Be... because I hadn't thought about it. Because I thought you didn't like me. And I just... It's all so sudden, that's all. So please..." She reached out and took Telmara's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I just... I need to figure it out, ok? It's all new to me. The girl I mentioned was back when I was 16, ok? And it wasn't much of a relationship, it was just a short thing. So I guess just... I... my thoughts are jumbled, that's all." She smiled hesitantly at her, hoping that she would respond favorably. "I want to give you an answer. I do. I just don't have one right now?"

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"Take whatever time you need," Telmara responded with, and then shrunk, as her claw was grasped by Kaya again. "You're going in c-circles, the more you try to force things... Y-You, should, uh... Find that b-book you were looking for. Take your mind e-elsewhere..." That was the best, for now. For once, Telmara wasn't the one panicking. And she did want to look through this anima tome...

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"Look... Just... It will be ok, alright? I'm not trying to force it. I just want you to know that I will give you an answer, alright?" She hesitated, and then leaned in and gave Telmara a tight hug. "I do like you. I just want to make sure that I like you in that way, alright? So lets just go and look at those books like you're saying. Spend some time together and learn more about magic and the Gifts. And then maybe we can go shopping or something. Ok?"

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"I-If you say so-- eep!" Entirely unprepared for anything past having her hand held, Telmara froze up against the bookshelf, trying to look for a way to wiggle out of this. Why why why why why? "Er... Y-You, can... Let go, uhm..." She just wanted to sit there and read her book, or follow along after Kaya. But really, she just wanted to read... At least... This feels nice...

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"Ok, uhm..." Kaya let go of Telmara before glancing around. It turned out that they'd ended up in the dark magic section of the floor, which was convenient. "Why don't you just wait here, ok? I'm going to go find a book and then I'll be back, ok?" She stood up and walked around a bit before finding what looked to be a straightforward book on the history of dark magic as well as a small tome on prophecies and the like. Taking both, she headed back to Telmara and sat down near here. Hesitating, she slid over and leaned against the woman's shoulder, snuggling up against the larger woman. "I... I hope this is ok. It... it feels nice."

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"Dual functionality? Hmm, maybe..." The term made Raz a bit skeptical, thinking she was getting something versatile at the price of looking less fancy. She already had her clothes for long travels, so it didn't seem like a good use of money. Thankfully her skepticism was proven wrong as she saw the dress, they certainly... stood out, but not in an overly gaudy way. One of the color schemes certainly appealed to her.

"Hmm, how much is this one?" Raz walked up close to the light blue evening gown, examining its fabric and decor. It certainly seemed more up her alley than the other ones. I guess I'll be using it tonight...

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Dark Gaze

The woman smirked at Mikhaila's first statement. "Do I really look like a guardian? No, I have no place in the lack of creatures here. But with the Order of Knights so prevalent, it would surely be impossible for them to flourish. Even in the Black Queen's time, they would be vanquished in an instant. Not like the wilderness of Rathuum, or even the type of ghouls that would lurk in smaller cities. The people of Madrigal are disciplined, especially as the next age of darkness draws near."

She snapped, appearing to vanish in a purple smoke, before her voice spoke from behind Mikhaila, and she sat cross-legged atop a small wall. "The mask... there are no texts you could hope to find of it. It is an artifact from the Lost Age. When the King then ruled in those dark times, the people attempted many desperate rituals to gain enough power to stop him. One of them resulted in that mask... of course, it all failed. It is a powerful artifact, one that surely even your grandfather would struggle with." She laughed knowingly. "How easily I can read your thoughts. But to me, the mask is but a trinket. The bloodcasting it allows you to access is feeble compared to my own powers. I am Shylah, youngest of the Magi, the Dark Prophet. There are many futures that could lie ahead of you, and the seven you travel with in hopes to find something to rid you of it... Yet you don't know what exactly you search for, just the hope that one of them could solve the problem you have. Isn't that right?"

Chilled Taste

"Ah, the Frosty Mantle, or so the tailor called it. You'll find it's very helpful in the cold," Cornelius advised. "For you to purchase it, that would be six hundred gold. Do you consider that to be satisfactory?"

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Telmara let out her longest sigh as Kaya walked off to find her books. This is too much for my heart, right now... I wasn't supposed to even say anything. Too late now... And it ended well, at least. As well as it could've. She tried to get comfortable against the bookshelf and read what she'd picked up. Let's see... Fire magic... Fiiiiire, maaaaagic... Wow, really? How lazy... Nothing new in all those years? Do they just not care about it? That's... Oh, wait... What's this one? Telmara took a moment to read over a spell she had no familiarity with, smiling as she went. "Wow... Zeta Flare, huh? A mass explosion that hurts the target more if they've already suffered wounds... Heh, leave it up to those idiots to just make something destroy faster."

Ah... Kaya was back. And getting... F-Friendly. Telmara blushed, squeaked, and shrunk just a bit as their shoulders met... But she tried to stay still. "Y-Yeah... S'fine..." She slowly wrapped her tail up a bit, around the perimeter of Kaya's legs, and tried not to focus on how this had all went. Zeta Flare, Zeta Flare, Zeta Flare...

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