RP:A Helping Hand
Part of the On Stranger Tides Arc
This is a Healer's Guild RP.
This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.
Summary: Khitti is told about the fact that Emilia's been having a little bit of trouble since she cut off her hand and it's since been reanimated and has a mind of its own. To alleviate that problem, Khitti suggests making a hand of shadows and shadow-ice for the ice genasi and Emilia agrees!
The Ginger Snapped Bakery, Cenril
Khitti || It wasn’t as busy as it usually was in the Ginger Snapped Bakery, though of course, the same could be said of others business during the middle of the week. It hadn’t helped that there was a flu going around as Spring approached, and after that whole plague business last year, it had gotten people into a bit of a paranoid state. The head waitress, Victoria, tended to the counter, as well as serving the couple tables that were actually occupied tonight, while her boyfriend, Albert--who was the bakery’s lead cake decorator--was restocking the dessert cases with various sorts of delicacies. And their boss? She was busy punching away at some bread dough in the kitchen, using the kneading process to take out some much needed aggression that she always seemed to have pent up as of late. It was better than stabbing people, anyway. Not that her student, Quintessa, would agree with that, but that’s besides the point. Her irritated punching decided to bite her in the ass though, as she punched just a wee bit too hard and at an odd enough angle that a small pile of flour burst out from beneath the dough and hit her square in the face. She stared at nothing for a moment, letting the incident process in her head before letting out a warrior’s cry and sending the lump of dough soaring through the open window above the sink. There’d be no going out to retrieve the dough either; Khitti would allow the city’s stray animals to deal with it. Victoria and Albert merely looked at each other briefly, shook their heads, and continued on with what they were doing.
Emilia was walking the streets of Cenril dropping off small flu kits to the local families at no charge from the Healer’s Guild. It was as she was rounding the bakery that she was unexpectedly hit in the face by a lump of squishy dough. Smack in the face the woman was suddenly blinded with her eyes, forehead, and nose coated in the gift from above. Was it a sign? The stomach of the woman gave a small growl as if to agree. She had not taken the time to sit down and eat today between her visits. As such the woman used her stump to guide her around the building until she found the door handle. Letting herself in the woman guised in a dough-mask spoke up, “I think this is yours?” Her voice was soft, traveling on a wintery breeze throughout the Bakery. The woman standing just in the doorway was as white as winter with lips a light natural blue. Her dress was a floor length black gown that hugged her skin and bone frame. Long locks of white had been tamed back into waist length dreadlocks, while either side of the head was shaved. The few patrons gathered already couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of a stranger sporting raw dough as a mask. At least she didn’t seem to want to rob the Bakery, she couldn’t even see where she was going. After she spoke the woman slid her basket of potions over to the elbow of her handless arm so that she could began to peel away her mask, revealing a set of bright blue eyes. While the barefooted woman stood there a sudden chill started to sweep over the Bakery, leaking off the white woman, a gentle chill that slowly faded away as if it had never happened.
Khitti || Victoria and Albert tried so hard not to laugh. Laughing at possible customers was a bad thing! So the next best course of action was to delegate this matter to their boss! “Hey, boss lady! I think you lost something!” The ‘boss lady’ was busy wiping off the flour from her face, a smirk quickly uncovered, “Look, if this is another shot at my sanity, I hear this enough from Brand. I’m well aware that I’m not all there.” No sooner does she have those words out is she finding herself face to face with the ice genasi, once Khitti’s found herself out into the main area of the bakery. “Oh. -That-. Yeah, uh.” She coughed awkwardly, then studied the frosty female a bit longer, crimson brows knitting together, a hand outstretched to take the dough from her. “Emilia…?” It’d been quite some time since the two had crossed paths. Not since that unfortunate trip to the Shadow Plane a few years ago where Khitti only furthered her long list of unthinkable ill deeds. “Here, take this. Mind the one side though. It’s covered in flour. I, uh, was making bread. It wasn’t going well. Sorry,” she said, handing over the hand towel that had been used to free herself of her own dough nightmare. “You want something to eat? Drink? It’s on me, for… very obvious reasons.” The redhead was doing her best to try to be personable with the healer, but she was no better with strangers, or almost-strangers in this case, than she had been so long ago. In fact, she was probably a bit worse off in that regard.
Emilia let the other woman take the ball of dough in exchange for the towel to wipe her face, attempting to not smear more mess onto her face than it was a moment ago. It was not always easy working with a single hand. Mostly clean, there was still a spot of flour on her face. Not bothered by it she handed the towel back next. The small woman never seemed the same twice from one meeting to the next as an old friend had pointed out to the healer. There across those blue lips was a gentle smile, “No worries, Khitti. I have encountered far worse than flying bread balls in my travels.” Glancing around the establishment that healer offered a small shrug of her shoulders, “I only really eat cold foods anymore. I cannot remember the last time that I ate a fresh baked anything. You don’t need to offer me free food. Times like we are in now it is hard to come by business. I have heard the talk around the city with the flu spreading fear from last year. I have some small potions here that is said to help prevent catching it if you would like some for your family and workers?” The healer offered while showcasing the basket of little bags neatly tied with green ribbons, “No charge. Just the Guild trying to keep the panic down.” It was the gesture of sharing that caused the basket handle to slip down her arm and off her wrist with a path to hit the other woman’s feet. “Bloody, argh. Sorry, you think I would eventually remember I don’t have a second hand!” Em stated in quick apology as she reached to follow the falling basket to catch it before it could hurt Khitti.
Khitti shrugged as Emilia declined some sort of compensation for getting a faceful of freshly punched dough. “Money’s not too bad for my husband and I, but if you insist, then I won’t argue. I still gotta pay these guys anyway,” she said, nodding her head in Victoria and Albert’s direction. “I dunno -why- I pay them though when they’re such pains in the ass.” A look was shot in their direction and the couple let out a childish ‘eep’ and scurried away into the kitchen. There was definitely giggling coming from in there. “But anyway, we keep the cheesecake in the icebox otherwise it’ll spoil, so there’s definitely something here for you if you want it. And sure. Even if Brand and I and the kid don’t end up needing it, then it’d definitely help put Brand’s crew at ease. Shipdwellers are ridiculously superstitious and it’s driving our healer, Lennier, practically insane.” Thankfully for Emilia, Khitti still had mom reflexes, even if she no longer had vampiric ones. Khitti’s quick to catch the basket, and once she had, she eyed the place where the genasi’s hand definitely should have been. “What the hell happened? I remember the black ice, but… you definitely had two hands last time I saw you.” Khitti motioned to the nearest table, so that the two might sit down for their chat.
Emilia smiled with a warm smile on those frosty lips as Khitti caught the basket faster than the frozen woman could manage. There was a small breath of relief let out as the hard work didn’t shatter on the floor. Following along with the gesture of the other woman to take a seat at the table the healer spoke, “You can keep the basket and tend to the entire crew. If you need more just let me know.” These words came as the took their seats. She was happy to hear that the crew could use it to help the healer there feel a bit better. Stress never did make anyone feel better. Sitting across from the woman she rested her stump on the tablet so Khitti could see it a bit better, if she wanted to. At the wrist the hand was severed off with a clear cut. The stump itself was black where the previous dark hand formerly lined up, the black ice fading away just past her wrist leaving her with a bit of the darkness. Rolling the stump so the light reflected off the dark ice the woman spoke, “There was a person close to me who was about to die. But no hand could reach into the injury to save them. So, like any sister would I chopped it off, had a necromancer reanimate it so that it could do the job, but the black-ice reacted weird. I couldn’t attach it back and it never lost the animation spell. However, I haven’t a clue right now where the thing has scampered off to. Like an untrained puppy with a mind of its own.”
Khitti nodded with a smile at the offer of her keeping the basket, but soon took a closer look at the stump. “Sounds like something I’d do, honestly. Always putting my all out there for other people and not taking care of myself.” It’s something she’d been lectured on many times. Many, many, many times. “A necromancer? Who? Please don’t say it was Larewen because then this whole thing will be even less surprising to me.” Khitti smirked as olive green eyes continued to observe the end of Emilia’s arm. “It just so happens that I’m pretty much the expert in the Necromancer’s Guild on something that might be able to help you. Probably not with your stray hand, unfortunately, but... “ The leader of the Devout’s Guild held out her hand somewhat, both shadows and ice crystals from the genasi’s chilly aura drawing themselves in from around the room and coming together in Khitti’s palm. For a moment, it’s nothing but a small cyclone of the two elements Khitti was well acquired with, but soon began to form into the shape of crude dagger, the ice itself grey in color, thanks to the shadows embedded within. “I’m not sure what made your hand black like that in the first place, nor am I sure that it’s the same as -my- sort of black ice, but it might fair a lot better than reanimating yet another hand. I specialize in what’s known as the Black Tides. It’s shadows, and so far, and the dark magic forms of fire and ice--they’re not the same as the natural elements that most are accustomed to. I’m looking into others, but I don’t think those are what’s needed here anyway. The only thing is the object permanence. Most of my creations are temporary, for fighting. Things I learned from my husband because he’s an elementalist.” The dagger she’d just made faded away, the crystal and shadows returning from where they’d come from.
Emilia shook her head, “It was not Larewen. I cannot remember the girl’s name, Thamalys had asked her to join us for the event. Have not seen or heard from her sense then.” It was an honest answer, even if a poor one. Some people did better at remembering the names of those that they work with, not this one. The eyes of the Genasi watched as the woman melded shadow with ice to form a dagger object before her. It was something that the woman had never seen before. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Magical people were so beautiful to watch work. After Khitti finished the healer spoke softly, “The ice was black-ice from Frostmaw, however it was a chunk of it that Linn was working with. I tried to get the ice to form with my own element to see what it was all about. It transformed my hand into black ice, while it destroyed the piece of ice he had. Whatever ice they have there of the black ice did not react the same as regular ice does with my element. A fluke happening. I wouldn’t know much about the actual black ice, never messed with it again. Something special to the giants I think Linn once said.” There was a paused as she poked at her own stump, “I cannot say if your ice is the same or not the same, but if there was a way to make a permanent object out of it, I think it would have the best chance of staying attached. Would it function like a hand, do you think? Bendable fingers? Holding objects?” The Genasi was definitely very intrigued with the entire concept of a new hand, especially one that wouldn’t melt away.
Khitti listened carefully as Emilia recounted her tale of what had happened with her hand, before losing it. “I have a bow made of that black ice. Alvina Landon made it for me quite awhile ago. I think she’s one of the only non-giants to know how to craft with it. But… that might not matter anyway, considering the majority of that specific ice is now gone from your body. And I am not surprised this happened around Linn. The few times I had been around him, he always seemed the inquisitive sort, what with all those gems he messed around with.” She let out a ‘hm’, thinking to herself while also studying her own hand, flexing each of its five fingers and watching as the muscle and tendons worked together. “I think I could make it work if I build it up in layers. In advanced reanimation, it is possible to, essentially, call back the flesh that a skeleton once had. It’s a mix of the reanimation and another subclass of necromancy called carnomancy, which is a sort of dark magic that could be used to heal undead flesh.” She shook her head, “But, I’m getting off onto a tangent. Basically, I think I can work my own magic in a similar fashion. Start with the bones made of ice, then the sinew from shadows, and finally another layer of ice for the skin. It’s… definitely quite advanced, but if anyone’s able to do it, it’d likely be me.” It was certainly quite an undertaking, and while there was a bit of worry coming from whether or not she’d be able to actually do this thing, she was also excited as well. “And if I can do that with a hand, then maybe I could even do it on a far larger scale. I’ve long since lost my ability to truly reanimate something, like other necromancers, and if I want my job as Black Tides teacher back, I’m really going to have to ‘wow’ one of the Necromancer’s Guild’s higher ups with something similar.”
Emilia watched as Khitti flexed her hand to study how the hand itself moved after her question. The Genasi was happy to hear that the woman was willing to help make her a new hand of mixed shadows and ice. It would not be easy from the way she described the simple terms in necromancy alone. As a healer, she had never thought about all the aspects that went into remaking what once was to be again. Khitti sure had a knowledge and a skill set that should make any guild leader jealous. Shifting how she sat the woman nodded, “If you would be willing, I would love to be helpful to you getting back into your necromancer mojo to become a Black Tides teacher again. I will be your test subject and I will pay you for all the work that you do.” The Genasi wasn’t worried about any costs in the matter, she had more gold left to her from her ex-husband that most dreamed about. There was then a pause as the healer remembered another thing, “It shouldn’t make a difference that the rest of my bones are coated in a thin metal layer?” Attaching a hand wasn’t something she knew how to do in this matter of attachments. Severed living hands back on, yes. Sometimes wire and screws were needed to hold it into place after the injury.
Khitti || “Payment is always welcome. Especially for something like this. If only because I’m going to run a few solo tests in the meantime, just to see how it all holds up, and I’ll likely have to push other work aside.” Khitti paused for a moment, then quickly added, “That’s not a complaint though, heh. I’ve not been able to do something like this in ages. It’s always I have to do paperwork or go out and fight some big bad evil person. I’ve only just started my Black Tides research, to find the other two elements, but now I’ll have even more of an excuse to shove things off properly like I should’ve done in the first place.” There’s a rare, unsarcastic smile on Khitti’s face, but it faded a little as the ice genasi made mention of the metal on her bones, though it was more out of another bout of deep thinking as opposed to the news being a deterrence. “What sort of metal is it? It’s possible that it might help it bond to your body better.”
Emilia smiled softly, “I am happy to help you in any way that I can in this endeavor of yours. Supplies? You got it. Funds? You got it.” It was then Khitti asked about the metal itself and the Genasi gave a shrug, “Sorry, not too sure about that one either. Sabrina did it. It was a long process of being cut open, taken apart and put back together bit by bit. Cannot say I was much paying attention during the process, but if you would like sometimes you can cut me open and have a look for yourself. Don’t know if that would be helpful to you, but it might shed more light on what is under the flesh.” The woman flashed a soft smile to the other woman, “I really am sorry that I am not the most helpful with this.”
Khitti shook her head a bit, “N-no. Uh. I’m, uh, not that kind of necromancer.” The thought of cutting someone open brought back unfortunate memories--although she was the one that had been cut open. She did, however, know of a necromancer that would indeed like to get his hands on a living specimen for vivisection. Sorry, Bradyn. You won’t be getting that opportunity. She forced a smile for Emilia, as an attempt to pretend that the thought hadn’t made her a little uneasy. “It honestly probably won’t matter much. So long as it all bonds regardless, there’s likely no need to know about it. But if it comes down to it? We’ll go your route and figure out what metal is needed.” Khitti looked towards the counter and the kitchen. Both of her employees were starting the whole cleanup process, and the redhead started to feel a little guilty considering she made that huge mess. “I should probably get back to work. Need to help them clean up and whatnot for the night. I’ll find a suitable place for us to do this and let you know, okay?”
Emilia was used to most people wanting to cut her open to see how she ticked, so it seemed natural to offer the chance to Khitti. Her reaction was not the same as others so she guessed it was not going to be a need, which was nice to know. Smiling, “I will be around. You can always send word to me at the guild or around town helping others. Can’t miss the frozen woman in town. Thank you for being willing to help me gain a second hand once more. I am sorry that I kept you from getting work done here.” Standing the Genasi reached into a pocket and dropped a handful of coins onto the table. She didn’t buy anything, except maybe the dough that had hit her in the face. A slight nod, “I look forward to hearing from you when you have a chance. Thank you for this opportunity. Have a wonderful evening.” And with that the woman would move to take her leave from the Bakery.