RP:An Odd Choice Of Pets

Synopsis: Lanara gifts Talyara another misfit pet.

Lanara :: A loud, animalistic, bleating, is heard, and the sound rises as whatever it is, nears the tavern. The snow, whipping wind, and heavily wood tavern, do nothing to muffle the sound, as it grows louder and comes nearer. A moment later, the tavern door opens, and remains open, as a gust of wind holds it ajar. A massive, undead seal, wiggles its way into the tavern, baying and roaring in its sea lion way. Leaving a wet streak of melted snow in its wake, the seal nudges its body forward, slick fins slapping against the chairs and tables. Lanara, enters behind the seal, a small smile on her face, lighting up even brighter as she spies her sister. "Tally! I got you a present! He was near death, at the beach in Rynvale. He ended up dying, actually. And a necromancer revived him for me. Please, ignore the smell of rotting fish flesh... Just cast a spell each morning so he smells like roses." Grinning, she lovingly pets the undead seal, which was gazing at Talyara with glowing green eyes, and continues to bleat. "His name is Tito."

Talyara is suddenly wrenched from her sleep and sits up quickly as loud sound issues from down in the tavern. Groaning slightly, the witch untangles herself from Emrith's arm, careful not to disturb his slumber and climbs from the bed. She grabs her glasses and pulls Emrith's cloak from the peg, wrapping it around her body. Quiet as a mouse she slips out the door and pads down the stairs having forgone her boots. As she reaches the bottom step she freezes, noting a seal gallivanting along the tavern floor. Emerald eyes rise to meet her sister's chocolate ones. The half elf runs a hand through her messy bed head and moves closer to the unlikely pair. "You bought me a dead seal?"

Lanara stifles a laugh at the vision of her sleep deprived sister, her lips forming a smirk as she points to the half elf’s hair. “You’re a hot mess, sister. And…” Chocolate hues drop, to glance at the undead seal that was now sniffing at the bottom step, and looking for a way to go upstairs. Unable to climb the stairs, Tito, growls, opening his mouth rather wide, and baying at Talyara’s toes. “Aw, you’ve upset him, Tally! Come down here, and cuddle your new pet.” Another wicked grin escapes her, as the seal’s breath alone was enough to wake the dead, let alone her sister. “I tried to enroll him in a school in town, to learn some manners. But apparently death stole his scholarship. Did you know that undead animal’s can’t learn new tricks?” Shaking her head in disbelief, she tosses a sardine at Tito, which he catches happily, in mid air. “I don’t believe it. You two will get along famously. Thank you, sister… For always taking in the misfits I find.”

Talyara scrunches up her nose in disgust and waves her hand in front of her face in an attempt to waft away the smell of rotten fish. Quickly, the witch mutters a spell on the seal thus neutralizing the odor. She sighs and drops down the remaining step, lowering herself to the ground and crossing her legs. She extends her hand towards the seal in greeting. When he moves closer, Talyara pats his head affectionately. She shakes her head disbelievingly, still half asleep. "Cross-dressing, flame throwing squirrels and undead seals..."

Lanara nods her head, pleased to find that her sister was already warming up to the sea beast. “I already have four pets, I can’t keep adding to my collection. You only have Grandpa…” Her voice trails off, as the scorched rodent hobbles down the stairs, chittering a greeting to Talyara. Eyes narrowed, the squirrel inhales the scent of Tito and starts loudly chittering, his little paw lifting to point accusingly at Lanara, as if he somehow knew that she was behind this. Lana shakes her head, and hurts a stinky sardine at Grandpa’s head, giggling maniacally as Tito falls off the final step and clutches the fish, angrily digging his claws into the slime. Returning her attention to her sister, she motions up the stairs. “I take it all is well with Emrith, now?”

Talyara smacks her head with the palm of her hand as Grandpa joins the circus and begins to fight with her sister. Talyara shakes her head, unsure of their hatred for one another. She watches as Tito begins to move around the tavern floor, crawling on his fins, much to the dismay of Drargon who grumbles from behind the bar. The witch offers her sister a half smile. "Yes, I think so. We argued briefly on terms of faith and belief but it was neither the time nor place for such debates. We are fine now." The half elf slowly stands and snatches the angry squirrel, cupping him in her hands. A flush begins to glow on her cheeks. "I told him I wish to be with no one but him."

Lanara half smiles, in response to her sister’s confession, a rare hue of pink brushing her own pale cheeks. Clearly her throat, somewhat embarrassed, she lowers herself into a chair and pulls Delilah onto her lap. The winter wolf was clearly, not a lap dog, as only the upper half of her just barely fits on Lana’s much smaller frame. Two large paws are extended out, lazily draping over the elf’s legs, as she licks her beloved owner on the chin. Every so often she shifts her honey brown eyes to glance hungrily at Grandpa, though she minds her manners… For now. Lanara hugs the majestic white canine to her chest, and scratches her behind her velvety ears, smitten with her new pet. Eventually she musters the courage to ask her sister a personal question. “You are no longer a virgin, I take it?”

Talyara rises from the floor rather clumsily, wrapping the spell blade's cloak tighter around her slight frame. She nearly stumbles into the armchair across from her sister as she asks the personal question. Talyara's eyes dart around the tavern, looking at everything except the pretty elf before her. Talyara finally blows out a deep sigh and gazes into the dancing flames of the hearth. Slowly the half elf shakes her head, her cheeks burning with an even deeper flush.

Lanara nips her lower lip, unsure if she should pounce on her sister and beg for details, or be angry with her for giving Emrith such a sacred piece of her, so quickly. Instead, she settles for the middle road. “Hm…” Raising both brows, she meets Delilah’s hypnotic hues and continues to rub behind those snowy ears, before she finally meets her sister’s gaze. “I take it things are getting pretty serious, then? I mean… I know you spend three or four hours, sometimes more, a day with him. So I guess things are getting pretty serious…” Again, her voice trails off, as she leans forward and gently nudges the wolf back onto the tavern floor. “Do you think he’s your soul mate? Do you have any regrets? It was so soon, though, Tally… “

Talyara finally meets her sister's chocolate gaze as she is loaded with several questions. The half elf drums her fingertips on the arm of the chair. She shrugs her shoulders slightly, "I suppose you can say our relationship is fairly...serious." She sighs, hoping beyond anything that she did not disappoint her sister. "It is not like I planned for it to happen it just sort of...did." She runs a hand through her wavy locks and leans back allowing the cushions to hug her. "I do not know if I believe in soul mates, Lana. But I can say that he has his rough moments and can stubborn and hard, but..." and then a small smile plays across her lips. "He is also gentle and poetic with his words and caring. He makes me very happy and I enjoy his company immensely."

Lanara frowns slightly, and leans forward, grasping Talyara’s right hand, and rubbing the rune tattoo on her sisters inner wrist. Feeling the pulse beneath, she sighs faintly as her own rune begins to pulse, in perfect rhythm. For a long moment, her gaze lingers on the tattoo, and she gathers her thoughts, before she raises her gaze to those magnificent emerald orbs. “You care for him, but you didn’t say you love him… Enjoying someone’s company and having chemistry is not enough to just sleep with someone, Tally. I… I hope you do not regret this, one day. I don’t plan on waiting for marriage, but I won’t give my heart, or body, so quickly. We need to protect that. Once it’s gone, you never get it fully back.” Another deep sigh. “I do hope you love him one day, or that it’s just awkward for you to explain to me, and you already adore him. I will –not- read your emotions, I would never unless it was life or death. And speaking of death… You do not look so well. Is everything alright? Last night…I… I felt as though you passed from this realm. I can’t explain it…”

Talyara turns her gaze back to the fire as Lanara holds on to her wrist. The witch allows her sister to say her piece before taking her hand in her own and fixing her with a serious expression. Her voice is lowered, barely above a whisper. "I -do- love him, Lana." She shifts uncomfortably in her seat as her sister mentions Tally's fate. While still unsteady on her feet, the half elf was at least no longer tumbling down like a fool. Tiredness still plagued her but it was not the suffocating exhaustion that had been there. While still paler than normal, her color was slowly returning. "I am recovering." The half elf allows her sister's hand to drop from her own, not wanting to worry Lana further. "I had an unfortunate run in a few evenings ago that nearly took my life. I do not know how, but I made it back here. Thankfully, Emrith had returned and was there to help nurse me back to a more fit state."

Lanara sighs heavily, growing more and more weary with each passing second, as the elf had a ton on her plate these days. But her beloved sister always came first, and she would do all that she could to assist her in any way. “Oh Tally! You’re in love!? That’s wonderful! So… What’s it like? You know… The physical stuff. Was the first kiss wonderful? Did you see stars? Did you lift your foot off the ground?” Now, she would pounce on her sister, verbally. The barrage of questions was enough to distract Talyara, as she grasps her hand again, and forces her own life energy into the appendage. Slow and steady, in hopes that the half elf would not notice, she slowly drains her own energy, little by little, until she feels that her sister holds more strength, than she currently does. Lana would breathlessly remove her hand and drop the appendage of her sister, once it was completed, and lean back in her chair. “I am sorry that you had a near death encounter, sister. The lands can be rather cruel, here… I’m considering leaving.”

Talyara cannot help the little smirk that plays on her lips and the slight flush of her cheeks that warm her skin. "I do not know how to describe love; it just is, if that makes sense?" The half elf chuckles at her sister's questions. "Technically, he took our first kiss while I was under the enchantment of the compulsion oil." The witch quickly holds her hand up to Lanara before she can protest or become hysterical. "I had wanted to kiss him anyway, so it was not done maliciously. I did not see stars nor did my foot pop for we were sitting in the ground. I had just put the oil on my wrist without his permission and then I bid him to command me to test the potency. He bid me kiss him, so I did. When we broke apart so I could tell him it worked, all I desired was to press my lips against his once again. Which I did." The half elf's face flushes a little deeper as Lanara takes her hand. Talyara had been distracted by the pleasant memory but then suddenly frowns when she realizes what her sister had done. "Lana, you shouldn't have done that, now you will be weakened." At the mention of the elf's potential departure a look of panic crosses Talyara's face. "What? No! You can't! But… Why?" The half elf leans forward, a real note of pleading in those emerald eyes. "You just came back into my life; I cannot bear the thought of you leaving it once again."

Lanara sighs, her hand once more stroking Delilah’s soft fur, as the wolf and mistress meet the natural witch’s pleading eyes. “Tally… I am not the same. I was always a bit aloof, and I always had quite the hard heart. But…This land is ruining me. I have no friends, other than you and my animals… I think I have a crush, or whatever fantastical word you wish to use, on Ansel. But he rejected me, and I know he’s fond of another. He won’t give me any details. And I’m foolish, anyways. To think anyone would ever desire me… I killed a man. Be it in self defense, or not, I still used my gift to curse another to death. And… I… The other day, I went a little crazy. I found it hilarious, that me and this red head… We… We attacked a harmless, peaceful, man, in town… We removed his eye. For pure fun and mischief. You know that I would –never- harm another, and I was not under any enchantment or influence. I merely… I snapped. I don’t trust myself, anymore. And I don’t think I want to stay here, to see what I turn into, as the Goddess and God are probably furious with me, right now.” A gentle shrug of her slender shoulders, as she pauses mid-pat on the winter wolfs head, nipping her lower lip. “Tally… I have lost my way. At least you found love, and you’re making a home here.”

Talyara reaches her hand across the distance and grasps her sister's affectionately. "I have been here longer than you, Lana; you have to give this place a chance." Talyara ponders for a moment before returning to her sister. "I am not saying that I condone your eye snatching, but perhaps this is the real you. Perhaps you are a mischievous, beautiful elf, who deserves some fun in her life." The witch sighs sadly. "I do not wish you to leave. It is selfish but I want you here with me. But I do not condone your unhappiness. I do wonder, however, whether you have considered the good you have done since you have been here, rather than dwell on the negative. You have a job doing something you love with bosses you appreciate. You rescue abandoned and injured animals. You have taken with Ansel's children and them to you. You helped Emrith disguise himself in such a way that led to the freedom of two of our kind and most likely saved his life in the process. And you have brought happiness back into my heart upon your arrival." A rogue tear glides down the half elf's cheek. "You are not a bad person Lana, you are just on your own for the first time in your life and you are simply finding your way."

Lanara sobs softly, as her sisters words reach her pointed ears, the elf feeling a huge weight lifting off of her heart, as she collapses forward and wraps her arms tightly around Talyara’s shoulders. She had been holding in so many emotions for so long, it was a miracle that she only removed an unsuspecting stranger’s eye, and didn’t cause further harm to other innocents. Fingers coil in around Tally’s long locks, as she sobs, hysterically now, in her beloved sister’s embrace. “You’re… Right. I have done some good since arriving here, and strive so hard to fit in. I only see the bad in myself, and I keep thinking there’s something wrong with me. All. The. Time. I think I’m not worthy of love, and that I’m unattractive, and boring… The only thing that I have going for me is my magic, and your undeniable love. It’s awful, that I relate to animals more than people… And… What if I never find my way? What if I live the rest of my years in limbo? Never knowing who I am?” Between her tears, choked sobs, and stuttering, she finds herself now on her smaller sister’s lap, hugging her close. “I can’t leave you, Tally. Be selfish. Sometimes it’s nice to feel wanted and like I belong with someone.”

Talyara cradles her older sister in her arms, gently brushing her lips against her temple. She gives Lanara an affectionate squeeze before cooing softly, "It's okay Lana, it will be alright." She allows her sister to cry against her for a few moments before continuing. "You are worthy of love and you will find it one day. You will realize it was worth waiting for and it will fill your heart so fully it will feel like it will burst! I find your ability to communicate with animals endearing and the right man will appreciate the large, kind heart you possess. It is normal to worry about the future, we all do it. But if you constantly keep your eyes too far ahead, you will forget to appreciate what you have right now." The half elf reaches up and wipes her sister's tears. "Do you know how jealous I was of you while we were growing up?"

Lanara laughs through her tears, allowing Talyara to dry the moisture from her cheeks, as she rolls her eyes. “Jealous? Of me?!” Shaking her head in disbelief, she giggles again, and stares intently into those vivid green eyes. “I am not one to be jealous of… We were both magically anomaly’s back home. None of the townsfolk or even the coven… No one believed either of us to be so adept at magic, at such a young age. You have more beauty than I, and you are easy to love. I am… Well… The only advantage I have is that I am an empath, and I rarely use that gift. And animals adore me. That’s pretty much it…And…” Pausing, she bites hard on her lower lip, enough pressure applied to form a droplet of blood, as her vision switches from her sister to the sardine hugging squirrel. “Um… He –is- grandfather.”

Talyara chuckles along with her sister, shaking her chestnut waves. "I always found your beauty far more superior to my own. And while I have no doubt that Mother loved me, she truly adored you. She tolerated me running through the woods at all hours of the day, setting snares, getting dirty. At least you possess all the domestic skills required. I feel bad for whoever chooses me as a wife, if it happens at all." The witch leans her head back and smile gently at her sister, "You are much more powerful than I can ever hope to be. I admire you a lot, Lanara. You're my big sister and I've always wanted to be like you." Talyara closes her eyes and stifles a yawn with her free hand, only catching a brief part of what Lana said. "My squirrel, Grandpa? What about him?"

Lanara stares at the brunette beauty before her, mouth agape. “Me? Beautiful?!” Scoffing, she shakes her head, and runs her fingers through her long locks. “I am far from what most would consider attractive. You are a tomboy, true, but you are free. I have such difficulty with explaining my feelings, or truly letting myself just go, without inhibitions. We are complete opposites, yet identical in other ways. I can teach you to cook, and clean. It’s rather easy, and you will easily bore of it.” A small laugh escapes her, though her nerves return as Grandpa is mentioned, the young elf feelings her cheeks turning crimson. “Grandpa is our actual maternal grandfather, in squirrel form. The spell can never be reversed, mother made certain of it… It happened before you were even born. That’s how they realized how powerful my magic was… I was playing in my little crib, with some toys, and just babbling, as most toddlers do… Grandpa came in, and he smacked mother, across the face. Hard. It wasn’t the first time I witnessed it, either. I lifted my stuffed shark in my hand, and a laser-like beam shot from its form, as I muttered beneath my breath. He was turned into an angry rodent, within seconds. Mother ran to tell the coven, and we all decided he was best kept in that form.” A shrug, as she glares at the cross dressing squirrel. “He’s immortal and will always remain in that form. I’m sorry, Tally… I should have told you. But it’ was always my secret with mother… Now that she passed, I feel it’s time to shed that secret, and tell you.” She pauses, as she rises to her feet, and tugs on Delilah’s leash, watching as Tito nears them. As if on cue, the undead seal raises a stinky fin, and hits Grandpa upside the head, which sends him sprawling across the tavern floor. Lana sighs, picks up the squirrel and stifles a giggle as he raises a furry fist at the elf. “He’s best kept in your care, sister.” Lowering the wedding dress attired rodent to the table, she turns to the door. “I have to run now, Tally. Thank you for cheering me up. You’re just what the doctor ordered. I love you, sister.”

Talyara listens intently as her sister divulges the secret of Grandpa. The witch opens her mouth to respond but finding no words closes it again. A few moments later Talyara tries again but still doesn't find the words. She just simply watches as the squirrel chitters angrily and Tito smacks him upside the head. Only when Lanara draws the wolf's leash and begins to leave does Tally speak. "I love you, Lana. See...See you soon." The half elf gives another disbelieving look at Grandpa and shakes her head.