RP:Hooked On A Feeling

Part of the On Stranger Tides Arc

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti and Viera head to the Shadow Plane to retrieve information for Hildegarde's quest. While there, the two discuss their "relationship" and things get... a little hot.

Riverbank, Larket

Khitti || A letter was left for Viera on the ship, which read: ‘I’m going to the Shadow Plane on a mission for Hildegarde. You can come with, if you want. I’m leaving Dominic in Dozla’s care, however, regardless. If you do go, there’s some place that I’d like to show you. Also be careful about Larket’s guards on the way in. --K’. Had Khitti taken Viera to Helshade before? So many things had gone on lately that she couldn’t really recall. She knew that Viera -had- accompanied her to the plane, in general, but still. Well, hopefully it would end up being a surprise then, if the blonde did go with her. Juuuuust in case, Khitti dressed up all nice-like. She’d braided her hair and threaded thin gold ribbon throughout it to match the kraken tentacle bracelet Viera had picked out weeks ago, and wore a slightly nicer black dress than usual (but tried to keep it as casual as possible with some leggings, her favorite boots, and a long knit duster)--it’s safe to say that Khitti was trying to look nice for Viera without actually making it seem to obvious. Whether she did achieve that or not was an entirely different question. There was the chance that Viera wasn’t even going to show up. Khitti’d wait for like ten to fifteen minutes by the river (which felt like one of the safer areas to open up a portal to another realm at) and if Viera didn’t show up? Well, Khitti was not going to be entirely heartbroken. Just mostly. She had her cat too, of course. The tikifhlee was content to wait too, in housecat form, while chasing after a butterfly that had come out of the botanical gardens not too far north from where Khitti was now.

Brand || It was strange. Brand could remember the way things were before, but as time passed it seemed more and more like a distant dream. He had settled into his new reality, and even begun to enjoy some things about his new life. Praying, for one, turned out to be surprisingly relaxing. It felt good to let his concerns be heard, especially since he had so little control over his current predicament. And Viera had been giving him -- or rather, Moira -- daily lessons on illusion magic. It was a treasure trove of knowledge, and Brand found himself eager to learn despite his disdain for his teacher. As the days passed, he even felt more and more in tune with ‘Moira’. Sometimes, he was able to control the body as if it were his own. He still couldn’t do anything with it that Viera wouldn’t approve of, but it was nonetheless a sort of freedom. Life got more comfortable, and so even when Brand could feel his old self slipping away, it was hard to muster up passion enough to care. It was a losing battle, anyway; he couldn’t keep fighting against the forces that had done this to him, and often he found that he no longer wanted to. He was a part of Moira. Moira was part of him. Together, they were something more, something beautiful, something neither male nor female yet simultaneously both. Cire would take care of them. Viera would take care of them. They had nothing left to lose, and so much to gain.

Brand || Viera, for her part, couldn’t believe the changes she was seeing in Brand -- even though she had been the one orchestrating them. It had happened so much faster than she had thought possible, and now she hardly needed to expend energy on keeping Brand in line. Her creation, Moira, had all but seamlessly melded with Brand, and he -- or ‘they’, she supposed, since the two were essentially one now -- even seemed to be -enjoying- it. It was what Viera had wanted, sure, but a part of her couldn’t stand it. This was supposed to be a punishment. Brand wasn’t supposed to have adapted to the new normal so easily. And so, with a simple spell, Viera pulled Brand out of the illusion that was ‘Moira’ and back into herself. Perhaps she’d put Brand back in Moira later, but right now she wanted to remind them who was in control.

Brand || It was in this state, with Brand trapped inside Viera once again, that they arrived at the riverbank. Viera was dressed in her best, most provocative outfit -- far more appropriate for a ball than for a trip to the Shadow Plane. It was sleeveless and nearly backless, save for a criss-cross of laces. Sequins dotted the bodice in crimson and black, then trailed down to the hem of the dress in the pattern like a smouldering fire. Her makeup alone would have taken hours to do, had she not simply magicked it on for the sake of time. It was a knockout look, and she knew it. She was going to steal Khitti away, with Brand able to do nothing more than watch. -That-, she hoped, would cause the kind of suffering she so dearly wanted to see in Brand.

Khitti || Was that… singing? No. That was just Khitti’s brain. It was a thing it liked to do whenever Viera, in all of her radiant beauty, showed up. A glorious choir of angels always seemed to herald the Catalian’s arrival in the former templar’s head. Was it possible to create a new god? Clearly -someone- had done that, in the case of that insectoid, Alithyk Caluss, that’d been plaguing Lithrydel with his undeath. Khitti had started thinking rather blasphemous thoughts: maybe Viera could replace Arkhen as the goddess of light? Her hair shined like the sun and whenever she came around Khitti couldn’t help but get all heart-eyed. Sure, Viera was not some person of purity and forgiveness, but that didn’t matter in Khitti’s head. All that mattered was that Viera was as hot as the sun and she made Khitti melt into a puddle pretty much always. Like, seriously always. This was more or less the same things she’d thought about Brand--though maybe not so much the replacing Arkhen; that’s probably more a product of Viera’s mindwipe magic--and if Brand had ever been paying attention to any of the times she even vaguely fawned over him in her own tsundere way, then he’d definitely know what this meant: it was probably more than just a crush at this point.

The Lake Of Echoed Screams, The Shadow Plane

Khitti || “Hi, Viera,” Khitti said once the Catalian approached, the greeting barely squeaked out and an awkward cough given soon after to try to cover it up. “I’m assuming you didn’t have any problems…” She motioned towards the southeast, where the bridge to get into the city lay. “Because I will literally go back and stab them, if I have to.” The heart-eyes and the demeanor that came with it was gone now; Khitti was pretty serious about stabbing Larketians. And if she had no stabbing to do? Khitti would open up that ever-familiar portal to the Larketian-side of the Shadow Plane. Before she stepped through though, she’d reach into her satchel and pull out one of the breathing masks that Alvina had made and Rachelle had enchanted specifically for this sort of trip, “Take this, just in case. The place has been healed finally, so the spores might be a bit much. I don’t think we’ll be -too- close to those plants though.” And with that, after making sure she had everything on her that she needed (the book from Satoshi’s library, her swords, and a notebook), she’d head through the portal.

Brand || Viera smiled sweetly. “No, no, there was no trouble.” Actually, there had been, but Viera had magicked one soldier into a puddle of goop, and the rest had left her alone after that. “Oh, I -do- hope the mask won’t be necessary,” she added as they went through the portal. “It would be a shame to hide this beautiful face behind it, after all the time I spent on it.” Not interested in being the slightest bit subtle, she batted her eyelashes and splayed her fingers under her face as if for emphasis. She could feel Brand grumbling about all the flirtiness, which meant she was doing something right. As well she should be -- she’d prayed to Cire for an interesting and... fruitful trip today. If her wish was granted, she and Khitti would be a genuine item by the end of the day. Or, well, as genuine as they -could- be, considering Viera didn’t hold feelings for Khitti at all.

Khitti tried really hard not to be a puddle of goop herself once they got to the other side. It wouldn’t do to show up like that to ask the shadowseers for help. It’s not very professional, you know. But those batting eyelashes and the flirtiness in general worked as intended despite Khitti’s efforts. She took a few moments to compose herself, then headed eastward towards the lake and the newly rebuilt village. The last time Khitti had seen them, there’d only been three shadowseers left. More of the quantum-locked treants that had dwelled in the White Woods had been “awakened” to true sentience, the silver stalkers leaving their old lives behind to take up a new one. They whispered as usual whenever Khitti came around, their faces ever-shrouded by their hooded robes, though their stare could be felt even without seeing whatever sort of eyes the treants had. The three that Khitti had dealt with before approached her, but said nothing. “The prophecies that you kept here before… Are they here again? Or did Jessamine and James destroy those too? I need one of them. If it’s actually here, anyway.”

Khitti || The middle of the three spoke finally, their voice like a raspy hiss, “The prophecies are safe. You seek the God Ether… Your “queen” has not been as quiet about this as she thinks. She has asked Aramoth for help countless times and the dead have heard every single one of them.” Khitti smirked and shrugged, “Yes well. Not everyone truly understands the meaning of secret-keeping. Do you have it or not? And any other information you have on it as well would be helpful.” The three shadowseers stepped aside, motioning to the nearest hut. Torches along the way lit with shadowflame, the inside of the hut doing the same. “Everything has been prepared for you, Harbinger.” The redhead gave the three a half-assed salute, a polite smile, and headed in. The whispers still continued around her, of course, and she fought the urge to eyeroll. Khitti did this once she got inside the hut though. Everyone was always whispering about her, whether she knew it or not. It got tiring.

Khitti || Once inside the hut, Khitti found a very short stack books, as well as the prophecy scroll itself. She sat down in front of the low table they’d been left on and started flipping through the pages. In the end, the prophecy itself was in just as much gibberish as Khitti’s own prophecy had been in. The books, however, helped a bit more. The downside was that they all mostly said the same thing.

Brand || The whole while, Viera looked around as if her head were on a swivel. She’d never actually been to the Shadow Plane before, of course, and only had Brand’s memories of it to go by. Speaking of Brand, they seemed… bored. Granted, there wasn’t much to do when trapped inside someone else’s body -- or, more accurately, your own body that’s been stolen from you and shapeshifted to look like someone else’s body. Brand could only watch or perhaps try to communicate towards Viera in the weird sort of way that only two entities sharing the same body could. Viera decided it was time to push the issue with Khitti a bit further.

Brand || “So… sunshine.” She traced a finger down Khitti’s arm and rejoiced in the way it made the little hairs stand on end. Khitti was getting goosebumps just from a simple touch. “I’ve been thinking. You’ve been single for a long time, haven’t you? Is there a reason for that, do you think? Do you need me to set you up with someone?” Viera smiled innocently. Just a simple question, but she knew what kind of chaos it would cause.

Khitti nearly dropped the book she’d been looking through once Viera started questioning her. While she was very much “in love” with Viera, there were times that the woman touched on certain subjects far more than Khitti would typically and usually at rather inopportune times. Now was definitely one of those times. Khitti had even planned everything out! She’d take Viera to a nice restaurant in Helshade, take her to see the city, the works. Not that Khitti knew much of the place to begin with, but that was supposed to be part of the fun of the whole outing. “I wonder, Viera, if you are truly that blind or just willfully ignorant sometimes,” Khitti said at length after a bit of silence, her tone that of vague annoyance. “I know you really can’t be that stupid. I -know- you’re not. I make it a point to stay away from idiots.” Casually, Khitti flipped through the book, though she’d long since stopped reading it. Her lips had twisted into a frown and crimson brows furrowed. “I’ll let you put a few things together… One: you are quite right, I -have- been single for awhile. For a long while. Two: I make it a point to listen to you always and make you dinner or breakfast and help with things on the ship occasionally. I go on shopping trips with you when I’m really not the type to do that sort of thing on my own. I do things with you, that you enjoy doing, because I know it makes you happy. And three: I invited you along on this trip, not just because I wanted to spend time with you, but also because I wanted to bring you to some place I thought you’d enjoy.” She paused and then quickly added, “This place--” A hand gestured to the hut and the area around it. “--is not it.”

Khitti || The same hand started flipping through pages again, all the while, Khitti still stared at it and didn’t even look towards Viera once. “So tell me, Viera… do -you- think there’s a reason? Could there possibly be any reason at all? Maybe? If you’re that blind, then maybe I should stop wasting my time.” Whyyyyy did you have to do this -now-, Viera? Why are you so frustrating sometimes? Why do you always have to point out the obvious and ruin things? “Often, of late, I’ve been wondering whether or not I should just move to the Shadow Plane and leave Lithrydel. I feel like I’m needed here more and Dominic’s a shadow magic freak like me, so he’d fit in well. Is there a reason for me to stay? Meri and Lionel do perfectly well without me and it’s not like I can’t come back and visit.”

Brand || Viera was genuinely a bit taken aback, probably a result of her not -actually- knowing Khitti for as long as she claimed. She’d work not to show it, however, and instead would maintain the same aura of cheerfulness and calm that she usually did. “Maybe I -do- think there’s a reason. But I wish you would say it aloud, and plainly, so I could know for certain. Maybe I wish you would just -ask- for what you want, instead of thinking you have to make some elaborate plan and then putting it off forever because your plan isn’t ‘perfect’ enough yet.” Delicately, she put a hand on Khitti’s. “Cire teaches us that the best way to get what we want is to reach out and take it for ourselves. But maybe, sometimes, a girl just wants to be reached for. Can you really blame me for that?”

Khitti eyed Viera’s hand and hesitated, but eventually set her own on top of it. “Did you think that maybe -I- am the one that wants to be reached for? I’m tired, Viera… I’m tired of chasing after people. I should not have to be the one time and time again to reach out to people. I have to do it with everyone--it’s literally my job at the Devout’s Guild. If I don’t take what I want, I get lied to and I get put into positions that I’m tired of being put in. I’m tired of giving and not getting anything back.” A voice filled Khitti’s head, one she hadn’t heard in weeks, though it really felt more like years at this point. It stunned her momentarily, her train of thought lost, and it was rather obvious that whatever it was upset her, to the point of her eyes getting rather misty. ‘You wanna explain to me why you’re so frakkin’ hellbent on givin’ up everything you have for everyone else? Might not be the same degree as throwin’ yourself at a dragon, but it’s still the same damn thing. I jus’ don’t understand you sometimes. Whatever value you place in the kid… in me… you oughta be lookin’ out for yourself, first. Everyone else comes an’ goes, or could be torn away in a blink.’ The memory flickered briefly in her mind like a spark… and then fizzled out. Viera’s magic covered it up. Just like it quickly erased any real knowledge of those weird dreams she’d been having lately. Khitti’d just chalked it up to it being those mindflayer nightmares again, though. But this though… whatever it had been stirred up a strange, sad fire in her heart. The fact that no one seemed to understand why she wanted to do all the things that she did for them rekindled her frustration, but whomever had said those words brought on a sadness that only Viera’s magic could quell. And it did. Mostly. The feeling lingered anyway, but surely that was because of the conversation she was having, right?

Khitti released Viera’s hand and moved both of her own away, packing away the books and the scroll into her satchel. “I want someone to want -me- for once, for something other than black tides lessons or to kill off some wannabe gods. And no… It wasn’t going to be perfect. Nothing with me is ever going to be perfect and you should know that by now. But, it was supposed to be nice. So, yes, Viera. I do have feelings for you. I have for a long time. But I have honestly been terrified that if I say that to you, all of this would go away.” She motioned to both of them and the space between them. She meant their friendship, of course.

Brand || Viera didn’t say anything. She just listened. She listened to Khitti, and she listened to the voice inside of her, Brand, yelling at her things that would be far too filled with expletives to write in a post for hollowgame.com. She listened, and then she smirked, and then she drew Khitti in for a kiss. She made it extra long and extra steamy, just to aggravate Brand further. When she pulled away, she was all sweet smiles and shy glances, as if this was something she’d been wanting to do for a long time and simply hadn’t had the courage to do it. “I… hope that’s a clear enough answer for you.”

Khitti || Viera kissed Khitti and yet it felt… wrong? No, no. That’s just your anxiety talking, Khitti. She hesitated for a little bit, but she eventually pushed away those feelings that told her not to do any part of this whatsoever and kissed Viera back. This was very much what Khitti wanted and, damn it, she was going to be happy about it if it killed her. There was still that weird lingering feeling of sadness she had but… NOPE. It didn’t exist. It’s gone. Forever. Everything and anything was Viera and only Viera, as it should be. Would it be bad if she just banged Viera right here? In the middle of the Shadow Plane? Amongst a bunch of people who might as well be monks? It would be bad, wouldn’t it? It would. And Khitti knew it would… but DAMN IT. She really wanted it. Viera had clearly not considered just how much Khitti and Brand had sex and well, Khitti had been overly craving this sort of touch for weeks now. Not a clue why. Nope. Khitti wasn’t going to say this, but it was very obvious in the way she kissed Viera. And then? She ended it. She tried very hard to pretend that it didn’t happen, if only in an attempt to get rid of the blushing that was incredibly apparent now. Tsundere mode: On. “Yes. Very,” Khitti said eventually as she composed herself and tried to look like she didn’t want to just grab Viera and carry her off elsewhere. “We should, uh… go. Now. Immediately.” Look, Viera, Khitti just did not want to be known as ‘The Harbinger That Has Sex Amongst Sacred Texts And Has Killed Off All The Prophecies Somehow With Her Lustful Ways’. It’s too long of a title and doesn’t really have a good ring to it.

Khitti || “Hey. Hi. Sorry to uh, bug you again but… Can you make me one of those handy little portals to Helshade? And maybe also teach me how to do that so I don’t have to ask you again?” Khitti had made her way out of that hut ever so quickly and found those three main seers again. “The spirits in the lake foresaw you asking for this, so we prepared instructions as well.” ‘Oh gods’ was all Khitti could think as they handed over another scroll. What -else- had the spirits in the lake foreseen? The blushing returned and things were awkward. As if they hadn’t been awkward already. “Th-thank you. If you need me, you know how to reach me.” Yes. Business mode. This trip was all about business. Khitti side-stepped away from the seers and eyed the new scroll she was given and while trying not to think about what Viera might look like naked.

Brand || If only Viera knew just what was going on in Khitti’s head, she would have cackled with glee. Brand had an idea, of course -- the look on Khitti’s face was enough -- but was smart enough this time to not let Viera become aware of that. Still, Viera certainly knew that she’d stoked a new fire inside Khitti… just not quite the extent of it. She’d follow Khitti out of the hut and and prepare to enter the portal with her… hand in hand, if Khitti would allow it.

Helshade, The Shadow Plane

Khitti || Viera. Held. Khitti’s. Hand. Viera held Khitti’s hand? And it wasn’t the whole “omg we’re bffs and hold hands because it’s cute” sort of thing. Khitti.exe stopped working again for a moment before Khitti led Viera through the portal finally, reaching the nearly flawless-looking Helshade. The portal had sent them to the city’s main gate and it was rather fortuitous that it had, because it allowed Viera to see the majority of Helshade as a whole. Poor Brand, however. This was the second time that Brand had not been Brand while visiting the city (the first time having been when Brand had been under James’ influence). RIP.

Khitti || The city was massive and the complete opposite of Vailkrin. While the city of the dead was always in complete darkness, it was always sunny in Helshade. The various architectural structures glimmered in the artificial sunlight; the sandstone and marble, both flecked with golds and reds, were accented with polished gold and only added further to its shining glory, while red roofs of towers and houses and other various buildings stretched as far as the eye could see--and even further than that. Khitti squinted at it all as her eyes adjusted from the rest of the dimly lit Shadow Plane to the ridiculous brightness of Helshade. “So, if I had moved here… this would be the place. It’s well protected. It’s the main place refugees flee to when there’s trouble elsewhere in the Shadow Plane.” The redhead released Viera’s hand and wandered in the gate a little further. Whomever designed this place was rather smart; they’d put the marketplace right in front of the gate. Walking a little further, Khitti left Viera to do as she pleased for the moment as Khitti found a cornershop to ask for directions. Of course, they weren’t going to give Khitti directions for free and offered that she buy a map. So she did. As well as a pair of rose-tinted sunglasses and a pair of gold rimmed cateye sunglasses that were only lightly tinted for Viera. Khitti knew full well that Viera liked showing off her makeup and she did her best to pick out a pair that wasn’t going to hinder that too much. “What do you want to do? Are you hungry? Want to shop?” Khitti rejoined Viera, whether she had stayed outside or came into the shop, and handed over Viera’s own sunglasses before looking at the map. “Last time I was here, it seemed like it was no different than going around Cenril. Except brighter. And with weirder-looking people. I guess we’re the weird ones now.”

Brand || “We’re always the weird ones, sunshine,” said Viera with a smirk. She put her new sunglasses on and looked around for a bit, but nothing seemed to catch her interest. Before long, she was turned back toward Khitti, drawing her in with a coy glance. “It’s too bright and perfect here. I want to cause trouble, stir things up a bit. You’ve been here before -- do you have any good ideas?”

Khitti || For once, Khitti was not sure if creating chaos was a good thing, if only because she was pretty much the Shadow Plane’s savior. Was that really something she should do? It’d sort of… destroy the image the entire place had of her. Then again, it’s not like -everyone- knew who she was. “Hmmm,” Khitti said, mulling it over. “The first time I came here, I got stuck in someone’s closet. I didn’t really think the whole portal placement through very well. Turns out someone was having a wild orgy party on the other side of the closet door.” She just shrugged like it was no big deal. It wasn’t, at this point. Khitti’d visited Delisha’s temple enough times. They had a whole side room in the place with a big sign on the door that said ‘Don’t come in here… unless you really want to’, with a big winking smiley face next to it. Yeah. She hadn’t gone in there at all. She had meant to ask Brand if he wanted to try it… until Brand was suddenly no longer a thing. “Some crazy person set themselves on fire and ran into the room and scared them all off. It was great.” She thought about it for a moment. “Smelled like barbeque.” Of course, Brand had been the one to set himself on fire, but Khitti wasn’t going to remember that bit. She just remembered it was pretty damn awesome. “Oooh, maybe there’s some government buildings we could mess with…” Khitti couldn’t help but grin at the thought as she looked over the map. Okay, yes. She’ll make with the anarchy. “They’re not far from here,” she said as she turned around every which way until she found the correct path for them to take.

Brand || “Oh, bureaucracy. My favorite.” Viera followed eagerly. When they were almost to the building, she stopped suddenly, and grabbed at Khitti to make her stop, too. “Wait, wait. You’re, like, an important figure here. We should make sure no one can recognize you, first.” Viera pulled Khitti into a deserted alleyway before looking her up and down, a finger to her chin in thought. “Okay. I have an idea. Just trust me on this, okay? You’re gonna love it.” Her magic coursed through Khitti and she’d feel herself getting taller, broader. When it was done, Viera cast a water spell and suspended it in midair, acting as a mirror. Khitti looked exactly like Brand now… not that Khitti could remember who Brand was. “There. How do you feel?”

Khitti exited stage left down the alleyway as Viera pulled her along. As the Catalian’s magic shifted Khitti’s appearance entirely, the now former redhead scrunched up her nose at it. The magic made her feel all weird and tingly. Or maybe that was this vague amount of facial hair she had now. “Huh,” she muttered, poking at the new features Viera bestowed upon her. Was Khitti becoming a narcissist? She had the strange urge to makeout with herself thanks to this form. Can’t imagine why. Khitti stepped away from Viera and just.. kinda tried out the new body. This resulted in Khitti doing some ballet moves she learned from Lanara… and some fighting moves she’d learned from Brand and Lionel… and some other weird random things that Brand would probably never ever do like make faces at herself in the water-mirror. “I’m gonna get vertigo from being this tall…” She paused in front of Viera again and blinked cutely at her. “My mother would die a thousand times over again if she knew I was having fun with this,” she said, grinning not-so-innocently. Sorry, mother. Khitti was even farther away from that picture perfect super feminine submissive daughter that her mother at least got from Lydia. “Okay time to go!” Khitti grabbed Viera’s hand and ran out of the alley and into the nearest government building. In honor of the crazy guy that ran through the orgy, Khitti lit herself on fire and ran around the lobby chasing after the poor secretaries. With, you know, shadowflames instead of regular ones though. “Not again!” Clearly, one of them had been present in the aforementioned orgy because even through the flames, they recognized Brand. Khitti though? She didn’t have a care in the world as she left the lobby and started running into the nearest offices, setting their paperwork and whatnot on fire.

Brand || Khitti transformed into Brand. Viera could feel Brand’s discomfort once again. Good. Punishing him was what this was all about. But if she could have fun as well… that was a bonus. She entered the office area behind Khitti and watched as she ran amok. She didn’t add to the chaos, just… watched. When it seemed like Khitti was done, Viera used her water magic to hose everything down -- then froze the whole thing. Everything -- the people, the papers, the furniture -- all of it was frozen solid, except for Khitti and Viera. Viera hopped up on one of the central desks and spread the fabric of her dress such that she was showing a dangerous amount of skin. “That was hot,” she said, inviting Khitti over with a curl of her finger. “Literally -and- figuratively. Now, come here.” Was she really propositioning Khitti-as-Brand, right here, right now? Well, it certainly was the most extreme way to disturb Brand further...

Khitti || The havoc Khitti let loose on the poor office workers was put out and then frozen and all Khitti could do was pout. Viera would lay on the seduction reaaaalll thick-like and for the moment, Khitti could only blink. "W-what?" She just stared at Viera and the way she presented herself--and there was blushing too, so of course Brand was blushing instead--but ultimately Khitti said, "No." Khitti-Brand crossed her arms. "First of all, not like -this-." One hand moved to motion at herself before going back to being crossed. "I don't know how to use this thing. Any of it. At all. And second…" Once olive now turned emerald eyes shifted towards the frozen folk. "I didn't exactly envision us screwing in front of a bunch of people for our first time together. So. No." Maybe she was too much of a romantic but she was rather private about her intimate time with other people. Unless it had been properly planned to be otherwise. And it hadn't. A wave of heat was sent in the frozen people’s direction; Khitti’s magic was actually stronger than Viera’s for once, if only because they were in the Shadow Plane. “Get out,” Khitti kept her voice (Brand’s voice?) cool, calm, and collected. Except, they didn’t leave after the ice melted. They stared instead like a bunch of deer in headlights. “I said GET OUT!” Khitti really should opt for yelling instead of being calm in times like these. It was really the only thing that stirred them all to leave all their things and run.

Brand || Viera stayed where she was, the smile never leaving her face. The strangers were all leaving, sure enough. Only once they were all gone did Viera move, striding across the hall to lock the doors and leave the two of them well and truly alone. “Perhaps I overestimated your adventurous streak,” she sighed, “but no matter. I can change you back.” Before long, Khitti would be back in her usual form. “Do you want to take us somewhere more… comfortable, then?” She was still laying it on thick, the way she thrust her hips to one side and batted her lashes at Khitti. Frakking relentless, as Brand would say. Of course, there was a lot -more- he would say, were he able to speak right now. Like… ‘no’. And ‘you’re a terrible person’. And ‘that’s my wife, you evil frakkin’ woman, please stop.’

Khitti || “Or perhaps you’re just not paying close enough attention,” Khitti said once she was back to normal. Viera might’ve locked that door, but it wasn’t enough to keep Khitti from leaving. She eyed the blonde carefully as she approached, studying her, taking note of the things she was doing along the way. What was this? Haven’t they been friends for long enough for Viera to really -know- her? She had gone through similar things with Brand (not that she could remember it), if only in the ‘I wish you just stop and -see- me’ sort of way and that Viera didn’t have to carry on like this with her. Khitti was definitely in love with her… was that not enough? Of course it wasn’t, but that wasn’t known to Khitti either. Pressing through the doubt, Khitti took Viera’s hands into her own and squeezed them. “Soon but… Not just yet.” She pulled Viera towards her and kissed her, as if to say “yes I’m definitely interested”, but as she did, she shadowstepped the two of them back outside. Sorry, Viera. No semi-public sex for you. At least not yet. Maybe someday when Khitti was more comfortable with it. The redhead led the blonde back to the market district not too far away and headed into another shop, with or without Viera, and bought a bottle of whiskey. It was needed right now unfortunately. A lot of things had happened throughout the entire trip and well… Khitti had picked up that habit of drinking that Brand had back when they were in Frostmaw, even just a little bit, in an attempt to settle her mind. It probably wouldn’t work but the thought was nice.

Brand || Viera acted perfectly fine with all this, but inwardly she was cursing. Even her power, great as it was, had limits. She’d pushed Khitti too hard, too quickly -- and it was going to push Khitti away entirely if Viera wasn’t careful. Resolving to try more mischief again another day, Viera decided the rest of the day was for a more innocent sort of fun. Innocent, at least, as far as getting ridiculously drunk could be considered innocent. While Khitti picked out a bottle of whiskey, Viera looked for the fruitiest cocktail mix possible, and bought as much as she could carry. The mix she’d chosen was a bright pink and claimed to be ‘watermelon sherbet’. It had been something like twenty years since she’d last had alcohol, not counting Khitti’s banana whiskey pancakes. It was going to be a good time.

Khitti shopped around a little more as Viera gathered all the alcohol she could possibly carry. What the heck would Viera even like, if Khitti bought her something? The sunglasses had been easy, but… something more meaningful was going to be difficult. Chocolates and flowers were probably lame to someone like Viera. Jewelry maybe? Of course, this shop wouldn’t have something like that. Khitti quickly ducked out of the shop before Viera could hopefully notice and looked around. Jewelry… Jewelry… AHA. In a very cartoon-like manner, Khitti ran into the shop and looked around. “I need something that’s -real- gold and looks like it might fit for someone who is -extremely- feminine and won’t settle for low quality jewelry. You get five hundred extra bonus gold added onto the price if it fits a high priestess of Cire or a ship captain. You have 10 seconds before she goes looking for me. NOW GO!” The shopkeeper started panicking, like a contestant on a game show, and started looking, bracelets and earrings and necklaces thrown every which way. “THIS ONE,” he said, shoving the short gold-chained necklace at Khitti. “The orb-shaped stone on it is made of blue goldstone! It inspires ambition and helps with luck!” The midnight blue stone shimmered with flecks of gold, making it look like the night sky was taken down just for Viera and carefully crafted into an orb for her to gaze at.

Khitti nodded eagerly, “This works. Hi, yes, I’m the Harbinger. If you drain my bank account, I’ll find you and send you to the deepest darkest part of the void.” She rustled through her bag to get out a bank note while the shopkeeper threw it into the box and signed it with her shadow ink pen that appeared with a flick of her wrist. “Fill the rest out. Don’t forget the extra five hundred. ‘Kaythanksbye!” This took longer than Khitti wanted, but hopefully Viera wasn’t looking for her for too long. On the way out, Khitti saw a brochure that said ‘So You Want To Learn How To Use The Shadow Elements’. It was there because of the shadow earth manipulation that went well with the stones used in the jewelry and was utilized by jewelcrafters. There was also another necklace in the window that caught Khitti’s eye and she grabbed it and waved it at the shopkeeper on the way out, “This too!” The rainbow obsidian choker called to her, with its muted greens, blues, and purples that swirled around amongst the inky blackness. It was shoved into the box with Viera’s necklace and the box and brochure shoved into Khitti’s satchel. The shopkeeper just stared at the exiting redhead, then the banknote, then the mess he’d made during the hustle to find something in time, and sighed.

Brand || When Khitti exited the shop, she’d soon find Viera sitting on a bench, surrounded by shopping bags with carefully packaged bottles. She was examining her nails in a disinterested manner, but looked up as Khitti approached. “Oh, there you are. I didn’t know where you went, so I figured it was best to stay put and wait. What did you get up to?”

Khitti || “What? Oh nothing. Just checking around to see if anyone knew of a good hotel,” Khitti said, mustering an innocent smile. Except, Khitti did not ask about a hotel in all of her scrambling for a present for Viera. “Wait. Lemme go make sure I’ve got it right.” She ran back to the shop she’d just come out of, “HEY! Where did you say that reaaaaally nice hotel is? The one with a spa and restaurant and room service and all of that?” Was there one even close to that here? Who knows. The poor shopkeeper though was still rather frazzled and when Khitti shouted at him again, he jumped and tossed all the jewelry he was holding into the air in response. “I-it’s just down the street! Extremely expensive! Please leave!” Khitti just blinked at the last bit, but shrugged it off. Sorry, dude. “It’s just down the street,” she said eventually once she got back to the Catalian, offering a hand to help her up, “Ready?”

Khitti || They’d head then to what was likely -the- best place in town. Despite the niceness of it all, it was absolute chaos on the inside. Maids and attendants ran around like little frightened mice as gaggles of Karens and their friends or husbands barked orders at them. More wine! Or more sweets! Or this towel isn’t fluffy enough! Why does my bed only have ten pillows? It should be twenty at the very least! The pool is 2 degrees too cold! Khitti just stared for a moment as she slowly walked towards the main counter. The woman there, clearly not pleased, cleared her throat to get Khitti’s attention. “Uhhh. I need a room. A nice one. Preferably a suite. For a night. Or two. Or three. Maybe,” Khitti said, finally peeling her attention away from the Karens, who really reminded her of her mother. Ugh. The woman on the other side of the counter just laughed at Khitti. Hysterically even. “Are you kidding me? Do we look like we have room? No. Absolutely not. Goodbye.” She went back to her paperwork and Khitti stared at her, just like she stared at the Karens. “I think you’ll find that I, the Harbinger, am incredibly welcome here and you -always- have a room available for me,” she said, with much emphasis on certain words. “Because if you do not, I can’t quite promise that the city isn’t going to find itself up in flames very very soon, starting with this hotel. So. -Find one-.” She was really not being very nice about this. To the point that she even conjured up a small ball of fire and flicked just to the right of the woman, so that it hit the floor instead of her. Not wanting to die a fiery death, the woman squeaked out a response and ran off to kick someone out of their room. Once she was gone, Khitti just turned and offered Viera an ever so sweet and innocent smile. Nothing to see here. Just Khitti blackmailing someone. It’s totally fine.

Brand || Somewhere inside Viera, Brand watched Khitti and wondered if this hotel turned everyone into a Karen. And Viera was already a Karen in her own way, so maybe she was immune to it. Viera stood by and waited for the room to be opened up, then led the way once they were given the keys. She’d set half her bags down, struggle with the lock, finally succeed, pick the bags back up again, and promptly dump them all on top of the dresser. Then, with a snap of her fingers, her dress changed into something a little more comfortable for lounging around in (though nearly as extravagant as her earlier dress). “Well? We got that privacy you wanted. What now?”

Khitti || As Viera was changing, Khitti put down her satchel, took off her boots, and slipped the necklace box into her dress pocket. There was a bit of discreet eye-rolling as Viera asked ‘what now?’ and before the blonde would know it, she’d get shadow-stepped onto the bed and Khitti would be pinning her down. Why yes… Yes, she was holding down both of Viera’s wrists and straddling her a little. Khitti’s in charge now, Viera. Also, sorry, Brand. This was either going to be extremely uncomfortable or kind of hot or both, if you’re really unlucky. “You might be even more impatient than I am. And bossy. And arrogant as hell.” It was pretty clear that she liked this though, by the way she said it. Brand would know. It must be a Catalian thing. “And I still can’t quite tell if you’re actually serious about this or if you’re just trying to get under my skirt. I’m going to be extremely honest with you, I don’t know what I’m doing with any of this. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you and yet here we are, because you managed to melt all of those nice walls I put up. If you want this to just be casual, then I’m fine with this. But if we make this real, do -not- break my heart, Viera.” Her hands tightened a little more around Viera’s wrists. “Just… -don’t-.” Something in the back of Khitti’s mind told her that she’d felt that pain before, but she couldn’t remember from where or by who. Maybe she blocked it out ages ago. All she did know was that she was probably not going to be able to deal with it again if it happened.

Brand|| Despite herself, Viera felt a rush. A lightheadedness. Color and heat rose to her cheeks. She had no true feeling for Khitti, and yet some amount of Khitti’s intensity felt… infectious. Or maybe she was getting sick. She’d almost forgotten, in the time she’d been dead, that that was a thing bodies could do. Yes, she must just be coming down with something. “Of -- of course I wouldn’t hurt you. Of course I’m serious. Why would I lie about something like that?” She shifted her hips under Khitti’s weight. There was a heat rising there, too. And suddenly she knew, as clearly as if the god had told her directly, that this was Cire’s work. She’d been given license to frak with Brand, not Khitti. She’d used her gifts for an unsanctioned purpose, and now those gifts were backfiring on her in the most embarrassing way she could imagine. She, the player, had been played -- her reality altered as easily as she’d altered Khitti’s and Brand’s. There was no fighting this. There couldn’t be.

She reeled Khitti in for a kiss and lost herself to passion.