RP:Looking at the World Through Orange-Colored Glasses
Part of the Venturil's Bane Arc
Faux Twilight Cavern
A sense of ancient, arcane power permeates the chilled air as the southern tunnel opens abruptly into a massive cavern. Very little light enters this area, for the only opening that can be found aside from the entrance tunnel is a perfectly round hole in the distant roof. Yet one can't help feeling as if they're in the wide open despite being below ground. The walls are a peculiar wonder and aid to the strange illusion, appearing to be almost entirely basalt unnaturally polished to a glossy sheen, giving the cave the uncanny appearance of an inky night sky--with the ceiling gap above small enough to pass for a moon. But it's what lurks amongst the basalt that is the true source of the strange atmosphere: stars, infinite and brilliant in their eternal shining. These stars, however, are not quite the same as the ones in the night sky, albeit being remarkably passable at first glance; rather, they are myriad gemstones embedded into the walls--fluorite, for those able to recognize such things--in an array of colors, from flawless white to glowing yellow, serene blue and glistening violet, all eagerly catching faint light and reflecting them in an eternal mimicry of winking starshine. Any can tell this place is no longer purely a natural formation, if ever it was one. Enchantments long have been woven into the very core of this strange cave to maintain the careful appearance of an open sky beneath the earth. Further travel into the cavern will reveal a massive underground lake occupying the northern half, its unfrozen but deathly cold waters lapping at a 'beach' of black sand and rounded pebbles of blue fluorite. If one possesses night vision or squints to their fullest, they may just spy what appears to be a large glacier and structure in the center of the lake. The home of this place's creator? It's impossible to be certain, and there seems no obvious way across the waters to reach it--a lurking, intelligent presence seems to suggest even attempts at flying across will prove fatal.
Satoshi is sun-bathing. About as well as one can sun-bathe when you're leagues away from the nearest beach, and your location is on the shore of a subterranean lake, in the middle of a region forever overcast with threatening snowstorm clouds. And yet, the kit is still doing it, lounging atop her coat that's been spread over the black sands, mere inches above the line of the frigid, lapping waves. Perched on the end of her nose to complete the beach-goer look is a familiar pair of orange sunglasses, Riss' trademark that Satoshi has somehow gotten ahold of. Lady Frostmaw is on as close to a vacation as she's had in a long time, obviously.
Kasyr , unforunately, doesn't quite have the luxury of being able to vacation, a combination of Vailkrin politics, sleuthing, and compulsive meddling having conspired to rob him of his free time. Nonetheless, the fact that his business has brought him to his wife's doorstep is a relief in and of itself- something which has him grinning softly as he makes his approach, "Bonne soir, Mon amour. How might tu be?" Kasyr, for his part, looks the same as ever- trenchcoat and scarf draped about himself so they all but obscure those plain, dark coloured clothes he tended to wear beneath. Really, the most vivid thing about him was those Neon-Blue goggles of his, which were currently resting crookedly across his brow.
Satoshi looks over the top edge of the orange spectacles at Kasyr before one of her tails offers something of a lazy wave, and a hand pats the open spot beside her on the coat. Her free hand is used to push Riss' borrowed shades back up into place as the kit settles in comfortably. "My answer depends on yours: Are you here for business or pleasure~?" Personally, she's guessing the former. The kensai usually greets her with that mix of formality and affection when business is involved. Not that this bothers Satoshi, she's more than apt at taking care of business and still getting some fun out of it during and after.
Kasyr casually draws a hand up through his hair, a motion which not only allows him to straighten up his goggles- but also segues really nicely into a bit of awkward ear tugging. "Et bien, madamoiselle, whilst I could hope solely for the latter- I unforunately have a bit of political baggage to wade through first." It's only after he says this, that he allows himself a lopsided grin, "So, I suppose I'll have to make up for this dreary business afterwards.Still, do you have a few moments to spare?"
Satoshi once again pats the coat-covered sands beside her, as if to say, 'I didn't invite you to sit, just to shoo you away two seconds later.' After a moment, she adds in a curious tone, "It's not something I'm going to like, is it? You're fidgetting. You'd make a terrible poker player~." You don't need to be an Empath to read your kensai husband after half a decade, after all.
Kasyr sticks his tongue out at Satoshi, before he simply meanders over towards the spot she patted, and flops out atop it. "Pft. I'd be perfectly fine against someone that wasn't tu. I'm a pretty good at the whole...keeping a straight face during politics, thing." Letting out an exhale, the Kensai can't help but add, "You're right, though. J'en doute you'll like it- though Im still going to ask. Especially since it could help cement things with the new ruler of Venturil."
Satoshi glances at the revenant through the orange tinting of the glasses, confusion written over her face. "With the Warlord? I didn't think I was at odds with him. Our last talk left on good terms, with mutual bene-..." Abruptly, Satoshi goes from carefree lounging to bolting upright, Riss' glasses askew on her face as she stares at Kasyr. Her expression is caught between bewilderment and skeptism. "Did you punch him as a 'welcome to the royalty club' thing?!" That's a perfectly normal Kasyr thing to do. "...No. No, wait. ...I think he'd -approve- of that. So.... What -did- you do?"
Kasyr glances over towards Satoshi, a bemused expression on his face, "Whilst sorely tempting, no. I just sort of...meandered into the middle of his court and invited myself to his feasting hall. I mean, he'd already tossed out that general invitation, I just followed through on it. Without an appointment, et all that." Kasyr glances off to one side, "Anyways, Through a bit of information gathering, et a chat with him- I learned that he was intending on fixing Venturil's whole...sickly wasteland problem. I'll forego poking fun at what he actually said, and skip to the meat of the subject. Tenebrae's involved. Et er, short of some inventive shenanigans, the entire region is going to become a collapsed wasteland. Albeit, one that will eventually recover. Vraiment, Eboric doesn't really seem to grasp the ramifications of what he's endeavouring to do, which is why Tenebrae contacted moi. ...That, et likely because she has a stake in that land, or Eboric, or both."
Satoshi murmurs a relieved, "Oh" with Kasyr's denial, and slides back to where she'd been resting before, the lines of tension leaving her form... up until the kensai is kind enough to mention that name. Tenebrae. "Oh." With a voice that's kept firmly emotionless, the magus manages to ask through clenched teeth, "And what does... she, have to do with me? I've made every effort, for your sake, to not listen to my instinct and go for her throat. I've done very well so far. Why bring her up now? Why should her stakes concern me?"
Kasyr can't help but frown a bit, seemingly at a loss at how to appropriately answer. It's only after a loud click of his tongue that he finally starts to speak, "It's not for her, really. What I'd be asking you to do would be more for -Eboric- than anything. Apparently some unhallowed necro-squid-y thing ou quoi-ce-soit has burrowed it's way under the entire region of Venturil. Including beneath the city itself. Eboric wants that thing gone, et to do that, Tenebrae es going to have to have to...coax it to withdraw it's tendrils towards it's central mass. A decision that is going to cause a fairly wide scale cataclysm, from how she described it. Likely entire sections of Venturil are going to collapse. That would likely include most, if not all of the city. That said, I figured tu et Kirien might be able to prevent some of the damage to the city of Venturil itself. Which...would be fairly nice for diplomatic relations all around, tu know?"
Satoshi is beginning to wish Kasyr -had- punched Eboric in the face. That disaster, at least, is something she can work with and still be cheerful about it. With a growing, exceedingly childish petulance, the magus crosses her arms and puffs out her cheeks. "Why should I?" For diplomacy, obviously. Shut up, conscience, no one asked you. "Just because she snaps her fingers and all her little dogs come yapping to heel, doesn't mean -I'm- going to." She almost, -almost- asks 'what's in it for me?' but even Satoshi knows that's pushing the brat boundaries too far. Not that it does anything to change her stubborn, festering grudge against Tenebrae. Maybe if Lady Darkness apologized first...
Kasyr gives Satoshi a particularily bleak look, though it soon softens to a frown, "First Kirien, et than you with the mutt comments. To think that all it took for me was to honor certain loyalties to be reduced to the status of a lapdog." With a soft sigh, the Kensai can't help but add, "And again, I'm not asking you to go in for her. Quite frankly, if the region she's in collapses into the ground- that's for her to figure out. I'm asking you to do something you'd have been inclined to do already. Helping Eboric, solidifying Frostmaw's strength, and taking a bit of satisfaction out of depriving Tenebrae of a city's worth of fresh carcasses."
Satoshi's expression is rather frosted as she levels a look over the glasses at Kasyr. Her tone is equally chilled, "It could be considered rather doggish, to retain said loyalties to a person that betrayed your -wife- purely out of spite, along with others you say you hold dear. Have you even brought it up to her once? Or have you not, to avoid... aha, unpleasantries? Sometimes I fear you're -too- diplomatic, Kasyr. Sometimes, just sometimes, diplomacy needs to be abandoned in favor of a swift kick to a traitor's teeth. But then, maybe Frostmaw is rubbing off on me. It's all action here, no subterfuge, appeasing, lying, or backstabbing. Simpler. I like simpler." Sighing, Satoshi's head drops back against the ground as she presses the palms of her hands to her forehead. When she speaks again, it's quieter and slightly begrudging, but noticeably softer than her clipped tones a moment before, "I'll do it. For you. And for the sake of ties of Frostmaw and Venturil. But not for her. Never for her. Not so long as she just plain doesn't acknowledge what she did. Lying about it, or making excuses, is better than pretending she did nothing, y'know."
Kasyr gives a sidelong glance to Satoshi, before he moves to press a kiss to her cheek, "Well, you can always hope she'll get eaten by the squid-y thingy she's agitating. " That would probably have dire consequences, given the scenario, but it's likely a reassuring thought for Satoshi. It also gives a different meaning to the term 'Continental Breakfast', when it's such a vast creature doing the nomming. "And you know- she did invite us, which includes -you-, to dine at some point. I'd say that's about as," In ,"opportune a time to clear the air in regards to that matter, and keep the focus on that particular subject."
Satoshi grins. It's a positively wolfish expression that isn't caused by the kiss, but rather the comment. Oh, believe you me, Satoshi is certainly hoping for such results. In all truth, the kit's grudge is far too overdeveloped, but she's been harboring and feeding it for nearly two years now, with the aid of Bozrah's infectious devilry and Asorial's delighted urgings for acts of murder. It's no wonder the usually flippant and carefree Satoshi is a tad hostile about the subject, and hopeful for a continent-sized squid's fatal interventions. "...That'd make the guild meeting a fair deal less tense. Aha~." Obviously Satoshi is amused by this idea, in a dark way. Enough so that she's no longer giving off that unpleasantly frigid mood. Glancing sidelong at Kasyr, the kit offers in form of a truce on the subject, "Do you want me to speak to Svilfon about helping? It might spare you a three-for-three on being called a lapdog." Okay, so there's still a little venom left in her bite.
Kasyr can't help but look a touch relieved, "It'd be appreciated, Cherie. Especially since it would leave him with no doubt in his mind that the decision he came to was fully his own, et not influenced by moi. ...I..need to talk to Kirien about this too, honetement." The kensai awkwardly tugs his ears back, before letting them perk back up, "Or maybe...Tu could approach him about this, really. Given, his reason for calling moi a mutt was, well. Just my willingness to help. Et that was sort of- before I knew the full extent of the situation." Kasyr gives his ears a few more tugs.
Satoshi waves a hand dismissively at the kensai. "Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to them for you. But you owe me. Preferrably in the form of getting an apology outta her. Or lining her up so I can take a proper swing~." Satoshi's not picky, she's just bitter. Ahem. This aside~, the kit tugs down her stolen shades to look at Kasyr over their edge, offering a half-smirk. "You came all the way here to tell me this, though? Instead of your usual letter~?"
Kasyr gives Satoshi a bemused grin, "It'd hardly be fair of moi to play the role of the bearer of bad news, in writ- without giving tu a silver lining to look forward to, mon amour." A pause, and then the Revenant simply adds, "..That, et I miss you quite a bit. Office work es quite a bore without tu to help me liven things up."
Kasyr said to Satoshi, "...And remember. There's always that dinner invitation..."
Satoshi scoots closer to Kasyr without the slightest hint of subtlety. "If you miss me so much, then stop -talking- and fix the problem~," she states in a tone that's a strange mix of matter-of-fact and feigned whining. "I don't really feel like thinking anymore on dinner parties, squids, or diplomacy. Consider business concluded, m'dear." With this, Satoshi plucks the glasses off her face and presses them onto to Kasyr's, although a tad lopsided. She inspects the look then with a head tipped sideways. "Hmm... Naw." Satoshi shakes her head and steals the eyewear back. "Orange doesn't suit you, darling. Black works much better with amber and calico~. Besides, I make these look gooood." Preen preen.
Kasyr stares up at his forehead, where his goggles rest, "I like mine more, anyways." Still, the Kensai's pretty quick to redirect his focus back to the magus, if only to offer her an sly smile, "Madamoiselle, You make just about anything look good, including a lack of anything." Suffice to say, he is obviously in accordance with business being concluded.
Satoshi isn't giving up wearing the sunglasses, mind you, but the rest is up for debate.