RP:Meet The Creeper

Summary: Quintessa and Lhyrin have their first meeting, and after a brief altercation, they agree to work together.

Forest of Abyssal Darkness, Vailkrin

Lhyrin || The ever-familiar twang of an arrow loosed by its bow sounded in the southern part of the Forest of Abyssal Darkness. The silence afterward seemed to go on forever. One might think it hadn’t hit anything at all until a violent shrieking could be heard, the creature’s cries echoing, driving off a murder of crows nearby for a moment, the distance between archer and prey quite far. One of the realm’s many feral vampires was pinned to the ground, trying desperately to pry the yew arrow out of its foot before just resolving to clawing at its leg instead to free itself. Only a moment later did another arrow fly through the trees, burying itself deep into the beast’s hand, pinning it even further to the ground. More cries rang out as shadows moved towards the creature, bringing a gaunt, ghastly-looking elf to come towering above the vampire. “Oh come now,” the tall vampire said to the feral one, stormy eyes staring down at the waste of space below them. “Don’t be so childish. I know you wanted to be the fourth, but I’m afraid it just wasn’t meant to be for you.” The feral creature hissed and clawed and kicked at dark ranger with its free hand and foot, but alas, it would get in no hits. Just like with the others, Lhyrin pulled a muzzle made of leather and chains out of their pack and began fixing it to the other vampire’s head.

Lhyrin || All the while, the hunter was being hunted. Another feral vampire stalked its “prey” like a cat, red eyes shining in the darkness now and then when it was hit by moonlight. No real sentient thoughts were running through the beast’s head, of course, but it likely thought it was doing well in its hunt, or somewhere along those lines. It leapt from the treetops and pounced on Lhyrin, the two tumbling away from the pinned and muzzled one. But Lhyrin had been waiting for it, having seen it lurking about when they had been targeting the other one. The two came to rest with the feral vampire beneath Lhyrin and Lhyrin atop them with their dagger drawn, a slowing poison dripping from the blade. “And you must be their mate. How -delightful-. I’m afraid you’ve hit the jackpot. Every fourth, he said, and I mean to do just that.” The toxin-laced blade slammed down into the feral vampire’s chest, piercing one of the no longer needed lungs. The poison began to spread quickly, the vampire’s moments slowed and its vision blurred, the creature’s head lulling from side to side as Lhyrin cheerfully watched the poison take hold. The other vampire clawed and shrieked and finally managed to pull itself away from where Lhyrin had pinned it and crawled up next to where its mate lay, whining at it. Lhyrin let out a ‘tch’ and stood up, watching the two. “Say your goodbyes.”

Quintessa || In the light of the twin moons another creature stalked the Dark Forest, her movements muffled by magic and her visage shrouded by shadow. As countess and warden of this area not much escaped her notice, but lately she had become distracted. Things were slipping by. Too much was happening at once. Quintessa was committed to her duty to her county, however, and no matter how difficult things became she would still patrol the forest herself if she had to, and today the changeling did.

Quintessa || Since returning from Cenril her hair was black again, shoulder-length and scraggly. Her eyes were mismatched as well, her hazel eye covered by an eyepatch. Quintessa’s shadow-stepping boots remained inactive but her mystical cloak provided passive cover, dampening her footsteps and helping her fade into the background. With a clear crystal faintly glowing in her hand, she wasn’t too concerned about being sneaky. She could taste the bloodlust in the air and she was set on finding the source. Holding the crystal aloft she mutters the word “Unmarw,” and a burst of magic radiates from the object's center, her spell detecting undead creatures roaming the forest like a radar. When it shows her a cluster just up ahead she furrows her brow in apprehension. “More ferals..?”

Quintessa wasn’t aware how accurate her guess was until she came even closer, her form lingering in the brush and foliage as Lhyrin and the feral struggled on the ground. Clearly one of them was the superior fighter and the changeling watched them carefully, lowering her crystal out of sight. She recognized the poison dripping from the blade, cruel appreciation showing in a twisted smile on her face. Lhyrin was unknowingly doing her dirty work for her, making her life a little bit easier, so she did not interfere. When the feral crawled to their mate, cringing desperately to what little hope they had left, Quintessa stepped out from the shadows to watch properly. She’d wait to speak until after they had their fun, no need to rush this.

Lhyrin || There’s almost a twinge of… something… Some sort of emotion that the vampire can’t quite place as one feral tried to connect with the other in their unspoken way. But it’s there and gone just as quickly as Lhyrin’s keen senses pick up not only the sounds of the changeling moving through the bushes, but her scent as well. The smell of fae, even a half one, was intoxicating to the elf--especially now that they were a vampire and could make that distinction between the races by smell alone--and it made their mouth water. A hand reached out and pulled their dagger from the torso of the now slowed feral. “I suppose I should finish this quickly for once. It would seem my dinner’s arrived,” they said to their current prey, while their next was listening in. As the blade pulled free, it made a sickening squelch, the feral letting out a languid, yet pained cry. They reached into their pack and pulled out several small black clay jars (which they had dubbed ‘Vakopic’ jars), then used the dagger to cut open the feral’s body, leaving the creature quite alive as they did so. Each cut was so precise, making it obvious that they’d been doing this for quite some time. One incision was made for the intestines, a nice neat hole after the navel had been removed; another for the heart, though they left that organ for last; yet another still for the throat as sliced down the creature’s neck vertically, removing the larynx.

Lhyrin || After the first 2 organs were removed and put in their respective jars, the eyes were plucked out then and put in their own jar, and a strange tool was removed from their pack. It looked almost like a crochet hook, but with serrated edges, which was then rammed up into the creature’s nose and into its brain cavity, and whisked about, letting the now scrambled remains ooze out into the jar designated for the brain. Every step of the process was cold, calculated, and unfeeling. “You must be wondering if this is what’s going to happen to you when I catch you, little fae,” they said as they finished up their work. “It’s not. The feral vampires are inedible.” They punched a hole through the creature’s ribcage carefully, and pulled out its heart as if they were just plucking an apple on a tree. “You on the other hand… are -quite- edible and dare I say delicious?” Their Vhysian lilt clung to the monotone of their voice, no emotion present in it at all. While they took pleasure in making their sacrifices for Vakmatharas, it wasn’t quite the same as the pleasure they got from eating their kills.

Quintessa is so impressed with Lhyrin’s extraction of the vampiric organs that she forgets to feel bothered by the hunter’s words, their obvious intention to turn against her after their work was done and feed upon her made known. She’s too entranced by what is happening now to worry about her future. In defiance of the danger, she steps closer, her lips parting to coo out a response for them.

Quintessa || “Oh my, aren’t you perceptive.” Quintessa’s mood suddenly shifts. No longer is she curious about the work, now she is amused at Lhyrin’s words. Her aura of darkness grows around her to intermingle with the trees and foliage, a magical darkness billowing around her like an ethereal cape. An unconscious intimidation attempt like a cobra flattening their head and hissing. Quintessa takes another step forward, her sharp teeth flashing as she grins. The dark fae speaks again, her tone mocking them.

Quintessa || “But not nearly perceptive enough. You have no idea who I am, do you?” Her ghostly giggle echoes throughout the trees as she covers her mouth daintily. “You’ve wandered into another predator's territory, my feeble turtle-duck. You’ve come wanting to slay the Monster of the Black Pond but you’ve come ill-prepared…” Pale fingers twist around the hilt of the Jubaku no Kijo, her mood shifting a third time. Bloodlust now filled her lone, blue eye as it stared out at Lhyrin, her shark-like grin spreading to inhuman proportions. “Maybe when I’m finished with you I’ll profane this little ritual of yours by mimicking it in a sacrifice to Alithyk Caluss. You’ll make a fine trophy… Or perhaps an even better puppet.”

Lhyrin || “Oh, I know far more than you think, Miss Quintessa Blackwell, Betrayer of Family, Friends, and her Homeland. Did you really think me stupid enough to hunt in a place like this without knowing what lurks here? Please,” the vampire said, malice dripping from their words as they finished what they were doing with the jars and stood to their full 6’2” height, the impossibly lanky elf towering over their kill and the feral that still remained. “Not every person you come in contact with has the intelligence of a potato and to act as such shows a lack of wisdom on your part.” Finished with the now dead vampire, they grabbed the chain connected to the still “living” feral and turned finally to eye Quintessa. Their features were gaunt, almost sickly so, but that and the moonlight that shone through the cracks of the trees gave them a menacing look.

Lhyrin || “Though I cannot deny that you do indeed smell and would likely taste delicious, I would gain nothing from actually eating you and was merely toying with you. You’re a wanted woman. Too high profile. Though I am certain Vakmatharas would delight in having your soul after the assistance you’ve given his “child”, he will have you yet in time. You should consider yourself lucky, Miss Blackwell. Very rarely do I allow time to take its course, rather than hastening on someone’s demise.” The rather polite vampire sighed heavily, almost exasperatedly, as they realized they were still covered in even just trace amounts of gore from the vivisection. They reached into their pack, rummaging around amongst the now filled jars, and withdrew a black handkerchief with a noble house seal embroidered onto it. They tidied themself up and tossed the cloth back into their bag, then looked to the girl again, taking a few careful steps closer to her. With their arms bare from a lack of their usual long-sleeved shirt beneath their leather attire, a snake tattoo could be seen, trailing from the elf’s inner left forearm, all the way up to their bicep, with all the expected curling of its body around said appendage, the snake’s image that of a black-necked spitting cobra, though its belly was fully silver and there seemed to be stars dotted here and there along its body. “If you would like to escape whatever doom awaits you on the other side of your master’s demise, just know, however, that my door is opening and I will welcome you with open arms and mouth agape.” Meaning they will certainly eat her if she chose death rather than facing her punishment.

Quintessa || “Enough of this.” Quintessa clearly didn’t enjoy Lhyrin’s tone. She lifts her hand away from her sword, commanding the necromantic powers bestowed to her through her pact and causing the spiritual pressure around her to increase to oppressive proportions. “I have never betrayed Vailkrin.” A single finger raises on her hand and the darkness that filled the forest crested to surround them both, curving inward like a crashing ocean wave. “And you clearly lack the intelligence of even a potato if you knew what was waiting and came here anyway.” Quintessa’s finger juts out in the nonbinary elf’s direcion and the crashing darkness manifests into spears, thirty tips ones all pointed right at Lhyrin. “Understand that it is -I- who will eat -you- if you do not escape me. That is the truth of this matter.” With that said Quintessa withdraws her finger to clench her fist, sending 15 of her thirty Spears of Darkness down to skewer the vampire and their jars of vampiric bits they kept in their pack. Quintessa had no reason to target these jars beyond spiteful pettiness, but she wanted to destroy them now just to provoke Lhyrin and decelerate whatever efforts they were working towards. Next she wanted to impale this vampire, cut out their eyes, a torture them until they told her everything she wanted to hear. The changeling’s bloodlust was palpable. Seven spears in total were meant for Lhyrin, the other eight left for the pack, and each of those seven had their own particular job; Two aimed for the vampire’s shoulders, two for their thighs, two for their knees, and the last one fell to the ground, twisting like a snake, transforming back from spear to sticky tendril to stealthy try and pursue Lhyrin if they avoided her piercing attacks and entagel them so they couldn’t get away. "Whatever my fate may be, you certainly will play no part in it."

Lhyrin || The forsaken elf let out a dramatic, exasperated sigh. “Goodness, you’re very quarrelsome today, little one,” said Lhyrin, as if they’d known Quintessa for years. While they haven’t actually, they’ve known people like her and knew all the best ways to piss them off. The usually rather emotionless vampire could help but grin as the changeling summoned up her spears of darkness and flung it at them. The combination of their vampiric speed on top of their already fleet-footed elven speed was a deadly one, as well as that of their heightened senses. The fanged grin remained as they side-stepped the majority of Quintessa’s spears, letting one pierce their right shoulder, while others grazed and tore into their leather armor. “Oh no. You’ve got me, Countess.” They feigned a look of defeat and grabbed hold of the spear that impaled them and ripped it from their undead flesh, the dark ranger no stranger to shadow magic, though they were not as skilled as Quintessa. Shadows curled up from the wound like smoke, leaving a black scorch mark where stolen blood poured from the would. But the feigning didn’t last long as Lhyrin pursed their lips and let out a sharp whistle, rising somewhat in pitch from one single note, to another.

Lhyrin || The treetops began to quake, and so too did the ground, the rumbling stemming from the cave that led down into the depths of the Underdark. Very distinct, yet very different screeches filled the forest as a wave of black vampire bats fled the cave, while crows and ravens alike left the trees. They created two massive swarms above them, as Lhyrin withdrew their bow and a set of arrows, nocking them into place before letting them fly towards Quintessa, their own shadow magic clinging to the avian feathers at the back of the arrow, while that same slowing poison dripped from the arrowheads. With another sharp whistle, the two groups of bats and corvi swooped and dipped down through the trees, aiming to swarm the changeling, where fang and beak would attempt to peck and tear at her body.

Quintessa || It was true, Quintessa was in a quarrelsome mood- had been ever since she got a hole punched in her chest, but the changeling didn’t give a spoken response to the forsaken elf’s words, Kasyr’s warning ‘not to monolonge’ repeating in her head before she could even part her lips to speak. Instead she smirks in response, a wave of her hand causing the remaining fifthteen spears to strike out against the fired arrows. It takes all fifthteen to counter them, but the spears swiftly snap the arrows halfway between her and the vampire that fired them, creating a cage of criss-crossing bars of solid shadow that slowly fade to dust.

Quintessa || “I didn’t hit you nearly good enough…” Quintessa coos out in mocking sympathy right before she is beset by swarms of bats and birds. Strangely, the Countess of the Dark Forest accepts them with open arms as they claw and bite at her, a loud cackle echoing out from inside the combined swarms as Quintessa disappears within. It looks as if they are devouring her, blood and flesh torn from bone, flashes of viscera and gore peeking out from inside the mass of small animals- but her wicked cackling remains. In seconds it appears as if she has been eaten, no trace of the changeling left save for her terrible laughter which continues to echo throughout the trees as the swarms depart.

Quintessa || The scent of Quintessa’s blood remains, cursed and smelling like swamp mud- yet despite this potent corruption Lhyrin was drawn to it, they had admitted as much, so the changeling would try to use this. Her shadowed form slips from tree to tree, silent and sporadic. One moment she lingers next to a tree to wipe her blood on it before she shadow-steps on the opposite side of the clearing, repeating this process as her childish giggles reberbiarate out in false locations in an attempt to throw Lhyrin off her trail. Before they have a chance to surmise her true location, however, Quintessa shows herself, stepping out from the shadows with a flat disc of clear quartz in her left hand held aloft to capture an arcane impression of their target. “Fy un i nawr.” A green flash of divination magic instantly makes a copy of the clearing the pair stood in, Lhyrin with a bow, and Quintessa at the edge, various cuts and scratches from the swarms that gave away her earlier deception- clearly she hadn’t been torn to shreds by the small animals. At Castle Blackwell, in her viewing room, this image would be locked onto her giant, cracked crystal ball for her partner to see.

Quintessa || “My Xalious Princess,” Quintessa speaks in Draconic to keep the vampire hopefully unaware of her intentions, a finger held to her earring to send a hasty, hushed message to her lover, “Drop whatever you are doing and look into my crystal ball. Find out everything you can about this person. Hurry!” Quintessa had given up her opportunity to lash out against Lhyrin to forward this information, and for a brief moment she was vulnerable before the forsaken elf. For her, at least, it was a worthy tactical exchange, though she knows Karasu is going to give her an earful for this later.

Lhyrin || There would not be much information that Karasu would find on Lhyrin. They were a recent addition to House Mahara, one that seemed sort of out of place, for they did not seem the book-ish sort. Beyond that there was nothing. It was almost as if they didn’t even exist. And yet they did, as the vampire was clearly standing there in the forest as their senses became overwhelmed by the intoxicating fae blood. It soon became apparent to them though that the whole thing was a ruse and another sharp whistle was given to clear the mass of bats and birds, revealing a severe lack of a certain changeling.

Lhyrin || The elf took a moment and looked around, keen stormy-colored eyes searching the treetops and the bushes for movement as Quintessa awaited her desperately-needed information. Hints of Draconic reached their sensitive ears, more the lilt and tones of it than the actual words, but it was enough for Lhyrin to not only listen to, but follow as well. “You know, it’s rude to interrupt a conversation to speak to someone else. For a countess, you have very little manners,” they said out loud, shifting from Common to Draconic mid-sentence. One of the first things a Vhysian child was taught was how to speak Draconian, since Vhys was so close to the Dragonlands, and Lhyrin was no exception to this.

Lhyrin || Carefully, they took up their bow once more and nocked an arrow as they crept along the forest floor to sneak up on her. They soon took aim, their target the crystal disc in Quintessa’s hand. The arrow was loosed, the blackened steel tip seeking out its quarry as the arrow flew through the air. If they connected, the arrow would knock it from the changeling’s hand to elsewhere, and the vampire would do their damnedest to retrieve it from the grass before Quintessa could. If she just happened to move the wrong way though, the arrow would likely connect with her hand or arm depending on her movement. And if she were truly lucky if she moved, well, it would miss her entirely. And if she took to moving too much from her spot? Another couple of arrows would be shot near her feet.

Quintessa was already open and distracted, so when Lhyrin took aim at her crystal disc and fired, it struck true, cracking the fragile artifact and sending it flying into the overbrush. The warlock doesn’t bother chasing after it, she keeps her gaze locked on the archer standing before her, a curious tilt of her head as they begin to speak draconic. Quintessa slowly lowers her hand, her face emotionless. “A conversation,” She stands completely still yet the maleficent aura that surrounded her surged like a flood, thick tentacles of shadow twisting and writhing around her, caressing her legs and arms. “Is that what we are having?” Her emotionless mask cracks slightly to allow her to giggle. “How can we have a conversation when you haven’t even introduced yourself? You already know so much about me when I know so little about you.”

Quintessa || “I can be a very accommodating hostess given the chance- So make up your mind, are we here to fight or are we here to treat?” The constant shifts of aggression and teasing and casual conversation in this encounter were hard to keep up with, and the changeling couldn't help wondering if this was what it was like for everyone else who had to deal with her too. Maybe she should just have fun with this and not be so uptight after all. Thinking about all this reminds her of the broken crystal laying somewhere in the grass nearby, and she smirks slightly. “You seem very protective of your identity; Perhaps that would be a good start?”

Lhyrin || “Ahh, but you did not ask, Countess,” Lhyrin said, with regards to who they were. They fixed their bow to their back and offered the changeling a flourishing bow--an actually legitimate one, as there did not seem to be an ounce of mocking in their movements. There was a strange air of nobility about them as they righted themself again, which would likely only add to the confusion Quintessa had about the elf. “Lhyrin Amarth, one of Our Lady Ryeanna’s dark rangers, and Avatar of Vakmatharas. I am also a part of House Mahara. And, I do consider this a conversation, but I must admit that I am unlike most--I have a tendency to play with my food before I eat it. But…”

Lhyrin || They dusted themself off a bit, then went to collect not only their arrow, but the broken quartz as well. “I have no quarrel with you, even if your master seeks to snuff mine out. I have great faith that Vakmatharas will persevere as death always does and am allowing others to deal with this God of Undeath while I continue my work. And with that said, I would greatly appreciate it if you -didn’t- profane this little ritual of mine as I’ve been doing it far longer than you’ve been alive, and I also am not keen on going through the bureaucracy of asking the Houses here to find out if I can -actually- kill you.”

Quintessa finds herself chuckling at herself, a low sigh following it that releases the mystical energies swirling around her and dispels the magic like dust in the wind. “Mahara,” She repeats, a gentle shake of her head. “Why didn’t you just say so? House Mahara is welcome in the Dark Forest- one of the few vampire houses I will still tolerate.” The changeling begins to idly fix her hair, repinning it down with her lotus hair clip before she too offers a polite bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lhyrin Amarth, Dark Ranger of Ryeanna and Avatar of the God of Death.”

Quintessa || “Forgive me for my aggression; I thought you were from House Nasar or one of the other ankle biter houses.” Quintessa chooses to let the comment about playing with her before eating her slide for now, she had bigger bones to pick at this moment. “And if the vampires -do- try to run me out of my home they will only find a swift end to their unlife. There is not a single one of them that can slay me- and that includes you, my little turtle-duck. Not as I currently am but…” Though the waves of withering darkness have left her, Quintessa can still feel Caluss’s eye upon her, watching. She doesn’t like being surveilled like this, spied upon, and she certainly doesn’t like the whispers telling her to break Lhyrin’s mind and turn them into a unwilling slave.

Quintessa || “Alithyk Caluss is no Master of mine.” She says firmly in a fit of defiance against the so-called god of undeath, and the whispers suddenly stop. “It is well aware that my service to It is built upon coercion, not loyalty. A one-sided contract scribbled in my own blood, one I must fulfill either as a living agent with a mind or an undead slave without, and so far I’ve served a useful enough distraction while those others you speak of fight and squabble amongst themselves instead of rallying against It. I haven’t lifted a single finger to do Caluss’s biddening in weeks- and why should I when I don’t even have to? So, like you, I will praise Vakmatharas in all his glory and leave you to your ritual. He has been infinitely patient with me during my journey so I will do the same and bide my own time. Nothing lasts forever, that much is clear to me now, so I will wait patiently like a spider for my fate to come to me. No need to rush it.”

Lhyrin offered the half-fae a mostly unaffected shrug. “If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t aware that it was -you- initially. There’s plenty of other dark fae that reside here as well and you all smell rather similar. But, now that I have your scent specifically, that won’t be an issue in the future.” They took the necessary steps closer to the changeling to outstretch an arm, returning her broken quartz disc. “I’m afraid you won’t find what you’re looking for, through scrying or otherwise,” they said, indicating that they’d heard just the barest hints of what had been said in Draconic. “Do you wish to know of this ritual I am doing? I admit, I do not often share it with others, but if you are so inclined to praise the Father of Bones over his child, then I am willing to do so. I expect you would be more… agreeable to such, as opposed to some other “followers” of Vakmatharas that I have spoken to.

Lhyrin || “But that aside…” They moved so as to show off the tattoo on their left arm. “Have you seen a snake like this before?” Their words were sincere as they clearly weren’t the type to show off their muscles to seemingly feminine types. “It is well known here that you’re the mistress of toxins within the nearby guild and I had thought to seek you out at some point, as I not only dabble in poisons, but have a fondness for reptiles and amphibians as well.” The black-necked spitting cobra started on the elf’s bicep, its entire body coiling its way down their arm, with its head coming to rest on the inside of their forearm. It looked mostly the same as the snake’s real life counterparts, but just a tad more sparkly and ethereal, thanks to Leoxander’s artistry of the constellation-turned-reptile. “While I have a decent knowledge of creatures found in forests, in other climates not so much. I wondered if such a thing was real, or just a product of my imagination in the Realm of Dreams.” Well, it wasn’t quite -they’re- imagination, but as Lhyrin was not familiar with the connection between their newfound sibling, Kanna, and that of Quintessa, they chose to keep that to themself.

Quintessa || “Hmm, but the other fae tend to be shorter,” Quintessa utters her response as she walks to meet Lhyrin, her hand outstretched to take her damaged object back. She examines it with a look of disappointment but it wasn’t directed at the vampire themself. “Honestly, I’d feel more offended if you -didn’t- threaten me.” The changeling’s disappointment fades as she aims a smirk at them, her disc idly balanced on the tip of her index finger. She seems intrigued about potentially gaining the knowledge of Lhyrin’s ritual, ”There will come a time that I will wish to learn your ways. The Father of Bones… I admit, I am ignorant of what is the right or wrong way to worship him. I grew up thinking death was the ultimate evil- something to be avoided. Something rebelled against, but now?” Quintessa scoffs in spite of herself. “I know there are things much worse now…” Quintessa’s expression turns solemn but when the nonbinary elf shows off their tattoos once more her mood brightens significantly.

Quintessa || She has to resist the urge to reach out and touch them, so instead she distracts herself by fidgeting with the round object in her grip. Any semblance of apprehension in Quintessa vanishes as her inner scholar comes out to talk about snakes- her second favorite creature to study right next to spiders. “An elapid! I’ve never seen one quite like that before- Such a beautiful color… Perhaps a Naja Coilis. A jungle snake. You certainly won’t find any around here… Nor in any other temperate forests. If only I had time to go on an expedition to look for one and collect its venom myself… If what I’ve read about them is true then they are particularly terrifying; Their venom causes severe hemorrhaging and necrosis- and they can spit it at you a meter away!” The dark fae’s plaid complexion is stained pink with a blush as she imagines the uses of projectile venom.

Quintessa seems to suddenly realize this and her color turns a deeper red in embarrassment. “Oh- I am so sorry…” She takes a step back away from Lhyrin and averts her gaze. “I got a little carried away…” She giggles, a hint of mischievousness quickly replacing her embarrassment. “But if you like snakes as much as I do…” Her blue eye flickers back to appraise them, her free hand reaching up to adjust her eyepatch. “You might appreciate this.” Abruptly Quintessa instead completely removes her eyepatch, revealing the reptilian yellow optic hidden behind, her slitted pupil dilating as it is exposed to the dim moonlight peeking through the trees. “This is my own token taken from the Realm of Dreams. Perhaps if we meet there some day I’ll show you where I found it.”

Lhyrin just shrugged at Quintessa. “I -suppose- there’s no real wrong way to worship him, but I am very set in my ways--I have been doing this a very long time.” But they let that matter drop for now, as the changeling seemed keen enough to reach out to them in the future on it. As she went on into her knowledge about this particular snake, they gave her their undivided attention in the form of a nearly unblinking stare with an intense gaze. So interested in it were they that they quickly offered her a shake of their head when she apologized for going on for so long. “Do not apologize. If there is anyone here that can appreciate your knowledge on this the most, it’s me.”

Lhyrin || Stormy eyes shifted towards the ground and a hand was brought to their chin in thought for a moment, the elf considering something before their attention was dragged away once more to the changeling. The two locked gazes as Quintessa revealed her special eye, the elf resisting the urge to pry it out of head at that moment for their collection as a gasp bubbled up in their throat. They got as close as Quintessa would allow, their face likewise as close to her eye, so they could inspect it carefully, their normally emotionless demeanor shifting to one of admiration and wonder. “It’s exquisite. Even that word doesn’t do it proper justice.” The eye called them, begged to be taken, begged to be eaten, begged to be turned into a trophy like all the others they’d collected over the years. But alas, it would not do to pluck out the eye of someone that was supposed to be an ally of their vampire house. They drew in a sharp breath and took a few steps back, almost shying away from Quintessa. “Forgive me. I’ve gone and gotten myself all worked up. I’ve been a hunter for well over a century and have seen nothing like this.” Their hands twitched with anticipation and they immediately busied themself with something else, like picking up any stray arrows that were still around. Idle hands were Delisha’s playthings, after all. "I certainly hope to meet you in the Dream Realm. Perhaps you will find me before I you, as is often the case with others, it seems."

Lhyrin || “But back to our previous topic. I would offer you a proposition. If you would assist me in finding this snake, so that I might keep it as a pet--and perhaps other sorts of reptiles and the like in the future, if I find any that strikes my fancy--I would allow you to use their venom to use in your own poisons and research and whatnot. I would also like to buy any poisons that you create on a weekly basis. Alchemy is tedious to me--I was somehow never skilled much in it, despite having a great love of the culinary arts. And while I usually purchase them in my homeland, I would much prefer it to come from you, who is so widely renowned as being a master of such. Sometimes the potency of that which I buy is lacking, and I’m certain you would not allow that with your own creations.” Hunting humanoids required several different kinds of potencies when it came to poisons, and the alchemist in Vhys did not always have such.

Quintessa can’t help but grin at Lhyrin’s reaction to her snake-like eye, the word ‘exquisite’ causing a conceded urge inside of herself to inflate with pride. Of course they wanted to take it as a trophy. Everyone wanted a piece of Quintessa in one form or another and she assumed that now more than ever. The changeling tosses the eyepatch into the fallen and decaying leaves, forsaking the protection it had provided her in keeping her Mark of Gospel a secret. None of that seemed to matter to her anymore. “Do not apologize. I see now that the two of us are very similar indeed- same interests but different skills. Yes, yes, this will be a most profitable friendship…”

Quintessa || “Of course I’ll help you find this snake, this one and others if that interests you. I cover many different kinds of venoms and poisons produced by living creatures both magical and mundane in my book, but this particular snake has avoided my grasp. I only need one for my studies… Any others that I find I’ll take to you to keep them. Breeding and keeping animals is something I’ve studied but I find it tiresome. Ironically I’m much more interested in the alchemy side of things so this arrangement is perfect.”

Quintessa || “As for payment…” A devious smile spreads across Quintessa’s face as she plots out yet another way to expand her sphere of influence, weaving a web in her mind to entangle this new, interesting person in. “Gold is currently of no concern to me; Blackwell stands as the economic powerhouse of Vailkrin despite the efforts of my enemies, but I will need political allies if I am to survive after the war… You mentioned being a Ranger of Ryeanna, which leads me to believe you are a Vhysian noble. If this is true I’d be willing to do this for you as an act of good faith towards continued diplomatic relations between our two Houses.” “And the poisons. I can easily set up a steady supply reserved for you to purchase once I know what you need. Plant-based poison and spider venoms will be most readily available, though given a special request I can make anything for you- for a price. There is the complication of the Cenril blockade and Port Rynvale cooperating with Mayor Valrae to keep my goods from the island but I have found ways around that. If you come to my castle to collect the goods then you can cut the cost of shipping, however. That is up to you. Just know that from this day forward Lhyrin Amarth of House Mahara will be welcome in my citadel.”

Lhyrin offered a nod in response to all that Quintessa said could be achieved between them. They opened their mouth for a moment at the mention of being a Vhysian noble, but closed it again, allowing the changeling to finish her thoughts on the various topics. When she finished, they sighed somewhat. “All of that sounds fine, of course. And I’m perfectly willing to pick up the poisons at your castle. On the topic of diplomatic relations however… There is the issue that my family is… complicated.” They exhaled sharply through their rather pointed nose again and clasped their hands behind their back. “I am the secondborn child of a certain noble house in Vhys. So, yes, you are correct in that regard. But, the secondborn children in this house are sent to join the dark rangers at a very young age. You are stripped of your name, title, everything. And while my immediate family is currently dust in the wind, and I have access to all of their funds and even their house and whatnot, it’s been a little difficult trying to get that which is mine by birthright, now that everyone else is dead. While I plan to finally put myself more out into the open very soon, at the moment, I can only be a sort of passive voice to the other houses, in an attempt to help with things regarding trade and the like, when it comes to the city-state as a whole, and not things pertaining to just myself. Others have… touched on the subject very briefly with me and while I have been trying to spread the word somewhat of the changes Vhys is currently going through, sometimes my position in their society makes my pleas fall on deaf ears amongst the Vhysians.”

Quintessa considers what Lhyrin had told her, the struggles of a second-born in a society with such a rigid caste system. The gears are turning in her head, but the multitude of ideas that flutter in her skull like a thousand moths searching for the light never take on something solid that she can latch onto. This plot would need more time to mature. “I see…” The mention of trade helps her formulate a smaller goal to focus on in the meantime. “I face similar struggles here in Vailkrin and I fear so long as I remain a mortal the vampire houses will never truly respect me or take me seriously. Let’s focus on things we *can* affect instead… Trade deals are a decent start, if you could put the word in that Quintessa Blackwell wishes to do business with Vhys I would be much obliged. Perhaps there are ways I can help to… fortify your political presence in the future.” A cigarette finds Quintessa’s lips and a flash of green flame lights it as she snaps her fingers, the scent of clove and lavender filling the night air. “The tides are changing in this world- I can feel it, and I think we can help each other rise above the surging waves before they crash.” She offers them a smirk, “What do you think?”

Lhyrin thought over Quintessa’s words for a moment before nodding. “Sounds like a fine idea to me, Lady Blackwell. I will do my best with the council. For now, however, I must be off. I must get these organs to the temple before they spoil.” Only the freshest of offerings for Vakmatharas, of course. With another brief nod, the elf gathered their things and headed off towards the entrance of the dark forest and on into the city of Vailkrin. {RPs}