RP:More Like Home

Extravagent Water Garden

Reginae sat on the edge of the water garden, the full length of her serpentine tail dipped in the nearest stream. It flicked idly back and forth; an indication that the naga-ess was in deep thought. The silence of Alithrya made it all too easy to drop your guard, especially when tourism wasn’t exactly a flourish option in the city. Her lips were pursed, digits woven together under her chin as she looked out across the ripples she was stirring. It was soothing to be submerged.

Muzo rarely returns to his homeland. It's a shame, but he's scrawny and always had a mind for science, the poor freak. Even now, as he slithers through the gardens, the male seems utterly out-of-place with his goggles on his forehead and his hefty spell book. Looking every bit the academic (and nothing like a warrior), Muzo slither's through the garden, nose in a book and head in the clouds. He doesn't even notice Reginae until he nearly bumps into her. "Oh! Begging your pardon," the naga is hasty to offer apologies, and he bows repeatedly, "didn't see you sitting there. Was busy studying... uhm..." he fishes for a plausible lie, "...battle plans." The scientist coughs awkwardly, and tries to hide his book behind his back.

Reginae twists her torso away from the stranger, looking for all the world like she’s poised to dig her fangs into the intruder, before the adrenaline stills and she’s able to compose herself. Her gaze falls over him with skepticism. “Battle plans? Is there to be a battle of some sort?” One of her snowy brows lifts with the inquiry, even though it was a very believable lie. Half of her mindset bent towards throwing her arms around the stranger and crying thanks to Aramoth for the chance to see another naga. It had been so long… Instead, she smiles and lowers herself to a less threatening I-was-going-to-murder-you eye level. “Who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What are you doing here?” The book wasn’t ignored, it just didn’t seem as important as a proper introduction.

Muzo slithers back half a pace, his massive coil doubling up against itself as he tries to put a little space between the two of them. "H-h-historical battle plans, f-f-from the battle of... uhm... Dwarfville. Very enlightening." He stutters out an answer, looking somewhat less confident than when he began. Reginae's smile puts the jittery Muzo only somewhat more at ease, and he clears his throat again. "Muzo," he holds out a hand to shake and bows again, still holding his book behind his back. He bends low enough that Reginae can clearly see the title "Formulae" embossed on the spine of the ponderous tome. "Making my p-pilgrimage back to the city," he babbles a mile a minute, "and found myself meandering. Pleasure to meet you."

Reginae’s smile holds but her skepticism only increase. Being raised in the shadows of high court, she had never heard of such a battle. Then the spine of the book comes into view and she begins to understand. This man was an oddity; a male driven by intellectual studies instead of brute battle prowess or illusion magics. Things in Alithrya were getting more interesting by the day. “I’m Reginae,” the name shouldn’t register on his radar unless he’s heard it somewhere beyond Alithrya’s borders, “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Muzo.” Black, slatted pupils hold him in her curious gaze. “And welcome home. I apologize, it’s not much to look at now.” She bows slightly as if the city’s well being was somehow her priority alone. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you are here. Another naga is a sight for sore eyes.”

Muzo raises back up, withdrawing his hand and trying to look as though he'd held it out by accident somehow, searching a moment for something do with it before grasping it upon the book behind his back again. "Delighted." He manages a bright grin of his own, his wide serpentine mouth full of needle-like fangs. The fellow doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he hasn't heard tell of her, in fact, she earns a surprised glance when she mentions the city's not doing too well. "It isn't?" His eyes sweep his surroundings, as though trying to assess Alithrya's well being on the merits of a single water garden. "Wouldn't have guessed. Not bothered at all by current matters. Found the city," the naga pauses instantaneously as he fishes for the most polite terms, "as appealing as I ever have. Though I wonder," he cocks his head to the side, "you mentioned relief. Not many nagas around? Haven't seen many outside of the city, but, well," he laughs a nervous, tittering laugh, "that's outside the city, of course."

Reginae looked around the garden with an understanding smile, keeping her own hands tucked neatly in the crook of her arms that crossed her torso. “There was a bit of a war while we were gone. The city was frozen before, I’m sure it’s confusing to return to. How long have you been back?” Did he ever leave? He seemed pretty adjusted for a newcomer into the time flow. Maybe she was being too presumptuous. “The inner city is a lot worse. It’s stripped of arms, some of the buildings have been destroyed by time, water, or explosions. The remaining naga are…tense. Hostile.” She laughed, the idea of a naga that wasn’t tense sounded like some human fairy tale. “More so than usual, you know.” The length of her tail retreats from the pool, winding beneath her torso, a pseudo chair for her to perch on. The pin prick ends of her own fangs were visible between her lips when she smiled at him. “Would you have any interest in staying for a while?” Her gaze trails off into the distance; she didn’t want to seem too pushy. “I would be happy to pay you for your time and assistance but it might be a while before I amass sufficient funds. What was your occupation before the city was frozen in time? Do you recall?” She offered the secondary question as a dodging point. It didn’t matter, truly, what he’d been before. This was a new time, and some creatures needed the option to make new versions of themselves. Reginae understood that all too well.

Muzo listens, and his posture begins to relax some. He buckles his book back into its book strap and lets it hang from his hip. His great, glossy black eyes widen and he nods his appreciation when Reginae mentions naga being tense and hostile. Nothing new there, Muzo thinks to himself. "Staying?" The suggestion catches him off guard, and he falters. His body language says no as he crosses his arms over his stomach and searches for an exit, but he says nothing aloud, letting her explain. What did he used to be? "Ah-er, well..." He was cornered now. Might as well come clean; she was probably going to recognize his name eventually anyway. "I was an alchemist." The male admits, and he gives a sheepish smile. "Involved in the jersher project." If Reginae had ever heard of Muzo, that would ring a bell. There's a hint of shame in his tone when he says this, and he is quick to go on. "Got jostled in the timeline, yes. Was tampering with hibernation experiment on top of that. Woke up again in the middle the war. Fled the city. Still an alchemist, just don't have any at the moment. Finding uses here and there. Enough about me." He talks so fast! "About yourself?"

Reginae listens to him, doing her best to suppress a shocked expression; My, he was a talker! She digests his information. “The jersher project..” she mused, ruffling through all the compartments of her brain for corresponding data. “Of course…for the spoiled wealth…” This might not be the best time to mention her own involvement in the previous political structure but…here he was, being honest. “I think I remember Jaize mentioning the usefulness of the project.” Jaize had been her sister, more in the public eye and more recognizable. “You must be quite skilled, I heard it was very successful.” A little bit of praising never hurt, plus she did have a curious side as well. Anything for the betterment of the race. “So, I guess that outs me as secret royalty.” Her gaze was downcast; it wasn’t a thing she had to admit often. A naga was a naga as far as the surface was concerned. “ I haven’t heard about the hibernation experiment, please…if you have a moment, sit with me. Tell me about it.” The smile she wore was earnest, interested. “If what you say is true, about the jersher, I might ask for your help with something…similar. Have you seen or met any Prekleks since your return?”

Muzo is either too polite or too submissive to say no. He glances around to see if his tail is going to bump into anything before he sits on the edge of the stone pool. He takes a moment to settle and get comfortable, curving his tail back and forth until he's comfortable. "Hibernation. A side project on my own initiative. Went awry," he gives his head a brisk shake, dismissing it as useless, "impractical. Detrimental side effects. Accelerated my metabolism. Unsafe. No real use. The jersher project, on the other hand! Not my project, spearheaded by other researchers. Played my own part, was only involved. Would be happy to help, if city is suffering." Prekleks. She had mentioned prekleks. The naga scratches the underside of his chin, looking up at the ceiling. "Read about prekleks in passing. Haven't met any in person. Problematic. Warlike."

Reginae notes his strange patterns of speech. He spoke so quickly, like his mouth wasn’t able to keep up with his thoughts. She felt his counter opposite, even though she wasn’t trained in the eloquence of court manners. Reaching out to the other realms had required a tact, as all politics did. “There is one Preklek I’ve seen here, he calls himself Kang.” Reginae rotates her own tail to keep a polite distance while keeping her posture intact. “He has a…little spark light, possessed by some sentience. It shape shifts, like we do, into different animal forms to fight alongside the Preklek. Something to do with the Chaos realm. I’m not entirely knowledgeable about it either.” A harsh realization she hides with a warm (as far as naga’s go) smile. “

(In Progress)