RP:Opposites, But Not So Different

From HollowWiki

Summary: A chance meeting in Frostmaw to escape the cold turns to a spirited discussion.

Cerulean Flowers

In this newly discovered section of the Frostmaw mines, mist and fog forms as it is much warmer than the area around it. The environment in here could be compared to that of a sauna, as your skin begins to collect particles of water upon it from the dense humidity. Fauna grows wild here, though it is of a single variety: cerulean flowers with three petals each. It is a mystery as to how these flowers got here, or how they thrive in such harsh conditions. But, nonetheless, they are here, and they are flourishing in this outcropping from the mines.

Zahrani was sitting amongst the flowers, staying warm thanks to the sauna-like conditions of the mine. The paladin quietly sits on a boulder that was jutting through the floor, elevated slightly above the flora. The feline appears to be in a meditative position, sitting crosslegged. Due to the warmth, she's currently shirtless, using her cloak and tunic as cushioning for her seat. Her form is covered in soft, ebony fur, and every inch of her appears heavily conditioned, to the point where some passersby confuse her for a male of her race (lending to the confusion is the fact that her subrace isn't one to have a large amount of soft breast tissue). The only thing externally feminine (in the traditional sense) about her is her hips; they're slightly wider set than those you would find on a male feline. Zahrani also wears a simple pair of pants and boots, and a pick axe sits next to her. With her eyes closed, she almost blends in with the shadows.

Celaeno had taken shelter in the mines from the freezing temperatures outside, clumps of snow clinging to the hem of her thick robes and her wolf-fur lined cloak. Venturing deeper into the tunnel, she blinks, finding the joints of her silver hands moving easier without her heating aura to keep them from freezing or stiffening up. Soon after, her heavy cloak and robes start to make her skin break out in a fine layer of sweat underneath all her layers. She hums to herself, wondering how inside the cave could be so much warmer than the frigid area around it. Preferring the warmth, though, she sheds her cloak and drapes it over her arm. The robe remained over her regular clothes. Melting drips are left in her wake, leaving a trail anyone could follow as she explored until she came to the bushels of flowers growing up around her. With her vision in the dark not being quite as good as a full-blooded elf, the stranger's coloring making her blend in with the shadows, and her over attentive nature toward the mystery of the flowers, she didn't notice the Paladin at first. Zahrani would definitely notice the young mage, if not for the noise she made then for the spots of dark aura floating about different parts of her.

Zahrani's nares move with curiosity at the scent of a new person entering, her feline ears turned towards Celaeno. There isn't anything bad about the half-elf's smell, but the sensation of dark auras around the woman prompts Zahrani to open her eyes. Two cyan irises glow softly, surrounded by the black fur of her panther face. Much like her fur, the braid of hair resting on the cat's shoulder is slightly dampened by the humidity in the room, but not uncomfortably so. As Celaeno approaches, she might notice faint hints of subtle, amber light playing across Zahrani's body, like shadows refracting in a pool of moving water. Surely, that doesn't just come from the hot springs beneath them, does it? It is a divine aura about her, but it is not oppressive. It's warm, and inviting to those who are living and do not have malevolent intentions. "Good evening," she says. Her voice is a tenor, with a feline roughness that puts a peculiar accent on her speech.

Celaeno had neither died nor any foul purpose in entering the cave, though the presence of the aura makes her chest burn some, as if something that had died might reside there. That did draw her eyes to the source of the odd repellant feeling, only to pick out the warm glow of a shape sitting on a rock. She squintes, her eyes adjusting to get a better look at the stranger as they greet her. She gives a polite bow of her head. "And a good eve to you as well..." She tripped over her usual greeting, her eyebrows going together as her unfamiliarity with the Feline race, along with the dim lighting, made it hard for her to discern if she was speaking to a 'Sir' or a 'Ma'am' or another word to address them entirely.

Zahrani smoothly rises to her feet, her tail swishing idly behind her as enters a more well-lit part of the room. Trace amount of dust from the mine further south seem to interplay harmlessly with the warmth moisture rising to nourish the life growing in this mystical place. The feline's silhouette is accentuated by pale light peeking through the rocks, her hands finding their way into her pockets as she keeps her light blue eyes on the stranger. The clarity from the soft rays of light may or may not make her gender any clearer. "Have you come seeking shelter from Frostmaw's bitterness?" the paladin queries Celaeno, referring to the absurdly low temperatures outside.

Celaeno tucks her hands under her robe sleeves, but a few rays would glint off the silver gauntlets she wears and their softly glowing runes. "Yes, though I didn't know it was already occupied. I'm actually seeking someone, but I am still very unfamiliar with Frostmaw's countryside, along with its temperatures this time of year." She rolls her shoulders, glancing with an uneasy biting of her lower lip toward where the entrance to the mines. "I won't tary long if I interrupted something. I only need to regain my bearings a bit." Her tone stayed vague and neutral, the extra light still not divining what honorific she should call the paladin. She'd known plenty of women with that sort of muscular physique and plenty of men with hips that wide. Typically only male creatures went without chest coverings, but with all that fur on their body and the privacy of the setting, she would not blame anyone for foregoing a tunic.

Zahrani offers a warm smile, before moving to take a seat once more. She notices the faint glint of...armor?...on the woman's hands, but does not ask about it. "Please, stay as long as you like. I will not refuse company." The paladin sits down next to a satchel using it as lower back support as she leans back against a rock wall. She places one paw next to her, as if indicating that Celaeno is welcome to join her. "My name is Zahrani. What is yours?"

Celaeno glances over her shoulder once, back toward the opening where the flowers thinned out, but her attention settles back on the feline as she bows her head. “Celaeno.” She hugs her cloak closer to her as she takes in the stranger’s odd aura, magical but not quite in the way another mage’s would be. That puzzled her even more than the true gender of her temporary companion in the warm shelter of the cave. “Forgive me for asking but...did I bother you meditating? Praying? Are you some sort of cleric or priest?”

Zahrani keeps her gaze rested on Celaeno as the women looks at her. She smiles again at the questions the mage asks. The paladin doesn't seem to have the Pharisaic, holier than thou attitude that many religious folks had. "A paladin is much like a cleric, but if a cleric specialized in combat. We are like knights, but we view to use the gifts of our Gods to serve those in greatest need. Cyris is the God of Freedom and Independent Thought." That might seem paradoxical to a lot of people, but a lot of people do not look upon Freedom, or Divinity, with the eyes of a cat. Those eyes glow with the desire to empower others towards their own freedom.

Celaeno quirks her head to the other side, her lips pursing as she tries to wrap her mind around that odd sort of belief. "Hmm, that would certainly be a favorable god to serve, almost as nice as one I heard about back home dedicated to knowledge and learning. Many scribes under that order, but they tended to only let those of a certain class in. Very restrictive."

Zahrani listens intently to the woman explain a little about the god from her homeland. The panther reaches up to thoughtfully run a paw along the rows of tight braids atop her hair. "Our order does not discriminate based on where an initiate comes from. My foster father, a human paladin, found me scratching out a living in Cenril, running errands and messages for people with money. He took me in and taught me what he knew...showed me where I could learn even more." A slight smile of nostalgia forms on her face, before she crosses her arms and rests against the stone, "Paladins are judged more by our conduct and how we adhere to our code. We give our time and skills freely without expecting anything in return, usually to the poorest and most unfortunate in Lithrydel." Zahrani had actually taken to offering healing services at the Tavern. Drargon saw fit to let her have a room while she is there; her services provided a small boon to his own business (not that such things would be said out loud).

Celaeno’s eyebrows pinch together still, as if part of her were a confused by such an order. After a moment’s consideration, she hmms a moment and her tense shoulders seem to settle. “I suppose such an order is a good thing, then. What is your code and duties? Defending people from evil or some other such heroics? You look like a type who is well built for battle.” Her posture actually slumped a bit as the other spoke of the one who reared her and a shadow of loss tinged her expression. Perhaps it was the fact the feline was a new face or the welcoming aura that managed to comfort and repel at the same time, but Celaeno took a seat on a boulder nearby to the Paladin. “Your father sounds kind, teaching you his trade like that. Was he stern? Did he ever yell?”

Zahrani 's tail curls around her when Celaeno takes a seat. Cyan orbs remain on the woman as she asks her question. "In a general sense, that's one way to describe us. We don't work for gold, and we generally shy away from fancy or expensive things. Any gifts we receive, we use to further our duty to the people of Lithrydel. Oftentimes gifts of money will go to charity." The panther smiles sheepishly at Celaeno's comment about her body. "When I have the opportunity, I train and study regularly." At the personal questions, she pauses, then answers, "He is one of the kindest people I know. He can be stern, but his sternness is often a last resort." Her foster father is aged, but still alive, wandering around somewhere and doing paladin stuff. "Hard to believe it's been almost 20 years since he started teaching me."

“You sound like the Holy Mothers and Fathers who would offer us food in the bigger cities. My folk, the nomads, usually weren’t treated very well, but many of those were civil. Not priests, less authority, but they were far more charitable. I liked them. I’m..not from Lythridel, if you hadn’t already guessed that.” She offers a small smile of apology for the belated explanation as she sets her cloak and pack aside on her own little rock. “What sorts of knowledge do you study? I tend to be the sort that reads everything I can get my hands on. Did your father also pass that on?” Her cheeks redden, faint against her tawny skin as she sets her gauntlets in her lap, the light from their runes glowing in the dim cavern about as brightly as Zahrani herself. “I’m...sorry, I tend to ask too many questions of people. It’s become a bad habit, especially since I came to these lands. People are...much more welcoming here than I’m used to.”

Zahrani turns to face Celaeno, taking in the knowledge that she shares like an eager student. On the subject of studying, she smiles and nods in response, "I'm the same way. I'll study almost anything. Medicine, runes, war machines. I was always interested in learning new things, even before my father found me, but he encouraged it even further." A light, affectionate chuffing noise escapes the feline at Celaeno's apology. "If I took offense at your questions, you would know immediately." A pause, then a question of her own. "What of you? What knowledge have you been studying?" She looks down at the bright gauntlets with a mild curiosity, as well as the strange, dark bits of aura emanating from the woman.

“Oh yes, I live for it! Growing up, it was always history, lore, anatomy. Pyromancy and barriers are always useful. I’m a mage, which would perhaps also be obvious.” She gestures to her robes splayed out around her trousers. “I don’t mind the clothing that goes with the stereotypical image. Upon a the eager attention paid to her gauntlets, a somewhat mischievous glint comes to the half-elf’s eyes as she reaches under her left one and starts to unstrap the leather harness that holds it on. “My specialty at the moment is runic enchantment. Runes are just so versitile.” She pulls off the gauntlet and holds it out toward Zahrani. The piece of armor was smithed of pure silver, and depending on how versed the paladin was in the classic alphabets, she might be able to piece together some of the strings engraved in neat rows all over the metal. There were a couple pyromancy related strings, but more barrier themed ones, against both physical and magical opposing forces. A majority of them seem dedicated to animating something that isn’t animate… And if the feline were to spy what was underneath Celaeno’s artificial appendage, she would see that the girl had no left hand to speak of, that forearm rounding off at the wrist and covered in a black stocking. “I made these with them. They come in quite handy, though they can be improved upon, I’m learning.”

Zahrani gingerly holds the gauntlet her hands, examining it carefully. The weight, the softness of the metal, the detail in each digit. She recognizes some of the runes, some of them encountered in books of warding magic, others she had seen seen in her travels. She spies the animation rune, then turns to see the Celaeno's left arm, realizing that this isn't just a gauntlet. A wry grin forms on the feline's face, before she responds with a play on words, "I am humbled that you trust me to hold your hand." She looks back down it with contained awe at the craftwork. "If this is a work in progress, I am eager to see it again in the future." An invitation to spend more time with the paladin, perhaps? Regardless, Zahrani returns the hand to its owner, giving that 'closed-eye smile' that cats give to show friendship or affection.

Celaeno takes her gauntlet back as she snickers in appreciation at the pun. “I’m working with a smith who has something even grander! He’s promised to make me vambraces so I won’t have to bother with the leather. When I first got here, I tried hiding them for the longest time. The only place I still make sure they’re unseen is Larket because...well Larket.” The cheerful expression sours some as her currently least favorite place in Lithrydel is brought up. She straps the limb back on, the typically fragile metal surprisingly solid from the strings of runes used to reinforce it to be more like iron. “I’ve recently started studying darker arts, as well, from the Necromancer’s guild. It’s...ironic considering the use of those arts by someone else took my hands, but my logic is that knowledge is knowledge, and the better I understand the arts that were used against me, the better I can combat them in the future. Among other reasons, they are legitimately fascinating. Knowledge of them was so scarce back home, shrouded in misunderstandings and misconceptions.”

Zahrani 's eyes fall to the limb as Celaeno puts it back on. She looks back up at the woman as she mentions studying darker arts. Her face is somewhat neutral, but she doesn't seem bothered by the prospect. "The power I use comes from the divine, so practicing the darker arts is impossible for me. But like you said, knowing how they work is useful in combating them." She pauses a moment, then adds, "Our order is also against any practice of magic that takes autonomy or independence from others without their explicit consent. So while knowledge of necromancy itself is not frowned upon, using it to harm or forcibly control the living or the dead is." Of course, there were more zealous worshipers of light who see things differently, but to Zahrani, such a lack of nuance was a shackle in and of itself.

Celaeno offers her own wry grin as the feline states the specifics of her order’s thoughts on her practices. “I’m liking this order of yours more and more.” She rubs her chest, where most of that dark aura came from, the only part of her that Zahrani’s energy actively repelled. “My sister would have been a good fit for it, I think, before she passed. She taught me to value that. And...well having been at the receiving end of those parts, I can appreciate letting others have their independence. As for harming others...well protecting myself and those I value are my exceptions. There’s not much I wouldn’t do for that.” Her nose wrinkles as her stormy eyes meet those cyan ones. Her gaze sparked with inquisitive intent, enough that she leaned forward a bit toward the feline, hands folded in her lap. “And what are your thoughts on the control of creatures that have no consent to give? Mere bone and flesh constructs given mere animation and simple will by magic as opposed to sentient beings? And what of pack animals and livestock? Since those are living creatures in servitude, but with very simple minds that don’t have that complex of a will? Or consuming meat for that matter, along those lines that the animals being consumed would rather survive?” It seemed it was an intellectual debate of ethics she pondered, not necessarily a confrontation of the paladin’s beliefs.

Zahrani allows a grin to form on her face. She's enjoying this type of questioning very much. Also, the whole wrinkly nose movement on the half-elf's face, coupled with the intense stare, was kind of endearing and cute to the panther. Nevertheless, the paladin does not sound defensive or affronted when she responds, "Some paladins, clerics, and monks keep to a strict vegetarian diet in response to such...grey areas. For my people, however, that is not an option." Much like their feral brethren, the catfolk that integrated into mainstream society are obligate carnivores/omnivores. "For creatures that cannot communicate consent: for example, using a spell to summon a creature to your aid, I would ideally give them the option to leave and to preserve themselves. For artificial constructs, or the dead, that's trickier. Philosophers dedicate their lives to finding a 'golden rule' for such things. The closest I've come to such a thing is just to answer simple questions like: what other methods are available to accomplish what you're trying to do? Did the deceased give consent prior to their passing? Does the person or entity in possession of the materials give consent?" She pauses for a moment, then answers, "Livestock is another complicated topic when it comes to freedom. Most livestock would not survive without their caretakers, because of generations of domestication. Complete freedom from their farmers could potentially do more harm to them than good. Or perhaps they would do just fine and adapt." Nature is tenacious that way. "But I could talk about this for days. I suppose in a situation where I am expected to act, I prioritize the welfare of those around me, as well as my own, and what is the best course of action in that moment." She's a case-by-case feline. Sometimes she fights, sometimes she flees, sometimes she heals, sometimes she hunts and kills. But in all things, she keeps freedom and compassion for others in mind.

“Oh my, that is extreme. I couldn’t do that, too much of my diet depends on broth.” Granted, she wasn’t sworn to serve a god of any kind, not even the one of death. The rest of the paladin’s points have her tapping her chin in thought, a pensive wrinkle between her eyebrows as she rolled every point in her head. She did not completely agree on all of them, being what she was she couldn’t necessarily. Chewing on those issues certainly stimulated her worn down ethical processing skills. “Without a soul, though, the deceased would not have a use for their remains, would they? With the spirit, the essence of the person, moved on to the void, wherever they might head, the materials left are like wood for building a house. Many cultures use bones for tools, animal and ancestor alike.” Her own specific aspiring field aside, she smiles and smooths down any wrinkles in her lap. “Indeed. That is all any of us can do. I know navigating this new field will be...challenging, to say the least, when it comes to balancing the finer points with common morals. There is potential for good there, though. Communing with spirits who have passed on to learn things or reconnect them with their loved ones, offering an easier alternative to laborers in rebuilding places. It can’t all be destruction and devils.” There was perhaps an undercurrent of blind hope in her voice, as if by willing those possibilities they would happen. “Wherever our paths may take us, you seem an amiable sort. I hope we can have more discussions with good will on all sides. I could start an entirely new tangent about the meaning of ‘freedom’ and ‘free will,’ but I’m afraid I should brave the cold once more soon.”

Zahrani tilts her head to the side, considering Celaeno's words. They were certainly idealistic, but they certainly had some merit to them. "Hmm...there is a balancing act between means and ends. If you reanimate bones, I would at least respect the wishes of any next of kin. If I had found the resting place of my ancestors, I would rather their remains stay put." The feline's grin returns at the last comment. At the half-elf's last comment, the paladin nods, "I will not keep you here, nor will I ask you to leave. I have enjoyed your company and your thoughts." The feline decides it's getting close to the time for her to leave as well. She retrieves a sleeveless shirt and stands up. The glow of her aura plays across the various contours of the panther's musculature as she lifts the garment over her head, her arms passing through their respective holes and pulling the shirt into place. The paladin absentmindedly reaches up to guide her braided hair outside of the cloth, letting it rest on her shoulder before gathering her cloak and satchel.

“I suppose traveling so much affected my views. We always burned our dead, if we could. Freedom was a strong wind and the open road, not any cold tomb or oppressive hole.” She sighs a moment, absentmindedly rubbing her chest where that dead presence lurked, another grin that had more of a self-depreciating twinge to it came to her face, but didn’t meet her eyes. “Besides, it prevents people like me from trying to bring them back, right?” She pulls her pack over her shoulders, then her cloak after that, the fur-lined hood hiding her expression. “Well met Paladin Zahrani. The discussion was riveting. I hope we may have another soon.” And with that she tugged the cloak on about her again and ducked back into the mining tunnel that had led her there.

Zahrani watches Celaeno leave, a slight purr escaping her lips as she prepares for her own journey out. ~Celaeno. What an interesting person.~ She calls out, "Travel safely." before slinging her satchel onto her back and pulling her hood overhead.