RP:Returning Things To "Normal"

Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Summary: Kailani and Khitti work together to heal the Shadow Plane.

Eternal Forest, Larket

Up until her conversation with Khitti, Kailani had not really put much thought into the ramifications of what might go wrong. It's not a thought that perpetually plagues the druid now, but Khitti has managed to bring it further to the front of Kailani's mind. Is it enough to deter Kailani from showing up at Larket the next day? No, it is not. Kailani seemingly comes about as prepared as she did the last time, which is to say that Kailani is traveling with what she only deems to be essential. Her armor is worn, her weapon is across her back, and she has a bag slung over a shoulder. It's not full of food, but medical supplies. Should Kailani have brought food? Honestly, she is assuming that there is something down there she'd be able to forage or hunt if she found herself in dire straits. Kailani waits for Khitti, in the forest in Larket. Druid time is questionable at best, maybe someone should invest in a time piece for Kailani. Sometimes Kailani is early, sometimes she is late. In this case, she arrives a bit on the earlier than anticipated side.

While Khitti did bring some supplies, she brought the bare minimum. It was probably going to be fine. The threat was gone. They just needed to clean up the place. She arrived by giant cat as per usual, the great beast skidding to a stop once it found the druid. It could tell she was good people and took a moment to sniff and nuzzle Kailani if she allowed it. “Ready to go?” Khitti seemed to be in well enough spirits as she could possibly be. She looked through her satchel, making sure for the tenth time that she grabbed the few baked goods she’d made for the trip, the blueberry muffins wrapped up in bits of wax paper. There was a skin of water and a few other odds and ends as well, but packed relatively light. She probably could’ve just asked Kailani for water if she ended up needing it, but wasn’t quite sure on how the druid would react. Maybe if she needed a refill? Even the tikifhlee was without saddlebags today, allowing for the creature to shift into its housecat size once they were ready to head out.

The truth of the matter is, Kailani would not have minded such a request, but given how stiff the druid can be...? It certainly might be hard to tell if she might be offended by such a request. She's working on it, slowly. While Kailani gives her answer to Khitti, the druid also works on trying to make friends with the mini-tikifhlee. She'd start by very slowly reaching out and if this seems acceptable, she'd give the shrunken cat a good scratch behind the ears. "About as ready as I can be given where we are going and the rather gruesome task that we have ahead of us." Kailani was trying to ignore any vivid and detailed thinking about what they were going to do. It was much nicer to live in the moment, for the moment, given that she was trying to pet a cat. When Khitti was ready to drag them to that other plane, Kailani would be more than willing to comply with her instructions.

Khitti offered the druid a faint smile. Right, yes. Khitti was like the only one around that could fully tolerate the Shadow Plane. “Alright. Let’s head out then,” she said wearily. It was not often Khitti dealt with the truly dead and the entire task ahead of them weighed on the redhead as much as it did Kailani. The same type of portal from before was summoned up and before Khitti went to step through, she reached into her bag and pulled out a breathing mask. “In case the spores come back before we leave. They probably won’t but I wanted to be cautious about it anyway.” She offered it to the druid, then headed through the portal finally.

The Lake of Echoed Screams, The Shadow Plane

On the other side, not much had changed beyond the fact that it was no longer snowing and the trees weren’t on fire and there was not a pair of murderous hybrid plant people literally killing this plane of existence. What there was, however, was a lot of bodies. The mind-controlled creatures that had been spared, during the fight with Jessamine and James, had long since gone. Perhaps they were still hanging around, though. They can’t have gotten too far like that. Khitti just stared at the bodies silently, a frown lining her lips. When was the last time she’d seen this much carnage in one place? Sure she’d been in wars and stuff but… This much wanton murder? She’d not seen it so compacted into a small area since she was still in Dhavislaav. There’s a strange sort of recognition on Khitti’s face as she realized this, her frown only worsening further. How were the two of them going to deal with all of this? Well… it wasn’t going to get done with Khitti just standing there. She’d sigh sadly and silently start pulling the bodies that were still on land together so that they could all be burned at once. The ones that filled the lake were an entirely different monster to tackle and would wait.

While Kailani does understand that the breathing mask is really just a matter of safety, the druid can't help the expression that crosses her face at the thought of having to wear this thing. Don't mistake Kailani for an anti-masker, she'll wear the thing...she's just going to make faces about having to do it. Thankfully there does not seem to be an immediate need to equip the mask once they do head through the portal and enter the Shadow Planes. What they found on the other side was about what Kailani was expecting to find, a total mess. Just because Kailani was here during the very chaotic event does not make it less troublesome for the woman to see. It is enough that the blue-haired ends up feeling more conversationally challenged than the norm. This may not end up being a very good, get-to-know-you, bonding sort of moment. There are bodies on land and bodies in the water, all of them needed to be gathered up and then burned....it's moments like these that drive normally sober people to drink, no? Thankfully Kai will not be reacting in quite that way, but she's clearly not pleased. That does not stop her from assisting Khitti. For a moment Kai considers separating and trying to fish the bodies out of the lake by herself, but ultimately resolves to work more closely with Khitti. The red-head could take one end, Kai would take the other, and the two would drag the bodies into a pile one by one. Team effort. A very gross team effort....A little bit Kailani was wondering why she agreed to this. Go out and meet people, Kailani, it'd be good for you, Kailani. What's the worst that can happen? Kailani will get over it, but for the moment she was a bit disgruntled.

There was silence for a good long while as the two went about their grim work. Khitti didn’t really know what to say. What do you say to a person you hardly know about a place that really only you understand? Or are somewhat comfortable with? Once the dry bodies had been gathered together and a bit of kindling was taken from the ground and added to the pile, Khitti lit them with her shadowflames. There was still silence, until suddenly there was not. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this. This is why Brand and I tend to deal with things on our own. So no one else needs to know about it. But… we were desperate. My sister literally cannot come here anymore. My brother is usually far too busy or just absent entirely.” He had been at the beginning of this whole thing with Jessamine and James, anyway. “Even Brand is hesitant to come here now too, but he does it support me. So long as I don’t force him into any caves, anyway.” There was a brief smirk at that last part, but it soon disappeared, and was replaced by a frown. “I have to be here. If I didn’t have this family, I think I would’ve left Lithrydel and just stayed here forever instead. Seems no matter what I do in Lithrydel, that it’s never good enough. Here though? They’re actually grateful for it. Probably because they’ve never had anyone to defend them, I guess. But… that’s still my responsibility. Not anyone else’s. So… I’m sorry.”

Silence was never something that bothered Kailani, but this was probably no surprise to those who even knew her in the slightest. It seemed especially fitting in this moment, given the number of dead currently burning in that pyre. She is far more taken aback with Khitti's sudden openness on their presence here. It causes the blue-haired woman to furrow her brows together in thought, "I don't understand what you are apologizing for when it was my every choice to be here. What I mean is, I was given plenty of room to say no. Yet, I made the decision to say yes. So please do not feel obligated to apologize to me." Remaining stationary was not on Kailani's to-do list. That did not mean she was cutting the conversation short, but she would turn her attention to the bodies in the water. The task would begin with the ones that were already floating near the shoreline...And yes, the druid will be manipulating the currents of the waters to cause the bodies floating at a distance to be pushed closer. Or if they are not floating at all? They soon will be, but that would be the very last step. "It seems to me I should perhaps not be willing to call myself a druid if I am not willing to offer support in all lands." Kailani gives pause in their work long enough to really take a moment to study the expanse around them. "It seems to me that I would much prefer to get lost within the lands of Lithrydel, but...perhaps in a more healed state I could learn to have some amount of appreciation for this place." A brief pause, no smile. "Or...maybe it will eventually wear on it me as it sounds it has worn on Brand and your sister."

Khitti did her own work to help Kailani as the druid spoke, her mind half on the task, half on the woman. To the first of Kailani’s words, she just sighed and said “I know.” as she conjured up long blocks of shadow-ice, using it to push bodies to the surface as the druid used her own magic to do the same. Khitti was quiet for time even after Kailani finished her thoughts. She wasn’t sure what she should say now. Kailani might have chosen to come to this place, but… Khitti still felt terrible for even having asked. “The plane itself is dangerous,” she said at length, still working to drag those bodies in from the lake. “A bit more than Lithrydel can be. But, my sister and Brand had… -unique- experiences here, for the lack of a better word. Things never seem to go according to plan when I’m involved and people get hurt.” She chuckled softly, the sound itself a bit sad. “But, you likely have as much of a connection to this place as I do, so I’m sure you’ll be alright. It’s just in my nature to be apologetic whenever anyone gets involved.” Whenever they were sure that they’d gotten all of the bodies and got them on land, Khitti would summon up a mass of shadows and lower it carefully on the massive pile. The acidic properties of Khitti’s particular brand of shadows set to work as she shortened the area of her magic, the shadows clinging tighter and tighter to the bodies as it ate away at them all. It wasn’t quite the decay they needed, but it was quick at least.

Kailani furrows her brows together when Khitti says. See, the reclusive woman was doing her best to try and be reassuring? But Khitti still side...and this left Kailani feeling confused and slightly frustrated with her own social ineptitude. "I think that...as long as we stay together and stay on focus then I will probably not have an experience that is too...traumatizing." This experience has already been unique in it's way, but Kailani is not really keen on testing her luck and finding out how much more unpleasantries this place can deliver. Khitti speaks of how Kailani likely has a connection to this place and the druid gives pause, thankfully they had already gathered up all of the bodies anyway so it is not like she is leaving Khitti to do the work. Kailani is silent before finally admitting, "I think that I do, but it is like you have been saying from the start....It is not quite the same." Back to business though, Khitti's shadows are working their magic, eating away at the bodies. It was definitely not decay, but it would still accomplish the job. Would any of the disease be left behind in the ash? Or has it tainted the water? This is what the druidic woman turns her attention to next, starting with the lake. Kailani removes a gauntlet so that she can dip her hand in the water, there is much concentrating and focusing on the part of the druid. The lake turns temporarily luminous and it is at this point that Kai removes her appendage from the water. It would not be long before the druid's magic runs it's course and the lake ceases to glow. It would be the earth that Kailani focuses on next, but it does not reflect the druid's magic in quite the same way that the water does. There is no glowing. The effect is still the same, or at least so the druid hopes.

Khitti wanted to open her mouth and say ‘That’s not what I meant!’ or ‘I’m sure it won’t happen this time!’ or ‘There’s no one here to do anything anyway.’. But. She didn’t. It was clear that what she was trying to say wasn’t getting through and Khitti just frowned at the thought. They really -had- been unique situations for both Meri and Brand. The urge to apologize again was overwhelming, but she managed to ignore it as best as she could as Kailani went about her work with the water and then with the earth. Slowly, as she channeled her nature-y magic, the weird pulsating roots lost their bluish hue (and the pulsating) and retreated out of the lake, returning to the vicinity of their respective white trees and burrowing beneath the ground again. Khitti just watched the whole thing in awe. Kailani’s magic was very much the opposite of Khitti’s--even the light magic. It was a world that Khitti would not ever get to experience. But, she wasn’t jealous of it! Not that Kailani would really sense it anyway, unless Khitti outright showed it. She’s just… you know… a curious Khat. “Oh. Right,” she said at length when Kailani was finished with her part of things. She too stuck a hand in the lake, but her magic didn’t glow. Instead, shadows were loosed into the water and looked a bit more like the inky blackness an octopus would leave behind. This filtered throughout the entirety of the lake itself, eventually dispersing enough to allow the lake to be peered into. “That should help hopefully. The people that live here can help it further. If my magic doesn’t lure some of the spirits back into the lake, their own likely will. I will check back in now and then to see how things are and let you know if something has gone wrong. The treants that I’ve worked with likely have as much of a connection to this place as you do and can help with the animals that live around here.” There’s a long pause before she remembered something else she should say. “Thank you.”

Kailani and Khitti were not on the same wavelength when it came to this subject matter, and it was made obvious to the druid by the way that Khitti frowned. The druid assumed that this was again due to her own lack of social skills....Or the fact that living alone for so long has not granted her the experience of certain emotions. Like...extreme guilt. Kailani could probably relate much better to the awe that Khitti was feeling, were she aware. She'd understand those sentiments, for since Kailani has been trying to interact with more people she is quite impressed with the skills that others demonstrate, Khitti being one of them. This moment would show that, because once Kailani was finished with her part in the matter? And when Khitti caused the lake to darken with shadows? Kailani stood and watched with a most intrigued expression on her face that lingered until the shadows faded and the lake was translucent once more. Khitti speaks and Kailani's gaze falls back on the red-head, with a warm and sincere smile cross the druid's lips, "You are very welcome. Are we headed back home now?" In this case, Kailani is using the term home very loosely. She obviously means their respective homes back in Lithrydel.

It was probably for the better that Kailani did not understand Khitti’s extreme guilt. Because then that could lead to her thinking about things and maybe starting her own bit of guilt? If there was something she might feel it over? That’s a weight Kailani does not need on her shoulders. Khitti would stare at the area for a moment, making sure everything at the very least -seems- fine, once the blue-haired woman asked her question. After a few moments of hesitation, Khitti turned back to Kailani and nodded, giving the woman a smile. “Yes.” With that said, she’d open up a portal so they could head back home.