RP:What's Good For The Goose Isn't Always Good For The Brand-er
Summary: Khitti and Brand confront Viera and offer a trade: help with Brand's shapeshifting in exchange for getting Viera back to the mainland.
The Demon Archipelago, Somewhere South Of Rynvale
Brand || The big day arrived and, if Brand was honest, she was nervous as heck. Just finding Viera was going to be hard enough, but actually convincing her to help and not immediately try to murder them or something? Well, Brand was prepared for the worst. And the second worst. And the third worst. She had a number of scenarios planned out in her head, actually -- snippets of speeches she’d try to give to influence things one way or the other, if Viera does X then we should do Y, if she does B then we should do C and hope she does D, and so on and so forth.
Brand || Even as the ship anchored at the edge of the archipelago, where they’d last left the enchantress, Brand was still pacing back and forth, considering all the possibilities and details one last time. Dozla had to nudge her to get her to even notice they’d arrived. Brand took a deep breath and turned to address the crew. “Okay. You all know what the plan is, and you know what you have to look out for. Um. Godspeed?” Not the most inspiring of speeches, to be sure. She was saving all her fancy words for convincing Viera. Giving the crew one last awkward salute, she stepped into the little boat that would ferry her and Khitti to shore.
Khitti || While Brand was busy with all that captain nonsense, Khitti was busy packing a bag. There wasn’t much in it: a ridiculously sparkly and over the top dress that Khitti had bought for Viera back when Khitti was under the impression that she was in love with Viera; a pair of stiletto heels, because Khitti was certain Viera would never wear anything else; and a somewhat stylish coat--It was fur! Because Viera’s just the type of snooty bitch to wear it--just in case the Catalian did come back with them, because winter. Khitti eyed her swords, both of which were laying on top of the dresser. She hesitated for a long time, but ultimately didn’t take them with her, much to her dismay.
Khitti did, however, put on one of the outfits that Iintahquohae had made for her months ago. The two piece black silk dress essentially looked like most of the other dresses she wore; they were still sleeveless and knee-length, but this one in particular sported a high neckline as opposed to the other’s Queen Anne style top--and that was the whole point: to look completely ordinary like the rest of her outfits. The armor itself was nearly as light as air thanks to the tiny true steel plates that were linked together within, sandwiched between the silk. Despite their weightlessness, the true steel plates were on the same level as mythril. Of course, this wouldn’t protect Khitti’s mind from Viera, but at least the physical part was dealt with. She’d even considered offering Brand the dress’s twin, but Brand was far too busy with her crew and Khitti was unsure of whether or not Brand was even in the right headspace to fight Viera anyway. Khitti did not hold the same anxiety that Brand did. She couldn’t stop thinking about the one thing Khitti had warned Viera about: ‘Do -not- break my heart, Viera.’ Viera hadn’t listened and now as the time to seek her out got nearer, Khitti dwelled on it and the other things that her and Viera had done together. Even if she hadn’t been speaking to Brand of it anymore, it was still a mental torture she wasn’t sure she’d ever get rid of.
Khitti || When they got onto the boat that would take them to shore, it was clear she was thinking things. Mostly bad things, on the off chance that Viera would not be so receptive of their offer of trade. Whether or not she would actually act on these thoughts remained to be seen.
Brand had her own thoughts to brood on, so the trip to the closest island was mostly silent. They came ashore onto a beach of rough sand. The altar was still visible here, although it didn’t look like it had been used since the last time. Beyond was a line of trees. With nowhere else of interest, Brand ventured further in. It wasn’t long before they found themselves in an area that looked to be half forest, half swamp. They dodged pools that looked like quicksand and crevices that puked up the occasional flame. They dodged them, at least, until a rustle in the underbrush caught Brand off her guard. She stumbled on the hem of her dress (why had she thought floor-length would be a good idea on such an expedition?) and went arse-first into a pool of quicksand… which, thankfully, turned out to actually be very, very slow sand.
Brand || A large creature emerged from the brush, white and feathery and impossible large. It was one of the infamous G.O.O.S.E. -- A Goose of Outrageous SizE. “HONK,” it said. “HONK HONK,” it said again. And then it picked Brand up in its beak and began to carry her off.
Khitti has dealt with geese before in the past. The murder geese of Dhavislaav were terrible beasts with equally terrible temperaments. They were quite possibly filled with more rage than Khitti was on a bad day. She had wanted to help Brand, but alas, she was frozen in fear. How could she have forgotten -the geese-? There’d been so many other creatures she’d come in contact with since she came to Lithrydel that had been on her ‘Things I’m Afraid Of’ list (the main two being bears and spiders), but those fears had come and gone. But this…? This was different.
Khitti || The creature’s ghastly honks were enough to bring on flashbacks of all the times Khitti had been bitten by one. “Just… Uh… Stay calm.” Was she talking to Brand? Maybe. But, also mostly to herself. Would it -eat- Brand? Should Khitti just say frak it to ‘together or not at all’ and get the hell out of there? Khitti wasn’t sure, so she let it carry Brand off elsewhere, and she followed it, just a few paces behind. Sorry, Brand. Khitti was not as great as you are at saving damsels in distress.
Brand || The creature kept honking even as it held Brand in its mouth. Brand’s curses and cries couldn’t be heard over it, so it wasn’t long before she stopped trying. She turned all of her focus to trying to escape from the great goose’s beak, but that was no use, either. No amount of spells or flailing of limbs could convince the great gander to release its grip. Brand was along for this ride, for better or worse, and just had to hope she wasn’t devoured along the way.
Brand || Eventually, the G.O.O.S.E. came to a clearing, where it honked once more and opened its beak wide. Brand dropped to the ground and, groaning, began to dust herself off. “Where in the frak…?” It was then that Brand noticed that they were surrounded by more of the creatures, mostly of ordinary size and several of the outrageous size. And in the center of them all was a throne crafted of bone and seashells. Viera sat upon it in a dress of blinding white goosefeather. She seemed as surprised to see Brand as Brand was to see her.
Brand || “HONK HONK HONK,” said the goose that had carried her here.
Khitti continued to follow the G.O.O.S.E., cringing a little every time she saw Brand attempt to dislodge herself from the beast’s mouth. Once they got to the clearing… Khitti’s right eye started twitching. Why? BECAUSE OF ALL THE GODDAMN BATSHIT CRAZY GEESE. And of course there, sitting front and center amongst her flock was the bitchiest goose of them all. And yet, Khitti still felt a strange pang of sadness as she eyed the woman. She hated this feeling. It wasn’t even real and still it lingered for now. It was something Khitti would have to find a way to purge one way or another.
Khitti || Eventually, Khitti just sighed heavily, put on a lovely happy face, and took a few steps forward until she was next to Brand. “Hello, darling.” It was purposefully long and drawn out and somewhat sappy sounding for effect. No, of course she wasn’t talking to Brand. Yes, she was being somewhat sarcastic right now. She was doing her best to keep it at a minimum, however.
Brand || Slowly, Viera stepped down from her throne. Brand was still checking herself for wounds and bruises as Viera approached, looking at them curiously. She stopped only a few feet away, clearly unafraid of whatever magic or might they might want to use on her. “You lived… and yet you came back,” she said at last, looking from one to the other. “Bold of you. And... you gained use of my magicks, but you shapeshifted her, and not yourself. Fascinating.” She stared a moment longer. “You must be here for my help, then.”
Brand frowned at the woman. Already, this was not going how they’d expected… although, she supposed it could be going plenty worse. “Believe it or not, I came here to propose a truce, actually. I want your help, yes… but I’m offering what I think is a fair trade. We have the only way you can expect to get off this island anytime soon. In exchange, yes, I’d like to know how to control these magicks you gave me.”
Khitti stared at Viera for as long as she possibly could before shifting her attention elsewhere. A frown surfaced as she thought about going back to the ship. She didn’t though, if only because Brand needed her here for support--and she’d already let Brand down somewhat once, when she didn’t go into Selene’s temple right away.
Khitti || Once Brand had said what she needed to say, Khitti tossed the satchel she’d brought at Viera’s feet, with the dress, shoes, and coat all inside. There wasn’t any sort of magic to be found on it to signify it was a trap and nor did Khitti seem like she was hiding anything. She just looked uncomfortable and maybe even a little sad? She didn’t make eye contact with Viera either. Khitti just… stared at the geese. The awful terrible very bad geese. Maybe she’d get lucky and the geese would peck her to death and she wouldn’t have to be on this island anymore.
Brand || Viera eyed Khitti suspiciously, but ultimately opened the satchel and examined its contents. Dresses and coats and shoes, oh my. Viera tried not to give away just how perfectly the clothes suited her tastes. Best not to lose any advantage in these “negotiations” by seeming too interested. Having looked over everything in the bag, she closed it up again and put it back down on the ground for now. “Let’s say I agreed to your little ‘truce’. What assurances do I have that you won’t try to hurt me the second my guard is down, or after I’ve taught you what you want to know?”
Brand || “You don’t,” Brand admitted with a sigh. “You’d have to trust us. Like we’d have to trust you not to frak with us any more than you already have.” She turned away from Viera and took Khitti’s hand, subtly giving it three quick squeezes. “If that’s not good enough for you, we could always walk away and pretend like this conversation never happened.”
Khitti || Brand’s hand-squeezing brought Khitti back out of her thoughts for a moment, her olive-green line of sight shifting towards Viera again. Somewhere between a frown and a smirk planted itself on Khitti’s lips, “I don’t have any interest in killing you right now. I have more important things to worry about--like dealing with everything -you- frakked all to hell and back.”
Khitti finally gave Brand’s hand a single squeeze in return and turned her attention to her now. “We should not have come here,” she said in a whisper, clearly upset. “Or at the very least, I should not have come. I cannot even bear to be around her after all the things she did to me. She’s not going to help us. She only cares about herself. She can stay here with her damned feathery hellbeasts and rot.”
Brand || Viera couldn’t hear what Khitti had said to Brand, but she could guess at the content of her words. “You did nothing to deserve what I did to you,” she said to Khitti, “and my god punished me for it. I don’t expect that to be of any consolation, nor would I expect any apology I could give to mean anything to you, but I apologize nonetheless.”
Brand || It was Brand’s turn to eye Viera suspiciously. She -looked- sincere enough, actually, but who could say for sure whether someone as manipulative as Viera ever meant anything. “Actions would mean more than words at this juncture, I think. For both of us, maybe. We all know I did plenty to you to warrant your anger against me, and you’ve done plenty to warrant our anger against you. And I dunno about you, but I’d rather break the cycle now than have it continue. I think we’ve all been hurt enough, don’t you?” She held out a hand, another offer of truce. And after a long pause, Viera shook on it.
Khitti || If Khitti had been lucky, then her gods would've punished Viera too. Wouldn't they? She half-nodded at Viera, if only to acknowledge her, then eyed their shaking hands warily. It was a two day trip back… How was Khitti going to make it through that? She turned to head back to the ship, but stopped almost as soon as she started. "No geese," she said, pointing at Viera's flock. "It's not my ship, but I have enough problems with chickens and if geese get put on the Tranquility, I'm taking the long way home through the Shadow Plane. I'd rather take my chances with a whole ocean full of merrow than deal with those vicious, beaked bastards." And then she walked away, muttering to herself about those same foul fowl.
The Tranquility, Somewhere Between The Demon Archipelago And Cenril
Khitti || Once Khitti got to the ship (whether Brand chose to keep up with her or not), she'd head down into the lower decks to find an empty room and start making it up for Viera for the trip home. She wasn't being nice though. Oh, no. She just needed something to do to keep her mind busy. The bed was made, the dresser checked to see if it was empty, and towels were put in the washroom. Khitti felt like she was going to cry again, but she held it in for now. At some point, she was going to need to be alone, and then she'd let it all out. She didn't want to cry around Brand again. Brand had enough on her plate as it was.
Brand || Sometime after Khitti started making up the room, Brand found her. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Viera’s finally said goodbye to all her geese. I have Dozla and Sundance watching her right now, cuz I wanted to check in with you. How are you feeling about all this? To me, it almost feels like it was too easy. But I guess she hasn’t really done anything yet, for good -or- for ill. I guess it’s gonna be one of those ‘wait and see’ things, and I hate it. If I didn’t need her help so badly...” she trailed off, placing her gaze somewhere off in the distance.
Khitti || “I don’t want to talk about how I’m feeling about all of this,” Khitti said bluntly as she sat down on the edge of the bed when she was done. Yes, she was aware she was being a Brand about this. “She’s probably thinking the same thing you are.” Her voice wavered a little as she spoke, betraying her want to cry. It earned itself a frown in return. “What are we doing with her when we get back? I-Is she staying here…?” On the ship, she meant. There’d probably be a lot less Khitti on the Tranquility if that were the case. At least, for a little while anyway.
Brand || "I think that depends how the next few days go," Brand said with a sigh. She could obviously tell that Khitti was upset, but if Khitti wasn't going to share details, there wasn't a whole lot Brand could do about that. "I'd like to give her as much freedom as reasonable, but we also want to avoid a situation where she disappears without upholding her end of the bargain."
Brand || “Obviously,” said Viera, from her spot just a bit up the stairs. She couldn’t have been in earshot long, for the clacking of her boots announced every step she took closer. Sundance followed behind her, shrugging an apology. Brand nodded Sundance’s dismissal -- she could watch Viera again. Sundance saluted with visible relief and toddled off to go do whatever Sundances did. Viera waved faux-cheerily at the dwarf’s backside; clearly there was no love lost between them. “So, if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather make headway on this sooner rather than later.” She gave Brand a very Brand-esque smirk. “Get it? Headway? Because the problem’s probably all in your head?” Brand just stared at her, stony-faced. “Ah, forget it. The joke’s wasted on you. My -point- is, the sooner we get you fixed, the sooner we can part ways and have nothing to do with one another. That -is- what you’d prefer, yes?”
Khitti just looked between the two as Viera spoke, like someone watching a tennis match. The sharp words. -That smirk.- The need to have things over and done with as quickly as possible so she could be on her way and never see people ever again because she supposedly wanted nothing to do with them. Oh. Oh no. Oh gods. Oh no. Khitti’s eyes got pretty wide. She even went a bit pale--moreso than usual. She also had this distinct look on her face like she was internally screaming and little Khittis were running around in her brain while everything was on fire.
Khitti || Viera was exactly like Brand. Well, maybe not -exactly-, but still. Khitti was probably having flashbacks of when her and Brand were enemies and Brand treated her the same way. Of course, this was not something Khitti noticed when she and Viera were “together”, seeing as how she couldn’t remember who Brand was at all then. But, now that the two were standing there together, Khitti couldn’t help but realize -why- she might still have lingering feelings for Viera.
Khitti || Is this the part where she had a stroke and died? Because she could really use that right about now. She tried her best to cover up the look she had on her face. It didn’t work. She started blushing instead because she COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT, no matter how hard she tried, and went into the washroom to “check on something”. To make sure things were all set for Viera. You know, Khitti’s a good hostess like that. “Surefinewhatever,” she said rather quickly from the other room. Yes, that’ll work. Act totally normal. Things are fine. Why does this happen to you, Khitti?
Brand gave Viera the most exasperated of exasperated sighs before ushering her into the room. “Sure. But we’re not doing it right this second. Lennier is fully booked on crew wellness checks thanks to your shenanigans, and I’m not gonna do this without him, nor demand he bump me to the front of his queue for something that isn’t an emergency.” Without so much as pausing for breath, she changed the subject. “This is your room. I’m not gonna pretend I could confine you to quarters against your will, but I hope you understand why I’d prefer you not wander the ship on your lonesome. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll have someone stationed in this hallway at all times to get you anything you need or to accompany you if you feel the need to roam. Both of the ones on shift are psions, so no funny business please.” Brand waved a crewmate out from the shadows down the hall. The man waved at Viera, nodded at Brand, then returned to his post. A few new hires had seemed prudent after the way Viera had played them all, and Brand planned to put them all to very good use over the coming days.
Khitti listened to Brand speak as she tried to compose herself in the washroom. She had half a mind to shadowstep right through the wall and on into the ocean. Bye Brand. Have fun with Viera. Khitti loves you, but also it’s time to die because she’s not gonna be able to live with the knowledge that she has these feelings. Bye Viera. Khitti hates you and yet somehow doesn’t entirely and that doesn’t bode well because she’d been down this road already once and that eventually led to heartbreak and sex and death and confusion and marriage. It’s better to die than tell Brand. Would Brand even understand? This was different from the situation with Dominic, for extremely obvious reasons. Maybe these feelings would go away? Especially once Viera went away, after she finished helping Brand. It was fine! It was going to be completely fine. She wasn’t having any bad feelings about this, so that clearly meant things were going to work out. But work out how? HOW WAS IT GOING TO WORK OUT?! Brand was going to set her on fire. Or turn her into a chicken for the rest of eternity. Or ask Selene to drown her a thousand times over. Khitti was running out of time and was only further panicking about her situation. So, she opened her mouth and screamed out of frustration and anxiety. Except, it was a silent scream. Because people. Those people who were just in the other room. Who were now done talking. Or Brand was anyway.
Khitti || “Food will be done in about two hours. Up to you, I guess, if you want to eat at a proper table or just in here,” Khitti said at length, looking perfectly fine as she waltzed out of the washroom. Nothing was wrong. She wasn’t dying on the inside or anything right now. She also hoped Viera chose to eat in her room. Please, gods, eat in your room, Viera. -Please.- Khitti pointed at the door and quickly went to exit stage right. “If you need something ask--” Those poor new guys. Khitti hadn’t even bothered to ask their names yet. “--uh… One of those people.” Yes. Perfect. “Okaybye.” And then she did leave and scurried off to the kitchen so she could guzzle half a bottle of whiskey or cooking sherry or any kind of alcohol she could get her hands on immediately.
Brand looked quizzically after Khitti’s retreating form. “Right… what she said. Anyway, uh… yep.” Brand gave Viera two thumbs up and a too-big smile, then ran off to find Khitti. She sensed frakkery, and leaving Khitti alone when frakkery was afoot was almost never a good idea.
Brand found her sometime later, still in the kitchen. Brand walked in all casual-like so as not to send Khitti immediately fleeing again, but it wasn’t long before the interrogation began. “Soooo. You wanna tell me what all that weirdness was about?”
Khitti || Brand really had a knack for walking in when Khitti was stress-eating--or in this case, stress-drinking. In typical Khitti fashion when she drank like this, she hadn’t even bothered with a glass. Brand’s timing was so impeccable that she managed to catch Khitti mid-chug with the bottle’s end up in the air. Her eyes got that big wide look to them again. She still had a mouth full of cinnamon whiskey and gods, it was burning like Brand just shoved a huge fireball in her mouth. She just shook her head at the question, eyes still wide like a deer in headlights and fixed on Brand, before she went back to chugging. She didn’t drink much more though, but she figured she might as well add to what she’d already drank since her insides were on fire anyway.
Khitti || “No. No, I do not,” she said at length, once she drank some water to make the burning go away. “I don’t want to ever speak of it ever because I’m honestly probably going to go drown myself soon anyway. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Just get your help from Viera so she can go away. Very very very far away. Forever. I’ll ask Sundance to tie her up and throw her on the first ship to Dhavislaav if I have to, when you’re done. She can go burn a second time because she sure as hell wouldn’t be able to hide her magic there. And she can take all of her little demon birds with her.” Despite what she said, Khitti didn’t really seem like she meant much of it.
Brand blinked, and then blinked some more. “Yeah, okay. That’s fair. Even if she never does anything else bad to us and our ‘truce’ holds, I won’t argue that she probably deserves that.” Gently, she took the whiskey bottle from Khitti. Just as it began to look like she was going to put it back in its home, she instead chugged an amount to rival what Khitti had had -- lower tolerance be damned. As she did so, her free hand knitted a soundproof magic barrier between the two of them and the rest of the kitchen, big enough to include a table and some chairs but small enough to exclude the handful of crew idling elsewhere in the room. After a time, she set the bottle down and collapsed into the nearest of the chairs. “Well, we said no more secrets, so I have a confession to make. I’ve been thinking about how Viera acted when she first saw us again, and thinking about the other times I’ve seen or heard of someone stuck in a shapeshifted form. I have a new theory as to why I might not be able to shift, and I’m terrified about how Viera will react if it turns out I’m right...” Brand was already blushing at the thought, drawing awkward little circles on the table and avoiding Khitti’s eye contact.
Khitti was incredibly hesitant to sit down, especially after Brand said the words ‘no more secrets’. Did they say that? Did they actually agree on that? Did they shake hands to make it official? Pinky swear? Make a blood pact? A suicide pact? Was she required by law now to tell the truth?! Not that “the law” ever stopped her from doing anything in the first place, but still. And then Brand made some roundabout confession that was making Khitti feel even more skittish.
Khitti || She pressed her lips into a grim line and finally sat down, eyeing the bottle that Brand had so rudely taken away. Khitti and Brand had somehow switched places, though Brand was still far different than Khitti had ever been. “What is it…?” Ugh. Somewhere, inside of Khitti, there was that little voice telling her that she should probably tell Brand The Thing™. Go away, conscience! Khitti doesn’t need you. Nope. You’re making things far worse than the rest of Khitti’s brain already was.
Brand took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I don’t… want to go back to being the person I was before. I think I mentioned that, after a fashion, in the first days after we got our memories back. But… the more I think about it, the more I feel like it’s -more- than just wanting to be more open with you, or feeling shame or regret for who I was in the distant past. I… I don’t necessarily feel at home in a woman’s body, but the longer I spend as something other than a man, the more foreign it sounds to go back to it.” Brand paused, sucking on her teeth and gauging Khitti’s reaction with a nervous glance. “I think Viera caught an inkling of that when she saw us, and I think she thinks this is something -she- did to me. And… I really don’t think it is. I think I couldn’t acknowledge it until she basically forced me to, sure, but I think I’ve always wanted some kind of change, deep deep down. Only now I have the opportunity to essentially make myself however I want to be… and I have no frakking clue what I actually -want-, just some vague ideas of what I -don’t- want.” Long exhale. “And I think maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to shapeshift.”
Khitti sighed. “I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t miss that other face of yours. It’s been months and it was all I could think about when she’d let me think anything about you at all. The last two times I saw it… was when she first took you from me… and when she turned me into you in the Shadow Plane. Neither was exactly pleasant, now that I remember things fully.” She reached over and took the bottle from Brand. “But… you need to do what makes you happy and I’m sure Viera will somehow help you figure it out. I’ll still be here to support you, of course. I just mean I don’t exactly have the power to unfrak your head like she does.”
Khitti || “And honestly… knowing that makes me feel all the worse for what -I- have to say now,” Khitti said, with an ever-deepening frown. She’d taken to staring at the bottle and the liquid within, swirling it around a bit instead of drinking it like she’d initially intended. “My first instinct was to just… leave. Again. Because I didn’t ask for this and I don’t want it and I don’t want it to hurt you. I don’t think I would’ve cared as much if you were still the old you, but...” She almost sounded like she was going to cry again, if only because she was afraid of Brand’s reaction. “I think I have feelings for Viera… and I don’t know if they’re real or not because I don’t know what the hell is real or not anymore thanks to her. But she is just like you… The “old” you. The way she talked to you--it was just the same way you used to act towards me. I didn’t even realize it until she did it. Not until the two of you were standing next to each other.” Khitti has a type apparently. “As if I needed my issues with her complicated any damned further,” she said with a sigh. “Just… the sooner she’s gone, the better so I can just… try to get rid of all of this.”
Brand reached across the gap between them, putting a hand over Khitti's. "Don't feel like you have to leave. I don't know what I'd do without you, now more than ever. But Khitti... you deserved better when it was me treating you that way, and you deserve better than anything Viera has ever shown herself capable of." She gave Khitti's hand those three quick squeezes she was so fond of lately. "Try not to worry about it too much. Catching feelings, real or not, is not something you have any control over. And it doesn't sound like you plan to elope with her or anything, so... if I have any reason to be upset, it's only due to how low your standards are." She laughed awkwardly at her own joke. Anything to try and break the tension that had been building up during this conversation.
Khitti || Despite Brand’s words, Khitti was still oozing guilt, but she tried to better control it now that she’d spilled her own secret. She eyed their joined hands and eventually gave those three squeezes back. “Yes, well… Apparently I have the worst taste when it comes to this sort of thing,” Khitti said jokingly, allowing a faint smirk to surface. “And no. I do not want to go off and elope with Viera. I highly doubt she feels the same way anyway, thankfully. Unlike my standards, hers goes well past the moons, I’m sure.” Now that things had been cleared up between the two of them, Khitti suddenly became incredibly aware of those few members of Brand’s crew in the room. Even though they couldn’t hear a thing, Khitti got a little self conscious about things and stood up. “Come on,” she said, with one hand still in Brand’s and the other reaching for the bottle of whiskey. Whenever Brand was ready, she’d lead her to their quarters.
Khitti || “Sorry, I’ve been even less keen on people lately. Can’t imagine why. It can’t possibly be because someone frakked with my head and I’m having multiple existential crises at once,” Khitti said as she took off her boots, changed into one of her dresses that -weren’t- meant to murder people in, and collapsed onto the bed. She eventually flopped over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. “Is there one of me that you prefer over the other…?” It probably seemed like the question came out of nowhere, but Khitti had still been thinking about -everything-.
Brand || While Khitti changed clothes, Brand was also stripping down with the intention of changing into something lighter and more comfortable. Then that -question- came just as she was unclipping the back of her brassiere and she froze, stammering. One hand pressed the front of it against her chest as she leaned out of the closet. "Uhhhh, not most of the time, no. Although if I'm bein' honest, I appreciate what the whole thing has brought to our bedroom life." For such a textbook Brand comment, she sure was blushing as fiercely as the original Dominic would have.
Khitti sat up a bit, her elbows on the bed to prop her up. "Really...? You just... seem to prefer -him- more. Or... maybe I'm just overthinking things again..." She dropped back down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling again.
Khitti || "I do like it too, though," she said eventually after a bit of thought. "I'm just sort of having the same problem as you--though not quite as severe, I guess. I don't know who to be either. On one hand, this body just feels so weak and pointless compared to his. But on the other hand, I don't entirely feel like me when I'm him."
Brand had disappeared wholly into the closet, emerging sometime later in a blouse and skirt made of comfortable fabrics. She flopped onto the bed beside Khitti. “You should take advantage of it whenever you feel like the extra strength would come in handy. But otherwise, no, you should be whatever you’re most comfortable as. Any preference I have is more about the dynamic between us, I think -- when I’m like this, it feels nice to be small and held in the arms of someone bigger and stronger, to relinquish some of the control I’ve always felt the need to have over everything and just follow where you lead. I hadn’t experienced the other end of that dynamic before Viera frakked with our heads and gave us memories of other lives -- not in such an extreme way, anyway. But the feeling was… nice. I liked having you as my protector. And you’ve always been kind of independent and headstrong, so that role suits you.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m just tired of feeling like the world is always threatening to fall apart at the seams, and bound to take us with it if we don’t show up again and again to play the heroes. I’ve never been so carefree as I felt when my biggest concern was adding to our little family. It was far from perfect, but it was… simpler.”
Khitti really wanted to argue with Brand about her using her magic on Khitti all the time, just for whenever Khitti felt like being the opposite of whatever gender she found herself that day. It was selfish for her to ask and just because they liked using it in the bedroom didn’t mean she should ask to be shapeshifted all the time. It wasn’t something she wanted to learn to do either--if she was even able to. She had enough problems with her own magic as it was. So, instead of arguing, she just sighed and closed her eyes and listened to the rest of what Brand had to say.
Khitti || “I think… maybe… you’ve always wanted -something- along those lines. Otherwise, I don’t think Dominic would’ve felt similarly about wanting things to be “normal”. And you don’t -have- to help with these sorts of things if you don’t want to. You know that right? I just… feel obligated to help. Because if someone doesn’t fight against these idiots that want to “destroy the world” and they actually succeed? We won’t -have- anything. And I’m not exactly confident in most people’s abilities to deal with situations like those. I don’t want to be a hero. I don’t feel like a hero. I don’t give a damn about the majority of the people on this godsforsaken continent--I just want to protect the few people I care about that hasn’t left me yet,” she said as she reached over and grabbed Brand’s hand to hold on to. “I have been trying for years to tell people I am not the good person they think I am and I will not hesitate to cut them down if it means protecting you or Dominic. So… If you don’t want to deal with it anymore and try to have your normal, then that’s your decision. I don’t know if I’m capable of it. I don’t know if I ever was, despite all those plans for a normal life that Dominic and I had made back then.” Once again, Khitti was sounding a hell of a lot like Brand used to, when it came to having a normal life.
Brand || “No, no, you have a point. I guess I’m just saying… for a while, it felt like we lived in a world where we didn’t -have- to save it every gorram month.” She sighed and wrapped an arm around Khitti. “Not everyone can say they have the strength, magical or physical, to save the world when it needs saving. Since we do, I don’t think we have a choice but to step up when those moments happen. Morally, I mean. We -have- to, because no one else can. I just… sometimes envy the people who don’t have that strength, who live their lives not even knowing there’s any threat to it most of the time.”
Khitti || “Hey,” Khitti said, lightly grabbing Brand’s chin to get her to look at her. “We can sit things out for a while if you want to. You still need to deal with Viera before you really go and do any fighting anyway and I still need to go to Rynvale because I haven’t been able to concentrate on a damn thing lately.” Khitti was seriously starting to wonder if this whole lack of being able to think about anything other than the gods -was- them calling to her. Or she was just crazy. It was definitely probably one of those two things though. “Lionel and Rilla and whoever else can deal with Xicotl and Gevurah can more than likely deal with Caluss. And if she can’t? She can come find me. And the same with the damned Mage’s Guild too. For now, we need to focus on -us- for once.” She gave Brand a small smooch, then shifted her attention elsewhere and muttered, “And… maybe you could change me back again. If you want to.” Making eye contact was hard sometimes, okay? And yes, she was definitely blushing a little. And she was definitely trying to hide it by pulling Brand closer and burying her face in her neck.
Brand || “Yeah, okay. We’ll sit things out, maybe... just for a little while.” It was easier to justify if Khitti was on board. Even then, Brand still felt a little guilty. But she deserved to be happy too, right? They weren’t the -only- ones capable of world-saving feats -- and even if they had been, they couldn’t possibly shoulder that burden -all- the time, could they? They were only human. They deserved a break just like anyone else.
Brand || Khitti offered to have herself shapeshifted again, disrupting Brand’s train of thought. She couldn’t help but notice that blush, even though Khitti was trying to conceal it. Brand would do as Khitti suggested, and they’d spend the evening with one another, allowing themselves a little slice of happiness amidst the chaos.