Acquainted with the Night

[Legion]

The Star Lady covered Her face with Her hands. Slender shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter, a collection of stardust smearing across already glittering flesh. When Her hands dropped, it was to twitch out a fold of her fine skirts, hem fluttering playful against the broken stalks of grass. "It is fortunate for you that I am confident in my appearance," She informed Ifran. "And accustomed to clumsy mortals." It was clear that She teased, circumspect and amused by them. "Sit down," She languidly flapped her hands at them, urging them to cease standing and kneeling now that the appropriate respects had been paid. "Please. Dra-Seven, who decided you were unworthy for my guard? I don't recall ever stating such," and Her eyebrows climbed prettily upward. "I'm here because every man requires reminding -- some more than others -- what home is and where and how to find it. It isn't always where you left it, after all. Is it?"

[Seven Xu]

The halfblood sank to the ground, folding his rangy frame into something comfortable. He reached for a handful of earth, dried leaves and dirt, and let it fall between his fingers. As Seven spoke his red stare flickered between the shimmering woman on Her wooden throne and six-armed Ifran at his side.

“Home? Milady, you always remind me of home,” he laughed when he said it. “Every night, the stars bring comfort; I donnot miss Lhavit, but I do miss its sky.”

White fingers fumbled blindly at his back, reaching where he thought he’d left his bag. It only took a few heartbeats for his hands to find and grab familiar canvas and drag out a small pile of unrolled paper. Some looked to be torn from a book, and others were used and reused until their edges had curled and yellowed.

“What is home, save for words and warm feelings? I’d like to know, but first,” he smiled, tugging the edge of a page from the middle of the pile between his thumb and forefinger. He held it before Her. It was less a chart than it was a careful illustration of the sky, Lhavit’s sky, ablaze in Zintila’s glory a half-dozen springs passed.

In the presence of a god, a more pious man may have grovelled and wept. Seven, in all his practicality, offered his Lady a drawing. “Your stars as they should be, for you.”

[Ifran]

Ifran's body had been honed to hold a position for hours without undue discomfort, and he had been of the understanding that the men and women of Lhavit often knelt rather than sat, but he did as She bade him. He glanced at Seven as he spoke; it was clear that She had come for Her wayward son and not for him, no matter that he amused Her. But this was interesting all the same; perhaps he would come out of it with the inspiration for an aria, or an entire opera. Zintila on the Mount of Bandits? It bore thinking on. Had he been asked what home meant, he would have had to quote a thousand poets. Home was an idea greatly different to him than to most, he had discovered, both within and without the crumbling majesty of Ahnatep. But this was clearly Seven's time, and so he was quiet and watchful.

[Legion]

"Home is where you belong, Dra-Seven," Zintila murmured with quiet sadness in Her eyes. "Wheresoever you belong." The wind whispered through the brush as She sat, waiting with divine patience as this bastard son of Her city went rummaging through his satchel. Moonblood eyes settled for the long stretch of a moment on Ifran, and She searched the noble lines of his face for a thing nameless. Seven drew Her attention back to him and Her regard fell upon the drawing. It was slow blooming, Her smile, spread wide with wonder. It was the sort of smile that welcomed while still maintaining a mystery not even the most sage of Lhavitian scholars had yet unraveled from the passing of Her footsteps amid the peaks. Her smile was young though Her eyes were old, much like Her holy power was small though Her history and Her heavens were vast. "For me?" She inquired and leaned forward. The grass at their feet had begun to glow not unlike the plant life in Lhavit, infused with calias. It shown for Her pleasure, perhaps, as she took up the drawing of Her city's skyline and marveled. Without warning, She leaned even farther and nuzzled a kiss to Seven's cheek. As She eased back, ends of primordial hair clung to his jaw like capillaries before tugging away. "Thank you."

[Seven Xu]

Something like surprise caught and died in Seven’s throat as he hovered, slack-mouthed and wide-eyed at Her—Her!. She who had fearlessly, and perhaps teasingly, slipped forward to favour him with a kiss. A flush crept up the pale column of his neck and over his face like a hot red tide. He stammered, and then a smile broke his countenance and he laughed.

“I’d draw a thousand more for you,” he promised, giddy as a child as he sank back to solid earth that glowed in the glory of Her joy.

And then a thought struck Seven hard enough to sway him off balance and he spurred forward, kneeled, and then stood before Her in one fluid rush. The halfblood drank of the moon and star light and appeared all shades between grey and white, save for his eyes, which had become eager black pools. “My Lady,” he whispered, “I would, to see you smile. You deserve to be home as much as any of us—I,” sharp teeth tugged on a hot bottom lip, “I only know paths between the stars by paper and ink; if you were to guide me, I know that I could do more. I could know more.

“The opportunity to guard you has long passed, but I beg to serve you as I am.”

[Ifran]

Ifran continued to sit and observe, content for the time being; this was clearly Seven's show. The goddess had come for Her son, and Ifran was just a lucky bystander. There were poems among his people that spoke of men who sang out their souls to the stars, and he supposed now he could understand the urge, though he had never been what one could term a religious man. The Eypharians, for the most part, deconstructed their religion, made it part of their art, but their worship, such as it was, played at a look, a seeming, rather than at true piety. He smiled all the same, face pale as smooth-sculptured stone in the vespertine skyglow. He was patient, too. If the Lhavitians were feeding Her too much corn, She was still an exotic beauty beyond mortal compare.

[Legion]

Zintila smiled. Delight dared to chase more of the sorrow in her back and in that moment Seven and Ifran could have sipped a glimpse of what glory She had been prior to Her sacrifice. "You serve me well, Dra-Seven," She confessed. "And I wait with joy to learn how you will proceed. Come." She beckoned with one hand, urging him near; and when he came close, She rose up both hands as if to cup the breath between them and a glittering, cerulean ball of light began to sputter and spark, ultimately coalescing like a miniature galaxy to spray gentle starshine between them. "For you," She offered simply. In Her hands was skyglass perfectly shaped and weighed into what appeared to be a pocket watch. The clock face was on the front, however, and when the catch was pressed it opened to spring free the intricate details of a handheld astrolabe. Once Seven had taken the gift from Her hands, Zintila gestured to Ifran to approach. The pale comet light chased its tail between her palms once more, circling itself over and over with flickers of blue light. It settled into a smaller bundle than Seven's and was a skyglass pendant shaped with exquisite detail into a scarab beetle. "Dung beetle," She informed him straight-faced, golden coin eyes laughing warmly. After all, he had called Her fat. The stars rustled in the sky as She rose to her feet. "The stars will guide you home, gentlemen, be it a home temporary or otherwise." She clutched Seven's drawing to Her chest and twisted into the wind, a final flap of galactic dust in the drag of Her skirts against the grass. She was gone, but the stars still burned in the night. Seven's gift : Ifran's gift :

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Seven XP Award: Interrogation- 2 Rhetoric- 3 Philosophy- 3 Meditation- 1 Singing- 1 Lore: Hiking Up a Mountain It Has to be Hunters Heading Nowhere Lying Together Zintila: Lady of the Stars What is Home? Offering the Star Lady a Drawing Home is Where You Belong A Kiss From Zintila A Gift From Zintila Notes: +1 Pocketwatch from Zintila Name:Ifran XP Award: Interrogation- 2 Rhetoric- 3 Philosophy- 3 Dancing- 1 Meditation- 1 Dual Wielding- 1 Singing- 1 Lore: Hiking up a Mountain It Pays Heading Nowhere Lying Together Zintila: Lady of the Stars The Part of the Bystander A Gift From Zintila Notes: +1 Dung Beetle pendant from Zintila This was a long thread, if I missed anything, don't hesitate to pm me. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM