Rogue Mage (Hadrian)

[Sondra]

Sondra’s answering look to Hadrian offer of coin was quick and sharp. “I don’t take anything I haven’t rightly earned or successfully conned.” Trying to amend for the abruptness of her tone, she forced a half smile as she settled on the floor near Hadrian’s feet. “Plus, a fat Konti loses all her majesty.” No stranger to overkill, Sondra was using the tip of her hammer to crack open the chestnuts. Quick as the flesh was out, it was greedily popped in her mouth. Realizing her rudeness, she proceeded to open several for Hadrian without stealing any bits. When Hadrian mentioned Avanthal, Sondra visibly paled, an impressive feat for any Konti. She looked at the wall, even though she was speaking to him. The aura she had kept so tightly wound pulsed painfully, the tangled core seething with scarlet before turning abruptly cold. “No, no. I’m never going back to Avanthal. It has more memory than I can bear.” Here she finally glanced at Hadrian, “Worse yet, it may still remember me.” Sondra laughed, but it was a papery cruel sound. “Then again, I don’t look the same as I did then. Straight from Mura and eager to please with all my hair and gowns and furs. I had so much hope. Avari was right.” She was pushing the shells with her fingertips along the floor. “No, no,” her voice was coming from elsewhere, faint and wandering. “I will not be going to Avanthal.” She looked up at Hadrain with a smile that was goofy and warm, a bit of truth. “Don’t worry, handsome. You won’t miss me riding your ass and making wards against your magic.” Returning to the cracking of chestnuts, she added assurance. “But I’m at your disposal should you need a Sinspeaker in any other corner of Mizahar.” She shrugged, “Or if you just want someone to talk at in a shykey inn after everything’s been upended.”

[Hadrian]

He wasn't about to argue the merits of acting out of necessity, but she was alive and still probably strong enough to kick his skinny arse around the town if she needed to do so. He thanked her for the daintily prepared nuts and just watched as she let so many emotions swim across her face one after the other in quick succession, her words betraying less than her suddenly expressive features. But when she called him handsome, it came from out of nowhere and he stopped chewing and flushed red as a ripe tomato. Quickly looking down, he finished chewing his mouthful of food and swallowed, glad that it had prevented his mouth from falling open in shock, even if it was just a joke. "Yes, well. I won't tell Avanthal where you are, and I will miss you one way or another."

[Sondra]

When Sondra caught the fading shades of Hadrian's blush, she smiled, amused by how easily moved he could be. She had forgotten this trait of his, too often equating him with ambition and order. Plus, the amount of time he and Kendall spent being cozy should have driven the shyness from him. "You'll miss me like an archer does a hare," she quipped, "I'll leave it to you send my regards to the beaming boys." Kendall's sex was never quite set in stone for her. "Boy" seemed the best hybrid for a young man and a Zeltivan lady. And Ethan, well he was a four-year-old in a grown man's body. "Hopefully they haven't killed one another in a fit of feeling, yet. Kendall will keep them whole and Ethan will keep them safe." She hoped. "As you've no doubt deduced, clever thing you are, I'm here to mage-sit and make sure you don't storm into the tundra too soon to seek your lady-love. You can fancy yourself the poor man's Loren Dyres with a Konti helper." Sondra stuffed her face a little longer, destroying even the lightest fantasy she was anything like Kaylana Natra. Eventually she pulled at a disparate thread of conversation. "I wasn't the only one looking for you in Ravok, though. Did you tell many people where you were headed? Made me nervous at first, but the end of it was only the delivery of this for you..." Pausing her breakfast/lunch/dinner, Sondra unlaced a portion of her back to give Hadrian a crude wooden box, it's loose lid had been tied with a gold bit of ribbon. Or it might have been yellow, the abuse it suffered hampered any real knowledge. Inside the box was stuffed with straw with a single object no bigger than his palm nestled in the center: "Petch if I know what it's about," Sondra added unhelpfully, "Bloke looking for you seemed just as stupid about its connection to you." The glass bird had nothing ominous tied to it, only a pang of familiarity quickly blown away. As if someone he once cared for may have owned something similar.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian just smirked as he ate and listened to Sondra talk, wondering if that was how Loren Dyres was with his Konti helper. It was nice to spend time with her and nobody else. While Kendall had a knack for getting Hadrian alone, and Ethan demanded his 'lessons', both Hadrian and Sondra were rather too aloof to make time for each other. It wasn't until she spoke of people looking for him that his eyes snapped up and he stopped chewing. After a pause, he quickly swallowed his mouthful. "I was recognized by one former student at the University of Zeltiva, who I believed was trustworthy enough to keep my presence here a secret. With everyone else, I introduced myself under an alias to protect, well, all of us." He accepted the box, which seemed to have been opened and closed countless times, and since he sensed nothing wrong with it, he opened it and took out the blown glass bird, trying to chase down some memory that flew away like some bird not fixed and still like this one. "I suppose Alander Jin and those..." But he didn't really want to speak about those people unless they were a part of this. He glanced up, seeking Sondra's gaze, wondering if she had any true insights to share.

[Sondra]

The epitome of helpfulness, Sondra shrugged and continued chewing. After a painfully long moment, she swallowed and offered something mildly useful. “It was a bit strange. He knew my name and yours, but seemed so uncertain of them. I was a hair’s breadth away from trying to beat answers out of him,” Hadrian would recall this as a social default for Sondra when meeting new people. “But my reads on him… nothing menacing. Just grief. Profound grief.” The word made her pause, “And patches of mundane memories in Zeltiva and Avanthal.” She smiled, “Bet you forgot I could do shyke like that since I mostly have my head up my ass. Potent combo of Lily bloom and Azenth. Let ‘em loose while on the hunt.” Nearing satiety, she sighed and stretched her legs. Her head lolled against the side of the bed and she glanced up at the mage. “Glad you’re here,” she meant it. “Because I am petchin’ tired.” OOCCare to wrap it up ?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian nodded and looked back down at the little bird, tracing the lines of it with his finger, sensing nothing untoward about it, but sometimes such things were subtle and took some time and familiarity. Sighing wearily, he wrapped it back up and set it aside for the time being. His eyelids were getting heavy with the combination of heat on his skin and food in his belly. "Someday we'll have to interrogate someone together," he said. "I might learn a thing or two. And you'll have to..." He yawned so wide his face tingled afterward and he blinked bemusedly. "Introduce me to your Lord and Lady someday." Of course, Ivak probably could not be reached, but the White Lady of Mura..." But he didn't know what to make of this man she spoke of, didn't have the energy to question in too much detail. He felt like he hadn't slept in a fortnight, had taken a handful of uppers every few hours to cram for final examinations, and was crashing. He yawned again like he was trying to crack his jaw. "Let 'em loose while onna hunt," he agreed. "You are..." He leaned forward pushing an empty plate out of the way and pillowed his head on his crossed arms. Within a few moments, he was walking the tightrope with heavy breathing on one side and snoring on the other.

END

[Cantrip]

Did you want something? Sondra: XP Award: Rhetoric +1 Lores: Finding a Friend Inventory: -1 Glass Bird Hadrian: XP Award: Rhetoric +1 Lores: Dealing with a Lingering Sorrow Inventory: +1 Glass Bird Additional Notes: This was a wonderful thread, bursting with surpremely raw emotions and other sleight of character. I gave you each a point of rhetoric because I enjoyed the rejoinders. It was a terse vignette, though. I was definitely left wanting more.