this can only go poorly

[necromanswers]

♥ Who: Lup, Honerva, Ardyn
♥ Where: Lup & Honerva's house
♥ When: around month end
♥ What: a very uncomfortable delivery
♥ Rating: ...PG?


[Strange things often occur on unremarkable days. A year and a half in this place and more in the fleet would have taught Lup that much even if she hadn't spent a hundred years adventuring through just as many planes of existence, many of them far more strange than this world. "Used to it" is putting things lightly. Still, with things settling down and most of the month's usual shenanigans under wraps, Lup is starting to feel more relaxed, which is about the perfect time for things to go wrong.

It happens while they're at the kitchen table working on Elvish; they're having what Lup affectionately likes to call an "elf day", where they're both home for most of it and she tries to force as much Elvish into the conversation as possible, talks about some random cultural tidbits, and cooks common dishes known to those of Faerun. While she and Taako are far, far from what anyone would consider traditional elves (nevermind that they didn't even hail from the same planet), there were still certain things that one had to know if they wanted to avoid standing out too much. And the twins had perfected the art of making a big show of themselves while also appearing entirely unassuming and without suspicion when or if they wanted to. The important thing was balance.

Someone knocks on the door while they're in the middle of practicing the written language, and Lup taps Honerva's whiteboard, where random lines of Elven script have been ongoing for a while.]

Write out some cuss words a few times, those are always good for a laugh. Know any in Altean?

[Homework given, she heads out into the living room area towards the front entry. They're not expecting visitors, so who knows what this means, but if it's another damned robot asking her to do something for the holiday she's turning them into a newt.]

Comments

[shroudedsecrets]

[ It's a lot to learn, a healthy preparation for a new chapter while still sorting out the appendix.

She has come to rather appreciate their quiet 'elf days', even if she has to affectionally roll her eyes at some of her given assignments, but she'd long stopped questioning whether or not certain things were necessary. Keeping up with banter from the twins, and particularly Lup of late certainly required her adaptability. ]

A couple of them have come back, lately. Who's at the door?

[ In her case she has to take what she can get, while she embarks on her writing. ]

[necromanswers]

Someone who's about to be real confused when I tell them to fuck off in Elvish.

[Lup's tone is laughing; she might be polite about it, she might not. It's been a good day so far, and she's feeling upbeat.

The door opens to reveal one of the temple delivery bots, so Honerva might at best hear a few moments of muffled, uninteresting dialogue as Lup signs off on a package - addressed to her, she notes - and waves them off. The box is small, and something about it feels... familiar. Magical. That feeling is eerie, and the discomfort she feels from that is the main reason she decides to open the box near the door rather than rejoining Honerva in the kitchen first.

The second the box lid is drawn back, a brilliant burst of pure, ethereal white light explodes around her, and she slams the lid back onto the box immediately to muffle the effect, eyes wide as the truth of that familiar feeling sinks in.]

Shit- fuckballs- are you kidding me-

[No, no, no, this is not okay...!]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Another delivery? That seemed odd, but maybe not too uncommon of late. Still, Lup seems busy handling it, so she sets back to her own task, pondering the uses of expletives in varying languages.

Even a room away, hard not to feel that something that suddenly prickles at her senses, something that calls, bright and pure, even without needing to see the flash of light, it's something of a jolt. She stops writing, placing her hands on the table to push herself up to her feet, alert, even as the sensation is muffled just after. She can hear Lup's distress and that's not a good sign. ]

What just happened? Are you hurt?

[necromanswers]

[Oh shit. Oh double shit-]

Nope! Just peachy! Dropped the box like a nerd. Uh.

[fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

She stares down at the box for a long moment, her mind racing. It could be a fake, but logically speaking, that's incredibly unlikely- if only because her luck is not really that kind. And even if it's a fake, that doesn't mean it can't be dangerous. The only thing in question here is the level of danger.

The unknown of it represents another problem. Honerva's here. She's very strong, but it's... magical, for the most part. She's pretty sure neither of them would deny that Honerva's got some lingering mental problems. Memory stuff, insecurities, fears about the future and her place in it. All of those things are very easy targets for a bit of mental manipulation and a sneaky little voice in one's head that could easily drive even the most intelligent of people to act... irrationally. Like, enough to lash out, or worse, to get their hands on such a treasure. Even against their own friends or family. She's seen it happen, felt it happen. There's a scar on her back and ten thousand deaths on her conscience to prove it.

She looks back down at the box, her heart racing, and carefully stands up with it, glancing towards the kitchen. Okay... okay. She can do this. She just needs a space to work for a bit, somewhere a little more secure than the front door. Tucking it under an arm and putting on her very best casual expression, she walks - speedwalks - into the kitchen and heads right for the door to the basement, a bright smile plastered on her face. And... maybe she makes sure to turn herself as she passes Honerva with a wide berth, to ensure her back never faces the other woman.]

Hey, so, I gotta head downstairs and do a thing! But you should deffo keep practicing. And then maybe go out for a while. Call the BF, have lunch. Dinner. Lupper. Actually, make a day of it if you wanna! This could take a while.

[Totally, 100% believable, aw yeah. She's not panicking at all.]

[shroudedsecrets]

... Lup. You are full of it.

[ She's not usually so direct, but at least she delivers the phrase in Elvish, mostly while she processes Lup's behavior, the confusion only mounting. She was being urged to leave the house, for -- what reason? Usually, if Lup were making effort at pushing her away, she just didn't want her to fuss, but the discretion here felt wrong.

As though she didn't trust...? Or, was it more than that. That energy... Honerva keeps her hands flat against the table, even as Lup's smiling face makes it to the basement door. ]

[ Many Hours Later - 1 ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Kova had been behaving with some unease, until finally being coaxed to curl up on a watchful position on top of the couch with Ditto's help.

Being settled down on couches is far more comfortable than sleeping on the floor, though with how particularly bone deep that sudden exhaustion had been, Honerva isn't aware of the difference. So much had happened, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually... she is adrift in it all.

Eventually though, she begins to stir, the strangeness of it all slowly coming back to her, as she intakes sharply. The room is dim, difficult to tell the time of day, or of night--not that it matters, but there was so much to process. Where was -- ]

[scourgingstars]

Good morning, dear.

[or afternoon or whenever the hell it was. Ardyn certainly hadn't gone anywhere regardless--he'd settled the pair of them in to rest, seen to looking after the cats, and gone back to wait until the pair of them recovered. Lucky enough he didn't need to sleep himself.]

How are you feeling?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ The gentle greeting of his voice is grounding, and she remembers. He had been there through all of it, it was real. She shifts one of her arms, pressing a hand to her chest, feeling the flutters there. That was real too. She blinks a few times, waiting for her vision to adjust. ]

... Morning, mmm? Like a hot mess.

[ She answers, honestly, wryly, because wasn't that the truth. ]

But... better, I think for it all. Thank you, Ardyn. How is Lup?

[scourgingstars]

She's still resting, but I think she's fine. There didn't seem to be anything immediately concerning about either of you, so I assumed you both simply needed to sleep the whole thing off.

[A small shrug, Ardyn clearly finding himself at a loss for what else to do.]

After I checked on the cats, I thought it best to simply wait.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She exhales, softly. Her own voice still is quiet, strained, but reassurance on Lup's condition was her priority. ]

It was... a powerful spell. [ Even she can't quite grasp the whole of it, but the results well spoke for themselves and she was still in awe of that. ] A toll is to be expected for it... but rest usually is the answer. It will likely be... a little longer then.

backdated-- a day or two after pyra's network post

[iustaegis]

[ It's been a few days since she had presented the results of their efforts studying the energy of this world to the network-- and without a word from either of them on it to answer any potential questions themselves. So far no one has asked too deeply into their methods, and while she could certainly share a bit of information on her designs into the prototype, she could never explain their magic.

(Thankfully, though, no one has actually asked about their methods.)

Still, she finds it odd to not hear from them, and so she decides to go to them instead. There are a number of people keen on exploring the outside world, and she does wish to ask him if they would be interested, themselves.

Knock, knock! ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Knock knock. Almost ironic, that an unexpected arrival on an unassuming day is what led to all this, but this time instead of the door opening on it's own, a small hovering scouting robot peeks through the curtain, and transmits an image of who is waiting outside, and awaits the command to open the door.

Honerva and Lup are in the living room, settled down on the couches with blankets, with some tea and apple slices, a couple of hair brushes, some playing cards half built into a tower, little distractions that were not strenuous while in and out of napping shifts. Honerva hadn't been paying much mind to their Havenwell-assigned tablets--this world could wait while they both were distracted enough, surely-- but by her little indicator on her other tablet that particularly synched to her robotic creations, that... was not Ardyn returning. Huh. ]

... It seems that Pyra is here. Are you feeling up to any visitors?

[necromanswers]

[Lup is still pretty weak and weary, curled up in her blanket bundle with limbs tucked close to her body, eyes half-lidded as she stirs. Despite the general lethargy she's in surprisingly good spirits, stretching her arms up over her head for a moment before curling in close again. Her highlights today are pink, and the marks are still present on her cheeks, seemingly permanent.]

Mmm... sure, let her in. Must be wondering why the cafe's closed again at this point.

[She hadn't wanted to send out any sort of memo, since it should in theory only be for a few of the days that it's usually open. By next week she should be back to casting like normal, and they can reopen.]

[iustaegis]

[ As they discuss, Pyra's image relayed to them will reveal her surprised look at seeing the hovering object, then followed by a curious stare with wide-eyes as she draws closer. Probably too close.

Her hand reaches to give it a small, light tap upon one of its facets... and then she smiles and waves, perhaps assuming it as video qualities. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

It is likely. Though I trust that Ardyn has put some manner of sign up for us, by now.

[ Meanwhile, she'll just input a few commands to their bot. The wonders of technology. While waiting for further instruction, the scout hovers in front of Pyra, seemingly showing her as much curiosity as she shows it as it transmits her video. And then after a moment, it glides over to interact with the door, before giving a few cheerful beeps in indication toward her, authorization approved, you may enter, and it will lead her way to them.

Much like Lup, Honerva is also mostly under her blankets, at some point having changed to pajamas because the situation absolutely required coziness. Otherwise, she looks the same as ever, aside from the weariness, though Pyra's witnessed some of that in her before. ]

... Welcome in.

[ Many Hours Later - 2 ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Does anyone ever really know what time it is, does anyone really care- that's about where it is at, in the time waiting for Lup to stir, or at least stir enough that she might be able to hold a conversation, though it's entirely likely they've missed another between half-napping and deeply needed sleep.

More than anything, Honerva is still mostly focusing on her concern for Lup, rather than pondering too much further the... results of her current state. It's quiet, and frankly she's needed to have just a bit of light music playing while not having conversations herself - soft enough to not disturb Lup, enough to offset the quiet without filling it to the brim with her own thoughts.

Still, she's resting, likely having been coaxed back into doing that while waiting, with Kova having nuzzled himself closer. ]

[necromanswers]

[Lup probably sleeps for a good 4 hours straight, minimum; could be longer, depending on how well they're tracking it. (Not well, overall.) Finally she stirs, though, her movement slight and weak rather than the usual big, exuberant stretch she's often waking with. Still, consciousness is consciousness, and after a long moment of gentle shifting she makes a noise that, if less muffled by the blankets, might have been an actual word.]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Kova twitches and stirs, moving to give Honerva a little more of a nuzzle, and her own ears shift a little, catching on to the other sound in the room. ]

Lup...?

[necromanswers]

Mmm...

[Lup stirs a little more as her name is called, rolling over from side to back, one hand snaking out of the blanket to rub at an eye. Her face kind of... itches, and she still feels mind-blowingly drained, like she could sleep for another four hours. After a long moment, though, she finally looks over at Honerva with eyes half-mast.]

...Hey.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ There she is. For the moment Honerva is mostly too relieved to hear her voice than for any other observation to kick in just yet. ]

Good morning.

[ They've just been calling it that, whatever time it actually is, whenever she'd woken, so she follows suit. ]

How are you feeling?

[ a week or so following the events above ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ The time passes, with them obtaining their well-needed rest apart from Pyra's visit and Ardyn's checking in on them, or otherwise spent adjusting to the newfound changes introduced to their lives.

Eventually there's enough of a level of normalcy to have another elf day of sorts; perhaps not nearly up to their usual involved levels, but something light for them to ease into now that they weren't so wasted by exhaustion.

There is more than one moment where Honerva absently makes her hand movement to clear something away or pick something up, but the usual rush of energy does not accompany it. The first time she does it her ears flicker in a perplexed way, as much as she's trying not to draw attention to the oddness of it. ]

[necromanswers]

[Lup takes roughly a week before she's comfortably back to normal, at least to the point where she doesn't seem to be exhausted and careful with her spell slots anymore, and when the week has passed she's finally ready to get the household back in order, and the cats back to where they belong.

She's in the middle of wrangling them when she catches Honerva doing that gesture, heading through the kitchen with Harmony on her shoulder.]

Still nothing, huh?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Honerva shifts her gaze from where she had been looking at her hand up toward Lup and the now captured kitty. ]

... Still nothing. Though I suppose the attempt itself was more of a reflex.

[necromanswers]

Right... I get the feeling.

[There'd been plenty of times in the Umbra Staff, or when she's been in an anti-magic field of sorts, where the slightest gesture should have created arcane sparks and gave her nothing instead. It's a little infuriating.]

Have you given any thought to what you wanna do about it?

[shroudedsecrets]

I suppose the question is more of... what can be done about it.

[ She exhales softly, but despite it all, she's not certain if it's frustration she's feeling, even for this lack of something she'd had for so much of her existence within memory. There's the discomfort that comes from it, especially when thinking of involuntary anti-magic places, but otherwise it hadn't been her priority of thought, while they'd rested. ]

Which... I'm not certain. I still... feel certain things, as my body is adjusting, yet seeking the pathways to those reflexes. Hard to yet tell if there are potential ones that I might be unaware of because of that.