Private Tales Steppebound

Ispir would wince a bit as she yanked her arm free, frowning softly up at Ria, and the people would begin to murmur more harshly as the old man leaned on the staff and commented dryly.

"Seems the flame of battle still burns in your belly. You'll need more control of that to face the trials of the shrine."

A grey-blue eye would squint at her from under impressive wrinkles. Wisdom, even for a human's lifespan, shone dimly there and he would grunt softly. An old grey tongue would lick dried lips and he would sigh.

"Somethin' tells me you'll struggle with them mightily. Even as great a warrior you are. Your little friend is more the mind it would prefer...."

Jabbing his staff in Ispir's direction the short bard would blink, place a hand against his chest, and silently mouth "ME!?" before the old man continued speaking.

".... but ye've done us a kindness. Hardened soul that ya are. I think you'll allow me to give ya the first question now....."

The old man lowered the staff and the crowd went quiet. Ispir would give a bewildered look but nod, a bit numbly, before looking up at Vyx'aria as the old man met her gaze and asked.

".... If you were me and you were asked to give your greatest secret to a pair o' livin' shadow and light.... would ya?"

Vyx'aria​

The crowd would erupt into murmurs as Vyx'aria made her statement. Head shaking, hair rippling like a silver waterfall, proud footsteps carrying her away from the old man and the village. Ispir, meanwhile, wasn't even sure what 'prejudice' had happened though the old man would capture his attention with words after a moment. Even as his one good eye watches Vyx'Aria go.

"And here I was going to give my thanks. But she mistook me pointin' out her use o' shadow magic for her race."

The old man gave an incredulous chortle.

"As if I'd be calling one of our heroes some slur. Seems to me she's the one who has some prejudice against honest village folk, expecting that of me."

Shaking his head he would shift his gaze to Ispir, studying the small bard, who would respond as he shyly scuffed the ground with his shoe.

"Well to be honest she is kinda cranky....."

The old man would give a low, considerate hum before asking rather bluntly.

"So, young master, what are YOU hiding from her exactly?"

Ispir would blink, surprised, aquamarine orbs widening as he tilted his head.

"H-Hiding? Me!?"

The old man would nod, studying Ispir more thoroughly before clicking his tongue.

"Most folk wear their strange habits on their sleeves. If a fella wears his pants on his head or eats oranges with the peel on then ya know what's wrong with him right away. Heh. Even that Drow woman, with her pride and secrets....."

He paused and Ispir expected another pseudo-philosophical point before the old man's face turned hard for a moment and he finished.

"..... she's a bitch."

Ispir nearly choked on his own saliva before the old man continued.

"But honest about it so..... What about you? Yer too nice, too dolled up, too bright. So yer either trying too hard or ya got her own shadows to cast young master."

Ispir would swallow and, fiddling with one of his twin tails, avert his eyes, and step back from the old man.

"I don't.... I don't know."

The old man would huff a small laugh and nod.

"I see. Well, you better not let her get away hmm? Woman like that'd march into the arms of a demon if she thought it were proving a point. Who knows? She might just need a little light to find her nose, before she buries it into too much of someone else's business."

Ispir would nod, slowly, finding the old man odd but turn around to scamper after Vyx'Aria in a hurry!

Once they were gone the old man would hobble into the church, turning his old eyes up to the statue of Aionus still standing amid the flames, and the possessed corpse would collapse as the power animating it left it in a slow, drifting silver mist that would coalesce around the statue and.... Vanish.​

Ispir, with that chilling staff hefted over his shoulder like a vagrants hiking pack, would falter a bit at Ria's question. Their own expression twisting into one of bewilderment as earnest aquamarine met narrowed crimson. Their reply was slow, almost wary, as they ventured.

"Ummm.... Following you?"

Their confusion would vanish as they beamed a smile.

"We haven't found that shrine yet, after all! And if some wheezy old geezer can't help us find it then we can just do it ourselves!"

He would give an emphatic nod and wave his staff at her for emphasis.

"Besides! Not even one day of adventuring with you and I already got this cool new staff."

Ispir would then squint at the horizon, the sky beginning to run with rivers of yellows, orange and crimson like splatters of the most vibrant paint across a canvas.

Vyx'aria​

Ispir would turn their beaming smiling into something resembling a grin before he snorted and flourished his cap at Vyx'aria in a VERY charming bow. Hardly breaking stride before he perked back up into a stride beside her and gave her a cheeky grin in response to being called a curious creature.

"You're pretty cool too Ria!"

Came his response before he made a dramatic motion with his new staff.

"Besides! You took out like.... twenty bandits all by yourself! Like.... some sort of awesome hero! Brave. Dangerous! Umm.... maybe a little cranky.... Hehe...."

He would rub the back of his head with the hand not holding the staff and shrug sheepishly only for silence to consume the space between them. It went on for some time, Ispir idly studying the runes on his staff, only to perk his head up as Ria asked him if he could see very well in the dark. He shook his head enough to send his twin tail braids whipping around.

"Nope! I mean, as well as any other human really but umm...."

A sudden gurgle from his stomach made him blush and Ispir would gingerly take Ria's hand. Dextrous, soft, fingers touching her without an ounce of fear. The hands of a pianist, or a painter, definitely no warrior or nobleman, gently trying to hold her to a halt as he stopped walking and, if successful, he would clasp his hands together and lift his gaze up to her. Eyes brimming with an earnest, heartfelt need for food as he asked.

"We could... maybe stop to camp for the night? And eat some food too maybe.....?"

Ispir laughed, genuinely laughed, as Vyx'aria misunderstood what 'cool' meant and called herself hot. It was not a mean laugh, not the barbed, hissing, cutting chortles of an adversary but a genuine, smiling giggle as he simply nodded at her statement. Not saying a word even as his cheeks flushed just a little bit.

"Mhmm."

Was the only noise he made by way of reply.

As she agreed to his request Ispir would grin so wide his eyes seemed to glow only to falter for just a moment as she said she would hunt. But it was a short-lived thing and he would give her a single, firm nod.

"Right."

Stepping back to begin looking and allowing her past him Ispir would pause when her voice reached him. A hidden smile gracing his features as he lowered his eyes, his stomach doing a rather unexpected flutter, and he would nod quickly before murmuring for only himself to hear.

"Okay.... maybe you're not so mean Ria......"

With that said Ispir would scout the steppes for a while, eventually finding a place to stay inside a cave system that seemed to have formed out of a singular outcropping of rock in the otherwise rolling steppe. The rock was jagged, seemingly unnaturally moved, but also dripped softly with water from a nearby small lake up above. Ispir would set about conjuring small orbs of blue light around the cave, and briefly considered trying to let Ria know where he was somehow but.... she was a good tracker so he didn't doubt she could find him.

Sure enough once Ria did find him Ispir would be toward the back of the cave, kneeling in front of a small pool of water that had gathered there, facing away from her in the dim light, and when he heard her approach he would speak.

"Ria! You won't believe this but there's was a surprise in our cave."

Spinning around to show Ria the surprise in a flurry of aquamarine clothing he would then cheer.

Ispir would giggle a bit and pet the frog gently with a finger before whispering to it loud enough to make sure Vyx'aria heard.

"I think she likes you."

Before gingerly placing the front down into the pool and joining Ria in building the fire, but he paused as she did, a brief spark of worry that she had spied some threat over the steppe but... no. No instead Vyx'aria was caught in a sensation Ispir knew all too well. Gently peeling off his cloak to lay it out by the fire as a makeshift sleeping mat, and to give Ria plenty of time to live out the wonder of the stars on her own, he would only join her once that was done.

Gently touching her arm with his, not quite bumping her, he would join her in staring up at the stars and smile. His aquamarine eyes seeming to reflect the entire night sky as he whispered in a non-serious voice.

"I have them all memorized you know?"

Leaning into her a bit he would point up and off to the right to a cluster in a line, five stars in total, with two offset to their own path and three forming a completely straight line. Apparently the short bard WAS actually serious.

"THAT is Tychan's Belt."

Moving his arm so it went across her field of vision at a diagonal angle he would point to a particularly bright grouping in the shape of a diamond, an outright luminous blue star in the center and he would whisper up at her.

"That one is Astra's Heart."

Taking a second to lay on his back in the soft steppe grass Ispir would smile up at Ria and pat beside him, one hand lacing behind his head, and if she either joined him or denied the invitation he would use his free hand closer to her to point straight up at a cluster in a rough "U" shape, the stars almost green in color that formed the "U", with two tiny blue-white stars nestled into the valley of the "U" shape.

"That one is Metisa's Cradle."

Glancing over at Ria he would soften his smile.

"Have anything specific you wanna know about them?"

Ispir simply beamed a wide, silly grin as Ria muttered that they were just dots. Just small holes in eternity and when she began to see what the stars could show he let out a small, breathy giggle. She pointed out a crown, and then a dagger, and her hushed voice was quickly becoming more captivating to him than the stars he had gazed upon dozens upon dozens of times. So.... he rolled over, slowly and quietly so as not to disturb her, onto his side to instead look at Ria. While she admired the stars he, in turn, admired her.


As Ria's excitement grew and she sat up slightly, Ispir would beam at her, eyes twinkling, and nod along with her after sparing a brief glance up at the spider to confirm it did have legs. But when he answered his voice was softer, a tenuous whisper, like she was a precious crystal that would shatter at a single, tiny disturbance.

"I do.....~"

As she went silent and silence filled the steppe Ispir would nod, slow and considerate, as she described her home. That it had no stars and only veins of precious, gleaming metals. He trusted her that they were beautiful and in response to her mentioning the sun being a trick and stars illusions he would nestle a bit closer, warm breathe on her arm, just to playfully poke her and giggle quietly.

"You'll have to show me someday."

He whispered almost as a conspiracy before pausing and scooting up a bit to be more on level with her, to get closer to sharing her perspective, and because she was a lot taller than him. It was then that he would have an idea and, whispering into a pointed ear he would confide.

"I can actually make it better you know? Watch this....."

Dispelling his orbs of light within the cave to eliminate the glare the stars would shine all the brighter and, after a moment, the deeper, more hidden lights of the cosmos would roil forth in the background. Nebulous clouds of swirling infinity, of colors mixed and bled more intimately than even the most butcherous of battlefields, seeped through the seams of the heavens in the pitch darkness.

Only... this did not last forever. A minute, perhaps, before.... another star shone. One much closer and within Vyx'aria 's grasp. In the form of intricate lines and geometric shapes Ispir himself would begin to glow with a faint aquamarine light. His clothing suppressing it just a bit but otherwise his own light, for whatever reason, did not veil the unpolluted sky as his earlier magic had. A large diamond ringed with smaller motes flared upon his chest and Ispir would look over at her with a small smile before whispering in a very tiny voice.

"Pretty cool huh?"

Despite the intimacy and, perhaps a surprise for one who had lived as Ria had, Ispir didn't gaze at her with unabashed, smoldering lust. Nor with any veiled attempt to grab power from her. Nor with any indication she was merely a trophy to be kept on hand to display. No. Instead he merely looked at her as... herself. In this moment free of every single expectation placed upon her, even the ones she placed on herself, as even his eyes shone with a very gentle light.... and met her own.

Ispir would only grin all the more as she warned about the Underrealm, his response coming without hesitation, without coercion and, most surprisingly of all, without doubt.

"Well, maybe, but I'd have you there so I'd be safe."

As he put on his little show of Ria Ispir couldn't help but find it wonderful that even someone like her, so grumpy and dangerous, could still be fascinated and made to wonder at the beauty of the world. Though what he hadn't expected was for her to conjure forth her own magic, misunderstanding what it was he had done, and he would try to explain in vain as the cold darkness seeped over his skin. Giving a tiny shiver as indeed his light flared beautifully in response to her darkness.

"W-Wait... I didn't use...."

He bit his lip, wanting to tell her that he hadn't conjured anything, he wasn't tricking her, he was showing her a part of himself. These weren't enchanted tattoos or something that had been placed on him. Magic couldn't remove them, he couldn't scrub them off, these glowing designs were a part of him, his skin, his body, his being. But he never got the chance as she hurriedly rose to her feet, briskly set her mind to other tasks, and Ispir's light would dim without her darkness until it ceased being visible altogether. His only answer coming by way of a tiny, disoriented whisper.

"R-Right."

Shakily rising to his own feet Ispir would dust himself off and follow Ria into the cave, beginning to set out his instruments beside his sleeping mat, stepped out to grab some dry grasses to set alight for a fire and formed a small pit for it with some simple magic. For reasons and emotions he couldn't explain Ispir felt.... off. He couldn't exactly bring himself to look at Ria for long. He felt like he had done something wrong without being able to put it into words. Like the wonderful time spent stargazing hadn't been.... right?

He would hum, staring into the fire without a word, mulling it over. It had been fun, even wonderful, seeing her so relaxed. She seemed to have enjoyed herself until.... the very end? Getting up so quick and rushing off. He would purse his lips, looking at Ria over the fire, and ask softly.

"So umm.... what are we eating with the rabbit? I have some rations, some dried meats and fruits."

He offered gently only to sit down, stretch in front of the flames, and give a soft, sleepy yawn.

Vyx'aria​

Ria being so distant she didn't even look at him only made that odd, disjointed feeling that hung over Ispir like a shroud all the more intense. As if it had been magically changed from a thin gossamer veil to a weightier blanket made of fur. She did, at least, reply and as soon as the smell of the roasting meat filled the cave his stomach would give a near-triumphant gurgle loud enough to be easily audible. A fact that made him blush and clutch his hands there, lowering his head enough that his bangs hid his eyes from her.

Ispir wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that Ria seemed to already know that he didn't like spicy foods. Even the second-hand smell of the flakes she added to her rabbit making him cough softly and turn his head away. He would add his own herbs and seasonings to his own rabbit, things like parsley and he even dashed a bit of garlic dust onto his. Just a tiny splash of it getting onto Ria's own rabbit piece, a tiny hint of the surface world's flavors, a tiny hint of him as she ate.

Ispir ate much more slowly, not only because he seemed lost in thought, but because when he did eat he only gave passing nibbles to the rabbit and vegetables. Despite his obvious hunger. Which was, to be frank, very unusual for him. Normally he ate and reveled as much as any tavern regular but, right now, he had hardly finished half of his rabbit before setting it aside and at least raising his gaze to Ria's level. Even if he couldn't quite look at her still.

"I... o-okay."

He murmured, pausing, before bring his hands up to fiddle with both of his twin tails and adding softly. Feeling out his emotions, exploring them, being confused by them, entirely in the moment.

"B-But it won't take you all night to scout around here. I-I mean it's a steppe and it's flat and....."

He trailed off, expression uncertain even to himself, and pursed his lips in thought.


What Ispir was trying to say, what was so much easier to recognize when it came from kindness, was that he wanted to spend more time with her. That he didn't WANT to sleep while she was out facing danger and, even if he didn't exactly completely realize it, likely avoiding him for now. It was true, after all, a mostly flat steppe was easy to scout. Sight lines extending for miles in some directions, out to the horizon, and if Ispir had had memories or a past to draw upon for experience he likely could have parsed these more complicated emotions much more easily.

But.... he didn't.

Which only added to his discomfort. He was, in this moment, keenly aware that there was some sort of emotion, some sort of dynamic, he simply couldn't understand. Ria was dangerous, Ria was grumpy, Ria wanted to avoid him, Ria wanted to be alone. None of it was nice, none of it was easy, none of it made sense to him. So why was it gnawing at him so much?

In the end the truth of his emotions he didn't reach, couldn't reach due to her distancing herself, was that he wasn't just concerned for her as a friend. He had an undeniable, unrecognizable crush just barely blooming into existence. He just didn't know what to make of it and it would likely be unlike any Vyx'aria had dealt with from men either. No smoldering lechery, no tit-for-tat transaction, no schemes, no deception, just sheer infatuation whenever he could bring his eyes to settle directly on her in the briefest of moments.​

Ispir would bunch up his hands in his lap, still gently blushing, and shake his head quickly at her joking about his meat being poisoned. Normally he would have smiled at the silly suggestion but right now he was far too much inside his own head for that. No instead as those ruby-red eyes stared at him, agreed with him, then once again showed some level of concern for him he bit his lip and slowly let his eyes meet hers. The irises of his eyes widening noticeably as he gazed at her, swallowed, and slowly made his first bit of progress in unravelling his emotions.

She admitted that it wouldn't take long to scout the area, so she shouldn't be gone long. She agreed it was safe so she wasn't knowingly going into danger. WAS he truly wary about being here alone? No. Definitely not. Whether intentional or not Vyx'aria had lead Ispir through enough of his own uncertainty that he was at least able to arrive at the fairly obvious conclusion.

"I umm... I just... wanted to spend more time with you."

Came the soft, honest answer. Those big, earnest eyes still holding her ruby gaze not in challenge but as if he was appreciating her unblinking stare. At least for a moment, anyhow, as he did look down at the flames sheepishly after a minute.

"We still have that shrine to find and I want to know more about you. Watching the stars with you, spending time with you, was..... wonderful."

He breathed the last word with a strange twinge of uncertainty, not directed at her, but at himself. Not over whether or not he truly meant what he said but moreso if he was sure now was the right time to say it. But he did venture a small smile to show he was completely serious and did not regret it one bit.​

A small squeak of a gasp would leave the bard as, like a pouncing jungle cat, Vyx'aria was upon him. His thin frame tensed and worried, his aquamarine eyes wide with shock, he just.... stared at her. He was completely, utterly lost at her questions. He felt the cold kiss of steel at his throat, the venomous lance of the questions striking like vipers at his spirit, and still his gaze simply lingered on her face. Scrunched, suspicious, angry at him. Ruby eyes burning like hellfire while a silver waterfall framed the entire exchange. Became all his eyes could see, became his world, and all Vyx'aria would see in those wide, soft eyes was.... confusion. Even as the tiniest, most honest shake of the head ever given on Arethil told her... no... he was none of those things.

But most of all, in every expression, every moment of his gaze..... was worry.

But, most surprisingly of all, not worry for himself. Against every threat and every venomous accusation that wide-eyed look of concern would solidify into something wholly unique. An understanding that made his heart ache for her in a way he had never felt before. Because he didn't see a threat, stupid as it seems, he didn't see a ruthless killer that would make him just another tally.

No.

What Ispir saw was someone so wounded, so hurt, their soul scarred by suspicion and treachery so much that they mistook kindness and romance for deception and subterfuge.

His hands would flex open, very slowly, the pulse in his throat hammering against her palm so that she could feel every drop of lifeblood that animated him. There was no threat there, no hidden dagger, no vial of poison and he would breathe a very gentle request. Singular, soft, his throat moving enough to cause the dagger to pierce his porcelain skin. A rivulet of crimson trailing down his throat as he murmured so very softly.

"Please..... let me....?"

A tender hand would touch, not grip, the hand that held the dagger. The warmth of his palm a gentle balm, an antidote and salve to the steel of her eyes. While the other hand slowly, VERY slowly, extended up to cup her cheek, thumb gently playing across it in a tender motion as his eyes met hers. Searched hers in a completely different fashion than how she searched his own. In a slow, heartfelt attempt to part the trappings of suspicion and doubt to find the woman who had her breathe taken away by the beauty of the stars with him earlier before he ventured to husk out softly.

"You're beautiful....."

Another shallow slice, more crimson would flow to her fingers, heightening her grasp on his life, but right now being there for her was more important than any pain he caused himself. So he would whisper again.

".... you've been hurt a lot, haven't you Ria?"

It was also obvious, in the tiniest quiver to his voice, that Ispir was indeed scared. But compassion, bravery and affection overcame his own shadows. His own darkness. Now all that was left to be seen was if it overcame Vyx'aria's......​

He took all of it in. How she froze. How she did not recoil from his gentle touch. The softest caress to the very hand that may very well take his life. Thumb brushing ever so softly against her cheek as her brow knit in confusion and a timid, trepidatious smile would waver onto his lips. The moment she released his throat he did not move, splayed out there on his own cloak, entirely still, watching her. That wavering smile would fade at her soft admission.

He gave a single, tiny nod. One of understanding, not acceptance. and as she rose to her feet he still did not move. His chest rising and falling in slow, measured breathes as he tried his best to capture her eyes with his own gaze, wanting to see for himself what lay in those ruby depths. She didn't let him.

At being called a songbird near a storm he would then sit up, gently pulling his cap back onto his head, and hugged his knees to his chest. His blood beginning to dry on his neck and, as she grinned and called herself a bitch Ispir would look up at her. Speaking just before the moment she vanished with a smile that was...... happy? Triumphant even? As he simply murmured by way of argument.

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me...."

And then she was gone.

Whether Vyx'aria mulled over his words or not he was, in the end, right. She had not been the one to piece him, to draw blood, he had done that by speaking. She wasn't a bitch, not to him at least, an as Ispir looked into the flames he would swallow gently before poking it with a stick and whispering to himself.

"She's.... scared to get hurt....."

Suddenly remembering that he was sliced in the neck Ispir would reach into his things, remove a piece of clothe, and crawl over to the pool of water. Dipping one half of the clothe into the water he would raise it to his neck and close his eyes, anticipating the sting on the open wound as he wiped the blood away. Only.... it never came.

Ispir would blink, confused, lowering his eyes to the pool of water and conjuring an orb of light he would finish wiping away the blood and furrow his brow in confusion. His neck was.... fine? That couldn't be right. Checking, re-checking and triple-checking himself he sat there, dumbfounded. Struggling for an answer he would dab his neck dry and, looking over at the little frog from earlier who was watching him with it's eyes just poking out of the water he would give a soft, relieved laugh and inform the frog.

"Sorry you had to see that. A lot of drama to bring into your cave huh?"

Standing from the water Ispir would make his way to the mouth of the cave and, standing in the darkness, squint up at the night sky before sitting down and curling up against the mouth of the cave. His cloak bundled tight as he waited for Vyx'aria to return. His adrenaline wearing off causing his eyelids to grow heavy, his breathing to slow, and finally he simply fell asleep with his head on his arms waiting for her to return.​

As Vyx'aria returned Ispir breathed in slow, even inhales, then exhales. Goosebumps upon the skin telling that he hadn't been exactly warm while waiting for her, this far from the fire, but he had done so anyways. Eyelashes would flutter softly at the gentlest kiss of the breeze over the steppe and as Vyx'aria seated herself beside him against the wall, dawn's first light gently cresting the horizon, and gave him a nudge, he would snore just a tiny bit.


But awaken he did after a moment or two. Eyelids fluttering more rapidly he would blearily open them, his mouth dry, and mumble in a soft voice. So bedraggled by the grasp of sleep he would slur his words just a bit.

"F-Fibe more mibnits....."

He would shiver a bit as he became aware of how cold he was, blinking rapidly and squinting his eyes as a beautiful sunrise crested the horizon, light catching in his hair and glimmering off his eyes even as he rubbed the last bits of sleep from them. A soft yawn leaving him as he stirred to full wakefulness. When he finally seemed to sort himself out Ispir would smile a bit at the sunrise, before turning to look at Ria, and rubbed his own arms softly. Smiling even wider as he chirped.

"Good morning Ria. I umm.... I dunno what you did but thanks for healing my neck. I would have looked kinda goofy walking around with a cloth wrapped around it ya know?"

Rising to his feet with a surprising amount of energy he would offer her a hand up and the cave began to all but glow as the sun crawled higher and higher into the sky.

"I've still got to get ready for the day so umm... while we pack our stuff up to leave do you need anything from me?"​