Private Tales Night of the Full Moon

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Celestia simply stared at him as he listed off the ingredients, having heard of exactly zero of them. She asked no questions for fear of appearing stupid - it was bad enough she was a healer who couldn’t heal. She hadn’t missed his firm declaration about killing the monster, and she couldn’t exactly blame him. She opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself, deciding that he was incensed enough as it was.

“I am a healer, though I have trouble with this monster…” She said with a sigh, thinking back to the numerous people she had to watch die, “My people…?” Celestia stared at him curiously, always caught off guard when humans showed interest in learning about her.

“Very guarded,” She said after a moment as they kept walking through the woods, “They do not trust humans and other beings that walk the surface of Arethil. I’m hoping to change that.”

Her wings dragged along the grass as she walked, “People think I’m a monster when they first see me….like you did,” She added the last bit very quietly, barely above a whisper.
 
The darkness of the forest wasn't decreasing and he knew that despite needing to move with speed, they had time before the creature would be able to loop back around to the village. Combined with the fact that he was a bit drained from his injury, and he was fine with keeping a slower pace pushing onward.

Nevertheless, he kept his sword in hand as they advanced. The forests were full of other dangers besides just their werewolf friend.

I've never seen one of your people before, he said. He wondered where they came from if they didn't "walk the surface of Arethil." Or perhaps they simply referenced non-flying beings.

He nodded as she mentioned that people thought she was a monster. We have several winged humanoid creatures on the surface. Most are murderous or eat human flesh, he said, his voice trailing off after a moment.

Are you familiar with them? Are they enemies to your people? he asked. If these people flew and the monsters flew then perhaps they had been locked in warfare at some point in the past.
 
Celestia winced as he described winged creatures that feasted on the flesh of humans.

“You really are a ray of sunshine, aren’t you….” She muttered quietly in response. Sarcasm was something she was picking up rapidly on Arethil’s surface. Having been confused by it enough times, she finally figured out when and how to apply it.

“I only know of sky elves - our close brethren. They are peaceful, though we have disagreements at times,” She paused for a moment before looking at him with a quirked brow, “...And no, we don’t settle disputes by eating one another.”

Celestia performed some rudimentary magic to light their path, a soft glow that made it a bit easier to navigate through the forest.

“Are you always in the habit of going right to stabbing any suspicious creature you see?” She didn’t look at him as she asked the question, though the faintest hint of a grin threatened to tug at the corner of her lips.
 
Tereth grunted as she told him that he was a ray of sunshine. He'd been told similar things many times before. He wasn't an overly inviting or warm person, and his life had been wrought with difficulties.

He wanted to ask her what she meant by "sky elves" but didn't want to appear ignorant or idiotic, so he remained silent. Were there elves that lived in the sky? Did her people live in the clouds? Where in the clouds? How did that even work?

No harpies? Ekhidna? he asked, but then shook his head as if reminding himself that most people didn't care about differentiating types of monsters.

Never mind, he grumbled, continuing to shake his head. He turned and glared at her when she asked if he just stabbed everyone but realized after a glance that she was at least partially joking.

He turned away quickly to hide being flustered.

No, but, well... actually probably yes.

I thought you were a harpy, he said, forcing confidence into his voice as he said it. Evidently, you weren't, he added a moment later.

But I was on the job, he added, the statement bringing back the memory that his quarry was still on the loose and ready to kill.

How'd you end up here, anyway? he asked.
 
Celestia looked alarmed at the mention of ekhidna, “Why are you killing children?” ‘Kid’ was another word for children in common, right? Harpy didn’t sound any better, “And I play the harp...does that make me a harpy?” She blinked at him nervously. She wasn’t quite sure what kind of mess she had gotten herself into hanging out with such a human. He appeared to be paranoid about the world around him and was ready to point his weapons at anything that moved.

“So you murder other living things for work,” She speculated quietly, “Humans are strange, aren’t they? They will go to any lengths to get someone else to do their dirty work for them,” Celestia rubbed her chin in thought, “Has this mayor of yours tried reasoning with creatures or paying them to perhaps go away?” If she had been mistaken for a harpy, what if perfectly sentient creatures were hunted left and right without being given a chance?

“I came down to observe a battle near Belgrath,” She thought about that fateful day, “I was shot by a wayward bolt and had to stay here to recover. During that time I’ve met some ground- I mean humans,” She had to remember that only her kind referred to them as ‘groundlings’.

“My first experience with humans involved me being locked up in a cage,” Celestia rolled her eyes, “The village chief was even kind enough to put a price on me so visitors had to pay to come stare at me.”
 
What!? No! he said in response to her inquiry about killing children and harpists.

I don't kill children or harpists. Just, nevermind, he said, shaking his head, deciding to ignore the comment before immediately changing his mind.

Harpies are flying creatures that kill and eat people. They kill slowly, tormenting and toying with their victims. And Ekhidna aren't much better, he said.

I kill things that kill others, he said. Monsters and murderers, he said, preparing himself for the judgment. Everyone always wanted to judge him for his business. Many people spat when they walked by, and others spread rumors that people like him killed for love of blood and sadism. It should have stopped bothering him a long time ago, but sometimes it was difficult to push it out of his mind.

He glanced back with a grimace as she told about being locked in a cage to be looked at. That sounded about right. People could be nearly as despicable as the monsters he hunted.

People are just wonderful, aren't they? he grumbled.

How'd you get away? he asked. He couldn't imagine she had killed the person holding her captive. She seemed to innocent for that. Almost childlike in a way. She clearly knew very little of "groundlings."
 
Celestia didn’t stop him this time as he went on to describe more terrifying creatures. Was the surface world truly so scary? Even a tall and imposing being like her felt uneasy at the thought of coming across these ‘harpees’ or ‘ekidnas’.

She had to pause when he asked how people were wonderful. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was sarcasm. She was still learning that tricky way of speaking. Celestia smiled at his question, however, “Another one of my kind is down here. She saved me. She’s convinced the world here isn’t so bad, and I’m venturing out to see for myself.”

Celestia had met other ‘monster hunters’, even the other Avariel referred to herself as one. It felt strange to be a hunter while many would classify her as a monster as well.

“What’s your name? Are you from this town?” She finally felt comfortable enough to ask him probing questions.
 
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