april catch-all

[ushiri]

WHO: "Kyle" and others
WHAT: Monthly catch-all, OPEN and CLOSED threads below
WHERE: Castle Thorne, Nott and Horizon
WHEN: All throughout the month
WARNINGS: Will add as needed. Please check his opt-out post for general warnings about this character!
OTHER: Will match brackets or prose. PM me for specific starters!

Comments

[carmesi]

[the blond dog may not stop for strangers as it sprints to either neighboring domain, but it does stop for wanda, whom she had found while wandering into her own forest, taking a look around. rousma was enthused about the idea of wanda coming over to visit her brother, and so escorts the older woman all the way to her brother.

the dog nuzzles against kyle's side while he meditates, completely rupturing his focus. wanda only feels a little bad about it as she gives a pat to rousma, who returns to her, before off she goes again to explore the forest critters and likely run into the twins.]

I figured if she was around that you'd be too. [she says, bemused, a smile on her lips.] Didn't think I'd interrupt your meditating, though.

[ushiri]

[ He doesn't mind the interruption at all. Rousma bumps into his side, excitedly talking in her singsong way about bringing Wanda from the woods. Kahlil whispers something in one of her floppy ears and pets a spot on her neck - a necklace of flowers appearing around it.

She bounds off, her laughter echoing in the temple's stone walls. ]

I was just thinking with my eyes closed. [ He grins, fully turning around to face her and motioning at the cushion next to him. The tea is there too, though today it's a different blend, close to the one Hilda gifted him a few weeks ago. ]

How're things back at the settlement?

[ And with her. She'd made a stir with the Thornean mages, and he's heard some whispers about what happened on the island. ]

[carmesi]

[wanda takes a seat on the cushion as suggested, already a little enthused to do so because of the tea that is there, awaiting only to be consumed. she grabs at a cup, serves herself from the pot.

it smells delightful, even if this is all in their minds.]

The natives are wary. A mix of shame and guilt, likely because Josselyn was one of their own.

[she serves kyle a cup, because it's only right, and then settles down with her own, nursing the warm porcelain between her hands, just over her lap.]

—but Spring is fast approaching. Flowers are blooming, everything is a bright green, and everyone's trying to focus on the upcoming festivities than on what happened. [a pinch of her brows] Those who... were taken are — coping. Often listless. Wandering about. They've healed well physically, though.

[and yet, wanda worries.]

[ushiri]

[ He's glad to notice even a tiny bit of enthusiasm for the hospitality - he never had his own home in Basawar, the closest he came was on Earth and even then he never hosted people (there never was anyone but John). Here, he is delighted whenever he gets the chance.

Kahlil nods at what she says. It's similar in Thorne, though with less guilt for obvious reasons. The natives are moving on, at least on the surface, and those who were rescued are coping in their own ways now that their physical health is better. He thinks of Istredd and Kell being nervous about walking the castle city on their own. ]

I spoke with Josselyn, briefly. [ He's heard from others who got a little more out of her, too. He grimaces, as the name brings back the memory of the strange ritual - disturbing even to someone like him who has been made to watch people burn alive. ]

There will be others like her.

[ And her followers. Those who wish to be closer to the gods, and would do so by any means necessary. Including kidnapping and experimenting on others. Fanatics find a way. ]

[carmesi]

There will always be others like her.

[wanda agrees with that sentiment, and figures that josselyn might not have been the first to attempt this kind of thing (perhaps those before had failed?) and she will most definitely not be the last.

with a sigh, a hard swallow, she brings the cup to her lips and takes a hesitant sip. she hates thinking about this, thinking about her, what it did to the people she and the acolytes took hostage—

the weight in her stomach feels heavy.]

She got the idea from ancient texts and rites. Said they suggested it is possible to reach divinity through metamorphosis. [setting the cup down, she rubs a finger against one of her rings, pushing it back and forth in thought. they ought to share the information they learned about josselyn before she was killed for her crimes.] She told us that their prisoners managed to successfully ascend. What that means...

[she shrugs.]

I'm worried this might affect them in other ways later on.