Waystation Mingle Log!

[twocomplex]

Who: GAME-WIDE MINGLE aka everyone
Broadcast: If you want
Action: The Stations!
When: From 04/05 through the month of April.

[Well, that all sure happened. But at least you have the waystations! Whether you want to stock up on supplies, work, trade, or visit the very fancy Virtual Reality Dome, it's bound to be a nice break from the attacks of the 5th.

Make your own prompts, set up your own Virtual Realities, etc! For reference, the OOC post with info is over here!]

Comments

[theboogieman]

Is that magic.

[...again, with the lack of tone thing. that was supposed to be a question.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She looks down at her lute and back up.]

It's not going to shoot Magic Missiles or anything like that, but it's conjured, if that's what you mean.

[theboogieman]

[...'conjured'. some vampires could 'conjure' up illusions or certain elements, but that's the limit of his knowledge. something as complex and pointless as a musical instrument seems excessive and extremely stupid.]

Why.

[child_of_bhaal]

So I can have any instrument I want and I don't have to sacrifice bag space for it.

[Adventuring 101: you can only take what you can carry. Make it count.]

[theboogieman]

...Why. An instrument.

[nope, still stupid.]

[child_of_bhaal]

Because I'm a bard.

[She picks up one of the coins that had been given to her by appreciative listeners, and tosses it to Zhas.]

I get paid to play music, tell stories, dance, juggle, sing. Back home, I own a theater.

[theboogieman]

[he catches it. barely glances at it.

his silence is... a little bit judgey. his gaze is particularly flat.]

[child_of_bhaal]

We can't all be tall, dark, and broody.

[She's just grinning.]

Any requests?

[And that's a brow waggle.]

[theboogieman]

[...he flicks the coin back at her, with a little ping.

he'll just hunker down, his arms crossed, and continue to not answer her. or her dumb brow waggle.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She's undeterred. In fact, she picks a particularly pretty and sweet tune and starts playing. She's only half singing it directly to Zhas.]

The ash grove how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking
The harp through its playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking,
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends from my childhood again are before me
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden the leaves rustle o’er me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.

[She takes a breath to continue on to the next verse, quite certain she has Zhas in a kind of annoyed agony that gives her a strange kind of kick. She hasn't felt this kind of mildly wicked glee since she was little and pulling harmless pranks on Gorion and the monks.

But before she can continue to torment him, they're interrupted. It seems there was actually a legitimate concern of the trader that someone might come steal his merchandise in the middle of the night. Because here they are.]

Oh, well, right on time. Or maybe not.

[theboogieman]

[the funny thing is that his master used to sing to him when he was younger, though the lines were never as well-formed and there were no instruments to accompany her. so his agony is particular, in that he almost wants to like it, but that just makes his overall disgust worse.

at least he doesn't... throw anything at her, or something.

he's comparatively enthusiastic to get to his feet when trouble shows up. the robbers in question were probably expecting someone way less threatening than an armored chick and the guy with a skull face and glowing eyes. one of them is already getting nervous, hesitant to move forward. Zhas starts in on him first.

he's just gonna terrorize this guy don't mind him.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[Zhas already threw money, so that counts.

Now about those would be robbers.

She looks at Zhas and back to them, making a mockingly scared face.]

Uh-oh. You guys did it now.

[She starts plucking out a kind of ominous tune to accompany Zhas' approach. Look. Helping!]

[theboogieman]

[not. helping.

his advance stops just long enough for him to glare over his shoulder at her--he can't believe she's doing that. it's ruining everything. so when one of the guys gets brave and decides to lunge at him with a knife, he aptly dodges, lifts him off the ground, and throws him in Syeira's direction.

which is not practical so much as intimidating. two guys look pretty ready to bail. the one not getting thrown is trying to yell orders at them.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[Wow, rude, Zhas. That guy has a knife. And she's on a crate.

She moves in time not to be accidentally stabbed, but not to avoid being unintentionally slashed, because the guy is flailing. It's very minor, taking her near the bend of the elbow, but there's blood in the air. And that means her good sense is just that bit more compromised.

When the robber turns, he gets smashed in the face with a conjured lute. Twice. And then kicked in the chest. And...she is probably not going to stop. GG Zhas.]

[theboogieman]

[sorry what was that he's busy beating the shit out of this thug here.

it's very easy. live humans are squishy. he doesn't get the same kind of joy out of it that he would with a vampire. the guy goes down in just a couple of good hits and Zhas has no wounds to show for it save for maybe a bruised shoulder the next morning.

he barely has to look at the other guys before they scatter. so much for team loyalty.

he turns around, hoping that maybe he can get a fight out of the last g--oh.

she's. she's really going at it, isn't she.

he doesn't stop moving, but he hovers out of range for a moment, trying to gauge just how much she's going to pulverize this guy (but mostly the way she goes at it, how she moves, how angry she seems, lots of little details no one else would find important).]

[child_of_bhaal]

[Actually, she's not angry at all. It's more excitement. There's blood in the proverbial water and she hasn't had a real fight in weeks. She's graceful and quick, her strikes actually juggling him, keeping him on his feet. And the other guy has really no chance to swing back at her. He holds the knife because that's all he knows really at this time. He's being pummeled and he has a knife. The knife is his lingering hope.

And that doesn't last long. She moves in, catching his wrist under her arm, and the knife is just suddenly in her hand. It dances through her fingers artfully until the hilt is in a proper grip. Her arm raises up.]

[theboogieman]

[there it is. he forcefully steps in the fray, grabbing her wrist and pushing--keeping the knife up in the air and not plunged into something this guy would have otherwise really needed to continue living. his bodily shoving between the both of them is enough to send the now-useless goon stumbling backwards, falling on the ground.

his focus is all on her, though. he's calm and ready and forcing her to keep eye contact. forget the thug. keep it all on him. this close, the face paint doesn't really matter--he's strong and he's got a commanding presence.

she needs to stop.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[The thing is, she is not out of control. She's perfectly in control. And that may or may not be worse than the alternative, depending on his perspective.

But because she's not out of her mind, she's only surprised when Zhas grabs, and she doesn't struggle or fight back. She just looks really put out, and a little confused.]

Zhas, what?

[Because she honestly doesn't understand why he stopped her.]

[theboogieman]

[he doesn't move much. turns his head a little, somewhere between confusion and disapproval. he doesn't let up, despite her being very calm. he's assessing, and he needs to be the bigger force here.

but there--he shakes his head definitively now. stop with the making to stab him, already.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She's not trying to stab Zhas. He stopped her from stabbing someone else. There is a difference.

But okay. She gets the signal, finally. Takes a breath and lets it out slow, forcing herself to relax.]

Right, okay. You uh, wanna let go of me now?

[theboogieman]

[it's trying to stab anyone that's worrying to him. but... as she starts to wind down, he starts to ease up on his grip. the comment doesn't really phase him. he lets go when he's sure it's safe.

he should trust that she's got herself under control, since she shows no signs of being a raging maniac or anything--he's just too used to nightwalkers. he's used to a pretty face hiding snarling teeth. so he's slow to believe her, and he's slow to feel like things are okay.

he finally steps out of the way. glances back down at the guy, moaning pathetically where his crumpled form is now pretty much useless.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She understands his hesitation, though she doesn't realize it's personal for him. So she waits until he actually lets go, and not just loosens his hold. Only then does she drop her arm, slipping the knife into her belt.

Looking at the thief, she feels strange. A little sullen, but a lot more guilty.]

I don't really have the luxury of mercy very much back home. People come at me with weapons, they mean to kill me, or worse. So I kill them. It's just... what has to be done.

[She looks back to Zhas then.]

Thank you. For stopping me.

[theboogieman]

[at the very least, Zhas does not seem upset with her. he listens to her explain, still looking over the wounded thug. he tightens his fingers into a fist, lets them go again. several times, very controlled. it wasn't much of a high, but it still takes him a moment to come down, get out of that zone.

he has nothing to say, immediately. he sets his jaw; something he does when he's thinking.]

Child of a god of murder.

[he tilts his head a little. he's looking at the body, but he'd meant that to be towards her. he also meant it to be a question, but good luck figuring that out from his flat, gravelly tone.]

[child_of_bhaal]

That, yes. But it's a rough world, Faerun. Even my most lawful and virtuous companions kill, once the battle is committed.

[She moves forward and kneels beside the man she'd beaten. Alive, but badly hurt. Leaving him like this would be wrong.

She holds her hands out, muttering a few words Zhas won't likely understand. Her hands glow very gently, and the glow spreads out over the prone figure. It's quick, and a lot of the signs of battle start knitting or fading. He's not perfect, but he wouldn't die slowly from internal bleeding now. Probably.]

[theboogieman]

[Zhas skitters back a couple of steps. he's been around healing magic once before, and he didn't like it then, either. at least he's not the one she's pointing it towards, this time. he steps clearly out of the way but doesn't have a word of complaint for her.

once he's emotionally settled again, he asks:]

How do you tell people from monsters, then.