Meet Little Fang

Log Info

• Title: Meet Little Fang
• Emitter: Tae
• Characters: Tae, Cryosanthia
• Place: W02: The Wilderness
• Time: Friday, August 21, 2020, 6:19 PM
• Summary: Tae is running through the woods with an orphaned kobold girl when she encounters Cryosanthia. Cryo is wandering the woods around Mictlan because large numbers of people, even her people, can bother her at times. Tae is desperate to find someone who can communicate with, and comfort the kobold as she suspects bad things have happened to her parents. The kobold tells Cryo that they have. Cryo is hesitant to become involved, because her emotions are still distraught over losing her foundling and cihuaa and the extended suffering under the Fae Queen. Something in her, or her past, tells her to take the kobold and she does. Tae questions Cryo about her opinions on morality, why she has a cold aura, which she answers, and about long term mates, which she doesn't. Tae explains she knows of another nest that might take the kobold in, which she'll investigate, and Cryo agress to watch Little Fang in the meantime. The sith'makar also assures the half-oruch that orcs and half-orcs aren't nearly as hated as she seems to think they might be, and takes her to the Wilderness Pointe Inn. She leaves Tae there, and returns to Mictlan with Little Fang, wondering where things will go from here.

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The path from the village eventually narrows somewhat, with the trees on either side becoming more populous. Moss hangs from large stones that sit surrounded by beds of leaves that has accumulated over the years.

A few trails wander in varied directions though eventually even these woods will thicken. One particular trail carries with it the scent of natural brimstone...this trail wanders north and westward, where the trees grow thick once more. To the east, it's rumored that the druids have built a sacred site.

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing, in Order  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Tae          6'2"     135 Lb     Half-Orc          Female    Female half-oruch, lean, black hair
Cryosanthia  6'9"     291 Lb     Sith-Makar        Female    A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman.
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Tae's mother always told her that every moment has a song in it. All you have to do is listen carefully enough, and you'll hear it. In the fading light, as the sun's last fingernail slips down the horizon, that song begins as silence. There's expectation in the air. The wild things sense a tremor, something coming.

In the distance, and growing more clear as she comes, is a figure. It's a half-oruch, but in the growing gloom of passing light only the sharpest eyes could tell. The figure moves swiftly, but is not running. In its arms it cradles a bundle wrapped up in what may be a blanket, or a cloak.

Ahead of this figure moves a piece of shadow with glowing eyes. A cat that races ahead, its nose lowering to catch something, until at last, it comes to a halt. It says nothing, but its ears twitch, then flatten, and its posture loosens, body sagging ever-so-subtley.

The half-oruch stops as well, looking down at the cat with sadness and pity in her eyes. She can sense its feelings of failure, bordering on despair. "The trail is lost, then." She looks down, her hard face growing suddenly gentle as a slender, scaled hand is raised and the voice of a young kobold calls out in draconic. "Fear not, little one. We aren't done yet," replies the half-oruch, almost cooing to sooth the bundle in her arms.

Cryosanthia's Nest-Mother, Thermoriax, was encouraging and strong in ways magical and social. She laid the foundation that the Speaker built upon, but parents can only dig so deep and it is up to the offspring to continue to build. Cryo is working on that, even if her construction has been defined by two mistresses that had plans for her which weren't in her best interest.

Which everyone knows, because her struggle is obvious. When the scents, sounds and crowd of Mictlan becomes too much she'll escape and orbit it, wandering the woods and feeling how the ground gives under her toes. How her talons sink into it. She'll take trees as temporary dance partners, or more often embrace the stillness and just listen, staring off into space and watching the movements of the leaves, hearing the bugs, and wondering at the noises betraying the movement of creatures.

So, she is both paying attention to and oblivious to the approach of the shadowy cat. Cryo hears its footfalls, imagines something smaller, and stares off at the sunsent. A scrap of conversation and draconic slides into her reverie, "What?"

The words catch attention in this silence. The panther turns immediately and raises its nose to sample the scent. The half-oruch has no such ability, but at this point, the music of the moment feels like little more than an ominous beating of drums. She looks around, walking towards the noise. As she goes, she leaves no trail, the plants almost moving around her. While she is light on her feet, she lets urgency carry her more quickly.

Her voices rises, "Who is there? Can you help us?" She sounds strangely calm to her own ears. The bundle in her arm shifts slightly, and a small, delicate face of a kobold girl peeks out into the gathering darkness.

"Cryosanthia," the white scaled sith'makar says automatically introducing herself, turning. Tae and her burden crash into her like one of her glaciers, shattering her mental composure. That woman has a youngling! Instantly her maternal instincts snap on, her scent going hostile, something the kobold and the panther might pick up on. She radiates danger, a mad momma bear defending her cub, or worse, a dragon protecting her eggs. Her eyes have gone black and she's low and ready to pounce. She roars, "What are you doing with that!"

It's not a hatchling, it's a kobold! Her senses struggle to catch up with her reactions, feeding another thought. Her hostility is smashed. Her alert posture relaxes into uncertainty, "I... what...? No... a kobold? ... apologies..."

She stumbles a step backwards, hands up defensively. Her emotional guardian is hammering on her, your heartstrings can't take this.

Fear. She's afraid, her scents change again, cascading confusion. Fear and a great sadness, the kobold girl might relate.

The emotional explosion of the Sith'makar catches Tae off-guard, but it ends so swiftly she barely has time to consider it. It only helps her realize how out of step she is with her own thoughts and feelings. The half-oruch presses on, "Can you understand what she says?" Her question is hopeful, and though Cryosanthia's posture looks anything but 'eager to help', she has nothing else to work with.

"I'm Tae. I was going to visit.. my friends, and found their home empty. Only this little one was behind. She's Little Fang. I mean, that is what they said it meant." The half-oruch is not making much sense, and she knows it. "I saw signs of.. struggle. Some blood, but no bodies. A piece of broken chain off armor." She doesn't say the word, but she suspects the worst. Slavers, pillagers, or 'adventurers' out for some manner of bounty. "They weren't hurting anyone."

"It's... not illegal to kill kobolds, so softskins do..." Cryosanthia says, a bitterness in her voice. She takes another step backwards, afraid to touch, afraid to become involved. The bones of two kobolds lie buried in these woods, because of her failure to lead. Another thing she hasn't forgiven herself for.

The sith'makar have a complicated relationship with the other scaled species, troglodytes, saghuain, who are descended from dragons as well. A heritage kobolds also claim, which often isn't recognized. Perhaps the larger lizards don't like wondering if dragons feel the way they do when they look upon a kobold, to see a smaller, neotenic version of themselves. An unsettling being, needing protection, intriguing, and at the same time uncanny.

There aren't kobolds in Am'shere, so the sith'makar haven't had a long history with them, and approach relationships cautiously in a conservative way. Cryosanthia struggles with history, her own and her species, and what she's seen as a Speaker. The relationship of hobgoblins to goblins is the closest thing she can think to build on. "They... I don't know... I can understand her. Yes."

"She knows me only a little," says Tae. "I cannot comfort her." Her voice sounds plaintive. Her eyes tell of desperation and fear. This kind of feeling is not something she's used to. She doesn't like it. This kind of pain belongs to others. "What do we do? I was hoping to track down her parents, but the trail.." She sighs. "Even if they still live, by the time we find the trail they will be far away. And Little Fang needs help now." The little kobold peeks out, trying to look at Cryosanthia. The only thing she reacts to is when Tae says her name. There's some manner of recognition.

The little one's voice comes out in a strangely fragile growl. "They took them. Took them all. Momma and papa gone. All gone. Saw them outside. They hit them and they didn't get up. Momma said hide, but I saw it." She retreats somewhat, her small eyes peeking over the edge of the blanket she's huddled in. The child's posture and scent mark her despair. She knows the loss that Tae still hopes to avert.

The white sith's nostrils flare. She smells fear, her own, the kobold's, the half-oruch's. It fills the air around her, feeding back in a bad way. Her pupils are wide. Her voice is flat, she's saying the words almost by rote. "It's more merciful to kill them all. Without the males the females struggle and starve, without the females, the younglings die even quicker. Raised as foundlings, they never learn their heritage and they're never accepted by the other races."

Her heart pounds in her chest. It's been a little over a month since she lost her cihuaa, only a few more since she lost her grown foundling. There's an empty ache pulling her forward, and the memory of the pain when those holes were ripped in her holding her back. There's a strange harmonic in her voice now, a warble beneath her words,

"I can't keep her in Am'shere... in Mictlan, in Mictlan. They fight... kobolds fight the younglings when they don't grow up... growing sith bully them... I..."

Cryo switches into draconic, "it will be ok. It will be ok... you... hide well, you are safe..." It isn't the first time she's lied.

Tae looks at Cryosanthia seriously, "What is she saying? I don't understand the tongue. You make it sound as if.." She frowns. "So it is over. This whole chase.. futile."

The half-oruch needs a moment to collect her thoughts. At her side, the panther's tail thrashes as it reads the mood. Finally she decides, "There's another place. It's farther, but they may know me there. With luck, they will remember me, and take one of their own into their family. They have good land and room for another mouth to feed, I think. I had hoped they would work together in time. If I start now, perhaps I can reach my destination two mornings from now." She sounds weary, but resolved. "I have to be careful. Whoever found this den may find the other. Before long, there will need to be a reckoning."

It's not immediately obvious, but with the growing darkness and Cryo's increasing consternation it becomes so. A halo forms behind her. Her back is glowing, the stripes and strange patterns formed by her glacial blue scales illume with a soft, white light. It silhouettes her, even as her breathing approaches a panic. She gazes around, wide eyed, uncertain.

"Help the little one. You need her. She needs you."

The white sith appears older, somehow, more primitive and hulking. The backlight gives an odd tint to her scales.

Cryo looks over at the other sith, the wise woman who showed her the tanning techniques. Her teacher returns the stare, arms folded, unmoving. She nods once more. Cryo's mouth opens, closes. She repeats the nod.

The lizard woman steps forward and holds out her hands. Her voice warbling, making her words strange. "She saw them take her parents. Saw them struck until they fell. She hid. This one will help."

She repeats in draconic, "this one will help."

Tae smiles, though the news is tragic. She offers the bundle to Cryosanthia. "Thank you. I.. I will find her a permanent home. I know only a little of their ways. They seemed so simple, so happy to just have a way to live. I arranged for them to learn how to plant a garden without making it clear they were there." She clutches her hands to her sides, "I will not give up, though. Not like this. I've never given up."

The half-oruch looks to her panther and nods. The beast looks up with bright eyes, then leaps into the night. "We will find out how this happened, though. Before I try again, I must learn." Her hand rises to her left ear, a fingertip tapping its way across the six silver studs. "How can I help her?" she asks abruptly. "She is my responsibility."

Cryo takes the bundled kobold into her arms. The light winks out behind her as she does. She makes an odd sort of hiccup, stares down at her. Her breathing is still fast, but slowing, and there is a coldness surrounding her. The sith's eyes lock with the kobold's, two expressionless sets of cold gems staring at each other. Cryo's scent switches, she smells strong, both strongly and protective. A small and constant thrum rumbles through her throat, a comforting sound to the sith'makar. Perhaps one for kobolds as well.

"She needs other kobolds to raise and teach her. She can manage a carnivore and carrion diet. Fruits are fine, certain vegetables also, nuts, refined grains are not good. They can't be brought into cities, usually, nor kept as its considered slavery." She snorts, almost a laugh, "They don't make good pets. They are considered monsters and a nuisance."

She exhales a long breath, "Sith'makar will accept them, but we have difficulty relating. They are quick and energetic, we usually are not so."

"I can find her home," replies Tae. "I may need a few days to win them over, but I think they will accept her. I know only some of their culture, but my gifts were well-received in the past." The half-oruch looks to the distance. The dim sound of a growl can be heard. "Shade may have found the trail. She will hunt for me. Perhaps there shall be more.." She shakes her head, returning to the task that must be done first, "For now, this little one needs me to do a different task. Where can I find you? Should I depart now? I do not know what is best. I have never done more than played with a child."

Cryosanthia is breathing calmly now, still staring at the kobold. The half-oruch's questions are heard, then answered, "Bring meat, this will impress them with your ability to provide. They will not resent another mouth as much. Remanents of nests joining together are common for them." And once were for the sith'makar, in worse times, "though it can be seen as unlucky."

She holds the kobold closer, so she can feel her scales, feel her thrumming as well as hear it, scent her more easily. "She needs warmth, security, protection from predators. This one can provide that. This one can keep her in Mictlan for a time. If there are more orphans, other arrangements will have to be made. Our younglings and theirs do not mix well. This one has coin. This one will assist."

The whitescale turns her head to stare at Tae, take in all details, sniff her. "You are very compassionate. Amongst the people, we have Nest-Mother, the one who laid the egg, also called the Clutch-Mother, who is the one that minds the eggs until they hatch. Usually. Creche-Mothers are the females who assist the Nest-Mothers. In oruch terms, they would be aunts, or nursemaids. The people do not nurse, obviously."

"She has lost her Nest-Mother, her sire. You are Creche-Mother to her now. This one feels she has become one too... I can't put her down. You... don't have to go... and I don't know your name. This one is Cryosanthia."

Cryo switches over to draconic, "Little Fang, you will be safe. Your Creche-Mother will find you family. You will stay with this one for now." She chokes for a moment, then says, "Thisss one is Sssasssa."

Tae sighs softly. "I am Tae. I'm.. not what you think. But even I can't walk away from this. Shade will find those who did this. We will ensure that it does not occur again. Eventually." She will not provide details, but it will be as fair as what they did to the kobolds. Or less.

"I would likely do better in the day. I do know this area well. And I know that the lands between here and there have some problems that I am not well-equipped to handle. If I die, then my hope perishes with me. So yes, a place to stay for the night would be welcome. But I would not draw undue attention to myself." The half-oruch looks at Cryosanthia closely, "You are the compassionate one. But there is more to this for you, and I have caused you pain. I apologize. I was desperate, and I am no mother."

"The pain was there. You stepped in the injury but it's hard to avoid." Cryo says, shaking her head gently in a dismissive way, "Do not distress yourself over me, Tae. This one will be fine."

She exhales. One day. The sith looks in the direction of Mictlan, and also towards the Wilderness Pointe Inn. "There is an Inn nearby, comfortable enough with baths. Travellers do not draw attention. There are beds in Mictlan, non-sith'makar are allowed, but are watched and escorted. We have hatchlings, and it makes all nervous. The inn might be the better place, and I am there regularly."

Her head lifts a little, "You should not go alone in your hunt. There are others in the woods that might assist, and adventurers can be hired from the Explorer's guild. Dying by yourself serves no one."

"Cryosanthia," Tae begins quietly, "I think it was adventurers who did this. They are always the bane of my work. They think it is somehow allowed to kill these little ones. It has happened before. No matter how careful I am, their greed tends to bring ruin." She reaches into a small pouch and holds up a single link of fine chain, "This was not the kobold's work. They had some who could work simple metals, but they did not have the skill to make a chain shirt. Nor did they have any means to barter for such. It fell off in the struggle. I know that Shade tracks humans this night." She smiles, trying to conceal her frustration, "I hope to see you again soon, Cryosanthia. I will find the village. But I am uncomfortable with most inns. My kind.. well, you likely can guess. I am not used to a welcome reception."

Cryo holds the kobold infant closer to her chest, high, so she can touch the scales on her neck. It is a sensation she misses deeply, and it makes her think of her long absent little knight. Adjusting her hold, she strokes at the kobold, continuing to rumble her throat.

The white sith moves closer, examines the chain, "Your analysis seems correct. This one will accompany you to the Inn, I am known and frequent there, they will receive you fine in my company. It is a good place to leave messages. Although, approach Mictlan and someone will appear to greet you, and a message given to them will find me also."

"This is not an insult. You are very smooth and refined for an oruch, a half-oruch? This one knows rougher, and they are well met with the people I know." Her ear frills rise, "Play your strengths, you will be fine."

Tae laughs softly, nodding. "I am used to being more politely received among those who are are wary than those who are used to trampling on whatever stands in their path." Her posture changes as she grows more relaxed, a bend ever so slightly as she rests her left hand on her hip, which flares out to the right. In the darkness she looks over Cryosanthia more closely.

"And yes, I am half. Possibly some other odd bits thrown in here and there. But for all of that, I am most comfortable away from those who think they are.. hmm.. righteous? I suppose that word is as good as any." She lids her eyes for a time and opens them slowly, "I understand. I am openly.. not righteous. I seek something else. To correct a few things I dislike in the world. I wonder if perhaps someone among your people might teach me the language. It would do me much good. It is hard to communicate at times with just gestures and drawings in the dirt."

Cryosanthia observes Tae's movements, her darksight and low-light vision allowing her to see a lot of details. It's always fascinating to her how things change with the light levels, the forest becoming more of a silhouette but still clear. She wonders how things are through the eyes of others, and the few memories she has shared were exciting, intriguing. Thoughts prompted by Tae's presence. She nods slowly, holding Little Fang protectively.

"This one is not a fan of those who trample, nor are too righteous." The sith sighs, temperature dropping around her again, dragged low by unpleasant thoughts, "This one can instruct draconic, but others might be better, one that knows yrch-speak and goblin-talk. The concepts could be better aligned. Tradespeak has many words that are often inadequate. This one is Speaker-Caste, but Lore Keeper-Caste instruct more competently."

She steps forward, drawing close, sniffing Tae once more then moving past her and looking back, "The Inn is this way. Come before it grows too dark."

"It's never too dark," replies Tae. She follows closely, eventually striding at Cryosanthia's side. Her footfalls are light, and it's either by chance or design, but even in the wood at night she maintains a grace in her motions. "I like it at night," she adds quietly. "Humans fear the night. They fear that which takes their power. And that fear is what makes them what they are when they have the light."

As she moves, Tae continues to take long, sidelong looks at the Sith'makar. She smiles, but does not explain what pleases her. "Little Fang has always been the cherished one of her family. They would have taken great pains to ensure she was safe. There's a beauty in her. I wonder if someday it might be similar to yours. The curves, the way your arms hold her, the light in your eyes."

Cryosanthia moves well, light in her stride though close to her the sith's height and weight make a strong impression. Her tail sways behind her with her stride. "That they do. Their weakness is also their strength. It forces them to adapt. This one has noted the vibrancy of the short lived races. They are not the shortest lived, but they have more frenic energy than the elves."

She adjusts her hold on Little Fang, examining the kobold child in the dim illumination. The white sith smiles, "They have, you have as well. This one will also. She shall have the best chance. This one will share her light, but any beauty she comes into will be her own. I doubt mine will transfer."

"Tomorrow when it is light, I will start my journey. I am not certain how long it shall take to win her place, but fortunately I am a fair hunter," says Tae. "Well, with Shade at my side I am. They shall have their offerings." For a time, walking through the darkness, with the mists starting to thicken, she stays silent, listening. There is a comfort in the sounds of night. Silence is what she would fear. The distant grunt of a larger animal catches her attention, but a moment later she is realxed once more.

"Why were you wandering outside your home, rather than dwelling inside? I hope I do not offend, but you seem rather unlike any guard I would have expected." Tae looks seriously towards Cryosanthia, trying to gauge the reaction of this new companion.

The question causes the whitescale to fall into a silence, and she walks in it for a time with only the sound of her footsteps and the quiet noises of her clothing moving against her scales. Only the thrumming in her throat remains.

Finally, she answers, "This one was isolated, alone, for a long time in a very sterile environment. This one is not a guard. I wander when the company and stimulation is to much. Sadly this one is more comfortable in a box at times, it is a thing I struggle with."

She exhales, raises her head, "This one has the luxury of time, take as long as you need. Shade is the name of your beast companion? What sort is she? They are terrors in Am'shere, egg-snatchers."

"I see," is the soft response. "I find it strange, though. I am forced to isolate, because of who I am and what I do. I warned you I was not.. righteous. My family views me as a scandal, but yet they care for me. For all the ill it brings them." She lets a wry smile curve her lips. Her hand lifts and she fingers the larimar stones that wind about her neck.

"Shade comes from the southern jungles. You may have heard of the Isles of Jade?" Tae pauses, gathering her thoughts. Sifting through which she wishes to share, "Shade is a loyal friend. We hunt together often. We will hunt again soon. But I take no joy in it. It is all in service of my objectives. You might say it is.. a test of whether I am wise, or merely naive."

The whitescale faces forward. She moves gracefully, with power, and when her mind wanders a certain aloofness. There is a coldness in her which is more than the chill aura that surrounds her. "This one is a Speaker. Our role is to remain neutral, facilitate communication between parties, say what needs to be said. My intentions should be irrelevant, though this one strives to do good. Righteousness has not served me well, when I've adopted it. Judgements this one makes should not be shared unless it is relevant."

She glances over, watching the stones being touched. A similar significant thing is around her neck, a small bag which Little Fang might have discovered by now. Cryo's hands are full, carrying and comforting the kobold. "This one has heard of them, mentioned in plays, as the backdrop of many a bodice ripper. This one has found most fiction exagerates greatly, so I would not presume to know anything based on what I've read."

"Pirates," replies Tae. "Not the kind to be troubled to ask about ripping a bodice, generally." She laughs, "That, and jungle, and.. others. There my work was below the waves. Or honestly with those who dwelt there. But even they had to deal with the greed of men." She shakes her head, "I view my work there as something of a success. It took some doing, but the right lives were saved." In her view.

The cold she feels coming off Cryo makes her curious. Not that she asks quickly. There's a sense of constant though behind her eyes, and it's unclear just what her stares and studies mean. "Your people.. the sith'makar," she begins at last, following it with a considerable pause. "You are like and unlike this little one. Closer to dragons, perhaps? You are stronger, more.. I do not know the word. And this cold I feel now. What does it mean? Are you well?"

"The people are descended from dragons. This one had no doubt. This one has seen, knows in her blood that it is so." Cryosanthia answers, somewhat formally. She smiles carefully at Tae, keeping her lips low so not too much of her teeth show. "The cold..."

She exhales, straightening her neck, "This one was infected with a magic organism for a long time. The cold is a legacy of that and the one who imprisoned me. This one was changed, is still changing, a strange second puberty that is a great surprise."

"When I am distressed, I am colder. Otherwise this one is well." A secret betrayed, perhaps not a great one, but still a sign of trust.

"I hope it is not too uncomfortable," says Tae. She finds it curious, but doesn't press the matter. "I will make a note of that, and do what I can to help you relax," she offers. She isn't one prone to this much thought, but something about this meeting is more complicated than she originally anticipated.

For some time, she trudges on in silence. Not a brooding one, but rather just walking with several smiles along the way. She even laughs when she sees a sudden swarm of dancing fireflies to her left. She passes them, shaking her head. "Poor things, all lit up and there's not a she among them!" she explains suddenly. "My apologies, I am not used to company that can speak with me. My companions are usually silent, or interested in, well, other things, I suppose."

"It is fine," Cryosanthia laughs, "This one talks enough for a whole company. My thoughts are fully occupying when I am not. I do not mind."

The kobold girl seems to have fallen asleep, a lower temperature would make her drowsy. The sith still carries her carefully, although she looks at the fireflies pointed out. "Ah! This one was not aware how they worked. So only the males light up? I suppose that makes sense."

"Did you say you worked under the waves? That's remarkable. This one swims but has not spent considerable time underwater."

"Yes, they light to win the attention of the females," explains Tae. "Not so unlike us. Though it varies by species, who competes for whom. And sometimes, both are straining to catch the eyes of others. I'm not much for the whole idea of bonding like that. The thought of having just one person for the rest of my life? How could I ever make such a decision?"

She laughs again. A deep sigh. "In any case, you know, I can barely settle on a hairstyle, much less know who I would to wake up with in a week.. or a month. Or in a few hours." She gives Cryosanthia another of her long, careful studies. "You will probably notice that I have a way of.. getting rather wrapped up in myself, my work. I would apologize, but the wind doesn't say it is sorry. Why should I?"

"The people do not bond often. If they do, it is for life. For hundreds of years. To break that bond is unthinkable. Often only death does. One who has bonded might never do so again." Cryosanthia says, sounding detached, very distant. It's suddenly very cold around her, even in the dark her breath is visible, catching starlight and moonlight, blocking the light of the fireflies. She is staring straight ahead, even the thrumming noise she was producing has stopped.

"No reason to apologize. Some things just happen." She makes a gesture with her left hand, the glove she's wearing starts to glow, the back of it most brightly around a dragon-eye symbol. She waves her hand above the kobold girl, surrounding her with the motions. A warmth comes off the glove that counteracts her cold radiance.

"I can feel your distress. Does it help to talk about it?" Tae stops, then, seeing the light of the village in the distance. "Let's pause a moment. I can see we are nearly there, now." She doesn't look terribly comforted by the thought of a warm bed, it seems. If anything, she's wary.

"It looks like a nice place," she says unconvincingly. "They probably don't even remember the last time my distant kind rushed into their village, burned down half the buildings, and well, carried on as everyone seems to think we do. It's all the more problematic that half the time at least we did just as described.."

"It does not. It is best set far away in my mind." Cryo halts, staring at the lights, rubbing warmth over the sleeping form. Her head turns and she stares at Tae. She makes no expression, and the reptilian features are hard to read. At times in stillness, she can seem like a statue, waiting. Her scents are low, almost non-existant.

The whitescale swallows a few times. There is a sputtering, then the throat thrum resumes as she cuddles the kobold foundling closer. Comfort her, protect her, you are a Creche-Mother, her instincts order. She finds some strength in this.

She faces Tae, lowering her head, "You are not your ancestors. If knowledge of them does not bring you strength, put their actions from your mind. You would not be the first to turn from their ancestors, and you are not doomed to re-enact their deeds. The village has not been looted and burned in my memory, though I am new to this area. You will be fine."

Tae laughs softly, "I put them far away. I walk my own path, but it is a path that does not endear me much to such as these." She looks at the inn and mutters, "Probably not even someone to warm the night here." She stretches, her back arching, almost catlike herself, curving and drawing her body as long as it can be, before settling back into her lazy, slouching posture. "In any case, my dear Cryosanthia, kind stranger, welcome companion. I suppose I shall see this inn. I wonder.. will they let me have a bath?" A joyful laugh then, "I would love a hot bath. Just soaking in it for as long as I want.. maybe falling asleep, for all I care. Oh, and perhaps next time I will tell you about the life under the waves. If you wish. I am a boring storyteller, but it's a worthwhile tale, anyway."

"They have hot baths, Come, this one will show you in, make introductions." Cryo reassures, starting forward after watching the half-oruch stretch, "You are on your own to find someone to warm the night though, this one cannot assist with that. This one is interested in hearing of life under the waves, this one is interested in all stories."

The sith leads, holding open the door, taking her companion and charge in, introducing one and ensuring her stay will be good, then leaving with the other. It will be a long walk back to Mictlan where there will be questions, but at least, not a lonely one. She carries her foundling and her back glows. Beside her walks another woman, not quite a sith'makar, something earlier, more primitive and yet at the same time stronger in the blood, closer to dragons. They do not speak, but the other leads Cryo's thoughts as their feet fall in unison and only one set of tracks is left.

Dramatis Personae

Tae
The features of this young half-oruch appear nearly fragile for her kind. She is svelte, with a waspish waist and lean, well-toned arms with the legs of a dancer. By some twist of oft-envied destiny, she pairs this with wide hips and full breast. Her skin is leaf green and is immaculate.

Her raven hair is highlighted with expanses of bright red that fades slowly into auburn before blending into black. She has adapted an undercut hairstyle, with the left side of her head shorn low, with bare cuts forming abstract curves. The rest of her hair forms a curtain of fine braids draped over her left shoulder, the longest of which end at her waist.

A study of her face often begins with her eyes. They are almond-shaped, larger than human eyes by just enough to be noticable, and are a brilliant blue, like an sapphire scattering noon's light, overcast with the heavy brow common to her kind. She has long lashes and fine eyebrows, both the same bright red of a flowering poppy that is seen in her hair. Her lips are a pale red, full, expressive in both promising smiles and disappointed glowers. Above these, the young woman's high cheekbones cast small shadows, and her nose is slender and aquiline. Like all her kind, she has pronounced lower canines, their size giving them the appearance of small tusks.

Her top is a black, wool, crop top sweater with a hood. A black skirt hangs loosely from her hips, the fabric reaching just past her knees. A thin belt of black with silver studs is wound about the waist, it's loose buckle is a circle of silver. Her mid-calf boots have a considerable heel, the black leather well-kept, looking almost if it were just made.

About her neck, she wears a strand of larimar stones of many shapes, the light blue glinting in any light. She wears six silver studs in her left ear, and another in the right side of her nose. On her right index finger she wears a brass ring with a pink chalcedony stone.

Cryosanthia
For those who have known her, Cryo is older, much older. Gone is the light on her feet, heavy in the fray, whimsical lizard girl. There is no trace of the fading youngling features which betrayed her youth, her lithe build, her playful exagerated expressions. She looks like her mother might, bigger overall with larger horns, more scale plates, a stronger keratin crest and fearsome talons. Even her gory tattoos have vanished. The Cryo you knew is gone. In a seeming instant.

For those who meet her afresh, Cryosanthia is an elegant sith-makar woman in the first year of her second century. She radiates confidence, a deep power from within. Her scales are a brilliant white, highlighted by ones which are the palest of glacial blues. These pale scales trace out the scars she used to bear, her hide is restored. She bears two fantastic patterns of these, one on her chest, the other completely covering her back from crest to tailtip. When the light hits right, one sees the dragon within. Her bearing is intense, her motions minimal grace. Two horns sweep back from her brow. Her eyes are like glittering saphhire gems, and when she blinks her eyelids have the glacial blue to them as well. She wears a white layered robe, cut for her species, with shimmering blue piping, highlights and whorls. She carries no weapons, and still keeps a tiny bag close to her heart.

For those who know the story, Cryo has been changed, physically and fundamentally by her experiences. She is a lifetime older, but a human lifetime. Still young for a sith-makar, she has centuries to go. Cryosanthia grew into herself under the fae Queen and is the only one to return with memories. These are, sadly, disrupted and Cryo struggles to reconnect with herself, her body, and friends she hasn't seen in decades. Alien at times even to the sith-makar, her heritage is written on her scales, along with her spells.

Cryosanthia, Speaker of the Sith-Makar.