Soup Seduction Technique

Log Info

• Title: Soup Seduction Technique

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Aryia, Ravenstongue

• Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's house

• Summary: Aryia's in the area, so she stops by Ravenstongue's house to catch up. Aryia learns that Ravenstongue has taken her relationship with Telamon to the next level and congratulates her on her engagement in addition to teasing her. Ravenstongue informs Aryia of the circumstances that led to the engagement, and Aryia offers to take out the metaphorical trash for her. Pothy encourages Aryia's threats of violence, but is soon addressed and interrogated by Aryia about his own usefulness to Ravenstongue as the half-elf's maternal heritage is discussed. Eventually, Aryia leaves in dramatic fashion, leaving Ravenstongue to cook soup in the dark... For a bit, that is.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- 
Aryia                4'8"     110 Lb     Shadow Elf        Female    A heavily scarred mul with a resolved look about her.                      
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.                      
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The Lúpecyll-Atlon house in the University District has a fresh coat of snow on the roof and the lawn, but a neatly shoveled path has been made from the house to the street. There's only two occupants indoors at the moment, and one of them happens to be Ravenstongue sipping a cup of a particular tea blend as she sits on the couch.

Pothy, on the other hand, is merrily picking at a bowl full of little heart-shaped candies. Ravenstongue makes a face at him as he eats. "I can't believe you like those," she says. "They taste like chalk to me."

"I like them because they taste like chalk," Pothy replies in his boyish voice. "You don't let me eat chalk, so I have to make do with the next best thing."

It made sense to stop on by. She was up around in the district after all.

A knock comes from the door. Followed by some brilliant silver light shining through the keyhole. The mute playing the with the lock with her lit pinky.

Behind the door is Aryia bundled up in her verdant green buckle jacket, along with a black shawl and a bit of snow on her shoulders.

She blinks, then raises a hand in greeting.

"Oh, Pothy, can you get that?" Ravenstongue asks, rather bundled up on her couch and unwilling to move from the cold.

Pothy looks at her and gives a little sigh. "Aren't you better suited for this sort of thing?" he asks. "You're the one with hands." But he flies over to the front door and opens it expertly, using a combination of beak and talons to open the door--

And when he sees it's Aryia, he celebrates, landing on the ground in front of her with his tail wagging. "Oh, good afternoon, Aryia!" he says politely. "Mister Telamon is out of the house, but Cor'lana is on the couch. She is being very rude by not greeting her yourself--"

"It's Aryia? Oh, thank goodness," Ravenstongue says, hopping up from the couch to walk to the front door. She may be dressed in a long-sleeved nightgown, but she's still somewhat presentable, although her glasses are missing and her hair is down in waves instead of its usual braid. Her hands are still around her cup of tea. "Come on in! It's awful out there."

GAME: Aryia rolls perception: (9)+29: 38

Aryia blinks as the door creaks open to reveal none there. Then she looks down at the whistling. Another blink. Her lips move in a confused manner of 'how...?' but she just shakes her head.

Movement, attention flicks over. A smile. "Hey," she gestures once more, stepping in and shutting the door behind her. A few buckles and unfurling of outwear gets the mute down to a black tank top as she deposits it atop something suitable. "Thanks. Was just in the area, figured I'd drop by."

She stops briefly, taking a light breath through the nose. The scent tickles a foggy memory. "What are you drinking?" she starts off before stretching an arm behind her where she stands. <Handspeech>

Ravenstongue flushes at the question. She looks down bashfully at her cup of tea for a moment before she replies, "Night tea. Grandfather's blend, to be exact. I, um, well... Yeah." She's beet-red now.

Pothy looks up at Aryia from the floor and says matter-of-factly, "They tumbled."

"Pothy!" Ravenstongue rebukes her familiar, now looking like she wants to melt into the floor.

"What? It's true. Cor'lana, your mother had hundreds of lovers and your ancestors had to come from somewhere. So long as I get snacks, I really don't care either way," the white-feathered raven says in his little cherubic voice as his talons tap-tap-tap on the floor, the bird walking back over to the table, where his chalky heart candy lies in waiting.

Aryia stops her stretching, glowing gaze blinking owlishly at the half-sil. She glances down at Cor'lana's attire, then to Pothy, then to one of the back rooms.

Simply, she snorts, tossing her head back briefly before gliding past the scarlet sorceress. "Used to drink that stuff all the time," she signs before flopping over the couch to sit upside down on it, feet dangling over the back. <Handspeech>

"At least you look like you had fun," she adds in a tease before reaching over to talk one of the chalk candies. <Handspeech>

"Oh, uhh, Tel's not here--he's off at one of his Shining Chalice meetings," Ravenstongue says. "Odd society of people who obsess over sorcerer bloodlines and the stars--they have Telamon helping in making them star charts."

But her attempt to change the topic is foiled by the little tease and the acknowledgement of the tea. Ravenstongue looks bashful again. "Well, yeah, we did--I, um, I kind of was the one who initiated it. Awkwardly, of course."

"We were all having dinner and there they were, right in front of my soup," Pothy whines a little. He hops up onto the table and happily lets Aryia share the candies.

"Pothy! We weren't--not on the couch," Ravenstongue protests. "Gods, a lady shouldn't discuss these things."

Aryia nods idly, a motion that drags her moon hair across the ground as she's dangling upside of the couch. Though the extra addendums make her blink and look over. "You started--?"

A glance to Pothy. Then the mute breaks into a gut wrenching snickering and breathy laughing, her clutching her stomach and rolling onto the couch properly on her side.

After a moment to collect herself, she sits upright, popping the candy into her mouth before gesturing with a lingering fit of giggles, "Good thing I'm not a lady!" she quips, grinning wide. "A couch is comfy, but a bit cramped sometimes," she adds with a wink, completely amused by this. <Handspeech>

"We kissed on the couch. That's all!" Ravenstongue protests, thoroughly crimson in her face at this point. "Then we moved into the bedroom for the proper thing."

"I waited for hours in the other room," Pothy whines. "Not that it typically takes that long, judging by how long Nadina would spend with her lovers, but I was being cautious. I came back out here once it was safe and ate the rest of everyone's soup."

"Please don't tell me details of my mother's sex life, Pothy," Ravenstongue asks with a deep sigh. "Soup sounds like a good idea again for tonight, though. Telamon might appreciate it."

"Why, so you'll tumble him again? And I get to eat the abandoned soup? Sounds okay to me!" Pothy says cheerfully.

Aryia continues to snicker and breathy giggle with a hand covering her face, finding this whole situation hilarious. Her other hand manages to gesture out, "Secret soup seduction technique!"

A deeeeep breath In, only to chuckle it Out. The mute fans her face and shakes her head. "Fuck, that's funny. Anyways, besides exercising past times, what's going on?" she asks, still easily ready to snap another quip in like a coiled snake if given the chance. <Handspeech>

"Umm, well... We got engaged, actually." Ravenstongue recovers momentarily from her bashfulness about the whole situation to hold out her left hand, where a golden ring with a small diamond flanked by two small amethysts is wrapped around her ring finger. She smiles. "It happened a little quicker than I think either of us were anticipating... My father is up to some shady business again."

"A little elf boy came here the other day with his manservant saying he was Cor'lana's fiance," Pothy interjects. "Mister Telamon almost threatened to kill the manservant when he started doing weird things with Cor'lana's shadow. And the boy ate my nuts!" It's still a fresh wound for him. He soothes the pain by eating more crappy chalky heart candies.

"He decreed I was his legitimate child and then he forged a betrothal document between me and an elf noblewoman's young son," Ravenstongue clarifies. "We were able to get it thrown out, but Telamon suggested afterwards that we get betrothed, just to prevent my father from trying to repeat the same trick. Then Tel surprised me by actually proposing to me." She smiles widely at the memory.

That bit of news makes Aryia calm down to listen, her browns pinched together. A glance is stolen to the ring, which she just nods twice in acknowledgement. "I saw in the paper," she mentions, crossing a leg over the other.

She tilts her head to the side. "... agreed. A bit fast. Though, anything short of several decades I find too fast. Difference of culture," she shrugs lightly before smiling. "Still, congratulations."

Pothy's filling in about what happened makes her stroke her chin. What kind of things would she have done all those decades ago...? What kind of nuts- Wait, no, damn it Pothy, screwing up the thought process. "Sounds like your dad wants a talon in you before you fly off. Or, at least tried. Seeing as you're, well, getting stronger and what not. That's why my old masters are scrabbling in Charn to get me back because I'm worth a LOT of money to them right now." <Handspeech>

"That's the thing," Ravenstongue says, frowning a little. "We really don't know why he's doing this. The legitimization document mentioned that he has a child on the way with his wife, and once that kid's born, I'll be second in line to inherit--not that I give a shit about that, I really don't want his money--so it just... doesn't make any sense. Especially when I could tell Grandfather about all of this and he might legitimately kill my father for me. He's made vague threats about it all."

She sighs. "If he wants to use me as a tool like your old masters, he'll be sadly disappointed. Although I don't have the ability to pummel people to death like you do, Aryia--just some really effective charming magic."

She looks a bit smug, although not on Aryia's typical level of smug, as she says, "His wife appeared outside of the courthouse and I charmed her, actually. I told her to fuck off and she did."

Aryia scratches her head at the explanation. Then, she offers with a bit of a shrug. "I can kill him if you want," she motions deadpan.

She squints a bit. "Charming magic is powerful in the hands of politics. I used to use stuff like that," she motions, blinking as she surprises herself at the information. "Oh. That's rich. Awesome." <Handspeech>

Ravenstongue just looks at Aryia for a moment. "I, umm--well, I would rather not kill him unless he does something really awful. I'll let you know if it gets to that."

"You could just kill him in secret and not tell Cor'lana," Pothy helpfully suggests. "She'd never have to know who killed him."

"Are you supposed to be encouraging violence, Pothy?" Ravenstongue asks with a sigh. She looks back at Aryia and says, "From everything that I've been told about my mother, she did similar things. She was an adventurer too, and a fairly powerful one at that. Of course, suddenly ending up pregnant with me ended all of that, but... She didn't mind. She loved me."

Aryia raises a brow. "I mean, I encourage violence," she gestures, waggling her calloused fingers. "But I get what you mean."

She scratches her cheek with a finger, popping another chalky candy into the mouth. "That's nice that she did. I take it she did similar stuff to you?" <Handspeech>

"Used magic on me? Her daughter? Not really," Ravenstongue says, almost pouting at the implication. "The only things I regret about my childhood is that she sheltered me and that... She had me inherit Pothy the way she did. Memory loss and all."

"She did what she felt was the safest thing to do," Pothy says sadly. "She was absolutely terrified of Grandfather. She didn't want to lose you to him. And it goes without saying, but she never charmed me, either--all she had to do was keep me fed and I was her biggest fan."

Ravenstongue looks at Pothy. "But almost everyone feeds you."

"Why do you think I like so many people?" Pothy retorts happily.

Aryia perks up, head tilted to the side with one long ear drooping down. "Huh? No, I meant like, she used magic too- eh, whatever." She shakes her head before raising a brow at Pothy.

She's silent for a moment, thinking and reading between the lines. "She just didn't give you damn bird?" she gestures towards the food fiend. <Handspeech>

"Oh! I get it now," Ravenstongue says, the flash of realization in her violet eyes. "My mom, well... She said on her side of the family, there's always been someone tasked with keeping Knowledge. Only one person gets to hold Apotheosis and the powers that come with him at a time, however--the previous holder of knowledge has to die for it to go to someone else."

"I am Apotheosis, and I keep knowledge for the inheritor," Pothy says politely. "I have been passed down to hundreds of Cor'lana's ancestors, and it is my solemn duty to know everything."

"Except you're useless, because you only know about snacks," Ravenstongue says with a sigh before she looks back at Aryia. "He only seems to remember things if it's associated with a particular snack he had one time."

"I know plenty of things," Pothy protests. "Just that recent things are much fresher in my head. Like that soup. That soup was yummy until you started fumbling with Telamon's hair--"

"Okayenough," Ravenstongue says, going scarlet again.

Aryia stares, unmoving for a few awkward moments. Then- "Oh."

...

"That sucks."

She shifts a bit in her seat. Not really sure what else to say about that. The usual quips that would come up now almost do, but her attention shifts to something else between the lines.

"Wait. You mean to tell me-" A grey hand reaches out, and deftly plucks the white raven off the table and his him pinned firmly in her grasp. "-this little shit is hundreds if not thousands of years old. And you act like a fucking teat suckling four year old?" she gestures at him, scowling. "Do you actually teach anything important? Or are you a deadweight for all these supposed centuries of inheritors?" <Handspeech>

Pothy squeaks as Aryia pins Pothy in her grasp. He looks up at her with pleading blue eyes. "Please don't hurt me," he begs. "I am, in actuality, just a child compared to my 'relatives'. That's why I talk like this. I am trying, but... there's only so much I can recall or remember off the top of my head. I am just a baby compared to some of ----'s other servitors. Part of it is that my bond with each inheritor must grow over time as they become stronger--it took Cor'lana two years to even understand my speech. There are things she's not ready for!"

The name that Pothy has tried to utter is white noise, making Ravenstongue cock her head. "So he's a child and that's why he wants to eat so much. He's a growing boy," she remarks. "Huh."

"I said act, not talk. I don't give a shit if you sound like a fucking goose," Aryia gestures with her free hand, glaring at the bird as he explains. The name makes her squint, and her brows knit. "Weird fucking name for someone," she comments at the noise.

She turns, and points the blue-eyed avian towards its master. "Aside from being a companion and eating fucking everything, are you actually useful to RT? Because every single time I've seen you, be it in tense situations, or not, I've only seen baying for food, and barely any knowledge dropping like some kind of sage you're supposed to be. I don't give a fuck if you're three thousand years young." <Handspeech>

"He was actually an important emotional anchor for me when I lost my mom," Ravenstongue says, smiling at Pothy in a reassuring manner. "He's not been much of a practical help so far, it's true, but... He's my friend. He's soft to pet and he makes me smile and laugh. And he gives me a reason to leave the house when all I want to do sometimes is to shut myself back in the house and never come out again."

"You're pretty nice too, Cor'lana," Pothy says happily, albeit still slightly nervous about being in Aryia's hands. "You are too, Aryia, when you want to be."

He shifts a little, slightly squirmy. "...Did you like the candy? You can have more if you want."

"I said aside from being a companion," Aryia motions before releasing the bird from its impossible escape from the pugilist's ironclad grip. Which she does by placing him gently on the table.

She pats him on the head with the same hand that punches boulders for fun. Pat pat.

"I'm glad you like him. Me? Nice? I guess, depending on how much you tolerate me being blunter than a smith's mallet."

She eyes the candy. "The candy kind of fucking sucks," she says while reaching down to eat another. <Handspeech>

"It's not the best, I agree. Cor'lana bought it on deep discount. But it's yummy in my little bird tummy!" Pothy says with a little childish giggle. "But it's something to eat, and Cor'lana wanted to give me a break from nuts and berries."

"It's dreadful," Ravenstongue says in stark opposition. "I like sweet things, but that candy is... Awful. One of the vendors that we pass by in the marketplace offered me a really good deal on it to try and offload it, however, so I snapped it up."

"Some of them even have messages on them!" Pothy says, before picking one up and holding it out to Aryia. It reads: 'I LUV U'.

Aryia nods in agreement, chewing on a piece. "They're really shitty," she agrees regardless of her actions. "Discount candy is always suspicious."

She looks down at the offering, takes it, and reads. "Your offering is accepted this time," she motions to the bird, eating that one too.

She kicks back on the couch like she owns the place, a bare scarred arm on the back of the couch as she looks about. She smiles some. "Sister is back, properly this time. Not just in body, but in mind. Mostly," she relays happily. "Not sure if you met A-Y-A, but... if you see another mul'neissa around, about my height, braided white hair and she's a little off, give her some space." <Handspeech>

"I have met Aya before," Ravenstongue says with a smile. "She was one of the first people I met here. I'm glad she's back. I'll be sure to give her plenty of space--"

Ravenstongue looks out the window as she talks, and she squints as she spots a certain platinum blond half-elf come walking down the street. "Shoot, I think that's Tel," she says. She quickly finds her cup of tea and downs the whole thing.

"Oh no," Pothy says, looking towards one of the rooms. "Aryia, take me with you. I don't want to be near them if Cor'lana's going to--"

"I am not!" Ravenstongue retorts. "Well--maybe. Later, that is. I need to get dinner going."

"Soup seduction technique," Pothy replies as he looks at Aryia. "Save yourself! Ruuuuun!" He flies off into another room.

Ravenstongue just shakes her head. "I'd invite you to stay, Aryia, but... I do have something important I'd like to talk to him about alone," she says. "Feel free to take some candy with you."

GAME: Aryia rolls stealth: (19)+22: 41

Aryia is about to say something, but she glances to the window as well, and she rises. The mute snorts, walking briskly to her things and pulling her jacket back on. "Bird brain, you clearly don't know me," she comments to Pothy as he suggests to flee briskly. She winks to Ravenstongue. She nods towards the tea. "Don't overdo the tea. But keep it on hand."

She eyes the candy. "... slide it under the door if the technique works. Keep the bird occupied."

The pugilist raises a hand. "Later." And shadows leak from it, spilling across the ground like plumes of dropped flour. She clenches her hand, and throws it down.

The entire room is bathed in sudden darkness.

A few tense moments pass.

And the umbra fades like a wafting wind.

Aryia is simply gone. <Handspeech>