Stargazing by the Shore

Log Info

• Title: Stargazing by the Shore

• Emitter: Telamon

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Slixvah, Telamon

• Place: A08 - Northern Banks of the Tornmawr

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon are having a nice stargazing date at the Northern Banks when Slixvah appears, flying down from the mountains. The bird belle spends some time with the young half-elf couple and chats with them on a number of things. Then Ravenstongue's Grandfather appears, fresh off a shift at the bookstore, and Slixvah departs. Grandfather recognizes that the half-elves are on a date and also leaves, leaving the two to look at the stars--although they are quickly distracted and return home.

-=--=--=--=--=--=-<* A08: Northern Banks of the Tornmawr *>--=--=--=--=--=--=-

In the shadow of the great Highbridge, and beneath the guardhouses, a stretch of river has been laid out as a public park and fishing area. Here, the descending landscape of Alexandria folds into the river and crafts a comfortable view. On a typical day, a number of small boats and picnic blankets dot the landscape. To the side, a small shrine to Rada the River Serpent, as well as a dual shrine to Althea and Daeus, in their guise as Mother and Father of the world.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.             
Slixvah              5'8"     130 Lb     Eaglefolk         Female    A rust red and white Eglarin covered in veils, ribbons, and shawls.          
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Early evening, the sun having rapidly vanished below the curve of the world. As the sky dims, the twinkling stars begin to appear, the vault of the heavens darkening from cloudless blue to the fathomless black lit only by those tiny bright points.

The park is mostly deserted at this point, save for the half-elf couple cuddled up together and watching the night sky reveal itself. Telamon sits on a thick blanket with Cor'lana, the two of them wrapped in another blanket to ward off any last evening chill. A picnic basket sits next to them, opened, with a bottle of cider, some food, and of course a bag of nuts for a certain gluttonous familiar. Tel points up at a newly emerged constellation. "There's the Great Titan now... I know, it's hard to see it." The Girdle of the World can also be seen, curving over the sky like a brighter shade against the darkness.

Cor'lana's violet eyes are full of wonder as she looks up at the sky with her fiance, although she squints a little as she tries to track the constellations that Telamon is pointing out. She's actually finished her food, which is a cause for celebration in of itself already. "Gosh. Why is it that stargazing with you is so nice?" she asks. "You're always able to point out the constellations before I can. I mean, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised..."

"What a bright boy," Pothy says in Nadina's voice. The white raven's had the bag of nuts popped open for a while now, working away at them quickly. But he seems to be quoting Nadina more and more since the visit to the Library of Apotheosis.

Cor'lana leans in a little closer to Telamon, taking his arm and wrapping her hand around it. "Wish that wasn't just Pothy mimicking," she says with a little smile.

"It's all in the patterns. Granted, I've... spent more time than I care to memorizing them thanks to my work with the Chalice. But it helps I was familiar with them already." Telamon watches the constellations. "There's the Coyote's Laugh... and the Phoenix Song." He points upward, tracing shapes in the sky.

He snuggles back into her with his other arm, nodding at her sentiments. "I know. I guess if my mother or father were gone I'd want more than an echo, a memory." He brushes her hair back, looking to her -- the stars in his eyes much more visible in the evening, as if reflecting the skies above. "The best thing you can do is work to make her proud of you. I know you've done a good job with that already, but there's always tomorrow to work on it. It's the same way for me. I want to be a man that father and mother are proud to call their son. It's not easy, and I'll make mistakes -- but that's why the gods taught us how to fix things."

Coyote's Laugh and Phoenix Song. Violet eyes wander over to meet them for a moment before she goes to look at the stars in her fiance's eyes, which she looks into like she's trying to find the constellations in them, too. "I can do anything so long as it's with you," she replies.

And then Pothy burps. More accurately, he belches.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I had a lot to eat for lunch!" he crows, mimicking a boisterous man.

Cor'lana can't help but bust down into a fit of giggles. "Try to have a moment and he ruins it," she says, grinning. "Maybe we should have had Grandfather come babysit him and we leave him at home."

Telamon smiles at her, reaching up to stroke her cheek gently. "See, now you're getting somewhere with the things to say," he teases with a grin. Cuddling her some more... and then of course Pothy wrecks the moment.

Tel sighs heavily, and looks at Pothy reprovingly. "Pothy, didn't anyone ever teach you to cover your mouth if you belch? I mean, granted, I don't think it'd help you much..." He can't keep the stern expression up though, and soon it crumbles into snickering. "Ah, he's all right. Remember what I said? I have to take him along with you, it's a package deal."

An odd assortment of stars get blotted out from the sky. Perhaps a void in the shape of an avian? A large Pothy? It has odd streamers flowing behind the wings...

It's getting bigger.

And closer.

Then it flies over the couple, landing a few tens of feet away in the park. They skip a few steps on taloend feet before coming to a standstill and stretch their wings out.

"Gotta say, lil' Fi, jumping from the mountains is a grand idea!" a winged woman chirps.

Cor'lana lets out a tiny "eep!" as the ribboned bird-person gets closer and closer... And then she lands, and Cor'lana sighs in relief. "Oh! Hello! I recognize you from the hospital."

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" Pothy crows, hopping over to the elegant egalrin. He's naturally a fan of anything else with pale plumage. One could even see the slight sparkle of admiration in Pothy's eyes--like the egalrin woman is what Pothy wants to be when he grows up.

Cor'lana snickers. "Pothy, don't harass her!"

Telamon glances up, and his eyes widen a little as he sees the egalrin gliding downward... thankfully passing well overhead before finally landing. Having a bird person land on you when you're sharing a tender moment with your fiancee really kills the mood. "I might've tried to do it when the sun was up though," he comments with a smile.

He nods in agreement with Cor'lana, studying Slixvah. "You're... Slixvah, correct? Slixvah Unmesi." He clearly prides himself on remembering names, as he taps his fingers together. "It's good to see you've recovered."

Slixvah turns right around and- "Oh! My heavens, loves, I didn't mean ta crash your lil' date!" she coos, putting her hands on her hips, arms akimbo. "Hello to you too, lil' guy."

She strides closer, the ribbons on her wings and arms fluttering behind her as she goes. "That is I, the one and only," she giggles, bowing at the hip as a wing takes place of where an arm should be at the waist. "I'm pleased that this lil' bird made an impression enough on you two! Cor'...lena? And Tela-"

Muffled chirping comes from her shawls.

"Cor'lana and Telamon! My goodness, you're right Fiadh! I am doing quit ea lot better, thanks for keeping me company during that, hun."

"It's okay! Stargazing can be a thing among friends, too." Cor'lana smiles warmly. "My friend Stjepan took me out stargazing once, too. Had a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. It was nice."

...Pothy slowly turns to look at Cor'lana. He just sighs. Then he looks at Telamon and says, flatly, in Cor'lana's voice: "Dense."

"What? It's true! Stjepan is just a friend. Friends can go stargazing. ...Right?" Cor'lana now looks a little uncertain, her violet eyes darting between Telamon, Pothy, and Slixvah.

Telamon looks at Pothy, then at Cor'lana, and just facepalms. "...Oh, Lana. I'm not jealous -- okay, I'm a LITTLE jealous but fair is fair, I did tell you about Keriga. But how did you not realize it was a date? That poor man..." He just shakes his head in dismay.

Hurriedly, he gestures, and the air nearby shifts a bit. The bottle comes out of the basket on its own, and neatly uncorks, before starting to pour into a pair of glasses. "Slixvah, can I interest you in a glass?" he says hurriedly.

Slix looks down at the half-sil woman, her head cocked sideways. Her beak opens, visible as her veil was pulled down, but slowly closes as she eyes Telamon. "... they can, yes. But... eh- that's in the past, it won't change much."

Her head tilts the other way, then she shrugs both shoulder and wing. "If you're offering honey, who am I to refuse?" she chirps, sitting down cross legged beside the two, wings pulled in tight around her like a mobile blanket.

Cor'lana looks at Telamon and her face colors. "Wait! You think he was trying to get me to go on a date? He didn't even say it was a date!"

Then the crimson deepens on her face as another thought occurs to her. "Wait, does that mean the first time you asked me out to dinner was a date, too?! And I showed up wearing the exact same outfit I wore when we met looking sleep-deprived because Pothy and I were being badgered by birds at all hours of the day and night?" She just slaps her cheeks with her hands in horror. "Gods, I knew I was absolutely inexperienced in love before, but this is ridiculous!"

"DENSE," Pothy croaks back at her. He returns to eating his nuts.

Cor'lana groans as she looks over at Slixvah. "Hi, I'm Cor'lana, and I'm a big dumb idiot. Nice to meet you again."

Telamon passes one glass to Slixvah, and the other to Lana, but not before hugging her close. "Maybe, but you're my fool and I'm happy to have you. We'll do all sorts of foolish things together." He looks at Lana in amusement. "You read all those books too, the romance stories, I grant that the real world isn't like a romance novel... let alone a Crimson Pen... but how did you miss this stuff?" He kisses her cheek softly, to punctuate things.

He looks back to Slixvah with a rueful grin. "Don't mind her, she's just been catching up on all the things she didn't learn about and sometimes it catches her off guard. So, why were you jumping off the mountain?"

Slix takes the offered glass and bows her head in thanks. She snickers, covering her beak with an arm as she does. "Idiot? No, sugar. Dense? Oh yes, absolutely. But! You've got such a catch right there," she motions towards Telamon.

She gets a twinkling smile in her eyes. "Those are a fun read."

She sips on her drink, it clinking against her beak. "Oh don't worry about it, shug, I was a dense brid once upon a time."

She perks up. "Oh! I hadn't had the pleasure of feelin' the wind in my feathers since my wing healed! Was a right pleasure to glide over the sleepy city! That is how most Egalrin get 'round back home, you know?"

"He is a catch," Cor'lana agrees, smiling again. "I don't know how someone like me landed him, but I did. Luckiest girl in the world." She leans in and kisses him on the cheek affectionately.

Pothy looks at Cor'lana again and says, "Grandfather," in her own voice.

"Right! Grandfather's the one responsible for us being together. Otherwise I probably would have kept dawdling around Telamon forever," Cor'lana admits with a sigh. "Anyway, flying around like that sounds like fun. I've... admittedly been pretty interested in flying like that, myself. Telamon and I had a dream walk a while back where I had wings on my back and I was able to fly."

She looks a little wry as she admits, "I've been researching spells to give me wings, but I haven't found anything yet."

Telamon has the grace to blush a bit, but he smiles broadly. "If it helps, I was... well, I wasn't oblivious but I didn't quite grasp that Lana didn't have anyone. I mean, from my perspective she should've had suitors lined up from here to the temple district. But I'm glad she chose me... and thankful her Grandfather kind of nudged us together."

He nods at Lana's comments. "I think ever since the earliest days men and elves have looked to the skies and wondered how the birds could soar through them. There's an interesting book in the library on magical history; it talks about the first time a spell of flight was codified. 'A Means Efficacious to Carry Thyself Into the Clouds'. A bit flowery but that was how they titled things back then."

Slix knocks back her wine, and sits up on her haunches. She chuckles. "Then good on him for shoving you two birds together. I'm sure all your friends woulda gone mad."

She scoots over to be behind Ravenstongue, her letting her wings drape forward to rest over the half-sil's shoulder. "It's a good thing to try and learn, hon," she intones.

She pulls back, then sits back down. "It's a hard spell for certain. And even harder to control wings. Lotta hatchlings hurting themselves learning."

She scratches her beak. "... sounds quite flowery, but flying is nothing but flowery."

"I'm sure Aryia would have helped me out if it wasn't for Grandfather," Cor'lana replies with a grin. "She was the one who asked me if Tel and I were a couple to begin with. If you haven't met her, Slixvah, she's great. And incredibly strong."

She looks up at the wings draping over her shoulders with a strange look--perhaps one of longing, before Slixvah sits back down. "They were black feathers in the dream," she says. "Like raven's wings. Now that I think about it, odd that they weren't colored like Grandfather's feathers--but his are strange compared to yours, Slixvah."

Cor'lana looks to Telamon with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe I'll have to find that book. I don't mind flowery--but you know that from reading my poetry." She grins.

"It makes sense though. Ravens typically have black feathers -- you're something of a rare bird, Pothy -- and even your original nom du guerre was 'Ravenstongue'. Not surprising there's some association." He watches Slixvah with interest, the way her wings move, before continuing.

"I have no intention of making any mistakes, Slixvah," he explains with a grin. "The solution to testing this sort of thing is to make the landings as soft as possible. So I figure..." He points out to the river, "...if I can develop a flight spell, I'll test it out there over the water."

Slix pats the woman on the shoulder as she goes to rest in a sit. "Ah yes, your great great great great great great great daddio was a bird guy!" she chirps.

Her attention goes to Telamon, and she throws her head back in a cackling laughter. "Oooooh that's rich, sugar. You're going to, and pardon my tongue, fuck up spectacularly. Such as all fetchlings on first flight."

"I think you'd like Grandfather a lot, Slixvah," Cor'lana says with a smile. "He's a nice fellow. Sometimes he's a bird, but he only shows his humanoid form where he's comfortable doing so--"

Then she looks at Telamon. "...Although I imagine he has a different form for working at that bookshop he got hired at. I can't seriously imagine that he's walking in there with his full regalia and shelving books. The talons alone would get a stare--"

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering why you two weren't home." The voice is deep and melodious, and it comes from a very pale and tall elvish man, almost a light gray in skin tone. His violet eyes are intriguing, as the smile on his face doesn't quite reach them.

But there's no feathers. He's actually wearing a white dress shirt with black suspenders dancing up from his tailored slacks, and elegant black gloves hug his very normal human hands.

Cor'lana looks up at the newcomer and just stares at him for a moment. "...Grandfather, did you copy one of Telamon's outfits?" she asks.

"What? This is my 'travel around town' form. And now my bookseller form, too." Grandfather grins.

Telamon spreads his hands. "Look, I can appreciate that landing in water from six feet might be just a bit less painful than landing on turf from twenty. This is kind of what passes for good sense from me, what more can you ask for?"

He smirks at Cor'lana, and nods. "I wonder how he's pulling it off. He was kind of cagey about the whole thing, and I admit I've been tempted to visit that bookstore just to see what he's doing..."

Then Grandfather shows up, of course, and it's Tel's turn to stare in befuddlement. "...No, no, I don't think I own suspenders. Pretty sure the shirts similar to my own, though." He looks Grandfather over, measuringly. "I can't tell if you're off to a formal dance or to work, Grandfather. But well done. Hm. You almost look like there's a little mul'niessa in your ancestry."

"Six feet at high speeds is like twenty from a straight fall-"

Slixvah makes a sound not unlike that of an uptrill of a dove at the new arrival. She cocks her head to the side.

Then the other way. Blue eyes flick down and up. Then, unfazed, despite the warnings of what Grandfather was hinted towards being-

"Well well, honey buns, finally decided to swoop in? Sit your cute tush down, shug, and join the party."

"Ahh, hello and good evening, child of the wing." The self-identified Grandfather, who hardly fits the part--there's only the slightest of wrinkles on his elegant face, which could have been sculpted by a generous artisan--gives a little flourished bow. "Please call me Alud. It is a good fortune to meet another one of my little bird's acquaintances."

He walks over to the stargazing party and takes a seat. "I took some inspiration from your closet as well as what the people who tend to visit the bookstore wear, Telamon. I figured if it worked for you and it's what my little bird likes, I couldn't go wrong."

Cor'lana blinks again. "I... I mean, I guess that's not unsound logic," she admits after a moment.

Telamon mouths the words 'honey buns' with a startled expression at Cor'lana, before getting control of his expression again. "I'm flattered, to be honest. And you carry it off quite well, sir." He settles his arm around Lana once again.

He looks to Slixvah with a slightly wry expression. "And this is what I'm marrying into. I'm not sure if they're mad or I am. But I can say I've never been happier." He contemplates Slixvah's critique. "What makes you think I'm going to be moving at high speed? I doubt I'll move any faster than a walk at first. Besides, I already know how to quicken the pace; once I get flying under control I'll use that spell to increase my speed further."

Slix waves to the mysterious grandfather with both hand and wing. "Evening, hon! Alud! Call me Slix! Lookin' sharp!"

She looks between the three. Then she gives a happy chirp. "Revel in the chaos~!" she coos.

Then she stares right at Tel. "When the wind makes your heart race and your blood roil with glee, you'll say I'm riiiiight."

She rises, then gives a slight bow. "Now, I gotta get goin'! Gotta get some rest! All that glidin' takes a bit outta ya!"

She departs with a swagger. "Toodaloo~!"

Grandfather waves a little to Slixvah as she departs, smiling in that mercurial fashion of his. "Well, if I didn't know better, I would think she was one of my kind in the way she approaches life," he says with a chuckle. "Now, what is it you're doing here?"

"Well, we were on a stargazing date--" Cor'lana manages to say, but then Grandfather lifts a gloved hand, indicating he'd like his granddaughter's silence.

"Say no more!" he says, and he morphs into the more familiar violet-eyed raven. "Don't let me interrupt your evening. Don't complain even an iota, Sir Pothy."

Grandfather flies off into the skies, and Ravenstongue looks at Telamon for a moment--then at Pothy, who appears to have concerned himself with something off by the shoreline. Perhaps an unattended snack.

There's not a soul around but them.

"...Hmm." Cor'lana looks very impish. "I can think of something we can do with our evening."

Telamon blinks a little at the exchange, then stifles a laugh as Grandfather immediately exits, stage left. "He really knows when he's the third wheel on the cart, doesn't he?" he comments. Seeing that Pothy has ambled off, he pauses, looking to Cor'lana now.

He smiles slowly, brushing his nose against hers. "I wouldn't want you to get cold... guess we'd need to stay very close so you can stay warm." He kisses her softly. "I just hope nobody has the temerity to bother us."

"We have the blanket for a reason, don't we? Besides, we're just kissing," Cor'lana says. Which is the opposite of what she was just implying.

The denseness is alive and well.

...Then she blinks. "Wait. Oh, you thought I was--"

She laughs. "Well, I'm not opposed, but let's pack up and do that at home. If that's alright with you?"

Telamon grins as well. "I did think it was a bit, um, forward of you to suggest it out here. You're not the only one who was dense there, dearest." He nods, and kisses her once more. "We can stay a bit. Watch the stars. Then go home." He hugs her close to him. "As long as we're together, I'm happy."

"Good thing we can be dense together," Cor'lana replies happily, hugging him with another giggle. "Maybe in the woods or something, but not out here in the middle of the city!"

She looks back up to the stars and says, "Although, I'd still get a view of the stars if I looked into your eyes while--"

The notion makes her turn crimson again and she coughs. "Maybe we ought to go home sooner than that."

Telamon actually blushes a little as well. "I... think we've both managed to distract ourselves sufficiently." He crooks a finger, and the unseen servant begins collecting things. Carefully he disentangles himself from Cor'lana, standing up, before offering her his hands to help her up as well.

"Well, at least we're honest enough to admit when we've misread the other. That's important." Once she's on her feet, the servant folds the blankets as well, lifting the whole bundle. "Let's go home, love," Tel says to her, smiling.

Cor'lana's at least a little happy she's managed to make Telamon blush again with a bit of her flirting, judging by the little smirk on her face. She wraps her arm around his once she's up from the ground. "What can I say?" she says. "It's hard to concentrate on the stars when I have a man who's so blessed by them that he's more beautiful than anyone else I've ever seen."

She kisses his cheek as they walk home, stars lighting the path back to their humble abode.