Don't expect mercy from my government

[poll_the_stars]

One elf is starting to run out of time. The assassins plotting to kill her could show up any day now. She would really rather they didn't.

The irony doesn't escape her. She's still sending messages about her plans to sell off all of her lifespan and die to become a daeva with a lot of OTC currency. If she wanted, she could mint a ton of Ka, then let the assassins kill her. But the idea doesn't appeal. Some form of giving up, of letting them win. She's not often petty, but in this particular instance she thinks she'll indulge herself. Besides, it's not like they're the merciful type. She recalls Aisilian's perfect comprehensioned words. You were in quite a lot of pain...

No. No, she'll - not do that. She'll go spend a little while in Nexus.

She sends Miles a message.

So everything is packed and I have everything I need with me to flee my dimension before I get assassinated. Is now a good time?

Comments

[all_the_worlds_have]

"I have many, many gems. One of the first things I saved up for was an Infinite Inventory Method."

She pulls out another gem, seemingly from midair, and offers it.

[poll_the_stars]

Inavet takes it.

She smiles a bit, then frowns and looks at the kobold. "Do you mind if I do minor, very harmless magic, for the sake of uh. Enriching the experience I'm giving her?"

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold grins slightly and touches Ina's arm gently with her nose. "It's okay."

[poll_the_stars]

She's a little nonplussed by the complete shift in how the kobold's acting, but - okay. Sure. Inavet can roll with this. She nods. "Thank you."

Relaxing and closing her eyes, she plays with arcany. When it lies untouched, it relays sensory information. When it's being actively used, it's like taking a deep breath instead of breathing evenly, or swimming in a pool of water instead of merely touching its surface.

She's good at it, too. She should be, she's been at it for several hundred years. She switches crafts that she toys with, on what makes sense and what whims she feels like. She has a leaf break off from a tree, and a playful breeze moving picks it up and sends it away, and this becomes a small mote of light following it, which becomes a mote of cold, and she sends that to her arm for a cold chill on her skin and she attends to her body reacting to it, and -

Well, she's not the best arcanist in Facet, but she's needed to be adaptable. She can keep up little sensory tricks like this for a while, even when limiting herself to things that look as harmless as possible. Eventually she finishes with sparkling multicolored sparks of light, raining down from the trees above. Satisfied that her work was at least very interesting, she hands the gem back.

[all_the_worlds_have]

Eva takes it with a leather-gloved hand.

"I suspect that I don't want to experience this until later, when I won't be in the middle of work." She smiles.

[poll_the_stars]

Giggle.

"Fair enough! I hope you like it."

[all_the_worlds_have]

"I expect I will very much. Thank you exceedingly for your attention."

She opens the door again.

[poll_the_stars]

"You're welcome."

(She will be waiting until Eva is gone to address What The Hell with the kobold.)

[all_the_worlds_have]

The door closes, then sort of sidles sideways into absence.

[poll_the_stars]

Well that's kind of fascinating.

But also: kobold. She looks at the kobold.

"You seem much calmer around me," she observes, softly.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold looks shy, or perhaps guilty, now. "Yeah."

[poll_the_stars]

"If I'd known crying in front of you would have helped with your fears I'd have done it sooner," she attempts, lamely. She winces, a bit, once the words are said. A bit too sharp.

[lurkingkobold]

Well.

Ina gets a hug. That is what happens here.

"No, that's..." sigh. "No."

[poll_the_stars]

Inavet is slightly bemused by the hug, but accepts it gracefully.

"This hasn't been common," she assures. "But. Uh. No?"

[lurkingkobold]

Guilt, that is definitely guilt.

"I shouldn't need that. Don't, when I'm not being kaiinae about things."

She sighs again and looks up at Inavet.

"You're nice, and I want you to be okay, and I'm sorry about before."

[poll_the_stars]

... This doesn't actually solve Inavet's confusion!

"Thank you? It's okay. You're allowed to be afraid."

[lurkingkobold]

And now the kobold is a little confused.

"I mean... yes? But there wasn't a reason to be; I should have been paying attention to that. I wasn't trying to figure out if there was a reason, and I should have been, and if I was I would have noticed sooner and not upset you as much."

[poll_the_stars]

"The trouble about being afraid," says Inavet, "is that sometimes it isn't always logical."

[lurkingkobold]

"Yeah. I still think I could have done better if I had actually tried, though."

[poll_the_stars]

"Okay. Let me know if I can help? I have been trying to seem very nonthreatening. I uh. Screwed it up a few times, but I'm not exactly perfect."

[lurkingkobold]

This gets a wryly amused grin - she doesn't agree with this assessment, but isn't surprised to hear it.

"Don't worry about me, I'm okay. Wouldn't be here," she indicates how close she is to Ina, "if I wasn't."

[poll_the_stars]

"Fair enough."

[lurkingkobold]

Grin.

Scritches?

[poll_the_stars]

Sure! They can have scritches now. Scritch scritch.

[lurkingkobold]