Dorian Storm

Dorian Storm RP Blog, Admin is 18+

[bardic-storm]

"Hello everyone! My name is Dorian Stom and I am happy to give this thing a try! I am always down to make new friends or play music for someone. If you know what family I am part of, then you don't."

˖ ݁♬⋆.˚𝄞. Rules and Warnings:

-> I consumed all of the Critical Role media there is (Campaigns, Shows, Comics) and I am up to date with everything, so this Blog will contain spoilers. ­

-> Be respectful at all times. Both to me and the people I interact with.

-> Any interactions that contain 18+ stuff will be tagged with nsfw.

-> Feel free to interact!

-> As this happend to me before on other Blogs I have, I need to add this rule: If anyone soft tags me in asks, then that's okay. But I ask that you never tag me in asks in a way that makes it seem like I sent them, when it was not me that sent them.

-> I follow from the Blog @cas-drinks-coffee

˖ ݁♬⋆.˚𝄞. Headcanons and Notes:

-> He is dating Orym. They live together in a cozy home and have a large garden.

-> He is pansexual and poly.

-> He has a dragonic steed that he can summon with music.

-> He is allergic to nuts.

-> He likes to watch sunrises and even gets up early just so he can watch them.

-> His love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation.

-> He is currently the first one in line of the Wyverwind family. His real name is Brontë Secondsun Wyverwind.

˖ ݁♬⋆.˚𝄞. Tags I will use:

# Dorian talks for askbox stuff

# Dorian sings for random posts

# nsfw for 18+ stuff

# ooc for out-of-character stuff

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods approvingly. “Yes, it does! You’re a quick learner, and a skilled one at that! I’m sure with a bit more practice, you’ll be able to braid like a champ in no time.” He presses a few things into Dorian’s palm—some hair ribbons and ties in shades of blue, teal, and gold. “Here, for you. I don’t wear these colors often, so you can have them.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian gave Verin a big happy smile at that. "Thank you, Verin! You are the best mentor I could ask for. And I will keep practicig on myself. Maybe Cyrus will let me try to braid his hair if I ask him very nicely." Th tone he used to say this suggested that if Cyrus would say no, Dorian would find a way to make him say yes. "Oh, that reminds me!" He pulled out a bracelette from one of his pockets. It was golden in colour and had two gems that set next to each other decorating the front of it. One was red, the other one was purple. "This is a gift from Cyrus to you. If you wear it, it gives you a bit of an armour and a bit of a health boost. You do not need to attune to it and you do not need to active at it. And as far as I am aware, it's like a blessing of sorts and not really a magical item at all." He explained, holding it to Verin. "And before you worry that he spent gold on this, he found it while looking through all his stuff as he wanted to give away some things that he didn't really need or use."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin’s eyes widen in surprise at the gift, taking it carefully into his hands. The bright colors of the jewelry contrast with his desaturated, dark purple skin, but he clips it carefully around his wrist all the same. “It’s beautiful.. I’ll make sure to give Cyrus something in return, and send him a letter of great thanks. This is amazing. Extra protection is always appreciated.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would appriciate that a lot. And he figured as much given by what your line of work is." Dorian said smiling, very happy that Verin liked the jewelery that Cyrus wanted Verin to have. "Oh! Wait! Speaking of gifts!" He said and very quickly searched through his pockets, looking panicked, before sighing in relife as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a sending stone then that he gave to Verin. "This is a small gift from Orym. It's a sending stone that has no word or use limit that you can use to talk to him. He wanted you to have it in case you want to talk to him or in case you need help with something."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin takes the sending stops into his hands with the same careful reverence he gave the bracelet, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface. “My, you are all spoiling me! This is wonderful. I think my first use of it will be to thank Orym, in fact.” He stands and opens a drawer in his desk, setting the sending stone careful beside his others, each with a label or marker to differentiate them.

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would be very happy to hear your thanks when you use it for the first time." Dorian said smiling. "And this is hardly spoiling. Tho Orym does plan to make you a cake for teaching me how to braid hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shakes his head with a fond smile. “This is definitely spoiling. I’ll make sure to return the favor in time.” He returns to Dorian’s side and offers him a hand to help him up off the couch. “I’m afraid our time is running out, though. I have a meeting in.. twenty minutes or so. You can take some coffee blends with you, if you’d like.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will make sure to tell him that." Doian said with a fond smile and took Veirn's offered hand, letting him help him up from the couch. "I would never say no to take some coffee blends with me. I hope whatever the meeting is about will be better then this mess." He said and pointed at all the files that were all over the room.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs heartily as he grabs a handful of coffee blends and gives them to Dorian. “Yes, hopefully I can get this place cleaned out soon.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian smiled while taking the coffee blends. "Yes, hopefully." He said smiling. "I will be on my way back to home now after talking to a few of your soldiers that seem to want to talk to me really quickly before I leave. Have a good meeting!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods approvingly. “Yes, it does! You’re a quick learner, and a skilled one at that! I’m sure with a bit more practice, you’ll be able to braid like a champ in no time.” He presses a few things into Dorian’s palm—some hair ribbons and ties in shades of blue, teal, and gold. “Here, for you. I don’t wear these colors often, so you can have them.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian gave Verin a big happy smile at that. "Thank you, Verin! You are the best mentor I could ask for. And I will keep practicig on myself. Maybe Cyrus will let me try to braid his hair if I ask him very nicely." Th tone he used to say this suggested that if Cyrus would say no, Dorian would find a way to make him say yes. "Oh, that reminds me!" He pulled out a bracelette from one of his pockets. It was golden in colour and had two gems that set next to each other decorating the front of it. One was red, the other one was purple. "This is a gift from Cyrus to you. If you wear it, it gives you a bit of an armour and a bit of a health boost. You do not need to attune to it and you do not need to active at it. And as far as I am aware, it's like a blessing of sorts and not really a magical item at all." He explained, holding it to Verin. "And before you worry that he spent gold on this, he found it while looking through all his stuff as he wanted to give away some things that he didn't really need or use."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin’s eyes widen in surprise at the gift, taking it carefully into his hands. The bright colors of the jewelry contrast with his desaturated, dark purple skin, but he clips it carefully around his wrist all the same. “It’s beautiful.. I’ll make sure to give Cyrus something in return, and send him a letter of great thanks. This is amazing. Extra protection is always appreciated.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would appriciate that a lot. And he figured as much given by what your line of work is." Dorian said smiling, very happy that Verin liked the jewelery that Cyrus wanted Verin to have. "Oh! Wait! Speaking of gifts!" He said and very quickly searched through his pockets, looking panicked, before sighing in relife as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a sending stone then that he gave to Verin. "This is a small gift from Orym. It's a sending stone that has no word or use limit that you can use to talk to him. He wanted you to have it in case you want to talk to him or in case you need help with something."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin takes the sending stops into his hands with the same careful reverence he gave the bracelet, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface. “My, you are all spoiling me! This is wonderful. I think my first use of it will be to thank Orym, in fact.” He stands and opens a drawer in his desk, setting the sending stone careful beside his others, each with a label or marker to differentiate them.

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would be very happy to hear your thanks when you use it for the first time." Dorian said smiling. "And this is hardly spoiling. Tho Orym does plan to make you a cake for teaching me how to braid hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shakes his head with a fond smile. “This is definitely spoiling. I’ll make sure to return the favor in time.” He returns to Dorian’s side and offers him a hand to help him up off the couch. “I’m afraid our time is running out, though. I have a meeting in.. twenty minutes or so. You can take some coffee blends with you, if you’d like.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will make sure to tell him that." Doian said with a fond smile and took Veirn's offered hand, letting him help him up from the couch. "I would never say no to take some coffee blends with me. I hope whatever the meeting is about will be better then this mess." He said and pointed at all the files that were all over the room.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods approvingly. “Yes, it does! You’re a quick learner, and a skilled one at that! I’m sure with a bit more practice, you’ll be able to braid like a champ in no time.” He presses a few things into Dorian’s palm—some hair ribbons and ties in shades of blue, teal, and gold. “Here, for you. I don’t wear these colors often, so you can have them.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian gave Verin a big happy smile at that. "Thank you, Verin! You are the best mentor I could ask for. And I will keep practicig on myself. Maybe Cyrus will let me try to braid his hair if I ask him very nicely." Th tone he used to say this suggested that if Cyrus would say no, Dorian would find a way to make him say yes. "Oh, that reminds me!" He pulled out a bracelette from one of his pockets. It was golden in colour and had two gems that set next to each other decorating the front of it. One was red, the other one was purple. "This is a gift from Cyrus to you. If you wear it, it gives you a bit of an armour and a bit of a health boost. You do not need to attune to it and you do not need to active at it. And as far as I am aware, it's like a blessing of sorts and not really a magical item at all." He explained, holding it to Verin. "And before you worry that he spent gold on this, he found it while looking through all his stuff as he wanted to give away some things that he didn't really need or use."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin’s eyes widen in surprise at the gift, taking it carefully into his hands. The bright colors of the jewelry contrast with his desaturated, dark purple skin, but he clips it carefully around his wrist all the same. “It’s beautiful.. I’ll make sure to give Cyrus something in return, and send him a letter of great thanks. This is amazing. Extra protection is always appreciated.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would appriciate that a lot. And he figured as much given by what your line of work is." Dorian said smiling, very happy that Verin liked the jewelery that Cyrus wanted Verin to have. "Oh! Wait! Speaking of gifts!" He said and very quickly searched through his pockets, looking panicked, before sighing in relife as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a sending stone then that he gave to Verin. "This is a small gift from Orym. It's a sending stone that has no word or use limit that you can use to talk to him. He wanted you to have it in case you want to talk to him or in case you need help with something."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin takes the sending stops into his hands with the same careful reverence he gave the bracelet, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface. “My, you are all spoiling me! This is wonderful. I think my first use of it will be to thank Orym, in fact.” He stands and opens a drawer in his desk, setting the sending stone careful beside his others, each with a label or marker to differentiate them.

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would be very happy to hear your thanks when you use it for the first time." Dorian said smiling. "And this is hardly spoiling. Tho Orym does plan to make you a cake for teaching me how to braid hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods approvingly. “Yes, it does! You’re a quick learner, and a skilled one at that! I’m sure with a bit more practice, you’ll be able to braid like a champ in no time.” He presses a few things into Dorian’s palm—some hair ribbons and ties in shades of blue, teal, and gold. “Here, for you. I don’t wear these colors often, so you can have them.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian gave Verin a big happy smile at that. "Thank you, Verin! You are the best mentor I could ask for. And I will keep practicig on myself. Maybe Cyrus will let me try to braid his hair if I ask him very nicely." Th tone he used to say this suggested that if Cyrus would say no, Dorian would find a way to make him say yes. "Oh, that reminds me!" He pulled out a bracelette from one of his pockets. It was golden in colour and had two gems that set next to each other decorating the front of it. One was red, the other one was purple. "This is a gift from Cyrus to you. If you wear it, it gives you a bit of an armour and a bit of a health boost. You do not need to attune to it and you do not need to active at it. And as far as I am aware, it's like a blessing of sorts and not really a magical item at all." He explained, holding it to Verin. "And before you worry that he spent gold on this, he found it while looking through all his stuff as he wanted to give away some things that he didn't really need or use."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin’s eyes widen in surprise at the gift, taking it carefully into his hands. The bright colors of the jewelry contrast with his desaturated, dark purple skin, but he clips it carefully around his wrist all the same. “It’s beautiful.. I’ll make sure to give Cyrus something in return, and send him a letter of great thanks. This is amazing. Extra protection is always appreciated.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am sure he would appriciate that a lot. And he figured as much given by what your line of work is." Dorian said smiling, very happy that Verin liked the jewelery that Cyrus wanted Verin to have. "Oh! Wait! Speaking of gifts!" He said and very quickly searched through his pockets, looking panicked, before sighing in relife as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a sending stone then that he gave to Verin. "This is a small gift from Orym. It's a sending stone that has no word or use limit that you can use to talk to him. He wanted you to have it in case you want to talk to him or in case you need help with something."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods approvingly. “Yes, it does! You’re a quick learner, and a skilled one at that! I’m sure with a bit more practice, you’ll be able to braid like a champ in no time.” He presses a few things into Dorian’s palm—some hair ribbons and ties in shades of blue, teal, and gold. “Here, for you. I don’t wear these colors often, so you can have them.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian gave Verin a big happy smile at that. "Thank you, Verin! You are the best mentor I could ask for. And I will keep practicig on myself. Maybe Cyrus will let me try to braid his hair if I ask him very nicely." Th tone he used to say this suggested that if Cyrus would say no, Dorian would find a way to make him say yes. "Oh, that reminds me!" He pulled out a bracelette from one of his pockets. It was golden in colour and had two gems that set next to each other decorating the front of it. One was red, the other one was purple. "This is a gift from Cyrus to you. If you wear it, it gives you a bit of an armour and a bit of a health boost. You do not need to attune to it and you do not need to active at it. And as far as I am aware, it's like a blessing of sorts and not really a magical item at all." He explained, holding it to Verin. "And before you worry that he spent gold on this, he found it while looking through all his stuff as he wanted to give away some things that he didn't really need or use."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin grins wide and proud, giving Dorian a firm pat on the back. “There you go! That’s a great first braid!” He moves to grab a small handheld mirror and hands it to Dorian so he can look at his handiwork. “You can breathe again whenever you’d like, by the way.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian looked almos shy at the wide and proud grin Veirn gave him and the fact that he had said that it was a great first braid. He held the small handheld mirror that he was handed and nodded at being told that he could breath again whenever he would like to. He exhaled a lot of air first for a moment, before slowly breathing in and then he breathed normallly. He then looked into the mirror and smiled proudly. "It actually does look really good!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“You mean Cyrus? We’ve spoken once or twice already, but I can’t remember if we’ve met in person yet. I’ve had so many visitors these last few months, it’s hard to keep up with them all.” Verin guides Dorian through three braids, but after that he pulls away and guides Dorian through only words, having him braid again and again until he finally pauses. “Wonderful, you’re doing great. Now try to do a braid without any of my help.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian simply nodded very slowly as Veirn asked if he meant Cyrus. He then did the braid again and again, guided by Verin's words. He nodded when Verin said that he should do one without any help from him now and did just that. He carefully braided his own hair and ended up with an actually somewhat decent looking braid.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Yes, it is always a struggle to find time where everyone is free.” Verin sighs, but does not make mention of his mother. She doesn’t need any extra attention, not when she’s still ill. “But I can definitely come to dinner some time! And maybe we’ll get lucky and my family will have a free day sometime soon. Maybe.” He shifts to sit behind Dorian, threading his fingers through his hair. “Alright, I’ll need you to stop breathing now.” Once Dorian does as he’s asked, Verin carefully braids Dorian’s hair to help him get used to the feeling. When he’s done, he takes out the braid and guides Dorian’s hands through the steps just like before, but now on Dorian’s hair.

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope that we'll get lucky then. Plus, that way you can meet my older brother! And you can see Orym again as well depending on if he has time. Tho knowing him, he will make sure he has the time for it." He said smiling. When he stopped breathing, so his hair would stop moving as much, he let Verin braid his hai and then let Verin guide him through the steps on his own hair. He was not talking now, mostly due to the fact that he needed to breath in order to speak.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin blinks in surprise at the mention of Dorian’s mother. “The Silken Squall Queen? Why, there’s no need for her to thank me! I’m simply helping teach a friend.” He sits up straight again with a sigh. “Speaking of, we should probably get back to the lesson.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which I tried to tell her as well, but she gave me one of those scaty 'Don't you dare say anything' looks only a mother could do, so I instead promised I would tell her what she wants me to tell you. She did also say I should invite you and your family for dinner one day, but I know you are busy and I bet Essek is quite busy too. that inviation of course also extends to Claeb, but I know that he is a professor, so he is probably quite busy as well. So, I don't think a dinner will be on the table giving the scheduel of all of you." He said, leaving out Veirn's mother as he didn't know that she was alive again. He then nodded quickly. "Yes, let's get back to the lesson." He said and put his emty cup down.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin chuckles softly with a nod. “Yes, I’m about.. 23 in your years? Something close to that. Honestly, I struggle to even remember how old I am in elven years. Time doesn’t really mean much to elves, especially us soldiers.”

[bardic-storm]

"Which makes sense." Dorian said, sounding like he understood that in a way. He then blinked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to say something to you! My mother sends you her greetings and she is very gratefull that you are teaching me how to braid my hair."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin hums in thought, brow furrowing as he thinks through all of his soldiers. “I don’t think with have any genasi right now, no, but I did see a few in the recruitment files. If they pass, they’ll be headed here.” He laughs at the mention of Dorian’s age and shakes his head. “Yes, well, I’m 126. Maturity-wise, though, we’re pretty close in age.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope they pass then. It would be so much fun to see genasi next time I visit." Dorian said quickly and then blinked. "We are? That is good to know I guess."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs affectionately at Dorian’s clear enthusiasm, setting his now-empty cup aside. “Yes, well, we have a variety of people who come through over the years. Decades aren’t a lot of time for elvenkind, remember? Just because there’s Drow and Orcs now doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few rare outliers.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian finished his hot chocolate while Verin talked and nodded once the cup was empty. "Do you still have any genasi right now? And I kind of forgot that decades aren't a lot of time for elvenkind. But to be fair, I don't know how old you are and how long you had people under your care for. And I just realized I am probably soooo much younger then you, considering I am only 28."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin shrugs with a soft huff. “It’s not anything special, just that we have a lot of unique people that come through here. A few soldiers of mine, both under my command and those I fought alongside, have been different types of genasi.”

[bardic-storm]

"Wait, really?! That's so exciting! I have only seen orcs and Drow whenever I am visiting!" Dorian, sounding excited about what Verin hand just told him.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin waves off Dorian’s warning and takes a sip from his own hot chocolate, some whipped cream sticking to his nose. “I’m well aware, don’t worry. You’re not the first air genasi I’ve come across.”

[bardic-storm]

"I am glad to hear that but also curios now." Dorian said and then chuckled at the whipped cream that stuck to Verin's nose.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, adding both marshmallows and whipped cream with a chuckle. “Good choice.” He brings the two drinks over, handing Dorian his cup and taking a seat. “Next we’ll try working on your hair. While it’s not moving first, then we’ll see if we can braid it while it’s moving.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded and took a sip from his cup. "Small warning for that, I need to stop breathing when it's not moving."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Dorian arried at Verin's office at the time the two had agreed on. He was wearing what he was usually wearing, tho in addition he wore the dragon bracelette that Verin had sent him as a gift a while ago. He knockde on the door and then spoke up. "Hello Verin. It's me, Dorian."

@bardic-storm

There’s a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door before it flings open, Verin having opened it with one hand while the other is busy holding a handful of files. There’s a scroll in his mouth too. “Hey Dorian!” His voice is muffled by the scroll in his mouth. He hurries to his desk and plops down all the files, then the scroll. “Sorry about that. Recruitment season. Lots of work shit.” He returns to Dorian’s side and guides him to the couch, then only space clear. Hence the stacks of files he had to move. “Would you like something to drink?”

[bardic-storm]

"Your desk is no better state then Orym's is. The younger Air Ashari are getting new training plans and some new ones will possible come. So he is dealing with that." Dorian said, letting Verin guide him to the couch. He sat down on it and then nodded. "I would, yes. Do you have some coffee? If not, I will have some tea."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Ah, I see—I feel his pain. Give him my condolences when you return, will you?” Verin tosses a few files aside to reach his kettle and brews, activating the enchantment with a whispered word, while staying a few steps back to keep from interacting too closely with the magic of course, and grabbing a tin container full of coffee blends. He turns and hands it to Dorian. “Here, have a look and pick whichever catches your eye.”

[bardic-storm]

"I will. I think between his work and his baby, he is basically drowing in things to do. But he is way too stubborn to take any breaks." Dorian said and had a look at the coffee blends when Verin handed the tin to him. He hummed and then picked one that looked nice. "I am sure this one will be lovely."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs with a nod, taking the chosen blend and popping it into a nice teacup before grabbing a glass and filling it with dark, swirling alcohol for himself. “I’ll try and make this quick so you can get back to Orym and your baby—what was their name again?” He pours the hot water into the teacup, leaving it to brew and steep.

[bardic-storm]

"Odellah. And cute as she may be, she can be quite a handfull if she wants to be. And boy oh boy, is she a hungry one." Dorian chuckled, sounding all sorts of fond.

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Odellah. A beautiful name.” Verin gives Dorian a warm smile as he hands him his cup of coffee, piping hot. “Well, if she keeps that hunger, she’s got the perfect dads. Orym’s a mean cook and you’re wonderful support.”

[bardic-storm]

"I know! I actually sat down with my Orym to brainstorm a few names and when we didn't like any of them, we asked my brother Cyrus. And Odellah was the most beautiful name that he suggested." Dorian said with a big happy smile, then looked almost shy at the rest of what Verin said. He took a very carefull sip from his cup of coffee. "Well, I do try my best to be as good as a support as I can be. To both Orym and her. I want to make sure she grows up knowing I will always support her and that she has as much of a free will as she possibly can have."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods, taking a seat next to Dorian and leaning back and having a long drink from his glass. “You’re doing great, I’m sure. Loving them is the most importantly part, is it not?” He pats Dorian’s shoulder assuredly. “Freedom is a virtue of the air genasi people, yes? I’ve heard tales of their coming-of-age adventures.”

[bardic-storm]

"Yes, it is." Dorian agreed, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Tho I didn't have as much as one would think growing up, but that is because I grew up in my family. I had a lot of lessons growing up, both physical and non-physical ones. Not that I am complaining of course, because the tecaher I had that taught me swordsplay did teach me and my brother quite well." He said and then hummed. "In a way that kind of ended with me and my brother often hitting each other to see who is stronger, to the point where we crying and running to our parents." He said and took another sip of his coffee, then realized how what he said sounded. "Which I just realized sounds a bit concerning. I swear that is was okay! In a way, we sort of bonded that way, if that makes sense?"

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin snorts and shakes his head, taking a long sip of his drink with a bright grin. “Nono, I completely understand. Me and my brother would fight plenty as kids, even if our.. specialities were far different. I’d trap him in a chokehold and mess up his hair, he’d pin me to the ceiling with gravity.” He shrugs. “Are you really siblings if you don’t beat each other up every once in a while?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled at that. "I hope he didn't leave you on the ceiling for too long." He said, glad that Verin understood him with this based on his own expiriences. "I remember that the worst outcomes of fights between my brother and me were writing forced apology letters to each other whenever we accidently fought so bad that we ended up bleeding. It weren't our parents that made us write them tho, it was the cleric we had in our home." He said and took another sip of his coffee. "And I would say yes, but every sibling pair I know beats each other up every once in a while." He said after thinking for a moment.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin finishes his drink and sets it aside—or, well, tries to. There’s no empty space so he just leaves it on top of another pile of files. “He left me on the ceiling for an hour once! Just for putting jam in his spellbook! Unbelievable.” He grumbles as if this happened yesterday and not nearly a century ago. “Apology letters? Now that is genius. Our mother would simply scold us and be on her way, she was far too busy a woman to concern herself with our squabbles. Our father, if he ever found us fighting, was more likely to get angry at whoever lost for not being stronger.. sounds a bit strange now that I say it out loud. Then again, my parents were nothing if not strange.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian chuckled, tho he tried to hide it. Which he was very much unsucessful with. "Very unbelivable." He said and finished his cup of coffee. "I have to admit that mine were as well in a way. They were both terribly busy but also tried to make time for us and they always made sure we were taught important things like how to behave around nobels and stuff like that." He said and then sighed a bit. "I did leave as soon as I could still tho. It's not that I didn't like my life with them at home, but sometimes I felt like-... Hmmm." He stopped for a moment to think. "Like a bird in a cage, if that makes sense? I longed to be as free as I could be and go wherever I wanted to go."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin sighs wistfully with a solemn nod. “I understand the feeling. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be growing up as a prince. Being a noble is hard enough, but with the entire nation’s eyes in you.. it couldn’t have been easy. I’d want some freedom too.” He crosses his arms and hums in thought. “The nature of your people is to be free, after all. You can only trap a breeze for so long.”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Plus, no matter how much my father may be annoyed at it, I am a really akward person more often then not. Imagine if I would have stayed and went to noble gatherings. I would very much have made a fool of myself a handful of times. Growing up, my parent's always let Cyrus do the talking when we had noble visitors, even if that rarely happend."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin laughs at the idea of an awkward little teenage Dorian, dressed up all fancy, trying to talk to and impress a bunch of stuffy nobles. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I never said the right thing when we had visitors, apparently, and they oftentimes found me obnoxious and unseemly. My brother was much preferred—which was lucky for me, ‘cause it let me get out of doing shit.”

[bardic-storm]

"Same for me! And I liked it whenever Cyrus was forced to greet nobles because that way their attention was on him and not me, which was good for me."

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Hah, I was the opposite! I wanted all the attention, but never got it unless I was doing something uncouth.” Verin says, moving to grab a few hair ties and hair clips. “But enough about the past—you came here for a lesson! Do you already know how to braid non-genasi hair or are you new to all braiding?”

[bardic-storm]

"Oh boy, that could have never been me. I wa glad when all the attention was not on me. Sometimes I am even still like that to this day. belive it or not, but I do get stage fright every now and then." Dorian saud with a sigh, then nodded as Verin mentioned the lesson he came here for. "I actaully am new to all braiding."

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin nods and reaches back to release his hair from its ponytail. “Then let’s start with braiding uh.. ‘normal’ hair. Not that yours isn’t normal—non-moving hair, let’s say.” He faces Dorian, tossing a section of his hair over his shoulder. “First, just watch.” He braids, carefully and slowly, to show Dorian the motions before trying to explain them.

[bardic-storm]

"I get what you mean." Dorian said with a nod, then watched Verin braid his own hair carefully and slowly.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once Verin finishes the braid, he nods. “Now your turn. I’ll guide you through the steps.” He brings Dorian’s hands to another section of his hair and straits guiding him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian was very careful as Verin guided him through each motion of weaving the ivory strands, making sure to keep his eyes on Verin's hair through the whole process.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Once the braid is done—albeit sloppily—Verin smiles and pats Dorian on the shoulder. The. guides him through another. Then another. At the end of the third braid, Verin nods. “Good! Now, why don’t you try without my guidance?”

[bardic-storm]

Dorian nodded quickly. "Of course!" He said and then did the forth braid without Verin's guidance. It wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't that bad looking.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin runs his fingers along the finished braid and nods with a proud grin. “There you go! That’s looking good.. now we’ll try with more hair. a large braid, closer to what your hair would be.” He undoes the braids, then guides Dorian through a larger, more difficult braid. Once that one’s complete, he undoes it and has Dorian do it on his own.

[bardic-storm]

Dorian tried very hard to do it on his own, but it ended up looking very sloopy, which caused him to pout a little.

[taskhand-thelyss]

Verin notices the pout and laughs lightheartedly, patting Dorian’s cheek. “Come now, don’t pout. Everyone’s first braids look like shit.” He stands, going back to his little brewing area. “Would you like another coffee? Or hot chocolate? You deserve some sort of reward for your hard work so far.”

[bardic-storm]

"I usally always pout when doing something for the first time and mess up a little." Dorian sighed tho his eyes almost sparkled at the metion of hot chocolate. "I would never say noto hot chocolate!"

[taskhand-thelyss]

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Verin smirks knowingly. Hot chocolate always brightens the spirits of his soldiers, and it seems Dorian is no different. “Hot chocolate coming right up! Do you prefer marshmallows or whipped cream?” He asks, pouring two cups of steaming hot chocolate.”

[bardic-storm]

"I really hope I will. Then I can braid my own hair and Odellah's when she gets older." Dorian said smiling. "I prefer both, if that is an option."