𝔀𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 . ／ ℝ𝕀𝕊𝕀ℕ𝔾

𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒 𝕜𝕠𝕥𝕒𝕜, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓸, 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔠 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉. ᴘᴇɴɴᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴋɪᴛ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴍɴɪᴀʜǫ.

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley·:

Grayson carefully conceals a smile at some of the names being rattled off – hey, who is he to judge? He’s walking into the tavern with his own animal entourage, a fox on one side and a big black shepherd on the other. He’s more out of place than someone called Harpoonty. Besides, he lived in the Kestrel Isles for a time, he’s used to the old grizzled fishermen and dock traders.

“Yeah, Archer’s settling in at a place we found to stay,” he answers belatedly. Most of the patrons don’t bother to look up when they enter, but to the few that do, Grayson gives an awkward nod, and settles onto a bar stool that creaks alarmingly under his lanky weight.

Is this where Hira is hanging out now? This broken down tavern?

Wisp and Reshdva settle into a lazy sprawl by the feet of the bar stool, and Grayson looks Hira over, thoughtful. “So what are you up to these days?” he asks, curious. “This, uh… isn’t what I pictured, to be honest.”

               hira takes a spot on the stool beside grayson.   an old,   rough-faced looking man with a few scars approaches them from behind the bar and takes their orders.   hira introduces them.    geezer,   these here are some friends of mine.    and the geezer gives them a nod and a vague smile.   it’s as much of a pleasant greeting as he ever gives.   

hira turns back to grayson.   he chuckles a little miserably.   it’s not that hira doesn’t love his life at the kestrel isles.    hell,   he wouldn’t trade it for a comfortable one at the capitol,   but he supposes that a life of travel suited him well.   he can’t blame grayson for finding it hard to imagine him without a sword in his hands or overflowing with charisma while he convinces an odd group of individuals into adventuring into the unknown.

but this is hira.   tired from a day’s work,   his clothes wafting off the scent of fish and hair of salty sea breeze.   

“  managed to wheedle my old job back at the piers.   been getting nothing but the rough work no one wants to do as payback for leaving without telling anyone,   but it’s alright.   yeah,   i missed it.  ”    he shrugs,   then leans back on the stool.   hira nods towards the dog.   “  your friend ?  ” 

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley·:

“Hira,” Reshdva replies first, surprise plain on both her and Grayson’s faces. It’s only just now, with the sight of him, that they remember he comes from the Kestrel Isles.

Hira looks… diminished, somehow. If Grayson looks considerably healthier since his visit to the eastern glaciers, then Hira’s gone the other way, something that was once bright now dim, a glassiness to his gaze. Oh, he’s trying, there goes that cheerful tone, but it doesn’t quite work. Grayson supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. If he’s been feeling like a useless failure, he’s likely not the only one.

“We’re, uh– Archer and me, we’re… traveling.” He doesn’t want to say we’re still trying to chase down leads about the black. That’s a heavy topic to lay at their feet, ten seconds into seeing each other again. Still, he can’t help but smile. “But yeah, I’d love a drink. Who’s everyone?”

              “  wonderful !  ”    hira slaps his hand down on grayson’s shoulder,    giving it a firm squeeze before he properly wraps his arm around to lead them towards the tavern.    

“   archer around,   then ?  ”    he asks,   glancing around for the sight of the blonde brother.   he drops his hand from grayson’s shoulders,   moving to stuff them in his pockets.    he’s not carrying his sword around today.   the absence of its weight feels strange,   unfamiliar now,   but he’s been working at the piers.   

it’s helped,   somewhat.   the fishing,   the nets,   the boats.   it’s like his sea legs never left him.    still,   the emptiness lingers.   

the tavern hira leads them to is an old thing.   a fading sign hangs on a wooden plank over the door,   its hinges creaking horribly each time a gust of wind blows by.   the building’s been standing way past its expiration date,   but it’s hira’s home.   

“   there’s the old geezer,   old joe,   hally if she’s around,   hahuge,   harpoonty...  ”    hira continues to name a few more before he decides to stop,   giving grayson and reshdva and the dog a look while he leans to open the door.   he’ll spare them the headache.   “  usual kestrel suspects.  ”

[hirakotak]

              “   i’m going back home,  ”    hira’s voice is a quiet mumble when he speaks.  not his usual loud,  bouncing off the wall banter.    he’s been like this for most of the trip.   silent,   detached,   uncharacteristically motionless.   he stares off into the distance a lot,   watches the birds that occasionally fly overhead even more.   

he hasn’t given up on finding a cure.   he just needs to go back to the isles,   make sure that everything at home is okay.   he hopes that the sea will return a little bit of his heart to him,   that the sea breeze will make it easier to breathe.   

   “  just for some time.  ”   he adds,   finally tearing his eyes from the fire towards archer who’s sat beside him.   the darkness of night around them feels oppressive.   

  “   a week or two.   try to get a job at the piers from my old boss if he doesn’t decide to drown me for asking for week-long vacation and then disappearing for much longer.  ”   this time,   there’s a small smile on his face.   it wouldn’t be too bad,   actually,   for the sea to swallow him.   

  “   though i suppose that if there’s one darkness i wouldn’t mind dying in,  ”    he sighs,   stares back at the fire.   that distant,    dazed look glazes over his eyes again,    “  it’d be in the waters of the isles.  ”

@archerlangley​

[hirakotak]

         “   reshdva ?  ”    hira spots the fox before he spots the human.   he also spots a dog.   a strange,   rune-riddled dog.  he blinks at it a few times,   wonders when grayson picked up another odd animal.   wonders where he’s getting them from.   finally,   though,   his eyes land on the familiar tall man.  hira’s eyebrows are raised,   hidden above the dark curls that fall over his forehead.  

he didn’t expect to run into anyone here.   hira’s been home for a week now,   and nothing he does can lift the darkness from his mind.   it is as if the black mist made a way into his skull through his ears or eyes or something inevitably creepy.   and now it’s stuck in there,   haunting him.   he can’t sleep.   he can’t really smile,   either.   

grayson sees him trying,   but it doesn’t reach hira’s eyes the way it used to,   no matter how wide it is.

   “  didn’t expect to bump into anyone here !    what brings you around ?  ”   immediately,   hira is letting the force of his personality flood over grayson.   “  you must let me get you a drink at the old geezer’s taver—   let you meet everyone !  ” 

@graysonlangley​

[hirakotak]

                “  thank you, ”    hira sits at the edge of the mattress,   bouncing gently from its spring.   he’s not used to sleeping on a bed again,   truth be told,   especially not one this soft.   

   “   for everything—   the clothes,   too,  ”    he looks down at himself then,   eyeing the black wool coat hanging over his frame.   it is undoubtedly the most expensive item   (  forget clothing item,  just item in general   )   that he has ever owned.   “  and for the room.  ”    

marli has done a lot for him ever since they arrived back at the capitol for dmitri’s service.   hira is completely broke after traveling for so long,    and marli has been as gracious as ever with her accommodating and charitable nature.   he swears he’s going to pay her back.   just,   when his feet feel firm against the ground again.   

   “  dmitri’s service was,   well,  ”   hira pauses.   he swallows.   

he wants to say something about dmitri’s family—   or the family he worked for,    hira was never entirely clear on that—   but he didn’t speak to anyone there.   all of them stayed silent behind their masks.   it was an atmosphere that hira simply could not navigate around.   

  “  it was different,  ”   he mumbles,   quiet and polite.   at least different than what he’s used to.   

hira is staring at the floor,   face gentle and sad.   he wishes things hadn’t gone so bad.   the weight on his chest hasn’t lifted a fraction.   “  but i suppose i’d say that about everything in the capitol.  ”

@marlixblacklore​

[hirakotak]

lynessaspyre·:

          𝐒𝐇𝐄'𝐒  𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐃  𝐁𝐘  𝐇𝐈𝐌,  by  the  one  who  seems  to  lead.  there  have  only  been  few  occasions  where  she’s  been  in  the  proximity  of  people  from  the  kestrel  isles,  identifiable  by  their  boisterous  temperament  in  river  run’s  tavern,  exuberant  laughter  bleeding  into  song  the  more  they  ply  themselves  with  ale  ;  never  has  she  exchanged  words  before  this  venture,  curiosity  never  sated.

          hands  work  to  help  prepare  their  latest  meal   (   she  may  not  have  aurelio’s  skills,  but  her  family  have  been  living  off  the  land  for  generations  and  one  of  the  first  things  she  remembers  learning  is  to  cook   ),  aromatic  smells  coming  from  the  stew  that  sits,  bubbling  over  open  flame.   it’s  not  long  before  it’s  ready  and  portions  are  dolled  out,  ness  reaching  hira’s  side  last,  offering  him  one  of  the  two  bowls  in  hands  as  she  takes  the  spare  seat  beside,    ❛          here.    ❜

                                                    𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑  :  @hirakotak·

              “ very kind ! ”   perhaps there is no need to nearly shout when he speaks,   perhaps it would be wise to turn it down a few notches   (  he assumes that those who are quiet,   prefer the quiet   )   and perhaps hira should say thank you,   to make use of his manners instead of asserting the first thought that pops into his head.

but he is hungry,   he is happy to receive food,   and therefore he expresses those feelings.   hira takes the bowl and does not waste a second to dig in.   

   “ hm— ”   his head raises towards her while he swallows.   considering she took a seat beside him,   hira finds it safe to assume that engaging in conversation is fine.   there is still much about her that he wishes to unearth.  he's not sure how—   lynessa,   especially,   makes him hesitate—   but sharing a meal was never a quiet affair back at home.   this,   at least,   he’s used to.  

  “ this is positively delectable.   the best you can get out here,   i’ve heard, ”

hira is no cooking expert,   and no food critic,  either—   he has a preference for seafood,   but mostly any kind of food tends to hit the spot.   he’s not lying,   but he is trying to get a smile.

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley·:

“A few days, at least. It’s hard to know,” Grayson admits. “It’s not like there’s many landmarks out here, so I don’t know exactly how far away we are.”

No man’s land is disorienting at best; a vast wasteland that’s too easy to go around in circles in. Grayson can’t offer specifics, the best he can do is directions and survival tips. He knows what plants have edible roots, how to make traps for the small shy animals that almost never poke their heads above ground, how to keep warm. And he knows that’s all helpful, but it frustrates him that he can’t offer more.

He wonders if Hira is going to try to be friendly with the tenebri. That’s… going to be interesting to see.

“We don’t know Adaran Allihies, so we can’t say what he will be like,” Reshdva pipes up, watching Hira thoughtfully. “But the tenebri we encountered were secretive. Cautious, bordering on paranoid. They don’t trust easily, not after being exiled from society. Being straightforward about your intentions is likely the best approach.”

              “ yes,   the best approach is also the riskiest one, ”   hira is distracted when he responds.   his thoughts linger on reshdva’s words,   on what the most suited method would really be.   

their greatest disadvantage is that they don’t know what kind of man adaran allihies is,   so there is no telling what sort of reaction he’d have upon discovering that there is a group of strangers poking around to find him.   if there is a way to avoid that,   hira needs to find it before they arrive at no man’s land.

   “ if we approach the tenebri by being open about our search for allihies,   there’s a chance that we could be led closer to him.   slim,   but we might run into some information that way.   the problem, ”   hira sighs,   looks to grayson then to reshdva.   at this point,   he’s asking for their advice more than he’s asking for information.    

“  the problem is that allihies has been in exile for years.   if he catches wind that we’re looking for him,   there’s a very real possibility that he’ll go into hiding just to evade us. ”

[hirakotak]

         “   your uncle was very kind to tell us about the existence of this book,  ”   hira has picked up an easy pace beside adriella.   the company is spread about around them,   and hira can’t help but sense the uncomfortable atmosphere.    there is something tense in the air,   and it’s been following them ever since the morning after the ball.   hira suspects that more happened during that night—   more that is being kept a secret.   but for whose sake,   hira does not know.   

and he supposes that he does not need to know,   although being aware that there is a ticking time bomb is much more preferable when you know when it’s going to blow up.   

regardless,   hira will just have to wait and see.   adri,   at least,   seems more at peace than others.   “  and about its potential location,   even though it’s absolutely miserable where we’re headed.   say,   ”    hira’s brows raise in thought,    “   i couldn’t help but notice that your uncle mentioned telling you about dragons.   with the risk of it being outdated information.   ”    he thinks back on the dark beastly figure they all witnesses so many nights ago,   “   i would love to hear about them,   if it’s of no hassle to you.   after all,  i do believe we’ll be walking a while and it’s certainly one way to spend the time.  ”   @adri-isuelt​

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley·:

@hirakotak·

“Okay, so, it’s pretty impossible to draw a map of no man’s land. I don’t think anybody’s ever explored the whole thing. But I can give you a rough idea.”

As they’re gathered around a meager fire to ward off the chill of the night, Grayson figures now’s a good time to tell Hira what he knows. So he’s armed with a stick and four year’s worth of stumbling around this horrible wasteland. 

He draws a rough circle in the dirt at their feet, and marks an x at the bottom. “Here, at the south, are the glacier communities. We probably won’t need to go that far. Here,” he marks a spot diagonal, “there’s cave systems, I know some of the tenebri liked to shelter there. But honestly, most of them are on the move constantly. You stay in one spot, you run out of food pretty quick. So somewhere here,” he marks a long line between south and east, “is our best bet. And they’re, uh, not gonna be very friendly. Fair warning.”

              hira doesn’t know why grayson is properly acquainted with no man’s land,   and he makes a point not to ask.   nobody goes to the frozen wasteland because they want to—   save for a ragtag group of idiots like them—   only those who have been exiled are sent there.   and it might as well be a death sentence,   hira thinks. 

according to the statistics passed along by word of mouth,   they have a slim chance of surviving it.   the man standing beside him can point out where the tribes move and explain an existing cave system.   he has survived death itself.  

hira doesn’t need to know why death had a grip on him,   or what he did to escape it,   or why he travels with a talking fox.   grayson is offering the information hira does need to know,   and for that,   he’s grateful enough. 

     “   i can deal with unfriendly,  ”   hira murmurs beside the crackle of the fire.   “  what i’m worried about are the conditions we’ll be living in.   the most important thing will be to make haste.   there’s no telling how long it will take to find adaran allihies,   or at least his book,  ”   hira squats,   and motioning at the line grayson marked,   he glances up at the man,   “  how long do you reckon it’ll take us to travel this distance ?  ”

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley·:

It’s a question he’s been getting a lot lately: hey why is that fox talking, what the fuck. And on one hand, Grayson gets it. It’s not exactly something you see every day, and people are gonna want to know what’s up with that. 

On the other hand, he’s starting to get really sick of the question. Mostly because he doesn’t want to get into the explanation.

“It’s a long story,” he mutters, picking absently at a tear in the wood of the table they’re seated at. Someone carved B + W into it, surrounded by a heart, and Grayson’s happy to pretend that it’s so absorbing that he can’t possibly answer questions.

“I go by Reshdva,” the fox pipes up, sounding a hell of a lot more friendly. “But it really is a long story, and we’ll explain one day, but we think there might be more pressing issues right now?”

“Yeah, like. You know. The creepy bear and the river. And what we’re gonna find at the end of the river.” Grayson’s not particularly afraid of death, but come on. They could be walking into an absolute shitshow. Do any of them even know how to fight? Or use decent magic? Because he sure can’t do the latter, and he’s only passable at the former. Hira might be able to charm a group of stragglers with his looks and his optimism into doing something stupid, but that doesn’t mean they’ll win. “It’s got to be connected, right? To the black?”

              he’s satisfied with the response he receives,   enough to continue on with the conversation without further questions.   there’s a ton of things about the world that he doesn’t understand,   and the only thing a person can do is learn to be okay with that.   it’s one of those things that you only realize until you’re older.    “  yeah,   okay,  ”    he gives in,   sounding like he’s ready to answer their questions.   still,   he looks forward to the day he gets to know more about reshdva. 

   “  that’s what i think,  ”   he agrees.   hira’s eyes look tired,   and he is.   he’s been up all night thinking about this and trying to draw conclusions,   but at the end of the day,   he knows that the only thing they can do is go to the end of the river.   

   “  i don’t know what we’re going to find when we get there.   i come from the kestrel isles and i’ve seen waters turn different colors,  ”    sometimes it’s magic,   sometimes it’s fishermen dumping things where they shouldn’t be.   “  but i’ve never seen it turn this dark.   it feels safe to assume that it’s related to the black,  ”   but if the bear is connected to the dark as well,   that opens up the possibility of encountering more infected animals the further down they travel.   it makes hira nervous,   but a task is a task,   and he’s still hopeful that they can get by without an encounter.   

“  we took out that bear,   didn’t we ?  ”   this time,   there’s a smile on his face as he’s leaning back on his chair.   he doesn’t know if reassurance is what the pair are looking for,   but it’s what hira has.   with a shrug,   he gives a small nod,  “  i think i’ve got hope for us.  ” 

[hirakotak]

               “   hear me out,  ”    it’s a phrase that anyone who has known hira for a certain amount of time hears when they’re about to listen to a,   for lack of a better word,   stupid idea or wild line of reasoning.   

hira himself seemingly believes that his mind is simply not capable of conceiving a dumb idea,    which is perhaps what makes him so great in his ability to convince anyone of anything,   but most people care to disagree and state that he does,   in fact,   have dumb ideas and that they’re too frequent for anyone’s comfort.   these are the kind of people that hira says hear me out to. 

he doesn’t know archer very well yet,   but years of experience have shown him that most people aren’t normally open to his ideas,   so he opens with a line of defense.   “  has anyone examined the water  ?  ”   he asks,   fiddling with a flask in his hands.    he’s not saying it yet,   but it’s full of water from the river.   he got up early that morning specifically to go get some,   and while he hasn’t come in direct skin contact with it,   he doesn’t want anyone to assume that he has.   it would feel like they’re implying that he’s dumb enough,   so he has kept it to himself until now.   depending on archer’s response,   of course.    “  i mean,   besides our plan to investigate the cause behind it turning black...   isn’t it a good idea to try to find out what the blackness is ?  ”   @archerlangley​

[hirakotak]

graysonlangley‌:

@hirakotak​

To say that Grayson has never trusted easily would be an understatement. He’s been giving suspicious glances at people since he was five, and he’s not about to stop now.

It’s just, Hira’s so optimistic. And he’d sat at that table all charm and friendliness and had somehow managed to convince a bunch of strangers to set off on some quest because there was a reason they’d all managed to find their way here. Grayson doesn’t quite know if he believes in fate, to be honest. But he’s signed up because he wants to do something, needs to do something.

“So, seriously. What happens when we find what’s making the river black, and we run into, like, a hundred of those gross bears, and we all die?”

Reshdva, perched on the inn seat next to him, makes a sound like she’s stifling a sigh. “What we mean to say is: do you think we actually have a chance of really helping?”

“No, I really mean to say are we gonna die,” Grayson insists. He hasn’t really explained Reshdva to anybody yet. Whatever conclusion’s they’ve drawn about a talking fox, it’s probably better than the reality. “Because we have absolutely no idea what we’re going to find.”

             some people say that first impressions are everything,   and that they’re able to get a relatively accurate picture of someone within five minutes of meeting them.    hira is one of those people.

he prides himself on having a skill for detecting people’s personalities fairly quickly.   the barmaid that serves his drinks with a smile,   the stranger who doesn’t say thank you when he holds a door open for them,   a group of strangers in a pub who are all varying degrees of drunk--   which is,   perhaps,   the most important.   the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach,   and when it’s sloshing around with alcohol,   you can go straight to the brain as well. 

after many pints and then a lot more,   hira managed to convince the ragtag group of people who,   by the hands of fate,   happened to be at the same place at exactly the right time to stay together.   he can feel it more than he can see it,   but there’s a path that they need to walk together.   it’s one of those feelings that bypasses all logic and question,   the kind of feeling that hits you in a gust of wind,   where suddenly,   you feel the weight of the world.   you can feel what’s out there and what’s waiting,   but you don’t know what it is.   hira’s optimistic but not delusional,   and he has lived enough to know that gut feelings are more than just suspicion.    grayson’s--   and the foxes ( ? )--   questions are both reasonable,   but he wonders why he’s the only one who sees the path. 

“   first,  ”   hira raises an interrupting finger,  trying to let grayson and the fox know that they’re throwing too many questions at him at once.   then,   he points it towards the fox,   which by all accounts deserves some questioning of its own.   “  why is that fox talking to me ?  ”

[somniahq]

STATS

name: hira kotak age: 28 gender: cis male pronouns: he/him fc: dev patel availability: taken by kit

ABOUT

you grew up knowing the salt of the sea and the tales of the raven of the kestrel isles. it made you unendingly curious, and the flutter of black wings never failed to catch your eye. the isles meant rumors and legend traveled faster by candlelight than anything else, with a pint shared between brothers in arms. and when you were only small, you soaked up these stories just as you soaked up the ocean air.

when the news of the black spreading ever faster reached your island home, you grew restless. the more you heard about it the more you heard the capitol was doing nothing. you couldn’t stand it — it wasn’t right — so you decided to take matters into your own hands. and these people you’ve met whether by purpose or chance — you’re sure you’ve been brought together by fate and that must make it just.

PERSONALITY

[ + ] charismatic, optimistic, determined

[ - ] cocksure, overzealous, stubborn

CONNECTIONS

THE HUNTER — you know should anything befall you that they are one of the most capable of continuing on with the journey, and leading the others. they have felt the black’s repercussions more physically than most, have seen its sickness and bear its scars. you feel a deep respect for them, and fully trust their loyalty.

THE HERMIT — you make every effort to make them comfortable, but their relative silence unnerves you. you’re used to loud banter and the sound of sea shanties — loud and jubilant things — and the couldn’t be farther in nature from that. you fear there is a darkness hidden in their depths and you’re the only one that looks long enough to see it.

THE DIPLOMAT — there’s a tension thread tight between you. you appreciate the resources and expertise they bring, but you grow irritable with their constant vie for power and control amongst the company. you don’t necessary see yourself as the leader, per se — trying to truly lead these people would be like herding cats — but you do fancy  yourself a shepherd.