silly but to the left

where the more serious/longer/potentially non-canon rp things go! multi-character

[dreamdevoured]

"No," He corrects patiently, "The castle is the tree. Nature can be quite impressive, especially when they're open to co-operating." He hums.

Nodding, Eradic's tendrils hung just slightly above the ground in a lax manner. "Birds, yes... snakes, lizards, small mammals... all sorts of animals, though not all at once." He says. "The castle is off-limits for hunting, so most creatures that come by are herbivores, omnivores, or those who I am familiar with. Perhaps if you are lucky, I will introduce you to one of them."

Approaching the town gates, Eradic gestures to the guards stationed at the door. They move swiftly to open it, saluting him. The emperor steps through the gates, snapping his fingers and blanketing the two of them in a ring of fatigue— enough to send any curious little townsfolk away without needing to threaten them personally while keeping the child from feeling the magic's effects. He is, after all, not a devourer who could easily break through said energy with one bite.

[luckystarsalign]

"So the only thing you had to build was the..." They struggled to find the word. "...the frame, and tree grew around it?" Eradic was right after all; it was complex and they couldn't understand it fully. Especially not with their limited knowledge of magic.

"Oh, there's snakes on your flags!" Their excitement grew when he said that he may introduce them to an animal, but the emotion began to die down as they approached the gates. Rigel quickly retreated to the wary self they were when they first talked to the emperor. They found themself walking closer to him, and one of their hands reached to hold onto his clothes. "What's this magic?"

[dreamdevoured]

The positive emotions stunk like too-strong perfume, but Eradic does not react. An emperor needs to have some semblance of nonchalance.

But it isn't truly that, is it? He will not admit, it's difficult to be cold to a little fledgling. It was like kicking a kitten. He'd much rather kick a rich man.

"The process is a little complicated without context, but essentially, the castle is a special big... tree." He flicks his hand, a small bit of golden light forming an image of a seed in the air, slowly growing within what looked like a construction site's scaffolding.

"You plant a seed, and build a frame of what shape you'd like it to grow into. Normally, the process would have taken hundreds of years and a horrendous amount of materials, but with a combination of magic and chemistry, we've managed it under a year." He smiles slightly, proud of himself. "As an added bonus, due to the roots, the castle would not be blown away so easily... and it can adapt to the surrounding weather or be grown to accommodate more rooms. It also houses several species of animals in the walls." He hums, tendrils flicking with mild joy at the thought of his beloved little critters... snakes, mostly.

"...I hope I have not lost you." Eradic glances at the child he's walking next to. He holds back the rest of his essay, not wanting to overwhelm his young guest.

[luckystarsalign]

He watched mesmerized as the golden light transformed to show the process. The lower two of their tendrils stuck close to the ground to feel for objects in his path and guide his steps so he wouldn't trip over something again.

Rigel looked up at Eradic with their mouth slightly open in a small surprised smile, but their hands were held close to their chest to fidget with their locket. They didn't know why they were so hesitant to just ask more like they wanted to... after a second, they finally managed to speak.

"The whole thing's built on a tree...? I didn't know magic can do that!" They pointed towards the light and then to the castle to show they meant both things. "Are there birds and stuff?"

[dreamdevoured]

The devourer did not react... or at least, his main body didn't. His tendrils curled with amusement at the small whiff of alarm and the child's startled appearance. "Yes. Best not to think about it."

He nods at the question, confirming. "I am the emperor. Of course I have a castle." With a tendril, he points towards a dark castle some distance away, made of a material which looked like iridescent metal and shaped quite pointily. Instead of fabric, banners made of light swayed in the wind, a crest in the center depicting a snake with a star-like head.

"I played a part in building it myself." He hums, bragging a little. What's the harm?

[luckystarsalign]

Rigel looked to where the tendril pointed and stumbled, but they quickly regained their balance and continued following the emperor.

The grand structure completely distracted them from the idea of getting spaghettified, and they admired the castle in silence until the the other spoke again. The first positive emotions since arriving here welled up within them: excitement and awe. "It's so cool! How did you do that??"

[dreamdevoured]

Eradic hums in acknowledgement. "Do not lower your head. Ignorance is not necessarily incompetence, most times it is wiser to admit your lack of knowledge than to risk danger in preserving your pride." He does not soften his voice, but it was a subtle attempt at consoling the child.

"With that aside, my castle has a teleportation circle I can modify for you. It uses very little magic and is highly stable, meaning the chances of turning you into spaghetti is very small. Joy." He deadpans. It may or may not be a joke.

"Follow." The devourer orders, already starting to walk back.

[luckystarsalign]

The fact that he didn't sense hostility kept him from panicking despite the coldness of Eradic's voice. And as Rigel mulled over his words, the more it sounded like he was trying to give him advice.

They lifted their head back up to look at him. Then they promptly balked at the risk he mentioned, their clouds spiking in small portions like a startled cat's fur raising. "Wh—wait, what? Turned into spaghetti?"

Having no other choice, they began to follow him. Their steps were quick and near-silent behind him as they hurried to catch up, and the less alarming of that information finally registered. "You have a castle?" they asked in awe.

[dreamdevoured]

"Rigel." Eradic echoes the name, humming as he notes down the lowering shoulders and the scent of alarm slowly ebbing. So he knew of Dream... or a Dream, at least. Good. Panic is a pain to deal with.

"Yes." He confirms, "I am not interested in introducing an outlander into my territory as a resident, and I take it that you are just as uninterested in staying permanently." He gestures dismissively. "Do you have any knowledge or skill in magic manipulation, or has no one taught you anything?" The devourer bluntly asks.

[luckystarsalign]

In this moment, with their magic mostly uncontrolled yet having no place to go, the name of the star suits them.

The idea of him staying here forever has him nodding in agreement with Eradic's statement. "I have things... people to go back to." The question quiets him, and he looks down at the ground shamefully. "Only a little."

[luckystarsalign]

Their own cloudy tendrils curled slowly around themself, the movement an unconscious reflection of their unease. Something about the regal figure before them made them want to run away. Their magic, uncontrolled and driven only by their fear, cracked as it attempted to pull them from this universe.

Nothing happened. It was like Rigel didn't even notice it.

He blinked at him in surprise when given the answer, although he knew instinctively this couldn't be his world. The surroundings, the very atmosphere and people and emotions he sensed—everything felt different. "No," they responded quietly. "I don't know how I got here... or who you are."

[dreamdevoured]

While Rigel did not notice, Eradic did. He held his tounge back from hissing a warning. No use of doing that when the individual in question seemed to not have proper control over himself.

"My name is..." what would not scare the little snack away? "...Dream. I am the emperor of this place." He hummed, calming his tendrils and pulling them into his body. "Judging by the condition of your magic, it could have been a rather powerful surge. You seem to have... a decent amount of magic around you." Eradic clicked his tounge, holding back from biting at the energy surrounding the little thing.

"You have, however, left a trail of magic back to your initial position. I could send you back with a bit of work."

[luckystarsalign]

The name caused their body to relax marginally; the one version of Dream that they had met before was kind to them, after all. He took his cross-shaped eyes away from Eradic for the first time in order to glance around for a second, and then he went back to staring at him. "Nice... nice to meet you, mister. I'm Rigel." Despite their curiosity, they held their tongue to keep from asking more about 'this place'. Getting back home was most important.

The little demigod's voice wavered a bit as they spoke again in an immediate reaction to Eradic's statement. "Really? You'll help me?"

[dreamdevoured]

cont. - @rigel-nebula

He smelled like a snack. A bite-sized snack. Eating the outlander would give him a bit of a boost in energy, and it didn't seem to be a difficult task considering he has yet to smell aggression.

...But he's so small.

...

Perhaps he shouldn't act so hasty.

"Not your world." He answers, cold but not cruel. "I assume you have no knowledge on how to return yourself?" His tendrils curl, curious and... he's not acknowledging the other emotion.

[luckystarsalign]

Their own cloudy tendrils curled slowly around themself, the movement an unconscious reflection of their unease. Something about the regal figure before them made them want to run away. Their magic, uncontrolled and driven only by their fear, cracked as it attempted to pull them from this universe.

Nothing happened. It was like Rigel didn't even notice it.

He blinked at him in surprise when given the answer, although he knew instinctively this couldn't be his world. The surroundings, the very atmosphere and people and emotions he sensed—everything felt different. "No," they responded quietly. "I don't know how I got here... or who you are."

[dreamdevoured]

☓ receiver has developed supernatural powers that they struggle to control in the presence of sender (reversed)

\\ i think it would be neat to have rigel and eradic meet :] helloo i know we haven't interacted before yet, so you can ignore this if you like!

His guards had notified him of yet another outlander. Under normal circumstances, he'd let his captain handle it... but the scent they've brought back was... of interest. Smelled of prey, and yet... not entirely.

So here the emperor was, dark tendrils slithering behind him like a cape as he approaches the stranger with a flicking forked tounge and arms behind his back. Observing out in the open, with no fear of retaliation.

"I can smell you from an ocean away with how much magic you're radiating, outlander."

...A 'hello' would've sufficed, Era.

ooc// hello hello hello!! always fun to see a new face around here >:3c I hoped I interpreted this correctly as Rigel being the one to lose control. Don't be pressured to write too much for your reply btw (i saw that you write casual-style so yee), my starters are just a bit longer sometimes.

Let me know if you'd like a different starter or any edits! Idm at all! Also if this is continued, a small note that I tend to move things to a new post so I can trim it :> so expect a mention! If you don't want me to do this or prefer smth different though, lmk

[luckystarsalign]

Rigel was reading a textbook at home in one moment and surrounded in an entirely unfamiliar area in the next. The scent of magic clung to them, indicating this was their own doing, but they didn't know how.

They were only a small thing still in stripes. They stood stiffly as they looked up at the stranger, their clouds clumped together thickly as if to make themself smaller or perhaps hide themself from his observation. On occasion, lightning-like traces of magic lit up the clouds.

"I... I'm sorry? Where am I?"

\\ tyy it's been a while since i've roleplayed like this! you interpreted correctly :] they're still discovering their magic and have little control over it, so it was a fitting starter for them