OPIA.

And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. Skora Aldisian. ☾ Human Magician. ☽ Soothsayer. Brittania Loyalist.

[okxyasuo]

I’m SO Smart

@skorawhispers​ location: draeben time: night 

It had been his idea in the first place - a brilliant idea (or so he had convinced himself). He hadn’t given the girl really much of a choice on the matter when the epiphany came to his mind. Rather, he had merely summed up the plan within the span of five minutes and made sure she was well on her way to executing it. He didn’t pay attention to her scowl nor did he bother following after her. He only waved from the distance, watching as she was taken in under one of the most notorious Red light houses as a servant. 

She would have had to found something right? 

It turned out that getting in as a woman was vastly easier than as a man. He had attempted to sneak him in the past two days in search of Skora in hopes of finding information but failing. Much to his dismay, it seemed like he had no choice but to pose as a wealthy patron interested in fooling around. The treatment certainly changed in an instance when he walked through the elaborate doors - greeted with all the glamour and attention of a king. 

He hid his annoyance, hoping to stall. He had requested for a private room, telling the workers that he was specifically looking for food tonight and entertainment later in the evening, his requests fulfilled almost immediately. Two maids had already gone by with food and they weren’t her. He was readily about to give up until the door swung open. His face naturally seemed to lighten, pleased that she had finally appeared. 

“How’s it been? Find anything?” his voice hushed as he motioned for her to join him, getting up to make sure the door was closed. 

[skorawhispers]

Two days. Two whole days Skora had spent in the red light district of Draeben gathering information clandestinely. Observing as a shadow might, seen but not heard. Hidden in plain sight.

When Yasuo first suggested his ‘clever plan’, Skora resisted the initial urge (intense and fleeting  as it was) to relieve him of his one his extremities. Yasuo often had many ideas and while he seemed to believe all of them were gems, shiny and brilliant, Skora would have equated more of them to that of smooth stones, dull and valueless. 

As much as it irritated her, as much as she disliked the idea of having to masquerade as a servant (fully aware of how women were treated generally in such establishments), it ultimately made sense. She was the best suited to blend in, find answers and get out without anyone realizing or paying her any mind. Women were more likely to trust women after all and she had practice garnering confessions over the years. 

Some of the servants were gathered in a corner of the kitchen, whispering about some pretty rich boy and immediately Skora had to resist audibly groaning. Even if the self-proclaimed mastermind of this operation was about as sharp as a spoon, at the very least he finally managed to make it past the threshold and find a means for them to communicate. 

Entering the private room, Skora balanced a jug of wine against her hip (keeping up appearances) as she strided over to a center table before she heard the door audibly shut behind them. She rounded on him the moment she was certain they were in the clear. Ignoring Yasuo’s line of questioning, she fixed him with a glare. 

“What took you so long?” It was more an accusation than it was a query. Even in a hushed tone, there was a bite present. 

[nckrus]

old friends

with : @skorawhispers​ location : aspos time : evening

Friends may not have been the exact term to what they were, but to call them mere acquaintances would have been an understatement. Oddly enough, Skora may have been the only person she had met in Mosmait that she was somewhat… comfortable being around. For a start, she did not have to pointlessly talk all the time, just to fill the silence ; and sharing silence with the other woman had been a good start to their half friendship / half acquaintanceship. She was certainly better to be around with than the lot that was bred and raised in Mosmait. Yet, despite being comfortable in her company, Huilang was never the type to seek people out and she was rarely the one to seek others to say goodbye - the only people she had ever said goodbye to had been her parents and younger sibling, when she was leaving Mosmait behind. Often she had wondered if she should have at least waved Skora goodbye, but she seldom dwelt on the thought long enough to feel guilty about it - their friendship was easy, made in silence and quiet reading based rendez-vous in the library ; why sully it with words?

Years have passed, but every once in a while she would wonder what had happened to her friend ; if she was still in Mosmait or had she, too, seen the people living there as nothing but a waste of space and breath, and moved on to a different place. She could not really claim to know her character, as they rarely spoke of personal things, aside from some backhanded tidbits of information thrown here and there ( they shared in death, in loss ) ; but, she did wonder if she’d ever have an opportunity to meet her again.

It would appear that she would have such an opportunity, in the place she’d least expected to catch a glimpse of her. Huilang had been something of a traveller lately ; travelling to restock on specific herbs and items that could only be found in specific places - and one of those places had been Aspos. To be honest, at the first glance, Huilang thought she had seen wrong - the moon may have been shining above their heads, but years had passed and people tended to change - after all, she herself changed. But, the herbalist threaded closer and reaching the woman she was certain it was her old friend.

“I thought it may have been you, Skora.” Huilang spoke, attempting to capture her attention ; “It’s been years, old friend. Fancy seeing you here, of all places.”

[skorawhispers]

Being startled was not a feeling Skora was accustomed to. 

Yet the intonation and lilt of that voice stirred something in the deeper, buried crevices of Skora’s mind. Something familiar and dare she permit it, fond. She turned away from the stall then, focusing all her attention on the voice in question.

“Huilang,” Skora uttered the name as if it didn’t sound strange to hear the syllables roll off her tongue once more. As if all this time hadn’t passed and the world hadn’t aged them, made them stronger and wearier. 

Mosmait is where they had first met. A place where they once would indulge their darker sentiments and curiosities together. And while it wasn’t always peaceful, after all those who fancied themselves ‘great minds’ often tried to prove so through condescension and elitism, that was not the case with the woman before her — typically individuals only ever extended alliances in so far as Skora remained useful, more a pawn than a true companion. Yet with her friend (to call Huilang anything else would be to deny the warmth that lingered, that remained still when her thoughts would idly drift back to her time spent in Mosmait), it wasn’t about acquisitions and favors. It felt like solace, a sort of tranquility she permitted herself to feel even if it was anesthetized by the pain she kept well hidden.

But Huilang’s presence had been a pleasing one, a kinship where they seemed to shift effortlessly around the other without pushing beyond the boundaries they created in order to survive; to endure. Inevitably, however, people leave and sometimes they simply died — moving onto the next chapter of their lives or another plane of existence. She wouldn’t describe Huilang’s departure as a heartbreak, but perhaps something a bit closer to a phantom sensation and she’d wonder at times what became of the woman. 

Skora cleared her throat, noting the strain in her voice from disuse. “It has been quite some time indeed,” She smiled slightly at the admission, of being called an old friend. “I could say the same. What brings you to Aspos?” She asked, less accusatory than it was a question of genuine interest. 

[books-n-quotes]

Again she had the odd feeling of being two people at the same time.

Virginia Woolf, Complete Works (via books-n-quotes)

[skorawhispers]

@ravermeer Location: Traos 

“Find out what you can, but don’t let them know you are there. And here, take him with you for your protection.” 

It was a direct order and whilst Skora may have bristled at the prospect of being treated like a mere soldier, gathering information very well was within her area of expertise. They heard about individuals illegally transporting and smuggling medical supplies as well as some counterfeits under the guise of art. The only reason her superiors knew anything about it now was due to a statue that fractured during its transport from Traos to Brittania just a mere two weeks ago; revealing provisions reserved for the Brittanian military. The poor soul they tormented and questioned gave them intel that led the magician back to Traos. It wasn’t always safe to be the messenger, a lesson she learned multiple times before. 

Skora did have some time to prepare, having arrived a few days prior to the night’s exhibition, but the naïve and irritatingly cheerful knight assigned to guard her was seemingly aiming to fray every last one of Skora’s nerves. She resented the insinuation that she required some sort of caretaker so she did what she did best and slipped his surveillance, dumping the fledgling knight at some tavern nearby. 

Nevertheless, she found herself in the middle of what was supposed to be a representation of Traos’s best and brightest artisans. A special show reserved for a select few; mainly those with deep coin purses and a self-aggrandizing need to show off their intellectual prowess. It was paradoxical, considering just outside the ornate glass doors leading to the gallery were the muddy cobblestone streets and its humble performers whose craft depended on the clink of bronze coins into their hats. 

She shook the idle ruminations from her head as she surveyed the room. Of the intel she collected, Skora knew one of the main patrons who aided in the operation would be at the exhibition tonight so she kept a watchful eye, hoping the description she received would match one of the guests. 

[skorawhispers]

tag dump ✨