#(oeskathine)

[illmatyrs-blind-devotion]

Nevervember Day 5

[xdepthsofwinterx]

Contingency Plans {w/t oeskathine}}

“You realise your both monumental figures in this quest, right?” Dhana popped another toffee into her mouth, the sugary sweetness overwhelming her taste buds.

“Yeah.”

“And that you have to fight, sleep and survive in close quarters during dire situations,” she lifted her legs, coming to lean her elbows across her knees. Nathyrra remained cross-legged beside her.

“Yes.”

“And by sleeping with Valen, you could threaten the stability of this entire mission,” the drow punctuated her words with a sharp finger in Dhana’s arm, forcing the mage to look at her, “A mission that is more important than you, us, possibly this entire realm.”

It seemed the assassin was finally getting through to her. Brows furrowed; dark eyes suitably troubled.

“Of course…you sound like him, y’know,” lips curled in mild amusement.

“Nowhere near as gloomy of course, but Valen is right to be as serious as he is. We are all putting our necks on the line for this to succeed.”

Good, guilt was descending. But she wasn’t through.

“And one more thing,” sepia eyes darted from the drow to the ground, “If you hurt him, I will personally carve your heart out and force feed it to you.”

A hint of malice, a large dollop of protectiveness and a smidge of humour. Valen was one of her closest friends after all, and he had been through a lot. He did not need a randy human fucking about with his heart.

Nathyrra watched Dhana swallow with difficulty, smirking ominously before reaching across their shared blanket and plucking up another silvery wrapped toffee.

Silence descended between them for some time, contemplative and somewhat heavy. The silvery haired assassin let it. Dhana’s request was simple enough, but she wanted to make it painfully clear, she was utterly serious.

It seemed her plan had worked, the mage resurfacing from her thoughts at last. For all her teasing, Dhana was quite a brooder herself.

“I know I’ve told you how…free I can be with my affections, but, I respect him too much to do that to him.”

“Have you told him that?” Dhana flinched, confirming Nathyrra’s suspicions.

“N-No, but things escalated far more quickly than….hmm, I really should speak to him at some point.”

“Preferably before the battle?” the mage sighed and nodded virulently. With a whine, she dove callous hands into her hair and scruffed it up with frustration.

“Damn my need for horned booty!”

There was a heavy pause, both women slowly catching each other’s eye. Laughter erupted, both parts exasperation and understanding. It slowly dissipated into very feminine giggling – for which both parties were glad they had retreated to the privacy of Dhana’s quarters.

“Don’t worry ‘yrra, I will hurt myself before hurting Valen. You have my word.”

The smile that Dhana received made her knees and heart exceedingly weak. If Nathyrra hadn’t already spoken in favour of males, Dhana would have tried her luck there too. But again, she valued the gorgeous assassin too much.

“You have my thanks, abbil. I owe him more than he knows.”

Dhana leaned her head back against the plush covers upon her bed. She was lucky to have founded such good connections with Valen and Nathyrra. Both kept her sane. And in return, she froze or burned their enemies alive, and cracked off the odd inappropriate joke. Perhaps not the most equivalent of exchanges, but they seem satisfied.

“So, regarding this contraceptive of yours?”

Nathyrra hummed, reaching for her pack. When the mage had enquired, she had spilt her lunch all over the table. Thankfully the attendees on duty hadn’t batted an eyelid, swooping in to tidy away the remnants.

“Let’s see…”

[otherworlder-hero-of-faerun]

Dark Dreams Among Watery Waves

@oeskathine​

Seraph jolted awake with a hard flinch, the bench she had curled up on hard against her back, though to her credit she didn’t gasp or scream or the like. Her back was aching, but it wasn’t like Callavas’s boat had much beside the benches, but after fighting Sabal and her lackies for the last part of the mirror she needed a nap and she didn’t much care where it was.

She pulled herself into a sitting position as she put her feet carefully on the wood below, she didn’t want to wake anyone up by being carelessly noisy. The rogue sighed as she brought her hands up to grip at her hair, tugging harshly to try to get the images out of her head.

She hadn’t thought about the events of Neverwinter for years, and now her dreams had twisted the events into the worst possible outcome.

“Aribeth please, we don’t have to do this!” The harsh clanging of metal against metal, the fallen paladin unwavering in her strikes despite the younger elf’s tears and pleading. A slip up, Aribeth tripped, and Seraph’s blade struck forward despite what really happened-

She stood up, hands dropping to grip at her upper arms as she quietly walked from the cabin to the edge of the boat, peering over at the water below with a troubled expression.

Why had her mind chosen to torment her with that? She was well moved on from those events, even if the fallen paladin had died after the battle regardless and Seraph mourned her, so why now... Oh. Right.

Her mind flashed back to having to deal with the twisted Avariel priest, her feverish, weak, mind swimming, sick with disease, barely holding on by the end of it as she fought, but she never raised her blade to him. She had been given the cure, but it was possible her body was still recovering, or one of the side effects regardless was nightmares.

She exhaled softly instead of sighing, letting her hands drop and idly began adjusting her bracers while her mind wandered.

[waterdeephero]

♠️

When the spell ended, Elithrar did not know where he was. He first heard loud voices, then he saw dark figures. However, either the piece was too dark for his eyes, or Halaster’s magic had affected him. Was it a side effect of the quest spell? He felt it in a corner of his mind, but neither his will nor his divine powers were able to counter it.

His senses also seemed to fail him, as if he emerged from a night of sleep too long. Halaster’s teleportation spell must have been too powerful. Or perhaps it could not bear its effects so much. Nausea invaded him and Elithrar struggled hard to avoid throwing up his lunch, his lips tightened.

He staggered then, stumbling on an unknown stone ground. But before he fell, he felt something holding him back. Someone supported him, of which he was grateful. Before that same person, he supposed, crossed his arms on his own torso, while keeping a firm grip on his wrists. Thus maintained, he could not use magic and even less defend himself more conventionally. At least, it didn’t hurt. But that wasn’t either reassuring.

Before he could protest, he felt his legs running under him and he fell to his knees. The elf grimaced, his desire to vomit amplified by the shock, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Wait, don’t you recognize one of us? Nathyrra, what happened?” “We found Halaster, but he sent us back here. He cast a spell and...” Then a grave and masculine voice interrupted her: “Who is this elf? What is he doing here?” 'Wait, I feel like he’s feeling bad... The spell may have affected him somehow...' The woman of before, again.

Elithrar felt a hand against his forehead. The contact was fresh and soothing and he immediately felt better. His breathing slowed, as an indefinable sensation invaded him. As if bathed in the light of the moon. A certain sweetness was emerging but he felt the sadness invading him. As if he had lost something important. His heart tightened as the image of Dhana formed in his mind. Divine magic, no doubt. But he did not guess which divinity granted it. He knew however that it could not be Sehanine.

Finally, his nausea dissipated as his strength returned. He beat his eyelids, finally distinguishing several people in the light of torches. Nathyrra looked at him with a worried air. Leaning over him was one of the most beautiful drow he had ever seen. A great sweetness appeared in her eyes as she gazed at him. A red-haired man stood beside the drow. But with his closed face and the tension he could see in his muscles, he was ready for anything.

'Valen, tying him up was a little excessive, don’t you think?' said Nathyrra, in a tone of reproach, obviously addressing the red-haired man.

Or rather, the tieffling understood Elithrar, noting, at last, the horns that shaped from his skull.

[shinycollectingteifling]

18 and 19?

What was the last movie your mun watched and did you like it?

I think it was Onward. It was mmmmmmeh. *shrugs*

What do you think about your mun’s sense of humor?

It doesn’t take much to make him laugh, but if he finds something REALLY funny might lose him for like half an hour or so

[not-a-rogue]

@oeskathine :

“Is it really so easy for you?” responded the brooding tiefling flatly. His mouth was fixed in a grim line of a frown, as it usually was, and his soldier’s gaze bore straight ahead with a fierce intensity. “You can say this concept isn’t so simple to grasp for someone like me.” He shook his head solemnly. “What others think have nothing to do with what I think.”

The tiefling trudged alongside his mysterious companion, sunlight beating down on his gleaming green breastplate. For something that he claimed was crafted by drow, it was certainly vivid and not well-suited to a place like the Underdark. His tail swung to and fro rhythmically in constant movement, flicking upwards always right before it would have skimmed the ground. Surely this all, combined with his intimidating stature, would have drawn all sorts of unwelcome enemy attention in a hazardous environment. Despite all of the trouble that might have caused, there he was, still alive and fighting another day, which spoke volumes of his prowess.

Mercenary for hire. That was his story and he was sticking to it, offering no further explanation.

“What do you think?” A few seconds offered brief pause before he elaborated, “Of yourself, I mean.“

   --- The halfling’s silence likely spoke volumes. She had already stated as much she cared not for what people thought of her, surely her own thoughts of her own being should be of no concern. She had, after all, told people time and time again that, despite them stating otherwise, she shouldn’t have such a wealth of friends as she already had. That she shouldn’t have someone refer to her as family -- regardless of the fact that no blood was shared between them. 

That despite all that she was glad she did.

What she thought held very little bearing. She’d tell the world she thought she was the best thing to ever grace their lives if it meant that they’d leave her alone for but a few measly seconds. She’d tell them that it’d be best to steer clear of her lest she slit their throats -- though of course, this seldom was the best course of action and would likely be avoided in most regards. That was unless she was simply far more annoyed than was normal. Or hungover. A small yawn escaped her lips. Really, it was much too early for such a jaunt, especially since she had spent much of the night prior simply following people. But it is as it was, and as it was, she had had to set out early with this male with the much too bright breastplate. Her own drab clothing a stark contrast to his. Well, at least she’d be able to hide should the situation called for it. 

“Clearly, I am the best there was and the best there ever will be,“ a twisted grin took hold of her lips as she amped up the bardic side of her formal training. Her performance was as it always was. Something to fool. Something to play off the other’s reaction. Something steeped in so much deceit that even she was unsure of what was real anymore, 

“After all, there isn’t going to be anyone else like me, correct?”

[jarlaxlebaenre]

Happy Munday! If you could choose any 4 of your writing partners' muses to go on a long road trip with, who would they be? How do you think it will go?

{ If it were possible, I’d like to go on a trip with all of my writing partners’ muses, perhaps even at the same time for the sheer humor value, which would be great indeed! ;-D It’s been quite some time though since I’ve written roleplay, at least regularly, and there are now more muses on my dash than I’ve interacted with, a fact that I hope to change in the not too distant future. ;-P 

Nonetheless, my answer, outdated as it is, and based on little other than the four I think I responded to most recently, would be: Kadri, Rith, Sand and Artemis Entreri. As for how it would go, I suppose this begs the question of if I’d be traveling with them as myself or as Jarlaxle. If it were myself, the trip would quickly turn into one with Kadri, Rith and perhaps Sand, but most likely only the good ladies would be kind and patient enough to stick with the plan. ;-P Things promise to be much more interesting if it were Jarlaxle traveling with the other four, although he’d certainly have his hands full trying to keep the band together. Artemis would doubtlessly be making Sand and Rith exceedingly uncomfortable, but perhaps Artemis and Sand would be able to find some common ground in sarcastic pessimism. Thankfully, sweet Kadri is there to lend a hand, but I fear perhaps even the combined force of Kadri’s affability and Jarlaxle’s wits would not be enough to make the long road trip fun for anyone (except Jarlaxle of course! ;-P) }

[xdepthsofwinterx]

((🐢 for the headcanon meme?))

Mental Health Headcanon

You already know of Dhana's PTSD and onset insomnia that accompanies it, hence her need for medicated drinks before sleeping. I imagine this easing with age and experience, though the odd shadow may creep back on occasion.

Delving a tad deeper, I've written her with tells when she gets triggered. Fidgeting profusely, jittery fingers - often drumming them, a tendency to be more jumpy.

Salves to sooth such behaviour include smoking, tea or alcohol (not always a 'healthy' option), standing in a cold environment for prolonged amount of time, expending energy physically (sparring, sex, blasting shit out of unbeknownst bystanders). She's a tactile individual, so crafts such as carving, alchemy and enchanting also benefit her by focusing her mind elsewhere.