Okay but I am still obsessed with the idea of Vaela going to visit Ori back home. Partially for Ori herself. Partially to get a chance to chat with her brother some more. I still think about that from time to time
YESSS I think about this a lot, too. In fact, I have a few thoughts of my own:
Firstly, I imagine that after the ball, Hester approached Vaela when Ori wasn't around and asked if she basically wanted to be pen pals. Because he's a dork and doesn't have fancy magic speaking stones. Basically the equivalent of "here's my number text me if you want to" while trying to be smooth about it and probably failing a bit. But at the very least he is trying to make it low-pressure for her.
At some point Ori would get a hint of what was going on and would absolutely be a driving force behind Vaela getting an invitation to come down to the coast for a beach vacation and to meet the family. Hester would get teased endlessly and he would be hopelessly outnumbered by the girls.
I feel like Vaela would enjoy spending time with Oriana’s family. Her mom, Maia, would make Vaela something nice to wear as a gift, and the middle sibling, Asta, has a lot of similar tastes to Vaela and would definitely take her shopping.
At some point during this whole event, Hester would get the idea to take Vaela out on a walk and picnic dinner out by the ocean (but still within view of the city, since he's given a few light warnings from Ori just in case Vaela might not be super comfortable being totally alone with him just yet), right before the sun sets and the evening stars begin to come out. He would probably just want to talk and laugh with her, maybe dance again without a crowd of people around them. Or if she's feeling adventurous, he's got one cool Find Steed spell up his sleeve and they can go for a ride down the beach. And maybe if things go well, he'd extend an invitation for her to visit him whenever she wants in Tyados' capital city...
Another request by @editoress! Ori's about 6 in this while Hester's probably 14/15. Getting through the second of the two childhood trauma requests before I start throwing in adult trauma.
Hester stopped just before the bakery doorway as he felt the tiny tug of Oriana’s hand pull against his. He looked to where she was pointing, a different store further down the road that had a big, bright display of masks, flowers, and what appeared to be some jewelry in the front windows, all of it likely for the upcoming spring ball that had their mother working in her tailor shop from dawn to dusk. It was why he and Asta were running her normal errands for her and also why he had Oriana tagging along with him specifically. He normally didn’t like her being out of sight when they were out, but she was doing well lately with not getting distracted and truth be told, he would not be in the store very long at all.
With a low hum, he turned his gaze down to his baby sister. “You know the rules, right?”
Oriana nodded, beginning to bounce with excitement. “Yes! Stay off the road, come back right here if anything happens, and don’t talk to strangers!”
“Right,” Hester replied, letting go of Oriana’s hand. He called out to her as she started bounding towards the pretty display. “But only look! Mama gave us just enough for dinner. I don’t have enough to get anything else!”
“Ok!” And she did mean it. If anything, she just wanted to look, to see if she could come up with any ideas that might help their mother. Asta was definitely more of the creative sister, but she could have some ideas, too! Maybe she just really liked masks and pretty, bright things.
By the time Hester fully stepped inside the bakery, Oriana was standing in front of the window, bouncing on her feet as she craned her neck upwards to take in all of it. The sparkles on the masks and matching accessories caught her eye the quickest, and she started focusing on one particular bird-like mask that appeared to have a wing-shaped capelet to go with it. Perhaps this could be something? She thought of the hummingbirds that liked to flock around their mother’s garden and flowerbeds…
While her focus was on the display, Oriana did not see the group of four girls that crossed the road behind her. They all wore well-made dresses in contrast to Oriana’s comparatively simple clothing and were only a couple of years older than her at most. The leader, who wore a smug grin, seemed to realize exactly who she was, heading straight for her with the others following close behind.
“What are you looking at all that for? It’s not like you could afford it!”
Oriana jumped at the voice, spinning around and frowning at the other girls. She had to fight against the urge to run, to go back to the bakery and hide in there with Hester. But this was not the first run-in she had with this group and Asta had been telling her to stand up for herself more, so she wanted to do it. She wanted to be brave. So her small hands curled into fists at her side and she looked up at the older girl with as stern of a look as she could muster. “What do you want, Rosina?”
Rosina put a hand to her chest, feigning shock. “Manners! You are talking to a lady!” The others in her little band giggled, backing her up with their own comments. After a moment, Rosina looked between Oriana and the glittering jewelry behind her. “On second thought, I think the better question is why would you even want to buy this? It would clash so badly with your hair…”
Oriana’s fists clenched tighter. “Go away. Leave me alone.”
The older girl crossed her arms. “No. I will go wherever I want.”
“Fine.” It was at least a better opportunity to get away than just running at the sight of her bullies. Oriana tried to turn away, to walk calmly back to the bakery while ignoring them, but one of the other girls grabbed her by the elbow.
“You didn’t apologize!” this girl said, pointing to Rosina. “Tell her you’re sorry for being rude!”
“Let me go!” Oriana’s voice was finally rising, and she shook her arm with enough force to make Rosina’s friend release her in surprise. From there she took off, slipping into one of the side paths between the buildings to get away, hoping that she could follow it around the block and be out of sight before circling back to the bakery. The pack of older kids followed closely behind.
Unfortunately, Oriana’s unfamiliarity with the streets in this area of the market backfired horribly. She found herself in what was essentially a courtyard that made up the back of multiple buildings, far from the view of the street and completely alone, besides her pursuers, who caught up quickly.
Rosina stepped forward to confront her first. “You do not walk away when I’m speaking to you! How dare you!” She reached out to grabbed Oriana’s wrist, this time in a much tighter grip compared to her friend’s.
“Let go of me!” Oriana’s voice was becoming strained as she started to panic, this was the first time Rosina was actually this close to her, and the first time there were no adults in the vicinity to separate them.
“No! You need to be taught some manners!”
“Let. Me. GO!”
A bright flash broke through the air in the courtyard, and a pair of screams echoed against the stone walls. When the light faded, Rosina had leapt back, sobbing and clutching at her hand, while Oriana collapsed on the ground in front of her. It took a moment for the girls to register that the light had come from her.
They started to whisper among themselves, debating if they should leave her or go see if any adults were nearby. But they didn’t have to wait long before rushed footsteps could be heard behind them.
“Oriana!” Hester sped by the group, moving to kneel down next to his sister to check on her. When he went to touch her face, however, his hand recoiled from her skin. She was burning hot. He looked over at Rosina, brows furrowed. “What happened?” he asked, voice strained with worry but still demanding an answer.
“I don’t know!” Rosina responded, motioning toward Oriana on the ground. “She just… lit up! And burned me! Look!” She held her hand out to him, and he did see where it was red, mostly on the palm, as if she had held it in the sun too long.
He squinted at it, then looked over Oriana again, noting a similar-shaped patch on her arm. “Did you grab her? What were you doing?”
“I…” Rosina hesitated, briefly turning to her posse, now silent as mice, before turning back to Hester. “We were… just trying to play?”
Hester frowned at her, then seemed to realize something. “Wait. Rosina Visalli, right? You were the one that’s been bullying her. Ori told me about you.”
“N-no! I didn’t mean…”
The older half-elf ignored the rest of Rosina’s mumbled attempts at apologizing and trying to shift the blame away from her. He instead focused on scooping up his little sister, trying to find a way that he could hold her without getting burned himself, and making sure that she was okay. To his relief, she was breathing, though her breaths were shallow and there was no response when he tried to wake her up.
Walking past the girls, he carried Oriana back through the side street, stepping by others who were now flocking into the area following the screams. He ignored the whispers and questions thrown his way, focusing on figuring out a plan. Should he take her to their mother? Would she even be able to do anything? Did Oriana need a healer? His gaze ran across the rooftops, and fell on the raised roof of Lathander’s temple. He knew the way to that well. They could get help there, then he or one of the clerics could get a message to their mother. And so he ran, clutching his sister in his arms as tightly as he could.
Everything was packed for Oriana's trip up to the Sun Soul Order. The cart was loaded, and Maia was occupied with giving her younger daughter a last minute talk before she left. Meanwhile, the other two siblings were giving them space, Asta standing a bit behind Maia while Hester stood next to Cassio.
While they waited, Cassio glanced over at Hester, a brow raised. "I know you're protective of her, too. How are you feeling about this?"
Hester thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If it's her chance at getting the training she needs, then I just hope she gets to make the most of it. And I want her happy, that's all."
"You're worried about her, too."
"Always have been."
Cassio hummed, thoughful. There was another pause as Maia continued to fuss over Oriana. But after a moment, the cleric thought of something else. "You know, Ori is not the only one who can possibly have a unique chance at something new here. Your mother was telling me how you had started working with some of the fisherman back home, but you were not enjoying it?"
It was now Hester's turn to look at Cassio with raised brows. "Yes... I thought I might want to follow in our father's footsteps but, well, it just is not the same out on the docks without him."
Cassio nodded, then smiled. "You know, if you wanted to try something different, I heard from the others in the capital that the paladins are looking for new members to train up. You have grown into a very capable young man, and you have a big heart for people. I think you might like an opportunity like this." Hester seemed to want to interject, but Cassio held up a hand. "I am not saying you have to make a choice right this second. Just think about it and let me know what you decide."
21. collapse
"Run. Run as far as you can, and let me handle the others."
Ledo's legs ached, but she kept running, fueled by the promise she made. She was not sure how long she had been going at this point, or how far away she was, but at the very least she wanted the lights of the port city to be out of sight behind her.
In one arm, she held the single bag with rations and supplies that they were able to gather before leaving the ship. Ledo clung to it and the loose coat she now wore as tightly as she could, despite the pain that lingered in her wrist. In her mechanical arm, Drache was being held firmly in place despite his protests. He tried again to wriggle out of her grip, and Ledo was thankful that the joints were able to lock in place in situations like this.
"Not now. Not yet. We need to keep—GAH!"
Something in the road caught Ledo's foot, and she immediately lost her balance, tumbling into the dirt and mud. Everything she held fell and scattered around her, and she found herself nearly frozen from the pain in the moment. She was incredibly aware that her body was in no condition to be doing anything like this, but she had no choice. Pushing herself up with her forearms, groaning, she reached for the bag again, trying to rake in anything that fell out.
Drache recovered quickly from where he fell, shaking off the dirt and stones before running over to Ledo. He nudged her arm gently, arcane engines whining as if trying to speak, like he often used to when she was working herself too long into the night. "I... I can't stop... Not yet." A sound akin to a growl came in response from the tiny mechanical dragon, and he bit at the sleeve of the coat and gave it a full tug. "Ok. Fine," she grumbled, now standing. "Help me find somewhere to rest."
The homunculus took to the air, flying a bit off the road and coming back to lead her a ways out of sight, where a cluster of trees and foliage created the closest thing she could find to shelter, at least to keep anyone on the road from seeing her. In the time it took to walk to it, she could feel the adrenaline wearing off, and the weakness of her own body was catching up to her again. As she made it to the trees, she felt her legs truly give way underneath her, and her vision blurred as she hit the ground. Drache, in a panic, tried to rouse her, but without success. Instead, he took up a watchful position, waiting for her to wake up.
