.~Edelsteine~. Xun Jiang's Journal by ZeroDream

[A Wandering Esper]

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[A Wandering Esper]

Finally ! I've Been Looking For You !
This rp chronologically occurs during Illisia's absence.

Meepfur

Adrienne yawned and stretched, rolling her shoulders and tilting her head from side to side, trying to banish the crick in her neck she'd woken up with. It was one small disadvantage to sleeping in the forest - or anywhere other than a bed, really - waking up with weird little aches and stuff. It was particularly annoying when she ended up bending an ear in some funny way, although fortunately it was just her neck today.

She flexed her furred legs before standing, and gave her beech tree a fond pat on the trunk. It was probably time to head home.

Zero Dream

As it was, Adrienne wasn't the only thing in the woods that day. But it was a little hard to notice - bushes ruffling about while a large, black-furred cat was padding though, trying to go on unnoticed. But it was a little hard when your eyes glowed silver. It looked a bit like a lynx, but was far too large to be that - and had an equally long tail to boot. Purple orbs were hanging from the cat's collar, and it sported long pointed ears. How odd.

...Wait, Adi had seen ears like that before, hadn't she ?

Meepfur

It was the rustling that caught Adi's attention, her own longish ears twitching. At first she assumed it was probably some forest critter - potential dinner, even - but it turned out to be anything but potentially edible. It was a great big cat! And not a cat she was familiar with, like Mr. Torrent the leopard, but something a lot stranger. It had glowy eyes and weird markings, and it was wearing stuff! Like it was someone's pet, maybe. Or a someone itself.

With a cautious wag of her tail, she ventured, "Hello?"

Zero Dream

Spotted !

Really, he was losing his touch, though... the last place he'd expected anyone to see him was in the forest - most of the sentient creatures of this world, he'd found, were proper city dwellers, and he'd padded quite a long span of time indeed. He didn't know how long he had been traveling alone, but it was better that way.

Before him was... quite a strange young lady ! Legs of a wolf and a tail to match - he hadn't seen anything like that before, not here. It reminded him of a satyr, but thankfully she wasn't one of those.

He'd be found, so he might as well take the time - maybe she was lost, or maybe she would be able to tell him where the next town was. The cat came out of proper hiding, sat back almost comically, and then, suddenly, spoke right back at her, his voice thick with an accent that was almost familiar. "Hello."

Meepfur

When the cat spoke, Adi was a little surprised, but only just a little. Mostly, she was delighted, and she sure looked it. She wagged her ribboned tail and observed the obvious with excitement, "You really are a person!"

Not that it - he, she determined - was a people-y person, but anything sentient classified as a 'person,' really. He actually sounded a little familiar, almost. But that was silly, wasn't it? She definitely never met him before; she had an excellent memory for people, especially cool ones. "I thought you might be. I'm Adi!"

Zero Dream

Ah ? "So sentient cats are common here ?" He certainly hadn't run into any on his way, but why else would this young lady think he was more than a cat right away ?

But then this world was so.. so odd, really. One could expect almost anything here.

"Nice too meet you, Adi." He was a polite cat-person, apparently. "My name is Elik."

And then, the cat was out of the bag.

So to speak.

Meepfur

"Well, I've met one before. He was a le-" In the middle of her explanation, she finally fully processed all of what he'd said...most importantly, that his name was Elik. Granted, he didn't currently have purple skin and green hair, but he was a big cat and druids could do that, so -

Realization dawned on her features, and she launched forward, fully intending to hug the cat-who-was-really-a-night-elf. "Elik~!"

Zero Dream

...Uhhhh ???

Okay, now he was confused. He certainly didn't know her, and there she was, all over him like if they had known each other for eons. He didn't get to move in time, so he got a full service of Adi snuggles.

...Maybe it was just how her people said hello.... ?

Meepfur

Adi hugged her friend's son tight, her tail wagging just as fast as it could. Eventually, she did seem to realize that this display of affection didn't make sense for the one on the receiving end of it and let go, plunking back into a sit with an embarrassed blush. Her smile was quick to return, though, and she giggled a little. "I know your mom!"

Zero Dream

It was four words. Four little words, but it made all the difference. With those four little words, the cat's eyes went very wide.

"My..." Finally ! There was a lead for him ! "Where is she ?! Is she okay ?!" Finally, he could just get Illisia and finally go back home !

...Or so he thought.

Meepfur

"She's fine!" The young woman's tail batted against the ground. "She's not here right now, though. She went to visit home for a little while." With Glyph, to boot. Adi was a little disappointed she hadn't been invited to go on such a cool trip, but accepted that it was some sort of god bonding thing or something. It would have been awesome to meet more druids.

...but now there was another one right here! That worked, too, although she'd have liked to see him not as cat. She'd been imagining him as very handsome.

Zero Dream

He could decode many things from what Adrienne was telling him - one, that his mother was alright, of course. Second, there was a way home from this world. Third, that she would come back. No doubt to find him. It wasn't like Illisia to abandon him, maternal figure that she was, and her son had never doubted for any second that his mother was looking for him just as much than he was actually looking for her.

Though, to go back without him ? She must have found information that was very pressing indeed. This could be a good or a bad thing. "Since you know her... do you know if she found out what we came to look for here ?" There was no need to bother Adi with details if Illisia hadn't made her aware of their reason to be here to begin with.

Meepfur

"Oh, you were looking for something?" Adi blinked owlishly. Illisia'd never told her she was on some kind of mission; the werewolf had just assumed she was here because she wanted to be. She was always so busy asking about other things - mostly things to do with druids, or other things the night elf's answers brought to mind - that she'd never specifically asked how she'd wound up here. Since she was Glyph's friend and a host, Adi had figured it was something to do with one or both of those. "What were you looking for?"

Zero Dream

Ah, he should have thought about that. Illisia probably wouldn't have talked about their mission to everyone she met, and she looked a bit on the younger side. Illisia would have been far more inclined to mother Adi than to anything else, most likely.

"We were looking for the cause of the events that was affecting our world... The priestesses said it came from this place." Unfortunately for Adi, Elik didn't look like he was going to shift out anytime soon. He seemed perfectly comfortable being a giant cat - moreso than his mother had seemed to me in any of her shapeshifted forms.

Meepfur

"Oh, that? Everybody around here knows about that, so somebody must've told her." It hadn't been Adrienne, of course, but that was probably for the best, because she wasn't actually all that good at explaining it in full. Her version was rather...oversimplified, but she launched into it without hesitation.

"See, there was this creepy lady, this evil lady, Samyaza, she's something called a Grigori, and they wanted Everything to end so there would be Nothing. Which I don't really get, since then they'd be gone too, but whatever. She came to see Harmodius - he's the god, the most important one - and she took away his Name and it turned him into this...pod-thingy, and the worlds started to die."

"But they didn't." Adi brightened. "Well, it sounds like maybe some of them did, but not all of them. The other gods figured out how to fix it, and one of his dragons gave him a new Name, so everything's better now! Well, almost, but I'm sure we'll have a sky again soon."

Zero Dream

The werewolf cheerfully went on to her explanation, but the more she spoke, the less Elik seemed to actually understand what she was saying, until the point where he looked as confused as a cat probably could look like.

"Whoa, whoa here, hold on." He shook his head. "One thing at a time. Gods ?"

He had to have misunderstood that one. Gods ? Here ? Didn't gods like... rule from above ? Maybe he should have listened to the priestesses more when he was younger, but he'd always been more drawn to nature than to Elune's teachings.

Meepfur

"Well, yeah. Gods." Adi had at least managed to gather that night elves has gods, so what was the problem? She gestured in the direction of the Pantheon. "Most of them live over that way."

Zero Dream

"So there are actually gods here." Strange. How strange. And she was talking like it was a completely normal thing. Maybe it was, for her ? If she'd grown up here...

But, ultimately, Elik was more interested in one specific thing. "Is that where my mother usually is, as well ? Il'd like to be wherever she actually stays when she comes back, if at all possible."

Meepfur

Adi nodded, both in affirmation and answer. "Yep! She lives here now, too. I can take you! I was about to head home, anyway." The werewolf stood and brushed herself off. "We might run into Laurence, since he's been staying with her, but he won't mind."

Zero Dream

"I would really appreciate that." He seemed to study her size for a moment, before adding "I can carry you, if you want ?" She didn't look too heavy - and a favor for a favor, right ?

"Laurence ? Who's that ?" His mother with a roommate ? Well, maybe if the space was coming short... "How did you come to know my mother, at any rate ?"

Meepfur

"Really? That would be awesome!" Her tail wagged with delight. How cool would that be, riding on a great big cat that was really a person?

"Laurence is one of my friends," Adi told him, always happy to talk, "And hers too. Anyway, Glyph - he's Forest, by the way - told me about her, and gave her one of my flowers. I met her a little while after. She's teaching me to be a druid!"

Zero Dream

A great deal of druids were rather touchy about being ridden like simple animals. Elik, for the most part, couldn't care less - so he just lowered himself to the ground so that Adi could climb on his back easily.

"So Glyph is a god, then ?" Hmmm. curious. And.. teaching her to be a druid ?! That was pretty frowned upon in his society - Illisia usually took the rules to heart, which was what surprised him. For his part, well... he was much less traditional than his mother.

But really, he had never questioned his mother's judgment. She had a solid head on her shoulders, and he certainly wasn't going to start questioning it now. "So you grow flowers ? Are you a gardener ?" Elik, it seemed, also enjoyed talking.

Meepfur

Adi climbed on carefully, and didn't worry about holding on. She'd be fine, she was sure, and she didn't want to pull his fur out or something.

"Mm-hm! He's my god, actually," she said proudly, "I serve him now. He gave me that tree when I met him." She indicated her young beech tree, adorned with orchids and a pink ribbon.

"Yep, my dad's a gardener too - he's the Hunt's. I love plants! I've been growing stuff since I was little."

Zero Dream

Elik rose again once she had stopped fidgeting about, and started to pad off in the direction she had shown him earlier, not quite risking running yet until he got a good grap on where her weight was falling on his back and which places she could take a grip onto if such thing was necessary.

"Ah, so you are... some kind of priestess ?"

Meepfur

"A priestess?" Adi chuckled, amused that he might think her so important. "No, I'm really still just a gardener. I'm not even a real aoide yet. I will be, though. Maybe when I've learned some more, when your mom comes back."

And then came a wonderfully bright idea, at least she thought it was. "Maybe you could teach me a little, since you're here and all?"

Zero Dream

"An aoide ?" He was completely unfamiliar with the term. "What's that ?"

"Well, now that would depend what you wanted to know, now wouldn't it ? I fear I am not a very good teacher. Ill't be better to wait for Illisia to come back." He let out a chuckle.

Meepfur

"Aoidei are the gods' special servants - they're immortal, so they can serve them forever. My dad's an aoide, and I've always wanted to be one too. Glyph and Harmodius are gonna make me one when I'm ready."

"Oh, I want to know everything!" Adi laughed. "She says you're really good at changing into things, though."

While she was primarily interested in plants, she couldn't help but be curious about the shifting aspect of being a druid. She was, after all, part werewolf.

Zero Dream

"I see ! That must be quite a special honor, then." He'd been immortal, he knew what it was like - unlike most night elves, however, the lost of his immortality had never bothered him one wit. He would have died one day anyway no matter, most probably in the line of duty.

"So, did my mother ever did anything else beside blatter on and on about me ?" He teased. This was so, so Illisia. "But I am, yet I am quite unsure if I can teach you. It is very painful, and while I've seen other races get the basic of druidism, I've yet to see something other than a night elf or a tauren shapeshift."

Meepfur

Adi giggled. "Mm-hm! She's told me lots of other things, and she taught me how to make candy too."

Tauren? That was a question she saved for later, though. "Well, I don't know if I could turn into all the things you can, but maybe if I knew how it worked, I could turn into a wolf. My dad's a werewolf, see, but something happened and he got stuck sort of in-between, and my brother and I were born the same way. But maybe it's still kind of in us somewhere?"

This was clearly something she'd given a fair amount of thought.

Zero Dream

"Hmmm." This was an odd sound to hear coming out of a giant cat - and Elik stopped a moment to leap over a fallen tree trunk with ease. Adi wasn't hindering him at all, in all appearances.

"I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but I have no idea."

Meepfur

Whee! Adi chuckled a little, quite enjoying her 'ride.'

"Well, that's alright. You never know until you try." And they would try, if she had anything to say about it, but not today. "So what's a tauren?"

Zero Dream

Unfortunately for Elik, he wasn't aware of just how determined Adrienne could be. He would likely figure it out the hard way, so to speak.

"Another race from my world." He have an explaination. "They're like... well. Cows on two legs." Now, one did not say that in front of a tauren - it never ended well. But it was the best way to explain it. "They're very close to nature, much like we night elves are." If only they hadn't allied on the wrong side... but in between druids, that didn't matter. The Cenarion Circle was a neutral organization, after all.

Meepfur

"Cows on two legs?" Adi laughed, quite amused by the picture that formed in her head. "I'd like to see that. What other races are there?"

Zero Dream

"Too bad I don't have a picture." Her mental image had to be hilarious - and her laughter, he found, was highly infectious. "Well, there are elves... Night Elves, and Blood Elves - they look more like most of the elves I've seen here." If it had been Illisia, there would probably be a fair amount of hate in those words, but Elik didn't seem to care too much. "Then there's... humans, you know ? And dwarves, they're like.... tiny humans." The druid leaped over a large log. "And gnomes. They're... even tinier humans." Superb explainations.

"Then there's the Horde... they're a little.... well..." Was there a graceful way to say this ? "Well, stupid. Disrespectful of everything around them. I don't like them very much, they're not really worth talking about."

Meepfur

The rest were relatively easy to picture, as Adi was passingly familiar with dwarves and 'normal' elves thanks to having watched Lord of the Rings. And gnomes...well, she pictured a lawn gnome, to be perfectly honest.

Stupid, disrespectful...the fact that Elik didn't like talking about them made her even more curious. "So they're bad, then?"

Zero Dream

"Yeah, they are. Can't trust them at all, and they cut down all our forests." His cat nose wrinkled a bit in distaste. He certainly had more pleasant things to speak about in such a lovely company, didn't he ?

"So, how is my mother ? You've been taking good care of her, I assume ?"

Meepfur

"Oh." Adi's ears fell a little at that. If they cut down forests, that was definitely bad! People needed to cut down some trees, sure, but whole forests? That was way too much!

"Of course!" She grinned. "Well, not right now, since she's gone, but she took Glyph with her, so I'm sure she'll be fine. I hope they come back soon, though. I miss them! But I bet they'll be glad I found you."

Zero Dream

And Elik seemed rather content with the subject of orcs being dropped in the favor of a much more interesting subject.

"Im glad she's doing well - I was starting to wonder if something had happened to her." Elik let out a bit of a sigh as he continued to pad his way though the forest. "It would make sense she'd hang out with a god of forests, too." Honestly, after the events of the recent years and all that he had seen and heard in this world so far, he'd be willing to believe almost anything. Gods weren't so far-fetched when you had people blurting that the whole of life itself had nearly ended. Some might have called him naive, but he didn't care.

Meepfur

"Nope!" Adi chuckled. "Nothing bad, anyway. She's got friends, and..." Hmm. The young woman trailed off. She was going to have to explain the host thing, wasn't she? She knew plenty about it, but she'd never had to explain it to someone new.

A gentle segue, she needed one. "And she's helping another god come back, a really important one."

Alright, that could have been better, but whatever worked.

Zero Dream

...Oh ? "Is she now ?" Well, it sounded important. But she had left in the middle of that to go home ? This was a little odd and... really not like his mother at all. It wasn't like Illisia to start something and not finish it. And unless his common was off, Adrienne was talking about a current process. "Which god ? Will it be okay with her gone like that ?"

Meepfur

"He's Xun Jiang, Lifewater of Worlds - he's a Dragon King. They're really special, like...Harmodius' favorites, I guess you could say." And, hmm. "He sort of umm...goes with her, so it's fine. It's complicated, bringing a god back."

"See, a long time ago, things went wrong, and they Faded and died - all of them but Harmodius. He's the first god, the Twin Crown, Creation and Destruction. He survived, and over time he's collected what was left of the other gods, but it's not as simple as just making the god again. They need help, something - someone - to fill in the gaps and hopefully make them better, too, so that whatever went wrong before doesn't again."

"So he makes their essences into gems, and gives them to people we call hosts." Now the part it was pretty much impossible not to blunt about. "And the god uses their body, their soul, to fuel their rebirth."

"It's not as bad as that last part makes it sound, though. It's really a good thing, and she wants to do it."

Zero Dream

This could have gone ugly very quickly - after all, most people didn't take the idea of their loved ones dying very nicely. Especially not in such a manner. Elik's maw was set in a much of a straight line than it was possible for it to be, tail stooping its back and forth movement, but he kept of padding along.

"Hn." Eventually, something did escape his maw. It made sense, then, as to why his mother had gone back without him. It might be the only opportunity to go back that she would have.

Illisia didn't leave missions unfulfilled, after all.

"Guess I have no choice but to trust her judgment, now don't I ?" And that was the bottom of it. He trusted his mother completely - if she did this, then... she had a very solid reason to do so, even if he didn't understand.

Meepfur

...hey, that actually went pretty well! Adi breathed a sigh of relief. "You'll understand, when you see. When you've met some of them. It's all real, and it's worth it. I don't know why she decided to do it exactly, I didn't ask, but I'm sure she'll tell you."

Zero Dream

"I figure." He wasn't enthusiasm by the news by any means, but.. it was life. People lived, People died. For all he could have known in the last years, his mother could have died a long time ago. A part of him had already made peace with that, in lack of any clues about her whereabouts. Now, at least... he'd get to see her again, and say goodbye.

It was better than nothing, right ?"

They came out of the forest, and Elik stopped. "I should probably shift." The locals didn't especially take well to giant cats prowling their streets, he had figured out. And so, he laid down again to allow Adi to get off his back.

Meepfur

"Okay!" Adi agreed cheerfully, clambering off and standing aside to watch. This was so exciting! She'd only seen Illisia shift once, and even more awesome, she'd get to see what Elik looked like. The night elf had told her, of course, but that was different than seeing for herself.

Zero Dream

And so he shifted, the cat's form seeming to melt away and distort until what was crouched there was no longer a cat. Then Elik stood, rolling his shoulder as if to work any stiffness out of them.

He did match Illisia's description of him to a T, though she hadn't mentioned the beard. Or the fact that his hair looked more like a bush than actual hair - there was even a few twigs stuck in in long hair, and what he was wearing could only be called armor.

"Well." He smiled at her. "Which way ?"

Meepfur

SO COOL. Though she didn't clap or anything like that, she was still clearly very impressed. He didn't quite look how she'd imagined him, with his hair all a mess, but even more surprising was that he had a beard! Illisia had never mentioned that! Mental picture adjustment time.

Unable to help herself, Adi giggled a little, but didn't voice her observation, answering instead with a point in the appropriate direction, "That way!"

Zero Dream

Elik didn't seem to notice Adi's mental adjustments, he did nod at her, and started to walk in the direction she had pointed him toward.

There was much for him to figure out, indeed.

[A Wandering Esper]

You Wanted A Werewolf, Right ?
This rp chronologically occurs during Illisia's absence.

Meepfur

Well, whether or not Elik did want a werewolf, he had one. After all, Glyph and Illisia were off having adventures, and the night elf was, basically, Shiny and New. This made him the focus of much of Adrienne's attention outside of her being-an-aoide lessons. Oh, she didn't bother him absolutely all the time, but she did go looking for him once a day or so, not that she always succeeded. But he was her new friend, and he was awesome, and her teenage self couldn't help but be just a little infatuated with the handsome druid.

Plus, with Illisia gone, she could use someone else to teach her about druid stuff! She was still working on getting him to teach her how to change shape - or try to - though. One day! She certainly wasn't going to give up.

So! Adi padded off on today's look-for-Elik mission, prepared to scour the grounds and maybe a bit of the forest.

Zero Dream

Today, Elik wasn't so hard to find - all it took was stepping into the garden. Ever since she had led him here, the druid had remained nearby, exploring and trying to understand this place - and what it meant for his mother - the best he possibly could, though so far the only real thing he'd gotten was a headache. Gem housing gods that were reborn though mortals ? Really, that seemed too much like fiction, but he kept an open mind. He had noticed individuals with gems, but not yet dared to talk to any of them.

Right now, however, Elik was sitting below a fruit tree, in his normal form - he'd learned quickly that apparently wild cats this close to living areas wasn't such a good idea - though while he physically was very present, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Meepfur

Perfect~! Easy to find and not paying attention! Using all of her carefully-honed sneaking skills - she had them, really! - Adi crept up on Elik as quietly as she could. Though it might have come as a surprise, she could actually be very quiet when she wanted to be, which was pretty much only when she was hunting...or, you know, sneaking up on unsuspecting night elves.

Provided he didn't happen to hear her with those long ears of his, she'd pounce on him with a mischievous "Boo!"

Well, that was the plan.

Zero Dream

And the plan worked just fine - Adrienne did, in fact, catch her night elven target completely off-guard. He was pounced all over by something notably smaller and more furry than he was, and he nearly jumped.

"Oh... Hello there, Adi."

Meepfur

"Haha, gotcha!" Adi laughed gleefully and tweaked one of Elik's ears before releasing him, plunking back into a sit. Her tail brushed back and forth behind her in the grass. "Easier than I thought it'd be. Whatcha thiiiinkin' about?"

Zero Dream

The ear wriggled under her hold, almost teasingly so, only to return to standing upright once she'd let go of it. The man himself didn't move, even while still under assault by a young teenage werewolf aoide.

"Ah, just..." He has to search for his words for a moment. "All these things you've told me. Gods, hosts. It's a whole lot to take in for me."

Especially that his mother was one. In a way, he wondered if it was, in fact, his mother who would return from this journey, or if it would be a stranger. The thought made him shiver a bit.

Meepfur

"I see." Adi nodded understandingly. She'd grown up with all this god stuff, and didn't usualyl give it so much as a second thought, but she was familiar with the difficulty of grasping new concepts. Granted, it wasn't quite the same, but it was the closest she got. "Have you talked to anybody else? That might help some."

Of course, it would help even more if Glyph and Illisia would just come back already, but apparently godly adventures took time. It was a little difficult for the werewolf, whose youth resulted in some amount of impatience.

Zero Dream

"Not yet." He admitted. He'd observed, but that had been there. He thought that waltzing up to someone asking 'hey, you're one of these gods right' and then demanding answers to every questions that came to him probably wasn't the best way to go about such a thing.

"I am not too sure how to... approach them ?"

Meepfur

"Just say hello!" Adi suggested with a giggle. Really, it was very simple! At least for her, for whom 'shy' had never been an apt descriptor. Talking to people was fun! "Maybe I could introduce you to some sometime? I know lots of nice ones!"

Zero Dream

Somehow, Elik doubted it was that simple, really. But then, he had the mental image of gods that most of his kin had - distant, powerful beings that simply did not mingle with the earthen life, and that it was probably in your best interest not to piss off.

"If you want to." He figured Adi acting as a bridge in between him and whichever deity would probably be a good idea.

Meepfur

"There's, let's see..." Adi was quiet for a moment while she ran through a mental list of her friends - some would probably qualify more as acquaintances for msot people, but she tended to skip staight on to friend. "Well, would you like to meet a god, or a goddess, or a host?" She knew more deities than hosts by far, but there was always Laurence, or maybe Arden.

Zero Dream

"Hm." The word came out loud without him meaning to let it out. "...I don't know ?" He admitted. "Whichever you feel might be best ?" He wasn't even sure what was good to aks, anyway. There were a sea of questions in his head, sure, but it was shorting them up in a decent string that was difficult.

And beside, the prospect of meeting a... god seemed rather frightening.

Meepfur

"Hmmm." So it was all up to her, was it? Goodness! "Well, there's always Rio," she mused with a giggle. She'd already told her god-parent all about her new friend. "But there's also Hunt, Music, Silence, Insanity, the other Love, Gaia, Plague...ooh, or Yu! He's a dragon, like Xun Jiang. And then there are some little gods - Suffocation, Lament, Grief, Guardian, and River. Or there's Harmodius, even."

It was a little odd to call them just by their domain, but their names wouldn't have given Elik anything to go on.

Zero Dream

Elik couldn't help but blankface a little at some of those domains. There was a deity of Insanity ? And Plague as a nice person ? Somehow he was struggling a little with this.

"Perhaps your... mother, then." He'd almost said father. Adi's family situation was indeed complicated. "If he would like to, that is."

Meepfur

"Oh, he'd love to meet you!" Adi assured him. "He loves to meet people, almost as much as I do. And you're my friend, after all!" She chuckled a little, leaning back with her weight on her hands. "Would you like to meet him now, or later?"

Zero Dream

Now would be good, wouldn't it ? Better just get it done and then... not be so confused when his mother finally returned. Yes ? "If he's not busy, now could be good ? I mean, if neither of you are busy..."

But then, Adi wouldn't have looked for him if she hadn't been busy, yes ? Open mouth, insert foot.

Meepfur

"Alright then!" Adi hopped up, seizing Elik's hand to tug him from his seat. "We'll go see if he's home!" Provided he was, Rio was never too busy for visitors, especially when one of them happened to be his daughter...who also happened to be very excited to get to 'show off' her new friend.

Zero Dream

This was perhaps a little hilarious to behold - a purple, bearded elf, essentially millenias old, being dragged around by a young, much shorter little girl. And yet, this was exactly what happened - Elik allowed himself to be dragged around without much resistance, with a part of him openly wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

Meepfur

Adi was happily oblivious to the ridiculousness of it, 'pulling' him to the main building and up the stairs to the appropriate door, which she opened without knocking, simply calling "Riiiio~!" as they entered.

Two people appeared almost simultaneously from different rooms, one of them Nashwa - feline, feminine, definitely not the God of Love - and the other a far more likely candidate, what with his candy wings and romance-novel air. The former quickly disappeared again after flashing a smile at the visitors, while Rio stepped forward to greet them.

"Adi! Having adventures again, are we?" He embraced his daughter and kissed her forehead before turning his attention to the night elf, to whom he extended a hand. "You must be Elik. I'm Rio."

Zero Dream

He followed up the stairs, and then in the room when she all but barged into it. It did not seem odd to him - he'd never stopped to knock on the door of his mother's house, even well after he'd moved out of it.

The first person who had come out quickly caught his attention - a literal cat lady. Kind of like a tauren, but.. a cat. Odd. She was gone before he could do anything else but return her smile, and then...

Well, Rio. Unfortunately, the romance novel vibe was totally lost on him. Night elves, after all, were not known for their steamy works of fiction. "Ah... Good day, sir."

Elik ? Completely lost ? Pretty much.

Meepfur

"Elik wanted to talk to a god," Adi explained, "So we decided to come see you!"

"Please, call me Rio," the god insisted with a smile. "Come, let's have a seat, and we can talk." Even as he said it, his daughter was headed for the sitting room, so he chuckled and gestured for Elik to follow.

Once in the room, the werewolf plopped down onto one of the floor pillows. Mm, so comfy~!

Zero Dream

The most awkward thing about all this is that so far, this was a scene that was almost familiar - nothing too out of the ordinary. But then, what else was he expecting ?

Really, he had no idea.

So he stepped to follow, sitting as he had been told to, looking more like he had to be Illisia's brother rather than her son.

"Thank you." He said, taking a moment to think. "I have only arrived recently arrived, well after my mother had left to go back to the world he came from." An odd play on events, that. "So I am... a little clueless, though Adi told me that she had become host to one of your own and... what it meant."

Meepfur

Rio sat opposite his guests, settling himself comfortably. This was almost going to become routine, wasn't it? Introduction to Gods 101. He didn't mind, of course, he was pretty well-suited to serving as a welcoming commitee. "Is there anything in particular I can clarify for you?"

While Rio talked, Adi surreptitiously scooted her pillow a little closer to Elik's. Which was so not as sneaky as she thought, but hey, at least she tried. Teenagers and subtlety didn't usually go together.

Zero Dream

Thankfully, Elik was preoccupied and distracted enough so that he did not notice Adi being as subtle as a elek stamping though a calm field.

"Im not too sure where to even begin..." He had to admit, shaking his head. "Did she tell you how long she had left ? Do you think... that ill get to see her again ?"

Perhaps the true answer he sought would be one Rio would be unable to give. No, the why could be answered by one person and one person alone.

His mother.

Meepfur

Okay, that was adorable. Love had to resist flashing his daughter an encouraging smile - not that she was likely to notice, since she wasn't looking at him much.

"I'm can't give you a certain answer," Rio replied, clearly wishing he could, "She probably doesn't even know. How long it takes is very individual. It was, hmm...half a year before I changed? It can be less, it can be more." He desperately wished he had an answer, but...wait. There was someone who might.

"I know someone who may be able to give you a better answer, but I can't say for certain. Adi can show you where to find her later, if you like." He had done Ashoka a favor some time ago, so hopefully she wouldn't mind - and hey, this was sort of dragon business, so Zhijian couldn't be offended.

Zero Dream

Elik's expression fell when he was told that there was simply no way to know - that not even his mother himself would know. This was a little disheartening, really. "I see..." He said, softly. This wasn't Rio's fault, really.

When he mentioned someone who could, however, one ear perked, almost comically. "We'll see ? I would hate to impose on her if she is busy..."

Meepfur

"If you decide to visit her, she'll probably expect you," he said with a small chuckle. "Just watch your fingers, if her children are around. They're a little...mouthy." Rio had had a couple of encounters with the pardmentlings, and his follower Iden had had several, as Ashoka happened to be a friend of hers. Fortunately, his wings were a good, edible 'distraction' from more sensitive parts.

During the pause that followed, the feline woman from earlier reappeared, balancing a tray of little sandwiches and sweets. She set it down before the trio with a deep bow. "For you, effendis."

"Lunch!" Adi, who'd been politely quiet, fairly pounced on the food with an enthusiastic wag of her tail. "Thank you, Nashwa!"

"I think Joss and Dan are cute," she added, returning to the conversation after downing a sandwich in a matter of seconds. "We'll just take them some food, or something. Then maybe we won't get chewed on."

Zero Dream

"Thank you, miss." He inclined his head politely at the cat-like woman from earlier, before carefully plucking a sandwich from the plate.The sweets would be attacked later, most assuredly, but the sandwiches were of more immediate importance to the night elf druid.

"Ah, well, perhaps we could go later ?" He offered, finding himself strangely at ease all of sudden. Even though he was facing a god, and his daughter, they looked at each other in the same ways he and his mother did.

Families were families no matter who you were, apparently.

Meepfur

"Whenever you want," Adi answered with a bright smile. Just then, Phlox trotted in, looking a bit miffed - she'd left him behind again, nevermind that he'd been napping. He was almost immediately distracted by the food, however, and dragged a sandwich from the tray that he wasted no time in setting into. The werewolf simply rolled her eyes. "We have plenty of time."

Thanking Nashwa before she disappeared again and procuring a sandwich of his own, Rio leaned back comfortably, keeping himself propped up with one elbow. "In the meantime, how are you finding it here? Is there anything you need - a place to stay, anything?"

"Although I'm sure Adi's been taking good care of you," he added with a little chuckle.

Zero Dream

Hmmm. Maybe later, then. He liked it here, he found. And the food was delicious. All the reason to stay put for now, wasn't it ? Of course.

"I've been staying in the gardens so far. It suits me so fine - most people can't seem to tell me apart from a random cat most of the time, and I do my best to stay out of the way." He gave a little laugh.

"But yes, I have been taken very well care of !" That sentence came out a little awkward. Elik didn't seem to notice.

Meepfur

"There are all manner of fantastical beings in and around the Pantheon - a large cat is nothing new to anyone who's spent much time here. I know several, in fact," he added. And a unicorn, and a vampire, and a liontaur...yes, the 'locals' were very diverse.

Adi beamed, glad to hear that Elik approved of her 'care,' even if it came out a little awkward-sounding. "Of course I'm taking good care of him! He has to like it if he's going to stay."

Yep, totally not subtle.

Zero Dream

Subtility was, indeed, not Adrienne's strong point. "Well, I figure... Through I have not yet met many just yet." He really wasn't sure what to think about this place, still. And if he even wanted to stay. Obviously there had to be a way back home, if his mother had taken it.

Adi, through, seemed to have a much different idea in mind...

Meepfur

"You'll have to meet Glyph when he gets back." Adi did so want her friends to also be friends. "You'll like him. And Laurence, too, and Yu. He looks kinda scary, but he's nice. Maybe you could even meet Harmodius?" Fortuantely, the werewolf stopped before reiterating the entire list from earlier. "When you want to, you know. No rush."

During the break in his daughter's chatter, Rio's rose. "Well, I think I'll excuse myself, if you have no further need of me...?"

Zero Dream

"Well, that's a tall list you've got for me, Adi." Through if they were all like Rio, maybe it wouldn't be so bad ?

Well... They probably weren't all like Rio. That was like expecting every living being to be alike. He nodded. "Thank you, sir." He couldn't help himself, really.

[A Wandering Esper]

Solo

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/breedable-changing-pets-roleplay/edel-prp-missed-you-adi-illisia/t.71620103/

[A Wandering Esper]

morphtime !

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/breedable-changing-pets-roleplay/edel-prp-learning-to-wait-alice/t.71609073_1/#2

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/breedable-changing-pets-roleplay/edel-prp-all-work-no-play-zhijian-xun-jiang/t.72194907/

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/breedable-changing-pets-roleplay/edel-prp-bittersweet-glyph-and-xun/t.72583437/

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=21774769&page=1

[A Wandering Esper]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=21933917&page=1