Welcome to Gaia! ::

Naturally Sherith looks rather uncomfortable at the mention of slaughtering humans, and she keeps her eyes generally averted from the elves as they speak of such. "Have you been at war for long? How did it start?" she is curious to know.

"It's not a matter of what is better, or best," she says slowly to Kira. "It's about finding what is positive in what people have. Not everyone is going to be equally fortunate in their lives.' She sighs. "And some people think they are fortunate, when really they are not." Somehow the impression is given that she is speaking about herself.

Kira nodded and said, "It's good to meet other soldiers. We're working towards a new world of Immortals. None of these...," she searched for the right word as she gestured to Claudette. "Peasants will continue to diminish our new land."

Kira snorted with laughter at Sherith as she said breathlessly, "Every Immortal is blessed with ultimate magic and power. Those who are not are to be killed. It's as simple as that."

She really didn't know what to make of Sherith.

Kira smirked and said, "Never compromise for anyone, dear friend. Make those maggots squirm."

She paused before she added, "Of course, we'd be fairing a little better if Claudette's mother hadn't stolen books from our library. They would just be mindless slaves if she butted out. Easier to kill, if they had stayed that way."

She was happy she and Svana had the same kind of battle. There was solidarity knowing that she wasn't entirely alone in this strange place.

Kira laughed. "You haven't got the population? Why not have breeding incentives? We tell our people that if they have five or more babies, they can have a bigger house for free. Tends to work."

She paused, listening to the back and forth between Svana and Baldur.

"See, there used to be this library called Alexandria, and for centuries, everyone thought it had burned down. Which, it kind of did. But everyone thought the books in the library were gone, and turns out they weren't. We ended up with the books underground, and they're all about immortality theories and magic. Turns out they work after a little tweaking. But that lady stole an armful of those books to fuel the rebellion."

Kira was a little agitated at the thought of those books being in enemy hands, but for once, she was hanging onto her cool, if only by a little.

Breeding incentives. That made Svana laugh. "Breeding programs are what I use on my slaves, not my people. Otherwise we end up like the mountain elves, a dozen generations, each one dumber than the last. That said, I don't give my people anything. If they want a bigger house, they go make one. If they want nicer things, they make it or they trade for it. We aren't some debase, clan-like heathens like the humans or orcs."

"Bloody hell, could you get any more condescending?"

"It's not our way to breed like rabbits. We have lifemates for a reason. And the trials. Not everybody is meant for immortality," she reminded him harshly.

"Good luck convincing the mountain elves of that."

Deciding to move away from the subject, she focused on Kira's method of immortality. "I'm curious about yours. To us, for longevity, we have to kill other beings and eat their hearts. We absorb the years they might have had if they lived. Is yours similar? Human magic is always so much different..."

Claudette listened to his explanation. He had such a faraway look in his eyes, but she tried not to pay attention to that.

"Wow," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She was awestruck that such a thing existed. Nomadic dancers must be quite a sight, let alone shifting.

"It's not that magical," she said, her voice returning to normal. "It is the prettiest spot we have though." She laughed at the tavern part. "I'd rather not go to a tavern either when I'm sad."

He had extended his hand for her to look at his tattoos, and hesitantly, she traced the markings with her forefinger. "What do they mean?" She asked, her cheeks a little pink again. She hoped he didn't mind her touch.

"Fireflies aren't Magic either," she said with a smile. "They're not made of fire either. They just light up at night, and it's pretty. They're like little glow bugs that fly."

She didn't know how else to explain bioluminescence to him. But she was happy just thinking about the garden back home. That'd be the first place she would go when she got back, she decided. Not because of sadness, but because she wanted to see it once again. She hoped the Immortals hadn't gotten to it yet.

Kira laughed. Human slaves? She and Svana weren't too different after all.

"Our people like having children though. It's easy to do if you never die," she said. "Every so often we bring in humans to keep the gene pool clean."

"Eating hearts?" She said. "Gross. Definitely not my style. For us, we have imbued objects and tattoos made with magic to keep us alive forever. The magic bonds with our DNA, too. It's literally in our blood to live forever. But it's also what makes us look so different than regular humans."

How many hearts had Svana eaten, she wondered. Then realized she had accidentally said that out loud. Whoops.

Sherith gradually makes her way back towards Claudette and Veiris, assuming no one stops her.

"I suppose vengeance would make sense; at least it would be a reason," she says softly to Svana. She takes a deep breath. "I didn't know what vampires were until recently, but they were described to me as beings that look almost human and never die of old age; they drink blood." That's not all the man told her, but that's all she feels is pertinent right now. "It sounds similar, though they don't need to eat the heart itself."