EXT - Windgrace Manor (day) to INT - Eldritch Tunnels and back
Naoki Sato did not bother waiting for nightfall. The forests were clearer of fog and fungus alike and he was able to skirt around their borders until he could make his way up to the Windgrace manor path, the rare observer quickly dispatched and taken care of via consumption or donation to the walking corpse next to him for stability's sake. It took him a few hours but he finally made his way to the front door, his companion's stench and appearance scattering what workers were in the front yard or on the porch into the safety of the house to alert the siblings within.
Sato himself didn't knock or call out to anyone. Instead he waited until someone opened the door, his focus squarely on keeping the thing and its attached spirit under well enough control to behave. The closer to the manor they'd gotten the more unruly this particular undead became but there was too much at stake to let Charles Windgrace roam the grounds without being on a proper leash.
Dinah was finding herself... thoughtful today. She had woken up and drifted to the pool, trailing her fingers through the water for a few hours and feeding it blood. She had returned, spending a while watching her hand-mirror.. though not the usual contents, fixated instead on the pinkish threads of veins that trailed through. She had immediately picked up on something approaching the wards, still reinforced as they were, and she stood, opening the door to the balcony and peering over.
"Sato." she said, her voice thoughtful. "...what is that, and why is it stinking up my doorstep?"
Dorian was having a relatively fine day, free of considerations of his erstwhile nemesis for the first time since he'd visited the man. He'd been on a ride, Irene was happily sent to her stable with a peppermint. Having come home he had bathed, dressed and had not too long since finished a nice lunch and the dessert he'd insisted on ever since they'd gotten fresh lemons again, his very favorite: Sussex pond pudding. Just having finished a smoke and put on some upbeat music full of pattering horns, he was just idly dancing in the downstairs study, more looking at his reflection in the glass than at the books beyond.
When the help came scrambling in to announce a guest that had them looking ghost-faced, he'd assure them, "I shall take it from here, thank you," then made his way to the door. He'd get there a heartbeat after Dinah and try to make sense of what he was seeing beside Sato. While he floundered on that account his gaze was driven to the jikininki, all quizzical as he greeted with questioning tone, "Come... in Mr. Sato?" He at least stood to one side, that they could be admitted, fighting the urge in the pit of his stomach to keep the shambles of the accompanying form far away from him.
Naoki Sato might have given them forewarning were he a man of tact but unfortunately for the Windgraces the Jikininki didn't think of such things. He took a few steps back to look up at Dinah, eyes narrowed in the sunlight of the mid-afternoon. "You needed him for the ritual," he said flatly. "The state of of him can't be helped. He was waterlogged and mostly decomposed - not much was left." He did, at least, command the corpse to slosh his way back off the porch into the grass. Slivers of blood left his body to scoop up what remnants stuck to the wooden planks, effectively 'cleaning up' in the undead man's wake.
Dorian did, however, invite him inside... so after glancing between the twins Sato shrugged and trooped his way into the house, the body trailing after. It was only after they settled in the living room (to the chagrin of the staff) that Sato moved his hand and fingers to clean up the path Charles had left on entry. "He was a pain to retrieve. I hope the contribution is worth it," he said as he looked over the body. Charles was an assembly of various tones of skin and flesh, various people grafted onto the original skeleton and what remained of the body to lend it enough ambulatory ability to travel without much issue. Sato had thrown something like a burlap sack over it to cover much of its features but wet as it was with fluid leakage, the fabric sagged and clung to his ragged form, doing little of its original function.
Dinah actively scowled as dorian invited the slippery pile of ocean-gnawed flesh into the house, but it was already too late for the 'don't you DARE' that died on her lips as Sato had th good sense to order him out onto the grass. Letting out an angry sigh, she threw herself over the balcony, stopping herself before she hit the ground, and stalked over towards the mulchy pile. Leaning forward, she examined him.
"Is he aware in there?" she asked towards Sato, something almost like hope in her voice. She reached a finger out, almost touching the wet burlap before she stopped herself. "he absolutely reeks. Are you quite sure we need all of him?" she stepped up and away, watching her father's figure from the top step instead. She turned, faraway stare lingering where Dorian stood for a moment.
Dorian couldn't help staring at the thing though each glance also challenged the senses to look away. Each continued examination threatened the friendly smile he'd attempted to don the serious Sato's way. He clearly didn't understand what he was looking at, or who, or he might have just closed the door and gone back to his room. But such grisly things had to be attended when they arose, usually by his twin or elder brother. Out of joint with the moment the upbeat music continued to poke through the atmosphere. Following its cue, Dorian opened his mouth to make a joke, "The day you show up with a simple bottle of wine, we're going to have to throw fireworks."
When he caught Dinah's look he'd shoot her the widened eyes of 'What the heck is going on here?' in reply.
Naoki Sato was utterly unbothered by the smell but he did watch Dinah curiously as she threw herself off the balcony. The little bit of telekinesis earned a hum as he filed away mental notes on that sibling's abilities. "Mildly," he answered. "Who he is. What he has become. His eyes are hardly functional but considering how unsettled he became when we got closer I imagine he can hear. I don't think he's happy to be here - not that he can do much about it." Sato moved to approach the corpse once again, leaving the sanctity and cleanliness of the manor interior to join Charles on the grass.
"I don't drink wine," Sato answered as Dorian made his jest. "But if you want a bottle, I can find one. The Professor typically keeps whiskey, scotch. Not much wine since his wife's been gone." When questions were put to him he circled around Charles and poked a finger at his head. "We may do with only the skull but there are organs inside him. They were used to bind him more fully to the physical bounds of the corpse, to help restrict any of his own magical abilities. He has vocal chords, lungs. I wasn't sure if you would need him to speak for the Rite." He added to Dorian, blase as ever, "A dead relative. Your sister stated he was needed."
Dinah peered a little harder at her brother, listening to what dorian had said. she smiled, still somewhat distracted, but she gestured towards the heap of mobile chum.
"that, darling, is father. We need him to break the veil. We need a hermeticist on each side of the veil. Rather than kill someone anew, I thought it more...prudent to make use of someone that already had passed on and was absolutely not going to be in any sort of paradise" Her expression turned brighter, almost gleeful at the news that Charles was in there, and she skipped down the steps, stopping just before she joined them on the grass.
"Do you hear me, father?" she clasped her hands behind her back. "The boys are doing splendidly in your absence. Drystan has taken to the business like a natural, and dorian is the strongest man that has ever been. It's almost a shame you can't see it, but you wouldn't have been impressed anyway, would you?" she hummed, a pleased sound in her throat. "did you miss us?"
Dorian's smile had become an amused little smirk since Dinah was in fact taking care of the situation. He'd closed the doors behind himself and stepped outside with the others with a mind to be of help if he could be. Sato earned a chuckle before anything dawned on Dorian who was in the midst of answering, "Are you sure we can't turn you around on wi--" when Charles dawned on him. And his smiles and easy cheer all came crashing down. He muttered, "Bloody hell," and reached into his pocket for a cigarette before deciding against the act of smoking in lieu of just taking a deep sigh. Instead his hands found each other, cracking knuckles, and he kept his commentary to himself, with a souring expression.
Naoki Sato blinked at Dinah as she taunted the sad sack of meat and bone. Poor Dorian's distress was lost on him as he raised a hand to lift the burlap from the corpse's back. His finger bled, the blood forming a pointed claw that he used to add a kanji character to the ritual carving on Charles' back. "Answer her questions honestly. Speak no other words," he stated, clear and simple. The corpse, until given permission, had simply been standing there making a low gurgling set of grunts with his throat. Not quite growls, not quite groans.
"I hear," rasped the corpse. There was some struggle with the second question. The body swayed, its only-just-attached head swinging on its neck. Eyeless sockets peered at them from above the quaking jaw. "No," he said finally. There was a beat before he added to his response, "I miss my legacy. Stolen from me - by my own children."
Sato raised a brow. "You killed him?" he asked the twins, no accusation or judgment in his eyes. On the contrary there was something like respect or understanding in his eyes.
Dinah turned to give Dorian a reassuring smile and she she nodded gently "it's alright, darling. he can't hurt you anymore. he certainly can't hurt much of anything anymore" she said softly, a flutter of warmth from her to him. She turned back towards Charles, that too-bright grin lighting her face again.
"we ARE your legacy, you wretch. Had you ever seen that in your life, you wouldn't be in this position." despite the sharpness of her words, the tone was still sickly-sweet and utterly pleased. She glanced at Sato, nodding with a bright smile.
"We did." she said cheerfully. "We put a rope around his neck and strangled him to death. Well. Drystan and I. But even Dorian did not help him" she brought her face closer to the corpse.
"There is an expression, father. 'Even a worm will turn'. You pushed and pushed and pushed my brothers, and were surprised when they were glad for your end. We are more successful than you. We are stronger than you. We will surpass you in every capacity and one day....you will be utterly forgotten. Honestly, lending your meager strength is the only thing of worth beyond spawning us that your life will amount to"
Dorian didn't have the wherewithal to speak even to his dead father as Di did. In the moment before his sister reassured him, he was sort of drawing in on himself, shoulders stooped and trying to take up less space, about to get lost in studying in his shoes. Casting off the whipped cur posture, he'd square up his shoulders as he took another deep breath. He wasn't about to trust his voice just now, so he'd nodded in answer to Sato's question about patricide while Dinah answered more fully, staring at what was left of his father. Now he found it nearly impossible to pull his gaze from the ruined form.
Naoki Sato | The corpse grit its teeth, ragged bone scraping as argument rumbled in his throat that it wasn't allowed to speak. The entirety of the body trembled, as the deceased patriarch attempted to gather Aetheric energies into himself, the effort making Sato wince and redouble his own efforts with an infusion of blood from his palm, red coils digging into putrid flesh. Blood erupted from its gaping mouth to coil around its head like a binding.
"He has more will than others I've bound," Sato observed. There were dark lines around his eyes, sprawls of veins as he devoted more energy to keeping his control rather than upkeep of his glamour. "If I know more specifically what you need - voice, somatic movements - I can limit his ability to do more beyond those things." Curling his fingers into a fist, Sato moved it quickly downward an with an uttered word of "Hizamazuke," bid the corpse to kneel suddenly in the grass. "Preparations should be made relatively quickly. I can manage further decomposition but not when focus is elsewhere. Not when he fights to be free of the body."
Dinah 's shoulders squared up even as her twins' slumped down. Whilst Dorian was retreating in on himself, Di looked half a step from squaring against the mass.
"that's right. Look at you. Nothing more than a heap of meat. No less putrid than you were alive, though at least then you were better dressed" she hissed between her teeth, only withdrawing back to amiable cheeriness when Sato reinforced the binding.
"A family trait" she agreed when Sato said he was willful, and she giggled. "We will need him to speak. We won't need him to move once we're there. I suppose we could always put him in a wheelbarrow or something to get him into position." she reached up, twiddling her fingers in her hair, though gave a pleased little clap at making Charles kneel.
"Oh, aren't you clever? It really is a splendid talent. It makes me jealous I never picked it up myself" she gushed, bobbing her head. "If we bring him down, I will be able to keep him restrained in a ward. If the Nameless one cannot easily break out of one of my wards, this stinking pile of cat food can't"
Dorian did distract himself with lighting up a cigarette, and arguing with the dead man internally. He didn't need to chance an answer aloud when he had centuries of personal history to pull from. Marginally more likely to win in his own mind, the best part was he could walk away from it. And he did, in time to watch the yokai force the corpse to kneel. He took in the information that Charles would be with them for a while, as he did the cigarette, with furious intent. And murmuring, "Blimey" inside a big cloud of smoke which he directed away from the gathered company.
Naoki Sato | From somewhere above them a curious little mew sounded at the mention of cat food. The appearance and stench however of the thing near the siblings caused a much more alarmed noise and the frantic scurrying of fuzzy paws back into Dinah's bedroom. "I wouldn't feed this meat to a living creature unless it has the stomach for it," Sato said as he gazed upwards at the retreating white tail. "Keep him below then. Removing the extremities is doable. I can help transport him to the site when needed."
The yokai paused as Dinah mentioned her jealousy, his head cocking to the side. "Necromancy... it was made easier by my hermetic knowledge. My blood helps form the connections, as does the nature of what I am. You could learn but I wouldn't know how to teach someone the same methods."Dorian's 'Blimey' was overheard and this time Sato did not ignore the man's reaction to their current guest. "Is it the smell?" he asked as his eyes followed the billow of cigarette smoke. "It can be masked. It wouldn't be difficult,” he offered.
Dinah turned to look towards Dorian again and she smiled again. "look, bunny. He's a ruin. A tool. Just like he tried to make us. When he's done with, we can push him back into the sea and be done with him forever" she turned to look back towards the corpse. The notion of taking his skull was tempting though. Maybe she could make a paint pot for Drystan with it.
The scurrying of paddy paws made her look upwards and she pouted a little. "oh, darling. Sweet baby, no. this one isn't for you. Later, darling, we will go to the docks and get you some fresh fish" she promised. Now the docks were open again? there was no way that all and sundry were not being spoiled. Instead she stepped a little closer, and she nodded.
"I always leaned more towards alchemy. Toyed with the idea of making homunculi a few times.." she glanced towards Sato with a faint, impish smile. "I am not completely ignorant of blood magic. Learning, at least." she added, but she shook her head.
"Father was roughest on Drystan and Dorian. Weren't you, you sack of shit? You saw a beautiful artist and a pure soul and you couldn't capitalise on it, so you sought to crush it" she almost wished he were still standing so she could have kicked him to his knees.
"instead he cultivated me. And I learned splendidly"
Dorian flicked the cherry off of the end of his quickly consumed butt, and stomped it. While he did this, he was shaking his head and explaining to Sato, voice a little extra gruff to compensate and make certain he didn't sound like the prepubescent boy that Charles conjured, "Thank you, no Mr. Sato."
When Dinah turned to look his way and tried to elevate his perspective he'd shake his head, in disagreement and cognitive dissonance while saying, "Of course, I am sure it is fine. Will be." There wasn't anything for it. Apart from offering something that would serve to pull him away from the immediacy of the situation at least for a time to pull himself together, "Do you want me to collect the wheelbarrow?" He already thought they'd sent their father to the depths forever, and wasn't so sure this nightmare wouldn't recur.
Naoki Sato blinked, again looking from twin to twin at the sound of Dorian's apparent nickname. "Is he a rabbit? A shifter?" he asked quite bluntly as his eyes fixed on Dorian. He wasn't distracted by any further grumblings from above though Dinah's promise of fresh fish did have a little ripple of glee come tumbling into her head from the feline on the upper floor. There was a small POOMPH of white fluff and Dorian found himself with a cat-shaped muffler purring soundly about his shoulders. The feline's purr imparted the same sense of soothing and comfort as it always did, if Dorian chose not to fight it - along with a little bit of the excitement the cat felt at the prospect of fresh food.
If Sato was at all surprised or taken aback by the cat's appearance he hid it well. A few seconds of staring and he returned his attention to Dinah. "I make them, homonculi," is all he offered on the topic before allowing the venting at Charles to go uninterrupted. When Dorian was finished speaking he gestured at the body next to him. "Do you want to hit him? I can move him down below intact or in pieces."
Dinah smiled fondly towards Dorian, moreso when he gained his furry scarf, and she beamed. "No need, darling. We can move him. If he gives Sato any trouble, I will move him. He will find Sato making him move far more preferable, I suspect" she promised, though she giggled into the back of her hand at Sato's consideration that Dorian was a rabbit shifter.
"No, mr Sato. But Dorian has always been fond of rabbits. We seem to have taken them as an unofficial heraldric beast for the family." she stepped back up and onto the step to scritch Darius for a moment, brush her fingers against her twin's cheeks, before turning back towards Sato.
"are they convincing? All of my grimoires have always been so... creative. I have never made a humanoid one. but...I have considered it, quite frequently."
Dorian didn't notice the kitty friend, even though Di had spoken to it, until the cat was upon him. At that moment he was glad for the company, gladder than he could say, or would. He'd reach up a hand to find a spot behind the ear to scritch, and snuffle a little laugh before he greeted, "Darius, there's a good fellow." He didn't answer about his nickname, letting Di take over for him on that account. Anything he might have had to say, any worries to voice currently quenched when petted like the cat. He'd step down alongside her, trying to keep an even plane across his shoulders for the cat to balance upon. Whatever the situaton was, even if it involved Charles, Dorian knew the only way out was through, and alongside Dinah and Drystan so the least he could do was stand up to it, and answer Sato, "Wouldn't be sporting. It's been a long time since it would have been."
Naoki Sato | Around Dorian's shoulders, Darius did a wonderful job of keeping himself balanced and secure. His erstwhile perch felt only the barest pricks of claw as he shifted and settled with each movement, the resounding purr continuing unhindered. Sato huffed out of his nostrils. "I can move him," he said simply." He took the information about Dorian - about the family - and rabbits with another nod. "Hunter seems to enjoy them too," he mused before getting his brain back on track.
Once Dorian joined them Sato cast one look at the coiled and cozy cat around his neck before shrugging and turning to Charles. An uttered command to stand and the corpse did so. "I can send a homunculus. You can see if it convinces you well enough," Sato said. "Are there wards that would interfere against us entering? Down below," he asked with a nod towards where he knew the tunnel entrance to be. Sato began walking regardless after bidding Charles to follow.
Dinah sidled up to her twin as he joined her and she clicked her tongue, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "it would never have been sporting, beloved. Maybe when you were five. you've always been stronger than him. He was just Taller" she touched her fingers to his forearm, before giving Darius a good petting too.
"Hunter liked playing with the rabbits in the greenhouse when he first came to stay with us. He likes being a bunny. people don't expect it" she didn't specify what the 'it' was, but with Hunter? it was fairly self explanatory. She strode across the grass towards the concealed entrance, and she gave Sato a smile.
"Wards against you? No. I didn't ward you out, in case you wanted to visit the pool. And he, wretch that he is, still shares my blood so sadly he isn't warded out either. We'll put him down there. Somewhere that I won't have to deal with that smell. Either that or I just..bury him in incense until we need him" she said thoughtfully.
Dorian linked up arms with his sister and walked along side her, warily letting himself put his back to a father couldn't really do anything to him in his current form. The cat-stole had a calming effect, the same as his twin did. Who couldn't face anything in the world with the combination of twin power and warm fur? With resignation spurring him onward, he'd call back to Sato, "If you don't drink wine, what do you like, by the way?"
It seemed he was happiest not discussing the matter at hand, sometimes that was how one made it through centuries of seeing the impossible and moments of facing the unspeakable.
Naoki Sato nodded when Dinah confirmed their easy entry. He considered the conundrum of sport as they walked. "I could make him a monster... for a sporting chance. It would take time to find the parts and make the effort though." The Jikininki seemed unphazed by the idea of potentially-deadly or debilitating combat with dead family, it seemed. "As for what I like... I eat people. I can consume standard food any person would eat but it doesn't sate the same way." He paused for a moment in their walk to think. "If you honestly want to offer something, I'll eat it. It's only polite."
Despite his formal attire Sato's frame was relatively agile; he navigated the root-laden tunnel to the underground caverns with ease. He took no effort to give their corpse guest the same courtesy, letting Charles stumble along until the body ended up in a heap at the bottom of the sloping tunnel entrance. Darius for his part clung a little tighter to Dorian when they approached, both out of fear of the guardians that still haunted the
Naoki Sato underground and to prevent himself from slipping off as Dorian made his way down.
<Don't let them eat me,> came the whisper into the twins' collective minds.
Dinah gave Dorian's arm a little squeeze, pausing at the sound of the hysterical, cackling laughter from deep inside the tunnels. Her free hands fingers lifted to make a few flickering gestures in the air, and the laughter subsided, sent to the deeper caverns. The hand pressed a little tighter against her twin when it returned, and she smiled towards Sato again.
"He's already a monster, Mr Sato. he just looks like it now" she said cheerfully, watching as Charles stumbled and slid into the bottom of the tunnel. She reached for Darius too, giving his ear a rub.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. you're safe with us" she cooed, dipping her head to bump her brow to his, though she did ponder Sato's words a little.
"eating people. I do remember you at the dinner party. I believe that was when we first met, wasnt it? not that we spoke much."
Dorian reached up to pet Darius in answer, and reassured the kittyfriend inwardly that all would be well in a gentle push of feeling. Making someone else feel better worked well to distract him, as did Sato's response. He'd surefootedly manage the rather familiar tunnels, even through their dark recesses, arm in arm with his sister. The haunting laughter didn't seem to bother him, in fact he'd speak through the tail end of it, tacking his quandary onto his sister's remarks, "Do you ah... forgive my asking if it is impolite, but how fresh do you prefer your meals?"
Naoki Sato 's expression soured at the mention of Roesler's dinner party. "It was," he confirmed before adding quickly, "But we aren't the same." It didn't take many leaps of logic to tell who he meant. Darius did an anxious little dig into Dorian's shoulders when he found out they were in the presence of yet another meat-eating beasty though he was comforted a bit by the gentle nudgings from Dorian and Dinah both. The purring began again as the cat settled though occasionally his tail flicked in apprehension as Sato and the meat body moved about.
"Your command of other creatures is probably more useful than the homunculi," Sato said as they ventured further in and the laughter finally faded. "I'm limited in what I'm able to create. Though... I've not tried to summon or control dead things that aren't animals. I should... sometime." As they moved along he stopped again, turning to stare in the direction of the Pool that stood some twisting branch of the tunnels away. It was after a moment of silent thought that he turned to answer Dorian. "It's fine. It doesn't matter to me how fresh they are. It's less challenging with a corpse. Like you said - not sporting. But I can digest them either way."
Dinah was surprised at Dorian's interest, perking a brow towards him at his questions. Normally dorian seemed to like to keep away from the Stranger of the strangeness of the isle. It was strange of him to try and ask for details on it.
"Not the same?" she echoed, but she did brighten at the mention of her command of the creatures.
"it's less command of them. More just.. bartering, I suppose. The ghouls were splendid little friends, very amenable. I was almost sad to see them go. The deep ones are gentle when you know how to speak their tongue and Chuckles is just basically a particularly large leech with an eerie gimmick" she said casually. "I suppose I just bond well with them. Did you ever get to see the Horror? He will be down here somewhere. Far, far deeper than these tunnels. He likes to stay out of the light. But he is terribly large. I am terribly proud of him."
Dorian tucked that little bit of information away about Sato and eating people to some part of his brain. Dinah was right that it was unusual, but for the fact that he had even less interest in talking about himself or his family just now. It seemed like the jikininki had done them favours on multiple occasions, so the least he could do was learn a bit more about him. But his questioning came to a halt just there, as his sister began to speak about her abilities and the creatures she called upon. He'd seek to soothe the kitty, and perhaps himself a little bit too with some caressing as they walked on.
Naoki Sato huffed again but did not choose to expound on comparisons between himself and a certain mutually-acquainted doctor. Conversation shifted and he followed it gladly, listening intently when Dinah spoke of bartering with various entities. "Bartering. Maybe not. Entering into more deals would be problematic," he said after a beat of hesitation and a sidelong glance at Dorian. Eventually he nodded at Dinah's assertion about bonding with her beasties. "Helpful. I think I remember seeing something big. I didn't get close. ...I don't bond," he replied.
Sato followed as long as Dinah and Dorian led, moving Charles along with them until they found a suitable place to entomb the body. The corpse's footsteps grew more sluggish as they went on, reluctance setting in as the weight of the place began to set in. Darius too was uneasy; the purr grew louder as a result, fluffy tail swishing now and again at Dorian's face.
Dinah was always more at ease down here than most places. It was strange, she had never been one to shy away from the light and sounds of the upper world. Since the Rite, she had found herself a little more connected to the place, drifting her attention from shrine to shrine, and deeper still, the pool. Once more, her hand reached out to give Dorian's a comforting squeeze, and another pet to Darius.
"it's not necessarily a deal that is always.. equal. The ghouls, for example, they just wanted food. They serve for that purpose. The more dangerous ones are the ones that aren't smart enough to barter with. Chuckles, for example. Harder to deal with. He just knows better" she smiled wryly. When it seemed her father was trudging more and more heavily, she gave the corpse a grin.
"What's that, papa? you don't like the place? you should see it. The Gods themselves have been here. Not that you ever had much of a connection" she gestured towards the edge of one of the pools. "Keep him there, Mr. Sato. I will ward him in place. The water spray might keep the stink of him down...it's not like he's going to rot worse than he already is. Do you suppose I could fleshcraft it back, if it fell off?"
Dorian was content enough to walk alongside his sister in his corpse father's company, and that alone was a bit of a feat for him. He expressed inward solidarity with the Darius' restive show of tail swooshing, in a short psychic push. His love for the place was predicated almost entirely on his sister's devotion and time spent here. Rather than walking beside her, truly he walked a little behind her. When they arrived at the appointed place, he'd lean his head over to nudge the kitty, and then look toward Sato again. He'd seen the man use a spate of powers that were impressive, certainly beyond his own ability. Though at first he looked at him with plain-faced curiosity, that shifted to a wilted version of the smile he'd worn when he'd first opened the door, and he was finally able to say what he felt he should have before, "Thank you for bringing him along for us. Ahem."
Naoki Sato gave Charles a little boot in the back to get him the rest of the way to the pool Dinah indicated. "I don't think I know better," he said with a little twinge of bitterness. Sato shook his head to clear it of anyway wayward thoughts before moving to edit the carvings on his back, drawing lines and circles that went around the joints of each limb. The spirit within's control over his limbs was severed after that, keeping him rooted in place but for the wobbling and wriggling of his torso and head. "It was necessary," he answered to Dorian's gratitude. "And yes, probably. If you're able. You have to be able to keep the flesh preserved while you shape it. If it's degraded it's malleable but fragile."
Dinah knew her brother wasn't as keen on the place as she was. Then again, there was very few things of the Eldritch path that he cared for as she did. She nodded in agreement with her Twins' words. It was definitely preferable for him to have been brought to them than trying to figure out an alternative. She pondered the 'not knowing better in silence, but nodded, pleased at least that she could fleshcraft him. Maybe she'd give him his old face back.
"Malleable but fragile. I can work with that. I shouldn't want to have to touch him if I don't have to.. gods knows they don't make water hot enough to feel clean after, i'd wager, but if it must be done" she chewed at her thumbnail with her teeth, watching the dead man squirming. "Small mercy for him, at least, he shares my blood. The guardians ought to leave him be" she turned to give Sato another smile.
"Thank you. Everything else should be very quickly attained. we just need wait for the date, really."
Dorian didn't spare another look his dead father's way. That made it easier, focusing on Dinah, on Sato, on Darius. On sounds that accompanied the tunnels. He'd reach out a hand to shake with Sato, the hand that had previously been petting the kitty as the other had found its way to the small of his twin's back when they'd come to a stop to deposit Charles. He hadn't anything to add, apart from trying again to get past the jikininki's pragmatism, "Still your effort is appreciated."
Naoki Sato bowed his head. "I'm invested in this. Whatever else I can do to help, I will." More hesitation before he added with some tension in his shoulders, "As will the Professor." He stared at Dorian's hand for a moment then his own before moving forward to take it and give him a firm handshake. Sato's hand was feverishly hot, the constant roil of blood moving beneath the surface of his skin and the fight his body gave to most pathogens keeping it warmer than the norm. It was a brief shake before he stepped away and looked to the entrance. "I should go. The - there are people who need to know about the progress we make. Call me if you need me." With that and another bow, he made his way toward the tunnel entrance without further fanfare.
Dinah hummed a noise of approval when Dori shook hands with Sato, joining herself at his side when that was done. She nodded again.
"please do give the professor my regards, won't you?" she gave a little wave. "And do take care" she waved as he left, turning her attention fully onto her brother.
"Are you alright, love? you know he can't do anything to you now, don't you? I wouldn't let him, even if he were capable" she whispered, petting the kitty as she murmured her words.
Dorian shook without trying to crush it, and smiled after Sato as and after he went. When his twin sought to reassure him again, he'd shake his head just a little bit, and answer her honestly, looking straight into her eyes while his lips twisted into a sidewise unsmile, "No. But I will be." Even if he knew better, that his father was never going to change, he still felt a little heartsick over the man's death. Over his failure of fulfilling filial duty, to the last. And he was also cross with himself for continuing to let the man have such an effect on him.
Dinah reached up to cuddle herself to him, petting his hair, and darius, all in one. "it's alright. Come on. lets leave him down here in the dark. I know you don't like it down here as much as I do anyway" she pressed another kiss to his cheek, reaching to take his hand and lead him back up the way they'd come towards the daylight again.
"I never realised how bright it is outside until you come down here, you know. the fog made everything so...dull for so long, it seemed" she said softly, more to herself for idle conversation than anything truly observational
Dorian was relieved to head back to free air, and upon being kissed, he apologized for it, in his way, "I would go anywhere, if you were there." He'd reach over to lay his hand over her wrist upon his arm once they were out in the open and pause in the walk toward the house to bask, remarking, "The air is clear, and I am glad to be in it with you. Dinah... let me get something off of my chest...."
He'd bend to let Darius down, disentangling from her for the length of time it took to do so. As the rangy white cat made his way toward the manor ahead of them, he'd reach for his sister's hands and explain, "I have been vexed by your favourite stringbean. I tell myself the next time he speaks an untoward word about you, I will make it clear to him that it is that last such word I intend to hear from his lips. That it will keep the peace." Having admitted that much he didn't really know what else to say. But he hadn't punched nor slashed his way out of it, so perhaps it was a start.
Dinah curled herself close to him, cleaving to his side as if she too was the cat on his shoulders. she smiled as they got up to the air, lacing her fingers with his as he spoke of a confession.
"my favourite stringbean would be Drystan, beloved, but we know that's not the one you're referring to" she cocked an eyebrow, humming in consideration "An untoward word about me? what did he say that was so untoward? I thought that you two were getting along better. Though I suppose you haven't tried to murder him yet, we could consider that an improvement."
Dorian had a way of not thinking about anything other than his sister when she was close as she clung. He chuckled when she named her favourite stringbean as Drystan, but shook his head. His voice dropped precipitously to a whisper as he answered, looking from her lips to the end of her nose and then finally into her eyes, "That you- he said..." Dorian was having a hard time speaking the words, and he started turning pink in the face even speaking of it. Looking into her eyes he didn't want to speak another word about Roesler, but he owed her an answer, he supposed so he tried again, once more only really getting up to a whisper's decibels to start, though as he went on he grew vociferous up to conversational speech, "--that you were somewhat ah... keen on bloodshed. He presumes to give me what parades as advice, but it is mockery. I can see it in his face. And I want to knock the smug off of him."
Dinah giggled and reached to draw her finger over his cheek. "You are always so cute when you blush" she whispered against his collarbone, watching his face as he struggled to say the words that had been so untoward.
"I thought it was going to be something awful Dori, something villainously depraved. Then again, I daresay you would have hit him for that. If you knock the smug off him darling, he won't have a face left" she cuddled herself tight against his side. "you have always sought to protect my honour, darling. you shouldn't worry about such things though." she was...uncertain how to proceed. Denying it would be lying to him. Voicing it to him would likely be worse.
Dorian closed his eyes when she touched the heated spots on his cheek, and when she cuddled close again he opened his eyes. He'd wrap both arms around her and kiss the top of her head for his first answer. He had to recalibrate himself when she brushed it off as nothing scandalous. He took a few heartbeats, then he'd relieve her from having to answer any further by explaining, "I do not want to know what it is that goes on between you. It is not my business. And you would like for him to continue walking this earth. So-- it would be better if I did not know anything beyond the dark confines of my own considerations. Wouldn't it?"
That left him with fewer choices than he would have liked, but chief among them were going to be setting some boundaries with Niles. Or trying to. This was new to him, and he was at a loss for some things, but he was sure he was doing them both a favour that would suit their differences down to the ground. She couldn't brook not knowing, but he sought blinders.
Dinah studied her twin for a few long moments, eyes flitting across his face. Seeing things beyond normality, beyond her usual exceptionally perceptive range of visions. flickers of pale blue stars shone in her eyes, and she curled the backs of her knuckles against his cheeks.
For a long few moments, she pondered what to say.
"whatever happens or doesnt, whatever you know or don't. you know that you are my heart, and I love you. that is unchanging. forever will be unchanging. I have seen it" she tapped the side of her skull with a fingertip. "but i would also like you happy. And yes, I would quite prefer you didn't kill him. You would be happier still if you didn't let such things bother you so, dori" she said softly, her fingers lowering to his chest. "I daresay you tie yourself in worse knots because you dont know and you torment yourself with imaginaries. but you know there are sides to me that you do not like. We can both be honest with each other about that. I know that it upsets you. It upsets me that it upsets you. How I get." she sighed. "but. regardless of anything. everything. I love you. YOU. say it back to me so I know you heard me, and say it so I know you believe it"
Eli: Exhaustion has walked hand in hand with Eli these past months. Since he had lost his wings and the air – the ability to fly? He has become a shadow of the creature he used to be. Somewhat short tempered with other students, he has not made many friends. It is a thing to be alone. To wander through halls and have no one to hail you when you pass. But this is a self-inflicted. There are many who would welcome him if he would just .. look their way. But the pixie is determined. He has sought the techno magical mysteries and gained more than most students ever do in the less than a year that he has attended. But it shows. It shows in the thin set of his frame, the purple shadows about his eyes, and the crackle of dust that sifts softly from him when he moves. He has left the Esher house tonight to get some space from its inhabitants. Not expecting to find anyone, he is somewhat surprised when he emerges from the bushes by the cave entrance and nearly walks upon two of his most favorite people. “Oh dear..” a soft murmur, laced with shadowy wisps. “Apologies.”
Dorian was momentarily lost to thought, even without gazing into her eyes when they flickered to something distant and seemingly unknowable. And it disarmed him down to his soul for her to then speak to the very fear that had surfaced, that always did. He'd argue only briefly and with no spirit, "Because I am too simple to understand, it is not that I dislike it. You love me, there." It sounded small and stupid, like nothing compared to what the words meant, but that wasn't a new feeling for him. He wanted to say more about his failures but didn't as that was a road already traveled. He skipped to the end, "You know I know that. But you deserve more than that. I just want you to be--"
All of a sudden the world wasn't just him and his twin, but there was a pixie too. He finished, "--happy. Hello there Eli!" After greeting the fairie, only then, would he pull himself a little away from his twin. It was like defying gravity every time he had to do so, moving against the implacable desire to be near to her. Unentangling one hand from her, he'd raise it in greeting to his sister's pupil.
Dinah could sense the additional presence behind them, but the familiarity of it by now, someone that had been down to the depths, had the beginnings of the flicker in him, she didn't turn away from her twin just yet. She gave dorian a moue of a pout, and she gave his hand a squeeze. SHE had no inclination to pull away from him, so as he tried to depart, she gripped his hand tighter, pricking her fingernails against the back of his hand. She did turn to greet their guest though, a smile on her face.
"hello dear" she said fondly. "you are looking weary dear heart. studying too much?" she knew the pains, had suffered it often. Reaching her arm again to knot with Dorian's, she returned herself rather fixedly to his side.
<"you are not simple, beloved"> her reply came directly to his mind, far from the pixie ears. <"and you do not need to hide it. you think of me as i was, so long ago. I do love you. best of anything">
Eli: A smile is given to the twins and watchful eyes take in the attempt to depart Dinah’s clutches, and then her reaction. “Please, I do not mean to impose. It is never to our benefit to leave the sides of those who compel our souls – do not do it merely because I have stepped into the field of view.” A hand lifts to rub at his neck and another bemused smile tips the corner of his mouth when Dinah calls him out for his studying habits. “I have made great headway in my studies. But some one very wise once told me that I need to immerse myself in the art to fully comprehend it.” His thumb rubs against one of his fingers, against a line of black that seems to have been permanently etched along the side of the digit. “I will rest when I have solved the balance issues. I have a prototype of the wings made now.. The things I have worked through. I do believe that I may have made a couple of the older students a bit irate though..” he trails off, shakes his head, then bows his head at the two of them. “You are looking well, however. Much better than you have been.”
Dorian shook his head minutely at his sister not pulling apart from him, as if they had nothing at all to be ashamed of. She was brave enough to take what she wanted, to save the island, to do the things he spoke of, dreamed of. It put a smile on his face just to revel in her proximity in the plain light of day, even before she spoke silent reassurances. His blush renewed, though he kept nearly mum, letting his sister and the pixie exchange greetings. He tacked on, "You are not an imposition, you are a friend. A friend whom I think I have never heard utter so many words altogether, let alone at once, thank you and bravo Eli!" He would have even clapped but he was unwilling to dislodge himself again, now he was where he belonged.
Dinah gave a mischievous half smile at Eli's words, and she nodded again. She waved her free hand when he implied he was imposing, but she laughed gently. "just be sure you rest. view it with fresh eyes. Even someone completely immersed can miss the obvious if they're too bone weary to see it" she said gently. "Especially with something so particular as balance. Perhaps it will take an outside the box thinking to solve such a problem. something like that can be difficult to consider" She clicked her tongue at the consideration of the elder students and shook her head
"you could spill all of their brains into a pan and the pan would still be smarter, darling. don't bother yourself on the opinion of the porridge-minded chattel that attend simply because they can. you are sharper than all of them" she grinned up towards Dorian at his praise of her student and she nodded "you ARE becoming more confident in yourself. We're pleased to see it. you deserve to be." she gave Dorian's arm another squeeze, the grin redoubling on her own face at the blush across his cheeks.
Eli: It is of course only when his apparent confidence is remarked upon that the pixie raises a blush of color. He is in this moment too tired to worry about what others are thinking. Even when his magic had spun out of control and he’d literally leaked aether everywhere in the form of dust he had not felt as bone weary as he does now. The color of his embarrassment remains, but he moves past it with a quiet confidence that is slowly changing the way he holds himself. The way he approaches the world. Being robbed of the ability to fly off and hide has taught him how to hold his ground. How to assert himself – but he’d not been aware of the change. “I am required to speak a lot.” He confides to the two, head inclining at their compliments. The blush remains, but the stammer is barely there now, “T-the school .. there is an annoying amount of people who will not simply learn a gesture to make -my- life easier.” His pale purple eyes roll, an expression likely picked up from those same students. “I am walking – to take that break. I thought I would talk to the trees and see if they answer me back.” A hint of impish humor glints in his eye. “I saw a boi doing just that the other day and would you believe that a branch lowered so he might pick a fruit from it?”
Dorian shifted his weight just so he could lean his hip against his sister's before he settled again. He couldn't help but chuckle at his sister's colourful description of her less capable students, and at the comparatively peasant turn their conversation had taken even before Eli had showed up. In the moment, he was busy being besotted, and trying not to think past that. Except of course to meander where their company's thoughts took them. He'd immediately answer, "That sounds a most handy skill. To have a voice sweet enough that trees will bend their boughs? My sister knows a thing or two about that, I fear. Your have rather a lovely voice too, you know?"
Inwardly, to his twin he'd open his thoughts toward her enough for her to feel the gladness that she'd stayed close. That it meant a great deal to him, more than he could say, in the moment they inhabited with their dead father practically a stone's throw away.
Dinah preened in pride at the confidence, slight as it was, that Eli was showing. It was such a change already, and her hand squeezed at her twins.
"it shows. You are working hard, and it shows" she spoke fondly, nodding at his hard work. "I suppose their inconsiderate nature benefits you, even if it is frustrating" she agreed. "greensinging though? A remarkable talent. I wish I had the heart for it. It's definitely something that has its uses. I think if there were more greensingers around, the isle wouldn't have had such trouble when the ships stopped." she clicked her tongue at dorian's praise, shaking her head.
"you're sweet, for a liar" she teased, poking out her tongue at the slightly-elder windgrace. "I don't sing much. I like to grow my plants, but I have yet to have a plant obey me. Unless I command it 'sit very still and do nothing' and even then.." she shrugged a shoulder. "still. It IS an admirable talent, I think."
Eli: A light laugh, quick and startling to the pixie from which it takes wing is given to the air. Eli’s eyes round in surprise even as he remarks upon that which had drawn it from him, “I have an ill used voice. Even when I had lived amongst my people the shadows did not sit well with them. My twin. he is all sun and fire. My contrast was disconcerting in my family – heat versus cold, light versus dark. I did not speak much even then.” He thinks back then shakes his head once. “I have always taken what has been given or left behind and made the most of it. A shoulder lifts in a slight shrug and his mind wanders in thought. “My life has grown notably better with you in it. No more borrowing.” Here, a smile. “But yes. A remarkable skill. So at odds with what comes naturally to me.”
Dorian didn't explain the obvious, that he personally found his sister's requests impossible to ignore. He didn't even play-argue with her when she called him a sweet liar, he only chuckled and pulled himself nearer to her for a moment right after she'd stuck out her tongue. Though he didn't understand all of Eli's remarks to their deepest depths, he knew enough to be grateful that he was reminded of the dichotomous nature of twinship. He'd encourage, which was easy for him given the woman whose affection he was reveling in, "Well all I know is that if I were a tree, I would gladly and willingly share with you. Or with Dinah. Furthermore, they know shadows very well, they stand by them all day and on moonlit nights." He nodded to punctuate his very salient point as if it was sagacious wisdom.
Dinah softened even more at Eli's expression. She too was the 'darker' twin to her brothers solar half and she gave Dorian's hand a squeeze, before disentangling, though begrudgingly, to approach her pupil.
"you and I are more alike in that than you can possibly think, dear. If you have ever seen both of us together as we are, you would understand what I mean" she nodded earnestly, before returning back to Dorian's fingers.
"Sometimes, a person can find themselves in a position they didnt expect, with a talent they didn't expect. All things are capable through at least trying, after all. Life is balanced in contrasts, sweetling." she gave Dorian a grin and she nodded. "In my faith, there are a set of twins. They are called the twin snakes, of creation and destruction. They dance across the universe, and when they meet, when they touch, something in the world is created, or destroyed. I always think that twins, even mortal ones, have an element of that in us" she snuggled up to Dorian's side. "That is why so many of us are so opposite. one soul, split in two."
Eli: This is perhaps one of the many things that has drawn Eli so neatly into the Windgrace fold. No matter what he has shown them, they have accepted and honored him. Encouraged his growth, and never let anyone bring him down – including himself. He allows his gaze to shift between the two of them and another smile awakens, blooms, and then fades slowly. Whenever my brother and I come together – something always goes boom.” He shakes his head, agreeing with her but marveling that he is still here and standing. “He’s left the island you know. He did not do well with the mist and does not trust that the people on this island do not mean us ill.” This saddens the pixie, but separation is inevitable. “We will find one another again someday. I doubt that the world will swallow him up. He would set it afire.” He nods toward Dori though, actually thinking upon his words. “You speak in poetry.” He muses, “But the imagery appeals. I can be the shadow resting beneath the boughs. “
Dorian let Dinah loose when she sought to step closer to her pupil and looked after her. Upon hearing what she had to say, his heart swelled in his chest, and there could be no wrong, even with a reanimated Charles warded underground. Even with Roesler's ship circling above. When his sister returned to him, he was ready to receive her, to loop an arm around her, and to entangle one with hers. There was nothing truer, nor realer than being with her. He shook his head when his simple observation was called poetry, especially compared to his sister's scripture. He remarked on the sad news that Eli was sundered from his sibling, "I am sure you two will meet again. It is the way of family to come back together, even having been long apart. The two of you will pick up right where you left off."
He couldn't help but dwell on that with some sympathy, his own fears being what they were.
Dinah trailed her fingers across dorian's forearm, humming in delight at the notion. "The island was just dark. Only dark when it was befogged. Things were unbalanced. it stands to reason the lighter side would be upset with it" she agreed, though she could understand all too well the pain of being split from ones twin.
"Dorian is a poet" she agreed happily. "far moreso than I am" she nodded earnestly, giving his hand a squeeze. "The shadow beneath the boughs. Moonlight on the leaves, the calm of winter when everything rests and recuperates for springs light" she sighed gently. "People give the dark a bad image, I think. The dark can be beautiful, if you treat it as it's own thing, and not just an absence of light."
Eli: “I think that the dark enhances the light.” Eli shares, quietly. “Without it, you cannot see the depth.” He lifts a hand to the air beside him and rubs fingers to thumb, sparking a shower of iridescent dust that glows softly as it swirls down toward the ground. “And when I stand alone you can see that I am not a void. I am a star spangled field of shadow that only looses its brilliance when viewed in tandem with a closely flaming sun.” the hand drops to trace across his chest, the slash of void that peers into the stuff of stars that he in essence represents. “But now I think perhaps I am wondering if you are telling me I am beautiful.” He laughs, finding that amusing. “I find humanity to be so. Humans live such short, brilliant lives. I have always been drawn to watching them. They are more like fireflies though. Here and there a brilliant light dancing with the darkness in the world, cleaving to one another."
Dorian's blush renewed at being called a poet, and he would have argued, but he just accepted what he considered to be praise with a reluctant lowering of his head. He'd nod agreement to what his sister said about dark having a bad image, and after pressing a kiss atop her head, he looked toward Eli again. Really looked him over where he was plainly other than human, and after smiling just pacifically as he had since his sister had kept herself entangled with him, explained, "Then we all are agreed. The dark isn't an absence, it has its own splendours. And how could he now know how splendid he is, Dinah? That would be near as great a travesty as you not knowing that you are exalted. I think that I for one I cannot stand for either mistruth."
For all his brave words though, he didn't seem like he was going to do much about it past pontificate, not if it meant letting her go and moving on past what was a rather nice moment.
Dinah grinned again and she nodded. "Dark without the light is just black. Never one without the other, at some capacity." at least, such was her own life. Never one without the other. She laughed though and she nodded. "Stare at the light too long and you go blind. Darkness alone, and you're still blind." she grinned. "you ARE beautiful though, Eli dear. Did you really think you weren't?" she cocked her brow at him, and she looked up to Dorian with a sigh.
"some people just constantly diminish themselves, Dorian" she agreed with his sentiment. "if not one thing, for another. I, however, am not anymore exalted than you are, bunny. they just whisper louder to me than most. And often at...inopportune times"
Eli: Ah, the blush is back paired with a negating shake of the pixie’s head. “I am too wise to argue with a lady. You are entitled to your opinion’s professor, but I am also entitled to mine. Perhaps, in matters concerning my appearance, we shall differ.” One hand lifts in a what can we do gesture, but he is smiling again. “I have seen proof that you are exalted, Dinah. I have seen you unravel a magic of such complexity and here you stand before me, marked by experience but none the less strong and whole. You are a marvel that I am blessed to have as a mentor.” He then shifts his attention to Dorian and notes, “Sometimes we need someone to fall to when we fly high. Someone we know will catch us when the fall comes. You are that, Dorian. Your heart is large and though we have not known one another long, I am confident that you are that when needed. For your family.”
Dorian chuckled at what he and the gods had in common, whispering to her. Only they probably didn't do her the favour of even pretending to respect her privacy. He at least had that over them. And that his claim on her soul was the better one. Amused by the sacrilegious thought, and placated as he always was by the nickname, he piped down, and just made a grumble of agreement at his sister's words about the pixie being lovely. The way his smile wried up might indicate to his sister that he'd taken her point, but he didn't sully the nice sentiment with any reply save to press her hand with his own.
He did not expect such a flattering rendition of himself to be painted by his sister, let alone Eli and so he'd shake his head, murmuring a quiet jape, "You didn't tell him? I don't do anything like that-- it's just my job to bring the sandwiches." He wasn't about to speak to that level of sincerity about himself and any positive qualities, even if the kind words had broadened out his smile again.
Dinah clicked her tongue and she shrugged her shoulders. "you might not agree, dear. that just means you aren't your type" she teased. She wrinkled her nose and she shook her head when Eli said she was exalted, but she took a deep breath.
"there is a difference, dear, between knowing and exalted" she said softly. "it is a...difficult transition. today is an easier day. There are some that are...not so much" she clicked her tongue. She rested her cheek against Dorian's shoulder, taking comfort in his proximity. Today WAS an easier day, even with the occasional flashes of 'maybes' and 'will be' flitting in front of her vision as she blinked.
"your sandwiches are terrifying, beloved, we need your enormous heart so we don't run afear of them" she chided her brother even as she leaned on him "...though...creative. I will give you that. Terrifyingly creative."
Eli: As Eli has gone through some rather humbling periods of time in his life where food could be as little as a discarded half eaten sandwich, the idea of Dorian getting creative with his food is not all that terrifying. The pix has eaten a lot of questionable things. Just not like. Blake levels of questionable. Smiling again now at the expression on Dorian’s face he notes slyly, “You can’t tell me I am pretty without a rebuttal.” He then turns his head to look back toward his mentor, listening. “The line must be fine between the two.” He muses. “For I saw you conversing with gods. I have never met a god before and you.. well. I am humbled.” He inclines his head to her. Then, quite loudly, the pixie’s tummy rumbles. This of course brings another blush to the pixie’s face. “Ah. See what you have done to me.”
Dorian would bend to press another kiss to the top of his sister's head when she admitted that she had some difficult days. It was easier to know where to put his arm when it was around her than when they hung at his sides. He at least was firmly rooted in the present, and better than he had been now that he'd admitted to her that her stringbean had vexed him. The pixie had taken a sacrosanct moment and helped to stretch it out, without knowing it. He shook his head against Eli claiming he had the rights of rebuttal, but kept his mouth shut. He agreed with the rest of what the the man had to say, anyway. Anything he might have had to say was lost anyway at the sound of audible tummy rumbling. Almost everything, "Well if the trees aren't agreeable Eli, come by the house, we're stocked again, and I just bet we can find something that would serve as a concession."
Dinah cackled a laugh at Eli's remark to her twin and she grinned, digging the taller blond in the ribs with her elbow as if in challenge. She smiled though it faltered a little at the talk of the gods, nodding hesitantly.
"more fine than i'd like. Sometimes it feels as if they're right behind me, whispering into my ear. trust me, dear heart. you do not want to meet THESE gods. For all the gifts they can give, they are not the sort you praise and sing songs about" she murmured. "today i am just fortunate. Other days... less so. So I apologise if you encounter me and I am acting...not quite myself." she curled herself under Dorian's arm, against his chest. Another 'maybe' flittered across her eyes and she rubbed at them "mnph. That one was a bad one" she murmured "...I think.. I might need a lie down" she exhaled slowly, giving of them a shaky smile. "it was a pleasure to see you as ever, Eli. you are welcome to our kitchen and our books whenever you like, though I think we tell you that every time. Bunny, will you be staying out here? I can make it back in by myself, you don't need to fret if you'd like to. it just made me a little dizzy"
Eli: Eli tilts his head as he sees that flicker of .. something on Dinah’s features. There is a concern there that he shifts to her brother, questioning. But he really already has the answers. In a bold move for the little man, he steps closer to the two and then extends his hands – one to each of them. “I will finish my walk and then try to seduce a tree. If that does not work, I will raid your larder.” An impish glint of humor alights in his gaze. If they grasp his hands, he gives them a brief though rather cool squeeze of his own. “It always brightens my days to see you. I promise not to be a stranger as much – and maybe next time we will meet again. I will have wings.” Both brows lift at this exciting suggestion and then he is releasing them and stepping away. “Good night,”
Dorian snuffled when elbowed in the ribs, but it didn't entice him to move away, not one bit. And when his other half leaned against him, the moment she was speaking of wanting to lie down, he looked to Eli in pre-warning of what was about to come from his lips. His face in all its sudden seriousness said that he was going to see about his sister. Making sure he had one arm looped around her shoulders, he’d be certain she didn't take a faulty step, even if it seemed unlikely, given her usual poise in her heels. This was his answer to her about going back inside, before he said what she surely expected, "I think I shall come with you and squire you to your repose."
His free hand reached out for Eli's for a momentary press. His hands were warm and rough. He'd excuse himself not long after his sister did, "Forgive us, friend. Best of luck to you out there." That said he'd dip his head by way of farewell before leading his twin the rest of the way to the house and thence to her room.
Dinah smiled gently as Eli reached out for her and her brother, and she reached out towards him, attempting to draw him into a hug between the two of them. She laughed though "you are welcome to attempt to seduce the trees." she agreed "And good luck to you. It is always a delight to see you again, sweetling" she bowed her head, gripping a little tighter as even that little dip caused her to slacken and nearly wobble.
"Whoops. yes. I definitely think that this is a good idea" she murmured "I definitely...need to lie down. Thank you Dorian, beloved" she murmured, hanging onto his arm "Take care, Eli dear"
Eli takes a moment to watch the Windgrace twins head off toward the house. The hug was not expected but a welcome warmth fills him as he marvels at the acceptance inherent in the gesture. A little smile is given and then he turns to merge with the tree line, blending with the shadows from which he courts his trees.