What Is It, Luxie?
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:44 am
Frost 24, 4621
Lux tried not to wander too much, but it was difficult for the Moroi to stay inside for very long. He tried not to draw much attention to himself, but that too was a near-impossible task, especially for one so unaccustomed to the matters of stealth. Indeed, he drew attention everywhere he went, and it was by sheer luck he hadn't been captured, hurt, or killed. He, at the very least, had the right mind to hide his odd clothing and tail beneath a cloak, but if the very sun caught the right part of his horns he glowed for the world to see. As such, he started going out at night, when there were more shadows to hide in and it was a touch harder to tell that his skin was bright red.
Lux had much experience being out after dark, and he loved to look at the stars. His whole family did. This was, however, no replacement for knowing how to survive in a city after dark. Even still, Lux was aware of the danger, and tucked close to him still was the resonance device given to him by Taelian. If he did manage to get into trouble, he could call for the man, though even he wasn't entire sure about the efficacy of the situation.
The denizens of Daravin, and especially Amoren, seemed especially intent on keeping their thoughts and stories secret. It was as if the mere act of asking a stranger what they thought of the sun or a story from their childhood was as offensive as his very appearance, and he had started wandering further and further towards the outskirts of the cities until he began to meet with more...interesting sorts. Most everyone seemed to be tight lipped and confused as to his status as man or beast. As if by fate, however, he came across a trio of women, dressed in a very usual Amoren manner, colorful and covered. They stood around a door in an alley, though any windows to the building had long been boarded up. If Lux were any more naive, he would have thought it abandoned. His own curiosity took him down that alleyway, and he was spotted first by the shortest of women.
"Is this what the new fashion is?" Her remark was directed towards her friends.
"Paint? That can't be natural. The horns are a nice touch, almost like...a cow's?" The taller one remarked back, though Lux had trouble understanding what they were saying, even after hearing the language in Amoren before. It almost sounded like Common, but distinct. Despite this, he took their staring and speaking as invitation to speak himself.
"What are you standing outside this door for?" He asked, and the middle-sized-woman gasped.
"It can talk?"
This one spoke Common, and he turned his attention towards her and opened his mouth to speak just as the door open. The middle woman grabbed his arm and started to drag him inside. "Want to see?"
The question was rhetorical. The trio slipped on masks as they entered, and with the dim light, smokey air, and hazy minds, the denizens of the building were too distracted to pay more attention to Lux. The middle woman spoke again, but it was to her friends in that strange accent again and he was suddenly pulled into a plush booth around a tall, decorated thing. The other two women fiddled with it and took turns inhaling from a pipe attached, finally passing it towards the one who had dragged Lux inside while they leaned close and spoke to each other in slow whispers.
The woman drew from the pipe and then held it out for Lux. He looked desperately confused by the situation, though he was still intently memorizing the scene for his notes later.
"Just, ah, put your mouth on it. And breathe in." She waved her hand dismissively, and Lux wondered if something made for the humans of this world would have the same effect on an alien as it seemed to have on everyone else. Like a diligent student, he did as he was told, and as he slowly exhaled the smoke, everything felt...slow. Whatever this substance did, he was no longer apprehensive or anxious about this night. His body relaxed. His brain relaxed. He looked at the woman whose name he did not know.
"What is this?"
She just shook her head. "Strange creature." Her experiment over with, she seated herself closer to her friends, whispering in the language or dialect or accent or whatever it was. Maybe it was his lack of understanding of it that made people so standoffish when he tried to speak to them in Common.
In any case, despite his relaxation, Lux felt so compelled to wander the building, and he stood up and left without another word to the woman who had brought him here. Through a hall and another and down a corridor of some sort he arrived in a small courtyard with an old well in the center, something scrabbling and mewling in the dangling bucket. Lux wandered over towards it and leaned over the well, his tail now outstretched from its hiding place for balance.
"Here, kitty, I'll get you out..." He mumbled, still dazed and foggy from whatever he had smoked. No one had told him what it was and he hadn't asked. It was only when he was outstretched for the bucket that he realized he was awfully small and the bucket was blowing away from him in the wind and maybe the creaking wasn't from a cat after all that he went tumbling into it.
At least it wasn't very far or very deep, but he ankle hurt and now he was soaking wet. An epiphany hit him, and he reached for the pocket with the speaking device.
"Taelian," He mumbled, "I think I fell down a well."