Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Am I not allowed to know your intentions for visiting?" The guard retorts, sterner than before, "I'm here to do a job. To keep people in here safe, and to keep the dangerous and malicious types out. Take a choice of who you want to be, because one of those options ain't gonna be available to you soon."

 

"So what, it becomes a ten second walk? You're not going to die in five minutes, you've got that time!"

It's hard to manage three squirming dragonlings, but they scratch at you in protest as you carry them down to their "room."

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"My god, I reach out to Tenebrae to try and salvage what's left and all I get is hell." Ihra sighs, turning away. "If checking on the king's health in person isn't a good enough reason to be here, I'll just ask Tenebrae."

 

He puts down the dragonlings and sighs in relief.
"Want me to get that dragon to dig a hole around them?"

 

"Sure, if it makes them stay here."
"On it... just, not around them. That's a bit cruel."

The dragon starts digging away at the cave floor near the entrance.

 

"Tch, save your stories for the children that'll believe them." The guard says sternly.

"Ihra!" I call happily, waving from the entrance to the palace, standing next to Artemis.

The guard glances back at me.

 

"Hey, did I reach out to Tenebrae in time?" Ihra calls, her staff crystal glowing slightly. To you, it's obvious she intends to just blink past the guard.

 

"Yeah! Come on, we can discuss with the others inside!" I call back.

 

Ihra sticks her tongue out at the guard before blinking over, putting up a shield around herself.

 

"What was that all about?" I ask Ihra.

 

"The guard wouldn't let me in because 'she has to do her job and keep everyone safe and suspicious and dangerous people out and I'd lose one of those options of who I was gonna be if I didn't give her a good reason to let me in' because I asked if I could see how you were doing because I was worried about you." She pouts, glancing at the guard behind her before looking at Artemis and the elites. "It... doesn't look like it got too out of hand. I don't see anyone missing."

 

The guard glares at Ihra intimidatingly.

"Yeah, they aren't the most...sociable types, but try not to annoy them for me, ok? Quite a few of them have suffered losses of close friends and family, and they're not used to needing to be chatty with people seeking entry. They're more used to ripping them in half when they try to kill Shadow Stephanie, Stephanie, Artemis or myself." I explain.

"It's probably best to be a little more considerate of people's emotions right now." Artemis adds.

"The spirits are angry." Claire comments, her heart beating rhythmically.

 

"I'll try. I don't get it, though, why did she think me reaching out to Tenebrae was some children's story?"
Ihra doesn't seem concerned with the glare, winking at them before giving you her full attention.
"...And how did you find out about the crazy mimic things?"

 

"Communication with gods isn't exactly a common thing here, Ihra." Artemis says.

"Come, we can discuss this matter further inside." I say, heading into the Shadow Palace, Artemis following with Claire. Eve holds the door open for the group.

 

"But you have a whole bunch, and they made you all, and they're, like, super close by... I don't get it." She says, trailing off a bit at the end as she follows you inside.

 

"Our gods are a little more reclusive. They're not as close as you might think." Artemis says.

Eve closes the door once everyone is inside, the elites splitting off to the dining hall as the rest of the group heads to an elevator.

 

"Did something bad happen before, or are they just shy?" Ihra asks, going wherever you go.

 

"I wouldn't exactly say 'shy', that sort of implies they want to interact but are too nervous to." I say, turning the dials in the elevator.

"I haven't heard of anything bad happening to the gods in the past," Katie says, "Maybe they just don't want to be too well known?"

 

"How can you not be well known if everyone worships... bah, whatever. How did you find out about these mimics? They were so well hidden if we walked by them day in, day out."

 

"Give him a while. I'll go chat a bit."
He heads towards Anne and the centaurs.

 

The dragoness lays down, the white dragon digging away.

The centaurs seem to have dozed off, Anne looking like a curled-up fox lit on fire as she looks at you.
"Don't you think it's kinda crowded?"