Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Civil societies still have their rogue outlaws," Imp-chan rebuts, "I'm not going to stand by and let myself be torn apart by some wild animal in the name of civility."

"How does your breath fight insomnia?" Imp-chan asks after a brief pause, confused.

 

Rineth glances down at Imp-Chan, seeming a bit concerned.

"It puts you to sleep. Does insomnia not imply sleeplessness where you're from?"

 

"You've got chloroform for breath?" Imp-chan asks, raising an eyebrow to accent her confusion, "Can't say I've found a chemical warfare dragon before..."

 

"Thank you for the explanation, I guess?" Tulip replied, "Well, do you at least know where I should go next?"

Tulip's stomach grumbled as she looks around the room, "Maybe a place to stay would be nice, I'm terribly exhausted."

 

"I don't know the alchemical name for the substance, you can consult either the librarian or an artificer for that one once we get to Lady Xlentia's palace," Rineth sighs, starting to seem a bit cross.

"Oh, well... you're welcome to just fall asleep somewhere, but you'd have better luck out somewhere in The Interim. Give me just a minute, I think I know someone who'd be more than happy to help you..." Azure says before trailing off, shifting through the papers in front of them for about a full minute.

"...Ah, here. Just be careful around her, she can get a little... friendly... at times," Azure utters, offering Tulip a scrap of seemingly blank paper - when touched, it feels like there's some writing in a sort of almost sandy transparent ink.

 

"Just don't breathe on me and we'll be fine." Imp-chan says, ignoring Rineth's frustration.

 

Tulip takes the paper from Azure's hand, "Thank you... Do I owe you anything now?"

Tulip folds the piece of paper and puts it in her pocket for later.

"Can you tell me who I'm supposed to meet and what she's like?"

 

"I didn't plan on it," Rineth mutters. "Though I'd like to think I'm at least a bit more civil than you're making me out to be."

"No, you're fine. Just walk through any of the infinite portals with that, the paper will do the rest."

They seem to have claws in place of fingers, though their sleeve kept most of their hand cloaked.

"You'll be looking for a draconian woman with lime green scales, probably wearing a gown. Her name is Ihra, definitely a bit of an oddball. You'll know her when you see her, she's very friendly - glass half-full type of person, if you know what I mean," Azure says with a slight chuckle.

 

Imp-chan sighs.

"After going through so many worlds, it's difficult to know who you can really trust," Imp-chan admits, "As much as it's usually the friendly types that try to get in close that you should be most cautious of, it doesn't hurt to be aware of those casually carrying weapons around too. And dragonkin like you are most certainly carrying weapons."

"But after going through so many worlds, severing ties is also a lot easier."

If only for a moment, it seems like a dark blade appears at Imp-chan's side, though it vanishes in the blink of an eye - like it wasn't really there at all. Strangely, it appears as if Imp-chan's irises changed their hue; or perhaps they always matched her third eye.

 

Rineth glances off to the side, seeming a bit sheepish.

"Oh, right. Erm... just between us, I left my lance in my quarters again. Supposed to carry it around 'just in case' but having it around makes me feel paranoid. I think it makes talking with the villagers easier, too - my third outing took three days longer than anticipated because the people thought I had killed some sort of reaper that was being sent after them! Talk about a wild first month."

He pauses for a bit before glancing down at Imp-Chan.

"Sorry to pry, but... are you sure your companion is friendly? I could've sworn I just felt a surge of malice emanating from within you."

 

"Alright, and once again, thank you." Tulip says with a slight smile on her face before walking towards the portals.

Tulip readies herself before going into the portal, "Here goes nothing..."

 

They nod, watching Tulip as she leaves.

The closest portal initially seems to lead out to a barren desert, but as she approaches with the paper in tow its destination shifts to a large cottage with a somewhat messy garden that spans as far as the eye can see. Once Tulip steps through, the library seems to melt away - and the portal behind her.
The smell of countless flowers and hedges is overwhelming at first, but she seems to get used to the scent abnormally quickly.

The cottage is simple yet brimming with life - the walls seem to be made of woven trees, circles of branches with leafy curtains forming a few windows. A curtain of heavy-looking vines forms the doorway, and the cobbled path seems to be made of various petrified flowers. Tulip senses a constant feeling of rejuvenation emanating from all around, as if she was sent to a life goddess' sanctuary.

After only a few seconds the quiet is broken by, in order; the distant sound of a heavy gallop, the snapping echo of a tree crashing (presumably) into the ground, and then (also presumably) something large crashing into a tree.


"...Sgavrinn?" Tulip can barely hear.
"I think someone's here," a much louder voice responds.

Cue heavy footsteps starting to draw closer.

 

Tulip slowly walks up to the source of the voice, clutching her bag of stones in her right hand.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Tulip asks while preparing two finger sized pebbles, "I have weapons on me and I'm not afraid to use them."

 

The voices seem to be coming from a backyard of sorts, though the hedges block Tulip's view of just how far back it goes. As she rounds a corner hedge, she sees a large dragon with leaflike scales covered in plants walking alongside someone who matches Ihra's description. Ihra also seems to have a large staff, its shining silver and gold metal twisting opulently around a focal gem about the size of a coconut.

The dragon's eyes go wide before they turn around and flee at a full sprint, whimpering. Ihra lets out a sigh before gesturing for Tulip to put the pebbles away with her free hand.

"That won't be necessary. If you're looking for Ihra, you've found her - can I help you?" She asks, offering Tulip a calm smile.

 

"My companion?" Imp-chan asks, looking confused, "I'm very friendly, so long as you don't piss me off. I'm sure we'll have an easy time talking with the villagers though, especially if they're so averse to combat along with not using currency."

 

"Oh! I am looking for you. Azure sent me and gave me this piece of paper."

Tulip hands Ihra the scrap of paper, "They told me to look for you for a place to rest, and maybe some food."

"Where even are we?" Tulip asks Ihra while once again admiring her surroundings, "Azure didn't really explain much."

 

"You suggested that the person in your head is friendly, but I'm... not quite getting that feeling, if I'm being honest."

Ihra takes the paper, eyeing it over before it seems to meld into her claw.

"Azure, huh? I... ah, right. Yeah, he's not exactly the most talkative," Ihra says with a chuckle. "I never got around to naming this place, but it's a pocket dimension I made for the sake of getting away from all the chaos. You're welcome to stay for a while, I haven't had polite company in quite a while."
"Is it safe now?" The loud voice from calls from a distant bush.
"Oh... Sorry about Sgavrinn. He's a little skittish, but he's got a good heart," Ihra sighs.
"...Ihra?" Sgavrinn calls out again.
"Yes, they're fine," Ihra calls back before turning back to Tulip.

"So, what's your name?" She asks with a gentle smile.


The hedges and plants seem to go back for eternity, the flora only tamed around the cottage and the fields around it. A rejuvenating feeling helps ease Tulip's nerves and a spectrum of floral color visible in just about every direction. As the large green dragon approaches again, the indentations in the bushes and flower patches seem to roughly match up with the size of Sgavrinn. Whether it's random tunnels of haphazardly broken branches or bitten-down patches of growth, it all seems - at a glance, at least - to be from him running around or snacking.

Despite how unkempt her companion is, Ihra herself looks about ready to go to a fairytale ball. Her horns twist into the shape of a lemniscate with a veil carefully interwoven through them and her seemingly crystalline gown covers everything else but her hands and wings in rippling fabric with the occasional jewel stitched together to form an almost hypnotic network of interconnected filigree. It's paradoxically clean, too - not a speck of dirt or sliver of plant matter seems to have stuck to the gown.

 

Imp-chan gives Rineth a suspicious look.

"When did I say there was a person in my head?" Imp-chan asks, all three eyes staring at Rineth, "It's just my powers adjusting to this new world. It takes a while for them to fully adapt without the appropriate ritual in your basin of souls."

Imp-chan looks away, rubbing her eyes, "It's hard to keep calm knowing there's a dragonkin that could bite me in half at any moment right next to me, too." she mutters.

 

"You implied as such when you declined the talisman, stating you were fine with them there."

Rineth seems a bit confused before letting out a heavy exhale.

"I don't know what a basin of souls is, but I suppose if my word means nothing to you then that's a fair concern... in which case, you should definitely fear Lady Xlentia because she's already caught your scent and is keeping an eye on you."

Fortunately, the village seems to only be five minutes out now.

 

"What!?" Imp-chan exclaims, surprised. She looks around rapidly, nervous, whipping out her gun in the process.

"You best tell me everything about this Lady Xlentia then, if you don't want your brain matter splattered on the ground and your corpse turned into exotic dragon meat to be sold to these villagers," Imp-chan demands, keeping her hands on her gun - though managing to keep her cool enough to not point it at Rineth yet, "I've got enough crap to deal with already in this new world, I'm not getting hunted down by another wild beast in the process before I've prepared."

Despite her intimidating language, Imp-chan seems to be shaking a little.