𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔥𝔢𝔱 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩,

ethel cain wtialy prompts | ( selectively ) accepting

a light frown, followed by the telltale signs of a juvenile pout as one of his hands moved up to bury itself in the dark ringlets falling from her shoulder. his voice was thick with sleep and something less soothing when he spoke to the familiar figure at his bedside.

"how so ? you did the right thing by coming to your king for protection, i shall not let any pestilences crowd you for your gift any further."

the gift in question, was something the king did not even truly believe she possessed ... but even if she did, well.

who in their right mind would want to know their future ?

he knew nothing of his own and he still shuddered whenever he thought of all the inevitable horror awaiting him. he did not wish to have his dreads confirmed & spend his every waking hour like a convict awaiting execution.

she accepts his fingers playing with her hair easily - it's loose around her shoulders and lacking her usual intricacies. finds the gentle tug of it soothing, grounding in a way. she turns to fully face him when he speaks, lips turned down in a frown. "you can say that because you are king - you cannot make a fool of yourself." her tone is sorrowful, burdening on a childish whine. she had been swarmed unexpectedly. a group of visiting lords and ladies who hadn't had the chance to speak with her at the last feast. and apparently deemed themselves too important to make an appointment to be received in her solar.

a few things became very clear when he stepped up behind sabina, acting as a terrifying shadow to a woman who was already quite imposing. she didn't know this man. and he shouldn't have touched her. had sabina given even any inkling that the situation wasn't under control, kit would have had no hesitation in helping to take care of the problem that happened to be manifesting as a man in front of them. he didn't break eye contact with the man for a single second, not even when sabina took another step back away from him. 'that's what i thought,' kit practically growled, less of a repeated sentence, and more of a threat, should the man decide against what sabina had said. he didn't want to cause a scene, but the white knuckled tension in his hands made it clear that he was more than willing to, if the stranger didn't move in the next thirty seconds. 'i suggest you start walking, my friend. unless you need help finding the door,'

it thankfully doesn't take much longer for the man to retreat, but there is a look in his eye that promises that it isn't over. her eyes never leave him as he leaves, boring into his back as he turns away. only when he disappears from sight does she allow herself to breathe - almost immediately deflating and resting her hands down on her knees. the adrenaline wears off quickly and instead leaves a sinking feeling of embarrassment in its place. it's an irrational feeling. she certainly didn't ask for this man to track her down and try to corner her into changing the fortune she had provided. but there's a shame in kit not only having to witness it, but feel the need to protect. but she's grateful - deeply grateful. she is powerful in her own right, but physically intimidating she is not. "thank you. i appreciate you having my back like that ... it means a lot."

that's on her for making assumptions. as much as she thinks she knows about westeros, there is always something else for her to learn. and that she knows less about her companion than she realized. though by south, she;'s realizing that perhaps laera is from even further north than she believed. "my apologies then. i just thought considering .. you know." she makes a gesture to her gear and clothing. "is there something like then where you're from then?" she's genuinely curious. this continent is so different than she expected from her histories that she latches on to anything she can, especially directly from the source.

"Please don't look so alarmed; I recognise your power only because it is not so dissimilar to my own."

small starter for @prophetyse

she is sure she looks like a deer with her wide eyes and surprised expression. "i guess it would be pointless to question how you know that, " she huffs out a tense laugh. "but i am curious if you sensed it or saw it."

The curve of the dome eclipses the sunlight from outside, carving bright light with darkened shadow. The dome is black maw into the unknown. Colourless and silent and starkly in contrast to the grounds of the keep. Where bright flowers, spiraling columns and birdsong blanket the environment, there is no sound in the dome, except the hushed whispers of an old tongue, and the shrill passing of the wind.

❝ Is there a reason you prefer to stand back there? ❞ Astarion asks, hands resting on the small of his back as the Dragonkeepers mutter and pace around him. He knows where Sabina's reluctance comes from. To be face to face with a dragon is an experience very few people have — for better or worse. ❝ If it makes you worry less… She likely already knows we're here. Her sense of smell is impeccable. ❞

there are very few dragons left alive in lys. almost all were killed with the remaining dragonlords after valyria fell. she has not heard the detailed history behind how house syndaerys managed to escape that fate - only that they had. and proof of that face lies ahead of her. she has never been here before, never given the privilege. and she doubts that many outside of astarion's own family (and the keepers, of course) have either. despite being of valyrian heritage herself, she believes she is the first in her family line in a very long time to be granted the opportunity.

the structure is intimidating but wholly in line with the extravagance she has come to expect from the syndaerys'. she's surprised at how quiet it is. expecting the constant sounds of dragons - chitters and squawks and roars. so instead to hear nothing is almost more concerning. she wonders if the dome was built to mask those noises. it would be smart. if the dragons are difficult to hear, the less likely it becomes for a random lyseni citizen to stumble upon them. the whole experience is subverting her expectations in ways she didn't expect. leaver her feeling slightly off kilter - the not knowing is always hard for her.

"now there's an idea, actually." she knows she had him caught, but she'll let it go for now. "you seem to know a lot about the places, but are you any good? or do the rednecks have you beat?"

wraith is beautiful. scales so pale they shimmer like snow in sunlight, and his scars are little more than deer trails. and those eyes; dark as the sky at night, but as intelligent as any man. perhaps more, even. so yes, wraith is beautiful, but he is dangerous.

lys has no dragons, all having been slaughtered alongside their riders following the doom of valyria. and despite the island's boastful pride regarding their valyrian heritage, no one has ever tried to reintroduce them. the only lyseni to have seen a dragon would have been away from home. so, yes, this is her first time seeing a dragon outside of her own visions.

“That’s okay, here, would this work?” Misty places a bracelet on the palm of her hand. The smooth, black beads are cool to the touch, like polished rock, satisfyingly weighted in a way that makes them feel more real than if they were plastic or the usual metal alloy of most jewelry. “Sometimes it helps to roll each bead as you think of something that grounds you. It can be a nice memory or just an important one, not everything that grounds us is happy, but necessary.” Her eyes study her face, as if she’s seeing something beyond her features, the kind of things she meddles with in her day to day, the traces they leave behind, the way one might read scorch marks after a fire.

Next to the chair, the incense smoke rises like a thin column, fading into the ceiling. Nothing like the familiar synthetic smell of burnt circuits or fuel that plague life in Night City. Organic, woodsy, soothing.

misty's esoterica feels like stepping into another world. dark, quiet, slower. such a contrast to the rest of watson and night city with its constant movement and deafening sounds. she wishes she could bottle the feeling she gets wen she's here. wishes she could visit more, especially as some of her abilities side effects seem to be ... progressing. it is one of the only places she feels calm nowadays. doesn't know if she believes in everything that misty does, but she can't the deny the effect she feels afterwards.