#stixnbonez

“Watcher Blackwood, you’re needed on the upper floors. Watcher Myrna has requested your presence.”

Nate turned, but the corpse guard was already ambling away, likely back to the duties it had been pulled from in order to deliver its message. It wasn’t unusual to be summoned in such a manner, but Nate had to wonder what he could have done to warrant one. He’d been keeping his head down since the War of the Banners so as not to further incense the nobility. While he’d not been the one to make the final call, he’d been a vocal supporter of the man who had. In so far as Nate was concerned, Watcher Stix has performed his duty to Nevarra and its honored dead in the best way he could.

Regardless, he and the others had been relegated to more menial tasks in the aftermath, a fact no one was truly happy with. His father was still furious with him, but Nate had long since given up trying to please that man.

Putting away his tools, he made the trek up to the main hall where Myrna and Vorgoth kept their vigil, noting that they had company. It was only once he was closer that he realized who the man in question was.

“Stix! What are you doing back? I thought you were still on sabbatical?”

"Hup, careful," Godfrey warned lightly, catching the scroll before it could tumble to the floor. Making sure it hadn't started to unroll, he handed it back to Stix with a slight smile beneath his moustache. "Hey, kid; it's been a little while. Stix, right? Ingellvar?"

At least, he hoped he'd gotten the name right. The other was pretty unique, but their paths didn't often cross. All Godfrey really knew was secondhand hearsay about Stix once apprenticing to Johanna Hezenkoss before she dropped off the map, then making a pretty tough call whose details were vague.

Found these while foraging for potion ingredients. Thought you could use them for dinner.

-Stix.

@stixnbonez

Gale picked up a mushroom and gave it a sniff, though all he could smell was the residue of the rosemary that had been resting against it. He gave it a swift visual inspection instead, as though he were in any way an expert in mycology.

He knew to trust Stix, though, and should they somehow be poisoned, there was an antidote nearby. Not that he expected it would be necessary. Stix had demonstrated his cleverness more than once, and it wouldn't be at all surprising for a Drow to have a thorough understanding of mushrooms. Better than most, he supposed.

And more than anything, Gale was genuinely grateful for the herbs. So much so that he sat down on a log and excitedly drew out each and every bunch from the sack, giving them all a joyful sniff before instantly beginning to turn over recipes in his mind.

Oh, today's stew would be wonderful. And everyone would have Stix to thank for it.

It was time to begin cooking.

...

When dinner was served, Gale passed out bowls of stew to everyone, leaving Stix for last. Rather than simply handing the bowl over, he settled into the spot beside him and placed it carefully in his lap.

First Interaction | @stixnbonez

"Then don't. I prefer to be unknowable."

Her words are a little brusque, the sort of frankness that bordered on being interpreted as rude. A clear disinterest in being subjected to further being pried into outside of some vague, socially acceptable understanding of her person. All while trying to keep some grace despite her rather asocial nature.

"It keeps things fresh, uses less of your mental energy on pesky things like thinking, and all that."

Send 🫟 for a random unfiltered thought from my muse // @stixnbonez

So... Stix needs carbon dioxide to live and I need oxygen. I exhale a significant amount of carbon dioxide while he does the inverse. With that logic, mouth to mouth should still work for us. Hmm, but does he have lungs like we do? Or... well, air sacs? Could I feel his air sacs with my breath?

I hope I never need to, but if something happens to his respiratory system and he needs air, I'll breathe down his throat to keep him alive. Maybe I should just get a spare tank of CO2 for him instead.

The last thing he needs is an alien kissing him as he's choking on my air.

On that note, does his species kiss? He has a mouth, not too far off my own, too. A bit different, which makes sense, we're different species, but hmm... what if kissing is a horrific act to them? And if I do mouth to mouth, am I just adding insult to injury...

I should check that out before I resort to that plan.

Devoted, Yearning, & Obsessive Starters

@stixnbonez

Emmrich would rather not think about precisely how long it'd been since he was involved in a confession. He'd much prefer to dwell on Stix's words. Emmrich had been the one to invite the younger Watcher here, among cascades of Shroud's Kiss and beneath the statue of embrace. He had prepared himself to hear a kind and careful refusal, or perhaps an awkward one, hinting toward his age as the primary reason.

Instead, he was offered such an intimately, viscerally romantic sentiment that Emmrich's breath caught in his throat.

"Do you miss the Mourn Watch at all?"

He was not sure what prompted him to ask the question. Perhaps it was Tyrion's own homesickness creeping up in his mind, a longing for a place he had always wanted to leave yet still held a place in his heart. Or perhaps it was the chance to connect with someone who knew just how complicated a relationship could be between oneself and a place one had no choice but to call home.

"It still feels strange to me not being in Nevarra. I don't think I ever set foot outside our country before deciding to help now. Yet I'm not sure if I would still go back after everything is over."

𝑴𝑨𝑬𝑳𝑲𝑶𝑳𝑴 𝑮𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑫 𝑼𝑷 𝑭𝑹𝑶𝑴 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝑺 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮. It was late or was it early? Time was hard to pin down in the fade. The velvet chair was comfortable he was settled in, his cloak was spread across his lap. 

❝ Good evening, Rook. ❞ He greeted as he lifted a small glass of wine.  ❝ Should you be sleeping? ❞ 

@stixnbonez ⤷ liked for a starter.