#ttauriwanderer

He's chased her to an alleyway. Luna looks around for any means of escape from her persecutor, but there is none.

"Mister Steven. Please, just let me go." Luna's hands raised in surrender.

"I don't want to worry anybody else. Just let me go, please?"

Astarion had been on edge, haunting the festival since he'd brokered Badou to find Steven. Chaos, insanity, pain, all plagued his mind, enough that even Jeremiah was writhing in discomfort.

Right. Jeremiah. He wonders if the distance from his homeworld is what kept the little guy from being so chaotic as he had been before. Must be all the Mind Flayers and cult shit or something.

Eyes draw him to a stall, he swore it was a Tiefling behind the counter but he wasn't sure anymore. He smiled from behind the pain, trauma instincts making him play the part of a handsome young man that eagerly flirts. Eyes drift over the wares as he chatters along, they were all from his world, old fabrics with familiar markings, tinctures, potions, spell scrolls. Oh how Gale would have loved to read the books on magic beside them.

What he doesn't expect, is to find a plushie of a Displacer Beast. Vicious things, so he's heard, but someone took the time to make it cute. Soft round muzzle, big pleading eyes, gentle smile around the paw stuffed in it's mouth like a kitten suckling for comfort.

Delicate fingers lift the toy, eyes softening as he looks into the large, rounded eyes, the soft glossiness to the orbs reflecting red back.

The world swiftly fell away, pain ripped into his left eye. It took everything he'd learnt not to scream in agony as one hand shot up to grip at his skull.

What was it now? Was someone trying to control Jer? Was he in danger? This felt like whenever he connected with the others. With a held breath of hope he closed his eyes, gripping the plush close and opened himself to the messages of the worm.

What he got shattered everything, his whole world ripped upside down, memories zipping by faster than he can process, blinding him to the world he stood in. A pained whimper left him, unable to hear the woman ask if he was okay as he staggered a step.

Darkness, wings, a tendril, rotten fleshy meat, a man so desperate for his family, immortal, Sharran trials, a forge, told to detonate for consideration of forgiveness, time's running out on the infernal bomb. More as he tilts his head; the dream visitor is a mind flayer, the idiot bard ate the fucking worm and veins blackened. The next fight he'd exploded into a Displacer to protect the people, the changelings, book shop, Mystra, prayers, a cat, a general pigeon?

"Ah, fuck. Stop, Jeremiah!" He snarls the words through the pain and the fear. It was too much, it was all his vision, his thoughts, his actions, his friends, and yet-

Baldur's Gate. They were home, they were-

"No!" He backs up into the tent without meaning to, hiding in the corner even as he moved forward in the memories.

The manor, his siblings, the kennels, Godey, deeper, deeper, the catacombs, the ritual, he finally understood, he knew what the scars were, only ever a body for someone to use and throw out when they were done. Enraged he stood over pale skin, glared down, old red met the scarlet inferno that was him. A choice to make, sacrifice or slaughter, power or vengeance, to have all that the bastard desired, or to be better than him.

To kill thousands, or just one.

"NO!" He screams the word in terror, reminded all over again of the horror of the moss as he's ripped back to the present by a scent. By warmth. Jeremiah had gone dormant again, taking the brunt of the trauma of the sudden rush, too tired to do more than murmur soft assurances.

Red snapped around and honed in hard on the source of that scent, meeting those familiar eyes, no longer filled with terror, no longer empty and void of life, right beside the man meant to bring him there, witnessing a panicked meltdown in a tent clutching the plush for dear life.

Never before has the color of honey looked so good.

He had also managed to make it there in time for the Vespertown Market.

Stands peddling a variety of farm-grown foods, hand-made wares, and snacks were all over, making the area crowded and almost claustrophobic. Apparently this sort of thing only happened on Monday's and he had managed to gather that the people came from another part of the islands all together to sell things to the city folk. There were all sorts of odd things for sale and plenty of good smells, especially where leftovers from the winter festival were concerned. - There were actually quite a few good deals when it came to nearly-out-of-date holiday treats and foods. Decades of barely having two coins to rub together had taught him to be on the lookout for deals (as well as free food and the chance to work for a meal, among other things).

Vash was also fast on his way to making friends with some of the merchants. He had also already found himself caught up in helping out a number of more elderly and less able-bodied vendors who couldn't quite lift the things they needed to.

However, as he was walking, something else caught the Plant's attention. - A young man, practically a kid, was bartering with a stall owner and not getting very far.

"That was me. But--," She feels like she shouldn't make an excuse but then, "I didn't mean to. I swear. It--It just happened." She felt it was much needed to make herself clear. She didn't want to get in trouble but would understand if what she did would cause her to be in one. She wouldn't make up any excuses then.

"I really.....want to get stronger but...everything is so strong I can't control it. it happened before too." The exact same thing with the buildings toppling over because she couldn't control her power.

Once more he finds himself in the same forest, hunting the same creatures he'd devoured the last time he'd been there, this time remembering his Axe in hand. It would be far easier to pry back the tangled vines to reach his prize with the weapon meant for logging in hand.

But just as last time, he heard the sound of another, shouting something it seemed.

He'd just take a peak. He wasn't going to get involved unless the creatures were well distracted enough to become an easy meal. That's all he was doing as footsteps changed direction once more.

A lie he told himself constantly, alongside 'Karlach and Valas were rubbing off on him too much'.

He's met with a bizarre sight. A man up a tree looking down at the beasts howling and cackling at the base like a swathe of Gnolls. He knows the creatures could easily scale the tree and kill him, but it seemed they just wanted him busy or scared. Entirely consumed the four were with the man that it wasn't hard for Astarion to creep close.

Laughable, really.

The axe came down with frightening precision, driving deep into the brambles and into the meat of the beast's shoulder. The resulting shriek and turn was met with a snarl. He pounced, bringing the beast around right to the ground with a twist.

He wrenched the axe out, bringing it back down to break a few brambles off. In a flurry of movement, ignoring the teeth in his leg he lunged, sinking fangs into the bared flesh of the beast beneath.

Be it the foul dead blood the creature tasted on him or the sudden realization of who had joined the fray, the rest scattered, snarling and howling. Half drained, the spawn let the creature go, stumbling away from blood loss but making it to the tree line.

He twirled the axe, amused at the sight as he dragged a thumb over his lip to lick the last trace of blood. Red eyes then flash up at the other, axe resting heavily on his shoulder, the other raising to cover his eyes as if to look through the light to the other.

When you awaken, you feel rekindled. As though some small piece of you has assembled itself back together….

You have regained your ability to ASTRAL SKIP and REGENERATE.

ABILITY UNLOCK 500 Emblems ALL Abilities and Items listed on a Muse’s application can be bought back at any time. Application unlocks are limited to two (2) abilities/items per Activity Check without exception.

ORIGINAL EMBLEM BALANCE: 2,100 TRANSACTION: 1,000 Emblems CURRENT EMBLEM BALANCE: 1,100

         —  𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃  .  .  .  𝐌𝐀𝐘  𝐎𝐑  𝐌𝐀𝐘  𝐍𝐎𝐓  have  let  his  mouth  drop  agape  ,  from  the  moment  he'd  seen  the  building  .  and  then  again  when  the  key  he'd  been  given  fit  into  the  door  .  rand  could  say  he  was  traveled  now  .  he  had  been  to  caemlyn  ,  and  had  seen  with  his  own  two  eyes  a  city  that  had  sprawled  along  ,  larger  and  grander  than  anything  he  could  have  ever  imagined  in  two  rivers  — and those fancies felt lifetimes ago .

         even  still  ,  this  one  house  was  as  big  as  the  wine  spring  inn  alone  !  the  whole  block  had  houses  as  big  ,  and  it  wasn't  a  city  like  caemlyn  ,  so  far  as  he  could  tell  .  light  ,  it  was  near  as  big  as  any  inn  !  rand  closed  his  mouth  ,  thinking  again  about  how  that  -  creature  -  wanted  him  to  actually  stay  here  ,  and  eventually  his  eyes  landed  on  the  man  in  the  room  with  him  .  rand  stiffened  ,  instinctively  reaching  for  the  void  —  but  it  was  gone  again  before  he  could  grasp  it  .

         .  .  .  and  rand  immediately  felt  foolish  for  it  anyways  .  the  man  was  about  his  own  age  by  the  looks  of  him  ,  with  pale  hair  and  brown  eyes  .  slight  ,  too  .  a  bad  wind  could  knock  him  over  .  and  it  was  just  as  well  that  he  hadn't  noticed  him  right  away  .  rand  was  taller  than  most  men  twice  his  age  in  two  rivers  .  it  wasn't  that  which  was  so  surprising  ,  but  even  if  rand  was  considered  TALL  ,  he'd  wager  this  man  hardly  broke  even  of  average  height  .  he  had  to  drop  his  own  gaze  LOW  to  meet  his  .

          ❝   ah  .  ❞  he  breathed  .  ❝   sorry  .  i  didn't  mean  to  intrude  .  ❞  he  gestured  to  the  door  he  had  closed  behind  him  .  ❝   i'm  afraid  this  whole  place  has  me  turned  around  .  but  this  is  the  place  on  the  key  ,  i  think  .  ❞  or  it  was  according  to  the  man  he'd  asked  ,  at  least  .  he  looked  at  the  key  to  double  check  .  105  .  definitely  the  place  .

@ttauriwanderer / roommates !