All right. I would like four kittens. I've already thought about the breeds....three Main Coons, and one Sphynx. Two girls and two boys. And, of course, everything that goes with having a pet: food, meal dishes, collars, toys.....grooming supplies, too. And a sweater or something for the Sphynx.
[She claps her gloved hands together again after a few minutes of consideration, conjuring an old-fashioned camera and a book with a quill. The pages are blank.]
Explore the new realm. Catalogue the flora. Be as detailed as possible, even if that means doing a taste test. Bring back samples when you can.
[He knows he doesn't have to answer. There's no obligation. This isn't part of the quest.
And yet there is a sense of obligation, one he recognizes as being self-imposed. She's earned his respect during the time spent working for her and through the serious-minded conversations they've had. In his mind, it's only right that he returns the same honesty she's always shown him.]
....it's neither. Both would just be self-satisfaction, in the end. This is a quest for my own sake, and that means I should be resolved to accept painful terms if need be.
An agonizing experience won't undo what happened or lessen how terribly I feel. It's delusional and selfish to pretend otherwise.
If your price won't render me unable to function, I'm not afraid to pay it. That's all.
[She nods, satisfied by the truthfulness of his answer rather than the content.]
Then listen carefully.
I need a catalyst for a ritual. You will fill that role in absentia. [A large garnet suddenly fills one gloved hand, glittering in the light.] I will implant this in your body, where it will take energy from you for five days. Collecting your blood, absorbing your pain. It will hurt constantly, but persist at a relatively mild level.
[A snap of her fingers causes both paper and quill to vanish. Power spikes in her aura, and Jaguar is levitated about a foot off the ground. She gestures with one hand and the front of his suit is suddenly peeled open to expose his chest. The other hand raises the garnet.
A pause.]
It is advised that you scream. Something might rupture otherwise.
[And then the jewel is pressed to his skin where it begins to meld with the flesh even as it somehow submerges, sinking inside him. The touch is like a fire-forged blade stabbing languidly, tortuously, into the center of his collarbone. Blood wells up around the garnet and spills down. The flesh that rings the jewel first ruptures and then cauterizes.]
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Re: day 143, night
All right. I would like four kittens. I've already thought about the breeds....three Main Coons, and one Sphynx. Two girls and two boys. And, of course, everything that goes with having a pet: food, meal dishes, collars, toys.....grooming supplies, too. And a sweater or something for the Sphynx.
Re: day 143, night
[She claps her gloved hands together again after a few minutes of consideration, conjuring an old-fashioned camera and a book with a quill. The pages are blank.]
Explore the new realm. Catalogue the flora. Be as detailed as possible, even if that means doing a taste test. Bring back samples when you can.
Re: day 143, night
I'll do my best to have what you ask for in about a day.
Re: day 143, night
[And yet, she refuses to let him have them. They're placed off to the side, ostentatiously ignoring his politely offered hands.]
Now for the matter of your quest for a mount.
[The air suddenly becomes heavy, charged, like a fleet of thunderclouds was fast approaching.]
Are you prepared for a painful undertaking? Do not lie.
Re: day 143, night
I........[He clenches a fist, steeling himself, mulling over the reasons to say yes and the reasons to say no.] ....yes. I am.
Re: day 143, night
[The atmosphere becomes more turbulent, raw with a steadily focusing magic.....with her exerted presence. And then a detached, idle curiosity:]
Is it self-pity? Or your personal idea of atonement?
Re: day 143, night
And yet there is a sense of obligation, one he recognizes as being self-imposed. She's earned his respect during the time spent working for her and through the serious-minded conversations they've had. In his mind, it's only right that he returns the same honesty she's always shown him.]
....it's neither. Both would just be self-satisfaction, in the end. This is a quest for my own sake, and that means I should be resolved to accept painful terms if need be.
An agonizing experience won't undo what happened or lessen how terribly I feel. It's delusional and selfish to pretend otherwise.
If your price won't render me unable to function, I'm not afraid to pay it. That's all.
Re: day 143, night
Then listen carefully.
I need a catalyst for a ritual. You will fill that role in absentia. [A large garnet suddenly fills one gloved hand, glittering in the light.] I will implant this in your body, where it will take energy from you for five days. Collecting your blood, absorbing your pain. It will hurt constantly, but persist at a relatively mild level.
Do you understand?
Re: day 143, night
I do. I accept those terms.
Re: day 143, night
[Before he can ask what she means, a parchment and a quill is conjured into being.
It's a statement detailing the quest and the terms, with a blank signature line.]
Re: day 143, night
Re: day 143, night
[A snap of her fingers causes both paper and quill to vanish. Power spikes in her aura, and Jaguar is levitated about a foot off the ground. She gestures with one hand and the front of his suit is suddenly peeled open to expose his chest. The other hand raises the garnet.
A pause.]
It is advised that you scream. Something might rupture otherwise.
[And then the jewel is pressed to his skin where it begins to meld with the flesh even as it somehow submerges, sinking inside him. The touch is like a fire-forged blade stabbing languidly, tortuously, into the center of his collarbone. Blood wells up around the garnet and spills down. The flesh that rings the jewel first ruptures and then cauterizes.]