The Stars are Right

Log Info

• Title: The Stars are Right
• Emitter: Cryosanthia
• Characters: Cryosanthia, Ezil
• Place: A10: Temple District
• Time: Sunday, July 04, 2021, 12:24 PM
• Summary: Cryosanthia is a cool spot of shade in the Temple District. She's situated at the fountain and is making snow-cones with the water and handing them out to children. Children who are swimming in the water as well. Lily is nearby, helping, when Ezil arrives and greets the whitescale. She's cordial, but cool to him, swiftly reminding him he threw her out of his camp the last time they saw each other. Some explanations are giving, and an apology, and Cryo reciprocates as well. She explains she's been anxious for several reasons, largely related to events in Alexandria, although some personal ones also. She wants a bigger family and may not get an opportunity again. The two friends catch up and casually talk, leaving the weighty subjects off the table for now.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* A10: Temple District *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The air of solemn, heavy divinity in the area is often broken by laughter. The dual presence of the deities Althea and Daeus, man and wife, stand towards the center, with their children and their children's temples positioned around them. The presence of the divine is felt not only by their temples, but also by the actions of their worshipers. The great plaza is as a social center, paved in brilliant, white flagstones and covered in benches and sitting areas. Priests, acolytes, and servicefolk of all stripes roam the plaza, going from one task to the other.

At the front of the temples of Daeus and Althea, at the Plaza's centermost point, rests a great fountain, the cheerful waters reflecting the Sun during the day, and the Moon and Stars at night. The fountain is strategically centered, and is oft a place for wisdom and lesson-giving. It is not uncommon for a priest of some stripe or the other to stand there, surrounded by the curious and faithful, delivering messages of hope or contemplation. At other times, it and the plaza become a landscape of celebration of the holy holidays.

Few vendors are seen in the plaza--the nearby temples provide most food or services. Towards the west, the great Bridge stretches across the river, and towards the east, the Redridge mountains. The plaza rests in the midst of it all, the temples massive and grand on the Alexandrian scale.

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  Appearing, in Order  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Cryosanthia  6'9"     291 Lb     Sith-Makar        Female    A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman.
Ezil         5'11"    175 Lb     Human             Male     An armored man with dark skin, and grey-blonde hair.
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It's a pale grey day, veiled by mist, which is keeping the city warm, humid and still. The moon was full the night before and will be this one, indicating the full attention of the Dreaming Dragon. The Elunites have been conducting their Full ceremonies under her watchful, wide open eye, and are preparing for another tonight. Their clergy and faithful are present in greater numbers today.

There is an unusual sight at the fountain. A Sith'makar woman sits on the edge of it. She's tall, lean and elegant, and white of scale. She's wearing a long tunic and slacks, part way between clerical vestments and a wizarding robe. In addition, she has some sort of large canopy framework attached to her back. It arches above and over her, with a white cloth stretched between, casting some shade.

It's cooler near her, evidenced by a small crowd of children. Human mostly, though there is a lizard youngling that's close by, carnation or pink scaled. The woman seems to be handing something out to the small crowd around her.

That muggy warmth that comes with the nondescript day of gray has Ezil lightly dotting his brow clean of sweat with a kerchief as he walks up the temple path. The quietly bustling plaza is noticed, his feet carrying him away from those gathering to prepare for the night's worship and rituals. The sith'makar takes a moment to cross his line of sight, pausing his steps when his notice is drawn, his eyes lingering for a moment on the familiar white of those scales.

For the moment Ezil doesn't speak, choosing to be an observer to whatever spectacle might be unfolding.

Cryosanthia, for it is she, appears different than she did at their previous encounter. The changes are subtle, and not age related. There's a settled confidence to her, a more erect posture, a gentleness to her motions which retain a precise elegance. In some ways she seems elfin, an incongruity to her mass and size.

She has a certain stiffness in her body that suggests a chronic pain she's become used to ignoring. Whatever that canopy is, it doesn't appear comfortable. It's also apparent she's colder than the surroundings. The mist near her has condensed into a small patch of frost that frames her on the fountain edge.

Currently, her left hand loops through a delicate motion, and the scales on her arms glitter. She first a pale blue ray into the fountain's water, and freezes a cone shape. Fishing it out, she casts with her right hand, causing her gloves to glow and a paper cone to appear. She crushes the ice-cone into the paper cone, then grabs a bottle sitting beside her and pours a blue syrup on the ice.

This is then handed to the nearest child, who typically runs off with it.

Ezil finds a smirk at Cryosanthia's show, shaking his head while amusement seems to be found at the summer antics. Stepping closer, Ezil's armored form shows the signs of the road. Dust, and other grimy signs of having been traveling have marked the man. It's nothing a bath wouldn't fix, but wherever the man has been, he seems newly re-arrived.

"Well, there are worse uses for ice on a hot day. What flavor does this hot season bring?" Ezil's words casual, that small smile still upon his face. "Excitement for the little ones?"

"Oh. Ezil." Cryosanthia sits taller and her tail falls into the fountain with a splash. She doesn't seem to notice, or mind, and the children splashing on the opposite suggests that whatever humanoid flavour the water currently has a lizardy addition is unlikely to change the appreciation of the ice-cones.

She's mid construction of the next one, ice cone, paper cone, needing to be crushed together. Her hesitation fades, and she breaks the ice into the holder, then pours on the blue syrup. "It's Blueberry. It's real. Well, the water is too. I suppose I could magic the entire treat but it tastes better this way."

The cone is handed to an oruch-ling, who insists, "Need TWO! One each TUSK!"

This is difficult to argue with, so she starts on a second. "You've been traveling."

"Does it? I... Now that I think of it, I don't think I have ever eaten food made with magics." Ezil's puzzled thoughts occupying him for a moment as he makes no mention of the scaled tail within the fountain. It's the children that get his attention next, nodding his head at something either said or thought. "Now I am curious about that, but..." letting himself move away from that topic for the time being. "We can do research later."

"As for the traveling? Do the stars always rest in the same spot?" Ezil's words a bit coy, but his teasing is short lived. "Life calls us to a lot of places, though mostly just searching these days."

Cryosanthia nods, finishing up the second sno-cone for the Oruch-ling, who immediately jams both tusks into it and slurps down as much as he can, then runs off bragging about how painful is brainfreeze is.

"Brainfreeze me!" "Me!" "Freeze me." High pitched requests come in, and the whitescale starts on the next cone.

>>SPLASH<<

The pink lizard youngling bellyflops in the fountain, swims over and climbs out over Cryo's tail to stand beside her on the rim of the fountain. She points at Ezil, "Who thisss?" Her tradespeech is rough, but has an Alexandrian accent.

"This is Ezil. Ezil, this is Little Fang, or Lily. He's... well he's like a clutch-father like... well Mikilos. A friend. Or he was. He threw me out of his camp last time we spoke."

Little Fang stares at Cryo and too much confusing information. Is she supposed to trust this new human, or not? She leans and peers at him.

"The stars don't, as far as I'm aware but I think they eventually get back to where they started." Cryo blindly hands off a finished cone, looking at Ezil, "What called you back from the search? Or are you still?"

"Friends fight, Cryosanthia. It's part of life." Ezil mumbles a bit as he looks away a tad embarrassed about the situation between them had to be explained so bluntly. "We will not always walk the same roads, but we will find times where we walk beside one another towards the same place." sighing as he looks down to the Little Fang. "Things get complicated the older you get."

That second question comes with a shake of his head, his features stern for a brief moment before melting with a sigh. "No. The search continues, but for now I am called here. A lot of things seem to lead to Alexandria, and then again, away from it." a hand rising briefly to make a simple waving gesture. "Some searches take a lifetime, so... there is no rush to rush the journey."

"Okay..." Lily says, still watching Ezil intently. She reaches over Cryo's shoulder and pulls a wooden sword out of her haversack. She holds it dramatically upright in front of her, "I'm a Knight."

"Yes, my little Knight, so protective. Call him Tio Ezil." Cryo leans and noses along the top of her head, rubbing her chin on the pinkscale.

The whitescale is looking off at nothing in particular. Her sno-cone manufacture perfected enough she can do it inattentively. "The problem with things you can't speak about is you can't speak about them. You have to talk around them and hope your friends pick up on your odd behaviour."

She leans down, smiling at a goblin girl, handing her the cone, "The Eggs were hatching in Mictlan when you were last there. This isn't something we share with outsiders. The Egg-watchers asked me to check on you. Seldan..."

She sighs, "Seldan was avoiding Alexandria because he was afraid Eclavdran might follow and find him, and he didn't want to endanger the city. Our very delicate nestlings, which his kin would have told him about, he either didn't consider or didn't mind endangering."

The whitescale directly faces Ezil, her eyes expressionlees sapphire gems with black slits for pupils. Her expressions limited by her heavy scales and the bones beneath, "hard to tell my odd behaviour when I was acting oddly the whole time, but I couldn't say 'go away I'm afraid you'll bring demons that will kill our chidren'. I hoped you would get the message something was wrong."

"I think you got a different message."

"There was a lot to deal with in those days, and a lot of signals got crossed." Ezil says, his glance meeting Cryosanthia's as she looks his way. "Seldan.... was mistaken on a lot of things, and while they had good intentions, these people of Alexandria have a penchant for self-sacrifice, and taking hardships on alone. They think only of the city's safety, and not the realm it is supposed to uphold, and protect."

"I'm sorry I didn't heed you then, or think deeper about it all, but I was blinded by both shock and anger." Ezil's smile only returning as he looks down tot he smaller sith. "Tio, is it? What kind of knight do you want to be?" changing the topic.

"No. You're Tio. Tio Ezil." The little pink knight says, reaching up and tapping Ezil on the shoulder, "Knight of the Thinky Face. I's Little Fang, Knight of Lillies and Devil slayer!"

Cryo smiles, watching her youngling. She exhales carefully, tells her hungry crowd, "This one needs a few moments. Go away please, the ice cones will be back in a half hour." Imploring looks at hovering parents help clear her 'court', though there is whining and protests.

"This one should have told you to go away, explanation will be later." Cryosanthia says, facing the Star Warrior once more, "Rather than attempt subterfuge and spare your feelings and instead hurt them more. And..." She nods slowly, "I've come to that realization about Alexandria. I am still unsure if I regret what I sacrificed for this City, and I feel that is telling. Thanks for apologizing and please accept mine."

She folds her hands and looks down at her lap.

Ezil had found a soft smile again when Cryosanthia addressed and made her declarations to the cloud, chuckling to himself until the topic changes to that of Alexandria. Sighing, he looks to Little Fang first. "You will grow up to be a fine knight if such ideals are held tight. Whatever you become, knight, sentinel, or warrior..... you can make a difference to many people with a good heart and head on your shoulders."

"Of course I accept your apology, there is no reason I would not." Ezil says, dismissing that notion with a flick of his hand as he moves towards the fountain as the children reluctantly disperse from the show and snack. "I regret nothing, but I know why your thoughts would wander. Mine did." mused at his own words. "I learned this place is not home, nor is it a substitute for one to me. It is just Alexandria. Place of people."

It is cool beside Cryosanthia. The white Sith'makar is absorbing all the warmth, and the shade from her canopy increases the effect. It's oddly intimate sitting in her shade, the stone fountain beside her is cold with frost, and there's a small ice ring forming around her tail where it enters the water.

Little Fang says, "Yes!" She starts marching the edge of the shadow-line, watching Cryo and Ezil the entire time. Marching with very obvious, 'watch me!' body language.

Cryo's head unconsciously pans and follows her youngling, except when she deliberately looks away to face Ezil. "Thank you." A cold hand is placed on his thigh, "This one has no nest. This one does not feel at home here, or in Mictlan. This one may never feel at home except in Her Tower, and that is the most terrible thought that I put aside."

Her crest raises a little, then lies flat again, her nostrils flare. She exhales, inhales deeply. Her eyes glitter intently, fixed on Ezil's. "This one wants eggs. This one is in season. I don't know how long it will last or when it will happen again. In Her Tower... it was excruciating to hide from Her. I would not create nestlings for her experiments. This one may not get many more opportunities. I tell you so..."

Cryo sighs again, "You'll understand if I'm acting strangely. Why."

"Ssassa smells funny!" Lily adds, mid pirouette, pointing out the obvious. To her.

Ezil looks to those claws that are placed carefully against him, running a hand gently against the scaled skin in an attempt to offer comfort. "You would like the faring folk. A warm wagon. Lots of dancing and music. It's about the people not the place. Wherever the people can call home and lay their heads merriment is found... even if it is across the wastes and sea of time." his smile clinging to his lips.

"I see Little Fang is still a bit too young for tact, eh?" Ezil's laugh coming as he gives Cryosanthia's forearm a subtle squeeze. "I am glad you thought to share, and... I can understand your worries. You spent years in that tower... but it was only days here. To the other end... my experience is different. What was days was.... months." his hand withdrawn for a moment. "I think all of the creatures and races under the gods want to see our blood lines continue and thrive. How could I begrudge you what any woman would want?"

The whitescale smiles, the edges of her long mouth curling up as she nods, "thank you for understanding. This one can't understand how you softskins are like this all the time! Everything is suggestive and makes my mind wander. I wish!..."

She looks away. "I'll find someone. The People are practical about this. An emotional connection and ties are a luxury of your people."

"Things with time are going to get worse." Cryo says randomly, then turns her head back to Ezil, "Lily does not have much of a guard on her mouth. She says what she's thinking."

"Ssassa talks SO MUCH!" Lily agrees, pointing with her sword.

Cryo raises then lowers her head, "This one spends a lot of time with Faran and her mother, Serrendine, at the Knight's Chapterhouse. She Egg-Watches Lily when I must go somewhere. They are both wonderful and have a perspective this one does not. We may go travelling sometime, when things calm down, or if they do not."

She smiles at Ezil again, "There's a lot more going on in Alexandria than this one's hormonal difficulties."

"I think we should make the ties we want, Cryosanthia. It's not about your people, or my people, but about you and your wants." Ezil counters, his eyes going back out over the plaza with a glance, laughing absently still at some of the antics of Lily and Cryo's frustration. "We can preserve our cultures, and our ways, but also exist for ourselves." his hand rising to take Cryo's lacing fingers between her claws and giving yet another squeeze. "I am of the Faring Folk, but I am not as they are, nor do they expect me to be. I have my own path to walk, and so do you."

"Thanks Ezil." She feels cool, and hard, like sculpted marble. A statue. Movement is unexpected when it comes, such cold of a thing usually doesn't. She laughs, unexpectedly cheerfully, "My cihuaa said I was an endless hole of needs." She sighs, changing the topic, "Do you want a candy?"

Reaching into her haversack she brings out a paper bag and unrolls it. She looks in, "Oh. I'll have to get more."

"It's good that you're back, Ezil. Lily is my missing piece. She's my everything and I'm holding myself together for her." The whitescale faces the paladin, squeezing his hand, "I've almost stopped adventuring. Only for things that only I can do. Coming home to her is the most important thing. That's this one's path. The world I'm going to save is much smaller now. Lily, my friends, my people. I can't throw myself recklessly at every problem anymore."

"Well, here I had my hopes dashed." Ezil hefts in tease as he eyes glance and his hand is withdrawn after that squeeze. "I rather like the candies here." his words followed with a light pat of her firm and shaped shoulder, his hand lingering there while he speaks. "You have grown, perhaps we both have in different ways. It is not about saving everyone, but making a difference when we can. I am not seeking, but I will fight the evil that takes root beneath my feet." he notes, looking after the little Sith as they are spoken of. "As foolish as it is.... the 'all-friend' has his limits... and not acknowledging them is what led to a lot of my issues when facing the demons at our door."

With a hand falling away again, Ezil offers a shrug to Cryosanthia. "If you ever need aide, you know I will be there. Not much can change that."

Lily finishes her march and comes over and slides into Cryosanthia's lap as if she owns it and belongs there, which may be true. She looks upwards at Ezil, then her clutch-mother, "I want the red candies, and the candy crickets."

"Yes Lily, Ssassa will get some, before I go adventuring with Cesran." She pets the youngling's head and neck, making a quiet rumble.

The whitescale does seem very solid, even more muscular and defined. Being a mother has not softened her in the slightest, which is perhaps the way of the Sith'Mom. "We have, and this one will also. The battles are chosen more carefully now. Life is not scripted excitement of Plays or the Crimson Pen. It's messy and the stories don't always work out. At best those are rosy reflections."

She faces Ezil directly, "There are still demons and devils, you should speak to Seldan, or consult with the Iron Book. A lot... a lot has happened while you were gone. This one... will tell you later. I would like to enjoy your company now."

"Do you want an Ice cone?"

"Yaaaasss!" Lily says loudly, pulling at Cryo's robes.

"Oh, of course I want an ice cone." Ezil muses, looking to Lilly as she too answers, offering a human wink in play. "As for the Iron Book, or Seldan.... we shall see. I have my own plans these days, their own be damned." shifting to stand, dusting himself now as he takes a second look at the grime he's been collecting from the road. "I'll need a bath at some point, but yes, let's just enjoy some time here and now."

"Okay," the whitescale smiles, and casts her cantrips again. Up close it is very easy to see how her scales sparkle and light up, the pale blue lines that criss-cross her in wild patterns illume with a transitory, cold light. She flashes like the tapestry of stars, the magic visibly moving from her hear down to her hands.

A ray of frost, a prestidigitated paper-cone, a squeeze of her powerful hand and then a circle of syrup. It's complete.

A snow cone for Ezil. A snow cone for Little Fang. One for herself.

They taste of summer and blueberries.

With maybe a hint of lizard.