Within Her Little Parlor (Vhast)

[Navisya Curare]

Fall 60th, 512 AV "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly, "'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy; The way into my parlor is up a winding stair, And I have many curious things to show you when you are there." "Oh no, no," said the Fly, "to ask me is in vain; For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again." The Spider and the Fly (1829) by Mary Howitt "It is much easier operating these when there is someone to watch Zy." The usual ambience of surface civilizations—vendors shouting from the market, children laughing, crying, and screaming in the streets, dogs barking, men arguing—was absent from the blackness of Kalinor, filled instead by the working of metal gears and the occasional unnerving sound of something skittering nearby. Symenestra, human, and canine were transported by a special basket designed to traverse the wire-like "roads" that crisscrossed the suspended city, not unlike a spiderweb. "My gratitude for that." The dog, hearing his name, opened his mouth to pant loudly and began to wag his tail. It thumped against the side of the apparatus. Navisya did not enjoy operating these baskets, and had only done so a handful of times before. There was something ungraceful about it, offensive both to her Symenestra sensibilities, and her feminine dignity. Unfortunately, owning a hunting dog meant the baskets required semi-frequent use, but usually her father or her cousin offered to man the gears for her. "I ought to show you how to use one of these," she thought aloud, sending a cursory glance to her guest. Vhast was his name, a human she had stumbled across in Eyktol. Her Gleaning in Ahnatep had not gone as she'd planned, but at least she had not come home empty handed. Her first choice had been a female Kelvic, perfectly stupid and short sighted. Navisya had been unsure of the decision, wondering whether she would be safe in Kalinor. The concern had less to do with compassion and more with the success of her Gleaning; if the Kelvic were taken for a surrogate, the Gleaning would unofficially become a Harvest. Good news for the race, but personally disconcerting that Navisya's original intentions went astray. She had even begun entertaining the notion of becoming attached to the poor thing, like a pet. Unfortunately, Kelvics were fickle things and she found new whimsy elsewhere and chased it. Navisya did not pursue her. She was likely better off. A male human, a bit round-faced but very easy on the eyes, with a troubled past seemed intriguing enough. Not Navisya's first choice, but a guarantee of success, granted he didn't do anything foolish like tripping into the gorge. He seemed to have his wits about him, which was a good thing. His stay in Kalinor would be a pleasant one. Navisya would see to it. "So this is my home," Navisya told him, gesturing a hand toward the floating lights of Kalinor. "I find it ironic that your world has solid ground and an open sky. Mine has a ceiling and no floor. Do mind the gorge. Not quite as deep as the sky, I think, but it may as well be an endless void." The sound of skittering occurred again, happening off to the left. A voice hailed from the darkness, speaking a cheerful greeting in Symenos. Zy barked once until Navisya hissed at it. "Iladrin," Navisya replied, her voice slipping into an easy, silken cadence. It made her sound foreign. "I'm glad to be back, thank you." She reverted back to the human's tongue. "Friend of my sister's. Ah, that reminds me. What can you actually see?"

[Vhast]

A travel stained hand swept gently across a patch of brindled fur, Vhast's sleeve dampened by the slobbering tongue of an appreciative four legged friend. A few seasons ago a little dirt on the cuff of his jacket might have been considered a great travesty against his noble dignity. These days it was practically a badge of honor, his efforts logged in the leagues he'd seen of both sea and earth. But he hoped that Kalinor would be more than just one little stop on his tour, the prospect of studying the Symenestra culture under what he felt was some type of diplomatic immunity inviting to the mind that wished to absorb all of life's creations. It had taken some initial persuasion, all the legends of the people mostly limited to tales of horror that could make a man's blood curdle. But Vhast was always willing to suspend whatever doubts the majority had for something far more powerful in this world: knowledge. Still, stereotypes always had a foundation based on some speck of truth. The dim lighting of the cavern did little to sustain the vision of his sky loving eyes, catching the silhouette of the Symenestra in their gaze as all that came through was a faint but still salient curve of pallid flesh. He paid it a gentle smile before speaking his own mind and rising up to his full height beside her. "It took some coaxing, but I believe Zy has grown fond of me." Over the sound of gears cranking rhythmically into the endless night, the sudden patter of claws tapping glass skittered away to his right. The object felt much larger than himself, but more importantly, also brimmed with life. It inspired a swift rise in panic as his head bolted towards what he felt was the source, a whisper he'd intended to keep muffled slipping out from his lips. "The petch was that?" The grip Vhast had on his traveling bag stiffened as the leather strap moaned against his shoulder, the ambiance of the city suddenly less inviting than it had seemed before. Phosphorescent stone glowed in pockets all around him, eery now in their twilight hues, an ounce of regret shaping over his features that had his mouth slightly agape. A mixture of both fear and wonder seemed appropriate. At her bidding words, his gaze sunk down into the bottomless depth of the gorge, far too dark for his eyes to wander past twenty feet. Perhaps it was better this way. Vhast didn't exactly savor the idea of being above lofty heights. "It's uh...different." A fool could have given a better response to her than that, but as it stood, Vhast wasn't feeling much smarter than one now that everything felt like a threat to his very nature. He was having a hard time remembering why he'd agreed to this venture in the first place. It was simply replacing one fear with another. There was no escape. "I can see a few arm lengths in front of me without a solid light source. But your structures are interesting. What's their composition?"

[Navisya Curare]

"I'm not certain, actually. I've never asked." Navisya watched as her own home came closer, its teardrop shape looming nearer amid the shadows of Kalinor. Zlynge and Vhast would be mostly blind to it, except as a blank, black area slowly growing and blotting out the other lights of the hanging city. It was novel to imagine their blindness. "They are usually built into stalactites. I suppose some form of plaster may be used? I'll have to ask my father." She smiled involuntarily, her heart swelling at the thought of seeing her father again. The warm notion was tainted with guilty hesitance—his wife had died only months before she left on her Gleaning. Lissith had been in bad health long before, and had insisted that Navisya did not postpone her plans regardless of what may happen. After her death, the eldest of the Curare sisters had firmly upheld their mother's last wishes. Still, even if time alone had helped Navisya heal from the loss of her mother, she couldn't help but feel she had abandoned the Web. But perhaps the responsibility fell upon Kelswyn, the self-proclaimed matriarch of the Curares. Time would reveal whatever state Navisya's family was in. The basket halted suddenly, then swayed gently in the darkness. Zlynge began barking and turning circles in the enclosed space. "And here we are," Navisya might have said, though her voice was drowned out by barking. Without the slightest reluctance, Navisya climbed out of the basket and onto the surface of her home. Her Symenestran grace became the most inhuman then, as her limbs adhered to the structure in no familiar way. She withdrew a crimson silk curtain that revealed an opening. Dim light came from inside, likely the phosphorescent glow of opalgloams. A strange form of lighting when compared to lanterns and torches. "Help me with him," she insisted to the human, indicating the dog. Once the animal was inside, a scrabbling of claws on stone commenced as it disappeared within shadows of comfort and home. Now it was Vhast's turn. Navisya offered a clawed, delicate hand. "And you. Do watch your step." Once everyone was inside, Navisya pulled the curtain shut and moved past her guest into the center of the room. It was not square, like any other building on the surface, but rather shaped like a pear. The bottom of the structure was affixed with furniture of recognizable shapes, but seemed eerie or even wicked in its design. There was a chair alongside a high table, and what could have been a sofa. Each was topped with a couple of pillows and draped in amber or crimson colored silk. Light came from an opalgloam held within the claws of a strange sconce on the wall, its cool lighting diffused amid the warmly colored décor. Immediately, Navisya's slender form scaled the side of the room, lifting herself with relative ease. There were niches and shelves for storage all along the walls up to the top, much higher than anyone would be able to reach without climbing. The hunter reached into one and withdrew a leather pouch, slinging it over her arm as she returned to the floor. Zlynge meanwhile ran circles around the home, leaping onto the sofa and off again. "I see Aessila organized while I was gone. Sweet thing, my younger sister." She handed the satchel to Vhast, which was surprisingly heavy. "It's filled with opalgloams, glowing stones. If you like, you can place them around the room as you deem necessary. No reason for you to remain blind while you're here." The home only had a single room, but no visible beds. A rather large niche existed off to the side, guarded by a long curtain that heavily bunched at the floor. "I'll clean out a place for you to sleep. Kalinor has a sort of inn for outsiders, but I'd prefer not to throw you into the bosoms of strangers just yet. Humans meet mixed reactions among my kind."

[Vhast]

It was not every day a boy bred from Ravok got to experience a world such as this. His perception of everything was forced to the side to accommodate new design, new meaning, and especially new circumstance. Houses were not raised from wood and brick. Roads were not constructed by dirt or gravel. Even time, a subject which Vhast had taken for granted, was not designated by the rotations of the sun or moon. Everything about this place felt new to him, as though he had not just stepped through the threshold of a cave to reach this place, but through an alternate reality all together. It fascinated and bewildered him all at once. What precious light was lent to his doleful blue-sky loving eyes attracted his attention quickly, outlining what structures he could to form a picture that was left dismally shadowed. Her response had quite the opposite effect of satiating even a drop of his intellectual thirst, marveling at the structures still as questions filled his mind. Only the maddening bark of his guide’s faithful companion put a stop to his observations, instead drawing his gaze to a structure he had been so ignorantly unaware of until this moment. It dispatched him of a gasp, and had it shown signs of life, he might have yelped. Lifting the four legged beast with more effort than he’d initially thought necessary, Vhast felt Zy’s clawed paws kick excitedly into his gut, scrambling for the stoop before them to find solid ground again. But rather than show signs of pain or irritation from all its squirming, a smile sculpted the traveler’s thin lips at having someone to share his enthusiasm with. Had he four legs and a mind constricted to basic functioning, he too might have leapt towards the structure with reckless abandon. But with Navisya’s hand being offered towards him, Vhast gracefully accepted the assistance and drifted onto the landing. ‘Inside’ was just another dam to his mind being overrun by flowing waters, the bulbous structure fascinating his eyes with a glimmer of silent wonder. The furniture would have looked invitingly comfortable had it not been for its notably sinister design, and the walls leading up to the top seemed inaccessible unless one wished to climb. As if affirming this notion, Vhast watched Navisya scale the wall nimbly only a second later to retrieve a pouch she soon handed towards him. Unsuspecting that the container would be so heavy, Vhast’s arm sank like a rock as he was forced to take a step forward to maintain his balance, strands of hair slightly distorted from the abrupt push. Clearing his throat to mask his own embarrassment, he quickly straightened and then carefully opened the pouch to its glowing contents. “Opalgloams,” he whispered in mimicking fashion, drawing one from its source and handling it hypnotically in his own hand. “Fascinating…” He could have stared fixatedly at the object for hours on end, wondering as to its design without pause until even after his hand grew tired from holding it. But with Navisya fostering conversation, he felt it only prudent to detract his attention away and focus on her. The stone he was holding drifted quietly to his side. “I appreciate you opening up your home to me, Miss Curare. If there is more I can do for you other than…this gleaning, I would be more than willing. If the other Symenestra show even half the kindness you've shown, I should think my stay here will be most satisfactory.”

[Navisya Curare]

"Kindness." Navisya allowed herself a quiet chortle as she withdrew to another side of the conical room, inspecting the size of different niches hollowed out of her wall. "Kindness is a strange word. Courtesy is closer, I think, although I am sure my Common could use some polishing." In fact her accent was still quite thick. Common was a coarse language, and she was used to speaking in fluid rhythms and easy sounds. Many of her harder consonants came out hissed. "The Symenestra are the most courteous people you will meet." She would almost guarantee it, even if her knowledge of the surface world was lacking. Navisya thought her own kindness was more curiosity, but Vhast thus far had not been an unpleasant person. He was intelligent enough, and quick with his wits. It seemed proper to grant him the same respect she would extend to a fellow Symenestra, even if he was only a human. For now, anyway. Kneeling, Navisya lowered herself to a larger niche close enough to the floor, long and deep enough for the human to sleep in—so long as he possessed no fears of enclosed spaces. She had met one such human in Ahnatep, who had been perplexed and even horrified when Navisya expressed her preferences. Quaint, and a bit sad. "You may call me Navisya, now." She began clearing her belongings from the small space, which mainly took the form of boxes and dusty trinkets. "But if you prefer formality, that is also acceptable. Now that I'm home, however, I'd prefer Enda Curare in that case. Consider this your first lesson in Symenos." Navisya withdrew an arrow from the niche, which had apparently been forgotten here. Zlynge's doing, no doubt. "And before you ask, 'Dovna' would be the rough equivalent of your 'mister'. You can inspire a few impressed looks now, certainly." She scaled the wall again with little effort, this time visiting her own sleeping quarters higher in the structure. Because she would be sleeping far out of the human's reach, Navisya could feel relatively safe inviting azo to stay with her. Zlynge himself would make a fuss if the human interrupted the sleeping silence with strange noises. This, combined with her superior vantage point and a bow never far out of hand, made her feel secure. But Vhast did not seem to have ill intentions. She had had the voyage home to comb him for any points of wickedness or deceit. His personal integrity had seemed consistent, and truly he did seem lost in the world. Navisya brought herself back down again, this time with a spare pillow and quilt. Instead of tucking them I the niche, she simply handed them to Vhast. In the light of the opalgloam, her wide, black pupils contracted quickly. "This is the best I can do for now. We will find you more provisions in the morning." Evidently, while there seemed to be no well-defined day or night in the darkness, Navisya's internal clock seemed to operating just fine. "You'll sleep there." She indicated the hole in the wall. Finally, she sank onto a dark and surprisingly angular piece of furniture that could have been called a sofa. Zlynge hopped up next to her and placed his head in her lap. "Quite different from Ahnatep, isn't it?"

[Vhast]

Courteous seemed to contradict the black mark society had placed over the Symenestra, leaving a bemused expression to cover the blank canvas of Vhast’s face. A tale from the vault of memory slowly came flowing back unbidden, the voice of his father filled with derision as he explained how their kind wanted nothing more than the blood of “our ilk” to color their flesh. They were true monsters, incapable of reason and yet allowed to walk the streets unmolested. Nausea crept through the boy’s stomach as the memory faded and was dispelled. Ander Proctor was many good things, but an advocate for the Symenestra he was not. If he could see his son now… Eying the woman with a naturally speculative stare, Vhast could not help but wonder where all the stories met their origins. Had he been a wiser man, he might have surmised that even in myth, there was an ounce of truth to be found. But Navisya, through travel and company, had not once favored him with a malicious word or glance. This meant she was either truly a master of her craft, or that the rumors of her people were nothing more than twisted words meant to inspire fear. There was, after all, something to be gained from such a reputation if one wished for their culture to remain predominantly isolated. His first lesson in Symenos had his mind whirling again, mouthing the words Enda and Dovna silently to himself as she prepared what could become his sleeping arrangement. Watching her scale the wall yet again, the scholar could not help but be impressed by what little effort she employed. Quickly marshalling what knowledge of the natural world he possessed, Vhast could only come to the conclusion that the Symenestra possessed an incredibly light frame by comparison to his own flesh and bone. Nothing else, short of an advanced musculature, seemed to make sense. Wearing a warm smile when she pushed the pillow and quilt into his arms, Vhast glanced to the crawl space while doing his best to look grateful. It was no four poster bed like one once possessed in Ravok, nor was it even a twin like that of his dormitory at the University. A cave within a cave, he mused, and that seemed to settle what troubling thoughts were brewing in his mind. “Yes. Quite different,” he admitted, staring up towards the ceiling with what light the opalgloam he still clutched in his hand would provide. “You truly live in a fascinating city, Enda Curare.” His Symenos was nowhere near the quality of hers, rough and gravelly against his throat. “You mentioned another,” his eyes coming down to meet with hers as she lounged across the furniture cast with shadow by his light source. “Aessila. Is she a friend?”

[Navisya Curare]

"Mm." Navisya tested the definition of the word, finding the taste of it rather peculiar. As she mused, her black nails drew in random patterns over the fur on her dog's head. Judging by his suddenly comatose state, he seemed to enjoy it. "Occasionally. Aessila is my younger sister. You will likely meet her soon, as she visits often. She is also very curious about humans." The hunter lifted her free hand, gesturing to the remaining chair in the room. Navisya usually sat there to read, or to entertain guests if she had any, but Vhast was being given the rare exception of taking her seat. He was an honored visitor, after all. "Sit. Surely you're exhausted. My home is yours for the time being. Just don't make a mess of it." As an afterthought: "Do you have any siblings, Vhast? I'm not sure I've ever asked." She wasn't certain how long she would be allowing Vhast to stay with her, but after weeks and weeks of travel, and even longer far from her element, she was in no state to be making important decisions. A discussion with her father—and possibly Kelswyn—would help right her head and give her a better sense of judgment. Likely, Vhast would stay in Kalinor through the Winter, as travel was almost completely unfeasible during the cold season in Kalea. Perhaps, by midwinter, he would find a room of his own at the Meadows Public House. Like a mother bird, however, Navisya found herself hoping Vhast would at least know how to carry himself around Kalinor before she let him off on his own. And anyway, he was not unpleasant to look at, for a human. His company didn't hurt. "Tomorrow I will talk with my father, and we'll arrange a dinner with my Web. You'll be our guest. Think on what you would like to eat; it will be something of a challenge to procure solid foods for your palate, so it's better to plan ahead. Fortunately, we are a family of hunters." Navisya smiled down at her dog, allowing her weight to fully rest upon her seat. Elation filled her tired frame, so glad to be home but much too tired to adequately express it. "They will likely want to know all about Ravok." Her golden eyes slanted upward. "So then. How are you feeling?"

[Vhast]

Pleasant surprise tugged sluggishly at Vhast’s brow while a humble smile warmed his lips. It was not often he was made the source of intrigue, a curiosity amidst a people who were so often the minority on the surface. It would do him some good to get acquainted with a sibling of Navisya, even if she saw him more as an eccentricity than another fleshy life form. And perhaps he could glean some information from her about his host as well. “Sounds lovely,” he jokingly replied. “It’s not often I get the chance to put on a show for esteemed sisters.” Taking a moment to lay the bedding down into the slot where he would be sleeping, Vhast sauntered his way back to the living area and tactfully placed himself down in the chair, placing the opalgloam in his lap where its radiance would be less imposing. Despite all previous reservations to the colorful yet sinister design, the comfort was overwhelming, a yawn surfacing almost immediately. Travel was so very rarely kind to him, and anything bad that could have happened along the way, often did. But the punishments his body had endured were bearable next to the unsavory consequences of being back in the fell clutches of Rhysol and his lot. Vhast was glad to be here, even if tales of Navisya’s people were rarely benign. Laying back into the cushion, a cloud of mixed feelings crept in from the corners of his features when the question of his own siblings came into play. It seemed as he spoke that Vhast became more withdrawn, his ability to keep his feelings in check slipping away with the exhaustion his body felt. “A younger brother and older sister. They are with my mother back in Ravok, last I was aware.” For Shaelyn there was a contempt that rivaled the sentiment he bore for his mother. Gavin on the other hand was still an innocent soul to his brother‘s eyes, trapped in the same world Vhast himself had much been a part of. Perhaps it was better to live an ignorant life under a god that seemed to contradict in a sense the very things he promoted by the implausible existence of the city itself. But that was just Vhast’s analytical side examining a subject well beyond his understanding, and not something of which he wished to dwell on in the presence of a gracious host. Now if only she were kind enough to offer him something to drink… With his manners crudely declining, Vhast’s face hardened until a sense of order had been administered once more, focusing on Navisya as she broke apart his inner monologue. Her voice did well to silence what rebellious thoughts had crawled into his mind, he'd noticed. “Your Web is what you call a family, I take it?” It seemed to make sense, given their arachnid-like tendencies. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your fam…your Web to go hunting at my expense. Not right after we’ve just arrived, that is.” He seemed to recall Navisya eating a piece of fruit back in Ahnatep, though he’d found it strange she’d forgone consuming the skin. It reminded him of a mosquito he’d once found sucking the blood from his arm when he’d first come to Zeltiva during the summer. Fascinating more than troublesome. He would likely get a chance to question their dietary habits during supper the following day. For now though, he was content to enjoy her company, following her next question with a worn smile that narrowed his tired eyes. “The flesh is weak but the mind is quite alive. Knowing that I’m currently suspended over a fall that would mean certain death is encouraging, though!” He chuckled dryly to mask his discomfort at the prospect. “How does it feel to be home? Zy certainly seems to be at peace…for once.” His head tilted as his gaze shifted towards the canine, a beast whose bark he would remember fondly well after he made his return to Zeltiva.

[Navisya Curare]

As the human took his seat, Zlynge lifted his head and took note. He was accustomed to having his master sit in that chair, and Vhast's broad-framed form must have looked strange in it. Once Zlynge was assured that everyone in the room was accounted for, his heavy head fell back into the Symenestra's lap. Navisya could only mildly roll her eyes at "esteemed sisters". They were family, not some royal members of a far off court. She wondered if Vhast was speaking in good humor, or if such etiquette and respect were expected of him where he came from. The hunter knew little of Ravok, aside from the dark whispers of a foreboding city governed by an evil god, with an active slave trade and a strong population of humans. Some Symenestra would consider it a place in need of culling. Navisya was simply glad it was virtually on the other side of the world. Vhast only gave brief mention to his family, which drew a sudden note of sympathy from Navisya's usually neutral features. Briefly she imagined him and his siblings as children, playing together under their mother's watchful eye, only to be so vastly separated in their adulthood. Although it had always been Navisya's intention to bring someone out of the world and into Kalinor, Vhast had already left his family before she met him. It pained her to think of what tragedy must have divided them. "I call my family a family." It did sound awkward, put into foreign words. She stared down at her dog in thought. It could be painfully obvious how azo would come to derisively refer to the Symenestra as "Spiders", but those who did were ignorant of their truer qualities. "The translation into Common is… difficult. The word is something more like… the ties that bind. But I like to think that the word 'Web' is truer than family. Your word can have a much broader definition, referring to households as readily as related types of herbs, animals, and poisons." It was an irrevocable tie, duty, and allegiance. Every member of Navisya's Web could be profoundly frustrating, each in their own unique ways, but she could not even conceive the idea of abandoning them. "The actual image of the thing, a spiderweb, suits the idea quite well, in its structure as well as its patterns and shapes. Pull one string and the rest of them feel it as well." Satisfied with her metaphor, she allowed herself a private, if smug little grin. "Webs are sacred. My father, I'm sure, can regale you on the tenets of our faith in Viratas." Tevander already was accustomed to leading her family's religious beliefs. Navisya could trip over herself if she tried showing another. She then batted a hand. "Apologies. I'm rambling. Never mind the burden you think you might impose. Hunting is in a Curare's blood. We can easily fetch a quail or hare for you. Venison may be asking for a bit much." At the mention of his name, Zlynge immediately hopped from the sofa and trotted over to visit Vhast. Sensing an appropriate moment, Navisya picked herself up and wandered across the room, approaching another draping silk curtain. She pushed it aside, revealing shelves, but her thin frame—still wearing her red cape—managed to block the contents. Zlynge soon lost interest in Vhast and followed Navisya, to see what she was up to. There was the sound of clinking glass, then Navisya turned to reveal a dark bottle in one hand and two wineglasses in the other, setting them on a table closeby. Using her long, black nails, she easily removed the cork (which had evidently been displaced before), then filled each glass with a polite amount of dark red. Leaving the bottle out, she picked up both glasses and handed one to Vhast. Zlynge followed her curiously as Navisya made her way back through the room. "I hated Ahnatep the moment I stepped off that ship," she admitted after sitting down again. Zlynge retook his spot at her side. "I could not be more relieved. The eldest children in the family are expected to travel more often. I do not envy my older sister." The alcohol was appropriate. They were both exhausted, and a drink or two of wine would ease them into a heavy rest. Navisya still felt needles against her skin, urging her to move instead of staying in a single place. The instincts she had gained while abroad were still fresh and strong; it was difficult to feel safe. So close to her family now, she longed to see a face she loved, but knew she was in no state to gracefully receive them. Tomorrow, she thought, she would have a clear head and better capacity to appreciate their company. "There's a place in Kalinor we call the Blue Grotto. It's one of a few underground bodies of water within the reaches of our city. I think I will go there the moment my limbs stop feeling as though they're made of lead." She made an irked sound, sighing through her teeth. "I am so sick of the sensation of sand."

[Vhast]

Her words resonated with pride as Vhast sat intently within his chair and listened, brow line characterizing all the points to which he found appropriately interesting without appearing rude. The sentiment left him feeling mutinous from within however, a thorn pricking the painful void where all his notions of ‘home’ had vanished. And while she danced with the semantics of translations, Vhast knew that on some level, he could only allude to what she was saying without understanding it. And that left a weight on his chest he knew his heart would never be rid of. Only a sense of dignity could keep his composure from faltering. But while Navisya may never have had the power to sense the unspoken emotions of the human form, Zlynge responded with canine alacrity. Hopping down from the sofa, he pawed his way across the floor to the Curare guest, wet tongue brushing against his limp hand that lie restful over the arm of the chair. Driven from his own maddening thoughts, Zy’s pandering for some small bit of attention inspired a wry grin from Vhast whom obliged with a ruffling between the Akinva’s ears. Such companions had a way of sensing what not even magic could fathom. It made him rather fond of the normally rambunctious mutt. Noticing that his host had fled the comforts of the couch by the sound of clinking glass emanating from another area of the cozy little hollow, Vhast was surprised by the sudden appearance of wine being offered to slake his thirst. “Thank you,” he nearly shouted with more emphasis than he‘d intended, shyly accepting the glass into both hands as he quickly sipped its contents with a notable lack of poise. Zy’s tongue may have stemmed the flow of deprecating thought, but wine would drown it completely. Swallowing the mouthful he’d taken with a pleasantly sheepish sigh, the student thought better of his next drink and set the foot of the glass casually against his thigh next to the opalgloam. His eyes, however, did not stray far from staring into its ruby red depths. “I would love a tour of your city when we have the time. I’m sure there is much to be seen, even if my eyes fail to see it.” The light glowing from beneath made his humoring grin appear ghastly. He succumbed to the call of his thirst after an appropriate interval of at least ten ticks, drawing the brim to his lips and taking a conservative sip this time. “Is the Blue Grotto dangerous?” he asked, setting the glass back down. Vhast knew he too could do with a nice flesh scrubbing rinse, the scent of the ocean appealing to his senses for only so long before he started to smell only the brine. But if there was water to be found in a cave, it seemed natural to assume that life would be drawn to it like in most other places.