( closed ) high above the smokestacks

[villieldr]

WHO: Lakshmi, Magni & Tofa
WHAT: return to the Gallows and totally fine not awkward intros
WHEN: a day or two before the event
WHERE: Gallows courtyard
NOTES: none foreseen

Magni alerted Lakshmi that they were approaching the Gallows. Very different from her other arrivals here, when she had no one waiting for her. Marcoulf was a dear friend, but it was different with him. They were not the sorts to wait on one another, when each had work to do. It was more likely that they'd find each other eventually with a bottle of something potent. And, as much as she loves Marcoulf, she has never longed to see him the way she longs to see her Marnikarnika now. She stands at the front of the boat, and the moment they are in reach, a little before they dock, she jumps across to alight at the Gallows. Never has she been so excited to be back in this place, this bustling, miserable city with slaves immortalised against the cliffs.

An owl flaps across after her, and lands on her shoulder, before she looks back to her sister and tilts her head. Excited, eager, come on, Tofa.

From there, to the courtyard. Magni, injuries finally healed, able to move as freely and easily as she had before the Battle of Ghislain, looking around for Lakshmi. Where is she?

Comments

[shri]

It takes her a moment, to understand, to look between them and begin to wonder, to follow along. Then - as she had done many times before when pressed with something others might decry or ask sharp questions of.

Lakshmi bows her head, understanding with it - and carries on as if there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary with any of it, and does her best to make do. This was her family, now, and family must have support and safety above all else. "And I, you. I am happy too..." Until she realises, as she watches Magni's own hands, and the impulse to do it herself rises up.

There she clears her throat, polite as she might. "It might be... hard, for me to use such a voice back for you - " and with it, Lakshmi offers her own, and perhaps, a commonality to some degree, the wounds of Ghislain finally healed.

But they would not bring the last two missing fingers and side of her left hand back.

[kyrr]

It is not something she needs to be embarrassed about, Tofa knows that; her Hold had worked with her for years on understanding that there is no room for shame when the loss of her tongue had been done in battle. Learning to live without a voice had not been an impossible task - she had not been particularly loud or vocal, much like her sister - but it is painful at times.

Meeting strangers is one of those times, and she glances to Magni, suddenly nervous, feeling like she's swallowed something.

Shaking her head, she begins to make signs with her hand, glancing at Lakshmi's fingers before she turns to Magni. She should look at Lakshmi in the eye, she thinks, tilting her head down, but she also knows she has to ensure her sister's understanding before she can make sure that Lakshmi herself understands.

We will make it work. Her fingers flex, unsure, nervous. Sister, please. Shall we walk?

[villieldr]

The tension in Tofa, the way she moves her hands, catches and keeps Magni's attention even more sharply than usual. "We walk," she says in agreement, her tone enough to illustrate that part of what Tofa said, as she stoops to make sure she has gathered all their things.

"She says that we'll make it work," Magni explains to Lakshmi, as she shoulders a pack. And then, she looks to Tofa. "Maybe we put all your things in my room, and then we see to your accommodation."

Generally speaking, Magni has never been the one to provide someone with a tour, or context. She is always the outsider entering a situation, and there's a great many cues that she is probably missing in the grand checklist of ways to look after someone who is brand new to a situation despite her experience as the new person. (Sorry everyone about this elk masquerading as a human.)

[shri]

( she can't believe she's in love with this elk. )

"We will," she was family now - and everything that was, everything it wasn't, and simply as it's mean, Lakshmi will do her damndest to that end. Magni's people were her own and that was the end of that.

"Why don't we... " there is a shift, pausing, and she realises its hard to know when she is being spoken too or not. She taps her fingers - well, there were conversation methods she knew through fingers. But they were quite different. "... before we go. Here. When you want only my attention, please do this." She forms the gesture with her fingers, curling them around. "Then I will know it is me."

[kyrr]

Tofa looks between Magni and Lakshmi before she softens, breathing out gently.

It's a kindness, to be before someone who is making an effort to be considerate of her ailment. She lifts her hands and begins to move them, shaping them into the same motion Lakshmi had made - a name sign, something she recognises. She knows that it's something simple and recognisable, and she appreciates that more than any kind of hand sign or word could ever be able to express.

Turning to Magni, making her sister's name sign, she motions.

I will help carry. A nod. And then we can talk more.