OPEN

[sulahnan]

WHO: Athessa and YOU!
WHAT: Catch-all because I need to stop exclusively inboxing
WHEN: Whenever but mostly now-ish, post-dream meme
WHERE: Around, Kirkwall and the Gallows, maybe in the field who knows
NOTES: NSFW threads will be marked and/or moved to my NSFW inbox, CW as needed, blah blah blah

Specific starters in the comments!

Comments

Keymaster, Gatekeeper, Soldier, Spy - Closed to Ilias

[sulahnan]

[ It's certainly been a while since the whole Laura thing, and Athessa still has the Speaker's key. Hasn't given it much thought, really, 'til it fell out of her pocket a minute ago. There's just been too much else going on. Being used as a blood puppet, that whole Nevarra thing, the stupid box thing, the horrible shared dream thing...

The practical upshot of all those things, though, is that now her sleep habits are totally fucked! Sleeps little, smokes a lot. It just means she's up at the same ridiculous hour as Ilias, all the better to come a-knockin' on his lab door. ]

Speaker Fabria?

[libratus]

[ Ilias is awake at this ridiculous hour, yes, but not precisely expecting company. Luckily unwinding isn't something he does much of, so when he opens the door it's less 3am pajama party and more a single button on his collar might be undone. But there's a bit more warmth to the smile he gives her all the same, absent his usual pristine remove. ]

Athessa. You're up late-- or perhaps early. Come in.

[sulahnan]

Maybe it's both.

[ She shrugs and upon entering gives the laboratory a cursory glance, just to see what a laboratory even looks like. ]

Or maybe I'm up late and you're up early.

[libratus]

I'm never up early.

[ His lab might not be the best example of laboratories on the whole, but necromantic ones-- it's mostly books and scrolls piled upon tables, sharp little instruments and dull liquid in glass bottles. There's a jar of live spiders, a long pelt from some fuzzy animal, and of course the occasional human skull, but no one on his dissection table tonight at least.

If he shuts the door after her rather swiftly, it's only because it's dammed cold out there. ]

There's a little tea, though, if you are aiming to continue consciousness -- or different tea, if you aren't.

[sulahnan]

[ She doesn't flinch at the door closing, too interested in why anyone would have a jar of spiders to worry about being trapped by who is, by her estimation, a rather nice man. ]

Is there a tea that wards off dreams? After what happened last month I haven't actually been too keen on sleeping.

[ Probably a heavier statement than her tone suggests. She reaches under her collar to produce a key on a leather strap from around her neck. ]

I figured you'd want this back.

[libratus]

[ With a sympathetic wince, ] There are several that claim it, but none I've found speak truth.

[ Trust Me I've Tried™ He extends a hand for the key with a grateful dip of the head, however. ]

Thank you. I'd nearly forgotten about it, if I'm honest, you might have had your pick of cobwebs.

[sulahnan]

Eh, breaking into some super secret room is hardly fun if you have the key.

[ The key is handed over with an affable shrug and a lopsided smile. ]

Actually I forgot I had it, too, and said to myself: "Oh, I gotta return that," and then forgot about it again, which is why I put it on a necklace.

[libratus]

A sound strategy, apparently.

[ He gives an appreciative nod. ]

Thank you for your help with the matter as well. I do not know Mistress Kint well, but I am quite glad you and young Matthias were able to keep her safe while the situation settled.

[sulahnan]

It seemed like the right thing to do, [ another shrug. ] especially with that messenger being so undiplomatic about it all.

[libratus]

She was a bit-- presumptuous, yes. [ From Ilias, practically an insult. ] But even if she had approached us on more equitable terms, I mislike the idea of handing our agents over to any else for judgment.

[sulahnan]

Especially someone who's just a kid, too. Or at least, was a kid when all that shit went down.

[libratus]

[ His hand pauses partway to tucking key and cord into robes; a thought for another time, of another youth. ] Quite.

May I ask, have you a sense of how she is settling in the aftermath? It can be difficult to feel-- [ how to put it, ] at home again, in a place where one's secrets have been laid bare.

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa frowns, thinking about it. ]

I dunno. There haven't exactly been many dull moments since then so... Could be that she's just had enough distraction since then to keep from thinking about it too much.

[ She might be talking more about herself than Laura, here, but who can say. ]

[libratus]

Could be, [ he agrees, the colloquialism landing just a bit off in his accent. ]

A full workload is both a blessing and a curse for many of us, I suspect.

[sulahnan]

[ She doesn't really notice the off-ness of the phrase. Just like whenever she talks with Kostos, she enjoys listening to the accent too much to care. ]

Yeah I guess so. I'll-- [ Thinking back to the dream shared between herself and Laura, she realizes that there's less reason now to ask anyone else to do it. ] I'll check on her again, soon.

[ A beat. ]

Okay I can't ignore it anymore, why do you have a jar of spiders?

[libratus]

They were Enchanter Isaac's.

[ --is not an explanation; were, several generations ago besides. He gives a self-conscious sort of wince, reaching for the jar as if to scoop it away from scrutiny. ]

It is for my research. Spiders are very sensitive, you know -- to places where the Veil is thin.

[sulahnan]

That explains a lot. How do they react to it?

[ At least Ilias told her what the spiders were for, which is more than Isaac ever told her about toxic toads he made her hold onto while he did something-or-another. ]

[libratus]

The bigger ones make their nests and lay their eggs nearby, but the little ones-- Well.

[ He can show her. Ilias places the jar on the table nearest them, palm to the glass. ]

Normally they do not do much of anything, but I have been trying to encourage them.

[ A faint green light begins to emanate from his palm; as he moves his hand across the surface, a few of the spiders skitter after. ]

[sulahnan]

[ Her eyes light up, both with the reflection of that glow and with interest. ]

They're drawn to it... Huh! I wonder why? Do you think it might feel the same to them as a bug getting caught in their web or something? Vibrations or...a sound we can't hear?