( open ) nov catchall - the fire is just getting started

[headhunt]

Who: Karlach + You
Status: Open
Where: Various.
What: November catch-all.
Warnings: Alcohol & language.

1. (manta) kitty kitty kitty

( a standard part of the seafaring life is the rats. that's always been true in faerun and it's probably true here. karlach was going to say how everyone was being too fearful about it and maybe even overreacting a little, but then someone gave her a cat.

someone. gave. her. a cat.

her.

as simple as anything. karlach had been introduced to footloose by a random crewhand just pointing to her perched on the edge of the crate, telling her that someone needs to look after her. of course that was going to be karlach! of course!

sure, she already feels like she might burn herself up to a crisp from the agony of not being able to pet her, but—

karlach couldn't be happier.

and that's why she can be found kneeling down, flames all but dancing off her skin in excitement, as she feeds torn up rashers to her new precious companion. )

Ohhhh!! Who is so perfect? You're so perfect.

( life is so good!!!

she'll give this cat anything she wants. )

2. (manta: corsairs) battle of the brew

( the large, draping streamers announcing the battle of the brewmasters along with the flyers and that one guy shouting outside—all of it was unnecessary. karlach had already been firmly sold on this venture through the promise of large quantities of alcohol she doesn't have to pay for.

who gave a hog's ass if there might be frog legs in it or something?

alcohol is about getting fucked up.

plus the whole "free alcohol" gambit might be how she managed to rope someone into coming along with her.

when the first round comes, the waiter is almost all too delight to start exposing the ingredients used in these initial batches. )

What-? No, no! Don't tell us what's in it!

It's more fun to guess.

( pulling a mug off his tray by the handle, karlach lifts her questionable alcohol in the air. cheers! )

2A. (manta: corsairs) oops too much

( warning: too much alcohol has been consumed.

brightly hued flames ripple off of karlach's skin, pulsating in time with her jackhammer-paced heartbeat. she slaps a gloved hand against the table, making a dull thud. it barely registers against the already heavy crowd. )

Give me an apron! I'll make a BETTER brew than this!

( someone should probably stop her. )

3. (bounty) that's a goose

( in theory, this should be simple.

after all, it's just a goose. how much trouble could poultry really rustle up? especially for something that isn't even being requested alive! sure, it was an option but that's as far as it went.

apparently no one would be the least bit bothered if karlach decided to cook and eat the goose. more than that it seemed to be fairly encouraged from the way others have spoken about this goose.

so-called devil goose.

thankfully, devil geese were still delicious.

but it's the goose that makes the first move. it appears behind karlach with a loud, irritated honk and then snaps its bill at her, aiming for her tail. )

Whoa, fuck! It teleports?

( yes, karlach. )

4. wildcard

(( tag me with something else. i'll roll with it. yolo, yk. ))

Comments

1

[yuezun]

[He had not been drawn to the presence of the - demon? immortal? - because of the way she was lowering herself to pathetically praise the cat she'd apparently decided was worth her worship. Though she did so rather loudly. And he'd seen more than a few people stop to watch her before moving on with their duties, faces now burdened only with a smile that seemed contagious the way so many were shared.

No, he'd been drawn to her because she felt like Hellfire. She seemed to burn with it, too. Her skin crackling lightly with flames. It was a wonder anyone allowed her near any of the boats. Though he supposed if they tossed a few dozen barrels of water on her, or dragged her behind the ship on a long enough rope, the fire might be dampened enough to survive a week at sea without risk to the rest of the crew.

Daqiang tilted his head in curiosity and strolled over at a slow pace.]

The beast cannot understand you.

[He opened with, eyes on the woman and not the cat she was happily coaxing with food.]

you're right no one should let her on a boat tbh

[headhunt]

Sure, she can.

( an immediate answer. actually, she's a little too excited to refute that. karlach almost sounds like the person who corners a person at the holiday party to tell them about their made-up soap opera involving their household pets.

it's only after a pause that she realises she ought to explain that better. )

Ack, no. I mean, she understands me fine. The mighty warrior, Footloose, is versed in all tongues!

( the answering meow implies that might have been a joke. and karlach's head whips back towards the direction of footloose.

this would be a good time to explain that she's capable of speaking with animals, but karlach simply looks betrayed. )

And lying. She's versed in lying.

[yuezun]

[Daqiang was also able to speak with animals... Or anything really... If they had a significant spiritual presence and chose to 'speak' to him. Which the cats, unfortunately, did not. They were simply living beings without any other presence beyond that.

So, while he couldn't understand what Footloose was saying, he did treat Karlach's words as mostly serious.]

Lying is a skill many lesser beings have developed to try and protect themselves. It often works on others at their own level, but is not a sound tactic against those more powerful.

You should be wary of continuing your service to such a creature. If it is prone to lying to you.

[jokes fall flat with this guy's.]

[headhunt]

( karlach might be just noticing that.

which makes sense considering the absolutely suffocating amount of the infernal that she can feel wafting off of this guy. is he a devil? it would track if that were the case. devils either had the most fucked sense of humour or none at all.

never any in between.

she stiffens a little. this might get weird.

but that doesn't stop her from answering honestly. )

I don't know if "service" is really the right word. ( yes, it is. ) It's more like we're companions!

( a loose hand gesture. )

It's just that she's a princess and perfect in every way. She deserves treats for doing such a good job.

[yuezun]

['Service' is absolutely the correct word.]

She has done nothing but sit there while you call out her praises and wait on her hand and foot the entire time this venerable one has been watching you.

[Daqiang moved around where Karlach knelt to sit on one of the crates that were lower to the ground and butted up against a taller one. Chosen because he could comfortably lean back in an easy lounge and still be within arms reach of both of Karlach and the cat.]

It would seem your Princess Footloose, the mighty warrior, has found herself an amiable servant.

[There was no real change in the coldly bored tone he's had thus far even as he spoke words that could easily be taken as mockery. And for a moment it might even sound as if he's serious. Until he raises an eyebrow and his lips twist every so slightly and he follows up with:]

This venerable one would know her secret.

[headhunt]

( there is something kind of amazing about his tone and candour as he refers to footloose. not just because he's obviously some kind of devil, but because he continues to take this situation very straightforwardly. )

Well—!

( karlach starts, pretending to stroke her imaginary beard as she thinks. flames flicker off her nails. )

Not only is she an ethereal beauty, but her talents of companionship are unmatched!

[yuezun]

Beauty. Companionship.

[He knew, of course, that such things were valued by others. And usually too much for practicality. But even he would prefer to look at something that wasn't an eyesore if given a choice. So beauty being the first thing named was not really a surprise. But to win such a powerful servant over with it? No, this woman was certainly exaggerating.]

And how much companionship can she provide when you are...

[He gestured at her and the flames that licked over her skin. The fingers she had to keep carefully at a distance.]

...so full you are bursting over. Or did she grant you the status you currently enjoy?

[The cat could not have possibly filled the woman with hellfire like one might an overfull cup. But she seemed open to talking. If he couched it as a inquiry into her dear Princess Footloose, she might be inclined to share, yes?]

[headhunt]

What?

( karlach asks, briefly puzzled by the question.

then the gears start turning in her head. )

Ohhhhh. No, no! No, nothing like that. She's just a cat.

( that's not really accurate. to karlach, she isn't just a cat, but she figures she should probably be clear about that part. footloose was her own free agent. no connection to any fuckheads in the hells. )

This . . . Uh, condition of mine is a whole different thing! And yeah, I can't touch her but there is more to companionship to touching!

( but she really does miss touching. )

[yuezun]

['A whole other thing' was definitely an understatement. Having been made into what amounted to a living font of Hellfire was not a small feat. He couldn't tell if she simply had the talent for it and her cultivation went wrong or if she truly had been treated like a cauldron and filled and filled and filled further still until there was no room for anything else and now her being could neither exist without it, nor exist properly with it.]

Is there?

[He asked, genuinely curious. Orchid's reaction to his presence had been confusingly mercurial. Sometimes she was happy when he was sitting close enough to lean into while she showed him things, other times she was upset he crowded her. Sometimes she seemed happy just to know he was sitting somewhere reading and other times she pouted and moped because he wasn't somewhere she could see that he wasn't getting into things she didn't want him to. Mostly, though, she had seemed happiest - when speaking of having company vs not - when he was close enough for her to tug on his sleeve or bump his shoulder. And she never really shied away from his touch even when she protested it.

And since coming here, the way mortals interacted had definitely placed importance on touching each other.]

This venerable one was under the impression that mortals found touch to be very important to companionship.

[And, because he was who he was, and had no sense of personal space unless it was his own, Daqiang reached over to grab Karlach's wrist so he could draw her hand closer and inspect the manner in which the flames escaped her skin.]

*than touching. lol.

[headhunt]

( the good news is that karlach has an actual answer for him. one that she has been able to discover for herself through the years and from travelling with people who actually gave a shit about her and what happens to her. the bad news is that karlach isn't able to voice it before he's suddenly reaching for her.

she tries to pull away from him before he has the chance to make contact, unwilling to let him potentially burn himself. that could be a whole can of worms! he might even demand compensation for the injury! she's not about that! )

Whoa, hey! My guy! I'm not safe to touch just because you're from the Hells.

( and now she really cannot keep ignoring that fact. )

DM me if you need me to change anything!

[yuezun]

[At the clear challenge, he snapped his fingers out to grip her wrist tightly and drag it - and her with it if he had to - to him.

Hellfire - bright blue and all the hotter for it - flashed in his eyes. He released the hold on his spiritual presence enough that she would feel the blaze inside him - a fiery sun compared to the furnace in her chest.]

This venerable one is more a danger to you, than you could ever be to him.

[His bored tone did not change, but it was obvious he considered her free reign to manhandle and did not appreciate being told no. If he did manage to get hold of her wrist, she might even feel that his touch was just a shade on the warm side. But certainly there was no risk of either of them being burned at the moment.]

all good, all good!

[headhunt]

( danger.

there is something chilling about the way this devil put that. if not for the tattoo she'd gotten inscribed on her arm to keep it in check, that claim wouldn't be true. "a danger", he says. if this infernal machine inside of her finally combusted, it would extinguish this sun before her and everything else as far as the eye could see.

which is a thought, compounded by the hands reaching for her, that freaks her the fuck out. her fires start to burn hotter in response, an echo of her emotion. )

And a bigger asshole by the looks of it!

( sharply jerking her arm, she dislodges the offending hand to keep their contact as minimal as possible. )

No means no!

[yuezun]

[He was not a man who enjoyed being disobeyed. So when she pulled away, he stood as if to chase after her, intending to force the Hellfire from her veins if he had to-

but stopped as her protest registered.

No means no.

Instead of continuing to reach out for her, he took a step back - stumbling slightly on the crate he'd been sitting on as he had forgotten that it was there. His hand withdrew to his side, fingers curled into a fist. His back was straight and stiff and he turned his face away just enough that he couldn't be said to be looking at her, though his eyes lingered cautiously.

He cleared his throat.]

This venerable one only cares for the Hellfire within you. Nothing else.

[headhunt]

( karlach lets out a heavy breath, steam rolling out from the edges of her lips. it's an effort to calm herself, to control the raging fury boiling within her, before she does something she might regret. she's not trying to pick fights, she's NOT trying to pick fights.

she's calm.

or at least she could be getting there. if this devil had the courtesy and sense to back off when rebuffed, he doesn't deserve her ire. devils are just fucked up. that's in their nature. )

Okay, well, you can't just go GRABBING at people!

( then a brief beat as she thinks about that statement again. what? )

What do you even want it for?

[yuezun]

[His lip curls at her declaration that he couldn't just take what he wanted - including dragging people around if that was needed. As if he could really be stopped by someone just saying 'no'.

...other than Orchid. Someone other than Orchid.]

This venerable one is the master of Hellfire. Never has this venerable one seen another act as a chalice for it's power and survive.

[No one in his world could even wield it and he was only the second in history to have ever done so.]

This venerable one would see what is different about it... or you... that keeps you alive.

[headhunt]

( while it's pretty cool to get called something like a chalice of hellfire and karlach is probably going to steal that in the future, she doesn't like this. this is too invasive.

they need to level the playing field. )

And who exactly is this venerable one?

( let's start with introductions. )

[yuezun]

[He frowned at the question. The translation magic making it sound like she was asking who she was, coming to his ears as "who exactly am I?"]

This venerable one does not know your name. Or your origin. Only that you are a chalice for the power of Hellfire.

[headhunt]

Huh?

( the sound of someone who doesn't get it. )

You're the one calling yourself that. Who are you?

( then she makes a loose hand gesture towards him as if that might help better clarify. )

[yuezun]

[The frown deepened and he knew for certain it was an issue with the translation magic. Attempting to try and work out what exactly was going on would take too much time without using writing and he didn't care that much about it.]

Forget it.

[He muttered to himself before turning to face her properly, pushing his shoulders back and lifting his chin.]

This venerable one is Dongfang Qingcang, Moon Supreme of the Moon Tribe and Ruler of Cangyanhai. The only master of Hellfire in all the Three Realms.

Who are you?