𝑻he 𝑺orceress

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“I will not save those who refuse to be saved, but I will stand guard until they choose to try.”

mun is 27 𝆺𝅥 muse is 23 (?)
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[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

“There is a time for fury, a time for tears, and a time to sip tea and form a plan.”

#ffxivrp #ffrp #mvrp

[𝄢 𝖠𝗦ꔋ𝗘𝙍𐌉𝖠 𝖭𝗘𝝦𝘏𝙍𐌉𝖠𝗦 ₊˚⊹ (H) @asteriainorbit]

✨; I want to thank you all so much for interacting with Asteria and blessing me with these beautiful storylines. Thank you, truly! 🫶🏻

[Markus Terrazi 🗡️🏎️ @EorzeanMerc]

https://t.co/gc288F4xHG

//happy to be back on X m!

Formerly @forgedmercenary, can’t log back in there so I’m here now!

Will make a proper pinned soon!

Happy to RP anything and everything, N/SFW!

Admin is +30, that’s all you need to know unless you really wanna ask XD!

[𝄢 𝖠𝗦ꔋ𝗘𝙍𐌉𝖠 𝖭𝗘𝝦𝘏𝙍𐌉𝖠𝗦 ₊˚⊹ (H) @asteriainorbit]

🎙 ASTERIA AUGURELT · HUNTER LOG 01
⌙ Timestamp: Unknown—Orbit in flux.
“If the stars burn out before I find you, I’ll light the sky myself.”
✦ Seeking fellow Hunters, scientists, and one very elusive god.
#LoveandDeepspace #ladsrp #mvrp

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola stilled before the threshold, ears twitching faintly as the dense current of aether pressed against her skin. His warning was no idle one—she could feel it, the weight of truths not meant to be spoken, the pressure of forgotten knowledge straining like water behind glass.

Her eyes narrowed as he laid down his law. “I understand,” she answered evenly. “Knowledge is not harmless, not even in fragments. A word misplaced, a truth untimely—yes, they can rend a people apart as surely as steel. I will abide your rule, bard. But know this: I will not keep silent if what I learn threatens lives. Balance is not preserved by secrecy alone.”

She let her gaze shift from him to the door marked Urianger. Her tail lashed once, betraying a flicker of unease before she steadied herself, turning her attention back to the shimmering arch that opened into infinity.

When the shelves revealed themselves—climbing ever upward, endless, yet drowned in that familiar velvet-blue—she drew a quiet breath. “So this is your Aerilki,” she murmured, voice threaded with awe and restraint. “An archive of all that was, and fragments of what might yet be. Beautiful, and terrible.”

Stepping inside, her boots echoed softly against the polished floor. Her hand ghosted across the nearest row of tomes, not yet pulling one free, merely listening to the faint thrum of magic that clung to every spine. “If the consequences of Urianger’s meddling began here, then here is where I will see them for myself.”

She glanced back at Nider, eyes sharp, but her voice softened with something closer to respect. “I trust you will keep me from drowning in this tide of truths. Show me where to begin.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

But all answers to your questions are there."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her lips curved faintly at his insistence, though her eyes remained on him rather than her tome now. “Your care is noted, Urianger—and perhaps even appreciated, though I’ll not admit it twice. Rest assured, I’ve no intention of collapsing from neglect, no matter what picture your worry paints.” The dryness in her voice was softened by the quiet amusement that lingered behind it.

She tapped a finger against the closed cover of her book, thoughtful. “Ala Mhigo, the Steppe, the depths of the Burn… I’ve walked my share of paths, yes. And yet, every time, I’ve found myself circling back to the same place: another library, another hunt for knowledge hidden away. Perhaps it is the curse of our kind—ever chasing wisdom, even when the road takes its toll.”

At his mention of recklessness, a sharp gleam sparked in her dark eyes. “Avatar of Destruction, am I? Then take care, lest you find yourself caught in the wake of my ruin, scholar. I’ve little patience for being patched together after the fact.” The words were teasing, but the glance she gave him lingered longer than jest alone.

Her tone softened, the mirth giving way to something quieter, steadier. “But you are right. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If there is danger in seeking the unknown, then so be it. We’ve never been ones to shy from danger, you and I. And I cannot deny the lure of a path yet unseen.”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

in our endless possible new world we might find ourself wandering onto next. Reckless as might be we cannot deny to look and search for the unknown, nothing ventured... Nothing gain as they say..."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

The door sealed behind them with a hush that was more final than any lock. Y’shtola’s gaze swept the chamber, and though her expression remained calm, her tail flicked once at the sight of the strange harmony within disharmony — objects from mismatched origins yet woven together in some unfathomable order. The absences, the empty pedestals, caught her eye longest of all.

“So much order carved from chaos,” she said quietly, fingertips brushing the spine of a book whose lettering shifted even as she looked upon it. “And yet the gaps speak more loudly than the treasures. Stolen artifacts seldom vanish without leaving scars.”

She turned to Nider, her tone dry but not unkind. “You do not lack for ambition, bard. To carry me beyond Eorzea, beyond what I know of our world, is no small demand. But a library is a fitting place to begin. If you would convince me of your task, show me the records. The tales. The remnants of those realms you say suffered. I will read them — and measure truth from ink as surely as I would from aether.”

Her gaze lingered on him for a beat, steady and sharp. “Lead the way. But know this: every word I find within your tomes, every absence I mark upon these shelves — I will weigh them against what you’ve told me. If your truths and your relics part ways, you will find I am not so easily misled.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Definitely.

"... Here we are. We ain't be in Eorzea anymore. We are moving on, just it will take time. Meanwhile, we should know more about the world we are going too, so let's get to the library, of you don't mind."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her eyes flicked up at him, a glint of wry amusement dancing there like candlelight over glass. “A thousand lectures, is it? Then I had best start stockpiling tea now, for I will need it to weather your sermons.” The faint curve of her lips deepened, though her tone was still dry enough to cut parchment. “But—very well. I shall remember, if only to spare myself your scolding and the indignity of being mothered by a man with ink-stained fingers.”

She let the silence hang for a heartbeat, then turned another page, the soft hiss of parchment marking the shift in her thoughts. “Complacency… no, you’re right. It’s a quiet poison. I’ve tasted it before.” Her voice lowered, softer now, and for a fleeting moment the weight of all they’d fought settled between them. “Yet even so, I would not surrender these small moments. If vigilance must be our burden, then let us at least temper it with some peace when we can grasp it.”

When she looked back at him again, her gaze had softened, something sly and almost conspiratorial creeping into her voice. “You and your endless wanderings. Perhaps it is reckless. Perhaps it is exactly what is needed. If we are to walk such paths, then better together than alone.” She closed her tome with a quiet thud, leaning back slightly. “And as for saving it for another place…” her lips twitched, “…I won’t object. Books are one thing. The road, the sky, and the stars themselves—those are another. Let us see if they will still surprise us.”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

shall be fine so."

As he would nod soon would by means chuckle. "I think i shall save it for when in better place then library we are in, maybe save it when we might take a break from said world reading all it has to offer."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola felt the tightening of his grip, but did not pull away. The aether swelled, and with it the scent of something strange—velvet and dusk and memories that were not hers. When at last the door flickered into shape before her, its blue glow spilling across the floorboards, she drew in a slow, steady breath.

“So. The Velvet House,” she murmured, eyes tracing the runes that danced like motes along its frame. “I had wondered if it was legend. It seems my questions multiply with every step I take beside you.”

She turned her gaze to Nider, her expression softening just enough to acknowledge the plea in his voice. “If your Lavenza hesitates, she is right to. Trust is not a switch to be thrown; it is a bridge built stone by stone. But…” Her tail flicked once, deliberate, before she stepped closer to the threshold. “Every bridge begins with a first stone. This is mine.”

With that, she freed one hand from his, brushing her palm lightly over the door’s surface. The glow pulsed beneath her touch, as though testing her aether, and she allowed it to. Her voice when she spoke again was low, but clear enough for the unseen listener beyond.

“I enter by choice, not compulsion. I come to mend what is frayed, not to take what is not mine. If I fail that, you may cast me out again.”

Then, without further hesitation, she glanced back at Nider. “Shall we?” A small, wry smile curved her lips. “You promised me an infusion and answers. I see the tea is finished. Perhaps here, at last, we may begin both.”

And with that, Y’shtola stepped forward into the Velvet House, cloak trailing behind her like a dark ripple across the threshold.

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Velvet House's living room.

"Come have a visit to your new home Y'shtola. A pleasure to let you in this adventure."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her lips parted in the faintest of smiles, though the sharpness in her eyes betrayed the depth of her consideration. “Perish the thought indeed, for I cannot imagine a more exhausting prospect than enduring your lectures on the finer points of sandwich preparation, Urianger.” Her voice was light, teasing, but with the edge of affection. “Though I suppose I shall allow it for the sake of your peace of mind—until you decide, of course, that I’ve neglected a vital herb or spice.”

She leaned back in her chair, considering his words, her fingers tracing the spine of the book she hadn’t yet opened. “A half year of stillness, hm? I, too, would welcome it—though I doubt we shall find peace for so long. Life is ever in motion, after all, and peace… it has a way of slipping through our fingers when we grow complacent.”

Her gaze shifted to him then, thoughtful, steady. “You are right, though—books are but half-measures. Experiences—the ones lived, the ones seen with our own eyes—are what shapes us, what shapes knowledge itself. I understand that better than most. The things we learn from others, from their choices and their lives... they linger far longer than any ink on parchment ever will.”

The corners of her lips twitched upward, a glimmer of that sharp, dry wit she kept hidden for moments like these. “As for your offer of companionship, Urianger… If your stars guide you to my side, I would not turn you away. Even the brightest need guidance now and then. And if I were to share my journey with you, I daresay we would find much more than we expect.”

She raised a brow, a hint of challenge in her eyes. “And as for fortune and cards? You may test them, but I suspect the stars will be far more honest than any card you draw. Shall we find out?”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

indulge my curious mind what we may discover it so. And ah... Supposes shall like to see what may my fortune lies in the cards then?"

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola did not turn at once when the aether thickened behind her. She let it brush her skin like cold rain, a test of its intent, before setting her empty cup carefully back onto the table. When she finally spoke, her tone was quiet, deliberate—each syllable a thread she chose.

“Cutting me from this realm…” She tilted her head slightly, white hair slipping over her shoulder. “I have crossed more than one boundary of world and void, Nider. Do not mistake me for a leaf blown blindly between currents. If I step through a door, it will be because I choose to, knowing what stands on either side.”

Her eyes flicked to the shimmer gathering in the corner. The aether hummed like a taut string. She rose, turning slowly to face it, hands loose at her sides, palms open to show she was unarmed.

“You say your partner listens. Then let her hear me.”

Her voice deepened, not in volume but in gravity. “I do not come as a conqueror. I do not come to pry loose secrets for gain. I come as a weaver comes to a torn cloth, as a healer comes to a wound. Balance is not kept by force alone; it is kept by knowledge, by patience, by choosing carefully where to cut and where to mend. If I cross your threshold, it will be to mend, not to plunder.”

She let a heartbeat’s silence pass, then added, softer, “Show me your door. Let me see the pattern with my own eyes. If I am found wanting, I will turn back. If my intentions ring true, open the way—and we shall begin as equals.”

Her gaze returned briefly to Nider, a faint flicker of wry amusement ghosting her lips. “And if you have been waiting for someone who speaks before acting, bard… consider your waiting over.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Convince my friend and partner, the one who brought me to this mission of your good intentions. . . She is listening to you. If you make, the door will appear to you."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her eyes glimmered, the faintest spark of laughter hiding in their depths as she turned a page with deliberate slowness. “Visit and scold me, will you? I daresay the day you march into my chambers wagging your finger like a schoolmaster is the day I take up arms against you myself.” A quirk of her lips betrayed the jest, though the thought of him actually daring such a thing amused her far more than she let on.

“Yet I will not argue—your point is sound, as ever. Peace is won by vigilance, not slumber. The embers do smolder, and when they flare again, I’ve no doubt we shall be called to quell them. But until then…” she exhaled, almost wistfully, “…I will not begrudge these rare moments of stillness. We’ve earned them, though we may not always believe we have.”

Her gaze lingered on him now, a long, searching glance that softened the sharp line of her features. “And as for your stars… perhaps they serve you well. Not all truths can be inked, as you say. Some must be lived, seen, and felt. I’ll not deny your instinct to share what you glean, though I pray you learn when silence is as valuable as revelation. Not every vault was meant to be opened, Urianger.”

She tapped the cover of her tome, a small gesture, then tilted her head just so. “Still—if the stars lead you, tell me, where do they call you now? What land, what people, what story stirs that wanderlust of yours?”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

guide and show me the way of it. And fear thee... Knowledge often is and must be shared not hoard over like a vault of knowledge of it so."

As would soo simply smile and nods then.

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

“Ever the worrier—and ever the planner,” she murmured, shaking her head, though the faint curve of her lips softened the jest. “If you must prepare sandwiches as safeguard against my neglect, then so be it. I suppose I shall simply have to endure your offerings with grace.” A gleam sparked in her eyes then, sly and cutting. “Though if you’re set on feeding me, I expect nothing less than your best attempt at seasoning. I won’t accept bland bread from a man of words so rich.”

Her gaze returned to the page, though her voice drifted softer, more reflective. “You speak true of peace. It is a fragile thing—one need only blink to find it lost again. Yet fragile or no, it is worth the keeping. We both know too well what comes when vigilance fails.” A brief silence hung, heavy with the weight of memory, before she exhaled and let it pass.

“As for your learning… it suits you. Though you may hide behind tomes and candlelight, I have seen you listen more keenly than most to the voices of others. And you are right—there are truths never written, stories carried only in the hearts of those who lived them. If you mean to seek such knowledge, Urianger…” her eyes flicked toward him, sharp but warm, “…then I should hope you’ll remember to share those discoveries, rather than hoard them like some jealous sage.”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

reveals of thee what is seen from other's perspective heard from another's mouth. Thus would but love to learn more from others then simply just beyond it by books so."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her laugh came soft, carried more in the breath than the sound, yet unmistakable. “A basket of sandwiches and tea delivered to my quarters each day? You would make a fine servant, Urianger. Perhaps I should consider it.” Her lips curved wryly, though her gaze lingered on him longer than jest alone required. “But if it eases your mind, I shall make effort to tend myself properly. I’ve little wish to have you hovering like a shadow whenever my stomach growls.”

The edge of her hand traced the tome before her, idle motion betraying her thoughts as she listened to him speak of Limsa, of gods unmasked, of the falsehoods torn down by their long pursuit. “You’re not wrong. For all we endured, Eorzea stands stronger now than when we first took up that fight. Yet peace, as you say, has a way of making fools of us—it slips from our grasp the moment we grow too certain it is ours to keep.”

She tilted her head then, a single lock of silver hair falling across her cheek, her eyes narrowing with quiet mirth. “Still, I cannot fault your hunger to learn. Knowledge has ever been the one foe you refuse to let slip past unchallenged. I suppose, then, I must accustom myself to your endless candlelight vigils and ink-stained fingers. So long as you do not forget—there are some lessons found beyond the page.”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

to learn what other lands might offer be it history, culture and past events of it.. And thus i shan't retire so easily nor always stay still.."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

The cup slipped from Y’shtola’s fingers but did not shatter—time itself seemed to stall to let the images finish their telling. When the last scrap of vision died against the dark of his ceiling, her face was a pale thing lit by moonlight and cold comprehension.

“Urianger,” she said at last, and the name fell like a stone into still water. It was not accusation so much as a map-marker: a place to begin. “I had suspected—yet seeing the stain laid bare removes doubt and multiplies worry.”

She drew her cloak tighter about her shoulders as if to gather herself whole. Her voice was small, all the keenness of blade hidden beneath silk. “These are not trifles. Realms do not tatter by accident. When objects meant for one chamber are carried into the wind, the weave takes those foreign threads and knots them where they do not belong. The visions speak of ruptures, of cities undone and saplings of catastrophe left to root.”

Her eyes found his, steady and unblinking. “You said he betrayed you. If he is gone, his betrayal haunts the living all the same. Whether by folly or malice, the consequence is the same: the balance you claimed to keep has been rent. That is why you drew my attention.”

She stepped closer, so near the table that the teacup’s steam curled about her sleeves. “Hear me plainly: I will not be party to a concealment that costs lives. If you wish my aid, you will meet three terms.”

She counted them on slow fingers, like a scholar reciting necessary law.

“One—show me a fragment of the foreign song. Let me read a thread, not a tale. If I can lay fingers upon its pattern, I can say whether it binds or corrupts.”
“Two—name the places struck. The dead and ruined are not metaphors; they are debts to be paid. I will need locations, signatures, and witnesses if we are to mend what’s been broken.”
“Three—be present, and truthful, while I test and work. No bargains hidden behind perfumed words. If you have gambits, reveal them. If you have allies, bring them. If you mean only to hide what you cannot bear to lose, I will not help.”

A pause—her only concession to softness—touched the edge of her mouth. “And Nider: if Urianger’s hand is implicated, we must tread with care. He is no simple villain; he is learned, clever, and dangerous in ways that wear a scholar’s face. If there is hope he was used, we pursue that. If there is proof he sought power for its own sake, we respond as necessity demands.”

She lifted the cup again, now drained, and set it back as though closing a book. “Begin with the fragment. If you cannot produce an object, give me the name of the first ruined place. I will not promise to forgive what was done, but I will promise this: I will measure the truth, and where I can, I will stitch what is torn. Betrayal will be met with consequence; deception with the same. That is all the mercy I have to offer tonight.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

His quarters.... To show her, what is it, imbalance the realms.

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola’s lips quirked—half pity, half the faint amusement of someone who has watched a dozen masks fall and seen what lay beneath. She folded her hands about the cup until the porcelain warmed them, and for a moment the only sound in the room was the slow sigh of the infusion and the house settling its secrets.

“Realms,” she repeated, as if tasting the shape of the word. “That explains the borrowed notes. A melody stitched from elsewhere does not harmonize with our ley-lines; it strains them. It is not theft so much as an ill-fitting garment worn too long—until the seams begin to tear the skin beneath.”

Her gaze sharpened, not with accusation but with measured curiosity. “You spoke of balance. Tell me plainly: by what right do you keep it? By oath, by bargain, by force? And by what means—ritual, artifact, bargain with things that do not answer to our names?” She was not hurried; each question was a scalpel, neat and precise.

When he said the name—when he said the betrayal—her eyes dimmed a degree, the color of moonlight behind cloud. “I suspected his hand,” she admitted quietly. “Where trust is given in glittering words, catastrophe often follows like a shadow. Forgiveness is a mercy; consequence is a necessity. That you chose consequence twice is… telling.”

She set the cup down and leaned forward, voice low and steady. “I will help where aid is prudent. I will not be flattered into complicity, nor will I stand idle while aether frays. If you would have me, offer proof of your charge: a fragment of that foreign song—something I can read, something I can test. Let me see the pattern you mend and the wound you fear. If your work maintains balance rather than destroys it, I will lend my hand. If you cloak conquest in the name of balance, I will oppose you.”

A half-smile brushed her features, cool but not unkind. “And Nider—if the one you mourn is gone, know this: absence does not absolve. The dead may yet bind the living with their betrayals. Speak plainly of consequence, of victims, of the realms you say have been harmed. I do not bargain with riddles.”

She rose as if to pace the span between table and window, then paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Begin with the first place to suffer. I will listen. But understand—my patience is long, my memory longer, and I do not forget who brings ruin in the name of remedy.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Bargain a deal to maintain something alive all around. I *was* to *that* point !

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her lips curved, the faintest sign of amusement at his insistence, though her eyes remained fixed upon the page as if the tome demanded her full attention. “Then I shall endure your care until the end of your days, incorrigible man that you are. Though I will have you know—tea I do not neglect.” A deliberate pause, then the barest tilt of her head in his direction. “Food, perhaps, on occasion.”

She turned a page, the parchment whispering in the stillness between them. “Those days in Limsa were not so long ago, though it feels another life entirely. You drowning yourself in scriptures of primals and their rites, myself in what scraps of knowledge could be pried from crumbling tomes.” Her tone softened, carrying the weight of memory. “We chased shadows and half-truths then, and yet… here we are still, facing the same enemies in different masks.”

Her gaze finally lifted, one brow arched in quiet challenge. “Tell me, Urianger—has your hunger for knowledge ever been sated? Or do you intend to spend your final breath with ink upon your hands and eyes blurred from candlelight?”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

faith and more... As ever learn of Ascians more of their plot and plans as can.

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola’s fingers tightened around her cup but did not tremble. The steam curled between them like a slow answer, and when she spoke her voice was soft—precise as a scalpel, amused as moonlight on steel.

“So you heard it too,” she said, eyes drifting to the ceiling as if reading the ley-lines written there. “Not wrong to call it irregular. The threads are borrowed—worn like someone’s cloak that never quite fit. It sings of other places, other hands. That does not make you guilty; it makes you notable.”

She let that sit, then tilted her head. “Tell me the structure you prefer. Speak by theme—origin, purpose, effect—or give me one plain truth at a time. I will listen without applause, and I will ask when I require sharpening. In return, I expect honesty without performances. We are not at a theatre now.”

A faint, almost rueful smile eased the edge from her mouth when he muttered the name that trembled in his phrasing. “If by ‘him’ you mean the one who betrayed trust with pretty lies, understand this: I do not trade in sentiment. I trade in consequence. If you betray me, I will notice. If you were harmed by him, tell me; there are different remedies for being hunted and for being used.”

She leaned forward, cup cradled as if the porcelain itself contained a map. “Begin where you will. Speak of the first memory you have of those borrowed notes. If you cannot—start with what you fear the most they will do. I will take the rest in order.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Like *his*... I just hope you won't betray me as *him*."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Her eyes softened at his words, though she made no show of it save for the faint tilt of her lips. The pages between them fluttered as if stirred by the hush of their silence, a comfortable stillness only old comrades could share.

“You fret and then insist you shall not—truly, you are incorrigible.” Her voice was dry as parchment, but there was no venom in it, only a wry fondness. “Still, I would rather a companion who speaks too much of care than one who speaks not at all. So continue as you will, Urianger. I shall simply learn to suffer it.”

She lowered her gaze back to her tome, fingers resuming their place upon the script, yet her words lingered between them like the echo of a spell just cast. “And perhaps, in days such as these, where all is quiet and our bonds less burdened by duty, suffering such fretting is no great hardship.”

[Urianger Augurelt @ASTofthescions]

be said simply letting both scholars read at their own pace and quiet, if of course Y'shtola had something in mind to ask for over these days of peace and quiet with scion now disbanded of such for now.

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola accepted the cup with a gracious incline of her head, fingers curling lightly about the porcelain as she studied the fragrant steam. She did not drink at once; instead, her eyes remained fixed upon him, unblinking, as though she weighed both his words and his silences.

“Veils are not so easily cast aside, bard,” she murmured, voice low but steady. “Some are woven for protection, others for necessity. One must be certain the company is worth the baring before lifting them.”

She let the cup hover just beneath her lips, the faintest sip following, her expression unreadable save for the spark of cool amusement in her gaze.

“Still… you ask me to speak plainly. Very well. I sensed the song of your aether long before you stepped from the theatre. It is not discordant, precisely, but it carries threads that do not belong—borrowed notes stitched into a melody that should be yours alone. That irregularity drew me. And I will know what it means.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, not in threat but in promise.

“So, Nider. While you speak of equality, let us test it. You bare your truths, and I shall decide which of mine are worth unveiling in return.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Stay sit on a chair, and gave her a cup, then himself one other.

"There. Now, we can discuss. Tell me. And I will see what Can I tell you."

[𝑻he 𝑺orceress @TheEydaOracle]

Y’shtola’s ears twitched faintly at his laugh, though her expression remained composed—the faintest trace of a smirk ghosting her lips.

“Truth seldom makes friends,” she said smoothly, stepping past the door he held open. “Though I’ve found it tends to preserve the allies who matter.”

Her gaze lingered on him for a heartbeat longer, appraising, as though peeling back layers he clearly intended to keep hidden.

“As for your ‘veils of mystery’…” Her tone carried the faintest trace of dry amusement. “Do remember that veils are meant to be lifted, sooner or later. And I assure you, my eyes are rather adept at seeing through them.”

She crossed into his home, the air inside shifting with the presence of her quiet authority. Turning her head toward him, she added, almost casually, “And for the record, I prefer my subjects alive. They speak more clearly that way.”

[Nider of t̸̥̄h̶͓͠ē̶̼ ̵̜͒T̵͙̈́ȕ̵̮r̸̟̓k̶̫͆s̶̩͝ (OC) @Barde_Atout]

Before a muffled laugh came had to eerie scene.

"As long as you killed them or use them as experiment subjects, I don't mind at all..." He finished, entering his house and holding the door for his guest of a night.