Half-Sil in Revue

Log Info

• Title: Half-Sil in Revue

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Robert, Slixvah, Telamon

• Place: A04 - Theatre District

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon leave a showing of Handel Boyd Weaver's show, 'Felines', dazed and confused by what they've just seen. They run into Slixvah, who is just as confused, and they decide to walk and talk for a while as they try to make sense of it. Robert appears with his adorable granddaughter, Wodeleah, briefly, before he disappears again to attend a dinner with the neighbors. The half-elves are then informed that Pothy's gotten into something he shouldn't, and they race home in a hurry.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--<* A04: Theatre District *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

While the area contains more than theatre, it is most known for its dueling play houses and established, theatrical families. Competition for talent, especially known actors and playwrights, is fierce. An example of these long-standing, yet well-entrenched feuds are the Flightwright and Flame's Hope--two theatres built within a hundred years of one another yet separated by more than ideology. Owned by opposing families, the various troupes have been unofficially "at war" for over a hundred years.

Ribbons in Ceinara's vibrant colors grace the mismatched and often run-down streets, attesting to the District's colorful and creative background. The buildings possess no single style. Though not the quality in Upper Alexandria, this District possesses a thoroughly bohemian spirit and style amid its contrasting landscapes.

Aside from several well-known theatres, artists and crafters of all sorts make their homes here, as much for company as cheap rent. Callers-out stand on street corners, announcing the latest play, with what's in production reflecting the tone of the times and often, current politics. Street musicians abound, playing instruments or, for more visual artists, offering portraits for a few coppers to silver. Present, too, are Muses and their ilk, whose blessings the houses and various artists compete for.

The very center of the district is home to an open stage, an area raised a few feet from street level and worn flat. Anyone may perform here, and many do, though it's often an area for musician's gatherings and general lounging.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair. 
Robert               6'3"     235 Lb     Human             Male      A middle-aged Cerenzan with a friendly, fatherly vibe.            
Slixvah              5'8"     130 Lb     Eaglefolk         Female    A rust red and white Eglarin covered in veils, ribbons, and shawls.  
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Theatre District, evening.

The sun has set on another spring day, a cool wind blowing from the northwest in the district known best for song, dance, and performance: the Theatre District. As Cor'lana and Telamon leave one of the smaller theatres--as going to one of the two major feuding theatres is somewhat like a rather famous play often performed in the District in the odd way that life often imitates art--a musician plays a soothing melody on a woodwind instrument that produces a smooth, deep tone.

The sound is a panacea for Cor'lana's nerves, who seems somewhat bewildered as they leave the theatre. "That was... Huh. You know, when someone told me to go see Handel Boyd Weaver's 'Felines'--I guess he's somewhat of a rising star around here--I... didn't think it'd be anything more than an odd little thing about cats. Which, it is, but I didn't expect such colorful costumes and such bombastic music... and... an odd lack of a plot. I'm just grateful Grandfather agreed to babysit Pothy so we could spend the evening together, though."

Telamon's arm is comfortably around Cor'lana's shoulders as they leave as well. "I've actually heard of him, strangely enough. He had a play prior to this one, 'Joshua and the Scintillating Prismatic Robes', about the creation of the world as seen through a young wizard's eyes. Quite good -- I suspect the University commissioned that one." He looks wry. "A little strange, but Weaver is by all accounts something of an odd fellow."

He looks around, enjoying the warmer temperatures (even with the cool breeze), seeing the sun dip down and the first stars start to appear shyly in the sky. "He's sure not changing his tack with 'Felines' though. He's still strange. Or touched. Maybe both. Who knows?"

There was another soul that was coming out of the theatre none too far behind the duo. Them rubbing the side of their beak as they quietly tittered to their tiny thrush. "... don't get me wrong honey, I'm all about expression and all that. But that was..."

The bird woman sighs. "... yeah. That was yeah."

She glances over, spying someone and shifting her way through the exiting crowd. "Ya'll saw that too, yeah?" Slixvah asks, a but muted in her usual joyfulness, it overshadowed by stupor of recent events.

The half-elf sorceress looks at her other half with a bit of an expression that suggests hesitation. "I'm not sure if I want to see that one, or the next one he's working on--I think it's called Phantasm of the Choir? There's posters for it everywhere and it hasn't even debuted yet. Maybe if it's less of a fever dream than this one was..."

And there's Slixvah! The ribbon-adorned egalrin friend. Cor'lana can't help but smile and wave to her as she approaches. "Yeah. What an odd show, isn't it? I think I realized about about an hour in that we really weren't going to get a coherent storyline. It's... really just about cats. Well, people in costumes pretending to be cats. So weird."

Telamon shrugs lightly. "Maybe. But at least he has competition. Someone was passing out handbills for a play called 'My Lady Faire'. Maybe we'll see that next -- less emphasis on outrageous costumes, more on a story that doesn't resemble a particularly wild dream-walk..."

When Lana greets Slixvah, he turns to look, and smiles as well. "In its defense, the costumes are quite well done and there's no magic -- at least, none I could perceive. There's something to be said for that level of effort put into something like this." He beckons to the egalrin. "Other than that, how is the evening treating you?"

Slixvah gives a little wave from in front of her, it was too crowded to give one of her usual big ribbon laced wing waves. "I'm well and all inclined to agree with ya both on th' matter. But I got'sta say. If I was a cat person 'stead of a bird, it'd feel reeeeeeeal..."

"Weird," the little golden eyed thrush on her shoulder chirps for her.

The fortune teller makes a clicking sound in her throat. "Right you are, baby doll. Can't fault the handiwork though. 'side from that show leavin' mean a little confuzzled, The eve is doin' mighty swell!" she hums. "Just runnin' 'round, seein' what's poppin'. How 'bout you two love birds?"

"Well, I think we were going to go walking around ourselves, maybe grab dinner on our way back home," Cor'lana replies, although she certainly takes a moment to give the little thrush on Slixvah's shoulder a wave and a very wide grin. "Grandfather was nice enough to watch Pothy for us. Pothy... Well, sometimes, if you leave him unsupervised, he'll tear apart the kitchen looking for food. Plus, he gets lonely. It's like having a child, which, well, he sort of is."

She looks at Telamon and nods firmly at the idea of seeing something more 'normal'. "I think I'd like to see that one," she says. "It's fun to go to the theatre, and I don't even mind the surreal or strange--just, well. Something about that show is, to quote Slixvah's little friend, just weird in a way that I don't think I'll forget."

Telamon rubs his chin. "I won't argue that. Not a bit. I mean, I guess from an artistic perspective it's fascinating, but..." He spreads his hands helplessly. "Alright. I think we've beaten up the poor man's work enough."

He chuckles at the mention of Pothy. "Oh, gods yes. And he pouts when he doesn't get his way. It really is like having a child at times. A talkative, insubordinate child. We need to find a proper gift for Grandfather at some point for babysitting."

"Why don't we walk a bit, together? We can trade tales, advice, warnings, and recipes as appropriate."

Slix bobs her head twice sharply. "Sounds like a plan! I like it too, though, normally I prefer a little more... I dunno. Not written like someone was smokin' the good stuff while stuck in a house full of kitties?"

Fiadh blinks in acknowledgement of Cor'lana's wave and smile, though the mention of Pothy makes her preen her feather and look off to the side.

She chirps happily, Slix does, and ambles with them. "Sounds good, shug. Not much happenin' with me, though helped that Golddbell get in cuffs. Nasty fella."

"Oh! I think Tel mentioned something about that the other day when he came home and..." A look dawns on Cor'lana's face. "Right. That was when I drank the liquid the pixies brought me."

She looks at Slixvah as they walk and explains, "We have two friendly diminutive pixies--much smaller than the average pixie, haven't figured out why. They've been tending to the garden Telamon planted in our yard, which has resulted in them growing much faster than normal. Anyway, I was an idiot and I drink this golden liquid they left in a teacup for me to try... And suddenly there's me, another version of me, and then Telamon gets home reading off the Tribune like nothing's wrong."

Cor'lana sighs. "She ended up disappearing, thankfully, not too long afterwards. And honestly? ... Probably wasn't as weird as that show was. At least you can explain fey shenanigans as fey shenanigans. You can't explain a group of people dressing up as cats in very bright costumes and singing at the top of their lungs about being a jelly cat or whatever."

"Welcome to 'life with a fey-touched girlfriend, part whatever'," Telamon comments with a wry grin. "They really don't teach you what to do in a situation like that, regardless of the curriculum." He gives Cor'lana a firm look. "I know they didn't mean any harm, but I hope you'll ask next time before you decide to down something a pixie gives you." He pauses. "Personally, I think they might be sprites, but I'm not that well educated on the matter."

"Anyways," he says hurriedly, "Yes, I saw in the Tribune. Grinder Goldbell is right now cooling his heels while the priests and investigators rummage through his home with a fine-toothed comb. There was some mention of an artifact, and the charge is 'consorting with ye terrible powers of darkness', which is a pretty big no-no here in Alexandria."

Robert walks through the theatre square with an easy smile, eyes wide as he takes in the sights and sounds of the district he calls home. He wears a simple wool coat over a loose tunic half-hiding a belt heavy with pouches and hanging gegaws and tools.

The big Cerenzan's hands hold a pair of tiny ankles attached to a tiny passenger riding behind his head, busy futzing with the middle-aged human's thinning hair. Her skin is an even-darker red and she has an upturned nose in line with a pair of blunt tusks jutting from her lower jaw. She has a matching (but much smaller) coat and is carefully working on her fourth or fifth tiny braid.

"... Leah, you should look! Jugglers! And dancers! ... and I think a performance just finished," Robert calls out, bouncing his shoulders and tapping tiny shins with his pointer fingers.

"Hafta do this..." the yrchblooded girl counters, her own hair in a series of much-neater braids. "Impodent..."

"You drank pixie tea--sugar, honey, babe, that's like, top five things you don't do with little fae," Slix snickers. "Still though, two of one sounds funny. Heavens forbid there'd be two of me! I wouldn't know what we'd do!"

She bobs her head, putting a hand on her hip as they walk. "Yeah, was nasty work. Ended up finding the thing, but a demon and a devil were workin' together to steal the thingy. Was a mess, but we got out right and well in the end. Still wish I could beat the Goldbell with the stick up his a-"

"Oh HEY Robby Bobby!" Slix coos, waving towards him. "And--ohmygoodness who's this lil precious thing!" She bobbing up and down, excited.

"Feytouched fiancee, Tel," Cor'lana reminds her other half with a smirk, a little squeeze of her arm around his. "Don't go pretending like it's not serious now."

Her smirk turns more sheepish as Slixvah comments on it. "I know, I know--believe me, it's worse considering that I, of all people, drank the tea. You'd think someone who's descended..."

And then comes Robert and the adorable little one who's matching him. Cor'lana's eyes light up not only in recognition, but the realization that Robert's got a little one with him. "Hi Robert!" she says, waving to him with her free hand. "Yes, who is the little lady?--oh, how fortunate we ran into each other. This is my other half I was telling you and Jay about the other night--my fiance, Telamon Atlon."

Telamon chuckles. "As if I could ever forget," he teases Cor'lana back, hugging her to him for a moment. "Nothing got set on fire or exploded, though. So it all worked out for the best." He grins. "I don't think I could handle more than one of you, though."

His eyes move back to Slixvah, and he makes a grumpy sound. "There's always someone who thinks they can play these games, but it never ends well for them. Hopefully the temples were able to dispose of... whatever it was. The Tribune didn't say, and honestly I don't think I want to know."

When Robert strides into view, Tel blinks a bit, then smiles as Raven clearly knows the older man. He can't repress a grin at the little half-oruch girl's very serious work, and he doesn't try -- instead, simply saying, "At you and your little one's service, sir," with a deft bow.

The most recent braid completed, the half-orc girl carefully smooths out the hair around it. Then inspects each of her six masterpieces in turn, pulling gently to make sure they stand as tall as possible. Her lips purse and twist expressively as she concentrates on this most-important of matters.

"Miss Slixvah! Miss... oh,don't tell me... miss Cor'lana!" Bob laughs 'hello' and alters course. "Hello, Mister Atlon! This is my grandbaby, Whooaaaa--" he leans back slowly, still holding onto the girl's ankles. She, in turn, wraps her arm around his forehead and leans forward, giggling madly at the ride. "--deleah!" The Cerenzan leans back up and the girl continues to laugh, snorting through her little pig-nose and squinting her eyes shut.

Bob has to squint when she adjusts her grip and puts a tiny hand over his right-eye. "My oldest's oldest. I'm babysitting so mom and dad can look after their newborn; she's got a little cough."

Wodeleah stops laughing, her look turning serious as she hunches forward and stares down at Bob from above. "Nodda baby," she corrects with all the fierceness the children of Adom could possibly manifest.

"Big-girl-sitting," he corrects with a widening grin.

Slixvah snorts. "And that's why you get the ribbing!"

She coos happily. "Hey there big Deleah. You're doing some mighty fine work there!"

"Awww, you're spending time with grandpa, huh? Grandpas are the best!" Cor'lana says, smiling at Wodeleah; she's very serious about that last statement. Her violet eyes are twinkling with absolute delight. "We're your grandpa's friends. He's a pretty cool guy. But you're so right! You're a big girl!"

She looks back up at Robert, still smiling from ear to ear. "How many grandkids do you have again? You must be so proud. Tel, Slixvah, and I just got out of a showing of Handel Boyd Weaver's 'Felines'--I don't know if I'd recommend it for the little one. Well, I don't know... Maybe a kid might like it?"

Telamon also offers up a welcoming smile, eyes glinting like the night sky. "You're a cute one. Never pass up the chance to get grandpa hugs, though. They're the best." He can't help but give Lana a squeeze, to boot.

"In any case... yeah, I wonder. Obviously it's been a few years since I was that young, but maybe it would make more sense to them? It sure didn't make a lot of sense to us." Tel makes an exaggeratedly confused expression, rubbing his temples. "Life did seem simpler when I was young."

"Yes," Wodeleah agrees with Slixvah, looking down upon her works without an ounce of despair. "... but ganpa's hair is too short!" She takes her fingers and tries to pinch at the thinning swirl at the back of his crown with all four fingers and her thumb. It's a futile effort. "... fwarted," she laments.

Bob takes it all in stride, wincing mildly when she pulls his hair. "Five," he grins at Cor'lana. "My oldest son and his wife have three, now, and my daughter, two. Leah's brother is napping and we're just having a walk for some fresh air. Then we're having supper with grandpa's neighbors. We might do some singing and dancing..?" he bounces his shoulders again, turning his head and looking up at his granddaughter.

The girl has taken notice of the strange trio for the first time and is giving Slixvah a wide-eyed stare. "... birb," she observes, making the big Cerenzan laugh. "Miss Slixvah," he says again, turning and dipping towards the other two in turn, "and Miss Cor'lana, and Mister Atlon."

The yrchblood girl stares at everyone, each after the other. Then her stomach chimes in and she's holding it, looking down as it gurgles. "Hungy."

"... I think that's our cue," Bob grins. "I'll look into the show. You all have a lovely night."

Slix chirps, putting a hand on her hip as her eyes crinkle with a smile. "He is a pretty cool guy! Does all sortsa neat stuff with his doo-dads!"

Her chipper attitude doesn't cease, but there's a veiled firmness to it that undertones her. "Yeah naw I wouldn't reccomend 'Felines' to a kid. If I saw that while I was a wee-chick, I'd be scarred for life."

She giggles at the small child playing with her grandfather's hair. The giggle grows into a proper laugh. "Why yes, I'm a birb! And here's another birb!"

She holds up Fiadh. Who, also, chirps, "Birb," simply.

"Ah, well. Good to see you sugar! And nice to meet you! Get your hands a little wet with water, makes it easier to get what hair is there!"

"Bye, Leah! Have a good night, Robert," Cor'lana says with a giggle and a wave. Her eyes are still twinkling as she watches Robert and Wodeleah go on their way.

She looks back at Telamon and Slixvah and a tiny, little content sigh. "Adorable. Children in general are cute. Robert's such a nice guy, too--we ought to go drop by his forge sometime, Tel. He makes some impressive work. Maybe if we're lucky, his friend Jay will be there, too--seems like they hang out together often."

Telamon inclines his head as Robert departs with his granddaughter. "There is something to be said for children," he comments, giving Cor'lana a smile. "But I'd say Robert has his hands full with that one."

He looks curiously after Robert. "You know, there's that gnomish tincture that regrows hair. I wonder if he's tried it. Then again it might make his hair grow back a different color." A shrug. "Anyways. That sounds like an outing for us -- maybe it'll be as much fun as the Cheerful Corvid."

He cocks his head curiously. "Jay? Don't believe I've met the fellow..."

Slixvah sighs as well, though its filtered through a half formed chirp that trills softly. "Yeah, lil' 'uns are quite cute. Though, I agree! Should get somethin' made by him!"

She blinks. Then softly laughs. "Oh... Jay, Jay, Jay.... Integrity C. Truefeather. The C stands for-"

"Chipper," Fiadh chips in.

The ribboned fortune teller nods. "Well. I'll tell ya, that fella is a real legal eagle that tries to get regal with people, but needs a proper steeple to train his tepals, because right now he acts more like talking beagle and will get kicked again in the kegel."

She claps her hands loudly together.

"Two for one god damn it you slick BIRD."

It's at that moment that something... odd happens.

There are two pairs of... butterfly wings? No, they're attached to tiny people, not butterflies. One of them is fair-skinned with blonde hair styled in ringlets, and the other is dark-skinned with leafy-green hair worn in long braids--both of them wearing dresses made from flower petals. The blonde is the one who speaks up, her solid-black eyes welled up with tears as she whines. "Lady Lúpecyll! Lady Lúpecyll, please come home and smooth over things with the Feathered One for us! I-I-I...!" <Sylvan>

The verdette sighs, folding her arms. "I'm sorry to bother you on an evening excursion, Lady Lúpecyll and Lord Lúpecyll-to-be, but Lily-of-the-Valley here... accidentally gave Pothy the twinning tea."

Cor'lana just stares at the two pixies for a long moment before it seems to dawn on her what the implication is. "Oh gods. No. The world can't handle two of Pothy," she says, panic in her voice and eyes. "Tel, we gotta go. Slixvah, it was nice to see you!"

There's a shimmer of magic over herself and Telamon, their speed magically aided by magic, as the two half-elves rush home. Apparently, it's serious.

Maybe even... A-pothy-lyptic.