+1 bard. No, make that +2.

[kitty_of_light]

C'taqa has returned to the Nexus. As he does.

This time, however, he brings a friend! Or, well, from the looks they keep giving one another, more than a friend. Ah-heh. A tall man with tanned skin, one eye - nearly one half of his face, really - covered by a large leather band, hair so brightly blond it's nearly white and tied back into a small tail, and an outfit that really would not look out of place in any general fantasy world (but for all the knives in his belt.) Well, since that is where they come from...

He's also human. Well. Eorzea's equivalent thereof. No cat ears and tail to be found on this attractive dude.

"--so this is it," C'taqa can be heard explaining, a little sheepishly, his tail waving behind him in obvious contentment. "It can get very strange here, so..."

"No stranger than what you bring down on us just by existing," the man teases him, giving him a little nudge with an elbow.

"...That's beside the point." C'taqa tries to look properly indignant, but his grin spoils it. And then he's too busy asking his question to be indignant. "What's everyone's idea of a good day? A relaxing one. Where you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Seems he's just had one of those days himself.

((Here there be dragons spoilers! Meet Thancred, who C'taqa has finally managed to drag into the Nexus with him. Things may contain plotbits of FFXIV's most recent (as of now) story quest.))

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity's watching the scene with the evident pleasure of someone who's glad to see a friend happy. C'taqa is much cuter when he's not actually crying on her.

"I have no idea. Excellent indirect humblebrag, by the way. So, this is him?"

[kitty_of_light]

"Excellent what?" Unfamiliar with the concept of a humblebrag, C'taqa is. The mun, however, is giggling.

"I, um - yeah. It is." Sheepish grin and blush from the kitty, oh yes. "Verity, this is Thancred...Thancred, Verity."

Thancred, gentleman that he is, sketches a classy bow. "Well met."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Humblebrag. It's when you brag about something but try and sound humble while you do." In other words: she's on to you, kitten.

Oooooh-kay. Still really not used to those old-fashioned kinds of manners, but she'll watch with a slightly confused smile. "Hi. It's nice to meet you finally."

[kitty_of_light]

"I wasn't bragging!...was I?" One of C'taqa's ears briefly flattens to the side in confusion. "Um. Sorry?"

Thancred looks entirely too amused. "What have you been telling people about me, hm?"

"Only good things!" See C'taqa flail. And grin like an idiot some more.

[brave_heart_verity]

"It's okay to brag sometimes. I would too, in your position." Yes, she's perfectly aware that they're two ridiculously pretty people. She's allowed to admire them, surely.

"Anyone who makes him so happy must be worth knowing," she explains to Thancred. "Especially after how he was acting over the summer."

[kitty_of_light]

C'taqa really can't deny that one, so he just blushes and flattens his ears forward a little in shyness. Half at the words, half at the admiring. Not that he's going to stop her.

Thancred quirks an eyebrow, slanting C'taqa a Look that suggests he has not heard a whit of how epically lost the poor guy was without him. "How he was acting?"

[brave_heart_verity]

...good going, Ver, just stuff your whole foot in at once. "Well, he missed you. He was really worried." Among other things, but if C'taqa hasn't mentioned it, she's not going to push. "It's easy to lose direction when someone important leaves." This is admitted quietly because it's a little personal. There's a moment of envy in her expression.

[kitty_of_light]

"It's um." C'taqa looks a little trapped, but he's not going to be anything but honest. "It's the...the stuff I can't...tell you about yet. I'm not ready, I..."

Thancred nods, briefly touches his shoulder and then smiles at Verity, noticing the envy. "It is easy. But you were obviously strong enough to carry on, were you not?"

Yes, he's a little shameless.

[brave_heart_verity]

She gives a little shrug. She doesn't feel particularly strong, but nobody listens when she tries to explain. "Well, I did end up here. You have to admit, it's an impressive level of getting lost."

Obvious and awkward subject change, go! She looks over to C'taqa and gives him a smile. "I made those acorn cookies. They didn't turn out as well as yours, but I think they were pretty good. Thank you for the recipe."

[kitty_of_light]

They're both willing to take the subject change, no matter how obvious and awkward; C'taqa smiles, the trapped look disappearing from his eyes. "I've been making stuff like that for a while. I'm sure yours were just fine."

"Have you been feeding people again?" Thancred teases, mirth writ large on his face.

"When do I not?" C'taqa counters, tail curling into a cheeky arch.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Hey, you can't blame people who like to cook for talking about recipes sometimes," she points out. "How do you think we get so good at it?"

Sorry if she's giving away the secret, C'taqa.

[kitty_of_light]

"I have no talent for it myself. It goes in one ear and out the other." Thancred makes a gesture meant to signify exactly that, looking amused. "My talent lies in consuming the products of such expertise."

C'taqa laughs and elbows him, nodding to Verity. "Sitting down and talking about cooking is almost as fun as actually doing it."

[brave_heart_verity]

"It's important to have people who need feeding around too. And extra nice if they're appreciative. Imagine how fat we'd be if everybody baked like C'taqa." Which is, ironically, what people sometimes accuse her of too.

She can't help it if they eat the things she bakes and leaves in their kitchens!

"What is it you do, Thancred?"

[kitty_of_light]

C'taqa laughs again, tail giving a flick. People do tend to accusingly say he's making them gain a few pounds they'd rather not. "I can't help it. I like to put my all into everything I do, including food."

Thancred chuckles himself, settling into a more comfortable posture and folding his arms. "This and that, really - as dismissive as that sounds. Perhaps you could consider me a sort of cutpurse for hire. And of course, a Scion..."

"Scions of the Seventh Dawn," C'taqa hurries to clarify. "I'm one too. We...basically help protect Eorzea."

"How succinct," Thancred murmurs in amusement.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's the worst when they do that. Such whining.

"Oh? Please don't cut mine, it's vintage." Wait. Oh hell. She's turning into a hipster.

The part about Scions goes right over her head. She doesn't know much about their world. But she knows about teams of world defenders, so the idea has her respect and so do they. "That's very noble. We had people like that too, where I'm from."

[kitty_of_light]

The absolute worst.

"Worry not - I have no plans to do that." Thancred looks very amused, though it soon fades to seriousness. "It would not be inaccurate to refer to us as a sort of...binding force, I suppose."

C'taqa nods, tail giving a more annoyed flick at tidbits of memory. "It's a pain in the tail trying to get three equally prideful leaders who refuse to admit they're in the wrong to work together."

[brave_heart_verity]

"That does sound like a less than fun time. How did you do it?" She will rarely pass up a chance for storytime. She's got her priorities.

[kitty_of_light]

"I'm too stubborn to let them say no." C'taqa shrugs a little, a hint of an amused smile on his lips.

Thancred snorts softly, but nods. "That is basically it."

[brave_heart_verity]

She'd been hoping for more, but oh well. "That's one way to do it. Did you threaten to shed on them if they were naughty?"

[kitty_of_light]

That really is pretty much it, though.

"I don't shed," C'taqa exclaims, pretending to be scandalized. It'd probably work better if he wasn't laughing.

[brave_heart_verity]

What kind of bards are they even if they think that's an acceptable storytime?

"Mm-hmm." She glances over at Thancred, wondering if he's going to side with C'taqa or get in on the teasing. "Everyone sheds, and you're part cat or something."

[kitty_of_light]

It might be worth mentioning that, but then they might never shut up. :D

Thancred is just snickering and staying well out of this one like a smart man, while C'taqa continues pretending anger as he smooths his hair. He's still laughing, though. "Don't say that around other Miqo'te. A lot of the stuffy scholars like to pretend there's no possible connection between us and actual cats."

[brave_heart_verity]

That is absolutely 100% not a problem for her. Storytime is one of her few joys in life.

Thancred's the smart one. "Oh, don't be huffy about it. My people's closest genetic relative is chimpanzees. We're basically hairless monkeys."

[kitty_of_light]

Perhaps they will come back with stories next time, then!

"I'm not really...not personally. It's just the stuffed shirt scholars who get huffy." C'taqa's tail flicks in amusement. "It makes sense to me that we'd be related to cats."

[brave_heart_verity]

That would make her very happy.

"Cats used to be worshiped as gods, where I'm from. Your scholars should like that part."

[kitty_of_light]

"Really?" Intrigued C'taqa is intrigued.

Thancred snorts and gives him a playful thump upside the head. "As if we need to make your ego any bigger."

More pretend-indignant kitty! "What ego?" Hmph.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Oh yeah. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted, and hurting them was one of the worst possible crimes. When they died, sometimes they'd be mummified like the kings and queens, and given fancy burials in the royal tombs." Or something like that, Egyptology isn't really her thing. Wrong pantheon.

[kitty_of_light]

"Huh." C'taqa's head tilts slowly back and forth as he ponders that. "Sounds kind of neat, actually."

"You would think so." Thancred gives his hair an affectionate ruffle, laughing as his ears briefly flatten.

((so sorry for being slow as a slow thing. just so busy ;;))

[brave_heart_verity]

"I think most people would think that sounds like a good life, at first." It's what comes after 'at first' that's worrying. "You've never wanted to live a life free of consequences?"

((No worries!))

[kitty_of_light]

C'taqa hesitates a looooong moment before he answers that. "I have," he says quietly, but there is a very big 'but' trailing silently at the end of his sentence, which takes another long moment to make its vocal debut. "But even if I want to, I know I can't. Everything has consequences. Even getting out of bed in the morning has consequences. I could be killed by a rogue primal, I could get robbed just walking through the streets - well, you get the idea." He sighs, lets his shoulders slump a little. "I don't think I ever realized how bad the consequences are until I started adventuring. Until I started...healing."

"I really haven't the slightest idea how you tolerate that stress." Thancred is idly inspecting one of his knives as he says it, careful not to make any moves that could be taken as threatening. Very sharp blade, after all, and he doesn't want to scare Verity just by checking his weapons.

[brave_heart_verity]

People with weapons don't bother her much. As far as she knows the anti-violence field is intact and in effect. Plus, she's had a lot of training. He'd regret trying anything. (So would she; she's not that good. But he'd suffer too and that's almost like winning.)

"They say that nobody's given a gift in life that they aren't strong enough to bear." She doesn't believe that, but she sure can sound convincing when she wants to. "We endure because we must."

[kitty_of_light]

C'taqa's convinced, at least. It helps that he's generally not distrusting of people anymore when they say things like that. "I guess you're right."

Thancred slips the knife back into its belt-sheath and removes another for inspection. "I would agree." Then fake-confidentially, as an 'aside' to Verity, "He is one of the strongest I have ever had the honor of meeting. Yet he never believes it."

Rude noise from the kitty in response, though he's blushing.

[brave_heart_verity]

She gives C'taqa an encouraging smile before looking over at Thancred. "People keep telling me I'm brave. I don't get it. The person people see and the person I know I am aren't always the same."

[kitty_of_light]

"They rarely are," is Thancred's answer, his eyes briefly lifting from the blade to glance at Verity. "But I oft find that no matter how different they seem, they are still the same person."

"Since when are you philosophical?" C'taqa teases him.

[brave_heart_verity]

"That'd be nice," she admits quietly.

"Maybe you're a bad influence."

[kitty_of_light]

"I am not." C'taqa doesn't sound terribly convinced, though. In fact, he sounds rather smug, like he's pleased to be a bad influence.

Thancred just snorts.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Uh huh." Suuuuure she buys that. Yup. It came nicely bundled with a bridge. Useful stuff!

"So are you two going to go sightseeing while you're here?"

[kitty_of_light]

A bridge and the river it spans, even.

"Basically," C'taqa nods, looking a little sheepish. "I was going to show him a couple of my favorite places here. But talking to friends is more important."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Ah. Go on, then, have fun. You two deserve it. It was good to see you again, C'taqa. And nice to meet you, Thancred."

[kitty_of_light]

"My pleasure." Thancred sketches a small bow.

C'taqa rolls his eyes briefly, but he's smiling, nodding to Verity. "All right. We'll see you later."