The Sea

[drowsy fable]

Sitting with his back against one of the larger trees close to the stream leading to the grotto is an almost armless Bugbear with his back straight and legs crossed as he meditates.
This meditation, as always, summons the black void his "arms" are made out of, but it also covers his face in a feature-less mask, and his body in a thin sheet of it.

The cold of winter does not bother him, even through the well below freezing temperature they currently have. But he knows, once his meditation is over, he will need to wrap himself in another layer instead of only wearing his usual vest and suit pants.

Being in this meditative state, he is both aware and not aware of his surroundings. For one, he does notice that his treasured hedgehog Tumalis was there, watching him, but has now left somewhere.

And that Tumalis has done. Tumalis has had enough of this. Tumalis wants that friendly person to come pet him again, it's been way too long, so he leaves in search of a certain friend shaped fish by the name of Umbryn.

@lavish oasis

[lavish oasis]

Said fish lady was, as per usual when she wasn't really sure what to do with herself or being brave and waiting for work, just somewhat existing downstream. The topmost layer of the stream was partially frozen over and quite chilly, yet close to the bed of it the water was... alright enough.

As she had lived her whole life faaar below any surface, seeing how slowly the ice closed in onto the center of the water's surface was almost exciting. As exciting as it was watching water freeze over. It was novel atleast! Like a lot of things. Unfortunately for her some things did not exactly change...

She had hoped against hope that in winter and freezing water as she was now the burning in her arms would atleast somewhat stop? Or atleast feel not as bad? But instead it felt like she was freezing from the outside and cooking from the inside. The stream was no stranger to tears by the time she called it her home.

As she surfaced, a small somewhat dazed fish between her sharp teeth, she immediately began wringing out her hair. With the cold air it would begin to freeze almost immediately and if she was unlucky, immobilize her due to its length.

She is reasonably successful, in the end it more looking like she had a veil of ice flowers running down her hair, with the tips partially curled in different directions. Umbryn found solace that if someone were to knock here over the top of her head, she would have an impromptu helmet of hair currently.

Whilst she sat on the shore and began to messily munch on her cold lunch, she turned her head to the rustling coming out of the bare bushes. It had gotten rather quiet these months. She didn't mind the quiet, but it almost felt even lonelier than during the other months. The different sounds of the forest had become their companion in their own way. Like Ra'stil, but less... Ra'stil.

The triton smiles faintly at seeing the hedgeho... then a bit wider as she notices whose hedgehog it was. "Is... that you Tumalis?"

[drowsy fable]

Walking confidently towards her, the tiny legs making his body barely bob up and down, but the determination in his steps making him rock from side to side.
He does not deviate his path. He does not slow down. He does not hesitate. Target has been acquired.
Upon finally reaching her, he doesn't go for any sort of greeting. No cuddling of hands, no brushing against foot/leg. He just goes straight for her shoelace and bites it, starting to pull back the way he came.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn seems happy to watch Tumalis approach, kneeling down with her hands on her knees to get closer to the little critter. She observed the cute waddle with glee... Until he goes ahead to bite her feet. "H-Hey! Did I do something?"

After letting Tumalis tug on her she thinks what this might mean, suddenly feeling a weird hollow senstion in the pit of her stomach. "W-What is it Tumalis? Did Chraith'kan fall into a well?"

Umbryn had genuinely no idea why that was the first thing that came into her mind, but she reaches down and gently puts her hand under the hedgehog. "Alright, just.. um... point the way with your snout!"

Even Tumalis would sense the heat radiating up through his widdle legs, Umbryn's arms significantly more heated than last time that she had lifted him.

[drowsy fable]

Tumalis sniffs at the heat, trying to determine what is making it. But, being a hedgehog, he's got no clue. Instead walks to the tip of her fingers and stands proudly straight forward and will lead her to roughly the place Chraith'kan is located.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn. It was Umbryn or whatever magic that was part of her that sweltered though her scales and wrappings that was keeping him almost too cozy.

"Right! Right, I am on it!" The triton proceeds to follow the hedgehog-compass to the best of her ability, walking at maximum speed that a primarily waterborne being like her allowed herself without risking to fall down and get a face full of hedgehog barbs.

She kept going until she saw some tufts of fur that she remembered very well, feeling how her pulse quickened and...

-# "Oop."

Her foot caught on a root and she outstretched her arms to punt Tumalis as softly as she could into a shrub, as she in turn landed face first onto the frozen dirt. [Dex Save 4]

[drowsy fable]

The slightly shimmering darkness around Chraith'kan vanishes in the blink of an eye as the noise penetrates through his trance, recognising the voice of the soft "oop".

"Ah, so that's where you went, Tumalis...", he thinks to himself before quickly standing up and making his way over to the source of the commotion.

Turning around a bush, one that shakes in a weird way, he sees her on the ground.
"Well, hello there Umbryn. Never took you for a burrower?"
His voice soft and warm, not able to keep the teasing out of it.

[lavish oasis]

Okay, so if she died right now that would be okay. The triton puts her hands over her face hoping maybe she would turn invisible now and never-ever appear again ever. "Nuuuuuu..."

But also hearing him say her name did send a pleasant prickle down her neck. With her dignity anything but intact she rises and dusts herself off, cheeks aflush with a darker green as she would be processing this for... a while. "Hello... Ummm..."

She looked up at him finally, playing with the webbing between her fins as per usual. "...I... uh... I wanted to see the world from... Tumalis perspective...
-# and maybe tripped..."

Taking a breath, Umbryn looked up and met his gaze with those big yellow eyes of hers, her own voice steady if a bit quiet but not yet quite falling back into her whisper. "Its good to see you. I... uhm... I did miss you."

[drowsy fable]

Letting her fully finish before taking a breath to speak, wanting her to get all her thoughts out in one go, Chraith'kan's golden yellow eyes looks very... guilty at her last few words. [Deception, natural 1 for a 0]
But, he tries to hide it with a strained smile and a joke.
"Two truths and a lie today, hmm? Come on, I've got something that can help with that last problem of ours."
He turns around and begins moving back to his spot to where he put his backpack down.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn exhales and casts down her gaze, always feeling a bit floaty when around the bug bear but after not having seen him this long it felt yet stronger. When she looks up and catches something in his eye she tilts her head to the side, in a clearly questioning way.

She then pouted at him calling her out, but only for a moment as he beckoned her to follow. For a moment she just looked at his back and felt a sudden urge to... run up and hug him from behind.

[Wisdom Save 14] Umbryn doesn't though, just briskly walks up to be behind and to his left perhaps a foot away from him. Much like Tumalis Chraith'kan felt the warm radiating from her, feverish and intense. "Oh! Okay! Solving time, yay! Haha..."

-# "Did you... maybe miss me too?"

She dares to whisper from behind him, almost hoping he didn't hear her.

[drowsy fable]

The feeling of a hand gently patting her head becomes noticeable as Chraith'kan uses Tumalis to see where she is in relation to him and summons his invisible Mage Hand.
"Yes. And also dreading running into you at the same time. I will soon explain.*

It does not take long at all, only a few seconds, to reach his meditation spot where he nimbly opens his backpack and retrieves a set of smooth stones with matching faces etched into them.
"I want you to hold onto one of these for me, so we are never apart as long as we have now. If you accept, of course..."

[lavish oasis]

Its not as nice when her hair isn't frozen, yet after a moment of surprise the triton let's out the tiniest noise of happiness followed by a double take at his side. Something about his words made her stomach drop a tiny bit. Which was strange, because now she had a cocktail of happy, very happy and worried on her hands that she could not entangle.

Especially with that look he gave her...

"D-Dreading?" Much like him she tries to lighten the mood with a joke. "Diiiid you maybe worry I was prettier in your memory?"

Oh my gods what was she saying. She wasn't given a moment to be struck by lightning as they arrived near his meditation spot, Umbryn still stunned by her own words as she was given a stone.

"Huh?" The triton hunks, being catapulted out of her head into the here and now and presented with... And yet again, she felt a bit week at her knees. "N-Never apart? Ah... ah... Y-Yes! I accept very much!" She steps as close as she can without running into him, grasping at one of the stones with her hands - almost dropping it - and then holding it up to her chest for a moment.

She looked between it and Chraith'kan multiple times, with a clear expression of being overwhelmed.

"Thank you..." She finally makes out, light as a whisper as she looked up at him with positively sparkling eyes. Forcefully she tried to bring herself back from the cloud that she had been thrown up into and reached out with one hand to gently tug at his fancy vest or whatever other garment he was wearing on his torso currently. "Did... something happen?"

[drowsy fable]

He gives her a... soft smile, one trying to approach a subject that he expects will be hard to have a conversation about.
"I can answer all of those questions with one answer."
He takes a calming breath.
"I died. Twice."
As he says it, he summons his Astral Arms, using them to unbotton his vest and open it up, pointing with a now visible Mage Hand.
"The first time was soon after our swimming lesson. See all these scars from slashing stuff? Those came from then. We wiped. The entire party killed. I was left standing alone against the monsters."
Said scars run across his torso, from his top left to bottom right.

But then the Mage Hand moves further up, showing his throat and a nasty bruising, as if it had been crushed.
"And here, quite recently, I had the air drained out of me. Fell quite far, hit the ground hard, died."

Ever since his calming breath, his voice, eyes, and body language has been... stoic.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn's hair would rise up if it weren't frozen, her eyes widening and voice getting stuck in her throat at his words. Seeing the scars on hist torso, jagged and cruel, aswell as the horrible state his throat was in made a clump form in her stomach and pull way down. Still holding the stone she had been given she approaches, slowly as if moving to fast would make him disappear like an apparition.

Her slightly trembling hand touched the fur next to the wounds on his torso, the expression pained as if she was able to feel the wound at its inception. Her eyes keep darting up to meet his golden ones, looking a good bit damper than they usually were.

"Recently..." Umbryn mouthed. She wasn't nearly tall enough to reach the other area that the bugbear she cared so, so much about had been wounded. And what good would this do her? Or Chraith'kan, more importantly. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

"And-and..." The triton attempts to speak, yet can't really keep her voice level, so swallows and instead tries a volume so quiet that if she wasn't practically pressed against the bugbear no one would hear. "...you... worried about me? About me? After you-you died? Twice?"

Her grip on his fur tightened and she let her head droop forwards, hitting his chest as she stared down at his feet. To Chraith'kan it would feel like someone hand ignited a small fire where she was touching him, the smell of burning from her arms as intense as ever. "I'm.. I'm sorry. I don't want you to get hurt. Or-or to die. Or... anything bad happening to you. And-and-and I don't even know why I am even..."

Rolling her head back to her neck to look up an utterly disintegrated by sadness, slopping wet triton girl looked up to him. "Can I give you a hug?"

[drowsy fable]

Slowly letting the vest fall back into place, his Astral Arms move to embrace Umbryn as Chraith'kan lets out a soft "That would be nice..."

"And yeah. I did worry. I've kept telling you to be safe. Kept telling you how dangerous this line of work is. And then I go and die? I felt- I still feel, ashamed..."

The heat from her arms doesn't bother him. It's her. It's reassuring in a way.

"I missed you, too..." escapes from him in an almost Umbryn-volume'd voice.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, tips of her fingers digging into the fabric of the vest on his back as she pressed her face firmly against him. Again, with all that he said it felt to her as if she could disappear if her hold on him would slip for even a moment.

Eventually, she begins looking up, the slit of green scaly skin and the globes of her yellow eyes the only thing visible between the still frozen hair and his own chest. His vest felt significantly damper where her face had rested beforehand. "A-ashamed?"

The triton let's out a muffled, incredulous laugh at the word, before setting her jaw to stifle a sob. Suddenly there is another heat rising up, this time from her own chest, as she almost belts out her next words. "You-you better be! You... big... dumb.. furball. I-I care about you, I..."

Again she presses her face against him, holding onto him so she could kick her legs angrily whilst letting out a muted yell into his vest and fur. Her fingers began softening in its hold as she suddenly felt like deflating. The woman's head turned so a headfin was pressed against his chest, listening for signs of life. A heartbeat, breathing, even the weird stomach gurgle that she knew she had aswell. "I'm... selfish. But-but I also wanna be. And-and I am also not nearly as strong as you, haha. I-I even went out on-on a few missions myself bringing back others..."

The idea of her being part of a party to retrieve the body of Chraith'kan makes her let out a pained groan-sigh. "...I want you to be safe. And I wanna be... be... together with you. And I knowww, I knowwwww what this place is and everything I..." Umbryn seemed out of breath, as thoughts and emotions raced through her head and made a complete mess out of her already messed up head. "Please. I just want-want to know. The good and bad things... especially bad... I don't want you to go through them alone. Even if I am not coming along... Idon'tevenknowwhatIamsaying..."

She looks up at him again, the hold tentatively growing stronger yet again. "Can... I do anything to make you feel better?"

[drowsy fable]

His behaviour is shifting between stoic, sinking back into himself, looking down at her in awe, and more sinking back into himself, all whilst getting harder and harder to breathe with her squeezing, the thought of "Does she want me to die a third time??" momentarily crossing his mind.

He doesn't dare disturb her monologue, believing she needs to say it as much as he needs to hear it.
But finally comes a question, one he smiles at.
"Ma-maybe a little easier on the hug, please? Otherwise, I have everything I need close to me..."

He spots the cheeky little hedgehog staring at them with a... smug??? expression.
"I hate you...Thank you" he sends out to the hedgehog, which doesn't help his demeanour.
"Ok, fuck off now" and Chraith'kan summons the Mage Hand to shove Tumalis further into the bushes he was punted into earlier.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn tilts her head to the side and pouts, for a moment the willful side he managed to coax out shining through the woman. "Mm... If-if me hugging you is making it hard to breath, you really need more time to rest, haha...."

She does relent, still holding onto him but significantly lighter. The triton looks over to the hedgehog and then the hand that pushed him away further. Turning back to look up to Chraith'kan there is a clear '?' in her large, watery eyes.

And then what he says hits her, the glowstalk managing to break through the frozen hair on her forehead and give a quick shine, as she felt her emotions going for a spin once again. "Oh. Haha. Alright. Can we sit? I got the thing with my legs that... jelly ooze knee thing right now."

[drowsy fable]

"Damnit." A small shrug of his actual shoulders.
"Tumalis was being smug and too full of himself. I've never met a hedgehog, or an animal overall, with so much pride..."

He gives her a small smile, one of understanding, as his arms open and fully allows her free movement.
"Feel free to. I will collect some firewood, it will be way too cold for me otherwise, haha."
And his eyes start wandering over the surrounding area to try and spot reasonably dry twigs and branches to grab, but really only see small sticks protruding from the snow, or still stuck on the trees. [Perception 13]

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn snorted and shook her head. "Our companions, huh? Ra'stil is also... very haughty. I am not sure where he gets that confidence from, haha."

She still remains close once he eases his hold on her, but she wasn't lying when she was saying that her legs were all mushy. So with clear reluctance she let's go off him and more or less crumples onto the ground with an 'oof'.

"Umm... umm, if you are cold... I can like.. do a thing? You know, magic to create some heat?" She makes some wide gestures with her hands, curling and uncurling her fingers. "And.. and if you are cold maybe.. sit close to me? The one thing that these... this magic in me is good for is that its always somehow hot, haha..."

[drowsy fable]

"Oh I know exactly where that confidence can come from."
He turns and looks down at her.
"You brim with confidence when your fancy water is being insulted. I would know, I've experienced it myself."

Momentarily continuing the lookout for firewood, her words reach him and he just... stops.
Turns.
Looks, impressively surprised.
"You. Are amazing. You can do that?"
He moves over and sits next to her. Not on her-next to her, but close-next to her. Using his see-through void-arms as aid to lower himself more smoothly than what his somewhat stiff legs would do.

[lavish oasis]

The triton's expression again shifts into one of righteous indignation. Her tone is one that soldiers heard from the backs of horses, belted at them by commanders. "Fancy water! If I could feel my legs I would..."

Well, she didn't really need to. Looking around she saw plenty of opportunities of revenge when it came to the use of water in its frozen state. An idea came to mind and she spoke a little cantrip... Nothing yet happening.

When he stops and looks at her she feels the mild disgruntlement fade quickly. Why was she even? Just moments before she was inconsolable and now.. now this. What was going on with her?

"I... umm... I don't..." Alright, now she knew that she was blushing as he just casually said something like that. Knowing how much he disliked her being mean to herself she doesn't voice any mean Umbryn thoughts (and even tries to push them down further). "I-Its just some warmth, its... not that amazing, haha."

When he sits down all stifly she gets the feeling that the cold, or the deaths (oh gods) had not been great for his flexibility. Didn't you also warm up before doing exercise? She shifts around a bit. "And its only... the area I can do it is also really small, so..."

Getting up and approaching him again she stands before him, for once looking down at him as he was sitting on the ground. "Ummm... since you... well, you said something about being close... Iamsureyouarenotgoingtomindif..."

Instead of dying of embarrassment, only mildly incapacitated by it, Umbryn comes yet a bit closer again and begins sitting down closer. As in, sitting on the edge of the bugbears lap sideways close. She tries not to make eyecontact, brings up her arms and her glowstalks wriggles free... for a sphere of warmth to form between them. Imperceptible, safe for the pleasant heat.

-# "T-Tadaah!"

She says in her whisper voice again, as she peeks up at Chraith'kan. Part of this was the fact that she could cover a foot at best and... she liked him.

[drowsy fable]

Completely frozen in place, Chraith'kan does not move, does not speak, does not react as Umbryn repositions herself. It's only when the heat starts radiating into him that his body starts melting.
""Not that amazing", my ass. It would take me a lot of time to get anything remotely similar in heat going, and you just... did it?"
His astral arm moves around, shifting his leaning-back weight to the other arm, and uses the arm as a temporary backrest for her.
"Magic continues to amaze me. Using it, you can do so many things I can only dream of..."

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn remains as tense as she has been when she sat down, only relaxing a little bit when she felt his hand on her back letting out a breath and slightly flexing her fingers closed. "I-Its... just making a little bit warmth... And did you just call your ass amazing?"

Her headfins slightly droop. "And you know what other things the heat is doing to me. Umm, but this isn't so bad!" She quickly looks up to him, assuring him that she was not harming herself for his comfort. "T-This was about the amount of magic I was capable before... before... you know. I don't really know if the benefit outweighs its cost, haha."

"And I think your connection to the Astral Sea is incredible... I wouldn't know how to even imagine that to be." The triton looks back to her arms, before letting her eyes drift to his translucent ones. "That aside you are... incredibly strong. I'm often left in... awe. And also fast! I-I don't even think I could get as far as you get with just your legs with my magic, haha. I think... I haven't felt safer as when I am around you."

[drowsy fable]

Simply chuckling and shaking his head at her 'amazing ass' comment, letting out a soft and kind "No..." before turning back to a more serious demeanour.

He doesn't hear her praise of him as his gaze becomes unfocused... but only outwardly.
Internally, his mind is racing. "There are magic users who draw from the Astral! She is a magic user! I wonder..."

"Umbryn. I want you to try something with me. Come with me on a mental trip to the Sea, the Astral Sea."
His tone is much more excited than usual, eyes alive with ideas racing behind them.
"Some of the teachers my sa'varsh had me meet are powerful mages. One of them drew power directly from the Astral Sea. I want to see if I can 'bring' you, mentally, to a powerful place there, see if you can make a connection."

Cold? Completely forgotten. Gone.
Focused? Yes.
Excited at the prospect of her gaining powers that aren't constantly hurting her? 100%.

[lavish oasis]

"Oh? Oh! Alright!" She sits up and looks to him expectantly, mouth forming an 'O' at the proposition and her immediately nodding. The excitement in his eyes spark over to her and she is ready to go along with any and everything.

"So, what do I need to do? And... uh..." Her caution curbs her curiosity. "...is it going to be... dangerous? Also, is it okay for you to just... bring people there? I don't really know about the logistics of... astral sea travel, haha?"

[lavish oasis]

====== ( Umbryn's worst fears came True) ======

[drowsy fable]

"Hahaha. Nono, I do not have the power to bring you there. I will manifest that location in my mind and, through our connection, have you "connect" with it, so to say."
Realising how, uhh, dumb and weird that might sound, he smiles a little awkwardly.
"It might not make sense, but it also doesn't have to. Just, uhh, go with the flow. Let the currents sweep your mind to it."

Proud of himself for thinking of that analogy, his smile becomes less hesitant and more confident, hoping it will make sense to Umbryn on at least some level.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn gives him a slightly confused smile of someone that has heard everything the other person said, but now is desperately trying to fit them together in a way that makes sense in her head. "Ohh... alright? I trust you, and also our connection?"

Her headfins raised a little bit at that, she quite liked the phrasing of that. When he gave her the sea analogy, much like she had before that given him tips on swimming, the triton nods several times, feeling like she understood better. She turned a bit towards him and placed her palms onto her knees. "I can work with that! Sooooo how do we start?"

[drowsy fable]

"Wonderful!"

Closing his eyes, his back straightens out by itself as he enters the mindset he is so used to.
His arm on her back becomes... "fuzzy". The line between existing and not, blurring.
"Hold onto my hand. Close your eyes. Feel the aura, follow it." He says, as he moves his free hand, palm up, in front of her to hold onto.
His voice is... odd. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
His face begins becoming covered by a mask of the same "material" as his arms, the mask depicting an emotionless and featureless face and expression.
His body also receives this semi-real sheet of the Astral around it, making Chraith'kan both darker and slightly illuminated at the same time.

Taking his inner consciousness to the place his sa'varsh once showed him, the place of a now dead deity, brimming with magic. Even he could sense it then, though he could not "resonate" with it, as sa'varsh had explained, leading to him being trained as a martial artist.
This place... The center point of the destination is where the spine meets the skull on this enormous skeleton-like rock-ish structure.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn settles in for whatever kind of journey this would be, feeling rather excited more than anything. She felt a shiver go through her when she felt his arm change and blinked once his voice began to sound different. All part of the Astral Sea thing, she kept saying herself and once he reached a hand out to her she grasped it with her own.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly closed her eyes and let the darkness take her. Feeling... feeling... It was less difficult than she first thought, Chraith'kan had been on her mind plenty, so this was just like following a warm current.

Umbryn wasn't a ship lost at sea, but an inhabitant of its depths. She felt unusually confident, calm even, the hold onto the monk's hand not feeling like a lifeline, but a beacon which helped her stay on course.

Still, it felt like she was a tiny fish in a massive, foreign pond that was empty - but also not. Not aware what exactly it was, she felt that something lingered, her fragile confidence already ever so slightly wilting. The fact that they were approaching some giant skeleton was not helping.

Her own presence remained close to Chraith'kan's, infact trying to hide within the aura that he was projecting - much like the time that he had offered himself as something to hide behind when she had ventured inside of the guild.

Wordlessly, she radiated mild worry, but also curiosity at his astral self, looking around as if some kind of aberrant predator could come and tear down the peace and quiet.

[drowsy fable]

Feeling her worry on this journey, Chraith'kan squeezes her hand and speaks directly into her mind through his mask.
"It's ok. We are still next to the stream, nothing can hurt us."

His consciousness guides them to where sa'varsh brought him, to a place that doesn't look any different compared to the surroundings, but it's the place where even Chraith'kan noticed a magical presence.
"This place. Let's sit down and feel the surroundings. I will be here as your anchor, but this is where you will need to take the lead."

[lavish oasis]

The triton feels the pressure around her palm and feels calmer almost immediately. Being in her head so much was doing her no good, especially in a place like this.

"It's okay... We're okay..." Umbryn managed to say and continued to swim on with Chraith'kan. The feeling of this presence she was unable to name grew yet stronger. "Something is here."

She didn't even need to use her usual senses, most likely those were unreliable here even more so than outside of the Astral Sea. Cautiously, like a clam shell opening, she ever so slightly let her mind cast out a fine mesh of awareness as they sat down, furrowing her brows and concentrating.

Squeezing Chraith'kan's hand, both to assure him and herself of his grounding presence, Umbryn slowly began to tune herself into the remaining echo of what once was.

[drowsy fable]

Keeping full focus on his mental state, "watching" her and sticking "close" to her presence, it's all he can do.
If he wasn't aware that it would be like this, he would have been frustrated. But now, he remains calm to give her a stable ground to reach out from. It's probably not the best way to "connect" to the sea, through someone else's memory and connection rather than being there in-person or being astral projection'd.

"Take the time you need. I will bring us back when you are done."
His "voice" is calm and encouraging, trying to convey safety and comfort.

[lavish oasis]

If Chraith'kan wouldn't be here she would've either not even considered delving deeper or, if she were able to connect to the Astral Sea on her own, most likely would've gotten lost in it. It was... alien, but also familiar?

Perhaps this was due to her perceiving it through the bugbear, but there were also parts of which reminded her of the depths. They were a graveyard in their own right. Of old, long dead things. And plenty of those things that dwelled deep below found those that sunk so deep to be a good source of nourishment.

And Umbryn was certainly not above being a bottom feeder... So shaping her mind into the same mentality she began to rustle and poke around, carefully kicking up metaphorical dust to look for some spots where she could... she wasn't even entirely sure what.

She wasn't a 'proper' mage, all that she was able to do was borrowed. Or rented out rather. Hmm...

In her mind the net she had cast out slightly changed, the outermost points of it growing a bit sharper, almost needlelike not entirely unlike her own teeth. If this something was so old and so dead, it most likely wouldn't care if she worked this way... surely.

Instead of siphoning from a nexus of old, strange magic it felt more like she attached, latched, onto its sphere of influence. The needles on the edge of her net hollow, like proboscises, catching onto the natural stream of this power and letting whatever let go without a struggle float inside of the net...

She changed the image yet again, instead of a net and its outlying needles, it was her outstretched arms, wrists put together, palms and fingers outstretched towards this source of power. Cautious, yet also with slightly desperate avarice.

A tiny, tiny stream - more like a rivulet - caught on her fingertip and slowly began circling down her digits, down her palms, down her wrists, down her forearms. What followed was a loud, angry hiss - as the waters of the Astral Sea collided with her forearms.

[drowsy fable]

"Watching" her intently, Chraith'kan feels that something is happening, but he does not have the trained expertise nor the intuition and magical attunement to realise what. All he can do is "watch", ready to pull her away and out if her aura becomes negative, if the surrounding "air" becomes hostile, or when she asks him to.
But he keeps his "grip" on her hand, both physically and internally, giving her a safe and familiar direction "home".

[lavish oasis]

"Nnngh!" Umbryn made a sound somewhere between a groan and a grunt, her fingers balling up into fists and tears welling up in her eyes. She gripped down hard on Chraith'kan's Astral hands, as the rivulet continued circling her arm and the hiss grew louder and louder and...

The triton let out a whimper, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. The rivulet teetered out, leaving a faded mark at the lowest point of her forearm, just under her elbow. "Its so cold..."

Her words are wavering and both physically and astrally she seems to waver as this nascent connection is formed. "M-My arms... are feeling..."

Only this was not yet the connection she expected. It was only a cautious outreach followed by a peeling of the outermost layer to this approximation of something ancient and powerful. There was a wet, squelching sound - and feeling, for Umbryn - as the tendril of the Astral sea encircling her arms pushed inside of them.

Chraith'kan could feel how his connection to Umbryn suddenly dimmed, the triton looking to be a great distance away. Only to be splashed back, this time a different way. The bugbear could sense her voice inside of his head now - the woman facilitating the connection. "Hello?"

[drowsy fable]

Immediately trying to pull her back from the connection, desperately straining... But she is out of his control. All he can even attempt to do is to hold on and give her a point to return to.

The connection weakening sends him into a panic. "Fuck, no, nonon-" and she is... back?

Breathing heavily, eyes darting around, even Astral-y so, a little hunched over.
"Wh-what? Huh? Hi? Are you ok?"
Deeeep "breath", a momentary closing of his eyes before "looking" at her again.
"What happened?"

[lavish oasis]

"This feels... weird." She said, her voice clear and steady, albeit obviously tinted by the slight uncertainty that coloured most of what she said or did. She let out a very soft breath. "I... think so. Umm, I hope this is alright with you, haha. I saw you very clearly and when I reached out, I had the sense that I could... um... talk! Like, directly. Without using my regular magic or anyhting, haha."

There is a longer pause, this time her presence close, nestling close against his astral self whilst she was taking stock of what was going on. "I managed to grasp at somthing. A-And its holding on. Umm.. its like a... a..."

Another pause. "So you... maybe you do not, haha. There are like... crabs? Hermit crabs I think they are called. Anddd they are very soft and dainty, atleast part of them is. So they need to search for a protection outside of them. Uuuusually that is like a shell? I kinda... or the whatever it is... kinda layered around? The power that was burning me."

-# "I-It doesn't burn anymore, Chraith'kan..."

Her voice came out so infinitesimally silent, but within his mind it rang like a tiny bell. The triton sounded joyful, beyond that even, her hands holding onto his trembling.

[drowsy fable]

Her voice reassuring him, the tone calming him down more so than the words. He straightens his back and raises her hands with his to halfway between them.
"I do not understand most of what you just said."
His worried expression breaks up into a smile.
"But I know the most important one. You are ok. You have made a connection. You are ok."

[lavish oasis]

-# "Yeah."

Umbryn breathed and just sat in this feeling, while he could feel that atleast astrally she was jumping up and down with unspeakable relief. As if having had a splinter finally leave her flesh. That was burning her all the time.

"Do... do yo think it is gonna stay if we leave from here?" Suddenly the triton sounded genuinely fearful, as if the thought had only now crossed her mind and the laudanum she had found in this sphere would slip out of her reach. "Or... or wait..."

Again, Chraith'kan can sense how the connection between himself and the triton began to stretch, a distance building up but the connection persisting. Further. Further yet. It stays like this until it goes even a bit further...

And like a rubber band, she flings herself back against him. Astrally, of course. "Okay. Okay. It... it grows weaker? Like... really, really, really slowly, hahaha." Umbryn sounded slightly tipsy, drunk on whatever what was going on or what she found a connection with. "Is that why you meditate continually?"

[drowsy fable]

Sensing her fear and trepidation, he starts with a "Yes, a par-" but doesn't get further before she... she... floats back out and away.
"Wai-" escaping from him before he can stop himself. "This is her journey, not yours. Allow her to explore." runs through his mind.

Keeping his emotions under control, "patience... patience..."...
...
...

"Ooff" is knocked from him with the force against him. His astral body a close and familiar enough part of him that he feels it in his own, physical body.
"Ye-yeah. In a way... Mostly to continue feeling, fuelling the connection much like how a natural fire needs material to continue burning."
He smiles. One of a weakening strength compared to his usual bravado.
"But this might be a conversation to be held, ehm, back home... This area is not aligned with me..."

[lavish oasis]

"Oh sorry! Sorry, it is just a lot. I'm being way to-to impatient and I should be way more careful either way." Umbryn scolds herself for getting to into this, even though she was quite literally a fish out of water. And in astral waters, which weren't hers - albeit she was able to see, or more like, feel similarities.

Umbryn's presence does not stray this time, despite her attention at times wandering, albeit cautiously. There is a slight pause at his analogy. "Uhm... yes, I know a thing or two abou that, haha... Okay. How do we leave?"

[drowsy fable]

Being in this place rather than his usual mental state, and especially whilst bringing someone else with him, has drained the bugbear more than he thought it would. Bringing another person in itself? Fine. Going here? Fine. Both? A bit too much...

"Instead of focusing on this flow, try to hear the wind. Try to feel the cold of winter. The sound the few remaining animals make. On the feeling of your own body."
He gives her a tired but kind smile, his tusks protruding slightly more.
"And let those feelings bring you back."

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn was atleast somewhat aware that this entire experience had not only been curated, but also fueled by Chraith'kan. Very much as if he was holding up a very, very heavy door whilst she was exploring inside. His exhaustion was palpable, especially now that she was able to connect a good bit more to him.

The triton attempted to send some of what she had siphoned his way, the bugbear feeling the same soothing warmth that usually hit him when she sent some soothing light his way via her glowstalk. "Mhm! I'll try and you... try to rest a little? I am grateful, incredibly so... but also I care about you a lot."

Slowly she begins to slip out of this mindscape, this depth, back into the here and now that was the guild. The snow around them, Tumalis hiding in the bushes the feeling of her fingers on his immaterial ones...

Slowly the material plane became more and more real, the Astral Sea being slowly left behind until Umbryn blinked and was faced yet again with the sight of the bugbear just before her, having slipped a bit closer whilst on their journey and leaning her head against his chest as she waited for him to return aswell.

[drowsy fable]

Managing to keep his... "irritation" in check as she speaks instead of trying to return, he simply smiles politely but strained and waits the few seconds before she starts slipping away.

Once he can no longer feel her presence with him in his mind, he takes a few moments to feel around himself for any traces of her... but no, she has left.
"Good" he thinks to himself as he, much quicker and with more ease, slips out of the meditative state to return to the real world.

Blinking once to close off the connection, a ritual he has learnt and used much as a stop, the astral parts of him fade away, leaving only the arms that he himself summoned.

Even here, he is tired. The mental tiredness affecting his body, making his posture slightly slumped forward.
"I care about you, too."
His voice doesn't have the usual strength and determination, but rather what he has after many hard fights in a row during missions.
"How are you feeling?" [Insight, nat 1 for 10 total] as he intently looks at her, trying to read her, potentially more than she can read herself.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn seems to much in awe or... Well she was torn between looking at her own arms and back up to Chraith'kan with an expression of glee, evidently not really noticing how spent he was. [Insight 2]

She kicks her legs a bit as he reciprocats her feelings, the glowstalk lighting up a little, as she braces him once he slumps forward. "Oh! L-look out! Are you okay?"

The triton spoke in his mind, the bugbear on the receiving end of her emotions in an unfiltered form, the bubbling joy, the ever present waves of bashfulness and now seeing that he seemed to be more spent than she had expected, immediate worry - mixed with blame for herself that she had stretched him so thin.

"Oh. Ahmm... I'm sorry, I'll ask next time before I try to, you know... talk... directly... Its so strange... And it feels natural somehow in another way?" Umbryn apologizes immediately, shrinking back a bit as she feels like she had intruded on him in that way. She takes a moment to think about how she felt.

"I'm... feeling... better. It... oh." Looking down on her arms, there were long curling lines running up her forearms from her fingers, encircling them much like those strands of astral energy had. They stood out in a vibrant cobalt blue. Biting her lip she snuck a nail under a bandage and pulled it up, wincing immediately and stopping. "Ow. Haha, okay no miracle cure! B-But... its better..."

She let's go of his hands and holds up her arm against the side of his neck. Her arms were still hot, but not nearly as searing as they were before they went on the journey. Umbryn gave him a genuine, almost wide smile as she beamed up to him. "Thank you. Thank you! My astral-guide hiding bear, haha."

[drowsy fable]

His face lights up with relief as she confirms that it... it works!
Combined with the sigh of relief and his shoulders relaxing, this weighed more heavily on him than even he realised.
"Little archmage... I am very happy for you. I want to hear about each sensation you experienced over there, but first!"
His stomach rumbles at the perfect timing to hint at his current state of being.
"I need food and drink, pronto. That took more out of me than I could imagine. Want to help me to the dining hall? I might need to lean on someone to get there..."

Too tired and spent to be more animated in his body language, more than the relieved and happy expression that manages to cling onto his face as he speaks and remains even after, his voice not really changing much in tone, being very monotone, much more than usual.

[lavish oasis]

"Little archmage? Pfff..." The triton snorted with disbelief, shaking her head but still smiling. When she was about to rebuke him she was interrupted by his stomach. This time she actually let out a snicker. "Ah! Right, this must've been extremely exhausting, right? W-With me not really being able to pull my weight..."

She looks towards the direction of the mine's entrance and her expression drops a bit of her jubilation. She then straightens out to sit up and brace him if he wanted to stand up. "Weeellll, I went to one eldritch place before, how bad would another be, haha. Umm... Just try not to faint ontop of me, I don't know whether I could get crawl out from under you."

[drowsy fable]

"Hahaha, if I faint on top of you, you have a very good place to hide from all those eldritch entities inside the guild, hehehe. But don't worry"
Looks up at her, reaching out an astral arm for her to pull him up.
"I am not collapse-able exhausted. Just feel sluggish and very low on energy. Lets just take it slow and we will be fiiine."

His voice reveals his continued tiredness, but also the joy he has that she is agreeing to this, as well as managing to joke with him about it. To him, this is wonderful progress. And, he is fucking hungry, getting her help there will make everything faster, as well as show her that the guild is not that dangerous.

[lavish oasis]

"I suppose..." Trying and failing to sound incredulous, the words instead come out as a laugh. She looks to his outstretched arm, reaching out herself and for just a moment marveling at her own forearms.

It got better, it actually got better!

"Well I suppose you are slowed down to my pace then! With how fast you tend to book it on jobs I got the feeling you want to get away from me, you know." Umbryn teased, though there was that hint of chastisement that rang through. Either way, she grabbed his hand, planted her feet and set he jaw to pull him vertical. [Athletics 12]

If successful, she would drape his arm around her shoulders, while hugging him around the waist and squeezing him lightly. "Chraith'kan I... I don't know how to thank you for this. And-and everything. And I am taking charge of feeding you today! Ummm... So you can rest and because I like you very, very much."

[drowsy fable]

Helping her help him get up, feeling relief when she supports his weight. Said relief replaces the small, sheepishly smile he had from being reprimanded, in a way, by her.

Helping keeping himself stabilised, the astral arm around her shoulders, as they walk the relatively short distance to the guild hall and the promised food. Even though he is tired, he still has to slow down his long legs to make it at an even pace with her steps.
"There is no need to thank me. I know you would do the same for me if our roles were reversed. It's what people do for those they care about..."
Chraith'kan pulls her shoulder closer to hint at what he means. At the same moment, two mental flicks and "poof" appears a hedgehog. Not on the usual spot on Chraith'kan's shoulder, nono. Right on top of Umbryn's head, right next to her glow stalk.

[lavish oasis]

The triton does her best to brace him, but is also aware that he was still doing a significant part of the legwork. Oh well, such was the state of things. For once she was not focused on all the parts of her that she felt were wanting, but at what she could do for Chraith'kan.

"You are right! There is no need, but I want to. I am not as wise, or strong or, haha, experienced as you but I want to do the little I can for you. And yes, yes magic and such aside." Umbryn quickly tries to disarm any potential ammunition that he held against her. As they walk she tilts her head to the side as she was thinking, then she looked up to him whilst taking care not to walk into something or gods forbid slip.

"Ummm... when you are not busy with jobs and such, maybe we can go on a daytrip to the coast? You certainly could do with a bit of a sabbatical, haha. Aaannd I can show you some... uh... fish stuff." The triton felt equally worried as she sounded hopeful, thinking it was selfish of her to impose onto the bugbear to such an extent, but also spending time with him outside of the context of impending mortal danger would be nice.

When the hedgehog appeared ontop of her head she froze, painfully aware of his barbs and the sensitivity of her glowstalk. The shiny globule shot away to the side, as if attempting to detach from her head entirely to remain safe.

[drowsy fable]

Walking with her, enjoying the quiet and peaceful moment, he considers her words for a moment.
"Hmmm" is about as far as he can get before his face breaks up into a smile.
"Absolutely! Will be great to get a change of scenery. Will also allow you a moment to express your thanks: by being yourself."
He looks down at her.
"You really do not need to do anything more to show your gratitude."

Tumalis looks up at Chraith'kan, smirks as much as a hedgehog can smirk, and nuzzles back onto Umbryn's head whilst angling his spines backwards as to not hurt anyone.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn's trepidation is quickly dispelled into delight as her glowstalk - cautiously - rises and shines with her letting out a muted laugh that turned into an indistinct sound of happiness. "Yesss! And myself, huh?"

The last words she almost sighs, though not in the dejected way that Chraith'kan might be used to. It was exasperation, light disbelief that she had a hard time keeping up. She pokes his side and looks up with a pout, her eyes belying how pleased she was. "You need to listen better! This is not a need but a really genuine want! The guild can be really... scary, or harsh, or.. worse at times..."

As they walked, one of the hands that was wrapped around his center gingerly traveled to his chest, radiating warmth through vest and fur onto the scar on his chest. "I'd like to make memories that are nice. And non-violent if possible, haha. And... and I'd like you to be part of them."

[drowsy fable]

Chraith'kan is silent for a while after Umbryn finishes talking, thinking and contemplating as they walk and walk, and slows down his pace a little more for her.

"Nice and non-violent, huh? I don't think I've ever had such times."
His eyes look far in front of them, back in time, as he speaks.
"I've always done something violent. Trained, trained, trained my fighting and my mind. Before that, under constant threat from other crews, the local law enforcements, or from idiots I disagreed with in whatever crew I was in at the time."
He looks down at her, his focus returning to the here and the now, and smiles, his tusks peeking out more and more.
"I believe you will need to teach me that, too. If you want, of course."

[lavish oasis]

-# "Oh..."

Her voice a tiny sigh. The news did not come to a surprise, yet she still felt a tinge in her chest and could not quite place why. Well actually...

As they walk she listens, trying to keep up with his pace and thankful that he was being considerate. Her legs were only so long and she would never get used to prolonged stay out of water at any rate.

When his eyes finally meet hers, her large yellow ones seem to shimmer a little and as she studies his face a faint darker green rises to her cheek, as she holds his gaze with a faint smile forming aswell, her teeth peeking out... as much as always. "I... did not have an especially violent life until recently, haha. It was just mostly lonely, umm, safe for the fishes I befriended and cared for. So... I think we will both teach eachother? Like we already did, actually!"

Her expression brightens yet a bit more, as she gives the bugbear his space, just holding onto the side of his vest with her fingers as they kept walking.

[drowsy fable]

Chraith'kan chuckles and shakes his head, keeping the smile, before looking at her again.
"You have lived a peaceful life, you don't like fighting, you don't like danger. Yet, you chose to become a mercenary? You amaze me, sometimes, Umbryn."
Rather than putting his entire weight on her shoulder with his astral arm, Chraith'kan lets the hand rest gently on her.
"The type of... violent life I have known. I believe you would not gain much for your areas of prowess from my experiences. More so, a way of thinking, I guess... Hmm, interesting..."

[lavish oasis]

The triton's toothy mouth pulled into an awkward smile, as she did feel the contrast of her beliefs and the reality of their profession if not daily then every time she went out to work. "I am doing this on advice, you know. And uhmm... even though my life until now was not as dangerous, it certainly was not exactly much better. It was bad in a different way, you know?"

When she feels his weight shift she adjusts her posture accordingly, feeling the reassuring weight of his astral arm and moving her own so it rested on his forearm. "And its not all danger and fighting~ Sometimes there are nice surprises."

As Chraith'kan becomes thoughtful and in lieu of a free arm she gives him a light bap with one of her headfins. "I think you should give yourself more credit. Is it my turn to tell you to be kinder to yourself now, hmm?"

[drowsy fable]

Continuing the walk, Chraith'kan stays quiet as he contemplates her words, turning them over in his mind and examining them, like he has been taught to do.

Soon reaching the entrance to the guild hall proper, he starts to speak again.
"Two sides of the same coin, in a way. For me, the coin is standing on the edge. The edge where I'm at peace, even happy. An unlikely scenario, but a true one."
His astral hand on her shoulder squeezes slightly, encouragingly.
"I have absolutely nooo idea as to why, though... Hahaha."

[lavish oasis]

Once they do enter the guild, Umbryn feels the usual aversion to entering. But after a deep breath discards it, her companion in no little way being responsible for this. It takes her a while to wrack her own mind over his metaphor.

"Mmm. You know..." The triton speaks up finally Already she feels her words might be all over the place. "If you just place a coin on a random surface, it makes sense that it would be difficult to keep it standing on its side. And anything could happen to make it fall, so... Maybe if you make sure that its in a notch or something... Like, a place it is a bit more secured?"

Even quieter she adds. "...and maybe we would have an easier time if we tried creating something like that together?"

[drowsy fable]

Smiling, both from her continued usage of his metaphor, but also because he senses her trepidation and how quickly she overcomes it, his smile becoming more proud.
"I think I would like that."
He stops moving towards the dining area, waiting for her to turn towards him.
"Umbryn, want to create a notch for our coin with me?"
His voice, his eyes, his body language are serious, intense, honest, and open.

[lavish oasis]

Umbryn grins goofily, letting out a giggle at the silly way this all sounded. But perhaps if they spoke more clearly she wouldn't be able to process this at all.

When he stops, she continues going for half a step, carried by her momentum and being returned around with a 'Huh? Looking up to him those big yellow eyes of hers looked up to him questioningly as she tilted her head to the side.

-# "Oh."

Though Chraith'kan wouldn't think it to be possible, her eyes grew wider, just as her head fins fully stood up for the first time since he had known her.

"I would like to do that very much." She didn't say using her voice, but by speaking into his mind, so he could feel just an inkling of the elation and overwhelming feelings his words and her reply created within her.

[drowsy fable]

The somewhat nervous expression on Chraith'kan's face is replaced by first relief and then a giddy goofiness of a smile.
"Good! I, uhh... Yes, good!"
Flustered, mind not used to this kind of input at all, and searching for words.
But words are not what he needs or wants right now. Words would just be in the way.
Instead, his Astral hand slowly reaches out for her hand and clasps it.
"Good."
And the intensity in the arm, the shimmering of stars in that see-through void, and the void itself, becomes... Well, more. Stable, confident.

[lavish oasis]

"Mhm. Good." Umbryn uses his vernacular, this time her mind also conveying bemusement at how flustered the monk seemed in that moment. That was her job!

Looking down at their hands she giggles at how small hers look in his, still visible through the stabilizing starry void. She squeezed back, gently. Feeling his presence and the reassuring weight of their words.

After a million or so years she looked back up to him, beaming her serrated smile at him, before clasping her other hand around his and actually taking the lead, going so far to use the lighter strength she had in her incredibly wobbly legs right now to pull him towards the kitchen.

"Let's get you fed! And I - also need something to eat now ohmygodsIfeelImightfaint, hahaha." She blurts out at very non-Umbryn volume, deciding to flee forward into whatever they are now.

[drowsy fable]

It doesn't take long for Chraith'kan to follow her lead, being as Alert as he is and considering his focus is on her at this moment, the rest of the world has faded away.
"Please, do not faint Umbryn." He puts a little extra emphasis on her name. "I am not a trained healer. But food does sound wonderful!"
With a wide smile, he lets her keep the lead, hoping it might help her emotions to be in charge. Both physically in terms of being in the front, but also emotionally, taking charge of her own emotions and leading the direction of them. At least, that's what Chraith'kan hopes.

[lavish oasis]

She gives him an uncharacteristically haughty smirk back, with a light raise of a thin eyebrow. "Oh... you'll have to carry me then, woe is me!"

Umbryn wasn't exactly sure what had happened, or what had been happening between the two of them for a while, but now it felt somehow... lighter. As if she put down a weight she did not now she had been carrying for as long as she did.

She continued to tug him forward, yet the grip of her oh so much smaller than his hands never faltered.

[drowsy fable]

Grinning, he feels a sense of... relief? Yes, but no, that's not all.
...
Happiness. Actual happiness, not hindered by dark thoughts or concerns. Just happiness.

"I am a proficient Umbryn-carrier, that is known, hahaha."

Chraith'kan changes his pace slightly so that Umbryn only needs to tug a liiittle bit, sometimes jokingly slowing down mid-stride to mess with her, but following nonetheless.