Apologies for SI's quirk. Originally it used at symbols and plusses, but as FF omits those, I realized after the fact that she appeared to just be missing certain letters. They'll be replaced now with capitals (which I was trying to avoid and be creative but oh well.) Aditional apologizes for how wordy this chapter is gonna be, most reading this will remember how thick on words act 1 was.
Lurabo Caralu, known online as SpeakerofInterest, was headed to check on her lusus. She was a yellow blooded troll, though not a psionic. Many seemed to forget that a yellow blood wasn't always gifted with fantastic psychic power, and as such didn't have powerful psychic lusus; though hers was still very strong.
Granted, she did have some small telekinesis, but it was useful only for lifting small objects close to her already, usually her tarot cards, as the deck was the only one in her card-kind strife specibus. It was also useful for retrieving the food her lusus enjoyed. She kept it in her miracle modus, as her lusus and indeed most living beings were unable to figure out how the bizarre fetch modus form worked.
Lurabo had never had any trouble with the miracle modus herself, and actually found it remarkably practical. She sometimes wondered why so many others seemed to have so much trouble with it, and concluded that it was a lack of patience on their part, as this was the only reasonable explanation she could see for it.
In any event, she wanted to make sure he was okay. She stepped through the large locked door that contained her chimerical lusus. He wasn't massive, but did need a wide open space, as a more confined space would drive him stir crazy. She found him clinging to the ceiling, dropping to the ground in front of her moments later.
He was simian in body structure, but his tail split off into to hooked stingers. His hands and feet, while separated into finger-like digits, were longer and sticky, helping him climb and across rough terrain quickly. His head was closer to a canine's than anything else. Lurabo was sure anyone who wasn't used to him would likely be frightened by his odd appearance, or his venomous stingers, or his tendency to maul anything and everything that got too close to Lurabo.
Okay so the last two were reasonable fears. Granted, the last was a fear for every troll, as there wasn't a proper lusus alive who didn't viciously attack anyone who got too close to the troll in their care. He also had a tendency to fight Lurabo herself, his method of training her. Lurabo retrieved her cards from her Strife deck when she saw the look in his eyes, knowing he wasn't going to make this easy.
STRIFE!
Lurabo leapt back, her telekinesis propelling her back faster and letting her avoid her lusus's initial assault. This left her pinned against the door though, and she quickly drew the first card from her tarot set; The Chariot. Lurabo dashed forward, a force around her body like armor, slamming into her lusus like a freight train and sending him skidding across the floor of the den.
His feet stuck him to the ground to stop his movement, his tail wrapped around a rock and sending it flying at Lurabo. She stopped it in midair with her mind, only to realize too late that it was a distraction. Her lusus's tail wrapped around her ankle, dropping her to the ground and then throwing her into the air. She managed to stop herself from hitting the ceiling, but self levitation was not a skill she was remotely proficient at. She quickly drew another card.
The Hermit. Lurabo closed her eyes, her mind clear and focused, allowing her to levitate herself down to the ground carefully. Her moment of calm was broken the moment she did though, as her lusus was upon her instantly, tail wrapped around her arms, hands tugging on her horns as though he were trying to steer her.
She tried to throw him off, both physically and telekinetically, both failures. Naturally, she went for another card, lifting it with her mind, but having it blocked back by her lusus's feet before she could actually activate it. He was trying to force her into a melee, but she hated her close quarters weapon. It was perhaps the worst weapon she'd ever heard of anyone using.
With no other recourse, she decided to humor him, retrieving the curved wooden tool. Crook-kind was all but worthless in battle, she was sure of it, but it was the best she had. She swung the crook wildly, managing to nail herself more times than the lusus before finally hitting his tail and freeing her hands. She grabbed the crook with her hands and shoved it at the lusus, pushing him off of her as she dove for the card he'd knocked away.
He planted his feet on the wall and kicked off hard, tackling her to the floor. He wouldn't actually do much more than give her a few scratches, but you'd be surprised how frightening a howling, clawing, stinging lusus can be even when you're certain they don't mean any real harm.
Thankfully she managed to grab the card, lifting it up and activating it: Justice. Her lusus's grip on her weakened until he'd let go entirely, the card filling the area with an aura of fairness and calm. He crawled back up to his perch as Lurabo withdrew his food from her miracle modus and levitated it up to him. He sat upside down by his feet, holding the back with his hands and bringing the pellets to his mouth with his tail. Lurabo quickly left the den before the card wore off, sighting as she shut and locked it behind her. He was a handful.
She went to the sink, wiping her face with water and moving her hands to her horns to rinse them as well. With her lusus fed, her back-curved horns cleaned, and her grubtop not cursed-at least if this morning's reading had been correct-she logged on, breath hitching nervously when she saw who else was on. Brendon and Furlok were already on, discussing the game.
[SpeakerofInterest has joined the chat]
PP: Oh Oh hGy Lur, wG wErE just talk!ng about you.
SI: Y-y0u were?
FS: Yeah, turns out I'm leader of the hero team in this game. EE got leader of the villain team, go figure. Anyway, we're both allowed to pick our teams and I was thinking you could join ours.
PP: Aw, 'our team'~? FS: -_- You're allergic to being civil, aren't you?
PP: YGs, AbsolutGly.
FS: I'd ask if you were raised in a barn, but then I remember it's more like you were raised in a literal giant hay bail.
PP: Don't knock it, bGats the hGll out of your crappy human flat surface houses. thErG;'s no art in somEth!ng l!kG that.
FS: Maybe because they aren't for being artistic, they're for living outside of the cold and wilderness, but you just bring it in with you.
PP: F!rst of all, my h!vG !s warm as fuck, and you know that f!rst hand );), sGcond of all, thGrG's noth!ng wrong w!th bG!ng a l!ttlG w!ld, wh!ch you ALSO know f!rst hand, and th!rd of all, fuck you !n GGenGral.
FS: So many Gs..
PP: ThGy's ups!dG down e's, !t's a statGmGnt!
SI: Um…
FS: Oh, shit sorry, we kinda got carried away and forgot you were in the chat.
PP: YGah, our bad.
SI: N-n0, iT's fine, I d0n't mind wAiTing.
PP: RGally? ):?
SI: ReAlly, y0u sh0uldn'T leT me inTerupT y0ur piTch fun.
PP: Aw, so nicG.
SI: Heh, don'T menTion iT ^^
Lurabo was practically sweating as she watched the spade lovers continue arguing back and forth, their previous conversation long forgotten in the sexual tense bickering. It was everything she could do not to type in a stunning declaration to them both that instant, but she knew it wouldn't go well.
She'd told Aspico so more than once, though she never told her why or reasons she felt were very obvious. Of course Aspico probably didn't know that she was the reason she couldn't bring up her ashen feelings, the olive blood was too sweet to know that she was any kind of problem.
Lurabo could never attempt to be an auspistice when the OmniPale, Ashen to all was her competition, she'd get dumped harder than.. She didn't actually have a metaphor for that sentiment, but she got the picture.
As she stewed, no longer even ogling the pitch bickering the way a widow stares into the middle distance, Lurabo noticed that another chat had popped up with Chil4Dayz. She hastily typed into the first chat that she agreed to be on their team, then switched to the other to see what he wanted to talk about. Evidently he'd messaged her a few times.
CD: what are you thinking about this game?
CD: Hello? Yellow blood, you there?
CD: I can see you're in another chat, so you're definitely at the computer.
CD: Oh, it's PP and FS, busy ashen fucking them with your mind again?
[SpeakerofInterest has joined the chat]
SI: I-I've never 0nce d0n That.
CD: Yeah, not once, closer to every single time they've had an argument in the same chat as you, and probably a few times in your own kinky ashen imagination. No judgement, it's kinda cute.
SI: ThaT c0uld n0T be furTher fr0m The TruTh! Ashen r0mAnce is in n0 wAy sexuAl, And I w0uld never feel such A wAy!
CD: Pretty defensive. Did you not read the 'no judgement' opart? And by the way, yes, it totally is. If you were their ashen half, you wouldn't just be settling arguments, you'd be joining in on the fun. Trust me, I would know.
SI: And h0w exAtly w0ld y0 kn0w?
CD: Oh, interested now are ya? Heh, well, I may or may not have acted as auspistice for a certain spade couple that may or may not be broken up currently.
SI: There wAs An0Ther blAckr0m c0uple? Wh0 wAs iT? And why didn'T OP mentTiOn it.
CD: Well…
SI: N0.. y0u're n0T saying she..
CD: 'Fraid so. She was pitch black for EE a few months back, and he returned the sentiment.. I think. He never puts too much emotion into anything so it's hard to tell if he was into it at all, which is probably why they broke up. Either that or I'm as shit at ashen as you would be great at it. Did I phrase that right? I think so.
SI: Aspic0 And PAti0r.. I never w0uld hAve guessed.
CD: Yeah, they kept it on the DL, guess OP figured it would look bad for her romcouncil image to be in a black relationship. Didn't think she was capable of hate myself, but I was there, and I saw just how deep she hated him, if you catch my meaning~
SI: s-s0 AuspisTices.. ReAlly get T-T0 wAtch?
CD: Watch? Honey, they help out~ sometimes. It isn't mandatory, like how moirails can totally hook up for stress relief you know. So, now that I've blown your mind with that, how long until I hear the ashen wedding bells?
SI: Even if I wAnTed T0, And I'm n0t sAying I d0, we b0th kn0w iT w0uldn't work. They don'T wAnt An AuspisTice, And if They did, we b0th kn0w wh0 They'd g0 f0r.
CD: The girl who directly refuses to be any one person's ashen these days?
SI: ExAcTly! I d0'nT wAnnA be A next besT Thing..
CD: Hey, honey, you would make the best fucking ahsen they'd could get, and you know it. OP is good and all for a group, but one on one? Well, one on two in this case? That's definitely where you'd shine. They'd start argueing and fighting, it'd get right to that point where it stops being sexy and starts being harmful and then BAM! Out steps Lorabo like, 'step back bitches, i'm about to drop some sweet ashen knowledge on ya!' and after their minds are blown, kinky threeway. Or something like that.
SI: Pffhahahaha! OkAy, iT's g00d T0 kn0w I cAn leAst reply 0n y0u T0 geT hilAri0us fAnTAsy scenAri0s.
CD: Heh, always, but you can tell me about stuff to. I doubt you've told OP about thinking she'd be better at clubs-love than you. I'm no omni-pale, but I could probably help you out.
SI: Are.. are y0u suggesTing we geT T0geTher? PAlewise I meAn?
CD: If you want, not like I've got anything in any quadrant at the moment, lol #funnycuzI'msadandloney.
SI: L0l, y0u d0n'T even kn0w what T0 sAy T0 ThAT.
CD: How about 'totally yes let's be diamonds now'?
SI: I'll Think Ab0uT iT.
CD: Didn't hear a no, so I'm calling it a win~
Dustine Lerodi coudln't believe he'd just tried to get with Lourabo, pale or not. He liked to joke around, so maybe he could convince her he'd been joking? He doubted he'd be able to do any good as as a moirail, but of course she'd probably tell him he was wrong just like he'd done for her, missing the key difference that he proveably couldn't keep people together.
He'd really tried to help out Aspico and Patior, and it had been fun for awhile, but he hadn't noticed it crumbling until it was too late, and neither of them had been the same in terms of love life since.
Maybe humans just weren't meant to partake in troll romance. 'No,' Dustine thought, 'Brendon and Furlok are doing great.' Maybe it was just him who wasn't cut out for troll romance. Or romance in general.
But it was too fucking late down, he'd just dived headfirst into a pale proposal with a girl who even he could tell really needed it and would probably agree. And right before the game to, which was shit luck, as he'd agreed to be on Patior's team; a choice made primarily because LS had joined, and who knows why he had.
Sighing, Dustine got up to try and relieve some stress. He whispered a few verses from the good book in order to retrieve a dummy from his versemodus, then took out his mace. Really it was just a stick with a weight on one end, but his mace-kind strife specibus had allowed it, so it was good enough to wail on a training dummy with.
