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1MalfurionXXI has joined the chat
2MalfurionXXI: As a result of passing out the night before a restful sleep was in order, especially after a few hours of training and a short break for an evening meal. Getting used to the style of home Lailynn had was certainly another challenge as well, he did not live in such a well developed time as he told her. The reason why he didn't know what the kitchen was or the compost bin from the other day became rather clear. He was from another time in the past, and it was interesting but her modern home was very nice. The beds and other furniture was also very nice, most especially the bed. He did rise early and make his way outside, dressed in his robes again now that they were cleaned. Spells, rituals, prayers, and an early morning meditation were his usual routine even if there was no one to listen to his prayers but himself. The Raven Queen had directed him to seek answers and he would thank her for that bit of wisdom as often as possible. Spells chosen, rituals completed, and prayers offered he sat in meditation for about twenty minutes before coming back inside and eating some of the moldy cheese and bread that he had created the afternoon before, smiling at how good it was and having not had to wait to make it grow on it's own. He wasn't exactly sure what Lailynn did at this time of the morning, but figured it was something of the same so he wandered back outside to see where she was.
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4DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn's morning routine was a bit different from Rah's as she had a home and workshop to tend to. She lived alone, but had a large vegetable garden and plot of wheat, as well as several herb plots just behind her kitchen. It was here that she spent the first few hours of her day. Tending, weeding, and talking to her plants. There was no sign of decay or rot amoung any of the plots, and she hummed softly as she tended to them. Where she walked or touched though was odd, instead of stealing the life, she seemed to be giving it, coaxing the plants to grow thicker, healthier and produce more of what she needed. --
5MalfurionXXI: "You certainly seem to have a magical touch with the natural way of things around here." He commented lightly, walking up to the garden where she was cultivating more of the produce she needed with magic as well as her meticulous tending and weeding. "Much different than my own gardens, certainly. Though still a wondrous thing." He bent to touch one of the large vegetables appreciatively, a squash of somesort he was not familiar with but simply marveled at them. "Incredible."
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7DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn smiled as he came over to the garden area. "Aye, and you should as well. It's one of the first things you should have learned with druidry, is how to help the natural growing things of the land." she explained as he examined a rather large pumpkin. "How to commune with the earth and the elementals, how to ask them for their help to restore the natural world" she explained. "It's part of why learning languages and creating new headspaces is helpful, the elementals, plants, animals, they all have their own languages. Not to mention people" she said with a soft laugh. "But you've said you cant manipulate nature, but you keep a garden. How do you cultivate it?" she asked, coming out of the wheat plot. --
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9(MalfurionXXI: "That makes sense now that my mentor wasn't really a druid." He shook his head, watching as she worked and listening to her. "It isn't really a garden, more a series of experiments with death and decay. I find those things that are in varying stages of death and I study them as they decompose. More often than not a lot of creatures and beings would find me and ask for me to assist them in dying in the home I had in the swamps. The closer civilised areas would avoid the swamps entirely. I had wanted to try my hand at necromancy and my mentor somewhat encouraged it but it was strange how he went about my training, as we have found. The vegetable gardens I kept were not ever this nice, no. My experiments were though, I think I went a bit darker with my powers than I really understood. My fascination of it certainly had grown over the years. This is something else though."
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11DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn lowered herself to her knees as she listened to him, her hands pressed to the edge of one of the herb plots. "Indeed, it sounds more like shamanic training, dealing with death and necromancy and spirits I assume. Druidry and Shamanism are almost like opposite sides of the coin. Druidry is about working with life, which is why my gardens and home flourish, and about working with the spirits of living things. Shamanism is more working with death and spirits and the power of the ancestors, and dark shamanism delves into the worlds of demons and unnatural creatures and undead. The two share practices even with these differences, like being able to commune with other species. I think your mentor may have been trying to blend the two and create something new, where mine knew they were not one, and simply taught me both. So, it depends now on what you wish to learn Rah. One or the other, or both if you have the affinity for it." --d--
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13MalfurionXXI: "It seems like I have an affinity for both as I am able to recreate the results you had with the moldy stuff at least." He smiled lightly, "Only time will tell however." He was quite familiar with the death and necromancy that wove it's way throughout his known spells and rituals and the combination of such was quite logical, though the reasoning why he wasn't explained the differences of them was beyond his knowing at the moment. "It worked for me at least, I suppose it's not all that bad to have studied what I did, but the demonic aspect obviously didn't work the way he had intended. I work better with the undead. I just wish I could remember what our argument was about, it might help in figuring out his reasoning for what he was teaching me." The vines of the large pumpkin grew and curled around his right hand as he coaxed it to grow more and a few more blossoms emerged after a moment as he smiled. "I talk to them and feed them, much the way you do with the living plants, but the thinks I keep die quickly and decay faster when I do so. If they are creatures I can even animate them and have them move by my own will. They can even attack if I need them to, such as a distraction when surprised or something. I usually kept several such creatures throughout the swamps and marshes where I lived just for such purposes." He told her.
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15DeviousMiskreent: She smiled at him, placing her hand on his "slower, coax it to grow only a bit faster than it should, then add a stopping point to your instructions rather than let it grow til it rots" she explained. --
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17MalfurionXXI: "Yeah, I can tell when it does that because it dies. Encouraging life is a different effect entirely, I can feel the lifeforce increasing is that the spirit you spoke of?" He asked her, that bright green returning to his gaze as his curiousity grew.
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19DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn would nod "in a way yes. And also an elemental. You see, all living things of the earth, plantlife I mean, are connected to an elemental being. It is that elemental that does the work, our job as druids is to talk to the elementals and ask them for what we need done. In return, we are to cultivate the land, correct the incursions of man and protect nature" she explained. --
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21MalfurionXXI: "That is definitely not what I studied." He shook his head a bit. "Assisting death and decay is somewhat the opposite of protecting nature, though it is part of the natural cycle of things. Death allows life to flurish from what is left over and feeds it in different ways."
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23DeviousMiskreent: She chuckled softly. "Yes and no, the ways of nature include the cycle of life and death Rah. All that lives must die, but when it does, its remains sink back into the earth and provide nourisment for new life" she said as the pumpkin grew, quickly rotted and then disintigrated into mush. She pushed her fingers through it and spread the mush through the rest of the herb rows. "Death has it's place, so in a way, you are still doing your duty as a druid, just . . one side of it" she said, rising to her feet and brushing her hands clean. --
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25MalfurionXXI: "I didn't want it to die, but I guess that's what I need to focus on." He frowned lightly as the squash decayed rapidly and turned to dark soil in a very short period of time as she spread it through the rest of the garden. He sighed lightly and stood up, not upset, just focused and thinking deeply. His gaze deepening to a rich, dark emerald green. "Yes, “Even in death, every creature plays its part in maintaining the Great Balance.That is what my mentor would say to me all the time." As he stood thinking he pulled a small piece of bone from the inside of the left sleeve of his robe which was the only sleeve it had, the right arm exposed so the contagion would not disintegrate it. He smoothed his thumb over the surface of the end of the six or so inch bone several times as he stood there, lost in thought.
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27DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn watched him curiously and nodded "and there is nothing wrong with that" she said. "But, to be a true druid, if that is your goal, then you need to at least learn the rest of it." she said sternly, her odd green eyes gazing upon the bone in his hand. "At the very least, you can make more food for yourself" she teased him lightly. "What is that?" --
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29MalfurionXXI: He nodded, hearing her words and then glancing down at what she was looking at, the rib-bone in his hand. "It is my spell focus and a reminder of what I am capable of," He spoke in a tone of voice completely devoid of emotion, his eyes turning dark but without color. "It is what is left of my mentor, a piece of his rib from when I ripped his heart out." He explained. "There are many reasons why I took the name "Elghinn's Rah," [Death's Hand] because I am." It was not said with guilt or anything of the sort but with acceptance. "It is the part I play." He shrugged lightly and showed her the translucent white human bone.
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31DeviousMiskreent: "that is more than a tad morbid, but I suppose I have seen and heard of worse" she replied, "have you ever considered that destroying that might destroy the thing attached to your arm? You say its the last bit of your mentor and it was your mentor that summoned the beast"
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33MalfurionXXI: "Aye, I am rather morbid." His eyes returned to a deep blue as he spoke, then shook his head. "I cannot destroy it, I've tried many times to do so in anger or rage. It has a great power to it." The resonance of the bit of bone was indeed powerful for such a small talisman. "I'm sure you can see that for yourself. I believe that what happened between us made an artifact of it, morbid or not it is something else now."
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35DeviousMiskreent: "I can see that indeed. But If you can find a way to do so, it may sever the bond thats holding selxsis to this plane of existance. Just a thought course" she said softly. "Hmmm . . . why dont you practice with the plants in my workshop, They are dead, maybe you can try and bring them back?" she suggested. --
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37MalfurionXXI: "It is an idea for sure, I don't know that I can achieve that though. I have not the skill level to do so currently." He explained, then looked back to her workroom and nodded. "I shall see what I can accoplish." The green of his gaze returned as he hid the talisman back into his sleeve once again. The vines were the largest and so he took to seeing about reviving their lifeforce since they could have a residual spark left as she had shown him to work with the day before. The headspace that it took was different and as such he was still working on forming it completely so it did take some active concentration to work through the steps properly.
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39DeviousMiskreent: She would follow him into the workshop, humming softly but not casting. Instead, she busied herself cleaning up the mess from the other day and watching him. He did indeed catch on quick, starting with what was there and working from that. She was quiet and let him work though, not interupting him. --
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41MalfurionXXI: The vines slowly turned green instead of brown and even grew towards him as he watched, being careful to revive instead of decay the vegitation and smiled lightly his eyes blue-green once more and pleased he hadn't made them rot instead. "It doesn't take much to revive them, Lailynn." He turned that light expression towards her as the first few vines came back to life, the closest one curling around his left wrist as he watched. The magic felt so different, but it was familiar to him also.
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43DeviousMiskreent: She turned and watched as he revived the plant, a genuine smile on her lips. "No it doesn't Rah. You see the time for those plants was not yet come, they were not meant to die and so the earth gives you the energy to revive them. Had it been their natural time to die, you would ahve had much more trouble, if it were possible at all." she explained. "Now reach through the thread to the earth elemental here, like I taught you yesterday, and feel how happy she is?" --
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45MalfurionXXI: He did as she said to and reached through to sense the earth elemental and smiled a bit more. "She is very satisfied with my work." He nodded, a light chuckle coming from him as he moved to assist with restoring the rest of the plants that had been drained. "They were quite happy with living here, you take very good care of them." He spoke matter-of-fact, those green eyes of his flowing over the rest of the work space she had for a moment before returning to the task at hand. It was good practice, too.
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47DeviousMiskreentDeviousMiskreent : She smiled at him again, her green eyes sparkling. "Aye, they are all I have Rah, these and the creatures of the woods. Oftentimes it has been a decade or more before the mists bring me someone and I rarely go out into the realms of the living, only when I need something I cannot get here" she said, sounding just a touch sad. --
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49MalfurionXXI: "Aye, it is much the same as I do, aside from the quest given to me by the Raven Queen to seek out the answers to dealing with this demonic thing." He nodded again, those emotions of his settling back into his usual look of concentration and deep thought as he practiced more on reviving the plants in her workroom. "I am glad that I can assist you her for a while, it feels good to learn more about my abilities." He added, always glad to learn more. "Balancing life and death is also good, I think."
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51DeviousMiskreent: Lai nodded. "Aye, balance is usually what everything needs to come to. In the end if life is not balanced by death and vice versa, chaos will ensue." she took a slow, deep breath as she settled in on a stool and watched him move about the workshop. "Tell me Rah, who is this Raven Queen you keep mentioning?" she asked. --
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53MalfurionXXI: "The Raven Queen is the deity that I offer prayers to every morning, she set me on the quest to seek the answers. Or that is my belief anyway, she never really appears in her true likeness and I follow her since I was born in the ShadowFell which is her domain." He responded, giving a few more details about the mysterious goddess as he knew her to be. "I had to leave my home twice now, once to find the swamps in which I lived before coming here and then again the same night I met you here after traversing through the Shadowmists of the ShadowFell which happen to have a mind of their own as I am now quite familiar with."
54DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn nodded as he explained, curious about this goddess that she had never heard of. "She sounds quite mysterious indeed and you say she is the one that sends you out on your journeys?" she asked. --d--
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56MalfurionXXI: "Not usually, though I think that I am a special one of her followers for she has appeared to me thrice now which is somewhat unheard of for the Dark Elves anyway. Her usual followers are the Shadar-Kai, a race of shadowy fey creatures that also reside in the ShadowFell as I did." He explained, finially completing the work of reviving the plant life in her workroom, the various lifeforms humming softly now within his awareness which made him smile somewhat as he listened to them now.
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58DeviousMiskreent: Lai sat on her stool, legs folded indian style and her eyes closed, listening to the life returning to her workshop. She could hear the happiness and joy of the plants and the elementals. "You can hear them now can't you?" she asked, not even needing to see him to know what was happening. In her own joy, her strange scarlike markings would appear. They drapped down her face, shoulders and arms, and even down the little bit of her legs that could be seen from her dress. --d--
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60MalfurionXXI: "Aye, I can yes." He sat down close by, long legs folded up slightly as the stool was a bit small for him because of his height, not that he minded any. "It feels like soft laughter almost, it is quite different from the feeling of the swamps I have called home for so many years. The balance of life here is healthy."
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62DeviousMiskreent: "Aye, that it is. This place is perfectly balanced. That is why it exists between the realms of the living and the dead." she said lightly. She sighed softly, watching his overly large frame sitting on one of her little stools and couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You've learned much in a short time. Whatever training you recieved before certainly put you in the right frame of mind to learn these things. Normally it would take years to contact and feel the elementals and a decade or more to be able to heal and grow plants like this, and you've done so in only a few days. I hate to admit it, but you may be leaving sooner than either of us expected" she said softly--
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64MalfurionXXI: "I hadn't thought of that," He said softly, glancing around the workroom with an interesting mix of colors shifting in his gaze for a few moments until he looked back to her. "I suppose that being the hand of death has given me some sense of the way of things even without knowing it, though I am quite thankful of the direction. I know now I can find the answers that I seek and I hae you to thank for that affirmation, Lailynn." He gave her a soft smile, reaching up to disentangle himself from the vines that had wound around his wrist and shook his head lightly. "I may be death's hand, but the plants don't seem to mind in the least. I think that's a good sign I am on the right path now." He added.
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66DeviousMiskreent: "Mmmhmm" she murmered with a nod as she rose to her feet. "Really now it's just traveling and meeting the different elementals of the world, making friends with them and seeing which ones are helpful. Other than that you seem to have the right druidic talents and tattoos. I could maybe add a few, allow you to shapeshift if you cannot already" she told him--d--
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68MalfurionXXI: He tilted his head to the side and frowned at the mention of shape shifting. "What do you mean by shapeshift?" He was altogether confused at the words she had used just then and found it curious, the green of his eyes brightening once again.
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70DeviousMiskreent: She laughed softly and shook her head. "I thought not as I didn't see those marks in your tatoos" she said, pulling some fresh berries and tyme from some of her potted plants and sitting down again. "But maybe . . that can be taught . . next time you come to visit" she said, a playful grin on her face as she nibbled her snack.--
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72MalfurionXXI: "That would indeed be something I have no knowledge of, I would welcome the opportunity to do so." He nodded soberly, the blank expression of his returning somewhat as he spoke, thinking of leaving and what he would do while keeping the overall expressions of his face completely neutral. His stay thusfar had tought him many things, including much about the way she lived and the things she was used to in her domain. He had of course shared with her that he lived in the caverns in the swamps that he called home, having not ever lived in a structure built the way her's was. It seemed that despite the differences they could understand each other fairly well, which was quite a boone. "I wish I could take that bed with me, though." He lifted his gaze to Lailynn once more, and the blue of his gaze softened to lavender briefly, longing to stay as well as looking forward to the journey ahead.
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74DeviousMiskreent: Lai's eyes darkened as well. She didn't want him to leave, but knew that eventually all those that came here did. It was just that it had been soo very long since she actually enjoyed someone's company that she even felt the stirings to leave with him. Though she knew she never could. "Aye and your welcome back here anytime you need Rah, as for the bed, you can take a large sack and stuff it with hay or moss if you have enough, and sew it closed. It will produce a similar effect" she said lighty. --
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76MalfurionXXI: "Ah, the moss would be easy enough to find." he nodded lightly, making a mental note to do so at the first opportunity. "I would like to see what else you could do though, before I do. Perhaps refine some of my tattoos, if you are able?" He asked, attempting to leave no stone un-turned when it came to knowledge and being able to use the training he had to the best of his abilities.
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78DeviousMiskreent: "Aye I could touch them up and make some corrections . . .But you would have to strip down, completely" she said, her voice as deadpan and calm as she could keep it and trying not to blush at the thought of him nude . . and her hands on him . . --
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80MalfurionXXI: "That is fine," He shrugged non-chalantly, clothing was meant for protection mainly and for warmth, but it did not mean he was shy of his body. "Where should we begin?" He asked casually, standing to remove his robes and then his tunic in short order.
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82DeviousMiskreent: She bit her lowerlip as he rose and began to remove his robes and tunic, blushing for a moment as he caught her completely by surprise. It wasn't like she'd never seen a man naked before, but for whatever reason, this one had a strange effect on her. "Well I . . I need a little time to prepare the ink and a place and" she babbled nervously as she moved about the workshop gathering things to hide the blush on her face. "You should uhm . . take . .take a cleansing ritual bath and then you'll have to lay outside on the ground and uhm . . yeah uh." she stuttered and fumbled her words, cursing under her breath at herself for being such a fool. He had shown no interest in her as a woman whatsoever, so why in all the hells did she feel like a little child right then? She took a deep breath and tried to clear her head. For crying out loud, she was 130, she should not be acting like this! She set her things down on the table and swallowed hard. "I can make the ink while you clean up and bathe. I know your not dirty, but its a ritual bath, you need to clear your mind as well as your body to be as open and receptive to the earth as possible" --d--
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84MalfurionXXI: He blinked as she fumbled with her words and cursed under her breath as she went about trying to find things to occupy herself with, and outside the fact that he was quite reserved and meticulously void of emotion on the outside he did have emotions and he did find her very attractive. "I have lived my life devoted to my craft, as strange as it is. That does not mean that I am a stranger to the rituals of clensing." He spoke in a softened tone of voice as he paused, letting her gather herself and her thoughts. "I shall do so carefully and properly, not to worry." He lightly set his left hand on her shoulder for only a moment, something he really did not do often given his reclusiveness and solitary lifestyle but he couldn't help feeling for her in ways that were new and different, not just because of what she could teach him. If she turned or even if she did not he would kiss her lightly on the top of her head, a small expression of affection that would hopefully calm her. He wasn't exactly sure why it was so different, but it was, at least to him. "I will bathe and meet you outside when you are finished." he said softly, moving to the bath as he had done before. Elves did indeed live long lives and as such he was not that much older than she was, nor did he mind the difference at all, it was just his way.
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86DeviousMiskreentDeviousMiskreent : So frustrated with herself and in her own little world, that when he placed his hand on her shoulder, it caused her to squeek in surprise and jump, nearly headbutting him as he kissed the top of her head. That of course brought on a furious blush that turned her whole face bright red, including her ears, neck and all the way down to her chest. "Goodness . . you spooked me Rah" she gasped. Having nearly dropped the bundle of things in her arms, she quickly set them down on the table. "Yes yes . . go bathe and I should be ready by then" she said distractedly as she tucked a long strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "And . . Im sorry I didn't mean to assume you didn't know what a ritual bath was I just . . .uhm. I'm a little distracted" she said honestly. "I'll meet you out near the gardens when your ready Rah" she said, a bit more calmly as she finally turned to look at him. Still a bit flush. "Do your . . spores affect other people in strange ways?" she asked curiously. --d--
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88MalfurionXXI: Her sudden movement did not harm Rah and he actually smiled somewhat at her surprised squeek, offering a soft-spoken apology for startling her and then nodding as she said she would be ready by the time he was finished. "It's fine, there is much that we do not know of the other currently, though I would hope that will change in time." He let that small expression stay on his lips as she expliained that she was distracted, once again nodding in response to her instructions before retreating to the bath. Pausing once more when she asked about the spores and if they affected others in strange ways. "Not unless I have them do so in defese of my being, no, but when the demon had taken control of them they would do some strange things. As it is currently dormant or sleeping it has no control over them so I do not think they would affect anyone strangely. It takes a great deal of time for them to make changes, as I have come to learn. I imagine a great length of time would need to be spent within close proximity to me before they were to do anything to you." He responded, ducking into the bathhouse once he had spoken, hoping it would answer her question for the time being as he focused on the clensing ritual.
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90DeviousMiskreent: She nodded as he explained the use of his spores, mentally kicking herself for trying to find an excuse for the way she was behaving. She was both embarassed and ashamed and .... really didn't care. Biting her lower lip again she sat at the table to grind up the ingredients for the natural ink that would be used to correct and add to his tattoos, forcing her mind to focus on the task at hand. Once the ink was prepared she moved to one of the potted plants, a small rose bush with thick branches and thorns. She hummed and sang softly to it for a few moments, coaxing it to produce more thorns that were larger and hollow. The tatoos would be a natural process, and it would hurt, but no more than when he had first gotten them. Once she gathered those, she collected a few other tools and the ink and headed outside near the herb gardens. Here was a plot of land she had preped for a new section, but would be perfect for what they needed. She lay down the supplies and knelt, connecting with the elemental while she waited for Rah to join her. --d--
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92MalfurionXXI: It took the same amount of time it usually would have for a ritual clensing for Rah which was not long, but long enough supposedly for Lailynn to have already finished her tasks and gone outside to meet him. He wore a simple tunic to maintain the ritual as need but his feet and legs were bare to just above his knees, the tunic he had being somewhat long. He nodded quietly to Lailynn as he approached, kneeling momentarily and then removing the cloth before he laid down for her to examine the tattoos that he had, most of which were quite strange indeed, not to mention that strange addition to his back that was the hidden summonings his mentor had added. Once he did so he waited for her instructions.
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94DeviousMiskreent: Lailynn was indeed ready for the ritual, but she seemed to be having a silent argument with someone, presumably the elemental she was speaking with or something else that she was connected to. She didn't seem terribly upset though, and she came to a moment or so later. "Stubborn . . I swear " she mumbled, adjusting her sitting position. "Sorry about that Rah" she said, her voice calm and kind of monotone, as it had been when they had first met in the woods. Though, seeing him nude before her sent a chill down her spine. She took a deep breath and then slowly, but thoroughly examined the tatoos along the length of his body. They were strange, but not overly so. She could see through the workings what his mentor had been trying to do. "A druid's markings are a spell. Well, several actually. They bind him to the earth, air, water and fire elements that govern all of nature. They connect you to the lifecycles of all things and make it easier for us to draw up power for our spellwork." she said as she trailed her fingertips over his markings. "Yours are muddied in a way, your Master tried to combine druidry and shamanism into one whole, but it doesn't work that way. They can work together, but they cannot combine, it's why you could do some things and not others." she said, her fingers moving down his thigh and leg. "Your bindings are an endless circle, and while that works, they do not go to the sole of your foot or the palm of your hand as they should. the loop on your foot would have connected you to the earth, one on the hand for water, one on the back of your neck for air, and one over your heart for fire. I see the work that allows you to work druidic spells but not those that connect you to the elements. I also see druidic markings that tie you to the spirit world, connecting you to the undead and I believe your Master tried to replace the elemental connections with the shamanic ones. The undead for earth around your calf so they can crawl up from the earth, one on your bicept to give them strength , the one on your back for summoning demons and spirits" she trailed her fingers over all his tatoos again and frowned "but I don't see one for control . . .wait" she lifted his left arm, and there on his side was a half finished or broken one. "mmmmm . . . he wanted to control you and all your summonings" she said with anger in her tone. "I can correct a lot of this, and I can add the ones for the elements, but I cannot remove what he has already done. Nor do I suspect you really want me to" she said as she lay her hands back in her own lap. --d--