Abraxas | Inbox

[aquilus]

Comments

— a week after the lost are discharged

[theidlemaiden]

[ Once Claude and Sylvain are properly back in the Sarstina, Hilda turns her attention towards the new charges that they had somehow acquired over the course of the tumultuous four weeks. She doesn't have the faintest idea how to care for lizards, but a quick trip to the library at least tells her that she's done a piss poor job of it so far.

She tries to keep an eye out for Altair in the tavern, but he proves elusive and slippery as ever. Or maybe she's just lazy and figures sending a message is easier instead. Take your pick. ]

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵? 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦.

[aquilus]

[Little does Hilda know that Altaïr doesn't come to the Sarstina all the time because he sleeps on roofs and other weird places.]

Who?

[Social niceties, what are those.]

[carmesi]

Hilda is feeling very particular about your naming skills.

[aquilus]

[A deep, deep sigh of exasperation cannot possibly be conveyed through their mental text connection but perhaps Wanda can hear it anyway, somehow.]

Names are for humans. Designations are sufficient for animals.

[wanda] invites [altaïr] and [hilda] to a group dm ✨

[carmesi]

I got news about the lizard we found earlier in the year.

I went back some months ago and found another lizard with a lot more mechanical parts, except this one was dead. It had been dead for a while. The metal parts were also pretty different from Veliki's. I wouldn't be surprised if they were an older model.

Took me a while, but I've gotten the hang of resurrecting it. It's not really alive, first of all, but I get a better shot at seeing through its memories when it's not just bones and tissue. So, I did that, and I could see that it had been experimented on quite a lot. Something must have gone wrong with the new magic or the engineering, I can't tell, but that's part of what killed it. I saw a lab, too, inside a cave. That's not something you'd see in Solvunn, but why did we find two lizards with mechanical parts here, then? My guess is that it must have been a place near the Solvunn borders. Either the Badlands or the Free Cities. Veliki escaped, and this unlucky one... must have been dumped, maybe moved around by some other animal.

I couldn't see who did it. And I couldn't tell either if any of these experiments are a bad thing. I don't know that they're good, either, but it could be testing out something to use on humans later. Like prosthetics.

By the way, I'm taking suggestions for a name.

[yes, wanda is keeping it.]

RETURNS FROM THE DEPTHS

[aquilus]

[He's just not going to ask about the specifics of lizard resurrection.]

I would guess that you're correct about it being an older model. Its life would be inconsequential to those seeking to create something so unique as long as they could learn from the failure. I have known men like that.

The location can't be a coincidence — I'll keep a keen eye out when I ride in the badlands. Good or bad, the fact that such work was done in such secrecy gives me pause.

I like the name Sef.

[Because he knows he's not escaping name discussion time.]

— parkour parkour fashion baby | sometime at the end of november

[theidlemaiden]

[ Shortly after this conversation with Jesper over the magical messaging network, Hilda immediately reaches out to Altair.

Did she think that she actually had any chance of getting him to agree to this? Not really. But the Goddess loves a trier, and Hilda would try for the sake of fashion. ]

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?

[aquilus]

Such as?

is it formal? yes. Is Kaz a stick in the mud sometimes? Also yes.

[bealufull]

Dear Altaïr,

Are you interested in meeting for a conversation about the possibility of assisting myself and some others on a small adventure? There's a few things I am not comfortable discussing through their magical mental letter writing, if you'd be interested in meeting somewhere to talk. Perhaps a library or museum? A place with fewer people perhaps.

In fine regards,

Kaz Brekker

[aquilus]

[He doesn't require formality or politeness, but he knows how to meet it with his own, and is intrigued by the possible reason for it today.]

There's a museum I know of in central Cadens that would be an excellent place for discussion. It has an extremely boring exhibit in its main gallery at the moment; most who are interested in exploring it have already done so.

sometime in the winter

[monomachy]

[the gift is left in plain sight on a roof altaïr frequents in cadens, and doesn't seem to have been there long when he finds it, and it is addressed to him. the package is wrapped in plain brown paper, tied with pale, bleached twine and adorned with a sprig of flowering crocus. wrapped in the paper is a hand-bound leather journal with a clever locking mechanism, and once he figures out how to open it, inside the cover is tucked a note written in an elegant hand:]

To hold your thoughts close.
-Diana

[aquilus]

[He smiles when he sees it.

At some point in the not-distant future, Diana will discover among her things a passably good drawing of herself on a page torn from this journal, looking fierce and inspiring (and very buff) as she leads others in battle.]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor leaves the gift at Altaïr's workspace, wrapped in equally unceremonious brown paper and sealed with wax that indicates the sender. Inside is a leather padfolio which is probably highly appropriate for someone taking a lot of classes at various academies. It is tastefully monogrammed, and has a pocket on the inside that might be suspiciously knife-sized.

There is no note! You know who it's from!!]

[aquilus]

[He appreciates this gift for nerds.]

[thedreamer]

[ hope Altaïr loves journals because he's getting another one whomp whomp

Left somewhere the Doctor is reasonably sure the other man will find it, wrapped somewhat haphazardly in what's passing for something like parchment paper, is a small handmade journal.

Scribbled inside on the first page:

We're all stories in the end. I look forward to yours.
- The Doctor

p.s. I got you started with a real cracker!

(on the second page, decently drawn, is a recreation of their thorn bush adventure complete with Altaïr's impressive falling from a great height maneuver and the requisite haystack.) ]

[aquilus]

[Thank goodness he has enough thoughts to fill all of them.]

mail delivery • from solvunn

[carmesi]

[the package is non-descript, but it's definitely big enough to pique the curiosity of the recipient as to open it as soon as possible. it's definitely been checked through, tied up back into its box after the fact. inside, an amount of homemade goods have been stacked atop each other: candles, soaps, and moisturizing lotions. this would already spell out who it is from, if a similar package has been received, in the past.

a neat box lies at the bottom, though, and once unwrapped, it'll reveal a red shawl. it is red, as is her preference, and the designs she's tried to stitch them on her own. it definitely feels quite hand made. whether she used magic at some point to finish the job, she'll never tell.

a small note sits under the box.]

Happy Winter Solstice.
𝓦anda 𝓜aximoff

[aquilus]

[He looks absolutely fabulous in the shawl.]

— very backdated december gift delivery

[godshattering]

[ It takes a little bit for Claude to decide where he should leave Altaïr's gift for the man to find it, but in the end in the workshop. Inside is a carved wooden box slightly bigger and wider than a dagger and seems like it'd be perfect for storing one, but no dagger rests within (this time).

Instead there's a sharpening stone from one of the premiere weapons merchants in Cadens. This particular one is enchanted so that it should never damage a blade or dull too much to no longer be of use, as well as a variety of weapon oils and polishing cloths tucked in surrounding it inside the box.

A note tucked inside an envelope with Altaïr's name on it rests beside it:

Altaïr—

I thought these might do well to help keep your many knives in top condition. I didn't want to assume which kind of knife you might prefer most, so let me know when you plan on getting your next one - it's on me.

—Claude.

The wrapped box will be left at Altaïr's desk for him to find, just as casually as anything else. ]

[aquilus]

[This makes him laugh when he opens it, but it is also genuinely the most practical gift he's received. It gets a lot of use.]

— several days after the singularity spits everyone out

[theidlemaiden]

𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘴.

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦?

[aquilus]

[READ AT 2:48 P.M. ✅

Not that the network has time stamps but whatever]

a week post-event

[rookvision]

So want to come out of wherever it is you are and talk about things? Because I have a very persistent feeling there’s one rather large and wrinkly elephant in the room we’re diligently ignoring here.

[aquilus]

I do not know what you are talking about.

— gods event aftermath

[godshattering]

[ It seems there will be no end to trying to realign with what didn't happen (but certainly feels like it did) with the reality of being here in Cadens. A city Claude still holds fondness for even despite everything which has come to pass - or hasn't yet, or may never, just depending on which train of thought he wishes to follow on that particular day. Which only adds to the unsettling feeling he's pretty sure many Summoned are feeling, both confirmed in those he's spoken to and those he hasn't yet.

Of which, of course, some of his close friends are still among the latter, and one in particular he's halfway looking for now while wandering through the neighborhood on a shopping trip. One meant to grab some essentials to restock the pantry in the loft as a way to be useful - stay on the move, really - and perhaps look for familiar faces as he goes for those not found around the Sarstina when he's stopped in occasionally. Granted, this particular search might be more successful if there were two things involved: that Claude hadn't been drawn to the stands containing things he'd rather browse for his own interests than those supposed essentials he should be gathering, and that while looking for one face in particular, he's not chosen to search rooftops.

Or, on second thought as he glances over from considering a stand of used books of which he definitely does not need to add to the stacks already around his room when movement nearby - familiar movement - catches his eye to find Altaïr also here in the market, this turned out to be the right place after all. ]

Looking for something new to read? I think I still owe you a couple of books from before our little journey into the future.

[aquilus]

[The rooftops have not been a favored haunt of late. He's taken them as needed — an easy route is an easy route — but he also knows they are exactly where his friends would expect to find him, and with the exception of Hilda, most aren't likely to demand his presence and force an acquiescence via emotional blackmail. Accordingly, he's avoided being where they'll easily find him.

But if time doesn't really heal all wounds, it does lessen the impact of 800 years of a false life. His venture to the market isn't the first time he's dared to be around other people since returning from the badlands cave, but it is the first time someone's spoken to him. And it's not an unwelcome someone, even if he's not sure what to say in return, other than answer a question.]

Always, until I've run out of books to read. That much hasn't changed.

[Something in him may have, though. Or maybe it hasn't, deep down. He doesn't know which possibility bothers him more.]

[rookvision]

So, now that we've seen each other at work: how about a race? Loser buys the winner a drink.

[aquilus]

I rarely drink.

But yes.