thehauntedfrequency | fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[If Emery notices that frown he doesn't deign to comment on it. And he actually expounds on his backstory easily enough.]

I grew up in Stoyard Valley! Have you ever heard of Hill & Dale Printing? My dad's one of the Dales. I grew up with access to all the little chapbooks I could get my grubby mitts on. And I don't have any siblings, but I've got a fair amount of cousins that lived nearby, so I had them to play with as a kid. Though even when they weren't around, I had my friends to play with too.

[Shocker of shockers, the attractive, confident kid from a well-off trade family was pretty popular.]

Oh, and every auntie and granny in town absolutely doted on me. I'm astonished that I never got any permanent marks from having my cheeks pinched constantly.

[This is accompanied by a woebegone look cast in Zelgadis's direction and a forlorn touch to his own cheek.]

[that seems such a charmed life to lose...Zel can't help but feel confused and even a little anxious in a second-hand way to hear it all in the backward sequence it's being delivered in.]

Do you still keep in touch with them? [or was that a completely removed point of contact in his life? how did all this fey business work with someone who already had a life well lived?]

[Emery looks forward, and very firmly shoves down any pangs at the question.]

My dad knows I'm travelling, but I think it's better if he doesn't know about all the fey stuff.

[And before Zel has time to maybe prod for more detail, Emery whips out an uno reverse card.]

What about you? You've never really told me about your family besides Rezo. For all I know, he could have found you under a cabbage leaf.

[...Or built him in a lab, but the cabbage leaf is a nicer mental image.]

[Zel looks askance. what about him? don't pivot the focus on him!]

...Blood relatives? Just Rezo. My parents died when I was young. Don't remember them.

But Rodimus and Zolf were more family than that priest ever was.

[slight embellishment due to emotional scars, okay? sure - Rezo never starved him, always kept a roof under his head, got his lessons in academics and magic covered...

but it's Rezo.]

[Emery's tempted to ask about how his parents died (Random accident? Illness? Victims of earlier Rezo experiments?) but decides that would probably be a bit of a bummer. And also rude to pry into. So instead:]

Rodimus and Zolf? They were your former teammates, right?

Yeah. Rezo hired them to lead his mercenaries. They worked under me after I was changed.

[he keeps his eyes forward, his tone a touch rigid, the way it does when he's talking around things that he's sensitive about.]

They're dead, too. [thanks Rezo.]

So, no. No family to visit.

[Emery remembers Rodimus and Zolf being mentioned briefly when he was first getting to know Zelgadis better, and Zel was explaining the broad strokes of how he'd gotten to know Lina Inverse the Bandit Killer. At the time, Zel hadn't referred to Rodimus and Zolf as family, and it's likely a measure of how close they've gotten since then that he's made that admittance.

Emery wants to reach out for Zel's hand, but a stony chimera walking brusquely on isn't easy to get a grip on. Still, Emery doesn't back off either, staying close to Zel's side and his voice remaining calm as he asks:]

What were they like?

[the hand wouldn't be shied away from at this stage, because Emery's instincts are right: he'd only speak candidly about his dear friends to someone he trusts to respect that. even so, he's not paying attention enough to recognize any effort to reach, so he walks on, watching the tree line ahead.

what were they like? it's already been a couple years, hasn't it.]

...Rodimus was a battlemaster. He taught me how to wield a sword and other implements, though he favored axes. He was very even-tempered, but never too soft, since he expected me to work hard enough to survive the things I was putting myself through.

[of the two, Rodimus was most certainly the more fatherly in stature and demeanor...and in how Zelgadis remembers him.]

Zolf was a sorcerer. I practiced my spellcraft under his tutelage. He was... [he makes a face.] Wound up a bit too tight. [IN BANDAGES. LINA.] Hot-headed and defensive. Passionate, I guess.

[like an overeager brother, always in his court, ready to throw hands for him.]

[Emery listens carefully, trying to get a proper understanding of the late men from Zelgadis's description. Both of them must have been a strong influence on Zelgadis, not only in terms of the skills they passed on but as a natural consequence of having a close relationship with Zelgadis. Closer than his own blood relatives were.

Even-tempered Rodimus and passionate Zolf...]

So you were somewhere in the middle, huh?

[...And Emery thinks Zel probably falls closer to the Zolf side of the spectrum, but hey. Zel definitely has his cool-headed moments.]

I bet you were real cute as a kid.

Tch. [cute?! who cares about cute he's supposed to be COOL. cool and balanced, so the being-in-the-middle remark is acceptable...not the cute kid remark!!!] How should I know? That was a long time ago.

[Emery scrutinizes Zel thoughtfully, trying to imagine a smaller, squishier version of the man beside him.]

I guess Zolf and Rodimus never told you because you were the kind of kid who would take offence at the idea of being considered cute instead of being taken seriously.

[Emery, by contrast, was one of those kids who 1) knew he was cute, 2) revelled in it, and 3) would shamelessly use it to manipulate adults.

He grins.]

Of course, the problem is that your seriousness and stubbornness would only have made you cuter~

[if Emery was looking to color Zel's face a shade darker, he's succeeding! if it was to see his eyelid twitch in tandem with an ear, he also did that, too!

jeez, he can feel Emery's grin. it's annoying how endeared he is by it now.]

Who cares? And--and why are we talking about that anyway, huh!?

[A Zelgablush and multiple, simultaneous Zelgatwitches? Bless. What an accomplishment for Emery.]

You were the one who started on the subject of our pasts~ I think this direction was inevitable, really.

[What, were you expecting angsty revelations or something? No. Only Zel-bullying. By calling him cute.]

Be, because I was trying to better understand your ties here! Before and after! I don't have any, so stuff about me doesn't matter right now. [GOSH!!!!]

You do have ties here now though, don't you? You've got me! [The sunniest of expressions is directed at Zel. Though, really, Emery is a pretty tenuous connection, being not-local and only half fae... Emery muses on this.] But y'know, maybe you should try forming some more while we're here. That might come in handy eventually.

[he glances at him sidelong.]

How's that work? [will there be tricks? there are often tricks in the stories.]

I mean, you should talk to people! Get to know them! That's always the best thing to do when you're somewhere new. [Of course, there's may be a slight disparity in how easy that is when you're a sparkly blonde youth vs. when you're a chimera... And since Emery expects Zelgadis to say as much, he already has a rebuttal handy.] You don't need to worry about your appearance so much, because most people will just assume you're some kind of earth fairy. [Like a knocker or coblynau.]

[he can't help but make a face, though he does hastily mask it. talk to people? unsolicited? eugh.

flatly:] And when they do find out I'm a chimera? [what then!!!]

Who says they will? Most people don't just go around asking "What are you?" do they? [~~Maybe not to non-chimeras.~~] That would be rude. And anyway...

[Emery levels Zel with a more serious look.] Anyone who's already gotten to know you would realize that doesn't make you a monster.

[he can feel the gaze, but doesn't move to meet it, feeling a self-conscious twinge. he's grateful to hear the assurance, but it doesn't mean he knows how to gracefully accept it.]

...Guess we'll see. [look. it's not a scoff, at least.]

[Emery's almost surprised that Zelgadis doesn't attempt to argue back or otherwise bristle more at his words. Perhaps Zel knows that if he did, Emery is fully prepared to extol at a greater length just how likeable Zelgadis is.]

Then how about this? Once we get to the next village, you get to be the one who does the talking!

[Won't that be a treat?]

[eughhh.]

How many towns are along the way to your target destination, again?

Well it's quite a distance between here and Zennor Lake, so... Lots, probably!

[Okay, maybe not that many if they're gonna mostly be travelling by boat. But hey.]

Great...

[just what he wants: more socializing!

at least Emery will be there to course correct...even if that in of itself might be a bit emasculating. Zel should be able to handle things on his own! and he CAN...when it's haggling, negotiating, sizing up enemies or targets...not...small talk.]

Until then...let's see how far this road will take us before we see town lights.

[And so the journey through the woods continues on. It's a few hours of steady walking before the first sign of civilization makes itself known, not in the form of visible lights, but in the sound of distant chatter and the scent of wood smoke. The sound of running water is also audible.]

Seems like we're almost there. Ready to meet some people?

[Whether Zel is or not, they're drawing close. The road curves, the treeline breaks, and...

To say it's a town might not be entirely accurate. What they've found is a rocky glade intersect by a stream flowing from a spring and cliff at the southeastern edge of the clearing, with a bunch of people camping out in the area. There are a few permanent structures, most of them close to a spring, but otherwise it's an assortment of tents and wagons.

The glade is populated by various fae sorts, but most of them are small, wrinkled folks with high, pointed ears, and skin and hair all the colors of the leaves- rich vibrant greens, dull reddish-browns, and various shades in between. Common goblins, in other words.

(Most of them appear to be unarmed, but not all of them.)

Emery takes an automatic step forward, already intending to greet the nearest cluster of goblins eyeing them (and their swords) warily, but then remembers the assignment he'd given Zelgadis and instead turns to Zel and looks at him expectantly.]

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