[ a solar dragon is out there on a first-name basis with her, but, ]
Ah. Your imagination doesn't betray you. We came from the starry seas before anywhere else, after all— [ wait. correcting herself: ] Well, technically, the Feywild before that, but that history is even older.
[ though it is where the 'Heartleaf' surname came from. ]
Then, if you would picture an octopus the size of a planet, but instead of flesh, carve it from the void of space itself and all its myriad stars, you would have my patron.
[ ...The description itself is not so unbelievable, expressly for the reason that Sumina had just provided. The Astral Sea is full of a great many things, being the realm of wildspace and the myriad stars and worlds that it holds, the veil that connects the inner and outer planes, and a graveyard for gods. It's easy to imagine such a planet-sized octopus made of stars, even if she herself doesn't know of any, specifically.
What isn't so easy to imagine, however... ]
And... How exactly did you come into contact with such an entity...?
[ She has a hypothesis or two of course, both related to his career, but for all she knows, he could have had a close encounter of the third kind as a child or something. ]
[ Her instincts aren't wrong to lead her toward his work. Usually he wouldn't even reveal this much, but Sumina is a good friend, a fine ally, and trusted client. Her rapport with the Blues has earned her this much, to say nothing of her rapport with Winter personally. ]
Luck, mostly. They were being held captive in a relic in a strange old temple I visited on a job. I'd been injured, and they reached out to me and said if I freed them, they would save my life.
[ He doesn't say so in a definitive manner, but it isn't difficult to fill in the gaps, of course - namely for the fact that it means Winter had been very much in a life-threatening situation. One most dire, as well, when forging a binding contract with a powerful being was his only option for survival.
Despite her best efforts to seem unaffected as she might have being told this at her place of work, Sumina finds herself crestfallen at the realization; her gaze wanders, ultimately settling on the painting of a tentacled creature on the wall. It's no surprise that her guests would be faced with impossible odds, and life-threatening situations. In fact, the inn was made for such people. Yet to know this about Winter in particular doesn't seem to settle right with her, when he had so easily become one of her favorite regulars. ]
I... I see. I must admit that I'd always wondered about your patron, or how you came to be a warlock, but...
[ As he watches her expression fall, it occurs to him that he's heard many such stories in the inn's tavern. Many more times he's seen groups of adventurers stumble into the inn with their numbers less than they had been when they left. Sumina is always there to lend an ear, of course. It's part of her job and she takes it quite seriously.
But gods above, that must wear on her. ]
It's all right. Sincerely. [ He tucks his hand beneath her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his own. His smile small, but genuine. ] As you can see I'm very much alive and well. And I have no regrets over my pact or my patron.
[ ...It does. Perhaps more than she's willing to ever admit. After all, it's not as if she's the one out there fighting eldritch abominations and setting off dangerous traps and such.
Winter reaches out and gently redirects her gaze towards him, her eyelids fluttering wide at the touch, the gentleness of the gesture and his smile both stirring an aching feeling in her chest, but she swallows thickly - as if that would push that feeling down, too. ]
Then... What of your relationship with your patron, Winter?
[ She knows that can be a bit of a spectrum; she's met warlocks before with quite the tempestuous dynamic with their patrons, but Winter has never given her that kind of impression before. Still, she wants to hear it from him, to be certain of it. ]
[ His touch doesn't linger too long, and he drops his hand back into his lap. That smile on his face, however, stays right where it is. ]
I would say it's probably as amicable as they come. They are happy to let me do as I please, and in exchange I share with them anything new or interesting I might come across in my work.
They desire knowledge above all else, but not for any real purpose. They love to learn simply for the sake of it, and no piece of information is too small or insignificant. Needless to say, they were quite enthusiastic about my accepting an invitation to this place.
[ There's no hiding the relief evident in her voice when she sighs, not that she's giving it any sort of subtlety, especially when she sinks into his couch a little more with his touch drawn away from her face.
She is always, always worried about warlocks, honestly. ]
You... [ Well, there's really no other way to put it other than: ] You're incredibly lucky, Winter. Though I'm sure you're well-aware of that.
[ On the note of his patron's interest in this place, though... She can't help but wonder... ]
...Were they enthusiastic when you discovered my inn, too?
[ how many stars did her family's inn get on space octopus yelp??? ]
[ He's lucky in a lot of regards. Lucky to have found his patron when he did, lucky that it was Khaluxszhutrithrhβthod he found in that temple and not some devil intent on cashing in his soul for whatever petty reason. One does not become a warlock lightly, and he'd have made the choice to do it regardless of what reached out to him in that moment.
Fortune had truly, truly smiled on him. ]
Oh, absolutely. They don't tend to understand mortal notions like birthdays and holidays, but the day I discovered your inn was probably the closest they got to that sort of joy.
[ Now, were Winter's patron anything other than a seemingly-benevolent, knowledge-seeking space cephalopod, Sumina might have felt more than a little uncertain about them having taken a keen interest in her family's inn. But as it is, knowing that they simply thirst for "new or interesting" things across the starry seas, and found their humble (?) little inn to be a place that would bring them joy?
It fills her with no small measure of joy for herself, but most of all pride, in what her family has built. In all that they have made it to be... ]
Wow. I think my family would be so thrilled to hear that, honestly. That their work brought joy to such an entity...
[ She says, almost distantly, as if she herself isn't someone who works tirelessly, their boots on the ground, so to speak. As if she wasn't the one standing at the front desk when Winter discovered the inn. ]
[ There's a reason that name is staying in the meta text. ]
Your work is included in that, you know. In fact, since the inn has been under your care since we met, I think you can take the lion's share of the credit.
[ She turns her head slightly to glance at him once more, her starry eyes widened in disbelief. Sometimes Winter... has a way of saying things to her that she hadn't even realized she needed to hear, and this is one of those moments. ]
Hah... I appreciate it, Winter.
[ her lips curl into a fond little smile, though because she can't help but deflect with attempted humor, she adds: ]
You're not angling for a company discount, are you? I'm afraid I have no domain over that at the moment!
[ Winter may be a thief and a liar, but he can be quite genuine when he feels he needs to be. Whatever comes easiest in the moment, and with Sumina, he's always at his most genuine. She brings it out in him, but more than that, he thinks that there are some things she needs to hear. ]
Please, Sumina. If I wanted to butter you up, I'd have laid on the compliments a long time ago.
[ He simply raises his eyebrows in response. The tattoo around his neck slides over his skin, uncoiling itself slightly to slide up his cheek instead. There, it pulls away from him entirely, gaining new form and dimension, and the flickering light of distant stars in that inky black.
[ Oh. Well. She's seen a lot of things in her decade-long career as innkeeper, but this is definitely... new, and one-of-a-kind. She tips her head curiously, her own flickering light of stars in her eyes following the movement of his tattoo, watching as ink moves across his skin and then out of it, taking a very three-dimensional shape indeed.
[ She startles a little, at its frigid and slippery feel around her finger.
Without really thinking, her hand moves, and the rest of her fingers curl around the tendril in turn, giving it something that resembles a handshake. ]
Are you controlling this, Winter? Or is it an extension of your patron's will...?
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Come join me. I think it's high time you knew, anyway.
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[ She pads along and sits next to him, though in that time, she finally does casts her gaze around at his suite. ]
...You were right, our rooms really are quite opposite of one another.
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I told you.
[ But anyone just looking at the two of them could probably discern that much. In nay case, once she's settled: ]
If I might start by asking, how familiar are you with things that live out among the stars? I imagine your family has experience with such things.
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Ah. Your imagination doesn't betray you. We came from the starry seas before anywhere else, after all— [ wait. correcting herself: ] Well, technically, the Feywild before that, but that history is even older.
[ though it is where the 'Heartleaf' surname came from. ]
Anyhow... I am a bit familiar, yes.
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Then, if you would picture an octopus the size of a planet, but instead of flesh, carve it from the void of space itself and all its myriad stars, you would have my patron.
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What isn't so easy to imagine, however... ]
And... How exactly did you come into contact with such an entity...?
[ She has a hypothesis or two of course, both related to his career, but for all she knows, he could have had a close encounter of the third kind as a child or something. ]
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Luck, mostly. They were being held captive in a relic in a strange old temple I visited on a job. I'd been injured, and they reached out to me and said if I freed them, they would save my life.
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Despite her best efforts to seem unaffected as she might have being told this at her place of work, Sumina finds herself crestfallen at the realization; her gaze wanders, ultimately settling on the painting of a tentacled creature on the wall. It's no surprise that her guests would be faced with impossible odds, and life-threatening situations. In fact, the inn was made for such people. Yet to know this about Winter in particular doesn't seem to settle right with her, when he had so easily become one of her favorite regulars. ]
I... I see. I must admit that I'd always wondered about your patron, or how you came to be a warlock, but...
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But gods above, that must wear on her. ]
It's all right. Sincerely. [ He tucks his hand beneath her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his own. His smile small, but genuine. ] As you can see I'm very much alive and well. And I have no regrets over my pact or my patron.
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Winter reaches out and gently redirects her gaze towards him, her eyelids fluttering wide at the touch, the gentleness of the gesture and his smile both stirring an aching feeling in her chest, but she swallows thickly - as if that would push that feeling down, too. ]
Then... What of your relationship with your patron, Winter?
[ She knows that can be a bit of a spectrum; she's met warlocks before with quite the tempestuous dynamic with their patrons, but Winter has never given her that kind of impression before. Still, she wants to hear it from him, to be certain of it. ]
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I would say it's probably as amicable as they come. They are happy to let me do as I please, and in exchange I share with them anything new or interesting I might come across in my work.
They desire knowledge above all else, but not for any real purpose. They love to learn simply for the sake of it, and no piece of information is too small or insignificant. Needless to say, they were quite enthusiastic about my accepting an invitation to this place.
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She is always, always worried about warlocks, honestly. ]
You... [ Well, there's really no other way to put it other than: ] You're incredibly lucky, Winter. Though I'm sure you're well-aware of that.
[ On the note of his patron's interest in this place, though... She can't help but wonder... ]
...Were they enthusiastic when you discovered my inn, too?
[ how many stars did her family's inn get on space octopus yelp??? ]
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[ He's lucky in a lot of regards. Lucky to have found his patron when he did, lucky that it was Khaluxszhutrithrhβthod he found in that temple and not some devil intent on cashing in his soul for whatever petty reason. One does not become a warlock lightly, and he'd have made the choice to do it regardless of what reached out to him in that moment.
Fortune had truly, truly smiled on him. ]
Oh, absolutely. They don't tend to understand mortal notions like birthdays and holidays, but the day I discovered your inn was probably the closest they got to that sort of joy.
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Really...!
[ Now, were Winter's patron anything other than a seemingly-benevolent, knowledge-seeking space cephalopod, Sumina might have felt more than a little uncertain about them having taken a keen interest in her family's inn. But as it is, knowing that they simply thirst for "new or interesting" things across the starry seas, and found their humble (?) little inn to be a place that would bring them joy?
It fills her with no small measure of joy for herself, but most of all pride, in what her family has built. In all that they have made it to be... ]
Wow. I think my family would be so thrilled to hear that, honestly. That their work brought joy to such an entity...
[ She says, almost distantly, as if she herself isn't someone who works tirelessly, their boots on the ground, so to speak. As if she wasn't the one standing at the front desk when Winter discovered the inn. ]
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Your work is included in that, you know. In fact, since the inn has been under your care since we met, I think you can take the lion's share of the credit.
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Hah... I appreciate it, Winter.
[ her lips curl into a fond little smile, though because she can't help but deflect with attempted humor, she adds: ]
You're not angling for a company discount, are you? I'm afraid I have no domain over that at the moment!
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Please, Sumina. If I wanted to butter you up, I'd have laid on the compliments a long time ago.
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[ She is well-aware of the way he uses butter. And also tentacles, apparently. ]
What else does your patron think about the inn? Tell me everything.
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[ She does not need to know the finer details of octopus yelp for now!! ]
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Are we? I was wondering about it, since I'd never seen you do anything that... Well, tentacley, for lack of a better word. Certainly not at the inn.
And now I have my answer. But you're making me wonder if there's much more to it than that...
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It waves at her. ]
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...She waves back. ]
All right. I am a little curious...
[ Can... she poke it. ]
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You can touch it if you want.
[ So saying, that tendril reaches for her in turn. She'll find it's cool to the touch... and a little slimy. It wraps itself around her finger. ]
:flurshed:
[ She startles a little, at its frigid and slippery feel around her finger.
Without really thinking, her hand moves, and the rest of her fingers curl around the tendril in turn, giving it something that resembles a handshake. ]
Are you controlling this, Winter? Or is it an extension of your patron's will...?
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[ It slithers through her grip to wrap loosely around her wrist. ]
Your hand is quite warm.
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