[ action | open ] it starts with a rattle

[magus_majere]

(( OOC: Let me know if your character doesn't age, or would age slower than normal. Raistlin is cursed to see time as it effects all things. ))

---

The voice that disturbed the quiet of the Bay was a horrible, rasping whisper, "...Shirak."

Light, cold and sterile, blazed into sudden life from the crystal atop of the newcomer's staff. It had been thrust out into the dark in the grip of a thin, attenuated hand, and Raistlin Majere stared at the unfamiliar surroundings that greeted him from where he sat in the odd... bed? he'd woken in.

This wasn't the Abyss.

Nor did it look like some new, creative setting invented by Takhisis to torture him with.

Well, then.

Something new.

The mage let the bottom of his staff hit the floor, and used it to help him swing his legs over the side of the bed, struggling his way to standing in the damp cave. Raistlin stayed there for a minute, swaying in place, both hands clutching the staff for support as a wave of dizziness threatened to pitch him down into the murky water.

He knew he didn't dare linger longer than he must in the cold water seeping into his boots and creeping up the thick velvet of his black robes and cloak, but it would be worse to fall. The instant he felt able, Raistlin moved forward and eventually out of the water entirely, before pausing once more, this time to steady his breathing.

The rattle; the wet, sucking wheeze of it was as clear as the way the light glinted off his strange, metallic golden skin. Moving quickly, he retrieved a pouch of foul-smelling medicine from inside his robes to breathe into -- in, rattle, rasp, out, wheeeeze. In...

Don't cough, don't cough, don't cough!

Comments

[captain_by_the_book]

[OOC: Normie human but he's taken from post-canon death, if that matters.]

Cassian didn't often visit the Bay, not being a fan of beaches, but today an investigation had taken him to the area. It had seemed like a good idea to visit the place his second life had begun.

When he caught sight of the humanoid with the metallic golden skin, obviously a new arrival, he decided he must have been right to think so if in an unexpected way. He approached him slowly, not wishing to startle him.

"Hello. Do you require medical attention?"

[wonderland_vogue]

(Lydia's a lich, so she doesn't age anymore. Also her skeleton in a black robe self is visible if he can see through illusions since that's all that shit is.)

Honestly, why she bothered to come see what new arrivals had shown up was anyone's guess. It wasn't something she normally did by any stretch of the imagination but something had pulled at her to actually come and check this sort of thing out this time.

And she can't say it's disappointed her, this... person, thing, hell if she knew what he was, at least seemed different from the usual fare of this place. The skin in particular was rather interesting and she merely stood near the entrance to the bay, arms crossed over her chest and a slender brow raised in question.

"I have to say, you certainly stand out in a crowd. Though what are you?" Blunt and rude and to the point as usual.

[sarcastass]

[ooc: TOTALLY NORMAL HUMAN COMPLETELY NORMAL HUMAN WE'RE ALL NORMAL HERE NO ONE'S WEIRD HERE HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW HUMAN]

He almost thought, aaaalllllmost thought, that another shitty, constantly ill, wheezy bag of bones had decided to go spelunking for whatever reason in the bay caves. He was so ready to harass him.

He could do that, him and Tannusen were friends. It was allowed as long as no one got hurt. He has permission.

The hair was spot on, the robe color right.... and then it all just sort of fell apart after that because Szel's favorite wheezy angry alcoholic playmate was as white as bone.

Ain't none of that gold shit on him. He'd be tempted to think the priest had done something stupid, alchemy wise, but no. Nope.

That's not him. Which, honestly, spurred a little bit of curiosity. Hey, no one here has gold skin and is also made of flesh and blood, it's a curious affair.

So the first thing Raistlin is presented with is... Midge. A fat, fluffy corgi, golden eyes like a pair of saucers, nubby tail wiggling and stupid pink bandana bright enough to be seen from space.

"Bad day?" Ah, there he was, cane in hand, the smile just barely on the edge of being shit eating.

Look, look. He's bored, he's so bored, this isn't going to be personal he promises.

He hates everyone equally.

[magus_majere]

Well... good? With no Crysania or Caramon or even Dalamar -- or, gods forbid, Tasslehoff -- at hand to make play fetch, this stranger would do. Feeling the catch in his throat that signaled coughing wouldn't be held at bay for too much longer, Raistlin glanced over the stranger and managed to rasp out a couple words before it started.

"Hot... water!"

Aaaand there it went, Raistlin doubling over as the first of the coughs wracked his frail frame, one hand clutching the staff at his side for support as the other nearly dropped the pouch of foul-smelling herbs on the ground. The coughing sounded... in general, really not good. With no time to inhale properly between fits, the mage swayed visibly in place as his dizziness returned.

[magus_majere]

(( Hello fellow D&D canon! Going by his canon encounter with another lich lady, Raist won't see through it at first, but definitely will as the scene progresses. For the moment she'll just look immortal, which is enough to make him suspicious. ))

That skin of his gleamed like metal, but Raistlin's eyes were odder yet. Attention snapping to the stranger, his gaze followed suit from behind straggly, slightly damp white hair. Hourglass shaped pupils in the middle of unnaturally-golden irises.

A moment longer of breathing into the little pouch in his long fingers, and Raistlin's lungs finally un-clenched enough to let him lower it to his side. Not tucked back away yet, of course, he wasn't that far out of danger just yet. Still, here came that whisper of his, "...I could ask the same of you, my lady."

[magus_majere]

(( SO NORMAL. AND YOUR LITTLE DOG, TOO! (For anyone else paying attention, I've talked with Squid behind the scenes about how Raist will see Szelbutt and Midgebutt.) ))

Oh-ho, mockery. Raistlin's favorite. While many would have shrugged that 'level' of 'mockery' off, the mage was hyper-sensitive to the very whiff of that shit. He continued to breathe -- poorly -- into the pouch in his hand, and fixed Szel -- then Midge, and then Szel again -- with a decidedly unfriendly look.

"...Yes." The whisper was barely audible around all the rasping of his airway, and muffled into the pouch.

[sarcastass]

It'd definitely be an interesting sight for Raistlin, at least. The flashing of a multitude of black wings, visions of shredded, brilliant cloth. The smile anywhere from unpleasant to outright ghoulish at any point, while the animal sitting not far from the mages feet seemed to have a pair too many legs, fur and carapace, ears and antenna.

"It looks like it. I'd say welcome to Genessia, but I'm pretty sure there might be actual demilitarized zones more welcoming for you right now. Got something in your throat?"

[magus_majere]

The war-mage wouldn't argue the sentiment of those words, although he remained on guard about the tone the... creature, delivered them in.

Still, this place was already better than the Abyss. It didn't take much. At least he was standing.

Rather than reply with words, Raistlin's airway decided now was a great time to catch, and thus began the dreaded coughing fit. Tearing, wet, the scent of his blood was in the air after the third cough, with not enough chance to inhale again before the next. Raistlin swayed in place, clutching the staff at his side for support.

[sarcastass]

Oh, coughing!

"I guess the answer is yes!" And blood in it too, huh? Well shit, that was a bit more pronounced than his own wheezy windbag. The demon moved closer, those seen and unseen coal colored wings here and there and everywhere, smoke openly beginning to curl from the corners of his mouth.

Or perhaps, ragged gashes, it might be hard to tell.

"As much as I'd like to stand around and wait for you to finish, I actually do have some questions so-" A puff, just one cloud of sweet smelling smoke shot right at Raistin's face.

Akin to salbutamol, the mage might just begin to feel whatever was gumming him up starting to loosen and lessen, constricted airways relaxing.

[magus_majere]

It worked well enough! But when the effect started to take hold, Raistlin's head snapped up from his sleeve, a thin trail of blood trailing down his chin.

One hand still firmly clenched around the Staff of Magius, Raistlin's other snapped out to grab for a sooty black wing. His grip, if it landed, wasn't exactly gentle either -- there was more strength in those thin, bony, elegant fingers of his than anyone would have any reason to expect.

"What was that?"

[sarcastass]

This is the last time he does favors for wheezy fuckin strangers, goddamn.

He'd not expected the wings. The face, maybe. Hair grabbing attempt, maybe a shot at the cane.

Wings? That was a surprise. As far as he figured, no one could fucking see those shits. Raistlin got a good handful too, and all the oily soot that came along with them. The second he snagged them, all six wings openly flared fully into the physical plane, the shimmering sunset colors just beneath that film of dust and grease barely visible where Raistlin's hand had rubbed it off.

Not that he'd be given a lot of time to look at that because BITCH, NO TOUCHING. The reaction was violent and instantaneous: Szel was never a fan of being touched, but grabbing at the wings, of all things, was a surefire way to get a one way ticket on the Pain Train, and Raistlin was not gentle.

Teeth, needle sharp and far more numerous than one could count, were bared as he reeled back the hand that held his cane, both to strike with the cane itself, and spit a mouthful of poisonous black bile at the mages face. Midge, of course, was here to assist, all clattering carapace and vicious hissing, the clicking and rusty clattering, grating of gears sounding like an alarm as the lesser demon dropped its fuzzier shape in favor of the massive roach like insect he actually was.

RUMBLE.

[feckinboomstick]

Look, there were some products better found in Genessia City than Everglade. For instance, if you wanted spell components to say, curse someone with awful, nightmarish luck for the rest of their mortal life, you'd go to Everglade!

And if you wanted salami on sale... Genessia... Genessia might be a better choice, look he doesn't buy anything not on sale.

In his quest for half priced salami, he did actually have to walk past the bay cave and... Well. It was... it was hard to miss the person stumbling out of it. Both from what he could see and hear. Cassian almost, for one wild, confusing second, thought perhaps that was his own uncomfortable rattle, reaching for that stupid fucking inhaler at the pouch at his side before his brain caught up with him. His chest wasn't tight-

"... Ye alright, mate?" The newcomer at the cave, that was him?

[magus_majere]

Look, Raistlin was used to being a massive asshole about other peoples' space without it turning into a big fat roll for initiative moment.

So they both got to be surprised!

Used to dangerous creatures as he was, Raistlin was fast enough to get out of the way of the bile, but the cane was another story. It cracked down onto a thin, bony shoulder and earned a sharp, pained sound from the mage--

But his hand on the wing just squeezed tighter, the pain enraging the archmage! Power, enough power to slay a God, crackled just beneath his skin as he bared his bloodied teeth at the winged creature.

"You will stop!"

[sarcastass]

Red on white for Raistlin, and black on white for Szel, the demons face openly splitting from ear to ear as pain lanced through the wing Raistlin had grabbed. Those feathers, while they'd feel most certainly like proper feathers, seemed to threaten to crack and shatter like so many thin panes of glass, the colors beneath them surging and pulsing.

There was a lot of things going through his head right now. Logic and emotion duking it out. He wanted to just teleport back to the fortress. Eat and drink and tantrum until he wasn't as mad anymore- Chances were he was going to be angry about this for the rest of his life.

He also wanted to beat this person in the face until he was right. Both of these sounded good, but he couldn't have both, because he didn't want this thing in his house.

So here they were, two assholes in the street, yelling at each other.

"I'll stop when you let go!"

EXPERT LEVEL DEBATE.

[magus_majere]

WELL LOOK YOU ALREADY STOPPED SO--

SO

So Raistlin let go of the wing! And backed away a few steps, wheezing into his sleeve again while staring balefully at Szel from over the top of it. Szel... and the pulsing colors where his own hand had smeared away the soot.

"...You... have my apologies."

Well.

[sarcastass]

The wings snapped back to him, Midge scuttling across the wings themselves to carefully hang from them, inspecting for damage. He was, after all, the goddamn eyes here, clicking and humming gently as he set about trying to soothe them.

A long, pointed tongue slithered from his mouth to lick at the exposed wounds on his face, poisonous saliva trailing down in ribbons, mixed with tainted, black blood.

Ugly. His face twisted, and he moved a hand to wipe at them, smoothing the wounds themselves away, so it might seem.

Only temporarily for Raistlin though, unknown to the fallen seraph himself. The motion only angered the wounds, but the only indication it might hurt was the barest twitch of his lips, exposing rows of sharpened teeth.

"I'd hope so, I was trying to help you. That's the last time I help anyone, you've ruined it."

[magus_majere]

"You surprised me," now that he wasn't yelling (bordering on high pitched shrieking), Raistlin's voice was back to a whisper.

[sarcastass]

"The feeling's mutual, I can assure you." Oh look, admitting something surprised him, the world must be ending. All he could see right now were his wings, the soot slowly starting to creep back over the exposed colors, even under Midge's care. Of course, the bug wasn't even trying to keep them clean, merely inspecting and straightening.

"You shouldn't be able to see them, let alone touch them."

[blackrose_born]

The next creature he meets in this strange realm is... very short. Maybe even shorter than Tasslehoff. She almost passes the odd hyur by, intent as she is on her errand, but his rattling wheeze stops her. "You have the look and sound of a man who's in dire need of help." What kind of help? Physical, surely, but there's more to it than that. The man's aether is seething, a roiling mass of darkness that she doesn't even need the special goggles Sharlayans use to sense it. "Here. Sit a moment, and I'll fetch you something for that cough."

She appears to be wearing robes of some kind, though what self-respecting magus would wear black AND white? The book on her belt seems legitimate enough, though.

[magus_majere]

"I see many things I am not supposed to," oh that was real reassuring. And those cursed eyes of his stayed locked on Szel, and on Midge as well; cataloging, studying, but he was good at hiding that sort of thing when he felt like bothering.

And Raistlin felt like bothering now, if only to prolong how long he had to study.

"What manner of creature are you?"

[sarcastass]

"Oh how reassuring, thanks. I'll remember that." See if he helps your shitty fuckass lungs again. The wings now carefully restored, Midge moves to climb back to his master's shoulder, settling around them neatly before glaring balefully back at Raistlin.

"An annoyed one. Before we start answering questions, I'm going to lay down a few rules, starting and ending with do not touch me goddamn ever."

[magus_majere]

The faintest, slightest smirk quirked Raistlin's thin lips. "Then I suggest staying out of reach."

Raistlin is that helping do you consider that helping. Well... helping him keep his own personal space, maybe?

[sarcastass]

"I'm going to let you choke next time." Like there's ever gonna be one. He fixes his lapels though, leaving the wings, at the very least, in full and total view.

"I'm a demon. I'm pretty sure that answers all the rest of the questions you'll have too."

[magus_majere]

A demon? This... person, didn't resemble any demon he'd encountered before, but Raistlin just filed that away for further research.

"Very well," and then, with a relatively long-suffering sigh, "you said you had questions as well."

[sarcastass]

"Yes, I do. First and foremost now-" He gestured at his wings sharply.

"How. Why. What else are you seeing." It's important, trust him.