dagger_dagger_dagger | my friends and i, we got a lot of problems (rp for ihatepuns)

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my friends and i, we got a lot of problems (rp for ihatepuns)

The morning after returning to Emon and Vox Machnia is right back where it started. Sort of. They are, thankfully, not still in the Underdark and there's light, real light, spilling in from the window beyond the table and turning the remains of more than a dozen breakfast dishes from silver to gold, but the arguments have started again. Vax really isn't surprised, given the gravity of the situation, the Horn, whether or not they can trust Kima and her people, whether or not they can trust Allura for the same reasons, but they're all going around in circles, now, and anytime someone tries to step up, to say their idea is what they're going with, the end, the others shoot them down in unison. It's the only thing they can seem to agree on, really, and it's getting fucking tedious.

That in mind and despite the fact that he already unofficially excused himself from this conversation long ago, throwing the towel in on trying to be heard over the others, he shoots a sideways glance at Clarota. A glance turns into a thoughtful look, accompanied by a frown, a moment after that, and a moment after that, Vax focuses himself inwards, practically shouting in his own head, even if his only outwards tell is him vaguely tilting in Clarota's direction.

Hey, Noodles. If I think really loud, can you hear me?

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Clarota is getting more comfortable with the idea of calling them 'friends', if just because he's not sure 'allies' is a strong enough word to describe his relationship with the rest of the party, now. It might still be a while before he calls any of them that himself, though. It's one more thing to adjust to.

Clarota looks a little wide-eyed as they moved through the city though it has more to do with everything there is to see here than it does him getting overwhelmed. He's okay so far, anyway, even if there are a couple of moments of wordless unease that filter into Vax's brain. They fade quickly at any rate.

For now, he's just sticking close to Vax and letting him lead the way to this other friend of his.

Vax catches that and tries to offer him comfort in return, as best he can, not being the one in control of the whole mindlink thing. It's okay. He's doing well. They're almost there. Let him know if he needs to stop, despite all that. And so on and so forth.

Thankfully, as promised, it's really not that far to Gilmore's. Sooner rather than later, they're standing outside it and just a second after that, Vax is parting the curtains and beads to let them in. He glances back at Clarota as they enter, to make sure he's still following and, with some amusement, to judge his reaction to the exterior and interior both, and then heads for the counter at the far end. Sherri, Gilmore's half-elf assistant, looks up from a book she has spread out on the counter, obviously bored. Her attentions don't seem to linger on Clarota for long or for more than his height.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, hi. I was wondering if Shaun was in?" It didn't occur to him until now to think that Gilmore might not be.

If Sherri has an answer, however, it dies on her lips as Gilmore himself practically bursts out of the back room, his robes and the beads of the curtain dividing the shop from his living space swirling around him. He grins widely, arms spreading wider as he makes his way around the counter, and pulls Vax into an immediate hug. Vax returns it wholeheartedly and as they step back, Gilmore practically chirps, "Vax'ildan. It's been far too long." He pauses, finally seeming to notice Clarota, and looks between the two of them, smile unfaded, before continuing, "You going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Yeah." A beat. "Yeah." And he waves Clarota closer. "Shaun Gilmore, Clarota. Clarota, Shaun Gilmore."

Clarota stops outside the shop, looking it over, some of the amazement clouded with puzzlement as he looks back to Vax. There is cloth on the outside? he asks even while he's moving to follow Vax into the shop a little hesitantly, hands coming up closer to his chest. He tilts his head to consider Sherri for a moment, even after she looks away from him.

Gilmore's arrival and greeting of Vax leads to him practically recoiling, startled by the wizard's enthusiasm. He looks even more unsure at the introduction, looking between Vax and Gilmore again before he takes the smallest step forward. He's not actually sure what to say, though, still wary, and just settles for nodding.

"Strong, silent type, huh?" Gilmore starts, holding out a hand to Clarota. "I can get behind that."

Vax looks between the two of them, and whether or not Clarota actually takes his hand for the shake, he starts, "Look, Shaun. Can we take this somewhere private? We've kind of got something we need to talk to you about."

"Business or pleasure?"

"Little of both?" Vax admits, glancing to Clarota again.

This time, Gilmore follows his gaze, some of his amicability fading into something more thoughtful, and then he turns, heading back towards the counter. "Follow me."

Clarota does reach out to return the handshake, his long, thin fingers almost meeting again on the back of Gilmore's hand. He steps back again when Vax speaks, offering Gilmore a grateful look as he does finally speak, projecting his voice into Vax and Gilmore's minds. I appreciate your time, he offers as he follows the two other men through the beaded curtain and toward Gilmore's personal spaces in the back of the shop.

He gets maybe twenty feet down the hallway that leads to the private areas of the shop before he feels something trigger, sees a familiar spark of arcane magic as the glyph trips, feeling its effect as though someone has dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. He feels the illusion dissipate, almost seeing the remnants of the spell falling away from him. He backpedals a few steps as soon as he realizes what just happened, struggling to pull together enough focus to cast a spell of his own and turn himself invisible again before he's seen.

Gilmore feels the glyph trigger, like a flash of fire at his back as the energy flares then dissipates all at once, its job done. He shoots a glance over his shoulder, confused as to what set it off, as he knows Vax doesn't have any magic of his own to dispel and doesn't suspect Clarota, even considering the fact that he can apparently get in his head. That glyph is meant to stop thieves who might try and sneak in, invisible or disguised, and raid his personal stash and --

And his heart leaps into his throat at the sight of Clarota, the real sight of him. He doesn't stop to think that this sure explains a few things or that maybe Vax knew and that's what this was all about, he just reacts, pulling power to his hands as he wheels around to face them, his stance all at once defensive. The energy coalesces into something swirling and sick-green, fit to his fingers like a glove, but he doesn't reach out to discharge it, just yet. Mostly because, all at once, Vax is between them, his hands held up placatingly.

"Vax'ildan," Gilmore hisses, something trembling in his voice.

"Shaun," Vax counters, shaking his head. "Shaun, listen to me. It's alright, he's a friend. This is what we wanted to talk to you about."

Clarota immediately lets the spell go once it's clear Gilmore's seen him, his hands going up too to show he has let the magic go as the tentacles on his face pull up, twitching slightly, anxiously. I mean you no harm, Clarota assures Gilmore, softly, sincerely, and a little urgently.

This is what he was afraid of, of something going bad, and while he won't retaliate if Gilmore does decide to attack him, he still seems poised to run.

Magic still wound around his fingers, Gilmore glances between Vax, Clarota and back again several times before finally lowering his hands. He shakes them out and the magic falls away in thick globs that wick away to nothing before they ever hit the ground. A moment of hesitation follows, a breath out, and then he turns, robes sweeping around him as he continues on down the hallway.

"You'd better be following," he all but singsongs, without glancing back to them.

Vax hesitates only long enough to shoot Clarota an apologetic look and tilt his head in Gilmore's direction as if to say you heard the man before moving to, yes, follow.

Clarota sighs a little but brushes aside Vax's unspoken apology as he gestures for Vax to go before him. He does follow after that, posture still anxious, the tentacles around his mouth still a giveaway for how nervous he is as they twitch faintly as he follows Vax and Gilmore farther down the hall.

Pushing aside another curtain of beads as they reach it, Gilmore leads the way into what are clearly his living quarters. As the curtain falls back into place behind them, the sound from the shop and the city beyond it seems to quiet all at once, a sense of magic enveloping the room, though Gilmore is not the source of it -- not immediately, anyway. He may have spelled the room to block out sound, to keep people from eavesdropping on his private conversations, to keep them from hearing him getting ready for bed, but that was some time ago.

That in mind, this old hat for him, he doesn't react to the sudden drop in sound -- nor does he look back at Clarota or Vax as he gestures them to sit at a table near the front of the room. Instead, he heads further into the room, back towards a smaller area, divided from the rest by fancifully painted screens, and disappears behind them. He returns several seconds later, and after a handful of colorful swears, an a aha and a laugh, a crystal in hand.

"So," he starts, setting it in front of the table. "This is a little outside of my area of expertise, but -- well, I traded a bard a ring for this, awhile back."

"What is it?" Vax asks, leaning forward over the back of a chair, still standing, to squint at it.

"Long story short?" And without getting technical. "When I turn it on, no one will be able to lie in here." Theoretically. Rather than add that, though, he glances towards Clarota, his eyebrows raised. "I hope you don't mind?" It's not really as much of a question as it seems to be. This is the only way he'll be comfortable with this until he's comfortable with this.

Clarota looks around a little as they move into Gilmore's quarters, interested despite his unease. As he had mentioned to Tiberius when they had first met, he is interested in how others make use of the arcane, especially when they are allowed to do so openly instead of keeping it more of a secret, as he was forced to.

While Vax remains standing, Clarota does sit, hoping not looming so much over the rest of the room might do something to help make Gilmore more comfortable.

He tilts his head to consider the crystal as Gilmore returns with it and presents it, and then inclines his head a little. I do not mind, he assures him, his voice still in Gilmore's head. We have no reason to lie to you.

"What Noodles said," Vax agrees, shrugging.

"Alright, then," Gilmore says, reaching to touch his fingers to the crystal. It sparks bright white, then fades, still glowing but with ambient light, now. Satisfied, he shifts away from the table long enough to sit down. "So ... "

"So, we took a little trip to the Underdark, recently, yeah?" Vax starts. He glances to Clarota, then nods in his direction as he returns his attentions to Gilmore. "Long story, but Keyleth and my sister found him, away from the rest of the people, and we kind of -- well, like I said, he's a friend."

Edited 2017-03-31 03:26 (UTC)

They offered to help me get revenge against the one who had corrupted my people, Clarota offers. I promised my help with their quest to find their lost ally in return.

He knows he'll have to explain how he came to return to Emon with the party, but he's not going to volunteer that unless asked.

"One of Allura's friends," Vax puts in, when Clarota stops. "Lady Kima of Vord."

Gilmore takes a moment, as if he's trying to place Kima's name. He knows of Allura, even if he doesn't know her personally, but Kima -- no, doesn't ring a bell. Still, he trusts what they're saying is the truth, if only because it has to be, and while he shakes his head faintly, he doesn't protest.

"It got messy, near the end," Vax continues when Gilmore doesn't. He's comfortable skating over the finer details, for now, even if he still trusts Shaun with all of this, despite his reaction. What happened exactly isn't his story to tell. "Clarota helped us all get out alive, and we brought him with us. Tiberius put the spell on him, to make him look human, so nobody panicked."

He also saved my life, Clarota feels the need to add, with a look to Vax to indicate he means him and not Tiberius.

My... apologies for frightening you. He had suggested you might have something more permanent than spells. Clearly having one wear off at an... inopportune moment can cause its own problems. He does look a little bothered by the whole thing, still a little anxious that he's going to end up getting attacked here after all, even with Vax defending him, and actually sorry that Gilmore didn't know ahead of time what was walking into his house.

Gilmore quirks an eyebrow, surprised in spite of everything that Clarota thought to apologize -- and that it's genuine. That's not something he would have expected from a fucking Mind Flayer and, once he gets a handle on that shock, goes a long way towards calming him down. He's still not entirely comfortable, but he's getting there, and that much is made obvious as he blows out a breath, deflating a little with it.

"Well," he starts, shrugging, "we don't get many of your people up here." So, having one suddenly in his shop would scare the living shit out of anyone, he thinks. "But ... if I don't have something, upstairs, I could start working on something."

That is a fact most people are glad of, I think, Clarota returns in his same tone, and yes, Vax, that was a joke, try not to pass out.

When it's clear Gilmore's relaxing, Clarota does, too, the tentacles around his face relaxing, moving more gently as he breathes and speaks. My people do not commonly travel above ground without.. extenuating circumstances. Like being cast out, like he was.

Anything you can provide would be appreciated. He looks to Vax, though he keeps broadcasting to them both, just so Gilmore doesn't get an idea that he might be up to something after all. Though I may need to borrow the funds from your treasury.

Has anyone mentioned he's probably wearing something borrowed from the rest of Vox Machina that is likely too small for him? Because that's probably what's going on.

Vax makes a show of having a heart attack, because yes, he caught that -- and then waves Clarota off. He's pretty sure Vex won't mind them taking a little money out of the treasury to help one of their own. Probably. Maybe. If she does, he can smooth it over by reminding her that they have money coming in from Kraghammer, if and when they get back there. Whichever way it goes, it'll work out.

Gilmore, on the other hand, looks thoughtful for a moment before, "Why don't we go up and have a look?" A beat. "I can redo the spell Tiberius cast, beforehand." He's more comfortable with that than leaving Vax and Clarota in his living space, even if he's pretty sure they wouldn't take anything.

Clarota wouldn't take anything, but he would also feel even more awkward being here without Gilmore in the room with them, and he nods and extends a hand toward him, palm up, fingers slightly curled. When you are ready.

"Two seconds, then," he promises, leaning back across the table to reach for the crystal still sitting in its center. For a handful of heartbeats, he just holds it, tempted to bring it with them, a security blanket when he's still not entirely comfortable with any of this, and then he decides against it. He can trust Vax, if not Clarota just yet.

That in mind, he brings the crystal up to his face, blowing a breath over it, like putting out a candle, and like a candle, the steady glow it's been emitting goes out suddenly. He carries it back to where ever he took it from, behind the screens, and returns a second later, shaking out the sleeves of his robe in a dramatic fashion, readying himself for casting the spell he offered with flair.

"Okay, here we go ... " And suddenly, Clarota is human in appearance again.

Clarota just nods again to that, waits while Gilmore puts the crystal away again. He does tense a little despite himself as Gilmore prepares to cast - though he immediately relaxes again when he looks down at himself and sees the illusion back in place. Not that he thought Gilmore was going to try something, but, well. He has plenty of reason to be paranoid, really.

He doesn't actually mention that, though. Thank you. He pauses a beat before speaking again, a little tentatively. Not today, perhaps, but I would like to compare notes on spells with you someday. My magic was... frowned upon, among my people.

He still wants to talk to Tiberius, too, but he's mildly giddy about having access to so many arcane casters.

"Definitely not today," Gilmore answers on a breath of a not-quite-hysterical laugh. Today has been -- well, something. Vax shoots him an apologetic look, catching onto that, and while he blames him for this mindfuck, he also doesn't blame him. That in mind, he waves him off before continuing, "But sometime, yeah. How often am I going to get to trade secrets with ... "

A Mind Flayer. Is that racist, calling him that? Does he prefer the term Illithid? Does he not want to be associated with what he is, at all, like Vax and Vex don't like having attention drawn solely to their elven heritage? He doesn't know.

" ... err, one of your people," he finishes, that in mind.

Clarota manages to look apologetic again, too. He tilts his head a little at the pause, trying to pick that up without actually digging. He doesn't pry, though, just straightens again. Not often without great personal danger.

"Nail on the head," Gilmore answers, surprisingly lightly all things considered. It's the best he can do to wave off that apology without actually waving him off. "But anyway. You ready to head upstairs?"

A beat.

"I promise the glyph won't trigger again." The trap he set was a one-time use sort of thing, like a mousetrap. He'll have to reset it, magically, before it works again.

Clarota gestures. I'll follow you, he agrees, and he is planning to wait until Gilmore and Vax start out of the room before he stands up, considering his height and manner of movement are still not entirely natural. If he can avoid making Gilmore even more uncomfortable, he will.

my friends and i, we got a lot of problems (rp for ihatepuns)

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