(no subject)
*hangs up a 'Still Ain't Dead' sign*
…hoping to get back into the habit! Aheh. We'll see.
Title: A Quiet Moment in the Inn
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV
Rating: PG
Characters: K'pandolu Tohka (player character OC), Hallaka (retainer OC), mention of Sidurgu
Word count:
Note: Mostly I wanted to do a reaction to the second Dark Knight level 50 quest, so kind of spoilery for that!
Now that her armour was undone and set in the armoury until K'pandolu decided she was ready to leave, K'pandolu could let her hair down. She'd grown it out since the last time Hallaka had seen her- or perhaps the miqo'te simply hadn't bothered to cut it. Hallaka suspected the second was more likely, when K'pandolu could simply tuck it all away in her hair- and the state of it was just appalling, as though K'pandolu hadn't bothered to do much more than tie it up and bundle it away.
"You should call Jandelaine," she said, reaching out to card her hand through K'pandolu's hair.
To her surprise, K'pandolu didn't object, but she did yelp and try to pull away when Hallaka found a knot and tugged at it. "Hallaka!"
"It's all knotted," Hallaka pointed out, as if K'pandolu wasn't likely to have realised by now, and went back to trying to untangle K'pandolu's hair. K'pandolu made unhappy noises and her tail twitched, but not often enough that Hallaka thought it meant anything other than that K'pandolu wasn't enjoying the process much. "How did you let it get this bad?"
K'pandolu shrugged, her ears dropping against her head. "I simply… wasn't thinking about it," she said. "I heard… that one of the dark knights you hear of on occasion had been in a trial, and so I went to see if there was anything to see. There wasn't, much, but there was a soul crystal…"
Hallaka nodded, humming acknowledgement as she worked on K'pandolu's hair. She wasn't so familiar with the tales of dark knights, defenders according to their own code, but some of the tales had made their way to her community. And it was like K'pandolu to get caught up in something like that.
She let herself got caught up in her ministrations, reaching for a brush when K'pandolu's hair seemed more tameable, making occasional sounds of agreement- and then disapproval, as the implications of a dark side sank in. "What were you thinking, to let something like that try to take control of you?"
K'pandolu's ears went back, though thankfully not into the path of the brush, and she glanced up at Hallaka out of the corner of her eye. "That she sounded more sensible than just following blindly," she said. "And it was things I'd thought." She sighed, stretching out her legs. "I like to think I'd know myself better, now," she added. "And I did meet a proper Dark Knight, in the end."
"Oh?" Hallaka said politely, going back to brushing now that K'pandolu seemed settled again.
"Mm. He killed a man for me, which was sweet." K'pandolu paused and winced, before reaching up to try and untangle the knot Hallaka had managed to find at that precise point after a moment, as Hallaka was in fact too busy staring and trying to resolve what she'd just heard.
"What," she said in time, finding her voice.
K'pandolu turned to look at her this time, eyes wide. "Oh- it was misguided, of course." She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. Hallaka thought that she could fix that up herself, then, only Hallaka was still holding the brush. "Especially when he's staying in Ishgard, with a child alongside him. But it was sweet."
"I see," Hallaka said. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that this was probably just one of those things K'pandolu didn't see the same way she did, and it was frowned upon to brain one's employer with a hairbrush besides. "Are you going to speak with him again?"
K'pandolu nodded, eyes going distant. "She could do with another person to help, I should think," she said, and came back from whatever she'd been seeing, glancing at Hallaka's face. She reached out for Hallaka's shoulder, offering a small smile. "Don't worry. I've no intentions of letting rage take over me."
Hallaka nodded, because if there was one thing in this she trusted, it was K'pandolu's capacity to worry about the smallfolk. "I expect nothing less," she said, bringing the brush up again. "I should hate to be unexpectedly unemployed if you did."
…hoping to get back into the habit! Aheh. We'll see.
Title: A Quiet Moment in the Inn
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV
Rating: PG
Characters: K'pandolu Tohka (player character OC), Hallaka (retainer OC), mention of Sidurgu
Word count:
Note: Mostly I wanted to do a reaction to the second Dark Knight level 50 quest, so kind of spoilery for that!
Now that her armour was undone and set in the armoury until K'pandolu decided she was ready to leave, K'pandolu could let her hair down. She'd grown it out since the last time Hallaka had seen her- or perhaps the miqo'te simply hadn't bothered to cut it. Hallaka suspected the second was more likely, when K'pandolu could simply tuck it all away in her hair- and the state of it was just appalling, as though K'pandolu hadn't bothered to do much more than tie it up and bundle it away.
"You should call Jandelaine," she said, reaching out to card her hand through K'pandolu's hair.
To her surprise, K'pandolu didn't object, but she did yelp and try to pull away when Hallaka found a knot and tugged at it. "Hallaka!"
"It's all knotted," Hallaka pointed out, as if K'pandolu wasn't likely to have realised by now, and went back to trying to untangle K'pandolu's hair. K'pandolu made unhappy noises and her tail twitched, but not often enough that Hallaka thought it meant anything other than that K'pandolu wasn't enjoying the process much. "How did you let it get this bad?"
K'pandolu shrugged, her ears dropping against her head. "I simply… wasn't thinking about it," she said. "I heard… that one of the dark knights you hear of on occasion had been in a trial, and so I went to see if there was anything to see. There wasn't, much, but there was a soul crystal…"
Hallaka nodded, humming acknowledgement as she worked on K'pandolu's hair. She wasn't so familiar with the tales of dark knights, defenders according to their own code, but some of the tales had made their way to her community. And it was like K'pandolu to get caught up in something like that.
She let herself got caught up in her ministrations, reaching for a brush when K'pandolu's hair seemed more tameable, making occasional sounds of agreement- and then disapproval, as the implications of a dark side sank in. "What were you thinking, to let something like that try to take control of you?"
K'pandolu's ears went back, though thankfully not into the path of the brush, and she glanced up at Hallaka out of the corner of her eye. "That she sounded more sensible than just following blindly," she said. "And it was things I'd thought." She sighed, stretching out her legs. "I like to think I'd know myself better, now," she added. "And I did meet a proper Dark Knight, in the end."
"Oh?" Hallaka said politely, going back to brushing now that K'pandolu seemed settled again.
"Mm. He killed a man for me, which was sweet." K'pandolu paused and winced, before reaching up to try and untangle the knot Hallaka had managed to find at that precise point after a moment, as Hallaka was in fact too busy staring and trying to resolve what she'd just heard.
"What," she said in time, finding her voice.
K'pandolu turned to look at her this time, eyes wide. "Oh- it was misguided, of course." She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. Hallaka thought that she could fix that up herself, then, only Hallaka was still holding the brush. "Especially when he's staying in Ishgard, with a child alongside him. But it was sweet."
"I see," Hallaka said. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that this was probably just one of those things K'pandolu didn't see the same way she did, and it was frowned upon to brain one's employer with a hairbrush besides. "Are you going to speak with him again?"
K'pandolu nodded, eyes going distant. "She could do with another person to help, I should think," she said, and came back from whatever she'd been seeing, glancing at Hallaka's face. She reached out for Hallaka's shoulder, offering a small smile. "Don't worry. I've no intentions of letting rage take over me."
Hallaka nodded, because if there was one thing in this she trusted, it was K'pandolu's capacity to worry about the smallfolk. "I expect nothing less," she said, bringing the brush up again. "I should hate to be unexpectedly unemployed if you did."