Back Home?-No Event-BYOA

[grimholdkeeper]

After a quiet night in his room, Balthazar wakes in a labyrinth of clutter and dust, sprawled across a threadbare red velvet divan. The smell of the place, and the feel, is so utterly familiar he sits bolt upright. Home? Home! Delight and relief are immediately replaced by a vague sense of regret. He can't quite remember where he thought he

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[purewhitepaws]

So this was the place. The tour-guide of another group had mentioned it in passing, and as if bewitched, he'd found himself pulled inside. Or rather, even if he'd considered not going in, he wouldn't have been able to

[grimholdkeeper]

He rocks him a little, trying to calm and soothe. After a few minutes, he shifts his grip to let Roi stand on his own feet. There may be skin damage from the corrosive blood, but hopefully it won't be too awful to stand. He's close by if Roi needs support. At last, stroking his shoulders, he turns off the water manually.

"A couple poultices might be in order...how do your mouth and throat feel?"

[purewhitepaws]

Once he's sure that he can't taste the blood anymore, he opens his mouth and carefully checks his teeth with the tip of his finger. His tongue feels like he drank a bunch of hot soup, but then didn't swallow after it started burning him. He's grateful that he can still feel that

[grimholdkeeper]

"I'm sorry." It's a sincere apology, and he brushes back Roi's hair worriedly before getting out and fetching a towel for him. "I didn't expect you to attack it; I should have warned you better."

He wraps the towel around him carefully. "Granted, I didn't expect there to be anything like that in this shop. I thought those things were extinct, actually. I hadn't seen any since the 16th century. But, not, the blood isn't poisonous, per se, just highly corrosive. Can you drink milk? I'll get you some, if you like. That should ease the pain in your mouth."

[purewhitepaws]

With his hair wet, it looks more silver than white, and his ears flick back at the gesture. Even so, Balthazar's commentary makes him question just what sort of person this guy is. "I... honestly didn't think I'd attack it either until I saw it. By then, it was either cower in a corner or attack it and see it as a hunt." A beat. Wait, Balthazar had asked him a question....

"I'd love some milk. The colder and higher fat content, the better." None of that skim crap - not that he'd snub his nose at it if that was all that there was.

He'd question him later.

[grimholdkeeper]

He's an unusual person, that's for sure. He smiles apologetically at Roi. "Can you make it out to the couch? I can carry you again if your feet hurt."

His clothes are soaked through, dripping on the floor, and he's getting cold, but he's more concerned about his injured guest. "And I buy full-fat organic usually. Tastes better."

[purewhitepaws]

"I can make it," he's quick to respond. He doesn't like the idea of being powerless.

"And that sounds good." His ears twitch, and then tilt back as he starts to walk towards the couch. Ow, painful feet. He'd tell Balthazar to change into something dry, but the lingering pain is too distracting. Once he finds the couch, he carefully curls up on it, tucking his injured feet up against himself and his tail across his lap.

[grimholdkeeper]

He makes sure he's settled and pulls an afghan over him, then squelches off to the kitchen to pour milk. He returns with a tall glass of liquid, setting it on the coffee table for Roi. "I'll be right back."

He leaves a trail of water behind him on the way to his bedroom. There's a sound of him rifling through drawers, then swearing as he discovers his wardrobe choices are severely limited. What the hell happened to all his clothes?

In the end, he emerges with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, which doesn't quite hide that he's been forced to resort to black pajamas made of some kind of semitransparent gauze. There was, of course, no way he was going to put on the matching thong, so the edges of his boxers are visible beneath the silky pants. The shirt is similarly translucent, enough to show some of his scars where the blanket doesn't quite cover him. He looks extremely flustered. "I'm...very sorry," he tells Roi. "I have no idea where this getup came from or why it's the least revealing thing in my closet."

[puresilverpaws]

The squishing noise of water makes Roi chuckle softly - just because it's an interesting noise. He happily accepts the milk and sips it carefully, wanting to further assess the damage done to his mouth.

He soon pauses and lifts his head a bit as he hears Balthazar cursing, and then stares at him as he returns. While such a thing might have made him want to laugh, he instead feels the blood rush to his face from how revealing it all is.

Plus, the material looks soft. He slowly sets the milk aside and tries to subtly shift how he sits. There's a definite thought of wonder as to what those boxers are hiding and -- god, what is he, a pervert?

Oh, wait, Balthazar was talking to him. He forgot how long ago. But probably too long between those words and him finally remembering to reply. "Ah, er, no, that's... that's alright."

[grimholdkeeper]

He looks deeply apologetic, mostly because he doesn't want Roi to think he's trying to seduce him. Not that he'd necessarily mind if--no, bad thoughts. He watches the younger man warily as he blushes, shifts, and stares wordlessly for a moment, but he relaxes when he replies. At least he's getting the benefit of the doubt for now.

He pulls the blanket closer around his shoulders and comes over to kneel by the couch. "Mind if I take a look at your feet? I can probably heal some of the soreness."

[puresilverpaws]

"You can look..." Carefully, he unfolded his legs, trying not to let the burns keep brushing against the towel or the couch.

"Man, I should have disrobed before transforming. Then my clothes wouldn't have gotten soaked and I'd have something clean to wear." In this way, he'd probably have to return to his hotel in cat form.

"Hey. You sounded like it was the truth when you mentioned not seeing that sort of basilisk since the 16th century."

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar raises an eyebrow at the idea of Roi stripping in the face of an angry basilisk. Well, it'd definitely be distracting.

Gently, he takes hold of an ankle and inspects the reddened skin. There's some blistering, but it doesn't look like anything that will scar. "I'd offer you something of mine, but like I said..." He blushes faintly. "This is the least inappropriate thing I have just now."

The pain begins to ease almost at once, Balthazar's ring glowing dimly. "I think I can heal this up. And...yes, I'm older than I look. Much older."

[puresilverpaws]

Roi's boxers are still soaked, come to think of it. At least they're dark in color, so they're not really see-through. Parts of them are a bit damaged from the corrosion. He hisses faintly as he feels his flesh healing - just because it's not something he's ever felt before. His expression quickly relaxes as even that limb begins to heal.

"That's a bit... odd? I've only known of other humanoids like myself with that capability. Not to your exact extent. We have the same life-span as humans internally, but we outwardly age a lot slower. I bet you've seen them before - some of them look like they're twenty or thirty, but really, they're in their late fifties, early seventies or so."

Carefully, he wriggles his toes. Testing the extent of the healing. "I'll probably just stick with the towel and my ruined boxers, then. At least that'll dry eventually. At least when I shift, my clothing doesn't determine whether or not I have fur."

He then looks at those rings on Balthazar's fingers.

[grimholdkeeper]

"I'm a sorcerer," he explains quietly, focused on his work. "My master cast a spell when I was thirty eight. That was over 1,400 years ago, and I'll keep going until I finish a certain quest."

He looks up again. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you before. I know of shapeshifters and lycanthropes, but not cats so much. I'm still not sure what's going on here, but with the darkness outside and the basilisk, I wonder if we've slipped into a pocket dimension or a convergence of worlds."

Of course, that doesn't explain the weird clothes. He sighs, remembering his dreams again, uncomfortably.

((And now I'm not getting notifications. :( ))

[puresilverpaws]

...Wow. But, some of this strikes him as familiar, and Roi isn't sure why.

"Perhaps it is. That explains why I didn't see any humanoids on my way here." Roi chewed on his lower lip, and leaned back against the couch. Pausing in order to sip more milk to soothe his aching mouth, he soon continued.

"And it explains why you wouldn't have heard of them. Where I'm from, for every human, you see a humanoid, just about." It probably doesn't fully explain why he hides his own features of that nature. Taking another sip of milk, he thinks on what he's just been told.

...And takes another long look at that revealing clothing. He can't help himself, it seems. He's still in some pain, and the eye-candy is rather nice.

{Me too, or I get them hours later. Good thing the refresh button and I are well-acquainted. p:}}

[grimholdkeeper]

Reaching the limit of what he can do for the one foot, Balthazar moves on to the next, easing pain and tenderness before trying to heal the damage. "When I woke up, just before you came in, I had a fleeting thought that I had arrived home from somewhere else, only I couldn't think where. And I know I dreamed...someplace strange."

Oblivious to Roi eying his outfit (and the blanket is slipping off his shoulders as if to encourage the ogling), he goes on, "I remember red walls, and some sort of sweet smell, like incense or scented candles. On top of that, you seem so familiar. I feel like I should know you. I don't think it's just a trick of my mind."

((I just can't track threads when I don't get my notifications. ^^; And LJ's acting a little funny for me tonight, but I'm hoping I can keep up better.))