Callie Meets Ellyssa Flamewing (4/5/16)

[CallieO]

With our dear friend Ellyssa Flamewing having announced her retirement from TLI, I want to share the very first roleplay that Callie ever had with her.

Elly, you will be missed.

April 5, 2016
#TLI-Forest

Callie Volopa is high above the treetops on the back of her dark red mephos mount, Maraqwai, heading east from town towards her home near the Unigo Tower. The five-tailed, red-furred vixen of the Verlosi Tribe is really letting Maraqwai show what she can do, flying high and fast, forcing Callie to keep a tight grip on the reins to avoid slipping off. Fortunately, she has a Feather Fall spell active just in case that should happen. As she heads towards home, she's as yet unaware that someone's crossing her lot...

<+Redwing> Tripping on her lot, is more like it. The virtually naked redwing mumbles a tired but heartfelt goblin curse as her bare, bruised foot catches on a root and she tumbles hard to the ground for what seems like the ten thousandth time! The blanket which is her only clothing falls free revealing a naked body covered in bruises, scrapes and scratches. She wishes for the HUNDRED thousandth time that she had her sight back and that she could remember her NAME even. Blindly, she fumbles to pick up the cane that serves as a walking stick, the flute and her blanket...

As Maraqwai flies over Callie's lot, she slows down, and makes a particular noise to let Callie know there's someone down there. Mephoses have phenomenal eyesight. Callie casts a Light spell and illuminates Ellyssa's nude and battered body. Gently, she lowers Maraqwai to the ground, summoning an Elemental Servant to help stow the mephos into the stable. Now she approaches the redwinged torian. "Hello," she calls out. "Are you all right?"

+Redwing It's not as if her hearing has improved since she lost her sight, but she has learned to pay more attention to the sounds around her, so when she hears the beating of large wings she leaps to her feet with something approaching her old grace (at 21, the maiden is not old, simply very tired), forgetting her blanket as she holds out the paltry cane in the direction of the noise. She hears a friendly sounding voice nearby and relaxes fractionally. "Y-yes, I'm fine" she manages in a slightly hoarse voice, though her mild shivering belies her assertation somewhat.

Callie looks over Ellyssa's body. "Looks like you've been having a rough time of it, hon," she says with a sympathetic smile. "I'm Callie Volopa, Musha Villa of the Verlosi vulpine tribe. Welcome to my home. You must be cold... please, come in and rest yourself. Consider yourself an honored guest in my house."

<+Redwing> Hearing, or perhaps hoping she hears a smile in that voice, the blind girl relaxes just a little more and lowers her cane. "I guess maybe I am a LITTLE cold" she admits. "Was that you making that flapping noise? Wait a minute!" Her voice gets a little harder. "You're not an Air Mage are you?" And in a smaller voice she adds "please tell me you're not a Duessa".

Callie's large triangular ears atop her head aren't just for show, and she hears even her sotto voce plea from this distance. She walks slightly towards the torian and says, "I'm a vulpine, actually-- a five-tailed one. And a water mage. That flapping noise you heard was me flying on my mephos mount. Mephoses are basically smaller, mortal dragons. I assure you, you have nothing to fear from me."

Redwing shivers at the mention of dragons. At least those are something she remembers. Speaking in a more normal voice she responds "I hope that's true. I'm tired! Er, what should I call you?" Slowly she bends down to retrieve the dropped blanket, momentarily transferring the ornate flute in her left hand to join the cane in her right.

The redwinged torian wasn't the world's greatest listener, was she? But then, she seems pretty banged up. By the way she's patting the ground to try and find her blanket, Callie deduces that she's blind, too. "As I said, my name's Callie, hon. That's what I go by." She takes the short walk over to the door of her two-story brick house, and opens it. "Won't you join me inside?" she asks.

Redwing blushes as she remembers that the stranger had already given her name. With a curious combination of clumsiness and practiced skill, she wraps the blanket around herself, covering most of the essentials and ties the ends together at her side. She walks carefully over to the door which of course she couldn't see, even if she wasn't wearing a blindfold. She hesitantly steps over the threshold, using the cane to ensure that she doesn't bump into anything else and stops just inside the door to one side. "Thank you for your hospitality Callie" she says. "I've grown unused to kindness from strangers."

Callie smiles sweetly, and gently leads Ellyssa into a dining room chair, so she'd be seated in front of Callie and to her right when the vixen sits down a little later. "Hospitality is what I'm all about," the fox assures the torian. "I make lots of friends this way." She closes the door, and the temperature increase is felt almost immediately. She has tremendous insulation in this house, along with a roaring fireplace in the living room, where her roommate's dog, Mico, is lying in a blanket, snuggled by Callie's cat familiar, Caroline. Mico's recovering from a recent injury. Seeing that her slave Kura has made some hot chocolate, Callie says, "Can I interest you in some hot chocolate?"

<+Redwing> "I don't know what chocolate is" she says "but I would welcome something hot. Spring is better than winter, but it's still a bit on the chilly side." She hesitates for a moment, turning her head as if to look around. "Can you tell me where I am? ... In the world, I mean. I'm afraid all the world looks the same to me." She gratefully sinks into the chair she can feel against the backs of her bare calves and sighs in relief. She is so unused to sitting on furniture that she almost forgets to adjust her flame colored, but dirt covered wings so they don't get crushed. "Oh no!" she suddenly exclaims "I'm going to ruin your furniture!"

Callie's surprise at hearing that the torian doesn't know what chocolate is, is soon beaten by the fact that she has no idea where she is in the world, even. "You're in the Ilifrian Empire, in the Greater Nanthalino area. The city of Nanthalion proper is about ten miles west of here. The nearest landmark is the Unigo Tower, which is within 15 minutes' walking distance to the northeast." When the torian makes her exclamation, Callie waves it off. "Don't worry; I have the Clean spell."

<+Redwing> "Oh." The maiden nods wisely as if if those names meant anything to her at all. "I've never heard of those places. But one city is as good as another when you're blind. The Clean spell? Sounds useful" she muses aloud. "So, tell me about yourself Callie" she says somewhat lamely. "Do you take in drifters often? Aren't you afraid they might be untrustworthy?"

"Well, the only way to see if someone is trustworthy, is to trust them," Callie says. "I'm not particularly worried about my own personal safety, however-- I'm a very powerful water mage, and I don't need a weapon to be deadly. I generally take in people who appear lost, weak, and helpless, and offer them dinner, a guest room, breakfast, and a morning ride to wherever they wish to go. How did you become blind?" she asks her.

<+Redwing> "I-I don't know" she stutters with a catch in her voice as her throat scratches. "I know it was done to me by an Air Mage, but I don't remember much of my captivity. I don't remember my name or who I was before I was a prisoner. I don't even remember how I escaped, if that's what happened. It was a long way from here, I think but it's hard to tell. I've been wandering for what feels like months! Some people called me 'Redwing' as they were stooping to pick up stones to throw at me. It's as good a name as any, I suppose."

Callie pours the hot chocolate into two tall coffee mugs that have lids with a small hole on the top. Then she sits down at the head of the table, and takes the torian's hand, running her thumb against the woman's knuckles in a vulpine gesture of support and comfort called 'smalza' in Vulpani. "I'm so sorry, hon," the vixen says. "I've met many torians, and I know of the brutality they can be capable of against non-brightwings."

<+Redwing> Her slender hand flinches momentarily as if from an anticipated blow and then stills. "Yes" she murmurs with a wry smile. "It figures THAT would be something I CAN remember!" She carefully picks up the hot beverage and sips. "Oh!" She exclaims. "That's WONDERFUL!"

Callie smiles softly. "I'm glad you like the drink," she says. "And yes, it seems to be sapient nature to be hostile to those you consider inferior or frightening. With vulpines, it's a tail thing-- my best friend, Syl`zhalti, was tormented for many years because she didn't have a tail. Goes to show that no race is perfect."

Ellyssa nods in the direction of her unseen benefactor and briefly squeezes the hand that holds hers in response. "It's a hard world" the redwing said with heartfelt sincerity. "But I suppose there are good people to bring leaven to the mix. You don't know how much good it does me to have someone deal kindly with me after months of hardship. Thank you so very much!"

Callie's smile grows even warmer. "It's my pleasure, hon. And you're welcome here at any time. May you find *other* friends here, too. I only wish it was easy to tell the nice people from the dangerous ones." Callie hmms softly. "So, I'll put together a meal for us, if you're hungry. Do you have any special dietary requirements or food allergies I should know about?"

Ellyssa smiles wryly. "None that I know of milady, I feel like I could eat anything!" She takes another sip of the beverage. "Is there anything I can do for you, milady? As a token of appreciation, or to help out, let's say? I don't like feeling useless, even if it's true."

Callie considers carefully. "There's really nothing that comes to mind, at the moment," she admits. "Obviously I wouldn't ask you to wash your own dishes or anything, given your current condition. But I promise, if I can think of something reasonable, I'll let you know." Callie remains seated, and casts Elemental Servant, speaking a word of Ancient Vulpani and wiggling the fingers of her left hand just so. Appearing in front of the stove is a hard-water duplicate of herself, colored translucent-blue, which immediately begins getting some chicken out of the meat cooler as it starts to work on chicken jinjona skewers. Realizing that Ellyssa would be able to hear it but not see it, she explains, "I just cast Elemental Servant, creating a magical minion that'll do the cooking for me, leaving me free to talk to you."

Ellyssa nods reflexively, disappointed, but understanding. "That's magic, right? I wish I could do magic, it seems so fascinating. You're a water mage? So does that mean there's a creature made of water wandering around here doing your bidding? If it's not impertinent, how does a vulpine become a water mage? Did you really like swimming or something?"

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