nexus_crossings | Mother always told me to never give away a story for free

"Honestly, all this bare chest and he hits home right in the fabric..."

Did the demonic looking purple stranger look at all put out by the new locale? Not really, they'd been given a pamphlet that was currently tucked into their belt to be reviewed later. Their attention more focused on the bloody hole in their rather ostentatious coat, lips quirking on a frown as they fingered the damaged fabric lightly, tail twitching behind them in a clear hint of their annoyance.

Really, they're looking rather calm for someone that bloody. When they hear someone coming near they glance up with a jingle of jewelry both in skin and decorating their curved horns, red eyes brightening as their mouth spreads to a cheerfully hopeful smile.

"Well then!" They straighten, something of a showmanship in the shift from grumpy contemplation to sunny disposition but at the same time that shift didn't seem dishonest either. "Hello there darling, please tell me there's some manner of tailor to be found here? As you can likely see I'm in dire need of one."

Clearly this was some manner of weird afterlife, but Mollymauk would be dipped in Fuck No if anyone expected them to wander around with their coat in tatters.

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"And it's not every day I encounter someone like you." Molly is not a human, and certainly not a gelfling. skekSa is always excited to encounter new peoples and cultures. "I'm sure we'll get along famously, Molly Tealeaf. It would be an honor. I own a tavern in the downtown area, and you're welcome to visit us any time..."

She looks over the wound, wondering who hurt Molly so grievously.

"There's one other thing. What kind of bilge-rat did that to you?" There's a hint of a growl in the Mariner's voice. She doesn't take kindly to people harming those she considers under her care.

"Well, I do like to say that I'm one of a kind, even amongst tieflings." Molly replied, brightening at the mention of a tavern, ring-decked hands clapping together in a ring of bangles. "A tavern though? So clearly I know where I'm going after my errands, a drink sounds a marvelous way to end a day, don't you think Captain?"

The mention of the injury does give at least slight pause as he glances down at it a moment. "Slaver. Nasty fellow, the sort that just tanks property values by existing in the vicinity. Luckily it wasn't just me there back home, so he's like as not to be poked full of all manner of unpleasant holes of his own sooner rather than later."

skekSa snarls. She knows the type all too well. When she hears the word slaver she thinks of skekNa, the one victim of skekSo's violence that she has no sympathy for, and skekSo himself. "I hope that the blackguard got what he deserved, lad. I have no tolerance for that ilk." Her feathers flare in anger before she consciously flattens them.

"Tiefling? I've never met a tiefling before." skekSa amiles. "Well, I imagine I must be your first skeksis. Let's share a drink after your errands, and we can tell each other about our homelands. I'll inform the others to expect you."

Edited 2021-02-21 03:24 (UTC)

"Oh I'm certain the rest of the Nein will be showing him what we all think of his kind." Molly replied in a light air of confidence.

"You are indeed my first skeksis! That does sound a delightful idea though, I would love to swap tales over drinks." He wasn't sure how much wild exaggeration he might employ, but that was part of the fun of conversation! "Maybe I'll even draw a card or two for you, Captain."

"Good riddance to him, then." The Mariner waves a clawed hand dismissively. "Else I'd run him through myself." She's joking, but only partially. She takes her protective duties seriously.

"I'd be honored. I believe I know how it works, if the cards you have are the kind I'm thinking of. A dear friend of mine taught me how tarot cards work. Robin Goodfellow. A charming lad, and rather like myself in some ways. A free spirit."

Good to note, the captain having that protective streak. A good friend to have in a troublesome situation, clearly. Not that this was his only goal in befriending her, he wasn't that transactional about relations.

"Tarot indeed! I like to think I've some skill in reading, we'll have to see how that translates to this place!" He was confident in his skills, and besides it was all in good fun.

skekSa's a clan patron, so it comes naturally to her. She goes out of the way to learn and use the names of all the Sifan gelflings she works with - something, frankly, most of the other Skeksis Lords couldn't be bothered with.

"Let's see, then." The captain's red eyes twinkle with excitement. Oh, she likes this one. She's not transactional, exactly, but she sees value in picking up alliances in various places. "You'll have to show this old salt how it's done."

A Captain would, if they didn't want a surly or otherwise prone to mutiny crew, need to have that sort of way about them- bonding a crew through more than a simple love of plunder or power that could be used to sunder the group by a clever saboteur. Not that skekSa's affect seemed in any way plotted or manipulative- she'd be foolish not to see the value in cultivating loyalty, but it seemed something genuine from the skeksis compared to some of the leaders Molly had seen about.

"Oh certainly!" Molly enthused as he turned, easily walking alongside her backwards, making it a bit easier to glance her way as they were moving, a flick of a hand revealing a deck of cards fanning between fingers, backed with twilight blue and lines of gold foil nearly as ostentatious as the tiefling himself. "We'll see what Fate might have to say to you, dear Captain skekSa!"

skekSa has had hundreds of trine to learn how best to tailor her leadership style - and "don't be like Emperor skekSo" provided a fairly good place to start. The Emperor got his way with other skeksis through fear and turning court members against each other, one of the reasons why there were very few sincere friendships to be found among skeksis. There was too little trust among them, for good reason, and too much loyalty or sincerity in front of the wrong skeksis invited betrayal.

That's one of the reasons, she suspects, why they became so cruel.

"Those are some fine cards, lad. Let's have a look at the tavern, shall we? Maybe share a drink or two over them. Story-spinning is a fine way to spend a drink."

"A fine idea Captain, a fine idea," Molly agreed, sleight of hand seeing those cards vanish once again from wherever they'd been slipped in the first place as he spun on a heel to walk the right way again. "Story-spinning is a delightful way to spend a drink, especially one shared with new friends, wouldn't you say?"

"You deal with cards?" The Mariner's interested. She's a sailor, so she's not unfamiliar with the associated superstitions. "I'm a pirate, smuggler, and clan patron, so I'm seen cards like that before." The Sifa don't have tarot, but they do have their own traditions and charms.

"I do indeed! I can read a person's fortunes from them if they're open to the process- past, present, possible future, it can be found if one is especially clever," He replied, quite content to walk with skekSa to her tavern. "I've used other reading tools at times, runes, bones, tea leaves, but I always gravitate back to the cards."

A grin as he lifts his brow. "Good way to play query games too, drawing cards. Or just straight up drinking games if you want to get really blasted."

Mother always told me to never give away a story for free

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