Active (1X1 Tea Party) [The Republic - The Winter Cottage in the foothills] - After the Tempests

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

With Cahron at her side Lauren charged towards the goons with her shield still deployed, though they seemed all too eager to get out of their way to help Catston out of the snowbank. Thankfully their cowardice bought the two of them time to put some distance between their three pursuers, rapidly approaching the icy bridge they had crossed earlier. She slowed to a stop as an idea started to form in her head, as while the creak was shallow enough to wade through it was too wide for her--even in a full sprint--to jump across. And she had her doubts that Catston would even consider crossing the creak itself. As her shield finally faded and she looked to Cahron shortly after he spoke he swept her off her feet, carrying her across bridal style as the bridge beneathe them creaked a little from their combined weight. Once they both had crossed and made it a little ways up the slope she was put back down onto her feet, a slight smile forming across her lips as she watched Catston and his goons make it to the bridge. They were making utter fools of themselves, and as Cahron asked if they were on the same page she gave him a smug look and a firm nod.
"Absolutely! I can't wait to see you drop-kick his furry ass into the frigid water stream!" Lauren excitedly agreed, grabbing a fallen twig from one of the trees above them as she drew out their plan. She'd act as a decoy to try and coax Catston towards her, while he'd fly out of sight before swooping down from the side of the bridge and drop-kick the flea-bag straight downstream. If things worked out as planned, Catston would have his entire body temporarily submerged in freezing cold water before he could scramble to his feet and get out of the creak.

Lauren approached the edge of the bridge to draw Catston's attention, with her [Holographic Great-Shield] flickering to life once more as she hid behind it while mocking the flea-bag.
"What's wrong kitty? I thought cats were supposed to have great balance, did your mom not teach you how to land on your feet yet?" Lauren openly mocked as she burst out laughing, throwing various insults at him while he struggled to steady himself. She knelt down to make a snowball from the snow around the bridge, chucking the first one at his feet to try and embarrass him some more. "Dance Cat-boy, dance!" Lauren chuckled as she continue to make and hurl snowballs at his feet, with one grazing between his legs. Her eyes briefly glanced upwards to try and spot Cahron, though she made sure to keep her focus on the flea-bag in front of her incase he regained his balance and charged at her.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether​

​

​

​

Cahron didn’t like the idea of using Lauren as bait, but there was not time to argue the point or come up with a new plan. “Okay, be careful! He said, spreading his wings, crouching and then leaping skyward, his downwash blowing a cloud of snow outward in all directions from where he and Lauren had conferenced. Aviating amidst the trees was no mean feat, but Cahron was a competent flyer experienced with maneuvering in tight quarters. He scooped a handful of slush from a branch as he ascended, pushing over and flying a little downstream. He flipped inverted and pulled a half-loop and rolled into a heads-up orientation, winging back toward the bridge where Catston was stalking toward Lauren.

(Sour)Puss in BootsThe beastman dropped to all fours, getting his claws into the wood at last, and crawling toward Lauren on all fours. ”Your coward boyfriend flew off!” He growled. ”What are you going to do now b--PFAFF!” His growled threats were interrupted by getting a snowball in the kisser. Shaking off the powder, he (unwisely) advanced toward Lauren, likely underestimating her ability to defend herself.

That glowy magic shield was a neat trick, but it seemed like she could only manifest it in one direction. All he had to do was knock those skinny metal arm--

Cahron“Here, kitty kitty!” Cahron crowed as he winged in, launching the snowball he had packed at Catston’s face. Snow was followed by foot as Cahron shifted into a literal flying kick that would see him pile into the felinoid, his momentum carrying them both off the ice-covered bridge, even though Catston’s claws left score marks in the wood as he tried desperately to avoid a dip in the stream.

Cahron could fly. Catston could also fly; just not in any direction that was not down, where the icy waters of the creek were waiting.

Cahron pulled up and away from the falling beastman, stalled and alighted next to Lauren. Together, the pair watched Catston thrashing and sputtering in the shallow frigid waters. ”Seems like our work here is done,” Cahron opined. “Wanna leave that strange furry fish to his swim and head for home?” He suggested, putting an arm around Lauren’s waist.

Even a fur-clad felinoid was going to have a rough time of it when soaked through, as Catston was. Cahron had no desire to get into an actual fight with the burly beastman, and the timer in his head--that he set for keeping Lauren from getting too chilled--was telling him they ought to head out, rather than waste any more time playing with kitty. The Aerial hoped that, even if he were enraged by the outcome of their spat, Catston wasn’t willing to risk dying of hypothermia, pursuing the couple further into the woods.

Summary;
Cahron and Lauren knock Catston into the stream.

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Unfortunately for Catston the shield that Lauren had projected from her prosthetic was both tall and wide, with even the slimmest part of the shield before him being almost the same width as the bridge itself... As it should be, as it had to protect her entire body from attacks in a given direction. If the bridge were any wider, Lauren probably wouldn't have fallen into the creak like the flea-bag was about to. Lauren made sure as hell that Catston kept his claws away from her by flicking her wrist a little, the shield flicking upward and smacking into his face. It bought her the time Cahron needed to start swooping down, and as she caught a glance she readied herself with anticipation.
"It's a bird! It's a plane, it's-" Lauren ramped up her witty insult, pausing right before Cahron's feet flew into the felines side as the avian drop-kicked the furry pillion into the waters below. Despite Catston having tried to claw the bridge to avoid flying off, the momentum was too much to entirely avoid being turned into a sandbag. "-a flying flea-bag being put in his place!" Lauren deliver the punchline before immediately laughing at him, watching as he briefly tumbled through the waters of the creak and was thrashing about in the frigid waters. As Cahron landed beside her she looked up at him a little, giving a nod of her head with no hesitation once asked if they'd had enough fun for today. Grabbing one of the packages from him before taking his hand, she lead Cahron away to leave Catston to his misery. She had a hunch that they'd be seeing him again at some point in the future, but for now she at least could have peace of mind that--if he had any semblance of self preservation--he'd have bigger concerns than his pride. Besides, she knew Catston would likely freeze to death before getting close to her cottage if he tried following them in his current state.

As the light of the sun started to dim as the sun fully fell under the horizon, Lauren was practically pulling Cahron along with her. Night in the middle of the forest was not a laughing matter, though she was a little glad they had dealt with the goons at the bridge as soon as they could. Still, the threat of wolves giving chase and trying to gnaw on them didn't sit well with her, especially as what little of her body they could chew on primarily consisted of vital organs. Cahron at least had the luxury of flying away to escape danger. Luckily she was still feeling warm enough to safely endure the cold, and as the two of them ran along the path they grew closer to the comforts of the cottage.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron jogged along with Lauren through the twilit woods. It was not exactly the romantic stroll he might have wished for, but there were more important concerns than flirting; Lauren was very susceptible to cold, and he thought maybe she’d mentioned something about wolves.

Better wolves than goblins Cahron thought to himself, then said as much to Lauren. He was a flyer, and running barely taxed his cardiovascular capacity, so there was no panting as he spoke. “You said something about wolves? Better them than Goblins, in my opinion. I caught a poisoned arrow from those little green so-and-sos.” He grimaced and shifted the package he was carrying. ”That was just about the end of me. At least wolves can be reasoned with.” He said, possibly drawing a quizical glance from Lauren.

Rather than explain himself, Cahron quieted for a while. His thoughts had shifted to keeping Lauren warm--or getting to her home before she became so chilled. From there, they progressed to wondering why she dwelled in such cold environs in the first place. That segued into imagining taking her on a tropical journey and then Cahron got a little lost imagining Lauren in a bikini. He glanced over at his running partner with a wolfish grin, but said nothing about what was on his mind.

TimberwolvesUnbeknownst to the pair--or at least to Cahron--an even more wolfish grin was dogging their heels as a pack of timberwolves picked up, first their scent, then the sounds, and finally sight of the pair of runners. Whereas they might have left a human and a fae alone, opting for easier targets, the motion of running triggered a predatory response in the small wolfpack, and they began pacing the pair, eventually becoming obvious as they surrounded and closed in on the jogging couple.

Eventually, if they did not see the wolves and stop earlier, the five-wolf pack would draw close enough to Lauren and Cahron that their growls and yips to each other would become obvious. The runners would have to stop, or risk being run down by the five wolves.

Timberwolves “Hey, Lauren, I think we’d better stop running.” Cahron said calmly and quietly as he spotted flashes of the pack that was pursuing them. “Don’t make any sudden moves--well, at least not until I do.” He said to her as they jogged to a stop and the growling wolves formed a circle around them.

Despite their seemingly-dire situation, Cahron flashed a grin at the elfmaid. “Don’t worry, I know how to deal with wolves. Like I said; it’s easier to talk sense into them than goblins.” So saying, Cahron turned until he was facing the largest of the animals.

It was clear which one was the alpha and the pack leader. Cahron was relieved to see this was a small pack with a young leader. His trick usually worked on any sort of pack animal, but the more inexperienced they were, the better.

With a rippling sound, his wings snapped out to their full extension, making Cahron appear about five times larger than he actually was. He growled right back at the alpha wolf making mirroring the false lunges the leader was making at them. Seeing the alpha’s tail flag in an instinctive response to being accosted by such a huge raptor, Cahron grinned toothily. With a mighty flap, he blasted snow in all directions, blinding the wolves and catapulting himself into the air.

”CAH-CAWWW!!!” The Aerial’s screech was almost comical in it’s imitation of an angry bird as he followed a ballistic trajectory--adding a somersalt for flair--and landed on the back of the blinded timberwolf. Grabbing for it’s sensitive ears, he gave them a painful yank, hard enough to actually lift the wolf by the ears and fling it aside, using the momentum of his stoop to toss the large beast as if it were a stuffed wolftoy.

Straightening, Cahron louvered the feathers on his spread wings, menacing the nearby wolves with hands formed into claws that--thanks to his stage presence--sure seemed like deadly talons. When he snarled at the wolfpack even Lauren might feel a sudden twinge of his intimidating presence. The comedian was gone now, scoured away by the man’s aggressive presence. Whatever his actual capability, Cahron suddenly looked like a warrior, and if the wolves had had any doubt this giant sea-eagle would rip them to shreds defending his mate, that doubt fled with its tail between its legs, just like their yelping leader.

Summary;
Cahron imagines Lauren at the beach
A wolfpack accosts the pair
Cahron stoops on the alpha wolf and frightens it off

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

As Lauren jogged along the path leading back to the cottage with Cahron it took her a little bit to notice that a small pack of wolves was stalking them, though once they had gotten close enough to surround them she slowed down to a stop. She had been hoping that they wouldn't have caught the attention of any wolves, but at the very least the wolves looked hesitant to take both of them on. She guarded herself with her prosthetic arm as she thought about activating her shield projector, though using her shield in this scenario wouldn't help all that much. Besides, Cahron's statement about knowing how to deal with wolves made her more focused on becoming less appetizing. Taking a moment to focus the mana in her body the air around her slowly projected danger as she build up an [Electrostatic Pulse], the electricity within her body crackling and buzzing from her prosthetics as the electric currents tried to escape out into the world. Any wolf that tried attacking her or Cahron would be in for some serious pain.

As Cahron's wings scattered the loose snow all over Lauren turned to look at what he was doing, a confused and baffled expression donning itself as she watched her avian boyfriend threw the pack leader aside. She wasn't entirely sure if his method acting was hot or just overdramatic, but it at least seemed to frighten the wolves into submission. Once the wolves had fled with their tails between their legs she knelt down and touched the snow around them with her prosthetic hand, the electricity in her body discharging into the ground as a small portion of snow melted into steaming hot water. She then stood back up straight and approached Cahron slowly, pulling him into a hug before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Well that was certainly impressive." Lauren complimented with a sly grin, letting go of him before wandering back over to pick up the packages he had set down. "Let's get going before it gets too dark out, don't want to risk getting lost in the dark."

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Timberwolves
If having their leader run off like a frightened pup wasn’t enough, the zapping crackle of Lauren’s taser freaked the rest of the wolfpack right out. With yips and whines, the other four wolves fled the cyborg woman, racing off through the darkening forest. It would be a long time before they trifled with running people again, and they’d remember the scent of these two; steering well clear of any part of the forest or hills that smelled like them.

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron folded his wings and hugged Lauren back. “Just watching out for my girl.” He said, trying to be dashing and more-or-less pulling it off. “But I think maybe the wolves are lucky they only had to deal with me.” Cahron knew he wasn’t much of a fighter, and from the way Lauren handled herself, he was pretty sure she was.

Hot. He grinned to himself and grazed her cheek with his own little nuzzle after getting a kiss. We’re necking like a pair of wolves, ourselves.

“Okay!” Cahron was ready to get back to Lauren’s place as well.

…

It was a crisp cold fall night with the glow of the sunset framing the mountains and the stars beginning to twinkle overhead as the pair returned to the winter cottage. While Lauren saw to dispositioning her purchases, Cahron headed for the kitchen. ”Is it okay with you if I do the dishes and cook?” He asked, before setting to--if given permission.

Cahron was starving and he figured Lauren ought to be peckish as well, since they’d only had a bit to drink during their excursion. He set to work using some of the morning’s old dishes. It was rare Cahron had access to the equipment to make one of his favorite quick and simple dishes. While he cleaned the places and bowls from breakfast, he set a large amount of rice steaming in the same pot he’d used to fry eggs and bacon. The dregs of the reheated grease would soften and be perfect to add flavor to the rice once it was soft enough to fry. While frying the rice, Cahron sauteed and seasoned vegetables and tubers he found in the larder. The kitchen was soon filled with steam and the scents and sounds of sizzling dishes.

Cahron deftly delivered a veritable pile of food in fairly short order and then sat down with Lauren to enjoy the meal. Their dinner conversation covered lighter topics; laughing at the fool they’d made of Catston, some of Cahron’s favorite anecdotes from his career--especially comical accidents on stage with performing troupes, and a little exploration of the pastimes and hobbies each enjoyed.

Soon enough dinner was done, the hour had grown late, and the night sky beckoned. Cahron had never looked at the stars through anything but his gods-given eyes, and he was curious about the contraptions Lauren had set up to examine the heavens.

Summary;
Cahron and Lauren make it back to the cottage, Cahron cooks, and now it's time for starry stuff.

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

As Lauren and Cahron finally approached her cottage she picked up her pace and made her way inside, starting to feel a little chilly from the walk back as a slight shiver ran across her body. As she took off her coat and snow pants for the moment a little quirk of hers was quick to show itself, as her prosthetics were vibrating to match the frequency of her body. She didn't know why her prosthetics vibrated when she shivered, but both tended to start and end at the same time. She turned her head towards Cahron as he offered to wash the dishes and cook the two of them something to eat. For a moment however her head was devoid of thought. She absent mindedly admired Cahron's wings up until her stomach groaned loud enough to snap her out of her daze, processing what he had said as her expression showed her embarrassment.
"Y-Yeah, absolutely! While you're cooking something to eat I'll go and get everything set up on the deck." Lauren stammered slightly as she opened up the packages, before heading back outside to the deck where the telescope was already set up. She was glad to have gotten the blanket in particular, as sitting on the cold wooden deck flooring would have been a nightmare. Getting everything set up was pretty quick; Laying out the blanket, setting up the candlesticks within their respective holders, fine tuning the telescope. By the time she had finished getting everything ready the cold had her shivering again, wrapping up her preparations and heading back inside to warm up and eat.

Lauren had walked in a few minutes prior to the food being ready, and spent that time hanging out in the kitchen with Cahron. She pulled out two glasses and a simple bottle of ale for both of them to drink alongside the fried rice, setting the table as he finished cooking before sitting down at the table beside him. And it tasted delicious. She savored the taste of Cahron's cooking as they both enjoyed each others company, chatting about a plethora of lighter topics. Though she didn't forget to set her boundary regarding using his pet names for her in public, as she expressed how uncomfortable it made her feel. She talked a bit more about her previous life and the memories of her mother, and how she had always been 'her sweet little Laurelei' in her mothers own words. She wheezed out in laughter as Cahron reminded her how satisfying it was to make a fool of Catston, and delved a little deeper into her own interests as he delved into his. As she polished off her plate and drank a little more of the ale she had poured herself, she got up from the table and guided Cahron outside to the deck where everything was set up.

Lauren had gotten her warm winter clothes back on before coming outside again, settling onto the blanket next to the telescope as she reached her prosthetic hand out to the candles. She had developed a neat little trick to lighting them using the [Electrostatic Pulse] her mana allowed her to use. She only needed to generate a small charge and focus the electricity into the tip of one of her prosthetic fingers, then nearly pinching two of her fingers together on the candle wick for the electricity to arc to the other finger. One by one she lit up the candles using this technique, until the candles were all lit up and illuminating the deck and blanket she was sitting on. Perhaps they'd both be lucky to see a shooting star while the sky was crystal clear, though her excited expression had bigger thoughts on her mind.
"Come on and sit down, and I'll show you how to use the telescope." Lauren suggested with a joyful tone, the candles far enough away from the blanket for Cahron to safely and comfortably spread his wings however he liked.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron listened attentively to Lauren throughout dinner, especially when she grew serious and asked him not to use pet names or do other ostentatiously embarrassing things in public. “You got it, honey bunny.” He chirped, then went for her real hand with both of his own before she could get annoyed. “No, but Lauren, I am truly sorry for making you uncomfortable. I wanted to make you laugh--to make you happy.” he said. “We’re different, you and I, and, you know…” He leaned forward so he could raise a hand from hers, reaching across the table to touch her cheek. “...I love those differences just like I love you. I… can’t promise I won’t ever do it again, but I’ll try to catch myself before I do anything you might find disrespectful,” he promised.

As they cleaned up and Lauren prepared for their little star party, Cahron couldn’t help but notice how she kept sneaking glances at his wings. He pretended not to notice, but he certainly did notice. It wasn’t easy to do inside the house without knocking things over, but he kept his wings at three-quarters fold, rather than flat on his back--as Aerials usually did indoors. If Lauren wanted to look, then he certainly wanted to show.

It was a little hard to focus his thoughts on… other things… so Cahron was glad for the bracing shock of the cold air when he stepped outside. Lauren’s enthusiasm for stargazing and her optical equipment was infectious, and Cahron threw himself fully into following her explanations and examinations of the heavens.

They made quite a good stargazing team. Lauren was an expert at her equipment, but Cahron had quite good wide-field vision for locating stars, planets, and other high-contrast celestial objects against the darkness of the sky, even though he was night-blind to rocks and trees and other low-contrast objects. The Aerial would scan the heavens with his eagle eyes until he located something interesting. Then he would point out the object to Lauren so she could find it and magnify it in the narrow-field view of her telescopes.

“Lauren, what’s that?” Cahron asked, pointing to a hazy spot he could just make out. “Another neb-you-la?” As they had stargazed, the Aerial had listened attentively to her fantastical explanations of what all the different things in the sky were. At times he was still a little lost--not possessing the same depth of knowledge of celestial and stellar physics as she--but he was getting the idea of just what--and at what massive scales--they were looking at. Objects so far away that--could you fly in space (Lauren assured him that he could not, no matter how hard he trained) with wingpower alone, it would take millions of years to reach even the nearest of them. He marveled at the fact it would take 100 days to fly to the moon, and 100 years to fly to the sun.

When the elf asked him what he was pointing at, she might have thought he was making it up, for he drew he close until they were cheek-to-cheek. Feeling the chill of her skin and a slight tremor from her prosthetics, Cahron asked, and then extended a wing over her. He didn’t try to steal a kiss, however--at least not right away--for he was serious. There was something in the sky different from anything he had ever seen. It took a little doing, but Cahron described its position based on what stars Lauren could see, and only then did he go for a peck on her cheek before releasing her to point the telescope at the object.

Summary;
Cahron promises to try to embarrass Lauren less.
The couple spend some time stargazing.
Cahron spots a comet and Lauren points her telescope at it.
They are the first people in the world to discover it!

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Lauren's expression as she excitedly told Cahron about how the telescope worked and about its usefulness showed just how much she enjoyed stargazing, as she appeared happier under the moonlight while looking up to the sky with him than she had during almost the entire time she'd spent with him over the past 24 hours. Happier than the entire span of time she'd spent in this world prior to his involvement in her life. Alongside the knowledge of how to use it she had involved some major discoveries that had been discovered using those used in observatories and space telescopes, from the sheer scale of the universe itself to some of the most extreme celestial bodies. As Cahron gave his guidance towards what to look at she adjusted the telescope accordingly, peering into it to admire the night sky before letting Cahron view it himself. She had even focused the telescope towards the moon for Cahron to see it in more detail, the various craters becoming more distinct as smaller craters became easier to spot. She listened to him ask about a hazy part of the night sky, taking a look through the telescope before turning to him with a smile.
"That's a galaxy: A massive collection of stars that orbit around a single celestial body in the center called a Black Hole, they're similar in scale to what a single anthill is to an entire city." Lauren explained as she gestured for him to take a look, her gaze turning back up to the sky. As he asked her more questions about the objects in the night sky she answered them in modest detail. From how most stars in the night sky were similar to the sun in their composition and lifespan, to the sheer distance between them and the stars and how long it would take light itself to travel that distance... Some of the concepts she mentioned were too complex to explain in their entirety, and so she had to use equivalencies to make it easier to understand--like how light falling into a black hole couldn't escape, similar to how most people wouldn't be able to swim fast enough upstream to avoid going over a waterfall.

As Cahron pointed out another object he could just barely see Lauren adjusted the telescope to where he was roughly pointing, feeling him wrap his wing around her as she leaned to look through it. Right before she gazed into it however, she felt his warm lips on her cheek. She paused for a moment as she blushed and smiled slightly, though the candlelight around them was too dim for him to see that. As she peered through the telescope and towards the object in the night sky her eyes widened, as she saw the distinctive tail and glow of a comet. Just seeing one again made her feel giddy, and yet a somber mood accompanied her excitement. She got to see a comet for the first time ever in either of her lives, and it was a moment she had never gotten to share with her mother in her previous life. But she refused to let the somber thought ruin the night for both of them.
"It's a comet!" Lauren proclaimed with a bit of a cheery tone. "They're very rare to see, as they can take between hundreds or even thousands of years to orbit around the sun. They're only visible for a few weeks at minimum, with some being visible for several months before being flung back out to the reaches of space." Her explanation was short and left out a lot of interesting details, and as such she'd elaborate more about their eccentric orbits. They continued scanning the sky for other interesting discoveries, though as they were a shooting star streaked across the sky. It started out as one lone streak, though the longer they looked to the stars the more frequent they became - the full beauty of a meteor shower unfolding as she cuddled up closer to Cahron.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron peered into the telescope after Lauren. He’d noticed a little hesitancy in her voice, even though she seemed excited about the comet. Something about comets bothered her. As the fuzzy speck resolved itself in the telescope, Cahron felt a tiny bit of trepidation as well. Comets--large ones that didn’t require a telescope--were thought to be harbingers of disaster. He shared this thought with Lauren.

“Oh, some people think those are evil portents.” Cahron told her. “But if you say it’s just a dirty snowball on a… um…” He struggled to recall the terminology, “...periodic orbit, well then, I guess that can’t be correct--unless disasters happen on a schedule.” He joked with a smile as he turned back to Lauren.

“What? Where? Aw, I missed it.” He said, when Lauren told him she had seen a shooting star. However, after a few moments, it became clear that neither of them was going to miss anything as more and more meteors streaked overhead. “Well, I’m glad this doesn’t actually mean fewer stars to look at with you.” Cahron said. Obviously these were not actually falling stars, if stars were the vast nuclear furnaces Lauren said they were.

For a while, the couple sat on the blanket, leaning back and taking in the beauty of the meteor shower. They were shoulder-to-shoulder, and Cahron stole the occasional glance Lauren’s upturned face, though he couldn’t see much in the darkness. He had a wing under her and the other folded over them, trapping their body heat better than any blanket of cotton or wool. While they watched the meteors, Cahron pointed out the Autumn constellations, telling Lauren a little of the mythology behind them.

“That one is special. Everyone calls it “The Lovers”, but, where I come from, they are known as Elarial and Talin--a Fae and Human couple; those stars define Elarial, and she never sets.” He said, pointing to a cluster of stars that were in line with the planet’s north pole. “Talin is her lover, and he sets in the autumn leaving her alone in the winter. The Aerial say it shows that Fae and Humans shouldn’t be together.” Cahron said, but there was a mischievous note in his voice as he told the somber story. His hand was next to Lauren’s and now he moved it to cover hers and interlace their fingers. “The thing is, Talin disappears in the Winter if you’re on Aerie, but--this far north--Talin doesn’t set at all, and the The Lovers are always together.” Just like I want us to be. He thought, and wondered if Lauren was thinking the same thing.

Summary;
Cahron watches the meteor shower with Lauren
He describes some of the constellations

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

As Lauren watched the night sky beside Cahron she listened to how some people interpreted comets as foreboding and ominous omens, and how he joked about natural disasters being on a schedule.
"While comets aren't inherently ominous or evil, some of the biggest comets could absolutely wipe out all life from this planet... There was a very good reason that the nations in my previous life were worried about the elliptical orbits of comets and asteroids crossing paths with the planet, as they discovered evidence in the planets crust that suggested that a previous collision had wiped out 80% of life billions of years ago." Lauren said in a serious tone, taking a more somber and morbid tone that highlighted the inherent fear of the unknown space had in spades. She was quick to shake off the shift in atmosphere as she tried not to dampen the mood too much. "Putting that aside however, most natural disasters can be predicted to a certain extent. Certain types of volcanic eruptions, for example, can be predicted by looking at how old deposits of volcanic ash and rock are - as there are cycles that a planet undergoes that can be--broadly speaking--predicted. Weather patterns can be predicted just knowing how hot or cold the air is, how humid the weather is, and the geography of a region. Tsunamis are by far the most predictable natural disasters, as they always follow after a substantial earthquake or tremor." She redirected the topic to lighten the mood, cuddling up to Cahron. She chuckled under her breath at his initial reaction to missing the first shooting star. With his wings wrapped around her the slow gnaw of the cold faded away as she gradually warmed back up, her gaze briefly looking away from the meteor shower above them to where his face would be. She leaned in towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek, repaying the gesture he had given her earlier. Though unlike Cahron her lips lingered for a little longer than his had.

Lauren looked back up to the stars as she looked where Cahron was pointing, listening to him explain the constellations meaning with attentive eyes. She could feel Cahron's hand on hers as he wove his fingers between hers, her eyes deviating from the stars as she looked towards his face. The faint flickers of light from the candlesticks only made it a little easier to see his face, though she could still tell where his nose and mouth were. His eyes seemed to glisten amidst the candlelight however, as did her own as she stared at him with a sly smile. She lifted her legs over his before sitting on his lap, leaning her back up against him as she made herself comfortable with him. Part of it was to see his reaction, though she mostly just wanted to enjoy the moment with him. She leaned towards him until her face was just a few inches away, her prosthetic hand placed on his side.
"Good thing we're so far north then, because that means you'll never leave me." Lauren teased in a half-sarcastic tone, though there was an undertone to it that she didn't know how to describe. Before he could interject or comment about what she was doing she leaned in for a kiss on the lips. It lasted for a brief moment, and as she turned her body towards him she started straddling him to avoid putting too much weight on his legs. "Now then, what do you say to getting comfy under the blanket while watching the meteor shower?"

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Yes. Cahron liked this. For sure. He enjoyed the matter-of-fact way Lauren talked about natural disasters and how some of them could be predicted. She sounded like a city planner, merchant, or maybe even a noblewoman. In her old world perhaps she had been, or maybe ordinary citizens were more involved in the world around them. Cahron tended to think a little smaller; how to protect his people, rather than all the people. “Did you build things to predict earthquakes and Tsunamis? He asked.

Cahron did not miss how Lauren’s lips lingered on his cheek, and how when--given the opportunity--she went for another kiss. He wrapped Lauren in his arms and both of them in his wings. His arms were around her midsection with his hands resting lightly on her hips. He gave her a little squeeze as she joked about him never leaving her. “That’s our constellation, then,” he said quietly. When Lauren suggested they get cozy watching the meteor shower, he couldn’t help himself. ”Is your name Meteor? Because, yes, please.” He grinned and prepared to get a swat for that one.

Cahron didn’t have a lot more to say. Well, he didn’t have anything decent to say because he was paying more attention to the Elf of flesh and metal in his lap than the one of stars way up in the sky. His hands left their resting places and did a little exploring. It wasn’t the easiest angle, but he bent his neck forward so his chin rested on Lauren’s shoulder and they were again cheek to cheek. She might shrug him off and use her own hands to put his back where they belonged, but he was hoping not. If he didn’t get shrugged away, Cahron--after a little while--would gently nibble a little on the graceful curve of Lauren’s ear.

Summary;
Cahron is corny
And a little frisky

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Lauren shook her head upon hearing Cahron's question about her profession, giving a brief quip about how most people in her past life knew details or trivia outside of their actual profession. While she didn't get into the specifics about how the education system worked--mostly just because she didn't know the specific details, she did talk about how the majority of people in the wealthier and more developed countries had on-demand access to all of the information from across the world. How some of it was real, some of it was fake, and some of it was pushing an agenda of some kind. There was the topic of how having information on-demand made people more prone to confirmation bias in regards to politics and various conspiracy theories, though she didn't dwell on it for too long. As for why she knew about how natural disasters could be predicted to a certain extent...
"-It was some trivia I picked up from some friends I made in College. While I was interested in researching Pandora's Prism, they were more keen on finding ways to better society and improve the chance of survival for those caught in a natural disaster. They had ended up moving to Krilgox though, due to how seriously the nation took education and technological development. However, I still talked to them on a weekly basis over the phone." Lauren commented as her rambling came to an end. She didn't know how much about her past life she'd be able to recount to Cahron, nor how much of it she would be able to remember. Perhaps the memories would slowly fade away as she grew accustomed to this world, or perhaps they'd linger and motivate her to find a way back. Regardless of what fate had planned though she didn't intend to live the slow life that this world seemed to favor.

As Cahron wrapped his wings around both of them, she felt Cahron's hands lightly grasp her waist. Perhaps it was just how close she was to Cahron currently or her hesitancy gradually fading away, she she didn't mind his hands on her--even after they started exploring a bit. As he squeezed his hands on her a little bit she pressed her chest up against his, though her thick winter clothes prevented her from feeling his warmth. His statement about the constellations being theirs got a bit of a slight giggle out of her, though the joke he pulled out of pocket caught her a little off guard. With the giggle from before growing into a chuckle she gave him a soft flick to the earlobe.
"For Nyus' sake Cahron, that was so cheesy..." Lauren lightly criticized in a playful tone as Cahron rested his chin on one of her shoulders, and after a little while felt him give her ear a slight playful nibble. She gave a soft murmur from the sensation his lips on her ear caused, a part of her eager to let him continue. Her hands gradually wandered across him as well, as her prosthetic hand slid down to his side while her other hand reached for the base of his wings--gently stroking the feathers near the base. His wings among other features were her favorite part of his body to touch, though she had started to crave more than what she was currently experiencing. She softly spoke sweet nothings into his ear with a slight undertone before shifting herself and him around, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around both of them. With the two of them lightly encased in the blanket her hands got to work, removing her thick winter clothes and setting them aside next to the blanket.

F A D E - T O - B L A C K . . .​

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron made a noise that rumbled from his chest to Lauren’s ear as she touched his wings roots. He could feel her cold hand on his feathers. His aviating muscles twitched and the downy inner feathers louvered involuntarily with the pressure and temperature changes of her questing hand.

There were many interesting and pleasant sensations going on all at once--warm lips on frost-chilled skin. Shockingly chilled fingertips wandering around after unzipping, unclasping, and unbuttoning. When Lauren wrapped them in blankets, Cahron rolled to a heads-up orientation, grinning at the thought of their intimate maneuvers in aviating terms.

He murmured some of those thoughts to the elf as they pressed together. “Stay in formation with me, Lauren.” He clamped his wings gently down on her hand, enjoying the sensation of her fingers running through his down feathers. “Very… tight formation.”

Summary;
The curtain drops on this part of the scene.

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

@II-CinderRadcliff-II

That had been a night. Like the night before. Between the chilly frolicking on the deck and then some more measured and warmer activities in Lauren’s bed, they had apparently worn each other out. Yesterday something--perhaps the unfamiliarity and the uncertainties in their deepening relationship--had awoken them early from light dozes.

That wasn’t the case today, at least for Cahron. He had slept like the dead, and he did not exactly awake in trim. The man was sprawled across Lauren’s bed, all six limbs splayed in the rare--and somewhat uncomfortable--position of laying on his back. Aerials almost never slept on their backs, as this left them lying on their wings. One of Cahron’s huge feathered appendages was pointed up (like a ten-foot-long upraised arm) its broad tawny pinfeathers covering the bed’s headboard and a good portion of the wall behind. His other wing draped off the bed, trailed across the floor, and then bent up against the wall, feathers splayed like the leaves of a large strange indoor plant. That wing was asleep, its circulation cut off by Cahron’s positioning.

The Aerial man looked like he had crashed. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open as he slept, despite the rays of sunshine streaming into the bedroom.

At least he didn’t snore. The Aerial’s streamlined airways--that allowed them to keep from suffocating in high-speed dives--were not conducive to noisy breathing. It was nice and warm inside, so the winged man had not noticed he ended up with no sheets or covers, whatsoever. If Lauren were the first to wake, and wanted an eyeful of askew birdguy, the sleeping Cahron was certainly obliging.

Even when Cahron eventually woke, he was still obliging, putting on a smile, but nothing else. “Ooh, pins and needles!” He winced as he shifted to allow himself to move his trailing wing. Fortunately, he only felt the pricks of nerves reawakening near the root, and not along all ten feet of his wing. Sliding up a bit, he propped himself up partially on the headboard and stretched the rest of his limbs, yawning hugely.

Cahron was curious just how shy Lauren was in the light. He had gotten a decent idea of her mores in the darkness, so how about upon waking? Cahron knew she liked his wings, and he liked that she liked them, so he spread them across the entire back wall behind the bed, having to bend them at the corners of the room. Propped up on his elbows as he was, there was plenty else on display besides the twin stripes of white pinfeathers of which he was inordinately proud. As for himself, well he wasn’t the slightest bit more bashful in the looking as he was in the showing..

Summary;
Cahron wakes up.

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Lauren had quite enjoyed the closeness she and Cahron had shared in the blanket on the deck, so much so that they both had gone inside to the comforts of her bed. Though between that and their half-day trip into town, she was exhausted and worn out - quickly falling asleep shortly after Cahron did. And she slept quite soundly as well at that, her arms wrapped around him as she cuddled up with him in her sleep. Despite him being sprawled upon the bed she avoided sleeping on his wings, as she had slept on the side where his wing was draped over the beds headboard. Her head rested just above his arm on one of the pillows though, making it harder for him to move without accidentally waking her up. One of her prosthetic legs was draped over his as she slept as well, providing further challenge for him if he wished to avoid disturbing her slumber. With how warm the cottage was she had fallen asleep as-is, having pushed the sheets and covers off of both of them in her sleep. While her prosthetic hand and arm were pinned underneath Cahron's back, her other hand occasionally moved while she slept - subtle enough to merely be her unconsciously adjusting herself to a more comfortable position.

While Cahron lacked the anatomy to score while sleeping, Lauren wasn't as blessed as her avian boyfriend. While she slept her nostrils would often start whistling due to nasal congestion, though she'd also occasionally snort in her sleep. Perhaps it was related to sleep apnea or just a vocal tic Lilan had, but her heavy slumber at least prevented her from unintentionally waking herself up. As Cahron had woken up and tried shifting himself to get his own weight off of his wings, she had started to stir awake from his movements. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she turned her tired gaze up towards Cahron, though teetering on the edge of drowsiness she struggled to fully wake up.
"G-good morning Cahron..." She greeted him as a large yet silent yawn escaped her, slowly shifting herself until she was sitting with both of her legs angled to one side of her - her prosthetic arm propping herself up as she used her good hand to wipe away the gunk from her eyes. "...How are you?" She'd linger on the bed for a little longer waiting for his answer, her eyes looking to his face as she scooched closer to him before giving him a kiss on the lips. She then made her way off of the bed, wandering over to the dresser full of clothes to wear. The scars on her skin were clearly visible in the bright light of morning sun, scattered all across her body as a visible reminder of the horrors her host had experienced. As she donned some clean clothes the metal from her prosthetics glistened in the sunlight, though the glare that accompanied it prompted her to close the curtains enough to avoid being blinded by the early morning sun. As she had now picked out the clothes she planned to wear for the day she slowly made her way towards the bathroom, wanting to wash up as she made a sly gesture for Cahron to follow her.

She had been quick to put on some of the nondescript clothes she had for herself and guests, handing him a pair of shorts to wear before getting into the hot tub to wash herself off from last night. Besides, she felt more comfortable in the hot tub with some basic clothes on, and it'd prevent Cahron from getting too excited so early in the morning.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether

​

If Cahron had noticed or been awakened by Lauren’s snoring he did not remember as much now, nor did he care to think on much else as he was treated to his elven ****er’s unbashful awakening and morning activities. She was fun to ogle. Idly, Cahron wondered, and then--less idly--asked: “Lauren, do you know how old your body is?” That was not a question he would have asked a human woman--the Aerial valued his life more than that--but Fae were different. Lauren could look like this at age twenty five, two-hundred-and-fifty, or two-thousand-five-hundred as far as Cahron knew.

The Aerial wasn’t much for wearing clothing in the bath, but he guessed that was one of Lauren’s quirks, so he obliged and put on the shorts since he had no real objections. It was not like her outfit was hiding much. Rather than focus on getting her out of it, he decided he’d broach a somewhat-fraught topic. “Were you human in your past life?” Cahron thought that was the case. “Have you thought much about what you will do, you know, living forever, in this one?”

The Fae Cahron had previously known had been much more detached individuals than Lauren. They tended to treat him--and other short-lived beings like him--with a cool and somewhat alien sentiment. He supposed that they had to--considering that the lives of humans would be spent many times over, long before theirs reached their end--if they ever did. Lauren had her oddities (though Cahron might not be ready to detail them to her face just yet) of personality, but she was the most human Elf he had ever met. The Aerial felt honored--perhaps unduly--that she treated him like a person--like an equal--rather than like a pet, or like something pitiable, the way most Elves did humans.

If the topic was not too off-putting, Cahron would offer to wash Lauren’s back as they shared the bath. If she acquiesced, he’d sorta keep his hands where he was supposed to. Most of the time, only tickling her intentionally once or twice, but stopping before--or when asked.

If Lauren reciprocated, he’d ask her if she also wanted to wash his wings. “I have to warn you, though. It’s a pretty involved process, so it’s fine if you’d rather not. Cahron had twenty feet of limbs covered with layers of overlapping feathers. Cleaning them was an undertaking on the scale of washing a large car or light truck (actually more like a single-engine general aviation aircraft) from Lauren’s previous world.

Summary;
Cahron takes a bath with Lauren.
He asks her how she feels about being long-lived.
He offers to wash her back.

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Lauren softly shook her head at the--slightly tactless--question he had asked about her age, though she had a more concrete answer in regards to what he asked next while getting comfortable in the hot tub.
"I was human in my past life. Roughly a half of the worlds population consisted of humans, with the other half was split between AI constructs and the 'supposed' descendants of the Kitsunes. Don't actually know if Kitsunes actually existed or not in that life though." Lauren reminisced about her previous life, listening to Cahron as he asked about her thoughts about her new lifespan. The thought of living for what was effectively eternity made her... unnerved, if only a little. And it seemed as if Cahron was interested in how she'd spend such a long life-span. "If such a long life had been given to me on a silver platter in my previous life, I probably would have spent most of my time studying Pandora's Prism and--if I ever unlocked it's secrets--travel throughout the multiverse and it's sea of possibilities. But now... I'm not entirely sure. I'm stranded in a body I had never asked for with no way to go back home, in a world with technology equivalent to the industrial revolution and a magic system I can barely even comprehend." Lauren gave a brief sigh, a mild tone of frustration in her voice. For a few moments she looked down into the waters of the hot tub they were bathing in, seeing brief glimpses of herself in the subtle ripples as the water moved to-and-fro. She looked up to him at his offer to wash her back, taking him up on his offer as she scooched closer to him - sitting on her knees along the underwater rim meant for sitting, laying her arms on the outer rim before resting her head on her hands. As she enjoyed the feeling of Cahron scrubbing her back alongside his light teasing, she engaged in idle chatter with Cahron. She talked a bit about her dreams and how she seemed to have a consistent dreamscape her ethereal self could wander around in, with one section of her dreamscape being a decrepit museum where Lilans memories were displayed as art pieces--while another section was a garden plaza with Pandora's Prism acting as her own window into the past. She had inquired about what he had dreamed as well, curious about what kinds of dreams he had.

As they finished their idle chatter, Lauren had her interest piqued as Cahron offered to let her wash his wings. She pondered whether or not she'd be willing to tackle the challenge, though she was a little worried that she'd be too rough with them... Besides, she'd have to learn how to wash his massive wing span before actually attempting it.
"Perhaps at a later date--after you've shown me how to properly wash them--I could wash them for you... So instead, let me wash your back as well." She gently grabbed the scrub from his hands before sliding herself off to the side, moving around him to his back and gently scrubbing the grime off of him. As she rubbed the bar of soap against his wet back her good hand glided across his skin, the soapy suds slowly rolling down his back into the hot tub - gradually floating away as the hot spring provided a flow of fresh clean water. Cahron's hands weren't the only ones to occasionally wander elsewhere though, albeit hers went for his shoulders to massage them. As she finished washing his back she moved back to her original spot, briefly submerging her head under the water and getting all of her hair wet. Her head resurfaced a few moments later as she let go of her breath, parting the hair away from her eyes as a question popped into her head.

"Hey Cahron... When are you planning to head home?" Lauren asked with a hint of sadness in her tone. Despite how big of a pain in her side Cahron had seemed to be when they had first met, she quite enjoyed his company and how he always showed his affection for her. It was something she never experienced before, and she was hoping that she didn't have to part ways with him just yet. "I'm happy having you here for as long as you'd like, but I imagine that Miiya is probably worried about you. I was hoping that--when you decided to leave--I could potentially come with you... Besides, after visiting them I need to gather information to make absolutely sure that the Madman is truly dead, so having some company to travel with would be nice."

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether
​

Cahron found himself somewhat glad that Lauren didn’t quite know what to do with her newfound immortality. He liked that he was, apparently, one of her earlier acquaintances in this world. Because she had a home, workshop, mortal enemy, and past adventures, he had ascribed more familiarity with this world to her than she actually had. He was at once pleased by the idea of being the one to introduce her to more of it, and a little nervous about it. Cahron was very experienced in the ways of this world, and Lauren was new. He wanted to be careful not to abuse the difference in their experience.

At the same time, he was younger and shorter-lived, so maybe his experience lent some sort of balance to their relationship. He smiled at that thought as she scrubbed his back, spreading his wings so that she could reach between the downy feathers at their thick roots (also because he knew she liked his colors, and flexing them made his muscles bunch and ripple beneath the skin she was scrubbing.)

“I dream about flying.” He said, simply. “Places I’ve flown, places I’ve yet to fly. I think I dreamed about flying on the moon last night, after our stargazing.” Cahron slept very soundly and didn’t remember much of his dreams. He told Lauren as much, and wondered aloud if she remembered her dreams so lucidly because she was Isikai, or perhaps because she was Fae.

Cahron felt a little jag of concern when Lauren asked him when he was planning to leave. Never. Am I supposed to? He thought, smiling as she explained her question.

“Miiya needs some time by herself. She’s sixteen now and--in our world--that’s adulthood for some societies of Humans.” . Cahron was aware that those norms were shifting in places like Widersea and more technological societies. He had the impression that Lauren thought it was very young. “I taught her everything she needs to know about the road, and I was stifling her development, just as much as Ma was.”

Cahron then took some time to talk a bit at length about his family. He told Lauren about growing up poor in the Ryken slums, under the thumb of their overbearing mother, who was--herself--under the thumb of the criminal owners of the tavern where she worked. “Ma always wanted us to study hard so we could become rich merchants or tradesmen… but--that’s not realistic. Not in Ryke. Not for people like us.” Cahron told Lauren about his experience with the stratified feudal society; how he and his sister (and his immigrant mother--though she did not realize it) had a glass ceiling above them. “If we get too smart, or too pretty, or too successful, the gangs or--if you’re really lucky--the nobility come along and scoop you up; make you as much a…” Cahron’s attitude had been slowly changing, darkening, and now he gritted his teeth with an emotion Lauren had yet to see him display. ”....slave to them as Ma was to Osu.” He said, bitterly.

“Anything you’ve got--anything you manage to make or build, or learn, the powerful just… take it for themselves.” Cahron turned around in the bath, facing Lauren--a very different Aerial than she had seen before. His fists were clenched, he was only half-seeing what was in front of him as he recalled something that made his feathers involuntarily louver with fury. He looked much like he had when he stooped upon the wolf in the forest. ”That’s what happened to my sister. That’s why Ma finally let me take her away; the criminals who owned our family got too old, weak. Miiya got kidnapped by their rivals. My mother made a deal with V… with--a nobleman to get her back. Now he owns Ma, and the fucking wheel keeps on turning. So… I’m not going home, Lauren.” Cahron said with uncalled-for vitriol. “I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to see how Ma is living now, because there’s fuck all I can do about it.”

Cahron realized he had--at some point--grabbed Lauren’s wrist. He was glad to see it was her mechanical one, because he’d been squeezing it tightly. His rant at an end, the Aerial man returned a bit to the present--seeing again the scarred and tribulated elfmaid in the bath with him. He let out a long breath and tried to refocus. It would look, to Lauren, like a freight train switching tracks as the man forced his thoughts back to the here and now; his brow unfurrowed, his feathers settled, the cords of muscle in his neck, shoulders, and body untensed as he tried to reacquire his lackadaisical attitude.

Cahron tried a smile, a few errant twitches of tension still flicking across his skin--turning a feather or two on his wings. “Shit. Sorry." The Aerial ran his hands through his hair. “Not really the question you asked, right?” His grin was faded, but it did reappear. “I’ll leave when I’ve got…” He stopped himself to correct what he was saying. ”...nah. we’ll leave when we’ve got somewhere to go; because, Lauren, I want you to come with me.”

Summary;
Cahron explains why he is not in a hurry to find his sister or visit home.
He tells Lauren he wants her to come with him whenever he does leave.

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

Lauren's expression shifted to a mixture of bewilderment, concerned, and unsettlement the more she heard how badly his mother and sister were treated in Ryke... Having known so little about the world she had spent most of the time she spent in Ryke doing odd jobs to keep herself afloat, though she was now glad that she didn't have time before to set up shop in the nation. As she drew closer to try and comfort him she saw him grab the wrist of her prosthetic, pausing for a moment as she looked at his expression. Her heart skipped a beat as a sudden bout of cold sweat swept over her, brief flashes of Lilans memories resurfacing at the resentful expression Cahron displayed. He shared the same look of seething fury that the soldiers Lilan fought on the battlefield wore as they ran her through and cut her down. She felt her body instinctively recoil as the traumatic memory from Lilan's life replayed in her head, wiggling her hand out of his grasp with vigor as she quickly moved to the opposite side of the tub. Lauren tried calming herself down as her body trembled uncontrollably, gradually regaining her composure and re-suppressing the vivid memories of the war Lilan had suppressed long ago. As she looked back to Cahron, she felt a little relieved that he seemed to have calmed back down... Whether it was because he had ended his rant or had taken notice of her sudden recoiling though, she had no clue which held true. Still, the sudden vitriol in his tone hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Sorry for asking such a sensitive question..." Lauren's apologized in a dejected tone after being burned by his words, her voice having trailed off as she turned her gaze downward while a subtle sense of tension formed between them. Although she hadn't known how Cahron felt about the situation his family was in, a part of her felt guilty for dredging up bad memories. Still, she knew lamenting about her mistake wouldn't solve anything, nor would simply dismissing the topic help either. Cahron's own apology helped make her feel less disheartened, with his latter statement making her feel even less so. She slowly drew closer to him, stopping just short of him before finding her voice. "Sounds nice, just the two of us traveling around."

As Lauren finished cleaning herself up in the hot tub she slowly climbed out and walked towards the towel rack, drying herself off and wringing out the shirt and shorts she wore into the hot tub. Her fingers were precise as she pushed the towel between the metal plates and carbon fiber muscles making up her prosthetics, putting on a show--whether she wanted to or not--of how she dried off her limbs to Cahron. Once she had finished making sure her prosthetics were dried she wrapped the towel around herself, heading back into her bedroom with or without Cahron to get dressed for the day. Without any plans to head to town today she dressed in more casual attire, focusing more on being comfortable rather than being presentable. Dressed in a loose t-shirt and some comfy sweatpants she was ready to enjoy her day at home. She started straightening up the bedroom after the fun they had the previous night, stripping the dampened sheets off of the bed and putting new ones on. She also had to pluck out a few stray feathers she found in the dirty sheets as well, which she assumed had come loose the previous night. She also made sure to head outside quick to tidy up the deck from the previous night, their attire from the previous day scattered beside the blanket. Once the used candles were collected and the telescope was brought inside she went back out barefoot one last time, collecting the blanket and clothes left on the deck before bringing them all inside to be cleaned.

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL

 

[Irihi]

Cahron Aether

​

Cahron saw that he had unsettled Lauren with his rant. He felt ashamed for his actions and the disquiet stayed with him, even after his apology and Lauren drawing close to him when he said he wanted them to travel together.

He didn’t let it bother him so much that he didn’t enjoy the display she put on as she fastidiously dried every nook and cranny of her prosthetics. Cahron had to stop himself from offering to help, because then he wouldn’t get to watch as she dried her ankles and toes. Watching her display of flexibility was enough to smooth the furrow in his brow and restore a wide ****-eating grin to his face.

When Lauren looked up and noticed Cahron’s staring, he would forgive her if she threw the towel at his face.

While she retreated to her bedroom to dress, Cahron exited the bath, pieced together enough clean clothes for the day, and then went to find Lauren. He helped with straightening up her room and bringing in the equipment they had left outside the previous night. “Hey, I’m sorry about that outburst. I don’t mind talking about my family, I just get kind of wound up about injustice, especially when it’s done to people I love.” He said, as they worked together. “So don’t you go making any deals with nobility or criminals. He said, half-joking.

“Do you wanna tell me more about your past life? Or your present? Cahron asked as they moved on to preparing breakfast. He was really enjoying working with Lauren on these domestic tasks. It didn’t hurt that her cottage was a really comfortable place to reside--compared to his life on the road. “I know you said that you have memories and dreams like a picture gallery. Do they feel real, or is it like looking at a painting of a memory? Are there any good ones--like stuff that you treasure, or try to feel again when you dream?

If Lauren asked Cahron about his own treasured memories, he’d relate a story about flying. It might not have been the most relatable tale, but it was clear that the memory had really meant something special to Cahron. “I was down south on this tropical beach. I didn’t really have anything going on--I like to stick close to the ocean when I can; fish are free and I’m good at catching them.” He related. “Anyway, it was one of those thundery tropical days--the sky was all the kinds of overcast; stratus, nimbostratus, cumulostratus and these purple clouds were floating over the glassy ocean, grumbling with distant thunder. It was dead calm and this little swell was rolling in, mounding up over a sandbar before breaking on the beach. I took off and skimmed the water in ground-effect, and I could feel the waves--” Cahron paused and extended a wing, then pointed to his tertiary feathers. “--right here. Just bearing me up and pushing me along with the air in front of them. It was… I dunno, kinda magical. I flew circuits like that, just riding the waves, for an hour or two and then spent the rest of that peaceful afternoon on the cool sand under those heavy clouds.” Cahron scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed that his story didn’t have much of a point or conclusion. “I remember thinking that I wanted to share that afternoon with someone.” He said with a sheepish grin. “And now I have. Maybe we can visit that place--or somewhere like it--together.”

II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

TRAVERSING SOMEWHERE

While Lauren was putting all of the dirty clothes, the sheets, and the blanket into the laundry room to wash she listened to Cahron as he talked. Although she agreed to his request and accepted his apology, her mind was elsewhere in the moment. Various thoughts were running rampant in her head as she cleaned around the cottage, with the most prominent question bouncing around her head being how to fuel the engine she was trying to put together. While she was designing it to be a combustion engine she could only imagine how pricey oil or gasoline would be, even more in a world with only one nation just barely entering the industrial revolution without too much magic usage. As the idea of magic lingered in her head she began to wonder if she could use magic to power the engine instead... It'd be better for the environment at least, but how would I even implement it into the engine? Would I use fire magic to artificially create combustion, or would I imbue magic into the rotary engine itself to make the shaft spin? Would I have to completely redesign it, or will it be good regardless of the design? Lauren wondered before gradually pulling herself out of her own head, deciding to take a short break to make some breakfast. And Cahron seemed eager to join her in the kitchen as well. She gave Cahron a slight smile as he inquired more about her past life, moving behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders to give them a light massage.
"Well for one thing, there were more ruins in my last life than there seem to be in this life." Lauren started as she pressed her thumbs and made a circular motion with them. "There were hundreds of thousands of ruins that had been discovered around the world. Most were shrines or monuments of some kind, and acted as popular tourist destinations in the current day before I had died. Others were former houses or buildings from nearly a couple hundred thousand years ago, buried by various sediments and very nearly lost to time itself." Lauren paused as she thought back to the details of what the years of thorough research and archeology uncovered, her hands gradually working their way down his back. Massaging was something she used to do for her mother in her previous life, as she enjoyed the act of doing it and wanted to help her mom ease her back pains. It had become one of the ways she expressed love to others in her life. "One of the ruins I had gone to see were a pair of statues overlooking a river valley called the 'Gate of Eldoris' Grace' during a vacation I had spent with some friends in Krilgox, and the statues were nearly the size of some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. It was weird... seeing ruins older than society itself, from a civilization that had long since disappeared--for one reason or another."

"The dreams about the decrepit museum are a bit weird... It feels as if I'm simply looking at a painting on the wall, but it also feels like I'm personally in the memory - as if I had bore witness to what had transpired. Simultaneously a distant observer and the person pulling the trolley lever. It's... not a pleasant feeling and is a bit disorienting, so I don't visit the museum in my dreams unless I need to. And as for Lilan's memories... Most of them are fine, though I'm occasionally forced to relive the trauma she experienced during the war." Lauren finished as her hands concluded their business, hugging Cahron from behind as she placed her hands on his chest. Although it was supposed to be a brief hug she lingered for a bit as she covertly admired his folded wings, eventually pulling herself away to help get breakfast prepared. Grabbing some flour, eggs, and a couple other ingredients she started whipping up some pancake batter, listening to him as he talked about his favorite memory while she showed him how to cook and flip the pancakes. While she could of easily used a spatula to flip them over it was far less fun than using the skillet itself to flip them, though with her hand-eye coordination it was still pretty easy for her to perform. Besides, they had enough batter for Cahron to make a few slip ups if he decided to give it a try as well. Cahron had started talking about the storm when she was grabbing some strawberries to munch on in the meantime, bringing some over for him to eat as well. Despite part of her attention being focused on cooking she still listened to his favorite memory attentively, and when it was done she blushed a little at his suggestion.
"Sounds like fun, a nice warm day on the beach would be a nice change of pace from the cold weather of the mountain. When we do go though, it'd probably be best to do so on the west coast... You know, the East Empire and all." She reminded Cahron gently, though a slight smirk slowly crept onto her face. "Perhaps we could even find a more secluded beach, as it would be fun to soak in the rays and get a full body tan without worrying about any tan lines - admiring the unobstructed views while we do so."

---

Irihi

IN ISEKAI HELL