[Going to start posting images every post just to keep my characters' reply chunks straight!]Cerys["Human" Form] Wilt'no... Cerys didn't know the place, and was rather glad not to. While Neimah described it in a way that made Cerys curious, charmed, the thought of all that sun... it would simply be too dangerous to ever even attempt such a thing. Damon fared just fine in the sunlight, but himself... he'd surely have to cover his entire body the entire time, no matter how bad the heat. Never mind how walking on sand might affect his hip when he wasn't used to it...
Oh, but it wasn't as though she was asking him to visit. Cerys blinked and gave a soft chuckle himself.
"No apologies needed, I like to hear about the homes people come from. Mine is... not somewhere I can return to, so it's nice. Do you have family there? Sand blasting or not, I'm sure it's a beautiful place." He wondered, absently, how someone blind could fare in a place with very little to whack a stick on, so to speak. Sand was shifty and soft, and surely was a bit like 'looking' at fast-melting wax, unable to discern a shape clearly. But Cerys knew well enough how one could get used to anything.
"I... didn't really, back home, not anymore at least. Family, I mean. You get to be my age, and, well..." He trailed off, wincing. This was a bad conversation topic, and he knew it. Absolutely dour.
"You know, usually the world gets smaller, the more you age. You don't move around as much. I'm... the opposite, I'm finding. I guess I wouldn't be much of a wanderer, though, without my..."...what to call Damon, exactly...?
"...part...ner?" For some reason, he was blushing, faint though it was—vampires couldn't work up much color even on a warm day. He was glad Neimah couldn't see, quite glad. It's just... he'd never really
stated it, even in the... dozens... nearly fifty, now, years? They'd been traveling together...? Time... flew, really. It flew too fast. Not that it would run out any time soon.
"He, um. He's the adventurous type. Or maybe just the migratory type. Like a bird. One of those noisy long neck wading-types that stab fish out of the water." He'd dropped to a grumble at the last bit, as though Damon's eccentricities were anything but insanely charming to him. And they were.
Cheeks redder now, Cerys cleared his throat sharply and raised his voice a little, as though covering up his inane rambling with dirt. He was quite happy to turn the conversation back to Neimah and her... studies? Oh! Cerys did light up at that, a gentle look in his eye as he nodded and smiled broader.
"That's wonderful! Yes, ah, myself... medical, yes. Surgery, specifically, and... botany, herbology, too. Though I can't say I... well, my training was a bit more... nontraditional. I had a mentor... it was a long time ago." Not to say that there weren't colleges back then, some hundred or so years back, but none that Cerys would have had access to.
"How do you feel about it? It's difficult, I know that much, all college is. But medical degrees... well, you'll be doing important work. People need medicine..."He ought to stop talking like a grandfather. He didn't much look like one, looking barely shy of 45. But he was glad to point out a sticking-out root. Even doctors, he knew quite well when it came to himself, needed a bit of looking out for now and then.
"'Course," he muttered softly, warm and a touch sheepish. Doctor Crowther... no one really called him that, but it made him smile just to hear. That's... that used to be
her name...
"It, ah—sorry, you can stop me from rambling at any time. I don't look it, but I'm good at shutting up. Still, though, when you said that, Doctor Crowther... it made me smile. My mentor's name was Agnes Crowther... I took on her name when I studied under her. I miss her, I admit. Quite a bit."Aesop[Lucain Form] A far less human-shaped sort of creature came trotting up, then, clad in dark robes that twinkled like starlight and a wide-brimmed witch's hat. Long, shaggy fur hung in braided bits that swayed as he walked, white tail tips flicking back and forth merrily as he hummed some ancient tune beneath his breath.
Aesop was here on business, though it didn't look it. The man had arrived in this branch of the universe some time ago, and found himself staying put; Evelon was
brimming with magic; the stuff permeated the very air, clogged his senses, made it difficult to see the objects he'd come here for. Like a compass that swung every which way, Aesop was lost, though far from hopelessly. He liked taking his time, when it was afforded him... and since Astrochelys and Apisto had followed him to this world this time, he really had no reason to rush. He'd come across those magic items sooner or later, that was a guarantee. The only problem was, once he'd taken one, he'd come across another, and it all became a rather harrowing and delightful kid-in-candy-store game of how long he could keep this up before getting caught. Not by any authorities, of course. He didn't care about that... but rather... ... ...
Well! It didn't matter. Today he was making a hike up to the top of a historic mountain, and even if that netted him nothing at all, then he'd still taken a lovely hike! And on four legs, it was easier. Aesop had studied this world's fauna carefully and found delight in that both human-shaped things and animal-shaped things seemed on equal footing for the most part, when it came to intelligence. He loved the chance to be something other than his usual form, though he quite adored that, too. It was special, crafted for himself, by himself, with dark skin and hair that rivaled a river in its length and wild flow, with sharp eyes and elegant hands. But today he was a wolf, with blades sticking out of its back, wearing a doggish smile and a skip in his step. Oh, it was just so fun!
He hadn't expected to come across a
group on this hike, but it wasn't as though it was an unlikely occurrence. What felt quite lucky though, was that he'd happened upon a Lucain just like himself, pouring over a map with its paws and then electing to hand it off to a fiery companion with opposable thumbs. Ahh... it made him reminisce a bit. Apisto, his own fiery companion, would surely have complained the whole time about this hike, and his cute, long ears would have been flattened all the while. Terribly cute.
The fiery one seemed occupied. Aesop took the chance to sidle up to the other Lucain, his ears perked in what he hoped was a friendly sort of look for this species' body language.
"Well met, my friend," he chirped sunnily, twin tails giving a happy swish.
"It's nice to see a face like mine! I've been traveling for quite some time now, and just happened to see this pretty trail. This mountain, it has a certain, ahh... how would one put it... mystical chime? In the air, the trees, the rocks and leaves... irresistible, really. Oh—goodness, but names. Those are important, aren't they? Mine is Aesop—"He clearly wasn't used to this shape yet. Without thinking, Aesop stuck out a paw, instinctively, to be shaken like a hand. And he promptly was sent careening downwards with no support on his step, flattening himself on the dirt with his hat rolling some several feet away.
"Oww..."