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+--- Thread: Hoshor Plains Queer Lodgings (/showthread.php?tid=36267)
Queer Lodgings - Mal - August 24, 2019
Tags for refferinoz!
It had taken him a few days to realize @Cam appeared to be like.. Actually gone. Did @Okeanos realize it? Haven't posted in the other thread yet, but there was a very real possibility that Mal was kind of avoiding him a bit depending on how that one goes since Mal is a total loser. Even if that's not the case he was certainly acting on his own without telling anyone.
He'd picked up a few hints of the kid's trail and had followed them, but some of the recent rain hadn't exactly helped him track. It was old now. Where'd he gone? Mal had called out a few times, but after getting no response to his shouts, he'd quieted. If Cam hadn't heard the first half dozen times, why would he hear now? It was better to just use his nose and maybe Mal would find him. But here he was yet again in the plains, and the trail was now gone. Certainly if Cam had gone back to Elysium he would have gone through here... So where did he go? Like not too long ago, Mal stood, surrounded by grasses, alone and defeated by what he hunted.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Ibis (Ghost) - September 05, 2019
Since her brother hadn't kept tabs on Cam, Ibis felt like it was her responsibility. She had agreed that the boy likely knew how to handle himself (he'd made it all the way to Neverwinter alone, after all) but there was a nagging feeling in the back of Ibis' mind telling her she should do right by him. She hadn't been present when Elysium underwent its terrible losses, and the weight of that knowledge gave her some sense of responsibility now. Lily had been a dear friend - a third mother, she could argue - and she wouldn't let any harm come to Cam if she could help it.
The paths in the forest were easy to navigate, and the scent of the boy drifted - thinned - until Ibis was left to wonder where he had gone. It felt like she was going to fail in this too, and that hurt to think about, so she mentally walled off her doubts and continued. The girl trailed after Cam's meek scent until it mixed with another familiar one: the strong musk of Mal, which surprised her but also gave her some hope. At least someone was trying to help the boy.
She was mostly out of breath as she came upon Mal, and chuffed to him as she approached.
Any luck?
RE: Queer Lodgings - Mal - September 06, 2019
He drew in a breath, exhaling slowly. It was probably time to go home. Maybe Cam would come back some day -- or he'd just join the ranks of those he'd never see again. It didn't strike him as much as his sisters had, but he still worried a bit for the kid, if that was even the right word. He'd just started to turn when he spotted someone approaching. Ibis?
Blink. Yeah, he wasn't really expecting her to be here at all. Took him a moment to parse what she meant as well. He shook his head.
He's just... Gone.Like many of the rest. Mal was used to people just disappearing, but this was the first time he could at least try to find them again. Unfortunately, it seemed it was not to be.
His expression through everything was fairly muted.
And you're back?Not really much of a question. The answer was pretty obvious unless she was planning to run off immediately again. Everyone was good at that. He still wasn't sure what to think about the two siblings when you got right down to it. It required trust, and he was just, well.. Wary.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Ibis (Ghost) - September 06, 2019
He seemed just as perplexed about Cam's whereabouts as herself, but more-so confused when the two wolves locked glances, as if he expected her to never show her face around the woods again. Maybe that was just the way Mal worked - trust nobody, believe the worst? It seemed like a sad way to go about life; then again, he'd been through more and seen a lot of hardships from what Ibis had discerned. She wouldn't hold it against him.
Still, the note of surprise in his tone was hard to mistake. She nodded, smiling softly as she went on to say,
I am, as promised.Wherever her brother went, she was sure to follow. And she had no intention of leaving Mal or his new home behind. The thought of home, however, soured the look on her face. The smile faltered, faded.
Ibis thought of Elysium and her own cowardice, and blurted,
I didn't make it to Elysium. I mean, I did, but I... I didn't visit them. It felt wrong to ask them about Cam's mom so... I came back.Why she chose to impart this detail to Mal and hide it from her own brother was a mystery to Ibis, but, one could assume she felt safe enough to do so. She was giving the boy some fodder he could easily use against her, and trusting that he wouldn't.
After a few seconds of quiet she murmurs,
I don't know what to do. I can't... I can't stop thinking about Lily.It hurt to say her name, even. For a moment she wished she couldn't feel anything.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Mal - September 08, 2019
He was very good at staring and blinking for a few seconds.
I stopped caring about them long ago, so if you're hoping I have some sort of solution for you, I don't. Wouldn't Okeanos be a better choice to talk to?He wasn't being totally obnoxious or anything, more just confused why she'd go and dump all that on Mal when he'd clearly rather they get teleported to a distant corner of the planet and quit messing with his life when he had deemed them all nothing but a memory.
Or maybe you should have like. Spoken to them or something.Hell if he knew. He had about as much experience with this all as he did with astrophysics. Maybe if he hadn't already decided to act like Delight was dead before finding out he was -- or maybe Mal had just boxed up any associated emotions and kicked them into the metaphorical basement to rot. Who knew.
Mal probably would have had more to say if he knew that she'd hidden that fact from Okeanos. Probably a lot more snarky words, at least.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Ibis (Ghost) - September 08, 2019
Maybe it was wrong to go to Mal for support; Ibis didn't know what he expected out of the wolves he sought to build himself a pack, but evidently it was not comraderie, it was not family, it was not even a small ounce of respect. Did he think he would attract anyone with his abrasive behavior? Did he think about it at all? Probably not. Ibis didn't like thinking negatively about anyone but when she heard his countering words, it hurt her more than she thought it could.
Being a creature that has been through many hardships, she expected that Mal might empathize with Ibis' loss; that was wrong of her, and she knew it by the way he spoke down to her. Refused to help, except to tell her off in no uncertain terms. Maybe I should have said something to them, she thought, reiterating Mal's single offering. Talking to Mal about this stuff was wrong, though, and even if she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, he wasn't a friend to her.
How could she live here when she was unwanted? Okeanos did not need her, he was more capable than Ibis ever thought herself to be; Mal didn't want her, so what was the point? This brief conversation drove home the obvious: Ibis shouldn't be here at all. So with a deep sigh and a briefly forlorn look at the landscape off her flank, she murmured a quick little response.
I guess I thought you'd help me.Stupid girl, with her unfounded sense of idealism - believing the best out of people when they routinely show you nothing to support it.
I'll go look over here for Cam, maybe he went this way.She remarks as she pulls away from Mal's company, her quick, light steps taking her swiftly away from him and towards home again.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Mal - September 08, 2019
The only thing that Mal had been taught in the world was that he had to rely on himself. Everyone else was unreliable, likely to leave, and they honestly didn't seem to care about him, so that was what he returned in kind. Why would he be nice to someone who was obviously just going to betray him? Ibis had already shown that she thought she was above him or something -- that his experiences meant nothing, and here she was seeking his pity.
How?he half-shouted with frustration.
I don't even know what you want.It wasn't like she'd said -- she just acted like he would totally be able to fix things or something and -- newsflash -- he had not a clue. She demanded too much and if she was gonna just flounce off now, he wasn't the sort to go try and baby her to fix whatever issue it was she was having. But whatever.
He's not there. He's gone,he called as she turned to head off without him. He was already preparing to give up the search. There weren't any signs. She'd have a shadow back to the forest whether she liked it or not.
Perhaps these siblings were a mistake to keep around.
RE: Queer Lodgings - Ibis (Ghost) - September 08, 2019
Suddenly he's shouting at her, and she freezes - mostly shocked, having never been yelled at before, or at least not in recent memory. It surprises her that he'd go full-tilt in to some kind of rage when all she was after was a shoulder to lean on; the kind of thing one would expect from a member of the pack, and especially a leader. It wasn't too much to ask for, as far as Ibis could discern. She could've gone to her brother but she was also trying to grow, and to trust outside of her tiny circle. Why was it so hard for Mal to do the same? How did he expect to be a leader if this was what his followers were met with?
Ibis wasn't one for anger; she had felt strong emotions before and been led by them to confusing ends, but she wasn't interested in letting Mal win by turning and fighting with him. It felt like he was always after a fight, and Ibis was not a warrior nor was she interested in arguing with someone that was clearly not mature enough to handle it.
Maybe it would be better if she just left. He obviously didn't care about her, or about Okeanos. It was a wonder he was trying to forge himself a pack to begin with - ah, but there was her anger, starting to rise up and take over. Ibis fought against the urge to devolve in to childish yelling, and opted to pick up the pace; maybe she needed to go out for another trip, keep her distance for a while.