From: Andrea.Evans@Orb.Nashua.NH.US (Andrea Evans) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [LH] Kadrys/Kardia/Selna: Mingling Date: 28 Oct 1993 16:51:39 -0400 Message-ID: <2apbcr$ppo@orb.nashua.nh.us> References: <1993Oct14.172212.20782@data-io.com> [ADMIN: This post is a three-way effort. Thanks, Liralen and Spider...] ( A man and a woman have deserted the crowd and found an empty room, dark and silent except for the inviting glow and rustle of a fire. They are close together on a couch with its back to the room, facing out on a vista of unearthly beauty. They are quite alone. A cynic would expect what often happens at the darkened fringes of large celebrations. And indeed their situation is an intimate one: he has bared his true self, shed his normal reserves, poured himself out to her, and she has been a willing, skilled recipient. But this time the intimacies shared were emotional rather than physical... ) "...And then - and then I remember, it _must_ be true. For not even in my most ardent dreams have I dared to wish for _so_ much love." Kadrys reached out and placed gentle hands on Kardia's shoulders, drawing her into a light embrace. She nuzzled for a moment at his hair. It was as cool and scentless as the night breeze. In return he chuckled, and she felt his head half turn toward her, his hand stroking the strands of glimmering red away from the side of her face. "Well, what a beating I've given to these poor ears..." he murmured. She could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll just have to kiss them and make them aaall better!" And he nibbled delicately round the edge of her ear, tickling it unmercifully. Kardia giggled, suddenly turned her head, and kissed him, as light and soft as a butterfly's wing. Her eyes went wide and they stared at each other for just a moment. Then she gave another soft laugh and and shoved him away and Kadrys rocked back exaggeratedly, grinning like an imp. He came to his feet on the rebound, still smiling at Kardia. "I think you've been listening to me ramble on enough for one night. I'm certain there are plenty of other people out there who'd be glad to see you. Shall we?" And he crossed the room, holding open the door to the main hall and bowing her through with a theatrical flourish, his eyes glinting with amusement. Kardia laughed and then her face stilled and she cocked her head to the side, as if trying to remember something. Her entire posture changed, and she walked. It was a walk that was both very self-centered and very aware of who might be watching. It was graceful without undue embellishments; contained without fear. It was the walk of a very, very public figure both comfortable and keenly aware of scrutiny. Unlike theatrical performances of such a walk, it was neither stiff nor haughty, but there was something in it, to it, that commanded respect. It was the walk of a true princess. But as she came up next to Kadrys, she broke form, back into the girl in the alley, and she grinned and elbowed him in the ribs. Kadrys gave an audible oof that turned into a brief laugh as he shut the door and took a step or two into the room. As a levitating tray meandered past, he reached for a glass of wine: a camouflaging gesture raised to the status of reflex over the years. But his hand paused in midair, withdrew. He shook his head and chuckled softly to himself. 'What need for concealment here? No, for once in my unlife, I can _relax_.' His smile widened for a moment, until it was almost a beam. Until it was almost wide enough. But not quite. No reason to startle anyone. No, no need to do anything at all but enjoy. He wandered over to a comfortable spot by a window, leaned back against its frame, his eyes scanning the room. The people gathered there formed a wonderfully varied and fascinating picture: a collage of species and age, sex and stature and personality. Against one wall, the satyr band played: an upbeat sound that sent excitement pulsing through the air and drew dancers to the wooden floor before their dais. Kadrys took a deep breath, drawing in a heady mixture of perfumes and pheromones, spices and stimulants, magefire and incense and the faint sea scent of flesh. In his current state, the usual bloodspoor was easily ignored. The afterglow of the smile lingered unnoticed on his face as his eyes tracked of their own accord, moving from one face, one form, to the next. Here, two women with soft black and white fur and long plumy tails strolled by, one on each arm of a stocky young centaur. There, a greyhaired woman sipped at a liquor with the soft cloudy glow of a moonstone, and nodded her approval. A teenager in a plain white tabard was sitting at the edge of the band's dais, his wide eyes skittering from one extraordinary sight to the next. Kadrys wondered for a moment about the lad's expression: an odd blend of eager curiosity and almost-hidden discomfort. From across the room, Kadrys' glance happened to cross that of Krupp. They traded nods, Kadrys grinning at the steaming goblet that Krupp raised in toast: more of Delirium's Tears. Judging by the tiny chartreuse hippogriff orbiting Krupp's fedora, the halfling was at the happy buzz stage. Kadrys smiled to think how similar he himself felt; for too long he had gone athirst, but now he had drunk deep of the love of his friends and its warmth glowed in him. He was nudged out of his reverie by a slight eddying in the crowd, people sidestepping, glancing down briefly. A black cat with an ornate collar and whiskers like silver wires padded along, head high, tail proudly aloft like a wizard's staff. Kadrys thought, 'That's Jac's familiar. But if he were here I'd've seen him before now: someone that size is too hard to miss...' The cat walked directly up to Kadrys and started rubbing against his legs. Kadrys grinned and bent to run his fingertips down the cat's arching back. "Hello, M'arrella..." he murmured. A sensation that tingled like static electricity rose from the contact, arcing through his nerves, reaching for his mind. He snatched his hand away in an instant reflex. 'Attempted mindtouch... Interesting...' He opened a conduit through the abyss of memories that defended his mind, and deliberately reached down, his stroking hands pale against the cat's rich black fur. The tingle reached for him again, and a mind like a sword, slim and direct and metallic, slid painlessly into the opened forefront of his mind. [ Hello. Why the startle? ] * I wasn't expecting the contact. I had to prepare the way for you. * [ What? ] * (grin) Don't worry, it's not important. So, what're you doing here? * [ I'm here for a story. You said you'd tell another one sometime. ] The cat butted her head against his leg to emphasise her point. * (chuckle) I said I'd tell it to both of you, remember? Where is Jac, anyway? * [ Around somewhere, being boring... ] The contact trailed into silence as a tall elf-woman emerged from a distant doorway and started to slip through the crowd, moving toward them. She was clad in a blue and silver gown of an offworld style, her dark hair kept in place by silver combs. Kadrys straightened up from stroking M'arrella, and watched with polite interest as the woman started across the wide hall. But she hadn't taken more than a few steps before Kadrys' faint smile flickered and his brows lowered for the barest moment, a frown or a wince almost too fast to be visible. She arrived soon after, in a faint whisper of rich fabric and a waft of warmth, holding out a hand toward him. He took it and bowed over it in the local courtly manner, and she nodded gracefully in return. However, his wicked smile as he released her hand was a touch out of keeping with the formality of the greeting gesture. "When you dress up for a party, you don't do it by halves, Jac..." he grinned. She laughed. "I am called Selna. It seems I was wrong when I came over here, however. It looked like you were momentarily without a companion. I was hoping you'd want to dance...?" Kadrys smiled. "I'm flattered." He glanced over toward the band. Karl was belting out a lyric line "Let's stick together, c'mon, c'mon, let's stick together...", the twins were making the drumset work overtime and Anna was mouthing some convoluted brass horn. The wooden floor was packed with dancers. Kadrys' smile turned into an apologetic wince. "...but that looks a little frenzied for my taste right now. I'm feeling a bit too relaxed to dodge flying limbs at the moment." Selna nodded. "Yes, and I suppose this gown's really too formal for that sort of activity, more's the pity..." Kadrys shrugged. "Ahwell. We can always wait. Even satyrs have to do rest-sets sometime. And I'm sure there's plenty to talk about. Even if I _don't_ get around to telling any more stories..." and he grinned and nudged M'arrella's side gently with his shin. "It seems..." she began, and stopped. She looked down at M'arrella, who leapt up at her hand. Just as the cat's head made contact, there was a shimmering, and Selna's hand closed on the hilt of a sword. "I have to know," came a musical, almost liquid voice, "how did you figure out that Selna was Jac so quickly? Did I give it away somehow?" Kadrys shook his head a little. "Not really. When I saw you, I thought Jac'd be around somewhere, but I didn't think he'd be in fancy dress." he grinned sideways at Selna. "No, it was a very simple thing that told me, M'arrella, and it was none of your fault. I'm just naturally sensitive to holiness. Selna's aura hit me from all the way across the room. And such emanations are unique to the individual. Take that lad there..." Kadrys nodded toward the youth in the white tabard who was sitting by the side of the band's dais. "I'd say he was placed into that Order, rather than entering it of his own choice. What I feel from him is quite faint and confused." Kadrys shrugged. "But that's common enough at his age. He may find his vocation later, in which case he'll grow a lot less comfortable for me to be around..." Kadrys stretched, a strangely languid, relaxed gesture, before resuming. "That transformation is really very good. If it weren't for your aura I'd never have known." "Thank you," she smiled. Kadrys nodded and continued, "Most mages don't place enough importance on changing all the non-physical aspects: not every nuance of behaviour at once, not so it's as natural as a lifetime of habit." He directed an interested glance at Selna. "Would you mind if I asked you how you managed it? Your mimicry's so good, I don't think it's mimicry at all. Do you have more than one complete personality?" She laughed. "I suppose I've always been at least schizothymic. That tendency was reinforced when I started theatrical training at age seven." She lowered the sword, which returned to being a cat. "I don't know that I'd say I have multiple complete personalities, but I do have several personae. Each is tied to one of the forms I've made a part of me, although not all of those forms have a separate persona. This one is probably the most thoroughly developed, even though it's not the most-used. You remember that I told you I had lived with the Virren elves at various times? Some of the longest stretches were spent as a lady-in-waiting, learning what it's like to grow up as a female Vir." She shook her head and continued, "Then again, most mages don't really bother to get all the physical details right, either. Oh, they'll get the gross-level details, like the shape and colour, and frequently even the smell, but they miss the more subtle things. In particular, elves have a different elemental balance from humans. Anyway, when the change is deep enough, there are interactions with the new metabolism that help keep things different." Kadrys' head tilted a little and he looked at her inquiringly. "Intriguing. I wonder about these other personae of yours... Who else are you, and what are each of you like?" Selna looked about. "I think it would be too showy to make introductions out here. Perhaps we should find a side room?" "Indeed." They looked about, and found the room from which Kadrys had recently emerged was still unoccupied. As they entered, M'arrella's tail twitched and the doorway looked slightly darker. "Just a privacy screen," explained Selna. "We can see through it, but sight inward is obscured, as is sound in both directions." "Ah." Kadrys nodded. "I don't feel right just introducing myself," Selna said. "M'arrella, would you please be the mistress of ceremonies for the introductions?" The cat dissolved into a dark grey smoke, which grew upward, becoming paler and greenish. The cloud coalesced into a second Selna. This one was dressed in soft leather boots and forest-green tunic and pants. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, and loose in back. "Sure. I can do that." She looked at Kadrys. "This is how Selna normally appears. Oh, in case you were wondering, I did have to pull this shape through the familiar-bond. The only shapes which are _mine_ are cat and sword. Anyway, since Selna is the oldest-seeming, this being how a Vir looks when she's about four hundred, I'll try to work down in age. Let me think. Yeah. The next one should be Matsuo Shinoji." A grey-haired man of Nippon stood where Selna had been. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties. He bowed deeply. "I am most honoured to make your acquaintance, gracious spirit." Kadrys returned the bow to the same depth, moving in a precise reflection of the other man's grace. "Felicitations, enlightened one." he murmured, his gaze averted for the correct amount of time after the bow was complete. When it was polite to do so, he raised his eyes appraisingly to the other man's face. "If the revered one is willing, this son of darkness desires greatly to know the circumstances surrounding your origin..." "How could one refuse such a request of so noble a kami? Yet I fear that this unworthy has but little to tell. I am only an humble craftsman, a maker of swords for my betters. Long ago I apprenticed myself to the best masters of my craft that would accept me, and I learned from them as best I could for twenty years. For twenty more years I struggled with the lessons they taught me, hoping to improve my skill. I find I am still barely a student of the making of blades." Kadrys nodded. "Mastery is a direction, not a destination." The two traded bows of farewell. "The next one ought to be Sergeant George Murphy." A broad-shouldered blonde man stood before Kadrys. There was a scar running across his lined face, just under his brown eyes. He appeared to be about forty, and was equipped like a mercenary. "Hi," he said. "I'm looking for somebody named Jac Benson. It seems the Captain owes him some money. Know where I can find him?" Kadrys grinned widely, and shrugged. "Sorry, sarge, I've got no more idea where he is than you..." "Next in the series we have Lukais N'Sarka." "Just call me Luke." This time, a solidly-built black man of about thirty, standing almost six and one-half feet tall, wearing a bright yellow shirt which was open to the waist. He wore leather armbands, and black leather pants and boots. A brass headband sat on his forehead, just below his hairline. To Kadrys' strange sight, Luke's musculature did not appear normal. Something was also odd about his skin. "Sorry about the duds." Luke indicated his clothing with a wave of his hands. "My clients expect it. You don't get hired as a bodyguard or private investigator unless you look like you can handle the turf." A lopsided grin, and an eyebrow arched in reply. "You look to me like you could handle quite a bit..." "The Luke form and this next one," M'arrella said, "are also known to Jac's friend Geof. They trade off which one gets to have the armoured skin and which one has to rely on finesse to keep his hide in one piece. So, here's Luke's sometime sidekick, Danny Rand." A medium-height blonde man in his late twenties, dressed in loose- fitting green shirt and trousers. His forearms had been marked, by having been seared. One showed the form of a tiger; the other, that of a dragon. He bowed slightly and briefly. "Hi. Pleased to meet you." His hand twitched, and he looked at Kadrys' hand. He seemed unsure whether to offer a handshake. Kadrys peered intrigued at Danny, but didn't press matters any further: he had met enough people before who were reluctant to make contact with his cursed flesh. M'arrella spoke up again. "Unless I've forgotten someone, we should be ready for the last one. This is Billy." An average-looking lad, probably around fourteen, of not-quite-average height. He had mouse-brown hair, and wore slightly decrepit grey and brown clothing that made it easy to hide both in shadows and in crowds. He nodded in greeting. Kadrys grinned and returned the nod. They appraised each other in sharp, streetwise silence. "OK," said M'arrella, looking at Billy. "Did I miss anyone." "Only the Uruk," was his reply. "What? Oh, come on! That was before my time." "True enough," he replied. Suddenly, Jac was standing where Billy had just been. He turned to Kadrys and said, "While I had to live as an orc for infiltration and spying purposes long enough that it does count as another persona, I hope you'll pardon me if I omit that one. That particular performance is one I'd rather not reprise." Kadrys chuckled. "I understand. From my experience they're usually not the most congenial people..." Jac nodded, then cocked his head and chuckled. "Actually, although it no longer really counts as a separate personality, the form that started it all should probably be represented as well." "K-k-k-kah" came the cough of greeting from nearly 900 pounds of Siberian tiger. Kadrys grinned sharply, and in the next instant he was gone. A wolf, lean and shaggy and deep jet black, huffed in greeting, lolling out its tongue over long white fangs as it scented the air, before pacing forward to carefully touch noses with the massive white muzzle of the tiger. The wolf backed away and then, with the same lack of transition, Kadrys reappeared. The tiger gave way to Selna, back in her party finery. She frowned pensively for a moment, then looked at Kadrys. "I have to wonder why I'm comfortable enough with you to have done this. Of course, no one else has ever asked about me that way, but that's not enough to explain why I'd introduce so many of my forms. I think it's because your so much older than I am." She smiled. "It's been a long time since I've been made to feel like I'm just an infant." Kadrys chuckled, grinning wryly at Selna. "And it's been a long time since I've been befriended by as many people as I have lately. I thank you for trusting me enough to show me yourselves." He offered Selna his arm and they turned back to the light and activity of the party outside. ==================================================================== Kadrys is Copyright 1993 by Andrea Evans. Kardia Xvaramene is Copyright 1993 by Phyllis Rostykus. All other characters featured are Copyright 1993 by Spider Boardman.