vivala | Fourth Quest: Makeovers, Magic, and Meditation

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Fourth Quest: Makeovers, Magic, and Meditation

1: Makeovers
Deedee has, after a rough month, healed enough to start treating people in the spa and in her space in the Vault, personally, again. She's a little worse for wear, of course - but she's turned half of her hair burning off into an excuse for a hairstyle where half her head is shaved, and the other is in a side ponytail; it's a good look on her, if a bit... butch for her tastes.

As promised, she's doing a sale on beauty treatments; haircuts, dye-jobs, mani-pedis, nail painting. While she's still healing with her hands, she's also giving people new looks with a smile.

2: Magic
During her time healing and enforced Vault time, Deedee has been studying magic diligently, not wanted to get caught flatfooted by Imperial witches - be they jannisaries or otherwise - ever again. She's be studying the theory, practicing the techniques Ziel taught and in classrooms, and she finally feels like she's going to make a breakthrough.

Which is when you may find her in a training hall across from a candle, sitting seiza, taking deep breaths, fingers in a mudra before her. She exhales -

- a gout of flame that lights the candle, without melting it.

She opens her eyes, and whoops triumph.

3: Meditation

There is a shrine in the courtyard of the spa, now.

It doesn't advertise it's religious affiliation. To those who don't know what it is, it just looks like a pleasant little open-air structure; in moments of weakness Deedee refers to it with a smile as "The Dread Gazebo." But it has windchimes, and streamers of red tipped with white triangular "tails," and a central altar made of little brass flutes that catch the wind to make music; and every so often, you can see Deedee in there, meditating in motion, by dancing or practicing her martial arts.

It is her way of thanking and honoring Sylphan for delivering on his half of a vow made in desperation and in earnest; to help them free Terra Branford, and live to see her live free.

All are welcome to pray to Sylphan, the trickster-fox, the laughing wind, friend of travellers and fools, foe of tyrants - if you have need of him.

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As a being of earth, usually, Kanna was more inclined to keep her Ether control sharp and her power clear by engaging in various forms of penance and ritual cleansing.

Having found such a shrine, however, and the place already being a place to wash... She makes a bare sop to modesty, and sits, and practices her breathing.

The fact that it reminds her of home, just a little bit, is coincidence. Plenty have made prayers with ribbons and flags. Even more have made devotions of shrines like this.

She utters no prayer. Clears her thoughts, or tries to. Lets the shill of February wash over her as she closes her eyes and breathes.

It is a simple thing, to ask a god's aid.

It is an altogether different thing, to see what is clearly a place of worship, and attempt to piece together a practice, even if it was based in your own-- and then, even further, to emulate that god's example.

He's started to feel a bit more like himself enough to get back into his usual routines. Staff extended and in his hands, the turtlekin's spinning it slowly as he makes way into the training hall looking for an unoccupied space to make use of.

Even though he sees he's not the only one in here, Deedee's sudden exclamation startles him a bit. Still, he can't help for a faint smile. She looks and sounds a lot better than when he'd last seen her.

"I don't think I ever got to properly say thank you," he says as he steps over towards her.

"Erm. Hello."

It's the Vault. And this girl chatted with you via the Ethernet once before, Deedee.

"... Er. Pleased to meet you in person?", she observes.

"Hello, Deedee. Can I ask for some advice?"

Thankfully the winter weather means Ilphyl can keep a cloak and hood up. They are starting to worry they are a bit too distinctive looking. Which is why they are asking someone who knows how to do more with makeup than Ilphyl themselves.

(They also brought flowers for the shrine, albeit ones that they had been growing indoors and supplementing with magic. Ilphyl tends to be a bit transactional about divine offerings when they don't know the god well, but this means they are attentive about it.)

Sylphan makes no sign of objecting; in fact, the wind blows through the chimes, and it is melodious. Sylphan protects travellers, strangers and rebels, after all, and Kanna is all three.

It’s soon apparent that you’ve been joined by another supplicant; a tall foxkin girl wearing robes in a shade of shaolin inspired, lighting incense.

“For what, doing my part for the team?” Deedee says, grinning ear to ear. “Thank you for keeping a level head and getting us and our friend out alive.”

She rises, rolling her neck, then her shoulders, shaking out tension and ether flow in her arms.

“Kaytlin, the new cryomancer, yeah?”

The foxkin woman is taller and broader than her, in her patched saffron robes over teal skirts and blouses. Deedee’s dark pink prayer beads flatter her chest as they drape over it.

She offers her hand. “Welcome to the spa in exile, we do healing and makeovers and sometimes rescue innocents.”

Edited 2025-02-17 05:58 (UTC)

Sylphan appreciates tokens with personal meaning to strangers in strange lands. The flowers will do well in this patch of consecrated soil.

Deedee nods seriously, ears swiveled to Ilphyls face, sitting crosslegged at the shrine.

“Of course. What do you need?”

"Still. You could've healed any of the others instead." And he'd be a lot worse off, so it's not like he's not thankful that he'd been spared the additional treatment they'd needed. "So thanks for making me at least feel a little less like a roasted side dish."

Donnie's smile grows a bit tight at the thanks given in turn. He shakes his head. "Barely. If the captain wasn't there, things could've gone a whole lot differently."

"Yeah. Managed to catch up to and join up with the Corsairs, erm. During the previous major operation. I asked, they ran with it, I've taken down a few Imperials. I figured some services might be suitable. Plus a chance to get to know a few more people. Always valuable, there."

She paused. "Still not sure how useful I'm actually being. But... Gotta try, right? This world's rulership isn't gonna delegitimize itself..."

She feels the slight change in wind and Ether currents, pauses, and looks over to Deedee, and then sees the robes.

Kanna has never seen a true monk; Natruckt had hid all such obvious signs of culture, after all. But she does pause, and nod, and ask, "am I underdressed?"

The monk’s response to that question is delighted laughter.

“For the god of weary far-travellers? Never,” she says. “He’s used to people shaking off dusty coats before making offerings. Sylphan doesn’t stand on that part of ceremony.”

She hums.

“If you do want to offer something, he favors things that can be carried by the winds, tokens of home, and offerings of food, particularly arancini or fried tofu.”

“I know,” she says. “Things could easily have gotten much worse. There’s a reason I made good on my promises to Sylphan; he’s the god that knows we needed the help.”

She sighs.

“If you need any more healing, or even just a change in look, let me know, okay? I… think I’m back where I was. Stronger, even, as you saw.”

Edited 2025-02-18 04:00 (UTC)

“Oh, I dunno,” she says, blandly. “Have you heard the dreck the Emperor said in his public address? I particularly liked the perfunctory ‘because our god said so,’ given how many folk religions he’s suppressed.”

Donnie flexes his fingers. His hands had gotten burned from his staff when things got super-heated from the fire that engulfed them, but they feel a whole lot better, and not as stiff as they'd been.

"I think I'm feeling a lot better," he says. "I...wasn't sure if there were any lasting effects from what she cast on me before the captain pulled her crown, but I don't feel as tired anymore, anyway."

Deedee does get a bit of a blank look at the offer of a change in look, because he really has no idea what that entails, but most of his life he'd also lived out on the coast away from Elysium and people in general. Spas? What are those!

She nods, humming as she considers this bit of information. "Oh, I think I've got the perfect thing, then."

She heads back to her own... clothes hole? Locker?-- and returns with... a cloth band with a carefully-woven, intricate pattern. "... I made this before I left home. Kept it with me all the time, and hung it up in my room in the Division. It's been half a decade since I wove it. Never got to wear it on-stage. I was even wary of wearing it in public, since it's a traditional pattern from my home island.

"Looks like that's not gonna be possible any time soon, either, so." It's with a little bitterness that she hangs it up next to the other streamers. She'd hoped to show it off one day. Make it a fashion. Take the pressure off back home.

And now, all it reminds her of is the image of what almost happened at Vindess, but for her. "Sylphan can keep it."

Privately she thinks it a shame that such a lovely thing be unworn, but Deedee’s not here to judge.

She steps away and, with a flourish of one arm, bids Kanna hang up her sash.

Kanna nods. Makes a loop, then a stagehand's knot. It's no longer than Deedee's own waist sash, and might have had, once upon a time, similar significance.

Now, it's just another remnant of an occupied people. Cotton, light, in the breeze.

What would it take, to bring anything like the people that made it back?

Kanna didn't know. Couldn't know. Even her grandfather had only half-remembered most of the important things, and her father had only remembered the martial arts.

She didn't like to dwell on the things that made her bitter, but bitter pills had been on the menu the past few months, hadn't they? First, having to leave at all, and then Vindess offering a fresh reminder of what even mild dissent got you, anymore.

She breathed, and watched the sash flutter in the wind.

"It shows a certain kind of fear, yes. But he still has the might to back it. Until we deny him more and more of that... Well."

She pauses. "... If I'm going to get a mani-pedi, I. Probably need to take my gloves and boots off, huh."

She hadn't thought that far ahead... And given the full bodysuit she had on, that might take a moment or three.

And then the breeze picks up, becoming a gust. Powerful, but not so much as to knock Kanna away or blow her down.

Just enough for the offered belt to slip up and away from it’s tether to the shrine, and to wrap itself around Kanna’s waist before the gust, and the belt, settle.

Deedee blinks, then puts her knuckle to her lips.

“I think he thinks you need it more than he does,” she says.

She blinks as it ends up around her waist-- and then, she can't help but laugh as she ties it around, securing better the towel she'd improvised to keep more sensitive sensibilities sensible. "So you're just gonna hand me the job, huh? My whole culture's a tall order, I hope you realize!?"

She grins. "Well, not the first bull I've taken by the horns, I suppose."

"I figure, with the attention the Corsairs are getting, I'm not going to be able to do much that requires infiltration," Ilphyl said, holding up their braid. "Well, not without changing my shape. Do you know anything about make-up for disguises? I've done it before, but with help. And we had to dye my hair."

It is, in fact, frustrating to them that Ilphyl can turn into any animal, but can't pull off 'human' or even 'another sort of elf', when even a relatively inexperienced wizard can pull that off.

She frowns, considering.

“I know some costume play tricks. The big thing we can alter is hair color - along with your changing your posture and demeanor. Getting into a different character and changing your most distinctive feature will help with the illusion.”

"That last bit is hard. Sometimes I can do it with the right clothing, but people are more complicated than animals."

Ilphyl knows from observation that their own internal sense of gender and their outward presentation (to put it clinically) could alter how they held themselves and acted, but they had only tried that when leaning into a feminine presentation as opposed to their normal 'not really caring how others see them'.

(If they were honest about it, it was because they were still figuring out what an overtly masculine Ilphyl would look and feel like, other than the person they were when they ran away from home.)

"The last time I had to disguise myself, we dyed my hair brown and used a mask and some makeup to hide my skin color. Well, and a dress, because of my height -- other kinds of elves back home have taller men than women. That helped with reminding me to act different."

"If it helps, I don't think the skin tone will be a problem. The ashen hair, on the other hand..."

She takes a deep breath. "How good are you with hitting different tones of voice? Took me a bit to hit contralto without it coming out nasal."

She laughs.

"Take your time, tour the spa. Take a load off. We've got baths as well."

And when she is ready, Deedee will be waiting with her supplies at the chair.

"With any luck you won't have to go it alone," Deedee says. "The Empire is rarely as good at wiping away everything they claim to - I doubt you're the very last of your people."

She shrugs. "Good news is you don't have to finish the job. Bad news is you can't abandon it."

"I know I'm not. The blood's still there." She sighs. "But if blood made a people, Natruckt would have been united. It's the memory I'm worried about. Grandpa had half-remembered things he kept. Father had the martial art, and not much else. ... ... I'll need to go back to that island one of these days."

It doesn't take too long before Kaitlyn's back, down to a T-shirt and shorts. Her entire bodysuit shouldn't fit into the bag now set by the chair, but it seems it had to.

It's at this point that it's obvious just how much of her skin is pale to a degree far beyond 'white woman'.

And of course, the first time Deeds touches her skin, the fact that her blood's flowing normally but she's super cold may jump out.

"I've never tried. I sing, but I'm not very good."

“You’d be surprised how learnable a skill it is, though I’ve found deeper is easier,” Deedee says. “You don’t need to sing - just to sound different than your natural rest point.”

"I'll have to try that. Any tips?"

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Fourth Quest: Makeovers, Magic, and Meditation

3: Meditation

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I’m describing her this way because your girl is a useless lesbian

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