Eseitalk

Esei tells you, "** there is a soft skittering across the aether, like a stone skipped across black
waters to test the surface. **."

You tell Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk, "[The stone hits an adamant wall of
will, forged from effulgent blades of cooly glinting light. The voice that speaks from within is
flat, yet polite.] Tired of tormenting innocent animals?"

Esei tells you, "Tormenting? Hmm. You caught her, did you not?"

You tell Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk, "She is fortunate that I did so. She
may have as easily landed upon the spikes of my shoulders, or hit the blades of my crest.
Regardless, animals are not projectiles, nor toys for you to play with. Have some respect."

Esei tells you, "Respect..."

You tell Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk, "A foreign concept to you, is it? I
am unsurprised."

Esei tells you, "** there is a shiver of the aether, whispers of amusement. **."

Esei tells you, "What do -you- know of respect, Avower?"

You tell Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk, "Enough to treat innocent creatures
with it - Which is evidently more than you know to do."

Esei flits just past the willow's drooping leaves, black eyes trained steadily on you.

Seated before the waterline, Avaris's antennae flick up into alert, twitching
banners of dense red aether at Esei's arrival. Though he does not turn to face Esei, every single
one of the glowing eyes that dwell within his wings turn to fix Esei with a steady, unwavering
stare. In a calm, level voice, comprised of many harmonising in a pleasant chorus, he says, "Come to
learn of respect?"

Esei merely tilts their head, quirking a brow.

Esei caresses a phantasmal shroud of shadows gently.

Evidently untroubled by the silence, Avaris maintains his serene posture, the
azure, alien eyes set within his visored face gazing out across the waters. Several light-forged
eyes track the motion towards the shroud, and linger there - Though none of his hands so much as
twitch towards the ampoule that rests upon his hip.

You think to yourself: "You will not lure me into speaking, creature. I do not fear silence. Nor do
I require my Lady's aid in dealing with such a thing as you."

Esei brushes a stray willow frond over their shoulder. "You do seem to hate me so very much," they
whisper softly, black eyes placidly gazing back without so much as a hint of discomfort.

His upper pair of hands overlapping to form a bowl that hangs within the hollow of
his crossed legs, and his lower set upon the armoured curve of his knees, Avaris is as still as a
statue of solid gold, save for the occasional stirring of the thick spray of his white mane. In an
even manner, he asks, "Do I?"

Esei hums thoughtfully.

Esei pets a cat of black ink ingratiatingly.
A cat of black ink purrs softly as she butts her head into Esei's hand.

You think to yourself: "Hatred? No. You would not be standing here, alive and well, if I hated you.
You disgust me - That is all."

A cat of black ink sits at the faeling's foot, staring at your massive form with some trepidation.

One of the larger, stylised eyes of Avaris's layered wings travels gradually down
to stare at a cat of black ink, with all the ponderous inevitability of a ballista acquiring its
target, and stares.

A cat of black ink hunches down, staring at you for a moment before Esei nudges her backside gently.

A cat of black ink sniffs you, trying to decipher just what that smell emanating from you is.

Esei tilts their head back and looks up at the sky.

The eye that has chosen a cat of black ink as its object of scrutiny remains fixed
upon the small creature with all the unwavering intensity of a sentry tower, though there is nothing
overtly hostile in the gaze.

A cat of black ink sniffs at you once more, before clambering into your lap and purring not unlike
an aethership.

                 The sole, immediate reaction to a cat of black ink's intrusion is the downward
curving of a single antennae, the smaller, leftmost one pointing at the atramentous feline like an
accusatory, bloody finger. Avaris remains as he is, making no move to pet the creature, but neither
does he seek to dislodge it.

A cat of black ink snuggles into your body, body rippling with her purrs. She bats gently in the
general direction of the drooping antenna, rolling onto her back, wriggling.

                 The antennae jerks back out of the path of the playful paw, coiling up like an
offended serpent. Avaris's immense chest rises and falls in a slow rhythm, the first rays of dawn
gleaming upon his armoured form.

A cat of black ink makes a plaintive meow, looking pitiable.

                 Avaris , it appears, remains unmoved by the piteous appeal, steadfastly staring out
over the waters.

A cat of black ink rubs up against you, purring like a cat.

A cat of black ink plants her paws on your chest, purring noisily as she kneads at your carapace.

You think to yourself: "What do they believe coming here will accomplish? Do they think that showing
a playful cat will somehow win me over to thinking them less of a pollutive influence on the Light?"

The pointed tips of Esei's ears twitch to some errant sound.

 Finally, some degree of motion, as Avaris lifts his right hand from his knee to
gently push a cat of black ink back down and away from his chest, the long, golden appendage nudging
the creature down and away with inexorable, careful force.

A cat of black ink immediately shoves her face into the hand, all but petting herself on it.

In accordance with a beat you can't quite hear, Esei begins to softly hum a low, dark melody.

                 With a faint sigh, Avaris turns his hand so that he envelops a cat of black ink in
a cage of immovable, sharply jointed chitin, effortlessly lifting a cat of black ink up and placing
her to one side.

A cat of black ink sniffles softly.

A cat of black ink puddles out on the floor, looking rather quite pitiful.

Esei lets out a soft sigh.

A cat of black ink's fur suddenly swirls with a soft, gentle shade close to the sky at twilight, a
calm wave of soothing lavender. The little cat purrs softly as it slowly fades away to a shade akin
to a starless night.

Esei pets a cat of black ink ingratiatingly.
A cat of black ink purrs softly as she butts her head into Esei's hand.

Darting forward, Esei scoops the puddle into something more feline, petting and scritching her head
and chin. They flit high above you, out of reach as quickly as they came.

Still, Avaris is unmoved by a cat of black ink's display, ignoring the attempts to
win some form of attention or affection from him. As Esei nips forward, his lower right hand slides
towards the pommel of the upper, scabbarded blade that rests against his left side. It remains
there, neither gripping the weapon, nor drawing away from it, as his wings unfurl with deliberate
slowness, all six of the golden, gently effulgent pinions extending to their full, monstrously vast
span. They flex, precisely ones, all of their eyes staring pointedly at Esei, then retract once
more.

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "...do
you imagine I am frightened by you, Avower?"

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you say, "You lack the sense."

Esei raises a slender brow.

Perching delicately on the branch, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers,
"Mm."

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you ask, "I wonder - Are you often so quiet because you lack
the necessary wit for sharp responses? How many stalwart defenders of the Light have you unmanned
with the rapier-quick response of 'Mm'?"

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "And I
must wonder from what font of wisdom you draw from in order to attempt to judge me and my motives?"

                 Abruptly, Avaris gives voice to a rich, harmonious laugh, the spiked halos of his
pauldrons glinting dangerously as his shoulders shake with mirth. "Why, /the/ Font of Wisdom, of
course. Where else?"

You think to yourself: "What an amusing choice of words. Do you know nothing of the Empyreal,
misguided creature?"

Esei smiles pleasantly, clasping their hands behind their back as they alight on the edge of the
willow's domain.

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers,
"Experience."

                 The ridged flare of Avaris's jaw tilts upwards as he leans his head slightly to one
side, remarking, "Experience is simply existing. It is absorbing information by the mere process of
/being/. Wisdom is how one interprets that information, and acts upon it."

Esei raises a brow, flicking their fingers.

Esei closes their eyes and inhales deeply, absorbing the scent of their surroundings.

Esei exhales slowly, allowing a long fluid breath to creep from their lungs.

Esei delicately taps their cheek with a long, clawed digit, staring at you.

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "And
where does this Font of Wisdom come from, hm?"

                 The stare is returned by a countless multitude of starkly glowing eyes, Avaris
their gaze heavy with judgement. Wordlessly, the aureate kephera lifts his upper left hand to brush
the chitin against the sidereal ampoule at his hip, dipping his chin in its direction.

Eyes barely twitching from the kephera's face, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk
whispers, "Your Lady, mm?"

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you say, "The Lady Empyreal, yes."

Esei tilts their head to stare up at the night sky, wings fanning back and forth to discharge black
and silver motes.

You think to yourself: "I wonder - How often does this tactic of laying out yawning silences for
others to fill actually work? It seems such an obvious snare."

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "What
do you know of the Night?"

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "I admit a perplexing curiosity regarding your current company, My
Avaris."

(The Avowing): You say, "Not self-inflicted, Lady, I assure you. I share the perplexity. They threw
a cat at me earlier, and have been here, largely silent, occasionally trying to...Bait me, I
believe?"

(The Avowing): You say, "I find it difficult to believe this is ever a successful gambit."

The wisps of condensation in the sky spread slightly as a few light clouds develop.

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "Is that a custom of the Glomdoring, to throw a clawed creature at one's
friends or enemies?"

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "I can imagine Shikari behaving in such a peculiar manner."

(The Avowing): You say, "It would not surprise me. Thankfully, the cat did not land on any of the
sharper portions of my form."

(The Avowing): You say, "Would You like me to banish the creature, Lady? I take no joy in their
company."

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you say, "It serves as a decent backdrop for the stars."

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "I
refer to the Great Spirit, but it seems you do know nothing of Her."

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "You needn't on My account. I am merely intrigued."

                 With a faint tinge of humour in his voice, Avaris says, "I know of what you speak.
Your Lord's child, one of the older beings Awakened, and much desired by the maddened Sun."

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "They are swift to evade conversation on what they do not know, choosing
instead to speak of what they believe you shall not understand."

(The Avowing): You say, "They ever seek to place themselves in a position of superiority, it would
seem, yes. It is interesting to watch, after a fashion."

Eyes briefly flicking to Avaris, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers,
"And aught of Her teachings?"

                 Avaris lifts a hand slowly, rolling a gleaming wrist in languid invitation. "It
seems that you wish to proselytise. By all means, attempt it."

Esei raises a slender brow.

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "Cute.
But no. My aim is merely... to seek. To teach."

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you ask, "And what, precisely, would you wish to teach me?"

You think to yourself: "Little of value, I am certain."

Esei's eyes land on you, as if gazing at nothing.

Esei hums thoughtfully.

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers,
"...for now? Nothing."

Avaris offers a vibrating sound of mild amusement, nodding. "As I thought."

Esei's black eyes are blank, like that of a particularly pretty doll's, as they consider you.

(The Avowing): You say, "I wonder if this is the best that the Silent Lord has in His service. I am
singularly unimpressed."

Sounding faintly amused, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "I cannot
teach someone who is unwilling to learn."

With an ethereal, smoky lilt, Wyrden Auspice Esei Shee-Slaugh of the Ascending Dusk whispers, "Be
well, Avower."

(The Avowing): Lantra says, "I do not presume to know what the Lord Nocht thinks, but I would not
anticipate His chosen would hold much sway with you, My Avaris. Those who bear Light have nothing to
fear from those who lurk in shadows."

(The Avowing): You say, "It would seem that they have finally come to that conclusion themselves,
painfully obvious as it is."