Ask Wizards in Winter

[Nakoa Singh]

It was pretty chilly this time of year on Asusto. Snow drifted light from cloudy sky to gather on branch, ground, and stone. Wind whistled through forest arms outstretched, bare of leaf or nest. Nakoa waited in a clearing in well-tailored winter attire. It was well-made, but lighter than a human's, focusing on covering skin rather than pure warmth. Hssiss-hide boots, gloves, and and hooded cloak, lined with Vornskyr fur, would do for insulation. A thin cigar smoldered, clamped between sharp teeth.

Azar was to land here in the clearing. Their journey was into the chilly woods to find the ancient nexus buried here, untapped for centuries. Past plains, through the trees, toward the distant city skylines beyond. Abandoned. And for good reason. This vengeance was...

Unnatural. It should not be. But it could be drawn on by wielders of magic and spirit-binders. Others risked a madness worse than death.

Knowing Azar would handle the cold about as well as getting shaved bald and forced to wear squeaky clown shoes, Nakoa had not arrived empty-handed. Placed atop a cold-dried tree stump beside him was a small, metal box containing a gift. Beside it was a thermos of spiced tea.

Azar was also late. Nakoa softly sang an old song to pass the time and closed his eyes, reaching his senses out to the forest beyond

<At last, when all the world is asleep, you take in the blackness of air.
The likes of a darkness so deep that gods, at the start, couldn't bear...>

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Another cold planet. Of course it had to be a cold planet.

Nakoa had to really convince Azar that this was the best place for their craft. Azar had mostly sworn off visiting cold places, keeping only one planet on the exception list. However, the promise of a corrupted nexus was too much to ignore. Like was the case when he went to hunt the Arkanian dragon, Azar was in entirely too many layers. He saw his own foggy breath, showing up easily over an hour late. Karys had learned to outright lie to him about when to show up by giving him a time at least 2 hours earlier than the actual event time. It worked like a charm with Azar usually only 15 minutes late.

The Pureblood plodded his way over, already hugging himself despite the furry hood, scarf, gloves and poofy coat to combat the cold. Nakoa would be able to make out the irritated scowl with gleaming yellow eyes through the hood.

“I hate the cold,” Azar declared in lieu of a greeting. He couldn’t deny the pulse of the Dark Side here. It was exquisite, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. He felt as if he belonged here, the Force easily heeding his command.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Seeing Azar in that many layers and looking that grumpy was strangely adorable. But the other man's misery was extremely obvious. And anticipated! The lateness wasn't, though. By the name Azar showed up Nakoa had gone through a whole album's worth of songs and transitioned to sketching the landscape on his notepad and then, finally, took a nap.

"Eh-? Oh, hey sunshine," they greeted vaguely as he righted themselves up out of the snow, brushing some off. He picked up the thermos and, after surreptitiously reheating the contents with the Force, placed it firmly between Azar's freezing, glove-covered fingers. It was an Induparian spiced chai.

"Well, maybe this'll cheer you up." Without much theatricality- given the cold, and all- Nakoa presented and opened the little box. Inside was a pair of three-fingered gloves that, by all appearances, were made from spun and woven threads of gold, each thinner than a human hair. Sea-silk, woven almost sheer but tightly meshed together.

And very good at keeping in warmth despite how thin it is and excellent for layering with thicker gloves overtop. Warm in cold weather, cool in warm weather.

Irirangi inhaled deep of the brisk air and the Dark that permeated it. "Believe I've found a path. We'll have to be subtle about it."

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar sniffed and wiped at his nose that was running from the icy chill. He despised the cold because it hurt his face. The air hurting his face was unnatural. He couldn’t fathom how Karys ever thrived in the cold. In fact, he guessed Karys would be wandering around in shorts and a t-shirt in this frigid weather.

His thoughts were interrupted when Nakoa addressed him, the nickname drawing out an amused smile. He graciously took the tea with trembling hands. As always, he first waved his hand over the contents, altering just a bit before he poured a tiny amount into a plant he had in his pocket. When there was no reaction, he finally took a sip, instantly savoring the warmth. Azar looked over when Nakoa had more to share.

He figured they were snacks or something else trivial, but he paused when he saw what they were. Azar was so still that he appeared to be frozen for a few moments. Custom gloves. Just for him. And they were stylish to boot and the color of the Korribani royals. Azar was speechless as he picked one up before swiftly replacing what he currently wore with the custom ones. He felt warmer instantly, and he had the flexibility to work with his fingers instead of always having to rely on mittens.

He looked over at Nakoa, attempting to figure out various different ways to respond. In the end, Azar simply closed the distance and yanked the Wrean into a tight hug in the middle of them starting to talk about a path. Azar held that embrace for a while before he finally pulled away. His gaze lingered on Nakoa’s for a moment before he finally spoke, “Subtle. Yes,” He mumbled simply before he stepped aside and motioned for the Wrean to lead the way.

Azar stared at his hands the entire time, flexing his fingers and marveling at the gloves, “Thank you for these..” He said quietly.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa wasn't the least bit offended by Azar testing the tea- they knew it'd happen whatever the Wrean's assurances- but that didn't mean they weren't amused by the fact Azar kept a tiny plant in his pocket for poison testing.

The other man froze in place. Nakoa slowly rose an eyebrow. Did he not like them? No, that wasn't it. Azar was looking at the little gloves with eyes as big as saucers. Azar swiftly put them on and Nakoa was pleased by the accepted gift.

Then, suddenly, a fluffy weight slammed into him midway through speaking and startled them stiff. It was warm against the cold. Those amber eyes were razor-sharp- and then they weren't at all. Strong arms encircled Azar just as tight and shook with the sounds of laughter in the air. A short-lived and almost musical thing at Azar's show of joy that disappeared into a smile unseen behind Nakoa's facial coverings. "So it worked!"

Unseen, except for the smile's lines around gemstone eyes as Azar pulled away and their gazes lingered together. Nakoa's weight shifted from one foot to the other as the other man's voice mumbled as if the sound had broken some wintry spell of mutual stillness. Amber eyes lingered a moment longer before they strode toward the forest.

Nakoa's head tilted toward Azar when he quietly spoke. They stopped in place and turned halfway to look at the other man staring at his new gloves. They were silent for a second. Then another. Then, a small smile. "No trouble, Azar. Didn't want you to freeze." The gesture had obviously meant a great deal to Azar, but Nakoa didn't seem able to find other words to say back.

They turned to keep walking, leading the way while a warmth tingling in their ears.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar stared at the gloves the entire time like a child admiring their favorite president on Life Day. He kept like that until he could feel the pulse of the nexus. The forest grew colder if that was even possible, and Azar moved closer to Nakoa, teeth chattering. The gloves were incredible, but his face still hurt from the air.

“The nexus..is it underground?” He asked curiously, trying to think about where he could feel the pulse. The woods grew deep and dense and his feet sank into the snow. Of course, he didn’t wear appropriate boots and his feet were starting to get wet. Azar grimaced at the sensation, but at least they were making progress.

Soon enough, he could make out several curiously placed stones on the ground. Azar approached it cautiously, sensing for any activity first. Upon a closer look, the two would be able to make out the skeletal remnants of a humanoid. Azar looked past it and could make out a deep hole in which there were countless other skeletons. All of them had evidence of a single, devastating blow to the head. Azar looked at the stone placements and old candles that were burnt out.

“Sacrifices?” He asked.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

It was like a heartbeat. It drummed, badum-badum, through the trees, the ground, the air. It breathed, slowly, like some vast and sleeping presence unseen by mortal eyes. Power and terror at once, unknowable and eldritch.

Nakoa's eyes stared forward, seemingly at nothing, before glancing at Azar's chattering face. "Likely, from what I could find." All around the two men, the forest grew closer while they walked. Bare tree branches seemed almost to flex angry talons at them from the corners of vision. A crow called in the distance. Once, twice. Silence again, except for the wind.

Arriving at the stones, the shaman stopped to observe them and the bones gathered around them. Irirangi took a step closer to the ritualistic site, a hand raised and eyes staring into nothing again. Their hand jerked back after a moment, lips curling momentarily as if from pain. "Must be," they confirmed before pointing through the thick trees toward city buildings where the nexus was meant to be, closer now after some travel "Look ov-"

His face twitched and he suddenly turned to look at Azar. Then at the pureblood's feet. "Azar. Are those Trandoshan boots?" Nakoa asked while staring directly at the lightweight and visibly soaked boots the Pureblood was wearing. Then he stepped over and scooped Azar up and out of the snow.

Unless prevented they'd stride over to a suitably flat rock at around waist height, cleared it of snow and debris with the Force, and placed Azar atop it. Lightly gloved but very warm hands would come up to rest against the Sith's cheekbones to cease his chattering. "I'm getting you socks next. Tell me when you're uncomfortable." He'd seen soldiers lose toes to the cold and wet before. Somehow he doubted Azar had that on his agenda.

Those hands left Azar's face and lifted his booted feet. Warmth would fill them as snow and water gently steamed away.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar almost forgot about his boot situation on account of his feet starting to get numb. He opted to remain silent at Nakoa's question, instead wearing an expression that clearly betrayed his nonsense choices. The Pureblood gasped when Nakoa effortlessly scooped him up. He was about to make a flirty joke, but he was entirely too cold to make the delivery smooth between chattering teeth. His skin would be cool to touch, and Nakoa warmed him up at once.

“I’m fine!” Azar protested unconvincingly, realizing he couldn’t feel his toes. Whatever Nakoa did worked wonders to warm him, and his own embarrassment heated his face up. He silently watched the Wrean as he worked, his moodiness melting away with the cold against his feet, “I really am worthless on this little journey so far, aren’t I?” He asked, but he couldn’t keep from chuckling. As usual, he covered his mouth while he did so, “I would be helpless without you,” Azar grinned sheepishly, feeling much better now that he wasn’t freezing.

Eventually, he hopped down from the ledge, thankful for the city of buildings ahead that meant shelter.

“I can harness the nexus, but we will need to find a lab of sorts to make the serum itself,” Azar explained as they drew closer. The nexus pulsed so powerfully it almost gave him a headache.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa snorted disbelievingly at Azar's protests, but also his assertion of worthlessness, joke or not. The Wrean's head raised and got closer. Very close, his tall form leaning over the smaller Sith. Amber-jewel eyes stared into Azar's even-redder-than-usual face. He grinned a fanged grin. "That's fine, isn't it?" they asked through the wisps of steam. "I like this side of yours, sunshine."

Before Azar hopped down his boots were reinforced with wrapped cloth to help keep the wet out. "We'll find one. They were semi-confident about a lab. Beyond the treeline, they would both see an asphalt-paved road that led into the large settlement. Nakoa's expression became more serious.

It was- well, it had been a city. Tall skyscrapers, speeders, everything you'd expect. A cracked and weather-worn asphalt road led past an ancient sign in some forgotten language, tilted on its metal post. A rusted speeder lay on the ground. Cold wind was the only thing that dared to draw breath here. It smelled strongly of decaying concrete and crumbling metal.

This settlement was as dead as the bones left in the forest. But here there wasn't even a single body. Near the sign, a sort of 'border' began. Visually, just the way into the city. Through the Force, it was as if the two men were staring over a rusted railing, standing on the precipice of some black abyss. They saw no strange monsters, hostile cultists, or walking dead. It still felt dangerous.

"Welcome to Ravenholm."

@Sreeya