Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d20)
>>6148072“Hey, uh, ZZ?”
Zith-Zi turns her gaze from the scintillation of the sun upon the water’s surface, fixing <span class="mu-g">you</span> with a quizzical look. You suppose it must be because of how much your fidgeting, but you can’t help it. Before you even ask the question you know it will lead to questions in turn.
“Do you think, uh, we could take some of ‘em alive?”
“Huh? Some of who?” ZZ pauses, and her eyes widen. “What, the fuckin’ drakes?”
You nod, and—
“WHY?”
—there it is. Justw hat you were dreading: a question you can’t answer. After all, you made a Remon Ract—uh, that is, a <span class="mu-g">Demon Pact</span>—not to reveal Maladoo’s identity. Now, grated, you COULD still say ‘a weird dog you don’t trust asked me to spare the newts’, but that’ll just lead to Zith-Zi asking ‘why?’ and then… Well, you don’t WHAT to say, THEN.
“I just, I dunno’, feel kinda’ bad for the,?” you say instead, in what is only SORT of a lie, because you kind of DO. “I mean, they’re… Ya know, a little like me, right?”
In your close proximity, with your voices low, and the lapping of the water and conversation and commotion of the Delvers at work, there is little chance of being overheard. Even so, ZZ casts a nervous eye towards the rest of the boat’s occupants, and scoots closer. She places a rosy arm around your newly narrowed shoulders, and brings her face close to yours Her voice is a low, slow one, as if explaining something simple—and a little embarrassing—to a slow kid.
“Cara-Zi, you’re NOT like those things, aight?” she says. “You can talk, for one thing.”
“Yeah, okay,” you say, a little annoyed at both ZZ and at your own inability to say what you really mean to say. “But we can still, like… I dunno’, learn stuff from ‘em, right? Isn’t hat what Tips would say?”
“Tips ain’t here!” she blurts out, then grimaces and lowers her voice again. “Are You a Life Mage? ‘Cause I fuckin’ ain’t. Who’s gonna’ learn shit from ‘em? Who, huh?”
“Well, if they’ve got dark magic whatsit in ‘em, or whatever, an’ so do I…”
ZZ glares, hard, as if trying to peer into your head and see what led to this sudden interest in exploring the occult. You don’t know if your expression gives anything away, but since you couldn’t tell her even if you wanted to—and you DO sort of want to—you stay clammed up right quiet. Eventually, seeing you won’t (can’t) break, Zith-Zi trhwos up her hands in defeat and says:
“Fine, we’ll try! But don’t blame me when you get a face fulla’ muck ‘cause you’re half-assing it! Or when there’s nothin’ worth learnin’, for that matter.”
Art courtesy of StoryQM 