#gliese benral
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Blood in the Cut
Gliese Benral | Present Night
Gliese gritted her teeth as she walked through the forest. The weather was nice; cool with just a hint of humidity, and she could hear the distant sounds of construction. A few bugs zipped through the air.
“You always know when I’m close.” She muttered. “Somehow.”
“Not every time.”
Came the voice she’d expected from behind her, but she still jumped a little as she turned to see the false maroon.
“Yeah, okay!” She said with a bark of laughter. It merely tilted its head, expression neutral.
She sucked in a breath.
“Anyway. I guess…as much as I hate it…I have to admit you were right. I shouldn’t have seen Quilis then.” She said with a grimace.
It nodded.
“It was not personal. I would have turned away anyone who came.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “Poor Quil…she’s really not the best at standing up for herself or saying no. Girl could use a moirail, or an ashmate, or something.” She said with a shake of her head. “Trouble is finding someone in her age range.”
It nodded again. God, it felt weird to be agreeing with it.
“Anyway.” She said, coming up to it and poking its shoulder. “I wanna fight you.”
It blinked.
“All right.”
She snort-laughed.
“Wow, that was easy. And Quil was so disapproving.” She said with a smirk.
“Not here, though.” It said. “I don’t want to damage the forest.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Damn, just how wild do you get? Nah, don’t tell me, I wanna see for myself.”
“Do you know a good place?” It said. “It can’t be anywhere too close to anyone else. I don’t want to be seen by another troll, if possible.”
Her eyebrows raised, if possible, even higher.
“Yeah, we can fight in my hedge maze - well, the part of it that burned down a while ago. I still haven’t gotten to regrowing that yet. But if you slice up some of the other bushes it’s okay. I was thinking of remodeling the whole thing anyway.”
It nodded. “That works.”
“My signmate might see you, though.”
It thought about that, hand to one cheek. “As long as there’s some cover.”
“Great, time’s a-wasting, let’s go.”
She walked back to her waiting lusus, not bothering to turn around and see if Eileit was following, then jumped on the hare’s back, looked around, and -
-hey, where did it go.
She shrugged. Either it had lied to her or it hadn’t, and it seemed to be able to hide and reappear really easily for whatever reason.
She made her way back to the burned-out part of her maze, several dozen square feet of bare earth between the green hedges bordering it. Sure enough, a minute or so after she arrived and got off her lusus…
…there it was when she turned around, looking at everything with interest.
She shook her head in wonder.
“Man, what the fuck are you.”
It either didn’t hear her (doubtful), or it didn’t want to answer, much more interested in chasing a grasshopper it had found. Haredad watched it a moment, then retreated so that he was away from the fight.
Gliese smirked. Well, if it wanted to be caught off guard…
The blueblood took out her scythe and ran for it.
It leapt into the air, spreading great metallic wings that hadn’t been there a few moments ago. Gliese switched to her gun, aiming at the bladelike ‘feathers’ as it dodged and flipped, evading most of her shots. The few that did hit didn’t do much damage; they warped a few feathers, but it seemed unbothered.
She whooped in the joy of a challenge, and it dove for her - she took out her scythe and jabbed it directly through the neck as she ducked just in time.
Red liquid leaked out, but not nearly at the rate a troll’s blood would, nor did it seem to bother the creature. It splashed to the ground and on her, and the hare troll grinned in excitement as her foe wheeled away and she swapped out her flamethrower instead, waiting for Eileit to get close enough for a good blast.
Which of course is when it disappeared.
“Oh, you bitch.” She said, mildly annoyed but mostly fascinated. It had just sort of…shimmered out of existence.
The rush of air as it flew by again was just enough to warn her to duck, but she knew as soon as she fired that she’d missed it.
Then she found herself picked up and carried into the air, cold wind streaming past her ears and face and making her eyes weep as it held her firmly, visible once more. Its wingbeats were steady and quieter than they should’ve been, she realized - how?
The gash on its neck was open…but there was no real flesh beneath it, no veins or muscle. Just…synthetic gray stuff she recognized from her fleet training, structures that were model-perfect but nonfunctional. It was creepy as hell, but also fascinating.
Gliese put her flamethrower away and took out a knife instead, jabbing at Eileit’s eye.
It let the hit happen, and simply looked at her a moment before pulling the knife out of its face with its free hand and putting it away. The eye had lost its light, cracked like a screen, but began repairing itself as she watched. Creating small metallic and crystalline lines of…cells? It couldn’t be, could it?
“Not smart, Gliese, what if I dropped you?”
“I have skeletons to catch me.” She said smugly. “Besides. I can tell you’re waaaay holding back. You won’t drop me.”
It shook her gently. She let her head bob around for the gag.
“Ah, uh oh, my thinkpan, it’s dying. Medic.”
It snorted. “I think we’re done for now.”
“What, nooo.” She whined. “This is fun.”
The blueblood wiped her eyes, because damn the wind was getting to her - aaaand down they went, Eileit gently depositing her on the ground as its wings folded back up and disappeared. Somehow it had manifested them over its clothes, as far as she could tell.
“Why didn’t you use your magic?” It asked, now a few feet away from her.
“Why didn’t you go all out?” The mage said in return. “I was testing the waters. Plus, it’s a bad idea to get too reliant on the stuff. I coped without magic for sweeps, I don’t want it making me sloppy.”
It nodded.
“If I went all out it would kill you.” It said bluntly. “As you can tell, I was designed for combat.”
“No you weren’t.” Gliese retorted, point-blank. “I dunno what exactly you were made for, but it wasn’t that, though yeah, I can tell you’re no slouch. You don’t act like a real killbot.
Your tactics are more diversionary, meant to isolate and capture, geared toward concealing you. You could’ve had me instantly and you chose to let me fight. You could’ve restrained me with both arms or had a blade to my throat. You could’ve snuck up on me from the first go.
I don’t believe you don’t know how to do those things; I think you intentionally chose not to.”
It was silent for a few moments. “Quite the theory.” It said.
She grinned. “I know you won’t tell me anything. But I know this shit, I’m ex-fleet. Fuck those bastards, but I did learn some things there.”
It turned away.
“Why did you leave?” It asked.
“Cause fuck ‘em.” She said bluntly. “I was conscripted, I tried to cope and make the best of it, but…it sucks. It all fucking sucks, for everyone who’s part of it. Lowbloods most of all, but all of us. Every single blood color shoved into that miserable fucking machine.”
She paused.
“Uh. No offense.”
It laughed, sharp and amused as it turned back to face her.
“None taken.” It said, sounding genuine if deeply entertained.
“Wow, good, cause I was about to feel like, robot casteist.” She deadpanned. “You’re not a robot, though, are you?”
“No.” It agreed.
“Not gonna tell me what you really are, are you?”
“No.” It said again, amused. “I haven’t even told Quilis, not that they’ve asked. It’s safer that way, for me and everyone else.”
“Ah, so you aren’t imperial, huh. And they don’t know about you.”
It went silent. The pause stretched as its expression became unreadable.
“Please keep that to yourself.” It said softly. “If you do nothing else, please keep that to yourself.”
“Ah, another secret for our pile. Yeah, don’t sweat it.” She said, patting its shoulder. “You aren’t so bad, huh? Funny freaky toaster.”
It made a ding noise as a real toaster oven would and Gliese cracked up.
“That is hysterical.” She said, between fits of laughter. “Holy shit, how many noises can you do? No, wait - can you like, mimic voices?”
“Can you like, mimic voices?” It said back to her, the imitation of the necromancer’s tones nearly perfect.
She clapped her hands. “Oh, we are going to pull so many pranks. You, me, bothering people. You cannot tell me that wouldn’t be fun.”
“I’ll help you with a prank if you tell me something I’d like to know.” It said, placid.
“Yeah, sure, what is it?”
“Where can I get real maple and marshmallow flavoring?”
She blinked.
“You don’t eat, do you?”
It shook its head.
“No. It’s for a friend. They make candies.”
She grinned. “Aw, that’s sweet. Literally.”
It looked at her, and she raised her hands in defeat. “Hey, my moirail likes puns, bad humor’s contagious.”
“I have died. Badly.” It deadpanned. “Cause of death: being pun-ished.”
The blueblood put a hand to her chest in mock agony. “Oooh, that hurt. You and Nan can never meet, I’d wind up stabbing myself in the eye.”
“Objective acquired: meet Nan.”
She squinted at it.
“Okay, now you’re just fucking with me.”
“Data not found.”
The hare troll pushed the false maroon, who toppled over rigidly for the bit and played a cartoon coconut thunk noise, and it took a while before Gliese stopped laughing.
#despite the title this is actually an upbeat drabble.#cloud writes#gliese benral#guardian artifice#arty is. fundamentally. both a creepy bitch and a silly goose.#and gliese is fundamentally both a dickhead and someone who bonds fairly easily.
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Tea For Two
[Easy reading version on Toyhou.se]
Viltau had been busy. Not any busier than he normally would while in the process of preparing for the next big event he was hosting, but it was a different kind of busy. Plotting, scheming, trying to get all the facts together and making sure he understood what role each piece was playing in the game of finding the culprit. She had been identified as Gliese Benral thanks to the combined efforts of Jikiro and Ullane (and Jamie via proxy, who curiously had relayed Jikiro’s information to Viltau, instead of the tealblood telling him outright), and they had a lead in the form of a mutual relation between herself and a friend of both Ullane’s and Gerrel’s. Gerrel had also been helpful to brainstorm plans with, and had connections to people in places Viltau was lacking in.
The final piece in play was of course, the troll whose dead lusus started it all. The true victim of this story, as Viltau would loath to give any credit to that annoying creature the yellowblood called a father. He had to keep Eichio in the dark for as long as possible, as if he found out prematurely the reaction would be far less cathartic. Viltau wanted nothing less than a perfect result for his plots, and for that he needed Gliese to confess to her crimes right in front of his employee. But he could not neglect Eichio, in fact to avoid any suspicion he needed to do the opposite.
This did not bother him one bit. He considered himself a good host first and a mastermind second, after all.
Eichio had also been busy. With everything that has happened, he wanted nothing more than to be constantly occupied with something to do. If he was useful to others, he could push his thoughts about failing his lusus aside. He had stuck mostly to remaining at Mister Espino’s hive, with the exception of a short outing to visit Ullane to help her with a medical experiment. But seeing her had unfortunately made him feel worse. She wanted him to play some music for her as part of the experiment, but his heart just wasn’t into it. He felt awful for failing her, no matter how much she reassured him that it was okay to have ‘off’ nights, but he couldn’t convince her to let him try again either. He left her clinic upset and disappointed, both at her for not letting him finish the job for her and at himself for feeling that way, even if he never told her out loud.
He couldn’t go home and face his lusus, and he didn’t want to see his friends at the moment either. He was trying to avoid Gerrel when he could as well, at risk of losing his temper at his co-worker yet again. Right now, he only felt comfortable around his boss.
Said boss had just knocked on the open door to the laundry, where Eichio was currently sorting some freshly-dried clothes. The yellowblood looked up at the sound, attention pulled away from finding the pairs for each sock.
“Eichio, would you care to join me for lunch?” Viltau asked, and held up a plate of sandwiches cut into quarters for emphasis.
“Oh, okay, sure. Is it okay if I leave these where they are?” He smiles tiredly in response.
“That is fine.”
Eichio dutifully followed the indigoblood back upstairs to the main dining room, and waited for Mister Espino to set the sandwiches on the table before he took a seat. The table was fit to seat twenty people, but despite the amount of space available Eichio always took the seat to the left of Viltau whenever they ate together. Which was an event that became more common recently, given his boss’ insistence on making sure his guest ate at least three meals every night.
It was probably the most Eichio had eaten in recent memory. He was prone to skipping meals whenever he had more important things to attend to, or if he’d made too many mistakes in one night that he felt like he didn’t deserve dinner. All behaviour that was encouraged by his lusus.
“The first four are chicken caesar; then a classic BLT; then a simple tuna and cucumber; then finally a turkey, brie, and cranberry.” Viltau gestured to each set of four sandwiches as he listed the ingredients. “Please, do help yourself.”
He takes one of each and sets them on his own plate. Eichio follows suit, out of politeness to not ignore any of the dishes his boss had carefully prepared for lunch. There was no reason for him to have prepared so many different sandwiches, but the yellowblood also knows Viltau would have done it solely because of his own indecisiveness regarding what he wanted to eat. What most people would call a ‘waste of food’, Viltau would see as a fun culinary experience.
And if there was anything left over, he would offer it to his employees to take home for later. Just like what Gerrel offered to do that time.
“Thank you,” Eichio says, and takes the pitcher of ice water off the table to pour both of them a drink. Then he finally sits down.
The two ate in relative silence, one not having any conversation they were willing to impart on the other, and the other simply having nothing to say at all aside from giving their compliments to the chef. The food was nice as always, the bread baked to perfection and careful attention given to how much butter should be spread to enhance the flavours of the fillings without overpowering them. The bacon is crispy and the other meats not overly chewy, the greens are crisp and fresh, the cheeses artisanal, and the condiments made from scratch. If he had time to make things himself and he was confident they would be just as good if not better than store-bought, Viltau saw no reason to not make his own.
As Eichio nibbled his way through his tuna and cucumber sandwich, his thoughts drifted away from the quality of the meal, and back towards what - or who - he was abandoning in favour of enjoying a nice lunch with his boss.
He can’t stay here forever. He has to go back and confront his lusus at some point, and the longer he puts it off, the angrier his custodian will become. His lusus can hunt for itself, sure, and it knows which windows in the hive it’s able to slide open so it can go out looking for food. It’s perfectly capable of looking after itself, but it still expects Eichio to be there. He dreads the rant he’ll have to hear about leaving his dad to starve while he gallivanted off with that annoying soft employer of his. A good boss wouldn’t be cooking for his employees and letting them take time off work, they know how to keep their workers in their place.
He can’t keep taking advantage of his boss’ kindness like this. He can’t keep avoiding his responsibilities like this. His lusus doesn’t need him, but he needs to be there for it. He needs to just suck it up and accept the well-deserved anger that will be launched towards him, just like he used to.
“Mister Espino,” Eichio puts down the sandwich in his hands. “I think I should go home soon.”
He glances over at his boss, who for a split second seems surprised by his words.
“Hm, I see. And why do you think that?”
The indigoblood looks over at Eichio, his voice calm as always while his eyes reflect a glint of curiosity. It can be difficult to tell exactly what he’s thinking at times, but the neurons are definitely firing off right now.
“Oh, well…” The pressure of having his boss stare at him erodes Eichio’s confidence, and he ends up staring down at his half-eaten sandwich on the plate. “It’s been nice living here, and you’ve been really kind, really! But… I think if I stay much longer my lusus might be angry that I’ve taken so long to come home.”
“He’ll be angry regardless, no?”
A quick and very deliberate response from Viltau stops Eichio in his tracks. He is right, his lusus is always angry… He doesn’t wait for a response from the yellowblood, and continues.
“Of course, it is very understandable to be concerned. No doubt this is the longest you have been away from your custodian, no?”
Eichio nods, guilt present in his eyes. That look does not deter the other troll.
“In that case, would it not be best to wait a little longer? With how volatile he can be, perhaps it may be best to ensure as much time has passed for his emotions to settle. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. For all we know, he may come to discover how much your absence pains him, and he might learn to be just a little kinder!”
For as assured as Viltau’s words may be, Eichio is not sure if he’s convinced. That sounds so… Easy. All he needed to do was just leave for a period of time, and his problems would be solved on their own? Not to mention, he doesn’t think he could ever picture his lusus being kind, as upsetting as that train of thought is. But, when he looks over at Viltau, he doesn’t see a liar. He sees someone who knows how to say the exact words people want to hear, someone who exudes confidence, and someone Eichio can trust. The indigoblood, in turn, only smiles. He knows when he’s struck gold.
“Or, perhaps it may be better to think of it this way: By not returning hive so quickly, you are, in a way, standing up for yourself, don’t you think? This can be your way of proving that you are independent and capable of doing things on your own, and that you are not willing to bow to demands that are legitimately unreasonable. It’s always a good thing to set boundaries and then enforce them, no?”
In their initial discussions about Eichio’s lusus, Gerrel had mentioned thinking it would be best if Eichio could learn to stand up against the creature. And if Gerrel had told this to Viltau, then he almost certainly would have had this discussion with Eichio.
There is a look of recognition on the yellowblood’s face upon hearing that argument, but he fails to miss Viltau’s gaze taking on a hint of slyness before the indigo breaks eye contact to take a sip of his drink. Another calculated move on his part.
“Oh, is it?” Eichio tilts his head slightly, considering the proposition. Is this what Gerrel meant when he said that his lusus only has as much power as he gives it? Thinking about it, there was no way his lusus could have stopped him from simply never going home. It has no power over Eichio here, and it knows it. The ball is in Eichio’s court now, he could go home now and return to be constantly under the wing of the parrot-chameleon hybrid, or he could keep doing what he’s doing now. Neither option feels particularly good to him, but if he had to choose…
Mister Espino has always been the better role model. Eichio’s tired smile seems a little brighter upon coming to that conclusion.
“Okay, maybe I’ll stay a little longer. Is that okay? I can do whatever you need to make up for me imposing on you for so long.” He sounds a little less troubled now, more reassured that he might be making the better decision.
“That is perfectly fine, Eichio. Take as much time as you need, I do understand the unusual circumstances for your imposition. And, there is no need to work any harder than you already do. I require no payment of your time or literal funding.”
Was that, for a brief moment, a look of relief?
“Thank you, Mister Espino.” Content and feeling a bit more perked up than he did before, Eichio picks up his sandwich again and resumes eating his lunch.
Viltau also went back to the sandwiches that had been left neglected on his plate. Manipulating Eichio was far too easy that it provided no entertainment to him whatsoever, he’s far too trusting of the indigoblood and inclined to agree with everything he says. But there was still a chance this newfound knowledge that he is capable of making his own decisions will cause all of Viltau’s plans to be for naught. No matter what, Eichio cannot return to his hive until Gliese has been caught, it’s simply far too risky. He doesn’t want to play the role of the bad boss and trap Eichio within his hive with no desire to escape, doing anything that even remotely resembles the tactics of his lusus could jeopardise their working relationship. That was what concerned the indigoblood above all else, he could not lose his best employee.
It was a good thing, then, that he was raised to be so obedient.
#drabble#viltau espino#eichio maccau#otamatart#plot: ripple effect#this would occur at some point between Cloud's Hunger of the Pine and You & Me#'im just gonna go a quick update drabble on whats happening w. ei rn' [2.1k words later] 'oops'#never mind i just hit publish on TH and its actually 2.2k words#anyways this drabble involves vil wishing eichio was at least a /little/ harder to persuade. itd be more fun
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I got commissioned by @cloudbattrolls! This is their Gliese Benral in her Alternian fleet uniform, looking sharp.~
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> Gliese and Laledy: Insert foot into mouth.
AH: fuck you, I'll wear heels and step on you
AH: ...if you make that weird I swear to the Empress
SS: (Hawt.)
AH: gooooddddd
SS: (... Topic?)
SS: (Heels.)
AH: I want to die
AH: right now
SS: (Hot Topic sells heels.)
#ic#laledy vesper#gliese benral#SS is Laledy who is mine#AH is Gliese who belongs to cloudbattrolls#bad wiggler isolation creche
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And ✩ for cloudbattrolls ^_^
@cloudbattrolls
Gliese! I haven’t really had any interactions with her yet, but with the Fettle thread coming up, I’m excited for that to change! (I’ve been holding off on the starter because I’ve been intermittently busy/lazy, and as I understand it Cloud is very busy as well and I don’t want to bother them @___@)
BUT she seems very trollish! It’s hard to strike that balance between jerkish and likeable, and Gliese, from what I’ve seen, does that very well. I’m very intrigued about the idea of a Fleet troll who doesn’t particularly care about the hemospectrum or their duties with regard to the Alternian military machine--most trolls that I’ve seen tend to either gravitate toward “Fleet conscript who is stoked, hemoloyal, and a sycophant/bully depending on who they’re talking to” or “rebellious ex-helmstroll”, and while I actually love both of THOSE archetypes as well, I feel like most trolls would probably fall to where Gliese seems to be--most of mine certainly do, or will once they ascend. I’m also very intrigued by her relationship with Kit--I know she’s taken the piss out of him and I THINK they were part of a psychic fleet project together? Maybe? I have a lot of questions!
Also she just looks very trollish to me too. 10/10 Very Good Job, stoked to see what happens with her and Fettle!
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Ball King Nominee NR 8 - Riccin Kayata
Submitted by: Gliese Benral
I want to nominate Riccin Kayata to be the
[x] Ball King
[ ] Ball Queen
of the Ball of 12:th Perigee Eve 2017 because ….
So Riccin is my kismesis, but honestly, the only reason to vote for them is because I hope their dumb seven foot ass gets paired with someone way shorter and trips over them and they look like a total fucking buffoon.
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Relationships: Warron
Casida “Taz” Tasend [Burial Grounds]
Warron has become a regular at the coffee shop, The Brewed Awakening, that Taz works at, and the snarky barista got Warron’s attention whether she wants it or not. Warron is much more into Taz than she’ll admit out loud right now, even if she has successfully gotten a date with her, and something about Taz just draws Warron to her the same way she’s drawn to the ocean. To say she has a big red crush on Taz would be an understatement! They’ve entered in to a matespritship and are both super awkward about it, even though they’re very happy.
Mandra Baothe [ no tag yet ]
A creepy clown that Warron has done business with, Mandra’s haunted forest and maudlin personality has made him especially memorable. Warron wants to pursue a friendship, and see if she can’t find out what makes him, or his forest, tick.
Gliese Benral [ no tag yet ]
A highblood that Warron met online, Gliese shares an interest in flowers, “playful” bullying, and even though they barely know each other, Warron fondly regards Gliese’s handle when she sees it online.
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A wilderness you kinda miss, but were taught you ought to cut it back
It’s @cloudbattrolls ‘s birthday!! Shower them in love!! This is their troll Gliese, who I love, and who should definitely be allowed to garden.
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Tell Us How to Live
Gliese Benral | Forest Near the Kelter Mansion | Present Night
Something was changing.
She’d felt it, reaching into her constructs lately. She had a deeper connection now, could feel through their senses more acutely. It wasn’t necromancy, wasn’t flesh and bone and spirit. Not directly.
Wasn’t plantcraft either. She was getting better at that, coaxing buds and thorns from scraps with ease now, but this was totally unrelated. This didn’t occur when she shaped flowers or vines; same level of control as ever. She couldn’t commune with her plants, fucking shame that it was.
No, this was…weird. Not bad, but weird, the way she was linked to them now. She could feel their thoughts - more than their thoughts. Their perceptions, simple and blunted as they were, being non-sapient constructs, with dead bodies and half-dead minds.
The drag of a bony foot through soil. The swirl of a breeze through dead hair.
She hadn’t tried on Zeller yet. She knew asking probably wouldn’t go down well.
Gliese wanted to ask Quilis. In person.
Sure, she could’ve gone to Astirn. But her friend wasn’t in the middle of a damn desert, and if this was some emerging change to her magic, she wanted advice before she presented it to her mentor.
So she went over, and oh who was fucking waiting in the woods but creature feature itself.
“It’s not safe right now.” Said Eileit as she approached, wearing its stupid goth maid outfit as the blueblood resisted the urge to throw something at it.
“Bullshit.” She said. “You just don’t want me there.”
It shook its head. “Quilis isn’t accepting visitors, and they’re away at the shop right now. I can ask them to text you when they get back if you want an explanation.”
“Then why are you here?” She demanded. “How come you get to stick around?”
It blinked. “To help.”
She snarled. “Like hell you are. What’s your real reason? What are you planning?”
“Whatever I say, you won’t believe.” It said calmly. “Goodbye.”
It turned to walk away. Gliese, frustrated, reached out with her magic just to stop it in place -
A vast well of feeling. Silver and black and green, a web of wires, a sea of blades, a storm of light -
Quilis’s face and voice. Her favorite teas. The decorations on the taxidermy. A plush bear. A bag of candies. Conversations. Laughter.
Deep respect. Admiration. A desire to learn more. An appreciation of beauty. A strange fondness.
An acceptance of its place, that none of this should be spoken of.
Love, the blueblood realized, as she struggled to extract herself from the swirl of feelings.
So much love.
She came back to reality, nearly stumbling onto the grass.
The blueblood breathed hard, her lean face covered in sweat. Her glowing orange eyes crackled slightly, and blue sparks flew around the base of her horns as well.
Eileit had turned around and its eyes - weren’t maroon anymore.
The sclera had gone black. The pupils were bright jade slits.
“What -“ It said pleasantly, but with an unmistakable edge to its tone. “- did you just do?”
“Uh.” She said, still reeling a bit from the wash of emotions. “I don’t know.” She admitted.
“Hm.” It said, arms crossed behind its back as it examined her. “My mind - no, my feelings. If it was my mind, you’d be in worse shape, most likely…”
“Yeah, I didn’t really get like, words?” She said, wiping her face with a small towel from her sylladex. “Just emotions. Shit, I didn’t know I could do that. You’re not undead. How did I do that?”
She paused, then looked disgusted as it sank in.
“Oh god. You have a flushcrush on Quilis. I so regret asking.”
Its face was unreadable.
“Will you tell her?”
Gliese snorted.
“Fuck no. I don’t want to give her daymares.”
It nodded. A bird called somewhere in the trees.
“Then we agree. No need to speak of it.”
“Thank god.” She said fervently. “I’d have to teach you a hard lesson otherwise.”
It stared at her with those awful green slits, those piercing eyes, and Gliese shivered.
Its clasped its hands politely. Its head tilted slightly, one ear raised, the other lowered.
“What would you do-” It said, so soft, so cold. “-if I felt differently?”
Gliese bit her lip, ears flicking as she looked away - up, down, settling on the side.
“I’d-” She said, then stopped. “I’d- fuck.” She spat.
“I’d do nothing! Happy? I’d fucking do nothing, and you know it. Gloat about it, why don’t you.”
It shook its head. “It’s not about me, Gliese. This is very much about you.”
“Oh, don’t fucking try to schoolfeed me.” She snarled. “Of course this is about you! You and your - fucked up feelings.”
It blinked.
“Am I to be condemned when I’ve never spoken a word? When I would never act on them?”
Gliese wanted to say she couldn’t trust it. But she’d seen - she’d felt - the truth. Eileit knew better. It understood Quilis would never return its feelings, and it didn’t mind.
“You’re so fucking - righteous.” She muttered. “It feels fake. No one’s really that pure about it. Everyone wants their crush to notice them, at least a little.”
“Not righteous.” It said, shaking its head. “Aware there’s no point. I've cut out feelings like that to ensure my silence and courtesy.”
The hare troll bit her lip. It was so…so goddamn casual about fucking with its own head. No wonder it hadn’t freaked out when she’d accidentally found her own way in.
Accidentally, and yet it had felt entirely natural. Like she was meant to do stuff like that.
“Yeah, well.” She said roughly, pushing onward. “Good. Keep it that way.”
“I don’t want to be told to leave.” It said with amusement.
Gliese paused.
“Doubt they’d tell you to.” She admitted, grudgingly.
“Maybe not.” Eileit acknowledged. “But they would be within their rights if they did.” It said calmly.
“I’m content with what I do and the kindness Quilis has shown me.” It continued, tapping its chin. “But…it isn’t technically any of your business. You aren’t her quadrant. And she’s more than capable of handling herself.”
“I’m her friend.” The blueblood spat. “I know Quilis can handle herself fine! I’m not worried about that.”
“Worried about what, then.” It said, blinking.
She gritted her teeth.
“It’s just - it’s fucking weird! No one knows exactly what you are or what you’ll do. None of us know shit. We can’t trust you.”
It nodded.
“Good points. But be honest.”
She wanted to strangle the fucking thing, but she knew it wouldn’t help.
“You’re a freak.” She finally admitted. “You’re a freak and a threat and nowhere near being a troll. Even Tuuya used to be one. You never were, were you?”
“No.” It agreed with a creepy smile.
“See that? That right there?” She said, pointing at its face. “That is why I don’t fucking like it. You are a disturbing little bitch and you don’t even try to pretend otherwise or apologize or anything.”
“I didn’t ask to exist this way.” It said calmly. “I am as I was made.”
“You could put more effort into being normal.” Gliese muttered.
It looked at her, a trace of weariness on its red-freckled face.
“Being like a troll…would require amputating the majority of myself. There would only be a fragment left. It would be stiff and stilted, or shallow and lacking. There is no version of me sanitized enough for your liking.”
“Maybe Quilis would be into you if you tried.” she murmured, aware it wasn't a great joke, but goddamn this situation needed some levity.
Eileit looked at her with such withering disdain that she blushed blue in mild shame.
It spoke a single word.
“No.”
Gliese wanted to be angry. She wanted to shout that who did it think it was, talking back to her? It was a machine. A machine couldn’t comprehend or feel love…
…and yet this one did.
It turned away, apparently done with the conversation.
“So, what, you’d rather just not change, even if people liked you more?”
“Would you?” It said neutrally, beginning to walk away from her.
She gritted her teeth. “Okay, not usually, but…some people are worth changing for. Worth trying to be better.”
“Quilis has made no complaint about my behavior or service.” It said. “If they did, I would listen.”
It got further away, deeper into the forest.
Gliese ran to catch up to it, stopping a few feet behind the false maroon.
“Yeah, well…I’m not saying you should say anything, obviously, but you wouldn’t try to act more troll, even for her?”
It stopped and looked at the blueblood.
“‘And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul? I have perceived that to be with those I like is enough.’”
It walked faster, disappearing behind the trees before she could say anything else.
The mage’s orange eyes followed it, uncertain, her ears slightly lowered.
Well, this sure wasn’t how she’d expected discovering her native domain to go.
#cloud writes#gliese benral#guardian artifice#don't you think it's funny how they tell us how to live. don't you think it's funny how we're all delinquent kids.#Arty is quoting walt whitman btw.
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first time I've sprited her smiling, she doesn't do it a ton, but it happens sometimes. and now she has her Nancor bow.
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Gliese, do you ever think you'll be able to help Nancor get over his guilt complex? Or do you think he's just going to keep blaming himself for everything, even when it isn't remotely his fault?
"I don't know.
Don't mistake that as I don't care. I care a lot. But his guilt complex was around way before me, and while I'm willing to help with it, I am not gonna push him too hard. I am not gonna make the same mistakes I did with Kit early on."
"What I do for Nan is show him he's way more than what he thinks his failures are. I'm not much good at touchy feely, I know that damn well. So I have him help me with plants. I remind him of the people he's saved. I make sure he knows he's fucking everything to me, that he makes my life better just by being in it.
And little by little, I think I can help him to understand that he's not a failure because people die. We all die eventually. Sometimes fucking horribly. It's a rough truth when you're as caring as him, and I don't want to push him away from being caring.
I just want him to be able to learn to let go."
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"I'm gonna turn that talking toaster into scrap, I swear to fuck."
If something is wrong with Quilis, why can't you see her? Why can't you come help her? Why is that thing the only one allowed to stay with her? It's fucking fishy and you don't like it.
If only you knew her other friends! Maybe you and someone else working together could get past this bitch.
Why won't Quilis even text you...?
It hurts a little, especially after last time. Not that you want to admit it, and being pissed off is always easier, especially when you have such an easy target for your rage this time.
But you can't get through those walls, and you don't want to damage the hive trying. So you're kept away. For now.
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Fragments
Guardian Artifice | Outside Quilis's Hive | Time Inexact - Recent
Arty knew Gliese was coming - it could hear her small feet approaching as it left the hive - almost certainly to pepper it with questions, but it knew it was better to let the blueblood do so.
“Hey, Eileit - " (the skepticism in her voice made it clear she probably knew it was a fake name) “ - no wriggling away this time, pal.”
It looked at her with the placid maroon eyes it had in this guise.
“Hm?”
She gave it a look with her glowing orange eyes, staring it up and down.
“Since Quilis doesn’t wanna question you for whatever reason, I’m doing it.”
“Oh, go ahead.” Said Arty, shrugging its shoulders.
She paused, but only for a moment.
“So what are you, anyway.”
“Not a troll.” It said blithely, rewarded by her ears flicking in annoyance.
“No fucking shit.” She shot back, arms folded. “So what are you exactly.”
It laughed softly.
“Biotechnology.”
“Still not a good enough fucking answer, but okay, sure. That explains a few things. Now why does biotechnology want to do the dusting?”
Trolls were always on about things like that. Like it was so hard to believe that cleaning could be enjoyable. ‘Oh, you’re so strong, isn’t that beneath you?’
True, it had other reasons, but it didn’t dislike the work. Not at all.
“I feel like it.” It said with a shrug.
She pulled out her scythe and stepped closer.
“Better answers. Now.”
It blinked, unbothered. “I genuinely enjoy it. I haven’t hurt Quilis or the hive. What’s this about?”
“It’s that you don’t seem to feel fear. It’s that you just appeared one night, real fucking conveniently. It’s that Quilis for whatever reason hasn’t tossed you out on your presumably metal ass. Maybe she thinks it’s smarter to keep you close to watch you or whatever, but I don’t. You could just be biding your damn time until you do something. Report on her, maybe.”
It snorted. “Of all the reasons to be suspicious of me - and I’ll admit you have some points - I can promise that’s not one. Believe me or not, it doesn’t matter, but I would never turn Quilis in.” It said with a shake of its head. “It wouldn’t go well for me either.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So you’re a criminal, then. Or some criminal’s tool.”
It smiled with amusement. “Technically both.”
The blueblood was unmoved. “Yeah, that’s not enough to convince me. You have a weird fucking magical signature - or rather, you don’t really have one, you have no aura. Yet you do have a soul, you definitely have a soul. A fucking weird one. You might be artificial, but there’s something in you that’s not. Damned if I can tell what it is, but I know it’s there.”
It tilted its head.
“You’re a necromancer. All things that are dead once lived, yes? All things that live can die. Except…there are different forms of being alive. Different kinds of deaths. The thing about trolls is - you tend not to realize how much is alive around you. You forget that you, too, can be a part of something alive, something much more vast.”
She squinted suspiciously.
“What the fuck are you going on about?”
It looked up at the sky, quickly growing lighter.
“You should get back inside. The sun will rise soon.”
“Not until you tell me what the fuck you are.”
“You likely wouldn’t understand if I did.” It said simply. “Or you wouldn’t believe me. All I can say is - I am not a threat to Quilis. I swear it on the Spine.”
The hare troll paused, lowering her weapon as she frowned in confusion.
“The what?”
“Just know it is something very important to me.” It said, humming. “As other guardians like her are important to me. Those who ward against the empire, and other threats.”
The sky was growing - for a troll - dangerously bright.
Gliese retreated backwards, clearly dissatisfied, but having no choice.
“We’re not done.” She muttered as she put her scythe away and ran back in the mansion.
They were. Arty would not answer her questions again, but it figured humoring her once was enough.
The red sun bathed the artifice as it rose, and it shut its eyes, basking in the rays as it absorbed the light for energy.
There was comfort and peace in the world.
Even if it was a living and frightened thing.
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Encroached
Gliese Benral | Gliese's Hedge Maze | Present Night
If you want to know what the creatures in this drabble are, I recommend checking out @nihils-trolls's plot!
The blueblood held the shears expertly, snipping away at her hedges with sweeps of long practice. How long had she kept these? Since she was six? Five, even?
She couldn’t quite remember how long it had been, only that she’d planted them when her eyes were still gray and her horns were maybe half the length they were now.
Gliese heard a very dramatic scream coming from a few hedge walls over and her ears flicked irritably. Couldn’t a girl trim her plants in peace?
It didn’t sound like Zeller or Kit, so who cared. Maybe Haredad had caught an intruder.
When a yell followed it the little highblood sighed deeply and supposed she’d better go check it ou -
What the fuck was that doing here.
A shadowy black blob peeped out of her hedge, one awful green and golden eye showing. She dropped her shears on the ground with a thud and swung out her flamethrower to blast it, not caring about the damage or the smoke now rising to the sky as fire licked through the plants.
At least she kept them well watered; it wouldn’t spread too quickly, and she didn’t have time to worry about it right now.
She whistled high and shrill for her lusus, if he was in range, but if not she’d just have to solve it herself.
Her flamethrower away again, Gliese ran toward the voice now yelling and cursing again. Her eyes crackled with orange sparks as she called ghosts to her, skeletons as well. None of her plant constructs would be good here; better things that couldn’t burn, or wouldn’t do so easily.
Now she had to hope she wouldn’t have a fucking seizure.
At least if she did, her skeletons were instructed to preserve her at all costs.
A few burst from the ground and gave her the lift she needed to leap over the next hedge and -
-swear like the soldier she’d once been as she landed, flamethrower out again as her angry and baffled glowing eyes took in the wreckage before her.
Bigger blobs had already consumed half the plants in this area and were still eating away at them. The ground itself was riddled with puddles of black, gleaming like oil in the moonlight.
“HEEEEELLLLLP!”
Cried a terrified voice.
Right, the troll.
She spun around and saw them; their bright red coat made it easy as they ran like hell from the biggest monster yet, but it was clear it would catch them in seconds.
Gliese opened fire on that blob, not getting all of it on her first go, but enough to slow it down, let the troll - let the troll whip out an umbrella and quickly rise up into the air with a shimmering aura of red magic as they clutched its handle.
She grinned. Another mage.
Then she blasted at the big blob again, her skeletons and ghosts keeping the ones around her busy, but she could feel a seizure coming on.
Ugh, it wasn’t fucking going down.
Fuck it. She had no choice.
Gritting her teeth, Gliese pushed her psiionics further, her vision growing hazy, and the last thing she heard before she passed out was the howl of her ghosts inhabiting her skeletons, bolstering their power.
Then it all went dark.
—
She woke up in her hive.
On her couch.
Damn. How long had she been out?
She looked out the nearest window and realized not too long, the sky had barely lightened; the moons hadn’t yet set.
“Hello, I do hope this IS your hive and I didn’t just follow some skeletons that carried you into someone else’s. But I thought: big fancy mansion, blueblood, the two go together like salt and pepper. Oh, I put the fires out too, because widespread arson seemed like a bad idea.”
She sat up and looked over, noticing the troll from before.
They didn’t have their coat on anymore, and their umbrella was nowhere to be seen.
“Say, do you know what those are? I haven’t the foggiest, but they certainly are nasty, aren’t they? Glad you came along and razed them to ashes when you did. I wish I’d known about that before.”
They nodded after saying so.
“Felt like rot to me. What kind, I’m not sure, but something along those lines. Very strange, don’t you think?”
Gliese blinked her orange eyes as they spoke, slightly surprised by how the maroon looked in just a fitted black tank top and purple skirt over black leggings.
They were a little on the heavier side - unusual for a lowblood, though they were still more lightly built than several mid and highbloods she’d seen. They looked soft, but she saw calluses on their hands; they’d clearly labored before, were probably stronger than they looked.
They also had nice curves.
“Are you even listening to me?” They said with minor annoyance and bafflement after a brief pause, arms crossed.
She noticed their coat had been flung on another couch and - huh, they had a blue bracelet on one wrist, only a few hues above her own.
“Yeah, yeah, I know about these things already.” The hare troll said dismissively, waving a hand.
They sputtered, and she enjoyed their shocked expression behind their big red glasses.
“Wh - why didn’t you say so at the start?” They demanded in their goofy accent.
Seriously, they sounded like some of the characters on the shows she used to watch. It was funny, but kind of cute to listen to.
“Didn’t feel like it.” She said smugly, ears flicking.
They put a hand to their face.
“Brilliant. Brilliant! I’m dealing with someone who thinks it’s cute to waste my time! Oh, of all the luck…”
The blueblood smirked at their agitation, watching their ears flick up and down.
“It is pretty funny. Hey, look on the bright side; I can tell you what I know.”
She paused as they sighed and took their hand away, looking at her mulishly. Then she addressed them again.
“What the fuck’s your name, anyway.”
“Crista.” They said, sullen. “What’s yours.”
“Gliese.”
“Well, miss Gliese, I hope you’re not just yanking my chain and you do know something about these little abominations.” They said irately. “I almost died out there! As you might recall.”
“Vaguely.” She said in a casual tone meant to irritate the other mage, who rewarded her with a huff and by putting their hands on their hips.
“But yeah, I do. Friend of mine’s studying them right now, and I’ve learned the hard way to not put any magic close to them, or they’ll eat it and try to kill you getting the rest. They’re not alive, they’re not dead, they just…exist. Fucked up little things.”
“The real revelation here is that you have friends.” Muttered the lowblood grumpily, but with minimal bite, looking down at the floor.
Gliese felt like she was being gently teethed by a scolded puppy who wanted to try gnawing at you again, but was too nervous that they might actually be kicked this time.
She smirked again. What a dork.
“Aw, try not to be too jealous. How many friends have you got?”
They squawked in protest and she laughed, which only made them squawk again.
“Enough! More than you, probably! With your charming personality and stunning gift for being a right pain in the neck!”
She grinned wider. “Wow, really laying on the flattery.”
They looked done, their hands gripping one another. “This isn’t at all important, I don’t know why I let myself get distracted…do you know anything else?”
“They have blood inside them sometimes.” She said, just as casual. “And my friend gave it a drop of godling blood to see what would happen.”
They gaped at her. “Where did they…I don’t even want to know. No! I really don’t want to know, at all. Insane. You’re both insane.”
“Hey.” She snapped. “Call me what you want, but leave Quil out of it. She’s doing her best.”
They snorted. “Fine, fine! It’s just you that’s insane, then. Happy?”
“I’ve been happier.” She quipped, flippant.
“I am weeping most tragically for you, you simply can’t tell right now.” Said Crista, sounding infinitely weary. “So what happened? With the blood?”
“Dunno. It revitalized it a bit, I think. I’ll ask Quil.”
The maroon considered that, then spoke again.
“Fire’s good against it, of course. Anything else you know of?”
“They can be contained with anti-magic stuff.” The blueblood replied, thinking of Quilis’s walls of force. “I’d stick with fire, though.”
“I see.” Sighed the lowblood. “Well! Can’t hang around, I’d best be going.”
Gliese blinked.
“What, you don’t want to rest or anything?”
They looked at her.
“What makes you think I’m stupid enough to loiter in the hive of a blueblood I don’t know? And you’re a necromancer. I only trust one of those.”
Gliese scowled.
“If I wanted you dead, you would be.” She said scornfully, thin arms crossed. “You’re no match for me and you know it. If I was some wicked witch I’d feed you to my zombie or whatever.”
They snorted heavily, shaking their head. “Oh, she has a zombie! Wonderful. Yes, you sound more and more trustworthy by the moment. I’ll be leaving now.”
They went to put their coat back on, but before they could, the necromancer cleared her throat.
“Well, if you wanna leave without dinner…”
“You sound like you want to poison me!” Snapped the maroon, shaking their head as they (sadly for Gliese) put their coat back on and tied the waist ribbon.
“At least try to be subtle about it.” They muttered under their breath.
The hare troll looked at the ornately painted ceiling. Maybe she was really rusty. Pity too, pitch had always been the quad she was best at.
Then she looked back down at the other mage.
“Look. I don’t want to fucking poison you, you idiot. You can watch me make the food yourself if you’re that worried. I’m trying to make up for the fact you got fucked up on my property. Why the hell would I have helped you just to kill you now?”
“Don’t ask me why I think bluebloods will act like bluebloods, miss, we’d be here til the sun came up.” Crista said wearily.
Their ears flicked as they considered it, then they sighed and took their coat off again.
“Fine, since you’re so insistent. I won’t say I’m not a bit peckish. But I am going to watch you make it.”
She grinned. “Sure, sure. Hope you like vegetarian.”
They raised their thick eyebrows.
“Depends on the dish. Please tell me there will be dessert.”
She paused. “Do fruit bars count?”
Crista groaned.
“You’re killing me.”
She smirked.
“Relax, I have dark chocolate if you’re that desperate. Just don’t take a lot of it, it’s usually for my moirail.”
“Rest assured I shan’t.” They said wryly, and the blueblood laughed as she turned away to walk to her kitchen, Crista shaking their head as they followed.
#cloud writes#gliese benral#crista condyl#I'm sorry I wrote Gliese checking out Crista. but in my defense it's funny
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Ah, girl talk.
#cloud doodles#Gliese Benral#Zeller Vannyn#I had a lot of fun with the expressions here#4th panel Gliese is the best Gliese I’ve drawn in a while lol
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Zeller is thrilled that Nancor thought to ask Gliese to give her a pet, Gliese is feeling slightly ill at having done something nice for Zeller
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