A true moonmaiden 🌙💫

i belong here. and you will not deny me. (but make it like... romantic as hell... (for vic ofc))

you forget, at times, just how strong she is: how steadfast, the bedrock of her devotion forged in temple and feathered out into every part of her. there is something kindred in that, for you, something whose particulars escape you but that sings in your soul, just south of the rot blackening your ribcage - the fierceness with which celeste swears her fealty is, in some fashion, familiar to you. it is also idiotic, but [ and you are beginning to realise this, with the slowness of someone who has to catch up very quickly to truths readily apparent to the rest of the world ] such is all love. the shadows choke her goddess' light, here. no moonlight bathes her in silver; no beams of clarity part your veil of violence. still, you take her hands in yours, making mirror of a moment that seems lifetimes old already.

" it's not about what is owed, " you bite, and you are choked, too; tears tighten your throat, but you refuse them, swallow them, not because you revile weakness but because you know they will soak into the cracks of celeste's already made-up mind and strengthen her resolve still further. " where you belong, what you deserve, what divine purpose you have found in me - all meaningless if i - "

your chest spasms with what longs to be a sob. nothing has ever hurt this much. nothing in your abridged memory has ever even come close.

@selunight.

"I think you're like to cause a scene, turning up looking like this." He smiled as he said it, at once completely honest and entirely teasing. Balfour raised a hand to fix a stray few strands of Celeste's hair, his gaze warm as it lingered upon her face. "You're going to put the rest of them to shame."

“ celeste. ” you approach her slowly, with the same care you might use to soothe a startled deer - the syllables of her name wrapped in quiet concern, indelible. even knowing as you do that your worry is, to her, a wretched thing, you cannot keep it from creasing your brow. you cannot bring yourself to lie to @selunight. “ might we speak? privately? ”

@selunight taking a long rest.

deep beneath the waking world and buried under countless feet of stone and dirt, entrenched in the cursed shadows of the underdark, they've found a secret haven in the last light inn. fable sets a tall mug of ale beside of celeste as they sit watching the placid waters surrounding the islet, feet swinging off the dock. she turns a smooth stone in her hand absently, before skipping it along the surface of the lake.

she's silent for a moment before glancing over at celeste. ❝ I hope I didn't ruin your alone time. ❞ she offers a teasing grin. ❝ but, I can go find shadowheart instead, if you'd like... ❞

@selunight : “ i’m glad we’re on the same side. ”

while his words often gave him an advantage, there had been times where he'd managed to talk his way into trouble rather than out of it. a bad call, judgements made wrongly, aksel had fallen into every trap - keeping himself hidden away for so long hadn't served him well, seeing the same customers day in, day out had mad him rusty - he'd let his guard down, his tongue loose.

he was grateful at least on this occasion that he'd not walked into another of his own traps, even if he'd gotten off to a bad start. " i have a feeling i would not want to get on your bad side. " he offered her a smile before he broke his gaze, curious eyes taking a quick glance around at the grove from where he stood. " do you plan on staying here? "

@selunight : liked for a d&d starter. ➵ kryn of dost (eloquence bard)

❝ it's a bloody shame, ❞ the bard sighed. her orange-black hair rippled like a flame in the setting sun. she observed the druid grove from a distance, the refugees packing their wares, preparing to leave the only sanctuary they had.

❝ kagha and her damn fear politics. I'll tell you somethin', love. halsin wouldn't have let that connivin' snake do all she's doin'. not if he had anythin' to say about it. ❞ kryn's eyes narrowed before a playful glint sparked to life. ❝ say... how'd you like to help me disrupt our dear druid's perfect peace a little? give the little tiefs somethin' to smile about? ❞

@selunight: ❝ i’m not easily impressed by people, but you’re stronger than i gave you credit for. ❞ / accepting.

doe-like eyes blink, the bright moonlight the druid had summoned dissipating as her concentration fades. half-elf smiles sheepishly at the tiefling, a bit embarrassed by the praise. (it’s mortifying to admit she’s unused to kindness, even when slightly back-handed.) annette fidgets with her fingers, giving celeste a small shrug. “it’s just survival, isn’t it? persevere through what you can, try to avoid what you can’t. i don’t want to be strong. but i guess i am.” her mother is stronger, she thinks. a witch of some reputation, teaching her girl of the costs of magic. “when i no longer have to be, i’m sure i’ll pay my penance.”

@selunight : ❝ is that... blood? ❞

inara was mesmerized by the color for a moment, fingers held up to the light, before she shook her head clear. as she finished casting her spell, the blood turned black before her eyes, pitch-dark and lightless. she smiled, proud, wiping the remnants –– a charcoal-like dust on her fingers –– off, and turning to face celeste.

❝ it was, ❞ she drawled, all too casually. ❝ have you never witnessed bloodletting before? honestly, celeste, just what kind of temple did you grow up in? ❞ her brow furrowed –– where had that strange sentiment come from?

MORBID CURIOSITY : accepting.

you want a better story. who wouldn't? - @selunight

was it really about that though ?? in part , her story has already been written. unsaid to the rest of the party , she either had a choice to kill the father who wanted her dead. . . or she may as well die herself. it wasn't much of a choice was it ?? everything else for the past few centuries had already been written. it filled her chapters of a little girl who had a normal life. a normal family. followed her until she was forced to become a creature of undeath , to spend years waiting for it to fit her properly. and to watch as her family CRUMBLED to nothing because of it. " there's little i'd change. . . i think , " she answers simply , the light glinting off her eyes. " maybe just one thing that could rewrite these final few chapters. "

her gaze flits to the other woman. a brow perked up , chin tilting. " and you ?? do you want a better story ?? perhaps one that doesn't involve a tadpole or a mindflayer ship ?? "

Let your moon be my light, and I shall let my sword be your shining symbol.

@selunight. call.

"I'm sorry - he's usually better behaved than this. He's not one for bothering strangers. - Scooby!"

"if you've got a problem with the way i handle things, just say so."

" do i come off to you like the type to hold my tongue when it matters? " her gaze is sharp, appraising, ice-cold: do not mistake me, o cleric, o lightbringer, o naive little thing. i have walked this road before and it is wretched. gloved hands twitch by her sides as the tadpole lurches in her skull, twin uncomfortable sensations and nauseating, all.

there is a kindness in celeste, so blind to the horrors of this her moonmaiden's blessed earth, that is violently, achingly familiar. lilith scoffs because she must; because any other reaction would be the stuff of nightmares, well-trodden and vile. " i was only going to wait until we had the privilege of further privacy to tell you that this is utter suicide. "

@selunight : liked .

❝ well, so much for that movie marathon, ❞ meadow sighed. a city-wide blackout wasn't exactly what she was anticipating for the night, but there was only so much to do. getting upset wouldn't bring the power back. ❝ maybe we should get looking for candles, I don't want to have to use the phone flashlight, in case something happens. ❞

as she's headed into her room, searching for a lighter, she pauses, casting over her shoulder: ❝ oh! hey, maybe we can play a board game, or something? I think I have clue? ❞

i thought you promised to behave.

"WE CONSTANTLY FLIRT EVERY TIME WE MEET BUT IT'S NEVER GONE ANYWHERE" PROMPTS ( ACCEPTING )

"No, I said I'll try, and I did try, to some extent." You let out a short huff. "The tendency to misbehave is strong, depending on the day and hour. The dead of the night is a good time for a little bit of mischief. Not like I'm going to, I don't know, commit arson." Not yet anyway.

@selunight. fable meadows ➵ celeste moonwood.

❝ your temple was beautiful, celeste- ❞ a shame what ruin the cult of the absolute has brought to its doors. not a follower of selûne herself, but appreciative of her values, fable can't help the sympathetic tilt to her lips as she glances sideways at celeste. she sets a hand on her companion's elbow and gives it a squeeze.

❝ we'll right things. can you show us around? perhaps we can try to help you look for clues here for what may have transpired. ❞