dvarapala

[dvarapala]

❛ I’m allowed to want the world to be better. ❜

the jasmine throne; part two / @marinaers

"of course you are." the words unfurl from her tongue with almost practiced ease. "in fact, you should."

"but is it just for you or is it for everybody? 'cause i want the world to be better too. i want that as well. but i also know that what i need isn't necessarily what others do - i mean, if the world were truly better, i would not have struggled as much with school as i have. "did you know that dyslexia is formally recognized and that dyscalculia isn't? honestly, if i had five euros or dollars or yen for each time i had to explain, i'd be about as rich as kelly clarkson right about now."

[dvarapala]

↝ ❛𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔍𝔞𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔢❜ 𝔟𝔶 𝔗𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔞 𝔖𝔲𝔯𝔦 ▪▪▪ 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰. 𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢. ▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ❛ I have been more merciful than you deserve, and we both know it. ❜ ❛ Remember, that you have brought this upon yourself. ❜ ❛ You’re lucky that I am not what I was raised to be. ❜ ❛ I know as much as you do. ❜ ❛ You should go now. You don’t want to get caught by the guards. ❜ ❛ You don’t mind touching me? ❜ ❛ Wait for me here, I won’t be long. ❜ ❛ The sooner we do this, the sooner you leave. ❜ ❛ I don’t need your advice. ❜ ❛ Just the threat of pain can break someone. ❜ ❛ A knife, used right, never has to draw blood. ❜ ❛ I’ll try not to trouble you again. ❜ ❛ If you remembered your lessons, neither of us would be here. ❜ ❛ Do you have no shame? I am trying to help you. ❜ ❛ See what happens when you misbehave? ❜ ❛ I’ll come back and see you later… ❜ ❛ Good to finally see you. ❜ ❛You should head to the kitchen before you miss dinner. ❜ ❛ I should have known it was true. ❜ ❛ I know what it means to be strong, I know everything has a price. ❜ ❛ You can tell me off properly when we’re both safe. I promise I’ll listen. ❜ ❛ I’ve never seen you like that before… ❜ ❛ Are you real? Speak. I need to be sure. ❜ ❛ Think of your future. ❜ ❛ Don’t speak until you’ve finished eating, please. ❜ ❛ You should be going to sleep… ❜ ❛ We both know what the world is like. ❜ ❛ Don’t mistake my being softhearted for being a fool. ❜ ❛ You’re not good at hiding your feelings. ❜ ❛ There’s no point crying over something you can’t fix. ❜ ❛ You don’t have to worry about me. ❜ ❛ I think you want something from me that I can’t give you. ❜ ❛ Being strong means being ruthless, I know that. ❜ ❛ I’ll risk anything. I’ll do anything, I have no choice.❜ ❛ I can’t go back without an answer. ❜ ❛ I thought that was only for emergencies. ❜ ❛ I don’t doubt you, but… ❜ ❛ I’m here to drink and have fun, not to talk politics. ❜ ❛ I can see you have little concern for important business. ❜ ❛ You need to be reminded of your place. ❜ ❛ I’d hoped we’d be able to talk alone. ❜ ❛ You there, what are you doing here? ❜ ❛ I know someone who may be able to help you. ❜ ❛ I’m cleaning your wounds. Your ribs are bruised. ❜ ❛ If I hadn’t returned early, you’d be dead on the street. ❜ ❛ The world only has meaning when we give it meaning. ❜ ❛ Hold still. This will hurt. ❜

[dvarapala]

↝ ❛𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔍𝔞𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔢❜ 𝔟𝔶 𝔗𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔞 𝔖𝔲𝔯𝔦 ▪▪▪ 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰. 𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔗𝔴𝔬. ▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ❛ Don’t worry, I’m very good at following orders. ❜ ❛ Did you say anything to reveal yourself? ❜ ❛ How could you have been such an idiot? ❜ ❛ You could have said nothing. You could have cried out for help. ❜ ❛ I think, that you’re just determined to be angry with me. ❜ ❛ I have done nothing wrong. ❜ ❛ I have done everything I can to protect myself…and you. ❜ ❛ You could have died. Do you understand that? ❜ ❛ I’m truly not a fool, I don’t know how often I have to tell you. ❜ ❛ I’ve never been able to make you do anything… ❜ ❛ You could walk away, if you like. ❜ ❛ I think you of all people would find a way to survive, somehow. ❜ ❛ Drink your water. You look terrible. ❜ ❛ Lie to yourself if you like, but I know you. ❜ ❛ Judge me all you like, I don’t care what you think of me, or anyone else. ❜ ❛ Call me a whore and a traitor if you wish, I simply don’t care. ❜ ❛ All I want is to ensure an outcome where as many of us as possible survive. ❜ ❛ Go and bathe. Rest. I’ll make the arrangements. ❜ ❛ Leave me alone, I’ve got enough to worry about already. ❜ ❛ You could have asked me for aid with them, you know. ❜ ❛ I can’t do everything, unfortunately. ❜ ❛ Just go. I’ll do what I can. That’s all I promise you. ❜ ❛ I’m allowed to want the world to be better. ❜ ❛ Are you saying you’re powerful? ❜ ❛ You’re stronger than you used to be. ❜ ❛ You can help me now, if you’re willing. Will you help? ❜ ❛ Why not try to find the way yourself? ❜ ❛ Will you help me take back what was stolen? ❜ ❛ I have been so afraid. I struggle to eat or sleep. ❜ ❛ With your protection perhaps I will be more at ease. ❜ ❛ I’d almost think you missed me. ❜ ❛ Do you know how boring it is without you? ❜ ❛ I have duties at night that keep me busy. ❜ ❛ I told you I’d help you any way you need, didn’t I? ❜ ❛ And what will you do if I’m not well, in the end? ❜ ❛ You must forgive me for being such terrible company… ❜ ❛ Are you sure this is best? ❜ ❛ You knew your actions would have consequences. ❜ ❛ Whatever you’re planning to do, don’t. ❜ ❛ When we have power, we won’t be called rebels anymore. ❜ ❛ That matters more than anything. It’s worth any price. ❜ ❛ You don’t have the sense to know who to trust. ❜ ❛ My soft heart makes a fool of me… ❜ ❛ You may be needed, soon enough, and I am sorry for it. ❜ ❛ I do not think walking will cure what ails me. ❜ ❛ We can return to your room if you wish.❜ ❛ I do not like acting without intent. ❜

[dvarapala]

sic itur ad astra, or: such is the way to the stars

[dvarapala]

"there was an angry preta that managed to take a bite out of me but look, it's already healing. i just need your help with the stitching. um, they look like humans but with sunken skin and narrow limbs and thin necks and distended bellies. they're always hungry and nothing can sate them. they always make me feel sad. when i was a kid, i tried to feed one, and then it wouldn't go away---it ended up dying, anyway."

" wait, hold on... is that blood? hey, hey, just hold still a minute, okay? is it yours? are you hurt? here, sit down, okay? let me take a look. "

OPEN STARTER. / i'm just feeling this kinda angsty concerned comfort vibe rn yk?

[dvarapala]

reminding myself daily that choices are portals, not endings

[dvarapala]

hi beautiful talented human <3 do u have any advice on writing backstories for oc's?? kthx byeyeee

how to build your oc: a guide by tessa for @wantdead and anyone who might need it.

everyone builds their oc and their backstories differently and that's okay.

i'm very much the type of person that needs a concept and a name and a face claim as building blocks. if i have those, the process goes a lot smoother and if i don't, or if i'm caught between two or more ideas, the process goes a lot slower.

and i'm gonna be honest: sometimes i take the concept from things i've watched / read and tweak it and change it accordingly and build onwards from there. but there is always a core concept that stays consistent throughout the writing process / characterization process.

for kie, it's her nickname; for udyati, it's choices; for floribeth, it's knowledge; for eleusine, it's abandonment (and hunger).

i do put a lot of little bits and pieces of myself in my ocs. i think we all do, honestly, whether we write ocs or canons.

i think the most important part of building an oc is to take the time you need. you don't have to force these things. just let the vibes come to you - your brain will know what to do and when to do it.

example 1: khione

i often say that khiren (aka the pairing between warren and khione) is the crux of this blog, and it is. but the foundation of this blog is actually khione's nickname: freeze girl.

i wanted everything in her life to be cold, ranging from her powers (cryokinesis, predominantly) to her parents (i took inspiration from the w.illoughbys, in the sense that i wanted her parents to be so in love with / obsessed with / down bad for / ride or die for each other that there would be no place for kie left in the equation; i wanted her to grow up in a cold home - her dad is broken and bitter because of his altercation with b.arron b.attle and resents his daughter because she still has her abilities, and he does not, and her mom resents her because of her arduous pregnancy and reminds her of this as often as possible) but i also wanted to have pinpricks of warmth to combat the frost (i.e. jawaharel and farzana, the friend group, warren) and i wanted her to be warm and kind despite everything she went through.

her first kiss and the fact that she wears gloves, for instance? directly inspired by r.ogue from the 2000 x-men movie.

she feels the frost in her veins so keenly; her body isn't very good at regulating it's own temperature. so she layers up. the layers in her clothing aren't just because of her powers but also to show that she has walls she's hiding behind.

she's drawn to warmth, to heat, to fire, like a moth to a flame, though. the sun helps, but not forever. a hot shower helps, but not forever. blankets help, but not forever. the only thing that helps? the touch of a pyrokinetic.

in the movie and in the first script, ethan tells will that he's "third generation" and in the first script, ethan goes on to remind will that his grandfather built s.ky h.igh.

being a legacy hero has always been one of the core aspects of this blog, as is having inherited powers, but i wanted to do more with it, so i made kie will's cousin. we don't know anything about the strongholds. steve could have a brother, right? who knows?

the first script only told the reader that freeze girl was "a pretty girl" with ice powers; sure they cast a blonde, white girl in the movie, but also, she doesn't have to be, i realized.

so i changed her face claim and then everything clicked because i always knew that i wanted to examine the intersection that kie embodies, sort of, and i couldn't do that before. now i can.

she comes from money which opens a lot of doors for her, but she is also a (queer) brown girl in a predominantly white town, in a predominantly white school, in a predominantly white sport whose every move and milestone is out there for other people to consume and dissect. and not only that: she's biracial. she's too brown for some people and not brown enough for others.

she's an ice queen with a warm heart and a fierce drive to be better than the person she was yesterday (and to be better than her parents) and that's not something that brown people are often characterized as, in movies or shows or books, so i deliberately wanted to bring that to the forefront.

(also, i think it's so funny that for someone who is so icy, kie has a bit of a temper, and gets annoyed by people very quickly.)

example 2: floribeth

floribeth came about when one of my good friends, arrow, was like: hey, i'm writing jed, a werewolf - it'd be fun to have some kinda romeo x juliet / vampire x wolf interfaction relationship complete with all the drama it entails.

and i said: say no more. here is floribeth dalisay!

to this day, jedibeth remains one of my most beloved dynamics because jed and flori see each other and love each other wholeheartedly and help each other grow and move forward and be the best versions of themselves they can be.

floribeth was always filipina to me. and while i did change her fc from c.helsea c.lark to m.alia p.yles, i still consider the first to be her fc too. an alternate fc, if you will.

anyway, i grew up with l.j smith's books (may she rest in peace) - they're very 90's and straight but i do so adore them - i read the majority of them, actually. i still have to read the t.v.d books and the s.ecret c.ircle books but other than that? i read all of them. and it shows.

because i did not hesitate to link floribeth to the broader l.j smith-verse through the night world series.

but i also didn't hesitate to link her to t.v.d./t.o./l.egacies canon through derek (who does not have a last name canonically but i gave him the last name machado to link him to e.than, m.aya and their mom) who got turned by k.laus in the episode "the hybrid".

a lot of my muses come from broken homes, or volatile homes, or cold homes. so i wanted to flip that on it's head by making sure that floribeth came from a good, warm, stable home (even though she grew up lonely, because she, too, grew up in a predominantly white town and went to a predominantly white school.)

and then i took that all away by having derek turn her, having her complete her transition by feeding onto the girl she had a crush on - the sister of her ex-boyfriend, who will dedicate his life to hunting her and others like her down because of the loss - and having her lose her parents and being taken to triad's detention center all in one fell swoop.

floribeth's foundation is knowledge. she has always been thirsty for it. hungry for it. she wants to know so many things; she wants to be taught by so many people, across the board. and her crux? her crux is her hubris. after all, she trawled through triad's servers, she thought she had covered her tracks well enough, only to find out later that she hadn't.

floribeth is resilient, so much more than she thought she would be, and she's cerebral; always learning, always growing, always changing, despite the fact that she's a vampire and is thus frozen forevermore at the age she was turned at.

example 3: udyati

udyati was born after i wrote a silly short story with my dad when i was younger. it was an atla-esque story about magical elemental doors. my dad lost interest in it; i did not.

so when i found the scribbles during spring / summer cleaning one day, i decided to retool the whole thing. the doors stayed but the elemental aspect of it went away.

i'd been talking to my friends, too, saying how cool it would've been if we could just teleport to each other to hang out. how lovely it would be to open a door and you'd be there on the other side.

and then i figured: why not make that udyati's main ability?

and her story grew from there: it also became a story about mothers and daughters, taking up space in the world but also about making your own voice heard and making your own choices. udyati, specifically, has the same neurodivergencies as i have (dyscalculia) and struggles with school that i had.

ankita, udyati's mom, loves her very much but also keeps things from her to protect her. she's very much the embodiment of "lo kya kahenge" i.e. "what would other people think?" - she's very much aware that she moves through the world as a brown woman and that people might look at her differently because of it.

so udyati's steps are careful but there is also a lot of deep emotions beneath the surface. a lot of grief, a lot of anger, a lot of longing and loss.

she doesn't always feel like the people around her understand her, especially the adults, and a lot of that comes down to having different morals and values and backgrounds. but also because she feels more alien than human, sometimes.

udyati has been someone's puppet - literally - for ages and when her story begins, she's on another planet, and she has had to yank the threads out of her body. her story begins with someone else making huge choices for her and udyati rolls with it, only to regret it later, and throughout her story, she makes a lot of choices - some good, some less so - but they're hers, and that's what matters most.

so udyati's foundation? choices.

example 4: eleusine "lou ellen" blackstone

out of all my muses, eleusine went through the most changes. from her backstory to her fc's (but even throughout all the fc changes, she was always a woman of color to me and she was always asian to me; l.ola t.ung perfectly embodied silk hiding steel, the sweetness and spice that i needed).

i tried to take her out of the r.iordanverse, once, but she's too anchored in that verse, in that story. so there she will remain until further notice.

one thing stayed consistent throughout, though. the crux of eleusine is hunger but her foundation is abandonment; she's had to abandon the people she loves and the people she loves have abandoned her.

eleusine's story starts in keeseville, ny, when her monsterous half sister, lamia, "activates" - as it were - her innate magic at much too young an age. this is done in a bid to protect her younger sister, as lamia sees both herself and her late daughter in eleusine, but instead burdened her. lamia gave eleusine nightmares and then "taught" her the spell to make it stop.

except the spell to make the nightmares stop wasn't like that. it was a spell to erase memories. little eleusine said the words, again and again, with powerful intent, and as she crawled into her mortal mother's bed, falling asleep while holding her hand, she didn't realize that physical touch was the final component needed to have the spell take effect.

and take effect it did. eleusine's first big spell was the permanent memory erasure spell.

the following day, her mortal mother did not recognize eleusine anymore, and eleusine's second big spell was a sleeping spell, cast in hysteria when her mortal mother was about to call cps.

(why? and how? because she is literally made of magic.)

eleusine fled her house, fled with nothing but the clothes on her back. a.labaster - who also lived / grew up in keeseville - found her in an alleyway. (this is a deliberate nod to l.uke and t.halia finding a.nnabeth in an alleyway when she's a kid!) he took her in and taught her the basics of magic and for a while, eleusine was happy.

and then the monsters came. because they always do. lamia is ever relentless, after all. so when a rogue empousa attacked them both, a.labaster made the choice to fight the empousa to buy his sister and their satyr protector some time to get to safety.

once at chb, eleusine is inconsolable because she thinks a.labaster is dead. he arrives about a week or so later. and for a while, things are good, until they're not, because a.labaster has a lot of resentment and when l.uke goes, so does he.

and though eleusine looks to l.uke as a sort of brother figure, it was a.labaster who was the first one to find her and the first one to walk away from her.

eleusine - in my canon - is there for all the events: from p.ercy j.ackson getting claimed to the g.olden f.leece returning to camp to the b.attle of the l.abyrinth to the final battle when all of manhattan is asleep. and throughout it all, she remained on the side of chb even though a lot of her siblings defected to k.ronos' side.

because chb? it's the only home she's ever known. so of course she takes up the mantle of cabin counselor, even though there are precious few children of magic left by then.

and at some point, eleusine runs into l.amia again, says no to l.amia's offer of working together and almost gets killed because of it. eleusine gets turned into a lampad (think a vampire-witch hybrid or a heretic in t.v.d terms) to save her life.

she was already different from the other campers (i.e. a demi-titaness instead of a demigoddess) and her titan relatives do not like her very much (her grandfather, perses the destroyer, especially; to him, demi-titans are a stain on his name, on his house, on his legacy) but now she's even more different.

eleusine hungers. for knowledge, for love, for connections, for sex, for violence, for someone to see her, for someone to stay. but it's hard for others to stay. she knows that. because she looks at herself and sees all of the bad and none of the good.

every time someone walks away from her (whether that's in canon or in rp-land) it reinforces her deep belief that something's wrong with her - that she's bad and broken and fundamentally unloveable. that it's only a matter of time before the other people in her life catch on and leave, too. after all, she's always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"always the bridesmaid, never the bride," that's what l.ord h.ermes told her, once, and it still rings true to this day.

with eleusine, i explore connections of all kind: platonic, familial, romantic. she is very much tied to so many canon characters of the r.iordanverse and i always thought it was such a shame that r.ick never did anything with that beyond the perfunctory "yeah here's cabin 20's counselor - she literally steals noses and turns people into piglets haha so funny, right?" because it's right there! it's all right there! look at the material!

she's related to h.ecate, to c.irce, to m.edea on the divine side of things and on the mortal side of things, she's related to a.labaster, to p.eter s.tuyvesant (a magic user who turned against his family / bloodline, distancing himself from his powers) and to j.osephine, a former h.untress of a.rtemis and the oldest daughter of h.ecate alive in the r.iordanverse.

jealousy is also a big component of eleusine's character because she was jealous of a.nnabeth for getting taught by c.irce and she was jealous of h.azel for getting chosen as lady h.ecate's champion, and she was jealous of / pissed at c.lovis for being the one to talk down p.eter s.tuyvesant and she was jealous of / pissed at p.ercy, a.nnabeth and g.rover for being asked to "house-sit/pet-sit" for lady h.ecate and she was jealous of / pissed at l.eo for being welcomed by her sister with open arms.

why? because she's canonically related to all of those people but in the books, nobody mentioned her. nobody asked about her. and that hurts. it makes her feel invisible. like people only come to her when they need a spell or a potion brewed.

(and yes, i know that's because some of those characters hit the scenes before eleusine did, and some of them hit the scenes after her, but still.)

on the flip side, there's also a lot of compassion there, because canonically, l.amia is the one who crafted the spell that allows monsters to track demigods 24/7 and eleusine is trying to break that spell, not just for herself but so other people can have the rich lives they deserve without having to look over their shoulders the whole time.

eleusine is made of magic. she is magic made manifest. magic made flesh. and magic can be used for good or for ill. she, too, reflects that.

[dvarapala]

biblically accurate udyati kavya rao

[dvarapala]

udyati kavya rao / fandomless oc / doors opened by tessa / (©)

[dvarapala]

# TRVSTBROKEN      |     Alexander      Lex      Luthor      of      CW      television      series     Smallville.      Canon      Divergent     influenced      by      head-canons      and      aspects      of      redemption.  ➝ est. jan 2025. written by KAL ( he / him ).

[dvarapala]

[dvarapala]

"raasmalai it is," nods the younger of the two, features lighting up immediately. "i haven't had that in a good, long while, either." but then again, she hadn't been around a good, long while, either. there is so much to be done, off-planet, still. and time flies, whether or not she's having fun.

at this point, zora doesn't even pay the faces any mind. they know that's just part of the process. "true. true. i mean you can't go wrong with a good sweet sometimes."

now they are thinking about a treat that they haven't been able to try.

"i mean i guess the ones i don't know about yet i haven't been able to try." they chuckled a little bit of a joke if also an accurate statement.

"that being said.. i heard raasmali was really delicious. so that's been something i haven't had the chance to have. but honestly.. i could go for pretty anything tasty right about now."

[dvarapala]

"i can teach you the basics. not of karate because i can't do that. but kalari i can do." the words are out of her mouth before she realizes she's said them at all. but she can't take them back now, and she kinda doesn't want to. this guy looks like he could make it work. despite the bloody nose and all. "probably after you're all healed up though."

"a guru. wow. i always wanted to like, learn karate but i never got the chance to," sure, he could possibly learn within the park somehow but it's not like he could leave to go to a class. ( and you know, he was dead. even if he could leave, no one could see him. ) he can't help but laugh, shaking his head as he's quick to rub underneath his nose. he wouldn't bleed a lot, considering his blood stopped running in his veins a long time ago. "i'll be fine. that's my bad," he'll give a wave of his hand. ( how is he supposed to explain that he can't leave the amusement park? )

[dvarapala]

Stares at him like 👀 without saying anything.

Open!

Yeah, you caught him smelling Sharpies. Fuck off.

[dvarapala]

"Really? Yay!" Her entire face lights up and, in her enthusiasm, she throws her arms around him. "Thank you! I'm so stoked!" And then she seems to realize just what she's done and she's quick to let go of him, muttering an apology all the while. Udyati nods afterwards: "That makes sense. I mean, it's the same for my parents. Except the other way around. My old man looks like he hasn't aged a day and my mom's human." A beat and then she loops it back around: "Okay so when you're done afterwards, how do you celebrate?"

"Yeah, you can most definitely come watch, Ud." He laughs again, his smile lighting up his face. He is pretty sure there aren't any rules to that. He just has to ask his mother first. Better to make sure than to assume. "As far as I know, my sister and I will take forever to age. My mother is over a thousand years old and she does not look a day over thirty. Our father being human does not negate that."

[dvarapala]

Oh, that's a cold stare.

She'd seen many cold stares back in her day. She'd been on the receiving end of them many times, sure, but this? This is something else.

It's not so much that the lady she's staring at has blue skin or bone wings - Udyati, too, can give herself wings through her strings and threads if she so wishes - but more so that she's hurt.

"You're in pain." It's not a question. "You're hurt."

Slowly, so as to not spook the blue skinned lady, Udyati steps towards her with her hands up in something that is hopefully still a universal slash multi-versal gesture: I mean you no harm.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Starter for @dvarapala

Injured after a run in with Lobo, the former princess was 'hiding' on Earth to recuperate and heal. She had heard that the mercenary hated this planet -- and it was the planet of Guy and Jack, the two Lanterns she felt closest to (along with Kara, who also chose this planet as her own after Krypton was destroyed).

Blue skinned and with bony wings, she wasn't wearing her full Red Lantern garb but some clothes she found after crash landing, the red ring on her finger the only indication of her affiliation. She wasn't going to seek medical help from humans, she was fairly sure this backwater planet had no idea how to care for alien (to them) beings. Her injuries were also not that severe, she could heal on her own if given some time.

Feeling better in nature than cities, she found a park and sat on a bench, her quest for lodgings could wait for a bit. If it came to that, she could find shelter in this very park.

She noticed some young person eyeing her, and she returned the gaze. She assumed that person had never seen blue skin or bone wings before. The clothes were concealing most of her injuries, but she still looked battered and bruised. The ring translated what she said into this area's language. "Don't you have better things to do than stare?" she asked, tilting her head, trying to intimidate the person by staring them down.

[dvarapala]

"Thanks, Cal."

He strikes her as sunshine in human form. Or maybe a golden retriever or something. And it's not just because of his hair. It's mostly because of his sunny disposition.

As she clambers into the passenger seat, she says: "You know the little gym next to the mall? In the courtyard? It's kind of hidden away. But I go there every so often to practice, you know? I'd owe you one if you could drop me off there."

ㅤㅤ❝𝓨eah! No worries!❞ Calvin smiled and gestured for her to get in the passenger side after he stopped the truck. ❝I don't start work for another couple of hours. So I've got some free time.❞ It was nice that he was able to keep his job at the garage; he could work on his mechanic skills and earn some extra cash. He humbly laughed when she told him that she was going to get him a ginger beer. ❝That sounds like a fair trade to me!" A brief pause. ❝Where you headed?❞

|| @dvarapala