#altlu netsuh

[lunarsaltstice]

OC Showcase: Altlu Netsuh

pride month may be over but here is the first in my little series of art I'll be gradually posting of my OCs and their identities

trans mlm yuan-ti abomination altlu

i have ideas in the works for an animatic for his backstory

He's my first dnd character ever and now he's just a silly lil guy I tend to use when I'm doing writing practices or exercises

[fuckerdoodles]

Good Morning, Good Night (Day 27- “I Can’t Walk”)

I lightly groaned as I woke up, my dreams fleeting past the edges of my vision as I slowly opened my eyes, just to snap them shut as the light of the room made my head pulse. I placed an arm over my head, taking a minute to listen to the birds happily chirping before attempting to piece together the night before. Thorin and I had arrived at the inn- mostly due to him not wanting to camp again that night- and we had gotten to know some other travelers at our table through a quick, friendly competition. A drinking game. I knew I would regret it every morning after, but in the moment I was never willing to pass up the contest. We had partied, and when we retired to our rooms…

I had gone with someone.

I sat up quickly as I heard a groan from next to me- someone who sounded worse than I felt. The stranger next to me covered his eyes with his arm as well, his tanned skin clashing against the light green scales on his cheeks. Soon enough, his eyes flew open and looked to me, my scales casting a golden hue on him as the sun reflected off of them. I shrugged, offering an awkward chuckle.

“Good morning?” I asked, not sure how exactly to deal with this sort of situation. Wonderful, I couldn’t wait for the uncomfortable-

“I can't walk.” His response came out as almost a hiss as he looked at me with wide green eyes. I blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow, leaning towards him

“Come again?”

“No, do not, that's the reason I can't walk.” He hissed again, staring me down. I felt my face heat up as I started spouting apologies, just to be cut off by a quiet chuckle. “I think I might just have to keep you around- I don’t know if you remember my name, but I’m Altlu.”

“Akira. Akira Tealeaf.” I said after a moment, offering the stranger- Altlu a hand. He looked at it before giving me an amused grin.

“Are you seriously wanting to shake my hand after we had sex last night?” He asked, lightly laughing. I rolled my eyes, standing up and stretching, feeling my head start to clear as my blood started flowing properly. I heard the bed creak a bit before a large thump, turning to see Altlu leaning against the wall, his legs shaking as he looked up at me.

“You might have to carry me- I seriously can’t walk straight.”

Blood pulsed in my ears as I ran, my feet slamming against the ground as my chest heaved. This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening- I swallowed my disbelief as I turned the corner and faced one of the masked figures, slamming their head into a wall before they could react. They fell to the floor in a heap, blood streaming from their head as I kept running, still trying to process everything around me.

Quantum had been compromised.

Delta was being raided.

I had no idea where my party was.

I stumbled slightly as an explosion shook the building. I hoped it was Vlad, still fighting against these sons of bitches, rather than another large casualty of my friends. I jumped most of the way down the stairs into the main hall- the first part of Delta I had ever seen, taken from it’s pristine glory and ransacked, doors broken and some walls even having holes in them. I dashed towards the mess hall, feeling my blood curdle as I looked across the havoc- so much blood, and ash, and tables thrown everywhere. One of the outside walls had been caved in, causing most of the damage, and there were bodies strewn about the floor- some of the masked figures, quite a few office workers- almost nobody I recognized, except for-

“Akira?” The usually smug voice choked out, sounding strained and cracked. I rushed towards part of the broken wall, throwing tables out of my way until I got to the source. There was Altlu, his hair a mess, caked with ash and blood as the lower half of his body was pinned underneath rubble. He looked up at me as he continued to try shoving rubble away, his hands scraped and caked with even more blood- blood I could only hope wasn’t his. I dropped to my knees, wiping some blood off of his face as he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

“Akira, I’m sorry-” His voice shook, quieter than I had ever heard it.

“No, don’t- don’t you dare apologize. We’re going to get you out of here, we’re going to find the others, and I’m going to personally kill the sonuvabitch that did this to you.” I hissed, feeling a pit in my stomach starting to form. I started moving around the rubble, struggling with some of the larger pieces.

“Akira-” He whispered, trying to sit up.

“We’re going to get out of this-”

“Baby, please-”

“Just let me-”

“Akira Tealeaf.” Altlu’s voice was nearly firm, getting my attention as he reached up towards my face. “Listen to me. The others- they’re with Corianne- go-”

“Not without you.”

“You have to-”

“I’m not leaving you. Not now, not ever.”

“Akira, I can’t walk.” His voice was afraid, almost terrified as tears started flowing from his eyes. “Even if you move the rubble, I can’t walk. I can’t go with you.”

“I’ll carry you. I’ll carry you to Dessa, and she can heal you, or-”

“There’s no time.” Altlu cut me off, grabbing my wrist. “The others are in danger. They need their tank.”

“I need you!” I nearly yelled, feeling tears flowing from my eyes. I took in a shaky breath as I cried, leaning over the large hunk of rubble that had pinned Altlu’s midsection. “I can’t do this without you.”

The room was silent for a moment- just a moment before I could hear more shouting and fighting. I felt Altlu’s hand brush against mine before weakly grabbing it. I turned my hand over, almost on instinct, to hold his, feeling his thumb rub the scales on my palm.

“Akira. Protect them.” His voice was quiet, and calm. Way too calm. I looked up at him, just to see a small smile on his dim face. “Protect the others. And… kill the sonuvabitch who did this, alright?”

I felt my entire body shake as I held Altlu’s hand to my chest, already feeling him slipping from me before I leaned down, placing a kiss on his forehead.

“Good night, Altlu. I’ll see you again soon.”