#she is only subsisting on fanfic and exciting critrole news

[dancerwrites]

same song, different verse

Written for: Critical Role Relationship Week, Day 3

Characters: Calianna & Allura

Words: 2.2k

ao3

In which retired adventurers pass on what they know to burgeoning adventurers, and Kima has a chance to display her cooking skills.

Also, quick note: I will be coming back to this “AU” of sorts for Friday’s fic with Pike and Cali, which I’m really excited about! Keep an eye out for it!

“You must be Calianna,” said the blonde woman who opened the door to the tower, her lightly wrinkled face crinkling in a smile. “A pleasure.”

Cali peeked out from under her hood and nodded, conjuring up what she hoped amounted to a friendly smile after so many harsh nights on the road. Tal’dorei was safer than Wildemount, than the Empire, but she still wasn’t comfortable showing her face in the streets. The Scaled Tyrant’s followers were everywhere, she was sure, and while she hadn’t run in with any of the Caustic Heart since arriving in Stillben, on the opposite coast of the continent, she wanted to tread lightly, just in case.

“Missus Vysoren,” she said politely, dipping into a slight curtsey, “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”

“From your letter it sounded urgent,” Lady Vysoren said, stepping back. “Why don’t you come inside? My wife is putting the finishing touches on dinner – you’re just in time for some seared steak and potatoes, if that’s to your liking?”

The dragon inside Cali almost purred with excitement, and her stomach rumbled to echo it. “That really does sound lovely, thank you,” she said, walking over the threshold and looking around. “Oh,” she gasped, taking in the interior. “Your home is gorgeous!”

The outside of the tower had looked rather simple, if elegant, but the inside spoke to Lady Vysoren’s tastes, as well as her place on the Arcana Pansophical. The sitting room was spacious and decorated in deep blues, bronze, and silver – one couch looked out onto the rest of the Cloudtop District, though Cali was sure there had been stone there, not glass, from the outside. Several tapestries lined the wall – two of them picturesque mountain landscapes, the third a visage of the Platinum Dragon, wings outstretched and glimmering with metallic thread. A shelf of baubles and artistic pieces, also holding a fine tea set and some books, sat on one side of the room.

“Thank you very much,” Lady Vysoren said with a smile, looking around the sitting room. “My wife and I have had about twenty years to accumulate odds and ends. It’s a bit eclectic, I’m afraid, but every piece here had some sentimental value.”

“Eclectic is wonderful,” Cali said earnestly. “And I think it looks lovely.”

“You’re very kind to say so,” Lady Vysoren said with a smile and an incline of her head.

“Are you two coming upstairs or not?!” called a voice from above, making Cali start, eyes wide and hands up, ready to cast something if needed.

“Give us two minutes, Kima!” Lady Vysoren called back, shaking her head in amusement as there was a stony silence from above them.

“I’m going to eat your steak if you take too long,” the woman above them said after a moment.

“After telling me all afternoon how much work you’d put into it? I don’t think so,” Lady Vysoren scoffed, in a very un-ladylike manner.

“Shut up, Allie!”

Lady Vysoren laughed, shaking her head, and turned to Cali again. “We should probably go up and join her.”

“That sounds wise,” Cali agreed, feeling a little in awe at the casual banter despite the formality of their surroundings. It was much nicer than Wildmount, though, that was for sure.

Allura smiled again and headed up the stairs, Cali following the arcanist up the spiral stairs to the second floor.

The smell of freshly-cooked meat was strong as they entered the dining room and kitchen area, and Cali inhaled deeply, as if she could be sustained by the aroma alone. It had been ages since she had a homecooked meal, and she suddenly felt a wave of homesickness rush over her as she thought of Grim and Magda, whom she had left in Othe. The two dwarves had taken care of her for so long, but she’d finally needed to cut ties when the Caustic Heart had gotten a little too close for comfort, threatening her and her family with coded messages in Draconic. As much as she hated to leave them, she knew that her presence there had threatened them more than anything else. And they could still write, even if it was through Jester being a proxy for the letters.

“Calianna,” Lady Vysoren said, drawing her attention back to the present, “this is my wife, Lady Kima of-“

“Kima Vysoren,” came a brash and confident voice from behind Lady Vysoren. The taller woman stepped back to reveal a halfling, thickly built, with muscles bulging from beneath the rolled-up sleeves of her tunic, an apron splattered with grease tied around her waist. The shorter woman stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s mine,” Cali said with a nod, bending at the waist to shake Kima’s hand. “Oh, you’re very strong.”

“You’d better believe it!” Kima exclaimed with a laugh, pulling back and flexing her muscles. “These arms have taken down dragons!”

“Oh,” Cali murmured, suddenly feeling rather wary. “That’s… that’s nice.” She fiddled with her hair, making sure it was still covering half of her face.

“Kima,” Lady Vysoren warned, shooting a look at the shorter woman. “You’re not thinking.”

“I just- ohhh,” Kima said, cheeks darkening slightly. “Shit. My apologies, Calianna – I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“We really are friends here,” Allura chimed in, gesturing to Cali’s hood. “And feel free to get comfortable if you’d like.”

“Um, thank you,” Cali said, though she still felt a little wary of Kima. “I’m assuming the Cobalt Reserve told you my story when they sent on my request for information?”

“Only the broadest parts of your heritage,” Allura murmured. “And they mentioned it contributed to your desire to see any artifacts destroyed.”

“It’s a little more than that,” Cali admitted, hesitating for a moment before using her half-elven hand to slide back her hood, letting it fall around her shoulders. She looked anxiously from each woman’s face to the other’s, but neither of them look frightened, per say. Kima’s brow furrowed as she quirked her head, as if trying to solve a riddle, and Allura looked interested, and maybe a bit sad, but neither of them looked concerned to have someone with draconic features in their house.

“Are you half dragon?” Allura asked, taking a step forward, though she still kept a respectful distance.

“A tenth. Or something like that,” Cali said with a shrug. “I’m honestly not entirely sure, but I lived on the streets for most of my childhood, so I didn’t really have any parents to ask and see if they knew.”

“This sounds like the start to a conversation that needs some ale to be washed down,” Kima spoke up. “Should we continue this conversation over dinner?”

“I would like some food,” Cali agreed, looking over to the table where some steaks and a big bowl of mashed potatoes were set out next to a smaller bowl of greens. “Though I’ve heard that my story is difficult for some to stomach…”

“We can always stop and continue after we eat, if it gets to be too much,” Lady Vysoren suggested, and Cali nodded, feeling a bit better.

“I just don’t want to be the cause of a loss of appetite,” she said. “The food smells really good and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Thank you, kindly!” Kima said, looking proud. “Made it all myself! Is there anything particular you’d like to drink?”

She walked over to a small cupboard and opened it, revealing an assortment of bottles. “We’ve got a whiskey, a couple nice bottles of wine we could crack open, or some ale, if that’s what you’d prefer…”

“I’ve heard that wine goes well with steak?” Cali offered. “Like, darker ones?”

“Reds?” Allura asked, chuckling. “Yes, I think we have a good one from Ank’harel in there somewhere.”

“The Sandkeg?” Kima asked, scandalized, and Allura scoffed.

“No, the one from J’mon, Kima. Gods, that’s not even wine!”

“Good! Though in my defense that was a long time ago we visited them.”

“I’m sorry?” Cali asked, confused.

“Never mind, dear,” Allura said, forehead in one hand. “It’s a… rather strong liquor, and not for the faint-hearted.”

“It almost sounds like a challenge when you say it like that,” Cali said with a laugh.

“Trust me,” Kima said, pulling out the bottle and working a corkscrew into the top. “It’s more than a challenge. And it fucking sucks.”

“Maybe we can try it another time,” Allura said, shaking her head with a grin. “In the meantime, shall we eat? And you can tell us a bit more about yourself.”

Cali nodded, though she was still curious as to what the two were talking about. Perhaps she could ask Jester when she next had the chance to write. Or maybe ask Jester to ask Nott. Nott knew a lot about liquor.

She went with Allura to the table and Kima came over a moment later, pouring them all drinks, though she looked almost comical trying to reach each of the glasses. Cali handed hers over to make it that much easier, and Kima gave her a wary look, but accepted the glass, filling it until Cali said to stop.

They began serving themselves and eating, and Cali couldn’t help gushing to Kima about her cooking. The halfing seemed very pleased at the praise, and Cali was glad to make her smile, and to make Missus Vysoren smile in turn.

But, in time, they started discussing Cali’s story, and the Caustic Heart, and while the tone wasn’t too depressing, it still wasn’t a happy topic of conversation.

“And that’s why I need your help – to find this dagger and destroy it,” Cali said, leaning onto the table, her clean plate pushed to the side. At some point she’d pulled her hair to the side, revealing the rest of her dragon side, but neither Missus Vysoren – well, Allura, as she’d asked to be called – nor Kima had so much as flinched, and it was wonderful to have found more people who were not so wary of her presence. “I was able to destroy the bowl with a group called the Mighty Nein, but I know that there’s a lot of artifacts of the Scaled Tyrant across Exandria, and I can’t let them fall into the wrong hands.”

“This is quite a task you’ve taken on for yourself,” Allura murmured.

“I told you, it’s my responsibility now,” Cali replied earnestly. “I did so many bad things for them and this is how I can make it right. I know I’m only one person, but I’ve found help so far, and if it helps me make amend for even some of the terrible things I’ve done…”

She trailed off as Kima and Allura shared a look. “You will help me, won’t you?”

“Yes,” Allura said, turning back to her. “And I’m glad the Cobalt Reserve sent you to me. The two of us, Kima and myself, have indeed come across many dark artifacts, destroying some and sending others to be stored in places of safety when there was no feasible way to get rid of them. I think we can get you more information about the dagger you’re looking for, though I still don’t feel comfortable sending you after it yourself.”

“I’ve already done so much though!” Cali protested. She had to follow through. She couldn’t just give up because somebody thought it was too hard. “And I’m already a lot stronger than the last time I confronted something like this, and even stronger still than when I worked with the Mighty Nein to destroy the bowl!”

“But there were ten of you on that adventure,” Allura said. “Surely-“

“Nine.”

“I’m sorry?”

“There were nine of us; eight in the Mighty Nein, as long as you count Kiri – she was the bird I told you about, very good at mimicking people – and me.”

“But… oh, never mind,” Allura said, shaking her head. “I suppose what I’m trying to say is that it’s dangerous to go alone. And you didn’t happen to bring any of these Mighty Nine with you, did you?”

“They’re still in the Empire, as far as I know,” Cali said with a shrug. “Or on Wildmount, at the very least.”

“How about this,” Allura said, steepling her fingers together in front of her. “Kima and I reach out to our contacts over the next couple of days, and we help you figure out where this dagger is most likely to be. After that, we can potentially ask some of our friends for help. They used to be adventurers, and might even have some others they know who could give you some assistance. Sound like a good plan?”

“It’s better than me trying to comb through all of Tal’dorei and beyond myself,” Cali admitted. “I’d be very thankful for your help, though I don’t want to be a bother…”

“It’s good to dip our toes back into the wide world,” Allura said, smiling, almost looking relieved. “Don’t you worry – we’re happy to give you what help we can. We can reach out tonight and have an answer within a day – one of the benefits of higher-level magics.”

“I’m very glad to hear you’ll help!” Cali said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Honestly, your assistance takes some of the weight off my shoulders already. Though, I do have one more thing I’d like to ask, since I’ll be spending a night in the city, at the very least.”

“And what’s that?”

“Does Emon have a good donut shop? I promised a friend I’d let her know what sort of bear claws they served on the west coast.”