Tagged: nico
Cutscene 31: Birthday
(Note: SO sorry for being so floppy lately! I’m hopeful things will be back on track now. Next week’s update should be out on Oct 7th or 8th, depending on how my travels go on the 7th. Then I’ll be housesitting for all of that weekend with nothing to do but write, basically, so I’m hoping to make a significant dent in the rest of the story.)
Zane let his tail lift and fall as he sat watching the activity in the hallway. It wasn’t very often that he found himself in hospitals. They were full of activity, noise, and so many smells. Both smells that tempted him (ie, fresh blood) and those that repulsed him (ie, medicine). Overcurrent hospitals had less artificial chemicals floating about than those in the Mid-grounds, but they did have pungent herbal concoctions. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure which was worse.
Speaking of… He used one of his wolf-form’s paws to rub at his snout. It didn’t lessen the sting of whatever awful thing was in the jar that passing doctor was carrying.
When he looked up, he saw that he was being watched by the guards at the end of the hall. He wasn’t surprised. At least one guard had been watching him since he entered the hospital.
Cutscene 27: Precautions
(Note: Sorry y’all! I severely overestimated my ability to keep up with writing this month. Normal updates resume today.)
Nico followed his nephew and the human into the living room of the house. It looked just the same as every other Overcurrent home he’d been in, architecture-wise. Not that he’d been in many and not for centuries. Still, if there was one thing the Overcurrent could be counted on to do (or not to do, as the case may be), it was to keep from changing things that worked fine. Even the pieces of furniture and their placements reminded him of those days when this city was young.
Speaking of young…
Sidequest 3.7: Done
“Do you think he’s alright?” Aubrey asked.
“I doubt she’ll kill him,” Zane answered. “Angry as she is, she must still realize the benefit of having a relative in such an important position.”
“Maybe,” Aubrey responded.
“You don’t think so?” The demon asked.
Sidequest 3.6: Fake blame train
It had been a few days of ceremonies and speeches to honor the deceased. None of which Zane had attended since there were a good many people uncomfortable with his presence. Not that he was interested in going to any of them anyway. It would have been more of a blessing if that didn’t mean he was stuck in a room with Aubrey, Nico, and the little drake every time that Risa, her siblings, Liam, and the dragons attended one of those events. William and Ami had (together and separately) stopped by often enough to make it bearable, at least.
Of course, ceremonies weren’t the only things that the Overcurrent Council was spending its time on. Their speaker’s death left a rather desirable position unclaimed, a fact which lead to a considerable amount of squabbling over who should take his place.
It was something like déjà vu for him. The arguments, as relayed to him by Risa during rants, were more or less the same ones he’d heard while he was helping Tobias take the speaker position for himself. It felt strange to be observing all of this from a distance. He felt antsy, like he should be planning ways to kill someone. He chose to direct that energy towards Zephyr. The dragon didn’t seem to mind whenever he caught wind of what Zane was thinking when he stared at him like that.
Sidequest 3.4: Reunited
Risa was in the city again. The same city where he was. That he was still not able to be at her side irritated him more than he’d give Friday the satisfaction of admitting. He fought back the snarl he felt rising in him as he thought about Risa. He bristled when he heard a laugh from the other side of the room. Perhaps he hadn’t been as successful at keeping a neutral expression as he’d thought.
“Why, whatever is the matter, dear beast?”
Cackling. This was the first time he’d ever thought that was a good word for someone’s laughter.
Sidequest 3.3: Reaching the gates
Risa shifted back into human form after landing in the field near the Reinvale gates. She stretched an arm overhead, gripping one wrist with her other hand, then switched arms. Maybe that would keep it from being obvious that she was eyeing her uncle’s graceful “shifting while landing” move. Why was he so stupidly good at not falling on his face?
She heard a chuckle from her right and turned to glare at the dragon that had retaken human form. Zephyr smiled at her, then turned his smile past her to Nico. “Phoenixes are always so graceful.”
Sidequest 2.10: Time off
(Note: Sorry that this is extra late, guys! Also, re: the day listed for the next update, I’m going to be doing some traveling this week through Monday, so I’m going to take a bit of a break.)
It was the kind of lazy morning where even Nico didn’t feel the need to be doing something big to pass the time. The kind of morning where he was content to simply sit in the shade under one of the many trees in the city. He’d bought a small loaf of seed bread on his way from his inn to this little patch of greenery. He’d only wanted a small slice of it. The rest was for his temporary companions.
By which, he of course meant the growing number of birds gathered on the ground around him and perched in the lowest branches of the tree above. He’d collected a bunch of tiny songbirds, some larger ones, and a handful of omnivorous birds of various species. Unlike most of the other times he’d seen Fey sharing pieces of bread with the wild birds, his birds were showing no indication of fear. One particularly bold larger bird (a local member of the Corvidae family, if he was using human classifications) had even taken up a perch on his leg.
Sidequest 2.8: Weird headspace
Even without Cirrus leading the way, Risa would have had an easy time finding Nico. First, because the more time she spent with Nico, the easier it got for her to pick out his particular soul from the rest of the information the city threw at her senses. Second, because when they got onto the street where the tavern was, the crowd gathered outside of it left her with no question that they were in the right place, despite the fact that the tavern where Nico was staying was on the other side of the city.
Said crowd of onlookers from various Fey species (and also some curious wild animals) looked when they felt her approaching. Cirrus fell back to let her take the lead, which turned out to be the best plan since the crowd parted for her without her having to ask. It was getting fairly well known now that the Angels, in general, were in contact with the phoenixes and that, more specifically, she was connected with this one particular phoenix.
Sidequest 2.4: Truth that hurts, part 1
Nico stared out at the other side of the bridge and, beyond that, the river that snaked its way through this part of the Fey capital. This city was a strange place to revisit after being away for a while. It was always so very similar to the city in his memories while also being so very different.
He assumed that some of that must have been because of all the vegetation and wildlife. The greenery was always slightly different. More importantly, since plant growth was often left unchecked, there was a limit to the lifespan of the buildings here. Eventually, the roots would damage the building foundations. Or a wall would be damaged by ivy. Or windows and roofs would be compromised by branches or the weather. They would sometimes be repaired. Sometimes they’d be rebuilt entirely instead (with every attempt made to minimize waste and reuse materials).
Sidequest 2.3: Snapshots
“I think this is the first time we’ve had you out that you weren’t constantly glancing back towards the castle,” Cirrus commented, smiling.
Alistair found himself start to look in the direction of the building where he and his sister had been staying for the better part of the last week. He stopped and smiled. “There’s no reason for me to do so at this moment. My sister isn’t there.”
Unlockable Content 