PhalanxSigil
BONK!
Well. It's been a while since I posted anything. I guess it's as good a time as any.
The Tiger and the Roc
Razmi had been having a rough day. That Ajna girl had made her fight demons again, and while she was nice enough to ask first (not to mention the fact that she had saved the party’s sorry butts on more than one occasion), she would much rather have studied them with Bom instead of killing them. They were so…fascinating.
Really, anything would have been better than having to fight with the two morons that Ajna chose to conjure with her that day. Tungar is always way too jolly, all the time, and today was absolutely no exception. And Zebei…well, what more really needs to be said about that doofus?
Frankly, Razmi needed a break after the long trek. But no, some of the other Incarnations just HAD to come up to her and try to…*shiver*…talk to her. SOCIALIZE with her. What ingrates. The worst was Kaldi, who kept bugging her to try a new brew of coffee that he’d concocted while the party was away. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this, either, and she had told him, for what felt like the thousandth time, that she doesn’t like coffee, she likes TEA, and she can DAMN WELL MAKE IT BY HERSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
And so it was that Razmi ended up alone after her little outburst. The others left after a while. Like they always did. And she was alone. Just her and her glowing lantern.
Finally.
“I thought we’d never be rid of them, Bom,” she sighed to the lantern. “Honestly, what does it take for a girl and her tiger to get some peace and quiet in the Inner Realm?” She petted the tiger-skin pelt draped across her head like a hat. “Now we can be by ourselves, and we can talk for a bit.”
She lay down on her side and hugged the pelt around her like she would a blanket. “I’ve been wanted to discuss that weird hair monster with you. How does a creature survive for so long with no skin and its innards exposed? Oh, I wish I could take one back with me and-“
“Who’re you talking to, Miss Razmi?”
Surprised by the noise, Razmi quickly rolled to her other side to see who had disturbed her. A short, slightly pudgy little girl with a pink parka, oversized leather gloves, and a grin the width of a plate was standing a few yards from her head. Just what I needed, Razmi thought. Another one interrupting my solitude.
“What do you want, Kushi?” Razmi groaned.
“I wanna know who you were talking to,” she replied, the grin never leaving her face. “I don’t see anyone else here. Were you talking to yourself?”
Razmi rolled her eyes. “Of course not,” she said. “I was talking with Bom.”
Kushi gave the older woman an inquisitive look. “Who’s Bom?”
“My tiger.”
Kushi’s face lit up. “You have a tiger? That’s so COOL!” She started giddily jumping up and down. “Can I see him? Can I?! Oh, please please please PLEEEAAASE??”
Rolling her eyes so hard she thought they would fall out of her skull, Razmi reached over and grabbed the lantern that housed Bom’s essence, hoping to sate her curiosity, and maybe even disappoint her. “Here. This is Bom. Are you satisfied?”
Funnily enough, the lantern had the opposite effect from what Razmi had anticipated. Clearly intrigued, Kushi had leaned her head in to get a closer look, her brown eyes as big as rice bowls. “Wow. So he’s a spirit tiger?! That’s so weird. I’ve never seen one before, but I can’t…stop-“
“Are you quite done?!” snapped Razmi as she snatched the lantern from Kushi’s gaze. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to continue my conversation with Bom, so I would like you to leave.”
Unfazed by her rudeness, Kushi attempted to continue the conversation. “Do you talk with your tiger a lot?”
Razmi stared at the girl. “Yes. I do. Quite a bit. Preferably alone. Which, judging by your presence, I am clearly not.”
“That’s really cool,” Kushi replied, apparently not taking the hint. “I do that all the time with my friend, Altun. Do you wanna meet him?”
“Oh, gods, I’d rather not-“
Suddenly, Kushi grabbed a small whistle that was hanging from her neck and blew out a sharp, piercing note. It resonated for a moment, then faded into the background.
“What did you call with that, a pack of wolves?” Razmi winced. “That hurt my ears!”
As if to answer her rhetorical question, she heard a low, forceful flapping sound, and noticed a large shadow moving toward Kushi. She looked up…
…and gazed upon the biggest, most scary-looking bird she had ever seen resting on Kushi’s outstretched arm.
“Miss Razmi, Bom, this is my friend Altun,” Kushi said, that cheerful smile still spread across her cheeks. “We go hunting together all the time, and we’re really close. Altun, this is Miss Razmi and Bom.” Noticing that Altun hadn’t even budged an inched since he had perched, Kushi ruffled the roc’s feathers. “Come on silly! Say hi!”
The giant brown bird let off a piercing screech, as if on cue, shaking Razmi to the core of her very being. Not wanting to provoke the bird further, she slowly raised her lantern to her head, almost as if she were using Bom’s spirit to protect her.
“K-Kushi…you keep…r-rather frightening c-c-company,” Razmi stammered.
“Aw, don’t worry about him, Miss Razmi,” Kushi replied. “He’s a big softie. He just looks big and scary, but he won’t hurt anyone unless I tell him to.”
“That’s…really reassuring, Kushi.”
“No problem!” Kushi chirped obliviously. “I actually need to get going now. It’s almost feeding time for the big guy.” Ruffling the roc’s feathers again, she started off towards the huts in the distance. “It was nice talking to you, Miss Razmi!” she stated while running away and waving. “And it was really cool to meet you, Mister Bom! See you soon!”
“O-okay,” Razmi stuttered, giving Kushi a half-hearted wave in return. “Goodbye.”
Bringing the lantern up to her face, she quietly hissed, “We are never going anywhere near that girl again,” before placing it behind her and flopping back down onto the ground.
And everything was silent again.
…
[I kind of want to talk to them again.]
“Oh, shut up, Bom.”
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The Tiger and the Roc
Razmi had been having a rough day. That Ajna girl had made her fight demons again, and while she was nice enough to ask first (not to mention the fact that she had saved the party’s sorry butts on more than one occasion), she would much rather have studied them with Bom instead of killing them. They were so…fascinating.
Really, anything would have been better than having to fight with the two morons that Ajna chose to conjure with her that day. Tungar is always way too jolly, all the time, and today was absolutely no exception. And Zebei…well, what more really needs to be said about that doofus?
Frankly, Razmi needed a break after the long trek. But no, some of the other Incarnations just HAD to come up to her and try to…*shiver*…talk to her. SOCIALIZE with her. What ingrates. The worst was Kaldi, who kept bugging her to try a new brew of coffee that he’d concocted while the party was away. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this, either, and she had told him, for what felt like the thousandth time, that she doesn’t like coffee, she likes TEA, and she can DAMN WELL MAKE IT BY HERSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
And so it was that Razmi ended up alone after her little outburst. The others left after a while. Like they always did. And she was alone. Just her and her glowing lantern.
Finally.
“I thought we’d never be rid of them, Bom,” she sighed to the lantern. “Honestly, what does it take for a girl and her tiger to get some peace and quiet in the Inner Realm?” She petted the tiger-skin pelt draped across her head like a hat. “Now we can be by ourselves, and we can talk for a bit.”
She lay down on her side and hugged the pelt around her like she would a blanket. “I’ve been wanted to discuss that weird hair monster with you. How does a creature survive for so long with no skin and its innards exposed? Oh, I wish I could take one back with me and-“
“Who’re you talking to, Miss Razmi?”
Surprised by the noise, Razmi quickly rolled to her other side to see who had disturbed her. A short, slightly pudgy little girl with a pink parka, oversized leather gloves, and a grin the width of a plate was standing a few yards from her head. Just what I needed, Razmi thought. Another one interrupting my solitude.
“What do you want, Kushi?” Razmi groaned.
“I wanna know who you were talking to,” she replied, the grin never leaving her face. “I don’t see anyone else here. Were you talking to yourself?”
Razmi rolled her eyes. “Of course not,” she said. “I was talking with Bom.”
Kushi gave the older woman an inquisitive look. “Who’s Bom?”
“My tiger.”
Kushi’s face lit up. “You have a tiger? That’s so COOL!” She started giddily jumping up and down. “Can I see him? Can I?! Oh, please please please PLEEEAAASE??”
Rolling her eyes so hard she thought they would fall out of her skull, Razmi reached over and grabbed the lantern that housed Bom’s essence, hoping to sate her curiosity, and maybe even disappoint her. “Here. This is Bom. Are you satisfied?”
Funnily enough, the lantern had the opposite effect from what Razmi had anticipated. Clearly intrigued, Kushi had leaned her head in to get a closer look, her brown eyes as big as rice bowls. “Wow. So he’s a spirit tiger?! That’s so weird. I’ve never seen one before, but I can’t…stop-“
“Are you quite done?!” snapped Razmi as she snatched the lantern from Kushi’s gaze. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to continue my conversation with Bom, so I would like you to leave.”
Unfazed by her rudeness, Kushi attempted to continue the conversation. “Do you talk with your tiger a lot?”
Razmi stared at the girl. “Yes. I do. Quite a bit. Preferably alone. Which, judging by your presence, I am clearly not.”
“That’s really cool,” Kushi replied, apparently not taking the hint. “I do that all the time with my friend, Altun. Do you wanna meet him?”
“Oh, gods, I’d rather not-“
Suddenly, Kushi grabbed a small whistle that was hanging from her neck and blew out a sharp, piercing note. It resonated for a moment, then faded into the background.
“What did you call with that, a pack of wolves?” Razmi winced. “That hurt my ears!”
As if to answer her rhetorical question, she heard a low, forceful flapping sound, and noticed a large shadow moving toward Kushi. She looked up…
…and gazed upon the biggest, most scary-looking bird she had ever seen resting on Kushi’s outstretched arm.
“Miss Razmi, Bom, this is my friend Altun,” Kushi said, that cheerful smile still spread across her cheeks. “We go hunting together all the time, and we’re really close. Altun, this is Miss Razmi and Bom.” Noticing that Altun hadn’t even budged an inched since he had perched, Kushi ruffled the roc’s feathers. “Come on silly! Say hi!”
The giant brown bird let off a piercing screech, as if on cue, shaking Razmi to the core of her very being. Not wanting to provoke the bird further, she slowly raised her lantern to her head, almost as if she were using Bom’s spirit to protect her.
“K-Kushi…you keep…r-rather frightening c-c-company,” Razmi stammered.
“Aw, don’t worry about him, Miss Razmi,” Kushi replied. “He’s a big softie. He just looks big and scary, but he won’t hurt anyone unless I tell him to.”
“That’s…really reassuring, Kushi.”
“No problem!” Kushi chirped obliviously. “I actually need to get going now. It’s almost feeding time for the big guy.” Ruffling the roc’s feathers again, she started off towards the huts in the distance. “It was nice talking to you, Miss Razmi!” she stated while running away and waving. “And it was really cool to meet you, Mister Bom! See you soon!”
“O-okay,” Razmi stuttered, giving Kushi a half-hearted wave in return. “Goodbye.”
Bringing the lantern up to her face, she quietly hissed, “We are never going anywhere near that girl again,” before placing it behind her and flopping back down onto the ground.
And everything was silent again.
…
[I kind of want to talk to them again.]
“Oh, shut up, Bom.”
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