📚 💝 📚 💝 📚 💝 📚 💝

"Okay." Lilith smiles at him, before going back to her reading.

Delton nods at her, "I understand that completely and am always here if you want to talk, alright?"

"Oh, d-don't worry I wont. I'm st-still very much on the fence about what to d-do here." She sits with her arms crossed and looks out over her mountain of books Based on Delton's description of having a boyfriend, Lilith starts to daydream about how it would be if she and Hoshi could be that person for each other. But at the current moment she was still far too shy to do anything about it. So she would just wait and see what happened... and read all these books... for science.

Delton smiles at her, "It's wonderful. But don't try to force it. That'll just end in hurt, I fear." "Try to get to know them. Be their friend first. Then, maybe you can see if you can be something more." I think only one of us can have a whirlwind romance, Lilith. And maybe that's for the best.

"Wow..." She leans back in her chair and stops for a moment to think about all of what Delton just said. That sounded incredible. No one had ever been there for Lilith at all, much less like that. "I-I... I think I want that." Of course, she still has no clue how to go about pursuing it. But that's what all these books were for.

Delton's face goes as red as his hair and he once again curses his pale skin. He stops though and really thinks about it. "It's like having someone who's always cheering you on from the sidelines. Who will listen to me and comfort me with the only expectation that I do the same in return." "It's being able to read out my hand to hold his without needing a reason. It's going out of your way to help the other, because there's really nothing else you'd rather do. It's work, like any relationship is. But good work. I don't know if I've been this happy before..." He says the last words shyly, shrugging his shoulders.

”Whats it l-like to have a boyfriend?” She leans her elbows on the table and rests her head in her hands

Delton nods at that. "Is there anything else I can do, darling?"

Yep. It’s definitely different when Hoshi does it… But she needed to test it… for science. “Hmm. M-Maybe a little…” She sits back down “I’m still f-feeling quite overwhelmed. Hopefully all this r-reading will help.” “It usually does.” she nods matter-of-fact-ly

Delton chuckles a little, but it's a kind laugh. He wraps his arms around the girl, squeezing gently. "Do you feel a little better now that we've chatted?"

”Uh… she hesitates, but she trusts Delton “… y-yeah okay” She rises from her seat and stands next to him awkwardly

Delton is nodding along, encouraging her to continue for as long as she needs. When it seems like she's finished, he smiles brightly. "They sound lovely, Lilith. I've met them, and they seemed sweet and did a phenomenal drag show." He chuckles at that. His tone is light and sincere, "And while those feelings are wonderful, they can also be overwhelming. I've well...never felt a specific type of attraction until I met Tris and that's scary. I can see if Nurse Willowmane knows any support groups too, specifically oriented toward ace folks." "I know you don't really like touch, but would you like a hug?"

"This is all v-very intense." She puts her head in her hands "I'll b-be honest with you D-Delton. Until today I d-didn't think this was a real emotion. I thought everyone w-was just making it up." She shakes her head. "I think maybe I m-might be on the asexuality spectrum too, based on what I've read so f-far. But maybe its too soon to tell." She shrugs "Anyways, y-yeah I can tell you about them..." She takes a deep breath. Why was she feeling so warm just thinking about talking? "Their name is Hoshi, m-maybe you've met them? I met them on a walk, and they t-took me to the cafe to get some tea. Then we hung out in my r-room. It seems like we have a lot in common, similar upbringings..." She starts to fidget with her hair as she speaks "I started to f-feel a little different when they held my hand... I usually hate anyone t-touching me, but when Hoshi does it its different I g-guess. Its safe." "Then we cuddled in m-my bed, I had n-never done that with anyone before... it was nice." She keeps turning redder and redder as she speaks "Then last n-night I went to see them in the drag show, and afterwards they walked me b-back to my room and took care of me. Because they thought I was sick..." She giggles a little at the thought, knowing now that the whole time she was not in fact sick. "And I just.. I didn't want them to leave."

Delton smiles sincerely, happy for his friend. "It means that this crush you have should be something you embrace, rather than reject. That doesn't mean you have to pursue a relationship, by all means," he gives a little laugh. "But take time to be around this person. These feelings could fade into just desire for genuine friendship, which isn't entirely uncommon, especially for someone like me on the asexuality spectrum. But they could also lead to the desire to have a romance." He shrugs, "Either is okay. I didn't expect to get a boyfriend when I came here. Nor, I imagine, did you expect to experience this. Life can't all be boiled down to data, even if that would make life a lot easier." "Do you want to tell me about them? Would that feel nice?"

Its a relief to Lilith that her research like just got essentially halved. That’s way less reading for her to do. But she would’ve done it if she felt she had to. “Ummm good? I g-guess… Confused? I don’t know. I r-really like being around them. I l-like it when they hold m-my hand and hug me close… What does that m-mean?”

Delton takes a deep breath and gives her a gentle smile, "Well, first things first, I'm removing every romance book here. Unless it's Pride and Prejudice. That one's good." He gets up to do just that. "While erotica is an entirely legitimate genre of literature, it's not meant to be educational whatsoever. Don't take your tips from these books - especially about sex. Authors aren't expected to be entirely realistic with what happens and replicating them exactly could lead to injury." When he puts the massive stack of smut aside, he turns to look at her again. "So how about we go at it at a different way. Research is great, but it clinical information can often miss some of the most important aspects. Like, for one, how do you feel about this crush? Good, bad, confused?"

A lipstick mark? Hoshi was wearing the lipstick the previous night when he’d walked her to her room. Had they kissed her goodnight after she fell asleep??? She starts to turn red at the thought of this. “Oh… oh… I d-didn’t know that was there.” She stares down at the wet tissue in her hands, now stained with lipstick. “I d-don’t know what I’m doing Delton.” She gestures to her massive pile of books on the table. “I figured I’d approach th-this the way I always d-do. Read l-literally every book I can f-find on the matter…” “But th-this time I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

Delton smiles at her and sits down next to her. "Hello darling. I'm glad you decided to talk to me," he's eyeing the smut books, ready to swipe them away quickly. Then, a flash of teal catches her eye. He sighs and pulls out a tissue, casting Create Water to make it wet. He holds it out, "For your forehead. Someone seems to have given you a little...mark. In lipstick."

”Hi Delton.” Lilith says with a sigh. She’s still reading ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health’ seemingly cover to cover. It looks like she’s about halfway through the large book. Perception 12: ||There’s a teal lipstick mark peeking out from under her bangs. She seems completely unaware of it.||

1

1

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

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Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]

.mushrooming

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Delton knocks on the door, announcing his presence before entering. He sees that the tiefling looks a little dejected and she's sitting in the middle of a massive pile of books.

Lilith sinks back into her chair and sighs. She looks out across her gargantuan pile of books. This was going to take a while.

Text to Delton From Lilith Thanks!

Text to: Lilith I'm on my way \:)

Text to Delton From Lilith Can u help me with this crush thing? I’m in the library study room @Bee (Tav: Delton)

Lilith is still doing her research in the study room.

💻💻💻💻💻💻

Lilith has no idea what Inocybe is talking about. Just that he’s holding one of those ‘romance’ books with the shirtless guy on the cover and the very boring font.

“Wow… double penetration? Who knew Veronica had it in her… well… two of them in her…” He was reading it as a joke, but now he’s weirdly intrigued.

With one last defeated sigh, she closes Inocybe's laptop and basses it back to him. Well if she couldn't figure the whole 'where did I come from?' thing out, maybe she could at least figure this crush thing out... she opens a large book simply titled 'Sexual and Reproductive Health' and resumes her research.

“Uh… you’re welcome.” He is at a loss, so he’s back to reading the smut book. Ehh, not bad…

She wipes her eye and tried to regain her composure "N-No, that's okay. I'll figure it out. Th-Thanks again... for your h-help." She sinks into her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

"..." This is not what I signed up for... "Do you..." I'm so... out of my element. Wait, isn't that Hoshi's twatter handle? Haha... "... want to talk about it? Or..."

She shrugs, looking quite deflated now. “M-Maybe….” The words of the notes sting as they ring through her head, ‘Try all you will. Nothing will save her’ she doesn’t even know what it means, but it upsets her. She was saving herself right now, by getting out of there. Lilith starts to tear up as she sits there thinking about it.

“Well… you could always expand your search,” he states. “The High Forest is a big place. Maybe some of their other settlements have records on you. Who knows?” The to the expression of gratitude, Inocybe shrugs and nods.

”M-Maybe you’re right. I d-don’t know what I was expecting.” She puts her head down on the table in defeat “Thanks for y-your help…”

His arms are crossed again as he stares at her, unsure of what to say or do. He has no idea how to comfort someone about a problem so vague. “Is it that important, knowing where you came from? Some questions are just impossible to answer.”

Her lips starts to quiver. "Y-Yeah, I was. The r-rest of the temple was all d-d-dwarves." So that was the reasoning for all the incense. Incense she still used to cleanse herself to this day. Note to self: Start thinking about a new scent for yourself for the next to you see Onyx. It's definitely time for a change. "The incense is p-probably still masking it. I still use it everyday. A h-habit I'm going to have to break." She sighs "And I'm p-pretty much still at square one. If anything I'm even m-more confused about who I am." She puts her head in her hands

He stands to look at whatever she’s so upset about, reading the little blurb which he assumes is about her. “Harsh. Were you the only tiefling in the temple? Not surprising. I thought Gond was a god mostly gnomes worshipped.” Being quite close to her, he inhales deeply. It’s the faintest of smells, but he can sense it. “A smoke cleanse is pretty unnecessary. I can barely smell the Hells on you. It’s not even a bad smell. I grew up in the Underdark… I’ve smelled way worse things.”

She squints at the screen and pouts in frustration Another note: 'She smells like the hells, make sure to smoke cleanse her daily to be safe' "No. N-not exactly." She sounds upset.

At some point, he has taken one of the smut books from Lilith’s pile. He stops reading when he notices Lilith’s face. “Didn’t find what you wanted?”

Lilith really only wanted to look for information on herself, but she'd be lying if having the all access pass didn't make her a little nosy... But she had to stay focused. Eventually she finds her own file. The only name given to her is Lilith, no last name. Not even an indication of one that may have been redacted. There's no information given about who left her there. She'd always been told she was abandoned on the steps, but assumed that was just what she'd be told so she wouldn't ask any more questions. But based on how little information was in this file, it must be true. In the 'Notes' section, something finally catches her eye. It says: Left with a written message that reads 'Try all you will. Nothing will save her.' What in the hells did that mean??? She makes a disappointed and confused face.

"Kerndahn temple of Gond…” he repeats at he types on his laptop. “Oh yeah, this website looks like it hasn’t been updated in centuries. Gods. This is just sad. Does no one care about cybersecurity?” A few clicks and a few moments are all it takes to bring up a document detailing the records or everyone that has ever lived in the temple ever since it was built. He turns the laptop around to show Lilith. “Go nuts. Don’t worry, theywon’t be able to trace this back to me, even if they wanted to. Take your time.”

"It's the Kerndahn temple of Gond, in the High Forest." She scoots her chair closer to try and see what he's doing "I was l-left on the steps there as a newborn baby, so my r-records should be from about 21 years ago"

His expression softens a bit, as does the rest of his body language. And here I was thinking she just wanted her grades changed. I was about to charge a fortune for it, too... oh well. Another good deed to add to my belt. "Temples tend to have archaic firewalls. Should be easy enough. I'll do you a favor and not even charge you for my services." Inocybe says this as if it's something he does regularly. He does not. Hacking is just fun to him. So, he takes out his laptop and starts it up. "What temple was it?"

"W-Well I grew up in essentially an orphanage at a t-temple. I know nothing about myself. So I'm h-hoping if I can hack into their records I can find out where i came from." She leaves out the part about her lifelong dream visitor who keeps telling her she's in danger... "I've always k-kind of wanted to find my bio parents... y'know?"

"Wow, asking me to commit a crime?" he asks, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded against his chest. Despite his angry-looking face, there is a spark in his eyes. "Rather bold favor to ask of a stranger, hmm? I'd love to know the reason you want to hack into some records."

"Oh s-sorry, we can move those... just some research." She looks mortified She shoves several of the books over to the other side of the table. "S-So you're good with computers? Uhhh, th-this may be a bit forward, b-but can you help me hack into some records?"

He glances at the books and makes a face that is very hard to read. Oh, gods. She's one of those types...

A tall dark-skinned drow man walks into the private study room where he has agreed to meet this stranger. He'd been keeping mostly too himself for quite a while, nose deep in books and eyes glued to his spyglass as he stargazed for hours on end almost every night, despite how cold it was starting to get. "Lilith, correct? I'm Inocybe. We spoke on Twatter about a computer problem?" He takes a seat across the teifling woman, the insane amount of books spilling into the seats on either side of her.

Lilith is sitting at the table with her laptop open and an UNGODLY amount of books around her Perception 10: ||One stack of books is about cybersecurity and hacking. The rest of the books are various books about anatomy, sexual health, how to flirt, romance poetry, and smut novels.||

Corvid leaves a fair amount of time later, slouching, almost dejected, and goes right back to his dorm to bury his head under his pillow.

. . . . . It isn’t long later that the door opens again and the little red headed half elf exits the bathroom. Much more rumpled than when she had entered. Her cheeks held a blush that rivaled the color of her hair as she ducks to grab her bag and hurry to the exit doors.

https://discord.com/channels/1151902831310274651/1303848819141644308/1312414200995385404

“Oh yeah you’d like that wouldn’t you?” It’s such a bullshit insult. He can’t help the weird grunting sound he makes, or the click of their teeth together. He reaches behind her and tries to open the toilet door. It’s a disabled toilet, it opens outwards. He pulls it back and it hits the back of Mitch’s heels. He immediately laughs. “Fuuuck.” He chuckles against her lips. “Quick… quick get in.”

3

King [Tav - Aspen Taverinn]

kingwolfink

Wicked ( Tav:Mitch )

somethingwickedart

Ell (Tav: Rosie and Co.)

polarized2023

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“Mhm!” She makes a startled sound as his lips find hers. Momentarily startled. She pushes him away from her with her hands on his shoulders before slapping her hand against his cheek. How dare he do that to her… how dare she like it. “…. Fuck you to.” She says breathlessly, before throwing her bag to the ground with a thud and throwing herself back into the kiss. Her arms wrapping his shoulders and pulling him close as she kisses him fiercely.

“… fuck you.” He’s kissing her before he even knew what he was doing. His heart is racing and his breathing is desperate as he clamours to get his hands around her waist. She’s so fucking annoying.

“What?” It probably wasn’t her best idea ever to go toe to toe with a man twice her size in a vacated part of the library but she didn’t back down… … Gods he was entirely too close. She could feel the heat coming off of his chest.

“oh you know what?” He squares up to her. If this is where he goes down he’s gonna go down fighting. Her angry little blue eyes are boring into his soul. That’s terrifying… and a little bit sexy.

She steps up to him, all five foot two inches of her looking at up at him. Accepting the challenge. “Oh would you think better of me if I were to bury my problems in the bottom of a bottle instead?”

“Oh don’t come for my moustache, you little bastard.” He hisses. If it were literally any other man, it might be threatening. “And how are you -not- judging me, you think you’re so much better just because you bury your problems in being a great big nerd.”

“I am not judging you.” She throws her hands out to the side. “I was just trying to help you, but you’re too bloody stubborn to see past your own fancy mustache.”

“We’re not in a fucking library we’re in a-… he looks around. The door directly opposite is- “… a fucking toilet lobby!” That, Robin, is not a thing. “You’re so judgemental!”

“Because you are the smartest most fecking idiotic person I’ve ever met in me life.” She hisses back at him, turning to give him a glare. “*and stop yelling, we’re in a library*.”

“I heard that!” Why is there only one exit to this fucking library, there’s no escape from the mad fucker. “Funny how you can go from calling me intelligent to calling me thick isn’t it? What’s the truth then?”

“Oh feck yourself, mate.” She grumbles hiking the bag up on her shoulder as she makes for the door.. at the same time as Corvid. The person she was trying to get away from. She quickly hurries for the door to get out first. She knew she shouldn’t have let him get under her skin like that but the anger was quick to rise when he turned things back around on her. Self introspection is a bitch isn’t it? “*Gods. Thick as manure and half as fecking useful that one.*” She murmurs, trudging through the library for the stairs, the quickest way out.

No arguments from him. He lobs his coffee cup into the bin with too much force and it falls over. “Oh fuck you!” It’s directed at the bin but he almost doesn’t care if she takes it personally. He goes to pick it up, and it takes far too long to bundle everything back into the basket. There’s now a sad coffee puddle on the carpet. He makes for the door but so does she. This is sub optimal.

“Because I don’t get the choice to fail! To not be the best.” And if she just sat around doing nothing her own mind liked to attack her, the more she had to do the less she had to think about other things. “You know what I think this session is over.” She says sharply, slamming her book closed and cursing herself that her anger seemed to have a direct conduit to her tear ducts as she shoved things back into her bag.

“I’m here aren’t I?” He throws his arms up. “If I didn’t give a shit I’d be drunk in a ditch don’t try and get in my head.” Because you won’t like it. It’s awful in there. “I’m only here because I need to do better, what about you, why do you cram your schedule so full you can’t breathe? That’s problematic as fuck, love.”

Oh. Oh she had definitely plucked at a nerve there. She hadn’t expected him to react so intensely to her question. “I wasn’t trying to attack your self esteem.” He seemed to be doing that enough on his own anyway. “It’s my job to try and figure out the best way to help you, I can only do so much if you don’t want to help yourself.”

“Actually you know what fuck you, mate.” Okay maybe she touched a nerve a little bit. How dare she peek beneath his carefully constructed barrier. “Why’re you coming at my self esteem I’m literally just here to learn about the drugs.”

“Well no, I was thinking more of…” *what happened the last time we got together*. Nope, it was probably best to not think about that right now. When you’re alone in a room with him sitting so close. “Sorry, I’ll stop interrogating you. I wasn’t trying to be intrusive.” She says quietly, dropping her gaze again.

“Why because you’re interrogating me?” He thinks. He thinks really hard. “Is that like, a normal thing for friends to do?” Oh fucking-… great job Rob now she knows you basically have no friends.

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

Ell (Tav: Rosie and Co.)

polarized2023

Close

“No… I would have liked to have thought I was your friend.” She says truthfully. Her eyes cast back down to the paper, a bit sad. “But perhaps I’ve ruined that as well.”

“Okay, bloody hell, what are you my therapist?” He looks bamboozled. He was trying to flirt if he was honest with himself and she’s turned it around to… whatever this is. Some sort of intervention.

“I’m genuinely curious.” She says with a shrug of her shoulder. “You acknowledge you don’t pay attention so you are aware of it and could change that if you wanted. You still call yourself a loser, a failure, tragic. But you obviously care or else you wouldn’t be here.”

“Damn you don’t beat around the bush do you?”

Her head tilts a bit as she looks him over. “Why do you try so hard to pretend like you don’t give a shit?”

“I mean…” He pulls a face that shows he really doesn’t believe her. “… the fact I’m not paying attention is loser behaviour.” He swigs coffee from his cup. The temptation to ask her out again is ridiculously high but that’s not how he operates. That’s returning to the scene of the crime.

“You’re not a tragic failure Corvid.” She says earnestly. “You’re smart, when you’re actually paying attention you understand everything.”

He arches a brow, folding his arms on the table top. “How many other tragic failures are you tutoring behind my back?” He grins.

She finishes drawing a little top hat on the last Alberto drawing, he was using a graph he had to look dapper after all. “Of course.” At his question she turns her gaze back up to him, she hadn’t realized just how close they had gotten in their time in the study room. “You can ask me anything.”

As they study his posture goes from apathetic to engaged. As before, he’s not exactly ignorant of anything, it’s just a lack of fucks to give. Once he’s paying attention, he gets it. “Hey can I ask you something?” He asks, leaning against the table, leaning in her direction.

“I know. It’s a lot, but it’s okay. Cause Alberto is here to help.” She grins taking her notebook and drawing a really shitty picture of the bow tied lizard. She goes over the study markers, Alberto showing up to demonstrate in a few illustrations. Doing her best again to try and be entertaining enough to keep his attention and not take the bait of distractions. She doesn’t even realize that while they talked she had moved to sit at the edge of her chair, closer to him.

“Fucking hell that’s so many words.” He rubs his hands over his face. “Alright… let’s do this thing.”

She rolls her eyes, leveling him a little glare. “You’re gonna have to come up with something better than that, it’s not very creative coming from someone that’s a bit of a gobshite.” “Anyway..” Gods she needed to stop letting him get her distracted from the task at hand. He had a way of making her relax and fall back into the teasing banter when she was supposed to be teaching him here. “Both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are used when they’re coming up with drug studies. So we can fully understand what’s happening. The analysis of these relates drug concentrations to the effects, and it all comes back to how it’s dependent on the drugs concentration at target receptors.”

“yeah what’s your point, you’re still…” Find a better insult than nerd. “.. a fucking…” Robin please…. “… nerd.” useless.

“You’re only like six inches taller than me, shut the fuck up.” She retorts, of course only focusing on how he had called her short.

“Okay well that’s needlessly complicated isn’t it?” He says, a bit moodily. “How on earth do you remember all this shit you’re like some sort of two foot tall ginger wikipedia.”

“While they are very closely related they look at different things. So kinetics is more of what the body does to the drug, while dynamics is what the drug does to the body.”

“Okay how is that different from pharmacodynamics?” And when is this ever gonna be relevant when he’s knee deep in shit on a wet winter night trying to unfuck a cow’s guts? Urgh… Academic regret hits hard.

“You’re so very close.” She says giving his arm a squeeze before letting him go. She had reached out for him automatically, not even thinking about the action, now she felt a nice warmth traveling up her arm from the contact. “It’s a bit more than just how fast they move. It’s how they absorb, distribute, metabolize and excrete.”

It’s embarassing how his body reacts to her touch. He feels warm. A pleasant shiver runs through him. It’s affectionate contact - kind contact. Not mindless rutting to pass the time or an act of violence. And she’s proud of him? That feels disingenuous. No one has ever been proud of him in his entire life. Shit, he has to concentrate. “Oh… yeah pharmacokinetics is how drugs…” His eyes narrow “… move… very fast?”

“Really?” Her smile beams up at him, not even noticing how she reached over in her excitement to put a hand on the part of his arm that she could reach. It always made her feel happy to hear how she might have helped, that she had done something good. “Oh that’s awesome. I’m so proud of you.” She gives his arm a squeeze before turning her book to the proper section. “So can you tell me what Pharmacokinetics actually means?”

Except for that one night. A night that was good enough wipe all thoughts of devils and deals from his mind. He couldn’t think of chaos when she was teasing him over the pool table. “So… Pharmacokinetics.” If he wasted his time that would be no good either. He had to study… he HAD to pass. He was clinging onto his place at this university by the tips of his fingers as it is. “Teach me how you hyperfocus and maybe I won’t fuck it up for once. I did actually pass that last tutorial, thanks to you.”

“Do I?” She looks up at him. Sure she had people she talked to, she had her teammates. She hoped that she had people who thought of her as a friend, but really did any of them know her? Corvid was the only one who ever asked her anything about her personal life. Who had asked to spend time with her that wasn’t school, and really he was only here out of a necessity. Well why would anyone want to hang out with someone like you. She shakes off that antagonistic little voice in her head and shrugs. “I suppose it’s because he knows I have a tendency to sequester myself away, and hyper focus on study.”

“well that’s a push. Seems like you have plenty of friends.” I want to be your friend… but I fucked it up. “Is it because you never stop? I swear I only ever see you working. Or studying. Or tutoring.”

“No, it’s not that. My dad’s great.” She shakes her head. “He just… worries and can get a bit over bearing. He’s afraid I’m gonna get all secluded and have no friends.”

“Oh… your dad a bit of a dick is he?” He asks, with a knowing little grimace. “Sorry about that.”

It was probably one of the downsides of having such pale skin, besides just looking like a ghost, it was difficult to hide any changes in the undertone. And the last good bit of sleep she had gotten was with him. “There’s a big test coming up, haven’t been sleeping much.” She says with a little shrug. “And me dad’s here for a guest lecture and to check on that hit and run guy, so that’s fun for me.”

He can’t remember he put a plaster on his cheek. “… nothing. What’s happened to -your- face?” He retaliates. “Actually you look exhausted.”

“Fighting ferrets? That’d be a good band name.” She laughs. “Unfortunately it tends to be frowned upon for me to go around fighting patie-” She looks at him finally, noticing the bandage on his cheek. “What happened to your face?”

“clinicals don’t have to be boring.” Corvid shrugs. “I picked a fight with a ferret on my last night shift so…. There’s that.”

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

Ell (Tav: Rosie and Co.)

polarized2023

Close

“Oh you know, same old. School, classes, clinicals…” *thinking about you*. No, she wouldn’t allude to any of that. She wasn’t going to be that girl that got hung out to dry after a one night stand and get clingy. “Though now that I say that out loud I guess it sounds pretty boring.” She says with a little laugh as she takes out her pharma book.

“Uh… yeah sure.” Don’t tell her she looks nice. Don’t tell her she smells nice. Don’t fucking tell her you brought her up to your therapist. “So… been up to much?” He offers by way of nonchalant conversation.

“Oh yeah, no, I totally get it.” She says waving a hand flippantly, like she absolutely believed his bullshit excuse. “No worries.” If she said it enough maybe she actually wouldn’t have any worries instead of worrying about everything. “Anyway. What shall we get into today? Some pharmacokinetics?”

Shit why does he feel nervous? There’s already a sweat gathering on the back of his neck that he could definitely do without. It’s uncomfortable. “Sorry I didn’t text you back, I’ve been on nights. You know how it gets.” Shitehouse excuse. Do better, Rob.

Right. Be cool. Don’t make it awkward. Don’t let him know anything has been amiss in the however many days it has been. She’s already sat at the table as is the usual, books spread around her, laptop open and ready to go. Everything was fine. She looks up at the voice, giving Corvid a little welcoming smile. “Good evening, Corvid.” She says brightly. “Come on in.”

Well there’s no way this is going to be awkward and weird. He’s had to stick a plaster over his freshly burned bird scar because the scabbing has become unnecessary, but at least he’s not horrifically hung over this time. He still has a massive coffee though as he files into the room. “Hellooo?”

Lilith smiles, content with being told that she's correct. But of course, she herself is a perfectionist, and she fully intends on mastering her craft. Weaving. As Bo pulls out his book and starts to read, Lilith gives her full attention back to her cross stitch homework If this truly was a sign from Gond, she would have to reconsider everything... again. Perhaps she could use second opinion, and maybe a third as well. Regardless, she thinks now that Bo is definitely her friend.

As much as he’d love to argue (because he does love a good debate), she’s right. There is nothing that says he can’t enjoy creating things besides his dad’s narrow viewpoint of what men are supposed to be. “I pride myself on my intelligence, yet I’m being very unintelligent right now. You’re absolutely right. Crafting is just… fun. Anyone can do it, enjoye it, even.” He was supposed to work on lecture materials… but now he feels the urge to just do something he actually wants to do. So, he pulls out Oti’s copy of “A Discovery of Witches” and begins to read. His “date” is coming up soon, anyways.

"N-n-no, you're not b-bothering me." Lilith places the statue down on the table in front of her and picks up the hoop to resume her cross stitch "W-w-why would the way you look mean you c-cant be an artist?" "I th-think anyone can be an artist." She focuses her eyes back down to the needle in her hand. Her tail swishes slowly behind her. "Even if you d-don't master it..."

“W-well… a guy like me… making art.” What are you talking about? She wouldn’t get it, because your logic is flimsy. “I just don’t think I look like an artist. But, I like to work with my hands. It’s nice to do something besides reading a book and studying immaterial concepts, right? Making things... that’s something real and tangible.” Maybe Helaena is right. I’m a strange theologist. “Sorry for rambling. I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Lilith nods along. She does in fact care deeply about the Gondian way of creating things by hand rather than with magic, given that she has no magical abilities herself. She wouldn't be working on her cross stitch if she didn't. Surely this was a sign. She thinks about what Delton had told her in this very room about reading between the lines. Sure, Gond had never spoken to her directly, despite her years and years worth of prayer and devotion to him. But it was rather uncanny that as soon as she leaves his temple and really starts to question her faith in him, someone whom she's only spoken to once before just strolls on in here and hands her a symbol of Gond. "No. Why would it b-be weird?" Lilith doesn't understand why Bo seems ashamed to be in the sculpture class, he looks perfectly capable of making sculptures.

“W-well, weird class for a guy like me to be in… right?” His tail swishes a bit slower as he hands the stature over. It’s decently made. “I will say, I’m fascinated by the doctrine of Gond. The focus of creation by hand rather than magic is interesting. When I sculpted that, I kind of understood the joy in it. Crafting, I mean.”

"Hey th-thats neat." She smiles, reaching out her hand for the statue Is this a sign from above?????? "Do-do you like the sculpture class?" she thinks she already knows the answer...

@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿) :game_die: Result: 1d20 (12) + 8 Total: 20

His tail wags happily, accompanying a warm smile. “That’s very beautiful! I love the design. It reminds me of the art from Cormyr… I can’t wait until you finish.” He starts to rifle through his bag. He pulls out a little clay sculpture of a Golem. “Seeing you reminded me of something I made in my, uh… sculpting class.” DC insight 10 ||He seems embarrassed about being in a class like this.|| “Golems are quite important in the Gondian faith… er, you knew that.” He holds it out to her a bit sheepishly. “So, perhaps you would appreciate this more than I would?”

Lilith looks up to see her half of a friend Bo enter the study room. He remembered her name, that's a sign of friendship right? "Salutations Bo." She bows her head slightly at him "Yes. J-just a l-little homework..." She has the pattern printed out next to her "L-look, its a castle!" Lilith holds up the hoop to show him Lilith seems calmer and more outgoing today

He just got some new glasses, so he can see EXTRA well today. His eyes focus on her cross stitch. “Ah, working on something for class?”

1

Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

theheckmachinebroken

Close

Boletus is, yet again, walking into one of the study rooms to work on lecture materials. And yet again, there is a familiar-looking tiefling girl sitting alone at her big table in the room. Oh. I should apologize for the other day. Thank the gods I didn’t make the same mistake that night. “Hello again, Lilith.”

Lilith is in the group study room again. It looks like this time she actually has work to do. Perception DC 10: ||She has some books about the Faerunian pantheon, martial arts, and shuttle looms. And she's working on a cross stitch project||

# ✨️✨️✨️✨️

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton smiles and nods, "Feel free! I'll make sure no one bothers you." He starts flipping through his notes and jotting thing... Lilith gives Delton a thumbs up before putting her head down on the table and drifting off. Yay a friend, she thinks as she falls asleep

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "Okay." She smiles and types in her phone number, before returning Delton's phone to him "I'll stay in h-here, but I honestly... Delton smiles and nods, "Feel free! I'll make sure no one bothers you." He starts flipping through his notes and jotting things down as he did so. He thinks he just made a new friend.

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > "Well, let me know when I can come visit then!" He slides his phone over with a new contact screen opened. "I'm going to actua... "Okay." She smiles and types in her phone number, before returning Delton's phone to him "I'll stay in h-here, but I honestly might take a nap. It's b-been a long day, and its nice and quiet in here"

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "There is a s-second name on my door. But I have y-yet to meet her." Lilith shrugs back "Well, let me know when I can come visit then!" He slides his phone over with a new contact screen opened. "I'm going to actually start studying but I'd love to just sit together if that's okay!"

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > "I'd love that! Do you have a roommate? I've barely seen mine since I've been here, unfortunately." He sighs a little and shrugs... "There is a s-second name on my door. But I have y-yet to meet her." Lilith shrugs back

"I'd love that! Do you have a roommate? I've barely seen mine since I've been here, unfortunately." He sighs a little and shrugs.

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton lights up at that, "That would be great!" 'And I'd love to learn," he says enthusiastically, excitedly waving his a hig... "I-I have one in my dorm." Lilith decides maybe its not the best move to tell Delton she stole it "If you w-wanted to see sometime..."

> blank" rel="noreferrer" title="">Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "M-maybe we'll be in the s-same class Lilith fidgets with her hair "W-w-weaving...Rugs, tapestries... baskets even." *She p... Delton lights up at that, "That would be great!" 'And I'd love to learn," he says enthusiastically, excitedly waving his a highlighter around, "I really enjoy the tapestries depicting legends - phenomenal way to tell a story in my opinion!"

> blank" rel="noreferrer" title="">Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton perks up at her response. "I'm planning to take the religion and medicine class next semester! I want to be a good docto... "M-maybe we'll be in the s-same class Lilith fidgets with her hair "W-w-weaving...Rugs, tapestries... baskets even." She pauses "I could p-probably teach you."

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Phew, we're changing the subject... kind of... "Oh, religion...." her voice trails of "OH! And f-fiber arts." *She nods. ... Delton perks up at her response. "I'm planning to take the religion and medicine class next semester! I want to be a good doctor and that means caring for all of my patients." He sends her a bright smile. "What type of fiber arts do you want to specialize in? I'm not too familiar but I'd love to learn!"

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton can tell that he's somehow messed this up a bit. This is why he doesn't tend to talk about his religion beyond referencin... Phew, we're changing the subject... kind of... "Oh, religion...." her voice trails of "OH! And f-fiber arts." She nods. Lets talk about that

Delton can tell that he's somehow messed this up a bit. This is why he doesn't tend to talk about his religion beyond referencing that he grew up in the convent. He always seems to weird people out. "U-Um," He's stammering now, great, "What are you studying?"

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton's smiles sadly, "I've learned to read between the lines, far more often than been directly spoken to by my god. Ilmater ... Lilith grimaces slightly. Boy did she feel like she'd been stumbling along in the blackness and silence. But the glow always felt like it was getting further and further away... But she smiles and nods when Delton pats her hand

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith's hunch is confirmed "That's l-l-lucky..." *Lilith sighs and rests her head on her hand, her tail swishes gently to he... Delton's smiles sadly, "I've learned to read between the lines, far more often than been directly spoken to by my god. Ilmater doesn't intervene if he can help it. We're his hands, his guiding forces. And he's the distant light that we follow." He reaches over and pats her free hand, "And like most distant lights, that means stumbling along in the blackness and silence, but always striving to get a little closer to that soft glow. I know I'm on the right path when his light feels a little closer." "I'm very fortunate, in that, I know."

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delron smiles a little bemusedly. He's been asked that quite a lot in the last few days. "Yes, I did. I didn't have a normal ... Lilith's hunch is confirmed "That's l-l-lucky..." Lilith sighs and rests her head on her hand, her tail swishes gently to her side -# "Mine wont even t-talk to me..." She mutters quietly, looking down at the table

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "I-I don't mind talking about it... It's k-k-kinda all I know..." *It sounds like perhaps he had a more positive experience than... Delron smiles a little bemusedly. He's been asked that quite a lot in the last few days. "Yes, I did. I didn't have a normal upbringing, not would I call the brothers and sisters parental. But my god has given me a lot of peace." He smiles wistfully, eyes raising to the ceiling and rubbing the pendant. After a few moments, he says, "He's never asked me for more than I'm willing to give. That's more than a lot of people."

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton nods along and isn't particularly surprised by the handshake. He's met many a very small person who could take on a mons... "I-I don't mind talking about it... It's k-k-kinda all I know..." It sounds like perhaps he had a more positive experience than she did "D-did you like your convent?" She's curious to know more

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith smiles back, taking note of the pendant "I'm G-Gondar. I was told I was left on the temple steps as a baby, so I've be... Delton nods along and isn't particularly surprised by the handshake. He's met many a very small person who could take on a monster without blinking. "That must be very difficult, Lilith," his smile is genuine, "I know I'm fortunate that my teachers insisted I had 'outside education,' as they called it." "While I spent most of my time in the convent, I was required to go to big gatherings once and a while to try and make me socialize. Plus, the Ilmateri are a large network. I was often alone, but I had opportunities to say...explore a bit." He tilted his head, "Do you want to talk about your home? Or would you prefer a distraction?"

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton smiles and rubs at his pendant, "Not at all. I'm an Ilmateri - I was taken in there when I was thirteen. So I know how bi... Lilith smiles back, taking note of the pendant "I'm G-Gondar. I was told I was left on the temple steps as a baby, so I've been there my whole life..." -# "Well, until now" She finishes the sentence under her breath "Lilith." She apprehensively reaches out her hand to accept the handshake, for a small girl like her, her handshape is surprisingly firm.

Delton smiles and rubs at his pendant, "Not at all. I'm an Ilmateri - I was taken in there when I was thirteen. So I know how big of a culture shock it can be. And you?" However, he quickly tsked and said, "Where are my manners?" He reaches his hand out to shake, "Delton, and you are?" @Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton nods, sympathy in his gaze. "I miss being able to go to my little hideaways at the convent too." "I've found that the li... ”Y-you’re from a convent?” Perhaps she had more in common with this stranger than she thought “Who d-do you pray to? If you don’t mind m-my asking?”

Delton nods, sympathy in his gaze. "I miss being able to go to my little hideaways at the convent too." "I've found that the library is a great place but that people here are very friendly and welcoming in general." Delton hummed, "I spent my first few days kind of hiding out in the woods because I was so overwhelmed. But, I started to go out more and more and have made some really good friends..." He trails off, smiling a little wistfully.

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton offers her a small smile and says, "Me too. I'm not used to being around so many people all the time." He sighs, "Usuall... ”Theres s-so many people here. Its overwhelming for m-me” “I’ve just been h-hiding in the library so far, I kind of miss the library at the t-t-temple…” her voice trails off

@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

Delton offers her a small smile and says, "Me too. I'm not used to being around so many people all the time." He sighs, "Usually I'm left with my patients and my books. But I've made a few friends, fortunately."

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton gives the tiefling a small smile, thumbing his Ilmateri necklace while he does. He sits across from the girl and spreads... ”Oh I’m f-fine…” she fidgets with her tail “J-just adjusting. Kind of experienced a big culture shock here.”

Delton gives the tiefling a small smile, thumbing his Ilmateri necklace while he does. He sits across from the girl and spreads out his color coded notes and his textbook before covering his fists with his oversized sleeves - he really shouldn't stayed out so long in the snow last night. He sighs though, seeing this girl seems frightened. Of him. The half elf embodiment of a puppy - or so he's told. "Are you alright, miss...?" @Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton heard a quiet response and figured, since he didn't hear loud protest, he could head in. If not, well, he could just leav... ”Oh, n-n-no. You can c-come in” she speaks very quietly and fidgets with her tail as she does

Delton heard a quiet response and figured, since he didn't hear loud protest, he could head in. If not, well, he could just leave. "Oh, hello miss. Would you mind if I studied with you?" @Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

> Reply to: @Delton Fireoak (@Bee (Tav: Delton)) > Delton is having a good morning. Well he had a really great night which means now he's having a really great morning. If he's ... Lilith is once again startled, this time by a knock at the door, causing her to jump in her seat. "uhh... c-come in?" She replies, possibly too quiet for anyone on the other side to hear

Delton is having a good morning. Well he had a really great night which means now he's having a really great morning. If he's paying for it by being a little chilled to the bone, you'd never be able to tell. The boy was humming. The stereotypical 'walking on air' look. He's looking for a place to study - since most of his usual spots are outside - and decides to knock on the door to the group study room. Hopefully, if there is someone in there, they wouldn't mind a silent study partner.

Lilith is still sitting in the study room alone. A little puzzled looking now

🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️

He stares at the other tiefling blankly for a moment, unnerved then she could see right through him. But she doesn’t matter to him like he does. “Whatever reason I have is none of your concern.” His voice sounds harsh, quite unlike the warm tone he had earlier. It makes him wince immediately, tail flickering a few times before hanging down limply. “I’m sorry. That was extremely rude of me. I’m just… going through something, is all. But wow, how wonderful it is that we will be neighbors! Perhaps I’ll stop by sometime and you can show me that tapestry. It’s always nice to learn about the gods from the worshippers themselves.” Room 202. Don’t forget. “I’m in room 227. It’s at the very end of the hall. Looking forward to our next meeting.” He is out of the room before Lilith even gets the chance to respond.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > If he invites someone else over… no. No, I need to see him. His chest hurts even thinking about it. “Lilith, I’m sorry. I ha... "Hey! I'm also on the second floor, I'm in room 202, we're neighbors." How lucky is she that her one friend(?) lives so close Suddenly she notices Bo look at his phone and get upset, he says he has a family emergency but... "W-well if you truly do have a family emergency I hope everyone is okay, B-but the lack of concern in the cadence of your v-voice indicates that you want to leave for some other reason." She comments quietly, glancing up at him as she finishes her thought Did she already mess up her first impression so badly that he wants to leave now? Her tail droops behind her

@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿) :game_die: Result: 1d20 (2) + 8 Total: 10

If he invites someone else over… no. No, I need to see him. His chest hurts even thinking about it. “Lilith, I’m sorry. I had a family emergency come up. Sorry to cut our meeting short.” His tail swings wildly behind him, thumping on the back of his chair as he stands up. DC 10 insight. ||He is lying.||

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "He doesn't seem to care that you did something illegal. That's... nice... right?" she thinks to herself. "Oh! My n-name is L... I think I just made a friend. I guess it’s… not all that hard when you put in effort. “Likewise, Lilith.” “If you ever need help, or find you just need a study partner, I live on the 2nd floor of the dorms. Oh, and I’m here pretty often. I really do need to get out more…” He finally decides to glance down at his phone. The look on his face is uncharacteristically angry.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > “These are all beautiful, miss. Oh, might I ask for your name? I don’t think we ever got to introductions.” Though he is sitti... "He doesn't seem to care that you did something illegal. That's... nice... right?" she thinks to herself. "Oh! My n-name is Lilith." She replies quietly "Its very nice to m-meet you Bo." "Did i just make a friend???" she thinks to herself

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > "Oh! Yes we do!" Her eyes light up, clearly he struck a chord here. "Here, I'll show you." *She takes out her phone and start... “These are all beautiful, miss. Oh, might I ask for your name? I don’t think we ever got to introductions.” Though he is sitting, he bows slightly. His tail swishes slowly behind his back. “My name is Boletus. Strange name, I know. Just Bo is fine, too.”

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > "Oh, that's fascinating! I know Gondians take great pride in their craftwork. I'd love you see some of your work sometime." *A ... "Oh! Yes we do!" Her eyes light up, clearly he struck a chord here. "Here, I'll show you." She takes out her phone and starts swiping through several pictures of tapestries and rugs, both finished and in progress, she holds up her phone to show him each photo. She gets to a picture of a tapestry depicting a temple on a hill "I actually have this on him my dorm, I-" She catches herself. Her voice becomes more shaky and hesitant again. "I... I st-st-stole it when I ran away."

"Oh, that's fascinating! I know Gondians take great pride in their craftwork. I'd love you see some of your work sometime." A pushy request, but she seems relaxed. Maybe I've gotten through to her somewhat?

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > He stops himself from speaking more. Surely a theology major would know plenty about the Spellplague already. No need to bombard... Lilith nods along, she's very well read so she knows exactly what he's talking about "Oh, no n-not clothing... although I'm sure i *could*..." her voice trails off as she considers the idea "Mostly tapestries, s-some rugs..." she keeps fidgeting with her hair "Y-you know... for prayer." Perception DC 10: ||despite her fidgeting and stuttering, Lilith seems significantly more relaxed than when she first looked up from her prayer||

He stops himself from speaking more. Surely a theology major would know plenty about the Spellplague already. No need to bombard her with endless tangents. That sort of thing is exactly what pushes people away, he thinks. “And weaving, huh? An interesting combination of disciplines! Do you make your own clothing? Or do you make more craft type things? I dabble in needlework myself. It’s just a hobby for my sister, though.”

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > ”Oh!” Lilith fidgets with her hair as her attention drops to her study materials “R-religion…. and fiber arts. I was a weav... Once again, he ignores the buzzing of his phone. Instead, his eyes light up behind his rather thick glasses as his suspicions are confirmed. “Wonderful! I’m a theology and history major myself. I don’t worship a god, but I am utterly fascinated by the dynamics and their history, the way they shape the world that we live in.” “I’m working on a thesis about the effects of the Spellplague. What an incredulous event…”

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > What an impossibly brave person this is. “Marvelous. I’m impressed after everything you went through, you took a huge leap a... ”Oh!” Lilith fidgets with her hair as her attention drops to her study materials “R-religion…. and fiber arts. I was a weaver at the temple. I studied under the master weaver for most of my childhood. My one good experience you could say.” Her tail swishes a little at the slightly happier thought “How about you!” she looks meekly back up at him

Text message from ########## ||Bo, come on! Quit ignoring me. Hey, meet me at my apartment later? I need that tail wrapped around me while you fuck me good like I know you can do. If you wait too long, I might just do find some other guy to hang out with tonight…||

Boletus’s phone buzzes again.

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith clasps her hands over her mouth as her company describes his upbringing in the city. “Oh that’s horrifying.” *she excl... What an impossibly brave person this is. “Marvelous. I’m impressed after everything you went through, you took a huge leap and came from a rather restrictive Gondryr convent to a place like this. I commend your bravery. The experience must be night and day for you.” He glances at her books and already has an inkling of what she studies, but he asks the question anyways. “What are you studying while you’re here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > Raised amongst dwarves. Now her Gond worship makes sense. For now, Boletus is choosing to ignore his phone, instead focusing... Lilith clasps her hands over her mouth as her company describes his upbringing in the city. “Oh that’s horrifying.” she exclaims meekly “I-I I wasn’t allowed to leave the temple…” Her experience was awful, but his sounded way scarier “I r-r-ran away…” her voice trembles as she speaks “I applied for school in s-s-secret…” “I got a scholarship, and they let me skip a few years due to all my academic experience at the temple…” she’s practically shaking in her seat “… and then I ran away…” tears start forming in her eyes

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith nods. “All the other kids at the temple made fun of me. They were all dwarves, no one else looked like me, and my robe... Raised amongst dwarves. Now her Gond worship makes sense. For now, Boletus is choosing to ignore his phone, instead focusing all of his attention on the woman in front of him. Her plight sounded so similar to his sister’s, the way she recounted her time amongst full blooded orcs that admonished her for never being fully one of them. And his Big Brother voice takes over. “I’m sorry to hear that they treated you that way. It’s unfortunate that those who are different are so often singled out and mistreated like that. No one deserves that. It’s so isolating.” “I hope you know that it doesn’t need to be that way anymore. There are many of us tieflings on campus who can relate. Even our school counselor is a tiefling.” “As for myself, I kind of relate to what you’re talking about. I was raised in a city with a solely human population. I got looks everywhere I went. Humans think they can just touch your horns and tail without asking, like their curiosity overrides your own personal autonomy.” His own tail starts to swing faster, the tip of it swishing violently in the air. “I hate that this seems to be such a universe experience. I hope you find comfort in a place like this, where nothing like that should ever happen to you again.” This is a rather heavy topic to be discussing with a stranger. I hope she’s alright.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > While his smile is still as warm is always, his glowing yellow eyes are filled with a tinge of sadness. “It was difficult, was... Lilith nods. “All the other kids at the temple made fun of me. They were all dwarves, no one else looked like me, and my robes were always too small…” Suddenly this quiet girl as letting it all out like verbal diarrhea. But he looks like her so she quickly finds him trustworthy She keeps fidgeting with her tail “… they called me ‘ankles’ and other way meaner things I won’t repeat.” Lilith is better than saying the rude and at times racist things she was called by the dwarven children

Text message from ########## ||Bo, you weren’t in your room? Let me guess, must be in the library again? I wanna try to make this work, baby. Like you said. I’m ready to be more with you. Meet me later?||

Boletus’s phone buzzes in his pocket.

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith starts to relax a bit “So many! Y-you’re the first I’ve spoken to..” she speaks so softly *Her tail curls in front ... While his smile is still as warm is always, his glowing yellow eyes are filled with a tinge of sadness. “It was difficult, wasn’t it? A lot of people make a lot of assumptions based off our fiendish features." "But here, it's so very different. No one judges us for our horns and tails. I've never felt more accepted than I have here." Yet, he still hides away from everyone. There is a difference between others accepting him as a tiefling and him accepting himself as one.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > He smiles warmly at her. “I do, don’t I? It’s strange seeing so many tieflings in one place, isn’t it? Where I grew up, I was... Lilith starts to relax a bit “So many! Y-you’re the first I’ve spoken to..” she speaks so softly Her tail curls in front of her and she starts to fidget with it “Where I grew up I was the only one. I-I… I don’t have a mother.” She looks down

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith slowly rises back up to sit in her seat like a normal person. "N-n-no, you're good." She trembles as she speaks *Sh... He smiles warmly at her. “I do, don’t I? It’s strange seeing so many tieflings in one place, isn’t it? Where I grew up, I was the only one, besides my mother.” His tail picks up the pace, the fur at the end swaying with every sweep, back and forth like a metronome. She is acting as if she's never met another tiefling before... strange.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > He looks at the tiefling, confused. Did he spook her somehow? “Um. Miss? Are you ok? Do I… need to leave?” It’s a private stu... Lilith slowly rises back up to sit in her seat like a normal person. "N-n-no, you're good." She trembles as she speaks She's staring at him like a lunatic "He looks like me!" She thinks to herself. "Y-y-you, l-look... y-you look like... m-m-me..." She's so quiet.

> Reply to: @Lilith (@Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)) > Lilith finishes her prayer with a deep breath and raises her head opening her eyes. *She's spooked when she sees she not alon... He looks at the tiefling, confused. Did he spook her somehow? “Um. Miss? Are you ok? Do I… need to leave?” It’s a private study room, sure. But it wasn’t booked out, and sometimes he feels he needs to be even more secluded than usual to really get his never-ending list of tasks done. His tails swishes slowly behind him.

> Reply to: @Boletus Zales (@Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]) > A Gondian prayer from a tiefling? Interesting. Best not disturb her, then. Boletus takes a seat several chairs down from the ... Lilith finishes her prayer with a deep breath and raises her head opening her eyes. She's spooked when she sees she not alone, her eyes widen and she nearly falls out of her chair. -# "Ah!" The tiniest reaction comes out of this girl, and she begins to sink down in her chair until only her eyes are peeking over the table

A Gondian prayer from a tiefling? Interesting. Best not disturb her, then. Boletus takes a seat several chairs down from the tiefling. Something about her seems familiar. But then again, a lot of people seem familiar to his eyes. He’s been in school for a long time, only halfway noticing everyone around him. Irory’s worksheet remains half finished in his bag. He needs to make more of an effort to meet people during his remaining years here, lest he turn into a lonely, reclusive scholar. This is probably not the best place to be doing any meeting, however... So, Boletus leaves her be, taking out a his textbook that acts as a reference for all known Faerunian gods. He starts to clack away at his laptop with sharps nails as he plans the material for his next tutoring appointment.

A very pale tiefling in sitting in the study room alone with. Her eyes are closed and her hands are clasped together. She's whispering something under her breath Religion DC 10: ||She's reciting a Gondian prayer||

🌹 🌹 🌹

“No problem, Mim. I’m always here if you need anything.” She calls after the retreating figure. Gods she hoped she had helped, and the if Mim did need anything she would be comfortable enough to ask. She seemed like she really wanted to do better at least. She sighs, pulling her laptop back to her to work on her discussion boards.

"I will." Probably.. Mitch is nice, kind but Mim didn't want to be a bother. She flattens the creases in her syllabus, before adding it to her notebook with the papers. Now she knows that it's important, it can't go back to the bottom of her backpack. She puts the notebook away and gets ready to leave. "Thank you again, Mitch. I appreciate it.. a lot." More than you could understand She nods her head with a small smile as a goodbye and walks out

“Of course. Feel free to message me anytime you have a question, alright?” She gives the other woman a kind smile.

She considers for a moment if she has any questions. "Okay.. I don't think I have any questions.. Thank you.. for your help. I-if I run into anything else, I'll message you?"

“Unless if you have any questions.” She says with a nod. “The professor just mentioned you seemed to need some help in learning how to… well, learn. But if there’s something else I can help you with, I’d be happy to.”

She takes the papers with care, lining them up in her notebook to keep them safe. Right more homework At least this could be combined with her regular school homework, not like Agaricus's homework. "Thank you.. I will." Not that she watches TV shows.. Maybe she can ask Luna for suggestions and if she can borrow her screen. Since it's kind of for school.. Maybe she can ask.. "I-is that it for now? I'm not sure how this works."

“I hope so.” She says getting up to go and grab the papers as they finished printing to bring back for Mim. “So little bit of homework for you then. Look over these words and practice note taking in shorthand. It doesn’t have to be lectures, it could be a TV show you’re watching or conversations. The more you practice, the easier it’ll be.”

"You're very kind to help others like this. I'm sure you've helped plenty of people." Mim hopes she'll be able to improve a little with the tips she's gotten from Mitch. If not, well, that would be because of Mim, not Mitch..

“I’ve always liked learning things.” She says with a little shrug. And with the looming threat of her college funding getting pulled if her grades slipped it added a whole other layer on top of it. “So I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks on the way. And now I get to share them with others now and hope they help.”

She looks at her phone, the brick that she hates taking with her. It can do that? "Oh, that's.. that's really clever." She'll have to figure out how to do that. "You must be really good at this, this whole studying thing."

“I’d recommend getting a dictaphone as well, or using your phone to record the lectures. It’ll help while you’re still learning to take notes.” She says as she sets the page to print, the little printer in the corner of the room sounding as it goes. “That way you can listen back and pause while you’re going. See if you missed anything.”

She tries to give a confident smile, like nothing is wrong, when Mitch looks at her. She doesn't want Mitch to think she's weird. Confidence has never her strong suit though, so it looks forced, and awkward. She pulls her attention to the site Mitch shows her. "A print would be nice. I uhm, I don't have an e-mail. I barely use my phone."

She pauses a moment looking over at Mim as she hesitates over her answer. She hadn’t thought it would be something that would cause that much of a reaction. Had no one ever really taught her anything at all. How curious. “Here. This site has a very good list of shorthand and abbreviations you can use.” She says, tapping at the screen with her nail. “I can email it to you, or print it off?”

Her expression closes a little. Again, there's that blank spot in her memories. No memories of having someone show or tell her anything when she was little. "Showing, I guess.." The closest thing she had was watching people in the city, how to talk to people, how to steal things she needed.

“Hmm, perhaps a better way of putting it would have been to ask if you have someone tell you how to do something or them showing you how to do it?”

"I.. I guess.. I've never really had a lot of books to read." And doesn't remember anyone ever reading to her. "I've always just kind of learned through doing.. Spent a lot of time outdoors on my own." The kindest way to put that.

She nods pulling her laptop in closer to open the Internet browser and quickly type a search for word abbreviation lists. “So when you’re learning new things is it easier for you to learn it when you can see it?” She asks, scrolling through the results a moment. “Like reading something instead of having it read to you?”

"Oh, uhm yes.. J-just to get a sense of them? I think that may help." She needs to practice this on her own.. Just try it with everything.

“It’s mostly whatever you make them that you can understand.” She says, giving her a soft smile. It was nice seeing Mim so willing and ready to learn something. To be excited about something finally making sense. “Most of them you just use the first the first few letters, then there’s also cutting out vowels, dropping little sentence addons. But if you would like a list I’m sure we could find one you could use to help.”

She pays close attention to what Mitch writes down. The second sentence looks like gibberish, until she rereads both sentences a couple of times. It's like magic, how the pieces just fall into place and what was gibberish now makes sense. "That's... That's amazing. I-is there a list of abreviations somewhere?" There's a reserved enthusiasm in her voice. Maybe if this is like a language, she can learn it that way. The thought doesn't make sense. She doesn't remember ever learning a language. She knows Elvish, but doesn't remember how she was taught, or who taught her. Did she learn it from cramming lists of words?

“Yes, similar concept I think.” She says writing down a sentence on the paper. “So for example you can take this sentence. Isaac Newton published the universal law of gravitation 1687. It takes a while to write every word in the sentence yeah? So instead you could do it like this..” ‘Newton pub univ law gravity- 1687’ “Takes much less time.”

The bottom of Mim's backpack is probably close to the trash.. she rarely throws things away, you never know when you need paper to start a fire or something.. She puts a line across the page of her notebook, separating the notes about the structure of the lectures from this new subject. "Abbreviations? My friend Nimue told me a trick to remembering information by grouping letters.. Is that.. sort of similar?"

“Surprisingly not a lot of people use it, you’d be shocked to know how many syllabi end up in the trash.” “Another thing that helps with taking notes is developing your shorthand.” She says taking a sheet of paper. “So instead of writing out whole words, you use abbreviations. Makes it quicker.”

Right.. She gives a small defeated smile. "That probably should have been obvious.."

“Good, this is how you know what’s important.” She says taking the paper and pointing at the first week. “So this is how you’ll know what is actually important, and what is arbitrary information. So like this week in biology there a lot of time spent on cellular anatomy. So you’ll know that’s going to be foundational for a lot of things in the class.”

She nods and starts digging through her backpack. "I do, it should be in here somewhere. Ah, here." Smushed in between the books is a copy of the syllabus, it's a bit crumpled and folded, but Mim hands it over.

“Do you still have your syllabus that the teachers provided?”

She chuckles along with Mitch, her easy going attitude making Mim feel more comfortable. "Yeah, the overwhelmed crying sounds familiar.." Shed tried cereal when she first got here, but it hadn't agreed with her.. She starts to write down the structure Mitch mentioned. "So, how did you do it? How did you figure out what's important and what is tangent?"

“Oh gods yes, I wanted to write down every single little thing the professor ever said, and just ended up overwhelmed and crying into my cereal.” She says with a little laugh at herself.

She blushes slightly when Mitch talks about her experience with taking every word down. That's exactly what Mim's experience has been. She feels like she should be with this down, so she reaches for one of her notebooks and a pen. "You used to struggle with this too?" It seems unlikely to her, that someone who struggled like she is, is now the one person a professor thinks about to help out.

“Oh no, you can’t write down everything. You just get behind and then the lecture goes on and then you’re confused the rest of the day…. Obviously, I learned that the hard way.” She laughs. She used to think that every single word that the teachers said was golden and had to be remembered. “So you’ll find most teachers will lecture the same. They start out with the core concept and then go into further detail and then to examples background. Some will throw in fun facts and go off on tangents, but it’s literally just info dumping and isn’t likely to come up ever again. They just want to talk about it.

She relaxes a little, put at easy by Mitch's kind demeanour. "Everything, to be perfectly honest. I- I guess, summarising, I don't know what's important to take down, and what isn't.. So I end up writing everything down, or trying to.. I don't know how to structure it so it makes sense later.."

“Don’t worry, it can be difficult to grasp if it’s not something you’ve done before. Just like anything else really.” She says with a kind little smile. “So what do you feel like it is that’s giving you the most trouble? Studying? Note taking? Just taking in information in general?”

She sits down with a shy smile, dumping her heavy backpack on the table. "That obvious, huh?" She squeezes her hands together in her lap. "Yes, I uhm, I've never gone to school before. The prime example of a late student." She gives a nervous chuckle. Professor Agaricus thought she had potential? Maybe for the druid thing, but she can't imagine he'd been talking about the actual courses.

“Yes, he did.” She says with a laugh. Reaching out to shake her outstretched hand. “He said you had lots of potential but, maybe a bit unsure of how to… learn?” She sits back in her seat looking over at her. “Is this your first time in a school setting?”

Mim steps in, a heavy backpack on her back. She didn't really know what to expect, so she just kind of.. brought everything. "Hi, yes, I'm Mim, nice to meet you. And, thank you.. I guess, for offering to help. I uhm, I was going to reach out to you, but... Well, Professor Agaricus did it for me, I suppose." She walks up to Mitch and holds out her hand in greeting.

She is so focused into her book she hadn’t noticed the other woman until she spoke up. Mitch looks up, little strands of crimson hair escaping from her bun that fell over her face, as she takes a moment to register. “Oh hi!” She says brightly, shutting her book. “You must be Mim, nice to meet you. Come on in, have a seat.”

Mim makes her way through the hallway to what should be the study room. She takes a deep breath before she peeks her head around the corner. Well, at least there's someone here.. If it's not Mitch she's going to be so embarrassed.. "Hi, a-are you Mitch?" She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, a few strands of grey stand out in her messy mop of dark brown hair.

Mitch makes her way into the library study room, this was basically her second home. She hums to herself as she sets her bag down into a chair to take out her books. She was glad this Mim seemed to want the help, a part of her had been worried she might be like the others that were to stubborn or proud to accept the help. Hopefully they might be able to make some progress. She works on her own homework as she waits for the other girl to join her.

🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛.

He stays for less than ten minutes before the books irritate him, and Alberto starts to annoy him profusely. He gets up, dumps his coffee in the bin and goes back to his room.

“See you next week.” She says with a little wave before leaving the study room to head for the cafe.

“Okay I’ll work on it.” He shakes his head with a little chuckle. At least she’s not boring.

“Really? Book girl?” She looks over at him with a raised brow as she hefts her bag over her shoulder. “Try to come up with something better by next week yeah?” She says with a laugh.

Did girls usually give him their number after turning hum down? This was definitely new. “Alright I will. Thanks.” don’t call her Book Girl. “Book girl.” He grins crookedly as he uncrosses and crosses his legs beneath the table and looks back at his textbooks. “Guess I’ll see you next week.”

It was definitely a terrible idea. Even if he did seem like a nice enough guy here, she knew the signs of a coping mechanism. They would be doing these study sessions for awhile obviously, adding sex into the mix would just make things awkward here. And added in the possibility that he would stop coming to these sessions to avoid the awkwardness. Which would end up in his failing again. “Alright, I will.” She says, taking a pen and writing on the paper before passing it to him and continuing to pack up her things. “That’s my number, you can text me if you have any questions or need help with anything.”

Yeah… she’s clever enough to know it’s a fucking terrible idea. “… alright, fair enough.” He concedes. He wouldn’t fuck him right now either. “Go and get your coffee. Get all the extras, yeah? All that… spray cream and sprinkles and shit. Treat yourself.” He leans forward. “Me and Alberto are gonna stick it out here for a while.”

Oh. That’s what he meant. She wasn’t a stranger to hook ups certainly, she just hadn’t been expecting it in this setting. She didn’t think anyone had ever hit on her when she was in the library surrounded by thick textbooks. She turns to look at him, meeting his eyes. It would be a lie to say that wasn’t a very handsome man. And his eyes were almost her favorite shade of green. But those pretty eyes were red and strained around the iris. Surrounded by the shadows of a sleepless night. She had seen him lying on the couch at the party an almost empty bottle clutched to his face. She tended to take on the roll of the party mom and often kept her eyes on those lying around to make sure they were still protecting their airway. “Tempting.” She says after a moment. “Very tempting but no thank you. Feel free to try again though when you can pass a breathalyzer test at 1pm. You’re more than welcome to come and join me in going to the cafe though.”

He fidgets with his pen, reclined in his chair as he turns his dark ringed green eyes up at her. “… you wanna do something else?” He asks, making his suggestive tone somewhat more obvious than before. “I’ve got instant coffee. I can whip you up a mocha.”

“Yes you’re exactly right, he does.” She chuckles softly, shuffling the papers back together that she had used in their little lesson. She pauses a moment at his question, tilting her head a bit. “Hmm, you know, to be honest I really want to go to the Cafe to grab a coffee now. After sitting in here with the smell of yours it’s given me a real craving for a massive mocha.”

He feels like shit, but at least she’s more engaging than he gave her credit for in the first place. Even if she is still a massive nerd. He finds information sticking in his mind in a way it hasn’t before. And is only slightly patronised by the lizard, who is now crying with fucked up eyes. “Well alberto needs some GPCR inhibitors. Sort his life out.” He’s finished his coffee, which is mildly annoying. He looks back up at Mitch. Eh. Worth a go. “So…. What’re you doing after this?”

“How dare you he is not a grass, don’t listen to him Alberto.” She slides the paper back towards herself, before opening the pharmacology book to lay between them. (This writer is entirely too tired to go into detail and research here so we’re just going to insert a little bit of a Timelapse.) Mitch goes on to describe the cells and their proteins and responses. She does her best to remain engaging to keep his attention and hope something of what she’s teaching manages to sink in. She stays mostly away from the book only using it as a reference really as draws out what she’s teaching. Even including multiple little Alberto’s in the illustrations. “So when people have defects in these GPCRs that’s when you diseases like hyperthyroidism, retinitis pigmentosa, and even color blindness. Because mutations like these alter the structure of the signaling proteins and have the opposite effect.” The Alberto here is sad because he cannot see colors correctly.

“… you’re a little grass, Alberto.” He knocks back another swig of his drink. “Alright, fuck it, let’s couple these Gs.”

“This guy is Alberto.” She says, picking up a red pen to give the little lizard drawing a fancy red bow tie. “And Alberto is super excited to tell you all about signal transduction and G protein-coupled receptors.”

Okay well she’s spicier than he was expecting from a library dork nerdy swat girl. He holds up his hands in surrender. “Alright alright damn, I heard it wrong you don’t have to be all… artistically mean. Who’s this guy?” Ah yes, deflection. He draws a hat on the lizard.

“What the fuck is a lizard gate? How does that make more sense?” “Here see,” she takes her notebook to draw out a couple of very quick figures. “Ligands are the binders that attach to specific receptors on the cell that then trigger biological responses.” She pushes the paper to him pointing out the parts of it as she explained. “So in short, ligand yes.” She says making a check mark by the cell before moving on to a second crudely drawn picture of a lizard by a gate. “Lizard no.”

“… what the fuck is a ligand that’s not a thing.”

Well, that helped to identify the problem here at least. That was easy enough. “So if I start to go on about those ligand gated ion channels… are you going to be zoning me out?”

“I didn’t take notes. Dictophone.” He says, shifting his weight in his chair again. “I dunno, he said some bollocks about lizard gated iron channels and I zoned out.” Well at least he’s honest.

“All of it?” She repeats with a little nod. Looking him over she could see the complete and utter disinterest poring off of him. She had figured it would happen eventually when she took up the position. A very promising prospect that the very first one would be the student that didn’t seem to give a shit. “Okay uh… I can work with that. We’ll go over what you’ve learned this week in classes.” She decides. “I imagine the professor started with their usual yeah? Cell signaling systems, extracellular molecules, the basics yeah? Did you bring any of your class notes with you?”

He exhales heavily and runs a hand back over his hair. “The… pharmacokinetics.” He shrugs. “… and pharmacodynamics. And dose response. And toxicology. And dispens-… I mean all of it really.” He makes a sound like a snorting horse and shrugs a nonchalant shoulder. It’s infuriating. He’s always been an acutely intelligent boy but he just doesn’t care.

“Fair enough, can’t say I’ve never done it to try and cure a hangover.” She says with a little laugh. “So,”. She leans onto her elbows on the table to look over at him. “Pharmacology. Was there anything specific that was giving you a hard time last year?”

“…. Yep.” He says, relaxing back into his chair. He’s not in an actual lecture, he’s not handling animals… she’s not even a professor he doesn’t have to explain himself. “S’been a long morning.”

“Ahh, you’re that guy.” She nods in understanding. She had been told (warned) that there would be a student who had been assigned mandatory tutoring. She could smell the alcohol coming from that cup. “Coffees a bit Irish innit?” She comments, pushing her laptop to the side to get the pharmacology book out.

“My pharmacology lecturer told me to come.” He makes a point to demonstrate straight away that he’s not here by choice. Probably not the best way to introduce himself to someone. He tosses his books onto the desk and slumps into a chair, taking a belt of his whiskey-coffee. “So… here I am you can talk nerdy to me.”

She looks up from combing through her emails as the knock on the door comes. Well. This guy looked like shit. “Yeah, I’m Mitch.” She says with a little friendly smile, reaching to take her headphone out of her ear. “Are you here for the tutoring?”

Gods he feels like shit. His head still hurts. His guts are still churning. He’s exhausted and wants to go to bed but no. He’s in the fucking library of all places. Despite the crunch of his stomach he’s made himself a massive coffee, and tipped a decent measure of hair of the dog into it. After sitting and staring despondent at the wall for half an hour he finally picked himself up to come here and now he wishes he hadn’t. He can see her through the glass. A proper student. One of those calm, reassuring types of people that always get good grades and inherently annoy him. He has at least had a shower and got dressed so… he has that going for him. His ponytail looks sadder than usual. He knocks and opens the door at the same time. “… you Sunpiercer?”

Mitch hums quietly to herself as she makes her way through the library, even with her eyes cast down towards her phone she expertly navigates it. This place was like a second home to her, she could make her way through in the dark. She drops her heavy bag down into a chair by the study table with a heavy thud as she takes a seat. The chair groaning in protest at the weight. She continues to hum along and bob her head to the music filtering through the AirPod pressed into one of her ears, taking out a mountain of books and notebook, color coded pens, and powering up her laptop. Now to wait and see if anyone was going to show up.