[PRP] Friends In High Places (Vesper x Kat)

[Shia bean]

Imagine what a strange and formidable sight The Veil would be to an unsuspecting mortal. Flickering lights, warping spectacles, and shadows beyond it all, pushing in and out of view like hatchlings twisting their shell membranes. Things wanted *out*, which was terrifying enough, but plenty of things *also* wanted *in* and that could very easily leave one to wonder... 'but why'?

Vesper, an unsuspecting mortal herself, spent a long time observing the void from high upon a branch far across the way. Her form was fluffed up from the mental stimulation, which intensified the moment a creature finally stepped out from beyond... the beyond? At that moment, she had nearly gasped, controlling herself in the nick of time... a tiny black speck pressed against the rotting form of a withering tree, hoping to whatever Gods were out there that she would go unnoticed.

You see... Vesper had come all this way to die. The Redwoods were said to house a blight, per cautionary tale, and she had intended to succumb to it. She believed that her parents would suffer eternally knowing her death was on their hands... because they had abandoned her, of course. (Although to clarify, they had merely sent her from the nest to find her own way. A very natural and beneficial practice but one that served to be Vesper's greatest nightmare...) But upon arriving in what she expected to be a terrible wasteland of decay, she found *this* instead… And it was the sort of sign she had not quite prepared herself for but would gladly welcome. So now was not the ideal time to perish.

As she perched with her focus honed upon the colors in the distance, only now realizing that they were attached to a large pile-up of stone, Vesper waited for the next creature to step through this 'Veil'. She had questions, like: Where were they coming from? What did they know? Were they like herself? Or were they so much more?

She wanted for answers and some how knew that when she got them, she'd also find her a new goal.  

[Krysin]

The ripple of energy that ran through her as she crossed over the border of the veil drew a soft gasp from her throat. Unbeknownst to her, this would be the last time for quite some months that she would be able to freely cross through the veil.between the world of Kells and Irithyll. None would be able to predict the fragility of the barrier, nor its strength. But the call to Kells was too strong for Katiti'manina to ignore. There was business to tend to and opportunity around every corner. She would be a fool to waste it, and she was no fool. Already she had begun to lay the groundwork towards wealth and power, unquestionable by those on either side of the veil... in time. It would take harder work yet to achieve all that she desired, but she was no stranger to it.

The world of Kells was fast paced and invigorating, mundane in some aspects but she would not allow that fact to subtract from its potential. Compared to Irithyll, Kat found this side of the veil to be far more interesting.

She was not left alone with her thoughts for long. Even as she stepped into Kells her gaze was searching over her surroundings. The veil itself had drawn plenty of attention in the time it made itself known to this world, and she never knew what could be lying in wait for her. It almost seemed as if the world were silent, that life itself had vacated the area for whatever reason (she certainly knew that she would not be the reason). While Kat could enjoy the peace, she would prefer otherwise. So she stepped forward with purpose, intent on leaving the veil behind her. After all, she had a certain dire wolf to catch up with.

The ethereal nearly missed seeing Vesper at all - her dark feathers served her well to blend into the forest background. But the shine of blue eyes watching her proved impossible to overlook. Silence greeted Vesper, and it seemed like Katiti'manina was giving the avian the chance to speak first.  

[Shia bean]

She was riding the rush of adrenaline when at last something from the beyond shifted. She was ready to call their attention over the moment they stepped through, eager to get her questionnaire started only… her breath caught instead, and a wave of shock washed over her; successfully stunning the tiny creature in her place. Vesper expected it to be a wolf, of course. Anything otherwise and she might have stalled her inquiries… And she had come to assume that their colors were uncharacteristically bright due to some effect beyond the Veil, so that shouldn’t have been a surprise either and yet… here she was, surprised. This was too impressive not to warrant gawking.

The stranger’s reds reminded Vesper of the sunrise, her whites as crisp as snow and endlessly long as they stretched across lithe limbs. Those eyes were the catalyst, though, like the icy waters to the North… the ones the crow had heard plenty of but never had the chance to see; until now. Gripped by her awe, stunned into silence, Vesper, too, let it reign as if expectant… and perhaps to some, it could seem an intentional game of dominance.

But those eyes of this stranger had fallen over the entirety of this space before finding her, searching for something that she may or may not have found. When too much time had passed the crow would be the first to break, feathers ruffled to stave away her previous state.

“What's it like?” Her voice, albeit smooth, was that of a young and immature creature. She did her best to hide it, trying to drop the octaves but adrenaline was rushing in again. "What lies beyond the veil? Will you tell me?"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. Boldness and curiosity were always something that Katiti'manina could admire in others, though that hardly made her more or less inclined to answer said curiosities. "Fly through, and you can find out for yourself," she responded as if that were the most obvious course of action. Of course, she did not want to chase the little bird off, and so the words that followed were ones of caution. "Though I would not advise it. It is beautiful beyond compare, dangerous in many ways that the unprepared fail to recognize. So, yes, you can fly through. You may not want to come back out... you may be unable to." The crow had come so far, had already seen that something existed beyond this realm. Katiti'manina's tongue became looser in response to the small bit of knowledge Vesper possessed.

"I can tell you much, but I am loathed to do so freely. But I am sure a creature with such sharp sight and keen wit can offer me something in return for the secrets of the veil." Her flattery was not baseless, and she rarely complimented others in general. But, she would be foolish not to recognize a potential ally, someone who could take to the skies and cover a far greater distance than those bound to land. A raven could be very useful. She just had to be sure that this raven was the right one to bargain with.

"So, I suppose the decision lies upon your wings. The answers you seek are within your grasp, you merely have to decide how to grasp it." The Ethereal slowly lowered herself down onto her haunches, her gaze unwavering as it settled on Vesper. "I am Katiti'manina, and any other time I would have perhaps offered to guide you through... but that is off the table for now. I have business to attend to here, and I will not make a promise to another that I do not believe I can keep."