Vault Hunters (Finished~)

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

“Oh!” Isa covered his mouth with a spread out hand before he placed it back on his hip. His bright smile became welcoming and cheery as his warm excited tone lured people in. “I’m glad you ask! This, my fine fellows, is a vulture! He became my companion after I saved him from severe wounds and we’ve been traveling for a couple of months now~” He stretched out his arm as if presenting an awesome creature. Like he was showing off to a friend about his greatest pride.

”You can come up to him if you want, just be sure to not touch under his chin and neck. He can get testy.” Isa warmly warned. “Oh! And careful of the chocobo smell!”

Pet Panda Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Southaven Village -
"High Noon, Windshear"​

"That . . . is no vulture my friend." said the Templar, hesitating, but then stepped forward to reach out to pat its beak.

"Greetings, stranger." said a female voice. Behind Isa came Naomi, looking up at Vulture-Charon with great interest, hand on her chin. "That is an intimidating specimen you have there. Would you happen to know if its feathers, or heart string, or any part of it really, have any medicinal properties? Because I happen to be open for trade if you have any dropped teeth or if you'd be willing to pluck some feathers for me."

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

Charon took to the sky at first at an angle away from the village and then from the direction of the sun entered without much noise. Even as a bird, his chest crawled a little at all of the attention. A dozen or so eyes trained on him, if he could sweat he would. A master of compartmentalization and dissociation however, he slipped rather smoothly into his bird-sona. When he landed, dust kicked up all around him, he waited obediently for Isa's lead, his head jerking around with abrupt, birdlike motions, scanning between the faces in the crowd, fixated on movement. He turned and preened some feathers contentedly, the little wing-thumbs wiggling, and when the guard approached, he turned his red eyes toward them and inspected cautiously for a moment, playing the part of mistrust for a few moments as the templar held his hand to test his mood. With his eyes more oriented to the side of his head, Charon-vulture turned his head to the side and merely stared dumbly toward the Templar. Deep from within his throat, a confused chortling noise, like a car engine turning over but a few octaves higher emanated in response to the Templar's extended hand.

When the woman approached and spoke, bird-Charon snapped his gaze to her quizzically, and then back to the Templar before him. Culminating in him turning his head downward so that the Templar might barely reach his beak, he acted similarly to how a lukewarm stray cat might react to the offer of pats. He maintained an arm's length between himself and the Templar and maybe shied away from his hand just a little bit but did not flee in any way. His gaze wandered without anxiety, as animals' do when they do not feel threatened.

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

Isa shrugged one shoulder with both of his hands facing up; he didn’t know what Charon was, but he’ll take advantage of it. “Seems like one to me, then again I’m not sure to be honest.” He replied to the unnamed templar, smiling charmingly as he petted Charon.

The redhead is pretty sure that Charon is probably feeling uncomfortable.

He peeked over his shoulder when a new voice piped up from behind and turned around fully. Ahhh~ this must be their target. “I don’t know. Are you magical, boy?” Isa asked Charon like a curious cat, reaching up to gently pat his side feathers with gloved hands. Knowing that he won’t answer—because yeah, animals—- Isa looked back at Naomi with a smile. “Sorry, ma’am. I don’t think I can pluck his feathers and he hasn’t dropped any teeth . . . That I know of.” He chuckled.

”You’re looking for medicinal items? For what, if you don’t mind me asking?” Isa asked curiously. Titling his head like an innocent golden retriever puppy.

Zer0 Pet Panda

 

[Zer0]

- Southaven Village -
"High Noon, Windshear"​

"We're paladins of Shiva who travel in search of medicinal ingredients. There's a new plague threatening our borders to the west, brought back by soldiers from our clash with the bandit lord of The Highlands. We've been searching for a cure since. We actually just came from Thousandcuts with some potential remedies. I thought that perhaps you came by there too with the kind of beast your traveling." she watched as the Templar who had been tending the chocobos patted the giant vulture's beak. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Acolyte Naomi, this is Sir Favian."

Isa and Vulture-Charon saw Moss casually, without any sound, slip out the caravan door, turn the corner, and disappear out of sight.

Favian gave a friendly wave at Isa.

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

He only gave the two Templar present a revolving dull bird-stare. Indeed, there are no nerves in his beak and so the man's gentle brushing over it was lost on him almost entirely. He shoved the critical querying in his mind, such as 'why even bother petting the beak of a bird?' and other such inner comments, away, and focused on bird-thoughts. Wind, movement, rat, movement, sky, Isa, something moved, pats, it's warm. It worked a little too well and he closed his red bird eyes, squatted down on the ground as though to roost, and began soaking up the sun's warmth. It filled him through and through and his feathers, without his realizing it, began to floof and he seemed on the verge of taking a nap. He even buried his head near one of his shoulders and sighed gently. Being a bird really is not so bad, the wispy lingering cloud of thought passed through his mind. He remembered seeing those printed sass shirts from that operose Tiefling and imagined one which read, "I want my Chocobo's life."

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

“Ahh~ I see.” Isa nodded as if he was interested. He peeked at Charon to see him starting to sleep and chuckled before paying attention to Naomi. “I heard about that illness. Something about them being crazy and seeing things? Yeah, the symptoms are nuts. Though . . . I feel like they’ll be okay soon.”

By they, he meant Bird villagers. Mwahahahah~ She seems nice and all, but . . . he still doesn’t believe in her . Skepticism is strong with him whenever it comes to Templars. Isa nodded and charmingly smiled at her and Favian, giving back the wave. “Hello~ my name’s Siolo Thompson. Twas nice to meet the both of you and your group.”

Then he looked at Charon again and huffed. “Well we better get going before he actually sleeps here. I don’t want him to think the chocobos here are his breakfast after a nap.” Isa patted Charon to catch his attention and gave him a bright smile.

”Come on, big guy. Let’s go somewhere else so ya can there more comfortingly.” Isa said to the disguised boatman and pulled himself up to mount on his back. “Let’s go, Buddy~”

Zer0 Pet Panda

 

[Zer0]

- Caravan -
"1st Level, Vanar, Night Time"​

"They will be." nodded Naomi determinedly. "In the meantime, stay away from The Highlands, friend, and stay safe."

"It was very nice to meet you too, Mister Thompson, and your very unique pet. If you feel like coming by our temple in Vanar, I'd be interested in learning how you nursed him back to health. We know a lot about people medicine, but not much about beast medicine." said Favian. And with that the Templars and entire Southaven village watched Isa and Vulture-Charon go with a couple of daring kids running beside them until they took flight. All in all that mission went pretty well.

* * * *​

Later that night, Moss returned from Shiva's temple restlessly excited, with a bulky backpack.

"I've got the panacea." He carefully placed the bag down the caravan kitchen table. "The grandmaster's palace is on lockdown. People think Naomi brought back a curse from her expedition and a lot of the people in the throne room got sick, but Grisham reassured me that they're all going to be fine, so! Here it is." He took out a small ornate wooden box from his bag and a second smaller one, then opened them. Blue smoke rose, and through the haze they saw what seemed to be smoking blue marbles on a bed of ice crystals. Five inside the box, and one inside the smaller one. "This one's for you, Charon, thank you for all your help." he pushed the smaller box towards him.

Moss looked back into the bigger box and, as though he was handling glass, delicately lifted it up, gazing at the marbles. He looked at Isa with restless hope, as though he had the sea in his hands and longed to dive in. Closer to bringing his friends back home, the next step now was seeing if Panacea was really going to work on him.

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

Charon, probably like Isa, could not stave off expressing his nervousness at Moss' absence. He alternated between pacing around and chewing on the sides of his thumbs. He did not mutter to himself and did his best not to irritate Isa with his restlessness. Doubts raced through his mind the entire time. How Moss ever convinced him not to come was a complete mystery in retrospect and he should have been floating as a result of the frequency with which he was kicking himself for ever having agreed to let him into a dangerous area on his own. Never having seen Moss 'in action,' With varying opinions of Moss' capability, his anxiety only fluctuated the entire time. All of the Templar's known capabilities coursed through his head and he kept seeing Moss succumbing to a huge crowd, or instead, with deft cunning, surgically entering and leaving the mirror without ever having been seen. It barely mattered how long he was gone, it felt like hours of agonizing uncertainty. As soon as Moss opened the door he sighed out of relief, rushed to the door to close it behind him and glare out the window for a few moments until Moss began speaking.

Seeing nothing, he turned around and furrowed his brow at the box, intrigued by the design and the contents. When Moss slid the smaller box toward him, he glanced between him and the bauble confusedly and worked his jaw for a moment before opening his mouth.

"I..." he paused and chewed on his lower lip. Of course he shouldn't take it. He was only coming up with ideas, a low-effort endeavor for him, he has plenty of those. As far as actually doing something, he thought back to the incident where he turned into a bird. It was frighteningly fun to do. Pushing past the residual embarrassment; Isa had to snap him out of his bird-brainedness by hitting him a few times and startling him, an event he vowed to study and never repeat. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth, "don't..." but stopped himself. The world is a dangerous place. Recalling also the branching possibilities presented by all the mistakes he made, he had no responses to being poisoned and deranged. He had no responses to receiving mortal wounds. With a sigh, he gently reached forward, glowering at the object, feeling a bit of his principled nature slipping away, and closed the lid, sliding it into his grasp and making a stunned face, "thank you, I am glad to be of assistance and twice as relieved that you're back without so much as a scratch," he said questioningly, leaning to the side and looking around Moss for any errant bloodstains or cuts.

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

The redhead waited for Moss in the caravan, anxious if he will return. Though he sat still in front of the fire place, meditating to calm his racing nerves. Honestly, Charon is reflecting what he is feeling at the moment. Waiting to do the same, but he has to stay calm. After all, Moss can handle himself-

The door opened, causing Isa to snap his head around, and saw how excited he looked. Oh! They got it?! “That’s wonderful, Moss!” He did feel bad for Naomi, however this is nothing new for the redhead. Not having enough empathy for strangers, much less Templars. Yes, he does have a bias and it’s hard to believe even their most dulce of promises and words. The redhead pushed himself off the ground to walk over towards the merman and boatman, watching with curiosity as blue smoke oozed out of the box. He raised a brow at the sight of marbles on top of ice crystals. He suppose the ice crystals are to keep it cooled.

Isa smiled gratefully at Charon and nodded when Moss gave him the smaller box. He helped a lot, whenever he believes it or not. The plan went smoothly and they were able to help others after the war. Though when Charon pointed about scratched, the redhead raised both of his brows before furrowing them. Staring at Moss as he silently searched as well. Now worried that something did happened.

Zer0 Pet Panda

 

[Zer0]

- Next Day -
"North of Vanar, " January 14, 601""​

"I'm alright." Moss reassuringly took off his cloak and pulled his sleeves up showing his arms, and turned around for their inspection. "Grisham held his end of the bargain. Right . . ." he stared at the marbles. "I think I'll . . . drink this once we're out of Vanar. I don't know what's going to happen when the curse is broken, but I don't want to attract the attention of the Templars." He closed the bigger box. "Let's get out of here."

The next day when they were safely away, parked next to a vineyard, Moss asked Charon what were his plans now. He told him that he and Isa had to go back to the goliath they left in the sea up north, and then stop by some safe distance away from The Highlands to check up on some sick friends. Then they planned to travel back to Barad Eithel to deliver one panacea to L. Moss knew Isa wanted to free Titan's soul when she was done doing what she wanted to do, so they were probably going to stay there for a while and help her out, before finally going to the Forbidden Forest. They offered to drop him off wherever he liked.

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

"Oh, I am returning to the Drow in Windshear," Charon shot back immediately, now wearing, rather than a thin and billowy linen thing, a well trimmed and thicker, still linen, top and legs. He was munching on a grape tart. Holding up a finger to swallow, he gulped and grunted out, "as soon as possible, before some other catastrophic event buries me in tasks," he complained, glaring at nothing in particular before vanishing the remaining two thirds of the tart with an oddly birdlike snap. Dusting his hands off vehemently, he added, "and I shall never again set foot in that submersible coffin. While I am surely willing to take a short tour before disappearing for the forseeable future under the earth, I simply wish to go..." he trailed off for a moment, peering at the ground, "well, I might have said home if only out of excitement for the prospect of settling down somewhere for a period of time. It is not home, yet. It is a residence, I must hope, and I will go there."

He gave a concerned look to a corner and wiped his hands on his pants absently; nothing dispels the illusion of demure formality like concerns over the future.

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

As soon the caravan left Vanar and the trio were talking about where Charon would like to go, Isa smiled mischievously. Did Charon missed Lysanthir? He probably does~

“In that case, we can drop ya off to the closest spot in Windshear. If that’s okay?” Isa asked at the end, not knowing if Moss was okay with that or not. Same with Charon.

Zer0 Pet Panda

 

[Zer0]

- Next Day -
"North of Vanar, " January 14, 601"​

"I'm alright with it, but Charon doesn't want to get in the infernal coffin." Moss pointed a thumb behind him to the north.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

The redhead snorted. “Ahh. Right.” Isa pondered on what they should do for Charon.

Zer0 Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

"You may bid me friendly goodbye once we reach the shore, at which point I will take the form of..." he stopped and peered up and to the right for a moment before snapping back, "something large and aquatic, I wager. I do not know for I have never used that form before. But I will use it now. Rather, not now, when we reach the shore," he instructed them imperiously. The finality of it was fueled largely by his hated for the submarine goliath, which he has made great effort to portray at every opportunity. He fully intended on informing Lysanthir of his safe travails and also of his impending arrival on their shores once again. Charon jumped and put his finger up, proclaiming "ah!"

Turning to his side and reaching into a tiny pouch tucked into his sash, he produced a single, tiny sage green nub. It appeared to be a piece of some kind of xerophyic plant, perhaps order Crassulaceae, a succulent. He reached forward, toward Moss, with the bit dangling between his index finger and thumb. He peered at Moss expectantly, waiting for him to take it, just a twinkle of eagerness in his gaze.

 

[Zer0]

- Next Day -
"North of Vanar, " January 14, 601"​

"What . . . what is this?" Moss carefully took the plant, glanced up at the top of Isa's head for some reason, and then looked back at the small chubby plant.

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

Isa nodded, grinning. “Guess we should drop ya off there then.“ Then he noticed how Moss looked at the top of the head as Charon offered a cute little chubby plant. He leaned in close to have a better look at it. Intently listening as he silently wondered what it was.

Zer0 . Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

"This, so long as you keep it alive, it is a magical means of communication. If you pump enough manna into it, you should intuit what precisely is going on. Be careful, though, this isn't something one uses for an emergency, it requires power enough to tire out a fledgeling. I have its sister with me. It is, however, more efficient than a message spell, for it transmits sound for a brief while, rather than transmitting a number of words. And, if you propagate it, you'll have a nice litter of xenophylic plants... though, they shall not transmit any sound like this one will," he explained proudly. He might as well have been talking about his child. With a gleeful air, portrayed by his arched eyebrows (which he plucked since last they saw him???) and a closed-lipped smile.

 

[Zer0]

- Moss Adamaris -
"North of Windshear, January 16, 601"​

"Well this is handy. Thank you, Charon." and Moss went upstairs to put the small chubby thing in their garden. Now he was wondering . . . can Isa's sprout be propagated?

They continued their journey back to the way they came and two days later found them next to the mouth of a wide river on the same shore they came out of the goliath from. They set up camp and Moss waited until night time before he dived into the ocean, and less than half an hour later, after waiting for Isa or Charon's clear signal to emerge, the vast silhouette of the serpentine giant rose from the depths. Its odd beak thrust forward into the sand and opened, then Moss came out from the cavernous stony bone throat with a small pack.

"Here, a gift for you, Charon, just a little something to give some additional flavor to your meals for a few days." Inside were tightly sealed bottles of desert jams with bits of chopped fruit, deep fried boar rind, and pickled crunchy vegetables that went well as a side dish for grilled meat. "If you ever find yourself traveling on the southern shores of the Forbidden Forest, the next few months, come stop by Montagna al Tramonto or Cascatta del Oceano, you might find the food caravan set up there and I'll treat you to a meal. You can bring Lysanthir too."

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

Isa grinned. That’s useful. Who knew a plant can do that. “Yes, thank ya, Charon.” As Moss walked up the stairs, he looked back at the boatman and decided to ask something. “Have ya always carried plants on ya like that?“ He is curious. He can imagine Charon carrying mini plants in his pockets now, having a tiny garden in his cloak and pants‘ pockets, just filled with different plants species.

Now he wondered if that was true and wanted to test his pants of how he kept them alive without dirt.

Not that he would test them without Charon’s permission . . . He might find him weird for that. Not just him, but Moss too- Isa shook his head. Yeah, definitely weird. In so many different ways, that’s very strange. He needs to stop thinking now. His imagination is running wild. They continued their way back to the shores after two days and made camp. Isa made sure to check the surrounding area to see if they were followed or if someone else stumbled upon their camp before giving Moss the signal to come back up again. Sure enough, he did with the serpentine-like figure.

Isa sat by the driver’s seat of the caravan, having it to go inside the open mouth as Moss and Charon talked. He parked it right by one of the many windows and got out. Calmly walking out to stretch and hummed from the cracks popping. Then he walked over to the pair, overhearing the last bit of their conversation and grinned like a pleased cat.

“Yes, please do visit us sometimes.” Isa chuckled. “We’ll do the same and visit ya and Lysanthir while we’re traveling.”

Pet Panda Zer0

 

[Pet Panda]

With a sigh and a wide eyed look toward the ground, he responded lowly, "no, I never got around to figuring out how to sustain plants without soil. And let us see how effective I am on convincing him of such a thing. I shall try, though I am not sure how disposed Lysanthir is to a vacation," he lamented before a warm but pained smile spread over his face and he reached forward and picked up the pack, peering inside -- interested, not greedy. With a deep sigh, he let his head loll to the side and shook it faintly, "I spoiled myself with the quiet life. I had nobody to say goodbye to; now I am feeling uncomfortable. I believe that I would find it desirable to fashion a giant house and put all of my acquaintances in it. How selfish," he mused out loud, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

 

[Katsuya]

- Isa Bianchi -​

Isa deadpanned. Why is Charon such a downer? He reached out and gingerly poked his forehead. “Don’t assume that. Ya might never know, he’d enjoy some vacation with ya after ya guys finish at your new potential home.“ He poked his forehead again with his nimble finger.

”And it’s okay to be selfish about that. We’ll miss ya too.” Isa grinned. “We’re friends, after all.”

Pet Panda Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Moss Adamaris -
"North of Windshear, January 16, 601"​

Moss nodded at what Isa said.

Katsuya Pet Panda

 

[Pet Panda]

"Well, you," he paused, "I" another pause, during which he placed his index finger across his lip and thought for a moment before returning finally, "that is true," in acquiescence. Shaking his head and waving off the doleful airs.

It seemed odd to him that he should let himself feel such a petulant sensation in his chest. The pain of leaving home was slow and trailing, the pain of finding the world stung hot like a torn scab, and the pain of dying was like laying in thunder. This was a pain echoing from the near future. Those pains made him feel old and brittle, but this pain makes him feel like a child, clinging to his professor's thigh while the wide-faced mountain trolls contorted their doughy features, babbling about how odd freshly made humans appeared. The inevitability and lack of control, rather than regret, lodged in his throat. He stared over the indigo, twinkling ocean, its shattered face milling endlessly, the same vast and redundant chaos which seemed to rear its head every moment he broke into a new chapter. He stared past it, to where he might imagine the shores of Windshear, which he longs for, the prospect of having a place. Indeed, he should not feel so petulant. He looked down when a wave broke over his knees and kneaded his stance, the cold water tickling him with sand.

A wet dripping sound approached the two, and Charon opened his mouth to work out a goodbye, but found himself unable to. It was not a matter of emotional blockage, like when someone's breath hitches delivering bad news. It was as though his brain hid the word from him. Instead, he sighed through his nose and bowed, not a formal bow. This time it was at a funny angle and his arms flourished sarcastically. He might have been making fun of himself. Lolling his head around, he huffed, "I am glad to have been of service, and I would ask that you resist the temptation to lead dangerous lives but I am in no place to do so, for this is the sort of world that asks of us, danger and adventure. Instead I will warn you that if either of you push up daisies before me, I shall be very cross indeed," he commanded, holding up a warning, grandmotherly finger before turning sadly and jogging to the ocean, perhaps the first time they, or anyone he has come to know in the past decade, would have seen him run. His linen-clad form trudged out and out until head and shoulders merged with the sea. Then, where he might have been, a sleek black dome breached the ocean and a column of water sprayed high above before it disappeared once more, pointed unmistakably in the direction of Windshear.