[ The stew arrives before Viktor does, and Emet-Selch allows himself enough time to be quietly pleased by a bit of good planning and timing. The staff who bring the meal, on the other hand, seem quietly perplexed, because no one has seen Emet-Selch return, nor leave, and the rooms had been empty for tidying.
For all the issues he has with this shard - and oh, there are many - the stew was one he had particularly enjoyed the few times he'd come here. Garlemald's was better, of course, but this was close enough to passable. The meat is fattier than usual, which Emet-Selch chooses to take as a slight from the lordling and resolves with the faintest effort and aether. On the tray are several loaves of bread, still warm, wrapped in cloth, and an assortment of nuts, cheeses, and other snack fare. When the table is set he turns to the fireplace, stoking the dull glowing embers there and adding fresh logs, fodder, until it fairly blazes and the room goes from miserably cold to just chill, warming.
He could do with a bath again, but it isn't strictly speaking necessary just yet; more than that, perhaps a little embarrassingly, he would much prefer Viktor joins him. Clambering back into bed bath-warm and beneath clean sheets before they deal with the inevitability of tomorrow sounds downright pleasant.
The sun sets outside, and rises indoors the moment Viktor arrives, making a beeline to press icy cold hands into the cloth covering Emet-Selch's torso. It is, he thinks wryly, not nearly thick enough for how chilled Viktor's fingers are. This close Emet-Selch is able to look him over - no new wounds, no bruises, but the faint scent of magic on him, just enough it makes his nose itch, threatens a sneeze before he marshalls himself back under control. ]
If only there were a surplus of fire crystals and a fireplace one could warm themselves with.
[ He doesn't make any effort to wrest himself away, though, allowing Viktor to bask in the scant warmth he can offer for a few moments while he mulls over the answer. ]
An old man attempting to teach fragments about a past even he did not truly comprehend. The rest is as I thought. Youths, following one they considered a teacher, now lacking one. We can speak on it tomorrow. [ Tonight, he will allow them to find the body, to grieve a man taken by old age instead of battle, and in the morning, he thinks they will be more amenable to a different tack. ] Were you successful? If you've finished thawing there is stew, and the bread ought to still be warm. I would like to eat before it goes cold.
[ As if either of them could not warm it back up again. ]
EATS IT
For all the issues he has with this shard - and oh, there are many - the stew was one he had particularly enjoyed the few times he'd come here. Garlemald's was better, of course, but this was close enough to passable. The meat is fattier than usual, which Emet-Selch chooses to take as a slight from the lordling and resolves with the faintest effort and aether. On the tray are several loaves of bread, still warm, wrapped in cloth, and an assortment of nuts, cheeses, and other snack fare. When the table is set he turns to the fireplace, stoking the dull glowing embers there and adding fresh logs, fodder, until it fairly blazes and the room goes from miserably cold to just chill, warming.
He could do with a bath again, but it isn't strictly speaking necessary just yet; more than that, perhaps a little embarrassingly, he would much prefer Viktor joins him. Clambering back into bed bath-warm and beneath clean sheets before they deal with the inevitability of tomorrow sounds downright pleasant.
The sun sets outside, and rises indoors the moment Viktor arrives, making a beeline to press icy cold hands into the cloth covering Emet-Selch's torso. It is, he thinks wryly, not nearly thick enough for how chilled Viktor's fingers are. This close Emet-Selch is able to look him over - no new wounds, no bruises, but the faint scent of magic on him, just enough it makes his nose itch, threatens a sneeze before he marshalls himself back under control. ]
If only there were a surplus of fire crystals and a fireplace one could warm themselves with.
[ He doesn't make any effort to wrest himself away, though, allowing Viktor to bask in the scant warmth he can offer for a few moments while he mulls over the answer. ]
An old man attempting to teach fragments about a past even he did not truly comprehend. The rest is as I thought. Youths, following one they considered a teacher, now lacking one. We can speak on it tomorrow. [ Tonight, he will allow them to find the body, to grieve a man taken by old age instead of battle, and in the morning, he thinks they will be more amenable to a different tack. ] Were you successful? If you've finished thawing there is stew, and the bread ought to still be warm. I would like to eat before it goes cold.
[ As if either of them could not warm it back up again. ]