Ellie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
notathreat) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
therookery2023-04-07 12:17 pm
notathreat) wrote in therookery2023-04-07 12:17 pm
Entry tags:
crystal;
FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Ellie
RECIPIENT: All y'all
NOTES: N/A
Hey, guys. It's Ellie. Uh, acting Griffon keeper for the next couple of months. And since we've got a lot of new people joining, I was thinking- it might be intimidating to just go up to the Aerie and introduce yourself to the griffons alone.
They're mostly just big babies, but I know they don't look like it.
[Also, said babies can take off an arm if they feel like, but details.]
Riftwatch has some griffon riders who take good care of them, but they have favorite people they bond with and a lot of them don't have anybody special.
So if you want to come up and meet them, let me know and I'll introduce you. And if anybody's interested in learning to ride -- griffons or horses, or whatever else is in the stables, I can teach you that too.
[ooc; Griffon riding is an AC Reward that can be purchased here until the system is updated! It can be done without threading with Ellie or anyone else about it, but if you want to thread it out heyo]
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I'm in! Jayce. Jayce Tal-- [ Hm, but that doesn't mean jackshit here. ] --nnnevermind, just Jayce. Anyway, I'd like to meet them.
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Hi, Just Jayce. I'm just Ellie.
Do you know your way to the aerie? It's the tower with the big holes for flying in and out of. I can meet you there, if you're free.
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Of course I do. Just give me a moment— and, eh, ask Ellie if she wants us to bring anything.
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[Who the hell is this guy that he can get Viktor up to the aerie? Either way, she sounds excited.]
Jayce, are you from Viktor's world?
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And Viktor is willing to take a break to accompany him. Jayce flashes him a boyish grin, then glances at the crystal. ]
Oh, yeah. We're partners. [ And clearly Ellie and Viktor know each other, so-- ] What's he told you about Hextech?
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[Slightly weird reaction to "partners" maybe but MOVING ON-]
Not that much, just that it's a magitech thing? V told me about the start of his work, the gravitational anomaly?
-- wait, was that your work?
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Subtly distracted in doing so that he doesn't really register the congratulations. Moving on, indeed, because she does know and that's cool, too.
Beaming now, waiting for Viktor. ]
Our work. He solved the final equation that made it all possible. I couldn't have done it without him.
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Without looking up, he waves a hand—yeah, yeah—then flips the book shut around the scraps of his notes and gathers up his crutch.]
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[But she'll wait until they're up. The aerie is large, open to the cool, blustery air. It's not too cold, no howling gales, and Ellie's on the lowest floor. She's a young woman, much freckled, medium height and slim, wiry build. There's a bow and arrows slung across her back, and her face and hands -- her only exposed skin -- have more than her fair share of scars.
She's sitting cross-legged on the ground with one of the griffon's heads splayed across her lap, and she's both both hands buried deep in the beast's feathers where they cover the eagle-like head, combing out great bunches of down with her fingers.
Viktor may recognize that it's not Artichoke, the one Ellie usually rides. He's apparently off somewhere.]
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When they arrive, the guilt creeping into his mental periphery at requesting Viktor accompany him (and therefore ascend several flights of stairs) is, for now, sandblasted by the childish wonderment blooming through Jayce's entire frame as he stares at the resting beast. Were he not also holding a bowl of unwanted cuts of meat and offal, he might look like a kid in front of a toy store window -- but it is more than glass that keeps him rooted to the spot.
Limb-ripping, screaming, flying, carnivorous horse, you see. Except it looks nothing like a horse.
After a noticeable delay in greeting, he glances at the woman properly, attention flickering across the scars on her face. ]
Ellie? Hey. So this is a griffon, huh? Not exactly what I was expecting.
[ He does not sound disappointed. ]
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As a pair they appear totally mismatched. Jayce looks like he goes outside, first of all. There's a good half a foot difference in height between them, too, and their respective constitutions occupy opposite ends of the scale. There's also a warmth to the way Viktor observes his friend's introduction to these creatures that, as far as Ellie is concerned, has never otherwise appeared.
As he avails himself of the first chairlike surface he encounters, still panting,]
Is Artie out?
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[Maybe a matter of perspective. Ellie grins as the griffon full-body leans into her, demanding more scratching, more de-fluffing of impacted feathers. Apparently there are some itchy places that only fingers can get to.
Ellie surveys the two of them with the same open curiosity she first looked at Viktor with, and like she usually does, she picks up on the warm familiarity between the two men. Viktor's made a couple of friends... ish. Friend shaped relationships with people. Her included. But Jayce is obviously different.]
Yeah, he's flyi-
[The griffon in her arms, however, has spotted the bowl of offerings and has leapt to its feet, making a beeline for Jayce and with one snap of its beak, has knocked the bowl right from his hands and to the floor. It leans down to screech happily and snatch a choice tidbit and swallow it whole.]
Hey! Rude-ass-
[Ellie catches up, pushing the side of the griffon's neck. It could easily overpower her, and tries to snake its head around her to grab another. It doesn't seem intent on doing her harm, just over-eager for the treats and massively outweighing all the humans in the room put together.]
Sorry- grab some and put it in your pockets if you don't want it all taken- at once- I swear they're worse than fucking toddlers. Come on, we have guests.
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The sheer difference in size and apparent threat between them is comical. A lopsided, amused smile tugs at his lips as he glances at Viktor. ]
It's all right. [ A cautious glance at the griffon -- deciding to keep his eye on it, just in case -- as he kneels down to retrieve some of the fallen meat (and grimacing just a bit from its texture) -- but there is an inherent sliver of trust automatically present that Ellie has not invited them into an unacceptably dangerous situation, wholly due to Viktor's ease in agreeing to come here in the first place. ]
Are they normally this food motivated?
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He is indeed at ease.]
You have so much in common already,
[he says, and turns his head to observe the turning of a feathered head somewhat nearby, its tufty plumage not entirely dissimilar to his own.]
1/2
Most of them, yeah. This is Ghostface, his favorite is sausages. So. Watch your fingers.
[Ellie gives Viktor a glance, seems to immediately clock something, and holds up her left hand -- it's wrapped, an archer's glove hiding most of the green glow of the anchor shard on her palm.
... she's also missing two of the smallest fingers of her left hand.]
He won't mean it, but-
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-don't worry, I'm just fucking with you.
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Prompted by Ellie's warning, his fingers curl a fraction tighter in their respective fists -- a sympathetic, wordless acknowledgment that spills into an utterly open wince encompassing every language of 'yikes' known to man when she flashes her hand-minus-two-digits.
It comes as great relief to hear that she is, indeed, fucking with him because he completely failed to respond in a polite manner. His shoulders slump as he exhales, then flashes Ellie a wry smile. ]
I can see why you two get along.
[ With a shallow, underhanded motion, he tosses a scrap of meat in Ghostface's direction. ]
So who's Artie?
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Short for Artichoke. One of the resident griffons. We've shared his saddle twice, Ellie and I.
[As Viktor says this, his glinting look moves from Ellie to Jayce in anticipation of some variety of incredulity. At the neck of his crutch, one hand briefly fans open its grip for a wiggle of bony fingers.]
Don't worry—sausages intact.
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[If Jayce's reaction didn't make that worth it, Viktor's grin sure does, and Ellie smiles back.
Ghostface horks down the treat, and a second later another griffon glides right down -- it's immediately clear that Ghostface is on the smaller end of the griffon size scale, because this one larger, light grey where Ghostface is white.]
Hey, Potato.
[There's a very fond note in Ellie's voice, and she reaches out to rub the newcomer's cheek, which is gladly received before the apparently-friendly light grey goes to investigate the new folks, Jayce especially.]
She really likes to cuddle, so be ready for her to try to lean on you.
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You rode one? Why didn't you tell me! [ Glancing between the two (humans), he asks, ] What's it like?
[ He'd ask more, but Potato's appearance prompts a giddy exhale, one part respectfully nervous and three parts wonderment for the sheer size difference between this griffon and Ghostface. And how friendly these two are! No, this is shaping up to be an entirely different reality than what he'd been expecting from the chatter on the crystals beforehand.
He receives Ellie's warning with a distracted uh huh, assuming the griffon is more interested in the meat in his hand, so when she literally does lean into him with Newfoundland energy, he freezes. Easy opportunity for Potato to pluck said meat out of his palm and swallow it down with a toss of her head.
Meanwhile, Jayce, with an open-mouthed smile, glances between Viktor and Ellie with a delighted look that says, Are you guys seeing this??
Let him have his moment, okay. ]
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[It is, for him, both marvellous and difficult. After that first trip to the signal tower he was forced to devote a full day to waiting out his spine's most intrusive complaints—but that look, the pure astonished delight of it, is precisely the sentiment that led him to try a second time. He doesn't expect he'll be doing it again.]
In all honesty, it surpasses any description I could give. You'll simply have to try it for yourself.
[A quick glance to Ellie: this is a thing he can suggest, yes? He's pretty sure it is, but this is her gig at present, so...]
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[Both Ellie and Viktor trail off, only for Ellie to grin, because yeah, that tracks, actually. There's nothing like flying but flying.]
Exactly.
[And Ellie's nodding at Viktor even before he finishes.]
The griffons don't belong to anybody. If one of them decides to let you ride them, then they're not going to let you fall.
[And she's not saying anything yet, but Potato sure made a beeline for Jayce, there. She's an affectionate girl, but Ellie hasn't seen her react to anybody quite that quickly before. Another glance at Viktor, and Ellie tips her head to one side on a hunch, turns on her heel to go and get Potato's lead from the rack. Wouldn't hurt to see what happens here.]
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Looking up to Ellie, he asks, ] How does that work? The... [ he trails off as he recognizes the equipment for what it is; his heart skips a beat.
He shoots a hopeful glance at Viktor. ]
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end!