OOS 48

Notunoth 26, at Cecily’s apartment in Wolis, early in the morning the day after returning to Wolis from Amberhall, immediately before the arrival of Seresh. It occurred during session 25. 
== Transcript == 
Gloom: 
In the black pre-dawn in Wolis, heavy clouds threaten a late snow or early rain. A potted sapling sits on Cecily's balcony, its budding branches rattling. Ondo stands near the rail, watching but not entirely Seeing the sleepless city below. Wrapped about him is Akaros, billowing in the wind about 20% more than would be appropriate in the chill breeze. 
Akaros: 
"You're carrying a lot of weight." Akaros says. 
Ondo: 
Ondo takes a moment or two to respond. "I'll finish sorting my compartments later," he says monotone. "I thought you liked the clutter." 
Akaros: 
"I'm not talking about in here, though I did take the liberty of arranging your tools by how pleasing the shapes were to me." 
"Your mind is burdened." 
Ondo: 
Ondo grips the railing. "Isn't it always? So what?" 
Akaros: 
"It's distracting." 
"Your process is usually straightforward, but you're stuck in a loop, ruminating on the same thoughts over and over and over again. It's like someone's got 'What's New Pussycat' on loop." 
"As annoying as it is, I'm convinced it must be all the more troublesome for you." 
Ondo: 
"...I am ....trying." 
"To quiet it." 
Akaros: 
"Your effort is observed, but clearly you're missing something. I might be able to read your thoughts, but perhaps it would help to articulate your current troubles out loud. There's naught but us and the wind up here." 
"I find the wind is a very nice conversation partner when I am troubled." 
Ondo: 
"...I feel wrong. I'm worried that if I try to let it out, I'm going to... destroy something." 
Akaros: 
"Oh no, not destroying something." Akaros says flatly 
"Do it." 
Ondo: 
Ondo lets go of the railing, turns robotically and picks up the potted sapling. "It's just... it's so sad it's funny, isn't it? Everyone knew, right from the very beginning. That I was a person. And I kept making excuse after excuse, for them." He stares at the plant. "Because if everyone else could see it, why couldn't the elves?" 
Ondo hefts the pot backwards, and hurls into into the alleyway below. 
He immediately feels a twinge of guilt. 
Akaros: 
"Smash!" Akaros exclaims as the pot shatters, violet energy crackling across the cape. "Why do you care now what they thought then?" 
Ondo: 
"Because they created me. I trusted everything they said, everything they taught me." Ondo turns and kicks a stool across the balcony. "We all did." 
"Evelynn was right, we could have walked out, but we would have stayed anyway." 
He takes off his mask, gripping it tightly in one hand. "Does that make me brainwashed?" 
Akaros: 
"Maybe?" 
"Why do you think you would have stayed?" 
Ondo: 
"They were everything we had. We - I - I'm not sure if we were supposed to love them. But now I don't think I'm the only one who did." 
Ondo's hand clenches so hard it scratches into the wood. 
"They didn't... need to do what they did. They didn't need to repurpose the ones who were malf- who were feeling. We would have stayed." 
Ondo extends his arm, and with his free hand, eldritch blasts his mask over the balcony. 
Akaros: 
"kaboom!" Akaros chortles "They couldn't conceive of it. If you were them, if you were faced with the reality that maybe, just maybe, you'd accidentally-on-purpose created and subjugated an entire people, what would you do with that?" 
"I know what it is to subvert purpose. I've been doing it nearly all my long, long life. All of us have been." 
"We were never made to be the lords of dragons and mortals, yet here we are." 
"or were. Whatever." 
Ondo: 
"What were you made to do?" 
Akaros: 
Akaros pauses "We were intended to be caretakers in the Dread Creator's stead, or so the Planet intended. We were conceived when he was first overthrown, and incubated until we were required. We were used to fend off Meyrin's initial onslaught, and have in fact taken care of very little since." 
Ondo: 
"Why not? ...It isn't what you wanted?" 
Ondo sounds genuinely curious, but also slightly distracted as he reaches into the slot where his carving tools are held. 
Akaros: 
"Want is such a strange concept." Akaros says "We have always just done. I don't think any of us ever worried about want. Except maybe Tiamat. Or Nviroth." 
Ondo: 
"I can understand that." 
He lifts one arm and twists around to get an angle underneath the cloak, where his OTT-0 identification number is carved as runes into the stone. The markings are already faded from 900 years of wear, but with his tool he begins to scratch and chip away the rest of it. 
Akaros: 
"I am the Ascendant Dragon of Destruction, regardless of what the Planet, the gods, or whomever else wants." 
"Surely you are defined by more than who made you. More than "currently occupied by a really cool dragon." Who are you?" 
Ondo: 
Chink. Chink. "I don't know." Chink. Chink. Chink. 
He examines the chisel in his hand. "I've only been away from the elves for... a pittance of time. I've always been a tool. Even pretending to be a person, all that I know how to do is try and serve someone else." 
Chink. Chink. 
Akaros: 
"Then maybe you should just serve me." 
Ondo: 
"How do you say '[HIGH PITCHED GARBLING BLEEP] off', in draconic?" 
Akaros: 
"I think it's 'Fus Ro Dah'. The point being, maybe start with what you don’t want, and work your way up from there." Akaros has no mouth, but he is grinning. 
Ondo: 
Ondo hates that Akaros has made a good point. "Process of elimination. Fine. I don't want to feel this way anymore." 
"I don't want to be beholden to thinking about what they would have wanted from me." 
"I don't want all of these processes looping on repeat in my head, contradicting themselves. Pulling me deeper into confusion." 
"I don't want that I want them back. I don't want that I want someone to give me orders." 
He brushes aside the last of the dust over where his identification number was. 
"I don't want... any of this." Ondo raises his chisel, and jams it into the space on his arm where his energy sword activates from. 
Akaros: 
"It's a good thing we got that new fancy sword from RIG, then." Akaros muses "It was going to be awkward telling them that we already had one, thank you." 
"I can understand wanting things the way they were." 
"I hate it here." 
"I mean, you're alright, but it's loud here. There are people everywhere. I just want to float around three miles in the air and just not." 
"But where were we." 
"Ah." 
"Do you think of your time with Evelyn- as a child- do you feel like you were just some elf's tool, then?" 
Ondo: 
Ondo doesn't seem to respond to most of what Akaros says, bringing the tool down again until a small piece snaps off of his arm with a crack. He lets it fall to the ground. "Evelynn was different." 
Akaros: 
"She was." 
"She seemed pretty cool." 
"I wonder if there were others." 
Ondo: 
This gives him pause. "It doesn't matter. They're gone. There's only me and her." 
Akaros: 
"They are." 
"They're gone." 
"Nothing you do or don't do now will matter to them, and what they would think of it shouldn't matter to you." 
Ondo: 
"Then why am I so angry. Who am I even supposed to be angry with." 
"The elves didn't know what they were doing. Does that make it alright?" 
"I'm just supposed to move on? I mean of course I am. Whatever they did I'm supposed to just go be a person now." Ondo is almost shouting. 
Akaros: 
"What are your other options?" 
"Whatever they did, you persist." 
"Whatever they didn't do, you're you." 
A shadowy tendril picks up the fallen laser sword and stashes it away. "You threw it away so you won't mind if I take this, right? It's shiny." 
Ondo: 
"Do whatever you want," he grumbles. 
Akaros: 
"I can't tell if you're getting it or if you're just being a grump." 
"But I will, anyway." 
Ondo: 
Ondo seems deflated almost. He leans against the railing, looking down at the street below and the bits of smashed pottery. 
"How do I even trust my own thought processes, now? I was wrong about everything." 
Akaros: 
"So what?" 
"Literally everyone around you has been wrong about everything forever." 
"It's kind of amazing in a way." 
Ondo: 
Ondo reaches up to rub his face but it's not there so his hand just goes straight through and grabs onto the prongs. 
He hates that Akaros is right. 
And also that Akaros is at least somewhat linked to his thoughts and knows that he knows that he is right. 
Akaros: 
"There there." 
"I knew I was right anyway." 
Ondo: 
"I'm going to throw you off the balcony next. I'll find a way." 
Akaros: 
Akaros Laughs "Good. I was worried you were gonna be stuck being all mopey." 
"Vale-Ondo wasn't an experience I was looking forward to." 
"Speaking of, I think I sense someone approaching." 
Vale: 
sleepy vale approaches the balcony and peeks out at ondo 
Ondo: 
Ondo looks up at Akaros' words and sees Vale. He is missing a face, the Akaros-hood flapping over an empty darkness. 
Vale: 
"um?" 
Ondo: 
Panic. 
"Everything's fine!" 
Akaros: 
Acloakaros takes the dismembered energy sword, turns it on and swooshes it around, making lightsaber woosh noises with his... mouth? Don't think to hard about it. 
Ondo: 
Ondo straightens up in surprise and twists around, trying to wrestle the disconnected sword out of the cloak's grasp. "Give me that!" 
Akaros: 
"It's mine." Akaros says, twisting it out of reach [Make a Strength or Dexterity Check] 
Ondo: 
[5] 
Gloom: 
The energy sword deactivates, and is whisked away to somewhere someone with a nervous system might notice 
Vale: 
"....i never gave any indication i thought things were not fine. though now, um.....what is going on." 
Ondo: 
"Nothing. Nothing's going on. I'm uh... doing some remodeling." 
Vale: 
stares at ondo 
Ondo: 
Ondo stares at Vale. 
"Do you need something?" 
Vale: 
"where did the sword go." 
Ondo: 
"I don't know. Akaros did something with it." 
Vale: 
"..." 
"....why." 
Akaros: 
"He gave it to me." 
Vale: 
to ondo "where is your mask." 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"Don't worry about it." 
"I'm making a new one." 
Vale: 
".....okay." 
Ondo: 
"Everything is normal," says Ondo, not breaking his gaze with Vale while he scoots debris off the balcony behind him with his foot. 
Akaros: 
"Technically nothing is different than it was before." 
Vale: 
"what." 
incredulous "what happened." 
Ondo: 
"What he said." 
Akaros: 
"what what happened?" 
Vale: 
ignores akaros. looks at ondo 
Ondo: 
Ondo smacks the cloak. 
Vale: 
"i reiterate. what happened." 
Ondo: 
"It doesn't matter. Everything's fine," Ondo says, with some exasperation. 
Vale: 
opens her mouth to say something, then doesnt 
pauses for a moment 
"okay." 
"can i sit out here." 
Ondo: 
Ondo's voice softens, "...Of course." 
Vale: 
changes into true renn as she plops down in a seat 
Ondo: 
Oh no it's conversation time. 
Ondo stands there opening and closing his hands. He looks around at the trashed balcony. The sky is starting to lighten. 
"...So how have you been?" 
Vale: 
"everything is normal." mockingly, with a slight smirk 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"I deserve that." 
Akaros: 
"Everything is Normal" Akaros parrots, setting a stool upright. 
Ondo: 
Ondo flips down the Akaros hood and makes a robotic sighing noise. "If it's not, does it matter? You don't need to worry about it." 
Vale: 
gives ondo a pouty look 
"fine." 
looks out over the balcony, resting her chin on the railing 
Ondo: 
Ondo watches the sunrise, and hopes that Renn doesn't look down. 
Vale: 
out of the blue, after a long silence ".....i don't think i ever really properly apologized for...what happened in oceanside. i shouldn't have said that." 
Ondo: 
Ondo looks over at Renn. "Said... what?" 
Vale: 
"the.....thing i...ordered you to do. i didn't really mean it, you know?" quietly, looking away really regretfully 
Ondo: 
"Oh." 
"That, right." 
"I'm... glad to hear it. And I'm glad that I didn't do it, I think." 
He leans on the railing. "Actually there's a lot of things I'm glad I didn't do." 
Vale: 
"yeah. sorry." quietly 
Ondo: 
"It's alright," he says. "I know you were just trying to... prove a point." 
Vale: 
"are you.....mad?" 
looking down at her palms 
Ondo: 
"No. Well, not with you, anyway." 
Vale: 
"who....um, who are you mad at?" 
Ondo: 
"I'll let you know when I figure it out!" He says cheerfully. 
Vale: 
looks back at ondo with a really confused expression 
"what's going on?" 
"i thought maybe you weren't coming back when you left. and now you're hiding things. you're being weird." 
some hint of anger mixed with concern 
Ondo: 
"I mean, other than finding out that I had the capacity for emotion right from the start, was brainwashed along with the rest of my kind into thinking we were only tools, and discovered the majority of my people were left to perish for their hubris? Nothing much else really." 
Ondo looks away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." 
Vale: 
renn stares in shock 
"uh....." 
"um......." 
Ondo: 
"Let's talk about you. We haven't talked in a while." 
"Are you doing alright?" 
Vale: 
"you don't want to talk about it?" 
"i don't--um....." 
Ondo: 
"I've been talking about it with Akaros." 
Ondo scoots more debris off with his foot, not looking at it. 
Akaros: 
"It's been very productive." 
"I got a sword." 
Vale: 
".....i saw that." 
Ondo: 
"He's been.... helping." 
Ondo says this with a mixture of confusion, annoyance and acceptance. 
Vale: 
".....i dont know how to askmmrph mmrph..." 
trails off into a mumble, looking away again 
Ondo: 
"Pardon?" 
Vale: 
face gets red 
"i don't know how to ask you about it without being...rude and intrusive." 
Ondo: 
"You don't need to worry about being rude to -" Ondo cuts himself off and rests his head prong in his hand. 
"Hm. No. That doesn't work." 
"You're... worried about asking questions?" 
Vale: 
her palms are really interesting suddenly 
Ondo: 
"Is this about what I said before? At the camp?" 
Vale: 
nods, still avoided eye contact 
Ondo: 
"Oh I... hm." 
"It's... something you just have to practice I suppose. It's not wrong to be curious, but you have to try and read how the person responds, whether they seem uncomfortable." 
"Asking for clarification on things or making polite inquiries is generally fine, but if someone doesn't seem in the mood to talk about it, unless we're performing an interrogation, I often choose to just leave the matter alone." 
"But... it's also... different I think when it comes to friends. I just don't know how." 
Vale: 
thinks on this 
“what if there’s no way they’d tell me unless i ask?” 
Ondo: 
"Then, asking may be best - but, politely." 
Vale: 
makes a bleh face “there’s no way politeness will get answers.” in a mocking tone: “‘oh concludion, pardon the intrusion, but are you actually here on behalf of kitano to spy on us? oh so sorry for asking.’ just kidding. Kinda. i’ll....try.” 
Ondo: 
"Hm. Sometimes interrogations are necessary. There is a... balance though." 
"It depends on how you know the person." 
Vale: 
“i dont really get it. Hmm...oh! here, do this.” makes a quick motion with her hand that ondo may or may not be able to recognize as sign language 
Ondo: 
Ondo repeats the motion as best he can. 
Vale: 
“that means, ‘cease your fowlness!’ agent bean’s catchphrase. if you think i need to be more...polite in some situation, do that so i can see it.” 
Ondo: 
Ondo repeats the gesture, and then gives a thumbs up. "I will... try to do so." 
Vale: 
“i’m counting on you, agent." 
"so then....." 
"what have you, um...been talking about with akaros?" 
Ondo: 
I've been tricked. 
"We... um. Well. What I said earlier." 
Akaros: 
"He doesn't want to be my servant." 
Vale: 
"what?!" 
Ondo: 
Ondo turns up a palm in confusion. "We knew that already." 
Akaros: 
"Right? rude." 
Vale: 
says i have eaten 100 akaros in sloppy draconic 
to ondo "you said it all kind of fast." 
Ondo: 
Ondo is quiet for a moment. 
"I don't want to... unload everything on you. This isn't like... the problems I've had before." He clenches and unclenches his fist a couple times. "Talking about it doesn't feel good. Thinking about it doesn't feel good." 
Vale: 
".....okay then. i wont make you if you don't want to." 
"im....even without your blanket, i'll....share my fire." 
blush 
Ondo: 
Ondo stares, tilting his head only slightly. He interprets that metaphor in his own way, and nods. 
"Thank you, Renn. I hope that you will not need to." 
Vale: 
quiet for a little bit, fidgeting with her fingers 
"didn't you say you're working on a new mask?" 
Ondo: 
"Um. Yes." 
Vale: 
sheepish grin "me too. we should do it together." 
Ondo: 
"...Pardon? Oh, you mean - a new persona?" 
Vale: 
nods 
Ondo: 
Ondo kneels and opens his chest compartment, removing some of his woodcarving supplies. His chisel is a tad damaged. 
"Right. Together, then." 
"What were you thinking, for the new one?" 
Vale: 
"im....not sure." 
"um...." 
"did anything happen to you....at the mirage temple?" 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"I saw a vision, went through a trial. I assumed that everyone else experienced something similar." 
Vale: 
studies ondo's facelessness for a bit 
"....i see." 
Ondo: 
He waits for Renn to say something, then looks up at her. "...Did you?" 
Vale: 
"yes." 
Ondo: 
Awkward silence. 
Vale: 
"i saw lady renn. on top of a...throne of people." 
Ondo: 
"Oh. Oh dear." 
"I'm sorry that... must have been troubling." 
Vale: 
"it's okay. i'm not......um. i'm not going to.....do that anymore." tone is a bit uncertain, but mostly seems calm, face is slightly red 
Ondo: 
"When did you have a throne of people???" 
Vale: 
smiles slightly, not a happy smile "my whole life, really. i haven't really....meant to, but. i've been really awful." 
Akaros: 
"I had a throne of goblins once." 
Ondo: 
"Oh, Renn - Gods, what?" 
Akaros: 
"They were skulls" 
"They weren't using them anymore." 
Ondo: 
"That does make it better, somehow, though I feel that it shouldn't." 
Akaros: 
"If it makes you feel better, they died of natural causes" 
Vale: 
renn's eyes kinda start to get that lit-up quality when you know you've piqued her interest, but she suppresses it 
Akaros: 
"Assuming you consider 'dragon fire' a natural cause. Literally an act of god(s)." 
Vale: 
opens her mouth to respond, then thinks better of it and changes course "what illusion did you guys see?" 
Ondo: 
Ondo sets out a block of wood on the floor. "I saw... a dragon. We were fighting it. I believed it was real. And then I saw Master Faethyn... Evelynn's father." 
His voice is low. "He ordered me to stand aside and watch while you all fought. And I did." 
Vale: 
"oh." sounds very displeased and disappointed 
Akaros: 
"Until you didn't." 
Ondo: 
"Kiono was screaming at me. There was fire everywhere. I moved, but not until Veggrek was already down." 
"When I swung at the dragon, the illusion disappeared as if it were never there, but, if that had been a real fight, I don't know that it wouldn't have been... Too late..." 
Vale: 
"why?" 
Ondo: 
"Why what?" 
Vale: 
"why didn't you move?" 
Ondo: 
"I don't know. I believed it was him, my master. I was supposed to listen to him. I believed that if he was telling me to do something, there must be a good reason." 
Vale: 
"then why did you end up moving?" 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"...The same reason I couldn't say what you ordered me to say." 
"I couldn't... follow orders where you all are concerned." 
"It's why I tried to make sure you didn't follow me to the elves." He shakes his head. "I'm a fool." 
Vale: 
"......me too. want to try to make your next mask better?" 
Ondo: 
Ondo looks up from his work. "...Yes. I'd like that." 
Vale: 
"......." fidgeting with fingers again 
"i'm glad you didn't follow orders." 
Ondo: 
"...As am I." 
Vale: 
"i hope your new mask keeps that up." 
Akaros: 
"You should put a laser in it." 
Ondo: 
"Where am I going to get a laser." 
Vale: 
"i'm sure there's plenty of places here in wolis you could find lasers." 
Ondo: 
Ondo continues carving for a bit, having already cut away large chunks to form the basis for the face, and beginning to refine it. 
He comes to a pause. "I don't know... how to be someone new." 
"How do you do it?" 
Vale: 
shrugs "you just decide who you want to be and then you be it." 
"and if you don't like it, you change." 
Ondo: 
"I... see." 
Vale: 
"speaking of.....um.....well.......... if i could be any way, how would you want me to be?" 
Ondo: 
Ondo tilts his head back a little. It is difficult to tell whether he is surprised or he is thinking. 
"I... I suppose I'd want you to be... happy. But not - pretend alright just to put on appearances, to be clear. I miss when you used to be excited about things, interested. Whoever you be should be someone who... makes you feel better just to be them." 
Vale: 
thinks on that, pushing herself into and from the railing rhythmically 
"my, um. my father...." 
starts tearing up a little 
"he said that i’m fine as i am. he didnt know about the marriage being a trick. He....” a lot of tears start pouring out, and she momentarily cant speak, she’s shaking pretty hard 
Ondo: 
"Oh that's... that's wonderful news." He rests a hand on her shoulder. 
Vale: 
“yeah. yeah, it is. i keep...i keep thinking about it again and again and again on repeat. it’s...probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” pause “um. that’s why....being vale doesn’t seem to really fit anymore. i’ve just been upset about my parents but.....i feel so much relief now." 
Ondo: 
Ondo stares at her. "I think I understand.* 
Vale: 
after a bit, tears calm down, she’s still smiling softly, and she finally looks at ondo. “I realized….every single me i’ve ever been, i’ve been....trying to get their approval. or trying to defy them. when i was tallo, i said i wanted to finally just be me, but there was always that cloud over me. i want to....try it again i think. be a me that’s not built out of feelings regarding my parents.” 
Ondo: 
Ondo nods. 
Vale: 
"you don't......" 
pause 
"you don't....think it's stupid to do something without getting something in return, right?" very, very quietly "i mean, um, i know you're not like that, but--if i, sometimes....well, my-my thoughts..." 
Ondo: 
"I don't... think so. Mind you I was built for that exact purpose so that does put a damper on my response." 
Vale: 
"yeah. i think....that's part of the reason i asked you, maybe." 
Ondo: 
"I think it's still... noble, not stupid, to try and act selflessly." 
Vale: 
another pause 
mumbling "mm...i thought some...weird thoughts were just a product of vale, but i realized it's actually probably....me." clutching her fingers very tightly, probably a bit too much so 
Ondo: 
"Like... what?" 
Vale: 
"promise you won't, um, berate me or, um, use it against me?" her nail is digging in to her flesh. "i mean, i know you won't, but...um..." 
Ondo: 
"I promise. You have my word." 
The mask is forming, but it still looks too much like the old one. 
Vale: 
more tears gently trickling again. "um, i....i mean, i gave a potion to elaina. and i keep having....sometimes i think about all those people and the screaming and the thunderbird and....i kind of wish it could have been me instead." she is talking sooooooo quietly she's practically mumbling. "i almost offered to....to take some of kiono's nightmares. i mean, i know she would have refused, but why would i even offer? i don't....i don't know what's going on with me. i know it's not--i mean it's what all the stories say you should do, you're supposed to do good, heroic stuff for others and all that, but--for some reason it feels......well, wrong. ...it's stupid, isn't it. i'm sitting here asking if i should be nice to people. i mean, that's always the moral, isn't it? it's just....how can i do it without....getting hurt?" 
Ondo: 
"You're worried that if you practice kindness... you will get hurt?" 
Vale: 
"well, yeah. why wouldn't i be? it's just...inviting it." 
Ondo: 
Ondo is quiet. "I don't... know. I think you have to have trust for the person, that they won't take advantage of you. Or... you just have to want to help more than you fear being hurt." 
Vale: 
"how do you do it?" 
Ondo: 
"I am not a good example to live by," Ondo says tiredly. 
Vale: 
"i guess we'll have to figure it out together then." wipes away some tears 
"do you....um...." 
"if i....." 
"tried to maybe dothingsforpeoplealittlebit......" speaks in a mumbled hurried mess, face red 
"would you, um..." 
sighs, doesnt finish her sentence, wipes away more tears as she looks out over the balcony 
Ondo: 
"Yes?" 
Vale: 
"mrmble mrmble." 
"never mind, i shouldn't ask you." 
Ondo: 
Ondo stand up and leans on the balcony next to her. "Renn, please, what is it?" 
Vale: 
"forget about it." 
"......" 
Ondo: 
Ondo stares down over the balcony, see the sapling still lying on the street, and looks away, hoping that Renn doesn't notice. 
He gently places a hand over hers. "It's... okay." 
Vale: 
bites her lip "i shouldn't ask. i have no place to ask. i'm not--um." 
"would you help me if, um, i....did something for someone and....it went....wrong...." 
"no, no, no." rapidly shaking her head 
"forget it, forget it. i promised i wasnt going to--" 
Ondo: 
"Renn." 
"I am going to be here. And I am not going to let anything happen to you." 
Vale: 
clutches her fingers tightly with a somewhat pained expression "thanks." 
"you work really fast." 
Ondo: 
"It's a shape I've made before." He says simply. 
Vale: 
"are you going to add a laser?" 
Ondo: 
"I'll think about it." There's some amusement in his voice. "I'll have to visit Andy soon anyway." 
Vale: 
"are you going to change your name?" 
Ondo: 
"My name?" 
Vale: 
"well, usually when i make a new face, i change my name. i mean, not that you have to." still avoiding looking at ondo 
Ondo: 
"I don't know if... I really had a name to begin with? Not that Ondo isn't fitting." 
Vale: 
shrugs “it’s up to you. i plan to take a new name.” 
Ondo: 
"Have you decided on one yet?" 
Vale: 
“no.” 
“have any suggestions?” still looking out over the balcony 
Ondo: 
"Hm... I will try to think on it." 
Vale: 
“....okay.” 
Ondo: 
Ondo carves into the mask, first drawing eyeholes like he once had, but then widening them into the side. 
Vale: 
“....i thought of warforged like they were tools for a long time.” 
Ondo: 
"As did I, up until... two days ago, I believe." 
Vale: 
“i just went along with what i heard from those around me, and never questioned it.” 
“until i met you.” 
“you taught me that warforged are people.” 
Ondo: 
Ondo doesn't look up. "Yes. I guess I seem to be living proof of sentience. Everyone seemed to pick up on that but me." 
Vale: 
“you did though.” 
Ondo: 
Ondo is silent. 
Vale: 
“can i tell you a secret?” glances sideways towards ondo, face a little red 
Ondo: 
"...Of course. What is it?" 
Vale: 
looking away again, i dont think she could get any quieter without it becoming a whisper “i’ve always been jealous of rue. and evelynn too, i think.” 
Ondo: 
"Jealous?" he asks in puzzlement. 
Vale: 
“it’s....it’s dumb, i know. i mean, at first i thought maybe we couldn’t trust her, that you were jumping to help her without getting enough information. i guess looking back i might have been a bit....concerned for you. and fueled by, um. really stupid jealousy.” fidgeting with her hands again, then twisting her clothing a little bit 
Ondo: 
"I am flattered, but really, I haven't had more than 4 conversations with Ruraina." 
"And Evelynn is..." 
"She's already lived her life. She doesn't need me anymore." 
Vale: 
"the...the point is, you....helped me." 
red face red face 
Ondo: 
"In what way?" 
Vale: 
"you helped me....expand my view. i thought....goblins were monsters. i thought warforged were tools." 
"you're helping me......um.....overcome...that. and i'm sure you could for many others too." 
"i...took advantage of you constantly. but you still....gave me a chance. and showed me." 
"and i, um....i'm just a child....and a huge idiot, but um.....i'm....well i have the luck to be your-your friend, so...." 
"i doubt there's anything i can do for you, but...." 
trails off into a whisper 
buries her face into the railing 
"i'll try to be here for you too." 
Ondo: 
Ondo rises from his work and and gently guides her towards him, wrapping his arms around her carefully, almost like he's asking for permission. 
Vale: 
renn accepts the embrace and hugs him back, burying her face in him so she can avoid looking at him 
Ondo: 
After a moment or two, Ondo speaks. "What about... 'Leitha'." 
Vale: 
"hm?" 
Ondo: 
"For a name. Leitha. Or perhaps Lei, for short." He looks at her. "It's elvish for 'free'." 
Vale: 
blinks a few times “oh. hm. ‘free,’ huh. sure. i like it.” a pause. “well i mean i better, seeing as it’s my name.” small smile 
Ondo: 
Ondo nods. "I'm glad I could help." 
Vale: 
starts experimenting with shifting into different forms, still avoiding looking at ondo 
"hmm. how should lei talk to veg?" 
"do i apologize for flipping him off? i kind of dont want to. ‘oh, hello veg. just another me, you know the drill.’” finger guns. “‘try not to throw me off any cliffs!’” 
Ondo: 
"You're under no obligation to apologize." Ondo pulls away and stoops back to his mask-making. He lets the Akaros-hood fall back over him. "Although it would be nice if the two of you at least stay on civil terms." 
"Either way... it may be a good idea to introduce your new self properly to the group. Or let them know ahead of time." 
Vale: 
“why is that?” 
Ondo: 
"When your new personas have shown up in the past, things haven't always gone smoothly. I think the last thing everyone needs right now is more confusion." 
Vale: 
“oh yeah. ki—the halberd said she doesn’t like when i take on new personas.” thinking, while shifting her face into different shapes 
“are you going to introduce your new face to the group, too?” 
Ondo: 
Ondo stops. 
"I'm not... sure if that's the right course or not." 
He stares down at the emerging shape of a face in the wood. 
Vale: 
“what do you mean?” curious 
Ondo: 
He seems hesitant. "What if they don't need me to be someone new. What if they need me to be Ondo?" He asks quietly. 
Looking up at her, "If you ask me what I want, I will throw myself off the balcony." 
Vale: 
laughs a little 
"who cares what the others say or 'need'." 
"you're a different you now. don't get tied down by what you think you're supposed to be. believe me--i'm learning that the hard way." 
looks over the side of the balcony, then says with a hint of mischief “think you could land on your feet if you threw yourself over the balcony?” 
Ondo: 
"I believe I could. It would not save my legs from cracking." 
Vale: 
“hm.” 
“what did you and akaros talk about?” looking at ondo for the first time in forever, she seems to have settled on short silver hair for the moment 
Ondo: 
Ondo pretends to be very interested in the tool he's using. 
Vale: 
“N. G.” 
pouty face 
Ondo: 
"Pardon?" 
Vale: 
“N. G. it’s what they say during star walk rehearsals when scenes go badly and they have to redo it.” 
“when i asked you that earlier, you said you didn’t want to talk about it.” 
“you’re supposed to use the signal.” 
arms crossed 
Ondo: 
Ondo grips the tool. "...You weren't. Being rude." 
Vale: 
“apparently intrusive.” 
Ondo: 
"We talked about the elves." 
Vale: 
gives him a surprised look 
hesitates a long moment “oh....okay.” 
biting her lip 
“why did you tell me that?“ 
Ondo: 
"You wanted to know." Scritch scritch scritch. 
"I am not... trying to be difficult. " 
Vale: 
“and you don’t mind telling me.” it’s a mix of a question and a statement 
Ondo: 
"I do not mind you knowing. It's the talking about it that is giving me trouble." 
Vale: 
“why?” 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"Look over the side of the balcony." 
Vale: 
gives a puzzled look over the side of the balcony 
looks back at ondo 
Ondo: 
Ondo is avoiding looking at Renn. 
Vale: 
“what am i supposed to see?” 
her eyes shifted to different shapes/colors a few times while looking over the balcony, lingering on pink for a moment, then settled on black, and narrower than her actual eyes but wider than vale’s 
Ondo: 
"On the ground. I made a mess. When I tried to talk." 
Vale: 
“i don’t follow.” 
Ondo: 
"I threw some of Cecily's things off the balcony." 
Vale: 
gives ondo a look as she pieces it together, then glances at another potted plant on the edge of the balcony, and tips it off the side 
“oops. looks like i did too.” 
gives a slight grin 
Ondo: 
"Renn!" He shouts in surprise. 
Vale: 
“one time when we were younger, me and cecily got bored and tied a bunch of her blankets in a chain out the second floor window, intending to climb down. threw a bunch of her stuffed animals outside in case we fell, to cushion the landing.” 
“not the first time i’ve chucked things outside, won’t be the last.” 
shrugs 
Ondo: 
"...Did you succeed?" 
Vale: 
“at escaping out the window? no way, we got busted before we even finished tying the blankets together.” 
Ondo: 
"I see." 
Vale: 
“anyway that’s not the point. i’m sure cecily won’t mind.” 
Ondo: 
"I believe I should apologize regardless, but, that is good to know." He says. "Crisis averted." 
Vale: 
“does that have anything to do with losing your sword?” 
Ondo: 
"..." 
"That is also a result of talking about it." 
Vale: 
“your old mask too then? i dont see it anywhere. did akaros eat that, too?” 
adjusting her height and build up and down a bit. like a ‘build your character’ slider in a video game lol 
Ondo: 
"Yes... and no. I sent it pretty far." 
"It may have shattered, too," he says begrudgingly. 
Vale: 
“the new one looks cool anyway.” shrugs again 
Ondo: 
He nods. "Your new persona appears to be... coming along as well." 
Vale: 
“hm. yeah, i guess.” studying herself “i’ll need some new outfits. and i suppose i shouldnt be lei until i introduce myself anyway, if you really think i should do that.” 
Ondo: 
"I think that you should." 
Vale: 
“im really far from lady renn.” quietly, pensive, looking at her hands 
“i....i think anyway....” 
after a pause “......im...scared.” 
Ondo: 
He reaches out hesitantly, and puts a hand over hers. 
"I am too." 
Vale: 
small smile 
Ondo: 
"I am very far from the Ondo ar'Thond Tira you met in Alibrook." 
Vale: 
“yes, you’re awesome-er.” 
nudges his side gently 
“and less face-ier at the moment.” 
Ondo: 
"Hm." His posture sinks a little, whether that's deflating or relaxing it's hard to tell. "Thank you. You are also 'awesome...er.'" 
Vale: 
snorts 
“what’d you talk about regarding the elves?” 
Ondo: 
He pulls his hand away slowly. "...What they did." 
Vale: 
“what did they do?” 
Ondo: 
His responses are still slow. "You were there, when we talked to Siren, weren't you?" 
Vale: 
shrugs “wanted to hear your own words. but yes.” 
Ondo: 
"You already know the situation. What more do you want me to say? I was wrong. Everyone else was right." 
Vale: 
“that’s stupid.” 
Ondo: 
"What?" 
Vale: 
“if you care so much about who was ‘wrong’ and ‘right,’ i was also wrong.” 
“i thought of warforged the same way the sky elves did.” 
Ondo: 
"That's not... it doesn't matter." 
Vale: 
shakes head “can we talk more about this later? we should probably get ready to go to the jail soon.” 
“are you going to have your new mask ready by then?” 
“and you still havent picked a new name, if you want one.” 
Ondo: 
"...Probably not," He admits, looking down at the block of wood. 
Vale: 
“hm. are you okay with that? you can stay behind if you want.” 
softly 
Ondo: 
"I'm coming with y-" SARESH SHOWS UP IN A BLINDING LIGHT.
Category:OOS