[Leela] Chapter 4: Borders of Xalaster Orthodoxy

[Throndir]

Efrit's mischievous grin quickly turned into one of disgust.

"Oh please spare me from that Great Princess." Efrit said. "Goblins are one thing, but drool from imps?" He shivered.

"No thanks."

Zavan, sitting a short distance away from you stiffened.

"I forget you're a goblin lover." He stated simply and impassively.

"Eh? What's that?" Efrit said, glaring daggers at Zavan. The dark elf didn't seem bothered however.

"Oh my oh my." Zephyrus said as he appeared on the opposite side of Zavan next to you.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"I am unsure as to why drool from goblins would be any better or worse than drool from imps. No matter what is doing the drooling, it is equally disgusting to be drooled upon." She noticed the sudden tension between the two demon generals and did not want to have to deal with a fight between the two. She looked down at the imps huddled around her and then back at Efrit. "Currently, I find myself in danger of that thanks to a certain someone. You can't blame me for wanting to share with you."

[Throndir]

"You're not going to catch me letting one of those imps drool on me." Efrit said. "Thank you for the offer, but I like my spot here next to the fire imp-free just fine."

Zephyrus clapped his hands.

"It would be quite a sight to see the imps drool all over him. Just to see how he reacts. But Princess Leela Steading, tell me... Is having drool on your person that much of a bad thing?"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela grinned at Efrit now, encouraged by Zehpyrus' enthusiasm about the topic. "In that case, I would suggest staying up tonight. You know, so you don't wake up in such a situation."

She turned to Zephyrus. "A small few might think that it is cute, depending on the situation. But I would rather not have another person's or creature's body fluids on me. Especially knowing - and even more so not knowing - what what they consume. Not to mention the texture and consistency feels horrible. It would be easier to show you if you had a more physical form to experience it first hand..."

[Throndir]

Efrit rolled his eyes.

"Hey imps! If I catch you slobbering all over me, I'm going to make sure the wolves get you!" With that, he turned his back towards the group.

"Hmm... Interesting... I have once seen other travelers wrap their arms around them in nights such as these, sharing forth their saliva, though, they looked as if they enjoyed themselves rather than finding it disgusting."

"But yes..." He sighed. "If I put enough effort in, I can affect the physical world, but it is draining, so it's not something I do very often." He then turned towards you, and reached out his hand to your cheek. It would have been a caressing gesture, though, his hands had no physical form.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Wondering briefly what the imps ever did to Efrit to make him dislike them so, Leela turned her full attention to Zephyrus. Only to find herself regretting the conversation. Her face reddened in embarrassment at the wind spirit's description of what he had witnessed.

"That's... uhm... That's a special and extremely private activity that couples participate in when they really love each other." She tried to explain without going into detail.

She found herself blushing more at his actions, even though she couldn't feel his hand. Still, she was happy to avoid the previous subject and decided to try to keep the conversation away from it.

"Perhaps if you practice making yourself have a more physical form more often, you would get more used to it and be able to do it easier?"

[Throndir]

"Practicing...? Hmm... well..." Zephyrus then started to focus his eyes on you really deeply. Then a moment later you felt the sensation of his hand on your cheek.

"There..." He said, his eyes brightening up. "It's... difficult to maintain... But..." A few seconds more he finally let go as he took a deep breath in and then out.

"Perhaps... I'll practice on things like sticks... and stones..."

"Talking to the new guy, Zephy-something?" Efrit commented, his back still turned away from everyone. "Do I really want to know what you're talking about? Practicing? Extremely private activity?"

"You may practice with the imps." Zavan said impassively.

"IMPS?"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela briefly wondered if Zephyrus could make himself visible to more people if he pushed hard enough, but decided to hold off on bringing that up. One step at a time.

"Good job!" She congratulated him. "There is a saying where I am from 'Practice makes perfect.' And fitness trainers like to say 'No pain, no gain.' ... Just don't overdo it. I don't know how we could help you if you drained yourself too much."

As embarrassing as his comments were, Leela could not help but giggle at his misunderstanding. She forgot that he could only hear her half of the conversation.

"His name is Zephyrus. And apparently, our curious new friend came across a couple exchanging saliva, among other things, at one point in time and wanted to know why we are disgusted by drool when those two seemed to be enjoying it... So now we're talking about him practicing maintaining a more physical form so that he can experience getting drooled upon." She could have left Efrit in the dark, guessing at their conversation, but she really did not want him to get the wrong idea. It was better to explain.

When Zavan mentioned that Zephyrus could practice with the imps, Leela got an idea and leaned over to whisper to Zephyrus.

"Since the imps can't see or hear you, I bet you could get some fun reactions from them while you practice on them. Might also be funny to see to how Efrit would react to you poking at him." She grinned at him as she move back to her previous position.

[Throndir]

"Hmph... Well, as long as I get some shut-eye, I'm fine. Zephyrus caught a couple in the act? I wonder what else he's seen. Useful ability, if not a bit creepy."

"Practicing on other people..?" Zephyrus echoed your sentiments, his voice a mixture of wonder and awe as he ignored Efrit's words. "I've never tried that on others, I usually try it on objects."

He then looked towards at Efrit, his eyes sparkling in delight. The fiery man was already started to get comfortable beside the campfire.

"Oh yes." Zephyrus then stated. "I would very much like to get him to react." With that, Zephyrus dissipated, and then reappeared behind Efrit.

Zephyrus then looked towards you, smiling innocently, then towards Efrit's behind.

A second later, using his finger, he poked Efrit's butt.

Efrit immediately stood up, turning around, his eyes glared at the imps.

[spoiler]

"Which one of you imps poked me?!"
[/spoiler]

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Indeed. Goodnight, Efrit." Leela replied to the man as he started setting himself up for sleeping by the fire. She wondered if he got cold at night or felt more comfortable next to a heat source.

"Technically, you just practiced with me." She pointed at her cheek before he disappeared from her side.

The wind spirit looked too innocent for what he was intending to do as he smiled at her from behind Efrit. Almost like a child that greatly enjoyed pulling pranks on people but was able to put on an act of complete innocence and fool anyone who did not already know otherwise. She had not expected him to "practice" on Efrit this soon, especially since he had just shown her that he could indeed make his hands feel like they had physical form by touching her cheek. Perhaps it did not feel as much like practicing to Zephyrus when he was having fun.

The next thing she new, Zephyrus had poked Efrit's butt and the large man was raging at the imps.

Leela looked down at the now even more terrified imps as they all seemed to somehow huddle even closer to her and Zavan than they had been huddled before.

"I'm pretty sure the imps are all currently too terrified to leave my or Zavan's sides right now. Perhaps it was a bug? Are you imagining things?" She asked, looking back up at him with a worried expression.

[Throndir]

Some social skill requested, probably Bluff.

[Ella]

[spoiler=Bluff][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 13 + 11, total 24[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Throndir]

Indeed each of the imps were huddled around you and Zavan, shivering. Abi was the most composed, though even she decided to hold on to your dress.

"A bug?" Efrit thought for a moment. "Yeah... that's probably right. We're out here anyways. Besides... anyone who pokes me will be eaten by a big bad wolf!" Efrit claimed as he shot a hard stare at the imps. A moment later he sat back down and this time, moved himself closer to the fire, perhaps a way to prevent even more 'bugs'.

"Did you see that Princess and Zavan? I got him to react... Fascinating." Zephyrus said commenting on his actions. He crouched down to stare at Efrit's face just as the man had begun to close his eyes.

"I bet I could prove him wrong." The wind spirit said.

You saw Zephyrus raise his finger again in a pointing motion, directed at his face. His eyes sparkled in delight.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

As entertaining as it was, Leela wanted to tell Zephyrus to stop for the night. Efrit already seemed to have been put in a bad mood, even though he was technically the one to start it all. Not to mention, they did all need their rest for the night so they could continue on they way fully rested in the morning.

As much as she wanted to tell him to stop, however, she could not say anything without Efrit hearing her speaking to Zephyrus. Which would in turn give away who was pestering the large man and that she had basically lied to him about who poked him the first time.

"I think Efrit has the right idea. We should all get some sleep so that we can be well-rested for tomorrow's journey." She finally spoke up, yawning as she tried to detangle herself from some imps so she could find a comfortable spot to sleep.

[Throndir]

The moment you began to untangle yourself from the imps, there was a roar from Efrit. An annoyed and primal yell coming from the Efrit. Before anyone could react, a blast of fire poured forth from Efrit's mouth at that same time, burning one section of the camp. Luckily, since he was turned away from the rest, no one was injured.

Even Zephyrus, who was simply a spirit in form, blinked his eyes a couple times as the ground he stood on was suddenly turned into charring embers. Efirt flashed a grin as eyes reflected the light of the fires.

"Roasted bug."

Zephyrus disappeared from his spot, and reappeared next to you. His face one of deep thought. Finally he turned towards you and Zavan just as Zavan himself started to prepare his sleeping spot. "See?" He said, his smile innocent, but the look in his eyes were one of smugness.

"No wolf."