A Long Time Coming

Long Time No See

It took some time for Dante to track Shynonie down, the rumored new leader of the Zhentarum had become elusive after the party had seemingly halted the cult hell bent on bringing Tiamat onto this plain. The tiefling still kept in touch with the party; they're her found family, after all. Thankfully she'd made sure that certain people could find her easier than others, her party among the few who were able to get some of their questions about her answered. Dante had tracked her down to a little cabin in the forest outside of town; it's out of the way and the trek there wasn't very easy which is likely the reason it was built there. Some time had passed since everyone had gotten together, longer since they'd killed that white dragon.

Letters and sending spells had come in handy for the most part. With how much time has passed, it made sense that everyone's abilities have grown in range and  strengthened; which explained the faint hum of familiar magic that swept over but didn't harm the elven man as he steps into the open cabin door. He's met with the sight of his friend looking fresh out of bed despite it being in the late afternoon. A black silk slip with a neckline that ended just under her pierced bellybutton, the slip itself ending a few inches above her knee. A deep red blanket hands around her back and over her arms like she'd been using it as a cloak despite a warm fire crackling in a fireplace on the other side of the room. The scars on the back of one arm, the shoulder of the other, her cheek and chest were all exposed. The gold band around her neck remained as usual, this time a piece of old bloody cobblestone had been added to it sometime after they had split ways. The only new piece of jewelry she wore was the gold chain with dangling blue sapphires that hung around her upper thigh. The second the door opened fully, she was standing tall and posed to strike with either the small pointed horns on her tail or a spell; whichever came to mind first. Once it registered who exactly had walked into her new home, her shoulders sag with a relieved sigh; bare feet taking her to Dante where she pulls the slightly taller man into a tight hug.

"Dante?"

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"I'm sorry, what?!"

The gray skinned tiefling was now pacing across the smooth wood floor of her spacious little cabin. Deep red blanket forgotten on a fairly large unmade bed. Dante was sitting at a rickety table on a oddly decorative cushioned chair.

Looks like she's been doing a little thieving. Good to know some things haven't changed.

"They're seriously trying again? They're back to trying to get a five headed fucking dragon goddess to this plain like it's the best idea ever?"

"Yes. From what Inidy has found out, they're closer than they were before."

"Do they have all the masks?"

"We don't know, it's what we're trying to figure out. Either they do and they're waiting for the right moment to summon her ass, or they're trying to get the last mask."

"Son of a fuck." Raking sharp nailed fingers through long wavy red hair, Shynonie perches on the table in front of Dante.

"We're getting everyone back together."

"Yea...I knew this probably wasn't just a happy little visit."

"I'm sorry, by the way. For not coming around."

She scoffs, raising a brow at the elf. "Seriously? You hate the city. I knew that when I decided to come back here for a while. That, and not everyone wants to be affiliated with people like me."

"Is that a tiefling thing or a mob boss thing."

"It sure as hell isn't a tiefling thing. Never had any shame for my race, why start now?"

"Good. And it's not like I didn't want to see you, I did. I do. I've just been–"

"Busy." Hopping off the table, she walks to the fireplace which has a small wooden box above it. Picking it up, she returns to the table to sit across from him; in a chair this time. Opening the box, she pulls out a bundle of papers tied together with string. After untying them, she lays them out on the table and starts pointing at numerous sentences in all the letters. "Each of these letters contain at least two mentions of being busy. The only one not saying they're busy is Lorla. Kid just spends the entire time writing about her latest little adventures."

"Nonie..."

"No. I don't wanna talk about it, just figured to show you why I've grown to hate that fucking word." Standing with a huff, Shynonie ties the letters and puts them and the box back in its place.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. You're the least likely to actually excuse everything with something else. I understand everyone's been doing their own thing. Inidy is raising Lorla, Scaldy and Bug are dead, Gup and Emit are in the Fae Wild. You've been doing your dragon related shit and I've been underground. It's fine."

Fine never actually means fine, but I don't want her smoke.

"Alright." Taking a breath, he asks the question he's had since he'd started tracking her down. "Are you in?"

"What?"

"Are you in? We're all getting back together to end this. You know we'll do better if all of us are fighting."

"No."

Dante's breath catches in his throat. "No? Fuckin–why?!"

The chill in her black eyes is chilling. Just as cold as they were the very first time they'd met her. Her words hit like a kick to the throat. "Because I'm busy."