A Whole New World (Collector x Hardor)

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua'Nal Val'Nareth grinned as she made her way through the temple. It was always satisfying to explore drow ruins on the surface; her people had once lived there and were only now finding a foothold in the surface world once more. Lua was one of the first surface-born daughters of a great House: lesser Houses and Houseless clans had been living on the surface for a few generations now, but it was only recently that the Greater Houses were making their way up to the surface to gain a foothold. Lua was a daughter of one of the highest Houses: her mother would become the Divine Empress of the drow should the current one perish (along with her female heirs, of course).

Lua'Nal stood at 5'11", which was a bit above average for a female drow, with ivory white hair and golden eyes. Her ebony skin was criss-crossed with golden tattoos in runic script, which would slither and shift across her body when needed. Most other arcane spellcasters preferred spellbooks, but Lua had always considered them a weakness. Books could be lost or stolen, but a tattoo was considerably harder to pilfer.

Her rather scant attire served two purposes; first and foremost, it showcased her body. Female drow loved to flaunt their beauty: beautiful daughters were a status symbol, so it would not do for a daughter of a High House to dress conservatively. Second, it served to give her some respite from the oppressive heat of the jungle she was exploring. Lua might have been surface-born, making her accustomed to the sun's harsh rays, but even she could only tolerate so much heat. The humidity of the jungle had only served to make her skin glisten with sweat more quickly. And glisten it did: had any of her expedition party been able to keep up with her, they would have seen the very embodiment of drow sensuality in her form.

But Lua had left her party behind; partially because she wanted to claim the glory of her findings for herself - she hated sharing credit - and partially because the others she traveled with were soft, city-raised brats, some of whom hadn't even been born on the surface. Of course, this didn't mean that Lua wasn't a brat, far from it: it simply meant she was a brat with some life experience.

Lua made her way deeper into the inner sanctum, her grin spreading wider as she saw an ornate rod in the shape of a serpemt on a pedestal. In her experience, anything placed on a pedestal was important, though it was also likely trapped. She carefully made her way up to the pedestal, making sure not to trigger any traps, then circled it carefully for several minutes. In that time, she cast various detection spells, doing her best to make sure that there were no wards or traps on the pedestal itself. Once she was satisfied that she wouldn't set anything off, she reached out and touched the rod.

Before her hand could close around the rod, everything changed instantly and drastically. For one thing, the temperature went from being unbearably hot to freezing cold, as evidenced by the snow that was now whipping around her. For another, it went from being the afternoon to pitch black, though it could have been anytime in theory since the colder months tended to be darker sooner. Even though Lua's bare feet had a protective spell cast on them to prevent any damage or callousing, she had not prepared a spell to help her endure extreme cold. The sweat on her skin conducted the cold very well, causing goosebumps to break out all over her and forcing Lua to let out a yelp of surprise and pain at the sudden drop in temperature.

Before Lua could even consider what to do next, her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of very bright lights moving very quickly towards her. She didn't have time to fathom what they might be, let alone react to them, before the car hit her.

 

[Hardor]

Brian O'Conner let out a sigh as he glanced out into the winter wasteland that surrounded him as he drove at an almost painfully slow pace down the winding streets that would bring him once more into the Boston city limits. He'd spent quite the dreadfully dull day babysitting one of his more obnoxious of clients. Brian was a Psychologist and a man who was very passionate about his work, always eager to help any and all who needed it. And while he typically focused on those of a higher social standing (the many politicians of his great city as well as any of those considered better off than the average citizen) he'd also earned himself quite the reputation for helping those in need. That reputation was the very thing that had pulled him out of Boston for the day and on some wild goose chase as him and a friends family went in pursuit of one of their runaway children.

The man reflected back on the past events of his afternoon, from the long strolls through random fields to exciting journeys through dense wooded areas all the way up to his exciting jaunt through the falling snow in the blizzard-like conditions they were currently experiencing. He knew he should of spent less time on the fact that he'd been forced to take a day away from his firm as well as managed to ruin a perfectly good pair of shoes after hours of trudging through mud, grime and, whatever other nasty things he could of tracked upon his shoes but it was hard to find much satisfaction in the days events when their runaway had magically turned back up in the very house he'd fled from. It was those distracting thoughts about the long, irritating day coupled with the stresses of his private practice that brought the distracted man and his simple Mazda face to face with the unlucky Drow. A sudden surge of fear engulfed the male as he hammered on his breaks, catching only the faintest of glimpses of the ebony-skinned female through the dense snow before his car and her collided, the vehicle moving a measly 25 miles per hour but the collision had been more then enough to take the girl down.

Fear held him in place as he sat for a moment in his car, both hands gripping the wheel tightly as his heart raced, panic setting in as the realization finally set in. I just hit someone with my car. He thought to himself, appearing much like a deer in the headlights as he simply sat there for several long moments. The shock, however, quickly faded when he realized that simply sitting there was far from the ideal action. He quickly reached for his seat belt and clicked it loose. He grasped hold of the doors lever and popped it open before exposing himself once more to the winter wonderland. He stepped into the cold, a harsh burst of snow-embedded wind brushed against the bare skin of his face as the 6'3 male quickly moved towards the front of his vehicle, his eyes scanning around for the female form he'd collided with, sapphire orbs scanning the surrounding snow, "Are you alright?" He questioned, crossing his fingers that the poor girl he'd accidentally mowed down was still with him in the world of the living.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Though the car might have seemed to be moving slowly to Brian, twenty five miles an hour was still a fairly forceful impact. With the combination of the shock from suddenly being somewhere else and the shock of suddenly going from being very hot to very cold, Lua was lucky that she was able to react at all when the car struck her. Fortunately, her instincts as an adventurer took over and she was able to roll to avoid any severe damage, but she would have several nasty bruises that would require a healing potion or a week or so to heal. Fortunately, she had such a potion in a small pouch on her belt and was able to quaff it in the time that it took Brian to climb out of his car, but she had only just tossed aside the vial and started to struggle to her feet when he came towards her.

Had she not been so well-versed in the arcane arts, Lua would not have been able to understand a word Brian said to her. Fortunately, one of the golden tattoos that graced Lua's ebony skin translated any and all languages she heard and allowed anyone who listened to her to hear her in their native tongue. How well Lua processed Brian's words after the immense shock and being hit with a car was another story, though. To say Lua was rattled by the experience would be an understatement: absolutely everything had changed for her in a split second and she couldn't possibly fathom where she was, let alone who Brian was or what the contraption he had just stepped out of was for. Was she alright? Certainly not, but what good would telling this stranger do her?

Lua was silent for a long time, but the way that she shivered convulsively and her scant attire spoke volumes about her physical condition, and the panicked look in her eyes more than explained how she was feeling at the moment.

 

[Hardor]

The females scant attire had gone unnoticed by the male for several long moments, his eyes more so scanning for any signs of external damage, broken limbs or, though the fear was quickly placated by her ability to stand, any deceased individuals sprawled out within a noticeable range of his car. But after a few, silent moments passed by the male began to notice the rather.. Unique appearance of the female. The ebony skin and the pointed ears of a stereotypical elf immediately jumped out at him, a rush of curiosity seizing hold of him. What was she? Where did she come from? And why did she look like one of the elves he would expect to see from a Lord of the Rings movie?

But those questions were quickly pushed aside as the females shaking form finally took priority in the mans eyes. He frowned at her and moved towards her, stepping rather slowly towards the unknown female, "I don't know if you can understand me but I want to help you." His voice was low and his words came rather slow, the panicked look in her eyes concerning the man slightly. Brian's years in college and his time spent at his private practice had taught him many things over the years and one of those many details came into play as he moved towards the panicked drow. He knew he needed to do everything possible to keep her from bolting and to attempt to reduce the panic. The cold weather coupled with her scant attire would soon be more than even her drow body could handle and, when all was said and done, he knew the only option was to get her to some semblance of warmth, as well as double check that she was actually alright after the rather rough impact she'd made with his care.

One foot step after the other brought him closer and closer to her until he was within arms reach of her. He extended a hand towards her, a faint smile making its way across his face, "Do you mind if I help you?" He asked, half asking for her permission and half attempting to calm the panicked female. "I'm from here.. I can help you.. But first off we need to get you out of this snow and to a place where you can warm up." His eyes made a slow once over of her form, starting at her toes before climbing up higher and higher. He took in every detail he could of her physical form, her tiny attire doing virtually nothing to obscure the females curves. It was hard for him to imagine the female having coming from anywhere near here. After all, everything about her screamed foreign in one way or another. Though, he couldn't even begin to imagine just how far from here she'd come from. After all, few people would ever consider the possibility of someone quite literally leaping from one dimension to another in the blink of an eye.

He gestured towards his car with one hand and kept one extended towards her, "Come on. Let me take you back to my house. We'll figure things out there."

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua flinched away from Brian as he approached, but it was more out of instinct than actual fear. She was more than capable of handling herself, but the drow was in panic mode at the moment, so any sudden movements made her shy away. She frowned, more at her own inability to control her baser urges than anything else, and did her best to straighten herself up and still her chattering teeth. It somewhat worked and she was standing at her full height by the time Brian reached her with an attempt at an aloof look on her face that was subverted by her chattering teeth and shivering body. Still, she managed to look somewhat regal, even if it was heavily diluted by comedy.

"V-v-very well," she stuttered, more from her chattering teeth than any sort of speech impairment. "I sh-shall allow you to ac-c-company me to y-your home. I sh-shall require a c-cloak or c-coat for warmth, at least unt-til I c-can k-keep my hands from sh-shaking so much. I ass-ss-ssume that there are no s-ssanctions against the arrrcane arts in th-th-this land?"

Lua's ears flattened back against her skull in irritation. By the Goddess, she sounded pathetic. She was in a rather compromising situation, but as a daughter of House Val'Nareth she should be able to compose herself and strike an authoritative figure. She doubted she could command a golem right now, let alone an actual living creature. The very fact that she had to rely on a human for help was downright appalling to her. As soon as she had some rest, she would begin examining the spot she had appeared from in an attempt to determine what had gone wrong and how to return to her home.

 

[Hardor]

A rather confused expression played its way across Brian's face as the shivering female straightened up, attempting to strike a regal stance despite the rather odd nature of the encounter itself. What was she trying at? Was this woman insane? The entire situation seemed absolutely absurd to him but, at that moment he knew the most important detail was getting the shivering and seemingly insane woman out of the cold. The words that left her mouth caused him to arch an eyebrow before shooting her a rather strange look. She would allow him to accompany her? Where was she from? The 1800's? A slight chuckle left him as he gave a simple shake of his head. Maybe the blow from his car had rattled her brain a tad bit loose. Regardless, he took the opportunity to gesture towards his car, "Well then, get in. This cold seems to be affecting your head and I think a bit of warmth might do you some good." That same curious look never faded from his face as he moved towards the passenger side of the car, keeping his hands away from the females frame as he pulled the door open and gestured for her to sit down.

As she approached he allowed his eyes to examine her closer. Other than the pointed ears that seemed to shift about whenever she sought to move them and the ebony skin, her body resembled a normal females form almost perfectly. Every aspect of her seemed to match that of the human race but her behavior seemed out of this world. He shook away his curiosities for the time being, knowing there would be plenty of time for him to probe her for answers once they'd reached his house and settled into something a bit more warm. He shifted his jacket off of his shoulders and passed it off to her, "This'll help warm you up." He stated, his words slow as if he were talking to someone whom was far from stable. He simply assumed the female was partially challenged, after all, he'd found her standing in the middle of the high way, barefoot dressed in clothing that would of made most parents gasp in surprise. All that while the city of Boston endured one of the worst snow storms they'd seen this year. He simply shook his head and moved towards the drivers side of the car once more. He tugged the door open and slipped into his Mazda once more, his eyes shifting towards the drow female seated in the passenger side.

"Do you know how to buckle yourself in?" He questioned, a slight air of amusement surrounding him. Her motions seemed rather natural, showing very little signs of any significant brain damage. The teeth shattering and the shaking was completely understandable given the extreme temperatures she'd been exposed to but nothing else seemed to fit together. Regardless, he gave the key a turn and the engine roared to life once more. He switched the car into drive and started off once more, making his way slowly along the snow-covered roads. This time, however, his speed remained much lower, his eyes focusing upon the road while occasionally shooting her a glance. This time he promised himself he'd keep his eyes peeled for any randomly appearing figures. He didn't know if his brain could handle another collision with a randomly appearing stranger. Let alone another one that seemed rather.. Abnormal..

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua's eyes narrowed as Brian patronized her. She could tell from his tone that he was talking to her like he thought she was stupid and she was not about to allow him to get away with such an affront. The moment he finished wrapping his coat around her shoulders, Lua extended a finger and her eyes briefly became solid, glowing, golden orbs as a small spark of electricity shot from the tip of her finger and arced onto Brian's nose, giving him an unpleasant, but otherwise harmless shock. As the spell ended, Lua's eyes returned to their normal color and she fixed Brian with a glare.

"Do not patronize me, human," she said, glaring at him as he opened the door for her. "Insolence will quickly lose you any reward I might have given you for sheltering me and can easily earn you a punishment for irritating me. I will forgive you this once, since you are obviously unversed in how to treat nobility such as I, but I may not be so lenient in the future."

Lua's bravado was a bluff, of course: though she would have liked to punish Brian for his insolence, such a rash move would not do her any good until she learned more about the area. If the locals were easily impressed by magic, she could easily cow them with an arcane display and rule over them for a time until she could figure out a way to get home. If not, especially if magic was considered heresy, she would have to tread lightly until she got home.

The car was alien to Lua. She understood that it was a carriage that seemed to move without the aid of any beast to pull it, but it also somehow produced internal and external light without any apparent enchantment. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, there seemed to be no ambient arcane energy anywhere in Lua's immediate vicinity. Even in areas where magic was outlawed, there was usually a residual arcane signature from some passing magical beast or spellcaster. As far as Lua's senses could detect, there was no residual arcane signature save for her own. This caused her frown to deepen and her expression to become worried as she stepped into the car and accepted Brian's jacket, pulling it tight around her shoulders to help warm herself. The jacket seemed almost redundant, though, as the inside of the car was somehow much warmer than the outside weather. Lua wouldn't have been so surprised about this if it weren't for the fact that no magic seemed to be involved in the creation of said heat.

The drow was snapped out of her thoughts as Brian spoke up, mentioning something about buckling her in. "Unless you are charging me with a crime," she said, attempting to keep her tone reasonable, "I see no reason for you to restrain me." She hoped that Brian did not turn out to be some sort of authority figure and that her earlier display of magic had not landed her in any trouble.

 

[Hardor]

Brian's eyes flickered with a momentary fear as the strange females eyes seemed to shift in color, slowly shifting into solid, golden orbs before emitting what seemed like a small bolt of electricity in his direction. His body immediately braced for whatever was to come his way but, to his great surprise, the only sensation that met him was a mild jolt, the sensation nothing more than moderately annoying to the extremely confused male. What the hell have I gotten myself into? He thought to himself, extremely confused as to what she was and what the hell she was doing there. That last little display had definitely proven that she was not from these parts or any parts he'd ever heard of. After all, you would think you'd catch word at some point and time of some group of people whom looked like elves and had skin the color of her own. Oh, and that were able to conjure electricity to zap surrounding people. The idea of her possibly being an alien quickly slipped into his mind but he quickly dismissed that thought, shaking away the mental image of a little green man with a large head.

The pair slipped into his already heated car and, despite his rather innocent request for her to buckle up, his words were met with resistance of her own. An expression of confusion played its way across his features once more before he let out a simple sigh, a hand moving up to pinch slightly at the bridge of his nose. It was like he was talking to an infant. Clearly she was well educated and she clearly held some deep sense of self importance but her ignorance to the civilization she was surrounded by made matters quite confusing. He gave his head a slight shake and brought his eyes back up to her own, "Yes, I have reason to believe you may or may not have committed a crime. Now I would like you to pull that restraint across your chest and attach it to that." He stated, moving a hand to gesture at the latch for her belt, "We're only a few minutes away from my house where we will figure out whether or not you're guilty of these crimes and figure out what all is going on here." He said, waiting a moment for her to meet his request before switching his car into drive and starting on his way once more. He allowed silence to slip between them for a moment before glancing over in her direction, "You're not from around here, are you?" He asked, though he knew full well the answer was quite obvious. Nothing about her fit this town, this time period, or even this world. But where could she possibly be from? Space? A different universe? Or was she just some loon who'd dressed up in quite the strange attire for a winter evening, stumbled into the street and met the front end of his car? He guessed only time would truly reveal what she truly was.

The highway soon came to an end as Brian turned off and made his way onto the slow moving streets of Boston. A slight sigh left him as he merged into the caravan of cars attempting to travel along the snow-covered roadways. Luckily for him, their trip was rather short lived before he turned off of the main road, plowed his way through a block or two of powdery snow before pulling into the driveway of his simple house. It was a two story structure made up of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sad excuse for a kitchen and a living room that he spent the bulk of his time in. He switched his car off and killed the headlights, his eyes turning towards her, "You may remove the binds. Tighten the jacket and come with me. It's going to be cold for a few minutes." He'd finally given up talking to her like an idiot, this time switching his voice up as he became one with this strange role of an authority figure. She hadn't violated any laws to his knowledge but the change in persona's seemed more convenient to get her to move. After all, it seemed speaking to this female who was convinced she was royalty would only earn him little shocks from whatever sorcery she'd conjured up. He moved to unlock the door and stepped inside, holding it open before gesturing for her to enter, "Welcome to my home. I'm not sure what sort of palace you're used to but I'm afraid this will have to suffice for the time being." He stated, sarcasm thick in his voice as he nudged the door shut and closed out the cold weather.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua glared at Brian, but buckled her seat belt as told. Much as she would have liked to set his hair on fire or hexed him to believe he had worms crawling behind his eyes, it did not seem like a good idea to get herself in any deeper trouble than she already was. She folded her arms and starred out the window, much like a petulant child as he walked around and climbed back into the driver's seat. She listened to his question, but did not give him the answer he was looking for. "I will not answer to a lowly peon," she said, her teeth no longer chattering and her voice much more stable and aloof now. "I will negotiate with the highest authority you are capable of contacting and no one else. Regardless of where I am, I am nobility and I expect to be treated as such."

Lua was silent for the rest of the ride. Her posture was straight and regal for the entire ride with the side effect of causing her chest to jut out. From what Brian could tell, the elf was on the large side of a C-cup, just a hair shy of a D, and from the way her chest jiggled with each bump in the road, her bust appeared to be natural as well. The haughty expression on her face quickly turned pensive and somewhat analytical as she gazed out the window. After about ten minutes of driving, she had figured out roughly how fast they were going, that the vehicle was fairly well-insulated both in terms of trapping heat and keeping out sound, that it was powered by something stored in the front of it, though she couldn't fathom what other than it made noise, and that there were plenty of other light-producing objects in the world she now found herself in, none of which used magic. Her attention shifted back to Brian as he got out and told her to undo her restraints, making a note that they could easily be undone by the person they were meant to hold in place, meaning that they were likely for safety instead of keeping a prisoner in place.

A simple glance in Lua's direction as Brian lead her to his house told him that she was taking in as much information as she possibly could and evaluating it almost as soon as she absorbed it. By the time she was inside and he welcomed her to his home, she had made several deductions and the answers she got from them apparently didn't make her happy. She shrugged out of his coat, letting it fall to the floor, and walked over to the nearest chair, where she deposited herself and folded her arms just below her breasts while glaring at him, her ears flat and low against her skull.

"You attempted to deceive me," she said. It was not a question or even a statement: it was an accusation. "You are not any sort of authority figure or, if you are, you quite obviously do not have the authority to arrest me. That restraint in the vehicle was meant for my safety, not to prevent me from fleeing, and if I were truly under arrest, you would have taken me to some sort of holding area rather than to your home. You have fairly sophisticated speech and the advanced state of your architecture tells me that you are not from some primitive land where outsiders are killed or enslaved on sight. Furthermore, this building was not meant to keep people in or out as evidenced by its obvious lack of fortification or any sort of defenses. This is a domestic domicile, not a jail or dungeon, and you, sir, are not an officer of the law.

"Now, I should place a hex on you for your deceit, but you are presently the only source of information I have about this land and own the only shelter I have against this storm, so I will be lenient provided there is no further deceit. Since you do not speak with the diction of proper nobility, I shall assume that you are below me in status and I shall take a tour of this house and pick a room of my liking. If that room happens to be yours, you will have to sleep elsewhere tonight. I expect you to provide me with sustenance in the morning and you shall put me in contact with the local authorities by the end of the day."

With that, Lua stood and began heading for the stairs.

 

[Hardor]

The short drive home had offered Brian quite a bit of time to simply examine the females form from the corner of his eyes. While he'd previously been rather obsessed over the oddities of her physical form his eyes now focused on the details that matched that of a human female. Like most males, his eyes sought out the curves that decorated her form, first eying the elf's rather large bust, the scant material that clung to her form offering very little coverage for the large mounds. He attempted to estimate their rough size and was content with the assumption that they were at minimum C's and quite possibly D's at that. But while he examined her lovely frame, her own eyes examined the rather odd world surrounding her. The only detail that resembled her own world were the humans who filled it. Though the human race that inhabited her own world were far from the level of sophistication that this world held. But their individual pondering soon came to an end as they arrived at his house and slipped out of his car, both making their way into the living room of his home.

Brian's amusement started to climb as the seemingly annoyed female shrugged off his coat and walked a short distance to the nearest chair, his eyes upon her, examining her with curious eyes as she tucked her arms beneath her breasts, once more bolstering the already large orbs size as her ears flattened against her head and a glare was shot in his direction. He stood in the door way, kicking his snow-covered shoes aside as he listened to her little rant. A slight chuckle found its way out of him as one accusation after another was fired his direction. It seemed as if the elf had quite quickly seen through his poorly constructed ruse, immediately calling him out. He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, his eyes once more shifting up towards her own as her interesting threat left her mouth. Hex him? An all to amused expression played its way across his face, "Your idle threats are far from intimidating." He stated, his tone rather even as he brushed the snow off the shoulders of his dress shirt, the blue material partially dampened thanks to the short stretches of time he'd spent standing outside, first searching for the runaway and then hovering over the disgruntled elf. "You are correct, though. I am not an authority figure here. I'm a simple Psychologist who runs a private practice serving some of the higher ups of this town. This is my house and that restraint in my vehicle was meant to keep you from flying out the window."

He flashed her a slight grin, clearly rather amused by how things were unfolding despite the string of insults she flung his way. There was no doubt in his mind that wherever this female had come from she most definitely had been quite important. From the way she talked to the way she carried herself, everything seemed to come together with a supposed air of superiority. Unfortunately for her, he didn't care all that much about where she'd come from. No, he realized that, no matter where she'd been, she was now here, in a world much different then her own with no one to help her and no one for her to rely on. No one but him. The last few lines, however, brought a slight frown to the males face. In a few words she'd attempted to demean the man, to assert her own dominance and reduce him to nothing more than a lowly peon in his own home. He stepped towards her as she moved towards the stairs and extended a hand in her direction. He grasped hold of her shoulder and stopped her in her tracks, "First off, girl, this is not the land you came from." He stated, his words rather harsh as his eyes focused in on her, returning the glare she'd so kindly shot his way a few moments ago, "This is my house, my town, and my world. I run this house. I pay for this house. And I control who stays and goes in my house. I was kind enough to offer you the warmth of my car, the warmth of my house and, if you are polite enough, I may even be kind enough to offer you clothes to put on your back and food to put in your stomach. However, if you keep walking around with your chin held high and that air of superiority you keep letting off then you might just find your ass back outside in that snow. You're more than welcome to try and find your way back home out there but, I wont lie, you wouldn't last an hour on these streets in the middle of summer, let alone in our winters."

He drew his hand away from her shoulder and crossed his arms over his own chest, partially immitating the motion she'd made when she'd taken up refuge in his chair, "So how about you halt those idiotic threats of yours, drop your damned attitude and give a bit of respect towards the person who is standing between you and deaths door right now." He said, a slight smirk playing across his face. He may not have the diction of proper nobility but what he did possess was knowledge. Knowledge that she couldn't simply obtain by examining the light fixtures and the strange environment around her. He knew the streets of Boston and knew the ways of his world better than she could possibly learn in a matter of hours. He knew where to avoid and when to avoid different parts of town. He knew what it took to survive and, unfortunately for her, she would most certainly have to rely upon him for the time being. At least until she figured out some way to function in the new world she'd been forced into. He turned away from her for a moment and moved to pick up the coat she'd simply tossed on the floor. He scooped it up and draped it over one of the many open hooks on his coat rack, "Now, lets stop this little pissing contest and pretend like we're civilized individuals. What is your name?" He questioned, his eyes turning towards her before scanning over her frame.

The clothing she wore was quite literally drenched. The sweat she'd been coated in before being whisked away to his world coupled with the snow she'd found herself face down in after their little collision had done a number on the thin material, soaking it through to the skin beneath, "And you're going to need to get out of that clothing." He stated, "I'm not sure how things work in the magical land you came from but here being clothed in soaked clothing is just asking to catch some nasty colds or something far worse than that." He stated, "And if you ask nicely I might even be willing to offer you something to wear. Though I'm afraid I don't have much to offer in that sort of design." He stated, gesturing towards the rather exotic attire she'd show up in.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua glowered at him, once more folding her arms. Now that she stood, her generous hips cocked to one side, almost of their own accord, striking a pose that would have been lovely had she not been glaring death at him with her golden eyes. Much as she was loathe to admit it, Lua'nal was at the human's mercy and it seemed that he was not easily cowed by an imperious drow like the rest of his species she'd encountered. Furthermore, though he was not a member of the aristocracy or nobility, he was quite obviously educated. Perhaps a "psychologist" was some kind of lawyer? She made a note to find out later, though she would have to deal with the matter at hand first.

"You have made your position clear to me," she said, her eyes narrowing even further, "but know this: should you decide to eject me from your home, I will gladly set your house ablaze to keep me warm this night. I will behave as a guest in your house, but I will not allow you to insult your betters. I am certain that some other human would gladly take me into their home for longer than a single night at the promise of gold and give me far better accommodations at that."

A smirk crossed Lua's face at the mention of a change of clothes and how they might not be her style. "I am Lua'nal Val'Nareth," she said, a smug look crossing her face as she recited her title with ease, "tenth heir of House Val'Nareth, second only to the House of the Divine Empress of Chel'el'sul'south; may She live long and Her rule extend to the stars. As for your clothing, I would not worry: a daughter of House Val'Nareth can make anything look good. I could be clothed in rags and I would still outshine all but the Empress Herself. Though it would appear that you've already noticed that."

Lua was not offended by the way Brian looked her up and down, undressing her with his eyes. That had been her intention when she'd donned her outfit, after all. A daughter of any House, high or low, was doing a poor job of representing her House if she did not turn any heads as she walked through a street. Beauty was just another form of power, after all, and any good drow wanted as much power as they could get.

 

[Hardor]

Once more the drow female fired off a threat in his general direction, this time simply threatening to set his house ablaze if he were to turn her out. He fought back a chuckle and simply shook his head. There was no way he'd be turning her loose into the streets, after all, he'd basically dedicated his entire life to helping people in any way, shape or form and the last thing he was about to do was send anyone out into a blizzard even if they were a pompous, arrogant piece of work like herself. But, to his momentary relief, the drow acknowledged her current position and seemed to back down for the moment, accepting that she was a mere guest in his care. He heard the last portion of her sentence and simply chuckled, "You'll learn here soon that this world doesn't operate like your previous one." He stated, "Your hexes will do nothing more than bring down unwanted attention. You see, in this world when we find things we fear we do not grovel at their feet." He flashed her a small smile, "We lock them away and limit them. We break them down or destroy them." His eyes moved to meet hers as he further explained her situation, "I offer you protection here and a few words of advice. Control those golden eyes of yours because, while I may not say much about you shooting little sparks my direction, there are those who would be far more terrified than I and far more likely to inflict harm upon you in return."

His simple request for her name had resulted in quite the mouthful of words, his eyebrows arching slightly as she ran through her title, not a single word of it holding any meaning to the man. He chuckled slightly and shook his head, "I'm going to refer to you by the name Lua." He stated, moving past her before making his way slowly up the stairs, casting her a glance over his shoulder, "I do not know who your Divine Empress is but I can tell you that she is nowhere near here. This is Boston and it is located in the United States. And judging by the look of contempt on your face and your dismissal of humans earlier I'm assuming that you come from a world where humans are nothing more than simple peons to you and whatever your people are?" He questioned, all the while making his way upwards one step at a time, "Regardless, in this world we are the ones in control. House Valreth or whatever it's called doesn't exist here. Here we rule and you'd do well to try and learn some manners. After all, I'm one of the more understanding of my kind." He said, the last part coming with a slight chuckle.

He pushed open the door into his own bedroom and stepped inside, moving towards his closet. He pushed open the sliding door, a large mirror decorating the simple door. He frowned slightly and cast his eyes back and forth, looking for something for the female to wear. He'd never been one to keep many female companions in the house other than the occasional one night stands. Due to that fact he had very little in his possession that was truly designed for a female to wear. But the man couldn't bring himself to worry about it to much, his hand reaching out to grab at one of the larger t-shirts that sat draped upon a hanger within. He pulled it free from the hanger and tossed the baggy shirt towards her, "Take off your clothes and put that on. I don't have much else to offer you but you're going to get sick if you keep that crap on you." He said, gesturing towards her entire attire, "If you mind your manners and learn some respect I might be tempted to buy you actual clothing that will fit you." He stated, knowing full well she'd fire off some sort of retort to that statement, "And before you say a word, your gold or whatever money you carry on you means nothing here. We function on a thing called the dollar bill. A gold coin is going to do nothing more than get you an odd look and a few questions you don't want to try to answer."

He shrugged his shoulders slightly and flashed her a smile, "Welcome to my world. You've got a lot to learn but, luckily for you, I'm more than willing to teach you." Of course, what the man didn't say was that it would all be at a cost. He rather enjoyed the idea of a companion and she seemed like a very interesting one to keep around. Besides, while her own world may of been one of magic, his own was a world driven by science. They had no means to simply teleport her to another world. No, she'd managed to magic herself here but, unfortunately for her, there was little hope of simply whisking her back. She was here to stay and she'd have to learn to adapt to a world that had no understanding of her and very little room to accept something as vastly different as her.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua frowned at Brian's mention of how humans here feared the unknown. Though they appeared more technologically advanced, the humans of this "United States" seemed to be just as barbaric as the humans in her home. She followed Brian upstairs and sighed when he handed her a t-shirt. It reminded her very much of a tunic one would see a peasant wearing and was well below her status, but she had little choice other than to catch cold in her current attire. With a look of disgust, directed in the shirt's direction rather than Brian's, she quickly and casually stripped out of her clothes right then and there before snatching the t-shirt from his hand and donning it. The hem of the shirt fell only a few inches below her hips, leaving a good portion of her long, toned legs exposed and granting an easy glimpse at her shaved sex if she moved too quickly. Unlike any other woman Brian had known, however, she did not seemed embarrassed or ashamed by this fact. In fact, it seemed that she was more displeased with the shirt itself rather than its length. She showed great restraint by simply rolling her eyes when he mentioned buying her new clothes, but otherwise did not remark on his comment.

"Your kingdom seems to be a very backwards and xenophobic one," she said, walking over to the edge of his bed and sitting on it, making a show of crossing one of her legs over the other, only barely covering her sex as she did. "Were such an event to occur in my land, we would make the visitor at home, provided they were not hostile. There is much to be learned from other cultures, but it seems that the humans of this land are just as close-minded and barbaric as they are in my home; they've just learned to dress better.

"Now, I would not say we treat your kind as peons: that would imply that we regularly use their services. No, the drow simply command their respect and reverence whenever we pass through one of their settlements. Where I come from, your kind are feudal at best, if not downright tribal." She began examining her nails as she spoke, picking out bits of dirt and flicking it away from her. "It seems that humans failed to advance at all in the millenea in our absence, at least not in any meaningful way. We honestly expected resistance when we came to the surface once more, but many humans simply worshiped the ground at our feet and those who did attack were easily subdued. I must say, this is the most advanced human settlement I've encountered, but it seems that your mindset has not evolved at all. Still, you have provided me with useful information: word of the Divine Empress has not spread this far yet and you do not recognize my kind, so I have obviously been transported to the other side of the globe. It is a tedious setback to be sure, but not one that I cannot overcome; I need simply rest and prepare a Sending to one of my sisters, who will work on pinpointing my location and retrieving me. Perhaps you will have a little more respect when you see the splendor of a proper drow retinue. I would not expect a reward for your services, though: you have been far too uncouth to warrant one."

 

[Hardor]

Brian eyed her with great curiosity as she frowned at the simple t-shirt he'd handed her, half expecting the female drow to complain about the length of the material or of its simplicity in comparison to what she'd previously worn but, to his surprise, the female simply stripped out of the damp clothing currently sticking to her body, snatched the t-shirt from his hands and slipped it back on. Of course, in the short stretch of time in which she'd remained unclothed before him he'd allowed his eyes to feast upon every exposed inch, taking in the sight of her exposed breasts as well as glancing over her rather toned frame. There face seemed void of shame or embarrassment at the situation, the short length of the shirt proving to be no problem for the female. Interesting, he thought to himself, shrugging off that thought for the moment as she once more began her criticisms of his race as well as her comparison between their worlds in general. Her words were harsh but rather accurate as she insulted the human race and their methods of handling other cultures. But the words seemed to have little effect on the male as he stood before her, curious eyes examining her.

Despite their obvious differences it was hard not to find the drow female highly attractive. The short material of the t-shirt only served to accent that as the female crossed her legs over, barley covering her sex while leaving her long, toned legs fully exposed to his wandering eyes, "I'm afraid we're far from tribal here." He stated, a faint smile on his face as his eyes slowly skimmed over her frame and rose to meet her own, "Here we've learned to dominate our environment in every way possible. We shape it and use it to sustain ourselves." He stated, giving a simple shrug of his shoulders, "We have none who stand above us and do what we can to respect the environment to some degree." He stated, knowing full well that last bit was a bit of a lie given the humans tendency to destroy nature at almost every turn as they continued to rapidly expand housing developments, malls, convenience stores and all of the other luxuries humanity demanded. Once more her words turned towards her Divine Empress and the male could do little but laugh, "On the opposite end of the globe you'd find Europe, Asia and Africa. I'm afraid your civilization is not a part of any of those continents." He moved closer to her, his hands slipping into his pockets as he glanced down at her, "You're the only drow, or whatever you called yourself, here. In all of my years I've never seen or heard of another like you."

He moved a hand towards her ear, his fingers moving to pinch at the tip, the touch meant to be one of curiosity as if examining the female a bit more closely, "You do, however, highly resemble creatures that we describe as fantasy." He stated, "You look like an elf straight out of the Lord of the Rings series." He said, chuckling slightly as he brushed his fingers across her ear, invading the elven females personal space and touching an area that was of great sensitivity to the female, a detail he had thus far been unaware of.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua's eyes widened in shock as Brian informed her that she was not, in fact, on the other side of the world, but on a different world entirely. In a split second, her expression went from confident and aloof to confused and panicked. The drow had known of the existence of other worlds through various ancient texts and their holy scriptures, but the are of traveling between worlds had been lost to them when they were driven underground. The artifact that had brought her here had not traveled with her, at least not that she knew of, so she was now trapped in a world that was not her own, quite possibly for the rest of her life. Lua was an intelligent woman, but even she had trouble fully comprehending the consequences for that as her world was shattered in a mere moment. She simply sat where she was, eyes wide and unfocused, numb to her surroundings as she took in the true scope of what had just been revealed to her. It was only when Brian touched her ear that she reacted.

In a single swift motion, she stood and slapped Brian across the face. It was not the gentle kind of slap that resulted in a mere smack and some stinging: the dorw put her entire weight into an openhanded blow that sent Brian staggering if it didn't knock him to the floor. Unbeknownst to Brian, the drow's ears, especially the tips, were highly sensitive to both sound and touch and, much like on a human, they were also an erogenous zone. This meant that, unlike for a human, the drow's ears were just as sensitive as her nipples were, meaning that, to her, Brian had just shattered her world and then immediately tried to sexually assault her. Her eyes focused once more as she glared down at Brian, her golden irises beginning to spread across the entirety of her eyes as her tattoos glowed a similar golden color. "You would dare assault me in such a way?" she demanded, her voice a feral growl. "I care not if you are my host, nor how your world views magic. I care not how barbaric your race is either: the only reason you still live now is because you are necessary to my survival, but I care little how valuable you are if you are so callous as to make such an advance so soon after stealing my world from me. Get out now and do not speak to me again until sunrise or I shall vaporize you."

 

[Hardor]

The shock and devastation on her face was a detail Brian had failed to notice as he moved towards her, his curiosity getting the better of him as he'd reached out his hand for a slight stroke of her ear. Unfortunately for him, that was an action that would soon result in quite the negative series of events for him. He had little time to react as the drow stood up and slapped him across the face, the action catching him off guard and sending him staggering backwards, surprise lighting up his face much like the red print that lit up his cheek. He'd had no awareness of the sensitivity of her ears let alone the meaning behind such a touch but his eyes quickly shifted towards her irises once more as they began to change. He quickly recovered from the staggering blow and flashed her a look, his heart racing as her voice turned into a feral growl and her anger began to show through, "None of that, Lua." He breathed out, his eyes hardening as they moved to meet hers, "Vaporize me and your only ticket to surviving this world crumbles. Remember that. Your hexes and magic will serve little use for you here." He stated, his eyes meeting hers as they exchanged glares.

"You will not simply bully me around here." He said, stepping closer to her as if challenging her. It was one thing to be kind to ones guest but when it came down to who would be the dominant one when all was said and done he had zero intentions of allowing her to be the one to hold that title. He kept his eyes focused upon her own, never once flinching despite the glowing orbs that stared back into his own sapphire ones. Truth was, he had little idea just what she was capable of but he knew the logical portion of her brain would eventually force her down. After all, she may of known his race from another time and place but she had little idea of just how they worked and operated in his world. She was a long way from home and the true reality of her situation was beginning to truly set in, "I do not intend to make any advances on you nor did I intend to steal away your world." He breathed out, crossing his arms over his chest, "However, I do intend to rule my own house and to create the rules that govern it. You do not know how to return to your world and I have no means of assisting you with that. Fact of the matter is you are here and therefore you must learn how to survive here." He gave a shrug of his shoulders, dismissing all else at that moment.

"Either you can go on a little rampage and vaporize me like you seem to enjoy threatening doing or you can knock the shit off, cool your head and remember where you are. You're no longer in your kingdom. You are in mine. And the rules we play by are much different here. Now, I recommend you return those eyes of yours to normal and cool the hell down before this gets more out of control than it needs to. I don't intend to sit idly by while you zap me with those eyes of yours and I'd much prefer not to have to grab you by that hair of yours and pin you down. I'm sure that would only serve to further humiliate someone of your supposed stature. Or am I wrong?" He questioned, stepping closer to her as if preparing to do exactly as he mentioned. Truth was, he honestly had no idea whether or not he'd be able to overpower the drow female. She came from a world he had no understanding of and had endured things far different from that of the world he was acquainted with. What he did know was that she was highly intelligent and that she was in need of something to hold her all together. She'd been informed that her own world was potentially unreachable therefore survival in this world was the utmost importance. Unfortunately for her, the man who stood before her was the only one currently capable of ensuring her survival.

He came within a foot of the female after fully recovering from the rough slap and stared down at her, his frame a few inches taller than her own. He stared down at her, his eyes unflinching, "For as long as you are in this house, I expect you to abide by my rules. You want to be respected and treated like the royalty you were? Then I expect you to earn that privilege. As far as I'm concerned you are a simply tenant of my house. That means you will do what is requested of you to earn your stay here. Do you understand?" He questioned, knowing full well his words would do more than simply annoy her. They would cut at her, further stabbing at the status she once held in her own land.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Were Lua behaving rationally, she might have listened to Brian. Had he given her time to process the full depth of what he'd told her when he said that she was in a different world or simply not touched her ear, she would have listened to reason and backed down. Now, though, she was behaving irrationally and reason had little place in her mind. She would come to regret what she did next later, when her senses returned to her, but at the moment she was scared and angry and had very little to lose: or so it seemed to her. What was the point of trying to lie low if she could never return to her own world? To the people she knew and loved? What was the point of her study of ancient drow culture if it could all be rendered moot in the span of a few seconds? Her entire life up to now had been rendered pointless now that she was in an entirely different world where none of her previous actions had any consequences. The reputation she'd built, the friends she'd made, the papers and books she'd written all no longer existed and the one man who might have served as her anchor had sexually assaulted her and seemed to show no remorse for it, so why should she care about what happened to her next?

Completely ignoring everything Brian said to her, Lua reached out and placed her palm on his chest, her eyes and tattoos still glowing brightly as she did. Suddenly, and without warning, pain exploded through Brian's body. Had Brian ever been shocked by a taser, he would have found the experience comparable. Lua continued to glare up at him, teeth clenched in rage and tears beginning to trickle from her eyes as she let the spell run its course. The spell lasted only a couple of seconds, but that was usually enough to temporarily incapacitate a humanoid opponent. With her spell cast, the last of Lua's arcane energy was spent for the day and her eyes returned to normal. In order to do anything more impressive than levitate a spoon or shoot sparks from her fingers, she would have to rest and spend an hour studying her tattoos. She'd spent most of her magic traversing the ruins that morning, so she'd only had the one spell left when she encountered Brian. If he remained standing, she let out a growl and pounded her fist against his chest, otherwise she delivered a vicious kick to his gut. Either way, she continued glaring at him.

"Do not trivialize what I have been through!" she spat, screaming in rage as hot tears poured down her cheeks. "I may be some minor inconvenience to you, but I am alone now, thanks to you! I cannot go back! Do you understand? I cannot go back! Nothing I have ever done is of consequence anymore! The reputation I worked so hard to build, the discoveries I made, the friends I had are all now completely meaningless! I don't even have a currency that would buy me anything in this land! I have nothing and all you do is posture and preen like a damned peacock!"

 

[Hardor]

Brian had honestly expected the female to back down, to see her eyes return to normal and to watch her simply slip back to the bed as she recovered from the shock of the realization. Unfortunately for him, the slight touch to her ear as well as his need to place himself above and to exude some form of dominance over the female and her air of superiority soon landed him in hot water as her hand motioned forward and placed her hand upon his chest. The sensation that came next was far beyond his expectations as a powerful jolt of electricity surged through him. His eyes widened and his fingers went rigid, clenching into tight fists as every single nerve in his body freaked out from the powerful jolt. His legs slowly crumbled and the male dropped to his knee just to be met by a rather vicious strike to his gut. The air was knocked free from his lungs and he simply crumbled over to his side, grimacing from the sudden jolts of pain.

He laid upon his side for a moment, his eyes opening to glance back up at the drow female as she glared down at him, going through her rant all the while he fought to simply regain his breath. Slowly, he pushed himself upon into a seated position, his eyes moving to meet her own as tears began to pour down her cheeks, "I apologize.. For any insults I may have cast your way. I touched your ear out of curiosity, not as a way of 'sexually assaulting' you." He stated, gritting his teeth as he slowly moved to push himself upwards, attempting to get up to his feet while keeping his eyes focused upon her, "You don't have currency but what you do have is a safe place right now." He said, standing back to his full height once more despite the discomfort he felt in his gut as well as the slight burning sensation he felt upon his chest where her hands had initially been placed. God damn his body hurt, that simple jolt that had passed through him from head to toe was enough to leave him almost shaking as he fought to recover from it. All the while he attempted to keep from looking weak while he attempted to smooth over the damage he'd managed to make despite his best efforts.

He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, "I don't have any way of sending you back to your world. And I have literally no idea how it is you managed to get here. But, this is a place for you to stay and you can figure out how to make it in this world. If you can work on minding your temper some and I'll work on figuring out the differences between your culture and mine and we can figure out a way to coexist here." He said, attempting to be as kind and understanding as possible to avoid any more blows like the one he'd previously experienced.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

The only sound that could be heard for a long time was Lua's heavy breathing. She'd exerted a lot of energy today, bot physical and arcane, and she was very tired. At the same time, though, she was too proud to admit that she might be in the wrong and, at this point, she was too angry to so much as submit to him for long enough to ask him to direct her to her room. She huffed, crossed her tattooed arms beneath her breasts and looked away.

It was shame that eventually got her to speak, which was odd because she couldn't remember the last time she had felt ashamed. Still, standing there with her arms crossed and refusing to look at Brian made her feel childish after a little while and she felt that the harm such actions did to her image outweighed the principle of not wanting to be wrong. She took a deep breath.

"I would like to be shown to my room," she said, looking down at her feet. "I have had quite enough excitement for one day. I would also appreciate not being disturbed until after I wake."

 

[Hardor]

He allowed the long silence to continue for as long as she desired, using this time to allow his body to recover from the combination of painful sensations he'd been forced to endure. However, that silence was broken after a long enough period of time, the previously screaming female slowly dropping her eyes, refusing to so much as make eye contact with the male before slowly inquiring as to where she'd be staying for the time being. He stood in silence for a moment himself before uncurling his fingers and turning towards the doorway they'd both entered the room through. He stepped through it and out into the hallway, casting his eyes over his shoulder towards her, "The guest bedroom is over here." He breathed out, moving across the hallway before nudging the door open. The room was rather simple, a twin sized bed, a small dresser and a nightstand resting beside the bed. Other than those simple accessories the room was rather barren.

He stepped away from the doorway and moved back towards his own room, "Don't worry, I'll let you get the sleep you need. I'm sure today has been rather long and stressful. So I'll see you in the morning." He gave her a slight wave, half dismissing her and half saying goodnight before moving back towards his own room. He slipped inside and cast her one last look, half examining her and half making sure she made her way into the room he'd offered her, "If you need anything, you know where I'm at." And with that he closed the door, leaving it cracked ever so slightly. He changed out of his work attire, dawning a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts before moving over to his bed. He slipped into it and let out a slight sigh, the long day leaving him rather worn out. It was only a matter of minutes before he was out like a light, dead to the world. Luckily for him, the following day was the start to a much needed weekend which would hopefully provide him with more than enough time to better understand his new house guest as well as hopefully break the attitude she'd been bred to have.

Unfortunately, the following morning seemed to come all to soon, a slight groan leaving him as he slowly sat up, cast aside the sheets and made his way from the bedroom. He'd almost managed to forget the existence of his new guest before his eyes came across the closed door of the guest bedroom, a slight frown playing its way across his face before he shook his head and turned towards the staircase, making his way slowly downstairs and towards the kitchen as he went in search of some food to start off his day, somewhat curious as to what time the drow female would arise and just what sort of mood she'd approach him with on this new day. After all, they'd parted ways with quite the intense exchange of words and emotions. Made him wonder just what sort of disaster this new day would be.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua'nal's sleep schedule had been completely thrown off. When she had left her world, it had been late afternoon, but it was night in this new world. Fortunately for her, she had been exhausted from the exertion of exploring the temple and casting magic, as well as the various forms of shock and emotional distress she'd gone through had tired her out. She didn't even listen when Brian told her that she was welcome to wake him up at any time; she simply walked into her room and closed the door before crawling into the bed.

Lua did not understand the way time was measured in Brian's world, but she woke up an hour after Brian did. She sat up with a groan, realizing that she was still trapped in this human world and that the past several hours hadn't been a dream. She sat and tried to focus herself enough to prepare her spells for the day, but she couldn't empty her head of her emotions. With a sigh, she slid out of bed and went downstairs.

In the morning light, she looked even more stunning than she had at night. The sunlight danced across her snowy hair and shimmered on the parts of her ebony skin that weren't covered by her golden tattoos. Her hair was somewhat disheveled since she hadn't had an opportunity to bathe, but she still somehow managed to look good despite the circumstances. She walked down the stairs and looked about the living room, attempting to determine where to go to procure food. Finally, she gave up and walked over to Brian, looking up at him expectantly. "Where is your dining room?" she more demanded than asked. "I do not know what sort of things you humans eat, but I assume that you at least have a selection of meats, breads and cheeses?"

 

[Hardor]

Brian's morning started off with quite the simple, yet appetizing breakfast. He'd made a few eggs, a couple slices of bacon and enjoyed himself a slice of toast before slipping off to relax in a recliner in his living room. The t.v. had kept him occupied for a few minutes before he'd simply switched it off and closed his eyes, enjoying the simple peace and the relaxation he could experience with the day off that had been long overdue. However, the simply peace he'd stumbled upon was soon shattered when he heard the soft creek of the steps as Lua made her way slowly down them, his eyes opening before turning towards her. Surprise momentarily passed over his face as rays of sunlight bounced off of her skin, accenting the beautiful ebony skin and further detailing her lovely curves. Despite the rather enjoyable view, Brian promptly pulled his eyes away, having no interest in starting the day off with another explosion much like the one he'd ended the previous day on. He kept silent for a moment, watching as she glanced around before bringing her attention back towards him, her question earning a slight chuckle from the human.

"Well, us humans eat stuff that I'd assume is much similar to what you'd eat." He said, letting out a bit of a sigh as he pushed the foot rest of his recliner back in before slowly standing up, "I don't fully understand how it was your society worked and operated but we don't necessary just leave selections of meat and cheeses laying around. Us 'common people' typically try to prevent being overly wasteful." He stated as he stood up straight and stretched out, "And I think we had a bit of a talk last night about that tone of yours?" He questioned, flashing her a slight look, "That sounded a bit more like a command then a question. I'd be more than happy to show you where the kitchen is and help you make some food for yourself given the fact that the mechanisms we use here are probably a fair bit different than what you're used to. However, I will not be bossed around by you." He breathed out, giving her a slight look, "Understood?"

He slipped his hands into his pockets and moved around her, turning his eyes towards doorway on the other end of the living room. He stepped into the kitchen and glanced back towards her, "Follow me. I don't intend to be your servant. You can pick something out to eat and I'll teach you how to make it. After all, on the weekdays I will not be around to pamper you so you're better of learning how to fend for yourself to some degree here. I'll help where I can but I expect you to carry your own weight here." He knew the words would be less than delightful to her. With how she carried herself and how she acted he was rather certain she was used to being waited on hand and foot when it came to the day to day life in whatever land she was from. But in his world that was far from the norm and he had little to no intentions of bowing down to her and simply giving her everything she desired. She would have to earn her keep in one way or another.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua rolled her eyes at Brian's reminder of their discussion the previous day, but she looked outright offended when he told her that she'd have to make her own food. "What would I know about a kitchen?" she asked, appalled. "And what sort of host has his guest search his house for sustenance? I know you're human, but you must surely have some concept of hospitality!"

She glanced around, taking in his house once more. It was actually a very nice house, all things considered, although not at all decorated in a style that Lua was familiar with. "Furthermore, where are your servants?" she asked. "Your abode does not strike me as that of someone who is struggling to make ends meet. Surely you have a manservant who can attend to my needs in your absence?"

It seemed that it would take Lua a while to understand the concept that she was no longer royalty. It wasn't even that she was necessarily trying to be rude: her mind was simply having trouble parsing the idea that she might have to work for the things she wanted. Any work she had done before she had appeared on Earth had simply been a product of her own hobbies; she had been schooled by the finest teachers, yes, but she had an aptitude for academic studies that had quickly lead her to pursue archaeology. Anything she didn't want to do was handled by the servants so, as a result, she'd never actually had to do anything she didn't want to. Learning to prepare her own food was at the top of that list.

 

[Hardor]

Brian heard her words and let out a slight chuckle of his own, simply shaking his head from side to side as the reality of things further settled upon him. The upbringing she'd received had left her rather pampered, never before being exposed to the simple labors of cooking or simply cleaning up after herself, something that she'd soon have to experience despite the rather foreign nature of it. He turned his eyes towards her as he neared the kitchen, "Things don't work quite the same here. Here we don't really have what you'd consider 'servants'. I do, however, have a person who comes in to assist in straightening up this place." He stated, pausing for a moment as that potential problem suddenly popped into his head, "But.. We'll have to deal with that one once it makes itself known.. I do not, however, have a servant who fixes food for me." He said, shrugging his shoulders, "Never really saw any need for a cook and they are rather hard to acquire these days. Not to mention rather expensive to keep around." He let out a chuckle at that final thought and moved towards the kitchen, "Also, I hardly consider you a simple guest. It's not like you're simply staying the weekend." He said, smiling a bit, "Or were you intending to head out sometime soon?" The last bit was meant more as a teasing touch, knowing full well she wasn't simply planning on slinking out in the evening in pursuit of someplace else. That is, unless he managed to piss her off again.

He once more moved towards the kitchen, this time rounding the corner and disappearing into it, "Don't worry, I don't expect you to fend for yourself completely. I'm fairly confident you've never had to deal with half the devices that make up one of our kitchens. Given the way you were examining my car last night as well as the city lights I'm assuming you haven't dealt much with electronics or with anything outside of the realm of magic. So we'll give you a little tutorial once we find something you'll eat." He moved towards the refrigerator and tugged it open, glancing around inside, "Hmmmmm.. I have eggs? And some toast. Oooh and bacon. I didn't finish all of that off yet." He breathed out, half mumbling to himself as he glanced back and forth over the few different shelves, "What sounds good?" He questioned, half expecting quite the bizarre response from her. After all, he was far from used to whatever world she had arrived from. For all he knew she'd start spouting off the typical breakfast dishes that were prepared for her from her home world and heaven only knew what those would consist of. Regardless, he left the question out there in hopes that she might just respond with some sort of normal items.

"Also.. There will be a lady coming by after while to straighten up things. I typically have a rather hectic work schedule and she comes by to clean up the kitchen, clean the bathrooms and to take care of the lawn and garden." He turned his attention towards her, glancing up and down her frame. If it weren't for the ebony skin she'd be able to pass off as a normal individual. Well, other than the attitude that was most definitely not from this era, "We're going to have to figure out something to do about you.." He said, frowning slightly, "I'm guessing there isn't any way that magic of yours can change the color of your skin to something a little more.. Normal?" He questioned, arching an eyebrow as he stared at the drow female, "Or, if that wont work, we can always find a closet to hide you in." He said, grinning slightly at the thought of her tucked away in a closet, fuming while his house cleaner scurried about taking care of her typical business.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

Lua opened her mouth to say something when Brian said that she was not a normal guest, but for the first time since he'd seen her, she showed restraint and held her tongue, though it was more so that she could organize her thoughts than anything else. She followed him into the kitchen and finally spoke as he was muttering to himself about what he might feed her.

"I had assumed that the laws of hospitality would be known to someone in your social standing," she said, still pouting somewhat, "but it appears that I must educate you. By accepting me as a guest into your home, you have agreed to see to my well-being and satisfaction. The duration of my stay is irrelevant and not actually up to you. As your guest, I determine the length of my stay and cannot be removed from your home unless I do something to bring harm to you or your estate, with the exception of self-defense, such as last night. Should you have need of my services, I will provide them so long as your requests do not break from your duties as my host. So, to give an example, as my host, you are required to provide food for me while seeing to it that I am satisfied. If I were one for a proclivity for the culinary arts, it would not be rude of you to ask me to prepare my own food since I would more than likely enjoy the task. However, since I have no such proclivity, it is your duty to see that breakfast is prepared for me each morning, as well as all other meals at whatever time they happen to be served. Really, it's quite simple: I'd have assumed that you humans would have figured out such a basic concept long ago." she gestured broadly at his house. "If you are capable of creating such intricate architecture, I'd assume that you'd have the sophistication that usually accompanies such cultural advancements."

She paused and listened to what he had to say about the servant-but-not-servant that came in occasionally to clean his home. It was a concept that she was having trouble wrapping her head around, but she decided to put the concept aside for the moment and focused on the information being conveyed: someone was coming over and they couldn't see her in her drow form. "I suppose that I could weave an illusion to make me appear human," she said. "Granted, it wouldn't be a complete transmogrification: I would simply be projecting an illusory form over my real one. If someone were to touch me, they would still feel the texture of my skin. I will also need an image to work with: I have not had much contact with humans, so I do not have a form in mind that I can sculpt my appearance around. Without a reference, I would likely seem off to the casual observer."