[ hello! kate has changed into her normal clothes. she sees this and spends some time watching from a distance, before finally deciding to approach. up to you if karlach noticed that hesitation. ]
... Were you hoping to find something else, perhaps?
[she gets the sense that someone is watching her, but she's kind of used to that here considering. she does startle a little when she's approached, blinking up at kate, and then... doing mental gymnastics for a second.
and then apparently she decides that she does not care what this shadow child looks like and just gives her a little smile instead. she has Seen Weirder.]
Whatever I was expecting absolutely wasn't this. [...] I can show you, but promise not to freak out.
there is a whole-ass heart in the box. it is fleshy, and a little bigger than a human's, and sad and squishy. no blood! but it's there. karlach just kind of looks... a little uneasy about it.]
[she's glad the smoke has stopped - she's been glancing, concerned.]
We've got fiend blood, but it's not me, it's my ancestors. Some human fu-- [a beat.] Uh, some human got married and had babies with a demon waaaay back in my family tree.
I'm afraid the only place I've seen anyone like you is in storybooks.
[ and not usually in flattering contexts... ]
... In addition to the Shadows family, we're attended to by servants who act as cooks, cleaners, and Faces. They make up more than half of the residents of the manor.
Because shadows do not have faces, we have to distinguish ourselves in other ways. Wearing specific clothes and perfumes... but also, by having an attendant who acts as one's Face in social situations. They are to express our identities and emotions in the ways that we cannot.
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... Were you hoping to find something else, perhaps?
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and then apparently she decides that she does not care what this shadow child looks like and just gives her a little smile instead. she has Seen Weirder.]
Whatever I was expecting absolutely wasn't this. [...] I can show you, but promise not to freak out.
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[ a nod. she's fairly sure she won't freak out. ]
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there is a whole-ass heart in the box. it is fleshy, and a little bigger than a human's, and sad and squishy. no blood! but it's there. karlach just kind of looks... a little uneasy about it.]
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a trail of smoke starts rising from the top of her head. ]
What...
Where did this come from?
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[she glances at the smoke, frowning just a bit.]
It shouldn't be here. Or anywhere, for that matter. It should be ash, if it is what I think it is.
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It was removed? Why? ... How?
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[she raps her knuckles against her chest. it makes a thudding metallic sound.]
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Pardon me for asking, but are you also...?
[ a devil? ]
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I've never heard of tieflings before.
[ that smoke from earlier seems to have stopped pouring out of her head, at least. ]
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[she's glad the smoke has stopped - she's been glancing, concerned.]
We've got fiend blood, but it's not me, it's my ancestors. Some human fu-- [a beat.] Uh, some human got married and had babies with a demon waaaay back in my family tree.
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[ lol. ]
... I'm afraid I don't have such a clear explanation for my own existence as a shadow. Our origins are... not very well understood.
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Yes.
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[well. she has, but she's not going to say those shadows tried to murder her, she's got some tact.]
Could you tell me a little more about it? You're not like... someone's shadow? You're your own person.
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The Shadows House where I reside is populated by many shadows like me, but the information made available to children is very limited, I'm afraid.
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Are there not-shadows? Humans or... I guess anything that looks like me. You seem like you know what a devil might be.
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[ and not usually in flattering contexts... ]
... In addition to the Shadows family, we're attended to by servants who act as cooks, cleaners, and Faces. They make up more than half of the residents of the manor.
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Faces?
[curiously.]
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Because shadows do not have faces, we have to distinguish ourselves in other ways. Wearing specific clothes and perfumes... but also, by having an attendant who acts as one's Face in social situations. They are to express our identities and emotions in the ways that we cannot.
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