ax_main | Vex and Keyleth, backdated to February 9

Kiki shows up and Vex greets her. Two of the Vox Machina girls, reunited and catching up!

After parting ways with Scanlan and Grog, Keyleth eagerly texted Vex, even as she headed down the hall to the girls' dorms. Hi roomie I'm omw! She had the clothes on her back and a backpack full of odds, ends, and minimal wardrobe--until she could get her stuff sent from London, which might never happen. And she didn't care. She was going to be with her friends again!

Vex didn’t bother responding to the text. She left the door open, propped a compact mirror in the crook of the door frame, and watched idly from her bed while she waited. When she spotted a familiar form she jumped up. Vex poked her head out. “Took you long enough.”

Keyleth burst through the door, smacking her arm and not even noticing. She grinned. "But I'm here now. This place is huge."

Vex grabbed her and spun her. “I need to show you the woods. You’ll love it! And we can explore the building so you can get oriented.”

Keyleth somehow managed to keep her feet under her, her grin huge. After spending months with Grog, and then Scanlan, even if it was only for a few weeks... she loved them, but Vex was a relief. She tossed her bag onto the empty bed. "Let's go!"

Vex wasn't sure which to show her first. "Fresh air, or corridors first? Are you hungry?"

"Oooh, uh, yes, but... fresh air!"

“We can snag snacks from the kitchen and then hike for a while,” Vex suggested. She went to grab her pack, already filled with her usual supplies for a day in the woods.

Keyleth clapped her hands together once in excitement. "How big are the woods? Huge? Like the house? What is up with this house?!"

“This house is actually small compared to the months with Syldor,” Vex admitted. The group knew about Vex and Vax moving in with their father prior to the school, but during recent months Vex hadn’t gone into detail about her months seperate from her brother. “The woods are better,” she said. “Yes, they’re huge. Now that it’s warming I want to build a structure out there. The people that patrol for security may wander past, but we could make a place beyond the well travelled paths. Sleep beneath the stars in spring.”

"Oooh, I'd love that! Whispering to the trees all night, talking to the stars." Keyleth sighed happily as she followed along. "It must be such a relief to be here."

Vex shot Keyleth a wry look and tipped her head. “Yeah. Better now that we know where you all are.” She hesitated and then added. “I’m sorry we left.”

Keyleth reached for Vex's hand in a jerky, impulsive motion. "I'm glad you did. I mean, it was roundabout, but now we're here, and I'm glad you're here. It's weird but--it feels safer. For now." Safer than Syldor's and safer than being on their own. Considering.

Vex squeezed Keyleth’s hand softly. “For now,” she agreed. “Maybe we’ll get to finish school before shit goes south, even. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Keyleth squeezed back. "That'd be a nice change!"

“Vax doesn’t love that part, but there’s plenty for him to love so he can suck it up.” She shook her head. “It’s interesting having more friends to try and copy homework from now that we’re older. He has a live in tutor again and everything.”

Keyleth chuckled. "I'm not too excited about the homework either, but we could all probably convince Percy to tutor. Unlike Vax, I wouldn't even copy when he turned his back."

Vex made a face. “I’m sure he’d be happy to.”

Keyleth made a similar face. "Let's enjoy freedom while we still have it. Show me the best trees."

Vex swung their joined hands. "Only the finest trees for you, Keyleth. And maybe some really cool rocks while we're at it."

"Ooooh rocks too? Yes please!" Keyleth kept their hands swinging. "And tell me about the people. Who are your new friends and when can I meet them?"

"If we pass anyone in the woods I'll introduce them, otherwise I'll start dragging you around when we get back. Yana you've met." Vex considered and then grinned. "Hmmm. Maybe I'll just drag you door to door. If I don't know whoever answers, then we can introduce both of us." She winked.

"That sounds... fun?" Keyleth didn't sound quite sure, raising an eyebrow.

Vex translated 'fun' to 'slow torture'. For a girl that had the need to travel and search the world, Keyleth could be such a wallflower sometimes. "Or maybe a slow adjustment. I hope we bump into Laura or Trowa. They're lovely, you'll see them out here a bit."

“What kind of a name is Trowa?” Keyleth asked, all curiosity.

Vex raised a brow. "I don't know, Keyleth. What kind of name is Vex'Ahlia? I'm hardly one to question."

“Oh.” Keyleth frowned, then realized what that’d sounded like. “I didn’t mean—uh I didn’t mean it like that! I just wondered where they’re from. It’s an interesting name.”

"Ah, name origins?" That made more sense, for all of Keyleth's curiosity. "He did say he travelled a large distance to get here. Russia I think? I'm not sure if that's the only place he's been."

“Ohhhh.” Keyleth nodded sagely, like everything made sense now. “I love that this school is pretty international. That’s gonna keep things interesting too.”

"It's a really interesting mix of kids. Makes you wonder if there's mutant schools anywhere else in the world, or if the professor has the best feelers out."

“He seems like the kind of guy who has a lot of feelers,” Keyleth said thoughtfully.

"Agreed." Vex swung her closer, guiding Keyleth around a corner. "It's better here than home in a lot of ways. Hot water. Good food. But it's still weird."

“I did kind of miss hot water,” Keyleth admitted, looking around as if by turning a corner they’d entered a new world.

“It’s one of the luxuries I hate giving up,” Vex agreed. “I almost wish you could have seen some of the extravagance in Syldor’s home. I don’t think we’ll ever live like that again.”

"I do wish I'd gotten to see it," Keyleth said. "Just because I feel like it's a part of you two."

The next tug pulled Keyleth closer to bump their shoulders together. "There's places I'd rather take you. Better parts of us to see. What's left of where we came from at least."

"Much better," Keyleth said with a very serious nod. "Someday I'll take you guys to Kanya Kumari, too."

"I'd love that," Vex said. "It's a shame none of us is a teleporter."

"Or rich. Rich would also be sort of useful. The kind of rich that didn't belong to an adult."

"Rich we can work on," Vex said mildly. "We'll still have to deal with customs and passports and all that bullshit, sadly." She hesitated before asking. "How much have you talked with Percy since you got over here?"

"Not enough. Oh, I missed him so much." Keyleth sighed happily. "Is he happy? Does he like it here? He seems to."

It was likely Keyleth didn't know about the Briarwoods then, or Percy's history. Vex would leave that to him to share in his own time. "He and Vax are disgustingly happy," Vex answered dryly. "And Percy is thriving, between his workshop and finishing his education. I wouldn't be surprised if he speeds through classes and takes advantage of university courses as soon as possible. It's terrifying to think that he's the baby of the group."

“So even more perks to the place than a great forest and interesting people,” Keyleth decided. “I’d go anywhere if it meant Percy could have all that.”

"Yeah," Vex said softly.

“I was already determined to like the place, but that seals it.” Keyleth looked around expectantly. “Are we there yet?”

Vex laughed. "Just for that, I'm getting us deeply lost and we're not coming out of the trees until sunset, flower child."