Devil's Deal IC 5: Vampires and Werecrocodiles and Fey and Teenagers and oh my!

[Hazuki]

As Tulip sinks her hand into the squirming teenager's ribcage, she finds her hand wrapping around a cool, sharp object that digs into her fingers. Unlike metal, it doesn't burn, but just grabbing it almost makes her bleed. She could even be doing so, if she could tell, but having her hand wrapped in organs doesn't lend itself well to feeling that out. With one quick tug, the slender black blade that had been forcing its way out of the center of Raize's chest is freed without further injury.

The blade is about as long as Tulip itself, made out of an unidentifiable black mineral that's sharp on both sides and tapers to a wicked point. Closer to the bottom of the blade are two more, shaped like the horns of an elk and poised to catch blades, or assist in an already gruesome stabbing. The blade nicks Tulip's fingers as it shoots out of her hand, floating above the now-whimpering Raize before floating over to her hand. A black liquid seems to flow out of it, surrounding the elf's hand in the shape of an elk skull, its jaw pointed at her wrist, and forming a gauntlet made out of an unearthly supple material. The blades then attack to it, completing the elk-skull shape.

The bladed gauntlet rests on Raize's hands, and she pants, while Laysendre watches it, utterly confused, and Lun pulls the elf's hair out of her face.

~

"Your name is Yildiz vel Enas." Lyre answers the vampire coolly, tail sitting still as it brushes against the dirty ground beneath her paws.

[PersonMan]

Dilaa stares at the odd blade, muttering a brief incantation meant to ward off evil spirits as she looks over to Raize, glad to see that the elf has recovered. She looks around at the others in the 'room' with a slow nod, feeling an odd sense of achievement - she had just been able to help save someone in the middle of dying a horrible death - before a thought occurs to her. Yildiz wasn't with them. Frowning, a certain conversation comes to Dilaa's mind and she stands. "I don't know anything about magic blades and skulls, so I'll head outside," she says, offering the group a smile before she goes outside and looks for Yildiz.

[Archmage1]

The brave petal fearlessly reaches into Raize's chest, and pulls out the blade, wincing as it cuts her, and she watches in horror as the blade floats up, as though to return to where it came from, before is suddenly flies down to her hand. Watching, the slowly bleeding petal seems to be speechless.

[Archmage1]

But then, then, she remembers, and her look of horror grows.
"It's... it's a black blade! They're not nice, and they eventually try to take over their wielders, but they're really hard to get rid of! But... maybe Raize can stay Raize? She's not like their usual wielders, because she's nice!"

[Hazuki]

Laysendre is practically bouncing on the ground at the sight of a merely panting Raize, who isn't writhing and wincing in pain, and it seems to take everything she has to not leap at her sister for comforting hugs. Partially due to the fact that she still has a few cracked ribs. She does manage to squeak out a "Thank you!" to Tulip.

Mithra moves a little closer at Tulip's realization, and her eyes briefly glow green. "I believe I've heard of something similar. Not all of them are necessarily evil - indeed, I've heard that they tend to match the philosophies of their wielders to an extent. And even in the event that they are controlled, it is never permanent." She informs the Petal. "I'm sure there's no reason to worry yourself over it."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles softly at Laysandre's comment, but she continues to look worried, despite Mithra's explanation.
"But... it might not be ok. But... I... I don't know how to help."
She seems almost defeated, looking quite sad.

[Hazuki]

"There's a simple spell to prevent mind-control." Mithra informs the Petal. "I can provide you with a thousand scrolls of it, if that would calm your nerves."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks up at Mithra, sudden hope in her eyes.
"But... Raize is the one that might need them!"
She turns back to Laysandre and Raize.
"Do you think you could use them, to try to help Raize?"

[Hazuki]

"I only have small knowledge of healing...but I do know that Raize still needs her ribs healed." Laysandre replies, squeezing Raize's ungauntleted hand.

"I'm wondering why it didn't turn her into a Wendigo." Lun remarks, smiling slightly.

"It's because..." Raize breathes. "I'm an elf. We're great like that."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles.
"I'll try to help!"
She darts in, to hug Raize, and Raize feels... nothing. Except being hugged by a sad petal.
"I... I don't think I can! But I can try to help, like Bandaid said!"
She darts off, and starts collecting leaves, before she starts joining them together, clearly trying to make something like a bandage.

[Hazuki]

"Wait, wait!" Laysendre says, as she watches Tulip start to make a bandage. "Y-You can't wrap cracked ribs. It might make her suffer even more."

Raize groans. "Can I even move? I don't want to sit around all day."

[Archmage1]

Tulip shakes her head, still working on making her bandages.
"They're not for her ribs, but for Raize, so she can't move, and hurt herself more! They'll help stop her from bending, and hurting her ribs more!"

[Hazuki]

"You're going to tie me up?!" The elf asks, eyes shooting wide open.

[Archmage1]

Tulip shakes her head firmly.
"No, I'm just going to make it hard for you to bend! That way, you won't accidentally hurt yourself when you move! You'll still be able to move your arms and legs, and, when there's a sun again, I think I'll be able to help you feel better again too!"

[Hazuki]

"What about my clothes?" The injured elf asks, drumming her fingers on the edge of the spongey material that makes up her bed and watching Tulip curiously. "I don't want to start walking around dressed up like a corpse."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles at her.
"It's mummies that have bandages, but these are leaves, so it's ok! Besides, you should sleep as much as you can, so you heal faster, and then I'll try to help you more when the sun comes back!"

[Hazuki]

"Elves don't sleep!" Raize protests, attempting to fold her arms over her chest, then wincing as she remembers both her bladed gauntlet poking at her, and the cracked ribs she's complaining about. "Shevar..." She mutters. "We trance. Which requires concentration and not having pains all through my chest."

[Archmage1]

Tulip continues to smile cheerfully at Raize, bobbing up and down merrily as she speaks.
"I can help you sleep!"

[Hazuki]

"Alright." The elf shrugs her shoulders and rests her head again. "Try not to mess around in my head too much? This thing's already giving me a headache." She flexes the fingers on her Black Blade hand.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and claps.
"Yaay! You'll feel better when you wake up!"
Tulip tries to focus, hoping to use her magic to help Raize to sleep.(Sleep)

[Hazuki]

Raize immediately falls into a deep sleep, thanks to Tulip's magic. Even the black blade doesn't seem to want to move, now that she's resting.

"I'm glad that's taken care of." Lun remarks, as she gets to her feet again and stretches out her arms. "Do you have anything for this, Tulip?" The teenager asks, pointing at the large claw wound that remains on the side of her face. "It stings a lot." She smiles tuskily.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks at Lun's injured face, and looks a mixture of worried and sad.
"I'm sorry Lun, I didn't see it! I'll try to help!"
She looks around, hoping to spot something that would help Lun's face start to feel better, and to get better.
[roll0] Know: Nature
[roll1] heal

[Hazuki]

Unfortunately for the Petal, there don't seem to be any plants with healing properties in the nearby vicinity - it seems that they'll need to move further South or West in order to even get regular plantlife, let alone any that could help with wounds.

"I...I actually have an idea." Lun speaks up, moving away from the pair of elf sisters to lean against the wall of the rock den. "Can you, uh, cast a spell on me?" She asks the Petal, scratching the back of her head.

[Archmage1]

Disappointed, the petal soon returns to Lun, empty handed, but before she can explain, Lun speaks up, and Tulip excitedly seizes on the opportunity.
"I can! What trick would you like? Ooh! I know! You could be really hard to see! Or maybe really heroic?"

[Hazuki]

"Try the invisible one?" Lun suggests a little uncertainly, as she pulls herself into a battle stance.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles.
"Ok! This'll be lots of fun!"
Tulip darts over, and sits on Lun's head, trying to help Lun vanish, which would leave Tulip sitting in mid-air(Invisibility). And grinning.

[Hazuki]

Lun prepares herself for the spell, which brushes past her defenses and turns her invisible. "Uh. Oops." The unseen half-orc does some gesture that can't be seen, but is probably mildly cute. "Can I try again?"

[Archmage1]

The grinning petal nods, even as Lun becomes invisible, as she ends her trick.
"Ok! But this time, I'll make it look like you're standing somewhere else!"
With that, the cheerful head petal focuses again, trying to displace Lun this time(DC 17)

[Hazuki]

Tulip's magic washes over Lun and, for a moment, doesn't displace her. The pink glow shimmers in the air for a few moments before breaking into tiny particles, which are then claimed by a golden glow and absorbed back into the half-orc. The wound on her cheek heals up, closing with barely a scar and leaving her pain-free.

L"I knew it!" The half-orc beams.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks a little sad as Lun doesn't displace, but then she spots Lun's cheek, and her eyes go wide.
"You can turn my tricks into helping people feel better? Do you think you could do that for Raize?"
She seems quite excited by the prospect, as she hovers in front of Lun, smiling hopefully.

[Hazuki]

"I'm not sure!" Lun replies, fingers twitching excitedly at her side. "I just - I remember doing something similar when we first met Mask, but I didn't mean to, so I thought maybe I could try to do it on purpose? And it worked!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles excitedly.
"Maybe we can try! Maybe we can help Raize like that! Can we? Please?"
As usual, she seems to be filled with a mix of emotions, in this case, mostly hope and excitement.

[Hazuki]

"Let's do it." Lun nods, strolling into the stone thing alongside Tulip and placing a hand on Raize's sleeping shoulder. "Wait." She pulls back her hand. "Isn't it...weird to touch people while they're asleep?"

[Archmage1]

Tulip continues to smile happily.
"It's ok! We're trying to help her, so she won't mind! Are you ready?"
Once Lun is ready, she casts heroism(DC 22 will)

[Hazuki]

Tulip's magic fills Lun with heroic goodness, the half-orc frowning a little once it's done. "I didn't even get a chance to resist that one! Maybe it only works with some kinds of spells?" She suggests.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and nods.
"Ok! We know it worked when I tried to trick everyone into thinking you were somewhere else, so I'll try that trick again! I'm sure you can do it!"
Smiling merrily, she tries to displace Lun once more.(DC 18)

[Raunchel]

"And how do you feel about me?", Yildiz asks again, looking forwards to what will come in just a little time.

[Hazuki]

The spell is caught once again, and Lun channels it into the pink-sparkling golden energy that she's used in the last couple of fights, then attempts to channel it into the sleeping elf. Unfortunately, the magic doesn't seem to flow into her, simply floating around the half-orc as she focuses, until she has to stop straining and it dissipates around her.

"Damnit." The half-orc sighs.

~

Dilaa senses Yildiz with her lens and starts sprinting to the vampire's location. She knows she will get there shortly.

~

"You're scary. You shouldn't be alive or young after so much time." Lyre answers the vampire, eyes starring dully ahead.

[Archmage1]

Tulip watches excitedly as her spell is converted into pink sparkling healing energy, but she seems sad as Lun discovers that she can't use it to heal others.
"Aw... It would have been really nice, if we could have helped her! But... I'm sure we'll be able to after the sun comes back! Maybe we can tell stories, to the villagers, so we can help to teach them to be nice?"

[Raunchel]

"Tell me, what happened after your masters died?", one of her last questions, but she has time. All the time in the world.

[Hazuki]

"In the morning, yeah." Lun agrees, flashing a smile at Tulip. "I'm not sure I know so many stories, Tulip. And they probably want their rest, too - I can't hear their music, and they'd be playing that if they weren't tired, wouldn't they?"

~

Dilaa and Yildiz spot one another from about a hundred feet away. The werecrocodile spots Yildiz talking to Lyre in a far-off space, standing opposite one another, while the vampire spots the desert warrior running towards them. Without a weapon drawn, at least.

The unaware Kitsune keeps talking. "There was confusion in the people. I didn't want to stick around, but people were worried that rulers had been slain and so easily, and that you'd gone missing. Nobody was around to take credit for doing it, and nobody to organize defenses or anything, so Transfirlia got taken under another's rule."

[Raunchel]

"Who took Transfirlia from me?", Yildiz asks, hurriedly.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles excitedly at Lun's words.
"Yaay! I'll look and see if they want to hear stories and music, but if they don't we can in the morning!"
With that, the excited petal darts off, intending to fly around the camps, to see if the villagers want to hear music, or stories, or if they wanted to tell stories.

[PersonMan]

Spotting Yildiz, Dilaa relaxes somewhat, but stays moving just as quickly as before - while the worst hadn't yet come to pass, it was still very likely that this was something she needed to interrupt as soon as possible.

[Hazuki]

"Catherine of the Redwreath family." Lyre answers succinctly, her tone unhurried. It's at this point that Dilaa arrives within earshot.

~

Tulip manages to find one of the children that wasn't involved in the earlier assault on Mithra, Raize and Laysendre, their noble defending of the bridge from a gang of children. It's a little girl of about seven years of age, sitting with her hair braided and lazily nomming on a piece of meat. Despite the lack of drum-beats, she hums softly to herself.

[Archmage1]

Smiling cheerfully, Tulip flutters down to her, landing nearby, and smiling cheerfully.
"Hi!"

[Raunchel]

Yildiz sees Dilaa approach, and knows that she needs a way to get rid of Lyre. She gives the mental command to attack Dilaa, and shouts: "Look out Dilaa! She's gone mad!"

[PersonMan]

Dilaa narrows her eyes as she looks over Lyre's stance and awkward motions, turning quickly from her to the vampire child. "Yildiz, release her," she says, shifting into a defensive posture to ensure that Lyre isn't able to get a solid hit on her as she speaks. "And explain why you felt the need to ensnare her mind."

For once, it's useful...


Total Defense. Dilaa has 35 AC vs Lyre (Also using Stance of Clarity on her).

[Hazuki]

Lyre lunges at Dilaa and attempts to grip her shoulders, then bite into her neck, but is easily held back by the desert warrior's arm.

[Raunchel]

"She said mean things about my family.", Yildiz states, "And she is mine by right. I inherited her."

[Hazuki]

The child turns to Tulip, her eyes going wide as she spots her. "Hi! You're pretty!" She says, smiling brightly at the Petal.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily as the child compliments her, and settles down a bit, becoming a bit more comfy.
"Thanks! You're really nice! I'm Tulip, and it's nice to meet you! You're really good at humming!"

[Hazuki]

"Thanks!" The little girl blushes. "Where did you get wings? I wish I had wings!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks a little sad as she learns of the little girl's wish.
"I grew with them, so I always had them, but flying's lots of fun, unless there's too much wind, then I just get blown around! But sometimes... being big would be nice! Then I could maybe help people more!"

[Hazuki]

"Can you grow wings for me?" The little girl asks, eyes shimmering with youthful hope.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks really, really sad at the little girl's hope, and she shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, but I can't! I can make it look like you've got wings, but I can't help you to fly! It''s really sad! Maybe I could try singing? Would that make you feel better?"

[Hazuki]

"Will...will singing give me wings?" The little girl sniffles. "They're so pretty..."

[PersonMan]

"You inherited her from who?" Dilaa asks, raising an eyebrow. "And even if she did, that isn't a reason to make her try and attack me."

[Raunchel]

"From my parents, she was their slave and now she's mine. And attacking you was a joke, she can't hurt you anyways.", Yildiz says, mentally commanding Lyre to freeze.

[Hazuki]

Lyre freezes in place, as best a humanoid can.

[PersonMan]

"Are those the laws of this land?" Dilaa asks, crossing her arms. "And how can you prove that she was indeed their slave?"

[Raunchel]

"Lyre, tell the truth, were you the slave of my parents?", Yildiz asks the kitsune. "Those are the laws of my land, and she fled, that does not excuse her for what she did."

[Hazuki]

"I was the slave of Yildiz's parents." Lyre answers.

[PersonMan]

"The laws of this place apply. This is where we are. My laws say to burn people like you if we ever find them, but we aren't there, so they don't apply," Dilaa replies, shrugging. "I won't trust anything she says as long as you're controlling her, you know. You can be telling her anything, since you can make her do things without saying them," she adds at Lyre's stiff response.

[Raunchel]

Yildiz tilts her head: "What would you do if you crossed a border, and the law of that new land said that you had to give your weapon to the ruler, and never get it back? She is my possession, not a person. Once you let the laws of possession go, society just collapses, into different bands of criminals. And I am not a normal girl, I am by right the ruler of Transfirlia, and she is my subject.", Yildiz says, not letting go of Lyre.

[Archmage1]

Tulip continues to look sad, and she shakes her head.
"No, but it might make you feel better, and then, maybe, when you get really big, you'll be able to help other people feel better too!"

[PersonMan]

"I would leave," Dilaa explains, shrugging. "And I don't see you as having any special right to your land. Heiress or no, there is a right of conquest that is just as legitimate as your own," she says. "Seeing as we aren't in Transfirlia, she isn't your subject, anyways. And no matter what we decide now, you'll have to give her up as soon as we reach Garmine at the latest."

[Raunchel]

"If right of conquest is valid, then she is mine as well, because I have taken her now. And she wil never see Garmine, I will punish her for her infraction, and send her away in dishonour. I will not be stopped in this, it is my right. There is no reason to be worried about this thing, she is little more than a wild animal to be tamed. Just leave us to our private conversation, and then our ways too will part.", Yildiz answers.

[PersonMan]

"You don't conquer people, you conquer land," Dilaa replies, shaking her head. "Using magic on someone doesn't give you a right to own them. Otherwise you would belong to Garmine forever, and I don't think you would like that," she says, smiling briefly. "And I do have reason to involve myself, actually. Regardless, if you want to punish her, what will it be for? What crime has she committed?"

[Raunchel]

"There are many crimes. She has run away, she has failed to properly mourn my parents. She has refused to bow to me. As soon as she saw me, she should have submitted herself, and yet she avoided me.", Yildiz smiles back, "But if you would share the pleasure, you may take her head."

[Hazuki]

"But I don't want to help people..." The little girl folds her arms on a nearby create and buries her face in them. "I want...I want wings..."

[Archmage1]

Tulip flies closer to the girl, and looks really sad.
"Helping people is lots of fun! But I... I can't give you wings, but... maybe some music will help you feel happier?"
With that, she pulls out her harp, and starts playing a cheerful, happy song, hoping it would help her new friend feel happy too.

[Hazuki]

The little girl continues to pout into her arms, but with Tulip's persistent, cheerful singing, she eventually starts to smile despite herself.

[Archmage1]

As her music starts to cheer the girl up, Tulip decides to try something else, and tries segueing into a song that practically cries out to be danced to, with a cheerful, energetic beat.

[Hazuki]

As Tulip starts to play her energetic song, one of the tribals leans out from a colorful tent and makes the universal gesture for "Be quiet! People Are trying to sleep!" before slipping back through the fabric. This makes the little girl stifle a giggle.

[Archmage1]

Tulip's response is a cheerful little trill, and she smiles merrily at the more cheerful girl.

[Hazuki]

"That was funny." The little girl wisely whispers.

[Archmage1]

Tulip whispers conspiratorially with the girl.
"I don't think they want to have fun! Which is really silly!"

[Hazuki]

The little girl nods in agreement, looking a little sleepy herself. "Sleepy adults."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and nods, and then her face lights up with excitement.
"Maybe we could go and find some of your friends, so we can have fun together! That could be fun, right? We could try to see if they want to have fun!"

[Hazuki]

"Liiiike?" The little girl asks.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles excitedly as she starts thinking of fun things to do, and her voice conveys her excitement well.
"We could sing, and dance, and explore, and tell stories, and maybe play tricks on people! It'd be lots of fun!"

[Hazuki]

"I don't know if that would be good." The little girl says, pointing her fingers into a steeple. "A lot of the adults seem upset."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks really sad at the loss of fun, her petals and wings seemingly drooping.
"Aw... maybe we could try once the sun comes back?"

[Hazuki]

"I dunno." The little girl leans against the crate. "I heard some adults whispering and being sad because we won't be able to eat people any more."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks confused, and then, she remembers Lun's reaction to Klennup's actions, and realization dawns.
"I think I know why! They're afraid that because they're moving into a village, they'll need to bury the bodies, like the villagers did! But... why would they be whispering about it?"

[Hazuki]

The little girl stares at Tulip, utterly confused.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks momentarily chagrined, as she realized she had confused her friend, and then she smiles.
"Maybe we can cheer them up?"

[Hazuki]

"But they're tired and stuff." The little girl reminds Tulip. "And I don't want to annoy them..."

[Archmage1]

Tulip continues to look sad.
"Aw... maybe we can try when the sun comes back?"

[PersonMan]

"Run away? If your parents died and you were also elsewhere, there would be no reason to stay," Dilaa shrugs. "And as you're only a claimant, she doesn't need to bow to you, anyways," the warrior adds. "Really, you have no right to her, especially not in this place. If you can reclaim your family estates, you may have an argument, but even then she doesn't need to return to your service."

[Hazuki]

"Maybe the other ones have an idea of how to help? The ones with yellow." The little girl suggests, pointing at the bodypaint on her bare arm.

[Raunchel]

"I am no mere claimant. I am the heiress of my lands and all who dwell there. For eternity. But I am merciful, and kind and really, really sweet. I will not torture her, I will only kill her. Even Mithra agreed that I could do that here.", she smiles wickedly, "And please, don't oppose me in this, it might make some people you actually care about very, very sad."

She makes Lyre walk towards her, and kneel, so their faces are at equal height. "You see, Dilaa, I'm not a bad girl. All I want is justice, real justice."

Suddenly one of her swords falls into her hand and she cuts at the exposed Kitsune's neck.

Do I need to roll for this? Or can she just behead her prisoner?

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily at the idea.
"We could go and talk to them now! They'd like that, right? Since we're trying to cheer everyone up!"

[Hazuki]

"They get special food sometimes." The little girl explains, smiling at Tulip's smile. "So maybe if they get more, other adults won't have to be sad about not eating people!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily at the idea, practically bouncing on her feet in excitement.
"I could help them grow things, and find yummy things too! And then, everyone'd be happier!"

[Hazuki]

"You can grow meat?!" The little girl asks, wide-eyed.

[Archmage1]

Tulip shakes her head.
"I can grow fruit, and nuts, and flowers, and trees, and lots of things! But not meat, but that's ok, because fruit and nuts are much yummier!"

[Hazuki]

The little girl shakes her head. "Fresh meat! Much better. Yumyumyum."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully, even as she shakes her head.
"Fruit and nuts and things are lots yummier! Have you ever had cake? It's really, really yummy!"

[Hazuki]

"We want meat! It's rude to change us." The little girl replies, folding her arms firmly over her chest. "If you do that, you don't really love us."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad.
"I'm just trying to help, and to show you yummy new things!"

[PersonMan]

It takes a brief moment, as Yildiz makes her threat, for Dilaa to realize what her glance at the kitsune means, and the warrior charges with barely a thought. With a snarl she bares her teeth, rushing to slam herself into the vampire child and drive her away from the still-bewitched fox woman.

Entering Rage and initiating a Bull Rush.

Opposed Strength checks, since I think Yildiz counts as flat-footed and can't make an AoO here. Remember Yildiz' -4 for being Small. :smalltongue:

Dilaa: [roll0]

[Hazuki]

"But we like meat!" The little girl replies.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully at her.
"Have you tried fruits and nuts and things?"

[Hazuki]

"Not much." The little girl answers. "But it doesn't matter, because meat is good."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully at that.
"Then maybe you'll like fruit and nuts more! That's why exploring is fun, because you can find fun new things!"

[Hazuki]

"But we grow up with meat!" The little girl huffs. "We can have fruit and stuff with it. But we still have to have meat!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles.
"If you have the right grass, you can raise chickens, and things, and then eat them when they die, so you can have both!"

[Hazuki]

"But the yellow people get special meat!" The little girl says. "We don't need chickens if we get more!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily at her.
"But maybe chickens are nicer? Or maybe they can't get more? And, to be special, you need something to compare it to, so maybe chicken is the normal meat?"

[Hazuki]

"Normal meat is people, duh!" The little girl points out. "We should ask the yellow people to make special meat the regular meat. It'll be good!"

[Raunchel]

Yildiz finds herself intercepted and thrown away by Dilaa's strength. She tolls through the air and lands on her feet, crouching and baring her fangs. "That was not very nice of you, it might have tempted me to hurt you. Let me have my prey, I do not intervene when you lie with yours, even though it is icky."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad.
"If normal meat is people, then you must have lost lots of friends! Maybe the special meat is chicken!"

[Hazuki]

"Why do you hate the meat from the yellow people?" The little girl asks. "You don't even know what it is, but you don't want us to have it. That's dumb."

[Archmage1]

Tulip shakes her head, and looks confused.
"I was just trying to find food that you'd like, and I don't know what the special meat is, but I've heard that everything tastes like chicken, so maybe it was chicken!"

[Hazuki]

"Then why can't we ask the yellow people to get more meat?" The little girl persists.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles.
"We can! But if they know everyone's sad, and that more meat would fix it, maybe they can't get more, so we need to find some other source of food for everyone!"

[Hazuki]

"Or they didn't think of it!" The little girl snaps.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad as the girl snaps.
"But they're nice, so wouldn't they think of it? But... Let's go and talk to them now! Then, we can know!"

[PersonMan]

"If you value your freedom, your limbs or your continued existence, do not seek to slake your bloodlust on the innocent," Dilaa responds, resisting the urge to simply attack. They were quite similar, really, her and the vampire child. The primary difference being that she had realized that her urge to slaughter was wrong, and that one could not simply do whatever one wanted when dealing with others. "Cut through as many of the damned as you like, but do not think you can cut down any you can think of an excuse to run your blades into."

[Hazuki]

"Being nice doesn't mean they're smart. Adults are dumb anyway." The little girl points out. "They'll be in the yellow tents!"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and looks cheerful, even as she looks around, for the aforementioned yellow tents.
"Let's go see!"

[Hazuki]

Tulip, with the little girl in tow, soon manages to spot the yellow tents that are set up at the inner-part of the makeshift tribal campsite. Among them is Morei, the healer that Laysendre had consulted to help with Raize, who just so happens to be one of the yellow-painted tribals.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and waves as she spots Morei, cheerfully flying towards her, with the little girl.
"Hi! We were talking, and she said that everyone was sad, and that maybe you could help! It's really sad when everyone's sad, so I was hoping to help too!"

[Raunchel]

"If you value your freedom, your limbs or your continued existence, do not seek to slake your bloodlust on the innocent," Dilaa responds, resisting the urge to simply attack. They were quite similar, really, her and the vampire child. The primary difference being that she had realized that her urge to slaughter was wrong, and that one could not simply do whatever one wanted when dealing with others. "Cut through as many of the damned as you like, but do not think you can cut down any you can think of an excuse to run your blades into."

Yildiz looks deep into Dilaa's eyes, her face twisted with rage. "And you can choose who is damned and who gets to dance? You delude yourself, you have no great insights. You only follow your own urges and believe that it makes you less of a beast."

Suddenly she starts laughing, and her face clears up to cheerful innocence, almost as much as Tulip has. "That was a good joke, wasn't it?"

[Hazuki]

"How can I help?" The lanky woman asks, tucking some greyed hair behind her hair and turning her murky eyes to the pair of small creatures before her.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, before she bursts into her explanation.
"I was going to sing, ant tell stories to try to cheer everyone up, but then she said that you could help, because you had special meat, that helped everyone be happier, so I thought maybe you could help, or maybe I could help teach how to grow things really well, so that there was plenty of food for everyone!"

[Hazuki]

"I don't have meat. Whisper has meat." Morei replies, sitting down on a wooden stool. "Growing things is a good idea, but our culture revolves around meat. It has done for many years. If you'd like to teach us how to grow things, we would appreciate it - and I could send a message to Whisper, asking for extra, if she's willing to lend us it."

[PersonMan]

Dilaa grins, standing back up to her full height. "You mistake me for someone else, Yildiz. Saying I think I am more than a beast, or think I can judge others, has no purpose. Because we both know that isn't true," she says, shrugging. "You can't slice where there's already a cut. Will you be releasing her now?" Dilaa asks, crossing her arms.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully.
"I know lots of things to help things grow, and of course I'll help! Maybe you'll really like cakes, or fruit, or nuts, or other, not meat things, because there are lots more of them! But..."
She looks a little sadder, and her voice seems a little less cheery, and a little more curious.
"Who's Whisper? Is she nice?"

[Raunchel]

"Are you sure that you don't want her? I can command her to follow ever order you give.", she winks, "I guess you don't. Let's walk back to the camp, I can release her there."

[Hazuki]

"Whisper was our leader, before Kekok made us part of his tribe. She was intelligent enough to see that defying Kekok - and the Albino above him - wasn't wise. This allowed us to retain our identity, as well as serving her - even if her rule was secondary." Morei explains. "The Wendigo-"

"Wendy!" The little girl interrupted excitedly.

"Wasn't as wise, so they came to rely on Kekok completely. And now, you and your group." Morei finishes.

[PersonMan]

My first order would be to pick my teeth clean of whatever your innards are made of now, Dilaa thinks before she can stop herself, and almost smiles as Yildiz continues. "Good. I think it may be best for her to stay with us, though, to ensure her safety," she says, already planning to ask Mithra to bring her into the magical space she slept in. There the kitsune would be safe, even when everyone else (apart from Mithra and Yildiz) was asleep.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles excitedly, clearly happy to hear Morei's news.
"So she can help? And she's nice? Yaay!"

[Hazuki]

Morei nods. "I can send a message now."

[Archmage1]

If anything, Tulip seems even more excited, practically seeming to dance with delight at Morei's words.
"Yaay! I'm sure she'll help!"

[Raunchel]

Yildiz happily hops back to the camp, while cursing Dilaa and her stupid interference. She will have to be punished for it, all she needs is a nice one. It will be something to think about in the night. And she will have to arrange an accident for Lyre, stupid Dilaa. "Come Dilaa!"

[Hazuki]

Morei sends the pair of small people off while she finds a way to get a message to Whisper, after which the little girl's parents soon collect her and leave Tulip to fend for herself, or else head back to the rocky den that serves as their campsite. Mithra, Lun, Laysendre, and a sleeping Raize are all there by the time they return, and Yildiz, Lyre, and Dilaa arrive shortly after.

"My sanctum will be somewhat less spacious than normal." Mithra informs the group, as she tugs on the floating red rope. "But there should be plenty of room. Are we all ready to rest?" The mage asks.

[Archmage1]

Tulip chats merrily with the little girl, but, alas, she is soon disappointed by the arrival of the girl's parents, who take her friend away. She flies around for a bit, looking at things, before she comes back to the campsite, to check on Raize, and everyone. As she flies in, she smiles cheerfully, and waves.
"Hi! Did you know the villagers are sad? I was trying to cheer them up, and Whisper is going to help!"
She seems to be excited by her discovery.

[Hazuki]

"Nice story, Tulip." Lun yawns, climbing up the rope to bed.

[Archmage1]

Tulip seems saddened by Lun's lack of interest, landing on a rock, and frowning, with her petals seeming to wilt.
"Aw..."

[Raunchel]

Yildiz releases Lyre from her grip as she heads towards Tulip, and sits down next to the little petal. "Hi! Could you tell me about your new friends. Most of the big ones don't want to play, and I really want to play some games."

[Archmage1]

Tulip seems to cheer up at Yildiz's interest.
"I was flying around, and then I saw this lonely little girl, who looked sad, so I thought I'd say hi, but she was sad that she didn't have any meat, because the adults were sad that they couldn't eat people anymore, but she thought that some special meat would help, so we went to try to get some special meat, which came from Whisper, who was their leader before the wendigo came!"

[Raunchel]

"Really? That sounds like a lot of fun. Did you find Whisper?", Yildiz asks, excited. People who eat people tend to not be very annoying, and sometimes you can have a lot of fun with them. Her parents had after all told her that she could play with her food, as long as it couldn't run away too fast.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad at Yildiz's words, and she shakes her head.
"No, she's not here, but we did send a message to her, so she'll come and help, and it'll be nice!"

[Raunchel]

"Yay!", Yildiz seems happy about it, "That is a good story, but now I'm bored again. Do you want to play a game?"

[Archmage1]

Once more, the emotionally whipsawing petal seems to cheer up, and she seems excited again.
"A game? Is it a fun game?"

[Raunchel]

"It's a lot of fun. It's called marbles.", she produces one of her marbles from her bag. "You take one of these and roll it over the ground, to try to get it into a hole that is some distance away. Then the other player rolls, and they each take turns, and the first who gets her marble into the hole wins."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks at the colorful marble, and smiles, looking quite excited.
"It's pretty! Maybe Dilaa or Mithra or Lun, or Laysandre or Lyre will want to play too?"

[Raunchel]

"You can ask them, but I think that they are too grown-up for it. Big people are so boring. And they're sleepy!", Yildiz answers.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily, and she flies up, and heads over to the rest of the group.
"Do you want to play marbles? They're really pretty!"

[Hazuki]

"I will play marbles." Mithra volunteers, as Laysandre, Lun, and an unseen servant help Raize up the rope.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily, clearly quite pleased.
"Yaay!"
With that, she turns to Dilaa.
"Do you want to play? It'll be fun, Yildiz says!"

[Raunchel]

Yildiz nods vigorously: "It's a lot of fun! Really!"

[Hazuki]

"Why not play for money?" Mithra suggests. "One hundred gold coins per round?"

[Raunchel]

"We can do that! But no magic tricks.", Yildiz says, hoping for an excuse to cut off that witch's fingers.

[Hazuki]

"Obviously." Mithra says, as she reaches into her satchel and retrieves a gold ring that she places on the rocky shelf that Raize's pack was hidden in.

[Raunchel]

Yildiz takes a few of her many coins from her pack, the heaviest, platinum ones. She loves counting things, but it would be dull to count that many coppers. She places them next to the ring, which she admires for a few moments.

I knew that a rank in Appraise would be helpful one day!: [roll0]

[Hazuki]

Yildiz can't quite identify the forging of the jewelry, but she recognizes it as a simple gold band produced in Charrus. They take imperfect, cheap gold rings, strip the pure gold out of it, and forge that into a ring of pure gold that's reinforced by magic. This one seems like it would fit Mithra's pinky finger, and would be about one hundred gold pieces.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks confused.
"Money?"
As Yildiz produces her coins, realization floods across her face.
"Those things! I have those!"
She reaches to her pouch, and dumps it out.(2057 gold)
"Is this 100 of them? I'm not good at counting!, but there are lots, and 100 is lots, so it's enough, right?"
She looks up at Mithra, and Yildiz, clearly hoping that it would be enough, and afraid that it wouldn't be.

[Raunchel]

Immediately Yildiz starts counting them, very quickly. She sometimes finds it a little hard to resist, but now, now she has the perfect opportunity. She makes a short pile, of hundred of the golden coins, she doesn't cheat, she would be found out, and that would mean more trouble: "These here are a hundred, the rest would be 1957 of them. You have a lot of gold, what do you want to do with it?"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles at Yildiz while she counts them.
"Oh, is this a lot? They're rather useless, really, but I think ravens and crows might like them, because they're sparkly!"

[Raunchel]

"You can trade them with people for nice things. For instance, you could get honey for it. I still have a pot, do you want to trade it for one of the coins?", Yildiz suggests, planning a great profit, and of course, getting rid of the sticky stuff that she can't taste anymore. All it does is make her sad.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad as she shakes her head.
"I can't! I told Mithra I'd talk to Dilaa before I did stuff with them! But... maybe you could share your honey? It's really yummy, and I'm sure we'd all love it!"

[Raunchel]

"I can't, it makes me really sad, but I can't share my honey. I can't eat after the dark has come, or I will change into a real meanie.", Yildiz answers, as sincerely as she can. And very sadly.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks really sad at Yildiz's sincere words.
"Aw... not even honey, or nice fruit?"
Her voice is soft, and very sad.

[Raunchel]

Yildiz nods, gravely. "I have to be really, really careful or very bad stuff could happen. I can't eat anything."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks really sad, her voice quite low(Well, for Tulip).
"Aw... that's really sad."
Then, she brightens as an idea occurs to her, her voice sounding much more cheerful.
"Maybe we can help you get better, so you can! Then you could enjoy honey! Wouldn't it be wonderful?!"

[Raunchel]

"I can't get better, it is a part of my curse.", Yildiz answers, sadly, "And there are lots of people who need more help, and I can still have fun. So it's no problem.", she continues, starting to smile again.

[Hazuki]

"I'm surprised it hasn't made you lonelier." Mithra says, having spent most of the conversation idly watching the campsite outside of their rock-den. Meanwhile, Lyre has decided to ascend the rope trick, fluffy tail soon disappearing. "You never mention any friends from before you met us."

[Raunchel]

"Oh, I had lots of friends before I came here, but I guess that I will never see them again. So, it makes me a bit sad. But some of them were really, really nice. Like Tasha, she liked to dance with me. And of course Kedi, she was my bestest friend ever, she was my cat and was really cute. We travelled together for a very long time, but meanies set her on fire when I was sleeping."

[Hazuki]

"Remarkably petty cruelty." Mithra remarks, as Yildiz reveals the fate of her pet cat. "Have you never considered getting another cat?"

[Raunchel]

"Oh yes, I had Kedi, and Kedi, and Kedi, and Kedi, and Kedi, and Kedi. They were all black and really cute. I think that I will go looking for a new cat soon, if I find one, she will be very cute too!", Yildiz answers, remembering all of her cats, even though she never managed to think up a new name for them.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks realy saddened by Yildiz's sadness.
"But curses can be broken, we just need to find out how, and then you can have even more fun!"
As Mithra and Yildiz talk, she seems to fall silent, although she look really horrified by Yildiz's casual tale of burning cats.
"That's terrible! Poor Kedi! What kind of meanie would set a nice cat on fire!"

[Raunchel]

"A group of human meanies", Yildiz whispers, "They said that Kedi brought bad luck, because she was black, and they think that black cats bring bad luck. Which is really, really mean."

[Archmage1]

Tulip continues to look really sad as Yildiz explains what happened.
"But... that's terrible! Poor Kedi... did you ask them to be nice, and explain that black cats are nice too? They really like playing, even if they do insist on biting and trying to hug me!"
(Tulip's "Playing" in this case is more like attacking, and then realizing that they can't hurt Tulip)

[Raunchel]

"I tried telling them, but they didn't listen. And then they set her on fire. They even tried to burn me, but I could run away, unlike poor Kedi.", Yildiz sobs, and fakes wiping away a tear.

[Archmage1]

Tulip's tears are rather more real than Yildiz's, and her eyes are very sorrowful.
"I'm sorry Yildiz! If only everyone was nice..."
She flies over and hugs the sad child, trying to help her feel better.

[Raunchel]

"Thank you, Tulip", Yildiz sobs, "you really are my bestest friend. But shall we do something happy, like the game?", she hugs the small fey back, resisting the temptation to bite.

[Hazuki]

The game of marbles starts off quite tensely, as Tulip beats out Mithra with a potent dash of beginner's luck, but Yildiz still proves better than either of them. The next few rounds go about quite predictably, as Tulip struggles to get any further good shots through the distraction of colorful orbs darting about the rocky den, and Mithra proves surprisingly competent at the game of marbles. Still not as good as the vampire, however, as by the time the rounds are finished, Yildiz gains the bounty of two hundred gold coins and a Charrus gold band.

"I suppose I'm out of practice." Mithra states, adjusting her gloves. "I hope you don't mind me standing guard with you tonight, Yildiz." She says to the vampire, letting Yildiz flit away to rest on whoever she pleases.

~

Morning comes with a cool, slightly cloudy day that nevertheless proves without trouble. Raize is healed by Lun's magic, her ribes feeling practically brand new in her chest, and aside from the voice in her head, seems to be in quite the chipper mood. She spends her breakfast (With some meat taken from the tribals) trying out her bladed gauntlet, which proves to be quite sharp indeed. The topic of sparring comes up over breakfast, through which Laysendre is constantly checking over her sister, but she and Lun agree that it's best to wait until nightfall if they're going to - else they'll waste all their healing when Lun has to go fight a dragon-bunny somebody's been keeping in their back pocket, or something similarly ridiculous.

Mithra somewhat tiredly informs the group that she's gotten word of some minor troubles with the Acolytes back in Garmine, but that Kulaas is handling them for the moment. With that, the party (and their tribal entourage) starts moving towards what-was Lar'rue. Laysendre happily chats with Tulip, seeming particularly interested in the times that she spent in her garden and whatever other things the Petal has to say, while the pair of teenagers casually talk about things they've seen. Lun doesn't have much to tell besides the last few days, as almost all of it sounds like the surroundings they're walking through, while Raize's are just a little unbelievable. Lyre plods along beside the group, her demeanor a little confused and hazy, as though she doesn't quite know what she's doing.

A little after noon, the town soon comes into view and...it doesn't seem much different from before, save for some small barricades that have been set around the very outer limits of the town - including the farms, as well as a little more around the dense clusters of houses at its center. The bodies can no longer be seen on the streets, but one of the large wagons that Klennup arrived with seems to have been converted into some kind of building that has a simplified carving of a dead person on the side of it. The wood of the other wagon is what seems to have been used for the barricades around the town.

It seems that the soldiers Klennup arrived with are still at work, or at least most of them are, as well as a few extra orcish faces that seem a little familiar. Some are still working on the barricades, while others are sorting out inventory for the houses whose owners have long since passed away. A pair of half-orcs can be seen sitting by the river and fishing. Even with this activity, the streets themselves, and the farms especially, seem like ghost towns. Before the party can advance much closer, along with their rapidly-whispering tribal friends, they spot Klennup walking towards them on her lonesome.

"Good afternoon." The half-orc, with her skull-helmet remade and sitting pretty on her head, greets the group. "We've constructed a small barricade and moved some of the bodies to an in-building graveyard, for space and cleanliness purposes. Some fleeing remnants of Mask's battle force have stumbled upon the town and Mask convinced them to join. We've found some surviving calfs and other young animals in the farms, and moved them to the farm closest to us, in the hopes that you might return with some expertise in taking care of them and making sure they survive. The animal carcasses are being stripped for material as we speak, and whatever isn't in too terrible shape will be harvest for met." She informs them, then her eyes flicker to the two-hundred strong group of tribals.

"Who are they?"

[Archmage1]

Tulip has great fun, rolling the marbles around, although, after her first roll, she looses focus, and mostly focuses on getting them to sparkle nicely in the light, and once the game is over(To her disappointment), she flies off, leaving her neatly counted gold on the ground, because it would be too hard to pick up.

In the morning, Tulip offers to help Raize too, wanting to hug her better. Along the way, Tulip cheerfully chats with Laysendre, occasionally pausing to examine interesting things along the way, and she tries to cheer up Lyre as well, trying to involve her in the conversations. After arriving, Tulip smiles happily.
"Hi Klennup! I'll help them survive! And I'll teach you all about growing things too, so you won't be hungry!"
Still smiling cheerfully, Tulip looks around, for the farm Klennup mentioned, with the animals.

[Hazuki]

Tulip spots the nearest farm by a nearby hill, although it isn't the greenest she's ever heard of. She can spot a few small pens that each have maybe five young animals in them. Even the chicks, which probably indicates that nobody in the town has any idea of how to keep the animals properly.

"You didn't answer my question." Klennup points out. "I know I'm your 'prisoner', but I'd like to know why you have two hundred tribals with you."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily at Klennup's question.
"They're here to join you! We found Kekok, and got her to be nice, but then she turned into a wendigo, and it was really sad, because she was mean again, so we had to help stop her, but then the tribals were really sad, so we thought they could come here, and be happy! Is there someone who's going to be taking care of the animals? I can help them a lot!"

[Hazuki]

"Good riddance." Klennup says, as Tulip informs her of Kekok's passing. "If my workload is going to consist of two hundred more tribals, somebody needs to have a word with Mask. He's been focused entirely on naming the town and ordering soldiers around to things that aren't useful. He spent last night getting a backrub from our hand-to-hand specialist." The half-orc rubs the forehead of her skull. "I suppose I'll get to work funneling the tribals in, shall I?"

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles.
"Ok! I'll talk with mask too, and see if he can learn to be more helpful! Or maybe someone else can, so I can help with the animals, and with growing things?"

[Hazuki]

"I guess I could do that." Lun speaks up. "I mean, he knows me, and I could probably beat him up?" The half-orc suggests.

"I'll come, too! Double-team him." Raize declares.

Klennup nods, then walks past the group to address the tribals.

"I'll assist Klennup." Mithra says, watching the woman walk past. "If there are no objections."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily at them.
"Ok! I'll go and teach people to take care of animals!"
With that, the cheerful petal sets out, to teach the animal caretakers how to help take care of the animals properly.

I'm off to see a movie, so probably going to be a while before I can respond(Probably like 3 hours). Tulip will cheerfully teach the fine arts of animal husbandry, Tulip-style.

[Raunchel]

Yildiz walks into the small village, looking for a way to relief her boredom. Then she has an idea, there are bound to be groups of children, and maybe she could play with them!

She looks around for them, maybe they even have a little school, and she could join them. She always found schools to be funny, and likes learning things in them.

[Hazuki]

Yildiz soon remembers that the inhabitants of the village were killed, which means its only current occupants are a small band of military orcs and half-orcs, all of which are fully aged. There are children in the tribals, but they haven't even stepped into the village yet, which is very unlikely to have a school.

[Raunchel]

After walking through the village for a bit Yildiz goes looking for a quiet, shady place, preferably high up, so she can watch what is happening.

Will be going tomorrow, so I might as well put Yildiz in a safe spot for the next few days, where others won't be waiting for her.

[Archmage1]

After she arrives, and doesn't find anyone to teach, Tulip flies back to Klennup, looking worried.
"There isn't anyone taking care of them, so I can't teach anyone!"

[Hazuki]

Klennup sighs, a sound amplified by Mithra's magic to reach even the very far back tribals. "Is anybody interested in taking care of the animals here?" She asks. "Come to the front."

After a few moments, a group of five or so tribals move around the group, sans equipment, and appear before Tulip. The group consists of the little girl from the night before, a young man with a set of claw scars over his mouth, an older man who's missing a few fingers, a young woman who's missing an ear, and a very bony man of indeterminate age.

"Hello!" The little girl grins and waves at Tulip.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully, and waves back.
"Hi again! You all want to learn how to take care of the animals? Yaay! Let's go then! There's lots to teach!"
She starts heading towards the farm, before pausing, and trying to pick a route that her followers can actually follow.

[Hazuki]

"Yes!"
A nod.
"It would be interesting..."
"I suppose."
"Indubitably!"

The group of Tulip's students respond, following her across the hill and over the farm fence that holds the pens filled with animals.

[Archmage1]

As they approach the farm, Tulip starts cheerfully talking, telling them about the different animals, introducing them, helping to teach her helpers to take care of the friendly animals, guiding them to group like with like, and teaching them about what foods they likes, and shelters, and that sort of thing.

[PersonMan]

Dilaa considers the barricades as they come in, and opts to help in their continued construction, to help shore up the defenses of the now more thickly settled village.

[Hazuki]

Tulip's lessons soon begin, and she has a little bit of a difficult time handling all five of them, as well as the animals, at once. The little girl seems to be more interested in petting and playing with the animals that she's never seen before, the man with the scarred mouth seems to be scared of quite a few of them (Particularly the loud ones), the older one is more interested in asking Tulip questions about their nature, the young woman is about as enthusiastic as Dilaa at a children's birthday party, and the bony man just never stops talking when he's nervous - and most of the words he uses are probably made up. It's a wonder these animal caretakers could come from a group of people-eating tribals.

By the second hour, the Petal has managed to instill some of her boundless enthusiasm into the group of five, and keeps them under control in one group - even managing to get them to stay quiet! They show their affinities for particular animals quite quickly, especially as the little girl tries to hide a chick in her hair, but they work together fairly well. Most of the baby animals need Tulip's help to actually approach the humans, scared as they are after being alone for so long, and feeding is one of the first things they have to take care of. With some of Tulip's remaining rations, and some from the packs of the tribals, the baby animals are treated and put back into their proper pens.

By the end of the third hour, Tulip has managed to turn the group of untrained tribals into quite a group of novice caretakers. While they will require further training as the animals get older, and if any complications turn up, all of them are adequately prepared for immediate events, and the baby animals seem to be in reasonable health. All that remains is making sure that the animals will have plenty of food and water for the future, which means the other farms in the area will need to have their current crops saved as best as possible, and then get them ready for the next season. Luckily for Tulip, it seems that Klennup has successfully led the tribals into the town proper.

~

Dilaa gets to work helping the orcs with fortifying the village, although she doesn't get much of a chance to interact with them as she carries wood to the edges of the village and helps construct the damned things. Perhaps it's because most of the orcs present are chatting in their native language, when she struggled enough with Common, or just because they're not entirely sure how to act around the woman who beat up their leader and made them pseudo-prisoner/villager combinations. It seems like most of their conversations involve the tribals that are being funneled into the village proper, most of them already being put to work in removing personal effects from the homes.

Her experience in building a house with Navigator and some other companions lends itself well to building the fortifications, although the orcs themselves seem to have some experience. She nevertheless manages to make a few improvements to the town's defenses, such as making pikes that actively point outwards to defend against charging beasts - something she knows too well. After a few hours, she's built up a decent rhythm with the orcs, and a few of them are impressed by her endurance and strength in particular, as she hammers pikes and fence posts into the ground. A handful of appreciative smiles are sent her way by the time that section of the barricades are finished, and the orcs head to a nearby hill for a break under one of the shady trees.

Looking for something else to do, the warrior finds herself in the heart of the town. She can spot Yildiz sitting at the top of what was the mayor's house, thus far apparently untouched, as well as Lyre sitting at the base of the white tree in the very center of the town. The kitsune seems to be occupying herself with a game of dice. Meanwhile, Laysendre can be seen through one of the opened hatches of the mayor's house - going through some drawers - while Lun and Raize follow Mask about. The pair of teenagers seem to be casually conversing while the Oni, still in his flowery garb and adorable hair, makes himself look busy by sometimes asking questions of the orcs and tribals they pass by on their stroll.

[Archmage1]

Tulip, in teaching them to take care of the animals, has a fine time, teaching them, helping the animals to trust their caretakers, and helping to teach them how to keep the animals happy. As the lesson comes to a close, Tulip is quite clearly excited, and has had a fine time, helping teach the animals, and the caretakers, how to work togeather in happiness, and health. She cheerfully smiles at them, encouraging them to stay for a while longer, to interact with the animals, to learn more, and to have fun, before she flies off, seeking Klennup, meaning to ask her if she can help with the farms.

[Hazuki]

Tulip soon manages to spot Klennup overseeing the stocking of personal effects from the houses. Most of what some of the orcs are going through consist of clothing and armor, which are being divided up between creates. The sky is starting to become a slightly darker shade of grey above the village, indicating that sundown will likely come soon.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily as she spots Klennup, and she flies down to her.
"Hi Klennup!"
She waves, still smiling merrily, not minding the darkening sky.
"I taught them to help the animals, but there's lots more I can teach, but we're low on food, so I was hoping I could show lots of people how to grow things, and how to gather food!"

[Hazuki]

"How many do you need?" Klennup asks, glancing over at the Petal but not returning her wave.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerily.
"Lots! I think something like half? They could grow enough for everyone!"

[Hazuki]

"Alright. Do you know the spell to make me louder?" The half-orc asks.

[Archmage1]

Tulip thinks about this for a moment, before she nods.
"I think I can! But... instead of making you louder, I'll copy what you say, lots louder!"(Major Image)

[Hazuki]

"Anyone who wants to farm, gather on the fields. About half of you will be needed just to feed yourselves, so unless you want to starve, get going." Klennup says.

[Archmage1]

Tulip uses her magic to make Klennup far louder, before she starts flying that way, waving cheerily at her followers.

[Hazuki]

It takes some time for Klennup's words to reach all of the tribals, and even then they have to figure out who exactly is going, and start funneling out of the half-spiral structure of the village proper. Eventually, Tulip has a mixture of about one hundred tribals in front of her; some in yellow, some in red, and some in blue. None of them quite seem to know what to start doing, merely talking among themselves or staring up at the FEy.

[Archmage1]

Once they're near the fields, Tulip continues to use her magic, to help her self be loud enough to be heard by the entire group.
"Hi! I'm Tulip, and we're going to learn how to grow things! That way, you won't be hungry! I'll also help show you how to collect food too!"

[Hazuki]

"Grow what?" One of the tribals asks loudly. "Weapons?"

[PersonMan]

Dilaa heads over to the white tree, approaching Lyre with a slight smile and giving the kitsune a small wave. "Good afternoon," she begins, crouching down next to her. "Do you have a moment? There's something I think it's important to speak to you about."

[Hazuki]

"It seems like I've got a lot of moments." Lyre shrugs. "So go ahead."

[Archmage1]

Tulip shakes her head, smiling.
"No, silly, food! So you can eat! And make things like bread, and cake, and things like that! And we can grow fruit, and nuts, and lots of yummy things!"

[Hazuki]

"What are...all of those things?" One of the other tribals near the front asks, and his curious sentiment seems to be reflected by almost everyone else there.

[PersonMan]

"Yildiz wants to kill you," Dilaa begins. "Yesterday I stopped her, but I think she'll try again. Don't look into her eyes, she can take control of you with her vampire magic," she explains. "Do you know what you want to do next? I will do my best to ensure your safety while you're with us, however long that is."

[Hazuki]

Lyre makes a noise somewhat like "Whuh?", but a fair bit more confused and surprised. "I...but...what? I can't see without my eyes."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully at them.
"They're really yummy! You can put things, like honey, on bread, and cake's just really, really yummy!"

[Hazuki]

"I've had honey before." One of the yellow-painted tribals says. "Me and Lobos had it with some meat. This seems good." At this, a few more of the tribals look intrigued at the prospect of growing food.

"How do we do it?" One yells.

"How long will it take?" Another asks.

[PersonMan]

"You probably don't remember it, but she took control of you last night. And you can look, just don't let her stare into your eyes directly," Dilaa replies, taking a moment to do exactly what she describes, looking at Lyre's eyes intently for a moment. "Just like this."

[Hazuki]

"I suppose I'll look out for that kind of behavior." Lyre replies uncertainly, resting her paws on her lap. "Is there anything else?" She asks, as her large fox-like ears squish a little against her head.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, and starts to teach them the fine arts of harvesting food, as well as helping things to grow, smiling cheerfully, and clearly quite excited, hoping to passs her excitement and love of growing things onto her new farmers..
[roll0] Diplo
[roll1] gardening

[PersonMan]

"Well, depending on what you want to do, we may be able to bring you with us when we return to Garmine," Dilaa says with a shrug. "I mostly just wanted to make sure you were aware of the danger Yildiz poses to you."

[Hazuki]

Tulip, while leading the tribals to some of the farms that are around, manages to enthuse them a great deal about the wonders of the food they'll soon be able to make. It's surprisingly easy to stay in control of the group, large as it is, if only because they're more than happy to take an idea that she's suggested and run with it. Even the adults are enthused about hoe'ing by the time she reaches the (Thankfully free of animal carcasses) outer reaches of the village, as well as the tools that its previous inhabitants had used to tend to their now-struggling crops. With a little bit of Tulip's magic, she manages to help save some of what's currently there, which only makes her teaching more effective.

Over the course of a few hours, she manages to teach them the basics of farming, and they'll be more than capable of tending to the current crops. They'll need to get more seeds to get the farms back up to their full efficiency, but they have plenty of time to do it, and the now-farmers that are already present are more than pleased to spread across the farms and get to work.

~

((Hazuki & PM Joint Post))

"Well...I'm aware of it now." The Kitsune sighs and runs a claw through her fluffy tail. "I suppose I'll stick around somebody who can defend me, until I can figure out what to do."

"Alright. If you want to speak to me again, feel free," Dilaa says, offering Lyre a smile before standing. "I'll be off, then. Good day," she adds, nodding one last time and giving Lyre the opportunity to respond before turning to head back to see how Tulip's efforts were progressing.

She got to watch Tulip teaching the tribals for a few hours, during which the sun sets. Just as Tulip is about to break from her work and return to the village proper, a few of the villagers, as well as the two adventurers, spot a pair of glowing lights in the sky that seem to be getting closer.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully at her helpers as they learn, and work, hoping that they would remember enough to have fun, and do well. However, as she spots the glowing lights approaching, she smiles, and points at them, looking quite cheerful.
"Look! They're sparkly! Aren't they pretty!"

[roll0] arcana or nature
[roll1] other knowledge skills

[Hazuki]

Waiting for them to get closer, Tulip is able to spot the glowing lights a little more closely, although she's unable to identify exactly what they might be. They resemble humanoids, but a little more insect-y. Their glowing flesh is yellow, somewhat thick like chitin, with thicker black plating layered over their torsos, legs, and outer-arms. They seem to be wearing cloaks that are wrapped around their shoulders, concealing what seem to be large packs strapped to their backs, in addition to the large spherical object that's tethered between them. A pair of wings beats almost invisibly at either side of the two identical figures, carrying them swiftly towards the village.

From her knowledge of nature, Tulip is certain of a few things. They're not natural - nothing she's ever heard of, at least - but the properties they do have don't seem to indicate venomous insects being a part of their make-up. The fact that they're glowing from the front, but have covered their backs, implies at least some kind of higher intellect, as they know to cover their bioluminescence to stop others from following them while letting others know of their coming. Also, the large spherical object held between them seems to be some kind of very large insect egg.

[Archmage1]

Tulip waves cheerfully at the oncoming creatures, smiling merrily.
"They've got an egg! And they must be nice, because they're letting us see them!"

[PersonMan]

Dilaa furrows her brow at the approaching lights and Tulip's description of them, but does nothing more, merely preparing herself for a potential attack. So far this place hadn't been very friendly.

[Hazuki]

Watching the lights further, they definitely seem to be heading for the village, if not the center of it. Among the rest of the people, they don't seem to be reacting much - Klennup has apparently had one of her faster orcs run around to the barricades to tell the guards to be alert, while many of the farmers are busy doing what Tulip has taught them. Raize and Laysendre are watching it from a hatch in the former house of the Sheriff, while Lun and Mask do so from the burial building. Lyre seems to have attached herself to Mithra, and they sit unaware beneath the tree.

A small group of yellow-painted tribals move towards the outer limits of the town, with Morei at their head holding a torch, and meet the flying pair as they touch down, egg and all. They seem to be conversing, as the packs attached to the bug-like humanoids start being passed to the tribals.

[Archmage1]

Seeing this, Tulip starts flying over to them, smiling cheerfully, clearly hoping to say hi.
"They're friends!"

[Hazuki]

Tulip starts to hear them as she flies closer.

"Big food. It will last longer." One of the identical bug-women says to Morei, pointing to the large egg behind them as one of the tribals attached a small pack, bulging with things, to their side. "But be careful. It can be messy if popped." She warns in her buzzing voice.

[Archmage1]

As she flies up, Tulip smiles cheerfully, and waves, dropping into a hover near Morei as she finally arrives, even as she speaks, her voice quite cheerful.
"Hi! I'm Tulip! Are you Whisper?"

[Hazuki]

The pair turn to look at Tulip. "In a sense..." One answers, followed by a "Kehehehehehe" from both of them.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles happily.
"Yaay! She sounded really nice! Are you here to help? You must be! You're really nice and sparkly!"

[Hazuki]

"We're here to help. And have done most of it." One of them answers, pointing at the egg with a chitin-gloved finger, and then at the packs of food already strapped to the tribals. "We're about to leave."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks sad, her wings still flapping, as her body bobs up and down, and occasionally sideways, in the wind.
"Aw... you're not even going to say hi?"

[Hazuki]

The pair look at each other, then back to Tulip, and wave in unison. "Hi."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles cheerfully, cheered by their agreement to talk, her voice cheerful once more.
"Yaay! Thank you! Maybe you could tell us your names? What's it like, where you're from?"

[Hazuki]

"We're Whispers." One of them answers, adjusting her wings slightly.

"Our home is eggy." The other one says.

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks a little confused, but her questions seem cheery enough.
"You're Whispers? Both of you? Doesn't that get confusing? Are the birds you take care of nice too? Most birds are nice, and they often lose eggs!"

[Hazuki]

"It's not confusing." One of them defends. "You just need to know which Whisper you are. Heheheheh."

"We don't have any birds." The other says, glancing at the egg behind them. "Can you imagine a bird that big? That's one of Whisper's failed eggs."

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles at their explanation.
"So you're all Whisper? And the eggs are yours? Not birds? Rocs are that big, or bigger! They're really, really big! But I've never met anyone like you!"

[Hazuki]

"No, we're Whisper's Whispers." One says. "Is it really so hard to understand?"

"And that's one of Whispers eggs." The other answers. "But not Whisper."

"And you don't know us because we're Whisper." The first nods.

[Archmage1]

Alas, the look of sad confusion returns to the merrily hovering petal.
"So... she speaks, and then you are there? Isn't that really, really tricky?"
Then realization dawns, and her confusion seems to diminish.
"Oh! You're like bees! Whisper's your queen! But... why would she have been the leader of the tribe? I've never met bees that wanted to try to lead others!"

[Hazuki]

"Whisper can do two things if she wants to!" One defends, placing a hand on her hip.

"You can't tell her what to do! Maybe she's making a lot of Whispers for some reason." The other adds, placing a hand on her other hip.

"She's really good at making things, too. She could make you! Keheheheheh...." The first smirks.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles, although she doesn't really understand their reaction well.
"So she can dance and fly? That's really tricky too! If you spin too much, you can't fly, and then you fall, and then you can't dance anymore! Is she nice? Making things is lots of fun, but it's really tricky too!"

[Hazuki]

"We know that. Because we're here." One replies.

"And that one didn't work." The other points at the egg.

"Because doing new things is tricky."

"But not flying. We can do that well. Like the wind."

[Archmage1]

Tulip looks somewhat confused.
"She can make new eggs too? Eggs that don't make more whispers, but other things? She's like Violet!"
As they say they fly like the wind, Tulip giggles.
"Sillies, the wind is really bad at flying! It just goes, and dodges all the interesting things, and then it stops!"

[Hazuki]

"Other things too." One confirms.

"Like all that meat." The second points at the packs they've handed to the tribals.

"But we don't know what that stuff's for. Just limbs and legs and things."

"And if the wind isn't fast, then we fly like something that's really fast." The first counters.

[Archmage1]

Tulip smiles as she understands.
"Hummingbirds are really pretty! And really fast! But they need to drink lots of nectar too! Maybe you're like hummingbirds!"

[Hazuki]

"Hummingbirds, then." One nods.

"Is that enough of a hi for you? We're going to go now." The other starts buzzing her wings.