Outside 49: I don’t remember what it looks like either

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

Was the box there before?

Surely it was there before.

While Chimera is busy scrutinizing her statue (and poking fun at it) Nimrod heads over to the box. Upon opening it, he'll discover that it's full of strings of the tiniest, most perfect pearls he's ever seen. They seem to shimmer with internal light. It would be pretty simple to run the chain of pears through the golden amulet.

A bit gaudy for sure.

But!

Still quite impressive.

Once amulet and chain have been joined together Nim will be able to feel the slightest hum of magic from them.

[Deathkeeper]

Old Ruins

Nim smiles as he claims his spoils. How nice. And convenient. But then, everything in this temple seems to be oddly convenient.
Even with his lack of knowledge, he can feel the magic humming from the paired chain and medallion. Well! He's not going to turn down a magic reward. Maybe that's why the medallions were there? To reward the adventurers? Perhaps a boon based on the one chosen? Like being better at riddles for Sphinx, or more perception for Orthrus. Maybe. Only one way to find out: Nim slips the chain over his head.

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

Nimrod puts on the amulet and he feels... something? It's hard to describe, exactly. A swell of power, certainly. Of increased intellect. Of strength and resilience. A desire to guard. All pretty Sphinx related things, right? It must be some kind of charm meant to endow the wearer with the Sphinx' strengths! Certainly a useful boon for someone like Nimrod. If he's going to be exploring strange tombs and the haunts of ancient and powerful beasts a little extra cleverness and resilience would go a long way in keeping him alive.

Chimera seems to be done with her examination and is heading toward Nimrod now.

"Hey Sphinx what did you find over there?" Snapdragon calls out. "Anything cool and/or shiny?"
"No hogging the treasure, sis, we all worked for it," Dandelion adds.
Lambslaural wrinkles her nose. "Um... why are you calling Mister Nimrod Sphinx?"
"I... huh. I don't know? It just felt like the right thing to call him?" Snapdragon replies.

Uh oh.

Something is definitely up.

Chimera draws closer.

"Um... are you f-feeling alright Mister Nimrod?" Lambslaural asks.

[Deathkeeper]

Old Ruins

Nim beams as he goes over to Chimera.
"Oh, it's no problem, Chimera. I was looking over the medallions and I suddenly noticed this little box that had these nice pearls in it. I figured the temple must be giving us a reward, the way it gave us those hints with the murals. Maybe the coins contain a little of the one they're stamped with? So you instinctively recognized it." Nim reaches up to pull up the medallion over his ears and head again. Chimera seems worried.
Looking, Chimera might notice that there's a big sphinx statue on the pedestal now. That can't be good.

- - - Updated - - -

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari chews on this question for a minute, leading them past another house and towards the tree line.

"According to the legend, there's some very specific rules for the things. The Banquet specifically is the time for the humans to pick one of the demons to execute. The demons will choose someone to kill at night, when the humans sleep."

[A Brisk Afternoon Walk]

"That's...very specific. And kind of contrived."
That's all G'nichi can really say about that.
"So that's it. There's no way to keep everyone alive. The only way to save as many people as possible is to execute whoever gets chosen as the demon immediately. And they still die."
That...sucks.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Walk]

The large shape of a two-story building manifests before them, lodged into the treeline.
It's motel-style, with four doors on the ground floor connected by a little concrete sidewalk. There's some stairs going up the side leading to four more doors up on a long balcony.
There's no real aesthetic here beyond "functional and gray".

Mari moves off towards a corner where a drain pipe comes down from the roof. There she starts rummaging around in the grass.
"Well... Yeah, it's pretty sucky. Someone is going to die, but the humans could theoretically still all make it. The demons are all going to be chosen tonight, but so are a few special humans. There will be a few with blessings to help them out."

She stands up triumphantly with a little brass key in her hand and gestures up the stairs for G'nichi to follow.

"There are the spiritual gifts of the snake, raven, monkeys, and spider. Uh. I don't really remember what does what, offhand though, I didn't really pay that close attention. One can determine what someone is, another can protect someone, one can...do something with bodies, and something else."

[Deathkeeper]

[A Brisk Afternoon Run]

G’nichi blinks again.
”This is a game. A sick, twisted joke of a game. Your god is a monster and should be put to the sword. In an ideal scenario, whoever is chosen to be the demon still dies immediately. If this was a punishment for past misdeeds, this Shinono would simply demand a sacrifice, as horrid as that would be. This is sadism, not recompense.”
These people need Bahamut. Or Spade. Or Inari. Or Ra. Or Tiamat. Anyone but this.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari pauses outside one of the doors, halfway to sticking the key into its slot. G'nichi has said something that hurt her, but she brushes past it and unlocks the door.
Inside is...a very barren space. The floor looks wooden, but it's probably just paneling over more concrete. A rather threadbare rug sits in the middle of the floor, with another underneath an empty bookcase against the left wall. A cheap bed is against right wall, with a thin mattress and cleanish white cotton sheets.
There's a little curtained off corner with a toilet and sink.

"Probably not a good time to point out no one will know who the demons are, huh."

[Deathkeeper]

A Brisk Afternoon Jog

For once G’nichi does not care that he has offended. He will offend them again and again until they realize there is no reason anyone should have to do this. None. Zero. He has heard of demon princes who toy with lives less brazenly. He knows kinder vampires personally.
”Oh I assumed that. Or else it would be too easy.” this god clearly wants a challenge. If the humans could simply identify the demon and expel them with a vote the deaths would be minimal.
”If I live I can’t say that I will be returning here of my own volition.”
Except perhaps with a team of exorcists. On the plus side, he doubts the demons would target him immediately. He is the least likely to notice someone suddenly acting suspicious. And his strength will not avail him. He is, in truth, probably unlikely to be an asset to the townsfolk unless he receives a blessing.

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

Lambslaural glances between the restored Sphinx statue and Nim. There's definitely something going on. That sense of familiarity that she's feeling with Sphi- no. With Nimrod now is awfully similar to the familiarity that she felt with Hydra and Orthros. Has Nimrod inherited Sphinx' mantle the way that she had inherited Chimera's? She's quite sure, though, that not just anyone can do that. They have to share blood with their progenitor.

So...

Does that mean that somewhere deep in Nim's past one of his ancestors was a child of Sphinx?

Maybe.

"Um... I think maybe-"
"Oooh is that box full of more of those things get me closer I want a look," Snapdragon says. Her draconic attraction to shinies is in no way diminished by the fact that she's Chimera's tail.
"Sure. Don't worry too much, dude, it's probably nothing," Dandelion says as she turns around next to the box.
With a sigh Lambslaural sits down so Snap can ogle the strings of pearls.

Nimrod, meanwhile, will begin having feelings of a strong sibling bond with Chimera. Which is quite strange, since he's an only child, right?


[A Brisk Afternoon Run]

Or Tiamat. Anyone but this.

Be resolute, hero. My blood flows in the veins of all living; I will aid you as I can.

[Deathkeeper]

[Old Ruins]

Perhaps hundreds of years ago one of Nim’s ancestors was a Sphinx. Could they disprove it? Or that anything of such changed after he picked up that medallion?
Speaking of which, he feels the same after removing it, so that can’t be anything. He puts it back on with a shrug.
Nim smiles despite everything. Faerie influence or not, Drakania will never stop gushing over shinies. Maybe one day they’ll let Aries get a word in edgewise.
Huh. Wait. Those aren’t the names they told him. Why is he so sure those apply just as much?

”Well I didn’t see any other things in there but feel free to look.” he calls cheerily. His inhibitions seem to have dried up immediately. There’s no place he’d rather be than here with Chimera.
”Hey Temple, you better not have gipped my Sister; she really saved my bacon!” he calls to the temple before immediately flinching when he realizes what he said. Maybe something is up after all.

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

That sounds more like the sort of thing you would want to PROVE.

Just checking genealogies would work, right?

"Okay these are really sparkly but I'm getting that hey don't take them they're for someone else vibe," Snapdragon concludes.
"They're f-for other descendants. L-like us," Lambslaural says, a little louder than she needs to be. "Sphinx must have been one, too. That's why she could p-pick up Sphinx' amulet."
Dandelion looks Nimrod up and down, then sniffs at him a few times. "Huh. Yeah you smell like one of Echidna's brats. Welcome to the family, dude."

Well there you go.

Mystery solved.

"Um... I d-don't think this means you'll turn into a sphinx, Mister Nimrod, sir," Lambslaural adds. "We didn't either. Um, turn into Chimera, I mean. It took something else to trigger it."
"YEAH! Those three weird fate witches! Man those ladies were creeps. They said they needed Chimera's heart," Snap recounts.
Dandelion gives a sniff, the barest form of a derisive laugh. "They didn't get it."

Lambslaural looks around, admiring the temple. "There are, um... lots of valuable things here. B-but I think I would rather clean the temple up instead of s-stealing things."

[Deathkeeper]

[Old Ruins]

Nim seems to accept that. But he still feels like it’s unfair that he got a blessing and Chimera didn’t.
Oh no, but if he can carry the medallion and its implications as a human that means poor Orthrus...a brother he never even got to meet. How terrible.
”I. Um. Well, I would appreciate if you could try to not call me She. I know there’s magic involved.” No pressure. Nim can sort of tell that he’s suddenly comfortable calling them Chimera even though he found it odd to not call them each by name before. He can’t question their tongues slipping.

”That’s fair. We should also try to get the doors closed on the way out. Don’t want anyone just waltzing in and taking family stuff.” For a split second Nim thinks about making camp at the front entrance before he shakes it away. That wouldn’t accomplish anything.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari assumes this is a dig at her and there's a somewhat bitter laugh at it.
"Hey, its not like I expected this crap to happen. I didn't even believe any of this crap before."

She states into his spartan little room for a minute before abruptly shifting conversational course.
"Hey, do you drink, big guy?"

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

"O-oh, I'm sorry Mister Nimrod," Lambslaural apologizes. "Orthrus h-had the same trouble with us. Since... um... we were a guy in human form."
"Haha, yeah, he called us 'sisters' all the time it was hilarious. But only when we met in person. It worked fine when we were chatting on line," Snapdragon recounts.
"Will do, dude. Come on, let's get out of here," Dandelion says as she turns and starts heading toward the exit.

As they pass the threshold the massive stone door lowers behind them.

Huh.

It seems like the temple just sort of...

Knows?

Through the chamber, up the stairs, back out into the sun. As they're nearing the entrance of the ruins that impulse to find a nice place to guard and ask riddles of passers-by will strike Sphinx again.

"Are you, um... feeling it?" Lambslaural asks. "S-sort of like how we get the impulse to guard ancient tombs s-sometimes?"

[Deathkeeper]

A Brisk Afternoon Jog

G’nichi winces. There’s something disheartening about praying to a god who silently watches over to him but the goddess who bears the same name as his Adversary responds merely at her name.
I appreciate that, Ma’am. Whatever aid you can give will be more than these poor people get.

G’nichi hadn’t meant it as a dig per se, but he realizes what it sounded like after he said it.
”Well, I didn’t until recently. As of late I have found my palette expanded. Why do you ask?” he says as he enters the room and sets his things down.

[Old Ruins]

Up the stairs! Quite a bit less than before. The skeletons don’t seem so scary now. As they exit the final chamber though Nim looks at the Sphinx statue again. He has the strangest sense of indigence as he notes that it had to be a nude statue. This is getting weird.

As they leave the temple proper Nim can’t help but sit down and admire the walls and the sun.
”Oh. Well yes, I suppose I am.” he admits. But he wouldn’t ask a riddle of Chimera. That’s not what Sphinx does for family.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari disappears out the door almost as soon as G'nichi...sort of says he drinks?

There's the sound of the neighboring door opening, then closing again as she jogs back holding a large bottle of wine and a couple glasses.
"Well. If this might be our last night of sanity and or life, wanna get drunk?"

A pre-war drink! Very good tradition.

[5a Violista]

[Not a Crab]

"Where did the extra two heads come from, anyway?" Seraphina asks, mostly to herself since she isn't really sure half of what Snapdragon is saying about chimeras.

She carefully gets out of the boat, to make sure none of the papers fall out or get wet.

She walks back over after the deer-lady. The mirror was actually pretty nice because it didn't show her own reflection, but it also showed someone else's so that was weird and rendered it pretty useless. Getting a fork and a ring was pretty neat, though. When she gets over there, she looks at Snapdragon's ears. "They look pretty good," she says.

[Rebonack]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Tiamat is dead.

She really doesn't have anything better to do with her time. And since what was left of her strength was poured into Imhullu, which G'nichi bears, her voices comes with it. The weapon had been a gift to her son, full of her dreadful tempestuous breath. But he had used it to betray his parents. How she loved her children so. And now one of her children, distant and lowly and mortal though he might be, carries Imhullu again. Us it righteously, G'nichi.

Just not today, since it didn't get rolled.

That doesn't stop her from being able to talk with G'nichi, though. She's always there, waiting to hear her name.

I have precious little strength; so I lend what I do have. I feel the hearts of all my children; my blood coursing through their veins. I will tell you what I feel, if I am able.

That might still be helpful? Especially since this is apparently some sort of sick divine game of werewolf.


[Old Ruins]

Chimera sits down on a warm stone, takes a deep breath, and sighs.

It feels really, really nice not being a faerie. Even if she has to be in her scary giant three headed monster form to do it. She can't wait to get this faerie thing cured.

"So! What's next for you, Sphinx? Going to keep doing the interview thing? Finding more monsters to chat with? If you're anything like us you'll get your strength and resilience even when you're human shaped. We can even breath fire still when we're in human form it's pretty great," Snap says. She's definitely the most chatty of the trio.

[Deathkeeper]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

G’nichi smiles and sits down on the floor, motioning for Mari to find herself a place as well.
”Very well, Mari. A toast. To our lives. May we both make it out of this. And if not, make it a while at least.” He pauses.
”Hey Mari. Is it just you people that have to do this? Or do the nobles I heard about have to join too?” You can almost feel the rage seething beneath his face at the prospect of the former being true. The possibility of the god being classist as well as sadistic.

Tiamat gets a mental nod. He very much appreciates anything she can do for him. Even only little bits. And with their mental link from Imhullu he knows she knows that. Even if the net is not currently present.

[Old Ruins]

Nim looks up at Chimera. He frowns.
”You know. I haven’t the foggiest. I almost don’t feel like moving at all. And with this I could probably write a whole paper about you from what’s happened today. I don’t really need that many subjects for it. I go out and search because it’s fun. I feel like I might end up writing riddles sooner or later.
And Ah, you said you were in a group, yes? Were there any sphinxes. Um, lowercase ones? Might be good to know. Just in case.” In case something weird happens.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

There is a certain skill (recklessness?) to Mari's opening and pouring of the wine that suggests maybe she pops open a few too many of these in the average course of her weeks.

There is a glass of cheap red wine in front of G'nichi pretty near immediately and then another in Mari's hand.
"To our lives! And to the craziness we need to live them."
Which sounds like a good time for her to drink...a lot of that glass at once. Yeah, she probably does this way too often.

She sits on that for a moment before minding G'nichi's question. There's a somewhat dismissive shrug to it.
"Lady Eiko down there is from one of the main families. Heir, I think. Nemeth, too. That elf guy who never said anything."
A wine break.
"Though, they were still screwups who got tossed over here in the first place, so..."

[Morty]

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

Their claims certainly don't do much to ease the Speaker's mind. There's a thought, burning bright, that perhaps it wasn't treason from within that spread the tale. But the alternative is perhaps even worse.

"It seems you are right. And the implications of that chill me to my core." She pauses. "I feared, when you came here, that you were sent by the one the tale speaks of. I don't think you are, but nonetheless swear. On your hearts and minds, that you do not serve the one they call the King in Rags."

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

"Haha, probably don't want to be guarding stuff out here while you're human, though," Snapdragon laughs. "If you do end up becoming as outwardly sphinxy as you are inwardly sphinxy then maybe? The world's pretty different now than it was back when Echidna had her brood. Definitely different. Gods come and go, I guess? The world spins on."
"Find what YOU want to do, dude. Don't let monster-brain push you around," Dandelion commands.
"Um... y-yes, actually. Lydia. We had another chimera for a while, too. The sort with three heads in a row and wings?" Lambslaural recounts. "Lots of people come and go from Magical Animals Anonymous. Most don't stick around after they get cured. B-but some of us do. To, um, help others cope."

There's a lot to cope with when you don't have hands.

Most notably the whole lacking hands thing.

But with perseverance you can carry one!

...even if that means carrying things in your mouth.

Yuck!

[Deathkeeper]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

G'nichi sips at his wine...well, just like his eating he's not nearly as dainty as you might expect from his mannerisms.
"So not everyone ends up in this game. Just the ones that get thrown to the wolves. Figures."
RANK UP! Your HATRED FOR SHIMONO rank has increased to 4!
"Wait, how old are you?" G'nichi just remembers that this girl looks pretty young to be chugging that wine so expertly. It took him a while to remember human aging patterns.

[Old Ruins]

"I'll have you know I could guard a door just as well as a slightly bigger man." Nim insists, feigning indignance.
"But ah. How exactly do you go around getting cured of things like being magical creatures? It sounds...well, rather esoteric."
He shakes his head.
"I will be doing all I can to make sure the label is as metaphorical as possible. I couldn't draw with paws!"

[Rebonack]

[Old Ruins]

"Probably better than that, dude. We're still crazy-strong even when we're human," Dandelion reiterates. "Go test it out on something. Pick up that pillar."

She gestures with a paw at a nearby marble column that had fallen over ages ago. It's nearly as big around as Nim's shoulders are broad. There's no way he would be able to pick that thing up, right?

"Cures ARE pretty esoteric. It's something different for just about everyone. For us it was a HUGE pain. We had to find Bellerophon's spear. The one that was used to kill the original Chimera? As soon as we picked it up DOOP! Human again. Now that we have it changing back is easy. But hoooooooo BOY was it ever hard to get it in the first place," Snapdragon laughs.
"That's... um... that's good. Though you m-might still be able to draw. I know Lydia does. She just has to hold things b-between her toes. It's tricky."

Tricky pen holding.

"Um... we don't really have a phone number r-right now. All our things were ruined in the Buttercupocolypse. H-how do you want to get in contact again? Um... I mean, if you want to t-talk to us again, that is."
Snapdragon reaches around to blow a snake-y raspberry in her sister's ear. Lambslaural winces away and giggles. "Come on, Lambsy. Sphinx is family now. Of course she's going to want to hook up with us again for more Echidna Commands adventures."

The dragon grins over at Nim. "Right?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari frowns briefly at the 'thrown to the wolves' idea, not entirely liking the ideas that immediately brings forth.
"Looks that way, huh. Sacrificial lambs are we. Guess we shouldn't have been naughty and listened to the grown ups."

Her frown quickly slides over to a playful smirk though, as G'nichi asks about her age. There is no trace of innocence in that expression, as she pours herself yet more wine.
"Old enough. And you're not supposed to ask a lady her age, mister hero."
She's definitely not a child, but her slight frame does lend itself towards a sort of ambiguity on where exactly on the "young adult" scale she falls.
"Would it make you feel better if I said I go to a university?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Old Ruins]

Nim shrugs and saunters over to the pillar, squatting and doing his best to budge the piece of stone.
Oh, huh. Maybe this Lydia has polydactyl paws? Or maybe not. It would likely be a practiced skill either way. Maybe Nim shouldn't meet her. If Chimera bearing her Mantle makes her essentially the original, does that make Nim's mantle make him effectively the original? How does that work with the younger ones? Would they get weird ancestor vibes from him? Maybe not, sphinxes came from a lot of places, unlike Chimera.
"Something tells me a sphinx cure wouldn't be as easy as simply getting someone to correctly answer a riddle." That sounds WAY to easy for this sort of thing.
Nim smiles at Aries and walks over to Chimera. He just wants to give her a big hug. Even if the She thing makes him feel very weird. It almost seems...foreboding. Luckily Sphinx knows the exact spot on her neck that Aries likes to be rubbed, which is the best a small humanoid can do when trying to hug a big multiheaded beastie.
"No problem. I can give you my number and you can keep it for when you get a phone again. Or find a payphone. And an address for when you need it. Luckily the school, especially my college, are pretty well experienced with large students. You'll be able to fit. I go to ICC."
Inside City College and Inside University have a bit of a rivalry. He's never really gotten into it, though.

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

"Hey, don't blame me too much. No one believes that I'm sixteen. Just making sure we're on the same page here." he chuckles, taking a sip for himself.

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

Mari gives a sage nod, peering thoughtfully at the bottle of wine that is diminishing faster than it really ought.
She's been volunteering refills for G'nichi any time his looks even vaguely close to maybe being in the vague vicinity of less than full, but she's definitely been putting down more than her fair share.

"...hmmm. They must grow scaleyfolk pretty big where you come from. Can't believe I'm older than you. Is this some sort of rite of passage trip or something?"

[Deathkeeper]

A Brisk Afternoon Jog

"Well, properly speaking, we grow fast. I'm not sure entirely how old this particular shape is. It might be closer to an 18-year-old dragonborn? I used to be a lot smaller you see, but I went on a grand quest and look like this now. So I'm quite legal to be drinking, even if my brain's still young by human standards. Hehe, I used to look like this." G'nichi digs out his phone and shows Mari a photo of his tiny former self. His glasses look much larger on his old self but they're clearly the same ones.
"But yeah no I'm here on complete blind bad luck. I was just doing cardio training. That's really it." It's not, of course. G'nichi had a magic sword telling him what to do. But he'd rather nobody know just how smart his weapons are. Better everyone remain ignorant of G'nichi's tools.
Yeah, that means you, Sword. G'nichi might not like your tone but you are admittedly smarter than most swords that exist.

[Rebonack]

[Not a Crab]

"Oh that's a fun story," Snapdragon replies as she checks a few pools of water to see if the hermit crabs made it through okay. Sadly it looks like they were mostly swept out to sea by the backwash of the wave.

Alas.

"Okay so first a human chimera. A human chimera happens when two fraternal twins fuse together in the womb. It's pretty rare and usually people don't really notice since the tissue distribution is random. I was a triplet human chimera. Three siblings in one person. I knew what was up since I had a few obvious signs but it wasn't a big deal, right? Well then I came to the Nexus and met these witches that decided to make the chimera thing a bit more literal."

Oh that explains the extra heads right? Like chimera the monster?

Just in case Seraphene isn't getting that she adds. "Like Chimera of legend. Lion in front, goat in the middle, and dragon in the back. Not snake."

Snap isn't a snake!

"So I was the tail, Lambsy was the middle, and Dandelion was the front. We went on a quest to become human again, it was pretty great. So now when we're human we've got three voices in the same mind which is fantastic since we can keep each other company."

Snapdragon grins and wiggles her ears a bit. "Thanks! Too bad that mirror is dumb otherwise I could check it out, too."


[Old Ruins]

It turns out that lifting the huge chunk of stone is pretty easy. Almost as if Nim were some kind of giant semi-divine lion person.

As far as sphinx go there were only lots of them in the sense that many cultures had lion-human hybrid things, some with and some without wings. But there's only one Sphinx, the daughter of Echidna and Typhon.

"For Lydia she had to find another sphinx and answer THEIR riddle. Who knows what it would be for you," Snapdragon ponders. "Maybe the secret would be finding someone who DOESN'T know the answer to the 'Man' riddle."

That might be pretty tough.

And then the sheep-head gets petting! She really likes that, leaning into Nimrod's fingers. Ooooh that's nice. Chimera feels VERY warm. Though that shouldn't be much of a shock. It's like leaning up against a great big furry space heater. Thankfully they had the sense to extinguish the undying flames they had doused themselves with. Or not really extinguished. Snapdragon just sort of... sucked them back up again? It was actually pretty hilarious watching her hoover up all the patches of blazing white fire on their walk back.

And then?

All three heads gasp!

"Y-you go to ICC?"
"We got to IU."
"Now we have to be enemies foreeeeeeever!"

[Deathkeeper]

[Old Ruins]

Nim certainly looks very pleased with himself for lifting that rock.
"Huh. I wonder if I would count for her. I'd certainly give it a shot if someone needed the help." he ponders aloud.
He grins as he begins ruffling their fur.
"Yes, that's right. So I will have to pillage and plunder your spoils like any good rival. Maybe I'll start with one of these?" Nim reaches over and takes one of the plums growing out of Chimera's coat.
"You're really breaking from the source material here, Chimera. Chimera didn't grow fruits! You'll never make it as the school mascot like that." Nim can't help it. He has to taste the plum. There's just things scientists have to know, like the taste of weird fruit growing out of your faerie-corrupted magical critter sister.