Home 26: Rooms to let, fifty cents

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

This is all going pretty well.

A new person in need that she can help. This is Zee in her element, at her best. It's the whole reason why she's here at Trog's instead of... well. Basically anywhere else. She can do good here. She can help people to overcome and endure the adversity that the Nexus flops into their lap. She can give them hope.

Sometimes hope is all a person needs to keep going.

They just need something to hold onto.

"That's a good plan," Zee says with a nod. "Softening up the clothing a bit, I mean. I can use the extra time to track down the supplies you need to make the effigy."

And with that said she'll head for the door, placing the extra key on the desk next to it.

"I'll be back once I have the cloth and buttons and a non-steel sewing needle. That last one will probably be tricky but I think I can manage!"

She'll wave briefly, then head off through the door.

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe's Flat

"I'm... glad you're aware of it when they try it." Although it occurs to him they might be blatant with it there, so she's not looking for it at other times. But possibly it requires proximity, and Sekhmet's correct. He just doesn't know enough to know for certain.

[bc56]

"Me, uh, too. I'm, uh, sorry I brought this, uh, up." It's not exactly a happy topic. Sekhmet squeezes Prumathe again. "They, uh, really don't mean me harm. What they, uh, consider normal is, uh, not always good from, uh, human perspective."

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe's Flat

"I don't care if what they want is good for me or humanity in general. I care if what they're doing is good for you and you want it." Which is another kettle of fish, potentially.

[bc56]

"It's, uh, probably not." Not good for humanity as a whole, Sekhmet means. "All I, uh, said is they don't mean, uh, me harm. As, uh, a noble and, uh, the first of my kind they, uh, discovered, I'm, uh, valuable to them. That's why they, uh, helped save my life."

[WindStruck]

Solstice nods and gingerly waves goodbye to Zee. Then after she's gone, Solstice sets to work trying to get all the "starch" out of these clothes that.. somehow came into being.

The bathtub should have water, right? It took a bit of experimenting to get the water flowing properly, but it worked! Solstice plopped the clothes in the tub and soaked them in water, washing them out repeatedly.

After some time, probably more than necessary to soften them up, then Solstice had to dry them out somehow. It was pretty difficult to wring them out. The robes were left to hang over the shower curtain rod. Gloves and boots were left at the window to hopefully dry faster in the sun.

Huh, boots made all of plant fiber.. Solstice hoped they'd last.

Hm, what else to do? Solstice could just wait around in her room? She didn't think it was a particularly wise to go downstairs in just her bathrobe and ask around about nasty, gobinoid Fae that can't speak properly.. and yet, so much time would be wasted if she didn't.

Taking the spare key with her, she closed and locked the door and headed down to the main area of Trog's, looking about awkwardly. Well, this wasn't quite so bad as before, now that she had some semblance of clothing...

>>Going to Trog's.

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

Oh hey look Zee is knocking on the door to Solstice's room.

No doubt she has the materials Solstice had asked about.

Thankfully finding some orange cloth and red buttons and blue dye hadn't been particularly difficult. Market Street never fails to be a source of useful items!

Best part?

There weren't ANY chase scenes or random monster attacks!

Honestly Zee could hardly even believe it if she hadn't seen it herself.

There was even a guy selling cabbages and his cart wasn't destroyed!

Truly these are the most peaceful of times.

[WindStruck]

After some seconds, Solstice opens the door and lets Zee in. "Ah, I am glad you have returned..."

The Fae nods respectfully to Zee, opening the door wider and slightly flourishing an arm inward before turning to pad farther into the room, still in the bath robe.

"The clothes you made.. I believe I have gotten as much of that starchy substance off as I could. They are all still drying. I even went downstairs to the main room to try and see what I could learn about Larza or whatever .. uh, what kind of Fae she is, from her world. But I was not able to learn anything..."

Solstice turns around to look at Zee and sits on the bed. She asks, "Did you get everything that I asked for?"

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

"I am, too. I would be pretty concerned if I didn't," Zee agrees as she steps into the room and begins withdrawing items from a little canvas bag. A bronze needle, thread, orange cloth, blue dye, red buttons, twine, and white fabric. A small pair of fabric scissors (also bronze). And a tiny pair of little heart-shaped sunglasses.

Those are the most important part of the ensemble, obviously.

"I don't think Larza's sort of fae is exactly common around the Nexus," Zee admits. "The first time I saw her was at the Thanksmas party last year, so it may be that no one around here is terribly familiar with how she and her kin work compared to other sorts of fae."

Then Zee's face brightens slightly.

"Oh, and speaking of the Thanksmas Party! We're going to be holding it here at Trog's Tavern this year. Which has got me curious; how do your people's traditions work with public events and gatherings? Places where food and drink are just left out and anyone walking past can take some?"

Obviously Zee is wanting to invite Solstice but it wouldn't be very fun if all she could do is stand around awkwardly.

[WindStruck]

Solstice smiles as Zee shows her everything she brought. Especially the little sunglasses. Oh, this would be perfect! "Oh, very excellent!" she praises.

It's a disappointment that no one, not even Zee knew much about Larza, but oh well. Someone in the Nexus had to know, right??

"Hm. Thanksmas?" Solstice asks. She wasn't too familiar with most mortal celebrations, and she had never heard of that...

The young Fae explains, "Well, the one responsible for the party - the owner of the premises, or the Host - first they must invite you to be their Guest. Then, the other party can accept that offer. For a gathering like you describe.. a party with food and drink, the guest should also bring a gift for the host." Wait, did Solstice actually say 'gift'? "..but receives one from the host in return." Oh...

"It is.. not too complicated after that. I could potentially eat and drink as much as I like. At some point in the future, however, I would need to invite that host over to a gathering of my own."

Solstice sighs and says, "I do not think I should be eating foods and drinks that mortals prepare here, though... My mother has warned me against it." Solstice had even promised her mother she wouldn't. And besides, in all honesty, whatever was made here, it wouldn't ever live up to Sidhe food.

[Recaiden]

[Eurus Hive Cluster]

That means a lot to me, Spike. Thank you. Sekhmet begins commanding the worker to help her remove the wedding dress, then folds it up to take home. I'll, uh, see you soon?

At the wedding, or probably before.

"It's, uh, probably not." Not good for humanity as a whole, Sekhmet means. "All I, uh, said is they don't mean, uh, me harm. As, uh, a noble and, uh, the first of my kind they, uh, discovered, I'm, uh, valuable to them. That's why they, uh, helped save my life."

Well, they would also have saved the life of, say, Lokvah. They don't need an extra reason to protect their own members.
Being the valuable first-of-her-kind is why she has so much dignity and self-determination.

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

"Great! I'm glad the materials will be good enough. Do you mind if I watch you making the doll?" Zee asks.

Honestly she's pretty curious about this process.

She hasn't ever seen someone make an effigy before.

"Yeah, Thanksmas. It's a celebratory season that starts with the Feast of Thanksgiving, runs through Nicholas' day, and ends on New Year's day. There are gift exchanges, food, contemplating the things you're thankful for, music and dancing, general celebrations to lighten up the darkest part of the year. It's pretty great," Zee explains. "Even if you don't eat anything I'm sure you would have a nice time."

Or at least Zee hopes she would have a nice time.

Having friends and family together for celebrations is nice.

"So... what will you be eating, if you don't mind me asking?" Zee inquires. "I mean, I guess you could fix your own food? Hunting and stuff."

She waves at the bow.

[WindStruck]

Solstice says, raising a brow, "I suppose you could watch.. Hm. Do you not have other duties to attend to?" She really didn't mind if Zee hung around.. but it was weird. She had already spent so much time on Solstice's behalf. Wouldn't Zee be needed downstairs by now?

"I will just be creating my own food, yes."

In any case, the process did not really appear out of the ordinary. Solstice just cut some of the orange fabric out as normal, shaping it into a vaguely humanoid shape with some pointed ears. She cut the golden strand of hair into several parts and set them in the head, sewing the parts together. She stuffed a few cotton balls into the doll to help give it shape. The last one, she smeared a bit in the blue dye and made some bluish splotches on it in a likeness how she remembered Larza. She stuffed that last cotton ball in the doll and quickly washed her hands.

She sewed the red buttons on as eyes, and a mouth which was just more thread, shaped a bit jaggedly like sharp teeth. Solstice then took the napkin which was left in the room and smeared some of that excess lipstick onto the doll's lips. The last touches were to keep the mini sunglasses on the doll. All in all, the work Solstice did simply appeared to be the creation of an ordinary doll. Though with some of the personal touches, it really did have a resemblance to the goblin menace.

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

"That's too bad," Zee says, more regretful than anything else. "Most human celebrations revolve around eating meals together. I suppose you could bring some of your own food and just enjoy the festivities?"

That's always an option, right?

And then?

Watch a doll as it is crafted.

Honestly it's an interesting process. Something Zee hasn't ever observed before.

Sure she makes things herself, but typically not things like that.

Watching people work with their hands is honestly fascinating.

"So is that it?" Zee inquires. "How will it work?"

She is pretty sure she knows what the effigy is for, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

[Deathkeeper]

[Richards Flat]

Nick Richards has arrived at the Richards' ever-expanding property. This time he has landed on their suspiciously landing-pad-like balcony with a whole assortment of bags and baskets.
He awkwardly lumbers to the door before he can get a claw around the handle and slide it open and get his goodies inside. But does anyone notice him? Nick Jr. is much too busy fiddling with his Pip-drake on the couch.

[WindStruck]

Solstice shrugged at the plans for the party. Well, if she felt she was going to be hungry, that.. hm, probably still wouldn't quite work like that. Oh well.

Solstice raises a brow at Zee, but explains vaguely, nonetheless, "The symbolism is important. As you can tell, the doll resembles Larza quite a bit. That helps. I have also incorporated her hair onto the doll, as well as lipstick she once wore. These will reinforce the bond," Hm, you'd think if she was on the level of a wizard or better, she would know this, wouldn't she?

"When the time comes, I shall scribe a magic circle and gather power, channeling my will into this doll. I believe the symbolic and bodily links will be more than sufficient. Once I have gathered a sufficient amount of power, I should be able to exert my will over her. For instance," she says, holding up the white strip of cloth and twine, "Using these and tying them to the doll, I should be able to blind and restrain her."

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

Zee doesn't know all the things.

Sympathetic magic is on her list of things she is not knowledgeable about. It is, after all, impossible. There's no reason a bit of hair should be able to control the person it comes from. But it still works! That's the heart of the Dreamheart. Extending dream logic to the real world. Making the impossible happen.

"Huh," is Zee's succinct reply. "That would definitely make catching her easier. Would you be able to use that doll to figure out where she is?"

Zee's pretty sure that's how lots of divination magic works.

Get a piece of a person and then you can spy on them.

All sneaky like!


[Richards Flat]

Geneva isn't in the front room.

She is.. preoccupied.

Nick will find her asleep on their giant-cushion-bed with three out of four hatching's snoozing under her fluffed up wing. The fourth, one of the two griffin girls, is busy crawling around on top of the tuckered out hippogriff.

Why...

Why can't they ever all be asleep at the same time?

[WindStruck]

Solstice pauses a bit in thought before saying, "Roughly. I may be able to determine what direction she is in.. though with the way I used her hair, I do not think I will get an accurate reading..."

Well that was a little disappointing, but you can't have your cake and eat it too, right? At least they already had some kind of address to go to in Skyside. Larza would surely be there!

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

"I think a rough direction is probably all we need. Would it just tug toward her a little bit?" Zee inquires as she weighs possibilities. "There's a pretty good chance that the factory in Skyside is a trap. But if we can tell whether or not Larza is actually IN the factory with the doll, then we might be able to avoid some unneeded trouble."

Zee likes avoiding unneeded trouble.

It's troublesome, after all!

"And if she isn't at the factory then I guess we'll just have to go searching a bit."

Honestly, the goblin could be just about anywhere.

Which is a problem.

But she's been popping up in quite a few places so maybe not as much of a problem as it could be.

[WindStruck]

Solstice nods and says, "I can try to do so, then, if you think it is a good idea."

She supposed it wasn't certain if the goblin would be at the place marked on the napkin.. but then again, if it was some kind of trap, why wouldn't she be there to gloat, or watch, or just be the one to trigger it? The goblin certainly seemed the type.

After a while, the clothes finally dry to a reasonable amount, and she is ready to go. The boots felt a bit odd, though.. being made of some kind of plant fiber.

[Deathkeeper]

[Richards Flat]

Nick grins, unseen. He gingerly places the basket on the counter. The hatchlings can't fly. Yet.
Nick places the bag of plushies down as he puts a claw to his beak, silently signaling to Nick Jr as he passes him the enormous fish.
The pair of Nicks sit on the couch together, quietly waiting for Geneva and the babies to wake up.

[Rebonack]

[Trog's Second Floor]

The bottoms of the shoes are lignified, so they have sturdy soles. Not to be confused with sturdy souls. Usually only humans have those.

"Alright, we're ready to go then," Zee says with a nod. "Meet me out in the street and I'll line up our transportation."

This is it!

Time to make it happen.

Zee heads off, calling over her should as she goes. "Hey can you still do magic without your wand thing? Is it like one of those focuses that just makes concentrating easier or does magic just not work without it?"

Because if it doesn't work without a focus they probably need something to replace it.

That or Solstice can just arrow things.


[Richards' Flat]

Geneva awakens when the exploring cub begins chewing on her ear.

"Ugh... ooww... stop that," she mumbles.

The cub does stop that!

And begins batting at her ear instead.

"Uuggh... why can't you ever all be asleep at the same time..." she moans.

Ah the joys of motherhood.

[WindStruck]

Solstice nods and says, "I can. The wand is.." she sighs and continues, "It is a focus, yes. It helps channel fire magic. And it is something special to me too. My mother helped me make it..."

The thought of losing that made Solstice sad. It really did help, too, though. Juan-G88 could vouch for that.

Solstice grabs the rest of her belongings before departing. She was sure to lock the door (even though the windows were pretty compromised) and she met Zee outside in front of the building.

[Deathkeeper]

[Richards' Flat]

Nick decides that it's his turn to take responsibility as a parent!
Namely, he slinks into the bedroom so that he might pick up the offending cub by the scruff of her neck like their instincts tell him to do, winking at Geneva. He deposits the cub on the floor with one of the big, round griffin-approved toys within line-of-sight of Geneva so neither of them get worried.

[Shadowcaller]

[Bansford House]

There are all manner of jars in the refrigerator.

They vary in color and size, as well as viscosity. Most are labelled.

"It's red," blurts the orc, "should be in front. Can't miss it." Sure enough, there's a large red mason jar in the front, with a white cross painted on it.

[Bansford House]

"Thank Brend," Ava mumbles to herself as she spots it.
This was getting awkward enough already without her having to fumbling around in a refrigerator.
She walks over to Billie and... right.
"Should I apply it or do you...?" She glances at the stairs, just waiting for this getting worse.

[Hattish Thing]

[Bansford House]

Billie blinks groggily from across the table.

Her vision is blurry, and she can't make much out. Everything hurt.

Then, Ava returns with the mason jar. Once she's close, the detective is able to reach for the jar. It's heavy, and as its transferred, the sediment at the bottom of the jar becomes loose. It seems pulpy, consisting of various herbs and ground fruits. Rain continues to beat down on the tin roof, its somewhat peaceful.

"No," she murmurs, "I'm fine, I promise." The orc will gingerly open the jar, breathing in the fruity scent.

She'll take a swig, shoulders relaxing in relief as its magic takes effect.

"Ugh, damn. Sorry for that." She's somewhat embarassed.

---

[June's Place] (at the BDD)

The horrible blue hand is beaten. It proves quite resistant to blows, however.

It hardly budges out of place - all shriveled up and foul. The thing appears to have become dormant, for now.

---

Abi's House

This new person would be an issue.

Then again, the situation had already spiraled out of control.

What use was there in attempting to create a facade? Then again, it isn't as if being caught was much of a concern; there were alternatively ways in which the tongue was prepared to assert control over its surroundings. It simply had nothing to lose by attempting to deceive the masculine voice.

"Yes father," it mewls in Abi's voice, "everything is fine. I am quite busy. My stomach is ill."

"Return to your domicile and refrain from further questioning." It's not convincing.

[Shadowcaller]

[Bansford House]

"It's fine, I'm the one out of place here. If-" She stops herself. "Look, I shouldn't even be here so I'll just try to be as unobtrusive as possible and trying to at least help out seems to be like a good way to go about that." Another glance at the staircase as she finishes talking, expecting more trouble.

[Rebonack]

[Richards' Flat]

The griffin cub immediately goes floppy when scruffed, as they tend to do. She blinks around with misty baby-blue eyes once she's deposited before noting the ROUND object nearby.

An experimental pawing follows.

The round thing rolls.

As is only natural when a thing unexpectedly moves, the tiny griffin arches her back, floofs up her tail, and begins aggressively side-hopping at the ball. She isn't very good at this and falls over after the third jump.

Nick is flashed a sleepy, half-awake smile from Geneva.

"Hey... thanks. How was..." wow she looks tired. "Something?"

A big yawn.

"You left for something, didn't you?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Richards' Flat]

Nick leaves the cub to her hunt for the time being. She'll understand that hitting things makes them move eventually.
"Went well. Tell you about it later." Nick whispers. But he does flick his ears in the direction of the kitchen counter just to give her a hint. But he doesn't want to talk too much while the cubs are asleep.

[Rebonack]

[Richards' Flat]

Oh no now Griffin Cub A has tried tackling the ROUND OBJECT and has succeeded in rolling off the side and onto the floor. She isn't giving up, though! She'll defeat this strange prey creature yet.

"Oh?" Geneva replies, looking in the kitchen's direction.

Treats?

She is not adverse to treats.

Geneva lifts on wing slightly, causing two hippogriffs and a griffin to be briefly exposed. The respond by snuggling further.

Guh.

They're way cuter than anything has any right to be.

"The ball's new?" Geneva ventures.

It isn't a ball, Geneva, it's a round plushy. Get with the program.