Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

[Earl of Purple]

No More Bird

The duck tastes of wood, and a little of lead-based paint. Hopefully Lapis doesn't have a biology that would be negatively affected by that.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's office]

While Wenomir is texting, there's a gentle knock on the door before it opens, and Cassandra pokes her head through. She's dressed rather casually in a t-shirt and light jacket (it's pretty cold this high up) and exercise pants - it seems it must have been she that Wenomir was training before he got pulled away for business.

"Oh, here you are," she says. "You didn't come back to the training grounds so I asked your assistant where you were. Is everything okay?"

[Arkhosia]

[The Battered Shield]

"See?" Says Kal, smiling encouragingly. "You are good at this, if you just think about it a little."

The Battered Shield

"Heh, I guess so. Guess I just needed someone to help me, er, sort out and work through those thoughts." There's a tinge of heat in her cheeks as she take another sip, before smiling a little back over at Kal. "Maybe we'll have to make this a regular thing, though I'd hope there's something I can do to make listening to me ramble worthwhile."

[Shadowcaller]

[No Longer Any Birds In Hand Unless You Count a Wooden Duck]

"Uh... Lapis..." Anika displays her palm as she suddenly seems worried for what she's going to do.
Cessie regards her with caution but her expression is far more firm in contrast to the druid's.

Then Anika finds Lapis crying at her feet and immediately the tension is broken and she kneels down to comfort the girl. "Don't cry." She remarks as she soothingly run her hand through the girls hair.

She glances at the wooden duck... waitaminute!

"It- it's a token! Bosses always drop tokens when they're defeated." It was common knowledge!
She looks down at Lapis again. "Normally the bird just disappears, right? But this time it left something behind." Anika puts her other hand on the wooden duck and gently pulls it up. "That's since it considered itself defeated by you, Lapis. You beat the boss-bird and this is your reward." The druid nods sagely. "There's probably someone who exchanges wooden ducks for magical items somewhere. Or maybe it's a magical item itself. You should have someone check it out."

Can Cessie feel any kind of magic coming from the bird?

Either way, Anika continues. "It will probably appear again and if you catch it like this again, it will probably drop something else, or another duck token. I believe that's called farming."

Cessie raises an eyebrow at this term usage, she was fairly sure farming was something completely different but she wasn't going to point that out now.

[Morty]

[Wenomir's office]

She seems to be applying herself to working with us dutifully. I will take time for the rank and file members to see her as someone in authority and we can't rush it, but she seems to be on her way there.

When Cassandra enters, he looks up, guilt flashes across his face and he rubs it tiredly.

"Sorry about that. There was a... volatile situation. It's handled now, but not entirely. That's all I can say, unfortunately. It's internal Vigil business."

[Rebonack]

[Bird in the Hand]

Wait, isn't Anika still in her underwear? Did she ever get dressed before running over to Cessie's office with Lapis?

Either way, she's probably got snot and tears on her leg now. Lapis sniffles pitifully as her hair is stroked, once appear appearing for all the world to be just another normal child. At the mention of the duck she looks up at Anika, briefly confused. She had just swallowed it, but-

A brief convulsion of her stomach and now the girl's holding the duck again. It's slightly singed now, but otherwise no worse for wear. Thankfully not slimy or gross. Had it been left to its fate it would have been pulverized and the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in it fused for energy.

-she can get it back pretty easily.

"A token?" Lapis asks, wiping her nose and eyes with her forearm. Now her shirt's sleeve is all snotty, too. "Are those like Relics?" she asks, a little bit of hope and excitement creeping back into her voice. "Things you get for doing quests and beating up monsters?"

She frowns at the duck.

"I can't buy any traits or perks with it; it's just matter. How can I find out if there's someone who trades duck tokens for things?" she asks. Maybe this wasn't a total loss after all? Almost as an after-thought she adds, "Sorry I got so mad and scary..." she says, her eyes falling to floor as she shuffles her feet anxiously. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"


[Geneva's Lab]

Oh no, hugs!

Geneva's happy to share one.

"You're a good friend too, Sekhmet. I'll finish up what I'm working on and then dedicate some time to getting ready."

[bc56]

"Great, thanks! I'll, uh, see you soon?" Sekhmet releases Geneva and starts to leave.

[Earl of Purple]

Bird Back in the Hand

The wooden duck is, in fact, just matter. And it's not magical, either.

The reason why the hoopoe left something behind this time was because it was being held. It didn't want Lapis to realise it had left, at least not immediately. It could be anywhere, but it has a head start if anyone tries to figure out where it went.

[Shadowcaller]

Bird Back in the Hand

Anika is in clothes that Cessie assumes are some kind of bathing suit that she's seen her use on occasion. She's technically correct as Anika's underwear often doubles as swim gear.
Not that it actually improves her opinion of the druid.

Anika strokes her chin. "Merchants like that usually hang out in cities. I'll fly around Inside and see if I can find one later, alright? They're usually in very public locations so it shouldn't be too hard to find."

Then she ruffles Lapis hair and smiles. "Of course you're not in trouble. I got mad too! If you hadn't got mad, I would have shaken my fist at the sky and shouted 'BOSS-BIRD'! Since I like to do things like that."

At this point Cessie loudly clears her throat. "You're not in trouble, Lapis." She reaffirms. "But I need to ask you to leave now as I still have a caller on the line." The sorceress gestures at her communicator once more.

[Rebonack]

[(No) Bird in the Hand]

Lapis looks encouraged when she hears that Anika will help her find a duck-token merchant. She is ALSO encouraged when she finds out that she isn't in trouble.

When Cessie insists that they need to leave she quickly scurries out of the office.

Definitely encouraged!

"We should look outside and see if the boss bird is still around," Lapis says as she begins heading toward the courtyard. "I guess you can still shout at the sky if you want?"

Lapis has zero issues with shouting at the sky.

Not that she does much sky shouting.

But everyone has ways to express themselves.

"Have you ever got a token from a boss before?" Lapis asks curiously.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's office]



When Cassandra enters, he looks up, guilt flashes across his face and he rubs it tiredly.

"Sorry about that. There was a... volatile situation. It's handled now, but not entirely. That's all I can say, unfortunately. It's internal Vigil business."

[Wenomir's Office]

Cass nods sympathetically, leaning back on the door frame. "Can I... help with anything?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Wenomir's Office]

You should probably talk to her regarding that. You are after all her superior and I wouldn't be right of me to get involved in this process.

Cessie replies.

[(No) Bird in the Hand]

"Oh yeah, plenty of tokens. I got a whole collection at my room if you wanna see, spoils after years of beating up undead and demons. They're usually smaller than a wooden duck but that might it's some kind of quest item. It's impossible to know for sure until we've looked around all the main cities. That's where all the quarter masters usually are." Anika explains as they walk outside.

...

Only to suddenly stop and look down.

"****, I forgot to put on clothes! Uh... one moment, Lapis!" And so Anika runs off to get dressed. Lapis could follow if she wants but otherwise she will soon be back, now fully dressed.

[Morty]

[Wenomir's Office]

"I think I just need a break," Wenomir tells Cassandra as he types away in his communicator. "We can go back to training in a moment if you like."

His message to Cessie is:

Alright. I'll talk to her later about how she's doing in Vigil and if there's anything she needs or is concerned about.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's Office]

Cass shakes her head, smiling.

"Nah, I'm all trained out. You should relax."

She steps up the the door frame, crossing over to the desk and walking around to the back, trailing a hand over Wenomir's shoulder as she comes up close behind him.

"I can help with that, if you want," she says, leaning down to whisper in his ear, and caressing his jaw in both hands in the beginnings of a gentle massage. "Would you like me to?"

[Zefir]

Spoiler: [B

Show

[The Battered Shield][/B]]

[Geneva's Lab]

Okay so.

Geneva has seen Spike before.

Just when she was disguised as a humanoid thing, right?

So seeing the very not humanoid thing in a pretty dress?

Okay, yeah, that's funny. That's enough to get a laugh.

"Okay, blue it is then," Geneva concludes. "I'll place an order for the dress right now. Don't want to get distracted and forget."

She'll begin typing on her little wrist computer. Very handy for buying things on short notice!

"Where's the wedding going to be again?" Geneva asks absently while she taps away at the touch screen.


[The Battered Shield]

Lapis looks a bit downcast when she's scolded by Atreyu.

"Yeah, I guess..." she mutters before giving her best doey eyed look to the man behind the counter. "Sorry I tried to trick you mister bartender. That wasn't a very nice thing to do..."

Then she'll hop off the barstool and head toward whatever table is indicated by the grownups. Lapis seems sufficiently mollified by the promise that she'll still get to try the battered shield even if she doesn't get to sit at the bar (which is still dumb!). At sword talk, she makes a distressed child sound.

"But that dumb thing only knows how to cut!" Lapis cries in consternation. "When I'm practicing swords with people I don't want to cut them! Its good in a for-reals fight but not for pretend ones."

Should children really be in for-reals fights?

Anika might want to point out that Lapis is some sort of weird tree dragon angel deer thing. And speaking of Anika, Lapis gives a firm nod of agreement regarding the dumbness of this situation.

"Maybe I should ask Santa for a sword this year..." Lapis ponders aloud. "Does Santa give out swords?"

The Hogfather (when played by Death) sure does.

A thought occurs to Lapis quite suddenly as she ponders how good she might have to be for Santa to reward her with a nice sword. "How come so many people carry weapons around at VIGIL all the time? I keep seeing lots of adventurers doing it too. But the only bad thing I've seen at VIGIL was that mean ghost from last year that turned me into a sheep and made Cora invisible."

She doesn't mention what it did to Wenomir. She could tell he wasn't happy about it.

[The Battered Shield]

"Well, I reckon for a lotta folks, keeping their weapon on their person is sorta a comfort thing. Y'get used to having somethin' reliable by yer side. Not somethin' I've ever taken to doing, mind, but I've seen plenty of adventurers keeping their weapons about 'em." Although as Anika knows, Atreyu has a different sort of comfort item he keeps with him.

"Guns ain't something I'm familiar with, I'm afraid, Mia, but if you reckon Wenomir can point us in the right direction for a smith, there's no harm in that." In fact, it might be doing some good in avoiding harm so Lapis doesn't have to use that terrifying thing for practice.

[The Battered Shield]

"Yeah, I remember you. You're in charge of the medical place." Anika remarks with a gesture at Mia.
But her attention is quickly drawn back to Lapis when she addresses her. "Uh, I dunno about Santa. We had someone called father Winter but he's a dwarf... I think. But if Santa is anything like father Winter I'm pretty sure he'd give you a sword. Most dwarves love weapons, to make them, to maintain them, to use them... nearly every dwarf I've met have been crazy about them. Even if he can't give you a sword, he can probably give you something just as good... like a double-sword."

Bird in the Hand

"Sorry to disappoint, but enchantments like that are-" Cessie suddenly stops. "Lapis, I think something is, uh, wrong with your bird."

Anika, who was smiling back at Lapis, raises an eyebrow. Confused as to what the sorceress meant. Had the bird used some weird magic perhaps?

[The Battered Shield]

"If that is your reason." Mia starts to reply to Lapis. "Then maybe you just get a training sword. It should serve you for training.
I think most people here want to be prepared just in case. In the past you got those apocalyütic events. A minute wasted meant that people suffered or died back then. I don't think this is accurate for today, but I think it's the reason most people got a weapon at hand."

Mia nods to Atreyu. Has he introduced himself yet? Well not to bother right now. "Wenomir might know someone. He has more conntact to them." She is not sure if she should add he owns some weapons. If she can recall it right he got some in his office.

"Santa here is someone who can give you anything, but in most cases he won't give you what you think you want, he or she gives you what you really want."

"It means his father made the contract without consulting him. Understandably so, I think. If he returned, he might grudgingly go through with it, but as long as he is in the Nexus he can be independent from his family and use his mechanical skill for his own purposes."
Sophia nods her head back and forth.
"Perhaps your church could renegotiate?"

[Mia's Lab]

"Maybe." Mia replys as she looks away from Sophia, caught in her thoughts. Her voice sounded a little sad, but also relived. "I should report that back to the main church. I am not sure how expensive a portal to my homeworld is. After all I can't do it by myself." She then turns back to her guest. "Was there anything else you noticed? Like was he alone or did he got a facility to experiment."

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

Wenomir opens the door after a while. He looks tired, but not more so than usual.

"Hello, Mia. Can I help you with something?"

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

"Indeed." she says. her voice sounds hard and straight. He may notice that it's important for her, but she still got a little fear in her voice. she takes a deep breath.
"I wanna join the party against the reploid invasion, but since the training event I think it would be best if you can negotiate this with Electra or help me do so. I don't think she will reason with me."

[Lord Magtok]

The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr

[The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr]

Finally, Jaahlyn has come to VIGIL to revisit Saint Lazarus and she's carrying a backpack with her.
She has been directed to whatever part of the base the ghoul knight is currently occupying.
If she manages to find her, she will go through her usual motions of bowing and pleasantries. "Sir Lazarus, I like to apologies for my tardiness but I have finally found what I think will be a sure way to ease your problem if you're willing to put trust in me once more." She takes off her backpack. Whatever 'solution' she was seems to be carried within it.

"What've you got?" Saint Lazarus asks, arms crossed, leaning against a building on the far end of the training grounds, where there's plenty of open space for whatever the ratty satyr has planned. She's not yet ready to throw the word 'trust' around just yet, not with Jaahlyn. It's still too soon for her to feel comfortable believing anything that Jaahlyn has to say, since there hasn't been any sort of tangible progress yet to judge her by.

[Rebonack]

[Duck Tokens]

"Do you think the Boss Bird might be a demon or an undead since they drop tokens too?" Lapis inquires.

Maybe the bird was actually a giant burning demons that got turned into a bird to seal its power?

Lapis doesn't contemplate that concept for long, though.

"What does **** mean?" Lapis asks as Anika runs off.

Wow, this is turning out to be a much better day. Lapis is starting to love it!

Not only is she learning about a new kind of loot (tokens!) she's learning about new words, too!

****! That word is fun to say.

She tries again when Anika returns.

"Anika what does **** mean?"

She doesn't know that word!


[The Battered Shield]

"Father Winter? And he's a dwarf? I think Santa can be a dwarf that just means a dwarf would have to sit on the Santa chair and wear the Santa hat," Lapis surmises.

She had furtively observed the festive goings on last year. But she had made sure to be sneaky about since she wasn't sure whether or not she should be leaving VIGIL to snoop around.

"I've tried the training swords but they aren't real swords," Lapis points out. "A real sword to practice with would be best."

When's the food going to arrive? Lapis has been waiting all of fifteen seconds and she's getting antsy.


[What's Up, Buttercup?]

Once Buttercup had realized what was going on she decided to come straight here. Well, not straight away. FIRST she had tried to use her Vigil communicator but those are keyed to biometrics, Geneva had said. Buttercup isn't totally sure what biometrics are but every time she had tried to get HER communicator to work it had warbled 'INVALID USER' and refused to do anything helpful. Wowie, what a pain! If she could have just called one of the commander she could have warned them that a VERY potential apocalypse was brewing!

And not just ANY apocalypse!

A FUNpocalypse! Zowie, that doesn't sound so bad does it? Everyone LOVES being Buttercup! She sure does! Maybe she should just-

No!

Buttercup screws her eyes shut, grabs her great big cervine ears, and gives them a sharp yank before rapping her knuckles against the side of her head!

"Yowie, come on, brain! Work with me, pretty please? With powdered sugar and syrup on top? Come on, Buttercup, you've gotta focus! This is IMPORTANT!" Buttercup chides herself.

The fellow piloting the skiff up to the island gives Buttercup a concerned look. "Are you alright, miss?"

Buttercup flashes him a dopey smile. "I'm alright, Butter- um... Guy with a name that isn't Buttercup. Just fine! My head's just all fuzzy and fizzy, that's it!"

He peers at her a moment longer, to which Buttercup's nervous smile grows even wider, before shaking his head and turning his attention back to piloting the small airship.

Buttercup anxiously pulls the leather straps on her cuirass. Thankfully the enchanted suit of half-plate was able to resize to fit her. She sort-of knew it could do that sort of thing, but nothing so radical. It made for a weird sense of cog... cogni... crackly-poppy thoughts. Like that rice cereal that snaps when you pour milk on it. POP CRACKLE SNAP! Hehehehe! Thoughts that grind and pop when you poke 'em. Buttercup ALWAYS remembers being Buttercup. Like when she thinks about how things were before, she remembers Buttercup. But that has to be wrong. Because her armor wasn't made for a Buttercup-shaped person. It was made for a human shaped person. AND she remembers before-Buttercup and how bad and sad and not-fun it was. How can she remember being Buttercup and NOT Buttercup? No sense! Snap pop crackle!

The armor helps, though. She isn't wearing the steel right against her skin. Yowie zowie no way! That would be gross! And really chaify. No, she's wearing her gambleson with the armor over that. Still, having all that iron so close to her calms down the worst of the fuzzy-fizzy-thinky-thoughts. Like how she should prance and skip and sing and dance and call everyone Buttercup since more friends named Buttercup is better!

But it isn't.

See, that's what Buttercup realized with the iron calming her thinky-thoughts down. She really really really loves being Buttercup. Just... WOWIE! It is THE BEST! So much fun. But what if being Buttercup is only the best because she's Buttercup? That's a real thinker! Some of the people who loved being Buttercup once they were Buttercup were super not happy about being Buttercup when they weren't quite all the way Buttercup. But as soon as they were all the way Buttercup? FUN! Coming to this conclusion had been hard. Especially with all the bad thoughts telling her she was bad for wanting to hog all the fun for herself instead of sharing it with EVERYONE by naming them Buttercup.

So!

That's why she's here. Because the FUNpocalypse maybe isn't so fun. Maybe it's mean. And she has to keep reminding herself of that. She has to keep reminding herself that Vigil's job is to protect.

Even when doing that job isn't much fun (even though Buttercup is pretty sure she can make ANYTHING fun just by virtue of being Buttercup).

Buttercup-Who-Was-Previously-A-Vigil-Adventurer steps off the airship and starts off toward the commander's villa.

******

An apparent newcomer is crossing the Vigil grounds. She looks rather like a centaur, if the horse-parts were replaced with deer-parts. Small and svelte by contrast. Her coat is mostly hidden under a gambleson and half-plate barding with a conspicuous wing motif. Her hair is a short bob of auburn fur with white spots and little yellow flowers sticking out of it. Her eyes a vibrant green. Her face ruddy and alight with life. Deer-like ears stick out from the sides of her head, swiveling this way and that. A spring in her step, she prances across the campus with infectious, vivacious energy.

...she makes it MOST of the way to her destination.

A perfectly nice field of flowers blocks her path and she can't resist frolicking in them for a few minutes.

[Hattish Thing]

[Wait, We Have a Science Division?]

Dr. Valiance, oblivious to Geneva's discomfort, pats the resonator.

"Oh yeah, for sure!" he blurts out before kneeling down and tampering with the device.

After a few seconds, he removes the top of the resonator and steps back to the farthest end of the laboratory. "See, it's uhh - kind of a big deal." He'll haphazardly toss it into a case on the ground before sniffling. "I got a guy, uhh - we're working on figuring out how to use something like this against, uhh - far out type stuff." He says the last bit as if amused. "You know, ghosts! Uhh, and demons. If we can do that, well - I'm sure Cessie'll be a fan."

"You know, I've never seen a demon myself. They sound like a bummer, though."

[Recaiden]

[Mia's Lab]

"Maybe." Mia replys as she looks away from Sophia, caught in her thoughts. Her voice sounded a little sad, but also relived. "I should report that back to the main church. I am not sure how expensive a portal to my homeworld is. After all I can't do it by myself." She then turns back to her guest. "Was there anything else you noticed? Like was he alone or did he got a facility to experiment."

Sophia shakes her head.
"It was just him. There was some facilities there, but nothing like this place, or what you have."
Perhaps they can tempt Andy with supplies and support?

[Morty]

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

So this is what it's about. Wenomir feels he should have expected it.

"I can do that if you think it's necessary. But I don't know if it will be. Electra is helping us with this threat, but she won't join all our efforts against it. And I don't think she'll try to tell me how to command my people."

[Shadowcaller]

[The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr]

"I've decided to take a different approach to this actually." Jaahlyn nods twice "Rather than taking any... potentially apocalyptic course of actions, I have safer means through which you can gain more control over yourself, Sir Lazarus. But that would require an amount of trust as my means are rather, ah, esoteric in nature. Very, whatdoyoucallit... metaphysical." She gestures at Lazarus head. "It involves a mental journey where your inner demons might become quite literal. It will be difficult, but I swear that it will help."

[Duck Tokens]

"Nah, anything can be a boss. In fact, I've seen plenty of bird bosses." Anika replies before she realizes that she had forgotten her clothes.

Once she returns to Lapis, now fully dressed in her robes, she raises her eyebrow at her peculiar question. "Oh, it means 'sex', you know, that thing adult people have for fun or to make babies?" But does Lapis actually know that? "It's a swear though so don't go around saying it unless you have to. Like when you're pissed off or something."

[Morty]

[Wenomir's Office - Cass]

Wenomir's eyes half-close as he exhales deeply. He probably could use that right now...

"I think I would like whatever you have in store very much."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[The Battered Shield]

"Huh. Must be a pretty common thing to have some kinda gift-giving figure around. Back home we had the wolf-father, which...hah...my dad mighta started that one." Interesting to hear that other places have something similar.

"So...yer the, ah, gardener I guess, yer a healer by the sounds of it, and...well I already know what you are, Missy." Atreyu remarks after a pause, addressing Lapis, Mia and Anika in turn. "Anika's already showed me around plenty, but fer the two of you, m' name's Atreyu. I'm sort of a druid like Anika, though I reckon we were taught very different ways."

[Shadowcaller]

[The Battered Shield]

"Wolf-father sounds pretty awesome." Anika observers thoughtfully. "I mean, father winter is more of a dwarf thing. My people never really had any gift giving entities until we were introduced to father winter. I've seen the nexus version though and it seems more like a magical item than a special person, like Lapis said. One of us should try it on when that time comes to see what's it all about." She gives Atreyu a pat on the shoulder. "You could be the wolf-father." She remarks with a chuckle.

[Zefir]

[Mia's Lab]



Sophia shakes her head.
"It was just him. There was some facilities there, but nothing like this place, or what you have."
Perhaps they can tempt Andy with supplies and support?

[Mia's Lab]

Mia just nods. she then turns around grabing a Pad and writes all things down. This will need a moment. After she is done she looks at Sophia.
"Thanks for your help." she says. "It is a bit strange that he hasn't set up a workplace, but maybe he got other things to do. We will see what will happen about this in the future. I will contact my church and see what it is we do next. Anything else? Maybe something I can help you with?"

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

So this is what it's about. Wenomir feels he should have expected it.

"I can do that if you think it's necessary. But I don't know if it will be. Electra is helping us with this threat, but she won't join all our efforts against it. And I don't think she'll try to tell me how to command my people."

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

Mia nods.

"I understand what you mean. In fact I have a few purpose, whcih might help you arguing. First of I am capable of combat healing, both machines and humans. The next thing would be Awen. I recently operated her hand. She seems to have lost it and I replaced it. It should work fine, but with that enemy I would like to decrease any risk of her and the others. Also I noticed that there has been something during the exercise. I should be able to assist her in that case as well."

[The Battered Shield]

"Father Winter? And he's a dwarf? I think Santa can be a dwarf that just means a dwarf would have to sit on the Santa chair and wear the Santa hat," Lapis surmises.

She had furtively observed the festive goings on last year. But she had made sure to be sneaky about since she wasn't sure whether or not she should be leaving VIGIL to snoop around.

"I've tried the training swords but they aren't real swords," Lapis points out. "A real sword to practice with would be best."

When's the food going to arrive? Lapis has been waiting all of fifteen seconds and she's getting antsy.

[The Battered Shield]

"Huh. Must be a pretty common thing to have some kinda gift-giving figure around. Back home we had the wolf-father, which...hah...my dad mighta started that one." Interesting to hear that other places have something similar.

"So...yer the, ah, gardener I guess, yer a healer by the sounds of it, and...well I already know what you are, Missy." Atreyu remarks after a pause, addressing Lapis, Mia and Anika in turn. "Anika's already showed me around plenty, but fer the two of you, m' name's Atreyu. I'm sort of a druid like Anika, though I reckon we were taught very different ways."

[The Battered Shield]

"Wolf-father sounds pretty awesome." Anika observers thoughtfully. "I mean, father winter is more of a dwarf thing. My people never really had any gift giving entities until we were introduced to father winter. I've seen the nexus version though and it seems more like a magical item than a special person, like Lapis said. One of us should try it on when that time comes to see what's it all about." She gives Atreyu a pat on the shoulder. "You could be the wolf-father." She remarks with a chuckle.

[The Battered Shield]

"A pleasure to meet you Atreyu. I'm Mia Mechanicus. As you said I'm in charge of the informary and also I'm the one who build the engines that move the island." she says with a slight bow. "I don't think we got something like that in my Homeworld. We have our own festival which seems to be two months earlier." She then turns to Lapis.
"I'm not sure I get your need for that, but maybe you should talk to some experiences sword fighter. I myself allways use a training sword while sparing, while I have the real one for fights against dummys."

[Recaiden]

Mia just nods. she then turns around grabing a Pad and writes all things down. This will need a moment. After she is done she looks at Sophia.
"Thanks for your help." she says. "It is a bit strange that he hasn't set up a workplace, but maybe he got other things to do. We will see what will happen about this in the future. I will contact my church and see what it is we do next. Anything else? Maybe something I can help you with?"

Sophia bows her head to Mia in receipt of her 'thank you'.
"I hope your church's decision goes well for you."

She lifts a hand to the edge of her hood, a bit taken aback.
"Are there any magical creatures you could get us? Or, there's this ancient crashed spaceship, maybe a mechanical expert could do something with?"

[Arkhosia]

Spoiler

Show

[The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr]

Finally, Jaahlyn has come to VIGIL to revisit Saint Lazarus and she's carrying a backpack with her.
She has been directed to whatever part of the base the ghoul knight is currently occupying.
If she manages to find her, she will go through her usual motions of bowing and pleasantries. "Sir Lazarus, I like to apologies for my tardiness but I have finally found what I think will be a sure way to ease your problem if you're willing to put trust in me once more." She takes off her backpack. Whatever 'solution' she was seems to be carried within it.

The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr

"What've you got?" Saint Lazarus asks, arms crossed, leaning against a building on the far end of the training grounds, where there's plenty of open space for whatever the ratty satyr has planned. She's not yet ready to throw the word 'trust' around just yet, not with Jaahlyn. It's still too soon for her to feel comfortable believing anything that Jaahlyn has to say, since there hasn't been any sort of tangible progress yet to judge her by.

[The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr]

"I've decided to take a different approach to this actually." Jaahlyn nods twice "Rather than taking any... potentially apocalyptic course of actions, I have safer means through which you can gain more control over yourself, Sir Lazarus. But that would require an amount of trust as my means are rather, ah, esoteric in nature. Very, whatdoyoucallit... metaphysical." She gestures at Lazarus head. "It involves a mental journey where your inner demons might become quite literal. It will be difficult, but I swear that it will help."

The Urchin, The Saint and the Satyr

Fidelia peers over from the space behind Saint Lazarus where she's leaning against, an older model of smartphone in her hands. It's clearly secondhand in some manner or other, possibly refurbished and wrapped in a simple pink case. She blinks at what Jaahlyn says, processing the concept.

"Er, mental? How, uh... how does that work?" It's definitely an area of study that Fidelia lacks any knowledge of, and she's a bit curious as far as some way that she could assist her partner along it's path.

[Lord Magtok]

The Saint, the Urchin and the Satyr

"Sure. My inner demons can't be much worse than the outer ones I've already beaten up," Saint Lazarus shrugs, since this scene presumably takes place after Seaside. Even so, it's a pretty hollow boast, a veil of braggadocio over what could easily be the most terrifyingly dangerous adventure so far. One of her worst fears is brutally murdering everyone she knows; is Jaahlyn really thinking about bringing that to life?

"Just so we're clear though, how dangerous would these literal inner demons actually be?" she asks, hand brushing against the grip of her zweihander. This would definitely not be worth it if her own subconscious ends up killing Fidelia. Sometimes she wonders if she should just take that nibble and let them both be zombies together. It wouldn't be easier, or pleasant, but it'd be a lot simpler than this godsforsaken horse**** game we've been forced to play instead.

[Ashen Lilies]

The Battered Shield

"Heh, I guess so. Guess I just needed someone to help me, er, sort out and work through those thoughts." There's a tinge of heat in her cheeks as she take another sip, before smiling a little back over at Kal. "Maybe we'll have to make this a regular thing, though I'd hope there's something I can do to make listening to me ramble worthwhile."

[The Battered Shield]

"No problem," says Kal, giving Blanche an easy smile. "I'm generally pretty happy to share a drink and talk for a while, no need to feel self conscious about it. Though, maybe I'm not quite sure what you have in mind."

[Wenomir's Office - Cass]

Cass starts with a massage as promised, deft, skilled fingers gently but firmly teasing out the knots and tension in the muscles in Wenomir's neck and shoulders.

"So tense..." She murmurs, as she finishes loosening a knot on Wenomir's back. As she finishes up, she leans forward, her arms beginning to slide down and caress his chest as she begins to plant soft kisses down his jaw and neck.

[Morty]

[Wenomir's Office - Cass]

Wenomir practically melts into Cass' massage with a contented sigh. He shivers slightly when she starts kissing him.

"It's a stressful job, commanding Vigil. Good thing you're here to get all this tension melted away..."

[Wenomir's office - Mia]

Wenomir tilts his head. He's quite aware of Mia's capabilities, but there's something that confuses him here.

"What do you mean by something during the exercise?"