Seaside 6: Six at the Beach

[Deathkeeper]

Follow Your Nose

"Well, between the Blood Moon, the Buttercups, and every other thing happening all the time folks in the city just accept that it's possible. And I did have to answer a couple things at least. She's not that gullible." he shrugs.
"Come on now, you didn't set yourself up as Protector of All Werewolves and VIGIL member without seeming trustworthy. And besides, I've been here two days and it feels lonely in this house. Gotta vent to somebody."
Atreyu's last remark earns a chuckle. "Oh, and what's those? I'm obviously new to this aesthetic."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Follow Your Nose]

"Hah, well, I ain't protector of all werewolves here exactly. And if I'm bein' honest, I wouldn't mind bein' free of the obligation." Atreyu admits with a chuckle. "But well said, all the same. I don't mind providin' some company, if that's what yer after. And, ah, if ya really want me to say, I think you got quite a nice coat of fur to you, and fer a wolf-sort, quite a cute face on ya." He gives another little shrug, "But obviously, I'm biased. I'm gonna like the look of most anyone who's kinda wolf-like."

[Deathkeeper]

Follow Your Nose

"Well, there's no shame in having a type." Codebreaker says, sitting up so he can use one of the underwater seats instead of just floating.
"And at least all that work he did paid off I s'pose. From the closet full of products and the robo-barber thing I'm fairly sure he spent two hours a day caring for it and this tail." Well, that work doesn't show as much when he's soaked.
"If you want to give it a go you're welcome. I need to figure out how to tie this." he pulls at the little copper tie entwined in his short beard.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Follow Your Nose]

"Well in fairness, it is quite the nice tail. Keep it lookin' as smart as he must've, and I reckon you'll be the envy of plenty of wolf folks of all sorts out there." And Atreyu should know, he's seen plenty of werewolf tail.

"Not sure I wanna trust someone else with my tail, mind. Though I guess if this robo-barber served him well, he must be trustworthy."

[Deathkeeper]

Follow Your Nose

"I don't think I really plan on having a wide circle of lupine friends." Codebreaker says, unknowing of his future. Though he does turn to look at his rear. No, his tail doesn't look like much when it's sopping wet.
"From the look of it he used it a few thousand times so it definitely seems safe. I'll just have to make sure it can tell someone else is in the seat or else it'll mostly be missing." After all, while shorter than Atreyu's shifted self Codebreaker is larger in his other dimensions.
"It's really just a very fancy seat."

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie wipes the sweat from his brow and again examines his handiwork; a fresh coat of paint, applied evenly to one of the shrine's newly-reconstructed walls. In theory, this had been a simple job; put together a framework, nail some boards to it, and roll some paint onto the boards. A simple weekend project.

The reality was a nightmare in coordination. He had to fit the frame together in such a way that it wouldn't be jostled into misalignment when he hammered it together. He had to get the boards on straight and evenly-spaced; no room for misalignment there, either. And the paint; who knew handling a medium-viscosity liquid that could leave semi-permanent stains would be so hard? And every mistake woukd compound upon itself; a crooked frame wouldn't allow properly-aligned boards, which would make painting nigh-impossible. He couldn't afford any mistakes.

Thankfully, after a few false starts, Kyrie managed to put together a wall that looked not-quite-bad. He sighs and plops onto the grass, taking a miniature break. Thankfully, his new outfit was holding up well for this job; he was dressed in a shoulderless white shirt and a pair of grey cargo shorts, which collectively did a good job of covering the worst of his deformities but did not flatter him.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

See, Codebreaker was planning on doing a lot of the painting himself. It was decent exercise and a knows he could use that. But Kyrie has taken it as a point of honor to stop CB from any of it, leaving it entirely to Kyrie and whichever of his family volunteers.
So instead CB has been sitting on his patron's dais sipping drinks from the cooler. He wanted to offer Kyrie some coffee for his trouble but he's reasonably sure that neither of them can have caffeine. He has a phone (finally) to pass the time but sitting around with Kyrie being the strong quiet type has been slow going.
"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a regular working-class dad in that getup?" he asks, breaking the silence. It's a compliment, really. Kyrie looks much better after that long shower. Even if he smashed up CB's house before using the barber-bot. And of course he's a bit more muscular and misshapen that your average father.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie opens his mouth to object, but then thinks better of it. He probably did look like a stereotypical working-class father, come to think of it. And he was only one degree of relation away from being one, even less so since formally adopting his nieces and nephews, so he'd end up looking "like" one by default, eventually.

"...So do you." He finally rebutts. "Or something close to it. Like a... merchant? Salesman. A salesman for salvaged vehicles." He says, with a little smirk.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

"Hey, I got priestly robes. But I only look more ridiculous in them, trust me. I look ridiculous no matter what. But I rock casual better than formal." He does seem sure of that.
"Besides, I like to think that I look friendly. Maybe even cuddly in the sort of goofy animal mascot kind of way." Unlike his brother who mostly looks like the boss of a final fantasy game or something. He can't believe he somehow managed to get more of a raw deal than Allen.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie shrugs. "You have a point there. Siana's a pretty friendly person herself, but I doubt she would have talked to you if you looked even the slightest bit dangerous." He grimaces a little. "Sorry again for our terrible introduction, incidentally. I see a stranger too close to my little girl and I just-" he growls ferociously, making a throttling motion with his hands.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker leans back, bare feet kicking the floors awaiting waxing.
"You really gotta work on that, dude. You ain't doing you or them any favors helicoptering like that. And I mean they need it in some ways but not the ones where you look like a psychopath." Unfortunately there's not much he or his patron can do there. Tinkering with one's head is a terribly delicate art. He's fairly sure a didn't even do anything to him and he's still felt different just being in this body.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"You think I don't know that?" Kyrie sighs. "It's instinct. It's like this... this persistent voice in the back of my head telling me that, no matter how certain I am that these kids are going to be okay, if I don't step in this one time, it'll be the one time I should have and they'll get hurt." He runs a clawed hand down his snout in exasperation. "...And it's not like it's wrong, either. Did I tell you about that incident at Trog's?"

[Rebonack]

[Team Quest]

Alright!

Time to accept that quest!

The moment our heroes all accept the mission a new quest objective pops up!

Survive the Pirate Bombardment

Wait, what?

A pirate ship sails around the edge of the cove and our heroes can see little poofs of black smoke from its side, shortly followed by loud BOOMS! shortly followed by cannon balls blasting into the beach!

AH!

Take cover!

Our heroes do have that fort they had made and after a direct hit it is pretty clear that the thing is surprisingly resilient considering it is a thing they literally threw together several minutes ago. They could hide in the holes they dug. Flee underwater. Or fall back into the thick jungle that chokes the interior of the island.

Or?

They could mount a counter-attack!

That ship is pretty far away, though.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker shakes his head.
"Well last time we saw each other we had two brief conversations. We didn't have time to talk about Trog's. But hey man, I got instincts too. You just gotta focus. Try meditation or something. Your head is something I can't help you with." Well maybe but it would be terrible.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"...Mister Codebreaker. You have never known me for a time when I haven't been meditating." Kyrie says flatly. "And so far, it hasn't helped. Not for very long, at least. I get maybe an hour of quiet and calm before my mind is again restless and I just..." He stops for a moment and scratches his ear with his foot, letting out a contented sigh. "...We Maesdans are supposed to be all about discipline and control. But my mind feels like it's hooked up to a whole pack of wolves. As much as I might like to, I can't just ignore them."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

"Well, I can't really help you with the wolf thing. I mean you'd think I could but really I think I mostly just like carnivorous diet stuff and sitting around and folks near by species." Codebreaker's instincts seem to be very much skewed against what you'd expect. Or maybe Codebreaker associates something else with what others consider hunting?
"Maybe you'll feel better if we do something about your back. I can't imagine the pain helping."

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"It doesn't." Kyrie admits. "But it's more just... it's not just the instinct." He lets out a little sigh. "Normally, I'm in an awkward position. I can either indulge the wolves and shame myself as a man, a knight, or I can keep my dignity and have the wolves baying and nipping until I indulge them again. But with the kids..." He holds out his hands, one cupped up near his chest, the other down near his hip, like he was holding someone close to death. "...You should have seen them when they first came to me. They were so lost, and frightened... they didn't even know who they were. I didn't know, either. But... they needed my help. And they just looked so desperate... and I thought to myself, 'I am never going to let this happen again'." He drops his hands. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... it's the one thing where the wolves and I are in complete agreement. Nothing can be allowed to hurt them. Nothing." Kyrie sniffs a little, visibly misty-eyed. "And... that makes it a little hard to know where to stop. I have the passion of the animal and the mind of the man aligned in the same direction. I know that nearly anything can hurt them, and I can't let it go... and I can't always be there, and I should let them grow up and navigate for themselves so I don't have to be, but..."

Kyrie falls silent for a moment, the words catching in his throat.

"...I think you get the idea."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker eyes Kyrie as he absolutely pours his heart out.
...that's rough, buddy."
He shakes his head. "Honestly? I think you need a therapist or a psychic. But if there's anything I can do, you're welcome to ask."
Kyrie's not getting out of painting this shrine, though. They're already a third of the way there.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"Well, you're letting me pay you back." Kyrie says with a shrug, wiping his eyes dry. "In doing so, you're showing a lot of confidence in me. Honestly? That helps." He smiles a little. "If you didn't think I could fix things, you wouldn't have let me anywhere near this place. Which reminds me..." He reaches around behind him and produces a small chest. It must be heavy, because even as strong as Kyrie looks, he can still only manage to drag it.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Well, actually part of it is that Codebreaker needed this done, he didn’t trust Kyrie near his house, and his patron is at their most powerful here. But he didn’t say that.
”So um. Kyrie, what’s that? Please don’t tell me you did something stupid.” Speaking of, where was he keeping that until now?

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie frowns. He expected this kind of reaction to be a possibility, but he was hoping Codebreaker would be more pleasantly surprised. "I still owe you for the home repair." He says bluntly. "This should be about half the needed amount." He unlocks the chest and opens it up, letting Codebreaker see the diamond-encrusted coins therein; this was the rough equivalent of handing him a briefcase full of hundred-dollar-bills.

"As for 'something stupid'... I would think not." Kyrie scratches at his shoulder, inadvertently calling attention to the fact that he wasn't wearing his armor. Armor that was, as Codebreaker might recall, made of pure silver. It must be worth quite a lot.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker continues to look more worried than cheery.
”Yeah but please tell me you didn’t put yourself in a hole for this. You’re no good for those kids if you sold your soul or took a loan from the mob or promised to sell all your teeth to an alchemist.”
Kyrie might realize that despite all his ravings about his money, Codebreaker doesn’t seem to actually want them to pay him back much. In fact if Kyrie mentioned CB to anyone in town they’d probably have mentioned how surprised they were when he came back from his long trip and immediately started forgiving all the debts and loans people owed him and acting significantly nicer.
He didn’t really get angry and kick them out because of the cost of the repairs. He panicked because the level of wreckage made him truly afraid, that he’d let something terrible into his house and not just some unstable magical folk. Which he was reminded was wrong well, almost immediately. But still, feeling unsafe in the one place you have is not a great feeling.
That said he still really likes money.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"Of course not." Kyrie replies. "I just sold some of my old things. I wouldn't put the kids at risk for mere money." He gives Codebreaker a look that says "pretty sure I just got through explaining that". "As it turns out, there was a collector in town who was willing to pay a premium for them. The rest of the debt, I intend to simply pay in reasonable amounts from my wages. I'm honorable, not idiotic."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker stares but eventually sighs and resigns himself. He drags the box over to the area behind a’s altar.
”Well just remember that this all counts for some of it. I hate playing lender to people. I would rather you mostly promise to not threaten to stab me again but if you insist I’ll take it. I’m just reminding you that you need the money more than I do.” It’s amazing how much he manages to sound like a parent despite being the person Kyrie almost eviscerated.

[bc56]

Team Quest

Ping!
"Bombardment? Uh, whaaaaaaah!" Selekhael ducks for cover behind the fort wall. She swings her sword down at the ground below her to drop into a newly built foxhole and covers her ears from the noise of the blasts.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

Codebreaker stares but eventually sighs and resigns himself. He drags the box over to the area behind a’s altar.
”Well just remember that this all counts for some of it. I hate playing lender to people. I would rather you mostly promise to not threaten to stab me again but if you insist I’ll take it. I’m just reminding you that you need the money more than I do.” It’s amazing how much he manages to sound like a parent despite being the person Kyrie almost eviscerated.

[Shrine]

"The lack of stabbings would, I think, be implied at this point." Kyrie points out. "And as for needing the money more than you do... well, that's sort of beside the point, isn't it? I had the money. I then got into a position where I owed you money. I wouldn't have a leg to stand on in then withholding that money."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker seems unconvinced.
"It is definitely still the point. I could never live with myself if I made you and those kids sleep in a shack eating scraps while sitting in my mansion because you were too proud to let me forgive you a little. I'm not exactly close to getting hungry after dumping the money on repairs, Kyrie." Well he's hungry all the time but not in the sense CB's talking about.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie lets out a long-suffering sigh. Who knew getting Codebreaker to let him pay him back would be so difficult? "Frankly, neither could I." He says. "And I don't intend to. We're not in that shack because of you. We're in that shack because it's easily replaced; Siana's put a few holes in it already, but it's much easier to patch that than..." He gestures toward Codebreaker's mansion. "And as for food... money is not the issue there. Supply is. There aren't a lot of vendors who carry things like Blood Oranges. There just isn't a market for them out here."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker seems still apprehensive but mollified.
"Well, fine. It sounds like you've got this all planned out. I guess we can get back to the walls now. Though I don't know, I can't exactly stay up as late as you." Codebreaker isn't fully nocturnal like Kyrie. But he has noticed his sleep schedule drifting wildly so he's not actually sure what time his species is supposed to be active. And well, he doesn't need to have a job anymore so he's very much enjoying sleeping whenever and wherever he wants.

[Earl of Purple]

Team Quest

Mishnehel dives into the tunnel she had just built as the cannons start to bombard the beach, before growing a firestep in oily rainbow bubbles and standing on it. She's never fired her gun before, and doesn't know the range, so she props it on the edge of the pit and starts to fire, the bony helix starting to twist and revolve as it shoots blasts of unstable Growth. It'll probably cause tumour-type growths if it hits, not many with each pellet but there's a lot of pellets being shot at the ships. The weapon growls quite distinctively as it's fired.