Silly Plots 5: Simply for the birds

[Fenric]

"Hey, look! There's a waterfall, but underwater!" Hanako calls out, thrilled by this weird phenomenon.
She'll amuse herself pushing little rocks into the silt, dipping her claw into the flow, and so on.
Of course, this attracts other hatchlings too.

Keiko snaps to look at Hanako and the other hatchlings.

Shear current? Don't get too close - it's not like an above-water waterfall...

Caroline lets out a small yell as Keiko's warning comes a bit too late and Hanako is swiftly carried into the depths followed in short order by her siblings. Both Caroline and Keiko charge over as fast as they can.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

Hors d'oeuvres, or horrors d'oeuvres?

"Oh, wow. This is... This is a really nice room." His eyes wide, Prumathe looks around with a lot of interest. He's a mason, though not a builder- a sculptor, mostly, but he knows stonework, and this is pretty impressive. He'll stay away from the lava flows, since he's still quite flammable.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
More of the the first kind. They at least know what Sekhmet would prefer.
"It is nice, isn't it." She looks at the group of succubi staring at her. "Hi everyone. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going all right." Silence. "This is Prumathe. You've heard of him. He'll be with me tonight." Silence. "Okay. Thanks." Silence. Clearly nobody is really sure how to respond.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

The door creaks open slowly, revealing a very strong man with wolf ears and tail, glaring down with hard eyes. Half his face is covered in a thick metal wolf mask, with ornate teeth, though it's clear that at least the man's cheek underneath is missing. His voice is a low growl, slightly muddled by the scarred state of his features, and he speaks very clearly down to the poor bear. "What fool makes such a bumbling noise on a witches doorstep? Ah." The man's frame is only barely contained in several fur wraps, scarred muscles rippling slightly under the olive skin, and a braided half beard rolls over the stocky chest. Of course, while the man couldn't be called a bodybuilder, there are few who would want to tussle with them, as he exhumed all the energy of a biker gang and a commanding officer, all wrapped up in one package. Taking a long huff inward, the well kempt but burly old man gives a sigh.

"I know your smell. You are the one who stayed with the witch not too long ago. Come crawling back to beg their help, now that you can't control your own actions?" There is a hint of both judgement, and wisdom, then the wolf steps back, opening the door more fully, to a room set up like a shop space. The husky reaches out and grabs the bear by the scruff of it's neck, before yanking it indoors. "Well then welcome in. The witch is out, and don't expect the same hospitality for mistakes from me. Explain what happened, and perhaps I can help." The tone is firm and rough, not unlike a dad chastising a son that just made a mistake with their first car or girlfriend, but it isn't totally uncaring. Just... expectant.

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

The great storm bear is pulled into the grove like a mere cub, sliding along the floor and rolling over.
”I thought being a bear would be fun for the festivities. It was to make the children smile. Ukry undid it so quickly last time that I uuh. Thought it was easier to fix myself. But-“ Aran explains to the wolf in bear-speak, then sheepishly bends forward to reach for the magic ring around his ankle. As expected, the comedic form Ukry created isn’t able to bend far enough to activate the ring.

The Great Inland Sea

Well, that didn’t last long. Without even taking time for admonishment Steven charges after his wife and the children.
He probably should have prepared more water based spells for this.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

The wolf closes the door with a slam and sighs. The closing of the door rattles the shelves of potions in the dim room, and the man moves over and gently rotates an oil lamp's wick so that there is more light, glinting off the dark maple of the interior, which looks not unlike a speakeasy bar might, but with a little more gothic theme to it. Finally, the man moves over and sits on a stool, staring at the bear. "Ferst off, you should work on your shifting speak. Just because you've turned yourself into a bear, doesn't mean that you have to speak like one too. Concentrate on your voice, and what it normally sounds like, then bind the shifting magic that spirit of what you are." The wolf's eye glints softly in the oillight, clearly identifying what bearan's real problem is, but refusing to address it until other things are settled first. "And then you can give me your name, boy."

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

Aran sits up to stare flatly at the wolf-man.
”Yes. The shifting magic. Of course. The magic for shifting, the shifting magic which Ukry bound to my leg so it would be impossible to reach in this form.” He grumpily gestures to the anklet again.
”It’s Aran. Can you just tap this thing so we can have a normal conversation?”
Names and sarcasm don’t translate very well through beast speak.

[Rebonack]

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

This sounds like it's going to be a pretty huge job.

And a potentially dangerous one.

The Scorching Depths might be Sekhmet's domain but many of the denizens still aren't nice.

"Should I provide the Spymistress with an escort?" Rose inquires.

No.

Not that kind of escort you weirdo.

The kind that stabs people.

[Ironsmith]

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

"I can look out for myself down here, thanks." Braon snarks. "And it'd defeat the purpose of sending a spy if you throw in a clumsy, brainless bodyguard. No, thank you." She pulls her cloak around herself and turns to Sekhmet. "Was there anything else? Or should I go and pack now?"

[bc56]

Fiendish Staff Meeting
"You, uh, don't need to rush out of the door. Take time to prepare first. It's dangerous out there." Sekhmet's not kidding. "You'll, uh, want a weapon and armor at least, preferably something concealable."

[Ironsmith]

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

Braon briefly snaps open her cloak, reminding Sekhmet she already wore mismatched leather armor everywhere she goes. She'll then draw out what looks to be a kitchen knife and start idly trimming her nails with it, demonstrating its sharpness and her confidence in it with the gesture. "Will there be any more gobsmackingly obvious advice, or can I go now?"

[bc56]

Fiendish Staff Meeting
Sekhmet shakes her head and sighs. "That's not going to help you." She reaches out to poke Braon in the shoulder; her claw will go right through the armor without any resistance. "I'll get someone who's good at enchantments to make you something better." In fact, there is a royal armorer, who Sekhmet has never visited, that specializes in making armor for succubi.

[Ironsmith]

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

"Someone who's- excuse you?!" Braon squeeks, transparently offended. "I'm sorry, I must have heard you wrong. Are you implying that my enchantments won't be up to spec out there?" She scowls. She'll remove the offending shoulder pad, run her hand over it, and hold it out for Sekhmet to try again.

For its part, the shoulder pad seems to weaponize Braon's wounded pride, manifesting to stiffen the leather whenever Sekhmet touches it. Attempts at ghosting through it will be met with a more hostile response, pushing back against her hand like a schoolyard bully. Whether that's enough to provide the needed protection remains to be seen.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"Uh, hello! It's... good to meet you all." Prumathe smiles and waves at the succubi, but he's in a bit of the same boat, and doesn't know how to respond to their total lack of response.

[bc56]

Fiendish Staff Meeting
"Better, but, uh, I don't know if it's enough. There are so many concerns. You're a mortal in a land of fiends; you stand out easily, and not in a good way. Palace fiends are, uh, for lack of a better word, tame." Sekhmet paces back and forth like a spider in its web. "There are several layers of very specialized enchantments I think you'll need. Something to project a false fiendish aura, something to protect you from heat, something to prevent mind-altering magic, something to store things that a fiend wouldn't need, like, uh, food." Sekhmet's apparently given this a good deal of thought.

Diabolic Visitation
The succubi distinctly look very nervous. They don't want Sekhmet's ire, but is speaking up going to attract or divert it? One of the musician succubi, the one with the cello, gulps loudly before finally being the first to speak. "Hi. Nice to meet you. So... We're just warming up right now. Did you want to request a specific piece for the dance?" Sekhmet looks to Prumathe. "Do you have any suggestions?" The string quartet waits expectantly.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

"Yer really clueless about the magic, aren't ye? Perhaps it would do you good to stew as a bear for a while. That ring is deactivate-able, but it didn't do naught to yer voice. If I changed you back now, there'd be nothing to stop you from continuing to talk as a bear save for your own mind and ignorance. In case I'm not quite making this clear, the ring is a magic skin; skins don't let you speak in tongues, so that magic must have come from somewhere else." The man stretches softly, standing and walking over, grabbing the lad's leg, and hoisting it into the air, before tapping the anklet. "But seeing as yer so daft as to not know that, I'll cut this short. Who are yeh?" The wolf's eye glowers above the well kempt beard, or at least what of it remains.

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

As the ring is tapped Aran is shrunk back to the body he was born with.
”Aran Larouge. Magitek engineer.” he says flatly as he’s held by the leg.
”Please put me down.” he asks much more politely.
It seems that whatever gave him beast speech has left him. He can’t do magic without the ring activated though so that makes sense.
”And yes, given that I have only acquired the ability to interact with magic one week ago, I’m rather clueless as to its applications.”

[Ironsmith]

Fiendish Staff Meeting
"Better, but, uh, I don't know if it's enough. There are so many concerns. You're a mortal in a land of fiends; you stand out easily, and not in a good way. Palace fiends are, uh, for lack of a better word, tame." Sekhmet paces back and forth like a spider in its web. "There are several layers of very specialized enchantments I think you'll need. Something to project a false fiendish aura, something to protect you from heat, something to prevent mind-altering magic, something to store things that a fiend wouldn't need, like, uh, food." Sekhmet's apparently given this a good deal of thought.

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

Braon crosses her arms and scowls. She doesn't like the idea of relying on Sekhmet for help to do her job, but the demon queen has already listed off two things she hadn't thought of yet; she'd want to consult with an expert to ensure her enchantments were comprehensive enough, at least. "...Fine. I'll have a word with this armorer of yours." She grumbles.

[bc56]

Fiendish Staff Meeting
"Okay, uh, then you can, uh, be dismissed." Sekhmet replies to Braon. She's a little worried she's making a mistake here, but she can live with it.

[Ironsmith]

[Fiendish Staff Meeting]

Braon gives a mocking little salute and turns to go, her cloak swishing dramatically behind her as she walks out the door. It's likely nobody in the room will see her again before Thanksmas.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"Uh... I don't think so? Oh, do you guys know anything by Queen?" Prumathe is expecting a 'no' and has no idea what Bohemian Rhapsody would sound like on a string quartet anyway.

Queen is probably one of the musical groups he'd have tried introducing to Sekhmet, so she should at least know some of their music.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Forest Temple]

Kestrel was eager to hop off, and did so quite quickly. She stumbled for a moment before beginning to stretch her legs in an attempt to ease the acheing. She hadn't had experience riding horseback before, let alone wolfback, and it hard turned out to be uncomfortable in the long term. Plus, she had felt super awkward riding on the back of her friend, it was just kind of weird- and she also worried that carrying her was a burden to him, or that she would have accidentally hurt him when clinging tight to her fur. So all in all, it was a relief to finally be at their destination.

"Thanks for carrying me all this way, really." Kestrel addressed Atreyu, still stretching her muscles. "I appreciate it. You holding up okay?" She looked around as she waited for a response, appreciating the forest views.

[Forest Temple]

Wolf-Atreyu snorts, and takes a quick stroll round behind a few trees, emerging the other side as his regular human self. The actual shapeshifting process can weird some people out a little bit, so he tends to do it away from prying eyes, though he imagines Kestrel probably wouldn't mind that much.

"Wouldn't have made the offer if it were a huge inconvenience, Missy. Yer light as a feather. Which, ah, I reckon that makes sense given yer name and feathers and all. Yer prolly s'pposed to be kinda lightweight. Now, that in mind, I ain't exactly built fer comfort. How are you farin' after our little trek?"

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
"Prumathe..." Sekhmet says, knowing that the answer would be "no," but the cellist succubus cuts her off. "I know their music, but we're a string quartet. We can't really do it justice, sorry." Then she gulps, apparently fearing a smiting from Sekhmet. But none comes. "What's you name? "They call me Gloom." "Gloom, thank you." "Your majesty?" "You didn't lie to please my husband and me."

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"Then, um, I guess I don't? I'm not sure I've listened to a string quartet before." Prumathe usually listens to classic rock, which has strings in the form of electric guitars. Not cellos.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
"Don't worry, Prumathe. I'm sure they'll do all right." That definitely makes the musicians even more nervous. They're still not used to working for a fiendish queen who will forgive failure.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"I look forward to it. And, uh, I've not listened to a string quartet before, so I don't think I have anything to judge you against." And hopefully they take that as reassurance that he won't know if it's bad so he won't punish them. And he knows Sekhmet, so they could do pretty much anything up to replace their instruments with live animals and torture them to make 'music' without Sekhmet feeling the need to punish them.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
They're less worried about Prumathe than about Sekhmet. Prumathe is just a mortal; Sekhmet is their queen, and although he knows she wouldn't punish them without good reason, they've had centuries working for Sapphira behind them. "Thank you! We'll be back just before the dance starts." Sekhmet ushers Prumathe out so everyone can prepare in peace without her looming over them.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

Prumathe is assuming the succubi know Sekhmet better than they actually do, since it's been months. He's not comparing it to Sapphira's reign of millennia, which he should do.

He'll let himself get ushered out, quite happy to see wherever Sekhmet's showing him next.

[Murkus]

[Double Date]

"Someone lives out here?" Div asks, looking about them. He doesn't seem overly concerned about actually getting an answer to that one, though. More focused on Jaahlyn for now. He lets out a little chortle when he sees her bowing. "Wow! Theatrical! I didn't expect Jim to meet somebody so... classy."

He wants to ask them how exactly they met to begin with, but he doesn't want to heap on too many questions. Plus he's curious about answer to Jim's himself. So Div just decides to introduce himself.

"I'm Divin Frescot. I, uh... I'm pretty sure only Batu knew my whole first name. Everybody just calls me Div," he says. "You, um, might have seen some of my family around before. Making trouble, mostly." Frescots tended to get around, and thanks to one of their brothers in particular, they were a pretty common sight in the Nexus nowadays.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
Sekhmet actually doesn't lead Prumathe anywhere. "I, uh... Is there anything else you'd like to see while you're here?"