Silly Plots 5: Simply for the birds

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove
The wolf eyes the band, and it's almost visible that they are debating reactivating it, before they drop the boy with a gruff shrug. "Mage-tech, huh? An' yet yer trying to talk like an idjit when yer using such a basic band? Maybe yer oughtta go back to school. I ain't got magic of my own, and even I can see what that spell is doing." The man flexes an arm, which bristles with thick fur and swells into a viscous set of beast claws for a moment, before returning to a more humanoid look. "Yer gift there ain't nothing more than a mask. Yer either are wearing it or yer aren't, adn yer not able to choose sommat inbetween. Between that, and knowing what the witch's magic is like, yer talking funny isn't naught but what's in your head boy." The wolves eyes narrow. "It's probably a confidence thing, seein' as yer got less backbone then an overdone noodle." The man crosses his arms, and leans against the wall, continuing to scrutinize the lad. "My names Grimmjaw. Anything else yer gonna bug me over?"

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

”I’m not sure what part of ‘not able to even touch magic’ you missed. And Ukry was busy with other things to explain it.” Primarily mocking him.
”Is Ukry here, or were you planning on just sitting there and mocking me for a lack of information I had from a disability?”
Does this count as backbone? Because Aran is already getting sick of being mocked every time he comes here.

[Aurora Alchemi]

"Oh, so the pup thinks they can growl? Yer batting out of your league, boyh." Grimm doesn't even bat an eye, carefully putting some herb or another into a pipe and striking a match on the seam of their pants. Taking a long puff on the pipe, the Ulfan blows a ring of acrid smoke back at the lad. "And if yer not able to touch magic, what'r yer doin' with mage tech as a job anyways? Seems bold, but stupid. Why not jest go intah normal engineerin', siege engines or sommat?" The wolf, does however, seem to cede a little ground at Aran demonstrating that they aren't a wilted piece of iceberg lettuce.

"Ukry ain't here, the witch is busy with other loose ends and people with both more an' less sense then yer. What did yer need from them?"

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

Aran pretends the smoke doesn’t bother him. Grumbling he poofs into his gnoll shape so he isn’t so dwarfed by the wolf. They might realize the problem: Aran was told to tap the ring thrice to cast glamour on his clothes, so he mistakenly assumed that was how to activate the mask in general.
”I wished to have another visit, mostly. You are another of their employees? I suppose there’s nothing to be done if they’re not around.”
Of course that wouldn’t stop the two from having an amicable conversation…if they could get on an amicable level.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove
"Hrmmph. Do yer tap yer buttocks three times when yer go to the loo as well? Odd habit." The smoker's eyes gleam with a hidden knowledge, but he decides to express it is quite crass. Possible enough to get Aran to pay attention, though it likely didn't matter much to Grimm. Easing off of the wall, the man walks through the now gnoll engineer by picking them up then placing them to the side with no more effort than someone would give moving a bottle, before gathering a few things and putting a percolator of coffee on the fire in the corner. "Ain't any employee of theirs, the witch works for me. Their retainers are their own, but I keep the witch in their place. Yer drink coffee boy, or should I put on a spot of milk to warm for yer?"

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry’s Grove

”I drink coffee, yes.” he raises an eyebrow at Grimmjaw’s claims, his eyes sparking with annoyance as he’s gnollhandled.
”So if they work for you, what do you do then? I’m sure you’re someone very important.” No one acts like this without being in charge of something, that’s for sure.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"I don't know. I don't know what's here. Is there anywhere with a nice view, maybe? A balcony over a permanently erupting volcano or something?" It's Hell, so 'nice' is probably a matter of perspective, but stunning views of erupting volcanos, pits of magma and screaming souls, and rains of blood are kind-of expected.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
"Oh, uh, sure! We could go for a walk on the grounds, you'd get a better view of the mountains from there." Blood rains are unlikely. This place is too hot and dry, but the other concerns are all very possible.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

Prumathe nods and follows, unaware that he's unlikely to see a rain of blood, though a short time ago there was a reign of blood. Fortunately, now Sekhmet is queen.

[Meowmai]

[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?"

[Forest Temple]

"Ah yeah," Kestrel said, scratching the back of her head almost a little self-consciously. She was indeed very lightweight, which did come in useful for activities like climbing, but that trait also made it very easy to pick her up with little effort (as Atreyu would well know from their first meeting)- something which had led to more than a few undignified situations.

She continued to stretch a bit as she replied, "To be honest, aint feeling the best I've ever felt." She said with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm uh, not much of a rider." She massaged her thighs a little with one hand, before starting to look for a nice place to set up camp.

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Date]

"My name is Batu. Son of Tengal... well, sort of." The hobgoblin shrugs. "It's complicated. I'm a student of sorcery. And an intern in a wizard tower. They don't really use the same kind of magic, but I help out anyway."

Double Date

Jim smiles and puts himself beside Jaahlyn as she makes her introduction.
"And a very fine musician at that.
So! There must be stuff or people here neat enough to make you want to bring us here. Is it a surprise?" he asks, eyes looking a little mischievous. He's kind of expecting there to be something of particular interest, being brought to a fancy grove fey know about. You don't just make mysterious fey places to store your cheese.

[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.

[Double Date]

Jaahlyn can't help but to smile and glance at Jim when Div remarks on her 'classiness'. But then she turns back and nods at the young fey. "Nice to meet you then, Div Frescot. But to answer your question, there are people living out here and I suppose they're sort of an surprise in themselves. Can't say I've run into your relatives though, but perhaps the people who live here have if they're such troublemakers." Jaahlyn looks to Batu. "I hope they're not making any trouble for you though, Batu."

The sound of those quarreling squirrels grow louder though and it might not actually be squirrels at all considering the noise they're making. It sounds more like apes if either of the group are familiar with such animals.

[Deathkeeper]

Double Date

"I assure you that we are the very embodiment of class." Jim insists in the most faux-prim manner possible.
He does glance around at the sounds in the background. Definitely not something he would be expecting of normal woodland creatures.
"Are those your mysterious friends?" Jim asks of Jaahlyn.

[Morty]

[Double Date]

"I've only met one of Div's brothers so far. Adir. He lives here too and has... many kids." That seems to be something of a family trait. "And people live in all sorts of places. My tribe included. They pass through places like this one now and then."

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

Grimmjaw snorts softly. "It's less what I do now, and more what I did, considerin' this foul world had the displeasure of pullin' me away from my people and my lands. I used to lead warriors, fight mighty battles, kill the slavering flesheating foxes... Naw I sit in a shop and make sure folks read labels so they don't drink the wrong brew." The wolf gives a long sigh, poking the fire a little big, before casually grabbing a coal from the fire and placing it into a different place. The hand is burnt, but heals before it even leaves the fire. "Don't mind me none, pup. I'm more frustrated at my own predicaments than anything. Yer look like yer never had a mentor for this kinda stuff, right?" The warrior messes around in some drawers, before returning with a plate of what look to be iced scones.

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry's Grove

Aran sighs and sits down next to the fire and Grimmjaw. He looks a little silly, resting in front of the fire in shorts, but the outfit comes with the shape. He hasn't felt confident enough to experiment with outfits.
"I'm sorry for being a little snippy. It's not really the welcome I was hoping for after hitchhiking between three cities as a bear, is all." he admits.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

Grimmjaw nods slowly, then pulls the sputtering coffeepot off the fire, pouring two cups of what could accurately be called black tar coffee, before stirring his with a bit of scone. "Well, then I guess yer better listen well. The witch has their own way about things, but it does make sense if you get to it." Grimm sits down, sipping some of the coffee, then motioning to the walls of potions and enchanted items. "Sure, yer might consider mosta their stuff to be traps in certain ways, but it's all based on yer own perception and yer own way of doin' thing. Unless yer gone and pissed Ukry off, tha' item is little more than a mask that yer can change when yer wish it. My guess would be that yer band got put on yer leg because the witch wants yer to experiment and learn how to use it. In many ways, tappin' tha' band is more like pulling the reigns off the horses, rather then actually guiding them to slow down. It werks, but yer cannae do anything finessed with it."

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry's Grove

Aran's muzzle has trouble sipping out of regular mugs but he makes it look simple enough.
"So, if it's a mask then I still don't have magic of my own. That's alright, the mask is enough for now.
Uh. Hm. Not really sure what to do with it. My first experiments were interesting." He gives a slightly mischievous grin. "Is there anything Ukry likes in particular?"

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
Sekhmet leads Prumathe down some hallways and out of a pair of elaborate gates. The heat is the first thing anyone would noticed, followed by the fact that they're standing on a wide stone bridge across the lava lake that serves as the palace's moat. Ahead are the mountains, visible across a plain of ash, jagged edifices of black rock spitting flame into the air. The sky above is pitch black, the light coming only from the molten rock. As the royal pair leave, a pair of demonic guards detach themselves from the shadows near the gate and follow close behind. Clad from head to toe in ominous black armor and wielding barbed pikes, one is male and the other female, but no other details can be determined.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

The guards aren't immediately noticed, which means they might make Prumathe jump when he turns around. He's too interested in looking out at the lava and the mountains and the plains of ash and dust. "That is a lot more... intimidating than I was expecting." It's got a harsh beauty, and Prumathe does like the view, but it also scares him.

[Murkus]

[Double Date]

Div would comment more on Batu's people or his own, but that noise from the brush proves more distracting. He squints in that direction, sniffing the air. Frescots have pretty potent noses. "Geeze, they sound a lot like my brothers."

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Date]

"'Friends' is not the word I'd use. Though they're not... unfriendly." Despite the sounds they're making apparently.
Jaahlyn looks to Div. "But that sounds rough, I only have one brother and he's nice... generally." She smiles. "But I'm sure your brothers are too."

The satyr turns to the source of the awful noise. "But anyway... let's see if we can get their attention shall we?"

Jaahlyn steps forward and loudly clears her voice, not that whatever is lurking out there in the forest seems to be able to hear it. But then she takes up her violin and starts playing a short but cheery tune.
This puts a stop the screeches and soon enough what appears to be a swarm of large insects comes flying towards the group. But as they come closer it seems they have a more humanoid form. One might make the mistake to think they're pixies at this point but there's something different about these creatures. Namely, they're extremely hairy.

In fact, by the point they start to swarm around Jaahlyn they can see that they're in fact tiny flying monkeys that are carried by various kinds of insect wings.
"Hey fur-legs!"
"Play us another song! You didn't play nearly enough last time!"
"You got sweets? I want a sweet!"

The tiny monkeys have gently started to tug and prod the satyr as they seem to be controlled by an immense curiosity which isn't limited by any considerations of personal space.
Jaahlyn seems used to this however. "Easy there guys. It was my friends that wanted to see you-"

"They have sweets?!"

For a moment all the tiny be-winged monkey's turn their attention to Div, Batu and Jim.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
"It's not meant to be welcoming. Some people tried planting flowers, but they tend to turn out weirdly." Every once in a while it seems like the realm has a will of its own, and the growing of plants seems to be one of those things.

[Earl of Purple]

Diabolic Visitation

"I'd guess you need some natural light, or something. Sunlight, y'know? I don't think magma or lava produces ultraviolet light, and that's the bit plants eat." Prumathe's understanding of plants and their workings isn't perfect, but it's possibly better than Sekhmet's, given he had semi-modern education. He turns around and is startled by the guards. "Uh... Hi. Where'd you come from?" They probably don't reply.

[bc56]

Diabolic Visitation
Prumathe definitely knows more about plants than Sekhmet.
But that won't stop her from trying to grow them anyway.
"They're here for our protection. We won't need them, but better safe than sorry. There are dangerous things living here." The guards just remain stoically silent.

[Deathkeeper]

Double Date

Jim leans forward, grinning.
”I don’t carry candy on me. But I do have a voice if you want a song. I hope you’ve been good to my date.” he says with some small amount of sternness.
Barnabas pokes his head out of Jim’s bag and immediately tries to hide back inside it. He does not associate with imps or pixies.

[Morty]

[Double Date]

Batu didn't come here with expectations. Jaahlyn wanted to show them something and he was waiting to see what it was. If he had had some expectations, though, tiny flying monkeys wouldn't have been on the list.

"I don't have any sweets either. And I don't sing. But I can show a magic trick or two."

As he talks, a small bird comes flying and perches on his shoulder, peering at the other winged creatures.

[Murkus]

[Double Date]

"Uh, my brothers are generally nice, sure, but they don't look quite like that either!" Div exclaims as the troupe appears to bother Jaahlyn, after she's begun her song.

He looks around. Everyone seems to have a cool pet but him. And Jim is even offering to sing for the little things! Well, what they don't have...

"I think I've got something on me..."

Div digs around in the leather messenger-bag-thing he carries with him and pulls out a huge, half-eaten energy bar with the wrapper crumpled down around it. He loved civilized food, at least most of the time, but it was just so much to eat. Half of this thing and he was already full.

[Shadowcaller]

Double Date

Wherever its Jim's words or the siren's call of candy, the tiny monkeys suddenly make a beeline for Div only to stop dead in their tracks when the bird appears.
"****, he commands the birds." The monkey points at the small bird as if it had been a firebreathing dragon.
"Crivens!"
"Bird-caller!"

Still, some of the monkey's dare to brave the bird and continue on towards to coveted candy and will snatch it out of Div's hand and start to swarm him and prod him at places as if testing out that he's actually real. Or if he will react in some funny way if they prod at a particular location.

So the monkey swarm is now divided into two. One part staring in fear at the little bird and the other swarming Div.

Jaahlyn have by now walked back to Jim, but is giving the pixies harassing Div a firm stare. "You better respect his boyfriend or you're going to be birdfood." She leans over to Jim and adds in a whisper. "You need to threaten them or they'll never listen. It's okay though, they're just a annoying."

[Deathkeeper]

Double Date

Jim nods sagely at Jaahlyn's threats but also leans towards her to whisper,
"So if they're an annoyance I'm guessing they're not who you took us here to meet, huh?"

[Morty]

[Double Date]

Batu is silent for a moment with a rather dumbstruck expression on his face. Genghis, meanwhile, fluffs his feathers, unaware of the monkeys' dread of him. He almost says that his bird is just a pet and perfectly harmless, but it seems Jaahlyn has other ideas. So he bites his tongue.

"Yes, Genghis listens to me. Behave and I'll have no reason to let him loose."