Trog's Tavern CLVI

[Ironsmith]

Oh!

Okay, it is a game.

Just not a game Zee was familiar with. But, rather, a game that seemed reminiscent of a game she was familiar with.

The Nexus is definitely weird like that.

"Don't sweat it too hard," Zee encourages the driver slash speedster slash super hero. "Just work at the super hero thing. Find some bad guys to team up with others again. Do some daring do. Before long it'll be well known that the REAL Jet Wyvern is here in town!"

Oh man.

Did he try TheRealJetWyvern as a screen name?

He definitely should have tried that one.

"Thanks! I try to bring some levity to the situation whenever I can. The world is crazy enough by default so it doesn't need to be serious and crazy. That would just be depressing."

Ah, hindsight. Something Jet apparently doesn't have much use for.

Just as well. There's sixty-eight "Real Jet Wyvern"s on the app already.

"Ha! You're telling me." Jet smirks, pounding back his drink. "I thought the world was a little insane before I came to the Nexus. And then I get here and it's a madhouse. I mean, no racing? Seriously?!"

But the aliens, wizards and cyborgs having cheerful conversations around the room are sort of par for the course, apparently.

Jet sets down the empty glass and scrolls through the app. Maybe there's a couple of people on here he could make a good first impression with.

[Recaiden]

Prison Realm -> Trog's?

The skull slips up to observe whatever's going on, whilst the Bishop is crowded and pushed into a corner. He flares his hands up to try and get some space, but... he's not too used to being in the thick of a crowd like this. And now he's holding a potion, for some reason. He'll sniff it, to ensure it's not alcoholic, and then conjure flames beneath it until it boils. He won't drink it before then, downing it before the potion has had chance to cool. He's not worried about scalding his mouth; his flames don't hurt those that are righteous, so liquid boiled by them won't either.

It's not alcoholic, and it doesn't seem to react much to the heat, just bubbling even more.
When he drinks it, if he's right about the righteousness filter of his flames, it will speed up his body's healing immensely, and undo a lot of the damage of being thrown around by an ogre.
"Skull, Bishop, this way." Kiun says, now that she's finally out of the elevator. She tries to lead them somewhere less crowded.

[Rebonack]

"I see," Fenris says, considering the situation. "Given the nature of the curse, and given the fact this this Rowan was aware of the curse before you were, I believe there are several possibilities. Like you say, it could have been his mistress that laid the curse. Also possible is the explanation that he hired out the curse to some third party. I will admit, however, that since I know little of the laws which under gird the magic of your realm I can not speak to the likelihood that this is the case."

What information does she need?

Where to start?

"Do you know if any reagents are required from the recipient of the curse to create a sympathetic connection? Personal items? Or hair, for example?"

The more esoteric forms of magic often need such things to take root, at least according to Fenris' studies.

She has little interesting in such magic herself. Her preference is for spellwork that is much more direct in its application.

But she would be remiss to boast only ignorance of any school of magic.

Meanwhile!

"I'm sure you can find some racing of some sort SOMEWHRE," Zee reasons. "I know there are a few places outside where chocobo races are really popular. But I imagine that really isn't your speed."

His speed being multiples of the speed of sound, probably. Riding large flightless birds definitely doesn't seem like the sort of thing that Jet would be interested in.

As for the app?

That depends on where he decides to start looking!

There are, of course, several different subheadings to choose from. A general channel, specific channels for the various cities in the Nexus, and apparently a channel dedicated to Magical Girls? What the heck are magical girls? Aside from the really obvious interpretation of that phrase, of course.

Jet is, of course, Inside at the moment. If he was wanting to check on any super-heroics going on nearby that would probably be the first place to look.

[Ironsmith]

"I'm sure you can find some racing of some sort SOMEWHRE," Zee reasons. "I know there are a few places outside where chocobo races are really popular. But I imagine that really isn't your speed."

His speed being multiples of the speed of sound, probably. Riding large flightless birds definitely doesn't seem like the sort of thing that Jet would be interested in.

As for the app?

That depends on where he decides to start looking!

There are, of course, several different subheadings to choose from. A general channel, specific channels for the various cities in the Nexus, and apparently a channel dedicated to Magical Girls? What the heck are magical girls? Aside from the really obvious interpretation of that phrase, of course.

Jet is, of course, Inside at the moment. If he was wanting to check on any super-heroics going on nearby that would probably be the first place to look.

Jet chuckles and shakes his head. "That's not what I meant at all. I haven't been in a race that slow since tertiary school." And even then, only while drunk.

Hm.

"Magical Girls", huh?

He vaguely recalls racing against one. She looked kind if ridiculous, bringing what appeared to be a chibi hybrid between a panther and a hamster as her vehicle of choice, but she consistently placed in the top five, so she got the last laugh.

Apparently, girls like that are prominent enough here in the Nexus to have their own channel, and he'd be crazy not to respect the power they brought to the table. If nothing else, he should get a general feel for what they're like. He'll tap into the feed to see what's being said, hurrying through any prompts that appear in the interrim.

[Rebonack]

"Hmm..." Zee hums, considering this difficult question. "You know, you could try starting a race. It's like how there traditionally haven't been many giant robots around the Nexus, but then a few show up and then all of a sudden there are MORE giant robots. Just try finding somewhere to hold a race and see who shows up. I bet someone will."

It's worth a try, right?

Anyway!

The Magical Girl sub-server is opened!

It likewise contains a number of child channels, most of them divided into two major categories. Locked and unlocked. The locked channels aren't even displaying what they're about at the moment. Though unlocking them is apparently pretty easy. There's a READ ME! channel up at the top of the list, required reading for getting into any of the other content. The rest of the unlocked channels all seem pretty straight forward. General Chat, Magical Forge, Familiar Sightings, and Witchery.

Jet COULD check out one of those open channels.

Or he could open up the READ ME! and scroll through whatever that is to discover the hidden secrets of the locked channels.

[Ironsmith]

Familiar Sightings, eh?

Jet's not entirely up to speed on all of the terminology surrounding Magical Girls and their adversaries. But the name of the channel leads him to believe that it's some form of recruiting tool, kind of; a way of tracking any supers that show up frequently, who look "familiar".

Might as well see what comes up.

[Rebonack]

Into Familiar Sightings Jet Wyvern goes!

What he finds within definitely isn't what he was expecting.

>Gabbie14: Found a weird looking rabbit? Like one of those Spooktober ghosts made of a napkin
>Nekohammer☑: Ugh. I thought we got that one already?
>Gabbie14: They aren't that tough but there are lots of them
>Olympia☑: If you find the Witch then geotag her in Witchery. Don't go in alone! The Witch is tough and spills familiars everywhere when she gets beat.
>Olympia☑: We'll try to get her totally surrounded this time. We need to make sure none of the familiars get away.
>GunSmoke☑: Hey y'all I just cleaned up some paper crabs. Way early in the day for the critters, ain't it?
>JetWyvern2: The first crab sightings have been earlier each day, I've been keeping track of it in a spreadsheet
>papercrabs.xls
>Nekohammer☑: Do you think moonjelly is getting stronger?
>Olympia☑: She hasn't caught any more girls since we started getting organized on her dumb giant butt so I'm not sure how she COULD be.

And so on and so forth.

It sounds like they're talking about monsters of some kind? Minions of bigger monsters.

[Ironsmith]

Monsters!

Yes!

That's exactly what Jet was hoping to find!

Eventually.

But better than that, specific accounts of monsters that this very prominent group of heroines was going to be watching.

Opportunity knocks!

Hopefully Zee doesn't mind being left with an empty barstool. And that dust cloud won't mess with anyone's drinks.

[Artemis97]

"It's possible Lady Norwood has nothing to do with laying the curse." Johnathan agrees. "However she is the closest mage to Lord Everett. If he did contract it out, it might be easier to track, to gain evidence." The Sunborn frowns, thinking.

"I suppose I can't blame Violet for everything." Jessamine admits. "And it would be quite easy for Rowan to get something personal of mine. We've exchanged gifts, he's been in my home. It would not be hard for him, or another mage, to create a sympathetic connection. I don't know precisely how the curse was laid, only that I am tainted."

[Zefir]

"Oh, huh. Kinda wish I were a giant." She gestures down at herself. "Or, at least, a little taller. Tall people are so lucky."

June says that but fails to recognize that, because she has such a long snakey tail, she could technically just hold herself up a little higher and reach higher that way.

"Sure, maybe they can't fly but have they considered the merits of having legs?" she tells Zefir.

Anyway. So. "Oh, that's cool," she says as Zefir says pretty much what she was expecting. "I work in an office, so I haven't really done any of the stereotypical adventurer stuff. It always sounds so exciting, though, but I guess also dangerous. You like doing adventurer stuff? Or you hoping to retire and do something else?" she asks, to get to know him better.

Yeah she defnitly could reach the roof of the room or just high enougth to grab a light. Zefir on the other hand is totally normal. Nothing suspiciouse about him.

"Envy isn't reasonable. If they envy for the wings they miss what the other envy on them."

While she talks he does throw a look at the new guy who triped on his way and at Jet Wyvern. Lucky for him the hero in the making is going and the other one seems occupied with choosing a drink. He turns back to June.

"To be hones. I think you would do some unusal adventure stuff. Just taking in your appereance. Sadly I don't have the choice to retire. I just left an EVIL job and went to adventuring. Didn't got enougth to stay out of it for the rest. Also I need something to keep me out of town from time to time. The shadows of the past still hunt me."

Must be one of those Evil, [do something and all hate you] jobs he mentions.

[Rebonack]

"And that he was clearly involved, since he knew of the affliction before you did," Fenris agrees with a nod. "I imagine this would be difficult to prove, given the clout which Lordborn carry in your homeland. It would be your word against his own, and I suspect that would be insufficient to indite him for the crime. I have the uncanny feeling that if you could procure absolute proof of his culpability in this act he would be willing to have the curse lifted if you threaten to take the evidence to the authorities. This is, of course, assuming he values his good name and family honor above petty spite."

Fenris knows that would be the case for the vast majority of Nords, but all the courtly intrigue the twins are describing reminds her more of the games Bretons play in Highrock.

"I will admit that I am not the most accomplished detective, but I may be able to aid you in these endeavors if you so wish. I believe-"

Then she grimaces, clutching her heart with one hand.

"Ah, haha. Well, that is a feeling I have not come to miss. I must apologize, this is somewhat embarrassing. It would appear the beast has become restless thanks to, -ah!" Fenris says, flinching again as gray fur begins sprouting from her skin while her nails turn black. "-the lack of lunar transformations and is sparing no time this evening. Thankfully there is little difference in temperament regardless of whether Man or Beast is at the fore and being beastblooded is not illegal here. So provided you can forgive me for some inevitable degradation in table manners I believe we can continue relatively uninterrupted?"

As she speaks she hastily begins unclasping buckles on her heavy armor to let it fall away, revealing an under-suit of plates riveted into patches of rich purple padded fabric. From the way the fabric is arranged it is clearly designed to unfurl in an accordion-like fashion as Fenris' bodily proportions change. Speaking of, she appears to be growing a tail at the moment.

[Artemis97]

"Oh, oh my." Johnathan exclaims, before averting his gaze, thinking it would be rude to watch a lady in a state of transition. Depending on how gut-wrenching and painful Fenris' transformation is, he may become rather pale and upset.

However, Jessamine's moon silver eyes stay firmly fixed on Fenris. Was this what she had to look forward to?

"If you believe you will still be able to communicate, I would be glad to continue." She answers.

Leopold the cat stares too, meowing loudly in concern.

[Rebonack]

"You need not worry yourself over much, Johnathan, my folding armor will keep me decent," Fenris says, waving one hand that has developed wolf-like pads and proportions well before claws or fur have appeared. The other hand by contrast is in much the opposite state. Fenris continues fiddling with her leg armor, which is getting more difficult. "Oh for Julianos' sake, the hands first? Really?"

She sounds far more exasperated than concerned.

By now her tail has formed completely, covered in thick gray fur. Her back pops, the human sway giving way to a more bestial curve that causes her to hunch forward.

Fenris manages to remove her leg armor and kick off her boots right in time for her feet to begin changing.

"It takes some practice but one can learn to speak through a wolf's muzzle and teeth," Fenris confides in the lunar-twin as he nose begins turning black. "It leaves the voice slightly garbled but I-"

One of her upper canines decides that now would be the proper time for it to be wolf-shaped, much to Fenris' consternation.

"-but I can still communicate intelligibly. One can learn to live with beastblood, at least in my homeland. Unfortunately those who are willing to do so are few and far between. Most attempt to bury the, ah one moment this part is always unpleasant."

Her jaws distend, mostly in step with each other, the the bottom finishes growing before the top. Wolfish in shape, but still human sized. She hasn't started growing in earnest just yet.

"I apologize. Most who are cursed attempt to bury the beast, and as a result have little control over it. Those who accept beastblood as a blessing more often are subsumed into the beast, becoming little more than a wolf wearing human flesh at times."

[Artemis97]

Johnathan stops staring in the opposite direction, but keeps his eyes fixedly forward. He doesn't want to watch, but he doesn't want to seem disgusted either. Mostly he looks pale. "My apologies, I'm... I'm at a bit of a loss." And all of this could happen to his dear twin sister!

"But you walk a third path?" Jessamine queries, now morbidly fascinated with the transformation.

[Rebonack]

"I do, one of meditation and synthesis," Fenris confirms. "As a result my demeanor is more wolf-like in human shape, but also more human-like as a beast. As I stated earlier there-"

Oh now the transformation REALLY picks up.

Arms lengthening, fur growing densely over her body, ears extending, proportions of her limbs altering. She very nearly doubles in height over the course of the transformation if she weren't hunched forward. Fenris' eyes are screwed shut, teeth clenches, as the last of the transformation completes.

Then she ignites.

A gold-white glow suffices her fur, her claws and teeth glowing like embers plucked from the sun. Wisps of golden flame shedding sky blue light waft from her, drifting through the air like sparks carried heavenward by a campfire.

Which is likely all quite strange to the twins, given that one would expect curses like this to moon related. This seems more solar.

Fenris lets out a slow breath, rolling her shoulders and tugging at her brigandine to make sure it is laying comfortably again her fur.

"I must apologize for how harrowing that is to witness. Lunar transformations are always rougher than voluntary ones," the sundog says apologetically.

[Trog]

*A troglodyte in an orange bowler cap and matching orange vest shuffles out of the back room, a lit cigarette hanging from his reptilian lips. He squeezes behind the bar and stoops to empty the many small buckets of trash behind different portions of the bar. Old soggy napkins, little sticks to hold olives, old rinds of citrus fruit, ashtray remnants, and other detritus tumble into his larger bucket.*

*The soft *FwwoOOomf* of the transformation turns his scaly head. He leans over and flips a crude switch in the wall. Ceiling fans slowly swirl above and redirect the many blue airborne embers away from the wooden beams overhead. Dust bunnies shuffle in the corners as the air begins to slowly circulate in the common room.*

*Trog hauls the now full and quite heavy bucket to the side door facing the alley and the sound of a dumpster mimic opening and ravenously devouring the trash can be heard. He closes the door behind him, muffling a loud belch from outside. Sitting at the end of the bar upon an upholstered stool he leans over and grabs a box marked BILLS teetering with a tall pile of envelopes and threatening letters. He goes through a few as he puffs on his Coffin Nail, then deposits the open ones on top of the unopened stack, picks them all up with one hand on top to steady them, goes to the side door, and opens it.*

*creak ka-fwooshdumpf munchitty munch munch chew bang*

*The troglodyte reenters and places the now empty bills box back on the shelf before shuffling back into the back room once more*

[Rebonack]

Oh hey!

Trog has emerged from the owner's office!

Zee pipes up from behind the counter, "Hey Trog did you want me to take care of the bills for you? Some pig lady was in here the other day paying with diamond wafers and I think we can..."

She watches Trog pick up the bill stack and amble outside with it.

She listens to the sound of the dumpster mimic chowing down on the diverse selection of THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING letters.

She gives a small sigh as Trog shuffles back in.

"Did you at least want me to renew the Big Tailz magazine subscription for you?" the beleaguered barmaid inquires as Trog heads back to the office again.

Will he reply to the employee's question?

Or will he vanish into the smokey haze of the office once more, his wishes unknown?

One of the great questions of our time.

[bc56]

Unfortunate Errands
Whatever is going on in the tavern is suddenly interrupted by a group of Intersection medics entering carrying a badly injured and heavily bandaged tawny eagle through the front door.
Zee recognizes the eagle.
The eagle does not recognize Zee, because she's busy slipping in and out of consciousness - she's pretty badly hurt.

Something terrible must have happened...

[Rebonack]

[Unfortunate Errands]

Selekhael was doing so well, too. She just had to avoid breaking cover and staying hidden until the timer ran out but she decided to expose herself instead.

But she hasn't ever been in a situation like this before so she can probably be forgiven.

"Mrs Xarcha? This bird was attacked by a shooter and requested that she be brought here, do you know anything about-" one of the medics begins, only to have Selekhael gingerly scooped out of his hands.

Wow.

Zee can move pretty quick when she wants to.

"What happened?" Zee asks as she cradles Selekhael in her arms.

"She was shot. The shooter was detained. We're hoping to get a witness statement from-?"

"Selekhael, my daughter. She usually isn't a bird. Or wholly a bird," Zee admits.

Right. Sure. That makes sense.

"Once she's feeling better we would like a witness statement. Could you give us a call?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I can take it from here thanks," Zee says as she heads toward... the wine cellar? Why on earth would she be heading for the Dungeons of Doom entrance down in the wine cellar? That seems like a pretty weird thing to do, given the situation, but she must have a reason for it right?

She grabs the heavy iron ring on the cellar door and flips the trap door open with little difficulty. Then down she goes! Open up the outer dungeon door and step inside, closing it behind her. As always, she's met with three more doors within. Let's see... looks like jungle theme with weird mask, some sort of ice and bones theme, and... barrels? A brewery, maybe?

Ice and bones it is. That one is least likely to have people inside.

Zee shoves the door open and is immediately stepping into a huge icy cavern with innumerable mammoth and massive dinosaur bones frozen in the ice because whoever designed this place apparently wasn't too keen on paying attention in geology. She kicks the door closed behind her and immediately unfolds, blossoming out into a house sized dragoneyetreedeer thing. Warmth and light radiates from her as she gingerly noses at Selekhael, calling upon Matter and Shape do some minor repair work and hurry the healing patches along.

That isn't what Selekhael really needs right now, though.

"Sele you need to open up and have a snack," she says, largely ignoring the icy monsters that come crawling out of several nearby tunnels and begin tossing javelins of frost and bone at her. They're doinking off her scales importantly and not particularly worthy of her notice.

[bc56]

Unfortunate Errands
"Wha... Mum?" The eagle's eyes light up. "It's safe here? Uh, okay..." Selekhael unfolds, eagle and lioness and coral and ring. The
one supernatural wound carries over, much bigger on the unfolded Selekhael's wing. "Ow, that hurt!" She flops onto the cavern floor. "Eating something sounds good right now." And so she does, burrowing into the ground to begin the process.

[Rebonack]

[Unfortunate Errands]

Safe?

Not...

I mean, not strictly safe.

Safe probably isn't the best word to describe the Ice Grotto of the Bone Fiends.

But it is safe from accidentally eating people which is what Zee is mainly concerned with.

Those bone fiends really aren't giving up, either. Just growing more icy bone spikes and tossing them at the seraphim mindlessly. Eventually she grows agitated enough that she just turns to them and, calling upon the Matter sphere, exhales a wave of white hot solar plasma all over them. That section of the tunnels is reduced to a melted mess, several of the large bones tumbling to the ground as hissing steam fills the cavern. That apparently gets the point across well enough and the fiends decide to leave the pair of empyreans alone while Selekhael feeds.

Yezekiel will stay nearby the whole time, gently stroking Sele and humming a soft, alien tune.

Where Selekhael's influence rolls over the surroundings ice and air and bone is purified, replaced with firmament and aether and coral. For whatever reason a shrine seems to have trouble existing here. Probably something to do with the fact that the dungeon is too unreal to support such an artifice. Can't have a dungeon INSIDE another dungeon, after all. That would be silly. The reaction by the fiends is even more dramatic. Selekhael's presence devours the spirits that animate them utterly, causing them to crumble apart into heaps of ice and bones. They don't seem to particularly like this, either.

[5a Violista]

"I would probably have to have a lot of training and specialized equipment," June says. Regular armor? Wouldn't work, because 'regular armor' doesn't have six arm-slots or is made to fit a long tail, ropes would have to be stronger, and other things.

Enough talking about her: "Personally, I think it should be fine as long as you stopped doing whatever it was and made restitution," she says. But, she pauses, and thinks a little more, before saying, "But, yeah, I guess not everyone's such a big fan of forgiveness."

She looks over towards the door. "Well, I think I've been in this bar for far too long. I think there won't be much benefit for waiting much longer."
She gets up.
"Was nice to meet you," she tells him.

[bc56]

Unfortunate Errands
In some ways, Selekhael likes this. It's like a distant, half-remembered, half-imagined part of her childhood. She falls asleep quickly enough, healing from the wounds she took over a few hours of "eating" the cavern.

[Zefir]

She can properbly replace some items with her own body like most ropes. She might be much longer then that.

"The problem is, I don't even know. None was behind me so far, but i kept my head low. I fear I only wake up sleeping dogs if i poke them." He says.

With a suprise he looks up. "You head off?" he says really suprised to hear her sudden change from talking to starting her journey. "Well then it was nice for me too. Have a good trip."

[Earl of Purple]

The Burning Bishop is not correct about the righteousness of his flames, just delusional. Still, the healing is appreciated, and there should be somewhere less crowded for the skull and the bishop to be led. They'll sit down; the Bishop will request water if asked, the skull refuses even that much. "What is this place? It's so... so noisy."

[Artemis97]

"I do, one of meditation and synthesis," Fenris confirms. "As a result my demeanor is more wolf-like in human shape, but also more human-like as a beast. As I stated earlier there-"

Oh now the transformation REALLY picks up.

Arms lengthening, fur growing densely over her body, ears extending, proportions of her limbs altering. She very nearly doubles in height over the course of the transformation if she weren't hunched forward. Fenris' eyes are screwed shut, teeth clenches, as the last of the transformation completes.

Then she ignites.

A gold-white glow suffices her fur, her claws and teeth glowing like embers plucked from the sun. Wisps of golden flame shedding sky blue light waft from her, drifting through the air like sparks carried heavenward by a campfire.

Which is likely all quite strange to the twins, given that one would expect curses like this to moon related. This seems more solar.

Fenris lets out a slow breath, rolling her shoulders and tugging at her brigandine to make sure it is laying comfortably again her fur.

"I must apologize for how harrowing that is to witness. Lunar transformations are always rougher than voluntary ones," the sundog says apologetically.

"Oh please, do not apologize." Johnathan says, finally turning to look at Fenris again. "You can't help it. As a matter of fact, you're only suffering through this because you've given your ring to my sister."

"Thank you again." Jessamine says. "I am sorry."

[5a Violista]

She can properbly replace some items with her own body like most ropes. She might be much longer then that.

"The problem is, I don't even know. None was behind me so far, but i kept my head low. I fear I only wake up sleeping dogs if i poke them." He says.

With a suprise he looks up. "You head off?" he says really suprised to hear her sudden change from talking to starting her journey. "Well then it was nice for me too. Have a good trip."

It's true, she probably wouldn't need a rope. She'll probably find out if she ever goes on an adventure and then realizes she never used the rope she brought.

June nods.
"Yeah. I've been here for a few hours. I mean, I came here, then was going to wait here for someone but then circumstances made it so they wouldn't show up." The exact circumstances are confusing, but they also don't really matter. "Bye. Maybe I'll see you again," she says.

She leaves the tavern.
She has been in here for quite a while, after all.



Some time later, long after June's left...
A pixie flies into the tavern!

She looks around.
And then decides Zefir's head is the perfect place to land. "Hi!" the pixie says. "Is this seat taken?" she asks, but lands anyway, not really caring about his response.
She's got some pretty neat butterfly-like wings, and has a blue cap and a blue dress on.
A second pixie just like the first flies by, but the first pixie shouts at the second: "Buzz off! I got here first!"
The second counters with, "Oh, yeah? Well, I got here second!" and tries to land on Zefir's shoulder.
The first pixie apologizes to Zefir: "Sorry about her, she's very rude."

[Rebonack]

"Suffer is a harsh term. I have had many years to grow accustomed to this; the reprieve was acquired a few months ago. This is a simple calculation. You may injure yourself or others should you transform involuntarily. I, on the other hand," Fenris says, touching her chest with one paw and making a palm-up of course sort of gesture with the other that looks kind of goofy on a werewolf. "Am well acquainted with the trials this existence brings. I believe-"

"OH MY GOD!"

Oh hey.

It's that guy who was trying to get Fenris to bite him earlier.

He looks like he's on the edge of squeeing.

Just that look of absolute bliss.

"You're a sparkle-dog!"

Have you ever seen a confused dog before?

Ears up head titled to the side a bit?

Yeah. "A what."

Her tone couldn't be more dead-pan.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! You're a sparkle-dog! Please you have to bite me! PLEEEEEASE!" the pleads reaching toward her arm-

-only for Fenris to jerk it away and snarl threateningly.

It is a seriously scary sound and actually causes the harasser to recoil in alarm.

"Do not. Touch me," Fenris says, not an ounce of kindness in her voice. Anyone familiar with dog body language at all can probably tell that she isn't happy. Ears pinned back, hackles, raised, teeth bared, muzzle wrinkled to expose her gums. It's pretty intimidating.

But will the fan get the hint?


[Unfortunate Errands]

Things are pretty simple here.

Yezekiel will be sticking close to Sele until she wakes up and Sele's aura of sanctification is a death sentence for the spirits that inhabit the caves, so they aren't going to be harassing either of them.

They might try being a nuisance once Sele wakes up, but this really isn't a matchup that's in their favor.

[bc56]

Unfortunate Errands

So the time passes uneventfully (especially if you don't consider attacks by bone fiends eventful).

Selekhael awakens feeling much better (but her wing is still sore), and explains what happened to Zee once she's back in human shape. "What do I do? I, uh, never expected to be attacked like that." Not since she became human anyway.

The obvious first thing is to give her witness statement to the police, but she's not familiar with police procedures.

[Artemis97]

Jessamine jerks back a bit when Fenris snarls. The sound was not unexpected, considering how annoying that young man was, but it was still startling.

Leopold hisses, at the boy or at Fenris it's uncertain.

Johnathan rises to his feet, chair screeching backwards with his sudden movement, one hand on his cane.

"Young man!" He snaps. "Do you not have the grace to understand when you are unwanted?!" He asks, his golden eyes flashing in anger.