Vigil 8: Try jumping

[Earl of Purple]

Words Among the Birds

The real(?) hoatzin does have emotions, though they're... oddly muted, as though they're coming from a long way away, from a creature that didn't pay its emotions much mind.

The hoatzin-that-isn't-a-cognimorph squawks as it sees the approach of Lapis, and farts, and flutters around and makes a lot of noise- though it's a recording, not actual calls, and possibly not even distress calls. They also repeat exactly, in a rather unnatural manner, which either Lapis or the cognimorph might detect. It does smell like a real hoatzin, meaning very bad, and not musky- it smells of manure.

[Rebonack]

[Dragpies]

<That wasn't supposed to be part of the trick,> Lapis laments as she bends down to pick up the coin. It looks like there's... an acid burn? Through her clothing and on her skin.

Which definitely isn't very much fun.

Not even a little bit!

<I'm fighting some weird zombies I'll be okay Mister Kothar it's just a little burn,> Lapis insists.

That's...

How exactly does that work?

How could Lapis be fighting zombies, weird or otherwise?

There pretty clearly aren't any around here.

[5a Violista]

[Foxhunt]

The fox gets scratched but doesn't mind, just shakes its head a little to rattle the squirrel.
Now, the fox could just bite down. That would get the squirrel to stop struggling.
Alternatively, it could just borrow - excuse me, 'borrow' - some magic from Awen. That would be fun.

The squirrel should consider itself lucky. Instead of having fox teeth pierce its neck, it instead gets hit by some painful strength-draining magic from the fox's mouth. Not quite enough to make the squirrel to stop breathing, but it's going to be laborious to breathe, let alone lift itself off the ground.

With that done, the fox drops it and looks for the next victim squirrel to catch.


Awen sighs.
Useless.
This is why magic is so frustrating.

"Hey. Hope you don't mind, but I -"
She feels strength leave her.
After a moment to catch her breath, she goes to the door out of the lab. "...I'll be right back, with that squirrel."

Using her hair to block the way in case any of the mindfoxes or minddogs try to escape, she slips out the door and runs off to where her fox (and the squirrels) are.

[bc56]

Dragpies
<How? I can heal.> Kothar is ready to lay on hands if requested, but some people (and presumably dragons too) don't like to be healed by a servant of a foreign god.

[Ironsmith]

[Word Among The Birds]

Oh.

Now the bird is a different bird.

A really funny looking bird.

But that's okay most birds are funny looking.

Lapis the magpie gives chase! With the pretty major benefit of being significantly more speedy and agile in the air. Once she gets close enough she'll unfurl into child-shape with the addition of great big magpie wings and a shiny black disc reminiscent of a large number of inward pointing swords? teeth? behind her head like a halo, arcs of lightning crackling through the glass.

Mom calls this sort of thing 'traditional angel' mode. It's what people usually think of when they think of angels and it's a useful thing to do! That way no one gets scared if they as much if they see her doing things from down on the ground.

"Got you!"

She tries to grab the bird.

Lapis is swift and good at catching things! She has lots of practice! There's no way she'll miss!

Then there's a sizzling sound from her side and she hisses in pain and totally misses.

Words Among the Birds

The real(?) hoatzin does have emotions, though they're... oddly muted, as though they're coming from a long way away, from a creature that didn't pay its emotions much mind.

The hoatzin-that-isn't-a-cognimorph squawks as it sees the approach of Lapis, and farts, and flutters around and makes a lot of noise- though it's a recording, not actual calls, and possibly not even distress calls. They also repeat exactly, in a rather unnatural manner, which either Lapis or the cognimorph might detect. It does smell like a real hoatzin, meaning very bad, and not musky- it smells of manure.

[Word Among the Birds]

Between a nearly-emotionless facsimile and an unempathic fake, the totally-a-hoatzin seems to have a clear preference. It drops away under Lapis's attempt at grabbing it and drags itself backwards, away from her, squaking frantically in an attempt to get the other hoatzin to help it. It's not interested in hurting Lapis, but being shown to a safe haven away from shape-changing angel would be ideal. And if it can find enough affection in the other hoatzin to feed and possibly reproduce, so much the better.

[Foxhunt]

The fox gets scratched but doesn't mind, just shakes its head a little to rattle the squirrel.
Now, the fox could just bite down. That would get the squirrel to stop struggling.
Alternatively, it could just borrow - excuse me, 'borrow' - some magic from Awen. That would be fun.

The squirrel should consider itself lucky. Instead of having fox teeth pierce its neck, it instead gets hit by some painful strength-draining magic from the fox's mouth. Not quite enough to make the squirrel to stop breathing, but it's going to be laborious to breathe, let alone lift itself off the ground.

With that done, the fox drops it and looks for the next victim squirrel to catch.


Awen sighs.
Useless.
This is why magic is so frustrating.

"Hey. Hope you don't mind, but I -"
She feels strength leave her.
After a moment to catch her breath, she goes to the door out of the lab. "...I'll be right back, with that squirrel."

Using her hair to block the way in case any of the mindfoxes or minddogs try to escape, she slips out the door and runs off to where her fox (and the squirrels) are.

[Foxhunt]

It's a good thing she does, because Awen is going to quickly find that opening the door like that is apparently a universal sign that it's time for walkies. Or at least, that's how these "animals" are going to interpret it. As soon as she closes the door behind her, Awen is going to hear much baying, howling, whimpering, and scratching at the door.

She hasn't gone three paces and they already miss her.

Meanwhile, her other, original fox finds itself with no shortage of squirrels to chase. The only real caveat is that, after the first, they're all very much aware of its presence now, and are scurrying up into the trees and wherever they can find some safety from the fox.

The one it's already caught just lays there on the ground, staring up at the fox with wide, frightened eyes, but unable to run away or call out for help. If that fox wants dinner, there's not a lot it can do to stop the vulpine.

[Shadowcaller]

[Nerd Talk]

Geneva is pretty sketchable. She's a very interesting looking creature, to be sure. Though her personality really doesn't seem to match up that well with what one might expect from a flying apex predator.

"I... well, yes. I could have waited until after the ride, but I wanted to give my wings a bit of time to warm up," Geneva replies.

It's pretty subtle, but Ambrosia might notice that the hippogriff's wings are shaking a little? Sort of vibrating?

"Taking human form interferes with the natural crystal thaumatics in my wings especially. So when I change back I need to prime them for a few minutes before they'll actually be functional. Without magical support I can't actually fly, my body is much too heavy to be supported by the lift my wings can produce alone."

Science!

Geneva pokes the elevator controls with a talon and up they go!

[Nerd Talk]

Neither did Ambrosia's... most of the time at least.
Her human and dragon persona's could be a bit different.

"Crystal thamatics?" She prods as she gives Geneva's wings a closer scrutiny to see if she can spot what she's talking about.
"You know, there are some dragons from my own world that didn't look too different from you, Mrs. Geneva. You keep your feathers in excellent condition."

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"I'm a Charr." Since Utayo mentioned her own people and they all know Ambrosia is a dragon, might as well introduce her kind. "Which... well, we're what you can see. Big, horns, four ears, tails."

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

They were all sharing their origin now? Very well. "Well, if you can't tell, this body is human despite the mutations I've caused to it. But I take it you're both already familiar with them." Humans were spread across time and space apparently, not to mention humanoids as a whole. Just the name suggested a certain human-centrism.

Ambrosia looks to Utoya. "But would you mind tell me more about your people? I've never heard of a people capable of flight without wings before."

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Utayo gives a small smile, touched with amusement. "I'm glad we're all acquainted." Species isn't first on her list of priorities during introductions. Though perhaps if her study had been focused on biology.

"I'm afraid you might need to ask more particular questions. My people's history is long and I never prepared a lesson."

[Reinholdt]

[Moonwell]

"Ava, I can't run away. I gotta fight the bad guys and I do that best if I'm a part of VIGIL." Anika let's out a sigh. "Besides, I shouldn't have attacked those guards. I should just, uh, have explained the situation better." She was sure of it!

"As for why you should stay in VIGIL, of course people will know you're there. But if the goat-demon knows where you are regardless then it's best if you're somewhere safe, right? I mean, I don't know if that's how it works but I rather not take that chance. Also, hiding freaking sucks. Imagine to do a disguise all the time, not being able to go out and hang with people. Not to mention getting money for food n' stuff while hiding. It's the worst. In VIGIL you'll get meals, cool people to hang out with... all that's a billion times better hiding away like- uh, well, my point was that it's much better to face your problems head on, okay? That's my philosophy and I'm sticking with it." Anika nods sagely.

"Speaking of facing consequences, I'll be facing some if I don't get back to my daughter soon." Shanti remarks as Anika finishes her little speech. "So I'm going to go back to VIGIL. Are the rest of you coming or not?"

[Moonwell]

Ava is quiet for a minute, looking down at the ground in thought. "...You're right," she says finally.

"You're right," Ava repeats more emphatically, looking back up at Anika. She clenches her fist with determination. "I can't hide from this. I can't run from this. I need to face my problems head on. It's kill or be killed and I'm taking that goat down down," Ava declares, a fire in her eyes, her fighting spirit renewed. She's not going to let any demons or goat defeat her. After all they've done to her and her family, she's going to incinerate each and every last one of them!

She shakes her head to Shanti. "Thanks again for your help, but I have to face my problems and go back to Riverside. I'm forever grateful." Ava gives Shanti a bow before she starts to walk away.

Ilpholin just quietly shakes her head to Shanti as well while she watches to see what Anika is going to do about this. Ilpholin has no reason to go to VIGIL at this time.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell]

Anika blinks and hurries to move after Ava. Speaking as she walks. "Uhhh... but- but you don't even know where the goat is. It might not even be in Riverside anymore. Besides, both Ilpholin and I know that if you want to take down a powerful demon you shouldn't do it alone. You haven't even eaten in a while and the police is still after you. While I'm all for you going after the goat you can't just kill yourself going after it. That would mean there's one less demon hunter out there."

She taps her head. "Since if you want to take down the goat you gotta be smart. Ilpholin said that the goat is with MERC so that means they might protect it if you don't convince them otherwise. You know that you're right so if we can just put that into words then maybe we can isolate the goat from its allies and, um, take it out from there. Not just chasing after it blindly and hope that you can find it before the police or MERC finds you."

Shanti stops and looks after Anika and Ava, waiting for a moment to see what will happen.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"As most peoples do." Ambrosia nods, smiling too. "Well, I'll spare you from going into detail on that as I was talking more biologically." Her gaze lingers a moment on Utayo's enhancements before meeting the moonfolk's gaze again "But perhaps you would rather discuss your inventions? Seems like a subject you're more passionate about."

So passionate that she replaced parts of her body with metal, unless that was more of a cultural phenomena? Had she had an accident or was this simply natural for her people? Either way, that seemed more interesting than anything Utayo could tell her about her biology.

[Rebonack]

[Dragpies]

Lapis scoots away from the healing hand, just a little, clutching her side protectively. <Mother says vitalism healing is bad for us because it isn't real.>

Which is probably a really weird sounding thing to say.

It's probably pretty obvious that Lapis is not an undead of any kind. Usually undead aren't terribly covert about being undead, all things considered. And the only creatures typically harmed by healing are undead. So what's Lapis' deal here, exactly? She's saying that divine healing would hurt her? Maybe? And how exactly would divine healing not be real? It works, doesn't it? It's a gift from the gods.

There's definitely something weird up with this dragon.

<The zombies are somewhere else but it already happened don't worry though my sister and me are winning the zombies aren't very tough we'll have saved the day probably?> Lapis explains in quite possibly the most confusing way possible.

The various time-threads all taking place simultaneously for her is normal from her perspective. That's just how it has always been. Mostly she tries to just not talk about it or hide any wounds she suffers because she really isn't sure how to explain it to someone who doesn't experience reality like that.

She decides to try clarifying a little.

<It's just an old hurt I'll be okay I promise.>

Hopefully that'll mollify the lizard man.


[Word Among the Birds]

Ow ow ow those stupid zombies!

Lapis clutches her side for a moment, gritting her teeth, before giving her wings a beat and diving after the bird!

The stinky bird doesn't seem like it's very good at flying which means Lapis will be able to catch up with it easily and aim for another grab!

She's got it for sure this time!


[Nerd Talk]

"Oh, I forget how divergent magic can from one universe to another," Geneva admits as the elevator reaches the surface and she steps out into the grass. Ah, finally. She stretches her wings, appreciative of the space. "In my home world magic is aligned with other physical forces. There aren't any spirits or elementals or similar personal agents controlling natural forces. Employing magic requires having the correct crystalline structures that creates a spell-matrix. These structures are naturally occurring in creatures that can use magic in various ways, but we've also learned how to create such structures synthetically for use in technology."

She gives her wings a beat, floating off the ground into a comfortable hover as though she were weightless.

"I have thaumatically active crystal growths in my wings and feather quills, primarily. In addition to a few other nodes around my body. It's how I'm able to use magic for flight, weather shaping, and other various applications."

Very sciencey magic!

"And thank you! I take grooming and personal hygiene very seriously. I can't say I've ever had anyone compare me to a dragon before, though. I would imagine I don't have nearly enough scales for that, haha*snort*ha!"

She waggles her talons, showing off her pretty meager supply of scales.

[Shadowcaller]

[Nerd Talk]

The scholar laughs along politely but can't quite match Geneva's heartiness. "I have a healthy mix of scales and feathers." She quickly points after a moment though. "Really, I've seen dragons that aren't too unlike you. You certainly have the decorum for it, not to mention the splendor." Ambrosia nods. "You are quite an impressive person in many ways, Geneva so I'm glad that I got to meet you."

[Earl of Purple]

Word Among the Birds

The hoatzin is not a great flier, mostly used to flapping from one tree to another in swamps, mangrove forests and jungles. Lapis can catch it quite easily, but this is not the hoatzin she was trying to catch, and it pecks at her claws. Its beak isn't the sharpest, designed for ripping leaves off trees and not cutting or tearing flesh, so it likely doesn't do much damage.

If Lapis and the other hoatzin stop looking at it, it'll disappear, leaving a large wooden facsimile of a duck in Lapis' claws in its place. The wooden duck has emotions, though they're as muted as the hoatzin's were.

[Rebonack]

[Nerd Talk]

"I've enjoyed talking with you as well, Ambrosia," Geneva says as she begins moving toward the lake in the upper village. "It isn't often that I meet people who are interested in spellwork, let alone spellwork for weather magic. There are plenty of magic users in the Nexus but for the vast majority of them it isn't a true academic discipline."

And then?

Off to the lake!

For some very important show and tell!

"As I'm sure you know, given your ability to conjure storms, the corner stones of weather magic are water and heat. The combination of the two in the proper measure is what gets everything moving. For a pegasus, the addition of magic to this system is what allows for a fine degree of control over weather systems. Wild weather can be difficult to control due to the tremendous amounts of energy involved with the systems, which is why most pegasi use magically assembled clouds rather than natural ones for the foundation of their work."

Geneva flies out over the lake and sweeps her wings through it, spraying thousands of sparkling droplets into the air!

And they just sort of...

Hang there.

Falling very, very slowly.

"The first step is to particulate a water source, the finer the water particles the easier it is for magic to hold the infused water aloft."

The hippogriff begins making additional passes through the cloud, causing the droplets to become finer and finer with each wing-beat. Before long she's created a cottony, swirly, cartoony looking white cloud about the size of her own body. She lands atop it and it holds her weight, simply hanging in mid-air.

"This is the process I've been teaching my cubs recently; how to create a cloud, the foundation to any weather magic."

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"As most peoples do." Ambrosia nods, smiling too. "Well, I'll spare you from going into detail on that as I was talking more biologically." Her gaze lingers a moment on Utayo's enhancements before meeting the moonfolk's gaze again "But perhaps you would rather discuss your inventions? Seems like a subject you're more passionate about."

So passionate that she replaced parts of her body with metal, unless that was more of a cultural phenomena? Had she had an accident or was this simply natural for her people? Either way, that seemed more interesting than anything Utayo could tell her about her biology.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"I'm afraid biology isn't a subject I've studied deeply. I'd say it's a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of interest. There's only so much time for learning." Utayo explains. She notes Ambrosia's gaze before continuing. "I did have some hand in my augmentations, but I'm afraid that lack of biological study limits my capability for creating such technology. My own skills aren't so bodily." She makes a small gesture moving the fingers of her augmented hand together. There's a glow between the seams of a portion of her skirt, and a piece of it separates from the rest. It makes a few precise folding motions before the resulting butterfly shape lifts away from the rest, fluttering around the group. She waits for a reaction rather than explaining further.

[Reinholdt]

[Moonwell]

Ava raises an eyebrow at Anika, finding her behavior confusing. "I thought you said it was too dangerous to go back to Riverside because the goat will be there. Now you're saying it's not going to be there, it's going to be hiding at MERC? And I don't know why you're under the impression I haven't eaten."

Hospital food sucks, but it's still filling.

"Fine then. Let it hide. I'll be ready to trap it when it comes for me. Same with the cops. They won't stop me." Ava reveals her hand, rolling around some rocks she picked up from the side of the moonwell, each one briefly turning pink before fading back to its original color. "But I can't tarry at VIGIL. I have to get back and protect my aunt. The goat might go after her. I'm going to be there when it does."

A thought does come to Ava. "You should come with me. I can keep you safe from the cops and you can help me take the goat down."

[Morty]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"That doesn't look like any technology I've seen before," Thariza observes. "But also, we ought to return to Vigil once Ambrosia has finished... eating. They did want us to stick around and we sort of left abruptly."

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell]

"Not just because of the goat. There's the cops too, and all the other demons you pissed off. Maybe MERC as well? I dunno." But clearly Ava saw what she was getting at right? Geez.

"But my point about it being dangerous is the same. I'm just throwing everything I can think of at you since I don't want you to go and get yourself killed, alright?" It really felt like this argument was going in circles as now Ava had once again decided to go off, this time to protect her aunt. "But... what about this? I go to Riverside and make sure your aunt is safe and you go to VIGIL with my sister. I have her call VIGIL and talk to you... and then we'll make sure she's safe somehow. Then you can fight against the demons without having to constantly worry about her if you think the goat know where she is. Since otherwise you'll be forced to stay with her all the time." Anika points out as she crosses her arms across her chest. "Trust me, having to constantly fear 'retribution' coming to your family sucks big-time."

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Ambrosia leans in to take a closer look at the glow and soon kneels down on one leg to make it easier for herself.
"Amazing." She comments as she looks after the metal butterfly. "Though while it is a machine, you've been inspired by the design of a living animal haven't you? Since they too are machines in a way." The scholar remarks as she still follows the creature with her gaze. After all, the had never seen a machine using the same means of flight as this one judging by how it was moving its wings. While Utayo claimed to know little of biology it seemed to her that she at least had taken inspiration from it.

[Nerd Talk]

As soon as Geneva mentions 'heat' the scholar looks up from her note taking. Since that in particular she seemed to be something she wanted to comment on.
However, she waits until Geneva's demonstration is over until she speaks.
"You're definitely right about how fundamental it is. It's something I'd wish I had know myself when I were your kids age. But I didn't have any teachers like you so I had to reverse-engineer my techniques based on how my own breath weapon worked. I imagine you start with the cloud and then eventually make it produce lighting once you've master it, but I had to go from lighting to cloud which wasn't the easiest process." Ambrosia remarks as she studies the cloud Geneva has ended up resting on.

"But I think you're touching on something else which I feel is fundamental and that's how fundamental heat is when it comes to weather shaping. It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine as while people, and by people I mean dragons that I've interviewed, can figure out that water is involved since clouds produce rain, its simply amazing that so many of them fail to consider that heat is essential too. It's like they've never been in a storm and primarily consider weather dragons to be aligned with cold, as in the concept. While I can't breath fire, to be able to produce lighting and storms it takes enormous amounts of heat. It's simply not utilized in the same way."

[Reinholdt]

[Moonwell]

Less circles and more like there are multiple factors in Ava's decision, her aunt still being one of them.

"I can't hide from danger, you just said so yourself!" Ava exclaims, growing frustrated with the purple elf. "And all the things that would be after me would be after you too! So how, exactly, is this any safer in any way?"

Ava crosses her arms in mimicry of Anika and glares with a defiant teenage attitude that's pretty certain her logic is better than that of any adult's.

[Rebonack]

[Nerd Talk]

The cloud is definitely a fascinating construct of magic, circulating air, and water. Depending on whether Ambrosia has any natural cloud-walking abilities in human form touching it would just make her hand a little damp. It feels like a really thick bank of fog.

Which...

Is what clouds are, really.

"Simple magical clouds are the foundation, you're right. The next step from here is usually instructing youngsters how to create and manipulate rain clouds and snow clouds. Thunderheads are a little more specialized in their application, but they're still useful! And you're absolutely right about the proper application of heat to creating storms. It's a delicate balance, as I'm sure you're aware, but one that I don't think most ground-bound people will appreciate since they don't interact with the process quite as intimately. If you have a few minutes, I can show you the EWB standard for creating storm clouds. And then... maybe something a little more experimental after that?"

Geneva begins feeding more magic and water into her cloud, causing it to grow steadily darker and denser and warmer.

"You start with a standard warm rain cloud. But you also need-"

She begins working on a second cloud. The initial process is the same, but instead of feeding more magically infused water into it Geneva begins beating her wings across the top of it, causing it to begin growing thinner and colder.

"A cold dry cloud. Then it's a matter of placing the cold dry cloud on top of the warm wet cloud and getting the air circulating properly-"

Once in place she gives the pair of clouds a sharp kick with her hind hooves and the and the air flow begins! In no time at all the construct has formed into a familiar anvil shape, rumbling and crackling with pent up power, electrical and magical alike.

"Storm clouds are useful due to their self sustaining nature, they can draw in other clouds to grow just like your magical storm did, so I'm sure you were aware of that property already. They're also useful for using the lightning strikes to set controlled burns. Having all that water on hoof makes keeping the fire contained to where it needs to be quite a bit easier."

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell]

Now it has reached the point where Anika is also feeling frustrated. "'Cause I'm the freaking tank! I'm the person that's supposed to take the heat so everyone else are free to do their job effectively!" The druid exclaims as she gestures at herself. "You really think it's safe to use bombs inside your aunts home, Ava? You're supposed to blow up demonic bases, not try to ambush demons inside your own home! So if you just let me do my job then you can do yours. Since I'm sure Ilpholin has something way better for you to do if you'd only listen to me. It's basic team-work, okay?"

[Nerd Talk]

Ambrosia did know a lot of this already but it was still interesting to see Geneva's methodology and way of explaining. She would have use of this later...
"Do you utilize any of these techniques while you're working with VIGIL? Since based on my own experience it seems like it would be rather useful for them. Though perhaps I'm overestimating their practical value in VIGIL's operations."

[Rebonack]

[Nerd Talk]

Geneva gives the little thunderhead another kick, causing it to begin raining itself out while zapping the surface of the lake with lightning bolts.

It's pretty impressive!

"I actually use related techniques with some of my equipment, but VIGIL doesn't have a weather team, if that's what you're asking. That might actually be an interesting concept to propose to the commanders. I wouldn't have been able to do a great deal about your storm on my own, but with a full weather team I suspect that we would have been able to divert and vaporize the clouds before they reached the base."

By way of demonstration Geneva sights over her shoulder, hauls back with both hooves at once, and gives her cloud a powerful buck!

There's a rather cartoony POOF! sound and the whole construct simply disintegrates.

"Earlier I mentioned the crystal thaumatics in my wings, the physical structures that allow me to use magic. And I mentioned that it's possible to artificially create such structures as well. It's been known for some time that ice crystals can be embedded in magic clouds to create spell matrices, but typically the designs are quite rudimentary since pegasi don't really have a head for spellwork. Thanks largely in part to the dubiously ethical breeding programs that were employed by my home-stable, I'm in possession of a horn-bed. That's the neurological structure for controlling the liquid-crystal interior of a unicorn's horn which allows them to modify the crystal structure for the purpose of forming a spell-matrix. Now, I don't have a horn so I can't actually cast spells. However, the horn-bed allows me to visualize a spell-matrix in a way that a pegasus or griffin would be unable to. This in turn allows me to create clouds with complex embedded matrices. It'll take several minutes to craft a relatively simple one, but would you be interested in a demonstration?"

Geneva's tone and body language suggests that she is really hoping Ambrosia would be interested in a demonstration.

[bc56]

Dragpies
<What.> None of that made any sense whatsoever. <You should rest. Recover. Straining your old wound too much could be dangerous, especially for someone so young.> Of course dragons are weird. Maybe it's not that bad.

[Reinholdt]

[Moonwell]

"So let me do MY job!" Ava shouts, ready to dps. "Then I go to Skyside immediately after like I planned in the first place! Let it come to me there! But it won't show up if I'm hiding in VIGIL. That's just not an option!"

Ava blows Anika off by turning to walk away.

But Anika invoked Ilpholin's name so now Ilpholin feels compelled to get involved. And honestly, the phyrexian would prefer just elbowing this teen in the back of the head and dragging her back unconscious, but Anika seems dead set on this elaborate deception for some reason. Guess she'd better do it the bear's way, whatever that's supposed to be. "Not hiding. Training."

This gives Ava pause and she glances back, still scowling. "You'd be learning from the best in the Nexus. Yeah, you could walk away, kill a goat, if that demon has your pride so thoroughly pinched. Or you could stay here and learn how to kill a legion of goats. Use your powers in ways you never even thought of. Up to you."

Ava glances at Anika for some confirmation of these claims.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell]

How much deception there was in the end there is questionable. In Anika's mind Ava will actually just stay and chill in VIGIL until they can get a better deal for her in Riverside and maybe also magically make her into a better person while they're at it.

it's more like she's deadset on not lying more than she's already doing as deception is clearly not her strong suit.

Ilpholin had no such calms though and is a lot more effective. "Uh, yeah. What she said. I just... didn't think of that."

Shanti suppresses a sigh as she would have agreed with Ilpholin in this. It would probably have been better to grab this mad woman and put her away forever.

[Nerd Talk]

"A weather team would be something I could provide support to too, even as a non-member." Ambrosia is quick to point out as she seems to have taken instant liking to the idea. "Since there's plenty of disasters that are weather related a specialized weather team could probably help out VIGIL a great deal."

She gestures to Geneva. "But go ahead and show me since I'm curious what you mean by 'complex' now."

[5a Violista]

[Foxhunt]

Awen waits a few moments just outside the door, once it closes, just in case they phase through the door or learn how to open the door.

She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath.
"Sorry! I'll be right back once I find the other one!" she informs the foxes and dogs.

Once ready, she grabs a silver amulet from her chest, rubs it to clarify the surface, pulls(?) a whole broom out(?) of it, and then starts flying side-saddle on the broom down the hallway and out the door, to outside and towards where her fox is.
Meanwhile, her hair and her snakes work together to ready a bandage and wrap up her forearm again.


The fox leaves the helpless squirrel there.

Coincidentally! The fox actually can climb trees. He finds one with multiple squirrels in it, and starts climbing up until he gets to a large branch. Then, he gets on the branch and stares down the squirrels, daring them to try to run, because it's more fun to catch them when they do that. Small animals get stupid and predictable when they run. People, too, but it's hard to catch a person in his mouth.


"Ren!"
The witch arrives, and looks for where, exactly, the fox is.
She lands on the ground, and lets go of her broom - it falls to the ground. "What are -?"
The fox takes a second to look away from the squirrels so he can look at the witch.
"Where's the squi-" She sighs, then looks down and spots the paralyzed squirrel.
Awen crouches down and picks up the paralyzed squirrel. "Is this that squirrel?" she asks, then pauses as if waiting for an answer.
"What do you mean, you don't know? I asked you to -" It's like she's interrupted, or cuts herself off.
"No, I asked for the squirrel, not every squirrel!"
Awen puts the paralyzed squirrel on her shoulder and tries to decide whether it's even worth it to help this squirrel, before figuring it's currently more important to catch the cat-fox-squirrel and bring it back, and then she can help this squirrel afterwards.
"No, look, this is very important." Awen pauses, then groans. "I don't know, just -"
"What do you mean, you already know? If you already know, then why -" She closes her eyes and groans again. "No, I don't care, just -!"
"Fine, okay! But then -!" Awen traces the blood dripping from her fingers into a shape in the air, and casts a spell. The spell forces the squirrels the fox is chasing to look at Awen - and if they try really hard to look away, they'll be (temporarily! Only for a minute or so) blinded. The more immediate effect is when they lock eyes with her, however, in that their thought process and muscle action and everything slows to a crawl, like their mind is turning to stone. And not because of the spell, but just because of her nature.
...
Honestly, Awen thinks this is a huge waste, but it's the only way to convince her fox to help her catch the squirrel, apparently.

[Rebonack]

[Dragpies]

Lapis gets that a lot.

Also!

She makes a pretty great childish 'Hrumph!' when she's told she needs to rest.

Crosses her arms and frowns and everything!

<But I'm really strong and if I don't help then normal people are going to get hurt and I don't want people to get hurt if I can stop them from getting hurt!>

That's a pretty paladin attitude, isn't it?

Throw yourself into danger and being willing to take the harm so others don't have to.

Of course, Lapis seems quite young.


[Nerd Talk]

"Maybe I should talk to the commanders about the idea," Geneva muses to herself.

But!

First there's some scienceing to do!

The process begins more or less the same as making any other magical cloud, but it quickly diverges. First? She shoves both her primary feathers and talons into the cloud and begins some VERY careful construction. With her eyes closed, actually. Her eyes won't do her a great deal of good, here. It's her wings that are her main magic-sensing organ. The process takes ten minutes or so and by the time she's done Ambrosia will be able to see a delicate crystal structure within the cloud built from pure ice.

"There! That's the first step, creating the spell matrix. The second step is relatively simple. Providing it with a power source," she continues, pulling an unremarkable glass jar out of her inventory spell and dunking it in the lake. Then she sticks a feather in the jar of water and begins stirring. As she stirs prismatic color begins slowly building within the jar. "The rainbow effect is caused by water approaching magical saturation. Once it's saturated it can be used for both a magical power source and as an electrical super-conductor. Rainbow is a staple in any pegasus engineering."

The jar of rainbow water is carefully poured into the cloud, the spell matrix now lit up with a rainbow glow.

Then?

The jar is set on top of the cloud.

And Geneva kicks said cloud.

There's a sound of sizzling magic and with a POP! the jar vanishes!

Only to re-appear right in front of Ambrosia. "A short range teleportation spell matrix."

[bc56]

Dragpies
"Hm?" Kothar seems interested by that one statement. <That is a brave sentiment for one so young, but remember this: bravery alone is a fragile thing. It must be tempered in the fire of practicality and the waters of wisdom." Uh oh, sounds like a proverb. There's probably more where that came from.

[Ironsmith]

[Word Among the Birds]

Ow ow ow those stupid zombies!

Lapis clutches her side for a moment, gritting her teeth, before giving her wings a beat and diving after the bird!

The stinky bird doesn't seem like it's very good at flying which means Lapis will be able to catch up with it easily and aim for another grab!

She's got it for sure this time!

Word Among the Birds

The hoatzin is not a great flier, mostly used to flapping from one tree to another in swamps, mangrove forests and jungles. Lapis can catch it quite easily, but this is not the hoatzin she was trying to catch, and it pecks at her claws. Its beak isn't the sharpest, designed for ripping leaves off trees and not cutting or tearing flesh, so it likely doesn't do much damage.

If Lapis and the other hoatzin stop looking at it, it'll disappear, leaving a large wooden facsimile of a duck in Lapis' claws in its place. The wooden duck has emotions, though they're as muted as the hoatzin's were.

[Word Among the Birds]

The other "hoatzin", meanwhile, takes advantage of this distraction to resume its flight down toward the ground... though the more accurate term in this case would be "plummet", as it has no intention of moving slowly enough for Lapis to catch up with it again. When it's close enough, it might extend its wings to catch the air and glide the rest of the way, but that's several seconds away at least.

[Foxhunt]

Awen waits a few moments just outside the door, once it closes, just in case they phase through the door or learn how to open the door.

She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath.
"Sorry! I'll be right back once I find the other one!" she informs the foxes and dogs.

Once ready, she grabs a silver amulet from her chest, rubs it to clarify the surface, pulls(?) a whole broom out(?) of it, and then starts flying side-saddle on the broom down the hallway and out the door, to outside and towards where her fox is.
Meanwhile, her hair and her snakes work together to ready a bandage and wrap up her forearm again.


The fox leaves the helpless squirrel there.

Coincidentally! The fox actually can climb trees. He finds one with multiple squirrels in it, and starts climbing up until he gets to a large branch. Then, he gets on the branch and stares down the squirrels, daring them to try to run, because it's more fun to catch them when they do that. Small animals get stupid and predictable when they run. People, too, but it's hard to catch a person in his mouth.


"Ren!"
The witch arrives, and looks for where, exactly, the fox is.
She lands on the ground, and lets go of her broom - it falls to the ground. "What are -?"
The fox takes a second to look away from the squirrels so he can look at the witch.
"Where's the squi-" She sighs, then looks down and spots the paralyzed squirrel.
Awen crouches down and picks up the paralyzed squirrel. "Is this that squirrel?" she asks, then pauses as if waiting for an answer.
"What do you mean, you don't know? I asked you to -" It's like she's interrupted, or cuts herself off.
"No, I asked for the squirrel, not every squirrel!"
Awen puts the paralyzed squirrel on her shoulder and tries to decide whether it's even worth it to help this squirrel, before figuring it's currently more important to catch the cat-fox-squirrel and bring it back, and then she can help this squirrel afterwards.
"No, look, this is very important." Awen pauses, then groans. "I don't know, just -"
"What do you mean, you already know? If you already know, then why -" She closes her eyes and groans again. "No, I don't care, just -!"
"Fine, okay! But then -!" Awen traces the blood dripping from her fingers into a shape in the air, and casts a spell. The spell forces the squirrels the fox is chasing to look at Awen - and if they try really hard to look away, they'll be (temporarily! Only for a minute or so) blinded. The more immediate effect is when they lock eyes with her, however, in that their thought process and muscle action and everything slows to a crawl, like their mind is turning to stone. And not because of the spell, but just because of her nature.
...
Honestly, Awen thinks this is a huge waste, but it's the only way to convince her fox to help her catch the squirrel, apparently.

[Foxhunt]

It's fortunate that the only witnesses to this conversation are a bunch of arboreal rodents, because anyone else would likely assume Awen to be off her gourd.

After casting her spell, Awen is going to find herself in the company of about a dozen blind squirrels, and a dozen other fascinated ones. And one paralyzed one she's elected to help later, which is also blind now since it can't meet her gaze.

The blind squirrels, naturally, flee. That's not a good position to be in, unable to see the world around them with a fox on the loose. And the fascinated squirrels, also naturally, do not flee, but rather continue to stare at (and a few even approach) Awen like a morbid take on a fairy tale princess. If she wanted to, there would be nothing stopping her from plucking them off the tree branches like furry little fruit.

[Rebonack]

[Dragpies]

Lapis is, elsewhere, spattered with several void-magic micro-missiles!

Her fidgets a bit, tears welling up in her eyes, but she does a good job of not showing that she's in pain.

Practicality and wisdom?

Like...

How easy it is to do a thing and whether doing a thing is a good idea?

Lapis frowns a little.

<Mother says that people like us are blessed with talents so we can make the world better. Burying a talent doesn't help anyone, we have to go out and use them!>

Like these potions!

<I'm going to take these potions to the quarter master do you want to come with me Mister Kothar?> Lapis asks as she seals the box shut again with a quick application of Shape. Good as new!


[Word Among the Birds]

Lapis now has a wooden duck in her hands.

"THE BOSS BIRD!" Lapis howls in equal parts excitement and frustration! She found the Boss Bird again! She stows the duck token away for later and attends to more important things!

First?

She's going to do a scan on the fake bird diving away from her. That way she can easily track it so long as the Scene doesn't change!

Second?

She dives after it again!

Lapis isn't just quick. Her speed and precision of movement are both preternatural. That's what having the Motion sphere will do for someone, after all.

Third?

She cheats.

Motion. All motions have two components; acceleration and inertia. Change and stasis. Lapis reaches out with her intent and tries to alter that motion. To accelerate toward her until the bird falls into a state of motionlessness ignorant of even the pull of gravity.

"Be Still."

[Earl of Purple]

Word Among the Birds

Another hoatzin appears, flying away from Lapis and coming from the same tree as the first. It must have been perched right up against the trunk in order to not be seen, right? It's going to try and distract her from the other bird, making the same pre-recorded calls as earlier. It can't keep up with Lapis' extreme acceleration, however, so it's unlikely to succeed.