Vigil 8: Try jumping

[Shadowcaller]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

"Defense. Peacekeepers of this part of the world against threats which they can’t deal with themselves.” Ambrosia gestures at the sky. "And as you could tell, there are plenty of those here. The king in rags being only one of them." She nods, seemingly to herself. "You got anything like VIGIL in kamigawa? Since you're right, I've never heard about it."

[Arkhosia]

Dragon Storm - Cat Chat



Thariza really doesn't like the sound of this. But...

"I don't know. I think it was weakened by your people and then Ambrosia devoured the rest. And she doesn't plan to confront him again."

Dragon Storm - Cat Chat

Blanche considers for a moment. "You may be right. I would not purport to be more of an expert on matters of spirits than you or Ambrosia. Even so, if either the possibility or any unrelated dangers occur, we are willing to assist you and Ambrosia in any way we can."

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

One scoop of cat food per day.

And keep their water full.

Good.

Good!

That's easy!

Way easier than tending to the VIGIL grounds. Lapis can definitely do that.

She'll pet Martin some more just to let him know that he's a good kitty-shaped object before moving toward one of the food bags and hefting it up so she can open it up. Does it require cutting? If it does then that's pretty easy. She'll also look around for a scoop since she's sure that there must be a special kitty food scoop that Miss Eun uses for her kitties since the bag contains a certain number of scoops.

If she can't find one?

Well...

She'll just have to estimate how big a scoop is! If that happens she'll probably be a little more generous with her scoop size that required.

Either way, food bowls begin filling up!

"Okay kitties I've got your dinner here you go!"

No doubt she is swarmed by felines as a result of this.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

There is, in fact, a scoop for the cat food. It's stored right next to the bags, still pristine; Eun likely printed it off fresh before she left. The bags themselves have tearaway tops that don't require any additional tools to open, but nothing's stopping Lapis if she feels so inclined.

But anyway!

Dinner is served!

Five hungry felines bound over to the bowls as Lapis fills them with food, each immediately tucking in to chow down on what is doubtlessly very special cat food, because under what other circumstances would their reaction be that enthusiastic?

Although, now that she's setting this up, Lapis might notice a peculiarity, potentially a problem.

As she fills each of the bowls, the corresponding cat will come bounding over. First Babo, then Gom, then Tiger, then Martin, then Sable, and then...

Huh.

Which cat does this sixth bowl belong to?

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

"Defense. Peacekeepers of this part of the world against threats which they can’t deal with themselves.” Ambrosia gestures at the sky. "And as you could tell, there are plenty of those here. The king in rags being only one of them." She nods, seemingly to herself. "You got anything like VIGIL in kamigawa? Since you're right, I've never heard about it."

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

"Not precisely. There are of course those that see themselves as guardians, but not in the form of a distinct organization I suppose." Utayo replies. "Though is Vigil not related to a governmental structure?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

The scholar shakes her head. "Not as I understand it. They're... sponsored by various factions I think, but not directly associated to any governmental institution that I know. Mind you, I'm no authority on this as I'm not a member. I don't like official memberships in organizations like this and it's not like I need the money either."

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Wait.

Five kitties?

Didn't Miss Eun say there were half a dozen?

That's six.

Lapis glances around, seeing no extra kitty.

"Other kitty! It's dinner time!" she calls out. When that causes no additional cat to materialize she tries drifting! That should give her a nice view of what's going on from outways which is always a good thing to do when she's looking for something she really needs to find.

It's very fortunate that Lapis picked the Seer job!

That makes it much much easier for her to find things usually.

She slowly begins searching in a steadily widening area. Hopefully she'll spot the other kitty quickly.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

The mysterious sixth cat, unsurprisingly, does not come when called. That might have something to do with the fact that Lapis doesn't know its name.

Phasing outward doesn't immediately reveal the location of the cat, but thankfully, the other cat-shaped thought-forms don't seem particularly bothered by Lapis moving in an imperceptible direction. Maybe they can see her still? Or perhaps they just don't notice her absence... it's not like they can feed from her.

Regardless, Lapis is going to find that her search pattern does not turn up her quary. Not directly, at least. Going over every inch of that apartment, there are only five cats present.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't discover anything relevant.

While searching the apartment, she's going to find a little hole in the wall, near the floor, about the size of her fist. In fact, it looks quite a bit like someone put their fist through the wall here, and then promptly forgot about it.

She's also going to find a tuft of cat hair stuck in the plaster.

[Morty]

Dragon Storm - Cat Chat

Blanche considers for a moment. "You may be right. I would not purport to be more of an expert on matters of spirits than you or Ambrosia. Even so, if either the possibility or any unrelated dangers occur, we are willing to assist you and Ambrosia in any way we can."

"I appreciate it. I think she does too." Even if she's too proud to admit it. "I'm not really an expert on spirits, though. Except killing ghosts and channelling dead people. So I can only hope that scarecrow won't get his hooks into Ambrosia again."

[Arkhosia]

Dragon Storm - Cat Chat

"I appreciate it. I think she does too." Even if she's too proud to admit it. "I'm not really an expert on spirits, though. Except killing ghosts and channelling dead people. So I can only hope that scarecrow won't get his hooks into Ambrosia again."

The catgirl nods. The gesture feels surprisingly honest and friendly somehow, a bit of a break from the closed-off professionalism Blanche has shown so far. "Frankly, it's my hope we can keep him from getting his hooks into anyone else ever again." There's an awkward beat as Blanche realizes that maybe she should somehow indicate she's done asking question. "Er, thank you for your help, miss."

[Earl of Purple]

Bird Hunting

"Um... I don't know how. I was expecting a three-dimensional creature to take blood samples from, not... not an animated painting." The hoopoe has bounced off the edge of the painting, and is flying around- though apparently it seems limited to the area of the painting itself, at least at the moment. Felicity pulls out the medical bag she'd brought to take samples with, a collection of vials, syringes and hypodermic needles.

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Oh no.

One of the kitties escaped.

Possibilities race through Lapis' mind.

What if the kitty is lost? Or fell off the island! Someone said the other day that they thought they saw a kitty fall of the island was that Eun's kitty she would be so sad!

And and Lapis wouldn't have done a good job taking care of them!

If she tells Eun that one of her kitties is missing then Miss Eun might get upset and scared and then she wouldn't have a nice time on her vacation!

That would be a terrible thing!

The worst thing!

The worst possible thing!

Lapis can't allow it she has to find that kitty!

"You kitties stay here," Lapis informs the rest of the cats as she pops back into reality and proceeds to plug the hole with some shaped glass. She made sure to take note of where the hole leads to but she needs to wait a little bit before she can drift again. She needs to follow that hole and figure out where the kitty went!


[Bird Hunting]

"That does create something of a problem, doesn't it?" Geneva muses as she watches the bird flapping around inside of the painting. "Lapis, my understanding of you capabilities, based on your personnel file, is that you are unusually adept at dividing things? Is that right?"

Lapis perks up right away in spite of her currently unfurled state.

Seeing a weird dragonish thing get excited like that is certainly a sight.

"Oh! Yes I'm very good at that Miss Geneva that's my Path it's the thing that I'm best at doing I do it all the time with the bushes to divide them into better shapes and-"

Geneva makes a 'slow down' motion with one hand. "Could you try that, please?"

Lapis gives a nod and draws forth Resolution the tip of the blade cutting light from shadow. Then in a single, fluid motion she flicks the weapon toward the painting, aiming to cut the bird from the painting. Her intent is not to harm the painting. Nor to harm the bird. And intent is very important, here. Because Resolution only destroys that which Lapis intends it to destroy.

[Morty]

[Dragon Storm - Cat Chat]

The catgirl nods. The gesture feels surprisingly honest and friendly somehow, a bit of a break from the closed-off professionalism Blanche has shown so far. "Frankly, it's my hope we can keep him from getting his hooks into anyone else ever again." There's an awkward beat as Blanche realizes that maybe she should somehow indicate she's done asking question. "Er, thank you for your help, miss."

"It's no problem. I'm glad things went as well as they did." They could have gone much worse, all things considered. "I know Ambrosia wants to help oppose him, but indirectly. So I guess I'll be there too. I don't want to fight anymore, but... we'll see."

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

Oh no.

One of the kitties escaped.

Possibilities race through Lapis' mind.

What if the kitty is lost? Or fell off the island! Someone said the other day that they thought they saw a kitty fall of the island was that Eun's kitty she would be so sad!

And and Lapis wouldn't have done a good job taking care of them!

If she tells Eun that one of her kitties is missing then Miss Eun might get upset and scared and then she wouldn't have a nice time on her vacation!

That would be a terrible thing!

The worst thing!

The worst possible thing!

Lapis can't allow it she has to find that kitty!

"You kitties stay here," Lapis informs the rest of the cats as she pops back into reality and proceeds to plug the hole with some shaped glass. She made sure to take note of where the hole leads to but she needs to wait a little bit before she can drift again. She needs to follow that hole and figure out where the kitty went!

[CATastrophe]

Well, the hole's plugged. But finding where it leads out might be a problem.

See, the walls of this room, like most modern architecture, aren't made from some homogenous material that would require dedicated tunneling to penetrate, like a slab of concrete or brick. In fact, most of the interior of the wall is just going to be empty air, intersped with a framework of metal supports that give the room/building its shape, with plaster, sheet rock, or whatever material she'd normally see flanking the gaps on either side. It's far too narrow a space for a small elf child to fit into, but a cat with a flexible form would find it a little roomy.

In other words, there's no obvious exit. Depending on how long that cat's been missing, it could be in the walls just about anywhere on this floor by now, or potentially anywhere on the base, if it found/made a way back out elsewhere. Or worse, the insides of the walls aren't designed to be crawlspaces for curious animals; kitty could easily hurt itself on a loose nail, screw, bolt, splinter, or just wedged in an irregular gap in the support structures... in which case it might be injured and stuck somewhere.

Regardless, the places she'd need to search constitute a pretty wide area. It might be prudent to enlist some help.

At least the others will behave themselves while she's gone.

lick, lick, clean, clean

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

The scholar shakes her head. "Not as I understand it. They're... sponsored by various factions I think, but not directly associated to any governmental institution that I know. Mind you, I'm no authority on this as I'm not a member. I don't like official memberships in organizations like this and it's not like I need the money either."

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

"Interesting." Utayo remarks. It certainly seems superior to the alternative she knows best in some key ways. "You seem familiar to the people of this organization at the very least." She notes.

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Oh no.

The hole doesn't lead anywhere.

It's all interstitial space and Lapis didn't see any more signs of the kitty's passing!

This is terrible! The kitty could be anywhere! Or in trouble! Or hurt! What if something happens to one of Miss Eun's kitties that will make Lapis the worst and taking care of kitties!

Maybe she should ask for some help to-

No! No she shouldn't do that that is a bad plan! She has to find the kitty herself to prove that she is the best at taking care of kitties otherwise what if the person who helps her tells Miss Eun that they helped and then Miss Eun finds out and hates Lapis forever!

That would be the worst. Possible. Thing!

Lapis begins by scooting back out of Miss Eun's quarters again and searching around in the immediate area. She needs to wait a few layers for space to stop being so snarly before she can drift again. Carefully she begins searching the surrounding parts of the barracks looking for a missing cat while trying to make it not obvious that she is looking for a missing cat.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

By the time Utoya have answered she can suddenly feel Ambrosia leaning in on her shoulder as she suddenly seems to have fallen asleep.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

Oh no.

The hole doesn't lead anywhere.

It's all interstitial space and Lapis didn't see any more signs of the kitty's passing!

This is terrible! The kitty could be anywhere! Or in trouble! Or hurt! What if something happens to one of Miss Eun's kitties that will make Lapis the worst and taking care of kitties!

Maybe she should ask for some help to-

No! No she shouldn't do that that is a bad plan! She has to find the kitty herself to prove that she is the best at taking care of kitties otherwise what if the person who helps her tells Miss Eun that they helped and then Miss Eun finds out and hates Lapis forever!

That would be the worst. Possible. Thing!

Lapis begins by scooting back out of Miss Eun's quarters again and searching around in the immediate area. She needs to wait a few layers for space to stop being so snarly before she can drift again. Carefully she begins searching the surrounding parts of the barracks looking for a missing cat while trying to make it not obvious that she is looking for a missing cat.

[CATastrophe]

That, it turns out, is a pretty staunch limitation. If the cat is, as previously supposed, hiding in the walls somewhere, Lapis won't be able to spot it; she might not even be able to hear it over the sounds of day-to-day activity. If it's not in the wall and is wandering the halls, then Lapis could expect to find it at ankle-height and pretty much nowhere else... which is a pretty conspicuous place to be searching.

In any case, there's no sign of the missing cat. She may need a better search method than checking random halls.

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

This situation is rapidly growing more serious.

Lapis hasn't found the kitty!

Or any evidence that the kitty has been nearby.

Neither of those are ideal at all.

So!

Lapis begins listening even MORE carefully!

And checking under the occasional furniture out in the hallways. And checking the behind that soda and snack vending machine over there just in case the kitty is behind those. And peeking into the gym just in case the kitty is trying to get PUMPED. And the mess hall in case the kitty got hungry. And the lake in case... the kitty wanted to go swimming? Lapis isn't really sure WHERE to start looking because this kitty isn't really a kitty it is just shaped like a kitty sometimes Surely no one will get suspicious of Lapis running around frantically and clearly in search of something.

[5a Violista]

[CATastrophe]

A certain witch named Awen spots a kid running around frantically. She notices her as Lapis runs by the lake.

She looks down and jogs a little, to keep up. "Hey, kid! You okay?" Kid frantically running around is probably lost. Or needs help.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

Kitty is not, in fact, hiding behind the vending machines. Although Lapis will find another hole there, sized about right for a mouse, which might suggest an exit if kitty is flexible enough. Or a different sort of animal problem to look into later.

Kitty is also not in the gym. At least, not the kitty she's looking for. There's a Kitty in the gym but she's about twice Lapis's height and is a little too wrapped up in her reps to give her more than a passing nod.

Kitty's not in the mess hall, either. There's a small crowd gathered at one of the tables, but that turns out to be a very intense game of Uno. No cats present here.

And kitty's not at the lake. Which is fortunate, because all that water might be a little incompatible with her sensibilities, and the birds nearby would likely object to the presence of a carnivore-shaped thought-form (even if it's not particularly interested in eating them).

Darn. Where else could it be?

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Another hole.

Did the kitty become a not kitty?

That'll make it way harder to find the kitty if it isn't a kitty anymore. Thankfully if Lapis drifts she can easily pick out the thought forms since a big chunk of them is connected outways, but space still feels a bit snarly so she can't do that yet. Hopefully though it'll be ready soon and she can begin searching in a wider area again! Just running around isn't helping much.

Oh! There's Kitty at the gym! Lapis will offer a, "Hello Miss Kitty I hope you have a nice time!" before scurrying off to her next stop.

Next the mess hall!

Just some people playing some sort of card game Lapis doesn't know anything about that.

But then comes the lake and-!

Oh no.

Birds!

"Hey you birds!" Lapis shouts at waterfowl. "You have to go birds aren't allowed at VIGIL!"

Given the very likely event that the birds ignore Lapis she has to take matters into her own hands! In this case she Invokes the sphere of Energy to cause a very small patch of water to flash-vaporize under the birds! A small bit of water getting blasted to steam causes a VERY LARGE bubble to explode right in the middle of the lake. It's pretty loud and pretty dramatic, but Lapis was pretty careful to make sure that it was deep enough that it won't hurt the birds. She doesn't want to hurt them, after all, she just wants to scare them away.

Oh!

But then!

"Oh hello Miss Awen I was just chasing away those birds since birds aren't allowed at VIGIL," Lapis explains. She doesn't mention the missing kitty. Not yet anyway. Once the ducks have been successfully repelled Lapis will begin running from shrub to shrub, peeking inside them to check if maybe the kitty is inside one of them.

[5a Violista]

[CATastrophe]

Little does Lapis know, she has a hole in her excuse.
"Oh, I see," Awen says.
The water thing was used to scare away the birds. But that doesn't explain why she was running around, or why she's running around now. Clearly she must be hurt, or something.

Awen glances around, trying to see if there's anyone watching Lapis.
"...And that's why you were running around, right?" she asks.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

Another hole.

Did the kitty become a not kitty?

That'll make it way harder to find the kitty if it isn't a kitty anymore. Thankfully if Lapis drifts she can easily pick out the thought forms since a big chunk of them is connected outways, but space still feels a bit snarly so she can't do that yet. Hopefully though it'll be ready soon and she can begin searching in a wider area again! Just running around isn't helping much.

Oh! There's Kitty at the gym! Lapis will offer a, "Hello Miss Kitty I hope you have a nice time!" before scurrying off to her next stop.

Next the mess hall!

Just some people playing some sort of card game Lapis doesn't know anything about that.

But then comes the lake and-!

Oh no.

Birds!

"Hey you birds!" Lapis shouts at waterfowl. "You have to go birds aren't allowed at VIGIL!"

Given the very likely event that the birds ignore Lapis she has to take matters into her own hands! In this case she Invokes the sphere of Energy to cause a very small patch of water to flash-vaporize under the birds! A small bit of water getting blasted to steam causes a VERY LARGE bubble to explode right in the middle of the lake. It's pretty loud and pretty dramatic, but Lapis was pretty careful to make sure that it was deep enough that it won't hurt the birds. She doesn't want to hurt them, after all, she just wants to scare them away.

Oh!

But then!

"Oh hello Miss Awen I was just chasing away those birds since birds aren't allowed at VIGIL," Lapis explains. She doesn't mention the missing kitty. Not yet anyway. Once the ducks have been successfully repelled Lapis will begin running from shrub to shrub, peeking inside them to check if maybe the kitty is inside one of them.

[CATastrophe]

Little does Lapis know, she has a hole in her excuse.
"Oh, I see," Awen says.
The water thing was used to scare away the birds. But that doesn't explain why she was running around, or why she's running around now. Clearly she must be hurt, or something.

Awen glances around, trying to see if there's anyone watching Lapis.
"...And that's why you were running around, right?" she asks.

[CATastrophe]

The birds are understandably confused by Lapis's reaction. Nobody else seemed to have a problem with geese hanging out at their lake. Someone even fed them a little while ago!

And yet.

Sploosh.

That's probably not related to the child yelling at them, but they're not going to stick around a lake that's just randomly exploding.

And off they go, to find a more hospitable body of water, honking the whole way.

So majestic.

Anyway, as Lapis searches the bushes, she's going to find evidence that kitty has been here, in the form of recently upturned earth, such as might have occurred if it found something tasty to hunt over-

Oh.

Nevermind. It's just a mole.

[Arkhosia]

[Dragon Storm - Cat Chat]



"It's no problem. I'm glad things went as well as they did." They could have gone much worse, all things considered. "I know Ambrosia wants to help oppose him, but indirectly. So I guess I'll be there too. I don't want to fight anymore, but... we'll see."

Dragon Storm - Cat Chat

Blanche nods. "It's not a perspective I really understand myself, I'll admit. Sometimes it feels that fighting's all that I can do to help. But sometimes that indirect pressure and influence can really be the most important thing we have." Intelligence and support have been a mainstay in tactical planning and organization for a very long time. You'd have to be a fool not to recognize their power on and off the battlefiend.

[bc56]

Arriving
A flying chariot shuttle arrives at the skybase, bearing with it a lizardman, with axe and shield.
Kothar surveys the floating island with curiosity. It's something impossible (without a lot of magic) in his own homeland, but it feels solid enough beneath his feet.
He's heard this place is a gathering ground for fellow adventurers, so he sets off across the island to find them.

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Yeah!

Take that, birds!

And tell your bird friends they aren't allowed in VIGIL either!

Lapis is feeling pretty confident in her ability to carry out the tasks given to her so when she sees evidence that maybe the kitty was here she starts getting excited and-!

Oh.

No.

That's a mole.

Lapis glances up at Awen, then back at the little burrowing mammal.

"I can tell you Miss Awen but it's a really really super secret secret so you have to promise that you won't tell anyone," Lapis solemnly informs the witch. "The biggest secret!"

[5a Violista]

[CATastrophe]

Unfortunately, Awen can't help look for moles yet, because she doesn't know that Lapis isn't actually searching for skymoles.

The witch starts wondering if she's stumbled into something really weird, or if it's just Lapis being a kid. "Um." She looks side to side, as if looking over there would give her clues as to whether this is something weird, or dangerous, or just childish.

"A-as long as nobody gets hurt, yeah, I won't tell anybody." But if somebody gets hurt, that's a different matter.

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

By the time Utoya have answered she can suddenly feel Ambrosia leaning in on her shoulder as she suddenly seems to have fallen asleep.

[Dragon Storm - Outside]

Utayo startles and bit and turns her head toward Ambrosia. Oh. Well she's really tired, isn't she? Well, Utayo sees no need to disturb her. Let her get a moment of rest.

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

There is often a pretty high degree of overlap between 'weird' and 'childish'.

Children do weird things all the time.

But Lapis is something of an outlier in that respect. Her capacity for weird far outstrips the majority of the children in the Nexus. And the Nexus has some pretty weird kiddos.

Regardless!

Lapis scrutinizes Awen.

Really, really closely.

As if peering right through her. As if sniffing out any falsehood that might be coloring her words. Or maybe she's just trying to decide if Awen is the sort of person who would spread rumors about missing cats. Is Awen's fox here? What if the fox tells someone? Finally, though, Lapis relents. She runs over to Awen, glances around to make sure there are no spies or birds or sp-birds, and then confides her secret.

"Miss Eun asked me to take care of her kitties while she's on vacation but when I got there one of the kitties was gone!"

A dreadful secret.

"I have to find the kitty but I don't want Miss Eun to find out otherwise what if she thinks I'm bad at taking care of kitties?"

Lapis is deeply concerned about people's opinion of her ability to do good jobs.