Vigil 8: Try jumping

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Oh!

Oh oh oh there's the last one in the bird nest!

Lapis pops back into existence nearby, reaching into the shrub to collect the kitty hopefully she doesn't scratch Lapis or try to run away or anything else since those would all be bad things.

"You're doing a good job holding on those foxes Miss Awen! And I found Miss Eun's kitty! She must have had someone petting her and she made another kitty but now that other kitty is a fox and its making more foxes."

Sure.

That makes sense, right?

Assuming Lapis is able to collect the feline she'll start heading back toward Awen.

"Are you going to keep those foxes Miss Awen I think they keep making more if you love them sort of like animals do I guess except not because they just sort of poof into existence I'm not sure where they come from," Lapis rambles. Are they getting all that extra mass from somewhere? She's pretty sure they aren't made out of magic like faeries are so there must be a reason. Maybe someone made a trinket that's shaped like an animal to spread love and happiness? That might be but Lapis isn't sure maybe she should ask Mother?

She pokes at her communicator a bit, sending a message to Miss Eun.

[Morty]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"We could find a place that's famous for spirits? Like a haunted forest, or something," Thariza suggests. "I was able to summon those spirits back in the desert... don't know if I'd rely on it, though."

[Shadowcaller]

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.

Arriving

Well, one of them find him instead as a tall purple woman in a red leather robe approaches him. "Hey lizard dude, you didn't happen to see a bra somewhere in that shuttle you just took did you? You know the container-thingy for the... mammalian stuff. She gestures at her boobs.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Ambrosia gives Thariza a thoughtful look. She might be a bit loopy right now but she still knew how uncomfortable the charr could feel around haunted places so she wasn't sure it was the best idea.
Her hunger cared little for that though and if there was no other means to satisfy it...

But perhaps Utoya had a way out. "How long would it take to calibrate?" She inquires, not meaning to sound impatient but it was hard not to as her hunger kept reminding her. "I might have to settle for Thariza's suggestion if it takes too long." For all she knew, they could be leading her to exactly the same place anyway.
She wanted to give them some more context but she had already fallen asleep in the middle of a conversation, she didn't want to seem even more out of control and desperate right now.

[bc56]

Arriving
"I not seen your... Mammal chestplate?" Close enough right? "I hear this place for warriors? I seek to wield my axe again." Kothar's [insert language here] is not especially good. His education was mostly focused on killing things, not foreign languages. "How I join?"

[Shadowcaller]

Arriving

Mammal chest plate? Sure!
"Warriors? Nah, VIGIL is open for all classes. I'm a druid for instance." She nods, Wenomir's popularity probably made some people believe that VIGIL was more of a warrior's guild. "But joining's easy, you just- uh-" The woman's strokes her chin. "Actually, I'm not completely sure. I think you just need to talk to commanders but that might not be a requirement since they're pretty busy. But hey, why don't we go and check at the office?" She gestures towards the upper section of the base.
"Oh, and I'm Anika by the way. Who're you?" She asks as she starts to walk.

[5a Violista]

[CATastrophe]

It would be a pleasure to have one more fox sleeping on her, if not for one minor problem:
panic!

Her grabby hair is busy with one. Her arm is busy with another. Her hand is too busy 'healing' her forearm. And the third is far too close to her snake hair.
And Lapis went off to go look for the mother cat.

And when Awen panics, her snakes start acting up.

The little black snakes start hissing and baring their fangs at the two closest foxes: the one on her shoulders and the one sort-of in her arm.
"No, get down, you're too close, you're going to –!" she says as the panic enters her voice.

She hears Lapis.

Awen closes her eyes and turns towards Lapis. "H-hey! Hurry over here, I need you to grab the foxes before they get bitten!" No time to answer questions about keeping the foxes (obviously, if they're babies of the cat then the cat's owner should be the one to decide what to do with them), and no time to explain how babies work (when a mommy cat(?) and a daddy cat(?) love each other very much then baby foxes(?) happen, or something).
Just panic because she doesn't want to have to throw two of the three cute foxes at the ground in order to keep them safe from her hair.

[bc56]

Arriving
"Druid... Yes." Kothar understands that, at least. "I am... What is your word... Pal-adin. Holy warrior." He nods. "Yes. Take me to your leader." And an introduction. "Well met, Anika. I am Kothar."

[Shadowcaller]

Arriving

"A paladin? Cool! I've plenty of paladins and they were all pretty awesome dudes. One even said I had the heart of a paladin, isn't that sweet?" It might just been a hook-up line though, Anika isn't completely sure but it was one sick-looking paladin so who was she to say no?

"Anyway, you want to go to our leaders then, huh? I guess I could get you to their offices." And sure enough, Anika will lead the still-not-named paladin to the center of the base where both Cessie and Wenomir's offices are located.

"So you wanna talk to warrior dude or mage lady?" She asks as they approach.

[Ironsmith]

[CATastrophe]

Oh!

Oh oh oh there's the last one in the bird nest!

Lapis pops back into existence nearby, reaching into the shrub to collect the kitty hopefully she doesn't scratch Lapis or try to run away or anything else since those would all be bad things.

"You're doing a good job holding on those foxes Miss Awen! And I found Miss Eun's kitty! She must have had someone petting her and she made another kitty but now that other kitty is a fox and its making more foxes."

Sure.

That makes sense, right?

Assuming Lapis is able to collect the feline she'll start heading back toward Awen.

"Are you going to keep those foxes Miss Awen I think they keep making more if you love them sort of like animals do I guess except not because they just sort of poof into existence I'm not sure where they come from," Lapis rambles. Are they getting all that extra mass from somewhere? She's pretty sure they aren't made out of magic like faeries are so there must be a reason. Maybe someone made a trinket that's shaped like an animal to spread love and happiness? That might be but Lapis isn't sure maybe she should ask Mother?

She pokes at her communicator a bit, sending a message to Miss Eun.

[CATastrophe]

It would be a pleasure to have one more fox sleeping on her, if not for one minor problem:
panic!

Her grabby hair is busy with one. Her arm is busy with another. Her hand is too busy 'healing' her forearm. And the third is far too close to her snake hair.
And Lapis went off to go look for the mother cat.

And when Awen panics, her snakes start acting up.

The little black snakes start hissing and baring their fangs at the two closest foxes: the one on her shoulders and the one sort-of in her arm.
"No, get down, you're too close, you're going to –!" she says as the panic enters her voice.

She hears Lapis.

Awen closes her eyes and turns towards Lapis. "H-hey! Hurry over here, I need you to grab the foxes before they get bitten!" No time to answer questions about keeping the foxes (obviously, if they're babies of the cat then the cat's owner should be the one to decide what to do with them), and no time to explain how babies work (when a mommy cat(?) and a daddy cat(?) love each other very much then baby foxes(?) happen, or something).
Just panic because she doesn't want to have to throw two of the three cute foxes at the ground in order to keep them safe from her hair.

[CATastrophe]

The cat in the bush doesn't react to Lapis picking her up, except for yawning and stretching in her arms before nuzzling her snout back against Lapis's collarbone, purring contentedly in her sleep.

Oh, wait, no, there's a reaction.

Apparently Lapis's neck is unacceptably dirty.

lick, lick, lick

Awen, meanwhile, will discover a rather curious property of these animals. As soon as it becomes obvious she's panicking, the three foxes all quickly and quietly jump down (except the one in her hair; it can only manage to get its front legs on the ground again) and line up, resulting in six little yellow eyes staring up at Awen, their owners panting and chortling for her approval. No sign that they were at all concerned by the prospect of being bitten by snake hair; rather, it seems they're more interested in making sure she doesn't have to worry about them. For the same reason, they're not about to run away, either... that would upset her, and they don't really want to do that. Besides, she clearly cares. Why would they wander away from a perfectly good food source like that?

[Rebonack]

[CATastrophe]

Oh good.

Lapis has succeeded.

And oh no!

Now Miss Awen is telling her to come over really quickly and-!

Oh.

It looks like the foxes are okay?

Lapis was running over, but she sort of jogs to a halt and looks down at the various vulpins while a kitty licks her neck. "Umm... do you still need me to get them, Miss Awen? I don't think anything's going to bite them?"

But maybe something is about to bite them! Lapis just isn't sure what would be doing the biting.

"Do you mind if I take a picture of the foxes and send them to Miss Eun, Miss Awen?" Lapis inquires. She's sure Miss Eun would like seeing pictures of all these cute foxes.

[Shadowcaller]

[After the Storm]

A few days after the events of the dragon storm there's a knock on Wenomir's office. He will likely already have been informed that Ambrosia was here to met him, otherwise he might not even have been in his office at all.
"Hello, Wenomir." She greets. "So I've talked a lot to Lady Mithar these last few days-" She let's out a small, barely noticeable sigh. "-among other people. So I figured I should talk to you too considering what took place. I imagine you might have... questions and I simply wanted to answer them. Among other things..."

[Earl of Purple]

Bird Hunting

Geneva... might not be able to see anything so long as the hoopoe's being watched. It tries, but the ability to relocate itself disperses without doing anything if anyone can see the 'bird'. If people can't see it, then Geneva might be able to get some useful readings as it tries to project itself somewhere else before dissipating here. It's almost as though the bird is a physical illusion, manifested and maintained by an external object or individual; though the illusion's physicality is preventing it from escaping.

Felicity, however, will be looking at the strange orange bird as she prepares a syringe to take a blood sample and clips some feathers. She'll turn away after to make sure they're safely put away.

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"We could find a place that's famous for spirits? Like a haunted forest, or something," Thariza suggests. "I was able to summon those spirits back in the desert... don't know if I'd rely on it, though."

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Ambrosia gives Thariza a thoughtful look. She might be a bit loopy right now but she still knew how uncomfortable the charr could feel around haunted places so she wasn't sure it was the best idea.
Her hunger cared little for that though and if there was no other means to satisfy it...

But perhaps Utoya had a way out. "How long would it take to calibrate?" She inquires, not meaning to sound impatient but it was hard not to as her hunger kept reminding her. "I might have to settle for Thariza's suggestion if it takes too long." For all she knew, they could be leading her to exactly the same place anyway.
She wanted to give them some more context but she had already fallen asleep in the middle of a conversation, she didn't want to seem even more out of control and desperate right now.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"Well... It can vary depending on circumstances. But perhaps a half hour if I start immediately." Utayo replies. She's uncertain if that's a satisfactory answer. Ambrosia seems quite urgent.

[Rebonack]

[Bird Hunting]

Lapis does a great job of holding the bird and looking at the bird while Miss Felicity takes her samples! Lapis is the absolute best at bird holding and bird looking.

Geneva, meanwhile, is eyeing the data she's gathered thus far. She jots down a few quick notes regarding the steps they have and will take regarding the investigation before trying something a bit unorthodox herself.

First? She erects a shell of Amnesia around herself, bolstering her already formidable psychic defense. Second? She tries to make psychic contact.

~I've been told you were able to insert impressions into the minds of others. That leads me to believe you're more intelligent than you let on. Would you care to explain why you've been spying on VIGIL members?~

While Geneva isn't sure if they creature can (or will) respond, it seems like a good idea to try at the very least.

Also?

Geneva is quite confident in her own mind's defenses just in case she's met with some kind of psychic backlash.

Typically simple telepathic contact isn't enough to get a hostile reaction, but it always pays to be safe.

"Isn't the bird weird, Miss Felicity?" Lapis asks, bobbing the bird in her grip at the lab assistant. The effect of Geneva's dimensional anchor is still kind of uncomfortable but Lapis is getting use to it pretty quickly. It doesn't HURT or anything, it just feels strange.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"Well... It can vary depending on circumstances. But perhaps a half hour if I start immediately." Utayo replies. She's uncertain if that's a satisfactory answer. Ambrosia seems quite urgent.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"...that would be greatly appreciated, thank you." Ambrosia replies with a courteous nod.

[Morty]

[After the Storm]

Wenomir will have indeed been expecting Ambrosia and lets her into his office.

"Considering we almost battled to the death, yes. We do need to talk," he says with his usual dry tone. "After you turned out to be a dragon. And the King in Rags made you reenact a legend about Jarowit. I'm really tired of that name."

[Shadowcaller]

[After the Storm]

"The King of Rags or Jarowit? Since I could see the case of both." The scholar inquires as she takes a seat, assuming there is one. "But you don't feel that there is anything dishonest about me talking to you like this despite you knowing that this isn't my 'true' body?" She gestures to her face. "Since the topic was raised when I was talking to Lady Mithar."

[Morty]

[After the Storm]

"Jarowit. The King in Rags is, at least, a real and dangerous presence in this world, even if he's also a figure from my grandfather's stories. But Jarowit..." Wenomir's face darkens. "He's just a ghost, possibly a fictional one, who keeps casting a shadow on my life." When Ambrosia asks the second question, he shrugs. "I can't say it bothers me. It's still you. And this body is more convenient to use than a dragon. I know now that the other body is out there, too."

[Shadowcaller]

[After the Storm]

"Actually, I can shrink down to this size as a dragon too." Ambrosia admits, which begs the question why she didn't do that while they were talking back then. "But as I hinted at earlier, there is a reason to why I present myself as human. Well, there's quite a few reasons but the main one is that fey have a easier time asserting control over me as a dragon. My kind were made to be the enforcers of their will so you could say it's in my blood. Until now I didn't know that applied to beings like the Rag King as well though."

She gestures to him. "I trust you will keep what I've just told you between us and Lady Mithar however as this isn't something I like being spread around. I'm sure you understand why."

[bc56]

Arriving
"I want judged by fellow warrior," Kothar confirms. With that decided, the druid can lead on to Wenomir's office.

[Shadowcaller]

Arriving

"You got it, bro. Let's hope he's at his office then. I could even ask if he's seen my missing bra while we're there..." And so Anika goes knock-knock-knock on Wenomir's door.

"Wenomir, I got a new recruit for you!"

[Morty]

[After the Storm]

Wenomir folds his arms across his chest.

"As I've said before, we'll keep it as secret as we can. Enough of our people saw it that it might not last long. And if the King in Rags decides to spread it around, there's not much we can do to stop it."

[Wenomir's Office - Kothar]

"Come in," says Wenomir from behind the door. When they do come in, they'll see the warrior bent over a map of what looks like somewhere in Seaside. He looks up at the two. "Who is it that you've brought?"

[bc56]

Wenomir's office, Kothar

"I am Kothar, one of Three, chosen of Tlacua." Titles than mean nothing here, but he does have them. "Wanderer and holy warrior.
He's a burly lizardman, clad in simple traveler's garb with a pack upon his back, a pair of goggles on his head, and well-made axe and shield, the first engraved with golden flame patterns, the second with platinum lightning. He has no armor to speak of, and the number of scars that are visible on his skin not covered by shirt or pants indicates he probably usually doesn't wear any.

[Earl of Purple]

Birb Hunting

"It is, yes. For one thing, this blood doesn't look very... blood-y. It's red, but... it's not viscous enough." Felicity shakes the vial and it does indeed behave more like water than blood. The feathers also seem to be made of plastic once they're removed, yet on the hoopoe itself they seem to be actual true feathers.

Geneva doesn't... really find anything. The mind is there, can be projected to, but there's no background thought or other suggestion that it's being used. If Geneva's ever probed at the mind of someone in a coma or in dreamless sleep, it's similar to that. She might be close to giving up before she gets a reply; a deep, gravelly voice that is replying in Geneva's native language. Not just something that is thinking and getting translated due to telepathy, or the Nexus Translation Effect, but an actual message in Equestrian. It doesn't sound like a pony's voice, however, or a griffin's. Disengaging surveillance projection in nine, eight, seven, six... The message isn't directed at Geneva, she might notice. It's being sent to the hoopoe, and the countdown continues.

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"...that would be greatly appreciated, thank you." Ambrosia replies with a courteous nod.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"Alright. Well..." Utayo slings her satchel to the front of her body and produces a tablet-like device from it alongside another device. It's narrow and has a spike on one end and is somewhat oblong on the other side. She looks around. "Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll need to go down to ground level. I need natural earth connected to the ground." She explains. "Is there anything else you need here?"

[Shadowcaller]

[After the Storm]

"Which is quite unfortunate, yes." She agrees, nodding. "Which just means I have to be even more careful-" Ambrosia suddenly pauses, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, but do you mind if I go on something of a rant here? You might not be the right person for this but I just feel the need to just get a few things out. Just so you understand my perspective..."

She waits for a response and assuming Wenomir agrees, she continues. "Since I've used this human body basically my whole life and sometimes I just feel trapped within it. I can't stand feeling so exposed all the time. It's maddening. Not to mention the smoothness of my skin..." Ambrosia let's out a small shudder which goes through her entire body.

But once she collected herself she gestures to him. "No offense to you or any other human of course, but as I understand it there are also humans that feel like they're trapped in the wrong body and they can't even leave theirs which must be simply awful. My point is though that since I've come to the nexus I've slowly let myself relax. Back in my own world I had to remain vigilant as if I relaxed too much this happened." The scholar gestures up to her horns. "And I had to file them down which as I'm sure you understand isn't especially enjoyable. Same goes for my claws-" She flexes her armored hand. "So while here I've started to let the dragon out more and more but it seems like I went too far this time and now I'm back at square one again since, as you said, the Rag King or any other fey he talks to could now easily take advantage of me being out of my human body to control me. So I will be back hiding in now it seems."

The scholar rubs the bridge of her nose tiredly, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Rant over, hopefully that gives you a better idea of my feelings on the matter."

[Wenomir's Office - Kothar]

"Yep, what he said. Kothar seems like a pretty cool dude and I've only known him for like five minutes." Anika declares with a nod as she moves out of the way for the paladin.

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Ambrosia shakes her head and then looks to Thariza. Did she?
She was just eager to get out of here.

[Morty]

[After the Storm]

Wenomir listens to Ambrosia's complaints with a neutral expression. He really can't question or argue with any of them. He could tell Ambrosia that attacking the King in Rags head-on was a very bad idea, but she probably doesn't need to hear that. Or he hopes so, anyway. Hopefully the way she dismissed him was just bravado and she doesn't actually think this way.

"I understand what you mean, I think. One misstep and so much progress wasted. At least we were able to free you instead of fully reenacting the legend about Jarowit."

[Wenomir's Office - Kothar]

Holy warrior, chosen of a deity... not really Wenomir's favorite kind of person. But he doesn't let such personal opinions color his reactions.

"Then you've come to the right place. Does your status give you any powers?"

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

Ambrosia is correct about Thariza's feelings regarding haunted places. But she's willing to put them aside due to the urgency of the situation. And she hopes she can handle it.

"I don't have anything left to do here. We can go."

[Shadowcaller]

[After the Storm]

"I'm not sure what would have happened. Didn't you say that Jarowit managed to drive this 'bird' off in the legend or did I misunderstand something there? Either way, I hope you won't think less of me after this. Lady Mithar seemed to have taken some offense that I never told you of my true identity despite considering me a friend. In truth, Ambrosia isn't even my real name though you might as well keep calling me that as the name I use as a dragon, or back home, won't really tell you anything. Thariza also uses 'Ambrosia' and she's the only one I told if only since she travels with me and it makes it much easier to move around." Taking a cab was apparently not an option for her.

Though then again, you probably can't take a cab to most dragon's lairs.

"I understand this might raise further questions and I'm willing to answer them any of them right now."

[bc56]

Wenomir's office - Kothar
"To protect and heal the innocent. To destroy the evil." A simple enough description. "I can give my strength, but I need know what your order stands. What oath give you?" The question is hopefully understandable. What are Vigil's principles?

[Gullara]

[Dragon Storm - An Aside]

"Of course, then shall we?" Presumably the three then leave the floating island, and are shuttled own to the ground below. Utayo leads the way off the following road and then stops. "This should work." She then kneels on the ground. She takes the device and drives the spike into the ground. After that the oblong part fans out into a dish. This done she refers to her tablet. "This will take a moment." She informs.