Riverside 22: Better the demon you know?

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

"...yeah." Jaahlyn claims without turning to face Siana. "In fact, I just came up with an idea how to catch the yokai. Can I count on you to devour them once I set it up?"

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"What do you think such a creature could possibly desire?" Sticks asks Jaahlyn earnestly, propping his chin in his spindly fingers. He figures that if this creature is from the same broad grouping of 'fey' as Jaahlyn, maybe she'll have some idea what they could use to make a deal.

Like Jim, Sticks is not sure how well prepared he is to deal with a giant creature made of water. Running water tends to diffuse magical forces and make casting more difficult. This wouldn't affect the power of the soul or Molkov artifacts like Sticks' claw, but it would certainly narrow his options a bit if the creature attacked them.

[Gullara]

Skate Park

”Don’t break anything!” Ana shouts up after him as Eliseo gets going, half sincere and half teasing. She backs up and finds herself a seat to watch, pulling her board up over her lap.

It’s good that she does too, because just watching Eliseo go that high up over both their heads in enough to make her feel a little worried. Every moment he goes up off the ramp and into the air is a moment of tense and worried excitement, the kitsune leaning forward even as her fingers grip her own board tightly. It’s only when Eliseo lands that final trick that the tension resolves enough for Ana to break out in a giddy grin.

“Yeah! That was really cool!” She gets up on her feet, briefly fumbling with her board before tucking it under one arm. ”I uh, wasn’t sure you were gonna stick the landing there - how long did that take to practice?” She sounds genuinely interested.

[Skate Park

Atsede watched Eliseo build speed on the ramp, keeping a close watch and taking mental notes on how he moved and balanced. She wasn't gonna waste the opportunity to learn from a more experienced skater. Still though, she kinda hoped he would bail. That was maybe a bit of a mean thing to think, but hey, it was always hilarious to watch someone eat s***.

He didn't bail, however, and Atsede found herself having to admit that damn, he really was pretty cool. She threw her hands up in the air as he approached in a mock gesture, and smiled. "Alright. You got me. That was impressive as [frick]! You gotta show me how to do that one day," she said enthusiastically.

[Skate Park]

Eliseo grins at Ana, his eyes alight. "Oh you know, been working my way up to it for a couple months." He says all nonchalant, like he's not looking extremely pleased. He pulls his eyes from Ana to respond to Atsede. "I could totally give you some pointers."

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

"...yeah." Jaahlyn claims without turning to face Siana. "In fact, I just came up with an idea how to catch the yokai. Can I count on you to devour them once I set it up?"

[Hell Bend]

"...Of course you can." Siana replies, after a moment's hesitation. "If you're up for it, so am I." She grips the head of her cane, wringing it nervously as she walks alongside Jaahlyn, still anxiously looking her over for any signs of soul damage, or...

Or something.

"...Miss Hesperos?" Siana begins again, quietly changing the subject. "...I'm... I don't know what... went down, in there, but... I want you to know, before we really get started... I really admire you, you know?" Her cane taps the the pavement as they walk. "I haven't known you very long, but you've shown yourself to be brave, confident, and compassionate. And you were cool enough to take me here with you, and to help me with... you know. This." She makes a wide, circular gesture, encompassing her face. "I just... thought you should know that."

[Arkhosia]

Skate Park

Ana's eyebrows raise. "Wow, a couple months? So you were like, figuring all of this out between volleyball practice, huh?" The sheer amount of different types of sports Eliseo juggled on a weekly basis was always a little confounding, even in the lighter seasons where he doesn't have to balance between soccer and basketball and football practice. It also required a sort of boundless energy that the kitsune couldn't help but really appreciate about him.

"But yeah like, I bet you two could figure out some neat tricks together. I mean - you are both like, really cool." Ana smiles up at Eliseo and glances over to Atsede, a certain spark in her eye - and he might realize that for once, he's not the only one who seems to be giving Ana such a positive energy today. It's usually only towards him that she ever seems so... eager? And certainly not around strangers.

[Shadowcaller]

[The Toy Tinker]

"What do you think such a creature could possibly desire?" Sticks asks Jaahlyn earnestly, propping his chin in his spindly fingers. He figures that if this creature is from the same broad grouping of 'fey' as Jaahlyn, maybe she'll have some idea what they could use to make a deal.

Like Jim, Sticks is not sure how well prepared he is to deal with a giant creature made of water. Running water tends to diffuse magical forces and make casting more difficult. This wouldn't affect the power of the soul or Molkov artifacts like Sticks' claw, but it would certainly narrow his options a bit if the creature attacked them.

[Hell Bend]

"...Of course you can." Siana replies, after a moment's hesitation. "If you're up for it, so am I." She grips the head of her cane, wringing it nervously as she walks alongside Jaahlyn, still anxiously looking her over for any signs of soul damage, or...

Or something.

"...Miss Hesperos?" Siana begins again, quietly changing the subject. "...I'm... I don't know what... went down, in there, but... I want you to know, before we really get started... I really admire you, you know?" Her cane taps the the pavement as they walk. "I haven't known you very long, but you've shown yourself to be brave, confident, and compassionate. And you were cool enough to take me here with you, and to help me with... you know. This." She makes a wide, circular gesture, encompassing her face. "I just... thought you should know that."

[The Toy Tinker]

Jaahlyn shakes her head at Jim's question. "Oh, no, no. While I can't say the one's I met are peaceful they have a Code when it comes to people. First, as long as you are outside their territory, which only includes water, they cannot touch you." She pauses as she thinks back for a moment.

"Although, as it did attack the other fey's minions while they were outside the water that Code doesn't seem to include what it doesn't consider to be people. Erm, but they're not usually aggressive anyway and I think it only attacked those minions at the prompt of the woman who fell into its waters, a member of the group I was traveling down there with." She couldn't recall all that much about her though besides the fact she was an 'elf' of some kind.

"Secondly, even if you accidentally fall into its territory you only get marked. This means they consider you their property but have yet to claim you. The mark can be resolved if you perform some service to them though usually they're not interested in that sort of thing."

Jaahlyn looks to Sticks. "Which brings us to what they want I suppose. Last time I met one, not the Leviathan in the cavern that is, it wanted me to perform a song for it. While I didn't own it anything it seemed like a bad idea to decline, especially when you're on a ship in the middle of the ocean if you know what I'm saying? So from what I can tell then at least some of them have an appreciation for music. Though I've also heard people offering them art pieces and even, ah, sacrifices. Though that might just be tall tales as far as I know. But I don't think there's a singular thing all of them want."

[Hell Bend]

"Okay, we just need to find a remote spot then." Jaahlyn first remarks while she keeps walking, her hooves being almost silent as they make impact with the road underneath.

As Siana starts trying to say some words of comfort the satyr slows down and reaches up to rub her eyes tiredly. "You're... making this hard. But thanks for letting me hear that. I really mean it." She let's out an awkward laugh.
Then her tail moves around so she can grab a hold of the bauble tied to it.
As she does so red liquid starts to fill with a bright red liquid.

"Sorry..." Siana can hear the satyr mumble as she gently unties the orb and places it on the asphalt before quickly backing away.

As she does the orb seems to ignite and suddenly burns like a huge bonfire. It's intensely red, seemingly draining all other colors of its surroundings, turning it completely black and white.

"Alright, this is probably going to draw in some of the lesser ones so be ready."

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

..."Making this hard"?

Ooh.

Siana's shoulders droop when the words leave Jaahlyn's mouth. Even with the best of intentions, Siana somehow made things worse. She didn't even fully understand how, just that she apparently had... as she is wont to do. The mixed-in message that Jaahlyn was apparently grateful all the same... didn't help exactly, but...

Well, maybe she just doesn't understand what's going on in Jaahlyn's head at all. It wouldn't be the first time she's misread someone. And sure as Absum rises, it won't be the last.

...

Oh! Right. They're getting down to business now.

Siana falls into a combat-ready stance and draws her sword from her cane, holding it parallel to her chest as she surveys the area for- oh wow that is freaky. She hopes that blaze isn't playing tricks on her eyes; it's going to be difficult to put down the yokai if she can't see them.

...Wait a minute, can she see them? Were they visible to the naked eye? Hopefully they are. If she immediately disappoints Jaahlyn because she can't see what she's fighting...

Siana frowns and grips her sword. No. She's not going to let down the last person at MERC that actually believes in her in some way.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

Jaahlyn sees Siana's shoulders drop and let's out a small sigh. She hadn't wanted to explain this but perhaps it would be for the best...

The satyr gestures towards her bauble. "I'm drawing them in with my enmity. My meeting with those demons reminded me of past interactions I've had with wicked individuals. Figured they would be drawn to that kind of emotion." Especially when its burning so brightly, probably.

"But for you to be able to see them-" She looks to the teenager. "I'm actually not sure if I can inspire you actually if you're completely immune to spiritual influence?"

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

Oh.

Oh!

Now it all makes sense. Jaahlyn wants to be upset for this part. Once that clicks, Siana lets out a little sigh of relief... just before kicking herself for not realizing it sooner. Drawing the yokai in with negative emotions was the plan from the beginning. Jaahlyn even told her so, point-blank.

Oh, well. Better she realized that now than never.

"...Right. Um... that kind of depends on what you mean by 'immune' and 'influence'." Siana replies, still staring straight ahead in case the yokai did show up and somehow were within her ability to percieve them. "I'm... not sure how accurate this is, but historically, fiendlings have claimed that they can feel their victims talking to them... and I think that might be true, since I haven't felt quite right since my own, um, incident. Also, the whole 'turn into whatever you eat' thing we strigoi do is kind of evidence of being susceptibile to spiritual influence... in a way. The trouble is... in either case, if you wanted to mess with me, I'd probably have to eat you and that's a little bit permanent." She winces at the thought of that; not only does the idea of eating someone as intelligent, benevolent and large as Jaahlyn turn her stomach, she can't imagine being able to explain it to mister Razortooth afterwards.

But she does look quite tasty.

Siana shakes that particular thought away and resumes her stance. "We'll have to work something else out. You can see them, right? Maybe you could just point me to them." Her fingers flutter on the hilt of her sword as she tries to work the problem out. "...Or, since we're drawing them in with emnity, maybe I could provide my own. I... if I'm being honest, there's a LOT going on with MERC and things out here I'm kind of bitter about. Maybe that'll be an asset for once."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

"Ah, that reminds me of the vamprath-" A beat as she looks to Siena. "Which I now realize is just our vampires. This suddenly makes a scary amount of sense." Jaahlyn strokes her chin. "Erm, but don't feel too bad if you accidentally kill this body though. All you'll get is a goat and some of my memories. See, the way fey work is that we, ah, remotely puppet around these physical bodies. Well, some of us do. The way I understand it they can't contain all our 'essence' or whatever it is we have. That's why I can never really use all my memories. There's simply too much for it to be in your head you see. Most fey choose to stay within the aether where space is infinite and you can manifest entire worlds with but a thought." She scratches her neck. "Not that I can recall any of that as, like I said, my memory is limited. It's just what other fey have told me. I prefer not to think about it too much as while the aether sound amazing my heart still belongs to the waking world."

Another pause.

"...sorry, I went on a rant there didn't I? But, ah, regarding your plan... I suppose I could do that. Though I'm going to be destroying them too so I might be fairly preoccupied."

[Morty]

[The Election]

After Felandria calls for an election, a previously-unknown candidate emerges. A non-binary elf named Tillvael, who settled in Eastside after coming from a land far away. Short in stature and stocky in build, their skin is very pale and their hair is black as night, kept in a bun. Their eyes are deep black, with large irises and (it seems) no visible pupils. Unlike with many elves in the Nexus, their features are more visibly non-human - subtly but clearly out of proportion.

They appear to be running on a platform of stability and security, it seems. Their inauguration speech and campaign fliers raise questions of why the citizens don't feel like they're safe from demons. Even after the disastrous invasion, their influence is felt. It needs to be rooted out, Tillvael argues. And it needs to be done by someone who can listen to the people again. A demigoddess tied to the Nexus' powerful organizations that place themselves above governments can't do it effectively.

[Deathkeeper]

The Toy Tinker

Jim seems a little bit mollified. "Okay. So it's somewhat safe." At least as safe as talking to something called a Leviathan can be. He smiles though.
"I feel like I'm sensing a pattern with fey from your homeworld and their appreciation of music. Who would have thought an entire category of immortals were so cultured?"

[Meowmai]

[Skate Park]

Eliseo grins at Ana, his eyes alight. "Oh you know, been working my way up to it for a couple months." He says all nonchalant, like he's not looking extremely pleased. He pulls his eyes from Ana to respond to Atsede. "I could totally give you some pointers."

Skate Park

Ana's eyebrows raise. "Wow, a couple months? So you were like, figuring all of this out between volleyball practice, huh?" The sheer amount of different types of sports Eliseo juggled on a weekly basis was always a little confounding, even in the lighter seasons where he doesn't have to balance between soccer and basketball and football practice. It also required a sort of boundless energy that the kitsune couldn't help but really appreciate about him.

"But yeah like, I bet you two could figure out some neat tricks together. I mean - you are both like, really cool." Ana smiles up at Eliseo and glances over to Atsede, a certain spark in her eye - and he might realize that for once, he's not the only one who seems to be giving Ana such a positive energy today. It's usually only towards him that she ever seems so... eager? And certainly not around strangers.

[Skate Park]

"I'd be down for that!" Atsede was excited that Eliseo responded the way that he did- not just for the fact that she wanted to learn more tricks, but also for the fact that it meant that maybe she was making enough of an impression on these people that they didn't mind her sticking around.

When Ana calls her cool, her grin widens. She can't help but flick her blue hair over one one of her eyes, and stretch her wings just ever so slightly, unconsciously trying to look just a little bit cooler still. "I bet we could!" She nodded in agreement.

[Earl of Purple]

Beauty From Ashes

Matilda follows, still naked, not being too stealthy- she's more worried about keeping up with Leah than anything else. Her tan skin is developing eyespots, randomly placed across her body, and her hair has grey feathers emerging from it.

She's not going to turn into an owlbear before she pounces on Leah when they reach the anchor-room, instead trying to jump on her from behind and wrestle the catgirl down using surprise and the strength of her humanoid shape. And she's going to try biting Leah's ear, too.

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

"Ah, that reminds me of the vamprath-" A beat as she looks to Siena. "Which I now realize is just our vampires. This suddenly makes a scary amount of sense." Jaahlyn strokes her chin. "Erm, but don't feel too bad if you accidentally kill this body though. All you'll get is a goat and some of my memories. See, the way fey work is that we, ah, remotely puppet around these physical bodies. Well, some of us do. The way I understand it they can't contain all our 'essence' or whatever it is we have. That's why I can never really use all my memories. There's simply too much for it to be in your head you see. Most fey choose to stay within the aether where space is infinite and you can manifest entire worlds with but a thought." She scratches her neck. "Not that I can recall any of that as, like I said, my memory is limited. It's just what other fey have told me. I prefer not to think about it too much as while the aether sound amazing my heart still belongs to the waking world."

Another pause.

"...sorry, I went on a rant there didn't I? But, ah, regarding your plan... I suppose I could do that. Though I'm going to be destroying them too so I might be fairly preoccupied."

[Hell Bend]

Oh, good. No further explanation needed, then.

Siana nods her way through the rest of Jaahlyn's rant, internally still running through the implications. Jaahlyn's... whole being isn't here, so Siana couldn't possibly eat it, but then, she's already a bit abnormal in that she eats souls at all... if Jaahlyn's connected to her essence, is it still at risk?

Better to let that question remain unanswered. She's not eating Jaahlyn. End of story.

"Right. Okay." Siana continues to stare ahead, waiting for the first yokai. Having Jaahlyn be her eyes and ears might not be ideal, but it's at least a plan.

[Reinholdt]

[Beauty From Ashes]

"Death to all peeping toms!" Leah proclaims in a battle cry as she shifts stance, preparing to charge forward and poke this things eyes out for good, trying pretty hard just to not think about whatever it is she's seeing. To not see what she's thinking. It's too real, too abstract, too wrong, too beautiful.

Too distracting apparently as instead of charging, Leah gets charged. "Oof!" The scramble and struggle after is aggressive and brutal, Leah possessing a great deal of physical strength herself, given how she lugs around that hammer and plays with boulders. But the back advantage Matilda has gives her leverage. More than basic physics, biting a hole in Leah's extremely sensitive ear causes her to wildly thrash and howl in pain, momentarily releasing the hammer from her ordinarily tight grip.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

Siana could devour Jaahlyn's soul. It just wouldn't be much of a loss to her. Indeed, even a regular person in her setting could lose their soul and not be negatively impacted by it. They would simply generate a new one.
After all, yokai are simply sentient representations of things, both physical and metaphorical. Just because you destroy a yokai of hate doesn't mean the hate goes away and the same can be said about a persons soul. It's just a spiritual representation of them.

But speaking of which, after some time of silence (which might feel like forever to Siana) Jaahlyn suddenly stands up. "It's underground." She declares as she looks down on the street they've been sitting on for the past fifteen minutes.

"Clever little bastard, way too patient to be the usual kind of hate." She looks to Siana. "I'm going to try to force it to the surface. If you, eh, see anything strange just call out, okay? Hopefully it will manifest to make itself more durable."

[Rebonack]

[Beauty From Ashes]

Leah is no longer holding the hammer.

This is far from ideal for her, as it happens. The shard of Colour in her mind can still protect her from the intruding tendrils of Paarel seeking to devour her hopes and dreams and leaving her body a hollowed out shell filled with the arcane horror's intent but...

Before the hammer and the inspiration from Ohlamel, though they were opposing forces without question, were reinforcing each other's efforts to bulwark against the outside force. But now that the shard is Leah's only defense there's only one option. It has to devour the intruding mental tendrils, steadily swelling fat with power as it does. The alien voice that is somehow Leah's own returns stronger than ever.

I can't die here. I CAN'T. I can see the myriad ways before me and with each moment, each action, the options wither like vines eaten by worms as those possibilities cease. There are still choices that could lead to the Correct Path. There are secrets I know. The flow of time and stone are so alike. Imperceptibly slow and implacable. Matilda is going to try to kill me but I can use the secrets to stop her.

Light.

There's a light.

It was always there, but somehow I never saw it before. A light that glistens with liquid colour and song. I could reach for it and grasp it and use one of these secrets I always knew.

Time. The river carrying me ever on. But it has currents. Eddies. Cast Matilda into a temporal gyre and leave her frozen within a perfectly crystalline moment.
Perception. To see, to feel, to know, a window into without. Seal her senses and leave Matilda insentient. This way has dangers, she might fly into a rage.
Quality. Not perfection, no, not in the malign sense Paarel wields it. But purposefulness. How well a way meanders to the One Way. Quality can be given and so to can it be taken. Mar the claws, blunt the beak, wither the muscles.
Will. The truest, purist of intent manifested upon the world. Once a Way has been decided upon it is through WILL that it is followed. Crush the alien intent intruding upon Matilda and she will be a puppet without strings.

If I combine this Invocation with earth-bending I should be able to incapacitate Matilda. Then I... I just need my hammer. Then I can destroy Paarel's anchor and I'll be a step closer to the One Way.

Matilda, meanwhile, is having her hopes and dreams steadily eaten away at. And in their place is the alien purpose of Paarel. To create beauty above all else. The process would be progressing at a terrifying pace if not for the fact that she got clubbed with Leah's hammer earlier. As it stands now it is a steady burn rather than a raging bonfire.

The impulses are clear enough, though.

Leah is too full of the song of another Saint to be useful to Paarel. She will continue to be a danger to this shrine to Paarel's beauty even once the desecrating hammer is destroyed. The dictum flowing into Matilda's mind are simple. Mar the blasphemous symbol upon the head of the hammer until it is utterly ruined. Once that threat has been dealt with splay Leah open with claw and beak and Paarel will show Matilda how to fashion the remains into something of transcendent beauty.

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

"...Right." Siana nods, not sure what she can do just this moment other than stand around uselessly.

...Actually...

"...Where is it now, exactly? And how far down?" Siana asks, eying her sword. If it's less than about a meter and a half, she has a chance to end this thing right now.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

"No idea how far down, it's presence is just making my skin crawl and I couldn't figure it out where it could be until now. Since it feels close and it couldn't be hiding anywhere else." For reference, the spot Jaahlyn picked for this is a small plaza of an abandoned apartment complex. It's quite open so nothing could hide from them for at least twenty feet away.

The satyr holds out her hand and a black scythe materializes within her grip. "You can feel free to start poking though, it might just panic and make a mistake."

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

Well, it beats standing around and waiting. Siana makes her way to a random spot in the plaza and flips her sword into a reverse grip, holding it so the blade runs parallel to her twisted leg.

Then, without another word, she drives it straight into the ground, all the way up to the hilt, blue sparks flicking off the metal as it glides through the stonework, as readily and easily as if the ground were just the surface of a pool. Just as quickly, Siana withdraws the blade, leaving a triangular hole in the ground where she'd stuck it in.

That... probably didn't do anything on its own. But she intends to do it a few dozen more times. She's bound to influence the creature's movements this way somehow.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hell Bend]

"Start right underneath the orb and then work outwards-" Jaahlyn instructs.

But as soon as Siana have done as instructed she can suddenly feel the earth move underneath her and the next moment something has started to crawl up her leg. Siana might have had bugs doing that before but this is different as while there's the same uncomfortable number of legs moving against her skin these are just a little too wide, a little too sharp. Pressing tightly against her body as the creature climbs it. Making it feel like she's being bitten with every step its many legs take.

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"That does sound somewhat typical for lonesome, extraordinarily powerful beings who receive very little in the way of contact with other thinking creatures. They often have... odd requests," says Sticks. "Which makes them difficult to prepare for."

"We could stand to bring along a few things which might entice such an entity. If you have more ideas," he gestures at Jaahlyn. "I can help with supplying such things, of course."

[Gullara]

Skate Park

Ana's eyebrows raise. "Wow, a couple months? So you were like, figuring all of this out between volleyball practice, huh?" The sheer amount of different types of sports Eliseo juggled on a weekly basis was always a little confounding, even in the lighter seasons where he doesn't have to balance between soccer and basketball and football practice. It also required a sort of boundless energy that the kitsune couldn't help but really appreciate about him.

"But yeah like, I bet you two could figure out some neat tricks together. I mean - you are both like, really cool." Ana smiles up at Eliseo and glances over to Atsede, a certain spark in her eye - and he might realize that for once, he's not the only one who seems to be giving Ana such a positive energy today. It's usually only towards him that she ever seems so... eager? And certainly not around strangers.

[Skate Park]

"I'd be down for that!" Atsede was excited that Eliseo responded the way that he did- not just for the fact that she wanted to learn more tricks, but also for the fact that it meant that maybe she was making enough of an impression on these people that they didn't mind her sticking around.

When Ana calls her cool, her grin widens. She can't help but flick her blue hair over one one of her eyes, and stretch her wings just ever so slightly, unconsciously trying to look just a little bit cooler still. "I bet we could!" She nodded in agreement.

[Skate Park]

"I basically always make room for skating." Eliseo replies to Ana. All the other sports have their seasons, but skating is year round as far as he's concerned. He gives her a bit of a lingering look after that. She sure is cheery today, huh? Hm.

Back to Atsede. "You ever done much on the vert before? It's not, like, fundamentally different from the bowl or a smaller ramp, but it's just kind of more."

[Arkhosia]

Skate Park

Anastasia doesn't notice Eliseo's glance towards her at first, a bit too busy marveling with interest at Atsede's very cool wings. She catches it after a second however - even if she doesn't seem to understand what's going on in his head. She gives him a friendly smile.

[Meowmai]

[Skate Park]

"I've done a bit, y'know, it's not like heights have ever scared me. Cus, y'know" she pointedly directed her thumb over her shoulder at her wings. "But admittedly not a ton." She shrugged. "I can show yah what I know, or something." She said that as nonchalantly as possible, although truth be told, she was a little more nervous when it came to the vertical ramp. The ramp didn't scare her, but she knew from experience she was more likely to bail on it- and she really didn't think that'd help her look cool.

[Gullara]

[Skate Park]

"Sure if you want to. I'd be down to see what you can do on it." Eliseo replies readily.

[Arkhosia]

Skate Park

Anastasia nods in agreement. ”Yeah! It’d be like, super cool getting to see you- uh, yknow, get some air. I’m sure you’re a natural at it.” I mean, she does have bird wings, as Atsede has so helpfully pointed out. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for her image if she ends up having to bail.

[Shadowcaller]

The Toy Tinker

Jim seems a little bit mollified. "Okay. So it's somewhat safe." At least as safe as talking to something called a Leviathan can be. He smiles though.
"I feel like I'm sensing a pattern with fey from your homeworld and their appreciation of music. Who would have thought an entire category of immortals were so cultured?"

[The Toy Tinker]

"That does sound somewhat typical for lonesome, extraordinarily powerful beings who receive very little in the way of contact with other thinking creatures. They often have... odd requests," says Sticks. "Which makes them difficult to prepare for."

"We could stand to bring along a few things which might entice such an entity. If you have more ideas," he gestures at Jaahlyn. "I can help with supplying such things, of course."

The Toy Tinker

"That depends, mister Sticks, what would you ask them for in return?" Since Jaahlyn wasn't perfectly clear on that part yet.
She then turns to Jim. "And plenty of fey ask me to play for them since I'm great at it. But that doesn't mean all of them do, it's just that the great music lovers out there seek me out. I'm something of a celebrity you know?" The satyr claims with a gesture at herself. "Of course, it doesn't seem like people around here appreciate my music." She gestures to her eyes. "They just can't see past these." That combined with the hooves and the horns.

[Ironsmith]

[Hell Bend]

"Start right underneath the orb and then work outwards-" Jaahlyn instructs.

But as soon as Siana have done as instructed she can suddenly feel the earth move underneath her and the next moment something has started to crawl up her leg. Siana might have had bugs doing that before but this is different as while there's the same uncomfortable number of legs moving against her skin these are just a little too wide, a little too sharp. Pressing tightly against her body as the creature climbs it. Making it feel like she's being bitten with every step its many legs take.

[Hell Bend]

Naturally, Siana feels the intrustion long before she sees it, if she sees it at all. And what she feels is...

Unpleasant.

But it's still something she can deal with.

Siana flicks her sword across where the "bug" would be, hoping to bisect it in a clean stroke. If her blade actually makes contact with any of it, those blue sparks will show up again, the result of the magic infused in her sword activating to fulfill the weapon's purpose of cutting down whatever she faces.

She's got to be careful not to cut up her leg, though. She only has the one to stand on. The other might as well be dead weight.