Inside

[Earl of Purple]

A Real Arcade

"Yeah, glamourous. More glamour. That's good, right?" Hopefully that explains glamourous to Asami.

As the man approaches and the goblet appears behind him, Agate reaches around to produce a bow, pulling it back and releasing before realising she needs an arrow, plucking one from her quiver and bringing it back before loosing an arrow properly. Her aim isn't perhaps ideal, as it's not a weapon she's overly familiar with, but she is good at using a pistol and aiming along her arm.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Luckily the shelves are pretty well stocked with the pies.
”I don’t know many other dragons, let alone all the way in Seaside. I think the pies are my famous thing. The boss’ family recipe are the brownies.
Um. This is a local place so we don’t get outside the city often. I guess I’ll get my own business some day but…a mascot? I’d rather be baking. It’s kind of my thing.
Um.

Where are you folks from?”

Better than asking “who are you people?”

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

"From all around the place." The goblin that seems to be the guide replies with a smile. "Well, from seaside specifically. Ithiki isles?"
He seems to be looking for recognition in Rowan's expression only to realize he was staring at someone without humanoid features.
"Dragons are all the rage there lately."
It seems that the tourists kept their questions for the time being, at least until their guide had finished their exchange with the dragon.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan’s face is actually fairly expressive. It’s part of his nature as intentionally designed to be friendly and disarming.
”I know the place. Was there a dragon TV show that blew up or something?” He remembers that they take their media fairly seriously. It’s kind of neat. Could he take a vacation there and be popular?
”I’m sure you folks have seen more uh, classic dragons in Inside. I’m…well I’m not shaped the usual way, and it’s not that my wings are too small.”
His wings are kind of small.

[Morty]

[Destiny Temple]

"If I was sure, maybe, but am I sure? Do I really know best? I've known a lot of people and gods who felt they knew better than others and it rarely ends well." Hiep is half-lying here. Such experiences aren't unknown to her. "Besides, something has to happen, one way or the other. If you start cutting threads of fate left and right, it might unravel. And then we're up shit creek with no paddle in sight."

[[brackets lover]]

[The Closed? Gyre]

Asami looks to the ground absent-mindedly, her breathing starting to pick up a bit as she listens between everyone gathered. She frowns uncertainly, her corona intensifying irritatingly. Right now, it was just around the level of a smartphone at max brightness.

[A Real Arcade]

Agate will find that using the bow is nothing like using a real bow, the sense of touch being a mere illusion created by vibrations and science. The weapons had little weight, as if they wielding pool noodles, and the bowstring slid back as if it was made of air upon coming into contact with the arrow.

Asami follows up Agate's attack by running towards the goblet and slashing her sword across it. The goblet collapses on the ground and begins to blink out of existence.

However, before the duo can celebrate their victory, two more goblets approach in the horizon. Soon after, a third one appears trailing further behind the two.

The old man was still running away in the direction behind Asami and Agate, soon to disappear in the distance.

[Gold]

To Lore & Game

As promised, Octavia is waiting outside the gates of PREP the moment school is over, ready to meet her new friend Micah again. And thanks to her teleportation, her arrival is pretty much on the dot.

Which does mean that she's still covered in the blood of one of the summoned beasts from her Monster Slaying class. Luckily she realizes that after a few moments, and sends a quick wave of white flames over her to burn the stuff off, in the process changing her clothes to a long green jacket over a simple black tshirt and shorts. The jacket is mainly just for aesthetics- she's utterly immune to the season's chill wind.

The angel is excited, both because she's never 'hung out' with a friend before, and because she's never been to a shop before. These are both new and fascinating experiences that she will undoubtedly handle in a normal way. To emphasize that point, she turns her head into a white cube- the most normal of shapes. Then she leans against the wall to wait, looking exceptionally casual and normal and cool.

To Lore & Game

Micah appears at the front gate a minute or so later, waving off one of PREP's many students with an utterly implausible hairstyle. He's wearing the same purple cloak he always wears, with the addition of an unfamiliar mechanical device strapped around his left arm.

Micah looks around briefly before noticing Octavia, walking briskly over when he finds her leaning against the wall. "How's it going, Octavia?" he pleasantly greets her. "You ready to go see the shop?"

[Keeper]

Teacup Street

"Hm. I'm up to...one, two, three different pokemon, and then this. So I'm at six. And I think Khannie is up to at least seven? It's hard to keep track of."
He's not going to go through all of it since he's not actually sure how many different foxes Jade and Khannie can count as.

[quillpleasant]

To Lore & Game

Octavia waves cheerfully as Micah approaches. -greeings, micah cardcaptor! yes, i am ready to go- she says, a spring in her step as she walks up to join him. -you lead the way! unless you'd rather i teleport us, of course- Teleporting would be faster, but a walk can be quite nice.

She glances down at the device on his arm, and her head transforms into a white copy of it. -what is this? some kind of weapon?- Just because she can copy something doesn't mean she understands it- and it's just a visual effect. The inner workings are still a mystery.

[Shadowcaller]

[Destiny Temple]

"If I was sure, maybe, but am I sure? Do I really know best? I've known a lot of people and gods who felt they knew better than others and it rarely ends well." Hiep is half-lying here. Such experiences aren't unknown to her. "Besides, something has to happen, one way or the other. If you start cutting threads of fate left and right, it might unravel. And then we're up shit creek with no paddle in sight."

[The Closed? Gyre]

No, Khannie is just involved in the local Cape scene and as a result keeps up to date on super threats that pop up.

Of course, she tries to keep her Olympia identity hush hush but that's just standard super stuff.

So!

She gets blessed by a magical child! Khannie isn't aware of this, though the tingle in her horn alerts her that something magical is going on. She just doesn't know what.

"Shadow eating dragons sound kinda weird. I'm glad you guys were okay though," Khannie comments, her eyes turning to the destruction. "Well, I think Nightmare Moon will probably forgive us for getting the bun smooshed. We did kinda save the festival by stopping those monsters. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Any reasonable god should accept the sacrifice of beating up monsters trying to ruin a celebration in place of some food offerings for sure.

There's no ringing endorsement from the heavens, but the clouds DO part and reveal the bright full moon shining up in the evening sky for the first time since the disaster started. That might count?

The Closed? Gyre

"Disasters," says Harley, nodding knowingly. Even the kindest gods still seem to cause disasters on the regular, so a god of disaster seems rather fitting.

He strokes his cheek thoughtfully as he remembers the run in with the dragon. "Yeah, it was a cursed skull haunted by, uh... shadows. Apparently the dragon ate shadows or something? I was just glad to get rid of it because the shadows were trying to make me murder people." That had been pretty harrowing indeed.

Well, it seems like the danger really is over. He stashes his knife inside his coat and stretches, groaning. "I gotta stop getting chewed on. You wouldn't believe how stiff it makes you the next day."

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan’s face is actually fairly expressive. It’s part of his nature as intentionally designed to be friendly and disarming.
”I know the place. Was there a dragon TV show that blew up or something?” He remembers that they take their media fairly seriously. It’s kind of neat. Could he take a vacation there and be popular?
”I’m sure you folks have seen more uh, classic dragons in Inside. I’m…well I’m not shaped the usual way, and it’s not that my wings are too small.”
His wings are kind of small.

[Destiny Temple]

"If we don't know best then who does? Fate itself? Or is it those that manipulate fate to their own benefit like those you work for?" Salestrah suddenly accuses. "Since yes, I don't know exactly what will happen when I cut those thread but at least I don't bend it to my will. Since to me it seems like those that wish to preserve fate are the same people that benefit from it."

The Closed? Gyre

"If Nightmoon mare is a cool god we really should get good points for all this saving, yeah." Raheeda nods in agreement but then raises her index-finger.

"Though, uh, the magic child did most of the work of course." She makes another, more respectful, nod in Asami's direction.
Then, giving it a moment of thought, she reaches into one of the inner pockets of her robes and attempts to hand Asami a caramel apple that she got from one of the stands they passed on their way here. "So please accept this humble offering, magic child."

Draco Street Bakery

Clearly he's just been drawn in a style that's too different from the goblins for them to recognize.

"Kind of, but while there are all sort of dragon shows on the air right now it's because of the year of the dragon in just a couple of weeks. I know you landsiders don't celebrate it but most of you have at least heard about it, right?"

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"What, like the zodiac? That's a thing in a few places. I think my boyfriend's world has it? Do you guys always go nuts over the year's given animal? Critter, whatever." He doesn't remember hearing about Carousel Court getting swarmed by tourists during the horse/pony year. Catgirls are always popular though so they probably got swarmed the tiger year and every other year...

[Earl of Purple]

A Real Arcade

Agate is quick to spot the next few goblets, and cries a warning. "Look out, Asam- I mean, Taiyo! There's more coming." She's quick to pull another arrow from her quiver before raising her bow and loosing another arrow at the oncoming monsters. She'll then glance down to see if the quiver's replenishing itself or if she needs to be careful of her arrows, as she pulls another arrow free to use in case the goblet is still standing.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

"What, like the zodiac? That's a thing in a few places. I think my boyfriend's world has it? Do you guys always go nuts over the year's given animal? Critter, whatever." He doesn't remember hearing about Carousel Court getting swarmed by tourists during the horse/pony year. Catgirls are always popular though so they probably got swarmed the tiger year and every other year...

Draco Street Bakery

"Animal? Didn't you just insult yourself right now, pal? But no, normally not to this degree. As I said though, there are a whole bunch of dragon shows starting and dragons are a bit harder to find than say, squids back home. No reason to go landside to find those considering you don't have a lot of 'em."

The guide looks over to the tourists purchasing all manner of bakery, preferably anything that is even remotely associated to dragons. "So that boyfriend, he a dragon too? Or do you get a lot of dragon customers perhaps?"

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"The other eleven zodiac critters are animals; you knew what I meant." Rowan shrugs. He isn't going to say he's any better than the talking tigers and oxen of the world. He can fly and breathe fire so he probably is but he's not going to say it.
"Hm. But if you guys don't have dragons, are you using animation? Or rubber suits?" Simon seems to prefer animation over tokusatsu methods.
"Um, yeah he is. He's doing...tech stuff right now. I do get plenty of draconic customers. Cornelius the owner is a big red dragon."

[Rebonack]

[The Closed Gyre]

"Her name's Asami," Khannie helpfully informs the other two. "Asami? The one with the mask is Raheeda and the one with the uh... other mask. Is Harley."

That isn't very informative, Khannie.

"I met 'em over at the Nightmare Night festival and we were getting an offering put together but then the sky blew up."

As it does occasionally.

But that turned out...

Mooooostly okay?

Mostly.

[Morty]

[Destiny Temple]

"Have you use this blade before? How did it work?" Hiep decides to go for a very direct question.

[The Closed Gyre]

Michalson sits down heavily on the nearest surface. That was far more intense than he's comfortable with these days. His best adventuring days are behind him.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

The guide shrugs. "They're mostly documentaries from what I've seen. But I don't watch much tv. Maybe it's just special effects? But, eh, no offense, just feels like most dragons aren't all that friendly. Have a colleague that went deep into landside and he saw a whole village burnt to the ground, supposedly by a dragon. The tourists got crazy over it of course but I'd would have got the fudge out of there."

At this point the bakery is getting another visitor. A armored woman in a wide-brimmed hat with a large tome carried by a holder at her hip.
The tourists don't pay any attention to her but her gaze settles on Rowan. Hardly the most unusual thing but this lady is at least a but unusual herself.

[Destiny Temple]

"Funny that you should ask that since you might just be about to find out. Since I am curious, what would happen if I would cut you free from your fate? A servant of it. You have any ideas?" She is sounding awfully curious all of sudden.

[bc56]

Teacup Street
"Yeah, it's a mess. I don't want to collect any more, personally. Just... All this is enough of a headache," Jade gestures at her mass of fluffy tails. It takes a lot of grooming to keep them looking nice and not smelling awful.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Well, happy to be the one they get to talk to, I guess." Rowan responds. Though the kobold workers would probably be a little annoyed that they don't count apparently. Especially since they're currently weathering the tide of goblin customers.
"Excuse me, I have other customers. Come in, Ma'am. Can I get you anything?" he calls to the newcomer.

Teacup Street

"I imagine that does make Brushing Day quite the hassle." And now Jace gets to join Khannie in Brushing Day! He doesn't really have to though as unicorns almost always look their best. Even when pregnant.
"But hey, at least you didn't get the power to make yourself pregnant. So that's something?"

[bc56]

Teacup Street
"I hope not!" Jade replies. This is something she's acutely aware of. She's not going to talk about the incident at the BDD, and she's pretty sure it's not what Jace meant anyway. "I'm not ready to have a baby the regular way, let alone... Wait..." You can almost see the gears in Jade's brain turning, "You're pregnant? Is that normal for unicorn males? Like seahorses?" Jade has no idea.

[quillpleasant]

The Closed Gyre

"Harley would be me," says Harley, "Nice to meet you magica- Asami." Raheeda's vocal influence is hard to shake.

And speaking of Raheeda, she's giving Asami an offering. Should he do that too? It's probably good luck to give stuff to a magical child, and she did a lot of heavy lifting in that fight. Better safe than sorry. But he doesn't have much to give except maybe...

Harley presents Asami with his knife. It has a wooden handle and a very sharp iron blade. "My offering to you. A knife!" Kids love knives. He could have sworn he heard that somewhere.

[Morty]

[Destiny Temple]

What would happen? Hiep has no idea, but she suspects Salestrah might be disappointed. To cut her off from fate would mean she would no longer be a Sidereal Exalt, and Exaltations are almost definitionally inviolate.

"I'd either turn into a regular human or die on the spot, I reckon," she says. Then she makes something up. "Or I could be paradoxed back to who I was before my destiny was revealed to me."

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

"Well, happy to be the one they get to talk to, I guess." Rowan responds. Though the kobold workers would probably be a little annoyed that they don't count apparently. Especially since they're currently weathering the tide of goblin customers.
"Excuse me, I have other customers. Come in, Ma'am. Can I get you anything?" he calls to the newcomer.

Draco Street Bakery

The guide probably wouldn't even know that kobolts considered themselves dragons. Since why would they? They're so small!

"Yeah, most of these people didn't even believe there was such a thing as a dragon baker until just now." The guide points his thumb at the tourists. Then he falls quiet, he had more questions about this dragon boyfriend but he supposed those could wait.

The woman's gaze turns upwards when Rowan comes closer as the height difference between them becomes increasingly clearer. Even in all that armor she's not especially tall.
"I'm not a customer actually. I came inquiring about a potential interview with the owner of this place, as in you." She gestures to him.

[Destiny Temple]

"Or your destiny would be too powerful too cut, or it would repair itself instantly." Salestrah theorizes. "Wouldn't it be interesting to know? You don't sound too concerned either way. Is that to come off as less dangerous than you actually are? Lull me into a false sense of security? Why, that might as well be one of the tenants of my faith."

Hiep can't see, nor does she sound any closer than before, but there is someone or something moving around in the room that isn't she or the serpent coiling itself around the exalted. It's just too dark for her to make out anything about them.

[[brackets lover]]

[The Closed Gyre]

Asami accepts the gifts, holding the caramel apple in one hand and the knife in another. "Arigatou!" she exclaims with a smile. Oddly enough, she kept a steady and relatively safe grip on the knife.

[A Real Arcade]

"Yeah, I can see that," replies Asami jocularly. The arrow flies true and strikes the foremost goblet. In response, Asami rushes forth and swings her sword, defeating said goblet. She quickly turns to the other nearby goblet and swings again, causing it to get knocked back slightly. However, it quickly retaliates, nicking Asami with its dagger and lowering her health bar a smidge. She took a step back in slight surprise, clicking her tongue.

Another goblet appears in the distance.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Oh, I'm not the owner of the place. That's a red-scaled gentleman named Cornelius. I'm the head baker, though. I could take a note for you for when he's in?" he offers the armored woman. What could she want to interview Cornelius about? Everyone seems to be hearing about the bakery these days. Maybe word got out somehow? Did Renault mention him to someone?

Teacup Street

"What, did you think I was just fat and I was kidding when I said I was carrying her brother?" Maybe she thought that it was some kind of metaphor.
"Unicorns apparently reproduce when they want to and they're with someone that suits their aspects. And I'd planned on me and Veronica trying once I got my human form back. Kit is just a bundle of thoughts at the moment...but unicorns work how we think we work and I admit my human perspective is coloring my results..." Jace doesn't mind telling Jade this, even though it's rather embarrassing. Maybe he just needs to vent.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

"Oh, I apologize. Let me explain, I am Ambrosia Ithil and I study dragons. I thought just the owner was one but I could interview either one of you." She offers with a gesture at him.

[bc56]

Teacup Street
"I didn't want to bring it up earlier, that's all," Jade defends. Her word choice was rather poor (or her player forgot that it had already come up offhandedly).
"I can't really help you," Jade replies. "I've never had a kid, let alone a magical brainchild. I have my own problems to deal with," her tone implies those problems are serious, or at least seriously irritating.

[Gold]

[To Lore & Game]

"I don't think a teleport is necessary," Micah says quickly. "The shop isn't that far from here."

"Oh, this?" Micah responds, raising his left arm to bring the accessory into full view. "This is a Duel Disk - you use them to make games of Duel Monsters more real. I could show you right now... y'know, if you want," he continues in a tone that indicates he's hoping Octavia will say yes.

[Keeper]

Teacup Street

"Oh I know. No one can help me with this, not even other unicorns. I just need to sit it out for a few more months and then I can handle the louder, more fun part of parenting." At least his foal won't need diapers changed.
"Well, I wish you luck with that. And I can tell Khannie you said hello."

Draco Street Bakery

"Oh." Rowan blinks. He can't imagine anyone wanting to interview him for anything.
"Well, alright. Can you wait maybe half an hour for my lunch break? We have a lot of customers right now." he offers. They'll never have a peaceful interview with this many customers running around the store anyway.

[Rebonack]

[The Closed Gyre]

"I'm gunna get you back to the dorms if that's okay, Asami," Khannie informs the girl that's still on her back.

Who wouldn't want to ride on the back of a unicorn while holding a caramel apple and a knife?

That's every girl's dream isn't it?

"Sorry our festival plans kinda got waylaid by stupid disasters," Khannie says to the others. "But you both did a good job. It's cool that the Nexus has got heroes that can step up. And thanks to you too Mister Officer."

Khannie will offer the beleaguered intersection officer a parting boop with her fuzzy nose. Hopefully a unicorn 'kiss' will help cheer Michalson up a little.

Time to go!