HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

[Shadowcaller]

[Shark to Meet You]

"It was your i- nevermind." Maria must have confused herself. "I've found the food nutritionally sufficient. I fail to see what counts as better than that." Maybe nutritionally rich? That might count.

Maria frowns with concern but takes her seat, carefully maneuvering her robes. "Are... are boars still eaten?" She knows many primitive civilizations hunted them to survive, but surely they've advanced passed the need to do any such hunting. Well nervousness aside, if Anika's gonna to be working on the meal, then Maria can resume reading and that does seem like a win. Maybe Maria should hire someone to get her food all the time. If only they had some kind of food delivery service down here.

Back to the books!

[Shark to Meet You]

She should make a chef-bot for all her culinary needs.

But Anika will be gone for a while. At some point Maria what sounds like an argument from the kitchen but it's brief so whatever it was probably wasn't too serious.

Then the fire alarm goes off for a few seconds.

But that's also brief.

Again, nothing to worry about, right?

Since after that Anika makes her return. Her hair only lightly singed and clad in a chefs apron with the text KISS THE CHEF embroidered into it.
"It's done." She declares with her hands on her hips, striking a pose. "Now we just need to wait for the food to, uh, heat up. In the heat machine." She sits down next to Maria, letting out a sigh of relief. "Phew!" She wipes off the sweat which is making her brow glisten. "With all those goblinydoodles they use in there you figure it should be easier but there's all these things you ought to remember. Really complex stuff. But at least it's a lot faster."

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

Maria should... do something about that? Sinking in her seat until the book all but covers her face sounds like something, right? Especially as the fire alarm goes off. That book is practically glued to her face by the time Anika returns and small amounts of concerned sweat trailing her cheeks.

Anika is still impossible to ignore as she sits down directly next to Maria, the tall night elf getting her attention most directly. The concern only grows as Maria sees the singe marks. "I... uh... appreciate faster? Eating is still overrated. Where did you procure that apron and how literally am I supposed to take it?" Was Anika making a statement about what Maria needed to get on with doing? This was all moving so... fast.

"Do you actually even know how to cook?" Maria inquires. She's hardly one to talk, but it sounded like Anika was as helpless in there as Maria usually is.

[Shadowcaller]

[Shark to Meet You]

The confident of Anika's smile doesn't waver even to a question like that.

"Oh for sure, cutting out the best parts of the meat, spices, the ways to heat it up, all that good stuff." She nods. "But this was something, uh, different. Wasn't even a fireplace in there if you can believe it and all the meat was pre-cut." She gestures back at the kitchen.

"Instead they had a bunch of gooblinydoodles which I wasn't sure what to do with. Thankfully there was a friendly naga in there that helped me out. They might be cursed but they sure know their way around gooblinydoodles."

She leans back in her chair and puts her hands behind her head. "So no we just need to wait for the bell to sound and you'll have the best Sunfletcher recipe out there with all the classic brain foods. Nuts, berries, walnuts, kale, and of course the boar."

A beat.

"Well, uh, there wasn't any actual boar but there was boarfish and I figured that was pretty much the same thing." Why else would they have given it the same name?

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

Only answering one question at a time, why did people keep doing that when Maria had so many and asked them all at once? It probably means the apron was stolen and has nothing to do with being overbearing with her curiosity.

"By 'goblinydoodles' are you referring to utensils or technology? Why is the naga cursed? Is the naga the commander here you were talking about?" That would be more long than tall though, wouldn't it?

"Boarfish is well... a fish and has nothing to do with being a boar. Or rather a family of fish comprised of nineteen different species. They are named such for the structure of their snout and lips that resemble a boar's facial structure. They're probably healthier than a boar as a whole, so that's a net positive." A happy little accident.

[Shadowcaller]

[Shark to Meet You]

"Yeah." Anika unhelpfully answers Maria's first question before already moving on to her other ones.
"And... that's a long story, but there's no commanders here. No VIGIL commanders at least. They're all over in vigil. So it was just a random halo naga I guess. You probably know more about her than I do."

Right? Then again, Maria didn't seem to know a lot of people around here.

Then Maria comes with a some boarfish lore. Very fascinating.
Of course, Anika never had any doubts that it would work in the end and Maria was just confirming it for her now.
"Yeah, I figured it would be good either way since I've cooked fish before too and the naga even made us a sauce for it. Very cool." She gives the thumbs up.

Then she suddenly remembered an earlier question as she notices the text on the apron. "Oh, I mean, if you wanna do what the text says, go ahead." The druid declares with a grin. "I just borrowed the apron since I thought it was cool."

[Keeper]

[Skybase]

"That's not as well-understood as it could be." Vlad admits, stepping to the other side of the pole structure. "It definitely prevents some insubstantial things from getting through; light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, heat, sound, all that jazz. I can't see you from this side of the wall. But, at the same time, so does regular matter, to varying degrees, and the entire nature of the problem is that regular matter doesn't stop ghosts. The quantum sail achieves this through the repulsive forces of electromagnetism, but again, so does regular matter. Perhaps the monopolar nature of the 'sail' will have an effect regular matter doesn't, but I haven't actually had the opportunity to test that."

Skybase

"Okay, well it sounds like it's something worth testing! And either way it should work on other critters like zombies. And possibly house spirits?" A lot of the time brownies and such are physical fey. Just invisible! So that would probably work.
"Not sure if I want to test it on myself though. Just in case it stings."

[Mee]

Entrance Hall

"Okay! Well, like I said, these are the private quarters. If we go down the hall here..."
Henry leads her back in the direction he came from, towards the pool.
"This is the pool. It's pretty big, as you can see. And I think it's filtered with magic because if it was chlorine it would make my gills feel weird. I guess once I get ghost-proof swim trunks I can just pass through the floor and swim in the ocean but I don't think the pressure would be good for me..." Henry does not know if ghosts have to worry about water pressure.

Entrance Hall

"Indeed they are." Naku nods once, making note. This was actually what and where she had been sent to go find. That had been . . . very delightfully easy.
But, tour first.

"Honestly, this deep in the ocean? I would truly hope it is filtered with magic. Though I- . . . is leaving the base, this deep, wise? Even for . . . honestly, anyone not accustomed to those depths?
I am not well versed with water depth, but it is my understanding it can be . . . a Lot."

[Keeper]

Entrance Hall

"Uh. Pretty deep? I'm not really a numbers guy. Unless it's code." Henry used to work IT, after all. And the register. At the same time. Henry scratches his chin idly.
"Properly speaking I can use my ghostly nature to be all immaterial which would theoretically make me immune to the perils of pressure....
....but I don't think I want to test it."

[Gullara]

Fourth Tower Compound

Jim does a few mental calculations in his head, but decides to comfort Jaahlyn when they're done. He can't exactly fault her for getting annoyed by the warlock's attitude.
"Well no, Sticks. She said she wanted me to suffer, and called me by details she'd only know about if she knew about Jay, the disguise I used. So yes, the question is if that was true, or just an exaggeration for effect." He shrugs.
"I don't think I'm good enough of a liar to be unbothered by being livestock. I should hope at least the fact that I have an easy means of undoing anything she hits me with dissuades her.
Shadows spoke to me in my dream when I asked to speak with them and we seemed to part on good enough terms. At least from my impression of them I do not think they would be angered by an attempt to make contact at least." Obviously preparations should still be made. But they didn't seem the FOOLISH MORTALS! type.

[Fourth Tower Compound]

"I would argue that being transformed unwillingly into a completely different being is quite malicious, even if the offending creature did not mean it so. I've known cases where those transformed did not survive such transformations - at least, not wholly as themselves, and if they did not perish outright from shock or lose their minds on the spot. Of course, it's hardly rare for the fey I'm familiar with to kill purely by accident."

Sticks doesn't really have all that much to add here beyond his own insights into solving the problem. "I had considered that, if the use of this 'cold iron' or 'neverath' proved unfeasible, I might attempt a binding of my own. While binding creatures of this kind is not strictly my forte, I possess several items and substances which are spiritually 'heavy'. They exist simultaneously on multiple overlapping bramfatura - that is, distinct metaphysical universes - and resonate heavily with the power I understand to be the immortal 'soul'. Such items are how I create my own craft... how I bind spirits, which are simply intelligences... beings... or blobs of energy that exist on a bramfatura of near but slightly differing alignment." He shrugs. "Perhaps these could capture this creature. Perhaps not. But I have to trust that the fears of my apprentice and lady Jaahlyn are valid, and I would like to seek out the best possible solution."

Fourth Tower Compound

"It's fine." Jaahlyn insists with more force than the had intended and pauses for a moment. "I... just need to cool down."
Then the satyr throws her hands in the air before walking off. "I was of no help anyway it seems."

[Fourth Tower Compound]

"I prefer not to deal with idle speculation when facts are present. The fact of the matter is that Jim is fine right now, and I don't intend to escalate based on a more dangerous hypothetical." Vax replies to Sticks in particular. Then to both of them, "I find it's best to resolve conflicts with fey as peacefully as possible. Incurring the wrath of an immortal being tends to be a losing prospect in the long term. Capture would certainly incur just that, so I'd ask if you're willing to weigh the effectiveness of your techniques against the well being of Jim and perhaps his lineage?"

---

Bontu looks quite tense in reaction to Jaahlyn's emotions. She hates it when people are upset around her. "Ah. Miss Vax can be quite particular. I'm sure it wasn't about you."

[Keeper]

Fourth Tower Compound

Jim fights to keep himself from getting defensive for his boss and get everyone back on track.
"Ma'am." It might be time to just be direct. "Jaahlyn called in a favor to get me fixed up. I can't do that every day. Especially if the woku was telling the truth about wanting me to suffer, which means the grudge is very much already real. But perhaps let's just move on from that."
"Perhaps the most practical thing is to tell us what you plan on doing if you were to help us? That way we can get away from the hypotheticals."
Jim glances away, actually a little embarrassed. "What you would charge is likely also relevant." There is no way this person is not going to charge them.

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

"Long stories are usually the most informative." Maria's notebook edges closer and closer to her hand, as if preparing for a bevvy of information about nagas and curses and Kaldorei. There's a lust in Maria's eyes that's hard to pin down.

Still Maria has to address the other things as well. "Sauce is usually quite unhealthy for you and actually counterproductive to a nutritious meal. It's much better to eat things plain." Flavorless is Maria's go to mode of existence.

The librarian's eyes flick up to Anika's lips and then away with a blush. "Ah, well, uh... it would feel like cheating since it sounds like the naga is doing most of the cooking." Her eyes flick back to those lips again for just a moment, as if second guessing herself.

[Murkus]

[Fourth Tower]

"It doesn't seem to me that the danger is hypothetical. As you say, if a grudge there is, then a grudge this being will hold. It seems as though we're already playing for mortal stakes. And to be perfectly frank... yes, I'd wager my powers against such a creature, if it's necessary. Although I do fear escalation. A permanent solution of my own might incur the wrath of this being's friends, relatives, etcetera... creating a problem that feeds upon itself. I would need to be swift, decisive, and frankly, to do things I would rather not."

"If you have a clear alternative, Vax, I'm very willing to hear it. But we cannot wait and do nothing. I do not think that is wise." Sticks taps his chin with a needle-thin finger. "Perhaps I could contact this creature to negotiate, first of all. I, at least, might be able to protect myself from the creature's depredations, should it turn its powers upon me."

[Ironsmith]

Skybase

"Okay, well it sounds like it's something worth testing! And either way it should work on other critters like zombies. And possibly house spirits?" A lot of the time brownies and such are physical fey. Just invisible! So that would probably work.
"Not sure if I want to test it on myself though. Just in case it stings."

[Skybase]

"Eh, fair enough. Can't guarantee it won't." Vlad agrees, moving the poles together and apparently rolling up the wall between them. "Let me see, let me see... oh, yeah, one more thing you might like." Vlad pulls a small device resembling a fountain pen from the cabinet. "Now, you're going to want to be very careful with this. If you slip up and trigger it accidentally, you'll get ink everywhere. And it stains."

[Shadowcaller]

Fourth Tower Compound

"No, I... got confused." She turns to Bontu, her goat-like eyes staring right ahead, their peculiar shape making it difficult to see just what the satyr is focusing on. "Bontu, right?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "You ever felt like you were in a dream before, Bontu? I heard your drugs can make you feel like that sometimes."

It was rare but a side-effect of the more commonly used drugs used to communicate with spirits could sometimes be the feeling of being in a waking dream. The feeling was described as everything from profound to unnerving but was considered harmless enough since the recommended cure was a good nights sleep or at the very least a nap.

"Like how suddenly your actions seem strange only for you to realize everything around you doesn't make sense with how you remember things. Like you're afraid that your pet is going to die only for you to realize it has been dead for years. Well, I think I got that right now but it's harder for me to tell that my memories aren't in sync with, uh, reality. So I'd like somewhere where I could close my eyes for a little bit."

[Shark to Meet You]

"What? No way! I was putting together all the stuff, she just helped me with the fireplace-machine and all those bowls n' whatnot." Anika is quick to insist.

"Which set fire to my hair by the way." She runs her hand through her singed locks. "So I've made sacrifices for this food, like all good chefs do." The druid nods at her own statement as if to really confirm it. "And if you don't want the sauce, it's optional. I'm pretty sure it's plenty of healthy though. I have never eaten any food that hasn't recovered my health so the question is only 'how much' and I think for this one it's gonna be a lot."

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

"Huh. Well I suppose it would be rude to discount your cooking contributions so readily." Even if they resulted in a literal fire. A very concerning fire.

Maria has to squint at Anika when she says food recovers her health. It takes some time for the librarian to process that. She supposes in a roundabout way that can be true? "Does not eating recover more energy than health?" That's usually why one eats right? "Are you particularly unhealthy? Does this come up a lot?" Anika sure didn't look sickly. She looked fit. Incredibly... fit.
...
Maybe there was some brain damage from smacking into the door over and over with her head. Food surely can't fix that.

[Morty]

[Seminar Room]

"Another Vigil member voiced their suspicions," Calm Reed says. "I decided that, as an Exalted monk, I am well-equipped to investigate."

[A Meeting of Minds]

"Fascinating." Dorota is looking quite enthralled by the drone. "What kind of shapes can they take? Can they operate indefinitely?"

[Shadowcaller]

Lab

"Okay, then let me, um... one second." And as usual in this sort of situation Libra is gonna enter a state of hyper awareness which essentially slows down the world around her.

Since she needed to think about this one.
Get ideas and such.

Looking between the two gals, from her perspective essentially frozen in time along with the rest of the world, she took in their appearances.
So it was clear that they weren't too different in age which might make them look a bit too similar?
But she didn't really have permission from anyone else and these two might figure out she had broken her poorly defined set of rules at one point if she went overboard again.

Could she get an appearance from a dreaming person perhaps? Nah, it'd make it too obvious that she didn't get it from Skye.
What about someone close to Skye? So not her but related to her. Just with some modifications to hide her whoopsie.
Then she’ll just implement the rest like usual.
Yes, that sounded good.
But there was something missing though, something that felt essential. So she was gonna give Artie a new mask ‘cause… ‘cause she wasn’t getting enough interaction, right? She was basically all alone. Would a new mask really help with that?

Probably not.

So she needed something a little bit extra. Some whatdoyoucallit… spice. Something to make it that extra mile or whatever those units of measurement were called.
Skye had been a success in that regard but she had also overstepped her bounds on that one. Yet masks were like new identities, right? All she needed to do was attach some kind of status to it-

Libra snaps her fingers triumphantly, that was it!

All she needed was to handwave the boring parts to give Artie a little shove in the right direction and everything would be just fine. Since the girl could work two jobs, right?

…right? Just how many jobs did people usually have? She rubbed her chin.
Had she ever talked with someone with two jobs? No, she didn’t believe so.
Blast!
Guess people couldn’t work that out, huh?

Okay, okay, but what if she could improve her current job.
Which was-

Libra looks around the room.

-related to funnily shaped glass jars.

Or rather, what was inside those jars she suddenly recalled. What she also recalled was that her boss was perhaps one of the most boring people alive. So no wonder she had such an un-fun life. It would require some serious measures to turn this around.
First of all, she was going to see if she could find that funny item she had seen mentioned when she got that fey-core for Artie. It should be in her memories…

Libra reached out inside the fey’s being only to find it all locked away and not by Artie herself, these had been sealed away by her court. Libra curses to herself. That wouldn’t do. Guessed they must have stepped up security, huh? Well, maybe she could recall it from her own memory then. Wouldn’t be too hard, right? She could just fill in the blanks with her own additions. That way they couldn’t accuse her of recreating it since it obviously wasn’t the same thing and Artie had just gotten it from… a friend.

While it would be no time at all for everyone else to Libra it actually took a while before she was holding the creatively recreated idol or whatever one could call it. Artie- or rather her predecessor had called it her magnum op.. something. Unimportant Libra decided.

What she should be focusing on was if the item would be enough. If not, then, well she had another idea but she was gonna see how the item would work out first.

“Alright.” She declares as she slowed down time to be in line with everyone else. “I’m done-”
However, Libra was now holding in one hand a mask and in the other a ash-grey bowl with serpents carved into its surface. The moment Libra appears the carvings start to move and their eyes start to glow.

While Artie (and Libra) aren’t affected, Skye will start to change. Growing scales all over her body in a cobra-like pattern while her face turns more serpentine and she nearly instantly loses all her hair as it just drops off her.
“-whoops. Uh, I can undo that.”

[Seminar Room]

"Just one member? Or is it more of a widespread belief? Since in that case I could always bring it up with the commanders." Ambrosia suggests.

[A Meeting of Minds]

Ambrosia was pretty sure Utayo had only made them with one specific shape in mind but it was not for her to explain her drones. But the planeswalker always did seem quite excited while discussing them. While she often seemed to want to express her emotions in a subtle manner, much like herself, she had a hard time when it came to her own interests.

[Shark to Meet You]

"Oh, it can recover mana too depending on what you eat, but usually it's what you drink that does that." Anika explains, surprised that Maria didn't know this already.

Then there's a loud clock going off in the kitchen. "Oh!" Anika practically jumps off her chair. "That's the food! I'll be right back!" And then she runs off.

A moment later there's a scream but at least no fire alarms were going off this time.

[Keeper]

Skybase

"Oh, like an octopus escape route device? Cooool." Henry doesn't really know if that would affect ghosts either but he's sure he can get his hands on ectoplasmic ink or something. If nothing else it's kind of funny.
"So these have all been tested, right? Probably on regular stuff and not ghosts." Of course Henry isn't planning on JUST investigating ghosts. There's also zombies. Wights. Really big spiders!

Lab

From Artie's perspective Libra says two things and is suddenly holding a few props. Artie finds herself staring at the bowl, narrowing her eyes.
"Isn't...that...mine?" she says quietly, a feeling on the tip of her tongue but unable to really get anything more specific out of her mind.
Of course, its effects make her nearly jump out of her skin as she turns to Skye. She is reminded immediately of what she found out about her past self at GLoG.
"Okay that's definitely my predecessor's. What are you doing with it here?" she asks, clearly alarmed.

[Ironsmith]

[Skybase]

"Nah. Not nearly enough ink in there for that, and it doesn't really squirt like that so much as leak. But you'd be surprised how many uses there are for a marker that never, ever comes off all the way, especially in a war of information. Need to get a message to someone? Or track a person who can change their appearance? Need to mark something as important without giving away that it is marked or what's so important about it? All viable uses. And being as old-school a tool as it is, none of those new cyberespionage tricks need offset its usefulness." Vlad grins. "Might still be useful in your line of work. And I would not be at all surprised if a formula that robust somehow still worked on ghosts, too."

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

"That is... an exceptionally simplified understanding of how mana works. It is certainly more-" Oh no! The timer! All chefs are slaves to the insistent and loud bzzzt and Anika is no exception. Maria just nods politely in understanding as she runs off.

The librarian starts to put away her notebook again to once more pick up her reading when a scream cuts through the kitchen. She freezes up for a few moments, uncertain of how to respond, or even if she should. After the moment of hesitation, she cautiously makes her way to the doors Anika went through and peeks through. "Has someone been injured? Is there danger? I heard the vocalization of distress."

[Shadowcaller]

[Shark to Meet You]

The kitchen is on the other side with all the modern utensils and appliances kept clean and in good condition by the diligent HALO staff.
And Anika is also there.
She's standing in front of the kitchen sink with cold water running down her hand while stomping her feet feverishly on the floor. "OWOWOWOWOW!"

But there's another person in there, one Maria might be familiar with. It's the 'naga' dressed in a apron and wearing oven gloves as she's placing a large over tray filled with a seemingly random assortment of foods on the counter. Must be the meal Anika was talking about.

"Oh hi Maria." Zhareen greets her with a wave as she puts down the food. "Your friend here, uh, got a bit excited and tried to take this out with her bare hands. Not to worry though, it's all being taken care of." She nods her expression calm, almost zen-like.

[Reinholdt]

[Shark to Meet You]

Oh RIGHT. That naga. The one that helped Maria with her compilation work on the King in Rags. She was still here? Maybe she never left. Huh. She was an adequate assistant. Uhh... whatever her name was. Was she cursed? Maria would have to ask her about that later. Maybe Maria could research a counter, or at least a way to relieve the symptoms.

Maria politely waves back to Zhareen. "Yeah, umm, she does that." Anika is easily excited from what Maria can tell. She frowns a little and almost returns to her table but steps inside instead, walking over to the sink. "Here, allow me," Maria offers, holding out her hand.

If Anika accepts, the librarian will trace her finger on the Night Elf's palm in an elaborate design and speak a few incoherent words from a long dead language. A balming spell that should relieve the aches and heal the burns faster than cold water can.

[Halae]

[Lab]

Skye takes very good care of her hair. She has silky black curls that hang around her head, given great attention and a thorough brushing every day as part of her morning routine. When she came to the Nexus and was introduced to hair care products and all these things claiming to improve your hair, she did a great amount of research on it all to ensure she was using the best things possible. Even the fact that her hair is quite long - even if it's held out of her face with a bandanna - is an indulgence for herself, as in any kind of practical situation she should have shorn it short. It's an important point of her vanity.

And Libra just made it fall out.

Skye doesn't even really care about the scales on her skin yet. She's just staring in wordless horror as her hair drops off her scalp and onto the ground.

And then Libra speaks, about fixing it. Skye's gaze promises a deep, dark murder if she doesn't. And Skye's throat is far too emotionally constricted for proper words at the moment, but hey, that gaze should communicate her feelings on the matter quite well.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lab]

Libra nervously runs her hands through her own long hair which, like the rest of her, appears to be made up of a star sky. "As I said, one second. Undoing."

She makes a twisting motion in the air, as if turning a dial, and suddenly Skye's hair regrows. Returning exactly the way it was. The rest of her remains unchanged however which begs the question how hair grows out of scales but Libra is certainly not the one to answer that question.

"There we go! See? Good as new. Just gotta put away this naughty little boy somewhere." She hands over both the bowl and the mask to Artie, expecting her to take them. "And that's, uh, a gift from me to you. Figured you might be able to do something interesting with it. Like making it stop doing that thing it just did. It's super-powerful y'know? Probably has all sort of alche-medical things it can do."

If Artie does accept the items the bowl does seem to react to her touch. Starting to fill up with a strange liquid.

[Shark to Meet You]

"I did try to warn her..." But judging by the cutting board, the 'naga' was busy cutting vegetables for her own meal preparations.

Anika cautiously accepts Maria's help, her amber-glowing eyes widening as her burns heal right before her eyes.
"You're a healer too?! Wow!" She holds her healed hand back, turning it over as she looks over it before turning her attention back to Maria. "So what class are you? Priest? Shaman?"

[Keeper]

[Skybase]

"Nah. Not nearly enough ink in there for that, and it doesn't really squirt like that so much as leak. But you'd be surprised how many uses there are for a marker that never, ever comes off all the way, especially in a war of information. Need to get a message to someone? Or track a person who can change their appearance? Need to mark something as important without giving away that it is marked or what's so important about it? All viable uses. And being as old-school a tool as it is, none of those new cyberespionage tricks need offset its usefulness." Vlad grins. "Might still be useful in your line of work. And I would not be at all surprised if a formula that robust somehow still worked on ghosts, too."

Skybase

Henry nods gravely. Truly this is the most dangerous thing he has ever been trusted with. It’s second only to a glitter bomb.
”Okay. Well, there was just one last thing. I forgot to mention, but I kind of…like going to the pool. So I know you said that it’s no problem to make the clothes waterproof…but is there a way to make a pair that actually look like swim trunks?”
He just thinks he’ll look really weird wearing dress pants in the ocean.

Lab

Well, Artie certainly seems confused as the mask and the mysterious glowing bowl are shoved into her hands.
”Um. Why exactly do I need a bowl that turns people into snakefolk? Can I undo that?” she asks as she looks over Skye’s scales, completely bewildered.

[Halae]

Lab

"Yes, please," Skye says, mollified by the return of her luxurious locks, which she has a hand in already, "I am not a cobra. I don't appreciate being turned into one against my will. It's even just scales on my skin! If it was more, maybe I'd understand it, but I just feel incomplete either way."

That may be poor phrasing in front of Libra.

[Shadowcaller]

Lab

"It doesn't just do that. Pretty sure it can do the opposite too. I honestly glanced over the details but you can like do, uh, the kind of animal that humans are too. I think it's like mixing stuff y'know? You add one thing and get a different result." Libra reaches out to touch the bowl.

"Let's see here-" The moment she touches the bowl the eyes of the serpent glow and the liquid that the bowl had filled up with is quickly drained again.
And the very next moment Skye will find that her legs are gone, replaced by a serpentine tail much like Artie's, expect with the same scale pattern.
Her eyes also change, becoming more reptilian as she loses the ability to blink along with her eyelids. Her tongue longer and forked, able to pick up smells previously only Artie could sense. This might make her more perceptive to just how much (or little) effort Artie has put into her own smells.

"-oh, okay. I don't think that was it. Maybe you need a human or something?"

[Keeper]

Lab

”Libra the kind of animal humans are is humans.” Unless she’s talking about something more general like just any primate.
”Oh, dear. Are you sure this needs to be a thing? Where did it even come from? Anyway Skye is looking even more ophidian than I am in the face…” It’s a bit up for debate, since Artie has feathers instead of hair but does have eyelids. Per Orobou rules however she does not have a snake’s tongue.
It is also immediately apparent that Artie is slowly secreting perfume out of the rattle at the end of her tail. But of course, that’s something Skye probably already noticed. It’s not subtle, even if it’s not overbearing.
”If we need a human I could ask Dorota but that would put her at risk. But the stranger thing is that if it’s mixing essences, how is it getting cobra? Least of all before I even touched it. There isn’t any cobra in my genetics. I’m actually mostly composed of constrictor genes along with avian and a little frog, believe it or not, which-“ she’s going to start biology-babbling if no one stops her.

[Halae]

Lab

This is about when Skye starts to panic.

"LIBRA!" she shrieks, reaching out to grab the 'wish granter', "I can't- my legs! And I can't close my eyes! Change me back! Change me back!"

[Shadowcaller]

Lab

Libra shrugs. "Uh, it's a snake isn't it? They're all... kinda the same, right?" Libra's expression suggests she already knows she's in wrong though. "Maybe I should fix that-"

Then Skye starts shouting at her which makes her raise her hands in surrender.
"Oh geez, relax. Let's just let Artie handle the artifact and we can go to a private room and deal with that. I'll let you edit yourself completely. No charge. Otherwise it might just change you into a snake-woman again, won't it?" She floats towards the nearest door, gesturing for Skye to follow.