Outside: Grass touch place

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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Shadowcaller wrote: Apr 24, 2023 7:36 pm [Well Training]

Ambrosia raises an eyebrow. Now that was not what she expected to get refuted. Curious.

"At first glance perhaps. But humans are as diverse as everything else here. Did you for instance know that Wenomir lacks a soul? It's completely absent in him while clearly present in other humans such as his co-worker commander Mithar. Yet her soul is radically different from other humans I've met around here. I'm digressing though. The point I wanted to make is that we all filter the nexus through our own lenses. Try to understand it by our own terms. Which is all well and good. But that instinct makes it easy to make the assumption that everything is the same when its not."

She makes a dismissive gesture. "But you're right in that one probably shouldn't make that assumption however. Not right away at least. I've just studied this place for quite a while now. It effects your basic understanding of things."
Morty wrote: Apr 24, 2023 10:00 pm [Well Training]

"The tea should be ready soon," Thariza comments as she steps away from the pot. "That the High Legions needed an external enemy to keep the peace is something I understood while I was here. Once I started thinking about it. Before, I was... rolling with what made sense at the time."
[Well Training]

"I think we all roll with what makes sense at the time," Emily says, "Everybody's got a limited perspective. There's tricks to try and broaden it, but I suppose that's the entire point of seeking knowledge and learning from teachers, right?"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Hunting Lodge
"Uh, right." The constant "uh"-ing and hesitation will probably be a problem. It's hard to take a dream vision seriously if your goddess keeps stammering. "We, uh, have some time, I can, uh, work through what needs to be said."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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bc56 wrote: May 02, 2023 2:41 am Maids on a Train
"I'm no good at magic, you're better off asking someone else," Jade answers, "I know just enough to know it's an absolute pain, it's completely inexplicable, it never seems to work the way I need it to, and it goes out of its way to make my life miserable, almost as if it has a mind of its own," Hopefully that duster doesn't actually function as a magic wand, or it might end up proving Jade's point.

[Maids on a Train]

Fortunately, magic feels like playing nice with Jade today, only changing her outfit and not actually changing her. It's almost certainly because magic feels for her after changing her so much, and not at all because the magic used to create the maid outfit was only set to transform nonliving objects up until the point where the magic energy was used up.

The mermaid is a little disappointed that the duster didn't cause a magic gust of wind when she swung it like a wand.
"I dunno, magic sounds really fun," she argues. "I mean, every time I've seen magic, it's been, like, Wow! So cool."

The mermaid pretends to dust off the seat in front of her.
"I'm sure if I found the right person, I could get them to teach me all the cool magics. Maybe that's what you're missing, too. If you find someone who's the best at teaching it, it'll work the way you want it to."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Hunting Lodge]

"Yes... public speaking is a skill that has to be honed." Silent Feathers decides to phrase it delicately. "I fear I may be a little rusty myself, but I can give you some pointers. What about Zhelshu, if that's indeed her name? She seems interested in helping you."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Maids on a Train
"I haven't found anyone who can teach it to my satisfaction," Jade replies. She tried taking classes, but her questions could never be answered. "Where does the energy from my fire come from?" "What happens to my mass when I turn into a fox?" And so on. Scientific questions about an unscientific field. If she could suspend her disbelief, maybe she would manage to make magic work.

Hunting Lodge
"I, uh," Sekhmet thinks. "Zhelshu" really does seem like she wants to help, but her demeanor has been less than ideal for what Sekhmet wants to deal with. "I don't really trust her, but if you think she could help..."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Hunting Lodge]

Given how well Zhelshu got along with his people, it's no surprise Sekhmet doesn't think much of her.

"She is an odd one, to be certain. She has power not of this world and sees things not even you or I can see. Her sensibilities clash with yours, but I do think she wants to help you. I wouldn't dismiss her too easily. An outsider like her might be what you need to approach your situation on your own terms."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Morty wrote: Apr 29, 2023 5:39 pm [Riverside Moonwell]

Oddly, Hiep does nothing to protect herself against the blast. She takes the full brunt of it with a sense of resignation and acceptance. She's hurled back like a rag doll...

...and then she's back. Snapping back into her previous place as if nothing happened. Her sandals glow briefly as this occurs and, with a confident smile of her own on her face, she aims a spinning roundhouse kick at the goblin's head. One that reflects the aggression of his own attack.
Murkus wrote: May 03, 2023 4:20 pm

[Hog Heaven]

"Oh, you didn't actually get gashed, did you?" Tsumi looks like she'd rather that didn't happen. "I'm pretty sure you bruised my ass, at least, if it makes you feel better."

"To answer your question, just the cute ones," Tsumi says, leaning on her sword. "And the ones that might let me cut them out of their clothes, apparently." She flushes a little, but winks.
Halae wrote: May 03, 2023 11:38 pm [Well Training]

"I think we all roll with what makes sense at the time," Emily says, "Everybody's got a limited perspective. There's tricks to try and broaden it, but I suppose that's the entire point of seeking knowledge and learning from teachers, right?"
[Riverside Moonwell]

The goblin has to do a double-take as Hiep snaps back into place but his instincts are still quick enough to react to a kick coming for his face. He puts up his hands in defense and this time there's no redirecting going on. Instead a white force field forms from his palms which soaks most of the attack. Making it feel like Hiep just struck a solid wall.
The goblin takes that moment to try to make his escape as he scampers off to the side towards his underlings. "Fools!"

[Hog Heaven]

"It isn't bad. I'm barely bleeding at all." Dena responds with a smirk as she shows the hand she used to investigate the gash with. Which is now partly covered in blood. "But I dunno what better outcome you expected from swinging the sharp end of a weapon at me. Since this is ideal really. All I need is some bandage. Maybe just a band-aid." She shrugs. "As far as first-duels go, I'd call this one a success."

[Well Training]

The scholar nods. "Indeed, it reminds me of a saying my father uses. That when someone dies a world dies with them. So we should strive to understand that world as much as possible before it disappears forever. Or at least that was his take on it. The way I choose to see it is that we broaden our perspective by understanding people who doesn't share our own." She gestures to Emily. "That's why I found your perspective on the tea ritual so interesting."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Barren rock, deep in the woods]

It's spring. The forest is filled with sound, with various birds chirping, cooing and crowing to each other in greeting, in challenge and in passion. Amidst the trees, there is a clearing, and a bare rocky outcrop rising a bit above the rest of the terrain. Between the rocks, there is a shallow cave. Moss around its mouth is charred, lichen dried and brittle. The air shimmers from great heat. A single crimson eye, almost as big as the mouth itself, opens up in the darkness and looks out.

It's slept for long enough. It's time.

A deer grazing near the rock takes one look at it, then turns and runs. Squirrels on the trees freeze, then scurry away. Birds let out alarm cries and fly off in great swarms. In a few a moments, the forest that was alive with sound falls eeriely quiet... save for the rumbling.

The earth quakes, the rock being lifted up and pushed through the ground. Trees at the edges of the clearing creak and moan as their roots are torn from the ground. Then, as two fiery wings are opened with great force, the roots snap, the trees shake and fall, and the rock itself is flung high into the air along with tons and tons of soil. As it begins falling down, the main mass of stone is smashed into gravel by a giant steel beak, the shattered pieces raining on coal black, armor-like feathers.

Bristling its feather, shaking dirt off its body, the Red Rooster rises above the treetops. The King Bird has been roused from its slumber, and all creation ought to know it. It draws in air, then lets out it cry:

"KRA-KRA-KRAAAA!"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Hunting Lodge
"I don't see how," Sekhmet counters. "She might want to help, but her motives are entirely different from mine." Sekhmet is aware that Hiep is only interested in solving this problem because it might give her a chance to sleep with the one priestess.
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Riverside Moonwell]

Damn, but this little creep has some tricks up his sleeve.

"You're the one who willingly came back for another ass-kicking!"

She pursues the enemy relentlessly and tries to jump at him and tackle him to the ground. Which might end poorly for her if he throws up another force-field.

[Well Training]

"Yeah. I was... adrift for a while. After coming here." She's skipping some details here, obviously. "Then I met Ambrosia and started looking for a purpose that wasn't just obeying orders."

[Hunting Lodge]

"What are her motives, precisely? She was oblique. I get the impression she was playing a role when speaking to me. But one she wears like a second skin... a destiny imposed on her. Curious." The ancient fey strokes his long chin. "She's a reckless thrill-seeker but I think she has a duty of some kind to uphold."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Well Training]

"I think I know what that's like," there's a dark cast to Emily's expression. That wasn't a good time for her, "There's a difference between finding a purpose and deciding on a purpose, and that's something a lot of people miss. The latter takes perspective and some level of objectivity."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Hunting Lodge
"I, uh, have a sense for, uh, certain types of motives," Sekhmet seems a bit embarrassed about what she's saying. "She's, uh, attracted to one of my priestesses and hopes working with me will give her a chance to sleep with her." It's clear Sekhmet does not approve.
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Hunting Lodge]

Silent Feathers gives a rumbling chuckle, sounding very much like a dragon.

"This does not surprise me. But I do not think that's all there is to it. Take it from someone who also has a lot of experience with such motives. And she did bring you to me, which may well help us both if we play our cards right. You will do what you think is best, but I advise you to speak with her, at least."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Morty wrote: May 07, 2023 10:53 pm [Riverside Moonwell]

Damn, but this little creep has some tricks up his sleeve.

"You're the one who willingly came back for another ass-kicking!"

She pursues the enemy relentlessly and tries to jump at him and tackle him to the ground. Which might end poorly for her if he throws up another force-field.

[Well Training]

"Yeah. I was... adrift for a while. After coming here." She's skipping some details here, obviously. "Then I met Ambrosia and started looking for a purpose that wasn't just obeying orders."
Halae wrote: May 07, 2023 10:57 pm [Well Training]

"I think I know what that's like," there's a dark cast to Emily's expression. That wasn't a good time for her, "There's a difference between finding a purpose and deciding on a purpose, and that's something a lot of people miss. The latter takes perspective and some level of objectivity."
[Riverside Moonwell]

Anika also comes charging after the little gremlin, stumbling at first but quickly building up momentum again.
This time the goblin isn't putting up a force wall though. Instead he jumps up on a tree and then quickly disappears up into its canopy.

"Inferior beasts!" Then comes a shout from above them.

[Well Training]

"It's said that you never stop growing as a person for as long as you live. But I'm not so sure about that. I believe that at some point growth doesn't happen naturally. One has to put effort into it." She eyes her two companions. "It seems like you two would understand that notion quite well. Since growing can also be quite painful." Ambrosia now fully focuses on Emily. "So what sort of growth do you hope to accomplish with me and Thariza, Emily?"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Riverside Moonwell]

"Says the little runt hiding in a tree!" Hiep kicks the tree for emphasis. "Get out of here and take your goons with you!"

[Well Training]

"And some people manage to avoid growing their whole lives," Thariza points out. "But growth through pain... yeah, I understand it well."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Well Training]

Emily smiles sadly to Thariza for a moment. She's had her own fair amount of growth through pain; a bit of empathy there dances in her yellow eyes.

"I'm hoping for the kind of growth that's gained through hard work, rather than through emotional catharsis and shenanigans. Sometimes, events just kind of happen and you very much want them to stop, you know? While I'd never turn down a challenge or a chance to grow, I do feel like a maid sometimes. I just want everything to go right and for it to be a calm, informative, and interesting experience this time. Philosophy instead of fighting."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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bc56 wrote: May 05, 2023 11:07 pm Maids on a Train
"I haven't found anyone who can teach it to my satisfaction," Jade replies. She tried taking classes, but her questions could never be answered. "Where does the energy from my fire come from?" "What happens to my mass when I turn into a fox?" And so on. Scientific questions about an unscientific field. If she could suspend her disbelief, maybe she would manage to make magic work.

[Maids on a Train]

"Oh. yeah! I totes get you," the mermaid says, nodding as if she understands something profound. "One time, I had a math teacher. They couldn't come up with a single real-world application for the math they were teaching! And I was, like, 'How am I supposed to learn this math if it's not actually real', right?"

The mermaid puts the feather duster back where she found it.
"Luckily, though, I kept on studying and eventually found someone who understood math well enough to know it wasn't just numbers and stuff."

And so, the mermaid finds herself relating to Jade just a little more.
Somehow.
Because in her mind, theoretical math is pretty equivalent to magic.
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Riverside Moonwell]

"I w-will not!" The creature grunts, clearly focusing on clinging on as Hiep kicks the tree. Causing it to sway violently.

See, this was Hiep's problem to Anika.
She had the right solution to the problem but she was afraid to commit to it.

The druid wasn't though.

Which is why she runs straight into the tree, head first.
Hiep won't see the aftermath however as the next thing she knows is the goblin falling straight onto her head as he's shaken out of the tree. Now trying to clamber onto her for dear life. Just as said minions start another assault on the pair as she catches brief glimpses of movements where the goblins arms isn't covering her vision.

[Well Training]

"Their whole adult lives perhaps. People usually at least get out of childhood." Ambrosia corrects herself as Thariza points this out.
Then she looks to Emily again. "Ah, as you no doubt know, Emily, the world is fickle. While I hope to give you that sort of experience, I cannot guarantee anything. But think of it like this, while we can't control what happens we can control our reactions to it and what's 'interesting' is in the eye of the beholder isn't it? What I had in mind though was once we had our tea Thariza and you should have another duel of sort. Does that sound good to you? I find rematches more useful for training purposes as it shows how much you've learned of one another."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Riverside Moonwell]

Why that little- Hiep only caught a glimpse of the attackers before their so-called leader obscured her vision. So, only one thing left to do. She charges towards them and tries to headbutt one of them with great force - the goblin creature still attached to her face.

[Well Training]

"My life was all you'd expect from an Iron Legion soldier... until it wasn't." Thariza shrugs. "I wouldn't mind a rematch, for sure. I know what to expect now."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Barren rock, deep in the woods]

That was definitely dramatic.

One moment a pristine, idyllic forest scene.

Now a crater of tilled earth, shattered trees, sundered stones, and one great big giant burning rooster. Or maybe not burning. It was burning last time, right? Pretty sure it was burning last time. Seems more like an iron hellfire rooster this time maybe? Good chance that'll become clear as time goes on.

"Hi."

At the edge of the devastation, sitting atop the crown of a tree that was perhaps a meter away from getting uprooted as well, sits a completely unremarkable human female in the sort of attire one might expect from a person out for a walk. It isn't immediately obvious how long she's been sitting there. It looks like it might be a little uncomfortable, too, given how the branches are sagging under her weight a bit.

It's...

Difficult.

To nail down details. But the mind fills them in. She's what one EXPECTS an unremarkable human female to look like. And given the King Bird's attitude with respect to humans details probably don't matter all that much.

"You're the bird that was burning villages, right?" the definitely not in the least bit unusual human female asks. "Normally when quests like this pop up in my journal I find some intrepid heroes to go save the day. But I'm thinking that already happened once and it didn't stick so probably I should tend to this one personally. So we've got two options here!"

She begins ticking off fingers.

"One. We decide to be friends and you swear off razing villages in favor of being a fine upstanding citizen of the Nexus."

Finger one.

"Two. Violence happens until you can't raze villages anymore."

Finger two.

"My daughter thinks I should give the trouble makers a bit more of a chance to make peace because of course she does. And who could say no to that face? Everyone is stronger together rather than alone. And it's sheer Determination to see a brighter future that keeps us all together. We face hardships. We overcome them. We're refined in the smelter's crucible and we're stronger for it. So I guess what I'm saying is that you've got a chance, Big-Bird. You can be part of our Nexus community. You can try being a neighbor and a friend. Or-"

She rolls her shoulders, locking her gaze with the huge cockerel. There's a depth to the woman's eyes that ought not be there. A void that one could tumble into endlessly without ever finding the bottom.

"-you can keep being a monster, trusting in your own strength alone, and using it to ruin other's lives."

The woman flashes a friendly smile, kicking her feet playfully.

"So! What's it going to be today? Best buds or spicy chicken wings?"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Barren rock, deep in the woods]

The Rooster is, indeed, a lot more substantial than before, having reformed in the bowels of earth. But it still looks like flame made into flesh as sunlight reflect of golden-orange feathers of its wings and the crimson crest on its head. It pays next to no attention to the woman, instead focusing on grooming itself - she looks like an entirely unremarkable human woman, after all. It really only hears one word of her speech, which is just off enough for it to stop for a moment and aim one, crimson eye at her.

How did this lone woman wander here and what nonsense is she prattling?

The rooster doesn't care all that much. It turns its gaze towards the sky and tenses its legs. It's preparing to take flight, and will go on its merry way if she doesn't stop it.
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Hunting Lodge
Sekhmet acquiesces. "I'll, uh, go find her." Feathers is right about one thing. She will do what she thinks is best, which may not be working with Hiep. She exits the grove and makes for the village to find the sidereal.

Maids on a Train
Jade is good at math. She likes math. She does not like that comparison. "No. Math works. It's corroborated by physics and other sciences. I can look at a math equation and find a solution. Magic is insane," she feels strongly about this, "It violates all the laws of physics and works off weird, subjective metrics. Like this dress," she fingers the skirt of her garment. The mermaid probably remembers it was a tank top and jeans earlier. "There's no rational explanation for how putting on this headband altered my clothes. How it transmuted denim into... Whatever this fabric is. If I turn into a fox," She does so, becoming a nine-tailed red fox in a matter of instants (it's the only magic she can reliably do), "Where does all my mass go? I just lost around a hundred pounds. The law of conservation of mass says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. There's no way to reconcile it."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Barren rock, deep in the woods]

Zee frowns as the bird ignores her, fiddling with his giant DOOM FEATHERS instead of paying attention to her REALLY COOL SPEECH.

She had worked hard on that!

And the rooster completely blew it off!

Man, it's totally true. Birds are jerks.

The utterly unremarkable woman just glowers a bit at the rooster as he takes flight, the gust of his wings very likely knocking her from her perch atop the already somewhat bent tree.

Ostensibly that should have been the end of the encounter. There's no way a totally normal human would be able to keep up with the king of cockerels in flight. However, something very odd will transpire. When the Rooster finally gets around to landing again, regardless of how far away his flight takes him, he'll find that exact same unremarkable looking human waiting for him.

Arms crossed.

A strained smile on her face.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice about this and you're being a jerk," she informs the bird. "So let's try again. You set a village on fire. That's not okay. Stop using your power to torment people or I'm going to have to do something about that."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[Hunting Lodge]

Sekhmet will find Hiep easily enough, with the villagers' help. The Sidereal is laying under a tree, watching an elven man (one of the three she met when she and Sekhmet arrived) teach a group of teenagers how to shoot a bow. Nhay, her deer, is napping on the grass nearby. Hiep looks up when Sekhmet arrives.

"So, how did it go?"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[A Rooster's Flight]

The force required to lift the bulk of the beast off the ground is immense, and as Zee expected, the flap of its wings makes the trees shake like a sudden storm.

Chickens are not known for their flying skills, but this one has learned to manage. It soars high and then glides over lakes and trees. It has no clear idea where its going yet. It is simply enjoying itself.

After some hours, it spots an open field of grass where some bovines are grazing. No humans in sight, so they might be wild. The herd is scared into motion as the rooster's shadow passes over them. Sadly, they can not run fast enough. After flying in a wide circle, the rooster descends, sinking its feet deep in the ground before the fleeing herd. The mass of animals splits like a wave crashing against a rock, even though none of the animals really touch the mighty bird. Not until it decides to catch a few of them in its beak.

Chickens are omnivores. While they mostly eat insects, seeds and fruit, a plucky rooster might catch a tiny reptile or even a snake. All such things are of course insignificantly small to a rooster of this size. If it wants to eat, it has to eat something of more substantial size. That's why it now plucks a full-grown bull off the ground as if it was an earthworm. The rooster throws it high in the air and then swallows it hole as it falls.

Only after this does it start to notice the woman. It blinks, once, and clucks, once, in confusion. It stretches its neck tall and turns its head, spying as far as it can with its crimson eyes, and it can spy quite far even while on the ground.

Nope, no sign of other humans. This is now the second insignificant wench that has wandered on its path from out of nowhere. Yep, second, in the rooster's counting. The woman is too unremarkable for it to recognize as the same.

What she says still falls on deaf ears. The rooster is confused how she's here, but that doesn't mean it is listening.
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Shadowcaller wrote: Mar 01, 2023 11:40 pm [Tower of Oujet]

One zombie down, two playing a game of twister.
If there are any other Anika will charge them and give them a nice shave and haircut.
She will continue to act as a bearber for the zombies that get close. Just running about tearing off random limbs for the undead that they might feel they needed to move.
Magtok wrote: Mar 10, 2023 9:46 am Not a fight goes by where Saint Lazarus isn't grateful for the presence of her armor, but this seems like an especially wonderful time to be covered in iron plating. Those obsidian teeth will surely crack and shatter on her armor, but even if they don't, even if some foul magic is empowering them, or they wise up and start gnawing at joints and her neck, that's what the zweihander is for. Pulling it out of the side of the bus, she twirls the blade's grip in her palms, a little twisting motion before she clamps her hands down on the sword's hilt and goes to town on those toothy tentacles.

"HAAAAGH!" she screams, before doing her best lumberjack impersonation as she sets about felling every tentacle she can. Maybe once she's cleared a path and cut through enough of the awful eel-esque abominations, she can bury her huge sword into the squidbus's skull, but for now all her energy is on cutting and slicing, as well as stomping down on any serpentine appendage that dares slither underfoot. This bus is going down and she doesn't care how many stupid mouths it's going to take to get there.
[Tower of Oujet]

Laz just tears into those tentacles but they are, of course, a distraction. They exist for the sole purpose of keeping her occupied to prevent her from doing damage to parts of the squidbus that are actually important for it to continue to function. Like its head. Or the places where the tings attach to the body. If those got messed up then this thing would be in real trouble!

But no.

It's going to keep sprouting more of those awful snake-like chompy bits to continue biting at Laz. Sure they have a lot of trouble getting through her armor, but that really doesn't matter. So long as she's occupied they're doing their job.

This is, of course, when things get worse.

A large bloody boil bulges up out of the monster's impure flesh in Laz' proximity, rapidly growing larger until it explodes violently. This of course sprays boiling blood chalk full of corrupt chaos magic everywhere like some sort of eldritch bomb.

Meanwhile!

Anika savages some more zombies!

About the time this is happening something ELSE important happens.

Remember that little circle symbol on the controls for the giant magical death laser?

It's filled up and now it's making a quiet but rather insistent beeping noise, causing the big red SHOOT! button to begin flashing. Will Anika manage to see through the haze of battle and realize that there's a nice big tempting button to push?

Stay tuned!

Murkus wrote: Mar 18, 2023 11:33 pm[Clutching Pearls]

Vargain listens quite patiently to Lapis as he follows her along, gradually returning to the forest floor himself... and he laughs richly as the pearl plunks to the forest floor. "The luck of children..." He intones with a shake of his head, smiling.

"While I don't know that I agree with your mother, Lapis, far be it from me to put you off such an attitude. There are many worse ways to think," says Vargain. He looks up amongst the trees. "Do you truly believe our kindness goes somewhere, Lapis? That it might come back to us? And what of our misdeeds, then?"

[Clutching Pearls]

The trees are certainly dense here, great stretching glowing things with park of deep glittering purples shot through with veins of electric blue and crimson. All manner of little creatures are scurrying about on their own ineffable errands. And of course the ape is up there taking bites out of the muffin in between screeching at ANOTHER ape that has realized that the first ape has food that he doesn't.

"Luck isn't real Mister Vargain it's just pretend," Lapis says as she stows the pearl in her inventory along with the other ones. That mostly consists of stuffing it into her backpack which by all accounts shouldn't be able to hold all the nonsense she has in there. She sounds extremely certain of her proclamation there. The sort of certainty usually reserved for children who don't know any better.

"Mother knows lots of things about things, she's really big and really smart!" Lapis declares as she pushes some luminous grasses aside to reveal another clearing. This one is dominated by a huge mound of vegetation easily twenty feet tall. From its broad peak comes motes of blue-green light that drift up into the air and vanish in little pops of luminescence like soap bubbles. A quiet humming sound drifts from the mound and little colorful birds are flitting about, poking at the motes with their beaks.

Lapis begins trudging up the hill.

It's pretty steep!

"Goodness and truth and beauty and justice are all real things, Mister Vargain. Maybe even more real than anything else! And you can always make more. But sometimes people get confused about what those things are and mistake them for other things because people aren't Correct. My Path is all about dividing. And sometimes if you divide something then people can see really easy which parts are nice and which parts are icky," Lapis rambles as she grasps a tuft of thick cerulean grass to help pull herself further up the slope. "Bad stuff isn't really real, though. It's like cold and dark. A thing that just has so little warmth and light in it that people don't like it. People know know how to tell. Sometimes they just need a little help remembering!"


[A Rooster's Flight]

Oh for goodness sake.

The Rooster is stilling missing everything Zee's saying.

Okay, you know what, fine. Fine! She'll just have to be a bit more overt about this won't she?

With terrified animal stampeding around Zee she takes a deep breath, heedless of the dangers of being trampled, and speaks again. But this time there is weight behind the words as she invokes one of the spheres of her Path.

Information.

"Be heedful."

"Is THAT better?" she calls out, her words burrowing into the bird's psyche like maggots into mushy, over-ripe fruit. "Are you listening NOW? I sure hope so because I'll say again, you're getting a choice here. Either stop burning down villages or you're going to be in big trouble, mister."

Zee's pretty certain the bird will hear THAT time. This is one of those problems with the human form she usually uses. It's so generic that the high and mighty types ignore her sometimes! Sure she could just unbind herself but she would really prefer to avoid doing that unless violence actually happens.
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bc56
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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Hunting Lodge
Sekhmet nods a curt greeting. "We, uh, have a plan." Not much of one. "I'm going to contact them in a dream tonight." Sekhmet's not sure how Hiep would even be part of this, but Feathers thought she should talk to her.
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Hraithre
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[A Rooster's Flight]

The crazed animals run past and around Zee as she draws in breath. Soon, they've passed, and the sound of thundering hooves begins growing more distant. The rooster turns slowly, ready to spread its wings and go after them, when Zee demands its attention.

The rooster stops mid-motion. It turns its head in small, sharp turns, as birds tend to do, its eyes searching for the tiny unremarkable human. The great orbs lock on to her, and the beast lowers its head close to the ground. Its long, black tail feathers reach far to the sky. It puffs up its neck feathers, into a great golden mane to frame its head. A low creaking sound emanates deep from its throat, growing into a bone-aching rattle, and then culminating in a single, shrill squawk:

"KA-KRAAA!"

That's probably chicken for "no" with a side dish of "go away".
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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bc56 wrote: May 11, 2023 8:22 pm Maids on a Train
Jade is good at math. She likes math. She does not like that comparison. "No. Math works. It's corroborated by physics and other sciences. I can look at a math equation and find a solution. Magic is insane," she feels strongly about this, "It violates all the laws of physics and works off weird, subjective metrics. Like this dress," she fingers the skirt of her garment. The mermaid probably remembers it was a tank top and jeans earlier. "There's no rational explanation for how putting on this headband altered my clothes. How it transmuted denim into... Whatever this fabric is. If I turn into a fox," She does so, becoming a nine-tailed red fox in a matter of instants (it's the only magic she can reliably do), "Where does all my mass go? I just lost around a hundred pounds. The law of conservation of mass says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. There's no way to reconcile it."

[Maids on a Train]

"Math doesn't work until after you learn what it means," the mermaid contends. "Until then, it's just nonsense that smart people say to each other to pat themselves on the back."
The mermaid's pretty lucky that she got basically her whole train-bench to herself, because she takes advantage of the additional seats to lay down and look at Jade upside-down.

The mermaid makes a conjecture: "Obviously your mass went into some magic-space, y'know? It's still there, just not right there, I suppose. Like...I dunno, maybe you should ask a physicist about it. Like, maybe a magic-physicist. I'm sure at least one of them has studied how turning into a fox works. They'd be better at explaining it."
She waves her hands, as if trying to demonstrate 'magic-space'.

The mermaid then imagines turning into a fox probably isn't all that different from growing legs. Since, after all, foxes have four legs but people have two and mermaids have zero. Pretty similar. She screws her face and tries to imagine herself turning into a fox and separating her fins...and nothing happens.
"I mean, if something works consistently, then you can science it, right?"
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place

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[A Rooster's Flight]

Ugh.

Alright.

Fine.

Sometimes when you're dealing with terrible people it takes substantive threats to get them to listen. Tiny human versus giant fire bird probably doesn't feel like a substantive threat. So apparently Zee is going to have to make this threat a little more threatening to get the bird to take it seriously. Okay, okay, probably should have done that to begin with. But she was HOPING that maybe the giant death bird just needed someone to give him a chance to change his ways!

But that was pretty silly to begin with.

Okay.

Fourth? time's the charm definitely maybe.

So one moment the bird is crowing at a tiny little insignificant human standing there in the ground.

The next something quite large is aiming to wrap its clawsrootshooves around the rooster's neck and force it beak-first into the dirt. Then ANOTHER claw reaches out and carves a furrow into the earth away from the rooster's beak.

Does the chicken paralyzing trick work on giant fire chickens?

Yezekiel is about to find out.

Either way that isn't a tiny normal human. Honestly it's difficult to tell how the rooster even came to the conclusion she was a tiny normal human when it's abundantly clear she absolutely isn't. It could be said that she's like a dragon, or like a deer, or like a tree, or like bottomless pits of stellar darkness. But none of those things would really be right. Because Yezekiel is not like any of those things. But they are, perhaps, the things that are least dissimilar to her. Exactly how large she is is difficult to judge. Bigger than a house, certainly. Probably bigger than a castle? But smaller than a mountain. Certainly large enough to roughhouse with giant roosters.

"Is that your final answer?" the seraph inquires, not really bothering with the 'be not afraid' line since that's kinda the goal right now.
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