Autumn
Pumpkin cries out as she gets clonked in the face by a branch! She attempts to scoop the fox into her arms and bound away. Deer are very fast.
"What the heck was that all about? I'm pretty sure a jabberwock is supposed to be like, the scariest thing ever. And I mean you could probably be pretty scary if you wanted but I'm not seeing that scary on you."
It sure is convenient that being a gaiad means you automatically have a vague idea of what's going on with faerie stuff. Vaguely.
Springtime
"That's dumb. I've met your mom and she's not a Buttercup." Sirius answers, glancing at Khannie. He'll just play along with her. He DID just tell Khannie off for agreeing to faerie proposals all the time but this is Mary so he doesn't think that counts.
The Dreamlands
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Earl of Purple
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Who's this... Her you keep talking about?" Agate's a little lost with what's going on, since apparently that is Mary, who is now dreaming, and also a gaiad. Is she maybe dreaming she's a gaiad and would return to normal outside this dream? Agate has no idea.
"Who's this... Her you keep talking about?" Agate's a little lost with what's going on, since apparently that is Mary, who is now dreaming, and also a gaiad. Is she maybe dreaming she's a gaiad and would return to normal outside this dream? Agate has no idea.
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bc56
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Okay! I guess.... Let me think."
Khannie.
"Khannie! Your name's Khannie!"
A clear signal that Mary's still in here, just buried. That should ensure they get us out of here with them.
But Agate starts talking about Her and Marigold looks panicky. "I can't tell you that! Don't talk about Her, She'll notice us! It makes Her stronger!" The gloom and witchy feeling grows every time Marigold says "Her." "C'mon we all need to think happy thoughts to stay safe!" Judging by her expression, the gaiad is concentrating as hard as she can on being happy.
"Okay! I guess.... Let me think."
Khannie.
"Khannie! Your name's Khannie!"
A clear signal that Mary's still in here, just buried. That should ensure they get us out of here with them.
But Agate starts talking about Her and Marigold looks panicky. "I can't tell you that! Don't talk about Her, She'll notice us! It makes Her stronger!" The gloom and witchy feeling grows every time Marigold says "Her." "C'mon we all need to think happy thoughts to stay safe!" Judging by her expression, the gaiad is concentrating as hard as she can on being happy.
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Re: The Dreamlands
[Springtime]
The fox doesn't look surprised.
But she DOES do something interesting.
She fans out her tails behind her, nine big fluffy tails suddenly visible, and at the end of one of them (and only one of them) is a Mask. A rough oval, textured as if it were made of porcelain. Or maybe bone. And painted on that mask, her eyes closed, is the face of Khannie Vallarm.
"Yeah, you guessed right. That's the one Name I've got," the fox admits. "And it's the only one I need, too; it's mine."
And just as quickly she puts it away again.
Because, again, it's the only Name she's got. The only Mask she has to wear. And she doesn't want something WEIRD happening to it while they're down here in the Dreamlands.
"She must be dreaming," the fox says. "So I'm thinking we get to the end of the dream and she wakes up. That outta launch her outta here and I bet we can go along for the ride."
[Autumn]
The fox gets scooped!
One of the upsides to being a fox is that you are very scoopable. This is also, potentially, a downside. But it wasn't this time.
And then some important questions are asked!
"I've gotta strong bond to the Dreamheart. I think it's why the end of my tails are all goopy," the fox replies, waving a tail by way of demonstration. The end of her tail IS all goopy! Instead of the usual wisp of foxfire the end is a blot of liquid darkness. "But I dunno. That doesn't make me a jabberwock, does it? I thought they were like... big mindless goop monsters."
She is definitely not a big mindless goop monster.
She's a cute fox!
"Sorry I messed up the plan there. I guess I shouldn't be making stuff like that were other faeries are watching."
The fox doesn't look surprised.
But she DOES do something interesting.
She fans out her tails behind her, nine big fluffy tails suddenly visible, and at the end of one of them (and only one of them) is a Mask. A rough oval, textured as if it were made of porcelain. Or maybe bone. And painted on that mask, her eyes closed, is the face of Khannie Vallarm.
"Yeah, you guessed right. That's the one Name I've got," the fox admits. "And it's the only one I need, too; it's mine."
And just as quickly she puts it away again.
Because, again, it's the only Name she's got. The only Mask she has to wear. And she doesn't want something WEIRD happening to it while they're down here in the Dreamlands.
"She must be dreaming," the fox says. "So I'm thinking we get to the end of the dream and she wakes up. That outta launch her outta here and I bet we can go along for the ride."
[Autumn]
The fox gets scooped!
One of the upsides to being a fox is that you are very scoopable. This is also, potentially, a downside. But it wasn't this time.
And then some important questions are asked!
"I've gotta strong bond to the Dreamheart. I think it's why the end of my tails are all goopy," the fox replies, waving a tail by way of demonstration. The end of her tail IS all goopy! Instead of the usual wisp of foxfire the end is a blot of liquid darkness. "But I dunno. That doesn't make me a jabberwock, does it? I thought they were like... big mindless goop monsters."
She is definitely not a big mindless goop monster.
She's a cute fox!
"Sorry I messed up the plan there. I guess I shouldn't be making stuff like that were other faeries are watching."
Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Don't be scared, Mary. We can handle anything. Khannie has punched some pretty powerful things. You don't have to hide." Sirius insists.
It sounds like they have to get to the end of Mary's dream and confronting the scary thing seems pretty reliable as a way to do that.
Autumn
In this case it's an upside but maybe a little awkward since Pumpkin is gently holding the fox oblivious to the fact that her being naked might make that a little awkward.
"It's fine. Everyone knows Jabberwocks are like, the scariest thing ever. And you're just regular fox scary. Maybe even a little less. Most kumiho wouldn't let me hug them. But why is your connection so strong?"
Pumpkin continues to bound down the forest path, glancing this way and that. Being a gaiad sure is convenient. She's pretty sure she wasn't this fast before. Getting away from Mother's glade makes it easier to remember things. But she still can't put a finger on specific things.
"Do you think I'll remember more of me when we get to the Waking World?" Maybe Chestnut will let her remember if she succeeds in her Quest.
"Don't be scared, Mary. We can handle anything. Khannie has punched some pretty powerful things. You don't have to hide." Sirius insists.
It sounds like they have to get to the end of Mary's dream and confronting the scary thing seems pretty reliable as a way to do that.
Autumn
In this case it's an upside but maybe a little awkward since Pumpkin is gently holding the fox oblivious to the fact that her being naked might make that a little awkward.
"It's fine. Everyone knows Jabberwocks are like, the scariest thing ever. And you're just regular fox scary. Maybe even a little less. Most kumiho wouldn't let me hug them. But why is your connection so strong?"
Pumpkin continues to bound down the forest path, glancing this way and that. Being a gaiad sure is convenient. She's pretty sure she wasn't this fast before. Getting away from Mother's glade makes it easier to remember things. But she still can't put a finger on specific things.
"Do you think I'll remember more of me when we get to the Waking World?" Maybe Chestnut will let her remember if she succeeds in her Quest.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"So to get outta here we gotta wake her up? Should I punch her?" Agate sounds... a bit too eager to punch Marigold. But she's fed up of all this and wants to get home, and also she's slightly annoyed with Marigold being so... bouncy, happy and mindless, and not answering any questions.
"So to get outta here we gotta wake her up? Should I punch her?" Agate sounds... a bit too eager to punch Marigold. But she's fed up of all this and wants to get home, and also she's slightly annoyed with Marigold being so... bouncy, happy and mindless, and not answering any questions.
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Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"No! Don't punch anyone! I just wanna be friends!" Marigold is happy to stay here. It's safe. "We could frolick and play games together and nothing bad will hurt us here." Getting the gaiad to confront the nightmare waiting outside the Grove will be challenging... But it might be the only way to get Mary back.
"No! Don't punch anyone! I just wanna be friends!" Marigold is happy to stay here. It's safe. "We could frolick and play games together and nothing bad will hurt us here." Getting the gaiad to confront the nightmare waiting outside the Grove will be challenging... But it might be the only way to get Mary back.
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Re: The Dreamlands
[Springtime]
"Sounds boring," the kumiho replies, rolling her shoulders and stretching a bit. "Sitting around and being safe all the time is for tiny kids. I've gotta have some adventure. And the best kinda adventure is helping people. And YOU-"
She points at Marigold.
"-are people who need some help. I know what's waiting past those trees. I've wrecked her face once and I'll do it again. And once she's gone we can get back to going."
Because the kumiho sure as beans isn't just going to wait around here playing games.
She begins tromping off toward the treeline, her clenched fists trailing foxfire.
[Autumn]
It IS kind of weird.
Maybe not the weirdest thing, but still weird.
The fox is more annoyed by the whole scenario than anything else. Even if she's a weird kumiho she's still a kumiho. A kumiho scandalized by undress would incredibly unusual. This one just thinks that people shouldn't be running around with nothing on like feral beasts.
"It's a really weird story," the fox admits. "I think it's probably my mom's fault."
Okay this is an extremely strange kumiho.
Kumiho don't have moms.
They either spring spontaneously from the Dreamheart, seeded by dreams of murderous lust, or from what's left of a mortal's husk that a feeding kumiho decided to fill with foxfire. There are legends that kumiho are born from foxes that live a very long time, but of course that's utterly false; foxes don't live a very long time.
The fox doesn't answer the question about remembering. Maybe because she doesn't know the answer.
...or maybe because she does.
But that leaves us with the question of bounding, which Pumpkin is busy doing right now.
Before long she reaches...
A SCARY TREE!
One of those big, gnarled sorts of trees. With lots of ropes hanging from it. And dangling from those ropes are shades.
Faceless spirits, their Names having been eaten out or decayed.
They mutter and whisper nonsense, swaying in the breeze.
"Sounds boring," the kumiho replies, rolling her shoulders and stretching a bit. "Sitting around and being safe all the time is for tiny kids. I've gotta have some adventure. And the best kinda adventure is helping people. And YOU-"
She points at Marigold.
"-are people who need some help. I know what's waiting past those trees. I've wrecked her face once and I'll do it again. And once she's gone we can get back to going."
Because the kumiho sure as beans isn't just going to wait around here playing games.
She begins tromping off toward the treeline, her clenched fists trailing foxfire.
[Autumn]
It IS kind of weird.
Maybe not the weirdest thing, but still weird.
The fox is more annoyed by the whole scenario than anything else. Even if she's a weird kumiho she's still a kumiho. A kumiho scandalized by undress would incredibly unusual. This one just thinks that people shouldn't be running around with nothing on like feral beasts.
"It's a really weird story," the fox admits. "I think it's probably my mom's fault."
Okay this is an extremely strange kumiho.
Kumiho don't have moms.
They either spring spontaneously from the Dreamheart, seeded by dreams of murderous lust, or from what's left of a mortal's husk that a feeding kumiho decided to fill with foxfire. There are legends that kumiho are born from foxes that live a very long time, but of course that's utterly false; foxes don't live a very long time.
The fox doesn't answer the question about remembering. Maybe because she doesn't know the answer.
...or maybe because she does.
But that leaves us with the question of bounding, which Pumpkin is busy doing right now.
Before long she reaches...
A SCARY TREE!
One of those big, gnarled sorts of trees. With lots of ropes hanging from it. And dangling from those ropes are shades.
Faceless spirits, their Names having been eaten out or decayed.
They mutter and whisper nonsense, swaying in the breeze.
Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
Sirius raises his head high and tromps after Khannie.
”You might not be Olympia like you were the first time. But you have me. And this is sounding an awful lot like like a quest of JUSTICE!”
Sirius is naturally at his most powerful when aiding someone in danger.
Autumn
”Oh. Is your mom a big deal too?”
Since Pumpkin’s mom is Queen Chestnut she is a pretty Big Deal.
And then a spooky tree!
”Yuck. I passed trees like this before but they weren’t surrounded by ghosts. Come on, Fox. Let’s not disturb them.”
Pumpkin attempts to skirt around the tree because she doesn’t want to get a shade up in her face. She even goes around the right side and not the left because the left side has longer branches with more shades hanging around.
Sirius raises his head high and tromps after Khannie.
”You might not be Olympia like you were the first time. But you have me. And this is sounding an awful lot like like a quest of JUSTICE!”
Sirius is naturally at his most powerful when aiding someone in danger.
Autumn
”Oh. Is your mom a big deal too?”
Since Pumpkin’s mom is Queen Chestnut she is a pretty Big Deal.
And then a spooky tree!
”Yuck. I passed trees like this before but they weren’t surrounded by ghosts. Come on, Fox. Let’s not disturb them.”
Pumpkin attempts to skirt around the tree because she doesn’t want to get a shade up in her face. She even goes around the right side and not the left because the left side has longer branches with more shades hanging around.
Re: The Dreamlands
[Autumn]
"Ugh. Gunna say it isn't a great idea to call her that. She's smug enough already," the fox blechs. "But yeah, I guess kinda? She's a big chaos spirit. Like... change and potential. And doofy random stuff. She can do basically whatever she wants, but I think mostly she just... tweaks things a little. Like so no one realizes what she's doing."
She's not going to say her mother's name, though.
That seems like a good way to get the wrong kind of attention.
But how about that tree?
Thankfully Pumpkin remembers not to go withershins.
"Please..." wheezes one of the shades.
The fox wriggles a bit at that. "Wait, I think that one's still got some of a Name in it," she says, pointing at one shade that was previously obscured by the tree's trunk. It's true. That shade has an almost recognizable face.
"Ugh. Gunna say it isn't a great idea to call her that. She's smug enough already," the fox blechs. "But yeah, I guess kinda? She's a big chaos spirit. Like... change and potential. And doofy random stuff. She can do basically whatever she wants, but I think mostly she just... tweaks things a little. Like so no one realizes what she's doing."
She's not going to say her mother's name, though.
That seems like a good way to get the wrong kind of attention.
But how about that tree?
Thankfully Pumpkin remembers not to go withershins.
"Please..." wheezes one of the shades.
The fox wriggles a bit at that. "Wait, I think that one's still got some of a Name in it," she says, pointing at one shade that was previously obscured by the tree's trunk. It's true. That shade has an almost recognizable face.
Re: The Dreamlands
Autumn
Pumpkin freezes, turning towards the shade.
”Um. What should we do? Aren’t you not supposed to let Shades get all over you? Should…should we cut it down?”
Pumpkin is only going off of her instinctive fae lore so she isn’t actually sure what it is they should be doing.
Pumpkin freezes, turning towards the shade.
”Um. What should we do? Aren’t you not supposed to let Shades get all over you? Should…should we cut it down?”
Pumpkin is only going off of her instinctive fae lore so she isn’t actually sure what it is they should be doing.
Re: The Dreamlands
[Autumn]
If there's anything to let you know that you've entered a liminal space BETWEEN the liminal spaces it's the presence of both trees and shades. But maybe it isn't shocking that the spookier parts of Chestnut's realm would be closest to the Pit out of all the Enchanted Forest.
"We can't just leave 'em there," the fox says, sounding resolute. "If there's still a Name there's still some person left in there."
However...
If Pumpkin moves close the shades will reach for her! And it's true. You don't want to get groped by shades. They have a hungering emptiness for an identity and they'll try to take little pieces of someone to fill themselves. Definitely not great.
So how are they going to solve this problem?
They could just leave, but the fox'... compassion maybe? Says they have to help.
If there's anything to let you know that you've entered a liminal space BETWEEN the liminal spaces it's the presence of both trees and shades. But maybe it isn't shocking that the spookier parts of Chestnut's realm would be closest to the Pit out of all the Enchanted Forest.
"We can't just leave 'em there," the fox says, sounding resolute. "If there's still a Name there's still some person left in there."
However...
If Pumpkin moves close the shades will reach for her! And it's true. You don't want to get groped by shades. They have a hungering emptiness for an identity and they'll try to take little pieces of someone to fill themselves. Definitely not great.
So how are they going to solve this problem?
They could just leave, but the fox'... compassion maybe? Says they have to help.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Yeah, let's get out of here. I don't trust these trees." Agate's a little uncomfortable in the forest, and annoyed with Marigold's inability to answer the questions she's asked.
Also, the only person who's answered her offer of waking them up by punching Marigold is Marigold, who is obviously going to not like the idea. So that's currently on the backburner.
"Yeah, let's get out of here. I don't trust these trees." Agate's a little uncomfortable in the forest, and annoyed with Marigold's inability to answer the questions she's asked.
Also, the only person who's answered her offer of waking them up by punching Marigold is Marigold, who is obviously going to not like the idea. So that's currently on the backburner.
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Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"No, don't go! I don't wanna be alone again!" Marigold protests.
Go after them you fool! You know Khannie, even if you're not sure how. Do you really want to lose that?
Reluctantly, the gaiad pursues the others, hanging well behind as they leave the glade and enter into Maria's domain.
"No, don't go! I don't wanna be alone again!" Marigold protests.
Go after them you fool! You know Khannie, even if you're not sure how. Do you really want to lose that?
Reluctantly, the gaiad pursues the others, hanging well behind as they leave the glade and enter into Maria's domain.
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Re: The Dreamlands
Autumn
Pumpkin kneels and puts the Fox down, laying a hand against the soft ground of the Forest floor. She serves immediately as a reminder not to underestimate gaiads as a glamoured vine erupts from the ground near the shade, a thorn on the end which whips out to slice the rope holding the shade.
The shade will hopefully be okay falling hard to the dirt because she can’t conjure a cushion.
Pumpkin kneels and puts the Fox down, laying a hand against the soft ground of the Forest floor. She serves immediately as a reminder not to underestimate gaiads as a glamoured vine erupts from the ground near the shade, a thorn on the end which whips out to slice the rope holding the shade.
The shade will hopefully be okay falling hard to the dirt because she can’t conjure a cushion.
Re: The Dreamlands
[Autumn]
The fox is on the floor.
The shade is also on the floor.
The shade begins crawling toward the fox and the gaiad while the rest of the shades hanging in the tree begin muttering gibberish in the most vaguely creepy way possible. The crawling shade ALSO looks very creepy.
"Please..." it repeats, reaching for our heroes with a misshapen hand.
[Spring]
"We're still gunna punch Marigold, just indirectly," the kumiho helpfully clarifies for Agate. "Her witch, or the memory of the witch, or the nightmare of the witch, or whatever the heck this thing is? Gunna get decked."
"I might not be a Magical Girl anymore but I can still handle ghost and bad dreams and ghosts of bad dreams. Let's see what we're dealing with."
It isn't a Witch's Labyrinth.
Maybe like one, superficially, but not one. More like... a dream of a Witch's Labyrinth? Smeared colors, drifting bricks, ugly toads, clouds of black smog scuttling past on a multitude of little crow's legs. Ships sailing through the mud.
"It probably still works like a Labyrinth; every path leads to the middle where the Witch is waiting. Let's go squash her," the kumiho suggests as she begins deftly hopping from one floating brick to another. "Okay. Sirius? Your metal claws are close enough to iron to mess up faerie stuff. Your job is gunna be keeping any of the little ankle biters off us. Agate? Stick close to 'Marigold' and make sure she doesn't bolt. Shoot anything in here that looks weird. I'll deck any of the big stuff."
Sounds like they've got a plan!
The fox is on the floor.
The shade is also on the floor.
The shade begins crawling toward the fox and the gaiad while the rest of the shades hanging in the tree begin muttering gibberish in the most vaguely creepy way possible. The crawling shade ALSO looks very creepy.
"Please..." it repeats, reaching for our heroes with a misshapen hand.
[Spring]
"We're still gunna punch Marigold, just indirectly," the kumiho helpfully clarifies for Agate. "Her witch, or the memory of the witch, or the nightmare of the witch, or whatever the heck this thing is? Gunna get decked."
"I might not be a Magical Girl anymore but I can still handle ghost and bad dreams and ghosts of bad dreams. Let's see what we're dealing with."
It isn't a Witch's Labyrinth.
Maybe like one, superficially, but not one. More like... a dream of a Witch's Labyrinth? Smeared colors, drifting bricks, ugly toads, clouds of black smog scuttling past on a multitude of little crow's legs. Ships sailing through the mud.
"It probably still works like a Labyrinth; every path leads to the middle where the Witch is waiting. Let's go squash her," the kumiho suggests as she begins deftly hopping from one floating brick to another. "Okay. Sirius? Your metal claws are close enough to iron to mess up faerie stuff. Your job is gunna be keeping any of the little ankle biters off us. Agate? Stick close to 'Marigold' and make sure she doesn't bolt. Shoot anything in here that looks weird. I'll deck any of the big stuff."
Sounds like they've got a plan!
Re: The Dreamlands
Autumn
Pumpkin frowns. But she knows what to do!
"You need a face and something to define yourself with. I know it isn't much. But it's something."
And then Pumpkin produces a pumpkin!
A nice one with a face on it, because she can just do that. She rolls it to the shade. Maybe now they will have a face and that's something.
Spring
Sirius salutes with his claws. He takes up point in the front of the group. Indeed, his claws make quick work of the first toad that hops into their direction. It melts into blobs of paint immediately.
"We'll see if we need my stronger form at all. For now my claws are enough."
Pumpkin frowns. But she knows what to do!
"You need a face and something to define yourself with. I know it isn't much. But it's something."
And then Pumpkin produces a pumpkin!
A nice one with a face on it, because she can just do that. She rolls it to the shade. Maybe now they will have a face and that's something.
Spring
Sirius salutes with his claws. He takes up point in the front of the group. Indeed, his claws make quick work of the first toad that hops into their direction. It melts into blobs of paint immediately.
"We'll see if we need my stronger form at all. For now my claws are enough."
Re: The Dreamlands
[Autumn]
Hey now!
There's some good thinking from Pumpkin. Thankfully she's retained some problem solving skills.
The shade grips the pumpkin and pulls it over its head, the carved eyes and mouth filling with ghastly light as its undefined form is cloaked in a diaphanous grave shroud. The stem at the top of the pumpkin grows, vines wrapping around the phantom's limbs as it rises.
Now it's a spooky pumpkin headed mare of some kind!
"OOOooooooOOoh this is so much better! You have done a kindness to me! Here-" the phantom says, reaching into the top of its pumpkin head and withdrawing-!
A Frankenstein's Monster mask. Still in its plastic packaging.
How was that even in there? Pumpkin JUST MADE that pumpkin!
But then again, we ARE talking about the Dreamlands. Probably best not to think about it too hard.
Hey now!
There's some good thinking from Pumpkin. Thankfully she's retained some problem solving skills.
The shade grips the pumpkin and pulls it over its head, the carved eyes and mouth filling with ghastly light as its undefined form is cloaked in a diaphanous grave shroud. The stem at the top of the pumpkin grows, vines wrapping around the phantom's limbs as it rises.
Now it's a spooky pumpkin headed mare of some kind!
"OOOooooooOOoh this is so much better! You have done a kindness to me! Here-" the phantom says, reaching into the top of its pumpkin head and withdrawing-!
A Frankenstein's Monster mask. Still in its plastic packaging.
How was that even in there? Pumpkin JUST MADE that pumpkin!
But then again, we ARE talking about the Dreamlands. Probably best not to think about it too hard.
Re: The Dreamlands
Autumn
Pumpkin retained a lot of things. Just nothing that contradicts her baked-in nature that Chestnut made for her and told her to follow. Which notably includes giving away her fruit, knowing exactly who she is, loving parties, and not worrying about her previous life.
Pumpkin accepts the mask and nods to the mare. She wonders if adding the face was a mistake. If she had given him a regular pumpkin would he have become a sprite instead? Not that she has anything against mares, but she would be a sprite over a mare given the choice.
"Good luck being you." she says with a wave.
Pumpkin retained a lot of things. Just nothing that contradicts her baked-in nature that Chestnut made for her and told her to follow. Which notably includes giving away her fruit, knowing exactly who she is, loving parties, and not worrying about her previous life.
Pumpkin accepts the mask and nods to the mare. She wonders if adding the face was a mistake. If she had given him a regular pumpkin would he have become a sprite instead? Not that she has anything against mares, but she would be a sprite over a mare given the choice.
"Good luck being you." she says with a wave.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: The Dreamlands
Spring
"I... haven't faced a witch since, y'know, the moon thing." Agate shudders as she remembers falling into a pit of writhing blades. "I've been careful with my powers since, y'know, to keep myself level and stuff." And she's had a few grief seeds stashed which she's used on occasion.
Agate sighs, and pulls out the magazine of her harmonica pistol and throws it into the air before catching it and slapping it back into the gun to reload it, before grabbing at Marigold to hold the gaiad tight to stop her running off.
"I... haven't faced a witch since, y'know, the moon thing." Agate shudders as she remembers falling into a pit of writhing blades. "I've been careful with my powers since, y'know, to keep myself level and stuff." And she's had a few grief seeds stashed which she's used on occasion.
Agate sighs, and pulls out the magazine of her harmonica pistol and throws it into the air before catching it and slapping it back into the gun to reload it, before grabbing at Marigold to hold the gaiad tight to stop her running off.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Hey! Let go!" Marigold struggles against Agate's grip. The deer-girl looks increasingly frightened the further she's pulled out of the glade and into the colorful painted muck of the labyrinth. She jumps at every sailing frog and every unexpected sound. If Agate wasn't keeping a hand on her, she might very well bolt.
"Hey! Let go!" Marigold struggles against Agate's grip. The deer-girl looks increasingly frightened the further she's pulled out of the glade and into the colorful painted muck of the labyrinth. She jumps at every sailing frog and every unexpected sound. If Agate wasn't keeping a hand on her, she might very well bolt.
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Re: The Dreamlands
[Springtime]
Khannie has continued Witch hunting, as it happens. Her power set as a ghosty zoroark is actually pretty well suited for dealing with Witch nonsense. There's a pretty good chance that at least one of those grief seeds were given to Agate by Khannie. Always given with a careful admonition of, 'Take good care of her, okay?'
So.
Deeper into the Labyrinth.
"Fun's great and all but you've gotta face your fears or you'll never grow," the kumiho insists, decking a large monolith of brick with an agonized face painted on it as soon as it pops up in front of her. It explodes in a shower of brick dust and paint, splattering across the marshy landscape. "We're doing this for your own good, Marigold. It isn't any fun but it's gotta be done."
Hey that's a good rhyme!
"Yeah, you try to take it easy okay Agate? Sirius and I will try to do all the heavy lifting. You've just gotta make sure nothing nabs Marigold."
The surroundings are growing increasingly dark and twisted, but it definitely doesn't have that sense of feverish unreality that a Labyrinth typically has. It's just really unpleasant. More toads on sailboats are hopping toward our heroes awkwardly.
[Autumn]
Well obviously being a sprite is better than being a mare. Mares don't get to frolic like sprites do! But are both better than being a wildling? Wildlings usually have to eat people and that really isn't very nice at all. Mares usually don't eat anyone, they just spook them!
Anyway!
As our heroes move off the fox looks to Pumpkin and asks an important question. "Okay so that's part of a costume I guess. You ready to head back?"
Not head back to the party.
Head back to the waking world.
The fox brushes away some nasty looking brambles with her tail to reveal an old, overgrown flight of stairs. They're rickety and rotten wooden things with several of the steps missing. Whatever building they belong to must be in really bad shape.
Khannie has continued Witch hunting, as it happens. Her power set as a ghosty zoroark is actually pretty well suited for dealing with Witch nonsense. There's a pretty good chance that at least one of those grief seeds were given to Agate by Khannie. Always given with a careful admonition of, 'Take good care of her, okay?'
So.
Deeper into the Labyrinth.
"Fun's great and all but you've gotta face your fears or you'll never grow," the kumiho insists, decking a large monolith of brick with an agonized face painted on it as soon as it pops up in front of her. It explodes in a shower of brick dust and paint, splattering across the marshy landscape. "We're doing this for your own good, Marigold. It isn't any fun but it's gotta be done."
Hey that's a good rhyme!
"Yeah, you try to take it easy okay Agate? Sirius and I will try to do all the heavy lifting. You've just gotta make sure nothing nabs Marigold."
The surroundings are growing increasingly dark and twisted, but it definitely doesn't have that sense of feverish unreality that a Labyrinth typically has. It's just really unpleasant. More toads on sailboats are hopping toward our heroes awkwardly.
[Autumn]
Well obviously being a sprite is better than being a mare. Mares don't get to frolic like sprites do! But are both better than being a wildling? Wildlings usually have to eat people and that really isn't very nice at all. Mares usually don't eat anyone, they just spook them!
Anyway!
As our heroes move off the fox looks to Pumpkin and asks an important question. "Okay so that's part of a costume I guess. You ready to head back?"
Not head back to the party.
Head back to the waking world.
The fox brushes away some nasty looking brambles with her tail to reveal an old, overgrown flight of stairs. They're rickety and rotten wooden things with several of the steps missing. Whatever building they belong to must be in really bad shape.
Re: The Dreamlands
Autumn
Pumpkin certainly seems impressed. "Wow! How'd you know that was there anyway?" she asks.
And yet she still scoops up The Fox and goes bounding up the stairs. Gaiad steps are as light as you'd expect so they probably won't have any-
CRACK!
Okay minor problems but nothing Pumpkin can't handle. To the waking world!
Springtime
Sirius barks some FIREBALLS at the toads!
It's not that effective.
But his claws are. Sirius tries to stay close to the group but he REALLY needs to claw those enemies to death. Hopefully Khannie and Agate will be ok if Sirius closes into melee range to claw up some sailboats.
Pumpkin certainly seems impressed. "Wow! How'd you know that was there anyway?" she asks.
And yet she still scoops up The Fox and goes bounding up the stairs. Gaiad steps are as light as you'd expect so they probably won't have any-
CRACK!
Okay minor problems but nothing Pumpkin can't handle. To the waking world!
Springtime
Sirius barks some FIREBALLS at the toads!
It's not that effective.
But his claws are. Sirius tries to stay close to the group but he REALLY needs to claw those enemies to death. Hopefully Khannie and Agate will be ok if Sirius closes into melee range to claw up some sailboats.
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Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
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Re: The Dreamlands
Spring
Agate's grip is hard and strong; she might only be young, and shorter than Khannie or Mary, but she's still a dwarf, with stout bones and dense muscles. Marigold can't break free without using supernatural strength, or by planting all four feet and forcing Agate to try dragging her along. "I'm not going to let go. That grove back there? That's a false security. It's as safe as locking yourself in your bedroom when the monster has a key. Makes you feel better, but without helping anything. What we're doing? This will help. I promise, OK?" Agate sounds more frustrated and determined than sympathetic, which might put a poor spin on her attempts at encouragement.
Agate's grip is hard and strong; she might only be young, and shorter than Khannie or Mary, but she's still a dwarf, with stout bones and dense muscles. Marigold can't break free without using supernatural strength, or by planting all four feet and forcing Agate to try dragging her along. "I'm not going to let go. That grove back there? That's a false security. It's as safe as locking yourself in your bedroom when the monster has a key. Makes you feel better, but without helping anything. What we're doing? This will help. I promise, OK?" Agate sounds more frustrated and determined than sympathetic, which might put a poor spin on her attempts at encouragement.
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Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanna go home!" Marigold protests. The dismal marsh of paint and broken bricks seems to grow more threatening with her terror.
Stay calm damn you! It's hard enough working on fixing our memories without you panicking!
The familiars around the small party are growing larger, more threatening... More demonic. Horned frogs begin surrounding the heroes, croaking menacingly. Then, as if on command, they begin to swarm, leaping and biting.
"AIEEEEE!" Marigold screams.
"I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanna go home!" Marigold protests. The dismal marsh of paint and broken bricks seems to grow more threatening with her terror.
Stay calm damn you! It's hard enough working on fixing our memories without you panicking!
The familiars around the small party are growing larger, more threatening... More demonic. Horned frogs begin surrounding the heroes, croaking menacingly. Then, as if on command, they begin to swarm, leaping and biting.
"AIEEEEE!" Marigold screams.
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Re: The Dreamlands
[Springtime]
Woof those fireballs!
The fox is trudging forward, trusting Agate to keep Marigold in line, but then things go from bad to worse.
Apparently infernal magic is seeping out into the dream.
Great.
Just WONDERFUL.
"Keep 'em from getting close if you can," the fox lashing out at the frogs as they begin leaping at our heroes! A punch here, a claw there, a tail slap over there. Her ears are twitching this way and that, keeping tabs on the monsters getting close to her and prioritizing the ones in leaping range. She sweeps one foot in a wide circle around herself, a curtain of foxfire leaping from the muck and threatening to roast any frogs that dare cross it.
Woof those fireballs!
The fox is trudging forward, trusting Agate to keep Marigold in line, but then things go from bad to worse.
Apparently infernal magic is seeping out into the dream.
Great.
Just WONDERFUL.
"Keep 'em from getting close if you can," the fox lashing out at the frogs as they begin leaping at our heroes! A punch here, a claw there, a tail slap over there. Her ears are twitching this way and that, keeping tabs on the monsters getting close to her and prioritizing the ones in leaping range. She sweeps one foot in a wide circle around herself, a curtain of foxfire leaping from the muck and threatening to roast any frogs that dare cross it.
Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
Sirius claws at another pair of toads, claws glowing as he flips back out of the remaining toad's reach and blasts a fireball into its face.
"So...do we just keep doing this until the boss shows up?" he asks Khannie, since he hadn't really helped with too many Witches before.
Sirius claws at another pair of toads, claws glowing as he flips back out of the remaining toad's reach and blasts a fireball into its face.
"So...do we just keep doing this until the boss shows up?" he asks Khannie, since he hadn't really helped with too many Witches before.
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Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
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Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
There's a gunshot as Agate shoots one of the frogs. Normally she needs her other hand to push the magazine of her harmonica gun across to load a new bullet; instead she keeps hold of Marigold with her other hand and instead uses her knee to do the pushing. "The boss shows up when we find it. We need to get to the middle. We gotta carry on." Agate pulls on Marigold to try and get the panicking gaiad going in the right direction; hopefully the way Sirius, Agate, and Khannie are able to defend themselves is reassuring.
There's a gunshot as Agate shoots one of the frogs. Normally she needs her other hand to push the magazine of her harmonica gun across to load a new bullet; instead she keeps hold of Marigold with her other hand and instead uses her knee to do the pushing. "The boss shows up when we find it. We need to get to the middle. We gotta carry on." Agate pulls on Marigold to try and get the panicking gaiad going in the right direction; hopefully the way Sirius, Agate, and Khannie are able to defend themselves is reassuring.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: The Dreamlands
Springtime
"Nononono let me go I can't see her I can't stop her we're all gonna die!" Marigold continues to freak out.
The demonic amphibians are easily cut down. However, when killed, they burst into hellflame and explode. That will probably catch Sirius and the fox unawares the first couple times it happens. But they're making progress!
"Nononono let me go I can't see her I can't stop her we're all gonna die!" Marigold continues to freak out.
The demonic amphibians are easily cut down. However, when killed, they burst into hellflame and explode. That will probably catch Sirius and the fox unawares the first couple times it happens. But they're making progress!
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Re: The Dreamlands
[Springtime]
Oh boy explosions.
This isn't the first time the fox has had to deal with exploding foes. The idea is to get in, wreck their face, and then quickly get out.
The first explosion MIGHT have set her on fire.
Just a little.
Thankfully she beat the flames out pretty quickly.
"Agate's got the right idea. This isn't a maze it's a Labyrinth. They're twisty but all the paths always lead to the middle where the Witch is waiting," the kumiho says. "But it might help if SOMEONE actually wanted to get there. C'mon, Marigold. You've gotta face the Witch. She's you and you can't hide from yourself. You've gotta beat the bad parts of you, you can't just let 'em get swollen and ugly in the dark."
Oh boy explosions.
This isn't the first time the fox has had to deal with exploding foes. The idea is to get in, wreck their face, and then quickly get out.
The first explosion MIGHT have set her on fire.
Just a little.
Thankfully she beat the flames out pretty quickly.
"Agate's got the right idea. This isn't a maze it's a Labyrinth. They're twisty but all the paths always lead to the middle where the Witch is waiting," the kumiho says. "But it might help if SOMEONE actually wanted to get there. C'mon, Marigold. You've gotta face the Witch. She's you and you can't hide from yourself. You've gotta beat the bad parts of you, you can't just let 'em get swollen and ugly in the dark."