Skullfort Town

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quillpleasant
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

There's a lot of terms being thrown around that Lia doesn't know- like what a phone is, or the Herd, or the Reaper. She's learning to suppress her curiosity and go with the flow however, because truly understanding everything here would take a very long time.

She watches the Colonel pray with slight amusement. It's hard to tell if his sincerity is, well, sincere; or just a product of his desperation. Still, she might as well help out. She dips her head, mushroom cap obscuring her face, as she mumbles a thanks for the rain and a wish for more when the time is right. Not that she knows when that will be.

As the moment passes, she lifts her head to study the others once more.

"You know, if you do need a message sent, I can actually help with that. But I guess prayers are a form of message? I don't know, we don't really have gods where I come from."
Last edited by quillpleasant on Mar 17, 2023 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Mist is certainly not used to having the whole herd's evening prayers' worth of grist dripping in right in the middle of the day.
"Oh, it's not really about messages. A god's Messenger is his emissary, his assistant, his right-hand-whatever-they are. Inari has like, at least five of them because she's super duper important to a billion worlds' worth of foxes."

Mist waves a hand. "So when I'm more important I'll have to get myself one. Maybe recruit a dead person's spirit like Dream. That was a cool idea." Letting someone get reborn as a mystical animal is probably also more ethical than making someone into one even if it's with their consent.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

The Colonel coughs into his hand when the talk turna to dead people. "That reminds me I'm still a spirit or two short of a weapon. Sincd you don't seem to know any, I'll be on my way." He claps his hands. On cue, the metallic warhorse appears from behind a corner. It keeps its distance from Mist, though, preferring to watch from afar with its flaming eyes while snorting foul-smelling gases through its nostrils.

"That said: if any spirits I find decline my offer, I'll be sure to pitch in yours. So, be on the lookout for applicants coming your way."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

That's a lot of foxes. Hyphaelia is impressed. She'd probably be even more impressed if she knew exactly what a fox was.

When the dead are mentioned, she gets a weird look for a second. Maybe she's hungry? The moment passes by quickly. She gives a little bow to Mist, somewhat disappointed they're leaving the large cozy inn so soon. She makes a mental note to come by this way again sometime.

"I'll bring money next time! That can't be hard to find, right?" It's fine. It's fine.

Lia narrows her eyes at the horse, but more out of habit now. She's actually starting to appreciate the hellish beast, not that she'd ever admit it.

"Where are we going now, Colonel? Is there a destination in mind or are we riding blind?"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"Um, you didn't really tell me what you needed the rain for but uh. Sure. You guys have a great day."
What an odd bunch of folks.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"Oh, but I did tell", the Colonel remarks as he jumps on the saddle, "warding off evil spirits." Such a wonderfully specific and helpful explanation, that is.

If Hyphaelia wants, he will help her to get on the horse as well, otherwise he'll just direct the horse to walk very slowly so she can keep pace.

"Well, now that I know someone who can call forth water, that broadens our options for the other thing quite a bit", he begins answering her, "finding a spirit willing to strike a deal is easier than finding one with specific powers." She might gather from his tone that this meeting with Mist wasn't quite what he hoped for, but sometimes you take what you can get. "There's one loose end in particular I haven't had the time to take care of yet. But, we don't have to head there straight away. We can take a break and camp in the woods if you want to."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Lia casts a last glance back at Mist and shrugs. For what it's worth, she has very little idea what they're doing either.

Taking the Colonel's hand, she clambers up behind him on the horse, holding onto his waist to keep steady. She's still quite awkward in the saddle, but she's getting better.

"What kind of deal are you looking to strike anyway? You're making a weapon, right?" It seems doubtful to her that he'll be able to find a spirit willing to be turned into such a thing, but she's not going to stop him from tilting at windmills.

As the horse trots into the wood, Lia sighs. After the initial burst of energy, the rain has made her very tired, and she doesn't want to stop, but...

"I think a rest would be nice, if you're not in too much of a hurry." He might notice that her mushroom cap is starting to match the lifeless gray hue of her skin. Something might be amiss here.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

"Most spirits I deal with are stuck for some reason or another. For some, any kind of deal that allows them to move on is an improvement. Others... well, they aren't too keen to go where they're headed. A chance to make amends is sometimes what they need. Even if it means becoming a weapon for someone", the man explains, "it's a job. There are worse ones."

He directs the horse some distance off the road and stops when he finds a suitable spot in shade of the trees. He helps Hyphaelia down, then starts looking for twigs and dry branches. "Does it do that often?", he asks, "your cap, I mean. You don't know much about humans, I don't know much about mushrooms. At least not the kind that talks." But he can usually tell how close living things are to death. Comes with his job.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

Lia nods; she's finally getting it now. "I've heard of souls being restless, it didn't occur to me that you'd be helping them move on, in a way. A mutually beneficial relationship." She still doesn't know what the weapon is for, but her curiosity is sated for now.

And she has some more pressing concerns as well. As Sandels begins putting together the campsite, Hyphaelia slumps on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. Almost all the color has drained from her now, and to those with the right senses, its pretty clear she's rapidly approaching death's door, although the reason isn't apparent.

"Ugh, I wasn't expecting this to come on so fast. Or so soon..." she mutters to herself. Glancing up at the man, she smiles wryly.
"All mushrooms talk. It's just that not everyone can understand them. And no, my cap shouldn't be doing this. I haven't been this far from the depths for so long before." She seems lost in thought, before finally coming to a decision.

"Sandels. I need to ask you something, and I need the truth. Can I trust you? If the answer is no, that's okay, but I need to know one way or the other." She looks more serious than she has before, and it's clear this is very important to her.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

Sandels puts his gathered pieces of firewood down and looks at the girl. "You can trust me to send your spirit to afterlife if you die on me now", he says with utter lack of humour, "but I take it you do not wish to. So what's the matter? Spit it out."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

Lia can't help but giggle at this. "I don't know what I was expecting, but I'll take it. No, I'd rather not go to any afterlife if I can help it." She closes her eyes, looking more exhausted than ever.

"Since leaving the depths, I have to rely on myself for rejuvenation instead of gaining energy from others of my kind. It's not a process I have full control over, and my body would rather not die at all, so all its energy is going into staying alive. By the time I actually waste away, I'll be so drained that I can't come back at all. That's where you come in." Her voice is quite calm, as if this is all a very normal process. Maybe it is for her.

"I'm guessing you're good at killing, right? Well that's what I need right now. If you kill me quickly and painlessly, then hopefully I can rejuvenate without too much trouble. But you'll need to guard my body during the process, because if it's disturbed then it won't work. So I'm trusting you to keep me safe until I come back."

Lia opens her eyes and looks up at Sandels, a pleading look on her face. "I know it's a lot to ask. If you can't do it, I understand."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

Sandels shrugs. "Not much of a death if you quickly come back. But fine." He beckons for his horse to come closer. "Just checking before I do anything... you do die to all the same things a human would, right? 'Cause if you don't, now would be a good time to tell. I mean, I can get it right through trial and error. But there might not be much left of you if I do, so."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

"It's not meant to be much of a death. I'm not planning on dying permanently any time soon, or ever if I can help it." She doesn't sound very confident, however.

Standing up shakily, Lia takes a deep breath, readying herself. "I think humans have different internal organs than me, all I have is a brain. So stabbing me in the heart wouldn't do much. I also don't have a lot of blood, so I wouldn't count on slitting my throat or something. But aside from that, anything should work." She screws her eyes shut, ready for the reaper to do his work.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

Sandels nods. "All you have is a brain, eh? Well, hope you don't need all of it." He gestures at the horse, which suddenly rears and delivers a swift kick to Hyphaelia's head. It's a good thing she closed her eyes. Saves her half of a second of terror.

The man, for his part, just sits down. The force of the horse's kick is enough to knock out and kill any normal human in an instant. If Hyphaelia's head is any mushier than that, her skull will likely cave in and spill mushroom bits all over. He's not interested in that. What happens to her body is secondary, he is watching her spirit, her nature and her self, to see whether they scatter or stay with her body. For all he knows, the kick might kill her for good, forcing him to do as he promised.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

Lia goes down immediately, her mushroom cap and the head within both shattered. She falls limp and lifeless to the ground.

However, her spirit does not depart. In fact, her body doesn't actually seem to lose its vital essence at all. Instead, it's somehow restructuring itself. Sandels can sense her life force waning and waxing, almost like a heart beating. At times it fades away almost entirely, then it suddenly flares up for a few moments.

As this continues, her body becomes more and more gray and dry, almost desiccated. Hairline cracks appear across her skin, and a few of her extremities crumble into dust. She seems to be slowly dissolving into the earth.

This goes on for several hours, likely all through the night. All that time, Lia's spirit seems to be slowly but surely gathering energy.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

The man could just leave. But, it would seem like a wasted opportunity. If the girl does die, maybe he can make her into a weapon? If she doesn't... well. He doesn't really know what to do about that. But he doesn't need to.

Plus, he's awfully tired. He digs a little hole in the ground and builds a pagoda of the twigs he gathered. "Help a man out", he mutters to the horse. The beast lowers its head and snorts loudly, blowing wisps of flame out of its nostrils. The twigs catch fire fast. The man nods approvingly "Good boy." He lies down next to the fire, enjoying the warmth. It won't last long, but it doesn't need to. Cold is one thing that does not kill him easily.

So, he rests, eventually falling into light sleep. Not that it keeps him from keeping guard. When the body sleeps, the soul is free to wander. His travels amidst the trees and sits on the branches, unseen by mortal men.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

The night passes, and as it does so the energy inside the desiccated corpse grows in strength slowly but surely. It's around six in the morning when it suddenly flares up, easily apparent to the watchful soul. It's a sudden pulse of life force, like a bubble bursting all at once.

This is accompanied by a dry, cracking sound, likely waking the guarded sleeper. The remains of Lia's body splits open, like the skin of a young cicada. Unfolding from within is a thin, brightly colored shape that soon expands, cap opening and limbs stretching until a new Hyphaelia stands in the clearing. But this one is much different from before.

Her face and features are the same, but gone is the dull gray skin, replaced by a vibrant teal. Her mushroom cap is dotted with spots of luminous purple, the gills on its underside a deep green that melts into her hair. She seems somehow stronger, more complete and full of energy. She's even grown new clothes, replacing her ragged brown dress with flowing strips of shining violet. Sandels can tell that her spirit has transferred fully to this new form, and indeed her old body swiftly crumbles into gray spores that begin to float away in the early morning breeze.

Opening her eyes, Lia breathes in deeply, reveling in the fresh sensation. She glances around the clearing, seeing the world with new eyes, delighted by the trees, the campfire's embers, even the horse. Then, finding Sandels, she beams at him.

"You stayed! I wasn't sure... well, the rejuvenation worked! I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you. Oh, this is just wonderful!" And, brimming with happiness and new energy, she can't help but try to hug the taciturn Colonel.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

By morning, the horse has lain down to take a nap and appears to be dreaming, if such a creature ever actually sleeps. The horse notices changes in Lia's corpse first, standing up and going to sniff her questioningly. The shade in the trees observes this and returns to the man's worn body. Sandels wakes and groggily gets up.

"Well, that's handy", he comments on Lia's rejuvenation, standing next to her, hands stuffed in his pockets, "too bad I can't do the s- whoa!" He lifts his arms up as she suddenly hugs him. "I did next to nothing, but I suppose I should take what gratitude I can get." He squirms out of her grasp and goes to the horse.

"Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I'm going to catch something to eat while on the way. Next stop is about as far from here, as here was from the city. It's not going to be as nice. Lots of nasty folks, there. Some might hold a grudge against me. Well, if they recognize me. Hopefully not in these rags."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Forest

"Next to nothing? You killed me, that's hardly nothing!" beams Lia, completely unaware of how that would sound out of context. "I might have wasted away entirely if not for you."

Filled with a sudden appreciation for existence, she approaches the hellish horse, reaching out in an attempt to pet its snout. She seems to have lost all fear of it, regarding it as a helpful friend.

She wrinkles her nose at Sandel's question. "I suppose I am hungry. If there's any rotten logs or corpses around I'd go for one." What else would a mushroom eat, after all?

Lia looks utterly unconcerned at the thought of people holding a grudge. "I'm not scared of anyone messing with us. I'm sure you can hold your own, and now that I'm rejuvenated I can always dose some people with spores if necessary." She clambers up onto the horse with unearned confidence. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Forest]

The horse... accepts the pet, nickering as Lia touches it. It is very far from the helpful creature she thinks it is... but it can pretend. It is what it does.

"Technically, the horse there killed you", Sandels says, just as Lia's finished getting on it, "but clearly, that doesn't bother you. So sure. Lets go."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Outside the Dancing Fox Inn

Koshal is having a pretty good time. Why?
Because he has a burger, and you can't have a bad time while having a great burger. Turkey, in this case.
Koshal has been hungry a LOT recently. Uncle Krayger says that that happens when minotaurs start growing a lot. Their bodies need to bulk up as they get taller and a LOT wider in the shoulders.
The young minotaur has his sword with him but he doesn't have his armor at the moment. It's stopped fitting as he's been growing so Leah has suggested he take some time off to finish his growth spurt. After all, certain strenuous workouts while a child or teen is growing can be bad for them! A month just taking it easy and having his other lessons can't possibly be bad, right? He has time to learn about history and magic and stuff.
...which of course is the exact time he wants to be going out and doing adventurous stuff. At least he has Faye to keep him company.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Outside the Dancing Fox Inn]

Is that the place?

Pretty sure that's the place.

Aunt Geneva said that was where she had met Uncle Nick and as it turned out this 'Skullfort' place wasn't THAT far from a cool place Khannie was poking around in for ACTION! Archeology. So obviously coming here to buy some lunch before continuing on her expedition is clearly the right choice. It'll sate her curiosity, get her some food, and... dunno. Maybe something else.

The narrative sort of something else.

All students at PREP are required to take Narrative classes. Leaning to recognize that narrative tug is important for any would-be protagonist. And getting close to the inn, Khannie is definitely getting that distinctive feeling that something is gunna go down. Something important somehow. Hopefully not something weird. Hopefully it just means some kinda encounter or some-

"YOU!"

Koshal now has a human teen girl in warm autumn dress wearing a ball-cap to keep her giant poofy ponytail in check pointing at him.

"You're that guy from the skeleton castle! The one with the dog-shadow!"


She totally forgot his name.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Outside the Dancing Fox Inn

"Oh, hi Khannie! It's been a while. I'm sorry I forgot to ask you for your phone number back at the castle." Koshal somehow remembers the girl's name. Which is honestly impressive.
Koshal is pretty recognizable, other than the fact that he's wearing a casual tunic and jeans instead of armor and he's a bit larger. Khannie goes to PREP where there's lots of heroes and athletes so she can probably tell that he's more got the 'currently bulking up for workout regiment' look rather than being in any way out of shape.
The dog shadow in question wags her tail and approaches the girl, looking for pets.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Outside the Dancing Fox Inn]

Okay suddenly Khannie is feeling awkward.

This guy remembered her name but she totally forgot his. How did he even REMEMBER that? It was like... a couple hours from two years ago. Okay sure it was this whole giant adventure thing BUT STILL! Most everyone has giant adventures sometimes right?

...no.

Not right.

Maybe it was just a really big deal to him while it was pretty mundane to Khannie? Maybe that was it?

Maybe she should just awkwardly pet the dog.

"Okay gunna be real with you? I totally forgot your name. But the dog was Faye, right?" she says, pointing at the dog in question with her non-patting hand. Why is it that she remembered the dog's name but not his? Lame.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Outside the Dancing Fox Inn

"Huh? Yeah that was like, ages ago it's no big deal. That's Faye like you said, and I'm Koshal. You been doing okay?"
He takes a big bite to finish off his burger. It's possibly slightly unnerving, since minotaurs like Koshal have slightly human-like teeth instead of a regular cow that don't have horizontally symmetrical sets of teeth. Not everyone even knows that but it can be a little unsettling regardless.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Outside the Dancing Fox Inn]

Khannie really hasn't spent a great deal of time staring at cow mouths so she really isn't going to notice at all.

"Koshal. Koshal. Okay gunna remember that," the definitely normal human teen repeats a few times. "Yeah, I've been doing fine. I started taking classes at PREP a couple months after the thing at the castle; it's been a blast. I'm actually out here to work on some stuff for my ACTION! Archeology class. There's these ruins like two miles that way-"

She waves an arm in a general direction.

"-that haven't been explored much. I think someone spotted 'em from the air but they haven't been mapped out yet? So I'm gunna do that. See what I can find. But first I was gunna get lunch at the inn," she says, jerking her thumb at the inn in question. "'s where my aunt and uncle met. What about you? You doing okay?"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Outside the Dancing Fox Inn

"Oh that sounds cool. I'm Lady Danir's squire so I don't really go to a school. I'm just hanging out for a month or two focusing on my magic and history lessons. I'm in the middle of a growth spurt and Uncle Krayger said I need to be a little careful with my diet and exercise because if I work too hard while I'm growing really fast I could hurt myself." He's definitely pretty tall. "I could maybe guide you to the ruins, though? People probably don't go there because they're close to the spider woods and you don't go to the spider woods."

And presently someone else walks out!
"Did someone say lunch at the inn?" asks Mist as he opens the front door, the centaur dressed in his usual regalia of his Black Herd black scarf, ring, and flute case plus a clean white shirt. Something Khannie will probably notice immediately is the fact that he doesn't have a shadow; instead the shadows of a hawk, buffalo, and fox move along the ground near him. Somehow someone that big didn't even make noise until the door opened and the wind picked up immediately when it did. Yup, he's weird. "Can I get you something?"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Outside the Dancing Fox Inn]

"A squire? So you're like... doing knight apprentice stuff? That's cool," Khannie replies, considering that very interesting subject. "Y'know, I think that's actually what my friend's cousin is doing, too. She's hoping to be the first ever goblin night. I guess you could show me the way if you want? Or not since it sounds like you don't really wanna go near the spiders."

From Khannie's tone it sounds like she has absolutely zero concern regarding the spiders, but she's not going to fault someone for not wanting to go near the spiders. Especially if they're giant spiders since that's what a name like 'the spider woods' definitely implies.

But then another person with hooves! With some weird shadow stuff going on! That seems to be something of a theme here.

Khannie makes a bit of a snorting noise, covering her mouth with her hand. "Hah, sorry, I'm starting to feel kinda outta place now. Hold on a sec."

She reaches down and grips the front of her shoes and pulls a bit, causing a seal to pop and the shoes to make some velcro noises as the toes open up. Then she eases off on her illusion a bit. This is actually something she's been practicing, just partly peeling back her human illusion. Mostly because it looks cool but also partly because it's hard to use unicorn magic when her horn is obscured. Khannie is now sporting her unicorn hind legs, tail, and horn. And she's let the fox spirit really manifest visually in her shadow, too. Normally she has to keep that in check, but if she doesn't?

Her shadow looks like it belongs to a vaguely human-shaped fox monster rather than whatever she happens to look like at the moment.

"Bam. Now I blend in with the crowd," she says, wobbling slightly because standing on her hind hooves without illusion support isn't something she does often. The tail is basically required to help her keep her balance. Khannie is one hundred percent sure she would fall over like a doof without her tail. "Okay, lunch! Uh... have you got a menu?"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Outside the Dancing Fox Inn

"Oh, you know Iknika? We were squire buddies." They were both squires at the same time which is coincidence enough in the Nexus.
"And it's not that I don't wanna go near them. It's that they are their own sovereign kingdom and allowing you to go there through Skullfort territory could cause a diplomatic incident. And I can't let you start a war, you know?"

And then hooves. Mist grins wide, suppressing a laugh. Mist loves meeting new ridiculous nexus critters that only it could produce. He just wants to hug the funny hybrid shadow-horse-satyr but he restrains his fey whimsy.
"Here you are, Miss." he says instead, handing her a worn paper menu.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Outside the Dancing Fox]

"Oh, they're people spiders," Khannie replies. Usually giant spiders aren't very people-y. Now she's imagining a spider sitting on top of a throne with a little crown and a scepter held in a leg. That probably bears little resemblance to reality but there's no law against imagining silly things.

And Khannie isn't very horse-y! Her legs are more akin to a reindeer's, except for the fact that her fur is black with that iridescent purple sheen to it. And she's got one of those long unicorn tails going on, too. Those are definitely some cloven deer-style hooves. Khannie's got FOUR toes on each foot, two big ones and two little ones. Not one.

"Thanks. Umm..."
she looks over the menu, running her tongue along her teeth as she thinks about what to order. "I guess I'll have the fried chicken burger? That sounds good."

Khannie is, thankfully, not an obligate herbivore. She's pretty sure she would perish on the spot if she could never eat meat again. Thankfully she's still half-equestrian and she's got the shadow fox mixed in there. And right now fox is saying chicken is the way to go.
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