Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Personal homes and private lots.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Rebonack »

[Jace's Place]

Oh yeah.

Yep.

That was just a weapon's grade teen girl eye roll from Khannie.

Why does Uncle Zebes have to be so weird?
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Earl of Purple »

Jace's Place

"I think it regrets something. That's why it wants me." Cheasadh has regrets. Brinika probably knows the basics; Jace and Zebes know most of the story. Khannie probably knows less of it.

Cheasadh does look a little uncomprehending at Zebes, and doesn't comment 'I thought that was swords', because when she was here she was seven and hasn't read the book in question. Probably read some goblin fiction, though, if there is any.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Morty »

[Jace's Place]

Brinika also looks at Zebes without understanding much. She guesses it was some kind of reference but she's lost as to what.

"I didn't know magic items could feel regret. But if it's a spirit, I guess that's different. Do you want to keep it? If it's safe and it understands you, it'd be a bit sad to leave it alone again."
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Jace's Place

[Khannie just doesn't understand proper humor.]
"It's your call, Cheasadh. If you don't want it I can keep it safe for you." Jace offers. One more magic relic in his house won't kill anyone.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Earl of Purple »

Jace's Place

"I think I'd like to keep it. If... that's OK? I don't want it to be lonely." And it seems to know and accept the darker parts of her history, which... yeah, everyone here knows about, but maybe not all her cousins do. And it approaches that acceptance from a different angle to everyone else, which... is quite good, too.

Granted, given the nature of its approach, it has some dark history that Cheasadh has no clue about, save it regrets either its actions or what it was instructed to do.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Rebonack »

[Jace's Place]

"I think that's nice of you. It sucks being lonely and no one should be. Even if the someone's a magical stick," Khannie says.

Which is, in her opinion, very encouraging!

The staff might not be a huge fan of being called a stick, though.

Hopefully it doesn't decide to punish her with like...

Ants.

Or something.

"It might be kinda helpful that it can want stuff since it'll be able to help teach you how to use it," Khannie also points out. "That'll be way easier than trying to figure out some sorta magic all on your own."
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Morty »

[Jace's Place]

"We know a lot of people who know magic. If anything happens, we'll be fine," Brinika says encouragingly.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Jace’s Place

Jace twirls the staff in his hand and presents it back to Cheasadh.
”Well there you are, then. You have my best wishes. And just ask if you have any other questions.”
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Earl of Purple »

Jace's Place

"Of course, thank you for your help." Cheasadh grins and takes the staff back, putting one end against the floor and leaning against it- before nearly tumbling and correcting her grip.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by General Shrimp »

Fort Aegis

It's book reading time in Fort Aegis!

Now that his children are old enough to talk, Sylvess has decided to schedule some light learning activities to help them develop. Every wednesday afternoon from 2 to 4 is book time.

Out in the courtyard of Fort Aegis, Sylvess watches on as the little dragon-babs (relatively speaking, at two years old they're considerably larger than a two year old human child), well, most of them aren't really reading, as such.

Hunched over an old newspaper, Drassinalrenn, the little brass dragon, is mostly just...chewing on it, and scratching it with his claws.

Hanging upside down from the rather elaborate climbing frame Sylvess made for his children, Imbaerisendovalrenn, the young copper dragon, has his snout buried in a comic book, about some character called "the artful dodger". He's probably not really picking up any of the words, but he's engrossed by the pictures.

And curled up, gnawing on a pencil that came free with the book, Heuldranwm, the platinum wyrmling, is staring intently at a children's puzzle book. She hasn't solved a single puzzle, but something about the pretty patterns on this particular page have fascinated her. It's like there's a shape hidden in there, but it's making her go a bit cross-eyed trying to see it.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Fort Aegis

Off to the side, Hiedorelnamastialrenn and Nasirastialrenn are attempting to work together to get through a children's book about time travel.

Meirhinealrenn is the only one who seems to be actually reading on her own, going over the rest of Drassin's newspaper. She daintily turns the pages with her tail.

Bhoreldisalrenn sits closest to Sylvess, staring uncomprehendingly at his sheet.
"Daaaaaad! What's this word?" he asks of Sylvess.

Spako stands guard by the entrance. He lets Sylvess teach his lessons, but he does have to make sure no one manages to escape.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by General Shrimp »

Fort Aegis

"Uh, let me take a look." Sylvess stretches and shuffles over, craning his neck round to look at Bhoreldis' sheet. He pauses, blinks, scratches his chin, thinks not for the first time that this might be a bit of a mistake, then says "Shiny. It says "the dragon's shiny hoard". B-because we, um, we like shiny things, don't we?"

Meanwhile, Heuldra seems to have had a breakthrough! Excitedly she jumps up and- still looking very cross-eyed, starts awkwardly stumbling over towards Spako. "Hey Dad, look! Look what I learned how to do!" She says, her eyes sort of bulging slightly. She might have crossed her eyes too much, they will not un-cross.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Fort Aegis

"I guess." answers Bhoreldis, who seems to be thinking long and hard before staring Sylvess in the face and saying three words that have terrified and annoyed parents for thousands of years.
"But why's that?"

"That's neat, Heuldra. But you shouldn't keep your eyes like that for long. You'll hurt yourself." Spako reaches down and gives the side of Heuldra's head a gentle tap.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by General Shrimp »

Fort Aegis

"Uh, w-well it's just sort of something we...do. I-I mean, we all do it. You've seen your dads' hoard. A-at some point you'll get hoarding instincts too. Uh, for example-" Sylvess reaches into the ever-present satchel hanging from his neck and pulls out a single, solitary, silver, shiny coin. It really is very, very shiny. He holds it up and lets the sunlight reflect off it. "What do you think?"

Heuldra blinks as Spako taps her head, causing her eyes to uncross. She pauses and blinks a few more times, realising how dry her eyes were getting. "Oh. Haha, sorry Dad. But I saw it! I saw the hidden picture in the puzzle book! How did they hide a picture in there like that?"
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Fort Aegis

The dragonling stares at his reflection in the coin, which is much bigger to him than his dad.
"Well, it's awful nice. How'd you get it? Can I have one?" Oh no Sylvess, if you start giving out coins you'll need one for everyone.

"I imagine they did that with very talented artists. Or special printers." Spako doesn't really understand computers but he does know people can do very impressive things with them.
"Do you want to make fancy art some day, Heuldra?"
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by General Shrimp »

Fort Aegis

"See? You may not feel the some pull I do, but you already want it. O-over time you'll start feeling a desire to hoard things." Sylvess leans forward with a smile to give the little dragon a gentle pat. "So for now, the coin goes back i-in the bag. But when the time is right, we'll make sure you all have something t-to start off your hoards."

Spako's words are a little lost on Heuldra. Printers are a bit beyond what she's learned so far. But she understands the weird art is made by a special thingy, and that's good enough for now. "Um, I don't know? I could try painting again?"

There's a sheet somewhere covered in multi-coloured pawprints, the product of the children's first attempt at painting. Sylvess decided against a repeat for the time being on account of it taking a team of ten kobolds several hours to clean up the room afterwards. Not really fair on them.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Fort Aegis

The dragonling pouts visibly.
”Fiiiiine. It was cool though.” He does his best to go back to reading.
But the shiny thing weighs heavily on his mind.

”Well, painting on your own might need a little more time. Did you like it? Do you think you want to make things some day? Not everyone wants to do that sort of thing. I think your brother Nasir is more of the learning type than the creating type.” Spako predicts many books in his future.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

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Fort Aegis

Sylvess chuckles and moves away, to leave Bhoreldis to ponder the mysteries of the shiny coin. Something that still troubles some dragon philosophers to this day, but surely no match for the mind of a child.

Meanwhile, Drassin looks up from his slow destruction of the newspaper to peer at Meirhin. "Do all the squiggles really mean something to you?"

Heuldra gives Spako a confused look. "Aren't we all learning types?" They're all learning how to read, right?
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

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Fort Aegis

"Naturally." Meirhine insists. "You just have to know what to look for. You really don't get it?" she asks in mild disbelief.

"Well everyone can learn. But some people decide to do as much learning as they can for their whole lives. Not everyone's willing to dedicate themselves to that long-term." Spako explains to Heuldra.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by General Shrimp »

Fort Aegis

Drassin shakes his head, then awkwardly paws at a bit of shredded newspaper that's got stuck on his chin. "Noo, it's all just squiggles! Just fun to scratch at."

Heuldra pauses and hums thoughtfully as she considers Spako's explanation. "Dad, how long do we live for?"
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Fort Aegis

"But Daddy said how to read them! You paid attention right?" Surely Imbaeris wasn't distracting his brothers during Daddy's very important lessons on reading.

Spako considers the question, not having really expected it.
"A very, very long time. Hard to say, really. Why do you ask, Heuldra?"
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Butterfly Bay

Summertime in Butterfly Bay is very festive. As Owena learned last year there's always festivals, pop-up amusement parks, and of course lots of money being spent. Festivities enough to get the general citizenry to go outside which is impressive enough on its own.
Somehow, Kyrie is outside on this fine summer dusk. The whole place is festive enough that people are still out partying, but he's in the quieter parts of town because of course he is.
Still, there's someone here. A portly tiger-woman in a fancy robe sitting at a stand covered in a sparkly purple sheet with a crystal ball and a sign that says FORTUNES READ.
"Oh, hello sir! Want a glimpse into your future?" calls the woman.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Ironsmith »

[Butterfly Bay]

"See? It's just spun sugar." Owena holds out the confection to her uncle, who cranes back his neck to avoid getting a faceful of cotton candy. "It's like ninety percent air by volume. And just having saliva go to work on it breaks it down most of the way already. It's perfectly safe for us to eat." Owena grins and pops a pink fluff into her mouth. "Come on. Can't you try some?"

"...I would rather not." Kyrie grunts.

"Come oooon~"

"Owena. No." Kyrie frowns. "I can smell things in there I really should not be eating."

Owena sighs and lowers the stick. "...You know what? Fair. But that aside... you've barely engaged with the festivities at all. Don't you think you should have at least a little fun while you're out here?"

"If I see something that looks like 'fun', I'll have a look." Kyrie replies simply. "But this... does not really fit my idea of a festival."

"...Right, right." Owena sighs and runs a hand over her forehead. "You're a traditionalist, I keep forgetting. Okay. So... if we were in Maesda right now, this would be..."

"We would be closing in on Dywelldydd."

"The lover's festival, right." Owena nods. "...Not to be confused with the Lovers' festival. Okay. Well... you don't have a girlfriend or anything you haven't told me about, right?"

"No."

"Okay. So what do single people do on Dywelldydd?"

Kyrie strokes his chin thoughtfully. "There isn't a formal tradition along those lines. But my comrades and I would normally visit a tavern. Have a few drinks. In the years just before the calamity, we started resolving to help each other find potential partners. Though obviously, that's not-"

"Well, I'll tell you what." Owena smiles. "I'm old enough to start getting drinks myself. Why don't we head up to Trog's... okay, not Trog's, might be a bit awkward since you work there, but a bar around here somewhere, and see if we can't re-create that tradition?"

Kyrie raises an eyebrow at that. "...That sounds... acceptable." The corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly. "But there were normally more than two of us."

Owena pulls out her cell phone. "Not a problem. I'll call up Codebreaker and Henry. See if they're doing anything else tonight." She takes a few steps away. "This'll take a minute. In the meantime... why don't you look around a bit more? Take a chance. One of these booths might turn out to be kind of fun after all."

Kyrie gives a lumbering nod and complies. There's bound to be something around here that might...
FORTUNES READ
...Sure. Why not. He hasn't spoken with a witch in some time.

"Excuse me, miss." Kyrie greets as her as he approaches the stand.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Butterfly Bay

The feline lady smiles a pointy-toothed smile at Kyrie as he approaches.
"Ah, I think I know you. You're Codebreaker's boyfriend, right? How's the old-new lug doing? Heard he's been reinventing his faith and all that. Sounds complicated. Like the new look, though." The town has long given up on the idea that Codebreaker is actually Codebreaker and not some significantly nicer person who probably put the old one out of his misery and took on his life for all that cash. Most of them respect the hustle. Especially since the old one was insufferable. But Kyrie probably doesn't know that.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

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[Butterfly Bay]

"...Codebreaker's...?" Kyrie blinks in surprise and shakes his head. "Dyma ni'n fycin mynd... I think we must have different understandings of that word, miss. I am his trainer. I have been getting him into fighting shape. He is my employer and my friend. That is the extent of our relationship." The wolf-knight cocks his head, waiting for the message to sink in a bit before moving on. "...He's doing well, incidentally. As you said, he's been quite busy with his duties as a priest. And it does indeed seem to be quite strenuous work, but he manages it well enough."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Butterfly Bay

The lady looks up at him with incredulous eyes.
“Hm. Right. Your client, who is seen with your family at the beach almost every night, whose house everyone sees you go into almost every day, who has requested you spend hours of the night with getting sweaty with all the time. Whose preferences are- or at least were, well known. Mmmhm.”
She lets that statement sit.
“But if you want your fortune read, it’s a silver piece.”
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Ironsmith »

[Butterfly Bay]

"If we were romantically involved with one another, it would not be a secret." Kyrie rumbles irritably. "What sort of coward would choose to hide the fact?"

The wolf-knight takes a seat at the booth and slides a silver piece over to the tiger-lady. She does have his curiosity, even if it comes with annoyance.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Butterfly Bay

The seer smiles, taking Kyrie's paws in her own and pressing them against the crystal ball.
"Hmm. I see- there has been a lot of trouble in your family. You will have to be there for them, but you'll all live.
You have a chance at love, but only if you're willing to roll over and show your belly. Uh, so to speak not- you get the metaphor.
And be careful around bars. Overindulging will leave you looking back in embarrassment."
She seems very proud of this reading despite that last point literally just being generic advice.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Ironsmith »

[Butterfly Bay]

It takes far more self-control than it should for Kyrie to not roll his eyes at this. A trustworthy fortune-teller is an oxymoron for a reason; like many before her, this woman seems to have studied the art of saying things that sound profound but don't actually mean anything at all. Of course he's going to be there for his family. Of course his dating life would get better if he wasn't so damn proud. Of course he shouldn't drink excessively. These things are all just common sense.

"...Is that it?" Kyrie asks after a moment. "I was hoping a silver piece would buy advice a touch more practical."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Keeper's Homes, Forts, Estates and Places

Post by Keeper »

Butterfly Bay

"Well I got more but it wouldn't really be helpful to you. I saw the person you have a good chance with, but what I saw was 'a large person with a tail' which you would agree, doesn't narrow it down around here. I also saw that a person you care a lot about but will never meet is having trouble with their family and may call on you, but I'm not sure what you would do with that.
Also, you have a god's protection but I'm quite sure you were already aware of it."
She sniffs a bit.
"Future-sight isn't exactly an exact science or people would be using it for everything."
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