Difference between revisions of "Scribers of the Storm"
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Serrendine smiles, a touch sad, but the widow has only been so for so long and behind the scholarly reserve is a wound, likely to the soul. "We trust you, if you decide just to remember him, we're grateful." |
Serrendine smiles, a touch sad, but the widow has only been so for so long and behind the scholarly reserve is a wound, likely to the soul. "We trust you, if you decide just to remember him, we're grateful." |
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− | Faran for her part fidgets a little bit, "It's |
+ | Faran for her part fidgets a little bit, "It's gonna be a lot of pretty colors for a second, Lily, then I'll be back to normal, ok? Don't be scared." And, with that, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before releasing the embrace and straightening. As before, there is a shimmer in the air, ripples of rainbow and wisps of smoke before the albino is suddenly there again with a beaming smile, and her arms spreading wide for another hug. |
Lily squeaks and stares! The warning helped, and the swirling colours seemed to fascinate her greatly. She looks around and up, searching for Sith-Faran. Then she hugs, pushing the plush sith-toy she's got against Faran's front, as if trying to get them to merge and for her to turn large, or something. |
Lily squeaks and stares! The warning helped, and the swirling colours seemed to fascinate her greatly. She looks around and up, searching for Sith-Faran. Then she hugs, pushing the plush sith-toy she's got against Faran's front, as if trying to get them to merge and for her to turn large, or something. |
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Serrendine arches an eyebrow and steps over to gently set a hand on Lily's head, taking this with some curiosity. |
Serrendine arches an eyebrow and steps over to gently set a hand on Lily's head, taking this with some curiosity. |
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− | Faranmidahn's hand is holding her gently as she completes her incantation, " |
+ | Faranmidahn's hand is holding her gently as she completes her incantation, "Another arc within the tale, I bid thee now, abate in scale." she gives a gentle squeeze, and her magic, with similar shimmers and whispers of shadow, the subtle tingle suffuses the Sith's body and, between heartbeats, her perspective shifts, leaving her fit to see her sister eye to eye. She smiles, 'How do you feel?' <halfling> |
+ | |||
+ | <pre>GAME: Faranmidahn casts Reduce Person. Caster Level: 7 DC: 15<pre> |
||
Cryo is reduced. All her personal references, her gear, are magical and shrink with her. It seems more as if Faran, Serrendine and Lily have grown, along with the room. |
Cryo is reduced. All her personal references, her gear, are magical and shrink with her. It seems more as if Faran, Serrendine and Lily have grown, along with the room. |
Revision as of 06:40, 24 October 2020
Log Info
- Title: Scribers of the Storm
- Emitter: Faranmidahn
- Characters: Faranmidahn, Cryosanthia
- Place: A16: Nobility District
- Time: Thursday, October 08, 2020, 4:20 PM, Saturday, October 10, 2020, 11:42 PM, Sunday, October 18, 2020, 2:41 PM
- Summary: Cryosanthia is acting as a scribe for Serrendine Waywalker, Faranmidahn's dame. The two are recreating the professor's work on the everstorm, regenerating relevant formulae and creating a treatise in place of the destroyed raw data. Cryo is doing her best to keep up, as it's all beyond her, but some things are sticking and aligning with the hard-won knowledge she got from the Tower. Faran and Lily return, the Lucht knight has been out giving a spider-ride to the kobold youngling, and generating great excitement. Lily is exhausted and drops into a nap, which doesn't last long as Faran shows off some new spells she has. One, allows her to turn into a sith'makar, much to Cryo, and the swiftly re-awakening Lily's delight. Cryo is amazed as how well her sister's sith self is, and questions her about it. The spell wears off too soon, but there are other gifts. A chibi-Faran, for Cryo, to hold when she is distressed, a gift that the white sith still needs. A hickory practice blade, sized for a lucht knight-in-training, or perhaps, a kobold knight. A blade carved by Korsandir, Faran's father. Cryo promises to treasure it, and teach Lily should she show interest. Finally, a reduce person spell, which brings Cryo down to her foundling and lucht family's scale. She's disoriented, but excited, and extremely energetic. After bouncing off the walls she suggests they go out for a meal, where she'll show them how much she can eat.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--<* A16: Nobility District *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
The splendor of the technology, bustle and eclectic energy of the city and nation of Alexandria all seem to point towards the towering structures and constant thrum of activity in the Castle District. The Castle District contains the vast majority of the government offices, guild headquartrs, noble quarters and political functions of the city. The very air seems energized with this level of importance. The architecture is pompous and enormous, consisting largely of multi-leveled edifices and great jutting towers and buildings that seem to grow out of the mountains with hanging gardens and brightly colored banners and mana lamps strewn about. Everything seems to be aiming upwards here and pointing towards the freedom of the skies beyond. The grand towers and structures reaching heavenwards and activity in the skies above a constant happening with ships of all sizes from air-cabs to great merchant vessels moving through the Skygates and Griffon Riders moving through their patrols as they pass through and above the many bridges and walkways that connect the towers, buildings and walls.
Ever-easterward stands the fortress-castle of Castellum Alexandrae and a large bulk of both ground and air traffic seems focused in that direction.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Faranmidahn 3'3" 35 Lb Halfling Female Albino Lucht woman in black leather armor with a BIG spider Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=--=--=--=--=--=-- Noteable NPCS --=--=--=--=--=--=--= Serrendine An older Lucht scholar, Faranmidahn's dame Lily A carnation scaled kobold, Cryo's foundling -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Inside the Chapterhouse of the Order of the Purple Rose, with it's unique blend of miilitant austerity and artful dance with Chivalrous fancy, houses the restoration of combined decades of research.
That process is contained within the somewhat bipolar chambers of the Waywalker women, with the desk and table currently occupied by stacks of parchment dusted and compiled with some corroborated records from the Arcanist Guild, while other corners of the room are stocked with silks and tailoring miscelae of profound inventory, assorted clothing varying from Faran's rough hunting silks to finer gowns in the Knight's size. The window has been given over to Zephyr for her web, and Lily's toys, restored via magic, have beeen gathered.
Within, Serrendine, her greying hair wound into a bun is currently polishing her reading glasses in a brief pause in the transcription, which has as much teaching as dictation.
Meanwhile, somewhere outside, Faran has been taking Lily out on something Serrendine called a 'joyride' for most of the morning, but should be back soon.
Cryosanthia is seated on the floor, a kneeling position with her tail curled around her legs. She seems oversized for the room, the furniture to a smaller scale, and she looms over the table. The white sith wears all her gear, an elaborate corset being a recent addition to her ensemble, though her AnyGarment sleeves have switched to simple scholar's robes.
She holds a quill poised near an ink-well, a parchment in front of her and ink stains on her sleeves. The writing is exceptional, calligraphy with perfect penmanship. Cryo blows at the page to encourage the ink to dry as she reads over what she's written.
The words have a tendency to flow over her mind the way water flows over her scales. She gets wet when she swims and some seeps under, but a lot passes her by. The same happens with knowledge, some kernels stick and she knows about a lot of things, but the connections and relevance isn't always obvious to her. Even more frustrating, she's aware of the deficiency.
She reads the last sentence aloud, then looks at Serrendine for approval.
The Lucht slips her glasses onto her nose and scrutinzes the letters in a very studious manner, "You have a fine hand." she replies. She turns then to the corner of the desk she herself has occaisionally been scribbling away on, to withdraw a sheet of paper with some manner of arcane formula scribed upon it, "This is Geezlerum's formula, how we determined that last part." There is a little pause, and a, "Oh! Do you have any questions?"
The Sith is watching eagerly and accepts the compliment, explaining enigmatically, "She made sure the finger tendons were aligned perfectly and unimpeded."
The question gets further consideration. "Um..." Cryo says, stalling for time as she organizes her thoughts. "It... the formula, normalizes the observed magic, adjusting for the partially manifested effects by quantifying the energy required... so..."
She searches through some nearby pages, for another graph, "... the energy level of the local affected area is established... and ..." Her sapphire eyes fix on the Professor's, her final statement said with more confidence, "... you can determine if the level is increasing or descreasing, and with enough data points you can monitor the flow through the distribution of the storm and extrapolate if it is overall gaining, losing, or remaining stable?"
Serrendine frowns a little about the observation about Cryosanthia's 'adjustments', and she idly rubs at the mounting of her restorned limb, but with the Sith's fervor, she isn't sure to laud or console her upon it. Instead, as Cryo finds her applicable notes, she nods, "You're learning." she says with a little smile, "Can you transcribe this as an addendum to that last section, please?"
Cryo's attention is drawn to the rubbing and the lucht's new limb. She dips her head in apology, brushing her hand along her left arm, the backs of her fingernails clicking along her scales. So many faint blue lines, "She adjusted a lot of things, I don't know why. Still getting over it, I guess. I'm sorry."
The sith immediately starts writing, the quill scratching away as she adds the addendum she just spoke, without the 'ums'. The quiet scratching continues for a while. Once complete, she re-reads it, and it sounds intelligent. It gives her a satisfied feeling inside.
"So... did you determine if the Everstorm is self-sustaining and really an 'Ever Storm', or is magic leaking in from somewhere or out of something, like... a decanter of endless waters?"
"No, dear, that is not your sin." Serrendine answers softly, "It belongs to another. She has done so much to you..." Here, a tiny hand, itself spattered with the occassional inklot, alights upon Cryo's arm. She lays the paper, Geezlerum Whizzleyeet's formula down before her work so she can see it, easier. The question brings a slow shake to the elder Lucht's head, "No. We have only been able to ovserve so much from our position. A deeper investigation costs too many lives and material. I suspect what we call the Everstorm is a sort of primordial candescence. The forces involved when Kulthus was destroyed were immense, perhaps causing a parabolic sheering across the neighboring planes, and the Aetherium of our world is seeping in, like rain between paving stones, to be catalyzed in some way and roil back through the spline to our world as what we call the Everstorm."
Cryo relaxes, a tension she wasn't aware of slipping away when Serrendine gently lays her hand on her scales. The calligraphy training with the Mistake never had approval, at best an absence of punishment, and while taking down notes is so familiar for the Sith it's relaxing there's still an instinctual worry every time there's a pause. She smiles carefully at Serrendine, the edges of her mouth curling and her teeth staying in, "Thank you."
She pays intense attention to the answer to her question, mentally snatching at words like she would parry attacks with her dagger, attempting to address and understand each one. "So... a bigger, worse version of Alexandria's Spell Cannon? Ripping through planes and... the shockwaves... agitating it again when they bounce and return?"
The Lucht frowns a little in thought, "Perhaps, I haven't studied such weapons in detail, though it has been a theory tossed about." she says softly. She smiles, just a little, then, "Only the Gods themselves may ever truly know for certain, but... Cryosanthia. How are you handling everything?"
The white sith leans back, her tail moving behind to support her. She sets the quil down. A soft exhale. She closes her eyes, "Swimming helped. It helped a lot. The unexplained fear remains, but it does not pull me as strongly."
Her eyes open again, "It has become getting through each day. Make it to the night, to sleep, embrace the chaos, welcome it. Lily is a joy and there are many learning experiences, and I can't influence gods and generals."
Cryo puts a hand in her lap, the other touches the bag around her neck, "Some Charneth Emmissarys arrived by airship, went straight to the Castle. This one doesn't want to consider what it means. This one will leave the city if there is some alliance with Charn. There is no point speaking up, it will be whatever it is. I shouldn't worry, should ignore it. It still disturbs me."
Serrendine nods and looks into the Sith's face, "I'm glad you still feel that way about her, Cryosanthia." A wan smile, then she gently pasts her arm again, "I hadn't heard about Charn, though I imagine I understand the issue." She looks toward the window at the sound of a some voices raised in startlement, "I think the girls will be back soon."
"Oh!" Cryo turns her head, leaning her neck so she can more easily listen out the window. "I hope so. It will be good. Shall we pack away the notes as well? This, the writing, has been very helpful to me. It may not have been the best time, taking her dictation, but is very familiar with the weight of years and gives a sense of stability to be scribing now."
Following her suggestion, she blows carefully on the most recent page, then stoppers up the inkwell. Papers are collected, stacked.
The Professor nods and gently pats the Sith's arm, "Yes, let's. I imagine they'll both be wound up." she says with a faint wry smile. She steps over to her desk and starts to sort out her papers in order. As she does, she notes, "Some of the best sages in the world started as note takers for their mentors." She sighs and looks to Cryo, then, "If I start treading too close to the Fae woman, say so."
"I will," Cryo rests her hand on Serrendine's when she touches her arm, and gives it a squeeze, "You haven't so far. And I doubt Cryosanthia and Great Sage will be in the same sentence, but this one will have time to work on it."
Papers are gathered, carefully sorted, and handed over to the Professor. The sith woman takes a moment to stand up and stretch towards the ceiling, one side, then the other. She leans her head back, working her neck. Leaning forward and looking down has been the order of the day so far.
Serrendine nods and, "Few Sages are born, most are made, but, as you said, you have time." The elder lucht continues to square things away, finaly slipping stacks of notes into the filing system within her desk, "It's been very good having you help me, dear. Thank you."
Cryo makes a small eager noise, and just a tiny bounce. She might have years, but still eagerly enjoys compliments. "I've enjoyed it too, anything, to help you, for all you've done, for watching Lily when I go adventuring. For... understanding."
A sentiment that is in short supply. The white sith spends a moment concentrating. Her clothes adjust, the inkstains are gone. She listens and watches the door, expecting the new arrivals. "I have to fix what I can. I can do this."
The door latch clicks and the door opens, allowing the entrance of a sunny looking Faran with Lily cradled in her arm, "I bet they're still scribbling away." she says with a wink to the little Kobold as a vaguely bewildered squire in the hall stares after her. She eases her niece down with a, "We're back!" before turning to close the door. She hangs her cloak on the back of the door, "How did it go?"
"Ssassaa!" Lily charges over to Cryo, wrapping around her shin and babbling fast at her in draconic, describing her day. A very exciting one, from the way she's telling it.
Cryo smiles down, carefully crouching, then sitting so she's back on kobold and lucht level. It was nice to see the tops of the shelves, but she would rather interact with people. "Very well! This one understood the theorem, and some of the research activities. We filled many pages. The Everstorm has a lot of details."
The sith scribe looks over at the professor for confirmation.
Faranmidahn giggles a little as she regards Lily running up to make her excited report, "She was such a good girl, Cryo, she listened to me, and never tried to get loose on me while we were riding." The little Knight drifts over to Serrendine for a quick hug, and a wry smile as her dame replies, "Indeed." nudging her reading glasses further up on her nose.
There is still a bit of awkwardness between the lucht women, but, certainly better than before. Faran then ventures over to hug her sister and neice together, "How are you doing, honey?"
"This one is good. The swim helped. The talk with Mikilos helped." Cryo says, hugging Faran tightly after first making sure Zephyr isn't in danger. She brushes her sister's hair, then rubs the pink kobold's head.
"Glad to hear you were good. Very good." She says, as Lily wriggles around, interrupted only briefly. She attempts to keep up."Yes, Oh yes. Yes."
Attention to Faran again, "The darkness will always be there but I can keep it back. I think. Are you well, also, the day was not a chore I hope?"
The knight nods with a big smile, giving a happy sigh as Cryo rubs her hair, and, "I'm fine, sweetie, just fine. We had fun!" During the embrace, Zephyr takes the oppurtunity to crawl up onto the Sith's head. There is a sound, rather like her purr, but more complex, when the albino says, "I'll ask her." in a dubious tone, "Cryo? Zephyr wants to know if you'd ever let her make a web in your horns."
"In my horns?" Cryo's eyes widen, and she touches one of them. She laughs, carefully wiggling her fingers at the spider she can somewhat sense but not see. "Yes, whenever she likes. Will she be upset if it comes apart when I leave her? A web would not last long through my travels." Faranmidahn turns to look up and starts to make odd little noises of her own, there's a response from the spider, and a fond, "That's my girl." She smiles and looks to Cryo, "She understands. Maybe when we have a nice quiet day together." Her mother says, "You can finally understand her, then?"
"Just before this one cleans out the Swiftclaw corral might be a good time. She would capture a lot of things." Cryo grins. She pulls Lily into her lap, and checks her over for scratches. Well, something. Routine worried clutch-mother examinations. She tells her foundling, "It sounds like you had a great day."
"Yes!" Lily peeps, then promptly falls asleep, running completely dry of energy in an instant.
The white sith's head turns, she leans and nuzzles at Faran's hair, listening for the answer.
Faranmidahn encircles her neck with her arms, carefully, to avoid squishes either of the two smaller females, then gently kisses her cheek. She looks to Zephyr, making a few more noises, and the little spider starts doing a little dance on Cryo's head, "Now she's excited!" she giggles. She glances to her mother, then and, "It started last night. I'm glad we didn't keep you up."
With Lily's declared delight, she smiles down to the little kobold and gently caresses the pink scales, "There's something I want to show you, well, a couple things, but, maybe just one, so we don't wake lily."
Cryosanthia nods, looking curious, "The thing earlier, that you mentionned in the park? This one would see." She's gently stroking the sleeping form, smiling. "Zephyr talks in your head? That must be unusual."
A glance round to check on Serrendine, then back to looking at her daughter.
Faranmidahn nods with a wink, then crosses her arms in front of herself as she steps a little back where there is more room. She twines the fingers of her left hand into a short trio of complex gestures.
On the first, "Path unset, my form revised." <halfling>
The second, "Unlock me, both shape and size!" <halfling> comes out like a command and she punctuates the incantation with the final gesture, touching it to her forehead with her eyes closed.
There is a ripple in the air, shimmers trimmed in rainbow and wisps of shadow and sudden she is there. She should be there.... but she isn't.
A Sith makar female, however, is, one much as Cryo was when they met, sleek and tall, scaled in ivory and bone with large, glittering pink eyes. These blink, and her head cants, 'How do I look?'
GAME: Faranmidahn casts Alter Self. Caster Level: 7 DC: 16
Cryosanthia startles, and stares, "You... you ARE my sister." She inhales hard, sniffing, to see if the scents are right. They are. Her head roves, looking over Faran's new form, the changes. Her voice is full of awe, "It's like looking in a mirror, altered, and still you. That's amazing."
Lily's weight in her lap kept Cryo from jumping up. She wants to still, settles for reaching out to touch. "You are beautiful, the males would sing at you."
Faranmidahn fidgets a little and ducks her head a little bit, not shying from the touch, though there is a certain nervous flick of her tail. She blinks and twists a little to look at the limb, wobbling a little bit, "Wow..... everything is so different!" She sniffs a few times and, mindful of Lily, carefully edges further into her sister's reach and, now, better equipped, she starts to make that soothing thrum.
"It's like looking at my younger self. Before Her." Cryo says, her voice catching, her breath quickening as she releases a thought, inhaling instead. "The scents are correct, you are sith'makar. Sister, truly, and this one always imagined you as a kobold."
She laughs carefully, leaning her head to listen to the thrumming. She duplicates the noise, adding to it, "That also, is correct."
Her head rises, "What is the most different or surprising?"
Faranmidahn smells a little bit distressed, and a little ashamed as Cryo reminds her of how things used to be and she bows her head, "I'm sorry! I didn't think of that!" Her tail lashes a bit, and she reaches out to touch her sister gently, caressing her face, "There's so much!" she answers the question, "Ahmmmm... maybe the smells is theeeee most surprising, I kind of expected the height, but... feeling how I move, now is.. a little odd, too. I'm really sorry, Cryo.... do you want me to turn into something else?"
The white sith shakes her head, "No. No, enjoy." She carefully slips Lily off her lap, resting her on a nearby chair, then stands.
Rising, her scents move with her. This the lucht-as-sith would notice immediately, and her body would understand on an instinctive level. There is something about her, more ancient than her years, a primal solidity, the essence of the people. She is a female of substance, experienced with tragedy and motherhood. One that should be listened to.
Cryosanthia is naturally charismatic, but as a sith to another sith, there's so much more of her presence. She seems casually unaware of it as she twists and shows off moving her tail carefully in the air, "Try this, then this, feel how it shifts you? How you can feel it up to your shoulderblades?"
Faranmidahn watches Lily being set aside, and she feels less certain as she pheremones effect on her instincts nudge her conscious mind. She, herself is has quite the presence, though she is touched in many way by the errant winds of magic, a force as much a part of her as her soul, and less of a lifespan is borne on her shoulders. She turns her head to look at her tail, flexing tenatively at first so she doesn't knock anything over, 'It.... feels so wierd, should I really feel it that high up...?"
Her mother, meanwhile, drifts closer to their closet to start rooting around.
Cryo leans closer, sniffing the way sith'makar do when they greet one another. A long breath which she holds, experiences. She nods, "you smell like this one imagined." Her grin is wide, very toothy, and she runs her hand down the base of Faranmidhan's tail, pushing slightly, "Not all the time, but sometimes yes. If your tail gets caught in a door, you will feel it for sure."
The white sith glances over at Serrendine, watching her carefully.
Cryo carefully stalks around Faran-makar, examining her further.
Faran weaves a little and wobbles a bit as she gets used to the vast differences in her current form. Granted, her spell is helping her coordinate, but it's still a very new existence, albeit a brief one. The rubbing at her tail makes her cock her head a little birdishly and blink, "That's new!"
Her mother watches with a sort of professional scrutiny, as she absently fishes through the closet.
Cryo is all grins, side-stepping and circling Faran. Her head bobs, "This one can't explain tails, it is something you learn, and you feel it high up your back and the thoughts go all the way down. What do you think of your feet?"
Her own are digitigrade with large toes, and a claw near the heel which has rarely been useful. "How long will this last? Do you have time to go swimming? You should eat something too, food will smell very different."
Faranmidahn swalows, for some reason, a little uncertain about what is holding her off the ground. Her eyes dilate, then she takes a breath before looking down... blink-blink. She wiggles her toes slightly, and staggers a little in surprise as her tail slaps the wall to compensate for her balance. "Sorry!" she says hastily, looking to Cryo. She processes the question, "Only a few minutes a cast, I'm afraid. I can cast it a few times on a given day, but, well, you know how that is."
Serrendine emerges from the closet with two items, both wrapped in cloth, with very different silhouettes. "Faranmidahn, you should do this, I think." and she offers the 'rounder' bundle to her transfigured daughter, who accepts the bundle with a bob of her head.
The Temp-Makar shifts her footing slightly and holds the bundle out to her sister, her natural scent suffusing the package, with some hint of her Dame's as well, "I..." a little uncertainty, ".. started this before the Quest, but I... I had trouble finishing it until... until recently. I... hope you like it."
Cryosanthia makes a short, hissing laugh as Faran overbalances and thumps the wall. "This one shall teach you some percussion dances. We shall have fun with that spell. I should get one or two that are also amusing."
Then the bundles are brought out, the white sith watches them, clearly curious as they are handed across and then held out. She takes it from Faran, sniffs it and recognizes the natural scent of her sister. Stil puzzled, she unwraps it and reveals the a chibi-Faran, complete with actual lucht hair. Cryo chirps happily in surprise, then hugs the plush tightly, burying her nose in the hair, snuffling.
She's so loud with her glee that Lily is brought away. The little pink kobold blinks, seeing a white sith and an albino one. "Ssassa? Ssassa?" She looks between the two, then darts between the two and jumps up, holding out her hands. To be either hugged or for the plush.
Faran's tail tap-taps alternatively between the wall and a bedpost as she straightens, clasping her hands together at the posture her sister assumes. This was too long coming, too late, she feared, but Cryo's delight warms her heart. Then there's movement to the side.
"Uh-oh, think we.." Faran starts as Lily stirs, "Sorry, Honey!" she says apologetically, dipping her head, tail lowering some, "It's Auntie Faran!" She gives a sith smile, then a quizzical look to her sister, "Should I dismiss the spell? I know you were worried about confusing her."
"We should... see how she handles it." Cryosanthia says, uncertain. Like diving into water, once the shock of it passes, it may be best to stay.
Lily stares between the two, and when the albino sith identifies herself as her aunt, she holds her arms up to be picked up, and before Faran has a chance to do so, she jumps and forces her to catch her. She needs something to hold after all. The little kobold holds out her hands for the Faran plushy, waving.
Cryo makes a mock-hiss and a little rear back as she hugs chibi-Faran defensively. "This is Ssassa's." She's laughing, "This one will get you yours, a moment Lily."
Faranmidahn catches the little Kobold with a, "Whoop!" and leans her head in to nuzzle her niece, "You're a good girl!" Her tail wags a little more energetically, and she shifts backward just a little bit so she's not bashing it into things. She turns to regard Serrendine, then, the package in the Lucht's arms, "Mother, is-is that....?"
The elder Lucht nods to the temporary Sith, "I was hoping this would be more discrete. To give Cryosanthia more time to decide when, if, Lily should have it at all." This bundle is of a more long, narrow design, perhaps so long as Cryosanthia's forearm.
"I... a?" Cryo blinks, at her sister-sith and her mentor. She moves the Faran-plush to her shoulders, adjusting her clothes to make a little saddle up there which will hold the Faran stand-in. She reaches for the long bundle, carefully glancing at Lily and Faran-makar.
"Is it something this one should think a lot about?" She asks carefully. A distraction is needed for the foundling. Cryo pulls her plush sith-makar toy from her haversack. A surprisingly prescient gift from Merek, before she met Little Fang. She hands this well known toy to Lily, who squeals happily and hugs it tight, and calls it "Farans."
Distraction engaged, she looks to Serrendine, ready to take the second bundle.
Faranmidahn seems somewhat nostalgic about whatever this is, something hard under the cloth veneer, the scent of hard wood and oil. The strongest scents are of the Lucht women, with a fainter only vaguely familiar third. She continues to nuzzle Lily, regardless, then she nods to the elder.
Serrendine, for her part seems as in her memories as her child, presenting the item to Cryosanthia, "Korsandir cut a piece from a fallen tree while I was newly certain I was expecting a child. And while we travelled, as... I studied... he whittled away on it. Night after night, for many months."
Cryo's eyes widen, her pupils dilating. She straightens, the import of the bundle she holds in her hands striking and weighing heavily. "A masterpiece of Korsandir, a family heirloom?"
Her immediate thoughts, she, the sith is not deserving, and is her kobold. Then these are wiped away. Faranmidahn, Serrendine, even Korsandir are her and Lily's family, from everything they have been through. Sister, God-Mother, Aunt, Foster-parents, teacher. It is not a gift she could refuse.
Carefully, Cryosanthia unfolds the cloth. "You honour me, us, greatly with this gift. I... " She's struck for words, falling silent to devote her attention to examining the carved artifact.
It may be Korsandir's masterpiecce, though the item itself is of humble purpose. Hard wood, perhaps some relative of hickory, has been carved into a small sword, even for a Lucht, though the proportions are about right for a long sword, though one for a smaller hand. Dark stained, with a carved pommel that likely was meant to describe a blooming rose, but more closely resembles a stubby pine cone.
Faran clams up, now, rubbing Lily's back as she looks between her mother and her sister.
"If and... when.... you decide Lily is ready to learn such a thing, you'll need one of the right scale." Serrendine explains reverently, "My husband didn't start teaching her until she was eight, but time is different for us. You have a good head on your shoulders, you'll know when it's time."
"This one thanks you, this is wonderful." Cryo slips into formality from awe. She takes the small practice blade and holds it close. She examines it, staring at the lines, at the nicks and dents of practice. She inhales, tasting the scent the strong wood, mixed with the Waywalker family's. There is adrenaline, from practice, and the familiar notes of her sister from their battle experience.
The white sith looks over at the carnation kobold, then back at the two luchts, "This one will teach her things. I want her to choose rather that I force, but a weapon of her scale, this will be a practical treasure. I will keep it safe for her. Thank you."
Grinning with wide teeth she wobbles her head, "So much better than the sticks we would hit each other with in Am'shere."
Faranmidahn gives a somewhat nervous giggle at that, her tail twitching, somewhat, and there is a look between the two Wayalkers, before she sinks to her haunches, "Oooh, ok, Lily, my spell is about to end and I don't want to drop you." she explains, setting the kobold at least down on her feet. "It's... something of him, honey... so he'll be remembered, so he can help another generation."
Serrendine holds her child's gaze, then looks to Cryosanthia, reaching up to gently touch her arm.
Cryo meets Serrendine's gaze, crouching down as Faran'makar does. She holds the hickory blade revently, watching the older lucht, "This one will honour his memory, Faran, will honour his techniques and I hope, help with the teaching. I will teach her his code, Empress knows she could use one. Thank you, so much for this gift."
Her tail curls around but doesn't hug against Serrendine. Cryo is still hesitant to touch and handle the older lucht, respecting her personal space and size.
She smiles at her pink kobold, "Lily, get ready. Auntie Faran is going to show you a trick."
Lily nods, looking between the two sith'makar.
Serrendine smiles, a touch sad, but the widow has only been so for so long and behind the scholarly reserve is a wound, likely to the soul. "We trust you, if you decide just to remember him, we're grateful."
Faran for her part fidgets a little bit, "It's gonna be a lot of pretty colors for a second, Lily, then I'll be back to normal, ok? Don't be scared." And, with that, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before releasing the embrace and straightening. As before, there is a shimmer in the air, ripples of rainbow and wisps of smoke before the albino is suddenly there again with a beaming smile, and her arms spreading wide for another hug.
Lily squeaks and stares! The warning helped, and the swirling colours seemed to fascinate her greatly. She looks around and up, searching for Sith-Faran. Then she hugs, pushing the plush sith-toy she's got against Faran's front, as if trying to get them to merge and for her to turn large, or something.
A life-sized Sith'makar plush could be very interesting.
Lily hugs Faran tight, and starts rapidly speaking in draconic. Cryo laughs, "She is confused, but not greatly. She wants to know how to do that trick and if she'll turn into a human if she tries it." The white sith hisses some replies.
Cryo gazes at Serrendine, "Thank you, for the trust, for the chance to help you, for helping me with her. For everything. This one is grateful."
Faranmidahn will work on it, maybe on the weekends. She giggles a little and hugs the plush and the kobold together an gently kisses her head, "You could probably learn the spell, sweetheart, in time, but it takes practice and willpower. I only just figured it out a couple of days ago, myself." A little squeeze, "If the magic's in you, in time you'll be able to turn into whatever type of person you want. But it only lasts a little while."
Serrendine nods, glancing to their children in their embrace and nods, "And... you have helped us come farther than otherwise might have been possible."
Cryo give Serrendine a quick and careful one-armed hug, releasing the lucht woman quickly so it's not overwhelming. The white-sith remains away she's not on the scale of the other three present, and stays close to the floor. "My pleasure. This one wishes to fix what I can. I thank Althea and Ceinara daily that you are in our lives. We shall move forward, together."
The white sith looks around, "In a few days I wish to assist Braelnoir, with things that have been threatening her. Would you be able to watch Lily then?"
Serrendine, usually slightly awkward about showing affection, does meet Cryosanthia's embrace with a more fullsome one of her own. She is perhaps even less of a social creature than her daughter, but she is.... trying.
Faran, curious, wonders, "Is that your mermaid friend?" She smiles and gently strokes Lily's head, "We can... if that's what you ask of us. Is there anything else I can do to help? Sounds like she's had a rough time of it." With the Sith edging back a little , her brow arches and she asks, "What's wrong, sister?"
"Yes, my mermaid friend. Scale-sister also to this one, and no longer a mermaid. She turned into a few more things, then was restored to human form." Cryosanthia answers, adjusting her tail for balance. "A crow, familiar of a witch, pursues her, and there is also a bard that magically has interferred with her head. We have a few leads to check out."
The white sith thinks, "I'm not sure what you might do that would help. We've asked some others for magical assistance, all her foes are very magical. She is a much more capable fighter than this one, in a straight battle she would prevail easily. It's their magical mind tricks."
Cryo hmms, "Still, the bard has female accomplices. You might be able to lead some of them away from him. And nothing is... ah. wrong. This one feels very large around you. I would not have you, Serrendine or Lily suffer from being to close to a sith. In case I fall over or something." She laughs depreciatively, there's been enough embarassing moments that 'something' is a possibility.
Faranmidahn ah's softly and hmm's, rubbing her chin, "I'll see what I can do." she says dubiously, "Though I... don't really have anything to protect someone from mental spells." Fidget. Ahem. Sheepish grin. The noting about size brings a certain speculative light to her eyes and she offers Cryosanthia her hand, "I have another spell. If you like, just take my hand and relax."
"Okay," Cryo says, taking Faran's hand and relaxing. Sitting directly on the ground, she's still looming over Faran, Serrendine and Little Fang. Her legs are bent, her feet tucked under the table.
Faranmidahn smiles softly and and, with her free hand, starts to twine a number of quick gestures, winking to Lily, "I have one more trick."
Serrendine arches an eyebrow and steps over to gently set a hand on Lily's head, taking this with some curiosity.
Faranmidahn's hand is holding her gently as she completes her incantation, "Another arc within the tale, I bid thee now, abate in scale." she gives a gentle squeeze, and her magic, with similar shimmers and whispers of shadow, the subtle tingle suffuses the Sith's body and, between heartbeats, her perspective shifts, leaving her fit to see her sister eye to eye. She smiles, 'How do you feel?' <halfling>
GAME: Faranmidahn casts Reduce Person. Caster Level: 7 DC: 15Cryo is reduced. All her personal references, her gear, are magical and shrink with her. It seems more as if Faran, Serrendine and Lily have grown, along with the room. "Ah? Ah!" She's on her feet in an instant, at Faran's eye-level. If she's swift at full size she's even quicker when small. Lily is huge! The right size for a sith'makar youngling. If Cryo's instincts were undercertain before, they are utterly convinced now, the transformation magic not registering with them. Only that her youngling is there. "Lily!" Cryo chirps. Lily is equally fascinated, as giant dragon-mom turns nest-mother sized. A second, still higher set of lizard noises joins the first as pink hugs white. "Oh Faran it's amazing! Everything is so huge! Your eyes are so big. This room feels like a Cathedra." Cryo is hopping around, looks directly at Serrendine, laughs, "Professor!" Faranmidahn giggles and claps her hands in delight, "I'm glad that worked so well!" she says with a smile and so she steps in to embrace them both. She smiles quizzically to her mother who gives a small one in return, then steps in to complete the huddle as it were. Now that everyone is of reasonable size. It is much easier to hug everyone on their own scale, and Cryo's tail goes all over like a little white whip, she's so excited. Her energy hasn't reduced, so sith'makar reserves are powering a kobold-sized body, which makes her a lot more koboldish. "Oh! I bet I can, just a sec." She disengages, then leaps easily to the table and springs onwards to the top of the shelves, and runs around the walls of the room. "Hah!" Far below, Lily echoes, "Ha!". She chases at the base, clawing for Cryo to come down. Cryo leaps, and lands, and then Lily is holding onto her, hugging around her waist and chewing on the scales of her hip. This cements her foster-mom even further into her life. Cryo is the right, reasonable size. The sith herself is all grins, "This is crazy. It's amazing. Thank you Faran." Faranmidahn watches the sudden hurricane of activity with widened eyes, chirping a few quick, abortive syllables of alarm as her sister is suddenly all over the place. Little Zephyr, by now in her webs by this point, pivots to watch the festivities. Faranmidahn's mother wonders archly, "What else did you cram into that spell, young lady?" <Halfling> Faranmidahn blinks and sputters at her mother for a moment. Did.... did she just make a joke?? Soon enough, the Sith-bold and Kobold are together on the floor with them once more, and they're... doing nibbly things. Too mammal to fully grasp the finer details, she is heartened by Cryo's words, and she rejoins the embrace once more, "It will only last a few minutes, but one day, I may be able to take you for a ride. I'm glad you like it, honey!" while Serrendine sees to anything dislodged in the excitement. Cryo noses at Faran, which is a unique experience. Her face is so big! So much hair! "This one is more secure knowing you have a way to get me off the battlefied, should I fall. Oh my scales! I'm so light." She's bouncy, and dancing, and discovering that at this size leverage is at thing. She may be strong enough to push some things around, but so light now she only pushes herself back. She and Lily do some gamboling, where they chase each other around and over the table, somewhat frustrating Serrendine's efforts to put things in place. Lots of hissy mayhem. "I haven't felt like this since I was a hatchling!" Another tight hug, then a second pink hug. "You have the best spells!" Faranmidahn smiles and kisses her sister's cheek, then the top of Lily's head, "I'm hoping it never comes to that, but... I'd love to bring you with my on a ride through the city one day. It's fun!" She looks down to her niece, "Right, Lily?" She beams at the praise and gives a little curtsey, "I could try and teach them to you if you want?" Serrendine eventually gives up and watches, curious how this new perspective is affecting the three of them. "Maybe!" The white sith looks thoughtful, "I'm having Merek make me something I read about, if it works I'll be able to cast a lot more spells. I'll need some help making scrolls. If it doesn't, I might still, so I can spend time at Lily's level. Your level." She stares with bright sapphire eyes, "Your hair is so huge!" Leaning in to nuzzle, she whispers, "And one perhaps, to make Lily larger." Lily has moved down to chewing on Cryo's tail. The perspective is not entirely new for Cryo, she was young once, and small, for a very short time. It calls her back tremendously over the years, unlocking childhood abandon and childhood memories that simply were too alien in her adult years. Her childhood was very happy, and she's bouncy now because of it. Faranmidahn fluffs her hair with a hand and winks, then caresses her sister's cheek, "Well... that's a different spell, I think. I'll work on it." She looks to Lily, then furrows her brow as she sees her gnawing on Cryo, "Umm... Cryo is... did... is she hungry?" "It's ok! Tails grow back." Cryo winks at Faran, as her youngling keeps gnawing on her. "She's excited. She might be hungry though." "This one is, a little, are you Professor?" She looks at Serrendine, then back at Faranmidahn, "Will the spell last long enough we can get food, or should this one wait for it to wear off?" Hop hop hop. Faranmidahn giggles a bit at her excitement and she shrugs, "It'd wear off in about seven or eight minutes." Mmmm, "It's nice to see you so chipper." There's a look between the Lucht, then Serrendine remarks, "I think it would be a fine time to have dinner. We don't know if the food would grow back with you, so you'd probably end up hungry again." "That's enough time to get outside and possibly get somewhere. Not enough time for food." Cryo says, already launching for the door. She looks surprisingly chibi, her energy levels remain high. "Oh wait, can't forget things!" She's back, and stuffing all her toys and Lily's into her haversack, with the plushes getting some extra hugs and the hickory sword another sniff and careful placement. The haversack looks to be about the same size, so much bigger on her currently. "Did you know that in emergencies a sith'makar can eat up to one third her body weight? We're terribly immobile afterwards." A frightening statistic, when one thinks about it, "if I'm still hungry when I'm back to normal I'll keep eating. Oh wow, the hallway is huge. Come on everyone, come on Lily. Let's go!" Bounce bounce. After the Lucht gather their cloaks in defference to whatever weather may come, and the Knight is turning to draw the door closed behind her, little Zephyr is scurrying up her left fetlock because a bouncy Cryo with Lily is too interesting to miss.Faran's Altered Self
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/overlordmaruyama/images/2/2c/Luluspeaking.PNG/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20171217203101
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "oh so cute!"