Marislova shakes her head. "No, not that one. It's a secret area. You probably didn't spot it."
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Sakitu just sits and relaxes while the others are discussing baths and minks and oysters. Fin was obviously embarrassed about the oysters but Sakitu doesn't understand why. Back home there were oyster beds not too far down the coast. People there liked to eat them quite frequently.
As for the baths, her only concern is people leaving and getting separated. She pipes up. "I don't know if I want to get in a bath. Not here, but I don't want to be left behind either. If you guys go, let me know. Even if I drift off to sleep here. Be sure to wake me."
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"I'm staying here. I feel too gross right now to get naked in front of other people. Plus, I hate getting clean then putting dirty clothes back on."
She does however strip off her cloak and her mail shirt and her weapon belt. She digs around in her pack for a while, then stops when she comes across the satyr's pipes. She looks them over curiously, then puts them to her lips and begins to blow.
She can't really manage a tune, but succeeds in making the notes and doing a few scales and trills, then just noodles idly, like a child.
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Fin nods somberly in agreement as he gives up the idea of a bath…for now. "Yeah, while I'd like one, I can wait...it'd be hard to relax with what we know of the dangers in here...and it'd be wiser to stick together. But when we get back to the Centaur town, I'll be takin' the hottest bath I can stand while sippin', or perhaps guzzlin', some of that awesome mead they have there..."
The Elf goes behind a curtain and, with his waterskin and a cloth, washes himself off as best he can. When he re-emerges, he sits down and closes his eyes, listening to Quasit's tune and thinkin' 'bout that hot bath that awaits him...
Maka's excitement for a bath was slowly done away with as arguments were made against it. "Fiiinnneee!" She droned as she threw her hands in the air, clearly angry and disappointed. Like Fin, she disrobed to give herself a sponge bath. Though unlike Fin, she didn't bother going behind a curtain to disrobed. Instead throwing her clothes down where she stood in a huff. "But when we get back to the outside I'm going to make the biggest, hottest bath!"
Once clean, she found herself some food before sitting down and stuffing her face. The scowl on Maka's face soon turned into a smile as the Mistress of Fire once again had food in her belly. Soon she was doing her best to hum along with Quasit's music and shooting sparks from her fingers in an attempt to add percussion to the mix.
Bulvi for his part anticipated trying to put up any kind of a curtain or barrier in sense of modesty might annoy Maka, or it might not register with her. It was her choice in the end.
Even though there was nothing new to him he avoided his gaze and set about maintaining his gear, bending the armour back into position as best he could around the now regenerated wound site... though with it off he did spend a little time clearing the dried on blood that had come from it.
Bulvi didn't try to add particularly much to the performance but sat back listening and watching the fireworks show of the two women.
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Fin arches an eyebrow and hides a grin as Maka does the sponge bath thing sans curtain and Bull takes it in stride…he closes his eyes once more, still thinking about a hot bath…but now with Maka’s percussion mixing with Quasit’s pipes, he joins in song…
♪ An Elf and a maid set sail on a raft,
An idea the Elf at first thought quite daft,
Riding the river from one port to another,
She took care of him just like a mother. ♪
♪ Two years went by, the prettier she grew,
He stayed aloof, while her love shown through,
She asked him to wed and she wouldn’t quit,
He kept her at bay; he was dumber than sh*t. ♪
♪ Then the day came when she died in his arms,
His best efforts couldn’t keep her from harm,
He told her he loved her there by the shore,
Brought a smile to her lips, but she said no more… ♪
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After Fin gets a two-hour power nap, he watches over his friends as they rest up...
When the others rouse and it's time to go, he nods to Quasit. "Jadrenka the crone mentioned the exit is here in the Mother...but we know not where. Since her quarters are next door, perhaps we should approach Jadrenka the mother and ask her where the exit is? Sure will be good to get out of here...feels like we've been here a lifetime..."
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Quasit had ended up falling asleep in the chair, curled up awkwardly into a little ball. When she is awoken it takes her a while to unlimber herself into a normal sitting position, let alone stand up. A few hundred hairs on the very top of her head have rebelled and are now arched in cattywampus defiance.
"Marislova, where's the exit? I'd rather not bother Jadrenka."
Quasit finds herself a basin of water and plunges her face into it, then after a solid 5 second soak, pulls her head free and shakes it like a collie, then runs her fingers through her dripping locks to untangle and smooth them. The rebellion rages on, however. Then she trudges back to her pack and pulls out her toothbrush, sits down roughly on her chair and begins sawing away, the very picture of feminine misery.
"Maka... you wouldn't happen to have any more of that -- um, stuff from yesterday?" she asks in a voice still gravelly from sleep, one hand pressing her tummy.
"Maka... you wouldn't happen to have any more of that -- um, stuff from yesterday?" she asks in a voice still gravelly from sleep, one hand pressing her tummy
"Of course!" Replied Maka, who at that moment was balancing on her head. Falling forward into a graceful somersault, Maka grabbed her back and began rummaging through it. Eventually coming away with a bottle of tonic and a piece of chocolate. "Here you go, hope you feel better."
"You've actually seen the exit--it's the stair in the room you met Jadrenka in here in the Mother."
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Fin smiles. "Awesome! Thanks, Marislova! I'm glad you were able to set things right with Jadrenka...I wish you and her well. Take care..."
He then looks to his friends, seeing Quasit is not...feeling well. "Q, do you feel up to leaving now?"
When his friends are ready, Fin will head to the door, knock gently to see if Jadrenka is still there, and then open it, saying "Jadrenka, it's us again...we're just here to take the stairs and leave Artrosa..."
Then, unless told otherwise he'll warily approach the stairs, and take them to the exit...
The room is unoccupied when Fin opens the door.
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He then looks to his friends, seeing Quasit is not...feeling well. "Q, do you feel up to leaving now?"
"Yeah, of course. It's nothing. I'm just not a morning person, you know that." answers Quasit. Fortified with Maka's tonic and a solid helping of chocolate she rouses herself and begins pulling on her boots and adventuring gear once again.
Before taking her leave, Quasit takes Marislova aside for a private word.
As the party took their leave, Maka gave Marislova a back breaking goodbye hug. "Goodbye Marislova, I'll miss you."
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When his friends are ready, Fin will head to the door, knock gently to see if Jadrenka is still there, and then open it, saying "Jadrenka, it's us again...we're just here to take the stairs and leave Artrosa..."
"And be nicer to Marislova! Just because the other witches are jerks doesn't mean you have to be." Maka called out as she followed Fin up the stairs.
[ooc]Selena now has the ability to feather fall, but not as an item.[/i]
Selena follows the others out, pausing to speak to Marislova, "Glad things worked out between you two. May it continue to do so."
Reaching the stairs, Selena pauses a moment in thought, then she tries a trick, using her scarf as a pair of legs to hold herself up off the floor, she "floats" up the stairs, giving Quasit a smile from slightly above eye level as she moves from the back of the group up behind Fin.
She drops back to the ground, letting her scarf go back to normal before stepping outside though.
The party goes through the door at the top of the stairs, and you find yourselves back on top of the cliff, though this time stepping out of the Mother statue. Nothing disturbs the group immediately upon exiting.
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Fin steps out, takes a long sigh, and then breathes in the fresh air. ”Ahhh…have you ever seen such a beautiful sight, Izzy?”
After expressing his initial feeling upon exiting, he draws his bow and looks around for any potential signs of danger…
Looking to his friends, he says, ”We took care of those wisps on the way up…but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else that might await us…Izzy, get ready for a ride in my backpack…”
Izzy yawns and looks at his new surroundings no different than his previous ones. He looks up expectantly at Fin; the Elf smiles and tosses him a piece of dried fish…
Maka took a deep breath of fresh air before running forward with a laugh. With her usual ease, Maka performed a few handsprings before flopping onto her back to begin making a snow angel. "Hahaha finally! It felt like we were in that stupid witch dungeon forever." With a blast of fire Maka took to the air, leaving a bare batch of stone where her snow angel was moments before.
No longer in a confined space, Maka soared through the air; Small explosions for speed combined with mild jets of flame for control allowed for a pseudo form of flight. One that better matched her personality and fighting style. Shooting back and forth through the air, Maka's laughter echoed against the stone.
"So... who votes for taking the exciting way down?" Selena asks as she enjoys the view over the cliff edge.
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As Quasit emerges into the open air again it affects her more than she expected it would. Maka's cavorting only makes the savor sweeter. She smiles happily and wipes away a few light tears of relief.
"So... who votes for taking the exciting way down?"
"Nope. Screw excitement." says Quasit with a cheerful laugh. "Even with a flying spell on me, my butt-hole puckers when I look down from this high up."
Selena seems uncertain at first, looks like she's about to jump but hesitates, then she steps back a bit and runs at the cliff and jumps off as far out as she can. She lets a yell and giddy laughter on the way down passing the others at the speed of gravity until she starts floating gently near the bottom.
Once down on the ground, she is visibly amped on adrenaline and shaking. Probably the most unsettled you've ever seen her.
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With the flying spell cast on her, Quasit allows herself to lift off the ground, and she actually goes up about 50 feet, getting herself accustomed to trusting the spell. She does a few flips and circles in mid-air, then allows herself to drift out over the aching void. The hairs on the back of her neck stand alert and there is no shortage of puckering. But eventually the beauty and grandeur of the scene balances the fear, and the freedom of magical flight allows her to master her surroundings. She swirls downward quickly, roughly in a helix spiral pattern, and begins laughing, tumbling and rolling as she goes. For a while, about halfway down, she chases Maka, making a game of trying to touch her without getting singed by the fire pouring from her hands and feet.
But while she flies all right, her attempts at tagging Maka are pretty embarrassing failures.
Eventually she comes to settle on the ground below, and spends a moment lying on her back and staring at the sky. Her heart is racing and her breath heaves quickly.
"I wish I could do that every day. Tezzy, why don't you do that every day?"
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Tezuzu has landed nearby and released Sakitu, and is now preening, but stops when Quasit addresses him.
"Because the first lesson you learn with magic is that magic is not a toy. It is a serious responsibility. Besides, where should we be if we needed a flight spell in a dangerous situation, but I had already wasted the spell for an early morning romp to amuse myself needlessly? In deep trouble, that's where!"
"Still, I'm pleased you enjoyed yourself, Monkey. I rather like it myself."
As the group began their descent, Maka circled around them. At first, giving helpful advice and words of encouragement before transitioning into a game of tag with Quasit. "Can't catch me!" Maka's voice and laughter echoed against the mountain. "And don't be afraid to fall, you can catch yourself. And if you don't, I will!" She shouted before going into free fall.
"I wish I could do that every day. Tezzy, why don't you do that every day?"
"Because the first lesson you learn with magic is that magic is not a toy. It is a serious responsibility."
"I mean that's true..." Maka trailed off, flashes of the numerous times her flames had gotten out of control or hurt someone running through her mind. "But that doesn't mean you can't get use out of them or have fun. I mean, I'm going to fly everyday. Especially now that we are out of those stupid mountain statues.
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As Tez grabs her, Sakitu squeezes her eyes shut tightly and holds her breathe. She feels the sensation of floating and the wind blowing past her as she drops. After some number of seconds she lets go of her breathe and starts breathing normally. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, mostly, she peeks out to see the them floating hundreds of feet above the ground still. She squeaks and closes her eyes tighter.
A few interminable moments later she feels them land.
"What? You guys like doing that?" She is shocked to hear her friends all excited about the flying. Well, Maka doesn't shock her much. Not anymore. But Quasit liked it too? "That scared me to death. Somehow it was worse than when we went up. I couldn't help feeling like we were falling."
Stomping the ground a few times she continues. "I can just say that I'm super glad to be on the ground again. For a moment I thought I might want to try riding that broom we found but no way! I know I don't want to."
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"That scared me to death. Somehow it was worse than when we went up. I couldn't help feeling like we were falling."
Quasit sits up on one elbow.
"It was definitely not worse than going up. Don't you remember the will o wisps attacking us on the way up?" she says, tossing the head of a dandelion at Sakitu. "You're always so dramatic, Saki."
"I was scared too. But that's why it was so thrilling! It reminded me of a time I was up in the crow's nest of a ship when a squall was coming in, the way the wind was rushing at me. It was terrifying but glorious too! Not like fighting for your life in a dark dungeon or some dismal back alley, which is terrifying and sickening. Ugh, I wish I was a poet right now!"
She smiles and turns her face to the sun, then sighs contentedly.
"Welp, everyone landed? Before we leave, I've got one piece of business to attend to. I made a promise to that satyr. We're outside Artrosa now, and I'm gonna keep my word."
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Fin shrugs. ”Keep your promise, Q, you gave your word…but I won’t no part of it; that evil bastard came within an eyelash of killing me…I’ll prep for the return by scouting the immediate area…just holler when you’re ready to head to centaur town…”
He casts blend, goes into stealth mode and scouts the perimeter for any signs of danger…
Selena waits patiently for everyone to catch up by practicing balancing on top of her spear, and seems to mostly be fine.
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Quasit drags the satyr's body and head out of the bag of holding. She finds a nice spot near a tree, then spends 20 minutes laying rocks over the body in a cairn.
"Rest in peace, you old goat." she says by way of a benediction, then turns and follows the group away from the area.
"Everyone stay alert. That shadow assassin might still be lurking around out here."
"Everyone stay alert. That shadow assassin might still be lurking around out here."
"Oh right, I forgot about that." Maka rubbed the back of her head and laughed at herself from embarrassment. Maka's laughter came to a sudden thought as realization flashed across her eyes. "I hope Erdija is alright..."
Nothing bothers the party on the way back to the Hoofwood.
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Sakitu shudders. "Oh. Now I remember those will o' wisps. That was bad. But at least I didn't feel like I was falling. I'm just not as brave as you Quasit. I always see you doing these amazing and brave things and I always wish I could be like you." Sakitu steps to her friend and gives her a huge hug.
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Sakitu shudders. " I'm just not as brave as you Quasit. I always see you doing these amazing and brave things and I always wish I could be like you." Sakitu steps to her friend and gives her a huge hug.
"Erp." says Quasit as she gets wrapped up in a huge hug. Her eyes roll skyward, but she's grinning. "My dad had a saying about bravery, you know. He'd say: 'Brave is just stupid that worked out this time.' I think that sums me up pretty well. And for the record, being an Amazing Fox Lady is still way cooler."
I'm just not as brave as you Quasit. I always see you doing these amazing and brave things and I always wish I could be like you.
"Pakshee shabd!" Maka said with a dismissive wave. "You are the bravest of us all. You don't have a bone in your body meant for combat or danger and here you are saving the world. I wish I was half as brave as you."