She gingerly took the crystal, examining it carefully. "I don't know a lot about catalysts," she said. "How does it work? Is it supposed to unlock abilities, or make it easier to use them, like the full moon does?" He seemed weird, even for Igni, and she wasn't sure it was a good idea to take the crystal at all, but he also seemed really proud of it. Like not appreciating it would be on the same level as puppy kicking. But she was still wary of him. He was totally unpredictable. Sometimes he would go through crazy risks to help and other times he was totally emotionless, and for the same person too. She didn't trust his mood swings."It shouldn't really be hard to use. Just foucs your waterbending through it. You may want to set it in something so you don't have to hold it."
igni holds up his metal covered hand, showing a red crystalline structure in the back of it, about half the size of the back of his hand. Lines of fire run down his sleeves, lining ki paths down his arm to his gem, before he turns up his hand and produces a small flame. "like that."
Morrivan looked herself up and down for a moment. Her current outfit didn't really have a lot of places where she could fasten a crystal. She shrugged and tucked it into her bun. It was the only place that worked. She uncorked the canteen she always carried with her and drew the water out slowly, holding it in front of her as she sized up the hallway. "Okay, stay very still. I don't want to mess up my aim and hit you. The thing I have trouble with is ice. It doesn't come very naturally when you've grown up in the tropics. I've been working with Dom to learn how to do it. So that's the real test," she said, double checking that the hallway was clear before sending the water down it rapidly, transforming it into icicles as it went, that smashed into a wall. "Hey, that worked!" she said, pleased, drawing the icy water back to her. "Still a little wobbly on the transformation, but definitely better than what I was doing before."
igni nods.
"That's all. Enjoy."
and he just... Starts to walk away.
As soon as the door slides closed behind Havel, Zeppler sighs and stows his datapad.
"Well....he's a very trusting young man," he observes to Ryleh, eyes still on the door. "So what else do I need to know about our young friend out there?"
She sighed. "I don't think he would be so trusting of everyone. But he and his 'followers' have built an entire religion around worshipping dragons," she said with an eye roll. "Half the time when I am speaking to him I don't know whether to weep or laugh. Most of his band are lost children much like he is, though at least one is psychologically unstable. I invited them to enroll here, and it seems like he intends to accept the offer. I suggested that his older followers seek employment in Kuros. I can't think of anything better to cure dragon worship than working for James," she said dryly. "But back to Havel...he and another child called Elegy built some kind of magical device to transform themselves into dragons. With mixed results. So there is no telling what that's done to his physiology. I have requested that he bring the device with him for study. He was eager to agree, as it does not work as he expected it to, and he would like the help in figuring out why. The armor he was wearing...it is clerical regalia. I don't know of what deity. I know the armor though. I saw it when I was a child. It was....taken, long ago. By Hunters. The wound on his leg was caused by a Hunter weapon also. Recently. Within the last two years, and from a clan that had not been encountered in the last half century. The blade was cursed and a piece of it broke off inside his leg. Even after removing the blade itself, the curse remains. It is no doubt specially meant to kill dragons, so the changes he has made to himself are making it worse. I do not know for sure if it is a curse or a poison, but given its resistance to magical cures, I would suspect that it's more....not a disease exactly, but I believe it is causing his body to attack itself. I may be wrong. I have never studied medicine, so my ability to interpret the scans is distinctly limited."
He nods and rubs his free hand together, producing a couple small sheets of paper.
"I'm sure I'll get used to it. I mean, it works just as well as magic, right?"
He regards the paper, glancing up at her. "Favorite animal... Don't tell me... Giraffe?"
She laughed. "Uh, no. Definitely unicorn. Cliche, I know, but hey, nobody said favorites had to be logical."
Kevin thinks for a minute "hm... I'm not really sure it's not about being human. I mean, think about it, dragons, Firebirds, lycans, vampires, kitsunes, doppelgangers. All of these races evolved individually but with the ability to turn, many of them solely, into a human form. There has to be something about it that makes it desirable evolutionarily." He slips his data pad out and takes some notes on things to research later.
"That's a really good idea. Even if whatever dragon my DNA is from doesn't shape shift, I may be able to use my new research to splice the ability into myself. But I'm gonna have to isolate it in a gene sequence first. Do you think it's something you'd be able to help me out with. Actually, I kinda wonder how many chromosomes you have. You do have a pretty even balance of humanoid form and wolf, so I'm gonna guess somewhere around a hundred. Wolves have 78 and humans have 23."
"I don't know. But I bet there's some overlap there that makes it a smaller number. I'm sure you could find that info in the medical database. If you can convince them to let you have access. Anyways, I'm happy to let you take samples for study if you want. I might be able to convince some others to participate too. I mean, medical research shouldn't be that hard to find volunteers for."
igni nods.
"That's all. Enjoy."
and he just... Starts to walk away.
Morrivan let the water stretch out for her, turning it into a water whip, warming it as she did so. She didn't want to hurt him. At the moment. The water whip wrapped around his arm, holding him back for a moment, letting go almost immediately. "Thanks," she said simply. "This isn't a truce or anything. But it's a really cool item. You did a good job making it. So this is just me acknowledging that."
igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."
"Thanks," she says, taking a deep breath before tentatively opening the office door.
igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."
"And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."
She sighed. "I don't think he would be so trusting of everyone. But he and his 'followers' have built an entire religion around worshipping dragons," she said with an eye roll. "Half the time when I am speaking to him I don't know whether to weep or laugh. Most of his band are lost children much like he is, though at least one is psychologically unstable. I invited them to enroll here, and it seems like he intends to accept the offer. I suggested that his older followers seek employment in Kuros. I can't think of anything better to cure dragon worship than working for James," she said dryly. "But back to Havel...he and another child called Elegy built some kind of magical device to transform themselves into dragons. With mixed results. So there is no telling what that's done to his physiology. I have requested that he bring the device with him for study. He was eager to agree, as it does not work as he expected it to, and he would like the help in figuring out why. The armor he was wearing...it is clerical regalia. I don't know of what deity. I know the armor though. I saw it when I was a child. It was....taken, long ago. By Hunters. The wound on his leg was caused by a Hunter weapon also. Recently. Within the last two years, and from a clan that had not been encountered in the last half century. The blade was cursed and a piece of it broke off inside his leg. Even after removing the blade itself, the curse remains. It is no doubt specially meant to kill dragons, so the changes he has made to himself are making it worse. I do not know for sure if it is a curse or a poison, but given its resistance to magical cures, I would suspect that it's more....not a disease exactly, but I believe it is causing his body to attack itself. I may be wrong. I have never studied medicine, so my ability to interpret the scans is distinctly limited."
"I don't think you're wrong at all, Ryleh - the only reason he's still alive is because he's not really or fully a dragon. It's slowing down the spread of the necrosis, but the changes he made to himself are the whole reason he's in this situation. So enough of that doom and gloom - let's get to making him better again."
"Hopefully this malady hasn't tainted his entire genetic makeup yet. If that's the case, I should be able to clone a replacement leg and graft it in place of the dying one. But the only way to know for sure is to try and grow a replacement in the lab now and see what happens to it. With my lab on the Harbinger I should be able to do so in a day or so. But we're going to need to see how it behaves before we try swapping it out."
"Hey," Robin says, hovering a few feet away from the desk. "I'm here to enroll. Apparently." She gulps. "So, the gargoyle told me that you guys can make special provisions for people with... unique... situations. Like mine. Since, well, I'm cursed. Cursed in a way where it's better for everyone's health and self image if they stay at least five feet away from me at all times." Robin rubs her left arm and looks away, rather sheepish. "It's not lethal, really, it's more embarrassing for everyone involved. So you don't need to worry about that, at least."
Gareth shook his head. "I've been working on trying to figure out this book for a long time....I'd rather try to read the book first and play later," he said, with barely contained impatience.
She smiled. "Yes. A bit of your time. If you'll recall, we have an appointment today for you and Gareth to try and decipher his book," she reminded him gently, nodding towards Gareth who was just behind her, the large book clutched to his chest.Lang looks over at Gareth, he bows to him, Hello Gareth. are you interested in getting started right away or do you want to join us in our game for a little bit first?
Lang was a little disappointed, but seemed to understand. I have to let the others know first, ok? It would be rude to just leave them.
Lang then turns to the others playing, I'm sorry, I have some very important work. I made a promise to Gareth and Sifu Reading. I will come find you guys later, ok?
Mel looks to Arthur, this isn't gonna be as easy as I hoped. I wonder if this guy has any emotion at all. kind of reminds me of your android friend, except he has more personality. She tries to whisper to him.
turning to her new "employer" lets find this Adon fellow and see what we can do to help.
glancing at Arthur's plate, she grabs some food off of it, your not gonna finish all of that are ya? It probably not good for ya anyway.
"you can have at it, Hermes makes better food anyway," he then stands up "I'm ready to go when you are""I was taught to suppress all emotion," Djalos said tonelessly. "I am....working on amending this. It is...a process. Also, there is nothing at all wrong with my hearing."
"This way, please. The sooner you get to work, the better."
Mel follows Djalos, I've never met anyone that had to suppress their emotions. Why were you taught to do that? Mel asks wondering about this new acquaintance.
As they go along, Mel spots a flier that lying about. she quickly grabs it as she walks on.
after a quick read, she smiles and tucks it away in her pocket.
"And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."
igni glances at the water around his arm.
"... Alright. And you're keeping me here why?"
She laughed. "Uh, no. Definitely unicorn. Cliche, I know, but hey, nobody said favorites had to be logical."
"Oh, dude totally. Mine was an artichoke for a while. Now it's pangolins cause they're like rolly artichoke dudes."
He starts to work on a piece of pink paper, making folds and opening them back up."Hey, you got any music from nowabouts? It's been a while since I heard much of anything not played through a flute from a 'court minstrel,'" he says the last part in a mockery of an upright royalty accent.
"Electric pumps move water from the base of the fountain back up to the top so it fills up the bowl and falls back down. The coins are just a social thing that seems to have developed in a lot of human culture. Or maybe it's just one of those things that repeats in a lot of places because whatever made the universe felt like it. Like common as a language, 12 month years on a planet, time systems based on equally long seconds-minutes-hours-days-weeks-months-years, and humans in general. Those guys are everywhere."
He picks up the clock carefully, having already tossed his coin.
"I meant the wishing custom... but thanks I guess"
"I don't know. But I bet there's some overlap there that makes it a smaller number. I'm sure you could find that info in the medical database. If you can convince them to let you have access. Anyways, I'm happy to let you take samples for study if you want. I might be able to convince some others to participate too. I mean, medical research shouldn't be that hard to find volunteers for."
"That's true, DNA overlap is weird and interesting. Humans are 99.9% similar to each other, and 50% similar to bananas, so there's not much of a way to be sure until it's counted."
He looks around the entrance of Kuros as they exit from the forest."So, apologies if this is a really personal question, but I'm curious about some uh genetic things about Lycans and how you guys kinda do stuff society wise because of them. Given our uh... Similar preferences, I assume genetic compatibility isn't something you put much thought to in a relationship, but as far as Lycans society goes, are all Lycans considered the same species or is your animal half something that's taken into account for relationships that intend to have kids?"
"I don't think you're wrong at all, Ryleh - the only reason he's still alive is because he's not really or fully a dragon. It's slowing down the spread of the necrosis, but the changes he made to himself are the whole reason he's in this situation. So enough of that doom and gloom - let's get to making him better again.""Hopefully this malady hasn't tainted his entire genetic makeup yet. If that's the case, I should be able to clone a replacement leg and graft it in place of the dying one. But the only way to know for sure is to try and grow a replacement in the lab now and see what happens to it. With my lab on the Harbinger I should be able to do so in a day or so. But we're going to need to see how it behaves before we try swapping it out."
Ryleh nodded. "Yes, that is a good plan. It will take Havel some time to bring his group back here, anyhow, and the problem does not appear to be spreading rapidly, so we have some time. I will let him know that you are running tests and will be better able to discuss treatment options when those tests are done."
"And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."igni glances at the water around his arm.
"... Alright. And you're keeping me here why?"
She released the water whip's hold on his arm and drew the water back into her canteen. "You have an annoying habit of walking off mid-conversation. It's the only way to be sure you hear what's being said to you."
Gareth shook his head. "I've been working on trying to figure out this book for a long time....I'd rather try to read the book first and play later," he said, with barely contained impatience.
She smiled. "Yes. A bit of your time. If you'll recall, we have an appointment today for you and Gareth to try and decipher his book," she reminded him gently, nodding towards Gareth who was just behind her, the large book clutched to his chest.Lang looks over at Gareth, he bows to him, Hello Gareth. are you interested in getting started right away or do you want to join us in our game for a little bit first?
Lang was a little disappointed, but seemed to understand. I have to let the others know first, ok? It would be rude to just leave them.
Lang then turns to the others playing, I'm sorry, I have some very important work. I made a promise to Gareth and Sifu Reading. I will come find you guys later, ok?
Phaedra landed and changed back from bird to humanoid. She smoothed her skirts primly. "Well, of course you have to go if you made an appointment," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. "You have to keep your promises. That's important."
She released the water whip's hold on his arm and drew the water back into her canteen. "You have an annoying habit of walking off mid-conversation. It's the only way to be sure you hear what's being said to you.""And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."igni glances at the water around his arm.
"... Alright. And you're keeping me here why?"
"Instead of pysically grabbing me, did you consider walking after me? It's not like I was sprinting away. I had assumed the conversation was over."
Robin nods. "Alright. Is there any way you could fill them out for me? Because, ah... well, unless you're really, really lucky or have a mind of solid steel, I don't want to expose you to the curse because me signing those myself would mean I would have to get close to you to get them and I don't want to put you in range and... well, you get my point," she rambles.
She laughed. "Uh, no. Definitely unicorn. Cliche, I know, but hey, nobody said favorites had to be logical.""Oh, dude totally. Mine was an artichoke for a while. Now it's pangolins cause they're like rolly artichoke dudes."
He starts to work on a piece of pink paper, making folds and opening them back up.
"Hey, you got any music from nowabouts? It's been a while since I heard much of anything not played through a flute from a 'court minstrel,'" he says the last part in a mockery of an upright royalty accent.
"Sure," she said, jumping up and rummaging through the box of her stuff, tossing things everywhere as she did. She eventually pulled out a small cylinder about the width of her hand with one flattened side and set it on the desk. "Mostly I have recordings from my brother's band, and from my sister-in-law's band too. Fi gave me the player as a sort of welcome back present. Definitely not court minstrels," she said with a laugh as she pressed a button on the side of the cylinder.
"I don't know. But I bet there's some overlap there that makes it a smaller number. I'm sure you could find that info in the medical database. If you can convince them to let you have access. Anyways, I'm happy to let you take samples for study if you want. I might be able to convince some others to participate too. I mean, medical research shouldn't be that hard to find volunteers for.""That's true, DNA overlap is weird and interesting. Humans are 99.9% similar to each other, and 50% similar to bananas, so there's not much of a way to be sure until it's counted."
He looks around the entrance of Kuros as they exit from the forest.
"So, apologies if this is a really personal question, but I'm curious about some uh genetic things about Lycans and how you guys kinda do stuff society wise because of them. Given our uh... Similar preferences, I assume genetic compatibility isn't something you put much thought to in a relationship, but as far as Lycans society goes, are all Lycans considered the same species or is your animal half something that's taken into account for relationships that intend to have kids?"
"Uh...." he rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. "Um...well, it's pretty rare for lycans of different types to umm......breed. It's been pretty rare for lycans of different types to have anything to do with each other. But obviously that's changing, so er....I guess we'll find out? Eventually...."
"Instead of pysically grabbing me, did you consider walking after me? It's not like I was sprinting away. I had assumed the conversation was over."She released the water whip's hold on his arm and drew the water back into her canteen. "You have an annoying habit of walking off mid-conversation. It's the only way to be sure you hear what's being said to you.""And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."igni glances at the water around his arm.
"... Alright. And you're keeping me here why?"
Morrivan gave a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, your lordship," she said with heavy sarcasm " but no, I'm not gonna go running after you like a servant just because you can't be bothered to listen to someone who isn't you."
Morrivan gave a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, your lordship," she said with heavy sarcasm " but no, I'm not gonna go running after you like a servant just because you can't be bothered to listen to someone who isn't you.""Instead of pysically grabbing me, did you consider walking after me? It's not like I was sprinting away. I had assumed the conversation was over."She released the water whip's hold on his arm and drew the water back into her canteen. "You have an annoying habit of walking off mid-conversation. It's the only way to be sure you hear what's being said to you.""And I was just telling you that you did a good job making this thing. That's it," she imitated his terse speech. "Just so we're on the same page and all."igni glances back as water wraps around his arm.
"It was never meant to be a truce. Like I said, I felt obliged to repay you for something your actions caused. That's it."igni glances at the water around his arm.
"... Alright. And you're keeping me here why?"
igni shrugs. "alright." he pauses, a moment. "running after me, though? I was walking. Not even that fast. How much time did you need to say what you were saying? ... I suppose a lot longer, now that this conversation has drawn on." he pauses, another moment. "doesn't matter, I'm sure your sick of my presence."
::Anybody else feel like they're in class?:: Jaiye asked telepathically. She was restraining any outward signs of boredom so far, but her mental voice was full of impatience.
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"Oh, yeah. Of course." She scampers towards the clipboard and pen, always maintaining a careful distance from the rather patient admissions officer, then swiftly backs away and begins scribbling on it in barely legible handwriting. Her eyes widen when she sees some of the course choices, but she continues on. At one point, she frowns and violently scribbles out something.
Full Name: Robin O'Meara
Species: Human (I think? For now. Probably.)
Age: 15
Gender Identity and Preferred Pronouns: Female, she/her
Emergency Contacts: NO
Courses - Uh, trying to give myself a normal curriculum here. No special talents, will contact you if I need to make changes.
History of Agartha
Mathematics - The g was a typo, right?
Engineering
Cooking - NO NO NO
Basic Mechanics
Meditation
Psychology
"I made a few notes," she says as she deposits the clipboard on the desk, quickly retreating once more. "So... what now? You said something about an infirmary?"
igni shrugs. "alright." he pauses, a moment. "running after me, though? I was walking. Not even that fast. How much time did you need to say what you were saying? ... I suppose a lot longer, now that this conversation has drawn on." he pauses, another moment. "doesn't matter, I'm sure your sick of my presence."Morrivan gave a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, your lordship," she said with heavy sarcasm " but no, I'm not gonna go running after you like a servant just because you can't be bothered to listen to someone who isn't you."
Morrivan sighed again. "I'm short. It takes a lot more steps for me compared to you....you know what? Never mind. This isn't even important. I'm just going to go eat now. I get lectured when I skip meals," she said in a tired voice, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of this whole conversation.
Morrivan sighed again. "I'm short. It takes a lot more steps for me compared to you....you know what? Never mind. This isn't even important. I'm just going to go eat now. I get lectured when I skip meals," she said in a tired voice, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of this whole conversation.igni shrugs. "alright." he pauses, a moment. "running after me, though? I was walking. Not even that fast. How much time did you need to say what you were saying? ... I suppose a lot longer, now that this conversation has drawn on." he pauses, another moment. "doesn't matter, I'm sure your sick of my presence."Morrivan gave a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, your lordship," she said with heavy sarcasm " but no, I'm not gonna go running after you like a servant just because you can't be bothered to listen to someone who isn't you."
"Have fun."
and he walks off without anther word.
"Okay. Thanks. For dealing with me. I know I can be difficult and kinda hard to understand and rambly so... um... yeah. I'm going to leave. Thanks. Again," Robin says, wringing her hands and offering a small smile before she scampers out of the room. "Wait. Arrows?" As if on cue, a bright holographic yellow arrow appears before the teen. She yelps, then gulps and shakes her head. Wasn't weirder than anything else in this place. With only a bit of trepidation, she follows the arrows to the door the infirmary set up for her - wait, the building was mutable? How far did that go? What kinda weird space stuff did they have going on here? Could she walk into someplace, stay for a minute, then walk out to somewhere completely different? - and walks through.
::Yes, please. I need to figure out some way to see the empty field and what's here at the same time. I have no idea how to go about that though.::
::"Hmm, honestly, I am unsure, though it sounds like something that could just require regular practice. The rest of today is free for me, as is tomorrow, though at some point I need to check in with my sister, once she gets back from the festival she went to"::
::Anybody else feel like they're in class?:: Jaiye asked telepathically. She was restraining any outward signs of boredom so far, but her mental voice was full of impatience.
Ghadron can't respond telepathically, but as he stands there with a facade of propriety, she senses mirth at her sentiment.
"I meant the wishing custom... but thanks I guess"
Tybalt nods as they stand at the fountain, listening to the water fall tranquily from the celestial band.
"Humans wish on lots of things. Fountains, Wells, stars, eyelashes, turkey bones. You'd think they'd have figured out what works and what doesn't by now."
Dave blinks "humans are weird"
Tybalt nods and offers his paw, ready to step back through the stars to the school.
"Yeah, it's kinda nice though. They never stop going for what they want. Even if it means making starships and landing on whatever planet they find looking for new stuff. I guess there's a reason why they're everywhere."
Dave nods and thinks on this before chuckling "I heard a philosopher once who said the best way to describe them was that many otherwise similar races, when they looked at the infinite cosmos they are struck by their insignificance in the grand scheme of things and were humbled..... humans reach out their hands and shout "mine""
By the time the song is over, everyone is lined up in their proper places on stage. The High Seer is standing on a raised platform at the back of the stage, with Ehos and Tyrrin standing beside her and one tier down. There are various clerics lined up along two other platforms to each side of the stage. As the tree consumed elf leaves the stage, a group of four elves carry out an enormous platter of harvest fruits and vegetables, which they set on a stand. One of the clerics steps forward and starts a long, sonorous prayer of thanksgiving in elven. At this point the general impression Fei gets from the crowd is polite boredom. Even the guards at the edges of the gathering look bored. Some of the younger ones are starting to fidget.
The young monk keeps his composure as the ceremonial prayer continues. A few nanites close to the stage scan the platter's contents for anything that should not be there.
"Uh...." he rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. "Um...well, it's pretty rare for lycans of different types to umm......breed. It's been pretty rare for lycans of different types to have anything to do with each other. But obviously that's changing, so er....I guess we'll find out? Eventually...."
Kevin does a bit of the same motion as he realizes what an awkward question it was. "Yeah, uh... Sorry. That was a little far of me. So you guys live in smaller same species packs usually instead of larger mixed communities? I guess coming to the school was a pretty big adjustment then. You mind if I ask what brought you here, or is it part of the thing that happened before? You don't have to say if you don't wanna."