A Charming Day by the Shore

Log Info

• Title: A Charming Day by the Shore

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Mikilos, N'tsssa, Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: A09- Southern Banks of the Tornmawr

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon meet up at the southern banks of the Tornmawr by way of Grandfather letting Telamon know exactly where Ravenstongue and Pothy happen to be. Pothy is allowed to spread his wings and fly for the first time in a while, while Ravenstongue gets to feed an apple to Raspberry and bond a little with the steadfast burden-carrier. The couple have a tender moment together... that is then interrupted by a certain lamia running up to Ravenstongue, followed quickly by Archmage Mikilos. N'tsssa charms Telamon, but is unable to charm Pothy. Once that matter is cleared up, N'tsssa asks Telamon for his assistance in researching how to find a loophole around the lamia curse, too. Ravenstongue and Telamon depart shortly after to have dinner.

-=--=--=--=--=--=-<* A09: Southern Banks of the Tornmawr *>--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Overhead, the Highbridge spans. Here is a pleasant enough bank, if one does not mind the ship traffic amid the broad and winding Tornmawr. A few picnicers spend their time here and a few blankets are present. Many of them are craftsfolk and other "ordinary" people, as well as a multitude of tired river sailors here on break. Or, the watchful husbands and wives of sea-sailors. To the south, the great river empties into that great expanse.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-        
Mikilos              6'8"     180 Lb     Dawn Elf          Male      Tall male dawn elf, rosey blonde and handsome.                             
N'tsssa              (Cryosanthia's NPC) Lamia (Dawn Elf)  Female    A lamia who wears a dawn elf disguise and has a sign around her neck.
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.                       
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Fair clouds, a somewhat warmer than average day for the winter season, and a sunny sky mean one thing: time for Pothy to really stretch his wings! He soars magnificently in the sky, the winter sun catching his white feathers and making him stick out like a sore thumb--moreso than he usually does, that is. He twirls magnificently in the air, seeming to amuse himself by barrel rolling every now and then with the wind as it strikes his face.

Ravenstongue watches him from the bank, standing on snow that's not yet had the chance to melt. She seems pretty amused by Pothy's flying antics, giggling every time he does a barrel roll or calls out to her from the sky.

Telamon is dressed differently for a change -- a more workman-like, durable outfit of trousers tucked into boots, a long-sleeved tunic, and of course his heavy cloak. Approaching Raven with easy strides, he steps up next to her, taking note of Pothy as the raven familiar flies through the air. "He looks like he's enjoying himself," he comments. Almost reflexively, his hand slides into hers.

Ravenstongue turns and smiles as Telamon approaches, taking his hand and squeezing it as a replacement for 'hello'. "He is," she says. "He loves being able to fly, and he's been pretty cooped up recently. He doesn't like being out if it's crummy weather, which, well, it's been pretty crummy."

She leans in and pecks him on the cheek. "What were you doing that led you here? Don't tell me, did Grandfather find you and tip you off?" she asks, grinning. And, well, she has a point. Grandfather has acted as a wingman (in more than one sense of the word) before and could very well have done it again.

Telamon sees no point in hiding it. "He did. I think he prefers us together more often than not, regardless of what life might toss at us." Squeezing back, he smiles at her. "That discussion with Aryia and Seyardu was a little disconcerting, wasn't it? Though I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that Aryia had us pegged. We do tend to attract towards each other."

A loud 'hrumph' comes from behind the two, and Tel turns to regard his donkey, Raspberry. "Oh, don't you start. You've been cooped up from this weather too, don't tell me you're not enjoying being outside."

"Of course he did," Ravenstongue says with a giggle. "Not that I'm complaining at all about spending any time with you. And... Well, Aryia is amazingly perceptive. She's able to hear whispers from outside crowded and loud rooms. She's also... Well, let's just say I've seen her work on the battlefield, too. She's truly incredible."

The sorceress then casts a look over at Raspberry and smiles. "Awww, hi Raspberry!" she says, letting go of Telamon's hand to put her hands gently to Raspberry's mane, stroking the creature's hair. Ravenstongue speaks to her in a soft, gentle manner, like one would with a skittish lamb. "Thank you for carrying my beloved's burdens. Oooh, hold on..."

Ravenstongue fishes into her bag and pulls out an apple. "Here you go! One tasty fruit for Raspberry," she says, holding it out to the donkey, and she looks back to Telamon with a grin. "Just don't tell Pothy or he'll be upset."

Thankfully, Pothy is still enjoying himself up in the sky to notice... For now.

Raspberry regards Raven with a somewhat lugubrious stare, as if unimpressed by... well, anything really. "She's really well trained. Doesn't seem to startle much," Tel explains. Still, the petting seems quite well received, and Raspberry's eyes light up at the propect of the apple. The donkey flicks her gaze to Telamon, who nods. "Gentle, Raspberry." With surprising dexterity, Raspberry plucks the apple from Raven's hand, and begins crunching down contentedly, flicking her tail as she does.

"I admit, she tends to keep me very humble. And as far as I can tell there's nothing special about her. She's just a donkey." Tel reaches out and scratches Raspberry behind the ears gently.

Ravenstongue snickers a little as Raspberry takes the apple from her hand. "That's good that she doesn't startle easy. The last thing you'd want is to take a long distance journey with a creature that will kick you off at the first thunderclap during a rain storm. And especially where you came from with her... That's a bit of a journey, so plenty of chances to startle. Can't have a creature's hooves messing up your pretty face."

Pothy lands down onto the ground in the snow. It's a bit of a funny sight, seeing such a white bird in the middle of white, fluffy ice, but there he is. He nudges at the snow with his beak, then he throws himself into the snow and begins to roll around like a puppy in a mudbath.

Crunch crunch crunch. Raspberry makes a nickering sound, and nudges Raven's arm again, as if to say, 'Another?'. Telamon just laughs, and runs his hand along the donkey's neck. "Settle down, Raspberry, you're not being starved. And don't act like I overwork you; we were just moving paperwork. Barely even broke a sweat."

When Pothy flies down to play in the snow, Tel chuckles. "Is he bathing, or does he just like the feel of it on his feathers?" He nods to Raven's comment about startling. "Raspberry knows better than to stay around someone aggressive, but that's all right. I wouldn't ask her to fight a battle. But she's pretty even tempered."

Pothy continues to roll around in the snow, croaking happily as he snowbathes. The light of the sun glints off the snowflakes stuck to his feathers, making him appear even glossier than normal. Ravenstongue snickers as she looks over and watches him do it.

"All ravens do it to some degree," Ravenstongue says. "There's a bunch of theories as to why. Some people think they're doing it just to clean their feathers, and others observe them doing it seemingly for fun. I've watched other ravens roll down hills of snow before then fly up again to the top just to do it all over again!"

"Merp!" Pothy croaks loudly as he sits up... Stares at Telamon and Ravenstongue... Then dramatically flings himself back into the snow to roll all over again.

"Pothy definitely just does it for fun. When I first got him, it was winter, and I was so sad after my mom went missing that I was... Well, it's a sad image, but I was sitting in our backyard just bawling my eyes out. Pothy noticed and started rolling around in the snow, just like that. I couldn't help but laugh." Ravenstongue smiles a little at the memory, although her brows are furrowed a little with the tinge of sadness from the recollection.

Telamon reaches out and puts his arm around Raven's shoulders. "Sometimes, the only cure for bad memories is to make some better ones." He smiles at Pothy, as Raspberry plods forward a few paces, peering down at the strange white bird gamboling around in the snow. Tel gives Raven a squeeze, and says with a slight grin, "I hope I'm helping with making those memories, too."

Pothy stops dead in his tracks as he realizes there is a large quadrupedal creature in front of him--well, large compared to him, that is. He rolls back into his proper orientation and has a proper stare-down with the donkey. "Raspberry," he says, mimicking Telamon's voice in an uncanny manner. It's an acknowledgement of a possible rival for food and for Ravenstongue's animal affection.

Ravenstongue smiles as she turns to face him, her face slightly flushing as the two are now quite close to each other. "You are," she says. "I never imagined I'd be making memories as happy as the ones I've made with you. Everything's brighter with you around... maybe because you're blessed by the stars." She can't help but giggle a little at her own joke.

Raspberry's unimpressed response is to roll her lips back, revealing her chompers, and cut loose with a braying sound that might be a laugh. Well, that's a donkey for you. Then Raspberry begins sniffing around in the snow in curiousity; maybe there's food there!

Telamon shakes his head, as Raven turns to face him, and he finds his arms going around her properly now. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just lucky." Impulsively, he reaches up to touch her cheek, brushing back her hair as he looks into her eyes in turn. There's a bit of a blush on his cheeks as well, too. "I certainly consider myself lucky to have found you."

If Telamon's star-blessed, then maybe Ravenstongue is, too, as her eyes shine a little like the stars do when Telamon holds her and brushes her hair back. Her eyes close, and she pushes herself up on her toe-tips...

Pothy thinks what Raspberry is doing looks like fun. He begins poking his head in the snow, pushing his beak in. He croaks happily as, somehow, he's found a worm! Down the hatch it goes. He looks over to Raspberry, smug as can be. Ravens are up one while donkeys are still at zero! ... But what's that over there down closer to the bank? Pothy flaps his wings and he lands by what appears to be a carelessly discarded picnic basket. He croaks over to Raspberry. "Finders keepers!" he says, imitating some schoolboy with a snotty nose.

Raspberry simply... raspberries at Pothy, flapping her lips as if to say 'Eh, whatever'. It's like trying to get a rise out of a particularly phlegmatic old dwarf or something. Then the donkey just goes back to rooting around in the snow, apparently more interested in the cold stuff than anything else.

Meanwhile, that's just an open invitation, really. So Telamon does the natural thing and kisses Raven, slow and gentle, holding her close and forgetting about life for a while. A small part of him is sure Grandfather's dancing around and cheering, and he firmly resolves to not think about that.

Pothy seems rather put out by Raspberry's lack of interest in their food rivalry, almost confused by meeting another animal who... Well, who isn't necessarily a bottomless pit on a quest to deprive the world of all edible foodstuffs. He reaches into the basket and pulls out... A pristine sandwich, not even a single bite mark anywhere. Except, of course, for the one Pothy is about to make.

Ravenstongue wraps her arms around him as they kiss. Much like for him, she seems to forget all about everything else outside of this little moment in time. It's just her, him, and the gentle sound of the water lapping at the shore... Then she opens her eyes and pulls away, taking in a deep breath, almost like the panting of a person coming up from water for life-saving air. "Sorry! I... I forgot to breathe before that. Phew! It felt like I was almost going to pass out--in a good way."

Apparently, no one had ever taught Ravenstongue to breathe through her nose when kissing someone.

Perhaps Raspberry just takes a kind of amusement in refusing to rise to Pothy's provocations. The donkey certainly has that kind of mien to her, a lack of worry as long as her belly is full and no one is shouting at her.

Of course, elsewhere, things are going entirely in a normal direction. When the two break off, Telamon has to take a breath as well. "First time?" he inquires with a small grin. He hasn't let go of her, though, and doesn't show any signs of doing so. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to practice." Lightly, he brushes his cheek against hers. "That's how you get better at things, after all."

"Of course it's my first kiss," Ravenstongue replies with a little snort. She closes her eyes as she nuzzles against his cheek, too. "When you're a shut-in bookworm teenager, you don't exactly meet many half-elf boys to kiss. You just read about long-lost princesses to dead kingdoms kissing them instead and think, 'Wouldn't that be nice to be her'."

She hugs him a little tighter as she puts her head on his shoulder. Not that he can see it, but she's smiling from pointed ear to pointed ear. "I'm no princess, but... Well, I think I understand what all of the flowery language was about now. Just need to work on it, like you said."

Pothy rips apart the sandwich, just staring down Raspberry as he consumes bread, meat, and cheese. The donkey is more formidable of a foe than he'd previously realized, it would seem. Those blue eyes of his continue to bore into the donkey. The beast is an engima hidden cleverly beneath hair, hide, and hooves.

Raspberry continues to be an annoying lump, refusing to rise to the bait. It doesn't help that Pothy is a magical creature, a familiar, and clearly is smarter than this beast of burden... but she refuses to play Pothy's game, the rogue.

"Mmmm," Telamon responds, marshaling his thoughts. His head is still spinning a little from the kiss as well. Stroking her hair, as she holds onto him. "For someone who started out a 'bookworm teenager', though, you certainly became a beautiful woman. Maybe they just didn't recognize good quality when they saw it." He tips her face back up towards his. "I can't promise a crown and a castle for my princess, but whatever I have would be at her disposal."

Ravenstongue's eyes are starry still, her face rather flush from the kiss and from his words. She called him a charmer before and, well, he's guilty as charged. "I don't need a crown and a castle," she says, grinning. "Although you could probably persuade some childless nobleman to leave it to you in his will, knowing you and your silver tongue. But I would be happy with just four walls and a roof so long as I had you."

Pothy finally looks over at Ravenstongue and Telamon. His eyes go wide as he sees them in quite close embrace. He seems to be thinking and calculating of ways to ruin that tender moment, perhaps jeering at the two lovebirds... But his eyes flicker back to blissfully blasé Raspberry. Unexpectedly, he seems to take a page from the donkey's book and leaves the two alone, preferring to instead shuffle around in the picnic basket for more treasures and treats.

Probably a wise decision on Pothy's part. Raspberry seems perfectly happy as long as she doesn't have to carry anything. Her tail flicks idly, switching back and forth, but she seems to find something under the snow, pulling out a hunk of buried plants and chewing on them thoughtfully.

"I don't think it'll be that easy... but you never know. I'll keep an eye out." His face softens, and he draws her close again. "As long as it's with you, I'll be happy."

An eye out is wise, as something catches the eye.

It's an unusually tall Dawn Elf, with a severe expression and dark. She also has orange eyes, that have an intensity to them. She wears a mage's robe, a style that Ravenstongue has seen somewhere before, that instantly identifies her.

She also slightly resembles the half-elf, approaches her, completely ignores Telamon and sounds accusing as she says, "There you are! Have you done the research you promised?" <Mynsandraal>

GAME: Mikilos rolls athletics: (11)+0: 11

Mikilos is an Adventurer. He's traveled a fair portion of the globe, much of it on foot. He frequently finds himself in life or death battles where his survival depends on instant action. He is certainly not fat, or out of shape.

However, trying to catch up with a transformed lamia by running across the city (wearing heavy robes and a full pack, I might add), will leave just about anyone a little short of breath.

"Will..."

"You..."

"Please...

"Slow..."

"Down...?"

<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "I'm using Mynsandraal to pretend she's speaking parseltongue, if you have Linguistics you can make some rolls to understand her. Otherwise she seems agressive and you don't know why"
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Linguistics: (5)+3: 8

Ravenstongue was having a good day. That much can be ascertained from how she's holding, and being held, by Telamon, in the timeless embrace of a starry-eyed young couple in love...!

But her expression curdles like milk as the dawn elf approaches her with accusatory tones. She blinks her eyes in rapid succession, clearly overwhelmed with the sudden and abrupt entrance as well as the dramatic change in atmosphere. She lets go of Telamon, getting in front of him (as though to protect him from the very angry tall lady) and looks over to Mikilos in the distance. "Master Mikilos!" Ravenstongue calls out. "What did you do? She seems really angry!"

It was definitely going well. Okay, Pothy and Raspberry were messing around, but honestly, there are worst places to spend time with your lady. Then... who IS this?

Telamon is slightly startled as Raven steps in front of him, but he does take the opportunity to size up this dawn elf. Turning on the charm, he smiles broadly. "I don't believe we've been introduced, ma'am. Is there some problem?"

<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "okay, so she's 'casting' as a spell like ability. Would someone interrupt her?"
<OOC> Mikilos might try, depending on what speel it is
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "roll Spellcraft?"
GAME: Mikilos rolls spellcraft: (19)+37: 56
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "it's Charm Monster"
<OOC> Mikilos objects, but doesn't interupt
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "it'll be okay, but will save DC19 Telamon"
<pre>GAME: Telamon rolls Will: (12)+3: 15

The woman gazes at Telamon. Her fingers trace some eldrich symbols, but it's the way her hissy words sound that are enspelling. There's a haze seemingly surrounding her, full of hearts and flowers. Her eyes are locked on Telamon's. He hears only meliflous, seductive tones.

Everyone else hears a harsh hissing, "Is this a weak willed male? You should be my minion. Abandon her. Come to my side. Help with my task."

She gives an order, one that might be harder to resist if it was comprehensible. Still, to the male half-elf, the woman seems suddenly much nicer to be around. <mynsandraal>

Mikilos takes several slow breaths, getting his bearings back, and sighs, nodding to RavensTongue. "No, she's just like that." The Charm makes the wizard wince, but by this point he's almost conditioned to ignore the weak spell that can't possibly overcome a person's mental defenses... oh, wait... not everyone is an achmage.

Mikilos sighs again. "You realize he can't understand you, right? Here, easier if you'd just learn Trade, but in the meantime..." The wizard pulls a small clay model from his pack, a tower. The tower of Babel, specifically. Touching it to the strange woman, the wizard murmurs a quick spell.

GAME: Mikilos casts Tongues. Caster Level: 17 DC: 24 

Ravenstongue squints at the magic that's just been cast on Telamon. She looks at N'tsssa. "N'tsssa, please, it's not very nice to charm my..." She thinks for a moment. How to translate this best for a lamia to understand. "N'tsssa, Telamon is my..." Her face flushes for a moment as she finally spits it out. "He is my clutchmate." <Sildanyari>

This has unfortunate implications, but do lamia really 'get' the idea of relationships beyond having children? Ravenstongue is willing to hedge her bets on it. She looks over to Mikilos and sighs. "Can you please remove the charm on him? Neither of us are capable of doing that yet." Either way, she takes Telamon's hand, still standing in front of him.

Telamon is of course utterly bamboozled on a magical level. The good news is he still doesn't understand a word this woman said, but clearly this is all a big misunderstanding and she's really quite friendly. "'Lana, I'm sure everything is all right. Clearly, she is interested in getting an invitation when we finally set a date." He smiles broadly at N'tsssa, completely missing Raven's exasperated protest about charming him. "But you'll have to say it in Trade, ma'am, I don't quite grasp what you just said."

And just to add insult to injury, Raspberry the donkey (standing not far away) lets out a loud bray that sounds suspiciously like a laugh.

N'tsssa seems determined about something, staring at Telamon and willing him to join her. In addition to her wizarding robes, which are strikingly similar to Mikilos', she has a placard around her neck. It says, 'I am a safe monster - the watch'. It's a fashion accesory that seems strange and inaccurate.

Until her alter self spell suddenly ends, and she pops back into her lamia form which is a lot of large snake and bit of elfin-woman. Scales, many orange scales.

"The tradessspeach makess me sssound sstupid." The now-lamia complains, magically comprehensible. She stares at Ravenstongue, "Oh. Your clutch-mate."

A glance at Mikilos, "Elvesss hatch from eggsss?"

Once she hears that there is an invitation to something, she immediately wants it. "Yesss. Give me the invitation." She doesn't want to miss out.

Mikilos sighs, but smiles. "Elves are typically live birth, but exceptions abound, espically for the corvid inclined magic users." Eyeing Telemon a moment, he considers. "It'll wear off... but I suppose best to have a clear head." Murmuring againg, the wizard gestures.

GAME: Mikilos casts Break Enchantment. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26

Ravenstongue flushes as Telamon talks about invitations. "Wow! That's... That's really sweet, actually," she murmurs. "I didn't think..." She shakes her head.

On the point Mikilos makes about corvid spellcasters, Ravenstongue just blanches. "I was trying to translate it into a culturally appropriate term for N'tsssa," Ravenstongue says with a sigh. "My mom didn't lay an egg to have me, I'm positive about that!"

She squeezes Telamon's hand for a moment, briefly looking back at him as Mikilos's magic takes its course. "You feeling a little better, Tel?"

Tel actually hears, in his head, a kind of 'pop' as the charm gives way. His eyes cross for a moment, and then refocus, and he fixes N'tsssa with a very sharp, gimlet stare. Monster or not, his response is pretty straightforward. "That," he says, "was very rude, ma'am."

He turns a little red, looking back at Raven. "Er... I didn't mean to try and hurry things along there. Like we talked about, I'm happy to take it slow. I... think that charm interacted with me a little oddly considering what we were... discussing earlier."

N'tsssa has a brief, odd expression, almost one of revulsion. She may have misunderstood a cultural reference. She looks at Mikilos, flickers out her tongue, then at Cor'lana and Telamon, and flickers out her tongue again.

Once more, still sounding angry, she looks Ravenstongue up and down and orders, "You will invite me to the live birth. I will give a blesssssing. If the baby is unssssatissssfactory I will eat it for you."

She gives her statement a moment to land, "That isss a joke. I don't eat babiesss." Her jokes are still not funny.

"Sssso. Did you do resssearch?" She stares at Ravenstongue, her tone is almost, almost lacking in accusation. Telamon gets a dismissive sort of wave, "It issss fasssster way to get anssswersss."

Rude, and unapolagetic.

Mikilos just closes his eyes at the 'joke'. "She means well, really, but there's a LOT of cultural differences." He glances to N'tsssa "The birth will be a long time off. Hopefully long after your situation is resolved. Time will tell for certain."

"That is, umm... Very sweet of you to offer, N'tsssa?" Ravenstongue says, although it's a little more like a squeak at the end there. "But as Mikilos said, the, err, live birth won't be... happening, for a long time."

She clears her throat. "As for the research--"

"Snaaaaake! Snaaaaaaaaaake!" Pothy yells from down by the shore. It's the voice of a rather over-dramatic man, maybe something overheard from a theater actor. Either way, he flies in and lands on Ravenstongue's shoulder, staring down the lamia-in-elf-skin.

<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "okay, she's doing Charm Monster on Pothy now, DC19, unless she's interrupted"
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "pothy's save is probably yours Ravenstongue"
<OOC> Telamon says, "Yeah, familiars use their master or mistress's saves :)"
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Will: (14)+6: 20
<OOC> Ravenstongue says, "HAHAHA"
<OOC> Telamon says, "Ahahahaha well done, Pothy :D"

Telamon looks sorely tempted, but it's probably a good idea not to pursue this further, especially with Archmage Mikilos here. "Archmagus," he addresses Mikilos instead in a tightly-controlled tone, "I don't mean to presume but this is starting to press on the boundaries of what might be considered good manners."

Pothy's return draws Telamon's attention for a moment, and he turns back in time to see N'tsssa casting again. "Now wait a..." and then he pauses as Pothy seems utterly un-flummoxed. "... How in the hells is the bird able to fend that off and not me?" he remarks in a slightly annoyed sotto voce.

"Ssssnack! Ssssnack!" N'tsssa hisses at Pothy, after his loud arrival. She stares at him, licking her lips. Possibly she is surrounded in an attractive haze. In the white raven's case, one full of nuts and chocolates. "Come to my sssside."

"You sssshould make it happen fassster." She orders. Suggests. Tells Ravenstongue. It's not clear if she's speaking of the marriage, what comes after, or the research. Presumably the sorceress is smart enough to figure it out herself. "I will consssume the culture!"

She bleps. That didn't sound right. The lamia looks at Mikilos, "Sswallow? Sssubmerge? Absssorb? Engulf? Eatsss? What iss the word for taking culturessss?"

She also answers Telamon's question, rhetorical as it is, "The bird isss a ssstrong willed male. You issss not."

Mikilos snorts softly, nodding to Telemon. "There's a strong element of chaos in resisting. And Pothy just isn't one for listening to others." He frowns mildly to N'tsssa. "Aclimate? Learn? Internalize? There's not really a standard verb, so will vary greatly. Still, you're not doing great adapting to proper circumstances to attempt to charm others." A casual rebuke. Scolding doesn't seem to work, so...

Pothy's eyes are blue like steel, unyielding, unbreaking. He stares long at N'tsssa--no, through her. She may give off a haze of nuts and chocolate, but Pothy is no fool. He knows an illusory morsel from a true morsel, for his eyes have lusted after many treats and have longed for the foodstuffs that others have so selfishly torn away from him. He knows that these are illusions, because Pothy himself has dreamed so long of all of the food that has slipped away from the embrace of his beak and the yawning abyss of his belly that he is more than acquainted with the illusion... that one day, Pothy will have truly eaten it all. That one day, Pothy's eternal quest will end.

But there's no way for anyone here to know this. The only thing that Pothy says in response to N'tssa's command are three words that have presumably never left Pothy's mouth. "I'm not hungry," Pothy says, mimicking Ravenstongue's voice.

Even this phrase alone shocks Ravenstongue. She audibly gasps. "Pothy... Pothy, are you okay? Are you sick?" She puts a hand to Pothy's little head to see if he has a fever. Then she seems to remember: he's a familiar. He can't possibly get sick like that.

Telamon has his flaws, but he can be more perceptive than people expect. "I think, 'Lana, he's saying he's not interested in any treats this... N'tsssa, you said? Might be offering him. Which is, I admit, still impressive considering his bottomless gullet, but also demonstrates some remarkably good sense." He reaches over to pet Pothy. "Well played."

"Yessss. Internalissse. I will put the culture inssside me." N'tsssa makes a swallowing motion, an undulation that is directed Pothy-wards. She too has a yawning abyss of a belly that goes on for several feet behind her on the ground. After which she asks, "Animalsss too? Are not to be charmed?"

She crosses her arms, "I am tesssting the waterssss." She pouts. She stares out at the river, her head flicking to follow passing boats.

Suddenly, questions, towards Mikilos, "When do we dessstroy Larsss? When do we get my equipment from the colissssssseum? When do we bring my clan here for experimentsss? Have you made the sssending ssstone yet?"

<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "sense motive if you want, DC20 for hunch."
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Sense Motive: (7)+2: 9
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "these seem totally legit questions"
GAME: Telamon rolls sense motive+3: (12)+2+3: 17
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "to Telamon, she's pretty serious about what she's asking."

Mikilos tsks. "Familiars and animal compaions, no. Standard mounts and pets, depends on what you're trying to accomplish." He considers, taking the questions at face value. There might be more there, but that would require trying tounderstand snake logic. Lady snake logic, at that. "I havn't heard of Lars recently, I assume he's lying low or out of the city. I'd forgotten you still needed to pick up equipment, we can go and check after this. The spell should be ready in another week, maybe two. And the stone requires a more powerful enchantment than I'd thought, so will be several weeks, at least."

Ravenstongue leans in to Telamon to whisper into his ear. "N'tsssa here was dressed as a medusa and forced to fight non-human folks in an arena. She and Mikilos have been trying to work out a way to reverse the curse that was placed on all lamia long ago," she explains, finally getting a chance to inform him of what's going on now that she's not focused on either one of them or Pothy. "She's... Well, she still has her instincts. But she wants a better life."

Pothy loves the attention he gets from Telamon, his tail wagging up and down. He has temporarily forgotten the weight of his eternal quest. For now.

Telamon ahhs, starting to put things together. "That... makes more sense now." His expression loses some of its sharpness, and he reflexively puts his arm around Raven. Leaning back towards her, he murmurs, "Well, there's a reason he's Archmage Mikilos, after all. If anyone can tackle it, from what I've heard..." He speaks up at this point, "Sir, I think the term you might be looking for is acclimation. You were right originally." He pauses, then continues, "And cultural acclimation can be a bit jarring. I know that much."

"Yesssss." The lamia hisses, and concentrates, and she's a dawn elf again. A tall one that resembles a cross between Mikilos and Ravenstongue with all the orange tones from her scales incorporated into hair, eyes, and a slight tan to her skin tone.

She touches Mikilos' shoulder, which doesn't make him less wise, "He isss. Yessss."

Orange eyes turn towards Telamon, "Larsss charmed me away from my clan. The Colosseum ownersss lied."

There may be more to the story, untrustworthy narrator and all that, the source must be considered. "Aclimasssions."

Mikilos shrugs mildly, not exactly humble, but not bragging. "Are other who could do so, but they're busy leading the Arcanist Society and such. I happen to have the time and ability. Though admit the time factor is more than I'd expected. Had assumed would be a matter of days, not weeks. Ah well, I am wiser now than I was then." Ironic, all considered.

"I like how you assumed you could solve a curse that's been in effect for... How long, now? Thousands of years? in a matter of days," Ravenstongue says rather plainly. "No wonder why poor N'tsssa is impatient! You gave her the idea it'd be easy to do."

She sighs. "I'll try and research more, but I really haven't been able to find much beyond what you described to me when I first met N'tsssa, Master Mikilos. Although I don't have as much free time as you do."

Well, she does have some free time. She offers Telamon a little smile to reassure him that everything's okay.

Telamon cocks his head. "'Lana, if you need additional hands on this, you really need only ask." He playfully taps her hand with his fingers. "I seem to recall us talking earlier about 'all I have is at your disposal', hm? Granted, not much, but every little bit helps."

"Besides, don't the gods and heavens smile on those who work to redeem and restore the cursed? I think I heard that somewhere once." Telamon offers N'tsssa a new, charming smile. At least he's on board with helping.

"Yes, you will work for me. This is good." N'tsssa the dawn-elf says, her sibilation absent with her form change. The grass behind her is slowly standing up again, evidence that her tail segment has vanished and turned into legs.

She touches Mikilos with two hands now, a possessive yet affectionate gesture, "He is very powerful. He resists everything I throw at thim."

She gestures violently at Ravenstongue and Telamon, a quick sweeping motion, "You will both help with all at your disposal."

She puts her hands on her hips, and doesn't seem to know what to do with her legs. She checks Mikilos', then Ravenstongue, ends up in a power-stance. There's a long delay after which she says, "Please." An afterthought it seems.

<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "diplomacy roll for her, just to see"
GAME: Cryosanthia rolls 1d20+11: (16)+11: 27
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "she comes across as pretty charming despite it all."

Mikilos blinks. "No no, I misspoke. Breaking the whole of the curse is likely impossible. Finding a loophole to get around it, however, should be far easier. Should be." He looks to N'tsssa and sighs, but smiles, somewhere between amused, exasperated, proud, and charmed. It's complicated.

Ravenstongue can't help but plant a little peck on Telamon's cheek. "You are infinitely sweet," she says, smiling at him. She turns to N'tssa and cracks a wider grin as the lamia finally has learned how to use the word please. "There you go! That's a nice word to use, N'tsssa. We will try and help however we can."

Pothy looks thoroughly bored of this conversation. He has beaten the lamia at her charming game and there are no more things to eat from the discarded picnic box he found by the shore. "Snacks," he demands.

Ravenstongue looks down at him and nods. "That's right. It's almost dinner time." She smiles as she looks at Telamon. "Shall we go have dinner together if you're willing?"

"You'd be amazed at the doors that open with 'please'." Telamon adds with a slight grin. "They say it's one of the lost 'magic words'." At Raven's request, though, he smiles. "Absolutely. I think dinner is definitely in order." He collects Raspberry's lead, gently urging the donkey to walk with him as he tucks Raven's hand into the crook of his other arm. "Until again, Archmagos."

N'tsssa actually mimics Ravenstongue's gestures and expression as she looks at Mikilos. Both hands are placed on the dawn elf's chest by the faux dawn elf. She also kisses his cheek, although kiss is more like a bite where she's trying not to bite him.

She'll figure it out.

"You will feed me. Dinner. Not snacks." She insists, staring at Mikilos. Hypnotically, although there is no haze of a spell. She attempts that 'magic word' again, "Pleassssssse," drawing it out as if she was in her natural form.

The white raven gets a glaring glance. She'll charm that bird yet! Snakes having a natural enmity towards avians. It's a born-from-an-egg thing.

"Take me." She demands of Mikilos, giving him an order that she might not have, had she absorbed the culture more comprehensively. Although, she does wiggle as if she was still half snake. One can easily imagine her tail.

Mikilos chuckles and nods. "We'll visit the Fernwood for a meal, then see about you equipment at the Arena, okay?"