Lily herds Cats
Log Info
- Title: Lily herds Cats
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Cryosanthia, Un'eth, Seyardu
- Place: A10: Temple of Daeus
- Time: Thursday, September 30, 2021, 12:44 PM
- Summary: Cryo is stir crazy and cleaning her room, which is difficult with dragon paws, so she's supervising Lily. This is not ideal. Un'eth arrives, and Cryo asks the shaman if she's real, if time passes for the sith'makari version of herself, where did her things go, and how should she change back. She gets several answers she doesn't really understand. Seyardu arrives, and Un'eth explains that she has a solution, and changes Cryo and Seyardu into Margays. Lily's request of a Tiger-Swiftclaw with blast cannons beyond the spells capabilities. The two sith'makar women become small felines, at the mercy of Lily who chases them around the room. Un'eth cancels the spell, and it does not snap Cryo back into her original self, although Seyardu reverts just fine.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* A10: Temple of Daeus *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
The temple of the Sun Lord glitters golden beneath the same. Rather than walls, the majority of the temple is composed of what appears at first blush to be a raised round platform made of one of the largest slabs of marble likely in existence. Columns rise into the air as if to hold some massive ceiling, though instead of a normal ceiling, one finds the deep blue sky, studded by a disconcertingly close canopy of bright stars. One should not worry, however, as the rain never falls, and the wind never blows on this particular temple, but for a gentle breeze, whatever the weather outside may be.
Despite the austerity of the columns, warmth suffuses the grounds. A grand, marble statue of the Shining Knight stands a the center, a hand outstretched in benediction. Beside Him, the statue of Althea, their hands clasped in love. The central position of the temple to the others gives view to all of their children, and the two look upon one another with the solemnity of love that has been the center of so many tales and legends.
Masterfully designed mana lamps provide further soft, golden lightning where needed, their pedestals carved in the form of the Dragons of Light, over which Daeus is said to have dominion in His form of Draco Solis. Majesty, justice, and welcome suffuse the temple grounds. Around the central temple are a series of smaller buildings, each with a simple function and form. One houses the sacred book depicting some of the earliest known translations of the Laws of Light, which pilgrims from near and far come to visit. Another houses the well-appointed quarters of the Sunguards, and among all the ground bristle the Sunblades.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 7'2" 391 Lb Dragon Female A gorgeous, little white dragon with glacial higlights. Un'eth 6'2" 275 Lb Sith-Makar Female An ebon-scaled female Sith-makar. Seyardu 5'6" 150 Lb Sith-Makar Female A friendly silver sith-makar with a perpetual squint. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= NPCs of Note -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Little Fang 'Lily' Kobold Female A pinkscale youngling wearing a skeletonized broach. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Temple of Daeus Complex: Cryosanthia's recovery room.
Cryo has caught the cabin fever now. With her wing and tail restored, the little white dragon is anxious to get out of her windowless room. Mana lamps are nice, but the walls are bare, and yet the room is still dirty.
So she is cleaning, which involves directing Little Fang to do the cleaning, as Cryo has issues holding things properly with her talon-hands. She'll get it eventually, perhaps she should practice with Lily's pop-butterfly, but that is... somewhere.
The nethercite rocks have been returned to those who covet them, the blanket likewise folded up. She's managed, carefully, with her mouth to change the sheets on the bed. Lily had offered to build a robot to do that.
Which is an intriguing thought, but that way lies self-aware golems.
So, Cryo supervises a pair of small hands, and tries to occupy her time so she doesn't contemplate how she frightened off Zeke.
And how he has not returned...
Un'eth has not yet departed the grounds, though had left the room following recent events to give Cryosanthia space and time. She returns, now, to find her using the time to address the space. "Peace on your nest," she offers as greeting and announcement of her arrival. She rarely deals with doors, and sees no reason to tap upon them.
"Un'eth!" Cryo says eagerly, turning towards the door. She's sitting on her haunches, tail out behind her to balance, torso stretched upright with her fore limbs held up in the air. A position somewhat similar to a cat begging, although they rarely have wings or such long necks. "Peace on your Nest. This one is glad you are back."
"Peasssce," Lily says, ducking under Cryo' paw to look at Un'eth.
"Nonantzine has left. Zeke has not returned. This one is... fretting about." The whitescale says, "I had hoped to speak with you. Have a seat. Do you want to make some tea?"
Un'eth steps to the pair, wiggling claws at the youngling before revealing a bit of jerky in them that is offered to Lily. "I am happy to share words." She squats in place comfortably, rather than truly sitting. "He will return, I have no doubts. Your words were truth, your bond strong." The notion of tea, whether her making it or desiring it, is dismissed with a slight wave of her other claws.
"Thans!" Lily peeps, jumping to grab at the jerky. She takes it in both hands, and bites down. This is followed by her little claws pulling her up over Un'eth's hip, to climb her back to her shoulders. She's light, compared to a sith'youngling her age, but heavier than a nestling. Still, not a burden.
Cryo watches with careful amusement, nodding, "This one is certain."
She sighs, "this one threw words to hurt, and injured Zeke, not her. It was not a good moment." The whitescale lunges and leaps smoothly onto her bed, curling up so she can sit and gaze at Un'eth. "This one has questions, which you may know." A glance at the door, a glance back. "Personal ones. This one may ask them?"
"She raised him apart, on her own," Un'eth notes. "That makes for a strong bond; one not so common in The People. One must learn when to succor and when to release. She does not know this, nor does he as he should."
The scampering and climbing upon her scales is another thing she knows well, even if not so much from this particular climber. The mention of questions causes her head to tilt sharply to the side in curiosity, perhaps for boon or bane of climbers. "Ask and I will answer."
Cryosanthia listens, watches Little Fang take a perch on Un'eth shoulders and nods. Her thoughts go back, to another, "This one... understands those feelings."
Her eyes close briefly, open again. She gestures at herself. She is unclothed, this isn't unusual, dragons usually are. Her patterns and markings are on display. "Soo..."
"This one had stuff, and is not sure what happened to it when I changed selves. I'm not sure if this is me, or just a costume, or if every version of me is a costume."
She rubs her hands down her front, "You have younglings, you have a nest, you must have laid, but ... you showed me your first form. Is it the same for me? What is the real me? Where did my stuff go? Some of the magic still seems active..."
"I was hoping you could explain. Should I tell you what happened to me in the Sea of Mana?"
Un'eth listens to the questions, and Cryosanthia's scales, or their visibility, appear to be no issue for Un'eth. She does not much cover her own, afterall, even in the context of the oft minimal attire for The People. The form previously revealed to her would have been scandalous, or at least conspicuous, in softskin terms.
Her head straightens as she shifts from curiosity to study or thought. "You took this form unexpectedly from the magic and are unable to return to the form you wish." A theory, though her tone of words is far more statement than question. "Your belongings are not lost. They are a part of you. They will return when your form does so."
"So, this isn't really real?" Cryo gestures towards herself, "If I was wearing something now, and changed back, would it be a part of this me?"
"Will I be starved? It has been some time since I was myself and ate. Does time progress or is it static?"
"It... was unexpected. Becoming this. I was much larger." Cryo says, "overflowing with magic. I heard a voice..."
"No one I recognized, not directly. She told me I had to hatch."
Un'eth snorts and rises to step to her a claw is lifted to prod at Cryosanthia. "You are real. You are a dragon. You are also yourself." She lifts one hand, claws upward and splayed. "Form." The other raises similarly. "Spirit." Un'eth then brings her hands to clasp them together. "One cannot exist without the other, both affect the other. That does not make either less real."
"Time does not halt nor is it changed for your spirit. Were you in the form of a softskin, you would not succumb to age in decades, nor would one who became as The People be extended. There is still hunger, though perhaps so much magic sustained you for a time."
Cryosanthia watches the demonstration, sitting up as she is, and holds both talon-hands out, then clasps them with claws into locked. "Two and one."
Lily summarizes it more succinctly. She points at the whitescale and says, "Ssassa!" Her other little hand holding onto Un'eth's neck.
"So, I am me, and time passes as it should, somewhat, and magic helps... well I certainly had enough of it." She lets her forelegs drop and assumes a classic feline pose. "So... how do I become myself?"
Her words unlock, "Cesran suggested trying a polymorph spell. But then, that wouldn't undo, that would layer, I'd be a dragon that was once a sith'makar turned back into a sith'makar and my things would still not appear, right? Um... can I change back, without more spells. Am I still a Makari, just... not right now?"
What is self? What is truth.
Un'eth reaches a hand to pat Lily's quick study and summar. "Ssa, she is." She then holds the hand up in a halt as Cryosanthia goes from her pertinent question to ... a spray of not quite so pertinent ones. "You are you; you are simply a dragon now." It is clear that that statement is self-explanatory. At least to Un'eth.
"More magic would change your form to another. You would be you, as a swiftclaw. You as a horse. You as a rabbit. All of these are still only you."
She returns to the pertinent question. "Form most often seeks to match spirit. You are makari until magic forced a change. Any other time, removal of the magic would make you makari once more. Changing your form to another like yours would not make it truly yours...." A pause as she considers. "Changing you to another not yours, and removing the magic, may allow your spirit to reform your flesh as it would."
"Like a Reduce Person spell? I can..." Cryo's left fore-talon loops through some arcane gestures, before halting halfway through the motion. "Oh right. When I had my corset and scrolls, which I still have but which aren't accessible..."
Because they are in me somewhere. Not in my tail. My tail is not a storage unit. Even if it is larger, it is not full of my stuff. The whitescale pushes unhelpful thoughts aside.
"So, what were you going to suggest, I should try Cesran's polymorph spell?"
Un'eth waves claws dismissively. "Smaller or large may not be enough, not enough change. I can aid you with this. As can the youngling..." Lily already proved a quick study, afterall, so Un'eth cranes her snout and eyes in attempt to look to her. "Would you aid me with Ssassa? Your knowledge is very important."
"Yessss!" Lily's eyes light up. She has been enlarged, and was able to stomp and chase around her Tia Faran and Gran-tia Serendine. Also a small Ssassa was in the mix at the time. It was a glorious moment. She wants more glorious moments as something bigger, and better. She holds out both her hands, closes her eyes, "Spellsss me!"
Cryo tilts her head, and watches, "This one knows you will not harm younglings. Proceed?"
Un'eth's tail flicks in amusement at the eager little one. "Ssa, brave adventurer," she praises Lily before her tone turns more somber. "I must know, first, and most importantly: what is your favorite animal?"
"Fish Tank!" Lily says enthusiastically.
"Are you sure?" Cryo leans her head towards her youngling, "You'd be just the fish, not the whole fish tank, and the fish didn't have a good time, we had it for dinner after. You don't want to be dinner do you?"
The little pinkscale things about this, "Noooo."
Lily reconsiders her options, "Tiger!" She change her mind, "Sswiftclawss. Finally the best idea happens, "Tiger sswiftclawsss with blassst cannonsss and wingsss!"
Seyardu was busy elsewhere, but she still was around to aid the whitescale in her recovery. The previous day had her leaving the temple for errands, and not returning for most of the day. by the time she was back, she was asleep when she returned to her room after a quick glance to Cryosanthia's.
It was not until the next day that she returned following a trip to the nearby markets. she had a few bags in her hands when she knocked on the door before entering, filling the small room with the strong scent of wildflowers. "Shaman Un'eth! Peace on your nest, this one was not expecting you here." She greets, before turning her head back to the others. "And yours as well, Cryosanthia, and Lily. You look better! Your wing and tail look fine, this is excellent!"
She was thankful for the perfume to hide her shock and worry.
There are unpleasant scents lingering in the room, despite the cleaning efforts. A strange yet familiar female was present, and conflict. These are obscured by the arriving perfumes.
"Oh, Peace on your Nest Seyardu, yes. Zeke was successful in healing me yesterday." Cryo says proudly, her cihuaa is skilled. She flexes her wings out, "They feel much better."
"This is, good." Seyardu nods after stepping back into the room. "This one was not expecting it so soon, they did not speak to me about the matter. This one was meaning to tell them about the disease prevention."
She shakes her head and chuffs, before she smiles again. "Regardless, this one is happy to see that you are well. This is wonderful news."
Un'eth thumps the floor with her tail at Lily's decision and in acknowledgement of Seyardu's arrival. "A wise choice," she admits to Lily before turning her snout to Seyardu. "Peace on your nest. Ssa, she is healed. Now we address her form. Do you wish to assist?" she now extends the offer to Seyardu. One assistant is better than two.
"Is Lily turning into the Tiger Swiftclaw, or am I?" Cryo asks, looking between the two other women.
"Tiger swiftclaws, is it? is this something abiut her current form?" Seyardu asks, looking back to Cryosanthia, and to Lily. "This one is sure Lily would enjoy that. If there is anything I can do to assist, it will be done. This one is, sorry they were not around for the healing."
Un'eth gives a light snort of mirth at the response and question. She will attend to both momentarily. "Keep your eyes closed, little one," she reminds the one wanting spelled before she calls upon Ea's gifts to harness the magic and then share it.
Tiger swiftclaws are an interesting and fearsome choice. Sadly, such an amalgamation isn't naturel. One or the other is possible, though perhaps a bit too large for the room, and too near Cryosanthia's mass to have the most effect. So, instead, Lily will need to settle on something a bit more practical.
In this case, a feline, still, and one from the jungles (as swiftclaws are). One more related to leopard in coloration and lifestyle than tiger, and far, far smaller: the margay.
The magic does not, in fact, extend to Lily, but rather Cryosanthia (as the one with the form issue) and Seyardu (as she -did- offer to assist!).
GAME: Un'eth casts Animal Shapes. Caster Level: 19 DC: 24
"It is all right Seyardu. Zeke felt it was time, and did not want to drain you unnecessarily of your healing ability. Un'eth was on hand to waa..." Cryo says, and then the spell transforms her.
Her eyes remain mostly the same size and shape, though the rest of her shrinks into a small feline form. A spotted jungle cat. The whitescale was already sitting in a cat-like fashion, so this posture is perfected as her body morphs into one appropriate for it. "...meerrrowp?"
Cryosanthia is a margay, patterned in white and blue and resembling a small snow leopard.
Lily peers down, "the Sswiftclawss not happen?"
"It would not have been a trouble. But Un'eth was there to-"
The silver sith makar blinks as they shrink and grow smaller and smaller, and, covered in fur? In place of the cleric was a margay patterned like a silver tabby cat, with metallic eyes as usual. They look up to Un'eth and Lily, and their head is tilted as if to ask, "How does this help Cryosanthia?"
Un'eth exhales an amused hiss. "They hunt in the jungles and have sharp claws, as swiftclaws, and tigers. Sso they are both!" This explanation is utterly factual and does not involve animal husbandry explanations as to why tiger-swiftclaws are not naturally possible. She looks between the white and the silver, as if to check her efforts, or simply admire the patterns.
"Raawwrrr!" Lily says, she will be the swiftclaw. She leaps off Un'eth shoulders to the bed, then from the bed to the floor. The pinkscale apex predator grabs both mini-tigers and hugs tightly.
"Merowwwp?" The whitefur is still adjusting to her new height perspective, and does not easily evade sudden hugs.
Seyardu is busy adjusting to the strange new occurrence of an ear being itchy, and the fact that she did in fact, have ears. Is this what Braelnoir had been talking about with having paws?
One such paw is scratching at an ear that was twitching slightly. "Mrrrp!" The cat-sith responds as they are scooped up the small raptor, their legs dangling down.
Lily hugs the two kitties.
Cryo, somewhat overwhelmed by the scents in the room and the size of her youngling, simply makes calming noises. What she expects will be a warble or thrum instead comes out as a long purr. This is still appropriate.
The whitefur looks down at her paws, then wriggles out and scampers across the floor. As she tries to stop, she keeps on sliding and thumps softly into the wall.
"Rawrer!" Lily gives chase, her feet slap-slaping on the stone.
Un'eth's prior hiss grows and extends to become full chuffs of laughter and her eyes alight. She delights in the joyful play of younglings, of course. She may also have an odd sense of humor, besides.
"Use care, little one. They do not have scales to protect them, and they still have claws." Amused or not, she still has an eye out for the youngling and the 'cats.' All are Ea's children, no? "When you wish Ssassa to return to herself, put her-" and now the chase is on. At least putting her down is no longer a concern.
After Cat-osanthia skitters across the floor and slides into the wall, Un'eth suggets, "More pad. Less claw."
Seyardu is not the most graceful in her normal form, and being shifted into this new one did not help matters, as her eyesight remained the same. All the muscle memory she had developed to compensate was useless. And now Lily was chasing off after Cryosanthia. The dangling silver-cat-sith managed to wrap their hind legs back around the arm, so they would at least be secure during the chase.
"Mrew!" They meow, when the white cat slides into the wall.
Lily is attempting to herd cats, and succeeding! She drags the silverfur along with her, a feline that rivals her size, and charges after the whitefur, who is having none of it.
Or, who is her Ssassa, and subsuming herself into the chase.
Cryo-kitty circles the room, using more paw than claw and keeping her grip. She leaps up on the table, daintily walks across the tea-set, then sends it scattering to the floor as she leaps for the bed.
Lily is halted by a falling wall of crockery, and hisses.
Seyardu is dangling, and while around the size of the Kobold, manages to curl into a rather impressive ball shape. Though when the tea set is sent toppling, They spring aways, sprawled out on the ground as the paws fail to find purchase. There is a momentary scrabbling as they try to right themselves, and then they leap for the bed as well-
The silver tabby faceplants into the soft side of the bed, misjudging the height. The stand there, shaking their head, before hopping back up with much more success, turning to face the pink kobold.
Un'eth's initial request for Lily to return Cryosanthia to the bed was never fully expressed, but she has made it there, regardless. The separation of the two via Lily's delay, and the distraction of the moment seems the proper time to implement the second half of Un'eth's intent.
Either or both of the pair could revert on their own, if they were instructed how. As well, Un'eth could simply end the magics gracefully for both. In this instance, though, she believes a more sudden and less controlled end best serves Cryosanthia.
She once again calls to Ea, this time to abruptly dispel her own magic from Cryosanthia and Seyardu. The sudden and unexpected nature may work as the original unexpected surge of magic, yet in the opposite direction to allow Cryosanthia to rebound or reset to her true form.
Meanwhile, Seyardu is, in fact, assisting. Lily still has a cat to hold for - or, rather, now a distraction(?) that slowed the pink raptor down a bit as Un'eth abruptly unravels the magic.
"Monsssterr!" Lily says happily, arms wide as she advances on silver-kitty. The pinkscale is upon her as the magic resets.
Cryosanthia reverts to herself. Her dragon self, suddenly much larger but still somewhat languidly crouched on her bed. The transition is a remarkable scaling up, in both size and body covering. Her wings are folded in, and in an odd self-conscious moment she licks at her right fore-talon then wipes along her eye ridge, 'washing' herself.
"This one was just realizing how I've never eaten once at all in my entire life." The whitescale says, "that was interesting."
The abrupt return to form was something Seyardu was not prepared for. They were clung to the bed after pulling themselves up, and the retrn made claws return to normal, puncturing the sheets and tearing holes into them from the widening hands. She shoved Cryosanthia a bit more to one side of the bed, until she was back to her normal, albeit wide eyed, self. She rolls onto one side to make space again, as she begins to offer a prayer to weave the torn sheets back together.
"That was, interesting, yes." She nods, squinting at one of her arms. "The fur is so, _strange_. Is this what softskins deal with on their heads all the time?"
Un'eth watches as the two revert, as expected... well, nearly so. She makes a thoughtful, if annoyed thrum at the results (or lack thereof). "Your spirit is more attuned to the dragon than expected, or the magic persists somehow. Most unusual..."
She shifts to the conversations of the two and some bemusement returns. "Fur is best in the cold, not so much in the heat. It is not so strange, given time."
Cryosanthia huffs, "Hmm."
She curls up on the bed, extending a leg so she can check along the inside of it, followed by her tail. She ends up pulling the length up where she can hold the tail-tip between her hands.
"That's still a spell, though. Elly's wildshape wasn't like that, I thought, she'd turn into all sorts of things and she wasn't casting, in the normal way."
"It was simply... ka-pow!" She makes a spreading motion with her paws. While it's a great emphasis, it is nothing further. There is no ka-pow change.
Seyardu nods and sits up on the bed, turning to look over to Cryosanthia. "Yes, the shamans, it is something they can do themselves, from what I heard. Well, other shamans." Seyardu chuckles. "That was worth exploring though, Un'eth."
"The fact your things are missing but still present, that makes me believe it is more similar to that."
"That link to Ea is a personal one," Un'eth notes. "The magic just used is a shared version of that link." Her snout bobs to Seyardu before she grows thoughtful again. In the midst, her eyes return to Cryosanthia. "You may be linked to the dragon more than most. Beyond the magic you received. If that is so, then yours, too, would be a personal one. Others' magic would not break it. It would be to you to control it."
Cryosanthia listens, then nods. She rolls over so she's lying belly down on the bed again. Lily has come to the edge, and standing on her toes can see over the edge. "Ssassa?"
"Ssassa is thinking. It's okay." She says.
Oh ancestors, what am I missing? Cryo draws a claw carefully along the sheets. "Thank you for the words, Shaman Un'eth, this one will think further."
Which she does. Lily climbs up to nestle in beside her, and play with her earfin. A wing is folded over her. "This one should meditate, or nap. This one should not have turned into a cat, the desire to nap is quite strong."
That said, she hums quietly and dozes off.
