[Nexus] Riverside IX

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

"What? You're the goddess? No. He said he'd let us go. He never did the ritual." Nadia insists. What's going on here? This was supposed to be over with. Tlazolteotl has to be lying.

[Terumitsu]

[Riftline]

For a while, it would seem as if Mimi's touch didn't register to the muse as she simply stared blankly at the other wall. But after a long few minutes, Riss slowly uncurled and leaned into the embrace, making to rest her head on Mimi's shoulder as she simply sat there and let herself be held. It would be some time yet before the Riftline stopped and she was content with that.

Letting out a long sigh, Riss closed her eyes as she reached out with a free hand to gently run her fingers through Mimi's hair. Her tail seemed to be more inclined to be more reciprocal, at least, as it made to curl around Mimi's waist again. Quietly, hardly even a whisper, she said one thing and went silent once more. "I'm sorry."

Once the line had fully come to a stop in the city of Inside, Riss might need some prodding to get moving again but beyond that, she would at least be able to make it back to the MagCave on her own power.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

"So I had someone else do it instead. While your were sleeping." Tlazolteotl replies with an curious look at Nadia, like a child looking at a ant just about to charge them. 'Childish outburst' in 5...4..3...

[Gullara]

[Riftline]

Mimi just squeezes Riss a bit harder when she speaks up, but otherwise keeps holding her the same way for the rest of the ride. When the train does stop, the pixie coaxes Riss out of her seat and they start the walk the rest of the way home.

[Dreaming]

Nadia looks at the goddess with absolute horror. They performed the ritual on her, impregnated her, while she was sleeping?! "You can't do this to me! You can't just make me have your child! You disgusting monster!" Oh gods, what is she going to do? She can't be pregnant.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

The scorpion looks at her expectingly until it's clear she isn't going to say anything else. "And yet I just did. So it's in our both interest now that you just accept what happened to you. It's our child after all. Besides, I think you'll grow to like it, the last person did."

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

Nadia looks like she could be sick. Bringing up Adriane makes it so much worse. "Get away from me." Nadia gets to her feet. "Stay away from me forever! I never want to see any sign of you again!" She turns and tries to move away from Tlazolteotl as fast as she can. She has to get away.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

The scorpion just look at Nadia for a moment as she runs away. Stupid mortal.

The next moment Nadia will feel like if she's running up a very steep hill as the sand in front of her quickly seem to raise to the point where she should fall down. Instead however the sand continues to raise, continuing outwards to the point where Nadia is actually running upside down and back towards the goddess.

"We both know that won't happen Nadia and the sooner you can accept that the better this will go alright? This pointless struggle is just embarrassing."

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

"Just let me go." Nadia says hopelessly. "You already have what you want. Let me go!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

"But I'm about to explain how this will go down! That's the reason I brought you here after all. After that I will let you go. So if you will just listen for me a second you can then go back to your girlfriend or whatever." The scorpion explains to the upside down Nadia.

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

Nadia sighs and slumps to her knees, defeated. "Fine. Whatever gets me home faster."

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

"Great! I knew you were a smart one!" The goddess replies while quickly crawling up the wall of sand, becoming a bit smaller as she goes. By the time she's at Nadia she's no larger then your average dog. "So I see that at least three beings have made different claims on you already. Your hair, your race and your faith, all three different entities. So now it's my turn and while I can't do anything about what they have given you, out of respect of course, the moment you were given my child you also gained a little aspect of me in the process. Just like Adriane did." The scorpion explains while slowly starting to walk in a circle around Nadia.

"So as your pregnancy processes, you will gain some of the traits I represent such as scorpions, deserts, beauty, children..." The goddess reads up as she slowly walks in a circle around the naked lampade. "Any questions on that?"

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

"No." Nadia says flatly. Really, her mind is racing with questions. There's so much she should know, but she doesn't want to give Tlazolteotl the satisfaction.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

"Well, that's too bad since what I said really didn't explain anything." The scorpion replies. "I might even give you some choices..." The scorpion suddenly stops to look directly at her. "Still not interested? It will give you some sense of control."

[Gullara]

[Dreaming]

Only a sense of control is right. "Fine." She says regardless. Maybe she can stop this goddess from doing to much more to her.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreaming]

"See? I told you were smart." Tlazolteotl says while slowly walking closer to Nadia. "I had expected the silent treatment at this point, but you're really proving I picked the right woman for the job." The scorpion says while stopping right in front of Nadia, getting almost uncomfortably close. "Now here is how we will do it. I will visit you like this at the beginning of every month you're pregnant and give you a couple of choices in traits you will manifest during the course up the upcoming month. If you block out the dreams somehow, a random trait will manifest, I'm just able to guide them along a bit." She explains to Nadia. "So here is your first choice. A beautiful stinger like mine plus a few other beneficial arachnid traits." Tlazolteotl says while wriggling her stinger back and fourth. "Or the ability to attract and control scorpions, earning you and all your friends their undying love or the ability to turn into one... without hurting the baby of course. Whatever you choose you will be immune to a scorpions poison and be able to manifest it through your mouth." How very creepy.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Spoiler

Show

Lenai's Orchard

Bees begin to swarm, ready to attack the gnome, but Kell restrains them, not wanting them to die in his defense. "The Lady will handle the intruder," he says to the bees.

If he is blasted though, the bees will no longer be under his control, and will attack until the intruder is driven out or killed.

Lenai's Grove

"Perhaps you should go, while I decide what to do with our friend here. He seems to not like you. I would normally favor the sentiment myself, but in your case, I think an exception should be made." Lenai steps on a root near Kallistax's neck, and the gnome should be able to feel them tighten painfully around his throat, as a warning that he'd best not disturb the orchard any further. She leans over to inspect the damage the bolt has done to the forest floor.

Lenai's Grove

"As you wish, my Lady," Kell says, and he moves away through the trees.

A few bees, however, remain to keep watch.

Kallistaxis now just a head, with glowing reddish green eyes. He looks possessed...

Then the beekeeper leaves! The gnomes eyes fade and go back to normal, and he falls unconscious.

[Slii Arhem]

Lenai's Orchard

Lenai "hms" as she inspects the damage, and spends her time waiting for the gnome to wake up trying to repair it. Now that he's caught by the roots, she feels confident that she can deal with him in her own time, and she's rather curious as to just what prompted his reactions to Kell.

She'll also be on the lookout for that parrot of his, just in case there is more to the bird than meets the eye. Since the gnome is some kind of magic user, it being his familiar is not out of the question.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Lenai's Orchard

Eventually, Kallistax wakes up and looks around. Hello! Are you the nature spirit? Looks like someone burned the ground!

He looks down, blinks once, and slowly levitates out of the ground, with a sheepish grin.

[happyturtle]

Lenai's Orchard

((It's Slii's call, but I think it's likely godmodding to levitate through Lenai's tree roots.))

About four bees continue to fly around the gnome's head closely. Not close enough to land. But close enough to be heard.

[Morty]

[Westside - Democracy Now]

"You mean when organized crime had the leaders by the short hairs? I could list a few reasons." The man replies.

[Westside - Democracy Now]

The bard nods, apparently satisfied by the answer. Of course, they were most likely prepared for violence, if he was any judge. He turns an appraising eye towards the Hunter who was staring at him when he arrived.

"So they replaced the gangs with a gang of their own, which is more lenient to the populace. It worked for a time, but now we need something better," the young woman says. "And if the people want it, who are the vampires to argue? It's not just their city - it's everyone's city."

The Hunter, a haughty-looking middle-aged woman in respectable clothes, returns the bard's look with indifference. She appears to be nothing more than just another spectator.

Northside- Democracy Now Stall

"My own culture is stagnant by the standards of humanity. We have not changed for thousands of years, and humanity has far outstripped our own technological development. But I've seen the catastrophes of progress for progress's sake, and stagnancy doesn't have to be bad. The janni thrive, on all nine Elemental Planes, roaming as we will. Be sure that this is the right direction to go, and prepare for failure at every turn. Especially here, where it seems many people are powerful enough to see a democracy and attempt to subvert it into a tyranny or outright conquest. Not to say they will; just that they might." He counts the Elemental Planes of Earth, Air, Fire and water, plus the Quasi-Elemental Planes of Magma, Soil/Mud/Ooze, Smoke and Cloud/Cold and the Prime Material Plane.

"And I'd like to know if you've come up with all this by yourself or act in someone's interest. Either way, you will not sway us with your own apathy. It's easy to talk about 'progress for progress' sake' when you're a magical being living on a magical plane. We, the common people of Riverside trying to make the best of what we have, need change," the man says hotly. "By your own admission, you do not and cannot understand our situation."

[Slii Arhem]

Lenai's Orchard

Eventually, Kallistax wakes up and looks around. Hello! Are you the nature spirit? Looks like someone burned the ground!

He looks down, blinks once, and slowly levitates out of the ground, with a sheepish grin.

Lenai's Orchard

((Since the roots were tight around his neck while he was asleep, I'd say that I'd need a better explanation as to how he escaped them than levitating out. If he turned intangible or something, I could buy that, or made some effort to get free, but they wouldn't let him go without a fight.))

"I am. And you burned the ground, with that staff of yours. Not intentionally, however, as you were aiming at someone else under my protection. Now, normally I would have no trouble spilling your blood and letting my trees feast on it, but inferior blood could contaminate the nectar they produce, which is unacceptable. So, your answer is going to tell me what I should do with you, rather than rip you to pieces."

[Dark Elf Bard]

Orchard

He looks confused. What? No, I didn't.

[Slii Arhem]

Lenai's Orchard

Lenai's brow wrinkles in disgust at the display of magic as the gnome phases through her roots, but the trap settles back under the earth after being thwarted. He was still, foolishly, in her domain, so his life was hers if she wished it.

"I just watched you do it, it does you no good to deny it happened. Tell me, why would you try to harm a young human boy in the domain of another, without their permission?"

[Dark Elf Bard]

Orchard

Uhm, I really don't remember that, um, your Majesty?

The gnome seems genuinely confused.

[happyturtle]

Lenai's Orchard

Four bees. Buzzing around gnome's face. This continues.

[Slii Arhem]

Lenai's Orchard

"Yes, well, I think I've tolerated your presence just about enough. Remembered or not, you attacked someone of value to me, and since you don't seem in control of yourself, could do so again. I retract my protection of you while you stand among my trees. If you stay here much longer, then you have only yourself to blame for what happens to you." Lenai responds. She's decided to let this one go, to let them spread the word of what will happen to those that cross her in her territory. Of course, if Kallistax reacts that way around all humans, the news probably won't go far, but some prevention here and there may mean that she won't have to worry about as many poachers and loggers in the future.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Oh whoops, did Green Man take over? Oh, wow, again? I've been looking for an exorcist.... putting it off. Do you know how?

The gnome blinks and swats the the bees, hitting one.

[happyturtle]

Lenai's Orchard

((You don't control the bees. ))

None of the bees are hit, but swinging at them causes about a dozen more to gather. They stay just out of arm's reach, but buzz angrily. Only Kell's obedience to The Lady is keeping them from attacking now.

[Slii Arhem]

Lenai's Orchard

"Usually, you would pray to a god for such a thing. Perhaps you'll find one that can answer your prayers, but you will do it away from here. If I catch you here again, it will be the end of my leniency." Lenai's hand runs down the bark of the maple she is standing against, and where her fingers touch, the bark flakes off in large, scaly spikes that rattle against one another as a breeze stirs up.

"Drive him off, but do no drink of his blood if it is spilled. Let it dry from the earth on the air and bring the scent of warning to this place." Without little warning, the wood beneath the bark spikes swells with a creaking sound, and then bursts, sending shards at Kallistax's legs and feet.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Orchard

The gnome twitches his fingers, and an small ring of fire comes around him. It's not touching the ground or trees, but it's close.

Hey listen Lady, he says over the roar of the flames
I really don't want trouble. Please call of your -trees- and bees.