[Nexus] GLoG 83

[happyturtle]

[Mushroom Cellar]

Brand can find Reelshka there, sitting inside and scribbling something on her notepad.

"Knock knock. Are you free?" Brand asks.

[Morty]

[Mushroom Cabin]

Reelshka looks up. "Oh. Hello, Brand. Yes, I'm free. Are you here about my proposal?"

[happyturtle]

Mushroom Cabin

"I am, yes. I've decided to accept it," Brand says.

[Lost_Deep]

Front entrance

A day or two after the current scene that Copi is at GLoG but not actually in the scene right now, Copi walks up to GLoG leading a Kitsune named Kitty.

Yes, that sentence does make sense.

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

Julie will probably notice (or suspect) that Kate is wearing clothes changed to allow a tail and wings. Which implies that she got her hands on these somehow?

In any case, Kate follows with some confusion. She's not sure what Julie would have that fits the situation so well, but she isn't the sort to say that things are connected when they aren't.

Rowan Cabin

Julie fishes around in a large steamer trunk she pulls out from the depths of her closet for a while, remaining silent and leaving Kate to her confusion. After finally sifting through all the scarves and bottles of contraband liquor, she hauls out a jar with a glowing purple wisp of smokey light inside.

"Here we are Kate, this is a poe. It is to a soul what tofu is to meat, almost literally. Vegetarian succubi came up with them, and started making them out of crushed asphodel seeds. The main point is that it acts and functions as a real soul for complicated, finnicky things that require souls as fuel, so I traded off for one with an old acquaintance when I thought of what was happening to you in your everyday life. To put it bluntly Kate, your life is only getting weirder fast, and you're in serious danger of breaking in a way that can't be fixed properly. You need a break, and I want to give you one." And Julie stops talking for a moment, and casts her hands out at Kate.

Three things should happen in sequence. Kate should feel a tight squeezing on her skin as Julie's telekinesis holds her in place for just an instant. There should be a brief moment of disorientation. And Kate should find herself in a body she may no longer recognize.

That being the body she was born with, or at least as close to it as Julie's memory can possibly manage with the aid of Nathan's memory enhancing tech. The poe in the jar Julie is holding is gone, and Kate's eyes, legs, skin, hair, and just about everything should be back to normal.

[Morty]

Mushroom Cabin

"I am, yes. I've decided to accept it," Brand says.

Reelshka smiles brightly.
"I'm really glad to hear it. You'll make a great Councilor. Is there anything you want to know about your new position?"

[happyturtle]

Mushroom Cabin

Councillor training montage?

I can't think of anything he'd ask, but I'm sure he can. The fact that he and Pansy jumped in and started working for the camp from the time they arrived probably means he has fewer questions than most would in his position.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

what
the
even
new
clothes
hair
history
body
scales
bones
skin
eyes
.-.

Kate finds herself in front of the nearest mirror, having little to no clue what just happened and with a look on her face that looks like she doesn't quite know whether to react to this with elation or a total mental breakdown.

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

"Kate, you're now in possession of a second body, completely separate from your first. I did this for Eric using his stupid powerful far abilities when he still had them, and he did the same for me, but it's possible to do it just psionics if you have something to shape. Since I don't leave a 50kg bag of meat and blood lying around, I used souls back when I was pulling underworld duty. Your other body and everything in it is still there, it's just taking a break in stasis, floating around with you. I can switch you back when you want, or I can give you a crash course on switching yourself if you have the time. Copi is proof positive that you have some talent for psionics somewhere in your head." Julie decides explaining everything as clearly as possible is the best bet. She knows that operating on a policy of "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission" has gotten her in trouble before, but she'd hope that giving Kate a reprieve from the insanity that is her life won't be such a case.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

"I need to sit down."

Kate will then go into the living room and flop (not sit, oddly) onto the couch. She will then stay there for a minute moving her arms occasionally to be more comfortable while her mind busily goes about not completely unhinging.

Or maybe her mind is turning off for a bit for the first relaxation it's had in far too long, what with all the madness.

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

After a few minutes, Julie comes out of her room, sans soul jar, with a trashy romance novel. She sits and thumbs open to a page to give herself something to read and mock while she lets Kate adjust physically and mentally. She's expecting it to take a long while, so she doesn't want to put any more pressure on Kate while it's happening.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

Kate takes several minutes before getting up, and it looks kind of like someone getting up from a power nap as opposed to someone who just flopped on the couch seeking snugly and simple temporary stress relief.

"Julie... first of all, thank you. I mean... thank you. But please, please, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE warn me if you're ever going to do that again. For a half a second my mind was convinced that the insanity that I've been living for the last year and a bit had all been temporary insanity that I had just woken up from and that my life was a lie and I was either about to wake from the wierdest dream EVER or come to my senses in a padded room."

...ooh...

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

Julie looks up from her smut, looking at Kate intently, "If I'd told you the whole story in the first place and left it up to you, was there even a chance you'd say yes and let someone else change you even further, even if it was back to the way things were?" She didn't really think so, but she's been wrong enough times in the past to admit to her screwups in the present.

"If so, then I'm sorry. I could just see you... coming apart at the seams I guess, and I felt it was time for a little mending and patching here and there. Maybe it shouldn't have been for me to decide."

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

"Yeah, yeah, I understand that. And... you know, I might have. I mean, just the other night I let a god give me dream help. I can feel myself coming apart at the seams, too... or coming apart and then coming back together in a way that makes less sense but is somehow more stable. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like a... you know, relatively normal person, and then just the right thing happens and I'm on top of a wall crying to myself after almost kicking in someone's ribs."

Wait, what?

"It all boils down to some kind of identity crisis, I think, but I don't know what to make of the crisis itself."

[OrchestraHc]

Main Cabin

"Don't worry, I'll pack meals for them. We can't expect you to feed our brood," Pansy says.

Lily returns with the sandwiches for her and her brother. "Plans for what behind my back?"

Tito takes a huge bite out of his sandwich and talks with his mouth full. "We're going to help Justin clean his new place and then he's going to take us to Dana's!"

Lily jumps up and down and claps. "Yay!"

Main Cabin

"Yeah, but before I accidentally mislead you, my place is really big," He doesn't want them to hate him for not letting them know. "My room is fine, but what I need help with is this big single main room. Also, it's not exactly a house."

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

"Yeah, yeah, I understand that. And... you know, I might have. I mean, just the other night I let a god give me dream help. I can feel myself coming apart at the seams, too... or coming apart and then coming back together in a way that makes less sense but is somehow more stable. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like a... you know, relatively normal person, and then just the right thing happens and I'm on top of a wall crying to myself after almost kicking in someone's ribs."

Wait, what?

"It all boils down to some kind of identity crisis, I think, but I don't know what to make of the crisis itself."

Rowan Cabin

"Well take some time and figure it out. Be Kate Kyland, or be Kate Dragonfeywarriorpriestess Kyland, or just relax. Figure out where you want to go, who you want to be, and what you want to do, then damn well do it. You've been pulled apart by so many crazy people that I've had to play spot the difference every time you showed up to my door and... I guess I was getting tired of it. I just want you to have a chance to say no, and get a hold on your life before the Nexus makes you its queen of the odd once and for all."

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

"As I said, I appreciate it. I really do. Do you know how many times I've said to myself, "I kind of wish I could switch between normal mode and power mode at will"? Fifteen. At least. Don't ask why I'm counting."

"But really, I won't get much use out of it in the immediate future because my wardrobe was mercifully altered by my god so I could actually wear clothes, as opposed to having to fake it until I managed to get someone to make me a few sets of dragon clothes. It's a pity, really."

Sometimes Reality just likes to make Kate's blessings bite her. It's not even my fault. Yet.

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

Julie snaps closed her book with a flat, unimpressed look, "Kate, you do know who you're talking to, right? I didn't end up scrambling your brains and making you forget who I am? Do you honestly think I would go to the trouble of acquiring a tofu soul and wouldn't think that maybe those legs or crazy third arm of yours wouldn't throw off your measurements?" Julie makes a point of snapping her fingers and an open wardrobe fireports into the living room, facing the coffee table so that they can both look into it.

"I also baked my first coffee cake to celebrate the occasion. Want to try some?" She says as if she didn't just gift Kate a massive oak wardrobe full of clothes perfectly tailored to her new form. Clothes that are exactly what she knows Kate wears. Shirts, both long sleeve and short, in breezy cotton and heavier wool and all in sensible, non-flamboyant colours. And each and every gods-damned one of them has a stripe that contrasts perfectly with its main colour. Normally cut pants, flat shoes without any heels or embellishment. It's almost painfully plain in Julie's opinion, but it's what she knows for a fact Kate likes.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

Kate is... impressed. Just, wow. Kate gives a little bit of applause to tide her over until she finds her voice.

"Sure, some coffee cake would be nice. While we're at it, I can tell you about something that I think you should hear."

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

"Go ahead and shoot. I'll just be a second with the cake." Julie heads for the attached kitchenette while motioning for Kate to talk as much as she wants.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

"Okay, so you know how I said that I was a priestess? The god in question is named Cosiellio, and he's done me a lot of favors so I want to help him a bit back. He's a new god, to the point that I'm his high priestess and only priesthood member that he's ever had. And only that because apparently it defaults to their first real follower ever."

[happyturtle]

Main Cabin

"Yeah, but before I accidentally mislead you, my place is really big," He doesn't want them to hate him for not letting them know. "My room is fine, but what I need help with is this big single main room. Also, it's not exactly a house."

"Oooh! It's a castle isn't it? A big castle with a moat and roses!" Lily conjectures.

"Don't worry, Justin. If we don't get it done in one day, at least itll be a start," Brand says.

[OrchestraHc]

Main Cabin

"Thank you, I've managed to get the surface level of badness up, but everything below that is sort of ground in." Justin tells Brand. "And not exactly, Lily. Where I live... probably counts as the exact opposite of a castle," he answers between laughs, "Do any of you know what bowling is?"

[Gullara]

Front entrance

A day or two after the current scene that Copi is at GLoG but not actually in the scene right now, Copi walks up to GLoG leading a Kitsune named Kitty.

Yes, that sentence does make sense.

[Front Entrance]

Kitty looks around with interest. "A campground, huh? That's pretty cool. You said they run a charity out of here?" She's looking around for the place that'd be most likely to have food...

[happyturtle]

Main Cabin

"Lawn bowls? With balls and a jack?" Tito asks. How could anyone live on a bowling green?

[Lost_Deep]

Front Entrance

"They have housing and food for people who need it. I'm not a member, personally, but I am familiar with some of the members, and it's better than living on the streets of inside. There's the main cabin; that's where the kitchen is."

She points at the structure and starts toward it, but is ready to move faster if Kitty starts rushing.

[Slii Arhem]

Rowan Cabin

"Okay, so you know how I said that I was a priestess? The god in question is named Cosiellio, and he's done me a lot of favors so I want to help him a bit back. He's a new god, to the point that I'm his high priestess and only priesthood member that he's ever had. And only that because apparently it defaults to their first real follower ever."

Rowan Cabin

Julie stops on her way back with the cake, looking dumbstruck.

A moment passes, then two. Then... "Kate, are you Witnessing for this guy?" Julie breaks out into miniature hysterics.

[OrchestraHc]

Main Cabin

"There's no jacks or lawns in this bowling so, probably not?" Justin answers, yet says it like a question. "It's an indoor game. You roll a ball down a wooden lane and knock over pins. Long story short, I live in a hall for playing that game." He has yet to mention that it was abandoned, but he has to release the info slowly. He actually cares what this family thinks of him, for some reason.

[Lost_Deep]

Rowan Cabin

Kate shrugs. She tries to smile along with the situation, but it's all too awkward for her to do a non-awkward smile. "Yeah, guilty as charged. He has done a lot to help me, though, like when I woke up this morning I not only had a draconic body but some dragon in my mind. He was not only kind enough to fix that but re-make my wardrobe for my new body type, and gave Sophie clothes now that she's a grig. He did say that he expected me to spread it around a bit in exchange, and honestly he deserves it." While she normally wouldn't be talking about this, she is honest and thinks Cos deserves better than what he has.

[Gullara]

[Front Entrance => Main Cabin]

"Great. I hope they have something I can grab quick." Kitty says. She doesn't rush though, despite the gnawing in her stomach. No, it's not even proper hunger at this point. She just needs to eat.