A Dream of Quiet (IC) Thread 2: Now with 100% More Drake

[Recaiden]

[Desert]

The sandstorm is starting to lose its intensity, faintly tugging rather than pulling and blinding.

[Arjuf]

"Do you do anything besides have fun, Pyrus?" His cousin laughs...

"I do need a break though." ...but also gets directions to this Tengese place he's found.

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1

"No joke?"

"Hell, why not? We all know she's not coming back. I'm just surprised they haven't held a funeral yet."

"Count me out. Gone or not."

"Ah, come one. Let's go for it. Fun if nothing else."


[Cult Hideout]

It's getting on in the night when Kendik brings Raziel a piece of parchment. It was found outside, written in English, in just dried ink. It goes something like this:

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Raziel,
Guess whose favorite Infernal I ran into today? Laurel's stolen my shape somehow and I think a copy of my memories also; she was able to answer questions about the Maelstrom, and what's worse, she's convinced Shadow Dancer that she's the real thing. I'm going on to warn Wing and Pyrus if he isn't gone yet. Don't believe anything else you hear from me.
-Drake Unending

[Rhyvurg]

"Of course, I also have adventures, drinks, and no responsibilities."

"What are they going to do boy, send you off to the Legions? I'd bet there's not even a guard on the place, but it'll be worth it to see what she kept around to loosen up with. Might even get some souvenirs. What girl wouldn't be impressed if you gave her something that belonged to the Empress herself?"

[Leliel]

Raziel never knew safe could ever be boring.

In that regard, his first sorcerous sacrifice was a huge success-people who knew him fairly well (Kendik and Beheris, to be precise) said he seemed more eager to give speeches and consoling to the Gatekeepers, he seemed less nervous and paranoid about everything, and he was somewhat less quiet during conversations. They liked this new Raziel a lot better (as did Raziel), but it did have its downsides. A love of excitement and some challenge being one of them.

Which is why Raziel's feelings about the letter were...mixed. On one hand, this sounded like an incredibly advanced technique...on the other, it was something to be excited about.

"...Beheris, fetch one of the tomescu and tell him there's a vital mission in defending the cult through a good offense. I think things just got complicated."

A thought. "Also, tell him to keep an eye on the Drake with Pyrus and Dancer, if we find him. I wouldn't put it past a clever Fiend to trick someone into thinking they're the real deal and the real deal the fake."

Tomescu in store, he and his familiar took off to find Shadow Dancer

[Scarlet Dragon]

Assuming Drake is fine with getting a lift from Dancer, he will then shapeshift into a simhata with the addition of wings and fly him back to Gem.

[Drascin]

Drake is indeed okay with getting alift, and heads back to Gem with Dancer, alternating between frustrated worry and despaired chuckling in equal parts. If he really let himself dwell on how horrifically bad things are, he'd probably be unable to move at all.

Dammit, and he thought attacking the Lion was trouble. That was vacation compared to the cluster**** he's in now.

[Recaiden]

[Gem]

It's okay Drake. It could be worse. The city could also have been destroyed by the Lion before you got back.

After gathering his demons and going out to search for Shadow Dancer, he will notice a rather conspicuous thing. A line of archers is being led away from the western edge of the caldera by one of the youth of House Rankar. Wonder what they were up to. There's also a...shape out in the darkness. Your eyes don't want to rest on it, but finally, you force yourself to notice Drake, riding a winged lion-horse across the sands.


[Arjuf]

"Come on. It'll be fun. Think what he'd say if you did get something of hers..."

"Alright, why the hell not?"

The three soldiers stand up, two of them smiling, and listen to Pyrus for a plan.

They'll find the Palace dark and still.

[Rhyvurg]

"All right lads, have a look around first. We'll never get souvenirs if they bust us at the door."

[Leliel]

Upon seeing Drake's mount, Raziel goes as white as a sheet.

"Um...eh heh...Drake, is your current mount sapient? Is he or she particularly thick-skinned or immune to comments on their appearance?"

[Drascin]

And there he is. Drake dismounts gingerly, nodding thankfully at Dancer.

"That's Dancer, dude. Anyway, more pressing matters right now. " Drake is clearly trying to stay calm - and sort of failing. He breathes deeply before speaking trying to think of a way to put this well. In the end, this is the kind of thing that probably needs the jackhammer approach.

"Okay. So. Laurel somehow has turned into me. Full shapeshifter deal. She's even copied several of my powers. And I have no idea if she actually has some of my memories. And I have no goddamn idea of what she intends to do with that - and I can think of like a dozen really bad things.

Or if she wants to just ruin my entire life. As a follower of the Ebon Dragon she's probably into that too."

[Leliel]

(OOC: Sorry, incompetence with the die roller)

[Leliel]

"Yeah, okay. Sorry, he's just...scary."

"From what I know of the Dragon, that sounds like one of his Shintais, a Charm embodying an aspect of his world-form. Which is pretty odd for him, since he only has the one. So it must be a temporary form or something...hmm..Where have I heard the term before..."

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Intelligence + Occult (6d10)[3][7][8][7][1][1](27)

"...Yep, I remember now. Ebon Mirror Shintai, shadow theft. She's turned yourself into your evil twin, exactly like you except she loves what you hate and hates what you love....

....Of course, the shadow is still stolen ie gone, so could you stand to with your back to the light..? It's quite possible you're the fake, and if so, it's three to one, Laurel. One of which is a tomescu, and the other a hypercompetent Lunar warrior who won't be eager to transport you out of the middle of the desert any more..."

[Drascin]

And Drake opens his eyes in surprise.

"...is it seriously THAT easy? God damn had I known that I wouldn't have worried myself sick so much. I owe you one"

"...for the record, though, note." He says as he indeed heads for the nearby lights. "She has my powers. This includes the fact that under certain circumstances, one of which would be this one, I can up and disappear. She used it before to get away from us. So even with these odds, were I Laurel you wouldn't really be able to catch her." Drake smirks somewhat humourlessly. "What can I say, being brave and standing your ground is always a bad idea when you're a Sidereal, so learning a way to just up and get the **** out is a priority. I didn't expect people would be using it against me"

With that, he stays in the light. "Of course, because the day can still get worse, I'm half expecting Laurel dismissed her charm three minutes ago and I recovered my own shadow without noticing, and thus I get mauled by Dancer. But honestly, that'd still be a win over her ruining my life, so hey. Nothing to really lose here...

Hm. A question. If it works through shadow stealing... if Dancer stabs me in the face, does she also lose my shape, since I die and my shadow ceases existing? You know, to know if in case of emergency jumping off a sixth floor would work"

[Scarlet Dragon]

Dancer shifts back into his normal form and rises to his feet with a slightly confused expression. "Me notice, neither had shadow, anima light."

[Leliel]

Hm. A question. If it works through shadow stealing... if Dancer stabs me in the face, does she also lose my shape, since I die and my shadow ceases existing? You know, to know if in case of emergency jumping off a sixth floor would work[/COLOR]"

"First of all-don't talk like that. Secondly...uh..

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Intelligence + Occult, again. (6d10)[1][6][4][3][6][6](26)

Whelp, a botch.

"..Er...um...maybe? I can't remember for the life of me...was there a weakness...something about silver...?"

Beheris? Anything you remember about your progenitor's Shintai?"

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Forget an aalu's statistics, and not particularly eager to look for the book.

[Drascin]

Drake grins at that. It's not a pretty grin. More the kind that comes from laughing at yourself in the bad way, with all teeth showing.

"The fact I do think like that is why I am what I am, Raz. 's the whole thing with being a Sidereal. Gotta prepare for the worst.

Plus hey, you know, martyr complex. " he snorts.

[Leliel]

An invisible spider-locust coughs politely. "Leaving aside what many of us call The Act of Ultimate Love, such a sacrifice would be senseless: Black Mirror Shintai lasts a day, at maximum, but death only renders the dead an invalid target-it doesn't cancel an ongoing impersonation. No weakness to silver though-if anything, it would be vulnerable to gold, but I know of no such thing."

[Drascin]

"Excellent" Drake visibly slumps in relief for a second. Then tenses again.

"...so now the question is, what does she intend to do with my form during today? And tell me, if you know about it - does she actually get my memories in full?

[Leliel]

[Botch effect taking place-mental block for rest of scene! Taking successes as individual tidbits he does know.]

"I don't know. She might, because she has your skills right now, but I'm not sure of the relationship between memories and copied abilities."

"I know that she is still Laurel underneath your shadow, barring her artificial loves and hates. She'll be able to impersonate you perfectly, however, so it's safe to say she might-nothing I have heard about it is particularly clear."

[Drascin]

"I feared you'd say that"

Drake starts moving, checking if he has everything ready in his pockets and starting twitching, as if to go again.

"...tell me, is the level of care also mirrored? As in, the more I care about something the more she'll hate it?"

[Leliel]

"She's mirrored you perfectly, so yes-a bitter rival becomes, emotionally speaking, an appreciated friend, and a lover a mortal enemy. Same with whatever your driving goal is in life, she wants the precise opposite for as long as she has your shadow."

[Drascin]

"I feared you'd say that too"

He turns, with a kind of neutral expression. "Dancer. Can you take me somewhere else? I want to check in on someone just in case. Laurel has my body and I'm slow and unathletic, so we might beat her to the punch if she does what I'm fearing.

Please."

[Scarlet Dragon]

"Sure" looks to Raziel "Want ride too?"

[Leliel]

"Don't see why not-come along, fellas."

The dematerialized demons sit, imperceptibly, where Raziel is as well.

[Scarlet Dragon]

With that Dancer assumes a slightly larger simhata with wings to accommodate the extras.

[Drascin]

"Sure" looks to Raziel "Want ride too?"

"Thanks, Dancer" Drake answers simply, nodding. "When this is over, you can ask me for any repayment I can give you. Promise."

"Don't see why not-come along, fellas."

The dematerialized demons sit, imperceptibly, where Raziel is as well.

"Because I'm going to Yu-Shan" Drake states flatly.

"I'm going to check on my best friend and stay with her until the day is over and the duration for this thing ends. I hope Laurel doesn't go for her. Mostly because if she does I'll have to tear out her trachea" Yes, there are a great many more things Laurel could do with his body, and Drake gets a bit green when thinking about it. But coldly thinking of it, most of them could be fixable, with time and effort, and mostly involve sowing chaos. Compared to a hurt friend, that all seems relatively secondary.

"I can't take you there. The doorguards would turn you into hamburgers the second they caught a whiff of your essence. Instead you should try to check on Wing. She might try something with him. He has a way better chance of defending himself, but I'd still feel better if it was two on one if anything happened"

With that, he motions to Dancer to begin going.

[Leliel]

"Thanks, Dancer" Drake answers simply, nodding. "When this is over, you can ask me for any repayment I can give you. Promise."



"Because I'm going to Yu-Shan" Drake states flatly.

"I'm going to check on my best friend and stay with her until the day is over and the duration for this thing ends. I hope Laurel doesn't go for her. Mostly because if she does I'll have to tear out her trachea" Yes, there are a great many more things Laurel could do with his body, and Drake gets a bit green when thinking about it. But coldly thinking of it, most of them could be fixable, with time and effort, and mostly involve sowing chaos. Compared to a hurt friend, that all seems relatively secondary.

"I can't take you there. The doorguards would turn you into hamburgers the second they caught a whiff of your essence. Instead you should try to check on Wing. She might try something with him. He has a way better chance of defending himself, but I'd still feel better if it was two on one if anything happened"

With that, he motions to Dancer to begin going.

"...Oh. Thought we were going to Wing."

Every infernal-related individual dismounts.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Point me in his direction."

[Drascin]

"Honestly, I have no idea. I figure he'll still be around. It's been less than a friggin day since we even arrived."

"Sorry, gotta bolt. See you tomorrow if everything works. Check the shadow next time you see me"

[Leliel]

"On it, chief."

"Right, tomescu, when we find the false Drake, I need you to ambush him, er, her, okay? I'll stand back and rain assault from afar. Wing is going to be a little shocked, but..."

He trails off as he realizes a problem with evil twins, and his bond to the Yozis.

"...Drake, is there any way to convince Wing that Laurel is a fake? Something he knows you love, and thus her spitting poison at it would tip him off?"

[Drascin]

Drake turns his head slightly from atop Dancer a second before takeoff.

"Not really. We really haven't talked too much about ourselves. He doesn't know about any of my friends.

He's a smart guy, though. He may have realized how much I need to make people happy. Which means that if Laurel isn't going for my friends she's probably going around ruining people's lives at random the same way I sometimes just go around freeing slaves and making happy coincidences at people, and I have **** all ways to find her and stop her"

And with that, they bolt off.

[Leliel]

"Okay, got it. If nothing else, I can surrender and explain if I can drive her off."

As Drake leaves, so does the Malefactor and his entourage.