Mallside VIII: OrksOrksOrks!

[Morty]

Its possible sort of do. I am well trained in a style of alchemy that focuses on transmutation and a law known as The Law of Equivalent Exchange, where you transmutate using runes to shape, combine, or separate the materials on hand or around you. If it is not enough knowledge to start me off, maybe I could make training me from the bottom up worthwhile by training you my style of alchemy
Miria replies, withdrawing her hand after the handshake.

"That's a rather general description," Dorota observes. "Do you mean that you immediately change the form and composition of things around you as if by magic?"

[Arkhosia]

"That's a rather general description," Dorota observes. "Do you mean that you immediately change the form and composition of things around you as if by magic?"

Sort of. I cannot turn wood into steel, but I can reshape it into a door if I have enough wood, maybe even reinforce it with steel I have with me if I wish. I cannot change the elements themselves, just change where they are and how they're blended.
Miria explains.

[Morty]

"But you can transmute them as soon as you draw the right symbol, yes?" Dorota asks. "If so, that's substantially quicker than what I do."

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

"It actually makes me feel a little better about it, knowing that this isn't something peculiar to me," Geneva explains. "Like, I found out that the cities of my home country are all pony-puns on names of cities from other universes. That has all the trappings of some kind of joke, but there's more to it than that. All of our cities have historical and etymological reasons to have the names they have, just like the human cities do. It's enough to make me wonder if there's some kind of common guiding claw in everything that has a really weird sense of humor."

Considering creatures like the dreaded duck-snake, it would have to be a really weird sense of humor.

"Maybe this is all just someone's gag, but I think we can still enjoy ourselves in the mean time."

Which she'll do.

By eating her salad whilst watching Nick.

There's something else on her mind, something that's eating at her just as surely as she's eating at her greens. But it's going to take some mustering of course to ask.

[Deathkeeper]

Horn Ah Plenty

Nick gives her a funny look, then shakes his head.
"Sorry, déjà vu right there. But erm, yeah. If you don't mind I'm going to continue not being able to wrap my head around that." he chomps at some bacon strips. Even with his slight issue with proper table manners he's not actually messy.
"Something on your mind?" he asks, with a look akin to a raised eyebrow.

Mystique Physique

Jim nods. Presumably the transfer of Jim's original body can be assumed to have happened, and Lost can handle any details of the transfer.

[Arkhosia]

"But you can transmute them as soon as you draw the right symbol, yes?" Dorota asks. "If so, that's substantially quicker than what I do."

No, it has to be activated by the will and touch of a person. The circle drawn that forms the basis of the image bears symbols in certain locations or sometimes inside it, and can vary for the use of it. The different symbols vary upon the desired effect of the transmutation. in addition, most people focus upon a specialty of alchemy. However, there are some who do not require the use of the transmutation circle and apparently therefore do mot need to focus on a type of alchemy.

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

Geneva takes a deep breath.

It's now or never.

...okay, that isn't true. She could ask later and it wouldn't be a problem at all. But still! This is an ideal time to broach the question. What's the worst that could happen? That he says what she expects he'll probably say?

"I was wondering if you found that you feel... different about me depending on whether you're a griffin or a human," Geneva quickly blurts out before blushing furiously. "I just... don't want to act all odd and awkward and weird around you at the wrong time or something..."

She can deal with a direct answer.

She knows how to respond to a direct answer.

It's the unknown that's bugging her.

[Deathkeeper]

Horn ah Plenty

Nick looks at her with a soft smile. He's been expecting this one for a while.
"My brains might disagree on some aspects of appearance, but my opinion on you as a person doesn't change. Don't worry at all about that. " he tells her sincerely.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"Will and touch, you say," Dorota muses. "How long does it usually take between drawing the circle and the desired transmutation, then?"

[Arkhosia]

[Erin's Emporium]

"Will and touch, you say," Dorota muses. "How long does it usually take between drawing the circle and the desired transmutation, then?"

A few seconds.
Miria replies simply.

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

See that right there?

That's a genuine, relieved smile turning up the corners of Geneva's beak.

"That's good to know. Thanks Nick. And as far as appearance goes, believe me, I want to do something about... this..." she gestures to herself. "If at all possible. Even if it's just a mid-level metamorphosis spell to make me look normal. I can't help but think that I should feel more concerned about what this chaos magic is doing to me, but I just... can't. It feels natural and that's kind of jarring."

She's been waffling back and forth for a while now on what to do about it.

There don't seem to be any easy answers, that's for sure.

"Umm... How about a less weird subject? You haven't told me much about what you do. Though... I think you work for that human who's in charge of the city? I'll admit I haven't really read much on the government of Inside. What kind of job do you have?"

[Gullara]

Mall Office

Okay... "Excuse me, sir?" She gives him a moment to compose herself, "I would like to apply for a job. Who should I talk to about that?"

[Mall Office]

The man practically jumps right out of his skin when Kate speaks. He drops his phone on the floor and scrambles to his feet. "Pardon me, miss!" He nervously smooths his hands over his uniform. "Um, I guess I could see if someone can see you? It's a bit irregular..." He considers that she probably saw him slacking off. "Actually, let me arrange that! What's your name, miss?"

[Deathkeeper]

Horn ah Plenty

"Did you try asking the folks at that temple we went to? I don't know a thing about gods but well, 'god' sure has some connotations of power where I'm from."
and then subject change!
"Well uh, technically speaking I'm a soldier, but really I just keep the peace. Just show up to any rowdy place in power armor and most folks will quiet down. I've only been on one real big op. It was pretty nasty. Weird cyborg aliens mind-controlling people. I really don't like that armor, feels too encasing, but I was glad as hell to have it on me there." he says with a bit of a shudder.

[Rebonack]

[Horn uh Plenty]

"I'm not sure how I feel about the whole gods thing," Geneva replies, fidgeting a bit. "It's a really weird subject. I know this probably sound strange coming from me. I'm sure what I do seems pretty amazing by the standards of your home, but those are all knowns. They're all things I can understand and trust to some degree. With things calling themselves gods, though? I don't know what to make of that. I don't know who they are or what they want or what their intentions might be. I don't think I want to place who and what I am in the hands of strangers. If they can change me like Libra did... I don't know. I think I would rather figure something out myself rather than relying on 'gods'. Whatever gods are."

A weird thing about Geneva using the word 'god'?

There's a bit of a disconnect there. One can tell that she's speaking the word in English rather than her native language. The result is a somewhat weird accent and perhaps the realization that her language doesn't have an equivalent word. And why would it? Ponies controlled the cycle of growth. Ponies controlled rain and storm. In ages past ponies even moved the heavens. No gods. No demons. Only ponies.

"Mind controlling cyborg aliens?" Geneva echos. That's quite a nefarious sounding collection of attributes. "What happened? Were you hurt? Do you know why they were here? What they were doing?"

[Deathkeeper]

Horn ah Plenty

Nick nods. "I hear ya. It's weird, going from a place with only rational things to one where such beings exist. Still, the people we met there were pretty nice and we were talking to the high priestess. Someone like that can't work for anyone that bad. I think it's a rule that a priest can't differ from their patron's ideology or they lose their powers or something. I don't know, I think I just heard that somewhere."
He scowls a bit as he remembers.
"I had to protect my CO as she went into their base's core and took it out after our other guys blew us a hole in. I made out fine, but they almost got her with some sort of fail-safe. I had to EMP her to keep the nano-thingies from hitting her brain (which probably did nothing but I thought it couldn't hurt they told me the taser couldn't kill anyone) and drag her out and her hand still got pretty badly messed up. Erm, please do yourself a favor and don't look up the Borg. It wasn't pretty. "

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

At some point Geneva had polished off her plate of salad and returned for something a little heartier. The result is a plate mounded with biscuits and gravy. Soooo much biscuits and gravy. A small child is watching her eat from a nearby table, uncertain whether to be in awe or in terror of the huge critter right over there devouring so much food.

If nothing else, that should mean she wouldn't be hungry for children afterwards, right?

The child's movement catches Geneva's attention and the little boy soon find himself under the hippogriff's unyielding raptor's gaze. The boy gives a little eep and sinks partly under his table. Geneva does her best to smile and wave a plaw at the kid, who after a little prompting sheepishly waves back.

"They did seem nice. If a little bit strange. But, hehe, I suppose I'm hardly one to talk about strange, am I?" says miss chaos-tainted hippogriff. "I'll consider it, I suppose."

Then talk of robo-aliens!

"Borg...? I think I've heard of those. They're from Star Trek, right?" she recounts. "I've only gotten through most of the original series so far. I think they get introduced in The Next Generation."

She might have peeked.

Just a little.

Mostly because of the similarities between Discord and Q.

[Deathkeeper]

Horn Ah Plenty

Aw, Nick doesn't get to terrify children, and he's the one with the possibly scary almost-all-meat diet. He can't really help that, he's made of a pair of carnivores, and only his mind is from an omnivore!
"Aw, geez. You found the source material? I don't want to know, I really don't. I certainly can't stop you, but I really would suggest not looking. Or maybe you can, because we totally kicked their asses and don't have to worry about a large-scale threat again unless a totally unrelated cube shows up, in which case we'll blow that one up, too." he says, and nods to make it seem extra resolute.

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

Weirdly enough, the griffins from Geneva's home are omnivores in a sense similar to humans. Though they obviously can handle raw meat significantly better. One would think that being made out of two exclusive carnivores would preclude that, but mythological creatures are kind of weird sometimes. What with being mythological and not adhering to the typical laws of nature and all.

"Well... it's actually a really optimistic view of what the future might be like created by humans. Humanity was united in peace and cooperation with a federation of many other alien species and they travel the galaxy looking for new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!"

Geneva then hums a pretty good rendition of the opening theme from the original Star Trek series.

"I'm not entirely sure what context the Borg operate under, since I haven't seen those episodes yet. But obviously they villains."

Obviously.

I mean... geeze, those things are nasty.

[Deathkeeper]

Horn Ah Plenty

Well, in Nick's case "can" and "feel like it today" are entirely different things! Today he wanted bacon and beef!
"They operate under conquering everything in existence and converting organic life into themselves, wiping the beings' minds in the process. It is not pleasant." responds Nick with a scowl.
It might be best to change the subject.

[Devixer]

Aurora Fountain

After a very trying day at the Roost, Aiden is sitting at the fountain, taking a few minutes to relax a little before he heads home. He's writing in a notebook about something or other.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"That's considerably quicker than anything I do," Dorota observes. "My craft concerns itself with creating or altering substances and objects. But maybe there is something I could teach you."

[WarKitty]

M'usic Emporium

There's a number of percussion instruments in the store, those are fairly able to play with paws. Like that set of drums, or that short piano. In the meantime, Mil gets out a piece of leather and some tools to start shaping it into a collar.

Xun wanders over and pads at some drums. Not very effectively - kitty paws aren't really made for striking, and she's not really capable of standing on her back paws.

[Arkhosia]

[Erin's Emporium]

"That's considerably quicker than anything I do," Dorota observes. "My craft concerns itself with creating or altering substances and objects. But maybe there is something I could teach you."

Any knowledge of any alchemy is worth learning in my opinion. Never know when one type will come in handy while another style won't. Shall I teach you what I know of my alchemy in exchange for the knowledge you teach me?
Miria asks.

[Lost_Deep]

[Mall Office]

The man practically jumps right out of his skin when Kate speaks. He drops his phone on the floor and scrambles to his feet. "Pardon me, miss!" He nervously smooths his hands over his uniform. "Um, I guess I could see if someone can see you? It's a bit irregular..." He considers that she probably saw him slacking off. "Actually, let me arrange that! What's your name, miss?"

"I tried to apply online, but the jobs part of your website is 'down for maintenance'." That entire website made her feel odd. "Kate Kyland."

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I'll need to see it in action first," Dorota says. "You might as well demonstrate. Follow me to my lab, if you please."

[ThePhantom]

M'usic Emporium



Xun wanders over and pads at some drums. Not very effectively - kitty paws aren't really made for striking, and she's not really capable of standing on her back paws.

"Would you care for a more specialized instrument, one that you could play easier?"

Mil looks up from his work on the collar.

[Arkhosia]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I'll need to see it in action first," Dorota says. "You might as well demonstrate. Follow me to my lab, if you please."

Miria nods.
Lead the way, ma'am.
And so she shall follow Dorota to the lab!

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium - Lab]

Dorota leads Miria to a spacious laboratory room, occupied by tables, containers and drawers, most of which can be slid around on rails as necessary.

"What would you like to transmute using your methods?"

[Arkhosia]

[Erin's Emporium - Lab]

Dorota leads Miria to a spacious laboratory room, occupied by tables, containers and drawers, most of which can be slid around on rails as necessary.

"What would you like to transmute using your methods?"

Hmm... Some igneous rock would be nice.
Miria replies.

[Rebonack]

[Horn ah Plenty]

This subject is obviously agitating Nick.

Time to move on to something else!

"Have you mentioned my bridge project to your superiors?" Geneva inquires. "I would imagine they would want to know about it if I manage to get it off the ground past the basic planning stage. Regardless of the method I end up using, creating a Neighnstein-Roseluck bridge exiting a universe is a pretty major undertaking. I'm not sure if they have the instrumentation to pick up such an event, but if they do I don't want to spook someone into thinking I'm trying to make the fabric of spacetime collapse like a tent with a pole kicked in."

Making a military dictatorship believe that you're attempting to end reality is a pretty solid way to get locked up and/or killed.

"I've been looking into both magical and technological solutions to my problem. The biggest issue is making a hole in spacetime to serve as the foundation for the bridge. The only machines I've been able to find that do that sort of thing are either fixed to specific destinations, way outside my price range, or scaled down versions of weapons that are illegal Inside."