Mallside 9: Waaagh!

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

Dorota looks at her mother above her glasses again. She does that often when she's not sure of something. It's a habit she picked up after leaving home, however. Does her mother mean what she just said?

"That's reassuring to hear. Well, then. I'm afraid I'm in the middle of a project right now. I'll make sure to contact you in the teahouse when I have some results."

[Cyber Punk]

Spoiler: From Foxside

Show

[Morgana, Saeed, and Tamamo]

Morgana sighs.

"I suppose we shall. Thank you for your time and your patience, Lady Tamamo. We will return with your gifts before-"

Morgana's right ear twitches ever so slightly. Her fur, principally the fur on her tail, bristles as it strikes her that Prince Saeed just addressed her as-

"Oh troubled one?!"

The troubled one has a name! It's not even a difficult name to pronounce or remember! In fact, an infamous sorceress from Arthurian lore is her namesake, so Saeed should have no trouble whatsoever with the troubled one's name!

"Good gods, you're condescending!"

Morgana snarls, crosses her arms, and storms off at a brisk pace, making it as clear as day that she doesn't care whether Saeed can keep up with her or not.

Next Stop: Mallside

[Morgana, Saeed, and Tamamo]

"Oh, dear." Saeed quickly says, and then follows her to mallside, trying to stop her, and if that fails, patiently following until they get to their destination.

[Morgana and Saeed]

Saeed and Morgana appear, the former staying a few paces behind the latter as they walk to Mallside. "I must apologize for using a term you dislike, but... I can sense the turmoil in your mind, Lady Morgana. I do hope as we get to know each other more, you'll let me ease your pain some."

[Artemis97]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I'll wait for you there, then." Garzyna agrees. "Work quickly, please." She pleads, before turning to leave.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

Once her mother is gone, Dorota lets out a deep breath, running her hand through her hair. The hand is shaking a little. That was an... emotionally draining encounter. She looks around. Syela's gone. He walks in the direction her apprentice seems to have taken, hoping to find her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Syela," she says apologetically if she does.

[The Alexandrian]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

At the outset of the foxy pair's relatively safe adventure in Mallside, Morgana does little more than resentfully "Hmph.", stick her muzzle up in the air, turn away from Saeed, and continue to walk in the direction of Arcane Threads. Roughly a minute later, she begrudgingly decides that Saeed has endured enough of the silent treatment. She stops dead in her tracks and impatiently waits for him to catch up with her, tapping her right foot all the while, before attempting to take his hand in her's and lead him the rest of the way to the store so that he doesn't get lost.

"You've a knack for putting your foot in your mouth, Prince Saeed."

Morgana observes, perhaps a tad too harshly. Morgana is something of a shrew, but to be fair, Saeed is a little brusque at times.

"But you are royalty, so I can forgive blunders of that sort. It's not often that a fennec of your station is corrected if he misspeaks, after all."

It sounds as if Morgana is trying to persuade herself to let bygones be bygones.

"And before you do anything with my body, let alone my mind, you'll have to earn my trust. The first step in earning my trust is helping me assemble my new wardrobe."

"While we're on that topic, can you distinguish between different colors? Even if you can't, you can at help me figure out how tight my clothes should fit."

Morgana has never owned a piece of clothing that wasn't custom-fit to the natural curves her body by an experienced tailor.

[Cyber Punk]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

"My apologies, once again."

Saeed just smiles to himself but says nothing until she's done. "That sounds fair, to an extent I suppose. My eyes do not see the physical, so no, I cannot see color. But I will be able to sense how tight the clothes are against your body." With those last two words, he makes a show of looking her up and down. He looks a bit too up and not down enough, but he makes the gesture otherwise. "By touch, for example"

[The Alexandrian]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

Considering that Morgana is much shorter than Saeed, I imagine it's less looking Morgana up and down and more looking her down and down some more.

Morgana actually listens to Saeed's scandalous proposal, but she doesn't blush wildly or attempt to smack Saeed upside the head! She's rather cold and clinical when it comes to this type of activity, so if Saeed can guarantee that her clothes fit her properly by touch, she'll reluctantly allow him to do so.

"These terms... are acceptable to me."

Morgana nonchalantly answers as the two foxes enter the store.

Morgana swiftly gathers several sets of clothes that she believes look and feel good before before pulling Saeed into a dressing room at the back of the store and trying on the first set of clothes (which snugly fit her).

"I think this set fits. What do you think?"

It's time for Saeed to assess things!

[Cyber Punk]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

Saeed nods and follows her into the store, an eyebrow coming up when he hears the amount of clothes she picks up, and staying up when she drags him unceremoniously into the dressing room! This lady sure does like her dresses, doesn't she?

First, Saeed inhales and then exhales. It should seem like it's preparation, but he's already started. His sensitive ears can pick up the sounds the cloth makes against her body, but he did promise touch, didn't he? So he reaches out and places his hands on her shoulders, then bends down as he moves them downwards, passing her waist on his way to her legs. He's rather clinical in his movements, and his touch is soft, but there's this grin he gains on his face as he works...

"They appear to fit snugly, Lady Morgana."

[The Alexandrian]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

She sure does! Dresses keep her nice and warm! Dresses also allow her to traipse about the countryside without fear of being arrested for public indecency!

This set of clothing comes off, is neatly folded up, and is placed into the purchase pile (in that order) before Morgana changes into her next set of clothing.

The next pair of pants are a little too loose about Morgana's waist. She could cinch them tight with a belt to make them fit, but it'd probably be best if she just switched them for the next size down. The next shirt, on the other hand, is a little too tight. It was designed with someone smaller in mind, smaller and shorter being two entirely dissimilar things in this context. To elaborate, if Saeed could see, he might encourage Morgana to purchase this shirt even though she can barely squeeze into it, whatever that might mean.

"And these? Do they look, uh, do you think they suit me?"

[Cyber Punk]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

Saeed frowns and shakes his head at the loose pants. He does suggest a belt, though. As for the tight shirt, he frowns a bit, then smiles. "Which do you care for more: comfort or, ah... 'visual stimulation'? Because it should hardly be comfortable, but it feels like it would showcase your figure more." He nods in approval.

[The Alexandrian]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

Ah-hah! Morgana has the proverbial upper hand on Saeed now! He said the word "visual" but he has no vision, so how can he know how people would respond to the sight of her wearing that shirt!

"With you around, I should be more interested in tactile stimulation than visual stimulation, Prince Saeed."

Lady Morgana pitilessly taunts.

"So the pants and the shirt are no goes."

This vicious cycle repeats itself for twelve minutes more. After a few minutes, Morgana starts to genuinely enjoy Saeed's routine assessments of the articles of clothing. After ten minutes have elapsed, Morgana steps out of the room for a minute and returns with undergarments and two little fruit-scented boxes. Satisfied with the quality and quantity of the goods she has collected, she totes her collection over to the cash register, pays for it with a small pouch of gold, and hands a large bag of clothes to Saeed to carry. As the temperamental vixen exits the store, she attempts to take Saeed's hand once more and let him in on a little secret.

"That was a fun store to visit, wouldn't you agree, Saeed? They don't have selection like that where I'm from; you'd walk into a tailor's shop, he'd take your measurements, he'd ask you what you were looking for, and he'd tell you to pick up whatever he whipped up for you two to four weeks later. It didn't matter whether you liked what he whipped up or not; you needed clothes, so you couldn't be fussy. It was very nice to be able to try things on to see if I liked how they looked for a change."

"But.."

"You didn't get to try anything on in there, and I feel very, very bad about that. So bad, in fact, that I have a little something for you to try on when we get back to your place, and this time, just to spice things up, I'll be the one telling you how well it fits. 'S a cute number! I know you'll absolutely love it!"

[Cyber Punk]

[Arcane Threads - Morgana and Saeed]

"Oh, dear. Good one, Lady Morgana." Saeed replies, shaking his head. "Very good." He says, in response to her ditching the shirt. Her taunt is not entirely wrong.

Saeed also enjoys the time together, it allows him to get a clearer picture of Morgana. He stands back to let her do the payment, though offers to carry something, and has his hand taken as they exit the store.

"Oh?" He tilts his head to one side as his ear flicks. There was definitely more to that statement. "Of course, Lady Morgana. I cannot wait to see what it is. I rather enjoy trying on new things. Where are we going, next?"

[Gullara]

[Erin's Emporium]

Once her mother is gone, Dorota lets out a deep breath, running her hand through her hair. The hand is shaking a little. That was an... emotionally draining encounter. She looks around. Syela's gone. He walks in the direction her apprentice seems to have taken, hoping to find her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Syela," she says apologetically if she does.

[Erin's Emporium]

Syela will be found absentmindedly tiding, not really accomplishing anything. She's just kill time until now, really. "It's fine." She says, like that wasn't terribly awkward. "I know family can be difficult." She can definitely empathize with Dorota there.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"Difficult is one word," Dorota says with a sigh. "I won't burden you with the details, but there's a very good reason we weren't in touch... until she wanted something from me." She huffs. "But I can't just turn my back on my sister. Even if I didn't like her that much. Now I need to go find Crissy. She needs to know her mother-in-law decided to show up." With that, Dorota leaves.

[The Bushranger]

[Erin's Emporium]

Even as Dorota's exiting, though, Crissy is arriving! The blonde half-elf's face lighting up as she spots her wife, and she hurries to her...the smile fading a bit as she sees Dorota's expression.

"Dorota, love? What's wrong?" she asks, reaching to pull her into a hug.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

Dorota is gladly pulled into a hug. She sighs, buries her face in Crissy's shoulder and relaxes visibly.

"My mother... was just here. She came looking for an alchemist. Neither of us expected that the alchemist would be me."

[The Bushranger]

[Erin's Emporium]

"Oh. Ooooh. It...are you alright, Dorota?" Crissy asked, frowning a little as she remembered some of the things her wife had told her about her...familial relationships. "Do you need me to, I dunno, go after her or anything?"

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I think I'm fine," Dorota says, still leaning into Crissy. "It... turns out my sister is ill. Everyone back home proved helpless against it, so she came looking here. So I'm going to try to help." She sighs. "I told her I have a wife, and she was mostly just shocked." She leans back a bit and looks her wife in the eyes. "She wanted me to go meet her in the Temperance Teahouse when I've made any progress. Do you... want to come with me when I do?" she asks, unsure if it's a good idea herself.

[Rebonack]

[Concourse]

Forte could be walking.

She could be.

But she isn't. Because she's floating. Floating is just so much more fun than walking. Who needs to use their legs when you can just tell gravity to sod off? Who needs feet when you can simply decide to go drifting along completely free of effort? And all those poor other people, pinned to the ground by forces beyond their control, the poor things. It makes Forte want to liven things up a little, but...

No.

No chaos magic at the mall.

The rules say not to.

Forces binding her, ones she can't shake. Or at least shouldn't shake.

She's trying not to think about it.

"What about that store?" she asks Nick, gesturing at the fourth bakery they've stopped at thus far. She had decided against the others. She wasn't really sure why. Simple whimsy, maybe? She had been in a pretty odd mood thus far today. Odd moods or not, they needed a cake! How can you have a wedding without a cake? Those rules again, binding her.

[Deathkeeper]

Concourse

Silly Forte. Unless you plan on being a dice right now, all your preferred forms have feet, regardless of the regularity of use.
Nick pads along, quite content to use his feet. Perhaps some might comment how well he's adjusted to going around in public wearing nothing at all. Not even the goggles he often does, because they're going to classy stores today and goggles aren't generally seen as classy. He has a pouch with some things like his wallet and ID and such in it, but that's in Forte's storage spell because why lug anything around when you have that?

And besides, you don't have to have a cake. You could have other deserts, or a small number of smaller cakes. It's a fairly common practice for weddings like Steven and Caroline's when the attendees have largely different tastes. Foxes don't like overly sweet things and can't eat chocolate, while the Lindes were all expecting a cake. Though this narrator can't remember the exact setup that wedding had. Regardless, it was a buffet with options.

"Whatever you want, Geneva. After all, you know we're not going to complain." Nick says softly, still using the pet name Fortuna told him he could use for her. You'd think a cat-bird wouldn't be interested in sweets given the palettes of those creatures, but there's always exceptions. Chances are nothing that lives in the same universe as colorful pastel ponies would be unable to enjoy cake. And Nick Jr's still happy to be getting any sweets at all.

[Rebonack]

[Concourse]

That would be a pretty huge failing. How could anyone live in a place like Equestria without being able to enjoy sweets? That's no problem with griffins, though. Scones, eclairs, and other such pastries are pretty common. Not to mention meat products.

Regardless!

"Whatever I want," Forte repeats somewhat absently.

Whatever she wants.

But not.

Not really.

What she wants is always clashing. She wants chaos, but part of her doesn't. She wants to go out and have unrestricted fun, but part of her wants to act responsibly. She wants the new and exciting and strange, but part of her wants the familiar. It's exhausting being so contradictory all the time. But maybe...

"Whatever I want. Hehe. You know, Nick, you're right. Whatever I want, but there's always a little something nagging that gets in the way," the draconequus replies thoughtfully. "And I think it's finally time to get rid of that nagging so whatever I want really is whatever I want."

And that said, she curls her tail around, reaches a paw inside the gilded cage at the end, and yanks out a very confused looking mew.

"Think fast!" cackles chaos made flesh as she tosses the fluffy pink pokemon in Nick's general direction.

[Deathkeeper]

Concourse

"Haven't we been over this bef-" Nick starts to say, but suddenly is having a pokemon thrown at him. He falls back onto his haunches to catch it with his claws, but is no less confused than someone with slower reaction speed.

[Rebonack]

[Concourse]

For a few moments Forte just hovers there, giggling to herself quietly. The giggling gives way to chuckling. The chuckling to resonating, booming laughter.

The sort you typically hear right before a boss battle.

"Oh wow! Haha! This is great! Everything's so much clearer now, I should have done this a long time ago!" the draconequus whoops with glee before grinning down at the confused griffin holding the confused mew. "Well, you two have some fun! Because that's definitely what I'm going to be doing! See you later~!"

And then with a snap of her claws and a flash of magnesium white light, she vanishes.

The mew blinks a few times to clear the spots for her vision. Ever so slowly her little paws reach up to feel at her face. Nick will sense a slight tingling sensation a moment later as she hovers out of his talons, staring vacantly at the spot where Forte was just seconds ago.

"I..."

I'm... free? I'm not bound up with her anymore? But wasn't that supposed to be impossible? Hah... come on, Geneva. What was the first thing we learned together? Impossible need not apply when it comes to chaos magic. But if I'm out here then that means...

"There's no one to keep Fortuna in check anymore..." the mew mutters, horror creeping into her voice. She whirls around in mid-air, eyes wide with the dawning consequences of what the draconequus just DID. "Nick! There's no one to keep Fortuna in check anymore!"

[Deathkeeper]

Concourse

Nick looks at the pokemon, and wheels begin spinning very quickly.
Now, Nick wouldn't toot his own horn or anything, but the established relationship that he's had and Fortuna has openly described, is that Nick grounds her and well, kind of keeps her from going all asymmetric and supervillain-y. Now, assuming Fortuna's now more or less just the Dice but entirely sapient with some imprints of Geneva here and there, where's the Friendship to keep her sane? That would be the problem, now wouldn't it?
"Geneva, where would she have gone? We can't just leave this. It's our responsibility." he says gravely.

[Rebonack]

[Concourse]

Yes.

That would be a problem.

Geneva focuses for a moment, causing her little pink form to pixelate and expand, pink giving way to slate grey and white, before resolving once again into a very familiar hippogriff. She looks just like she did when Nick first met her, her original Mark and all, save for her rather pink feather crest.

"I'm not sure," she admits with a shake of her head. "Anywhere. She might even use atmospheric noise to randomly pick a destination. She isn't stable and we can't leave her to her own devices. But I'm not sure how we would even stop her if she's going to start throwing around chaos magic without restraint."

Which she will.

Without question.

"I... we could try to reason with her? Maybe? But she might turn us to stone. Or a fruit salad. Or just pop away somewhere else," Geneva reasons. She's at a loss here. This is just too much all at once.

[Deathkeeper]

Concourse

"I don't think she'd do that. If she was so bad that she'd effectively kill us like that I don't think she'd have been able to stand sharing a brain with you for so long. Besides, she's not crazy yet. You said if you ever did you'd stop looking so neat and symmetrical. I think that communication should be tried, at least. Especially because we have nothing else to really go on." Nick admits.
They really don't.
"Do you still have your tech equipment? Didn't you say the luck magic interfered with the readings? Could you use that as a compass?" he suggests.

[Rebonack]

[Concourse]

Geneva is likely panicking a bit.

Possibly.

Though at Nick's idea she perks up. She raises one foreleg, showing off the fact that she does, in fact, still have her wrist computer.

"Maybe? I haven't ever used it for something like that before. I mean, maybe theoretically it could work but it would have to be calibrated against something to resolve between chaos magic and the Nexus' background level of weirdness. That isn't taking into consideration the possibility that there are other sources of chaos magic out there somewhere," she dithers as she begins walking backing and forth. "The chaos magic mostly just messed up probability. How would I look into that? Maybe tracking variance in the spin of decay products? That would do it, but where would I get some cesium 137 this time of day?"

Well.

What about that store across the way that sells radioactive isotopes?

[Deathkeeper]

Concourse

"There's a chemical store over there that probably has that. Go look, I'll see if I can't find anything on the news panels that might give us a hint." Nick suggests, pointing Geneva to the store.

[The Bushranger]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I think I'm fine," Dorota says, still leaning into Crissy. "It... turns out my sister is ill. Everyone back home proved helpless against it, so she came looking here. So I'm going to try to help." She sighs. "I told her I have a wife, and she was mostly just shocked." She leans back a bit and looks her wife in the eyes. "She wanted me to go meet her in the Temperance Teahouse when I've made any progress. Do you... want to come with me when I do?" she asks, unsure if it's a good idea herself.

Crissy takes a deep breath, meeting Dorotha's eyes, and gives her wife a gentle squeeze. "...I do. I mean, if this is something you need to do, and...like, with how your mom is...then I'll totally go with you. Wherever you need me to go," she promises, taking a deep breath and with her expression showing that she means every single word from her heart.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

"I don't know how she is, really," Dorota admits. "It had been years since I'd last seen her. I know she's no more familiar with the concept of two women being married than I was when I started living here. But... yes, I think I need to do it. Being cagey about it just wouldn't feel right. It's my life, and she can take it or leave it." She pauses. "I've always wondered... now that she's here by herself, maybe I can get answers about a few things."