Planeside 2

[Rebonack]

"Yep! It's how you phone your friends around here. It works if you're physically in the Dreamlands, too. Not just your mind. Normally you can only get into someone elses glade if they invite you. Or if they decide to leave the glade and wander around. Gotta leave the door open when you aren't home. In fact, there IS no door when you aren't home!" Lucas points to a trail that just lit up. Not quite as bright as the path to Lucas' glade, but certainly brighter than the dark ones. "See there? Someone just opened their door. And see how the fireflies lit up, too? That means they probably opened it for the first time ever!"

A beat.

"Which, uh, can be bad. Sometimes. Anyone who's watching the hedgerows would know your door is open. That usually means some naive new Lucid is bumbling around who will be easy pickings," Lucas explains. "Which is why I wanted to teach you some basics before we do anything else! Since you're my buddy and I don't want you to get eaten."

Because that would be awful.

"We should start with learning how to use basic dreamings in your glade," Lucas continues. "It should be really easy for you here. Once you get the basic idea down, THEN it would be safe to start venturing out of your glade since you'll have some means of defending yourself. Most fae aren't a HUGE threat while you're asleep since you aren't here bodily, but there are still some to watch out for. Especially kumiho. They'll try to lead you off the trails and then devour your sleeping mind. Then they'll take over your grove and wear your skin when your body wakes up. They're super awful; never EVER trust a fox out there in the wilds."

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

No matter which way Alicia turns, there's only dense bamboo forest and wicked brambles in every direction. The road has completely vanished. Possibly because of how far away it is, or maybe it simply disappeared. That sort of thing happens sometimes.

The kitsune pauses, tails bouncing as she hops atop another ghoulish shrine. She flicks her ears back when the two clueless newbs suddenly stop.

"It sounds lovely," she says, her tone soft. "So does that name. Nobu. It sounds positively delicious," she continues, her tone taking a dip toward sinister. "So important not to be lead off the trail by strange women. Everyone knows that. The girl had the right idea, but you were just so easy I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

The creature begins to swell in size, starting with the fae's mouth, crimson streaks flowing from her jaws and staining her fur as her teeth become jagged and her continence fearful. Her eyes become wild, her body more human-like, though emaciated and spindly like an old crone. A nasty, mangy creature. Twisting horns of cherry twigs grow from her head as her back sprouts branches with rotten, wormy cherries hanging from them. Blue spirit fire licks from the corners of her mouth as five tails spread behind her.

Wuh oh.

That isn't a kitsune at all.

That's a kumiho.

"Did you know that you can't wake yourself up outside your glade?" the monster asks as her foxfire infests the surrounding forest, causing the brambles to grow thick, hedging off escape. "That's a common mistake by newcomers. They think they'll be safe wandering around the wilds without a clue. Normally I would love to hollow out the little girl and wear her skin in the Waking World, but I have a better prize today. Nobu, the sweet little three-tails to gobble up. And if you don't fight back, I might even consider letting the little girl live."

[Ionbound]

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

Alicia takes a deep breath and says, "Nobu, please tell me you can wake us up. If you can't wake us up, we're going going to die. Please tell me you can wake us up." She slowly starts edging towards her foxy friend, ready to pick him up and take off once things really start to go south.

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Isaac eyes the new path.
"Poor guy. Or gal. Maybe we'll pay them a visit later. But anyway, okay. What do I do to use these Dreamings? Being eaten sounds bad." Isaac says of that explanation, standing up from the stump.
Very bad.

[Fenric]

Nobu trembles as the Kumiho shifts

This is just not a good look for you. So five-tails, is it? That certainly narrows the options down quite a bit, Sen - I don't stand much chance.

And you heard her: you can't wake yourself up outside of your glade.

Then at the falsest offer ever made

Heh. Sorry, Sen... and I'm afraid her deal is about as good as her looks: she's going to eat you too. But think back on the time you first saw my ball

Why's he saying her name? Isn't that like the worst thing to do? And what... odd... advice.

Nobu starts softly mumbling something that can't quite be made out while his tails wave back and forth, but makes no other move just yet.

[Rebonack]

"It's... a type of magic. Sort of?" Lucas replies, his way-too-long tail waving back and forth. "But not really? I dunno, it's really different from most other types of magic in the Nexus. You're basically imagining things into being. You're drawing on the logic of dreams and making it manifest. Different people have different knacks for different types. Hedleykows are really great at glamour, provided we're using it on ourselves. And we have some neat enchantments related to sleep and time. But we're notoriously terrible at gossamer spinning. Basically, you just imagine that something is or will be really hard, and POOF! If your lucid enough you can make it happen!"

That sounds...

Well.

Like magic.

"You can't have any doubt. Dreaming doesn't leave room for doubt or hesitation. You must be FILLED WITH DETERMINATION to use it!"

Considering that grin, Lucas probably just made a reference to something. He's trying not to laugh.

"So we start with a few basics, okay? Glamour, personal and external. Enchantments, hexes and blessings. Gossamer, weaving objects. We'll start with personal glamour since that's the one I know best, so I can give you pointers. Try to make yourself look different!"

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

"Hahaha! So you're Sen, are you?" the kumiho laughs. "Thanks for the tip, Nobu. That'll make eating both of you SO much easier!"

And with that said, the monster pounces, jaws yawning wide and blue flame spilling from her throat!

[Ionbound]

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

Alicia smirks and says, as she rushes forwards, trying to snatch Nobu from the jaws of death, "Yep, I'm Sen, and I'm getting the hell out of here!" She tries to pick up Nobu and run, all the while focusing her imagination on picking up the ball and not the likely-to-be horrible angry death chasing her.

[Fenric]

Nobu dodges them both!

Sorry: I'm going to have to disappoint everybody today.

His ball flares into bright white incandescence

You can't wake yourself... but I can wake you up.

So time to wake up, sweety: sorry for the inconvenience I've caused you. Endocrine control override: adrenaline rush; Psyche override: guest host link close, lockdown; Energy override: planeshift.

And these commands should have the rather abrupt effect of slamming Alicia back home to her body in the physical plane and waking her up rather thoroughly.

Panting and exhausted, the little fox looks death in the face and has but one more word to add.

Feedback

[Recaiden]

Off in another of the lovely pocket spirit-worlds, a HUGE dragon is raked by painful gunfire and turns once more on the Mote and rears back in preparation for yet another blast of lightning! Dodging might be called for.

Meanwhile, the dropship's retro-thrusters fire noisily and the free-fall turns into a crushing deceleration. The soldiers all grin at Steven

Great job!
Well done: I messed up the floor on my first jump.
Welcome to the club, Holy Steven!

But there's little time for celebrations as the capsule smashes into the ground not far from Caroline's tank and the doors pop open. The soldiers' retaining clips springing loose and they charge out - there's not much call for leading just yet: they need to get to cover and the tank is just the ticket. Caroline and the walkers do their part, blasting away at the castle and keeping the defenders from firing on the marines as they prepare.

With a gulp, Steven springs from his seat, hand on his sword. He won't give orders just yet; he doesn't have any information to go on and he wants to wait until the soldiers are all in position before starting on any risky moves.

The Mote briefly stops flying and lets itself fall while it works out the turn, and then accelerates downward, hoping to take cover from the lightning behind that outcropping of cloud. The broadsword is going to get back in action soon, right?

[Deathkeeper]

Spoiler

Show

"It's... a type of magic. Sort of?" Lucas replies, his way-too-long tail waving back and forth. "But not really? I dunno, it's really different from most other types of magic in the Nexus. You're basically imagining things into being. You're drawing on the logic of dreams and making it manifest. Different people have different knacks for different types. Hedleykows are really great at glamour, provided we're using it on ourselves. And we have some neat enchantments related to sleep and time. But we're notoriously terrible at gossamer spinning. Basically, you just imagine that something is or will be really hard, and POOF! If your lucid enough you can make it happen!"

That sounds...

Well.

Like magic.

"You can't have any doubt. Dreaming doesn't leave room for doubt or hesitation. You must be FILLED WITH DETERMINATION to use it!"

Considering that grin, Lucas probably just made a reference to something. He's trying not to laugh.

"So we start with a few basics, okay? Glamour, personal and external. Enchantments, hexes and blessings. Gossamer, weaving objects. We'll start with personal glamour since that's the one I know best, so I can give you pointers. Try to make yourself look different!"
[B]

Isaac's Glade

Isaac thinks he understand that. So....what, he just concentrates like normal magic? Isaac shuts his eyes tight, and concentrates. He just needs to look different. No change, just results, just like Maph and Lucas. Yeah, like them. But uh...what kind of different?
There's a small sound like a dart being thrown, and Isaac grows a cow-tail about eighteen inches long, the same color as his hair. That's...really it.
"I'm not so sure I'm good at this." he says with a frown. Or is he? He did it on his first try.

[Rebonack]

Lucas watches with equal parts curiosity and anticipation, an encouraging smile on his face. Though, frankly, given the way a hedleykow's mouth is shaped it looks as though they're grinning like idiots no matter what their doing. Or maybe they're just naturally that jolly all the time? "It's like Yoda said, 'Do or do not, there is no try,'" Lucas intones, suddenly a silly looking little green Muppet. "No hesitation, you must have. The seed of defeat, hesitation is."

And then Isaac acquires a cow tail.

This results in Lucas snerking when Isaac proclaims he isn't very good at it, the laughter sending him popping back to his usual lanky shape.

"Maybe you should check behind you before you decide you aren't any good? Because you just do'd on your first try!"

Not bad for a beginner!

Though Lucas isn't totally sure what Isaac was trying for.

"When you're using a self-glamour, you need to have a really clear mental picture of what you are," Lucas explains. "You know how when you're dreaming and in your dream you're something other than what you are in the Waking World? You don't question it in the dream. That's just what you are. And that's how it has to be to get this kind of glamour right. Less 'I'm transforming into something else' and more 'I AM something else."

Sounds pretty straight forward. Lucas strikes a silly pose, lifting his chin, curling his tail, and standing daintily on his right front and back left hoof. "Now, don't try to transform into a hedlykow. Just be one. Maybe even be one as handsome as me!"

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

The kumiho scowls as one of her snacks suddenly vanishes. They're not supposed to be able to do that! Tricksy cheating false fae.

"Hmph, no matter," the kumiho growls. "You were the real prize. I'll get another tail for SURE by devouring all of your spiritual power!" the monster shrieks as she opens her maw wide and begins to inhale. Unless Nobu suddenly explodes or something, she'll begin sucking away his... well... everything that makes him 'him'. Magic, memories, everything. By the time she's done, there would only be a vegetative husk left.

[Ionbound]

[Dreamlands - The Forest of Shrines]

Meanwhile, in her bed, Alicia snaps awake, yelling, "NOBU! NOBU I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DIE FOR ME!" She takes a deep breath as she realizes she's back in the real world, then breaks down, starting to sob.

[Fenric]

What the Kumiho gets right away is a nasty mouthful of artificial flavor: the false name "Sen" and the fake persona that went with it like banana marshmallow fluff with cupcake flavored oreos on wonder bread.

This is accompanied nearly immediately by a mouthful of three-tail fox as he jumps at her face.

Buh-bye

And that's all she's going to get: because "explode" is quite precisely what he does next. All of the three-tail's life, magic, memories, and spiritual power turn to energy all at once, producing a blinding flash of energy and a tremendous explosion in the five hundred ton range.

---

[Dancing Fox Inn]

(( For continuity, I suppose one more round here won't hurt ))

Though really... not quite "all": there, in Alicia's hand, is Nobu's ball: blazing blue-white like fresh snow with moving and shimmering waves of golden-white swirling and twisting through it. The ball feels warm, and heavy, and somehow... right. And if she concentrates on it, she will see an image of little three-tailed Nobu curled up and asleep. He won't wake up right now and doesn't respond to anything, though the conviction is sure and unshakable that he is asleep, not dead.

---

[Air World]

The broadsword does indeed come back to life even as the Mote plunges into the abyss

Online. FIRE!

The second torpedo roars toward the dragon, who is now conveniently both lined up and facing away as it turns to pursue the Mote. The enormous beast shudders as the torpedo pounds into it's body and then goes rigid as the explosive detonates somewhere deep inside.

Hit confirmed... detonation speculated...

It does not breathe lightning at this time. :)

Down on the ground, Steven's squad has gathered behind the tank. Across the courtyard, a large doorway likes exposed and open: across a somewhat uncomfortable few hundred feet of open space. They look at Steven expectantly.

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

"Why do I have to be a hedleykow?" Isaac grumbles. Kows are weird! But he doesn't really have anything else in front of him to go off of, so kow it is.
Once again he squeezes his eyes shut, and this time after about ten seconds he unceremoniously is a short hedleykow with a handsome blond coat. And glasses, of course.
"Bleh. Weeeeeird." he bleats, then wiggles his nose in annoyance. Kows are weird.

Air World

Steven looks around and then decides on the door. Not much else to target.
"Alright folks, let's take that entrance there. We shouldn't split up the team this soon to keep the landing zone secure; the shuttle can find a new one if needed. I can shield an advance while we're out in the open."

[Rebonack]

An important thing to note about glamouring one's self in this fashion; it's like playing a role. That's how it always is in the dream. You play whatever role you dream up. And as such, Isaac should get a full compliment of hedleykow mindset, too. Which mostly consists of a generally giddy good mood, impish playfulness, and an intense desire to use his shape-shifting to prank people. There's a reason why Maph opened with that absurd musical number. A hedleykow just can't resist a chance for fun and games.

Probably makes them one of the least unseelie fae varieties around. Right up there with anjanas.

"Haha! See! Easy!" Lucas laughs, kicking up his hind legs and prancing in a little circle. "You'll probably notice that you're feeling and thinking like a hedleykow now, too. That's perfectly normal, all glamours do that, since you're effectively playing the dream-role of something different now. Next, just focus on being human-you again."

Then comes a rather sly grin.

"Ooooor you could have some fun. Being a hedleykow should give your ability to take on different roles a huuuuuuuuge boost. When you're a kow, deciding to be anything else is easy! And don't worry about something as silly as discovering that you're having so much fun you don't feel like being human again. This is just a dream still. When you wake up, your human body will be normal enough. Not like dreaming that you're something else changes your physical body. That would be weird."

Otherwise there would probably be far fewer humans. Everyone dreams about being something strange now and again.

[Recaiden]

A cheer goes up! They did it!

The Mote takes a moment to swing back around and fire upwards at the beast. It's no torpedo, but keeping the dragon conflicted about what its target should be can only help.

The pilot signals that they're ready for another little jump, if it's needed. They start planning. If they can get juuuust above the thing, at the right angle-

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Normally Isaac might squint at the phrase "normal enough" but who cares? There's fun to be had! But wait, what are seelie pajamas?
Because really, what kind of choice is 'go back to being human' and 'fun?' Really, that's not even a choice at all.
Isaac hops lightly, balancing perfectly with one hoof on Lucas' back.
"I don't think I'm thinking like a hedleykow. Maybe hedleykows just think like me." he declares, and goes back to standing like a mildly normal quadruped, grinning wide. "What kind of fun should we have? Just turning into things sounds a bit boring. Maybe we should go out!" That path seems to have closed, though. The dreamer must have woken up.

[Rebonack]

"Ah HA!" Lucas exclaims, giving a little hop and splaying his legs out. "See! Told you! You have to be careful about getting too into character when you glamour yourself. Especially when you have something else you need to do since you might get distracted. Learning to suppress that impulse is suuuuuuper important."

Apparently the suggestion of having fun was a trap!

And a diabolical trap, too.

"Be human again, but this time change something really small. Like the color of your hair."

Because it's still time for practice.

"Besides," Lucas adds with a grin. "The best people to prank are humans. And you can't leave the Dreamlands like that."

True enough.

Well...

Not unless Isaac decided to go pay The Sandman's domain a visit.

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Isaac hrmphs. HRMPHs! And then is his former self, though with black hair, from his head to his tail.
Yep, he kept the tail, just to be contrary.
"Yeah, I don't plan on asking for a recruitment brochure from Maph. Besides, he said he requires work, and we don't have time for that." he says with a nod.

[Rebonack]

Being contrary is often a common hedleykow trait, too.

"Great! You've getting the hang of this pretty quick," Lucas says, clapping his back hooves together.

This actually looks rather silly, as one might expect.

"Now it's time for an external glamour," Lucas continues. "Which means you'll have to practice on me. So try something obvious, like making unable to see, I dunno... any of the trees here."

No trees.

No trees at all!

That's the goal.

"I can't really give any pointers on using that, though," Lucas apologizes. "I'm not very good at that kind of dreaming."

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Isaac grins.
"No problem! Just like I used to." he declares, and snaps his fingers!
Nothing happens.
Five snaps later, there doesn't appear to be any further evidence of glamour.
"I don't think I got much of a talent for this."

[Rebonack]

"Hmm... Well... maybe you're good at the same sorts of dreamings a kow is?" Lucas wonders. "One really easy way to find out! Try to dream something up. Like... uh... an old boot."

He points at the ground with his tail.

"Right there. Just dream that boot into existence!"

Lucas can't do that.

Well, he can.

In his glade at least.

But outside it?

Not a chance.

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Isaac focuses, and then there is a boot!
Yay!
"I mean, this is my own Glade. Does it really prove much if I can do it while here? You said yourself you can't really use Gossamer on your own." he asks of his kow friend.

[Rebonack]

"Nope, doesn't prove anything!" Lucas replies as he dips low, balancing the toe of the boot on the end of his nose while in turn balancing on his front left hoof. "But your glade is the best place to figure out how to use dreamings since they come so much more naturally here. And once you know how to do them here, then you'll have much better luck doing them out in the wilds. Or maybe even out in the Waking World! But dreaming in the Waking World takes lots of practice unless you have a really strong natural knack for it."

Or if you're a faerie.

That would work, too.

But Isaac probably doesn't want to be a faerie.

Or maybe he does?

If he really, really does then Maph would probably be happy to make a wool sweater for him.

"Okay, how we've got enchantments. We can use the boot again," Lucas says as he flips the boot back onto the ground. "Try to make it heavy. Really, REALLY heavy! With an enchantment, you're always changing some aspect of something for good or for ill. After the boot, try turning me into a squirrel. Don't worry if it works, though! Hedleykows are natural shape-shifters, so I can change myself back."

[Fenric]

The mote blasts away at the thick scales of the dragon's belly, knocking several off entirely and causing several wounds to open that blead out a strange, thick, grey-brown blood.

The Broadsword opens fire with it's own cannons, raking the back of the beast and causing a similar level of minor damage.

The dragon itself isn't doing so well: if it had been a common mortal beast, the torpedo would surely have been fatal. As it is, it's taking all of the creature's power and concentration to keep that from happening - leaving the two small craft free to fire.

Down on the ground, Steven's squad nods and prepares to charge!

[Recaiden]

It can't keep that concentration up forever.
Especially in the face of more and more injuries from their sustained fire.

Do things fall properly, here in the air world? Or are those dislodged scales just spinning away from the force of the shot?

[Deathkeeper]

Isaac's Glade

Over the next five minutes, it should become apparent that Isaac appears to be incapable of altering things much. He can get the boot to change a bit because it's in his Glade, but he can't get anything to alter about his visiting friend.
"I'm not sure this is my forte, here." he admits, scratching his head.

Air World

Well, no time to waste.
"Alright, double time, people. Move out." Steven declares, waving a hand. Really, he didn't think he needed to give the obvious order. But then, that is what commanders are for.

[Rebonack]

"Hmmm..." Lucas hums. "If I were making a guess, it LOOKS like you can't use any dreamings that do the same sorta stuff that your old magic did. That's pretty weird."

It IS pretty weird.

"Anyway! That's all the basic stuff. I need to pop back over to my own glade and head out on some errands for The Sandman. You can stay here and keep practicing! Tomorrow we can practice protecting yourself from hexes. Do you have any questions before I scoot?"

Questions are important, after all.

Especially when learning weird new forms of magic.

What shall Isaac ask?

If anything.

[Fenric]

If by "fall properly" you mean fall into the yawning abyss of nothingness below then yes: the scales and blood are all falling in order.

And no, the battle at this point is pretty much decided: but it can soak up a lot of damage and so Mote and the Bomber must keep at it a while longer, as the dragon stubbornly refuses to fall just yet.

At the castle, the marines charge across the courtyard blasting away with their rifles. Caroline and the walkers promptly redouble their own suppressing fire with the result that the defenders don't even get a good look at what's coming.

Inside, there are staircases left and right and a hallway leading straight ahead. Several strange and ugly demonic looking bodies lie twitching on the floor where the first marines encountered them, but otherwise it is as quiet inside as it can be with Caroline still trying to blast the stonework down. Several of the marines are nonplussed at this fact...

Ground team to tank group: we're inside! Cease fire!

[Recaiden]

"Broadsword, hold fire for a moment."
Communications are back, right radio officer? There hasn't been lightning for minutes.

The Mote blinks away, jumping to that position just over the dragon.
And is that someone climbing out the hatch on the bottom of the ship? Swinging down on a rope to try to land on the monster's head?
"Hey, giant dragon there? What if we had a truce for a moment, and talked?"
Bloom's draconic is pretty poorly pronounced, but should be comprehensible.

[Deathkeeper]

Air World

Steven surveys the foyer of sorts that they're in.
"Okay, let's try to go the straight way. I don't like how those stairs look though, so make sure our backs are being watched. don't trip on any corpses." Steven declares to his squad.

Isaac's Glade

Isaac shakes his head.
"I'm good. See you tomorrow, I guess?" he says. He might have some questions, but he doesn't feel rushed enough to ask them now on their first night of training. No big deal.