Planeside 2

[Fenric]

[A Dream]

Keiko nods whole-heartedly

Yes, Please!

And darkness falls!

It was night, and it was morning: another day.

Keiko wakes up next to Cleo, and her scent would be obvious to someone with a fairly congested sinus area. "Not excited" is no longer a problem...

[Recaiden]

[A Dream]

Cleo remains asleep next to Keiko. They've been on all sorts of adventures and the dreams were nightmares of one sort or another. If they didn't wake up until it was morning; it was afternoon, she wouldn't complain. So for the moment, she sleeps there. And a bit of a dead god locked in a memory-statue is sitting on top of her clothes folded up across the room.

Maybe someone wakes her up. Maybe Keiko miraculously stays patient long enough for her to wake up on her own. But either way she gets up more or less excited, smirking at the princess, thinking things have been made well.

"Good morning, dearest Keiko."

[Fenric]

[Keiko's Bedroom]

Keiko's amber eyes are bright and happy, and her fluffy tails wave happily - bordering on wagging.

Good morning!

She seems to have lost her nightdress somehow.

[Recaiden]

[Keiko's Room]

"Well, isn't this something? Are we heading out towards the spiders right away?

She takes a deep breath.

"Or am I overdressed for the moment?

This shadowsilk stuff, easy to misplace. Cleo could be out of it in a second.

[Fenric]

[Keiko's Bedroom]

Keiko grins, clearly inclined toward the "overdressed" option

Well, you know... Freddie is pretty smart: I'd hate to ignore his advice without a pretty good reason.

[Recaiden]

[Keiko's Bedroom]

"That's...quite a change of heart. But not one I disagree with."

Cleo takes care not to lose her own nightdress. For one, it's not even hers. For another, shadowsilk is expensive and nice, and not to be discarded. No, she knows exactly where it is. Folded up over there, not being worn.

[Fenric]

[Keiko's Bedroom]

All cute and trembly, Keiko pulls the obscuring curtain down so alas we must miss out on watching magic shapeshifting dragon people having fun.

While the happy couple explores this new facet of their relationship, we can go check in on...

[Guest Bedroom]

Frederick Elteron of clan NorZilliar is staring in some befuddlement at a nexusPad; reading, as it turns out, the very same books that Jinkei checked out from the Temple library. Unlike that most flirtatious of foxes, Frederick knows exactly what the book is describing... he's just a little vague on how it came to exist at all. And whether he should tell anyone... and many other things.

[Recaiden]

[Keiko's Bedroom => Palace of Orochi]

Well after the explorations here are done, a weird, not-like-the-other-dragon-people dragon is walking around the halls, head high and trying hard to look like she knows where she's going. Where she hopes that she's going is to find Noriko, or Orochi, or Chiyoko, or Tamamo, or even Frederick, though now that she thinks about it, she's not sure any of them spend their time here or are still around. Once in a while, her appearance flickers like a faulty lightbulb, her starry indigo scales revealing something orange, or gold, or with frills and wings, or even limbs.

In what's surely a coincidence, if the palace has a mail room or post office, an unreasonable number of little envelopes precisely addressed to Cleo will have arrived that morning. Maybe they just appeared now, but they've definitely been there since the early morning.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Yes, there most certainly is a mailroom. Nobody is quite interested in delivering to that particular room just yet, though, so the envelopes will just have to sit for a little while.

Orochi doesn't really wander around, Chiyoko is with the baby, Noriko is going to be with Susanoo or away in the Temple. Frederick is still pondering alternate histories, so that just leaves...

Walking along the corridor, the visitor encounters Tamamo. She's dressed in her usual silvery shadowsilk dress and seems reasonably happy. It's a big castle, and people bustle around all the time: Tammao has neither the time nor the inclination to keep track of everyone, particularly since quite a few visitors are really none of her business at all, but she smiles and greets the newcomer in friendly fashion.

Hello. Can I help you find someone?

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

"Tamamo! Hello! You, actually, are one of the people I thought might be able to help me."

Cleo tries to smile in return but her appearance is briefly that of a many-tentacled sea-monster with no mouth to speak of. Then she's a smiling dragon.

"You know Keiko had some bit of evil magic from Tenjin in her head messing up her dreams, well, I'm worried that-how will I tell the difference between a Keiko who's happy and free of a curse, and a Keiko who's actually a fake replaced by him ? I know she's acting different, but I never knew her when she wasn't under this spell."

Also Noriko to tell her to be more careful with her spells, but that's another problem.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo's ears flick briefly in embarrassment

Cleo! I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize you.

she looks thoughtful

Yes, I heard something of that from Noriko.

That's an interesting question... I doubt the Keiko here is fake as such: I would notice something that blatant. But to know if the influence is truly completely gone is much more difficult.

I suppose the easiest way would just be to take her to the Halls of Twilight - Tenjin would be utterly powerless there in my own realm, and I could check her without worrying about any traps he might have left behind.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

Cleo waves a claw.

"It's not your fault; I scarcely look myself. Noriko managed to knock me out of my species."

All her eyes widen and brighten up - it'll be quite adorable or quite disturbing, maybe both.

"Oh! Really? Could- Would you do that for us? It would be such a relief to know that all this was truly done with."

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo nods

Of course! I'm not about to leave my sister and future sister-in-law at any danger of that particularly unsavory character. I wish I had known what was going on sooner, but Keiko can be very secretive and I didn't want to pry.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

"Thanks. I'm glad to know I can count on you, Tamamo."
"I've gotta go find Frederick and fix my Mask; see you soon."

Hoping she's not being offensive to the fox-goddess, she waves and heads towards the...library? That's where you'll find Frederick, for sure.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo nods

He is in the library. Head back down the hall and turn right, go up two floors, then back this way: it's at the end of the hallway.

She tilts her head

What did Noriko do?

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

"Well we put the Thunder and Fire guy in a little container, and then I wrapped it in my cape because it was making a storm happen. Noriko sent some kind giant ice-darkness-splosion that shattered them both into little pieces. And I needed that cape to change shapes, so that's why I'm all weird right now."

Cleo shrugs. Off to the library!

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo briefly looks distant, then sighs

Noriko sends her profuse apologies: It seems that Tenjin had used an unfortunate attack on the Temple to put a subtle aversion spell against all spiders - a bit of malicious mischief to gradually erode the environment there. Noriko dispelled it in such a way that it sent a potent backlash...

She smiles embarrassedly

I apologize as well. I will follow up with the girls about unleashing destructive effects when the destination is not well known.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

Cleo softly sighs herself..

"That would do it. I can't really blame her, though, given what he was up to. Deserves whatever he got. "
Except being thrown in the ocean, of course. No one deserves that.
"And nothing is wing with me that I can't fix with some time."

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo smiles sympathetically

Good luck. Let me know if you need anything...

she winks

and I don't need it to rhyme.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi]

"Thanks, Tamamo. Who knows? Put a little pirate hat on, and I might even be able to get you some poetry."

Off to the library!

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Tamamo giggles, and the sound of the Major General's song quietly follows Cleo as she heads to the...

[Library]

Which is full of information vegetable, animal, and mineral... among other things.

Frederick is reading a thick black book with heavy leather covers and steel bindings. The pages glow a pale, ghostly purple... it's quite possibly not something even safe for mortal perusal... but when have minor details like that ever stopped a fox?

[Recaiden]

[Library]

Ooh, information vegetable! Cleo would normally peruse some of that. But even foxes are more interesting than books.

"Hey Freddie. What'cha reading?"

[Fenric]

[Library]

Frederick looks up

Hello, Cleo. It's a book of Shadow Divinations... quite interesting, and has a few clues for how I could improve some of Mom's famous spells.

I trust you and Keiko had a pleasant afternoon?

Clearly curious, but far too polite to actually pry, he asks the closest reasonable question.

[Recaiden]

[Library]

"Oh, is it afternoon already? Heh. I can honestly say that it's been a literal nightmare."

She slides into the seat beside him.

"Until this morning. You were ri~ght. After all trouble I went to to prove you wrong, in the end, with all the excitement and it being her time of year~. You know foxes. Though there is such a thing as having too many limbs, turns out."

[Fenric]

[Library]

Frederick chuckles light-heartedly

Well: yes, it is. But I meant yesterday - no trouble, though: that answers the question. Sorry some things didn't go so well... anything you want to talk about? I know more about Vixens than you might expect, though less than another Vixen would.

[Recaiden]

[Library]

"Pardon me for being out of the habit of dealing with gods and impossibilities."
Cleo shrugs and gives a lazy grin.

"More in needing to know about men-is there a word for that? Since Keiko has taken the vixen's part - all the same to me, not knowing either. But it can't hurt to be reminded of what's expected of me. I mean, how much do you know about human women? It's not exactly arcane history, but can you tell me of differences?"

[Fenric]

[Library]

Frederick chuckles

The name for male foxes is not so well established as the name for females. We don't like being called "dog foxes", and Todd is just too common of a name... so it's usually just "Fox and Vixen".

and another chuckle

Well... the biggest thing is that her cycle only comes along once every six months. There is a point directly in-between when her hormones will be especially low and she'll be really uninterested and a bit cranky. But I'm assuming you mean more sociological stuff...

In our society, the females are dominant: they're a little bigger, quite a bit stronger, rather a lot more assertive, more independent, and frankly sometimes aggressive. That said, they still have a strong focus on home and family, so it ends up making our entire society a lot calmer than a similar human settlement would be.

In comparison: we're a little more adventurous, a little more curious, more willing to go along with what we're told to do, look more for guidance and instructions, and tending toward the timid end of things. Going along with that, our instincts are to provide and supply, support them in making our homes and raising our families.

But those are all generalities and base assumptions: reasonable, but hardly iron-clad.

He shakes his head

Though I'm overall a pretty solidly stereotypical specimen, honestly.

[Recaiden]

[Library]

Cleo shakes her head, nodding.

"I'd heard a lot of that. Generalities and base assumptions, for sure. And nobody'd best expect me to be timid or easygoing. Hadn't really thought about implications of the hormonal cycle, though. Thanks. And yes, I meant sociologically. Biological stuff, we'll know already or figure out soon enough."

For a long moment, she looks quite like Frederick.

"Now what'dya know about dragons?"

[Fenric]

[Library]

Frederick shakes his head

Precious little... the creatures we call "dragons" back home are not generally very bright, with the smartest ones only equal to a young child. And everybody has stories from their respective homeworlds about dragons, but they're all fairytales and legends and it's hopeless to try to sort out the truth from the fancy.

[Recaiden]

[Library]

Her appearance shifts next to 'Cleo as a young child'

"We're special and unique, yay. Yeah, what we called dragons go by 'kobold' in a lot of places. Sorry we, uh, missed our appointment to go silk-hunting with you. Did you have an alright time?"