Skyside 4

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass just grins in a rather unsettling way back at Orion, likely in such a way that he might realize Cass does not have his best interests at heart.

Then, at Libra's suggestion, she giggles and says, "My vote is for a fruit hat. You know, the kind that 'exotic' dancers wear. With bananas! And a big pineapple on top!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra waves her hand dismissively at Cass. "Nah, that won't work here. Doesn't fit at all. I was thinking something more historical, or like, animal-y?" She appears puzzled. "Oh, I know what's both historical and animal-themed! Ancient beasts!" She points at the young man. "Orion! Name a legendary beast! Your favorite!"

[Murkus]

[Goblin Market]

"Right. Bye." Dena certainly wasn't going to say more than that. She exits the shop and removes the mask. Let's see if she could find Sticks and his little helper first. She could probably look into that mirror while she was in a more private environment.
So her first course of action is to find the wizard and Jim.

They shouldn't be too hard to catch.

"Oh, oh miss Dena! I'd forgotten all about you," Sticks says genuinely, turning with a sweep of his greatcloak... and a tiny jig, as his feet twitch to the curse he's currently fighting off. He smiles pensively. "Find something suiting, I hope? We've, uh, been asked to look after some dangerous articles here at the market."

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

Orion has changed his mind about Cass.

Cass just wants trouble.

He flashes a look at the woman to make it clear that he's on to her shenanigans.

But then questions!

"A mythical beast?" Orion echos. Well. That could be... interesting. So long as the hat is styled after them in some tasteful way instead of one of those absurd looking animal ear hoodies he's seen people wearing around the art festival. He's honestly having a hard time imagining how some people work up the courage to wear something like that. Like those crazy yellow Pokemon jackets. Or maybe it isn't courage. Maybe it's just sheer apathy regarding what other people might think.

Regardless!

"That's a hard question. There are quite a few that are really fascinating," Orion reasons. "But if I had to pick just one, probably the akhlut," he concludes. Rather hastily he adds, "It's a creature from Inuit mythology. A cross between a killer whale and a wolf. There aren't very many legends about them, but the Inuit peoples were very suspicious of wolves or dogs that would wade out into the sea as a result. It's always struck me as a curious combination, though. Neither wolves nor orcas are well known for preying on humans. I guess the idea was that some sort of super-hunter would just eat whatever it wants."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra looks confused. "Uh, could you show me like a picture of one? Or think of a picture you've seen of it?"

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

Welp.

That makes it pretty clear that this Libra person has limited knowledge at the very least.

Orion isn't sure if this makes the situation better or worse.

"Hang on a moment..." he mutters, pulling out his phone and doing a quick image search for akhlut. He then turns the screen to face Libra.

Isn't technology amazing?

Man is it ever amazing.

"Here are a few artist's interpretations of it. Ignore the human-shaped ones. Those are... not historically accurate."

To say the least.

[ThirdEmperor]

[Goblin Market]

Worthless. Huh!

They're very pretty gemstones and here's Sticks, participating in gold-based economy, with a total lack of introspection on how 'worth' is really only derived from shinyness in such a system. The savage. Not that his gold doesn't disappear into a ratty pocket, with a ratty salute to see them on their way.

Kobolds know better than to be picky.

The blue tent they head for - finding Dena along the way - is one in a sea, the far right corner of the market nothing but closed tents, all in bright colors and painstakingly embroidered, this one woven with a tapestry of bloody battle and this one with golden dragons that almost seem to move.

But between them and there, a chewed-up signpost driven into the dirt of the park. Three dogs, two pure black and a third snowy white, all with red eyes, the carcass of some small creature being gnawed beyond recognition between them.


[The Open Arms Hostel]

A proud building, with a red slate roof and stucco walls, fenced off from the street with high walls of wooden lattice wreathed in creeping ivy. Stinking like plague. This whole neighborhood does. The walls sprout strange, glistening, oily growths, clusters of things like barnacles spreading out pale tendrils. Shelves of flat round shells, jade green and run with bright red veins.

The door of the hostel is shattered open, the windows broken. From within, those broad tendrils of clammy white flesh creep out around the edges. The smell is overwhelming here. In between the tiles of the roof, skittering motions. The darkness behind the doorway is moving.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra stares at the phone so closely she nearly bumps her nose into the screen. "Ah-huh. Let's see then. Give me a moment." Of course, considering the weird time Libra sometimes work in when she comes up with ideas, it's far more than a moment. Yet to Orion it's all the same. "Okay, how about this!" Suddenly there will be a flap hat sitting on top of his head. It's lined with black and white fur and have smooth leather flaps covering his ears. Perhaps most remarkable is the blue shimmering gemstone sitting at the very top of the hat. It must be quite valuable.

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

SUDDENLY HAT!

Orion reaches up and prods at it with a finger a few times before taking it off to examine it. A fur cap. A rather nice fur cap, really. With white splotches just behind the eyes where one would expect the eyespots of an orca to be. The leather portion of the hat is glossy smooth and the little gem on the top looks like it's a stand-in for a blowhole. And at the very least it doesn't have any ridiculous ears on it.

Because that would be absolutely ridiculous.

Orion puts the hat back on, and as soon as he does two wolfish looking ears pop out of the top of the hat, black with white fluff on the inside.

Given that they're on top of his head, he doesn't notice them.

And if he doesn't notice them, he can't be embarrassed by them!

"Thank you, Libra. The gemstone is a little ostentatious, but I suppose fantastical objects given to people by magical benefactors typically have to have a magic gem somewhere, don't they?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

"Uh, yeah. Pretty sure they do." Libra nods eagerly, grinning like a fool at his compliment. "Now you also have that neat ability which is connected to the hat! If you don't wear it for a longer period of time, it will grow weaker until you lose it all together! But don't worry about it being destroyed though. That hat is far tougher than it looks."

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

The ears on Orion's hat fold back slightly when Libra mentions the power-losing.

Haha!

They can move! Just like real ears!

How silly.

Though as an upside, having mobile wolfwhale ears should do a pretty good job of making things think twice before weirdbooping Orion. Assuming he keeps the hat on, of course. The ears are only there when he wears the hat!

"Oh. Well, hopefully I don't get too hot wearing it, then," Orion reasons. "Since summer isn't too far away. Anyway, how does this... I don't know... 'history sense' work? Do I just need to pick something up and think about its past ooor?"

Good question! Wouldn't want to trigger it by mistake.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

"Sort of! You have to hold it without gloves or anything else that blocks skin-contact. Then you have to ask the objects it's history. It can be in a whisper if you want to, but you have to ask the question. The exact word aren't important as long as the meaning is the same." Libra explains, smiling widely at Orion.

[Deathkeeper]

Goblin Market

Jim hides his groan as Dena returns to the group.
"Quick recap for you: got strong-armed into finding the satyr you were making out with before. He's selling some apocalypse eggs or something. Doesn't matter, we just need the eggs. You wanna help with the guard dogs?" he says, jabbing a thumb in their direction.

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

"So ask it verbally? Alright, sure, I think I can manage that," Orion replies, his hat-ears perking up as he begins hunting around for something to test the ability on.

Hmmm...

The only thing that really catches his eyes is a wad of chewed gum on the sidewalk.

And he really doesn't want to know about its history.

Maybe if he searches a bit more diligently he'll do better?

Or he could try those market stalls. This place is a crazy fantasy world, right? There's bound to be SOMEONE selling strange artifacts of historical value.

Just so long as he avoids touching any eldritch grimoires bound in tanned human flesh he should be okay.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra watches Orion stroll out with a grin, hopefully that hat would delay the weirdness a couple of months at the very least. Speaking of weirdness though, she turns back to Cass with a knowing look. "So how come a human like you have avoided getting "weird-booped" for so long, huh?"


Goblin Market

Dena's looks between Stick's and Jim, managing to hide her amusement at the wizards dance movements. Of course they had run into weirdness. "You could say that." She tells Sticks before eyeing the dogs Jim is pointing a thumb at. Apocalypse egg, eh? Sounded like an adventure. "That guy is selling apocalypse eggs? Though he was just some guard." She states, ignoring Jim's obvious distaste for her. "I could help though, but are you sure the dogs are aggressive? They might look the part but fey often aren't what they seem. Besides, if he's selling stuff, why chase away all his customers?" Could be a fey thing though. Maybe some kind of weird test, or perhaps he just wanted special customers. Some kind of illegal activity? She couldn't imagine what fey would consider "criminal" though.

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass applauds and grins as the hat appears, but lets Libra describe it and the power without interrupting the possibly crazy-and-eldritch being. When he starts looking around for something to test on, her face lights up like she has an idea, but Libra asks her a question and in response she shrugs and says, "Dunno, really. I just always seem to be at work when something crazy happens. Maybe I'm an NPC, I dunno. I just wish something interesting would happen." She smiles as an idea occurs to her and asks, "Hey, if you're so cool and powerful, maybe you could help me with that?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra peeeeeeers at Cass.

"You aren't supposed to know the words, how come you know the words?!" She demands. "I'll help you, but only if you tell me why you're aware. How much do you really know, huh?"

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass blinks at Libra's accusations, then shrugs and says, "I mean, you called Orion a PC. So it occured to me that I'm pretty much an NPC, really. Just going through the motions, waiting for something interesting to happen. Like a shopkeeper or side character in an RPG. You know? Like that. Just making a joke, really."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra is silent for a moment. "...oh. Nevermind mind then." She laughs it off, even if it comes off somewhat awkward. "So, uh, what can I help you with exactly? What's even your name?"

Describe Cass in more detail.

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass blinks and stares at Libra's awkward laugh, but shrugs it off, saying, "Like I said, my name's Cassiopiea. I live here in Skyside and work for one of the firms here as a..." Her voice begins to drip with loathing as she says the next two words, "IT Specialist. Which means, in short, I get to stare at a computer screen in a tiny cubicle all day and field questions from idiots that don't know a laptop from a tablet. I think you can see why I'd want to do something different."

As for her description, she is a young woman of 24 with shoulder-length black hair and green eyes that seem more alive than someone in her position would have, glittering in the light of day. Her face wears an almost permanent mischievous smirk, even now, and she's wearing a black t-shirt that has 'You have an ID-10-T error' written on it and comfy jeans.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

"Oh yeah? I don't know anything about those machines!" Libra exclaims. "But, Cassiopeia is it, eh? Tell me what you want out of life then. Your name..." She giggles. "Maybe I got some ideas already!"

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cassiopiea thinks for a little bit, and then says, "Well...I used to really like IT stuff. It's why I have a degree in it after all. But well...Working with these idiots killed that. If...If I had a wish...I'd want to be able to change things. I like chaos, I really do. So...I wish I could cause it. In a way that I could control, obviously. But being able to make things a little more interesting would be fun."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra appears puzzled. "Really? You like 'changing things'?" She giggles to herself. "You should be careful, you probably don't even know what 'chaos' is." She takes three long steps, going in a circle around Cass. "Back when I were younger, I granted really cool wishes to people without any considerations! That made everyone super-sad, since people are dumb." She explains while making a twirl. "Now, you really want me to grant that wish, knowing that you might become sad because of it? Since like everyone else, you might not even know what you really want." She stops, staring Cass right in the eyes with an amused grin. "It was a while since I could use my powers without any considerations so that would be pretty fun."

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass frowns as she thinks about it for a minute, and then says, "I mean...Not like, uncontrollable chaos. You know? Mischief. Not, like something awful. But running around granting people's wishes in a literal manner? That's the kinda thing that sounds like a whole lotta fun."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row]

Libra laughs. "So not chaos at all then. I have no idea why people associate me with that. I'm totally orderly." She suddenly bops Cass's head lightly. "There, that should take effect in... an hour or so." She waves Cass away. "Run along now, I'll talk to you again once it has taken effect. Can't make Orion think I'm some weirdness spreader now, can we?"

[Ionbound]

[Tempest Row]

Cass blinks as Libra boops her, likely with weirdness, and opens her mouth to ask what happened, but then sighs as Libra mentions Orion and says, "You have a point there. See you at my place in an hour." She turns around and strolls off, a little skip in her step at the prospect of future excitement.

[Rebonack]

[Tempest Row]

It's too late, Libra. Orion already thinks you're a weirdness spreader. Nothing about his interaction with you was the least bit normal.

Regardless!

Orion is wandering among the market stalls, looking for something to test out his ability on. Of course, testing said ability would require touching an object. And he isn't quite sure what the etiquette is around here for touching stuff. Would people get upset at him for handling their wares and then refusing to buy anything? He has about forty dollars in his wallet from getting yanked over to the Nexus in the first place, but would they even take the money?

Nearby, a Jawa pays for some kind of ramshackle looking gun with a rubber chicken.

Okay.

So maybe the paper money won't be a problem after all?

That just leaves the question, where to start?

[Shadowcaller]

[Cass's Home]

As Cassiopeia is waiting for Libra she will suddenly feel a strong headache coming in. Like she suddenly got a migraine. Then the uneasy feeling is spreading and it feels like she is going to throw up, which she just might. It's like her whole body is revolting against her and it's not getting better, she feels weaker and weaker for each moment that passes.

[Ionbound]

[Cass's Home]

Cass grunts as her headache starts, and clutches her head. She lies down on her couch, trying to stretch out and release some of the tension in her head. This proves to be a mistake as the nausea hits, and her face takes a delicate green shade as her cheeks balloon, barely managing to stem the tide of vomit. She groans in pain as she stretches out further, trying to get some relief from the pain and weakness, relief that seems to be not-forthcoming.

[Shadowcaller]

[Cass's Home]

Libra suddenly appears sitting on her kitchen table. She's now suspiciously dressed in a white plastic suit. "Hi there, how's it hanging? You don't look so good." She observes mirthfully.