Inside 63

[Fenric]

[Carousel Court]

The ponies all chip in to help each other out. And here's a newcomer: a crystal pony! His coat is red, and he calls himself Deep Reflections. He throws himself into the work like a champion and gains quite a lot of respect. His mark in interesting... a purple crystal wrapped with golden wires.

---

[Church of Keiko]

Keiko, Matthew, and Lewis take their leave. Sean and Fritz exchange a look, then at Cleo

I came here to get away from the hopeless, dead end nonsense life of a nobody in Inside. You spend all your time waiting to be a casualty in some kook's game, and she seemed like a good way out.

Yeah. And add being the second youngest of eight sons of a tradesman. I've got nothing to look forward to, here. But she would take people away to the Shadows, and there's a lot less going on there - more likely to make something of it all there, if you ask me, than sticking around here to be cannon-fodder.

But unlike the drunken sots she usually got, we had some money and in return we expected a certain level of service for our trouble.

It's not our problem miss "walks around nude" finally realized that showing the goods all the time wasn't the best plan. But she took the money and now it's her turn.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

Hmm. She left Lewis out for a reason, but perhaps its better if he's gone.

They do make one good point: Why was Keiko wearing a tiara in her illusion? But mostly the two have the dragon shaking her head.

"This isn't a business. Or even a service. You make a donation, and expect some consideration, but that doesn't put you in a position to make demands."
"If you're really in a hurry to get out of Inside, into the shadows, that can happen. But that's not what you should concern yourselves with."

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

"Complete with outfit and tiara" - her adventuring outfit: she's not naked. The technical detail is that it's the only outfit she's actually looked at herself in the mirror to any significant degree so she could make an illusion of it.

The pair look a little sullen. Clearly: whatever their prior association might have been, they've become best buddies since.

Kinda figured she wasn't planning to play along after this much delay. How Matthew convinced our pet shadow demon to play goddess is beyond me, but obviously it's gone to her head and she thinks she's all "respectable" now.

Whattya think we should be concerned with, then?

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

Cleo snaps her fingers at the blue-text guy. Not sure whether he's Sean or Fritz, but it doesn't much matter. And really, the snapping doesn't go off terribly well. The tips of her claws just click together. But the petrifying green ray appears just fine, and she fully expects to be facing one sullen guy and one sullen statue.

"Whether you make it out of this room intact."

[WarKitty]

Elan's Theater

The ghostling's voice fades into worried murmuring as Xun finds the right bag. It's dead center, half-buried by the rest, and shows signs of age from the slightly creased, faded, and dusty plastic. There's a smudge in the dust around where it's tied, where a gloved handprint has been left. A rounded end to a small bone presses out against the plastic, its outline visible.

The thin fog wavers, darkening as it absorbs the surrounding shadows and the gangly shapes Xun saw as she met the ghostling begin appearing again, stretching and lurching unnaturally, looming up to the ceiling of the small space and creeping out to the corners and edges of the storage room. One long, curved hand reaches up and in defiance of its obvious incorporeality, pulls the storage room door closed.

Oh stop that Xun mutters, somewhat under her breath, deftly slicing the bag open with a claw. She seems rather unperturbed by the strange happenings.

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Sean swallows nervously, eyes wide in fear, hair standing up, pale and trembling.

Uh... h-hold on, n-now... I d-didn't s-say anything against H-Holy K-Keiko.

Fritz doesn't say much of anything, being stone at the moment.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

"And that's why I've let you keep talking."

Cleo's tail flicks back and forth.

"Your friend doesn't seem to realize that he's gotten in over his head. I was hoping to work this out to everyone's agreement, but 'our pet'? Tsk, tsk. Whatever else, anyone who can reduce you to ash as easily as breathing should count as 'respectable', don't you think?"
"But I'm also here to judge whether either or both of you are a threat to the church. He's on thin ice; you're still at the edge of the pond."

"Once I'm convinced you aren't, we can worry about getting you to the shadows, or at least...somewhere with more opportunity."
"So."
"Convince me."

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Sean is still just a little bit over on the "blind terror" end of things, but he nods

H-he s-said y-you were j-just an i-illusion.

Kid from an oversized, lower-middle-class family...

P-please d-don't t-turn me t-to stone!

who could accurately be described as "painfully spineless" and "prime groupie material"

I d-don't h-have any m-magic, or sk-skills, or anything! And I already g-gave her all my m-money.

let's not forget "sucker" and a bit of "how did you survive this long?"

So I was st-staying with F-Fritz until H-Holy K-Keiko r-rescued us.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

"Afraid not. All too real."

Cleo smiles and holds out her front feet in an open, palms-up, not-transmogrifying-anyone gesture.

"Okay, so next you say 'I'm sorry for calling everyone drunken sots' even if some of them are."

"If you want to learn some magic and make yourself useful, here-" Cleo opens one of her pouches and pulls out a little folded map, which she offers to Sean.
"Otherwise, just follow Matthew's lead, and don't try to exploit this place. Do your part, and we'll do right by you. Start acting like you own the place, and you'll have a great future as a lawn ornament."

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Sean nods, calming a bit.

I'm sorry for calling everyone drunken sots.

He takes the map, still trembling just a bit. He glances at stone-Fritz

I don't have anywhere to stay anymore.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

"Don't panic; I can turn him back."

Cleo shakes her head.

"And I can get you a ride to the Good League. They'll put up a guy who just lost his home until you can decide whether to come learn or head for the shadows or strike out on your own."
"Now, you're going to give up on this silly sex thing, head outside, and think about where you want your life to go. If you're really sure really quickly, go talk to Matthew. With any luck, your friend will be out in a few minutes."

Then she waits for him to leave and readies the stone-to-flesh beam.

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Sean nods again and heads outside...

Keiko looks at him

Well?

Sean looks down

I think I'm going to go stay at the Good League of Good for a while... get away from Fritz... see if some counselling might help.

Matthew nods

I think that might be wise: he was never a good influence on you.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

A red beam strikes the statue. Stone-to-Fritz!

"Illusion, hmm?"

The dragon waits in front of him, giving him a few moments to come back to his senses, notice that Sean is gone, and so on, watching with all her eyes.

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Fritz frowns and does take a moment to register the changes

The hell just happened?

He looks at Cleo, suddenly uncertain

Uh... what? Who said anything about an illusion? Are you saying Sean was an illusion?

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

"Your friend is in a better place now." Away from this guy is certainly better.

Aha! 'Sean'! Now she knows which is which. Cleo grins and taps her clawtips together.

"No, he was real. But I understand you have-had, some doubts. Tell me about that."

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Fritz glares

What do you mean, "was?" Matthew: if you've done anything to him, I swear I'll bring the Union down on you. Don't think I don't know what you're up to with your little fleecing operation here.

And seriously: I don't know where you came up with this weird looking orange dragon with too many eyes and detached hands, but you're not fooling me!

There's a lot of mouth to fill with foot... and he's on a roll!

Keiko's as bright as a burnt-out match, so this sudden turnaround has to be your doing. And don't think that convincing her to finally wear clothes is gonna change anything, 'cause I've had enough waiting. Maybe it's time I just sue you into the ground, you sniveling little turd. The folks Keiko's already eaten will make quite a criminal complaint, too: probably can get you put away for murder for the rest of time with just a little effort.

Well... now we see where it's been coming from, no mistake!

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

He's rolling, speeding up, barreling past that overconfident radiant wasp!

"I'm just discovering all sorts of things that set me off today. Insulting Lady Keiko, treating me like I don't exist, hating on Matthew like that..."

Cleo takes a step forward.

"You aren't going to sue anyone. Or get anyone arrested. But you are going to keep waiting."
"I was preparing this great lecture about peoples' autonomy and the relationship between a priest, a god, and a congregation, but forget all that. If you aren't willing to accept what's right before your eyes..."

"I will force you to listen."
Cleo's eyes all open wide, and the irises expands to swallow up the sclera and the pupil until they're solid balls of color.
Then she starts to sing, a horrible screeching sound fit for a banshee proclaiming death. Three other voices join in, two low ominous chants with irrelevant lyrics in the background, one singing a calming lullaby.

It doesn't take any training or special senses to feel the energy gathering around her, black magic sinking into Fritz and coiling around his soul.

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

Fritz's own eyes open wide as the belated light of realization dawns on his arrogant, self-centered little mind.

Holy crap! You're real!

And now begins a desperate scramble in a bid to escape!

[Cyber Punk]

[Park Thylocine View]

Nisha follows Natalie closely. First, she climbs up the wall to reach Natalie on the roof. She can keep her balance, of course, and follows to the other roof without having to hold on for support. She hops over the railing, then waits for Natalie to get to the next step before jumping off and gliding down to the level below. When Natalie reaches out, Nisha takes her hand, smiling herself... and on and on until they get to their final destination. She was particularly interested in the invisible bridge, though.

"This is awesome, Talie." She smiles and begins to spin around, getting more comfortable around Talie as time passes. Also, there's no one to see her here. "Your own secret spot. Thank you for bringing me here." She goes up to the girl and hugs her... and there's that peck again.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

Cleo snaps her left hand close as all four voices come together and cut off. The coils of magic tighten and pull as she finishes the soul-binding spell. She's dispensed with the usual deal-making and ritual gift that the spell would like to operate with, confident that her will is so much stronger than his that it will take effect anyway. And she does have the victim's name.
"Fritz, you are imprisoned until such time as I judge you no danger to any part of this church."

She pulls sharply, and if it works, pulls the arrogant man out of his body and compresses him into an empty facet of the gem on her forehead.

And makes a note to herself that she really needs to replace her golden fiddle now.

[Earl of Purple]

Park Thylocine View

"I'm glad you like it. It's not just mine, though. I try to visit whenever I'm in town, but I did bring any of this stuff up here, and it was all here when the bat-person showed me the place. I think there's others, around the city, but I've not found them. The gargoyles don't pester me- garden birds are too small for them to worry about, but not everyone has that advantage." Her eyes widen and she blushes when pecked on the cheek, and will sit on the sofa and look out across the park. There's a group of ostriches on the edge of the park, easily visible; ten in total, including three cute ostrich chicks.

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

The scrambling body collapses in a heap as Fritz's soul is yanked out, compressed, and stored.

Fritz.zip Zip Archve 1/15/2016 243,677 KB

Well... that's that for him!

Outside, a bus has arrived and the others are wishing Sean well on his recovery.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

That's a relatively small archive. Maybe he's missing some important personality traits. That would explain his behavior. Maybe she can copy-paste elements from other souls.

Anyway, now Cleo has some cleanup to do. Another green ray to preserve the body. Á song with a swift decrescendo to shrink it. Then into the pouch that held the map. Finally, she's ready to stroll outside.

Wave to the bus. Wait for it to leave.
"Fritz won't be rejoining us."

[Fenric]

[Church of Keiko]

The bus departs.

Matthew smirks

I shall endeavor to remain strong in the face of our loss.

Keiko wags

Great job, everyone! So... now what?

Matthew chuckles

Now I make dear Fritz a hero, actually: riding off with Holy Cleo to prove his worth and regain his place among the faithful. A process that will doubtless take a very long time indeed. Eventually he will be a minor footnote and nobody will care - prevents anyone ever bothering to follow up.

then he shrugs

And nobody will be surprised to hear that Sean's in rehab - no need to elaborate on that. It would probably best if visited later, though, Holy Ones: there are enough people with truesight around that your illusion may cause issues. I would dearly love to see the little ones once they hatch, though. And perhaps a bit of shell for a holy relic. Certainly another good holiday candidate!

Matthew grins, and Keiko blinks

I didn't say anything... I know I didn't.

[Cyber Punk]

"I'm glad you like it. It's not just mine, though. I try to visit whenever I'm in town, but I did bring any of this stuff up here, and it was all here when the bat-person showed me the place. I think there's others, around the city, but I've not found them. The gargoyles don't pester me- garden birds are too small for them to worry about, but not everyone has that advantage." Her eyes widen and she blushes when pecked on the cheek, and will sit on the sofa and look out across the park. There's a group of ostriches on the edge of the park, easily visible; ten in total, including three cute ostrich chicks.

Park Thylocine View

"Well, now I'll visit too. We can visit together, from now on, even." Nisha sits very close to Natalie, watching the ostriches. She points at them. "Aren't they cute, Talie? Did you know they eat stones to help grind their food in their stomach?"

[Earl of Purple]

Park Thylocine View

"I'd like that. I didn't, but I did know that their eye is larger than their brain." And gastroliths were also used by dinosaurs in addition to ostriches and other large birds. Palaeontologists have found them in sauropod fossils.

[Recaiden]

[Church of Keiko]

Cleo brushes up against Keiko like a cat.

"Quite a while. If he ever does prove his worth, well, it will be after almost everyone has forgotten."

Then she's eyeing Matthew suspiciously.

"You implied it heavily when you talked about not shapeshifting."

But it was still kind of weird, such that now Cleo is casting an identify song on Matthew. Who describes themselves as a 'mortal human', anyway?

[Cyber Punk]

Park Thylocine View

"Yeah..."

Well, at this point, Nisha's eyes are definitely somewhere else. Instead of looking at birds, she's looking at the pretty birdie next to her, taking in her face, her features... and those lips. She finds herself staring, and can't help but lean in in order to give Natalie a soft kiss.

[Earl of Purple]

Park Thylocine View

Natalie's surprised by the kiss, her eyes widening, but she'll kiss back. "Um... Oh." She's blushing severely, and doesn't seem to quite be able to form words right now.

[Cyber Punk]

Park Thylocine View

"Sorry, Talie. I couldn't help myself." Nisha confesses, though she makes no move to back off, her face still within kissing distance of Natalie's.