Dancing Fox Inn XIII- Luck Costs Extra

[Devixer]

"I-" Ashley sighs and slumps again. She supposed that technically, the centaur was right. "I'm sorry. Shouldn't assume. It's just- my place doesn't feel much like a home lately. I don't really want to get into why."

[Deathkeeper]

Willa shrugs.
”Don't apologize. Everyone says dumb things when they’re pissed. I’d help if you want. Maybe we can help you get your mind off of things?” she proposes.

[Devixer]

"That's what this is for." Ashley wiggles the mug of beer, that she's barely drank out of. "Unless you've got something better than drinking."

[Deathkeeper]

Willa snorts, in a very horsey sort of way.
”Oh come on, anything’s better than that.” her emphasis on the phrase causes her to backpedal at Mist giving her looks.
”I just don’t drink at all, okay? Alcohol tastes nasty. Come on, we can go somewhere, talk about magic things. I bet you’ve never taken a ride on a centaur before.” she says, though really riding a normal horse is probably more comfortable for most people.

[Devixer]

Ashley hesitates for a moment. "No, can't say I've ever ridden a centaur." Then she snickers, like a very mature adult.

"I'm kind of curious to see how someone dances at a spirit. I've never seen one appreciate performance."

[Fendrick]

Anchor smiles, but only slightly. Pink eyes, not 'curious' anymore. She starts to realize how annoying it could be to wear your feelings on your skin like that. She doesn't get into making people think your eye color reflected your emotional state when actually you controlled it.
"Ah, okay. I wish you luck with that. I mean, if you've been working on it all that time."
Trying to find this monster, cheat the challenges, and scoop the valuable something that will probably just turn out to be a worthless family heirloom? No thanks. She could offer help, but Comet doesn't seem to want any.
"The things I craft, heh, nothing like what you've got in that book." She pinches the air in front of her, grasping a bit of light from the fireplace. A little bit of folding and twisting, and there's a monarch butterfly standing in her open palm, fluttering its wings. Or something that looks very like one, at least.

(Comet finds it incredibly annoying, when her feelings are so clearly displayed. Maybe she should invest in some dark sunglasses?)

'Thanks.' says Comet, 'Oooh! Now that is cool. What's the biggest, or most complicated thing you've crafted in that way?' And Bam! Eyes back to curious yellow!

Comet looks at Anchor intently, hoping for a further display of her talent.

[Deathkeeper]

Willa returns the snicker but doesn't comment.
"Well, mostly I dance to make them show up, and then you have to make a deal with someone. Give you something for something, tell them to go possess someone until they can raise their belt size or something." having a spirit possess someone and push them to self-destructive behavior is something she's found in text but never actually tried.

[Devixer]

"Your spirits definitely aren't like mine, then. I've never seen a spirit appear in the Mortal World, just signs of their power used by wizards." Ashley shrugs. "That's the Nexus for you. One word, twenty different meanings."

[Mee]

"Well," Oliver says slightly hesitantly. "I used to be a thief, not caring who I stole from. I was known as The Obese Offender, or something along those lines. Then, I stole from the wrong person. They caught me, but rather than throw me in jail, they redeemed me. Now, I'm like Robin Hood, but instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, I steal from the villains and give to the kind people of the world."

Lynton grins at both of them as he rolls up the parchment.
"Well I'll have to keep looking then, but we can save that for another time. You both have been so kind to me and here I am rambling about myself. I would like to hear more of your stories as well."

"And I'm . . I'm nobody too special. I grew up on the streets, trying to just stay alive, and now I'm here, just trying to settle down. Build a house. Relax." While technically true, there is far, far more to it than just that, and it's pretty obvious from her lack of ability to hide her own emotions.

[Recaiden]

(Comet finds it incredibly annoying, when her feelings are so clearly displayed. Maybe she should invest in some dark sunglasses?)

'Thanks.' says Comet, 'Oooh! Now that is cool. What's the biggest, or most complicated thing you've crafted in that way?' And Bam! Eyes back to curious yellow!

Comet looks at Anchor intently, hoping for a further display of her talent.

Maybe colored contact lenses would help.

Anchor's smile deepens. "The biggest is my old town's pterosaur rookery, this huge tower. You could see it if you headed down the road aways. It took a ton of material, of course, but more than that it was planning everything out so it could stand tall. Most complex is definitely one of the stranger creatures, probably that three-headed mirror cat with all the eyes. Making a copy of something that's in front of me isn't so hard now, so it's just the difference that were difficult, but there were a lot of those. Although when I first started, all I could do was make a bit of thread."
She demonstrates, drawing about a foot of spun light between her fingertips.

[Deathkeeper]

"Your spirits definitely aren't like mine, then. I've never seen a spirit appear in the Mortal World, just signs of their power used by wizards." Ashley shrugs. "That's the Nexus for you. One word, twenty different meanings."

"Well, I can't tell you all too much. I've just a novice at it, really. Trying to skate by with what I've been taught, but my mentor would probably charge me for repeated lessons and well..." Willa jokingly waves her hands where a human might keep their pockets, where she conspicuously does not have a wallet.

[Devixer]

Ashley chuckles a little, and pats her vest pocket. "You and me both. I was lucky enough to have taught myself magic and not died. So there's a good amount of money saved."

[Cute Earth]

"Well," Oliver says slightly hesitantly. "I used to be a thief, not caring who I stole from. I was known as The Obese Offender, or something along those lines. Then, I stole from the wrong person. They caught me, but rather than throw me in jail, they redeemed me. Now, I'm like Robin Hood, but instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, I steal from the villains and give to the kind people of the world."

"And I'm . . I'm nobody too special. I grew up on the streets, trying to just stay alive, and now I'm here, just trying to settle down. Build a house. Relax." While technically true, there is far, far more to it than just that, and it's pretty obvious from her lack of ability to hide her own emotions.

Lynton tilts his head to the side.
"Settling down. Now there's a thought."
He's obviously trying to keep his manners and not pry to hard into things Naku may not want to discuss.
"What an adventurous life you lead. Are you sure it's safe announcing such things like that though?"
He asks, a look of genuine concern on his face.

[Deathkeeper]

Willa smiles.
"Well, maybe you can give me some tips sometime and I can show you how we dance." she suggests, sitting down so that she's at eye level with Ashley. It's rude to make people stare up at her even if it means dragging her knees on the wooden floor.

[Devixer]

"A private dance, just for me?" Ashley regrets the words as soon as they leave her mouth. "Ugh, sorry. I'm not thinking great right now. Yeah, I guess if you really want, I can show you a few things about my style of wizardry."

[CosmicHobbit]

"What an adventurous life you lead. Are you sure it's safe announcing such things like that though?"
He asks, a look of genuine concern on his face.

Oliver gives a short laugh and says, "If somebody puts their mind to it, they can find out what I do easily enough. Better to let it out there and make villains fear seeing me than try to cover up the uncoverable."

[Deathkeeper]

”You’d need to fight my boyfriend if you wanted one of those. Sounds great though, in all seriousness. Just pick a place.” Willa says cheerfully.

[WarKitty]

Off in a Corner

Candace takes up her instrument and begins to play a lively tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV4UivC-f6M

[Artemis97]

[Off in a Corner]

Anastasia, the black furred fox woman, starts to dance, stomping her feet in time with the music, the bells around her ankles jangling with each step. She spins and twirls, sending the gauzy material of her dancer's outfit swirling.

[Lazorath]

"I take every opportunity I can to return home. Of the city-states in Eorzea, it is Limsa Lominsa that continues to hold my heart." Cherie grins. "If you find the means, do come and visit. You might find new friends there."

"I just might take you up on that," Devero smiles back, "I'm sure there will come a time for me when I will need all the friends I can get considering where I'll be heading so the more I have, the better."

[WarKitty]

Off in a Corner

Candace starts to sing the words to the song, after an instrumental run-through.

((Audience wanted!))

[Devixer]

”You’d need to fight my boyfriend if you wanted one of those. Sounds great though, in all seriousness. Just pick a place.” Willa says cheerfully.

Ashley sighs despite herself. "Figures." She's definitely not in the best place right now.

"Um, yeah, right. If you need a lot of space, then my warehouse won't do. Too much stuff. There a field of something nearby?"

---

"I just might take you up on that," Devero smiles back, "I'm sure there will come a time for me when I will need all the friends I can get considering where I'll be heading so the more I have, the better."

"I am certain that you will find fellows in Eorzea. 'Tis a land of grand adventure." Cherie briefly swells with pride for her home.

[Deathkeeper]

"You've been outside, right? There's pretty much a field everywhere that isn't forest." Willa says with a smirk, hoping to get past Ashley's little outburst. Had she actually been interested? How does she only find people not turned off by the horse thing after she meets Corvus?

[Devixer]

Ashley rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I know that. I just meant right near here. That was it'll be easier for me to anchor myself in the spirit world if you decide you really want to go." With some effort, Ashley manages to slump herself off of the barstool.

[Mee]

Lynton tilts his head to the side.
"Settling down. Now there's a thought."
He's obviously trying to keep his manners and not pry to hard into things Naku may not want to discuss.

"Right?" Naku replies with a wolfish grin. "Who'd have thought.
But you look like you have questions. Feel free; ask away. I don't bite." Possibly poor choice of words there, Naku.

Oliver gives a short laugh and says, "If somebody puts their mind to it, they can find out what I do easily enough. Better to let it out there and make villains fear seeing me than try to cover up the uncoverable."

"Here here." Naku agrees, nodding a few times.

[Recaiden]

[Off in a Corner]

Anastasia, the black furred fox woman, starts to dance, stomping her feet in time with the music, the bells around her ankles jangling with each step. She spins and twirls, sending the gauzy material of her dancer's outfit swirling.

Candace starts to sing the words to the song, after an instrumental run-through.

((Audience wanted!))

With Comet not saying much, Anchor turns to watch the performance.
An actual dancing fox. Imagine that.
She hadn't thought the song was anything much, but hearing it with its words, that's completely different.
Either way, it doesn't compare to Anastasia's dance.

[Fendrick]

Maybe colored contact lenses would help.

Anchor's smile deepens. "The biggest is my old town's pterosaur rookery, this huge tower. You could see it if you headed down the road aways. It took a ton of material, of course, but more than that it was planning everything out so it could stand tall. Most complex is definitely one of the stranger creatures, probably that three-headed mirror cat with all the eyes. Making a copy of something that's in front of me isn't so hard now, so it's just the difference that were difficult, but there were a lot of those. Although when I first started, all I could do was make a bit of thread."
She demonstrates, drawing about a foot of spun light between her fingertips.

'WOW!' Exclaims Comet, 'A whole tower?'

Comet is also suitably impressed by the spun light in front of her. She absentmindedly flexes the fingers on her cybernetic arm, as if itching to make something of her own.

Not able to resist the temptation to show off her own talent, Comet pulls from her backpack what looks to be a three inch long bronze ornamental key. It looks to be a plain at first, but when Comet flips it over, an intricate carved design is revealed. 'This is the first of the four objects, that I have to create. It isn't finished yet.'
Comet seems a little embarrassed not to have the finished piece yet. Nonetheless, the carving on the key is very impressive.

[Cute Earth]

Oliver gives a short laugh and says, "If somebody puts their mind to it, they can find out what I do easily enough. Better to let it out there and make villains fear seeing me than try to cover up the uncoverable."

"Right?" Naku replies with a wolfish grin. "Who'd have thought.
But you look like you have questions. Feel free; ask away. I don't bite." Possibly poor choice of words there, Naku.
"Here here." Naku agrees, nodding a few times.

Lynton shrugs at Oliver, unable to argue the point.
Then he turns to Naku.
“I’m just thinking that you ain’t being fully straightforward. Pop always said to never hold back what you’ve started.”

[Mee]

Lynton shrugs at Oliver, unable to argue the point.
Then he turns to Naku.
“I’m just thinking that you ain’t being fully straightforward. Pop always said to never hold back what you’ve started.”

Naku shrugs slightly. She's definitely not offended by Oliver's point, and even smiles slightly.
"I suppose in a way I'm not being fully straightforward. I haven't lied to you, though. I do want to just settle down, and in several senses of the term, I am a no one. My race is dead, other than just me.
I lived most of my life fighting for the right to survive, and a lot of it is very painful memories. I've kind of avoiding it because I'm just here to drink some drinks and relax a bit. However, if you want to know, then sure.

Recently, a goddess offered me a plot of land in her realm in exchange for my services, so it's my first job for her that I'm here celebrating." Naku replies very calmly, sipping at her cup of tea.

[Recaiden]

'WOW!' Exclaims Comet, 'A whole tower?'

Comet is also suitably impressed by the spun light in front of her. She absentmindedly flexes the fingers on her cybernetic arm, as if itching to make something of her own.

Not able to resist the temptation to show off her own talent, Comet pulls from her backpack what looks to be a three inch long bronze ornamental key. It looks to be a plain at first, but when Comet flips it over, an intricate carved design is revealed. 'This is the first of the four objects, that I have to create. It isn't finished yet.'
Comet seems a little embarrassed not to have the finished piece yet. Nonetheless, the carving on the key is very impressive.

"A whole tower." Anchor confirms, pleased with herself.

She glances back, her eyes catching on the key. "About half done? I mean, the carvings are going to cover the whole thing, right? It's amazing." She reaches out a hand towards the key, but doesn't actually go to touch it. An incomplete magical item - it could do anything! Probably nothing, yes. But anything!
"So much detail, it looks really...deep."

Her shadow remains focused on the dance.