Inside 66: Order up!

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin doesn't leave. "Listen officer. In the event that Needs does have a catastrophic breakdown, I'm probably better equipped to contain it than either of you." He levels his blade at Needs, and unless the cyborg's magic resistance is very strong, his shadow will be sucked into the sword, and his ability to resist magical effects will be greatly reduced. Ellrin draws one of the pistols from his belt. It's a bulky rectangular piece of plastic with a logo for a company called "Tesladyne Industries" on it and two dials, labeled "Focus" and "Power." Ellrin flicks the focus dial to 8 and the power dial to 5 with his thumb.

Cookware Store
The shuttle is still there, but Ezra isn't sure if he's ready to head back to the colony yet. "Where else could I find information about this place, or supplies, perhaps?" he muses.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

There's crazy stuff happening behind her, but Ithuriel's focus is entirely on Ellrin at this point. She couldn't be thinking about pink elephants even if she wanted to. She trusts Michalson to hand it. He'll get Needs under control.

Ellrin is likely going to have a rather hard time levelling his blade at Needs since there's an angel in the way, deliberately keeping herself between the two of them, so unless it can target people through other people, it seems likely it'd end up trying to steal her shadow...except her visible angelic aura of golden light means she's not really casting a shadow at the moment. There's probably some sort of faint wisp of shadow the sword could take, if that does anything.

Speaking of acting as a barrier, since Ellrin is going to persist in ignoring the instructions of an Intersection officer, Ithuriel is going to have to take things a little further. His claims of being better-equipped to deal with this are ignored, just as he's ignored her. She rushes at him, keeping her body between him and Needs, aiming to grab his wrist and twist. Painfully. She wants that sword out of his hand. She's got formidable strength - it's entirely possible, if successful, that she might go a little too far and snap his wrist in the process. Successful or not, she shouts at him as she approaches, her voice echoing with divinity. "NO! You listen to me! I've given you enough warnings. So now, you're going to drop your weapons and surrender yourself. This is Intersection business and I WILL NOT tolerate this behaviour."

*****

[Abandoned Tech Store]

"An electricity lich? Not such an unreasonable interpretation, I suppose. Though the ritual used to become a lich is meant to preserve one's true self, isn't it? I suppose it'd be hard to know one way or the other. If anything is left behind, it's gone for good. Perhaps all liches are fakes like me?" An amusing notion. The Professor chuckles at the thought. Something to research at a later date, perhaps.

"You sound a little disappointed that I'm a copy. Not impressive enough for you? If that's the case, maybe you should go say hi to the real me. If you got enough creations to gather in one place, perhaps that'd restore some sense of self and cause him to manifest? Haha! An amusing thought, no? Perhaps the true Professor is something that can only exist through ritualistic methods?"

As if in some demonstration of Edict's words, Affidavit floats through several objects as he circles back down to his makeshift pedastal. Rather ghostly behaviour, really. Not the sort of thing that someone you could accuse of being alive would engage in. Unless they were a wizard, maybe, but he's definitely not that. "I have no connection to the creations any more. I imagine they're still all linked together. I can't see why they'd ever give that up. Is it important? Do you have plans? It has been far too long since I engaged in any particularly noteworthy activites."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Abandoned Tech Store]

This particular iteration of the Professor seems...chipper, is the only real word Edict can find for it.
But perhaps the fellow is running off the high of discovery, or whatever that is. He's aware of at least one witch that gets oddly friendly when some goals are met, who is normally prickly.

"I wouldn't say that I am disappointed..."
After all, Edict still isn't really sure what his thought was there. Possibly relief? Hmmm, yes, that might be closest. Why relief though?
"And while I would be somewhat interested to know if amassing your creations together draws forth your original consciousness, it is not something I particularly need to see now. Although I would also be interested in knowing if you had a particular reason in calling me here, or if you were simply showing off your latest design."

The statement isn't meant to be standoffish, though in hindsight perhaps it came out that way.
Particularly when the likely answer occurs to him a moment later.
"No, I suppose you didn't have a deeper plan, if you're desiring 'noteworthy activity'. I'm not sure what you would consider noteworthy, these days. At present, I am just seeking out...unusual phenomena. Something peculiar enough to be worth my time and interest."

Which he had found!
Before the Professor ruined it. Totally on purpose.

[Lord Magtok]

Gate

"Out of the truck, Needs, out of the truck," Magtok whispers anxiously, dragging his brother out of the driver's seat and pushing the yellow-eyed wizard through the passenger side door. They need to put some distance between themselves and Ellrin, to get to cover and stand on solid ground, so they're not sitting ducks if anyone else tries pointing a sword or casting a spell. Mag's instincts are telling him to keep running, to take Needs and flee into the city while the angel is distracted, but common sense wins out. She has wings and they don't, she works in this city and they've been gone for years. She'd be more than capable of hunting them down, even if they got away for a moment.

"Do you think I cannot call on my F҉̩͖a̦͎͇̼̳͖͜ͅt̫̲͟h҉̛̩e̫͚ṛ̬̟͇̕͢, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" Needs whines, not very enthusiastic about hiding in a corner and waiting for the problem to solve itself. What good is all of this supernatural power if nobody ever lets him use it in a fight? He acquiesces, however, allowing his brother to pull him away from the chaos and duck behind the pickup truck. Who knows, maybe he'll still get a chance. Maybe the other officer will get aggressive and he'll have an excuse to swallow Michalson whole.

[Earl of Purple]

Kushiro Inn

"Hoo-poo." Not a very helpful answer, but it sounds... Somehow reassuring. Like whatever it wants, it doesn't want to hurt either of them. Even though there's no more comprehensive information transferred by the bird.

Alleyway

Before he can do anything to resist, the half-orc dealer's mind is assailed by fear and terror. The alleyway fills with the scent of ammonia, and he blurts out "Dark Nghiru, the Necromancer of Idlewood! Oh, he said he'll eat my soul if I told anyone..." The terrified drug-dealer starts to sob.
"Right, Hawker, you go tell the boss. Wings, you and Fuzzy grab the skuzz bucket and take him to Intersection. Garlic, Hobnail and Spider, grab the bags and take 'em to the park. They deserve better, but it's the best we can do." One of the sprites zips straight up, travelling very fast indeed. Two more circle around the half-orc, green magic glowing from their fingers as they force a ring of mushrooms to sprout in the alleyway, the half-orc in the centre. The mushrooms are fly amanita, red-capped with white spots.

"As for you, mister human, you've been a help. Take this. A bit of faerie luck. It's not much, but it might help." The faerie luck takes the shape of a tiny glowing crystal, growing from the tutu-clad gangster's hand. It'll soak into the explorer's skin if touched, and boost his luck ever so slightly. If he bought a lottery ticket, it's enough luck he'd win a bit of money. Not a lot, certainly not enough to change a life (unless other luck- natural or otherwise- plays a part). "When the shrooms have finished growing, I recommend looking away for a minute or two. It's not dangerous, you can watch if you want, but it's a little embarrassing."

[Recaiden]

Soon enough we had the name of the pixie dust supplier: Dark Nghiru. Three of the pixies took away the contraband (I gather it is made from pixies themselves through some process I am content not to know about) while two sent away the half-orc coward through a mushroom ring. I have seen plenty of fungus-based transport by Menders, so I thought nothing of ignoring the proceedings from then on. I was busy with the head pixie offering me a reward, a lucky faerie crystal which dissolved into the hand when I took it. It's not clear to what extent luck is a real thing, but the day seemed to brighten, and I have remembered the moment during subsequent close calls.
"My thanks." I could not help but ask him "Just what are you planning to do about Idlewood?"

Like most people of the time, he considered necromancy a dark art to be driven out whenever possible. Like many adventurers, he used a necromantic artifact or two in his day-to-day life because they're so damnably useful. Most likely, he never really thought through the conflict here.

[Earl of Purple]

Alleyway

If he's ignoring it, and not actually looking away, he may note the two sprites- Wings and Fuzzy- dance around the mushroom-ring. It wouldn't be so bad... If they weren't bad dancers. They've got some grace, and their wings mean they are literally light on their feet, but they don't have any timing, and several times they nearly bump into each other, and at one point Fuzzy actually kicks over one of the mushrooms, hurriedly picking it up and trying to reattach its stem before giving up, tossing it aside and making do without it. After a minute and a half the half-orc and the sprites disappear. It'd be quicker if they could dance better.

"It's outside Intersection's jurisdiction, so we can't sic the police on it. Not easily, anyway. The Fairy Godfather might hire some mercenaries, or spread word around the pubs and bars that there's a price on his head. The latter's probably cheaper. But... Well, anyone powerful enough to make pixie dust is powerful enough to be tricky. Pixie magic is stronger than ours. The boss might send out his Sidhe. Which is fine, so long as I'm nowhere nearby." The Sidhe (pronounced 'shee') unnerves this little sprite most terribly.

[Recaiden]

Pixies - relatively powerful magic, ground(?) into pixie dust.
____ - winged, mushroom and luck magic.
Sidhe - scary, considered capable of dealing with a rogue necromancer.
All apparently under the jurisdiction of the Fairy Godfather, who's probably all the things his name implies, you couldn't do that by accident.

I said I was ignoring it, but it caught my attention how badly the pixies fairies were at their mushroom ring dance. I'm not sure I've seen anyone simultaneously so graceful and so clumsy. Still, they got it done eventually. To their leader, I nodded and said that I would keep an ear out for anything about the necromancer. Defeating an evil wizard is its own reward, but getting an actual reward has plenty to recommend it. And I know nothing about Nghiru. It would be foolhardy to rush right in. "I wish you the best of luck, and good day." I made my way out of the stinking alley then; I had been busy before I stumbled upon this scene.

Place your bets, readers, about how long before he finds himself in the Idlewood surrounded by a pack of flesh-hungry ghouls or in some similar predicament.

[Earl of Purple]

Alleyway

The notes forgot the plant-magic that let them catch the half-orc when he tried crawling away, by growing a vine to grab his ankle.

The sprite leader bids the explorer a good day, and goes to help Garlic and the others in picking up the pixie dust. When it's all done, they fly to a park and empty the bags into a pond under an ancient oak tree.

[Morty]

[Gate]

Michalson glances down at the jar in his hand and then ad Needs. He decides that this is much more important than some berk waving a sword. Ithuriel has it covered, but this is his job. Time to bring out the big guns. He's going to hate himself for it later, but that's how it goes. He makes an odd gesture with his right hand, his left one gripping the jar tightly. He seems to be pressing several points along his forehead, sternum and stomach.

"In readiness, stillness," he whispers, his accent suddenly gone, and suddenly all the magic around him seems to... flicker. It doesn't disappear, but it feels like an invisible, intangible wind around him picked up that only blows away supernatural things. He then puts his hand on the hilt of his sword and makes a few steps towards Needs and Magtok. His step is even more awkward than usual.

"Now you two gentlemen stay put until my colleague 'ere gets this under control. I really didn't want to do what I just gone and did, but that's how it goes, right?"

[bc56]

Gate

"Sorry, miss. I don't think it's a good idea for you to keep yelling and possibly setting off the unstable cyborg, and I doubt we could discuss our differences over a cup of tea." As Ellrin speaks and Ithuriel charges, Ellrin fires his pistol at her, sending a bolt of lightning at her chest. 5 is the kill setting of the gun, but it's intended for use on humanoids, not angels. Ellrin doesn't expect it to do more than stun Ithuriel, and it might not even do that, depending on her resilience.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

The second Ithuriel sees Ellrin pulling the trigger, she kicks off the ground and gives a powerful beat of her wings, launching herself high into the air. The shot sails harmlessly by underneath as she maintains her forward momentum, coming down in a dive kick aimed right at Ellrin's sternum. It's a little flashier than the sort of thing she'd usually go for, but it's cashing in on an angel's ability to dodge up without having to change direction.

With the amount of force behind this kick, it's certainly got the power to crack some bones...or maybe worse. Seems they're past the point of talking, and since Ellrin decided to open fire on her, Ithuriel now feels perfectly justified in using whatever force is necessary to defend herself.

[Lord Magtok]

Gate

"Stay put?! He's got a lightning gun! He was going to shoot my brother with a fu-" Fortunately, Magtok doesn't get to finish his sentence and trigger the board's profanity filter. Unfortunately, this is because he ran facefirst into the side of a white horse which wasn't there a moment ago. Oof! He wasn't really expecting the truck and the horse to spontaneously decouple like that, oww. He rubs his chin and mumbles something profane under his breath to assuage his bruised ego, but doesn't argue any further with Michalson. Since there's a horse, a pickup truck, and an angel between the MagClones and the fight, I guess we can stay put for now.

"Numb. Broken. Static. Can't feel my teeth," Needs mumbles, staggering behind Magtok in a drunken haze. After Magtok's collision with the horse, Needs blinks a few times, rests an arm on the stallion's flank, and squints intensely at Ellrin's gun. He lifts an arm up slowly, as if trying to do some kind of magic on the firearm, but of course nothing happens. Nothing exceptional, anyway. The wizard gets a nosebleed and his eye burns bright with yellow arcane energy, but the former is entirely mundane and the latter, though quite supernatural, doesn't actually do anything, and it's all Needs' uncomfortably vast arcane might can manage under these circumstances, without a proper understanding of what Michalson did and how to disassemble it or find a way around it. There's probably a god, daemon, or fey he could question to learn how to do it, but summoning them would involve magic, and by the time Michalson's neutralization of Needs has passed, Needs probably won't even remember what planet he's on, much less that there was someone who could counter his magic earlier.

[Morty]

[Gate]

Michalson leans against the truck. He produces his revolver, which of course is just a fairly normal gun with the winds of disenchantment up. But he stays out of the fight; he's not much good in a brawl, especially while also keeping up the effect.

"I don't know what that berk's problem is, but my fellow officer should handle 'im,' he says. Not a very professional thing to say, but he's still new to being a cop, and also concentrating intensely on something else right now.

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin parries the kick with the flat of his sword. Whereas using a sword held in this way would normally have little effect, kicking the blade is like kicking a brick wall. "Woah there! This artifact sword isn't just for show. I could be cutting your holy hide into pieces by now if I wanted to hurt you. And Magtok, a correction, I would not have shot your brother. I was planning to shoot any eldritch monstrosities that might decide to use him as a doorway into this universe." Ellrin turns down the focus on the lightning gun to 2 and fires at Ithuriel again. The shot takes the form of a wide cone rather than a bolt of lightning.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

"...you remember the part where you shot at me, right?" It's probably a good thing Ithuriel doesn't know he tried to shoot her with a blast that's meant to be lethal for humans. What if he'd missed and hit Magtok instead?

If kicking the sword had much of an effect on Ithuriel, it doesn't show. Although she's visibly annoyed to discover that Ellrin has some kind of crazy momentum-absorbing sword. That's rather annoying. "You see the bit where you're trying to shoot me again right now?"She briefly contemplates going back to plan: disarm as Ellrin brings his gun to bear again, but decides to just take the hit - eyes locked on his as the electricity washes over her. Instead of dodging, she swiftly wraps her wings round the two of them to cut off his escape. At the same time she tries to grip his sword-arm with one hand and his other shoulder with the other, and deliver the mother of all headbutts right on his noggin. The effect of this would be comparable to running head-first at full speed into a brick wall.

[UncleWolf]

Slightly Rainy Street Corner

Despite the rain being warm, it was a miserable little shower to be standing on a street corner in while asking for handouts. The three and a half foot tall lean goldenrod skinned lass certainly felt as if that was the case anyway, no matter how cheery the people passing on by felt. She was soaked in her hand-knitted poncho, but she couldn't give up her daily necessity of holding a sign up above her head and waving it around while humming loudly to try and get people's attention where the neon coil lights she'd made couldn't. Her face was hidden mostly behind a scarf, hood, and bulky visor over her eyes, but a single little antennae poked out from under the hood. While the little humanoid kept one hand under her poncho for some semblance of warmth and comfort, the other held up the posed letters.

AM GOOD FIXER! WILL WERK 4 FOOD, HUGZ, AND HEAD PATS!

[Slii Arhem]

Spoiler

Show

Victory's Secret

Talia seems quite light on her feet, for even as Kray goes through her qualifications for armor the storeowner is quickly back at her side with a light cuirass of leather and a matching set of arm and leg guards. There's a soft lining and nice brass fittings and rivets for the set. "Try this'un, hun. Already enchanted ta fit whomever wears it. Dressin' room is in the back." She points out, nodding towards the rooms in question. "An' as a bonus, it should be about as protective as steel." She adds before slipping away to help Eswil.

The auroch looks contemplative as she looks over the chosen attire and gives a small nod before carrying it to her countertop. "Might be a bit finicky as a collar ain't much ta work with, ya know?" She points out as she pulls on a set of green-lens welding glasses. She gently undoes the catch to lay the collar out flat and after she sets a large leather bundle on the counter she unrolls it to reveal her set of hammers, chisels, and all sorts of leather, metal, and wood working tools. Each tool has a gentle glow and she begins to work them in the air about half an inch above the cloth itself. "The collar is pretty fragile, miss, but if I strengthen it there won't be enough room in the weave ta work the rest of the enchantment for ya. As it is, if there's even a small tear the work will be completely undone. If ya bring it back I'll repair or replace it though for jus' a small fee." She explains before sticking her tongue out for a moment in thought as she does something delicate only she can see. When she's finished, she'll put her tools and glasses away carefully before offering the collar to Eswil. "Try it on, hunny bun. Should give ya a coupla feet. Be warned though, the enchantment will only last a total of about a hundred hours or so tops. Like I said, just ain't much ta work with on a collar."

[Victory's Secret]

Kray takes the armor and goes to the dressing room, putting it on over the normal clothes she'd pick out. She'll come out silently, not wanting to bother the two women while they're working on Eswil's outfit and just wait for all that to be taken care of.
Judging from her face, she didn't have the best time in the dressing room. There was a mirror in there.

Victory's Secret

Eswill looks at the choker with some trepidation and cautiously reaches out for it, gnawing her lower lip, "Would it take much to top up the enchantment on it, or will the choker itself break when the magic runs out or is tampered with? And what would happen if I maintain a spell on it to increase its durability? I can do that for objects, so long as I'm near them but if it would interfere with your enchantment I don't want to risk it. If nothing else, I could get it on the rest of the outfit too if that's not too much trouble, I just wanted something a bit more discreet and versatile." She undoes the clasp on the choker and, very carefully, does it up around her neck. She turns back to Kray with a warm smile as she does.

Slightly Rainy Street Corner

Despite the rain being warm, it was a miserable little shower to be standing on a street corner in while asking for handouts. The three and a half foot tall lean goldenrod skinned lass certainly felt as if that was the case anyway, no matter how cheery the people passing on by felt. She was soaked in her hand-knitted poncho, but she couldn't give up her daily necessity of holding a sign up above her head and waving it around while humming loudly to try and get people's attention where the neon coil lights she'd made couldn't. Her face was hidden mostly behind a scarf, hood, and bulky visor over her eyes, but a single little antennae poked out from under the hood. While the little humanoid kept one hand under her poncho for some semblance of warmth and comfort, the other held up the posed letters.

AM GOOD FIXER! WILL WERK 4 FOOD, HUGZ, AND HEAD PATS!

Slightly Rainy Street Corner

With hands in his pockets and a generally hunched, grumpy posture that makes him look even smaller than a normal gobbun (Goblin+Rabbit hybrids being seen more and more around the cities of the Nexus these days) a short, huddled gobb hurries past on this rainy early morning. He's covered in a dingy grey plastic poncho that's keeping the rain mostly off of him, his ears folded down either side of his head so the hood will fit over him.

It's just his luck that the repair he needed to do on that doohicky required a specially made gear, and he really doubted what he'd thrown together in a pinch would hold for long once production got underway today. So he needed a new gear. Which meant he needed to wait until morning when a machine shop opened and try to get a rush job done before some idiot decided to kick the machine up into full swing and wreck everything even worse, despite the note he left on its work chart. He should have just taken the lockout key, but he knew full well that they'd steal another one from the foreman's office and... "Graaah!!" Standing on a corner not five feet from the little humanoid, the gobbun wrings his ears, roaring out his frustration before slumping defeatedly.

Not for very long, though. With determined speed he whips around to the little goldenrod-tinted bug thing and looks her up and down. Not very far up, for even as small as he is he's still eclipsing her significantly in height. Stomping over to her with a glint in his eye, the gobbun whips a small, collapsible, bright yellow umbrella from a jacket pocket, unfolds it and holds it above the girl. With an investigative eye he looks at the sign, nods to himself, and gently tries to take it from her with one hand.

If she allows him to do this, it's the work of a few moments, using some blu tack he had in a pocket left over from a soldering job, to affix the sign to the umbrella and press its handle into the hand she'd been holding it up with. Job done, he nods to himself, pats her on the hood, and hurries off to catch the machine shop before they're all booked up with jobs for the day.

[UncleWolf]

Victory's Secret

"Naw, it won't cost much more than a cuppa joe." Tallia reassures the Gobbun gently, watching her put the collar on carefully to make sure nothing goes awry. Unless something she is carrying messes with the enchantment, she'll find that over the course of about thirty seconds she increases in size to the desired amount. It was fast, but not instant, allowing her some measure of time to get used to the new perspective before throwing her into it. "An' it won't outright destroy the choker, but it'll wear it down. A good three or four reworks and the fabric will get too thin to use an' I'll replace it for no more than a repair." She explains before grinning at Kray despite the tall woman's expression. "So? Ya love it?"

Slightly Rainy Street

The insectile lass allows him to take her sign, curious as to what he'll do to it, and when he's finished she even leans into the pat a bit. When he begins to leave however and she begins fiddling with his work to see how well it holds up, she frowns under her scarf and hums audibly and in slight irritation at it. She begins manipulating the letters, hurrying after the Gobbun while humming the entire way to try and catch his attention. Should he turn around, he'll see that she's twisting segments of letters this way and that to try and get them to line up properly, but the umbrella was getting in the way a bit and making it awkward. Even so, eventually she stomps up in front of him, holding up the rearranged sign right in front of his face to get him to stop and read it.

NEED FIXINS? WILL DO GOOD JOB. PROMISE! PLZ?

[Slii Arhem]

Victory's Secret

"Naw, it won't cost much more than a cuppa joe." Tallia reassures the Gobbun gently, watching her put the collar on carefully to make sure nothing goes awry. Unless something she is carrying messes with the enchantment, she'll find that over the course of about thirty seconds she increases in size to the desired amount. It was fast, but not instant, allowing her some measure of time to get used to the new perspective before throwing her into it. "An' it won't outright destroy the choker, but it'll wear it down. A good three or four reworks and the fabric will get too thin to use an' I'll replace it for no more than a repair." She explains before grinning at Kray despite the tall woman's expression. "So? Ya love it?"

Slightly Rainy Street

The insectile lass allows him to take her sign, curious as to what he'll do to it, and when he's finished she even leans into the pat a bit. When he begins to leave however and she begins fiddling with his work to see how well it holds up, she frowns under her scarf and hums audibly and in slight irritation at it. She begins manipulating the letters, hurrying after the Gobbun while humming the entire way to try and catch his attention. Should he turn around, he'll see that she's twisting segments of letters this way and that to try and get them to line up properly, but the umbrella was getting in the way a bit and making it awkward. Even so, eventually she stomps up in front of him, holding up the rearranged sign right in front of his face to get him to stop and read it.

NEED FIXINS? WILL DO GOOD JOB. PROMISE! PLZ?

Slightly Rainy Street

The gobbun harrumphs, but does stop in place, looking over her head down towards where he needs to go, "Look, unless you can make me one of these, I don't need anything fixed right now." He fishes in his deepest pocket and awkwardly pulls out the remains of a gear. Its teeth are worn from idiot workers trying to change gear while the cam was running at full speed, and most tellingly there's a hairline crack running from one side directly to the center hole. The gear is strangely shaped, with what remains of its teeth showing that they had been specially cut for purpose at one time, which was supposed to ensure that it would never slip. What it actually meant was that when someone muffed up it would almost always shatter at whatever its weakest point was, and would be hellishly difficult to replace.

"I do my own fixing jobs." Mostly, when he knows how and has the right parts, "But cheer up, I'm sure things will turn around soon hey?" He doesn't quite leave though, not wanting to storm off in the face of such a sad sight.

[UncleWolf]

Slightly Rainy Street

As soon as the Gobbun challenges her and shows the gear, the lass' covered arm snaps out and snatches it as she lets her sign drop to the street. All care about the rain is gone and her uncovered hand reaches up to pull her visor off so she can get a clearer look. Three distinctly odd things are revealed then. The first is that the hand of the arm she kept covered had been far more delicate than the normal looking one she had out. This one had much longer and thinner fingers with extra joints on them, designed for more delicate and precise work and the stronger and fumbling fingers of the other hand.

Second, she shows that she only has one eye. She'd normally have two, but a jagged black scar covers where her left one would be. And finally, the eye that remained was larger than a normal person's with three different irises that seem to focus on different points of the gear. Once she examines it for a few long seconds, she simply drops it to the ground and sits down on the sidewalk in the rain as well, completely ignoring it now that she'd been given purpose. Her poncho gets flipped up, revealing cargo shorts that have their pockets stuffed, as well as a vest with several full pockets as well. Unless her new friend catches the gear, it likely breaks on the ground but she ignores it as she pulls out a dark red putty with her grasping hand. It steams in the rain as she works it with her fingers, and he can smell and feel the heat from where he's at as it begins to activate. She wastes no time and as soon as it reaches a firmness she likes she pulls out a minuscule plasma cutter no larger than a pen and begins to carve it. As he watches, little chunks are shaved away piece by piece as she carves out a perfect replica of what the gear he showed her should have been. The little plasma cutter twirls in her longer fingers with ease, almost artfully, until the piece is done and she puts her gear away. Despite being soaked through, she seems happy enough to hum merrily while she pulls her visor back on and offers the gear to him. The putty she uses is still warm but seemed to be firming up to be about as strong as the gear was before, if not more so.

Once he takes it, she'll pick up the umbrella-sign and tweak the letters.

HEAD PATS HUGZ AND FOOD TIMES NOW?

[Deathkeeper]

[Victory's Secret]

Kray smiles at the shopkeep.
"Yes, ma'am. It fits better than I could have possibly imagined. It does seem to be less hot than I imagined." She is still worried about wearing multiple layers in the heat. Krayger has done marches in the summer in gear for MERC, they're not pleasant for anyone involved.
Still, she does (try to) give Eswil a small hug.
"You look wonderful."

[Slii Arhem]

Victory's Secret

"Naw, it won't cost much more than a cuppa joe." Tallia reassures the Gobbun gently, watching her put the collar on carefully to make sure nothing goes awry. Unless something she is carrying messes with the enchantment, she'll find that over the course of about thirty seconds she increases in size to the desired amount. It was fast, but not instant, allowing her some measure of time to get used to the new perspective before throwing her into it. "An' it won't outright destroy the choker, but it'll wear it down. A good three or four reworks and the fabric will get too thin to use an' I'll replace it for no more than a repair." She explains before grinning at Kray despite the tall woman's expression. "So? Ya love it?"

[Victory's Secret]

Kray smiles at the shopkeep.
"Yes, ma'am. It fits better than I could have possibly imagined. It does seem to be less hot than I imagined." She is still worried about wearing multiple layers in the heat. Krayger has done marches in the summer in gear for MERC, they're not pleasant for anyone involved.
Still, she does (try to) give Eswil a small hug.
"You look wonderful."

Victory's Secret

Eswill nods happily at the estimates as she grows, marveling at finally being at head height to the other patrons, more or less. And she could reach things! Without jumping or anything. Still, some questions need to be addressed, "I'd still like to know if anything I cast on or around it could mess up the enchantment. It'd be nice to make sure I don't break it trying to keep it from ripping." She's surprised by the sound of her own voice, slightly deeper from the increased size of her body. After a moment's consideration a smile breaks out on her face.

And then she's being hugged, and has to poke Kray in the muzzle in response, smirking the whole time, "What, just from being taller? I haven't even tried on the rest of the outfit yet! And you certainly clean up well for a temporary girl."

Slightly Rainy Street

As soon as the Gobbun challenges her and shows the gear, the lass' covered arm snaps out and snatches it as she lets her sign drop to the street. All care about the rain is gone and her uncovered hand reaches up to pull her visor off so she can get a clearer look. Three distinctly odd things are revealed then. The first is that the hand of the arm she kept covered had been far more delicate than the normal looking one she had out. This one had much longer and thinner fingers with extra joints on them, designed for more delicate and precise work and the stronger and fumbling fingers of the other hand.

Second, she shows that she only has one eye. She'd normally have two, but a jagged black scar covers where her left one would be. And finally, the eye that remained was larger than a normal person's with three different irises that seem to focus on different points of the gear. Once she examines it for a few long seconds, she simply drops it to the ground and sits down on the sidewalk in the rain as well, completely ignoring it now that she'd been given purpose. Her poncho gets flipped up, revealing cargo shorts that have their pockets stuffed, as well as a vest with several full pockets as well. Unless her new friend catches the gear, it likely breaks on the ground but she ignores it as she pulls out a dark red putty with her grasping hand. It steams in the rain as she works it with her fingers, and he can smell and feel the heat from where he's at as it begins to activate. She wastes no time and as soon as it reaches a firmness she likes she pulls out a minuscule plasma cutter no larger than a pen and begins to carve it. As he watches, little chunks are shaved away piece by piece as she carves out a perfect replica of what the gear he showed her should have been. The little plasma cutter twirls in her longer fingers with ease, almost artfully, until the piece is done and she puts her gear away. Despite being soaked through, she seems happy enough to hum merrily while she pulls her visor back on and offers the gear to him. The putty she uses is still warm but seemed to be firming up to be about as strong as the gear was before, if not more so.

Once he takes it, she'll pick up the umbrella-sign and tweak the letters.

HEAD PATS HUGZ AND FOOD TIMES NOW?

Slightly Rainy Street

Not being quick enough to anticipate the dropped gear, the gobbun will stick out his foot and let it bounce off the toe of his boot, softening its fall. It likely wouldn't have made much difference as even fractured steel of the quality used in heavy machinery wouldn't shatter from such a short fall, but he needs it as intact as possible for the machine shop.

... Or he would, if he hadn't seen an apparent miracle of engineering take place before his eyes. He carefully takes the completed putty gear from her hands and passes it from hand to hand as it cools. Once he deems it hard enough, he fishes around in his many pockets for a set of digital calipers. Being his spare set they're a bit banged up from being carried around everywhere, but he can get a rough measurement here and now before using a better cared for set back in his toolbox.

He measures the important parts of the gear. The radius, the gap between each tooth, and even does a quick eyeball estimate using one of the least banged up teeth to make sure it looks how it's supposed to. Then he compares it to the hastily scribbled down dimension he took back at the shop and shrugs, sighing heavily. "Miracles, standing out on street corners. Unbelievable." He gives the girl a sharp look, "What's the tensile strength of this stuff? And its wear resistance. Can it hold up to 350N of torque? I can't just install it in the machine without knowing it won't break again immediately because I picked the first person to offer me a gear up off the street." He really does want to just give in and do exactly that because he's already past his shift end and he hates dealing with the day shift on general principal, but it would be his head on the block if the job wasn't done right.

[Lord Magtok]

Gate

"That's something you might want to explain before drawing a gun next time, Eiffel 65!" Magtok, you're hanging around an angel, a half-elf, a blue alien man, and your own babbling clone brother. No one here has even the faintest chance of understanding that reference. Anyway, Magtok remains behind cover for now, because it's a hell of a lot safer than trying to intervene. It's probably better that we keep our offensive capabilities a secret for now, too. Gods only know how much time he has until some kind of spectacular super-crime happens, and Intersection assumes (probably rightly) that Magtok had something to do with it. A secret weapon only has the element of surprise once, and then it's just a weapon.

"Two riders were approaching, and the wind began to howl," Needs whispers. Michalson might feel his focus draining away, his muscles becoming sore, his sweat turning icy cold, as though he were running a marathon while trying to maintain that magic-dampening effect. The assault on his concentration only lasts for a moment, however. Just a curious probing of his defenses, an examination of his ability to hold it together. Needs isn't breaking the enchantment, just trying to see if he could.

[Morty]

[Gate]

Michalson leans against the truck, groaning. Why is it so hard all of a sudden? Needs' concentrated weirdness must be taking a toll, he supposes. At this rate he might have to drop it and try to use one of his gadgets to help Ithuriel, rather than keep Needs in check. Seems the effect was what Needs wanted.

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin is fed up with this angel. He's made it clear he doesn't want to hurt her. He just wanted to interview Magtok, but nothing ever goes according to plan. He ducks under Ithuriel's grab attempt and tries to stomp on her toes, a clearly nonlethal or even significantly harmful technique, but a painful one. "What're you made of? That should've stunned even a Celestial like you!"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

He doesn't want to hurt her. He's just shot at her twice.

Ithuriel blinks and shifts her feet as Ellrin tries to tread on them. Well, that was a bit pathetic? It's enough to make her stop trying to pummel him for a moment anyway. "You really don't get this, do you? You ignored my instructions, repeatedly. You threatened Needs who is acting weird, sure, but hasn't actually done anything harmful to anyone yet, pointed a weapon at him, defied my instructions again to put the weapon away and instead decided to start shooting at me. Your intentions really don't matter at this point, you're still under arrest."

[UncleWolf]

Victory's Secret

Talia gives Kray a small nod, turning to Eswil. "I...don't rightly know what sort of magic ya use, so I don't know if it will mess with the enchantment or not. It shouldn't, but if anything sparks up or gits disturbed, just let me know and I can try to tweak 'em." She promises before turning back to Kray. "Do either of ya need some summerwear while yer here? Jus' in case the change sticks around a bit longer than ya think?" She offers, having caught on that Kray's changed fairly recently.

Slightly Rainy Street

All of the questions being thrown her way makes the insect girl freeze up. After a moment she shifts from one foot to another, fidgeting and nervous as she rearranges her letters once more to talk to the Gobbun. When she's done, she holds up the sign, still looking incredibly nervous.

DUNNO. CAN STILL GETS HUGZ AT LEAST?

It seems she is more concerned about getting a hug rather than the promise of food.

[Deathkeeper]

[Victory's Secret]

Kray smiles bashfully at Eswil. "Well, as cute as you are, it's nice to not have to crane my neck. I don't like looking down on people. Plus, now I know what your chin looks like." she says, trying her best to lift the mood.
She looks incredibly embarrassed at the subject of summerwear.
"What like, swimsuits? Oh I um, I don't think I should be showing off..."

[Slii Arhem]

[Victory's Secret]

Kray smiles bashfully at Eswil. "Well, as cute as you are, it's nice to not have to crane my neck. I don't like looking down on people. Plus, now I know what your chin looks like." she says, trying her best to lift the mood.
She looks incredibly embarrassed at the subject of summerwear.
"What like, swimsuits? Oh I um, I don't think I should be showing off..."

Victory's Secret

Eswill is quick to fire back at the backhanded compliments Kray is giving her, addressing Talia directly, "That means she'd prefer to model something in a one piece before she works her way up to bikinis. I have my own summerwear, but I could look around for something new as well I suppose!" Can't have too many flash bits of clothing, not if you're a proper gobbun.

Victory's Secret

Talia gives Kray a small nod, turning to Eswil. "I...don't rightly know what sort of magic ya use, so I don't know if it will mess with the enchantment or not. It shouldn't, but if anything sparks up or gits disturbed, just let me know and I can try to tweak 'em." She promises before turning back to Kray. "Do either of ya need some summerwear while yer here? Jus' in case the change sticks around a bit longer than ya think?" She offers, having caught on that Kray's changed fairly recently.

Slightly Rainy Street

All of the questions being thrown her way makes the insect girl freeze up. After a moment she shifts from one foot to another, fidgeting and nervous as she rearranges her letters once more to talk to the Gobbun. When she's done, she holds up the sign, still looking incredibly nervous.

DUNNO. CAN STILL GETS HUGZ AT LEAST?

It seems she is more concerned about getting a hug rather than the promise of food.

Slightly Rainy Street

The engineer (of a sorts) sighs and rubs at the base of an ear, "Yeah, of course, fine. But I need to make sure this won't break before I can get you some food. C'mere" The ensuing attempt at a hug is awkward but sincere, and he has to bend a bit at the knees to really make it work due to the height difference, but as he put a hand to the back of the insectile girl's head, she can feel how warm he is despite the rain. Being a naturally warm species* and having just come from a very hot work environment helped with that quite well.

Spoiler: *

Show

Some of the gobbun's most successful natural predators have adapted to hunt them by seeing or smelling heat, like the great serpentine monstrosities they refer to as The Crumbling Ones. These burrowing snakes are constantly shedding old scales as they dig rather than shedding their skins whole, leading to their moniker. They tend to lurk in warren walls and crash through the surfaces into passing gobbuns, knowing precisely when one is near by the higher than normal body heat they emit. Gobbuns have responded to this by trapping sections of tunnel and using specially hooded lanterns on poles as bait, to limited success.

"There, hugs for now. But now I have to go see that machinist and have him test your work. You can come with me. If it holds up, I have to put it in the machine at work and then clock out. After that, I can get you a meal at least as thanks. Deal?" He doesn't immediately let go of the hug either. It actually feels kind of nice, and he can't really remember the last time he hugged someone outside of his immediate family. Even then, it must have been years.