VVVVVigil: Valorous Veterans Vanquishing Venal Vermin

[Morty]

[Evening - Command Center]

An alarm has rung out by the time Harley reaches the command centre, but it's hard to say if anyone has turned the mirror around and freed Awen just yet. She will see Wenomir emerge form the command building, wearing full armour and with an axe on his back. It looks like an entirely normal and mundane bearded axe...

"Awen? What's going on there? It sounds like we have an intruder," he says sharply.

[5a Violista]

[Skybase - Stretching/by the track]

"He said..." Awen thinks back, trying to find a polite way to phrase it.

She gives up, and looks embarrassed thinking about it. "W-well, you know how guys can be," she says, in the end.

The witch gets to answering her other question: "No, I've never heard anybody else speak that language. Not really sure where I learned it, either, but no you probably wouldn't understand him," she says, missing the point of the question.

The fox continues to be pet.


[Evening - Command Center]

Oh, great: it's Wenomir. The young woman stops to quickly greet Wenomir and answer his question.

Awen...that's the name of the woman whose appearance she is borrowing. Even though Harley did not get to hear Awen's voice in enough circumstances to mimic it perfectly, she knows that the witch stammers in normal situations and is hesitates in combat...and so a flustered and panicking tone would probably fit her.

HarleyAwen points down where she just came from. "Y-yes," she says. "I thought I took him down, but then he distracted me and I lost him. That's w-why I came to see if I could track him with the computers."

Now, if she just left it here, Harley would probably have an opportunity to go in and check out what info they have on these skin-walkers...but this opportunity is too useful to miss. Having the leader tell her what she wants to know would be much more effective than trying to figure out their computer system. So...she quickly interjects (before he has the time to run off), "Shapeshifter. I think maybe he was one of those flesh-beast shape shifters."

...Hopefully now his response will let Harley know what Vigil knows about them and whether she has to be worried about Vigil.

[Morty]

[Evening - Command Center]

Wenomir looks at "Awen" for a long while... enough for the shapeshifter to possibly start worrying.

"Do you know how it got past Lapis?" he asks, evidently expecting Awen to know who that is.

[Lord Magtok]

[Training Grounds - Enter the Dragon]

"It's been known to happen," Calm Reed says, as she paces around St. Lazarus and corrects her stance or movements here or there. "One of the Earth Dragon techniques I know can damage a magic weapon, but it's not easy. And I've never heard of it working on armour, even in the hands of a grandmaster. I've heard of Anathema tricks being able to snatch away weapons out of an Exalt's hand, as well. Or a raging Lunar Anathema stripping away armour in a single savage strike. But those require removing the artifact altogether."

"The City of Inside had a different government when I was growing up. An empire, which had all kinds of powered armor and energy weapons. One day some kind of accident happens, we still don't know exactly what it was, and most of the Empire's forces just vanish, all at once," Saint Lazarus begins, as she continues to beat some innocent training dummy senseless, clearly going somewhere with this story, though it's not exactly clear where just yet.

"I remember my parents were really scared when they heard the news on TV, so I wasn't allowed out of the house to hang out with my friends or even go to school for a whole week. So of course the local terrorist organization, AMEN, they hear about this too, and see this as a great opportunity to finally take over the city and rule over everyone with an iron fist. They march a small army to what's left of the government, the Remnant, and man, Remnant might have a strong defensive position, but AMEN's got all kinds of crazy power on its side. It looks like Magtok and Gordon are going to be running things in Inside after the battle is over." Saint Lazarus pauses for a moment to catch her breath. She doesn't need to, seeing as oxygen doesn't really do anything for her anymore, but some living habits are especially hard to break.

"It was a bloodbath. Not for the government, for AMEN. The Imperial Remnant had a secret weapon, a sort of reality denial bomb, which made everything that stayed in its radius totally mundane. There was no magic in that space, nothing that required even an ounce of the supernatural to justify its own existence. Magtok couldn't fly or use his ray guns, AMEN's mages were worse than useless, the artifacts everyone prepared were just clumsy bludgeons, and their dragon had to contend with his huge body suddenly being unable to support its own weight. If I was there, as I am now, I'd just be a corpse lying on the ground, and your master would've probably been killed by his own armor," the ghoul knight explains, finally getting to the point of her story as her open palm buries itself in the face of a mannequin.

"As far as I know, it was a one-of-a-kind weapon and we'll never see it again, but it's scary to think that everything that makes you more than mortal, everything special and magical and superhuman, someone could just take it away like that-" Saint Lazarus snaps her fingers and half of all life in the Nexus is turned to dust. "-and you'd have to either run away like AMEN did, or just know how to fight without breaking any of the rules, and keep on going anyway."

[Zefir]

"Alright. Will you follow me down to the village so I can show you?"
Alice stays in the lower village not for the privacy exactly, but just because she's bigger than the average person and needs more space. The garden outside is full of blue flowers that make the place seem particularly calm and peaceful.

Inside the tables are stacked with electronics equipment and mechanical devices, many of which whirr to life upon detecting Alice's presence. She sets the javelins down by the door. Near the aforementioned gun, as it happens.
"The drones you have experience with, what are they like? Fast and fragile, you said? I was thinking I might be able to protect them some with my shields. The real concern is keeping them controlled and coordinated when we're all moving around in the thick of battle."

[Training Grounds - Somewhere Around]

Mia nods and follows along. She takes a note at the blooming garden, but doesn't mention it. She is here for something else.

When they enter Mia first takes a walk around inside, going with her hands over the gun and machines that lay around. She uses her skill to communicate with them which is just something like a checkup. She should get the response which one works and what those miss who don't work.

"The smaller they are the more fragil they have been." Mia replies."Most I build where made for spying or just observing. I guess the materials I had at that time were to heavy. Which resulted in them made of weaker materials whcih break fast in combat. In my world there was only one material light enougth for a drohne and strong enougth to withstand a tank missile."

[Morty]

[Training Grounds - Enter the Dragon]

Calm Reed listens to St. Laz's story, first perplexed, then realizing the point of it. Her first instinct is to disbelieve it, but the ghoul knight is clearly sincere. Besides, what reason would she have to lie?

"That's... hard to believe. A reality denial bomb, you said? It had to be. No actual artifice would possibly work on my elemental Essence, your condition, and all those other powers and devices you mentioned." She strokes her chin. "So I would have been rendered a mortal woman by it. Hopefully not a seventy-four years old mortal," she adds, inadvertently answering St. Laz's earlier speculation about her age. "The creators of the weapon drew a line in the sand denoting what's 'normal' and nullified everything outside it. It's a relief that it was apparently only usable once. I hope I would have held my ground with martial arts even without Essence, but there's a good chance my armor would have pinned me to the ground like a fish."

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir looks straight at Cassandra, studying her. She might remember how difficult it is to hide anything from him, and she's not managing it herself right now. Of course, Wenomir is slowly realizing that it's not so much that Cassandra is hiding things from him, but that she herself doesn't know them.

"Of course it does," he says, slowly. "I'm not a grudge, or a hatred. She loved me. If you took what was worth saving from her, what we had together is there. She always had trouble with connecting to people, but she opened herself up to me." As he says it, something else dawns on him. Something hauntingly familiar. "...but before that, every time she felt emotional or vulnerable, she withdrew and threw up walls of indifference around her. Just as you are doing right now."

[Wenomir's House]

"Don't presume too much of me," says Cass, snapping a little. "She loved you, and that means... something... to me."

[Morty]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir takes a deep breath, looking Cass in the eyes. She is attractive, he has to admit. Beautiful, even. But this isn't the important thing right now.

"I know. You wouldn't be here otherwise. But I still don't know why you're here, exactly. Do you?" He gets up and paces up and down the room a bit. "I've never really told anyone about this. I've only told... her, and even then not much. But I will tell you this now, because it relates to you. I also have memories that don't feel like my own. When I was a demon hunter... I don't remember all of it, or most of it. What I do remember feels like watching someone else use my body." He shakes his head. "I know it isn't close to the same thing. But it's the closest I can get. And I think... I can't blame you for running away from the battle for Vigil. I ran too, when I woke up knee-deep in blood of innocent people I'd murdered. That's when I started feeling like myself again." He turns back towards her. "But eventually, I had to stop running. And I thought that's why you're here."

[Shadowcaller]

Firing Range

Blanche pauses for a moment, and her shoulders tense a little. "I'd really prefer to use something else, okay?" It's meant to be an end of discussion sort of statement, terse and assertive, but that effect is undercut with a slight tinge of anxiety. She is quick to move on. "But sure, I can lend a hand." She isn't too sure about the idea that bullets will do such a great job at dispelling curses or spooking away evil spirits, but she was pretty sure Anika was working with some sort of spiritual magics. She probably knows a little better than her with that sort of thing, right?

Firing Range

Anika let's go of Blanche's shoulders and displays her palms. "Alright, alright, I get it. I've seen that reaction before, you don't need to say a thing." She steps away. "So suit up and we'll go and kick those snakes collective butts. Bring plenty of guns, preferably ones for a lot of small targets and then we'll get rocking. We could do the bear ride maneuver, awesome!"

[Recaiden]

Mia nods and follows along. She takes a note at the blooming garden, but doesn't mention it. She is here for something else.

When they enter Mia first takes a walk around inside, going with her hands over the gun and machines that lay around. She uses her skill to communicate with them which is just something like a checkup. She should get the response which one works and what those miss who don't work.

"The smaller they are the more fragil they have been." Mia replies."Most I build where made for spying or just observing. I guess the materials I had at that time were to heavy. Which resulted in them made of weaker materials whcih break fast in combat. In my world there was only one material light enougth for a drohne and strong enougth to withstand a tank missile."

The gun is clean and well-maintained. Healthy, as it were. But like Alice said, it doesn't get used much. The radio is about to need new batteries and the oven's hinges are rusting. The computers are all in tip-top shape.

"I wouldn't expect it to stand up to a tank missile! That's for much bigger machines to try. ... But what was this material?" Alice asks, amazed. She really doesn't know a ton about different materials. Just enough to tell them apart for finding replacement parts.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Commanders' Village]

"We'll let the medics be the judge of that." Cessie remarks as she keeps insisting on them getting to the medical station. "Let them at least heal your arm before you go anywhere, I won't have you return armless back to Intersection. Angel regeneration or not." She raises her hand. "And I won't burn any clothes, or any part of you. I promise. I just want you to get checked on. I admit that I got carried away in the heat of things, and for that I apologize." Well, unless she was infected of course. Then she would have to go back on that promise.
However, she would argue that she made that promise to Ithuriel the person, not a facestealer pretending to be Ithuriel.

Either way, unless Ithuriel continues protesting, they will arrive at the medical station. However, the medics look quite stumped (get it?) when they see that the angel is missing a lot of her arm. They could mend it but they couldn't give her a new arm. How in the world had she even lost it in the fist place? Had she and the commander decided to duke it out?

The sorceress frowns as she looks between the gathered medics. "Where is Anika and Blanche? I called in a emergency, they should be here." As it turns out, Blanche was not at the base right now and as for Anika...

An all too familiar falcon swoops in faster than any bird had the right to fly and landing is Anika, her teal-orange hair and the underwear cladding her body still dripping with water. "I'm here, I'm here!" She frantically looks between them, either ignoring or missing Cessie's deepening frown, until she spots Ithuriel's missing arm. "Whoa! Sick!" The druid gestures for Ithuriel and then for a nearby seat. "Sit down, dude. You must be pretty hardcore just walking around like that. I'll have you healed in no time though."

"Be careful, it was an infection that caused that." Cessie remarks, not even reprimanding Anika for her almost complete lack of clothing due to the situation. She must be taking this seriously.

[Commanders' Village -> Medical Station]

Ithuriel somewhat reluctantly goes along with Cessie...right up until Anika appears. Which is just one too many things for Ithuriel to stay quiet about. As soon as the falcon lands and transforms into the familiar, unprofessional elf, Ithuriel jumps up. "Oh no, no no no! Cessie, I'm sorry, but you've seen what this stuff is capable of and now you expect me to be treated by the person who caused me to come here to begin with to voice my concerns?" She backs off from everyone in the room, raising a hand, causing a shimmering, glowing circle to form in the air.

Seems the angel's had enough.

"I think you've made it quite clear that VIGIL isn't going to show any more care or discretion in their actions. Fortunately for you, I don't have the authority to terminate your cooperation agreement with Intersection, but at this point I'm concerned that your "solution" to the problems I've raised will just involve you setting fire to Intersection officers, like you nearly did to me! I'm leaving." She steps forward, vanishes, and a moment later the circle fades away.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Training Grounds - Elves]

Wenomir smiles as he raises an eyebrow. Rain certainly seems awestruck.

"Some have said so," he admits. "Others have described me far less flatteringly. Still, we've never had a bard singing our stories. Maybe it's something we could use. Especially after that television show. Though I would rather one of us heard any of the songs first, you understand."

[Training Grounds - Elves]

"I thought the show looked pretty cool." Anika claims, which probably isn't what Wenomir wanted to hear. "But I bet Rain could make us a even cooler theme-song though. She could even include me in it. I mean, I wasn't in the show since its so old. It would mostly be about you and the other commander though." A beat. "Just... more respectful and all that."

[Training Grounds - Elves]

"There's another commander?" Asks Rain, somehow managing to retain enough focus to hear the words being spoken, instead of just ogling Wenomir. "Who are they? What are they like?"

They must be as impressive as Wenomir!

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir takes a deep breath, looking Cass in the eyes. She is attractive, he has to admit. Beautiful, even. But this isn't the important thing right now.

"I know. You wouldn't be here otherwise. But I still don't know why you're here, exactly. Do you?" He gets up and paces up and down the room a bit. "I've never really told anyone about this. I've only told... her, and even then not much. But I will tell you this now, because it relates to you. I also have memories that don't feel like my own. When I was a demon hunter... I don't remember all of it, or most of it. What I do remember feels like watching someone else use my body." He shakes his head. "I know it isn't close to the same thing. But it's the closest I can get. And I think... I can't blame you for running away from the battle for Vigil. I ran too, when I woke up knee-deep in blood of innocent people I'd murdered. That's when I started feeling like myself again." He turns back towards her. "But eventually, I had to stop running. And I thought that's why you're here."

[Wenomir's House]

Cass is silent for a moment. She looks... guarded, still, but seems to have been calmed a little by Wenomir's words.

"So... now what?"

[Morty]

[Training Grounds - Elves]

"That would be Cessie Mithar. She and I go way back," Wenomir says. "She's a powerful sorceress and a good friend. I wouldn't have kept Vigil together without her," he adds frankly.

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir sighs. She asks him this question, after breaking into his house? Riddle. He turns to look at Cass, then steps closer. Is it the memory of Kr that draws him to this woman? Or did he just develop a thing for elves at some point?

"I don't know. You say you're not the woman I loved, and I'm not sure if it's true, but... there's enough of her in you that I want to try... something. I don't want us to just be strangers and I want to see who you really are now. But only if you want it too."

[Lord Magtok]

[Training Grounds - Enter the Dragon]

Calm Reed listens to St. Laz's story, first perplexed, then realizing the point of it. Her first instinct is to disbelieve it, but the ghoul knight is clearly sincere. Besides, what reason would she have to lie?

"That's... hard to believe. A reality denial bomb, you said? It had to be. No actual artifice would possibly work on my elemental Essence, your condition, and all those other powers and devices you mentioned." She strokes her chin. "So I would have been rendered a mortal woman by it. Hopefully not a seventy-four years old mortal," she adds, inadvertently answering St. Laz's earlier speculation about her age. "The creators of the weapon drew a line in the sand denoting what's 'normal' and nullified everything outside it. It's a relief that it was apparently only usable once. I hope I would have held my ground with martial arts even without Essence, but there's a good chance my armor would have pinned me to the ground like a fish."

Seventy-four, wow. That's fairly young for some sort of immortal monk lady who probably won't look old until she's in her three-hundreds or something. At least, that's what Saint Lazarus assumes to be the case. Maybe Calm Reed can make it to a thousand years if she doesn't get killed by an even stronger Exalted or sinister demon monster along the way.

"It's nice that the Nexus has a little bit of everything, but bad people have a little bit of everything, too," the ghoul remarks, throwing another set of elbow strikes at the training dummy. "Gordon was a big powerful dragon, so he probably thought he'd never see anything that could challenge him. Nothing he wouldn't understand how to deal with, anyway." The message should be clear. Saint Lazarus might be intimidated by Calm Reed's power, and it might trivialize most things the ghoul has seen around here in her lifetime, but by no means is an Exaltation reason to believe oneself invincible and untouchable. Something weird that Calm Reed doesn't know how to deal with will surface eventually. Best be prepared for such a shock, while you still can.

[Arkhosia]

Firing Range

Anika let's go of Blanche's shoulders and displays her palms. "Alright, alright, I get it. I've seen that reaction before, you don't need to say a thing." She steps away. "So suit up and we'll go and kick those snakes collective butts. Bring plenty of guns, preferably ones for a lot of small targets and then we'll get rocking. We could do the bear ride maneuver, awesome!"

Firing Range

There is a moment where Blanche leans into hands that aren't there, and her ears wilt slightly in disappointment before getting to her feet and slipping her top back on. "Sounds like a plan!" She slips on a smile, before pausing. "Wait, bear ride maneuver?"

[5a Violista]

[Evening - Command Center]

Sure, "Awen" starts worrying a little bit:this much scrutiny heightens the chance Wenomir notices the scar between the veils - which Awen doesn't have, but this copy does...but this also tells her some things that she wanted to know. See? Staying with him was beneficial, and still probably easier than going into the room to figure out their sorting system and info system.

In fact, his question tells her nearly everything she considered a must-know upon coming here. To be honest, she could just leave right now and be satisfied in what she learned; everything Wenomir says from now on is just a bonus.

First, what does this tell her about those flesh-parasite shapeshifting things? Since Wenomir doesn't sound as worried as one would expect if they had gotten in, there must be some way to detect them or, at least, fight them off. Harley Awen begins considering what sort of thing she could do to coax that answer out of him. Maybe she could pretend to be one of those parasite-things? Then he'd be forced to use the detecting or defense method.

Second, there's a good chance they have some sort of specialized detection and defense for them. It didn't go off for her, and Wenomir's not doing anything about yet, so...now she knows there's probably no immediate need for Harley to destroy their information and/or interfere with their investigation. Well, she's not one-hundred percent on them having a defense. Maybe she'll have to ask a clarifying question, and could bargain with info on Awen's status and what medical things could be done to maximize her survival.

Third, there seems to be someone here named Lapis who is an expert on them - unless the name is mad-up to trick her. That seems likely; however, because the best lies need to be based in some sort of truth (if there's nobody here who is an 'expert' on them, then that question would be more easily seen through by an invader), it's very likely there's still somebody who knows a lot about them.

So, rather than worrying about losing her disguise, this 'Awen' considers what would be the best way to get more info out of Wenomir, beyond what he's already told her. Definitely worth being caught out if she gets the right info.

Harley shrugs and smiles, not particularly answering his question in hopes he'll voluntarily/accidentally spill more info that she's looking for. "He had gotten past me, I-I had only noticed it because my fox noticed something first."

However, considering she's not answering his question, there's the chance she'll immediately have to defend herself. Along her spine, but still covered by her clothes, a sword starts to be pushed out of her skin. In addition, her arms start to toughen up a little. Anyway, she asks a question, hoping Wenomir will reveal something in spite of his growing suspicion: "Shouldn't we go looking for those things? That one could have been a distraction to allow another one to get through. Unless you think our system could easily track any strays around."

...
She seriously hopes Wenomir is the kind of person to answer questions first, instead of just stoically attacking.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds - Enter the Dragon]

"Point well made," Calm Reed admits, after a moment of thoughtful silence. "It's easy for us Exalted to become haughty, like my brother. Even those of us in the Order. If I had found myself on the receiving end of that weapon somehow, it's likely I would have been blind-sided and easily destroyed."

[Evening - Command Center]

If Harley was hoping to gain some insight as to whether Wenomir believes her, she'll be disappointed. His face is a mask and his eyes are unmoving.

"Of course," he just says. "Take me to where you met that thing and we'll figure it out from there."

Nothing more said, just this one order.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir sighs. She asks him this question, after breaking into his house? Riddle. He turns to look at Cass, then steps closer. Is it the memory of Kr that draws him to this woman? Or did he just develop a thing for elves at some point?

"I don't know. You say you're not the woman I loved, and I'm not sure if it's true, but... there's enough of her in you that I want to try... something. I don't want us to just be strangers and I want to see who you really are now. But only if you want it too."

[Wenomir's House]

"Are you asking me on a-?" Cass says, shocked. "...You know, it's not fair, with you looking all... like that." She quips, giving Wenomir a pointed glance up and down.
"This is... complicated. And probably a bad idea. But if you want for us to get to know each other a little better... I'd be okay with giving it a try."

[5a Violista]

[Evening - leaving the Command Center]

Well.

...

That was pretty clever. Unlike before, this time he managed to say absolutely nothing that she wanted to know.
Harley's estimation of how skilled Wenomir is slightly increases.

'Awen' nods. "Of course," she says.

To her, there's now two currently-relevant questions: (1) That fox that left - how long before it comes back? It will probably bring back reinforcements or something - on the one hand, other people might be easier to let info loose. On the other hand, more people just makes it harder to get away. (2) Should she bring him to the actual spot, or somewhere else? Bringing him some other hallway would have the downside of "he'll probably just say 'nah, that's a lie, there's no point in saying anything else'". Bringing him to the actual spot may be more beneficial, but could lead to him turning over the mirror and seeing the actual Awen.

...
But, if he lifts up the mirror, then with the actual Awen there, suffocating, Harley could strike a bargain - antivenom for the info she wants. Of course, they could just use healing magic or whatever...but magic's basically cheating anyway. However, the faster they get there, the more tempting the antivenom offer would be: Wenomir wouldn't know how long until somebody with antivenom healing gets there.

So, she decides. She quickly takes Wenomir to the spot where the battle happened. She doesn't run, just regular jogs. (...a jog like that, especially after running to the Command Center, would have left the actual Awen pretty winded and tired.)

"Here it was," she says, pointing down the hallway. The cameras have been taken out by bony spear things. There's a little bit of cloth and blood on the floor. And near those, there's an upside-down hand-mirror on the floor. 'Awen' points at the blood and cloth. "That's where the fighting happened, then he ran off that way." She points down the hallway they just came from. "See anything that tells us if it's that kind of creature? Should we turn on high alert or lockdown or something?"

[Morty]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir puts his hands on his hips and looks at Cass with an amused expression.

"If you didn't want to catch me like this, you shouldn't have snuck up on me at this hour," he quips back. "It might well be a bad idea, but if we don't try, we'll spend the rest of our lives wondering. And lately I've learned to just go with what I want instead of what I think I should do. You might still remember how stiff I used to be."

[Evening - leaving the Command Center]

Wenomir seems able to keep up with "Awen's" jog just by walking briskly, somehow. He remains entirely silent throughout the trek. Once there, he surveys the scene closely, before uttering another short order.

"Cast a fire spell of any kind at the blood."

[5a Violista]

[Evening - Interior Hallway]

"Awen" mentally fist-pumps. Yes! That's helpful. Maybe fire's a way to detect them, which proves it's not what she thought. "Of course," she says. She'll ask why after lighting it on fire, that way it'll be less suspicious. But...then again, if she's trying to trick Wenomir into thinking she's one of these skinwalkers, then maybe lighting it on fire would prove she's not one.

...
Or. Maybe it's all a ruse to leave her open? And then Wenomir would strike?

Harley walks towards the blood, first thinking about all the options she has to light things on fire, and then she thinks about the kinds of magic that the girl Awen used. Extending hair. Stabbing herself to create a magical link. Exhaling to suffocate someone...shoot. Maybe she should have taken longer to defeat Awen, if only to better mimic how she uses magic.

Harley's near the blood now. If Harley were that frail witch, how would she light something on fire...? Oh! That's an idea.
"Awen" spits onto the ground near the blood. Except, instead of spit, it's something that looks and smells a bit like...gasoline. Hmm...how else can she make it look like magic? "Awen" then circles around to the other side - mostly so she can keep an eye on Wenomir in case he, as she's suspecting, is preparing for a sneak attack, and then exhales some sort of powdery cloud around the hallway.

She backs up away from the powder, blood, and gas - being careful not to step on the mirror - backing up to avoid catching herself on fire.
Then, finally: she holds her left hand out, and snaps, launching something at the cloud of powder. It ignites, and...FWOOOOOSH! That part of the hallway goes up in flame...and then the flame goes out nearly as quickly as it appeared.

Ha. Looks just like magic, right?

Harley's pretty proud of herself. Pretending to be magic-users is hard, but hopefully this was convincing enough.
Now, time for the clarifying question: "Why fire, though?"

[Morty]

[Evening - Interior Hallway]

Wenomir... smiles. It looks like another scar opening on his face, shifting the rest of them in an ugly pattern. Without moving from his spot, he asks:

"Where is Awen?"

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's House]

"Well... I'll let you finish drying off, then." Says, Cass, sitting back down. Was she standing before? Did she stand up before?

Of course she did. If she didn't, how could she be sitting back down now?

"And... find clothes, I suppose."

Though that's optional.

[Morty]

[Wenomir's House]

"Yes, I do need to dry my hair off," Wenomir says. "Go downstairs to the living room, I'll see you there."

Provided Cass does just that, she'll find herself in a spacious room with two sofas, a low tea-table and a fine carpet. It doesn't look like the place sees much use, though. Wenomir joins her soon, his hair dry... but still not wearing a shirt.

Just to get it out of the way, did you have an exit strategy of some sort here?" Normally he'd expect so, but Cass clearly didn't think this through very well. "It might be better for you to leave in the morning, regardless. Would be easier to explain."

[5a Violista]

[Evening - Interior Hallway]

Awen Harley laughs...even though he still didn't answer her questions.

"Really? That's all you're going to say?" she asks. Now's the time to see if she can get more: "How about a trade, would you be willing to do that?"

...she's gotta hurry before others show up, so "Awen" bends down and picks up the mirror. Somehow, the original Awen "falls out" of the mirror, onto the floor. How she managed to fit inside a mirror...nobody knows. The actual Awen is now lying on the ground, unable to decide whether she needs to wheeze or hyperventilate so she somehow manages to do both at the same time.

Harley-Awen stands back up, smiles, and then creepily licks her lips. With Awen's face, it looks pretty creepy. "What would you be willing to do, to know what I used on her?" she asks.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's House]

"Yes, I do need to dry my hair off," Wenomir says. "Go downstairs to the living room, I'll see you there."

Provided Cass does just that, she'll find herself in a spacious room with two sofas, a low tea-table and a fine carpet. It doesn't look like the place sees much use, though. Wenomir joins her soon, his hair dry... but still not wearing a shirt.

Just to get it out of the way, did you have an exit strategy of some sort here?" Normally he'd expect so, but Cass clearly didn't think this through very well. "It might be better for you to leave in the morning, regardless. Would be easier to explain."

[Wenomir's House]

Cass does indeed do as Wenomir requests.

...
It's novel, I know. Look, just... just don't get too used to it.

She's just kind of staring at the table as Wenomir steps in, though she immediately turns to look at him, her gaze lowering briefly as she notices that he's still not wearing a shirt, though to her credit, she very quickly has the good grace to return her eyes to Wenomir's face. Dammit girl, you can't keep getting distracted like this!

"I... suppose I wouldn't mind staying the night." She says, sidestepping the point about her exit strategy. She hesitates briefly. "But... what kind of explanation, exactly, were you intending on giving?"

[Morty]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir leans back comfortably on the couch opposite to Cassandra's.

"Probably something about how you had to deliver a discreet message to me, or something. Implying that I'm the commander so everything is under control. It's a perk of being known as stoic, honest as a rock and very hard to fool, I suppose. And less awkward than if you were seen sneaking out."

[Evening - Interior Hallway]

((Will post here later.))

[Shadowcaller]

[Training Grounds - Elves]

"If you ask me, she has a bit of a stick up her butt." Anika remarks with perhaps a bit too much frankness. Something she seems to be trying to back-peddle on the very next moment. "But she's really cool too... with her fire-magic she melts demon by pointing at them." The druid nods as she is now avoiding Wenomir's gaze by looking at Rain.

[Commanders' Village]

Anika blinks, she had done what? "Whoa, what a bitch!"She exclaims before Ithuriel is even fully gone.
That only earns her a scolding stare from Cessie however, who at least wait until the portal fully close before she speaks up. "I won't accept such language from you, miss Sunfletcher. I'm going to discuss this with commander Wenomir."
"But, she-"
Cessie raised her hand to quiet the druid, making the much taller woman glare back at the sorceress in annoyance.
"She was right, this has been a utter disaster and I'm going to make sure it won't happen again. Until further notice, you are only to enter the city of Inside under the most extreme of circumstances, is that understood?"
"Bwa-" Anika could barely keep her words straight, looking utterly bewildered at Cessie. "She's the one acting crazy! Am I supposed to quietly kill the screaming monsters? That makes no sense!"
Cessie couldn't look more unimpressed however. "There is no discussion to be had here, go and get dressed before you further embarrass yourself."

The kaldo'rei frowned and then rolled her ember-glowing eyes. "Fine, whatever." And then she strutted away, probably walking with more sway than she would if only as an act of defiance.

Then medical team were left with a almost overbearing tension in the air that didn't ease up even after Anika left as their commander still appeared furious. Though it was hard to tell if it was Anika or herself that she was most angry at.
"Go back to your duties, and have at least two people keep an eye on my office. We will have to refurnish it now."
Then, to their relief, she left as well...

Firing Range

"Yeah, its exactly what it sounds like. I turn into a bear and someone climbs onto me. Then we'll ride into battle. It's really cool, most people won't see it coming, especially not some dumb snakes." Then she suddenly runs off. "But I'll meet you here in a half hour! Remember, lots of neat guns!"

---

If Blanche does indeed return to the firing range after thirty minutes, she'll only discover that the druid is late. About ten minutes late in fact as she eventually comes hurrying towards her carrying a bunch of branches and bark pieces in her arms. "Got the reagents we need!" Where in the world did she get all that...?

[Ashen Lilies]

[Wenomir's House]

Wenomir leans back comfortably on the couch opposite to Cassandra's.

"Probably something about how you had to deliver a discreet message to me, or something. Implying that I'm the commander so everything is under control. It's a perk of being known as stoic, honest as a rock and very hard to fool, I suppose. And less awkward than if you were seen sneaking out."

[Wenomir's House]

"...oh, yes. Good thinking." She says. She folds and then unfolds her hands, patting one of her legs.

Wenomir's keen self-deprecation seems to have gone over her head.

[Elf Scene of Elfitude]

((Will post here later.))

[Murkus]

[Looking for Wenomir]

Adir returns to VIGIL, again in his gear, looking for Wenomir to see what kind of team he's managed to assemble. Hopefully they've got at least a volunteer or two.