Planeside

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Courtyard => Keiko Room]

Do the heads all nod together, or separately?

Cleo nods her one head.
"Right! They do different things for you, and dragons don't ever have to get their pearls. We'll have to keep our eyes open for your quest."

"Less stuck than you were yesterday though, huh?" Is that typical of the gods? Just sticking people in one shape by accident?

"Lead the way."

Cleo will follow wherever that is, not quite overflowing with her questions, things she hadn't bothered wondering before because they were too frivolously impossible. One couldn't say Keiko's in a thought-space no one has been in, but it's certainly long-unoccupied.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko nods, recovering quickly.

Yes! That would be awesome!

Now just because Keiko doesn't think it was on purpose doesn't mean that's true . All Keiko really knows is that Inari said "you shall remain this way", and Keiko pretty much has. In reality, Keiko is mistaken: Inari meant "mortal" and Keiko's form was simply set when she became incarnated - she was using her feral shape, so that's what she "really" is now. She could use her ball to shift back to a shadow Vulpan if she thought about it.

Moving on: Keiko's "room" is better than many apartments and has a nice sitting room, kitchenette, breakfast nook, dressing area, walk-in closet, bathroom, and separate bedroom proper.

There's an outfit folded up on the sofa, and she heads over to get it. Turning back to Cleo with a naughty wink as she takes off her belt.

Oooh! Now you've seen me completely naked!

Not that she was wearing anything when she was a dragon, but eh. Naturally, she talks as she gets dressed

Ok: so, world history as far as I care:

Spoiler

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The world of Erda was created by the god Maluhkar who fashioned the world himself for reasons that are still unclear. He placed his favored children, the dwarves, in a great cavern city at the north pole and to all appearances abandoned the surface. So other gods saw this cool new world and brought their own followers: several different branches of humans, three types of elves, gnomes, trolls, orcs, goblins, troglodytes, dragons, the cat-like felians, the wolf-like lupans, and many varities of plants, animals, birds, and fish. Only one of them decided create anything new there: Inari! She created Vulpans especially for Erda.
The first years of the world were peaceful, but a lot of those groups really don't like each other very much and wars started to break out. The messengers of the gods began to quarrel directly with each other, and powerful servants fought directly with mortals and each other. We call these days the Dawn Wars. Orochi was one of the spirits that came to the world back then and a vixen sorceress named Chiyoko no Mae somehow learned Daddy's name and called him, seeking power. Not really sure how it all worked out, but they ended up having six kids:
Tamamo was born in the year 590, Noriko in 595, and Hoshiko in 612, Yumiko in 625, Tsukiko was born in 647, and I was born in 656. For reference, it's now 5756. Most of my older sisters all married and had several children each.
We really didn't like the gods in the area we lived: the Celestial Bureaucracy of Heaven is a stuffy, opinionated, and unreasonable bunch of jerkfaces. So we started leading the Vulpans who lived in our area: banding them together and making a coherent people out of them. And leading them away from the worship of the members of the Bureaucracy, particularly the Jade Emperor.
He's the worst of the lot, and got really mad at us. So as things with the Dawn Wars got really bad, the Emperor declared war directly on my family and attacked: decreeing genocide against our people. They kept this secret from Inari, and sent super-dork Karai Tenjin to lead the forces coming to kill us all. They invited Daddy to a banquet, poisoned and murdered him. His spirit was banished and unable to return in physical form ever again.
Anyway, by the time Tenjin attacked in 672 there were fourteen grandchildren. But he wasn't allowed to kill mortals, so overall most of our family survived: they were taken in by local red-fox Vulpans and sheltered. The wars came to a head in 675, and ended with Malukhar imposing the Non-Interference Treaty: banning gods from the world entirely and sorely limiting the activities of their Messengers outside of a temple. Our line continued, mingled with the red foxes and over time the dark fur was lost and most of the abilities faded.

It stayed that way for a long time.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"This is some 'room'."

Cleo chuckles. "In both shapes now."

She leans against the sofa and doesn't watch Keiko get changed. That would be rude. Just looks about the suite.

Then a whole lot of words. Careful note is made of the names. Wait. Keiko said 'five kids' and then listed six people. She shakes her head at the account of the war and the poor shadow-foxes. She'd heard bits of this, from Leah, but it makes rather more sense all in a whole.
"What changed?"

"And do you care to hear about my world and people, in a bit?"

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's suite]

Cut and Paste typo. Keiko has five sisters, but that makes six kids. :P

Keiko pauses and grins

Thanks!

Oh, yeah... heh... guess I didn't have much on as a dragon.

And so she continues (which may have more typos)

Spoiler

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In the next two millennia that followed, people gradually abandoned the land where we once lived and it became a desolate wilderness. But at the same time, the coastal kingdoms gradually merged together into the mighty Empire of the Sun. This ushered in a period of peace and calm that lasted another two thousand years, until it was broken by the imperial civil war that very nearly destroyed the planet.
Two factions, each backed by a school of magic, each founded on an artifact of terrible power, each led by a ruthless and ambitious tyrant. And our children were in the thick of it: taking up the loyalist cause but caught in the territory of the rebellious faction, they caused a great deal of trouble until it came to a head at the Battle of Okasa in the year 4861. Loyalist vulpan war-wizards sabotaged the rebellious' troops attack and nearly caused the death of the usurper's nephew. The battle was lost and the critical town fell solidly into loyalist hands.
The usurper was not amused and issued a terrible decree... technically, the order was merely that all traitors and deserters were to be put to death immediately without trial or recourse, by means of necromantic harvesting. By this, he gained a significant advantage: the surge of deadly power was difficult for the loyalists to counter.
But the side effect was that the local prefects used it as a license to purge their lands of our children. They fled ever southwards until at last they were trapped between the mountains, the sea, and the trackless uninhabited wilderness.

But my sister Tamamo had awakened, and with the first prophet Lirian she rescued the people and led them back to Zhangjaje.

But we had been reduced to just over two hundred individuals, and while that was eight hundred ninety five years ago, that is not two full lifetimes for our people. All told, our entire worldwide population back home is roughly the same as the number of permanent residents in the Temple of Inari in Inside.

She grins and finishes the last few buttons: she now has loose, black leather capri pants and a billowy shawl-necked blouse of shimmery shadowsilk with a bright silvery brooch on her right shoulder hosting a substantial ruby. Her belt is now a broad exotic leather band of deep purple, hosting a sheathed rapier on the left and a short dirk on the right. She still has several of her pouches, but they are larger now and far less rustic. She has a pair of bracers of the same purple leather with silver accents, and there's even a modest silvery circlet on her head with a few diamonds. She beams at Cleo.

You're right: being a "proper" princess is a pain. But that doesn't mean I can't be one at all! What'ya think?

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's suite]

"Did they kill your family because they were loyalists, or simply because they were...themselves?"

What a terrible happening. Would there be any left without Tamamo?

Cleo turns to see Keiko now that she's dressed up, and her eyes widen in surprise. How curious. It's such a different thing it's close to being un-Keiko-ly.
"Crown and everything. I don't know about a princess going about with a dirk, but you look lovely."

Shaking her head again.
"Less than two-hundred...I don't know if we took census, but my people can't be many more numerous than yours are now."
Cleo's never cared. Haven't had happy dealings with her people in years and years.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's suite]

Keiko shakes her head

They didn't like us 'cause we weren't their tame little pet humans, and 'cause we wouldn't worship them. Inari's nice, and Tamamo's really easy going, but most of these people who consider themselves gods just aren't like that.

Then she giggles

The rapier is worse! And pants! I bet ya that there are people at court who will be more scandalized by my wearing pants than they were when I wore nothing. And thank you: I'd hoped you'd like it! If we're going to go one quests and stuff, I need something a bit more protective, right?

a nod

Just over - but yeah. They're coming back, and they can have kids with the reds so there's not a bad case of inbreeding coming their way. For a while after the war I spent a lot of time keeping humans away, but that's not really been important for the last century or so. It's kinda nice to have the Nexus come along, 'cause I really don't make a very good Messenger. If I see something going on I wanna fix it, not just talk to people about it.

she's talked a lot! Keiko flops on the sofa and pats the cushion next to hers after struggling briefly with the inconvenience of the rapier, which finds its way noisily to the floor.

That's a good intro: your turn! Where are you from?

[Ionbound]

Realm of Cats

Lee sees all this and the first thing he thinks about is food? He's priorities are all screwed up!

Meanwhile Dena approaches what she believes to be the cat king. Hey Memento, how am I supposed to address this dude? She thinks while looking at the pokemon. Hopeful that he would take the hint and read her mind. Cats had awfully good hearing so whispering might not work around here.

Gwen pats Grant on the back as he heads off, holding Salem in her arm and stroking her ears as she wanders around the room, looking for people to talk to, hoping to find out more about this 'Catquest'.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's suite]

"Well, naked except a belt, that's just Keiko. But this? You're deliberately exposing part of your leg. Think of the scandal."
Cleo drops the joking voice and nods. "It seems pretty practical."

She slips onto the cushion and just kinda leans up to the nogitsune.
"So, where I'm from."

Spoiler

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"Well, we got a bunch of planets, nine or ten. People don't agree on where they come from, but our thinking is that they were buried there by the Pirate King Dagos. Seven of em were pretty okay to live on, and five of them got intelligent species from somewhere or other. One each. Humans, Kobolds, Merfolk, Watchers, and Us, basically, call us the Fae. It's too much coincidence that we all showed up about the same time. So everything was great until humans showed up. By great I just mean lost to the amber mists of history. It was probably kinda awful. Anyway, humans came down outta the sky with their little rafts. So we started fighting between races, instead of amongst ourselves. Was like 200 years later, in 306, and that's kinda a long time, our natural lifespan was like 50 years at the very most, nah, that the merfolk showed up too. They had their act together, and really just wanted the oceans, so who cared? They made their underwater cities and were left alone. It was, oh, Year 152 that people first started transforming themselves into humans, for good, with just our magic to set us apart. Those were my ancestors."
"Fast forward to 820, humans cover most places, and a little border war starts up between the United Urban Peoples and the North River States. It got big and ugly. Eventually most of us were dead, the North River and their allies had left the planet, the Urban Peoples had gone into hiding. Wiped each other out so effectively there was no organization of our people left."

"But things were okay. For a long while."

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's suite]

Keiko stretches out her paws and spreads her toes, admiring her shiny black claws

Shoes suck. They're nice enough for folks who walk around flat-footed, but for toe-walkers like me they're just a pain! And longer pants look so dumb. And I don't like dresses.

Then, storytime! Keiko doesn't really know what to do, so she just leans into Cleo in return and listens until Cleo takes a break.

Wow... that's pretty rough. What's "fae"? Is it like the kitsune and the koi and the dragons, with their alternate worlds? I wasn't really a kitsune, before, you know: I was a dark-furred Vulpan back then, like Freddie, before Tenjin broke into my room and killed me.
The meanie.
And so many wars! We only had the two big ones, and that sounds a lot worse than the Imperial Civil War ever was. That got ugly, but only one medium sized continent got messed up particularly and it's not like nobody lives there anymore... mostly Grey Elves now, though, and they're snooty.

She puzzles at the last comment

Things were ok...? Are they ok now? Or is it still bad?


(( Ok... quick clarification:

Keiko's story was being "recited" and so she didn't really think about it. The world was actually very close to being shattered by the spell, but that was contained by the coalition of gods, so the end result was that only the continent of Norlath was shattered (and not even all of that).

So: while they may seem contradictory, both statements are technically correct. ))

[Lost_Deep]

Spoiler: Quotes

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Gwen pats Grant on the back as he heads off, holding Salem in her arm and stroking her ears as she wanders around the room, looking for people to talk to, hoping to find out more about this 'Catquest'.

Realm of Cats

Lee sees all this and the first thing he thinks about is food? He's priorities are all screwed up!

Meanwhile Dena approaches what she believes to be the cat king. Hey Memento, how am I supposed to address this dude? She thinks while looking at the pokemon. Hopeful that he would take the hint and read her mind. Cats had awfully good hearing so whispering might not work around here.

Realm of Cats

Lee gives Cinnamon a little pat on the head.
"Uh, okay. Have fun, Cinnamon." he says, feeling rather out of place.
Maybe he'll go check out the food table?

Gwen has a few options, there's both cats and catlike people paying attention to her. One person in particular might stand out: Wearing a black-and-white kimono, this shapely woman seems mostly human with some catlike features, the rough shape of the face, the ears the eyes. She seems disinterested in the party, and is watching the three non-cat guests.

The buffet table is well-stocked. There's even things that wouldn't be healthy for cats to eat, so Lee should be able to find something. There's meat, cheese, some greens... no catnip. That must be somewhere else. There's also a good selection of deserts.

Across the room, Memento walks up to the Cat king and makes a noise. The cat king looks at Memento.

"Heeey, it's the little grey cat. You remember them, dear? Wassup? Did you brin yo..." He looks up at Dena. "Heya, baby! Don't be shy! We all cats today. Hononrable, if nothin else."

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Cleo looks down at the claws as well, shivering briefly. Her own feet are wrapped up in sturdy boots at odds with the rest of her outfit. Magic clothes can handle a lot, but it's no substitute for good shoes.
"Have you considered even shorter pants with leg warmers?"

Then she shakes her head.
"That wasn't even the worst of it. You have it right, we're most like the kitsune. Our own little worlds, magic things kinda like the balls. You wanna go back, right? To being your old self with just one tail?"

Spoiler: History, next part

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"There must have been hundreds of wars. None as dangerous as having gods involved; some high wizards and Hierophants got close to being so destructive, but they've always been in positions to stop each other doing anything cataclysmic. And nobody at A+ or higher rating has ever been known to take part in real fighting."
"So the Great War started up in 1196. The ascendant group in what was left of North River's people, the ones who never had anything to do with humans or merfolk, decided everyone left on the planet was their enemy. It started with some of the worst diseases anybody had seen. Virulent, antimagic, slow to show, hard to treat with much of anything. It wasn't quite apocalyptic, but society broke down fast. Places badly hit would try anything, places relatively healthy figured this was a great time to settle old grievances, while their enemies were weak. Then in '98? 99? the proper invasion started. But it turns out an invasion by forgotten enemies from another world really brings people together. Despite the disease and the infighting, the fae lost really badly. Both the ones who were actually trying to kill everyone and those of us who'd been minding our own business in the real world for centuries."

"Things were not good after that."

But at least they never lost a continent.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko had not ever considered legwarmers, and really probably ought to consider something better than her paw-pads for more serious adventuring

Huh... that's an interesting thought. I don't usually like anything elastic, though... tends to be randomly depilatory throughout the day.

She sets her legs back down and chuckles

There's no rush: one way or another I'll get back to my old self eventually. This is what I am now, and it's been fun so far so why worry about what I used to be? Besides, now I have a dragon shape and that's way cooler! I might just decide to make that my real form instead once I'm done with this body.

that sounds a bit weird, even to her

Ok... that sounded creepy. This is me for the rest of my life, and then I'll go on to something else... I'll decide then. And it's not like it's anytime soon! I'm only... um... huh... not sure, actually. Uh, anyway... go on...

more story. She looks sad and puts an arm around Cleo

Oh... I'm sorry, Cleo: that does sound awful. I'm surprised none of you ended up on Erda! Tamamo has a theory that the gods brought people there because their homeworlds were in danger of everybody dying.

Well...
you're here, now... and Leah's here... and everything will be ok! I won't let anyone get you!

Her fur has gone all bristly by the end and her ears fold down angrily. She's quiet for a minute before settling back down.

Hey! If you had items naturally, what else do you have besides your Dragon Pearl? What is your world like? And tell me about Leah!

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"Ow, yes. Must get so much worse with proper fur."

Cleo has to nod.
"It did sound creepy, but I know what you mean. No hurry to not be yourself. Age can be hard to figure out, huh?"

She doesn't really need the comfort - this is history, well behind her.
"I don't think there's anyone that could have brought us. Until very recently, when we reached the Nexus, it wasn't possible to leave or arrive at our star, physically or magically."

A grin, and she puts an arm around Keiko for a hug.
"That's sweet. I'm glad we have such a protector then."
She wishes she could say it wouldn't be needed.

"The other things? You get them as you grow into being a fae. I have my Blade," She taps the little dagger sheathed on the far side of her belt,
"My Glass," she sets a hand on the green pyramid gem set in her necklace, which is remarkably just like the bit between her dragon eyes, and a rose sprouts and blooms between her fingers, which she offers to Keiko.
"My Mask," Ruffles her cloak,
"And my Pen, the flute I have. They each do specific things, not as lucky as a pearl or as versatile as a ball. And they grow, but they'll never be anything like your dad's giant wishing-gem. Rather, one gets more of them. The oldest, cleverest of us might have ten different focuses."

"My world? It's nice. Nothing special, though. More water than not, just barely. Six continents, but two of them are really cold, frozen all-the-way over. I lived in the biggest city in the whole Seven Worlds. It grew to cover the whole of the biggest island in the nation, and then kept growing out over the water. In the modern days, it's very mixed; nobody's killing anyone over what they are. Nearly nobody. We're...kinda average, really, but we're proud of being a mix and a melting pot, of having the most variety of art and ideas. It's cold. I was surprised how nicely warm the Nexus is."

A deep breath.

"Leah? Where do I start..."

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko shakes her head

Age is really hard with a weirdo like me! Technically, I'm 5100 years old by the number of times the planet Erda has orbited its star. I was killed when I was sixteen, though, and so a lot of that doesn't exactly count. Tamamo... well... Inari, really, rescued us from the Jade Emperor eight hundred whatever years ago, and I was incarnated last year. So, how old am I really? And this body was created by the standard avatar spell, which makes the apparent age based on your personality, but I'm...

she stumbles for the best way to say it, then gives up

... I'm physically fully an adult, which makes me at least fifty. Real kitsune take a thousand years to get nine tails. We started off with nine in our feral form, but that whole ability was some weird side effect from Dad and we couldn't go to their world and didn't use the balls... so... I'm probably sixty out of six hundred fifty give or take a bit from either end.

And yeah, I can see that if you didn't have gods and nobody could travel in or out that would explain it pretty well.

And you got it! You're marrying into the Orochi clan: nobody messes with us.

Well... this is the Nexus, so that might be less true than Keiko is thinking... but still...
Then Charities! Keiko takes the flower with a smile.

Wow... that's nifty. And ten! That's a lot to keep track of... I think I'm just as glad to stick with two.

And I'm really glad to hear the world did finally get back to normal. That was sounding pretty unhappy. And I think the Nexus is warm, too! That's why I hated wearing anything: Zhangjaje is always chilly.

Keiko's ears fold a little bit

Sorry... is that a bad subject?

[Shadowcaller]

Plane of Cats

Gwen has a few options, there's both cats and catlike people paying attention to her. One person in particular might stand out: Wearing a black-and-white kimono, this shapely woman seems mostly human with some catlike features, the rough shape of the face, the ears the eyes. She seems disinterested in the party, and is watching the three non-cat guests.

The buffet table is well-stocked. There's even things that wouldn't be healthy for cats to eat, so Lee should be able to find something. There's meat, cheese, some greens... no catnip. That must be somewhere else. There's also a good selection of deserts.

Across the room, Memento walks up to the Cat king and makes a noise. The cat king looks at Memento.

"Heeey, it's the little grey cat. You remember them, dear? Wassup? Did you brin yo..." He looks up at Dena. "Heya, baby! Don't be shy! We all cats today. Hononrable, if nothin else."

Plane of Cats

That's an interesting way to be addressed by a cat, she had expected something else by a king but it was a cat king. "Shy ain't the word I'd use to describe myself." Dena replies, showing a winning smile as she steps forward. "Wouldn't be here otherwise, missing such a spectacular party." She gestures around for empathize. "I'm Dena Zifhara if Momento haven't introduced me yet and I'm mighty curious what were supposed to do here though."

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"I've lived more time than you, but you remember a lot more time than me. As long as you don't want 5100 candles at your birthday celebrations, I think it's nothing to worry about too much."

Cleo tilts her head, curious. "Don't use the balls? But you have one anyway, and it certainly seemed like you used it."

It's the thought that counts. And if there is something that can mess with all the dragons and ninetails, it would be all the worse to have to handle it without them.

"No, she's a great subject. Just...I could have been a much better parent. I didn't have any idea how to take care of someone back then. Only that I shouldn't be like my own mother." That is clearly a bad subject, but Cleo doesn't elaborate. "Well, I know where to start now. I was overjoyed to have her, all the same. We'd scarcely taken Leah home when she was stolen away to the faery world. The storybook thing is to take a human child, and leave an illusion or one of our own. This was a bit backwards. Zophiel and I set off right away to rescue our child, of course. We rescued her eventually, or you wouldn't know her here, from my grandmother and her minions, and banished them from entering the mortal world for...a century? Think that's the right length. But Leah - time flows differently there; she was halfway grown, barely remembering us, and not belonging in this world."

That's not the end of the story, but she takes a break here.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko giggles

There's a reason we don't use one candle per year! And yeah, I have a ball now!

She takes it out, all pearly and shimmery and black.

That one's easy: I was in Nogitsune shape when I got incarnated, so I got turned into a Nogitsune. Allready all grown up, so I get a ball!

Her ears fold flat for a moment and her tails all curl briefly: if she's really a Nogitsune, as it appears, then her lifespan is open-ended. But her logic is a bit weird, overall, and probably best taken with a pinch of salt.

Well... anyway... we'll see what happens.

then she covers up her ball to try to keep it from being distracting, and listens. By the end, she is fidgeting with the ball in spite of herself: the compulsion is very, very strong.

That's awful! I hate that time-flow crap, and it's part of the reason I haven't gone to the kitsune world yet even though I have my own ball now: the rules are all so convoluted and scary.

Actually, they're not hard at all: a proper kami can exit anytime from the moment they left the material world until the moment where "real time" and "apparent time" meet. They can take guests with them as well, subject to the same restriction with the single added caveat that the guests can make contracts giving some of their time away, which advances the guest's earliest return to the real world by that amount.

So, what happened after you finally got Leah back?

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"You'd need the very biggest cakes." Which doesn't sound so bad, actually.

Cleo can't help but look at the ball as it's taken out. So shimmery!

Keiko isn't looking forward to dying, is she?

"We'll work it out, however old you end up being."

But see, what if you're not a proper kami?

"Just after that, Zophiel left. I don't think either of us knew it - maybe he did, but I don't think, anyway, we met not long before the end of his time in the mortal world. It's not a very kind system, his world's. He won't remember Leah, nor, I think, me, in any future way. Leah was having trouble with this world, and I was having trouble with, well, everything. With just me, we had to move out of the city. Leah found every excuse to not have much to do with me. I can't really blame her. She grew up. I couldn't make her happy, but I kept her safe and alive and fed. She managed to get herself into a boarding school and disappeared."

Cleo trails off. Slightly remembering shame that's coloring her face redder, mostly distracted by the ball.

"Oh! Right. Next I heard, she was working at the GLoG, going to be a healer or a doctor or something. She'd found a way to do what I hadn't managed and naturalize her to the Nexus, so she could live without draining people. She was in love with some notorious foreign criminal and had become a left-wing revolutionary in the Empire. Heard she'd been exploring other worlds, had saved some country I'd never heard of."

She's stopped, watching the distracting shiny-thing once more.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Not so much "looking forward to dying". It's more the difference between "going home eventually" and "going home... maybe?". Though if you recall, Inari said Keiko would be reinstated when she had learned whatever she was supposed to be learning.

Keiko nods: she never stays disrupted for long at all.

Exactly! Nothing worth worrying about right now.

More story.

That's terrible! So unfair! For us, people forget things if they go to be reincarnated but they get all their memories back when their done! Doesn't mean everyone who was ever together in life gets back together later, but ... they don't forget everything.

Aww... that's so sad that she grew up estranged. Are things better now?

But poor Cleo looks unhappy and ashamed, and so now she gets wrapped up in a fuzzy hug

It's going to be ok. The past can be painful, but it's past. You're here now, and everything's going to be allright.

[Ionbound]

Spoiler

Show

Gwen has a few options, there's both cats and catlike people paying attention to her. One person in particular might stand out: Wearing a black-and-white kimono, this shapely woman seems mostly human with some catlike features, the rough shape of the face, the ears the eyes. She seems disinterested in the party, and is watching the three non-cat guests.

The buffet table is well-stocked. There's even things that wouldn't be healthy for cats to eat, so Lee should be able to find something. There's meat, cheese, some greens... no catnip. That must be somewhere else. There's also a good selection of deserts.

Across the room, Memento walks up to the Cat king and makes a noise. The cat king looks at Memento.

"Heeey, it's the little grey cat. You remember them, dear? Wassup? Did you brin yo..." He looks up at Dena. "Heya, baby! Don't be shy! We all cats today. Hononrable, if nothin else."

Gwen nods to the woman in the kimono and approaches her, asking, "Greetings. Do you have any idea what's going to happen? I'm Gwen, by the way."

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Whatever she's supposed to be learning.

Cleo is snapped back to attention by the fuzzy hug.

"Thanks."

"Things are much better now. I made my dragon shape in that time, got to progress my magic, got better being on my own."
"Leah got real mad over something and walked out of the League for good, and she took over that fortress of hers. Took up in an anti-slavery organization, don't know exactly why, but it's good work, of course. I think it helped her being around people all the time. Eventually. She went off into the Shadow dimension-

Cleo looks around, surprised. That's here!

"-and learned to create things, and started collecting people to her fortress. Started a religion. So this guy, Aequitus, sent out like a million prayers for help in the AEGIS ruins, and some way or another she got one, and showed up to help and join. That group didn't last long. Don't know why. But she kept on with random bits of heroism, and started working to sort ghosts out to the proper place and put them to rest and all. Got the first of her angels out of a scene in Inside, and rescued Yueh from the red zone, and the Conductor and handler from its ship, and so on. And that's why she knows you guys. That trouble with the last high priest dying and not coming back?"
"She started talking to me when there was some trouble with her boy, before she started seeing Mist. Didn't know how to handle it. But we didn't really start to get along until after she died. Leah'd grown up by then, so she was fine, don't worry."

[Deathkeeper]

Realm of Cats

Lee will look for some seafood and snack for a bit. Maybe he'll find someone to talk to for now. Either way, eating will take a bit of time, even if he's scoping out his surroundings while he does so.

[Lost_Deep]

Plane of Cats

After a bit some cat will start to bat at Lee's tail. This cat seems to be one of the more animalistic ones.

"Enjoy yerself!" The cat king says to Dena. With great effort, and a few tries, he manages to get himself into a sitting position. "Have some fun. Meet some cats! I'll let you and the other guests know when the challenges start. Easy peasy! Don't worry your pretty little head."

Gwen's new acquaintance nods back. "Khariya. As for what's going to happen, it's fairly simple: The cat king will enjoy the party for a bit, and then when he gets bored he'll start deciding what the challenges are. There's usually three to five challenges, and then he picks who gets the book. It's all rather... pointless," she says.

[Shadowcaller]

Plane of Cats

Was that last comment of the cat king referencing her gender or her species? She couldn't be sure. "Sounds simple enough. What kind of challenges are to be expected? As you can probably tell I'm not dressed to party." She gestures down at her adventure clothes. "I came here for the challenges." Her current clothes weren't exactly flattering.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko smiles happily and the tips of her tails flick.

Yeah, that was Fenric. Got killed by DART, and then there was some deal that Inari wouldn't resurrect him because he was the wrong person to be here now or something.

And poor Caroline, she was just filling in for her cousin who was on maternity leave and was only supposed to be here for six weeks, but she ended up stuck. But she met Steven, so it's all good in the end, right?

And oh, good! I'd hate for her to be upset: she's always been great fun.

Pity Keiko wasn't mortal yet back then... *shrug* win some, lose some.

What do you think she'll think about us?

[Deathkeeper]

Realm of Cats

"Hey, cut that out!" teases Lee, waving the cat away and swishing his tail in a most amused fashion. Silly kitty.

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"Come for six weeks, stay indefinitely? Ugh. But so long as she's happy here...and maybe she's the right person to be here now. One would hope."

Cleo nods, admitting it probably worked out for the best.

"Great fun? Good. What she'll think...I'm not sure. Surprised, most likely. Maybe annoyed I didn't mention it to her beforehand. Probably, she'll take it as a good thing."
Which is perhaps an overoptimistic view of things.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

Keiko smiles happily

Oh, good.

As far as my side... well, you heard Daddy: his only concern is that we don't rush the actual wedding too much - I suppose that's fair. Mom will love you, I'm sure. Tamamo will be happy for me, and secretly will be just as glad to not have to worry about me all the time anymore. Tsukiko will disapprove but never say anything, Hoshiko and Yumiko won't care. And Noriko... ugh! She'll make fun of me and be all snarky but deep down inside she'll be thrilled. Still, she has a really sharp tongue when she wants to.

She smiles at Cleo, giving her a turn to ask.

Anything else you're curious about?

[Recaiden]

[Palace of Orochi - Keiko's Suite]

"Tamamo can rest easy then; I'm watching out for you just the same. Tsukiko will disapprove? Why?"
Cleo rests her chin in one hand now, wondering. How much can they make fun of Noriko in turn?

"You said you didn't exactly fit as a Messenger, but what do you want to be then? Do you know yet? You were so excited by all the birds - do you keep taking care of these animals? What's a wraith? All I know is that you hunt them."
She hesitates a moment, then goes on to another question.
"Why did you say 'yes'? You asked me why, and I like to think I'm pretty great, but compared to your family and all the things you must see..."

[Ionbound]

Plane of Cats

After a bit some cat will start to bat at Lee's tail. This cat seems to be one of the more animalistic ones.

"Enjoy yerself!" The cat king says to Dena. With great effort, and a few tries, he manages to get himself into a sitting position. "Have some fun. Meet some cats! I'll let you and the other guests know when the challenges start. Easy peasy! Don't worry your pretty little head."

Gwen's new acquaintance nods back. "Khariya. As for what's going to happen, it's fairly simple: The cat king will enjoy the party for a bit, and then when he gets bored he'll start deciding what the challenges are. There's usually three to five challenges, and then he picks who gets the book. It's all rather... pointless," she says.

Gwen nods and sighs, saying, "I see...That's rather depressing, really. I wish there was some way to at least try to influence, rather than hoping based on the whims of the king..."