Home 24: A house in this market?

[Felandria]

God damn it. Violet says, trying to remember last night. She didn't get... that drunk, did she? Ha, that orc got drunk under the table though. And so did that... ogre. Alright maybe she did! What of it.

No, no it's fine. The weird frog guy - Violet, Neverest is a girl. Killed the mood. She'll look for a table or bar or wherever to slump down into a seat, apparently happy to wait for whatever free food Fel is going to provide. Reginald is not going to be let go until she needs to though - and he gets a few more scritches absentmindedly as she moves.

"Uh, don't you guys need it to be cold, right? I'm dressed for it, it's fine."
We wouldn't want to cook Violet trying to make the weird lizard girl comfortable.

"Here, can I um, help, uh, cook something?"

Neverest glances over to Violet, who it seems is still hoarding Reginald. She's a little flustered by their words, but that doesn't stop anything.

"Hey, human, you can't give up that easy, right? Get over yourself."
You know, Violet, if you hadn't tried to steal Neverest's stuff, she probably wouldn't have woken up to make fun of you.

Ooh, yes, actually, you can help with the white gravy.

Keep it stirred until it thickens, please and thank you.

And I am sorry, Violet, I didn’t want to do anything without your sober consent.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Outside Spako's Tower]

"S-so, um, obviously I'm no expert on this, b-but I did have several reference books I read on how to grow a hoard." Sylvess coughs awkwardly, perched atop Spako's tower. He really didn't feel qualified to give lessons on this, but...

"U-uh, it might sound silly, but a lot of us are really good for mining. The climbers and the burrowers, I mean. I-I read of a few copper dragons who had been able to quickly scout places out for pockets of gems. S-similarly, the kinds that burrow can dig them out really easily. U-uh, our scales are super valuable as well and certain ones will regrow just fine, so you can usually act as a supplier to smiths and provide them with an exclusive source at a price. I, um, I don't know if either of those really work here." The Nexus is weird like that. Dragon scales are probably common as muck! And every mountain, every cliff, every cave in existence have probably already been cleared out!

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Mine

"If you can't pronounce Collignethrack, call it a mine elemental. That's what it is. So, the bear." Ingrid climbs back atop the unicorn, and will pull Aran on after her.

There's another teleport, this time a brief flash of a battlefield, with piled skeletons and rusty weaponry.

Forest Cave

They're surrounded by various deciduous trees, with a cave in the side of a rocky hill nearby. Ingrid gets down and sniffs, making sure there's no real bears around. "Ursagridd, Ingrid has somebody to meet you. Come out and meet them." There's movement from within the cave, and a huge brown bear emerges. It's huge; far larger than a normal bear, and it's clear it's not just a very large normal bear. Its fur is made of dead leaves, with star-filled pits for eyes. It rears and roars, or possibly yawns, before collapsing onto a human-like sitting position and scratching its head.

[Deathkeeper]

[Outside Spako's Tower]

Spako nods, lounging next to Sylvess.
"Yeah, I used to sell my dragon scales when I was strapped for cash. But you have to be choosy; don't want to sell them to some warlock who's going to try something funny. The thing about sniffing out metal is that doing it all myself takes time. I can't do all of that while working two jobs and making time for you." Spako is a very busy dragon, you know!

[Forest Cave]

Aran smiles politely, and gives a stiff bow.
"Good afternoon, Ursagridd. I'm looking for someone to help me with a problem. I need some magic. Ingrid told me that you would be a good, uh, bear to ask." he tells the bear, trying to maybe flatter it a little. Definitely don't tell it that it was Ingrid's second pick.

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"You want magic? Why? I am Ursagridd. Who are you, and why should I help?" Ursagridd's voice is quite feminine, which may be a surprise. She climbs back to her feet and moves to a tree, standing up and leaning against it as she scratches her back. The tree creaks and strains, but holds for now.

[Deathkeeper]

[Forest Cave]

Well, she's certainly just as straightfoward as the mine elemental.
"I am Aran. I'm...a craftsman. I need some magic to make the things I make work properly. If you help me, I could give you something you want?" Aran suggests hopefully. She doesn't seem to be taking this as seriously as his last offer though.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Ravanys' Place]

It's a good thing Ravanys has a convenient means of setting things on fire here, or this would probably be much more inconvenient for everyone involved.
Especially since Sardus is over there enjoying his cancer bath.

Not that things are going to be enormously pleasant as it is.

While #2 is busy getting set on fire and screeching that unholy shriek over by Ravanys, the other three don't abandon Sardus quite yet.
The little drones buzzing around them continue to be completely unnoticed as they quickly skitter around to form a vague triangle around their prey, as a single jagged spike of blackened bone tears its way up along their backs.

A moment or two later, gray glimmers of energy envelop those bones and in triple synchronicity soar out towards Sardus.
Where they will then explode.

[Rebonack]

[Ravanys' Place]

The salvo blows a messy hole in Sardus' flank, but given that he's a mostly incoherent mass of flesh at the moment that might not be as bad as it would be otherwise? He's pretty quickly putting himself back together, but getting holes blown in him really doesn't help much on that front!

But...

He's not dead.

Badly injured, but not dead.

Scale plates crisscross over him as his mass pulls itself inward, giving the foxes an heavily armored surface to contend with. It'll probably take some time before he's coherent enough to function, but if he can get the foxes to waste their time trying to chew through his armor, maybe his death will give Hannah and Ravanys time to get away?

He knows what comes next if he's destroyed here. That means waking up on the surface of the Eternal Game up in the Empyreum. He's hoping that doesn't happen.

He would miss Hannah.

[Murkus]

Fettina's Place

Cantata can't help but softly gasp in surprise as the coldness of Tina's skin becomes apparent, but it doesn't deter her from providing the physical and emotional support she intends to provide, snuggling her warm and soft form against the cursed angel as the two recline upon the couch. Of course. Anything to help you relax and feel better. the mercenary answers, shifting to better type a response. ...Well, anything but read you a bedtime story, that is. She adds with a cheeky little smile.

[Fettina's Place]

Fettina slowly starts to warm up, and her arms slide out to wrap around Cantie. "Ugh, thank you. I'm cold all the time." She snorts and shoots a skeptical look at the songstress. "Aw. I was gonna ask for that next. I guess just the movie is okay." Tina gently, teasingly squeezes Cantie's belly.

Maybe the two just lie together and watch a couple things. Tina can make drinks... and snacks, too, if Cantie asks nice. The chrome gal would like nothing more than for them to chill and snuggle until they both fall asleep, but if Cantata decides to take her leave, Fettina will understand.

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

To be fair on Ursagridd, she's just woken up. She's stretching and waking up. "Hmm. You could. What do I want..." She yawns, finishes scratching and shakes herself like an oversized wet dog. "What do I want? There's a question." She thinks it over for a moment, pondering, before coming to a decision. "I want to experience life as a human. A place to stay, far from the wilderness, surrounded by people. They're spreading out, getting further and further from their cities, which are getting bigger, noisier and smellier. I want to live as a mortal for a while, so I can come back out here and tell the bears how to survive in this changing world. If you agree, you will be my guide, my translator, and my teacher, even as I teach you." As she speaks, she shrinks, the leaves disappearing into tanned flesh, hair- real hair, not the dry-looking leaves she had before- growing in to replace it. She stands up right and stretches, her forelimbs getting smaller, the paws turning into hands and the claws disappearing.

When the process is over, the bear has been replaced by a human, over six feet tall and nearly half that wide, a large, hairy man, with a full brown beard, bushy eyebrows and long hair, just reaching the shoulders, where it meets the thick hair of his back and chest. He's got no clothes, and his size- despite being overweight- screams power. His arms are thick and muscled, his shoulders broad, his chest wide and only slightly flabby, unlike his large belly, but even so there's muscle under that, too. "Would that be acceptable to you?"

[Deathkeeper]

Forest Cave

Well, Aran was not expecting to have to go looking at an oversized naked hairy man today, but sometimes you have to endure these things to meet your goals. The magitechnician steps forward, keeping his eyes on the not-bear’s to keep himself from staring, and holds out a hand.
”I can do all of those things. Though if you stay at my place you will have to have a few rules. If you can agree to that I gladly accept.”

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"I would hear these rules, before I swear myself to you." Ursagridd will reach out to take Aran's hand with both of his large ones, cupping it gently, and looks back into Aran's eyes with his own sparkling blue ones. If Aran hadn't watched the transformation, it'd be hard to believe this man wasn't just a large, hairy human male.

[Deathkeeper]

[Forest Cave]

Wow, he’s really staring into Aran’s soul there, isn’t he? Clearly he doesn’t know how handshakes work. But that’s okay. Aran wasn’t really expecting a bear to come with a good knowledge of personal space. But he does break eye contact to look up at the sky because it’s getting a little awkward.
”Oh, well. Being a good roommate means cleaning up sometimes, and avoiding making a mess of possible. Sharing chores, being helpful. Having good hygiene. And using a washroom properly, which I’ll explain to you since you’ve been living out in the wild.” Essentially, he just wants Ursagridd to make up for not paying rent and not be a large smelly mess like he would expect from someone who was a large furry-ish animal five minutes ago.

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

The sky's the same colour as Ursagridd's eyes. In fact, the moon looks surprisingly like a pupil, over there...

"I agree to this pact. I shall provide you with power, and the training to use it, and you shall provide me with the experiences of mortality, and I shall live under your roof and by your rules. It has been agreed and witnessed, by sun and moon, tree and river, I swear this pact to be yours faithfully."

Ingrid leans forward and whispers into Aran's ear. "You have to swear the pact too, or it's not binding. Exact words don't matter; meaning does."

[Deathkeeper]

Forest Cave

Aran nods. He thought this might get formal.
”And I swear to teach you what you have asked, to House you as you have asked, and to be a good student and teacher. Uh, so it is witnessed.” There! Good, right?

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"Til Death do we part." Now that, paired with the 'be yours faithfully' in the oath Ursagridd swore, is rather suggestive. What's more suggestive is that Ursagridd is leaning down to kiss Aran.

[Deathkeeper]

Forest Cave

”What”
Says Aran dumbly, and is promptly smooched by the bear-spirit. He doesn’t return it very well, or at all actually, as he’s quite dumbstruck.

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"The last time I walked the worlds of men, two mortals would swear such a pact to each other, ending with those words. Magic did not flow from one to the other, but the meanings behind it were very similar. Have things changed so much?" Ursagridd is a little surprised, but eager to start his education. Last time he walked the world of men, it was before the advance of gunpowder onto the battlefield.

"There's two forms of pact, Aran. Well, three. One, the pact between god and supplicant. You were unable to worship Collignethrak, so that one is out. The next is between two partners, equal, and yet one is traditionally reliant upon the other. That pact has inspired wedding rituals in many cultures. The third... Is not one I would willing suggest. It is the pact between master and slave. It has... The advantage that a strong-willing mortal can usurp the chains and become the master of the demon to which it is bound, but demons have far more experience in being masters, and such an event is rare." So demon warlocks are usually puppets to the demon's will, with only the free will necessary to let the demon torture them.

[Deathkeeper]

Forest Cave

"Oh, yes. Inspired by. Of course. Ahem. Yes." So they're not married like that. Just...almost very nearly like that, only with magic. Of course. Aran does shoot Ingrid a look that indicates he would have liked to be warned beforehand, though.
"So, um. Ursagridd. We're going to need to find you some clothes. It's cold in Skyside. And people will think it odd, a naked man walking home with me."

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"Of course. Clothing. Sorry, I forgot." He concentrates a while, and clothing materialises on his form. It's quite old fashioned clothing- thick leather trousers, hobnailed boots and a thick furred jacket. It looks like it grew out of his skin, quite disturbing. "Is there anything else, before we leave the forest, Aran?" He'll clap Aran on the shoulder, quite hard, and use a bit of his power to... Nudge things. Not do anything much, hopefully, but... Hopefully he's nudged things such that things won't be so awkward for poor Aran, who has just discovered he's entered a marriage pact with a bear.

[Deathkeeper]

[Forest Cave]

Aran's being drinks up Ursagridd's power greedily, suddenly receptive to its effects after decades of being a dry well. Aran feels dizzy as a number of his feelings are patched and rewritten. Shaking his head, he looks up at Ursagridd. Well, things could be worse. If he had to end up sort-of marrying an animal spirit, at least it was someone who acts nice, and seems nice to be around. Not a prickly lizard or a fish. He could go for a fish later, actually. Maybe he'll treat Ursagridd. Does he eat? Aran should ask that.
"No, I'm fine." he says, leaning into the large man's touch a bit. He feels so tired, all of a sudden. It's been a rather important day for him.

[Earl of Purple]

Forest Cave

"We should probably go to your cave. So I can start teaching you how to access the power I give." And also so they're not just randomly standing in a forest outside a cave.

"Do you need a lift? Humph. You won't both fit on my unicorn. Ursagridd, turn back into a bear. Then Aran can ride you to Skyside. You can have a ward up to prevent notice, if you must." With that, Ingrid climbs back onto her unicorn, and disappears back to her cottage.

"That is a good idea. I'm still a bit tired from my nap, or I'd have thought of it." Ursagridd will let go of Aran and move a short distance away, swelling and growing as the clothes turn into brown leaves and the sky-blue eyes turn black and stars begin to sparkle deep within. She roars once, and a slight bubble appears around her. If Aran climbs onto her back- a task made easier by the fact she's not as large as last time she took this form- they'll teleport back to Skyside, though as Aran's steering- Ursagridd's never been there- where they wind up is down to him. The bubble is a very weak ward against casual interest; most passersby won't see bear or rider, and the magic fuelling it is weak enough to go unnoticed on most large magical spy networks.

[Deathkeeper]

[Forest Cave-> Skyside]

Aran barely has time to say a word to Ingrid as he climbs onto the back of his...partner... and they are very suddenly back where all this started.
Aran will try to nudge Ursagridd down a few streets, happy that this is far more comfortable than he expected. He leads her to a small condo with a single potted shrub under its window.
"Well, this is it. It might be small for the two of us, but maybe with your help I'll be able to afford better." Leading her inside reveals that the place is mostly decorated in browns and warm colors. Aran likes rugs and carpets, though some more mechanical bits like parts and orreries dot his shelves. One thing at least, is big: a very large couch in the front room.
"Um, look like whatever makes you most comfortable. We're home and I can draw the curtains if you prefer."

[UncleWolf]

Nora's Suite

Nora pauses in her preparations for cooking and offers a weak and embarrassed smile. "Eh heh....uh...right. Well, um. First off, it's nothing harmful or contagious, so you can get that out of your head." She says, giving a small sigh and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "I learned fairly recently that if I sleep with guys and get a...let's call it "sizable genetic sample", my body adapts and evolves based off of genetic traits involved. Nothing magical from what I can tell, but I don't really have control over it if I decide to get frisky with someone." She reaches up and rubs her cheek with a sigh, looking a bit depressed as she goes on.

"My current theory is that it is why I can't get pregnant. Any foreign genetic sample of that, uh...type, gets assimilated and after I sleep I adapt. I haven't ran any sort of scientific testing though as this is only the second time I've seen it happen. The first was with an incubus and a minotaur, but before that I was only ever with my husband at that time who was human. I imagine it happened then, but since I am human too, I never saw any changes."

[Morty]

[Nora's Suite]

Fayyaad doesn't know what "genetic sample" means, but given the context he can guess.

"Well, that's... odd," he admits. He'd say it sounds beneficial to Nora and harmless enough to everyone else, but she doesn't seem happy talking about it. She also mentions an ex-husband. Sounds like some history here that it's probably not his place to dig into. "Seems you took more from Gustav than from me, then."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Ravanys' Place]

Ravanys smirks a bit as she sees the fox go up in flames. Glad to see something takes these things out.

She notices the drone blinking by Fox #1 in the corner. Her tattoos light up as she swings a hand towards it, sending a blast of fire at it. The drone will swerve out of the way.

The drones outside, seeing that just flying around is doing nothing, start flying into the foxes. Kamikaze drones!

Finally, the robot that Hannah was building finishes powering up and starts walking to help Sardus. It appears to be based on Hannah. But no arms or head. It can still kick pretty hard, though.

[billtodamax]

Felandria's House

Yeeeeeeeeeah well. Violet says moodily at Neverest. You wouldn't kill the mood would you Reginald? You'd spot someone trying to get it and wait patiently for scritches I can tell. She starts baby talking to Reginald again as she assaults him with a fresh round of scritches. Y'know, whatever. She tells Fel. Life is hard sometimes. I blame Neverest.

[Earl of Purple]

Skyside -->Aran's Condo

When in the city, Ursagridd will shift into a clothed male form, which attracts less general attention than a huge, leaf-furred bear. Also better at fitting indoors. It also means he can drop the ward against notice, which is handy because wards against being noticed are more conspicuous than simply blending in naturally.

"This is all wonderful. I love the colours; I do not know much about cities and humanity, but I think this is a great place." Ursagridd looks around with wide eyes, very interested in the condo and what humanity lives like.

[Deathkeeper]

[Aran's Condo]

Aran smiles and sits down on the couch, patting a spot next to him.
"Well, that's good. Because I guess you live here now. Uh, I can make up a guest bed for you, or were you...planning on...?" Technically they are sort-of married now...

[Earl of Purple]

Aran's Condo

"Which would make you more comfortable? This is still your cave, after all." Ursagridd will sit next to Aran on the couch, throwing an arm around the smaller man, kind of automatically.

Um, not wanting to make Aran uncomfortable doesn't really involve hugging him when sitting next to him.