As soon as the armed party leaves the alley for a main street, the odd sense of missing something while in the labyrinth goes away, as everyone suddenly hears Kai in their heads nearly shouting, "THERE YOU ARE! Where have you been?" This is followed by a flow of strange energy that feels them from their toes to their head, threatening to overflow. It's a bit euphoric, and for Tasha it feels like she's got her old Vartan strength back, if not more.
"We were investigating research in a mysterious extra-dimensional alley way; we made progress. Now, there's a war? Apparently?" Tasha looks around at the chaos, somewhat taken aback by the fact it seemed to happen suddenly and, in what surprises her as she realizes it in addition to surprising her generally, was not caused by her. "We see the fighting and are ready to coordinate."
"These long-ears attacked me and Sasha when came looking for you," Kai replies. "Something weird is going on here energy wise. We're back at the market square. Just follow the flow." With the latter, the ribbon of energy that is feeding into them becomes visible, going in the direction the soldiers that just passed where headed.
As for the strength, Tasha finds it enticing, but she has several new strengths to juggle in her mind right now, not to mention what appears to be a war. She takes some time to take stock and gather her wits, assesses, and makes a decision.
"Okay we're follow that line and getting out of here. Kai says the energy around here is strange, and if Kai thinks it's strange then it must be strange indeed -- and probably bad given the situation. Gabriel, I'll leave tactics and strategy to you; direct us as you see fit. I will coordinate with Kai. It seems Kai has also fortified and strengthened us, so expect superhuman physicality, just don't over rely on it." Tasha nods to everyone, then steps to the fronmt expecting Gabriel will place her there anyway.
And so the group makes their way towards the commotion. Eventually they catch up to the group that passed them earlier. The elves have formed a phalanx of shields and spears blocking off the road that feeds into the market. Behind that row are archers, although their arrows seem to turn into bolts of energy once launched. The one at the back has the fanciest armor (although they all have fancy armor with lots of intricate details cast into them). That one is moving his hands in a spell-caster sort of way. Beyond them, in more or less the middle of the square is Kai, her clothes tattered and burnt. The energy flowing from her shows where Sasha is taking cover in the auction house, and there's a pillar of the same energy that seems to be flowing down into Kai from the sky. "I keep telling you idiots that I'm not the Vanir Witch!" Kai shouts while dodging bolts of elf-shot. Her hands and forearms are covered in glowing flames of energy, and despite the shouting she looks like she's having a lot of fun.
"This looks like an excellent opportunity for an ambush, unless you'd like to negotiate. That could reduce the heat on Kai and redirect it towards us. I'll have to divert myself to shield us against magic, so I may not be able to attack. If we breaking their lines here Kai and Sasha can escape, and then we can try to evacuate." Tasha is not very good at waiting to be told what to do these days, it seems. All her travels and actions have caused her independent streak to return. Gabriel remembers her being a lot more willing to fall in line back on Abaddon, and less inclined to take charge. "I can close on any point rapidly and strike without warning; I can move at hypersonic speed in short bursts. I'm not as defensively strong as Kai, but I can block magic, cause local and widespread madness, and.. I think I can manifest fire, destruction, and control my own, uh, life. It's hard to explain and it's new. Expect modest results."
"Let's see if they have a leader," Gabriel says. "They're the one that'll give away their purpose and strategy, and if Kai doesn't know why they attacked, then these guys are shielded against psionics, so your sword may not work on them either. Ask her if she blew up the airship."
"Alright. I suspect the fancy man casting spells is the leader, by the way. I'll ask Kai." Tasha does exactly what she promised. "Did you blow up their airship, and any idea why they've invaded neutral territory aside from thinking you're a 'Vanir Witch?' What is a Vanir Witch, anyway?" As she thinks, Tasha steps a few steps away from the group and begins to click her her nails against each, as if she had a nervous tick, or maybe were about to break in to a theater dance number.
It's only several clicks later when the sparks begin to appear along side an almost imperceptible reddish aura around her hand. This seems to mildly surprise the woman, as her ears perk, but she also seems to have been expecting something like this because she keeps doing it.
"I only did that to try and distract them," Kai claims. "They've got magic shields, Sasha's bullets bounced right off. Oh.. this might be the guy.." Someone steps out of the phalanx one street over, and is probably important because his cape is fancier and he has the biggest pauldrons on his shoulders. Plus he draws a clearly magic sword, which is glowing with blue flames. "Surrender to the Astral Empire, Vanir Witch," the elf demands. "Or be burned down where you stand." The archers all tense their bows, waiting for their signal to fire.
"I was just going to try and walk away," Kai replies. "I still don't know who you think I am, but I know that blade: Caudimordax! So, you surrender that sword to me and I'll let you flee," she counters. Was there also a wink towards Tasha?
"Kai thinks that's the leader. She blew up the airship to try and distract them," Tasha relays, all while she looks between her fingers and the ongoing confrontation. Several seconds later there's a quiet 'fhoom' -- and then Tasha is holding a flame in her hand. She's doing this when she catches the wink from Kai. "I could use a magic sword," she agrees, "And look at me.. It seems Red and I are a good match. I can't do very much right now, but if you need me to burn something to the ground close to me, I think I can. I should have some leeway with other forms of close-range destruction from it, but not much more than that. No time to practice. But I know. I know."
"Remember that we're close to you," Gabriel says, just before all hell breaks loose. The leader makes a slashing motion with his sword, and the mages and archers fire.. but instead of standing there Kai seems to be going into a dance where she's swaying and spinning.. but the bolts and spells start to spin around her as well. Then they all fly out back towards the phalanxes, striking the ground just ahead to cause buffeting explosions that knock the elves back. Those that lose their helmets immediately fall unconscious, and the power going into Tasha and the others increases. Tasha feels herself change.. and can see it happening to the others. Mirror-like scales appear and cover the team, as the begin to turn into dragons, Tasha included. Kai and Sasha change as well.
The transformation alarms Tasha at first, as given her quite recent education in the use of Red, she briefly wondered if she'd made a mistake and accidentally dragonized herself -- or if there was some hidden cost that just now manifested! When she sees the others beginning to transform, she switches to a reassurance tact, sending, "Don't worry, uh, Kai is just reforming us so we'll be more effective and.. I assume magically resistant. Mentally? Kai?" The clicking practice is made harder by Tasha's hand becoming something else, which she's used to, but she's never been a reptile before. The fire in her hand disperses as the hand changes, but she thinks she can do it again, and in other ways, now that she understands the basics -- she just needed to put what she learned from the tome to practice and effort, to feel the described flow, flow. As she suspected, she already has a inherent understanding, and as the voice said, a potential. Red resonates with her, is of her, while Yellow and Blue are merely borrowed, channeled.
The elves break formation, at least those still standing. "You slew or banished them!" Kai booms down at the still standing leader. "So you could take the energy that sustained them. But you couldn't harness it all. And I'm in control of that energy now! So bite my tail, Tail-Biter! Astral Dragons, drive them out!" The last seems like a pretty clear instruction, if not a detailed one.
In dragon form, Tasha really feels the Red, as if this is what being 'kindled' is like. Next to her, the first one to leap into the chaos is.. Sharon! She tries to bat the elves aside like a cat playing with mice.
"Just remember you spirit animal experience," Tasha suggests. Further practice is cut off when Tasha can no longer remain bipedal, dropping to all fours. She clacks to all fours, standing a bit too tall, like a cat arching its back to avoid water, until she settles in. "Well this is newwwww-" The order, vague as it is, comes in to attack. Tasha looks to Gabriel-dragon, her head cocking to the side in question: ready? orders?
And then Sharon races past and Tasha lifts off her paws long enoug to shrug with the front set, then she heads in as well. With the Red surging through her, it's as if a puzzle she has the pieces for, and understands the use of, align in mass, forming answers she would have had to work much longer to reach. Tasha is next to charge, yet instead of going in with claw and fang she aims at the rest of the remaining elf line; there is a 'crack-shhhHHHHHHH' as her clicks her jaws together followed by an almost shotgun blast of flame that pushes her back a few inches, forcing her to brace. The arc of the flame line falls upon the disarrayed battle line in scintillating, burning majesty.
There are flashes and bursts as the enchantments of the elven armor break under the blast. The first round injures the soldiers, but as soon as they try to stand, they fall unconscious. Sasha takes to the sky, heading for the remaining airship, which is launching smaller flying objects towards the city. Gabriel likewise takes to the air, possibly just to feel what it's like to fly. Lacci only goes as high as a stone edifice, to get a look at the entire battlefield. She and Shojo work together, as she guides him to the war mages (the only real threats) so he can neutralize them with surgical precision. In the middle of it all, Kai the elf lord face off, with the magic sword leaves streaks of blue light when it sweeps and thrusts.
With this much Red engaged, Tasha's Astral Dragon form is enveloped in the Red aura, a translucent, shifting aura, its exact color hard to place, but it is always some shade of red. The aura casts no light, yet seems to be light itself, somehow luminescent without casting a single shadow. It is not unlike the Yellow or Blue in its odd nature, yet rather than being expressed as a object, or limited, it roils off her. And it can be felt in the living, a quickening of heart and rushing of blood apart form Kai's energy, distinct.
With the battle line crumbling, Tasha leaves it to Sharon to mop up -- and to feel real strength for once in her life. To empower her. And so that leaves Tasha to decide where her strength should be placed. She ducks her head and moves toward Kai. "NEED A DRAGON MOUNT?"
The elf slices through the neck of Kai's dragon form with Caudimordax, the dragon-slaying sword. The effect of this not what he expected, as the Astral Dragon just seems to dissipate into stardust, leaving Kai herself standing some distance off. She turns towards Tasha and raises up her arms to be picked up!
Tasha responds by ducking her head further, racing past, and catching Kai with her neck lifting her up to saddle-position before she hops around to face the dragon slaying knight. "I've never been the ptera before, but I've been a drover and I know how to ride! You can direct me with your feet or your mind!" She drops herself in to an aggressive, mobile crouch, fire licking her jaws, the aura of Red becoming more violent as she prepares to engage.
"Burn him, the sword will be fine," Kai replies. "He's a dragon slayer. He's the one I don't mind killing."
Tasha doesn't need further motivation. This time she splays her legs and her wings flare out. The Red aura becomes roiling, sun-flare chaos; it's obvious but what comes is not easily evaded, a exhale of fire that happens with explosive speed forming heat, light, and an overpressure wave, like her earlier shotgun on flame turned up to ten. Windows shatter, dust is hurled away from the shockwave, and the echo roils across the city like a bomb's thunderclap. The force is enough that even braced Tasha is driven back several feet leaving claw-gouges in th stone. Loose objects and nearby flammables are a lost cause as items are ignited or thrown down the street.
In truth, Tasha hadn't expected what she did, the evidence of her lack fo experience with the medium of Red. It was a low of power to divert, with a upper ceiling whose result wasn't entirely known. The attack is loud enough to briefly stun her as well, and certainly blind her briefly as everything in front of her disappears in flame and destruction.
The elf is still.. not quite standing.. despite it all. His gauntlets are melted, as they were not behind the protection of the sword, and while at first it looks like he was driven to his knees it becomes clear that his legs are actually broken once he falls over to the side, what's left of his cape and hair burning against the superheated stone.
Once Tasha's head clears a bit more, she can hear explosions in the sky above, as Gabriel and Sasha engage whatever flying soldiers the surviving airship deployed.
Hakeber and Katie are dragging captured soldiers back to the square.. but stop short of the hot stone. The soldiers look stunned and terrified at the sight of their leader.
Tasha has to push to dislodged her own talons from the street; she had suspected the stone might be supernaturally resilient but has discovered either it isn't or that her supernaturally destructive self has found a way to broke it. She shakes herself out a bit, head to tail, and assesses the knight.
Dragonslayer or no, she does feel a little bad for him. She's been where he is, and few things can sting so much for a hero of any stripe as the moment you know you've failed. "What should we do with him? You want the sword, don't you? I don't trust him to be as helpless as he looks, but, he may well be done for. We should finish it if you think we can."
"Taking the sword should be enough," Kai replies, and hops down to the smoking stone. Her clothes are a lost cause, so a new pair of boots shouldn't matter. She goes to the fallen elf and pries the sword from his melted and fused together hands."This never belonged to you," she tells him, if he can hear. "I don't know who the Vanir Witch is, but clearly I'm worse." To the cowering soldiers that are still conscious and not incinerated, she says, "I'm not the Vanir Witch. But if you want to keep your little empire and its stolen power, this better be the last time I see any of you."
Turning back to Tasha, Kai asks, "Did you get everything you were looking for here?"
Tasha makes her way to the knight. There she looms over him, the flames that destroyed him still burning in her jaws, but her eyes are evaluating, and if he can tell, a little sad. Pity, or empathy. She leans in closer, and she's all he can see. And she's there for a while, the crossroad of life and death before his eyes. The dragonslayer fallen before the dragon.
The others can see her linger here, like she's studying something new, deep in thought. Kai thinks she heard her, but for whatever reason is delaying her answer.
"Don't eat any of them Hakeber!" Kai calls across the square, sensing Hakeber's 'curiosity' about it. This also causes the soldiers to snap out of their trance and really flee in panic deeper into the city. "Heh, I love it when they run like that," she admits.
Tasha's shadow looms larger. The dragonslayer find that her eyes meet his. "What is your life worth to you? Will you swear an oath to me? I offer you no promise of survival should I try to save you; if I fail, there is no price. If I succeed, you will leave the Empire, and you will aid that which you have tried to destroy. I do not expect you to aid the malevolent, but you will champion the good, and the just, and the innocent dragons -- and whomever else might need you." A pause. "I have been where you are. I have been the one holding the sword. A dragon saved me, too. Are you worth saving?"
The knight manages a sneer. "I will never stop pursuing you," he coughs. "Unless you return Caudimordax." He looks like he would spit at Tasha if he was capable of it.
"So it is." Tasha's head leans back, to recoiling, but the movement of someone done assessing what they moved in to regard. "I'll make this quick. And I believe, the sword was never yours to begin with." She kicks a talon under his neck just so, then brings her other paw down to cleanly snap the man's neck.
Tasha doesn't need enemies stalking her in revenge, nor dragonslayers. She can only hope this death doesn't sew more revenge but given the words of the knight she's at least one revenger's story ends here and now.
And then she walks away, shaking herself out and looking around. "I hope this isn't considered interfering with business," she remarks of the market, "Everyone check in?"
"Awww, I was gonna return it to him, through his chest," Kai says, patting Tasha's side. "But still keep afterwards of course. It's a cool sword and these idiots just use it like it's a sword. Honestly."
"The airship and its.. fighters.. are in retreat," Sasha reports. "Looks like the survivors are heading to the far side of the city," Gabriel adds.
"We killed all the wizards, were we not supposed to?" Lacci reports.
"Did you know we can float like balloons?" Hakeber checks in. "I like the mirror scales, could never get decent chrome on Abbadon," Katie notes.
Tasha pushes her head in to Kai's side, then lowers her head to let her up so she doesn't have to walk through the partially melted landscape any further. "Sorry, I just saw something of myself in him, you know? But he's just a one dimensional idiot, and getting killed by a dragon who offered him mercy is still a good way to deal with him, right?" Tasha's very growly as a dragon, it makes her sound older. "So what does the sword do? And it seems like everyone's alright.. Should we pursue? I feel like they're in route now that their main force has been crushed."
"We'll be gone before they can recover, and fun as it is we're not here to overthrow an empire," Kai says, climbing up. "We lucked out, unless all that astral energy is what made them attack. So we should probably leave before the Gith show up to see what happened."
"Sounds good to me," Tasha looks around, then begins stomping towards the direction of the entry stairway, some ways down the road. "Do you know why energy is surging here? And they brought a dragonslayer, so it seems probable they believed this 'Vanir Witch' is a dragon of some sort. I wonder if she's really hiding here, if they weren't simply after you under another name." The chrome-red dragon pushes a burning card out of her way with her shoulder, then slides away a barrel of limbs fallen from the blast. "I don't think I mind this. I can feel so much, and what I had thought would be a longer effort has been shortened. The flame burns brighter now."
"Well, maybe you need dragon energy," Kai guesses. "Once we're out of the Astral Sea, the flow of energy will be cut off," she warns. "And you'll be carrying me piggy-back! Oh, I should use some if to fix my clothes first."
"You can stay on if you want, I know you're channeling energy but that looked like it was a little draining at least." When they pass the slave market Tasha pauses to see how it's doing, if the guards remain or have fled, and what the status of the slaves is. "As for the others.. "
"Everyone, we're heading out. Join me at the exit, The form will fall when we depart, so be ready. Sorry for stepping on your toes Gabe." And so the dragon nods. "Now just to head out. I can linger a while so you can fix your clothes."
Kai fixes the tears and burns and holes in her clothes along the way, probably using the astral equivalent of the Unformed, or something similar. She's got them back to normal once they reach the stair, without passing a single soul (everyone must have gone into hiding when the battle first started). And indeed, with each step the power diminishes, and they revert to their normal forms. By the time they step out onto the beach, the moon has dipped noticeably towards the horizon, and everyone feels a bit spent, though that could be a side-effect of the extra power leaving them. It does make the Red seem a bit more dim and distant to Tasha as well.
"Well, that was horrible and fun," Sasha notes when they're back in the city. "But not horribly fun."
"Flying was nice," Gabriel says.
"Auugh!" Hakeber cries, grabbing her head. "FLYING! I just floated around, but I could have been flying. We have to go back!"
Tasha has to put Kai down after all, the lost power and exhaustion a bit more for her than the others given her use of her own Red powers along side Kai's. The experience, as far as the mastery of Red goes, makes her feel lie she'd had a momentary flash of insight only for it to have faded partially, though not completely, from memory. She'll use this insight going forward, she's at least gained a leg up on the destructive side of Red, and of fire. "Now you know why I get grumpy when I'm Human," remarks Tasha without thinking, then she holds her hands up, "Sorry Sharon! And no going back Hake, we need to get out of here. Whatever power spike is here, we don't have access to it anymore. Also, I might have overdone it in the square and the merchants might be angry. The Empire did attack us first, though." She nods, the high ground.
"We've got stuff back at the hotel though," Sasha says. "And a lot of local money. The Night City won't be back until night again."
"Then we'll be gone so ha, ha, we get away. Not that they'd want to find us." Tasha looks around for a moment, grins, and she runs for the exit. "Next time, Niiight Ciiity!"
The stairs fade as the moon sets, and dawn begins to light the opposite horizon. Sasha leads them to the casino district, and stops at one of the bigger ones. "Here we are!" he declares.
"Let me guess," Gabriel says, "High-Rollers complimentary suite?"
"Yeah, never play cards against me," Kai explains.
Tasha looks at the casino, looks to Sasha, then looks right at Kai. "AH. HA." She doesn't even need Gabriel's review to know how Sasha and Kai's Casino adventure went. "Either way, comp liquor and beds. Maybe a massage parlor! Oh, and a buffet. My throat's a little sore from exploding the trade district, you know? I want a colorful drink. Hey Katie, remember the Rainbow Coalition?"
"No, so it must have been good," Katie says. "It's too early to start drinking though, that's a brunch thing. We've been up all day and all night so far. And only eaten meat on sticks, because Sharon is apparently bad at striptease."
"I should have bitten you all when I had the chance," Sharon mutters.
"What about the big glowing sword?" Shojo points out. "Someone might notice."
"That's not fair to Sharon, I'm sure she'll be very good at strip teases some day." Tasha slings an arm around Sharon, and starts walking. "Yeah, what is up with the big glowing sword? Anyone able to hide it? Doesn't it do.. ah.. more, Kai?"
"Oh, right," Kai says, and puts her palm to the tip of the broadsword before bringing her hands together, making it shrink until it's more of a bastard sword. Then she just puts inside the back of her shirt, so the hilt supports it.
"Goood enooough," goes Tasha. "They'll never suspect a thing. Unless they do. Hey, are glowing magical swords rare out here? I always expect they'll be everywhere, but maybe I'm just being biased.." Tasha keeps walking, headin inside.
"See, the thing about magical dragon slaying swords is that they're made from dragons," Kai explains. "Dragons are still the best thing for slaying dragons."
"Something of a downside when your mentor's unhinged and your apprentice is probably also unhinged," Tasha laments. "So the sword's a dragon? Or what's left of one? And that dragon was Caudimordax."
The casino is open this early (or late) so probably operates around the clock. There aren't many people at the tables though, and the ones that are look desperate. At the concierge desk, Sasha gets the key to their suite. "Well.. that's a silly name for a dragon. Tail-Biter. Or Ass-Biter. So it's probably a sword empowered by a dragon spirit," Kai explains along the way. "Swords with names usually have something like that going on. There were even warriors who chose to become swords. Those are the sort that you pick up and the sword basically fights for you."
"Intelligent weapons seem like a bad idea," Grabriel opines.
"Yeah as a weapon I'd probably sass everyone," Tasha admits, "No to mention the collateral damage and habit of becoming a strange new weapon every time I break." Tasha thinks on the name, and what she just said, and notes, "Maybe the dragon was, you know, kind of a prankster? Full of sass? That sounds like the name of a dragon who liked to mess with other dragons."
"Naw, you never name the sword after the dragon," Kai says. "You don't want something that could break the enchantment, which knowing their True Name might do."
"Ahh, so it's just a lame Elf name. Disappointing. If I were a dragon I might name myself Tail-Biter. There's power in not being taken seriously. And in being endearingly obnoxious." Tasha's tail wags. "Too bad that knight was a jerk, too, but.. " She pauses, blinks, then forces a smile. "Well he's dead and wasn't worth saving. I need a drink."
They make it through the double-doors to the suite, which comes with its own buffet and a fountain with live fish (and fish-like things) swimming around in it. Next to the buffet is also a bar, complete with a bartender; a topless feline woman with orange fur and white stripes. "Good morning!" she chirps. "Would any of you like a custom omelet?"
"I could.. eat," Hakeber notes with a grin.
"I want to strip naked and get some sleep," Katie claims. "Maybe a bath. Then I will allow my stomach to have it's way with me."
"Yes, and a fruity drink." Tasha is right there at the front with surprising speed. Her fingers wiggle. Fire, after all, needs to brun something. Most of that something was the strange astral energy, but the rest is pure Tasha. "Hakeber also wants one, maybe with a side of people."
"Would you prefer straight juice or a bit of rum or liqueur?" the bartender purrs.
"I'll watch Katie strip naked and go to bed, then decide if I'm in the mood for anything else," Gabriel says. This earns him a light swat from Katie.
"I am prepared to get out of this armor," Shojo notes, and Lacci guides him towards an open bedroom. "I'll set you free," she tells him.
Tasha does not like rum. Captain Eyeshine gave her some and it made her fur stand on end and her ears invert. She remembers running away for some reason and everyone thinking it was very funny. "Just some liquor. Light liquor." She looks back and makes a 'see, I'm making an effort' face. "After this I am going to curl up with whomever wants to curl up with me and smolder. I mean, slumber."
Sharon waffles uncertainly. "It's not good to sleep right after eating.. but I'm hungry," she notes.
"Eaaaaat," goes Tasha.
The bartender pops the cork on what looks like a bottle of wine, which she pours into two glasses before adding crushed ice and fruit juices, including chunks of fruit on skewers. She pushes them towards Tasha and Hakeber, then goes to see to feeding Sharon.
Kai removes her shirt in a way that hides the magic sword inside of it. "I'm going to wash of the smell of ash," she announces, and grabs Sasha's arm as she heads toward what must be the bathing room. "You can scrub my back," she tells the slightly frightened looking Karnor.
"And then I had one less of me," Tasha laments. She doesn't actually do anything to stop it, however, instead waiting for her omlet -- then she's going to hurry and go join Katie.
After eating.. and then eating some more, because there are many kinds of bacon, Tasha heads for the bedroom that Gabriel and Katie have claimed. This leaves Hakeber and Sharon to finish off the leftovers, along with helping get Shojo out of his fancy armor. Katie is already asleep, but Gabriel is still awake. "Full tummy?" he asks.
"Very," goes Tasha, who immediately begins to undress. "They had so many kinds of bacon. Red bacon, orange bacon, the other red bacon. Red Bacon Three. Purple bacon. Green bacon.." She folds her clothes and puts them side, then hops on the bed with Gabriel, holding her arms out.
Grabriel hugs Tasha as he pulls her to him. "Green? That implies green ham. And by extension, green eggs," he claims.
Tasha lets herself get pulled in; she's so light now, at least, relative to how she had been. She does indeed smell like bacon, but also, a bit like a fireplace. "There was some green meats and some eggs, I think they were red, but I need to watch what I eat."
"You do?" Gabriel asks, and licks around Tasha's muzzle to get a taste of what she's been eating (and any missed bits).
This causes Tasha's tail to wag a lot, she even squirms and makes embarrassing canine squealy noises. "Yes, Sasha said I'm getting "soooooooofffft"."
"Easy to fix!" Gabriel declares. "Which fitness trainer do you prefer: Shojo or Aaron?" The wolf grins as well.
"They're both obnoxious in different ways, though. Shojo's always smirking internally at my interactions with Lacci, and Aaron knows all my secrets and weaknesses. And he wants to do me. So does Shojo, but less so." Tasha straddles Gabriel's lap, but seems content to cuddle, at least for now. He knows she doesn't mind that changing at his or Katie's -- or both -- interest. "Though, you know, that might all change. The weight problem, not Shojo and Aaron wanting to do me."
"That just leaves Katie as a trainer," Gabriel says, and squeezes Tasha. "She may be the toughest of them all though."
"She'll want me to mooodel and try on strange things," Tasha complains, but at least she's wagging. She hugs Gabriel back, then lays her head on his chest. "And she's kind of scary, even now. Well. At least today I saw everyone's tougher than I thought, I was a little worried for a moment."
"What was with the sparking fingers?" Gabriel asks. "That was unexpected. All of it was, but that came first."
"I am pleased you noticed my little fingers amidst the chaos. I was trying to be subtle but we didn't really have a lot of time, and, well, I had to rush things, which is why I blew up the market." Tasha winces a little, but only a little. She's blown up a lot of things, and commerce was the least of the losses in that fight. "But the sparking is.. This."
Tasha rolls over, head on Gabriel's chest, then holds up a hand and begins clicking her thumb and pointer talons together, and this produces sparks. Then it produces a flame. That flame rests in her hand, quite politely, and rather warm. As this happens the woman's hand emits a subtle but very present deep, translucent red aura, something between flowing blood, wine, and fire in appearance. "It's what I learned from the books."
Gabriel looks at the flame.. and tries to blow it out, without even huffing and puffing first!
The flame stubbornly remains! It almost seems attached to Tasha's hand. She gives a very admonishing frowny look. "Please do not blow out my soul-flame, thank you. And then she nips at Gabriel before turning back to the fire and asking, "Do you want the short vague explanation or the more detailed esoteric one?"
"I was just checking if was an actual flame or not," Gabriel claims. "Details, wench!" he insists.
"That's fire wench to you, sir," Tasha insists, then rolls the flame across her hand, and places it on her nose. There is burns, yet doesn't burn her, looking quietly and respectfully out of place. "The introductory answer is that this a manifestation of the power of Red, which is the power of Life, whose Symbolic-Effective manifestation is Fire, and whose dictomy is Creation and Destruction, as compared to Blue, the Color -- capital C -- of Eternity. They are somewhat mutually exclusive, but not entirely. That's also capital-F Fire by the way. This flame is lower case fire, it's a mostly regular flame I am generating from my own soul and being. It's a very basic expression of Life and Flame, of Red, a stepping stone to deeper mysteries, but very important to learn, as are the other lessons. I just had to rush. Red is a practical, every-day Color, and Life recognizes necessity and survival, even as it is as deep and complex. And, unlike Blue and Yellow, which I borrow -- I channel -- Red, resonating with my being and my soul, is of me. It is the Color that speaks to me, and me to it."
Tasha pauses, looking down at her little flame. "It fascinates me," she admits.
"Hmm, so if you use the shield or sword, will that prevent you from using fire because they cancel out or interfere with eachother?" Gabriel asks. "Is there anyone you ask about how to use this?"
"I channel the Yellow and the Blue, they are not of me so much as given to me, so they shouldn't interfere so long as I don't try and intersect them conceptually and probably not physically. Well, figuratively physically. It's hard to explain." Tasha takes the fire off her nose, then holds it up for Gabriel to blow out again, though this time she makes a blowing motion and nods for him to go ahead. "Unlike these borrowed powers, Red comes from me. I am my answer, but I am not all of the questions, and it helps greatly to be exposed to beings who can help me comprehend a wider view and cultivate balance, a necessity to Kindle myself, and therefore ascend to the true mystery of Red and of Life. And that will be something. Speaking of which, the voice beyond the books told me to seek beings of Balance, to better understand Creation and Destruction. Kai clearly caught on to that surprisingly fast; when I became the dragon I knew and understood some part of what it mean to Enkindle, I knew what could have taken me much longer to understand though the experience. I understood the Destruction Within and expressed it Without. Which is why the market is toast," the appropriately red woman explains.
Gabriel blows at the flame again. "So it's a dragon thing?" he asks. "Or something Kai can actually help you with?"
The flame goes out without complaint, and Tasha rolls over and goes back to being cuddily. "Dragons are strong manifests of Red, they are powerful forces of Life, and often at its local pinnacle, possessed of great strength, constitution, longevity, and in many cases, literal and figurative fires within. But, dragons aren't exclusive to Red, nor is Red exclusive to dragons. Red touches all Life, Destruction, and Creation. It is a Color of all the multiverse, a way beings like us perceive it, a bit like looking behind the stage and seeing the fundamental concept-energies, not unlike gods or beings like Thotep, Mr. Yellow, and the Null. A thread that binds." Tasha's yawn is copious, but she continues none the less. "Kai can help. She's a being of inner balance; she's content within herself, and she knows both creation and destruction. You can teach me, too. You were mentioned specifically."
"Oh?" Gabriel asks in surprise, but echoes Tasha's yawn. "I'm a first gen.. so I can see that, I think. I'm at the fulcrum of wild instinct and deliberate action."
"Wolf thought so, too. He can see both sides of you, and you are one of the pinnacles of that. So, somehow, some way, I think that can teach me," Tasha confirms, nodding. her head thumps down, she stretches, and then she tucks her muzzle under Gabriel's. "We can work on it, if you're willing."
"I can teach you how I maintain control of myself," Gabriel offers. "Later though. The adrenaline has finally run its course I need sleep."
"You and me both, it might not have seemed like it -- and it mostly wsn't because I was drawing off that astral energy a lot -- but drawing power from myself is tiring in more ways than physical. Mostly, not physical. Unless it is. Anyway! I'm tired. And full of bacon. That's why I ate it. Drained." Another yawn, then, "Okay lets sleep, or I'll fall asleep talking."
When everyone finally woke up (mostly due to growling stomaches) the breakfast buffet had be restocked, and included steaks and (probably) waffles. "We need to spend all of our money before we head out," Kai informs everyone. "Religious symbols, magic items and anything else useful. Magic items are expensive, so I'll need to be there to assess them. Oh, and probably weapons or anything else hand-made."
"I have a few personal items I'd like to buy. Also, I suspect you already know that I need some, ah, I guess we'd call them reagents and study aids, materials. I think you picked up on me very quickly." Tasha didn't eat much for breakfast, since she ate breakfast for dinner; she mostly had pancakes with a lot of whip cream and fruit toppings. "Did Sasha get his tools? If not, we'll need those." Tasha also wants a statue of Danu for herself, but she's not ready to mention meeting Danu to Kai, who may have problems with that. She'll find that along the way.
"I got them before we came looking for you guys last night," Sasha says.
"How much do we have to spend?" Gabriel asks. "I still want to build a boat, and they've got good sailcloth.."
"That's one item down, then. I'll join whichever group is heading to look for magical bits; I might want to tour magic shops, or, alchemy labs.. Maybe places with a lot of incense. Or wood. And of course we need the gifts for trade." Tasha nods to Gabriel. "I bet the shipwrights and their suppliers would have a lot of both."
"Stuff we can carry, please," Kai says. "Religious icons should be easy. Who here won't burst into flames by entering a temple?"
Tasha suspects she now bursts in to flames for a great many reasons and in a great many ways. "I'm out," she conceeds.
Sharon raises a hand. "I'm still okay," she claims. This makes Sasha look guilty for some reason.
"We can go carry heavy things for Gabriel," Lacci says, volunteering Shojo.
"I'll go with Sharon, I've got a nose for these things," Hakeber says.
Sasha's guilt makes Tasha look proud, for obvious reasons. "Cute and vulnerable, but we shouldn't travel alone, so someone needs to go with Sharon." She then eyes Hakeber. "You're just as possessed as I am, won't you burst in to flames?"
"Hmmm," Katie goes, as if trying to decide which group will need the most looking after. "I'll look after Hakeber and Sharon."
"My skull is thick though," Hakeber declares. "I'm practically a priestess."
"So, magic group will be Tasha, me.. and Sasha," Kai says.
Tasha barks a laugh and retorts, "A dirty priestess, one of the kinds from a Silent One special tome." She then nods to Kai. "Good idea, Sasha could use looking at these things, too. He may have a special niche in the manufacture of more exotic items, which no one really knows how to handle right now."
A thought then occurs to Tasha, "What about the sword? How does that fit in to things?"
"It's tucked away," Kai says. "Beyond that, it's a sword. You kill things with it. Not complicated."
Tasha just sticks her tongue out at this sassy answer.
"Magic swords can have issues," Kai notes. "Treat them like you would Samael until you reach an agreement with them."
"So we're keeping it stored until you get along with it. Makes sense. I've had those kinds of deals before. Hopefully 'stepped on arrogant knight-guy' will be a selling point." Tasha slides her plate away, then looks around. "So shall we get going?"
"I've set out purses with the cash," Kai notes, gesturing to the pile of small leather purses. "Don't get scammed. Any leftover money needs to be gambled or given away."
"Why is that?" Tasha suspects but decides she just really wants to know anyway. her explorations of Red have left her curiosity piqued and provided a new view of life.
"Because it's no good once we leave the city," Kai points out. "Cash needs to be circulated to maintain a healthy economy."
"That's surprisingly responsible of you," Tasha admits, head tilting foxishly. "Are you reaaally Kai? The sword didn't replace you, did it?"
Kai smirks, and says, "I haven't been tasked with destroying this city, and it will make up for wrecking Night City. Plus I got it by cheating at cards."
"I suppose I should contribute to the Kai's Sorry fund, I did kind of join a argument for fun, and then blow up a market." And so Tasha nods, decisively. "We'll spend it all, then."
"Is there any other reason to join an argument?" Kai quips, and the pouches are distributed until everyone has one. "If you need a wagon, rent one with a dray and porter so they can bring it back," is her last bit of advice before they head out.
Tasha follows Kai, hurrying along and cuddling in to Sasha as they leave. "Someone did a thiiing," she teases.
"No! Nothing happened, really," Sasha claims in a panic.
Tasha ducks and moves to the other side of Sasha. "Oh come on, I've done way worse than whatever this is! Unless.. " Tasha gasps. "Are you my most perverted side?? You seem so cute and harmless! I was sure that was Vasha."
"We took a bath together," Kai explains, as they head through the ground level casino to the street. "Now, do we want magic to use or to trade with?"
Sasha whines, hoping Tasha doesn't dig deeper.
"I don't think Titanians have any facility with magic, so it'll just be an expensive trinket for them. And if it's too dangerous, they might feel compelled to destroy it. Still, something magical and mostly harmless might fascinate them as a true exotic oddity." Tasha ducks to Sasha's other side again, then grabs him in a sisterly hug and nuzzles his head, again, foxishly. "Did you do it? Or, was there some cute bath boy? Maybe both? Together? Did you try a dragon? As a dragon?"
Kai laughs at the bombardment of questions. "He had a reaction. And he's embarrassed because I'm his mom."
"Aaugh, do not tell Sharon or Vasha!" Sasha whimpers.
"Haha wow," Tasha says, unabashedly and unapologetically amused. "Oh and don't be worried about them, they're probably just as bad. Although I've never been turned on by my mom, so maybe they'll surprise me. Oh, I know! Lets spend some money taking Sasha to a brothel!"
"Wait, am I also your mom? And that would mean Kai and I had kids.. So that would mean Kainudy and I had kids. Or Kainudy, whole, would have considered having kids with me. That said dragons are universal, and a lot of people want to have kids with me, so I can't blame her. Anyway! Brothel!" Tasha wags her tail.
"He shouldn't think of me as his mom," Kai claims. "But as the deity who molded him from clay."
"And you're my sister," Sasha claims to Tasha. "We're the same age... inside."
"So like Nora is to me. See? That's okay, I got turned on by Nora, too. And we almost did it! But she turned me down because we're too similar looking, which, I admit, is not a bad reason." Tasha then eyes Sasha. "That's true. I did sleep with my adopted sister though -- wait, are you thinking that sort of thing about me?" She leans back, ears up, both hands to her muzzle in exaggerated affronted embarrassment.
They turn up one of the narrower hub streets, which has lots of shops with stuffed reptiles hung over their doors. "Ah, the street of weird and esoteric crap!" Kai announces.
"I'm not thinking anything about anybody!" Sasha insists.
"I love these streets! Hey, what's with the lizards? Is it dragon-warding? Because I don't want to walk in to a magical barrier again." Tasha then grins at Sasha and tries to tickle him because he's just so cute. "Well you better sooner or later or I might get worried about you!"
"In every reality, alchemists and wizards advertise that they have gone to exotic places by hanging a stuffed alligator over their door," Kai explains. "Or the local equivalent."
"Why don't I hang weird stuffed things from my place of residences.. " Considered Tasha. She really should take more trophies and souvenirs. "Well, I need incenses, wood blocks, maybe some books on healing, anatomy, life-in-general, as well as pyromancy books and reagents. Mostly, I'm going to burn a lot of these, so they're not primary important. The gifts are the big thing. I wouldn't mind accumulating alchemy supplies as well. I feel like that's going to come up sooner or later, and it would be good to set up our own alchemy lab."
The first shop has what appear to be severed hands on display behind its smoked glass window. "Fortune telling shop," Kai says. "Probably lots of bones, rune-stones, dice and gutting knives." Tasha and Sasha can both smell what must be the alchemy store though. It's got an acrid odor.
"Iiii smell allchemmeeey," Tasha notes, she sniffs a bit more, then she points. "That-a-way."
So they open the door to that shop, which squeaks. There are shelves of.. stuff and a counter with a cabinet behind it with maybe a hundred tiny drawers. The counter has a set of scales and measuring weights, as well as a wizened man or woman that may or may not be human. A shaved rodent is also a possibility. "Yes, how can I help you?" it asks before starting a coughing jag that sounds terminal.
Tasha eyes the man or woman or rat and its cough and hopes that's not her in the future, especially given her interest in alchemy and her renewed smoking habit -- and new habit of smoking. "Hi, yes, I'm looking for, um.. " After looking around, Tasha gravitates to the incense stocks. "These.. ah.. " She has to start sniffing. "Give me a little bit to look around and I'll know more. Why don't you help Sasha buy some alchemy lab supplies?"
"How are you set for alembics and condensers, young man?" the clerk asks Sasha, who looks lost. "Can you show me a catalog?" he asks the clerk.
Among the shelves are bags of things that smell nice, and things that smell nasty. Also a box of sticks of unfamiliar types of wood, and clear jugs of blood and other fluids. And lots of animal (and maybe not animal) bones and skulls as well as odd tools and a few parchment scrolls.
"Help him out, Kai." Tasha starts pulling items, she grabs the box of various strips of various woods, three bottles of powders, a dried lizard tail labeled as a fire salamander tail, three bones from creatures likewise flame-related, and a small jar of red dragon scales. She stacks these on an empty space on a nearby table, then resumes looking. "Oh, I should get some blood." She does this, picking up, to perhaps no one's surprise by now, a stack of vials of blood from various creatures,most of which seem fire related, but a few have uncertain connections and these Tasha stares long and hard at before taking.
"Which path do you prefer, right hand or left hand?" the clerk is heard to ask Sasha, while filling a box with glass and copper chemistry equipment.
"I think he means something like black or white magic," Tasha calls over distractedly. Last but not least, Tasha takes a slice of fire salamander leather, mostly as a reference to picking up some fire-resistant materials as she suspects that will become increasingly more important. She may understand how to resist the flame, but her clothes are less elucidated.
The clerk has two books laid out on the counter before Sasha. One has a drawing of Baphomet (who looks disturbingly like Thotep) and the other a bird-headed human.
At about this time Tasha returns with her pile of miscellaneous and somewhat alarming supplies. She had to carry it in both hands, and she puts it all down with thunk and clatter. "All of this for me. Also, pick the bird-book. That's Thoth, he's the father of alchemy. He'll be very upset if you pick the other one, which I think is another avatar from Brand Nyarlathotep."
"The bird one then, please," Sasha says, and that book gets added to the box. "Do you want an alchemists chest to keep all of this in?" the clerk asks next, given the amount of stuff.
"Please, though separate my goods from the rest, annnd.. " Tasha plucks one of the sticks from the box and puts it aside, "I'll be using this one immediately."
The clerk claps his hands, and several trunks trundle out from a back room on little wooden legs. The even have faces engraved on their sides and lids.
"Oooh, that solves the carrying problem! In you go!" Tasha offers her pile to one, leaving Sasha's pile to the rest. The remaining stick of mystery wood gets put in her mouth in much the same way a peasant might chew on some straw. "Alright! Lets pay the.. " Hesitation. "Well, lets pay."
"You'll need these keys so they'll follow you," the clerk says, setting some extremely ornate, gem-encrusted keys on the counter. Then the bill is tallied, which Kai pays for.. using all of one purse and some from Sasha's as well. "Dibs on the one with brass fittings," Sasha says, grabbing the key for that trunk.
"I'll take the ominous gargoyle-styled one, it feels more fire-resistant." And Tasha means that figuratively as well as literally, she can feel a thing's relation to fire, though it's a new thing, not wholly reliable. She grabs the gargoyle key, which has rubies for eyes and one long claw acts to form the bumps of the key length itself. "Everyone done then? Thoth will be proud."
Loading up the trunks takes some time, to make sure nothing has too much room to jostle. Then they're back out on the street.
Tasha, who has tried very hard to resist chewing on her stick, plants her hands on her hips. "Well that's a long overdue purchase done. Next we need to.. Oh, buy trade items. We're looking for interesting but mostly harmless magic items that work on their own."
"There's bound to be a shop selling possessed ventriloquists dummies," Kai says. "Or.. toys."
"That sounds horrible," Sasha says.
"Yes! Off to the necromancy shops it is!" Kai says, pointing towards a shadier looking section of shops. "Or.. something else, your choice."
"The toys or the dummies?" Once they're moving again, Tasha gives in to the urge she's felt since she got near the materials, and she begins to click her teeth together, stops, then stares in to space for a long moment before both her aura and the stick tonight, with the aura blinking out as fast as it appeared. The stick smolders, and Tasha looks more relaxed despite there not have been enough time for her to inhale anything. "Necromancy's fine with me, a bit of the macabre could be interesting. Some Titanians really love interesting dead stuff, like the crew of the Divine Lobotomy."
It isn't long before they looking at a collection of flaming, screaming skulls atop walking sticks, something like a violin made of bones that includes arms and fingers and plays itself.. not very well. There are a lot of things bound in sapient flesh, including one book that the proprietor claims is bound in the skin of a human lycanthrope, and will grow fur and paws when exposed to a full moon and even run around and howl. "Children will love it," he promises.
"I feel like skinned large wolves give the wrong message.. Maybe even to us." Tasha rubs her chin while she worries at the stick in her mouth, the probably incense, possibly some poison ingredient, smokes away. She seems less interested in the smoke then the fact the stick is burning in the first place, but at least it gives her a musky, woody smell with that unmistakable touch of forest fire. "I'm positive the Captain of the Mauler will like that violin though -- and it will make Bumper laugh! And a flaming screaming skull would intrigue the Lobotomy. I don't know how they feel about skinny people, so we'll avoid those. Anyway, those two, please."
These eat up a considerable amount of the remaining funds, reducing them to one quarter of a pouch. But at least they learn the magic words to make the skull and violin start and stop their screaming and playing. The necromancer even throws in an extra set of strings for the violin. "Made from the gut of temple cats, so they have extra lives."
"Exciting," goes Tasha, though she knows at least a few temples those cats wouldn't come from. And while she's not big on hurting cats, she also can't worry about every single thing and remain functional, so she lets this one go.
Once the purchases are done, Tasha turns to the others. "That's most of the money. I think these two will be enough to entice at least two ships to consider trading. What should we do with the rest?"
"Something for the others back at the base?" Sasha suggests. "Booze, maybe. Exotic jerked meat. Pornographic portraits." That last one feels like a dig at Tasha, but maybe not.
"A fairy wand for Whisper," Kai adds. "And an encyclopedia for Tia."
"That's a good idea, no one's seen you naked and posing," Tasha seems to agree, nodding slowly and rubbing her chin. "The rest are all good ideas, too. Lets get those things. OhandIneedastatueofDanu." The last is said rather quickly. Tasha pretends not to notice.
"We'll do a nude calendar later, Titanians might like that," Kai says. "We can probably find a statue of Danu in the gift shops as well. One street over!"
"Just think, so many big wolves will be drooling over you, Sasha!" Tasha hooks an arm around the man, careful not to burn him with her chew toy. "Hopefully the others are doing just as well! Off we go then!"