After returning from Outpost Caltrop, and some energetic private time with Gabriel, Tasha is roused from her sleep by an insistently shaking hand on her shoulder.
Tasha's a little scary to wake up suddenly these days. She starts, eyes widen, and for a moment she glows like molten metal, like a heating element reaching its limit. "W-what?" She looks around, trying to locate the source of the hand.
The hand is made of metal, so isn't bothered by the glow-up. It releases her shoulder with the clicking of clockwork gears, as does the arm it belongs to. That in turn attaches to a very pale shoulder, nearly hidden by spills of silver hair. "You are not easy to awaken," the elfin figure that is obviously Gwyndrael notes. She does smile though.
Tasha blinks in the fading light of herself, a fact that takes her a moment to realize. "Gwyndrael?" She knows it is, but her brain hasn't quite caught up at all levels. She blinks again, then rubs her eyes. "I used to be a lighter sleeper.. Is something wrong? Are you an elf?"
"Well, it was the closest I could get," the dragon-woman claims. She's where sort of cobbled together attire made from bit of Kobold armor. The stout, brown woman with short hair next to her must be Thermoriax. "Is there a different species we need to depict, or is this good enough to get past inspection?"
Tasha blinks at Thermoriax a moment as well. She realizes elves suddenly waking her has a dangerous edge, and maybe she should consider fighting fewer elves. "Huuumans are a good baseline. But these will be.. " She takes in Thermoriax one more time, " ... felines. Khattans. Gabriel calls them lynx-people sometimes. It shouldn't matter if you call yourself a Mezzode, or a modded Human. The people of our universe change how they look for status and expression. It's how I've managed to hide what I am all this time. A Mezzode is a custom-created being, usually by the very rich, as companions and status symbols. You just need recognition by the prince or princess you're seeking, and they will likely handle concealing your actual identity themselves. Give you a cover, if we haven't provided one that works well enough to be accepted by them."
"I thought we just had to get an audience, then we could change back to normal.. or half-normal.. to impress them?" Thermoriax asks. "To play as First Ones or whatever. We've been told that every species has dragon myths, so it's reasonable to pretend dragons are First Ones."
"I'm not sure what the final story is, because I don't think we decided it. But that sounds reasonable enough; the other choice is that I'm the First One and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. I sometimes feel like they're watching me. The First Ones, I mean. The Sifra." Tasha's brows arch; they could be out there. "And I don't want to offend them more than I have to."
"You're a Mezzode, so maybe you're a special one that does magic," Gwyndrael suggests, sitting on the corner of the bed. "You made with.. magic beast parts or something. The explanation probably isn't important, or can stay secret. And it's not a lie, you've been modified by Tia. So unique, but potentially reproducible which will give any megalomaniac the drooling tremors."
"I'm a little worried about being reproducible considering I can reproduce myself. I don't want to give them the wrong ideas, and we don't know how clever they are, maybe they can make more of me," the red woman worries. She does sit up more, and then scoot over to get a closer look at Gwyndrael. "I was going to say I'm a demon-mortal hybrid or something, as much as I don't like that word. My other claim to value is being able to defeat dragons, which will impress them by denial -- I can deny the others your abilities if necessary. Power control."
"Since there are not enough dragons to go around, the latter is a viable strategy," Gwyndrael nods. "You have obviously foreign material in you that they certainly can't reproduce though, not even including the dragon heart which may not be detectable at all. If they could reproduce Waybuilder technology, they'd already have taken over everything."
"Waymaker," Tasha corrects. "But yes, you make a very valid point. I'll go with that then: some magic, and denial. Quasimortal. From here, and beyond, and back again. Maybe I'm following you, or maybe I just got tired of everything and wanted more, and then saw what you three were doing, and decided I wanted that, too. In it for money, power, fast spacecraft and the women." She grins.
"You don't have to explain your abilities at all, really," Gwyndrael points out. "Merely demonstrate them and say you are seeking employment."
"Even better. The less I say the less I have to lie about and the less they can scrutinize," Tasha confirms, nodding. "I almost became a mercenary on a few years ago, after all."
"I they're insistent, tell them you can take them to meet your patron out in space, or somewhere that Kai can make them think they've met some sort of cosmic entity," the dragon suggests.
"Kai is the most dangerous, if not the most powerful," Thermoriax says. "Not something you want to draw attention to if it can be avoided."
"That's true.. Though my actual patrons might show up, too. There's a few of them now." Tasha's brows go up. "Depending on who shows up, that could be, uh, interesting. Kai's capacity for manipulation is considerable, and Mr. Yellow's capacity for infection is world-ending. Well, hopefully I won't need to."
The two dragons exchange glances. "Mr. Yellow," Thermoriax says. "Has the King in Yellow asked anything of you?"
"He asked me to be where we're going," Tasha answers. "And at one point he told me to hurry up, more or less, when it seemed like I was sliding in to a normal life. Well, normal-er. Mundane."
"So what does he want there?" Gwyn asks, a bit anxiously.
At the question Tasha just shrugs, ears flat and out; she does not know.
"So something that could be sprung at the last moment, if not a desire to spread his influence," Thermoriax says. "Using his Sign on the princes would certainly help that along, but you can only do that to the one you contact."
"Yes. I plan to try and work with them through mundane means for as long as possible, but if I must, I can elevate my approach to include every power at my disposal. This is why I am both an asset and a key to this mission, and a potential problem and complication. And you all now know about why, so I won't ask about how you may deal with that -- just in case." Tasha spreads her hands. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be in that moment, the downside to deals and bargains from beyond. But, now there's Tia, so maybe she can step in."
"She's confided that she believes the Ogdru-hem can sense her presence if she's too close," Gwyndrael says. "So unless we want to agitate it, she is to remain 'in proximity' as she says. If whatever Hakeber is going to do results in it vanishing, however, she can step in without concern beyond the effects of nearby Sifran artifacts."
"She may also be able to direct me in the event I become possessed or controlled, or otherwise compelled," Tasha agrees, nodding. She then looks between the two and asks, "Have you decided on identities? You may be there a while, I'm sure you'll have many mundane questions to answer, just like I will. What to do with the reward of service, where to live, and how. What to do with your free time."
"Gabriel said somebody would be coming to help us with that," Gwyndrael says. "But we also need clothing. While Wormwood can conjure up his own attire, it doesn't work for us. Glamor isn't really a dragon thing either. At best, we've been able to suppress our auras."
"We can order things if we know your measurements and tastes. There are auto-stylists and AI-based fashion designers and wardrobe assemblers. And as foreigners to our reality, dressing oddly is not unexpected, and I should know about that. I believe the person coming to help can also handle the wardrobe and everything else. You'll see. Miss Teatime is highly competent, much more so than myself," Tasha explains.
"Well, the armor isn't very comfortable," Gwyndrael claims. "Do you have anything we can borrow in the meantime? Perhaps Katherine has something."
"Katherine will murder all of us if we borrow her clothes without asking.. But if we ask then.. maybe. She's going to be really excited about your hair and arm you known, Gwyn." Tasha pats said arm, then slides out of bed and grabs her robe. "Why don't we go over and ask her?" Besides, Tasha thinks, if she denies Katherine this opportunity she'd never live it down. "Come on.. Where'd I put my underwear? Oh, Gabriel threw them up here." She snatches them off the lip of a dresser drawer. She's sure the rest is around here; she gathers what she can and heads out.
A query of the intercom system leads the trio into the main base, and then down into the bowels of it where the machine shop is. There are growling noises emanating from one of the bays, where they find Katy, Sasha and Mressa. Two of them are in greasy jumpsuits. Tasha recognizes the shape of a motorcycle. It makes her think of Nora and her cabin on the lake.
Tasha is dressed in a lazy mix of fur trimmed bathrobe, boots, short-shorts and a tank top, with one loop of her bra having slide down her left arm. Her hair is what she made of it along the way. "Hey, it's the Dragon Brigade. Can we come in to.. Is that Mressa?"
"Just a moment!" Katy says, not looking up. "Rev it, Sasha!" The Karnor twists a handle and the engine snarls to live, sounding a bit like a dragon itself. The onlooking Khattan covers her tufted ears.
"That's a motorcycle," Tasha whispers, albeit loudly for a whisper, to the dragons beside her. "A kind of motorized conveyance that uses centripetal forces for balance."
"And does it have a demon inside of it?" Gwyndrael asks.
The motor quiets, and Katherine stands up in her overalls, wiping her hands on a rag before turning to see who's there. She sort of freezes a bit upon seeing Gwyndrael. "Uh.. dragons?" she says.
"Yeah, that's definitely Gwyndrael and Thermoriax, two of our resident dragons," Sasha says, and Mressa sort of gives a short curtsey to Thermoriax (she already knows Gwyn after all). "I didn't know you could transform into.. Humans?"
"It's close to what we're familiar with," Gwyndrael says. "But we might be able to do others with practice."
"I'm not so sure about the.. armor," Mressa says, her voice purring a bit more pleasantly than the engine was.
"Yeah, they're budget elves until we can work out something better." Tasha tries to put her arm around both dragons as she walks closer, to be supportive and to show that, look, the dragons are safe because she is touching them. And also, she thinks it's kind of funny. "Anyway, as you can see, we're all having wardrobe problems, but at least these two have an excuse of not having been elves before, and strangers to our universe."
"Oh.. yeah," Katherine agrees, a bit dazedly. "They should get out of that ugly armor, it doesn't suit them," she suggests. Although the tone is a bit 'get out of it now' than eventually.
"Katie thinks you should get undressed," Tasha asides to the dragons, head dipping, ears and brows up. "On the plus side you'll no longer be the worst dressed person here."
"What?" Katie says, and looks down at her dirty overalls and grease-globbed fur. "Oh.. I need a shower, don't I?"
"We were wondering if you could loan us something better to wear, since you seem closest to us in build, for the most part," Gwyndrael asks. "It wouldn't be fair to ask Sharon, as she probably doesn't have many outfits to spare."
"Tia has a closet full of stuff," Sasha points out. "I don't know where Kai gets her clothes though, if they're even real."
"No!" Katherine barks at Sasha. "I mean, I will be glad to dress these women in attire befitting them."
"I was referring to myself actually," Tasha says of her outfit, tail wagging like a dog who just ran through the mud and likes it. She then gives Sasha a tilt of the head, and an arch of her eyebrow; really, Sasha?
Sasha just shrugs. Maybe he has a reason to mess with Katie, or is just being mischievous. He's grinning and wagging his tail after all.
"We can certainly help you get clean in exchange," Gwyndrael offers. This makes Katie's tail start to wag until she forces it to stop. "Yes, I could use some assistance.." she says.
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Tasha's tail makes a loop, then points, actually points, at the way back. "We should get going and do that. This way, this way.. Your apartment or mine, Katie-dear?"
"I have the wardrobe in mine.. and a big shower," Katie says. She then takes off her coverall to leave it in the shop. No sense getting grease all over her apartment.
The Karnor then leads the way, swishing her butt and tail as she goes.
Tasha guides the dragons on out, following after the illustrious and greasy Miss Katherine Vesuvius.
Soon after she has managed to get the dragons undressed and Gwyndrael into the shower with her, while Tasha and Thermoriax browse through Katie's wardrobe. She has a lot of jumpsuits. "I've never seen a garment like this before," the dragon admits as she examines one of the racing-stripe decorated ones.
"They're racing outfits, or, well, posing next to racing equipment outfits. Katherine used to be a world-wide entertainer and vehicle racer, and secretly, a spy. She also just happens to appreciate machines and metals in general." Tasha holds up one she remembers, from back when they were on the track. Those were good times and she finds she misses the simplicity of those times, when she could just be a person in a crowd, eating a meat cylinder and cheering for someone. Having pizza afterward. She lets out a wistful sigh. "We were both different back then."
"What were you?" Thermoriax asks, holding up the jumpsuit. "It's still got a hole for the tail, so you she couldn't have been that different at least."
"I mean professionally. Or, well, um, I was also different physically, bigger, stronger, louder, angrier, less.. magically-inclined. I was just a student and an explorer, occasional fighter. Katie's from a high ranking family. I came form another world to her's with Gabriel, and Gabriel and I started -- or restarted -- an ancient exploratory mission." Tasha puts the outfit back. "But that's then and this is now."
"So you are no longer exploring?" Thermoriax asks. "Why did she come with you?"
"Not as my direct mission. Perhaps once the threat is resolved and our universe is safe, I'll return to that. I miss it, it came with more wonder and less fear, and never felt like a war to grind me beneath its heel." Tasha rubs her face, then deliberately stops doing it, exhaling. "She came with me because I asked and because we were -- and are -- doing exciting things. And, for freedom, I think. She didn't love her old work, she yearned for somewhere else to be and grow. Everyone here does. That's part of why they're here."
"So we are the only ones to come out of a sense of ennui," Thermoriax claims. "Although I suspect Gwyndrael has other reasons. She is not the oldest of us, but has seen actual combat with.. monsters. It took much from her, but here she seems eager to try it again. Dragons are normally solitary, growing old alone until it makes us strange. She is vibrant. It's attractive and enticing. A chance to do something, to risk something."
Tasha smiles at that. "That's part of what appealed to me as well, and why we appeal to each other. There's also the chance to help someone who needs help, someone we both know. If we succeed, then we'll have spared an entire universe a terrible fate. That's worth something. And, perhaps we'll have saved someone who once walked the same path we did and suffered for it, which is worth something as well, and to each of us besides. I think Katherine wants to do more and be free. I think she sees me like you see Gwyndrael, although I fear I may not be that person anymore, I am still fighting."
"A blade unsheathed grows heavy and dull," the dragon claims, and pokes Tasha's side. "Soon you will be drawn again, and blood will flow in torrents." For a priestess she's pretty graphic. "What are those sounds coming from the rain room?"
It is definitely giggling that Tasha can hear.
Tasha laughs at that, but in a good natured way. She supposes all this sitting around and waiting has weighed on her. At least she learned and gained some new, interesting things.
The red woman's thoughts are disrupted by the noise. "Are they giggling in there? We should investigate." And then she's tip-hoofing over.
The shower is open, and Katherine is groping Gwyndrael's prosthetic. "Yes I can feel that," the dragon claims.
Tasha covers her mouth with both hands as if she were witnessing something scandalous. "Does she.. always let people touch her prosthetics?" This to Thermoriax.
"She has regular maintenance performed in the holy city," Thermoriax says. Both of the women in the shower turn to look at the peepers. "I think she wants to have sex with me," Gwyndrael proudly announces.
Tasha's muzzle turns up in a big, dumb grin, and she juts out a arm to make a thumbs up. "Excellent insight! I think, you're right." She then gives Katherine a very, very blatant wink.
"I'm surprised you two haven't been rolling around wrestling!" Katie counters.
"I haven't wrestled since seminary school," Thermoriax claims. "But I'd rather wrestle Gabriel. He's the biggest."
"I'm very small."" Tasha folds her hands in front of her, ducks her head and bats her eyelashes shly. "And everyone wants to wrestle Gabriel."
"Well, if you aren't going to wrestle.. show her to the spring or something then come back in a bit," Katie suggests.
"I know when I'm being asked to leave," Tasha sing-songs as she hooks an arm around Thermoriax's shoulder again and starts to angle around. "Come on, lets go lounge in the spring and you can tell me how I'm doing spiritually. Maybe I can show you what I've learned from Wormwood."
The hot springs aren't empty. Yue and Tia are there. Yue blinks at the new human, but guesses, "Thermoriax?" The transformed dragon nods, in a having-to-think-about-the-action sort of way.
"I, of course, am Theregoesmygirlfriends, the Questionable Choices Dragon." Tasha slips her robe and her clothes without so much as a preamble, tossing them aside and in to a pile. "All the dragons have assumed a humanoid-ish form in anticipation of the mission."
Since Thermoriax's clothes are back in Katie's room, she just steps into the water, and looks surprised. "So.. human bodies can feel hot and cold," she observes.
"Usually," Tia comments. "If it stops then there is likely a problem."
"Heat can be very soothing," Yue says.
"Be careful of walking barefoot, everything wants to bite your feet," Tasha notes as she slides in to the water, resting her head back on a rock. "Ahhh, soggy."
"Humans were barefoot for hundreds of thousands of years," Tia points out. "Is Sharon having issues with her feet? Whisper seems to be fine without footwear."
"When I was Sharron I had issues with my feet," Tasha admits, looking down at her hooves. "But I was Human for two-three days tops, it did feel like several thousand years, however."
"An eventful few days, I recall," Yue notes. "I hear that Katie had her tied up and tickled by the bunnies."
"Tickled?" Thermoriax asks. Nobody volunteers to demonstrate though. "It's an involuntary reaction, often part of child play that helps to develop the nervous system and reflexes," Tia explains.
"Some animals react to it as well," Yue adds.
"One of the great tragedies of our army. Avenge me some day," Tasha says with mock-seriousness. "I assume she's tying up and tickling Gwyndrael right now. Also, am I not the best girlfriend? I think I am. Assuming I am still anyone's girlfriend."
"Well.. you aren't the girlfriend of anyone in present company," Yue points out. "Gabriel seems happy though."
"I've never had a romantic relationship so I wouldn't know," Thermoriax claims. "Just lots of sex."
"I hope so," Tasha says of Gabriel, smiling, but perhaps not as much as she might. To Thermoriax she asks, "Before your vows? Or is there some loophole to your vows I'm not aware of? Little blonde Humans perhaps?"
"I haven't been a priestess for that long," Thermoriax says, sinking further into the pool. "I had many suitors in my youth, as my father was very wealthy."
"Big red dragon, mountain of gold type?" Tasha dips her left wing in to the pool, shakes it, frowns, chews on it a bit, then shakes it out again, seemingly satisfied.
"Something like that," Thermoriax says, discovering that breasts float. "Lots of land. But I had a lot of fun, at least."
"I get the sense that you would not have had many suitors under other circumstances," Tia says.
"I am not a pretty dragoness like Gwyn," Thermoriax replies. "I am not a pretty human like her either."
"I can sympathize," Tia claims.
"Having fun's important," Tasha remarks in the kind of tone that suggests she might not be having as much fun as she could be having. "I'm not sure I can, but I was poor, loud, and kind of obnoxious, prone to violence, loud, and I didn't know a thing. Still, sometimes I miss it. But then I wanted to change, so clearly I wanted to changeline on and didn't entirely like who I was then."
"Or you saw a better version of yourself and chose that instead," Yue says. "Finding yourself can be difficult and almost always confusing. Especially if you just didn't have to deal with self-reflection before."
Tia slumps deeper into the water at the topic of conversation.
"I may yet decide to change my life later," Thermoriax says. "It is important to change things up when you can when you are a dragon, otherwise you just end up lying atop a pile of treasure and growing older and older. And sleeping a lot as well. I don't know how long I will be a priestess."
"That's true. Of course what you think is better is just your current self's idea of what better is. I did become better, and then I wanted more and more. I still want more, but I'm less sure what more looks like, and worry it's the chasing that matters, not the destination. I might be poorly suited to peace, though not adventure." Tasha glances at Tia for a long moment, then admits, "I might have destroyed myself back with Charon. Oh I wanted to save him, but I knew.. I knew how outmatched I was. I'm not sure when pushing as hard as I could became pushing to self-destruction."
"I chose the path of not following anything," Tia says. "I changed myself all of the time, taking on new lives in new places. But there was always a time limit. And then I discovered something about myself that frightened me, so I chose to just.. sit on a pile of treasure and grow older, I suppose."
"You're young yet," Thermoriax claims. "You probably spent all of your time with mortals, which can wear down your soul."
"It sounds like whatever we chose, we found something valuable, and we found some kind of pain. I guess none of us really found what we were looking for, or what we're looking for always changes." It's Tasha's turn to sink a little deeper, this time at 'the mortals' comment. "Speaking of immortals and a life of problems, has anyone ever met The Phoenix?"
"I've heard tales of it showing up in different places," Thermoriax says.
"You're talking about the bird that burns up and is reborn from its ashes?" Yue asks.
Tia just shakes her head.
"The very same. Apparently, there's just one, and it's out there. Somewhere. I was thinking of going to talk to it," Tasha explains. She looks around for a moment, then admits, "But I don't know where it is. Can anyone locate it?"
"Maybe," Tia says. "But if it roams the planes then it becomes difficult."
"It is most likely to be found in the Dreamlands," Thermoriax says. "It is more a creature of dream than of magic."
"Maybe it's time to use my Key then. The Book gave me a Silver Key when I asked for a means to travel the multiverse, and I was told it's a key. When Tia spoke to Yog-Sothoth, I used the Key to open a Gate. I think the way's open now, I just don't know how to step through it," the red woman explains. She looks around again. "Would that work? Do you know how I could step through?"
"Well, if it is a dream gate, then you step through by dreaming," Thermoriax says. "Are you a lucid dreamer?"
"No, I don't think so. Unless snoring counts, then I do it a lot," Tasha says, rolling her eyes. "But no. Not unless something else has pushed me to be."
"I can probably help you with that," Tia says. "I can control your mental states if needed."
"What else can you control?" Yue asks, a bit suspiciously.
"Everything?" Tia replies. "I am not Kai, however. I see no point in playing with the minds of others."
"Why don't we try? Maybe a talk with a being like that could offer some insight, maybe insight for all of us." Tasha looks between the others. "At the very least, there's only one Phoenix, and meeting them is worthy in its own right." And then she focuses on Tia. "Using me like a puppet would justify the same behavior by others, or bring her to their level. Besides, I'm used to it. I'm surrounded by beings who can control me and destroy me at a whim. Speaker to the Gods, you know."
"I thought you were a Herald?" Yue asks.
"What do you think Heralds do? We bring their words and tidings, we represent them. They're just very controlling, sometimes, and sometimes they like to take a hands-on approach. On my world, where heralds to nobility exist, they're people sworn to great houses or powerful organizations, under their influence and pleasure. It's not so different, though the scale and nature of the difference in power is far greater." Tasha takes her hands and touches them thumb to thumb, pointer to pointer, over her head. "The halo comes at a cost."
"I don't usually wear my halo," Tia says. "And I'm not god. You are my autonomous remote, that I don't have to monitor."
"At. A. Cost," Tasha repeats, then she lifts a hand, cups it, then has her other hand grab hold of a invisible joystick as she moves like a jerky robot to the motions.
"The Ogdru-hem should not be able to detect me through Tasha," Tia explains. "So I can passively monitor the situation. If there is an emergency, I think I can open a portal through her without causing damage."
At 'portal through her' Tasha opens her mouth as wide as she can, which is much wider than her short muzzle feels like it should open, and acts like she's swallowing some invisible tidbit. Then, she grins. "If not my other Tashas and I can sing one in to existence ourselves, though we haven't tried that yet. And having Tia monitor me means we have a counter in case I get puppeted by someone or something else."
"It is unlikely you will encounter anything that can break through Persephone's shield," Tia says. "Other than the Ogdru-hem itself, perhaps. They seem to have an ability I'm not familiar with, unless what happened with Hakeber was unique to that Ogdru-hem."
"What defenses do you have against being 'infected' through your connection with Tasha?" Yue asks Tia.
"Mr. Yellow might as well. I owe him, but I don't know what payment looks like yet. I don't mean to be overly suspicious, but, well, their kind do tend towards certain outcomes and I can't just dismiss that as a fighter." Tasha's brows go up at the question and she turns to look to Tia interestedly. "That's a good question. I can be infectious."
"I have a barrier of terror, and so far I have not been affected by the Yellow Sign," Tia says. "I can always disconnect if needed."
"A barrier of terror?" Thermoriax asks. "I've not come across that term before."
"So if I become dangerous enough.. beings will disconnect from me.. " Tasha makes a show of rubbing her chin, eyes up, in that classic consideration pose. It also makes her look a lot more robotic, being an common pose for minimal AI. As for a terror barrier, she remarks, "Is it like cooking? My terror barrier is cooking."
"During her.. training.. Tasha's soul was chewed on briefly," Tia explains. "The experience was mostly extracted by Kainudy into a sort of ugly dagger. Tia stabbed me with it later, so all of that is now part of me. It should block any attempts to control me."
"That makes se-- wait, what??" Tasha drops her pose and frowns, ears perked forward. "How does my pain shield you from control?"
"And it wasn't briefly," the winged woman insists, if somewhat harshly.
"Because it's hard to control a mind that is in pain," Tia explains. "My mind is also very fast, and can react quickly to intrusions."
"Oh. I suppose it's hard to control a mind when it can't even control itself," Tasha admits, nodding slowly. She still looks uncomfortable however, frowning deeply. "Well, we use what we have. It's not like my Yellow Swords are made of meatpies and liquor."
"So, meatpies and liquor are useful as a weapon?" Thermoriax asks.
"Tasha has used her sexuality to get what she wanted in the past as well," Tia notes. "Perhaps she could teach you."
"Doubtful, in the time we have," Thermoriax says. "Who would I practice on?"
"Aaron," Yue says.
Tasha barks a laugh at that. "No, it's a metaphor saying they're not made of good, nice things. They're an evil weapon. I guess, now, too, I am an evil defense." She pauses, blinking. "And I have a wicked sword. I suppose fire is neutral, at least." To Tia's words, she nods formally, as if Tia were speaking of the great powers of her office. "Only in your dragon form though. The only Human I've ever slept with is Sharron, and that's different."
"Sharon seduced you?" Yue asks, looking surprised.
"Accidentally. She has an innocent charm and a lot of energy. And she woke me up straddling me while wearing something skimpy. It was a good time. That's where the.. I think someone called it 'psionic resonance' came from. We're more careful about that, now." Tasha scratches her nose. "It was an interesting experience."
"Why are you more careful now?" Thermoriax asks. "What did this psychic resonance cause?"
"A lot of distracting sex. I mean, it wasn't bad at all, it ws just unexpected and a bit embarrassing, and it may have override some people's judgment. Or not. It's hard to remember exactly what happened. And neither Sharron nor I knew it'd happen," Tasha explains.
"And you don't want it happen again?" Yue asks, and puts a hand on Tasha's head. "You don't feel feverish."
"I'm just.. anxious," Tasha admits, ears going back and tail ducking. "Am I too anxious? I haven't felt right since I died, which I just assumed was from, you know, dying. And then the training happened. And then we camped here for so long. I'm not really sure what's off with me."
"How would you like to feel?" Tia asks.
Tasha shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, that's the problem. I just feel a bit empty, that's all. Anxious and empty. The more I sit around, the less I feel sure of anything."
"You should begin your dream quest then," Thermoriax advises. "I have felt idle for over a decade before joining this endeavor."
"Then that's what I'll do. Maybe meeting The Phoenix will help; maybe the journey itself will be enough. I'd rather get moving than idle, anyroad." Tasha pushes herself up, then glances to her clothes. "I'm not doing much now, Tia, can you guide me from here?"
"When you sleep, I can put you into a lucid state," Tia says. "I should be able recreate the initial condition where you were overwhelmed by Yog-Sothoth's presence."
"That sounds like the ideal situation for using the gate, so we'll try that. Well, it's been fun everyone," Tasha bids the others, reaching for her clothes and beginning to stand. "Off to Dreamland."
"Remember to be careful, as the Dreamlands may still be in turmoil," Thermoriax cautions.
"Oh, that's right," Tasha admits as she dresses. "I might be able to do some recon while I'm there, assuming I don't have to turn back immediately. If I can bring word, I will."
Falling asleep when you're thinking about falling asleep isn't easy. It's still daylight out, so everyone else is awake and busy.. except for Sharon, since Thermoriax obviously isn't teaching her at the moment. "I think I can do the calming spell now," she tells Tasha.
"Do your best," Tasha bids, reaching to pat Sharon's hand encouragingly. "And don't do anything weird to my body when I'm asleep, unless you want to, that is." She winks, then drops her head on her pillow, folds her hands over her chest, anc loses her eyes. It makes her look some sepulcher knight resting in state.
Sharon kneels down next to Tasha on the bed and puts her hand on Tasha's head. It feels cool. The girl then shows off her newly 'tweaked' voice, and sings Tasha a lullaby as the cool feeling begins to suffuse through her.
Tasha listens. Uncharacteristically, she doesn't comment, nor so much as lift a finger nor flick an ear. By the time the song is done the corners of the red woman's shut eyes are, ever so easily overlooked, damp and glimmering in the low light of the darkened room. She doesn't say a word, appearing to have fallen asleep.
Once she reaches that deepest part of sleep, she finds herself in something like the Sea Without Leas, but it's pitch black.
At first Tasha wonders if she's still in her room, that maybe she just fell asleep then woke up again later, the effort a failure. But then she realizes she's standing, and so has cause to wonder what may have gone wrong in this empty void. She looks around, then tries reaching for her pocket where she decides the Key must be. It's a trick she learned a long time ago.
While she's searching, she feels a sudden pressure, as if gravity had suddenly doubled. There's a very bright light in the distance, that seems to be rushing towards her.
The sudden change earns her attention immediately; she looks up to meet the light, readying herself in what way she might in this strange place. The search for the Key continues, as she thinks she might need it, and perhaps quickly.
The light is suddenly upon her, coming from a giant figure with six wings and multiple halos. But the wing spars and the halos are covered in eyes, from which the light emanates. The body also has glowing patches of light on it. The face looks down at her, and it's Galatea. Tasha's hand grasps the Key, and then she's being flung backwards with great force. The next thing she knows, she's in a forest. The trees are twisty, and the mushrooms are tall. The sky beyond is a swirl of color.
"Well fuck me," goes Tasha after arrival, having swung from immediate threat to life and limb as she thought, for a split second, one of the battlefield angels had intercepted her and was about to finish what the first one started. Then she knew it was Galatea, which is a much better prospect, yet also a concerning one as her instinct tries to measure her as a threat and finds her seriously wanting in such a fight. And then she's gone, here, where it's peaceful -- not to mention colorful. The mushrooms make her feel short.
Not the peaceful walk through a door Tasha was expecting, that's for certain.
There are noises as creatures move behind the trees.. and above within their branches. There are whispering voices as well.
"Steeealthy." Tasha's mutter is low, almost below her breath. She readies herself, brings up menus, but doesn't draw any weapons yet. She is, after all, here to talk, not to murder. And though murder may come, she won't be the one to start the bloodshed. "Hello?" This, louder.
"It speaks," a chorus of whisper voices reply. And then Tasha sees lots of yellow eyes watching her. "What is it?" several ask, until one finally says, "Who are you?"
"Tasha, I'm a.. " What is Tasha? To Tasha? Persephone said she is something different, a species of one. And so, now that someone has finally put the question to her, she so answers, " ... a Tasha. The Tasha." She wonders how she understands what their saying; perhaps it is the way of the Dreamlands, perhaps it's Galatea's doing.
"The Tasha." It echoes around her, passing from voice to voice. "What does the Tasha seek in the forest of the Zoog?" the dominant voice asks.
"I'm looking for someone. A bird. Firey." Tasha holds up one hand and lets the Red come to her as flame glimmers around her fingers, tracing up and over until her hand is a small bonfire, illuminating her. She then realizes something and quickly adds, "The bird is not me. I am not speaking in riddles nor tests. I speak plainly."
"Plainly as dreams," the Zoog says. "Fire seeks fire? No fire here though. Maybe in the city," it says, clearly disdainful of the city in question.
"No?" She looks around, trying to see through the darkened forest. She has no desire to push these beings, having popped in to their home suddenly and without permission. She can't risk trusting them, but she can at least try and leave in peace. "If the bird is not here, then I will leave in peace." Her wings spread and she tests to see if her own ansible has power here, and if so, uses it to ascend rapidly. No use risking an attack on natural ascend, it's a dangerous place to be taken in ambush.
Once above the trees, she sees a familiar looking road just outside the forest, which winds to a cluster of lights that must be the city. She can make out the silhouette of a tall tower, like the one she met her first angel in. It looks like Ulthar, the city of cats.
Tasha wonders why a bird of fire might be in the city of cats; surely, an ominous sign. Ulthar itself is just as much so, it is where her soul was sealed, where she met an angel, though not an unpleasant town in and of itself. Eerie, perhaps, it always reminded her of being at the edge of a map -- or just beyond it, where everything fades in to mystery.
It's then Tasha realizes the whole of Dreamlands feels that way to her, she just hadn't noticed it until she considered the city. This is a place on the edge, perhaps beyond. Like dreams, she decides. She makes her way towards the city under the strange, mercurial sky.