The hotel for Tasha's group is the Regulus, a Khattan owned chain. Part of the reason for this is to help people familiarize themselves with the technology they're likely to encounter on Daltoona. The rest is just that they have the best amenities, including restaurants, a nightclub (despite there being now night on Aegis), spas and a shopping mall called the Concourse. The complex is situated in a park near the central sea, but is more spread out than tall - the nature of the stations spin-gravity makes tall structures an interesting exercise in architecture.
The suite includes several bedrooms and a central lounge for people to gather in. Everything has a certain softness to it, and lots of artificial 'natural' light that can be set to mimic specific stars. Programable matter is ubiquitous, which Whisper finds comforting. Everything is new and interesting to Pheeny, while Tia is.. Tia. She always has a slight underlying bias against technology, despite using advanced tech in her own ship.
Tasha is on a chair that has molded itself in to a throne, most likely after her prodding it until she found a setting that amused her. "So, this is technology," she explains to Pheeny in a very relaxed sort of way, looking like a queen who decided she'd just let herself go for a moment. "As you can see, it's all highly advanced base rules formulated in to complex, mathematical structures, which express in a variety of uses. This civilization relies heavily on it, as do the others of the Galactics. Indeed, this reality relies on it quite heavily as well, at lest as far as I've traveled. I suppose you could call this a law and logic heavy reality. Lots of little blocks fitting in to other little blocks to make mind-crunchingly complicated things."
"I used to do this for guests when I was a building," Tia notes. Whisper also seems used to the whole altering-matter-to-suit-your-needs aspect, but frowns when she can't just summon up clothing. "It won't create anything that you can buy," Gabriel explains. "And nothing it makes here can leave the hotel."
"Comfort is.. important then?" Pheeny asks Tasha. "To people I mean. Normal people."
"Yes, the merchantry is also very influential, so much is also about selling and profits. They wouldn't want to handicap that," Tasha elaborates on Gabriel's point. Then, she nods. "Yes, 'normal' people enjoy being comfortable. But there are limits for everyone. Sometimes being too comfortable is bad for someone, and can lead to stagnation, even decay. How much, and of what type, any individual, society, being, and so on need, is complex and often specific. And a comfort may not be physical, but mental , or some other shape. You can bring comfort with a pillow, or by curing a disease, or saving a life."
"There have been experiments that show how giving people everything they want leads to eventual extinction," Gabriel explains. "Granted, they used mice for this, but the psychology isn't all that different. They just stopped breeding."
"There aren't a lot of Sidhe, but we're also immortal," Whisper says. "Maybe that's why."
"I don't think any of that applies to me," Pheeny says. "Except for the having to buy things part. I like eating."
"I have also found having everything I want has undermined my motivation on occasions," Tasha chips in, then gestures broadly at herself and how sunk in to her bean bag throne she is. To Whisper she nods. "I've found it's not enough to have an immortal body, you must also have an immortal mind. That is, the ability, reason, endurance, and adaptability to be immortal. And that means handling things like comforts."
To Pheeny Tasha asks, "You don't enjoy comfort, Pheeny..?"
The Pheonix looks solemn for a moment before answering. "I don't have any experience with it before now," she says.
Tasha's expression sinks. She draws in a breath, then holds her arms out, "Come here and sit with me, please, my baby birdy." She even makes inward finger wiggling.
So Pheeny comes and sits in Tasha's lap, which makes Gabriel smirk for some reason.
And so Tasha encloses her wings and arms around Pheeny, pulling her in and giving her a big, warm, hug. "Well, as your momma, I'm going to fix that. Right now you're safe and warm and surrounded by people who love you. And that, is a kind of comfort." She then peers over Pheeny's head and squints at Gabriel. "What's that look for, papa?"
"Sorry, thinking of really old Terran holiday customs," Gabriel says.
Whisper finally manages to get her own throne set up.
Sitting at the lounge table, Gabriel tosses down one of the Dark Horse cards, which brings up a holo display of where everyone is. "Looks like the Phins have made it to the underwater resort," he notes.
"Which Holiday would that be?" Tasha scoots Pheeny until she's comfort and relaxed, and just sits there hugging her, where she's warm and safe. Holding on, and finding it a little hard to contemplate the time when she needs to let her go. "The Phins must be so excited to have a larger volume of water than a lake to enjoy. As for you, Pheeny, would you enjoy spending some time with me, just the two of us, around town? Whisper can go with Gabriel. He's been excited for it since I met him. To be a dad again, that is."
"What would we do?" Pheeny asks. "There are a lot of people here. Will there be crowds?"
"One where children sit on the lap of someone representing a holiday spirit that delivers presents, and tell him what they want. He wears a red suit. But also a white beard," Gabriel explains.
"I don't know, why don't we just walk from place to place? I can't expect you to know what would be fun if you don't have experience with the things that this reality has. I admit, even I don't always know. I'm afraid I just pretend to the role as queen, I am something of a up-jumped bumpkin in this reality." Tasha reaches over and taps Pheeny's beak gently with a finger. "We can start in the hotel? There's a lot of hotel to explore. And we haven't had much mother-daughter time, have we?" She then looks over at Gabriel and nods. "I think I remember something like that from Nora's memories -- and Nora being very suspicious of it for some reason."
"It may help to find areas with children around Pheeny's apparent age," Tia suggests. "She's only ever played with Whisper and the Kobolds so far."
"I'm GREAT to play with though," Whisper claims.
"Aww, but I wanted to have mother-daughter time. But! Pheeny comes first." Tasha gives her daughter a kiss, wondering if she's being too affectionate, or not enough, and knowing she is absolutely holding back. "Wuld you like to go meet some of the mortal children, Pheeny?"
"Sometimes I think you and I have too much in common to be mother and daughter, Whisper," Tasha tells the girl with a laugh.
"I don't know," Pheeny responds. "I've never had a mother OR friends before. I don't know how to bond."
"You don't like being around me, Pheeny?" Tasha frowns at her daughter, leaning back. "You called me momma."
"I like being with you!" Pheeny declares in response to the frown. "It's just all.. new. I'm really my own mother.. which seems weird compared to everything else." She looks a bit distressed from thinking about this.
Tasha responds by nabbing Pheeny and then nuzzling her in a very canine show of raw affection. "You are my very special daughter and I love you we'll figure it all out," she says in one long sentence. "It doesn't have to happen in a day. And you can help me mother you. If there's any hard decisions, they're your fault." And then she grins to show she doesn't mean it and kisses Pheeny on the head again.
Pheeny makes a musical sort of squawking sound at the nuzzling. Is she embarrassed? Happy? Or just making a sound because of the contact?
"Teenagers are hard," Tia says.
"I was just a teenager, too! I should know what to do," Tasha declares in what ends up sounding more hysterical than she expected. She then clears her throat, leaning back, and ask Pheeny, "Do you like being hugged and nuzzled. I'm partly canine. We nuzzle a lot. So do birds. We're very maw-oriented in general."
"It's warm, in a different way than I'm always warm," Pheeny says. "Nobody ever.. touched me before. But I was bigger then."
"How come I don't get hugs?" Whisper asks. So Gabriel goes over and hugs her.. which means stealing her throne to do it.
This leaves Tia as the only one not being hugged, but she doesn't complain.
"I did! I don't think you may remember, but at the end, I was there, Pheeny. For a while, we were one and the same. I'd have been more snuggly, but your prior incarnation was having a very rough time of things. So I just melted the landscape; sometimes I express my affection by exhibiting great violence for someone's benefit." Tasha pats Pheeny's head. "You'll get used to the warmth of love. It took me some time, too." Tasha does then stare at Tia for a long moment, then she opens her wing and nods to her lap. "Come on you big kirin."
Since Tia is looking human, she smirks. After a moment of hesitation she does come over and tries to sit on Tasha's other leg.. despite being nearly as tall as Tasha in the first place. "This seems odd," she admits.
"Welcome to my family and everything I do. It may as well be on our business card," Tasha insists. She then glances at Pheeny behind Tia's back, winks at her, and lifts her hands to make a grabbing motion and mouthes, "one, two three" before trying to nab Tia and pull her down with her and Pheeny.
Pheeny does know how to work in a team, apparently, and Tia is grabbed. The girl lets out a squeak of surprise as she goes down.
"Don't break our demi-god," Gabriel says. "We only have so many of them, you know."
"I'm not sure this is proper behavior for a warlock and their patron," Tia chides.
"Your mother said the same thing when I tried to chase around her remote and hug the little dragon. She escaped me by phasing through the floor," Tasha insists as Tia and Pheeny both get hugged on. "I miss Goldie. Should I get a little dragon remote?"
"I'm sure if you brought her along you'd have to explain why you aren't selling miniature dragons," Tia points out.
"Complain to Kai for not making you one, instead of.. hmm.. Vasha?" Gabriel jokes.
"Everyone wants a miniature dragon, that's true. Except the Celestials, who might lynch us for the mockery." Tasha then grins at Gabriel. "She did offer me one. And I like Vasha, I like all my siblings. It took a while, but I got there. I had to make sure they weren't going to try and overthrow me, or end up in a Nora situation."
"Overthrow you?" Gabriel has to ask.
"You know, take my place, become Top Tasha. Try and lead it all. Or compete with me eeeeendlessly," Tasha says with an eye and head roll that rols her head around until she lands it on Pheeny's. "And when did I become a warlock? It sounds like something I'd do, however. Shouldn't you be more menacing for a sinister patron, Tia?"
"I'm a monster," Tia points out. "I may steal your soul or become you if I want."
"That worked out extremely well for your mother," Tasha says, before sticking her tongue out. "And go ahead and be me! Can I be a kirin? I haven't been a kirin yet. I've been... A few things lately."
"You need to start out by being your siblings," Tia claims. "You can do that actively or passively. But being a kirin isn't that different than being what you are now. Just with a few more scales and a horn."
"I feel like I'd forget about the horn and get it stuck in things, which could be quite bad when I perforate my helmet." Tasha then taps her chin. "I was thinking of asking Sasha if he'd mind me taking a spin as him for a while, to see how the world treats more 'ordinary' bodied individuals. It might help me blend in better, since I'm normally used to sticking out like a sore kirin."
"All three of them are more ordinary than you," Tia points out. "Everyone in this room is ordinary at first glance.. except for Gabriel."
"Hmm, well, one of the three then. I'd been avoiding being a boy for a long time, because it was messing with my head, but now I feel like I need to branch out and understand a wider experience. Sasha can use my body for a bit, if he wants to, anyway. I don't foist my body snatching on them," Tasha admits.
"So.. which one gets to make you pregnant when you're switched?" Tia asks.
"Ahem, that depends on me too, you know," Gabriel says.
"Ha-ha-ha-wait-" Tasha pauses, blinking at that. "Is that possible? I can't make... myself... pregnant, can I? In another body..?" Her eyes widen in what is clear an "uh oh" moment.
Tasha looks to Gabriel for help. Then she frowns. "Wait do you want to be in my body when it happens? I know we had that moment earlier... "
"Well, Gabriel would be doing the impregnation," Tia clarifies. "I can cause you to ovulate, since I have control over your body."
"Errr, who would be in Tasha's body for this, exactly?" Gabriel asks. "Sasha has some lingering issues regarding me, you know."
"I know. Actually, let's just do it the normal way before we cause more chaos than we can handle," Tasha says, backtracking quickly. "And Tia's like my remote control! Just, like, mommy." And then Tasha tries to smooch up Tia's face for some reason.
Tia tries to resist and fails.
"She's a lot more cuddly then she wants the world to believe," Tasha tells Gabriel. "See we're partners, but she likes to talk about control because she has problems with uncertainty, trust, and confidence. So she makes scary noises. But she's actually trying to be nice and make up for the past." During this Tasha does keep smushing.
"Well, can I sleep with her and still somehow get you pregnant then?" Gabriel teases. "Ewwww," Whisper says.
"Gabriel has a crush on you," Tasha stage whispers in Tia's ear.
"Gabriel likes human girls," Tia points out. "But I am apparently not as scary as Kai."
"I'd hit Kai too," Gabriel says.
"Oh, or both of them together? That fire and ice excitement," Tasha suggests, leaning in and nodding and not helping at all.
"This conversation is not going how I imagined," Tia points out.
Gabriel just grins. "I'll settle for Sharon though," he claims.
"Adventure, Tia." Tasha pats Tia on the head, then gives Pheeny a big, questioning grin, brows raised. "Are we being too weird, Pheeny? We can stop." Then to Gabriel she says, "Maybe Sharon would like to borrow my body for a while. Katie might enjoy that. No go about you and Sasha though."
"Or everyone is themselves and I don't need a flowchart," Gabriel suggests.
Pheeny blinks. "I have no idea what you're all talking about," she admits. "It's a procreation thing, so I just tune it out."
"Booooring," Tasha says with a laugh, but she does settle back and throw her arms around the upper parts of the chair. "I guess I'll stick to body swapping, it's good experience. Thoth always said I needed to be less attached to a single form." She then pats Pheeny on the head. "That's very wise, Pheeny."
"So.. will I be interested in that stuff in a few years?" Whisper asks.
"If you decide to grow up, probably," Tia says.
Tasha gives a big shrug. "Maybe, maybe not, don't worry about it until you need to. We'll help you figure it all out when it's time."
"I kinda like being twelve years old," Whisper admits. "As long as I get to boss around Kobolds."
"Well who are we to stop you? I don't object. I plan to be slightly older than a teenager forever," Tasha insists, grinning.
"Well, you can't expect to age as gracefully as Gabriel," Tia points out.
"I'm not sure anyone has ever called me graceful in anything, including aging," Tasha says with a sigh, while smoothing Pheeny and Tia's heads.
"I am VERY graceful," Whisper claims. Tia does not claim anything.
"I did not know I was being graceful.. unless you actually meant 'grays full'," Gabriel says with a chuckle.
"We need to get you new clothes -- and a new castle. I snuck in and drank in your solar and Tia said it was kind of depressing. You should take notes, Whisper. We could be on an island in the sky, or a giant ice rock with white castles and blue grass, or a city ruined where some monster that's probably not me came through and wreaked up the place, but it's overgrown, so there's hope." Tasha then pokes Tia's head top. "Or your mom's butt because it's huge!"
"The Sidhe are powerful, but not necessarily imaginative," Tia says, and rubs the top of her head where she was poked.
"Tia also said you're boring," Tasha relates to Whisper, grinning. "So let us help you and we can make things a lot more exciting and new. You see what they did here in their Terran-o-can, for example."
"Well.. this place is interesting," Whisper admits. "I've never seen anyplace like it. Or.. anyplace in general. I've never seen another castle!"
"There's toooooons of castles out there. I, personally, have been to several. And, I was born on a ship that sails through the sky near a island that is also in the sky. And people find that exciting." Tasha taps her head; she knows.
"I'm surprised there aren't more castles here," Gabriel says, as he looks around at what people are wearing. Given that it's a controlled environment, people tend to wear as little as they think they can get away with, depending on age. "My fashion sense is older than I am, I think."
"You can always change, I think you demonstrated that ability very recently." Tasha's grin is highly predatory. "As can I," she adds, relenting her grin, if only somewhat. "Well, I'm going to change, and by that I mean clothes. Pheeny, want to join me in the concourse? We can buy clothes. And if you like, we can grab Vasha and maybe Lacci and enjoy some flying practice, see the sights."
"What about me!?" Whisper demands.
"There is a petting zoo," Tia suggests. "Gabriel can come and distract all of the mothers."
"I want some time with my daughter," Tasha says, hugging Pheeny. "Unless she doesn't want to, of course. Or has other plans. Or is maybe uncomfortable with the role of daughter?" She leans back, looking Pheeny in the face, brows up. "I'm not making you uncomfortable or pushing you in to anything, am I, Pheeny?
The bird girl blinks a few times. "I don't know?" she replies. "I've never had family before. I've never been a daughter before either. Everything is new!"
Tia hehs. "Yeah.. been there," she says. "Whisper and I will go make Gabriel stand around awkwardly while we try on clothes. You go have fun."
Tasha gives Tia what can only be described as an immensely grateful smile, then Pheeny gets picked up, put down, and her hand is taken. "Lets go grab some flying around clothes, and see about that petting zoo. I'll contact the others." And so she starts off, before anyone else can interrupt her mother-daughter time.
Somewhere along the way out Tasha sends, "Earth to Vasha, come in Vasha. This is space leader. Baby Bird and I are going clothes shopping, wing flying, and animal petting. You want in, I know you do. Grab Lacci too if she wants to come. It's Baby Birdy time."
"It will take some time to get there," Vasha replies. "You're on a different section."
Pheeny waits in her ship clothes, since she doesn't really have any other outfits yet. There should be shops for Aquilans somewhere.
"What should I wear?" she asks Tasha. "How many different things do I need? What about shiny things.. jewelry?"
"I'll head to buy clothes for us first, then, then we can meet up after to go shopping at the petting zoo, and after enjoy our flight around. Pheeny needs lessons, in a great many things." After staring in to space for a long moment, Tasha looks down and beams. "That is the 'eternal question' about fashion, my dear. What, and how much, and how many accessories, to wear. For now, we should stick to something upscale, easy to move in, and comfortable. Katherine, Mr. I, and Miss N., normally handle my greater wardrobe, but I think I know enough, and there are usually assistants to help out anyway. As we have an Egyptian style, we can work with that. Lets see ... " She pauses again, this time to consult her overlay. "This way." And then they're walking again.
It doesn't take long at all to get to the concourse. The air above is full of holographic advertising, and since it's a largely Khattan-run market there are plenty of Vartan around. Pheeny keeps hold of Tasha's hand to avoid getting separated as everything seems to be vying for her attention.
"Ahh yes, the flock of advertisements. Khattan culture, by and large, is mercantile, Pheeny -- and it reflects in nearly everything Khattans do. family, business, recreation, and, of course, shopping. Vartans are a Client of Khattans, which you'll learn about in your studies." Even Tasha has to exercise willpower to stop getting distracted, and it's a challenge to sift through ads to find a store that appeals.
The ads are very clever, as one shows Pheeny in some sort of club dress. Apparently the Khattans aren't big on privacy in the marketplace either. It lacks the the charm of the Caltrop bazaar though.
Tasha blinks at the club dress design, suddenly filled with the paradoxical emotion set of wanting to punch the projector while also wondering if Pheeny would like clubbing. She decides to consider the latter while avoiding the former, saying, "How about... That one." She picks a store that seems to have a wide variety of selections, not to mention an Aquilian milling about shopping, and begins that way. "I'll have to take you to the version of this back home some time, if you can go, Pheeny. The experience is more personal, and louder."
"It's already very loud," Pheeny says as she's pulled along. Once inside, it turns out there are multiple Aquilans, including a bored looking teenaged boy. His feathers are dyed in a rainbow of colors, and he's only wearing some long shorts. He seems to be focused on a small datapad, but he immediately draws Pheeny's attention. Her crest even raises a bit.
Tasha's hackles go up as she looks between the two, and then she's desperately trying to pat them back down, to act like nothing's happened. A boy. She knows her interaction with boys, after all; calm, Tasha. Be respectable. Be at ease. be someone Pheeny can look up to, not a hyper-aggressive lunatic. You can do that later. "WE-" Pause, cough. "Well, it looks like we're in the right place, Pheeny. Or do you want to go over and say 'hi'?"
"Is that a boy?" Pheeny asks. "What sort of clothes are those? They look uncomplicated."
"I'm pretty sure that's a boy," Tasha says, squinting a little. "But you never quite know, styles and body types can vary widely, as can trends in body design, styles, and sex and gender expression, as well as personal choice. He's wearing shorts. Typically, shorts without a top are considered mens -- or boys -- wear, although it varies across cultures and species. I think some talon-sandals, shiny shorts, and a maybe a half-top would look nice. I'm aiming for something in more of a wrap-and-loincloth styling."
"That.. sounds more complicated," Pheeny says, her head swimming. "Can you just pick some things out for me? You know better what I'm supposed to be covering up. What did you wear as a... girl?"
"A lot of tunics, for reasons I'll tell you about later. But the summary is, that's all I had available. I wasn't very... fashion forward as a child. Well, the original version of me wasn't. This one is about as you know me." Tasha clicks her tongue as she looks around, then heads to where the kids are, which brings her near the boy. She tries to not glance at him as she begins flipping through holograph style menus. "How about this one?" It's a skirt-over-shorts in slightly glossy black, gold trim, and limited-pallet outlines of flowers and. "It also comes without the flowers. A simple gold top should match it well enough. Then you can aim for gold jewelry. Gold matches your warm tones."
"I like gold," Pheeny agrees. "Do I take off my clothes first? That's just light though isn't it?" The boy is looking their way now. It could just be because Tasha is hard to ignore.
Sometimes being stand out is a problem, Tasha knows. This is such a time. She tracks the boy's attention in the reflections off the machine, all while selecting options. "You can dress in the dressing room, although that, too, depends on culture and local custom. I don't see people changing on the floor, so it's probably true here, that you use the dressing room. And I like gold, too, Pheeny. Good choice." She grins, taps confirmation on a few items, waits for the machine to scan her, then nods. "There... Dressing room reservation... The Comso Room. That one." She nods to the one that just lit up with "Pheeny Argentine".
"It knows my name!" Pheeny says, and walks towards it, then stops and waits for Tasha to come with her.
Tasha considers, then heads over as well, since this is Pheeny's first time. Yet, before she does, she quickly swipes back to her selection, accepts, directs herself to the same room through the override, and then heads over. "On my way. And it does! Isn't technology fun?"
The outfit isn't too challenging for Pheeny. She'll probably still need underwear at some point though. She chirps happily at the look. "What do I do with my old clothes now?" she asks. "I still like them."
"We can get a bag for them. Store, carry bag, please." While that's processing, Tasha collects her own outfit from the dispenser, removing the sealing, and retruning that and Pheeny's to the dispenser. She then starts dressing as well. which offers Pheeny insight in to what she wears under it all. her underwear is, in a word, skimpy: a black multistrap minimalist bra that looks somewhere between practical and intended to be sexy, with a similiar set of panties, the multi-straps allowing her tail to fit through while hugging her thighs and hips without smothering them. They have gold trim. her won clothes get added to Pheeny's, placed in the provided bag, and then she's dressing. her choice matches the locales, leaning towards respectable, but only as far as a climate controlled resort of the wealth is concerned. It's a wrappy top with a similar bottom, which includes a loin-cloth styled drape, and winding-straps thiong style booties that merely have a strand that goes between her hooves, covering the rest of the foot, and wrapping up. The material is synthetic and modern synthleather, with a style that stretches between the ancient past and modern sensibility and design. It matches her Eye-of-Ra well.
"Can I have one like that?" Pheeny asks of Tasha's selection. She also pushes up on her chest. "I might not fit though."
"You may grow in to it. Hmm." Tasha looks up slightly. "You heard the the girl, she wants one like mine, but change the pattern to match the design on her skirt, match breast size to her, and adjust the booties to Aquilian standard. Provide matching underwear trimmed to fit. Go." And then she looks down again and smiles. "There. Just a moment, then. Want to say hi to the boy before we leave?"
"And what if he replies?" Pheeny asks, eyes wide. "What do I do then?"
"Say hi. Smile. Be nice, but also be aware that what we hope from others isn't what we may get. Be open, but understand who he is, and how he is, as a person, aren't something you know. Lucky for you," and here Tasha touches the tip of Pheeny's beak with a tap, "you don't have to worry about assumptions about people, so you'll seem them as almost complete unknowns. Hope for the best, be ready in case things don't work out as you hoped. Every new person is full of new possibilities, and those can be good, but they can also be bad. An adventure, everyone." Tasha grabs her outfit's fingerless, beaded, gloves, which wind and tie up the length of her arm, and puts them on. "In time you'll come to understand who you are as a person, what you want, and more about others. Expect there to be successes and failures, happiness and sadness. These are normal."
Pheeny whistles. "That is a lot to consider when saying hello," she says, and suddenly looks.. shy. "Maybe if there were more people that I could observe first."
"Why not observe me? He was watching me the whole time I was browsing. I can say hello, which will draw his parents. They'll talk to me, and then you can talk to him, in turn?" Tasha gestures towards the door. "It looks like we're all set, ready to try things out? Remember, every encounter is a learning experience -- even if it doesn't go well."
Pheeny adjusts her outfit, which is probably just fidgeting. Then she nods to Tasha.
Tasha adjusts herself -- which is entirely making sure her breasts are in the right place and her underwear isn't riding up (or down) -- and then she nods back. They head out. When she inevitably catches the boy's attention, she smiles to him. "Hello there."
The boy lets out a little squawk when Tasha speaks to him. "Hi!" he squeaks. Which is normal for an Aquilan. Pheeny is half-hiding behind Tasha's wings. She never thought of her mother as scary before.
Tasha lowers herself to try and be less scary, balancing with her wings to show that, yes, she has wings. "I don't bite -- well I do but not randomly and not strangers. Usually." She winks, then starts pawing behind herself until she finds Pheeny, than paws up the side of her so she can run a soothing hand across her head while she talks. "I noticed you watching me while I shopped, does that mean you have questions about me..?"
"So.. who.. uh.. who were your parents?" the boy asks. "Because my mom's new guy is a Vartan.."
"Well, I was created, so you could say I was made by a lot of different people, and different species. I am part Vartan, and Part Karnor. Human, too. But that's a bit of a secret." And so Tasha makes a 'shh' gestures with her finger, hoping the boy understands without having lips.
"I came from an egg," Pheeny says.
"Pheeny here's my daughter," Tasha says, patting her head, then gently trying to nudge her forward. "We're on a shopping and adventure trip, off to the petting zoo next."
"Oh.. uh, yeah, I guess that makes sense?" the boy responds to all of this. And then Vasha enters the store, wearing a colorful sarong and.. that's it. "I'm here! Let the petting begin!" she announces, which makes the boy's feathers all poof out.
Tasha also poofs out. Pheeny gets a face full of feathers before Tasha notices, quickly moving her wings away. "Annnnnd that's my noisy sister. She's loud and but she's mostly harmless." She twists to wave over at Vasha. "Come here before we get charged a noise bill."
"Who's this guy?" Vasha asks, looking down a the Aquilan. She doesn't bend down or anything, but actually tries to look as big as she can. She even crosses her arms to push up her breasts so they look bigger.
"He's a boy, Vasha, be nice." And so Tasha swings her tail around to thwack her sister, the limb sailing over Pheeny's head with an audible wind disturbance, ending in a thud. "I noticed his curiosity so I thought I'd share some information, and Pheeny wanted to say hello."
"Yes," Pheeny says a bit stiffly. "Hello. I am Pheeny. This is my first time away from home. I like your colors and shorts."
"Very nice Pheeny," Tasha says. Then she looks up to Vasha and adds, "Say nice things, Vasha -- and don't say 'nice things, Vasha'."
"Ugh.. Vist!" the boy blurts. "I'm Vist! I'm going to the junior club later. They have dancing and games."
"That sounds fun, would you like to go to the junior club later, Pheeny? Maybe we could get you a club dress," Tasha suggests.
"Well.. he doesn't seem sketchy," Vasha says. Nicely.
"Like Vasha's?" Pheeny asks Tasha.
"Very nice, Vasha," Tasha says with a smile. "And I know what you were thinking, I thought it, too. But we have to watch ourselves." Then she shakes her head. "Well no, unless you want that. Vasha's is... Very open. It might be easier to start with an actual dress-dress. Vasha's requires a certain level of self confidence."
"That's more a dress for strutting than dancing," Vist claims. "You want to be comfortable."
"Comfortable and wearing clothes," Pheeny ponders. "My friend might question that."
"Exactly," Tasha agrees. "Clothes are often worn to fit an occasion or venue, as well as for general use, specific use, and so on." She then glances to Pheeny. "Your friend?"
"Whisper!" Pheeny reminds Tasha. "She's my best friend. When her clothes need washing, nobody can wear clothes. It's a rule."
"A rule?" Vist asks, looking confused.
"Whisper likes to decide on rules and then everyone follows them, it's kind of a family... tradition, I suppose. We are all fairly unusual beings, so we have unusual traditions," Tasha explains. She then stands back up now that she doesn't need to not seem scary. "How do I look, Vasha?"
"Kind of.. Amazonian," Vasha decides. "I could see Calligenia wearing that."
"I was going for a bit queenly, to match the Eye. Maybe I need more jewelry," she admits. "Hey, want to go buy shiny things?!"
"That is a stupid question, Tasha, and you know it," Vasha says. "I do like the matching eyes though. I couldn't get Lacci to come, she and Shojo and Thermy went to a show."
"No, it was a condescending and teasing question, Vasha. I have advanced sarcasm functionality." Tasha does sling her arm around her sister, then her other around Pheeny. "Too bad about Lacci, looks like this is just us-us family time then." Then she looks down again. "It was nice meeting you, Vist. Maybe Pheeny and I will be by the club later. Thank you for the advice."
"Sure.. uh.. can I take a picture so my sister will believe me about you?" the boy asks.
"You bet," Tasha says, untangling from the others and then walking over to stand clear of other shoppers -- then she strikes Katherine's finger-guns pose.
The boy holds up his device and captures Tasha. And also Vasha and Pheeny. "Thanks!" he chirps.
"You bet! Tell her how great I am," Tasha says with a grin and a wink, then she walks over and returns to how she was, and heads towards the door with the three. "Off to jewelry, or are we petting animals first? Pheeny?"
"I would like to see jewelry," Pheeny says.
"Maybe I could get my nipples pierced with something," Vasha floats. "Something shiny!"
"Yeah, jewelry it is, then. Luckily I saw a place that looked nice back the way we came in, so we can head there. A lot of mixed traffic." And so Tasha heads that way, once again exerting willpower to resist the dark mind assault that is... advertising.
Pheeny seems to be mostly interested in rings - for both talons and toes. There are some high-tech necklaces and other bangles that produce holographic effects. Vasha is fascinated by one that covers her chest in electric sparkles, even though such a thing would look a bit weird.
Far be it from Tasha to deny her sibling's obsessions, and after all, Vasha makes her look more respectable as a mother by existing. For Tasha's part, she gravitates towards bangles, both for arm and leg, and winding jewelry that goes up her arms, as well as necklaces and earnings in a tiered arrangement. She even adds a tiara like item, to rest before the point where her hair gets pushed back. This one projects, allowing her to share images more easily with holographic display. Once she's picked her lot out, she sends it, then comes to join the others. "All set?"
Pheeny shows off her rings. They aren't all made of metal, and some come in multiple colors. She also selects two charm bracelets, one for her and one for Whisper.
"Aww, that's nice! Hey we should get Whisper a little crown!" Tasha leans over, swipes through to the ones she saw seeking out her own tiara, and picks one in silver, with green and black gems, and leafy etching. "How's this?"
"It will go to her head," Whisper says.. possibly as a joke? "She will like it. I think she likes getting gifts."
Tasha wags her tail at the joke. "Very nice. And yes, she does. She's not very subtle about it, either. In fact, when we first met each other, she often grabbed and ran away with our gifts. Like you, she had to learn, but she did, and you will, too." And so Pheeny gets head patted affectionately, and Tasha just seems lost in this for a moment.
"We aren't supposed to run away with them then?" Pheeny asks. "The Kobolds always do that."
"Well you can if you want, but I think she did it because she was uncertain about us. But that time has passed." She turns to the exit and nods. "Let's grab our jewelry, suit up, and then we have animals to pet."
The petting zoo has some odd animals, as some of them live underwater. It's unsurprisingly Terra-centric, as Khattans don't really live on worlds anymore, and Terrans have been breeding animals since before they could write. There are bunnies, and dogs and cats and animals that are probably meant to provide meat and other materials. Even some large reptiles: Tasha has never actually seen a living turtle before. The sheer amount of sounds and smells is even worse than taking care of Pteras. But Pheeny runs around in glee, hand feeding creatures that could probably do serious damage. Vasha sticks to the bunnies though. "So relaxing," she says as she pets a particularly large one in her lap. There is a small horse (a 'pony') that follows Tasha around.
"Hi, pony," Tasha tells the pony, whom she tries holding a hand out to. "I used to hang around a lot of your kind, you know. You should see how far they've come."
The pony nuzzles Tasha's hand looking for food. "Are you looking to replace me already?" Gabriel calls to her, having arrived with Whisper and Tia in tow. Whisper has changed into a dress. At least, it has a skirt. The top part also resembles a skirt, but is more of a drape or poncho. And she's wearing sandals instead of shoes. "Pheeny!" she calls and runs towards her friend, nearly tripping over a small pig.
Tasha watches the children collide with a lingering smile, which she turns on to Gabriel. "I don't know, he seems kind of short, and I think he only likes me for my food -- a dangerous interest." But Tasha does feed the pony, running her free hand along his mane. "They have wolves here. It's very weird."
"And Guinea Pigs, which are actually rodents," Gabriel says. "And I think that's a capybara over by the pond. No raccoons though. I always figured they'd be the next uplifts before the Galactics petitioned to stop more Terragens clients from being created."
"What a shame, although, I do remember a few of them being very stern about dock fees, so maybe for the best?" Tasha grins, then she reaches over and pets Gabriel, too. "So the kids seem to be having a lot of fun. How'd it go with Whisper?"
"Still refusing underwear, but did pick a few things out," Gabriel says. "Tia was not a lot of help at trying to convince her otherwise. I don't know if she wears underwear either."
"It's only underwear if you can't see it," Vasha claims. "So what's the difference?"
"I'll never tell," Tasha says, as to Tia wearing underwear. "I know her mother doesn't, though!" And she grins more. "Tia's probably just enjoying seeing someone else adjust to being out of place for once, I think it helps her feel more at ease, and more like she belongs. So maybe she doesn't want it to end too early, and I think I agree. As for me, I got things," she gestures to herself, "And I wear underwear."
"To torment me with," Gabriel says, and watches the girls. "So how has Pheeny been doing with all of.. this?" he asks, waving to the busy concourse.
"Surprisingly well. She's shy, but she seems to be slowly growing past that. She seems especially close to animals, and they all seem to love her without exception, even the larger and more aggressive ones. I had guessed that, well, life would gravitate towards her -- and she to it. And that's important." Tasha tilts her head. "She has a lot of experience behind the youth, but every time is different. This time, maybe especially so. I hope our loves reaches every corner of her life."
"Whisper can still perform some magic, apparently," Gabriel whispers. "Nothing big so far, just tricks that could be chalked up to technology. Tia's been making sure she doesn't do anything big."
"That would be problematic, wouldn't it. I imagine the port authority would have a time classifying that import." Tasha's head shakes, then she lifts a hand, cups one hand with the other, and shows Gabriel as she tries to conjure a small flame in her enclosed hands.
"No need to tempt fate," Gabriel says, putting his own hands around Tasha's. "We don't know what might take notice. This is a big place, so it's unlikely anything will be set to detect magic, but there are probably Sifran crystals in private collections here."
"I'd rather they detect me than the children," Tasha admits, letting the flame melted back in to her, conserving what energy she can. "If they can sense it, better they come to me. And it would be good to know what sort of protections these old guard locations possess. But you're right."
"I'd prefer they go after the dragons, or Tia," Gabriel admits. "The dragons are watching for magic as well, so we don't want to throw off their efforts either."
"That's true. Well, let's hope nothing comes of it. And if they do detect our group, better it be me. That's my job, isn't it? To protect them. Even if they're greater than me, I still will." And then Gabriel gets a kiss on the cheek.
"What's this about a club for children?" Tia asks as she approaches. She doesn't say where she heard about it though.
Tasha doesn't, indeed, need to ask; she knows where Tia got it. "The boy bird we met in the clothing store mentioned there's a children's club with dancing and games. I thought Pheeny and Whisper would like to go. The dress code seems to be comfortable dresses and easy to move in clothing."
"Do they require chaperones?" Tia asks. "With no night, I imagine the club is always open."
"I didn't ask, as I assumed Pheeny would want me there. I'd like her to become used to moving alone, but I don't think that time is here yet." Tasha turns to watch the kids, reaching over to start petting her pony buddy. "I suppose we could swing over and have a look afterwards?"
"When I was first began to explore people, I focused on odd things, like eating brains to absorb knowledge more efficiently," Tia says, then assures, "I never did that though. I don't think Pheeny has any empathic or telepathic abilities, so she'll learn at a normal pace." She then pauses and looks Tasha in the eyes. "She'll be curious about anatomy and what makes her different from others. I don't know exactly how detailed Kai made that body of hers though."
"So I need to explain things," Tasha interprets, ears lowering. "Which means I need to actually know what she's, um, working with. And how to avoid accidents, if those can happen. Do I understand right?"
"I doubt she can reproduce, given her nature," Tia says. "But.. she could also be like me, able to reproduce with anything, but with offspring that aren't.. equal to her."
"So different than me, who can reproduce with, apparently, anything, creating more of myself, or sons of their fathers," Tasha muses. She rubs her chin a moment, then nods. "She is close in nature to life itself. We may be surprised."
"I don't think just being around her will increase fertility," Tia notes. "But that is easy enough to test for."
"More children... One feels like a lot as it is. Two, counting Whisper... They seem like they run themselves, and the seem like if I'm not watching they'll fly in to a mountain." Tasha pets the pony some more and shakes her head at it. "It's every bit what everyone told me it would be, pony."
"That's the way of the world," the pony says.
"Mmhmm," goes Tasha. She pets some more. And then some more. "It's happening again, Gabriel. Or motherhood has driven me insane."
"I think Tia is just messing with you," Gabriel suggests with a chuckle.
"Hmmph. You know sometimes random things talk to me and turn out to be a thing, you know." Tasha sticks her tongue out at Tia, then drops against Gabriel, leaning against his arm. "Oh well. This is nice, you know? Let's enjoy it, a little while longer."