2024.05.13 Fantastic Beasts and How To Scritch Them
| Fantastic Beasts and How To Scritch Them | |
|---|---|
| Sark hosts a casual class in the Glade to educate the fae on some of the details surrounding Mythical Creatures and how the differ from Chimera. | |
| IC Date | 2024.05.13 |
| IC Time | Daytime |
| Players | Miranda, Cait, Stella, Erin, Sark |
| Location | Just outside of the Market in an open field |
| Spheres | Changeling, Bygone |
County of Lion's Reach - Meadow of the Well This is a storybook meadow, wide open with perfect green grass and a gentle rolling hill. Bisecting it from the north is a broad, well groomed path. The forest surrounds this idyllic meadow, providing a dense green backdrop in each direction. Just off the path, at the crest of the hill is a round, roofed well. Brick and mortar, with a wooded frame and shingled roof, the crank is forged from silvery steel, the hemp rope smoothly coiled around the arm, a solid wooden bucket suspended from it. The only thing out of place is the massive, half buried tree root that runs along beside the path and grows up the side of that perfect little well. At the base of the hill a large circular faerie market has been built, shining marble and brass in a clockwork style, brass tubes creating a high dome which glows with blue light after sunset. On the other side of the meadow are the ruins of the old County Seat, the Rhapsody freehold. Surrounding the freehold, the odd rapid cycle of the seasons contained in the immediate area around it.
Miranda has arrived. Stella has arrived.
For the afternoon, Sark has set up a little space out in the glade that is well away from the Market so as not to interrupt business but also far enough away to not have to compete with the noises coming from said business. The relative proximity may end up luring some travelers in to listen, however, so hangers-on are entirely possible. Two small tables have been set up, one with a cooler of bottles of cold mead and cider, and the other with a hot tea dispenser, complete with little stations of cream and sugar for those who like either or both or none. The other table has serving platters of cheese and turkey breast cubes, and a large pile of little petit fours of various flavors for those who want something sweet instead. Sark himself has remained in his typical human form for the moment, perched on a chair swinging his feet happily while he waits for folks to arrive, while he murmurs softly in Dragon to the little blue dragon hatchling in his lap - which, for her part, she DOES seem to be intently paying attention to. There are chairs and picnic blankets laid out so people can sit or stand or lounge as they see fit.
Miranda wanders in slowly today, with a picnic basket in one hand, and a bouquet of the most beautiful, fantastical flowers the Dreaming can conjure up in the other. "Good evening!" she offers as she approaches.
Cait enters at a slow, casual pace, looking good and comfortable as she crosses the meadow toward where Sark has gotten set up. But then, she's not doing any of the work today... oh, no, not about the lessons, about arriving! She's seated very comfortably atop Biggs as he moves, giving his normal little grumbles all the way. When he gets near the lesson area, she pats him on the shoulder, and he settles down into the grass to let her dismount. Once she does, she rummages in the saddlebags for a moment before coming out with a large McDonald's bag. And with that, the chimerical croc has gotten his first McNugget of the day. "Hello, all!" Cait waves to various and sundry as she gets Ye Olde Beastie settled in. "How had everyone been?"
In some manner, Stella has been treated to enchantment and arrived (unless posed otherwise) with Sark only to get briefly waylaid by the periphery of the market. She knows better (from prior experience) to dive into the place on her own. She heads over toward where everything has been set up, looking a little flushed and bright-eyed as is typical for the occasions when she visits. (PB: i.e. face & hair -- https://i.pinimg.com/564x/5d/5d/14/5d5d14301acb6af263e5f2f47ad7b4fa.jpg) (Attire: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/5d/de/56/5dde5649aea6806f0d3f4f78c69a757b.jpg) Stella retrieves a cider for herself, whatever Sark wants, and .... well, a treat for baby chimerical dragon as well if she was previously told that it was alright for her to offer BB a treat. She heads over and seats herself on knees, then hip, near Sark's chair and only --just-- refrains from making grabby hands at Sark once drinks are in place. However, grabby hands are delayed as Stella's attention slides from Dragon and dragon to Miranda, a ready smile for the baroness. "Good evening ..." Stella refrains from titles and name because she's not altogether certain if some rules go for one place and others for another. But she seems genuinely pleased to see Miranda. Cait's arrival on Biggs probably predictably swings her gaze sparking a bit of avid interest. "Cait... or is it Lady Cait or something much more complicated? Either way, it's nice to see you again. Hi, Biggs."
Sark looks up and grins as Miranda and Cait and Stella mingle in, scooping the little hatchling up as he takes his feet and pads over barefoot to them. Waiting until they settle, he bends down and deposits the little dragon in Stella's lap and rumbles at her, <<Now, you listen to them and be a good girl. They speak a little Dragon as well as English, so no playing dumb around them.>> With that said, he offers to all three, "She needs to learn English better, so we are working on her understanding. She might occasionally sneeze ice, so just advance warning." When it looks like people are settled, Sark straightens up and grins before finally offering, "Thank you for coming out. All of my fae friends have been very helpful and welcoming since I woke up a couple of years ago, so I thought one way I could return the favor is to help all of you understand mythical creatures like myself. An important difference I need to start this out with is: Creatures you run into here in the Dreaming that are chimerical, like little Chirp there, are NOT the same thing as a Mythical you might run into out in the Autumn world. Chimerical creatures are dreamt up, so they tend to be what people dream them to be. Mythical creatures are what are left from, in most cases, ages ago, and generally speaking, they dont care what the collective consciousness thinks or dreams what they are capable of. So even if you've run into a unicorn here in the Dreaming, don't assume a Mythical Unicorn behaves the same way out there."
Miranda waves to Stella as she arrives and bows her head to Cait and then Sark before setting her basket down. First she gives some of the flowers to each of them, and then opens the basket and takes out some pastries to share with everyone. Once she takes a seat on a picnic blanket, she listens up.
Cait smiles, "Just 'Cait' is fine in informal settings, Ms. Green. If this were something formal, where Protocol was invoked, it would have to be 'Dame Cethleann'." She pauses, then shrugs, "Or 'you evil Balor wench', I suppose, depending on just how hostile the Court was." When Miranda begins distributing flowers, she smiles, and bows her head briefly, "Thank you, Baroness." What was that about informal settings? But then Sark begins the lesson, and Cait pays close attention.
Stella accepts pastry and flower, setting them aside so they won't be in the 'splash zone' offering up a thanks to Miranda. "Thank you so much. Gifts. Next time I'll bring gifts." Then to Cait, "Stella fits me much better, but you may call me what you like, Cait." Under her breath she repeats 'Dame Cethleann' to herself. Amusement is genuine at the latter suggestion of 'titles'. She takes Chirp from Sark and murmurs something quietly to the 'baby' in English in nothing close to baby-talk about not giving her frostbite; after that, she settles the creature however seems most comfortable to it. Watching her with the chimerical dragon one might be surprised that she has something between a healthy fear of and general avoidance of children in general. TOTES different. Stella flicks a glance up at Sark from under her lashes as he begins speaking, but then continues to pet and amuse the chimerical Little while ... some would know she is paying full attention to Sark at the same time.
Sark take sthe flowers Miranda offers, murmuring a thank you, then as he speaks, slowly weaves them into that long braid of hair to mingle with the silver bits he already has it bound up with, giving him a little more of a 'child of summer' look than he might have intended. "The second big thing to keep in mind is that while mythical creatures don't suffer from exposure like you or chimera might....we have no Banality to fear getting smacked with. We also dont usually have a way to do anything about someone who actually sees us - couldn't do anything to make someone forget they saw me in my scales, or think it was a dream, anything like that, short of, well, killing them. So most will be very good at hiding...and with how much humanity has exploded in the last two hundred years, many have chosen to leave this plane behind and move on to the Astral or the Umbral. This world is full of hunters, both amateur and professional, and you never know when someone is going to get lucky. Important to mention here is that I WONT be telling you how you might be able to kill any of these creatures. I want people to understand and know more. Not be better hunters."
Miranda looks pleased with everyone here and what has been offered. She nods with the information shared. "Those that wish to bring in Banality, to uncover and dispose of what they cannot understand. That is why we must be careful and knowledgeable."
Stella's expression settles from smiles to something a bit more serious as the topic mildly tangles her natures. She tells Chirp solemnly, "Fish are friends. Not food." It's more analogy (TM Pixar/Disney) than it is really at all literal.
Cait nods slowly, "Understood.. not planning to go hunting bygones... just understand what we might need to deal with."
Sark bows his head a little at Miranda and smiles, "My brothers and sisters were supposed to be gatherers of information, both to return it to the Wheel as well as be sages for those that wanted to come and ask. Instead, humanity largely feared and hunted us down, as they do with you and many others. I will resist that as much as I can until I have no choices left." He chuckles a little at Stella's comment to Chirp...who promptly tries gnawing on her fingertip lightly to see how SHE tastes. Its enough for Sark to grunt gently and hiss <<No biting. Human has soft skin, no scales. No treats if you hurt any of the girls.>> With that said, he gives Cait a nod and an appreciative smile before saying more, "With all of that said, I am going to draw on some of my personal experience to warn you of a couple of the creatures I've run into out here in Prospect, just in case they come back, so you know what you might be dealing with. Before I do that, does anyone have questions on what I covered so far? If this becomes a popular talk, I can always host another and go into preferred levels of detail - I just wanted to make sure I covered some basic information this time around for those who didn't have much experience yet."
Miranda shakes her head, no questions from her. "Please, I look forward to your perspective."
Cait blinks a few times. "Other... creatures... in Prospect? Are there many... creatures... in the area?"
Stella startles as she's used as a teething ... digit. She pulls her finger free looking as though she understood every word Sark just said to Chirp as she taps Chirp on the snout. She reaches behind her and grabs ... what looks like licorice (?) except it seems to filter through colors like light through water from time to time. "This," she whispers, "-- is not a girl." Permission to gnaw, granted. Stella lifts it to her lips, then she waves it slowly around like a magic wand before slowly floating it toward chimerical dragon-mouth. "Not everyone gets scales, but you do, darling." She's very quiet, intending not to interrupt the conversation with said Chirp chatter in any way. Still, the previous words from Sark 'no choices left' draws Stella's gaze up to Sark. There's an unspoken thought there. But she looks curious about what Sark will choose to share. Stella glances from Sark to Miranda to Cait and back to Chirp again, booping the latter's nose with the 'licorice' if it's not being gnawed upon.
Sark mmms softly at Cait, "I know of at least six that have maintained residence in the city...two dragons, two hydras, a unicorn, a griffin, and two I am not even sure what the hell they are. Most of them are still here right now, but they tend to keep to themselves. Then there are the occasional interlopers who do not belong and should NOT be staying on this plane, as they will only cause disruption. I want to 'show off' two of the mythical creatures I have personally run into before, since those are the ones I can most accurately speak to, even if I dont know everything about them. The first..." He pauses here to shake himself out and allow his form to disintegrate into a gold mist that reforms slowly into a four-legged creature, the recognizable body of a tiger, but as the details settle in, this is so very MUCH not a tiger, as the head and face that takes shape is more human than anything else, and instead of a long, bushy tail, the segmented shape of a scorpion's tail, complete with a wicked barbed stinger the size of a fist. About the overall size of a large Shetland pony, the creature finally sits its butt down in the grass, clears its throat, and speaks with a very bizarrely Sark voice.
"THIS is a manticore. The legends are it looks this way because its soul reincarnated into this to pay for the crime of pride and putting oneself above others, usually as a human, and again, my understanding is that they are attracted to sources of human on human taint - high murder rates, rapists, and so on, because they must eat other living things to live, but it has to be someone so tainted - innocent offer them no sustenance." He pauses, "I know from my own experience, that finding a way to make them look at themselves is a good way to run them off, it just may not be a permanent solution should you have one harassing the area you are in."
Miranda oos as Sark transforms. "That is ... fantastical!" she is impressed.
Erin has arrived.
If Stella's interest is any indication, she wasn't in Sark's company when he came across the manticore. She teases fingers over Chirp's little (baby chimerical blue dragon) scales while watching Manti-Sark with interest. The enchanted brunette is settled on the ground somewhat near Sark, but not in his zone enough to be 'on stage'. (The stage is like a spoon. There is none.)
Erin arrived at some point. She sneaks in so not to disturb and she hates drawing attention.
"The second I wish to show off for you, while we still have some time and snacks left, is something a little more dangerous and requiring of action..." Again he trails off to rise up to all fours and shake himself out, letting his form dematerialize again, this time taking on the shape of something resembling more of a giant, feral chicken. Maybe a cross between an ostrich and a rooster, the Hate Chicken that takes shape stands a good eight feet all and has a serpent's tail that ends in a wicked barb rather than feathers, and a beak full of tiny, razor sharp teeth. Sark shakes himself out lightly and folds his wings in close before offering to the group, "THIS is a Cockatrice, and if one remains in the area, it is Bad News. Cockatrices wallow in filth and darkness and draw it to them. They will be as hateful and offensive as they can to anyone around them, though it WILL avoid fights if it can - it just enjoys making others irrationally angry to the point they lose their senses. The dangerous part is that they reproduce by stinging another living being with their barb, which will fester and grow an egg in their guts until it is ready to be forcefully ejected...graphically even if that body cannot handle such a violation. I wont be more detailed than that but 'pooping yourself to death' is a pretty horrific way to die, if you ask me."
Erin tilts her head a little bit and smirks as she seems to find something funny at what Sark is talking about.
It's an amusing collection of expressions on Stella's face, or a series of them: affectionately playing with Chirp, recognizing the Cockatrice second-hand along with some associated memories, and hearing the details in a bit more graphic detail than she had previously upon the occasion with which she is (again, second handedly) familiar. Distaste. A bit of horror, then a shudder and more petpetpetting of the chimerical baby dragon. "We're staying away from cockatrixies, mmkay Chirrrrp?" She rolls that 'r' even though she speaks under her breath. Stella glances up and finally notices Erin and offers a bit of a smile.
Erin smiles back at Stella when she notices her and even raises her hand in a little bit of a wave. She sits quiet still way in the back.
Cait winces a bit at the 'pooping yourself to death' line, but nods, "Right. Carry a mirror for the manticore, and don't let the hate-chicken sting you into being the babymama..."
For her part, Chirp MIGHT not be listening to that last comment as she rolls over onto her back in Stella's lap so she can use all four legs to grab at her hand. As she does this, her face winds up and she gives an adorable little 'ah-CHOO' and spits little ice splatters over Stella's fingers that freeze immediately - making her look more like she stuck her hand into a snowdrift for a moment. SarkChicken winces a little but chuckles and bobs his bird head at Cait, "Exactly. Best plan is to give them distance and forcefully clean up whatever area they've settled in. It will make them want to move and leave and get them out of your area. Enough moving without cornering them will eventually get them to leave the plane."
Stella's lap allows for Chirp-rolling which draws the enchanted woman's attention back down to the chimerical hatchling playing lazy wand-waving with the color-shifting 'licorice stick' and away from thoughts about Hate Chickens. She (wait for it) freezes in place as her 'wand-holding hand' up to her wrist ends up with icicles. "Brrrrrrrrrr," she shivers both truly and with some exaggeration. Then she starts quietly bouncing around with a lap-o-baby-dragon and singing (?!) ~~Yo! Let's kick it! Chirpilla Ice Ice, Baby ...~ If she gets a reaction from Chirp, she'll continue. All very very quietly, even though there's no rabbit hunting going on. That would cross the streams.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE)
Cait hrms. "Forcefully clean... that's not exactly in my regular skillset, but I'll see what kinds of contingency plans I have set up for that. How common are the cockathrices?"
Stella does look up from the dragon as she shakes the ice off of her 'licorice wand' hand and continues to half-whisper 'kick it' with the hatchling to grin a little at Erin and then casts a curious glance over to Cait, wrinkling her nose (baby mama) and then grinning, flickering a look back to Sark to see if he's still in that form. "Thank you for not adding smell-o-vision, Professor."
Erin bobs her head a little to the chirping beat but when she catches herself dong that she stops. She hides a little bit.
Sark mmms softly, "On THIS plane? They dont seem to be that common...I mean, in reference to the rest of us. Most have gotten the hint that in general, the Autumn world is a rough place to try and raise a chick...and their are other planes like Malfeas and others that would be better suited for them. This is one I ran into with Caressa's husband a long time ago. Another mage had stolen its egg so it had specific reasons for staying here until it got it back. Fortunately we were able to recover it and...convinced....it to leave for the Umbra." Stella's comment has him chuckling and the big chicken winks at her, "There's a line to be drawn with realistic portrayals that I probably dont need to cross."
Stella does her best to act as though she didn't notice anyone else kicking it and swallows some laughter as the Sark-atrice winks at her. "Preesh, Easy." She arches a brow just so, though that response is idiosyncratic to her if one has spent enough time around Stella, perhaps curious about whether anyone is going to ask the Professor about said persuasion.
Cait nods, "So.. what, you guys used a firehose and an industrial-sized can of Lysol or something?"
Sark shakes his head lightly, "In that case, he had a few abilities as a Mage to bend reality that I do not. We also had struck a deal that if we got the creature its egg back, it would leave this plane. FORTUNATELY it kept to our agreement, but maybe it recognized that if it didnt, it would have a powerful mage and a fire breathing dragon to contend with, so that probably helped."
