2023.03.27 Penguins!

03.27.23 Penguins!
The Pack, Branton, and Irsa become a NatGeo WILD episode by exploring Antarctica and meeting LOTS of penguins!
IC Date	03.27.23
Players	Branton, Irsa, Iris, Trey
Location	Space Boat – The Umbra
Spheres	Garou, Bastet, Kinfolk, Sorcerer

Space Boat - Low Earth Orbit

Space. The final frontier. Hanging in low earth orbit within the Aetherial realm is this patchwork ship. It looks like a gigantic child smashed several kinds of earthly ships together and forced them to be a single object. Many floored and wrapped in balconies like a paddle boat, spiked with massive masts like a galley, it could hold a small village worth of folk aboard it comfortably. The ship is outfitted for long voyages away from home, and crewed almost entirely by spirits. There's a glass enclosed garden to produce food that's overseen by Sun and Water and tended by plant Naturae. A Lounge is available for drinks and food, with tables, beanbag chairs, and of course a karaoke machine that is jealously guarded and powered by an Electricity elemental. A section of the lounge has been built entirely of glass, so that one can sing and dance amongst the stars without getting lost in them. The bridge is dominated by bizarre devices of umbral exploration, from a bejeweled armillary sphere for steering to consoles of mounted maps and strange navigational devices. There aren't intercoms on the ship, but there are large mouthed lizards that yell the captain's orders across the ship when needed. A pennon waves at the highest point of the ship, and it's sails are huge, marvelous things of red and gold, black and silver. A small row boat kept at the stern provides a quick and automated way to get to a planet's surface and back again.

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Mercy chatting with Irsa at the railing and watching South America do a snail's march past under them, but soon enough it's time for an expanse of white to start coming into view. She leaves Irsa to go handle things on the bridge, giving Trey a rufflepet on the head on the way by to wake him up. Can’t let him miss the good stuff! Their Meros sliver trails along behind, staying out of the way of bustle but keeping an eye so he can take notes, like some kinda hitch hiking naturalist.

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Trey squirms around but wakes, shifting back up to homid as he does. "Mmmm, good stuff coming?" He stretches and gets to his feet, shaking hair from his face and approaching the railing with a curious air, grinning. "Wow, that's the polar ice cap? You never think about how huge it is until moments like this..." Writing reality out to disk. Please wait... Reality saved. Thank you for your patience.

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From orbit everything looks pretty small, but it's STILL a ginormous place down there, a massive continent of ice and rock. Iris adjusts speed and gets the ship lowered down towards the clouds, and finds a nice place to park, going back and forth from a downward pointing scope to the wheel. Don't wanna accidentally park us over the ocean, or too far inland where there's little to see. The coast! That's where the fun's at! "You're from the far north, right? You're equipped for the cold? Cause it's late summer down there but it's still REALLY flippin cold. I've got some furry coats for homid form in a wardrobe if you're interested."

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Trey mmms, and chuckles, "Well, far in the sense that I was from near the Canada border, but not up into regular Northern Lights country. Though I did see the Lights a couple of times when they showed up intensely. But my fur can handle the cold pretty well. I should be okay if I shift to one of my fuzzy forms, but in homid, yeah, I'll take a coat." He chuckles again. "Shoulda spent more time with the local Wendigo back then, they have all the good cold resistance stuff."

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Mercy presses her eye against the downward scope, twisting to adjust the focus of her vision while talking. Double checking, making sure there's not like a gigantic fucking ice monster right where they're gonna land or something. Safety first! "Oooooooh the lights! We won’t see them here cause of the season, but there's we'll have to go catch them some time. From BOTH sides of the atmosphere!" Scouting complete, she waves to come with her to dive into coat town. "The auroras are amazing spirits, watching them dance is a real treat. There's different colors and different dances, it's a whole wordless conversation between light and dark. Really fascinating stuff."

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Trey says, “What I've seen of the Lights were beautiful. Sometime, I really want to do that, go back and see them from the best vantage point and really take it all in." He follows, and takes the coat offered, checking to see if it fits. It'll work! He's pretty average-sized, so it's not hard to find him a fit. "Oh, I think it would make me want to make things," he agrees, "Get a bunch of tiny glass beads and just make something gorgeous. It'd take forever, but... it would be worth it. Be a gorgeous base for a fetish."”

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In one of the confusingly placed cabins, there's a lot of clothes. The whole room is a wardrobe really, but it's also got wardrobes and dressers IN it. There's all the clothing pieces here, from light stuff to heavy stuff. If you can get around the planet in a matter of minutes, what you were wearing at noon might not be appropriate for three pm. Iris starts finding some extra socks for Trey, and pulls out pairs for herself, Irsa, and Branton as well, and then hits up the long johns. There's a rack of coats from thinner windbreakers to thick, long haired yack hide. Take your pick of stuff or replace what Iris handed!. It's all used, probably unstylish, but definitely clean. "Oh for sure, definitely. There's nothing more inspiring than nature, especially if you can see nature with like a face and a form, sometimes. The auroras look like big giant people, kinda. And curtains of light, but also people! I think that's one of the best parts of being a Theurge, you can go and see a thing, any kind of thing and it's amaazing, but you can ALSO change planes and see it in a totally different amazing way. And with the boat or with wings you can get *another* cool vantage point! Man, I *love* this job so much!"

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Trey cares for style about as much as a typical guy does, which is to say, not much. I mean, his wardrobe mostly comes from Value Village. He takes the socks, pulls off his boots, and puts them over his existing socks -- layers is always good. He then unlaces the boots all the way and relaces them over the new layers. He finds a good warm coat, and as predicted, it makes him look like a complete dork. Fucks given: zero.

"I love seeing things Umbrally -- it makes everything so different and yet... you totally see how it's the same, yeah. Exactly. And I figure it this way: if I wasn't meant to check things out from all different vantages, I wouldn't be one of the Eyes of Gaia, and I wouldn't have a Gift for peeking into the Umbra. Oh, hey, advice time -- I am considering a couple of Gifts. One of them is more defensive, lets me recover from a pretty big fall with no damage, also gives me an edge if I get grabbed in combat. The other is persuasive, more like... it helps me get an edge socially. I want both, but I can't decide which to take first."

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"Exactly! It's in your job description!" Mercy agrees with a grin. But, advice time. She considers while checking sizes of clothing items and making some piles for their adventuring peeps. "Weeeeell... Cause both are great and sound like they'd be good to know, but which *first*... If it was me, I think I'd go for anti-falling first. Purely because I know I'm more apt to go wandering around where I shouldn't be than I am to stand still and have a conversation. I mean, the other would be great if confronted by something I wanna talk down, so to speak, but... For me, anti-falling fist. At worst, I can proooobably outrun something that didn't like the cut of my jib."

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Trey tosses over some things that look like they might be Irsa-sized, and hrms, listening, head tipped to one side in that way he has. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, because... I don't have a whole lot of combat magic yet, and I should. I *do* have healing, though I think I scarred poor Irsa for life when I was licking her wounds with it the other night." He winces. "I should have warned her." He nods, decisively. "Yeah, definitely. Some more defense from falling, and then the persuasion thing, which I think will help with spirits, too."

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Mercy bursts out laughing, "Oh goddess, I bet she was *mortified* for a second there! Like what are you DOING, cat?! HA! "You know, there's some things you can infuse into yourself, with enough patience and effort, that might help you with your spirit-y path. And I'm not saying such things WILL work, just that they MIGHT work. And either way, badass journey to find out. Like, myself for instance. The Aetherial is where I'm meant to be. You know when you go somewhere and you're like, 'Yeah. *This* place. My soul just sings here.'? I think some of it's trauma based for me, but I started spending so much time here that I've sort of... like made the Aetherial a part of me, just a little bit. It's definitely easier now for me to navigate, read the terrain, even dealing with high umbrood up here is just... easier. Downside, I feel like an alien on Gaia's face. Really I do, it's.. weird and anxiety making. So, up sides and down sides to this method of things." Buying merits, that is.

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Trey smiles ruefully. "Yeah, the look on her face was pretty horrified but I was already committed and wasn't gonna waste the Gnosis." He offers her his cockeyed smile with that and shrugs. "Next time, I ask first, unless there's no time." He hrms and says, "Infuse? Hrmmm. Now I'm curious. You mean like... sort of picking up some of the local... I don't wanna say 'air,' but... sorta like how some things are easier some places? Or some people are better at some things just naturally? Or do you mean like... local blessings from the spirits?" Either way seems fine to him, truth be told; he sighs and says, warmly, "Yeah. On Luna, I felt that. Just... yeah. With all the cats? I only then understood why Garou pack up. It felt *right*."

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Mercy finishes clothes picking for the gang and starts getting into hers, bigass socks first and thick fur pants next. With suspenders, cause ya gotta. "Any and all, yes. There's a lot of ways to gain your blessings-slash-curses. My method is immersion, but I've also heard of someone getting severely shocked in the face by a spirit, which screwed up his eyes enough to see through the gauntlet. If you go looking for a solution to a problem, you're gonna find one, one way or the other. Things might not always go the way you'd hoped, but you'll still get a solution!" She smiles, thrilled that Trey has such a strong place for the memory of his first trip. "She's your people's patron, for sure. You'll be able to learn some unique gifts from her Lunes. Prophetic sort of stuff, mostly, but who doesn't love gettin witchy and finding portents, right?"

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Trey bursts out laughing and takes off the shirt he's wearing to layer a thermal under it. He's not at all body shy -- he's a cat. "You mean like... if I wound up finding a way to become a mooncat, or no... that's a Gift. If I... huh. If I meditated somewhere and found a way to draw one of the mysteries into myself. Like Selene's insight or Mitanu's inventiveness. Like that?" He sighs happily and says, "I love being a mystic. It makes people think I'm being wise when I'm just babbling my kitty face off."

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"Uhh... Yeah, basically." Mercy agrees chipperly and gets on a sweater that has no back. But it's got sleeves! "I mean it's all so personal and comes from your own thought process on how something should be done, so I cant quite tell you HOW to do any of it, just that it's possible. And if you came up with an idea, I could probably help forecast how successful you might be. Past that, just keep trying new stuff, and wanted stuff will just kinda fall into place." She gathers up a pile of winter gear for Irsa, and a little bit of winter gear and a tuxedo for Branton. The guy's half fire elemental and it shows in the umbra, so it's not like he needs a ton of help in the warmth department. Plus, you need a tuxedo wearing ambassador if you're going to say hi to penguins. It's probably a law somewhere.

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Trey dips his head again, and chews on that thought for a while. Oh, wait, no, that's another piece of jerky. What is it with the cat and jerky, anyway? Getting used to having Homid molars still? "Someday I want to see Vulcan, too... just because he is the one in charge of hidden secrets, and I think I could really learn some good things there." He presses a finger to his lips, actually chewing on the thought right now, and adds, "I should ask you to give me some ideas of the smaller Gifts you have, so I can try and pick them up from you."

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"I'll try and demonstrate the Lambent Sight for you some time," Mercy says, happy to share, "The gift allows you to see as if by a full moon in places where it's normally impossible to see. Like in a cave or something like that. I don't THINK it looks like anything from the outside, like you don't turn into a flashlight or anything, it just affects your sight. I bet you could feel the uh... like the resonance of the gift or something. Hey speaking of which, we need to do some lessons on feeling magic currents, (Awareness), unless you're already keen to that sort of tingle." Once Trey's bundled and ready, she plops one of the clothes bundles in his hands, takes the other, and starts out onto the deck again.

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A smile warms his face; Trey ooohs softly and says, "That could be incredibly useful. Oh, I already pick up a lot of magical... feelings, I guess, I can sorta-see-sorta-feel it, if that makes sense. Like... patterns of light shift a little when I notice it being used, and if there's magic active near me, it's a bit brighter. Branton, for example, has a *bunch* of bright spots from his sorcery-smithing works, but I try not to analyze them unless he offers, because privacy." He has a weird sense of privacy, it seems, or maybe just doesn't try to collect secrets about friends. He takes the bundle and heads out after Iris onto the deck, bouncing cheerfully. "Oh, if I pick up that Gift, I won't need these boots any more -- they're enchanted for balance. Do you think they'd fit Pink?"

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"Oh good, excellent," Mercy says, glad that they don't have to start from ground level with that kind of learning. "That'll make things easier, then." Her brows pop up though at the offer and she says, "They may very well! Save them just yet, a cub with magic things would just lead to infighting with others. But, he'll have to go on his Rite of Passage soon, and if he survives the ordeal then it'd make a lovely celebratory gift, and the occasional and new rank will make having it more appropriate." Branton and Irsa are both busy doing Stuff and Things they need to get done before a ground excursion, so she decides to leave their stuff near their packs. Meros just kinda hangs out, taking notes and being ready for anything. "You know, I met an aspect of Gaia down here once. I'm certain I could not retrace my path to get there, but there IS a path there."

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Trey mmms and looks thoughtful. "Well, if not, then I could make another pair and see if they worked for Mike and Jack from the Frog Brothers, too. I'd just like to see 'em get used, but if giving them to a cub is gonna cause issues, I'll make him a pair of his own when he's a cliath. I'd be happy to pass him a good gift for the occasion. I'll just switch out the lining and all, because fresher is better." He looks over at Meros and grins. "Would gear be of any use for you, too, or would it just stay behind when you go nonmaterial?" And with those words, he ooohs and says, "If possible, that would be great. If not, we can always come back!"

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Mercy and Trey are both geared up for a cold place, thick pants and sweaters and coats, save Mercy, who has to stop at backless sweaters. But she's got her Warming Wrap, which she takes out of her Bigass Purse to wrap around herself and make up for the ban of the fetish tattooed onto her back. They're near the railing and chattering while prepping to head down in a minute. Their totem friend says, "Oh I'll be fine, I'll stay around in the spirit realm while you both explore the other side, don't worry about me!"

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Branton had snagged his suit and headed off to try on the tuxedo and the new socks. He's still wearing his fancy magic boots but the socks are for sure inside them. He grins at Mercy as he comes back out "I dig this. Its amazing."

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Trey gives a double thumbs up and shifts, tugging his borrowed coat into place. "Niiice, man." He looks over to Mercy and says, "I guess now is the test of how good the work I did on that is. And I think that was English, somehow. Mangled though it may be." He double knots the boot laces on his feet, the doubled socks tucked around the pants to eliminate cold draft spaces.

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"You are *so* hot." Mercy says to Branton when she spots him in his Penguin Ambassador suit. Of course, the guy could be in lederhosen and she'd probably still say that. "I jammed some gloves and a hat in your pack if you end up needing them. And you," she tells Trey, "Keep those ears protected." She starts breaking into the Safety Briefing. It's the end of summer down there, but the weather's below freezing, a nice brisk twenty to twenty five degrees. Absolutely NO going off alone, not anywhere or for any reason. If you have to go to the bathroom, or want a closer look at something, *everyone* is expected to take a buddy with them. Buddy. System. If you start feeling numb or tingly anywhere - fingers, nose, toes, cheeks, whatever - you speak up and we get you warmed up, we don't need any frostbite injuries. Animals are going to be plenty, and they're all fairly innocent of us. Our Curse will still be a thing, but none of us are the natural predators of anything here. So don't be a dick to the critters and avoid scaring them with form changes where they can see. No hunting either. Stay out of the water, of course, it's cold enough to send you into immediate shock. Everyone got it? Any questions?"

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Trey shakes his head. He takes a moment to ensure his ears are covered with a hat, and tugs his hair down over them as well to add to the warmth a little. "I think I got a couple of..." He stops, checks his bag, and draws out a pair of those chemical handwarmer packs. "I never throw stuff out," he offers, and passes one over to Irsa. "I had these from Denver. So right. No wandering off, no being a dick to the locals, don't get frostbite. And no hunting or swimming. Got it." He adds, "I'll try not to live up to my name."

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Branton poses like he's on a magazine cover and waggles his eyebrows at his mate "That's a good idea, I might be self heating but even for me this can be super cold." Trey's reference to his rite name gets an amused snort.

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Mercy grins at Trey and says, "Good, excellent. Oh, and speaking of stuff, keep track of yours so you don't drop anything or get something stolen by a bird. Leave only foot prints and all that. OKAY! We could take the boat down but this is a good opportunity to learn about this realm real fast. Let's get down to the clouds and we'll go over 'exiting the Aetherial realm and returning to the near umbra.' She snags her stuff up and hops up onto the railing before jumping off and swooping expertly down towards the clouds she parked them nice and close to.

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Trey secures all of the stuff he's bringing along, which amounts to a few talens packed neatly into pockets that snap shut and the hand warmer, which is kind of underkill, if anything, but in a pinch, it'll help. He then jumps up onto the rail once more, looking down into the clouds and then airwalking down to follow Mercy down to the cloud layer.

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Branton has assorted pouches and things stuffed in pockets and whatever pack he's going to be carrying. He leaps over the side to follow his mate down in good order

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Down at the clouds, Mercy leads the way to an edge of cloud where there's a wide break that lets the gang look down, waaaaay down, to the continent below them. It's only a few miles, but damned if that doesn't look super duper far. She reaches out to hold hands with Branton and Trey, and says, "This is called the Leap of Faith, and is a method of leaving this realm. There are certain great spirits of the air that wont even consider helping you with anything unless you take the Leap of Faith for them. Biggun's don't have time for cowards or hesitationists. I can’t tell you how this works or what happens, you just have to do it for yourself and find out." She lifts a foot, ready to step off the edge of the cloud, but like with displaying flight to the guy, she neither goes first, nor asks him to go all alone. Branton's done this, of course, and she gives him a conspiratorial wink about it.

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Branton grins at Trey as Mercy explains what's next and he raises a foot just like she has, also not going first and ruining the moment, he just says "After you."

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Trey looks hesitant for about two point six seconds. Then he shrugs and offers a broad smile. "There's a reason I'm not called Does-His-Taxes-On-Time," he mutters, and then he draws in a long breath.... and moves to take the Leap of Faith right into a couple of miles of AIR. To his credit, he doesn't scream like a little kitten. His eyes are wide open, much like the expression of a cat first introduced to the rectal thermometer, but... hey, he's gonna die SEEING it!

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Weightlessness persists at first, until one's foot technically enters the gap between the clouds. Then gravity tugs, gently but startlingly when you're used to not having its grip upon you. Passing through the clouds is a real fall, with all the helplessness that comes with it. The Aetherial gift of flight no longer applies once passing into the earthly plane, and the shifters are left in a freefall through crisp, cold air. Mercy totally tied her wrap ends so it wouldn't fly off. The ground rushes towards shifters and kinfolk at a steady pace. "Spread your limbs out!" Iris yells over the rush of wind, still holding hands but splaying out into an X to make herself resistant and keep the ride going for a time. Then, she slowly releases Branton and Trey's hands so that they can truly freefall and do any flippy trickies they might want to do during the few minutes they have between clouds an terminal velocity impact into the Antarctic coastline.

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Branton has a number of ways to fly or get himself out of a falling situation like this but he uses none of them. Spreading his limbs when his mate calls that out he cackles excitedly.

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Trey :is totally going with it -- hey, if you're gonna go, you gotta go doing something insane and amazing. The view is coming closer at a rapid rate -- at this distance, the gravity of the situation is foremost on the mind. Even so, Trey spread-eagles, even his fingers splaying wide, and lets out an insane laugh from adrenaline rushing his senses. "HOLY SHIIIIT THIS IS AWEEESOMMMMMMME--!"

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Fortunately, the thread connecting Trey to Mercy doesn't let him get too far away, so he can’t accidentally blow himself out to sea or anything like that. She is *thrilled* to see the joy on her friends' faces while they fall, rather than panic or anything like that. I mean, they don't have parachutes and she never gave any indication about *how* exactly they're supposed to stop before, you know, fuckin *dying* when they hit the ground. Vast snowy mountain ranges spread out to one side and the cold Antarctic seas are tossed by the wind to the other side, the air never warming, just staying winter cold all the way down. Soon, the snow dusted coast begins to take on details, finer and finer until individual boulders can be picked out, moving blobs become herds of penguin and seal spirits, and they're STILL not slowing down. Mercy doesn't seem bothered, doing a few twirls out of sheer delight and then spreading out again.

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Irsa has finally finished what mental pack insanity briefly pulled her away, just in time everyone else fall over the side and leap to their apparent deaths. The Bone Gnawer peers down at the rapidly plummeting group, shrugs philosophically and throws herself over the side. "KOWABUNGA!!" she yells, folding her limbs to her side as she rockets down towards the others in a head-first dive.

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Branton has done this before but he doesn't look like its old hat or anything. He looks thrilled and when Irsa plummets in a head first dive he goes into a similar body position "Race ya!"

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Once he thinks about it, Trey will find it funny that just before this jump, he was advised to take the Gift that would let him fall without damage. Not... not this kind of fall, though. Once they hit terminal velocity, and as details clarify, he decides that tourism in the past was way, way underrated, and he very much wants to find some way to fly in the future. Even if it's only for short stretches. Flying Lynx WILL happen. Then Branton and Irsa decide to race, and the only thing that stops him from joining is the silver cord connecting him and Mercy. He's tempted, but he looks over to her with a broad grin.

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We're gonna die. You're gonna die, and you're gonna die, and you too! This might not hurt much, but we're all definitely gonna die. The few critters under the group run for it (well, they waddle for it, anyways) to get out of the way of falling, screaming weirdos. Mercy still doesn't say what's going to happen, just lets Trey and Irsa prepare for the end in whatever way they choose. RIGHT before impact, literally just a couple feet away from hitting the ground, everyone just... stops. No slowing, no impact, just movement, and then an instant later, zero movement. Each person hovers over the ground for a second or two before dropping harmlessly onto the umbral ground. Mercy spends that hanging second whipping her hands down under her to catch herself so her face doesn't smack the ground, or so she won’t get the wind knocked out of her. A couple foot fall can still spell LITTLE accidents and owies.

Boinging up to her feet, she announces, "TA DAAAAAAA!" with a flamboyant pose. "Okay, let's not waste time in the umbra, it's a bit of an aggressive place for warm things like us, and especially him," she points over to Branton, "So let's cross the gauntlet into the physical world and do some sight seeing." Once people are recovered enough from their near death experience, it's cross over time!

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Irsa lifts her hands in a wave as she catches up with the others. "My pack wants t' know if any penguins were involved with this voluntary kidnapping!" she shouts at Mercy as she falls. And then Branton totally has to challenge her to a race, and she's happy to oblige. She's falling so fast, building up to terminal velocity, until Mercy slams on the brakes. "That was AMAZING!" she shouts, pumping a fist in the air. She checks over her gear, making sure everything is secure and in place, before Stepping Sideways.

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Branton lands in a hand stand and then does a flip to end up on his feet "Yeah, this is one of the times that being part fire elemental is maybe not great? I try not to be a pest though so let’s move along." Looking over to Mercy "Do you want to or shall I?"

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Trey is almost about to hit -- he could likely stretch out and touch the ground if he wanted to do so -- and he opens his mouth to scream, but then STOPS.

It comes out as a choked 'Mrowwlll?'

He then lands on the snow, laughing so hard he can barely breathe. "Ohmifuckinggods that was INTENSE--!" The question from Irsa just makes the laughter come harder; by the time he stops, he's gasping, and lets out one errant hiccup as punctuation. It takes him a moment, or two, before he gets enough control over himself, already well into the mindstate of 'Man, it just gets better and better.'

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Local spirits just loooooook at these shifters as they 'arrive', all very wtf! and confused. But there's more than seals and penguins, there's also ice and snow spirits, and they're not really... huggy sorts. Not in the nice way, any how. "Go for it, m'love." Mercy tells Branton. The group steps through the gauntlet (Trey is just dragged through it) before they can get overly curious, or aggressive about any territory, and kablow! Real world Antarctica. It's noisy, it's cold, it's windy and there's salty sea spray/snow caught in the air. The lighting is perpetually caught at sunset right now, regardless of the time of day. Penguins mill around and there's some patches of seals resting on the rocks. A few varieties of sea birds are still hanging out here, there's a little bit until the REAL bad weather forces them to move on. A fucknormous albatross wheals in the air and out at sea there's the backs of an entire pod of orca cresting up out of the water, prowling for prey under the waves. A small, fuzzy brown potato with flippers - a baby penguin - begins waddling towards the group like whaaaaaat *are* you?! Human types aren't unheard of here, but they're very rare and almost always of a conservationist and/or scientific sort. While people get acquainted with the area, Mercy whips out binoculars to have a look around, make some notes, and just double check their spot while her player is AFK.

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Irsa grins at Mercy once she steps across. "Rhapsody's asked us t' look for some cool crystals she can use in some windchimes. Just don't bring home and yellow snow by mistake." Good call there by the young Black Fury! You never know what kind of weird things explorers leave behind. She pats down her pockets and pack, making sure nothing's shifted or fallen out. She's silent for a good long time, turning around to look up at the sky, over the ice, and what she can see of the sea from here. She kneels down carefully to watch the animals, a look of childlike wonder crossing her scarred face. Branton's EFFECTIVE GAUNTLET_MANIPULATION is at least 5

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Branton may not have gnosis but he sure can fake it real well and with a gesture opens the way to cross over for Trey. Once his feet are in the real world he grins and gets out his knit cap, still foregoing the gloves but being bald makes the cold worse on his scalp than anywhere else. With a pleased sigh he looks around and says "I love my life."

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Trey group-stepped across with Branton, but once he does, he just sighs contentedly, looking out at the twilight, his chosen time of day, the time of possibilities and verging on the night and her mysteries. "Man, I love mine, too, especially now." He peers at the little fuzzy penguin dude and grins. He likes babies in general. "You're an adorable li'l one, aren't you," he murmurs, quiet but warm. You should have seen him cooing over Miguel's kittens. There's almost too much to experience at once, so he begins to make a visual accounting of it all -- the elements, the orcas in the too-chilled water, the sky that seems endless, the snow, likewise...

"It's so easy to forget that places like *this* are real, too," he says, keeping his voice low so as not to spook the wildlife. "I came from a cold place compared to Prospect, but not like this. This is even too cold for my lynx skin by itself, I think." And then... wonder of wonders, he actually shuts up for a long time, his expression mirroring Irsa's.

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Irsa snickers quietly at Branton. "Right? I coulda been born a poor, clueless, beat-down ape, and just fallen into the cracks and been ground t' dust. Not a day goes by that I don't praise Gaia an' Momma Rat for all th' blessings I got." She's careful not to move suddenly, not wanting to startle that fuzzy penguin chick. "I've been waitin' to see this kinda thing my whole life," she murmurs to the Qualmi.

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Branton nods enthusiastically "And if I hadn't found out I was kinfolk I probably never would have met that Super huge fire elemental that recognized what I was and peeled the sealing spell off that kept me seeming normal. My powers actually got easier to control after not less."

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Trey nods at that, and his words come slower, more pensive, than usual. "All my life I wanted to see the spirit world... to see what the Garou do. And now that I can, and do... it's beyond even what I expected." He grins at Branton's comment, and says, "I imagine it's gotta be a lot like after a first Change, how all of a sudden all the rage and... weirdness fits and makes sense, and settles into you. Or at least, it did for me. I was not a happy kitten until I changed. Then I could actually *think* how I was meant to. And... that was a revelation by itself."

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"I'm real glad I was born under th' crescent moon," Irsa remarks. "I like makin' things, and learning, and I definitely like t' travel. Coming here with my Kinfolk? Best thing I've ever done. No way in hell would I have been able t' do any of this back in L.A." That fuzzy penguin has waddled closer and is pecking curiously at her boot covers.

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Branton nods at Trey "Yup. And a lot of how other spirits I had met reacted to me made more sense. Because everything I'd read said most spirits don't give humans any thought." Then to Irsa "I actually haven't interacted with many septs outside of Prospect. There was that one near San Fran that I went to with Acacia and the grand elder's house got pretty much burned down in the process of repelling a coup attempt by some wyrm twisted members of his council of elders...fair enough to say I didn't get a fair look at what their culture was generally like when things aren't going to shit."

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Irsa tilts her head, listening to voices only she can hear. "Pandora's asked if we can get her a penguin feather," she remarks to the others. "I'd like t' collect a few loose ones from the area, if that ain't a problem." The fuzzy chick has decided that boots aren't tasty, and stumbles a bit as it waddles over to check out Trey's pants leg. "Y'know how Meros is with you an' Mercy now, most of th' time?" she asks the Qualmi. "Fog's got a mystical link with us, that lets us speak t' one another. Real useful: helps us be quiet so the Enemy can't hear us, and also lets Jackie understand us when we're takin' different forms." She looks surprised at Branton's story. "Seriously? Shit, she never told me that story."

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Trey says, “This is the reason we are what we are and do what we do... or one of the many." He looks over at the li'l penguin checking out Irsa's feet and stifles a laugh, trying not to scare the little dude. "I'm what they call Twilight... our Pryio coincide with the time of day that we feel drawn to. Twilight is... mysteries, learning, things like that. So I'm... not quite the same as a Theurge, but tending that way."

He nods slowly. "If spirits react to you, there's something interesting about you, so yeah,, they saw what you couldn't know until it was revealed."

His eyes narrow at the story about the Wyrm-tainted council at another Sept. "That's fucked up. What came of that?"

He nods at Irsa's feather request, and says, "I'll scoop up any I see for you. If we see any good small smooth rocks, hagstones especially... yeah." He smiles down at the penguin now checking out his leg, and murmurs, "Yeah, Mercy and I talked about having one of those, but she and I are both pretty private, so Meros agreed to notify us if one was in trouble."”

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Branton grins and shrugs "Oh the bad guys jumped the grand elder while Journey and his Pack's Ahroun and Philodox were in the room, or right the other side of a thin wall. Along with A silver fang philodox we don't talk about because he was a philandering piece of shit but we didn't know that at the time. And Acacia and I of course. I helped by using my mana manipulation spells to shatter a poison hex one of them had on a dagger. Not sure what sort of wyrm toxin it was but figured it best not find out. They, the traitors that is, all got torn to fucking pieces of course."

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Irsa shakes her head. "Bone Gnawer Garou an' Kin, catchin' all th' smoke," she says bitterly. "It ain't uncommon for us t' be used as scapegoats or distractions in th' Nation when other 'honorable' people are being shady as hell. I'm glad Acacia didn't pay th' final price like some do." She snorts a laugh as the fuzzy penguin chick loses its grip on Trey's leg and rolls over in a pudgy little heap. It peeps its indignation as it attempts to right itself. "Hah! Check this little dude out. He ain't scared of nothin', is he?"

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Trey ahhhs at Branton's story, listening, and seeming more pleased as it goes on. The end just makes him flash a wicked toothy smile. "Ahhhh, all's well that ends well. Mana manipulation is damned useful. Breaking enchantments, items, all kinds of fun mayhem. I saw a sorcerer friend use that once on an item that had gotten munged up in her manaforge. She had to destroy it so it wouldn't blow up."

He hrms and says, "I haven't met Acacia, but what I've heard of her, she sounded like seriously good people." He bites back a laugh at the baby penguin, and very carefully does not move as the chick kind of rolls around and tries to right himself. "This is clearly the exceptional one. Maybe he's a werepenguin. The Flappy Wings of Gaia."

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Branton nods a Trey "Outside of shifters she one of the people I spar with that can match me for sword work. And Her magic is different than mine but still worth chatting with her about if you get the chance."

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"Were there ever were-penguins?" Irsa asks the Black Fury Elder. She might be serious, she might be joking, she'll never tell! "You'd think for sure there'd be were-orcas. I mean, look at those things." The pod just past the edge of the largest icesheet in the bay surges past, making for the edge of the colony.

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Mercy was concerned about some stuff, and also had some personal notes and calculations to make while the gang is getting to know the place, but she comes back to the moment just in time to hear a question. "I dunno! But, we've had some sensational ice ages, so it wouldn't surprise me if we had certain were critters that no one knows about because they only existed in a certain age where life was fewer and more far between. Hell, we have some from THIS age that people don't even remember. What'd I miss, by the way? Sorry, I got lost in my own little world."

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Trey Ohs and nods slowly. "Noted, If I meet Acacia, remember that she's on the Serious Badass list, but then, I don't imagine the Garou would be bringing both of you along if you weren't. But I already knew you were." He's matter-of-fact about that statement. "I would think the orcas. Or dolphins. But maybe the Rokea took care of that." He turns to Mercy as she returns to them. "You missed the bravest li'l penguin that ever was," he says, motioning to the little guy who is now climbing the toe of his boot.

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Branton is the weird shit expert, and thus waggles a hand back and forth at Irsa "There's Rorqual, they're Kami-ish whales and dolphins that are like mobile power sites for the Rokea and the Merfolk." Then at his mate's return Branton gestures over at the cute baby "Little fearless over there exploring everywhere." Then to Trey "It was Acacia's home sept, and a lot of the intel involved could only get gotten by her. I got brought along on accident really, but it worked out."

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"We're all braggin' on Acacia," Irsa tells her mentor. "And Pandora wants a penguin feather. Reckon we can get some loose ones from around here?" She wasn't kidding when she said her pack wanted souveneirs! She blinks as Branton fills in some things. "Uh -- do they know orcas will like, punch Great Whites and squeeze 'em like toothpaste tubes for their livers? 'Cause that's a thing they do." She's been watching nature programs. Again.

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Mercy points to Branton - who's gettin the Eye from a couple nearby penguin adults, it's probably the tux, but him radiating warmth is also quite enticing - and says, "Yeah, they're... more creatures of imagination and dream, in a sense. The awe they've inspired has sorta put them on a slightly different path than being were things. Besides, being sea creatures doesn't lend well to shape changing into a human being. Why bother, you know? Sharks only do it when they have to, and it reeeeeally shows. They are... They are not pretty people in homid without a lot of practice, which they generally don't bother with." She grins at the baby penguin and says, "You guys have been focusing on the one, did you know we're being surrounded?" Cause the shifters and kin are THE most interesting things on the beach right now, everyone wants to check them out. But it's a slow waddle, so it takes a sec. Penguin, snail, and zombie invasions go at the same pace. "Welp, let's wander around, find some loose bird fuzz and some crystals! And look, lichen! There's plants way down here, y'all!"

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Trey mmms. "The only Rokea I ever encountered kinda looked like a kindergartner's first attempt with modeling clay. Not entirely real looking." He turns his gaze to the penguins. Oh noes! They're surrounded! He chuckles, keeping from making too much noise, letting the waddling formalwear waterfowl congregate. "This may be one of the coolest things ever. I mean, it ain't a river of mooncats, but it's still damn cool." He nods and says, "Definitely! Oooh, wait, I should see if I can bring back some lichen for Mike and Jack. They could do an arctic habitat."

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Branton nods at Irsa and grins "I don't know how it works exactly but I do know they exist. There was one that spent a few weeks in the gaian community around Prospect a few years back. Weird for A Rorqual to be on land but in Prospect Weird is how we roll." Branton looks around at the adult Penguins and flexing his Gifts a touch he tries to greet the Penguins "Oh hello there. Sorry to intrude we're just visiting."

Branton's EFFECTIVE BEAST_SPEECH is at least 1

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Charisma + Animal Ken vs 6 for 4 successes.
2 3 3 4 +6 +7 +8 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->


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"Asked Jackie what she wanted, think she's sleepin'," Irsa grunts. "I'll just keep an eye out for somethin' -- oh hey, lichen! Wild, I didn't anythin' plant-like could live here." She gingerly makes her way towards the ones Mercy has pointed out, taking care to avoid the waddling penguins. "Arctic habitat sounds brilliant. If anyone can pull that kinda tech off, it's definitely Glass Walkers. They got a whole Camp that's dedicated to reclaimin' and creating Wyld spaces in th' city, have they told ya 'bout that?" she asks Trey.

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Mercy stops near a little lump of moss and lichen that's clinging for dear life to a rock, and says, "Hey look at this! This little guy here-" she gestures to an insect running around on the vegetation, "-is technically a fly, it's in the same family as the flies you're used to, but it's too cold and the winds down here are too crazy, so they don't grow wings. They're technically flies, but they're really walks. And that's a tick right there. Cause ticks are literally everywhere." The penguins are kinda wary, they can sense the Rage and all, but at the same time, like... what even *is* Rage? They sure don't LOOK like leopard seals, so how bad can they be? There's a little bit of hesitation, but damned if they're not gonna budge up and say hello. They're wild animals, obviously not tame things, they like to test with their beaks and have no sense of personal space, they're fine with being touched, but they're *gonna* touch back, and they don't care about making crazy sudden movements themselves. They're more fine with Branton, of course. Not only does he not have Rage at all, but he's wearing the right gang colors in the right neighborhood, and dude's waaaaaarm. He's going to get a lot of penguin hugs. Also, these guys are quite big. Big and fat and SO TALKATIVE. Brace yourself now that your beast speech is going, Branton.

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Trey says, “Yeah, that's their jam, they build these little habitats, I mean, they also sell plants and the like. But they both told me about the City Farmers a bit. Great guys, those two. I mean, smart, motivated. I bet if you got them hooked up with the folks at the Dead Mall, they could add some more to the setup you have already." He lopes along with as easy a stride as one can manage on snowpack, and stops when Mercy points out the insects. "Yeah, it... whoa. That's neat, flies that don't fly. So are they Walks?" That question is lost in the moment as he keeps looking around them, and reaches down to lightly touch one of the penguins with his gloved hand. "You guys are bold," he says with a chuckle. "I like you dudes.”

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Branton is strong and sturdy and has learned to be chill with animals, and edges over a bit so as he gets crowded the shifters don't get run the fuck over by floppy happy feet "Come my kindred of formal wear. My Fellowship of Black and White. Tell me how your day has been, how is your waddle's territory doing?"

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Irsa checks out the lichen and moss closely, seeing how they attach to the rock and looking around for other types of plants. "Do they have other insects too? And maybe some really small animals? I dunno how big they need t' be down here to keep their warmth up." She doesn't touch the penguins when they nudge her, but she does offer her hand so they can tug on her fingers. Build up some trust first. "Funny y' say that, Trey. They cut a deal with Acacia t' install some things there in our main pond. I'll have to show that to ya, when you come by next."

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Smolder Kin gets ALL the gossip at once right away, and just gets absolutely smooshed in with penguins. Their feathers, be they stuck to a glove after a pet, or picked off the rocks (and also there's a metric shit ton of penguin poop on the ground, so be careful) are all REALLY tiny. Just a mass of densely packed feathers that are almost fur like in their quality, maintaining an airy sponge of body heat like baby down does. Mercy rolls a few rocks around, lookin at what sort they are, and says, "There's crystals around here too, somewhere. Find the right rock and we'll probably find a good one to bring home and crack open. Like a crystal egg! There's bound to be some shards in there she can string together." And she agrees to Trey, "Absolutely a walk. The jokes were *true*!"

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Trey cracks up quietly at the whole situation. He's watching the sorcerer in his formalwear, and what looks to a thousand like-minded minions of the waterfowl variety, along with the running commentary. "I think you're president of the fraternity now," he says with a chuckle.

Irsa's information makes him nod and he says, "I shoulda guessed -- definitely love to see it, though. What I got to see the other night, the gardens were nice. The whole place is a wonder." He looks back at Mercy and says, "Crystal hunt! Like Easter eggs only... no eggs? Something." He does, however, start turning small rocks with a toe as he encounters them, and picks up a few that look interesting, even if only to him. "Geodes are usually roundish," he comments. "If we find any."

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Branton is waddling with the group of penguins over to the colony's roosting grounds, decorated nests being shown off and mating prospects being bragged about. Trey's comment gets a chuckle before branton gets diverted back to listening about things his new friends to say about their neighbor critters and regional hazards. Though what Penguins call hazards and what two leggers do might not mesh to well. <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Irsa rolls Perception vs 6 for 1 successes.
2 5 5 +8
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

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"Oh wow, those are really tiny. Welp, Pandora ain't getting a big one, but she can have a bunch of these little ones." Irsa carefully strokes the head of the penguin she's been acquainted with and brushes some of those loose feathers into a plastic bag. She wanders around the area as instructed, gathering up more and more feathers as she hunts for geodes. "I think.. Pancake, that somethin' we might be looking for?" she asks, pointing at rock not too far from the Elder.

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"Everyone do a quick extremities check." Mercy says while the gang's lookin' around, "Touch all your fingers, ears, nose, cheeks, just make sure they can still feel normally. If anything's starting to freeze, you can either hug Branton or Trey's got hand warmers." She's got the gift of Adaptation, but she still does it any how, just in case. Then she gets back to checkin for a good rock. "You can’t really tell which rock is which on sight, it's the weight that gives it away. They look like they should be a weighty rock, but you pick it up and it's only half as heavy as it should be. That's probably the right kind. If it's got sponge lookin holes in it, it's not the right kind. Oh hey, here!" she offers whoever wants it a long white feather, possibly off a wandering albatross. That's held out with one hand while she picks up the rock Irsa spotted and tests its weight in her hand. "Feels pretty light to me, what say you?" she asks the lady, and passes it over.

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Trey offers Irsa the feathers he preened off one of the penguins for her bagfull; nothing huge, but it'll add to the collection.

Mercy's extremities check goes quickly. "Nose, ears, cheeks feel fine, fingers are good. Toes still wiggle." It wasn't meant to be a sound-off, Trey. He checks the heft on the stones in his hands, and those, as well, get passed over to Irsa. "One of those felt way light, could be useful."

He keeps looking back to Branton and the penguins, as if studying. Maybe he can figure the trick of it....

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Branton grins and keeps on chattering with his new fine feathered friends, giving scritches and crouching down to look at rocks around the nests. Some of the bigger penguins are over four feet tall so when he crouches he can almost disappear "I almost want to bump shape changing magic up my priority list. This is pretty great."

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Irsa stops in her tracks and checks herself over. "I'm fine, but let me get some handwarmers juuuust in case," she says. "Better safe than sorry. I like all my bits. If ya don't mind, I'll take that albatross feather, add that to Pandora's feather collection. " She readjusts her clothing, brushing away a few patches of forming ice crystals. She hefts the rock she's been passed and frowns. "Too light for a geode, yeah. But it's kinda cool. It's lighter than these others, maybe volcanic or some kinda fossil? I think this last one y' handed me has got possibilities too, Trey."

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"Albatross are associated with far travels, Skua with hope and new beginnings, Tern are adaptation and survival..." Mercy is babbling while looking for interesting tid bits in the rocky, snow dusted coast. "That fuckoff huge mountain over there, with the busted top? Extinct volcano, it probably spat all *sorts* of interesting shit out when it was still active!" He collects up some cool bones here and there, from fish or long deceased penquins, snags up a seal tooth or three, a neat shell that got drug up here by an enterprising young bird, some grey, brown or white feathers. Branton gets the low down on ALL the things. First of all, Bob is an asshole, he keeps antagonizing the sleeping seals and he's GONNA get them all eaten, I'm tellin ya! And oh man, you ain't seen a beak until you've seen Pecky's beak. Repecka, come here! She's over there, see? I mean *look* at that sexy beak curve! His boots become clogged with big fat baby penguins that want to be shuffle carried. They blah blah blah about the arctic researchers that were here when the sun was higher, and one of them shows off an GPS tag with absolutely no idea what the hell it's for.

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Trey looks over with a raised brow and says, "You could blend in everywhere, that would be fun," he agrees, "I used to be able to take other human forms, but... well, that was Butterfly's favor." He takes a packet holding a pair of the handwarmers, passing them over to Irsa. "You should totally bring her that feather, it's gorgeous. Fossils are always great to have, too. I'd save those for something noteworthy. Volcanic rock is nice for storing anything fire related..." He nods and adds, "Sometimes I just wander to find stuff to use to make things." He's still ground-grazing for cool shit and stuffing things into his pockets, much like the five-year-old he is.

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Branton grins at Trey looking up from the penguins for a moment "How would you like a piece of a metal from an asteroid that's chemically almost identical to stainless steel? I did a deal with am willworker and she did some crazy bullshit. I asked if she could get me some steel not stolen from the earth. And she stole it from the sky instead. Made a special alloy with it I market as 'star metal'."

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Irsa sorts through some of the rocks the group has found, and cracks one open using another rock as a hammer. "Check this out," she remarks to the others, showing off the interior. A small leaf fossil has been revealed, with a smooth ridged edge and visible patterned veins. "I dunno how old this is, but it's gotta be ancient. Trey, you should take this one. Add it to your medicine bag." Her own search turns up more volcanic rocks, a few bits of arctic seagrass, a leopard seal claw, and a rock that's heavy enough to be a possible geode. "Pancake, think we got one here?" she asks, handing it over to the Elder.

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Mercy goes to have a look, heck yeah for interesting things! "Oh wow, very nice! Gosh, this has to be from... Clear back when Tasmania was still attached to the continent. That's *old* old is what that is. And oof-" she says as she takes the rock for a looksee, "We're gonna have a real egg cracking party when we get home, aren't we? I mean, I guess it looks more like a potato, but 'potato crackin party' doesn't sound as good." Through all of this, while the sun is getting lower on Prospect, it only barely seems to have moved here, dipping just a little bit on the horizon but no further. "How're you all feelin'? Do we need to make a return to the ship and get some hot soup?"

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Trey blinks slowly and says, "Oh, man, that would be cool as hell, I would love that. Stolen from the sky? Something that gives flight seems like an obvious correspondence. Or space related. Speed. Climate adaptation, something related to all the travel we're planning..." He's off and running. See how little it takes?

Irsa offers him the fossil and he ooohs, looking it over. "That's beautiful. Thank you!" He accepts it, and carefully tucks it away amidst his pockets, by itself for safety, nodding again. He's going to have so many cool things. "I need to start protecting some of these fragile things with a hardening ritual, just so they don't wind up shattered."

Trey hrms and looks thoughtful. "I'm doing pretty okay myself, just enjoying the hell out of this. But I'm game to be wherever. I'm adaptable. Oh, look!" A second feather, similar to but smaller than the one Mercy found, flies by on a gust, and Trey grabs it. "Another bit for the travel item, I think. Maybe I need to make a Cat Toy of Umbral Crossings." He's only sort of joking, that's the scary part. "A small pole shod in metal, a feather, reinforced leather to hold it together..."

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Branton grins at Trey when he starts nerding out and wonders if this is what he looks like from the outside sometimes. Slowly he starts extricating himself from the waddle of penguins, saying his farewells as he calls over to his mate "I'm still alright but I will never say no to soup."

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"If there's hot food, I ain't never gonna say no," Irsa remarks. "Think I'm good t' go here, if people wanna jet out." She hunts around for a few more feathers and adds them to her collection. "Couple for myself. Never hurts t' have a physical token for a spirit you ain't familiar with."

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"Oh my gosh, you should totally add in a tiny piece of that or your fairy silver, hammered super flat and shiny to be your mirror-thing, cause cat toy of crossing is just amaaaaaazing." It's something Mercy would totally make if she wasn't worried about looking really speciesist by doing so. "Or as a bell if you're more into the sonic resonance of things. Hey everybody, let's get a few pictures before we go!" she whips out her phone to get to the camera and set up a timer for it, "There's no service here but I'll message them around when we get back home!"

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PHOTOS! Yeah!! Trey is a happy catmandude, and of course, the idea of soup is always appealing too. Photos, souvenirs, a cool idea for his Umbral fetish, a whole passel of experiences to add to Meros' list already including nearly falling to his death from miles up... it's a good day, a very good day. "I think you're totally right, a bell from faerie silver and a small mirror hammered from starmetal sounds like the perfect combo. Albatross feather, the leather of... well, it should be some kind of special leather, maybe I'll need to do a special hunt for it." And he probably sounds a lot like Branton geeking out, sure, but that's a sorcery thing. Right? Or a... mystic thing!

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Irsa snickers at the pack's antics and gathers with the others. She holds up her fingers in a peace sign, right behind Mercy's head when the first picture is snapped. She pretends to assault Trey with a feather in another picture, and holds the back of her hand to her forehead in an epic swoon as she presents a small rock to Branton in the third. Memories!

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"Something that *goes*, and doesn't give a fuck about obstacles." Mercy says to Trey to try and help with his leather inspirations. She makes sure the phone's balanced just so on some rocks and trots over to join the gang, throwing up a peace sign as well and saying, "Everybody say sar-DEEEEEEEENS!" They are, of course, photo bombed by penguins galore, and some big seal off by the water chimes in with an "UUUUUUUUUUURP!", which in grumpy old man seal tongue is 'god damned kids why dontcha shut uuuuuuup!' And probably also something about his lawn. Another one catches Branton in the process of getting mobbed again, and a third will have some bigass whale tails in the water way behind them all while they mug funny for the camera. Mercy will pick it up and get a few more shots of the gang before saying. "Okay, we should probably get back. It still looks early here, but it's actually gettin late, and I don't wanna ruin anyone's sleep rhythm. Let's double check we've got everything, and get back into the umbra. Branton, if you'll kindly carry Irsa since we don't have the row boat, I'll drag Trey along back up to the ship."

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Branton grins at Irsa and turns his back to her "Piggy back ride? I promise not to go too fast." he says teasingly when his mate hands out an assignment for him.

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Trey grins, mugs for the camera, pretends to swoon by Irsa, bunny-ears Branton (to some failure due to height differential), and makes a silly face at Iris, having a complete silly blast. "Roadrunner, but they're endangered, I think. And don't have a lot of hide. Maybe a rabbit. Still not much hide, but I do have some rabbit leather. That... yeah, I think that'll work, unless someone has a better idea." He is about to pose in a silly way when a penguin pokes the back of his knee, and he crouches instead. Only when the photos are done does he get semi-serious again. "I should try and learn a flight Gift. I know the Wendigo have one, my Kuasha knew it. Wish he'd taught it to *me*."

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Irsa grins at the Sorceror-Kin. "Would I?!" she says, keeping her voice down so she doesn't send the penguins waddling off in a panic. "I'm down. Y' can pretend you're a fireman, and I'm Auntie Luisa, who's gonna make a huge bowl of menudo for her hero." This ride is about to look seriously silly, but who cares? If you're not having fun, stay home.

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Mercy reconnects Trey with the gnosis thread, and boops them into the umbra! Which is also cold and penguin filled. They're like 'oh, you again? What is even going on?' Mercy's warming wrap shifts and moves as her tattooed wings peel away from her back, stretching out into actual ginormous white wings with little golden highlights. "Okie dokie, ready?" When Branton's ready for lift off, she gives a mighty flap and jump. Fortunately Trey can just drag along with her by the thread and she doesn't actually have to *lift* him, cause gaining altitude is a lot of work. Branton has strength aids for carrying a passenger, technically she does too but that's added work and gnosis effort. It takes a little longer to fight gravity and go Up than it does to just fall like a rock going Down.

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Branton does need a tug across the umbra, without more preparation than the group really wants to spend the time on. Once umbra side he takes off with Irsa on his back and explains "Shamanic Numina like I use to cross the gauntlet take either altered states of mind or extensive ritual preparation to use in the physical realm. Its harder to touch the spirit from there. Once we're here though." ZOOM. His flight speed is about twenty miles an hour. He comments to Trey "That's the same flight gift I studied to model the flight spell in my boots. I thought it was Uktena though, Gift of the Bird?"

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Trey jumps upward and is towed, more or less, though he does move his own limbs to try and add a little inertia to the mix. Of course, it's the Umbra, things work differently, but hey, he figures a little effort will help. And if not, at least it's funny to watch him air-swimming. "Oh, I was thinking of one he called Sky Running, which is more like 'you run at high speed, just in the air.' But yeah, the Uktena one sounds really good. Anything that lets you fly, really. Someday, I figure."

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"Spirit of the Bird," Irsa chimes in. "They got a few Gifts with 'Spirit' as part of th' name, it's hella easy to get that mixed up. I used to do the same thing all th' time, even when I was a Cliath." Her eyes squint as she looks around her, taking in all the sights.

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Mercy gestures to Irsa when she names the gift, saving her breath for flying and flapping. All the strain of muscle usage ends when they bust through the first layer of clouds though, and are suddenly greeted with weightnessness again. They didn't come up right under the ship, but they're not too far away from it. Now she can relax and just glide! "They've got a lot of really excellent elementally based gifts. That's the tribe whose gift you used in that swimming talen, Trey. Spirit of the Fish."

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Branton nods at the correction "That's the one. I really like a lot of what the Uktena have to teach, at least that they will teach." To Trey he adds "Our sept rite mistress is an Uktena. When I was first getting integrated with the sept I spent a lot of time getting projects reviewed because I was worried about needing to be sure if something was heresy or not."

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Trey nods at that, committing things to memory as best he can, and says, "Breathing underwater was great. I want to learn that one eventually, too. But hey, Merlin's lessons didn't happen in a day." Yes, he's referring to the wizard, not the bird. He's going to be working on that beast speech one, too. He mmms and nods with that. "I can see that. The Uktena tend to regard the Qualmi as cousins of a spiritual sort. I've heard of some of us being in positions of authority in Uktena Septs, even. I've found them easier than most to get on with." He adds, "I should talk to the rite mistress to offer aid if it's needed; I've got a fair number of Rites for a first-rank cat. And learning more, thank you, Irsa and Mercy," he says with a catgrin.

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"Shattered Stone up in L.A. has a lotta Uktena members," Irsa remarks. "Not as many as my Tribe obviously, and none of us have regular access to a caern, but they got Kinfolk that struggle just as hard as ours. There's a lotta overlap there -- it ain't uncommon t' have family members with blood from both Tribes. They got a LOT of mad hate for th' Silver Fangs. Uktena used t' have a caern just outside th' city bout a century or more back, but it was stolen from 'em. And it fell, which is even worse. That was a huge hit for the Silver Fangs prestige, and they just kinda slunk outta th' region. Haven't had a presence there since th' fifties."

Irsa says, “They're natural spirit-walkers. Even their Ahroun have experience with the spirit world, and their shaman are second t' none.”

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"You're welcome!" Mercy chirps happily at Trey, and winces at the mention of a fallen caern. "No bueno..." When they've all touched down on the deck, Iris the Messenger goddess folds her wings again, the bird parts slimming and shrinking to press back into her skin and take the form of ink again. Hence all the backless shirts she wears and the aversion to coats. "Let's settle in the lounge, we can shed a layer and double check no one brought any ticks on board. I'll put the soup on to heat up!"

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Branton nods and moves on ahead into the lounge "I'll make sure the kettle is on." Then he starts taking off his suit jacket "Ticks are the worst."

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Trey starts toward the lounge, and begins to shed layers once he's there, looking over each for any wayward ticks as he does. He checks the others as well if needed. "Yeah, there's a lot of social similarities between the tribes," he notes, with an uncharacteristic dour expression. "Some of my kin and the Uktena kin are neighbors, in a sense, also." His knapsack is leaning against a wall, and he begins to secure things he found below inside of it with cushioning where needed. That thing is definitely bigger on the inside. The fossil is secured inside a spare t-shirt and wrapped gently.

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Irsa shucks off her arctic gear and inspects each piece carefully. "Nada. It pays t' use handmade soap," she says with a grin. "Pancake, d'ya remember the art piece I promised you? Well, I started it last night. Problem is that it's big. Real big. What's the best way of getting it up d'ya think, Talisman Dedication?"

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The lounge, it's a magnificent place, like a hookah parlor and a dive bar had a weird but oddly charming baby. Fat pillows and bean bags, or a few tables and chairs, a small bar with stools, behind which is the door to the kitchen and its infinite pantry. Off to one side there's some darts, or a karaoke machine that chirps and sparks at random, with a stage/dance floor part of the room that's just all glass, floor included. "Oh definitely," Mercy says to Irsa while doing the same, shedding pants and checking them and herself for any hitch hikers. She finds none! "I'll help you drag it across if you need, or Branton probably could if you give him a nice joint. Depending on just HOW huge it is, you can probably lash it to the row boat? I bet that'd do it, the cord's nice and strong. Hey babe?" she calls to Branton, "There's a kettle of veg and barley in the fridge from yesterday, too!" And she adds to Trey, "I'm really glad you're not from a ragey, typically assholeish people!"

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Branton eyes Trey's bag as he starts preparing hot drinks and heating up the requested soup "Expanded space or translocation link to a bigger storage space? Nah that wouldn't be able to reach across the gauntlet in most cases."

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Trey says, "I dunno, cats are usually assholes and some of us are ragey. Simba, especially, can be total dicks. I mean, majestic dicks, sure, but kinda dickish even so." He looks up at Branton's question, and actually holds out the bag for him to examine. "Expanded space. It's a fetish, a Magpie's Swag. Gift from my Kuasha -- my former mentor -- as a 'get the hell out of my face, you're an adult now' present. It holds about twice what it looks like it should. If you had one that let you reach through into a space back home, that would be really handy!"

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"I'd like t' borrow your packmate in th' next few days, if you got no objection," Irsa says to her mentor. "Trey, I need t' hit up th' city library and a couple of bookshops for some references I wanna use for that piece. But I need someone who can distract folks while I check out th' shelves, and I think you an' a Frog Brother or two are just the ticket. Think you can handle that? I ain't gonna steal anything, but with the Curse, and me lookin' like this? Someone might call th' cops, and I don't wanna waste time dealin' with 'em. Normally I'd hit up Pandora, but she ain't got a lotta skills with bein' personable."

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"Oh for sure, make plans, guys!" Mercy says, but she goes running off as if reminded of something when Irsa mentions books. "Just a sec!" she calls as she goes zipping off out of the lounge and around a corner.

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Branton passes out hot drinks and soup before pausing to look at the bag "That's really cool. I don't know about across town but I have a friend that when she was pregnant made herself a diaper bag that I was pretty sure co-located with the trunk of her car. Or something. She's Gurahl kin actually, I haven't heard from her in a while maybe I should see about catching up."

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Trey chuckles. "Of course, be happy to help. I'm sure the Bros would be down, too. Among us, we can figure out a way to distract people for a while. Whether it's just asking annoying questions and so forth, or... well, we can manage something. Couple of no-moons and me? Yeah." He considers Irsa's looks, as if for the first time, and huhs, then nods. When Branton comes around with comestibles, he accepts his share and thanks the KinSorcerer with a grin. "Yeah, that actually sounds like a really useful item. Link it to a car trunk, that works. Or I'd probably use my closet."

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Irsa isn't about to reveal her own secret things. Aelous would be super disappointed in the Mistseekers alpha and shoot her the blandest judgy look. Nope, definitely not going there. She digs into her food and drink, shaking off that linger Antarctic chill.

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Mercy returns with a few tomes in hand, to hand over to Trey. "Here, take these for your down time so you can get to know a bit about our totem and what makes him tick. The kind of values he likes in us, you know?" They're a few classic novels or collections of short stories all centered around the fantastic adventure of so and so. Be it the hobbit or Odyssius or Johnny Appleseed. Things that cover the 'why we travel' mode of thought. For the deathly half of who they follow, there's no guide on underworlds or encyclopedia of death gods or anything. Instead, it's just a set of three comic books that she hands over, for 'Death: The High Cost of Living' by Neil Gaiman. Once the light reading is in Trey's hands, she settles down with soup and tea. "You should!" she says encouragingly to Branton.

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Trey accepts the books, looking them over with a curious eye, careful not to get too near the soup as he looks inside the cover of the first one. Then he fishes in his bag, tugs out a slim plastic bag about the size used for small purchases at bookstores -- and this one has the logo of a bookstore in Denver -- and neatly, carefully, tucks them inside to protect them. "Death as a Goth girl," he muses aloud with a slight, but pleased, smile. "I will definitely give these my time and attention." And with that, he takes the soup and happily consumes it, enjoying the way it warms him up from the inside.

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Mercy grins and probably everyone has a minute's slurpy silence for soup inhalation. "Oh, that's *so* much better. SO! How was your trip, newbie? What'd you think about the whole real world excursion and your Aetherial lessons and stuff? Do you have any questions or comments!" she asks, interested in knowing how travel affects other people.

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Trey sips happily as he listens, and says, "Well, one, I'm going to make a go-bag for traveling and leave it on here, if that's okay, with just clothes I'll need and stuff. Just because I like having mine, y'know? But as far as the trip goes -- well, I just saw another continent! That's two, now! I've never been outside North America before this... and now I've been to the Antarctic and the Moon and... well, I'm having a great time, and I think it's giving me a lot of perspective on the vastness of it all. It's so easy to get caught up in one corner of the world. There's so much even just to the Earth, let alone all the other worlds. I do want to start doing a new notebook with details on each place in the Aetherial. Long term, I may try and turn my notes into reference material, so we can share them with people who can't travel for whatever reason."

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Mercy looks SO PROUD! A little wandering mystic after her own heart. "I'm gonna get you SO MANY NOTEBOOKS!" she promises, actually getting a little teary eyed. Yes, she was like this with Irsa when she was a Cliath too. "You can absolutely have a stash here, and in fact, there's plenty of spare rooms on the boat, find one you like and claim it, if you like. It's not much use to you until you don't have to be tethered to me, but still. It's good to have a personal zone."

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Trey beams and says, "I love notebooks. I have way too many, but... I just carry the one, for 'everyday', but I copy things into the ones that are topical. Someday I will learn to do this all on a computer, probably. But I feel better about it when I write it, it sort of reinforces the learning, I think. Especially diagrams." He smiles, then, at the offer of a room. "Oh, I will definitely take you up on that. As long as it has a soft space to flop in catform I don't need much. And... well, I think my first real fetish that I make will be the cat toy of Stepping Sideways." He cradles the soup mug and inhales, enjoying the scent as much as the flavor. "Nobody will have a fetish like that. And when I learn the actual Gift at some point, I will pass it on to a student."

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"I've got an office just off the bridge that's FILLED with notebooks and scrolls and stuff." Mercy says, "And I do the same thing. Everyday notebook for scribbling, transfer it to less-crazy-speak in better notebooks. I USED to have a filing system but I kinda gave up halfway through the idea of being organized. You're welcome to dive in there any time you like and look up lore. It's *kinda* easy to navigate in there." She grins again and opines, "I think that's a very kind idea. Being a young Bastet must be SO frustrating sometimes, not being able to get at what you're seeing. That'd drive me bonkers!"

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Trey says, “Even seeing it requires a Gift, but one even I learned but... our Gift to Step Sideways is for high rank. Ilani, which is 4th rank." He smiles a little more softly than usual at the offer of shared lore. "I am going to be in there a lot, I think," he says, "Just reading and cross-referencing and stuff. That's why I want to try and boil stuff down for new students. So they can get the basics first. Bastet don't have a lot of formal education about the Umbra, because we can't get there easily. But knowing about the Umbra is also knowing about spirits, and we can work with spirits just fine. Just... not on the same level as Garou, really."

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"There's a lotta stuff in there, um..." Mercy thinks about her collection and says, "I've tried to make notes about every spirit I've come across, and there's some tangent notebooks in there about eco systems of spirits and food chains and family trees, uh... Lotta cosmological stuff, which kinda moves in and out of physical sciences and spiritual sciences. Maps and charts, lotta that sorta thing. I don't keep many notes on Wyrm things. You really gotta think about what you're writing and drawing and I don't like dwelling on that stuff. I'll just... point that stuff out as we come across it."

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Trey nods at that. "I need to learn that, but... that's not knowledge to leave lying around where some kitten or cub can find it and get stupid ideas. Not even evil ones, just 'hey, what if I summon one of these and kill it to get respect?' when they don't even know how to fight yet." He nods again and says, "I've found that some of the practical cosmology is the same or similar as what I've read over time, but a lot of it is very different, so I'm walking in trying not to assume."

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"Oh goddess *exactly*." Mercy agrees with an emphatic nod, "That totally sounds like what an over eager kid might do! But, we can get you and Pink and whoever else is interested together and we'll have a 'how stuff was made' chat some time. Or I'll just teach you how to juggle, one or the other. So hey, come steer the boat back home, yeah?" she offers, making sure to keep up the boat handling lessons while Irsa and Branton are snoozing.

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Trey says, “That's something I might've done as a kitten, so..." He looks rueful. "That's what made me think of it." He beams at that suggestion of navigation practice, and finishes his soup, then gets to his feet. "You bet. Eventually I will be competent at it, which will let me step in and help more. And whenever you like, I'm game to listen, chat, shoot at targets, attempt to juggle and look silly, hell, I'll even teach Pink to fish with his claws if you make him able to breathe water." He follows her out to the deck proper, and the helm, to help them make the return journey.