#nihil writes

- Blearily, Elaine sits up upon the bed she's found herself on. The room, to her dismay, is not her respite in her apartment- where she remembers being last. The floor is made of strange patterned wood, and rounded walls of stone. Several fine sheets hang draped upon the walls and around the bed like a canopy. Uncannily, they look more like flower petals and vines than actual fabric. The sheer difference in environment makes her uneasy, even if it is pretty.

… Is… this another dream? She wondered. Elaine looked down to see herself wearing her usual sleep attire.

But something in her gut tells her no, this isn't.

Carefully, she moves the rather thick blanket covering her to the side and stands to her feet. Elaine spots a window to the left of her- or rather, a door she realizes as she approaches. She opens it, revealing an open balcony and the world before her.

Small, floating lights fill the air below, glimmering above numerous buildings and enormous, budding trees. Around it, proper battlements and walls befitting a castle. Dorms and towers, as well. Beyond that, endless dense greenery that rises even higher than the fruit trees below. The smell of citrus and cherry is strong on the wind, and so is the pollen.

She notes that she's never seen so many stars before in her life, and never this clearly.

But the fascination quickly leads to anxiety, realizing just how high up in the air she was. A tower that juts up above the rest… and no real way to get down.

Elaine re-enters the room, shutting the door slowly. Behind her, another one opens, causing her to flinch.

"Oh good! Good. You are awake. I must say, I wondered if you were even alive, with how sound you were asleep," an airy voice said, with a refined tone.

Elaine turned to face the source, a feeling of bewilderment creeping up in her stomach.

It was no troll, that's for sure- with its green tinted skin, hair reminiscent of waxy leaves. No horns to be found, either. Just two sprightly antenna poking out above the brow- and shimmering wings like a dragonfly's on its back. It looked more akin to a bug of some kind, with those chitinous plates. Though, dressed in reddish-hued noble apparel.

Before she can even think to ask a question, it keeps speaking.

"Well, no matter." The creature flicks its wings, striding over and bowing briefly before Elaine. "I bid thee a welcome to my estate and the court. I'm glad you agreed to be a guest here, princess."

"Wh- princess?" Elaine mumbles. "Hold on, I don't remember agreeing to- … where am I? .. Who are you?"

The creature rights itself and grins at her. "Castle Grānātum, miss- located within the confines of the spring realms and my domain. And, I'm afraid you did agree to be here. Else we would not be having this conversation."

Spring realms? Elaine thinks- keeping a mental note. "You did not answer my other question."

"I did not. Though, I will answer now- you may call me by Chadeu. Now, I don't think I have your name-" the creature extends a hand towards Elaine, bidding her to answer.

However, her intuition tells her to be on guard. She instead steps back defensively. "You do not- and may not- have it. What do you mean that I agreed to this?"

Chadeu squints, seemingly amused. The creature then folds its hands behind its back. "Not with me directly, dear. A member of my court was acting on my behalf. You and a sprite are currently in our stay."

Right, Elaine remembers, the events slowly coming back to her. A fairy had entered her hive suddenly, wishing to talk. Though it was cut off by the silkie caring for her, having lunged for it. The silkie was slain, as was one of her sprites taking off elsewhere. But before it managed to kill the other, Elaine had hastily bargained with it.

In exchange for not harming the sprite, Elaine would go with it. Wherever it wanted to go, anyway. She didn't remember much happening after that.

She speaks up again. "Well, I am here. But I never said how long I would stay- so I would like to go home."

"But of course." Chadeu hums. "You are no prisoner here, you can leave as you'd like."

There is a moment of silence between them. Chadeu continues to grin.

"I… will require an escort," Elaine says, expanding.

Leaving the fae realms on her own would prove to be… difficult. Not to mention dangerous, as she's been told. She can only guess this is where she is at, with the clues given.

The smile on Chadeu's face turns downwards, and it exhales. "Ah. Well, one can be provided. However, I am quite busy at the moment. There's a grand event we're planning here, and I can spare no hands until its completion."

"I do hope you'll understand. You'd be a guest of honor, while you stayed." He said, smiling again.

Elaine realizes that she doesn't have much of a choice- there's no one she can call, and her powers nigh useless in this situation. If she could even use them consistently in the first place. What would she do? Get lost, hunted, or worse?

She sighs. "I understand."

"We're on the same page, then, princess." Chadeu shifts its weight, relaxing. "In the meantime, you may stay here. I'll have a meal sent to you shortly, or you may join in downstairs at your leisure."

"Though, I do recommend dressing in something more-" it hums as it looks her up and down- noting the long t-shirt and shorts, messy hair and no shoes. "-Appropriate."

Elaine looks down at her outfit again, then back at Chadeu. "Ah- I… don't really have anything on hand."

Chadeu appears to think to itself. "Hm. Noted."

"I'll have something sent to you in the meantime. This issue will be resolved shortly, miss. For now, I'll let you get settled into your quarters." He says, waving a hand in the air gently.

It then flutters its wings, lifting off of the ground and floating over to the door. It bids her good evening before leaving.

Elaine moves to shut the door behind him, then sinking down to the floor.

...

--melodramaticUrsine [MU] began trolling luminescentSgraffito [LS] --

MU: hey kas. have you seen elaine at all? like at work or something?

MU: we were supposed to meet up earlier but she never showed. haven't heard anything from her either

LS: nah, I haven't heard anything either. figured she's probably just wrapped up in a project or something.

MU: yeah, I can see it. but it's weird. she hasn't even read my text, supposedly.

LS: oh

LS: damn. better go and check on her, then.

MU: casual like. just in case

LS: I'll be real, Quil, I'm not feelin very casual.

LS: maybe it's nothin, but that's not normal for Ellie.

MU: well, it's like you said. sometimes she just gets caught up in things.

MU: been busier lately too, I noticed

LS: well ya, but… you two are good buddies. been tight for awhile

LS: almost as close and she and I are

LS: and I say that gladly cause she doesn't have a better friend. so it's def weird.

MU: yeah.

MU: hey, how about I meet you by her place? as back up.

LS: I'm down with that. see you in a bit.

-- melodramaticUrsine [MU] ceased trolling luminescentSgraffito [LS] --

...

Quilis quickly leaves the castle after the conversation, headed towards Atecastar to meet up with Kasolm. The pair meets just outside of Elaine's apartment block like they said they would, and Quil lets out a short sigh as they enter.

"… Hey, bud. Things been alright lately? S' been a minute since I talked to 'ya last." She holds the door open for Kasolm as they walk through, then move towards the elevator.

Kas hums and grimaces. "Ah. I'm… overall, I'm fine. But I got a friend that disappeared with that city- Civitrecce. But… what can I do? Still gotta live."

Quil pauses before following them. "Sorry to hear about that."

Kasolm nods towards Quilis, moving on. "So while I hope nothing's up with Ellie, well…." They then shrug. "If it is, shoot. I'm ready for it. Not a thing I wouldn't do for them."

"How about yourself?" they ask Quilis.

She takes a moment to respond, pressing the 'up' button and waiting for the lift. "Eh, it's been alright. Mostly quiet, aside from the usual bullshit around my place.

And… I definitely get you on that. Ellie's been good to me- since that whole deal with her ex, this sorta think just kinda… it's worrying, y'know?" The ride up is thankfully short, and both Kasolm and Quilis move down the hall.

Kasolm grimaces slightly again, their tiny fins flicking. "Ya. M'trying not to dwell on it- at least that filho da puta's been silent ever since, far as I know. So I don't think it's him."

"Oh, I know it's not him. He's dead." Quilis says very casually.

Kas blinks at them, and then chuckles. "Damn, girl- you kill him yourself? Or was it just a happy accident."

Quilis shrugs. "Nah, it was someone else." As they reach Elaine's door, she reaches out to try the handle.

Locked.

"Shoot. You got any magic for that? I'm not really suited for locks." Kasolm says, thinking. "… Guess we could try them one last time, but- … no, my life sense isn't picking her up in there."

"Don't worry," Quil says, waving a hand. "I got us covered."

With another jiggle of the handle, the door opens. Quilis looks inside briefly, and a growling noise can be heard. Quilis then shuts the door.

"… Kas."

"Ya." they reply.

"Werewolf."

Kasolm blinks. "Oh, that's probably Lloric. … Guess she didn't mention he's her flush now, huh."

Quilis turns to look at Kasolm, puzzled. "Who?"

"Oh, shoot. She really didn't tell ya. Uhhhh," Kasolm trails off briefly. "Maroon. Never met him myself yet, but.. I trust Ellie's judgement."

Quilis, meanwhile, continues to be confused. She looks down at the ground for a moment, sighing again- then re-opens the door all the way so that she and Kas can step through. Before she does though, she raises her hands in front of her.

"Okay, pause for a sec-" she says to… who she guesses to be Lloric. It's hard to tell, given the person in question is a half-wolf. "I'm not sure why you're in Ellie's apartment block, but we're here looking for her."

Quilis's eyes shift momentarily to a dead… thing… nearby on the floor, then back to Lloric, who was hunched on the floor on all fours and watching her warily. "I'm a friend of hers. If you don't mind, I wanna take a look around and see if I can't piece together what the fuck happened here."

Lloric's ears shift slightly and he scoots out of the way, still wary, but seemingly not about to stop the two trolls.

Putting her hands down, Quilis then steps inside with Kas following suit. Quil's attention is brought back to the body lying plainly on the floor, and she stoops down to inspect it closer.

It has a roughly troll-like shape, covered head to toe in long, gray robes that obscure its face. Though it's not like any troll that she's seen before. A fairy, if she had to guess- considering its resemblance to what she knows as a silkie.

Quilis sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. She then reaches out and places a hand on the corpse, a spiral of bright purple runes writing themselves into existence across the creature's clothing. More strings of light spawn from the spiral, latching themselves in place as well. Afterwards, she speaks one word, a command.

"Awaken."

The corpse then sputters from behind the veil it wears, and coughs further. In some other language, it wearily begins speaking between gasps for breath.

"Who…'s there…Can't see…" There is a long pause as something begins to dawn on the fairy. "…I've… failed…. haven't I?"

"You probably have. I've brought you back, but only for a moment." Quilis responds, speaking in the same fey tongue. "I need to know what happened here. To Elaine. Do you speak troll?"

"I… speak the troll… tongue… yes." it answers, changing the conversation to common. It attempts to steady its speech. "The lady's… home… was intruded… another of the fair folk- I…. failed to defend her. They then… took her. I assume… to the courts. Please… you must tell the prince of this."

Quilis grimaces. "Did you see what the other looked like?"

The silkie sputters again, coughing up blood. "Sorc..ress… if you… can do this much… you can take… my memories. They'll… be far better use… than me describing."

Sighing again, Quilis nods. "If you insist. I'll also fulfill your other request- so long as you tell me which prince."

"The spring court… of herb blooms." It answers.

"I was afraid you were going to say that…" Quil mutters. "Alright. I'll let you rest now."

Quilis then removes her hand from the corpse. The spell she'd formed had begun to disband, the light from which winding up her arm before disappearing. The creature stops moving afterward- dead once more.

Moving to stand, she then turns her attention to her friend, who still stands near the doorway. "Kas, can you help me take a look around- to make sure there's nothing we missed?"

Kas does so, using their life sense and eyes alike to ensure there's no detail the two have passed by; their lips drawn in focus, purplish violet eyes glowing slightly as they scan the room and the hallway.

They find nothing except, unfortunately, another dead sprite whose corpse they wince at.

"Poor thing…" They mutter. Then they look over at the purple. "Nah, nothing helpful. And I take it we gotta visit Ulisse now? Oh boy." They whistle. "That'll be interestin'."

Quilis's expression is different from her usual demeanor. It's cold, and unusually serious- but fitting for the situation at hand. The news of Elaine's kidnapping wasn't exactly a humorous matter.

"Yeah." She says. "Can't really break my promise now, can I?"

Quilis pauses a moment before continuing. "If there's nothing else, you should go back to your hive for now."

… But something didn't sit right with Elaine. She's felt like too much has been kept in the dark on Chadeu's part, like there was something going on right under her nose. What exactly is this event taking place? And why would she be the guest of honor, when she had never met this fairy before now?

There were things she had to ask of that pixie, and she was determined to get some answers. Which is why now, she was dressed in this flowery get-up. There was a feast going on in the castle hall below, and she planned to attend. It's not exactly like she's being held as a prisoner here.

Descending the flights of stairs leading from her quarters, Elaine makes her way through the halls. She follows the sound of revelry, and other fairies drifting to and fro. Soon enough, she finds the center of all the activity- the banquet hall. A lavish array is set across the room, with numerous foods and drink she'd never really seen before. Incorporated into the decor are fruiting trees, elaborate bouquets pinning drapery to their branches.

Everything here seemed to be surrounded by nature… no, everything seemed to have been built with the natural scenery in mind, Elaine thinks to herself. But her thoughts are interrupted by someone else's call.

"Ah, princess! You've finally seen fit to join us!" a voice chitters.

It was none other than Chadeu himself, who walks over to meet Elaine. At his right hand, another creature follows suit. Its furred, lanky figure looms over the other two. Though, Elaine gets the sense they're no threat to her safety.

No one here seemed to be, exactly. So she couldn't place her feelings of unease.

Shifting his weight as he comes to a stop, Chadeu speaks to Elaine again. "It's good to see you taking part in the festivities. Being holed up in your quarters all evening- it'd be a shame."

"A true one. It's not often that a royal comes to visit." speaks the other figure, bowing themself low. "Take the opportunity to bask in your presence, I shall, milady."

Elaine bows her head slightly in return, a little bit flustered. "The archduke here was kind enough to invite me. It sure seems like quite the event."

She runs over the manners in her mind, remembering that she should strain to be polite. Imply her thanks, do not apologize. Hardest of all, navigating how to get a name to call anyone by.

"… And who might you be that flatters so?" Elaine says.

The creature brings themself back to stand, and answers. "Should you refer to me, you can do so as 'Ves,' miss. May I ask about yourself?"

As the two begin to engage in conversation, Chadeu's attention is brought elsewhere. He excuses himself from the conversation and disappears into the crowd- to Elaine's dismay. However, she brings her attention back to this… Ves, for the time being.

…

Elaine steps out of the hall through some doorway she'd managed to find, met with the open air and a garden full of well-tended flora. She sighs tiredly, moving to rest on a nearby fence railing. It feels like it's been hours in that stuffy room, with all the distractions she's had.

Conversations she'd been dragged into. Drinks asked to be had. Dances invited to be shared.

And no sight of Chadeu, the elusive bastard. For as much dodging and weaving she's done around the place, it seems like he's always two steps ahead.

The night was beginning to wear on Elaine. Surely it wouldn't hurt to take a short break from it out here.

… Or maybe it would, she thinks, noticing someone else having stumbled into the area. Just her luck that it's the one fairy she's looking for.

"Oh! This is where you're hiding." Chadeu says. Elaine picks up the slightest hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"I just needed some air-" Elaine sighs again. "Though I'm surprised to see you here. Finally have a moment from being a good host?"

Chadeu gives a short laugh. "Wasn't sure you had it in you to joke, miss. Yes, I do have one to spare. Was something on your mind?"

"Several things, really." Ellie clarifies. "But I guess I'll start with asking if this was that event you were talking about."

"This? Oh, no. This is just a rehersal." Chadeu says. "I suppose I haven't been the most clear on that."

Elaine blinks, looking at Chadeu for a moment. "A rehersal? For what?"

"For the celebration following said grand event, dear. As I said before, it is quite important. A ceremony- a bestowing of titles, and bonding." says the pixie. "It will be a very big deal, given my status. But as I said, you will be brought home as soon as it's over."

His answer forms a pit in Elaine's stomach. While nothing sounded amiss, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was vital information being withheld. Was she just being paranoid? Her instincts haven't really been wrong before.

A moment of silence falls between the two. The chatter of guests can still be heard from where they sit- and then, music begins to swell. The band must be playing again, Elaine thinks.

"-Ah, this is a good song." Chadeu says suddenly. He walks ahead of Ellie, stopping to turn on his heel and hold out his hand. "I know that you've already danced with several others- but do you have it in you for one more, miss?"

Elaine pauses, looking at the hand offered, then back to Chadeu. Reluctantly, she takes his hand and follows him to the center of the garden.

The pair waltzes in time with the music beneath the gentle moonlight. Chadeu leads, though swaying too dramatically for Elaine's tastes. Turning and stepping, they move across the paved cobblestone. But Chadeu takes things a step further, turning Elaine under his arm and then pulling her into a dip.

"… Has anyone told you you're lovely in soft light?" Chadeu comments, holding Elaine there and meeting her flustered gaze.

She's dumbfounded for a moment, trying to come up with something to say. She's almost furious at him for pulling a stupid little stunt like this, but the feeling quickly turns to guilt.

Elaine twists her mouth some and begins to wriggle out of Chadeu's grasp. "Let go of me."

At her demand, the pixie lets Elaine back up and steps back without a word. Though, the expression he wears is quite smug.

Turning away, Elaine begins to move back inside. "… I'm going back to my room." she says coldly. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Certainly. Do as you wish, princess." Chadeu replies.

Vizzya lowers his head some and enters, moving to take a seat- his interruption quickly dismissed as someone else speaks up.

"Do continue, Becker." said a familiar voice. Vizzya quickly recognizes it as La Padrona herself. Same imposing stature as ever- he's been told to try and relax some since the last time. However, he can't help but try to analyze everything happening in the room.

"Right…" this 'Becker' begins again. "As I was saying, we lost contact with one of our ops who was taking a job in Civitrecce. Originally, we were just going to mark them as lost. Their orders were to self-terminate in the event of capture. But with the recent news, as you've seen… there's no real way to know for sure."

"We're requesting that Excelsa keep an eye out for updates regarding the city. And for you to keep this from Diamond for as long as possible."

Another character at the table interjects. "Oi, Diamond's your superior, ain't she? Don't you think she oughta know about her hopes and dreams gettin' crushed?"

Becker sighs. "It wouldn't be… conducive to our efforts in Chirannajit, Filghe. You of all people should know that the last thing we need is Diamond going on a tantrum."

Padrona raised a hand, and the two fell silent. "I have to agree. Diamond needs to be kept on track if we're going to make a better foothold in Bharat. She knows as much, but it's better not to have distractions."

Becker nodded. "Then that's all from the Millicent Group as of this moment. Excuse me."

As Becker went to sit down, Filghe sighed loudly and stood up herself. A troll in quite the frilly outfit, Vizzya notices. A pastel pink, lacy, old-style dress with numerous bows and ribbons sown in.

"I GUESS it's my turn." She starts, moving to flip the whiteboard over to the other side. Another troll, at the table shuffles over to connect their phone to a projector on the front. A slideshow begins to display, showing charts of some kind.

"Filghe, reporting in for Khar-men-diin. And I am happy to report, that things have been on the up n' up since last sweep. Especially with the breakthrough we've had lately with 'psi-jump.'"

"Last time we were here, I told you we were working on making the drug more stable. As you know, subject zero's ability to significantly boost psionic output didn't have the same side effects as our re-creation."

Vizzya has trouble reading the charts as they go by. It's hard to really discern what they're trying to portray, aside from cost analysis on the group's expenses and test results based on varying factors. But he supposes that they're mostly just meant to show that they're making progress.

"Apparently. That's because we weren't getting the full picture." Filghe continues. "We've found that a protein in subject zero's blood acts as a stabilizer for his psionic gland, which ever so slightly changes his psionic signature. The difference is hardly noticeable, which is why we never detected it before. But results speak for themselves."

"Fourty percent crashout rate, and only two percent of those are lethal- which is down from seventy and fifteen. As far as we can tell, it's doesn't cause dependency on the drug nearly as much as it did before. Not gonna break the bank to replicate this protein, either. Not with Tiger Eye's own psi."

Filghe pauses for a moment. "So, in layman's terms, psi-jump is going pretty well. But we're expecting some push back from a couple possible rebel insurrections over... conditions, as well as the fleet and a couple of our rivals getting into our business. They shouldn't really be an issue, though."

"Unless someone gets into the lab," Becker mumbles.

Filghe turns to glare daggers into him for a moment, then huffs. "We've already came up with workarounds for if that happens. Which is unlikely, so shut your fucking trap."

Becker rolls his eyes.

"Anyway," Filghe continues cheerfully. "That's all the new stuff we have to report. Business is the same as usual, otherwise." The troll then curtseys and moves to sit down.

Vizzya just sits confused. Why exactly was he supposed to be here again? Did Padrona want him to be a part of this? She never said anything about preparing something for a meeting.

He looks across the table to see the old blueblood looking at him intently. But before he can say anything, she speaks up.

"Good work then, the both of you. Your request's been acknowledged, Becker- but it looks like we may not know what to expect with a whole city just up and disappearing." Padrona hums.

"But now, I'm going to turn your attention to our friend here," she says, gesturing towards Vizzya. "I didn't have time to make a separate meeting with him, and I figure it's as good a time as any to show the new Pearl handler to you all. Whenever I decide on a next Pearl, anyway."

"Go on. Introduce yourself." Padrona says.

Vizzya stands, moving towards the end of the table where the other two had given their reports. He holds himself very formally, folding his arms behind his back.

"Vizzya Esselm. I was the head administrator of Excelsa Luxe, overseeing its guild and general business."

Filghe snorts, mumbling. "Wow, so polite."

Though, she is quickly silenced with a stern look from Padrona- who continues. "Excelsa was responsible for a rather important part of our business. Until I decide on a new pearl, I need to be made privy to everything going on there."

"So, give me a sitrep. I've read all the documents you've handed over so far, so I'll ask questions once you think you've covered everything current."

Vizzya cleared his throat. "Right."

"We've mostly recovered from the last incident with one of our… assets. Oceanview is back up and running smoothly, and the Black Pearl Lounge is rebuilt. Currently, we're working on finding previous staff and frequent patrons to invite them back-"

"And what in your right mind makes you think any of 'em are gonna come back after that stunt?" Filghe starts again. "That asset of yours took down a whole building, everyone in it, and part of the block it was on, too."

Vizzya turned to face Filghe. "They'll come back because hardly anyone there survived, and knows what happened. The running story is that a rival guild is responsible for the incident. We didn't piss anyone off, they did. If anything, our patrons are more concerned with finding who broke the code- especially with a bounty being put on their head."

This answer seems to satisfy Filghe, as she falls silent and sits back in her chair.

"So. This will include those bouncers, correct? The anonymous one and the rust." Padrona asks. "Can you be sure the latter one won't be causing issues? I heard plenty of her track record."

"They don't know anything." Vizzya confirms. "And I'm fairly certain there'll be no problems with her."

Padrona hums. "You'll be held responsible if any arise. Understand?"

Vizzya nods. "As I was saying. We're going through the process of hiring for the front, then reopening to the public. Aside from that, our reconnaissance in Selatak and Chirannajit has been fairly fruitful."

"Chirannajit powers are somewhat unstable- ever since Chromatic activity withdrew from the city, the top three groups seem to be fighting over what little territory they had. It should be relatively easy to take advantage of the situation and claim some land, as well as do some business."

He pushes his glasses up before continuing. "Unfortunately, Selatak is at a bit of a standstill. We've only been getting rumors about what's causing it, and other rumors about an 'embodiment of death' roaming the streets."

"Embodiment of death?" Becker asks. "That's quite the name to give someone."

"It is." Vizzya says. "But we don't know much about it yet. Trying to make any headway with the mayor and clowns breathing down the neck of the city would only make already tense matters worse."

Padrona hums again and closes her eyes briefly. "Agreed. It's not like Excelsa has much business there to begin with, so it can wait. But I have a couple more questions for you."

Vizzya's brow furrows. "I'll.. answer to the best of my ability."

The blueblood lady smiles, leaning back in her chair. "Good. Now, with this 'Moxie' character I've read about in our files. Do you think she's worth any work?"

"I'd… have to say the matter's complicated, ma'am." Vizzya starts. "From what we know, she's too much of a wildcard. While her handiwork is certainly nothing to scoff at, I see no reason she'd want to work under another organized group besides on contract."

"Trying to force the issue, or even take her out for whatever reason, may also prove difficult. And cause trouble with some others."

"I see. Something to keep in mind, then." Padrona says. She reaches into a pocket on her shirt, pulling out a small notepad to flip through. She stops on a page, seeming to skim it before turning her attention back to Vizzya.

"There's one other loose end I've looking into as well, but haven't gotten much of anywhere with- it's strange. Do you know about a young blueblood girl by the surname of Impett? In our records, it shows her as having been a personal guard for Nacre."

Vizzya does his best not to tense up, or show any feelings on the matter- but the pause before him answering is all too noticeable. "She was hired under that guise, yes. But she knew about the workings of Excelsa."

"She left a little over two sweeps ago. Something about lineage obligations she couldn't avoid anymore."

"Noted." Padrona says, slowly standing from her chair. "Far be it from me to try and fight the empire when they really want something, I suppose. I bet that poor thing's off in some far flung reach of the galaxy over, by now."

"Well. That was most informative." She says, putting a hand on her hip. The expression on her face falls back into a cold, stern frown.

“Are you saying the ghosts aren’t real, or that they aren’t here specifically. And how the fuck would you know, anyway?” Allaik says doubtfully.

“Dude, come on. You know, that I know ghosts are real. I’m just saying- we’re not in the murder woods.” Mayara mocks. “And I’m sure even if we were, we could probably handle some.. Serial killer or somethin’ with what we’re packin’ here.”

Mayara then stops, setting down her case and motioning for Allaik to do the same. They’ve stopped at some sort of improvised range out in the middle of the woods, using fallen logs as stands. Dotted around the small clearing are hand-made targets- some hanging from trees, others propped up in various positions and ranging cover.

Allaik does as bidden, then leans against a nearby tree behind Maya. “And what, if you’ll indulge me, would that be?” 

“Guns.”

“No shit. It’s always guns.”

Mayara grins. “You’ll see. Don’t get your panties in a knot, bub.”

…

Over the next few minutes, Mayara opens the cases and begins setting up some sort of contraption. It holds a fairly large handgun, clearly custom made. Seemingly tense enough that neither she nor Allaik could fire it properly- which is what the device seems to be for.

Allaik merely watches, not caring to comment on the point of having a weapon you can’t really fire. He knows better than to ask, as he knows Maya will start talking anyway.

And sure enough, she does.

“This fucker’s taken me too long to make. But I suppose you can’t rush perfection…” Maya croons. “Tonight- its final test. And before you ask, yes. It’s a custom- don’t worry about its practicality for you or me.”

“You just brought me along as a mule,” Al interrupts.

“Yeah.” Maya admits.

Allaik rolls his eyes, and Mayara aims the firearm. It’s attached to a lever that depresses the trigger instead of her own fingers, as it’s supposed to be in the hands of some bot with freak strength. Any weaker, and it’d break the damn thing.

Three shots at one target hanging from a branch, two more at one behind some cover. She continues clearing the range until the clip empties- eight rounds total. After the short show, she turns to gauge Al’s opinion.

“Seems unnecessary,” he says. “I see why you have the fuckin’ stand for it. The hell’d you have in there, 44s?”

“Nah, 50s. It can take 44s, though.”

“Your client trying to hunt bears or something?”

“No, but that’s not your problem.”

“You right.” Allaik looks down, piecing together his words in his mind. “It certainly works. Looks like it has a hell of a recoil, n’ll certainly kill whatever it hits. Clearly doesn’t hold much, but I guess you don’t need it with that kind of firepower. Don’t suppose you made it easy to reload?”

Maya scoffs at him. “Who do you think I am? Of course I did.”

“Alright, alright. Just asking.” Allaik raises his hands in mock defense, but then gestures to the other two cases he was carrying. “What’s in those, then?”

“Prototypes of the rest of the order.” Maya grins. “Technically, I was only asked to start with the one. But I couldn’t help myself.”

“Of course you couldn’t.”

Mayara ignores his remark, and moves to unpack the rest. At the flick of a switch on one case, it pops open- a rifle of some kind beginning to assemble itself. Though, it fails to fully secure, and the barrel falls off to Maya’s dismay.

“Still… working out the kinks, as you can see.” She assembles the rest herself, and offers it to Allaik to hold. 

Description: Grey furred quadruped with black/dark grey striping. Black fur often adorns the top of the heads and trails down the back. Long, skinny tail tipped with black fur and barbs that travel up the spine. Eyes have yellow sclera, and their horns are orange-yellow. Jaw unhinges to reveal several sets of sharp, serrated teeth.

Behavior: Botchkins are ugly, cruel creatures. Their features are clearly intended to mimic that of a trolls- often, they will stand on their hind legs to appear tall enough to mimic a wriggler. Up close, this disguise would fail. But in their natural, shady and foliage-heavy environments, it's often hard to discern details. They're also quite adept vocal mimics, repeating heard phrases with perfect accuracy. Also known to create their own voices and and say new words in mimicked voices- although, it appears they cannot determine the actual meaning of these words despite using phrases to call out to someone. (e.g. "Hello?", "Help", "Is anyone out there?") Botchkin prefer to eat fresh troll flesh over any kind of food, but will eat anything should they go without for too long. It appears that they do not digest the food- instead letting it rot in their gullets. This is because botchkin reproduce via magic spore, which requires decomposing matter to multiply and grow. These spores are then released when the botchkin seems to explode- either by fear reaction or willingly in self-defense. (Or, it has been noted, to toy with "prey.")

Abilities:

Vocal mimicry

Mild paralytic venom in claws and barbs

Nimble and moves quickly

"Visceral" self-destruction (packs a strong force behind it)

Strategy: Bring fire, or disinfectants. Botchkin fear fire, and it will destroy their spores (which are also vulnerable to modern antiseptics.) If hunting alone, make sure not to speak. Move quickly to slay them before they burst- the more that explode, the more that will return later. One botchkin can produce 3-8 more of themselves.

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[SYSTEM]: P3RUNNS.HAMM3R has joined the room — 08-08 22:02:01

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P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: help? from me? oh this is a treat

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: this is unexpected even! imagine me doing a clap and a half for you and your efforts

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: now give me one reason I shoudn't kill your device, bestie <3

flighted^manumissor: because you're mildly intrigued as to what i'm asking for?

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: hm. you got me there!

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: get talking.

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: what shithole have you and your buddies dug yourselves into this time

flighted^manumissor: yeah ok thats a fair assumption.

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: ASSUMPTION??? no, i KNOW this is a FACT. you wouldn't be trying to talk to me otherwise.

flighted^manumissor: what is your problem?

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: my problem? gee, i dunno. think for a second, dumbass. what could i possibly be mad about after all these sweeps?

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: im not above holding grudges.

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: you left me for fucking dead

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: i dont care what previous relationship we had. the only reason i'm listening to you now is out of mild respect for your efforts and the sparing of a thought from you that i might be alive.

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: but i know that it's only because you want something

flighted^manumissor: tauchy got captured.

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: boo fucking hoo, would you like me to play an elegy on the planets smallest violin?

flighted^manumissor: oh fuck you

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: carefull with insulting the troll you came crying for help to

flighted^manumissor: theyre going to interrogate him. we're in deep shit if they do, he knows the route to our shelter

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: and what exactly do you want * me * to do about it, princessa?

flighted^manumissor: you wouldn't help us find a new place. so i'm not going to ask that

flighted^manumissor: the others want to pull off a rescue but i'm not so sure that's going to work either

flighted^manumissor: so that leaves me with killing tauchy. or somehow scrubbing that fleet office of their data once they get it

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: that's not going to work. if they've got someone with the knowledge already, that's another troll you'll have to kill

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: that's more of an offense. a bigger grudge

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: a bigger mess, to boot. you're not covering that up and slipping away.

flighted^manumissor: maybe so but a rescue mission? that's just as fucking difficult

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: it is

flighted^manumissor: and? that's all you have to say?

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: i mean i never agreed to anything here. i'm just hearing you out

flighted^manumissor: you know this attitude is part of why i fucking broke up with you

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: was the other part that i'm a terrible lay? because my legs barely fucking work?

flighted^manumissor: you weren't fit to keep up with the group! dont play your damn disability card

flighted^manumissor: there was also the time you shocked marisa

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: which she entirely deserved. she was fucking selling you out

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: but no, i'm to blame for everything that went wrong while i was there

flighted^manumissor: she was what?

flighted^manumissor: no hold on. she wouldn't do that

flighted^manumissor: she died in that skirmish protecting us

P3RUNNS.HAMM3R: she died because officer perusa didn't want any fucking loose ends

flighted^manumissor: now you're just accusing dead people of shit

flighted^manumissor: you know what

flighted^manumissor: fuck you

flighted^manumissor: i shouldve known you were too far up your own ass to help. we're going to do this our own way

flighted^manumissor: sorry to fucking bother you. have a nice life

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[SYSTEM]: flighted^manumissor has left the room — 08/08 - 23:01:21

[SYSTEM]: Log downloaded!

[SYSTEM]: Encrypted room closed by user P3RUNNS.HAMM3R. Would you like to reserve room information for later use? (Y/N)

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/no

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[SYSTEM]: Chat history deleted permanently! This cannot be undone once this window closes.