Behind the Crown [IC], Behind the crown are shadows Options

[Koekepan]

Blue goggles for a while at the whirling, buzzing cloud of minor spiritual activity, trying to make head or tail of what it is, when something that looks like a tiny (but voluptuous) naked woman with dragonfly wings catches sight of him.

Her eyes open wide as can be, her mouth a perfect O of amazement, and then comes the tiny shriek: "Dirty old man! Molester! Peeping tom! Creep!"

In mere moments, the cloud of tiny things starts buzzing around Blue, successfully inhibiting him from telling much of anything, beyond that they have needle-like tiny teeth, those of them with teeth (the floating mushrooms probably don't), and that whatever they are evidently doesn't like him staring.

He would feel more ashamed if it weren't agonisingly painful.

--- Soak 1L of damage ---

[pbangarth]

Blue is utterly flabbergasted by the flurry of confusion and mystery that thunders cutely at him.

[ Spoiler ]

Astral body of 12 = 12 dice, don't know the Power of the attack, so will show all the dice: { I assume this is a Surprise situation, so no Astral Combat Pool here}
3, 4, 6, 2, 6, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 5

But only for a moment.

:::I am here at the behest of the child's family. If you are here to harm her, leave now or I will destroy you all. :::

[Koekepan]

Blue manages to shrug off the assault, with the feathers of Owl affording him some protection against their nips and pinches. However his threat doesn't appear to disturb them in the least. If anything, they redouble their efforts to do unto him before he does unto them.

It's rather like being at the bottom of a pile of clumsy but playful kittens. And equally confounding to the senses.

However, from what little Blue can make out through the cloud, the girl is undisturbed by this furore.

[pbangarth]

For all Blue knows, these are a manifestation of the house spirit having taken a liking to the girl. An all female environment taking astral form? Who knows? What Blue does know is that the nipping hurts and he is getting frustrated. Later, this will be a learning experience, teaching him to expand his astral functionality. But for now, there is precious little he can do to rid himself of this annoyance.

Reasoning/threatening didn't work. Combating them is silly, as he is so outnumbered. He can't Banish them, as that cannot be done while astrally projecting. Just about the only thing he can do to them is a good old stunbolt. He's not that annoyed ... yet. There is one thing he can try, though.

Blue makes a break for the ceiling, planning to shoot up to the second floor, cut over to the other side of the room below, and dodge back down, hopefully giving him time to Assense the girl and just leave. Let Billy Bob worry about what the hell these things are.

[ Spoiler ]

Initiative 5 + 20 + 1D6 ( 3 ) = 28.

If he gets time, complementary Aura reading 3, target 4: 1 success
Assensing INT 5 + Aura Read 1 = 6 dice, target 4: 3 successes

[Koekepan]

Blue manages his evasive move with speed - partly because they did not appear to have been expecting it - and has a few precious moments in which to try his assensing action.

[pbangarth]

Before those damn little sparkly toothfuls get at him again, Blue takes a quick look at the girl's aura. No time for concentration, just ... oh damn ... a peep.

[ Spoiler ]

Quick look at the kid's aura: INT 5 = 5 dice, target 5: 0 successes

Seriously? SERIOUSLY??

Poor Blue. Not so good at the stressful situations yet. If he survives long in the shadows, this may change. Well, he promised an answer to Billy.

Though the presence of those little things must mean something. Nevertheless, he stays.

Buuuuttt... he could be a little smarter about this. He waits for the sparklies to come back to this room, ready to cut outside. Will they follow out of the house?

[Koekepan]

In point of fact, they never really seem to have left, or at least not gone far from the girl (which doesn't make things any easier, anyway).

Blue only had a chance for a brief glance before he finds himself at the centre of a yelping, nipping cloud once more.

[pbangarth]

Blue zips outside of the house, not far but far enough to see if he is followed. If, as he suspects now, they don't follow, he has a moment to reflect and figure out what to do next.

[Koekepan]

It feels like quite a relief; Blue emerges from the house (very quickly, as the rate of astral travel goes) and immediately finds himself free of the cloud of nibbling confusion.

It's quite correct, as he suspected. He's not being followed at all, and in fact outside here nothing obvious seems to give a damn about him having arrived.

[pbangarth]

Blue is in a bit of a quandary. He can try to assense the girl again, but it will be harder with each successive attempt, and it is already difficult with those damn things getting in the way. If only they would leave the child for a moment, he could get another try in. He forms a plan.

He decides to fly through the house at a reduced speed, fast enough to get through the room with the spirits before they can attack, but slow enough to attract their attention. In the house, then out. Then another angle. then another. He tries to determine whether his passes through draw the spirits away from the girl. If in the first few passes he sees an opportunity, he will pause and assense the girl.

If that doesn't work, then after five passes, he will start to repeat the pattern, going through the same five angles. Maybe they will be pissed enough to try to predict and intercept. If he sees interception attempts starting, then he will break the pattern and come in on an angle that would put him on the other side of the girl, assense, and get out.

[Koekepan]

The pattern of their behaviour is that they tend to stick around her until they notice him. Then they go for him.

However, and this may be related to them already being a bit riled up, the cloud does seem a bit looser, a bit more disturbed than earlier. More jumpy.

He could try assensing her with them in the way - difficult, but possible. He could grit his beak and just try to assense her while they're mobbing him, like an owl sitting on a branch while jays flutter around and scold. Or he could try somehow influencing their behaviour (although they don't seem to form an organised group).

[pbangarth]

---Read OOC 261 first. ---

In the first moment of reappearance in the room, Blue is struck with an idea. Over there, by the hutch, where both mother and child can see, Blue manifests, 'floating' in the air.

""" Hello. Sorry for the interruption to dinner, but I really need to speak to you, for a moment, child. There are some beings in this house who are really trying to hurt me because they are protecting you. Any chance you could let them know I mean you no harm? Because I mean you no harm. I just want to talk. """

Ooooohhhkayyyy. Let's see what happens!

[Koekepan]

The mother rises from the table with a shriek, and then races over to a cabinet. Maybe she keeps a gun there. Anyway, she's shouting something about it finally happening. Whatever "it" might be.

The daughter looks shocked at first, but then narrows her eyes thoughtfully and says something to her mother. What she says is not clearly audible over the mother's declarations.

The mother turns back with a pistol-looking thing, levels it at Blue's manifestation, and pulls the trigger with murder in her eyes. A squirt of water drifts through the air, through the manifestation, and splatters on the wall behind. The mother shouts: """Jeeves, call the tutor, tell him it's an emergency!"""

It sounds as if a peaceful chit-chat is off the table for now.

[pbangarth]

Ignoring the mother, and taking solace in the girl's calm demeanor, Blue addresses the child directly, sending his mystical voice to her alone as much as possible. Hoping he isn't causing a headache for Billy. It's that kind of night.

"""I am no danger to anybody here. Your uncle Billy did a favour for me. I'm doing one for him. All I am trying to do is determine if you really have the Talent. He worries about things like people taking advantage of the two of you. If you could show me something, like maybe open to the astral, tell me about the spirits of this place, Hell, fire a spell at me, anything, I could go away and tell him you are not being used."""

[Koekepan]

At this, the girl looks distraught and shakes her head firmly, while the mother grabs a bunch of something and ... wait, is she lighting a smudge stick?

[pbangarth]

Blue looks back and forth between the two for a moment, and then nods to the girl. """I understand. Should you ever want to talk, you know how to reach me."""

Blue exits the house quickly, and weaves a convoluted path of flight, checking on occasion to see if he is being followed. No point leading some ... thing to his new home. He intends to message Billy once he becomes corporeal again, but there is a pit stop to check first.

Blue races to near to what remains of Hopalong's hideout. Once close, he looks for any activity in astral space. If things look clear, for example no hovering agents of Mitsuhama, he moves to be inside what remains of the building. If the spirits of the child's house did indeed act on their own volition to be around her, then maybe Madel can do the same here. Who knows? We certainly don't know all there is to know about the spirit realm, and maybe Blue has stumbled upon something new.

No, he can't summon while astrally projecting. He can be still and try to open himself to possibilities.

[Koekepan]

Hopalong's hideout is a curious case in contrasts.

In the astral it is still there (though apparently fading). Maybe it had more of an astral personality than the typical suburban blanket fortress of insecurities?

However, he does see an astral puppy bouncing over in his direction, after he arrives.

[pbangarth]

+++Oh drek! +++ Blue had feared a watcher would be left in the house. He streaked away in another convoluted path, passing through the odd building to lose the puppy, and ended up back home. He re-integrated and sat up on the side of his bed.

+++Well, now what?+++

He considered options regarding Madel, and found few viable. The paying job still waited, but he messaged Billy first.

<<<Got into some weird drek at your niece's place. I think her mother has been ... damaged ... by exposure to magic. I couldn't read the girl directly as there were some little spirits (maybe hearth?) that spontaneously hover around her as if to protect, or dance in her aura. Weird, as I say. I manifested to try to talk. Mom went ape-shit. The girl acted as if she knew what was going on but didn't want to upset mom by showing what she can do.

<<<My guess is she is/will be Awakened. No clue if the 'tutor' is a positive or negative influence. Mom was trying to contact the tutor before I left.>>>

He made a cup of soycaf and waited a while to see if Billy was up and responding.

[Koekepan]

It doesn't take Billy long to respond.

<<<Damaged? You mean, like radioactivity? Didn't know magic did that - good to know. But if my niece really is on the road, I guess it's frosty. Just don't trust some of those fraggers.>>>

[pbangarth]

<<<I mean she freaked out when she saw my apparition. Something happened in the past to make her afraid/angry/whatever. She said something about knowing 'it' would happen some day. You have any idea what that's about?>>>

[Koekepan]

<<<That's different. Have you taken a good look at yourself? I'd freak out at your apparition too, omae. But seriously, mister sleaze has been filling her head with the horrors of magical parasites and things, so I guess she thought you were there to eat her soul. Chianti optional.>>>

[pbangarth]

<<<Well, you know the first thing that came to my mind when I saw that cloud of sparklies around the girl was exactly that. Parasites. Their response was aggressive once they noticed me, but with actual exclamations that made sense as protectors. Yet, their attack could be construed as a form of parasitism on me. They didn't follow me out of the house though, even though I suspect I would have a greater 'caloric content'. So it's not clear what they are.

Whether they are benign or malignant, their presence around the girl does support the belief she is magical. If we wish to investigate further, I will probably have to show up in physical form just so mom doesn't think I am an astral predator.

I don't wish to pry, Billy, but what is your relationship with the two of them? Is my connection to you bound to cause a problem?>>>

[Koekepan]

<<<It's really simple. Mom got a spiel from huckster. I tell her he smells shady. Mom gets huffy at me, tells me to butt out. So if you tell her that I sent you, she will shoot you, then me, then the DocWagon drones that come to save us. So don't tell her that.>>>

[pbangarth]

Oooohhhkaaayyyy. We'll just omit the news that Blue might have already spilled the beans. That explains the shot from the water pistol.

Now what? The distractions from his paying job are piling up on Blue. Going back to the child's house now, in person, is probably a bad idea. Mom is riled up and the girl might take flak for whatever she might be blamed for. If those things are parasites of some form, they could eventually drain her of her gift, but it probably won't happen tonight. Let it ride for a day or so, and think through some possibilities.

And Madel's place is being watched. Makes sense. But maybe he can let off some steam there and give her a chance for some payback on the people who attacked the house. This assumes she doesn't want payback on Blue for drawing them there! Later. First some research.

Blue pores over the communications Billy gave him, and once more over the contract, looking for anything that looks like a delivery schedule. Knowing when things are supposed to connect might help Blue determine what other times to check the facility for deliveries that should not be happening.

+++ I don't even know if I should be helping Johnson, if he represents whackjob street bullies. +++

Welcome to the shadows, Blue.

[Koekepan]

Blue does manage, once he buckles down on the contract and does specific searches, to figure out what the deal is in terms of delivery.

Unfortunately, there's no single date.

The way that it's supposed to work is that the people at Petsonal breed and raise the Atavophid Basilisks, and on positive identification of one, delivers them to PoliDemos. Allowing for a little slack in the system, it defines prompt delivery as being ... well, this is where it gets more tangled. They can either personally deliver to a designated recipient, or if one isn't available for whatever reason, notify a designated representative and hold the critters, or if notification somehow doesn't get through, hold and account for the ownership for transfer on demand. Then there are a bunch of terms that relate to what constitutes delivery of notification - most of which seems a little abstract, but Blue could probably puzzle it out given a week and an indefinite supply of amphetamines.