Ch.7: "Hot Fuzz" / Hesperides

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn doesn't realize she's floating until she's quite a ways up. She gawks at the ground below for a moment, then remembers how she enjoyed the sensation of flight during her meditation with the Graces, and thinks about that instead. But it's hard to steer herself, at least until the fairies come and help by pushing on her back. She laughs as they all follow Daphne toward her nest. "See you later, Kell!"

 

[tbgg]

Kell blushes at Shirley's commands about her undies, but she quickly obliges and folds them, setting them next to her sandals, which are right next to her.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she removes the pin holding her hair in its bun and shakes her hair free, ensuring its length will help keep her modest. Her hair is long, and hits the ground. She puts the pin with her other belongings.

Looking expectantly at Piggie, she asks, "Now what?"


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn
You end up in a very large nest on a rather high plateau. The nest actually has walls, a functioning door, and sofas stuffed with duck feathers on the inside.

Neko the cat-girl is standing on the edge, admiring the view. "Mountains're nice," she says.

"Get lost," says Laverne.

"I already am," says the cat-girl. She scales the cliff side with ease.

Daphne points to Shirley. "QVAKT!"

Shirley says, "Why coitainly." She then snaps her fingers and lights Daphne's fire pit.

Daphne puts on a kettle.

"Qvakt-qak-qak."

Laverne tells Sigrlinn, "My home is your home."

Shirley says, "You mean her home is her home."

"She knew that when she came in here."

"But you said it's your home."

"It is," says Laverne. "Daphne said 'my home is your home' to us too, y'know."

"Right!" Shirley turns to Sigrlinn and says, "Welcome home, toots!"

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn looks around curiously as Daphne leads her into a nest which feels almost like a house -- it even has walls and furniture. Seeing Neko the cat-girl admiring the view, Sigrlinn joins her. It's beautiful up here!

She turns back to Daphne and smiles at the welcome. "Thank you very much. Your nest is lovely, and the view is amazing!"

She settles down on one of the sofas, looking at Daphne with interest. "How long have you lived in Hesperides?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Kelleia
"Enjoy a swim," says Piggie.

"Don't mind if I do," says Moana. The fairy jumps in the water. Once submerged, her little fairy legs become a seahorse tail.

"If you come as a sea-kentauride, you have to help."

The tiny mermaid--or sea kentauride?--still has the ability to glow like a fairy. Moana glows brightly. She sings:

"See the light as it shines on the sea
It's blinding
But no one knows how deep it goes
And it seems like it's calling out to me
So come find me
And let me know
What's b-bl-blbl-blblbl..."

She's forced to stop singing when she dips under the water.

"Follow her," says Piggy.

 

[tbgg]

Kell jumps into the pool, then pausing for a moment, removes her chiton and sets it next to her other belongings. Then turning, she dives into the water after Moana.


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn
"QVAKT!"

Laverne says, "She was brought here by Huntresses about ten years ago. She was a fuzzy yellow duckling girl when they found her, maybe ten years before. Unfortunately, that's all we really know."

Shirley says, "They might've been nymphs."

Laverne says, "Right. Arty's girls."

Shirley says, "I can't tell a Huntress from a Nymph. You're all giants."

"And none of you are ducks."

"If it don't walk like a duck or talk like a duck, it ain't a duck."

"QVAKT," says Daphne.

"Tea's on!" says Laverne.

Shirley flies the cups to the table. Daphne uses her foot to pour the tea.

Shirley takes the form of a tiny red devil and burns her clothes off with a snap of her fingers. She climbs into her tea cup to enjoy a bath. Laverne blows gently on her tea, then takes a sip.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Kelleia
As Kell swims downward, she notices a purple cave under the water. It seems a tight squeeze, but she can fit.

Fitting isn't a question for Moana. The tiny mermaid swims into the cave.

 

[tbgg]

Kell darts into the cave, looking around for Moana. If she sees her, she approaches her.


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[Ireth]

Sigrlinn smiles at the mention of Artemis' girls. "I've met those girls, at least some of them. They're lovely, aren't they?"

She takes a cup of tea and blows on it before sipping. "I've been a Huntress for about three years now. I grew up in Barbieria, but when I was nineteen I left and made my way south to Ogygia. Buck L'Orange took me on when I was there; that was before I met Kell and started traveling with her. It's strange to think it's probably only been a couple of weeks at most -- we've seen a LOT together."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Kell
Moana swims too fast for you. Apparently, she knows this, because she now turns to face you. Swimming backwards allows you to close in, but she darts back when you get close.

You swim through the amethyst tunnel for a few more seconds. Then, Moana extends her hand…

She makes her index and middle finger move like kicking legs—index-up-middle-down, index-down-middle-up—the fingers kick alternately like that a few times.

Moana shakes her head.

Now her index and middle fingers move in unison. She nods, then zips above you. You feel a slap on each thigh.

Again—her fingers kick like legs to when a person swims. Head-shake. And now the fingers stay pressed together, kicking in unison. Nod.

She swims in front of you, swimming backwards, watching you.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn
Daphne and the fairies listen with interest as you reminisce about the past.

You take a sip of tea.

The taste triggers a past memory, when someone close to you prepared a hot tea—or soup?—using the same herb…


((@Ireth, you're free to write Sig's memory, unless you want me to…))

 

[tbgg]

Ch.7: "Hot Fuzz" / Hesperides

Kell does her best to follow Moana's instructions, putting her legs together and letting her entire body propel her forward. Playing around with it, she finds she has to change how she thinks about swimming, moving her whole body in a wave like motion, requiring support from her core and raising hips while lowering her chest, then reversing, sending hips down while her chest raises. Without a tail, she's not terribly fast, but the motion does seem to propel her forward.

Once she's satisfied with how the movement feels, she peeks at Moana.


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Kell
Moana gives you a thumbs up.

She then opens her mouth and lets bubbles come out. She tilts her head, sticks her tongue way out, and goes cross-eyes. She floats perfectly still for a couple seconds, then shakes her head.

She then points to the sides of her throat.

She now flies to your neck and slaps both sides.

After backing off, she seems satisfied.

She then leads you further into the tunnel. You aren't having any trouble keeping up with Moana, but… you can't help but feel that holding your breath is becoming quite impossible. And there's no way to swim to the surface from here. There's nothing but spiky purple gems around you.

 

[tbgg]

Kell reaches out and touches one of the purple gems, seeking one loose enough to pry off with her fingers. Meanwhile, she glances at Moana for a signal that this is something she shouldn't do. If Moana doesn't give such a signal, Kell focuses her magical senses on the rock, seeking evidence of a spell or something that will help her change into the form of a mermaid.

If the rocks give off no overtly magical auras, she begins a water spell, imagining gills appearing one either side of her neck, and a tail of sapphire blue appearing behind her.

((Let me know if I need to roll.))


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Kell

You have no choice but to stop holding your breath. But there is a strange feeling below the waist that makes the prospect seem far from suicidal. Your legs move as one because they must. And they—or it, rather—bends in many places because fish tails are flexible. And you don't have to imagine gills. You have them!

Moana points to the purple gems, then to her own purple tail. She then leads you to a chest deep in the cave. There are gems of many colors: turquoise, emerald, sapphire... Mo lays one of every color out in front of you. She waves a hand over all of them. She then puts up her index finger.


((You can pick up a gem of any color, even if it's a gem I didn't name.))

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn closes her eyes as a memory returns to her...

It's a cold night, and the winter wind howls and rattles the windows of a snug cabin. Sigrlinn is lying in bed and wrapped in blankets, her fingers and toes tingling after too long spent out in the cold. Her father stands at her bedside, his eyes flicking back and forth between Sigrlinn and a woman who stands in front of the hearth, stirring a cauldron of soup and filling a bowl. The smells of herbs and venison fill the room.

When the woman turns, bringing the bowl and a spoon to Sigrlinn, she looks up into a face not unlike her own. Sigrlinn knows this must be her mother, but no name comes to her mind. They have the same auburn hair, pulled back in two braids, and the same freckles, though her mother's eyes are brown instead of grey. She sits down in a chair at Sigrlinn's bedside, and Sigrlinn pulls her hands out of her cocoon of blankets to warm them around the bowl.

"It's a good thing Hrafn was out there with you," her mother says, stroking Sigrlinn's hair. "You should have come home as soon as it started to snow."

"We did," Sigrlinn protests. "It's not our fault the snow got so thick so fast. We could hardly see!"

Her mother sighs. "No, I suppose that's not your fault. Eat your soup and get warm."

She opens her eyes, and they're full of tears. One falls into her teacup.

"I remembered my mother," she whispers to no one in particular. "She used to make soup with reindeer meat when it was cold. I wish I could remember her name..."

 

[tbgg]

Kell's eyes light up at the gems, and she begins riffling through them, delighted by the colors she sees: turquoise, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, ruby, topaz, onyx, copper, bronze, aubergine, watermelon, pale pink, pearlescent white, lime green, lemon yellow, mango, tangerine.

Her eyes initially go toward the turquoise, but she knows that's a default for her, and she's in the mood for something different. Looking again at the sapphire, the emerald, the ruby, and the onyx, she notices some silvery inclusions in the sapphire. Deciding the deep blue will look stunning with her hair if the scales have a silvery undertone, she grabs the blue gem, then nods to Moana.


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Kell
Moana swims around you to one side. As you turn your head to watch you see she is swimming in front of a mirror propped up not far from the chest. As you already figured out, your scales match the gem you chose.

Moana now points down the tunnel that you just swam through. She then points straight up, and you can see there is a way to swim up. Mo shrugs.

((2 passages: back the way you came, or up?))



Sigrlinn
"QVAKT!"

Laverne says, "I think Daphne's happy for you. She doesn't remember her mother either. Not even her name."

Shirley asks, "Do you have trouble remembering things? I forget things all the time. I'd probably forget my mother's name if I had a mother."

"QVAKT?"

Laverne says, "Daphne's wondering what helped you remember."

Shirley asks, "Did the tea remind you of the soup 'cause... 'cause it's hot?"

 

[tbgg]

Kell grins at her reflection and gives Moana a thumbs up. Then she points up and begins swimming in that direction.


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