1/2 Raelynn 2024/03/02(Sat)16:01 No. 1085130 ID: 75b262
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This underground shelter is old, even by my people’s memory. Water flows around the massive tree roots it was built within. Nutritious mushrooms flourish under bioluminescent moss in the ceiling. For our small group, we can hide here as long as Kayk’s caloric needs permit. If she’s willing to go hungry, we can stay even longer.

The only way inside is to know exactly where the entrance is, and exactly how to open it. Spells older than the last terrible war between Elves and Humans still protect us from prying eyes. The Censors chasing us are incapable of finding us, even with their divination.

We’re safe from Pierre’s people, but not mine.

My druidic circle, Circle Uí Liatháin, has expanded our territory in the last decade. My brother will brook no intruders- he’ll have watchers attuned to the tree roots, knowing which shelters are being accessed without his orders. The longer we stay here, the greater the certainty he’ll take us prisoner. Serah won’t be used to the treatment he’ll give her. Her nobility will provoke my people; her ancestors ordered us slaughtered. We haven’t forgotten.

I try to ignore that I’ve led her to one of my people’s safe havens. I’m a traitor to the secrets entrusted to me; what grace I had in exile is gone, now that I’ve proven I can’t be trusted.

I’m nervous about what might happen if we stay here too long. No, I’m afraid. For myself, and the people who’ve put their trust in me. I shouldn’t have come here.

A mental image of a fluffy bunny pops into my head from Odin’s divine Tweet spell Taranis has access to. I can tell the bunny is nearby due to the forest flora.

Why is this important? I reply tersely. You’re supposed to be keeping watch.

My stormcrow companion sends a small wave of calm and boredom along with his next image, which is the forest around our hiding place. It’s possible to attach condensed emotions, or emoticons, along with tweets. I’ve never liked emoticons, but Taranis sprinkles his messages with them like sickeningly sweet candy. He doesn’t like to use words in his communications, just as he doesn’t speak out loud to me, even though he has the capability. I haven’t pressed him as to why, and it’s his business anyway. He’s always tweeted words at me when it’s important.

Don’t get sloppy, I respond to him, but immediately regret my tone. I sigh. This isn’t going to be fun, sitting cooped up in a cave, worrying about how long it will be before we’re all captured at the point of an arrow.

2/2 Raelynn 2024/03/02(Sat)16:09 No. 1085135 ID: 75b262
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I hate emoticons. He knows that. Why is he bothering me right now? Surely he can sense my stress, and he knows I need to focus on my problem of how to protect Serah, and Landi, and Dotti, and Kayk, all while somehow stopping my brother’s insane plans to start a war against the entire world, and-

An absolutely absurd mental image pops into my head via Odin’s Tweet spell.

It’s Taranis.

In fluffy pink cat ears.

Wjhat is tht? Why cat easrs? I blurt out, the mental reply coming out garbled. He just responds with a bit of condensed mirth and a mental image of cat ears. No, I don’t want to wear them!

I can’t focus on the important things when he’s harassing me like this. I reply with a terse UGH and tell him I’m busy with something else. Anything else.

What is my excuse to stop being harassed by Taranis’s pictures of bunnies and cat ears?

1. I’m going to talk to Serah and Kayk about tactics, caloric intake, and how we might prepare for my Circle trying to take us prisoner. This is stressful, and I don’t really want to think about it at the moment, but it should be done sometime…

2. I’m going to talk to Pierre and Landi. Pierre’s shivering and soaking wet from the storm and Landi is acting more confused than normal. We can’t exactly light a fire down here- is he going to be okay?

3. I’m going to talk to Dotti, who’s busied herself digging into the dirt floor of the shelter next to a tunnel entrance blocked by rocks and rubble. There’s a reason we sealed off the tunnel network, and I ought to tell her not to dig too greedily or too deep. Still, she is very happy digging. Maybe I should let her be for now.

1. but first, give pierre your hooded cloak before you head to Serah. You'll be fine in the cold, you're strong. He's only borrowing it until he warms up.

leave Dotti alone. While it is a risk, consider she could also be digging an escape route so that maybe she can escape if you and the rest gets spotted. Then she can prepare a sneak attack or something when the time is right.

2, You can trust Serah to know her place, even if she hasn't been here before. She's not a fool, and she has a good mind for politics. She doesn't need a debriefing. As much as I love Kayk, talking to her isn't super important either.

Dotti too is of lower priority right now. She's happy, and you can trust her to dig responsibly. She's a fox for pete's sake, she probably has a better mind for it than you.

Pierre is new to all of this, and it seems that his first trip out of the city has been a rough one. He's the one you need to address first. Offer him some comfort, but also let him know what to expect so that he's ready for it. You may not be great at the comforting, so lean on Landi to help out with it where necessary.

2. We should figure out what's going on with them before we form a plan to not get captured.

2) Immediate concerns first, if someone gets sick it will make any confrontations so much harder.

>>1085139

Wait, you should comfort him? You? Do you really do "comfort"? At the very least congratulate him for beating impossible odds. Maybe once you see Dotti, you can suggest to her that a warm, fluffy, fiery fox girl might be helpful at warming and drying Petra's son.

>>1085135
2.

2 plz

Raelynn 2024/03/02(Sat)18:59 No. 1085160 ID: 75b262
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I brush off another round of cutesy images from Taranis with a terse reply that I need to check on Pierre’s well-being. Strangely, this seems to please Taranis, and he immediately stops. What a weird bird.

I walk toward Pierre, set on making sure he doesn’t catch a chill. If he gets sick while under my people’s care, they wouldn’t offer him any care; best not to put him in that position. Human prisoners are lucky to get food, let alone hot soup or medicine.

Landi is hovering over Pierre, oohing and ahhing over something. “It’s like you’re not even here,” she says. “I can’t godmother your robes dry, or get a fix on ‘em. You’re the invisible man!”

Curious, I stop for a moment. Pierre was behind me the whole time on Kayk, but now I have a good look at him. I fixate my gaze on him. Sure enough, my seer’s eye can’t perceive him at all, not even a vague shape.

This guy is, for lack of a better phrase, giving me the absolute creeps.

Pierre wrings out his robes, and water collects on the floor under him. He doesn’t have Serah’s immunity to cold from her mutagens, Landi’s dust, or my Venmiphi-made gear that would let him shrug off the cold and wetness. Pity.

I approach this party newcomer and assert my authority as survivalist-in-chief.

“Lady Kensington told me you were the one behind the escape,” I say. “It was a good plan…”

“Thank you,” Pierre says. “I put a lot of thought into it.”

“…Except for the end,” I continue. “You relied far too heavily on an unknown allied force. Did you really believe Lady Kensington’s retinue would be able to withstand a concerted assault from at least two directions, each consisting of highly-trained inquisitors with divine guidance leading them to you? Even if you’re immune to scrying, ‘Kayk Terrorscale, daughter of Mai Terrorscale, who was at Giornico less than three hours ago’ is not a difficult target to focus divination spells on.”

“I had to put my faith somewhere,” Pierre says. “Except for one uh, incident, it hasn’t been misplaced.”

“Your faith led us here,” I say, more harshly than I intended. “Elven lands. If we’re captured, I shouldn’t need to remind you that for your time here, you see nothing, hear nothing, and remember nothing.”

“The elves… um, your people won’t throw me out to the Censors, will they?” Pierre asks. “If they find out I’m the reason the Censors are flying above us.”

“Worse,” I say. “They’ll take an interest in you.”

Pierre shivers, this time not from the cold.

I twist my finger through my bangs. This isn’t helping Pierre. I need to do what I came here to do- get him warmed up.

Who do I ask to help warm Pierre up?

1. Myself, who has a very comfy cloak. This is the worst option.
2. Serah, who is very tall and immune to cold thanks to her mutagen, but she’s a noble.
3. Landi, who can godmother warmer clothes for Pierre out of Dotti’s spare clothing. I’m not sure how effective her spell will be if Pierre’s anti-magic affects his clothes too.
4. Dotti, who is fluffy and can conjure fire. Asking her to help will mean she stops digging, though.
5. Kayk, who has a sweater and is a dragon. I don’t see a downside to this option.
6. More than one of the above. Helpful, but will make Pierre uncomfortable being the focus of so much lady attention.

2 or alternately 6. Serah's a very caring and responsible leader!

5 is the correct option, and this isn't up for debate beyond maybe asking for additional help. Kayk literally has dragon fire in her core, she can loan her sweater without just changing which party member is cold. If not that, then she could literally just create a small fire for Pierre.

4) a nice fire to dry his robes. Unless, would having a fire in here get you even more on the druids' bad side? If so, then borrow Kayk's sweater.

5, because I've been told by a reliable source that is the correct answer. Remember, Kayk can also breath fire to warm him up since Dotti is too busy. It's the best choice.

The downside to 5 is that he'll drain Kayk's mana. In his current state that could happen to a significant amount, enough to actually affect Kayk.

What you should REALLY do is get EVERYONE who can help to help, except Dotti who is doing something. Nobody needs to give up their clothes though, and I don't think godmother'd clothes will work either. Just huddle around him.

Oh, there's another thing we can do: Pierre can remove his clothes, which will let Landi dry them.

6) You and Serah. You don't need ambient magic to survive. Also, Serah was planning on marrying the poor bastard, so you should present yourself as a second option-
Kidding! But you should de-sensitize him to the stigma of getting comfy with women. He's not gonna touch you there for the same reason he's too scared to feel you. His upbringing had prudishness as a crippling flaw.

It's true you and Serah are the only ones who couldn't get hurt by Pierre's creepy... not magic thing.

Is Archibeard still in Serah's bagpack? He has big cozy beard and can also yell Pierre into shaking cold off.

No? Well then, Kayk and Dotti can huddle with him. They are a lizard and a fox, so he'll likely not feel so embarassed.

>>1085175

This would actually combine well with getting Kayk to help. Pierre might be more receptive to disrobing if she can lend her sweater for him to change into.

>>1085160
4) Dotti may be happy embracing her fox instincts and digging, but she also loves proving she's the best and most helpfullest lady in all the world so I'm sure she'd appreciate you calling her specifically to help.

if not

2) Serah. She may be a noble, but she's far from believing others are some sort of inherently filthy untouchable like so many other nobles. Besides, she wanted more adventure in her life, this is what adventuring looks like. Can always pull the Noblesse Oblige card too.

Kayk's sweater may be the easiest path, but that leaves Kayk nude. Sure, she has scales to cover her true nudity, but Pierre may still be uncomfortable with that regardless, and it means Kayk has to be much more self aware lest something slip.

You know, if we have Serah helping us, we can also discuss plans to her as we warm up Pierre. Kill two birds with one stone.

>>1085200

Tbf, I think if Kayk stripped down herself, it'd be easier to comvince Pierre to take off his own wet robes. It's a tough sell as is, stripping in a room full of women he sort of just met a day ago, especially being the lone guy. Having something he can change into while he waits for Landi to dry his off AND making him not the only one going through with the awkwardness would probably help him a lot. Assuming Kayk wouldn't mind either, it's the best case scenario.

1/2 Raelynn 2024/03/03(Sun)12:08 No. 1085225 ID: 75b262
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We used to be able to light fires in these underground shelters (the tree roots are protected so long as there’s no once-in-a-generation drought drying it up), but since we sealed off the tunnels, the air flow isn’t enough to allow a non-magical fire without making the shelter noxious. We’ll have to make do with fox-fire and dragonfire with no nonmagical fuel- meaning Dotti or Kayk would be constantly burning their own mana to keep the fire going.

Pierre’s shivering isn’t improving, and Landi hasn’t figured out how to make her magic work on Pierre in the panicked, tired state he’s in.

“I don’t get it,” Landi says. “I godmothered those lucky panties onto you. Why isn’t this working now? We can’t have you going commando forever!”

“Please be quiet about that,” Pierre whispers. “As for the magic… I’m tired and focused on the residual bad luck from the, um, buff spell. I’m sorry, sometimes my control over my condition is better, and sometimes worse.”

“You’re not gonna, like, suck my dust away like your little sister did, are you? Are you gonna accidentally do worse to Dotti if she comes over here?”

“I’ll keep it under control,” Pierre says, though he doesn’t seem very confident.

I grit my teeth at this. If Dotti really is vulnerable to Pierre losing control of whatever his anti-magic condition is, then I need to keep her safely away from him… but between her fox fluff, non-noxious fire magic, and her willingness to help Petra’s family, she’s one of the best choices to help warm Pierre up.

Another option is to have Kayk offer her sweater and keep a small stream of dragonfire going, but Kayk isn’t known for the precise control over her fire. She’d be more resistant to Pierre’s mana drain than Dotti (if that’s actually what it is), but she’s tired from flying this far, this fast, and transforming immediately after. I don’t want to push Kayk too hard, especially if we need to fight anytime soon.

“If more than one person is nearby,” I say, “Would your condition affect all of them equally, or would it divide the siphoning proportionately amongst them?”

“If I lose control? The more people nearby, the less it would affect each of them.”

I don’t feel like taking any chances with our party’s health. It’s time for the simple, straightforward option: everyone is going to pitch in, even me.

Ugh.

“Pierre,” I say, “You need to warm up. Landi, you mentioned he wasn’t even wearing a base layer?”

“You mean his undies?” Landi snickers. “Ventura took the lucky panties with her when she left, so our jailbird here needs some warm clothes, stat.”

“I see.” I call over to the other side of the shelter. “Kayk, Pierre needs a sweater. I’m requisitioning yours. Serah, you’re immune to cold. Once he’s changed into Kayk’s sweater, make sure he’s warm.”

“One minute!” Kayk says, pulling her arms under her sweater and fiddling around for a moment.

Serah looks over to me, then to Pierre. Thankfully, she doesn’t object.

“Did you just give an order to Lady Kensington?” he asks, sputtering objections as Landi starts tugging on his robe and giggling madly.

“But-“

“Pierre, I don’t want to hear it.” I cross my arms. His mental comfort isn’t my concern; his physical health is. “You need to get used to following my directions. Now let Landi dry off that robe.”

2/2 Raelynn 2024/03/03(Sun)12:09 No. 1085226 ID: 75b262
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Pierre still hasn’t confirmed he’ll follow my orders. I tap my foot.

“He’s a prude,” Landi informs me gleefully. “Churchy boi can’t handle being naked around hot girls like me.”

“It’s okay, Pierre.” Serah says. “We’ll turn around while you change. I understand that this is uncomfortable, but I promise we’ll be respectful.”

“Yeah! Give him that sweater, Kayk! Whoo!” Landi cheers. “Serah gives the brea- uh, best cuddles. Trust me, I speak from experience.”

“Landi…” Serah gives a long-suffering sigh.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. No peeking. Oh, here you go! One set of briefs, brief-ly borrowed.” She pulls Pierre’s previous underwear from her inventory and drops them near him.

Kayk whisks her sweater off and hands it to Pierre. As she does so, Landi’s glow pulses and warps toward Pierre, dimming slightly until she pulls away from him. Suddenly I’m very glad Dotti is busy digging her hole at the moment.

“Whoa!” Landi gasps. “Easy, tiger!”

“I’m sorry!” Pierre says, doing his best not to look at Kayk. We all turn around to give him some privacy. In the meantime, I beckon Landi to follow me over to Dotti’s foxhole.

“Hey, Dotster! Have you hit lava yet?” Landi calls into the hole.

She’s answered by little fox snorfing sounds and excited panting. Dotti’s head pops out of the hole, eyes shimmering. “This is great!” she exclaims. “There’s so many tunnels here! And here, and here, and here! This whole thing is like a giant den! Elves really learned a lot from foxes. They’re smart!”

“If you want a break, we could use your help,” I tell Dotti.

“Pierre the Prude needs fox fluff,” Landi says. “You’re warm and snuggly. Can you sit with him for a bit and maybe do that warmth magic thing you did a while ago? You don’t have to, it might be a bit dangerous if he brushes against Serah’s boob and sucks all our mana out.”

Dotti whimpers. “Are you helping too, Landi?”

“Yeah,” Landi says. “We’re all gonna risk it.”

I nod.

“If you’re gonna lose your glow if I don’t help… then I’ll help too,” Dotti says. “Even if it hurts a little.”

“You’re a good fo-“ Landi clears her throat. “A good person. Thanks, Dotster.”

Dotti beams with pride.

Once we get the okay to turn around, we join Pierre, now in Kayk’s oversized yellow sweater that comes down to just above his knees. Serah offers Pierre a seat in her lap, and he accepts as calmly as he can, with the rest of us huddling around for warmth. Dotti casts her warming spell, and though it’s muted, I can still feel it.

Landi’s job is to dry out Pierre’s robes as quickly as she can, but finds that her own magic isn’t affecting the robes as well as she’d like, so she flits over to us while they dry naturally.

All of us are huddled together and it’s awkward. How does Landi break the ice?

"99 bottles of beer on the wall..."

Landi... actually apologizes for the lucky panties thing. If it wasnt for her, they wouldnt be in this mess.

Did you know elves huddle in shelters like this to hibernate through the winter? It's true, my elven anatomy studies professor said so!

Talk about homosexuality!

>>1085229
She's grown as a person. And she definitely wouldn't immediately follow that apology with trying to start a game of Never-Have-I-Ever.

>>1085321
Yes! apology in a form of a game!

>>1085226
I outright -love- 99 bottles of beer, but its more of a scene closer than opener.

Hmm
She asks pierre about all those warnings he was given by the churchies about the depraved, predatory womenfolk lying in wait out here for him.
Get some deets.
Get some heat into his cheeks.

Let him slowly realise he's now the protagonist in his own multi species harem story.
Just like in those very forbidden eastern shun-ga wood carving stories he saw.

Hi!
Love the Landi apology idea! Perhaps it goes to the church warning deets after?