Northern Winds [NC-17] (IC)

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya rolled her eyes and sighed. Only Sebastian's hearing might have been good enough to hear her anguished whisper of "Lady give me strength... at least, to hide the bodies..."

The poking and prodding seemed to be the last straw for Kerya's temper. Something nudged the old man's stick away from one last poke, and the little stoat bounded back a pace, chittering and squealing something that might have stripped paint, if it had been in any comprehensible language. She dropped to all fours and bounded off through the crowd, only her natural agility and flexibility preventing her from bowling half a dozen people off their feet. Within seconds, she had vanished.

Hiding behind a hastily thrown up masking spell, Kerya took a cautious — and, more importantly, silent — step backwards, her concentration fixed on the illusion of herself until she steered it between two stalls, then let it dissipate. She had to be careful, though, the masking spell only hid her from the front. If she moved too far to the side, the old man would be able to see her again. And hopefully he didn't notice the illusion-Kerya only looked and sounded authentic: it had no scent, and she'd been careful not to run it into anyone, it would have gone right through them.

She really hoped that would be enough to discourage the old pain-in-the-tail, who only seemed to see her as a rare and valuable oddity. If he'd babbled on much longer, though, she would have genuinely lost her temper, in a rather noisy fashion — and Sebastian would have given her one of those looks again...

[Gareeku]

Still staying silent as the group moved through the bustling town into the merchant district, Gareeku narrowed his eyes as he watched one of them hassle the others, growling softly as he did so. He found them to be most irritable, but given his short fuse, that wasn't hard to do. Even so, the wolf kept one hand on the hilt of his sword, concealed by his brown hooded cloak as he walked with the others.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel noticed the gaps in Kerya's illusion. Figuring that the old man would probably get even louder and more persistant if he realized he was being tricked she discretely laid a second, more thorough, masking spell over the first.  She did this while apparently watching the runaway stoat in as much surprise as everyone else.

[Stygian]

For a few moments, it seemed that their little trick had the man fooled. Then, his yellow eyes narrowed, and he peered through the round glasses of his pair of pince-néz over at the stall where Kerya hid. He didn't look directly at her, but it seemed that whatever she had done, he had caught it. Before either she or Mel could do anything though, his gaze turned to the dragoness in disguise, his face critical.
   'I see. Well then...' the old coot commented dryly, and then, turning on his feet, he put his cane before him and his hand in his pocket and strolled off toward a shop on the corner.
   'Hey! What are you doing?!' a harsh voice came from behind Kerya. Her tremendously long neck bent down in a sleek curve, the giraffe saleswoman, busily folding a number of notes and bills in her long-fingered hands while she dealt with a customer who seemed to be buying boxes of something, probably spice from the way the stall smelled, bent down and eyed the stoat, while she kicked away something under the embroidered cloth and felt carpets thrown over a table next to her.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya's head turned at the suspicious-merchant tone of voice from behind her... and came snout-to-belt-buckle with the speaker. She tipped her muzzle up, then a bit more, and more yet.

Gods, she's huge! the little stoat thought wildly. What is she, one of those Creatures Sebastian and Keaton warned me of? What does she want? To eat me?

Meep.

By her nature and temperament, Kerya wasn't easily intimidated by sheer physical presence. In the case of this towering apparition, though, she'd been caught by surprise. It took an effort of will to keep her face and voice calm: only her scent and a quick twitch of ears, tail and whiskers betrayed for a moment how much stress she felt, and how close she'd come to outright panic.

Kerya narrowed her eyes and stared coldly up at the merchant. "What I am doing is my business," she said, her voice a little slower and quieter, and much less expressive than it usually was. "What do you want?"

She was deliberately copying the manner of one of her more annoying tutors, a mouse actually a hand or so shorter than herself. She'd once seen Shula stare down an angry bear twice his height and ten times his weight, using only his towering arrogance and his air of superiority. She really hoped this time her act wouldn't make the situation worse. Quite apart from Sebastian's desire to avoid unwanted attention — something she shared — her nerves were beginning to fray.

[Stygian]

The giraffe though, did not seem intimidated. Straightening indignantly, she kicked a sandaled foot out after the little mustelid, put down the box in her hands and took a step toward Kerya.
   'Not behind my stand it isn't! Go on!' she said sharply, a bit of red beginning to hint at her muzzle, 'Beat it! Shoo!'

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya snorted disdainfully and turned away from the merchant and her stall, muttering "Few things would give me greater pleasure..." Considering her size and weight, she shouldn't have been able to stamp away, but she managed it nevertheless.

The little stoat's anger didn't seem to be entirely feigned; by the time she walked up to Mel and Aisha her ears were still laid back a little. "So... before anything else happens, has anyone found the shops we need yet?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel nodded, "From the city guide if we keep on this street we will eventually end up in the area we need. But we should catch up with the others before anything else happens."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had just about had it with the stuck-up man whom they were talking to.  Kerya had proven herself more alike one of the group, and yet she was still treated like she was some kind of pet.  But she couldn't help but widen her eyes at the next thing to happen, when as she was tapped she indeed sped off like a wild animal...and disappeared.  Whether or not it was some kind of trick, at least it did the trick.

At least it did until she came out of hiding after again being rudely addressed by another of the merchants.  She smirked.  By the look on the stoat's face, she had the same thoughts as perhaps a few of the others as much as the panther herself; it probably would have been in their best interest to just leave.

Listening to Mel answer Kerya, Aisha sighed with relief while glancing around for the others.  "Good..." she muttered, and then smirked toward Gareeku.  "You probably know this place better than I do, amigo, but I'm guessing I'm right when I say we shouldn't spend more time than we need in this district."

[Stygian]

'Quite correct', Stygian's voice, even more viciously smooth than usual, sounded from behind the women. 'If we're done amusing ourselves?' He asked the question in a quite serious manner, but one could not help but feel as if he was being critical.
   After a quick glance over Kerya and Mel, the bat again turned and began pacing off in the direction he had been headed, yet when he came to the edge of the square he stopped, and stood for a while, looking out over the crowd. They had three paths to choose further down the merchant quarter, two of which branched off immediately from the square and another a bit further down the rightmost of them. It didn't seem to matter much. The outlook was a blur of shops and shingles and flags and billboards and faces of all kinds.
   'Check the map again. See if there might be some specific magic quarter, or if there is a way do go down under all of this', Stygian said over his shoulder. He just hoped that the others had actually followed him. He had troubles hearing or feeling anything distinct in a crowd like this.

[Gareeku]

Watching the events unfold, Gareeku raised his eyebrow upon seeing the stoat being shooed away by one of the merchants. Giving her an almost critical look for a second, the white furred wolf turned away and began to walk on silently. Hearing Aisha's voice beside him, Gareeku listened to what she said, and was about to reply when Sebastian's voice spoke up from behind him.

Ignoring the critical tone in the bat's voice, the wolf followed him to the edge of the square. Listening to what Sebastian said, Gareeku pulled out the map that had been given to him earlier by Mel and looked at it.
"There is a magical quarter, according to this map." the wolf said as he looked at the guide in his hands. It seemed that since he was last here, things had changed a little. "It seems as if it is situated down that path."

"It seems as if it is situated down the path that branches off to the right a bit after that path." Gareeku continued, referring to the path that was situated a bit further down the rightmost of them. "From there it goes underground."

[Sunblink]

Keaton and Deirdre:

Both Gryphon and Succubus were fortunately spared from the stampede of salesmen, both for drastically different reasons. In Keaton's case, she was probably wandering too far ahead of the group, her skipping having accelerated her pace to a drastic extent. For Deirdre, on the other hand, she was deterring any potential harassment by appearing unapproachable. It seemed, for a moment, the two had switched personas temporarily, with Deirdre looking utterly irate due to her lack of nourishment and the fact she was bereft of any cosmetics, and Keaton still suspended in her uncharacteristic state of elation. Keaton briskly kept walking somewhere behind Stygian, while Deirdre trudged in the back of the party.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"Can we assume you are searching for some particular weapon in the magic quarter?" asked Mel, who had caught up with the bat. "Since you are the only one who knows what we are up against we are rather under your guidance in this shopping adventure."

[SpottedKitty]

With a sigh of relief, Kerya followed Sebastian as he led the group away from the chaotic market. Normally she didn't mind — too much — overly pushy merchants who made pains-in-the-tail of themselves, but something about that old man's manner had raised her hackles.

Up ahead, her attention was caught by a fast-moving fluffy yellow and black tail. It was nice to see Keaton in such a good mood; she'd seemed rather dour and sullen last night, and Kerya supposed the near-disastrous misunderstanding between the jackal and Dierdre couldn't have helped matters. The bounciness was infectious, though, and if the situation had been less serious the little stoat might have been tempted to join in.

Her ears perked up as she caught part of Mel's conversation with Sebastian. Something about magical weapons? She hurried to catch up before the bat replied, he might drop an important hint or three.

[Stygian]

Raising his eyebrows over the rims of his glasses, the bat looked back at Mel at her question, and shook his head. Sometimes Mel was a little quick to guess that he wanted to hurt people, instead of just get rid of them. An effect of his occupation, no doubt.
   'No, I was thinking something more alike a disguise, or maybe hiring an Aci to teleport us. I don't want to kill everyone, Mel', he said, a bit of amusement in his voice for some reason. He glanced around a bit at the nearby shops, speaking while not really attentive. 'If I didn't know that coverage can be such an issue sometimes, I'd suggest that we all get cell phones too... but really...' Turning back to Mel, he smirked a little at her. 'If you're really looking to be protected against Ace, for example, I'd suggest you carry a really big magnet.'
   Then he noticed Kerya. Watching the energetic stoat a little and pondering her, he looked her straight in the eyes as well. 'And you, I think, would be the first candidate for a little masquerading.'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

While apparently checking out the fashions as she strolled past the shop windows Mel responded, "I never thought you wanted to kill everyone. Who would make your tea for you then? But I did get the impression that it was the only practical way to deal with these particular acquaintances of yours." At least his comment on magnets was useful. When he went on to speak of disguises and of Kerya in particular the constantly disguised dragon gave her a once-over. "Can you do any shape shifting or hold an illusion for long periods, or do you need a charm?" Mel wondered if a local charm would even work in the presence of her alien magic style.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya laid her ears back and shuddered a little. "A true shape-shange is... not an option, for the reasons I mentioned last night. An illusion is another matter. I do not know how you do things here, but that is usually one of the first spells our mages learn, and it was the first one I mastered." Between one blink and the next, the little stoat shrank slightly and became more stocky, her entire body shape and fur colour changing into a petite grey mouse, still wearing the same grey robes. Another blink, and she took on the appearance of a tall, elegant vixen, then a tubby ocelot, and finally the rabbit who'd attacked her back in Haszal... minus, of course, the wings on her head.

"I can keep a simple illusion such as this active as long as I need to," she said, and even her voice had changed to be very similar to Sebastian's memory of what the rabbit had sounded like. "It should hold even if I am knocked senseless. And... Mel, I think your skill at illusions surpasses mine — and my thanks for your aid back in the square — can you see through one without breaking it?" The illusory rabbit looked up at Mel, and her outline shivered for a moment before settling down again, apparently unchanged. Except now, if Kerya had done it correctly and this particular variation on the basic spell worked here, beneath the illusion of a blonde-haired white rabbit was the form of a zebra-striped rat, who seemed to have been almost... but not quite... successful at disguising the fact that she was wearing an illusion.

[Cogidubnus]

 Having lost the others in the crowd some time ago, Cog stood quite aloof and calmly within the cool, air-conditioned interior of A & A's Tailoring, and browsing around the store as per etiquette more than any expectation of finding something in the racks, he gradually made his way to the counter. Arms still empty, he stood casually, leaning just a bit with one hand against the counter, and spoke to the clerk.

"I was wondering. Do you have something in...white?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked the stoat up and down. "Very nice. I am not going to test it in the street but it looks sturdy. Perhaps you should watch the shop displays as we pass to get some ideas about local clothing styles." As the dragon gesture to the row of businesses she caught sight of their missing party member through a storefront window. "And there is Mr. Mithome. I wondered where he had disappeared to."

[Boog]

Fucking loonies just wandering the fuck off when I turn my back for two fucking seconds, Richard groused to himself, having stopped to haggle/bicker with the man selling instruments for far longer than two seconds. Where the hell did they wander off to... Fortunately the dead man managed to locate the other adventurers, sidling his way into the group and hoping nobody noticed he hadn't been there the whole time. And that he could find that highway-robber of an instrument salesman later with either more money or, failing that, less reasons not to give him a harder time.

[Stygian]

Frowning slightly, Stygian kept his gaze steadily on Kerya for a while even as they kept on walking. If she wasn't in over her head, then he was brown and his name was Sugar.
   'I'm not sure if you understand completely...' he said, hand in his pocket and toying a bit with the lighter that Keaton had given him. 'And I don't want to sound demeaning. But there are people, and creatures, in this world that can see right through magic like that. Or ones that can simply see magic, or who can identify it through sheer presence. You never know. And especially not in a place like this.' Pointedly, he glanced around at their surroundings and the people crowding the street they were walking down. 'Eclectic' seemed not strong enough a word to describe it.
   '"Free", or Radical magic, tends to be much more easily affected than Condensed or Internal magic', the bat went on, as if Kerya was expected to understand the meaning of the terms. 'Generally, the more thorough you are, the better. Even if it sometimes makes things hard, and costly...' Then he caught sight of Cog, thanks to Mel's attention. Thinking that the wolf seemed to have made a good choice of shop, the bat turned, and headed for the front of the shop. Pushing open the door, he walked in just as the clerk finished his response.
   '...assortment of white outfits. Perhaps if you could be a little more specifi...' he said, then caught sight of Stygian as the latter walked up next to Cog, glanced around, and then nodded to the wolf. The clerk just watched, round eyes darting between the bat's face and his suit, and then narrowed them a bit at Cog.
   'Okay, did you do that?'

[Cogidubnus]

 The wolf raised a single eyebrow at the clerk, and then looked over at the bat, who was looming over his shoulder just behind him. He stared at the white-suited bat for a moment before something clicked, and he turned back to look at the hapless steward.

"Yes, I see what you mean." he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps something in red, then. Classy, mind. I'm not for looking to be the inquisition here."

[Aisha deCabre]

"Underground?"  Aisha had echoed in a mutter beneath her breath when Gareeku gave the directions, taking a peek at the map while the others had started walking that way without another word said.  "Huh, this place has changed."  I can't even remember how far in I had ever seen.  Certainly, Jann's Cliff was a fine example of how big cities tend to get even bigger in a fair amount of time.  The panthress much preferred areas that weren't so noisy or crowded...but it was impressive, that she had to give.

As they went, she had barely noticed what they were speaking about.  Perhaps more plans to evade those after their heads...killing this, running that...all she was doing right then really was keeping in step behind the others, alongside the wolf; and at the same time not trying to wander off, as her mind had done.

But her sharp ears did catch a snippet of something as they moved into a portion of the city that to her seemed more...colorful.  "Disguises...that's no trouble," she muttered.  When they had reached a crowd that was so numerous that all the travelers could really do was blend in, her hand came up to her cloak's gold collar.  In one instant, the cape was her usual tone of blood red.  In the next, it was a fairly dark blue with an outline of white all around, hood and all, still concealing her eyes.  Rynkura would approve of the Healer color touch, the huntress smirked.  Perhaps she overestimated her current stealth abilities, but if she couldn't hide then she damn well could fight.

She leaned against a wall when the bat turned into a clothing shop, crossing her arms and just looking around, and occasionally wondering how much it would set her back to indeed collect an enchanted weapon or two.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya removed the illusion, then tipped her head to one side and cocked her ears questioningly. "If I am understanding you clearly, Sebastian, I should have only the lesser problem to deal with. Any source of power I absorb into myself becomes attuned to me, even if I make it part of my reserves. It is... possible for another mage to snatch that power and make it hers, in turn. That is ruinously inefficient, though, much of the power is lost when it is muted and converted." The little stoat grinned fiercely, showing every one of her needle-sharp fangs. "And there are ways of ensuring such an attempt is... hazardous. Spectacularly and fatally hazardous, if such emphasis is required."

Kerya looked thoughtful for a moment, her tail switching from side to side. "All this assumes we are both talking about the same things. That burst of wild power in the club last night was unexpected, and quite discomfiting — especially in its effects! If something as basic and straightforward as a power siphon can go so badly wrong because of fundamental differences between your magic and mine, I may have nothing to fear, or everything." She looked up into Sebastian's face, her ears held erect and a look of firm determination on her muzzle. "Can you suggest a safe way to find out? And do we have the time, if Sekhmet and her friends, and that winged jackal and his friends, are both still pursuing us?"

[Stygian]

Rubbing his temple a bit, Stygian's glasses gleamed as he looked down at the stoat. He was rather unused to becoming overwhelmed with things to consider, but her question trailed out onto a whole lot of others. Focusing, he ran his tongue over his teeth, filtering away the clutter. First things first...
   'I'm not sure if you understand what I mean. Those who I mentioned don't have to interfere in any way to see what you are talking about. It's not something active. It's innate. Passive,' he said. 'Genetic. I don't know how to explain it better than that.'
   'Red?' the clerk asked Cog, and looked over him from top to toes. 'Well, I certainly didn't expect that.' He turned around, and walked around the counter, over to a few racks and shelfs against one of the walls, starting to sort between garments and fabrics.
   'No one ever does', Stygian commented, out of the blue, and then looked down at Kerya once again. 'I'm not a magical theorist. At least, I haven't been in a long time. I deal with machines now. But I guess, if Mel would be willing to cooperate...' He sighed, then looked back out the windows of the shop. 'I actually don't think we have the time. I just want you to listen. Understand that you should try and minimize all risks, within the realm of effectiveness.' He muttered a little, and then looked down at himself. 'Speaking of which, I should get something new to wear.'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel poked around the bolts of fabric admiring some of the finer textiles. Unfortunately she knew she didn't have time to get anything new, all her clothing had to be enchanted to deal with size changes. She had been willing to risk the dress she had bought yesterday due to the unlikelihood of her reverting to her natural form in a crowded building. Regretfully patting a particularly nice bolt of blue silk she wandered over to the hat display to wait while the others made their selections.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya's thoughtful look deepened as Sebastian continued his explanation. "Hmm, that is something I have not encountered before," she said. "Perhaps we could discuss it in more detail later, when we have the time... and a little more privacy." The little stoat swished her tail to indicate the crowded street — then she realised for the first time she'd been so distracted and lost in thought she'd followed the bat right into a shop. A wonderful shop full of clothes. Exotically cut clothes. Brightly coloured clothes. She stifled a squeak of delight and began to browse, with the fervour and single-mindedness of a true clothes-horse.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog's eyes seemed to brighten at the clerk's comments, and he smiled a toothy half-grin. "Unexpected? Really?" he paused, looking at nothing in particular. His glasses gleamed. "Well, excellent."

He leaned against the counter and waited for the clerk to finish sorting through his things.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel tried on a few of the hats in the display but despite finding a few she liked it was hard to know what to choose when she hadn't yet decided what she was going to look like today. Maybe something avian for a change. Seeing Richard lurking just inside the door and looking rather glum she popped one of the men's hats on the top of his head. "Stylish. But perhaps you would prefer the yellow one since we seem to be on a primary colors theme."

[Boog]

Richard was jerked out of his daydreams of cellos by Mel, the clothing on hand and almost preditory gleam in her eye qualifying as quite possibly a weapons-grade Distraction. Women offering him clothes often ended badly. Furthermore, yellow!?
"Appreciate it, but I usually don't opt for that look when I ain't playing." Richard replied with a nervous grin, passing the hat back to her. "Besides, I probably couldn't afford it. Musician, remember?"