Evening gave way to twilight. The vocal cacophony of Black Lantern Square began to fade. In its place, shifting grass, chirping crickets, and the group's own footsteps could be heard.
The patting of Kiew's own footsteps sped up as she rounded the corner ahead. The group had climbed a hill, the dirt road shifted into purposefully-placed cobblestone, the wild grass became cultivated. As every one else rounded the corner, the quaint, romantic park wold come into full view.
At the center of the circular park was the tree that housed the titular blossoms. Light pink flowers came in pairs among its green leaves, numerous green fireflies moving between them. The ground around the tree was dirt, save for a series of circles of stones that, judging from the few people milling about in conversation and embraces, were perfectly made for sitting.
Further out from the tree, the ground went to cobblestone again. Every so often someone passed through to one of the other two paths that led out of Twin blossom Park.
But, Kiew had managed to make it before the kalamari merchant began to roll on home for the night. She returned to the group holding out a stick of delicious tentacle goodness for all.
"My treat!"
Tenebrae, being springier of limb than the others, had made the climb up the hill with less effort and much more swiftly, though he intentionally stopped every few seconds to look back at the intriguing woman who had just minutes before been speaking telepathically to him.
He stopped once they reached the park in question, his four eyes marveling at the beauty of the blossom trees. He looked down at Kiew, his head bobbing slightly underneath his hat which gave the impression that he was nodding. This place. It is beautiful. He filtered the words into her mind, feeling himself slowly becoming more familiar with the language which he was speaking.
He looked intently at the kalamari that the girl offered to him. Hesitant, as he was unsure of how to eat such a treat in public without drawing attention to himself, he grabbed the food with a gloved hand and gave a small, awkward bow. Thank you, Kiew.
Holding the tentacle and looking at it with almost scientific concentration, the gel remembered that his pants contained pockets. Carefully working to let some of his being seep through the material of his right pocket, he placed the treat into the pocket and let the small part of him envelope it. He could taste it almost immediately, savoring the flavor as the food began to dissolve, dispersing its nutrients throughout his being.
Kiew shuddered again, now becoming annoyed with the telepathy.
"Pardon if I seem rude, but...why do you keep speaking directly into my head?"
Kiew picked out a chewy piece of squid-tentacle-on-a-stick to chew on, in order to mask her perturbed expression.
Still enjoying the food that he was dissolving into his system, Tenebrae jumped a bit when Kiew spoke to him. This exposed bits of him through his disguise for just a moment, revealing small flashes of bright orange skin. He stumbled over his answer, but it was obvious that his speech was already improving.
I lack vocal chords as you have, and therefore this is my only means of communication. Does it bother you?[/i]
Kiew wanted so much to just keep chewing and avoid having to interact with this...man. But, rules of etiquette said it would be improper. Plus, she bit off more than she could chew. She deeply swallowed before continuing.
"To be honest, it is a little...disconcerting. Even the ghosts I've seen tend to wail at you rather than within you. It's just...not normal."
Kiew scratched her head. "But, if it's the only way you can talk, I will make my best effort to adapt."
Looking back and forth between Kiew and Tenebrae, Alycia felt bad. Although she could only hear one side of the conversation, she understood enough to know that Tenebrae couldn't talk normally. Turning to him, Alycia bowed to excuse herself. "I'm sorry. I've been rude. If you can only talk... into... my mind, then I guess it isn't your fault. I thought you were just trying to creep me out or keep the conversations private or something. And since you're dressed so suspiciously, I kinda stereo-typed... So, I'm sorry. I'll try to adapt, too." Alycia smiled at Tenebrae, hoping he would forgive her for her rudeness.
"Ah, where are my manners?"
Kiew handed the kalamari-on-a-stick concoctions out to everybody.
Staring at the tentacle with disgust, Alycia shook her head. "I prefer not to eat meat when possible... and I don't eat any seafood. It just doesn't sit right. For all I know, this squid could have saved my life in the past... or given me directions... or something."
"Well, alright." Kiew promptly slurped the tentacle up.
"What is your fascination with the sea and its creatures about, anyway?" Kiew made her way towards one of the circles of sitting rocks.
Following Kiew and sitting on one of the rocks, Alycia realized that she hadn't actually told anyone she was a mermaid. Most people guessed based on the facts, but Kiew somehow missed it. Explaining, Alycia said, "Um... I'm a mermaid. So I love water and can talk to sea creatures and stuff... Does that answer your question?" Alycia looked up Kiew with her sea blue eyes and tilted her head slightly sideways as she often did when asking a question.
"Well, this is an interesting discovery. A mermaid huh? Well, it's good to know we have somebody who is adept in water. That's always useful."
Adelaide would state randomly while he took a seat towards the right of Alycia. The stick which once held a squid was empty and rotated around his index finger while he glanced around. They were quite an odd group, though to get familiar with each other would take patience. The alchemist chuckled while he caught a rogue flower that escaped from the tree nearby.
"These blossoms are quite pretty, you should enjoy them while they're in season." Adelaide turned towards Alycia while he held the flower out to her. "Here, this is for you." He would simply state before turning back towards the group. They had two days to get accustomed to each other, perhaps now was a good time to start.
"Well, does anybody have some interesting stories to tell?"
Adelaide called her useful and sat by her! Smiling, Alycia smoothed her cape, fixing the wrinkles. Although that wasn't any sign that he liked her back, she couldn't help but be happy. He was nice and cute!
Did he just catch a flower? When Adelaide gave her the blossom, Alycia's turned bright red as she gently took it from him. After staring at it for a few seconds, trying to process what happened, Alycia finally took down the hood of her cape, allowing her long red hair to flow freely in the wind. She then put one side behind her ear and put the flower there. With a wide grin on her face, Alycia looked back at Adelaide and quietly said, "Thank you." Then, processing what he said afterwards, she added, "And I guess it depends on what you call interesting. How about you? Do you have any interesting stories?"
It is alright. I don't blame you. But I would caution you in the future about making judgments before having enough information. Wrongful assumptions are the reason I left my home. Tenebrae directed this response to both Kiew and Alycia.
The tentacle and stick fully dissolved into his being, Tenebrae looked around, hoping for more to eat. It had been a nice snack, but keeping this form was beginning to tax his energy reserves. Seeing that the kalamari stand required money, he knew that that was out of the question. Looking at the ground, the gel began bending over and picking up large rocks from the ground. Each of these he would put into his pockets before going to the next one.
This went on for several minutes, with Tenebrae more or less ignoring his companions as he collected food for himself. It was a tedious task that would have taken no time at all had he been able to stretch out into his natural form. But he saw no purpose in complaining.
Once his pockets were bulging with the stones that they carried, the gel returned to his new friends and picked back up on the conversation. He extended his influence beyond that of just an individual so that everyone in the group could hear him.
Interesting stories? Well, I haven't had too many what you might call adventures. Mostly just travelling. And trying to find a place where I can bring my people. We aren't well liked in my homeland, you see.
With her chin in her hand and her elbow resting on one folded knee, Kiew watched as her future group members continued to make her second guess being the only one to participate in this assignment, which is why she had to recruit her own group in the first place. Kiew had heard of those who lived in the ocean's depths, but they usually...were not on land. Or at least did to make a noticeable deal about it. And here Adelaide was fawning over the stranger's every enigmatic gesture. And there goes that Tenebrae fellow, picking up rocks for no reason.
Foreigners.
Nobody seemed eager to share a story, but Kiew was always interested in some mild-mannered boasting.
"I was possessed by a spirit once," Kiew said with a heavy helping of pride.
"Possessed by a spirit?" asked Alycia. This spiked her interest. She knew nothing about spirits and didn't even know they could possess people. "What kind of spirit? Why did it possess you? What happened?"
Alycia had an abundance of questions, but figured it was best to just let Kiew tell the story. "Just start from the beginning, please." Leaning in towards Kiew, her ears gobbled up all her words.
"The beginning is the best place to begin. To start, you have to understand my talent." Kiew flipped the scroll pack she had secured to her back into her lap and pulled a blue case. From that, she unraveled the parchment, itself filled with Thanati scribbles. Kiew ran her finger along until she found one sentence in particular.
"The snowflakes bring loving warmth."
From the paper, in a heaping poof of powdery frost, hopped a small fox apparition, ephemeral and slightly transparent. Where it landed on the ground, a plume of snow followed. The fox looked about with empty, black eyes, and then bounded over to Alycia and into her lap. Where it nuzzled, however, there was no snow or cold, but, instead a soft, pulsating heat.
Tenebrae watched in awe as the little spirit fox appeared, though he was less amazed than he might have been. Half of his attention however was on absorbing the rocks, and that was taking more concentration due to having to do it so discreetly. He was, however, aware enough to know what he had just seen, even if his knowledge beforehand of it was only in passing.
Remarkable. You are a medium of the spirits then, yes? I have heard much of your kind, but I have never witnessed such a display.[/i]
Kiew nodded.
"I am what is called a Spirit Speaker. Spirits, apparitions, ghosts, shades, all are open to me...or, they will be soon. Sometime in the future." Kiew cleared her throat.
"Anyway," she continues, "I have to do hours and hours of research in order to fully...hm, understand the tales, I guess you would say. I have to feel the essence of the spirits in my mind, and write about their stories over and over until it just happens. Poof, I create a sentence to call them, and there they are." Kiew motions towards the fox spirit, who calmly remains in Alycia's lap.
"Well, about four years ago, I wasn't as careful in my studies as I am now. I was on the trail of a particular being called 'The Robe of a Thousand Minds.' You see, every fictional tale has a grain of truth in it, and when I began to find these series of stories, I knew I was onto something. Each story concerned the main character coming into possession of a unimportant-looking robe. But, when put on, they committed horrific acts. I began to see small patterns in the contents and morals of the stories.
So, one day, in my school's library, I come across a seemingly unrelated, but this time factual, story about Chu the Ripper, a serial killer of olden times. His number of victims reached double digits before he suddenly vanished. Eventually, Chu's hideout was found and identified as his by various belongings and evidence, including a tattered brown robe that witnesses testified a enigmatic man was often seen wearing at the scenes of his victims' disappearances. His last victim? An unimportant, but incredibly powerful necromancer."
Kiew pauses to scratch her head.
"Well, the robe in the 'Thousand Minds' story was also described as 'brown and tattered' at some point in each passage. I then realized that I realized the coat wasn't of a thousand minds, but one. Even though the stories never really matched Chu's methods, it was actually his bound and dark soul lashing out at the world, just like he had done in life."
"And then my...talent kicked in. But, not in the way you may think, and certainly not in a way I had experienced before."
Half of her attention on the cute little fox on her lap, Alycia only picked up on bits and pieces of Kiew's tale. But her ears picked up on the suspenseful statement at the end. Quickly glancing up so she could look Kiew in the eyes while she talked, Alycia asked, "How did your talent kick in? Oh, and can I pet this fox?"
Smiling as the fox nuzzled her stomach, Alycia felt as though it was nuzzling all of her fears and worries right out of her. Surely something this cute wasn't allowed to live... but perhaps that's why it was a spirit. If only she could talk to land animals too... but maybe it wouldn't matter since it was a spirit. Would I be able to talk to a water spirit? thought Alycia. That would be pretty awesome. But this thing is so cute I might prefer to talk to it.
Wanting to pet the cute little animal without making it go away, Alycia looked up at Kiew to see her response. After all, Kiew was the master of spirits. For all Alycia knew, her hand might go right through the fox. Or she might scare it away. Or maybe it would bite her. It would look cute even if it was biting her. Focusing on the warm feeling on her stomach, Alycia kept her eyes on Kiew and her thoughts on the fox.
"I pet him all the time, since I never cared for a real pet. Don't want to risk my work being chewed up."
"As for the story," Kiew said while adjusting her sitting position so she was sitting with her legs outstretched and her arms free to gesture and enhance the story. "The next thing I know, I'm literally flying through the halls of the school, my body out of my control. Thing was, I could still think clearly and speak clearly, so I was just yelling for help. So, after a few minutes, I had a ton of teachers and students and a few guards chasing after me."
"So eventually, Chu sends me to the cafeteria and forces me to put my head over a pot of boiling water, essentially holding me hostage." Kiew leans to her right, almost off balance, with her head tilted as well to illustrate the situation. "I could feel the steam heating up my face already. It was terrible."
Your face appears as undamaged as any other I have seen, so I suspect that someone intervened on your behalf?
Tenebrae's musing was short and rather void of any expression. He shifted his weight as the bulge of the rocks in his pockets continued to slowly diminish.
"Well, no. I helped myself."
Kiew sat back up and reached under her head wrap. Her hand returned with a folded up scrap of paper, which she waved slightly in the night air. "I mentally told Chu's spirit that he could paralyze everyone in the room and have his way with them if he simply read the spell on this sheet. After threatening my life by pushing my head ever closer to the pot, he believed me. I bet correctly that he was partly feeling in control, but still partly panicking. He was a soul in a room full of necromancers, after all."
"So, he made me read it. But, this spell was not what I said it was. Instead of debilitating others, it encases my body in stone, effectively turning me into a statue. It's supposed to be a last ditch armor type of spell, but it fulfilled its role another way."
Kiew placed the paper back under her headwrap. "I was able to be dragged away and secured for an exorcism, and boy was Chu mad. But, he's gone now, and I got two days off."
Kiew went back to sitting with her legs crossed, a very satisfied grin on her face.
"That's amazing!" exclaimed Alycia. She hadn't really understood half the story, but it seemed like a huge deal. And being possessed was amazing, anyway.
Gently petting the fox, Alycia smiled. "So... does anybody else have a story?" Looking from Sophia to Tenebrae to Adelaide, Alycia tilted her head slightly in curiosity. Of course, she'd prefer it if Adelaide had a story. If only she had a story... something she could show off to him with. Thinking, Alycia looked up at the sky. Sadly, she couldn't think of anything that would interest them. Although she had some adventures after she had been freed, there wasn't anything too exciting.
Looking back down, Alycia noticed that the wind had picked up. She kept having to fix her long hair with her free hand (the other one was petting the adorable fox) since it was blowing into her face. Alycia briefly put her hood on to block the wind, but it backfired as the wind knocked the hood down. Frowning, Alycia didn't know what to do.
It is indeed incredible, miss Kiew. I do not have a tale as riveting as that, I'm afraid. The only thing I can think of worth telling would be my journey from my homeland to here. But it isn't nearly as exciting as yours.[/i]
Tenebrae, his rocks almost digested now, spoke up. He transferred his telepathy across the entire party, realizing that it wasn't fair to keep his conversations private without need.
Adelaide watched in amusement as Kiew's tale began. His right hand would act as a base for his chin to rest, while his left hand rested gently in between his elbow. He hadn't met one who could talk to spirits, let alone be able to summon them. His eyes glanced curiously at the spirit fox, attempting to figure out how exactly he could explain this through alchemical reactions. His mind would drop the subject almost instantly as Kiew continued her story.
"That's quite the interesting tale. Though, sounds like you almost lost your life there, yet you still continue to practice? That takes guts."
Adelaide stated while he glanced around the group. He was also interested in hearing more stories, though he wasn't sure if he had one to tell. "Ah!" He would snap his thumb and middle finger on his right hand, unknowingly releasing a small spark of lightning that would strike upwards. His left hand would reach into his left trouser pocket to retrieve a small piece of paper and a small leaf located within it. He would gently place the paper on the floor while he glanced around, seeming to look for something.
"Does anybody have some water with them?"
His left hand would hover slightly above the paper, the alchemy circle which could be clearly seen began to glow yellow. A faint smile would appear on his face while he waited for a response.
"Water?" Alycia started. "I'm a mermaid. Of course I have water!"
Watching the circle glow, Alycia was excited to see what would happen. Searching through the pockets of her cape, Alycia finally found a container with water. Handing it over to Adelaide, Alycia used her curiosity as an excuse to lean in towards him so she was even closer.
As much as she'd love to completely focus on Adelaide, Alycia had some manners. Turning towards Tenebrae, she said, "Perhaps after Adelaide is done with this, you can tell us about your journey. I would just love to hear it."
With the wind still in her hair, Alycia finally decided to put it up. She swiftly grabbed a hair binder out of her pocket and put her hair in a ponytail. Satisfied, Alycia just smiled as she waited to see what Adelaide would do.
"A wiseman once said 'If you fear death, do not bow at her doorstep and ask for aid.' There are a number of students who pass on every year due to mishaps such as that. Such is the risk we know we take."
"But, enough about me, what's that?" Kiew pointed to the paper Adelaide had placed out.
(ooc: I apologize for the late post, been busy with school and exams for the past week. -_-)
"Thank you" Adelaide stated towards Alycia while he accepted the container of water. It was a simple alchemic process, that wouldn't take much effort to do. His eyes glanced at the paper and the herb which rested on there, while he tapped his thumb against his middle finger. There was an ingredient missing, something important which he needed. "Ah, that's what it is." He would state out loud to nobody, while he pulled out a small bag of crushed herbs and sprinkled it onto the paper.
The container of water would be opened and several drops would be placed onto the small sheet of paper. The herbs instantly soaked up the liquid, seeming to turn bright green in color. The alchemist left hand would hover above the paper once more while the yellow glow appeared, instantly followed by the sound of crackling lightning. The sound would rapidly increase, transforming into a small white light. The light would fade instantly as it appeared, and a small gel-like product would remain in the paper where the herbs once stood. Without hesitation, Adelaide would remove his pocket knife and cut the substance into several slices, and then would hand the paper to Alycia.
"Take a slice and pass it down, don't worry they're tasty." He would say towards the mermaid, before turning to Kiew to answer her question. "The herb you just saw is used in some cultures to help heal small cuts and bruises. The sap within the leaves provides energy for the body, and combining that with a different herb, water, and a bit of alchemy and you have the tasty substance before you. The paper is just so it has a place to sit, seeing as I don't have a bowl on me. So, what do you think?"
After being mesmerized by the alchemy, Alycia did what Adelaide said to and grabbed a slice before passing the rest to Kiew. Uncertain at first whether or not the gooey substance would taste good, Alycia tried a little bit before exclaiming, "It's amazing!" Finishing it off, she continued, "Where did you learn to make this? It's... it's heavenly!"
With a wide grin on her face, Alycia asked, "How did you do this? I mean, how do you perform alchemy?"
If Adelaide would teach me and it can end up like this, perhaps it would be worth the time to learn alchemy. Although reading comes first. But still, alchemy would be a nice thing to know, thought Alycia. I'll ask him later.
Kiew examined the gel closely, its transparent green containing visible particles of leaves, before grabbing a piece off. She apprehensively stuffed it in her mouth, where an explosion of minty flavor and energy followed.
"It's good! Very good, even." She handed the substance to Tenebrae. "Most alchemy I've seen focuses on foul-tasting clarity concoctions that get one more in touch with the spirits."
Intriguing. So, I must ask, what exactly is alchemy? It seems to be some form of magic. I am not well versed in the magical arts.
Tenebrae held the piece and was somewhat repulsed by its appearance. The gel reminded him far too much of his own physiology. Still, he pushed the piece given to him past his fake beard and into the portion of his body that served as his "head." The substance began to dissolve almost immediately, leaving a slight tingling sensation as it did.
Extraordinary. This treat is delightful, Adelaide.
(ooc: Apologies for once again posting late. School took up a lot of my time, but thankfully summer semester is over and it's back to posting daily ^_^ or so. Also...somehow this site managed to get rid of a post I was working on...so had to redo it >_>).
"Thanks, glad you're all enjoying it. It's an old recipe a healer taught me a while back, though it taste a lot better than what the healer made." Adelaide would give a slight chuckle while placed the knife back into it's sheath. "I'm just glad that my skills haven't declined and I can still make that. It's a great treat to use as snacks and during battle. Though, I think it just makes a delicious snack." Adelaide stated proudly.
"Well, I wouldn't call alchemy 'magic arts', that is just my opinion. When my father taught me alchemy, he called it a science using alchemicals. It's difficult to explain, since there are many things we still haven't been able to explain...yet. The way I view alchemy is like a type of skill that can be considered a catalyst of sorts, kind of like an enhancer. After studying various ingredients and different types of recipes, you take a few, mix them together, and using alchemy you can create new things or just improve old products. For me, I can use alchemy to make better products for patients and to heal people better than most healers with just magic abilities." Adelaide would scratch his head as he finished speaking, pondering if he had explained it well. It was tough for him to explain things and alchemy was one of them, especially since other alchemist had different views. "I should add that not all alchemist would agree with my statement, but everybody does have their own opinion."
He would shrug in response to his own statement, before turning towards Alycia. "So, you say you're a mermaid correct? I'm curious since I thought mermaids could only exist in the water, but here you are on land. How exactly are you able to do that? Or...are you stuck like that?"
Not understanding what Adelaide explained at all, Alycia just used the fact he was talking to look at him. But as he questioned her... heritage, she laughed and scratched the back of her head.
"I'm not stuck like this. I've always been able to transform my tail into legs... as long as I can remember, at least. I don't know why. That's yet another reason I want to find my family." One of many. "There are also various... variations of mermaids, so everyone in my family might have this ability. I have no idea."
"Variations? Like what?"
Kiew had visions of mermaids based on various fish and squids and eels and sharks and crabs.
Crab people. Horrifying.
(ooc: Not sure if we all forgot about this or something...)
"Kiew has a point, what kind of variations are there in your kind? Do you have any clue where your family might be?" Adelaide asked, somewhat curious about the information Alycia had. It would be interesting to know more about her kind and perhaps, they might have medicine that could improve his own profession. Though, if she didn't have a family, the first thing to do would be to aid her in her quest.
(ooc: idk if anybody in here even threads any more but I figured I'd respond...)
Alycia looked at the two questioners with wide eyes. She didn't really know how to answer their questions. "I... I don't know. I just heard it somewhere. I don't even know if it's true."
After glancing away, feeling guilty, Alycia decided she should probably finish her thought.
"I think there are different... traits... or something that run through different mermaid families. I've heard that some of them can read minds of certain animals. And some can't even breathe air. But, truthfully, I've never heard of mermaids that can walk... So I don't know. I'm sorry." Once again feeling guilty for not answering their questions very well, Alycia pulled the hood of her cape back up and looked away from them.