sing_for_me: (Default)
Alex Benedetto ([personal profile] sing_for_me) wrote in [community profile] middaeg2019-07-18 11:37 pm

Open

Who: Alex and you (With a closed to Wei Wuxian)
When: Mid to end of July
Where: Wilde, somewhere with water the world is your oyster
What: Quests and Full Moon changes
Warnings: Tentacles. Maybe some other warnings later on.



I. Wilde Quest: Ingredients
[ The idea of a weird mix and match monster with the features of predatory animals was indeed terrifying, but hearing that their nests were way up there while the feathers would be way down below helped convince Alex to give it a shot. Gathering feathers sounded like an easy and quick enough task. No water was involved either, so she would have legs to run with if needed.

But things don't always go so smoothly, like yet another change towards her more monstrous form. She actually thought she was done. How much more fish could she become after gaining gills, fins, and a tail?

As she started picking up the fallen feathers, her eyes began to lose focus. It had been happening for some time now throughout the month, moments of blurred vision. She chalked it up to fatigue from the jobs she’s been undertaking, especially since she’d regain her regular eyesight right after. This time was different though. It was taking much longer for her to focus, and she was beginning to feel disoriented. She stumbles, but reaches out and manages to steady herself against a rock.

Except this rock felt oddly soft, and seemed to rise and fall steadily.

She turns to squint at it. Then knocks her knuckles against it. It starts to move ]



II. Full moon

[ Alex finds herself once again in the nearest body of water she could find. She was able to resist on any other day of the month, but when the full moons formed, she found it harder and harder to stay away with each passing month. There was just such a calm that came with being in it, like there was nothing for her to fight against while she floated along the surface of the water. She’d gotten rid of her skirt, but her blouse remained, although completely soaked through now. Her eyes, poor as they had become this past month, were sharper in water. She didn’t need her glasses there. To think even her eye sight could be affected in that way. Maybe it was just safer for her to be in this form, to stay off land. Even the cold didn't seem to bother her.

What was it she was able to do now? Breathe under water, hear and see better than she ever had before…Others had mentioned an ability. One that allows merrow to lure people to them. Was it really more than a story? Could she so easily lead someone into the water with no resistance whatsoever? Would they snap out of it once they were submerged and could no longer breathe? Could she make them do whatever she wanted? That could seriously hurt them, couldn’t it? That’s not something Alex ever wanted to do. It’s why she’s been trying so hard to control what she could with her changes.

And yet she began to hum as brought herself back to shore, waist deep in water still as she sat facing the water. The gold scales along her spine and the center of her tail seemed to glow brighter in the dark, like coins that had spilled out of a treasure chest. Her humming escalates too singing. No actual words, just a slow, soothing vocalization of a melody she head learned long ago.

Would anyone come? Would it work? How far would she let it go? Never had she felt so curious about such a thing before.

She hears a sound behind her, but she isn’t alarmed. She turns slightly to look at you, the blue of her eyes standing out even more against her now blackened sclera. Are you her guinea pig for tonight? What will you do now?]


III. The Cold War
[ It was some harmless fun with some kids at first. Building some snow men, then getting into a snow ball fight. She had time before work and they way they insisted with their cute little pouts...she was weak. But she had underestimated them as well, not thinking they'd actually use magic to their advantage. There was no hiding she was a merrow what with her fin-like ears, and some of the kids were aware of what worked on them. The snowballs themselves didn't hurt, but the next onslaught was different. They were mushier, and she could feel them melt into her clothes. She looked up to find the kids heating them up slightly before chucking them at her, and she soon realized why.

Down she went as her legs bound together and morphed into her tail, and there she was, a sitting duck for their next attack. She scrambled behind whatever she can find for cover, still attempting to keep them at bay by throwing some snowballs back. ]


Ruthless little..!

[ Would you like to help an outnumbered fish out, or maybe you get hit by a mushy snow ball as well. Or maybe it's Alex that hits you with instead. It's a little hard to aim and hide at the same time. ]

IV. Wildcard
[ I'm open to other scenarios too! I'm down for other things in the snow or what have you. Either toss up a top-level and I'll wing it with you, or hit me up at [plurk.com profile] mightycheese ]
whomthebelltolls: (Sleeps like the dead)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-22 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps not individually, but a picture can have any of those things, or only a few. I suppose our next question is if the creature is looking for a more specific word than "picture" - "painting", perhaps?

[Don't ask her. She's too old for riddle games.]
whomthebelltolls: (Hat)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-23 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
Mmm... it's giving us time to think more on it. I'd guess we're not quite there, yet. [Technically a picture was right, though. A picture, or a drawing... a portrait... something that has all of the above, though, she is going to guess. Something with towns and mountains and beaches. Maria hums softly, rocking back onto her heels, watching the ground near the chimera's feet.

... Okay so maybe she's thinking hard enough to the point of distraction about this. She really shouldn't be playing this game.
]

What would show everything at once... mountains, towns... [She can feel the beginning to form, but it's just beyond her. She's been out of college for a long time, she hasn't had to think this hard on mysteries in a while.]
whomthebelltolls: (Have you profited at all?)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-23 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah, that was what she was thinking of. Such a simple thing... though not something she'd used a lot of. There wasn't much use in mapping the Tomb of the Gods. The layout had a strange habit of shifting subtly every time they went in, and it was not because they were going mad with the Blood.]

Yes... that would encompass all of a town, and mountains, the coasts, and everything, so long as it was a sufficiently large map, and it would do so every time. [She gives a stoic nod over to Alex, then looks back at their chimera "friend".]

I think she has it.

[If it's the other thing, she is going to be mad, though. It isn't, but there is that chance for violence in every interaction.]
whomthebelltolls: (Cainhurst nobility)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-23 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
It was certainly a game. [Her grip, which had tightened perceptibly on her sword, relaxed just a little again. She still does sheathe the Rakuyo, but her entire pose starts to relax more.

She tilts her head toward Alex before she peels her eyes off the chimera, and looks down at the other woman.
] You were here first, you can have the first choice of the feathers. I would not impose on that.

[Also, she wants to make sure the chimera doesn't try to attack them while they're gathering the feathers.

Pragmatism, ok.
]
whomthebelltolls: (Hat)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-24 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
[Hmm... how to better explain she wants to watch the sphinx from a safe distance in case anything happens. Not with it watching them, still.]

Alright, then... [She motions for Alex to at least go first a half-pace or so ahead of her, and she keeps herself back a little bit. Her focus is absolutely not on the feathers, and she's still going to let Alex start to gather them before she even thinks about joining in.] They say they only need a few... perhaps we'll leave a few in case the next group wants to get into a riddle contest with a Monster.
whomthebelltolls: (Hat)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-24 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
If that is all the more price you wish for us to pay, then that is fine. [She's still not convinced the thing is going to try to eat them, so she makes sure Alex is not focused entirely on the feathers before she even thinks about ducking down to pick up a handful, herself.

Well, look at that, now they're all good.
] I am not as fond of riddles as I used to be. [So it was kind of a waste of time for her, but whatever.

... She's not nearly worried about nearly being eaten, though. Then again, she is also the one with the sword, and Alex is not, and she was already willing to use it to defend her companion.
]

That should be everything. Let's take our leave. [Before the thing gets hungry.]
whomthebelltolls: (Hat)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-25 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll be sure to pass on the knowledge.

[She nods at the sphinx, as Alex returns closer to her, and she sticks a final feather into the bag, herself. She turns, spreading her fingers and placing them gently on Alex's back, in a light ushering motion that also conveniently covers about half of Alex's back from a potential attack, using her own form. Maria's head, though, remains tilted, just a bit, listening out for sounds of pursuit, as she motions them away.

Once they've taken a few steps out of immediate pouncing distance, she resumes her position next to Alex.
]

Is that all the ingredients you need?
whomthebelltolls: (Sleeps like the dead)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-07-26 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[A moment later, satisfied, Maria turns her head back more completely to the fore. She's still on the listen-out for the chimera coming back up to attack them from behind, but is less on edge that it might actually happen.]

Just the feathers, as well. I'm not even sure if they're expecting me to bring them these. Most of my time out here has been working with the cartographers and keeping them safe.
whomthebelltolls: (Hat)

[personal profile] whomthebelltolls 2019-08-02 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
[She considers for a moment... but ultimately shakes her head.] No, I'll deliver it myself. It's no inconvenience to me, and while I hope it wouldn't be much of one for you, either, I don't think it's worth that much. I'll just deliver them when I get some spare time.