Ixchel at Home - RPLOG
Participants
Date
23/2/2016
Log
The temple rises from the forest, ancient and strange. Hard to believe the place has only been there for a few months. The weathered stone pyramid looks like it belongs in the wilds of Central America, not in the leafy forest outside of Fairhaven, but those are the times we live in. Stone steps lead upward to an open entrance, though a waterfall of mist cascades down the stairway. Looks like something is up.
Winter had always enjoyed her walks in the eastern forest. Today was no different. Well, that wasn't quite true. Something was decidedly off. A smell in the air, perhaps. A subtle shift of temperatures and humidity. Whatever it was, it slowly but surely led her towards the Pyramid. Sure, she had seen it before when but payed it no heed. Perhaps it was time to get a closer look.
Her large wings were folded behind her back, deciding not to fly this time. Her skin, normally kept soft and smooth had hardened. Perhaps a subconcious reflex, forming itself into a chitinous, onyx material. Strange glyphs adorned this natural armor, glowing a dull white. Her plated tail swung lazily behind her. A succubus made for battle is what she looked like. Though true to her kind, she still possessed curves in all the right places. Not to mention a particularly sweet undertone to her scent.
Edel didn't often have many 'reasons' for going anywhere, being a woman of whimsy. And it happened to be close to home anyway, so might as well stretch the legs and go see it, right? And that's exactly what she was doing, dressed in her warm, black and gold silk robes. As regal as ever, she was.
Forkbomb stares off at the temple, looking, for the life of him, as though he was heading towards an actual Transylvanian Castle with vampires and werewolves and blood oaths to vanquish Dracula and all that jazz. He wore a banner 'round his mouth, feeling as though, whatever the mist was, probably wasn't friendly to human anatomy.He hiked up to the pyramid, even though he /very/ much looked out of his element doing anything resembling outdoorsman activities. "Forewarning Zephyr," He mumbled, maybe a tad bitterly. "Not exactly the kind of agent you really want to put in an ancient temple filled with Indiana Jones shit. Although, if it has an ancient Mayan computer somewhere in there, consider it fucking hacked."
Naiko clicks, "Didn't anyone ever tell you, curiosity killed the cat? Luckily, I am no cat." Just as she spoke that line, a possibly unfamiliar mutant, sitting on a tree stump appeared out of thin air, undoing whatever nanomagic or illusion she had in effect to hide her presence from the others. Naiko never cared much about dead civilizations, but the recent activity concerning the pyramid certainly caught her curiosity. And most likely Zephyr's. Shortly, the morph made its way towards the human, and possibly, the group, swaying her long, pointy tail around. She added with a faint smile at the human's comment, "Indiana Jones. Now, now, I haven't heard that name in a while. But if you do need the medical, tech and research aid, I'm here to help.""
Cura glances at a distance to the strange construction that has errected itself outside of the city. The talakai looks to it with a grin as shi sends notes to hir superiors using hir wrist mounted Comm. "Well well... what do we have here?" The kai hops down from hir perch and a tree and impacts the ground with a slight grunt. Shi then begins the treck to what may just be a valuable source of information RSX may require.
Here at the base of the pyramid, it is unseasonably warm and damp. If you closed your eyes, you could imagine you were deep in some amazonian jungle. The mist trickling down the stairs is warm and reaches nearly knee high, but does not give any resistance to climbing. There is a pleasant scent to the warm fog, though it is hard to place.
Winter glances around at the people that had also heard the call of the strange. The somewhat uncommon appearance of Naiko earning a double take from the demoness. She shoots her a bright white smile as Winter ties her hair up behind her in a make-shift pony-tail with the help of a scrunchie. "Indiana who? Is this his dwelling?" she asks as she cranes her head up, trying to locate an entrance somewhere into the pyramid itself.
Edel looks up at the temple, adjusting her glasses. "Looks like fun to me," she says, glancing around at the others. "I don't think I've met any of you before. I'm Edel," she offers, giving a slight bow.
Were poor Forky to be thinking normally, he'd probably not even be surprised to see a friggin' Xenomorph pop out of the woods out of goddamned nowhere. Okay, beyond the whole H.R. Geiger sort of eerie uncanny-valley fear. As it is, he turned into a flailing, yelping mess on the first English words he's heard.And now he's, yet again, being asked who Indiana Jones is. Fuck the nanites, Harrison Ford should not be an unrecognizable name.serious m. Okay, so. Movie night. Sometime soon, when I find a copy of those. Seriously. I should not have to explain to anyone why removing a gold statue from a pressure pad is a very bad idea.square He uneasily looks around. Okay, the... Really, really hot demoness. The fraggin' Xenomorph. Dog lady who, for whatever reason, makes him very fond of the word 'wow'. Anyone else going to pop out of nowhere? Nobody? Fine. sentences ow, uh. You all seem like people of many talents. Which one of you has 'carry an awesome computer hacker up a pyramid' on their list?sow
The morph/alien thing, whatever it was, waved a friendly smile towards Winter, replying the succubus. "Well, it was a movie. Like the lad here said, we need a movie night should we recover any tapes of it. After all, those are really good movies." Addressing Fork and apologizing as she bowed her head lightly, the morph gently added, "Sorry for the scare. It wasn't exactly intended. As for the rest of you, I probably don't know any of you either. You can call me Naiko. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Cura glances about as shi enters a gathering of what seems to be would be explorers. The kai offers those around a smile.... just about till shi begins to feel the familiar effect of an Uberfox's influence. Cura then asks, "You all here to check the place out aswell?" shi gives forkbomb a chuckle before turning to Naiko, "I belive we have met before.... in different forms." shi then glances back to the temple before stating, "Well, it is just a suddenly appearing temple shrouded in mystery, what is the worst that could happen?" The kai then begins to make hir way to the entrance, eager to begin the adventure that most likely awaits inside.
The hike up the side of the pyramid is long and tedious and tiring, but the pleasantly scented mist is a nice distraction. The wide stone entrance into the pyramid leads into a small antechamber, decorated in Mayan symbols. It looks like someone may have been here before, because a passage in the floor is open and the scented mist bubbles up from within.
Winter gives off a throaty laugh at Forkbombs incoherent ramblings. "Ah, one of those moving picture things. I see! You'll have to tell me all about it sometime. I'm Winter, by the by." she says as she bends at the waist, scooping one arm behind the human's knees, the other behind his back. The demoness somewhat effortlessly scoops him up in her arms, carrying him like a bride over the threshold to their new abode. And with that, she makes her way up the pyramid to the entrance. "Good thing you're so skinny!" she remarks with a wry grin. Once finally up, she gently puts him down on his feet. The succubus takes a moment to stretch as well as sniff the air, peering into the entrance as if trying to judge if it was dangerous in any way. Not that she had much experience with these sorts of things. Instincts had kept her alive so far and perhaps that would be enough. "Smells nice up here, no?"
Edel frowns a little as she reaches the entrance, brushing her hair back. "Such climbs do not usually take so much out of me... How unusual. It's nice to meet you all though," she says, fishing up her flask and bringing it up for a sip. That should help with the fatigue. "So what brings you all out this way? Just out for a stroll? Sight seeing?"
Forkbomb looks mildly high when he gets to the top. Getting a closer look at Winter's lovely curves when she proves that she has 'carry a nerd up up the side of a gorrammed pyramid' on her list of talents didn't hurt either. "You, uh. You're really pretty, you know that?" Reel it back, there, Forky. "I mean, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it smells really nice up here. Shit, um. You think that this place is gonna get to our heads? I'm, uh. I'm feeling mighty fine. This place smells nice." Think of old grannies. Think of dead puppies. Think of the horrible gut reaction you have when you have to open up a law textbook. Okay, that did it. "Thank you. Now, uh." He unslings his laser rifle and primes the battery. "Who wants point?"
Naiko tilts her head lightly at Cura as the Talakai does seem familiar, replying her, "True. We've met before a couple of times. Though I believe I was a giant robot thingy with a lot of cannons and other weaponry. Heh. Naval buster." Slowly, the morph begins the hike. Even though the hike seems to get some members of the small expedition slightly winded up, such as her, Naiko doesn't seem to breathe. At all. Chitchatting with Edel, Winter and possibly Forky on the way up, she says, "Well. Nice to meet you too, Winter. I suppose we're all here due to curiosity. Perhaps a bit f sight seeing. Treasure. Research. Who knows? And hey, hacker dude." She directs her gaze towards the lad, "Remember the movies, hopefully this mist isn't poison. Anyway, I guess I can take point. If anything happens, I'll deploy my drones."
Cura nods and smiles to Naiko for a moment before resuming hir ascent. grins as shi reaches the entrance , the talakai herm looks to the other with a smirk before slowly advancing into the structure itself, wary of anything lurking within.
Nothing seems to be lying in wait. Aside from the mists bubbling up in the center of the antechamber. A closer look reveals steps leading downward, though visibility as almost nil past the first step or two.
Not finding anything too threatning at the entrance, Winter happily makes her way inside at the fore front. Big, armoured and full of sharp edges on her fingers she wasn't too scared of any physical confrontations that might happen. "Well, isn't this exiting? I'll happily take point. Just... try not to shoot me TOO much, Forkie. You and your wily trigger finger." she says with amusement. She takes a deep breath of the delightful scent that eminiated from the pyramids entrance. It complemented her own peculiar pheromone-laced aura that she extruded naturally nicely. "Kinda dark in here..." she says as she concentrates for a moment, conjuring a small ghostly-blue flame in the palm of her hand to illuminate the passageway. It might not do all that much for those behind her, other than making shadows dance on the walls.
Edel tests the string on her bow before nodding at Winter, slinging it around her back again. "If you wish to lead on, by all means! I make a terrible person to put on point, given my size. Not much of a defender, I'm afraid," she jests, before folding her hands behind her back, ready to move down the stairs.
Forkbomb quickly notes, send 'll have you know nothing about me goes off without fully intending to.square Mental self-five. That being said, she's totally friggin' right. He can't see shit in the dark of this place. He slowly slid back the laser rifle and instead pulled out his pistol and aerosol can as he cautiously slid down the stairs. Hey, if he's going to be gassed, two can play at this game.
Naiko follows after Winters, wondering if she did put a flashlight on one of her drones' mounts or not. Not as heavily armoured as Winter, but certainly packing with weaponry and gadgets, she was.. Excited, to say the least. "Nice call using that wisp. An ability mostly from Kitsunes, am I right?" As she finished that line, the morph set the minigun drones on her back to standby mode, waiting for an activation call in case of a threat. She has quite a difficulty with the low light, but knowing where at least one person of the group is is good enough for her.
Cura frowns at the obscuring mist and lets out a growl of annoyance before moving back to rejoin the others. "Almost blind in there, anyone got a plan to clear the fog out?"
The light of Winter's wisp does little to aleviate the gloom, simply adding a bluish tint and glow to the thick fog. It is enough to show the winding spiral steps. Fortunately, they are wide and easy to navigate. It is a bit of a squeeze for the larger members of the party, but the stairway is blissfully short before the group finds themselves in a low hallway. It is just tall enough that the large Naiko and Cura can walk if they hunch over, but it is fairly wide. The mist is still thick here, but the blue of the wisp is joined by a pulsing, purple glow from runes and glyphs that line the walls. This place is definitely active.
The glyphs on the walls are mostly unreadable, but some seem to be etchings showing scenes of healing and of mothers with children and a number of images depicting pregnant women. There seems to be a recurring character of an old woman wearing a headdress of twining snakes and ears like a great cat. The glowing runes and images don't do much to illuminate the path, though and fade quickly into the near distance. From here it seems that the group can proceed either north, or south. At least, they might be north and south. It's easy to get turned around.
Winter lets her fingers on her un-occupied hand brush across the glyphs. They were different from the ones that covered her own skin, that's for sure. "Mmm... it smells nice down here. What is that anyway? Feels tingly! I like it!" she states with a grin on her plump lips. "Everyone alright back there?" she asks.
"I feel pretty good," Edel says, nodding. "Not unlike how I feel at home, curled up in my bed. It's pleasant. Which means I don't like it. I should not be feeling this way in a place like this."
Forkbomb takes a look around at the glyphs on the walls, the pictographs, and the general ambiance, and decides that maybe, /maybe/, there's something he doesn't know that'll bite him in the ass if he doesn't at least bring up that he doesn't. If he's affected by the fog, he doesn't show it outside being a little more sociable than usual. "Hey, uh. Does anyone have an idea of what those pictures and glyphs on the walls are? History and myths and legends and all that aren't really my subject." Why can't an SQL monster attack once? Or have everything in the quest decided by who can code a really good script? He can do that. "Anyone got a marker? Chalk? Spray paint? Starting to think we should maybe start making ourselves a trail of breadcrumbs."
Naiko sighs, looking at the glyphs, attempting to analyze them, even trying to get a small glimpse of whatever they mean. Answering Winter, she replied, "I'm alright. I don't know if I can say the same for you all. This place seems to be getting in your heads. Must be this bloody mist... I don't like it." Turning towards Forky, and answering the hacker, she gently added, "I don't know what the glyphs mean, but they're certainly mayan. This pyramid, however... Hmm... It indicates fertility. Dedicated to a deity. Probably a deity of fertility. This all seems like a huge trap though."
Cura shakes hir head a little before arching hir eyebrows at winters. The kai then turns to Naiko and nods, "Seems like this place is messing with us..." shi waits for Naiko's "Explanation before chuckling. "Of course it is a fertility temple, what else would it be around these parts."
The mist here is warm, making the whole place feel like a sauna. The mist certainly does not thin, but it seems that the way might be a little clearer to the south. There even seem to be little alcoves along the way, like comfy beds. They actually look tempting. . .
Winter couldn't help but laugh. "Well, everything is about fertility these days. One would think a god of fertility would have their hands full in this day and age." she says as she shines her wispy ball of fire over the alcove, peering inside. "Nice spot for a cat nap. But I think the way looks clearer over here. Maybe we can find the source of this fog this way." she says, moving towards the south. "I mean, it is suspicious, but a trap? Why would a fertility god need a trap anyway. People are popping out children all over the place." she says in response to Naiko.
Naiko shrugs, adding, "Not really everything. As far as I remember there's a temple dedicated to norse deities, even. For one, I prefer that decoration over this one." Looking over over to the alcoves, she tilts her head, shaking her head lightly. "Definitely suspicious. I think this would be easier if this temple was dedicated to that sport mayans used to play, which was more or less football with a bit of fire. And I agree that in order to find the source, we have to proceed inwards, towards the thick fog. Unless anyone has an objection, that is."
"Goddess, I think," Edel says, rubbing her chin as she takes in the room. "I know a few dedicants from here, I think. Though I cannot recall her name off the top of my head... Jaguar, though, I know that much! And very much on the fertility."
Forkbomb half-lids his eyes. "Splendid. Anyone feel like making babies any more than usual, know that's because the The Temple of Doom is making that a thing." His shoulders sag a bit, then huffs. "Alright. So. South. Everyone like south? South is good. Let's ignore the alcoves over there and go south."
Cura glances over to the alcoves before stating, "Ehhh, whats the worst that could happen in a temple of fertility? We get pregnant *heh* my mate beat the temple of doom to the punch." Shi then looks back to the goddess carving and reaches out a hand to touch it.
The hallway is long and the glyphs and sigils light as the group approaches. Up ahead there is a distant glow. This might be the last chance to turn back.
Winter doesn't spot anything particularly interesting near the beds and so the demoness turns on her heel and instead starts making her way to the north and the strange glow. Using one of her large wings, she bats it infront of her, seeking to disperse some of the fog infront of her so she can see where she's going. "I dunno. It doesn't feel like a trap! I think it's rather cozy down here. It doesn't all have to be terrible, does it? Could do with some better moodlighting, though..." she says with a laugh.
Edel shakes her head, taking a deep breath. "That is exactly why it's bad. It -does- feel cozy down here. Like you could take a nice long nap. But it's unnatural. You should not feel such a way down here," she says, giving a resolute nod as she steels herself to press on.
Forkbomb blinks. Wait, shit! Not his stronglady! "Hey! Winter, hold on!" North. North's a good direction anyway. "Okay, okay, so. We're doing rule of left. Nothing down south, so we're doing north, then up if there's no pathways out from the north hallway over there. Eyes open!"
If anything, Naiko continues.. Indifferent. Hell, she already placed 14 mutants like her in this world just a couple of weeks ago, and she's veeeery picky of when to do it. Shifting her gaze over to Edel, she said, "Exactly. I felt this when I decided to breathe this place's air, but when I stopped, this strange feeling did too. Edel completely right here, people." Finally, nodding to the reason in the hacker's plan, she decided to follow him and Winter along. "Rule of left it is then." Muttered the morph, slightly worried about the situation they were in.
Cura chuckles a bit before pushing on ahead to the north. Shi turns hir head back and states, "Regardless of how dangerous or not the situation is I doubt anyone can disagree that we should keep moving. So either follow me, or head up to the exit and wait for us." The kai smirks and walks ahead, slightly less wary of danger then shi was before.
The light to the South fades as the party turns around and only the purple light of the glyphs remains. The mist seems to thicken here until the glow from the walls is only a fuzzy hint in the fog. It is hard to even see a step ahead. It could be dangerous to continue this way.
"Getting kinda dark and spooky up ahead. That warm glow back there sure seemed more inviting, didn't it?" Winter says as she takes the lead. The blue flame hovering in the palm of her hand barely visible in the thick mist. "And I can't just chose not to breathe all of a sudden!" she adds she presses on northwards. Albit at a slightly slower place, making sure her feet don't suddenly step into air and a quick plummet downwards.
"Just test the ground in front of you before you step," Edel says, walking slow behind the others. "Wouldn't want to walk into a wall, or a pit, or fall down stairs or anything. It pays to be careful when you can't see."
Forkbomb slows his movement. Shit, right now, infared sight would come in a huge amount of handy. Wait. Wait, think. "Hey, hey, uh. Does anyone have infared sight? Or maybe a form that does echolocation? That would come in handy right about now." He called out, his movement going from anxious jogging to a cautious slide.
Naiko:instructs one of the miniature drones on her back to activate and to stay on her right shoulder. She then activates a small flashlight on it, however not as effective as winter's flame. Just in case, she tries swaying her hands around to try and disperse the fog, to see if it's supernaturally formed or not. Replying the human, she said, "I don't have any of those, but I might be able to keep an eye out on my the targetting sensors from one of my drones."
Cura glances about as shi presses on, wary about hir footing but otherwise not too bothered about the situation. "Well, this is annoying, now how am I to admire the decorations?"
At this point, even the glow from the walls has faded to a memory of purple in the impenetrable mists, and the fog has turned from pleasant warmth to a damp chill. Interestingly, the soporific effects of the mist have faded with the light, leaving everyone on alert.
"Wayward children," comes a soft, female voice from somewhere in the fog, "Why do you flee my embrace?"
Winter stops dead in her tracks. Tilting her head as she tries to locate where that voice came from. "Shh! Did you hear that?" she whispers back over her shoulder. Maybe the fog was playing tricks with her mind.
Edel tilts her head to the side, ears flicking. "Because we're exploring. That's what we do. We're not fleeing anything, but there was a path, so we decided to take it. No more, no less," she says, settling her hands on her hips.
Forkbomb feels the hair on the back of his neck jump up and stand at attention. Shit! Voices! Suddenly, very glad that he did, in fact, not go take a nap. In fact, this pretty much seals it as him making the right decision. Okay, be braver than you are, Fork. "'Because we're not going to go comatose while whatever wanders on here after us has their way with us." He bluffed. If he's right, she'll say something about it. If he's wrong, they'll be portrayed as rightfully paranoid and cautious. Win-win.
Naiko turns around rather quickly, trying to find the source of the voice, only to realize that this was another supernatural trick. "Well.. Now that we do know what we're facing.. I suppose Mr hops-on-backs over there is right. The last thing I'd want is to sleep forever or something like that." Walking a little closer to Winter and Forky, she stood alert, setting her drones to continue scanning for any threats to the group.
Cura grins and chuckles, "Ahhh a mysterious voice. Now my spooky ruins bingo card is complete," shi then glances about attempting to pinpoint the source of the sound. "Sorry hun, momma said never to sleep in a stranger's house. But if ya want a hug I won't mind ya stepping over here for one."
"A mother's counsel is wise," the voice comes again, though the darkness remains, "Heed this mother's counsel. Turn back. Return to my warmth. There you will find safety. There you will find peace and purpose." The voice is soothing and while it speaks, warmth returns to the mists and the lights along the walls pulse in time with her words.
"But what's down THIS way? That's what we want to know! I'm sure we'll be back to check out the other passage later..." Winter calls out as she steels herself and takes a few more steps forwards. "Uh... are we sure this is a good idea?" she adds in a lower, hushed voice to her companions, hoping that whoever did the talking didn't have sharp ears.
Edel offers a little shrug. "Sure? No. Never sure. The uncertainty is where the excitement comes from. But I will leave it up to you folks. Press on or return, either or. I will not press on alone, certainly."
Forkbomb shortly mentioned, "My mom's dead and I already know my purpose. Neither of those will change whether or not I take a nap." He /really/ didn't like anyone reminding him that his family was likely dead or feral. He's still not really over it, and the response pretty much confirmed his theory.
"Now, we're at a crossroads. I could probably send a disposable recon drone up ahead, that way we're technically not going back, but we're not going forward either. Hey tech guy, what do you think?" The morph looks over to him and Winter, wondering what to do without upsetting the local supernatural spirit, trap or not, eventually adding, "Of course, if it all goes down to this.. Lots of empty chambers which can echo noise, right.. And I can also shift to something more appropriate for the occasion."
Cura smiles before stating, "Sorry ma'am but as I said, I cannot do that with a stranger." shi then grins "before stating, "Perhaps if you where no longer a stranger I could take you up on your offer. But as of now I do not even know your name." The talakai then sits down down and looks to the others, "You go on ahead. I want to discuss things with our host here."
Forkbomb rubbed his eyes. "That..." He sighed a bit, then palmed over his eyes before sliding his hand up and over his hair. "Yeah, that... That sounds smart. Smarter than any idea I can come up with right now. You should do that."
"I am Ixchel," comes the voice in a kind, but firm tone, "I have spoken." And then it is silent. Looks like it is time to make a choice.
Winter snorts loudly. "Enough of this nonsense! All you've done sofar is throw up some mist in our faces. What sort of way is that to welcome people with! Where are you hiding?" she growls. That said and done, Winter begins stalking down the hallway to the south, not caring where she steps for the moment. She had wings, after all. In case there were any pitfalls. "C'mon, let's go meet this Ixiwhatever!" she calls out to her friends.
Forkbomb's eyes open wide. Shit. Shiiiit. He remembered that name. It was from the lobby. Someone was talking about "supernatural god bullshit" and Ixchel came up. /SHIT/. Okay, it's plan o' clock. "... Forgive me, mother. The beds are back there, right? Well, am I wrong in what you plan to do?" Coyote make my words cunning.
Naiko gently swayed her tail around before nodding and starting up the recon, just as Winter decided to go on south after whatever Ixchel was. Slowly bringing her talons to her face, she said, "Come on. Supernatural god or not, it's Plan B, we get your human carrying friend there out of a pickle, let's go!" Deactivating the drone again, she went after Winter, trying to catch up on her.
Cura smiles and begins to type on hir comm device. Shi then looks up and states, "Well Ms. Ixcheal. It is nice to meet you, my name is Cura. I would like to talk to you a bit first. Especialy about what it would entail to return to your embrace. Tis another bit of advice from my parents, "Never run into a bling agreement." In order to respect their advice and their memory I am going to have to know more." Shi then grins, "I hope you understand."
Edel raises her brow, drumming her fingers against her side. "Now, now. The mist isn't that bad. Just... The way supernaturals tend to do things. They're a bit different. So, what's the plan, then?"
Heading south down the hallway is easy. It seems that almost the instant anyone turns around the mist becomes less dense and the glyphs on the wall glow brighter. As they pass the little bed-like alcoves the fog has once more become a warm, comforting sauna and the befuddling power of the blanketing mists returns in full force. Soon, the hall is suffused with a warm glow and the little party stumbles from the dark hallway into a warmly lit room! The mists remain, but they are easy to see through as warm sunlight beams in from great windows cut into the walls. Outside there is a beatiful vista of tropical rainforests and waterfalls. Colorful, tropical birds wing through the summery air and call to each other.
The room itself seems to be the very definition of comfort. Soft couches for lounging sit in a circle around the room and great, soft pillows fill the corners. Right in the center of the room stands an old woman, leaning on a gnarled cane. "Welcome, my children," she says in a gentle voice, "Come, rest yourselves."
The indecisive are left in the cold and dark.
Winter smiles widely at the little old lady. "Why, hello there, wrinkled lady!" After all, it was a pretty unusual sight, seeing someone actually over the age of 30something. "Were you the one calling out to us? You're this ah, Ixelish person? I mean, what is this place anyway?" the succubus asks as she steps further into the cozy room. "It's just a little wrinkly lady here! It's quite safe! Come on in!" she calls over to her friends.
Edel looks the woman over, frowning. "That's not a polite way to talk about people, you know! But... Hm, good evening, all the same," she says, giving a polite bow before glancing at the pillows and furniture, moving off to settle on one.
Cura sighs at the darkness and silence before lying back onto the cold floor, the talakai reaches down to occasionally rub at hir pregnant belly. Shi then states aloud. "As a mother yourself you must understand my need for info, and concern for safety. I cannot accept your offer untill I know fully what it would entail for me and my child." Shi the begins to get to hir feet as shi states, "I cannot trust my life and my child's life to someone who refuses to be honest to me."
Forkbomb stands at alert. Ffffffffff. This wasn't the plan. THIS WASN'T THE PLAN. OH GOD DAMNIT I DON'T WANT TO BE A DAD FOREVER. Hopefully his face didn't betray his actual emotions. Even though he was pretty much shouting in his head that it's all fake. "Oh, but, uh. Nice place! Um. Yeah, I was thinking of making a place like this out east a ways. Yeah. What, uh. What're you up to, then?" He started to sweat a little. Whether or not that was due to the mist's sauna-like influence or his social awkwardness kicking in is anyone's guess.
Naiko catches up not so long after Fork, slowing down her pace as she enters the room, eyeing the corners, inspecting the place and squinting her eyes for a moment. "Nice place? I wouldn't call exactly nice a place which attempts to hypnotize you into seeing and feeling things you shouldn't." Turning her gaze to the 'wrinkly old woman' she crossed her arms, quite possibly annoyed at what had been going on so far.
Ixchel, as the old woman names herself, spreads her arms wide. "Can the sun stop from shining, child?" she asks in a gentle voice, "I could no more stop seeking to comfort than the sun could cool its fires." She turns a wrinkled smile on Forkbomb. "Not ready to be a Father," she says with a twinkle in her golden eyes, "No, perhaps not. You are a child yet. Perhaps you could be one of my children?" Her hand stays outstretched to Forkbomb, but her eyes move across the three females in the room. Her smile widens a bit, as she seems to come to a conclusion. "And perhaps the rest of you would be willing to help my little family? It is hard, sometimes to reach into your world. I could use strong mothers like yourselves."
Out in the cold darkness, Cura is left alone in silence. It seems that Ixchel is waiting for her to make a decision.
Winter purses her lips in thought, not quite expecting such a kind being in here. Though the sudden smile on her lips seem to prove that she's quite pleased at this turn of events. "So this is your home? It's nice. Bit misty. What is with all the mist anyway?" she asks as she takes a few steps around the room, admiring the view for a few moments. "And what is it you need our help with?" she asks finally.
Edel tilts her head, considering for a moment before shrugging. "I do not know. I already have quite a family of my own, you know. They get most of my attention, and I'm already a rather dedicated priestess of tanuki. But... I may consider it. What do you require my help in doing?"
Forkbomb's eyes raise and leans back. "What's on your mind? What's going on?" He didn't quite understand. He didn't really get what gods wanted with him. He understood Coyote wanted to see him stumble into things, and Zephyr wanted to see what would happen if they unleashed him on the world. What's this lady's game?
Naiko slowly, cautiously sways her tail around as she stands next to the hacker. "I understand why a supernatural power would want more followers, after all, with so many other deities showing up on our little world after all this.. Everybody needs a piece of the cake. As our friend Edel said, some of us are already dedicated to others, such as I am dedicated to the Kitsune temple when I'm not researching.. Or hunting, for the matter." Looking over to the others in the room, she rose her arms a little bit, gesturing as she added, "I can see why a goddess of fertility would want to.. Help, even. As our dear friend-" She paused for a moment, noticing Cura wasn't with them, "Who's not among us anymore said earlier, several things out there are all about fertility."
Cura glances over to the North, specifically the continuation of the hall that Ixcheal had attempted to block them away from. Shi mutters, "If you will not talk to me I will seek the anwsers myself." Shi the quickly types out a breif status report and forwards it to RSX agent services. The kai looks back for a moment before stepping forwards into the dark, eager to seek that which is hidden.
"My children long ago left your world," Ixchel says, "There was too much iron in the souls of men. Too much gunpowder and clockwork. But now the world is ready for us again. I need strong mothers to bring my children into the world once more. Will you take them?" The wrinkles around the old woman's eyes deepen as she smiles at Winter. "I am the Goddess of Birth and of Fertility. The Lady of the Purifying Steam Bath," there is a sense that she said something else, but the words were intercepted by the brains of the listeners. It probably sounds more impressive in her native tongue.
Ixchel's hand is still held out to Forkbomb and she turns a kindly smile on him. "Only take my hand, young man," she says, "You will understand."
It takes only one step for Cura to find out exactly what lies ahead. The floor drops away into a smooth, steep slide! She suddenly finds herself speeding downward through the dark and the mist to who knows where!
Winter narrows her eyes at Ixchel. "I don't know about that. I don't do well with children." she states, taking the woman's words at face value. "I'm pretty sure I can't have them to begin with! I'm only a few years old myself. Or do you mean you have actual children running around here, wanting to be shown the world outside? I'm sure the prommies wouldn't mind taking on a few extra ferals." she adds thoughtfully.
"Mmmm..." Edel shrugs again, frowning. "Like I said, I have many children as it is. But I do not know if I plan to have any more of them just yet. It's a lot of working keeping up with the family as it is! Too much larger and I'd be overwhelmed."
Forkbomb raises his eyebrows, while his gut froze. He didn't like the idea that his mind would be forcefully changed. But he didn't think that was the point Ixchel was really wanting to do. Besides, if she's really reading his mind, she knows he's a stickler for terms and conditions. "... And that's all that will happen? That you'll help me understand why you want me in particular? No more, no less? And you know that my cause is to preserve the culture of the world before, as much as possible, using the 'gears and gunpowder' of the world, and that's not going to change?" If she nods in the affirmative, then he'll very, very hesitatantly extend his hand.
"My questions are the same as Winter's. Yet. I abide by the same principles of our friend here, my cause being to preserve all culture for as long as I may, be it gunpowder, be it affection." Naiko still had her doubts about the woman, clearly intent on discovering her plans. "And even though we might help you, some of us aren't intent on dedicating to one more cause, some of us already have way too much weight to carry." Looking down and tilting her head slightly to the side, she sighed.
As each woman turns her down, Ixchel focuses all of her attention on Forkbomb. "Here," she says, let me show you." The old woman reaches out with a speed that belies her aged appearance and seizes the human's hand. The human's eyes roll back in his head as his features swiftly change, golden fur with black rosettes sprouting from his skin and his face stretching and twisting into a feline snarl.
Meanwhile, outside in the temple, Cura's expanding form scrapes against the sides of the chute as her hard, plastic claws dig against the ceiling and floor, bringing her to a squeaking halt. That worked!
Winter's eyes go wide as Forkbomb begins to change infront of her eyes. "Hey! Stop! Don't do that!" she says, reaching out with a hand as if to stop the woman. But in the end, the demoness seems unwilling to lay her hand on such a fail looking creature.
Edel raises her brow, watching. "That's... Well. That's one way to do it," she murmurs, shaking her head. "Like I said, I shall consider your request carefully. I do not know what the future will hold, but we shall see."
Forkbomb blinks. He honestly blanked out for a moment, in what, he figured, was a hilarious fall to everyone else involved. Har har, he got it. "Oh. Oh, okay. You're a god of birth, of making sure motherhood happens. Not fucking, motherhood. Caring. Ease of birth, ease of bringing in life that you yourself can not have. How sad. How selfless to so severely want another to love as if a son or daughter." ... Why's his voice sound so funny? Come to think, getting up felt... Weird, like his center of balance was off. What the hell is wrong with...
Cura
Naiko threw her shoulders up for a second as she muttered, "Well, so much for tea time." Walking a little closer to Forky, she gently poked his back with one of her talons, whispering, "Hey, I don't mean to intrude but. I guess that motherhood thing all adds up now. Plus.. You're a girl. Not that you don't look cool or anything." She added a little bluntly, as if Fork hasn't noticed that by now.
Cura glances about while testing hir hold on the stone. "Well then.... one step a a time." The dragon releases hir foothold and digs hir claws into the 'floor' of the chute.
"Arise, my child," Ixchel says, helping the altered Forkbomb to his. . . well, her feet. "I do not coerce," she says, "It is not my way. I am a guiding force. If you will not accept my gifts, then I will not force them upon you." She looks sadly around at the women in the room. "I am sorry that you will not bear my children back into your world," she says, "But while you are here, what more would you have of me?"
Cura does not manage to make much headway up the stone shaft. There just don't seem to be any handholds for her great draconian claws to dig in to, but she manages to hold her spot and avoid falling any more.
"Forkbomb! Are you okay?!" Winter exclaims, rushing to his... her side. Seems she is unharmed, atleast. Scowling she turns to Ixchel. "You! What did you do? He didn't ask for that! It's very rude just... poofing people into various forms left and right! It'll take us hours to clean up this mess! Turn him back right this instant!" she growls.
Forkbomb blinks a couple of times. And then he starts to go pat down his chest. Feeling nothing through his flak vest, other than a /really disconcerting inability to breathe right/ he decides to go for the only other way to find out his gender. It, uh. Clarified some things for... Her. "Winter," She mutters in a casual, if not tired tone of voice, checking the back of her skull. "It's fine. This isn't even the first time I've been this gender today.
Edel watches quietly as she starts to stand, raising her brow at Winter's words before giving a gentle shrug. "Oh, I need nothing. I was just curious what was up here. Maybe I will be paying you a visit if I decide I want more children in the future, hmm?"
Meanwhile, Naiko does what any good researcher would do. Take notes, mostly as she hasn't seen this form before. Shifting her gaze over to the woman, she replied, "Nothing, I believe, but as Edel, if I do change my mind, I'll pay you a visit. After all, I have all eternity, or as long as you are here, to change my mind." Was that the right choice? That question popped on her mind, getting her to think, but again, she simply nodded it away, focusing on Forky, faintly smiling as she gently said, "Good, I was afraid this was your first time having your gender.. Swapped. It really is a strange feeling, and I've had to explain how it works over a cup of coffee and crackers but not like this."
Cura sighs before stating, "I really should have brought the rope...." shi then glances down, "Well, time for something stupid." The dragon the lets go of the foothold, falling a few seconds before attempting to stop hirself again with hir claws.
While Ixchel seems pleased enough at the responses from Edel and Naiko and even Forkbomb, her countenance darkens as she turns toward Winter. The sunny summer sky outside grows dim as boiling storm clouds roll up from the horizon. "You are in MY domain, little mortal," she says, her voice still soft, but with an underlying menace in her tone, "Tread carefully. I am not so forgiving as your polite little urban gods." The snakes on her headdress suddenly writhe and twist, revealing that they are far more than ornaments.
Cura's plan does not go quite as planned and she finds herself skidding once more down the stone slide, though significantly more slowly than she was before. She must be near SOMETHING by now! The slide can't go on forever! Can it?
Winter snorts and turns away, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Gods this and gods that. I've yet to meet any. C'mon Forkbomb. Let's get out of here." she says as she begins walking towards the exit, if it's still there. Though once her back is turned, it's clear on her features that she didn't quite expect that sort of resistance. "Where's the tanuki by the way?" she asks suddenly.
Edel bows her head and pushes up her glasses. "Well then! If you have no further need of us, I shall take my leave. And look forward to the day that we may meet again," she says, offering a smile as she starts towards the way they came in, moving slow enough that she could be stopped, if needed.
Forkbomb takes her hand out of her jeans and shakes it a bit, flecks of raunchy fluids coming off her fingertips. "Already with the waterworks? I like these jeans! Should I just carry around a sponge in my underwear from now on?" She muttered, waiting on Naiko to finish writing. She looks up at Ixchel with a worried look on her face. "Look. I... I don't think that you and me can normally understand each other. I really appreciate you not messing with our minds. I was so worried that you were going to mind control me when it happened, and you didn't." She pauses. "I know what it's like to want a way out of loneliness, too. To have love for something that you'll never really be sure will be reciprocated. If you can understand that, even when I'm kinda on my own thing, I'll still... Deeply appreciate that, then I think we can hang. And maybe we won't be so damned lonely in a crowd, you know?" She looks at Winter. "Please don't judge her too harshly."
Naiko picks up a small pack of wipes from one of her coat's pockets, handing it over to Fork. "Here. These will help. Though I'd love to pick up a sample later on for study. Y'know. Rarely get the chance. Pff.. Researchers." Naiko kind of giggles at her own kind, when in fact she's just trying to scrape off the view that an angry deity might be. Or perhaps, what it will bring. "Now.. I do believe we have no needs at all for hostilities, after all, this is... A friendly environment."
"Go with my blessing," Ixchel says, though the storm outside the little room does not abate, and cold winds start to whip through the room. She raises a finger and points at Winter. "Especially you, fool that you are. Go with my blessing, and return when you can bear it no more and crave my mercy instead!" There is a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning and the trio finds themselves outside and at the base of the pyramid. Only now there are two Ixchel Jaguars and a Shiba Inu. Winter has been transformed! The former demoness has become a curvaceous jaguar. An incredibly pregnant, curvaceous jaguar. . .
Cura, on the other hand is still trapped somewhere deep within the pyramid with quite the ordeal ahead of her.
Edel stretches out, looking back at the temple before glancing at the two jaguars, humming. "Well. This should put an interesting cast on the future," she muses to herself, before setting off back towards her tea house at a casual trot.
Winter stares down at her belly in disbelief. Not to mention her other form changes at that. Shock and horror seem quite apparant on her features. Quickly flowing into anger. "DAMN YOU, OLD WOMAN! I'll tear you to bloody little BITS next time I see you!" she curses loudly.
Forkbomb looks around, takes a few steps from the base of the pyramid, puts a bit of distance between him and the place... And then shifts back to his normal, human male self. "By the way, I'm an adept. I can fix being whatever I don't want to be at the moment. And I didn't want to piss off a god /in her own home/. Honestly, the metal bit on the back of my skull should've been a dead giveaway." Coyote gave him cleverness. Ixchel gave him caring. And he gave himself enough leeway when to piss someone off or not.
Finding herself at the base of the pyramid once again, she looks around, making sure they're on the right place. "Note to self: Deities can get really angry, real quick, and that's bad. And their curses, even worse. Sorry for that, Winter. I'd say eventually you'll have to face her again somehow. Anyway. Is everyone al-.. Hmm.. Cura is gone. So.. What do we do?" She asks the rest of the group, before most of them walk off.
