|
Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2023 22:10:03 GMT -6
Between the legs, the ability to breathe air, and the fact that her head was a different shape entirely, there probably wasn't anything to compare it to even if Azalea had the intellect to appreciate any such comparison.
But now that she had been this way for some time, she seemed to carry on in a more comfortable manner. The adjustment might have gone a bit more quickly if he had spent more time working with her, but... Well, other things took priority. Maybe once he had found the cure, he would devote more time to training his beasts, or doing any number of other things that didn't have to do with magic or research.
{Hey, isn't that one of those shells you toss into the well?} said Rhys, pointing out an object in the sand. Not waiting for an answer, he lifted the object in question himself, bringing it in for closer examination.
8
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2023 22:42:04 GMT -6
Noa held his hand out, and Rhys deposited it into his open palm. Inspecting it, Noa said, "I guess it might be. It's been a while since I was last here this time of year." He didn't visit the place much, since if he had the time to spare, he was usually mining instead. The trader sometimes asked for things from the Mansion, but the shop that had the most consistent stock of magic crystals -- if at a heftier price -- was still the Underground.
Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly take a creature of Azalea's size into the mines. So if he wanted to spend some time with his larger creatures, he was stuck going to places like this or the river... And he'd had quite enough of the river lately, having spent quite a bit of time there recently teaching Nightshade to swim.
{Maybe next time we can go down to the docks!} Rhys said.
9
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2023 22:45:06 GMT -6
{Then everyone can swim together. Avander knows how to swim already, right?}
"Azalea would swim circles around them both," Noa said. "For that matter, I don't know that Avander or Nightshade find swimming terribly enjoyable. I mostly taught it to them so that they don't drown on the off chance they ever find themselves in a large body of water." Of course, in that scenario, they would likely also be injured, so their ability to actually do any swimming might be compromised anyway, but at least this was better than nothing. If they panicked as soon as they hit the water, there would be less time for Noa to do anything about it.
As he spoke, Noa kept an eye on Azalea, who seemed to be enjoying the sand, surprisingly enough. Noa had thought she might be disappointed at the lack of water, but he forgot sometimes that she was comfortable enough on land now too.
10
|
|
|
Post by Nadia on Aug 10, 2023 1:54:00 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:04:43 GMT -6
When they had first come in, she had made her way over the sand carefully, sometimes stopping here and there. Noa had thought maybe it was a bit hot for her after all, but she hadn't voiced her discomfort, and her movements didn't look pained, so it must have been something else. He didn't scrutinize her with his full attention since she wasn't showing signs of distress, but he didn't take his eyes off her entirely either.
Now, however, he saw her trying to nose her way into the sand; in retrospect, she was most likely just exploring the new tactile sensation of this kind of surface. Had he ever taken her to a sandy place before? He couldn't remember very clearly, so either he hadn't, or it hadn't been that important. But he definitely hadn't done it since she became a Pliathor anyway, so there had to be some level of novelty.
11
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:08:15 GMT -6
She managed to bury about half her face, but then the sand got too close to her eyes, and she had to stop. Maybe being without sight and hearing at once was too much for her. Well, Noa supposed he could understand that. Anyway, her body was suited for moving through water and over land, but it wasn't made for burrowing into sand. He doubted she would have made much headway even if the loss of sight wasn't an issue for her.
{There sure is a lot of space here,} Rhys said, looking out at the expanse around them. {It must be a lot of magic, to transform this entire place so often.}
"Mmm," said Noa. It wasn't that he hadn't had the same thought himself before, but he'd long since concluded that he didn't have the time to research the place or its workings. If there were papers on it, he hadn't read them either.
12
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:10:49 GMT -6
Maybe when he was younger, if he had known about this place... He'd had much more time then, enough for him to even take it for granted. That certainly wasn't the case anymore though.
{Do you think it was a person? Or maybe a family, like the Saint-Clairs?}
"I don't know if it was a family, but the Saint-Clairs certainly wouldn't have had anything to do with it," Noa said. If they were at all related to something of this magnitude, his parents would have found a way to leverage it, rather than letting people come and go as they pleased. Besides which, he would have been instructed on its particulars as the heir apparent and the only child of the surviving main branch of the family. Possibly the sole survivor of the family now; if he had any distant relatives, they hadn't come out of the woodwork that he knew of.
13
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:15:05 GMT -6
But that made sense too, all things considered. Evidently there were not enough of them to feud anymore, but apparently there had been a period of time where infighting was common. After all, the condition they suffered from was particular to their lineage, and unfortunately sooner or later, any likely cures had to be tested on someone. In fact, the necessity of self-experimentation had probably been the biggest factor that accelerated his parents' deterioration. Noa was experiencing it himself now, much as he preferred not to think about it.
{That's right, your family was always busy looking for the cure, weren't they?} said Rhys. {It's a shame, isn't it? Maybe they could have made something just as interesting, if they didn't have to spend all their time doing that.}
"Who says they didn't? There's a reason our reputation survives, even though there are so few of us left," Noa replied.
14
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:18:52 GMT -6
Even three generations ago, their power and pull in this city had been the envy of all other magic-wielding families. He remembered his father recounting the escapades of some great-uncle or another, and there seemed to be an endless number of tales of some spell or another that had been their handiwork. Spells that his parents had promised to teach him once he was older; spells that were lost in the fire that consumed the wing holding their research after his mother's death.
Well, no matter. He would find the cure himself, and then perhaps he would come up with some of those spells afresh. Come up with something better, even. But to do that, he needed... Frowning, Noa looked again at the shell in his hand, the one that Rhys had deposited a few moments ago. "We may as well see if there's anything useful here. I doubt it, but still."
15
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:21:48 GMT -6
He wasn't familiar with what washed up, so to speak, on the grounds of the Mansion this time of year, but based on the environment, he wasn't hoping for much. A lot of it was toys, in a general sense -- regardless of month, he'd noticed that much of a pattern. But they also tended to follow a theme, and if the theme was beach-related items, they'd be of little enough use to him. What would that even look like, anyway? Bottles of lotion? Towels and drinks with umbrellas in them?
"Keep an eye out," he said to Rhys. Then, walking up to Azalea, he laid a hand on her flank. She didn't startle, despite the loss of hearing; she could sense him a little, due to their link, and in the sand she might even have been able to pick up on vibrations, or the shifting of the sand itself.
16
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:37:49 GMT -6
Actually, it was interesting and a bit uncanny that she could sense when she was being approached. He had seen her do it on other occasions too, when it wasn't him doing the approaching. Creatures she was familiar with, like Avander and Nightshade, made sense, but even creatures she didn't know well... Noa didn't know if it was the training they'd done after her change, or if she had some other sense that he wasn't aware of now. But whatever it is, she remained as difficult to sneak up on as she had ever been.
"Azalea," Noa said. "We're going."
{We're going? Going where?} Azalea picked her head back up, giving him her full attention. That was one of the nice things about Azalea; it was easy to get her to listen, or to focus on him.
"Hmm... Around. Well, if you'd rather not follow, just don't stray too far," Noa replied.
17
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:41:48 GMT -6
Maybe he didn't even need to say that much. After all, there wasn't really much to obstruct their view, and Azalea, at her size, was truly difficult to lose sight of. It was just the three of them here too, which meant he didn't have to think about the possibility of her having a run-in with someone else. He didn't care about scaring people, but sometimes the fuss they kicked up was more trouble than it was worth.
Azalea disagreed immediately, however. {I'll come. You need me,} she said.
Noa smiled despite himself at her claim. "Do I?" he said. "Why?"
{To protect you. You're so small.} As if to demonstrate, she drew her coils more closely around herself, and raised her head up higher in the air, small forelimbs tucked against her sides.
Noa did laugh then. "You used to be about the same size as I was," he reminded her.
18
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:47:08 GMT -6
She might have been a bit bigger, and she had definitely been heavier, but length-wise there hadn't been too much of a difference between them when she was still a halfbreed.
But that didn't seem to hold any weight with Azalea. {I'm big now. I can protect you now. Avander isn't here.} This last was said with such a mix of triumph and concern that it was endearing. For a monster, Azalea had such a sweet temperament. Even Noa, who didn't generally care for or about that sort of thing, found that he had a soft spot for her. Rhys would probably be indignant about it if Noa ever said as much; the Faeron was soft-hearted too, but somehow it wasn't the same. Azalea wasn't smart enough to know better, and she listened without protest when Noa issued an order. Rhys's naivete tried Noa's patience more often, so he didn't look upon it as kindly.
19
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 12, 2023 22:50:27 GMT -6
Right now, Azalea was questioning him -- sort of -- but only because she didn't understand why he hadn't brought Avander with him. It was more funny than annoying.
"Avander's watching our home," Noa said. "Besides, he's lazy. He didn't want to come."
{That's bad,} Azalea said. {Protecting you is important.}
"You tell him that next time you see him," Noa said, patting her side. "But come on then, if you're going to protect me. Let's go this way." And sure enough, when he moved, she followed.
Rhys, sitting on Noa's shoulder, breathed a little sigh. {Don't turn them against each other,} the Faeron said.
"How can I? Avander and Azalea can't exactly gossip about me behind my back." Azalea had worked together with the Wiurns before, but a lot of their ability to coordinate with each other hinged on Noa being available to coordinate them himself. Aside from that, they tolerated each other.
20
|
|
|
Post by Jack on Aug 13, 2023 18:07:25 GMT -6
All is as it seems, for one moment. The next, the ground is shifting - you get the sensation of standing out at sea, watching land retreat away from you. But you're not moving... are you? Your stomach turns, uneasy with the peculiar motion. By the time things have slowed to a halt and you've regained clarity, you realize that the strange experience has separated you from your pet! [Your pet is lost! It cannot be roleplayed for the next 5 posts while you find it!] A net falls in front of you in the midst of it all, however.
|
|