[WORLD ONE | SEPTEMBER INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The new coven members, old blood & Palai people
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 61
Open/Closed: Open to All

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

All characters are told briefly what their powers are by Genette -- no extemporaneous details. For instance, if your character has the ability to detect lies, they'll be told as such -- no warning about limitations, repurcussions or the like. They'll also be given a variant of this letter so they aren't totally ignorant of the situation -- though of course adapt this letter to the current setting and surroundings of the game.

This setting may be familiar to you -- maybe you caught a glimpse of it when you first visited. Maybe this is your first time experiencing this weird world and the panic is setting in. If you're totally lost, a tall human woman with a long scroll of paper will stop by to give you the run down. She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date. (Maybe someone else can fill in some gaps for you). What you may not know is that this world recently experienced something of a tragedy. You wouldn't be able to guess this based on the festive energy in the air. The main marketplace where you've shown up finished reconstruction last night, and after grief comes joy to the Palai -- those lizard creatures you see wandering around. They're now hosting a festival to celebrate their success and the lives of those both still present and those lost. It's also a chance for them to host one of those big celebrations like they'd previously seen in human books. However, their resources are limited -- don't blame them if things are a little cut-and-paste! A ▢ One of the preferred methods for masking grief in the Palai world is playing games. Because the Palai are still on their shrimp kick (the old blood characters are probably sick of them at this point), the shrimp are being used as part of a few festival games: Shrimp Scoop: Live prawns have been placed in a tank of water. Instead of paper scoops, players are handed small scraps of cloth which they may then dive into the six-foot tall tank to try and grab the prawns with -- no hands! And no magic or your prawn will be revoked. For extra incentive, sacks of golden coins have been tied to the prawns. These coins can be exchanged for goods and prizes, though what your character receives for their coin -- no matter how bland or wacky -- is up to your character. Shrimp Shock: Dead shrimp have been placed in a wading pool. Your character and another character enter the pool while Elto shock the shrimp out of the water. With about 20 shrimp in the water, the character with the most shrimps caught out of the air wins an allotment of coins. Whack-a-Shrimp: Eltos have powered six large, stuffed shrimp dolls (made with cloth), that will pop out of cut holes in a large game board. Hit the shrimp as many times as you can in 30 seconds, and your number will amount to the coins you receive. Shrimp Fest: Is your character a big eater? Your character is given a plate of cooked jumbo prawns. If they can eat all 50 jumbo prawns in 30 seconds, they win 100 coins. B ▢ What good is a festival if there's no face painting? Don't worry, you have more options than shrimp. Palai have an assortment of paints and are making colourful designs on both their kin and coven members -- your request may not look exactly as you want it to since they have bumpy hands and claws that get in the way.

This is all pretty juvenile, but fear not! For the mature sort and adults of Aimintas, there's a more quiet part set up that may cater to your older interests. A softer atmosphere, away from the excitement of things. If you want to wind down from the thrill of being magicked away to a new world, this is probably the best way for it. C ▢ Fans of alcohol will find that the Palai have broken out their best spirits for themselves and the coven. Some of these aged spirits are decades old and have aged accordingly, giving them a bitter flavor with a nasty bite of alcohol. Others are more recently distilled or imbued with magic for an extra buzz. Accordingly, some drinks can get you inebriated pretty quickly. Some drinks are essentially giddy truth serums. Others may have an effect on magic or telepathy. Pick your poison! D ▢ The environment in this more secluded area of the marketplace is supposed to be more relaxed, but it's also the best place to sit if you want a front row seat to the fireworks exhibit the remaining Eltos are putting on. Through balls of dye and their electrical powers, they're quickly blowing up the sky with arcs of color that rain down in the form of bright pieces of glitter once the spectacle is over. They also have a special service they're offering -- the Eltos have a grasp on electrical magic, which means they can draw certain things in the sky with these dye balls. If you have a request for a written message or a drawing of some sort, they'd be happy to comply with your wish! For the real adult experience, however, you may want to check out the large rolling cart that Palai are pushing around the marketplace, landing it in the fireworks area. This cart is filled with all of the eggs that were a product of their mating season, and this part of Aimintas is the warmest. E ▢ For newbies and those who missed the egg train, your character can instead be Egg Parent for a Night. The Palai are holding their eggs to warm them for the evening, but (like most parents with new babies) they're certainly trying to show off their creations. Hold them, pass them around -- or maybe even act a fool and fend off a fiercely angry Palai parent.

Finally, the Palai are getting used to the standard familiar faces, so they aren't unaware that there are quite a few new faces in the mix. Based on how familiar your character is, they'll receive a nice little gift from the Palai. Older coven members will receive a scrolled parchment that lists them as honorary citizens of Aimintas and a handmade, harden clay sculpture of their likeness. It may not look a lot like them, but they tried. F ▢ What about new members? Well, they get the Aimintas Starter Kit: an unmarked vial containing Palai mating pheromones (makes your character affectionate, etc), a bag of cooked shrimp, a collection of their baked goods and energy drinks (containing Elto magic that makes magical abilities hard to handle), and a harmless paper flower. Your character likely isn't used to the dangers of some of these items, so maybe someone can help them...or is it too late? G ▢ Because the Palai recognize new faces, these new coven members will be dragged to other coven members who they do recognize. In an effort to help make introductions, the Palai are trying to connect new members with old members in order to foster friendships. Say hi to a new, awkwardly introduced covenmate...? H ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[travelles]

[Elle isn't too happy about being brought into this world at first, but this isn't exactly a new experience to her as it stands. So even with the oh-so near future of finding all waymarkers in her mind, she's able to find it in herself to reorient her goals, given that she can't just in good conscience leave a person in need alone.

Plus, Rollo is with her, so it couldn't be all that bad, right?

Right.

But when her cat bolts for it and she's left to chase after the overweight creature that can outrun her in a breath, she starts rethinking that thought, more or less deciding she liked being by Ludger and the others' side a whole lot better.]

[A1 - Just Rollo-ing Along]

[That said, there's a reason why Rollo runs the way he does and stops before someone who might be you. You most likely have an item of interest on your person, either of the treasure variety or of the yummy food variety. And if you were running late to some contest--sorry, but there's a small, furry roadblock standing in front of you right now that needs to be dealt with.]

[A2 - T-Elle Her About It]

[Otherwise, it's possible to encounter Elle while she's searching for her cat. She isn't really shy with regard to this matter by any means, and will be quick to ask:]

Hey, did you see a large white cat with gray markings around here?

[She might even tap people if it seems like they aren't paying her attention in this regard. A lost cat is no joking matter, especially in a world as foreign as this! That said, she'll patiently wait up for anyone to finish with their games before asking. The girl does know her manners, after all.]

[F - Shrimp-ly Amazing]

[The starter kit is rather large for Elle, but she manages to lug it around anyhow. Though not without plopping down in some alleyway to paw through things and see what she could do without or not. Or perhaps finish off, since she decides that the bag of baked shrimp might as well be eaten first, given how these things might spoil and get pretty smelly.

She'll be hanging around that alleyway for a while, feeding herself and Rollo. And later on, carrying the remaining gifts... with more and more difficulty as time goes on. Feel free to catch her in either situation!]

[H - Elle Enchanted]

[In all honesty, most of Genette's letter flew over her head. She is but a lowly eight-year-old with not enough vocabulary and sentence structures to her credit, and while she's read and seen a lot for her age, some things just refused to make sense. The fact that this is another world and Qri is in need of their help? Yeah, she got that. How that magic hullabaloo works? Forget it--at least until she can find someone to explain it to her.

In the meantime, she reflects upon what Genette told her regarding her new power. "An ability to transform into someone that can protect those she cares about"... it's rather daunting and surreal, but at the same time, she can't help but be excited about the prospect. She can finally do things other than shout out enemy weaknesses and cheer people on!

It's in the course of her thinking about how much she wants to be able to stand with her friends from back home in battle that she finds herself enveloped in a white light, and to her morbid and wide-eyed fascination she finds herself unable to stop it, until...

...it disappears as quickly as it came, leaving her unsteady on her feet, which definitely look different from how she remembers them. Her hands are next--way bigger for a kid her size--and is it just her or do people and places look a little more eye-level now...?

And just to be certain she's not imagining things, she scrambles over--and nearly trips as she does--to the nearest reflective surface she could find, which happens to be a hand mirror being sold by one of the merchants around.]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!

[Well, that certainly confirms things. Though it may or may not have made things rather awkward given all the heads turned toward her direction that moment...]

[Wildcard]

[Hit me up with anything else or feel free to mix and match things! If you're uncertain about anything at all, feel free to drop me a line!]

a2

[talim]

[ there's a light tug at the hem of his lab coat before jude turns around and finds himself hovering over a little girl. he can't guess her age just by looking, but she's clearly even younger than elize — not someone he feels comfortable just leaving alone. at all.

so jude rests his hands on his legs, ducking down to meet her eye to eye. ]

I'm afraid I haven't, but what do you say I tag along and we look together? Maybe an extra set of eyes will help.

[travelles]

[Too distracted by searching for signs of Rollo, she doesn't quite realize who she just tugged until he speaks and she turns to him, eyes widening in old-fashioned surprise as recognition dawns upon her.]

Jude?! What are you doing here?

a1

[adjustable]

...

[Souda stares at the fuzzy roadblock in his way... While it's nice to see a regular cat, he doesn't like the way it's looking at him. He's carrying a starter kit that he hasn't bothered fiddling with (hence maybe why Rollo's in his way) but he furrows his eyebrows.]

...What? Don't tell me you want somethin' in here? [He awkwardly shakes the kit.]

[travelles]

[Ding dong, and we have a winner! Said fuzzy roadblock meows in what seems to be assent and tries to paw at the kit, probably sensing the lovely shrimp that it contains.]

A1

[actus]

[ it's a cat. this isn't a drill. it's a cat. it's the first normal, potentially non-coven-member domesticated animal he's seen since he's been here. it's a cat and it looks warm and soft and everything he misses about morgana and home. it's a lot of complicated emotions and the fact it's a cat shouldn't be driving him to these. but... ]

...hey.

[ he says it softly, crouching, extending a hand for the furry roadblock. ]

[travelles]

[Rollo simply stares at the hand in question, knowing that humans did like something being done with it. But he wants food, and this hand here doesn't have any, so he simply meows a question, letting that speak for his interest in the matter.]

[transcutation]

[...a cat. What a bizarrely normal animal to run into here. Eating a cookie, Cagliostro looks thoroughly unimpressed by the animal's interest in her.]

Huh? Is there something you wanted? Well, speak up.

[She sneers down at the cat as she makes some show of finishing the treat right in front of it, licking the crumbs off her fingers with relish. Even if it's cute, it's not like the fat thing has done anything to deserve her praise or her food.]

[travelles]

[Rollo simply meows in response and tilts his head. Even with the show Cagliostro is making, he's rather hopeful that the other might have more on her, which is reflected in his rather wide-eyed, hopeful look.]

a1

[deem]

[9S has never heard of a game where clouting stuffed objects resembling marine life was the objective, but then, he doesn't know that many games. With the unnatural speed and coordination an android such as himself sports, he's netted himself quite a few coins, though he's as yet undecided as to how he'll use them.

He remembers reading about bartering using such currencies in the Old World, but here the usage seems much more limited...interesting.

So he thinks before a decidedly round, fluffy little creature parks itself in front of him. He halts, squatting to get a closer look, and recording for posterity]

Never seen one of these before...

[travelles]

[Said fluffy white creature tilts his head and does a cat smile for the invisible camera before approaching and rubbing his head against 9S's leg, purring slightly as he does so. Rollo's never seen anything like 9S before, and probably wants to take him home to his master of a kind.]

A1

[probablynoteren]

[Well, that's not something you see every day around here, or anywhere Lenka's familiar with. On the bright side, at least he knows what a cat is, so it's no surprise to find it here in front of a Palai festival stall hawking -- you guessed it -- more shrimp, some varieties of which he'd never actually seen before.

He's holding some kind of rainbow glitter shrimp that he's a little afraid to ask the origins of, which is apparently some kind of free sample for festivalgoers. He's been debating whether it's polite to buy a few more shrimp and maybe like... donate them to the festivities or something.

But now he's distracted, so Lenka will hold out his blinged out shrimp to the cat and wave it a little to see if that's why it keeps staring at him with those giant cat eyes...?]

[travelles]

[Rollo sniffs at the shrimp curiously, but when the glitter gets into his nose, he lets out a loud hiss and starts pawing at it vigorously, none too happy about the irritant that's gotten into it.

Thankfully, the damage wasn't too bad and the glitter doesn't stick, but Rollo's earlier curious gaze is replaced by a rather miffed one at the moment. So much for actual food...]

a2

[apatheia]

[And when 2B turns around, she has exactly said cat in her arms.

This is the first time she's seen an animal here aside from sea life, and given that her magic apparently had something to do with animals, it seemed like a good time to finally figure out what exactly it was. Thanks Rollo for being such a helpful guinea pig (even if she didn't really mean it like that)!

Which is why she has the cat settled easily in her arms despite his considerable weight. Even though she's not particularly familiar with animals as a whole, it wasn't hard to figure out that after trying out her magic, the cat was very friendly and fond of her, meowing up at her and walking around her legs.

Somehow, picking it up just seemed like the appropriate response.]

... Is this it? [Fun fact though: she's never seen a cat before.]

[travelles]

[Elle's a little miffed at the adult paying her no attention, at least until 2B speaks up from behind. Hopeful, she whirls around to the sound of the voice and finds that it wasn't for naught, given the cat in the woman's arms.]

Yep, that's him! [She notably brightens up at the sight, of Rollo being safe and sound.] Thanks so much, lady!

[She holds out her hands towards 2B, expectant of a certain pet being returned to her.]

A2

[secondadvent]

[ Akechi's wandering around the marketplace when he feels a tug on his peacoat, prompting him to turn around, gaze landing on the young girl who can't be older than eight or nine. At the question, he shakes his head. ]

No, I'm afraid I haven't. [ He pauses for a moment, considering. He can't leave a little girl alone, can he... ] Do you want me to help you look for your cat?

[travelles]

You will?

[Elle looks really surprised by the offer, but nonetheless, is quick to break into a wide smile.]

Alright! It'd be faster if there's two of us looking for him! Thanks, mister!

[She points towards the direction where the shrimp festival games are going on.]

Rollo went this way before I lost him. Let's continue looking around here!

h!!

[heartkey]

[ Sora happens to see the whole thing, and honestly, he just thinks it's super cool. Being the smaller friend, he'd love a power like that — she just suddenly ... got bigger! How neat. ]

Whoa ... Is that your magic?!

[ He hasn't personally witnessed something like that so it's pretty exciting to see. ]

[travelles]

[She whirls to the source of the voice and tries not to look too panicky at what just happened.]

I-I think so! [Sora's amazement does cause her to calm a bit and feel strangely proud of what happened, but all the same, her confusion returns as she remembers what Genette told her.] But I don't get it! How am I supposed to protect people in this form?

A1

[ensorcel]

[ fun fact about me: i LOOOOOOVE steak sauce, steak not so much but a1 sauce is delicious, and one time i drank it straight out of the bottle, just guzzled it. i horfed it up right after because i didn't realize all the sodium would ruin your life if you inhaled it like that.

anyway


there was definitely a big tubby cat nestled in camilla's needlessly large bazongas, being cuddled quite possibly to death. she can't help herself, the nohrian siblings are all crazy cat people, and this one is just so big and fluffy and well-fed, he's precious. camilla loves him. ]

What a sweet boy you are, yes you are. What a darling.

[ she gives poor rollo..... the gentlest of little smooches..... before lifting him up into view as if he were weightless. he's not as heavy as an axe, not quite, so camilla has no struggle. ]

As much as I would love to take you home with me, you have a collar, and I am no child abductor.

[ LIES ]

Why don't we find your mommy or daddy, Handsome Boy?

lmfao i had to make an icon for this

[travelles]

[Rollo meows uselessly as he tries to escape the clutches of this very dangerous human that's gotten her hands on him. It comes off as long-suffering, not at all what he's signed up for back when he ran off to fetch a certain something for him and Elle.

He doesn't understand everything that's been said, but he recognizes the tone all too well from his many excursions outside to tell that this lady is bad news. Especially with those suffocating weapons of hers!

So excuse him for a moment, Camilla, as he meows again and paws to no avail at you in a bid for freedom.]

f!

[thatdamnknight]

[those gift baskets are really something. the palai went all out with giving the new arrivals goodies. most people manage to lug their gifts around, but flynn spots someone who isn't doing so well in that regard. maybe they should have taken the size of their recipient into consideration before handing those out.

that said, small girl + big basket filled with tons of stuff = flynn immediately walking on over to lend a hand. he smiles gently as he gets close.]

Would you like some help carrying that?

[travelles]

[The wisest course of action would be to accept Flynn's kind offer. But Elle still can be every bit a child and is rather proud of how far she's lugged around this adult-sized starter kit on her own.

So she forces a smile and takes a few more steps forward, determined to take it to the destination she had in mind.]

I'm fine.

[Says the kid who nearly trips over her feet when she shifts the weight of the basket rather awkwardly when she takes something of a small misstep.]

a2, modified.

[nockpoint]

[ so, palai are lizard people. they're still learning what cats (and mammals in general) are, but they are also very helpful little dudes. once this one learns what elle is looking for, exactly, they tell her to wait where she is, and runs off in the crowd.

soon, it returns, a cat in tow. a big grey and white cat. the wrong cat, in fact. archer is definitely not rollo, but how would this poor palai know that? it got all the given information right.

they bundle this bewildered, freshly woken up from his nap, confused and cat-shaped archer into elle's arms, and then runs off to the rest of the festivities before either of them can say anything.

so. now elle has the wrong cat, who is actually a man, who is actually a ghost, who was rudely woken up from his nap and still in the middle of trying to decide if he's going to keep playing the "i'm a cat" card or just run for it. ]

i'm so sorry for this super late response

[travelles]

Wait, this isn't--

[But none of the Palai would hear of it, convinced and happy that they've helped out the poor little girl find her beloved feline. As such, they've gone off already, patting themselves on the back as they leave the definitely wrong cat in her hands, to which she throws a frown.]

Mhh... I guess we need to find your owner too [he does look a little too clean to be a stray, she thinks, even without a collar of a kind] but first we gotta find Rollo! I'm counting on your help, OK?

[Cats never talk back to her, but she feels they can understand her on a fundamental level, so she just goes on like that as if it were a human she was talking to--not that she knows she's holding a human in a first place.]