Mingle: For a limited time only...

[hearsthesea]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere on the hub
When: Days 134-139
Open/Closed: Open mingle goooo!

[Copper, lizards, and vines - oh my! With the recent installation of 9S and co.'s scanning equipment and the also recent, significantly wetter rainstorms there's quite a lot to check out on the island right now. Plus, the monitor robot still needs a name. You're not going to leave them nameless forever, are you?

Too bad Genette's put out word that everyone's about to be moving location soon. That means these are the last days the coven has for a little while to get everything in order, whether it's to take things to the next destination or to leave them behind. Get your bags packed and your huts cleaned, everyone!]

Comments

[hearsthesea]

A - Need a hand?
[Being relatively new on the island, Shirley doesn't have a lot to pack or to leave behind. She doesn't feel like she needs much, anyway. She's spent enough time moving around or being moved around that she hasn't had much by way of possessions for a while now, even before being magicked onto this island.

That leaves her with several days to fill and few affairs to get in order, though, and in the end she needs something to do or else she's just sitting around feeling useless. It takes a while to work up the courage and seek others who might need help, but eventually she does. She isn't much if she isn't doing anything, after all. So she hangs around shyly near the area where the huts are lined up, and if anyone looks a little busy around here she might wave briefly to get your attention.]

Excuse me. Do you need help with anything? I know we're supposed to leave soon, so I can help with any preparations that still need to be done.

B - Testing, testing (closed to people who've threaded with Shirley previously)
[And considering that, there is one thing Shirley wants to try and figure out before she leaves. She's still mulling over the power Genette mentioned to her upon her arrival and the things Stella said...has it been a month now? Shirley can't tell if that time feels long or short. But Shirley can't stop thinking about things like wishes and happiness, and what that's all supposed to mean. Eventually she chases her own thoughts in circles long enough to drive her out of silence. She's going to feel silly doing this, and she has a feeling she'll probably screw it up, but she needs to do this. Better to approach people she knows, at least, to avoid making that somebody's first impression of her.]

Can I ask you something? I want to see what my power is, but I think I need another person.

C - Lizard hunting!
[Once word gets out about the lizards with medicinal mucus...well, it's a little gross but still potentially useful. Who knows where they're going, after all? If it could save someone in a pinch - well, Shirley's seen people die who didn't have to before. Even just the hope of prevention is more than worth braving something gross.

Unfortunately, she hasn't quite figured out exactly which rocks they live on yet and that seems like the best bet for grabbing some of the mucus. She has located one of the lizards, though so for now she's just following one of them semi-stealthily. How stealthy do you need to track a lizard, anyway?]

c

[talim]

Um... Shirley? What are you doing?

[ jude peers on curiously, giving her a quizzical look. ]

[hearsthesea]

Ah!

[Shirley hadn't realized he was there, so she's startled for a moment before she locate the speaker and calms down a little. She knows Jude, she thinks he's okay.]

Um...hello, Jude. I'm looking for something.

[talim]

Hello, yourself. Looking for something again, huh? Is this going to be the only time we run into each other?

[hearsthesea]

[Social expert that she is, Shirley's not quite sure how to take the joke.]

Well, I didn't really mean to...

[talim]

Relax. I was only kidding.

[ jude tries a reassuring smile. ]

Seriously, though. What is it this time? Maybe I can help a little more.

[hearsthesea]

[Oh. Just kidding, right. Shirley's still feeling a little unsure of herself, but this is something she doesn't mind talking to Jude about.]

Did you hear the news about the lizards living around here?

B

[splinten]

[Ah, it's sea jesus. Dirk knows Jay wants people to look out for her, and he knows that the snappy, irritable personality isn't exactly who Shirley is, not normally. What he doesn't know is how to actually handle this. He isn't Jake or Roxy, he doesn't have boundless kindness and goodwill on his side. He is, frankly, just a dude who is terrible.

So, sure. Let's see how this goes.]

No problem. What do you need?

[hearsthesea]

[Dirk has been one of the hardest people to ask of all those Shirley's met before, to be honest. She doesn't particularly like him after their first encounter, but on the other hand he hasn't tried to kill her and she only knows so many people. Better the devil you know when it comes to something risky.

Doesn't mean Shirley isn't currently a little pink-faced from asking, but right now she's a girl on a mission.]

Tell me something you want.

[splinten]

[This is an undeniably weird question, but,]

Orange soda.

[hearsthesea]

[And that's a weird answer, so they're even.]

I know what oranges are, but I've never heard of soda before.

[splinten]

It's a syrupy drink with carbon dissolved into it via pressure. When the pressure on the liquid decreases, the carbon is released as bubbles. Basically, a fizzy sweet drink.

[hearsthesea]

Oh.

[That sounds doable...probably. Really, Shirley only understood that last sentence but she can work with that. A sweet drink isn't exactly a grand wish, but it should be good for a start. Something in her gut tells her it's good too, should be easy for her power. She can grant that wish.

And with that, a pink butterfly shimmers into existence in front of her and flies over to Dirk. Shirley gasps.]

My teriques! But--

[It looks like her teriques, but the wrong color. Shirley's teriques is blue, and she shouldn't be able to summon it here anyway. The butterfly does look like it, though, and it hovers near Dirk's hand as if expecting to be picked up.]

C

[rootandbranch]

[Geir's taking the extreme opposite approach to lizard hunting: stealthily waiting for them to emerge from under their rocks so he can watch where they're coming from. well... semi-stealthily. not very stealthily? he's actually just curled up in a big pile on the leeward slope of a small ridge, sunning himself. as soon as Shirley crests the hill he's lying on, she can see the giant lump of lazy dragon in front of her on the other side.

it does seem to work on the lizards. he's so large they haven't processed that he's a potential threat and are treating him as another rock. the one Shirley's following pauses, as if it's considering using the space under Geir's chin as a nest.]

Oh, hello...

[hearsthesea]

[To Shirley's credit, she's better about spotting Geir now than she was the first time they met. Easier to recognize giant dragon lumps the second time around. It still takes a moment for her to realize it's Geir because she hadn't been anticipating him, but she isn't caught by surprise this time.]

I didn't expect to see you here. Are you also looking for these lizards?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir smiles at her, making sure not to show too many teeth. he's pleased to see the strange girl again... she seems like she's doing well enough, or at least, as well as can be expected of someone new to the coven and still adjusting.]

I thought that I might as well. One of the people who can heal is a girl named Madoka -- she's a friend of mine. She wanted to try to raise them.

[he doesn't quite pick his chin up to nod, but he glances over to the rocks where the lizards are darting about, his big, expressive eyes easy to follow.]

It can't hurt to see what they normally do, right?

[hearsthesea]

I didn't think about that.

[Learning more about the lizards is a little obvious in retrospect. Oops.]

I've been following one of the lizards, but I didn't want to get too close. Do you think they would run off if I did?

[rootandbranch]

They might if you do it all of a sudden, but not if you stay and let them get used to you for a while, I think... they don't act like they see human-shaped people here that much.

[Geir shifts his bulk slightly to reveal one fo the rocks he's leaning against: it's meant as an inviting gesture, exposing a comfortable backrest. maybe-- well, he can at least try. Shirley seems like she needs a place to relax.]

Why don't you sit for a while? We can watch'em together. I bet they wouldn't mind.

[hearsthesea]

You're...

[Shirley really hadn't expected the invitation. She's not really someone that people invite, whether or not they're talking dragons. She's not sure why Geir would be inclined to invite her, either, but in this case it works in his favor. Talking dragons aren't something she's really good at understanding, but frankly knowing that off the bat might do her better than her track record with people in general. So she nods, and she sits down with Geir.]

Thank you.

a.

[humenity]

[ Eleanor offers a smile in Shirley's direction, shaking her head. She herself doesn't have that many possessions, either. Anything that she treasures or thinks she definitely needs to have is with her already. ]

No, thank you. Instead, I should be asking you that. Do you need a hand with anything before we leave?

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley also shakes her head in response.]

I've only been here for a few weeks, so I don't have much I could bring to begin with. But thank you for the offer.

[It's about time for Shirley to start feeling embarrassed, although Eleanor's friendly response is a bit of a relief to her. She hadn't really expected to get an offer of help herself. People here are...nicer than she's used to, sometimes. Is that a common thing, or is it something recent?]

Have you been here for long?

[humenity]

It's no problem. ... Everything that goes on here is a lot to take in at once.

[ She thought she hadn't recognized her - but that confirms what she suspected. ]

It's only been a few months, truthfully, but... it feels longer than that.

[hearsthesea]

You feel it too? I can't believe it's already been a few weeks. It's...kind of quiet here, even with everything that's changed.

[By which Shirley means there's a lot less fighting and tense politics than she's used to. It's not a complaint, more a statement of bewilderment.]

[humenity]

I... think that quiet can be a good thing. Sometimes, quietness means that it's peaceful.

[ That's how she likes to look at it, anyways. ]

[hearsthesea]

Peaceful. Yeah.

[That gets a small smile out of her.]

It doesn't sound so bad here, when you put it that way.