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

[rootandbranch]

A - if a wood chuck could chuck wood

[Geir doesn't usually frequent the stretch of island around the base camp, but anyone in the area during the days leading up to the move might hear some almighty crashing from just over the forested hill to the north. a short, brisk walk away from the estate, Geir has appropriated a clearing to stack up a truly formidable number of tree trunks. he's already stripped their branches off and discarded them in a pile to one side, and is busy using his claws and body weight to cut the wood of selected logs down and split them.

predictably, the cords of firewood that he's already completed using this technique are a splintered mess compared to those made with the uniform cuts of an ax. Geir looks pleased with himself anyway as he rears up to survey his work and greet whoever's just walked into the chopping zone.]

Hey, do you think this will dry if we leave it out here? Or do you want to take some back to where you're staying?



B - the great people tally

[in those times when he's not disturbing the peace with woodcutting, anyone walking out of the mansion, the beach huts, or the tiny houses -- any place that Geir is aware that people in the coven live -- might just find a dragon's full length sprawled out in front of wherever it is that they're leaving. his toothy muzzle is only a few yards away from their door, his chin on the ground and the tip of his tail just barely twitching in the distance. his gaze sharpens whenever anyone crosses his line of vision. he's watching people enter and exit v e r y i n t e n s e l y.

anyone he hasn't met already might or might not be surprised when he abruptly speaks, depending on whether they're used to the idea of talking dragons.]

You! What's your name?

[anyone Geir knows already will get an acknowledging nod instead of such a pointed greeting, but either way, he's up to something.]



C - surprise bath bomb

[there's been no real reason for Geir to go to the bathhouse till now. after all, he has his own pool in front of his cave, and the building is very hard for a dragon to enter. on the other hand, he's brought Vern here to wash his hair several times, so he knows that it's there... and that there's warm water inside. it's a little chillier on the Hub island this week, and the flooding destabilized his own pool enough that he isn't sure he should swim much yet. and they've all been doing so much work to pack up! surely he deserves a treat.

the door to the ornate stone bathhouse is an oversized, vaulted one, deliberately imposing and much bigger than the human-sized doors that give access to the other island buildings. if Geir really flattens himself out, why, anything is possible. but it's just as possible that people walking into the bathhouse wouldn't expect to find a blissfully dozing dragon filling up all four hot spring pools at once.]



D - a lizard reunion

[whether on his own or in company, Geir would have celebrated the pod's first discovery by going to see if the band-aid lizards are really under their rocks in the east. once he's there, though, it's hard for him to make himself actually start overturning rocks to find the little creatures. he can't help but feel a flash of sympathy for them: how would he feel if someone pulled the roof off of his cave while he was inside of it? that's just rude.

instead he curls up as small as he can (not very) and puts his chin on his foreclaws to peacefully watch for the lizards to leave their hiding places and show themselves. it's a sunny day, and there are still a few insects out and about to attract them. he has time to observe them while they flick in and out of their burrows. more helpfully, he doesn't grudge letting anyone else who's found their way to this area know what he sees.]

Did you catch that? I just saw a tail...



E - choose your own adventure

[write in any scenario or pm this journal for a custom prompt!]

b

[terezias]

[Maybe Dirk let Geir know that the tiny hut-houses on the western side of the island were now inhabited, or maybe he just chose to stop by on his own, but either way, if he wanted people he chose his timing well: there's a skinny girl with gray skin and horns heading outside. She stops when she sees the dragon, and her eyebrows go up when he talks--dragons don't generally do that in her experience, at least not out loud.

But she recovers quickly, a grin coming across her face as she points back at him.]

I'm Terezi! What's your name?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir's laser focus sharpens still further as Terezi emerges: who is she? why is she grey and horned? she seems friendly, anyway -- has she seen dragons before? there are so many questions.

he lifts his head and shifts to a more natural position for having a conversation rather than observing, responding to that grin with a toothy one of his own. friendly is a lot easier to deal with than alarmed, and gives him the perfect opportunity to be friendly back!]

Call me Geir! I haven't seen you before. You're new, right?

[terezias]

I am! I have been here approximately twelve days, which I am told qualifies as "new."

[She lowers her shades, the better to see him with, and peers at him. She would really like to get up close and sniff--if not lick--the talking dragon, which, well, she could still do, but it wouldn't be the same. This stupid world and its stupid rules about magic.]

So what brings you to Can Town, Geir?

[rootandbranch]

Twelve days is definitely new. But I know your face now! So I'll keep track.

[Geir nods to himself, and turns his head to peer right back at her with his other eye, committing her to memory. he doesn't like the idea of people coming and going in the coven without him knowing they were even there, so this is his solution: intensive peoplewatching, and introducing himself where necessary.

this is already not a wasted trip -- he really doesn't know quite what it is that this girl is supposed to be, which is very interesting to him.]

What's Can Town?

[terezias]

Can Town is where we live!

[She gestures to the five tiny hut-houses. There are a couple of cans lying on the ground, if you're looking closely, not to mention at least one stuffed animal hanging from a tree, but otherwise no sign of why the hell this place is called Can Town. After a moment, she adds:]

Me, Karkat, Jade, and the Dirk and Jake humans. Are you keeping track of people?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir glances at the cans -- he's not really familiar with what they are, since there isn't much can manufacturing in Odin's halls -- and visibly decides to just not pursue the location name. sure, it can be Can Town. it's not the weirdest name for a settlement that he's heard, and this definitely seems to be turning into something of the sort.]

I know the Jade, Dirk, and Jake humans. Are you and Karkat both new, then? What are you, if you're not human?

[he's doubly glad he decided to do this check, now. fancy Dirk, Jake and Jade having neighbors, and him not even realizing! he'll have to start doing flyovers of the places people live at least a little more often.]

And... I'm sort of keeping track of people. I don't know if it's really possible to meet everyone, with how Qri grabs people and they leave again. But it's weird if you don't even have an idea of who's around!

[its hard to check if someone's missing if you never even knew they were here at all.]

a

[imsorey]

[there might have been a time in Sorey's life when hearing a bunch of loud noises and seeing a large dragon would have been a cause for alarm. now, when he happens upon the scene with a mix of concern and interest, there's a sigh of relief and a mental "Oh, it's just Geir." he eyes the wood critically as he hops over to get a better look, and glances up at the sky.]

If the weather stays dry it'll be fine, but it might be better to put some of it in the huts just in case. I wouldn't want all of your hard work to go to waste.

[rootandbranch]

I was thinking that we could cover it, but there aren't any of those flexible covers that the Palai used around here. [plastic tarps aren't among the things they brought back with them, probably.] And I don't know what to use for a roof except more logs...

[Geir lets that one trail off: he certainly doesn't know how to build an adequately watertight structure out of the materials he's gathered.]

Do you think the huts have enough room? All the wood everyone's been using for fires is so bad.

[he lived in Odin's hall long enough to know that you can't just burn green firewood and still have a good hearth to curl up next to.]

[imsorey]

Anything we make to keep the wood covered would end up using more wood, would isn't the idea...

[it also seems silly to him to set all of that up when they know they're leaving at some point soon; better to store it inside a ready-made and let it dry that way.]

If you give a little to everyone then the huts can handle it. They're not huge, but I know I don't use up all of the space we've got. I'll bet other people are the same.

[rootandbranch]

I can try that. What about that hall that Genette and Brie live in, too? I've never been in there... is there room?

[Geir's idea of what the mansion looks like on the inside is rather fuzzy: his experience of human buildings has mostly looked like longhouses up till now. he doesn't really understand what the layout on the inside could be like, but even someone without a concept of "basement" can see that there might be space leftover in such a strange tall structure.]

[imsorey]

[note to self take pictures of the inside of small places for Geir]

Oh, yeah, there's tons of room in the mansion. We could stack it up against the walls or something and it wouldn't get in the way; there are a lot of rooms that aren't really used.

[rootandbranch]

Why isn't anyone using them? Isn't that a waste of space?

[he eyes the cord of wood dubiously. it looks like it would be tough to fit through the mansion door, but that doesn't mean it's not the best of the available ideas...]

...if I carried it over, would you help me get it in there?

c

[oneandmikleonly]

[with the beaches still kind of mucky from the storm as well, soaking in the sea is less pleasant than it could be, so Mikleo heads, for once to the bathhouse

oh.]

Um, should I come back later?

[rootandbranch]

Hmmmmm...?

[Geir opens one eye in the barest slit and peers at Mikleo. oh, that's who it is; he might have recognized him by the strange starlight-and-water taste of him at the back of his throat, but it's hard to smell anything in here over the steam.]

Oh, it's you. Why?

[oneandmikleonly]

I don't want to...crowd...

[rootandbranch]

[Geir glances back dubiously over his coils; he doesn't think it's that much of a problem for a human-sized person to slip in. but maybe that wasn't Mikleo's intention...?]

...um, I could move? Which shape were you gonna wear?

[oneandmikleonly]

Dragon, but I can stay in this one if it's more convenient.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir snorts and slowly shifts backwards, leaving a little less than half of the pool that contains his head and forelegs free. this leaves a long loop of his tail without any place to go, but he turns over and rearranges himself so he can put his chin on it instead; it leaves a little more of his head and neck above the waterline, but he doesn't seem to mind, strictly speaking. Mikleo could clamber directly onto Geir's tail in the water to fully spread out, or curl up and have his own corner, depending on how shy he is.]

That's enough room, right? You're tiny even as a dragon.

b

[alphonse]

[In another context it might look like Geir is waiting outside the mansion for tasty human snacks to walk up to his mouth, but as it is, Al just greets him cheerfully.]

I don't see you out this way very often. Looking for someone?

[rootandbranch]

Hi, Alphonse! I'm looking for everyone.

[Geir lifts his head and nods to the mansion in front of him; and, by implication, all of the coven members it might theoretically contain.]

I was thinking the other day that I don't like the idea of people showing up and me not even knowing they're here before they leave again. So, I'm on the lookout for them. It won't be too long till it's time for another bunch.

Have you met any of the new people yet?

[alphonse]

That's not a bad idea.

[If not the most efficient, but he can't blame Geir for preferring the in person approach to relying on telepathy.]

I've talked to a few of them, but everyone showing up in the middle of the storm made it hard to keep track. Two of them are friends of me and my brother from back home, though. For whatever reason, it seems like drawing people in from the same worlds must be easier for Qri to do. Almost everyone here has a connection to someone.

[rootandbranch]

Ree-eeee-eeeallly. I hadn't noticed that part.

[Geir narrows his eyes, the tip of his tail playing back in forth in that slow, catlike twitch. is that so? are Qri's abductions less random than he'd thought? that's... an interesting idea. he doesn't know quite what to make of it if it's true, but it's interesting.]

I wonder if it's something to do with the worlds we come from. Who are your friends? I'll keep watch for them.

[alphonse]

Brigadier General Mustang and Colonel Hawkeye.

[He may only get the ranks right when they aren't there to hear him.]

They're... older.

[He wouldn't be able to guess a dragon's age so that's probably a useless description, but at least he didn't just say old.]

Professional. They've dealt with beings like Qri before, so they'll be a big help.

[rootandbranch]

Brigadier General and Colonel... are those titles? I'll keep on the lookout for them.

[Geir's tone is respectful. if Alphonse thinks that these older people (adults? elders? he's not sure of Alphonse's age, so that's not much help) are going to be useful to their activities, he trusts his opinion. he's not surprised that acquaintances of Alphonse and Edward would be.

more surprising, however, is...]

I didn't know your world had beings like Qri.