[WORLD ONE | POST-UVI CELEBRATION]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Coven members and Palai
Where: In and around the Aimintas marketplace
When: Day 39
Open/Closed: Open to All

After an appropriate amount of time for mourning, the Palai have shifted into a more positive mood -- they're a very resilient species, though there is a bit of a muted tone to their celebration. The whole event is a little hodge-podge, mostly because they aren't used to having to celebrate with the coven members added to the guest list. The Palai have gathered together all of their people and have invited the coven members to a small, intimate gathering -- the purpose of the event is to thank them for their service in fighting the Uvi, and the success of freezing the Uvi in their home. While no one knows how long the Uvi will stay gone, any amount of time without the Uvi being a concern is fine by them. The event takes place in the very center of the marketplace, with the Palai interacting on the fringes of the party throughout the rest of the large building. The coven members have time to spend by themselves, but there's room for moving around on their own and also spending time with the Palai if they so choose. A ▢ One of the more noticeable editions to the food the Palai have provided is a large pile of sweet, sugar dusted pastries. You may notice that something about them seems...odd, to say the least. It looks as if the pastries are vibrating slightly, but they smell divine. If you're so inclined to ask what the deal is, these pastries are magically infused by Eltos, which somehow gives them a sweeter flavor and enhances the sensation of tastebuds. The Palai sometimes eat these before meals in order to better the flavor of their entire spread -- though adding this energized magic to an already magical being means magic powers may be a little off kilter. Don't be surprised if suddenly your abilities go a little crazy. B ▢ The Palai aren't participating the party for two big reasons. One, the purpose is to celebrate the victory of coven members. The other reason, however, is one that may be more interesting to outsiders. While previously the Palai were peaceful people, happy to exist submitting to the Uvi, the coven's show of strength and valor has inspired them to be more aggressive in their approaches. Grown Palai can be seen working on makeshift weapons, but the idea of smaller tools like slingshots have already been constructed and almost perfected. The Palai youth have discovered these tools and are playing with them gleefully, though occasionally hitting each other -- and potentially you -- with energized, paralyzing rocks fueled with Elto energy. Watch out or you might get zapped! C ▢ Other Palai youth aren't as fortunate to be so distracted and happy. While fewer Palai died during this attack, the casualty number wasn't zero. Most Palai children still have at least one family member to care for them, but they're still a little disconnected from their people by means of grief. Some are milling about with the coven members, trying to eat or pester them for attention. If you're good with kids this may be more your speed, but those bad with children can find this irritating. Some Palai youth are more muted, however, content to just sit and listen to stories or eavesdrop on conversations. D ▢ For some people, rain isn't that big an issue -- but it certainly puts a damper (get it?) on a party. The Palai seem a bit confused by the sudden shower that comes in heavy as the evening dies down. The Palai have never experienced rain before, using irrigation systems and existing ground water as their means of hydration (both for themselves and for plants). Because the rain is coming from the ocean, the drops are large and salty, and the marketplace quickly begins to flood. The Palai move the party indoors for the most part, but that doesn't mean you or the food aren't already soaked. It's much warming underneath the roofs in the marketplace, but that doesn't provide much relief since the ocean rain is warm and humid. E ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[decipheringeye]

I will, I will. You sound just like my mom.

[rootandbranch]

Do I? I don't sound like my mom.

[that's a pretty interesting fact, anyway. what are human moms even like? heck if he knows.]

Was she nice?

[decipheringeye]

Of course she's nice. And don't go selfishly putting other people's parents into the past tense like that, you'll cause some kind of misunderstanding.

[Recklessly talking to dragons: Easier with a few drinks in you.]

[potentite]

No, it isn't... well, a perfect victory by any means. [He knows that. They need a real solution and people still died.] But... well, you have to take the good moments when you can, right?

[alphonse]

But at the same time, we've influenced them a lot already. I feel like we have a responsibility to leave them in better shape than this.

[rootandbranch]

Selfishly? How is that selfish? I don't know anything about your mom.

[fortunately for Kosuzu, the dragon seems much more intrigued than offended by being talked to recklessly. he's learning important things about human moms. who would turn that down?]

[splinten]

Everything is subjective. Willful ignorance is a whole 'nother thing.

[mapsio]

That is what I am assuming at this point. It's just really embarrassing.

[Covering her face with her hands.]

[potentite]

Not agreeing with you doesn't make it ignorant, you great palooka.

[storyseller]

[She closes her eyes, quietly acknowledging Vern's loss.]

I expect that they must be. They are a communal species, that does not wish to see any left alone. It would be unlike them to abandon their orphans.

[decipheringeye]

If you say "Was she nice?" it's like you're saying, "Oh, I guess she's dead," or at least "I guess you'll never see her again." She is nice and I am going to see her again. These kind of situations never last forever.

[potentite]

No, no, it's not embarrassing! You couldn't have known, right? And it's a neat discovery in a way, isn't it? That something we eat could do that.

[storyseller]

Perhaps, if you have any familiar stories, you would share them with me. I am always glad to add more to the tales I might tell others.

[The stories that comforted him, once, could go on to comfort others. They could spread and offer warmth to many more, a seed of kindness.]

[storyseller]

[Dragons are exciting so this is fair? Although now there is befriending of the dragon, apparently. This is an off story.]

Nor do I have magic like the one I have been granted. I have been hesitant to learn its use.

[storyseller]

[She closes her eyes, trying to decide what to keep and what to reveal.]

The spirit of the World, and a Kingship that rests on your shoulders. A hatred for tyranny, and a desire to not do harm.

[splinten]

Both of those. It occupies my mind and keeps me from getting bored, and also it lets me make something outside of myself that will act independent of me. At least to a degree, that kind of depends on the programming. Sawtooth and Squarewave both ended up being basically their own people.

[For a kid who grew up alone in the ocean, there was a major appeal in managing to make things that could talk to him, interact with him—finding things that he didn't have to puppet into interacting with him, at least as much. Things to make the loneliness less powerful.]

[splinten]

[He sees that face, and knows he is about to make things more stupid.]

An alien tyrant melted all of the glaciers to make our planet more like her watery homeworld.

[splinten]

Nah. Gotta teach this kid the ways of the world.

Next up, they're getting rap lessons.

[talim]

[ it's never too late when there's still a point to be made. ]

That's an admirable approach to take. All I can say is that I'll do my best to help you out.

[ when one of the kids has wandered close enough, he smooths a hand down its back with a gentle smile. he doesn't look up when he speaks again. ]

... Forgive me if I'm just tossing out assumptions, but it seems like you can understand them better than I can. Relate to them, and the situation they're in.

[alphonse]

[Al nods but doesn't pry. Complicated stories he'd rather not tell are familiar territory, so he's not going to begrudge anyone else their privacy. Geir did say he showed up alongside someone important to him, so Al assumes that probably makes the circumstances easier to handle.]

Well, the important thing is making the most of where you are.

[It's then that he notices a couple of the Palai kids are watching and adopts a faux conspiratorial voice that makes them stop playing long enough to listen in like they're about to be told a vital secret.]

And the best thing you can do in another world... is try as many different kinds of food as possible.

[rootandbranch]

[respectfully]

I don't think even the most skilled dwarves at home were able to make something like that, a device that would be another person. Did they always do what you wanted?

[personhood versus being a tool is something that's been on his mind lately.]

[rootandbranch]

You've been in a situation like this before? That's different. Tell me about it!

[Geir's amused by her huffiness. he might as well see what she wants to talk about while she's inebriated, if she's a talky drunk -- and telling him a story will keep her put and drinking her water.]

[rootandbranch]

Oh!

[it hadn't occurred to Geir quite that way, but... Alphonse has a powerful point. truly a genius and a learned man. he reacts with the same wide-eyed approval as all of the kids, who start clamoring for sweets at Alphonse's revelation.]

You're right.

[splinten]

The basic ones did. They didn't have full sentience. Sawtooth and Squarewave did basically whatever they wanted. Sawtooth would fly off for weeks at a time doing his own thing. And Squarewave, who was like an excitable puppy, would get excited and try to get me to rap battle him all the damn time, even if I was too busy.

[He sounds so fond??? Exasperating dog Squarewave]

An artificial intelligence like that can be programmed to be able to learn and even alter its own code. When it has that potential, it no longer is under its creator's control.

[soulcomet]

[so, alien-induced global warming. close enough.]

[it is pretty stupid, but it seems to bother Madoka more than it weirds her out.]

That's so awful ... What about all the people living there?