Meria - Spriggan Scramble

Lux Lunseer looks like everything wrong with thaumaturges. Despite the reasonably warm temperatures of the Shroud and the sun shining overhead, she is draped in black - from the well-starched collar (black) buttoned up to her throat to the heeled shoes (black) that allow her to loom. Her (black) hair is covered by a (black) veil heavily embroidered with Ossuary sigils. Her mouth is pressed into a grim line. Dark lashes lower at the sight of the approaching group, until she is practically glowering.
Lux Lunseer: "Hello," she mumbles, "Right on time... T-thank you for coming." She remembers, belatedly, to smile.
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Etienne Clairemont bows courteously to Lux Lunseer.
Milloux Allard moved with the quietly confident caution of someone expecting trouble - as though it would simply be a matter of course, rather than a possibility.   Bright eyes scanned the bleak landscape as she moved, none too-quickly to stray from their little group -- but keeping an eye nonetheless. "Miss Lux, " She nodded - a little wave, and one of those familiar smiles - wan, but genuine, offered as they grew close enough.
Rhy'sae Galeni had distracted himself on the way over toying with a handful of leaves he'd fetched up on the way. What he'd thought might have been disease was merely damage, likely animal in origin, and he'd become so absorbed in toying with their stems that he didn't see Lux until he heard her. "Ack!" He dropped his leaves with his startled sound, head snapping up. "Hi!"
Etienne Clairemont is dressed more cheerfully - especially for a thaumaturge - in a colibri pink jacket that's clearly seen good days and bad, as well-mended and clean as it is. Their staff, too, is a battered old thing with a blade-sharpened end. "Fine day for an outing," Etienne says with quiet, grim humor, looking around.
Milloux Allard: "Why -didn'- we pack a picnic?" She wondered, the corners of her mouth quirkign mildly.
Meria Boucher dips her head into a nod, and then - crossing her single arm across her chest - bows politely to Lux. In direct contrast to the living embodiment of doom and gloom, she is dressed entirely in pristinely laundered white. Her right sleeve terminates sharply at her shoulder, the arm missing and the cloth neatly stiched to compensate, and when she speaks, her voice is soft and flat. "Good day."
Rashk Geilt wanders closer from—somewhere. For someone dressed like a lost Ul’dahn merchant, he’s quiet, possibly because the rain muffles the sound of footsteps. “Teee~eerrible weather,” he trills from the backlines to announce his presence. Not very quiet anymore with his whiny, upper class accent.
Lux Lunseer: "It's as if Azeyma Herself has blessed us," Lux seems to agree with Etienne's sentiment, nodding her head respectfully to the vividly-dressed Duskwight. The grim line of her mouth softens somewhat at Milloux's question. "Ah, well, you /did/ eat before adventuring, did you not? One hopes your time as a noble lady hasn't /entirely/ softened your adventurous spirit..." She trails off then at Meria's motion.
Rhy'sae Galeni scuffs his boot over the fallen leaves, putting them out of mind. "I brought snacks, but not a picknic." He lifts a paper wrapped pack of jerky from one pocket before dropping it back in.
Lux Lunseer can't quite make herself look at the masked stranger - it's like trying to stare into the sun. Her gaze slides off the hem of her pristine white clothes and onto Rashk instead, who is much more comforting to look at in his funerary garb. "Ah. ...Oh. May I ask that each of you introduce yourself, so that I can be sure that you've signed the liability waivers...?"
Milloux Allard chuckled low despite herself, a shake of her head offered. "Aye, aye -- Just a bit of passing fancy, I assure you." She murmured - her tone mildly bemused. Someone wasn't used to folks fussing, even now.  A curious glance was given to Meria, and while that good nature sobered just a bit, a gracious nod was given to the masked figure - one couched in quiet curiosity.
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Rhy'sae Galeni blinks, "Introduce ourselves?" He repeats, shrugging, "Rhy'sae Galeni," he says, turning slightly to include the whole group, though only one isn't familiar to him.
Etienne Clairemont motions to herself.
Etienne Clairemont says, "I
Meria Boucher glances at the motley assortment to her right, her mask tilting towards them, but whatever expression she might have at their light-hearted commentary is hidden. Then, to Lux - "Meria Boucher," she states simply, obeying the letter, if not the spirit, of the request.
Etienne Clairemont says, "I'm Etienne Clairemont. My paperwork should still be on file with the Ossuary."
Milloux Allard: "Milloux Allard."  This was stated with a slight bow of her head - the motion ingrained from far too much practice.
Lux Lunseer stares at the space between Rhys' ears at his evaluation. It's as if she is trying to visually confirm that Rhys is who he says he is. The rest merely incite her to flip through her papers, murmuring something in confirmation to Etienne; she makes visible effort not to stare at Meria again at the complete lack of elaboration. "And /some/ of you are experienced in the customs of the Twelveswood," she murmurs.
Rhy'sae Galeni nods agreeably to her statement.
Meria Boucher neither nods or shakes her head. Alright then!
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Lux Lunseer is entirely in the bad habit of stating things without making it obvious that they're questions. Her tail actually curls upwards this time, the rising intonation her voice fails to convey, "And you’ve read the levequest. About the meteor. Right?” Lux ventures a glance over her shoulder, tilting back so she can stare down and into the cavernous structure below them.
(Lux Lunseer) Tucked under the overhang is the visible semi-circle of the crater the meteor must have left behind, buckling rock and melting it to a strange warped texture where it landed. [WAYPOINT A] There was a single glimmering fragment - pale gold and glowing luminously despite the lack of light.
Rashk Geilt: "Cahli'ra Tolmo," Rashk says merrily and that absolutely isn't his name, as far as some of those present know. Or maybe it is. The one he gives out normally probably isn't his name either. He wanders around behind the others like he's on a nice stroll through the woods in shoes that weren't made for hiking.

Rhy'sae Galeni nods, "We're here to recover material from the meteor shower, so they can figure out the weird things that've been going on, right?" His ears flick upwards at that, curious if he recalled right.
Etienne Clairemont raises a brow to 'Cahli'ra' but says nothing. They nod to Rhy'sae. "Strange dreams," they add quietly.
Meria Boucher nods, but does not speak - Rhy'sae is already doing so, and it would be terribly rude to interrupt. "During the Azeymeids," she adds softly, and tilts her head towards Etienne in the gestural equivalent of an upvote.
Milloux Allard perked some at the sound of approaching footfall and the familiar voice - a quick glance cast over her shoulder, and a faint nod given to him.   Attention soon shifting back to Lux - previous good humor not dissapated, but replaced by something quieter and far more intent on the task at hand. She nodded.
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Lux Lunseer mutters something under her breath about how Cahli'ra Tolmo is behind on her real estate taxes. She doesn't turn back to find Rhys at his statement, but her tail curls. "Correct," she murmurs, "Aether from things /beyond/ don't tend to harmonize well when they come crashing down to the earth - like oil and water. It /normally/ burns up long before it lands."
Lux Lunseer: "We--" She doesn't specify who. "--Were able to track it here, at least, but as I've said, I'll need your help with the actual retrieval..." She finally turns back, evaluating the party momentarily.
Lux Lunseer beckons to Milloux.
Milloux Allard lofted a brow, but nodded once more, taking a few steps forward. "I admit, I've been right curious how y' intend to do just that." Admitted quietly, head canting a bit to the side.
(Etienne Clairemont) :x was that just for milloux?
Rhy'sae Galeni glances over his shoulder at Rashk, "Wait, did you say your name was Carla?"
(Lux Lunseer) Anyone can come forward! Lux is just shoving people at Waypoint A
Etienne Clairemont steps up alongside Milloux, peering at the strangely glimmering fragment.
Milloux Allard: "it's a pretty thing.."
Rhy'sae Galeni keeps an ear cocked towards Rashk as he steps forwards with the others.
(Lux Lunseer) It is hard to see anything through the thick cloak of shadows, beyond the fragment. There is nothing much of note - just stretches of empty tunnels and, now and then, a flicker of movement out of the corner of one's eye.
Meria Boucher joins them at the gesture, settling next to Milloux - and then, after glancing towards her right - she adjusts her position slightly, making it so the spacing between her and Milloux is even with the space between Milloux and Etienne.
Lux Lunseer briefly holds both her hands out, one to Milloux and the other to Etienne, to check the quality of their gloves. "It's solid aether, like any other crystal formation, I think," she says of the fragment, "You should be able to just... pick it up." 'With any luck' seems to go unsaid.
Rashk Geilt | There’s a flash of teeth behind a curtain of ink black hair. “Might need your ears cleaned out, Ree~s,” he says. He waits for the others to venture forth first before he trails after them.
Rhy'sae Galeni snaps his tail at Rashk's response. "Let's go have a closer look then." He set off down the slope.
(Lux Lunseer) Before Rhys trips the cutscene - would anyone else like to follow? ))
(Etienne Clairemont) (( Eti will come along! *nod*
(Milloux Allard) Mill will!
Milloux Allard: ( Should be noted that Mill's gloves are re-enforced with a focus-like threading in it, should Lux inspect closely. XD )
(Milloux Allard) ack that should be in party.)
Lux Lunseer: +1 Lux approval point))
(Lux Lunseer) [!! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING !!]
Meria Boucher - after she's finished with ensuring that she's symmetrically in line with everyone else - finally says something that isn't a direct response to a question. "Everything should be fine in the end." Meria looks to Rhys and Etienne as they move forward, but she stays stationary. Her posture is straight and intent, like a soldier, and she looks to Lux before following along.
(Meria Boucher) Oops, should clarify - Meria doesn't go on ahead without Lux's explicit go-ahead.
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(Lux Lunseer) Lux will be looking after Mill and Eti and Rhys - and probably won't notice Meria waiting, which is fine! Meria stays here, out of the way, watching as...))
(Lux Lunseer) The group makes it to the crater - and the glimmering shard - without incident. There is something strange about the shadows - how they seem to stretch out towards you as you approach - but it could just be a trick of the light. You scarcely lean forward to brush your fingers over the warm edge of the shard when the shadows boil over into a simmering FURY of soot spirits, flashing amber eyes and flat teeth. >

(Lux Lunseer) The proper collective noun for a group of spriggans is a parade. This is more of a flash mob. They promptly all bumrush the group at once, climbing over each other in an effort to scramble over each person - pinching and tickling and squawking. >
(Lux Lunseer) Everybody (Mill, Rhys, Eti) please roll /random!
(Lux Lunseer) MILL ))
(Milloux Allard) ( DSLKJHDLKJHDD)
(Meria Boucher) ( HAHAHA, KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE SPRIGGANS. EXCELLENT. )
(Lux Lunseer) Mill endures the most of the Spriggans' joint attentions, as jealous as they are of her fine scarf and nice jacket. Rhys ends up with Spriggans on his head. Perhaps they don't like pink - Eti remains largely untouched, and is the only one able to reach down and scoop up the shard.
(Meria Boucher) (i love those little fuzzy ???????s )
Lux Lunseer || Up the hill, with Meria having assured her that everything will turn out just fine, Lux heaves a deep, empathetic sigh.
(Rashk Geilt) I might be out of emote range <shuffle> ))
Milloux Allard | No, no, absolutely not - she had been so distracted by the seething shadows, the strange etheral nature of it..shadows that suddenly sounded like the insufferable sound of a thousand bottle brushes being rubbed together combined with chittering sounds."Ah! Sod -off-, y' little--" She cursed low, a half-dozen other hissed epithets escaping the woman, none of which were proper for a Lady,  as she attempted to shove, and pry, the things off.
Rashk Geilt is walking along at a leisurely pace—until he spots the spriggans, the dark, fuzzy wave headed towards the hapless adventurers. His tail flicks to point straight up, fur expanding rapidly, and then he yelps, “Don’t hurt the spriggans!” Like they were the ones that might suffer instead of the people they were climbing on.
Milloux Allard shot a -glare- back at Rashk. Oh, she was abotut o throw one of the buggers -at- him for that.
Rhy'sae Galeni freezes, his tail puffing out to its maximum size as he become sa jungle gym for sproggans. His first startled yelp is scut off as he starts to swat at the spriggan on his head. "H-hey!" The spriggan's ears dip down into his field of vision and he bats at them, trying ot get a grip to pull the thing off him but it yanks them out of reach too fast, toying with him. Meanwhile, a spriggan his discovered his tail and chomps at it, hanging from the middle of it.
Meria Boucher watches, quiet. She makes no movement to stop anything that's happening. "Ah, that makes sense. They'll probably want to play a game, then." The mask shifts towards Lux. "It will not be effortless, but there shouldn't be any blood." A pause. "...Well, unless someone does something particularly silly. I think."
Etienne Clairemont stammers, "Ah--!" As they manage to scoop up the shard. Curling a lip, they make sure to avoid the sooty-looking little creatures.
Lux Lunseer 's gaze slowly shifts aside to mirror Meria's wooden movements. Funny how they both have the exact same emotional range. "Bloodless," She repeats, and then blinks like a startled bird. "Oh. How do you...?" But it's hard to ignore the group's struggles, and finally Lux calls back over, "Oh, please - please come back. I don't think overpowering them with sheer numbers will be the right strategy after all..."
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Rhy'sae Galeni is spinning in a circle, trying to get the spriggan off his tail while also trying to get the one teasing him with its ears off his head. "C'moooon!" He whines, stumbling.
(Lux Lunseer) The spriggans are indeed attracted to the motions of the star shard as Etienne claims it - and they climb over Milloux and Rhy'sae to try and greedily grab for it from the Duskright. Spriggan rights. Who's avocating for Spoken rights? ('WHEEEEEE' screeches the one on Rhys' head.)
Meria Boucher reaches into her coat, retrieving a shard of fire-aspected crystal from one of the pockets. Then, she lets it drop - except it does not fall, but hovers there beside her, levitated through an adjustment of the gravitational properties of the air. "The sky," Meria replies, pointing up, and then cuts a bit of twine contained within a pouch on her belt with a dagger. She ties it around the sparkly crystal, and then whistling sharply, she begins spinning the thing around to catch the Spriggans -
Rhy'sae Galeni manages to shake the one off his tail and he sprints away from the shard, the spriggan on his head clutching his ears like they're reigns. The 'WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE' stretches out for the entire run as tall black ears bob over Rhys's head, "Help," he pleads.
Milloux Allard had managed to pry at least one of the little buggers away - for all ehr bluster, she hadn't been overly rough with them, even if the one -definitely- making off with her scarf got a good boot to the scruffy backside.
Etienne Clairemont runs back to Lux with the shard, long legs making short work of the movement. If the spriggans chase them, well, there's 3 people up there to help disperse them.

Rhy'sae Galeni beckons to the dust bunny.
Meria Boucher - attention. "Over here," she calls to them, if the whistle wasn't enough, and tries to get the spriggans to dislodge themselves from anyone they're still attached to and pursue her tantalizing shiny object.
Rashk Geilt glances at Lux sidelong. “Punching them better not be the strategy either,” he says sweetly. Obviously he isn’t advocating for Spoken rights tonight—possibly because it isn’t his hair that the spriggans are trying to tangle in. He blinks, ears perking as he stares at the spinning, shiny crystal. Missing everything else entirely for a moment.a ride on Rhys and trying to relentlessly pursue Meria break off to circle around her instead.
Rhy'sae Galeni sighs in relief when his little passengers hop off, even the one on his head. He shakes himself so hard and so fast that one could swear his ears ausibly slapped agtainst his skull a couple times. "THANK YOU."
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Milloux Allard adjusted her collar in a surly, half-hearted manner.   She hadn't been overly attached to the scarf -- really, it had just looked nice. Sometimes a cool leather jacket needed an accessory.  A last baleful look was given behind her, before attention turned to...whatever was happening in front of them.
Meria Boucher toys with the spriggans, luring them along by dragging the crystal across the ground. She lets them tumble over each other in their mad scramble before she jerks the string up and... flings it into the distance. Fetch!
(Lux Lunseer) The spriggans jerk upright like tiny little negative images of lightning strikes - and then scramble off to follow the arcing path of the crystal, melting almost instantly into the shadows once they leave the sun's boundary. The party is - alone, with the single shard retrieved, and now not-harassed by Spriggans.
(Milloux Allard) I had almost hoped she was gonna have to roll for that.  ...and get swarmed too potentially. XD)
Etienne Clairemont offers the shard to Lux. "I trust you have somewhere safe to put this?"
Lux Lunseer 's tail bristles out slowly behind her as the soulkin leave; it isn't long until she, too, resembles a Spriggan. The silent huff she offers Rashk at his insistence that they wouldn't be taking the /Flames'/ way out does little to deflate her woeful silouette. "Thank you," she murmurs to Etienne, taking the shard. >
(Lux Lunseer) There is a little lockbox further up the road - away from the cave - marked with the emblem of the Flames.
Rashk Geilt slinks closer silently to observe the drama of one shiny versus three covetous spriggans as Meria makes them work for their prize. His ears flick and he’s suppressing a giggle. Having too much fun considering the predicament of the dark caverns that were filled with more soot spirits. “Sssooo … got more crystals? Only about a hundred more spriggans to go,” he says cheerfully while gesturing towards the path with a wagging motion of his tail.
Ma'sae Pohju joins the party.
Milloux Allard gave a last lingering look to the shard that Etienne was carrying - curious. Even as she brushed off her jacket.
Rhy'sae Galeni smooths his hair and ears, the fur all awry from the spriggan's clutch. His tail slowly deflates back to normal. "Ears and tails, why do things always go for ears and tails?"
Meria Boucher turns to the others, nods, and says without any variation in tone, "I have an acceptable assortment of sparkly objects I happened to pick up on the way, but perhaps not enough to handle an entire cavern of Spriggans."
Etienne Clairemont taps their chin. "Is fireballing all of them out of the question...?
Meria Boucher: Yes.
Etienne Clairemont seems lost in thought.
Meria Boucher answers with zero hesitation.
Rashk Geilt: "It most certainly is! How could you fireball that!"
Rashk Geilt is taken aback by Etienne Clairemont.
Meria Boucher pauses, then looks at Lux. "...My apologies. If you wish to... ah, 'fireball them', that is your decision."
Etienne Clairemont shrugs. "Offer me a safe, alternative solution. We have a job to do, I'd see it done efficiently."

Milloux Allard seems lost in thought.
Lux Lunseer holds the shard up to the sun, her gaze sliding over to Meria at her reluctance. "Well - I believe t-they're harmless, though, the Spriggans. J-just annoying. They've stolen the rest though. And you're all good at..." Her attention goes to Milloux next. Lux says, "'Outreach.'"
(Meria Boucher) Poor rhys. This is why you try to have no extremities!
Rashk Geilt ‘s tail is pointing up in an offended poof, flicking from side to side. “We aren’t fireballing them even if she wants to, we didn’t punch them either when she wanted to,” he says. Perhaps he feels sympathy for soot spirits because his fur is the same colour of black that drowns in deep shadows.
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Lux Lunseer: ".../Those/ Spriggans were crypt-robbers..."
Etienne Clairemont levels a gaze with Cahli'ra. "Alright, then. You go down first and let's go snatch the rest from them."
Meria Boucher: ...The Elementals are not as strong in this land as they once were, but still, it seems unwise to carelessly kill in the Shroud. From what I know, at least. Spriggans are distractable. I can conjure some aetheric light, for example.
Rashk Geilt then stops to think, tilting his head. "They like gems and ore. ... There's that abandoned quarry. We could attempt to trade the shards for other rocks." He stares at Etienne at their suggestion, squinting.
Milloux Allard grumbled quietly. "'Annoyin' is an understatement.  Like an entire swarm of Tams with less self control."  She commented mildly.
Milloux Allard: "S'pose they won't listen to reason, will they..."
Rashk Geilt: "They don't understand what a grave is, they aren't doing it maliciously!" Maybe. Probably.
Meria Boucher nods to Rash-- sorry, Cahli'ra.
Rhy'sae Galeni: They really liked Milloux, we could sent her running through then follow behind to check the area after the spriggans are all chasing her instead of us!
Lux Lunseer just nods along at all of these suggestions, like she knows exactly the market rate exchange of Tams to rocks. She stops at some shift in the wind.
Rhy'sae Galeni flicks his ears and tail at the suggestion.
Lux Lunseer: "...No, I won't have you go through these caverns blindly. It's an old place - ...it hasn't been maintained."
Milloux Allard clearly, despite apparent heritage, seemed utterly clueless how to deal with such critters.
Lux Lunseer holds the shard up. "Are you are familiar with using aether attenuation to locate other - similar objects?"
Meria Boucher nods to Lux.
Etienne Clairemont tilts their head. "Like using aether shards?"
Rhy'sae Galeni tilts his head, ears flicking curiously, "I've not had cause to try it myself but I know it's done..."
Milloux Allard offered a flat look towards Rhy'sae. "Aye, but they sure seemed fond of your ability t' ferry them about."  Shaking her head, she glanced back towards Lux, curious. But..eventually nodded. "More familiar with usin' such technique with livin' aetheric signature than an inanimate object, but if I could familiarize myself.."
Lux Lunseer hums a flat note to Etienne, tilting her head birdwise. "It's similar to the same motions you use to aspect your frequency up towards astral or down into umbral, and the principal is the same if you ever teleported to a distant waypoint - how you /felt/ for that aetheryte through the Lifestream. Everything has a unique aetherial frequency that identifies it..."
Rhy'sae Galeni covers the top of his head with his hands as if to protect himself from future spriggans, his tail tucking down close. His attention settles on Lux, nodding along.
Lux Lunseer trails off, nodidng to Milloux. "This will feel similar. Easier, even - being that it's not from Hydaelyn, its presence should be unmistakable." She holds the shard out to her student.
Milloux Allard extended her hand to accept the shard - perhaps not without a brief look around - juuust making sure none of those little buggers were lurking and waiting to swipe something else.   Gloved fingers curled around it, and with -- eyes closed, concentrating on -something- to find a connection with the shard.  "Tickles." She murmured, offhandedly.
Rhy'sae Galeni stepped closer and peered at Mill's hands. "And it feels weird or different?" He asks, "From like, a normal wrong?"
Rhy'sae Galeni ...rock**]
(Lux Lunseer) It does feel strange - as you attune to it - the frequency an instrument you don't recognize, the response in chords you don't think /should/ harmonize at all. Despite the warm gold glow of the shard, it sounds cold. It sounds like empty caverns, frozen veins, urns emptied of gold. And if you push your awareness out, testing the limits of your range, you /sense/ - like tiny constellations - others distributed through the cavern.
Meria Boucher shifts to look at the lockbox over to the right numerous times before the urge to investigate finally overtakes her. Taking a quiet step back, she disengages with the group - letting everyone else have a turn to look at the shard before she does - and drifts over to study the container. She's still within hearing range; it's fine!

Milloux Allard surpressed the little shiver that went up her spine - a deep breath taken in as she better familiarized herself with the inherent energy in the object. "Different. Fuzzy. Not a song, but a long note. th' sort that tickles up your spine because someone played it in th' wrong key for a chocobo." Her voice is indeed a little more distant, and when she finally holds it back out towards Lux, she looks a little disoriented - distracted even, as more dischordant notes were added to the chorus.
Rashk Geilt paces around a little, silent after his loud arguments for spriggan rights. He leaves feeling up rocks to those with suitable aether senses while he stares down into the darkness of the cavern. Ears tilting and turning as he listens.
Milloux Allard blinked. Had she really said chocobo? Hells, where had -that- come from?
(Lux Lunseer) The lockbox is black and gold and bears the dust and dents of years of heavy use. Perhaps unsurprisingly - it is locked. Not with something /metal/ - perhaps oweing to the peculiar kind of company the priestess keeps - but with complicated knots of aether warding.
Milloux Allard: "We have our work cut out fro us, with all this..  What -do- th' Flames intend on doin' with these things?"
Rhy'sae Galeni reaches for the shard before Mill can give it back to Lux, "Let me try," he says, and if he gets it, he curls his fingers around it, a look of concentration on his face as he tries to mimic the attuneing.
Lux Lunseer was watching Milloux carefully - studying her countenance for any sign of reluctance or pain as she wields her aether. The priestess blinks at her question though, mouth pressed into a grim line as it slides over to Rashk to track his motions. She mutters, perhaps predictably, "Classified information."
Meria Boucher halts suddenly as a single word crosses the distance - chocobo. The sole of her shoe scuffs against the ground as she turns suddenly, completely facing Milloux. There is a long moment of wordless study before she returns to the box, kneeling before it and extending her single hand. Gently, she works at it, slight little aetheric pokes and prods like someone figuring out how best to approach a long-forsaken box of stringed holiday lights. Before diving into the process of unravelling it ->
Meria Boucher -> she tries to sense if there are any consequences for failure.
Rhy'sae Galeni flicks his ears as he finally gets it, "No, I see what you mean, Mill," he says, holding the shard out for it to move on. "It's like... a... I can't put my finger on it, it's like that sound a chocobo makes you know, like, kweh?" He flicks his tail slightly when he says it.
Milloux Allard looked, despite her disorientation - more curious than upset or out of sorts.  Idly, she handed the crystal off towards Rhy'sae if he was allowed to take it, a little nod offered.
Milloux Allard: "...'course it is." She gave Lux a brief look, more idly amused than anything. Well, it had been worth the earnest try.
Etienne Clairemont frowns a little to Milloux, concerned. Their focus shifts to Rhy'sae, observing.
Rashk Geilt blinks slowly before his eyes grow heavy-lidded and he keeps staring at the shadows, his tail slowly lowering to droop miserably. He’s murmuring something faintly, only the words ‘dead’ and ‘can’t go back’ louder than the rest of the litany that holds the cadence of an eulogy.
(Lux Lunseer) The wards are designed in layers, woven across the surface of the box - up close the blood used to seal them is obvious. The first is a sympathetic link to something /else/, most likely to inform the owner if someone is indeed messing with the lock box. The second layer is the actual locking mechanic, invoking the gravitational press welding the lid shut, overlaid a third layer whose purpose is obscured but is likely meant to activate should the /wrong/ aetherial signature be used to access it.
Lux Lunseer is indeed informed. "Miss Boucher - I think we would find your skills more useful - here." It doesn't particularly sound like a suggestion. "Worry not, the Spriggans will be unable to claim the shards from there..."
Milloux Allard offered Etienne a mildly reassuring look, even as she took a few more steps forwards towards the cavern once more.  Having an inkling of where the things were was all well and good, but there was still a bristling horde of tiny terrors to contend with.  And who kenw aught else...
(Lux Lunseer) [!! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING !!]
Milloux Allard peered back at the group. "I'm...going t' give it a go."  Whether or not this was because she was unsure of how long she could hold onto the signature, or a fliucker of recklessness, one couldn't be sure. She withdrew her bladed focus from it's hiding place, and wordlessly, started down into the cave...
Lux Lunseer: Kweh.
Meria Boucher dusts herself off as she stands. "Very well," she says, already striding over to close the distance between them. Before she takes the crystal herself, she tilts her head towards the lockbox. "Is that classified as well?" She does not, however, wait for a reply before attuneing as well.
Rashk Geilt startles as Rhy’sae yells, snapping back to attention—perhaps a good thing as he’d been swaying dangerously close to the edge, a few pebbles coming loose and raining down into the darkness below. He takes a slow step back, ears twitching and turning.
Lux Lunseer: Kweh?!
Lux Lunseer: Kweh.
Rhy'sae Galeni: "See anything on the floor?"
Etienne Clairemont takes a careful perch at the edge of the cavern, squinting down into the darkness.
Lux Lunseer: Kweh.
(Lux Lunseer) Your aetherial senses have brought you before a Spriggan a little bigger and - ...fuzzier than the rest, with a broomhandle mustache. She is sitting on an abandoned counter, on a tiny throne made of stacks of gil; she has many rocks spread out before her. One of them is the star shard. Her eyes light up when she sees Mill approach.
(Lux Lunseer) [!! RP MAY RESUME !!]
(Lux Lunseer) (also rp in party so I can see it))
(Milloux Allard) ( Yus, I figured! XD)
Of the 56 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
(Milloux Allard) The signature -finally- caught her attention. What had distracted her, so?  The unfamiliar nature of the location and the aether bouncing off her senses and the cavern walls had done...something.   A little embarassing, really - hadn't she traversed that spot?    She watched the spriggan quietly - well, it wasn't the one that had made off with her scarf, but it was...someone.  Silently, she made a gesture towards the spriggan, and then the shard. Not wantign to raise her voice too much and...
(Milloux Allard) invite more of them.
(Lux Lunseer) The spriggan spreads her fuzzy arms wide in a gesture of welcome, mustache vibrating excitedly - it seems /much/ less like she bears a grudge, for some reason. One by one, she picks up each of her rocky wares for Milloux to inspect and peruse, starting with a generous chunk of limestone. But when Milloux indicates her interest is solely in the star shard, it nods along - of course, of course, the Shiniest - and then gestures wildly towards the throne of gil. What does Mill have to trade for it?
(Milloux Allard) The urge to be impatient was quelled - frankly, looking over fine chunks of limestone and shale was preferable to some of the contracts and cajoling she endured from some of those seeking aid or favor from the Enclave.   Each given a small considering nod..but when she - they? settled on the star shard as well, she canted her head to the side.  Lips pursed, she reached into her jacket pocket and produced a very shiny, but very broken , crystal lighter.
Of the 64 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
(Milloux Allard) /dice
(Lux Lunseer) dot dot dot ))
(Lux Lunseer) my bad - what's the new command? ))
(Ma'sae Pohju) Random! 944
(Milloux Allard) /random
(Ma'sae Pohju) Set your default channel to party
(Ma'sae Pohju) then type /dice
(Milloux Allard) Random! 164
(Ma'sae Pohju) how did that get worse omg
(Milloux Allard) because that is my luck lately. )
(Lux Lunseer) The reflection crystal lighter can be seen in the covetous gaze of the spriggan's amber gaze. It holds up the star shard next to the lighter, turning it this way and that, comparing. The shard glows with a gentle light; the crystal lighter reflects it nicely, but doesn't seem to have a light of its own. They are about the same size, so all other things are equal. It doesn't seem quite convinced.

(Lux Lunseer) Can it be made... Shinier? If all else fails, the Spriggan can clearly be bribed in the exact way that glowering Ossuary priests are rumored to be.
(Milloux Allard) She had perhaps chosen the lighter for exactly that reason. A finger was held up as if to encourage the spriggan to wait a moment.  A spell was murmured, charging some of the leftover vapors in the lighter, setting them aglow.  Maybe this..?
(Milloux Allard) Random! 601
(Lux Lunseer) It's as if Milloux knows the magic spell to its /being./ >
(Milloux Allard) Of course - tries not to look too impatient as she holds it out, encouragingly. That wasn't going to last overlong, but the spriggan needn't know that.   She reached for the Shard..this was ok, right?
(Lux Lunseer) The Spriggan immediately launches the star shard into the air, throwing itself bodily at the crystal lighter instead. It is chattering cheerfully, calling others to come and behold the newest crown jewels of its wares: a shiny that makes Shinies. Milloux has a short window to skitter away before the lighter goes out...
(Milloux Allard) She bowed...and made a break for it.
(Lux Lunseer) [SUCCESS - +1 STAR COUNTER]
Of the 53 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
Milloux Allard: "Seven Hells t' sennight's end..."
(Meria Boucher) ( \o/ bartering HOOOOOOO(
Lux Lunseer blows her breath out in a rush as if she'd been holding it. "Did you... Are you...?"
Meria Boucher cannot clap for Milloux, only having one hand. She pats it on her thigh in a rough approximation of the gesture.
Milloux Allard held the shard out, gingerly, towards Lux. "Swivin' little buggers. I liked that lighter. Intended on fixing it... Here, though."
Rashk Geilt eyes Milloux over, noting the lack of--whatever spriggans might bleed. Soot or stone dust, perhaps. He wiggles his ears and smiles. "A job well done, it seems."
(Milloux Allard) ( said lighter just got broken by a bad roll in another scene, so LOL. )
Lux Lunseer , as if inspired by Meria, claps too - once. Then her hands remain in prayer, and she stares at the Lady Advocate over the point of her fingers. "Unspeakable horrors," she mutters, as if to agree, reaching out to gratefully accept the shard from Milloux. "Will you see who would like to go next?" She murmurs, drifting away to lock it up safely in the box.
Rhy'sae Galeni snaps his fingers, "They aren't coming up here when it breaks again are they?"
Milloux Allard blinked owlishly as she relinquished her grip on the object- letting the signature fade from her senses a bit, and with it, the mild distraction. "Ah..there's a great many mroe down there, yet. I need a break."
Meria Boucher raises her hand. She's happy to go next, though she'll happily let someone else throw themselves into the fray if they're raring to go.
Company action “The Heat of Battle II” is no longer active.
Milloux Allard shrugged at Rhys.  Not hjer spriggans, not her circus.
Rashk Geilt: "A volunteer! Off you go then. Into the darkness. What could go wrong."
Lux Lunseer: "Ah... So long as I keep my distance, it seems as though it might go better," Lux mutters, tail lifting questioningly behind her. She nods once to Meria, perhaps happy the strangely competent aetherologist will satisfy her curiosities with the Spriggans rather than the lockbox's warding.

Meria Boucher: Well, I could stumble upon some untold horror in the depths, or I could fall into a pit that I cannot see due to the poor light, or -- oh. Wait. That was... A rhetorical question, wasn't it.
Lux Lunseer: I will go set the waypoint!))
Lux Lunseer: Ready! ))
Meria Boucher: (( o7 ))
Meria Boucher bows to the group before setting off into the depths.
Rashk Geilt ‘s laughter resembles the call of spotted beasts with sharp teeth. “Oh, I appreciate the thought you’ve put into it. You’ll do fine,” he says. “It’s only a burial ground for the lost.”
(Lux Lunseer) [!! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING !!]
(Lux Lunseer) [SPRIGGAN ENCOUNTER - THE ROCK BAND]
(Lux Lunseer) There are two Spriggans, slightly smaller than the rest, with shaggy spindly fur playing on metal - ...you assume they are instruments. They are making a /horrific/ racket, you probably could have found them on audible frequencies alone. One is wearing Milloux's scarf as a headband. The other has their metal-wire instrument plugged into the star shard - as an amp...
(Lux Lunseer) The two aspiring rockstars play one last sick riff before they pause at Meria's approach, waiting to see as if she might have an opinion on their 'music.'
(Meria Boucher) Meria Boucher takes in the scene before her, quietly standing as the Spriggans let their shredding riffs tear through the cavern. Nodding to herself, she does the only thing that would be sensible in this situation - she points at the pair as dramatically as her diminuitive height will allow (though she's still beating the soot gremlins by a fair few feet) and raises a motley assortment of pebbles, stones, and chunks with her gravitational abilities. Two small ones thump against the wall, the -
(Meria Boucher) - heavier one steadily beats out a bass rhytm. Don't you need a good percussionist to be a rock star?
(Lux Lunseer) The Spriggan youths startle at the seemingly tribal witch come to shut down their underground rock movement - but when she bangs out an unsteady, stacatto rhythm against the rock wall, they stop trying to pack up their equipment and instead try for a few moments to jam with her. But Meria's musical tastes lend towards jazz - they're more punk rock. They enjoy her spirit, but she's kind of, like, killing their vibe...
(Meria Boucher) Once she notes the lack of harmony, Meria pauses, nodding to herself. It's understandable; she was literally a housewife approaching the local ruffians trying to say, 'how do you do, fellow kids?' Instead, she kneels down, taking a studious look at the pair. A head-band and an amp made from starlight... No, no. That wasn't punk rock. Pointing to the headband first, she shakes her head. Then, she reaches into her coat, this time pulling out a vial and uncorking it. She puts some of the thick gel-
(Meria Boucher)  - onto her gloved fingertip, and then teases it into her hair... immediately demonstrating to the Spriggans how it can make hair stick straight out in unnatural positions. The second bottle she displays to them is easily understood with a quick splash onto the dirt - it's dye. How can you be punk rock without a dyed mohawk?
(Lux Lunseer) The Spriggan youth, naturally, act as if they're too cool to listen to anything she has to say - when Meria pulls something out of her pockets to show them, they merely roll their little amber eyes. 'Ok, star-boomer,' that look seems to say. But then - she shows them how they may break the mold of their strange, magnetic. They will not be limited to soot-black. They may break the laws - of /gravity./ >
(Lux Lunseer) They want it. They drop their instruments on the ground and make greedy little graspy fingers at her and her offered vials with their very short little arms.
(Meria Boucher) Meria points at Milloux's scarf and the star shard. A trade?
(Lux Lunseer) Two things for two things! Seems fair. These youth are too cool for school. They hand both objects over with little fuss.
(Meria Boucher) Meria passes the vials over, taking the objects in return... and then she pauses. Two for two is a fair trade, but she's an adult, isn't she? It's her job to protect and nurture the youth. Looking to the left, then the right, making sure no adult Spriggans are watching... she pulls out a third thing. Slyly, she slides it to them, giving them a nod like she is certain they'll use it well.
(Meria Boucher) It's glitter.
(Meria Boucher) Meria Boucher has given them an entire bag full of glitter.
(Meria Boucher) She stands then, lest she be caught in the following catastrophe.
(Lux Lunseer) ???? punk rock and dead space objects! It's 80's glam glitter fever down here in the Spriggan Dig!! The youth cheer uproariously as they skitter off into the cave with their newfound means to express themselves, trailing glitter behind them. This is the origin story of the spriggan who would one day be known as Ziggy, and his army of Stardust...
(Meria Boucher) Meria watches them go, pride in her heart as the future scampers off into the dark to spread havoc and mayhem in the wake of their new generation. She can only imagine the youths they'll inspire in turn, and turning with purpose, she strides back up to her companions. Both shard and scarf are offered in her single hand. "Mission complete."
Rashk Geilt claps for you.
Milloux Allard: "Did...is that my scarf?
Milloux Allard bows courteously to you.
Lux Lunseer is staring for a moment at Meria's pristine white silouette - except for the /faintest/ touch of glitter on her shoes, she seems entirely - untouched. The others' adventures in the cave are clearly not going as poorly as the priestess is expecting. "Ah, thank you," she murmurs anyway, drifting forward and holding her hand out for the shard.
Meria Boucher: It is. It seems mostly unharmed. I showed them an alternative style they seemed excited to employ.
Milloux Allard: "That...wasn' nessescary, Miss. But y' have my thanks all th' same. I was right fond of that one."
Meria Boucher hands her the shard. There is one particularly bright speck on her mask. Glitter - it /never/ goes away.
(Rashk Geilt) she'll keep finding glitter everywhere for weeks ... )
Etienne Clairemont nods to Meria. "Well done. A favor for fashion is a favor for us all."
Meria Boucher: There's little in life that is necessary, aside from food, water, and air. But unnecessary things are important all the same.
Rhy'sae Galeni considers thoughtfully, "I don't think High Chair will ever reach the normal size for a paissa either," half to himself, "She's so runty. Makes her cuter...."
Lux Lunseer: "Alternative... style. I see." Lux's mouth presses into a grim line, but despite her morbid countenance, she seems impressed nonetheless. She accepts the shard, turning away to put it in the lockbox with the others. "Are you employed with the Enclave as well, miss Boucher? I haven't seen you before... ...I think."
Rashk Geilt mutters something about some things being necessary for one’s sanity. He doesn't specify what, but there's a blush of heat across his cheeks. He blinks down at Rhys. "What's the normal size for--actually, I don't want to know."
Meria Boucher: No. I am acquainted with Miss Brimaine, who made me aware of this expedition. I was curious, so I pursued it.
Rashk Geilt drags his gaze over to Meria curiously as he hears Kowa mentioned.
Lux Lunseer 's stony countenance finally breaks then - her eyebrows raise a fraction of an ilm. "Kowa sent you," she says, something quirking at the corner of her mouth. "Fortuitous." Etiquette might demand she ask /more/ questions, but instead she straightens to murmur, "Who is going next?"
Rashk Geilt 's ears slowly perk before he sticks a hand up.
Lux Lunseer gazes upon Rashk Geilt in deep reflection.
Rhy'sae Galeni just gestures WIDELY, "Paissas a HUGE."
Lux Lunseer: "Were you - ...able to attune to it?"
Meria Boucher looks between Etienne, Rhy'sae, and Rha-- C-- ah, there we go.
(Ma'sae Pohju) bye felicia <3 ))
Rashk Geilt: "We'll find out, won't we? If I never come back, think of me fondly. And tell everyone I was too gorgeous for this world."
Rashk Geilt has left the party.
Meria Boucher: ...I do not understand the fascination with paissa, but the companions I keep hold them in high regard as well. This land is a strange one.
Rhy'sae Galeni peers curiously at Rashk, "I'll miss you when the spriggans make you their new leader and you choose never to return."
Milloux Allard gazes upon Rashk Geilt in deep reflection.
Milloux Allard: "Honestly, it started as a way t' annoy a former suitor.  I..ended up takin' to them." She responded, softly.
Rashk Geilt: "Ah, but before I go ..."
Lux Lunseer 's gaze falls to the ground. "...Please /do/ come back..." She murmurs, but doesn't particularly act to stop him.
Rashk Geilt sidles over to Lux with a shark grin, reaching up to grab at her veils. “Wish me luck, sugar plum,” he says and leans up, the veils hiding his face from view momentarily—while one hand lowers and he neatly pickpockets a piece of jewellery off her. One with a shiny, shiny gem on it. He pockets it and whirls around, half bouncing and half sliding down into the darkness.
Of the 69 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
Lux Lunseer: WAIT LEMME PLACE THE WAYPOINT
(Milloux Allard) LOL
Lux Lunseer: Ok ready!))
Meria Boucher: Mm... I think that is fair enough. In a way, isn't that a part of life? Taking what was old and worn and hurt and making it yours.
Rhy'sae Galeni peers after Lux, wondering if her veils are hiding a blush. It looked like Rashk kissed her before he left. That was cute! He didn't see the theft.
Meria Boucher: (( you could say he.... STOLE A KISS? [ no he just stole jewelry ] )
(Lux Lunseer) Down one of the shallow halls is a proper parade of Spriggans - a baker's dozen of them, judging from the way ears twitch like anttena to adjust towards Rashk at his approach - in a cuddle pile so dark that the amber light from the shard doesn't escape it. The shard - the strange, dry voiceless voice that calls back to him - isn't visible, but it's /audible./ As is... something else that doesn't quite seem to belong, perceptible on an audio frequency but suspiciously - characteristically - not >
(Lux Lunseer) on the aetherial.
Lux Lunseer is indeed slowly turning shades of hellfire to match the way the sun is brilliantly setting behind them, fingers curled over her mouth to hide the line of it. But it's hard to say if it's from ardor or the sort of furious indignation an Ossuary priestess works herself into upon realizing she's missing one of her rings.
Of the 65 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
Lux Lunseer: "I should've... made someone go with him. He doesn't /sense/ as deeply as - the rest of us do..."
(Rashk Geilt) On his way down, Rashk reaches under layers of silk and other expensive fabrics, pulling out a small knife, only two ilms or so but wickedly curved with a sharp tip. He pries the gem loose from its golden frame while waiting for his vision to adjust to the dark. Then he heads off at a silent skulk, drawn by whatever he can sense. Whispers of a dead star. The sudden pile of comfortable-looking spriggans makes him pause and he blinks. >
Milloux Allard: "Miss Lux...is aught amiss?"
Rhy'sae Galeni glances up and wanders over like a cat with something interesting going on nearby.
(Rashk Geilt) Then he lowers himself closer to the cavern floor and sidles in closer, lifting his tail like the spriggans are lifting their—ears? Antennae? Possibly trying to appear as small and unthreatening as possible to try and get a look at the middle of the pile where they might be hoarding the shard.
Milloux Allard had, sadly, been waxing far too poetically about paissa to notice the theft. She was goign entirely too soft.
Meria Boucher turns the mask towards Lux. "I do not think there is danger here," she says. "But, I am also happy to follow after if you are concerned. It is the sort of mission that is well within my operational capabilities."
Meria Boucher bows to Lux, like someone who isn't bearing the remnanants of a glitter packet.
(Ma'sae Pohju) The spriggans move in unison, rising slightly like the tide before they lowered again. Seeming to lift from underneath in response to the approach of a stranger. Beady amber eyes lock onto Rashk, watching his every move as he approaches. Yet before he could get too close a voice came from the center he was trying to investigate. “Stop.” It rumbled, several of the spriggans baring pointed teeth in curious grins. “Stop right there. What do you want.” It seemed Rashk found a talking one.
Lux Lunseer simply forces herself to transpose to umbral, breathing out a cloud of steam. "Simply concern," she mutters, "He's meant for more than getting lost in underused tunnels..." Her hand drops as Rhys wanders over, and she studies him for a moment before her attention snaps to Meria. "Ah - perhaps... If he doesn't come back in the time it took you or Milloux to return, then... I would appreciate it, thank you."
Lux Lunseer is legally obligated to say, "But I won't be paying more for his return..."
Lux Lunseer is emotionally obligated to then clarify, "But it would mean more to me than gil."
Meria Boucher nods. "Understood." There's a pause, then -- "My husband is a very stupid man, and I worry after him in the same way." A pause. "I do not mean to make assumptions - simply, I am referring to emotional attachments." Another pause. "I am not the sort of person who needs to be paid a greater salary to aid those that need it."
Meria Boucher seems to be the kind of person who says her thoughts out of order.
(Rashk Geilt) It’s a little hard to see this deep in the cavern, but he can still tell that there’s a whole pile of spriggans there—and they likely won’t be appeased with a single gem. Should have shaken Lux down for several more, she was wearing enough bling to share with the entire clan. He startles as the spriggan hive speaks, letting out a high pitched noise and his fur poofs up huge. >
Milloux Allard 's expression softened, nominally - a lingering glance given to Lux at that statement. "Aye, it's understood, Miss Lux."  The corners of her mouth upturned just a little. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a silver tongue and a fondness for th' little sootbins we've not."
(Rashk Geilt) “You can /talk/?” he yelps out before slapping a hand over his mouth. “Uh—ah. Parley?” he offers with a flash of teeth in a nervous grin. “Trade over a shiny object you might have?”
Etienne Clairemont jokes to Milloux, "Us getting lost in a tunnel is just a return to form for us, right?" To Lux: "But miss, you should never gamble with that you fear to lose. Only a sucker places bets like that."
Lux Lunseer: "Your husband," Lux repeats, looking over the points of Rhys' ears towards Meria. She trails off into silence to consider the rest. "Did he have aught to say of your travels today?..."
Of the 61 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
(Ma'sae Pohju) “Parley!” The pile purred back. A few of the spriggans scrambling for better position to see the stranger, tumbling over each other in an unsettling sort of swarming motion, occasionally the bulk of them rising and lowering as the center one moved. It seemed far larger than the rest judging by sheer displacement of fuzzballs. “Shiny object shines enough for all of us. Do you have something to shine for us all instead?”
Milloux Allard huffed quietly towards Eti. Still, a lingering glance was given to the rim of the cave. Surely everyone was okay...?
Lux Lunseer turns her attention to Etienne next, nodding once, letting the veils sweep forward. "One tithes things in this life so that they may be ensured it in the next. It doesn't quite apply to people, but I - need to keep remembering that people don't /belong/ to me. He's just - sometimes - doesn't assign things the right /value./ "
Rhy'sae Galeni peers at Lux, "He doesn't?"
(Rashk Geilt) “Ah, feck. I have—” He sets the red gem down and starts going through his pockets. Shaking loose various objects, though he catches a falling knife and tucks that back behind his belt. He might be all for spriggan rights, but he isn’t giving them any particularly sharp objects. They might hurt themselves. Or other spriggans. Or him, by accident of course. >
Etienne Clairemont murmurs to Rhy'sae, "People don't /belong/ to each other, darling."
(Rashk Geilt) “A pocket chronometer, red yarn, several buttons, dried aldgoat meat, a mirror, a … flask …” Can spriggans get drunk? “Two gil!” What a find.
Meria Boucher pauses. "Fiancee, if we're being technical," she admits softly. "But I believe you would call it... 'common law', as the only reason we have not had the ceremony is because of war. He wished me well, and asked me to tell him of what I learned. He is not aetherically inclined, but he takes great interest in my work. He worried, of course, and asked me to call on him if needed, but..." She thinks for a moment. "After as long as it has been... he knows when I am confident I will return, and -
Meria Boucher: - trusts my judgement. He knows my weaknesses, and what to be looking for. And I know his, and I seek to compensate for them in turn."
Etienne Clairemont spares a glance of mild worry to Meria. "You write to him, yes? You know his heart remains true?"
Rhy'sae Galeni blinks to Eti, "I meant the uh, assigning value thing!"
(Ma'sae Pohju) “Yeeeessss… these shinies please the Sultan. But not enough for my family too.” The spriggan spoke. “/You/ will shine for us!” It decreed. “Shine for us with a song and dance!” The spriggan demanded. The rest of the ‘family’ seemed to agree with this expectation as they watched, amber eyes glittering with anticipation and pointy little fangs bared in case Rashk was awful.
(Milloux Allard) ( omg.)
(Lux Lunseer) this is the karaoke version of this minievent, please switch to bard and get ready to perform-- lskdfhgklhsd j/k))
(Lux Lunseer) unless? ))
(Milloux Allard) lux omg.)
(Ma'sae Pohju) LOL ))
(Ma'sae Pohju) No performance assist allowed either ))
Milloux Allard gazes upon Etienne Clairemont in deep reflection.
Meria Boucher: Of course. He remained true to me when I was off at war; and I to him. Mere sennights or moons to investigate an unusual phenominon is nothing.
(Meria Boucher) ((AKJNGFKDJS I WANT THE YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THIS ))
Lux Lunseer gives Rhys an almost amused look. "You haven't noticed the same thing? In your ... friendship with him..." This time her fingers curl under her chin as she listens to Meria's explanation. "That's beautiful. Your relationship and - your conviction."
(Rashk Geilt) LOL NOOOOooOO me trying to bard perform is like rolling 0 ))
(Rashk Geilt) Rashk freezes with a similar look that wildlife might get at a rapidly approaching chocobo cart. Oh, for the love of Thal and all things that live in shadows. He’s done most of his singing and dancing while terribly drunk—and he’s fairly certain that he’s also quite terrible at both. “Whyyy me …” he whines desolately. But he isn’t about to stab spriggans to get what he wants, so he slowly rises. >
Of the 44 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
Rhy'sae Galeni purses his lips, "Well, if I'm honest," He says, trailing off, "I guess I do see it."  His ears lean back slightly, as if thinking of something that makes him unhappy.
Lux Lunseer reaches a hand over to Rhys, without quite making the contact necessary to truly be comforting. Her hand ends up hovering just over his shoulder. Good enough.
Etienne Clairemont nods to Meria. "Well enough. A lot of folks' hearts changed after the war. I am glad to hear you've endured."
(Etienne Clairemont) ( i was just thinking the same l m a o )
Rhy'sae Galeni blinks then scoots a liiittle closer and tries to get her hand to actually touch his shoulder, "Pats work better if you actually touch," He advises.
(Rashk Geilt) “Feck.” Well, at least no one else is around to see his shame—or wonder why he only knows shanties, so he clears his throat and sings, “O bury me not in the deep deep sea, where the billowing shroud will swell o'er me,” he stars and it carries on similarly about the ocean and death. But his dance doesn’t match the dirge at all—he spins in merry circles and wags his tail up and down entirely too enthusiastically for such tragic events.
(Etienne Clairemont) ( brb, it's mica time )
Meria Boucher hesitates, seeming not to know how to react, but again she bows to Lux. "It is kind of you to say," and then, to her and Etienne both, "I am as well. He is... our fathers knew each other, so we met as children, and we were engaged in our teens. It is a soft love; stable." Her tone finally gets some variation to it - a subtle, fond sort of reminiscence. "It is important to know what to value, though - and similarly, it is important to know that there is always a path forward to become more -
Meria Boucher: - solid. Stable. If all involved are ready to take it together.
(Ma'sae Pohju) And with that the spriggans parted like stormy waves settling after a squall had passed, their stubby little arms flailing to cheer and their rabbit-like ears swaying with the dirge even as their little feet stomped with the jig tempo. “Thal’s balls, I didn’t think you’d really do it!” The deep rumbling of the mysterious voice had broken to make way for raucous cackling. The mystical talking Spriggan, the self-proclaimed Sultan poked his head up from the center of the pile with a >
(Ma'sae Pohju) grin that could be recognized a malm away. Eight slowly pried himself up out of the Spriggan pile, dusting himself off and holding up one promised ‘shiny’.
(Meria Boucher) (( OAINKJDFGSNKJDNGKJN ))
(Meria Boucher) ((I'M LOSING IT ))
Lux Lunseer seems vaguely surprised by Rhys' instruction. "...Do they?" But nevertheless she obliges him by settling her palm on his shoulder. There... Be comforted. Her gaze raises to find Meria. "Are you the kind who believes such love comes to those who are fated to be together?"
Lux Lunseer || --But the cackling reaches her even from here, Eight's distinctive laughter bouncing off the cavern walls, and Lux's gaze promptly hollows. "...Ah, I was wondering why he never... reported back for duty....."
(Rashk Geilt) Rashk’s dance likely would’ve fit in better with the spriggans who had been coaxed into switching up their genre—it certainly seems like he can’t decide if he’s at a sea burial or a local mage-assisted event with flashing lights. But he grins when the spriggans join in, laughing brightly—up until their ‘Sultan’ crawls out of the pile. “AHH,” he shrieks at first before his voice breaks into a growl and incoherent swearing. >
(Rashk Geilt) “How did you—nevermind, you tell a soul and I will strangle you with your own tail,” he promises with a glare at Eight, reaching to snatch the shard away from the grinning rogue.
(Lux Lunseer) [SUCCESS - +1 STAR / +1 BLACKMAIL?]
Rhy'sae Galeni cracks a smile at Lux, "Yeah, you pat a couple times, or set your hand on their shoulder, here, like this-" he reaches up and puts a hand to her shoulder, letting it rest there, "Kind of like saying 'you're not alone,' or 'I'm here', you know?"
Lux Lunseer: "You - ...know that even if I'm not touching you, don't you? That I'm here..."
(Ma'sae Pohju) Eight let out an ear-piercing scream better suited for thoroughly distressed damsels as Rashk approached. It was a little difficult to drag himself out of the Spriggan pile, it seemed some of them were still insistent on finishing the long afternoon nap they’d been having, but the rogue managed and took off like a soot-dusted lighting bolt through the caverns, holding up the star shard triumphantly as he plainly expected Rashk to chase him for it back towards the rest of the group.
(Etienne Clairemont) ( back! )
Meria Boucher clicks her tongue. Disapproval? A laugh? It's impossible to tell. "Fate is simply a formula accounting for probability and choi -- " She cuts off at the laugh, looking down into the dark chasm. "Hm," she continues. "Well, that's probably fine."
Milloux Allard in truth -- seemed, if not content, then at least comfortable enough to just listen for now. She certainly wasn't one to offer much in the way of insight to healthy, or lasting relationships.   Reverie broken only as a figure came scrabbling up the way.
Rhy'sae Galeni flicks his ears towards Eight's laughter, recognizing it. His grin broadens slightly, "It's not literally not knowing someone's there," he says, "It's... it's like," he pursed his lips as Eight dashed into view, "Hi!" He chirped, hand falling off Lux's shoulder even as he gave up trying to explain it right now. Words were difficult.
(Rashk Geilt) Rashk screams a second time—this time it might be out of pure rage. He bounds off, chasing Eight through the caverns and back into daylight, promising some manner of tickling torture with his tail the second he catches the other Keeper. Mission accomplished.
Rhy'sae Galeni: ....What did you /do/?
Ma'sae Pohju motions joyfully to Rhy'sae Galeni.
Meria Boucher: Um. Hello.
(Etienne Clairemont) ( oh my god the cat went *right back* to clawing the shower curtain mica y
(Rashk Geilt) shit it got spooky up here )
(Milloux Allard) lol Mica Hours.)
Ma'sae Pohju flicked the shard up over his shoulder for Rashk to catch. He had /earned/ it after all. "I went ahead to scout the location. Sat down for a rest. Spriggan crawled into my lap and fell asleep. I couldn't just... move it. So I stayed there and had a nap too... and when I woke up there was a lot more of them..."
Ma'sae Pohju raises his hand in greeting.
Lux Lunseer immediately bristles to look Spriggan-like herself at the apparent screaming, though she deflates in an umbral-laced sigh of steaming relief when /two/ Order agents of chaos gremlins emerge from the cave, and not just one. "You're lucky that Rashk found you..." She murmurs, though the way she says it, she doesn't like to rely simply on /luck./
Meria Boucher: Oh. That makes sense.
Meria Boucher has no idea who this man is, but honestly, she's resolved just to roll with whatever happens today.
Rashk Geilt snatches the shard from the air, studying it while he catches his breath, tail bristled up and flicking rapidly from side to side. “Should’ve left you to live down there …” he mutters.
Ma'sae Pohju: "MY PEOPLE NEED ME." He declared theatrically, pointing down into the pit. "But I was due to check in with my parole officer about two bells ago. So you guys can save my people instead?" He asked hopefully. Offering a few nods of greetings and a languid sort of salute. "Good to see you all again, or meet you as the case may be."
Meria Boucher raises a hand in a stoic wave.
(Milloux Allard) ( I may need to bow out soon, guys. Fading real fast. ;.; )
(Ma'sae Pohju) And with that I gotta sleep! Thanks for letting me crash at the end there <3 I love this game ))
(Rashk Geilt) <3 thank you for the rp! )
Rhy'sae Galeni waves to Ma'sae Pohju.
(Milloux Allard) ( and yes, this was brilliant, Lux.)
(Lux Lunseer) AHHH THANK YOU ))
Ma'sae Pohju has left the party. Lux Lunseer is promoted to party leader.
(Milloux Allard) ( srsly I enjoyed the heck out of this <3 0
(Lux Lunseer) Rhys, Eti, how are your energy levels? ))
Rashk Geilt clutches the shard like the spriggans had, giving everyone else a leery side-eye like they might take it away. He slinks off to the side with his new treasure.
Meria Boucher: I'm Meria Boucher.
Etienne Clairemont bows courteously to Lux Lunseer.
Etienne Clairemont says, "Then I'll take my leave. Safe travels, all of you."
Meria Boucher nods. "Of course," she says. "It was a matter of personal interest." Then, being a socially awkward idiot trying to navigate a new situation, she points to herself. "...Does that meeting include me as well, or was that generically to your friends?"
Rhy'sae Galeni peers at the oncoming spriggans. "...best uh.. get away from those before they try to climb me again....."
Etienne Clairemont glances to Lux. "That's up to her, I suppose, but I assure you all are welcome at the Enclave."
Rashk Geilt | There’s a loud squeal from the background. “Noo~ooo~oo I won’t dance again,” is the last thing heard from Rashk before he’s bolting off with the shard. Hopefully back to the airship and not into the woods on his own.
Lux Lunseer blinks owlishly at Meria. She is perhaps having to recall the dictionary definition of the word 'friend' - or is else curious how the Azeymeids would be of personal interest to a friend of - Kowa's - ah. "I benefit to have made the acquaintance of someone of your talents," she mutters, "And I would like to do it again. ...But if you'll excuse me, someone is absconding with Flames property..."
Of the 43 parties currently recruiting, all match your search conditions.
Etienne Clairemont murmurs a last polite goodbye.
(Etienne Clairemont) (( Night everyone!
Lux Lunseer goes to pick up the lockbox, and then takes off after Rashk. She's not very fast at all.
Meria Boucher: I mutually benefit to make the acquaintence of a person involved with investigations of celestial import. But, yes. Good luck.
(Rashk Geilt) NIGHT thank you for the RP <3 ))
(Lux Lunseer) good night! Thank you for coming!))
Meria Boucher waves as she watches Lux run off after that absolute madlad.