View source for Spirits Picnic - RPLOG

=Participants=
* [[Bao]]
* [[Cassidy]]
* [[Fenris]]
* [[Natska]]
* [[Zuri]]
=Date=
21/6/478
=Log=
<div></div><br> <br>It seems that none of the small crowd of beings gathered in the clearing are really sure why they are there. The buzz of hushed conversations fills the quiet woods. The general consensus is that everyone felt like they should be here, but can&#39;t remember being told so. At least the weather is fine and the shade of the old trees in the clearing is pleasant. The strange altar to some Spirits makes for nice scenery too.<br> <br>A strange group gathering in the forest? Well, that was certainly enough to pique Cassidy&#39;s interest. Dressed in her red and black dress, parasol in hand in case it decides to rain again today, she makes her way to the gathering, tail flicking behind her as she looks over the communion with attentive eyes. How odd.<br> <br>Bao stretches and rolls his shoulders. He&#39;s dressed in what passes as dress clothing for him, and only wearing a single, mostly decorative blade. It&#39;s a strange day, and the sea lion still isn&#39;t quite sure why he&#39;s here. He wishes he had brought a picnic.<br> <br>Natska looks around the clearing as she arrives with Cassidy, ears perked and twitching now and then. &quot;Huh...&quot; she comments quietly. After a moment she shrugs her shoulders, then looks over at Cass and smiles. &quot;It is nice out here, isn&#39;t it? It has been a while since we wandered the east forest.&quot;<br> <br>There is a tearing sound in the air and suddenly three strange beings stand in the air over the altar. A huge, armored stag covered in complex patterns of glowing lines and swirls, a massively fat fox woman with purple fur and many tails, and a raven haired Creator woman with the paws of some feral beast in place of hands. 

&quot;Welcome, children,&quot; the fox purrs in a low, warm voice, holding out her arms as if to embrace the whole crowd, &quot;We are so glad you have come. The Life Court welcomes you! I am Shaila.&quot; 

The buzz of conversation dies momentarily at the appearance of the three Spirits, then redoubles as beings question each other and speculate, though some simply stare in awe.<br> <br>Zuri enters the clearing and peers about, scratching his head at the large group of gathered beings. He plods forward towards the group, tail flicking with curiosity. &quot;How odd..&quot; The small salamander is dressed for an outside stroll, a light garment and weatherproof vest. He blinks as the spirit-creatures make their appearance and stops in his tracks.<br> <br>Bao hastily makes a deep bow. He&#39;s clearly not accustomed to dealing with spirits, though he also seems at least somewhat comfortable with the life spirits before him. The sea lion sidles over toward Natska and Cassidy for some imagined measure of Solacious solidarity. Keeping his habitually booming voice low, he asks, &quot;Either of you got a gleaning on what&#39;s happenin&#39; here?&quot;<br> <br>Natska tilts her head to the side as the spirits suddenly appear, her ears tilting back. She takes a moment to consider the situation as she respectfully bows her head towards the group of otherworldly beings, then looks over at Bao and gives him a little shake of her head. &quot;Not the slightest, although I think it is clear they wanted something; that is why so many people are here. What, though... you would have to ask them.&quot;<br> <br>Cassidy offers a smile to Bao and a shake of her head. &quot;I&#39;m afraid I don&#39;t. Some individuals felt a... A compulsion to be here. I caught wind of it and decided to come see what was up. Something that involves the average being coming out to the shrine in the forest? Very curious indeed. So... Here we are.&quot;<br> <br>Zuri slinks past the crowd, weaving his way through the gatherings of beings that make up the large collection of witnesses to the spirits&#39; appearance. He pops out near the front of the group, as close to the spirits as he can get, to get to a place where he has unimpeded view of them.<br> <br>The big stag Spirit remains silent, as does the beast-pawed woman, leaving their matronly sister to speak for them. &quot;Children!&quot; Shaila calls, drawing the full attention of the crowd, &quot;I know that you do not know us yet as well as we would like. But the time has come! We would have you know us better! Around your world, that you have so aptly named Promise our temples and shrines lie scattered and we now invite you to seek them out!&quot; She turns a dewy, matronly gaze down on Zuri as he pops from the crowd. &quot;It is time for you to know us and fur us to know you!&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Weird.&quot; Bao says. &quot;Could be almost anything, then.&quot; The sea lion shakes his head and stands to his full height--putting him a head over all but the heavy folk in the curious audience. &quot;We&#39;ll see what they got to say.&quot;<br> <br>Natska nods at Bao, then at Cassidy. She gives her wife&#39;s arm a small squeeze, then shifts her attention to the spirits. Her tail swishes back and forth, and her ears perk.<br> <br>Zuri gawps as Shalia looks directly at him, even if just briefly. He covers his mouth with both hands, realizing how rude that was, even growing a slight hint of a blush. He clears his throat and peers around to see if any other beings are speaking up, addressing the spirits in any way, before turning to Shalia and offering her a shy smile and a wave in greeting.<br> <br>Cassidy&#39;s ears flick at the spirit&#39;s words, tilting her head. &quot;I see. You want us to find your shrines, then. I know travel is difficult for some beings though. It takes a long time for us to travel from one area of the world to another, and not all can afford to leave their homes and businesses for so long. But I am sure some of us will, in time, find reasons to do so.&quot;<br> <br>Bao raises his voice loud enough to be heard. &quot;Why now? We&#39;ve been here a long time. Not as long as you, of course, but what changed to make it the right time?&quot;<br> <br>Zuri perks up at hearing Cassidy&#39;s voice as she speaks up towards the spirits, and nods in agreement with her words. &quot;I myself only found out about the spirits thanks to my friends who knew a little about them. And until this very moment I had only met one, and briefly seen another.&quot; He turns to Shalia and smiles. &quot;There are many of you and it&#39;s a bit of a shame many of Promise&#39;s beings barely even know your names.&quot;<br> <br>Shaila smiles down at Zuri, apparently pleased by his little wave. Her attention is stolen by Bao and Cassidy&#39;s words and her smile turns in the clump of Solaciouses. &quot;It is not your fault, dear ones,&quot; she says, &quot;We were not ready. While our wicked cousins were locked away in Raquestia we could not act. But now they have returned and so too have we come back to the world. And now the Ancient threat of the Craige have returned. We are here to help you.&quot; She steps down to ground level and stoops to touch Zuri on the head. &quot;All will know us better in the near future,&quot; she says, &quot;The ruins of the Last People are open once more, some near and some far.&quot;<br> <br>Cassidy rubs her chin and gives a little nod. &quot;Well... That is good to know,&quot; she says, smiling. &quot;That you are willing to help us. I certainly would not turn it away, and getting to know more about you and the others is quite a nice bonus, as well. There&#39;s so much to learn.&quot;<br> <br>Bao&#39;s brow creases, his focus clearly pragmatic. &quot;And trouble to deal with. Aye. It&#39;s good t&#39;have help, especially help that knows something about the problem. The Rangers&#39;ll probably be in right behind the soulless, and they&#39;ll need all the information they can get.&quot;<br> <br>Zuri looks up at the spirit&#39;s eyes as she touches his forehead, standing very still in awe of the powerful creature. Only his tail flits as he lets her words sink in, then he nods at her ever so slightly. &quot;It.. it&#39;s only fair, we need to know you. And not just know your names, but also.. also how we can help each other.&quot; He smiles. &quot;You know, good neighbours have to help each other out once in a while.&quot;<br> <br>Shaila reluctantly rises from where she has been fawning over Zuri. &quot;The First House of the Night is open,&quot; Shaila says, &quot;It is the most shallow part of our domain and a place of introduction. We invite all to come to us.&quot; 

It is evident that most beings in the clearing do not understand what is going on, but the level of chatter has grown as they talk among themselves and some draw nearer to Shaila who welcomes them all with heavy, motherly arms.<br> <br>&quot;What Zuri said,&quot; Cassidy agrees, nodding towards the salamander. &quot;Well. I imagine those that have had no contact with you will need time to think it over... But I know I certainly intend to seek out other such places. I would like to get to know some of you. Especially those of the elemental court.&quot;<br> <br>Bao nods. &quot;Aye. The House of the Night. -That- doesn&#39;t sound bad at all.&quot; He looks at the representatives of the Life Court, particularly the ones who have remained silent. &quot;Allies, though, that sounds a sight better.&quot; <br> <br>Natska gives Cass&#39; arm a small squeeze, her tail curling, and nodsher head in agreement. &quot;I want to know what happened to the... last ones...&quot; she says. &quot;It is something that has been puzzling me since I first found their works.&quot;<br> <br>Zuri perks up on hearing Cassidy&#39;s voice, and smiles at her. &quot;I&#39;ve met with Mister Ser&#39;Ther before, he was a nice one! Kinda scary with all the.. &#39;I&#39;m a really big snake, waagh!&#39; thing he did, but he was nice once I got to speak with him.&quot; He turns back to Shalia, waiting to see what she&#39;s going to do now.<br> <br>Shiala, who has been walking through the crowd, touching beings and giving quiet little blessings hesitates in front of Natska. &quot;Soon,&quot; she says, &quot;The time for that is coming.&quot; The Spirit steps up into the air and floats back to the other two. &quot;For now, go with our blessing!&quot; The Spirit raises her arms and the altar is suddenly covered in food and drink and the Spirits have vanished. Interesting PR, that.<br> <br>Cassidy gives Natska a squeeze in return. &quot;Yes, we&#39;ll find out soon. This was an interesting afternoon, certainly,&quot; she says with a nod, looking towards Zuri and Bao. &quot;Ser&#39;ther is... Hmm. I&#39;ve no reason to dislike him! I have not spoken to him in a while.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Well! A picnic after all. That ought to blunt th&#39;ominous undertones of promisin&#39; to help and askin&#39; for it in turn.&quot; Bao says. &quot;A good day for it.&quot;<br> <br>Zuri wanders forward towards the feast left behind by the spirits, taking a piece of fruit for himself and nibbling on it as he looks up pensively towards where the elusive entities were moments before.<br> <br>The jaguar gives the group a shrug, although the food is met with a wary glance. Natska smiles though as she watches people eat it to no immediate ill effect, then turns to Cassidy. &quot;The spirits are certainly getting more... hrm. What is the word? Visible? Involved? I want to see what happens, yes.&quot;[[Category:RPLogs]]