Dupree at Tea for Three - RPLOG

Participants

• Dupree
• Fenris

Date

12/1/478

Log

Fenris is waiting near the strange stand of yellow mushrooms, deep in the quarry. He has set up a few ward stones to keep wandering mycogops away, but more interesting is the tea setting for four that he has prepared! Somehow, the fluffy feline has packed a little table, four stools and a rather nice setting for four down here and lit the place with a bit of fire math. There is tea and there are cookies and little sandwiches and everything! Now all that remains are the guests!

In the dim glow of the luminescent fungi, a slender shadow with a long muzzle and tall, flat head looms large. Closer...closer...and around the corner pops Dupree, dressed in long, green, pinstriped trousers that clash horribly with a loud yellow overcoat. Atop her head is a ridiculously large top-hat, wider at the the top than where it meets the brim, though it appears to be held in place by the holes in which Dupree's long equine ears sit, while a card labelled '9/6' sits in the hat band.

"Oh, it's so lovely!" the Mad Mare enthuses, nearly whinnying with delight, her tail bobbing proudly behind her. "And all on my account? You're so nice, Mister Fenris!" she exclaims, trotting over to him eagerly, arms wide for a hug.

Fenris accepts the hug with a smile. "I like the outfit, Dupree!" he says, "Where did you get that hat?" He points the mare to a seat and takes his own. "Now we just need the last two guests for our little party!" he says, "The Puzzler should be easy to contact, but we may need a little help for our fourth."

Even as Fenris finishes speaking, there is a tearing sound, like wet paper and the Puzzler in all his Zoot Suited glory steps out of a tear in the air. "A tea party? How sweet!" the fox grins, "A fine way to meet! We've much to discuss, but first, friends, let's eat!" The mysterious, otherworldy fox takes his seat and looks over the spread, selecting some sandwiches and watching with a knowing grin as Fenris pours the tea. His grin gains a touch of sadness when he looks at Dupree, but he soon recovers.

"Oh! Well, I've never been to someone else's tea-party before, so I asked around the academy, and they said this outfit was worn in one of the most famous Creator tea-parties of all time. And it fit me to a...tea?" Dupree's misaligned eyes circle about, as if trying to find a meaning written in the dark ceiling of the cavern, absently plopping herself down in the seat opposite Fenris. "There was even a Being there! A white Rabbit, in a perpetual hurry, and he would--oh!" The Mare stops suddenly, catching sight of the Puzzler, resplendent in his Zoot-suit. "M-Mister Puzzler, sir...," she mumbles, pawing at the dirt anxiously with a hoof as she removes her hat, casting her gaze...well, at least in one eye...downward. "It's...I mean...here? I mean...it's good to see you, sir, and--but I'm--" the Horse stammers, picking a muffin out of the spread and fidgeting about with the wrapping to try to disguise her nervousness.

Fenris sits back and quietly sips at his tea, his part is most certainly finished in all of this. All he planned to do here was get the players together.

"Dupree," the Puzzler says, "Don't worry dear, You're situation is very clear. For you, my path is not quite fit, I understand, though I am sad, a bit. I've a cousin here that you should meet, her path might better suit your feet." The green suited fox nods to Fenris, who stands and plucks a pair of the suspicious yellow mushrooms and hands them over to Dupree. "Eat these, Dupree," Fenris says, "And I hope that your meeting goes well." The fluffy feline goes back to his tea and sets himself to keeping the clearing safe for as long as it takes.

Dupree looks upward (well, best as she can) at the uncommonly large Fox, her eyes shining with tears of gratitude. "And...and you're not angry? B-because I still like you, a-a-and I love your puzzles, and you're still amazing, but I'm just not" her apology is interrupted by a finger raised by the great Fox.

"There is nothing more you need to say, I'm sure we both shall be okay, And though you will leave the fold today, It's better that you find your own way Than force yourself to stay."

Still wide-eyed, Dupree looks to the mushrooms--"Oh, are these the ones from the castle party?" she calls out to Fenris's back as he stands guard, a glimmer of amusement passing through the Puzzler's eyes. Without waiting for an answer, she wolfs (horses?) the handful of fungus down, shuddering at the...indescribability of the flavor, and pulling face as she washes it down with tea. Something about this seems familiar...and yet...not.

The world around Dupree twists and changes. Everything except for the table set for tea, at least. The cave gives way to a landscape of dancing lights and the hint of distant music. Outside of the immediate circle of light, shapes move in the twilight. A deck of giant cards speeds by, chased by a woman in a crown and fancy dress. A walrus in a top hat leads a contingent of little oysters on a parade. Fenris's place has been taken by some sort of sentinel cat with an enourmous grin and four waving tails, and the final, empty chair has found an occupant! Where there was no one, is now a sleepy looking tapir woman with wavy blue hair.

"Hello, Puzzler," she yawns, "You never come visit me! What is the occasion?" The Puzzler says nothing, only waves a hand toward Dupree. "Oh!" the tapir says, clapping her hands in delight, "Hello dear! I wondered when you might find your way here in the flesh!"

This strange new world...seems like home, actually. The figures moving in the distance seem like some familiar dream, though that cat and its massive grin, wide as its face, disquiets Dupree and she fidgets in the chair, looking up(-ish) at the strange, shifting Tapir. Is it up? It FEELS like up...insofar as up feels. "You...you know him? And me?" Dupree manages to get out before letting out a massive yawn. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to keep you waiting!" the Mare cries, before pausing for a second. "I didn't know you were waiting." She gazes towards the ceiling once more, deep in thought. "I'm not sure who you are, either..."

"Nothing to apologize for, dear," says the tapir in a sleepy sort of way, "everyone visits me sometimes, but I rather like you! I am Zimla, the Lady of Dreams." She sips at her tea and nibbles at a cookie. "These are nice!" she says to the Puzzler, "Did you srrange this? I do love tea parties!"

The Puzzler sips at his own tea and shrugs.

"I never plan this sort of thing, Dupree here needs a change of pace. The fluffy cat who likes to sing Arranged this meeting, time and place.

"The one with the silly heart on his chest?" Zimla asks, then smiles, "I've met him once or twice." She turns her attention to Dupree again. "Now, tell me what I can do for you, love?" she says.

Dupree is caught in the midst of eating the muffin she had so nervously stripped of its paper before. "Mmmf?" she replies, swallowing the pastry. The room seems to be getting smaller and smaller around her. Or is she getting bigger? "Hello, Zimla, the Lady of Dreams! I'm Dupree, Watcher of the Skies, Listen...-er-to-er of the Winds!" she proudly announces, before her long face droops slightly. "Well, people just call me Dupree. But I do watch the skies and listen to the winds. I've always liked the winds, and--" the Mare trails off. "Wait..." she pauses. "We were talking about something else, weren't we?" She slurps at her tea, and in that instant, the room grows deeper and wider once more, as if she was shrinking back to her original proportions. "Oh! Yes...I like Mister Puzzler a lot, and he's really nice, but...I think--"--slurp--"--that...I'm not very good at his puzzles, no matter how--"--slurp...it seemed like the more she drank, the more was left...--"--how much I might like them." She slurps again, though when she looks up from the cup, it feels like this cavernous--er, cavern has grown big as the entire world, and she could only be a few inches tall. "Oh!" the now-dwarf-horse calls from the depths. "Miz Zimla! Do you like the winds?"

Zimla looks at Dupree fondly. "I see," she says, "And I think I understand." She looks over at the Puzzler and nods, "I believe she will be happier on my path, don't you agree?" The suited fox only shrugs and nibbles a cookie. "Could be," he admits, "Could be. I'll set her free. She need no longer follow me." The Puzzler reaches out and plucks a purple feather from Dupree's hat, though it certainly had not been there before.

Zimla nods in approval, then turns to look at Dupree again. "Now, dear," she says softly, "Would you like to learn about my-" The tapir cuts off as she sees Dupree's eye and mind wandering. "Oh, this won't do at all!" she says, "Let us have just one point of view at a time, dearest." The Spirit reaches toward Dupree and seemingly INTO the mad mare's head! There is a loud Click! and suddenly everything seems to become more focused somehow.

A chill passes through Dupree as the feather is plucked from her hat, and she shudders with a frown, her long face drooping--though she suddenly seems to go slack as the ethereal limb passes...through her? Into her? How do you determine prepositions with the incorporeal anyway? Still seeming absent of mind, Dupree's hands seem to move without input, swapping out soul-gems...and all at once, she seems to return to herself. But...different. There's a newfound clarity as she rubs her chin, murmuring to herself in what seems to be a posh Cliffsider accent. "Wrong hat and no pipe..." she purses her lips. "Two familiar figures...and scenes from a Creator tale, as if it were a dream. But..." reaching beneath her coat, Dupree lets out a neighing yelp as she pinches herself, her vision rippling as the shock of pain courses through it. "Not asleep, and perception altered. When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbably, must be the truth. Thus, this must be sort of...spirit-illusion, or hallucination," she deftly concludes, sounding excited with her thoughts--though, whether it's the joy of solving a puzzle, or just finally having a train of thought actually arrive at the station without being sidetracked is hard to tell...

"Very good, dear!" Zimla says dreamily, "Now! Back to business!" The tapir sips at her tea, azure eyes sparkling. "Let us talk about you," she says, waving a hand in the air. The images around the tea party morph and shift until the table sits in a sunny garden behind a little cottage. "Now isn't this nice!" she says with a jaw cracking yawn. The Puzzler just rolls his eyes and takes another cookie.

"Must we?" the newly-enlightened mad Mare drawls boredly. "I've found that those who ask others to speak of themselves are either foolish gossips or idiot spies, hoping you divulge enough of yourself to hold you hostage--oh, alright," Dupree acquiesces, noting Zimla's look of patient irritation and the Puzzler's eye-roll. "What would you have me say about me that you wouldn't already know?" she asks with a hint of smugness, arms behind the head, leaning back in her seat.

"What is it you want, dear?" Zimla asks, maybe a little annoyed by this new facet of Dupree's personality, "You came to me, after all."

"Well, not that I couldn't come to the conclusion myself," Dupree begins, before adopting a tone of...well, not quite begging, but filing down the rough edges. "What is it you wish of me, my Lady of Dreams? And what is...this clarity that you have granted me?" It has to look somewhat humorous, to see this horse dressed like some kind of crazed clothier, talking analytically while her eyes peer off in to directions. "It feels like...a part of my soul has been brought to light, and yet...held separate from the others. And memories of the time before feel...disjointed. Then again, memory is always a slippery substance, easily formed into whatever shape you please..." Dupree murmurs to herself, rubbing her ponderously.

"Oh, that?" Zimla says dismissively, "A gift. Just a bit of extra perspective. That is what I am all about, after all. Perspective. I will teach you to look deep into yourself to find answers to life's stickiest problems." She looks thoughtful for a moment as if unsure what to say next. "I am not so much about answers, little horse," she says, the quaint cottage fading away and the fluid dreamscape resuming. She suddenly seems to be very large and very far away. "I will bid you to dream and sway," she says, "But I will offer you this ability to cope and to find strength in yourself."

That sly little smile--is that an echo of the Puzzler's grin on Sherlock-Dupree's long face?--resurfaces. "No need to worry, my good Lady Zimla. Every question has its answer, and I feel confident to seek it out, now. Although I believe I need a token of yours before we part ways, my dear," the Mare adds, glibly.

Zimla shakes her head and the tapir's form begins to fade, becoming a bevy of little blue lights that zip about Dupree's head. "You will test the resolve of those around you to show them their own weakness and errors," the little lights murmur, just out of sync with each other, "Will you walk my path?" Then there is a flash of light and a beautiful blue stone the size of a thumbprint appears, floating in the air before Dupree. The Puzzler only rolls his eyes again and sips at his tea.

The light show does actually seem to entrance Dupree--or, at least, make her drop the snark. A serene expression crossing her long muzzle, she looks up into the lights, raising her hands, palm-up, as if to embrace the ephemeral wisps in her arms. "With pleasure and pride, my Lady," she intones, eyes closing a moment before the bright blue flash. The azure stone bounces off her nose and she lets out a short startled whinny, before scooping it off the table. She gives her uneven misaligned look to the Puzzler. "Why so glum, chum?"

The Puzzler only shakes his head and gives Dupree a smile.

"The Spirits give, the Spirits take, Lives they steal and hearts they break. The decision here was yours to make. It's time, I think, for you to wake."

Suddenly the dreamscape goes blurry and Dupree finds herself alone at the table, back in its spot deep in the quarry. Fenris sits nearby, quietly sipping at his own tea.

"Wake?" The grey Mare furrows her brow, consternated confusion in her voice. "But I--"

And with that, Dupree was back in the dank, eerily-lit cavern. "You, there!" she calls, her voice sounding far more focused and snappier than Fenris had likely ever heard from Dupree. "You've...You've likely been here the whole time, right?" She rubs aft her head, as if trying to scratch an itch she knows she can't reach. "What have I been doing?" She asks, eyeing her cup of tea in the gloom before taking a slurp.

Fenris looks up from his tea. "You have been sitting there, drinking tea and having a but of a conversation," he says, "Seemed like an interesting one too." He stands and walks over to the table and takes a seat. "Did you find what you were looking for?" he asks, trying to see hints of what happened in her face.

A raise of the eyebrows, a flash of insight, and that infuriating grin. "Mmmore or less." She rubs her fingers over the stone now hanging at her chest. "I feel...separated, and yet...whole." A curious cant of her head. "I am most grateful that you have accompanied me. Couldn't have done it without you. Most obliged, in your debt, and all that."

"Cheers," Fenris says, raising his teacup and finishing the last of its contents, mostly cream and sugar by the look of it. He looks at the nearly empty table. "Looks like your guests enjoyed the tea," he says, "Do you want me to travel back to Firmament with you? I can get someone to come pick this stuff up." He is a little uncertain about this new Dupree, especially the way little bits of fog seem to drift across her form from time to time.

"If you would--eep!" Dupree cries aloud as she tries to stand up and fails. "Seems my body hasn't yet caught up...little help?" she calls irritably, waving a hand to Fenris. "If this is how my legs feel, I shudder to think of how a flight would go." She frowns, thinking back on how she used to be. So foolish, so naive, so...carefree and unworried and happy. She lets out a melancholy sigh. Maybe there were some...unforeseen consequences to this blessing...

Fenris sets aside his cup and helps Dupree to her feet. "Of course," he says, "let's get you home." He pauses for a minute. "Where do you live, anyway?" he asks as he leads her along.