Oh, that fits more than you think. He fires off electricity, too. Just like a storm. It's official: let us call him Stormy from now on. [SORRY GRIFFON] And who's "Dad 3"?
Like a thing you can have on your body that acts like extra limbs or something! I've seen some people with magic or contraptions like that at home!
Oh! Haha, I got it right without even knowing! [ Juniper Veltris, you're so SMART!!!! said no one ever ] You'll have to remind me when you can summon him again.
Dad 3 is one of my guardians. My real ones, not from the fake memories.
You would! Or maybe he can make you a special mechanical cane that does all sorts of things!
We rarely get to all go somewhere together, because many of them have responsibilities outside of the guild, too, but I do get to tag along with Dad 2 a lot since he trains a lot of the new recruits!
[ Juniper, girl, hold onto your pants because you're about to discover nachos.
And true to her word, Juniper emerges into the banquet hall soon enough; she'd been hanging out inside her room, anyway. When she spots V, she simply walks up to him and gingerly plucks a nacho up from his plate. ]
[V's already seated by the time she finds him, his cane leaning against his chair. On the table in front of him rests an almost comically large plate of nachos, so he’s hardly bothered when she swipes one — there’s plenty more where that came from, not to mention they can always go back for more.]
[Given that V's diet has been relatively abysmal so far, if only out of chance more than concentrated effort, he might actually introduce her to Doritos one day...
But for now, her reaction is amusing as it often is, and he motions over to where there's a whole self-serve nacho set-up over yonder within the banquet hall.]
It's one of the better things I've eaten. Grab yourself a plate and join me. You can put as much cheese as you like on it, apparently.
[It's fine. His nachos are loaded up, too, and he's munching away, one by one, in between her trek to get herself a plate and now. It's easy to feel overly hungry when one forgets to eat throughout the day.]
Hm? [Ah, she forgot again. Well. Nachos are distracting.] Oh, your wild magic. How it works...?
[ She cups her chin thoughtfully. He's not from their world, so she can't just get away with talking about the Feywild when the name might not mean anything to him, so... ]
Hmm. When I was little, I, um... Was trapped in a different plane for a while. We call it the Feywild, the Plane of Fairies. It's a place that's full of magic! So when I was rescued by my guardians, they figured that the Feywild's magic kind of... stuck with me. I mean, with more than just my ears.
[The idea of different planes is not wholly outlandish to V. In his little corner of the universe, both the human world and underworld exist. And the veil between them isn't always as... study as it should be.
So he accepts the idea of a Plane of Fairies with ease, though he shows interest enough, wondering what sort of place it is -- what it must like to be trapped there.]
[ Juniper is quick to shake her head at that, and it's with a bit of a sheepish smile that she answers: ]
Nope! I'm actually an elf... I kind of remember that the almiraj changed my ears after a while. I think... It was soft of... a gift from them, for going to play with them so much...?
[ The aforementioned ears twitch a bit. Her lips press into a thin line as she idly fusses over her nachos. Her memories of her time in the Feywild feel like such a huge question mark sometimes, but that is one that she remembers with a touch more clarity than others. But oh, right— ]
Almiraj are fey rabbits. They're extra fluffy and have a horn like a unicorn's!
[As though that explains everything. Though to be fair to Juni, it does, in a way. V might not know what "Fey" really means in the context of her world, but he's read enough literature in his time, in his universe, to know that one should expect magic, mischief, and mishaps regarding the term.]
It sounds like, despite being trapped, your time there wasn't all that terrible.
[He's fishing, just a little. Was it more fraught than just playing with creatures that granted her rabbit ears in lieu of her elvish ones?]
[ V has gone fishing, and Juniper is just a silly little bunny with a goldfish brain. Because... He's right, in that for all of the bad things she remembers about the Feywild, there were some bright spots, too. She remembers some of the vivid, lush, vibrant sights and whimsy of it, just like she remembers... well. ]
Um... I suppose when I say "trapped," I really mean... I was being held captive there. By a coven of hags who were going to devour me. It was my guardians who rescued me from them.
[Ah, that wasn't hard to unveil. Then again, Juniper doesn't seem the sort to keep secrets. The kind of young woman that wears her heart on her sleeve.]
Hags that were going to devour you.
[How pleasant. How very demonic-sounding.]
But these hags granted you the leeway to play with the local wildlife, too. [Implying that she was kept there for a while, he assumes? That they didn't snatch her up and try to eat her immediately.] Were they hoping to fatten you up first before eating you? Lucky for you and your guardians they weren't in a hurry.
[ Indeed, these were the sort of hags to lay out a long, elaborate plot - to let things marinate, so to speak, so that all the pain and suffering their will rend from their victims in the end will be all the more savory.
Juniper offers an uneasy little laugh. Because V is probably right about all of that. ]
I, um... That was probably it. It's not like I got to ask them, or even if I did, I probably wouldn't remember.
[ ... ]
A lot of people who come out of the Feywild don't remember anything about their time there. And some people come out like... It's been years for them, but it's only been a few hours in the Material Plane, or the other way around. I came out with these almiraj ears, the Feywild's wild magic, and really unreliable short-term memory!
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[ exoskeleton ]
Dad 3 would always say branding is very important! But I guess him not fitting the theme is fun and quirky?
OH!!
Since he's a big bird maybe he can be Stormy?! Storm? Since he'd be up in the sky! That kind of fits too doesn't it!?
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An egg skeleton?
[WHAT'S THAT]
Oh, that fits more than you think. He fires off electricity, too. Just like a storm. It's official: let us call him Stormy from now on. [SORRY GRIFFON] And who's "Dad 3"?
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Oh! Haha, I got it right without even knowing! [ Juniper Veltris, you're so SMART!!!! said no one ever ] You'll have to remind me when you can summon him again.
Dad 3 is one of my guardians. My real ones, not from the fake memories.
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[He thinks he'd look a bit ridiculous, though. Like something out of a sci-fi book.]
And of course. You'll be the first to meet him if he returns.
So how big is your family, exactly?
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All of the Alchemighty Adventuring Guild are my family!
But to be more specific I have two moms, four dads, and Sian as my guardians. Kind of. Some of them are kind of off doing their own thing!
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[Yeah, no. Probably not; he'd ask as a joke, but he's pretty much accepted that this body isn't meant to be physically strong.]
An entire adventuring guild as guardians. You must lead a very exciting life. I can't imagine what a family road trip looks like.
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We rarely get to all go somewhere together, because many of them have responsibilities outside of the guild, too, but I do get to tag along with Dad 2 a lot since he trains a lot of the new recruits!
So I have lots of stories!
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Now that would be something. I'll take it into consideration. Thank you for the idea, Juni.
I'd like to hear these stories sometime. As I understand it, your world in general is much more... magical than, say, Crane City?
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[ She is still learning all of the lingo. ]
I can't really control my magic, but people like Uncle Dee and some of my guardians can cast spells and do all sorts of things with theirs.
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You can’t control your magic because you need more practice, or is it always going to be unpredictable? Random?
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If you're not busy right now, maybe I can tell you more in person...
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[ Juniper, girl, hold onto your pants because you're about to discover nachos.
And true to her word, Juniper emerges into the banquet hall soon enough; she'd been hanging out inside her room, anyway. When she spots V, she simply walks up to him and gingerly plucks a nacho up from his plate. ]
Oooh... Cheesy!
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And crunchy, too.
[He waggles a hand blithely.]
Give it a try.
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[ She didn't know such a combination could exist... Won't somebody please introduce her to doritos...!
But with his blessing, Juni pops the cheesy nacho into her mouth. ]
Mm... Mmm...!! S'good!!
[ Dear diary: today I discovered a new culinary treasure. ]
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But for now, her reaction is amusing as it often is, and he motions over to where there's a whole self-serve nacho set-up over yonder within the banquet hall.]
It's one of the better things I've eaten. Grab yourself a plate and join me. You can put as much cheese as you like on it, apparently.
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[ Excuse her as she hops off and then comes back shortly with a plate full some loaded nachos.
... She's hungry. In fact, it's not for another few chips in that she chimes back up with: ]
...What was I supposed to come and tell you about, again...?
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Hm? [Ah, she forgot again. Well. Nachos are distracting.] Oh, your wild magic. How it works...?
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[ She cups her chin thoughtfully. He's not from their world, so she can't just get away with talking about the Feywild when the name might not mean anything to him, so... ]
Hmm. When I was little, I, um... Was trapped in a different plane for a while. We call it the Feywild, the Plane of Fairies. It's a place that's full of magic! So when I was rescued by my guardians, they figured that the Feywild's magic kind of... stuck with me. I mean, with more than just my ears.
[ She didn't always have rabbit ears! ]
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So he accepts the idea of a Plane of Fairies with ease, though he shows interest enough, wondering what sort of place it is -- what it must like to be trapped there.]
You weren't born with those ears?
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Nope! I'm actually an elf... I kind of remember that the almiraj changed my ears after a while. I think... It was soft of... a gift from them, for going to play with them so much...?
[ The aforementioned ears twitch a bit. Her lips press into a thin line as she idly fusses over her nachos. Her memories of her time in the Feywild feel like such a huge question mark sometimes, but that is one that she remembers with a touch more clarity than others. But oh, right— ]
Almiraj are fey rabbits. They're extra fluffy and have a horn like a unicorn's!
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[As though that explains everything. Though to be fair to Juni, it does, in a way. V might not know what "Fey" really means in the context of her world, but he's read enough literature in his time, in his universe, to know that one should expect magic, mischief, and mishaps regarding the term.]
It sounds like, despite being trapped, your time there wasn't all that terrible.
[He's fishing, just a little. Was it more fraught than just playing with creatures that granted her rabbit ears in lieu of her elvish ones?]
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Um... I suppose when I say "trapped," I really mean... I was being held captive there. By a coven of hags who were going to devour me. It was my guardians who rescued me from them.
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Hags that were going to devour you.
[How pleasant. How very demonic-sounding.]
But these hags granted you the leeway to play with the local wildlife, too. [Implying that she was kept there for a while, he assumes? That they didn't snatch her up and try to eat her immediately.] Were they hoping to fatten you up first before eating you? Lucky for you and your guardians they weren't in a hurry.
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Juniper offers an uneasy little laugh. Because V is probably right about all of that. ]
I, um... That was probably it. It's not like I got to ask them, or even if I did, I probably wouldn't remember.
[ ... ]
A lot of people who come out of the Feywild don't remember anything about their time there. And some people come out like... It's been years for them, but it's only been a few hours in the Material Plane, or the other way around. I came out with these almiraj ears, the Feywild's wild magic, and really unreliable short-term memory!
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do not perceive me, anna
i unperceived myself, apparently
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