feathercowl

[feathercowl]

Gains and losses were part of adventuring, and as she looked down at her phone to see her best friend's name go missing, during the eclipse, she couldn't help but wander down to the epicenter of it all.

They'd see each other again, she knew, as sad as it was to part. They always found their way back, after all.

But her newfound vision spotted someone else as she made her way over. She runs, bounds even, over toward the familiar figure, practically leaping at him.

"Laios!"

"I thought- it was gonna be kinda lonely." She practically shakes him, fangs out and pupils wide. "I wonder if it's because Marcille picked on them about always bringing you? And then they gave her a break the next time they grabbed you?!" She was probably speaking nonsense, but her mind was reeling from loss and then gain, and then remembering loss.

@monsterappetite

[feathercowl]

"Hm.." She taps her chin, and then leans forward, observing Mira's hair more closely. Her pupils turn to slits at the proximity to the light, and then she backs up, smiling.

"Well, to be honest, I think it's silly to classify things as 'useful' or 'not useful'." She begins, voice gentle but firm.

"But, some people think that an insect's wings are not nearly so useful as a bird's, but it's a matter of context. I think that if we sat in a dark room, we could still read books by your hair." Moving back to touch her feathers, she tilts her head, "In the summer, this might get a bit uncomfortable, since I'm a mammal, ultimately."

Mira blinks at the others shocked expression, tilting her head a little, before the one before her finally speaks. One time it may have hurt? She could not remember what it had happened to her? Which means that she didn't always used to have the feathers and something had forced the change upon her. Then, when the woman before her is rolling up her sleeve to show off even more of the feather, Mira hums out.

It makes her reach her hand up, fingers gently about to touch the feathers to feel them underneath yet when she's catching it keeps her warm, she's closing her hand. Mira was anything but warm, best not to make her cold.

"It is, I am glad they aren't hurting you and instead are a positive thing for you." Mira murmurs, before looking toward her own hair. "Thank you for your words, but other than providing light, it doesn't seem as useful as yours."

[feathercowl]

"I've heard of sausages, but 'hot dogs' are completely new." She looked at it, observing it. "So, it's really condensed meat tubes, and then with some meat sauce, and then cheese. A lot of protein. Oh, is that a bean!"

She points, fingertip almost touching a stray bean.

"There really is so much protein here! In a bread casing."

Nodding at the woman fervently, she inhales the very, very meaty scent of the chili dog. "Yes! Please! It smells so good."

"And that is exactly why you gotta try one of these out alright? Trust me you'll love it!" The longer NJ spent in Spirale the more and more she became somewhat of a foodie in regards to new tastes. Some of this food she'd never get to try back home, and even old tastes managed to sneak their way in as well. Only thing making it better was sharing it with a friend. Or in the battleship's case, someone she never met before.

"I mean look you got one hot dog right? That's pretty good but imagine that same thing with some chili on it. And add a little bit of cheese on top? Now you got something that'll rock your socks off! I buy another one just for you if ya' want to try."

@feathercowl | s.c

[feathercowl]

"Mm, I don't know how helpful it is. I like monsters, and bugs." She lists off a few things, and then turns to him and smiles. "But your table friend seems helpful. Maybe to keep my recording friend on."

"Honestly, more than anything, I just have a good memory. Lately I've been adventuring on my own. Sometimes I'll take notes or doodle, but I was never very good at school, and, well, never really great at that sort of stuff outside of school." She chuckles, turning back to the note taking computer.

"I was used to having company for a long time, and now I'm used to only passing company. Something like this might be fun to take into a cave."

His face fell back into its default position, a slight grumpy, foul look. But his voice carried a little lilt that showed he was, at the moment, relaxed and engaged in their conversation.

"Is that so? Biology is...not my particular specialty. Though it could have helped..." He mumbled. "Magic, however...yes, I've some experience and interest in it. As for your note taking habits...I quite understand. I myself had tweaked a robot to help me with my own research. Not for *it* to take my notes, mind you.

It was a table with legs that, when a moving object was sensed, it would follow. Thus I could flit around and my coffee would be, conveniently, right at my side."

He wasn't going to mention the myriad times he'd turned around and tripped over the damnable thing. Luckily he'd thought of that particular scenario and had made it so his cups stuck quite firm onto it unless lifted up and off.

[feathercowl]

happy falin-tines

[feathercowl]

She doesn't usually make a habit of looking at someone else's phone! Well, okay, she never knew about phones, and she never could see very well so she wouldn't have been able to see much but in her search for mushrooms and the little grubbies that grow around them, but with her new and improved eyes, well, she couldn't help but notice.

"Oh! Marcille?" Pointing at the screen (likely pushing into it a bit too hard), she looks up excitedly.

"You know Marcille?"

@feathercowl

"Hm....I think it's this one." They're crouched in front of a variety of mushrooms and plants. A tatted index finger wraps around the thick stem of the mushroom and they examine it before pulling out their weapon of choice to cut it right at an angle.

They move on to take a few of the other plants around the area and when they finally rise to their full height and turn, bringing out their phone to contact Marcille...

They should have looked before turning!

"Oh, shit!" their much larger form had bumped right into a stranger, "hey, you alright?" A hand extends out to help them should they have fallen.

[feathercowl]

"A church...? No, not really!" Had she been to church? Maybe when she was a kid, but it was more in line with her simply being able to heal. She pushes those thoughts aside, however, to listen to Fern talk, leaning forward and nodding to show her interest. Maybe too much, but she wasn't entirely sure. But her intense focus and any questions about licenses had to wait, because:

"Marcille?!"

"Yes! Marcille is my very best friend. Marcille Donato, right? She's about this tall," putting a hand out, she levels it at Marcille's height. Of course she remembered how tall Marcille was.

She couldn't help but grin, "Well, I guess that sort of makes us friends, then. If your Master is my best friend's friend." Some kind of transitive property, but more excitement at the prospect of Marcille both being here and having made other friends.

Humming happily, she nods at the question in turn, "It's not anything especially profound. I enjoy looking for bugs, life thriving despite it. And lately I've taken to adventuring more often by myself."

ʚїɞ - "A cleric? Are you affiliated with a church?" Healing magic back home could only be performed by people of faith, which was exactly why Fern hadn't learned it. Well, that and the tool requirements for the act. "I'm a First-Class Mage, my world ranks mages with a licensing system and that's where I ranked. But I spent most of my time traveling before I came here." She wasn't bragging but it was still hard to call yourself "First-Class" without it sounding that way a little bit.

"Falin, then." The mage never made any exaggerated shows of emotion, so her slight smile was the most Falin would get. She still had questions. Those feathers for one. But she also knew well enough than to press someone too much too quickly. It didn't seem like she was a demon.

"Out of curiosity do you know an elf named Marcille? My master is friends with her. Your mana signature is similar, so it made me wonder if that tied you to the same magical systems." She followed after her alongside the stream. "Do you like nature?"

[feathercowl]

Doodling Falin in Adam Sandler outfits

[feathercowl]

"Not a marshmallow monster..." She grasps at one exited, giving it a little squeeze between her index finger and her thumb, much to the little creatures chagrin. "I do feel a little bad - wait you eat it raw and alive?!"

Now she felt a little like Marcille, which did make her start giggling. Which likely made her seem a little insane.

"Char the edges? So do we put them over fire? Oh, it's so fascinating. They're just - Oh!"

"Someone just...Ate it out of the air! Whoa!" No fire, no muss no fuss! Do the things die in one bite? Oh, she wanted to try one so badly, but she should take notes first, right?

"Have you never had a marshmallow before?" There were already a few that managed to latch onto Miyoi's shoulders, trying to put her into a panic. But she really couldn't be intimidated too much about something that only required a few small steps to eat. It was better then just letting them sit there and continue to pester her.

"They're meant to be eaten raw. But if you can find a campfire or somewhere to heat them up people often try to char the edges. It makes for an even better treat."

Although should someone do that to ones that are sentient? It seemed a little "out there" even for her own standards...

[feathercowl]

"I really do! It's amazing!" She doesn't reach out to it, instead waving lightly at the, making sure to look it in the eye when she speaks to it. "Oh, you look so amazing, really, I just wanted to make sure you knew." Turning to the young ghost, she gently touches the down on her own body, having noted that she was looking at her.

"This is cool, too, right?" She points at the feathers on her neck, and rolls up her sleeve to show her befeathered arm. "It's a long story, but it's part of me, and it's nice and warm." If she was going to ask questions of the other, it's best to start by talking about herself.

"Mm, I'm Falin. How about you? Since I already know Shatter." She waves at Shatter again, acknowledging it as part of the conversation.

Chihiro does jump a little at Falin's voice, but her reaction is much more relaxed than Shatter's as she turns and slowly stands, shell in hand. The familiar, meanwhile, had quickly half-ducked behind the ghost, leaving a glimpse of itself visible to look back at the tallman. Chihiro almost gets lost staring at the feathers visible on Falin's body...

"Hello! Hehe, it's okay!" the soft apology and the fact that Falin had approached her immediately sets Chihiro more at ease, and her tearlines curl as she smiles and steps forward, "Um, my friend? ... Oh!" she leans a little to the side so as to free up the line of sight between Falin and her familiar, then gently scoops it up with her free hand, holding it out as an open invitation for inspection, "This is Shatter! You really think it looks amazing ...?"

The familiar settles in the air above Chihiro's palm, its pieces pulled tight behind its body, singular eye fixated on the amber of Falin's.

[feathercowl]

"Really?" She leans forward, observing the wings very closely, interest clear in her wide eyes and the way her fingers hover above the precious feathers as though in minute observation. Gears clearly whir in her head as she observes. Someone so similar, but so different.

"I never really felt alone, not lately, anyway, so you shouldn't either."

She hopes her words are reassuring, "But it's so cool, isn't it? Being part monster? I'm glad I kept some of my traits, I can stay warm easier, which makes adventuring even easier. What about you?" She prompts, "Oh! Not necessarily how did you become this way, though maybe we could talk about that, too. I don't mind, really."

It's funny how fate works! She had earlier asked if there were any more bird people like her and Hawks and here, her question had been answered when a woman rushes up to her and reveals the feathers on her skin!

There was another bird person like them!

Her smile brightens and her wings spread wide and proudly, "There are MORE like us!" She says reassuringly. "You're not alone while you're here!" It was something she was very happy about. That there was someone like her. Hawks has no idea just how happy she is to know that he exists!

[feathercowl]

"Marcille!" Her shout is in part ecstatic and in part confusion as the familiar voice and familiar weight descend upon her. She does, however, automatically wrap her arms around her best friend and spin her around, letting her fall back to her feet at her own pace.

"Really? Oh! I'm great, nobody hurt me, and who are the Stars?" She tries to answer Marcille's questions as they come, but she was never that great at tests or surprise quizzes.

"Mm! I don't really care, though, about the Stars. I get to explore this new place, and now you're here too!" Of course, she missed the others, but she got to live with everyone when she went back home.

So, for now, she could be excited about this new adventure!

@feathercowl

✲ Once. Twice. Three times. Marcille rubbed at her eyes like she was certain she had something in them. She didn't, and what she was looking at was real. It was really her? It couldn't be! "FALIIIIIIN!" She hadn't seen someone from home in a really long time now, and it was usually just Laios when someone did show up. No offense to Laios.

There was no pause in the half-elf's behaviour as she threw herself into the cleric's arms pretty suddenly.

"I'm so happy! Its been a long time since I've seen anyone from our group, much less anyone from the island! How are you? Are you okay? No one hurt you, did they? I'll punch the Stars if they did!"

[feathercowl]

You can't tie down a dragon...

[feathercowl]

Oh, she'd seen this person when she got into the metal carriage (a car, she had learned from the museum). All of the cars had gone to the same place, and so it made sense they she would see him again.

"You came here today, too, right?"

"Guess that makes us neighbors." She's pretty sure that he's not entirely happy to talk to her, or maybe even to be approached. He seemed serious, based on the way he was dressed, and his long black claws looked sharp.

Her own teeth were sharp, her own feathered appendages likely appeared odd, so she didn't think much of his claws.

@codexvmbra

[feathercowl]

The smile was small, and she wonders briefly if it had come unbidden. She doesn't comment, simply allows him to speak as she continues to look at the live science demonstration.

"I'm more interested in biology. And magic." Certainly quills could be enchanted to do just that, too, but it wasn't her personal specialty. She might've had more luck asking a ghost to write for her, but she'd feel a bit bad about that, too.

"But, using a device like that - it'd allow me to make in the moment observations, and write them down later. I was always kind of terrible at taking notes. It's the observing I really liked." Terrible at school and structure, her own notes were haphazard things.

She did understand the necessity, and even the usefulness! But when it came down to being tested, she often found herself with little in the way of notes to reflect on.

Somehow, the way she spoke and acted completely disarmed him. Well, mostly. And at the thought of her talking loudly to a robot about a beetle so it might note its qualities, he....smiled. Just a small one, but even that was quite the sight when it came to the fox.

"I...have dabbled in robotics. I will say that robots are...a touch more complex than puppets. To get a robot to do as you described, it would need exceptional workings so that it could hear you well, interpret the sounds and change them into writing. What might be better for your particular hypothetical is a device that records voices. Like...how a mirror reflects your image, this device would reflect your voice."

[feathercowl]

Normally, she would be able to sense a spirit, but she found her own senses having waned since her arrival here. Annoying, but definitely not the strangest thing that's happened to her in the last year or so.

So, she doesn't quite blink or respond in shock at seeing the ghost, but is far more excited at seeing the creature near the ghost. She does worry, that given how late it is, she might be sneaking up on the pair, but she also needs to know what, exactly, the shattered being was. Not biological, in a traditional sense at least, maybe more like living armor...

The sand had muffled her steps, so she calls out, "Hello,"

"Your friend looks amazing. Sorry to sneak up on you." Normally, she would've just approached, but the glassy being seemed to be in distress, and she wouldn't want to scare the accompanying specter away.

@shatteredlittlestar

[feathercowl]

So this woman was someone who sometimes worked at the library, but mostly as a service for her to be able to continue her work. Once she mentioned being a mage, the mention of her and her master made sense. A year, though! While her first day of exploration had been exhilarating, she felt a nervous excitement at when she, personally, would go back to her home.

"Mhm, I'm Falin."

"I'm a cleric, or, I was for a long while. Now I think I'm more of an adventurer, or an explorer." And especially here, where she could only feel a hint of magic. Her life had gone so strangely, she thinks in retrospect, how she almost became a gravekeeper.

She thinks she might've still liked that kind of job, but it'd be too strange now. "I trained in magic, though I don't have a license for all of it." She starts to walk along the small streams, leaning in close to see if she could spot any waterbugs.

ʚїɞ - The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she had seen one's aura of mana portrayed like this before. At least in magic users where mana was stored within the body, there were always some similarities in how Fern could perceive it. But if people came from the same world there was typically a shared trait. She'd seen one like this before, but it also seemed oddly unstable?

This woman walked up so quickly that Fern had quickly extended a hand to make sure she didn't fall, but withdrew it once she appeared to be okay. She then addressed her question, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "No. I do volunteer sometimes, but I'm a patron. My master and I have been looking for grimoires for almost a year now, but there's so many books..." Only Frieren probably stood a chance of reading them all with her lifespan.

It was only natural she'd notice the streams first. Fern recalled noticing the integration of nature into the building when she'd first visited too. "Mhm." It took the mage a moment to close the distance that the woman had made in such a short amount of time. "Ah. My name is Fern, by the way. It might be easier if we exchange names? Especially since we're both mages, right?"