The look on Zarius' face makes Astrid stifle a giggle. "Aye, Mister Cantio," she reaffirms with a grin. It's a proud grin, happier than Zarius might have ever seen on her face in the past. "We got ta talkin' an' spendin' time together at the ball, and then we joined in on the Truth or Dare game Miss Veliky started up." Again, she stifles a giggle, remembering that Zarius got pantsed and serenaded, and he probably still doesn't know. "Durin' the game, I dared Cantio ta be me da, and he said he would. I wasn't sure he was serious at first, but he said he was bein' truthful, that he'd do it. We talked 'bout all kinds of stuff, so I'm real excited about it. He's off lookin' fer a house right now, I think." She's confident Cantio will return or call on her in time. And if he doesn't, she's got the skills to hunt him down herself. 

She turns to look at Cirice. "If we're all in the same neck of the woods, I'll definitely introduce ya! Zarius is right, Miss Veliky has a weird way of bein' nice. Fer instance, she gave me a job in the Lightnin' Fields, which are apparently super dangerous, --and they are, don't get me wrong-- and after I finished it, turns out the cargo I was escortin' was a box carryin' Charles here."

The metal construct speaks up. "Mistress Astrid, affirmation: This statement is correct. Mistress Veliky wished to test your mettle and dedication. Needless to say, she approves." The Blixtbot^TM pauses, a bit of whirring puzzling around inside his head. "Reconsideration: Necessary to state. Mistress Veliky does not often state her acknowledgments of excellent work." 

Astrid looks at Cirice. "Yeah, so Miss Veliky's a bit odd, but in a good way!" 

"Well, I don't think it's a mainland thing. I just eat a lot more than most people. And I'm not really human, I'm half... something. See?" they said, pointing to their pointed ears and smiling to show their enlarged canines.

They had talked to Astrid about it as they were in the marshes, and she had said the pointy ears and fangs made the ooze look humanoid rather than pure human as they'd believed. It was a good thing they had had such a conversation, or them pretending to be human would have been easily seen through. But, they hadn't actually figured out what to say they were. They could probably get away with saying a half something, but what that something was was yet to be determined.

"I've actually never seen another person with blue hair now that I think about it." Blue Raspberry said, looking a little downcast. Was making their hair blue a mistake? They'd really never seen anyone else with it.

They looked back to Zarius as the Tiefling explained what a Harpy was. A bird with a human face? Did that mean they were a humanoid? The thought of what such a creature might taste like flashed through their mind.

"Oh! Humanoid faces? Can they talk?" they asked Zarius curiously.

They listened to Astrid talk about the game of Truth or Dare at the ball. The ooze had been busy elsewhere during that, raiding the buffet tables, but they'd heard the story from her before after the ball. The conversation refreshed their memory of the earlier conversation that they'd only half listened to thanks to their mind being so preoccupied with the ball food. It was all coming back to them.

"You dared someone to be your dad...? Is that all it takes?" Astrid's relationships sound quite odd. Between daring people into guardianship and being tested by her employers and given strange metal pets it seems her life has been quite... Interesting. 

"Well I'd like to see his house when you go there, if possible. This Veliky person, she must have really respected your skills to trust you with a dangerous job. You must be even more mighty than I thought!"

The little robot man pipes up and startles Cirice and she looks at him with interest. He's cute and strange, just like the rest of them.

"You're all pretty odd to me. But in a good way!" She says cheerfully.

She turns to Blue and smiles. "I've got pointy ears too!" She wiggles them, "Oh but your teeth are very white, large, and sharp!" As his expression falls from being alone with blue hair her heart aches. "I've never seen anyone else with blue hair either but its really cool! If you're self-conscious about it though I'd happily dye my hair to match!" She grins at him, hoping she can cheer him up. "Don't be sad Blue."


She listens to them banter, really floored by just how much they've done and how much they've all been through. Its no wonder Mother Moon sent them to guide her, its beyond clear that they're accomplished, knowledgeable and well-connected. Can she be as established as them some day? Zarius is so confident and collected, he seems unfazed and to be steering the conversation. Astrid seems quite excitable and genuine, her enthusiasm for everything she talks about is infectious. Blue is quirky and adorable, mysterious to her because she's so unaware of the ways of the world but obviously quite capable. 

"Will you all be okay with me joining you?" She asks quietly, doubting herself in the face of perceived greatness.

“They certainly can scream.” He sighs, perhaps they could talk, but he certainly didn’t try to converse with them when they were trying to kill him and Veliky during that hellish game show. "What you have to worry about is being carried off into the sky and then dropped."

A flock of harpies was a decent threat, especially against small coastal villages with no proper defenses against attacks from the air. He considers the kind of folks who would be most likely to respond to such a problem. 

“Perhaps it is worth investigating.”

The tiefling was looking for more excuses to strengthen his alliance with the Kamille, assisting with defending Moonglade would certainly be something she would appreciate. Though he would like to better understand how strong the woman was herself. Maybe he could call in some more suitable assistance for a stealth mission. 

"I am sure that Miss Astrid and her friend would be happy to have you tag along. Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to."^[1]

It wasn't like he couldn't take Cirice with him. It was more about having a fresh new adventurer like her — one that is all too eager to overshare — could cause him some trouble as he tried to keep to the shadows. It was best for her to learn from others until she had some more worldly experience under her belt. Optimism tended to die in the darkened corners of Charon where he and his ilk lurked. Best if she avoided all that unpleasantness for as long as she can. 

---

[1] Smooth Talking

Astrid nods along with the last few lines of the conversation, taking mental notes about some of the dangers of harpies. That'll help them tremendously in trying to combat them and in doing some of their general information gathering before a quest as usual.

"Aye, ya can join us, if yer lookin' fer a bit of an adventure," Astrid says cheerily to Cirice. "Everyone needs a first adventurin' partner! Mister Zarius was mine! I'm happy ta be yers if Blue is alright with it. We'll probably be headin' out after finishin' our meal here. We'll hafta gather up some information first. Gotta know where we need ta be lookin' before just wanderin' out ta the coast." She taps her head, a thinking motion, and looks towards Zarius with a proud smile. It seems she took a few notes from their first trip into the wilderness. "We'll show ya the ropes so ya can set off on yer own with others too! Ya'll be a right proper adventurer in no time!" 

There's a certain assuredness in her voice and presence. A few bird ladies won't be that bad, will they?

Blue Raspberry cheered up quickly when Cirice complimented their teeth and pointed out that both of them had pointy ears. They smiled again.

"Your white hair looks really nice though! I just didn't realize no one else I'd met had blue hair until now, but it's alright. I usually have my helmet on anyways." they replied cheerfully.

"I'm totally okay with you joining us! You'll be super helpful! We can be your first adventurin' partners, no problem! Show you lots of ropes, knots and everything." they said excitedly, offering Cirice a thumbs up. They didn't actually know any of Cirice's abilities, pretty much only that they'd cured some guy's gout (they didn't know what gout was either), but that sounded great to have around! 

Cirice looks at her new friends, her heart full of love. Her smile is radiant and her eyes are brimming with happy tears.

"Thank you all so much. I appreciate you all so much. Thank you for letting me join you on adventures and for all you're done so far. I hope we can all be good friends and I pray that Mother Moon blesses all that you do! I promise I'll learn everything I can from you all, and I promise I'll make you proud!"

Cirice reaches into her bag and takes out a handful of shells and sets one out before each of them. She takes off her gloves, the runes and sigils on her hands glowing with soft silvery light as she touches each in turn, making them give off an aura of moonlight. "I don't have much to offer right now but please take this small token of my affection and Mother Moon's blessing. May you never be lost in the darkness without a light." 

Zarius takes one of the shells. Magic was so weird. After they're done at the tavern and out on the streets, he looks at Astrid. 

"You were playing that weird game with with Cyran at the ball, correct?"

Honestly, his memory of Cyran's presence there was strangely fuzzy in some places. He is pretty sure he saw the elf sitting amongst that group while he was talking with Caedes. 

"You should visit Darkveil, he just bought a place to help the orphans there, they might benefit from seeing someone their own age making something of themselves despite their situation and age."

He thinks for a moment then looks at Cirice. "I also might send someone your way for a task since you are familiar with the island. They can meet you here, in the city."

"Nice meeting you." He comments to Blue Raspberry. "Stay safe on your journey."

With that, he turns and leaves on his way to seek out the Witch of Moonglade.