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Post by Shitakibo on Sept 17, 2023 0:30:11 GMT -5
There weren't a lot of reasons for Taki to come out to Frost Gale, at least without invite or a call to adventure. This trip was a rare exception to the area, one that saw her out traversing the Ice Fields in search of new subjects to study. While it wasn't a commissioned project, the shaman found that there was limited information about the various flora and fauna of the area. She understood the difficulty of the terrain, the weather and the scarcity one might find awaiting them in such a place. Tundra, like their hot Desert counterparts, had delicate and often skittish ecosystems that would render it difficult to make accurate observations.
Taki, as a fully trained Druid, had a powerful advantage in this situation. Able to take the forms of nearly any creature, so long as it be a living one who originated from this world, the shaman could observe through the eyes of a natural part of this untamed environment. She'd grown accustomed to the form of a Snow Owl already, having spent a great deal of time training with Shuna and Yukina at home. She had taken that form again for this excursion, soaring over the icy terrain on silent feathers and frigid air currents blown in from afar. As she was about to make a wide turn and start up the next leg of her patrol, she spotted someone below walking across the sheets of ice. While she hadn't met them, Taki remembered the young lass being amongst those who'd stood against Vulcadreus. Why was she out here on the ice?
Taki banked sharply, then dropped into a steep dive before flaring her wings and gliding a few feet off the ground on a path that hopefully would be visible enough not to startle the lass or seem threatening.
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Post by Celeste on Sept 18, 2023 23:34:44 GMT -5
Celeste had been out here to investigate some sounds coming out from the icy tundra. She, having been noted a couple of times now as a rather fearless adventurer, was asked to see if there was anything to worry about out here. Of course, she had agreed, on the promise of money and the mention of her name to others. The Seiko name had to get out there somehow, right? They weren’t hiding anymore.
It helped that the cold didn’t bother her. She was practically a ghost, anyways, Cold was sort of her thing. So here she was. She could have easily just floating down there, and honestly, she was seriously considering it, staring down at her hand as it slowly faded. She reached down, her hand slipping through the ice. Celeste knew not much would come out of this, but it was a good starting point.
She heard wings. That could make her look up. She saw the snowy owl cautiously approaching and Celeste found it… Interesting, to say the least. This wasn’t normal behavior for a bird, after all. She couldn’t help but stare, not entirely sure what to do in this situation. “H-hello…?”
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Post by Shitakibo on Sept 19, 2023 19:03:06 GMT -5
Landing a short distance away from the lass, Taki shifted back to her usual form. Willing her outfit to be a more wintery affair with full coverage, shifted her cloak about to a comfortable position. The spidersilk covering absorbed vast amounts of heat and light, even from such a cold place to keep the shaman warm. She walked up slowly, hands at her sides to show she meant no harm.
"Hello, I'm Shitakibo, or Taki if that's easier. It's been a short time since I last spotted you amongst the battle with Vulcadreus. Apologies for not properly introducing myself before, though it was a very chaotic mess. What brings out out here to the Ice Fields?" Replied the shaman, glad she had plentiful protection from the bitter cold and gusting wind that liked to sweep across the area. Much of what was around them wasn't solid ground, her senses hazed by the lack of stone and earth. She watched the area cautiously, wondering why it still felt like there were vast caverns beneath the surface. Was it a trick of the ice, distorting vibrations and other signals? If so, why did it all seem so... patterned? A thoughtful look crossed the shaman's features while she pondered the implication.
Beneath their feet: A trio of draconic beings slithered through the tunneled ice, littered with fragments of unnatural stone. A casual observer might think them a peculiar natural feature of the tunnels... but a keen observer would know them as remnants of a horrid fate. Heavy bodies stalked the dimly lit web of caverns on thick, clawed legs that dragged powerful tails scraping across the ice. It had been unusually warm in recent days, rousing such beasts from their typically sluggish habits in such an environment.
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Post by Celeste on Sept 20, 2023 1:02:38 GMT -5
“U-Hm.” She stutters a little, not entirely used to being asked what she was doing. Her mind blanked for a moment before she shook some common sense into herself. She wasn’t doing anything bad, damnit. She eas just thoroughly not used to talking to anyone besides Arashi and Keyke. Especially not by herself. Celeste crossed her arms, in a sort of guarded way before she shrugged “I was asked to investigate some, uh, strange noises out here.” She answers, shrugging a little. “I’m so sorry, I don’t recognize you from the event, I was a little, uh… distracted.” The Vulcadreaus fight had left its mark on everyone. Celeste herself was still feeling the mental affects of trying to read the primordial god’s mind.
““Celeste Seiko, of Seiko company.” She adds, introducing herself. She did hear a noise, so she looked around a little, her eyes widening a little. “Did you hear that?” She stepped, looking around a little bit more as she tried to figure out where the noose came from. “It sounds like… I don’t know, a large whale?” Celeste frowned. If it were any other situation she’d look a little crazy, but the noises were starting to get louder…
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Post by Shitakibo on Sept 20, 2023 19:57:21 GMT -5
"It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Celeste."
The shaman honed in on the sound, even her breathing softened to the faintest. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she scanned the area, looking for familiar signs.
"I hear it... and while I feel as though my ears are playing tricks on me... I know the sound. I heard it once before, in Dragon's Spine on a pilgrimage... but I would think Frost Gale far too cold for a Basilisk... It must be some other phenomenon." Taki responded. The ice was something she wasn't terribly familiar with, as the Bamboo Forest barely saw a light dusting of snow in the coldest and wettest winters. For all the shaman was aware, these sounds were some other function of the ice shifting, settling or changing in some way... perhaps even the excess heat of Mt. Drakolt's cataclysmic eruption.
"I've come out here doing research on the local ecosystem, in my own sort of disguise. There is limited information about the area and I was hoping to take a new set of observations back to the Arcane Academy. If you'd like, I would gladly help you discover the source of this odd sound." The shaman offered, now curious herself at the source. She wasn't keen on her ears being right, but at least that was something she was much better equipped to handle. As she pondered that idea, she made a quick arcane gesture towards Celeste before repeating it on herself. A tiny seedling spirit appeared on each of their shoulders, with a sprout of leaves and ropey roots for 'limbs'.
"These will help if we happen to get injured, though I'm hoping we find something more mundane is the cause." She explained.
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