Seeking Mermaids | ||
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Muradin has set up a sort of mini-forge in the beach of Zeku-Kari, where he is tending to what appears to be an old-school diving suit. It is currently covered in scratches and holes that it had been put through a blender. The glass of the helmet in particular is covered in cracks which Muradin is trying to replace with a new set. "Hm, nearly." He answers as he quietly works on his suit whilst enjoying Morgana's song to keep him entertained. "Should be a nice fit. Tricky part is making sure its hermetically sealed." The dwarven warrior can't help but chuckle when Morgana gets rather pouty at the mention of wanting to go after Lady Vashj again, the siren's attitude really amuses him. "Aye luv, ye'll get another chance to have a go at 'er. As long as we canna find that bloody tunnel we'll hafta keep going underwater and chances are we'll run into her sooner rather than later." Finally, it seems he manages to put the glass in and he sighs. "This would be a lot easier if I could set up a propa' forge."
The other person? That's a very small catboy fairy-like thing that's about as big as a human hand. It bears more than a little resemblance to the teenage boy, though a number of things set them apart. Their size difference, for one. And the catboy has blue-furred handpaws and footpaws, a tail, cat ears, and yellow slit-pupiled eyes. "Ne, Ikuto! What are we doing out here-nya?" the catfairy-thing intones in a high voice that's just this side of squeaky. It's floating alongside Ikuto's shoulder. "It's cold! And there's water here-nya!" The boy gives an affirmative grunt. "You remember what the little girl said," he states. His voice is almost a baritone. "Oh, that's right... the mermaid-nya!" the catfairy replies. "You really think she'll help?" No answer from the teenager. But they ARE heading towards the sound of Morgana's voice...
With his work finished for now, Muradin relaxes and enjoys the song of the siren. Happily leaning back on his stool and watching his lady sing to all the stars and the rumbling ocean. It's quite a sight to see, and more importantly, to hear. Ever vigilant though, Muradin doesn't let the siren's song dull his senses. He hears someone approach and turns to peer into the darkness, which doesn't bother him in the least being a dwarf and having natural dark vision. "Who goes there?" It'll be quite easy to spot Muradin in turn since he's sitting by a fire.
And then Muradin's voice breaks into Ikuto's reverie. Probably for the best, actually. Yoru might not have seen Muradin, or might not have been expecting him. Since at the sound of the dwarf's booming voice, he yelps, "Nya!" and ducks behind Ikuto's shoulder. The firelight might reflect off of Yoru's eyes in that way that cats' eyes do with light. "I don't mean any harm," Ikuto replies, pulling his hands from his pocket. "I've come to talk to the mermaid. That's all."
Though Ikuto may not recognize him yet due to the darkness, Muradin does and exclaims. "Oi! If it ain't Ikuto and his Yoru lad! Great ta see ya!" He nods to Morgana. "These blokes are alright, donna worry." Although he's a jovial stout fellow and greets the two kids like old friends, Muradin can't help but be slightly curious when Ikuto claims that he's seeking Morgana specifically. "Aye? Really? Well, do tell what's yer business with me lass." He nonetheless invites the two come over and share his fire. "Sit yerselfs over here, I got plenty o' drinks for everyone." Looks like its time to get hammered!! Which, of course, in dwarven time is exactly every hour of the day.
"...Some," he replies quietly. Though he's also got his attention on Morgana. Not because 'oooh, naked girl', either. But because he'd heard that this woman had fangs. And he'd like to keep his throat intact if at all possible. Ah-ha. The voice is familiar now that it's speaking his name-- the dwarf that he met when he first showed up here. With the invitation to come closer to the fire, he does, offering a polite bow. "Thank you." Yoru follows, less tense now that he knows who's here. "Hi there-nya!" the catfairy greets, waving a hand-paw happily. Ikuto doesn't actually sit down. Looking between Morgana and Muradin as he speaks, he explains, "I went to Ray's Occult Books looking for magical protection. A girl working there points me towards you." Here he looks at Morgana, to indicate he meant her. "There's a chance some... very unsavory sorts are going to come here after me. I don't know when, or even if. But I'd like to be prepared."
Once Morgana takes his shirt to wear it over her, Muradin grins happily and busies himself pulling some flasks from his considerably large backpack. "All o' ye want some ale or can I get ya somethin' else?" He cackles. "I got me so mead, and rum, and wine if ya feel so inclined." Is.. is Muradin's backpack just completely stuffed with alcoholic drinks and nothing else? "Meebe some ginger ale for the wee lad!" Okay, maybe they're not all alcoholic, and he keeps in mind that Yoru might be too young to drink. Ikuto on the other hand gets handed a big ol' tankard of strong dwarven ale. "Hm! Now we're talking!" Muradin of course gets all excited at the talk of fighting. "If somebody's troubling ye, me and me lass can make sure to give 'em a good hammerin'" Muradin chuckles nervously. "Well, in the case of Morgana there might be more rending involved, she's a mite bitey." And that's putting it mildly.
Muradin's words of the booze get a raised brow, and then suddenly Ikuto has a tankard in his hand. He blinks. "...Thank you," he replies. Out of politeness, he takes a drink out of the tankard he's handed... and then coughs! He does have the decency to cover his mouth, though. Elf tolerance for dwarven booze. Never a good thing. Meanwhile Yoru is suddenly over near Muradin's pack. "Did you say you had ginger ale-nya?" he inquires. Apparently he does like ginger ale. Once Ikuto's got control of his throat again, he explains, "No, that's... not necessary. They don't have a lot of magical knowledge. I thought if I could get some magical strength, that I might be able to keep them at bay." There are also extenuating circumstances, that he doesn't want to bring up just yet.
Yoru wandering over his backpack causes the dwarf to nod "Aye! Always carry somethin' for when running into wee ones juss like ye. Plus it's good for tha' digestion." Yoru gets handed a tankard of ginger ale, but good luck drinking it, since its nearly Yoru's size. This also may or may not force Yoru to get pressed right into Morgana's prodding finger. Muradin pipes in when the talk turns to things of magical nature and he adds, "Well, what about yer song, me luv? Rather than killing the sodding blokes ye could juss sing 'em away, couldn't ye?"
Yoru feels perfectly normal, if a catboy fairy is normal. Skin where there's skin, fur where there's fur. The fur is silky like a cat's fur, though his hair is something of a hybrid between cat fur and human hair. It's still silky, though. And he's quite warm, like a cat. Though his scent... it's strange, yes. Yoru is made completely of magic, so he doesn't have a natural scent. He does, however, smell suspiciously like sardines. Possibly because this was the last thing he ate before coming here. Ikuto answers Morgana's words to him with a 'hm' of understanding. Though whatever he might have said is interrupted by that solid thwack that quite plainly almost bowls him over. Don't spill the booze! He manages to get his footing though, and not fall. Still, ow. Muradin offers a suggestion and he turns to look in the dwarf's direction. Though he doesn't speak further just yet, listening to see what this idea is.
With drink in one hand, and Morgana hopefully on his lap, Muradin continues along with the conversation, apparently oblivious to the fact that his friendly pat caused Ikuto a fair amount of discomfort. "Oh, aye, loads of stinkin' naga down there in the waters." He agrees with Morgana when she mentions that some foes from Muradin's world arrived here too. "Donna know if they followed -me- in particular, but they are definitely from me world. There be a wee gnome 'round here too who's also from Azeroth, so who knows? Meebe yer right to be worried that these blokes might follow ye." He chugs down some more ale. "Speaking of which, if ye be lookin' for some magical items of yer own, ye might wanna try yer hand at looking underwater. Lots of things from all over the multiverse down there, ripe for the taking. Provided ye have the means to dive and fight some wee underwater beasties like the naga I just mentioned." Rather than Yoru speaking up to explain, Ikuto provides an explanation to Morgana when she notes she doesn't know the term. "He's part of me," he explains simply. Which might be a little odd, becuase though Yoru is made completely of magic, Ikuto doesn't register as magical at all. He doesn't smell like magic, either-- he just smells like a normal teenage boy. Ikuto also nods to Morgana's statement. "I've heard it's happened. I'm not sure they will. But if they do, I want to be ready." As for why he's so afraid of these people? This brings a pause. Though he finally sits down, on the sand, out of the way but near the fire. He looks down into the tankard he hasn't taken another drink out of yet. And then he closes his eyes a moment. All the while remaining silent. Then he speaks. "...They have my sister." It's certainly true, even if it's not the whole story. Yoru heads over to where Ikuto has finally sat down, and uses one of the boy's knees as a table for the tankard of ginger ale. Ikuto doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he contributes a hand to steady it while Yoru quite literally puts his face into the tankard and starts slurping up the ginger ale. Not to worry, he's not too scared. Though it's due to being oblivious. Though there is a noticeable curl of Ikuto's lip in distaste when Muradin mentions going underwater himself. Which might make sense if one takes into account that a cat-fairy is 'part of him'. But what he says is quiet and even. "I don't have any way to dive underwater," he states. "I don't have any scuba gear."
"Seriously though, lad." His gaze hardens and he is no longer grinning, though he keeps a warm arm around his lady's waist to hold her close to him. "If these blighters gone and kidnapped one of yer relatives, ye shouldn't hesitate to ask for help. Me hammer's always ready to help someone one, we wouldn't mind lending ye a hand." Then Morgana's suggesting asking for external help, and Muradin nods in agreement. "Aye, ye know ye can contact TASK for somethin' like this, roit? That place is the closest thing this place has to police." The lack of scuba gear does present a problem though if Ikuto is -really- insistent of taking things into his own hands, but Muradin has some ways to go around that. "Well, I could build ye a suit if ye want. Wouldn't be cheap though." Even with the generous discount that Muradin would give Ikuto, he still has to go out and buy the parts.
Looking up from his ginger ale, Yoru inquires, "But can Easter really do anything against the people here-nya? These guys seem really strong." "Point," Ikuto answers. But there are other reasons, and he slides a pointed look at Yoru, as if to say, 'Don't even think about it.' But Ikuto looks between Morgana and Muradin again. "I'm honestly not worried about you," Ikuto speaks frankly. "From the looks of things, you could probably handle yourself against whatever they could throw at you. They'll use my sister to force surrender. The more people, the more chance there is of someone refusing." And then she'd die. Or worse. The offer to make a suit for Ikuto prompts a blink. "...You mean, in all of Twisted, there's not a store that sells scuba gear?" Mind, if there's something beyond normal scuba gear, he doesn't realize it.
"I can see what ye mean, prolly not tha best case to trust ta strangers and what not." Agrees the dorf. "Might be best ta do as Morgana says and just ask the local law enforcement to deal with it. They could probably even handle it without killing nobody." Then, Muradin is giving a bit of a scoff when Ikuto implies he can't find scuba gear anywhere here. "Oh, sure, ye can go buy a suit at S-Mart roit quick and easy. But I can guarantee ye it won't be tha' sturdy kind, and ye'll need a tough suit of armor if ye intend to face the naga. One trident spear through tha' fabric of most suits and it's all over underwater." The mountain king taps on his battered up diving suit. "Ye see this 'ere? Made out of mithril. Light as a feather but sturdy as steel. Fine dwarven quality too which is the best there is if I say so meself."
"I don't want a lot people involved," Ikuto says once more. "Law enforcement would have a force. That would raise flags immediately." "Besides that, you'd get in trouble too-nya," Yoru adds. Ikuto pauses, looks at Yoru with a frown. "Oop!" Yoru's oversized hand-paws go to his mouth, to cover them. Whoops! Looks like he said something he shouldn't have! Ikuto lets it go though, looking at the suit as it was pointed out. "Mithril?" His accent slurs the word to sound more like 'misuril'. "Actual mithril? The metal in fantasy books?"
He rubs his beard and peers curiously at Ikuto when Yoru spills the beans on why is it exactly that he doesn't want to contact TASK. "Ah, ye got a criminal record, aye? Eh, honestly lad, my recommendation to ya would be to juss come clean. The longer ye keep a secret the harder its gonna blow up on ya when it finally comes out." He nods to Morgana. "Aye, if ye really do mean well then TASK and this war god bloke will help ye, regardless of what ye've done." Morgana's abrupt change of conversation makes Muradin blink though and he glances to the siren. "Woop, that time already?" Well, this is a bit awkward. "Sorry mate, this kinna be me cue. Do ye wanna go back to the grotto then, luv?" Muradin asks of Morgana.
And then the two lovebird (or would that be lovefish?) make it known they need to leave. Ikuto stands, placing the mostly-undrunk tankard of ale in a place where it won't be knocked over. Along with Yoru's mostly-empty tankard of ginger ale. And then he pulls the little Guardian Character out of the tankard; Yoru is licking his paws and smells like ginger now. The boy nods. "It's an odd situation. I'll need to think about how to go on from here. They haven't shown up yet. They might not. I have time for now." He pauses, lowering his head a little. "...Thank you." And then he'll head for the city proper, Yoru floating behind him.
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