Scene #4283: The Blooming Aether

Owner	Pose
Reize Seatlan	Vegetation is rather abundand as the Crystal Valley wanes. Power crystals are scattered all around, hoisted by the flowers that grow along them. It is recent that rumors have spread to those that are willing to listen of a time during the summer where the flowers bloom. What is ordinarily an alien-like terrain is now a place of wonder. The jungle is dim of lights, but what makes up for it are fluttering balls of light. Those small balls of light flutter along the sky, keeping the place lit. There is a wonderous beauty about the area. To those who are attune with magic, the glowing fire-flies like light is aether in its purest form. One traveler has been making his way through the jungle upon hearing the rumors. The Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf wanders around, his gaze widen in awe as he passes through the jungle. It currently feels rather peaceful. "Wow..."
Silica	Silica doesn't normally venture out of ALO without a reason. Union business or the like... but this time, she just felt like taking a stroll, without tiring her physical body out. So it happens that a Cait Sith in dark blue and black attire is wandering the forest, her companion dragonling perched upon her shoulder as she drinks in the sights. By pure happenstance, she runs into Reize... literally, as she rounds a crystal trunk while not looking where she's going. WHUMP. "Oof! Uh, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going." she says, after picking herself up off the ground with an agile little kip up.
Ainsley	There's a bizarre reptile woman sitting up in the trees in the distance. She reaches to touch one of the floating wisps, and it responds by rippling and flowing around her as if there was an invisible force eminating from the lizard gal's hand. She plays with the way her innate magic repels the aether, letting it orbit around her until it turns into a band of light and gets slingshotted to one of the nearby flowers. Ainsley is here because she is an incredibly magical creature and it feels comfortable. It also helps that the crystalline jungle is always warm, a fact that helps with her cold blooded physiology. She is only here by coincidence.
Reize Seatlan	It's a nice peaceful moment to just enjoy the sights of the aether flowing in the air. Reize extends a gloved hand out, seeking to reach for the 'fireflies' that fly near his fingertips. "Buh?!" WHOMP! Reize x Ground OTP: Their love is so hard. At least, that was the intention before he was bumped into by a young girl who literally ran into him. Reize's body is dropping like a weight towards the harsh ground. "...Ow." The boy grimaces as he gets up, his antenna hair twitching irritibly as his expression matches it. "What gi---" When the girl looks rather apologetic, the young traveler looks a bit more remorseful, "Ahahaha... not a problem." He gives a cheerful look, "You came because of the rumors, too?" At ths time, Reize doesn't spot the third presence in their vicinity.
Silica	"Rumors?" asks Silica, shaking her head, "No, I just came out to take a walk. I saw this area and decided to head on over." she offers, looking around, and reaching up to poke one of the wispy 'fireflies'. The mana reacts against her digital skin, and shoots away rapidly, 'pinballing' amongst the crystals before vanishing from sight. "It's beautiful here... and it's really peaceful too." she says wistfully. "Oh! I'm Silica, the Beast Tamer of Aincrad." she says, bowing at the waist a little. "And this is my friend, Pina." the digital dragon chirpcoos and bows it's head at Reize too.
Ainsley	Ainsley turns her head to observe Reize and Silica from afar. Being a wizard, a reptile and an overall taciturn creature when she can get away with it besides that, she provides only placid observation for a little while. She smiles at the interactions between the pair, though Silica's digital nature doesn't get missed by the communication-based wizard. She recognizes some of the aesthetics from the VRMMO games and the details on Silica tell Ainsley that is definitely a digital avatar. "Hmm~" "Hello!" she decides to greet them from afar, her gentle voice somehow projected with perfect clarity through the foliage and distance.
Reize Seatlan	"Oh..." There is a bit of disappointment as Silica reveals that she did not arrive due to the rumors. Admittedly, Reize hoped to come across other rumor huntings. Ah well. He gets over the disappointment and instead, drawn to the curiosity over the girl's interaction with the aether. He looks over with interest, through it pinballing with the other crystals has him squinting. "Huh." Upon the introduction, Reize extends his hand out with a cheerful look, "Reize Seatlan, just an explorer!" He beams, turning towards Pina, "Pleased to meet you too, Pina." !!! Another voice speaks out, sounding rather distant from the two. Reize quickly shifts his attention out and he gazes afar. Waving a hand out, "Ooooiiii!" Pause. His expression falters a bit, "Uh, I don't see another person." Cheerful once more, "But they seem friendly!"
Ainsley	"Up here!" Ainsley calls. And then she manifests a feeling of where she is with a wave of her hand, projected for their benefit. She's just up in the trees over there-ish! Her and her magic.
Finna	To find what almost FEELS like a demesne this far out in the middle of nowhere has Finna brimming with energy and excitement. She's letting loose in animal form at the moment! An arctic fox (albeit wearing their gray-brownish summer coat) scampers through the jungle on a JOYDASH. Finna is HAPPY. Her body feels light as a feather - even moreso than usuaul - and the thrum of LIFE pulses mightily in her veins, tickles her soul! It's enough to make her giddy - no, ECSTATIC. Despite the crazy plunge through the brush, somehow or another fox is nearly impossible to detect. Its steps are too light to crush any vegetation - fallen or not. It barely brushes the branches and only mildly upsets the wind. But still, when it nears the group by chance... Finna ends up tailing them without much thought...
Silica	Silica blinks a bit, then looks over to where Ainsley is 'projecting' from. "Oh, there she is." she says, pointing up to where the lizard woman sits. "Hi~!" she offers in return, smiling brightly. "Why are you staying up there? Come on down!" she says next. Pina 'sniffs' the air, and seems a bit aggitated by.. something. Maybe it's threat detection algorithm is picking up a HIDDEN FOX somewhere nearby, but it's protests are quieted by Silica booping it gently on the nose. "It's okay Pina."
Sigrun Stem	Rumours like there are about this place always make Sigrun suspicious. Tales about about fey creatures using sites like this to lure in naive wanderers and trick them into doing their bidding. Thus, the monster Exterminator has slowly approached. She's taken a careful, stealthy path, subtle magics directing her to where she's least likely to be seen, and like Finna, she ends up naturally approaching the group already present. She's eyeing the magically interesting fox, but tries to avoid drawing attention. After all, highly energetic magical foxes that leave no trace are likely to be either fey or the victims of fey, best to keep away. Still, she nocks an arrow just in case
Reize Seatlan	As the voice calls out, Reize cannot help but feel a presence of something. It is a compelling feeling that leads Reize to drift his gaze out to see Ainsley. "!!!!" His eyes snap open at the initial look of the lizard woman, "Whoa!" However, Reize should be used to seeing folks like her, "A beastkin!" His expression becomes cheerful, waving a hand up her way, "Ooooi!" It looks like Pina is aggitated by something, "Huh? What's wrong, Pina?" He looks at the little dragon's reaction to the surroundings. Of course, Reize doesn't seem to notice the presence of anything in particular. Though, seeing Pina aggitated does make the boy a bit wary. "Anyway, the rumors are what drew me here." He gives out a cheerful, beaming smile, "I'm glad that I came here!" His arms extend in the air, feeling the presence of the aether flowing down, "...It's a nice experience, better at night."
Sanary Rondel	It's been a while since Sanary last took a walk. No missions, no paperwork, no classes... Just scoping out the Multiverse, seeing what's going on, investigating rumors of a weird flower in the Crystaline Jungle that may or may not be useful for the Confederacy's research and medical treatment... Alright. Maybe there's abit of work seeping in through this. Still, it's certainly a nice place to walk for a change of pace, and the healer's having a fairly easy time of it between using her axe to clear through the more stubborn brush and just pushing aside what doesn't need to be cut. Hearing voices from ahead, the healer doesn't (intentionally) make her presence known just yet. She peers at them through a gap between several branches, not noticing that she's probably made a bit of noise just trying to get into that position. There's a few familiar faces in there, too, but she's still a little wary all the same.
Finna	The Stalking Fox playfully leaps up into a nearby tree branch overlooking the group, lounging lazily on it like a certain cat. "Better at night, you say? Oooooooh, yes, yes it would be. I should drag a boy out here for some fun come then. Maybe you?" The fox yawns, licking her lips, but seems to be wearing a playful grin while her tail wags a storm. "That would be an experience, out under the moooooooon." Well, whatever she's getting at, this is probably not going to make a good impression, given the rumors. "What are all of you out here chasing? Rumors?"
Ainsley	Seeing Silica's point, Ainsley floats on down through the trees, seeming to be weightless enough that she just pushes off the branch and lands without even a slight noise. She smiles between the two but remains relatively silent aside from her introduction. "I'm Ainsley, a lizard wizard." The humor in the phrase is seemingly glossed over, but she's secretly watching them to see if Reize or Silica react to it. Her head turns when Finna makes herself known. Instead of verbally responding, she gestures around at all the flowers as if that's all the reason she needs to be out here.
Silica	Snrk... giggle. Silica blinks dumbly at Ainsley for a moment, before covering her mouth and stifling a giggle that just bubbles up. Okay, /that/ was a good one, she'll admit. And then a talking fox. "Hey... I remember you from Miss Stem's office... you were sitting on the ceiling like some kind of bat."
Reize Seatlan	At least, the atmosphere was rather peaceful. Reize had been so long captivated by the presence of the forest that he was not aware of incoming people. Those that sought to sneak within the jungle found it easy to be out of the boy's somewhat attentive nature, which generally comes out during the woods. Reize glances at Ainsley as she introduces herself, giving a grin, "Hee, pleased to meet you, Ainsley!" Wait for it... Wait for it... .... The expression on the boy's eyes become dots as a set of elipses appear over his head. "... A lizard wizard." He drily repeats. He grins a moment later, "I like it! Pleased to meet you!" Despite of the introduction, the presence of the phenomenon around them is too captivating to want to deal with anything else. ... Until another voice speaks out at them. "Eh?" Reize quirks an eyebrow, then he turns to see... another fox. The boy's eyes widen. His antenna hair twitches and he mutters, "...I...Ahh..." He takes several steps back from the fox. However, as she asks them of their purpose, Reize steps forward and he declares, "Rumor chasing!" He pauses, "Though, I think the others came with their own reasons."
Sanary Rondel	No sense hiding for much longer. it sounds as though this group is safe enough to be around, and Sanary finally steps out from behind the brush with only minimal grumbling and straining at the branches still in her way. "Uh. Hey there! Rest of you looking into the rumors, too?" She calls out in a friendly tone, although there's still just a hint of annoyance because of all the plants. Stupid plants being a pain to walk through. and catching on her coat all the time. "Been running around some, but.. Uh. Not too sure where I am right now." She chuckles awkwardly, then adjusts her eyepatch while looking from person to person. Ainsley and Finna get looks of recognition, but everyone else? Well, maybe they're friendly.
Sigrun Stem	When Finna comes out in public and acts like that, Sigrun stops waiting. An arrow tipped in hand-wrought iron is sent flying just past the fox, to be embedded in the tree. The masked hunter is too far away to be heard, but her voice is transmitted through the arrow. "Step away from them and explain yourself, fae creature, unless you want the next one to pierce your fur." Normally, Sigrun wouldn't even bother with the warning shot, but she isn't home, she knows it's possible she's misread the situation. She doesn't think it likely.
Silica	And suddenly arrows are flying. Silica's first reaction is to lift both hands, murmuring in not!Norse, before flaring her eyes open. A hemisphere of yellow energy erects around the group. "Pina, seek!" The dragonling chirps, and takes flight, zeroing in on where the arrow came from. "Why are you attacking us!?" calls Silica, as she draws her dagger in readiness. <<Gotta be careful with big spells like that... that took most of my MP bar.>> she thinks to herself.
Finna	"FAE?!" Indignation riles up the fox in a heartbeat, her fur standing on end. In a swift motion that might shock everyone... she SNATCHES THE WARNING ARROW OUT OF THE AIR WITH HER JAWS, holding it much like a dog would a fetched stick in its jaws. The fox now stands, tail stretched out and a furious look in her eyes. "Juf twy 'n cull 'm dat agin. 'll fee oo 'ets 'n 'rrow ftuck 'n 'em." ... What?
Ainsley	Ainsley seems remarkably calm when things get a little tense. She doesn't even seem to stop smiling. She does look at the arrow, and follow the sound of Sigrun's voice over to where she's located, and eventually she just lets out a sigh at all of this tension and defensiveness. "There really is no need to fire arrows at random creatures in the middle of foreign lands. You don't even know whether fae creatures are strictly a bad thing in this specific region, do you?" she tells Sigrun using some communication magic, "And let's not threaten each other, alright? It really doesn't help to antagonize someone that thinks you're a threat." she adds for Finna. Really, she just seems disappointed it got so bitey at all, but she isn't letting it rob her of her good mood. "This place is nice, so let's all be kind to each other. Okay? If it helps, I have cookies with me..." She digs in her pockets and retrieves a neatly wrapped package.
Reize Seatlan	As Sanary emerges from the brush and out to the group, the young traveler turns his head towards Sanary with a cheerful look. "Ooooi!" He waves a hand her way, offering sign of peace. When she comments about that she's lost, Reize gives an empathetic smile. "You're in what I recall being the crystalline jungle. As for how to get here..." Pause. He gives a sheepish smile, a hand running to the back of his head, "Can't remember!" Suddenly, an arrow flies across through the tree and the boy's eyes widen, "What the?!" Reaching behind him, the boy's draws both large, crystalline boomerangs from their clip. When the boomerangs are now held, the boy's stance takes a more aggressive one when he holds them invertedly. "Someone's here!" His eyes now start roaming around, actively searching for a presence as he shifts his stance. Soon, the boomerangs flip up to where he's holding them like a pair of daggers.
Sanary Rondel	NOT FRIENDLY NOT FRIENDLY AT ALL. Ducking down instinctively, Sanary conjures up several discs the size of her head before having them surrounded her, acting as impromptu shields while she tries to figure out who's shooting arrows at who and who's going to bite and/or stab what. She even draws that gunaxe of hers, the weapon already glowing faintly with an icy fog surrounding the blade. At least the guy with the boomerang's friendly enough. And Ainsley has cookies! "Y... Yeah, let's just calm down, huh? No need to get too crazy over..." ... Why was there an arrow, anyway? Sanary's still keeping her guard up in the direction of where the arrow had come from, waiting for movement from that general direction while trying to figure out just who's out there. "Nobody's here to fight! I... Think. Just come on out and..." A pause. "... Cookies!"
Sigrun Stem	The response is at least enough to make Sigrun come out of hiding and approach until she's at a comfortable distance, bow still drawn. With that mask, it's hard to read her face. "Everything about this screams 'magical site used by fae to lure in unsuspecting visitors." She points her arrow towards Finna, "And everything about that fox's magical signature screams 'fae' to me. If I wasn't off-world I would've shot first and not bothered asking questions, now explain yourself." There's a clear urgency to her voice, she's ready to shoot again if need be.
Finna	The fox casually tosses the arrow upwards... and shifts back to human form there on the branch. Although the branch is too narrow and thin to possibly support even her light weight body... it doesn't more than slightly bend. She snags the arrow on the way back down, and twirls it between her fingers playfully - fast enough to blur, even. How's anyone that dextrous? Now Finna's a young woman of the far north with black hair (matching what had been her fur color, rather closely), though fox ears sprout from the top of her head and she seems to lack normal ones. Her tail remains, but its fur stands on end and she's wearing a fierce scowl. "That's the second time. Call a Chosen of Luna that again... and I'll stick this arrow somewhere you'll regret it." She glances down to Reize briefly, "Hiya again!" There's almost stars in her eyes... she might like him.
Ainsley	"That really is completely unnecessary, you both really have no reason to be angry with each other," Ainsley reminds Sigrun and Finna, with the tone of someone who knows she's just effectively been ignored and that the reminder will probably get brushed off as well. She opens the package of cookies and offers one over in Sanary's direction first, apparently disinterested in the conflict itself beyond her strangely mild disapproval, at least compared to everyone else's startle. "Cookie?" she offers to Reize as well, shining a gentle smile at him. Silica doesn't get the offer because she is a digital construct.
Reize Seatlan	Boomerangs are drawn and Reize is ready to fight! At least, until Sanary manages to try to keep the atmosphere calm. It looks like that it is enough for someone to start making their way to approach the group. The figure is still far, but at least they are out in the open. Reize doesn't stand down from his position quite yet. The explanation, however, does get Reize to glance over at Finna, who has been giving off that magical energy. He cannot help but squint at the magical fox. Of course, it is revealed to be who the person is as the fox tosses it into the air and snags it in a more human form. ... "Finna?!" His eyes widen in shock. And of course, when she glances down at him.... ... He can feel the intensity of the staring, as if that starry gaze looms over him. A shade of darkness appears over his head in horror and he sweatdrops. "...G--good to see you too, Finna..." After a moment, Reize places the boomerangs back into the clip on his side, "...Ah, Finna is a good person." Pause. "... Yeah, a good person." The sweat bead appears over his head. The offer of the cookie by Ainsley, however, earns a bright smile from the boy. "Sure! Thanks!" The cookie offered his way is reached over to take and then he starts nibbling on it.
Sanary Rondel	An uncertain hum escapes Sanary as she looks between the emerging Sigrun and Finna, furrowing her brows just a bit while shuffling over towards the lizard wizard. She takes a cookie and munches on it quietly, giving Ainsley a grateful nod while keeping herself out of... Whatever it is that's going on between those two. They're not Confederates, at least, so that just leaves three other options. Reize confirms that the fox is a Union member, at least, when he identifies her as- "Finna? Huh. Interesting look." She chuckles lightly, then turns to Sigrun, squinting a bit at that mask. "So then that must mean you're..." That hostile response, the nigh-undetectable arrow, that voice... It can all mean only one thing! "... So who are you?"
Sigrun Stem	Sigrun puts away her bow when Finna reveals herself, and sighs, walking closer. "You know, Finna. I didn't intend to pay you back for that stunt in my office, but let's consider this payback and call it a day." She sounds a little frustrated by it all, and gets closer. She turns her head slightly towards the people she doesn't know yet, "Sigrun Stem, owner of Stem Monster Analysis, Control and Killing. I'm with the Union and the Syndicate." She shrugs at Ainslin, "Not my fault Finna could easily pass for fae in my world Ains, despite that she isn't." Pause, "So anyway who are you guys?"
Ainsley	Ainsley doesn't have much to say for Sigrun's point, and is clearly just choosing not to argue about it by the look on her face and the helpless shrug she gives in the hunter's direction. There's a poof of feathers and this 'ehhh what can you do' look in her eyes. She holds the package of cookies in her direction as well and asks, "Cookie?" They're pretty good sugar cookies. Pretty mundane for mundane sorts. They use magical ingredients but only people that actually use magic would notice any sort of difference.
Finna	Catching Reize's gloomy worry, Finna blinks a few times. "Are you NOT happy to see me?" Her cheeks puff a little indignantly, but she then scurries down the tree in... a... very fox-like manner, as if her limbs are just all wrong. Then she flips down to the jungle floor and plants a hand on her hips... just kinda GLARING over at Sigrun. twitch twitch. She casually flings the arrow back her way. Not much force to it, or accuracy. Just a bit of payback. But she swoops over and nabs some cookies. Several. As she passes by, she offers one to Silica and another to Pina! "Mmmf." Munch munch. "Isn't this place amazing? Fills me with life and power. Could bask here all day!"
Reize Seatlan	"Urgk!" Reize grimaces when Finna looks indignant, "It-it's not that! I'm glad to see you! Ahahahaha..." Hooo boy. Reize hangs his head low with a sigh, his antenna hair mimicing the boy's behavior. It looks like the tension has now adverted. With his boomerangs already drawn back, he looks at the surrounding area to get a good look at the people around. The conflict does marr up what he felt was a peaceful atmosphere, but instead, he decides to seize the moment of getting people to refocus. "Take the time to admire the beauty! From what the rumors mention, this is a rare event. It is not often that we get to see all of these." As it shows, the crystallized flowers, after being embedded with the crystals for a long time, are all releasing what some people could call spores. However, the appear like fireflies, fluttering along the air. They rise out to cover the top of the forest. They appear as dancing lights that are all over the jungle. A bright smile is given, then he turns to face the masked figure, "Stem Monster Analysis, Control, and Killing?" He gives a thoughtful look. "Interesting..." The Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf brightens a smile, "I'm Reize Seatlan, just an explorer!"
Sanary Rondel	No injuries! Perfect. Sanary lets out a relieved sigh when it looks like nobody's going to kill each other, and she takes that opportunity to get a better look at everyone that's there. Ainsley and Finna are familiar enough, but Reize and Sigrun and Silica? She's not sure where to start there, between the boomerangs and the cool mask and the cute little dragon thingy. It's hard to focus on just one! "Yeah, this place is pretty nice. Haven't been here much myself, so... Well, it should be easier with a group like this." A laugh, and then she clears her throat before lowering the gunaxe to her side (and dropping those discs from midair). "Sanary Rondel, healer and captain of the Confederacy. Good meeting you all." She doesn't look all that worried about the Union presence, at least. Or is it a challenge?
Sigrun Stem	Sigrun catches the arrow, "Thanks." She puts in her quiver, and sits down and still looks wary. She keeps her mask on, and thus does not touch any of the cookies. "Sorry about the disruption, I can leave if you prefer." She offers, but she doesn't seem like she wants to leave. "As for you, Confederate. If you're not here to cause trouble, I'll not cause you any and we can part ways peacefully."
Reize Seatlan	Confederate, huh? Reize has gotten vaguely familiar with the Confederates and the Union, but everything is a blur. Thoughtfully, Reize looks over at the surrounding people. He cannot help but want to explore more of the area. In fact, that is what he will likely do. He offers a cheerful smile to the other travelers, "I cannot stay around too long. There is much that I still want to explore!" He grins, then he starts to trek further southward, "I'll hopefully run into you all again!" It may be best to also get away from the tense atmosphere.