Meet the Nest Mothers
Log Info
- Title: Meet the Nest Mothers
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Cryosanthia, Aryia, Geir, Vaera, Un'eth
- Place: W02: Mictlan
- Time: Tuesday, November 23, 2021, 11:51 AM
- Summary: Aryia arrives at Mictlan on Cryo's invitation, to meet the other nest-mothers-to-be and let them get used to her. Shaman Geir is present and amused, curious how things will go. Apparently, meeting involves a lot of being sniffed, which the mul'niessa doesn't enjoy. Geir explains that the people shouldn't do this to her, as it's usually interpreted as something dogs do. Shaman Un'eth arrives, in her Dire Wolf form, and ruins the argument and admonishment. Vaera is present, helping out Papalotl, who has dived into over-crafting her nest. Every Nest-Mother has a different idea about what the best nest is, and wants to fight about it. Aryia encounters a sith she rescued from Charn, who is happy to see her, and the local Lore-Keeper has a bunch of intrusive questions. Lily amuses herself, building a mecha-tiamat and interferring and the gold-scale sneaks off the increasingly stressed mul'niessa when the topic of linings and nest design resurfaces.
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Located within the Deep Woods, and hours past Wilderness Pointe, in the heart of its northern woods, bones frame this hollowed-out space. Massive and heavy, they reach towards the sky, meeting--almost--in the center like great and worn stalagmites. Or giant teeth. After a few seconds--it's quickly evident that this is a space carved from a dragon's bones. A very, very large...dragon's bones. The air smells of ash, brimstone, and earth. Underneath the apex of the bones lie the workings of a central Fire.
The grounds are run by shamans of the sith-makar, and the sacred space dedicated to the Death Singing Dragon, one of their names for the goddess, Vardama. There are always a number of them about, from a mixture of tribes. Formally, the sith use it to sing the souls of their dead back to the land of Wing and Flame, and celebrate the Memory of Blood. It was here that brave heroes stood, and vanquished the ashen warriors of old, thereby freeing the land from Thul's curse. Informally, it is a gathering place.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing in Order -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. Aryia 4'8" 110 Lb Shadow Elf Female A heavily scarred mul with a resolved look about her. Geir 5'8" 200 Lb Sith-Makar Male A short, copper-scaled Sith-makar. Vaera 7'0" 262 Lb Sith-Makar Female A tall, dark red Makari with a wooden leg. Un'eth 6'2" 275 Lb Sith-Makar Female An ebon-scaled female Sith-makar. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= NPCs of Note =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Nahuatl Sith-Makar Female A copper-scaled, elderly, grand dame, Nest-Mother mother. Xochicotzin Sith-Makar Female A red-scaled, mesomorphic, Egg-Watcher, gravid. Cozamalotl, 'Zama' Sith-Makar Female A brass-scaled, stringy, Lore-Keeper, gravid. Itzpapalotl, 'Papalotl' Sith-Makar Female A bronze-scaled, squat, Crafter, gravid. Little Fang, 'Lily' Kobold Female A pinkscale youngling in a leather dress, Cryo's daughter. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Mictlan
There's a sharp demarkation between the regulated environment and the unregulated territory of the sith'makar settlement. Inside, the trees believe it is still a humid summer, while outside the trees have turned and dropped most of their leaves.
Except for the evergreens, they're fine.
Despite this line, anyone approaching Mictlan is notice long before they arrive there. Sometimes intercepted, sometimes simply trailed, visitors will encounter Warrior caste waiting for them.
And others, if a letter specifying a day has been sent.
Cryosanthia is prancing around, burning off energy. Beside, her carnation-scaled younging sits on a sheet and has spread out a variety of parts and tools and is assembling ... something.
Aryia got a letter to meet with her whitescaled friend in the sith-makari grounds of Mictlan. She was a bit nervous coming up here, her making the trek from the city with some supplies in a backpack. She's covered herself up completely, black clothes with a grey cloak, a hood drawn over and a half-face mask that covers her mouth and nose.
A short, cloaked figure steps past that line, her looking about with a journal in her hand. Was... this the right place? There were no signs posted or anything. Where was... oh!
The cloaked figure approaches the duo, their identity easily revealed from the twin lights underneath the hood. She raises a hand in greeting.
Also coming up the road is a copper-scale Sith, trailing behind Aryia by dozens of paces. Covered in armor, and a dull grey tabard, the Sith seems to be unbothered by the brisk, chill wind blowing from the mountains. He passes by the Warriors who mind Mictlan's boundaries with a raised hand and a deeply intoned "Peace on your nessts."
The pink Kobold's creative endeavor catches Geir's attention, and with Cryosanthia likely being busy with greeting Aryia, the copper-scale chuckles, crouching down to peer at the assemblage of different parts. "Hmm, peace on your nest, Little Fang. What iss it that you are building, if thiss one may ask?"
Cryo halts mid-lunge, and turns to face the mul'niessa, "Aryia, peace on your nest! You made it." She signals the woods, and there's a corresponding rustling, but no visible forms come into view.
"Peace on Next" Lily signs at an evergreen, roughly in Aryia's direction. She doesn't look up from her task, only holding up her non-dominant hand. <handsign>
The whitescale moves closer, and that is an appropriate description of Cryosanthia currently. She's considerably dressed down compared to how she is in Alexandria, with the possible exception of the baths. She's wearing a loin cloth... and that's it. Her pale, glacial blue scale patterns are on full display, front and back. Also, there's no mistaking she is carrying eggs. She's quite round in the belly and in a comfortable forward-lean that is counterbalanced by her tail.
Lily looks up when she's directly addressed. "Gearrrsh!" She hops up to hug a shin, "makingss... a mecco hydrrash golemss." A metal something with a lot of heads.
Aryia raises a hand to pull her mask down to her neck, her flashing a smile. "Peace on your nest," she says with familiar motions. The mute bobs her head, looking around at the... strange forest she's never been in before.
Such forests rustle, and she glances off towards where such noise was. It's clear she's a bit uncomfortable by being here. Both by virtue of her being, as well as just being an awkward soul in general.
She turns around, masking up again as her torch-lit gaze under the hood settles on the copper-scale. She tilts her head to the side, and raises a gloved hand in greeting. <Handspeech>
"Oh, hmm. A hydra iss an interessting choice for a golem." The corners of his mouth curl upwards, his version of a smile. "Will it breath fire and cold and such?", the copper-scale wonders of the li'l kobold. He fondly pats her head when his leg is hugged.
Aryia's wave catches the copper-scale's eyes, and he looks to Aryia and Cryosanthia. "Peace on your nessts.", he intones. "Cryosanthia, it looks as though you are approaching your blesssed day, yess?" Nodding to the Mul, "Thiss one is Geir. Welcome to Mictlan."
"Yesss! An lightningss an assidss an gasss an sssonic firess!" Lily explains, clearly inspired by some chromatic legends. She makes a 'rawr' noise and holds out a little claw, "an big claw."
"This one is, yes, Shaman Geir." Cryo bounces up and down in place, "this one has a nest, an actual nest, at last. Well, soon. You should come see. Aryia is my Egg-Watcher and I want her to meet the other girls."
She swoops around to check on her youngling and her project, "Lily, can you pack up, we are going back to the Nesting Grounds."
"Whole sssheet." The kobold makes a grasping and lifting motion, "Like gobboss merchantsss."
"Yes, of course. Pack up like a street vendor." The whitescale grabs the corners and lifts so the sheet becomes a sack and Cryo can make off like a bandit. "This way."
The mul'neissa's eyes soften some behind the mask, her giving a bow of the head at the welcome. She glances over towards Lily, eyeing the things she had been working on. A small sigh leaves her.
Nerves come up at the mention of meeting the others, the mute woman walking over to Cryo and standing a bit behind her. Looking to follow. Meaning to hide slightly.
The copper-scale Sith chuckles in amusement, the noise a rumble deep in his chest. "Lily hass done her ressearch, it seems.", he says with a grunt, as he slowly stands. "Thiss one will be curiouss to ssee the finisshed golem. Are you planning on selling them, Little Fang?"
Geir's expression clouds slightly with anxiety at the mention of the nesting grounds. "Hrmhmm. Egg-watcher Aryia. You have volunteered for a ssacred tassk. Thiss one hopess the experience will be a possitive one for you."
The copper-scale takes up the rear in the processional towards the nesting area.
"Let me just..." Cryo crouches down to sniff at Aryia, then makes a motion with her hands and waves at the air around the mul'niessa. She is momentarily confused, then laughs, "ah... haha... right. No gloves. I wore them so long I forget I don't actually know that spell. They're back at the nest, everything is back at the nest."
She surges up and leads the way, her tail swaying. "It's fine, you smell fine."
Lily meanwhile, climbs Geir, since her Ssassa is carrying her bag of things. "Noooo. Iss fun. Maybesss." The little pink-scale daydreams about fire-breathing toys. Fire-acid-lightning-cold-sonic breathing toys, it should fly also.
"This one hopes it will be, that, this one, the others, will not be too much for Aryia." Cryo says.
It's not far, The nesting grounds are well hidden, by underbrush and a palisade of living trees, which open onto an open, stone dome-pyramid sort of structure with the nesting area inside.
Entering is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a stern red-scaled woman. "Who's this? Who are you? Cryo, why did you bring a mul here, and a male?" A pause, a wave a Lily, a stern chuff at the whitescale.
"It's... Shaman Geir, Xochi, and Aryia, my Egg-Watcher. This one told you she was arriving." Cryo explains carefully.
Aryia blinks as she's sniffed, the mul a scent of sea salt and linseed oil. She shifts a bit. Smelling good was a... compliment? She bobs her head some and follows after, her gloved hands folded in front of her.
Lamp-light eyes swing around as they draw near, them wide at the sheer difference of what she was expecting. Though, her curiosity is tempered by being caught out despite her coverings. She sighs and pulls her mask down, revealing her scarred visage. She frowns a bit at the red-scale, her crossing her arms and resting on her back foot.
Geir chuckles at Lily's climbing, and after she reaches his chest, he hugs her for a moment, before settling her atop his head, between his two great horns. "Thiss one iss certain such a golem will be of great interesst to both younglings and elderss alike.", he says to carnation-scaled Kobold framed by his horns.
The copper-scale stiffens at the red-scale Sith, and glances at Aryia and her posture. "It iss part of the brood-mother'ss job desscription to be ssurely.", he faux-whispers to the Mul'neissa.
Lily sits between Geir's horns, holding onto them. She attempts to steer him like she does her Ssassa, pulling on one side to see if he'll turn.
Aryia is sniffed again. All the makari stop, and look at the Mul'niessa.
"She isn't going to talk as much as you, is she?" Xochi glares at Cryo. The red-scale is clearly a Warrior-Caste, by her build and scars. She's also going to have a blessed even soon, which might explain some of her attitude. Although old habits do die hard.
"No... that shouldn't be a problem. Aryia, this is Xochicotzin. She trained me, and Xochi, this is Aryia." Cryo says diplomatically.
"Aryia? The demon-consorting, Taaranite, traitor mu'lnessa we're supposed to kill on sight?" Xochi's weight shifts to her back foot, her tail readying.
"No." Cryo huffs, exhaling, "Aryia, the devil-slaying, atheist, slave-liberating mul'niessa you're supposed to buy a drink. You're thinking of Aya. Common mistake."
At a distance, a voice calls, "Aryia, is that you?"
The attempts to steer Geir has him chuckling, and for a short time, the copper-scale is happy to humour her, following her steering input to the letter.
"Hmmhmm, Warrior. There are softskinss who think along the same liness, all of the People are the same. It is faulty thinking. Though, perhapss, undersstandable given the asssociation between Mul'neissa and Charn. Cryosanthia'ss judgement, however, sshould be taken into hand." As he speaks, he makes two full rotations in a small circle, following Little Fang's hands on the horns. The Kobold currently attempting to closer inspect a curiosity that she'd never see from her vantage point on the ground.
Aryia tenses as she's inspected once more, and decides to do away with subtly as she doffs her hood. Now unmistakably full blooded mul'neissa.
Which, such blood roils some at the insinuations. Not of her, but of someone close to her. She cracks her neck, raising her chin some. "P-c- -n y-r n-st," she hisses out in all the silence from the makari. Her eyes narrow in challenge, even when Geir vouches for her.
The challenger blinks, and she leans off to the side, ignoring Xochi. Seeing who called out to her. Who knows of her here..?
Cryo snorts, covering her snout with a hand and laughing, watching as Geir goes round and round. She follows, dancing in a circle with her tail bouncing. The redscale glares at her, and she returns a grin, "Come on Xochi, you can't be serious all the time! You'll never relax enough to let your eggs out."
This prompts a grunt and another glare. The red-scale focusing on Cryo.
Approaching the group is a goldscale, another nest-mother-to-be and one that's vaguely familiar. "Remember me? From the warehouse? We were being pushed into a portal and you went after the slavers. This one is Metztli!" She also sniffs Aryia once she's close enough to do so. It makes her tense, and there's a visible effort on her part to relax. It sounds genuine when she says, "This one is so happy you're here."
Lily makes a rattling noise in her throat, and attempts to get the copperscale to spin faster.
Aryia afford a little smirk at the two circling makari, the tension defusing somewhat. But then her attention focuses back on the nesting grounds at large. Then, to the goldscale that approaches. She tilts her head to the side, eyes going unfocused slightly in thought.
Rage. Death. Blood. Scream. Lightning. Fury.
Ah. The mute bobs her head, smiling some more as she remembers the goldscale. She raises a hand and gives a little wave from the hip. She gestures towards the mother-to-be, looking at Xochi as if to say, 'look, everyone says I'm good, chill out.'
Then Aryia is sniffed yet *again*.
She shifts uncomfortably. Compared to what she's lived through thus far and the start difference to softskin life, she comes to a conclusion. Under her breath, she subwhispers, "Consensus achieved. Result: this place is fucking weird."
She weakly smiles to the goldscale. <Kulthian>
The copper-scale huffs lightly, and begins a faster spinning motion.
"Jusst sso.", rumbles Geir. "Thiss one would offer that many ssoftskinss ssee overt... sniffing... of their personss to be rude. Their sense of smell iss not as acute, as ourss. Thuss it iss not used as a meanss of perssonal inspection."
Wobbling slightly, Geir slows once more. "Might we sspin the other way, Little Fang, thiss one may become dizzy."
"To ssoftskinss, from thiss one'ss observations... sniffing is what... dogss do."
"Noooooo." Lily, the sponge of the new, hears a new thing. It sounds like a swear word. She repeats it over and over with a squeal as she keeps the Geir of the world a-turning. "Consensus consensus consensus." <Kulthian>
Cryo stops her widdershins rotation, straightens sternly, "Little Fang. Not that."
"Oh, Xochi is a sweetie when you get to know her!" Metztli says, followed by looking at Geir, her nostrils flare, "Oh. Well. This one still needs to. She smells like the sea, it's nice."
She can overlook the other associations.
There's silence after the dog comparison is made. It's interrupted by Xochi grunting at Metztli, "I'm not sweet."
"Um... ah... do you want to see the nests?" Cryo suggests. Xochi's spines rise, Metztli's lower. Lily goes 'woooooo'.
Aryia snorts as Lily repeats the phrase over and over. She shakes her head at the antics, then focuses on Metztli. At least she smelled... nice. She idly wonders if she could get something similar to what Cryosanthia had, a thing to remove scents. Maybe that'd make them chill out a bit. Even though Aryia was woefully underestimating how important that sense was to the People.
In the silence, the elf motions slowly. "... I'm not a dog," further driving in that awkward pause.
The Egg Watcher nods towards Cryosanthia. Might as well see what she's gotten herself into. <Handspeech>
The copper-scale chortles, and shakes his head gently. "Ssuch language from a proper little lady iss dissappointing.", he intones. The upwards curling of the corner of his mouth gives away his amusement.
Geir's amusement increases by leaps and bounds at what Aryia says, and he slaps his leg with a jingling-clanking sound as the armor rattles.
"Neither are we, Aryia, neither are we. Which iss what thiss one was implying." He looks to the other Sith, pauses for a moment, and then bursts out into genuine laughter.
Inside of the nesting grounds proper, and the stone structure, a familiar dark red makari was talking animatedly to a bronze scaled nestmother in the building animatedly, with a series of measuring rulers and guides set out beside her. Her metal leg was elsewhere, replaced with the familiar wooden, flying fish adorned one. It was not the place to be trying something new.
She immediately stands up and looks to the door though, but relaxes when she sees who it is. "Ah, this one was not expecting you here today Aryia. Peace on your nest." She greets, thumping her tail once. "I suppose you went out to get her Cryosanthia? You could have asked this one to seek her out."
Vaera only had a few pieces of leather armor on, which for those who saw her normally, made the abnormal thinness and heavy scarring obvious, but she didn't seem to mind.
"Of course not." Cryo adds, slinging Lily's sack to her other shoulder, "We have nests. We'd have to be bird-dogs, with nests. Come! See the nests!"
See my nest. See my nest. I know it's weird, I did my best. The whitescale leads the way with a bounding step.
"Followsss." Lily commands, pushing forward on the Geir-sticks.
It's a few steps inside, where it's possible to see more once eyes adjust to the light levels.
And there are nests. The one Vaera is closest to, the bronze-scaled, seems to be either in the process of being finished, or being taken apart to start over.
There's another, which is a short platform with what appears to be a giant bird's nest on it. Inexplicably, a rope hangs above it, leading up to empty space. Another nest is more a depression in the ground, surrounded be a small wall of wooden logs, pounded into the ground.
There's also... shelves. A library? A book-fort? A small hut inside the dome-pyramid that has walls and a roof made out of books.
"Oh it was no trouble Vaera. This one wants to move about while it's possible." Cryo explains, and waves at the others. "See the nests!"
Aryia allays some worries about the spouting word. "It's not a bad word," she informs with a flick of a hand. But then she pauses, whips her head over to Geir, and she blinks thrice. First from realizing she was understood. The second from the strangeness. The third from the laughter. She chuckles weakly, mostly to just fit in.
She shoves her hands into her pockets, and follows in after the others.
The brisk movement of red gets her attention first, the mute elf tilting her head to the side. Vaera was here too? "Hey. Peace on your nest. Cryosanthia was just wanting to show... me... th...e..."
The pugilist trails off, torch-bright eyes wandering the entire enclosure. She pauses in the middle of everyone.
Her visage is a healthy mix of 'oh wow, this is really neat!' and 'what in the actual hell am I look at?' <Handspeech>
Geir slows once they are all inside, and with another chuckle, he gently retrieves Lily from her spot atop his head, and lets her down to run where she may.
"As expected, the nessts are an extenssion of the mother'ss personality.", the copper-scale intones. He slowly shuffles to Cryosanthia's side, and behind a hand, faux whispers, "Have you told Aryia about the egg-watchers uniform?"
Aryia can't smell the "nudge nudge wink wink" pheromones.
"Egg-watchers fulfill their roles skyclad," is noted from the entrace, more specifically from a white-furred muzzle whose large lupine head fills the majority of said entrance. The comment is followed with a light snort.
Un'eth ripples and changes, coming to rest on four paws with white fur and very large lupine jaws.
"This one is mine." Xochi says, moving over to the depression with the small log palisade, and crouching proudly in it.
"Oh? You know her Vaera? Cryo's Egg-Watcher?" The squat bronze-scale asks, turning to examine Aryia. At first glance, she seems almost square, except where she's rounded out. If a dwarf reincarnated as a sith'makar, she might resemble this one, down to the overloaded apron and tool-belt, "Peace on your Nest, I'm Itzpapalotl, still working on mine."
"Oh! Is there new voices?" Comes a voice from the book fort.
"No," Cryo shakes her head at Geir, the edges of her mouth curling, "this one has not. This one didn't want to scare her off."
Lily, dislodged from her flesh-mecha, darts over to the rope and climbs up it, to vanish.
"That is fair, I understand the desire to go out as much as you can, do what you can while possible. It was difficult to stay in one place so long. It is more difficult for others." Vaera chuckles, stopping to look at Geir. "Peace on your nest, this one was expecting you to be taller."
She turns back to Papalotl and nods. "Yes, she is a friend. We can discuss the workbench and desk more later, I will make sure that it can accomodate for all your tools. And Cryosanthia, this one wished to discuss that with you as well. On the suggestion of Skielstregar, he wished to make and give gifts for the nest mothers. This one found a desk quite useful, made so it can be worked at while sitting or lying down."
Aryia breaks from her slight fascination to look around. Inspecting the bronze scale, yet gives a small nod to confirm the suggestion that she was Cryosanthia's eggwatcher.
She looiks to Xochi's nest. Then to the book fort, then to the wolf that was talking, then to the discussion of unifo- wait a wolf??
The mul'neissa bites her lip and steps a bit closer to Cryosanthia, looking a bit overwhelmed.
Geir side-eyes the large wolf in the doorway, and chuckles. He looks to Aryia then and sighs. "Thiss one was obvioussly mistaken. Some of our People are, in fact, dogss. Who knew?" The copper-scale looks around curiously, his eyes then cast upwards at the form disappearing up the rope. Shaking his head, he looks back to Aryia, the corners of his mouth curling upwards once more. "Thiss one wishess you well, Aryia, and thankss you for your assissstance here. Sstand up to them.", he suggests with a slight tilt of his head in the direction of the lady Siths. "Don't let them run roughsshod over you."
He offers the others a slight bow. "Peace on your nessts.", he intones lightly, "Thiss one hopess that you are all in fine health and spirits. Be well, thiss one begss your pardon, for he has far to go before he may ssleep."
The copper-scale turns, and makes his head towards the door out.
"Oh it goes up and down? Oh that sounds very useful. This one would like one too." Cryo concurs, her tail coiling slowly back and forth behind her. Hearing intentions, she makes a small bow towards the male, "Thank you, Shaman Geir. This one appreciates your thoughts and guidance. Good luck on your journey. Peace on your Nest." She waves.
A tall and lanky brass-scale sith'makar emerges from the book-hut. She's wearing glasses, carrying a book, and wearing a vest that seems to be made of bookmarks. A vest of endless bookmarks, always a tassel or tab handy to pull off when it's necessary to mark a page. Her curiosity turns to eager surprise as she rushes over. "Oh! A Mul'niessa! I have SO MANY questions! Are you raised in the dark? Is your social hierarchy and status determined by how many you kill? Is it true you're all locked in a room as a coming of age ritual and only one leaves? Can you describe the socio-political ramifications of having three competing god-heads in society which are all based on some aspect of evil and treachery?" The brass-scale sniffs Aryia, "The sea! This one was expecting something mossy."
"ZAMA!" Cryo shouts, attempting to divert the brass-scale's momentum.
"What?" Zama blinks back at her, "it's all academic."
It's a little cooler around the white-scale, which may or may not be a comfort. Her thick tail curls in an arc around Aryia, protective more than retaining, "This is Cozamalotl, our Lore-Keeper, and the wolf is Shaman Un'eth."
The gold-scale comes up behind Aryia, "She's also my rescuer." She tells the others.
"Ah, so be it. Peace on your nest, this one hopes you will get a good rest." Vaera replies with a wave off. "He is right though Aryia, those here, their emotions can be higher than usual. It is important to understand that, Aryia."
The redscale pauses, and looks to Cozamalotl, and chuffs. "If you wished to know more about Mul'niessan society, you need only ask this one. But Aryia may not be the best for that. For one thing, she is actually a good person to have come from that place. And that is a common misconception. It is not about the number you slay, but rather those in higher places naturally tend to have increased numbers to reach such positions."
Aryia gives a little nervous wave from the hip to Geir as he goes. "Nice to meet you," she signs, forgetting culture for a moment. She takes a shaky breath in. Ou-
Suddenly there's a new person. And they're rapid firing questions. Her eyes widen bright, her taking a step back into the tail that's curled around her.
She looks to Vaera, to Cryosnthia's shout. And... that was Un'eth?
The pugilist gulps and pales some, a bit a shade dripping from her fingers. She holds onto Cryo's hand. "... can you all please calm the fuck down for fuck's sake?" she motions quickly. <Handspeech>
"She'sss sssaysss, 'Fuckss fuckss fuckss, sshusss upss.'" Lily translates, re-appearing on the rope and climbing down. "Wheress Geirrss goess?"
"He has a great journey," Cryo replies, then smiles awkwardly at the others, "Lily has translated incorrectly. Aryia is much more polite than that. She is a little overwhelmed though."
Several large, looming, ladies might do that.
"Well, oh." Zama looks at Vaera, then at Aryia, the back at Vaera, "You didn't tell this one. You weren't raised as a Mul'niessa, were you? The Sith'Makari experience there is well known. This one wanted to know if the documented details captured the softskin perspective accurately."
"Zama...," Cryo pulls back on her horns, arching in an unflattering way which likely makes her back feel better, "there will be much time for questions. Do you know handsign."
"No. Oh? You know handsign? This one has primers. This one is grammatically correct in 24 languages but nesting would be an optimal time to learn a new one." The brass-scale says happily.
"Yes! A quiet one." Xochi grumps.
Inhale. Exhale. Cryo pulls on her horns some more. "This is not sedate."
The whitescale sees a very busy, peacemaking existence stretching out before her.
"No, it was an accurate translation." Vaera chuckles. "But please refrain from using such language Little Fang. Well, sort of. She is just overwhelmed. Xochicotzin, It will be busy here, which is why this one appreciates you keeping an eye on things. They brought arrows with them that need new fletching, and this one thought you would appreciate something to do."
Then she turns back to Zama, and chuffs. "You did not ask. This one was not raised there, but spent many years. And I know handsigns to translate if needed. But the way, this one was concerned about the roof of your nest, Zamalotl, this one thinks the roof should be reinforced to prevent it from collapsing inwards."
Aryia nods a bit at Cryosanthia's double translation. Though, she wished it had kept with the first translation. It had her pizzaz. Though she was glad Vaera backed her up.
She shakes her head at Zama, answering her question. Nope, not typically raised. Well, for the most part.
She sighs and looks over to where Lily was. "... that one yours?" she asks Cryo. <Handspeech>
Cryo looks at where Aryia is pointing, and makes a guess, "That's mine. I have a rope trick spell going, where I put all my things. It's not as good as a Mage's Magic Mansion, but it is extra dimension."
"She only gets hit on the head twice a day when the spell wears off." Xochi snorts, from inside her little palisade. "Sure, let me have the arrows."
Lily comes over and leans against Aryia, then hugs around her waist.
Zama looks at Vaera, "Oh no need to translate. I want to learn it all the hard way. Knowledge is key. So you don't think the roof is strong enough? It's just books. It is a traditional hut design, with shelves instead, then books. I want to make sure I have enough to read."
Papalotl, meanwhile, has gone back to measuring something, and unscrewing a few things on her nest.
Cryo watches Aryia, letting her arms hang down, "Anyhow as you can see, we're getting the nests ready. Everything needs to be just right."
Vaera nods and moves slowly and methodically over to where Xochi was entrenched, with no sudden movements before she hands over the flightless arrows and fletching supplies. "This one heard you were always equipped well, and meticulous about maintenance. So your help is appreciated."
Vaera states with a thump of her tail, before returning to the others. "That is a good idea Cryosanthia. If you need more storage, do not hesitate to ask this one to make some more chests or the like."
Then she turns to Zama and smiles. "It should be, but there is the concern, as books are not standard material. They may react poorly to wind or moisture, and unwanted flexing of the material may make it fail. So I would add a wooden lattice underneath to prevent that. Interesting idea though, translating it to tomes as you have. I have not seen a makari with such a vast collection before. I imagine you get a lot of requests for stories from people."
Aryia hazards a little chuckle at Cryo's expense for the mental image of things falling on the whitescale, her putting an arm around Lily. She gives a little nod, not sure what what 'ready' constituted. There was a lot of... randomness to it, she felt.
Talk of nest building went over her head, the mute picking up Lily and putting her on her shoulders. Aryia ambles over to Cryosanthia's nest, scratching her head. Getting familiar with the area she was going to have to be at for a while "... so... what am I suppoesd to do here?" she asks of the carnation scale. <Handspeech>
"The big dome should keep off most meterological effects but if you think some structural reinforcement is necessary it should be implement. I'm hoping to take over as Master Lore-Keeper. I find books are such an interesting storage mechanism, especially when a lot of our culture is oral, plus there's the Memory of the Blood, of course. I've had books as a nest-need, so when anyone asks what to get I tell them, 'a book', and it's just built itself." Zama explains.
And explains, "This one loves books. This one always wanted to be born in a library so this one could say 'of course this one love books, I was born surrounded by books'. So my hatchlings will be able to say that. This one has been looking for good poems or phrases in order to put my eggs on each open page and they will be able to say 'This one was born on page 35 of set theory made easy, so of course this one became an abjuration Shaman'. This one hope it won't be too much pressure but this one wants her offspring to know she thought about them a lot."
The brass-scale finishes, and in conclusion rests an open book on her belly and holds it there.
Cryo stares, as does Xochi. Metztli leans in to tell Aryia, "would you help me build my nest?" Papalotl is already marking up some more wood.
"Sooo..." Cryo fills some silence, "... this one went with a platform, and nest, and still needs some stickywood."
"Watch Ssassa sit on eggs. Make Ssassa sit on eggs. Punch Egg-snatchers. Chase hatchlings. Make Ssassa sit on eggs." The carnation scale signs back. <handspeech>
"Yes, this one could implement reinforcements easily. "But remember Cozamalotl, do not force your expectations upon them. Guide them, yes, but if they do not wish to become a shaman, nurture their own curiosities. Not all of this one's neslings wished to be hunters, or even crafter caste. But it is good you think of them so already."
"Stickywood? There is none in Alexandria, it would have to be gathered in Am'shere. But it could be brought in." She offers, before turning to Aryia. "There is a lot to it, but the specifics are sparse. Keeping watch is important, but just as much is providing support to the mothers. It is a difficult and vulnerable time, so helping to keep their minds off things is important. And, yes, when the time comes, hatchlings have much energy at times. Too much for even the mothers to handle on their own, usually." Vaera explains with a chuckle.
Aryia watches the brass scaled, blinking owlishly.
And blinks.
And blinks.
"... ok."
The mute returns her attention to Lily and Vaera, nodding along and making the kobold flop a bit as she does so. The elf has dealt with kids before. Probably one of her more tame assignments back in Charn.
She glances to the goldscale and gives a thumbs up. Sure. To avoid... whatever that was. <Handspeech>
Cryo nods, listening to the brass-scale and then Vaera. She's slipped into a relaxed lean, where her hands have shifted from her hips to clasp underneath her belly and counterbalanced by shoulders tilted back. She grins a little, an almost helpless one, observing the insanity but also feeling herself slip into her own personal one.
"This one has your book-hut drawn, should you wish to mark it up." Papalotl offers, addressing Zama.
"Oh thank you! When did you have time to draw it?" Zama asks.
"When you went to meet your book collector."
"Oh, of course."
Xochi is fletching arrows, silently, stripping feathers, slipping them into the shaft.
Lily simply gives Aryia another hug, and a 'you have no idea what you're getting into, do you', sort of look.
Metztli comes in behind the Mul'niessa, tilts her head and asks, "So what kind of nest do you think this one should build?"
Every woman's head turns towards the mul'niessa. Well, Vaera's might not. There's the quiet 'sssss' of breath.
Vaera could tell that Aryia was in more than a bit over her head. She joins the others, and nods to the Mul'niessa at the question. "I was speaking to Aryia the other day when the topic came up. Personally, this one had a raised platform, and that may be a good idea. But it is Aryia's opinion you are after, not mine." She states to Metzli, giving the mul'niessa an out if she needed.
Aryia shares the look with Lily. One that she knew far too well. She pats the leg over her shoulder, shudders nervously, then-
Everything goes silent.
She's sweating. A drop of moonlit lined shade falls from chin to ground."Uhhhh..." Then Vaera gives her an out. She jabs a finger towards Vaera, and adds, "-but with slopes going up it so if they fall out it rolls."
You know, you can just do three quick steps and you'd be halfway out of Mictlan. Just like that, anxiety tells her<Handspeech>
Lily nods knowingly to Aryia, then signs to her. Small signs that aren't easily seen. "Kobold Nest-mothers keep in cave until hatchlings run out." She believes her people's culture is the best, and also her Ssassa would do pennance for every time she said 'no'.
The little carnation scale headbobs and translates, "Bowlsss, with slopes so eggs roll away."
Metztli holds her hand down for Aryia to take, "This one isn't sure about that part, but the initial concept sounds nice. Why don't we look for a nice spot and you can tell me about it."
The gold-scale seems intent on rescuing her rescuer and leading her away.
"I have a platform," Cryo says, looking at Vaera, "Is there something wrong with my platform?"
"It's too high off the ground and has sharp edges. Egg-watchers will catch their shins on it." Xochi criticizes.
"This one didn't ask you, Xochi."
"Cryosanthia has elaborated on her plan before. She intends to use the stickywood to add a secondary barrier which will prevent insects climbing as well as round out the corners. She's a white-scale, her eggs will need the additional air-cooling and need to avoid the dampness of the soil. Your nest is well protected but it needs a lining, Xochi, something to trap bugs, insulate and cushion. Studies have shown that unlined rock-bowl nests inadequately incubate all of the people's eggs except for the predominantly red-scale lines so it stands to reason that yours would still do even better if it was insulated, and it's not rock either." Zama goes into critical detail.
Spines rise, Xochi's nostrils flare, "This one is waiting for a spell to make it rock, and you build your nest out of books!"
"All, please, be calm. This is not good for our eggs." Cryo says, straightening up and feeling the burden of them. She looks around quickly, "Did... Metztli steal my Egg-Watcher?"
"Yessss." Lily answers happily.
