A Shock and a Chat on Coyote's Laugh
Log Info
- Title: A Shock and a Chat on Coyote's Laugh
- Emitter: Ravenstongue
- Characters: Choler, Ravenstongue, Seyardu, Telamon
- Place: A07 - Lower Alexandria Market District
- Summary: Ravenstongue makes it down to the Market District in search of someone to prank after she buys a zapping ring from a temporary Coyote's Laugh stallrunner. Pothy eats some free garlic candy and attracts the attention of Choler in the process. Ravenstongue meets Seyardu, and they chat about Ravenstongue's goal to prank one person--just one--until Telamon comes up to her wearing a mask. Ravenstongue pretends she doesn't know it's her fiance and gives him her hand to kiss--resulting in Telamon receiving a little ZAP. The group discusses the holiday and Choler's aversion to magic users until people make their separate ways.
-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A07: Lower Alexandria Market District *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-
Just west of the Northern Highbridge and east of the arena, commerce blooms. Noisy and bustling, most anything may be purchased here for a price. Vendors from all cultures sell their wares from exotically colored carts, and the smells of different nations and far-off city-states mix with local ones from Alexandria and its riverbanks.
For all its commerce, visitors are advised to keep hold of their purses. Even the merchants possess a certain, cunning look. Most are positioned at carts or stalls as opposed to a formal storefront, with trade here being mobile, and visiting from all parts of the world.
Though the quality of goods suffers here compared to Upper Alexandria, the options are more diverse. Too, the oversight of the Watch is slightly less, and during times events are held at the Arena, chaos abounds. After dark, the square becomes a hangout for bards and other entrepreneurs whose business is best conducted by night; the shadows at the edges of the square often contain furtive figures engaging in their own brand of business.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Choler 3'4" 40 Lb Goblin Female A nut-brown Goblin in a red gi. Ravenstongue 5'0" 99 Lb Half-Elf Female Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair. Seyardu 5'6" 150 Lb Sith-Makar Female A friendly silver sith-makar with a perpetual squint. Telamon 5'6" 140 Lb Half-Elf Male A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
- Lower Alexandria Market District, noon.
It's the day that every Tarienite's been waiting for: Coyote's Laugh. Pranks, jokes, and tricks are out in full-force, with a variety of gnomish and halfling vendors in the marketplace selling all sorts of pre-assembled and ready-to-use pranks, jokes, and toys from makeshift stands.
Children, and indeed, a few adults as well, are swarming the stands, with the children buying the cheaper ones, such as the whoopie cushions or garlic-flavored candies, while the adults are buying the more elaborate prank toys or the most obvious gag gifts, such as a man buying a 'world's worst dad' pin and grinning as he walks away from the stand.
A particular half-elf sorceress walks away from the stands, having apparently made a purchase. She opens a tiny ring box and slips on a ring with a portrayal of a laughing face onto her pinky finger. Violet eyes scan the crowd--
And then a white raven lands on her shoulder, coming back down from the skies. Cor'lana grins as she holds up a candy to him. "Want it?" she asks.
"Snacks!" Pothy responds. He snatches it from her fingers and swallows it whole.
The half-elf waits a moment... and her face falls as Pothy appears to have no remark on it. "Oh wait. You'll eat anything. I forgot," she says with a sigh. "Well, here's hoping I can find someone else to prank! At least one person."
Telamon walks away from another stall, his face adorned with a bizarre mask resembling an octopus. He carefully adjusts an elegant-looking flower brooch, as he walks out into the crowd, grinning impishly. He catches sight of a familiar mane of dark hair, and starts to angle toward Ravenstongue, his lips curling up as he works his way through the crowd. He certainly looks ridiculous, if nothing else!
Mingling with the crowd is a Gobbo in a red gi, the smick-smack of her sandals weaving in and out of the crowd. Her expression is one of bemusement, and sometimes annoyance, as she takes in the... festivities.
She pauses at a stall that offers free samples of their latest candies. Swiping a handful, she cackles and disappears into the crowd, leaving the vendor shaking his fist.
Revenge is swift.
Choler stops suddenly, her eyes wide, and spits out the ill-gotten candies. She continues to spit for several moments.
"Eewwh. EARWAX?! Seriously!"
Seyardu had not taken part in this event last time, as she was still getting used to settling into the city at the time. But this time, she had discovered how interesting the festivals and seasons could be in these places, and one that seemed to be celebrating the end of the winter sounded interesting enough!
The silver sith makar was in her cleric robes, wandering the various stalls. She stops to wave wide to Ravenstongue as she passed. "Peace on your nest! I hope you are having a wonderful Coyote's Laugh, for whatever that means to you."
The half-elf sorceress smiles brightly to the silver sith-makar that approaches--not quite as bright as Seyardu's scales, of course, but it's hard to compare to those. "Peace on your nest, too, Seyardu!" Ravenstongue says. "I hope you are, too! I didn't participate last year--too much of a scaredy-cat--but I decided! I'm going to prank at least one person this year!"
The white raven on her shoulder decides that Ravenstongue is old hat, and so he flies off to check out the free vendor samples. He lands close to the goblin in the red gi after taking a free sample, too. Apparently, earwax-flavored candy doesn't bother him nearly so much. "Snacks!" he says.
Then the octopus-masked man shows up, and Ravenstongue looks up at him. There's a moment there where she smiles politely and says, "Oh, do I know you sir? You can call me Cor'lana--it's nice to meet you!" And she holds her hand out with the ring on her pinky-finger.
The octopus-masked man smiles broadly -- he knows how the game is played, after all -- and bows to Raven. "A pleasure to meet you, my dear," Telamon isn't even trying to disguise his voice. Steps in a dance that they both know.
His eyes twinkle in the mask, as he nods politely to Seyardu. Then he reaches out with one hand, the other still by his side, to take Raven's beringed hand in his and raise it to his lips...
The Goblin peers at the Raven suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.
"Snacks? Snacks aren't free. What can you do, birdy?", Choler wonders of the corvid. "Can you say anything other than snacks?"
"Well, I'll certainly be trying, but I don't think that will be an issue, Ravenstongue." The silver makari grins. "Oh, don't mind the Raven, he can say a lot more, he just has an incredibly one track mind. I do not believe I have met a familiar more singularly driven before."
"It does sound like fun, at least for a day. But I must admit, I have not ever pranked someone before, and I do not particularly know what to do."
"Say anything other than snacks?" Pothy echoes, a perfect mimic of Choler's voice. He preens his pretty, pale feathers.
It's at the moment that the masked man raises Ravenstongue's hand to his lips that he receives a shocking revelation! No, literally: there's a small electric shock from the laughing man ring. The half-elf sorceress giggles. "Well, you fulfilled my wish for the day--prank one person!" she says with a wide grin. "Hi, honey. You look absolutely ridiculous."
She looks back to Seyardu and says, "Well, in this case, you buy a ring that gives a tiny electric shock and then pretend that the love of your life, who happens to be wearing a ridiculous mask, is a complete stranger--and offer your hand to him. Although I wasn't quite planning for that exact scenario!"
Telamon actually jumps a bit, as the ring zaps him. "Oof! ...okay, I didn't expect that, dear." He slides his mask off, and grins. "But, no hard feelings. Though I might insist on you making soup tonight."
He slides his arm around Raven comfortably, as he offers Seyardu a smile in turn. "Well, the mask was ... amusing. Silly, but then, that's the Coyote's Laugh for you." He arches a brow at Pothy trying to hit the goblin up for snacks. "By the gods. You fed him before we left the house, Lana, I saw you do it. How is he still hungry?"
Choler frowns at the bird. "Don't mock me, birdy. Not when you have a perfectly delicious pair of wings."
A single ear-wax flavoured treat is tossed for Pothy. The Goblin glances to Seyardu. "Is it your bird?", she wonders of the Sith.
She side-eyes the shock-treatment delivered to Telamon, and eyes Ravenstongue suspiciously. "Oh, it's probably hers."
"You are, shocking someone on purpose?" Seyardu asks, the explanation making her brow raise. "That is, I am not sure about why. But I do not know why tarienites do half the things they do, so that fits right in, I suppose."
"Not my bird, no, I just know them somewhat. He is a bottomless pit, and a familiar, which is a bit frustrating. But I am used to him at this point, even if I do not approve of gluttony."
The cleric sighs, and looks to the stands instead. "Curious business, indeed."
Pothy catches the candy flies back over to Ravenstongue, who is just grinning from ear-to-ear as Telamon wraps his arm around her shoulder. She slides the ring off her pinky finger and stows it away in her pocket, presumably to save Telamon further shock torment. "It was just a tiny zap," she says. "Enough to make Tel's heart beat faster--if it wasn't already from seeing me."
She lifts herself up onto her tip-toes and kisses Telamon's cheek now that the mask isn't preventing access and whispers into his ear. That's when she looks over to Choler, her expression becoming a mildly worried frown. "I'm sorry, is Pothy bothering you? He's my familiar--he loves to eat free samples here in the marketplace. Bottomless stomach, which is why my fiance here is always a little surprised when he witnesses Pothy eat everything that he possibly can. I've only seen him turn down food a handful of times."
Telamon smiles as Raven comes up to kiss his cheek, and nods to Seyardu. "No harm, no foul. Besides," he teases, grinning back at Raven. "I'll find a way to get her back later."
He tucks the mask away into his haversack, nodding politely to Choler. "The bird is an endless gullet. And he's always out for something new to try. Sorry if he was harassing you."
His eyes flick back to Seyardu. "Honestly, I think the Coyote's Laugh is a good reason to let your hair down -- figuratively speaking -- and get some nonsense out of one's system. We have the rest of the year to be serious, after all."
The Gobbo frowns back at Ravenstongue. "Oh, even better, a wizard.", she grumbles. The remaining candies are dropped upon the ground. "Not sure how anything could eat these, they are gross. Earwax-flavoured." She makes a sour face, full of teeth and tongue.
Shrugging, Choler glances to Seyardu. "I enjoy gluttony sometimes, but I am more a fan of wrath." She snorts in Telamon's direction. "I think limiting one's ... less serious side... out for only one day a year is unhealthy."
"something the matter with Wizards? I get not being the keenest, but it seems like a weird thing to get hung up on." Seyardu asks curiously."Regarless, yeah, he's hungry all the time, or likes eating, not sure. I'd rather not deal with any wrath, violence for the sake of it is never really a good idea."
"So, you go around and prank people. Maybe I can find something or other to do."
"That's the idea, yeah, Seyardu," Ravenstongue replies with a smile. "Like Tel said, it's the one day of the year where you could prank anyone and they couldn't really get too upset. It's the holiday, after all. I'm not a Tarienite, but even I can get the appeal."
She looks back to Choler with a couple of blinks at the wizard comment. "Oh! I'm not a wizard. Tel and I are both sorcerers," she explains. "I inherited Pothy from my mother--sort of the condition of inheritance. I know it's a bit odd, but it's how it worked out."
Pothy makes a few noises that sound like begging noises, and Ravenstongue reaches into her pocket to pull out a handful of nuts, seemingly by second nature. The white corvid happily picks at them. Truly, he's insatiable.
Telamon nods. "And in general, it's a way to unwind. Nobody can keep themselves tightly wound all the time -- you'd lose your mind. And so you occasionally see a little ridiculousness... kind of like that."
Tel points down the street, where a group of paladins and knights (judging from the armor and tabards) are going past, holding their reins. Except... they're not on horses. And there's several fellows following them, clacking shells or wooden clogs together.
He snickers helplessly. "I recognize that lead knight. He always does that on the Coyote's Laugh."
Choler's expression shows that the difference between wizards and sorcerers aren't enough to improve her mood. She shrugs, "Nothin' personal against you. Just a grudge in general." Rubbing at her cheek, she glances at Seyardu. "You could say that about many people's hangups. Doesn't always make sense unless you're that particular person, yanno?"
The 'knights' on horseback earns a tsk from the Goblin. "It's boring now, they do it all th'time."
"Well, I guess it's no different from any other way to have fun with friends." Seyardu chuckles. "It could be fun, right? Maybe I'll figure out something I can do."
"Ah! He's making people think he's riding by on a horse, right? That's a good idea, so you can work with illusions and the like, too. Maybe I should see if I could find someone to work some illusion magics or something?"
Ravenstongue can't help but snicker, too, as she witnesses the people 'riding' by. "Oh, that's ridiculous and silly," she says. "I'd hate to go wherever they're going. Must be a silly place, too. Maybe you should offer them your help in finding them an illusionist, Sey--I'm sure they'd appreciate it."
Pothy's had his fill of nuts, which is to say that he's eaten all of the nuts. He flaps back down to eat the rest of the candies that were tossed down to the ground. He's not a picky bird. Meanwhile, Ravenstongue looks at Choler and nods. "Well, not everyone has a nice experience with magical people, so I can understand," she says. "I just invite you to try to get to know us beyond the initial distaste. Could be we have lots in common--more than you might think."
Telamon looks wry. "Honestly, I think that's the point. They're not on anything, they're just clacking those shells together."
He turns a kindly gaze to Choler. "It's hard to get past preconceptions, especially when maybe you've had bad experiences in the past. But you'll be happier for it in the end." His eyes twinkle. "Or, consider it this way: it's much more satisfying to get to know someone and find much deeper reasons to dislike them than just 'they're a wizard'."
He looks to Raven and chuckles. "The joke is they're off to pledge allegiance to the Lord Mayor. They're going to a mockup of his house over near the Colosseum, though -- it's only a model."
The Gobbo eyes the bird as it drops down to pluck up the candies one by one, even after downing the treat from Ravens. "You should rename him to Gluttony, then.", she says with a snort. Shrugging, she grins toothily at Ravenstongue and Telamon. "I've plenny of reasons to dislike the magic-y types. And I don't need to like everyone. But I am not against making friends." Choler glances at the Raven a moment, and smirks. "Will there be snacks?", she asks of the violet-eyed woman.
Looking to Seyardu, the Goblin shrugs. "Illusions are safer, I suppose."
"People don't like things, it's true. But I would agree with Ravenstongue, if you define someone by their ability to do magic, then that's a narrow view of things. But that is your opinion at the end of the day." The cleric sighs. "Maybe I could find someone. But then, what would I even do after that? I need ideas for what to do.Something, I'm sure I can make a plan for what to do."
"Will there be snacks? Well, I have to keep Pothy fed or he becomes an annoying pain in the butt--so yes, there will be snacks." Ravenstongue grins. "And trust me, I've thought about it--but he's had the name for generations. I don't think I could rename him without offending my ancestors."
She thinks on it a moment more. "...Then again, they all probably had to deal with his constant need to snack on things. Maybe they wouldn't mind."
The half-elf sorceress looks back to Seyardu and smiles. "I'm sure you could come up with something. You have the rest of the day to figure something out, at least! --Although, that's also a pretty short deadline... Maybe next year?"
Pothy looks up at Telamon, pausing from his candy consumption. "We're the Knights of the Found Fable; we dance whenever we're able!" he sings, rather unexpectedly. Pothy can occasionally be a musical bird.
"There's always snacks," Telamon says with mock-weariness. "Keeping Pothy fed is almost a full time job." He spreads his hands to Choler. "I've said my piece; what more could I add?"
His eyes flick to Seyardu, and he nods in agreement with Raven. "There's always next year. Even for those of us who, as the phrase goes, don't 'get the joke'. Still plenty of time today, too."
He raises an eyebrow at Pothy. "That's... different. Don't believe I've heard of those. The Found Fable? 'Tis a silly place."
"Then if there are snacks, I think I can accept your invitation to try to get to know you better." The Gobbo holds up her hand to Ravenstongue, "Choler, itinerant of Kor".
The bird gets a wary look from her as it bursts into song, and then Choler grins at Telamon. "Snacks. You could add snacks, ones that don't taste like ear wax and vomit. As for narrow views of things..." She turns to eye Seyardu. "What do you think of Charn?"
"Perhaps give him a nickname, then. If it was not for the fact he doesn't change no matter what he eats, I would suggest 'Portly', but that is not the case. Pothy works fine." The silver makari, chuckles. "Perhaps next year, or I could figure out something here today. I would need to head off to do so, however."
The chuckling dies down, and the makari sighs. "I hate the place and everything it stands for, and would be happy if it ceased to exist." She states simply. "That being said, my best friend comes from the place, and there are other good people there, who would suffer if that was the case. So it is not as simple as I would wish it to be."
"Portly!" Ravenstongue laughs. "Oh no, I like that one a lot!"
Pothy looks at Ravenstongue with something in his eyes like he takes offense to the nickname. He is not portly! He has never, not once, gained a single ounce from all the food he's eaten! He flaps onto Ravenstongue's shoulder and preens his feathers.
Meanwhile, the half-elf sorceress smiles at Choler. "Call me Cor'lana, or Ravenstongue--they mean the same thing, more or less," she says. "Cor'lana Lúpecyll. It's nice to meet you."
That's the moment when Pothy says, simply, "SNACKS!" and he takes back off into the sky, soaring into the air. Ravenstongue blinks a couple of times as she looks at Telamon. "Ah, crap--we ought to go chase after him."
She offers a little wave to Choler and Seyardu. "Both of you, have a good rest of your Coyote's Laugh, okay?"
"Indeed." Telamon's eyes follow Pothy's sudden flight, and he offers a genial smile to Choler and Seyardu. To Choler, though, he follows Raven's lead. "Telamon Atlon, at your service," he says with a smile.
"Although," he adds ruefully, "any service may have to wait a bit." With that, he follows Raven as the couple chase after the wild familiar. His voice drifts back. "Pothy, by the gods, you are a menace..."
Choler blinks in surprise as Pothy flies off. "Some annoyance he is.", she says with a huff. Grinning, she formally bows to Ravenstongue and Telamon. "Nice to meetcha both!"
Turning to Seyardu, she nods. "And without any context, people might find your thoughts 'narrow minded', yes? I mean, we all know the evil that lurks there, and that they do not have any good intentions towards Sith-makar. But without context..." Choler gestures vaguely. "So yeah, I assume you have good reason to hate Charn. And you can assume I have good reason to dislike wizards." She offers up her wee hand to the silver-scale. "Deal?"
"Well, ah! Peace on your nest Ravenstongue and Telamon, I guess you are off if that is the case." The Cleric laughs, waving them off. With that, her attention is turned to Choler, and she sighs. "I do not know what is narrow minded about saying that I am willing to understand that I can not condemn an entire place due to my feelings, but yes, perhaps someone would call me narrow minded."
She shakes her head and reaches to shake the hand. "Then in that case I hope you will find some wizards who will prove your preconceptions wrong, much as I found those from Charn who I can call friends and allies."