Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Elowen did her best to look as innocent and harmless as possible as the captain consulted his crew. Not that such a act was particularly difficult for a nymph such as herself, but she was aware that words could only do so much, especially for some types. After all, the difference between a fight and a mere passing-by in the wild was mostly determined by nonverbal communication... merely by the look one could give. And so the druid had her fair share of practice in this realm. Even if the one in white, Joriak, seemed to be the less feral of the bunch, it was still a look that humans could understand, and so she would use it.
"On deck? Well, I've no arguments against that," she replied, taking a few steps forward and showing her staff to them. "All I have is this, but it's certainly not any threat compared to what you boys are carrying. Other than that, I've got nothing," explained Elowen calmly, doing a slow circle so as to show them that nothing else was on her figure. "So, we are aboard, then? Let's hurry."
Assuming no other issues came about, she would then step aboard with Snow following closely behind her, helping any less abled folk on after the fact, then briefly exchange glances with Cosi to see if she had any hidden messages or signals to relay. Giving her staff away was one thing; while a rare and treasured item of some sentimental value, it certainly wasn't vital to her combat capabilities. Parting with Snow, however, was another. If asked to go down, she would request that the big cat be left at least within the vicinity, such as behind a door, so as to put her mind at ease.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Cosi had not liked where that conversation was turning to. As unfamiliar with surface-dweller customs as she was, the connotations were obvious and it did not sit well with the merfolk. However, as Elowen took over the conversation, Cosi turned towards all of the refugees they had gathered. There didn't seem to be any other way, as much as she wished there was.
Things only became worse when the merfolk was assigned to the tiger Su-Ku-Tah and a wave of uncertainty washed over her as he spoke. She gulped nervously. With a deep breath to attempt to calm herself, and resigning to her fate, she dispelled the squid (and shield). Following Elowen's cue, Cosi outstretched her hands, and did a slow twirl on the spot.
"I have no weapons."
As for messages to Elowen, all the nymph would notice would be a nervous bite of the lip and drooped ears from Cosi. The 'elf' was reluctant to move onto the boat and elected to stay away from the vessel and any pirate booty until she was asked to as she kept an eye and an ear out for any other monsters that may be coming in from the sewers.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Torin had very little time to think about a complex and dire situation. The potion that the Traveller had given to him had provided some vital energies, but the Su-Ku-Ta was still quite outmatched by the foes around him. The success of Torin's mission, it seemed to him, would rely on ensuring that Krisdiel not be overwhelmed.
His last attack had strained him, and seemingly done nothing, but it was all that he could do. He had not been prepared for a life of cosmic battle, but rather he presumed, as some sort of link in grand chain, designed by a priesthood who did not have the foresight or enough favor from the Star God to avoid their own apparent destruction. Torin, at this moment, felt very much a fraud and a fool, and someone who had tried to do something good with his last choice, only to realize just how insignificant he must be. Anger bared its claws and raked against his self-worth, and he knew then that as he might be nothing in a matter of minutes, he might as well leave nothing behind.
Again Torin attacked, aiming a chemical splash directly at the rolling amorphous blob that beset upon the angel. The angel was the difference maker. Maybe she would carry on to bring this ship down. To do some good in the world. That's what angels were supposed to do, right?
The spirit wielder drew on more reserves than would normally be good for him, but he saw no other recourse. What happened to him didn't matter so long as these creatures were brought low.
Chemical splash, targeting Grand Slime, X = 15. Need better rolls this time.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Torin: HP = 43/48, PP = 46, EP = 28/58, Status = Fine, Astrologer's Boon X = 5, Astral Wings X = 6, Upkeep = 0, Clothes at 10/25 TP
Elowen: HP = 50, PP = 48, EP = 31/96, Status = Fine, Frost Armor X = 3, Upkeep = 0
Cosi: HP = 62, PP = 39, EP = 28/85, Status = Fine, Psychic Shield X = 6, Upkeep = 0
NPC Stats
Snow: HP = 32, PP = 23, EP = 25, Status = Fine
Krisdiel: HP = 180/190, PP = 125, EP = 29/270, Weakened x3, Energy Blade X = 18. 35/75 Resistance before Aroused
Traveler: Fine
Kobolds: (Overlord Bonus of +10 Body and +4 AV)
Nathye, fine
Beorhtio, fine
Narder, fine
Behrtio, fine
Arket, fine
Gyles, fine
Theoda, fine
Alten, fine
Gilas, fine
Torin uses chemical splash, single target X = 15, on the big slime. He breaks his ceiling by 5, costing 5 HP and 5 additional EP.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 5 + 2 = 7, 7 * 15 = 105, 105/4 = 26 damage.
Torin knocks the boss into its next phase! Huzzah for not doing min damage and saving the angel from slime rape.
Krisdiel uses Lightning Strikes on the three slimes, hitting each of them once.
Attacks: All three hit.
Damage: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6, 6 * 18 = 108, 108 + 15 = 123 damage. Ouchies.
The Traveler disrupts the grand slime.
Resistance: Success!
The slime will swing 1d4-1 times at each of you, its attacks being naked d100s at people out of melee range and d100 + 10 against people in melee range. If the Traveler successfully disrupts the slime, it takes a -10 to its attacks and each person gets attacked 1d4-2 times instead of 1d4-1.
Number of Attacks: Torin gets attacked 0 times, the Traveler 1 times, and Krisdiel 2 times.
Attacks: Miss on the Traveler, two hits on Krisdiel.
Damage: 5 + 6 + 37 - 49 = 0 damage per hit.
Slime: 4 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 20 Resistance damage per hit.
~~~~Elowen and Cosi~~~~
When it came time to surrender their weapons, after a moment's hesitation the one who stepped forward to do so, the taller and seemingly more level headed of the pair who had scimitars strapped to their belts, would simply shake his head and push Elowen's staff back toward her. "I don't think you can do much damage with that," the leonine su-ku-ta said, his voice rumbling up from his chest like the start of a roar, "besides, you may be needing it after the captain is through with you~" The man delivered his decidedly lewd remark lightly, almost jokingly, such that even with the meaning of his words and the likelihood that his assumption would prove true given the looks tossed the nymph's way, he seemed to at least be attempting to lighten the mood.
Elowen and Cosi would be urged onto the deck quickly, while the motley crew would aid the beggar in urging the refuges onto the deck of their skiff. A few would look uncertain and uncomfortable, no doubt due to the ruffians who were to be their companions in their ocean voyage, but they didn't have a choice in the matter and seemed to trust Cosi and Elowen well enough. Whether that would hold as the disguised merfolk and the nymph were led out of sight, taken below the deck of the modest skiff, remained to be seen, but as the two women were led away the condition of the people above would become unknown to them.
The two would be separated, with Elowen's desire to not part with Snow initially ignored entirely until the gigantic cat simply trailed after her anyway, ending up sitting in the narrow corridor leading to the captain's cabin. Down the small ladder was a four way intersection, with the path to the rear on both sides of the stairs leading to the cargo hold where some of the refugees would be stowed after the deck was full. Straight led to the captain's quarters, left to another small cabin where Cosi would be led by the tiger-like robed pirate, and to the right was a doorless room with a number of bunks.
In the end, Cosi would be taken to a small chamber, the air stuffy and smelling of musk and chemicals. It was packed, with a bedding-covered cot stuffed in the corner making room for a number of shelves that were held together with well placed struts that kept them from rocking too much with the motions of the ship, and their contents held stable by clamps and the lips on the bottoms of the shelves. Specimen jars, chemicals, and all manner of strange substances were present there, and the closest shelf to the door was also within reach of the workbench sitting across from the door. The larger su-ku-ta grumbled as they entered, turning around when he was barely a step beyond the door and grumbling; "Over there! Sit down and... Don't touch anything!" He gestured towards the cot, directing Cosi to sit on the messy bedding before sitting on the swiveling stool next to the workbench and waiting, staring distrustfully at the merfolk.
Elowen, on the other hand, would end up taken to the captain's room, a considerably more spacious place with larger windows and, notably, a significantly larger bed of the more conventional variety. A table with some drawers sat in the corner with a large vellum map spread over it, nailed to the wooden surface. A black cloth swing with looping restrains for a person's limbs hung from the ceiling in one corner, near the wall bordering the crew quarters, its lewd purpose obvious and a grinning glance tossed its way by the flamboyant captain. Shelves and a bedside table were covered in odd knick knacks, some appearing valuable and others seeming to have purely sentimental value, and a carefully restrained clay pot set in one of the windows had a little prickly cactus growing in it. "Eheh... Do make yourself at home, though please don't try to take anything!" he said brightly as he spun to face Elowen, giving the nymph enough personal space to enter the room and walk around in the comparatively spacious cabin. "I'd like to keep our relationship friendly, after all, and one way or another I'll know if you try to snatch any of my valuables! For now, however, I must see that my crewmen don't keep us here for longer than is necessary!" With that, he would walk back through the door, needing to squeeze past Snow to get back up on deck and leaving Elowen alone in the captain's personal chamber.
~~~~Torin, the Traveler, and Krisdiel~~~~
Though their situation had already been fairly desperate to begin with, it truly began to set in as the gigantic blob of slime continued rolling forward, gradually picking up speed as it hurtled towards the angel, who was at that point busy dealing with the three more normal sized slimes closing in around her. Krisdiel once more whirred like a dancer at a ballet, destroying the three monsters one at a time so that she could deal with the more mundane variants before she was beset by the rolling mass. Once the three slimes were dispatched, she readied herself as best she could, her energy blade stretched forth to ensure that it would strike the slime before it could hit her.
Before that contest could take place, however, Torin would have his own say in the battle. The su-ku-ta seer was, in many respects, completely out of his weight class in this particular bout, but there was no choice now but to keep fighting until he was exhausted, or until he fell, or until the deed was done. He called upon his power, conjuring yet another orb of acid from the chemicals naturally held in the air and empowering them with a surge of his own power that left his head simultaneously spinning and aching, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose as the delicate blood vessels there burst from the pressure caused by using so much power at once. Despite the pain, however, Torin launched his orb, possibly the last bit of resistance he'd be able to throw before the gelatinous mass rolled over him. It was nearly impossible to miss the blob, the thing blocking so much of the hallway that it was like shooting at a building, and so he would hit his mark.
More blackness expanded from the blob as his poison seeped into its being, eating away at the tendrils of power that kept it together, and perhaps miraculously it caused the thing to stumble just short of its glowing target. A chunk of blackened slime oozed onto the floor from the increasingly corrupted mass, deadened and dropped like so much rotted flesh sloughing off of bone, and with that chunk of it missing the creature was momentarily unable to roll like it had. Rather than recover, however, the monster recoiled, and blind and mindless as it was it changed to an equally simple tactic. The creature lashed out, whips of slime coiling toward all of them, but the Traveler again sent a surge of strange power into the creature that left it unharmed outwardly but seemed to disrupt its ability to fight. One of the coils froze, hanging in the air as if confused, but the other two merely paused for a moment before recovering and swinging anew.
One went for the traveler, hurtling toward him like a spear, but the strange man ducked under the would-be strike with a momentarily panicked look. The attack instead landed against the wall of the alien vessel, hammering into the fleshy mass and causing it to stretch inwards against the blow, the strike producing ripples of impact, a resounding boom, and a spurt of brackish ooze to erupt from the point of impact. Krisdiel, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She was closer, and the alien blob could afford to be much more direct with her, lashing out at the angel as she attempted to step out of the way or get her energy blade between it and her body. It smacked into her torso in a swing coming from beneath her guard, lifting her up and sending her hurtling backwards, but wondrously her ruined armored protected her from the force of the blow enough that it wouldn't see her laid low once again. She beat her wings in an attempt to regain control, but her moment of stability was lost when a second blow slammed into her again, hurtling her backwards until she hit the ground. Despite the two powerful blows, however, Krisdiel gave a pair of tumbles before righting herself, the beam emanating from her hand grinding carving a furough into the fleshy floor before she could stop her momentum and get back to her feet. As pulverized as she was, it seemed that the woman was still in the fight, and now that the monstrous slime was no longer splitting itself she would be able to focus her full attention on the beast..... But, the blows had seemingly had a secondary effect.
Each had produced an explosion of the creature's slime, and even as damaged as it had been by Torin's bursts, the poisons in that still proved devilishly potent. The angel's cheeks were reddened with something other than effort, her eyes starting to dilate as the aphrodisiac poison took effect from the splattering that now coated her. They were signs that Torin had seen many times before, when people had been afflicted by the poison seemingly issued by many of the aliens, and while it was at most an inconvenience now, more hits would pile up the potency of that foul venom enough that even the angel's supernatural constitution and iron willpower would be overridden.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Elowen shrugged and conceded the point to the more stern member of the crew, keeping her staff close at hand after she was given the clearance to hang on to it. He was right--it wasn't the most brutal nor effective of weapons, unlike many of the arms she had seen human and Su-Ku-Ta travelers wielding here and there. But above all, it was natural, and significant. Some mass-produced hunk of steel could never be what the century sapling staff was to Elowen. Nor could it ever form a 'bond' with her like she shared with her weapon of choice. Though the nymph would say that it was more than just that--it was a traveling companion, a sturdy leg to lean upon.
The innuendo was not lost on her, and she could only release a soft giggle, accepting his attempt to lighten the mood even if others might be offended by such words. "Fufu... we'll see if I'll need it. If anyone might, it would be him," she joked in response, her tone ambiguous and open enough for it to be anyone's guess whether she meant such in a hostile or sexual way.
But it wasn't him who Elowen needed to try and gain favor with... it was the flamboyant captain. After all, he had the most say over what went on in the ship, and it would be in the nymph's best interests to retain at least some degree of control on the matter. She would, however, have to choose her words carefully--something that the free-spirited lass was not always keen to do every time. As she entered the room, she couldn't help but take a good look at all of the curiosities kept about. There was a wide variety of various trinkets, a collection that naturally occurred when a traveler was also something of a packrat... a single, lone cactus in one windowsill, and more notably, a swing whose purpose the nymph's mind could easily guess.
"Home, huh... I suppose it isn't too bad for a living space. It'll have to do, considering I'd much rather be in here than out there," commented the druid as she surveyed the catman's quarters.
"And don't worry, I'm not interested in your man-made goods. Those aren't nearly as fascinating to me as they are to men and catmen," she explained, turning an eye to the cactus afterwards. "Your prickly friend over there, however, is quite cute. But I won't take him either, so long as he's getting the water he deserves. That is... not too much, and not too little." Taking a few steps over to the window where it sat, she channeled but a tiny wisp of her spirit into conjuring a tiny bit of ice within her thumb and forefinger, neatly placing it beside the plant so that it might absorb the melted water over time.
"Great way to show the ladies--or gentlemen--visiting your quarters that you mean business," commented the nymph with a teasing grin as she approached the swing, giving it a few gentle tugs here and there to test its sturdiness. "And kept so close to where I think the others might be! So you like to let your boys listen in on things too? Tsk..." She gave a gentle knock upon the wall next to the device, as if to test whether anyone on the other side might return the gesture. Then, boldly, she sat down in it as comfortably as she could manage, grabbing ahold of the wrist restraints and swinging back and forth upon it playfully.
Of course, she was simply looking to tease and get a reaction out of him, figuring that his race's attitudes towards sex were slightly less casual than that of her own. Such an exchange of bodily fluids meant very little to Elowen, as a member of the fae. With that in mind, if she could use it as leverage, then all the better.
But first, they did need to go, and she was reminded of such upon feeling the waves move her up and down from a nearby tremor on shore. "Right--we should get going though, shouldn't we? We won't even have time to party with everyone later if we don't leave now."
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
As Cosi was led below deck, her eyes were more focused on the sea. But, it was hidden away by the claustrophobic conditions in the belly of the vessel. Then the stench of room she was forcibly volunteered to enter hit her and she gagged. She couldn't tell if this place or the sewer was worse. After that was the realization of what was causing at least some of the smells. What were they doing on this ship?
Then the merfolk jumped at the cat barking orders at her. "Okay..." she muttered back as she moved to her assigned spot. A brief look at the mess around her gave her pause, but Cosi forced herself to take her seat, however uncomfortable. She kept telling herself that this was for those refugees; that this was worth it to help save them. But, those thoughts did not help settle the queasy feeling she had due to her inevitable 'doom.' She stared down at her lap as she prepared herself, but she couldn't help but ask "Must we do this?"
Cosi's eyes looked up at the tiger-y Su-Ku-Tah, as she shifted on the bedding, her arms wrapped around her midriff defensively, just hoping for a certain answer.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Torin: HP = 43/48, PP = 46, EP = 28/58, Status = Fine, Astrologer's Boon X = 5, Astral Wings X = 6, Upkeep = 0, Clothes at 10/25 TP
Elowen: HP = 50, PP = 48, EP = 31/96, Status = Fine, Frost Armor X = 3, Upkeep = 0
Cosi: HP = 62, PP = 39, EP = 28/85, Status = Fine, Psychic Shield X = 6, Upkeep = 0
NPC Stats
Snow: HP = 32, PP = 23, EP = 25, Status = Fine
Krisdiel: HP = 180/190, PP = 125, EP = 29/270, Weakened x3, Energy Blade X = 18. 35/75 Resistance before Aroused
Traveler: Fine
Kobolds: (Overlord Bonus of +10 Body and +4 AV)
Nathye, fine
Beorhtio, fine
Narder, fine
Behrtio, fine
Arket, fine
Gyles, fine
Theoda, fine
Alten, fine
Gilas, fine
Elowen's quip in return for the pirate's effort to reassure her brought a brief grin to the catman's face, though all too soon she would be going down the stairs and into the captain's quarters.
Once within, the faerie's quip about having no desire for earthly goods merely drew a skeptical look over his shoulder from the departing captain. Though his desire for haste was apparent, he paused long enough to watch her plant an ice-cube beside the rotund little cactus growing in its little pot on the window sill, which seemed healthy if a little bit lonely, and long enough still to see her sit on the swing hanging from the ceiling. The harness seemed quite sturdy, a good thing given it's obvious purpose, and when she sat upon it found the harness neatly folding into a relatively comfortable seat. The ties and bolts holding it up held, as did the wood from which it hang, and as she swung back and forth the captain grinned broadly.
"It is good to remind them of their place sometimes~" he said with a laugh, after which he briefly cast her a purely lascivious grin. "You seem pretty comfortable on that thing.... Good! I'll see that you're well acquainted with it later. But, for now, you are right! Off with me!" he continued, and then departed, shutting the door behind and leaving her alone in his bedchamber.
All too soon the craft lurched, leaving Elowen to feel the motion of the boat rocking on the gentle waves as they departed from the pirate's hidden alcove beneath the city and entered into open water.
~~~~Cosi~~~~
When Cosi asked her question and gazed up, clutching at herself defensively, she found the tiger su-ku-ta's ears folding back as his eyes bulged, about as clear a sign of anger as she could hope to read from the highly unfamiliar terrestrial creature and one that she only understood thanks to the perceptive gifts of her faerie half. "Do not liken me to that pervert Hireeb!" the oddly-garbed su-ku-ta grumbled as he plopped down into the chair set beside his desk, which was swiveled so that he could face Cosi. His hands folded into his lap, clawed thumbs rolling over one another impatiently as he glared at her, and after a moment he continued; "I am not going to rape you, elf, and don't you dare suggest as much again! The only reason I remain here rather than return to the deck is to ensure that you do not destroy or steal any of my possessions!"
He paused long enough to let that settle in before demanding; "How does your aura function? I have not seen that magic before. Does it call upon a spirit of the sea, or is the form of the umbra based on your will?" Just after he spoke, Cosi would hear voices from not far away, perhaps the room that Elowen had been taken to, and then footsteps. Not long after that the boat lurched and began to move, it's bobbing upon the waves all too familiar a sensation to the half-mer even if she'd spent far far more of her life beneath them than above.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Cosi felt as if she was physically shrinking under the verbal assault from the tiger. "Sorry, I... didn't... I- uh... s- sorry," she squeaked back, her voice matching how small she felt. Her protective stance on the cot didn't change, except that she hugged herself tighter. She felt terrified and mortified, but for completely different reasons from just a few moments ago.
As for the question, the merfolk-in-disguise hesitated, doubly so due to how forceful the tiger was being. As she mulled the question over, she could hear the sounds from outside the small, filthy room she was in, though she paid them no mind. The feeling of the vessel heading out towards the sea eased Cosi as she concluded discussing her druidic connection to the sea wouldn't give away her secret.
"You have it right with the first one. I borrow the strength of the sea and use it as an extension of myself."
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Torin: HP = 43/48, PP = 46, EP = 28/58, Status = Fine, Astrologer's Boon X = 5, Astral Wings X = 6, Upkeep = 0, Clothes at 10/25 TP
Elowen: HP = 50, PP = 48, EP = 31/96, Status = Fine, Frost Armor X = 3, Upkeep = 0
Cosi: HP = 62, PP = 39, EP = 28/85, Status = Fine, Psychic Shield X = 6, Upkeep = 0
NPC Stats
Snow: HP = 32, PP = 23, EP = 25, Status = Fine
Krisdiel: HP = 180/190, PP = 125, EP = 29/270, Weakened x3, Energy Blade X = 18. 35/75 Resistance before Aroused
Traveler: Fine
Kobolds: (Overlord Bonus of +10 Body and +4 AV)
Nathye, fine
Beorhtio, fine
Narder, fine
Behrtio, fine
Arket, fine
Gyles, fine
Theoda, fine
Alten, fine
Gilas, fine
The tigerman didn't display anything even remotely resembling an apologetic air when his offense at her assumption caused her to shrink into herself even further than the idea of going through with the very lewd act that her recent companion Elowen seemed destined to take part in. He did seem intrigued about the nature of her abilities, however, and abandoned some of his aggression as she answered his question. "Ahhh, I see.... Where does the connection form though? Is it spiritual, or in your mind? Did you acquire it or the knowledge of it from some other being, or is it an innate ability?" he pressed, his tone curious but still moderately forceful.
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
"Ah, well, I-er-" Cosi paused.
'Does he know? Am I saying too much?' she questioned herself, her mind racing to try and come up with an answer while not being suspicious. Perhaps she was just being paranoid. But what if? What if he was already suspicious of something. 'Did using the umbras already give it all away?' Nevertheless she tried to keep a straight face, it didn't do too much to hide her continued fretting over this issue. Still, one might just construe her actions as just being fearful of the the su-ku-tah tearing her face off, or worse, though that wasn't entirely not the case.
The fake elf nibbled her lip before deciding on a response; "It is... partially inate, partially learned. I grew up- uh... by the sea." More stress piled up. How had she already almost goofed? She almost just gave it away already. One word, 'in,' was all it would have taken. She could feel beads of moisture forming and rolling down her forehead, a strange feeling for someone normally surrounded by water. The stuffy ship wasn't helping. "I've always felt a connection. I was taught from there. That connection was cultivated until, er, it's how it is now."
Re: A Fated Gathering (BlueSlime, Takimaru, and Tsuki)
Torin: HP = 43/48, PP = 46, EP = 28/58, Status = Fine, Astrologer's Boon X = 5, Astral Wings X = 6, Upkeep = 0, Clothes at 10/25 TP
Elowen: HP = 50, PP = 48, EP = 31/96, Status = Fine, Frost Armor X = 3, Upkeep = 0
Cosi: HP = 62, PP = 39, EP = 28/85, Status = Fine, Psychic Shield X = 6, Upkeep = 0
NPC Stats
Snow: HP = 32, PP = 23, EP = 25, Status = Fine
Krisdiel: HP = 180/190, PP = 125, EP = 29/270, Weakened x3, Energy Blade X = 18. 35/75 Resistance before Aroused
Traveler: Fine
Kobolds: (Overlord Bonus of +10 Body and +4 AV)
Nathye, fine
Beorhtio, fine
Narder, fine
Behrtio, fine
Arket, fine
Gyles, fine
Theoda, fine
Alten, fine
Gilas, fine
(Gonna figure out how to deal with ye split at some point soon.)
The su-ku-ta would wait impatiently while Cosi stuttered and scrambled for a response that wouldn't reveal too much about her identity, tilting his chin upwards to glare at her after her pause. He gave her a moment to gather herself before insistently snapping; "Well?" He settled again when she finally did begin to offer answer, however, and seemed to think nothing of her hasty lie regarding where she'd been raised as he sat and thought a moment. The boat rocked back and forth quietly, rising and falling upon what felt to the half-sidhe merfolk like the waves of the real ocean, potentially a comforting sensation to the increasingly nervous woman as the tiger-like mage interogated her about her unique abilities.
"So... Inborn," he muttered under his breath thoughtfully after a pregnant pause, and then in a much louder voice asked; "Your abilities... How many variations do you have? What do they do? Merely protect you, or do some offer other advantages as well?"
