[RQ] tinker tailor soldier spy

Seren

It had been a long time since she visited the Hollowed Grounds. Back then it had been a daunting thing, frowned upon by her mother and a half-rebellious act in a time where the regions were at war with those that dwelled here. But it was different now. With the Voice gone and Dygra reawakened to resume her eternal dance with Caido, Seren only had the void creatures to worry about.

Stepping through a rift in the fabric of the world by the frozen Oasis, she wrapped a scarf more comfortably around her neck and began to trudge through the snow. Carrying a cage in one hand and with a simple sword strapped to her waist for defense, she hoped this project of capturing a critter would prove swift and easy to complete. She didn't have much experience with hunting. Hurting animals was the last thing she wanted to do; yet she couldn't afford to let herself be hurt either. Caught in that conundrum, she looked for some sign of anything worth following. But though she roamed around in ever larger circles around the frozen pond, she didn't have much luck.

I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Reaching the starlight and silver fields

Lacking teleportation had meant traveling the old-fashioned way. Except it was Deepfrost and Zef had no intention of freezing her wings off and falling out of the sky like a bird-shaped stone halfway to the Hollowed Grounds for another round of Void-flavored misadventures. So she let someone else do the flying and bundled herself into a cabin aboard an airship with a brazier that she wrapped herself around for the week it took to reach the second-farthest place from Torchline on the planet.

But who was counting?

She wouldn't even have volunteered for it if so many other Ancients hadn't been heading to that blighted region in recent seasons, but she was curious to see what Danta-dearest had made of the place and she wanted to check in on the cub's progress. So two birds, one stone and all that jazz.

It had all sounded good on paper until the ship landed at the docks and Zefira looked out across the expanse of snow on the ground with a hiss of displeasure. Even bundled into the biggest coat and scarf she could find - and fuck but did she hate all the bulky layers - it was purest misery and she was sure her nose and ears were going to be stone before the day was done.

She stomped towards the designated meeting place in boots that she wore with extreme reluctance and no little awkwardness, golden eyes narrowed as she glared around for any sign of Void critters or plants that she could snag and be done with it. Alas the one time she wanted one around the infection was nowhere to be seen.

A sparkly girl eventually came into view beside an icy lake, however, and judging from the cage in her hand she was on the same errand as the Ancient. "You're Seren, yeah?" she called from within her woolen fortress. "There's plenty of spiders back in town. Or there was the last time we did this li'l song and dance." Also there was supposedly a fire and easy access to nice, warm indoors, but Zef didn't feel that part needed mentioning out loud.

Seren

Seeing a figure come shuffling through the snow, Seren raised a hand in greeting. "Hello! That's me. And you must be Zefira." Huffing and smiling at the horned person, the starchild pushed her hood back and shook her long hair from the collar. "Oh there is? Then I should have taken the skyship with you after all. I thought that with the new barrier it would be better to keep to the outskirts."
Ah well, now they were here, and it seemed just as likely to find something here as anywhere else. "Let me know if you need a break, okay? I can whisk you to Torchline and back in a blink."

Pointing out a direction where the trees grew closer together and the snow didn't pile as thickly, Seren was happy to lead or follow, whichever the Ancient woman preferred. Keeping a lookout for tracks, it seemed Zefira had brought luck with her; up ahead something had disturbed the snow and left a pile of nasty purple waste behind.

I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Reaching the starlight and silver fields

"Aye, got it in one," the shivering Ancient confirmed, trying and failing to inject a little of her more usual confidently jaunty mien into the answer. It was hard to be her casually predatory self when her limbs were creaking and threatening to turn to stone on her, though.

Her brain was also muddled by the cold, and she blinked at the reminder of the new barrier that had supposedly gone up. She was sure she'd heard something about it... "Ah. They're copying what we did in Torchline, hmmm? Well." She managed to find a smirk beneath her scarf. "Sincerest form o' flattery and all that." The offer to 'whisk' her home did wonders to sharpen her focus, however, and golden eyes fixed on Seren with renewed interest. "Oooh? I'll let y'know. Especially if I can get a ride back once we've caught our quarry," she agreed. Anything to get back to the warmth of Torchline sooner! Nothing against skyships, but the air that high up in Deepfrost was not conducive to a happy Ancient.

She tried to prowl in the direction Seren indicated, initially taking the lead--

But her boots were damnably annoying and she did more clomping through rather than gliding over the snow. "I'd shift if the damned coat would still fit," she growled into her scarf. "And wouldn't burn through... Wait, what's this?" She crouched beside the small splatter of violet scat, knees and hips popping distressingly. Using a stick to stir the contents of the viscous, still-steaming waste she considered it for a moment and then cast around for tracks. Ah... "It's not far," she purred, mood shifting upwards with mercurial swiftness as she pushed herself back to her feet. "One of the spiders." The faintest of indentations in the fresh snow led a short distance away where a suspicious rustling and disturbing tiny crunching noises were hidden behind a large evergreen bush.

Seren

Commisserating with the shivering woman, Seren would have offered to help if she could. Alas, her talents did not offer much in way of heat, though she did happily agree to take them both home once they were done.

She was happy to let Zefira do the tracking too, actually. Watching with the curiosity of one who simply enjoyed learning, Seren followed the direction that was pointed out and hummed softly. "Let's see if we can lure it out," she suggested cheerfully. "Wait here."
Making herself light enough to walk atop the snow, she stepped out of her own tracks and began to creep closer to the bush. Once close enough, she glanced up to the sky and imagined a star falling, that took the shape of a wolf. It leaped into the shrub, setting off a racket of yipping and snarling  - followed by a hissing, clicking sound.

"Here they come!"  Seren called, just as the star-wolf came tumbling out with the spider right at its heels.

I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Reaching the starlight and silver fields

With a much faster way home secured, Zefira became very invested in protecting Seren. The demigoddess would find herself with a new best friend, in fact, whenever the Ancient's teeth stopped chattering long enough for conversation.

For better or worse (probably for better, for Seren's peace of mind) the quick discovery of their quarry had Zef's golden eyes narrowing in sharp-eyed (and toothed) interest as the younger woman made her cheerful suggestion. Those eyes widened in delight as the starwolf plummeted from the sky to take physical form upon the snow, and she gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Now that's a handy party trick," she purred, flexing her fingers within the protection of her thick gloves.

She crouched at the ready, and when the spider came skittering out in angry pursuit of the wolf she grinned in appreciation of how well the lure had worked. "Get your cage ready!" she called to the starchild. "I'll draw it towards you!" She would have preferred to chase the violet arachnid, but its twisted little mind seemed to hold only violence and no fear. So instead she darted forward to draw its attention, waving and whooping at it, before turning to run towards where Seren had hopefully set the cage down, open and waiting for its new occupant.

Seren

Doing as Zefira suggested, Seren put the cage down and raised the grate up so that it could be easily closed the moment the arachnid was inside. She watched with bated breath how it chased the Ancient around, and while she would have preferred to stay well clear, Seren stayed with the cage.

But it wasn't as though she couldn't help at all. Tugging on the spider's gravity, it was made heavier by far and slowed down considerably. Hoping that would make it less dangerous for the other woman, she stood by and made ready to help shoo the thing into its comfy new home.

---

Magic: Gravity Pulse | Can increase or decrease gravity within 15ft of her body. When used on herself she can jump higher/take larger bouncier steps/hover 10ft off the ground /etc, or root herself or something/someone else in place (Must have a str of +15 to move her/the item). Not effective against large structures like houses.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded

I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Reaching the starlight and silver fields

The cage was down and that was great! But what Zef hadn't really thought through was that the spider could see it just as easily as she could. The first time she dodged past the cage at the last moment the Voidweaver followed right on her heels, skittering around the cage without pausing. The Ancient swore - loudly and colorfully - as she led the damn beastie on a circular chase, trying to decide how to deal with this unpleasant development--

Which was when it slowed down abruptly. Zef might have had questions but she was pragmatic enough to let them wait. As soon as she realized that the spider's movements were meeting some strange kind of resistance she changed direction.

And shape.

Black fur rippled up along her arms and face and drops of molten copper fell to the snow at her feet as she skidded to a four-legged halt and spun around. Powerful muscles bunched and then extended, sending the molten tiger leaping back along the path she'd just run - and over the top of the struggling spider. For a creature of so much size she landed lightly on her paws, sinking into the snow--

But not before kicking back neatly with one large paw to send the spider tumbling and shrieking into the cage where Seren waited.

Seren

Quick as a thought, Seren was there and slapped the cage door shut. A nervous moment she was fumbling with the lock while the enraged spider tried to get to her fingers, but then there was a quiet snick and the latch slid in place.

Staggering back with profound relief, a moment later she let off a jubilant cheer and threw her hands over the head. Twirling and spilling dark night in her wake, the euphoria was as sweet as the chase had been exciting, and the beamed at the tigress.

"Really well done! That was fun! And you are so beautiful!" Laughing in sheer delight, she hoped the Ancient didn't mind her exuberant attempt to pet the dark fur without burning herself on her stripes. "Are you ready to head home? It will require two trips to get both you and the spider across, but it will be quick."

It would be a problem for Hadama and Flora to keep the animal alive until it was time to complete the quest. Seren was itching to paint; she couldn't wait to get back to an easel and canvas.

I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Reaching the starlight and silver fields

Zefira was just as pleased as Seren at their success, tail lashing as she stalked around the cage and thought gleeful insults at the nasty arachnid. The demigoddess's compliments drew her to a halt, but Zef was quite partial to being flattered and she rumbled contentedly at the petting, drawing herself up into an elegant sit beside her companion for the day.

She looked particularly large and fierce fluffy with her black fur puffed out for maximum warmth, and she nodded emphatically at the offer to head home. Stalking away from the cage, she flicked snow off each of her paws with every step, the picture of a feline disgruntled with the wetness on her pads. By the time Seren had taken the spider back to Torchline and returned again, Zefira had changed back to her human form, complete with coat and scarf, as she stamped in place to keep warm.

"Home just as fast as you can go, Sparkles!" She called out cheerfully to her ride. Congrats, Seren! You've acquired both a new friend and a new nickname!

~Fin~