From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
01-28-2020, 09:56 PM (This post was last modified: 01-28-2020, 10:06 PM by Delphia.)
DELPHIA
It wasn’t often that Delphia traveled with a weapon. She had other tricks up her sleeve should she need it. That said Ursurs were not creatures to be dealt with lightly, and so a sizable dagger was worn on her him, alongside the flask in which she intended to capture the milk she needed. She didn’t want to kill the creature of course, daughter of death though she was, causing one’s death was not her main objective. She just dealt with the spoopy things after.
So for this particular venture, she had brought along the two people she figured would know best how to handle one of Rae’s creatures – the god’s twins Oia and Kai. ”Thanks for helping me out.” she said with an adoring smile at the twins, happy the two had agreed to come along and assist her in the cold, snowy Tundra of Halo. ”First I suppose we need to figure out how to lure a nursing female Ursur to us, and then immobilize it long enough to get milk from it. The hunters in the Citadel mentioned this area tends to be where many of the mother Ursurs tend to raise their young.” she explained. Being the nature experts they were, she sure hoped they had a few ideas of how to lure in one of the large, white bears!
This is a CLOSED PQ (sorry fam). First things first, gotta lure in the mama Ursur!
You don't really like being thanks, so as Delphia offers hers you merely nod stiffly and avert your gaze towards Kai. You would have come along anyways had you heard about this, even if you weren't invited. It wasn't every day someone tried to milk this sort of lactating mammal and you're very interested to see how it all goes. That's what makes Delphia's appreciation seem misguided.
"If I can freeze portions of her legs she won't be able to move. Though I wonder if there's a way of communicating our needs to her so that she understands." This probably isn't possible via normal means, but of course that's where Kai comes in, so you look towards your twin with an expectant half-smile.
This is one of the stranger adventures you have been invited upon, which is not to say you take any amount of issue with it. Indeed, much like you're sister you're fascinated by the idea of milking a lactating ursur, though it seems like maybe it would have made more sense to take a measured approach more inline with how one would prepare a goat for lactation, or a cow. You know: make it dependent upon you perhaps by raising it from birth, mate it when it becomes appropriately sexually mature, remove the infant as soon as it can be weaned, and continue milking it regularly to ensure an ongoing milk supply.
That does not seem to be the plan here.
At Oia's suggestion you shrug a little, furrowing your brow. "I can make it more sentient, but without an Attuned I dunno if we're gonna actually be able to communicate effectively. An' it might just increase its anger. The best bet might be to animate the cub away while you freeze the Ma."
While her lips remained in a neutral position as the twins discussed the best course of action, the corners of her eyes crinkled, smiling through her haunted gaze at them. Young as they were they were wise and quite a dynamic team. For a moment she felt a pang of...jealousy? Longing? It must be lovely to have one so close to your own heart and soul that they were near inextricably intertwined.
Was this why her father had prompted her to make friends?
"So Oia'i'o, you will freeze the mother bear's legs in place after Kaimana animates her cub away to bring her close. Then I will try to get in and quickly get the milk I need." she said, summarizing everyone's tasks succinctly. Her steely eyes closed briefly as she concentrated on the spirits around them, before pointing. "Just beyond that snow drift is an Ursur with a single cub."
Kai needs to animate the cub away to draw out mama Ursur. Oia needs to freeze mama Ursur in place. And Delphia has to milk mama Ursur and not die in the process!
Do you feel a little like this might not be a great plan? Maybe. Have you accepted fully that this is Delphia's experiment to design and lead? Absolutely.
To that end you trudge along through the snow, heading to where Delphia has indicated the ursur and cub are. And, sure enough, you spot them both: a big mother and a little cub, both incredible and examples of Rae's designs. You glance at Oia, knowing she'll appreciate the sight as much as you do, before focusing your attention back to the cub.
Go time.
Reaching out with your magic you focus it toward the baby ursur, gently coaxing it away from its mother and towards where you wait.
Kai uses his magic to try and get the baby ursur to walk toward him
You listen intently to Kai, nodding with complete understanding and agreement, which of course means that you miss out on...whatever it is Delphia is thinking. Not that you would have read it in her features anyways, even were it writ large.
You look towards Delphia as she gives out her instructions. Considering your task, you imagine in your mind how the scenerio might play out, and nod as desively as you can. "I estimate our success rate around 63% given the unpredictability of Ursurs, the so called mother-bear-response, and the fact that we've never done this before."
That doesn't stop you though.
Like Kai, you're utterly entranced by the sight of mother and cub. You watch as Kai is able to coax the weanling away, and so as not to immediately upset the mother, you wait for her to take a few steps and follow it before your magic slowly begins to creep within her muscles and halt their progress.
You've absolutely no idea how long you can hold this, but for now, the mother bear is firmly stopped in place.
63% chance of success from the child of Rae? Delphia couldn't help her grin. "Better odds than I was anticipating. Thank you for the honest assessment, Oia." she said lovingly. But now was not the time to admire the daughter of Rae's amazing mental math skills. Kai was already drawing the cub away and the mother was about to give chase! Then her legs froze in place, the Ursur mama thrashing her head and roaring angrily.
Cue Delphia, running recklessly towards the angry bear for she did not fear death like others might. She slide under the mother bear, as far from her head as possible, and worked quickly to milk her - which thankfully was not all that different from milking a goat. Except it was freezing. And she had a wonderful view of how terrifyingly long an Ursur's hind claws were.
But of course, a plan could not go so smoothly or else Odd would be displeased with this attempt to get an elusive companion. You see, increasing the cub's sentience to coax it away was smart...except that it was a cub, and rarely do children behave so well. After taking a few steps towards Kai, it bolted off towards the snow banks - because sledding, duh! - in the very far away distance. Which of course caused Mama bear great distress.
Kai - go get the baby bear to calm down the mama bear!
Oia - keep hold of the mama bear so she doesn't rampage!
Not something you'd usually be particularly bothered by, if we're being honest (not that you wouldn't step in if there was risk of injury), but the mama does seem to be rather bothered and you don't want Oia or Delphy getting hurt.
So you chase after the little bear, using your magic to make it stop in its daring escape before scooping it up into your arms. "Hey, there! Gotta stay here, ok? So Ma can see ya an' know you're safe." Turning back to where the girls are attempting to milk the mother bear, you hold the cub up for the elder to see, hoping it will somehow help and still very much doubting the scientific validity of this whole endeavor.
"Her concerns about safety likely come from our arrival here, not distance to her cub." You point out as the mother struggles and snaps. It doesn't actually look like you're concentrating very hard, but you are. For those you who know, the way your head constantly tilts back and forth, the rapid licking of your lips, and how the metronomic eye-blinks you're known for have suddenly become erratic, are all tell-tale signs.
Weaving in additional magic, you create the illusion of the cub trotting back towards the mother and plopping down in the snow. You make sure to block out Kai and the real cub, yourself, and Delphia, in an attempt to persuade her that all has suddenly gone back to normal.
The bear cub was easily caught, young enough that it remained a bit clumsy on its oversized paws (read: murder mittens). The little baby Ursur grumbled and kicked its legs playfully as Kai carried it back. And as carefree and happy go lucky as the little baby was, its mama was very much not. She roared and fought to free her feet, more or less unaware of what Delphia was doing beneath her. But fortunately, before she could get her feet free, the man disappeared. Then the other girl disappeared. And there was just her baby on the ground. As the Ursur started sniff at the illusion baby, Delphia finished filling the jar and capped it, scooching out from under her.
And that's when everything went wrong.
Oia's limits had clearly been reached. The magic holding the mama Ursur in place had been difficult enough. Adding in the illusion? Well, it add extra strain to what she could accomplish. Ice and snow crunched as the mama Ursur stepped forward, still sniffing at the fake cub. They were still invisible to her, but she was indeed free. Delphia looked at Oia and Kai, eyes a little wide. She pointed towards the way they had come, lips shut tightly, showing the jar filled with Ursur milk.
Uh-oh! Mama Ursur is loose! Time to make a get away!
You have no idea what Ursur's smell like, old or young. You know about them, but only by extension. So it is that as the mother sniffs, you extrapolate as best you can, but apparently the smell of trees and excrement is not convincing. "Kai, can you increase her intelligence to ask her what about my illusion was not convincing?" You call towards your twin, seemingly unaware of the half-tonne ball of white-death.
Pain and your own mortality have never really bothered you much and given that you aren't entirely sure when you'll be in a position to study the maternal senses of a bear when pitted against your magic, this seems a wonderful opportunity that you don't want to waste.
Well, the white bear is patient long enough to get milk, so you suppose this experiment is somehow a success. And when the illusion isn't enough and the mother snaps you are quick to set her cub down, shooing toward its (appropriately) perturbed mother and taking a step back, so as to remove the appearance of threat.
Oia's question is a good one, though you are marginally more aware of your mortality than she is. "Okay," you agree, reaching out with tendrils of magic to coax the bear into a higher level of sentience and reasoning. You aren't entirely sure this will allow it to talk, but it's certainly worth a try. "Mama bear - your cub is safe an' we're gonna leave you alone. Thanks for the milk! Can you tell me why you weren't convinced by the illusion?"
The mama Ursur hesitated, looking towards Kai, unable to see him but instinctively knowing the general direction of where they were. She growled low, a warning to those playing games. But she would answer...sort of. "Grrrrrrawrrrrsmelllllllrrrrrrrrr" it was a low rumble, not quite words, but a grumbly attempt at them, given her lack of the proper vocalization parts to make a complex word.
But there was one more thing she wanted to say. "Grrrrrrhuuuuuungryyyyyygrrrrrr"
"On that note, I suggest we leave." Delphia said with a hint of a smile.
As Kai asks, you turn to look at the Ursur as if you're in a lecture hall somewhere, and a student has just asked a very pertinent question. Your eyes are large and unblinking and you're even holding your breath slightly even if you aren't aware of it. The sound is..strange, but that's to be expected. Her vocal folds aren't at all like yours, and increasing sentience doesn't suddenly result in a master of linguistics. You appreciate her efforts though.
It was as you suspected, something to do with the smell, and you nod. "I can work on that." You say to no one in particular. If Kai agrees to Delphia's departure, you'll go as well.
