View source for Thanks for the Patronage

		Fernwood Pub, Afternoon

A deluge of nearly freezing rain jaunts most inside. The sudden downpour ripping and raw, tear away what warmth is harbored under cloaks and jackets.

The front door slams open. Or, feathers, for that matter, as a rust red and white plumed egalrin woman is positively drenched, beak chattering as they all but throw themselves into the hearth heated room. A quick incantation sloughs all the water off, drying herself in the process. But chilled to the bone she was, Slixvah makes a beeline towards the hearth. There's a twittering in her now-dry robes. "Y-Y-Yeah yeah I-I know, g-gotta stop sleepin' o-o-outside," she stammers through the tremors.

The green-haired Gnome is already seated by the hearth. Her boots have been removed and stashed under her chair, her feet propped up in front of the fire. Xasany has a sizable mug held tightly between her hands, hot tea sipped daintily from it.

Her head cants to one side, her eyes taking in thechattering Egalrin.

"Quite the mess out today, isn't it?", she wonders of Slixvah, her long eyebrows raised. "They have some very good hot cider here, that should warm you up nicely. Barring that, would you like some tea?"

Victor enters the pub not soon after, and predictably he winds up near the fire himself. Easier to find a spot if you're willing to stand, and so he remains there with a mug in his hand. For the most part he keeps a steady gaze on one of the windows, where it's easy to check the weather conditions - still raining. But he finds time to nod at both Slixvah and Xasany. "Tea or cider would help with the cold," he notes. "But what about the wetness? Rain like this can rust metal and drench parchment."

It wasn't that uncommon for birds to seek shelter from the rain. Not one, but two egalrin came to the pub, one a decent bit after the other. Thankfully, Reithak wasn't too soaked, but the inquisitor is at the door for some time shaking the rain off of their hat. 

Reithak does spot some people nearby, and it doesn't take long for them to reach the fireplaces. "Slix, you alright?" They ask, concerned.

"Oh gods tea p-p-please," the egalrin blurts out, turning towards Xasany. "Thank you sugar, I'll get somethin' sorted in a minute once I can feel m'fingers."

Massaging said digits near the hearth, her attention cranes up towards the metal man. "Oh- you're t-t-tall- hiya, wetness, d-d-dealt wit'," she explains, gesturing at the lack of rain soaked in. "M-M-Magic makes t-t-that a lil' easier ta deal wit'. I-I just need somethin'-" Reithak! "W-W-Warm! D-Darlin' Reirei, get ova here! I-I'm t-t-too small to be an i-icecube!"

The Gnome's hair suddenly comes alive, growing longer and moving under its own volition, like a nest of snakes. It wraps itself around one of the beams high above, pulling the woman out of her seat. Strands separate and latch onto another beam, pulling her forward. Suspended in the air, Xasany makes her way to the bar.

A moment later, a wee, grey Owl lands on her seat, and turns its head around to peer at Slixvah.

"Whoooo."

Victor looks at Slixvah. Tall? Then Victor glances at the even taller Reithak. But before he can say anything his attention is drawn to Xasany and her unusual mode of movement. He stares until she's halfway to the bar, at which point his gaze pans up to see where exactly the hair is grasping, then back down so he doesn't miss anything. Finally he glances around at others to see if anyone seems as interested.

Reithak spends a moment taking a look at the gnome swinging off, but the larger egalrin is quick to scoop up Slixvah by the fire and hug them close. Thankfully the inside of their wings wasn't too soaked from the time out in the rain. "Course, course Slix dear, get yourself warmed up." They hum, turning to nod to the golem. "Heya, tea and cider are good! I guess rust would be a concern for a golem, hope it's not too much trouble for you." 

Reithak turns to look at one chair, and laughs. "This here is Slixvah, and she's pretty great!" They answer the small owl.

There is a moment where Slix's status of being chilly matters very little. It's banal, a trifle. Through her chattering beak and trembling frame her attention is honed in at the living hair. The floating manner. The owl. The /owl/.

And now she's enveloped in a blanket of feathers. Warm! "Excellent..." she sighs in relief before shaking her head and chuckling at the owl, as well as the golem's desire to see everything. "Das me! And thi' is Reithak. She's great t-too!"

The small egalrin squints at the owl. "Now... I have s-several questions for /you/."

The little grey bird blinks owlishly at Reithak and Slixvah.

"Hooooo."

It then puffs up and shakes itself from head to foot, and spends some time preening itself.

The Gnome's progress through the pub is noted by others, though after a moment or two, not many bother to pay her much attention. She returns a short time later the same way, barely clearing Victor to deposit herself back in the seat, with the Owl hopping onto the hearth to avoid being settled on.

A large mug of tea is offered up to Slixvah. "Hot tea, with a little drop of honey and lemon. Should warm you right up."

The Owl launches into the air just long enough to land upon Xasany's head, where it hoots at her at length, with a tone that sounds like annoyance. "Yes yes, Wesley, I know, I know." The Gnome eyes Slixvah, then Reithak and lastly Victor. "Hullo! My name's Xasany. Pleased to meet you!" to Victor she says, "Ah, there's a spell for that, y'see." Eyeing Slixvah again, the Gnome wonders, "You had questions?"

 GAME: Xasany refreshes spells.

Victor realizing that everyone else has introduced themselves. "Victor," he offers. Then he peers at the owl. "Questions -for- the Owl? Or -about- the owl...?"

Slix watches with rapt attention and fascination as the gnome maneuvers their way back to their seat by the hearth, grey hands reach out to cup the offered mug. Relief in porcelain! "Yes Victor, both," she chirps with a cheeky grin, leaning forward. "Xasany, yeah? Nice ta meetcha. I do gots a question. "You be doin' some shenanigans there. Shenanigans I'm quite familiar wit', if I'm ta be honest. Now. My question is- why th' heck is one of ya's just in the Fern?! Did I miss a memo or somethin'?!" she exasperates.

Xasany flashes a bright smile to Victor, "That's a solid name, Victor. Have you just come in then? Perhaps the bartender cold lend you a towel to dry off?"

The Owl hoots at the Gnome, who nods her head in response. "Yes, go ahead, find mice!" The little bird hops up and flies up into the rafters. Xas laughs, grinning broadly at Slix. "Shenanigans, you say? Whatever do you mean?" She takes up her mug once more, sipping at her tea.

"Well, I don't stick around in one place for too long. I stay here when I am in the city, but I spend time in the woods, and the Grove. Winter is harder, I stay here, the Grove, and occasionally the Temple of Eluna."

"I am also interested in the 'Shenanigans," Victor says, tone neutral. He peers up at the rafters, seems to think of something, then glances back at Xasany. Before he looks up at the rafters again. Are there really mice up there...?

Reithak remains in place for some time, keeping Slixvah hugged, but eventually they let go to let the witch take their drink. "Nice to meet you too Xasany! That's some cool stuff you can do with your hair there." They note happily. "Shenanigans sound fun, always up for getting up to some, within reason. wouldn't be surprised if there are, what with winter setting in. Always trouble keeping their numbers down indoors."

Slix glances up to the rafters as the owl takes off before looking back down and sipping on her tea. As much as one could with a beak. "You very know well what I mean," she coos, getting released as she's properly warmed up now.

Looking between Victor and Xasany, she extends one ribbon covered wing. The feathers on them seem to unravel and fall to the floor in a bundle, before they animate on their own, fluttering on their own unseen wind. Her cup of tea is passed off to the prehensile things. "Not that kind of Shenanigans, Reirei!" she laughs before looking to Xasany. "You know. Shenanigans . The kind of shenanigans where it is rather difficult to find others that do similar shenanigans."

The little Owl hops about up there, appearing to chase /something/ up there, there could be mice.

Meanwhile, the Gnome hovers slightly above her seat, sipping at her tea. "No, I am pretty certain I have noooo idea of what shenanigans you speak to." She purses her lips at the feathers animating on their own, and Xasany shrugs. "Okay, you got me there. But, well, I'm here because it's cold outside, and very warm inside. And their beds are quite comfortable. I like nature and all, but you can't complain about the comforts to be found here. Why do you ask?"

The Gnome eyes Reithak a moment, and grins. "Yes, my hair has a life all its own, sometimes."

A towel? Victor seems to consider this. But then he remembers something Xasany said earlier, about a spell. He searches his memory and quickly realizes the (in)famous Prestidigitation might work. "Perhaps the rain is not as much of a risk as I thought. As much as I'd like to hear more, I should continue on my way" he comments. He puts actions to his words and moves away from the fire. "However, it was a pleasure meeting you all. If I find myself on this street - or in the woods," he inclines his head towards Xasany, "I'll be sure to stop in."

Reithak sighs and takes a seat by the fire, shaking off a few damp feathers as they get comfortable. "Ah, but those shenanigans are great to wake up to, too." Reithak laughs. "But I digress! sounds real interesting Xasany, and Slix is just bursting with questions by the sounds of it. Nothing wrong with enjoying a nice tavern now and then!" 

"It was good to meet you too, Victor, take care out there! I think it shouldn't be too bad,I might just be biased since feathers are a pain at times." She waves and laughs to Victor before they leave.

Slix's eyes squint in amusement. "Coy lil' bugger," the runt egalrin snickers, her attention drifting towards Victor. "Gotcha, catch ya 'round, Victor! Maybe we'll run inta each otha' again!"

A wave farewell doesn't distract Slix on her current topic of interest. The gnome hovering off their seat. "While I agree wit' my tall an' muscular gal on tha' front of silliness ta wake up ta, I jus' got several, ah, burning curiosities." She sips from her mug, held aloft by the selfsame feathers. "I ask 'cause, ya see, of my entire time here in thi' city, I have met /two/. And /only/ two, of the kinds of peoples tha' do the same kind of mojo I do," she explains, resting her hands on her hips.

"Okay, take care out there, Victor.", Xas says with a wave as the Golem makes his way out of the Fernwood. She nods to Reithak, "I'll answer them as best I can."

The green-haired witch crosses her arms, still hovering in place.

"So ask away then, Slixvah. I'd be pleased to answer." She rubs at her chin then, nodding slowly. "There are few of us around. A few reasons for that, I would guess." The Gnome leans towards the rust and white Egalin. "Our path through life is new, relatively speaking. Not so many of us exist, and what with both Goddesses being rather secretive and all... most other patrons are small, pint-sized even.

"And ye have to admit, we've not got the best of... reputations. People expect the worst, and well... if you look hard enough for something, you'll find it."

"Yeah, I figured it was something you'd be real curious about." Agrees, leaving her seat behind for a moment. "Cool as all that swinging was, I won't ask you to swing off to get something else to drink for the sake of my own convenience." 

The inquisitor pats Slixvah on the head for a moment. "Hey, that just isn't true! More like, not enough of a reputation yet. That makes people wary. Give me a sec and I'll be back after grabbing something warm that isn't Slix, alright?" She adds, before heading off for one of the bars.

"Oh fo' sho', I get tha'. Been ran outta many a places fo' it," Slix bobs her head heartily. "An' damn hags ain' make our job no easier! We need a club!" she declares, smacking a fist into an open palm.

She looks up to the far taller egalrin, giggling from the pat. "Warm cider for me please and thanks!" she calls out to Reithak before downing the last of her tea and turning to Xasany. "Aight, so. Ya magic. I figure its ya bird tha' helps ya wit' it, but where does it come from fo' ya? Fo' me, it's like drinkin' straight from the Sea of Mana. Hella rough, but it works after my friend distills it inta metaphyiscal nuggets of wisdom," she elaborates, wholly invested in the topic. 

"Oh, uhm, make it two ciders, please, if that's alright, Reithak? I've the coin for it, and I can pay you straight away. Pretty please with Slix on top?"

The Gnome cants her head slightly, listening carefully as Slix describes how magic comes to her. Blinking, Xas leans back in her seat, lifting her legs to dangle her feet over the arm of the chair. "It's not straight forward.", she says softly. "My familiar, and yours too I gather, is the focal point. I can utilize any spell that he has.. consumed. I wouldn't say that they're distilled into metaphysical nuggets, whatever that may mean to you, it is different for me. But uhm... like a bird feeding its young."

 GAME: Reithak rolls acrobatics: (4)+3: 7

"A club for the hags, or a club for the witches?" Reithak wonders out loud, before shaking her head and laughing. "What, thirsty again already? Sure, sure, no problem! And no worries about the cost of some mugs of cider, least I can do since you're doing Slix such a solid anyways." 

It's not too long before Reithak returns, two mugs in hand and one balanced squarely on their beak, at least, until they bump into a table on the way back, where they stop to hook it back on their hand to continue back. "There you are, both of you." Reithak hums, offering the drinks. "So, what'd I miss?"

Slix snorts at that. "You're funny." Yet, she's focused, clear that she's mentally trying to see how Xasany's methods hook into the greater scheme of magic. "No, not straightforward at all. Mine can do th' same, helps 'em figure out how ta translate it ta somethin' I can use tha' ain't gonna blow my brain up. But a bird feedin' its young-- that's a fascinatin' way of puttin' it!"

"For witches! Hags can get lost!" she calls back before giggling at Reithak's antics. She takes one mug, leans up to nudge her beak against Reithak's, and settles back down. "Thank youuuu~" she sing songs. "Jus' figurin' out how our stuff does the magic thing. Real frickin' weird no matter what ya cut it since it's so... new and abstract, right Xan?"

"That's as close as I can get it and it still make sense, you know? And the reason why it's different, mostly, is down to the familiars." The Gnome pauses to accept her mug of cider, which she gulps at a few times, before sighing. "No, Reithak, I would rather keep our ledger balanced when it comes to coin. But we can worry about that at the end of the night. But for this, my thanks!"

Her expression takes on a serious mien. "I can tell you, though, why it is difficult, or why it seems so. Do you pray to your patron, Slixvah?"

"Always welcome, Slix!" Reithak laughs, nudging the smaller egalrin back and taking a seat with her own drink. "I guess you're all learning, huh? It's hard when you don't have anything codified or the like for certain. But I think that's a great opportunity at the same time!" They answer, humming quietly along. "Ah, fine, I just figured I was already stiffing you a bit for the price of a drink compared to getting to meet and learn from another witch." 

Then they fall silent, raising one brow as the inquisitor sips carefully on their cider.

Slix bounces her head. "Very much down to tha' lil' goobers," she concurs, drinking on her warm cider and leaning against Reithak. "Yeah, it's super hard ta find anything written down. Shoot, even sorcerers have some method of figurin' stuff out, lookat the Shining Chalice. I'll take any learning opportunities I can get."

Yet, she frowns. "Patron? Pray? I mean, I pray ta loads of things all the th' time-- Dana mostly-- but..." A few dots connect in the egalrin witch's head before she abruptly reaches into her robes, yanking out a sleepy looking, tiny, white plumed thrush. Golden eyes blearily looking up at their master. "Patron. Explain."

"... Unmesi," they tweet in a tinny voice. "I am sleeping."

"I kept your feathered ass warm the entire time, answer."

They chirp once in annoyance before speaking more. "The patron? You needn't worry about such externalities. I can translate it easily for you, now let me sleep-"

"Fifi, I'm gonna throw you outside in the cold ass rain if you don't talk!"

They sigh. "I can elaborate later in the morrow. We can speak with them."

".... THEM?!"

The tiny familiar snores.

Xasany falls silent as Slixvah has a little revelation. Her own familiar flutters down from above. "Hoooo." The Gnome eyes the Owl upon her shoulder, "Eyes have been opened, now we find if she can see."

Her eyes flick to Reithak, and she snorts. "You're stiffing your friend on the price of a drink?" The green-haired witch laughs.

"Do not be so hard on your familiar. They are your link to power, and answers, but they are as much .. in thrall to it as you are."

"It's always good to offer prayer whenever you've got the chance." The larger egalrin nods, not saying more so as not to interrupt any further thoughts, but wrapping one arm around Slixvah. The brow remains raised for some time, before the inquisitor gives a quiet 'huh'. "Them singular, them plural? Did you think Fiadh was the patron themself?" She wonders, before laughing. "I mean a mug of cider is pretty cheap payment in return for knowledge of the arcane and currently esoteric practices." Reithak snorts. "That's certainly something to consider, a lot of it. You want me to stick around with you for whatever they talk about? I know audiences with gods and patrons are a real personal thing, but I'd be happy to stay with ya if you need or want me to."

"Easy for you to say, Xan. I love my Fiadh, but they's speaks in riddles /all/ the damn time. They coulda told me they was part of somethin' else!" Slix huffs, glaring at the sleeping familiar as she leans into Reithak's arm. "I don' know, Reirei. Maybe singular. Or both. Fifi likes ta talk in the big picture. But no, I didn't know there was some patron ta all this! I thought Fiadh was just a weird magic bird!"

A heavy sigh escapes her, the egalrin witch carefully placing the familiar back into one of the many nooks and crannies on their robes. "You can be there, Rei. Whatever they can say they can say in front of me or anyone. Probably good if ya there, I might say somethin' stupid."

The cider gets a large drink. The rain outside continues pouring down. She considers, rifles around in her robes, and drops a deck of used playing cards on a nearby table. "We gonna be stuck here a hot minute. Ya'll wanna play Dragon's Gambit? I promise I won' cheat. If I get lucky-- well-- can't help that."

 -End Scene-