Sour Starry Skies [Job]

In the time the girls had been away the ice wielding mage had not yet awoken. His pulse was steady and there were no obvious injuries and yet it seemed something was preventing him from waking up. Magna had bandaged the wounds and mixed up a basic bit of medicine to help, but the man still hadn't woken up.It was possible it was just sheer exhaustion. Vulcan's were said to push the person's body beyond its limits. Magna hoped the man would awake by the morning. The journey was difficult enough without carrying an injured man and besides with avalances being a key risk someone who could manipulate ice and thus snow would be very useful.

Jack had remained silent whilst Magna was performing his medical acts upon the ice mage. It was more just watching in silent awe as Magna conjured up various tools and ingredients to make the medicine out of thin air.

Eventually the girl's returned looking very refreshed. Aegis was with them and spoke. "Looking around the area near the pools there is no sign of another entrance." he said calmly and stoicly as always. "However, if an ice mage was taken over there is no guarantee and earth mage wasn't...I suggest we have someone on watch at the front and rear." Magna nodded in agreement he'd been thinking the same thing.

Jack and himself didn't have much of a conversation whilst bathing. It wasn't really the male thing to do. They got clean, cleaned up the injured guy, and headed back where Magna grinned and a rather fancy barbecue grill appeared all around him. Well, in three directions. On the fourth were ingredients of various kinds on a clean counter, which included a sink. "Now I know the last time we went out somewhere together I cooked a barbecue, but it is traditional camping food and besides....I have some more things to cook this time." he said and then paused. "Unless of course you'd prefer more of a stew as that is also standard camping fare."

Magic:

[/quote]

At the mention of an earth mage Shade almost spoke up, that one having been the more problematic of the two and then reconsidered the idea. The hesitance felt odd, the girl unable to quite pin what part of the earlier events might’ve given cause for pause until she decided it didn’t really matter. Just because she took out one earth mage wielding Vulcan didn’t mean another wasn’t lurking about nearby. ’No need to lower our guard like that…ugh, guard duty though.’ She wasn’t keen on losing sleep to keeping watch, but they could avoid unnecessary trouble and at least the denizens could provide some minor entertainment.

Considering whether to request being at the opening – for a bit of stargazing – or the back to conduct her little plush friends through silly scenarios to pass the time, her attention shifted to the quickly returning fellows. ’Huh, they were fast.’ Curious why their washing rituals might be easier – noting that neither male really had to swathe their hair in a towel like the longer haired girls – Shade let out a happy squeal at the idea of barbecue.

”No way, barbecue after the day we’ve had! We can look forward to some yummy stew tomorrow!” Saliva almost slipped out at the memory of last time, though she did look forward to the stew as well she wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into some succulently sauced meat. ’Besides stew’s probably…easier……..hmmm….’ Her thinking included the next day being longer and thus more tiring, but as their chef for the trip was Magna…he took food pretty seriously. While the preparation and attention to detail would be anything but “simple” the meal would probably be more relaxing to eat after a hard day’s travel.

An odd thought struck her, one that caused Amarylis’ head to turn towards the cave – though could’ve very well been the ensuing scents as well – but Shade couldn’t help wondering if the denizens could appreciate barbecue too. ’Well…it’s not necessary…but I could at least share some with Hallowed since he’s not free to come and go like Amarylis.’ That was the main issue with taking extended breaks: her power always waned in this plane and then needed to spend time building her strength back up.

MP: 85%
CM: 3/5

Magna nodded at the statement. Barbecue today and stew tommorow. That gave him time, potentially, to find some mountain ingredients that could make the stew more of a symbol of their journey together. It was time though to show some real magical skill in his preferred field of battle: the kitchen. His eyes flickered to their red colour and his tail uncurled from around his waist. Recently, he'd become known as the Asura, or the demon of the Kitchen. Now it was time to show Jack and Jill exactly why that was. As he began to move flipping ingredients onto the various grills using his tail and hands, four more arms sprouted from his side and his head split into three. ALl three had red eyes burning bright.

With skill and speed the demon of the kitchen began to dice, slice, chop, mince, grate and otherwise prepare various ingredients. These, as usual, were not ordinary ingredients. Magna could, quite easily, make something as simple as a cow meat burger taste delicious. However, he preferred to use more exotic ingredients found on his travels. The burger meat was going to use a patty from a rather dangerous breed of cattle known as Drunken Frenzy. The meat was thus soaked heavily in alcohol, but this would be burned away via cooking leaving just the flavour. The subspecies he'd chosen was a Bourbon. That would go really well with the sauces he had in mind and also be really complimented by the barbecue cooking.

For the sausages, which would be used in hot dogs, he had decided on sausage worm meat. It was one of the finest sausage meats available. He would compliment this with a fine ketchup made from million tomato, an ingredient that Shade would be familiar with from their last meal, and a mustard made from Inferno Spice. It would make a really spicy mustard quite easily, but with a bit of clever work it would make a mild one that would work well with the million tomato sauce. "Got burgers and hot dogs. Any requests? CHicken? Ribs? Steak?" he said but didn't stop his prep work. "Also got ingredients to make pretty much any salad you can name."

Spoiler:

Shade’s smile reached impossible levels, clearly waiting to see the couple’s reaction to Magna in his element as she’d witnessed the show before – though looked forward to watching it again. It was a real sight to behold though when one wasn’t expecting it, the gasps coming from Jack and Jill causing Shade’s smile to blossom into a full grin as like a man possessed the Asura-like chef cooked his equally exotic ingredients. It was almost enough to pity the other two since the only other time they’d get to enjoy it would be whenever they happened into Lavantir, but she supposed it was all the more reason to leave one’s home once in a while.

Eyeing their food in wonder the couple took a moment to recover before Jack managed to request a garden salad for the pair of them. ”It’s not as important, but if you could cook up some chicken and steak after their salad there’s someone I want to send it too,” Shade smiled, lightly adding some of the specialized ketchup and mustard to a few sausages.

A burger sat on a different plate for herself as the girl walked the sausages over to Amarylis, still sitting at the mouth of the cave on the lookout for dinner. With Jack and Jill losing some of their initial shock and awe the couple proceeded to ask the fiery haired mage questions about his magic and ingredients, the group wouldn’t be able to hear the duet. Red eyes stared down at the plate, moving up to meet magenta ones in silent question. ”I know you don’t need to eat…but it’s really good, you know?” Shade murmured, running a hand through that thick mane and hearing a few begrudging rumbles in pleasure from her guardian, ”You’d have more fun if you enjoyed what this world had to offer a bit more. I’m going to send some of the chicken and steak to Hallowed, I’m sure he’ll enjoy it too!”

”It’s not our place to enjoy worldly pleasures: It’s our job to protect you and abide by your wishes.” Amarylis’ matter-of-fact voice deflated some of Shade’s mood, smile disappearing even as she continued to rub the beast’s head. ”If you wish me to eat, then I will.”

Sighing the girl patted her guardian’s head, ”Then I want you to savor it cause I know you have functioning taste buds. At least do that much for me.”

Eyes scouted around before finally the black fox indulged in a few bites, Shade leaving her to it as she put a smile back into place and rejoined the group, eager to distract herself with a tasty burger. ’Besides,’ she consoled herself, ’I’m sure Hallowed will appreciate the treat. He hasn’t disliked anything I sent him so far…well except the overly peppered thing…I can’t even remember what it was.’ A small snort slipped out, the girl trying to hide it in her burger as she took a bite: he’d been so annoyed about that if only because it masked any other taste to the thing…whatever it’d been.

MP: 85%
CM: 4/5

A garden salad was a little bit of a basic one. However, as had been seen, something like a burger or a hot dog could be greatly enhanced with the right parts. There were two parts to a garden salad. These were the dressing and the salad itself. For the salad he would use lettuce, onion, tomatoes, olives, peppers and a small amount of non-dairy cheese. That should prevent any issues via lactose intolerance. The dressing would be olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic salt. All of that sounded quite pedestrian. However, he had a few things in mind. After putting on some chicken and steak to cook on one grill he made a couple of the others disappear and conjured up another counter. On this were the ingredients he would use.


The cheese was mineral cheese which would go very well with the neotomato he planned to use as part of the salad. The lettuce would be giga crispy lettuce, a difficult to prepare but rather delicious ingredients. The onion would again use the power of alcohol in the form of a bacchus onion and the peppers would be pickled in king vinegar. This same king vinegar would be used as part of the dressing. Along with diamond olive oil, the actual olives of which would be used in the salad. The lemon juice would be the juice of a lemonadurian decarbonated. This when combined with the garlic salt would have a rather interesting effect. The garlic salt was perhaps the most expensive of the ingredients. It was made of meteor garlic. It was incredibly rare but also incredibly delicious and full of nutrients. Due to being in a salt form and mixed with lemonadurian juice the garlic's effects would be delayed by around twelve hours. When eventually released the eaters would have a surge of energy and strength that should help them at the most difficult parts of their journey.

He presented the salads in bowls made from demilked coconuts. This would add a small amount of coconut flavouring to the dish which would be subtle, but add a slight kick. He presented it to them and smiled. "Enjoy" With that he finished the chicken and steak. The steak was made from the drunken frenzy cattle earlier. However, it was a different cut of meat. It would be very tender and dripping in flavour. The chicken meat was chicken tiger. He prepared this in several coating as well as plain. So there was southern fried, garlic, peri peri and barbecue. He also prepared several sauaces on the side for the steak. "Bon Appetit."

Now that the mains were finished he sat made all except the counter dissapear and sat down with two plates. One which had sauces on it whilst the other had a burger, a hot dog, one of each types of chicken and a steak. He also had a bowl with salad. As he sat down the extra arms and faces dissapeared and his eyes faded to normal. "IF anyone is still hungry afterwards I can bring some desserts out"

Magic:

[/spoiler]

Like an audience the pair clapped, admiring the salads down to their unique bowls and watching as the cooking stations vanished as easily as they’d popped up. They delighted over the spectacle and the food, taking bites and urging one another to try something they’d just taken a bite out of, doing so at the same time almost without fail multiple times. While Magna had been quite the performance Shade chuckled a little, finding their unintentional comedy act entertaining as she took some of the chicken and steak she’d requested. Cutting each piece in half the girl was careful to doctor them with sauces, not wanting to drown out the original taste nor make a mess. Pleased with her work, she smiled before touching the prepared halves, each one disappearing and reappearing within her home realm near a large, draconic figure that’d been admiring the glass castle with its chocolate owners holding hands.

As Shade started prepping the halves for herself, opting for a different variety than the ones for her guardian Jack piped up, voice filled with awe, ”This food is incredible! I don’t think this meat or even this salad tastes like anything I’ve ever had before! Is there a special way you prepare the food, or a way you grow it? And how’d you master such an ability of having multiple arms and faces?”

The latter she already knew the answer to, Magna having explained the bout with a beast and it popping out a lacrima thereafter, but she did sort of wonder about the food. He’d mentioned a realm or something of the like where he stored food, but did it come from that place and he bore a connection to it or did he have to occasionally gather a store of ingredients to place there? ’Would be interesting though….a dimension of food all for a chef…’ Pondering that over a bite of chicken she felt a slight bit of jealousy at the notion, wondering if there might’ve been a way for her to bond with a place other than the one she’d ended up.

MP: 85%
CM: 5/5

"I'd liken myself most to a requip mage though used in quite a different way." he said as a simple response. "I have access to a pocket dimension, where I store my ingredients. However, the ingredients and equipment stored there are ones i've gathered, bought or made myself. So, its not a limitless supply. Think of it as a huge store room that I always have with me...but don't need to carry" He took a bit of his hot dog and slowly chewed it before speaking more. This time he spoke a bit about how he got skilled at cooking. Or at least how he prepared the ingredients in a way that made them as delicious. "Everything has a right way to cook it and other ingredients that will compliment it when cooked that way if you use them correctly. Its a lot of trial and error, but I often feel that when I'm looking at something new I can almost hear a voice speaking to me...telling me a good way to prepare it. This isn't normally the best way, but its a hint towards the best way. Though in truth its just a matter of practise. I think Shade can attest to this, but if i'm not out on a job, working in the bar or trying to refill the stock room then i'm either practising cooking or reading about it...or nowadays also spending time with her" That was about the best he could explain it. Thinking about it ever since he unlocked his animal spirit the voices were louder and a bit more distinct. Even more so when the cerberus lacrima became part of him. Perhaps because he had become more intune with the power of the soul he could now hear the soul of the ingredients more clearly? It was something he'd have to think about.

"As for the arms and faces. Well, they are an ability I gained after defeating a cerberus. From its body came a crystal, which when I touched it entered my body." he said and then shrugged. "From a bit of study I found out it was a lacrima containing the power of a cerberus. So now I have that power and as such can multiply my limbs and face by three. Its how I got my latest nickname...Asura."

Magic:

Dreams of him being bonded to a food realm dashed, Shade enjoyed the meal all the same. ’I suppose I let my imagination get the better of me…but it’d be interesting to find or see such a place…and then see what he’s capable. I can almost imagine the stars in his eyes now and his brain overloading with ideas.’ A small chuckle escaped as the girl now wanted to see him act like a kid in a candy store over such a thing. ’Though he finds such exotic ingredients I wonder how much of an impact it’d really have? Well…no matter.’ Mouth full of chicken the white haired girl merely nodded, enjoying watching him work and tasting a couple of his creations – as long as his reaction wasn’t too negative.

The pair nodded at his story of the Cerberus and his nickname, agreeing that it sounded rather apt from what they witnessed. After a proper demonstration of his skills and abilities the use of the pan earlier also made a lot more sense now, the earlier boasting that meals would be an added bonus to employing the pair coming true. Silence crept in as food eventually stole attention and wouldn’t be broken until a few minutes later Jack popped out another question, ”So what’s your magic then? Are the…stuffed animals some sort of medium for it? Though you had that beast earlier…”

Caught off guard, Shade blinked as she stopped chewing, working on squeezing out every last drop of sauce from the last delectable bite of steak. Slowly she finished the morsel as she thought about how much she wanted to explain. ”Unfortunately it’s not anything so interesting: I’m a summoner. The stuffed animals are really just for them to inhabit so I can have more friends with me at a time, though they don’t really have access to their abilities. Those are unfortunately tied to their bodies, but they still provide helpful eyes in their borrowed bodies.” Not wanting to delve further though she shifted the topic, ”However before it gets too much later I’ll volunteer Amarylis and myself to take the first shift, if that’s all right?”

MP: 95%

Magna listened to the description of her magic. In truth he knew very little about it. He'd only met her stuffed animals, but he had assumed it would be something more akin to seith magic than summoning. THough he supposed in a way it was. After all, she could either summon them in their 'bodies' or bond their spirits into stuffed animals. The first was clearly summoning magic, but the second really did sound like seith magic. Or at least what he'd heard of it. Then again seith magic allowed the possessed bodies to do stuff other than just move about. He'd have to think on it more. Her magic would certainly make an interesting ingredient to the dish of their combat capabilities. He wondered if he could somehow combine his magic with hers like he combined various spells of his magic. He was about to nod to her request to be first on watch, but Aegis spoke first.

"Guard the front entrance in shifts. I will guard the caves behind and take the injured one with me." he said and without waiting lifted up the ice mage and carried him out to the back cave. Magna paused with his mouth open. He wasn't quite sure what to say. He sighed and shrugged.

"Ok, wake me in an hour or so and i'll cover the next watch." he said and then thought for a moment before conjuring up what appeared to be large marshmallows. He laid down on one of them and yawned. "Feel free to use one of these as a bed everyone. They'll be a bit more comfortable than the floor."

Magic:

She’d kept her magic simple sounding enough, summoners a common sounding thing and the first one that came to her mind. It was better not to inspire fear after all, Shade knowing better than to admit to Jack and Jill that they would be pitifully easy to add to her little crew if she wished…and admittedly pointless since they’d spent the day traveling already. More than that though she didn’t want them considering that possibility and watching her warily, having learned how disheartening that could be in her earlier days. When they didn’t push it she felt happy, though a little surprised that Aegis seemed keen on keeping watch inside the cave for them.

’Well I suppose he and Amarylis really could’ve handled it…but oh well,’ she’d already offered didn’t wish to explain some of Amarylis’ oddities either, so they’d stick to shifts. ”I’ll wake you in a couple then,” she reassured Magna, giving a small tug of his shirt to keep in place long enough for a good night kiss on his cheek, ”sleep well!”

The fact that everyone slept on the giant marshmallows amused the girl, but she took a spot next to the lying fox and waited her time, going so far as to use the denizens at times to amuse and keep her awake. Eventually she’d claim a marshmallow, leaving Amarylis to guard until morning as she saw little reason to bother the boy until morning. As the sun slowly started to rise she padded over to him, pressing the cold wet nose to his neck to jolt the fiery haired mage awake. ”I took the rest of the shifts,” she explained, voice matter-of-fact, ”If my services are required she can summon me.” Without further explanation she’d pad over to Shade, nudging the girl until she stirred rather than performing the same nose trick, staying long enough to ensure her master actually left the comforts of the marshmallow, and eventually trotting outside the cave and vanishing around a corner. She'd leave waking the other two up to them...or rather Magna given Shade's sluggishness at fully awakening.

The member 'Cielle' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

As the cold wet nose pressed against his neck he literally leaped up. In truth he probably jumped higher then he ever had and a bit further, about 6ft high minimum. He looked at Amyralis who had already began to pad over to Shade, and began to awaken her in a much less startling fashion. It seemed that she wasn't fond of Magna yet. Or perhaps just didn't care enough about him to care about shock. "I appreciate the wakeup call and you taking the rest of the shifts...just next time could you not use your nose?" he said rubbing his head. "Its a bit startling that's all." It seemed though that between her and Aegis the shifts had been taken and no-one had attacked. That was surprising. The vulcans at least should be aware of the taking down of their comrades. He'd expected some retaliation, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

He shrugged and summoned up a small portable cooking stove with a large pot over it. In this he poured some water which he brought to the boil and then began to slice various ingredients into it gradually turning it from water to a healthy, nutritious breakfast stew. The smell was mouthwatering and if the others hadn't awoken yet then the smell of the stew and the subsequent drooling would be enough to wake them up. Or at least that was his intention. Along with this he also began brewing some coffee made with his special chateau victoire milk. This would give them plenty of energy for the day as well as keep them warm and fulfilled for a while.

For those who didn't want coffee there was also tea and just the milk by itself. In truth it was a rather nice breakfast. For the final day he had something quite extraordinary planned for breakfast. However, that was later. For now they had a long journey ahead of them.

"Well, well, well what do we have 'ere then?" said a gruff voice as Magna took a sip of the broth to see if it was ready. "Looks like you were right Skritt. Not only do we have guests, but it seems they made us a bit a brekkie. What do ya say boys? Shall we dig in?"

"Heh...not until we've added a few extras to the pot." one of them said holding up a knife and the first speaker grinned revealing a gold tooth amongst some rather bad dentistry. "I reckon that girly will make a fine addition to the broth." The second said pointing towards Shade. Magna stood up a faint smile upon his face.

"I'll be glad to serve you exactly what you deserve." he said unwinding the headband from his wrist and tying it to his brow. His eyes had flickered to red. Suddenly, he leapt across spinning in the air so rapidly as to form a drill. As he got closer towards them he split into three and each of those three drills smashed into a target before reforming into one with Magna standing still. There appeared to be no damage to the three and yet all three feel down as if in intense pain. "You sure the rest of you want a taste?" he said the extra arms and faces forming as a sign of threat.

That was when the leader chuckled and pressed something at his waist. There was a huge noise from above and a rumbling. It was another avalanche. If that hit the cave it could seal them in. That would be bad. They could probably get out, but it might cause delays. That would ruin his surprise at star lake. The fire in his eyes was now really vividly red. "Seems i'll have to give you lot the full course. Aegis...care to lend a hand?" The knight walked forward his axe at the ready. "Meet my sous chef Aegis. Together we'll serve you a meal you will never forget...Black Rose style."

Magic:

Sleep had been so nice atop the oversized marshmallow, waking up more of a nuisance as Shade stirred. Groggily she could make out what sounded like Magna’s voice, though in her stupor couldn’t quite understand what’d happened. ’Well it doesn’t sound frantic so…prolly not an attack,’ she decided with a yawn, briefly considering rolling over. However if she did then more than likely she’d receive the cold nose treatment…shivering at the idea the girl gave a stretch to further wake up.

Armed with a nice glass of half-tea-half-milk she sleepily slurped at the liquid, enjoying the combined taste as tea had never quite been her cup without a little doctoring. She briefly considered asking for some honey as well to further sweeten the brew, going so far as to stare at the white cat looped over her arm in a silent discussion, Macha pinned to her body and acting like an immobile toy for the moment. The delicious smells of the stew perked her up though as she wondered what delights he’d treat them to this morning.

Unfortunately the smell attracted vermin, the short mage frowning at the intruders over the rim of her mug. ’So these guys have the little rat people working for them?’ It surprised the girl to see a few of the short, weird bipedal rats standing alongside the humans, the mousey things chittering in their broken humanoid language. Disgruntled, Shade belatedly realized she’d likely missed some of the group the day before, knowing she’d pulled a fair few of them to her as the orbs she usually fed the denizens with when not molding them into new, odd creatures. That meant those who’d escaped reported back to these guys, possibly in order to receive “shinies” or something in return.

If her mug had been empty she likely would’ve lobbed it at the knife wielding bandit, affixing him with a glare: like hell she’d become soup! This early in the morning she couldn’t help taking things a bit literally, not realizing the man might not be much different from the Vulcans the day before.

Jack shielded Jill from the bandit’s view, though both felt a bit of fear at the sight of the group currently blocking their exit from the cave. Spirits rose as three of the brigands fell after a swift attack from the capable chef, the intimidating form from the night before causing a few second thoughts in those still standing. Except the boss found this more amusing before pushing a button and forcing another avalanche upon the group, the rumbling sound unpleasant as they knew they’d be locked up for the day.

Briefly Shade considered summoning Zero and letting his odd oily ability keep the bandits locked in place, letting the avalanche either sweep them away if not completely take them out. It’d allow her to easily collect their complete essence, the girl annoyed enough that she delighted in the idea of feeding them to the denizens…but something about the way she saw Magna’s eyes flash held her back. ’Well…he is more experienced, I suppose I’ll just wait to lift a hand if necessary.’ She’d rather not get in his way after all, unaware that he didn’t plan to let the leader or avalanche have their way with the group’s morning.

Behind the bandits however a black wall of brambles rose up, the vines swiftly curling about and looping through one another, ensuring that none of the group would slip away, not even a rat.

Spoiler:

Magna had wanted to hold back on using some of his more elaborate magic spells. Or in truth not so much holding back his magic spells, but holding back on how he saw spells. Spells were mere ingredients and whilst powerful alone they had much more potential when mixed together. That was why he had developed a combat style with his magic called Fusion Cuisine. With that power he could perhaps stop the avalanche but it would take some effort. Then another idea came to his head. One which meant he wouldn't have to waste too much magic. They had but a few moments to deal with the bandits and the avalanche or be sealed in.

The remaining bandits went to move to attack Magna and get past him to escape being entrapped by their own avalanche when suddenly Magna swung all six of his arms and all of them found themselves unable to move. Glancing down at their feet in surprise they saw several knives and forks pinning them to the ground. As they went to look up they had a face full of Magna's fists knocking them out cold. Or at least two of them. The third had managed to break free of the knives and forks in time to leap back. However, they found themselves not touching the ground.

"Greetings." Aegis said and then in classic bartender fashion the knight tossed the man out of the cave into the wall on the opposite of the path. "Come again. We will be happy to serve."

"Aegis help Shade with the rest...I need to stop that avalanche." he ran outside and the extra arms and faces faded as blades of energy extended from the wrists of gloves. With luck this would work. If not he'd have to think up something else. As the avalanche came hurtling towards him he began to spin his bladed arms in a complex pattern

"Salver." he said forming a grid of energy in a dome around himself. As the avalanche hit it it was thrown back in every direction except into the cave. The dome could only take so much so a bit of it got through, but it was enough to allow for a path out of the cave for the group. The bandit that had been tossed out by Aegis was buried beneath the snow. He wouldn't be coming back any time soon.

---------------
The knight looked at the rat creatures and began to spin his axe. These were small creatures that reminded him of something Magna had once cooked. Perhaps these could be added to the stew. The rat things were swift, but not smart and thus easily predictable. One of them was easily spitted upon the end of Aegis' axe.

Magic:

One of the little buggers neared her, small, thin blade brandished at her back as a pair of chains rose up and latched around its small body. They constricted until she heard the usually satisfying cracks of bone and cartilage giving way, the thing’s mangled body not even making it to the floor as it shifted into a small, marble-like form. Without looking it flew to her palm, the girl’s attention seemingly riveted upon Magna, though her gaze went beyond him. Something felt oddly off and yet strangely familiar as she walked forward, waiting for the avalanche to peter out. Waving her hand out to the side, she called out the true form of CM, the large beast moving to shove the larger chunks of debris out of the doorway, her attention too riveted on something outside to realize it’d be the first time Magna would see the true form of the silly moose plush.

As some of the fog from the avalanche faded a large, winged, black figure slowly formed as it hovered. More and more the dust faded away until the figure of the same leader who’d caused the slide morphed into view, laughing despite the possible deaths of his gang, ”Really? S’all ya got? ‘Fraid s’gonna take more than that to take me out! Time to go in for the kill-“

”Aetas!” her ecstatic voice interrupted, hands stretching out in a welcoming hug to the crow-like creature, ”I couldn’t remember where you’d gone! Fortuna will be so happy! Though…I suppose we should deal with other matters first.”

The innocently happy voice faded towards the end as her eyes slid to the man sitting atop the creature’s back. Instead her pleased expression took on a darkly amused one, knowing what would be in store for the man next: seemed she wasn’t the only one to forget details about the deal. She could see a certain sense of panic begin to grow in the man as the winged creature slowly descended, teeth gritting and muscles tensing until finally the clawed feet touched down and the man hopped from the creature. Racing towards her with a fist raise and war cry bellowing from his wide mouth, Shade merely watched with that same smile as he managed only a few feet before claws jabbed into his back and forced the man down. Breathing suddenly seemed so hard, shock settling through the man’s body before one of the creature’s feet forced a grunt from the man as it slammed down into his back.

”I’m afraid I really don’t recall our deal…but even if I forgot to warn you about turning one of mine against me…well, you should’ve thought twice about it. Be happy though! This is probably one of the fastest take downs I’ve ever seen! Your pain will be quite short-lived!” Fear barely gripped his eyes before light circled his body, the man vanishing in a flash to be replaced by a small orb. It floated in the air until a few seconds later the crow-creature’s mouth clamped firmly around the thing, the man and everything he was vanishing into the belly of the beast. ”I suppose we shouldn’t let his friends go to waste either, after all you guys could use some more treats and Gaspard earned one after yesterday’s fiasco with those ugly apes.”

A snap of her fingers and moments later more orbs akin to the one she’d turned the leader into rose up from the snowy depths. The creature dubbed “Aetas” snapped its jaws around one even as one floated through CM’s open maw, the other two disappearing to “treat” the blue canine still resting in “Paradise.”

Turning on her heel and clapping her hands, the girl’s cheery exterior refused to dim, ”Well that was an exciting morning! I hope breakfast is almost ready cause I’m starving!”

Magna watched in awe and shock with what she did to the bandit leader. The true form of CM was quite impressive and also really useful as a support to his salver technique. The doorway was clear and fortunately The bandit leader coming back was equally impressive. Especially as he came back on a winged creature, but it seemed the winged creature was actually an ally of Shade. She spoke of a deal which intrigued him and he would ask about that later. As she mentioned breakfast he turned to his stew pot and saw that it was gone. Somehow in the combat the pot had been sent flying through the air. Amazingly though none had been lost because after skewering one of the rat creatures had managed to catch the pot on the end of his spear.

"Well, we almost lost it, but it looks like thanks to Aegis breakfast is saved and served." he said with a chuckle and walked over to the pot and placed it back on his small fire. "Thanks by the way. Good job." The knight nodded and then walked over to stand by the wall. Magna summoned up a small ladle and in a swift motion he managed to pour the breakfast stew into four seperate bowls. "Enjoy the meal." he said sitting down atop one of the marshmallow beds and beginning to spoon the stew into his mouth.

It would be a good meal and should keep them going for quite a bit. They might not even need a lunch though of course, as they were travelling with Magna, one would be provided. He didn't even seem that phased that he had fought against people. He had only knocked them out after all.

Magic:

Applause echoed in the cave for Aegis, Shade’s enthusiastic while the couple’s came out a little slower and subdued. In Shade’s mind she figured they were still waking up, but as her eyes went to meet theirs’ she knew almost immediately when they averted their eyes: they were frightened. Perhaps she went a little overboard? ’Well…it was inevitable. He broke a rule after all.’ Those who pitted her denizens against her generally found swift ends, or at least whatever end the denizen decided upon. These people were simple folk, the kind who didn’t view vicious death too often, and yet even then she figured it might’ve been how “cleanly” they disappeared thereafter.

Mere food in the end.

Smiling even as she accepted the bowl, Shade fretted internally, only now realizing Magna may have glimpsed something she didn’t want him to see. The real form of her denizens was one thing: in her eyes CM was adorable regardless of plush or real form. She’d opted for a seat further from the couple, hiding her glance under the guise of smelling the stew up close and personal – it smelled divine and looked delightful as she suspected – and watched as they cautiously observed CM reentering the cave. ’Well…okay he does have a lot of sharp pointy bits…’ the summoner mentally admitted even if stubbornly, offering the large beast a spoonful of stew and watching with a small smile as the single eye lit up a few degrees: he was so easy to please.

Shade claimed the second spoonful for herself however, letting the utensil sit on her lip a moment as she sighed, ’Delicious.’ The dreamy thought drifted through her head as the girl let the broth slowly slip down her throat, enjoying the taste until it dissipated and required another spoonful to recall just how truly tasty it was. It made it so much easier to concentrate on the food instead of the wariness coming from the other two, the girl’s magenta eyes frowning at CM even as her cheeks puffed in a mixture of annoyance and stubbornness before acquiescing to giving him another spoonful – one that she’d reassure him would be his last. This was her breakfast after all, and mentally she reminded him that he’d received his not that long ago.

As breakfast finished up it became time to clear their little camp, Shade unsure what to do after she’d handed Magna the dishes back. ”Ah, um, it’s all right, we can handle it!” Jack assured her, something a little off about his smile, ”it’s mostly ours anyhow.”

”All right, I’ll guard the entrance while you guys clean up then!” she cheerfully announced, grabbing her small bag and marching towards the entrance with the hulking, armored CM close behind. Shade didn’t particularly care for clean up anyway.

The cooking gear, once it was finished being used, vanished back into the dimension from whence it came. What was perhaps most peculiar about this was that if he brought them out again later they would be spotless as if nothing had ever been cooked in them. It was something he was curious about, but just had accepted it as part of his magic. He walked over to Shade by the entrance noticing something off. He was good with people and good enough to know when something was bugging them. However, in this case he could guess what it was based on the reactions of Jack and Jill. Her magic had never been revealed to him by her and to those not accustomed to magic it could look fearsome especially when people were killed. Magna was mostly non-lethal unless his hand was forced, but Shade didn't seem to have that in mind.

"Don't let them bother you Shade." Magna said quietly, just enough for her to hear them. "Magic can be scary to a lot of people. Especially those designed more for combat and less for fun." This was an indication of why his magic might not seem as scary as hers though in truth he hadn't even really used much of his magic. He'd mostly relied on his items. Sure they fed on eternano, but they weren't really his magic. They were stuff he'd designed to help him in other ways, such as lifting capacity. He conjured up a small figure of CM's true and handed it to her. As it touched her hand it would rapidly change to form into CM's cuter form. He winked at her. "Eat it. It tastes good" With that he turned to see how Jack and Jill were doing.

"Right. Camp's clean. We best get going if we want to get where we want to go in a good enough time to see what we want to see." he said quite cryptically and the words almost got twisted in his mouth. Still, at least he said them and they were understood to some degree. "Quicker we move through the mountains the less chance we run into anything else."

Spoiler:

Watching half-heartedly as the armored, horned beast enjoyed the flight of a nearby butterfly, Shade’s attention became stolen by the arrival of her fiery haired love. Hearing those words from him brought comfort, more than he’d likely realize. Jack and Jill’s reaction stung a little, especially after having a little rapport with the other woman, but she’d received similar reactions enough that the girl would forget about it soon enough. It’d been his reaction she fretted about the most, afraid of him rejecting her for the same thing that caused their patrons unease. ’Well…’ her mind struggled, ’it hasn’t put him off at least.’ If he could accept that much perhaps he could accept how she made them.

The figure piqued her interest, the level of design beyond normal. Yet as the white haired girl accepted it the thing shifted, reverting from the large form into the cuddly vision of CM’s plush form before her eyes. Big magenta eyes blinked up into his golden ones, lightly blushing at the wink before wordlessly nodding. As he turned to survey the couple’s progress she bit off an antler, enjoying the taste.

Shade tilted her head, at this point nibbling on the little figure’s large snout as she’d forgotten about the discussion of Starry Lake the day prior. ’See?’ The summoner shrugged it off as she and CM took to the front, Macha the white cat and Kumei the brown wolf-rabbit stuffed animals trotting to scout behind the group and ensure no nasty surprises snuck up on them. ’Probably just Jack and Jill being anxious to get to their destination finally and have their honeymoon.’ Having devoured the head of the little CM by now, she called out from ahead of the group, ”CM and I’ll make sure the path ahead’s clear and Macha and Kumei will watch your backs! No need to fear with us on the watch!” With them at her back the white haired mage needn’t fear Jack and Jill’s shared look of nervousness, able to distract herself with the sights, CM’s company, and the little treat as she now nibbled at the stubby legs.

It seemed that the food had been taken well and that was good. What's more it seemed she wasn't taking the actions and reactions of the escortees too much to heart. Perhaps his words had got through to her or perhaps the food had distracted her? Or perhaps it was just his presence. So it seemed that somehow he had helped her and that was the main thing. However, it still bothered him somewhat that people's reactions were so bad to her magic. Sure, it was perhaps a different magic. It had its 'scary' or 'creepy' elements, but it was no more destructive or fearsome than his own. If he thought about it his was perhaps similar in a way. After all, she summoned up spirits and from what he understood bound those spirits to forms. It seemed they were summoned from something akin to a pocket dimension, but the way she explained it was more as a living dimension. Well, perhaps living wasn't the right word, but he knew what he meant. His magic involved bringing things out of a pocket dimenson or binding the elements to his will. However, he also had his secondary which involved attacking and even devouring the spirit. He wasn't actually sure what happened once he consumed a spirit. It was converted into magic power after all, so in a way that spirit was used up. There would be no after life for it. Then again he was a fan of the life stream theory so perhaps once the magic was used it still returned to the life stream. That would be good. Still, he wasn't sure. He'd have to look into it.

Aegis walked beside him looking at him curiously, but did not say a word. He wasn't so much curious about what was on the mind of his master. No, instead he was wondering if now was the time to reveal what he'd been working on.

Spoiler:

Unlike the prior day (and that morning for that matter) things finally proved less exciting aside for CM eventually returning to his stuffed form. No avalanches, no little rats or other critters, and no bandits – especially those that renege on rules and contracts. While the morning left a sour taste in Shade’s mouth she ignored it: they wouldn’t likely see the people beyond this job. Despite the little bonding moment she had with Jill the night before Shade wouldn’t have counted her as a friend and by now the woman would view her with a fear-tinted lens. The thought of the couple maybe someday meeting a tragic end and possibly meeting her in their afterlife amused her…but she wouldn’t be helping them there.

As they rounded a bend on the path something shiny caught her notice. Something twinkled at her and it took a few moments and a little squinting to realize-

”Its Starry lake! We made it in time!”

Jill’s excited call rang out from behind, earlier events apparently forgotten in lieu of the sight as the rest of the group caught up and the woman sped down the path a little with Jack following and telling her to be careful and not tumble down. The path remained rather open so they wouldn’t duck out of sight so Shade remained standing with the more bird’s eye view in wonder. In breaks of the sparkles she could make out how dark the water was: a night sky filled with twinkling stars as the sun shone above the rippling water. ”It’s amazing,” she murmured, arms tightening around the plump moose’s plush body.

Things had gone well. Almost too well, if he was perfectly honest. However, despite his apprehension it did seem they had successfully arrived at Star Lake, or as some called it Starry lake. In truth they were not seeing it at its best. They had said they 'got there on time', but in his opinion they had arrived too early. The sun shining brightly lit up gemstones beneath the deep lake giving the lake the appearance of a night sky. However, due to the brightness of the day some of the effect was lost. Now, if they had arrived at a full moon, like he had hoped, then the full moon would shine down illuminating the gemstones in a similar way and the stars themselves would be reflects in the water which would be as dark as the night sky it reflected. A much more beautiful sight. What was interesting though was that the crystals below were self-regenerating and they actually absorbed the light which is what made them glow. They seemed to shine brighter to moonlight as well, but only if it was a full moon. It was rather odd if he was honest.

Still, what interested him about the crystals was not just their beauty, though that alone was enough to catch his eye. No, what interested him was that the crystal dust ground down fine was an excellent seasoning, but it was also very beautiful. It was a key ingredients, but the lake itself was very dangerous. You had to climb down to it, which alone was dangerous, and then dive beneath the lake and shave off some of the crystal. It wasn't really possible, unless you were specialised in water based combat, to get a decent enough blow to cut off some of the crystal. No, it had to be grated off with a special tool. He bit his lip slightly as he stared at it and then there was a flash of movement in the water. Yes, that was the other danger. Grinding the dust was hard and risky enough, as you risked drowning. Especially with the currents caused by the Tears of the King, which was a large water fall that fed into the lake. However, the real danger was the creatures that resided in it. They were very dangerous and very hard to fight.

He was tempted and perhaps on the way back from this escort task he could give it a shot, but for now he had people to escort. He couldn't risk their lives by risking his own.

Spoiler:

They spent some time at the lake, until Jack and Jill – Jill especially – had their fill and continued the rest of the trip. It’d only be another hour or so before they finally reached a space between two of the mountains in the range where a forest started. According to the pair the forest would give way shortly to a beach where the house they wanted to spend their honeymoon at resided between the lines of both. Smiles, they bid their farewells – though Shade noted that their gazes veered a bit more towards Magna than her and the little gaggle of plushy beings congregating around her feet. Still, for the sake of pretenses, Shade waved and smiled, bidding them a fond honeymoon.

Once they vanished from view though her expression smoothed out, turning almost blank as she turned on her heel. ”Let’s go back I guess…oh.” A thought struck her, partially as she’d noticed an interesting look on her lover’s face when they were at the lake. There might’ve been something he wanted from that place, though what it was he hadn’t said, but she surmised there must’ve been an ingredient – perhaps fish or other in the lake – he wanted to test something on? The chef looked at things with a different viewpoint than her. Rather than ask though, unsure if he wanted to explain it or keep it a surprise she turned her head and asked, ”Do you mind if on the way back we stop by the lake again? I want to see if it’s pretty at other times of the day as well, preferably one less blinding than the noon show. We can even take our time this round since we don’t have the extra baggage!” Blessed be the fact they didn’t have to see that couple again.

Perhaps they could even spend some time relaxing as he fished? Though she still figured it might be the creatures he was after, not knowing of the crystals growing in the waters.

Magna was a nice guy. Perhaps too nice at points. However, just as they were about to leave Magna walked up to them and whispered something into the man's ear. He looked worried and then hurried off before Magna returned to the side of his partner both for the job and in love. She suggested a return to the lake and that certainly had its merit. He did need some of lake star dust. In truth he would quite like to have a large chunk of the crystal back at the guild. It would be useful to have though almost impossible to obtain. Or at least the last time he had tried it was, but now he had a few extra edges. Could it be possible this time?

"I was hoping we could stop at the lake on the way back." he said mysteriously, but didn't explain why. "Like I said before though the best time to see the lake is at night and based on how long it took us to get here...I think we should get to the lake in time if we hurry. Race ya." With that he broke into a run Aegis melding back into knife form at his waist. He was pretty swift and his balance was near perfect due to his tail.

Eventually they arrived back at the lake just as night was falling and the moon was shining bright. The dark surface of the lake, no longer lit by the sun, was as black as the night sky except for where it reflected the stars and moon. As time passed the crystals from before began to light up brightly shinging to outclass even the stars.

"You see those lights? Those are crystals...a very rare crystal that is the best whetstone ever and on top of that the dust from it makes a great seasoning." he said with a bit of a knowledgeable tone to his voice. His eyes glowed red with seriousness. "I want one of them...question is how to get one." As he watched a collosal fin broke the surface briefly then quickly submerged causing a tail to flip up and slam the water causing ripples and waves. "And not be eaten too."

Any of those lingering feelings about the couple dwindled away quickly as she laughed, chasing after the chef. The other two might’ve delighted in the lake’s blinding brilliance during the day, but Shade couldn’t help wondering about the view Magna spoke. His playful decision to race left her laughing as she ran after, too happy to likely be any real competition though she tried.

Back at the lake, Shade gasped at the sight: the night sky fell! Well, if there’d been a little talking chicken she guessed it’d probably be panicking about a falling sky, the mirror image so spectacular even if the night sky shone so brilliantly out here. A veritable sea of stars spread out exponentially above them and yet they could enjoy a view that felt closer in the water’s surface. Then a glow started up, one that blurred out some of the mirrored twinkling, celestial bodies and yet it only further entranced the girl. ”It’s like having a moon in the lake,” she murmured beneath her breath, head tilting towards Magna as he spoke about the crystals. In the midst of it a large fish jumped up, rippling the water’s surface though unable to diminish the glow of the crystals down below.

No, she certainly did not want her monkey to become fish food. Ironic as that might be for a chef.

Pondering, she finally asked, ”How hard is it to get a crystal? Err…well I mean to break some off rather? Because if I have Amarylis take on her true form, she could get you down there quite quick and try to keep some of the fish off…and I could certainly summon a denizen to assist. I’m just not strong enough though right now to have them help cut the crystal and protect her at the same time…” That realization hurt a little, this realm always requiring time for her to acclimate and regain her proper strength. She’d have loved to summon a larger pool of the beings, ones that could easily push back the lake dwellers and simultaneously chip at the crystals for him. ’If only I could truly summon Hallowed this would all be so much easier and then he and Amarylis could handle this easily…the only way he can help though is through the Cursed Wave though. That means I’d have to go down too.’ But…if it was for him she’d do so, eyes turning towards his serious ones. If he wanted one of them then she’d see to it with all the power she currently held on this plane that he got one, ”And I can go down as well.”