RP:A Patchwork Girl Awakens

Part of the Repairing the Irreparable Arc

Summary: Kang and his charge, one unruly avian child going by the name Cass, leave the Tinkers to find an open clearing for sparring practice. The girl needs fresh air and to stretch her wings. They meet a man who is also a tree. His name is Tyulthk. He gives them tea. Bad things happen, but not from the tea.

Somewhere in Sage

Tyulthk listens to the wind rustle through the leaves, his silent meditation broken by the footsteps by the other, slowly rising from the ground as the roots connecting him to the ground snapped his wooden joints creaking as he slowly stretches out, looking around for the source of the sounds, the tree creature always eager to meet new people.

Kang follows the path deeper into the woods, leading his recovering avian charge to a clearing he recalls from an earlier visit. Cass had recovered enough that she'd adjusted to the weight of her prosthetics, but full utilisation still evaded her. The Dedicate thought she needed fresh air and a wider range of movement. A real spar is in their future.

Tyulthk looks as the two approached and dragged the vines between his hands out, waving to them as he reclines back in a chair made of large tree roots, the tree himself was coated in a thick black bark, which was cracked and broken to expose the red wood beneath, "Hi!" He gestures to the area in front of him as two seats slowly formed from the roots beneath, never wishing for his guests to dirty themselves for his sake.

Kang gestures to Cass, and they ignore the seats. "Hello, barkman," Kang says. He and Cass take at ease positions, but do not sit. What the treefolk thinks of an invader with an avian child coated in metal patches and a clockwork wing is anyone's guess. "Can we help you with anything?" Cass mumbles something in Chthonic, with a wry chuckle.

Tyulthk didn't really think anything, just remaining seated as he shrugs, "I was merely going to offer a pair of weary travelers some tea." He nods, those glowing red eyesockets just looking over them, "These woods are peaceful. And there is no place better to rest than this glade. Surely your bodies must be tired."

Kang said, "We haven't gotten to our workout, so not weary or exhausted, yet." He and Cass share a glance, and make a few gestures at each other, conveying meaning. "However, we would be more than happy to accept your offer of tea. It's good to experience new things."

Tyulthk smiles as he clasps his hands together, dragging them back as two thick vines linked between his palms, covered in tea leaves, slowly shaking them free as he put them into the teapot and filled it from a waterskin, placing the teapot inside his chest before closing it once more, "I am Tyulthk, it is a pleasure to meet you both~"

Kang salutes smartly, and introduces himself. "I am Kang, a preklek." He gestures at the young disfigured avian. "This is. . ." He pauses to allow her to introduce herself, which she does. . .in Chthonic. "Dear, don't be rude. Her name is Cass." His tone is not one of reproof, and she shows no sign of contrition. They seat themselves lotus position across from Tyulthk. Trust does not come easy to them.

Tyulthk barely seems to notice as the faint whistle of the teapot echoed within him, pulling out the metal pot and holding his palm out, two small cups growing from his hand as he fills them with the steaming brew, handing it over as he nods, "It is a pleasure to meet you." He nods, gesturing around, "What brings you to the forests? The trees do not make mention of anything happening nearby."

Tyulthk gave you two cups of earl-grey tea.

Kang said, "Good, nothing -should- be happening nearby." He and Cass take their cups. Kang sniffs at it, sipping and swirling, testing for toxins and whatnot. The girl waits for Kang's say before sipping hers. "We're here for her rehabilitation. Her muscles aren't what they used to be, or what they need to be to work with her improvements."

Kang drinks earl-grey tea.

Kang hands Cass her tea. She chugs it in one gulp.

Tyulthk looks at the girl and leans forward, extending a hand with his palm upwards, "As one of nature's caretakers I have been blessed with healing abilites." He nods to the Preklek, "Would you like me to have a look for you? I am not one of the most experienced, for technically my existence only begun in this form a few days ago, but at the least I could remove some pain for the day? Help with the recovery?"

Kang waves the offer away. "No, her healing has already been attended to. She just needs to stretch and work her muscles to regain mobility and agility and something else that rhymes, I'm sure. The pain is minimal, and without it we might over-exert ourselves." Cass occasionally adds her own comments, still in that horrible, obscure language. Whatever she's saying seems to be causing leaves to wilt. Kang notices and turns to her. "Cass? I think we get the picture."

Tyulthk looks between them and coughs quietly, a hollow echo through his whole body as he nods, "Then you are more than welcome to take your time here. I simply cannot stop admiring the tranquility of this place." He nods, looking around the trees as he chuckles, "I do not understand that language, I am sorry little one." He leans forward slightly, waving to her, "It's okay. I am not from here either. Though, wherever there is nature, I am at home."

Kang raises a hairless brow in amusement. "I'd be surprised if you did know the language. It's the ancient language of the Tartaresians, better known as Titans. All dead now, but the language is just as dangerous. The race dedicates their life to bloodshed, and the language is just as violent. I apologize for the damage caused. If we can make it up to you, we would gladly help." Kang carefully prunes away the dead leaves. Cass nods, and softly in common she says, "Yes. We wish to be unobtrusive."

Tyulthk didn't seem to mind, "For life to continue, there must be death, these leaves will provide the food for the next generation of saplings to survive." He gestures for them to be thrown to the forest floor, "I have been alive only a few days, but do not think me young. The spirits that inhabit these forests are old as time eternum and whisper to any that listen to their tales." He leans back in his seat, "There is however a powerful magic here that is stopping growth, and that is worrying. It eats at my bark and claws at my insides. Have you any knowledge of it?"

Kang said, "No, I've actually been away from the area." He gestures to Cass again. "Her recovery has been long, and not everyone will help my kind. I had to travel far from here to find someone willing to treat the adopted child of a preklek. Eventually, other healers found us and added their skills, but the tinkers are owed the most gratitude, obviously." Cass grins, the various metal patches and additions prevalent on her skin. "Chthonic always ends in bloodshed. Even a conversation over tea can have casualties."

Tyulthk nods, "There is no blood to be shed in my body." He opens his chest to the hollow inside, the wooden case glowing dully, "I am not of this world like Dryads. They are lesser caretakers, who serve nature only because if they do not they will perish." He shrugs, placing the kettle over the branch of a nearby tree, letting it drain to the forest floor beneath, "I am afraid i am not much help to either of you then, for my areas end in healing and the forests, though if you wish to meditate here, you are more than welcome."

Kang shakes the treeman's hand. "Thank you, that is our only wish. Meditation and recovery. Perhaps a few leaves might suffer from a little avian's unruly tongue." He taps her on the forehead. "Rule thyself, child." She grins, unrepentant, and her gratitude is added to the dedicates. "Yes, thank you. I will try to get control of my tongue. Practice makes perfect, right?"

Tyulthk nods to them both, "Wellness of spirit can only lead to wellness of the body, please, take your time." He seats himself back upon the ground with his palms against the ground, roots slowly spindling into the soil as his eyes lost their glow, leaving only empty sockets as the wind ran through the area, a low hum coming from the wood as the air rushed through his body, though it stopped with the pauses of the wind "Anyone is welcome here as long as they are peaceful."

Kang said to Tyulthk, "That is our wish. Wellness is the end-game with this visit."

Tyulthk said to you, "Then please, take your time, enjoy yourselves"

Kang begins to head to the clearing when Cass trips and dark red runes begin glowing on her back. Before anyone can react she leaps into the sky, trailing flames behind her. "Er," Kang says. "That's unexpected."

Tyulthk looks up as she leaps, turning to the lizard before looking back to the girl, "Maybe her spirits soars where he body will-not." He stands up, breaking free from the ground and watching quietly, "She does not fly normally?"

Kang said, "Not since the injury. Her muscles hadn't recovered enough to generate lift and her coordination with the prosthetic wasn't sufficient enough to control flight. This might be bad."

Tyulthk said to you, "I cannot fly"

Kang said, "Me either." Suddenly a pair of arguing goblins rush into the area. They see Kang and stop to excitedly announce their findings, but with both shouting neither is getting through. Finally, the third goblin, Kang's top intern, enters the area. "Good news or bad news first?" Kang asks for the bad news first. "Bokbok escaped." Okay, that's bad, but his energy will run out when the gears stop. "And the good news?" The two goblins both shout their finding s in unison. "The perpetual motion engine is fixed!" Kang sits down and begins swearing quite fluently in Chthonic. "We need to go," he tells Tyulthk. "Damage control. Bokbok needs to be contained."

Tyulthk just stares silently, not even going to pretend he understands, "Okay, what about the flying girl."

Kang said, "I may have a solution for that." He nods to the excitedly vibrating goblin pair. "Release the ornithopters, capture only. She's important."

Tyulthk looks at the preklek and waves idly, "So I assume this is goodbye for now, until you reclaim this 'bokbok' fellow."

Kang said, "Yes, sorry. Duty calls."

Tyulthk inclines his head and sits back down, returning to his passive state.