RP:If someHHHTHing can come from space...

Part of the Things Are Looking Up Arc

Muzo wanders into Kreekitaka's store. The two have a very fruitful discussion.

The RP!

Kreekitaka was trying to spend more time outside the healing tank. This was slowing his recovery somewhat, but it was still better than being deaf and helpless all the time. He was still unable to support his weight on his legs, so he was confined to a special couch that kept him supported while leaving his arms free to work, but at least he could talk with people. At present, he was using a hand-drill on some spare carapace, slowly boring holes into it, presumably for use in creating a suit of armor. There were other pieces littered all around him. Fortunately, they were bright red--otherwise, one might think perhaps they were pieces of his own shell. He had broken paddles and barely-sealed cracks in his carapace and his legs were probably not supposed to bend the ways they were currently bent. Whatever he had been through, it must have been one -heck- of a thing.

Muzo raps the back of his knuckles lightly against the frame of the entryway before slithering in. In very recent days, the alchemist hasn't been wearing his usual bandolier and belt of equipment but, rather, has chosen to don robes suited to his academic standing and marked with the knotted ouroboros of Alithrya's royal academy, college of biotic alchemy. Spotting Kreekitaka, his eyes light up, and he slithers around several product displays on his way to greet him. Behind the naga, his faithful Formulae flutters. "Salutations, Kreekitaka," his forked tongue flicks, "trust the procedure has left you feeling muh-muh-muh-my goodness! Gadzooks!" Muzo recoils at Kreekitaka's condition, raising his arms to shield himself from the sight. "Expected m-m-minor s-side effects." Timidly lowering his arms, he leans around to peer at the broken paddles and cracked carapace, looking guilt-ridden. "Nothing like this!"

Kreekitaka also lit up when Muzo walked in, and his paddles rippled lightly at his friend's consternation. He shook his head and held up a claw to try and forestall any additional worrying. "Ah, no, HHHTHe procedure wenTAH! jus' fine. HHHTHis is recenTAH!--I... hm... I droppeDAH! ouTAH! of HHHTHe sky in an aTAH!empTAH! TAH!oo beaTAH! up a vampire." That's something of a massive shortening of events, Kree, but sure, let's put it that way. Just leave Rafty right out of it. "AomosTAH! haDAH! him before HHHTHe sructure caughTAH! fire. You're yooking gooDAH!, yourseff."

Muzo is relieved to hear that he is not responsible for the crab's apparent suffering, though he remains still somewhat unsettled. "Ah, yes. Hope you recover quickly nonetheless. Hm? Ah." He looks down at himself. "Currently enjoying formal employment. Oughtn't to slack on my protocol." This sentence ends in a tittering laugh, but he quickly clears his throat. "See you're hard at work as ever." Muzo indicates the carapace on which Kree drills. "For your latest attire?"

Kreekitaka nodded. That made sense. He liked to stay dressed formally himself, whenever possible, due to being a king and whatnot. Recent events had made that somewhat less than ideal, so for now he was dressed simply--red kilt, red sashes, water tanks. "Aye. I beyeev I can creaTAH! a formoh-wear suiTAH! which becomes armor aTAH! HHHTHe TAH!ug of a string, jus' in case someHHHTHing happens miDAH!-evenTAH!. Yike... a yich aTAH!acking wiHHHTH an army of zombie gianTAH!s, or some such." He held up a more completed piece--it was made using several slats of carapace, and could collapse into a small bar which could be hidden under an epaulet or some such, but then expand to cover an entire upper arm. "I'm making iTAH! for my frienDAH! Barnabas. He DAHoesn'TAH! know yeTAH!, buTAH! I suspecTAH! he is going TAH!oo yove iTAH!."

Muzo leans in and fawns over the various scattered parts now that Kreekitaka has explained their purpose, his face lit with mingled comprehension and wonder. "Marvelous," he mutters, taking a couple of the pieces in his nimble grasp and holding them against one another, seeing how they might neatly collapse. "Requires a level of mechanical intuition I've always lacked. Great respect for this sort of thing." Setting the bits of carapace gently down, he surveys, silently making estimates in his head. Partway through, he gives up, and the snake gives his head a brisk shake to clear it. "Yes. Preparedness. Good for... did..." Sudden consternation bends his scaly brow. "Did you say zombie giants?"

Kreekitaka nodded again, clenching his facial crushers in gratitude at the compliment. "Yes. HappeneDAH! TAH!oo me, once. Shenanigans ensueDAH!. I was wearing extra carapace for weeks. Very inconvenienTAH!." He gestured around to the rest of the store. "Have a yook aroun', whioh you're here. Oh! An' whioh you DAH!oo, I've goTAH! a job for you TAH!oo offer. Or... an opporTAH!uniTAH!ee TAH!oo make hisTAH!ory, raHHHTHer." I mean, yeah, it was a cliched line, but sometimes it could be used to great effect. Lots of people like making history.

Muzo imagines himself in a similar situation, and he frowns at the imaginary outcome. "Very inconvenient," the snake echoes back. Prompted by the shopkeep's invitation, Muzo begins browsing through, studying the various exotic pieces for which the crab merchant has grown so famous. "Always eager to be of service," the researcher assures him. "Eager to hear your proposition." His glossy black, reptilian eyes glide over a bolt of fabric, and he takes a corner to carefully test its texture.

Kreekitaka started in on the business proposal, setting down his drill and clasping his claws. "As you may be aware, HHHTHe Yarketian newspaper has apparenTAH!yee goTAH!en iTAH! inTAH!oo HHHTHeir... how TAH!oo say yighTAH!yee.. enTAH!ireyee, hopeyessyee moronic heaDAH!s, HHHTHaTAH! uyeer are 'crabs from ouTAH!er space'. Obviousyee untrue. I haDAH! no knowyedge of whaTAH! 'space' even is. I have since yearneDAH! iTAH! is far above even HHHTHe sky. However, iTAH! goTAH! me HHHTHinking. If someHHHTHing can come from space..." He tilted his head, opened a claw and reached upward, "sureyee someHHHTHing can -go-, yes?" He clasped his claws again. "I'm yosing controh. My peopo grow resTAH!yess. YarkeTAH! conTAH!inues TAH!oo byock me. Every DAH!ay HHHTHe crime grows in HHHTHe ciTAH!ee on HHHTHe sea... I neeDAH! someHHHTHing big. A huge unDAH!erTAH!aking. ApparenTAH!yee wings are noTAH! enough TAH!oo reach so far inTAH!oo HHHTHe sky. Which means HHHTHis enDAH!eavor is unpreceDAH!enTAH!eDAH!. I'm working on gaHHHTHering as many knowyedgabo peopo as I can for HHHTHis. Imagine, Muzo, being one of HHHTHe firs' ones TAH!oo go where -no one has ever gone before-." Quite the pitch, that.

Muzo drops the pretense of browsing and turns to listen more attentively, folding his arms over his chest and tucking each hand into the opposite sleeve. "Space?" His tongue flicks once, twice, head cocking lightly to one side. Muzo's eyes raise skyward, as if he can see it through the ceiling, then fall back down to Kree. He opens his mouth to speak, hesitates, closes it, then scratches his chin. "Any prior attempts? Any literature on the subject?" Behind him, the lightly gliding Formulae, flips through its pages, as if searching. "Flight has limits. Dangers related to altitude. Surely, boundaries have been pushed before. Bent. Breached? Hmm." Muzo drums his fingers along his jawline. "Would we be breaking a precedent?"

Kreekitaka shrugged. "I aDAH!miTAH!, I am noTAH! HHHTHe mos' knowyedgabo on fyighTAH! subjecTAH!s, however HHHTHe dragon I inTAH!ervieweDAH! saiDAH! she has never been abo TAH!oo go furHHHTHer HHHTHan where her wings can TAH!ake her. I suspecTAH! we are pioneering a new fronTAH!ier--one noTAH! easiyee reacheDAH!. I suggesTAH! more DAH!iscussions wiHHHTH dragons, as HHHTHey are very capabo in HHHTHe air. Perhaps HHHTHe avians, aoso, mighTAH! be of assisTAH!ance?" Admittedly, this was where Kree was starting to get just slightly out of his depth. He had a bit of mechanical ability--a bit--but most of his knowledge of how the world works is oceanic, not aerospace.

Muzo looks up to Formulae, and the spellbook drops into his hands. The open page depicts a simple cartoon: Muzo and Kree sitting on the back of an overly large dragon with a table of lab equipment between them, then, in the next panel, all the equipment and passengers jostled off and tumbling away from the dragon's back like so much confetti. "Hmm." Muzo shuts the book. "Very good. Can leave that much to you. Meanwhile, will look to nature for inspiration. See what alternative modes of flight might be available." Again, he drums his fingers along his jaw. "Can't think of any time this has been attempted. Would think something like an altitude record would have made it into the canon." It's plain that Kreekitaka has managed to light a spark. Quite a pitch indeed. "Warrants interest, undoubtedly."

Kreekitaka reached up to shake Muzo's hand with a claw, clenching his facial crushers. "Io begin my search as soon as I can. I seem TAH!oo remember seeing an avian ciTAH!ee near Xayious, perhaps Io begin my search HHHTHere? Hrmph--maybe have some yegs or wheeohs puTAH! on HHHTHis couch, so I can move arounDAH! wiHHHTHouTAH! my TAH!ank..." He looked up at Muzo again and rippled his paddles lightly. "HHHTHank you for your interesTAH!. YeTAH!'s meeTAH! back on my ranch soon an' DAH!discuss finDAH!ings. Io forwarDAH! you DAH!irections."

Muzo grins in agreement and offers an hurried nod. "Glad I dropped in. Yes. Good, excellent. Wish you a very speedy recovery." Muzo bows politely and holds Formulae to his chest. "Eager to see where matters take us. Will keep in close correspondence." Straightening again, he moves to slither for the door, already bound to explore this project's peculiarities.