RP:Something Fishy in Kelay Tav

Part of the Venturil's Bane Arc

Kelay Tavern

Maladroit was in the rafters, eyelessly peering at patrons. That's why the candelabra was rattling - pony-sized creatures, no matter how whip-thin or boneless in places, aren't all that easy to stuff into spaces between rafters.

Kamalia enters in her usual garb, a black and red robe with the hood pulled over her head. Under the hood a gentle twitch of one of her wolf-like ears occurs as she pins up the note. The born lycan smooths out the paper, but pauses as she hears the odd rattling of the candelabra. Though she tries to finish up her work as though she didn't notice. The nervous woman's hands stumbling a tad as she does so.

Iintahquohae , who had been quietly knitting since her arrival to the tavern earlier that day, was beginning to get that unpleasant feeling of being watched. The repetitive clicking of her knitting needles slowly drew to a halt, and her eyes peered out from her spectacles as she peeked over her shoulder. It didn't cross her mind that whatever was watching was perched above, so she resumed knitting again.

Maladroit 's being in the rafters would also explain that rather pungent scent of brine and old seaweed wafting about.

Maladroit dropped 1 cenril sea-weed. It might have dropped that on Iintahquohae.

Maladroit would be heard moving in shadowy recesses overhead, the occasional dark lash of a barbed tail spilling into the light cast by the candles a dead give-away that -something- or other was up there. Not that Maladroit was trying to hide, he was just.. sort of.. stuck.

Kamalia crinkles her nose at the strong scent coming off of Maladroit, yet from living in the Vailkrin forest for a good part of the year, the druid woman made a habit to not always look back. Still though, she was a curious thing and thusly would head to the bar and order some water.. If not just to stay around to see what sound and scent were.. Her eyes twitching over to the shadows.

Iintahquohae is still knitting away, but nearly jumps out of her skin once something she initially thinks is some kind of snake drops down and lands on her head. She shrieks with surprise when the slimy bit of seaweed sways down and slaps her nose, then frantically tugs it off and throws it away from her face. The needles drop from her other hand as the seamstress immediately hops to her feet, eyes tilted skyward only to catch a glimpse of…whatever Maladroit happens to be. Inks has encountered unnatural, horrifying things like the monsters that fell from that tear in Vailkrin's sky, but this…She wasn't sure if it was a remnant of what happened or something completely different. Either way, she the seamstress is backing toward the door, eyes locked on the creature's distinct lack of face while one hand creeps its way past the titanium octopus tentacle coiled around her neck to cover her mouth in order to muffle the terrified scream that was just itching to come out.

Maladroit finally managed to un-wedge its wing from the awkward spot it had got itself jammed in. The faceless may show no chagrin, but that does not mean they cannot feel it.. Almost lost in its own disgruntlement, the familiar momentarily lapsed in its patronage-watch - so it almost missed the seamstress' move toward leavetaking. In the manner of startled lizard, only much faster and.. well, pony-sized.. it dropped from the rafters onto the bar, leaped over Kamalia's head and sprang for the door, outpacing the seaweed-smirched Iintahquohae by virtue of uncanny speed. So, there in front of the door sat, on its haunches, quite suddenly, what resembles a massive and half-starved greyhound, with horns and wings, rubbery skin, no face at all - and manyjointed fingers... which it now wibbled at the woman, as if attempting to greet her.

Maladroit probably managed to shed some seaweed on the bar, too. Or Kamalia, if she was unlucky.

Kamalia ducked, strawberry colored eyes wide as the creature lept, a seaweed left behind across her head and her shoulder, but she ignored it as she spun around to look at the creature. Eyes wide and a slight trembling to her form, yet... Within her eyes almost held a look of intrigue as well, her hood being pulled back just enough to keep her ears covered. Her pale lipped mouth slightly gaped at the beast.

As she's backing away with her eyes locked on the terrifying creature, Iintahquohae blinks at the worst possible time. By the time her eyes have reopened, Maladroit is directly behind her, and Iintahquohae backs directly into him. She whips around the moment her back brushes against what she assumes to be another visitor to the tavern, only to find out when she whips around that it's..it. Him? Her? Inks really couldn't tell. Either way, she makes a high pitched gasp, and by this time, most of the color has drained from her face, and she's backing away in the opposite direction - that is, until the seamstress sees the creature..wave? Monsters didn't wave, she thought. But really, what did she know? Greeting it might mean that it'll be nice to her, so she lifts an incredibly shaky hand to wave back, then stammers out a, "H-hi t-there." to accompany it.

Maladroit pressed its weight upon its non-wibbling forelimb so better to stretch its lean, ribby frame forward, its oddly and utterly blank face thrust out on its long neck as if the creature were sniffing the air, and extended its hand toward the seamstress. One long finger, with far too many joints, unfurled to point at the region on her where lay the cephalopodic pendant. Like a great, uncanny hound at point, it remained thus, utterly still. But around the women, the air would take on a strange, rippling quality. Almost like water. And in that silvery, shifting sudden change in atmosphere a single, tiny minnow swam. Mostly, semi-transparently and quite inexplicably, around Kamalia's head.

Kamalia watches the creature closely, taking in its whole form as unnoticeably as possible. A gentle arch coming to her brow as she ponders why it's pointing... Until the watery feeling came along and a... A minnow was swimming around Kama's head! Her eyes moved from the beast to the odd image of the fish moving about her, her mind trying to figure out the animal and only coming to the conclusion of it wanting to say something about the other woman's necklace. Though Kama'Lia kept quiet, as she usually did.

Niall 's illusion makes him appear to be an elderly human with his glaive disguised as a walking cane. The old man tediously makes his way to a vacant chair, stumbling a bit with his shuffling gate. After what seems to be several minutes Niall sloppily plops in a chair and relaxes; he does his best to sell his front.

Iintahquohae blinked again, practically frozen in her tracks. What was it pointing at? Even without any eyes that she could see, Iintahquohae couldn't help feeling like it was staring directly at her. Her hand traveled down from her mouth to the thick titanium choker that wrapped around her neck almost like a dog collar, and drummed her fingertips nervously on one of the metallic suction cups that was molded into the piece. Her brows lifted in a questioning manner, as if she were asking, "Is this what you're pointing at?". She would've spoke, but the indescribable feeling that the air had taken on was distracting her. Could it be possible that the tavern had been submerged into the sea? She almost wanted to grab at the watery-feeling air in front of her face and see if she grabbed a handful of water.

Maladroit has no eyes at all, and thus its senses differ from creatures so endowed. Illusion held no sway on it - not that it cared who chose to wear what disguise. Well, unless they were disguised as a squid, possibly. In any case, Maladroit would not be revealing Niall's secret. Its featureless head dipped once, which may have been a 'yes' to the seamstress. Meantime, a small school of clownfish were diving in and out of a rather pretty but slightly toxic anemone attached to the bar.

Iintahquohae took its nod to mean 'yes', but didn't know where to go from there. Did it want to have a look at the choker? Did it just like shiny things? She really didn't know how to respond. Shaky fingers continued to drum themselves on the choker. "They're my favorite animal," she eventually murmured, then blinked at herself. She could've at least tried to come up with something a bit more interesting to say.

Kamalia watches the sea life with a sparkle in her eyes, the 38 year old woman smiling slightly at it. Her gloved hands pulled back her hood so it was down upon her shoulders now, the seaweed remaining there upon her. With a slight twitch to her wolfen ears, they once more straighten out as her eyes roam. The woman was breathless, and not because of the watery likeness to the air. Merely because of the intriguing illusion made by the rubber skinned being.

Niall pulls out a bit of parchment and writing tool - With a shaky hand, the old man begins writing notes; his handwriting very sloppy with his tremors.

Maladroit lowered its scrawny-looking, weirdly-articulated finger, the hand dropping to press its knuckles on the boards as the familiar moved - with a profound lack of speed - toward Iintahquohae. It did not possess a predatory aura. It had no need to hunt, at present. The tavern was increasingly strange with fish and gelatinous things zipping and bobbing about, and the minnow still apparently fascinated with Kamalia, so much so that it tried to swim into her ear, which seemed a nice little hidey-hole for a minnow. But Maladroit's attention remained on the seamstress, and if she did not run screaming it came to halt before her and pressed that formerly pointing finger upon the neckpiece she wore. Abruptly, she'd percieve a deep-sea cavern, a writhe of suckered limbs. Something gargantuan, malevolent in the way that ancient, hungry things tend to be. Then it was gone, and Maladroit drew back its hand. A large and cranky-looking moray eel slithered from under Niall's table to figure-eight around his legs.

Kamalia couldn't help but stare at the minnow, suddenly giggling gently as it tried to go in her ear. The female moving her hand to cover it as she mutters to the fish illusion "Ah-ah-ah. That's not for you to go into." Her voice calmed by the illusion of sea life. She was usually quite nervous around humanoids, and odd creatures, unless in a serious situation as with in a hospital tent, or when an animal was present. She doesn't seem at all bothered by the presence of the black creature any longer. Though she still held her guard.

Iintahquohae wanted to turn and run, but found that her feet weren't planning on moving anytime soon. She was frozen with a mixture of fear and utter fascination, but fear began to take over as Maladroit drew closer. The image that sprang to mind once one of its fingers touched her choker caused her eyes to widen and her mouth to fall open. Wherever that place was, despite the unsettling feeling of the presence of a very big...octopus? She thought it was an octopus, anyway. Wherever it was, the seamstress wanted to see it in person. Unfortunately, she didn't get to take in as much detail of the place as she wanted to since the image disappeared. Inks felt like frowning. She glanced at what she assumed was the front-face portion of Maladroit’s head. Without eyes, that meant she could look directly and not worry about making eye contact, which was always unsettling to her. She couldn't help asking. "Is that place real?"

Niall 's whole body jerks; the old man struggles to keep his composure as he can't write anything but scribbles on his paper. Niall throws his pen in frustration - it makes it about 6 inches away from the man as it rolls under the table. It is here from this vantage he notices the sea serpent invading his space. Not wanting to reveal his true self, the man releases a silent scream: his mouth agate, but no sound. The elder is terrified, and seems to be frozen in fear.

The minnow zipped, a silvery flash, away from Kamalia's shoo-ing. But it soon returned, apparently drawn to the healer. Perhaps she smelled of plankton? More likely, there was some other reason, but this was not obvious. Over by the door, Maladroit made no reply at all to the seamstress. It turned about, lithe as a greyhound, and knuckle-walked its way toward the door. The majority of the sealife in the room faded in the familiar's wake. Oddly, however, the minnow persisted in its fascination with Kamalia, and the moray eel was eyeing Niall's left knee hungrily. Once the gaunt passed the tavern's threshold, a snap of leathery wings would be heard, and it was gone - leaving Iintahquohae to ponder the mystery glimpsed.

Kamalia noted the creature moving to the door, her ears drooping slightly at the thought of the sea life fading, yet when the minnow remains she can't help but stare. Her lithe, black-silk covered index finger slowly moving to see if she can touch the little fish, curious as to how it remained. And why.

Maladroit’s 'illusions' were something more than that.. woven from spatial and temporal threads, they tended at times to take on a sort of demi-life of their own, as it were. And that would be why the little fish flitted away from a finger that actually prodded it, before returning again to take up its circling, like a little fishy satellite, Kamalia's head.

Iintahquohae frowned when she didn't get a response, and had to tell herself not to follow Maladroit out to ask more questions, even if she really, really wanted to. Its entire appearance unnerved her and that's what prevented her from following, but that image still resonated with her. She eventually stops being in her awestruck, frozen state, and returns to her seat, scooping up her dropped knitting needles. The seamstress is back to knitting away, but on occasion, her fingertips brush the same spot that Maladroit touched on her choker in attempt to re-trigger the image that it created.

Niall blinks wearily as old men do. The Naga truly isn't afraid of a watery illusion or one of a sea monster - he is one after all. Nevertheless, Niall shakes his weary head a couple times, and gives a 'thousand mile' stare into nowhere, continuing to fool those not familiar with his disguise.

Kamalia releases a small and scarcely audible gasp as her finger prods the little thing. A thought coming to mind as she pulls a cracker out of her robe pocket and carefully crushes it in her hand. Slowly, she brings the crumb covered hand up to see if the minnow would try to eat any of the flaky pieces.