RP:Something To Do After All

Summary: Reginae runs into Muzo on the outskirts of Cenril and proposes a project for a shape shifting weapon / pet similiar to Kang's Chaos Spark.

Eastern Bridge (Cenril)

Muzo is very deep in concentration and doesn't make any response to Reginae's initial words. Only once she reaches out and touches him does he startle from his muttlering. "Ha-er-I-ah-what?" He slithers backwards, tail folding double upon itself as he rears up a bit, not having expected a conversation. "Er-a-I-er... wait." His head cocks to the side, and suddenly, the naga understand. "Reginae. Illusory form. Naturally, the old customs." He nods, then shakes his head. "Do excuse me. Don't adhere to them myself. Prefer to put... distance between myself and the old regime. No offense intended." Hastily he bows his head in apology. "Mean no disgrace by it, surely." Straightening back up, he goes on. "Quite okay, yes! Just probing my thoughts." Formulae flutters down to greet Reginae, flying a small circle around her, prompting Muzo to clear his throat. The spellbook hastily flutters back to hover over its master's shoulder. "Trying to keep material fresh. Exploring theory in absence of experimentation. Are *you* well?"

Reginae blinks, never considering shape shifting to be part of the old regime but maybe it was and she was still not completely adjusted to the new time. It’s always possible. She processes this, along with his fragmented sputtering. Something about it just warmed her little reptilian heart. “I’m quite well, yes, thank you.” She looked around to see if anyone else was in eye sight. “Don’t you find yourself bothered by Humans or others by traveling in your true form? Are you heading somewhere? Working on something currently?” Slivers of her white hair part in a passing breeze and blow against her face. She tucks them back behind her ears and looks up at Formulae, like a pet or companion, and beams at the book fondly.

Muzo shakes his head briskly. "Meet very little trouble. Well," he cocks his head to the side, scratching his chin, "did meet a large, crab fellow. Looked like trouble. Turned out to be well-mannered." Muzo shrugs, looking a little cluelessly to Reginae. "Common courtesy. Seldom encounter the old prejudices. World seems ready to give nagas a fresh start." Folding his arms behind himself again, the researcher straightens proudly. "Shan't waste such an opportunity myself. Then again," he sighs, slouching, pride gone as quickly as it came, "still haven't managed to find gainful employ. You caught me brushing up on my old notes the other day," he confesses, "down in the research lab. Dark work, Reginae. Very dark work. But," he frowns, looking pained and ambivalent, "was work. And purpose. And *extraordinary*. Do you understand?" Seeming unsure of himself, he looks to his fellow Naga for understanding.

Reginae nods, understanding despite the urge to let the conversation drop. She didn’t know much about what had happened with the Jersher or with Muzo’s projects but she could tell by his tone it was serious. It was always serious when it came up. The depth of his knowledge made her a little unease because in order to understand this or that, you had to break it down. Go to the most basic level. Perform unsavory or secret experiments and projects to get the desired results. She’d spoken with a researcher that lived near the palace, the name forgotten with time, who gave her the same feeling Muzo did. Brilliant, but capable of terrible things if he wanted to be. Most nagas were though. “Then I’m glad I found you.” She said, rocking back and forth on her human heels. “I was thinking about a project. Have you met Kang since we talked last? He has a sentient type of…shape shifting beast with him. I thought if we could do something similar, it would help us.” Us being naga-kind of course. “Imagine…a slinky little cat companion at our sides, ready to shift into an obsidian hard spear on command. Or some type of wyvern, to make travel easier. It’s all really basic in my head but I have been thinking about it. If it’s something you would be interested in working on…I’m sure I could pay you.” It didn’t dawn on the naga that this might also be considered dark work. Anything with sentience tended to be.

Muzo feels himself drawn out of his dark thoughts at Reginae's questions. Has he met Kang? "No, haven't met him," but he goes on to listen to the description of his sentient, shape-shifting companion. "Hmm, curious." The description certainly makes such a creature sound useful. "Shapeshifters. Class unto themselves. Wouldn't be a casual project. Sounds like several months of work." Squinting one eye shut, he tries to envision the course of such a project. "Might need a team. Don't know yet. Could possible see such a creature?" His brows raise hopefully. "Get a tissue sample?"

Reginae watches Muzo’s face as he becomes more involved in the present than the past. “Naga are also shape shifters so, we have a good bit of dna to start with already. I haven’t seen Kang some time but I’m sure I could try to get him back to Alithyra. He said it is a Chaos spark. It’s a tiny flame looking creature without shifting. Not sure if it has anything to offer in the way of a sample. I’ll do my best.” She nods, the idea of a team working on this in the naga city lit her own heart ablaze. “I know I asked before, that’s why I wanted to ask again. I know you’d remember if you saw him. Warrior type; very single minded.” It was hard not to get draw into his dialect. It was infectious and to the point.

Muzo nods enthusiastically. "Could begin checking the literature. Never hurts getting a knowledgeable start. This Kang fellow, yes, would be very good to meet him, meet his "chaos spark". Hmm. Strange name for a creature. Is it a creature at all? Ah, we'll know soon enough." Halting his jabbering a moment, Muzo clears his throat, and formulae flutters down, spreading open and hovering before its naga master so he clan flip through its pages a bit. "Have a few notes myself already. Warrior type, you say?" A gentle frown bends the researcher's lips. "Won't hold it against him."

Reginae wasn’t sure if that last bit was a joke or not but she laughs anyway. “He’s a Preklek, if that also helps.” She spins around on the heel of her boots, looking very much like a child as she wobbles about on two legs without much pause or thought to how she should act. It was a different than her authoritative Liaison role she tried to hold. It was more fun to act like she didn’t have a role in the political scene. “You seem interested.” She smiled at him, “Do you have a lab? Do you need help repairing anything in Alithrya to get started? A place with less dust?”

Muzo sighs. A lab. "Had a good lab, even after the time shift. Set up through the cabal. Care was discontinued, fell into disrepair. Lost a lot of good equipment. Not terribly concerned. Can make more. Just need somewhere secure." He tilts his head from one side to another, as though evaluating his own words, then nods agreeing with himself. He flips through a few more pages in Formulae, then whirls the book around in midair so Reginae can see. There, on the book's pages, is an extensively annotated and delightfully detailed ink sketch of a laboratory setup, complete with bubbling alembics, steamy retorts, dozens of beakers and flasks, rows and rows of test tubes, dissecting tables, an arsenal of hand tools, and more. "Know how to make most of these myself. Just have nowhere to keep them. Glass is fairly inexpensive." A little laugh burbles out of him. "Less dust might be good too. Shouldn't be too difficult to arrange, I imagine." Muzo's eyes follow Reginae's wobbling, and he chuckles. "Feeling carefree?"

Reginae nods. “Carefree but also elated. I’m glad we have a project to work on and that it gives me a bit of direction to have something too. With a lot of things going on away from home it’s nice to have something there to focus on. To pour my immediate efforts into. I’ll help set up the lab, if you want help. The place below the Library may be good. If you want something very safe, we can look into using one of the old palace rooms. Not a lot of company these days and plenty of room. Very safe and not so run down.” She completed another circle on the sole of her boots and smiled at Muzo. “It’s nice to relax. To be someone without responsibilities for a little while. My heart’s still in it, but it gets overwhelming. You know?”

Muzo listens, and Reginae will feel that he is giving her all of his attention. The old palace? "Palace seems much better than the library. Would be eager to leave the old lab behind. That could do very well," he nods, his jaw a little tense. "Could be a fine opportunity, too, to repurpose the building. That seems fine to me." Turning the book back around, he resumes flipping through Formulae's pages. "Certainly gives us something to work on. Can begin diving into the project. Make a lab. Read up on shapeshifters. Meet with Kang." He folds Formulae shut with a snap, then tosses it over his shoulder. The book resumes hovering and fluttering. "Overwhelming? Maybe, but I haven't known that feeling in a long time."

Reginae looks away, gazing at something that may or may not be in the distance as she contemplates Muzo’s plan of action. In her mind, she imaged a small box to check off at the beginning of every item. “Overwhemling comes right before something really good or really bad. Let’s hope for the prior, rather than the later.” Her eyes stay glazed over on the distant object before snapping back to him. “All right. I’m on my way back actually so I’ll look around while I’m there and see what I can find. I’ll let you know soon.” She gives him a smile and reaches up to tap his tall shoulders from her short vantage point. “I’ll see you soon, my friend.”

Muzo offers a cheerful smile, grinning brightly and bowing respectfully to his fellow naga. "A delight as usual, Reginae. I'll be looking very much forward to our next. Until then." Still grinning, he straightens and moves to slither on eastward. Well well well! Something to do after all.