RP:Unexpected Development, Growth, and Propagation

Part of the Repairing the Irreparable Arc

Summary: Deep in the goblin city of Kregus, our illustrious Kang seeks to repair, improve, and heal his charge, the orphaned avian that had attached herself to him. Word of his whereabouts has reached a biotic alchemist tasked with researching Kang's shapeshifting companion. Favors are exchanged, and both people part ways with their goals closer to fruition.

Lair of the Tinkers

Kang sits in a chair designed by goblins, without practicality or comfort in mind. Razors, leather straps, spinning blades and hinges with no immediate use cover the contraption. Within arm's reach lies a resting avian girl, golden blonde hair that covers an empty socket which formerly housed a green eye, one brownish crimson wing died from massive bloodloss, the other wing missing, mangled, and destroyed beyond any hope of recovery. A small pile of blank papers lie on a table in one corner and various hand-made pop-up picture books lie around haphazardly.

Muzo slithers in, book in hand. The anthropomorphic naga is looking curiously about himself, his wide glossy black gaze rapidly alternating between the pages of the tome and the world around him, giving him a rather tourist-y demeanor. His ophidian tail follows behind him; all in all, he must be around twenty three feet long from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. Upon spotting Kang, Muzo startles, apparently surprised to find such a creature in a place like this. "Oh, goodness! Hello." Hastily, he flips through the pages of the book, finding several illustrations and comparing them to the seated figure before him. "Zounds, you don't look like any of *these* goblins."

Kang rises smoothly from the deathtrap of a chair, setting aside his origami for now. He grabs the staff he'd placed to one side and leans on it, sliding his fingers in a slow deliberate pattern that may or may not be overlooked. "Hello, sir. I am not a goblin, merely a. . ." The preklek pauses, not sure what descriptor to use. Fortunately, the little female goblin studying the books pipes up. "Master Tinker!!" She lowers her gaze back to the picture book, as if nothing had occurred or that the sight of a goblin with a book would be unheard of anywhere else in town. "Yes," Kang says. "We'll go with tinker. I asked the kind goblins to help me with my apprentice. She was injured, and healers who will help my kind are few and far between." During the whole speech he'd not once looked away from the naga, and had spent the time examining him for ill-wil. "Can I help you with anything?"

Muzo is *definitely the type to overlook the subtle detail of the deliberate finger movements. Instead, he's still still flipping pages, trying to find any suitable reference by which to identify Kang. The goblin pops out, and Muzo immediately smiles a bright, broad, needle-fanged grin of genuinely pleased recollection. "Aha!" That's a goblin if he ever saw one. Kang goes on, seizing the naga's attention, and he nods, then pauses and shakes his head, then, upon rethinking, ends up nodding again. "Yes! Always delighted with help. Followed directions here." He points at the ground upon which he stands. "Looking for a 'Kang'. Managed to get this far, but now I'm stumped." Holding the book up, the spreads the pages wide and squints at them, turning the book to one side, then to the other. "Can't find the wrong turn. Reginae. Knows the fellow, or at least acquainted. Naga? Like me, haha." He gives a tittering laugh. "Not *exactly* like me. Obviously distinct individual. But! Digression. Distraction." The fellow certainly talks a mile-a-minute. "Very sorry to hear about your assistant. Not a healer, just a researcher. Applied biotic alchemist. Build life from scratch. Not much for repairs. Digression again!" He clears his throat and does his best to politely gather himself. "Off my bearings. Looking for Kang."

Kang stoicly takes in the entire monologue, replying with the fewest words possible. "I'm Kang." He places the staff to one side and seats himself once more. He returns to making pop-up picture books with scraps of paper and the occasional charcoal marking. The girl on the table sleeps soundly, seemingly healthy despite the heavy damage she'd taken. The goblin discovers the elaborate paper chicken that Kang had made earlier today and holds it up with a question on her face. Kang makes a gesture with his pinky, and the goblin mimics it. The chicken leapts into the air and flaps it's wings for a couple seconds. The goblin's eyes widen in awe. Kang hands her the "manual" for crank-whisks and a diagram of the pieces required to make the device. As she darts off to the forges to have the parts made, Kang explains to the researcher. "We're not to the point where they can make the devices I want, but we're closer." He creates a few more origami figures for the pop-up manuals before pausing once more. "Did you say build life from scratch?"

Muzo is about 0.45 seconds away from diving into another diatribe when Kang announces himself. The naga freezes where he stands with his eyes bugged out, looking rather like someone had just doused him in frigid water. His head cocks to the side, then snaps level again, and he grins even brighter than before. "You-ya-y-you're Kang!" He straightens, standing higher on his tail than before and looking quite completely delighted with himself. He looks down to the book in his hands, gives it a praising pat, leans in and kisses it, then folds it shut and tucks it lovingly away in the bookstrap at his belt. About that time, he notices the rather intricate paper contraptions, and he leans in, peering around to try and get a better glimpse at the paper novelties. "Clever devices. Educating them?" Muzo looks back to Kang in curiosity, and he flashes a knowing smirk. "Conscripting a workshop? Oh! But yes, you asked, and I do." Clearing his throat, the researcher tries his best to look demure and aloof. "Proud to pursue my own narrow field of magic. Face my field with a sense of gravity and prudence." It's like he quoting the prologue to his ethics manual. He shakes his head again, regrounding himself. "But yes. Reason Reginae sent me to find you, in fact. Wants me to make a shapeshifter for her. One like yours." Slithering carefully around, he tries to peek around the den, as though the aforementioned creature could pop out at any moment. Delicately, he picks up a pop up book by the corner and begins gingerly turning it over in his slender, scaly grasp.

You said, ""Not sure how you can do that. I can't even reliably control it." The preklek obviously assumes the naga is referring to the elemental. As if lured by the thought, a spark floats from underneath the book Muzo had lifted. Kang points at it and whistles a ditty. It spins in place then continues it's aimless traverse of the room. "See, unwieldy and not always useful." The same could be said for the origami chicken, but the end-game is the prize, and it requires an origami chicken, so Kang made one. Drat, hearing the rambling of the chatty researcher is making Kang start to think in the same pattern. "Building a new eye for a hurt little girl would be more useful."

Muzo startles and nearly drops the book when the spark floats out, and he slithers back a "pace" to fold his tail over itself. "Aha. Yes." His eyes narrow as he keenly follows its movement. "Unweildy. Capricious?" The light of the floating spark reflects in the glossy black of the naga's eyes as it roves about. Kang changes the subject. Muzo takes the bait. "New eye?" Forgetting the spark, he unfolds himself and slithers over to the avian on the table, leaning closer and holding his breath, suddenly aware that the poor creature is sleeping. Muzo peeks closer, and his forked tongue gives a few flicks. He presses the pad of his index finger to his jaw. "New eye..." he whispers under his breath. "New eye..." Pulling back thoughtfully, the researcher squints one of his own eyes tightly shut, perhaps in empathy. "Eye. Eyes. Grow an eye. Might grow an eye. Hmm. Aye."

Kang keeps his eye on the spark. It had been behaving itself, but the moment the preklek looks away the spark makes dashes at papers and spilled fluids. Some of the fluids ignite, while others sizzle depending on what they are. The spark grows into a kitten and knocks over a stack of paper. "Bad Kitty!" Kang darts to tidy the stack again, and prevent further disruption. A couple of goblins enter the room with a large bucket of water. They hand it to the naga and wait patiently to see what he does. Kang hands them each a manual for can openers and they dash out the door to study and attempt to make the new device. It's also possible they'll try to make improvements to the design. Not that they'd recognize what it was to begin with.

Muzo gasps! The sparks misbehavior catches him utterly off guard, and he presses his palm to the tip of his snout, recoiling in horror. "Gadzooks!" The goblins the arrive with their water and, much to Muzo's surprise, offer *him* the bucket. "Ah? Yes! With haste!" He snatches the bucket and, with a whimper of uncertainty, slithers toward the burning fluids, flicking his tongue. Burning oil? Taking one of the blank sheets of paper, he dips it in the bucket, tosses it flat over the fire, then repeats the process until the treacherous fluid has been suffocated. He breathes a deep sigh of relief. "See what you mean, yes." Looking back to the Avian girl, then to Kang, the Naga clears his throat and sets down the bucket within reach of the preklek. "Seems like you've got a lot on your hands here," he earnestly admits. "Wouldn't want to be a burden or a distraction. Might be able to... stay and lend a hand. Have some general reagents. Might be able to do something about the eye." Though he had been quite reticent to offer aid earlier, the scene seems to have moved him.

Kang stops to consider the idea, and the flaming kitten stops as well. It had only been running because someone was chasing it. "The work is worth doing, and important. I'm not going to bully anyone else into the care of my charge." He nods to the sleeping girl. "My responsibility, and my team has a vague handle on it. If you wish to help, that's great. If not, well, I wish you the best." The kitten shrinks back into a spark and flits about lazily. If no one is gonna play with it, why waste the energy to run around with a larger form.

Kang (talk) 02:23, 5 March 2016 (UTC)

Muzo gives a grunt of exertion, and the undulating coils of his tail strain to push. With a "ka-lunk!" he manages to push a sturdy-looking steamer trunk over the threshold and into the goblin den. "Brought supplies!" The researcher announces himself cheerily as he continues to cram his way in, scooting the chest one shove at a time. "Plan to make a serious crack at this eye-growing business," he babbles on, not even waiting for a 'hello' or 'come in', "see what we can come up with. Fairly hopeful! Did some reading, found some old notes. Not the first time it's been done, so good news there anyway. Umph!" A final shove, and he slithers in around the case, looking completely at home in these alien surroundings. It's plain he'll begin unpacking any second.

Kang stands up from his work on making his death-chair more user-friendly. Not to say it's any less deadly, just that the screws he'd added and tightened would prevent it from disemboweling someone accidentally. On purpose, however, yeah, still good. The small group of avid helpers leapt to their feet to help the newcomer with the trunk. "If you need a few extra pair of hands, just ask. They love to be involved." Kang tosses the makeshift screwdriver to one side, debating whether to mention the need for simple instructions. He didn't want to offend the goblins or undermine their technological progress, but things had happened. As if thinking of it called it to the room, a goblin struts in with his latest creation. Small, but strong arms cranks the handle sending the metal protrusions into wild spins that make violent grinding noises. Kang waits for the display to end before calmly congratulating the goblin on his mastery of the rotary egg-beater. He sends the goblin away again with a new pamphlet, and turns back to the naga researcher. "Sorry, it's been busy. Just finished the new manuals and the team is eager to try the new toys out. You said there was some hopeful news? Techniques? Herbs? Do we need a sterile glass ball?"

Muzo looks around in surprise and delight as goblins rush to assist, and he grins broadly. "Much obliged!" He thanks them with a bow. The arrival of the egg-beater is a little startling, and it makes the naga's smile falter, if ever-so-briefly, for he doesn't want to be too distracted. Crouching, he pops the clasps on the trunk. "Techniques! Yes. Some precedent. Good procedures. Could..." He blinks at the offer. "Sterile glass ball?" His head tilts gradually to the side. "Could find a use, perhaps?" Wondering what such a ball would look like, he finishes unfastening the lid of the trunk and opens it up. It unfolds like a tackle box. Each tray is line with velvet, fitted to hold a dizzying assortment of intricate glassware: alembics, retorts, condensers, crucibles, other bizzarre implements of the alchemical trade. There are drawers for ingredients and finer tools, too. "Could use a laboratory assistant, though, certainly." He looks among the goblins for volunteers. "If one of you would like to be a spare set of hands?" The naga's wide, glossy black eyes sweep around the interior again. "If they could clear a work surface, too."

Kang points to a spare table, away from their patient who hadn't shifted at all during the spurt of noise. She'd become accustomed to it. "Don't leave it all on the floor, use a bucket." He directs his hyper-active team. They trip over each other in their rush to be the most helpful. Kang crouches next to the chair again, eyeing the inner workings. Crude, but promising. "I'm familiar with certain techniques of growing samples. Controlling the variables usually helped, hence sterilizing." He wipes an oily substance off his hand. "Of course, most of those experiments don't work in any of the native environs, so I might just be wasting time gibbering. I'm sure you know your craft better than I."

Muzo hardly has time to object as the squad of goblins already have half his equipment out and assembled in a haphazard, nonesensical pipeline. "I would-oh! With the, ah! Do be careful. Yes, thank you, that'll do. Ah. Yes. It's lovely." Slithering over to the work table, he inspects the absurd array. "Unmatched enthusiasm," he comments of the goblins, "and abundant energy. Didn't think to bring manuals." At the mention of manuals, the spellbook on his belt gives a noisy rattle, and its bookstrap pops loose so it can flutter up like an oversized butterfly. Flapping its ponderous pages like wings, the weighty spellbook wafts up, looking much lighter than it actually must be. Kang might see the word "FORMULAE" embossed on its spine. It shakes its pages, and a centerfold falls out, coming loose from the binding to flutter down and into the hands of waiting goblins below. One takes it and eagerly studies the diagrams, turning the paper this way and that before rushing out, much like the ones with the eggbeaters before. "Oh!" Muzo realizes what Formulae has just done, and he reaches up to give the hovering book a congratulatory pat. "Well done. Now lets see." He turns back to setup and begins carefully rearranging the pieces, and the naga talks while he works. "Native environments? Haven't been able to place you, yet. Not a goblin, certainly. Master tinker. Saurian? Part saurian? Seems unlikely. Never met one like you."

Kang eyes the sheet of paper in the goblin's hands as it rushes out the door. "Not sure how accurate whatever that was for is gonna turn out." In explanation, he holds up the diagrams he'd made for the goblins: pop-up books. Scale models of the pieces, with pictures to show relative sizes, a few tabs to pull to demonstrate function. Off in one corner, an origami chicken. Every so often, a particular female goblin eyes the chicken with avarice. Eventually her eyes return to the array, examining each item without touching them, attempting to discern utility, or in her own terms, "What's this do/for?" The other remaining goblin watches the placement and begins a rough sketch on his paper to record the placement of the tools and devices. The Master tinker had impressed on him the importance of taking notes. "Native environs of this country, continent, world. Anywhere. I'm not a goblin, but they are willing to work with me up to a point. My anatomy is incompatible, but even though the science is different the patterns remain the same."

Muzo obligingly explains as he reassembles the various pieces. "Condenser. Collects spirits into essence." "Crucible. For reductions." "Arcanostatic isocombobulator. Inhibits microtransfigurations." "Pipette. For taking liquid samples..." And so on as he works. When Kang avoids Muzo's question, the naga raises a brow but doesn't press the topic. "Fascinating," he notes. The researcher's hands work quickly, and in no time, his setup resembles something more functional. "Will need to synthesize the avian's vital spirits." Throwing the injured creature a glance, he wonders, "not sure where to begin taking samples. Feathers, perhaps? Blood would be useful." Obviously, Muzo is hesitant, not wanting to do anything potentially perceived as harmful, certainly not without permission. About that time, the goblin that had caught the piece of paper comes back in with, not an alchemical apparatus, but rather a frightful looking contraption covered in circular razors and mounted with various armatures. All in all, the piece could be said to be alchemically inspired, for it does roughly resemble the diagram the creature had been presented. Formulae gives an agitated flutter at the sight of the invention, and its pages rustle in agitation.

Kang solves the question of what samples to take. He taps his ivory staff and it shifts into a machete, which he uses to cut Cass' hair, trim her nails, and nick her pinky. The samples are collected and placed in their respective containers. The helpful goblin hands them to the researcher with utmost solemnity. "I hope that's enough. Don't want to hinder her recovery." It could be argued that the goblins themselves are hindering the girl's recovery with their help, but the endgame is worth it. Kang hovers around the girl constantly, monitoring her progress and keeping her stable. No harm would come to his charge while he is there. The goblins continue to make sketches and ask questions. They want to help, but sometimes their efforts aren't so much helpful as dangerous. The device that the tinker returned with is one example. "What is it for?" This question is from Kang. "Utility might not be lost, if we can determine what you want it to do."

Muzo finds the goblins' sense of gravity contagious, and he accepts the samples with the same decorum, setting them onto his work table so he can set delicately about implementing them into his setup, adding a pinch of here, a drop of blood there, and so on, causing an array of reactions from subtle to lively to volatile. He hadn't expected a student audience, but Muzo falls easily into the role, pointing to various parts of complex alchemical apparatus. "Convexion tower striates the living essences categorically, driven by the thrumbic infelculator into vitreous vitae, setting the groundwork..." Apparently confident in the goblin's ability to follow along, he rambles contently on over the sound of clinking glassware, burbling fluids, and humming equipment. The tinker with the spinning razor armature array holds it up. "Izza multislicer, for the peelabits! Skins it fast. Shling!" With pantomime, he imitates how one would apply the tool to the object being skinned. Suddenly, there is an ambient blue flash and a large ring of smoke and downy feathers blows out the top of one of Muzo's contraptions. "Hmm. Setbacks to be expected. Can't be discouraged." The last phrase is accompanied by an emphatic pointing gesture. Let the goblins to copy *that* into their notes.

Kang recognizes what happened now with the 'mulitslicer'. The enterprising goblin had combined the diagrams from the paper with the diagnostics for a hand-crank can-opener. With a little tinkering, which these goblins do best, the device could remove and demolish a foe's armor without hurting the man inside. Clever indeed. The group of goblins listens to Muzo with wide eyes and eagerly sketches pictoral notes. Most of what he says goes right over their heads, but what doesn't gets written down. The preklek takes a sheet of paper from the stack in the corner and begins drawing schematics. It appears his team would be ready for the next lesson, soon, with a little help from the researcher. He double-checks his own notes, and folds them in two. Next, he begins to disassemble the origami chicken. Each piece is carefully labelled with shapes and seemingly meaningless runes.

Muzo waves away the smoke and brushes away the feathers as best he can, throwing an apologetic look back at the helpless aven. Gathering up a bit of the down in his palm, he turns it over, studying it, then "sniffing" it with his forked, flicking tongue. "Hmm." He dumps them back into a bubbling bulb of solution, and they're quickly consumed. "Wouldn't want to waste material," he explains. Formulae flutters back over to its master, and its pages noisily flip, rifling through to show a set of tables and figures which Muzo immediately begins referencing. "...seems avian spirit is a testy essence," the snake grumbles, and he lowers his goggles over his eyes, leaning in closer to the setup, "means we'll have to half-cock the fesporation valves..." There is a duller blue flash this time, and considerably less smoke, and sure enough, floating a gently bubbling blue serum, there floats a solitary eye. As though imbued with its own awareness, or at least an animus, it spins and points in suspension, turning to look at this and that. The goblins "ooo" and "aaaaah" appreciatively. Muzo beams, his ophidian face splitting in a wide, wide grin. "Eureka!"

Kang looks up from his work to examine the eyeball with the rest of the group. "Production is complete. Now we move on to transplantation?" He squints at the eyeball, and does some quick calculations in his head. "How do we discern function? Sizing? Correct age parameters?" The eye lo ks on to Kang's voice and finds the preklek's left eye to lock on to. The single pupil dilates and contracts, a reflexive instinct hardwired into the neural pathway. One of the goblins breaks away from the group to peek at the new sheet that Kang had been working on. The small tinker picks up the sheet but doesn't get the illicit view of the next test, due to the Master's top apprentice slapping his wrist and walking him back to the group. Dratted goody two-toes. She grins at her success at exerting power and does her best to lock away all the information in her flighty head.

Muzo hesitates at the suggestion of transplantation. "Ah. Vivisection." The very word makes him swallow. "Parameters are exact," he timidly assures Kang and throws the avian another glance, "as it was fostered from her essence. Question of implantation. Labwork my personal forte. Knifework, though..." He pales a little. "Encourage you to recall my initial reluctance." One of the goblins pipes up. "Setbacks to be expected!"

Kang scribbles a few notes and hands it to the female goblin. "Parameters must be exact. Our researcher says the organ parameters are exact. This must be -more- exact." She bobs her head and ducks out, followed closely behind by the other goblins. They all wanted a piece of the action. "Bladework is -my- forte. Theirs is tech production. We have it covered."

Muzo begins deliberately, delicately shutting down his grand apparatus, and bit by bit, the processes all halt and fall eerily silent. With tender care, he dismounts the bulb in which the eye floats, removing the container from the rest of the glassware and stopping the inlets. "Opens at the top," he indicates the simple lid and offers it to one of the goblins who takes it with the same solemnity as the samples were initially offered and brings it over to Kang.

Kang said, "What do I feed it?" He places it on the table next to the sleeping girl, and applies pressure to select nerves to dull the pain. The housing implement wouldn't be ready for a few hours, and he wanted the transition to be flawless. "They'll be a while, and we may need to alter their designs."

Muzo his eyes raise in surprise. "Feed it? Oh!" The alchemist startles, struck by the revelation. "Had expected it to be fused with avian's body processes," one eye narrows in suspicion, "though have an inkling now that such may not be the case. Without support from vital process, eye will require serum." He detaches another vessel. "Required *some* amount to create the eye. Have some condensed here in this retort. Yours to keep now." A cork squeaks into the neck of the retort, and it arrives in the eager hands of another goblin. "Will be happy to make more as needed. Blood and feathers, simple ingredients. Just a matter of... procedure." The naga gives a tittering laugh, but he quickly stifles it for fear of potentially interrupting Kang's concentration.

Kang said, "Eventually, it will be fueled by her body, but gettting it to attach might take work." He accepts the serum and plans ahead for the long process of healing. "I wish to protect my assets from harm. That includes an eye that isn't yet part of an orphan."

Muzo nods along as Kang speaks, trying his best to follow. "...protect assets..." He mutters along. Something in the fellow's vernacular strikes Muzo as familiar, but he can't put his finger on it. Turning back around, he resumes disassembling his sets. "Could you fetch some clean water?" Muzo politely bothers one of the goblins, and it hesitates, still eager to see the Master Tinker's handiwork before obligingly hurrying off to fill out Muzo's request. By the time the goblin returns, the last pieces of glassware are apart and ready for washing, which Muzo does.

Kang adds a few drops to the tank with the eye, just in time to see the group return triumphantly with the metal device. To the untrained eye it looks like a mangled piece of iron, but that's only because it is. "Ah, almost perfect." Kang picks up an iron file and begins sawing at rough edges. After he's done it still looks like a mangled piece of iron, but it's smoother. He clears his throat loudly, expectantly. The little female goblin is the first to catch on and she races out of the room to get the cheap wine. "Sterilization!!" she shouts upon her return. After cleaning the scrap, Kang places it over Cass' empty socket: perfect fit. He removes it, and cuts away some scar tissue from inside. Once he's satisfied, he plucks the eye out of the tank, deftly inserts it and replaces the metal cap. He whistles a small soft ditty. From somewhere close by, the spark zips into view and melds the flesh and steel on the girl's face. Strangely enough, the air is clear of any harsh smells of burning. Somehow the fire elemental had done the job without harming the structural integrity of the body and its ability to heal.

Muzo is just about to begin loading his priceless glassware back into the steamer trunk when Kang begins, and so the naga pauses to stand behind the rows of goblins and observe, enthralled by the sight of such work and as eager to learn as the rest of those gathered around the operating table. In truth, Muzo is as curious about the whole spectacle as he is about the technical details; this is a surgical theater like none he's ever been in before. Suddenly the spark is zipping in again. "Oh!" He'd nearly forgotten! This was what he'd come here to study to begin with, after all. "Peculiar," the researcher breathlessly whispers at the sight, and he beckons Formulae over so he can begin hurriedly scrawling notes in the spellbook's pages.

Kang pokes at the hinges and tests the muscle reflex for blinking. "Everything seems to be in order. Might have a problem with rust in the future, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Satisfied that the eye is installed correctly, Kang readies himself to leave on other pressing business. He leaves orders for the girl's care and arranges for her to be checked on hourly. Food and necessities, leisure time, exercise to strengthen lost muscle mass. He leaves nothing unaccounted for. "When I return," he tells his team. "I think we'll be ready for the chicken." As he's talking, the spark flickers and a smaller speck of light seperates from it. Both sparks grow into cats, and the larger grooms the smaller. Kang is thanking Muzo once agin for his help when he looks over at the spectacle. "Well, this is unexpected. I'm just glad it wasn't a whole litter."

Muzo finishes his notes, and he sets Formulae back to lazily drifting about the den. By the time Kang is finished arranging for the aven's care, Muzo has washed and packed away the last of his instruments. The steamer trunk snaps shut, and Kang comes to thank him, and Muzo naturally accepts, only to be interrupted by an extraordinary phenomenon. "Mitosis!" Muzo exclaims in delighted disbelief. "Of all things. Would never have guessed it capable of reproduction. Was beginning to doubt it was truly alive, frankly." It makes him chuckle.

Kang said, "If it wasn't alive it might be easier to work with. Tools don't decide to wander off or ignore the task at hand." He eyes the mother cat grooming the smaller flamekitten. "This probably means that I'll be ignored more often. Well, it is what it is."

Muzo studies the spark a moment longer, then slithers around to inspect the rather peaceful looking avian. He was curious to know how the eye would take, but only time will tell; there's little doubt, of course. Muzo made it out of her, after all. With tail trailing after him, he slips up behind the end of his trunk and begins pushing again, scooting the hefty box back toward the door. "Delighted to be of service, naturally. Curious, though," he looks to the flame kitten, "wondered if I could make an offer on the kit. Didn't know if you were eager to keep it."

Kang shrugs on his way out. "If Sparky let's you have the kit, then I can't argue. We just work together, I have no control over what the sparks do. They either cooperate or they don't." One quick flick of the wrist shifts the machete back into an ivory staff, and Kang is gone, wandering off into the farthest reaches of Hollow, seeking a means to gain his endgame.

Muzo bids Kang farewell and makes a bid a coaxing one of the sparks. "Here sparky-sparky..."