User:Kreekitaka

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List of RPs

Are you ready, kids?

AYE AYE, CAPTAIN!

I can't hear you!

AYE AYE, CAPTAIN!

OHHHH:

Who lives in a spiral shell under the sea!?

KREE-KI-TA-KA!

All hard-shelled and glam'rous and wealthy is he!

KREE-KI-TA-KA!

If crustacean fashion is something you need

KREE-KI-TA-KA!

Just offer some gold, appeal to his greed!

KREE-KI-TA-KA!

Description

Kree, as drawn by Artia! You rock, Artia.

So right off the bat it's pretty obvious Kree's a seaborn. He just smells like it all the time, and there's a constant drip. drip. drip of water flowing over his gills from the large spiral shells he wears on his back. But it's also pretty obvious that he is not your typical seaborn, because he also has an exoskeleton.

Kreekitaka is an uyeer. Specifically, he's a Teal, of mixed-race--his mother is a Green, his father an Abyssal. He's eight feet tall, with a shell that's becoming darker and bluer as he ages.

Some kind of very large weapon hangs behind his "waist" in a scabbard or holster of some kind and twin sashes cross his "chest", supporting the aforementioned shells full of water.

Occupation

Kree is the owner, operator and head designer of an imported-fabric store. The fabrics he deals in are highly exotic, and some have strange properties like weighing nothing, or changing colors, or glowing.

Fighting style

Due to the peculiar culture in which he was raised, Kree has been fighting all his life--though he hasn't had much formal training. His favored weapons are the blunt and heavy kind, and he prefers to simply power into opponents and overwhelm them with pure brute force and stoic unyielding defense--though he isn't without his tricks.

Biography

Kreekitaka was born to a mixed-clan family who had moved to a city run by neither clan. This meant neither parent had any influence whatsoever on local politics, which they decided was just fine because it meant less responsibility. They could just sit out on the outskirts, not bother anyone, and enjoy life by themselves.

This began to irk Kree from an early age. The other children pushed him around, using their more numerous social contacts to arrange for better things than he had and taunting him with them--and if he tried to challenge, they'd gang up on him and outnumber him.

Some children might become disheartened by this, believing they didn't deserve those things anyway, that they were weaker and therefore ought to stay lower on the food chain, but not Kree. Kree got mad. And then began to beat up his siblings.

He'd train for days at a time, swimming up hard currents and rolling large stones to build strength, and grabbing whatever objects he could lay his claws on and hitting things with them until one or both shattered. His brothers and sisters began to live in fear of him, though they rapidly came to understand his mindset and used him as an example. Arguments among siblings would rapidly escalate into beatings, which often involved weapons of some sort.

And on the day Kree felt himself ready, he challenged his old nemesis, savagely knocked aside his lackeys, and just about killed him with his bare claws. This wasn't over, though, he decided. This couldn't end until Kree was the richest being in the city.

He used the spoils from the fight to acquire the right to train with a village clothing-maker. If he was going to be top dog in this city, he'd need to look the part, and it never hurt to have another skill. Eventually, Kree mastered the art of fashion, challenged his master to a duel for her wealth, and beat the stuffing out of her.

Now, with all of the fortune and stock of the previous owner, Kree began to search for new ways to turn an absolutely killer profit and show everyone what was up. He used it to hire fabric-makers and acquire a location in the middle of town, and set up his own store there. Immediately it was a success, but it wasn't making money fast enough for him. There was still something missing.

The day the iron spheres fell from the surface changed everything.

The town wasn't too far out from shore, but far enough away that ships passing overhead were momentary flickers of darkness and nothing more. Nobody dropped anchor out here. And then, one day, loud noises echoed down from above and iron balls began to sink down through the water. Two ships on the surface were roaring at each other and crying droplets of metal.

Metal was not a common thing among these people. Digging it out required trips to the deep, deep water, and forging it required exposure to the world of fire below the seafloor. It was, therefore, extremely expensive to produce and very valuable in trade--but here the vessels from above simply disposed of it and let it sink away from them! When Kree realized what wealth those on the surface must have to be able to just discard of this valuable resource this way, he had the solution.

And so it was that, loaded with crates of his fabric and prepared to trade it for the power of metal, Kreekitaka mounted his first expedition to the lands of Hollow.

Full-Length Clicky Bio

Click here to skip, this part is really long.

• I can ride my bike with no handlebars
• No handlebars, no handlebars

Eilyo had been standing at the board, mumbling to herself when the strange new creature enters the room. She stepped back with a small gasp, her eyes wide with a brief fear. After gathering herself, the vampire chose to silently watch the strange new being.

He shifted his position slightly, gesturing to the woman standing by the board with a large three-pronged claw. "You can reaDAH! and wriTAH!.?" he asked her, paddles sweeping backward with a musical clattering. "I have an announcemenTAH! I mus' make, an' I know none of your wriTAH!ing." His words were deep, though hollow, and forced out of him with great effort, as though most of the speech was just pushed air.

Eilyo listened with great interest, the woman carefully studying his mannerisms while he spoke. She nodded slightly in response to his question and was smiling gently by the time he was done. She starts digging in her bag for some parchment and a quill. "Ah not a problem love. What's the announcement then, eh?" Her voice was soft and melodic, more like a song instead of speaking.

He nodded and gestured to his kilt, standing up a little taller and flaring his paddles. "I," and suddenly the whole puff-up routine collapsed for a moment as he broke into a bout of what could best be called interpretive dance. Claws clicked and paddles scraped and generally he made quite a bit of percussive sound with his body, like a full-body tapdance routine. It was a specific set of patterns and sounds, however. After the second-or-two long drop into insanity that is a percussive language, he resumed his previous posture and continued entirely as before: "arrive on HHHTHe surface TAH!oo proviDAH! you wiHHHTH fine iTAH!ms my peepo make. Specificayee, fabrics yike noHHHTHing you have seen. CyoHHHTH HHHTHaTAH! changes coyors by iTAH!seff," he gestured at his kilt, "or shimmers yike HHHTHe surface of HHHTHe sea, or weighs almos' noHHHTHing." He rippled his paddles and folded his arms. "Can you wriTAH! HHHTHaTAH! for me?"

Eilyo watched his dance with wide, curious eyes. As intrigued as she was, she was still taking her task very seriously. The woman nibbled on her lip a bit in thought, glancing over the notes and bits she jotted down. "Who exactly are your people, love?"

He seemed, if anything, to brighten a little at this question. He bowed lightly to her, lifting the topmost set of paddles. "We call oursevvs--" He arced his back in such a way that his exoskeleton groaned slightly, then let out a high-pitched scrape of an "exhalation" sound. "I am of c'yan--" And again with the interpretive dance bit. "An' my business's name is," clearly communication was beginning to break down.

Eilyo looks troubled a moment before offering the strange man a sheepish smile. "As wonderful as your things may be, if we can't communicate your name properly I'm not sure how much that will matter, eh?"

He tilted his head, paddles dropping a little. "Um." His paddles clattered together and his claws snapped, facial crushers twitching. He slowly went through each sound of his name, then tried to mimick it with his mouth. Clack-scrape, "Kree," chest-flick, "ki," clatter-snap. He paused. Clatter-snap doesn't quite have an analogue in mouthsound. He tried as best he could: "TAH!...?" Click. "Ka." He tried sounding it all out together. "KreekiTAH!ka?"

Eilyo smiles brightly at his break through, nodding as she starts trying to jot down his name, or as close as they could get for this purpose. "Now where will we be able to find you and your wares?"

"Jus' DAH!own HHHTHe schreeTAH! from here, facing HHHTHe rising sun." So a little way east of here. "I have onyee a singoh carTAH! for now, buTAH! can geTAH! more if my wares prove popuyar."

• Look at me, look at me
• hands in the air like it's good to be
• alive and I'm a famous rapper
• even when the paths are all crookedy

Desparrow was wandering the forest now, only wearing his leather pants at this point. His wounds from earlier had already healed mostly, he just had a bit of blood on him. A member of his pack had died today, and had been buried, mourned. Desparrow was now just travelling looking for a distraction, whatever may happen to cross paths with.

Kreekitaka was carrying a large crate around the forest when he happened across Desparrow, and flagged him down with a wave as he set the crate down. "Hi!" he called, standing back up and starting towards him, raising a claw to shake. "I have your armor an' was jusTAH! yooking for a pyace TAH!oo show iTAH! off. Here works, acshuayee." He gestured to a thicket not far away. "If you wanTAH!, of course."

Desparrow smelled the sea in the air and it happened to be coming from the crustacean that he spotted waving him over. With lifted spirit and a bounce in his step towards Kreekitaka. The fact his armor was done surprised him, then again he had no idea how long it took to make a suit of armor for he wasn't a smith in any manner of speaking. "Well hello there! Fancy seeing you on this night. In fact I welcome the sight of you, this is definitely going to make tonight far better." The lycanthrope waited patiently for Kree to show him the wares, or lead him wherever.

Kreekitaka clenched his facial crushers and turned back to the crate, then pulled out a pair of gloves made from the silvery shiny material. The back of the glove was made from the blue-grey stuff-slashing armor, with an additional section that, when the fingers flexed, snapped down over the first knuckles--the gloves had built-in knuckledusters made from the sharkskin. After handing him those with a warning: "TAH!ouch onyee HHHTHe shiny parTAH!s," Kree hauled out the underarmor. This was also made from the silver shimmery material and was designed to go over his whole body in a single piece, resembling pajamas with a hood. "Wear HHHTHis firsTAH!, HHHTHen HHHTHe gyoves. You neeDAH! HHHTHe proTAH!ecshun when wearing HHHTHe armor." He handed the underarmor to him, then started getting out pieces, touching them only with his claws and not his tendrils. The armor would have something of an Eastern look to it, with heavily-built shoulders and an almost skirt-like protection for his waist. The helmet had a swept-back neck guard and a full slit across for the eyes. Whenever the underarmor was on, Kree would help with the main pieces--they had an interesting, very simple twist-and-lock system where they connected to certain notches on the underarmor. Easy to put on, probably easy to take off, yet secure enough to stay on during active use.

Desparrow waited patiently for Kreekitaka and although it was difficult to understand him sometimes he tried his hardest to make due. The lycanthrope grinned when he saw the gloves that he was handed and as he took it felt indeed the shiny fabric and was surprised by the texture and durability. "Interesting.." Des examined the suit for a moment before removing his pants, luckily he was wearing a speedo beneath, so that he could slip on the underarmor. The gloves he had set aside for the moment he then took and began to slide on. Imagining himself with the whole suit on he bet he'd look like a bit of a bruiser, if not an odd one, but definitely unique. "Alright. This is your specialty so I'll do as you say. I hope I am not doing something wrong." he chuckled, feeling quite comfortable in this specifically tailored suit which already was turning out to be quite worth the coin he was going to dish out..

Kreekitaka handed him the pieces one by one: a gauntlet, then the other gauntlet. The three-connected-pieces waist guard that fastened on the back. The chest armor, which was also three connected pieces, connected in the front. A shoulder piece, then a second one. Finally, the helmet, which had something of a trilobite motif to it. Actually, the shoulders were kinda trilobite-looking, too. Interesting! Once he was all suited up, Kree took a step back and crossed his arms. "Chry going HHHTHrough HHHTHere," he said, pointing to the thicket. The armor, should he go, would by itself easily shear away most of the plant matter that came up against it, carving its own path.

Desparrow piece by piece donned the armor as it was handed to him with assistance when necessary. He didn't dare try and test its durability, didn't want it to do to his hand what it did to the wood before. All said and done however he felt unbelievable comfortable and protected. No piece of him seemed to go unguarded. As per instruction he went to the spot in the bushes and watched in amazement as they were severed from their parent vegetation at a mere brushing in passing. "Incredible." spoken after turning around to make his way back. "This armor is incredible.. Can't imagine how destructive this would be against flesh. Heh heh. Soo." Des said looking from piece to piece. "What's the cost of all this?" He figured he had plenty in the bank yet. price should not be a problem in the slightest at this point.

Kreekitaka clasped his claws together and clattered his paddles together. "HHHTHree HHHTHousan', eighTAH! hunjreDAH! goaDAH!." He rumbled internally. "I hope iTAH! is noTAH! more HHHTHan expecTAH!...?"

Desparrow grinned. "Let's call it an even four thousand.”

• I can show you how to do-si-do
• I can show you how to scratch a record
• I can take apart the remote control
• And I can almost put it back together

Muzo glides forward, lost in thought, his long tail sliding through each static bend in his winding path to propel him ever forward and onward through space; likewise his mind moves ceaseless forward in contemplation. "...exacerbate the glandular transmogrification to express latent thaumaturgic--oof!!" Without a thought to potential obstacles, the absentminded Muzo has bumped right Kreekitaka's cart. He startles considerably, as does his hovering spellbook; the Naga gasps wide eyed, and Formula flaps and rustles in shock and agitation. "T-t-terribly sorry! Lost in thought, didn't see, my mis... mis... mis...". Trailing off, the awestruck naga's eyes trace up the crabman's form, and his ophidian jaw drops in utter astonishment and, by the look of it, actual fear.

He paused a little and waited while the snakeman took in his appearance and rumbled internally, clenching his facial crushers and tapping his chest once with a claw. Nothing about him would ever be perfectly still--his paddles gently rippled up and down his back, his legs shifted slightly, the twin whiplike tails scraped lightly against each other. It was like he was actually incapable of complete stillness. "Is okay. May I ask your profession? I am KreekiTAH!ka, an' I require inschrucshun in HHHTHe yanguage of air-breaHHHTHers." As he spoke, he opened one three-digit claw and extended several small tendrils apparently designed for fine manipulative work, and gestured with them like he was writing something with a pen.

Muzo shudders before summoning up all the politeness from his deepest reserves. Though visibly paled at, the naga manages to answer the crabman, speaking quickly enough that his words nearly run into one another. "Ah-ah-a r-researcher. Muzo. No surname. Royal alchemist, second class. Dissertation: foundation of applied biotic alchemy. I-ah-er-myself, I-" He's getting closer to gathering himself up after his bad start. Formulae, meanwhile, seems immediately to catch Kreekitaka's drift and flutters excitedly over to the crab man, flipping through its pages and merrily showing off its contents: graphs, diagrams, sigils, tables, and bulky, bulky text. Each flipping page wafts the musty smell of aged writing. The slender alchemist, meanwhile, makes no attempt to restrain the enthusiastic tome, and, he clears his throat. "Erm-ah-yes, language? Well versed in written language. Wonder, though, what kind of instruction you seek?" Puzzlement crosses his brow. "Intermediate? Advanced? Never fancied myself a teacher, though would be willing to make the attempt. Wouldn't know where to point you, as far as real teachers go." He looks around himself as though one might serendipitously appear, with apples, chalkboard, mortarboard and measuring stick. No such individual appears.

Kreekitaka's paddles twitched upwards at the word "dissertation" and continued slowly flaring throughout the sentence. He looked through the book intently before the man spoke again. "From HHHTHe beginning. I am noTAH! famiyiar wiHHHTH any of HHHTHis." He gestured to the book. "Your air-soun's are very harDAH! for me, an' you don'TAH! even have symbohs for my speech. So I mus' yearn yours if I am TAH!oo promoTAH! my business, see?"

Muzo freezes entirely, attentively cocking an earhole as the crabman speaks, and his tongue gives a few compulsive flicks--it's an analytical tick of his. "Business? Er-ahem-I-I-I mean, should begin with the alphabet, I would imagine." Following Muzo's line of thought, Formulae immediately flips to a bold, large typeface display of the common alphabet, complete with upper and lower case: a full two-pager. The book floats just within Muzo's reach, and the naga raises up a scrawny arm so he can begin pointing at the different letters in sequence. "Common tongue, not 'land speech'," he gives a tittering little laugh, "though an amusing and inventive label. See, all of it, made of different symbols that represent sounds. Mostly straightforward. Occasionally nuanced and idiosynchratic. No one gets it down perfectly. Rules become," he squints one eye shut, "malleable as one approaches mastery. Digression!" The book straightens its spine and spreads its pages wider as Muzo continues. "Symbols in sequence form sounds." The page flips, revealing a cartoon depiction of Kreekitaka labeled "SCARY CRAB", which Muzo reads aloud. "Scary Crab. Ss. Kuh. A. Rrr. Eee. Like so."

Kreekitaka examined the list of symbols with intent, and then paused, gazing at the cartoon as he listened to Muzo's words. He rumbled internally and flared his paddles a little more, puffing himself up just a bit. "So. HHHTHe aomos' circo is 'kuh', regarDAH!yess of big? Khh. Ur. A. Buh." He peered at the whole thing. "Ssc. Aaarrryyy. Kh. Raaabuh." Short pause. "Scary. Crab." Shorter pause. "Scary crab!"

Muzo nods along apprehensively at Kreekitaka's initial tries, but upon hearing the aquatic fellow's swift progress, the naga immediately beams a fanged grin and nods with rapid enthusiasm. "Yes! Quitequitequitequitequite. Very good! Quick learner. Should put you in a labcoat after this. Hmm. Digression!" He returns his attention to Formulae, who flips its pages to another captioned cartoon, one of Muzo pointing itself, the floating spellbook: "WIMPY SNAKE" and "BEST BOOK EVER". Naturally, the alchemist reads these aloud too, then breaks the letters into phoenitic sounds. Muzo, despite his fast-paced speech and thought processes, turns out to be an admirably patient instructor, and will flip through as many pseudo-insulting examples as the merchant crab wishes.

• Me and my friend saw a platypus
• Me and my friend wrote a comic book
• And guess how long it took
• I can do anything that I want 'cause look

Rainbow goes wild with the rest of the crowd, sharp whistles sending small sparks of flame up into the air, bursting harmlessly overhead like small fireworks. "And there you have it! Our winner... KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEKIIIIITAAAAAAKAAAA!!!" She'd swoop in next to him, her body going from roughly three inches tall to roughly the size of a... smallish human adult, her gaudy, frilly dress scaling up with her. She scoops up one of Kree's claws, hefting it high overhead, though she's not really able to make it go up all the way. After everyone's had their fun, she'd crouch down next to the wounded one, grinning. "... You look like you need a healer. Mind if I help with that?"

Kreekitaka allowed his claw to be lifted and posed a little for the audience. As Rainbow approached the fallen man, Kree also walked up and offered him a hand up. "You fighTAH! marveyousyee," he said, a little breathlessly even for him. "HHHTHaTAH! was HHHTHe mos' fun I have haDAH! in a yong TAH!ime. HHHTHank you, sir."

Harrison looked at the small woman. She was like an... elf-dwarf without the beard, and with wings? The hell was this? Maybe he was seeing things. Too many blows to the head. There were three of her and-- well, she just offered healing. Maybe it's the mead-fairy. "G-go a'ead," Harrison barely managed in his groggy state before sneezing congealed blood to the side. Kree walked/scuttled over and offering words that were even harder to understand considering Harrison's current condition, but the situation spoke for itself anyway. The claw's assistance was taken with quiet thanks. Harrison waited to attempt a proper response for when he was properly upright, "Good fight-- no, best fight! Giant good, but ö-yeer great!" He had no idea if that was even pronounced right. The world was still spinning, but at least there were only two Kree's and two little winged elf-dwarf-girls. "Armor was tough. Like metal or ice here, but special," Harrison commented, then fell a bit silent after. He mouthed the word 'special' once more, then shook out of his thoughts to regard Kreekitaka and Rainbow once more. Now the time for intense, hot-blooded action was over, there was plenty of time to take note of the damages. Harrison's nose was busted twice over, with a gash running from cheek to the underside of his jaw; the man's back had a slight cut across it; one of his wrists had the flesh around it torn almost to the point of reaching the bone, with the matching leg shaking at the joints.

Rainbow nods seriously, her wings setting to buzzing again as she seemingly vanished, going back to her little three-inches-tall form, and start buzzing about his form, the drone of her wings something like that of a hornet. "Okay. Nose shattered, severe loss of blood, hand partially flayed, damage to the bones of the hand and wrist from punching his carapace, and... ooh, that wrist. Yeah, I'm surprised you could even clench your fist with that hole there. Adrenaline for you... Leg's pretty shot too... Right. I can get all this working, but it's going to be a bit of doing. Good thing for you, I'm drunk as a sailor~" She giggles. "Right. This is gonna feel pretty weird." She'd start to fly between the various blood pools around the wrestler and back to his body, dipping her little shard of wood in the liquid before coming back and beginning to draw little symbols on the areas worst effected. She'd have the work done in a few minutes, at which point she'd begin to sing.

Harrison would suddenly be filled with the kind of vigor and wild energy usually reserved for adolescents the day after their first romp, his body's natural recuperative abilities going into a kind of... hyper-mode and putting his body back together good as new! Better, actually, given the way the body's natural healing processes tend to work. He'd be right exhausted after it passes, since it was his body doing the work, after all, but not more than he would be after major exercise like that anyway. She'd alight again, hovering a bit above him. "Now then, on the matter of my fees..."

When Harrison started to space out like that Kree's paddles flared and he shifted his grip, using mostly the tendrils inside his claws to try and support him gently. He shifted his gaze to Rainbow, nodded to himself and said nothing, just letting her work.

Harrison faced a number of strange occurrances in such a short amount of time, let alone a day. Being sketched upon with his own blood was a few kinds of weird, for sure. Yet more to add to the list... The reinvigoration was well-accepted, and immediately lamented when it passed. But that was to be expected; that brawl was intense! Harrison would have found himself on his rear again if Kreekitaka didn't help in supporting him, which earned yet more words of appreciation. "I can tell strong, good friend in you. Heart was greater than mine!" Harrison nodded with the words, which were followed by a short-lived chuckle. Bees? No, she said 'fees'. "Fees..?" the man asked with such confusion that it was clear the word wasn't even in his vocabulary. Considering how ragged his pants were (and the torn up scraps of cloth that were near Ursa), Harrison probably didn't have a copper to his name.

Rainbow looks over the man, then sighs, crossing her arms. "... Well, there's... probably going to be issues with that... Um. Guess we're going to have to set up some installments, aren't you... Comes out to about... Eight thousand gold in total, so... that's gonna take some time to clear out."

Kreekitaka shook his head at the man and thumped him lightly on the back, clenching his facial crushers and rattling his paddles up and down. "On HHHTHis occasion, yes, buTAH! you nearyee besTAH! me wiHHHTH your fyip earyier. I aomosTAH! gave in." Then the matter of fees came up, and he waved the pixie off. "Io TAH!ake care of iTAH!. For now, yeTAH! us go jrink TAH!oo new frien'ships, yes?"

• I can keep rhythm with no metronome
• No metronome, no metronome
• And I can see your face on the telephone
• On the telephone, on the telephone

Hildegarde offered a most gracious dip of her head in the direction of Ashe, “Why, how generous of you, Stormcrow!” she retorted with an amused grin, hoping that the business of the event will let him assume the blush of colour in her cheeks is merely due to the many bodies in the fort rather than any embarrassment she held at being called ‘stunning’. Hildegarde casts her sole eye around the fort, briefly scanning dresses, suits, kilts, robes, all of it! “All of you are so beautiful this evening that it is truly difficult for me to decide! But beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. So it is fitting I have only one eye, right?” she grinned, eliciting a little chortle from the giants who guarded the hall. “Now… I think I know who I ought to give our prize to! Drum roll, if you please,” she needn’t look back at the band or bard, she is confident they will begin the drum roll to incite the anticipation. Hildegarde’s heeled boots clack across the floor as she begins to move, accepting a velvety pillow from a giant who briefly kneeled before her. Evidently, the prize rested upon that pillow. “I name you the Queen of Love and Beauty,” she said sweetly and earnestly, “for no heart is as sweet nor as accepting as yours. You wear your beauty on your face and your love in the deeds you do every day, Lady Alvina,” she said as she took the blue iron laurel from the pillow and so very gently set it upon Alvina’s head to dub her the winner. “But who is a Queen without a King?” Historically, better. But we can’t forget the guys! To the veritable Kreekitka, Hildegarde wanders over to. “And to you, the undisputable master of fashion,” who she only knew of thanks to Josleen, “you are dubbed the King of Love and Beauty!” she said, reaching out to offer the blue iron laurel as she wouldn’t want to possibly… crush his crustacean head.

Linn's mouth hung open for a second as Alvina was dubbed the fashion queen of the ball with her truly out of place dress. Slowly, ever so slowly it curled into a grin that went ear-to-ear. The enchanter couldn't even be mad at the statement. Kreekitaka's title as the king of fashion was met with perfect acceptance. That crazy crab managed to thoroughly impress him with the appearance of an outfit for the first time ever. Guy deserved it.

Alvina listens to Hildegarde, feeling safe and secluded behind the many fluffy dresses and bodies twirling in front of her. Just as she closes her eyes in a sigh of relief, she sees the Stewardess walking towards her with a blue Laurel. Gods no. NONONONONO. "Jos!" she hissed, trying to stay behind her but finding herself in center spotlight dressed in this poor excuse for a dress being complimented by her boss!! Her pale features were on fire; a bright crimson to rival her hair as she did her best to bow as she received the honor. No words can pass her lips.

Kreekitaka accepted the laurel with a gracious bow and donned it, tucking it behind his eyes and almost wearing it around his neck. "Many HHHTHanks, sTAH!ewarDAH! ITAH! is an honor TAH!oo receive HHHTHis." He stood up tall and held up his arms, looking around. "An' TAH!oo everyone HHHTHis nighTAH!--I have marveyous news! My sTAH!ore," he paused for dramatic effect, "is now fuhyee open, wiHHHTH a compyeeTAH! sTAH!ock of wares! You can AH parTAH!ake in me DAH!esigns."

• Look at me, look at me
• Just called to say that it's good to be
• Alive in such a small world
• I'm all curled up with a book to read

Kreekitaka was back in his store, and it was easily recognizable due to the glowing bits of fabric that also served as a light source. "ArTAH!ia! Many apoyogies. HHHTHere was an emergency wiHHHTH a jaek an' some hagfish yeaHHHTHer. Is everyHHHTHing awrighTAH! wiHHHTH HHHTHe wing man?"

Artia smile brightly at Kreekitaka, "Yes he is to audition for the ball tomorrow. He wants to perform a harp, turns out he has been looking for me. Larketians described me as a tall stunning beauty, so that would be why it was hard to find me. They are so sweet." Watching him glow from the fabric was amazing. "Oh my goddess! What if everyone lit up like that?! I could cast a spell that the light of the candles are floating above us like stars. And I can make the ceiling have shooting stars!! How beautiful would that be?!" She moved closer to him, "This ball will be gorgeous!" She clasp her hands together holding them against her lips with a happy, joyful laugh twirling. "I hope people come."

Kreekitaka rippled his paddles up and down his back and tapped his chest with a claw. "Say I am going TAH!oo be HHHTHere. I was mayDAH! King of Yove an' BeauTAH!ee aTAH! HHHTHe Fros'maw evenTAH! an' I seem TAH!oo be gaining some fame. Say I hepp wiHHHTH DAH!ecorations aoso." He clenched his facial crushers at her. "Now, I haDAH! an offer for you..."

Artia put her hands down folded at her hips, "I know I was there! I was one with the dress enchanted to look like stars twinkling on the bottom of my dress and protecting two female from harm if anyone got close to us. You sure packed a bunch on Alvina." She giggled at him, "What's your offer? Let's get all these offers in the air and work on a contract."

Kreekitaka rolled his shoulders and clasped his claws in front of him, tilting his head at her. "How DAH!oo you feeoh abouTAH! running a sTAH!ore jus' yike mine, in your ciTAH!ee? HHHTHaTAH! way you can sTAH!ay up HHHTHere an' keep chrack of your patienTAH!s wiHHHTHouTAH! chraveying back an' forHHHTH so much, an' you're conTAH!inuing TAH!oo hepp make money." He gestured with a claw. "Of course, you can keep haff of whaTAH! you earn, buTAH! you'DAH! senDAH! me HHHTHe oHHHTHer haff, which TAH!akes care of my expenses keeping your sTAH!ock TAH!oppeDAH! up."

Artia paled, her? Run a store? H-how? She never ran anything except the clinic, which she is amazing at. But a store.."Umm..how would that work? Do you put a store up and I keep an eye on it? Or I have to stand in the store waiting? Oh, and Larket not my city yet. But I have goal to be the queen eventually. I haven't seen any of the council in years, I seem to be the only one there that helps and protects Larket nowadays. So...umm how would this store work? I wouldn't mind helping you, heck your helping me get a dress. I'd like for this t not be strictly business but so friends. And I can also help you learn the ways of the lands easier instead trial and error." Tilting her head to the smile with a sway side to side with her body only with excitement. "We could also be allies too. I can enchant or give you potions for free too."

Kreekitaka nodded. "I wooDAH! be gyaDAH! TAH!oo be your frien' an' comraDAH!, an' I keep your offer of enchanTAH!ing in minDAH! aoso. If you have anyone who works for you, HHHTHey can run HHHTHe shop, or I can hire someone TAH!oo man iTAH!. HHHTHey neeDAH! experience in sewing an' DAH!esign an HHHTHey neeDAH! an eye for beauTAH!ee." He nodded firmly. "You wooDAH! be in charge of making sure your STAH!ore has everyHHHTHing iTAH! neeDAH!s an' senDAH!s haff HHHTHe profiTAH! back TAH!oo me." He tilted his head a little to the other side. "Or, you cooDAH! jus' be my moDAH!oh, buTAH! HHHTHis way you aoso have a consTAH!anTAH! fyow of goaDAH! TAH!oo hepp funDAH! your conquesTAH! of HHHTHe ciTAH!ee."

Artia kept smiling, "Alright! You hire someone, don't pay me. Just having your store in the city is enough for me. I will keep an eye over it. And I will also be your model. How's that?"

Kreekitaka hrmed, pausing for a bit, then nodded. "I yike iTAH!. You moDAH!oh for boHHHTH sTAH!ores--HHHTHe one in your ciTAH!ee in HHHTHe morning, an' mine in HHHTHe evening. You're going TAH!oo use whaTAH!ever infyuence you have TAH!oo geTAH! me permission TAH!oo operaTAH! HHHTHere an' reporTAH! TAH!oo me on iTAH! reguyaryee. In reTAH!urn, I make many jresses for you which you wear aomos' every DAH!ay, an' DAH!ecoraTAH! your evenTAH!, an' assisTAH! you in conquering HHHTHe ciTAH!ee when HHHTHe TAH!ime comes." He nodded. "SounDAH! fair?"

Artia played with her hair, "There is no one to get permission from. But Larket is all about business and thriving. The people will welcome more shops. They love it. So I can tell you it will be welcomed. I think we have a great understanding and deal. In between working the clinic I will do what you asked. Maybe you can get the concert hall after the ball to host a show in Larket as well. You post notes on boards and I will talk to the owner of the hall for you. This friendship will help us both, heck I can see us be very good friends outside of the business part. When I need you, I'll call on you when it's time to back me. You and I are going to be working together a lot. Some days I will bring drinks and snacks for us to nibble on. Maybe I can get some other males and females to help model for you. So yes very fair my new friend."

• I can make money, open up a thrift store
• I can make a living on a magazine
• I can design an engine
• Sixty-four miles to a gallon of gasoline

Khitti is dressed in a luxurious floor-length, backless ballgown. The entirety of the dress, from sleeves to skirt is covered in swirls, and depending upon the light they shimmer between green and purple. In typical model fashion, she takes her walk along the runway, the spotlight following her every movement. She actually even manages not to fall. Lucky girl. Once she reaches the end of the stage, just in front of the crowd, she spins, allowing the many layers of the skirt to be appreciated as well as the shimmery colors of the fabric. This now done, she ever so carefully heads back to Kreekitaka, taking her place beside him once more.

Kreekitaka nodded and began commenting on the outfit. "Here we have KhiTAH!ee, jresseDAH! in a yong baogown mayDAH! from my proprieTAH!ary coyor-changing fabric. See how iTAH! is boHHHTH green an' purpo aTAH! once? An' see HHHTHe swooshes, how HHHTHey shine an' gyow? Aoso unique. You cannoTAH! fin' cyoHHHTHes yike HHHTHis anywhere ess, peepo! No one has garmenTAH!s as fine as I can make! Give KhiTAH!ee a cheer for how marveyous she is!" He snapped his claws again in applause, then, as she passed by to leave the stage, he whispered something to her while nodding and gesturing for Artia to come on up.

Artia appeared from the left side of the stage, a smile upon lusciously plump ruby lips and it would be forced to remain. The sleeveless dress has a form-fitting top with one shoulder which has a bit of a lacy frill that extends out just a little way. The other side is shoulderless. The skirt part is long and billowy and comes down to almost the floor, wide and loose at the bottom. The whole thing is lighter than something of its size ought to be. Primarily a dark red, but it has narrow white stripes running in spirals down the length of the top, becoming straight vertical bands down along the bottom of the dress. Stitched in flowering, flowing designs in threads of golden light are vine-like patterns that seem to grow organically all over the dress. Each leaf is an intricately-crafted trilobite. On her feet were matching red leather heels, marking the witch a five foot eleven this night. Sashaying her hips side to side, the witch stopped every fifteen feet Artia stopped, placing a hand to her hips. Looking out to the crowd, oh goddess...need whiskey. Once she got to the middle, Artia slowly spun showing off exactly how well the dress was made and fit. Looking to the crowd she spotted Pilar and winked to her. To Xzavior, he just got a look. Turning she walked off the stage, but before she did Artia curstied to Kreekitaka. One step at a time she moved back to the ground and moved up to Pilar. Phew, "I need a drink."

Kreekitaka said, "An' here we have ArTAH!ia, our gracious hosTAH! HHHTHis evening! She seTAH! aomos' everyHHHTHing up here, isn' she granDAH!.? Yook aTAH! HHHTHe fine embroiDAH!ery on HHHTHis piece! ITAH! is mayDAH! wiHHHTH yove, an' chreaTAH!menTAH!s HHHTHaTAH! come from HHHTHe ocean and HHHTHe ocean ayone! See how iTAH! rippohs an' fyows as she moves as if iTAH! bareyee weighs anyHHHTHing? I useDAH! HHHTHe same TAH!echniques for HHHTHe chanDAH!eyier above you." He gestured up to the disco ball and spinning strips of weightless cloth. "YeTAH!s cheer on ArTAH!ia again!"

Rainbow was called to the stage next, suddenly appearing like a sparkle flew out from under Kree's cape and rapidly enlarged itself onto the stage, the pixie suddenly going from three inches to about four feet tall on the stage. She strutted confidently forward, showing off her outfit. This one was likely to have something a different feel than the others since she'd made it herself, and was typically much smaller. Absent was the everpresent trilobite logo, this one was simply a fabric demonstration. Instead of a long ballgown, she was instead clad in a short, puffy skirt and long black stockings that covered her legs. Her gloves were long and black as well, The dress had short sleeves and poofy shoulders and a corset-style top that still covered everything. It glowed brightly, much like the pixie herself, but couldn't decide what color it wanted to be, shifting in waves through the spectrum like a Windows screensaver, not that anyone present knew what that was. The whole thing had a soft blue tint, however the inner color of the dress shifted, and its trim sparkled, throwing beams of light all over the audience. She shifted her hips and struck a proud pose at the end, then marched back to Kree rather nonchalantly and disappeared again, shrinking back into a dot.

As she walked, of course Kree needed to comment on it. "An' here is Rainbow, a pixie who mayDAH! her own jress wiHHHTH my fabrics! Yes, HHHTHaTAH!'s righTAH! If you can an' DAH!esire, I have no probyem giving you fabric for your own DAH!esigns, an' aTAH! yess price since I am noTAH! making anyHHHTHing. See how her jress changes coyor compyeTAH!yee, by iTAH!seff? Have you ever seen anyHHHTHing so marveyous? Give Rainbow appyause!"

Khitti, when called upon, steps through the crowd wearing a stark white dress with large crinoline skirt from where her place had been at closet near the front as Kree had told her. The blood red of her hair and the dark emerald of her eyes stood out even more in contrast with the bright white outfit. This strapless number even made her appear to have some amount of color in her pale skin. The front of the corset is covered in a coral pattern that shines with a bright ice blue light in tune to that barely existing heartbeat of the vampiress. If anyone here knew her well enough, as well as Daermon, they'd know why she picked it. It just so happened to be the color of his eyes. Sadly, he wasn't here to see it, but she wore her favorite color proudly. The skirt, narrator. Please don't forget that. Oh. Right! Sorry. The skirt, in all of it's wonderfulness was embroidered with Kree's signature trilobite logo, the pattern tiled all over the main fabric. Just as she had before, she makes her walk down the runway, seemingly a bit more comfortable with the spotlight. There was more confidence. More....whatever the hell it is that models tell themselves to be able to do this.

Kreekitaka gestured grandly to Khitti as she took the stage. "Once more, everyone, KhiTAH!ee, wiHHHTH a jress one of you mighTAH! once have been abo TAH!oo buy buTAH! no yonger! Yook aTAH! how -cyean- HHHTHe whiTAH! is, how sofTAH! an' yighTAH! it fyows across her boDAH!ee regarDAH!yess of how poofy iTAH! is. See how HHHTHe yighTAH! in HHHTHe hearTAH! of HHHTHe jress beaTAH!s ayong wiHHHTH her hearTAH!. Is HHHTHis noTAH! one of HHHTHe mos' beauTAH!ifo jresses? Can you see yourseff aTAH! your weDAH!ing yeTAH!, women? Imagine how marveyous I can make your cyoHHHTHes for your ceyebration!" He gestured to Artia. "I have one more for HHHTHis evening! You have been a wonDAH!erfo auDAH!ience!"

Artia inhaled deeply, she wasn't sure about this one. It was almost too revealing to her but, Kreekitaka needed them to show different types of dresses. So she put this one on, leaning her head back she inhaled. The dress is another long one, reaching almost to the floor, but it also has form-fitting sleeves that open up on the ends and have wide, lacy wristholes. Unlike her others dresses, which do a good job of staying very modest, this one shows off a bit of her above average cleavage with a v-neck. Stitched in a way to show off her curves. The skirt gets less narrow further down. The dress sparkles in any light with tiny glistening purple gem and the insides of the sleeves are a royal purple. The back of the dress has a large trilobite embroidered on it, covering the whole back, in purple thread. The green color is a pale, almost mint green rather than a more saturated green. The colors making her dark strawberry blonde curls and cyan optics seriously pop. Once again she walked, stopped and posed. Just like the first time she shashayed, but she wanted to put her cloak back on. Kreekitaka better appreciate this one, once she was across the stages. And Kreekitaka was done talking she moved straight to the drink table.

Kreekitaka said, "An' here she is! One more TAH!ime, ArTAH!ia! Wearing her yoveyee green jress HHHTHaTAH! sparkohs so royayee! See how iTAH! conforms TAH!oo her boDAH!ee an' DAH!ispyays iTAH! in HHHTHe mos' fyaTAH!ering of ways? I can make cyoHHHTHes for you aoso, TAH!oo bring ouTAH! your inner goDAH!ess an' show everyone how beauTAH!ifo you chruyee are!" He applauded for Artia and once more took center stage. "HHHTHank you, everyone! Have a marveyous resTAH! of HHHTHe nighTAH!. Pyease make sure TAH!oo come by my shop in Cenrii an' be watching for when my new one opens righTAH! here in YarkeTAH!"

• I can make new antibiotics
• I can make computers survive aquatic
• Conditions, I know how to run a business
• And I can make you want to buy a product

Josleen's hands itch to touch the garments in Kreekitaka's store, but she does not for she suddenly feels unworthy and small. A mayoral candidate in Xalious, a confidante of the Steward of Frostmaw, a well-respected war time nurse of Frostmaw too, once summoned by the Warlord Governor of Tristram to discuss war matters too, and she feels small now because of these dresses. Kreekitaka is a genius of branding and marketing, that's for sure. Her breath catches in her throat as she stares at the wall of handbags. She is drawn to the bags that conceal weapons. Countless times has this defenseless bard been caught up in trouble. Her fair face and small stature attract villainous characters of all types to prey upon her. Kreekitaka mentions charging her a fee and her heart sinks. Her smattering of titles earn her no gold, but take up all her time. She is broke. A little dejected she asks, "How much will you charge me for a basic one?"

"A basic one? NoHHHTHing. You informeDAH! me of a faker in--where was he, you say? Guayon?--so as a rewarDAH! you geTAH! a reoh one. HHHTHe premium ones are more expensive TAH!oo make, however, so I cannoTAH! jus' give HHHTHose away. Io DAH!iscounTAH! iTAH! for you, however. You pay one HHHTHirDAH! of HHHTHe TAH!ag price on an expensive bag, if you wanTAH!." The bags with hidden weapons were labeled as being 504 gold, which divides to 168 gold even. Given that this is only just over the price of a basic bag, this is quite a deal he's offering.

Josleen's eyes bulge at the amazing deal, but she simply doesn't have the money. Just a few short months ago she would have had the money, when she had a job and a husband who also earned income, and a father who liked to dote on his only adult child. But the marriage was unhappy, she got a divorce and lost both access to husband's income, and her father's favor. Worse yet, the job she got through her husband's connections with the Mage's Guild, and after the divorce she was made reundant and turned out on her own. Her new boyfriend has always been broke as a joke. And now she resents that joke and all the men who try to control her through finances. It's indescribably embarrassing to her to not have 168 gold coins to her name, but she's too proud to reveal this. Instead, she fawns over a basic bag as if in her eyes it's the most gorgeous on the wall. To hear her coo over it you would think she had several hundreds of gold coins many times over to pay for any discounted bag, but alas, she simply fell in love with a basic one. What a twist of fate!

An interesting fact is that the tags also had a second price on them--apparently Kreekitaka offered a second option for those who weren't gold-heavy. Instead of paying 504 gold pieces, you could instead pay in blocks of iron--15 1-pound bars, to be exact. One third of that would be five bars. This was a deal offered in a somewhat smaller font, so perhaps one might not immediately notice it, and it was a strange enough deal that it might not make sense to the average customer. Still, there it was, in case she happened to spot it. Kree looked over her shoulder at the bag she apparently fell in love with--perhaps in her examination of it she'd notice the other deal on the tag. "Is HHHTHaTAH! HHHTHe one you wanTAH!.? You wooDAH! actuayee save more money if you purchase a premium bag, jus' so you know."

Kreekitaka drives a hard sell. Josleen knows in her heart that she cannot spend a single copper these days, but lust for the bag performs the mental gymnastics necessary to justify the purchase. The math goes like this: 1. It's a really good deal; I'd be a fool to pass this up; the resell value on this alone means this is basically an investment if you think about it. + 2. I'm a young, small, indefensible woman and really I should think more about my personal safety; this isn't about the bag, this is about body protection. + 3. I slave away every day to make the Anesko family's life run on rails, so don't I deserve a little something for myself = Done. Kreekitaka the salescrab wins. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaims as she moves on to a premium bag, the one she actually lusts. "I didn't even see this one at first! Oh my goodness! This is it! This is the bag! It just calls to my very soul, you know?"

• Movers, shakers and producers
• Me and my friends understand the future

Kreekitaka nodded. "Marveyous. Io geTAH! in conTAH!acTAH! wiHHHTH HHHTHem, an' Io senDAH! you your fyag when iTAH! is compyeeTAH!. You can pay me for iTAH! when I arrive for HHHTHe baTAH!oh."

Hildegarde grinned as Kreekitaka spoke of arriving for the battle, “Are you to be my standard bearer?” She said it in jest, for she knew if the crabman was there he would undoubtedly wish to dive into the battle. “I wish to speak of payment, soon, however. That way I can organise the funds and perhaps another form of payment, that you may like.”

Kreekitaka's paddles clattered up and down his back, his closed claw thumping his chest. "I shooDAH! hope noTAH!--no offense, buTAH! if I am HHHTHere TAH!oo fighTAH!, I fighTAH!. An' cerTAH!ainyee, I mus' aDAH!miTAH! some curiosiTAH!ee as TAH!oo whaTAH! your aoTAH!ernaTAH!ive DAH!eeoh mighTAH! be."

Hildegarde laughed heartily as he did, knowing well that he was a warrior after her own heart. “A ferocious sight you will make, m’lord,” she told him quite honestly. “But tell me, what do these suits cost? How much gold would you have me pay?”

"TAH!wehv HHHTHousan' per suiTAH!," he said, after a short moment.

Hildegarde nodded at the sum, but she didn’t appear to be fazed by the amount. It appeared as though the dragon didn’t think much of that sum of gold! But as a ruler, she had learned to be a shrewd businesswoman when necessary and Kreekitaka had something she wanted. Something that couldn’t be outright bought. “Twenty thousand gold pieces,” she said, her eye flicking up from the parchment to his eyestalks to make intense eye contact, speaking before he might interject, “and a shop in Frostmaw that is tax-free for the first year. A spot on Frostmaw’s promenade,” if Kreekitaka was the businesscrab he said he was, he would surely know that this was a desirable spot and he was certainly getting a good deal here!

Kreekitaka froze for a moment, then: "HHHTHrow in assisTAH!ance wiHHHTH sTAH!affing iTAH! an' you have a DAH!eoh," he said with a nod. "Io neeDAH! reyiabo peepo TAH!oo run iTAH! since I HHHTHink mosTAH! of my kinDAH! won'TAH! appreciaTAH! being so far from HHHTHe sea."

Hildegarde smiled as he accepted the offer on the stipulation of finding assistance, “Make your recommendations, should you have any, and I will do my best to incorporate them,” meaning if he had any assistants he would want there, she would do her best to make it so.

• I see the strings that control the systems
• I can do anything with no resistance

Kreekitaka directed the scorpion to a large manor-house toward the edge of the main metropolitan area and it landed in the sand underneath a protected room. He grabbed the crates and climbed off of Vindicator then gestured to Robert for him to follow inside. The shell would actually provide him with a bit of neutral buoyancy, letting him swim more freely under the water until they made it through a kitchen-looking area--the walls were a pearly white and the furniture made from bones and coral--into a shell and up into and air pocket, where a huge pile of various irons and other metal items were being stashed. Here, it'd be safe to remove the mask and breathing apparatus. "HHHTHoughTAH!s?" he asked, rippling his paddles in amusement. Unnoticed by Kree but perhaps by Robert, a different uyeer that had been hiding behind a coral formation by the fence ducked away and swam off quickly, as if it had been waiting for his return.

Robert swam into the house, and into the metal area, as directed by his new friend. He surfaced, taking a huge gulp of non-shell air. "Great pantaloons!" he cried out, as he moved onto solid floor. He removed the mask, and shook his head, his hair standing up again. "I really should have left my blade on shore, from the water it'll get all rusty." he then blinked, and paused a moment, "Never-mind, it is my sword, it is already rusted." The knight thought about Kree's question, what did he think about the ordeal. "Well, I can say that's the most time I've spent underwater. I'm still alive, overall I would say it was a good trip." he glanced around the room, and smiled. "Your house is amazing, I don't think I've seen anything like it." he then snapped and pointed at Kree. "Except for your splendid ball of course." he winked, it was the knightly thing to do. Alas, he did not see the possible crab-man lurking on the lawn of the other crab-man, he was busy being scared for his life, and enjoying the scenery. In equal portions of course.

Kreekitaka tilted his head a little. "Hmm." A sword? They were here in his hometown... "I HHHTHink we may be abo TAH!oo fin' you a weapon HHHTHaTAH! won'TAH! rusTAH! here," he said, clenching his facial crushers. "An' DAH!on' worry abouTAH! cosTAH!--every bar here can buy five weapons as fine as mine. I am HHHTHe richesTAH! Uyeer on HHHTHe pyaneTAH!. An' I HHHTHank you for your commenTAH! abouTAH! HHHTHe evenTAH!--I was afraiDAH! noboDAH!ee was paying aTAH!ention." He picked up a bar of iron. "I know a weaponsmiHHHTH who yives noTAH! far from here. YeTAH!'s go upgraDAH!e you, yes? An' afTAH!er we geTAH! back, I can make you a new suiTAH! of armor aoso."

• Cause I can lead a nation with a microphone
• With a microphone, with a microphone

Kreekitaka was outraged. He and the officer conversed back and forth a couple of times, and then he turned to Robert to enlighten him as to what's going on. "HHHTHey are creaTAH!ing new yegisyature specificyee to prevenTAH! me from gaining any more power here. My power TAH!oo imporTAH! iron is being TAH!aken from me." Robert might see Kree's demeanor shift visibly from hot anger to a a cold-fusion rage.

Robert tilted his head to the side, nervously kicking the ground as he watched Kreekitaka seem to morph from a massive crab-warrior businessman, to a slightly more intimidating massive crab-warrior businessman, this quite the shift. "They're...targeting you directly? Not attempting to counteract a more city wide threat?" The knight shifted his gaze from left to right, before sniffling and clearing his throat. He was fine with being oppressed, that's what growing up in a monastery did to you, it made you a good old fashioned serf, but it was okay, because you knew how to read and write.

Kreekitaka shook his head. "I know of no oHHHTHer who is exporTAH!ing our crafTAH!s an' sehying HHHTHem on yanDAH!. HHHTHey beyeev I am gaining more power HHHTHan HHHTHey can hanDAH!oh." He turned back to the cop and gestured for him to get out, which the police eventually did, a little smugly. Kree arranged the metal crates into a little throne--built for an uyeer body, which meant to anyone else it would appear as if he was sitting in the chair backward--and sat on it, thinking. Once he was sure the cops were away, he continued. "I'm going TAH!oo neeDAH! mercenaries. An' scorpions. I aoreaDAH!ee know where I have weapons, buTAH! I neeDAH! manpower." He looked up at Robert thoughtfully, tilting his head. "How wooDAH! you yike TAH!oo overHHHTHrow a ciTAH!ee?"

• And I can split the atom of a molecule
• Of a molecule, of a molecule

"Hi, Rainbow. How was your unDAH!eaDAH! HHHTHing?"

Rainbow shrugs, spreading her arms out a little in a noncommittal gesture. "It was alright. Banished some ghosts, crushed skeletons, dropped a few boulders on a few zombies... You know how these things go. Anyway, I hear you're having yourself a party. Am I invited?" She leans back against her dragon, digging into her saddlebags to get ahold of some meat to feed it.

Kreekitaka flared his paddles at this and tilted his head. "I... yes. Yes, you are." No hesitation whatsoever. "I know noTAH! how much you know. I am TAH!aking over my homeTAH!own. HHHTHey are prevenTAH!ing me from imporTAH!ing any more meTAH!oh. Me, ayone. HHHTHey beyeev my infyuence is TAH!oo much, since I have so much money now. So I am gaHHHTHering forces an' arming myseff. Io -show- HHHTHem whaTAH! iTAH! means when I have infyuence." He pounded one claw into the other. "An' your magic is very powerfoh," he admitted openly, "an' sureyee can be very heppfo TAH!oo us."

Rainbow sighs, nodding. "I'm not much for underwater, and my magic's not that great against... people." Not... strictly true. While her magic would be quite useful for him in some ways, and is quite nasty against people when used freely, the limitations she'd placed upon her study prevented her from using it to its fullest. "I... might be able to get a few of my clan members to help though, and I'm sure they can manage... something." They were pixies, which meant magic, which meant Kree likely was wary of them, but based on her they'd be quite powerful. "Where should we meet you? I'll see how many I can get together on short notice, though I can't promise anything until we get there... I probably have a couple dozen siblings who wouldn't mind a scrap, and after last time I have some good things to say about down there."

• Look at me, look at me
• Driving and I won't stop

Laezila's intense gaze, that scrutinizing stare of near-crystalline blue, swiveled toward the crab-man, "Tonight?" It seemed ludicrous; sure, he had a drow vampire and a couple of war mounts, but that was nothing in comparison to the defensive garrison that a palace would surely have! "And how do you plan to do that in a single night?" She asked instead of reaching to take Kreekitaka's hand -claw, whatever- in aid to ascend; did he want her to climb up on his own scorpion? What about what he said about her having one, as well? "Let alone plan to achieve that with two people, one of which isn't even a... well, you."

Kreekitaka laughed, which involved his paddles rippling up and down his sides and one claw tapping his chest, thumping it solidly. “DAH!oo you HHHTHink I wooDAH! be so fooharDAH!ee as TAH!oo onyee fighTAH! a baTAH!oh againsTAH! a ciTAH!ee of peacekeepers an' noTAH! bring reinforcemenTAH!s of my own? Trus' me, you are noTAH! HHHTHe onyee one aiDAH!ing me. I suspecTAH! HHHTHaTAH! having even one more person--especiayee one as fasTAH! as you--can hepp in a baTAH!oh yike HHHTHis. Your mounTAH! is waiTAH!ing for us where we arrive.”

• And it feels so good to be
• Alive and on top

There were roughly two dozen troops in total, and as Kree approached he seemed a little disturbed. He clattered loudly at one of his troops, who responded in kind. "Hm. Seems we're running a biTAH! behin' scheDAH!uoh. I'm missing my heavy riDAH!ers."

"Why do you want to rule, anyway?" Laezila asked, after he explained to her his worrisome situation concerning heavy riders, which she simply assumed were more-armored scorpion riders than the already outfitted ones present. "Can't you already rule, sort of? Economically. Pulling all the strings."Small talk while they waited.

"Once, HHHTHaTAH! wooDAH! have been enough," Kreekitaka answered, sending orders at his troops with his native percussive language. The troops began to sort themselves—those with lances went to ride the waiting warbeasts, while those with shockwave lobsters moved into the forward position. "BuTAH! HHHTHey yockeDAH! me ouTAH!, making iTAH! impossibo for me TAH!oo imporTAH! iron anymore. I have much aoreaDAH!ee, buTAH! eventuayee iTAH!'oh go jry, an' HHHTHen Io be no beTAH!er off HHHTHan when I began. No. HHHTHis is oppression. Criminoh. HHHTHey hayTAH! my freeDAH!om. An' Io TAH!ake iTAH! back an' show HHHTHem how TAH!oo truyee run a ciTAH!ee."

Someone seemed to take umbridge with the large force of armed uyeer hanging around outside the city, as row after row of police officers appeared. It seemed uyeer cops were used to some nasty fights, as each one was decked out in armor and wielding a jawblade as a matter of course. The cops just kept coming, until it appeared the city's entire force was out, around twice as many uyeer as Kreekitaka's. One of the cops went out ahead, approaching Kreekitaka's force. His eye stalks looked Laezila up and down. What was this strange creature? It was tiny and looked delicious. The cop shimmied right and left, thumping his chest and clacking his claws. A challenge. Single combat, between himself and a volunteer from Kreekitaka's force.

• My reach is global, my tower secure
• My cause is noble, my power is pure

Kreekitaka honestly didn't have any reason to kill the guy--just assert his domination over him. And as he began to slow down, Kree finally made his move. As the jawblade came down one last time, Kree lashed out, darting in for the final stroke. His shield shot forward and up, shoving the male's jawblade off to the side--and then turned the shield so that the sharpened dental plates that formed the forward curve were angled downwards--and then chopped downward, intending to sever the man's facial crushers and tear them away. Another pair for his collection, though he wasn't sure this fight was worthy of mounting this trophy to his wall. It might be, if it was the one that led to his taking control of the city. He finished the move by pushing backward with the shield, shoving his opponent backwards as he holstered his jawblade and, should his move be successful, catching the slowly-sinking appendages with a pair of tentacles. He held them over his head and clattered a challenge to the other cops--essentially asking something like "Any questions!?"

The cop shrieked in agony as his facial crushers were separated from his... well, face. The remaining cops didn't take this turn of events well. The challenge had been for the invaders' benefit, not theirs. They were charged with defending the city, and with the loss of one of their own, they were steaming mad. With a roar, the police surged forward en masse, their scorpions rushing forward, tails at the ready. Jawblades were unsheathed, shockwave lobsters unholstered. Yes, Kree, it seemed that they did have questions.

• I could hand out a million vaccinations
• Or let 'em all die in exasperation

Laezila had been watching this spectacle unfold with intense blue-bell-hued eyes that were both cunning and calculating as she felt herself fall back into that psyche, that authoritative demeanor, that she once held as a drow matron. From her own mount, as exotic and out of place as she felt both among these seaborne creatures and the bizarre happenings around her, those eyes watched from the duel to the beginning of the war; unlike Uyeer, however, the lithe little vampire was accustomed to the brutality of drow culture. It was not as barbaric, perhaps, but definitely more treacherous and deadly than this setting. While Kreekitaka had no reason to kill his downed opponent, Laezila did; so that it did not have the chance to kill her. So she flung forth like lightning, gracefully moving with such vampiric augmented swiftness that surpassed the speed of the Uyeer around her, and haloed by a mess of glittering white hair floating freely, the woman leapt from her mount in a single, elongated leap that brought her from her start to the downed captain as the cops all advanced. Heel smashed against his face, and brought him back as her hands gripped his arms, near the shoulders, to kill the creature by smashing in his head. Her mount was approaching behind her, and a simplistic, but fluid flip backward had her gracefully and elegant resaddled; one hand having grasped the opponent's jawblade to whip it around her at oncoming facial-crushers -any that she could see. The battle was happening, and she was darting as fast as she could, given her lithe figure, natural dexterity, and vampiric augmentations, right in the thick of it.

A cheshire grin spreads across Rainbow's face at the sign of that measuring tool drifting down to the seafloor. There we are. Time for them to make their entrance. The young Pixie raises a hand, pointing toward the shield-wall of Uyeer who stand with Kreekitaka. "Terramancers!" she shouts, and the pentet of earth mages who had come with them release the pent-up magic they had been gathering since before the battle had even begun. Spikes of stone erupt from the ground, some harmlessly, others passing straight through Kreekitaka's enemies as they emerge just outside of Jawblade range like the ribs of some unimaginably vast beast. They continue to grow, eventually sealing Kreekitaka's army within a dome of stone, preventing any method of attack other than that which would face their front lines directly. Speaking of them, Rainbow had been preparing something special for them, something similar to the spell she'd used on Kree himself some time ago, at a certain gala, though this time... this time she'd had quite a lot more practice with it than throwing it up at the last minute, and so the effects would be a little more... controlled. The front line of Uyeer's carapices and shields would crawl, becoming thicker, wider, silver fire guttering within gaps in their carapice.

Meanwhile, the other mages' work had begun, and... well. Kree's reptutation was going to be... interesting after this one. Pyromancers conjured great lances of blinding flame that turned the ocean to steam as they erupt forth and detonate amidst the cops. Aeromancers tore open pockets of air within the water, cavitation bubbles which would then collapse, viciously tearing at anything nearby, the water quickly filling with detonations and searing-hot steam, the chaotic heat sending vicious currents spiralling all about, likely just as dangerous as the attacks themselves. Nearing the seafloor to avoid them would be just as dangerous, however, as three of the Terramancers, the other two continuing to work reinforcing the dome around their allies, begin conjuring spikes of iron from the ground which would pierce right through Uyeer shell before an Electromancer unleashed his own energy, sending enormous amounts of power flooding into their unprotected flesh, and in those places where the enemy gather together most closely, the Cryomancers work their art, creating great urchins of razor-sharp ice that encase and impale any within their range before bearing them off toward the surface.

All in all, the space outside the dome had pretty much become hell, and Kree might be regretting 'hiring' Rainbow around now.

The cops must have thought Armageddon was upon them, between the strange tiny creature how darting around whipping a jawblade through the water like it was nothing, and the elemental magic without a source. This was far from what they were trained to deal with, especially when they had no magic of their own. Some of the lesser uyeer among them dropped their weapons and made a break for the safety of the city. Others fought on, despite how sadly outmatched they now were. Perhaps those heavy riders would not be needed after all.

• Have 'em all healed of their lacerations
• Or have 'em all killed by assassination

He swam up and forwards a little way and looked down at Laezila and Rainbow. "Where I am going, DAH!on'TAH! foyow. You boHHHTH, in your own way, mighTAH! jeoparDAH!ize HHHTHe afTAH!ermaHHHTH portion of HHHTHis fighTAH!, an' I have, so far, onyee foughTAH! one enemy! WhaTAH! kinDAH! of yeaDAH!er am I if I hiDAH!e behinDAH! my forces?"

• I can throw anyone I want in prison

--blunt side forward, to smash at exoskeleton, Kree lunged at the guard coming up behind him and brought the extra-heavy jawblade down around with a wide lateral swing, attempting to both intercept whatever that first blow was and smash the one behind it into the wall. The shield was his next strike, and he maintained the momentum--

• Just because I don't like them

--once more draw his jawblade, toothed side forward, and slash at its nostrils, figuring its nose to be sensitive and forcing it to pause a little while he darted back some more. How he wished he had a lance with him--

• I can do anything with no permission

--grabbed the huge table and flipped it upwards toward the two rolling-ball-armored uyeer to try and stall them, then, hopefully before they had fully gotten the last councilor into his armor, Kree hurled himself in that direction, fully-intending to smash into him with a full-speed shoulder-check and knock him silly, swinging his jawblade at one of the helpers--

• I have it all under my command

--took a jelly-whip from its display on the wall, swirling it around himself once to uncoil it then lashing out at the nearest councilor. One lick of the whip would leave painful burns across his carapace and lace it with a painful venom that would paralyze as it moved--

• Cause I can guide a missile by satellite
• By satellite, by satellite

--dropped the shield and picked up one of the fallen jawblades, spun them both so the toothed side was facing forward, and swung them forward and out to parry the oncoming attackers' blows. If possible, he'd try to lock the teeth and give a swift yank to disarm them--if only one was disarmed, he'd rush the not-disarmed one, laying into him with blow after blow from the two jawblades in a very Episode II manner, suddenly focusing less on defense and more on trying to keep the opponent entirely unable to make an offensive move, wearing him down, literally battering him into submission--

• And I can hit a target through a telescope
• Through a telescope, through a telescope

--scorpion was immobile. Everyone else had either been smashed open or fled. This was it--

• And I can end a planet in a holocaust

Kreekitaka didn't bother chasing after the fleeing. He knew, however, that there was work to be done. He let the scavenged jawblade drop, and reached into yet another holster he carried on his back, making sure this last article was still there, then climbed to the highest peak of the palace, where

• In a holocaust, in a holocaust

a window had been cut into it. He pulled out a flag--a battle standard, with an image of an uyeer punching another one so hard his head exploded and a trilobite in the background--and fastened it to the windowsill--then raised his claws and clamored as loudly as he could. He drew his shockwave lobster once more and fired it in the direction of his troops--once. Twice. Twice more in rapid

• In a holocaust, in a holocaust
• In a holocaust!

succession. Another single. And another one. The sound of the shots would surely carry through the water, even if the damage didn't reach that far, his forces, mustered across the city, would know who was victorious this day, and cheers would go up from all. In the morning, Kree would have to meet with everyone and give his speeches, convince them he'd be a worthy leader. But for now... sleep. Rest. Today was enough victory. Tomorrow begins the long game.

• I can ride my bike with no handlebars
• No handlebars, no handlebars...

Current

Kree has finally been separated from his scorpion! He's accomplished several impressive things while attached, however: successfully setting up a shop in Larket, getting a franchise established in Frostmaw, having his jawblade enchanted to blast shockwaves, and taming a colossal sea monster.

Now that he's separated, he can focus more on the shop, along with other regular-people activities like participating in the Acolytes of War tournament.

Commissions

• Savio: everyday outfit consisting of a kilt and ruffled shirt. Delivered.
• Talyara: everyday casual dress. Delivered.
• Desparrow: suit of sharkskin armor, with undersuit. Delivered.
• Jaice: short dress with corset. Delivered.
• Barnabas: full set of sails for a ship. Not yet started, awaiting measurements.
• Agoyoanye: wedding dress. Completed, awaiting pickup.
• Muzo: equipment tent. Delivered.
• Artia: decorations and rentable outfits for her ball. Completed, returned.
• Artia: various outfits for modeling. Completed for now.
• Khitti: restoration and repair of Daermon's duster. Delivered.
• Khitti: various outfits for modeling. Completed for now.
• Irthos: fancy tuxedo. Not yet started, labor issues.
• Artia: battle outfit. Completed, awaiting pickup.
• Robert: suit of light armor. In progress.
• Aira: blue dress. Completed, awaiting pickup.
• Mikaia: fancier work outfit. In progress.
• Hildegarde: a battle standard and special weapons. Delivered.
• Hildegarde: two suits of armor. Delivered.

(If I've forgotten any, let me know and I'll return you to the list!)

OOC info

The lyrics at the top are a parody of... well, you probably know what they're a parody of. =P Lyrics in the long bio are Handlebars by Flobots.

As you can probably tell from those lyrics (at least the ones at the beginning), I am not a very serious kind of person. Tried that, didn't work out. Discovered I much prefer treating RP as a game. I have a very loose relationship with the fourth wall and occasionally make references to things in my dialogue. Uchawiman had one of my favorite writing styles ever.

Feel free to shoot me a tell or an HMail. If we've RP'd before or have plans in the making, just ask for my Skype or Steam if you want it.

Also, feel free to draw Kree! ^_^ I know he gets shipped a lot, so draw your ships if you want, too. I'd be happy to showcase them on this page and give credit to all involved parties.