Difference between revisions of "Mullonde's Most Unwanted Kappa-Troll"

Latest revision as of 14:58, 10 December 2013

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Mullonde.

Morrighan hadn't been back here since she left with Avira about a week or so back. But with those shenanigans behind her(but certainly not forgotten), Morrighan had returned to her place of residence. She didn't come strolling into Mullonde on foot though. No, instead, a dark portal opened in her living room and the dark elf simply stepped through. Narrowing her eyes, she let out a faint sigh and immediately took a seat on her couch.

Having lost her most recent dress in whatever nefarious plot saw fit to have her beaten, kidnapped, tortured, and then have her genetic material taken(for the second time even!), Morrighan was currently wearing her 'Kara' outfit. Or rather, the clothes she was given back when her memory was missing. Consisting of a short blue dress, stockings, and a white jacket; it wasn't her style really, but it would do.

"Home at last." She mumbled to herself, closing her eyes and waving a hand lazily. A wisp of magical light emitted from her extended fingertip and the sound of silverware clinking together and water flowing could soon be heard after. Wow, she was too lazy to even make her own tea by hand.

And of course, having returned home unannounced to anyone, the elven woman expected no guests. Nor did she particularly want any. Now was thinking time.

Yes, thinking time.

Queegmaa has posed:
Morrighan was not going to have her thinking time denied any time soon, however, the topic of what she was thinking upon was likely about to change from focusing on relaxing sentiments to more hostile ones, since she was about to receive an interruption.... it was liable to be an unwelcome one, too! Whatever the case may have been, not two minutes after she sat was there a knock on the door, despite the fact that she hadn't been at her residence in awhile.

If she happened to peer outside her windows, or through her peep-hole of her door(Mullonde was generous enough to provide her with all the best amenities, courtesy of Valos' influence back when he still prospered), she would see a troll-looking creature that had a mostly human face, and a shell. Not dissimilar to other persons within the World of Ruin, he'd lost some of his body-parts over time, and had to have them replaced with machinery of various manner, which didn't detract from his alien-esque aesthetic, in the least! Surprisingly, his face was charismatic for human standards, even though he was a kappa by default, which probably meant that within his own clan, he was a bit of an ugly-duckling, being reptilian in nature.

His very aura gave off a radiance which signified that he had some affinity to the element of nature, more specifically... its darker components-- poison. From his own world, Queegmaa's elemental alignment had its own subdivision, for the World of Balance did possess the elemental defined as 'venomous', but a lot of subsets had been melded together in the nexus of worlds that fused just as many realms together as it did those places' elements! Maybe she could get away with pretending she wasn't at home, and the weird creature would leave.....

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
And indeed, not even two minutes after having herself a seat, Morrighan was jolted out of her impending thinking trance by a very unwelcome knock on her front door. "Who in their right mind would even...?" She grumbled lowly, looking off in that general direction.

She pondered the possibility of not even bothering to answer. After all, this was too great an interruption! She barely had time to settle in! But alas, curiosity pushed the woman to stand. With a wave of her hand, the clinking and clattering of utensils, cups, and teapot in the kitchen settled down as she crept over to the front door.

Looking through the peep-hole, what greeted her was....who in the world was that? She'd never met anyone like this creature before. Her eyes casually scanned the reptilian's form some more, taking in his 'aura' as well. She didn't like it.

"....."

With a sigh, Morrighan reached for the door handle and opened it, bringing the door ajar enough for her to look out, but not enough to invite entry or get a good look inside.

"...Yes?" She asked, sounding a fair bit irritated and impatient. This had better not be some new age Jenova's Witness or something. She'd slam the door and go back to her 'me time' so fast if that was the case.

Queegmaa has posed:
The chances were, Queegmaa wasn't a Jenova's Witness, since competition by way of opposing religious propaganda would soon be discovered by The High Confessor, and then expelled, or executed for heresy. His tidings might not have born much comfort even if they weren't that, though, because no matter how one sliced it, he was disrupting Morri's train of thought. Que's vibes were filled with an unnatural quality that could sicken most, yet, given how the drow had been familiarized with darkness so thoroughly in the past, and Shadow Lords, she was probably stern enough to stomach the 'stench' which emanated from the goblin before her. With the door ajar, and behaving in a particularly non-inviting fashion, Queegmaa mumbled something inaudible under his breath, expressing his displeasure at being treated like some kind of unwanted riffraff, but couldn't object too visibly, since this /was/ Morri's own home!

Getting ready to throw his pitch at her, Queegmaa clicked his tongue a few times that might've been reminiscent of other sound-oriented folk with whom Morri might've been acquainted with, some time ago, as a means of gathering data on his prospective customer, who was almost invisible, behind the door from whence she utilized to hide! Finally, he started to talk in a brash voice that totally defied whatever decent-to-good-looks he might've had, weird amphibious bodily features aside, "Alright.... Well lemme say dis, first. I knowed this is yer house, 'n I knowed you got da right tuh slam't in my face if you don't like my song 'n dance.... but I dun gone'n gots dee 'okay' from Bishop Em'reld, 'n she says tuh me dat I ken put up a podium to preach Glabadosian doctrine rayle loud, anywhere I want, see?"

He grins a wide smile that displays his razor-sharp teeth, designed not to simply cut through mammalian flesh, but that of scaled, or leather-skinned aquatic animals, pausing to let the first morsel of information get digested by the dark elf who might've already felt like she was being unfairly 'threatened' by Que's proclamation. "Now, see... I kint go'n yer house and start shoutin' sh*t all day long, but I ken make a lotta noise all day 'n all night out here if I want, wi'out any trouble from da audoridies." He nods, and raises a finger, as if bringing the whole thing to a finalized point, "What I'm say'n is.... Ya ken gimme five minats in yer home so weh can chat privately about muh offer to pay you some munny fer studyin' wild monsters.... or I ken rant out here all day 'n night fer hours on end, not ten steps from your door. Which da ya perfree?"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"........."

Morrighan's eyes narrowed the moment Queegmaa opened his mouth and started talking. His brash, slang ridden manner of speech already grated upon her nerves. But she was not stupid. You don't live as long as she had without picking up all sorts of different styles of speech, even if she refused to abide by them herself.

Thus, the goblin's 'threat' was quite well understood.

Looking away for a moment, the dark elf let out a long suffering sigh. Seriously, what was that bishop thinking? Was this some kind of joke? Because it was hardly humorous! Leaving the thought aside, she turned her gaze back to the space between the door to listen further.

"Excuse me?" Morrighan spoke incredulously, arching a brow in a manner that suggested that she was hardly buying this. "You want /me/ to study wild monsters? To step out into the unkempt wilderness and follow some foolish creatures around?" Letting go of the door at that point(but keeping it ajar), Morrighan crossed her arms in suspicion.

"That sounds like a job for a scientist. Perhaps you took a wrong turn and meant to go to Goug to bother Shinra, hm?"

Nevermind the threat, that was given no answer currently. She was too busy being skeptical of the general task being offered.

Queegmaa has posed:
The bishop had her own motives, most likely, for having agreed to the arrangement Rakassa had made for Queegmaa to be sanctioned to pull the stunt he was pulling, or else Queegmaa was making the whole thing up entirely. He was one of the best liars Zozo could've ever produced, but the fact of the matter was,.... /this/ time, he was actually telling the truth, which meant that whatever went on in the bishop's mind must have involved method to what would otherwise seem as pure madness.

Queegmaa gently pulled out an Ajoran bible, tucking it under his armpit, just as good measure to assure her that he meant business, even so-- he didn't begin to recite a single verse, in favor of focusing on his preference towards inducing the dark elf to go along with his little scheme. One thing was clear, his little precautionary measure to create a cacophonic ruckuss 'not ten steps from her door' was so diabolically petty that Queegmaa was either extremely intelligent, or absurdly stupid, which his backwater dialect might've implied.... but were things always as they seemed? Nevertheless, Que could see she still wasn't welcoming him inside, but on account of believing that the kappa had made a tactical error in selecting her over a scientist.

The imp shook his head and snorted, "Nah. I din make nuh mistake here. I come cuz duh monsters I'm intristed in is magical ones, and dem gals is mean! Gorgons.... But I ain't gon' say why I comes tuh you 'stead o' goin' tuh Shirnrar." He nods, assuredly, as if he knew exactly what he was saying, "But as I say.... all I wants's five min'ts of privacy.... 'n.... honestly....." He leans in to whisper in a /VERY/ low voice, "I 'spect ya dun be doin' biz in da Hollow Bastion no more, like yuh used ta, huh? So maybe here's be a better place fer chattin'?"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Sigh.

Great. Someone who knew of /that/ stuff. It always seem to come back to find her somehow. Morrighan only grumbled in continued irritation and finally opened the door fully. "Fine. Come in then." She conceded, stepping aside to give Queegmaa room to come inside. The sooner this was gotten over with, the better. She could just say no after and go on with her peace and quiet after.

Gorgons though. How fun. She admittedly was curious as to what exacly he needed /her/ to do specifically. Perhaps this would be a good chance to at least find that out.

Once he entered, Morrighan would close the door and lock it, leading the kappa over to the living room where she retook her previous seat. There were a few easy chairs laid out across from the couch as well if he saw fit to have a seat himself. "This has better be good."

Queegmaa has posed:
As obtuse as he seemed, Que had a few resources at his disposal, but the truth was, without his benefactor, he would've been beyond adrift in the craziness that was the World of Ruin. However, within the Hollow Bastion, word got around about the various Shadow Lords and at least a few of their dealings, plus, Que must've been desperate if he was pulling out that bit of knowledge to use as leverage to get what he wanted. The fact that she sighed and relented without hurling barbs at him was a mild shock, since the dark elf's haughty patronization of others was practically legend, and she'd managed to be 'tolerable', thus far, in the kappa's eyes.... and more importantly, his ears. It was true that she could turn him down, but he truly hoped she'd take up the offer, else he'd have to find another resort-- heck, maybe he'd take her advice and seek out a professional from ShinRa to do the trick!

All that aside, he hobbled inside, making certain not to accidentally scrape the fine wooden door-frame in the slightest by way of snagging it with his steel appendages, for that would surely upset the drow whose high standards were only surpassed by her unrealistic view that said standards could actually ever be met! Once the door was locked, and she guided him to the living room as the floor creaked beneath his feet, Que cackled at her remark, "Gud? Hah... If I's gotta pay somebody fer dis, dun ya dink they'd be willin' ta do't fer free?" Finding every opportunity to nitpick at the slightest misconception, he was as witty and argumentative; minus his uncultured speech, he must've been reminding Morrighan of somebody else. Never minding that, he proceeded with the meat of the matter, "Now as I says a sec'n ago.... I'm searchin' fer gorgons. Dey got sneck-hair 'n all that sh*t." He folded his arms over his chest, putting his bible away, deciding that the riposte would /not/ be needed.

Rotating his head around a few times, scanning the room, he scoffed, "Well.... gonna hafta be fergiv'n me fer not sittin', cuz I doubt yer chairs wud be doin' much s'portin..... if ya get what I'm sayin'?" He sighs, knowing full well that unless Morri's furnishings were mystically endowed, they'd collapse under his monstrous weight. At least he had some consideration for the woman, if he wasn't inclined to even /test/ to see if the objects in the room were sturdy enough to support him.... But, presumably, that tiny display of compassion was not going to win the day by itself, besides the chances that any further kindnesses would've most assuredly been few and far between. "Dem f*ckers turn folks intuh stun. We wantcha ta eeder nab one fer us, or ya can do us 'n even better favor, and help us out by capturin' one.... 'n doin' the studyin' yerself, den handin' 'er over so we can do furder examianationans." Que winked, "I's pretty sure ya ken handle one gorgon.... 'les people been over-estimatin' yer skill. Maybe yer so spoiled frum dinkin' dat yer some gift ta drow-kind dat ya dink yer above rayle work, dough.... 'n I en gon' stop ya from dinkin' that. But jus' keep in mind, miss priss, that while yuh go struttin' around like ya is sumthin else, e'rybody else thinks yer just an empress wearin' no clodes." And what a coincidence that he should mention the lack of clothing, since she had recently been humbled via having been forcibly put in outfits worn by..... dancers.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Morrighan took no offence to Queegmaa's choice to stand. It was his to make. And she would have gotten annoyed if he had broken anything. She had no idea just how much she actually weighed in the end. Shaking her head, she rest an elbow in her lap and her chin in her palm, listening rather boredly to the kappa explain his deal.

"Hmn. I see. So you want me capture and study a gorgon for you." There was a pause before Morrighan went on. "I suppose that you're just the middleman as well, nor will you tell me who exactly has sent you." Not relevant to the deal after all. Plus, she wasn't that interested. With a shrug of the shoulders, the dark elf sighed and leaned back against the couch, considering the proposal.

"Well, capturing a gorgon sounds simple enough. But unfortunately for you, I have no time to engage in the study of it's biology. Not to any deep extent." There was also the fact that she wasn't exactly in need of money either. She wasn't filthy rich, but she'd amassed plenty of funds in her years, though not all of it existed in a tangible 'money' form.

"At the very least, I can run some preliminary examinations and leave the rest for you people to fill in the holes." But there was a catch to all of this, on her end anyway. "...That is, if I were willing to do such."

Were she the Morrighan of a few months ago, she likely would have already sent Queegmaa sailing through a wall by way of magic before demanding the hapless carpenters of Mullonde to set about fixing the damage she herself caused. ...But now, the jabs just caused the elf to roll her eyes and chuckle. She'd come too far to be riled up by some stranger in an obvious ploy to get his way.

"As it stands, there is nothing in this for myself that garners interest. I have no need of your money, nor do I particularly harbor any desire to study a gorgon." Not to mention she'd recently been captured and studied herself. So she may have felt a bit bad for going to do the same thing to someone or something else. ...Maybe.

Queegmaa has posed:
Astonishingly, Morrighan didn't lose her temper and begin to sling mud back at Queegmaa, which was a real test that she'd reached some of the heights to which she might've aspired since her adoption of a new philosophy on life.... That was something Queegmaa did /not/ know of, because Captain Egress had been witness to her mild scoldings during the visit to the Farplane. On the other hand, what Vohstras had claimed, versus what Queegmaa had heard from others didn't match very well, since the stories that had gone around had essentially depicted Morrighan as a demon from hell whose tongue could've put a serpent's to shame.

Beyond that, she wasn't acting as high and mighty as he'd expected, although she did insinuate that she was above running around catching animals-- even that was only a mild boast in pride. All that appeared to be left of the original iceberg was the tip, and the green vermin was not certain what to think about his sources' credibility. They'd told him lots, but either Morrighan had truly reformed, or she was restraining her temper with a force unheard of; Queegmaa couldn't be sure which it was. Maybe some rumors were true, and some were true, but only so in the past, not the present. "Guess ya sudlee decided on gettin' yerself a conscience. Maybe.... cuz if you was to be goin' round capturin' dings.... den ya'd be a hippiocret.... Aye? Dun wanna /strip/ ya of yer aspirations tuh greatness." He winked, mischieviously.

Now, that had tove been a little conspicuous. Two consecutive remarks that implied something bad had happened to her, that might have pertained to both captivity, and having clothing removed unwillingly. Then again, it is possible the first was just by chance, and the second was a reference to her having been caught by Garland.... even if he did emphasize the word 'strip', and bring up loss of a wardrobe. The kappa then snapped his fingers, "Fair 'nuff. Ya dar convinced me dat ya'nt da one fer da job. I dink I'll just be goin' now, den.... so why dontcha unlock da door fer me? Seems I ougha be gittin o'er ta Goug, 'n I dun like muh time wasted....."

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Uh-huh. You do that then."

Morrighan retained her bored, observing posture. Only lifting a hand slightly to work a little magic to cause the front door to unlock and open by itself. "No worries. I'm already seeing you out." By way of certain floating orb bits. One was patrolling the house and had now stopped at the front foyer, 'eye' on Queegmaa's figure from above.

She was more worried about the reptilian's cryptic parting words if anything. It almost sounded as if he knew something about what happened to her. ".....Hmn." She narrowed her eyes, but let Queegmaa go. Now wasn't the time to strike. She'd need to...ask around and see what she could come up with first.

That thought in mind, Morrighan simply put on a pleasant smile and waved her goodbye.

Queegmaa has posed:
Queegmaa bowed to Morrighan as he began to walk towards the door, smiling pleasantly, "Well.... I hafta say, was rayle nice meetin' ya, Miss 'Lazanay. I often come ta Mullonde, y'see, so we may see 'chother 'gin. In fact.... I wuden be su'prised if we happened ta see each udder on da marrow...." He grins widely, then feigns surprise, as though having an epiphany, "Ah... speakin' of aspirations.... as ya kin see,.... my language ain't too good, 'n I'm tryin' ta improve't a bit.... I keep forgettin'.... is it 'marrow', or is it 'morrow'? I 'sure ya, dat'll be my last query for da day...." He winks again, "I'd be REALLY grateful if ya cud tell me if it's marrow or not....."

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Okay, not he was just being far too obvious. Continuing to smile, Morrighan's waving hand suddenly flashed before a gun was pointed straight at him. "Are you sure, you should be asking me such a question? I already have the names of Echo, and how I can add your face to the list."

Her smile remained as she spoke, gun pointed and finger resting on the trigger. "You don't seem very common either. I imagine I could find out who you are easily enough." A magical buildup began to grow along the firing barrel, creating an orb of magical energy ready to be fired as a bullet at even the slightest wrong move.

"And from there, I would work my way up and find the one pulling your strings. And then the whole thing comes toppling down." There was a pause to let it sink in. "So, do be a dear and think about it." And even still, her pleasant smile remained. "You look like an uncouth barbarian, but I imagine you actually have a brain in there, hm? Why not use it?"

Queegmaa has posed:
Queegmaa adorned an expression of shock, while at the doorway, when she pointed the gun at him. He blinked at her perplexedly, raising his hands as though frightened out of his wits, and totally innocent of anything having to do with whatever it was that Morrighan was going on about, "WHOA.... Yer gettin' a lil 'fensive 'bout a simple question from a simple country bumpkin like me.... In it obvious dat I'm jus' some backwater folk? I tell ya, Miss! I dun want no trouble...."

He backs away slowly, out of her house, step by step, but only a foot or two, so as not to startle Morrighan, and cause an accidental discharge. He might be strong enough, or fast enough to avoid a deathblow from the gun, but the kappa knows that with the gun already in her hand and aimed at him, he's liable to leave the house making an escape with at least some kind of grievous injury. On the one hand, he can only taunt her so much, and on the other, he's scared enough that she's not bluffing, to believe that he shouldn't push his luck too far. Queegmaa, as if /trying/ to seem compliant, spouts off, "If ya wanna know my name.... dat's easy.... I give it ta ya, and yuh let me leave wi'out any problems... aye?"

The troll nods, "Name is Queegmaa!... Lotsa folks already knowed it. It in nuh sehkret....." With that, he continues to back out, assuming that his willingness to cooperate will assuage her somewhat. Que may live on the edge, but in the end.... he's still a coward, and with Morrighan wielding a gun, right /now/, she had the upper hand. "Maybe we shud just 'gree ta dis'gree on who is playin' what kinda games with one 'nudder, and... put da weapons away....." Of course, he turns his body sideways with the door wide open, such that a couple bystanders happen to see across Que, where Morrighan had the gun trained on him. For all they knew, it was some kind of joke, or silly antic between friends, so for the time being, it doesn't attract too much attention.

Queegmaa has posed:
The reality was.... his 'act' was that he was frightened out of his wits.... but in actuality, this wasn't even completely untrue.... He was nervous, at the very least.....

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Is that so?" Morrighan could hardly believe this 'country bumpkin' at this point. Her mind was working in overdrive and multiple conclusions were drawn as possibilities. Her crimson gaze rested on Queegmaa as he slowly backed away from the sights of the weapon pointed at him.

"Well, you must forgive me for being wholly unable to believe you." Yet, she hadn't pulled the trigger. Despite her irritation and anger, Morrighan wanted trouble just about as much as Queegmaa did, which was not at all. But that hadn't mean that she'd lay down and let him say whatever he wanted. "...Queegmaa. I see."

Nodding slowly, Morrighan lowered the aim of her gun just slightly enough to put him at ease. "Well then, have a nice day." THe elf spoke in parting, waving with her free hand before suddenly thrusting it forward. What followed was a concentrated gust of wind, enough to push the imp out of her doorway if he hadn't braced himself, but in the end, not harmnful.

If that had succeeded, then the door would shut itself and lock again without Morrighan having moved from her spot.

Queegmaa has posed:
Although he sounded like a 'good-old boy', Queegmaa was just the opposite, and Morrighan's intuition had served her well for thinking otherwise. When she asked him to forgive her for having her doubts about believing his yarn, he nodded his head anxiously, though without any sign of perspiration(beyond sea-turtles, which shed tears to eject excess salt, aquatic animals neither sweated, nor cried), the kappa continued to back-peddle steadily, hoping to create some distance between himself and the crazed elf, "Hey ma'am.... you da boss. Dis is yer house, 'n I jus' wanna git from here. In gon' disturb ya no more.... 'n if we dun meet 'gin, den I dink I'll be fixin' on havin' m'self a nice day...."

Before he could voluntarily abandon the woman, she caused a gale to barrage him, which had enough force to hurl him a few good meters from her doorstep. To have actually budged the green goblin at all, the pressure involved would've had to've incorporated at least three to four hundred pounds of force, which meant that by the time it did gather enough strength to move him.... it practically threw him, causing him to go sprawling across the street as the door closed behind him. Growling, he shouted back, "YA UNCULTYEERED SAVYIDGE! Attack me, will ya?! I dun bleeve dat sh*t abet ya wishin' me a nice day fer all da tea in da Chinese Countryside! Yuh callin' me a liar, 'n yant no better!" Getting up and dusting himself off, he reached under his armpit and hit a switch which he'd flicked when he'd pressed the bible under his arm.

No.... he didn't have a built-in video on his prosthesis, but he did have a rudimentary audio, and he would eventually go to one of the bishops to see if he could qualify to sue Morrighan for a few munny-bucks, or something of the sort; given how much money she had, considering that she declined his offer, he probably couldn't damage her bank-account much, but maybe he could at least make a statement! One could hope, anyway.....