Warnings and Antics

Warnings and Antics
Date of Scene:	04 January 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - Shard Seekers HQ - Garden
Synopsis:	Avira comes to warn Zia about her confrontation with the 'Dark Lords' that Skoll serves, but the two end up distracted by their shared worries over the werewolf, and puppy antics.
Cast of Characters:	Zia, Avira

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Zia has posed:
Once again, evening has fallen in Fluorgis, bringing with it the bustling sounds of people heading home as the last rays of the sun disappear in a red haze at the horizon that no longer leads into the world that it once had. The sounds of conversation from the nearby street filter in, laughter carrying through as people head home. Somehow, life goes on, even with the Heartless threats and the chaos of the world at large.

This isn't exactly the sort of place that most people would go if they were trying to find one of the Shard Seekers, but Zia certainly isn't the most usual of the rag-tag band of misfits. Somewhere on the rooftop, there is the distinct shadow of someone crouched, looking out towards the west, over the city. The way the nearby lights shine, it's impossible to make out features, and she could very well be a statue for all that the light touches her.

Below, a pair of the resident 'puppies' are wrestling, chewing on ears and tails and bouncing about with after-dinner canine energy. Otherwise, the garden seems empty, even if this is likely where residents might have suggested to find the so-called 'night guard' of the Shard Seekers.

Avira has posed:
Rooftop travel is perfectly acceptable in Fluorgis. For now, though, Avira's able to take it one step beyond and simply bypass roofs altogether and fly overhead. There were actually multiple reasons for her visit, but the primary one was to seek out a certain gargoyle that had all but adopted the Shard Seekers as their clan.

Strangely enough, despite being allied to such via Deidra, Avira isn't aware of the need for gargoyles to stone sleep. The shadow on the roof to the Shard Seeker's HQ is dismissed entirely by the mutate.

The sound of wind through her feathers heralds Avira's arrival as she circles around and opts to land in the garden area. Her great dark-brown colored wings fold behind her, the primary feathers just touching the ground at her feet. Looking around, she spies the little puppies...but nobody else.

Moving very slowly, the mutate approaches the puppies and tries to pet them. Given her appearance, she expects them to straight up flee her.

Zia has posed:
The sight of someone else in the skies is enough to draw Zia's attention, that shadow of a statue moving as she tracks the creature across the sky. While she had heard something of what had happened to Avira, she had been blissfully unconscious during the her transformation in those tunnels beneath Manhattan. She shifts slightly, her cautious nature observing from the rooftop for a moment as the strange creature lands. She has never really seen a mutate, although some of the other scavengers had mentioned those that lived in the Labyrinth, but this is something entirely different than a rumor among the vagrant.

The two puppies seem to be used to some strangeness, and the commings and goings of people who have the gift of flight. They turn towards her, and one of the pups freezes, tucking his tail, the other barks. It isn't until her hand reaches out that the little nose sniffs at her and then looks quite confused, not quite able to figure out just /what/ she is.

"Are ye lookin fer someone?" The voice sounds from the rooftop nearby, the shadow drawing closer slightly as the white gargress steps a bit closer to the light. It leaves just the faint outlines of her visible, her wings caped, but her features distinctly inhuman. After the issues she had with that strange boy from Shee-ra coming in and trying to plant bugs in the headquarters, she's more than a little suspicious of strange people showing up.

Then again, the strangest people were the ones that live here.

Avira has posed:
A sad frown tugs at Avira's features while she watches the reactions of the little dogs. The fear on the nonbarking one is obvious and it makes her heart ache a little. If only this mutation would fade faster! The other she patiently keeps her hand out so the puppy can sniff it, though it seems to do little good given how confused it looks afterwards.

Avira's ears perk and her head lifts to observe the rooftop. At first it is a shadow, but then she can easily make out the features of the albino gargoyle. A silhouette is good enough, really. Pulling her hand away from the puppy, Avira straightens up completely. "Yes, actually."

Avira extends a clawed hand towards her, "I'm looking for you. Zia, right?" There's certainly no shock or outrage at the gargress's appearance. At this point such a reaction would be downright hypocritical of her.

Zia has posed:
The gargress moves quite gracefully as she hops down off of the roof, landing in a crouch. It's only as she steps forward that the light hits her, casting across white skin. She scoops up the more timid of the pups, who buries her face against the gargoyle's arm. She uses one clawed hand to scratch behind the dog's ear, but her eyes remain on the visitor. "Aye?" Her elven ears are quite expressive, ticking back just a fraction of an inch, showing that confusion that is written quite clearly on her features.

"Ah dinnae know why ye'd be lookin fer me, but ye've found what yer lookin fer." For anyone who had grown up in the human world, her accent is distinctly Scottish, with the sound of someone who has spoken it from a different age, although not one too far in the past. "There would only be a few souls who'd point anyone te find me here, so who is it tha' sent ye my way?"

The other puppy takes the moment of distraction and walks around to sniff at Avira's feet, apparently determining that she isn't a threat.

Avira has posed:
Quite an accent she has, Avira realizes. Meaning the piece of their world that was her true origin was likely destroyed months ago. Perhaps, much like Avira herself, Zia had survived the end of the world twice. "Mmhmm." There's a hint of an appreciative look on her face as she is met with confusion and not...disgust or fear as many who see her for the first time express.

"I found out from Skoll. Explained you were a friend of his." He HAD been quite worried about Zia's well-being when they had escaped Manhattan's destruction. "Though he is mostly why I've come here to talk to you. It's...pretty important."

She allows herself to be distracted by the puppy at her feet, letting all that sink in for Zia. Crouching down, she reaches out to pet the small creature very carefully. "Have you been made aware of the 'Lords' he's supposed to be serving?"

Zia has posed:
It would be unusual if Zia reacted to anyone with a look of fear or disgust. Her own kind came in so many shapes and sizes, and this one is not too far from the sort that used to call London their home. She had never met one, of course, but her father told stories of a statue in honor of a gargoyle who died in the Battle of Britian. "Aye, he'd have been m'first guess. So if ye dinnae mind me askin, lass, jus' who are ye?" She's never really seen a werewolf other than Skoll up close, so for all she knows this might be his sister, or some other strange version of his kind.

The fact that she dives straight to the subject, turning to explain that she's here for Skoll's sake, not at his bequest... The gargoyle sets down the calmed puppy, then folds her arms beneath her wings, looking concerned. "Is he alright? Did somethin happen to 'im?" She hasn't had the chance to see his amazing healing abilities first hand, so at the moment, the gargress seems more worried that he might be injured than anything else.

The puppy spots that hand being extended again and steps over, sniffing at it and then play bows, his tail wagging with a puppyish growl. Zia, on the other hand, just tilts her head, stepping forward, her talons clicking on the ground. "Aye. Nae matter how much Ah ask aboot them, he always deflects." The play of worry shows as her ears nearly hide in the white strands of her hair. "He doesnae seem the type te answer te those sorts, but he said they saved 'is life." A taloned hand appears as she rubs at her arm, showing her discomfort in the twitch of her own tail near her taloned feet. "Wha's happened?"

Avira has posed:
The gargoyles of Londed did have a few amongst their ranks that possessed feathered wings rather than bat wings, didn't they? Given how she's seen other gargoyles capable of 'caping' their types of wings behind them, though, a part of her preferred those were the types she had. "Oh, right. I'm Avira. I live in Rabanastre and Traverse Town but I came from Brooklyn." There really wasn't that much of a need to obscure her origins anymore. "We...fought together at Manhattan's light, though that battle was chaotic and all."

The concern is clear on Zia's face and somehow, Avira feels at ease seeing this. "He is fine...as far as I know." She beckons Zia to come a ltitle closer as she lowers her voice. "It's his Lords I'm worried about. They know of us. They know of his friends."

Seeing the sudden playful bent, Avira wiggles her fingers at the puppy before darting her claws out to playfully bat at him. Any sharp talons are carefully turned away. "..hehehe.."

The puppy does not stop Avira from continuing the rather urgent topic of the night though. "Hmm, so it's true, then. I was approached by one of these Lords. She offered me the chance to join them. When I refused, she became violent and tried to capture me for nefarious purposes-up to being forced to kill Skoll's other friends. You in particular were mentioned as a target. Therefore, I'm afraid you might experience a visit from this horrid woman at some point too."

Zia has posed:
"Avira." The gargress blinks, and for the worry shifts again to confusion as she tries to overlay the woman she had seen fighting in the Labyrinth with this person standing before her. Of course, she'd caught some small bits about something having happened to her after the fall, but this... "Wha' happened te ye, lass?" For all her understanding of dark magic, this is something beyond the worst that her master could summon up. "Was it tha' dark magic that came off'a tha' man down in the tunnels?" It had hit her as well, but she hadn't been as close to the blast as Avira and Skoll.

There is a moment of relief when the mutate tells her that Skoll is alright, and it seems to ease some of the tension in the white gargoyle's shoulders. "They worry me, too." She admits, not feeling any real hesitation in drawing closer. For all that she has issues with trust around humans, Avira clearly isn't a human, at least at the moment. Her blue eyes look down towards the interaction between her and the puppy, and it draws a sort of soft smile to her lips. "Ye've got a fair talent with animals, it seems. They arenae so different from the beasts m'kind usedte raise. Ah havenae seen one in such a long time."

The rest of the story draws a breath from Zia's lips, pointed teeth catching her lip. "Ah asked 'im once wha would happen if his 'Lords' started te see 'is friends as a threat." Shaking her head, the gargoyle rubs at the back of her neck, looking uncertain. "Ah have nae interest in becomin a a pawn te any 'Lords', nae his Dark Lords, or any other. But it sounds te me like they'll be a threat nae just te us, but te anyone he allies himself with. But why?"

Avira has posed:
There are a few similarities between the human and the mutate that Zia now sees. Where the human had scars, there are instead lighter partches of fur in the same shape all over Avira's body. Her eyes are also the same now, which is a little weird with how human they look compared to the rest of her. She also has that strange weapon-the Spine-on her, but its presence is mostly covered by her wings. "A man named Dr. Sevarius hit me with a mutating formula that was triggered by the darkness being used in that fight." At least, based on the notes she had read, that was the most sound theory she could realize. It was also the most succinct explanation she could come up with.

The teasing of the puppy seems like just too much fun for Avira. She still hasn't stood up fully yet, remaining crouched and playing with the adorable little creature. Darting out her hand again, she pushes the puppy onto its back, then reaches out to tickle his belly. "I'm very fond of animals."

Her head tilts in confusion as Zia alludes to gargoyle beasts, which Avira has never seen in person.

"Now you know. You should prepare yourself and the rest of the Shard Seekers. Though between you, me, and his sister I think we have the most to worry about." Avira looks up at Zia. "Skoll told me that they put darkness in his heart to control him. I think exposure to friends like us has weakened their control over him."

Zia has posed:
The name of the doctor isn't familiar to her, but it isn't as if Zia has had much opportunity to have exposure to humans of any profession really. Up until recently, she'd avoided them as much as possible, and like most wild things, she still has a pretty strong survival instinct. Humans are a threat. Of course, she hadn't known Avira long enough before this transformation to register her as 'human'. She's someone important to Skoll, though, and that is enough to lean her towards being more trusting than to a random stranger. "It ne'er surprises me wha darkness humans can create te hurt one another. Ah'm sorry te see such a thing happen te ye."

She crouches down, herself, feeling comfortable in just about any posture. She does catch that little tilt of the head, and the gesture is understandable enough to her, "They're a species related te gargoyles, but more like these guys." She reaches out to ruffle the dog's ears, and the puppy wiggles with all the attention. The other one who had been so shy before sees all this and comes running up, butting her head into Avira's hand. "Ah havenae seen one since Ah was little. Ours left wi' m'brother." She shrugs.

What the mutate says remains troubling, though. She's not far from the other girl now, looking across towards her. "It wouldnae surprise me if tha's the truth of it. He trusts them so much, though." She looks away then, trying to think her way through the problem. Given the choice, Zia had chosen to stand up and fight against the evil threatening the world. The problem is, she still hasn't really learned /how/. "But wha' do we do if their power goes deep enough te turn him against us? Ah dinnae know if Ah could hurt 'im, even if it was fer his own good." The girl smirks then, "Nae to mention he's strong enough te toss me 'round the room like a rag doll if he wanted."

Avira has posed:
The name Sevarius would likely only be recognizable to employees of Xanatos and readers of scientific papers. In Avira's case, it is the latter, though she was also one of the priveledged ones as far as meeting him in person went. "Thank you." Avira says sadly to Zia's apologies. Her eyes only flick up to Zia for a few seconds mostly out of avoidance of one of the reactions she did not enjoy from other people that were informed of her condition: pity. Or at least she was expecting pity but doesn't necessarily get it.

All the better. As the second puppy joins the fray, Avira starts to tease that one with her other hand. Their presence seems to calm down Avira considerably, which she openly welcomes. "A doglike gargoyle? Interesting..." Avira looks pensive for a few seconds before that fades, replaced by more urge to play. "Maybe they're still out there." Avira offers softly, as if by way of encouragement.

"He hasn't talked about them much to me himself. He seems to believe that if he tells us more that we'll be in grave danger. I don't think it'll help anymore." Briefly, Avira picks up a puppy with both hands, brings it up to her face, nuzzles it, and returns it to the ground. "That I don't know, though, what we would do if he turned him against us. I definitely can't take him alone, but I definitely won't go down not trying. Maybe if he's around us long enough..."

She looks flustered, "...then he'll be able to resist the control! But until then I think we have no choice. I think until then, we fight back.

Zia has posed:
There is some element of sadness in the way Zia adresses the mutate, but if only because she's had her own experiences with darkness, herself. It may not have changed her form into something like the creature before her, but it has left it's own sort of marks. Even so, the gargoyle isn't one to judge on outward appearances - well, once she gets past 'human' anyways. Still, she tends to try to live in the moment as much as possible - learning to think about the future is a bit of a harder task, though.

"Aye. M'clan had one tha' m'brother raised from a small thing." The memory does seem to drag her back into the past if only for a moment as her hand scratches the puppy's ears again. With most of the others keeping more 'sane' schedules that don't include staying up all night, she's bonded with the pups who are the night-owls of the group. "Ah hope some remain, but there arenae many of m'kind left. Probably less now tha Manhattan is gone."

The pressing issue of those 'Dark Lords' still hovers over them, though. "Nae to me, either. Any time Ah ask, he changes the subject faster tha' a Scotsman can down a pint." Her hand remains down by the puppy, but her mind is elsewhere, enough so that the little one starts to butt at her fingers. "Ah wonder if there's anyone tha might've heard aboot somethin like this. Someone who might have some idea how we can break whatever hold they've got o'er 'im."

She pats the dog, then stands at her full height, talons clicking as she starts to pace, not liking the alternative. "If they do try te come te me... wha' do ye want me te do?"

Avira has posed:
Avira was looking forward to the mutation finally fading. That way, awkward conversations in which Avira had to explain what had happened to her would continue. It brought pity and offers to help, both Avira felt bad abut accepting, even from those she only knows so much of.

"Likewise." Avira adds softly, hoping more than just gargoyle beasts escaped the destruction. Her thoughts go to the mutates of the Labyrnth. It'd already been the epicenter of a heartless attack. Maybe t hey had the good sense to move.

Avira resumes play with theh puppies to further maintain her calm. "Maybe Merlin. He is a wizard in Traverse Town and quite wise." Avira suggests, "There's no sense in waiting, especially if they decide to turn him against us at any point."

It's clear she likes this spot now as she shifts so she's sitting instead of crouching. Avira stretches out her legs before her and makes small whistling noises to encourage the dogs to come to her lap. "Fight!" her eyes flash, "That is the most important part. And refuse, but you've already said you will. More importantly, though, pretend to think the control is still strong. They don't know it's been slipping...at least I don't think they know. Don't mention me either, because if they found out that I'm telling you all this, they might hurt Skoll."

Zia has posed:
Having someone lower and easier to clamber over, the two puppies are easily drawn towards Avira. Their earlier fear has been wiped away, and the two tumble and climb and one even tries to get up high enugh to lick at her chin in the process. Zia, on the other hand, just continues her quiet pacing. The way her wings move brings a sound like leather, but otherwise she seems like a ghost. Like most of her kind, she's used to blending into the night, regardless of how much her coloring makes her stand out.

"Merlin." Zia repeats the name, testing it out on her lips. Names are not a natural thing for many of her kind, and it is something she's still getting used to. "Maybe Ah'll travel there 'n see wha' Ah can discover. Easy enough te go under the guise o' tryin te expand m'own magic." She's trying to think ahead, but her mind is going in a thousand directions.

The thought of trying to take on one of Skoll's 'Lords' head on makes her wince at first, ears tucking. "Maybe Ah can try te trick some information outta them, somethin they'd rather us not know." Again, she toys with ways of dealing with things, but the thought of them hurting Skoll brings a small flash to her own eyes. The gargress doesn't show anger very often, but she closes her eyes and then shakes her head, swollowing down a growl. "Ah'll keep this between us. Ah dinnae want to see him hurt." Her clawed fingers clench into fists, "He's one o m'only real friends, 'n Ah'll do wha'ever it takes help 'im."

Avira has posed:
A chuckle escapes her as the pups climb for her lap and put their paws against her chest, seeking to lick her face. For a few moments, it felt like deja-vu, though at that moment this was against full grown wolves. There was no avoiding the face-licking. "Awww." she lifts the one again, bringing it to her face and giving it the opportunity to lick, but only for a few seconds. She's quick to put the wiggly puppy back down on her lap.

Names, another thing she takes for granted. Deidra was remiss in explaining all these things about gargoyle culture. Though perhaps for good reason since she'd not been born a gargoyle. "He's very skilled too! I'll bet he'd help you out on that front too. Do you know magic?" Had she paid closer attention in the Manhattan battle, she might already know the answer to this one.

As Zia discusses their strategy should the gargoyle get approached, Avira's attention is fully on her, watching and gauging her reaction. "Also possible. I noticed that while they seem aware of who we are, they definitely don't have a lot of information on us. You might be able to feed them some falsities." There is relief from the mutate when Zia resolves to keep their information sharing secret. "Good. I don't want to see him suffer any more at the hands of these Lords than he already has. Which, of course, us staying out of their clutches would help an awful lot!"

Though her words. One of her only friends? "The Shard Seekers are a friendly bunch. Have you interacted with them much?"

Zia has posed:
The similarity of this moment to the interaction of Avira to those wolves is something lost on the gargress, but she watches the interaction curiously. By now, she's had interactions with both Skoll and Sassaral, so she's gotten to see how the wolves act, but this one seems as natural with things as they do. "Aye. Weather magic." She aims a talon up towards the sky, and then shrugs her shoulders. It isn't in her nature to gloat about her abilities. "A few minor spells, too. Ah keep tellin the wolf tha' Ah'll use one of them te let 'im take a shot at flyin. O'Course, knowin my luck with those kinda spells, Ah'd end up turnin him into a bloody Chocobo or somethin."

Her attempts at keeping the conversation lighter doesn't last too long, though. What to do? She doesn't know enough about these 'Lords', or enough about the power that Skoll is under. "Ah'll see wha' Ah can do. At the very least, Ah've got a wee bit of strength against dark magic tryin te get inte my head." After Valen had spent those years wandering in her heart and mind, she'd figured out ways of closing off those parts of herself to such probings.

It's the question about the Shard Seekers that has her looking a little uncomfortable. "Nae tha much. The mouse is kind te me. Reize is harmless. The wolf-girl is a sweet thing. Other than that..." She shakes her head a bit. "Ah keep strange hours, 'n humans still make me a wee bit uncomfortable. Years of hidin from them are hard de ferget."

Avira has posed:
There's only a handful of people that have seen Avira interact with her 'pack.' To the outside world, she just seems very at peace around animals...dogs especially. When one of the dogs starts to tug on her loincloth, though, Avira's pretty quick to get it to knock it off with a bit of embarassment. "Weather magic...interesting, I didn't even know that was a 'thing' on our world." Nor did she know gargoyles were a thing on their world for a very long time, though. "Haha, well, if you do turn Skoll into a chocobo, I would love to see some pictures."

It's hard to be lighthearted with something so dire to talk about, isn't it? Avira actually feels a little bad about one of their very first meetings being about this and not something a lot more friendly. "Fortunately, it seems they need to subdue you first before they can...leash you." She looks up at Zia, concerned, "I have seen gargoyles fight so I bet your just as, if not, more capable of driving them back."

The discomfort is noted upon Zia's expressive face, which draws confusion from Avira. Until she explains that she is wary around humans. "Is that how things normally are for your kind on our previous world? It...makes sense. In that place, some humans can't even get over other humans having different color skin."

Zia has posed:
"Magic isnae a very common gift in our world. It's real enough, though. Some say tha' the old wizard Merlin from the Arthur tales was one, but humans wi' magic go back even further." It's only as she says this that the gargress seems to realize that Avira had pointed her towards talking to someone named 'Merlin'. Could it be the same? Well, some stories did seem to pass between worlds, but it couldn't be the /same/ Merlin, right? "Funny, tha'. The wizard ye told me aboot bein named Merlin."

She shakes it off, managing a small smile at the idea of turning Skoll into a Chocobo. "Ah try te be careful with tha' sorta magic. The sorta thing tha' changes one form inte another... well, it's a more powerful magic than callin the winds." Instinctually, Zia's hand goes to the pendant at her throat. It's just a bit of blue crystal, but once it had been something more. "Alas, it isnae somethin Ah have a good grasp on." Her former teacher hadn't been one to be too interested in that realm of magic, and few would volunteer for someone to practice on.

With a small laugh, Zia shakes her head, "Nae as good as somea the others, but Ah hold m'own with my magic. Been meaning te ask the mouse or our wolf friend te teach me more aboot real fightin, though. It's nae as if Ah've had much reason te go fightin up close 'n personal. Before now, it'was all aboot tryin te survive, nae about disablin an enemy."

There doesn't seem to be a way of avoiding more serious topics, though, and Zia nods somberly. "Humans barely get along wi' each other. When they see m'kind, all they see is monsters." She extends one clawed hand, but her eyes are at least understanding. Maybe Avira, of all people, might understand what it is like to be seen as a monster. "There arenae many of m'kind left. Humans hunted us nearly te extinction around the middle ages. Bettin ye hadnae even known aboot us until recently, did ye, lass?"

Avira has posed:
"Wait, wait..." Avira waves her hands up at Zia. "The whole Authurian Legend thing. Is that..." Well yes, they did have a wizard named Merlin in Traverse Town but she hadn't realized that it was THAT Merlin! The real Merlin! Seems at that second, she and Zia are on the same 'wavelength." "I don't know, actually." Avira says truthfully, "I never thought to ask him. Kind of weird too, I loved those stories. At the same time, I've seen some similarities between legends between worlds."

Another lighthearted laugh escapes Avira as she rubs one of the puppies behind the ears. "Well in that case, I wouldn't want poor Skoll STUCK as a chocobo. Even if he'd be adorable as one." Well, full grown chocobos weren't so adorable. Baby ones, however...

The mutate pauses, "...oh, well, that does make sense. Especially if you spend your time avoiding humans as much as you can." Not much opportunity to get into fights or even hunt. Heck, what DO gargoyles eat?

Now, after living as a mutate for these weeks, Avira understood very well what it was like to be seen as a monster. Sure, there were worlds far more tolerant to her unusual appearance, but the throngs of humans she had run into had been less than pleasant. "No, not until I met Deidra from the Twilight Detective Agency. Even then, I thought she had been recruited from another world."

Zia has posed:
"Aye. A boy who would be king, drawin a sword from a stone, taught by one'a the oldest, wisest of wizards. M'da usedte tell me those tales when Ah was just a wee hatchling." The gargress laughs then, drawing a few strands of white hair behind one ear. The smile that it brings looks so much better than the worry that had been there before. "O'course, he'dve been floored by all this." She looks up at the sky, and then back towards the other woman. There is an affection in the way she speaks of her father, but a hint of sadness there, too.

Her smile lingers even as they talk about avoiding humans, and Skoll as a chocobo. "Deidra is a bit of a strange lass, te be honest. Nae like any other gargoyle Ah've met. But Ah can tell ye tha Ah'm from Manhattan, 'n Sco'land before tha. Some fool woman mistook me fer a statue, ended up wakin up in some posh yard in upstate. Scared the daylights out of the poor lass." The story is an amusing one, but it probably did little to help her fear of humans, or their fear of the creatures of the night.

"Ah'm gettin more usedte humans, but old habbits die hard." She admits sheepishly, "The mouse says tha Ah needte decide wha's more important, m'fear, or doin good. Somethin like tha." She certainly can't quote Faruja very well, and she isn't even going to try. "Guess m'decision was te work fer good, 'n try te get over the rest. Kinda hard te do when yer a night-walker 'n people get a bit jumpy'o big things swoopin out'a the skies."

Avira has posed:
"Yeah, I've read the books myself." Avira says with a grin, glancing up at the gargress. "None of it was...real to me though. It all just used to be stories. But now..." there's a bit of excitement in her eyes at this. "It's real. It's all real! How wonderful."

Suddenly, there is confusion upon Avira's face. "Statue?" Though she has met Deidra and Brooklyn, she's actually completely unaware of their need to stone sleep. "Haha, now that's hilarious. She had no idea, did she?"

Mouse mouse...oh, right, Faruja. Strangely, there were a number of mice in her life right now. "I know the feeling...I...kind of just wanted to curl up and hide when I saw myself. But at the same time that really cramped my urge to get out and find a way to bring Manhattan back and do something about those Shadow Lords. There isn't room for both." She half-smiles, "So I put up with the looks from humans and keep going. I imagine it's much more different for you though...having dealt with this all your life. Harder. It's great that you've decided to work for good."

Zia has posed:
"Isnae tha the strangest part, though?" Zia says with some bemusement. "All this." Her eyes take in the night around them, two women a far cry from their own world. "Makes ye think tha anythin is possible. Every story, every dream." She brightens a little at the sentiment, although even now, she realizes that some dreams are out of reach. Still, in a world with so many possibilities, it's hard not to get caught up in it.

"But nae, the lass hadnae a clue wha Ah was. Imagine m'surprise wakin up in the Americas. Figured Ah'd never meet 'n honest te goodness Yankee in m'life, but there Ah was, none the less." She's not quite old enough to really use the term 'yankee', but amusement shows in her eyes none the less at the opportunity. The fact that Avira seems surprised about the 'statue' part catches her. "One'a the downsides tha comes with sleepin as stone durin the day." She had only recently trusted Skoll with this secret, but Avira is his friend, so she gives her that benefit of the doubt by proxy. "Tha'n the fact tha we're left pretty vulnerable."

Her expression gets more serious then, always a bit unsure about revealing such a thing to anyone. It could mean the difference betwen life and death for those of her kind. "Ye know, ye really dinnae look so bad, lass. Ah wouldnae worry so much. Hells bells, Skoll turns inte a great bloody wolf all the time, 'n no one bats 'n eye at it." She steps a bit closer, reaching out to lay a hand on the mutate's shoulder. "It isnae tha hard of a decision, though. Ye just have te ask yerself wha matters most te ye. Wha others see, or protectin those who dinnae look at just the surface."

Avira has posed:
"Exactly! I'm so excited." Avira certainly looks excited. She stands now, much to those puppies dismay most likely. "Who knows what the future holds, right?" Sure, it could be more heartache and destruction, as Avira has experienced thus far, but she doesn't seem willing entertain the idea of it continuing like this.

At last she learns the drawback of all Gargoyles. "Sleeping as stone? Huh, I never knew about that." The follow-up, telling Avira that it leaves them quite vulnerable, signals to her that this is information she shouldn't be spreading around. With that, she gives a solem nod.

"You think so...?" Avira says slowly, looking at one of her own furred hands, then to the hand on her shoulder. "Ahaha...Skoll...well..." she trails off, trying to think of some excuse for why his werewolf form is acceptable but hers isn't. "Yeah. I know what matters most." Her wings flex. "Though speaking of protection...you should be careful."

Zia has posed:
It is a shame that the puppies are losing their jungle-gym, but the two quickly begin to wrestle with each other once Avira is no longer within reach. Apparently, their puppy curiousity has been satiated at the moment, and now it's time to play. They go tearing off through the garden, between Zia's legs, and then into the headquarters. Inside, there is a crash of something being knocked over, and the gargress winces. "Oh tha cannae be good."

She looks back towards Avira, offering her a nod, but letting her hand come back again to her own side. She isn't quite sure what the woman's reaction means, but perhaps that's a question for another time. "Ah've taken yer warning te heart, but Ah cannae jus' hide here. Ah'll do wha Ah can te keep safe, though. Thank ye, lass." With that, there is another crash from inside.

"Ah should really go see wha those rascals are destroyin." She notes, "Ah'll let ye know if Ah discover anythin tha might help us... anythin that might help Skoll." Then, she turns and heads back inside to whatever puppy-made chaos awaits.

Avira has posed:
"Please do! Those Lords of his are rotten creatures." Avira says, stifling a giggle as the puppies go running off into the Shard Seeker headquarters.

Avira starts to back away before hopping into the air. Her wings catch an updraft and she sails into the air, quickly circling overhead. Seems like somewhere along the way, SOMEBODY showed her a thing or two about flying. "I shall do the same. Farewell, Zia!"