The Final Shard

The Final Shard
Date of Scene:	08 March 2013
Location:	New Orleans - Bayou
Synopsis:	Time to go visit a friend of Merlin's for the real answer of where the Spirit Shard is - Mama Odie. Yet can this Voodoo Priestess really help them? Or will it just be another wild goose chase?
Cast of Characters:	Priel Aylin, Deidra, Skoll Ulfang, Mercade Alexander, Tifa Lockhart, Zia, Katyna, Avira, Maira, Vespa, Aerith, Navya, TRON, Emi Dennou, Kim Possible, Percival, Oblivion

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Oblivion has posed:

The Swamps of New Orleans are a very interesting place. The green waters cover the area thanks to the still waters that allow moss and algae to grow over it. The only places disturbed is when crocodiles or other things have moved the water's calm surface.

Massive trees grow with vines hanging down and fire flies float over the area flickering here and there. The locals have given those who come several boats to use in order to cross the Swamp lands. If anyone asked about Mama Odie, many didn't know who she was, but they warned those to be voodoo priestess that lives in the swamp. That she lives in a big ol' tree, on a ship that is stuck on the branches, and she may be blind as a bat; but she is still a voodoo priestess!

In a place like New Orleans, that was a big deal; or so it sounded.

Yet was there a connection to this Voodoo Priestess and Mama Odie? Were they perhaps the same? Only way was to find out or at least wonder the swamps for a bit. The choice is yours!

Avira has posed:
This easily marks the first time that Avira has heard of this Mama Odie person. Merlin's pretty solid, though, so if he was recommending someone, there was probably a very good reason. Doubly so if it was for something that he had no idea how to help with: namely, a mobile, time traveling 'Spirit Shard.'

Knowing that this trip would be deep into the bayou, Avira came prepared. She's decked out in those rubber overall-type pants that fly fishermen usually wear when they stand in the middle of rivers. Her usual fingerless gloves have been traded for a set of thick leather ones. She's got a straw hat on her head and tons of bug repellant on.

Seated in one of the boats, she does her part of the rowing, though her attention is turned 'skyward', searching the trees for this boat treehouse deal.

"If this finding Mama Odie thing doesn't work out..." Avira says, sounding unsure that it wouldn't, "...maybe Isaac's pig magic can root something up. Like how it found that map to Atlantis."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart follows behind Avira, carefully. Second time she comes to the Bayou, although last time was being chased by a giant crocodile. Not the most pleasant of trips really. "Don't we have a Shard Detector or something that could at least point in the right direction?" She wonders how that's used exactly, she hasn't heard much about it since it was acquired.

"By the way, I'm just teasing Mercade you know." She smirks as she walks through the swamp toward the 'oracle's' house. "I wonder how that Mama Odie is..."

Zia has posed:
This is the exact sort of place where having wings /should/ have kept Zia from having to deal with the swamp. Alas, searching some vast expanse of marshy woodland and swamp proved to be quite difficult from the air, especially when you aren't entirely sure what you're looking for. Much of the world below is hidden by the greenery of those tall, untamed trees. So, the gargoyle alights onto the front end of one of the boats, likely rocking the others using it.

"All Ah can see from up there is fireflies, a whole mess of 'em." Her Scottish accent is worlds away from the strange Cajun tongue used in these parts. "Ah dinnae suppose there are any fairer directions than 'somewhere out in the swamp'?" She asks, "Findin crazy people out here is like lookin for a needle in a hay stack." Settling down to rest her wings for a bit, Zia plucks up an oar, using her night vision to lend a hand.

Maira has posed:
Maira had watched Avira getting ready and had at least tried to dress likewise. Finding rubber pants apparently was a no go, so she's simply in jeans and a shirt she doesn't overly care too much for (you know, because it will likely either be set on fire or be soaked in swamp water). She has placed a wide-brimmed hat on her head as well, closely resembling the traditional Black Mage style hat. It looks ridiculous, but in a cute kind of way?

Maira was pretty bummed to hear there was one more shard and this one didn't even stay in one place! If it was this difficult to find the Manhattan shards, what would it be like trying to find the shards for a world that had already long been dark? Ie. her own...

Maira sighs, then blinks between Avira and Tifa. "Pig magic? Teasing Mercade? Teasing him about what?" she asks, ever curious and eager to be included.

Kim Possible has posed:
Kim Possible follows behind Tifa Lockhart as well. She's never been into the bayou and is uneasy about getting lost in a place like this. "This place totally smells uncool," Kim comments to Tifa. "But if there's something worth our while here, then I'm sure it'll be worth it, right?" She tries to grin a little, but the overall atmosphere of the place is making her uneasy.

Percival has posed:
Percival was keeping to himself again. He wasn't necessarily brooding, quite the opposite in fact. He was trying to think positive. Right now trying to be positive just involved keeping his fool mouth shut and trying not to do anything that would screw up the constant balance he was having to maintain to prevent whatever was in this cursed rapier from ruining everything he touched.

For now that meant sitting apart from everyone else on the boats, staring into the vast mire that was the New Orleans Bayou. It was his second time here, and he'd enjoyed his previous visit a great deal, having visited near Mardi Gras season and managing to blend in with a costume. The jazz in particular was what had excited him the most, as the Jazz clubs of the roaring twenties were an excellent diversion. It almost made up for the near disastrous gator hunt afterwards.

Vespa has posed:
"We will find this Madam Odie person Avira don't worry.", Vespa says her dress tied up so it won't get wet she wearing high rubber boots so she doesn't get wet, hopefully She using her huge axe for a makeshift paddle in one of the boats "Stop complaing Al!", she says looking at her axe. "A little water won't hurt you..", she looks around. "This swamp can't be that big can it?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
A swamp! Why did it have to be a swamp? Skoll is standing on the same boat as Zia's, at the back end to be precise, with a bandit-bandana over his mouth and his hand against his nose. There's tears coming from his eyes even. Clearly, bringing a werewolf to a place like this is never a good idea. At least in his human form, he doesn't have the issue anywhere as badly as he would as the giant fuzzy-wuzzy werewolf. (Fuzzy wuzzy was a wolf?)

The werewolf tilts his head towards Zia while idly swatting his tail at fireflies that get too close. He's here for two people today. Both Zia /and/ Avira of course. He wants to help them restore their homes. In a ways, he does this because he cares for the two. On the other, there's also that guilt of what he might have done as a Gaudium Lord in the past - and wanting to do good deeds to make up for this.

"Yes, crazy people all around." Skoll teases Zia, in that 'good natured' kind of way.

Navya has posed:
Navya doesn't like swamps.

Navya is capable of flying, but not indefinitely, which means she has to land and /walk/ on a fairly regular basis. This explains why she's wearing big stompy adventurer's boots. Unfortunately, she has neglected to do much else in the line of 'dress appropriately', possibly because she's never been to a swamp before. She is a bug magnet, and is probably keeping other people free of insects by her sheer existence.

She has also traded in her maul for a gigantic axe, in case she needs to clear a tree out of the group's way. She is at least prepared in one way.

Navya, as it turns out, is extraordinarily strong. It also takes her a long time to tire, so she's been perfectly willing to keep up the monotonous work of rowing, with only occasional breaks to clear the bugs off herself. She hasn't said much, since she's been working.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna is with the other VALKYRI, having given up on the heavy awkward hip waders after nearly drowning in the darned things. Instead, she'd settled for her usual cute red tunic and black pants..Plus long rubber boots and gloves. At least she can move more easily in this than in rubber pants or her heavy armour. Let's just hope the boat doesn't sink though, because she's not terribly fond of this smelly water.

"Gee whiz, I hope we dont get sent on a wild goose chase. What kinda nut would live in such a dank, smelly place like this, anyways?" She makes a face, keeping her sword at the ready incase a hungry croc decides to stick its head up.

Avira has posed:
"I think the Shard Seekers have one but I'm not sure how well it actually works, Tifa." Avira frowns, dipping her paddle deep into the swamp water and pushing it through, "At first I thought they just found a fossil phoenix feather, but it turned out to really be a world shard after all. I.../guess/ we could ask them to borrow it." Rivalry with that clan did make her loath to ask them (and especially THAT SCOUNDREL Ivo Galvan!) for help. But getting Manhattan back was far more important than a silly rivalry.

Tifa mentions that she was just teasing Mercade earlier. "I..I knew that! Uhhh, it's nothing, Maira. Nothing at all. Pig magic. Isaac has this pin that apparently releases pigs that find things for him."

Zia lands on the boat and it starts to wiggle. "Ack! Quick, sit down, you're rocking the boat."

Avira pauses. 'And the people all said sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat.' her brain immediately fills in. Swallowing, she bites her lip, resisting the urge to bust out the Guys and Dolls. Sure, Percival would be -extatic- but was now really the time?!

"Wait, did you just said your axe talks, Vespa? I didn't know that."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra is one of the many people coming to look for the Priestess this time she'd manged to not get lost and she wasn't the only of her kind there eithere. Still the timing had left her groggy and honstly she'd grabbed shades to deal with the sun possibly either way here she is and thanks to the time of year she doesn't need to diguse hersel too hard. It was strange to see the Roaring 20s in person and it made her sad to know what might be coming for thse people but none the less it's not her world maybe the depression wouldn't happen, right?

"Strange seeing how the world used to be...."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart inwardly smiles at Avira's flustering about Mercade. She's palying, not trying to get in between herself. She already has someone in mind, although she's unable to voice it, and he's not around either. Silly personal feelings, really.

"If Reize was here he'd probably have it with him, but if they didn't find it yet, its probably harder to find than that, and maybe we only have that voodoo lady to count on to find it." She ponders a bit, looking around the swamp, shaking her head "Last time I was here we got chased by a giant crocodile. I hope there's no more of those around. I don't want another dip in the swamp."

Maira has posed:
Maira is suspicious! She's missing something probably amusing, and pouts toward Tifa and Avira for not filling her in.

"Hmph, yeah, I should have asked Ivo if I could borrow it! Or at least of he would come with us...he'd better be resting though!" she says, frowning with a healers concern. Or something else.

Maira had of course greeted all her VALKYRI friends, but her eyes are drawn toward Percival, who is being quite solitary. Maybe he's shy? Well, she's not going to let him sit there feeling lonely! Maira carefully moves over to him. "Hello," she says with a bright smile. "Everything okay?"

Kim Possible has posed:
"Crocodiles?" Kim comments to Tifa. "Gross! Those things are probably as slimy as heck, and their bites probably totally hurt too." She makes a face that indicates she's definitely grossed out, before grinning a little. "But they'll be no match for us! We can do anything!"

Vespa has posed:
"Did I mention this before Avira?", Vespa says as she paddles "He never talks out loud. It's more like a bond he and I have only I can hear him oddly. It's sort of like telepathy."

Navya has posed:
Navya keeps rowing. She keeps her head down a lot of the time.

But she can't remain silent. "Magic pigs? That's..." Navya is not entirely certain /what/ she thinks about it, other than it's kind of weird. "Kind of cool, actually," she eventually decides. Man, how come she doesn't have magic pigs?

Aside from the fact that she doesn't know any magic of any sort, of course, pigs or otherwise.

Maira has posed:
Maira smiles to Vespa. Having a ghost companion, she sympathizes. Maybe her axe has a ghost in it! That is totally possible!

Zia has posed:
"Sorry, lass." Zia is quick to incline her head towards Avira, a hint of a laugh on her lips as she settles herself, helping to guide the way a tangle of fallen trees. She takes a bit of calm as an opportunity to dip her fingers into the water, and flick some of it towards Percival. She's not about to let him be the silent type over there, and her expression is questioning as she cocks her head at him.

Then, the other conversation distracts her. "Ah didnae think te borrow it. Then again, if this Mama Odie is the only one tha can find it, we'd probably just be paddlin in circles tryin te follow it." As much as she might be a member of the Shard Seekers, Zia also had experienced the tenuous nature of some of the things the Seekers owned.

Shooting a glance over her shoulder, the white gargoyle twitches her nose at Skoll. "Aye, cannae swing a paddle wi'out hittin a crazy person. Good thing yer way back there." She waggles her paddle towards him, but there's no real threat there. Instead, she just listens to the general hum of conversation, looking up occassionally at the dark sky.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Kim "It was helped by a bunch of spear-throwing heartless too, it was quite the adventure. And the whole reason we were there was for that crocodile. Apparently, they wanted to make a really big gumbo." She shrugs. The reward was there at least.

Percival has posed:
Percival continues his rowing when Zia flicks the water at him. His expression is stoic at first, but then he sticks out his tongue when he's sure she's looking then retracting it so suddenly she'd be unsure if he really did that. When Maira approaches, a cheeful smile can be seen on his expression. "Everything is ace, Madame. Why wouldn't it be? Though I'm not sure we've met before. I'm Percival."

Priel Aylin has posed:
Having been here some time earlier, Priel had no business with whatever the hell these heroes and do-gooders were up to. She was here for something else. Off in the trees, the dragoness seemed to be finishing up with her own business. "Mhmhmhm, ah what a fine specimen~" She spoke in a singsong tone to herself, holding up what appeared to be some sort of diamond.

Tucking the jewel away into her pack, the redhead turned and started making her way out of the trees when she noticed boats sailing by. "...Hah?" She intoned curiously, head tilting a bit and tail waving about idly. "Well now, this looks pretty interesting..." She said again to no one in particular. She could spy some vaguely familiar figures on the decks of those boats with her decidedly inhuman eyes. "Let's have ourselves a look~"

With that said, a pair of wings extended from her back and then she took flight into the air, wings flapping rather audibly. "Looks like a search party or something..." Priel commented as she flew over the boats, spying down below without much regard for stealth or anything. What was there to high anyhow? "Hmm, I wonder what they're after...that's a lot of people..."

Katyna has posed:
Katyna too, notices the other gargoyle's silence. She'd already met Zia and Diedra before (kinda), but she found this third one - Pervical was it? - curious, in his knightly ways. "Oh yeah, I remember you...From somewhere.." where was that, again? So many people coming and going all the time. "The party at Fluorgis, wasn't it?"

She is however, distracted by all the other people. There's the annoying wolf boy sitting next to the white gargoyle Zia as always. She mostly ignores them, feeling even more nervous around wolf boy as she hopes Hati didnt spill anymore secrets about her. Instead, she glances to her fellow VALKYRIE, waving to them in greeting before focusing upon Vespa.

"Seriously? Talkin' to your axe? That's SO weird! I seriously dont think it's alive. You're just nuts!" Hmm, this crocodile stuff has her nervous though, and she makes a face at Kim, "Aah, you're so optimistic..But, maybe you're right, between all of us here, should be no big deal right?"

Finally, she glances over at Tifa and smirks. "Yeah! What's this about magic pics and crocodiles? Does this have to do with the frog thing too? Wow Tifa, you really get around!" Still, she laughs at the thought of pig gumbo. "Waait, heartless wanted to eat pic gumbo? Huh?" Weirder and weirder! What other weirdos lurk in this crazy swamp!?

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade /loves/ New Orleans.

He has considerably less love for the swamp. Mercade sits in the boat, slapping at insects as they buzz in and attempt to feast upon delicious detective. He's not going to jump into the water to get away from them. That's where /worse/ things live. He's sitting on the boat, a little away from Tifa and Avira, giving them plenty of room to chat since well, his presence would likely complicate things.

Avira has posed:
"Actually no, this is the first time I've heard you mention that, Vespa." For a few seconds, there's a concerned look on Avira's face. Sure, she's skeptical but she was also skeptical about Uist at first. Maira turned out to not be (that) crazy.

Though not nearly as physically strong as Navya, Avira manages to keep a good rhythm with her own rowing. She seems to be pacing herself, carefully breathing out as she speaks. "I was there for the giant crocodile too. Last time I also recall that there were Heartless in this swamp so we better keep an eye out."

She jerks a thumb at Kim, "But like Kim says, I doubt there's anything here we can't handle. Navya I'm reminded, you haven't met my friends in the Twilight Detective Agency, have you?"

Speaking of, she points at Mercade, "That's Mercade, he's basically their leader."

Percival has posed:
As Katyna speaks to him, he replies in short order. His mannerisms seemed a little different, apparently he'd dropped some pretenses. "That was me. I doubt you'd have remembered me if I weren't a right duffer, and on the evening of a celebration too. You'll have to excuse that, and give me the chance to make amends. I'm charmed to make your acquaintance."

Maira has posed:
Maira smiles, wishing she could help out with the rowing. That would slow them to a crawl though, as Maira's physical strength is fairly pathetic. She can hopefully provide moral support however! Perci's smile is encouraging, so she takes a seat nearby. "Nope! I've seen you around though. Nice to meet you Percival, I'm Maira. So do you only have one name too? Seems like most people have a last name. Sometimes I wonder if I should just make one up..."

Upon hearing Katyna calling Vespa crazy though, Maira rounds on her, her mouth open in shock. "Katyna!" she says, her expression and tone clearly filled with disappointment and disapproval. "I don't think you are crazy Vespa," she informs the woman, shooting her a warm smile before looking upward as a shadow passes quickly. "Oh! Hello up there!" she says, waving to Priel.

Maira then looks back to Perci.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Aye, it would be terrible if you hit the only sane one here." Skoll teases, grinning at her and reaching out towards the paddle, and pretending then to pull away in fear of 'the paddle'. The youth then looks down towards Avira, and then looks over to the others. He's not really sure what else to say. Talking axes and all isn't really his thing. He just remains mostly quiet, other than his antics with Zia - watching Percival from a distance. He knows why Faruja isn't here at least. He's glad he could trust the mouse to sister-sit. But...

"Hey Katyna? Any news on... you know? That thing?" He calls out to the girl

Navya has posed:
Navya's physical strength is really the reason to keep her in an adventuring party. It surely isn't for her brains. No surprise she's good at rowing the boat.

"I wasn't here for that," she says, slowing down for a moment so she can use an oar to nudge herself around what she thinks is either a mossy rock or a really twisted plant root. "They can't be that hard, though, can't they not get out of the water? - Wait, that's fish."

Navya lets the boat coast for several seconds. "Huh? Well, I know a couple of them, but not most of them! Mercade I've heard of, though. Hi! - I'd shake your hand but my hands are kind of full right now."

Percival has posed:
Percival continues to row, grinning at Maira. His tail waving to the rhythm of the oars, while his wings remain resting comfortably upon his shoulders. "Just one name. Its mine, though I don't think I'm really worthy of it. Our kind tend not to know our parentage, so a surname is often unnecessary. I don't really think about it, and it doesn't trouble me. But, if you wish to choose a surname, I'm sure it will suit you beautifully, how could it not?"

Vespa has posed:
Vespa says, "I'm sorry Avira. I should have mentioned this before.", she hefts up her axe. "Al meet Avira. Avria, Al A little difficut for him to shake hands.. He says Hello. He can be little shy with others.", she smiles. "

Vespa has seen a few people here in combat. "I'm sure any heartless we meet will have no trouble with..""

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle narrows her eyes at Percival, then sticks her own tongue out in response. Yeah, she saw that! As much as he might treat her like some kind of princess at times, she tends to react more as if he were her brother. It's been a very long time since she's seen him, and the younger gargoyle fits neatly into that niche in her mind. At least he didn't seem to be brooding, otherwise she might have to interject again and the last thing he'd probably want is to be dragged off to another 'talk'.

Her eyes follow to Katyna and then back to Skoll. Something was going on there, but she hadn't a clue about the circumstances regarding the werewolf's sister, so all she can do is guess that there's more trouble somewhere. It's usually true.

Priel Aylin has posed:
Blink.

Someone just called for her? Her eyes swept along the boats until they fell upon Maira. Ah, that girl. She recognized her from...from.....where? Somewhere! Probably an episode in a desert somewhere, she couldn't be bothered to remember! A smile fell upon Priel's face and she began to descend downwards, wings flapping and keeping her airborne as she lowered to about the level of the boats, but not actually landing in any of them. Rather, the redhead just flew along with the lazing drifting of the vessels.

"Well hey there! You're Ivo's other girlfriend, aren't you~?" And immediately, she opened with teasing. As if anything less was expected. Giggling to herself, Priel then took a look about at the others, taking note of who was where. Oh hey, Percival! "Yoo hoooooo, Mr. Statue~" She called to the gargoyle in question, her tail fluttering at him in greeting. Double the teasing! She was not wasting time.

"Ah, so what are all these people out here for anyway, huh?" She then asked, glancing at Maira again.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra sighs for a moment and just keeps to some of the people she knows she looks to PErcy for a moment as she comes up on the otehr gragyole for a moment "Hey Percy." She grinds a little bit the thought of not not knowing your parents kinda leaves her in a strange place but there's naught she can do to speak on it. "Really surnames are a way to just keep people sorted out with comon first names, but heaven help you if your John Smith."

Katyna has posed:
Kat blinks at Maira and sweatdrops. "Oh hey, I dont mean it in a bad way or anything, just.." She scratches her head, recalling how she once believed Maira was crazy..But after that kidnapping incident, and watching her fight, she knew better. She frowns, feeling a little embarrassed. "Eh...Sorry Maira, Vespa. I guess I just dont know you well enough, Vespa. So does your axe really talk?"

She also notices the others pushing the oars and steps up to one of the empty spots, grinning, "Here, lemme help! I'm pretty strong too!" And with that she starts to push at the oars, seeming to enjoy it. Glancing over at Percival, she chuckles a bit. "Heheh, you talk like a knight..Are you?" She shrugs, "Yeah, I remember seeing you, guess I was a bit distracted with other things at the time. Pleased to make your acquaintance! Are you a friend of those other gargoyles? Do y'all come from a different world or something? never seen one in my world.."

Finally Skoll talks and she arches a brow at him, trying to force a smile. Hey, he's Hati's bro so he couldn't be *that* bad, right? At least...Hopefully he wont ever find out her secret or he'll probably shred her to bits next time. She just shrugs, giving him a somewhat tense smile as she remembers him calling after her at the party. Had he seen her flee into the portal? Did he suspect...? Zounds....

"Err...Umm..I did find...Something that might help. She's stabilizing for now, Faru's taking care of her, but..." She glances around nervously. "We should..Talk about this some other time.."

Finally she spots the flying girl and arches a brow. "Huh? Who're you?" she cant help but smirk when Priel talks about Ivo's 'other' girlfriend, arching a brow at Priel. "Heey, wait a minute, what do you mean other? If he's messing around behind Maira's back, then..." Then Kat wont forgive that. she's grown fond of Maira, afterall, even if she finds Ivo amusing..

TRON has posed:
Alan has stayed silent throughout the trip, looking quite... overdressed. If he'd been prepared to deal with the swamp, the Portal Magic of the area has apparently laughed at his efforts. He has ended up looking like a period-accurate police officer and cannot seem to change clothes.

Or at least that's his excuse, and he's sticking to it.

The humidity of the swamp and the bugs don't seem to bother him despite the layers of clothing, though. He has his peaked hat tucked under his arm and seems to be more concerned with finding any sign of this 'Mama Odie' than conversation. The fact that he has a perpetual smirk on his face probably means he's not ignoring the topics at hand, however.

Oblivion has posed:

As the group continues to move along some fire flies zip by them before moving around the water. Some more fire flies soon come in and they all seem to be now following the group. What is up these bugs anyhow?

Though soon they all make a design in the air; which looks like a glow line art of the very woman Merlin showed them! Along side her was a obvious '?' Mark in design. They hovered there. Waiting for someone to confirm or deny this 'question' from the fire flies.

New Orlean's swamps was indeed a strange place.

Percival has posed:
"All right Lady Priel, Deidra?" Percival's smile was strained now, he was just trying his best to just focus and enjoy the company, but it was difficult taking his mind off things. "How's being your incorrigible and wicked self working out for you Lady Priel?" He said it in a way that indicated he was just kidding around with her.

"Is that the right of it Deidra? Well, I think we're all sorted out rather well personally. A surname just isn't really needed for me at least."

Maira has posed:
Maira smiles, pensive. "Heh...yeah, I guess I don't really /need/ one! I've never met another Maira after all. Sometimes it just feels strange. Some people have so many names," she muses with a shrug. "Heh, thank you though, that's very nice of you to say."

Maira has a smile for Priel as she swoops down, merely friendly, expecting nothing, passing no judgement...then Priel drops /that/. Maira blinks, and unable to really school her expression to hide her emotions, she turns a lovely shade of red, silent for a moment as she tries to pull herself together to form a response. That really came out of nowhere, and she wonders if Priel said it just to hurt her or if she is simply careless. Either way, Maira pulls her dignity around herself like a cloak and sets Priel staight. "Ivo is a friend. I am not his girlfriend," she replies. Maira had made is abundantly clear she wouldn't put up with Ivo toying with her. Yes, they still needed to talk, but she was resolute.

Maira looks back toward Katyna, her eyes warming as she apologizes. Maira can't really stay angry long. At her defense of her though, Maira merely shakes her head. It isn't necessary, but the sentiment is appreciated.

Maira smiles back to Perci, speaking up in agreement. "You do talk like a knight. You remind me of Faruja...I hope he's well--Oh look!" she says then, pointing toward the fireflies.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa says, "Please tell me i'm not seeing that.", Vespa says point firefiles drawing in the air. She wonders if there doing it on there own or is someone controlling them? She will proably never know.."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hmmms,looking back at the fireflies as the zoom past them. "Maybe its because we're getting used to heartless and weird stuff... must be why we're paying attention to things we wouldn't before, like fireflies." She shrugs. "Its like everything is suspicious now, isn't it?"

Avira has posed:
"What." Avira stops paddling for a second and peers upwards at the circling (other!) dragon girl (another gria? Though Priel didn't look exactly like a gria). Much like Katyna, Avira's a little bothered about a /particular/ turn of phrase used to refer to her BFF.

"Yes, please -enlighten- us. Who is Ivo's 'other' girlfriend?" Unlike Kat, Avira doesn't seem very smirky about this. This just proves that Ivo was a hundred percent SCOUNDREL.

Maira, quite pointedly, admits that she is NOT his girlfriend. Avira's equally surprised by this and immediately senses that this is something they're going to have to talk about later. ...one on one, not in front of all these people.

Perhaps, or tragically, Avira inconveniently misses the exchange between Skoll and Katyna. She isn't exactly privy to the significance behind it at the moment though so the subtle exchange of words is lost on her.

Gradually, she does begin to notice that swarms of fireflies seem to be following them. At first she thinks it's pretty neat. After a while they start making symbols out of themselves in the air. Avira rubs her eyes, "So I'm not the only person seeing the bugs doing that? It's not like...swamp gas or anything like that, right?" At least two other people confirm it's really a thing at this point, "Wow, neat. Can they...her...you all...y'all? Can y'all understand us?"

Zia has posed:
"Ah still dinnae see the point in namin everythin." Zia adds in to the whole conversation regarding names, shrugging her shoulders. "Givin it two names seems like overkill." She still tends not to refer to people by name if she can help it, blame it on decades of living without a name of her own, and never having to really learn anyone else's either. She offers a smile to Deidra, though, knowing that that sort of old gargoyle way is a far cry from what she would have grown up with.

Her mouth opens to say something else, but then Zia's eyes catch the flickering of light and tilt upwards. Whatever she was going to say is quickly replaced, "By Merlin's pants..." Creative oaths seem to be a specialty. She's quick to look towards the others in the boat, "So, did anyone hear tell of possessed fireflies b'fore we came out here?" She'll just let Avira be the firefly whisperer right now and stare wide-eyed instead.

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Hmn?" Priel hummed lightly, looking over at Katyna and Avira. "Oh me?" She asked, pressing a hand to her chest lightly to indicate that she was being pointed out. "I'm no one special~" More like she found amusement in not giving out her name. "As for what I meant by 'other', weeeeeeeellllllll~" The dragoness brought a finger to her lips then, winking playfully after.

"That's for me to know and for you to lose sleep wondering about~"

Percival is given a look then. "Ahahaha, oh, it's working out pretty well I think! You should try it sometime, yeah~?" And then her eyes are drawn back to Maira, her smile widening considerably at the reaction on display. "Oh? So he's 'just a friend', huh?" Priel mused thoughtfully, tapping her cheek lightly in thought. "Well, I guess that means the score is changing then! Too bad for you, ehehehe~"

At this point, fireflies happen and the girl's attention is drawn upwards. "Huh...well, that's new."

Kim Possible has posed:
"Don't let your guard down," Kim comments to Tifa. "This place could be hiding anything, and if we go in unprepared, that'd be totally uncool." She tries to load up her Kimmunicator, but all she gets is static. "This totally stinks, something's blocking the reception! Now Wade can't tell me what's going on..."

Navya has posed:
Navya, on the other hand, doesn't stop. She pulls ahead slightly until she realizes she probably should slow down a little bit, coasting to - well, not a stop, but a slower advance, anyway.

She looks up. /Is/ that a gria? She doesn't really look like Navya herself does; her eyes narrow as she tries to make out Priel a little more carefully. And then: "I know you! You were in that video!" The video she still has to give to Avira for blackmaiil purposes. Navya is briefly sheepish about not having done so.

Until her head turns to follow the fireflies. Hey, glittery lights. Navya stares at the fireflies for a moment. Then she tries to poke somewhere near them with her oar. The odds of actually hitting them, given she's not trying very hard and they're a cloud of bugs, is very low.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi Dennou Enters in from the background through the power of animation error. She was always present, obviously, she was just ... mysteriously off camera.

She looks towards Priel as Navya mentions the video. She scratches her neck lightly and pretends to look innocent. She's not doing a very great job of it.

Percival has posed:
"No, no Lady Priel. I don't think you'd want that." An infectious sort of grin, until he shows all of his teeth in it. Yes, it was definitely a strained one now.

His attention then shifts to the fireflies, as he watches them coordinate themselves remarkably well. He momentarily stops rowing, allowing the others to do the talking to the insects.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna arches a brow at Maira. She's not so sure that the girl and Ivo are 'just friends' from subtle things she's seen, but..Who knows with Ivo? Her smirk of amusement quickly turns to a frown as she looks back at Priel. "Hmmm, well..Whatever he's playing at, he'd better not hurt Maira in the process, or he'll be sorry.."

Then..Pyreflies light up the skies. For some reason, Katyna grins her teeth, reaching slowly for her sword. "Pyreflies.." She mutters, the memory of the pyreflies in the farplane surrounding that..Fiend..Still fresh in her mind. It's only when they form, the image of someone - Their contact presumably? - that she relaxes.

"Hey, I think they're trying to communicate with us! Heey!" She calls and waves out to the pyreflies as if they could hear her. She's not entirely sure how they work, but she does remember how they worked that time near the farplane. "Heey, yes, we're looking for that lady! Can you point the way?"

Yeah, she feels like an idiot, talking to glittery lights, but..Her recent experience, and what Hati had told her, made her wonder if maybe they're not just pretty lights in the sky..

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade waves when Avira points him out, but he seems to be less than conversational at the moment. Don't worry, he'll warm up when he isn't worried about falling into the swamp.

When the lights form up their 'question', Mercade squints at it. "Yes, we're looking for her. Can you give directions?" Mercade feels odd asking directions from fireflies, but hey, anything is possible.

Maira has posed:
Oh, Maira has her guesses as to who this other girlfriend was. She's wondering just why anyone thinks she was Ivo's girlfriend, she'd never said so.

It is also clear to Maira that Priel is trying to get a reaction out of her, perhaps just because she can. Maira turns her eyes back to Priel, frowning gently. "I will not engage in some stupid game for you to find amusement over. You are acting very childishly and your attempt to hurt me really only reflects on /your/ character," she informs her, then stands. "It was nice talking to you Percival," she says, then moves over back toward Avira and Katyna, her eyes focused on the fireflies.

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Video?" Priel repeated, staring down at Navya. What video were they talking about? She didn't remember any sort of video! Hm, this bore investigating! First stop? Torturing Ivo for information! ...But that would come later.

She glanced over at Percival next, her smile turning entirely mischievous. "Oh, I think I'd like to see that now~" She shot back to the gargoyle, winking playfully after. A look is thrown Katyna's way after and she just shrugs nonchalantly. Whoever hurt what was no concern of her's after all!

It might be funny!

Maira's counter drew Priel's attention, but the redhead looked no insulted for it. In fact, she just continued to smile, bringing a hand to her mouth and giggling in amusement as the blonde began to walk off. It was at this point that she finally descended and actually landed onto the nearest boat.

May as well stick around and see what the deal is!

Deidra has posed:
Deidra does not seem bothered at all by the fireflys she thinsk they are pretty cute. She pauses looking at them pointing their way and she nods for a moment. "Yes, yes we are." She wonders if the creatures can hear them but clearly there's something going on between the bugs mentally clearly there is a mind a work here. She looks over at Percy again but he seems distracted by the fireflies and can't well blame him. "No I did not Zia."

Oblivion has posed:

The fireflies move around together to avoid the paddle. The ones making the '?' and the face of the woman in question, quickly form a 'Yes' in response to Avira, before flickering over near Kat to write those same words.

It would indeed seem these little guys do understand the human language!

They soon form up again in front of the boat before several break off. Each ground creating a line of arrow to point the way through the swamp lands. Each of them slowly leading to the group down a maze of trees to what seems to be a mossy over-hang before the fire flies pull it open and reveal the location spoken about by the locals.

A massive tree with a boat inside of it and there seemed to be lights easily seen from the spots that were no longer there on the old wooden boat. Including what looked like an old rickety stair well leading up to it going around the tree.

Vespa has posed:
"We follow the yellow glowing road..", Vepsa says. "Allright!" ,she starts paddling abit harder.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
There's Fireflies, forming... figures. The amount of coordination this must require! It kind of amazes the werewolf, staring at the fireflies. It's a good distraction since Katyna has told him she doesn't wish to talk in regards to Hati right now. So the werewolf just kind of remains still and follows things as they unfold.

Really, he's mostly here in case things go awry.

When they approach the tree-with-a-boat-in-it a few moments later, that 'amazement' comes back again however. "How... did that boat get up there." Is his first and really... only question.

Avira has posed:
Though Priel won't introduce herself and conveys this in a maddening manner, there are fortunately some helpful bystanders that will completely backstab her strategy. Percival helpfully drops this dragon-half(?)'s name-Priel. Avira mentally files it away for later.

It's a surprise to have fireflies understand common speech. To Avira's knowledge, she wasn't even using that Beastmaster voice (which hasn't been practiced in some time, come to think of it) so anybody here could easily ask this question. "Fantastic! We are looking for somebody-a Mama Odie? Alternately, a voodoo priestess that lives in a boat stuck in a tree-"

The insects form up a glowing line through the swamp, much to everyone's amazement and Avira promptly resumes rowing. "This kind of makes me feel bad for putting on bugspray earlier." Avira murmurs.

The trail of fireflies takes them right up to the boathouse that they've all heard about described in rumors. "Well Skoll...my guess is there was a huge flood that carried it up there one day where it got stuck. Maybe even a hurricane?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart blinks as the fireflies point in the right way "... well far as suspicious things go, this counts, right?" Well they are helpful, and given that they point to a relatively normal house in the middle of a swamp... its either a trap or the oracle. Since there was no heartless trying to sink them... she'll go with the later.

Aerith has posed:
Strange, this place.

Not that strange of course, she'd seen weirder things. But it was sufficient enough to capture her attention and curiosity.

She'd come in like everyone else, on the same mission, for the same purpose. Right now though she could only stare at her surroundings. "This is pretty amazing as far as I'm concerned. It's just so pretty." Of course, there was only one house in the area... so it was the obvious destination, perhaps even the location of their contact.

Kim Possible has posed:
"It's almost like one of those gags you see in cartoon shows. Kinda strange if you ask me," Kim says to Tifa. "It's strange, yet it's kinda funny all the same. I wonder what Wade would think if he heard about this?" A chuckle escapes from Kim as she thinks about what Wade would think about this, being the scientific genius and all.

Maira has posed:
Maira is determined to recover a good mood. She smiles and thanks the fireflies as she spots the tree with the boat stuck in it. "Oh....huh..." she says, but doesn't give it too much more thought. Magic. Weird things happen. A boat in a tree is one of the least strange things she's seen.

Zia has posed:
Seeing the fireflies form into those shapes, Zia lets out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Sometimes, there are small miracles among these various worlds, and ever time she sees one it is enough to stir her heart. It's also enough to take whatever words she might have wanted to say from her lips. Instead, the white gargoyle just shakes her head, sweeping the boat foward with movements of her paddle.

It isn't until they see that tree with it's attached boat that she seems to gain her voice again, "Well, Ah can tell ye my storms didnae have anythin te do wi' it." This is actually her first time in the Bayou. carefully, she stands up, putting down her oar and then fanning her wings out. It's impossible not to rock the boat a little as she takes off, gliding over the edge of the water as much as her magic might allow before coming to the base of the tree, scouting the path ahead for the others.

Navya has posed:
Navya will talk about the recording... later. This doesn't seem like the proper time.

Plus, she doesn't have it with her. Like she brings valuables, semi-valuables, or even anything she is not willing to lose to a swamp. Torturing Ivo may provide only mixed results on the topic.

As she was not trying vigorously to swat the bugs, she does not worry about the fact that she didn't manage it. Plus, they're helpful bugs. Unlike the ones that are still biting her. Navya has too much exposed skin to be anywhere near comfortable in this swamp. Instead, she asks Priel, "You're not a gria, are you? I mean, not really, even if you have some parts."

When the fireflies take them to the boat, Navya goggles. "It must've been a /really/ big flood to get it high up there," she says, a little doubtfully. "Wouldn't they have just taken it back down afterwards? Even if it was cutting the tree down, or something?"

Katyna has posed:
Katyna shakes her head slowly at Tifa, eyes totally transfixed upon the pyreflies as they lead the way. "We..Can trust them. I know this. C'mon!" And she paddles more furiously, determined to get to the bottom of this. Just dont ask her why she seems to have such faith in these pyreflies now..

When she sees the giant tree full of lights up ahead, she gasps in amazement. "Oh wow! So that's where she lives? This Mama Odie? Is she some kinda..Voodoo witch or something?"

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Huh, well what have we here. Fireflies that understand speech." Priel mumbled lightly, following the array of insects with her eyes as they answered questions and flew off to make patterns. "...Must be someone's familiars maybe." Maybe. Well either way, they were helping! Or leading them into a trap. Either or.

She studied the surroundings as the boats sailing through maze of trees, eventually coming in to an old dock and a giant tree. Well this was all interesting. But Priel still had no idea what exactly these people were up to! But then again, the mystery was half of the fun! She'd stick around and see what sort of trouble everyone got into.

Because there was always trouble.

TRON has posed:
Alan watches the fireflies as they act in unison, head tilting to the side curiously as they show the way to their destination. "Interesting." They're going to find a person who uses magic, he really should not be surprised at much of anything by now.

He assists in rowing the boat through the maze of swamp trees past the mossy 'curtain', not seeming to be quite as much in awe at the sight of a boat stuck in a tree's canopy as the others. Again, magical person equals automatic acceptance of instances of the 'unnatural'. He studies the stairs as they drift towards whatever would temporarily serve as a dock, seeming a little wary of its apparent sturdiness (or lack thereof).

"I suppose 'watch your step' would be a given, wouldn't it?" Alan picks up a rope and moves to the side of the boat, ready to jump onto the dock and tie it in place. It'd be bad for their transportation to float away while they're talking to Mama Odie, right?

Oblivion has posed:

The Fireflies continue to lead the way and once everyone starts to make there way to the tree, they disperse, letting the group make their own ways.

The place was very peaceful here. Sounds of the frogs could be heard, along with crickets. The air was peaceful and no danger could be felt in this area of the swamp.

However there was a shadow up on high within the boat. Someone was moving around and a bit of gospel-like jazz singing could be heard.. along with something about the 'gumbo is gonna be good tonight, ju ju.'. The voice sounded female, like that of a lil ol' black woman. Kinda like what you expect from a grandma really.

Perhaps that was Mama Odie?

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says, "So they do unterstand interesting." She'll make her way with the otehrs as they near the tree that has a boat inside she raise one eyebrow at it and makes to get off the boat with everyone else. She falls in behind Avira and tries to look as inoffence as a Gargyole can which is well kinda of hard to do. She looks over to Alan for a moment and looks him over for a moment "It would be Alan. Well lets go see if this is the place shall we?""

Maira has posed:
Maira hops off the boat as TRON ties it up to the dock, almost tripping over herself in the process. No one saw that!

She gazes upward, her smile growing. "Oh, music! I like it!" she says, then begins to climb the stairs, a spring in her step.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade just waits for the boats to get to dr(ier) land. The guidance of the fireflies is nice. The Detective gets off of the boat once it lands, and he looks around. "This is... a pretty neat-looking place." He pauses, thinking, and looking over to the others. "Anyone have Reize here?" He asks, offhandedly. He /still/ doesn't know what they're not supposed to be doing. He still thinks he can use Reize as a JRPG lightning rod. He looks to the rest present, and he shrugs. "Maybe she's living in the boat? It's certainly a unique place." Mercade points out. "Anyway, let's go check this out." He heads up the steps and listens to the singing. He smiles. "Now that just touches the soul, doesn't it?" He laughs quietly, knocking on the door or using a doorbell if it's there as appropriate.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hops off the both as they get to the house, stepping up the stairs quietly. She listens to the muscing. Not her kind of music, but hey, not really a problem either. She looks back to Mercade, nodding, and trying to peek through the windows a bit to see what's going on. At least, she's okay with not having heartless around...

Percival has posed:
Percival left the comforts of his boat in the swamp with no signs of trepidation. He was walking for now, as the last time he had tried to glide in the bayou, he'd ended up the victim of a switchlauncher heartless, which landed him facefirst into a cypress root before he rolled into swampwater.

When the Jazzy gospel music starts, he finds himself stopping to tap the ball of his foot in rhythm with it. Huh. For a voodoo swamp witch, this Mama Odie certainly knew how to groove.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa hopes onto the peir her axe dissapearing! It just shinks into broach size but it sure looks like it just disspears! She starts walking up the stairs. "That is a nice tune. I've heard some simliar music in New Orleans on the way here."

Kim Possible has posed:
Kim doesn't mind the boat ride, as long as it's kind of peaceful. Once she gets to dry land, she smirks a little. "Ron would've been clinging to me that whole time. He doesn't like boats in creepy places like this." She then looks towards the house and frowns a little. "Typical creepy house in a creepy swamp. Why am I not surprised?"

Avira has posed:
"You sure about that?" Avira teases Zia. "Funny, I didn't know you were a straight up storm summoner too. You really sell your magic short, Zia." She paddles the boat right up to the edge of the steps and tries to keep it steady while the others disembark. On her little boat, she's the last to leave and is careful to tie the boat down to something so it doesn't float away later.

Ooh. Music. Avira gives a sidelong glance to Percival before stepping in closer.

Mercade does the knocking and Avira quietly waits. That 'voodoo stuff' turned out to be pretty real as Avira learned a few months ago. It'd do them well to not anger the voodoo priestess that was going to help them all find this shard.

Priel Aylin has posed:
Priel's wings extended into her back then, as she stepped out onto dry land. Ah, she wasn't a huge fan of swamps anyway! "Reize?" She asked, looking over at Mercade. "That idiot probably got himself eaten by this point." A careless shrug then as the dragoness crossed her arms behind her head, following after the group at a more casual pace.

As Mercade did the honors of knocking, the redhead made a point to keep a safe distance away. She wasn't invested in this matter. So she'd be the first to disappear if anything happened.

Very honorable, I know.

Navya has posed:
Navya basically rams the boat into the ground in an attempt to make it so that people can disembark.

Navya does not know very much about boats. At least she managed to avoid ripping the bottom out. It's just a little bumpy... or a lot bumpy if you happened to be further forward than Navya herself was.

"Everybody off!" she says, standing up. Unlike Vespa, /she/ can't make her axe vanish. Instead she just slings it over her shoulder, more careful with it than she would be with her hammer because it's sharp! (THeoretically. It doesn't look enormously sharp. Most wood axes aren't.)

Some moments later, Navya says, "Bugs are weird." They're not even bothering her so much anymore!

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Giant wave? I dunno..." Skoll mutters, giving the giant tree a weird look. But he just ends up shrugging and waits for the boat to be moored. In regards to Avira's comment to Zia, he does pipe up. "She really does. She can really kick ass with some of that magic of hers. Seen very few who have more mighty magic."

Soon enough, he does indeed disembark with the others, and follows the lead - catching up with Tifa this time and patting her shoulder as he wanders past, and then waits for Percival to catch up. It's not been long since he recently came to New Orleans. Doesn't look like he's as much in the rhythm today though.

Zia has posed:
"Aye lass, Ah'm quite sure." Zia looks over at Avira through a fringe of bangs, offering her an amused smile, then a shrug of her shoulders. "Alas, it isnae somethin Ah have good control over, so Ah try nae te go summonin' up full fledged gales if Ah can help it." That doesn't mean she hasn't, though. Afterall, there had been multiple storms during those final hours of Manhattan, and one of them had certainly been her fault.

Zia lands on the stairs after having taken flight and done one quick sweep through the area. Too much time in Fluorgis has left her overly cautious about such things, but the place seemed safe enough. She backwings to land amongst the others making their way up, having to catch herself against the side of the tree before falling into step. As Skoll continues the line of compliments, the gargoyle's ears tuck with a shy expression. "Alright, enough already." She reaches out and flicks the wolf's ear, then tucks herself into her cloak.

For all that she'd opened up a lot more recently, Zia is still a bit too shy for such attentions. Hrmph.

TRON has posed:
Alan secures the boats, letting the others test the stairs first before he follows them up. He slips his peaked cap onto his head and pretty much stays silent, though he has to wonder just how many stairs there actually are here. At least it's sturdy enough for all of them. Clearly a swim in swamp water is not in anyone's plans for today.

The sound of music in the air almost seems to lighten up the mood for everyone, and Alan isn't exempt. A smile crosses his face as he softly hums the tune under his breath. He doesn't know the song, but the tune is easy to pick up on.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith disembarked along with Zia, wondering what kind of style that music was, much like Tifa. Catchy, sure enough, but it'd take some getting used to at the same time. They were headed toward the shack, and flowergirl figured it was time to stop sightseeing. Get down to business and all that.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Could that be... MAMA ODIE?! OR IS IT A TEST OF NOT JUDGING BY FIRST APPEARANCES BY ASSUMING THE FIRST PERSON THAT SEEMS LIKE A MAMA ODIE IS A MAMA ODIE?? IT COULD BE THAT.

Emi remains such in Mercade's party that she isn't visible on the screen until the group steps out, allowing her to appear out of Mercade and behind and to the left. "I feel we are imposing on a private moment, The Network is so ashamed." She says.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart looks toward Emi "The Fireflies brought us here, I got the feeling she was expecting us, actually." She lets the others check on the door though, just waiting. With the large groupe they have, they probably shouldn't all try to pile into the house.

Oblivion has posed:

The singing continues, even as someone is nice enough to knock on part of the wood frame of the old boat. The singing soon stops before that nice ol' lady voice speaks up, "Ya'll come on in! The gumbo is almost ready! I've been expectin' each and every one of ya'll."

Inside the room had all kinda of things. From jars of newts, to eye balls that actually moved to watch where people went. From this, to that. The place was filled with odd and ends. Then there was that woman Merlin showed, moving around using a Boa as a 'walking stick'. "Now where did I put that spice, Ju ju?" She stopped for a moment, before the Boa, forked its tongue, slithered up to the shelf, took a hold of a jar, then handed it to Mama Odie. "Thank ya, Ju Ju. Your such a good baby. Now come on now. We gotta make sure our Guests are nice and fed!"

Wait-- was she using a bathtub as a kettle?

Kim Possible has posed:
Kim steps up to the door and then steps to the side. "Let's try to be careful," Kim says as she peers inside from the side. Then she does a double-take as she gets a look at what's in there. "Ewww, that's totally disgusting!" Kim says as she makes a face and sticks out her tongue. "This place is totally messed up!"

Vespa has posed:
Vespa looks around, will all the bottles and other things defintly a witch. She never had gumbo before but it smells really good. She weaves and makes her way into the boathouse not knocking anything other. She wonders why anyone would need that much hot water...

Emi Dennou has posed:
"Is that so..." Emi says before looking over to Kim Possible, then back to Mama Odie, then back to Kim Possible--then back to Mama Odie.

"What's the sitch?, The Network steals a popular catchphrase due to it not being properly patented."

Maira has posed:
Maira doesn't care what it is being cooked in, it smells /amazing/. Maira enters, her bright smile persistent. "Thank you, Mama Odie, right? I'm Maira. If you didn't know--which maybe you did," she says, having a good look around. Just like at Merlin's, Maira can't help but poke around a little, admiring and examining all the odds and ends. Voodoo was magic, just a different kind of magic. Still, she bets they have some things in common!

Maira looks over toward Kim as she voices her disgust for the place and wonders vaguely if she's overly fond of having skin. Hello? Voodoo witch?

After examining things, Maira moves over to the tub and takes a good sniff of the gumbo. "That smells so good! Do you need help with anything?" she asks Mama Odie.

Percival has posed:
Normally he would have thought twice about stomping into an Old Voodoo witch's house on the Bayou, Jazz lover or not.

But she was offering gumbo, and that aroma was heavenly. He was one of the first inside. He didn't even pay it any mind that she was using a bath tub as a kettle, or had a boa constrictor assistant. "Marvelous. That smells mouthwatering Madame. Your hospitality is very much appreciated."

Navya has posed:
Navya is definitely not the first one in. She tried to tie up the boat so it wouldn't get away (given there is no tide here, this is unlikely) and she couldn't find a rope at first. Or something to tie it to properly. She's pretty sure it was another boat part that she eventually ended up tying it to.

As a result, she ends up near the back. "Uh, hi, ma'am," she says, because she once heard that you should call anyone you want a favour from 'ma'am' (she heard that from her stepmother). "You were expecting all of us? Really? And - "

Navya got distracted. One of the eyes is staring at her. She stares at it for a moment, then surreptiously creeps behind Avira to try to get it to stop looking at her.

Avira has posed:
Song so...catchy. Argh.

"Welllll...given that Merlin recommended you..." she trails off. Yes, Avira fully believes that this woman used her voodoo powers to see them all coming. Maybe she was in league with the fireflies of the swamp? "Soooo...we've all come to you for your help."

Avira strolls into the house, immediately distracted by her environs. There's enough people here that it's probably not noticed right away as rude that she kind of stops talking to stare at everything for a moment. Including the bathtub gumbo, which Avira makes a face about.

"...uh...so...just how spicy is that gumbo?"

Priel Aylin has posed:
Blink. Blink blink.

This place already looked all sorts of strange. But the inside was even more so. So they were being expected? That was...odd. But also interesting! "My, look at all these neat things~" Priel commented casually as she stepped inside, poking about almost immediately. "I wonder if those eyes still move if you take them out of the jar..."

Not the best time to be wondering such a thing! But hey, considering that a bathtub was being used as a kettle, it was hardly the worst thing she could have wondered about! It smelled nice enough in any case, and Priel hardly cared about where food came from as long as it was good.

"Well, don't mind if I do, ehehe~" Chuckling to herself the redhead plopped down onto a table, eyeing the...eyes to pass the time.

Zia has posed:
While Zia had some experience with sorcerers, this is certainly not like any magician's lair that she's ever seen. The white gargoyle doesn't seem frightened or bothered by it, though. She actually leans in towards a jar of eyeballs that seems to be looking at her, and then taps a talon on the glass. At least she's not the only one doing it, though.

It's only the greeings of some others that has her standing up straight, making room by moving a bit closer towards the bathtub of gumbo. Her nose twitches, and unlike some here, she's not about to complain about the offer of free food, regardless of what it's cooked in. Living on the streets and eating out of the trash will do that to a person. "Good eve, Ma'am." She offers in her usual brogue, inclining her head.

Clearly, she knew they were coming by some sort of other sense. That and her old-style gargoyle nature has her not bothering to introduce herself, though her tail does twitch down along her ankles, blue eyes watching curiously.

TRON has posed:
Alan removes his hat once more and tucks it under one arm as he steps into the tree'd boathouse. The smell of the gumbo cooking is making him hungry, though he ignores it for the time being. More important concerns than his stomach at the moment, such as why they're all here. He does meander over to the bathtub all the same, curious about how the food is being made, while staying quiet. As far as he's concerned, she saw them coming so certainly she already knows why they're here.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart goes with her first plan of staying outside, but right in the door so she can watch and listen to what's going on. She tilts her head. Well, if she's some kind of voodoo oracle, she'd know they were coming, and that's exactly what the lady says even. Guess she nailed it. She waves to her from her spot though, just not wanting to crowd the house, really.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra enjoys the singing as she joins the others inside she pulls her wings in to not catch on anything as easily and she looks at the snake for a moment tiling her head smiling a little bit. "Hello there!"

She looks at the snake, and is impressed that's one smart and well trained snake to be sure and wait is that a tub? It is and it's being used as a kettle stll food and she goes to see just what's she's making in there right along side 'Alan'

Kim Possible has posed:
Kim sticks behind Tifa a little, still a little grossed out. "Had I known there'd be a place like this here, I wouldn't have come." She shakes her head. "Seriously, that woman in there is totally gross!"

Navya has posed:
Navya would ordinarily scold Kim for that.

She kind of agrees, though. Those eyeballs are creeping her out like whoa.

Maira has posed:
Maira thinks they're all being babies. Goodness gracious! Kim is really asking for a scolding on manners, and self-preservation!

Vespa has posed:
Vespa doesn't think ia good idea to instult a witch in her home. They can put curses on you. She just keeps quiet.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Well, when you're cooking for this many...

Mercade just shrugs to himself, looking around at the astonishing things in the room. The accoutrements of Old Swamp Magic are there and in full force. It's kind of fascinating, really, especially with the nature of the situation that brought them here. "Thank you, Mama Odie. We don't want to impose on you, but you came highly recommended by Merlin." He peers at the snake for a moment... Can snakes /move/ like that? He does perk, however, at the mention of gumbo. Oooooh, food. A sure way to win points with Mercade.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna peers around at the very cool lookin' tree house and all its strange contents. Being Kat she cant help but pick up a jar here or there (fortunately not dropping anything!) although the smell of a tasy gumbo is what attracts her the most and she moves curiously towards the big pot. "Ooh, I'm starved! How generous!" Hmmm she's already decided that tasty soup is for her, all she needs now is a big spoon!
%

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi glances towards those eyeballs and says, "...Can we have one?"

She thinks they're cute.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith on the other hand wondered what was cooking. Such a great smell around the house, she couldn't help but lick her lips. "I'm glad we're being treated well. For a moment I thought this would turn out badly."

Oblivion has posed:

Mama Odie only smiles as Maira asks if she needs help. "Why thank ya for askin' dear, but ol' Mama Odie has this. Be wrong ta ask a guest ta do my cookin'." She then opens the spice bottle and taps it a few times before closing it. "Ju Ju, be a dear and put this back for mama?"

The Boa nods and then takes the bottle, before slithering to the shelf to place it back once more.

The black woman picks up a laddle and starts to stir it. As Avira asks how spicy it, she laughs a bit. "Oh, its just the right seasonin'. Just like mama before me, and her mama before her. Mmhm. Just the way its like down here."

She smiles at Percival. "Oh it is my pleasure. You all have been on a long journey to obtain what you have obtained. I figure some good ol' southern food is what ya'll be needin'. It warms the heart you know."

She also greets those who said hello to her as well. Giving them all a wave before lifting up the ladle to taste it. "Mm. Not quiet ready yet. Hm."

"And while we waitin'" She pulls out some candy from her pocket, though it has hair and who knows what else on it; along with being unwrapped. "Any of ya'll like some candy?" Honestly, you probably don't want to eat it.

Kim for now goes ignored. Though some eyes in jars start to stare at her. If they had eye brows they may be giving her dirty looks.

Maira has posed:
Just as it would be wrong of Maira not to ask! She smiles and nods though, finding herself a seat.

Uist has been here the whole while, keeping to himself and observing, mostly being brooding per usual. He's watching Mama Odie with curiosity though.

"No thank you," Maira replies at the offer for candy, upon finding it is mostly buttons. Ju ju is also a source of fascination. She really wants to pet him. Knowing he is obviously a familiar though, she instead gives him a respectful nod and a smile--and an invitation for pettins.

She'll let the others handle business, content to just enjoy the warm hospitality.

Percival has posed:
Percival, being his usual polite, but foolish self did not want to offend Mama Odie. He would take a piece of the candy from her. "Thank you Madame, its most kind of you." He would then surreptitiously pick out everything that just should not be in candy. Even if she looked blind as a bat, he had the feeling that she could see quite well, and he didn't want her to catch that he was doing that. Once it looked slightly more palatable, he actually did pop it into his mouth and begin to chew.

Vespa has posed:
"I'm saving room for that Gumbo myself!", Vespa says. "I'll pass on the candy. Thank you for the offer anyway. ", she blinks at Percival, eating the candy, he m ust have a stomach of steel... She reamains standing for now.

Zia has posed:
Bathtub gumbo might not turn Zia's stomach, but pocket-lint candy certainly does. The gargoyle swollows, "Yer very kind, but Ah wouldnae want te ruin dinner." Step back slowly. Oh wait, there's not really any place to go, so she just leans up against the wall for now, trying to stay out of the blind woman's way. Then, of course, she just /stares/ at Percival. Okay, she might have eaten out of the trash, but at least she had standards. Eww.

She edges a few steps away from him.

Avira has posed:
'Just the way its like down here.' means extra spicy, no doubt. Inwardly, Avira winces in anticipation of a food that'll no doubt lay waste to her taste buds. Well, when in the bayou-she will partake in gumbo. Nevertheless, she manages a smile, bolstered by how cheerful Maira is being right now.

"It has been a long journey, hasn't it?" she looks to Mercade, who has been struggling to return Manhattan, especially after he had been shut out of its fall by the manipulations of the Shadow Lords.

Zia, who had been there when the light of the world faded. Skoll who had fought by their side as well. Then all of those others here, who had in one way or another, helped on the various quests to retrieve shards.

"No thank you, ma'am." Avira says politely to the offer. In the meantime, she edges over to that bathtub to peer into it curiously.

Priel Aylin has posed:
Priel is too busy having a staring contest with the eyes to realize pocket-lint candy was being offered. Nope. She was just going to keep staring at those eyes. They had to crack eventually!

...Maybe.

...Perhaps.

Navya has posed:
"I'm, uh, being careful with my teeth," Navya says, because it is the only thing she can think of to get out of being given candy. Well, she supposes she could pocket it or something; she certainly isn't going to eat that.

Fortunately, Percival jumps on the metaphysical grenade for her. Score!

Navya is apparently unconcerned for her taste buds, given how she's still looking forward to it. "Anyone behind me, move," she suggests instead, unshouldering her axe and resting it next to the door. She won't need that in here and it seems more polite.

But she's not going to be the one to blurt out the reason they came. Nope. Not her.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll is standing at the edge of the room - at the door - just keeping watch. When Avira looks back at him, he just raises his hand to 'motion her away' and nods at her. Skoll is trying to tell her that she'll be alright and need not worry about him.

As for the food offered; he's not too interested in checking out the Gumbo, nor the candy - especially so since those creepy eyes are kind of upsetting his stomach.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna spins around when Madame pulls something out of her pocket and offers candy! "Ooh! Candy! Yay!" She dashes towards her, still grinning as she reaches for tasty candy, not even looking at it until she is seconds from popping it in her mouth.

"Ew! What is this? It's got fuzzy stuff on it!" She makes a face, dropping it on the ground. "Oooh...." shiver. Ick! She goes back to looking at eyeballs in jars, moving her fingers in front of them. Ooh, are they following her? Cool!

But when Avira talks about their long journey, she is reminded of how she fought on the side of the heartless..How she fought Skoll and was nearly wasted by him. Grr. Fists clench and she looks away. Yeah, they came here for something, but..She's not even sure what side she's on anymore. Wold it be her place to ask the whereabouts of the final shard?

...Instead she just lapses into weird silence again, moving slowly towards the cute little boa, reaching out a hand to try and pet it. A pet snake! So cool!

TRON has posed:
Alan chuckles softly as he watches Mama Odie work. "It is a start, indeed. Thank you." He accepts one of the offered mystery pieces and makes his way back to the table. It might be a button, might be actual candy--what with the pocket lint, he can't tell the difference. He doesn't try to eat it, though, only tucks it into a pocket for later study.

He takes a seat, resting his hat on his lap, and folds his hands on the table's surface in front of him. He catches a glimpse of Priel having a staring contest with the jarred eyes and confusion settles on his face for a moment. Isn't the point of a staring contest to get the opponent to blink first? How can disembodied eyes blink without eyelids?

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles for politely refuses the candies. She isn't sure she wants to eat the gumbo either... either way, she's not here for eating, but rather for information. Although, she thinks there's enough people asking questions right now. She looks to Kim beside her. "A bit crowded in there, and we can see an dhear just as well right here."

Kim Possible has posed:
"Good," Kim says. She doesn't see the eyes, but she get

Kim Possible has posed:
"Good," Kim says. She doesn't see the eyes, but she gets the sensation that she's being watched by someone or something. She crouches down a little. "What a creepy type of place. Bet my cousin would love to come here!"

Deidra has posed:
Deidra just litens for the moment as the olad woman introduices herself. At the offer of candy she shakes her head. "No thank you. I'm good." She's just not up for any right now s got things on her mind. "Still thank you for letting us in and I'm Deidra." She adds helpfully, still she's taking in the woman's home there is a lot of material for spell work that much she can easily tell. She kinda slinks over to join Zia, she's also had to hunt for food much like Zia has but yes even won't touch somet things.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"It's been really long." Mercade confirms, looking back to Avira. "But it's almost over." He looks back to Mama Odie and smiles. "Your gumbo smells amazing." He says. He can't wait to try it! "Thank you very much for having us here." Mercade draws some parallels between her and another Southern-themed magic user who works down the street in Traverse Town. He arches an eyebrow and smiles faintly to himself. Mercade does not touch anything, just waiting for what's coming. So far, so good!

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded in agreement with Mercade. "Definitely worth the trip!"

Oblivion has posed:

Percival eats the candy and Mama Odie smiles. "Now ain't ya a sugar." The candy was actually not the bad of shape really. Still nice, soft, and chewy. "I always liked men like you. Ta bad some men dun know how ta treat a lady."

As Alan also takes the candy Mama Odie mms at him. "And dun ya worry none, Alan. Your in good hands with your friends, but remember ta not loose your way. Sometimes tha light is hard ta find, when you carrin' to much on this big ol', nice shoulders of yours."

Ju Ju looks at Maria before he forks her tongue at her, then slithers his way over to her. Moving his way up and resting across her lap like a house cat. If only he could purr.

Mama Odie looks over in Maria's direction, before she smiles. Not so much at her, but something not there. She then makes a winking motion, before stuffing the remaining candy in her pocket once more. She continues to stir the gumbo.

The gumbo looks like gumbo. Smells like it too.

"Could one of ya'll be a dear," She looks to Deidra, "How about ya dear. Mind fetching me my bowls? It ever be so kind of you, Deidra. There behind tha eye jar there. Dun mind em, they just like bein' peepin' toms." She laughs a bit. Wait-- How did she know where Deidra is when she is blind? Voodoo lady be mysterious!

"Now, I know what ya'll also be searchin' for and tha' something is not to hard to find. You see ol' Mama Odie here know a trick or two about soul searchin' and she knows where ya'll can find it. But its gonna take some courage within' and brave hearts to match. After all, you dun jus' get nothin' without a little work in life."

"Unless ya be a girl who believes she can get everythin' by being a hero."

She looks over at Mercade, "Oh it is no problem at all, hun. Now could ya do ol Mama Odie a favor and take tha' spoon over there and when the bowls are brought over, help serve em ta everyone who be likin' some?"

Then she turns to Zia, "And you dear, mind gettin' tha spoons? There in that draw right there next ta tha skulls."

Navya has posed:
Navya, who had been near the back again, feels obligated to speak up again.

"Being a hero /is/ hard work, though!" Navya just blurts it out. "It's one of the - the rules! Paravirs, and all heroes, need to be willing to work to achieve their goals, and to help everybody else!" Navya straightens up, reaching to thump her own chest -

And then she realizes she's saying this in somebody else's home, and hunches down, having embarassed herself. "Uh, or that's what I believe, anyway, ma'am."

... She hopes they're not people skulls in with the spoons. That's gross.

Maira has posed:
Maira is quite pleased as the snake slithers onto her lap, her smile bright and child-like in its delight. She begins to stroke the boa gently, cooing to it quietly. "What a pretty snakey you are, yes you are." The cold blooded creature is likely to find Maira as comfortable as basking in the sun, given the heat she always seems to radiate.

Maira doesn't notice Mama Odie wink at Uist, but Uist sure does. He nods respectfully toward her, a rare smile forming.

"I'd love some gumbo Mama Odie, thank you very much."

As for what they are seeking, Maira nods, growing more serious. "We'll work hard. There are so many people counting on us."

Zia has posed:
A long journey. Zia's eyes look over and meet Avira's, then move on to the others who were part of the whole fight for their world, one by one. So many different personalities here, and yet they've all (okay most) have come here for one reason. With Deidra's approach, the white gargoyle offers her a smile and a companionable bump of one wing against her shoulder. Girl-gargs gotta stick together, yo. At least against males who have questionable dietary choices.

Without questioning how the old woman might know where things are around her own home, much less the location of the shard, Zia just nods. One ear stays perked on Mama Odie, but the white gargoyle does as she's requested. She peeks at one of the skulls though, curiousity getting the better of her before there is a sound of metal against metal as she scoops up a handful of spoons. There are probably, totally coincidentally, just the right number of spoons for however many pepole choose to eat. Voodoo ladies are clever like that.

While some of the others talk about heroes and hard work, Zia presses her lips together and then lets out a breath. "Ah willnae forget." It's a whisper, not meant for other's ears.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Absolutely!" Mercade says brightly. He has no problems helping Mama Odie out. He's a nice boy. He heads over to the spoon, preparing to server gumbo to anyone who wants it in a procession of delicious Cajun cooking. This sea of gumbo... The look of it makes Mercade smile. It's been too long. He's just taking this one step at a time.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith is quite ready to chow down, so she holds up her bowl with a grin. "You look like you're having fun there, Mercade. Maybe you should let me do that though." It was nice to see him smile for a change. Since she'd met him, never once did Aerith see the detective smile.

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Ehhhh...." Priel mumbled in a rather cavalier tone, handwobbling slightly at the mention of heroes. "Being a hero IS hard work. Giving out righteous speeches, fighting evil for no profit, saving lives at the risk of their own...I don't get how they do it now~"

A shrug was given then as she eyed the snake familiar. "But hey, if goodwill, charity, and saving the universe is what floats your boat, then more power to them! Ehehehe~"

Vespa has posed:
Vespa hms at the comment about being a hero. She doesn't think she a hero. She will leave that sort of stuff up to others. She just doesn't want any more people to suffer like she has. Also taking out heartless is good to. She just keeps quiet letting the other do the talking. She looking foward to the gumbo thought.

Avira has posed:
Avira retreats from the bathtub and finds a place to sit. That place to sit winds up being an old butter-churing device, minus the big pole that stuck in the center of the barrel that made the churning motions. Not an official chair but Avira will take it, she's not very picky at this point.

"If you don't mind me asking, ma'am, what's soul searching have to do with finding the spirit shard? None of us here..." she gestures to everyone around her. Avira isn't questioning at this point whether or not Mama Odie can see them. She assumes she can since she carries herself as if she can, "...are afraid of a little hard work. And I've seen just about everyone here in action, I can definitely vouch for their courage and bravery."

She pauses to look at Skoll for a moment with a 'yes, you too' sort of look on her face since she knows he might deny it due to the darkness in his heart.

Percival has posed:
Percival continues to chew. It was suprisingly quite good. Seeing all of their stares, he gives them all a dumbfounded look as if akin to saying 'What?'

He eventually takes his seat and begins to wait politely for his supper. In truth his attention was focused entirely on the old Voodoo witch's speech about soul-searching. Her advice takes him a little off guard, and its not long before his eyes are closed. He takes a steadying breath to recenter himself. He always found himself wanting during introspection.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart listens to Avira "... I... think it has to do with the fact its a spirit shard actually. Think about it, most of the shards we got were somewhat related to their elements... maybe the spirit shard has something to do with the souls of the people that were lost in manhattan..." That's a bit of a creepy thought though.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna pouts as the snake ignores her and goes for Maira instead. "Heey!" She moves towards Maira, determined to see for herself what snakeskin feels like. Madame asks someone to get bowls and Kat is only too eager for more exloring as she peers into the cabinet, staring at the skulls. "Ooh, are these human skulls? Heey, we're not eating outta THEM are we?"

Still, she grins at the thought, finding them somehow cool! Even if it is kinda..Creepy. She frowns though when Madame speaks of 'courage' and 'heroes' and she smirks. "Soo, what kinda courage you lookin' for, Madame? Do we have to fight a monster or something? Is that all it means to be a hero?"

No..No, she's sure it's more than that, and she's sure she doesn't qualify. Madame Odie seems to know so much and was obviously expecting them. Does she also know Kat's dirty little secret?

She arches a brow at Avira when she asks about soul searching and smirks, "It makes sense, doesn't it? If you're lookin' for a shard hidden in a spirit....oh wait. You dont mean it's like..Hidden in a soul, do you?"

Deidra has posed:
Deidra has avoided the fate of the candy, and she goes back to watching the Gumbo, there's a rumble from her stomach and she's more hungry than she expected it to be. She nod as she's asked to get the bowls. "Sure thing!" She'll not so much scamper off as move her way about the others to reach the bowls, she's not even going to ask about how Mama knew, given while not one versed in Voodoo? She is a mage of some minor note herself she'll wrack up the bowls and bring the over as aksed.

"Nothing good is easy, I think we learned that chasing the shards all over the worlds."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced at Tifa. "I'm not so sure about the souls of everyone else... I think she's talking more about us..."

TRON has posed:
Alan blinks rapidly at Mama Odie, an almost comically stunned look dawning on his face as his eyes widen behind his glasses. His expression almost immediately and abruptly blanks out, one hand rubbing at his mouth and lower face as his brown eyes flicker whitish-blue for a moment. "I... yes," is his quiet and quite caught-off-guard reply to the voodoo priestess, not trusting himself to string together a better acknowledgement of her advice.

Truly, those of magic are very perceptive indeed.

He inhales deeply, shaking off his lingering shock to rejoin the conversation. "So the shard isn't simply lost and wandering? There is..." He hesitates for a moment, trying to find the right words for the thought, "...more to it than that?" He lifts a hand, indicating that he'll take some of Mama Odie's gumbo as well.

Oblivion has posed:

Mama Odie lets those do what she requests, moving herself over to her chair, before she sits down making herself all nice and comfortable. She listens to all of them speak, ask there questions. The little old voodoo lady was quiet during this. She then reached over and got a box down, fiddling with the lock on it.

"Avira, dear. Could you come here for me? I need this here lock open and it seems to be just down righ' stuck for me."

She then goes to answer everyone elses questions. "As for Courage. It is Courage of the heart, child." To Kat it would seem. "We all have courage within our selves ta do what is righ' and look out for one another in tha worse of times. So long as the spirit is willin', your strength will always be givin'. That is why no matter how dark it gets, ya jus' can't give up."

She then smiles softly. "Sometimes in order to obtain tha' which is must precious ta ya, ya must dig deep. Dig deep and never give up. Only then does it all become clear. It is within' tha trials do ya find the power to do anythin'. Tha' is why Darkness doesn't always prevail over ligh', yet darkness needs ligh' ta survive, just like light needs darkness."

Rambling old woman be rambling?

"Tha soul be everythin' after all. It is wha' connects us through everythin'. Jus' like tha heart. Together ya will all stand and together, ya may also all fall." She frowns at that last bit shaking her head a little bit. "I never been good at seein' down far, bu' I can see far enough."

She waits for Avira to come over to help with removing the lock. It wasn't that hard, yet for some reason she seems to want Avira to do this thing. "Also Avira, hun, could you open it for me while you at it. Sometimes the latches get a bit rusty from all tha humidity."

That is a little tougher.

Maira has posed:
Maira goes on petting Ju ju, listening intently to Mama Odie speak, her eyes focused on the other woman, her brow drawn together thoughtfully. She can recognize the truth in the words, and she thinks maybe she grasps what Mama Odie is getting at, but she is being vague. Maybe she has to be.

Still, Maira has a theory, one she will share with Avira when they've left.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith takes a look at Maira's new friend with no short amount of fascination. "That is so cool.. can I pet him too?" If indeed that snake was a guy. She could never tell.

Navya has posed:
Navya doesn't hear anything she disagrees with. At least, not in a way she understands; some of Mama Odie's rambling goes a little bit over her head. Though she thinks she gets the gist of it.

Still, Navya is /trying/. It's obvious. She looks so earnest, still bright and innocent. "Yeah... Everyone can be a kind of hero if they try!" She can latch onto that, at least.

Surreptiously, Navya moves to not be far away from Avira, in case she needs help breaking rust. Navya knows what she's good at - but she doesn't offer, or at least not out loud. Her tail flicks as she glances down at the snake, though only briefly.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade hadn't had much to smile about. His world was destroyed and he was caught in a crisis of conscience and self-doubt. But he has come through it, thanks to good friends and good people... And because of them he is stronger for it. He happily serves out gumbo to whoever wishes some, and when everyone has had some, he serves Mama some, and one for the snake, then gets some of his own, sitting down and relaxing. He listens attentively to her speech, thinking about what she says quietly as he eats. It's got to be good! How could anyone like this cook bad food? Right?

Vespa has posed:
Vespa rolls her eyes at Madam Odie speech. She hopes people are not buy this power of the heart stuff. How childish. She eats the gumbo hoping Madam Odie will get to the point soon.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi listens to Mama Odie's speech. Emi does not believe one can measure personal growth through volume, but she does think about where exactly she'd like to be anyway, the words just sort of suggest one should engage in self--or in the case of the Network--selves introspection. She tenses up a bit as Mama Odie asks for some help with MYSTERIOUS OPENINGS. It could be a trap!! After all, she knows at least one shapeshifting lady who has been a troublemaker. It could be Mad Madam Mim. She does seem a little nutty, after all.

She neglects to eat, her sisters aren't here is her excuse she'll use when pressed.

Zia has posed:
The old woman's words are enough to give Zia food for thought, as well as food for her belly. Once the spoons are gathered, she waits her turn with a bowl, and then leans against the wall to eat. Her eyes look around the room then, perhaps trying to figure out what each of these people might hold precious. It's a question she's been fighting with, herself. Right now doesn't seem a time to talk, though, so she just listens, watches, and eats.

Avira has posed:
"Sure, I'll see what I can do." Avira says, standing to meet Mama Odie. Before she crosses the room to one of the few people here that actually manages to be shorter than she is, she pulls her pair of gloves off and leaves them behind on the broken butter churner.

She takes the box in hand and discovers that the lock comes off easily enough. "So you think it might be like Kat says, Tifa? Hidden in somebody's soul?" she pauses, "You know, that'd sure explain how the shard could be mobile."

Digging her fingers between the lid and the rest of the box, Avira starts to try and pry the box open. She sees Navya nearby and knows she could easily pass it to the gria, who will pop it open almost effortlessly. Since she was asked to do it, though, she at least wanted to try it herself.

TRON has posed:
Alan listens closely to Mama Odie's words of wisdom as he eats the gumbo. There isn't much he can add to the discussion for now, especially since he's still mentally reeling from the old woman's earlier advice.

He does watch closely as Avira fiddles with the box, not thinking it's a /trap/ but not sure what to expect next. Magic seems to be all about 'expect anything'.

Navya has posed:
Navya doesn't press. She's here to help, not here to be overbearing. She just doesn't want to be far away in case she /is/ needed.

Plus, she might get it open by breaking the hinge, given her general ability with fragile objects. Nobody wants that.

Percival has posed:
His tail lashes the ground nervously as he waits for a bowl and spoon and begins to dig into the gumbo. Even if she was rambling, her words tended to weigh down upon him. Maybe there was a bit more profundity in her statements than most thought? Half-heartedly he tries to watch Avira pry off the rusted lock.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna pulls her gaze away from the skulls and peers intently at Mama Odie when she speaks a bit more of courage, of the spirit and light and dark. For a moment, Kat catches Mama's eye, then she looks away as if ashamed. Yes. She's experienced all that, she was tempted by the dark but drawn at times to the light. She also sought to look out for her fellow VALKYRIE, and others she chanced upon, but...

"So..Why are you telling us all this? Is the spirit shard in a couragous soul? Ooh, is it in that box?" She peers curiously at the box, coming over as she hands it to Avira. Curious as always, Kat continues to flit in the background, eager to see what's inside. Must be important if it's all locked up and stuff, right?

Deidra has posed:
Deidra is happy to help and once she's done with the bowls she'll find a spot to make herself more comfortable now as she shits back to listen the woman is sdtrange but she seems to be pretty wise. She thinks she gets some of what the woman is saying but the locks well she'll leave Avira up to the challenge she' sure her friend can handle it. She notices Ju Ju is getting some attention from Maira, good he seems like he's an very neast snake.

"Sometimes one doesn't know what's there till your dragged kicking and screaming into it."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart listens to the talk about darkness and light, and can't help but think that she's not all light herself. She wouldn't let herself be entirely taken over of course, but maybe there's a reason she's not a 'pure heart' like some other girls she now knows about.

She shakes her head "So courage is being able to face that darkness, no matter where it is, so to protect the people around us from it."

Kim Possible has posed:
"That's gotta be the primary gist of it," Kim says to Tifa. "You gotta be tough to stand up against this stuff! It's all about believing in yourself!" She grins enthusiastically, forgetting about the whole situation at hand for the time being.

Oblivion has posed:

Mama Odie lets Avira take the box, she doesn't seem to be answering any more questions. Though she smiles at Kat as she comes over.

As for Ju Ju. He is a very happy snake, even happier when he gets to eat that gumbo and gets some more loving. He is such a good Snake.

The Box opens up and within it glows gently, before there is a scroll inside. Mama Odie then takes out the Scroll, before she removes the Box from Avira's hands. Then she takes Avira's hands and places the scroll in those same very hands. "This scroll will help you find what you seek. Only will the words be seen on Saturday moonlight after you feel all may be lost and your legs can take you no more."

She then moves her hands away before resting them on the chairs arm rest, though she does take the some of her gumbo from Mercade, but rests it beside her. "Then will the Spirit Shard be seen and your hard travel come to an end." She smiles softly. "Just remember, Saturday Moonlight." She then hrms softly. "..Though I can't remember which..." she mutters to herself.

Yet whatever she was going to say has faded off, as it seems the old woman has dozed off to sleep and is snoring away. Yet there was the scroll and Saturday was only a day away, wasn't it? So it must be this Saturday! It had to be right?

Avira has posed:
Avira's about one second away from passing the box over to Navya when it finally opens. She sees the glowing and right away her heart soars, figuring that this must be the shard in spite of all the back and forth she just had with Tifa and Kat about the spirit shard being in a soul of some sort. Except, it's just a scroll.

"Alright." Avira beams, mentally noting the bit about moonlight on saturday. She's not Ash, she remembers these important little eldrich details.

And the woman falls asleep on everyone right then and there. "...I think we ought to leave, it'd be rude to remain here." she notes, tucking the scroll away on her person.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa finshes her bowl of gumbo a bit surspied Mama Odie fell a sleep rather quickly. "Good idea Avira.", she puts a blanket over Mama before she heads out.

Maira has posed:
Maira watches this all with fascination, a small smile on her face as Avira takes the scroll. "Tomorrow is Saturday. I guess we'll be staying up late," she says, flashing her best friend an encouraging smile.

They should be going though. Maira reluctantly reaches down to lift up Ju ju. "Sorry cutie pie, but I've got to go," she says, scooting him on over to Mama Odie.

"Heh...thank you," she says to the sleeping woman, then gives Vespa an approving smile as she fetches a blanket for the old woman.

"Well...guess we'd all better get back and get some sleep then."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hms a bit at it "So we have to use that scroll at the moonlight or something?" She leans off the wall she was resting against "Well that's clear enough, but I wonder what will happen then." She scratches her head "I guess we'll go find some place to camp out for tonight."

Navya has posed:
Given Navya's track record with small, breakable objects, it's probably for the best. Avira has probably seen her break cups and things without really meaning to. Once, a door, by slamming it closed too hard.

She always pays for them, though. Unless she's broke. But that's less common than it used to be.

"Moonlight on Saturday," Navya repeats, because it's the only way she's likely to remember it. "That was nice of her. I guess Merlin was right and she really could help!"

Navya agrees with Avira. "Yeah, we should. I'll row again!" She seems perfectly fine with this state of affairs.

Aerith has posed:
Okay... that went well.

Aerith finished her gumbo and put her bowl away as everyone headed back to the boat. "Really, I wanted to pet the snake..." She pouted as she made her way toward the exit. "So then Tifa, what do you think all that meant?"

Kim Possible has posed:
"If we're gonna camp out that's fine. I can take first watch if you want," Kim comments to Tifa. "Although, that whole thing about moonlight might be a riddle or something. We should think more about this first."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head at Aerith "Not quite sure. Spirits and souls... maybe we'll have to dig into ourselves. She said something about hearts too, and courage. Maybe its the courage to face your own demons that you need for the spirit shard. Maybe its inside one of us."

Priel Aylin has posed:
One couldn't be sure when it happened, but Priel was suddenly not there. Certainly she stuck around to hear what everyone had come there for, but now, she was just /gone/ without a single word. Makes you wonder just why the heck she even bothered to come!

The telltale sound of flapping wings rapidly getting further and further away was clue enough to determine that the dragon girl had run off on her own again, her curiosity sated for now.

TRON has posed:
Alan places his hat on the table and rises out of his chair. "Indeed. Tomorrow shall be busy indeed."

He seems hesitant to leave, studying Mama Odie with slightly-narrowed eyes. She seemed to imply something specific before drifting off to sleep... but he's not about to wake her up when she's been so hospitable. Besides, he's more thinking about what she told them--and himself in particular.

He slips his hat back onto his head as they make their way back down the stairs to the boats. Soon, they'll restore Manhattan...

Deidra has posed:
Deidra will keep what the old woman said and she's very thankful for the help she's given them all she will enjoy any of the gumbo she was given devouring it in short order before she'll follow the others. She's hopefull prehaps the city will be back soon, as would be some people imporant to her even she she could never interact with them again.

Katyna has posed:
Katyna blinks at Mama Odie, shrinking away at that smile. Does she...Know something? Instead, she focuses on the scroll, peering intently at it a bit disappointed. "What, just a scroll? another wild goose chase? Sheesh, when will it end, already?" She's also hesitant to leave, hungry for some of that gumbo, and for answers from Odie. "Seriously, are we gonna finally get the answer on Saturday at moonlight?!"