Inn The Beginning

    Life can be crazy but the red headed woman's hair hides the tattoo that marks her race's monster parentage. Standing at one of those standing only tables with a few empty mugs of booze. Her easy to move in flowing robes look well used and old. Holey and dirt smeared, she just chugs from the mug in her hand.

The door opens, and a Spriggan wearing something that looks like a cross between a nurse's unfiorm and a martial artist's gi pushes the door open, walks in, abruptly turns to hold the door open.

A few regulars turn and stare as a number of slimes orderly follow her in a neat line, like baby ducks, even curving exactly where the Spriggan had.

When they're all collected in a little group, Uta closes the door and, no longer needing to follow the slimes with her gaze, looks up at the regulars, and blinks.

"Hi Uta!", call out the regulars. "Hi folks!", beams Uta, and looks around for a place to have a drink, heading in the general direction of Nargalia.

When you knew exactly what kind of parentage you're power came from, one tended to not advertise it in such a fashion as the Slime Nurse wanders in with the batch of slime ducklings. The disease ridden Were Fang just watched the avatar of enthusiasm walk in her general direction. A long backdraft of what was left in her mug and a loud *slam* on table as she wipes her mout with the back of her arm. The outdoors woman's gaze might tell the tale of solitude and a nomad. Her wild red hair might also be an indicator to the Slime Nurse as Nargalia just watches Uta.

It is not wise to advertise your being a Spriggan either; as a Lander, it's unadvisable at best. As an Adventurer, not as bad, but still it's not all beer and skittles.

Uta, however, acts as if she didn't care or had completely forgotten that in this world she is a Spriggan.

Those who have even a passing knowledge of Uta will reassure you that the latter is entierely within the realm of possibility.

Those who know her well will assure you that the latter definitely happened at least once in the past.

The nurse stops and notices a spot right next to Nargalia. "Oh, hello!," she smiles, quite a contrast to the Were Fang's more reserved countenance. "Is this spot taken?", she asks, while her line of slimes wobble behind her.

There was a light touch of an Aussie accent behind Nargalia's words as she spoke. "No one's standing there Mother Duck." Referencing an old imagery of the life she has accepted was long over. "Beside you and your brood." Nodding to the slime line before looking back to Uta. "Sure you should be drinking when your kids are in tow though?"

"Oh, these? No, no, they are not really my kids. I'm not even married!", Uta dismisses the notion, slightly embarrassed. She is, much like a large majority of the playerbase, speaking Japanese, but the Translation System that came into effect after the Apocalypse will make sure that Nargalia understands the meaning of her words perfectly. "Scratch that, I'm not even in a relationship!"

"No, no, these are this week's experimental batch from the Slime Labs. It's purely professional." She kneels down and begins to pet the various slimes in turn. "Iwn't it, you widdwe cuddwy thing? Iwn't it?"

"See, that's a thing I've always been confused by. Mother Duck and Mother Goose. I wonder if all those lost ducklings eventually ended up living in a shoe. With all that counting down, you'd go, one, two, buckle my shoe, and bam. Mother Goose suddenly has one more bill to feed. Which might be how the expression 'paying the bills' has originated? Hmmm." She stands up again, and, after shimmering a notebook and a fountain pen into existence, scribbles something down some notes. "Note to self, research etymology of 'paying the bills'."

She looks up from the notes and blinks, "...Sorry, I got sidetracked. I do that a lot. I'm Uta Furore, by the way! Musical Kung-Fu Nurse, Aerialist, Slime Enthusiast, and many other things that tend to bore people so I keep them for a later moment!"

She bows.

"Nargalia" Extending her dirty hand forward towards the Spriggan. "Nomad Tamer of the Exotic. Beasts, Undead, Grotesque... what ever." Waving a finger at a waitress to bring her another mug her way. "Pretty might sell but but the ugly shows dedication." A simple woman at heart, she shrugs and rolls a shoulder. "Guessing you do the same?"

"Wait, is it about the ugly duckling now?", Uta blinks, confused. "...It actually makes far too much sense. I think there's a conspiracy brewing here. Migratory ducks. Moving from family to family. A whole international network of them. I wonder if Nils Holgersson is involved. Hmmm," she scratches her chin. "Ducks, Geese, and now, the Ugly Duckling, the swan's song of this whole story. The Eternal Dichotomy. Relationship between aesthetics and popularity. Yes, yes, you are absoultely right! I didn't know you were a fellow connoisseur of literature as well! It does seem that, in some way or other, we are kindred spirits!"

Uta looks down at the dirty hand. Oh, right. Australian, likely. Western style handshake.

Uta reaches out, and doesn't show any form of disgust at the... higyene of her interlocutor. "Yes, seems like we are in a similar line of work..." She takes a glance at Nargalia's outfit. "You also seem to lean on the Godhand side of classes, right? I'm also half Godhand. Godhand/Bard, Doctor profession. Hence the Musical Kung-Fu Nurse," she explains.

And then she adds, as if it was an afterthought, "...uh... I mostly handle slimes," she admits. "Don't get me wrong, I'll work with all sorts of monsters, it's just... my go-to choice." More petting of the slimes ensues.

"Just a Nomadic tamer of the exotic." Nargalia reiterates with her free hand pushing some hairout of her eyes. Likely one of those RPers that dont acknowledge game classes. "All manner of beasts heed my call when I have need of them. Ive been told that not all arein tune withthe world as I am. Summoning beasts with nary the gumption and a quick whistle."

Subtle hints to what she was and a commitment to 'the bit.' "Why do you find connections to an sudden onset animal breeding to a business scheme?"

"Connections? What connections?", blinks Uta.

"Oh, right! It's Shiubuya!", Uta comments. She likely remembered that the location is effectively the headquarters of the New World Alliance, and how many people there fully embrace their new identity. Even Erufu, the Pooka owner of the place, insists she is an Elf who is thousands of years old.

"So you specialize in animals? Cool! I can only handle monsters. And only handle them. Not capture, alas," she mumbles. "I need to resort to the help of other people to acquire my samples."

There is a short pause, "So... you whistle to summon beasts? I sing to summon monsters. Maybe we can... I don't know, set up a concert or something? That... that would be kind of cool, tho'." She pauses for a moment, then continues, "...are you into art or something? I lead a nomadic lifestyle of sorts myself, so maybe we can discuss possibilities on our walk home, since for us nomadic people, it's the walk itself that is home. I like that. Very zen."

"I specialze in Grotesques" Nargalia blurts out while looking for the waitress and her mug of booze. "Uglier the better." Which suited herself just fine, who doesnt love disease and stink? "Not an artist, no. I mostly find things to eat, sell the loot and lounge until Im out of coin again." Taking the mug from the waitress and greedily gulping from it. "You ever hunt Goblins and Devourers? Might make fun breeding experiments with slimes..."

"I have hunted plenty of goblins," Uta confirms, flagging down a waitress to place her own order for some yakitori Peko and a mug of beer. "But Devourers... no, Devourers are a thing I've never really worked with." She crosses her arms and leans over. "I mean, they are scary stuff. I've heard legends that being eaten by them is so terrible that even if you come back, you're not the same again. So... that sounds..." Silence. "...have you ever been eaten by one?", Uta asks, suddenly worried.

"Call it a morbid curiosity and a study of disease and infection." Nargalia says with a small smirk, her free hand opening and closing a few times. "I've watched others get eaten... The Devourer looked pretty plased with itself once it's dinner was done though." A smirk crossing her face like she thought it was amusing. "But otherwise I stick to not getting close to one unless Im ready to ply my charms on it. Hum a little tune and all that."

Uta's expression turns somber when Nargalia's mention of her morbid curiosity for disease and infection takes a turn for having watched people being eaten by devourers.

"Poor people," she says, sad, looking down.

"I also am interested in studying disease and infection. And songs. And how songs can be used to treat disease and infection. And, well, how songs can charm and summon monsters as well. Are you a fellow adventurer of the magical musical medical monster managing variety?"

Shaking her head, Nargalia just remains silent for a long few moments. "No... I do not use song. The spirits of the land are easier to hear and coax when all is calm or the land is dying. Many spirits answer the call to one who is not afraid of the darker side of nature..." Speaking in more RP ways as she watches Uta with mild interest. "Monsters have a purpose in their existence and it is up to those who understand them to tend to their angry spirits once felled by ones who cannot speak with them."

"I sing," Uta says. Not that surprising considering her name means 'song' in Japanese, as the translation system has likely made Nargalia aware of. "That seems to be how-" She was about to say 'my character works', but she's quick to correct it to "-my particular flavor of magic works."

Uta mumbles, "The purpose of monsters seems to be to kill us, pretty much...", she says. "They can't be our friends. They can't be our pet. They seem to be driven by instinct, and the only way to get them to do what you want is to either force your will on them magically, or..." She pauses. "...well, through Relics. But understanding Relics' inner workings is far past our current ability as Adventurers." One fist clenches. "-Current- being the key word here. We'll crack this nut, eventually!"

"Says someone who thinks of them as a blight on the land instead of one part of the worlds greater soul." Nargalia's left hand opens and closes again while the other hand brings her mug up to chug what is left inside of it. "You've lived a life of comfort and isolation. One begins to understand the world when one lives amongst the beast men and the undead. Becoming one with the heart beat of primal ferocity that is the only truth of the wilds."

Pausing a moment to just grin at the nurse while her eyes look almost savage for the briefest instant. "Sharing a meal with them is them... that is a joy not many care to seek." With a shrug. "But not many choose to hunt those in which I like to speacialize in taming..."

Uta looks at Nargalia. Looks down at her slimes, one of which seems to have developed a sudden inerest in Uta's boots; it approaches to, likely, try to suck on them, but is quickly put into place by a short sung jingle which result in a discharge of electricity from the nurse's finger to the ground. Enough to scare the slime back into its place.

She then looks up at Nargalia. "Actually, I, uh, was trained by Rylen and..." A short pause, during which Uta seems to seek to unravel the thread of the conversation, then she reprises, "...and sharing the joy of being the meal is something I do not care to seek, no." She resumes a more cheerful demeanor, and, crossing her arms and leaning closer, continues, "Still, I trust that you'll have developed a specific medical regimen and interaction protocol for interacting with those specific monsters safely, right?"

Nargalia just nods once as she puts the empty mug on the standing table and rubs her mouth with the back of her right arm. "The spirits have been kind to me. I have learned much of the wilds from the spirits." The way Uta zaps the slime doesn't seem to phase her much. "How long have you claimed dominion over your charges?"

"More than a couple of years, by now. I learned about one year after the Fourth World Fraction-" There is a moment of hesitation. "...which most people call the 'Apocalypse'. You know, the Adventurers being prevented from... uh... travelling between worlds." That should hopefully be compatible with what Nargalia will accept. After all, the Landers -do- acknowledge that, before the Apocalypse, Adventurers would come and go from the world. "Before then, uh..." She scratches the back of her head and looks away, embarrassed. "...I would still pet the slimes. I would just... not assert dominion over them." Transaltion: she had no Handle Monster skill. It must have hurt like heck.

"How long have you been studying the Devourers?"

"Since the world swallowed us whole and gave us a new purpose." Her own viewpoint of the Apocalypse being something of a religious matter. "I once roamed the land seeking only leisure and treasure but when the land called me to my true role in life... I came to accept it unlike most of those who I then called ally. Almost all still carry the delusions of a world long gone. I left their company once it became clear they cared not for this world and only became insane with the notion this world wasn't real."

"Given we are immortal demigods in the eyes of the Landers, it is only fitting that we accept our Gods given role as such and embrace what we are." Watching the waitress wander off and the Were Fang watching the line of slimes, Nargalia looks thoughtful. "This is the only real world. That dream the insane of us cling too is a tool of the Enigma and her strange workings to disrupt our holy duties to the land. It would be best for you to wake up and know that the ground beneath your feet is the only real you have ever known."

"I do not know much about the Enigma," Uta admits, "But I did some research on the other creature the Monsters seem to worship: The Beast, or 'The Hound'. I found out that its true name is: 'Cu Chulainn', and... he does not seem to be a nice person. Monster. Whatever kind of creature it is."

She takes a sip of her beer, sets down the mug, and continues, "While it is accurate that Cu Chulainn was involved in the chain of events that led to our being bound to this world, The Fourht World Fraction in particular, it seems like his actual motives were an attempt to take control together with another Ancient One, named Camelot. Remember the big bruhaha in Ezzo during the Apocalypse? It was the outsiders ejecting the Blind Goddess, they released the debilitating Wave, and Ezzo was cut off in an attempt to cut off the invaders' control."

Nargalia only smirks at the smaller woman's words, she may be right but she has the wrong god. "The Beast may well have had a hand in it." One of the many pouches her hand goes in to pull out a small crystal with strange symbiology on it and places it gently on the table. "Confusion... it is her purpose to ever remain unknowable. Monsters the world over carry trinkets such as this. A small token of worship amongst any being with a brain."

After Uta has the chance to look at the small etched crystal, the trinket is place back into a different leather pouch. It likely being a trophy the Were Fang collected in her wanderings. "Do you believe in the Goddesses the Landers praise?"

"The goddesses are -very- real," Uta exclaims without the slightest hint of hesitation. "Adventurers who achieve someting out of the ordinary can see messages from them on their..." Ok, she never had to consider how to word 'interface' to people who go full native?

"...uh...little rectangles only we can see? I know a few people who were graced by such, and I myself was told that some of my works were noticed by the goddesses." She gestures in the distance. "For instance... you know those statues of the Goddesses in the libraries of Eas and Shibuya? Anyone who helped with their completion received a message that the relevant goddess noticed their actions!"

Uta nods at the trinkets. "Pretty common among the more intelligent monsters. Heck, sometimes they even go full on rituals..."

"Indeed... the gods allow us to see the world in a way that only the divine-touched can see. Knowing the ins and outs of many things in such strange ways that no Lander could fathom without extensive education..." Giving one way for Uta to use such a translation for the future. "But it is time for me to meander this way or that."

Familiar hand motions are made that any other player would recognize as 'menu navigation' is flavored into an almost ritualistic event with soft chanting being uttered as she does so. "I will gift you the knowledge of how to speak with me, Song." Ending with a 'tap' that sends a friend request Uta's way. "So that we may never forget one another." More RPer 'nonsense' to anyone who still thought of this as a game.

"Oh, cool! Maybe we can discuss more about the Lore of this world. I've been looking into it a lot! Maybe I can tell you about how The Beast is trying to collect Enigma Pieces and..."

Silence. "Oh, right, the friend request! That's a story for another time!"

That said, she taps the acceptance button on her own hovering interface, but make a honest effort to match the solemn and ritualistic manner of Nargalia. She does a decent job at it; her movements, given her musical leanings, while appropriately ritualized, end up somehow also reminding of someone accepting a formal dance.

"It will be apleasure to meet you again!"

There's a brow raise as the bardic woman goes about her own set of movements but nothing is commented on as the acceptance notification blinks and Uta's name pops onto her friend list. With a nod and perhaps not the best first best impression, Nargalia wanders out of the tavern while silently leaving Uta with the her own bill.