strateelgic | sheep ic messaging

Come on over, then. I shall meet you at the drawbridge.

Fufu... You sound like you live in a castle now, instead of a barn.

[But he'll be heading right over.]

I hope we can change the whole of that to fit the image.

[It sounds more magnificent than living in a barn.

He will be waiting for when he arrives, though.]

[When he arrives, it's with a couple wrapped parcels in his arms, which he hands over.]

I believe I owe you this.

[It's fish of a similar size to the one he was given, as well as some of their excess gatordawg meat.]

I added some to cover interest.

You did not have to. But thank you nonetheless. Let us put this in the kitchen, before heading upstairs.

[The crystal rimmed drawbridge is already down. He will lead him inside, to the shared kitchen to put away the food, before leading him upstairs into a large tower room. Inside is still fairly empty. But he has a plush, comfortable, king sized bed, curtains, and a sizable closet.]

There is nowhere else to sit but the bed, so please make yourself comfortable.

Oh my... how luxurious.

[He takes a seat as requested, folding his hands in his lap.]

I would like to sleep in comfort at least.

[Crescendo remains standing, but he leans against one of the posters on his bed.]

I spoke with Blossom about the creature in the lake. Apparently, it is known as The Forever Snake. According to her it does not go out of its way to harm anyone, but it could easily swallow someone accidentally, and so it is best to avoid its head.

If swallowed, its insides are apparently endless, thus its name. But it is possible to slip through little holes in its body. For those who have, they apparently can wind up anywhere within this realm. Though Miss Blossom seemed to believe it most likely that one would appear in the mist.

That's curious. It's good to know that it won't hunt us down if we come across it again.

How large is this realm, anyway? Given what she's said about the mist, it's likely that the majority of the world is covered in it, and we live in one singular safe pocket.

I should have asked, but I do not know for certain. Getting answers from Blossom is sometimes an impossible and exhausting task.

[It can become quite tiring.]

I thought it curious, though, that The Forever Snake's scales can create a truth potion, and that Weeds seem to have an ability that can create a truth dome of sorts. I tried to ask if there was a connection there, but the most I learned was that our less than impressive lord of the Weeds and his people may have modelled themselves after it. Which means that perhaps they are not actually serpents to begin with? Naturally I cannot say for sure.

However, Miss Blossom is definitely not native to the little pink body she inhabits. I tricked her into looking inside the mirror-like scale. I only saw her for an instance, because she scrambled away from it. But inside, I saw the form of a humanoid girl with puffy hair and horns upon her head.

Snakes don't shed their scales individually - but then they don't generally have dimensional pockets in their bellies either, so we can assume that this Forever Snake doesn't need to follow the physical rules of a regular serpent.

If the "Snake's" attempt to copy its appearance left him in that sorry state then that says something about the true level of his capabilities.

As for Blossom, learning of her true form isn't surprising after what happened with Stormy.

I suppose not. But I felt it was important to note. Every little bit of information we possess is important.

Pond Fiend-san! I think we ought to try communicating with it!

[What.]

...You're assuming it can be communicated with and isn't just a portal system in the form of a snake.

Naturally! And we two are the best candidates for attempting this. Though Rubato-senpai has told me he knows how to speak snake if it cannot understand human-- I am sorry, I mean a more common tongue.

If it is a Holy Beast, it might possess answers that will help us uncover the mysteries of this place.

I might be able to recall some of the snake language, though it can be difficult to do around my teeth... Animal linguistics is part of our regular curriculum, after all.

[And snakes can often be found on mountain trails, so he'd have some interest.]

But even if we could communicate with it, I'm not sure what we could offer it. What would it find worth stopping for when it can chew through stone like it's nothing?