(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest

[DracoOmega]

> "Oh, just a watchamacallit. Useless, really." Stick it in our pocket.
> "Okay, now let's just get this crate, and I can get you your cat."

>You casually remark on the object's value, then pocket it.
>"Hey!" the brown-haired fairy frowns at you. "That's still ours, y'know!"
>"Finders keepers," Juniper nods sagely.

[Sect]

> "Well, didn't I find it, though?"
> If they continue, then sigh. "Okay, I'll trade you the umbrella for it, then."

[DracoOmega]

> "Well, didn't I find it, though?"
> If they continue, then sigh. "Okay, I'll trade you the umbrella for it, then."

>"Nuh-uh," Juniper says. "We found it first."
>You sigh and offer to swap the cylinder for the umbrella.
>"Done!" Juniper responds immediately.
>The brown-haired fairy raises an eyebrow. "Why would you wanna give up such a neat umbrella for this junk?"
>"Don't encourage her," Juniper whispers rather loudly to her companion.

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"Meh, I have a thing for knick-knacks. You know the useless stuff that could look a bit more fancy if you clean it?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Meh, I have a thing for knick-knacks. You know the useless stuff that could look a bit more fancy if you clean it?"

>The brown-haired fairy shrugs. "Your loss."
>Juniper put her hands against the back of the crate and braces her feet on the ground. "Ok, let's get this moving."

[Hello Purvis]

You peoples. That was a perfectly good umbrella.

>Let's get this thing moving.

[Kips McKipzerson]

It aint good if it aint Kogasa.
>"No reason to wait much longer I suppose. Let's do this."

[DracoOmega]

>"No reason to wait much longer I suppose. Let's do this."

>Let's get this thing moving.

>You acknowledge the fairy, then position yourself next to her. The brown-haired fairy falls in beside you. On the count of three, you throw your weight into it and the fairies do likewise - Juniper almost comically so. The crate proves to indeed be pretty heavy, although you slowly close the distance with the window. After a foot or two, Cloudy Meadow and the tiny fairy come over and chip in as well, the latter throwing her shoulder into the upper end of the box with an somewhat adorable cry of effort, her wings beating furiously. You can't imagine she's contributing anything. Nonetheless, you soon get the crate below the window. A few of the fairies flop to the ground with a sigh.
>"This this isn't high enough for you to get out, is it?" Cloudy Meadow asks, frowning a little as she looks at the window.

[Hello Purvis]

>Estimate! Is it high enough for us to jump?
>If not, "No, but there are some smaller crates outside. If you could bring them inside and pile them up on top?"

[DracoOmega]

>Estimate! Is it high enough for us to jump?
>If not, "No, but there are some smaller crates outside. If you could bring them inside and pile them up on top?"

>The crate covers a fair chunk of the way, but you think a jump would still come up a couple feet short.
>Cloudy Meadow nods, and flies off out the window. She returns in a moment with several of the crates from outside, stacks them neatly on top of the large crate, then pauses and looks the tower.
>"Will that do?" she asks.

[Hello Purvis]

>"That should do. Would one of you be kind enough to bring me Sokrates once I get out?"

[DracoOmega]

>"That should do. Would one of you be kind enough to bring me Sokrates once I get out?"

>Cloudy Meadow nods. "Of course."
>"So about that other cat," Juniper says. "I want one with white and black patches. And a big fluffy tail!"
>"Hey!" the brown-haired fairy says. "Stripes are way cooler."
>"Nuh-uh!" Juniper counters.
>"Wait, there's another cat?" the tiny fairy asks.
>"Hey," the brown-haired fairy says, turning to you. "You said we could have two, right?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'll see what I can do for you. Color requests and fur styles can get tricky, though, and I'd need to charge more."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'll see what I can do for you. Color requests and fur styles can get tricky, though, and I'd need to charge more."

>"Awww..." the brown-haired fairy frowns, then her eyes perk up. "Wait, if we threw the umbrella back in, would that cover it?"
>"Stop offering her the umbrella!" Juniper pouts.

[Hello Purvis]

>"How about this, we'll discuss the fee once I get back with one of them. It's hard to assess without taking a proper look around first."
>Make a mental note of their preferences.
>"Oh, are you guys going to be here all the time? If not, where else should I go to find you?"

[DracoOmega]

>"How about this, we'll discuss the fee once I get back with one of them. It's hard to assess without taking a proper look around first."
>Make a mental note of their preferences.
>"Oh, are you guys going to be here all the time? If not, where else should I go to find you?"

>The brown-haired fairy nods. "Alright."
>You note their preferences.
>"Well..." Juniper frowns. "I'm supposed be at the workshop at 3."
>"Yeah, that goes for both of us," the brown-haired fairy says.
>"I'll be here!" the tiny fairy pipes up. "Uh, I think. Maybe."
>"If you think you'll be back before sunset," Cloudy Meadow says. "I can stay and make sure someone's here to meet you."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'll try to pop in and give you an update, at least."
>Ascend! Then drop down from the windowsill like we did before.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'll try to pop in and give you an update, at least."
>Ascend! Then drop down from the windowsill like we did before.

>Cloudy Meadow nods.
>You climb up the stack of boxes and make your way out the window, then hoist yourself over the edge and descend. If only the entrance had been half this smooth.
>A few moments later, Cloudy Meadow flies out the window and lands next to you, a drowsy-looking Sokrates cradled in her arms.
>"You're a Seeker, aren't you?" she says quietly. "I don't think the others noticed, but... you were looking for him, weren't you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown.
>"Um, yeah, actually."

[DracoOmega]

>Frown.
>"Um, yeah, actually."

>She smiles a little sadly. "Please tell the witch that I'm sorry we made her worry."
>She holds Sokrates out towards you. He looks at you impassively.

[Hello Purvis]

>Accept the cat. Try not to shudder or make a scene.
>"I'll do that. And I hoped you enjoyed the pie!"

[DracoOmega]

>Accept the cat. Try not to shudder or make a scene.
>"I'll do that. And I hoped you enjoyed the pie!"

>You accept that cat, and try not to let whatever distaste you feel show. Sokrates continues to regard you with a look of vague disinterest. For a cat he's, well... well, at least he isn't squirming.
>"I did," she nods. "And thank you."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You're welcome. I'll try to be back with a good replacement in a bit. Worse comes to worst, I'll toss a rock with a note on it through the window you guys can find tomorrow."
>Depart toward Ellen's house! Try to keep Sokrates at least mildly comfortable.

[DracoOmega]

>"You're welcome. I'll try to be back with a good replacement in a bit. Worse comes to worst, I'll toss a rock with a note on it through the window you guys can find tomorrow."
>Depart toward Ellen's house! Try to keep Sokrates at least mildly comfortable.

>"Thank you," she says. "And have a nice day."
>You leave and head back towards Ellen's house, taking a more direct route than the one which led you here, moving south past the warehouses, and angling slightly eastward through a somewhat lower-end commercial district. With a touch of irritation, you note the occasional curious or even charmed look from passersby at the sight of a mouse youkai carrying a cat in her arms. Oh well, you'll live.

>As you walk past a lane of market stalls, you start to hear shouting coming from a street or two over. It gets just heated enough for you to wonder what's going on when you hear a crash from the same direction. You notice more than a few heads turning.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look as well. Who are we to turn down free rubbernecking?

[DracoOmega]

>Look as well. Who are we to turn down free rubbernecking?

>You look in the direction of the noise. Sadly, you can't see anything of note, but a side street intersects the road you're walking on at about that point; you're relatively certain the noise came from down there. You hear a few more raised voices in that direction.

[Sect]

> Walk over to the side street and carefully look around the corner.

[DracoOmega]

> Walk over to the side street and carefully look around the corner.

>You walk towards the side street, slipping past a few other curious people, and take a careful look around the corner. It's a fairly narrow road with a few poorly marked semi-industrial buildings and a shop or two. You see a small crowd of onlookers watching... something further down the street, ,while a few others seem to be walking briskly in the opposite direction. They're rather blocking your line of sight at the moment, although whatever it is seems to be near a restaurant of some sort, judging by the signage.
>You hear another heavy impact, followed by a sharp and authoritative cry. "Hey, hey, hey!" ...you recognize that voice.

[Sect]

> Is it Fat Albert?
> Poke through the onlookers to get our gawk on.

[DracoOmega]

> Is it Fat Albert?
> Poke through the onlookers to get our gawk on.

>Not unless something really strange happened last night. Those last hours ]are still awfully fuzzy, though...
>You work your way past enough people to get a look at what's going on. It doesn't take long to pick out what it is, once there's no one in the way. The street widens as it nears the restaurant, and there's a small area with tables and chairs, giving the place something of a cafe vibe. At least on a good day, you imagine. At the moment, one of the tables is upturned and in several more pieces than it's supposed to, chairs are strewn about, and anyone who might have been in them has beaten a hasty retreat. You can't say you'd blame them. An oni stands near the wreckage, holding a short-haired man against the opposite wall by his neck. A somewhat taller oni with dark hair looms a few feet away, apparently watching. Facing the two of them, baton in hand and doing her very best to look intimidating, is Orange.
"Put him down... now," she says. For some reason, the oni don't seem particularly intimated.