Interregnum - Pillow Talk

[CautionCat]

Konane loved the pillows Queen Bean had, but she wanted more privacy. Some quiet, a place she could read or sleep without a goblin or two joining in on the slumber. As much as she liked them, she wanted to spend cozy time with Alastair, while they relaxed before the big day.

Day two had her asking the goblins if she could have some of their pillows. They were capable of making more, as they were capable of making the cute sleep wear for her. So, while Alastair did what he was always prone to doing- tinkering somewhere- she carried a bunch of pillows to the glade. Surely if they could go into the place, the pillows could, too. And maybe just stay there. It would be nice to make the glade more lived-in.

She would just have to find out. 

For tonight, though, she would make her pillow nest in the room claimed by herself and Alastair, pushing the bed against the corner of the room, and piling the pillows on top of it. After her little rearranging, and getting out of her attire into what she would sleep in, she took on the form of her hybrid self, for added warmth, and got herself all bundled up with the pile of silky, colorful pillows. She sunk in, sighing happily, proud of herself. Konane took her journal with her to bed, the one Alastair made her at the beginning of their travels, and opened it to it's most recent page. With the light of her fox fire to see, she would start jotting down her thoughts of the day. It would be some time before Alastair would meander in, for sure, if he didn't end up sleeping somewhere else...

[opius]

In more peaceful environs Alastair was prone to finding stimulation where he could. In Liore, that meant wandering the market and the various artisan quarters of town outside of his tutelage. He'd frequent the library, book stores, and pester what merchants would tolerate his curiosity.

Here, though the town was industrious, there was only so much it could teach and only so few who would tolerate his pestering. He kept himself busy surveying the town with Hermes acting as overwatch. He occupied himself with identifying rocks near the paths into town. Checking in occasionally with Ta'Ro on the book helped pass the time. And occasionally he networked with Sabine's entourage, offering skills in exchange for their continued support.

All in all, he kept busy. When he finally made his way to the Glade, it was evening. He was sore from walking, tinkering, hammering... Climbing. When he emerged at the door to his? Their? Room, he looked tired- posture slack, hair features frizzled and frayed.

Still, seeing the room in it's current state surprised him enough to perk him up. He looked about the room and closed the door, trying to see what else was out of place. Settling his eyes on her he blinked a few more times. "... You've uh. Made a nest? And you're fluffy." He paused, went to speak again, thought better of it and hung up his coat.

[CautionCat]

Konane was finishing up her journal entry, when Alastair came in from his day of meandering. She didn't want to crowd the boy with herself, being overbearing and there all the time might be too much for him.

"Oh, welcome back. Yes, I wanted to be cozy in the comfort of this bed, so I asked for some fancy pillows from the goblins." She smiled and skooted over from the middle of the bed, to next to the wall where the large, silky pillows lined the side.

Closing her journal, she set it over on the night stand, and laid back down. "How was your day? You look quite tired."

She didn't do too much rearranging of the room. Mostly the bed, nightstands. The table was left be.

[opius]

Thank the powers that be, the work desk was unchanged. He stretched and moved to the stool near it and set his bags down, then swiveled in the stool to face her as she lounged.

"There's a surprising number of people in this place. Between the Mareki and the forces of Ruin, it really does seem like an actual town. Which is jarring since everyone's so edgy." He leaned back. "I thought I'd check in on the ship repairs and Emmett. There's... A lot I'm unfamiliar with as far as ships go, and I'm regretting not taking electives in carpentry. Definitely out of my element." He crossed a leg and folded his hands on a knee.

"Ever since Sae covered for me with Sabine, I've been interrogating my own reluctance to share my designs... I'm kind of squished between a rock and a hard place: sharing information is important, and tools to keep folks safe should be freely given. At the same time, a person is due their recognition and compensation for time and brainpower, and the fruits of your labor ought to be protected." He shook his head. "And if this kind of stuff is only possible through the bracers, can I really claim propriety?"

He sighed. "So that's a tangled jumble I'm trying to unravel before we head off. In the meantime I've been looking to lend my help on other projects while looking for fun rocks by the river."

[CautionCat]

"The bracers make it possible for you to make things. You are still the one making the things. Mordan would not make my ring a fox, after all. You put the work in, it is your work, your efforts, your labor of love for the item."

She smiled, and slid her legs back and forth on the bed, knees bent up. "The bracers are a tool, tools do not make the items without the help of someone with the talent to use it. Even if it is able to magically help you do the impossible, you are still the one that is driving the creation."

She sat up, and crossed her legs, bunching the blanket into her lap. "What sort of rocks have you found?"

[opius]

He laughed a little. "We also thought the Palantir was a tool... And yet..." He sighed a little. At the change of subject he turned to lean over onto his bag. He pulled out a handful of stones, humming.

"A bit of schist, some raw marble, a piece of what I think is feldspar. There's also a few I haven't identified, but I'm pretty sure one of these is an agate." He shrugged a little, looking over the handfuls of rough, somewhat worn stones of various earthen colors. "I might polish them down into something."

He looked back to her. "How was your day? Aside from, y'know." He gestured toward her. "Nest building."

[CautionCat]

She nodded, smiling at the collection of rocks. She knew Alastair was thinking too hard about the tool he got from Mordan, but he kind of had a point... She just didn't think it was like the other thing. Or he was just having too much of an imagination about it.

"It is kind of nest-like..." She wiggled her hips some, and giggled.

"My day was quiet. I spent time with the goblins, and then came back here for a soak, before organizing the room. I wanted to feel like... A home. Something cozy. When the ship is ready, I will love making that like a home, too. We travel so much, it is nice to have something comfortable and familiar to come rest at."

"Polishing rocks... They do not look like much, now, but you have told me they become more interesting when shiny."

[opius]

He tilted his head as she spoke, imagining the ship touched up and decorated. Lived-in, even. The idea brought warm feelings and he couldn't help but smile and nod along.

At her question he kind of snapped to. "Oh! Right, yeah. So with weathering the stones surface gets dull- the colors mute and any transparent inclusions turn opaque. Tumbling them can round the edges, but a fine filing and a clear coat really lets you appreciate the formations. Even rocks can look nice if you put some work into them."

He shrugged. "Kind of like the airship, I suppose. A fixer-upper."

[CautionCat]

"Heeeeh, I like that." She smiled, and patted the bed. "Come, be cozy with me. You should get into your sleepy clothes and relax. You look very tired from all the walking around you have done today."

"Tomorrow is a big day... We should rest as much as we can before everyone arrives... will you be making pictures with your pic-to-graph during the meeting?"

[opius]

"Fiiiiine..." He sighed, knowing she was right- and that should he not relent she'd likely drag him, and so began by unstrapping his suspenders before rummaging through the bag of holding.

"I intend to, yes. I have a number of blanks- I don't expect I'll need more than thirty pictographs. So long as the lighting is good, I won't be particularly invasive."

Stripping down his armor and gear, he slipped into a long linen nightgown, undershorts, and socks, and approached the bed. There so many pillows it made him hesitate. How... exactly... Where was the entrypoint? Where was the head of the bed and where was the foot...? Apprehensively, he proceeded to crawl into the bed, awkwardly planting his palms into pillows which were much too yielding, "Whup-! Wuh... Hup..."

[CautionCat]

Konane watched him climb into the bed, awkwardly, and she would giggle, reaching out to help him settle next to her on the bed. "Do you think they gave me too many? I was not going to say no. They were very generous."

"Thirty... Pic-to-graphs. That is so many. How do you make the paper? I feel like when you do, I am sleeping or distracted. I know you said it had something to do with some sort of metal powder... And the light hitting the paper makes it imprint a picture?"

[opius]

"I... Don't have a basis of reference. I've never been in a too-many-pillow situation before." He puffed, cheeks flushed as he finally settled. The cushions around them were so densely packed - and yet so soft - that once she tugged him into place he found himself somewhat unable to put distance between himself and his companion. "...It's like a gravity well simulation. Except.. plush." Another puff and he placed his hands on his belly, looking over to her.

"Oh- Yes, that. The paper is just paper, but the real magic comes from the alchemical treatment. Which... I suppose isn't really magic per say." He shifted. "Silver halides- Uh, those are a group of alchemical products where silver is mixed with a reagent- they're photosensitive. They react to the presence of light in a neat way, basically unmakingthe compound when the..." He shook his head. He was overcomplicating the simplicity of the process. "The papers are coated with the silver halide mix, when it's exposed to light the silver in the mix crystalizes out."

He shrugged. "So, yes, the light hits the paper and the crystalized silver makes the shape of that light permanent. Ish. Over time I reckon the image will fade, but so long as they're not left in direct sunlight they should last a good long while."

[CautionCat]

"Ooooh... Okay." She flopped next to him into the pillow pile, and reached her free arm over his belly with his hands, laying it loosely up on him. Her fox fire lights stayed in place, just below the ceiling, casting their purple hue over them.

"So it is kind of magic, in a way that a chemical changes. Alchemy is so interesting... I have watched Klinkle work with it before, but it is so... Strange to me."

"But I am curious. Did you learn how to make the paper in the Lyceum? I have never heard of such a device, either... You must have been working on this for some time, not a thought over night, yes?"

[opius]

"Oh! Well. No. Yes?" He glanced down as she made contact. She was warm- the whole bed was warm, and it felt like he was sinking into the pillows by the second. Shifting, he gathered his thoughts. "The Lyceum has a tradition- they'd take full scale paintings for special occasions and... Reduce them? Somehow? Among the students it's a wonder how it works- it's one of the secrets that only a few professors actually know. The tiny picture in Fenderberrin's book is one of those, a miniaturized painting."

He rolled his shoulders. "Contrary to Professor Lysandre's criticism, I have paid attention to his classes. I learned about light's transmutative effects through his own processes- it's actually why so much of Alchemy happens in dark rooms, in fact. Some potions can't even react when in the presence of light- did you know that?" He laughed and looked to the ceiling.

"I've played with the concept before, trying to noodle out an answer to the question of the miniature paintings, but never quite put it into practice. Coupling that with my magical tinkering, the pictobox was just this... perfect storm. Hypothesized effects seldom play out exactly how you expect, but for this experiment it just kind of worked. At least, it worked well enough. Down the line, I'd like to devise a method to capture color. Though... I'm not certain I can accomplish that without leaning into magic more than practical alchemics."

[CautionCat]

"Oooh... Tiny colored pictures..." She hugged him some, resting her chin on his shoulder, getting quite cuddly. "Yes, I would think magic would need to help with that. For now, we could paint color on them, could we not? Just get some water colors. Or would that be bad to do?"

She was quite warm, always much warmer with the fluff on her body while in this form. She was soft, feeling like she may have brushed herself before bed. "I imagine getting the pic-to-graph paper wet would not be a good idea..."