⇨ EDEN

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 79 - Day 85
Where: Eden
What: Everyone arrives in Eden with their new animals forms - unfortunately, the welcoming party is a bit more intense than expected, with a ritual called 'The Anointment.' Better get this place figured out before anything gets any crazier.
Warnings: Hopefully no ritual sacrifice!

FLAME OF INSPIRATION↴ So it begins. After everyone has been given their new animal form and have had about an hour to readjust to it, the Ringmaster begins the infiltration. You don't see a lot of the specifics of the magic - all you know is that Pru's sword, the Hand of God, is somehow involved. It alone can tear through the wardings of Eden's realm, and once that entrance is made, the teleportation is instant. Everyone will find themselves in an open grassland overlooking a dense forest, with buildings and lights poking up out of the leaves. Behind you, there is a darker place - the barrens, the Ringmaster has explained. It's were the Outcasts are sent after they're banished. You are scattered across the area as if you've been dropped in with nothing. You've been given specific instructions - act as if you have no memory besides the vague life of being an animal. None of you know each other. You don't know how you got here, you've just been suddenly found yourself enlightened. Hopefully feigning ignorance will be what the residents are expecting, as what information the Ringmaster could find suggests it should be. Before the beasts of Eden come to claim you, you'll see the Ringmaster once last time, in the form of a giant serpent. With a nod of her head, she slithers away towards the barrens - she'll be in touch. ► THE WELCOMING: It's not long until you're discovered. The first to find you is a pigeon, who seems rather surprised. She'll ask the first few new arrivals she sees a couple questions - 'did you just get here?' 'did you meet the great Lilith?' Regardless of your answers, she'll hurriedly say she's going to go get help, and will fly away back into the forest. A short while later, an entire welcoming party of different animals will have come to greet you, sweeping out to find every straggler and explaining that you are the newest of the chosen. After they are sure that nobody is being left behind, they will invite you into Eden. ► THE GARDEN: Eden is a beautiful place. Every street, every structure, is surrounded by flowers and vibrant plant life - every bit as idyllic as its mythos would imply. The architecture is ambitious and creative, as if the residents have been perfecting the art for thousands of years, which they almost certainly have. There is the sweet smell of perfumes and incense on the other animals are you are led into the city. This is your home now, the locals will explain. You have been chosen by the Creator to serve Her cause. You will become one of the Honorable, one of Her artisans working towards the Divine Clarity. But first, of course, you must be sanctified. ► THE ANOINTMENT: On that first night, everyone is brought to a vast cathedral, covered in unknowable writings in a shining script. You are brought in through several gorgeous hallways lit with shining crystals and blue flame torches, only to emerge in a great hall built around a circular, sparkling pool of water. There are several braziers around its circumference blazing with fire, with sets of tools hanging out of them, like iron pokers. All of the new arrivals are gathered into the grand hall, and scriptures are read in the background that you can't really make out the specifics of. You will all be made to stand around the outside of the pool, and the local animals will gently explain to you what needs to be done. To become a new Honorable, you must be Anointed with the Flame of Inspiration - that is, they are going to brand you with the metal pokers they have heating up. If you go along with it, they will burn the mark into a highly visible part of your person (they have smaller brands for smaller animals), and then cool it off in the pool of water, where you are encouraged to bask until you are comfortable again. There are obviously a couple concerns with this. The biggest one is that it's sketchy as hell. The second one is that the brand is definitely made of medium grade iron. While the painful difference it makes won't be super obvious from the outside, long-term veterans and those with superlative fae qualities will find it very uncomfortable, and it will blister for a fair while afterward, which is seen as unusual. If your character refuses, or tries to get around it somehow, please explain in reply to the post down below. ► THE DAYS AFTER: After everyone is branded (or isn't, as the case may be), you'll be given the opportunity to dry off and head back into town. All of the fancy structures here are communal, they will explain, and you can choose wherever you'd like to sleep. There are a few buildings that are mostly empty that newbies seem welcome to hole up in, though the locals assure everyone they will be nearby in case they need help. In the days that follow, everyone will be welcome to explore Eden and find their bearings, and begin to discover what gifts the Anointment has bestowed on them. Whether or not you were good at a creative pursuit before, you will find yourself filled with inspiration for something - any artistic talent will do. It's like a creative talent will have been born in you overnight, or like an existing talent of yours has been boosted to near perfection. This effect will last as long as the characters are in Eden unless you are told otherwise. You won't feel the need to eat, but there is breakfast available, if you'd like it. The locals are very courteous, though they seem a bit confused. Something about your entry seems to strike them as different than usual.

Comments

[atouts]

A good enough pillow that he's tempted to stay put, though a flick of an ear tracks the sound of claws scraping at wood and that inevitably leads him to move his head enough to squint at what he's doing. Carvings, not just idle kneading?

That does get Childermass to lift his head up, turning it to follow the trail of flowers and vines at least halfway. Even on a long neck like a borzoi's, he's no owl.

"Did you make all of those?"

[whattaprick]

Cats can’t flush, but Lambert looks away, nose wrinkling.

“You took your time waking up,” he says, testy, daring him to say anything more on the subject. “I was bored.”

[atouts]

"It just looks like you're scratching up the wood," Childermass says, looking back towards his paws. "But they're actually carvings, aren't they?"

Since when is Lambert artistic? Like, ever?

[whattaprick]

Since never, which Lambert is painfully aware of. His fur prickles a little, defensive, and his ears flatten like Childermass has just accused him of something.

“The flame changed ... something,” he says, sullenly. His paws work at the world harder, the rough shape of celandine flowers beginning to take shape under his paws. “You don’t feel it too?”

He hopes this isn’t any more permanent than their animal forms.

[atouts]

"I've been asleep on and off since," Childermass points out, though he will pause and consider it. He's never been particularly inclined to practice an art beyond magic and that was more a profession, in his opinion. Card reading was something he had a knack for, no good company would consider larceny a form of art, and what he could manage on his own as far as drawing went wasn't anything he devoted too much time to—

He looks beyond Lambert and his carvings, brow furrowing best it can on a dog's face as he stares off into the distance, though not at anything in particular. There is... something.

"Ah," he finally murmurs, focusing again at the wildcat by him. "That. I feel like I should be drawing something. How peculiar."

It is less upsetting to him, of course, since it isn't a foreign skill to him, only an untrained one.

[whattaprick]

“Well, you’ll have the time to practice,” Lambert shrugs. “Since that’s the sort of thing we’re supposed to do now. Creating.”

Lambert just digs his claws in harder, intent on his work. Of all the things about Eden the Ringmaster could have warned them about this would definitely have been nice to know! Especially the branded with iron part! His own ear is still blistering and inflamed, and it keeps flicking irritably. Pushing himself to his feet, he leaves more carved flowers behind, and shakes himself out.

“If you’re thirsty, you’re going to have to get up,” he tells Childermass, tail curling lazily.

[atouts]

Getting up seems like a harrowing concept but now that Lambert says that, Childermass realizes he is somewhat parched. Considering how long he's been laying around like a large, fuzzy lump, that should come as no surprise. Even so, he breathes out a sigh — that big, sad huff that dogs are prone to doing — before dragging himself up to his own feet.

"Can't you carve me a bowl and bring it here," he says more than asks, as he knows the answer is 'no' and it's ultimately a random thought spurred on by the wave of light-headedness that has him stagger to the side a step, though he's quick to correct course. "Where is the water, anyway? It isn't that pool, is it?"

[whattaprick]

“What, too good for water that every Honorable in Eden’s bathed in?” Lambert snickers, tail lifting in amusement. He’s far too short compared to Childermass to offer any sort of real support as he lists, though he visibly relaxes when he finds his feet.

Luckily, no, the magician turned dog won’t have to go far to find water. There’s a pool fed by an artificial spring in one of the non-sleeping common areas. Food, Lambert explains, is now optional. Having satisfied himself with Childermass’s wellbeing, he’ll leave the magician be to inspect more of the city and the state of the rest of their companions.

And then, the Naming. Lambert is relieved to see the ceremony doesn’t appear to include any iron... but being subject to the scrutiny of an unseen figure that seems to stare right into him makes his fur prickle despite himself. He’s relieved when it’s over, but what he comes away with in the end is something he has about as many mixed feelings as his newfound talent.

“Azri,” he mutters, once they’re all outside again, like he’s testing the sound of it in the air and not sure how he feels about it. After all the business of the Manor, he’s naturally wary of anything to do with names.

[atouts]

There's more than enough reasons to be wary of names but, in this case, Childermass didn't feel as ill at ease when given his own. Strange how they divided the animals up, letting one Architect name one group, another this other one. He would've thought Eden wouldn't need a division of any sort and yet...

Well, that part isn't exactly important, so it's only a passing thought as he waits for others to filter out of their own namings. He only pushes himself up to sit when a certain wildcat comes around again, though, and his ears tilt forward curiously as he offers a name.

"Good to finally meet you, Azri," he replies to that as if having a name suddenly made all the difference. "I'm Pravu."

[whattaprick]

“Pravu,” Lambert echoes, with a similar sense of hesitation, like the name doesn’t quite fit... because it doesn’t. It’s not his. His head tilts to look up at Childermass, mildly annoyed at being on the shorter end again, for once.

“I was wondering if I’d get something better to call you than ‘hey, you,’” he snorts, plopping down on his haunches.

[atouts]

"'Hey, you' still works," Childermass says with a hint of humor in his gravelly voice, then he follows suit. It's less settling down to sit and full-bodied flop to the grass, though. If nothing else, it'll at least put them closer to even heights. "Although my actual name won't have other Honorables asking if you meant them. You know, in that way... what is it? How dare an amateur speak to me?"

[whattaprick]

That, at least, will draw a soft laugh from the cat, ears wiggling with his own amusement as his tail curls around him. It’s short and not nearly as splendid as the dog’s, and he has to fight the strange urge to head around that way and bat it with a paw.

“Run into a lot of that, have you?” He settles for touching his nose to Childermass’s instead, a quick, friendly touch before he pulls away. He appreciates not having to strain his neck. “Is your art not up to their standards? I thought beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and all that.”

[atouts]

"I'm good at studies but they apparently lack any real, hm... inspiration," is what he answers with in a likely mimicked tone of voice, even if he can't do that at all as well as some certain witchers. He leans forward even after Lambert withdraws and bumps his forehead with a cold, cold dog nose. Similarly, it's brief and he draws back a little right after.

[whattaprick]

In turn, Lambert reaches to lazily bat one of those ridiculous ears with a paw. If he’s meant to be teasing Lambert for his own liberal use of the term at every given opportunity, he’s at least succeed in tweaking his good humor. Lambert may dislike a lot about being a cat right now, and everything about this whole charade, but it’s not so bad now that Childermass doesn’t seem the worse for wear despite the iron branding.

“Maybe you just lack the right subject,” he suggests. “Look around Eden enough and maybe you’ll find it.”

[atouts]

It didn't kill him, that's all he can really claim. Childermass being Childermass, he's just gritting his teeth and bearing what lingering twinges of pain the brand carries. It'll heal, in time, if slower than everyone else's. Without anything else to be done for it, what can he do but at least try to enjoy the moment of air they have between this and whatever shitshow may come?

"Well, it's not as though I can just go ask some cat to pose for me or anything like that," he says with a sniff. "Surely I need something much more inspiring. Maybe a curiously shaped rock..."

[whattaprick]

"As if anyone would pose for free," Lambert counters, scoffing in mock-offense. "Why sit still when you could be using that to work on your own talents? Now, if there was something you offered in return..."

He lowers his paw, the short scruffy length of his tail twitching. There's a fleeting urge to groom all that fur into neatness, but he's still human enough in mind to tamp it down, for now.

"You might want to try finding a performance to watch. Eden's got plenty, apparently."

[atouts]

'Find a performance', he says. Childermass wrinkles his nose at that idea, having never been all that inclined to those beyond, say, the time he was a magician. Then it was a job, his job, which made it different.

"I'm not sure how much I would enjoy those," he says somewhat neutrally. Being a 'new' Honorable, he supposes he shouldn't yet know exactly what all of that might entail. Mostly he just doesn't want to see a bunch of birds try to play out Juliet and Romeo or what have you. "Seems like a waste of time to me, to sit and stare at someone else doing all the work."

[whattaprick]

“It’s not about enjoying it,” Lambert scoffs. “Don’t you want to know your competition? Beat them at their own game?”

It’s hardly the most altruistic reason, but Lambert never claimed to be that. He leans in again, pressing his nose to Childermass’s as best as he can.

“I want to know what an Architect and the best of Eden can do.”

[atouts]

"Could always just ask for a personal demonstration," Childermass answers, immediately followed up by him surging forward to playfully knock Lambert, a much tinier animal, over and, as dogs do, lay on him. Cats don't tend to enjoy dogs roughhousing with them but he figures he can get away with it.

Even if not, claws can only do so much against thick fur like his, so he ain't even worried.

"You may have to say please, though. That may be a bit beyond a cat."

[whattaprick]

“As if they’d—”

Lambert ends up making an undignified squeak as Childermass bowls him over and proceeds to very rudely inelegantly flop on him. He’s almost certain he’s doing this because he’s bigger, for once, but there’s no way to call that out in the presence of other Honorables. What he can do, though, is swat him sharply with his paw, claws sheathed ... though he makes sure to land it smartly on that wet doggy nose. No, it won’t harm him, but he can definitely express his displeasure at being used as an impromptu living pillow.

“You’re crushing me, you lump!”