Weirder Apes [Magna/Jerb]

Spoiler:

Her? Help out? Shade’s mouth formed a small “o.” Magna mentioned a time or few about teaching her how to cook and maybe going so far as to help him at some point in a contest. From what she recalled it’d even been a small part of their deal with the sand castle contest, though time simply didn’t seem to work out so far on getting an actual lesson. Happiness burbled up, knowing he wanted to share that part of his life with her and…well even if she had no talent in the art then the denizens could simply eat the failures. They might be capable of complaining, but they couldn’t experience any sort of “redeath” or “death 2.0” so…they’d even work as poison testers quite possibly.

The thought hardly concerned her as they returned back to the town with their stock of monkey meat in tow – as both proof and ingredient. When they arrived they were greeted with silence and looks of shock as a multitude of eyes digested the sight of the defeated apes. Then as if the quiet never existed a cacophony of cheers rang out, people rushing forward to swarm them with swathes of gratitude. ’Wow they must really hate Vulcans too,’ Shade surmised, not really noticing the signs of how troublesome the troupe of apes really were to these people. Despite the nice fields chunks of the patches of crop lay in ruin where they’d been ransacked carelessly, portions of houses patched up with wood planks to merely cover holes or broken windows. Some of the folks profusely thanking them even sported bandages from some of the attacks and attempts to protect their livelihood and community.

”Please oh please allow us to thank you for what you’ve done!” one gentleman decreed as some of the accolades died down to a murmur, ”I know we’ve promised you money already, but that’s not enough to thank you for the kindness of what you’ve done for us! Please spend the night free of charge! And we’ll hold a celebration in your honor!” Agreement passed through the crowd, though the girl figured they probably wanted to celebrate their freedom from oppression a little more than anything, but she supposed it was nice of them to include the pair all the same. She had to force her imagination away from an upscale party though, remembering this was a farming community and would be more like a simple, outdoorsy festival than anything.

’Oh well, but a party’s a party.’ Eyes turned to Magna however, wondering if he’d want to stay or return swiftly as possible to his kitchen.

After the party was mentioned, and it seemed the people didn't really care about what happened to the vulcan and troll kong bodies, he snapped his fingers and all of them vanished into the strange pocket dimension that he utilised for ingredient and utensil storage. "We would be honoured to attend your celebration." he said and in his mind he was considering what dishes might be served based on what he knew of the area. This would be a good chance to sample native cuisine and see what people liked. Perhaps, and this was a perhaps, he could use some of the knowledge gained today in his own dishes. That was providing the dishes had any insight for him to gain. Perhaps, if they asked opinions from the pair, he could also give them his own knowledge to help improve their lives. He just wanted people to get the most out of their meals after all. Though of course a lot of this was assuming that the celebration would involve food at all. Most did, but some did not.

A night free to stay in the town would also be good because it meant for the time until they decided to sleep or the feast began, if it began tonight, they could go shopping and he could stock up on ingredients. He was certain he'd find at least a few things he needed here. Especially to make monkey brains taste decent. He did want to get back to the kitchen, but that would take time regardless. So it made sense to rest and recover before they headed back. "How long before the celebration?" he asked curiously. The man paused for a few moments considering this.

"It will be at noon tommorow. That should give us time to get together the things we need." the mayor said and Magna looked thoughtful. "Is this a problem?" Magna shook his head. It meant they would probably need to stay another night or head home straight after the feast. Either way it meant more time away from the kitchen. Still Gala could easily handle it. His skills actually surpassed Magna in some ways. They were learning a lot from each other. Both would become much better chefs, but the question was would Magna be able to catch up?

"No its no issue. Just thinking about a few things. For now I'm going to go check out the market. .I need to stock up on some ingredients." he said with a nod to the man before heading off beckoning Shade to follow him. "Once we get back to the guild i'm considering going off to travel for a few months. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. It will mostly be ingredients and cooking knowledge gathering." he said to her with a smile. He wanted her to be with him for this. She'd seen him in the kitchen and been on jobs, but never really been with him on an ingredient tour. "Its probably going to be a bit dangerous though. A lot of rare ingredients exist in dangerous areas."

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They’d get to party! Shade kept it to a wide smile, happy they’d get to enjoy it even if for a minor reason like beating up the blasted Vulcans. Looking about the town she could already envision it too: ribbons dangling from building to building, stalls perhaps for some games, lots of food tables open for people to take from as they pleased. The colors and laughter and merriment…she froze for a moment at the thought as visions passed before her eyes as Magna spoke to the man. The summoner’s smile dimmed a few degrees as she forced them from her mind. ’That’s not worth remembering…’ she mentally chanted a few times as if to ward off the memories. She’d get to participate this time rather than watch from the sidelines like before…and the ending would be far different.

She hoped.

Catching the tail end Shade nodded to the man who’d offered them the accommodations before following her chef. Ears perked up at the mention of traveling, breath holding in her chest until he made the offer. ”Of course I want to go!” the white haired girl chirped, latching onto his arm in happy giddiness, ”I don’t care how dangerous it is! I don’t care if we have to fight fifty ninjas or a quadrillion squirrels! Or whatever crops up.” Shade waved a hand flippantly as the other slid down to lace her fingers with his. She hadn’t yet figured out how to broach the whole “I’m a physical representation for an afterlife” subject as it wasn’t one something threw out over a cup of tea or breakfast. Even if spending a day or few in “Paradise” due to “unfortunate death” might be a pain it’d be worth it to travel with him and experience another portion of his life, though she’d try to inform him that any “death” wouldn’t be permanent. She didn’t want him worrying after all.

Magna’s passion for cooking and growth left Shade fascinated as she wanted to experience every facet that she could. It’d been hard getting a lesson with her traipsing off to do this or that; or take care of her denizens and things naturally cropping up for him, but she’d spent a time or few simply watching him cook. Where it’d once been a wonderful and entertaining show the girl slowly came to notice other subtle details. The care and respect he showed the ingredients, the skill in wielding each utensil, and the understanding of how one thing might affect another. Now she could experience the journey, the first ideas, and creations with new ingredients and techniques. Maybe it’d even allow her more insight to the man…

And…

She’d be free to see sights as well. Why say no to good company? ”Any ideas of where we’ll be off too? Should I pack for warm or cold? Or both? Oh well I guess that doesn’t matter…hmm…but if it’s sunny we should bring sunscreen…and maybe I should get some travel bedding…” If anything she’d have to look into better beds to bring along because the girl would be damned before she slept on the ground in a rinky-dink sleeping bag. ’Maybe I should invest in a couple different styles…I mean I’ll have to account for multiple landscape styles too and sizes….’

He chuckled at the comparisons of danger she decided to go for. Fifty ninjas sounded reasonable, but a quadrillion squirrels? That was hilarious. Still he kept it as just a chuckle so she didn't mistake it as him mocking her because he really wasn't. He loved her unique perspective on the world. It made her who she was. He smiled broadly as he entwined his fingers with hers and considered where exactly he wanted to go and what the weather would be like.

"I'm not sure yet. I want to go to Joya at least because they have a lot of rare fruits and other vegetation there." He considered her questions about climate and the like. "Well, its quite tropical so its hot, but also quite damp. It shouldn't be too dangerous, but getting there will be. We either have to go through Stella, and they hate outsiders. Even if they didn't the area is really really dangerous. The other path is through iceberg which is freezing cold and highly dangerous. Though to get there by the shortest path we need to go through both" He considered where they would have to go to even get there. There was a lot of dangers no matter what path they took. There were also lots of ingredients and restaurants. "Before we even get there we have to go through Seven or Bosco. I'd prefer to go through Seven as that place has a lot of magical ingredients. However, if we do that then the shortest path still goes through both Iceberg and Seven. Bosco would allow us to go just through Stella." He paused as another route came into his mind. It was the safer of the two and one of the location was great for what the journey was about. "We could also sail to Minstrel and travel through there to Joya. Minstrel is a land with great food and drink. So thats an option too, but its things that everyone can get."

He pictured the map in his head mapping out a route. "We could go on a very long journey. Go through Ca-elum into Minstrel then into Joya. Out through desierto. We could then loop through Enca and Sin then go through Pergrande, though thats probably the most dangerous as magic is outlawed in Pergrande. So we'll probably have to ignore Pergrande. Perhaps Desierto, then Enca and Sin, then Bellum, then Iceberg, Stella, Seven and back to Fiore." He paused and thought about the route and considered one other location. The oriental country Midi. That was a rather exciting place to go and he had been beaten with an oriental dish recently. "Perhaps we could go through a bit of Minstrel, its southwestern islands then into Midi then tour through the rest. Or we could go straight from Ca-elum to Midi but the boat journey would be rather lengthy." He tilted his head thinking about it some more. Yes, there would be lots they would have to do and lots to prepare. In fact, there was also people they'd need to talk to. "I think i'll speak to Iza and make sure its ok for us to dissapear for whats likely to be months, if not a year or longer depending on how much time we spend in each nation. Which path sounds best to you?"

He was honestly leaving it up to her. The only guaranteed part of the journey was Joya. That was the destination and one he thought she might enjoy being part animal like most of the 'human' population there. "The longer the journey the more we'll need to take as I can't store a lot of the stuff we'll need in the pocket dimension...at least not yet." He considered what they would need to take considering the amount of climates. It would be a lot to carry. "Desierto is scorching hot in the day, freezing at night. Joya is tropical. Iceberg is freezing."

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Things took a few moments to properly sink in as she lackadaisically watched a passing butterfly. Off and away it disappeared beneath the glare of the sun, clouds slowly roaming in front of the too bright celestial being.

’Joya…?’

Legs continued to move as if propelled by a sense of auto-pilot, that singular name cracking through her carefree mindset. Head still turned away she continued to make the occasional noise that she was listening, but a beast began gnawing at the bottom of her stomach. Joya. Joya. Joya…even from this distance she could still feel that small, blighted forest – her strongest mark upon this world. Plant life that looked as though someone shaped it from obsidian that mockingly lost and regrew their leaves. For all the world they looked like blades and yet would feel no different than any other leaf aside for the slow draining of energy. Creatures knew instinctively to avoid the place and by this point in time any towns near it likely crafted myths and legends surrounding it to ward future generations from finding their doom in there. How long had it been since someone discovered the decrepit homes enshrouded by the black vines and gnarled branches? Shade couldn’t feign ignorance at the answer, able to tell when the forest finished draining the life from those who foolishly explored for too long or stumbled upon a hole into “Paradise.” Those cocky souls became renewed foundation to avoid discovering her forgotten village.

The feline girl hadn’t returned to the country since that incident, blocking it out of mind completely. She’d wandered aimlessly from there, those early memories nothing but shattered bits of glass on the floor incapable of reforming a proper picture. There’d been docile points to be sure…but the underworld ruler didn’t doubt for a moment there existed folklore here and there about a two-tailed feline wreaking havoc. At least she held some semblance of control and it’d been long enough that those present at any such “outbursts” became worm food.

Thousands of voices rushed to her as the collection of denizens tried to quash her rise of panic. Soothing tones, worried outbursts, desperate pleas to calm down, and even flippant advice coursed through her causing Shade to try and stifle a giggle behind a hand. With her bangs in the way she appeared more to be laughing at the myriad of paths Magna offered. ’Yes…there’s no guarantee we’ll go anywhere close to there…there’s plenty of other places and even Joyans would caution him away from a place that wreaks only of death…’ Most were known to be rather friendly after all. Shade supposed her tribe had been something of an outlier compared to how people described most Joyans.

”It’d be a waste to spend so much time on a boat, and sounds counteractive to your goal for the trip,” Shade finally spoke when she’d composed herself and given it a bit of thought, ”So even if we go through Ca-Elum it’d be better to go through Minstrel and perhaps stop off through Midi. Though…what stops us from performing a complete circle?” Finally turning her attention back to the fiery chef and away from the villagers running about – likely trying to set things up for the morrow. ”Perhaps we don’t quite go through all the countries, but we could start with either Seven or Bosco if that’s the more dangerous route – go through Iceberg because we can make snowmen there! – and end up in Joya. Then we could move through Desierto, check things out there, head to Midi, and either end the trip with Minstrel or Ca-Elum? Though Minstrel sounds more like a vacation end or rest stop by the sounds of it.” If it held things everyone could get then it struck her more as a pit stop and place to restock, but who knows? Maybe they could find the world’s best biscuit baker there? A part of her wanted to avoid Sin for now. Taking some of those creatures for herself would be fun…but it’d leave her greatly drained in her current state as well. It always took the summoner time to acclimate to this realm, her body acting as a gateway to the underworld she’d been bonded too and thus a gateway for its power. More than anything she didn’t want to leave Magna alone if she could help it since becoming too drained forced her back for a spell.

”And then next trip we can plan a different circle! Such as including Enca and Sin in the loop! Pluuuuus I can carry some things too like some of our luggage so we can pack a little heavier in that regards such as bags for cold weather and hot weather: whenever we hit a new climate I simply summon up the appropriate bag!” Shade wondered briefly what their guildmaster would say on the matter. If Shade simply popped off it likely wouldn’t be noticed much if at all thanks to her eclectic nature, but losing a top chef would be a blow to the kitchen and Magna tended to be very helpful in general.

The route that she had proposed sounded like a good one to him, but he did have an issue with it, which he'd soon raise. In his opinion Seven than Iceberg was probably the best option with maybe a brief stop in Stella. However, that wasn't an issue with her plan. More a decision they had to make before they left as it was pretty much Seven, Iceberg, Stella, Joya or Bosco, Stella, Joya. Unless of course they wanted to tour through most of iceberg which would be very dangerous.

"That sounds like a good plan, but with one slight adjustment considering we don't want to spend too much time sailing, though we could fish in the right areas I suppose, but...no no fishing for the time being." he considered the last time the pair had been fishing. It had been successful, but their success had been on a knife edge. If they'd done things even a little differently one or both of them would probably be dead. Not that death made much of a difference to Shade, but Magna didn't know that...at least not yet. "In order to get to Midi by land we'd have to go through Minstrel. So if we go from Desierto and go down the east coast of Minstrel, tour throuhg Midi and then come back through the west coast then we can either go for a short trip to Ca-elum or we can go straight back to fiore. Potentially we could stop off at the old guild island, Lavantir on the way." He considered that for a moment. It had been a while now since the old guildhall had been destroyed by Cassie and they'd fled to set up the new guild hall in Rose Garden. Lavantir had been his home even before the guild, even before he began touring the world. He had a strong bond with it and not just due to his druidic side. "There are some areas that are still unexplored and quite dangerous there, but I bet we'll find something of interest either to cook with or to cook."

He spoke then of the route he proposed taking based on her suggestion. "I think Seven is a good first stop, but we'll have to get permission to take ingredients there. Should be easy enough as the queen quite enjoys my meals so providing I cook her a banquet or something...that should work out fine." he said brushing off the fact that he'd cooked for royalty on his travels before. If she enquired he'd tell more, but until then it did not matter much to him. There were few he considered above others when it came to serving them a meal. Shade was one, Iza was another and the third were a group and that was other chefs, such as Gala and his blue nitro Pair. If you weren't in that select group then to him you were just another customer who might be able to spend a little more and if pleased would likely tip a bit heavier. "Then we travel through Iceberg and get some stuff there. If we're lucky we might even find the legendary gourmet show window so that I can taste century soup for the first time...then I could replicate it maybe. Though that would mean travelling through the area called Ice Hell." That route was rather dangerous as a few very dangerous beasts resided there. One's he had only heard of as he'd not toured the area. It was an area though that the ice monkey spirit residing within him very much wanted to visit. Perhaps he should listen to his appetite? Then again he had to worry about Shade's safety and that to him was more important than what the spirits thought. "I think we should probably take the shortest route and head through Stella. The dwarves there are a bit rowdy, but it would be good to stock up on some of their alcohol and see if they have brewed anything new. Then of course there's the Mors Mountain and if we can find that and somehow get up the Executioner's Falls then we can get the Shining Gourami and some Mors Oil. You can get shining gourami and the oil through purchase, but I think its better from the source, a lot cheaper certainly, and I refuse to let a waterfall beat me." The Executioner's falls was named as such as it was meant to kill anything that entered it much like a guilltoine. The water came down at 1 trillion liters per minute and the falls themselves were 1km wide. The lake below was one of the only lakes that actually moved in Stella. It moved like a washing machine though and was filled with sand and debris. Those who entered that area would be smashed into unrecognizable pieces. "Though it might be better to save the falls till we're both a bit stronger....maybe."

Those were the first three countries on the route. They were the only places they needed to go before they headed to their destination. "Then from Stella we go to our destination of Joya and spend some time there. From Joya we could go back into Iceberg and then through Bellum, but they aren't a big fan of part humans or non-humans so with my monkey side and your feline side...it might not be a good choice considering non-humans are often hunted for sport. So instead we'll go straight from Joya to Desierto. Its possible we may find the Gourmet Pyramid though that would mean us finding the sand garden and navigating the Blood Labyrinth. I've done it once before, but that was with a guide. Well, if we get near it we get near it I suppose." The Blood Labyrinth had a lot of iron in the sand and many died there. The iron and blood mixed in with the sand and made it blood red. The mirages there were more intense then in any other desert and what's more the heat was even more intense said to be enough to boil water. Surviving there was tough and when he'd gone there last time it had been a powerful mage who escorted him and even then they didn't get far in the pyramid. It was possibly even more dangerous than the Executioner's Falls. They were on the return route now in terms of their journey. Their perspective would be opened and Magna's knowledge and supplies vastly increased. "Then from there as I said we travel down the east coast of Minstrel, go through Midi and come back up the east coast of Minstrel. Then its either Ca-elum and Fiore or Lavantir and Fiore. Doesn't really matter which and we're probably best decided nearer the time."

It was at that point that they arrived at the market of the town. A lot of the produce was being taken, likely for the festival the next day, but some stalls were still open and there was plenty to look at. In truth he didn't expect a huge amount of rare ingredients, but he might find something of interest. They were near the spooky forest after all. Perhaps they would find something like Ghost Pigs. They were pretty rare, but very tasty. They made great hamburgers. He'd heard some Broccobats earlier and they were pretty good as well. So they could find a few things. "Aye we'll need to take a lot of equipment, but the more we can store away in pocket dimensions or similar the better. That way we aren't weighed down and worn out by carrying the gear we need." he said as they began to look around the market looking for anything of interest. He bought some basic ingredients. Just things like potatoes and the like, but some were a bit rarer like pork potatoes and some ghost pig. "I think once we're done in the market we should head to the inn and rest." He paused wondering if they'd have seperate rooms or not. That wasn't clear. It was clear they were a couple and young, but considering how mature they were and how they'd dealt with the vulcans they might think that they weren't that young and thus were ok to leave in a room together. It would be interesting to see how people reacted.

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Someday they could have their vengeance upon fish…but probably a different trip. That sounded more like a trip two or three type of thing so she nodded along with his ending of that idea for the time being. The addition of other potential stops didn’t surprise her so much as it being Lavantir. ’It has been his home for a fair bit of time though…there could even be a bit of homesickness there.’ The prospect of dining with royalty intrigued her, such people sounding a bit more mythical to her since they weren’t known for rubbing elbows with the rabble – of which Shade wouldn’t be surprised to find herself classified. At the very least the girl lacked a “title” so it’d be exciting to meet an exotic creature like that. ” ‘Show window?’ “ she parroted, tilting her head a bit. Ice Hell…sounded interesting, at the very least a curious sight, but this “century soup” sounded far more fascinating.

Dwarves also sounded fun, the girl only knowing them to be stouter humans and not particularly sure if she’d met one or not. She barely liked glimpsing the past of those who wandered into her realm as spirits and refused to find out about those who wormed their way in purely to form a contract – considering their goals sat somewhere in the “selfish” portion of the scale Shade found it pointless to look too deep. But if they were rowdy then it sounded like a party and she’d honestly never given alcohol to any of her denizens…’Wonder what CM’s like when he’s drunk? Maybe he finally relaxes?’ “If this ‘Century Soup’ business is a gated window…then we might want to strike while it’s open, but if it’s something that’s intermittently available then further research and preparation might be better. I mostly suggested a slip into Iceberg for the sake of building a snowman so it’s not a necessary stop this time around.” It’d been a mostly whimsical choice on her part though it sounded as if at some point they’d wander there regardless. If it was time sensitive and their window was closing though she could see making a bit more of a beeline for it.

Bellum…sounded troublesome to the summoner. If anything she’d prefer being the hunter to the hunted anyways. Another time she supposed they could try to hide their way and fake it since the girl could hide the appendages at times. ’Might just be more a matter of setting something up for Magna…but I’m not sure if they have ways to find out beyond eyes…I’d rather not risk his life over it. Not until I can at least summon Hallowed for some time.’ The final spot could be left for later and worse came to worse they could ask the Almighty Coin to decide on the last stop. ”Do you suppose we can purchase some gear of holding?” she pondered aloud, ”Because the realm my denizens live in is quite vast…but at the same time if something happens and we need to split for a small bit of time I don’t want you going without necessities that refuse to store inside your pocket dimension. I know it’s usually utensils and food only after all…” Not that the white haired girl planned to let her lover roam for too long if danger stood as the cause, but she didn’t want him being stuck without necessities or some supplies during that interval. Well she’d look into it regardless so that they could pack heavy and still personally carry light. The real key would be avoiding too much bag-ception.

Humming her agreement Shade continued to accompany Magna through the market until he’d bought to his heart’s content – or kitchen’s content – and made their way to the inn. While they weren’t expected to help out with the festival or anything she couldn’t be sure Magna wouldn’t wake up early to help regardless and possibly teach some of the townsfolk a thing or two on how to improve their custom dishes. Thusly if they planned to party hearty she had to make sure the monkey man received enough sleep and thus would make it her personal mission as they walked through the door.

”Ah yes, our triumphant heroes!” the middle-aged man behind the counter greeted with a smile, ”Thank you for staying the night and fret not: I have a couple of rooms prepa-“

”Oh, one will be fine!” the chirpy voice interrupted him, mentally disarming the man as he stuttered whilst trying to recompose himself.

”A-a-a-are you s-sure?”

”Yep!” Again without an ounce of hesitance she agreed, ignoring the way his eyes seemed to bounce between the two as if trying to decipher the seriousness of the statement or their possible relationship.

In the end he gave up, a still unsure smile curling back into place as he turned around to nab a key for them, ”A-ah, very well then! Here, one of my best rooms, I hope you enjoy your stay!”

Snatching the key she cheerily thanked the man before turning to Magna, smile still firmly in place, ”C’mon let’s go check it out! I hope the bed’s comfy!”

"The gourmet show window, or so the stories go, is a huge frozen pillar filled with various ingredients. Once every hundred years it is said to let out a small amount of liquid at the bottom that is said to concentrate the flavour of the hundred or more ingredients. A soup so delicious even the most serious and stoic of people are forced to smile." he explained and then decided to go into a bit more detail about the area and why it was so dangerous. He'd even give a glimpse into animals and his knowledge of them ."As you might know its common for large and dangerous beasts to gather near delicious ingredients that will sustain them. Its said that the century soup attracted many mighty beasts and thus the ice hell is truly hell. A constant battle for survival with every creature being dangerous. The dominant creatures at the time of the century soup being formed get to eat it whilst the rest have to just hope they survive." he paused as he considered some of the other rumours about the area and it surroundings, including some of the rumours about its inhabitants. Though a fact about the area did come to his mind. "Its possible that an ice dragon might even be there...there are rumours they reside in Iceberg and it would make sense. Though the most dangerous creature I know of near that area is the hellboros. I'd rather not run into one of them, but in truth such a creature deserves a pounding as it just eats and eats without caring about the taste. I hate things like that."

"Items of holding would be useful or perhaps we can find some ingredients or tools that can double as equipment. I'm sure you remember those marshmallows from the mountains." he said and considered how best he could move forward with such things. It was a pain his pocket dimension being limited. He wasn't sure he 100% understood it yet himself. "For example some of the noodles I use are quite strong and could be used as a rope, then use something like a fork or knife as a grappling hook. Clothes though...thats trickier." He was pretty sure almost everything he could need he could store. However, more luxury items or things like clothes he could not store unless they somehow related to cooking. It was rather tricky.

When they arrived at the inn Magna's eye was raised as Shade asked for a single room and his face was clearly red from the look that the man gave the pair. He honestly wasn't sure what Shade expected to happen this night. Perhaps she just wanted to cuddle? They had shared 'rooms' together on jobs though those were more things like caves and the like. So perhaps she thought it was normal. She did seem to have a bit of a blindspot when it came to some things like etiquette and what people expected. However, the fact she didn't care about other's expectations was great and was one thing he loved about her.

"Well, with how thankful everyone is I expect if its not comfortable they'll change the mattress for another. If not we can always sleep on marshmallows again." he said and then looked at the man who was nodding in agreement at his statement, but the bit about marshmallows did cause him to pause for a little bit. "If you need any help with the preparations for the festival or anything else we're happy to help. I mostly specialise in cooking, but I can help out in other places too." With that the pair headed to the room and Magna waited for Shade to unlock it and bound in. He was nervous, but happy. This was going to be a good time staying here he was certain. Plus there was a party the next day and even if he was mature he did love a good party like most kids. Besides it was a chance to try new things especially new dishes.



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They could ponder dangerous creatures another time – as fun as meeting a dragon sounded as long as it didn’t want to eat them – and figure out the plans in greater detail when they reached home. As Magna pointed out some of the objects could be circumvented by alternate use of somethings, amusingly food that might cause some to balk but…well…they’d obviously never slept on a marshmallow before. And considering this was Magna the girl sincerely doubted he wouldn’t at least thoroughly wash the ingredients before making a meal out of them.

Shade managed to hold back a giggle, pleased that her dear red head hadn’t countered her demand despite the momentary shock of the innkeeper. To the outside eye it likely appeared as though the girl took advantage of the chef’s kindness, and whether or not such was true if they thought for a moment Shade took it for granted they’d be wrong. Each little indulgence brought a smile to her face and continued to evoke the most intriguing of feelings she hadn’t felt in all her time prior. If anyone were to ask she’d probably claim something outlandishly silly such as the boy taking advantage of her by offering something so addictive.

Leaving the innkeeper to ponder the comfort possibilities of marshmallows (likely versus eating them) the two headed up with the summoner humming a nonsensical tune as she practically hopped up the stairs. First things first: testing the bed for comfort levels. It was easily large enough for a couple, expansive enough they’d have to work at it to shove each other off the bed for whatever reason with plump pillows resting against the headboard. With a happy squeal she raced in and threw herself on the bed, forcing a human-shaped imprint upon the sky blue comforter. Away from the eyes of the villagers a small ‘pop’ noise sounded and Shade released the disguise, allowing her pair of tails and feline ears to twitch in their newfound freedom.

”Yep! Comfy! We’ll sleep good tonight!” she spoke into the comforter, uncaring that he might only hear the muffled version before sitting up and scooting back towards the edge. There admittedly might’ve been a few other ideas in the girl’s head as she pushed herself off the bed, deciding that in order to get a “good night’s sleep” she should help Magna relax. He’d been a bit tomatoish down in the lobby, so nerves might be jumbling up inside him and it’d be her duty to insure he relaxed a bit. And maybe she’d read something in a book. Making a few leaps and bounds in reasoning the girl walked towards him and with little warning ripped the monkey boy’s shirt right over his head. ”Won’t be comfortable to sleep in this!”


A noise tickled her ear to the point she could no longer concentrate on the kiss. Reluctantly pulling away the snow white appendages atop her head twitched, one of them swiveling a little in an attempt to better catch whatever obnoxious antics interrupted them. Admittedly the noise wasn’t uncommon for her, but generally she could block out the noise of new entrants to “Paradise” and deal with them later so she wanted to double check she wasn’t going insane instead, ”Hmm…is it just me…or can you hear the yelling too? Alp?” Were they trying to tell someone to get alpine trees? At this time of night though? That couldn’t be right. And then the enraged ape hooting started.

”I swear to the darkest depths of Paradise I will skin these bastards alive and feed their entrails to my denizens piece-by-piece…and then find a way to cause a time loop so they can experience it again and again until the end of time.” Judging by the increased sounds of conduct and conflict they were striking hard and fast, only further pushing Shade’s dial from annoyance to rage. Morganna manifested in her hand, taking on the long pole axe form as the summoner shoved the window open and hopped out, uncaring in the slightest she was in little else than her underclothes. Shirt and pants be damned: these apes needed a whole new lesson in ass-kicking.

Her actions were swift and without much warning he was suddenly topless and very unsure what to do. However, it seemed to some extent she was letting instinct take over and so he decided to do the same. He was a teenager with raging hormones staying in a room with his girlfriend after all. However, it seemed that the universe was against them that day or perhaps some god had looked down and been like 'nope not letting that happen' and the distinctive sound of vulcans was heard outside.

AFter a brief speech mentioning Paradise, which if he recalled correctly was the realm she summoned her denizens from, she formed a poleaxe in her hand shoved the window open and leaped out not caring much about being in her undergarments. Magna froze momentarily and it was at that moment that instinct really took over. Both the monkey spirits and the cerberus side of him were heavily pissed. Particularly the monkey's who enjoyed new experiences and hated them being interrupted.

His gauntlets appeared on his hands and he leaped from the window blasting over the rooftops and he landed in front of one. "Hi." he said and then suddenly he uppercutted it with full force using the explosive power of his gauntlets. The kickback was so strong he dented the ground, but the upwards force was even more intense sending the vulcan into the clouds. It was quite insane the amount of force that was emitted. "Bye" He looked about the area seeing the vulcans and the amount of destruction they were causing. The festivities had been truly wrecked. He exhaled deeply and then suddenly his eyes were red, his face duplicated into three, he gained his second tail and four extra arms. A frying pan appeared in one of his hands and his chef hat appeared on his head. He was going all out.

Suddenly, he blasted upwards at a rapid rate and somehow got above the vulcan. "Hi again." he said and then swung the frying pan round in a full swing with full power sending it flying at an angle. "Bye again." The swing of the frying pan sent the vulcan flying straight down into a group of them indenting the ground and sending them flying. He wasn't pulling his punches this time and blasted down towards that group ready to dish out some serious hurt. They would pay the price for interrupting Cielle and his night together.

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The first victim had been one of the bothersome apes wielding an axe, brandishing the thing high and proudly above some scrambling villagers. Farming equipment clattered against the ground as the people found themselves sorely outmatched, admirable as they’d been to try and defend their home. Feet pitter-patting against the ground as she ran, Shade leapt up and slammed the broadside of the weapon into the muscled creature’s head and could almost see the birds twirling about his noggin as the beast crashed down. One slick, quick slice and it started clawing at its neck in a vain attempt to fight the flow of blood flooding its lungs. Any other time the girl might try to take some alive so her dearest could have an option of fresh meat…but right now the summoner really couldn’t bring herself to care. She just wanted them dead and to see her second favorite color: red.

”U-uh…m-mi-iss…” one of the frightened people stuttered, jolting as the stone cold gaze swept to him, ”Urm…d…don’t…erm…y-you might want armor…they’ve gotten weapons from somewhere!”

An eyebrow raised as the girl supposed she should consider something. She’d barely noticed aside for maybe a small chill in her feet touching the somewhat chilly ground. Considering a lot of this race enjoyed females reportedly…”Fine. CM: get out here.”

Normally stuck in a small, plush moose body the real form of CM manifested towering over his mistress. Charcoal black, the fiery designs seemed to glow even in the dark from their sheer, vibrant hue, though only the great mane of hair seemed to match the vibrancy of the single glowing eye through the metal grating over his face. Hooves left three-toed impressions in the ground as the two, thick fists slammed into the earth and a mouth parted beneath the grating to release a loud and angry roar. With him Shade activated a part of their bond, armor manifesting over parts of her body. Normally a complete suit would show up, but the girl mentally modified it. Gauntlets and boots in similar coloring wrapped around her feet and hands, a horned helm fitted with a pair of glowing eyes obscuring most of her face save her lips and jaws as it forced her hair into a ponytail rising from the back. Atop her fair garments however sat the almighty chainmail bikini the same charcoal color with crimson etched designs.

Loud and obnoxious clapping caught her attention, a small group of the beasts dropping their simple clubs in order to applaud and hoot at her. They died down a little as the ominous trio of glowing dots turned to them, brightening a few degrees as their next targets appeared. One wave of her armor clad hand the rampaging denizen charged, gouging his rigid horns into two chests and forcing the group backwards with a savage cry.

As he landed amongst the group of vulcans on the ground they leapt upon him attempting to pin him down with their sheer weight of numbers. Or at least that was their intent. As they leapt towards them he suddenly span in place moving his hands in a complex pattern forming a web of energy around him that threw all of them back. The one on the floor, which he'd landed on, was well and truly dead. The rest were dazed and Magna took advantage of that. He had about six of them on the ground so he ran over to one and hurled it at another just as it was getting up slamming them both into a tree. A third soon joined them just as they were recovering and was followed swiftly by a fourth. Unfortunately, he did not manage to get the fifth and sixth who quickly managed to grab him as he threw the fourth and held his arms behind his back holding him in place as the four others walked forward. They weren't quite down yet though the one who had been hit first, call him Vulcan number one, was certainly close to being down. He was walking as if drunk.

What the vulcans had not realised or perhaps had forgotten was that Magna possessed two tails currently and one of those tails had quite the nasty tip to it. This was soon found out by the vulcan on his left who rapidly let go and leapt back holding his groin. Blood was seeping from between his fingers. The snake headed tail had gone for the supposedly most tender meat of most male creatures. This of course let Magna's other hand free and the vulcan's were so shocked that they didn't react in time to Magna spinning and hurling the fifth vulcan at the four bowling them over.

Suddenly, once more he was in the air and flying down at them. As he flew down the fist of his hand rapidly expanded to six times its size and he slammed into them using gravity and a kinetic energy burst from the other gauntlet to slam into them hard causing a massive fist shaped crater and leaving a lot of broken vulcans. He turned and looked at the sixth one his eyes glowing red.

"BOSS!" it yelled out, but was quickly silence by Magna throwing a rock that hit it between the eyes. He wasn't sure who this boss was, but perhaps if he beat the boss then the rest would run off.

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Magic:

Fleetingly Shade pondered if this was where the phrase “paint the town red” came from as another brief fountain died down. Each clatter of her armored boots splattered more dots onto the stony road, foot prints creating a path from pool to pool. Every wild swing of her pole axe left stripes upon the nearby houses, some of them curving so beautifully she could only offer a shivery sigh of satisfaction. Though it was a little chilly out the girl spared little thought as her skin likely turned numb and only warmed from the short bursts of blood now splotched across her body. Stabbing the twin points into the twitching body of one of the apes the summoner giggled in delight as a swarm of branches rose up, twirling about each other to form a tree even as those sharp tips plunged into the body of an attacking brute. Their axe struck the road, an audible splitting of stone as the blade dug itself in while its master rose more and more into the air. Red slithered down the glowing plant-like structure and became her mental picture of a “delightful candy cane.”

Another member of the troupe found itself being beaten to a bloody pulp with the limb of one of the fallen, a prize taken by CM from one of the victims of his horns. He’d given a mighty cry once the last tendon snapped free before immediately setting that ball joint into the face of an enraged primate. As it now sat beaten into stupor at his feet he roared in its face as if daring the beast to defy him by standing up. Not so much as a twitch, its mind already drifting into blissful eternity before abruptly stopping. Long, claw-like fingers dug themselves into the chest of the beast, the enraged CM roaring yet again. This time his call sought out the creature’s soul rather than testing its defiance, forcing it back to this plane. Armored jaw open, his “lungs” reversed into a powerful vacuum as the soul manifested. The river of life left the creature, quickly vanishing down the armor-clad beast’s gullet and renewing some of his strength.

Hidden eyes drifted to her adorable summon, Shade giving a small sigh through her smile, ”Oh dear, you poor thing! You’re looking a little rough around the edges CM…time to feed you properly!” So many precious resources lay about them, the girl giving a wave of her gauntlet clad hand over it all. Magic seeped into the air and laid itself atop the corpses, temporarily lighting them up before the strewn bodies flew towards CM and absorbed itself into his armored hide, even the club forced from the oversized hand. ”All new!”

Something touched upon the edges of her senses however, forcing some of the glee from her as Shade peered about. The edges of that last call tickled at the recesses of her mind, nagging that other sense further as a presence quickly approached. The cry ripped from her throat before the thought fully hit her consciousness, ”Magna watch out! Something big’s coming!”

Magna sniffed the air and caught the scent of something akin to the vulcans, but it was also different. It was not completely that of a monkey. No there was a hint of something else. Something that he wouldn't associate with such a creature. It was the smell of rodent, but not just any rodent. One that flew. It was that point that in a blur of speed and chucking up a huge dust cloud a large figure landed and then launched a massive spear straight towards him. He quickly sidestepped and sliced through the weapon causing a bellow to come from the dust cloud revealing a purple furred creature which unwound a long chain from its waist each end of which was weight with a heavy iron ball. It was the weapon known as a meteor hammer. The chains looked strong, far stronger than the wood of the spear. Breaking it would weaken the weapon heavily, but doing so would require a lot more force or some clever hits. Perhaps with enough heat he could do it. The difficulty was building up the magic power with such a dangerous weapon being flung about. Even if he managed to block one of the iron balls, which would likely move in a rather erratic pattern, their weight could do some serious damage even with his enhanced body.

Without giving him any more time to think the large vulcan-like creature through one of the balls at him. He managed to dodge it, but with a powerful yank it swung it to the side and the chain wrapped around him bringing the ball dangerous close to twirling into him. If that happened his ribs would be broken at least. He focused as quickly as he could and a large hammer appeared out of nowhere and slammed the sphere into the ground. The surprise of him blocking it gave enough slack in the chain for him to break free causing the still slightly surprised creature to bellow in anger. It seemed this thing had an anger issue which could work in his favour as it wouldn't do as much clever stuff, but with so much nearby that he had to protect it could also be dangerous. It was time to bring out his most dangerous spell. He charged forward and the creature once more sent a ball flying towards him. This time Magna leapt over it and actually kicked off the ball launching himself towards the creature he named vampire kong. Without hesitation though, much to his surprise, the vampire dropped the chain and took flight again. Its movements in the air were swift. Battling it there would be hard because no matter what spell he used there was no gurantee of a hit.

"Shade...can you stop it moving or slow it down?" he asked loudly as he prepared to fight the creature which had seemingly got a weapon called a flying claw out of nowhere. That combined with its aerial speed would be deadly so he hoped she could help in some way. He knew she had a lot in her arsenal and even if it was only a fraction then it would help. If not he would have to checkmate it somehow. Force it into a situation where no matter which way it dodged it would be hit. That or find a way to outspeed it. Perhaps he could come up with a new spell. Or perhaps an old one might work. If he chilled the air enough its wings would likely freeze over and then he could do some real damage.

A big brute of a party crasher arrived, the girl glaring at it from behind her helmed visor. This interrupting band of barbaric apes wasn’t enough they needed an even tougher leader?! It was enough to make her see red for a moment, wanting nothing more than to see the thing spread across the town like jam. Even worse it dared attack what she considered her property, special property at the very least but still her’s!

Magna didn’t even have to ask twice as the thing flew into the air, perhaps to taunt them or just to obtain an advantage. Readily she fired a thick beam of chaotic energy towards the flying behemoth. White, black, and various shades of gray energy all seemed to crackle and entwine themselves as it raced towards the foe, the chimeric creature dodging only to slam into a similar blast fired from CM’s mouth. It left him stunned, but at the same time already it seemed to be shaking that off and working to regain full use of its wing before it might lose too much altitude.

”Sorry CM, but I need Haigha,” she calmly stated, armor reverting back to simple undergarments as the behemoth of an armored beast found itself reduced back to little more than a chubby, plush moose. Once snow white panties and bra turned pitch black, stockings to match racing up her legs as a few bandages loosely tied themselves around her body. The black rabbit emerged from between two buildings, using them to rocket herself up and towards the beast with a single, sinister glowing red eye and immovable smile in place. Shade moved a beat behind her, a pair of bandages latching onto the corner of two nearby buildings before slingshotting her towards the winged ape.

Thick, sausage-like fingers reached out for her only to find themselves quickly closing as bandages shot from around Shade, thickly tying the extremity. More flew from her to begin ensnaring the wings as Haigha already began, locking them together bit by bit and locking down their movement. Just as the finishing touches were being made Shade felt something solid slam into her body, snapping her connection to the bandages and sending her flying towards the ground. Something soft wrapped around her, similar charcoal black bandages pulling the girl towards the black rabbit as she landed atop a building, carrying her master bridal style. They’d locked down the beast’s ability to fly as it began falling in the air, tangled hands trying to rip the new covers from its extremities. Shade smirked, enjoying their chaotic handiwork, ”Your move Love!”

The attacks from CM and Cielle had given him an opening. Not a big one, but enough for him to use his gauntlets to briefly blast above the vampire kong. It began to slowly break free of the chaotic energy. However, with the help of the black rabbit Haigha it was bound in bandages struggling to break free as it fell towards the ground. He floated in the air briefly as powerful heat energy formed into his hand. "Next time...pick your moment better." With that a stream of fire equal in size to his fist blasted from his hand fuelled with soul energy scorching the 'soul' of the heart of this creature and killing it instantly. Its entire body seemed to take on the effect of being burned briefly, but without any physical harm to the body as it fell to the ground. However, Magna wasn't done there he blasted down from the sky and slammed into it caving in the chest and 100% guaranteeing its demise. He smiled grimly as he stood there govered in core from the final blow. He definitely needed to wash up.

The vulcans seeing their leader fallen had begun to run off though he swore he heard one yelling that next time they'd do more than just bringing one of the generals. Could they have an even higher grade leader than that one? If so they might be in some trouble. Perhaps it was time to send a message to the guild and ask for backup so they could go through the forest and thin out the numbers of vulcans so it would be a good fear years before they could mass enough number to attack this village again. He'd have to discuss it with Cielle and the village though.

He looked over at the woman and smiled. "Thanks for the helping hands." he said and then nodded to Haigha. "You too. I'll have to cook up a treat for you and CM."

Whatever nonsense the blasted apes spouted Shade could care less about. Let them bring an army! Maybe then she’d simply drag the lot of them to Paradise itself and let the denizens have their fun. Maybe. The problem in doing such a move left her drained in prior times to the point it’d led to a vacation or few from the realm of the living – although some of those times stemmed more from a lazy desire to just lay in bed and not deal with the world for a bit. If they could at least leave them alone for a spell then maybe…well maybe they could at least make it into some tasty dishes otherwise she’d see the lot of them wasted for her amusement.

The black rabbit lifted one of her oversized hands to cover her smiling face in delight of the thanks, though it did little to diminish the echoing and somewhat chilling childish giggles. With a bow she made her exit and caused Shade’s outfit to revert back to her simple undergarments as she picked up the plush moose. Snow white hair cascaded over her shoulders as she picked up the panicky pudgy stuffed moose, his chunky hooves flailing about as he lost touch with the ground. ”Indeed a good job,” she murmured, kissing the plushy being on the cheek before lifting him up with a large smile, ”so you’ve earned yourself a break!” The black moose vanished in a small puff of smoke more for selfish means than a real break, but as far as the girl cared CM did hold a bit more confidence in the other realm.

An eager hand clamped around Magna’s wrist as she started pulling him back towards the hotel – going so far as to drag if he didn’t get into gear quick enough – the excited girl almost shouting, ”We can deal with this mess in the morning! We’ve definitely earned out rest now!” Blood was singing in her veins, the girl uncaring completely about the mess and the fact they required a hot shower or bath at the moment. That could be taken care of later after all.