Arms dealing (INV)

Having suddenly been dragged forth by the woman for seemingly no reason while Odhran was enjoying a fine cup of slightly-expired apple juice was certainly annoying, as were the warnings other members of the guild tried giving to the Celestial Spirit Wizard.

"One such as myself would always be glad to assist a fellow member of a guild alongside myself, though there are certainly some...rules I would like to set forth." He wrested himself from her control. "A simple explanation of what the job is and who I am working alongside with would be rather important, but I shall forgive you. After all, I am yet unfamiliar with how the inner workings of this guild are. Of course, I am honored that you would select me for such a task. After all, you have clearly chosen the best person for the job, that being Odhran Aegisbane, the God of the Celestial Spirit Realm, if I may have your name. Of course, such introductions can be saved for the time being. I will certainly admit that I am unaware of what the job is that we are to be undertaking, nor do I know to what ends my talents and the talents of those Celestial Spirits who oh-so-loyally have come into my court will be used. You have mentioned little to me, only that this job requires a male such as myself. I will listen to your strange instructions even yet, whether or not they make sense. After all, what is a guild if not a collection of those who bear the same goals and aspirations, regardless of their path towards completing them? I will apologize, but I will be bringing out my Celestial Spirits to follow along. If I am reading what is in that strange portal correctly, we would be going into civilization, and I would prefer myself to be ready for combat at any moment."

Before waiting for her to give an answer, Odhran had already spread his arms to summon his spirits. When they emerged from the Celestial Spirit Realm, Scorpio was lying on his side atop Lupa's back, resting his chin on one of his claws. Lupa was wagging her tail and panting as Arnaluuk stood a fair distance away from them, glaring at them in confusion.

"Wh-what are you doing, Scorpio?"

"First impressions are always needed, baby. Thought I would do what I can to look nice and available for this beautiful gal here, right?" He rolled off of Lupa's back, approaching the girl that had dragged him along. "Heard you need a guy for this mission. Well, I'm a guy, and I got two claws to hold your hands with and one tail to hug you up tightly, baby, so what say you that we head out on this mission together? Of course, Odhran would need to still come with and stay at a fairly close distance, being that he's my Keybearer and all, but I can be your man for the mission, right, baby?"

Lupa barked, wagging her tail. "I won't lie. I don't know what the job is about, but I think that whole 'you have a tail' thing would be an issue. Claw hands certainly don't help either."

"It's nothing! All that's truly needed is your approval, baby, and we can get rockin' and rollin'."

Odhran laughed. "I do not wish to doubt your abilities, Scorpio, but if she were looking for a Celestial Spirit, she could have asked that other Celestial Spirit Wizard that our guild has. She has a few male spirits, if I remember. It seems as if she need a male that resides within the mortal realm for this mysterious mission." Lupa barked once more, licking the hand of the mystery woman. "Lupa! You know how I do not like scolding you on such matters, but I would not have you saying such vulgar things about a new guildmate! Such words are unflattering for a good girl such as yourself."

"What'd you call me here for, boss?"

"I suppose it all depends on what our task is, Scorpio. Well, we'd best find out. Come now! Lupa! Arnaluuk! Scorpio! For the glory of Errings Rising!"

Odhran turned on his heel, marching off towards the portal that the mysterious woman had opened. He had not realized that he still had not figured out what the name of his coworker was, simply continuing to talk over any situation she would have to respond, nor did he know what his job and role in said job was. He was ready to get working on this new mission, Scorpio and Lupa following with, while Arnaluuk stood, dumbfounded at the sheer stupidity of her comrades.

"I apologize about those two dunces. I've...honestly tried just about everything. At the very least, it would be nice to get to learn names around here. He might go around strutting like a peacock, but he barely knows anyone here. I...honestly kinda feel bad for you."

---

WC: 828

"Aw, c'mon, baby, you don't have to act like that!"


Grim waved a hand, and Scorpio's body and appearance suddenly shifted,. Suddenly the normally-masculine Scorpio had shifted in that of a woman, and she seemed rather confused at the situation. "I-I wasn't expecting this, for sure! I kinda forgot that I could, like, switch my form between that of a man and a woman so easily. Just one of the perks of being a Celestial Spirit, I guess!" Scorpio coyly stuck her tongue out before waving her own hand, her appearance changing once more to that of a man. He laughed before switching back and forth between the two forms, as if it were a game. "Don't worry, Odhran. I'll usually be a guy, since that's what I'm most comfortable with, but hey, if you need a girl for anything, I can be of help! That said, I'm really liking this look, so I think I'll keep it. Tail and claws were getting to be a bit much, plus didn't seem like the whole shirtless vibe was working too well. Maybe they'll like a man in a suit?" He exchanged a knowing glance to Grim.

Odhran, for once in his life, was speechless. Even he was unaware of this power that Scorpio had, nor was he expecting yet another two shifts in his appearance since he had obtained his own Spirit. He knew that Scorpio could change his look, he already experienced that, but the gender-swapping was new. "Dearest Arnaluuk, do all the Celestial Spirits have this power?"

"No. I didn't think anyone other than Gemini could have that kind of transformative power, but it might be something with all the Zodiacs."

Lupa barked. "It surprised me as well, Lupa. Nonetheless, perhaps this is for the best, am I correct, Grim?"

The words had barely escaped his mouth when once more Grim used her magic, cutting the last of his airflow dead in his tracks. He attempted to make what certainly would have been a witty comeback, something so clever that it would have made the world a much better place, but he found himself incapable of talking. His mouth was gone, and his vocal cords were no longer attached. Odhran panicked for a second before sighing and bidding his Spirits return to the Celestial Spirit realm. Lupa whined as she flew into the rift in space to which the summons would be brought forth. Odhran attempted to speak once more, failing to do so. He did what he could to draw attention to Grim that he would be unable to speak, only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears, or perhaps more aptly in this case it would be blind eyes. A sudden wave of depression fell over him as he craned his back to look directly at his feet, the small welling of a tear in his eye from the loss of the greatest gift to bring to others the good news of his presence and greatness. Remembering that he had an entirely separate magic from his Celestial Spirit Magic, he conjured forth letters to appear in front of Grim's face: "VOICE?" When it was ignored, he sunk once more into sadness, reluctantly dragging himself along in the hopes that travelling along with Grim and fulfilling this task would bring back to him his pride. He was still not fully certain as to the full extents of the plan, but he figured it would be best to simply follow Grim's lead, and perhaps if he showed off his own capabilities in combat with his Ark of Embodiment, she would return his voice to him. He slapped himself in the face, accidentally going a bit too hard, sending him crashing to the ground. He quickly got up, brushing himself off before realizing something he could do.

She had mentioned that the goal was to look like a couple, and though she evidently was not a fan of him, nor he of her, he at least figured he could look presentable. He closed his eyes, covering his face with a lower-face mask to hide his now-missing mouth and switching his clothes to a well-pressed suit. The Ark of Embodiment left him with the ability to create anything, and he could use it to hopefully impress Grim to get her to perhaps regard him as competent, if nothing else. If he had a mouth, he would have smiled, but instead he would be left with a smug sense of satisfaction as he followed his companion's lead.

---

WC: 758
TWC: 1586

The frisking proposition was annoying for Odhran, but at least Grim had made a fine enough excuse for him to keep the mask on. The mask was suspicious for sure, but the lack of a mouth would certainly be more suspicious. What was more irritating would be that Odhran would have to give up his keys. He thought for a moment about attempting to fight the guards, but the glare given by Grim told him otherwise. He was not a fan of the woman who dragged him along to this job, but she was now the only solution to Odhran getting his voice back. He was feeling weak at the removal of all that he had prided himself with for such a long time, but he had no choice but to follow through. Grim was at a higher status than he was, so even if he could speak, it would be unwise to do so, lest she report to the Queen. He was truly in a bind.

Odhran sighed, reaching into every pocket that he had a key in. The first three to go were the ones he instinctually always relied on: the keys of Arnaluuk, Lupa, and Scorpio. The look on the guard's face at the sight of the Golden Key was something Odhran made a mental note of. Unlike a certain someone, this man at least seemed to respect Odhran's status and power. Next to go were the bronze keys that he relied on out of combat. Readr, Syloria, Ailin, and Halation all went into the hands of the guard, who called for a bucket to store the keys in. Reaching into yet another pocket, he grabbed out more of his bronze keys. Boaris, Dennis, Leaf Dragon, Armored Beetle, all his many keys went into the bucket the guard brought out. He felt lonely without his keys. He knew he could not die, so the Spirits would still be bound to him, and Scorpio at least had shown an ability to emerge from the Celestial Spirit Realm without being summoned. Perhaps it was yet another perk of the Zodiacs, but the mere fact that it would be an option was enough to soothe Odhran even slightly.  

After the seven minutes of removing various keys from various pockets across his jacket, Odhran was finally cleared to follow the woman. An irritated look was on her face, perhaps not accounting for him to take so long to be frisked. How was it his fault that he had so many allies? he thought. Quickly firing a glare at Grim, he figured that she must not have any allies and that is why she was so against Odhran. It had to be the reason! Jealousy! She was lonely with just her weird shadow creatures while Odhran had such powerful Celestial Spirits at his beck and call that could comfort him. Those shadows were just pawns, not allies, like Lupa or Scorpio or Arnaluuk. Once again, if he had a mouth, he would have smiled at this epiphany. He believed he had come to a conclusion about this mysterious cohort of his, and that could be used as something to bond over. It would take him time to forgive her for removing his mouth and voice, as well as sending him on a job that would require his Spirits be taken away from him, but he knew he was capable of it. He was a gracious God, after all. Grim was an ally, and thus he would deign to forgive her. It was what a God would do, he thought.

Nonetheless, even Gods must humble themselves at times, and so he continued on, letting Grim lead with her plan, and Odhran as just a spectator. After all, seeing new things merely powered Odhran's imagination more, and he knew that imagination was a weapon to be feared.

---

WC: 643
TWC: 2229

Odhran felt slightly miffed at the comment about having so many summoning keys, but he had no place to argue, nor the means to argue. He was, after all, without a mouth. The party that he was travelling through was certainly hectic, but he still had a question that he would have asked Grim should he have had the means of speaking once more. How will he get his keys back? He had placed them into a basket as they entered, and the guards certainly were in no fit position to place the keys in a safe location for storage. They, like Scorpio, had shifted into girls shortly after he had left. He figured that that man simply had a sort of shapeshifting magic that allowed him to switch between genders at will, much like what Scorpio had done. He looked over to Grim, who herself was shapeshifting her form. Not as severe as the case with Scorpio, but still noticeable nonetheless. Her referring to him as her bodyguard was also something that was strange to Odhran, who could not quite resist. In fact, it must have been a true affirmation of her appreciation of his sheer talent and skills. She wished to hug tighter to him in order for some of his godly powers to transfer to her. It was obvious. She was clearly enamored by the presence of a godly being such as himself. It was the only option. When the guards gave the duo a concerned look, Odhran merely waved his hand. He had to pull off the appearance as a hard-nosed bodyguard now. It was vastly different from his usual role of the commander of an army of loyal allies, but it was something he could do nonetheless.

In the event of a fight, he began to scan the room around him. What sort of defenses the area had, how many soldiers there would be to terminate, how easy it would be in order to get to his keys once more. He was far from hopeless in a fight without his keys, but they were his most tried-and-true method of combat, and he wished to ensure that his allies were unharmed. He felt a finger dig into his arm. He must have squirmed unintentionally. He was beginning to get restless without his keys. Scorpio would perhaps be able to summon himself regardless of the keys, but what of Arnaluuk? What of Lupa? How would they fare? Or all his Bronze Keys, what of them? He was worried immensely. His eyes darted around the area. What sort of methods could he use to destroy those that stood between him and his allies? In the far side of the room, a wall began to crack slightly. The keys were not in here, after all. They had to be elsewhere. He needed to get his keys back.

Despite his attempts to break free to save his keys, he knew that he had to stay alongside with his fellow guildmate. It was his task to assist Grim with her task, and far be it from him to abandon an ally. It was only what a God should do. He had a mission. His mission was to follow along with Grim's orders. She was his superior, so he had to listen. In addition, he had his mouth to regain alongside his keys. He attempted to sigh, unable to from his lack of mouth, but nonetheless followed alongside his companion further yet.

---

WC: 580
TWC: 2909

Grim had moved into the final room by herself, leaving Odhran with his voice once more. He thought it would be best to keep listening to his superior's words, figuring she could remove his voice once more. She had told him to hide, but such a thing would be far too foreign for the God. Someone of his stature, caliber, and pride should not be relegated to having to hide in fear from whatever machinations someone else would be planning. He stubbornly agreed verbally before proceeding to immediately ignore the suggestion to hide. Sounds of chaos began to erupt from within the room that Odhran was not in, and he was strangely curious, but decided not to follow up on it. After a few minutes of this chaos, it faded away as two women handed over the basket containing Odhran's keys before the women ran into the room after Grim. Ecstatic, Odhran immediately summoned forth Scorpio, Arnaluuk, and Lupa.

"Ah! My dearest Spirits! I am greatly sorry that this job came with the requirement that I hand over your keys to such foul, unworthy hands! I pray that you will forgive me for such insolence."

Scorpio, presently a woman herself, gave Odhran a pat on the back. "Hey, don't worry about it, Odhran! Sometimes the job calls for crappy things like this, but as long as we're back together, we should be all safe and sound! I'm not mad at you, but then again I at least could've summoned myself forth even if you didn't have your key, and I'm sure I coulda found some loophole to let Arnaluuk and Lupa come in in case there was any trouble. So hey, don't worry about it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm kinda curious what this whole business is with Grim."

Scorpio entered the room proper as Grim ordered him to return the weapons over to the guild. There were certainly a lot of weapons present in this room, and Odhran smiled at the chance to be of assistance in such a way. At this moment, he was too focused on his task ahead to recognize any of what else was happening in the room. Doing his best to avoid incurring the wrath of Grim once more and having his mouth stolen, he called forth the pocket dimension within Perpetuus Sama, having Arnaluuk and Lupa assist him in his task. After loading many of the weapons up into the dimension, he closed it off, conjuring up a number of ornate bags and crates to carry the remaining ordinance. He hastily stuffed the remaining weapons into the bags and boxes, strapping them onto Lupa, who merely wagged her tail in acceptance. The trio walked out of the entire building, Scorpio ensuring Odhran that she would remain in the human realm under her own power to continue her time with the remaining people.

The entire building had turned entirely strange, leaving Odhran utterly confused as he made his exit. Few of the women that were there paid him any mind. So, the trio had exited the site and began to make their way once more to Errings Rising.

"This guild is certainly filled with a strange bunch, isn't it?"

"Indeed. I myself am not entirely certain how to comprehend the depravity and disrespect of that 'Grim' character. Daring to assign me to a task in which I am to hand over my Keys? Removing the mouth of a God? All of this is sacrilege! Blasphemy! Such actions are unforgivable!"

"You say that, but even you know that she can wipe the floor with you in a
battle. There's not really much you can do about all of it."

Odhran was saddened by this, but he nonetheless accepted the wise words of his longest-tenured Celestial Spirit. "You indeed are correct, but such happenings are simply unfathomable for my wonderful visage! I am certainly glad to be of assistance to the guild of Errings Rising, but I am uncertain as to how such a wonderful and perfect ally such as myself can be dragged through into the dregs of disrespect! It is simply unfathomable! Irritating! This level of blasphemy is unacceptable for a being such as myself!"

Lupa landed at the outside of Errings Rising's hall, the equipment firmly in hand. He once again asked for the assistance of Lupa and Arnaluuk to continue to remove the weapons from their storage. Scorpio had suddenly returned, in his male form, and also continued to assist, all the while Odhran complained about the disrespect given to him throughout the course of this job.

---

WC: 766
TWC: 3675