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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
imeanforever
Meanwhile, the master of the court has started flying away - invisibly - with a subset of the court, a dozen strong.
whole_new_can
That looks important.
Telekinesis lashes at the escaping subset, pulling them downward. The extremely non-invisible green figure flies toward them and tries to capture the dozen-odd escapees.
Telekinesis lashes at the escaping subset, pulling them downward. The extremely non-invisible green figure flies toward them and tries to capture the dozen-odd escapees.
whole_new_can
Ripping through it sounds inhumane. Eidolon lands and tries for a matter creation power without a Manton limit, giving up his telekinesis. The new power starts out weak, but it doesn't need to be very strong to put a trickle of fruit juice in each fairy's throat.
"Don't go deaf, stop fleeing."
"Don't go deaf, stop fleeing."
How very disobedient of them to continue to fly away as fast as their wings can carry them. Maybe they're deaf already.
whole_new_can
In retrospect that does make sense. They quickly find themselves heavy enough that their wings can't carry them. Rather than try to heal them himself, he calls to some new vassals, "If you can heal invisible deaf people, come here now! Cure these ones!"
Some fairies fly over and heal the invisible deaf people. It does not appear to have applied to their mouths.
whole_new_can
"No deafness, no fleeing." To the others, "fix their mouths."
"Who are you, why were you the only ones running? Answer honestly."
"Who are you, why were you the only ones running? Answer honestly."
The sorcerer vassals cut open the places where mouths belong - one has claws, another has a knife, the others do their best to helpfully get in the way since Eidolon wasn't selective about who this order applied to and didn't restrict it to those who could usefully comply - and heal the wounds. There are a couple of fairies they can't touch, though, apparently.
The fairies with blood on their lips recite their nicknames (Plural, Mirage, Applause, Imagine, Yaw, Syrup, Luck, Trance, and Guess). And then, more or less on top of each other, reply variants on "Master told me to", "Peak told me to", "Favorite told me to", and "we weren't running, we were flying".
The fairies with blood on their lips recite their nicknames (Plural, Mirage, Applause, Imagine, Yaw, Syrup, Luck, Trance, and Guess). And then, more or less on top of each other, reply variants on "Master told me to", "Peak told me to", "Favorite told me to", and "we weren't running, we were flying".
whole_new_can
"Who is master of the most vassals here?" There's probably a single figure at the top, but it's not inconceivable that there are more.
whole_new_can
"Answer all my questions honestly. Who is the leader?"
It's probably one of the ones whose mouth nobody could repair, since apparently the harm is a necessary component. The flaps of skin that aren't supposed to be there become lighter until they essentially evaporate, as painlessly as Eidolon thinks he can manage. "Heal them," he tells one of the sorcerers who successfully healed the last set.
It's probably one of the ones whose mouth nobody could repair, since apparently the harm is a necessary component. The flaps of skin that aren't supposed to be there become lighter until they essentially evaporate, as painlessly as Eidolon thinks he can manage. "Heal them," he tells one of the sorcerers who successfully healed the last set.
"Peak," and "Master," come the replies from the entire contingent of vassaled fairies. The sorcerers (all of them) approach to heal the two holdouts. The two holdouts' mouths promptly re-seal.
whole_new_can
Well, he never told the others not to heal. Odd, though, that they're suddenly helpful.
"Stop doing the mouth thing. It won't help anything." To the sorcerers, "heal them whenever they're injured." He unseals the holdouts' mouths.
"Which of you is Peak?"
"Stop doing the mouth thing. It won't help anything." To the sorcerers, "heal them whenever they're injured." He unseals the holdouts' mouths.
"Which of you is Peak?"
The holdouts' teeth fuse together.
The shiny one with the purple hair raises her hand, the one that isn't clutching tight to the other's hand.
The shiny one with the purple hair raises her hand, the one that isn't clutching tight to the other's hand.
whole_new_can
"Stop trying to avoid answering." Eidolon doesn't exactly disagree with their opinion of him as an amateur, but it doesn't seem important at the moment.
"Are all the fairies here your vassals, and is anyone your master? Other than me." He unfuses their teeth, vaporizing a thin layer of enamel.
"Are all the fairies here your vassals, and is anyone your master? Other than me." He unfuses their teeth, vaporizing a thin layer of enamel.
All of the fairies he has vassaled answer simultaneously. One of the sorcerers has quite a storied history of various masters and goes on talking longer than any of the others.
whole_new_can
This is getting ridiculous. "Everyone stop talking. You, Peak, and only you, please answer the question."
whole_new_can
"Peak, are any of your other masters on hand now? And who else do I need to order to have all the fairies present?
I want to collect all the sorcerers. After answering those two questions, take whatever actions will get your vassals lined up and not interfering."
I want to collect all the sorcerers. After answering those two questions, take whatever actions will get your vassals lined up and not interfering."
"No. Nobody." Peak raises her voice. "EVERYBODY GET UP AND FORM A LINE HERE FOR THE STUPID MORTAL SORCERER AND DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE. FETCH YOUR NEIGHBORS IF THEY'RE NOT ATTENDING. GREEN NINE."
About forty fairies of many sorts appear out of the various habitable crevices of the court's campus. They line up with little jostling and much murmuring, from the spindly brown one with spots to the tiny white one with stamens for hair.
About forty fairies of many sorts appear out of the various habitable crevices of the court's campus. They line up with little jostling and much murmuring, from the spindly brown one with spots to the tiny white one with stamens for hair.
whole_new_can
One clump contains the sorcerers. That's the one. He creates more juice. Switching out the invisibility-detecting density power for a form of mass flight, "You all come with me. Take no action against me or my allies, and maintain secrecy when we get back to my world." He waits a bit; the flight isn't ready yet.
As soon as he lifts off, "as long as you don't issue any orders to any of these fairies, the rest of you are free to act as you like."
As soon as he lifts off, "as long as you don't issue any orders to any of these fairies, the rest of you are free to act as you like."