thehometree | QUEST III

[Kit walked up to the mirror. She hadn't seen anyone around when she arrived on the branch, so she figured it was safe to attempt the tree's lesser requests. She wasn't sure, after all, if a secret had to stay a secret to be considered.

She took a deep breath, then spoke her secret to the mirror.]

Sometimes... sometimes I wonder if maybe it was my fault that Papa died. That maybe if Kat and I had been stronger, he wouldn't have had to stop to help us, and then he might've gotten to shelter in time too.

I dunno if Kat feels the same way. I've never told him. Or anybody. It's just... something that I think about sometimes.

[Especially recently, given the lifestream's new effects.

She sighs, then continues with the second quest.]

I don't know who you mean by 'those that serve' but I figured I'd give a few bunches of people names too. You keep calling Chime and her family 'Servants of the Tree', so I'm giving them a name; they're the "Tree Spirits". The little fireflies and glowworms that help us I'm giving the name "Glowing Friends". And all of us who were brought here to the tree I'm calling "Flutterers", cause that's what our wings do.

[Those things said, she can only wait to see what happens.]

[Despite the heartwrenching secret, the mirror doesn't react in any other way other than the sudden glow that spits out two vials for her when she's done. The vials are filled with golden glitter dust, just about enough to sprinkle on something each.

In addition to that, a tally mark suddenly appears next to the written line of 'secrets'

...there's no reward or indication that the naming was correct, however.]

[Kit picks up the vials that the mirror dropped off, examining them. The glittery stuff inside kind of looks like the stuff Chime had 'bled' when they'd inadvertently injured her. Did that mean they were vials of Chime's blood?

...Kit forcibly turns herself from that disturbing train of thought, because eew. Instead she turns her attention to the tally marks next to the riddle, lightly running her fingertips over them.]

Huh... I wonder if something else'll happen if we get a certain number of secrets? Or maybe there's only so many vials of sparkly stuff?

[She doesn't really expect a response to her idle musings, but would be highly interested if she got one.

Upon getting no response to the other part, though, she thinks a moment. There are really only so many things around to name, after all.]

Hmm... maybe the birds and animals from Chime's shop that you can ride?

[That'll take a bit of thought, though, and Kit sets to thinking.]

Hmmm... Well, for the birds, the blue and white one can be "Cloudy Sky", the yellow one can be "Black Hood", the brown one can be "Brown Cloak", and the almost all blue one can be "Blue Sky." As for the other animals, the flying squirrel is easy- her name's "Jenyo", after the one I knew back home. The two black rats can be "Midnight" and "Shadow"; Shadow's the one with the shorter tail. And the brown rat can be "Jorma", after Lion-O's friend. He's not a rat, but it's still a good name.

[Maybe that's what's needed? She can only wait and see.]

Edited 2015-06-24 05:59 (UTC)

[Kit's suggestions have a reaction from the mirror, which glows brightly. The words on it change.

~~Those that serve have earned the right of a name. Make them known.~~
Confirm names.

'Confirm names' replace the old quest, and then the surface of the mirror stills once more.]

[Kit gasps, startled as the mirror glows and the words change, her face breaking into a grin as she realizes what this means. She bounces slightly in place, excited.]

I solved it! I got it right!

[She takes a deep breath to settle her self enough to focus on the new words on the mirror. The second word is easy enough; it was the same word 'name' from the previous riddle, just with an 's'. The first one took a little sounding out.]

C-con-fi-rum...? Con.... Confirm! 'Confirm names?' OK!

[She takes another deep breath, getting ready for whatever might come next after she does this.]

The blue and white bird is "Cloudy Sky". The partly yellow bird is "Black Hood". The brown bird is "Brown Cloak". The almost all blue bird is "Blue Sky". The flying squirrel is "Jenyo". The black rat with the longer tail is "Midnight". The black rat with the shorter tail is "Shadow". And the big brown rat is "Jorma".

Edited 2015-06-24 22:19 (UTC)

[There's no reaction from the mirror. Maybe she needs to confirm it some other way?]

[Kit's a little disappointed at first. But then she thinks a moment. Maybe she needs to write them down? She looks over at Orcelito's sign-up list posted nearby. She could probably write on the other side of it if she took it down temporarily...

But she decides to try something else first. She reaches out, lightly touching the mirror's surface with on fingertip and tracing a 'C' just beneath the words, watching to see if it leaves some visible trace.]

Edited 2015-06-24 22:49 (UTC)

[The mirror is cold and unresponsive to her touch.]

[OK, no writing on the mirror then. She felt she'd better try, though, just in case.

She gets up and carefully takes down Orcelito's list, not wanting to damage it, then sits back down in front of the mirror, flipping the paper over to the blank side and spreading it out on the floor in front of her. She then pulls one of her charcoal sticks out of her pouch. This would be worth wearing one down.

She just hopes that the mirror isn't grading on spelling or neatness as she bends down to focus on her writing. Several minutes later, she sits back from her work, looking at it critically and deeming it satisfactory before tucking her charcoal stick away again.]

Is this enough to confirm the names?

[Kit holds up what she's written so the mirror can 'see' it.]

Blue and wite bird- Clowdy Sky
Yellow bird- Blak Hood
Brown bird- Brown Cloak
All blue bird- Blue Sky

Flying Skwirell- Jenyo
Blak rat, long tale- Midnite
Blak rat, short tale- Shadow
Brown rat- Jorma

[The handwriting is childish and the spelling errors obvious to a more experienced reader, but the list is complete.]

[Still no reaction. Maybe she's not the only one that has to confirm it.]

[The mirror gets the poutiest of kitty faces for a minute after the written list fails to work. She wrote it down and everything!

But then she recalls something she said to Owain earlier. Maybe she has to tell other people for it to work? Or maybe have someone else tell the mirror her names? Putting the list down, she instead picks up her amber slice. Time to call in some help.]

Orcelito? Hey, could you come to the quest mirror for a minute? I need your help with something.

[A pause, then the amber on his end activates. Orcelito appears to be outside by the wagons. He's surprised to hear from her and smiles in greeting.]

Kit! Of course, I’ll be there shortly.

[Several minutes later, he strolls onto the mirror branch, looking first to Kit and then to the mirror. He looks back at Kit curiously.]

Did something happen?

[Kit nods, then puts down the amber and waits for Orcelito to arrive. She's not waiting long.]

Yeah something did. [proudly] I solved the last riddle! Turns out it wanted us to name the animals you can ride on at Chime's shop! So when I did, the mirror glowed and the words of the last riddle changed to 'Confirm names.' See?

[She points to the new words on the mirror.]

So I tried saying them again, but that didn't work, then I tried writing them down, but that didn't work either. I kinda used the back of your sign-up list for that part, but don't worry, I'll put it back when we're done. Anyway, when that didn't work either, I figured it meant that I had to tell somebody else and have them confirm them too, so that's when I called you.

[All of this is spoken in the slightly hyper, barely pausing for breath manner that only an excited child can truly manage.]

Anyway, I've still got the list I wrote, so wanna help me confirm the names and finish the riddle?

R-really? That’s great!

[His grin fades into a more contemplative expression as he listens. He glances at the mirror to make sure she read it correctly – she did.]

Those were some great ideas. You’re really good at this! [Not empty praise – he really is impressed. After the past week of so many people trying names, he was beginning to wonder if they were close at all. But the solution is so clear now, he could laugh. Truly, Kit has a bright mind.] Thank you for calling me. Let’s get this solved!

[He holds out his hand.] May I see the list? Perhaps if I read it aloud the mirror will accept my confirmation.

Edited 2015-06-26 01:55 (UTC)

[Kit grins broadly, both at the praise and out of excitement.]

Here.

[Kit hands him the list, once again bouncing slightly in place with excitement. They're really going to do it this time! It's probably a good thing Orcelito has practice reading Kit's handwriting, though.]

Blue and wite bird- Clowdy Sky
Yellow bird- Blak Hood
Brown bird- Brown Cloak
All blue bird- Blue Sky

Flying Skwirell- Jenyo
Blak rat, long tale- Midnite
Blak rat, short tale- Shadow
Brown rat- Jorma

[Orcelito gently takes the list from her and reads over the names. A smile grows as he does so – half proud, half amused. They’re definitely the sorts of names a child would be inspired to give.]

[He glances at her and remarks in a warm tone,] Your spelling has improved. Good job! [He almost reaches out to ruffle her hair, but holds back. The gesture seems a little too personal.] And the names are splendid. [Better than Owain’s, and we must name the mounts before Owain does.]

[Orcelito reads the list silently again, takes a breath… and then begins reciting it to the mirror in a clear voice:]

The blue and white bird is Cloudy Sky.
The yellow bird is Black Hood.
The brown bird is Brown Cloak.
The blue bird is Blue Sky.
The flying squirrel is Jenyo.
The black rat with the long tail is Midnight.
The black rat with the short tail is Shadow.
The brown rat is Jorma.

[He’s unsure of his pronunciation of ‘Jenyo’ and ‘Jorma’, but he does his best. Then, to add a final flair:]

These names are bestowed by Wily-Kit, and confirmed by Orcelito Noctircus.

[His last name slipped out by habit, and he bites his lip afterwards. His surname was meant to stay a secret! Well, at least the message sounds official now. He takes a deep breath and waits for a reply.]

[The mirror glows, the words disappearing entirely to instead show the image of a crystal sword, the material similar to what is on the last floors of the tree.

Now and then, the image shifts to break the sword in three pieces before reforming them again.]

[The reaction to their confirming of the names is... somewhat anti-climactic to Kit's mind. She'd sort of been hoping for another present from the mysterious riddler.

Still, nothing to be done about it but figure out this new puzzle.]

It's a sword... and it looks like it's made of the blue crystals up around our house. But why does it keep breaking apart and coming back together like that?

[Orcelito braces himself in case the mirror gives off another brilliant light burst. It doesn’t, so he merely squints against the glow and then looks around to see what happened.]

That is strange… [No items have appeared. So he turns back to the mirror.

The sight of a sword incites a great deal of interest from Orcelito. He absentmindedly hands the paper back to Kit. Then he reaches forward to touch his fingertips to the image. It may not have an effect, but he wants to continue interacting. He addresses the mirror again.] Have we completed the riddle simply by giving the names? Do you want us to go somewhere, or do something else?

[The mirror remains quiet. It seems this is all they will get.]

[When waiting does not yield a response, he sighs and lets his hand drop back to his side. Before the disappointment can fully set in, he smiles and looks down at Kit.]

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you. Yes, you’re right, it does seem to be a crystal sword. Maybe it relates to the crystals blocking off the floors, and how we might break through them?

[He’ll continue to think about the sword image and take action later. Right now…]

Why don’t you help me put the bulletin back up? Then we can go visit the animals you just named.

[Kit smiles up at him a little]

It's OK. And yeah, that's the only thing I can think of.

...You think it wants us to make a sword out of one of them?

[She sounds dubious at this. Despite certain people's magic, none of them here are really sword smiths, as far as she knows, never mind one good enough to make a sword out of something as delicate as crystal.

But she nods moving to help return the bulletin to its proper place.]

OK. I wonder if they'll recognize their new names?

[Names had power, after all. Did naming the animals cause those names to magically stick?]

I’m not sure there is anyone here who could, though it would be nice. [Especially for himself; Orcelito hasn’t touched a sword since September and he misses having access to one.] But I don’t think we should try to break the crystals before it’s time. Let’s wait until the main riddle is complete.

[He brings a hand to his chin, thinking.] It’s possible the names took in some fashion. Since we haven’t received anything solid in evidence, the benefits may be intangible. Which is why I want to check the stables. Just in case something changed.

[Once the bulletin is back in place, Orcelito reaches out in offer to take her hand. It’s a surprisingly informal gesture from him.] It was very clever of you to come here and try out names. Even if we find that nothing has changed… I want you to know that I’m proud of you.

[Kit nods in agreement, both to leaving the crystals alone and checking the stables.

Then, once they've finished hanging the bulletin back up, she takes the offered hand and walks with him back down the branch, blushing a little as he says he's proud of her.]

Thanks, Orcelito.

[The words are simple but their tone and her smile say it all. Making him proud means a great deal to her.]

QUEST III

[Attempting both sidequests at once]

why so cute Kit

IDK, she just is. XD

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[action] > [amber]

[amber] > [action]

Re: [amber] > [action]

[action]

Re: [action]

Second Riddle - attempting confirmation

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And I think we can wrap here, if you want! :3