002 | Amber | Celena Schezar

[celena]

[Celena appears in the amber, looking urgent. Behind her wings are the crystals that block the top of the sixth floor]

Everyone, there's a being trapped behind these crystals! Listen:

[She turns and sings a short, wordless melody in a strong, clear voice. After a moment an answering melody comes through the crystals. Celena copies that melody and the chiming behind the crystals answers again.]

Did you hear? Its tones sound so like Chime's voice! I've tried to see if I could chip away the crystal, but it's so hard I blunted the point of my dagger without leaving a mark.

[She holds the weapon up to the amber briefly, but it's not possible to tell the blade is less sharp than before. She casts another worried glance to the crystal]

Does anyone know of how to break this person from their confinement? How scared they must be to have been trapped for so long...

Comments

[celena]

[She fixes Evan with the same stern, demanding look she wore in her interrogation as she answers him.]

I want to see proof that your oscillator won't cause an explosive reaction before I allow you to set it up by these large deposits.

[With one last glare to make sure he realises that's not a mere suggestion, she flicks her attention back to Jo]

She's still speaking. Can you hear her?

[She holds her chip as instruction. Once Jo's voice dies down, the voice from behind the crystal trills and bells out an extended answer.]

Jo! She heard you!

[evantuality]

[Evan had leaned in with fascination -- and then frustration, as the amber cut between both Jo and Celena without his agency. It was hard to keep proper track of both the conversation and the thread of activity, and so, putting down the cup he'd been experimenting with the contents of, Evan stood up.]

I'm coming up there. I want to see this for myself.

[Carrying the amber with him, he went to fetch his shard and head out of the room he'd laid claim to.]

[hairsay]

Yeah, I heard that!

[Jo, finding this whole experiment fascinating, was happy to allow Evan to cut in; the swapping back and forth overlapped almost in time with a regular conversation--and even better, she didn't have to be close to either of them or that damned life stream. She was actually grinning, even if it made her face hurt.]

One of you two should pay a visit to Chime, or have you met her yet? I bet she'd have something to say about all this shit.

[celena]

[Celena looks away, suddenly uncomfortable. She's embarrassed to admit that she's not been completely proactive in all regards.]

I've seen her around, but I admit I have yet to approach her directly. I was hoping to find someone who could speak her tongue so that I wouldn't be tripped over by a miscommunication.

Evan? Are you there? Go finds Chime! [She realises his face has vanished and huffs] I'll have to wait until he here to send him down again.

[hairsay]

You've been here longer than me and you haven't talked to her yet?

[Jo finds that strange enough to pull a face. The heat of the day is baking her into her stream-side nest, but fear of incompetence is a powerful force. She rustles a little, combating the somnolence of being slowly baked to a thin crisp.]

I guess if I go up there I can put my slice out for Chime and either of you can use yours. Makes more sense for Evan though, unless he's a complete dumbass hidden behind that smart fox-face.

[celena]

[She looks a little ashamed at that]

I had intended to learn more about her from the other people here before contacting her directly, just in case I offended her without realising, but I realise now that I've left myself unprepared. Thank you, Jo, for covering for my deficiency.

[evantuality]

[Evan has swapped from his button-up shirt to the leaf tunic to allow for the great moth-wings he's ended up with, but rather than wear it dress-style like the garment seemed to be intended he's tucked it into his jeans and wears it like some gaudy tank top.

His flutter is somewhat awkward: he seems to be making an effort to stay as far away from the blue lifestream as possible as he emerges from the lower floor. He has to extend an arm to keep himself from running into the edge of the aperture between floors, but he's done this maneuver enough times at least that he doesn't crash.

He lands for a moment on the floor, looking around for Celena. When he spots her hovering near the crystal, he huffs exasperation to himself: he hadn't gotten half used enough to flying for that. Still, he launches himself up again gamely enough, great scaled wings carrying him with their startling ease up into the air, spiraling up to join the winged woman above.]

This is where she's, er, singing? [He comes to a somewhat clumsy hover, craning to look at her amber.]

[celena]

[Celena's mastered hovering well enough that she's able to keep her palms on the crystals. She looks down at Evan as he flutters about, her manner and expression far less assured than it had been during their first meeting]

Listen.

[She sang a short, wordless snippet of a song in a strong soprano. Moments later a muffled, unmistakably organic chiming came through the crystals]

Do you believe me now that this isn't just as echo? Come and sing too if you need further proof.

[hairsay]

[While the two are chatting, Jo has been resolutely buzzing her way back to the tree. Slapping into the bark near Chime's floor, she skitters in through the stable door and swipes her amber slice from her pocket.]

I'm in.

[That would have sounded more accomplished if she weren't also panting and visibly sweating from the effort of hauling herself through the soup of what felt like boiling air.]

Chime, are you around?

[Because she's left her hand on the amber, the two and anyone else bothering to watch will see Jo's view of the mount rental stalls swing around. Catching Chime out into the open is something that Jolene always expects to fail, mostly because the spirit is so strange to her!]

[thecanopycrew]

[Like a little explosion of light and glitter, a certain spirit appears in front of Jo. Blinking with large shiny eyes, she smiles at the woman, but doesn't go to hug or cheer.

Looks like she can learn!]

[evantuality]

[In the meantime Evan's struck up a hover as best he can next to the crystals, helped by clinging with his fingertips to a ridge in the hard-edged structures. He's frowning fiercely at the crystals -- or at the creature behind them, it's hard to tell.]

That does sound remarkably like a call-and-response.

[He opens his mouth, thinking to try the same, but reddens a little and snaps it shut again. No, he's not going to make an ass of himself trying to sing.

Instead he cranes to peer at Celena's amber again, noting the swiveling view they're getting.] What's she doing? Jo, I mean?

[celena]

She's going to speak to Chime to see if she'll come up to join us.

[Another face, that of Ivaera the elf, interrupts Jo's stream and Celena turns her focus onto that conversation. She's murmuring the same conversation she'd just had with Evan, until Ivaera says something to make her laugh in delight]

Evan! The questers are returning and they're bringing something that will break these crystals! She'll be free! Do you hear that? You'll be free soon!

[hairsay]

[In the meantime, Jolene has been approaching Chime with the kind of careful stolid friendship of a neighbourhood cat whose decided the spirit is not a foe.]

Chime, [she holds up her amber slice the spirit's way,] some of the other people and me thought there might be another one of you a little further up the tree... but we can't get up there, there's too many rocks clogging up the hole. [She casts a cautious glance towards the center of the trunk, still blue-lit at this point by the sorrowful lifestream.]

Take a listen here, maybe you can tell it that we're trying to figure out a way to open the hole up?

[thecanopycrew]

[Curious, the small spirit leans in to look at the amber slice as Jo holds it up, looking quite concentrated as she listens. A few notes can be heard from above and she brightens up.

Chimes spill forth in a cacophony of jingles as the little spirit wiggles her hands in excitement, moving back from the amber slice to dance around in joy.

Pausing, she nods quickly at Jo before holding her little wispy hand over herself and then next to her, as if indicating another of herself.]

[hairsay]

[At the moment, Jo is holding the slice towards the spirit, so with any luck, Evan and Celena will be getting the same show that Jo is, with all that wiggling and dancing!]

Well that proves we're not trying to pick away to get to your evil twin, I guess. You want me to keep this here so you can shout a few things up to them?

[This to Chime, as Jo's currently holding the amber slice up. Over the course of the last week she's come to like this weird little spirit nugget creature. Dragging flowers up, mangled stems or no, has given her something to do and an excuse to return to the tree. Even if she hasn't been socializing much, Jo doesn't feel quite like a rabid raccoon here anymore.]

Can you make out what it... she? is saying?

[thecanopycrew]

[Chime keeps jingling happily, floating to poke the amber slice and smiling brightly at Jo. She seems utterly excited to hear this other spirit, and her jingling sounds are soon replied to by little musical tones.

Hearing those, she seems even more amazed and even gasps, hugging herself. Apparently she has missed this other little spirit nugget.]

[evantuality]

[Evan exclaims at the news that the questers have returned with a solution, surprised more than jubilant. He struggles with an unexpected feeling of disappointment: aside from idle speculation about perhaps constructing some sort of lift up the tree, this had been the first really fascinating problem he'd been offered a chance to sink his teeth into.

Still, listening to Chime, er, chime away at the other creature trapped behind the crystal is compelling enough that Evan stays hovering, even leaning in close to listen to the exchange, and to Jo's interjections]

Jo, can you understand this exchange? [The way the woman had been talking sort of made it sound that way, but Evan is skeptical!]