[gilga]

How does Arc do that I have no idea, I consider my calmness supernatural yet everybody else is just as calm. How can they be when we are going to play action movies? Not package delivering, infiltrating or spying the real highway pursuit with fast car automatic fire and everything. The snow is beautiful and the view from the balcony is breathtaking. “Have you ever wanted to fly Arc?” I ask as I lean for a better look of the ground. Imagining diving into it as a little bird. Arc follows me and I watch with fascination how dizzy it  made her feel.  Yet, the snow is so beautiful and every snowflake is unique, a little world of its own. I am not ready to die, there is so much beauty in this world, even in simple things. 

When I speak I tell Arc "I think he should have a lot of the stuff, I am not sure about monowhips tough. Was never overly interested in the thing it scares the shit out of me."
I text Jimmy >> Caro Jimmy, Ho clienti importanti per oggi, possiamo venire presto? amore, Marco
(Dear Jimmy, I have important clients for today, can we come soon? love, Marco)

I go back with a childish smile and am grinning... I pick up the now finished dishes and place them in the sink. Everyone seem deep into planning and I think that Yelena said something about octopus?  God I love the octopussies they were totally rocking in the 20’s. I bring small cups and then place a bulk of ice cream in the table. “I have just one word for you, ICE-CREAM!” I say as I prepare some portions to everyone.



Marco look at Tuskaloosa and the rest and say “It is um... complicated. All of us are god creations and are therefore similar in some fundamental and non physical sense and this is why I think that it can be done. I know there are hundred of others explanations but this is what work for me.  The thing is - I cannot change anyone to anything, Tuskaloosa is probably too robust to become a little bird and I am too fragile  to become a great cat. I can try and make Yelena Octopus but I’d like to try before as failing to do so during the extraction may be dangerous.”

Marco sighs.

“Well if it was a trid, a cool way to resolve it would be to blow up the bridge and grab the mage underwater. Perhaps they will never learn that he actually was extracted. Than again I am not sure that blowing up bridges is not going to place us all in jail to begin with...
He pauses and then adds - I do not know how to dive, not with this body but I had success with being a dolphin and dolphins just know these things.” 

Marco say “If the mage is to get wet I can make him something that will not suffer hypothermia. We might need to help him out of his clothes but a dolphin? little fish? catfish perhaps ? It would help if I knew just how robust he is but I can improvise on the fly."

Marco looks deviously at Yelena “Do you want to try octopus? I can fill a tank with water and see what happens.” This lunch is getting weirder by the second.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena digs into the frozen treat, finishing it all too soon.  "Marco know how entertain.  Very good.  Yelena thank."  Yelena takes her empty bowl to the sink and notices the dishes stacked there.  She turns on the water and starts washing up.  The warm water feels very nice on her hands and the work keeps her busy but allows her to participate in the conversation.  She nods at Marco's question as she dries and stacks a couple of the plates.  "Sure.  Can try.  Practice be good.  Not panic later.  When do?"

[SgtBoomCloud]

Back at the balcony, the keeb's question rolled over in Arc's mind for a bit as she looked out ahead at the muted city skyline.  Eventually, she settled with a shrug.  "Never have.  All my flying has been done on the streets and I've never left Seattle, omae.  But hey, if you need to show off your talents, I'll try anything once, ya feel me?"

Her trademark grin returning, she came back inside, blinking a bit at the offering of ice cream...but she loved her sweets, so the mechanic argued little as she took a generous cup, turning to Yelena.

"Mm.  Plan so far is that we might try getting the mage away from the escort by sending the van into the river.  While I'd love to try blowing the bridge, it seems too risky and might fail.  So, we try to hack it and take the controls.  Once in the drink, we send some peeps to pick up our mark.  Simple, with plenty of options to back up on. Think we got this?"

In the back of her mind, Arc still considered the possibility that they might just have to fight it out in the end...worst case scenario.  Looking at the map, she pointed to a spot just under the bridge on shore.  " we can stick the retrieval team here.  Easy to get back on the road and away this way...ah...". Setting her empty ice cream bowl down, the mechanic shut up as a demonstration seemed to be setting up ...

[gilga]

Back at the balcony, the keeb's question rolled over in Arc's mind for a bit as she looked out ahead at the muted city skyline.  Eventually, she settled with a shrug.  "Never have.  All my flying has been done on the streets and I've never left Seattle, omae.  But hey, if you need to show off your talents, I'll try anything once, ya feel me?"

I answer Arc, "I want to create a flying reindeer slide for Christmas, I was wondering if you'd like to help. We can tour around the city and spread joy or just enjoy the view.  You and Yelena already seen what I can do and I am not the show off kind. I'll need some help for the slide to hack together something stable enough that can be levitated with magic without falling apart. I know it silly but I think it can be fun. I can also just take you flying if you prefer, it can be fun. "

I then go back to the kitchen with Arc and listen to Yelena as she asks about being an octopus.
I smile at Yelena and say "this is going to make some mess let me organize the place a little bit" I then go to the spare room to seek some left over naylon sheets. I had these sheets from the time I renovated this place and I am lucky to be so organized.  I remove the carpet and anything on the floor and I place the naylon sheets on the floor.  "Octopuses can survive for perhaps 10-30 minutes outside of water so lets first see if it can be done. It is going to be a short one." I size Yelena and then say "We should start with a mind link because once in octopus shape you will have no manner of communication with the outside world. "

I establish a mindlink and send some of my warm emotions to my scary lady. I do not even need to actually tell her to strip. I just think about it and she strips. I let her feel a bit about my passion, to make her feel comfortable with herself. Her clothes neatly placed on the sofas, I can feel how the entire thing turned into one big show but my spell casting is subtle. I focus my mind and begin imagining an octopus, the biggest one I can possibly imagine Yelena changing into. I close my eyes I need to let the mana flow inside me and envelope Yelena and so I do. When I open them Yelena is a big octopus, probobly 8 feet long.  I can sense her confusion and awkwardness and my first reaction is to get her wet, so I fill a pot and pour water on her body.
After all this is why I have naylons.

I think at Yelena "How do you feel dear?... do you want to practice some more at the lake? or is it too much?" I can never tell how people would react and I normally start with cats or dogs, animals that are more familiar than octopuses but Yelena is the braves woman I have ever met, so I hope I did not scar her.

[ismilealot]

@ Marco  Jimmy answers soon, >>Buon giorno Marco, è sempre bello vederti amico mio. La mia porta è sempre aperta per voi.<< almost on his heels a second call comes in, >>I been squattin an watchin the club like you said. But, I can't wait forever an you promised ta pay. Not ta mention the buyers I lined up fer ya ain't waitin' forever. Been so long I'll prolly have ta line up new 'uns an they might not pay as much.<< You'd almost forgotten the plan to have him watch the club. But evidently the dwarf still smells cred.

[spoiler]Good day Marco, it is always good to see you my friend. My door is always open to you.[/spoiler]

[Shaman_Yuri]

I'm not ashamed to say that my senses perked up at mention of ice cream.  As skeptical as I may be of Marco, my affections can be briefly purchased for the price of this creamy western confection.  There are no complaints from me when Marco gives me a fairly large portion, although nothing even close to the mountain I suspect the troll will get.  My taste buds sing as the creamy goodness slides past my tongue.

My humor moderates as the discussion gets back to business, and especially as it moves to magic.  Specifically shapechange.  I'll admit, that spell is high on my list of interests, but Hell will freeze over before I permit another mage the control over me necessary for me to be the recipient of such a thing.  Still, if Yelena-sensei trusts this man enough to grant control of herself to him, who am I to quarrel.  Instead, I stand back over beside the books with my ice cream dish, continuing to savor the treat, but also slipping back and forth to astral space.  You can learn a LOT about a mage by watching him during casting, and I intend to pay very close attention during this experiment.  I haven't had such a learning experience since I left Singapore, and I intend to make the best of it.

[spoiler]Assensing during shapechange spell: 6d6t5: 2 [6d6t5=6, 1, 2, 6, 4, 1]
Arcana during shapechange spell: 12d6t5: 3 [12d6t5=2, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6, 2, 3, 5, 1, 2][/spoiler]

For being not much older than I am, Marco is pretty good.  He's efficient and I miss several steps even early on despite my efforts.  His technique is very different from mine.  More shamanic, but even different from my time working under the Shinto tradition.  He almost seems to be making it up as he goes.  About mid-way I lose track completely - this spell should not be working, but as I move my sight back to the big picture, it clearly is.  Within moments, Yelena in no longer there.  In her place is a specimen that would make a Kobe fishmonger drool.

Something tells me mentioning calamari right now wouldn't be the sociable thing to do...

[gilga]

I quickly text Cain >> Good to hear from you, we can meet tomorrow at the krill & chill, at 13:00 I then notify Arc about Jimmy's text "Jimmy said that he is free, we can drop by afterwards when Yelena is done being an octopus"

[Duck N. Cover]

Momma had drilled into Tuskaloosa: always treat others the way you want to be treated; they will do the same.  But be non-judgemental:  there are people out there that do want to be curb-stomped.  In those cases, be polite and don't hesitate to give them what they're asking for.

Between his flit to the balcony to watch snow fall, pulling her clever plan out of the jaws of ruin, derailing a war room briefing with a dessert  break and trying to give her a crash course in shape changing in one hundred words or less, Tuskaloosa was't sure what to make of Marco.


Eccentric seemed the closest appropriate term she could find.
(politely) declines the Ice Cream: that is for victory parties.

Yelena is copacetic about the plan in theory and agrees to do a dry(?) run.

Marco yanks out a tarp, Yelena gets naked and then there's a 5-meter gelatinous 8-fringed sock writhing on the floor.
He grabs a pot and douses her.

This is supposed to be his place...wouldn't a bathtub or shower stall have made more sense? "Marco--how fast can you change her back?  Water is great and all, but the Sound is saltwater..."

[gilga]

Marco answers Tuskaloosa "Changing her back is the easy part, it is keeping her in this form that takes effort. I'll change her back when she asks me to."

[Shaman_Yuri]

Tusk's comment actually makes a surprising amount of sense.  Out of curiosity I do a quick AR check on the 'trix about cephalopods like octopi and fresh water.  Hmmm...there's a REASON there are no fresh water cephalopods!  I can't imagine this is comfortable for Yelena-sensei based on what I'm reading...

"Um...Marco-san...I think our troll may be on to something..."

[gilga]

Marco say with confidence "Freshwater creatures have their interior more salty than the water. In order to prevent osmosis - that is the movement of water from the lake inside the fish, these critters constantly pump water out of their bodies.  They therefore get dehydrated when placed in salt water.

Humans and salt water critters do not have this mechanism. So when placed in fresh water their skin absorbs water and this is why your skin feels funny after a long time in a bath. An octopus body is a lot more receptive to water so it happens quicker. Yelena is not in pain because of the water I sprayed over her. The amount is very little for her massive body mass, just a couple of litters. It does however make her more comfortable as octopuses should not be dry. However, after absorbing a couple of litters in her body, our keeb will want to use the toilet once changed back"

Apperantly when you change into animals you take the effort to study about their physiology. After all your life may depend on it. However, if I am wrong Yelena is linked to me and all she has to do is ask to get back. Octopuses are amazingly flexible and can squeeze themselves into small openings as they have no bones. It must b a unique experience and I am fascinated by observing Yelena and enjoying what thoughts she sends my way.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc....honestly didn't know what to make of what had just happened in front of her.  Sure, she knew that Marco could change people's forms...he's told enough stories about doing such, including the whole birds situation.  She had accepted that Yelena was comfortable baring herself in close company in this way too...Firefly and Tuskaloosa may have to adjust, but Arc simply shifted her central gaze a little to the side, keeping to the peripherals for watching the scene unfold.

But nothing had prepared her for seeing Yelena get replaced by some aquatic creature that the mechanic had only vaguely seen in a trid.

Her jaw dropping, Arc simply stared as the three others bantered over the octopus's condition and reliance on water, her cyberhand gripping the empty bowl as she took it all in.  It wasn't until Marco brought up the mention of being able to meet Jimmy that she was able to snap back into the conversation, visibly shaking her head of her shock before responding.

Wiz.  We'll see what he's got for us after this.  Long as I can be back at my place at 6 for a delivery, I'm free.  Maybe gives us just enough time to handle Jimmy and maybe a trip to the Sound?"  she sighed a little, rubbing her temples.  "Tuska, lucky thing we fixed up that King Scorp when we did, but we'll still be able to work a test drive tonight.  The streets around my place work good for that."

Setting the bowl down, she gave a soft chuckle and a shake of her head at the octopus seeming to be chilling on the floor, turning to Marco.  "As for your offer, let's get this biz behind us and we'll talk about it, aight?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena strips down as directed by Marco and then finds herself completely changed.  Her new form is very foreign, but she enjoys moving the tentacles about and getting a feel for her new form.  For about 20 seconds.  Then her chest constricts from the lack of water pouring through her system  She uses the connection with Marco to let him know.  **Marco.  Yelena not breathe right.  Need water.  Bring back normal.**

[gilga]

I thinks at Yelena “Alright... it was just to see if I can do it. The next time if you can handle it should be in water” Changing yelena back was very easy, all that needed to be done was to stop thinking about octopi and just like that Yelena is herself again. I help her up and offer her a towel. I brake the mindlink and think to myself “This indeed was one of the oddest things that happened in my house... Including that douchebag tossing away my bar out of the balcony... what a week” I give Yelena a few moments to catch her breath and ask "How was it? do you think that you can handle that body?"


I carefully pick up the nyloon sheets and pour the water to the drain in the balcony. Quite a fuss but it was priceless - who else had turned a girl into an octopus in his living room. Perhaps I should pursue a career as the magnificent Marco. I have the theatrics and performance skills and I can actually do magic without slight of hand.

It takes a short while to put my living room back to normal. I’d place her in the shower, but it could cause damages if she started moving her tentacles in tight quarters. The experience is spiritual. I feel humbled, in an abstract thought and a mere desire I radically changed her body. I think that spellcasting is similar to summoning. I tap into this living energy and shape it and like any other metahuman I cannot make something out of nothing. Mana itself is part of creation for us to use and study but only the lord can make something out of nothing.
 
Why exactly turning my ‘girlfriend’ for lack of a better word to an Octopus makes me feel Christian again I cannot explain but the entire scene makes me feel arrogant as if I was doing it as a party trick. There is nothing to be arrogant about, my capabilities are only part skill. Most of them are gifts that I was just born with. Perhaps there is something about my birth that I just happened to be 'awakened' and also sold in advance. Or perhaps the deal was only made after they knew what I was, there are so many questions. Perhaps the church was just lucky.

Magic in the Italian confederation is often willingly dedicated to the church.
Young people report themselves as awakened and most of them are not, they just wish they were. Thous that are assensed as awakened receive a special certificate that grants them free magical education at the Church and a higher social status as touched by the Lord.  A certificate binds them to Church institutions, brilliant really. Very few can actually do anything useful with their gift but these are already in the system and quickly find themselves in various state jobs.

Back at the old days, the papal states were nothing but the Vatican and perhaps some of the purity was lost when the papal states rose to power. Politics were always there, but it is the only state in the world that sees itself as the earthly representation of God and the same magic that they are so superstitious about is the source of their power. In that case, perhaps I am part of what appears to be the beginning of a spy organization like the CIA?  Perhaps the goal to restore faith to people has practical implications and it will increase their power somehow. As the papal states are already rich in magic, perhaps there is some connection between religious faith and magic. However, if magic really is the will of the Lord, then there would not be so many pagan shamanic mages out there. Some things are so confusing and I cannot possibly understand them.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena stays on the floor for a few moments, gasping for air.  The experience of being something else than Yelena had been electrifying and terrifying at the same time and she wants to put her thought is order before responding to any questions.  She accepts the towel and stands up to dry off, completely unconcerned about who was seeing her body.  As she finishes, she drapes the towel over the back of a chair and slips back into her clothes.  She turns to look at her companions and smiles.  "Yes.  Yelena like change body.  Sensation good.  Was strange.  Yelena think like Yelena but body different.  Yelena octopus not breathe well air.  Like try ocean.  Plan could work."