[Jaykobell]

This mist proved to be a problem. If the fae were correct, this phenomenon could prove to be a threat to the entire ecosystem. If it continued to grow, it might engulf living spaces and choke out the nature all around the globe. It was their duty, as guardians of nature, to protect the environment. When such things happened, it was in their blood to intervene.

Yet, she sat in front of the mist, staring in silence, and with a blank face. Despite their best intentions, they had no idea how to handle this. They had sent their best magic users to go investigate, to try and figure out what to do against this. Fact of the matter remained that she had no idea what to do to fight this.

And so, she continued to stare. Would it change shape? Would it speak? Would it manifest some sort of life form? Would it do anything?

She could figure that out, at least, and with peace of mind, nobody around to interrupt her or distract her.

[Saahs]

A wild snicker broke loose out in the open air, followed by a swishing sound. Sticks was, as he was wont to do, fucking around. There was no way that he was drunk, this was simply what was on the agenda today apparently.

What was on the agenda, exactly?

Making a mist man, of course. Do try to keep up!

He was, in fact, stabbing himself as a means to maneuver a hefty chunk of the mist into shaping itself into a much smokier version of a snowman, rocks for eyes and everything. Why? Because that was how the Sticks do. Nothing to him was a serious matter apparently, and everything was to be enjoyed in some fashion or another, even if said thing was sure to tear him to shreds.

With his proud creation finished, he turned his head with a wide grin and sprinted onward. Only to slam into another person. "Ehagh!"

Fwump.

[Jaykobell]

Her attention was focused on the mist, for any signs of life or movement. She needed to get some understanding of this occurrence, or else she would be a failure to the fae. Not only that, she would be a failure to herself. Everything had a weakness. She just needed to find out what this thing was weak to.

She was so focused on one part of the mist, that she failed to notice what had been happening nearby just moments before. It was too late by the time she had heard noise coming her way. She turned her head to look, only to be met with someone crashing right into her.

Considering the difference in size, she had more of a stepping stone for the other more than anything else. The hit sent her careening away, tumbling awkwardly until she eventually stopped, belly down.

It took a few moments for her to get back on all fours, and when she did, she turned to the intruder to glare at him, teeth in full display into a nasty snarl. "What is your problem?" she hissed, ears flattened and body ready to lunge.

[Saahs]

Sticks wheezed as he pushed himself up, head swaying in a circular motion to make sure that, yes, it was still there. Once he was standing, he blinked the haze from his eyes only to be met with a rather irked looking kuhna, which was probably what he'd smacked dab into.

"Aww shoot, sorry, my bad!" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was in the middle of some experimentation, in a sense, a way, sort of. Are you okay there, uh, you? Y' can put the teeth away, I'm not gonna run into you again."

As he said, he had been experimenting in a sense. He'd just opted to not write down the results, was all! But it was definitely a test, in some form or another: could he manipulate the mist to his own devices? And the answer was a resounding Yup.

[Jaykobell]

What a strange creature. They looked human, and yet, their presence felt different. At least, they both spoke a common language, which definitely helped this situation.

She relaxed a little bit when Sticks apologized, although she remained cautious. Even humans could prove to be malevolent or full of ill-intentions, and magical creatures could very much be the same.

But he seemed to show a certain level of concern. As requested, after his words, she put "the teeth away", as he'd said it. "What sort of experimentation?" she asked, as she wondered if he were referring to the black mist that was all around them. "Are you speaking of the mist?"

If this bizarre person could prove to be useful in her endeavor, perhaps this encounter would not have been in vain, or as much of a hassle as initially assumed.

[Saahs]

Nodding his head, Sticks placed his hands on his hips, looking around to confirm that, oh, yeah, there was definitely mist all over the place. "Mm-hm, looks like it's just all over the damn place, might as well see what it's for, right?" He looked back to the kuhna, brow arched. "No point in letting it just hang around without seeing what it can do."

Yeesh, the more he spoke, the more sense it made to actually find out what the mist was capable of. For all he knew, it was poisonous. Not that he really had to worry, he came from a completely different planet. ... And what he had been turned into came from yet another completely different planet! He'd be fiiine. Right?

Yeah, totally.

"As for my experimentations," he began, looking over his shoulder to make sure that the "snow man" had dissipated back into the rest of the mist. It was... mostly gone. Save for a lump of mist that refused to go away. "I've been trying to see if this stuff could be manipulated. Which, it can. Next, to see if it can be solidified or liquified, or both."

He knelt down, taking the knife out from his pocket and jabbing its tip into his hand. With a wince, he watched as a small section of mist gathered and packed together. Attempting to make it form so close that it would change into a solid form that they could actually hold.

[Jaykobell]

Interesting. It seemed that, against all odds, the two of them were here for the same purpose. Namely, to find out what this mist was all about: what it was for. Despite their rocky introduction, it seemed that the two of them could find common ground in this endeavor.

Of course, that was until Sticks stabbed himself in the hand. Her face visibly changed, ears flattening a bit and eyes staring with a look of pure confusion. What in the world was he doing?

... After a moment, the mist gathered to his hand. "Is... this one of your experimentations?" was all she could ask besides inquiring as to what the hell he was doing, stabbing himself so casually.

[Saahs]

Just as soon as he pulled the blade from the wound, did the stab begin to mend itself. Not to a point where there was no scar no nothing, but it scabbed over and shrunk a significant amount. Looking up to the kuhna, Sticks grinned briefly before turning his attention back to the mist he was solidifying into a palm-sized orb. It wasn't quite solid, but rather a thick liquid that refused to ooze out of its round shape. Likely because, Sticks wasn't letting it.

"Part of it, yeah. Normal mist is just teeny tiny water, right? So my theory is that it's just teeny tiny water-- or, uh, some other kind of fluid-- so it might be easier to research while it's in a more compact form. Which... ta-da!"

Standing up, he swivelled on his heel to the kuhna, presenting the black orb to her so she could have a look at it herself. "I don't know how long I can keep it in this state, but we can always collect more if it falls apart."

[Jaykobell]

From the looks of things, her initial assumption had been right: specifically, that Sticks was not human, but a magical being. No human could have recovered from this sort of stab wound so quickly and so effortlessly.

Granted, she had to admit that his explanation also bore some sound logic. Interesting. His boisterous personality was a little distracting, but perhaps he would prove useful.

She was surprised when he turned around, withdrawing back just slightly as he swerved. And then, she saw the ball. Her attention was immediately drawn to it, eyes focused on it intensely. She slowly, hesitantly approached it, bringing her face closer, yet closer. Her nose was almost touching the ball. She tilted her head, observing the creation. What sort of magic was this? Much different from her own, for sure.

"Interesting," she whispered passively, attention still entirely focused on the ball, hypnotized.

"What sort of magic is this?" she asked quietly, eventually, glancing up at Sticks.

[Saahs]

It wasn't entirely true to say that Sticks was an idiot. He was simply unwise. More often than not, he would find himself realising epiphanies left and right-- more often than not, by accident. But a good idea was a good idea, and who was he to deny the intelligence behind them? And this case was no different.

He let the kuhna inspect the fluid orb for as long as she pleased, keeping it held aloft where she could get a good look at it. Like the rest of the mist seemed to be, it was relatively harmless, though who knew what sort of substance it consisted of. It couldn't possibly be water alone, if at all; it was too dark, if it was water, it was stupendously tainted. If not... well, it was better to find out in a more safe matter than sticking one's nose into it or licking it.

"Isn't it? With it like this, we can better see what its capabilities are and what it's made of exactly." He nodded his head, before tilting it with an inquisitive hum. "Euh? Oh, that! I'm not sure how to best explain it, let's just say that injuries to myself work like a kind of magic battery for me."

[Jaykobell]

Their awkward introduction was behind her as Sticks proved to be an asset to the mystery that was this mist engulfing the world over. Never before had she seen magic like this, and with it being so different from hers, they now had two powerful styles of magic at their disposable, should they work as a team.

"Interesting," she said to both statements, once Sticks was done speaking. "So you are not human," she concluded, a fact that was fine by her, regardless.

"If we can discover what this mist truly is," she mused, "then we should be able to find a way to stop it." She nodded slightly. "How else can we find this out?" This eccentric character seemed to have a few ideas up his sleeve already.

[Saahs]

"Nope," he confirmed, "Not human, but that ain't important, really." Waving his hand in dismissal, he rolled his head to pop his neck.

It wasn't important to him any more, at least. At one point, Sticks was an ordinary human, with only one name, and the abilities of such. Which, in comparison to what he was capable of now, was dismal and disappointing. He'd not been too pleased with the transformation into an alien fae at the time, but now? He relished in his current state.

Humming in agreement, the otherworldly fae tapped at his chin, eyeing the orb of solidified mist while he thought. "Let's see... If we can find a way to see the mist on a molecular level-- both normally and magically-- we might be able to see what it's made of, what what sort of magic it might stem from. We could also see if it responds to any sort of magic, that could tell us what sort it is, too."

[Jaykobell]

The Kuhna kept her eyes on the small ball of mist as Sticks spoke. His theory was an interesting one that was a much better lead than what the fae had had up until now: observation. Her own magic could not allow them to look at this on a microscopic level, but her having magic at all might prove to be useful still.

"My magic has not done very much to it," she admitted, her eyes refusing to let go of this ball. "But perhaps in this form, or in other forms, it might react differently." Of course, she wouldn't just start attacking the ball, or Sticks himself. Apart from lashing out with magic at this mist, however, she was at a loss for leads on attacking this strange mist.

[Event posts end here]