The "Best" RPG Ever-77

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---

Ezra noticed Mira waiting for her as soon as she came in. "What do you need?"

"Well—I wanted to ask for your help getting a certain book, maybe. Better in, relative private though," she said, opening the door to town. After watching her face for a couple of seconds, the Captain nodded and followed her through it.

Once they were outside with the door shut (and nobody near them on the street) she said, "So, I think it's reasonable to guess that I won't find any books on curses readily available to buy. Anything like that is probably in the library's restricted section, which I was turned away from without even asking."

"Meaning the librarian informed you of its existence," Ezra said, shaking her head slightly in what seemed like disappointment. "What kind of curses are you interested in, and why?"
"Well—I thought there might be a book somewhere specifically on reproductive curses," she said. "I'd like to understand how that kind of spell works well enough to craft something very specific and actually useful..."

---

Zack came in a notable minute or so after Ezra, long enough for her to be outside with the witch by then. He half-staggered into the living room and slumped over onto a couch, armor and all; the wolf, with him as usual, sat up in front of him and gave some concerned whines. "Quit that, I'll be fine," he muttered, pulling a gauntlet off to rub the animal's head a bit. Somewhat to Rayna's surprise, he didn't back up at all; if anything he was leaning into Zack's gentle petting.

"She really did a number on you though, huh?" Rayna said, watching him. "You want me to get Clera's attention?"
"Noo." Zack's ears folded back disapprovingly. "It's just a couple bruises. I should be able to heal it myself if I can't take 'em. An' I should be able to take a lot worse too. No reason to make someone else sore."

"Can I at least suggest a nice relaxing soak, then? Mira had that big hot tub put in her bathroom, after all, and we've hardly used it at all as of yet."
The wolf-girl closed her eyes, sighing. "That sounds so good...but it's upstaaiirs..." An uncharacteristic, almost whining tone there; the fox-girl concluded that he really wasn't feeling good.
"If you can't even get upstairs and out of your armor then you do need medical attention," she pressed sternly.
"Just..gimme a minute."

"That I can do~."

After silently petting the wolf for another probably two or three minutes, Zack slowly pushed himself off of the couch's armrest onto his feet and started the slow trek upstairs.
"Enjoy," Rayna said. "I put all the bubbles and salts and powder stuff in the cabinet hanging from the ceiling in there. I stayed away from anything magical, too, just in case."

"Yeah. Thanks..."

---

"Hmm." Ezra considered the witch's request. "I agree it would be useful if you can set the conditions of breaking to be both convenient when desired and readily avoidable when not. You will test your efforts on yourself first?"
"Sure, of course," Mira said. "I wouldn't want to mess with someone else this way until I'm sure it's safe and harmless and not too annoying, too. Ideally it'll also be something I can teach to just about any mage, especially healers so they could offer it as a regular service."

The Captain nodded. "Well, not even I can borrow from the restricted section without a specific, good reason; some of those books contain or are said to contain information that is dangerous to the mind when known. But it won't be difficult to fabricate a good reason to want a few books on curses, so I'll just copy down anything from them related to what you're after and send it along."

"Great! I'll make sure your trust in me isn't misplaced," Mira said.
"You better. I'll look forward to the results." The Captain's expression was mostly the same, but the witch thought she could see in her eyes, for just a second, something like a proud parent looking at their child. Then she gave another curt nod and headed off, understanding their business to be finished for the moment.

Mira turned back to the door, and unlocked it, heading inside.

---

"Well, I know it feels a bit like that came outta nowhere," Katherine remarked, once they were seated and waiting for their food.
"A little bit," she admitted. "I-I mean I know you um..b-but.." I know you like me but wanting that is on a different level.

I do really like you though. You remember what I said about 'mental attraction' last night, yeah? The elf nodded. Tsaron pointed out my 'tastes' when it comes to that almost right away. And I've slowly—and that only because of some denial—realized he was pretty much right. I like a certain kind of honest openness, and I like the clear, pure depths of well-studied intellect. You've got the latter in spades.

"Uh. I-I'm not really.."
"Don't give me that," the catgirl snapped. "You're smart and you know it. You used to spend all day and all night reading books. Not just fiction, but everything. Your general knowledge is probably even higher than Lynn's and Rayna's combined, and they're like ten years older than you were."

"Umm."
"Humility's a nice trait and all, but you can have a little confidence," she added.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not attracted to you. It's similar to how it is bodies, really—I absolutely would be, to both you and Zack, if you were the opposite sex. As it is I still have a certain appreciation for the traits I find appealing, though. She nodded cheerfully. While it's not as much so as physical looks, of course that 'appreciation' is superficial. The important thing is that I do also like you as a person. You're always trying to look out for everyone else, and you think things through very carefully to try and make sure it all works out in the end. You can hardly see someone suffering—well, at least undeservedly anyway— (she clarified, bringing to mind the incident with the bandits) —without immediately looking for a way to relieve it. Right?

I just...

Don't want to see those you love in pain. Yeah? Or—like, care about, whatever term you wanna use for it.

'Love' is fine, Nora thought back. In the sense that one loves one's close friends, I mean.

Absolutely.

I guess all this is a little weird to 'hear' though, huh? It's one thing for me to say your body has a nice figure, but it's another entirely to say you have a 'cute mind' or something.

Still, I feel as if I understand. When you send it in thought, its meaning for you comes along with it, the elf replied. I'm no stranger to having a 'sense' nobody else does, myself. I thought it was bizarre at first, but the feeling of the natural elements around me has turned into something which I would feel...something similar to 'blind' or 'deaf' without. It must be the same way with you.

Yeah. Katherine seemed to think about that for a long moment, looking away briefly and then to Nora again, her ears drooping slightly.

Hey. If we...'win the game' or whatever. If we're sent home. It can't be with these powers, right? Even assuming everything is real, in the sense that this isn't some crazy simulation or something...well, there are no psions or mages or whatever on Earth. We couldn't come back with our powers, realistically.

I think not, Nora nodded slowly. If we are offered the choice, I don't know which one I would take. It's a terrible question, of which price is less.

Their food arrived, and they started eating and drinking. It didn't slow the mental conversation a bit.

You know, I had lots of friends back on Earth. I mean I have...or...I'm not sure which tense is right anymore, the catgirl said. I was a gamer—like real games, with boards and maps and real human interaction? My backstory here is far lonelier. I fled my hometown because of my powers, then I basically hid from people because of them. I would convince a caravan to let them join them from one town to the next and then they would drop me off, just like I wanted, so I could set up shop by myself all over again. As far as the me of this world is concerned, the first time I've made friends, period since getting these powers was right here in the Frontier. First Zack, then you and Mira, and the rest of course.

I probably don't need to tell you, but I didn't exactly have many friends back on Earth, Nora replied. Here, I have a giant extended family in the priests. I knew so many people, even before I ran away, and now it seems I know still more.

It's so strange, I feel two things at once, Katherine thought. On the one hand all that emotional and mental energy I was putting into a big web of friendships is now just focused on the few of you. On the other, there's this excitement and nervousness like I've never had real friends before—even though I know I have—and now that I do I don't know what to do with them. Beastfolk are usually really touchy feely with even just close-ish friends, but I'm kinda mis-socialized because of my background. Maybe finding a 'good reason' we as a group need you to pet me is just my way of convincing myself to try what's 'normal' for other members of my own species...and yet on the other hand, really weird to all of my memories of being a human back on Earth.

It's hard enough to have one mind, Nora observed.

Yeah, yeah. Two minds plus I can see all of it. I know every thought and all the impulses behind it because really. the mind my power gives me the most insight into is my own. Katherine said nothing for a moment; the elf had the sense she was weighing a decision carefully. I think it's unfair not to tell you something, since I know it about myself. Even though it's such an irrational thought.

You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to.

No, no, it's not fair for you to not know this. Katherine looked up from her plate for a moment, into Nora's eyes; she was blushing a little bit. I...want to pet Zack. I want him to pet me. Knowing he, wanted it and enjoyed it in general, sort of lit something up in the animal part of my brain, linked to my concept of our friendship, and now I want it so bad. But still not badly enough to push past all of, everything I just described. And the same thing is true a little bit with Jacob, but pretty differently, and I think still a long ways off. The point is—I have to make the idea of petting not super weird to me before I can act on either impulse. It's stupid, right?

No, not at all. Nora gave her a slight, shy smile. I know what it's like to..want something, but to need a push over the edge because I think it's not 'me', or it's not 'normal'. The commonality between both of my lives is being massively sheltered, for different reasons, and...with each passing day in this world, I feel I'm coming to appreciate the value of things I never would've considered doing or even thinking about before.

So you don't mind me using you as a 'gateway drug'? Katherine said.

The elf shook her head ever so slightly, and just once. No, not at all.

...In fact, I think we'll both enjoy it. The subtle smile was back again.

Katherine blinked a couple of times. The declaration had surprised Nora, even though she did mean it; as a result it had managed to surprise even the mind-reader for a second there. Well. Me too then.

Oh gods, I could never say something like that aloud, I wouldn't get past the first two syllables, she added after a second, blushing furiously and looking back down at her food. I'm so glad you're a psion.

---

Lynn turned to another page in the book. "Let's see...it says this one is called a persiphol flower. It only blooms at night?" She turned it around where Rose could see the picture.
"Ah, yeah! I call those princess plants," she said with a quick nod. "Too much light burns the inside, so they like moonlight a lot better than sunlight. The uh, the pollen things in the middle part—"

"Stamen?"

"Yeah, that. If you crush those and combine them with the blue flower's petals you get a thing that makes your skin go numb if you rub it on it. I tried chewing some once and it made my tongue and cheeks numb, too."

Lynn turned the book back to herself, scanning the few paragraphs on the flower in question "There's nothing about that in here," she said. "Maybe you're the only one who knows about it."
"Heheh," Rose rocked back and forth bashfully. "It doesn't seem all that useful, though."
"Oh, on the contrary. Local anaesthetic—uh, something that makes a part of the body numb like that—is really useful for medical purposes. Such as, when you need to stitch a big cut back together, or say, do dental work—tooth fixing? I guess your teeth probably work some way where you don't need that, but..."
"Ah, I get it! It can make you not feel the hurt when someone's fixing something," she said.
"Right. So, the blue flower—uh, this one right?" Lynn turned back to a previous page; the dragon-girl nodded. "It's pretty common, in lots of regular gardens. The princess plant isn't as easy to find, but it's well-known how to take care of one so it wouldn't be difficult to grow some. I'd like to tell some healers about this, but it'd be helpful to have proof."

"Oh, I can pick up a couple next time I'm in my forest," Rose said. "And some seeds, too!"

"Just don't volunteer the seeds for free," Lynn said.
"Isn't it to help people, though?" Rose headtilted with an innocent expression.
"Eh..that's true." She shrugged. "I learned a long time ago to never do something you're good at for free, but the occasional exception for the good of society isn't bad."

"What are you guys up to?" Rayna came in, looking around.
"Lynn found a plant book!" Rose proclaimed excitedly.
"I thought it might be good to cross-reference her knowledge, maybe see if there are some uses for herbs or flowers or something that aren't already generally known."
"Good thinking," the fox-girl nodded. "I guess you already found something?"
"Mm-hm!" the dragon-girl beamed.

"The biggest problem is that people came up with different names from the ones she has for them, so we have to go by the pictures and listed traits."

"Maybe we should find an actual herbal specialist somewhere with the actual plants to show you," she said. "You'd probably recognize them easier than those drawings."
"Yep! I can tell what kinda plant I'm looking at right away, even when they look and smell really similar," Rose said. "It's good 'cause like sometimes, harmless plants like to disguise themselves as poison ones so animals won't eat them, and the two are good for totally different things."

"It'd be a fun excursion," Rayna said. "More than anything, I want to see some guy who thinks he's an expert ask you what a plant is good for and you give twice as many answers as he was expecting."

"Heheh."

---

"Come on, one hug? Just one? Before you turn back maybe forever?"
After another long session of descriptions of Aria's past self, Loren had decided it was time to leave—and more importantly, to change back first. Feeling vaguely inappropriate about being male and still in Aria (or in general, a girl's) room with her, she was on her way to the stairwell after a long conversation. Anyway, despite the witch's assurances to the contrary it was most likely best to get her to do the dispelling. She ignored the continued requests from the woman following her to the stairwell.

"Like a farewell to that body I might never see it again?" she persisted. "I'll match your height so it's not weird."
"It's weird no matter what," she protested, finally turning around. Aria had indeed shrunk to an equal height again, but maintained more of her own figure instead of an imitation of Loren's. "And you know what, no matter how little I want it I can just about guarantee I'll wind up in this body again within the week. Because you're crazy, and Mira's crazy, and maybe someone else is too. I know I am."

"It might be a whole week though," the white-haired girl protested irrationally.

Loren crossed her arms, giving a disapproving glare. Aria just kept staring at her with puppy-dog eyes. Reluctantly, the dark-haired girl slowly dropped her arms, feeling herself giving in. It wasn't fair, Ares never had that in his arsenal so she was totally unprepared for it! She gave a long, exasperated sigh. Aria's expression remained the same even though she surely knew that meant she had won. "Okay. One hug." She started to move, and Loren put out a hand to stop her in her tracks. "Aahp. Gentle. No squeezing."

"Oh. Okay! I can do gentle," Aria said, and eased closer when Loren's arm fell away again. "But you have to return it, okay!"
"H-hey, no changing the terms when—mmph!" It was far too late; Aria's arms were already around her, not squeezing but coming in close enough and with enough speed to land her mouth on a shoulder for a second. Loren pulled her head up, and slowly returned the hug, feeling a blush burn across her cheeks at its closeness, and the odd feeling of her own deeply unfamiliar breasts pressing against another girl's—particularly this one's. The thought struck her that this was going to be really strange to relive after turning back, which was replied to by why would I ever want to relive this?! But the retort to that was right there staring her in the face...or, well it wasn't, it couldn't be because it was actually right up against her face.

Aria's body was soft, and warm. Her cheek felt nice against Loren's own. Her arms were around her amnesiac friend's not just reluctantly, out of some bizarre sense of obligation to a poorly-negotiated verbal contract. They were there because...of who was hugging her. The embrace lasted three or four times as long as expected, and it was Aria who broke it off, slowly and cautiously. Afterward she bounced back and forth on her feet nervously, a blush across her own cheeks but visibly trying to play it off as nother. "S-see? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"No, it was..fine," Loren said, the last shred of rationality in her screaming I need to get out of this body now! Was just being physically female sufficient to make physical contact so...what? Nice? Normal-feeling? Emotionally-expressing? Her head reeled with confusion and she turned around so Aria couldn't see her face. "I'm turning back now!"
"Okay. Have fun." With all her characteristic audaciousness and what seemed to be a boosted tendency toward brazen impropriety since losing her memory, Aria somehow seemed to manage the restraint to not immediately follow Loren downstairs. Perhaps she had the sense that she had weirded her friend out to her maximum capacity, or maybe...she was a little confused about what she was feeling herself, and wanted to be alone for a second to sort it out. Whatever the reason, Loren came out of the stairwell without incident to find the witch on her way inside.

"Oh, hey there," she said. "You have fun?"
"..I would like to change back now," Loren stated as emotionlessly as possible, cursing her cheeks for not getting with the program and cooling themselves.

"Okay! Ah, by the way, I think I know how to do it without the charm component now. At least on someone I've done before. Cool, right?"
Loren intentionally ignored the implications of that. "Now, please?"
"As you wish." The witch stretched her hands forward, palms against each other with the fingers pointing straight at the shifter. She pulled them apart, and a pinkish fiery glow dispersed out of Loren's body and clothes. She grew and shrank in all the right places, her clothes changing sizes at a conveniently synchronized rate, until finally the same man who had stood in front of the witch in his own apartment stood before her now.

He breathed a sigh of relief, finding most of the more embarrassing and strange feelings gone. "..Thank you."
"Glad I could be of service~," the witch said cheerfully. "Now I've got a dragon to catch up with, so I'll see you later." She floated off in the direction of the house's small library.

Most...not all. Loren couldn't get the feeling of Aria's body against his/her own out of his head. Or the sight of her blushing face or her with a tail eagerly wagging, or the sound of her voice calling her/him cute...

He shook his head; surely this was wrong. Without Ares's memories, this person was basically a stranger. More importantly, he was actually a stranger to her. But she was so easy to talk to, and when they were together it felt like it was him again—except, no it didn't. It was..better? It was certainly more different than he'd given it credit for at first.

Loren sighed. One thing at a time. He was here to get his friend's memories back—to get her memories back whether she 'counted' as his friend or not. A person deserved to at least know who they were, before...anything else. Right?

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to town opened, Katherine coming through with Nora behind her. "Hey, what're you standing in the hallway for?" the catgirl said with a mock-annoyed tone.
"Just..on my way out," he said.
"Really? You haven't said bye yet, have you?" Nora continued on to the kitchen, leaving him with the psion for the moment.
"That's really unfair," Loren complained.

"What, you think I read your mind? You just look like someone who's trying to leave without saying goodbye." She put her hands on her hips. "Aria's on her way down now, just wait for two seconds and make your next meeting not super awkward. 'Kay?"
"...Fine." He crossed his arms.

She gave him a smile that bared her teeth, including some sharp fangs, just a little bit. "I have to admit though, chanting 'be tolerant' repeatedly in as loud of thoughts as you can muster is pretty unique as mental shielding goes. Anyway see ya!" Then she waved the door to the stairwell open just as Aria came to it, waved at her to go through, and followed the elf into the kitchen.

"Hey there." She held her arms behind her back, staring at him for a few seconds before growing to match his height again, still keeping her arms back and swaying back and forth. "I uh. Guess you changed back."
"Mira was kind enough to do it for me," he nodded.
"Hope I didn't make things too awkward or anything. I dunno..exactly what came over me. Stupid, dumb low impulse control. Yeah."
"Sure. It's all right."

They stood there for a long moment. Loren eventually cleared his throat. "I, need to take care of a couple of things." Particularly 'not being here' for a few hours. "I'll be back either tonight or tomorrow morning, perhaps."
"Sounds good." Aria said. "See you then~."

After checking on the dragon, Rayna had returned to her post in the living room, half-pretending to read a book. She listened to them say goodbye to each other another few times before he finally left, closing the door behind him. Welp. Ship has officially sailed, she thought to herself.

...Wait. Did nobody ask the Captain about that big magic crystal thing?