OOS 106

Korrinoth 21, early in the morning before party left for Oceanside to deal with Squire's glowworm. It occurred during session 47.
== Transcript ==
Morning has come in the Burnett Estate. Teer 'awakens' after the night spent in Evelynn's dreams, and he has a plan. He goes to his desk and writes out a little note on a piece of paper, folding it neatly. He exerts the energy necessary to turn himself back into a cat once again, and sets off with the piece of paper in his mouth. He worries, briefly, that he will not be able to get rid of Akaros, but by the time he is sitting at Lei's bedroom door, he thinks he has managed to slip away. Teer-cat paws at the door politely. 
Teer-cat paws at the door less politely. 
Teer: 
"Mreooow." 
Lei: 
there’s some clumsy shuffling of footsteps, and then a bleary-eyed lei slowly opens the bedroom door, rubbing her eyes. 
Teer: 
The cat looks up at her, bright eyed, picks the note back up only to deposit it at her feet. 
Lei: 
lei blinks a couple of times and stares at the cat, spaced out, then bends down to pick up the note and scritch the cat on its head. 
Teer: 
The note simply reads, 'Message me', in steady script. 
The cat leans into the head scritches. 
Lei: 
lei looks down the hall a couple of times to see who she’s supposed to message? 
presumably seeing no one, she...tries messaging the cat, because why not. she’s kind of surprised she’s never tried it before to be honest. 
everything is mescan unless otherwise specified from here on out. “um....hi? meow?” 
Teer: 
"Hello it's me, I'm a cat," says Teer's voice. 
Lei: 
“t—teer?!” 
Teer: 
"Yes." 
Lei: 
lei’s eyes shoot open wide. she’s awake now. 
“how—when—why—?” 
Teer: 
"I learned how to do this a little while ago. It takes a bit of extra energy to do, since I'm not quite practiced at it." 
Lei: 
“whoa, that’s so cool! you’re so cute!!” 
“ummm...want to...come in my—room??” 
she stands aside the door. 
Teer: 
"Yes, thank you." Teer-cat plods in. "I have a secret mission that I must tell you about." 
Lei: 
lei watches his cute little beanie paws as he heads into her room. oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. 
“a secret mission?” her eyes light up. okay, she might be dreaming, but this dream is awesome. 
hey. wait. those beanie paws look somewhat familiar. 
“wait, did you—“ 
Teer: 
Teer-cat leaps up on the bed and sits upright. "Yes, it was important I speak to you privately." He looks up. "Hm?" 
Lei: 
“have i seen you in this form before?” 
Teer: 
"O-Oh... yes. I um... I wanted to check up on you, before." 
Lei: 
she shuts the door behind her and stands by it, her face turning slightly pink. 
“o-oh....” 
Teer: 
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been deceitful about it." 
He sinks a little bit. 
Lei: 
“it’s, um—it’s okay.” shakes her head really fast, trying to shake off the embarrassment. “um, that night was just—er, um....” 
“...thank you.” 
small smile that grows bigger. “i was cuddling with you! you were purring!” 
Teer: 
Teer sinks farther. "I... you're not mad though? I shouldn't have tried to solicit affection without you knowing." 
Lei: 
lei giggles and heads over to the bed by teer. “do you want to solicit affection now? is the secret mission more cuddling?” 
Teer: 
Teer-cat suddenly doesn't know what to do with himself. He hasn't felt much sensation in the last few days, and he's very tempted to say 'yes'. "No it's - um, it's something else. Though I wouldn't mind more pats." 
He shakes himself a little bit. "I have a project I would like to do. And you're the only one I trust to be my agent in this matter." 
Lei: 
lei giggles and pets teer a whole bunch. maybe having to be asked to ease up a bit. 
her eyes are sparkling at the idea of this secret mission. 
“what are the details, agent commander cat?” 
she relents petting him only long enough to salute, and then gets right back to it. 
Teer: 
Teer-cat seems to enjoy the attention at first, but soon becomes squirmy. "Er - gently, please, this is about 10 times more nerve endings than I'm used to having." 
He attempts to copy the salute by bringing a paw up to his ear, but quickly lets it flop back down. 
Lei: 
lei jerks her hand away immediately. “oh—oops! sorry.” 
tries again, this time petting very very softly and gently 
Teer: 
Teer-cat seems to relax. "Thank you. Now - your mission, should you choose to accept it." 
Lei: 
lei bounces excitedly 
Teer: 
"First, I need you to go into my room and fetch the coin purse with my personal funds in it. I am trusting it to you for this task." 
Lei: 
lei nods diligently. “roger, agent commander cat!” 
she is curious. oh so curious. this game is fun. 
she is sad to have to momentarily cease the petting, but she scampers off to go retrieve the coin purse, leaving the door cracked on her way out so teer isnt stuck in the room. “i shall return post-haste!” 
Teer: 
"Thank you." Teer begins grooming his paw while he waits. 
Lei: 
you hear a light jog pat-pat-pat down the hall, and soon lei reemerges in the room, victorious with coin purse in hand. she shuts the door behind her, and returns to the bed next to teer, setting the coin purse by his side. “mission success, sir!” 
she shall reward herself for her victory with teer pets. 
gentle ones. 
Teer: 
"Excellent job, Agent Leitha." 
Lei: 
lei giggles. 
Teer: 
Teer cat opens the tiny coin purse with his mouth. 
"Alright, so. As you know, I have made gifts for most of the people in the party, at some point or another. I am still working out something for Kiono, but that's another topic." 
"Working on Concludion's owl yesterday made me realize I'd like to try and make something for Akaros. But to do that, I'll need your help." 
Lei: 
lei squeaks out loud, then covers her mouth and resumes mescan. 
"what do you have in mind?" 
Teer: 
The cat's eyes glint. "I'm going to build him a new hoard." "I've already got a few precious gems, but I'd like enough to fit a small box. If you could take my funds and use them to purchase what gems you can, I would appreciate it." He resumes grooming his paw. "If you would talk to the party, also, when I'm not around, perhaps they'd be interested in helping? It doesn't have to be gems, it could be any small trinkets." 
Lei: 
lei grins. "teer, that's amazing! i can't wait to see how akaros reacts!" 
"i'll definitely talk to everyone else about it--covertly!" dramatically puts a finger over her mouth 
Teer: 
Teer-cat dips his head. "Thank you. I appreciate your help - er, your acceptance of this mission, Agent Leitha." 
Lei: 
"hehe, what's the operation's codename?" 
Teer: 
"Oh, um. Hm..." 
Teer-cat looks up and tilts his head. 
"Operation X-Box." 
Lei: 
"x--?" mirrors teer cat's head tilt "oh! that thing that's like the ipad that you and akaros played halo on?" 
Teer: 
"Indeed." 
Lei: 
"hehehe, it's perfect." squeezes teer into a hug 
Teer: 
Teer-cat wriggles a little bit, but after a moment let's himself relax into the embrace. "I'm not sure if it's a silly thing to do or not. But I would still like to anyway." 
Lei: 
"hehe, who cares if it's silly? it's fun!" 
Teer: 
Teer-cat nods happily. 
Lei: 
"oh, would the gems you gave me from the swamp help?" 
sits up, prepared to potentially go to her bag to pull them out 
Teer: 
"Well, yes, any of the ones from Omurem's hoard would be suitable. They're worth a fair amount though, I don't expect anyone from the party to give up theirs unless they want to." 
Lei: 
"it's well worth it for operation xbox, agent commander cat!" 
she rises to get the gems. 
"where should we put them? should i hold on to them for now?" 
Teer: 
"Oh, um - don't give me anything yet. I don't want to raise suspicion. Hold onto them until everything's gotten together." He seems to consider for a moment. "When you're ready, you should bring them in a bag and say 'Operation X' is a go. Then I'll work on making the box." 
Lei: 
nods "oh, you're going to make the box? that's cool!" 
Teer: 
"Indeed. That part will be important." 
Lei: 
she sits back down next to teer!cat, content to leave the gems be for now. 
"how many gems and trinkets do you think you will need?" 
Teer: 
"Um - as many as you can get for what's in this coin purse - and anything the party wants to donate. I will take what I can gather, essentially. If he wants to add to his hoard later I'm sure he will." 
Lei: 
"hehe, roger!" 
"say, teer?" 
scritching under his chin 
Teer: 
"Mm?" Eyes closed, purring. 
Lei: 
"how much longer can you keep this form?" 
Teer: 
"Oh, about - I don't have my internal clock - 45 minutes?" 
Lei: 
"what do you plan to do with the rest of the time?" danger eyes 
Teer: 
"I hadn't thought about it - is there something you'd like to do?" 
Lei: 
"hehe, too bad I don't have a potion to make you super big because then you could be an adorably giant HUGE cat!" 
"oh, we should find scabacca and see if he recognizes you! do you think he likes cats?" 
"have you tried to eat anything? oh my gosh, i'd love to hear what you think of food!" 
Teer: 
"Oh, u-um. Yes, we could go find - " Teer is trying to remember whether Scabacca has ever shown a tendency to chase cats, and trying to figure out what he would do, if chased. "Hm. Maybe we should go down and join everyone for breakfast? I'm not a fan of food, but I'm sure chaos will ensue one way or another." 
Lei: 
"it's a bit early still for breakf--teer! you could try a cucumber sandwich! i learned how to make them yesterday." 
Teer: 
Teer-cat scrunches up his face. "Er. Do cats eat... cucumber?" 
Lei: 
"i used to feed some of our cats little bits of cucumber. i'm sure it's fine!" 
"unless you don't want to?" 
Teer: 
"I will... try it." 
Lei: 
leans in almost close enough to boop him on his cute nose. "are you suuuuure?" 
Teer: 
He blinks a couple times, seems to consider. "I don't think I've eaten a vegetable before. The elves ate a lot of them though, so, they are probably good?" 
Lei: 
"hehe, can i pick you up? do you want to go yourself? wait, do you think the burnetts would be horribly offended at the idea of us using their kitchen space?" 
"on second thought, message cantripping while holding you might be a bit difficult..." 
Teer: 
"Then I'll walk alongside you," says Teer, hopping down off of the bed. "I'm sure the Burnett's will not mind, as long as we stay out of the way of breakfast preparations." 
Lei: 
nods, then starts heading towards the bedroom door "Jeffrey showed me some techniques for cutting cucumbers yesterday that are pretty easy, so i'm certain--" 
her eyes get wide "teer, what is breathing like?" 
"oh, um--asking because i'm curious. since you don't have prior experience with taking in oxygen." 
Teer: 
"Somewhat annoying. I know that it's automatic, but as soon as I start thinking about it I feel like I must do it, or I will forget somehow." 
Lei: 
"have you tried taking any deep breaths? how does that feel?" 
opens the bedroom door, heading to the kitchen enthusiastically mescaning with teer!cat at her side 
Teer: 
"It's sort of odd - kind of like eating the air? You can smell it, but the smell goes inside of you." Teer plods along, looking around at how giant everything is. "My roots used to respire, and I could feel the air on them - but it was much more spread out. Like a million tiny little holes, instead of just one big one." 
Lei: 
lei's eyes are positively glistening. "eating the air....that's so weird hehe. and breathing through your whole body....wow." 
"say, if you eat something, what happens to the food after you go back to being a warforged??" 
"what if you had a fly in your mouth, but you didn't swallow it yet, and that's when you changed back? what happens to the fly then? what happens if you do swallow it before changing back?" 
Teer: 
"I don't know - I've only taken small bites. Perhaps it simply appears in my chest compartment." 
Lei: 
"teer, when you change back, would you mind inspecting your compartment for cucumber chunks?” 
Teer: 
"Of course. I'll do a thorough search." 
Lei: 
"hehe, you are the best." 
"akaros better not eat it before we find it!" 
"oh, what about sleeping? you could try that sometime!" 
Teer: 
"Ah. That is actually what led me to take this form the first time," he explains. "I wanted a nap." 
Lei: 
lei's smile fades momentarily as she remembers the carriage ride 'nap' as well. "ah..." 
"how was it?" 
Teer: 
"It was... nice. I was curled up by a tree, on the forest floor. I mostly dreamt of Evelynn's bedroom." 
Lei: 
"awww, that sounds lovely." 
"oh, evelynn!" 
"did you visit her last night in her dream?" 
Teer: 
"Yes, the spell worked rather well. It was good to see her again. I asked her about Lady Siren, and she said that she would try to look into the matter." 
Lei: 
lei bends down to offer teer!cat a highfive/paw. 
"i'm glad to hear it." 
Teer: 
Teer-cat paws the air, and then manages to hit Lei's hand with his second attempt. 
"She mentioned that you wrote to her." Teer doesn't have an eyebrow to raise, but then again, he never did. 
Lei: 
"oh....yes....” 
quickly diverts from that "i'll save any questions about the dream with evelynn for breakfast, when everyone is there to hear about it." 
onhoyllis 
Teer: 
"Er, alright." 
Lei: 
"i'm certain talking to her must have been nice though, right?" 
they have arrived at the kitchen. lei holds the door open for teer and asks anyone there if it's okay if they cut a cucumber and use some cream cheese and herbs and stuff. i imagine whoever is there gives an odd look or two but is like, uhh sure. 
Teer: 
Teer-cat leaps up onto the first stool he finds. "It was. I was happy to have the chance to spend time with her, even when she's far away." 
Lei: 
lei gets to work, eager to practice what she learned yesterday. and eager to have more cucumber sandwiches in her life. 
"hehe, hopefully you can visit her in-person sometime soon too." 
"i can't wait to test that dream item with you." 
cutting is slow because mescan, but responses are also slow because cutting. 
Teer: 
"Mm. It's capable of shaping the dream, to an extent, so I'm sure it would be fun to visit your dreams some night if you'd like. Careful of your thumb - " Teer watches her cutting. "Also. I believe it could be useful when we're visiting the Squire's dream realm." 
Lei: 
“to what extent can it shape—oh thanks.” adjusts the position of her thumb 
the cucumber is cut! on to the crust! 
Teer: 
"I made a beach," says Teer-cat. "We would have to test just how much the caster of the spell can create." 
Lei: 
“can you make people? that would be weird.” 
Teer: 
"I'm not sure. If I did, I feel like it would probably just be summoning the dreamer's perception of that person, if anything." The cat leaps up onto the counter and sniffs the cucumber. 
Lei: 
“we have got to try it.” 
“do you suppose the item will work in squire’s dream realm in the same way?” 
crust cut! now onto making the spread. 
Teer: 
"I don't know. A dreamcatcher is meant to ward against nightmares - I think it's worth it to try giving to him before we go in there." 
Lei: 
nods “perhaps we could ask jin-ri about it?” 
Teer: 
"Good idea." 
Lei: 
works in silence for a bit, focusing 
the spread is done. now she’s building the sandwiches. “um, teer, just so you have the information....” 
her inner voice comes out very hesitant and quiet. 
Teer: 
Teer has picked up a slice of bread in his mouth and is carrying it over to the cutting board. "Hmmf?" 
Lei: 
“a high-ranking purifier saw me yesterday. with...these eyes.” 
“i’m really sorry. i screwed up. im sorry.” 
she’s staring down at the current sandwich she is preparing, trying to focus intently on it, but im sure not fooling teer. 
Teer: 
The cat blinks a couple times. "Oh. I see." 
Lei: 
“i should have told you last night. i’m sorry.” 
Teer: 
"That is alright. We will just have to be careful. I doubt your description will reach past Wolis, but perhaps while you're here, you may want to disguise yourself using another persona." 
Lei: 
nods somberly. “you’re right. jeffrey said he’s sure everything is okay, and i was trying to believe that, but....i was unable to get my mind off of it last night.” 
“you don’t... you don’t think me being here right now is risky, do you?” 
Teer: 
"In the Burnette Estate? I don't think there's anywhere safer from Purifiers." 
Lei: 
lei has finished preparing the last sandwich. she is staring at it. “i hope it’s not...a bother to the burnetts, if...” 
“why didn’t he do anything to me?” 
“i have been pondering that in the back of my mind.” 
Teer: 
"Hm. Where did you see this Purifier? Were there other people around?" 
Lei: 
bites her lip. “at the worthing estate,” she says. saying it again out loud somehow fills her with more dread. 
Teer: 
"What was he doing there?" Teer tilts his head. 
Lei: 
“i don’t know.” back to mescan. 
“it’s not...it can’t be good.” 
“jeffrey said he’s sure it’s fine, but....” 
“oh.” 
“your cucumber sandwich. right.” 
she takes up a few pieces of a sandwich that were cut into extra small bite-sized pieces, and presents them on a dish to the cat on the stool. 
“let me know what eating it is like!” 
Teer: 
Teer doesn't seem overtly interested in the sandwich yet, despite the presentation. "If he didn't seem interested in following you, and he knows about the Worthing's but they don't seem concerned, then... perhaps it wasn't a Purifier." 
He prods the tiny sandwich piece with his paw, then sniffs it. 
Lei: 
“i am almost positive it was sub-commander talthis vim.” 
“he even questioned me about a changeling family that the purifiers killed....” 
Teer: 
"All I'm saying is there is a secret underground network of changelings that have apparently placed members in high-ranking and important positions throughout the city. I don't know what their reach is, but you never know." With a deep breath, Teer-cat bites the proverbial bullet and literal sandwich. 
Lei: 
"i feel like i would be aware if we had a changeling among the ranks of purifiers, but....well, i suppose it would be the most ideal possibility." 
"it's--um. i should talk about this with everybody. i was just...afraid of admitting that i screwed up and am even more a liability." 
"i'll......thanks. i think sharing with you first will make it easier." 
"i'm surprised ephemera didn't bring it up, to be honest..." 
she's holding a sandwich and forgetting to eat it. 
Teer: 
Teer-cat nods gently, mouth held shut, thinly masking his disgust. 
Lei: 
lei is quiet for a bit, sandwich in hand, lost in thought. 
"oh!" 
"your sandwich!" 
snaps out of it, plasters a smile back on her face 
Teer: 
Teer-cat has swallowed the sandwich piece, and is making a face. 
"I need to go apologize to Akaros about making him eat that salad. The elves were wrong. The elves were wrong about everything." 
Lei: 
chuckles "is it that bad?" 
Teer: 
"I don't know. It's possible that eating is just an acquired taste. I think most creatures start with milk, don't they?" 
Lei: 
"in the elves' defense, this is my first time attempting to make this on my own. it's a little....droopier and waterier than usual." 
takes her first bite 
"oh, it doesn't taste too bad!" she seems pleasantly surprised. 
"thank you for your sacrifice, teer." she sticks out her tongue. "it will not be in vain, because now we can hunt your robot body for cucumber bits!" 
Teer: 
"Ah, of course, I'm sorry. You shouldn't base your opinion of your culinary skills on me. And yes, we must search for what happened to... that. Hopefully I do not find hairballs caught between compartments." 
Lei: 
"hehehehe. say, what was chewing and swallowing like?" 
Teer: 
"That's the worst part. Tasting isn't so bad, really, it's just like smell except there's too much of it." 
Lei: 
light giggle "this is so weird." 
"i think...i'm going to leave these out at breakfast." 
"do you think that would be okay?" sounds unsure 
Teer: 
"Of course. I'm sure they'll be appreciated." 
Lei: 
light blush "hehe, i always thought it was strange in stories when people would enjoy making food for others, instead of just for themselves. but it feels kind of...fun." 
"and not just because i tormented you with it!" 
"...but that was fun too." 
Teer: 
"I thank you for making me the sandwich. I have never had someone make food for me before." 
Lei: 
sheepishly runs her hand through her hair "you're...you're welcome." 
is about to take the plate and start heading to the dining area with it, but then has a flashback to cookie batter. 
"i suppose i should...clean this up." 
"um, you can go ahead to the dining hall if you want. i imagine everyone will be awake by now. i'll come soon." 
Teer: 
"Alright. I suppose I wouldn't be much use here, unless I want to get cat hair in everyone's food." Teer lets himself down onto the ground. "Come eat soon. And don't forget your prestidigitation," He calls back mentally, as he disappears from the room. 
Lei: 
"thanks, teer." she whispers out loud, expecting no one to hear it.