TRP: Ba'ob, Goro and Ombre (Red Berries)

1:21 AM]Abby-zon:

[Setting: Morningstar Castle. Day 194/Jan 28.]

Ba'ob shouldn't have at those berries. Always made him sick. Sometimes wasn't too bad, just hurt stomach, but sometimes not. Sometimes stomach churned till Ba'ob threw up. Had a feeling this would be one of those times. Or even worse.

Normally, when Ba'ob made himself sick, he slunk off to the woods till the worst had past. Cept this time he was already in the woods trying to find pretty fox lady. And he was feeling really bad. Bad enough wolf wouldn't let him lay down, made him lean on her, dragged him towards castle.

Ba'ob kept telling her no. She wouldn't listen, so Ba'ob cast the spell. 'Pparently fox lady scent was in the castle though. So Ba'ob stopped arguing, and started trying to open the door. Was locked. Ba'ob growled and started tugging at it harder. Doors stupid.

Lina:

Before he answered the door, Goro spent a few minutes observing the trespasser from a window. An elf--high or wood, he wasn't sure. Very young. Scratched-up and filthy. And he had a fucking wolf with him. Looked tame.

Now, that was just too fucking bizarre to ignore.

Goro didn't sense a serious threat--the kid apparently didn't even understand how doors worked--but he activated his spring blade anyway as he unlocked the door.

Abby:

Ba'ob was just putting his shoulder to the door- maybe next he'd set it on fire- when it gave. He stumbled in, grabbing the wall for support so he didn't pitch over. Nice. Except then he looked up and started glaring- there was an elf. Ba'ob wanted to reach for his knife. 'Stead his stomach started burning. And Ba'ob threw up at the elf's feet.

Lina:

Goro skipped backward, cursing. "Good god," he said, looking at the vomit now splattered all over the floor. He looked back up at the kid, gestured in the air, and said a prayer, closing his eyes so he could detect what was wrong with him. Poison--a wasting poison, probably from those little red berries that were all over the woods this time of year. "Let me guess, you're looking for a healer? Sure thing, on the condition you clean up your fucking mess when I'm done with you."

Abby:

Ba'ob stared blankly, clutching the wall so he wouldn't pitch over on the floor. "No," he said shortly. "Want-" oh he was gonna throw up again. Ba'ob bent over gagging. Really should not have eaten those berries.

Lina:

"Ah, for crying out loud." Goro stepped carefully over the puddle and put a hand on the kid's shoulder, speaking another prayer to rid him of the poison. Good thing it was a fast spell, since he sensed this guy was not itching to be touched by a stranger. Goro hopped back again once he was finished.

Abby:

Ba'ob growled, jerking away from elf as he touched him. He fumbled for his knife, waving it at the elf. "No touch!" he snapped. "Stay 'way."

Lina:

Goro snorted. "Yeah, yeah, buddy, I getcha. You can leave now, you know. This is my fucking house. Don't eat any more of those red berries."

He curled his lip at the vomit puddle. Doubted he was going to have much luck getting the kid to clean it up, after all.

Abby:

Elf's house huh? Well Ba'ob's friend was here. And he was gonna find her.

Course he didn't say any of this to the elf while backing away, further into the house. The wolf trotted by, scenting the air for their friend.

Lina:

"Hey. Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Goro had retracted his springblade to cast his spells, but he triggered it again as he followed.

Abby:

"None your business!"

Lina:

Goro sputtered and started laughing. "It sure fucking is my business, kid. I told you, you're in my house." God, this was kind of fucking hilarious. He didn't know what to do about it, but it was hilarious.

Abby:

"Nuh uh!" Ba'ob retorted. Hey. He was feeling better. Less like throwing up. Puking did that for him every now and then. Get out of his system.  "Not boss of me," he declared, waving the knife threateningly.

Lina:

"Oh, yeah, clearly. Hey, you looking for something?" Maybe he was hungry. Maybe Goro could lure him back outside with a plate of food. Not likely, though. This kid had the "will rummage through cupboards" look.

Abby:

Ba'ob was annoyed. Elf kept following around, asking questions. Wolf didn't seem to think he was threat, kept following the scent. They'd get there. "Go way," he said. "Don't like you. Bye."

Lina:

"The hell," Goro said, kind of under his breath but kind of not. Well... the kid was bound to get bored eventually, right? Maybe he'd wander back outside on his own after satisfying his curiosity. Taking in the state of his... clothing, if it could be called that, he didn't seem like the type to go looting for money or valuables, so at least there was that. Goro just kept following.

Abby:

Elf wouldn't quit following. Ba'ob blew a raspberry at him and then ran after the wolf.

Wolf ended up in a book-room. There was a table and buncha blankets, it looked comfy. But no Buttersco- no fox. Ba'ob whined a little, crawling under the table. It smelled like her, and there was fox hairs, but no fox. He grabbed one of the cushions and hugged it. Where was foxy lady.

Lina:

"Hey, uh." Goro crouched down near the table, but a few feet away. "That's my friend Ombre's fort. Honestly, she probably wouldn't mind you hanging out there, but just so you know. It's... occupied." He switched to Elvish. "Do you speak better Elvish than you do Common?"

Abby:

Elf words. Ba'ob glared over top of the cushion. "Don't like elf words," he grumbled, in Common. Ombre. Was that fox lady's real name? "Fox lady?" he asked hopefully. "Pretty tails?"

Lina:

Goro's eyes widened. "Oh. You know her. Oh." He took in the scene before him again, and recalculated everything. "Ohhh. Yeah, fox lady with the pretty tails. And the bell on her ankle?" Goro pointed to his own ankle to make himself clear. "Hang on. I can call her."

He picked up the whistle hanging around his neck and gave it a quick blow. He readjusted the chain, too, to make sure the nazar was visible, since the kid had sure as hell been giving him the evil eye. Hah.

Abby:

That was fox lady! Ombre. "Oooombre," he said slowly. "Ombre." Was good name. Much better than Butterscotch. He'd told Jasper that was stupid. Ba'ob grinned, hugging the cushion closer. He'd missed fox. Ombre. Missed her lots. Get to see her 'gain soon.

Lina:

"Yeah." Alright, phew. Good to know what the kid actually wanted. Well, other than for Goro to leave him alone. Goro was hardly going to leave a fucking stranger unattended in his castle, though. Hopefully Ombre wasn't far. "So, you got a name, or what?"

Abby:

"Yes."

Lina:

Goro laughed. "What is it?"

Abby:

"Not telling."

Lina:

"Nice to meet you, Not Telling. I'm Goro."

Abby:

Ba'ob shot the elf a narrow eyed glare. What was that supposed to mean. "Stupid name," he informed him haughtily.

Lina:

"Finally, someone who tells it like it is." Goro settled down cross-legged, making himself more comfortable. "How about the wolf? Has it got a name?"

Abby:

"Wolves don't need names. Stupid." In fact that was so dumb- Ba'ob grabbed one of the pillows and chucked it at the elf for emphasis.

Lina:

Goro managed to smack the pillow away before it hit him in the face. "Yeah, I mean, I guess that's fair. They seem to get by without 'em most of the time. How'd you wind up with a wolf for a pet, anyway?"

Abby:

"Not pet!" Ba'ob snarled, started to jolt to his feet but then banged his head on the table. He curled his knees up to his chest, rubbing the sore spot. "Partner, not pet."

Lina:

"Oh, yeah, for sure. My mistake." Goro eyed the wolf. Frankly, it seemed like the more mature of the two. Less partner and more mentor, if anything. Good lord. That saying "raised by wolves" came to mind.

Abby:

The wolf had decided all was well and was currently taking a nap. Ba'ob scowled, scooting over to prop his back on her. "She bites," he said threateningly.

Lina:

"Honestly, I'm more concerned about you, in that regard."

Abby:

Ba'ob showed his teeth. "I bite too."

Lina:

"That's, uh. That's what I was getting at, yeah." Humanoid bites were usually nastier than dog, too.

Abby:

Hey. You know that gave Ba'ob ideas. He started forwards- banged his head again trying to stand up- and then lunged for the elf. He'd show him how he bit.

Lina:

Goro yelped in surprise and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoided the kid's bared teeth. He threw up a hand and said, "Halt." He scrambled backwards to put more space between them. "Hey, how about no, on the fucking biting?"

Abby:

Ba'ob felt himself pulled to a stop. Wha- hey. Magic. Ba'ob glared balefully and struggled against it. Couldn't move. Couldn't do anything. How long would it last- what was elf gonna do- wolf was here wolf would protect- and then it was gone. Ba'ob stumbled, still glaring at the elf. He didn't respond, just slunk back under the table and hugged the wolf. He was done messing with the elf. Just wait for Ombre now.

Izzy:

Ombre came bolting up the stairs in her kitsune form, tails unfurled to make herself look bigger, healing staff out just in case but other hand poised and ready to call up some fire. She skidded into the library and Goro was just kind of ... sitting there, though, not looking hurt or anything. A bit alarmed, maybe.

She looked around, then realized he was staring under the table where she slept. "What's ... what's going on?"

Abby:

Ba'ob jolted up- and banged his head again- bolted out from under the table and threw himself into hugging Ombre. "Found you!" he said, grinning up at her.

Lina:

"Uh." Goro pointed at him. "That. That's going on."

Izzy:

She yipped when Ba'ob collided with her, startled, then -- reasonably, she was pretty sure! -- surprised. She blinked down at him for a beat, just baffled, then grinned back and threw her arms around him. "Aw, Ba'ob! Buddy! What're you doing here?" She rubbed her forehead against his, like a cat.

Abby:

"Look for you," Ba'ob said, leaning into the touch. "Been while. Missed you."

Lina:

Goro backed up and sat on the table, arms crossed, head tilted to one side. Fuckin' fascinating.

Izzy:

"Aww," she said again, and cuddled her cheek against his. Goddess, she loved this little weirdo. Tracked her down all the way from Skyport, huh? "I missed you too! Sorry I haven't visited, I've been real busy. You doing okay?" She pulled back to narrow her eyes at him playfully. "You being nice to Goro?"

Abby:

Goro. At the mention of the elf Ba'ob glanced his way and scowled. "Don't like," he said. He grabbed her arm, and leaned up as if he was telling Ombre a secret. "Elf," he said, pointing at Goro.

Lina:

Goro pressed his lips together, fighting off a laugh. He raised his eyebrows at Ombre, silently asking her, Ain't that a fucking elf?

Izzy:

Ombre nodded patiently. "Uh-huh. Well, see, technically, bud, you're an elf, and Goro is a half-elf. Means one of his parents was a human, too. Also, Goro is my friend and I love him, so be nice," she chastised gently. Ba'ob was just a bizarre kid. She figured he didn't mean any harm, he just needed to be told better.

Abby:

Ba'ob's scowl deepened. Didn't like being reminded of his elfness. Didn't want to be nice to the other elf guy either. "Don't like elves," he whined, kicking at the ground a little. Did he have to listen to Ombre? Ombre didn't keep him out of jail. But he liked Ombre. (Liked a lot.)

Lina:

"Hah," Goro said. "Me neither, pal. No offense taken."

Izzy:

Ombre gave Goro a look like hey, you're not helping. "Well, I do," she said. "'Cause I like Goro, and I like Gwydion, and I like Mishka, and I like Raef, aaand --" she aggressively cuddled Ba'ob again -- "I like you."

Abby:

Ba'ob bet he knew elves Ombre wouldn't like. But they weren't here and she was. (And she was hugging him again, Ba'ob's face was feeling hot again.) "Fiiiiiiiine," he said. "Be nice Goro. No bites," he said, shooting Goro a look this time.

Lina:

Goro made a silent whew and mimed wiping sweat off his forehead.

Izzy:

She snickered quietly, then squeezed Ba'ob one more time and let go of him. "I appreciate that. It means a lot that you don't bite my other friends."

Abby:

Ba'ob glared at Goro. What was that supposed to mean. Ba'ob didn't like it. He darted over, swinging his fist at the elf. He just leaned out of the way. Ba'ob bared his teeth and growled. Stupid elves.

Izzy:

"Ba'ob!" Ombre said sharply. "If you're going to act like that, you're going to have to go home. Goro is a friend."

Abby:

Ba'ob hunched his shoulders and whined. Ombre sounded like Abel did, when Ba'ob acted up. Didn't like this. "Said no bite," he protested.

Lina:

Goro nodded sagely. "That's true, he did. He did not say 'no punch.'"

Izzy:

She scowled at both of them. "Well, I said to be nice," she said, prodding Ba'ob's shoulder, "and punching isn't nice."

Abby:

Ba'ob flinched a little, then tried to hide it by diving forwards and hugging Ombre. "I not nice?" he tried, looking up at her with a mischievous grin.

Izzy:

Ombre clicked her tongue disapprovingly, and allowed, "You're nice to me, but you have to be nice to my friends, too."

Abby:

Ugh. Uuuuugghhhhh. Ba'ob glared back at Goro. Didn't like this guy. Didn't like him one bit. But Ombre wanted him to be nice. And he liked Ombre. "Be nicer," he grumbled.

Izzy:

"All right, I'll take that as good enough," she said, patting his head. "For now. You can stay the night in my room if you wanna, but you have to be nice to everyone who lives here, okay?" she said seriously. "There's a couple elves and there's a half orc and you have to be nice or I'll have to kick you out."

Abby:

Ba'ob scowled. Ombre was getting very demanding and threatening. Ba'ob didn't like that. "Don't need stay here. Can do fine in woods."

Lina:

"Ehhh," Goro said. "Those red berries..."

Izzy:

"Nooo. Ba'ob." She put her hands in his face and squished his cheeks a little. "I want you to stay here, you little weirdo, I miss you." She frowned. "I just want you to get along with everyone."

Abby:

Ba'ob submitted to the smooshing, shooting side glances at Goro. Stupid elf. Ba'ob wasn't stupid. Ba'ob knew to eat less next time. "Don't like elves an orcs," he grumbled.

Izzy:

"Oh? Oh yeah, buddy? How about this?" She let go of him and made a gesture with her hand, snapping her fingers, and her body rippled into her usual pale-skinned, dark-haired human form -- except with sharp elf ear sticking out through her hair. "How do ya feel about that, huh?"

Abby:

"But you not elf. You fox," Ba'ob said. "Just look elf. Different." Still. He didn't like it. Ba'ob crossed his arms and scowled at the floor. Didn't wanna fight with Ombre. But she kept pushing. Made Ba'ob mad.

Izzy:

"How d'you know, huh?" She booped his nose. "I can be whatever I wanna be." She remembered polymorphing him into a wolf. That actually hadn't really worked out the way she'd've hoped. Maybe messing around with shapes wasn't the way to go, anyway. She ran her hands over her ears, smoothing them into rounded human ones again.

"Well, anyway." She went over to throw her arms around Goro. "No biting or punching my friends. Also, if you pull that on Mishka he might explode you, so, be careful."

Lina:

Goro hugged Ombre back, grimacing slightly. "Uh. Are you, like, inviting him to stay, or?"

Izzy:

"Uhh. I mean." She looked a little doubtful. "I don't wanna just ... kick him out in the cold ..."

Abby:

"I stay!" Ba'ob piped up. He wasn't about to leave now. "Stay visit Ombre," he said, running up and hugging her again. Even though she had gone and hugged the elf.

Lina:

"Uh. He could... stay in the guard house, I guess." Or the stables. Ombre probably wouldn't find that funny.

Izzy:

Ombre gave him a scandalized look. "He can stay in my nest."(edited)

Abby:

Ba'ob peeked around Ombre to smirk at Goro. "Yeah. Stay in nest."

Lina:

"Um." Goro pointed to the wolf. Well-behaved as she seemed.

Izzy:

Ombre waved it off. "Oh, she's fine. She's a pal."

Abby:

"Abel say wolf more civilized than me."(edited)

Lina:

"Can she... can she use a toilet, or?"

Abby:

Ba'ob gave a put-upon sigh. "We go outside."

Izzy:

"See?" She gave Ba'ob a squeeze. "It's all fine. We'll, um, figure out what we need to figure out in the morning," she added, giving Goro an understanding look, then letting go of him to tug Ba'ob down under the table. He was pretty small -- they could both fit easily. The wolf could probably cram in, too, if she really wanted.

Ombre moved a few of her stacks of books out of the way to give them a bit more space, and shot Goro a grin before turning her attention back to Ba'ob. This was great. Her favorite two people were both with her now. She just ... hoped they could start to get along.

And that Mishka didn't get spooked and fireball Ba'ob.

[END]

Title: Red Berries. Summary: Ba'ob shows up at the castle, sick and looking for Ombre. Goro heals him and generally finds him amusing, and Ombre is delighted to see her weird little wolfy friend and invites him to stay the night at least, though she does sternly tell him off for being bitey (and punchy).