14864/Bryant Park Weirdness

Bryant Park Weirdness
Date of Scene:	07 May 2023
Location:	Bryant Park
Synopsis:	A lesson on magic goes a bit awry in Bryant Park, NYC when a shapeshifter shows up. Megan is not allowed to have aliens as familiars.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Essix, Megan Gwynn

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Nettie Crowe has posed:
    It was a dark and stormy day in New York City. A storm overhead, rolling through on its way out to the Atlantic gives grumbles of thunder and the occasional flash of lightning around the towering buildings around Bryant Park as it stretches in front of the New York Public Library, as lazy as its lounging lions.

    "You chose a *right* beautiful day to hold a lesson outside, Nettie!" barks a crow, taking shelter under a bright pink umbrella covered with happy rubber duckies. The umbrella is oversized, like a beach umbrella, and is providing a nice spot where the old witch has set up a couple of camping chairs.

    "Aye, I did. It's a lovely day, innit? All gray and the perfect opportunity to stay home with a good book and a cup of tea. Fancy that, Corvax? Or do you still need the books on tape due to your obvious lack 'a thumbs?" Nettie fires back, giving a snort. "I'm sure someone'll come."

Essix has posed:
Rain, thunder, lightning, none of that mattered or effected Essix, well unless the lightning directly hit her which is why she was a pigeon on a branch in the park. Waiting for the storm to pass beneath the leaves, she spotted the umbrella, bright pink, even the blind could see it, with ducks on it. Who put ducks on pink?

Flying down and toward a tree closer to that umbrella, she lands to look at the woman and talking crow. If she had an eyebrow to raise, it would have... that was something new, perhaps another shapechanger, so well worth watching and listening from a distance for now.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Thunder, lightning and rain, oh my! Megan is feeling especially nervous today with her hex powers seeming to always make these sorts of days worse. She would rather be at home all curled up under a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa, but she couldn't resist a chance to learn another useful lesson from the wacky but talented Nettie Crowe.

So here she is, dressed in a woefully thin pink shirt and shorts and a thin denim jacket which don't really repel water much. Hey, not her fault, at least the day started out pretty Sunny, how was she to know the weather channel would be wrong again?

Siiigh..

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    'Wacky but Talented' does sum up Ms. Crowe, doesn't it? 'Scary' is another one of the words that could be used to describe the old witch, who doesn't appear too much older than most of the 'young' heroes she mentors. She herself is wearing a gray trench over gray jeans and a gray T-shirt that used to be black at one point.

    "Ah! Miss Gwynn!" she greets the Pixie-like mutant and magician, raising her hand.

    "Shoulda stayed in bed girly! Awful weather. Bound to make everyone die of penom... neumon... Nematodes!" the crow caws, and then sneezes for effect.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn sighs, hugging her arms, her wings flattened against her back and looking rather sad and wilted. "Awe, cmon, can't you just, will the rain away? Teach me a sunshine spell? I hate the cccold.." she pouts, wishing she knew a proper fire spell at least.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "And mess with the weather? Do I /look/ like a weather witch?" the retired necromancer states, and she looks up to the umbrella.

    "The amount 'a energy needed to expell a storm a' this side would be catestrophic to the area, duckie." Nettie explains, but she does take pity on the unprepared Pixie, and reaches down into her carpet bag (Mary Poppins like) and pulls out a dry, wool sweater, which looks to be far oversized for either of them, and offers it to Megan as she gives a moment's concern.

    "Alright, put this on. It's wool, it'll retain some heat even if it gets wet. I've had it for a good century now." she states.

Essix has posed:
Hopping along the branch until she gets to the end closest to the women below, the pigeon finds it difficult to actually see beyond the umbrella. She can see their legs and feet, and part of the chairs, but that's it and that's not enough.

Taking air again she circles once then dives into the bushes nearby, hope that with luck she wouldn't be noticed.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn groans, "Awe Cmon, I mean it's not like you're Storm or anything, but you can't even teach me like a fire spell or, or, a shield spell or anything to keep this cold off? it sucks!" she does hear a nearby flutter and blinks as she sees some sort of bird ducking into the bushes. "Huh..Wish I could just hide in some bushes.."

Shaking her head, she looks back at Nettie and nods, taking the wool sweater, slipping it over her head. "Brr, doesn't wool get all wet and heavy though?" she pouts some more.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    ". . . what the hell is with that pigeon." remarks Nettie, who takes out her wand a moment. The crow above her sighs, and then releases his grip on the spines of the umbrella and just hangs upside-down, bat-like, looking into the bushes.

    "Likely rabid."

    "Rabies doesn't affect birds."

    And Nettie simply snaps her hand out into the pushes to grab at the pigeon for investigative purposes.

    "An' who forgot to check the local weather before coming out into the rain, duckie?" Nettie gives a smile, one of her too-bright-to-be-real eyes settling on Megan. "Instead you're tryin' ta find an instant, magical solution to a bit of short-sightedness. Now, I'm no Sorcerer Supreme -- thank goodness, miserable business that -- but there are easier, non-magic ways to contend with a bit of a chill. A hot cup of tea. A borrowed sweater. Gettin' under the umbrella."

Essix has posed:
The hand grabbing for the 'pigeon' made it clear that she had failed to go unnoticed, so for the hell of it she let the woman grab hold of her. In Nettie's hand she felt exactly like a disease ridden, poops on statues, steals food, pigeon.

When pulled out of the bush every feather, the wings, the feet, all exactly a perfect match for a pigeon, even cooed like a pigeon. Little black eyes look around, no panic, just a bird in the hand that is better than two in a bush.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn groans, "Heey, not my fault, the weather app on my phone is clearly a dud, I need a new one.." she mutters and shrugs, "Anyway, isn't magic all about fixing problems? That's why its magic."

But when Nettie grabs the pidgeon, she winces, making a face, "Heey, don't squish it or anything..Yknow, unless you're gonna show me how to turn it into like, a mouse or something. Now that would be cool!" she grins.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie gives a :| face, holding the cooing, upside-down, extremely calm bird by its feet as she considers her next words carefully.

    "Take responsibility, poppet. If magicians took responsibility for all their cockups--" she states, waggling the poor rock dove at Megan a moment "The world might be a better place. Less witch hunters for certain." she remarks, then gives an apologetic look to the bird before she takes the pigeon and she looks to Megan.

    "If you want a magic show, Zatanna sells tickets online. I was going to give a lesson in magic, but this interloper is offering a better option." she states.

    And she puts the bird just on her lap.

    "Are you familiar with familiars?"

Essix has posed:
Wiggle/dangling from Nettie's hand as she is used in a gesture while talking, the pigeon's little black eyes look at Megan and she coos once, quietly, still no panic at all, just wiggling there.

As Megan says something about turning into a mouse, Essix takes this as a sign and slowly morphs from pigeon to mouse, making sure that her back feet are still in Nettie's hand so that the slightly larger than normal mouse is still dangling there to be gestured with. The actual change is a smooth conversion from pigeon with feathers to an aqua viscous liquid in pigeon shape that then shrinks down into a perfect copy of a mouse and turns white and furry, complete with little red eyes.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    " . . . well. That somewhat spoils the lesson if you turn into a PEW." Nettie remarks, absolutely amused and delighted at this development.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn's eyes widen in surprise as the pigeon suddenly turns into a mouse! "Awwwe, soooo cute! Can I keep it?" she attempts to tickle the oh so cute mouse pigeon thing's chin, scritching it behind the ears if it will allow it. "Sooo is it a magical shapeshifting pigeon mouse then? I mean, I'm familiar with familiars in Harry Potter but I totally don't want a mouse familiar that turns into, like a villain or something, that would suck!" just in case!nshe checks mousie's toes to make sure she's not missing any. "So what shall I call my new familiar? nibbles? kibbles? squeakie?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    ". . . Megan. No." Nettie answers all the questions at once as she hoists the mouse up again, her eyes narrowing.

    "All right, you," Nettie begins, her own familiar crow coming down with a CAW to land protectively on Megan's shoulder and give a warning dig of his talons into her shoulder, protectively of the young sprite, crimson eyes narrowing.

    "This isn't Harry Potter, poppet. This is Real Life. You feel sad when something dies in a book, but if someone were to kill Corvax, depending on how badly it *hurt* it could have killed me as a wee witch." she states as she looks to the mouse.

    "Now. I would recommend, my little myosotic friend, that you come clean about what you are before I trap you in a bauble and use you as lessons for centuries to *come*."

Essix has posed:
The mouse accepts the scritches to her tummy and ears without twitching, she'd come to enjoy that particular aspect of being an animal... some humans seemed to /love/ petting.

As Nettie stares and calls her out, Essix stares right back at her unblinking, dangling there a but longer. The threat of being a bauble however makes her squeak, then try to scamper up onto Nettie's hand. It was difficult, though not impossible, to maintain the rouse while being held, but clearly that time has passed.

"I am perfectly clean," the mouse squeaked, though the voice was actually a high pitched sounding human voice. "I cannot get dirty."

Once she has expressed that, she returns to the aqua viscous fluid to flow from Nettie's hand to the ground, growing into a larger puddle before flowing up into a human form. "Salutations... what is a familiar? How could you trap me in a bauble for centuries? Oh, and do you have a name?" She extends her hand toward Nettie. "I am Essix."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks as the crow sits on her shoulder and Nettie explains, "Waiti think I read it somewhere, like..Uh..Familiars help and assist in your spells, and like, they can have a portion of your soul, kinda..Like a horcrux..?" she shivers at the thought..

Annd then, the mouse shifts and changes into a weird looking human. She blinks and jumps back. "Woah! What the heck? I was right! It's a...Uh..What happened to your face..?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "A shapeshifter. Interesting."

    Nettie has lost the teacher vibe, and is holding her wand in her hand, looking icily cold at Essix as she looks her over. She takes a deep breath, and then she looks to Megan again, and then back to the creature... person... Essix in front of her.

    Corvax had flapped his wings in concern as Megan jumps back, and then flails his wings again as he unleashes a long string of curses and insults.

    "Megan, you can't just meet a body and ask it what happened to its face. Demons can get a little dicy on that one." she comments quietly, and then she stretches her hand a moment.

    "Familiar spirit, servitor of witches and mages 'round the world. Easily. Nettie." she introduces herself, and with her gloved hand she does give a shake.

    "Fascinating. What manner of being are you? Not magical, I wager, I could have felt it I would think."

Essix has posed:
Essix shakes Nettie's hand with a light grip and continues to listen intently to the two as they speak. She doesn't seem phased by Megan's question about her face, not blinking or wincing. "Although I can mimic many things, I still have troubles with human faces," she explain almost scientifically. "There is a uniqueness to how the facial structure is form that I have yet to master."

Now she looks back to Nettie, studying her intently. "There is no name for my species of beings, we simply are," she replies. "Most often humans of this planet would call us aliens, but then there are also illegal aliens from other countries, so I am still attempting to grasp the correct why to explain what I am. Perhaps I should say illegal alien from space, like one might say illegal alien from Mexico."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks at Nettie, then at Corvax, then back to the shapeshifter. "Ooh, a demon shapeshifter, cool!" she makes a face, "Yeaaah, humans are hard to emulate I'll bet..Hey, I'm Megan by the way, wanna be my Familiar? I'll bet it's the best way for an..." she blinks! "Uh, sooo like when you say illegal alien, you mean like..ILLEGAL ALIEN?!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Sting would have a field day." Nettie murmurs quietly as Megan asks the important question, and then she makes a :| face at the assumption that Essix is a demon.

    She seems content to lean back and give a mumble of 'no one's illegal on stolen land.' with a snort, crossing her arms as she taps herself down and removes a silk packet from her pocket, and sparks up a hand-rolled cig.

    "So you're from another planet."

Essix has posed:
The enthusiasm shown by Megan in her words makes Essix smile brightly, at least she got the lips right. "I have heard humans speaking about demons and hell, I assume then that that is where they come from but sadly I am not one. I could pretend to be one if I saw a picture, but yes I am an ILLGEAL ALIEN," as she said the last part she sounded almost exactly like Megan when she said it. There were slight differences of course, but she was pretty close.

"The planet that I come from is a long, long distance from here," she continues, looking back to Nettie. "It took me nearly four hundred of your years to get from there to here in my travel pod, but since then I have been observing and learning all about the culture of the humans of these United States of America."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn's eyes widen in wonder and curiosity at Essix's story. "Wooow so cool...I've never met a real live alien before. of course I've heard of the Shi'at and stuff but.." she gasps at the travelling time, "Woah Woah wait, how old exactly are you, then? And what's your true form look like, and do you have a space ship?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie gives a soft hum of a sound, and tilts her head back. Seven seconds for light to reach Earth across the expanse of space and... too much math. Maths was never her strong suite.

    That was Necromancy. And it's a bit frowned upon these days.

    She crosses her arms, though her wand is still in-hand, she's somewhat more relaxed, breathing out in a thoughtful sound.

    And with Nettie more relaxed, the black bird on Megan's shoulder takes off,a nd returns to Nettie's more familiar shoulder.

Essix has posed:
Essix carefully folds her hands in front of her as she continues to look between the two humans. Since Nettie was silent and Megan was exited, it was Megan who got her attention.

"The concept of age is not something I entirely comprehend," she says with a soft hmmm. "I was aware of my existence and sentience as the pod traveled, but I was not truly born, as you humans call it, until I reached this planet and emerged."

With that part explained, she glances to Nettie again, then to the bird she knows can talk. Perhaps he will speak again, but since he seems to be silent now, her attention returns to Megan.

"I have a pod that can travel back into space, yes," she replies first. "As for my true form, you saw it briefly as I changed forms. Humans describe it as a blue viscous liquid, which is close enough. If you'd like to see, I can show you again."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn oohs, "So in other words you're Soo old you've lost track." she smirks, "But then why did you come to earth, to study humans? to take over the human race? orrr is it more like a vacation get away! Ooh, but it must be sooo funn to have your own alien pod, think you could lend it to me sometime?"she asks brightly and maybe a bit innocently.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Generally taken to be a period of three hundred and sixty five-ish days on this planet, is a 'year'." Nettie explains patiently, "That's how most cultures measure age on this planet." she gives a slight smile as she considers. "But there's not precisely an agreement on where life begins either, some cultures count before you are born, others start on your first breath," she waggles her hand a moment and then glanxes over to Essix.

    "I wouldn't recommend lending it to Miss Gwynn; I don't beleive she has her learner's permit yet." she smiles gently. "However, should you not have a place to get out of the rain, you're both welcome to come for a cup of hot tea at my shop. Chase the chill away."

Essix has posed:
Essix's excitement seems to match Megan's, as if she is just as eager to answer questions as Megan is to ask them. She keeps her hands in plain sight, because she doesn't want either of them to be nervous.

"Oh no, not at all, I am not here to take over," she quickly says while shaking her head. "I am... hmmm." she pauses, thinking a moment with a slight tilt to her head. "The best word to describe my purpose is 'explorer'. I am here to learn all things about this planet, not merely about humans but about that tree, that talking crow, the dirt on the ground... literally, everything."

Her smile grows even broader and she claps her hands together and looks to Nettie, "I do not drink tea but I would very much like to see your shop sometime." She then seems to remember something and looks back to Megan, "I am afraid that my pod is entirely too small for humans to use, but given time and materials, I could build a human sized one... though is Ms. Nettie here, the elder human present, believes you shouldn't... I am afraid I would defer to her wisdom."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn sighs, hanging her head, "Heey, I'm working on it.." she replies in regards to her learner's . As for the pod, she blinks, "Oh really? Well gee that's no fun.." glancing up at the sky, Megan realizes the rain has subsided if just a little! but she's still cold and wet. "Well maybe we can finish this lesson another time, I just realized there's something I need to take care of, thanks for the lesson, Nettie! maybe we can make a regular thing out of it..And nice to meet you too, Essix!" and with that, she spreads her wings and flies off!