Come on wuss it's just a door

[poll_the_stars]

Avetlarinyarenesaar... Is currently trying to force herself to walk another few steps. She hasn't managed it, yet. Her reason for stopping was perfectly ordinary - check the address, make sure it was correct, be sure she was in the right place. She'd been quite sure, but there wasn't any downside to double checking, so she double checked. And triple checked. She stopped herself from quadruple checking, but she wanted to anyway. To - be sure that she was right. Yes. Not because she was procrastinating, or nervous, or thinking what am I going to say? She wanted to be sure that she was right.

Well. She's right. She checked three times, there's no doubt to it.

"Look," she mutters to herself, "I get it, it's scary, but deal. You are not allowed to - to -" To what? Go home? Maybe try to work up the courage later? Maybe try and avoid the shren house like so many other dragons?

It was a door. It's idiotic to be afraid of a door. Sure, there were shrens on the other side of it, but there could conceivably be shrens on the other side of lots of doors, some of them were in hiding, hair dye existed. Subtle colors existed. She could have been near shrens any number of times.

That - did not actually make her fear go away. Instead it makes her want to curl up in her little apartment and not go outside again.

Great. Okay. Stop that train of thought, it's not useful. If she stands here any longer, people are going to stare. (Is that person over there staring? Probably. Damn.) Just - door. Go. Walk.

She forces herself to walk to the door, somewhat stiffly. And then she is at the door. ... Does she knock? Does she just open it and go in? She has no idea. It's customary to knock, so... She takes a deep breath and does so. Resisting the urge to flee and teleport away (or scamper into the bushes) isn't easy, but she manages it.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

And thus did all of the babies at this house fly.

"I can't teleport to the other two," says Ehail.

[poll_the_stars]

"I've been to Gibryel," she says, "I can fly to Tenebirokalamikikek from there, are you willing to grab a teleportation circle to Corenta and grab it yourself? Faster that way, though I might be able to find a wizard that can teleport me to both countries -"

[alicornucopia]

"Yes. Just write the spell down for me. Is it intentionally complex...?"

[poll_the_stars]

"No, it's not -" She retrieves paper and a writing utensil, and writes down the spell, and hands it to Ehail. "Would have mailed it, kind of was in a rush. Questions before I teleport and start flying, or...?"

[alicornucopia]

"No. Go."

Ehail teleports away.

The jade guy, festooned with baby shrens, blinks at Avet.

[poll_the_stars]

She waves, and then she goes.

She flies dragon most of the way, it's faster. But she doesn't stay dragon. That would be a great way to lose her ability to fly in natural form entirely. She walked to get to the Esmaar house, the first time, but now's really not the time for that. Time to stop sitting on that one single chosen form. And it's not like she hadn't thought about what her non-dragon flight form would be. Just - waffling a little. In case of an emergency.

Gyrfalcon, she thinks, and she is a pale while bird with coppery markings that doesn't stop flying after she shifts.

She's at the shren house in Tenebirokalamikikek soon enough. She lands and shifts human, and tries to figure out how to get in.

[alicornucopia]

The iceberg has an entrance, but it's filled with water.

Someone swims up in merfolk form presently. "Jensal called. Are you Avet?"

[poll_the_stars]

"Yes. The babies, please...?"

[alicornucopia]

"Do you have a merfolk form? I have to call the council to bring them up, but there's a small pocket of air in the iceberg with enough space for a baby to fly a little..."

[poll_the_stars]

She considers, very briefly, if using a form up for a merfolk form is worth it to get to the babies sooner. Merfolk is a pretty good choice for an aquatic form. And she'll be back later for the babies. And does she really want to make children wait in agony because she didn't want to use another form? And then she is not considering anymore, because she has stepped forward so her ankles are in the (freezing) water, and she is then a merfolk.

"Do now," she says, lightly. "Lead on?"

[alicornucopia]

The water would be comfier if she'd wound up with a luckier subspecies of merfolk, but it's livable even for a shallows-Eem one. The amethyst shows her the way into the iceberg. There are babies; they are ushered into the air pocket, which is used mostly for storage but is quickly cleared out to let them fly.

[poll_the_stars]

She is not here to be comfy, she is here to help some babies.

Once everything is ready: spells. Well, just the one, really, cast multiple times. But it's an important one.

[alicornucopia]

And the babies are flown and very happy and damply affectionate.

[poll_the_stars]

She giggles, and pets one while she whispers Ehail. Is she over her fear of shrens? It sort of looks like she's over her fear of shrens. Also babies are cute.

"Got Tenebirokalamikikek," she informs.

[alicornucopia]

"I've gotten Corenta," says Ehail. "I don't know how to find the home shrens."

[poll_the_stars]

"I will ask the dragon council, they'll have records. Countries you've visited and can teleport to in case you have one I haven't and it's faster for me to tell you?"

[alicornucopia]

"Petar and Esmaar. Reverni. Corenta, now. Aveha. I passed through Tava on the way to Corenta. I went to Aqathe once."

[poll_the_stars]

"Okay. Thanks. I will let you know."

"Excuse me," she says to the nearest person in charge, "I'm going to go take care of home shrens. I'll be back later to reset them again, but - yeah, gotta go."

[alicornucopia]

"Thank you," call the amethyst and babyminder in unison.

[poll_the_stars]

She smiles and nods, and teleports to Dragon Island to go find records of shrens. It's a bit weird to be in natural form after working so hard to not around shrens, but she'll cope.

Records of shrens are found, easily located since dragons need to know where not to fly. She writes down all addresses of the little ones stil in esu. Locations are relayed to Ehail where appropriate. And then Avet starts teleporting to places, and flying from there. In her falcon form, because she's aiming for shrens specifically and it's really better to be safe in these circumstances.

She reaches the first house reasonably quickly, lands, and knocks on the door.

[alicornucopia]

This house has an exhausted jet lady and a screaming jet baby.

[poll_the_stars]

"I am a wizard who can let her temporarily fly," she explains. "With a spell. It will reset esu."

[alicornucopia]

"Him," corrects the mother blearily, and then, "wait, what."

"FLY!" screams the baby.

[poll_the_stars]

She casts the spell.

"Fly," she agrees.

[alicornucopia]

The baby escapes his mother, scratching her in the process, and flies.