World Tree MUSH

     Wishing to get away and relax for a bit, Krystal returns to Eden in the Cradle. Heading to the market she remembers this was the place she first met Fox, and idly wonders if she'll run into anyone interesting here this time. For the moment the blue vixen is dressed in a pink two piece swimsuit with a white and yellow sundress over top, as she browses the market, looking for some food and drink that she could take with her as she heads down to the large lake nearby for a little fun in the sun and water. She's already bought some pastries, and is currently browsing the offerings at a street vendor offering various sandwiches.

     This has been a strange week for Martin. He was on his way to go liberate his new friends in Mossflower from an evil tyrant cat lady, and then POOF, he woke up in this bizarre place. He's been wandering around since then being very, very confused, and now, he just wants /something/ to eat, and a sandwich seems acceptable at this point. As he's picking one out though, he catches sight of another strange being out of the corner of his eye- no, on second glance, despite the blue fur, she's definitely a vixen.

Startled by Krystal's arrival, the mouse warrior stumbles back a step as he turns to face the fox, his eyes darting across her form to make sure she's not armed. "Ah! You... you're a fox!" he blurts out, then shakes his head as he realizes how dumb that sounded. "Er, I mean... Ugh, what are you doing here?" He continues to stumble over his words for a few more moments before sighing and giving up, unsure whether to be relieved at seeing a familiar species or apprehensive because it's a fox.

To be honest/ The only thing that brought Ash here was mantinance for his Orbiter. Even with the mishmash of technology from countless universes? The technology of his home was a weird outlayer of biology fused to technology. The upshot of this was that even here within the cradle they didn't dare do any restorative work on the orbiter's systems and instead focused on mantinance and preventing any further damage.

All this left Ash at loose ends as he wandered about dressed in the thick doublebreasted jacket and leggings from his home. There was no point or reason for this excersion other than a walk... and as luck, narritive causality, or blind chance would have it? He sighted Martin and shrugged before ambling over to the very obviously lost little soul. He would hold off on introductions, both because of the distance he needed to cover, and frankly he didn't want to scare the poor guy.

     As Krystal is beginning to check out the sandwiches, she is suddenly accosted by a mouse. She blinks and looks toward him as he blurts out that she's a fox and asks what she's doing here, wondering why the poor fellow is so worked up. "I'm just here getting some stuff to eat before I head down to the lake for a little relaxing picnic, was going to go alone, but I don't mind company. My name is Krystal by the way." She offers with a smile, before turning to the vendor and ordering a pair of sandwiches, one roast beef and swiss, the other ham and cheddar, along with a couple bottles of water. The vendor bags up her order and hands it to her as she pays. Turning back, Krystal notices Ash and offers a wave. "Well hello to you too!"

     Martin stays awkwardly silent for a few more moments, the gears metaphorically turning in his head as he ponders this. Besides the strange coloration of her fur, she seems... normal enough, and doesn't appear to be dangerous. "I... er, sorry, I just..." he tries to speak, then glances toward Ash as Krystal waves to him. "I'm not used to this... wherever this is. And all of these strange creatures. You're the first one I've seen to actually resemble something familiar, is all." he continues, after gathering his thoughts a bit more.

Ash looked to Martin before ordering a sandwich from the vendor and handing it to thepoor kid. "I'm Ash. Hi, welcome to the cradle." He gave a weak chuckle. "Lemme guess. Found your way here don't know where here is and don't know where home is?" 

He then looked over to Krystal, "Hey not to distract from the outfit name Star Wolf mean anything to you? From the end of thigns you're from?"

     Krystal quirks an eyebrow as the mouse calms down a bit, before telling her that she's the first that he's seen that was somewhat familiar, which makes her wonder about his initial reaction. "Hmm, you don't say? Do foxes where you come from... erm,... eat mice like you?" She questions curiously, then quickly adds. "I would certainly never do such a thing. Not really into the idea of hunting down live food, particularly not the sort which walks on two legs and talks." She says with a friendly smile, trying to reasure the mouse that she wasn't a threat to him. Turning to Ash, she shakes her head. "I didn't meet anyone in Star Wolf before I came here and ultimately found a similar yet not quite the same world from mine, and met them there. Why do you ask?"

     Martin sighs and gratefully accepts the sandwich from Ash, unwrapping it and taking a few bites, not even seeming to mind that there's turkey on it. "Mmf, thanks, I actually wasn't sure what I should pay him with..." he says to Ash, then turns his attention back to Krystal as he explains, "N-not quite, no. I mean, some might, I've heard /stories/ of cannibals in the far northlands, where the cold leaves little food for beasts to eat but each other. Foxes are... a different kind of dangerous. Sly, cunning, every one of them rotten to the core..."

A moment of silence passes before he adds, "Every one that I've met up to now, anyway." He gets back to his sandwich after that, eyes darting back and forth between the other two.

Ash hmmed at Krystal's response before ordering something for himself, "Got work with them. I don't see it as being a lasting sort of job, but a few months, maybe a year wit hthem to try getting at least some work experiance. Guy in charge seems kinda rough but up front about everything. Seems to put an emphasis on being professional about when on a job anyway." To be honest Wolf facinated him for a variety of reasons. "I got a lot of them off the local net so sorta wanted to be up front about new work affiliations if thatd end up putting you in any sort of a bind."

He paused before looking to Martin, "It's alright. You sound like you're new to everythign but your home world. No huge rush, so far as Iv'e seen here is pretty safe." He wouldn't know of the thousand and one sorts of gangs, grifters, husslers, and so forth in cities like this, but he didn't precicely scream 'target' anyway. "Money changer's yonderway," He made a vague pointing gesture, "I take it you haven't found work?"

     Krystal nods to Martin. "Ah, I see, that isn't much better, perhaps even worse... Well, I think I can assure you that I'm not rotten to the core, and far from it. Maybe Ash here will vouch for that too." She says to Martin before turning to Ash and nodding. "I'm not really sure who to side with between Wolf and Fox, it's obvious that the two have some issues to work out, but while Fox comes off as a hero, Wolf has been quick to point out some things about him that cast him in a bit of a different light. However I'm still not sure how much of that varies between Wolf's world, and the one I shared with Fox before coming here, as I never met Fox there. Anyway, our new friend here I'm sure doesn't know anything about what we're talking about, so maybe this discussion is best left for another time. I was planning on going down to the lake for a picnic, would you both like to join me? We can maybe fill in..." She turns to Martin for a moment. "What was your name?"

     "Martin. Some call me Martin the Warrior, in fact." says the mouse as he finishes his sandwich, fidgeting with the plastic wrapper as if he's unsure what to do with it. Which he is. Nevertheless, with very few options available to him here, he sighs and nods. "Yeah, I can think of worse places to be right now than at a lake for a picnic. I'll join you two, and... maybe you can explain to me what /any/ of this is."

"OK," Ash looked Martin over carefully and frowned. "No offense, but given your state of dress the fact you're taking to cars, planes, and the other bits of city life is encouraging." He shrugged before moving to Krystal's side. "An afternoon on the lake while my ship gets restocked sounds like a pleasant way to kill time."

Meanwhile Ordis was busy grumbling at a mantinance worker offloading raw materials Ash had traded for fuel and provisioning services.

"Can't say how I feel about the whole outfit rivalry thing myself Krystal. I just wanted you aware the thning exists before it comes up." 

A look over to Martin, "C'mon man. I'm sure you have plenty of stories to tell."

     "Martin the Warrior eh? I'm guessing you have fought your share of foxes then from what you've told me, so I guess that explains your reaction before." Krystal says to Marin before offering to take the wrapper from him, at which point she will toss it into a trash can about 10 feet away. Turning back to the pair, she grins as Ash talks of stories. "Hmm, sharing some stories sounds like fun. Come on guys, let's get out of this city to somewhere more relaxing." She says as she begins leading the way out of town and off to the lake.

     TIME SKIP

As the trio approach the lake, Martin has just finished telling them his life's story, all the way up to his training with Boar the Fighter and the subsequent disappearance of the ship and his friends that he was taking back to Mossflower. "And, well, that's the last I've seen of them since then. That was about a week ago, and I have no idea where to even /start/ looking." he says, with another sigh, as he goes and settles in a few meters from the water's edge. "Or even if I /can/ find them, or get back for that matter. I just... feel lost, more lost than I've ever felt."

Ash had kept quiet through Martin's story, preferring to listen as the man unburdened. "I'm in a similar boat about nto being sure ohow t ofind home." Granted for him home was far less 'yay everything is fine now' than Martin's, but home is home. "All I can say is it's possible the way there is just hard to find. I don't know how these 'fines' work and won't claim to. However if you find your way back i'd love to see the place. It sounds quite grand."

     Krystal also is quiet as they travel to the lake while Martin tells his life story and about how he's lost here while his friends might be in danger. She frowns a bit, empathizing for his situation. "Sorry to hear that, but Ash is right, there may be a way for you to find your way back to your old world, but it doesn't seem easy. I have done a bit of exploring, and instead of finding my world, I found one that is nearly the same, but just slightly off in certain ways." She says as she pulls a pack off her back and retrieves a blanket from it, which she spreads out in the grass near the lake. She then sits down and pulls out her sandwiches and begins to eat the roast beef one. "I will say that I'm willing to help you in any way I can, though it would appear we're all in the same boat here.

     Martin shuffles over to join Krystal on the blanket, nodding at her and Ash's encouraging words. "Well, if there's even the slightest chance, I'll take it. They were expecting me to return with help to take Kotir, and now it seems I won't return at all? I'm not going to lie down and accept that." he declares, staring out at the sparkling water. "I didn't leave Boar to die just so I could fail my mission."

Ash nodded and smiled to Martin before putting an earpiece in. "Hey Ordis, can you send down my fishing spear?" He then looked to Krystal and Martin, "Either of you want a pole, spear, or anything?" He then looked out to the lake with a broad smile plastered across his face. "The day is quiet, the weather good. Why not right? Ordis can fab you both something up in a hurry."

Almost as if on cue a spear wa seemingly flung from the sky striking an empty patch of ground beside Ash. As weapons went it looked fairly paultry, but it had a forearm bracer and line attached, which Ash seemed familair enough with to wear on his right arm before hefting the spear in his right hand. "Normally I don't go fishing without my frame, but I... somehow doubt you'll get forty kelo two meter long fish out here."

     Krystal frowns, imagining what it must be like to know your allies are counting on you, and you can't find your way back to them. "There must be a way, and if we all work together, I'm sure we'll find it, I'm just not sure how long it may take..." She offers to Martin, before turning and nodding to Ash. "Sure, I'll take a rod." She says with a smile as she continues eating, finishing off the one sandwich and taking a drink from a bottle of water after setting the others that she bought out on the blanket in case Marin or Ash grew thirsty.

     Martin sighs again, then nods to Ash. "I'll take a rod as well. It's been a while since I fished, but I still remember when I was a young lad, casting my bait out into the sea and hoping for a bite..." he trails off wistfully, nodding gratefully to Krystal for her continued encouragement. The spear coming out of the sky snaps him out of it though, causing him to jump a bit. "Oh! Oh... uh, where did that come from? Do you have a bird friend delivering these?" he asks, glancing up toward the sky.

As Ash tested the heft of his fishing spear he smiled, "You heard them Ordis. Think you can make it happen?"

Ash stepped a little closer to the lake before tossing the spear out into the air, letting it spool out the line before a gesture caused the spear to snap back to his hand. He winced and flexed his fingers. "Owe... OK need to get use to that."

then Krystal and Martin would se a pair of fishing rods and tackle boxes seemingly appear nearby. The specifics may be alien, ornae markings and trim on the boxes and rod, but each would be servicable and in genral would conform to an automated reel type fishing rod with basic artificial bait, hooks, bobbers, weights, and so forth in the tackle boxes.
"Thnks!" Ash laughed when eh closed the comm line. Then he turned to look over to Martin, "All I can promise is I'll help as I can how I can. I'm a fighter rather than explorer, but you won't be alone."

     Krystal moves over to one of the tackle boxes and starts getting out bait and a bobber and setting up the weights on her line properly. Since Ash didn't answer Martin's question about the 'bird friend' who was dropping these off for them, Krystal decides to take a stab at it. "Well Martin, I'm not sure what the level of technology is where you come from, but both Ash and I have ships that can fly through the air, and even through space to travel among the stars. Ash's is a bit more sophisticated than mine though."

     "Given what I've seen this last week, I'm going to assume you're not telling me any tall tales, and I'm not going to think too hard about it. It sounds like something I'm going to have to see for myself." Martin says to Krystal, then nods to Ash as he sets about preparing his rod by following Krystal's example. "Thank you, Ash. We'll be twice as safe with two warriors, if nothing else." That being said, he casts his line out into the lake.

Ash nodedto Krystal, not really sure how to explain everything so left it to her to handle. "I really don't mean to show off, since while i've got a few nicities, I'm fiarly sure on the ground in a straight fight you'd be pretty on par." OK Maybe ot as fast as his warframe, but in his estimation Martin lookedl ike he could take a good hit or five. "I daresay you'd deal with being out in the wild better than me." He offered a smile before wandering towards the lake's shore. "Which brings to mind a fairly relevant question." He looked towards the water. "Either of you know how to clean one of these thigns out and cook? I'dalways just handed my catch off to Hai Luk to deal with."

     Krystal nods at Martin. "Well, I'd be happy to show you my ship later if you want." She was sure Ash would be happy to offer the same, but she would let him speak for himself. For now she casted her line out into the lake, only to laugh at Ash's question about cleaning and gutting the fish to make it ready to cook and eat. "Hmm, I'm not sure I know either. Does Ordis have any information about that?"

     "I said it's been a while, but I do still know how to do that, yes." Martin answer Ash regarding the preparation of fish for eating. "Just because I did it in my youth doesn't mean I haven't done it since then." As Krystal offers to show him her ship, he falls silent in thought for a few moments, his gaze drifting across her once again as if trying to see through any ruse she might be putting up. After a bit though, he nods. "Yes, that sounds interesting. I'd like to see one of these ships that can fly through the stars."

Ash smiled as he hefted the spear, taking a wide stance and raising it high. "Sure I don't mind letting you see in my ship. Not a lot in the parts people can poke around in since it's mostly for getting between A, B, and keeping my gear in order so I can work." He held his breath before throwing. His smileturned into a broad grin as he pulled his spear back and looked at a fish as long as his forearm. "Don't know the peticulars about this little guy, but looksl ike plenty of meat there."

At some point Ordis had provided a couple baskets for freshly caught fish to be placed in. As Ash put his fish in one he flexed the fingers of his right hand.

     Krystal grins sheepishly as both she and Martin reel in nothing, but Ash spears a nice sized fish. "Well, at least one of us has some luck today." She says with a laugh, taking a moment to drink some more of her water.

     Martin chuckles as he too fails to catch anything before Ash. "No worries, Krystal. He has a much more direct method, after all. What we're doing requires patience, discipline, or at least a good conversation partner." he says with a smile, leaning back on one elbow and simply... relaxing. "Just take a deep breath, enjoy the fresh air, and let the time go."

Ash shook his head, "Direct yes, but each method requires its own skills." Ash hefted his spar. "Like right now?" He gestured with his spear at where he saw a fish. "I have to know exactly when to throw, hold until the time is right." He took a breath and held.

ANd he swore to God, FSM, or whatever the fish ducked right as the spear hit water causing the spear to perfectly slide right where the fish had been a moment earlier.

     Krystal nods to Martin and recasts her line, see sees something nibbling at the bait after a bit, but nothing fully biting yet. "You have a point there Martin, we're taking the more relaxed way of fishing, Ash is going the direct and rather violent method." She says with a chuckle. "I guess we'll see which way catches bigger fish." She says as she grins at Ash.

     Martin smiles back at Krystal, nodding as she agrees with him. "Indeed. He has to put so much work into each and every throw, while we can just let the fish come to us. Conserve our energy for when they bite." he says, taking one of the drinks and popping the cap off, taking a few swigs. "No need to rush things, after all. We have all the time in the world here..."

'There is a sort of calm to it though." Ash's manner was easy as he again readied his spear. "The sight of your target." He saw something flicker in the water ahead. His spear raised. "The quiet anticipation of the moment as it all slides away. Just you... and..."

Throw!

The spear was slow in reeling in. This fish was large, probably one of the biggest in the pond. He grinned as he pulled it from the water. "I could have ordis bring down a stove and cutlary. Shall we?"