witchcraft and sorcery

[witchwatcher]

For a brief moment, in a certain part of fairyland there is a tear that leads to the cold sky above a snow-covered hilly forest somewhere in the mortal world.

Comments

[imeanforever]

"Okay. Should I turn you invisible?"

[witchwatcher]

"May as well skip it. Floating books are probably suspicious, and we'll be staying right here anyway."

[imeanforever]

"Okay."

Promise roasts her roots with sorcery and eats them and then says "Ready when you are."

[witchwatcher]

"Recon said today's wave of little ones were heading to the outskirts of Berlin. I can track them at range, so we can appear just outside the city and we won't have trouble finding one. Promise, your wings will be odd but if you say you're a transformed human people will probably take it at face value. We probably won't have to talk to anyone."

The two Witches mount their Steelwings. And all three people are in the air on a chilly morning.

There must be quiet a lot of humans down there, if the sheer number of buildings and farms is any indicator.

Copycat scans the horizon. "It'll take a minute to find the nearest lone Neuroi. Don't want a group of 'em yet, don't want to risk fighting a big nasty one with only two Witches."

[imeanforever]

"Okay."

[witchwatcher]

"Scatter, three hundred forty miles bearing two ninety four." Poof.

[neuroihive]

That thing is probably the Neuroi. It screeches, a shrill unpleasant sound, and turns in their direction.

[imeanforever]

And it is named Neuroi. Click.

"Stop," Promise tells it firmly.

[neuroihive]

It stops screeching. It stops moving forward through the air. It stops waving its... Arms?

[witchwatcher]

"It worked. Excellent."

[imeanforever]

"Do you want it to do anything else, or just stay put?"

[witchwatcher]

"See if it can tell us about how Neuroi work? We didn't think they had language, but obviously they do since it understood you."

[imeanforever]

Promise tells Neuroi the Neuroi, "Say 'hello'."

[neuroihive]

It emits a brief flash of light. Blueish.

[imeanforever]

"Well, it can't talk in any audible fashion, apparently, but the lights must be meaningful. I'm not sure why I couldn't understand it."

[witchwatcher]

After a brief summary from Copycat, Scatter says, "There's more kinds of light than just the kind we can see. Maybe it's using some of those."

[imeanforever]

"Maybe. Mmm..." She says to the Neuroi, "Speak the word 'hello' aloud."

[neuroihive]

Its best attempt at 'Hello' in English makes Copycat wince and cover her ears, though of course it's perfectly understandable to Promise.

[imeanforever]

"Okay, it can talk but no one would ask it to do so for recreational reasons."

[witchwatcher]

"The light is probably its native language, so to speak. Can you ask it why they're fighting us? How to get the rest of them to stop?"

[neuroihive]

More Neuroi are coming. They fire red lasers at their frozen friend from a distance that is surprisingly large to Scatter and Copycat.

None of them have names, yet.

[imeanforever]

Well, now they're all also named Neuroi. "Stop!" Promise repeats.

[neuroihive]

They stop. Then they all explode.

[witchwatcher]

"They clearly know something's up," Scatter says, "We should go for the big boss before it figures out what's going on."

[imeanforever]

"Okay."