Senecio adn Tide II

[Mirach]

"That's good, we really need some fun. I hope you have a good day as well," Senecio smiled and then led Tide towards the room where he left Hans.

[VisAnastasis]

Hans indeed looked a little faint and was running a slight fever again, but it didn't seem too serious. Tide didn't suspect it was anything other than fatigue thankfully, and he wasn't too worried, only a little bit, since he was distracted by the joy of having an excuse to hold Hans close to snuggle with him. He picked him up and pressed him against his chest like a kitty as he began to warm him up with his powers. Hans snorted a little bemusedly, half because of the gesture, half because he was smug they managed to trick them into not worrying, and then he proceeded to briefly explained how they agreed that they will come together with Melody, Svarik and Falcon to the Fourth city and that they should hurry since it's about time for them to meet up.

[Mirach]

Senecio grabbed his makeup case on the way, since he wanted to offer it to the king and his companions while they were on the boat together. Then they all met in front of the gate as they agreed.

[VisAnastasis]

Before Hans, who was a little fainter, and Tide who was looking out for him, could say anything, Alpha, bright and pleased, stepped to them first.
" Awww, the cute squad! Just as I thought, you look absolutely adorable together, and now you even have a cute Being girl with you as well... Ten out of ten," he spoke warmly, in unusual tone of someone who seemed to not have seen them for a while and was missing them, as he focused on Svarik then. " Eros explained me that you successfully wentured into poliamory, congratulations! I did have a feeling it would be a lifestyle fitting you, though, of course! I did not meet too many Solstice's favourites, but those I did meet did have your zeal for being loved and loving too! I am really glad you found out what's working best for you!"'

[Mirach]

"Thank you," Svarik smiled shyly. "You really helped us in this."

[VisAnastasis]

" Aww, that's a nice sentiment, but to be accurate, I don't count my help for your gifts as something that helped you form a relationship - mostly something that made you happy. The biggest help to your success I did give is probably cheering for you and being like, *Go, cutie, go! You've got this!*" Being acted out the pretend dialogue, supportive in his own playful warm way. " The credit is all yours for this one. Still, I'm super vain, so I'll bite - how did you guys like the clothes? Do you look as dashing as I imagined, or more? "

" Actually we didn't get a chance to try them yet, " Falcon tied in a little apologetically, with a touch flustered tone ( ooc. just remembered that for their yesterday after going to Fourth they were supposed to check out Falcon's gift of clothes to Svarik... so delaying that. ) I wanted us to try the clothes together, but we arrived too late last night and Svarik fell asleep on the way back. We are planning to try them on tonight after night falls, and take a walk under the stars. After all, it would be a pity to try them on without a purpose, and we can't exactly wear enchanted clothes in the broad daylight, we would draw too much attention. "

[Mirach]

"But we could wear them for the ball," Svarik suggested. "We wouldn't be the only ones there."

[VisAnastasis]

" Yes, as soon as Hans suggested a new ball, I thought it would be a great chance to wear them together then as well," Falcon agreed, as it seemed to  be the first thing he thought of, acting like it's no big deal though, despite he was looking forward to it a lot.
" Well, since I will be going to the ball too and feast my eyes on you then, I will forgive you for the lack of being blown away just yet. But you have to make it up to me," Alpha winked with his eye playfully." Long story short, I can feel a massive Sun blessing on you. I talked with Eros about it, and we both agreed it could be a bother to you for your future, so since Eros is shy to bring it up, I volunteered to pester you about it. It's nothing unsolvable, but I just wanted to double check with you if you will need help for it. It will be a brief inquiry, so can I pester you shortly while we are on the boat to the Fourth city? It's a simple by the way note. "

[Mirach]

"Uhm, okay?" Svarik said uncertainly. "Why should the blossing be a bother? I'm sure it was meant well..."

[VisAnastasis]

" Well, if you were a celibate priest, it would not matter at all, but you aren't, right? You have a lady in the capital you like too, and you like to participate in Summer Solstice rituals, too, I've heard. I mean, perhaps the issue is not a bother to you, but due to rights of succession, I assumed it would be... am I right to assume you don't want to have, like, gazillion children? " Alpha said with a grin. " I got the context from Eros. It does make sense - he says that you were as infertile as one can be, and that, to overturn that firm state, Solstice basically gave you the strongest blessing of fertility, like, ever... Which is great, since you can have kids now. But didn't you find it suspicious you sired a child so soon? Thing is, the blessing is way too strong now, it is funny. To put it in perspective, if you do Summer Solstice ritual for twenty next years, you will have twenty kids. If you sleep with your wife even once a week, even with the strongest contraceptives, it won't work every time, and you'll basically be having a kid after kid as long as you're alive. Isn't it, like... terryfing? Your kids will be cute and all, but that's way too many kids... Blessings need to be measured to a person, but when they love you a lot, Beings can be very eager and simply overdo it, and when slips ups happen, we end up with fun cases like yours. "

[Mirach]

"Oh..." Svarik murmured as they went to the boat. "Is there a way to tone it down? Should I ask Solstice when they return?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Solstice will need to grow at least a decade or two before they can safely meddle with their existing blessings. Altering an existing blessing is much harder than just giving simple ones a child can. For that time, you would still get too many kids," Alpha explained, as they were seating down comfortably on the spacious boat, crossing his legs idly." As a Star, I could break your blessing, but that would make you infertile, so no can do. The best option for you would be to get a strong blessing to counter existing one. Eros is shy about it, he doesn't like to impose himself on people that may not like his level of insight or meddling in their private lives, so I think you should impose on him instead, if you don't mind having his mark on you, that is. He can tailor variety of blessings tied to those things, so you can pick what works best for you. It's just my advice, but I think you should just go for higher tier blessings, so would not the best one be ability to choose? Beings in their making have to consciously prepare and choose when they want to have a child to be able to conceive or sire one. Eros can give you the same ability to choose when things end up in pregnancy and when not. That way, you will keep the purity of your sun blessing and also not have a gazillion kids. "

[Mirach]

"That seems to be very helpful, if Eros would be willing to do it," Svarik said. "Lipka would certainly appreciate it as well..." 

[VisAnastasis]

" Eros is shy about initiating things. I'll tell you in on a secret, he thinks you are pretty cool and is worried you may grow to dislike him if he suddenly offers you a blessing. Blessings are a big deal, after all. So, if you ask him first, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't lack confidence like Eros, though, so you are welcome for my meddling. I just felt bad for you and your lady, as you would either have to settle for lot of kids or abstain from intimacy, and that sucks. I naturally had to meddle," Being grinned innocently." To be honest, my advice in general is that you don't shy away from seeking blessings from Beings. As a person so often dabbling in supernatural, and a king at that, it will be good for you to have lot of blessings. It will mark you as someone beloved by Beings to our kin. So far, I can see you only have blessings from Sage and Solstice on you, which is surprisingly few, considering how many Beings you know. I was rather surprised. "

[Mirach]

"Well, if blessings can have such unexpected consequences, I think it might be better to be careful with them," Svarik smiled slightly. "I'm glad you noticed it."

[VisAnastasis]

" Is it really unexpected that the strongest fertility blessing ever will result in a lot of kids? " Alpha grinned bemusedly. " I'm sure Solstice had to give you one heck of a blessing in any case, to overcome your body, since you never killed anyone, none of the Bull's power stuck to you, so you need a strong blessing to overcome that. I'd say it's pretty expected, just not something Solstice thought was urgent in a moment, to him, it was most important to give you a chance to have kids at all. It's generally just important to understand pretty clearly what blessing encompasses. Solstice, as a high Spirit, can give more varied and strong blessings, but most blessings are relatively light, and you can't compare them with the strongest ones. Fro example, Sage, who is not fully a Being, but is sort of a half immortal, can give blessings, but they are faint. A blessing I can feel on you is mostly in the level where you'll feel comfortable at sea and never feel seasick, but its main function is that Beings from the coast that know Sage will know you're good people. Me and Solstice, as Stars, or Eros who is Personification, can not be held as an average standard. Most of the lower tier blessings are simple and cute that bend the rules of the world around you a bit. From the top of my head, some can give you the ability to always sense healing plants around you, others can make food to taste double more delicious to you, some can give you a boost of muscle mass and energy so that you can run along with horses for a while. Most of the blessings are cool, cute things like that. "

" Alpha is right, " Tide chimed in brightly, " I am as strong or stronger than lot of High Beings, but since I am made of many bits, I actually don't have couple big blessings, but lot of small cute ones. I like you a lot, so if you require any cute blessing, I will give you anything I am able, or if it's something specific, I'll ask around to see if there's a Being who would be willing to give it to you. " he promised, despite big words, sounding rather affectionate and cheerful as he spoke them. " After all, we couldn't have saved Senecio without you, I don't really think you'll lack anything I could give you as long as you have sir Falcon with you, but if you dislike serious big blessings and want some extra cute blessings instead, I'll help you out. "

[Mirach]

"You are right, of course," Svarik nodded to Alpha. "I meant no disrespect to Solstice and I'm really grateful for their gift. It just surprised me to learn it's this strong. And thank you, Tide. I'll think about it."ň

"Your Majesty," Senecio said shyly, "I mean no disrespect either, but I have to ask Tide, is that wise? If blessing leaves a mark that can be seen by other Beings, and the king will have to interact with emissaries from the Spirit realm and warrior Spirits, it could put him into danger to have a demonic blessing on him, just like it could endanger you if they find out..."

[VisAnastasis]

" Oh, don't worry, it's a valid question, " Tide replied. " Blessings are different from giving away your powers fully, as the Bull did to a first emperor. That is a whole other level - if I gave away some of my powers to Svarik, the Spirit realm would figure it out sooner than you can say cookie. But blessings are more like using your power to permanently change something about human, so Beings can see there is change, but not who it came from. It is the same as if, whoever moved a rock, you would see a rock moved, but not know who did it. "

" Yes, " Alpha tied in, explaining further. " Not all Beings are equally good at figuring out what exact blessings you have been given. For example, I and Tide are quite good at it because we have insane perception and intuition, while someone like Janus or Melody will probably only be able to tell better if it's something connected to their field of power, that is, nature and space bending. Besides, each blessing feels a tiny bit different, and even if you can figure out what it is, it is hard to figure out who made it unless you are familiar enough with a Being to recognize their work. Blessings, you can say, are our highly valued form of art, " he waved with his hand with more passion. " Even if you see the art piece, you won't know who the artist is unless you recognize things like brushstrokes or signatures. True, if you want to be extra safe, you can avoid demon blessings for now, but it's up to you. It really depends on the person looking and their knowledge. For example, even as a Star, I might have only recognized you have a blessing of a star on you, I wouldn't recognize it as Solstice's blessing if I didn't see his handiwork before. Solstice is one of the first people I've met when I arrived at this solar system, and I still regularly, every few centuries, visit him and drink tea with him. I'd recognize that magnificent bastard's blessing anywhere. "

[Mirach]

"Okay..." Senecio murmured, appeased with it. "That sounds safe enough." 

[VisAnastasis]

" Yes, it is, otherwise, things would really be even more depressing. Even as bad as living in hiding is, I would feel even more miserable if I had to fear even giving blessings, " Tide shook his head, feeling dread with the thought. At the same time, though, a brighter feeling overpowered it, as he realized something. " Oh... I mean, my offer to Svarik naturally applies to you too, Senecio. We just always seem to fill the time, and it didn't seem you were lacking something in particular, so it never occurred to me to offer. But I love giving blessings, tiny as they are, " he said shyly, but also spoke more carefully, not to make Hans, who could offer no blessings right now, too uncomfortable. " If either you or Svarik or if you have some friends that want some, I'm up to give. You're trustful so I know you'll have reasons. "
" So, do I count among those friends? " Falcon commented just a touch bemusedly, and Tide raised his eyebrows a little, and suddenly turned to him with surprise.
" Would you like a little blessing, too? " he asked with wonder, not daring to be excited yet. " I'm sorry, I would have offered it to you now as well, I just thought you'd surely refuse. Whenever I asked you three years ago, while we lived together for half a year, you always refused... You even refused on my last day in the capital, and I offered you blessings each year for your birthday afterwards... "
Falcon shrugged, with just a light trace of discomfort, not too visible on the outside, but to Senecio, it was visible by the light uncertainty and careful gathering of courage that this was a change to the way that man usually acted.
" Well... We know each other longer now. But it is true time does not really make much difference to my wariness. Rather, I've been thinking a bit after Svarik got me those enchanted clothes from Alpha, " he nodded lightly to the Being, before he looked away, to the sea, as they drove, adding quietly. " I've just been thinking... If I took up Hans and you on the offer, and came here sooner... perhaps I'd already have made a deal, for clothes like those for myself. It turned out better like this, but still... It makes me wonder, how much I had missed because... I didn't really fancy trusting even trustworthy people, " he grumbled, as if to himself, but actually, to the expectant demon. " I'm sorry for not taking you up on that offer before, Tide. You were not the only one, I would not trust anyone in your position. It was just not something I as I was back then could accept. "

[Mirach]

Svarik smiled brightly with that. "You cry deserve a blessing. Do you have a particular one in mind?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Well, I barely scraped by a bit of determination to try something new, so, well, no pressure, " Falcon chuckled a little bit, indeed, feeling a little reluctant to ask, especially before others, for something he deemed selfish desire as if it was a most unusual concept. " But I do actually have something. Since it's my first time, I want to try something small. I remember you talked to me about your blessings and there was one that I thought would be nice. I've been thinking about, and at least right now, it is probable Svarik and I would hardly be able to have... proper outings at day. So we'd probably have the most comfortable breaks at night. But Svarik is really emotionally tied to sunlight, so he won't be as comfortable as me, and then I won't feel inclined to invite him out too often, " Falcon explained his seemingly most pressing issue right now practically, even his selfish request sounding peculiar. " I remember you said you could give me a blessing that could allow me to create warmth where I chose to, as long as it's in close range of me. I know it's a faint blessing and isn't strong enough to cook things with it or burn someone, but to keep the air around us and our clothes warm, and to occasionally warm Svarik's lunch or spiced milk without having to light the fire... That would be an ideal blessing starter, I think... "

[Mirach]

"That sounds really lovely," Svarik smiled at Conrad, knowing very well for whom the blessing is meant.

[VisAnastasis]

Falcon grinned innocently, with obvious favour. Tide seemed all the more charmed with their responses, clapping his hands with excitement.
" Well, I kind of expected you to ask for anything remotely possible to use for defence, but I guess you had your fill of defense with Alpha's clothes, right? You sure you don't want anything specifically for yourself? I can give you more than one..."
" This one is for me, though. I will be getting the most out of it, " Falcon proclaimed confidently." And since it's the first time try, I think one is enough. "
" Alright, if you are sure. How about Svarik, though? Will you take more to decide? Are you going to go with something unrelated, or would you perhaps like matching couple blessings?" Tide bid playfully, inspired by their words." If Falcon will get the blessing of warmth, why don't you get the blessing of coldness? It's not strong enough to use for defence, like to freeze someone over, but I can give you just about enough to turn water to ice. You can make nice ice cubes for drinks in the hot summer, or make ice cream like me. On related note, if you use it carefully, you can lower someone's fever - it is a kind of power I use in combination with blood bending myself. Without blood bending, it is slower and not as effective as my full method, but still, wouldn't you like a power that helps ease the fever?" Being asked hopefully." Seeing you two, one would say you look like you should have the opposite - you, the warmth, Falcon, the cold. But since he has no pleasure from cold power and since you are already sunny enough as you are, little Svarik, you may have more use for a blessing that will add more variety to what you can do."
" Besides, as a couple, one having the blessing of coldness, other of warmth would be just too cute," Alpha tied in with adoration. " If not that, other similar matching blessings would be as cute, I think. There's nothing cuter than couples getting complementary blessings.  "

[Mirach]

"I really like that," Svarik said. "You'll have to give me a recipe for the ice cream though."