Gossiping (Afina)

[Ebiris]

"Yes," she says, putting down her book. Numerology never really interested her but devils seem to put a lot of stock in it. "What is it, Elena?"

[Anastasia]

"Oh, Arrel needs a spot of help," she says. Today Elena's dressed up in a gauzy, ethereal dress with ribbons binding it to her body.

[Ebiris]

"I'll go see him," she says, hoping it's not a fight with Baleruk. "Where us he?"

And since she feels more fashion conscious ever since becoming a pixie of many colours she adds, "I like the dress. I've got something in a similar style for visiting the Padisha."

[Anastasia]

"In his quarters, it's about his hoard," Elena does a little twirl on her tiptoes at this, "Oh, you like it? I think it looks so cute, especially the ribbons."

[Ebiris]

"Accessories are important," Afina agrees, "Though Crystal's gotten me to try a more simplified look. But it's the gauziness that's like my clothes for the Coral Palace, I've got this really interesting jellyfish design. I'll have to show you it when I'm all dressed up before we leave," she explains, starting to head off to find Arrel.

[Anastasia]

Elena follows, "Oh, I've seen Crystal's outfits. She's a little too conservative. Now don't tell her I said this, but she has the fashion sense of an old maid," The ghost girl whispers, before giggling, "It's so brave of her go out in some of those outfits."

[Ebiris]

"Huh. She always criticises my dress sense. I just assumed she knew what she was talking about even if I didn't agree," Afina says, nonplussed. "That's what makes a third opinion more valuable than a second opinion."

[Anastasia]

"You should listen to me more," Elena suggests, "Tepen actually has good fashion sense, in a very simple and mage-y sort of way. So does - oh, I'll catch you later, someone's calling." She's then gone, vanished in a wink of the eye.

[Ebiris]

Oh, she forgot to tell Elena... "If you can still hear me, I'm available for providing Gates to people that need transport," she calls after Elena, since she can take some of the load off of Tepen and Vul'lath that way. That done she continues on to find Arrel and help with whatever troubles him. It can't just be as simple as interior decoration can it?

[Anastasia]

You find Arrel in his quarters. A few piles of gold coins are about, scattered here and there. But taking pride of place in the room is a small, neatly stacked pile of gold ingots. Arrel's pacing around the room. "Oh, Afina. Did you hear what Baleruk did? Insulting my hoard! I don't even need much of a hoard but that's inexhusable," The dragon-eagle goes right on, "So I need opinions. Do these gold bars work and look more impressive than gold coins? Secondly, should I consider converting some of my coins to copper coins and use them as the filling of coin piles?"

[Ebiris]

Not again. "Have you spoken at all to Surraruthru?" she suggests gently. "I hear he's been working really hard on making his own hoard impressive. I don't know about asking Smrgol, he just keeps his all in a big pile in the corner - he tries but I don't think he really gets it the same way a flesh and blood dragon does. But if you want a fairy's perspective?" she shrugs and flutters over towards the ingots. "I think coins look more impressive for the impression of overflowing wealth. The ingots are just too compact unless you've got hundreds of them. I wouldn't use copper as filler though, that just feels cheap. Or... or!" she brightens as inspiration strikes, "Why not take a cue from your eagle heritage and convert your ingots into lots of narrow but long golden strips and fashion them into a nest the way ordinary birds do with twigs?"

[Anastasia]

As Afina talks and rues her strange fortune for being Aurora's sounding board right now, Arrel listens. "Hmmmm. Hundreds of ingots in a nest of gold straw with gems..." the dragon-eagle murmurs, lost in it. As he is, the door opens and Moore enters.

[Ebiris]

"A hoard-nest," Afina agrees, enthused with her own cleverness in coming up with so elegant a solution. "Something to suit your own inimitable style. Baleruk or anyone else couldn't possibly fault such a design... oh, hello Moore," she turns and nods to her fellow pixie in greeting as he enters.

[Nephrite]

Moore nods and gives a small wave. "Hello and greetings Miss Afina, Sir Arrel. I'm on a bit of a quest at the moment and wanted to see if any of you would care to join me. In speaking with one of the denizens of Mineral, I've come to a lead of a dragon named Gold -- yes, I know, very inventive, his full name is Goldanariux. Anyway, he apparently lives in the border of Mineral and the Positive Energy Plane in a place called Goldenmist.

He pauses at this. "Ah... actually, the truth of the matter is that I've been pursuing it to see if we could get some additional assistance for you at the forges. Not that I mean to say that your work hasn't been exemplary, but it never hurts to add more skilled crafts...dragons to our ranks."

[Ebiris]

Afina listens attentively to Moore but her expression closes up as soon as she mentions the word dragon. "While I would appreciate having someone take a bit of the crafting load off me, a dragon isn't very suitable. You see ever since we helped Baleruk become a prismatic dragon those of us present at the time - myself, Jaela, and Ithea, have all been forced to bear a mark that enrages dragons at the sight of it. Those of long acquaintance," she gestures to Arrel, "Can work past it, but it leads to fatal first impressions in most other cases."