669/Meet my new friend

From Radiant Heart MUSH

Meet my new friend
Date of Scene: 29 October 2023
Location: Dorms #1
Synopsis: Chrono introduces his new familiar, Fenix, to his roommate. Adrien and Plagg think she's... nice. Unfortunately, there is a little bit of... trouble. Namely, Adrien's allergies. But nothing a bit of magic can't fix.
Cast of Characters: Chrono Harlaown, Adrien Agreste


Chrono Harlaown has posed:
The room that Adrien also lived in was.... generally well kept. Chrono was a pretty good roommmate, all things considered. He did, however... have one noticeable flaw.

That is, he had no chill. He was... ahem... not exactly the calmest of sorts. So Adrien had likely often arrived in their room, just to find Chrono hard at work. Today was no different. Nope. No different at all.

What was different, however, was arriving in the room...

And finding Chrono there, working on paperwork as he often was, a holographic display open.

And seeing a really, really tall woman there with him, working the coffee machine. A woman who.... was about Setsuna's height and had oddly similiar hair, albeit blue. With bright red eyes... and a barrier jacket. And uhhh...

Okay, this wasn't the first time he'd walked in on Chrono with a woman, though. But they weren't talking. Just working. What?

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste had been out getting a bit of food which is carried neatly in a bag. He wasn't a bad roommate, either. Other than the cheese incident, he kept things neatly in place, well stocked, and didn't seem to mind when his things were used so long as he either got a heads up, or it was put back where it ought to be.

Now though? Now he stands staring at the woman a moment before he finishes coming completely back into the room allowing the door to shut behind him. "If I'd known we had company I would have picked up some extra snacks," he remarks with a little lift of his hand holding hte konbini bag filled with who-knew-what snacks a teenage boy may like.

"Chrono? Care to make introductions?" he inquires with a smile offered toward the unfamiliar woman. "I'm Adrien."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown glanced back at him... As did the woman.

The woman's eyes narrowed instantly and the only thing that could be said was that look was sharp. Like she was about to lash out. Or even attack him. She took a step towards him, with intent--

"Fenix!" Chrono said harshly. "Adrien, I'd like you to meet Fenix. Fenix, this is Adrien. My roommate."

The woman paused for a moment, before nodding. "Hello... Adrien," she said before turning back towards the coffee machine. She then grabbed the mug, now filled with coffee, and brought it to him. Gently placing it on the desk. "Here you go, boss," she said.

And then she turned into a bird. A big bird. A pink and blue lidth jay, with very pristine feathers... before landing on Chrono's shoulder. "She's my new familiar." Well. Okay. Apparently THAT was a thing. "Sorry. She's still... getting... used to people. Her last..." He paused at those words. "Captors were not exactly the friendly sort." Captors. Not owners. Or caretakers. Captors.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Woah, hey, I'm not--" Adrien begins when the woman starts to come at him with that rather vicious expression before Chrono calls her off. He looks more than a bit bewildered when she almost robotically turns back toward Chrono to give him his coffee and calls him 'boss'. Confused to say the least.

He risks relaxing a little bit when the introduction is made. "Ah... I see. Nice to meet you, Fenix. I promise I mean no harm," he adds with a bit of a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood.

But then she turns into a bird.

A bit bird, with feathers, and she sits on Chrono's shoulder.

"Ohno," is the first thing out of Adrien's mouth. The next thing is his eye twitching as he sucks in a deep breath and *sneezes*. Both hands clap over his mouth and nose as he stares with slightly watery eyes.

"I'm allergic to birds."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown hadn't expected that reaction. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Anda moment later he got his answer. His eyes went wide and he reached up, gently pulling his bird into his lap and resting her on one arm, while the other gently scritched her feathers. "You're... allergic to birds?" Chrono asked. "That's... a problem."

Meanwhile, Fenix was giving him a 'I will murder you' look, her feathers puffing up a bit. The look was actually kind of impressive, considering she was just a bird.

"Calm down, Fenix. I'm going to figure out a solution. Now then, can you tell me about the allergy itself? Is it the feathers, or the dander? The skin? If I can keep her feathers and such from coming into contact with you, will that suffice? Please, be as detailed as possible."

... She was, in many ways, a rescue. He wasn't going to abandon her. BUT! It also wasn't fair to subject Adrien to unfair and cruel torments of that nature. So he fully intended to ensure all parties were satisfied.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste keeps his hand over his mouth as he steps over to his side of the room setting down the konbini bag. His next stop is straight to the window to crack it open a bit before sinking down to sit on the edge of the bed so that he can get some fresh air. "Usually it's the dander from the feathers. I'm sorry," he adds looking genuinely apologetic toward the pair. "I know it's an unusual allergy to begin with."

Plagg flips out of Adrien's bag to float up next to him giving his friend a pat on the shoulder reassuringly. "At least she's not a pigeon. Those are really nasty for him," the Kwami remarks before turning to flit over toward Fenix.

"I'm not allergic though! I'm Plagg and I'm perfectly fine with you being here so long as you don't touch my cheese."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded. "It's not your fault," Chrono said. "I'm sorry for springing this on you. On the upside, there's ways to adjust for this. This is her natural form, however we should be able to adjust her form so you're not suffering an allergic reaction. Do you mind if we perform some tests? They could be uncomfortable for you." Gently, he kept scritching the bird. Well, this helped make him less stressed. But having a roomy who was allergic to his new companion animal... that was new stress. It balanced out.

Fenix, meanwhile, puffed up again. And... "Careful, Plagg," Chrono said. "She's still... tense. Around other creatures. She wasn't... her captors were poachers, from what I uncovered. She looks, mostly, fine now. But that is because the magic also heals her wounds when she became my familiar. She's still quite keen to lash out if anything comes too close or makes sudden motions. Easy, girl," he said in a soothing voice. Then...

"Now, if you're willing to give it a try, Adrien..." He drew his device card. A moment later he was there, shapeshifted into his henshin... and held out his staff.

The bird flew over to it... then her body erupted. A body of fire and ice, a massive phoenix, about two feet long, with feathers of... well. Ice and fire. Definitely magic. "Could you sniff her like this and see if it causes a reaction?" Chrono asked. "Her form is more magical in nature, less physical, if it works I can work on adopting a similiar, low energy form for her when in the dorm."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Plagg merely gives a little indifferent shrug and floats backwards like he was lounging on the air. Slowly bobbing and dipping his way back toward Adrien in spite of his apparent flippant attitude. "Eh, I'm fast. Bet she wouldn't even catch me." Though he does look at Fenix a bit worried. "That sounds awful though. Well, you're safe here with these two," he assures her as he loops around to flop on Adrien's shoulder. "They're not bad for humans."

Adrien watches the change keeping his hand over his mouth and nose still. He does nod however sighing. "Yes, let's test things out. I don't want to make it uncomfortable for her, either. Especially if she's already been through so much." Really, hearing waht had occured, he didn't want to suggest Chrono get rid of her either. Not that he would.

Rising up he steps over and pauses to offer apologetically, "Excuse me if you will, Fenix." Then he leans forward to sniff... And has no reaction to the flames or ice. "I'm fine with this. I think it really is just the feathers. Actual feathers, I mean."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown seemed to be doing well, at least. Plagg was out and he hadn't tried to light the cat on fire. Perhaps he was adjusting to her. Then again, perhaps the fire bird here just had his full attention. If her situation was that...

"Thank you, Plagg. And you can trust them, Fenix. I wouldn't have allowed them to know about you if they were anything other than trustworthy," he said firmly.

The lack of a reaction from Adrien made him smile. "Good. Feathers, then. Well, I believe I have a solution that should work while she's in the dorm. This is her combat form, you've seen her human form and then there's her default form. I wasn't intending to do this, but..." He gave the rod a flick and fenix flew off it, shifting once more... into her human form. She towered over Adrien and... stared down at him.

Then... "Would... you like... coffee?" Fenix asked.

"She's still getting used to people," Chrono said. "So please, don't mind if she seems a bit... strange. She isn't a human, after all. I'll make sure to go over the apartment after and clean everything, to get any stray feathers out. Just... one minute..." And then he stood... before a magical circle appeared under him. He seemed to be focusing, intently, on something. Though, midchildian magic. Whatever it was was in his head.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste looks a bit uncertain about the full human form, but... eh wasn't going to complain either. It was clear that this poor creature was traumatized in some way and that was not something he was going to take lightly. "I'm okay, but thank you for the offer, Fenix. That's very nice of you." He turns to pick up the konbini bag to open and glance within. "I'd gotten us a few snacks. Do you eat? Plagg does, but I'm not sure if you're similar to a Kwami or not. I've got some salty and some sweet snacks."

A few items are taken out to place on the table near his bed. Some rice crackers that were salty and spicy, a few sweet breads meant for snacks and/or breakfast, and a few different rice balls he had been curious about. "Feel free to try anything you might like! Ah, you too Chrono," he adds with a chuckle though he goes quiet watching the magic circles.

"I have to admit this is way neater than some of what I can do."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Fenix looked, at least, a little uncomfortable... but did nod. "I eat. Ummm... berries, nuts, worms, carrion--" Oh, there was a list. She stopped suddenly before looking to Chrono. "He says I can eat anything like this that a people can eat. A human." She looked over at it before she reached out and grabbed a green rice ball. "I... thank you. Adrien. And... Plagg." She slowly opened it, apparently she understood how that worked, peeling it back. "I never thought I'd be friends with a cat..." she mumbled. "We are friends, aren't we?"

"Done!" Chrono said before grinning at them both. "Now, I hadn't originally intended to do this but... well, it will be a magical form. Once you've finished eating, try it."

He walked over, picking up... hm. One of the orange sweet breads. He opened it and took a small bite.

Fenix ate her rice ball, before... offering Chrono the wrapper. Who sighed, gave an apologetic smile to Adrien, and tossed it in the trash. She was still learning. She then... turned into a bird.

A CONSIDERABLY smaller bird. She looked like a baby chick in so many ways. Flying up to Chrono's hand. "Here, smell her. Now, she may look like a real bird, but this is actually a special, magical form. By compressing her size and conserving energy, it reduces the strain akin to her being in her natural form. However, it does make her quite vulnerable so I imagine it'll only be used while I'm here. But, on the upside, her feathers arn't real feathers now, so hopefully it should have the same effect as her combat form. Just... try to make sure you don't step on her or anything."

He then smiled and gently scritchied the birdy's feathers. "And thank you. I've never actually had a familiar before, but considering my search for the crew of the Arthra, a bird's eye view seemed useful. That and in the state she was in... I didn't feel right leaving her behind. I just hope Rashmi will like her..."

And there, he looked... a little hint concerned. His eyes narrowing slightly.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Of course we're friends, Fenix," Adrien assures with a smile as he watches her try the rice ball. She even did unwrap it which earns a nod of approval. As for him, he takes up the bag of chips to open preparing to just snack a bit.

For Plagg's part he gives an easy nod. "Oh for sure. Most of the other Kwami aren't cats, either, and there's a few birds. A turtle. A fox. A horse, a rabbit, a dog... All sorts! I mean, I may be a cat, but I'm not a *stupid* cat."

When the magic is done and the wrapper given to Chrono, Adrien can only grin a bit. "It's okay. It'll take some time, I understand. I can help out as well, and Plagg can also help keep an eye on her. Right Plagg?"

Plagg has one of the chips himself biting into it. "Mmmhmmff."

The new form has him pause a moment before leaning in to inhale... and nodding in approval. "That's perfect. No reaction at all. You're also really cute like this, Fenix!" He sits back down and looks toward Plagg, then Fenix, thoughtfully.

"Back home I couldn't really do much to make Plagg comfortable because I had to hide him, but here... And now with Fenix. Do you think we should make a space in the room for them both so they can relax, too?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown glanced towards Plagg. "Truly? A whole spectrum of different animals, aren't you? Fascinating. Bewildering as well," he said with a shrug. "But I imagine it makes a lot of sense with all the rules you have to follow. All things considered, for my first familiar it's not so bad. She's a bit confused, but she draws on a lot of my memories and magic, so that'll figure itself out quickly enough."

The little bird gave a small chirp and Chrono was relieved, at least, in knowing the bird would be safe. However... "A... space for them? Like... a miniature... huh. I suppose we could get them a dollhouse of some sort. I'd suggest a cage but--"

"NO CAGE!" the bird YELLED! Making Chrono jump a little bit.

"That. But... I'm sure we could set up a... small home of sorts for them. I uhhhh... actually... I... think I know exactly who to talk with about it. Fenix?" he said before moving to the window. Then pausing. "Actually, I should make sure I clean up, first. If you'd like to leave for a bit, Adrien? Oh... uhhh. By the way." His cheeks went a little red.

"I know I haven't... talked much but uhhhh... really. Thanks for letting me wear the suit for the dance. It uhhhh... really helped. With my new girl friend..." he said. Well, he'd been considering how to tell him....

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Oh absolutely not a cage," Adrien agrees with a glance toward Plagg who is also shaking his head with arms crossed over his tiny chest. He also didn't agree with that. Glancing back he smilesl and remarks, "I saw some miniature kits that are meant to go on book shelves, and they're about the right size for them."

Adrien glances off to the side in thought a moment. "Actually, with how many I've already run across in this city that are magical in some manner, I wonder if those kits *are* actually for Kwami... er.. mascots? Familiars?" There were so many names for them.

Looking back toward Chrono his eyes light up along with his grin. "You did pull the suit off well. And congratulations! You'll have to tell me more later. After cleaning," he agrees rising to his feet to grab his bag. "I'll go for a small walk with Plagg while you do."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Well, honestly... that made sense. Having the little house thingies be for mascots worked well... sure, it was unlikely, but it was a nice thought. They were made by adults, after all. But they likely were used for this method as well.

"Thank you, it was quite nice. And uhhh... Rashmi liked it," he said, actually for a moment... the grin on his face was a little... goofy. Like a kid his age. Not that calm, serious smile he always had.

Once Adrien was out, though... he looked to Fenix and smiled. "Come on, let's get to cleaning. The sooner we make sure all the feathers are gone, the better off you'll be."

Fenix once more became her larger, human self. She stared at him for a moment before... "I... like them. They seem... nice."

"They are."

"... The cat is small. I could probably eat him. I like that about him."

"... Please don't eat my roommate's mascot."