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[noholdsbard]

WHO: Tristan and YOU
WHERE: Around town; will specify below
WHEN: Sometime before the 16th; a couple of days after he swapped bodies with Caramia
WHAT: Are you ready for a jam session with a medieval rock star in a mafia lion man’s body
WARNINGS: Nothing but general stupidity

Anyone familiar with Caramia will likely note the general air of despondency about him as Tristan remains stuck inside his body. As much as he wants to return to his own form, he cannot neglect his day-to-day affairs, nor can he really fight those strange instincts that somehow came part and parcel with Caramia’s body. Woe betide anyone who has to deal with Tristan’s bullshit when he’s like this.

So…yep. That sure is Tristan stuck in a tree, sitting forlornly among the branches and watching the world pass by all the way down below. How sad…but despite having lost control of his harp, Caramia has at least left him with a fine singing voice, even if it’s pitched lower than what he’s used to.

Still, a bard knight must make do. Anyone passing by his tree might even hear some choice snippets, sung a capella and with deep deep feeling:

i. Ode to Mogget
How strange to think of you now
Were you ever fond of trees?
I find that I pine as one
Won’t you come and save me…please?

ii. The Flight of the Turkeys
They cluck like hens, but are fiercer by far
They come from the woods, devils that they are!
Oh, their dreadful gazes—their snapping beaks!
Think of the havoc they must surely wreak!

So beware—beware! The flight of the turkeys—
How hard and how swiftly they shall peck on you!
Beware, beware! Make haste upon your journey
Wait, stop! Don’t go! Help me please, I beg of you!

[ OOC: Prose & action both welcome! ]

Comments

ii.

[photoshooter]

[Well, Prompto knows Caramia, but not all that well. Figures the guy's super musical, though, what with the guitar Caramia lent him last month. He tilts his head a little, frowning, then trots over. After all, Prompto does owe a little lion man (banjo solo) a favor.]

Uh... sure, if you really need a hand. What do you need, like, someone to help you navigate your way back down, point out the right branches and stuff? I don't think I could catch you if you jumped.

[noholdsbard]

Oh, you are too kind, but I am not certain how else to escape this arboreal prison of mine.

[ A fine way to thank a guy for stopping by to listen to him, that. But Tristan can tell that Prompto’s is trying his best, and who can fault him for that? ]

I cannot descend on my own, for that would put this body at great risk. Unless you know some magic that can carry me aloft or break my fall…

[photoshooter]

Nnnoooo, I don't get that kind of magic with my thing.

[Oops.]

But I could run and get a rope!

[noholdsbard]

Oh. [ Why didn’t he think of that? ] Yes, a rope would be most helpful, kind stranger.

[photoshooter]

Okay! Be back in a jiffy!

[It's only after he runs off to locate the rope that the strangeness registers, and he only gets the opportunity to ask once he's returned a little while later, jogging back with no rope visibly on his person.]

Hey, wait a second. "Kind stranger?" Really?

[noholdsbard]

Oh, I apologize. I don’t recall having ever met you before.

[ And he feels kind of awful, especially since this guy’s been so nice and bringing him a rope and all.

But then—shocking twist—his eyes widen in shock when he realizes that he might have made a huge, huge blunder here. Clearly there can only be one reason for this stranger’s reaction— ]

Unless…perhaps you’ve switched bodies as well? [ He has a number of friends here who’re willing to lend him a hand. WHICH ONE ARE YOU… ]

i

[regrede]

[ this is not sierra’s ideal.

she hasn’t yet encountered caramia, though she’s had a few run-ins with kyrie, both accidental and on purpose. neither of them have gotten her familiar with the lion, however, and what she doesn’t find familiar she tends to find irritating. a creature of habit, this vampire is. so when she finds herself unexpectedly dealing with the mournful yowling of a cat stuck in a tree, she’s… annoyed. ]

Have you nothing better to do? People are trying to sleep.

[ here? now? maybe not, but she’s covering her bases. ]

[noholdsbard]

[ He starts at the sound of her voice, unused as he is to the harsh edge of it. ]

Forgive me, my lady, for I find little else to occupy me while I remain trapped here, body and soul.

[regrede]

[ sierra does hesitate at that. it sounds like tristan’s manner of speech, but she so completely didn’t consider the body swapping quest in the first place that she doesn’t realize that it could very well actually be him. ]

Trapped… in that tree?

[noholdsbard]

[ And though this is the first time she’s ever snapped at him, it hasn’t quite registered that she’s failed to recognize him.

After all, he’s pretty sure he deserves the scolding anyway. For…honestly a lot of reasons. ]

Oh, indeed. It is truly a pity, to be bested by such a thing. I never would have guessed that I would one day meet my match in this way.

[regrede]

Jump down.

[ to her, it seems obvious. she can fly, after all, and it’s never occurred to her that someone who can get up a tree may not be able to get down. honestly, she’s had limited contact with cats in her entire life—it’s also not immediately obvious that caramia is a cat. ]

ii

[holycurse]

[After his earlier run-in with a sudden hoarding problem, Xie Lian's loosened up his usual foraging habit - but that doesn't stop him from doing the rounds anyway. Food! Food is safe to forage!

He didn't quite expect to hear a song about turkeys while he was out, though. He's not even sure what a turkey is?

Looking up at this total stranger.] That's...quite an interesting song! Did you compose it yourself?

[noholdsbard]

[ Man, now that he has a mortal body, food is going to be an issue for him, isn’t it…? Dammit, Caramia. ]

Oh, Xie Lian! [ Poor guy. Tristan hadn’t even been able to contact him regarding the whole body swap thing. ]

I thank you for your kind words, for it is indeed fortunate that you should pass my way. I am afraid that you and Jim will have to make do without me, trapped as I am up here.

[holycurse]

[There's a short pause as he blinks up at the stranger in the tree. He knows his name? And he mentioned Jim--]

Archer? Is that you? [Another pause.] ....Do you, er, need help coming down, by any chance?

[noholdsbard]

Yes, it is I, your friend Archer—brought low from on high in a tragic twist of fate.

[ Uh, give him a moment? ]

What a pity…I do not think that there is anything you can do for me down there.

[holycurse]

[More like brought high from down low, right?

...Ahem. Sizing up this tree!]

I could climb up and carry you down, I think...the branches look sturdy enough for that. [Or he could knock down the whole tree, but that might hurt somebody?]

i

[troubadamsel]

[Oblivious to what's happened to both men, the sudden poetry makes her stop. She blinks up at Caramia. My, he's acting differently than usual. is something the matter?]

That was a lovely verse.

[noholdsbard]

[ Well if she isn’t a sight for sore eyes! Tristan actually lights up at the sight of her, which at least restores some normalcy to Caramia’s more buoyant features. ]

It is but a mere trifle I composed in the spur of the moment, my lady. But your words honor me greatly.

[troubadamsel]

...

[That's, uh.

Not... exactly the way Caramia speaks, is it? But... it would be rude to point it out. right?]

Ah, well! It was lovely all the same. I didn't know you composed poetry.

[noholdsbard]

Ahaha, I do like to dabble. [ It’s another outlet for his dramatics, at least? ]

Though I perceive by your look of confusion that this is not the reply you sought, my lady.

[troubadamsel]

No, no! I was merely... surprised, that's all.

[By many things.]

We must not lose sight of the arts during our stay here.

II

[yuzanagi]

[He claps, but looks a little confused.]

Wait...are you saying there really are devilish hens in the forest?

[But more importantly, he was asked for help.

Do you need help to climb down?

[noholdsbard]

[ Tristan pauses, gazing down at his strangely appreciative audience.

But hey, why argue against a good thing? ]

Oh yes, I do need help, but I fear that I must not bother you with it. Those devilish hens are worse by far—oh, the visions I’ve seen! Someday they shall plague this world once more.

[ Back away slowly from the raving crackpot in the tree— ]

[yuzanagi]

[Honestly, he's dealt with a lot worst when it comes to crazy things. His reaction is to just stare at him in silence for a few seconds before speaking;]

Well...I haven't seen any of them around. If you can come down, I'll protect you from them.

[noholdsbard]

Oh, how kind…

[ And he does appreciate it. You’d think he’d be used to random teenagers offering to protect him out of the blue like this… ]

But there is no need to worry. I can defend myself against those horrid fiends for, as terrible as they are, they cannot reach me from atop such a lofty perch.

[ To his credit, he does look a little doubtful as he says that last part…this perch really is awfully lofty…and he doesn’t want to risk getting this squishy mortal body of Caramia’s hurt… ]