11346/Musings of a Fairy

Musings of a Fairy
Date of Scene:	16 April 2020
Location:	Shannon's Room (East Halls), Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Shannon learns a bit more about Lyra and defends her from another Gremlin attack!
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Nightingale
Tinyplot:	Gremlins!

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Pixie has posed:
It's been a while and Lyra's been pretty quiet, keeping a low profile mostly. She'd communicated a few times in Shannon's dream, usually in the form of some inspirational song that sprung to mind, or just a feeling, a reassuring feeling that she was there, encouraging her, or just watching over her.

But recently she's been a bit too quiet, and Shannon may just get a feeling of anxiety, maybe even fear, from Lyra's mind..Afterall, right now they're both sharing the same mind, Shannon's.

Nightingale has posed:
     Had Lyra finally left? It was hard to tell. It was very quiet, just as it had been before she ever flew into Shannon's life. Oh, there was no anxiety, no fear. Fear was a very rare emotion for the young healer in training. She paid attention to the little snippets of song that would make themselves known. Her notebook of blank staff paper is quickly becoming filled with bits and pieces of songs unfinished.

     But since the first day Lyra had taken refuge in Shannon's mind, there had been nothing as direct.

     It was a little saddening, but things had to be as they were.

Pixie has posed:
"Oh...Oh no...This is terrible..Absolutely terrible!" the voice inside her head exclaims suddenly. And after a while, she cannot contain her anxiety anymore, showering Shannon in a brief glimmer of golden light as she..Well, pops out of her head. One minute she's not there, the next moment, a glittery fairy is fluttering around the room.

"Oooh, Shannon, another one of my friends has been captured! And I feel so helpless! Oh...." she starts to cry now as she darts anxiously about the room, leaving a trail of gold fairydust behind her. "I have to help them, but I don't know how. I've never felt so powerless.."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon seems rather calm about the whole thing. "Would that friend happen to have a green light, and be perhaps a little smaller than the rest?" She holds out her good right hand for Lyra to perch upon if she so wishes, but otherwise does not press the little muse further. She knew how it was to worry, to wait and wonder and feel powerless. It was not a good place to be.

Pixie has posed:
Lyra sniffles, but pauses as Shannon describes her. "Oh, yes that's one of them..Have you met her? She's so...She was my best friend, and now glimmer's gone too!" she sniffs some more, "Please Shannon, we must do something soon, or the goblin prince will be able to wipe all of us out.." she sighs, shaking her head.

"Ohh, we should never have left the safety of the nevernever..But we were curious, we wanted to know more about your kind. There were so many sweet and innocent children who made us so happy! But then he killed our queen and...And..!" she cries again.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon holds out her hand and, if allowed, gently draws the little fairy into an embrace. "I haven't met her, but I was helping one of my friends track her down, and have a reasonably fair idea of where she is. She's relatively safe for now but the sooner we get to her the better. I seriously doubt, though, that the goblin prince will be willing to tangle with her current protector." She rocks gently back and forth, holding Lyra with her good hand and humming softly to try and comfort her. Nothing could be done with Lyra in such a state.

Pixie has posed:
Lyra quirks a curious brow at Shannon, but accepts the hug, which causes her to relax a bit. "Oh, oh, do you think she is safe? Where is she?" She pouts a bit, pondering that over. "N'Saroth's magic is incredibly powerful..He's been laying low for a long time but there is not a lot that can beat him. Those gremlins you've seen so far, are just small fry, foot soldiers. I've seen him summon huge golems before.."

She shivers, "I don't know what his final plan is, but.." her eyes widen at a sudden thought, "He's had his eye on the pink-haired fairy girl too! I think he has something special in store for her. For some reason, he's been ignoring her, focusing on us little fairies. But..." she whimpers a bit, hugging Shannon more tightly..

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, gently hugging Lyra a little more, humming a light melody. "I've faced some pretty huge ice giants before. So I can see why you're scared." She frowns a little bit, pursing her lips. "You say there's not a -lot- that can beat him. You didn't say it was impossible. So what can beat him, and how can we find out what he's got in store for Megan?"

Pixie has posed:
Lyra sighs, pondering that one a bit. "Umm, wow, you're a very brave girl..I knew I chose right when I went to you first!" she smiles brightly, "Thank you for keeping me safe all this time.."

Lyra's brow furrows a bit at that as she ponders. "Hm well he is a goblin, so he is not a fairy. He is not as weak towards iron as us fairies, but as a creature of the nevernever, it will still affect him to some extent. As far as I know, that is his only weakness."

As for Megan, she sighs a bit, shaking her head. "I don't really know..Does she even know that she is part fairy or that her mother is looking for her?" Lyra frowns, "I suppose she must have some unique power that interests him..You should keep an eye on her."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon purses her lips. "I've seen her in combat once or twice. She's got a few gifts that are fairly unique even among the mutants I've come to know so far. Gifts that have saved my skin once or twice. You want to see brave, you look at her. Me, I'm just a healer. Not much of a fighter. Not yet, anyways. And not so brave as you think I am." Her frown deepens slightly. "She's never even mentioned her mother, but she /has/ questioned her own origins on occasion..."

Pixie has posed:
Lyra smiles, "You're very brave Shannon, much braver than you give yourself credit for. And you are very gifted too. You sang beautifully at that talent show. You should sing more!" she smiles, "Healers are very important, they keep the party alive..I wish we had a healer to help Queen Florianna. Perhaps she wouldn't have died.." she sniffles a bit then, looking terribly sad for a moment or two.

But then as Pixie is mentionned, Lyra perks up again, "Oh yes, that's right. I sensed something, very faint, very subtle, but there is a darkness in her heart, black magic..Something that can be exploited by the Goblin Prince. Be careful."

Just then, there's a flicker of shadow across Shannon's window, and the curtains brush apart rather jerkedly. Lyra stiffens, eyes widenned in fear as she glances around, shrinking down..

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon sighs softly. "The last time I sang, it brought the gremlins out and wrecked the place I was singing. That place is run by someone I think of as family, and I feel pretty rotten about it. How can we be sure that if I sing again, it won't bring on the gremlins?" With one fingertip, she gently pets Lyra's hair, hugging her gently to try and calm her grief. "Sometimes, not even the best of healers can save a life. You've been inside my mind. You know I've had that happen."

Her eyebrows go up as she hears of the darkness threatening Megan, and her frown grows even deeper. "Lyra... would you be willing to repeat what you just told me about a threat to Megan, to her mentor? Doctor Strange? Because if she's in trouble, he needs to know about it. I may not like him, but he /is/ her mentor, and he knows his craft like no other."

As Lyra shrinks down, Shannon reaches for her yew wood training bo staff. Her eyes are trained immediately on the shadow flickering across her window. "Who's there?" she hisses softly. "Show yourself!"

Pixie has posed:
Lyra blink blinks and shakes her head. "No no, that wasn't your fault..If anything, it was mine. They only attacked you because they sensed me..Perhaps when this is over and I can find a safe place for me and my fairy friends, then maybe you can find the courage to sing again!" she sighs, "I am sooo sorry that I caused you so much trouble.."

Then mention of Doctor Strange is brought up, and she blinks slowly, "Umm, is he a friend of yours? Can he be trustred?" she glances towards the windowsil nervously, but isn't quite ready to pop back in yet. "Y-yes, I suppose I can do that..If it will help."

She's about to say more when the gremlin makes himself known. How did he get in? Well, he's here now, probably slipped through an openning in the window. A nasty little creature, all scaly with long sharp claws and fangs, about 3 feet tall and crazy fast. He's nearly a blur as he darts from the window sill towards the little fairy, attempting to slash at her with his claws, or to knock her off-balance.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon frowns a little. "You're not trouble. And I kind of like having you around..." She's just nodding in rsponse to the question about Doctor Strange, when the gremlin makes its attack. "HIDE!" she hisses, plopping Lyra on top of her head; hopefully the little fairy taks the hint. With Lyra hopefully hidden away, Shannon takes a swing at the gremlin, sweeping her staff across in a broad arc to hopefully catch the gremlin right in the chest!

Pixie has posed:
Lyra squeaks, ducking down and vanishing in a wink of light, a second before the Gremlin reaches her. Just like that, she's gone..The gremlin snarls angrily, glancing around, sniffing the air..Than narrows his eyes upon Shannon, lunging at her with those deadly claws.

Shannon's staff connects with his chest with a loud 'Crack!' and the creature stumbles to the floor. But he isn't defeated so easily, and he leaps again, a blurr of movement, attempting to swipe at her face this time. "Hand over the fairrryyyy!" he snarls in a thick foreign accent of some sort.

Nightingale has posed:
     It was as if Shannon was in the field again, only this time it was in her own dorm. She was fighting not only for her own life, but that of the fairy she harbored. Time itself seemed to slow down for her as that battle calm she had noted on other occasions settled in over her. With only a split second to move, she sidesteps out of the gremlin's way, letting his own momentum carry him past her and into an undignified pile on the floor.

     This was not good. Somehow, she was going to have to alert Jean, Scott, or the Professor himself as to what was going on, even if she had to camp out in front of their offices for a few /more/ weeks.

Pixie has posed:
The gremlin snarls, and as she deftly sidesteps his attack, he merely bounces off the wall, headed for her again. He also lets out a hideous whistling sound and glances towards the window where a rustling sound can be heard. Sounds like he's calling his friends to help!

"You will not get away, angel girrrrl! Hand over the fairy and you will nottt be harrrmed!" he snarls, in his hissing sound, claws outstretched as he attempts to slash and slice at her again. He may be only 3 feet tall, but he seems pretty resilient and those claws look sharp!

Fortunately shannon seems fast enough to evade his attacks thus far.

Nightingale has posed:
     Damn. Sidestepping this gremlin didn't seem enough to slow them down by dint of their own momentum getting the better of them. Now Shannon had to stop his calls to his friends before the whole place was overrun! She sidesteps the gremlin a second time, but this time, swings her bo staff down towards the top of his head in a bid to possibly knock him out. She might have a gremlin in her room to explain but at least, /if/ it worked, he'd be out cold and hopefully the only one!

Pixie has posed:
The gremlin is a tough little cookie, but Shannon's quick thinking manages to knock him out cold..At least for now, who knows how long he'll be down? The air outside the window rustles, and two pairs of evil yellow eyes climb to the sil, peeking around. They haven't quite stepped in yet, trying to figure out where their buddy is.

"Eh? Krazwich? Where'd you go?" one of them grunts in their hideous lizardlike voices. They don't really want to waste time if there's nothing to see here, and the curtains are currently in the way.

Lyra is silent the whole time, although she does whisper a warning in Shannon's ear: "The window! Two of them there..!"

Nightingale has posed:
     The key seemed to be to keep the gremlins' compadre silent, and convince them to leave--hopefully without further fighting. Step one? Pinion and silence the gremlin on the ground before he could have a chance to wake up. Shannon grabbed one of her longer pieces of fabric from its place on her shelf, twisted it up to form something akin to a rope, and made her way over to the gremlin who was face-first on her dormitory floor. She pulls his arms behind him, loops one end of the fabric around them in a figure eight, and ties a good, tight knot or two. The feet are next, pulled up behind the gremlin and tied to his wrists, so he is curled back in a bow-like position.

     That might buy her some time, if the fabric held, but she had to keep the gremlin silent. So next, she grabs a handful of fabric scraps, grimacing. This was going to be disgusting. She pinches the sides of the gremlin's jaw, as if she were giving a cat an unwanted bit of medicine, and once the creature's mouth was open, stuffed the fabric inside. Another band of fabric is tied across the gremlin's face as a gag.

     Hopefully, she was quick enough to get this all done before the thing woke up--because if not, she was really going to be in for it! But did she succeed...?

Pixie has posed:
For now, the gremlin seems to be still out cold and Shannon has no problem hog-tying the little guy up. It's a good thing she stuffs cloth in his mouth though, because he's already beginning to stir..But it's enough to keep him quiet as the two gremlins just outside the window sil ponder amongst one another.

"Krazwich? Is this another of your stupid tricks? Grrr...Quit playing tricks on us!" The other pipes up, snarling, "Next time he does it, gut him!" the two cackle, their shadowy figures seeming to dance behind the curtain as they patter off into the night, still cackling wickedly.

Their footsteps patter into the night, eventually falling into silence as several more minutes pass by..

Nightingale has posed:
     Good. At least the other two gremlins took off for parts unknown. As long as they were heading away from the school, Shannon was not going to be too terribly picky. But now she had a new problem.

     Just what was she going to do with a hog-tied gremlin?

     Keeping one eye on her erstwhile captive, Shannon mutters under her breath, so only Lyra can really hear. "I'm open to suggestions," she mutters. "What the heck do we do with him now?"

Pixie has posed:
Lyra frowns, stepping out of Shannon's mind a moment or two to peer down at the Gremlin, who begins to stir, eyes narrowed on the fairy and he seems to snarl, struggling against his contraints. The fabric starts to rip in places and the gremlin proves to be quite strong, though for the most part it holds.

"Why are you capturing the fairies? Why did you kill our Queen?" tears fill Lyra's eyes, and there is more pain than anger there as she eyes the monster before her.

The gremlin seems to utter a muffled cackle beneath the stifling cloth in its mouth and just shakes its head. Just as it seems he might break free of his contraints, a portal opens underneath him and he shrieks, shaking his head.

"Nooo...Master!" a moment later the portal sucks him in, his screams echoing and slowly fading as he too, vanishes from view.

Nightingale has posed:
     Gently, Shannon cradles Lyra between her hands, holding the little fairy to her heart and letting her cry. "Shhhhh... it's over, he's gone." She makes soft, gentle crooning sounds, humming to soothe the fairy. This had gotten particularly ugly. She was very lucky, there were no two ways around it.

     As Lyra calms down, the angel-winged girl looks at her, brows furrowed. "You know, Lyra, sooner or later I'll have to tell my friends about you. These attacks are getting worse. If I tell them, maybe we can find help. No promises, but at least it's worth a try."

Pixie has posed:
Lyra peers at the gremlin as he's swallowed up by a portal and shivers in fear, sinking deeper into Shannon's warm embrace. She peeks back at her and just nods wordlessly. "I know, sooner. Or later.." she sighs, drying her tears and nods.

"Just give me a little more time, I'm not sure who can be trusted and who cannot..Would they really help us if they knew?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "I don't know. They might not be too happy with me for hiding things this long, but on the other hand, they can't help you if they don't even know about you." Shannon continues to hold on to the little fairy for as long as she'll let her, before the golden bit of inspiration vanishes into her mind once more....