3696/Batovision

Batovision
Date of Scene:	18 January 2016
Location:	The Citadel - Pleasure Palace
Synopsis:	Lute and Echo meet, while Echo proposes a plan to go get some Malboro.
Cast of Characters:	188, 640

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Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute's life generally finds him in two places. His home, or the Citadel. He prefers spending time at home, spending time with his pets. At the moment, though? He has found himself in the mood for the worldly pleasures that the Citadel could offer.

     He rests on one of the various fine couches, reclined back within it. To his right, there is an endtable. Upon it, various snacks. There are some finer treats such as deviled eggs and calamari, but also some simpler things such as chips and onion dip. A glass of wine is on the table. Lute snacks on the food, taking a bite here and there, while taking part in a form of entertainment that most would find somewhat sick and deranged.

     Namely, he's playing a visual novel on a big screen TV.

     He leans back, relaxing and smiling. It's just such a /great/ way to get rid of stress. Plus visual novels give him some of his best pick-up lines.

Echo (640) has posed:
     As Lute sat there relaxing, the television's image would actually seem gain some artifacting like one would see from digital television when flipping the channels too fast, a minor annoyance, at worst. A few seconds later however, there seemed to be a small blip of white static all across it, and then... wait, what the heck was this?

     "Hey there boys, do you wanna have a fun time tonight?" there is a cooing feminine voice from the television now, easy-listening music in the background, ruh roh, this is one of /those/ sorts of commercials.

     The image on the screen is a big red phone, which a surprisingly pale hand with red nails was going to pick up. Wait, was that girl just pale, or was that something else...? Fur, kinda like on a shorthair cat?

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute just gives a blank stare towards the screen. Does.... Does this visual novel have random commercials? But, he realizes something is up. He straightens up in his chair, leaning forward. Many Confederates would be made a bit nervous by their television suddenly displaying something that is obviously wrong. Lute, though? The soothing female voice excites him a little. He leans forward, only barely noticing that the hand is a bit off. He smiles, paying close attention.

     He calls over his shoulder, to anyone else who might be listening, "Hey, when did we start getting ads for 1-900 numbers in here?"

Echo (640) has posed:
     "If you're looking for company tonight you need not go far," the voice continues, the sight of what seemed to be a fireplace with a screen in front of it roars in the background. Meanwhile a number begins to flash at the bottom of the screen.

     1-900-BAT

     After a few more seconds, the 'camera' pans upward to reveal the fangily grinning visage of Echo, lips red against the ivory-white of her fur and teeth, her yellow eyes staring right at Lute.

     "Just give me a call, ahahaha!" she begins cackling madly, at first pointing at the screen until the image on it begins to artifact and warp and suddenly her nail tips begin to distend outward from the screen itself, coming THROUGH it. It's a good thing this is a widescreen after all, it makes it none-too-difficult for the winged bat sorceress to literally crawl right out of the plastic material of the screen, apparently phasing right through it from god knows where.

     She's wearing a mid-thigh length black silk kimono with golden bats embroidered here and there, with red stiletto high heels on her feet. She reaches up to momentarily readjust her long black hair over her long, batty ears.

     "So you're Lute, hmm?" she asks, putting a hand on her hip as she stands between him and the TV now.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute stares in surprise as he sees Echo on the screen. He's seen her in reports before. But still, her appearance here is definitely a bit of a shock. He is reminded of some horror stories he heard some time ago, of demonic or ghostly beings appearing from televisions. This is enough to cause him to jump a little, seeing her coming out. He moves back in the chair, trying to push himself away at first, until he finally calms down.

     He has to admit. If she were just a /bit/ more human, she would probably be ridiculously attractive. But for now, that gives him a chance to focus. He won't be /too/ distracted, especially as he calms down. He reaches over, taking a chip, dipping it, and then taking a bite.

     "Mm. Well. Yep. I'm Lute. And you're Echo, right? So. what brings you here?" He still stays /somewhat/ on guard, but still tries to appear /somewhat/ calm.

Echo (640) has posed:
     She steps around the man as he remains sitting, apparently unphased that she just scared the crap out of him, and nods a little. "That's right, I am she," she speaks at first with a hint of medieval anachronistic speech. "I hear you are a tracker and tamer of animals, a beastmaster of some sort, correct?" she nodded a little, now not blocking the television which has returned to it's regularly scheduled... visual novel? Echo isn't about to judge, it appears, she just smirks a little.

     "I think I might have spoken to you before about a beast I was interested in, it's called a Great Malboro, are you familiar?" she asks, her palm upturned as she languidly gestures with it in the air, creating a small 'window' in midair which shows snatches of what looks like a blueish slate-gray tentacled creature, each of the 'fronds' bearing what looks like reddish slit-pupiled eyes.

     "They're highly dangerous, capable of poisoning or sedating their prey, petrifying them, turning them into frogs..." she rattled off the list like it was everyday business. "The breed known as 'great' also are capable of emitting spores which can infest a living creature and slowly transform it into one of their own kind, as well," she lowers her hand, the small 'window' disappearing.

     "A perfect pet and a welcome addition to any aspiring keeper of exotic animals," she grins, those ivory fangs of hers overhanging her red lower lip.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute nods a little. He listens to what she has to say. This sounds familiar, even if it /has/ been a while. The Malboro... He actually has heard of them before. But, he remains quiet. Some of these fine details he had not heard... And his mouth turns up into a smirk.

     "...Mm. I do know a /bit/ of them. I didn't realize they were /that/ poisonous, though. That's... interesting." His eyes linger on the blu-ish image. He leans forward in the chair, considering. Hrm. This sort of creature /does/ have a number of potential uses. He lifts a hand to his chin, rubbing a little.

     "...This creature. It's from your world, correct? I know there are some other worlds where variations of it can be found. What sort of habitat does it live in? What sort of food does it eat? And, is there any history of them being trained for combat already? Any of these details would help make it /quite/ a bit easier to get ahold of one, and train one."

Echo (640) has posed:
     "They're a lot of things," Echo nods a little with some bit of a return smile for the man. "It lives among the peat and fetid waters of swamps, typically poisonous marshes, those sorts of places. Not unheard of to be found in dank caverns however, especially with other great beasts," she thinks for a moment, putting a red-nailed index finger to her chin. "Hmm, whatever it can get it's fronds on, however typically carnivorous, but they'll eat just about anything--and yes, they can be trained, same as many other monsters from my world," the bat woman nodded.

     She seemed to find his smirk and grinning in return a little curious, heels clicking as she made her way a bit closer and around his chair. "Penny for your thoughts on this, Mr. Trieste?" she seemed to be a little curious with what he had on his mind.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute smiles, leaning back in the chair again. His hand remains on his chin in consideration, while he looks up at the ceiling. A useful creature. Ridiculously useful. He looks away from Echo as thinking, before finally looking up towards her again. His smile has gotten even wider.

     "It is, without a doubt, a creature I /could/ train. Easily. Meat is a perfect training tool if it enjoys it. I've trained Poison Pokemon, which can live in swampy environments. And, I have trained ferocious beasts that many considered /untameable/. The only matter is /getting/ one."

     He lifts a leg up, laying it across his other one. He lays back in his chair, smiling, "We just need to find where my to find this new little pet. I'll need your help tracking one down. And then... I could train it to be /quite/ powerful."

Echo (640) has posed:
     "Hmm, I suppose you are considering just what the compensation for this would be, then, judging from your smile," Echo nodded a little, her wings rustling behind her back a little, they had been folded against it. "Hmm... usually can find them around the Tchigolith Fenlands at certain times of the year, if you're lucky, though we might need to search more than one place, such as the Dorvauldar Marsh," she shrugged a little. "The important thing is if they don't have any friends with them, are you also capable of breeding such creatures?" she seems to want to know if he can raise these creatures from scratch, at that.

     "Surprised you're not more put off, actually, you seem pretty calm for a man who just watched a woman crawl out of his television set at him," she grins a little in return though she relents with a shrug.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute stands up, stretching his arms above his head, and cracking his knuckles a little. He slides his hands into the pockets of his trenchcoat, giving Echo a bit of a look over. "When it comes to monsters? I can do most anything with them. I can get them breeding, if we get a good breeding pair. Heck, I can breed them for /strength/ too. We could make a whole horde... Especially once I get my ranch, going."

     He passed over the bit about compensation, but finally, he addresses it. He shakes his head a little, "And, compensation doesn't matter. We're allies. I can breed you a number of them, and I can get some for myself. It's win win for everyone involved."

     He glances towards the TV. How to explain how unphased he is? He thinks for a moment, before shrugging, "One of my favorite people in the Confederacy is basically an undead horror ghost of a ship, I've been in the Multiverse for ages, and I've seen things few others have seen. It's a bit of a surprise, yes. But. I've learned to go with the flow."

Echo (640) has posed:
     "I am not sure they 'breed' exactly in the same sense as other creatures, though they probably can if they're not turning other creatures into more of them," Echo nodded a bit, apparently fine with this. "And you don't want anything in return? That's uncommon, for a man to not want any compensation, I mean," she looks back at the human with her yellow eyes, one of her long batty ears twitching, brow raised. "If you wish a number of them for yourself that is fine," she seems to find this agreeable.

     "And one with a steel nerve too, I like that. I'm known in various areas as a necromancer, so it will do well if you're not upset by creatures undead or otherwise," she bowed her head just a little, a hand on her hip as she stood there, knees bent just a little thanks to the posture enhancing of the heels she was wearing.

Lute (188) has posed:
     The comment about a man usually wanting more actually takes Lute off guard. Normally, she isn't the type of woman he'd be into. But that little comment still throws him off. /Was/ he looking too much? He actually sweats a bit, trying to hold back his reaction a little. He lifts a hand to his mouth, coughing a little. "I-I'm not sure what you mean by a men not wanting compensation, but. For something like this, all I need is some monsters of my own out of it." He feels his cheeks flushing a bit. It's weird, for him to be caught off guard like this. He usually is suave around women.

     "He clears his throat again, before making sure he is looking at Echo more dead on, right in the face. He smiles a bit more calmly, bringing himself back together again. "...And I've not known many actual necromancers. But. Undead never bothered me, except a couple of kinds, and more for personal reasons. Some of my best friends have been undead, anyways."

     His eyes linger down a little. And then immediately go up again. Trying to change the subject from his occasional looks. "...When are we going to head out for this, then?"

Echo (640) has posed:
     Echo begins to grin again, those ivory fangs visible over her red lipstick'd lower lip. "That's fine, you shall have a few for yourself, I'm sure, even if I need to make it use it's spores to reproduce, sound fair?" she relaxes into a sort of smile as she leans back on those heels. "I've studied that, black magic, and enchanting, I'm fairly well-travelled in the arcane world," she explains, before she puts a hand to her chin, considering this.

     "I will make some preparations and send you a notice in a few days, I think, on when I'm available, you would do well to give me an idea of your... convenience as well," she clucks her tongue, idly toying with the tip of one of her fangs with it, before she looks back at the TV. "Sometime when you're not glued to the television watching pretty girls, I'd think."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute's eyes look towards those lips. He finds himself staring, despite focusing on her face. He moves to those yellow eyes instead. He lifts a hand to flip some hair out of his face, a nervous habit to distract himself. "If it's spores, it should be feasible to get it to reproduce without magic... But. We could also possibly speed it up. I'm curious if the magic would affect the spores, though. It might end up coming out a bit more magical in nature due to such."

     He just smirks at the last comment, "Oh, come on. It's not /just/ to look at pretty girls. I play them for the plot!" A pause. "...And for the girls." He shrugs a little, flipping his hair once more and moving some braids out from infront of his eye.

     "...But yeah. Let me know. We'll get a team. Capture one. I can get some cages ready. ...Do need to know how big of a cage I'll need, though."

Echo (640) has posed:
     "Who said we'd need magic?" she just grins a little and shakes her head. "They've survived as long as they have by making themselves versatile, like humans, like beast-kin," Echo seems to be fine with whatever, come what may. "Of course," she doesn't seem to find his ogling or hobby there particularly disturbing, god knows she's into far, far more unsettling pasttimes.

     "They're quite big, about as tall as a man, about as wide as a sofa--picture a couch-sized ball of teeth with tentacles waving around it," she gestured with her white-furred arms and hands. "Charming mental image, I know," she put her hands down, then noticing his staring at her lips. Putting a hand to her mouth, she closed her eyes and leaned toward him as she blew him a kiss--which proceeded to manifest as a set of red lipsticked lips that floated towards him. It was bizarre to see, sort of cartoonish and unnatural. Of course as it grew closer he'd be able to see the lips sported a set of fangs, much like her own~

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute shrugs his shoulder again, "If magic can make it easier, it might be worth a shot. But. We'll manage some way. Besides. This is what I /do/. I train, raise, and breed monsters. I study them, and learn everything about them. Even if they /are/ a giant mass of tentacles, they've been trained before. It should be easy enough."

     He doesn't even flinch a bit as the lip-marks come in, simply looking at them a bit. Sure, he knows there are some creatures who might be able to harm him through some sort of magic trick like this, but it is an ally before him. The only thing that makes him regrets this? He finally notices the fangs. He thinks of various demonic beings who use their looks as a weapon.

     He hopes he didn't fuck things up, and hopes that this isn't a test that he just failed.

Echo (640) has posed:
     The set of red floating lips promptly fasten to the man's cheek with an almost comically stereotypical "SMOOCH" noise, leaving behind an imprint against his cheek shaped much like them, though he could perhaps swear he could feel a brush of those fangs against his skin, also.

     "Hahaha, definitely a normal man after all," she nodded and held a hand over her mouth as she calmed herself, not wanting to make too much noise. "You just stood there like 'I am not sure if want'... ohh you're quite something, Mr. Trieste," she stepped back with a hand on her hip, nodding a little.

     "I suppose that will be all then, I shall send you a bat-o-gram when I have located what I need, I trust you will be able to... occupy yourself until then, hmm?" she asked with a smile.

Lute (188) has posed:
     The marks upon Lute's cheek is highlighted a little, his face turning quite a bit more red as the mark hits him. And those fangs... That hint of danger. He looks somewhat stunned, and awestruck. And the fact that she is reading him so well... Yeah. This is unusual for him. Even he realizes there might be some risk here, of this woman manipulating him.

     He realizes he is only making himself a bit more obvious by not speaking.

     He coughs a little, sliding his hands into his pocket, and nodding. He won't address the little bit about him being a normal man. He'll just pretend that she didnt' say that, and move on a bit.

     "...Yeah. I'll look forward to the letter. And don't worry, I've got plenty of ways to occupy myself til then."

     He is really curious if she is going to go right back into the television again.

Echo (640) has posed:
     A good illusionist doesn't endeavor to make themselves any less mysterious or engimatic by just explaining their tricks or actions, and neither does Echo. Instead of heading back towards the television, she instead raises the hand not on her hip and it glows faintly, a phantasmal light-greenish color. Her body begins to become transparent and indestinct, her voice carrying on even after she's nearly invisible.

     "I trust that you do, till we meet again, ahahahaha..." the sound of her laughter seems to fade out, as if a door was being closed around her, very much giving the impression she was no longer there, and not just turning invisible.

     And she seems to just be gone.