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Mei is currently sitting in the hot tub, her head resting against the rim, her body slouched down far enough that not much more than her head and part of her neck is above water. It looks like she might be asleep, though she's not. When you're under the effects of Body Control and breathing extremely slowly, though? Being still and only occasionally breathing in and out, steadily, unhurriedly, it definitely makes her seem asleep.
Pap pap pap. Fox walks out on to the patio naked, apparently unconcerned with whether or not Mei is dead. When you've got Life Sight up so you can look at your pigeons diagnostically, you don't need to check whether or not someone is dead. You know.
She opens the door to her pigeon loft, taking out one of the cooing little birdies from inside, and closes the door again, holding the bird carefully cradled in both hands. "Pigeons are very funny to hold when they're doing their fathead little pigeon dance," Fox comments thoughtfully, "because they're extra big and round but like, in a way that you can tell they're obviously inflated with air."
"It's like holding a little pigeon balloon."
She gently tosses her arms up toward the evening air and releases the pigeon. "Don't go far!" she chides the bird -- who can probably understand -- before she pads over to sit down on the edge of the hot tub. "Hi."
Mei cracks one eye open when the door out onto the patio opens, and then opens the other eye too when it's a naked Fox. She cracks a smile and watches Fox go start tending the little cooers with a fond smile. And an appreciative gaze, since naked Fox is a pleasant enough sight to look at.
"That's air? I thought they were all puffed up with vodka because they were raiding Vasha's stash," she says, quite clearly not serious.
Then she returns to watching up until Fox sits on the edge of the hot tub, when Mei slides over and leans her head against her. "Hi," she says. "Sorry I've been so busy with work lately, and not paying you the attention you deserve."
"Hah! The last thing we need is drunk pigeons. Can you imagine? It'd be like a bunch of totally smashed Russians running through our house, fighting each other and their reflections and pissing on everything. Well, pooping, but, same thing, really." Jokes at the expense of Russians are always a hit with Vasha, so Fox makes lots of them.
She slowly blinks her eyes like a contented cat when Mei snuggles up. "Oh, we've both been busy," Fox assures gently, petting her fingers through Mei's hair. She wiggles her toes in the water. "But thank you. I like being around you. Is work good?"
"Now I'm picturing a drunk Zoya fighting a bunch of drunk pigeons and peeing on things, so thanks for that mental image," Mei says with good humor, as she closes her eyes and uses Fox's leg as a pillow. "I like being around you, too. I have a date idea for some night soon, by the way. But I've also been thinking about how I haven't actually showed you what I can do with the new Legacy that I created. Would you be interested in seeing?"
Fox snickers, her nose wrinkling up in amusement. "She would never be so uncouth," she laughs, scritching thoughtfully at the back of Mei's skull. "I want to hear about the date idea! We haven't had a date in too long. I would say that if we went on dates every other day though, because I am greedy. I have some ideas, too." More wiggling of her toes in the hot water. "Yes! I want to see new things!"
"I thought we could go be crows and prank people," Mei suggests with a laugh. "Things like hanging around watching people at restaurants, and then if someone throws us some food, we bring them rewards. Like a $100 bill or some nice jewelry or something," she says.
At that point she lifts her head up and starts to get up, showing that she was wearing a pretty skimpy black bikini in the hot tub, even if nobody would probably care if she was skinny dipping. "We should go inside for me to show you this, though. Who knows who might be watching through binoculars or drones or something, and the last thing we need is the kind of attention this might bring."
"Heeeee!" Yes, she actually says 'heee' out loud. Because she's Fox. "Oh wow that would be super fun to do. We should definitely. I love the kind of pranking that makes people happier. I bet Zoya would give us a bunch of money to do that with. I was thinking that I could make us some goggles or maybe we could just go out Incognito Presence with mantis shrimp eyes. And just.... look at everything!" That's it. That's the whole idea. Mantis shrimp eyes.
When Mei gets up out of the water, Fox leans away a bit to let her do so, and then blushes and makes a scrunchy-line smile at Mei-in-a-skimpy-bikini. One hand reaches out to solemnly touch Mei's butt, as if partaking of a sacrament. "Butt," she intones, and then gets up to head back inside. "We should like... figure out a way to put an illusion over our house so it always looks like the thing is empty and we can just be out here. Someday someone's going to sell pictures of my butt on the internet."
"I'm pretty sure she would, but especially if we agreed to record it so that she could put the video on YouTube," Mei answers, before leaning in to press a smooch to the top of Fox's head while her own butt is being touched. When that's done she steps over the edge of the hot tub, grabs a towel to start drying herself off, and heads toward the door as she towels off.
"You know, it might not hurt to have her check whether or not there's stuff on the web of any of us that shouldn't be. Even if I wouldn't be surprised if she does that already," Mei says as they go back into the penthouse. "In any case, you might be interested to hear that I modeled some of my attainments partially off of what I know about the Orphans of Proteus. It is a Life focused Legacy, after all."
"Oh, and the mantis shrimp eyes sounds interesting, I had forgotten about their vision!"
"... yes, I think that she would like that very much actually." Fox shakes herself, like... well. A Fox. And with a soupcon of Matter magic, she's dry again, just like that. Not that more than her feet ever really got wet anyway.
"Hmm. Yeah, you're right. I think probably she already does that, but you know, asking her to look wouldn't hurt anything." Pap pap pap. Fox follows after Mei, for many reasons, including butt. Also, Mei's the one who is, like, going to do a demonstration, after all!
"You did?" That makes Fox blush again, as if personally complimented by the idea. "I am very interested to hear that, yes."
"If I get a chance, I'll bring it up with her," Mei says, as she finishes drying herself off -- when you don't get your hair wet, it's not that hard -- and then sets the towel on the coffee table and turns to face Fox.
"I did, in fact, yes! A little bit of Orphans of Proteus, a little bit of the Choir of Hashmalim, and a healthy dose of Judaism. I can do a magical girl transformation, but when I do, it's not an animal that I turn into." She flashes a grin. "Are you ready for this?"
She flops down on the couch, curling her legs up underneath their butt, and dropping their hands into his lap. Fox bites her lower lip, her sharp little teeth holding on to it as her eyes widen. "Yes," she breathes, wiggling a little bit in excitement as the description just gets more and more interesting. "Yes please!"
Mei nods, smiles a little bit wider, and then sas, "here we go, then!"
There's a momentary pause and then golden fire starts to spread over her skin, starting at her sternum and radiating out. It moves quickly, moving to the top of her head and the bottoms of her feet in seconds, and as it moves over her skin it transforms it.
Moments later what's standing in front of Fox is something straight out of biblical descriptions of angels. She's nearly seven feet tall and there are multiple pairs of large wings, one pair held loosely and ready for flight and others folded to cover portions of her body. Her skin is a fiery orange, gleaming and faceted like gems, and her face -- the human one -- is vaguely recognizable as Mei, but otherwordly and different. On either side of that face are the head of a lion and an ox, with the face of an eagle currently hidden from view behind her.
The legs of this form still look mostly human, but with hooves instead of feet, and when she breathes in, the slits of gills lift and fall again along her jewel-fleshed throat.
When she speaks its in a voice that isn't loud exactly, but still leaves no doubt that it should be capitalized when transcribed. It comes out in multiple tones, layered and harmonious; the kind of divine effect that choirs and bells and organs have been trying to recreate for millennia. "I BELIEVE IT'S TRADITIONAL TO SAY 'BE NOT AFRAID'" says the human face.
(Yes, the cherub is still wearing a skimpy black bikini)
Fox was already delighted and fixated on Mei, because, like, who wouldn't be, when Hot Girlfriend In Bikini does a Watch This! sort of thing.
When the fire starts to spread out from her sternum, Fox gasps aloud, briefly concerned, but when it doesn't hurt Mei? She just ... sits there... transfixed. Her hands slowly rise to her cheeks, her gold eyes reflecting back all that shimmering light. And she... gasps... and just sits there breathless for a long while, before just kind of wiggling excitedly in her spot, the way she does when she's just got too many feelings to keep in her tiny frame.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!"
Mei starts to turn, and as she does the pair of spread wings folds to cover her more human body while the wings covering the lion one spread, revealing a side that's more anthropomorphic lion than human, though still with the same human legs and hooved feet. "WELL," the Mei-cherub continues in the same resonant, heavenly voice. "THAT DIDN'T SOUND AFRAID, SO THAT'S GOOD. YOU CAN COME LOOK CLOSER, OR TOUCH, IF YOU WANT TO."
Totally frozen with overwhelmed delight, Fox just looks and looks and looks for at least a solid minute -- watching the wings folding and unfolding, the faces shifting and emoting, and then when Mei speaks again? Fox squeals in delight and springs off the couch. "I ... don't think I can actually be afraid of you," she laughs. Of course an Orphan of Proteus would have a certain level of trust that a person in all their forms is still them.
She flings herself at Mei much the same way that she throws herself at Vasha, apparently intent on climbing the angel like a tree.
You know, like you do.
Mei doesn't seem to mind being stared at, especially by Fox, although when a lion's face smiles at you the result is kind of more threatening looking than pleasant. It's all the teeth. Plus the fact that cats don't normally smile that way. "THAT'S GOOD, BECAUSE THERE'S NO REASON TO BE," she says.
And when Fox flings herself at Mei? Mei just catches them in the air, then lifts them casually with one arm and puts them down on one shoulder. This form is still proportionally similar to Mei, who is not a particularly broad shouldered person, but when you're big enough, your shoulders end up being broad enough to make decent perches anyway.
Of course, there's another face right there, looking out over that shoulder. This one is the eagle one, and it plops its beak on Fox's leg and looks up with big, golden eyes before speaking in Mei's angelic voice. "HEY BEAUTIFUL," it says. "DID IT HURT WHEN YOU FELL FROM THE SKY OR HAVE I GONE TO HEAVEN?"
She squeals in delight when Mei catches her and perches them on her shoulder. Fox is at the point of delighted where 'speaking' is mostly not a thing that happens, and instead 'giggling and squealing in delight' happens instead. She flings her arms around the triple-head and hugs, because, well. That is how a Fox do.
The eagle-face talking to her -- using cheesy pick-up lines at her -- just makes Fox laugh again. "You know, this is not the first time an eagle has flirted with me, but I think it is the most effective," she giggles, and then leans to smooch the eagle right on its beak.
"HEY," the other three faces protest at once when Fox kisses the Eagle. "WHAT ABOUT ME?"
Then all four laugh in harmony, which is kind of a lot.
"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME AN EAGLE FLIRTED WITH YOU? AND HOW BAD WAS IT AT FLIRTING IF THIS WAS BETTER?" She starts moving toward the couch, without turning that direction, which means that one pair of wings closes and the pair covering the body in the direction of the couch opens as she moves that way. The whole thing is a little mind-bending, but at least she's not just wheels of eyes and fire.
"Pffft!" Fox laughs aloud, and she flings her arms back around the quadruple head, hanging on as Mei starts to move. "I mean, if I go out as an eagle during the spring, I'm going to get an eagle thinking that I am... actually an eagle, so, you know. It's usually the scrawny-ass eagles who don't already have a mate, and anyway, an angel has never flirted with me before so this is a definite first."
"And the flirting is most successful when it comes from someone I want to flirt with me, sooooo."
Mei's ox-body wings close and the human ones open as she turns and sits, then she slides Fox down onto her lap. "I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE. BIOLOGICAL IMPERATIVES AND ALL THAT," her voice rings out. "DO YOU WANT TO GET A CLOSER LOOK AT ANYTHING, OR SHOULD I TURN BACK SO I CAN STOP BOOMING DRAMATICALLY WHEN I SPEAK?"
"I think I'm too overwhelmed to look at everything right now. I still had my Life Sight on at first and it was like staring into a lightbulb," Fox admits, curled up happily on Mei's lap, leaning against the angel. "You can turn back. The dramatic booming is ... very impressive, though."
The beryl-lipped angel leans forward to lightly press a kiss against Fox's lips that's perhaps surprisingly warm and soft, given what that skin seems to be made from, and then the golden fire passes over the angel's form again and leaves Mei's normal appearance in its wake, as she's leaning back from the momentary kiss.
"Be not afraid," she says again, in her normal voice. "Just be sexy. Like you usually are."
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