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Prepping for a weekend where their motley is going to be doing something that they can't help with? That's stressful, so Teagan, after their usual Hedge patrol and checking up on the Hollow, they're sitting in the pillow pit in Downtime, slowly sharpening their machete. Whetstone on Hedgespun steel, Darkling bent over their task, murmuring to the blade like they're soothing a child.
There's a reason she's named Baby.
Sigrun's been living out in her forge lately. Hammering out gear for Teagan, for Glitch, now for herself. They're not much to look at, to tell it true. They're far more about function than form. Anticipating the possibility of close combat in an urban, indoor setting and needing to prioritize speed and maneuverability over lethality, she's rushed out a sword and a small buckler for herself. And taken the time to paint the shield, it must be said. Her preferred blue trefoil of Freya, albeit on a black field this time for help with stealth. She carries in all of her gear, setting the duffel bag down with a thud. The new sword and shield are set on top of the pile, and then Sigrun shuffles over to have a seat near to Teagan, "Hey, Teabutt. I need a favor, if that's okay."
The Mirrorskin looks up, their broken-mirror eyes reflecting back bits and pieces of the new gear. "That's some hot shit, Significant," they comment as they chuck their chin up at the new gear. "You can't ask a favor of me, but I'll do things for you. Favor implies you owe me. Unless you want to owe me, which is a different question altogether." That lazy half-smile of theirs slides across their face. Teagan's always been one to cope with their shitty sex-jokes humor, after all. They set Baby aside carefully, the whetstone next to her, and roll to their feet, padding over quietly to kiss Sigrun at the corner of her mouth. "What can I help you with, light of my life?"
"I'm on the kill team. But I'm not super good at being stealthy. I'm just not. When you're a bright one, there's no point in it. But now I need to be. My armor is all black, my new weapons are black. I still glow. I'd like it if you could make me into a Helldiver. Cos then I won't be glowing, and if she makes a run for Twilight, I can chase her. She needs to be stopped, and I don't want to be the reason she gets away. Because I'm loud, or too visible, or whatever." Sigrun tucks some hair behind her ear, appearing genuinely concerned on this point. Going to murder someone? No problem. Possibly botching the murder? Cause for anxiety.
The door into Downtime opens again and June comes through, a view of her bedroom in the house visible through what must be her closet door. She's wearing pajama shorts and a tank top, which suggests she was planning not to go out again once she was in. When she spots Teagan and Sigrun she goes bouncing toward them, but she doesn't interrupt until she has some idea what's going on except to offer a happy, "hi boos!" and to start giving out hugs and smooches.
There are kisses for June, too, looking utterly adorable as she is. That's the processing pause for Teagan, being able to swoop June up in their arms, spin her around, smooch her, and set her back down. "Helldiver is a big change," Teagan agrees, shifting their weight from one foot to the other. "Of course I'll do it for you, Significant. It's a smart idea. A real fucking smart idea." Once June's back on her feet, the Mirrorskin steps over, laughing and touching Sigrun's face, with all its little coursing veins of gemstone through the alabaster. "This would be easier if Johnnie were here," they admit. "But I don't need her to be here."
"Give me your express consent when you're ready." Teagan's always been big on consent.
Glitch follows in shortly after June, dressed nondescript in jeans and hoodie. He's carrying his own duffel bag, and sets it down at the edge of the pillows before sitting down to take his shoes off. "We all gonna need to move covertly?" He asks quietly.
"We're trying to kill a Winter Helldiver. I don't see how else we are pulling this off unless we do stealth of some sort. I'm not ideal in that capacity, but I'm giving myself some workarounds in that regard." Sigrun ofers June a big hug and a smooch after answering Glitch, her focus returning rather naturally to Teagan, since they're the ones holding the keys to her particular castle. "Yeah. You have my consent to make me into a Helldiver. Hopefully this will only be for a couple days. I am rather fond of being glowy, as a rule."
"Oooh," June says as the ramifications of some of these things sink in for her. "Yep, I guess that would be one way of handling the situation." She offers Glitch a hug and a smooch too. "I'm not much for covert, just hitting hard and fast. This is a pretty neat idea. I've never really considered tactically changing my kith for an upcoming battle."
"I do it ... more often than you all see," Teagan admits, adding, "Usually only when I'm on my own. It's uncomfortable for me to not be a Mirrorskin for too long. I've been one for a hundred years." They look aside at Glitch, adding, "Yes. I'm turning Sigrun into a Helldiver. It's a good idea. I can do it for you, too. In case she tries to get away, you all can chase her. Or a Mirrorskin, which will make you extra sneaky." A deep breath in, and they stretch out their scarred hands and rest them on Sigrun's face.
It doesn't seem like much at first, the way their fingers touch her skin, but their touch slides just beneath her skin, slowly moving it around, molding her face like putty.
The light fades, first. That's the first thing -- that ambient glow which makes Sigrun Sigrun on some level? It fades. She's like a lampshade unlit. And then from Teagan's fingers, the rivulets of gemstone through Sigrun's skin start to change color. Her alabaster skin becomes a soft, smoke-colored porcelain, and the edges of her body somehow seem smoky and less-defined, as if the edge of Sigrun and not-Sigrun has had the Smudge tool run over it. Blue turns to black as the gem-cracks through her skin become black jet, and gold becomes silver.
Sigrun makes a sad sound when her light goes out. As annoying as it is, as constant and ever present, as frustratingly persistent as it happens to be? It is decidedly a part of her. And its sudden absence is unpleasant, and instantly so. But Sigrun endures the shifts and changes, stubborn and determined as ever to do what is best over what is comfortable for her. And when it's done, and all of her bits and pieces have been altered so fundamentally, Sigrun dips her head and murmurs a prayer to her Gods, then leans in to press a kiss to Teagan's lips. "Thank you." For all that Sigrun is now a fish out of water, she seems decidedly relieved. "I'm less likely to mess it up now." Sigrun scoots away to make room for Teagan, assuming others may desire their services on this count.
You wouldn't think it to look at her, but Sturm is actually surprisingly sneaky - mostly on account of just how still and calm she's capable of forcing her body to be. Right now, though? Not even a little stealthy. She steps into Downtime, yawning mightily - cup of coffee in hand, and clearly having just woken up - without a single fuck to give about whether or not she's seen or heard. 'Cause after all, the only people who might find her here would be Direct Action, anyway.
"Oh shit, new digs." The ogre's eyes move to Sigrun, and she scratches at the fuzzy undercut part of her hair - which, honestly, could probably use a fresh shave. "Seems like we had the same idea, I guess."(edited)
Glitch returns the kisses and hugs of his motleymates and then turns his attention to witness Sigrun's transformation. His eyes widen, and he looks impressed by the end of it, leaning forward just a bit to gawk. "...cool," he beeps, approaching to get a proper look. "Helldiver Sigrun. You're like an action figure."
June flops down onto the pillows to watch, and though she blinks in surprise she also frowns. "That's definitely not quite right. Fascinating, but not right. I mean, unless you decided you wanted to be that way, in which case I'd get used to it, but it would definitely take some getting used to." Then she waves. "Hi Sturm!" Back to her feet to run over and give a hug.
"I feel weird," Sigrun admits to Glitch, "like my whole body is funny and wrong. I should probably do some weapon practice and exercise and such to break this in. I can't afford not to be acclimated to the new me when it's time to strike. Sigrun also hops up to her feet to go and offer Sturm a greeting. Possibly just so she can also hug June while hugging Sturm which is both a two-for-one, and also encouraging after the whole change of kith business. "But, yeah, Sturm. I guess we had the same idea. At least now my glow isn't a liability."
The kiss given is taken by Teagan as though it's some sort of sacrament, and to the Mirrorskin, it pretty much is. They raise a hand and slide it over Sigrun's misty-edged cheek, reassuring. "You're still you," they say, before they say anything else. "But practising before you go out? Yeah. It's a good idea. It'll last you about a day, unless you are done before that and come back to me and I let the effect go." When Sturm arrives? Teagan turns their attention to her, rolling up to the balls of their feet and kissing the corner of her mouth. "You want to helldive too?" she asks the Snowskin.
"It's not a bad look on you, but it is definitely a weird one." Sturm holds her coffee away from June (because it'd be a tragedy to spill hot coffee on fur and skin) and gives the lil panda a big hug. Well, as big as she can manage with only one free arm. When Sigrun starts heading over - and Teagan follows - she gives up on the idea of holding her coffee, and sets it down on the nearest flat surface.
"Nah, not quite. Was gonna ask you to make me a Mirrorskin," she rumbles. June gets a real hug - Sigrun gets to help Sturm make a June sandwich (oh my) - and then Teagan gets a quick kiss. "Once Wren gets back to me with the layout of Robin's safehouse, I'm going to figure out the best way to approach. I can hide four people with Cloak of Night, so I want to be as stealth-capable as a 7' tall ogre can be."(edited)
Glitch nods to Sigrun in sympathy. "You'll adjust quick. Doesn't look like any of your stats changed. Just your class skill." He looks to Sturm then, tilting his head a bit. "Do we have to be stealthy too, or does the Cloak take care of that?"
Having finished greeting Sturm as is right and proper June moves out of coffee spilling range. She knows all about avoiding situations where spills can happen, even if she's not nearly as clumsy as she used to be. When she ends up soon getting squished into a sandwich she doesn't mind, just giggles. "I kind of want to try being a helldiver," she admits. "I honestly have no idea what that would even look like. It's not like my kith really manifests itself directly in the way I look, you know? I've only ever tried being a mirrorskin, and that just so..." she pauses. "I could try a different sort of body for a bit."
"I still feel weird," Sigrun complains, "and I have no idea how I look when I'm emoting. I used to just figure my light taddled on me. Anyway." Sigrun has drawn her dagger and is examining her reflection in the blade, pulling at her skin and poking at her slowly whirling shadows. "Weird," she keeps saying. And weird it is. "I should probably try diving, too. To see how that works." She slide her dagger away and sighs, "Well. It'll have to do! Thank you, Teagan."
"Well, at least this isn't new," Teagan offers up quietly toward Sturm, listening to everyone's theories and conversations. The smile that they offer her there is a little wry, since, of course, that Riddle Kithing is kind of what started the pair on their current relationship arc. "I have to say, I didn't think I'd end up doing that again." They shift their weight from one foot to the other, letting out a slow breath. "Please give me your express consent whenever you're ready." When Sigrun starts looking at herself in the blade? Teagan steps over toward her and just... stares at her for a minute. It's fractions and fragments, but the Mirrorskin's eyes do reflect bits of her back. "You're welcome, of course. And if you want to try helldiving, JuneyJune... Sigrun is here. So that makes it easier."
"Nah. Cloak takes care of it - but we're all hidden together. If one of us breaks it, it breaks for all of us - which means we need to make sure we're all in position before striking, or everyone else is shit out of luck." Beat. "Which means everyone who can't Light Shy is probably better off being a Helldiver just in case she runs - though, Wren can also try to Riddle Kith Robin and prevent her from diving in the first place. We have some options."
Unfortunately - much as Sturm would like to focus on June's adorable giggling, or Sigrun's handiwork - the impending hunt for Robin has her complete focus. "Alright. Just fuck me up, I guess."
Though, unlike when she said that the last time she was Riddle Kithed, there's a wry smirk and no self-deprecating follow up remark.
Glitch nods at Sturm, considering, a finger going to his chin. "Hnn. Helldiver might be more useful, then. How fast do they move....?" He's still musing, and flops down into the pillow pit proper while everyone else queues for their battle loadout.
"Sure, but only after the important work is done," June says with eagerness and practicality alike. "Let's make sure people who are actually going to set this ambush are ready and able and confident in their new skills, right? Then we can play around." She goes over to Sigrun to give her a hug in the meantime, then turns to watch what goes on with Sturm.
"Oh, and we should pick up earpieces, too - and practice with them. We're probably going to want to communicate over distances for this," she adds quickly.
Sigrun checks herself out in Teagan's eyes. Which doesn't make it less weird, but does make it more comforting at least. In the end she just shakes her head, "I won't feel right until I'm glowing again. But no matter. All I have to do is help bring an Outlaw to justice, and then I can get back to being a proper me. I'll probably be super annoying for a few days when I get my glow back. Apologies in advance." With that, she heads over to her pack to begin checking her gear. Starting with her new sword and buckler.
"I know, babe," Teagan offers to Sigrun, along with another kiss, and then they add, "You'll just have to make my eyes go all rainbows for days." Their attention turns back to Sturm, then, and they reach up to rest their hands on her face. There's a sort of weird expression that slides across their face, and they admit quietly to her, "It's a little like someone else seeing you with your hair down," clearing their throat once and swallowing. It's very rude when Teagan has to have Emotions. Just uncalled-for. What is this bullshit?
Anyway.
The Snowskin's frost disappears briefly, whispering away, and when Teagan's fingers slide just under the surface of her skin, it begins to shift from blue-white to a silvery-black that matches the Darkling's. Like hot water cracking ice, the blackness washes over her, Sturm's eyes disappearing as she gains a pair of broken-mirror eyes just like Teagan's. There are pluses and minuses to having a particular individual Riddle Kith you, after all. And her hair? Silver, not white, now. The frost washes back in as her Mantle returns, riming the edges of the giant's skin.
"Sorry about that," Sturm offers a sad half-smile in response. She takes a deep breath, visibly uncomfortable as the odd sensation of change begins to ripple across her icy flesh. The last time she'd done this, it'd been for deeply personal reasons - and while she's not thrilled to be back, she's capable of suppressing it.
... fortunately, this isn't her first Mirrorskin rodeo (no dirty jokes pls :p) but just to make sure she still knows how everything works, she adjusts the length of her undercut back down to a buzz - watching her reflection in Teagan's mirror-y skin, and marveling at the infinity mirror effect as theirs is reflected back by hers. "I was going to ask Wren," she steals a quick kiss from Teagan - voice dropping to a quieter volume. "... but I'd rather it was you. It means more."
... and then she fishes for her coffee, because Sturm is still Sturm even when she looks like Teagan.(edited)
"I'm starting to feel like I'm bizzaro Downtime," June comments about Sturm's transformation. "This is getting a little unsettling. I'm sure it will totally help if I also change into some other Kith, right? Then it will feel like a costume party, and not like I'm in some kind of weird alternate reality?" It sounds partly like she's joking, but not entirely. Like it started out cool, but now it's actually giving her the creeps just a little.
"Do you want to be a Helldiver for a little while, JuneyJune? If it'll seriously help you feel better, I'll do it. Especially since we have Sig here, and I'm gonna set up Glitch, too." The Mirrorskin tips their face up toward Sturm to take the kiss offered, and there's something a little wistful on their face as they reach up to pet her silver-black cheek. June isn't the only person having unwanted feelings, apparently. "Thank you," they answer, adding, "I'm the best at it anyway." No offense, Wren, apparently.
Glitch glances to June for a moment, a bit of a sympathetic stare, before he stands up and walks over to Teagan. "Is it my turn, Player Two?" he asks once Sturm is finished. "Helldiver sounds like my best bet, as long as I can still run and jump as fast. And don't have to worry about..." He stares a bit, and then frowns. "...clipping through the floor. Never seen Vorpal fall through the world though, so it's probably not an issue..."
"Of course - it took a lot for me to trust you with this the first time," Sturm takes a sip of her coffee - the heat of which causes her now-mirror-y skin to fog up. "Wren hasn't put that work in - even if she'll get to see the results of the thing." She steps aside so Glitch can approach, and takes up a new position over near June. Y'know. Just in case June is still having weird feels, and would like another hug. Or an arm around her shoulders.
"Ummm. I'm not really sure," June admits as she goes to tuck herself in at Sturm's side. "I think so. After everyone else whose transformation is more important." She watches, looking a little uncertain, but the discomfort seems to fade a little. For now.
That same wistful smile is turned to Sturm again, and Teagan nods once at the reassurance that they're given by the Jotunn. "Thank you," they offer quietly, and then turn their attention back to Glitch. "You're not gonna clip through the floor unless you want to clip through the floor, Player One. If you're ready, please give me your express consent." While they talk, they go over to the fridge, taking out a weird soda, and then walk over to hand it to Sigrun, despite the fact that she's gone quiet. "Here, a gift from me to you with no expectation of recompense." Weirdo. But it does mean they're not spending like half their glamour on this.
Glitch's eyebrows raise in a bit of excitement at finding out he gets to decide what he clips through. He slips out of his hoodie, leaving him in jeans and a t-shirt, since everyone else has been quite the spectacle. In front of Teagan, he relaxes his shoulders and stands with his arms down at his sides. "Yes," he intones, marking his consent like pointing a cursor. "Make me a Helldiver."
"Yeah, dude. Think of it like sequence breaking," she offers, hugging June to her side tightly. Squoosh. Clearly Sturm watched GDQ last year, because she continues. "You gotta try to glitch at just the right time to end up falling through the Great Deku and onto Ganon. Otherwise you'll just stay on the approved track."
She sticks out her now-black tongue, and then begins to ruffle June's fur. Just a little bit as a treat. For her.
June does seem to be put more at easy by the petting from Sturm. "I think I'm going to pass for now on the Helldiving thing?" she finally says. "I want to try it out, but I think right now I just want to stay who I am, where I know what I can do and stuff."
"That makes sense," Teagan assures June. "We can do it another time. I can let you be anything you want for a little while, and try it out." And then the Darkling turns toward Glitch, and stretches their hands out one more time to lay them gently on his cheeks.
It's a weird sensation, since Teagan has never done this for Glitch before. He's been touched plenty by the Mirrorskin over the last three years, in plenty of ways, but never in a way where their touch seems to go just beneath his skin, and as their fingers smooth over his cheeks, their touch stretches beneath his surface. No wonder Teagan got a little Weird about the idea of someone else turning Sturm into a Mirrorskin -- this is its own levels of intimate. Changing someone's essential self in such a profound way.
Glitch's glitches get... larger and fuzzier, in a way, rather than going away. The derezzing is a part of who Glitch is, separate from Kith, and doesn't go away, but all the color leaches out of him, leaving him a black-and-white Sprite, as his edges get softer, like he's fading slowly into existence out of an old-school monitor, backlit by cathode ray tubes.
Glitch tenses, just for a moment, as he feels Teagan's digits slipping into his face. He relaxes quickly, and shuts his eyes after a moment of staring intensely into theirs. By the time he opens them and looks down at himself, he's grown blurry and monochrome. "Huh," he says, mouth hanging open a bit more than his nonchalant reaction implies. "That's...." Raising one hand, he stares at the big patches of corruption flickering across it, less of the tight and twisted scarring he had before and more just big blurry cloudlike swaths. "That's different. Wow." He looks over at the others, then leans in and whispers something to Teagan.
"So do I get to try it right away? Or is it dangerous in here?"
"I'd think this would be about as safe a place as you'll find?" June suggests, but she shrugs. "I have no idea, though."
That was a very secretive whisper. Good Job! You executed it perfectly, Glitch. Such Stealth.
This fact is supported by the fact that there is literally no change in expression beyond Sturm going from passively snuggling/patting to actively mussing June's fur. "Yeah? I can't imagine why Downtime wouldn't be safe. Even for that."
That's what you get for being horny on main, I guess. Sometimes people hear you. Not that Teagan would know anything about that, or that Wren snuck up on them being horny on main at Sturm recently. Nope. "You can try it right away. It costs, though, so don't go draining yourself unless you're going to go harvest before you go out. Just be careful."
Glitch nods at that. With another glance down at his monochromatic blurry form, he focuses. The pixels at the end of his fingertips fade away, and the derezzing runs up his arms, melting them away into nothing square by square. "Now that's weird," he mutters. "Can still feel 'em...."
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