Secret Melodies (Mal & Sohl/Open)

[MP]

The sight of Malthiel's outstretched arms brought him back to himself. Sohl handed over the muddied bundle of clothes with a murmured apology, acutely aware of its contrast against the man's clean sleeves. His host didn't seem to mind, but he still felt bad about it. Kit's distraction was a welcome one.

"Sure, anytime," he answered her with a small smile. "But." He looked sideways at Malthiel. Back to Kit, genuine interest showing through the shyness now. "I'd like to hear about the lake creature too, if you don't mind." He gave a somewhat nervous laugh. "Especially if it's bigger than me. Is it safe to swim, do you think?"

As much as new fauna interested him, getting eaten by it would be a most embarrassing way to go for a predator. And while Icarim enjoyed various natural advantages, an affinity for deep water was not one of them. The thought of something waiting in the black, creeping up from the drifting weeds toward his underbelly, set his hackles bristling.

[Sharei]

Kit's eyes gleamed with intense pleasure as both Malthiel and Sohl turned their attention to her and asked about the creature. Rather than be embarrassed by their scrutiny, it invigorated her. What kind of researcher would she be if a little attention embarrassed her? No, the secrets of the world were out there, and she intended to find them. It would take more than her single human lifetime to see everything, but she'd be damned if she didn't intend to try.

"You haven't heard of the lake creature?" She wasn't shocked, although she had thought that most people knew. Rather, she felt a bit like she had a fresh audience, and as any good storyteller might she enjoyed that. Kit changed the cadence of her voice so that her words would have more impact. "There have been multiple sightings of strange things going on in the lake, from unusual ripples and odd waves to haunting, alien sounds coming from across the water. Some people say that the creature that lives in it is miles high. Crazy, you might say? How could something of such size hide in the lake without someone noticing? All good questions, my friends. That opinion is not widely shared because of its impractical nature. But, I say to you, its possible. In fact, it's even probable."

Kit fished her phone out of a pocket and scrolled through her files until she had found the one that had so captivated her on the subject. "I was out photographing the lake one morning for a client, and low and behold, I hear this splash. I whip around with my camera, because of course I do, and I get a picture of this."

Kit turned her phone around so that they could see the photo she'd taken. It was slightly blurry around the edges, but the centerpiece of it was as clear as day. An inky black tentacle as thick around as a tree trunk curled up out of the water and dipped back into the lake. Waves crashed around the massive form, spraying foam as white-caps split on the massive bulk.

"I did some readings of the lake using some equipment I borrowed from my dad that same day," she said, and by borrowed, she really meant took and didn't tell him. "There was an unusual amount of energy saturating the area. Like, an abnormal amount. Its displaced the natural aether of the land. There could be a few reasons for that. Spells of considerable size have that effect, but also and more obviously, a different explanation piques my interest. You see, that also happens when a shapeshift of considerable ... well, volume, releases a smaller form to go to a bigger one. It lets out a... a shockwave, you could say - its the only explanation I could give that isn't super witchcraft scientific jargon. This shockwave is imperceivable by normal humans and many supernaturals. It takes a very specific type of equipment or power to detect it. My theory is that a creature of that massive size doesn't hide in the lake at all."

She smiled, and it was a cat-like grin, sharp and intelligent. "Its a shape changer. I don't know if its dangerous or not though. There haven't been any rumors of suspicious deaths or boats going missing. At least not in relation to the creature."

[Marshmallow]

"Hold that thought for just a moment." Malthiel held up his hand and gestured to the balled up clothes Sohl had finally relinquished to him. He darted swiftly down an adjoining hallway, and was gone for only a moment. Once the muddied clothes were secured in the washer, he was right back in the living room. A quick step through the shadows ensured he did not miss a word of Kit's story.

Attentively he listened, drawn by Kit's clear excitement and passion. It was impossible not to be a bit charmed by her enthusiasm, and not just because he was secretly the subject she was so fascinated by. Still, he couldn't look too interested. One eyebrow arched skeptically even as she displayed the photo of one of his own tentacles.

Kit was hardly the first self-styled truth-seeker he'd encountered nosing around his lake. She certainly would not be the last. But unlike the other conspiracy enthusiasts, whose theories often did no more than showcase their incredible ignorance, Kit's conclusions were uncomfortably accurate. She was the first to get this close, to guess this correctly.

And that meant he had to pay attention. This clever woman would need to be watched. As he stuck a polite smile on his face at the end of her speech, Malthiel mentally filed away what information he currently had on his new acquaintance. Starting with the model and plate number of her truck.

"So, there is a shape-shifting giant living in the lake? That no one has ever seen?" He chuckled and sauntered to the kitchen to pour himself a drink. "Well, that is quite the interesting story."

[MP]

Sohl's eyes widened at the mention of shockwaves and energy, a look of incredulous wonder creeping over his features. Aether, she'd said! Surely not the same kind - there wasn't any aether in this world that he could taste - but perhaps they were relatives of some sort. Whatever the stuff was, he wanted to know about it. How to detect it. Measure it. He'd certainly never scented anything different in the air. What did a machine do differently?

Brown eyes swiveled up to Kit's through the glasses, an unspoken question in them. He was a shape changer. Did he make such energy too? Curiosity about this lake beast was shelved for the moment, overwhelmed by the possibility of an unknown part of himself. What did one do with such a byproduct? Was it important? Dangerous? But shyness held his tongue. His other shape was seen as...not acceptable here. A monster - he knew the word for it now. There was no way to test without using it, and it was not polite to ask. Sohl put the curiosity aside, turning back to the matter at hand.

"Will the energy help you identify it?" He asked, eyes bright with interest. This was no less exciting. Just less personal. "Is it like a signature, or the same for all shape changers?" A thinking pause as he followed Kit's hunt to its ideal conclusion. "What will you do if you meet them?"

[Sharei]

"Well, I suppose that I'd want to talk to it," Kit replied as she put her things away so that nothing would get damaged. She had backups of the photograph, but that didn't mean that she wanted to lose even a single copy. "What must it be like to be a creature of that size living in our lake? Why this lake in particular? Dietary needs? Is it because its warm water and volcanic climate? Does it just like this city? What's it like to spend so much time as a smaller creature, when you're so big naturally? Surely there are some interesting perception shifts."

Kit pouted ever so slightly, disappointed that she hadn't been able to get answers to any of these questions yet. Someday!

"Sadly the energy won't let me track whoever this creature is," she admitted, "but it may help track it if it shifts anywhere else. The same sort of displacement happens whenever a shape changer does its thing, but the scale is much different depending on the size. Someday I'd like to meet it and find out its story."