bills, bills, bills...

[itsgunnabe_mei]

Sender: Meilin "Mei" Lee
To: All
Subject: $$$ For Warm Fuzzies

So, sending out a quick question to all my homies and newbies.

How much would you pay to hug a gigantic red panda? Use whatever currency you feel comfortable with, just tell me if it's high or low.

I may have a business opportunity in the works.

Comments

[refantasma]

Im the one in black with the sword.

you keep saying that but i dont belief you

action

[itsgunnabe_mei]

YOU WILL!!!!

[ Moments later, at Dreambucks, an angry looking pre-teen is storming around, looking for someone in black with a sword.

... Oh, he's cute.

After that moment of hormones, she SLAMS her hand on the table! ]

Are YOU Nico?!

[refantasma]

[At Dreambucks at their outdoor seating, Nico, dressed in all black (his t-shirt had a white skull, which, along with the silver ring on his finger and his wallet chain, was the only non-black thing he wore. Even the sword at his side was black.]

Sì.

[He takes a drink of his shamrock shake, leaving a rainbow trail as he sat it down.]

And you're the girl trying to convince me raccoons are huggable.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ Her eyelid twitches, and...

POOF! There's a small explosion of red smoke and sparkles! As it clears...

... there now stands a giant red panda. ]

RED. PANDA. NOT. A. RACCOON.

[ With the same voice of a young girl. ]

[refantasma]

[Nico has seen a lot of strange stuff. A girl becoming six times bigger and fuzzy? It's a new one, but nothing that gets him all nervous. He simply raises an eyebrow at her.]

I thought red pandas were smaller than bears. How big are the bears where you're from?

[He takes another sip of his sugary concoction, a marshmallow getting stuck on his lip.] I guess you're built more like a cat than a raccoon. But the cheek fur is raccoon-like.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ Well... it's still better than being called an actual raccoon, so, progress! She sighs and steps back, ready to explain.

... helps that he's not freaking out over this, so, +1 for him. ]

You're finally right about one thing - real red pandas are way smaller than this. But this is a blessing from the gods, because my ancestor asked for a way to protect her village. Since her favorite animal was the red panda, they made her able to transform into... this.

[ She gestures to... all of her. ]

[refantasma]

[Nico sits up when she mentions the gods.]

That was dangerous; the gods can be fickle with their gifts. At least the ones I know.

I'm assuming this blessing didn't come from the Greek Gods.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

Nope - Ancient Chinese ones. And I dunno about fickle, but if you ask me, they could've thought this through better... because this transformation was passed through the family line, even though we didn't really have anymore wars to fight or villages to defend.

[refantasma]

Hmm...

[Absently, Nico licked at the marshmellow stuck on his lip before picking it off his face and popping it into his mouth.]

The gods of my pantheon have that problem too. Might be a god thing.

My sister's boyfriend has a similar gift, his family started in Greece, but migrated to China over the centuries and are now in Canada. Though in his case, it came from Poseidon.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

Really?

[POOF! In a same tiny explosion of smoke and sparkles, Mei is a young girl once more. She pulls up a chair, since this might be a Discussion! ]

What kinda blessing slash curse did he get stuck with?

[refantasma]

From Hazel's told me. I scare Frank too much for him to tell me.

[He smirks. Because while he likes Frank, anyone dating his sister must learn to get used to the spooky aspect of the children of the underworld. Also, it's funny.]

He can turn into any animal. But he can't talk while he's an animal and they're normal size. And on top of that, he's also a son of Mars. However, monsters really want to eat him. Like, more than a normal demigod.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ That... raises several questions! She blinks rapidly as that all sinks in. ]

... When you put it that way, my transformation doesn't seem TOO bad.

[refantasma]

Yeah, it’s fairly normal compared to things I’ve seen.

Do you know which god gave your family this blessing?

[itsgunnabe_mei]

Not the specifics... When my mom finally told me, she just said, "the gods". This was a VERY long time ago, so maybe the names got lost to time and all that.

[refantasma]

Hmmm... Maybe your gods are less proud than mine. Mine would make sure their names were remembered. They're that vain.

[He shrugged.]

Gods are weird.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

You're telling me! I almost wrecked my family's temple and home because of this stupid thing! No to mention wigging out my school and friends... it took me forever and a half just to have this power even semi-controlled.

[ siiiiiigh. ]

[refantasma]

[Nico snorts, no sympathy at all.]

Watch this.

[He holds out his hand, and the ground next to him blackens and cracks, and a skeletal hand pushes its way out, followed by the other, and then a zombie in a racing suit is pulling himself out.]

Meet Jules-Albert. He's my driver.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ Y'know, it would have been polite to give her some warning.

As is - ]

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[ She screams in horror, flopping and flailing backwards. Her emotions are shot so high that...

POOF!

... she turns back into the panda. ]

WhatwhatwhatwhatwhatWHATISTHAAAAAAAAT?!

[refantasma]

[Nico did say ‘watch this.’ Isn’t that enough of a warning?

But he snickers at Mei’s reaction.]

I told you. He’s my chauffeur. My zombie chauffeur.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ She scrambles to get back to her feet! ]

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHYYYYY? YOU WORLD HAS ACTUAL FOR REAL ZOMBIES?!

[ He doesn't feed it brains or stuff, right?! She's staying where she is, a comfortable distance away! ]

[refantasma]

Because zombies or zombie-like beings are in every culture? And I'm the son of Hades.

The correct term for what I summon is vrykolaka, but zombie just sounds better. Everyone knows what a zombie is.

[He shrugs.]

Anyway, I think my power wigs out more people than turning into a giant plush.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

HADES?! AS IN THE GOD OF DEATH AND THE UNDERWORLD?!

[ Okay, this has been a lot of yelling and scrambling. She's getting tired. She sits on her butt, paws on her face, trying to control her breathing. ]

... I'm gunna need a few minutes.

[refantasma]

He's not the god of death. That's Thanatos.

My father is the god of the dead, those in the Underworld.

[He rolls his eyes.]

Jules-Albert won't eat your brains. He's not even a combatant.

[itsgunnabe_mei]

Good to know.

[ Apologies if that sounds like sarcasm, it is indeed genuinely good to know.

She otherwise doesn't respond, doing some light breathing exercises in order to calm down....

POOF!

And she de-pandas. ]

... Okay. Okay. I think I'm okay now. I'm totally fine.

[ ... while she still has her hands over her face. ]

[refantasma]

You sure? You don't look fine.

[He haves Jules-Albert over and gives him a cookie.]

I already told you he's not going to eat you? See? He likes cookies.