Summoner Quest (Celestial Menagerie)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After making our patrol report we each go our separate way. I was supposed to go to the gym this morning and some limited testing of Solar power would be an excellent idea. But those things could wait.

It took me a while to decide and it pained me to do so but I would go to Umit's funeral discreetly, ideally, nobody would know that I was there. I would have preferred to go openly but it would only bring trouble to his family and his wife in particular. Word of my presence would spread like wildfire and The Empire would be quick to capitalize.

Disrupting the ceremony was out of the question. I briefly contemplated going into my civilian identity, but my only link with Umit was as Compendium. It may put it at risk and explaining my presence may have been difficult.

No, the only path was just for people to not know that I was there. I would be present and I would pay my respect. I would honor the memory of a man that I barely knew, that could have been my friend and that died in part by my fault.

Blaming myself was easy, comforting in a way. It put the responsibility solely on my shoulder and it meant that I didn't need to search any further. But I refused to do that.

I could accept my part in what happened. I was the one that brought up the idea of teleporting our prisoners to prison, but my role stopped there. However I didn't organize it, I didn't leak the plan to the Empire, I didn't choose him as my driver, and I didn't order Hookwolf to attack.

So yes I would go to his funeral, I would honor him and then I would continue my work because it was the best way to do so.

This was why I was currently in my lab. I need a way to go without being seen. And despite my ever-growing list of power and partners, I had no obvious way to do so. I'll need to be creative.

Could I find a way to use Adaptive Camouflage indirectly? Hiding behind a partner? After checking on my list it was unlikely, I didn't have any that could cover my body like armor.

Discarding that idea I continue searching. Remembering that I was now a Changer thanks to Solar I tried taking the shape of a random piece of furniture, like a closet. The good thing was that it was possible, reshaping my own body felt weird but also natural as if I was just flexing my arms. The bad news is that I was still made of plasma-like materials the opposite of discrete. Applying a theme helped a little, the musical instrument was promising with a piano-like look. But I was still glowing so that was a bust.

Direct power application didn't seem to be the solution, so I elected to look at what I could tinker with. What materials were available to me? It took me a while, longer than I would like to admit, to remember the Demiguise's fur that could be used to create an invisibility cloak.

It was the obvious solution and I should have thought about it immediately. As I didn't have that much time I hurried to start. I quickly lost myself in the process. It involved weaving the fur, a task complicated by the fact that the fur was if not invisible at least transparent. That took longer than I would have liked but less than I realistically expect. Certainly an effect of Speed Boost but also my new ability to change my finger into needles.

But this was only the first stage, at this point I was only holding in my hand a piece of transparent tissue but it wouldn't render the wearer invisible. For that, I needed some magic to infuse it with. I let the Menagerie guide my hand for that step, taking out my scepter and channeling my magic in just the right way to reawaken the power of the Demiguise into it.

A few minutes later the process was finished and the cloak was now really magical. Despite the circumstances I couldn't help but smile, this was the first magical item I created. My smile didn't last long, I quickly realized that it was way too small. By putting it on my head it only covers me down to my waist. Making me appear as a pair of legs moving by themselves.

Looking at the time I realize that I only have half an hour to find a solution. Before I could start to panic, one of my Minds provided a solution. I could simply use The Big to increases its size. It would magically taxing to keep it for long but should be doable. Inconvenient but I would make do. Just in case I would take one green potion with me.

With the help of Olky, it took only a handful of minutes for me to reach the church where the funeral would be held. Entering the building itself, already under the cloak, I positioned myself at the back between two pillars so that people would be unlikely to bump into me.

A number of people were already present preparing for the ceremony, notably the priest and the personnel from the funeral home. I took a deep breath when I saw them put the coffin in place, the closed coffin. Just seeing that brought me flashbacks of what I saw in the destroyed car. By the time I managed to come back to the present the installation was finished, its photo was on top and the flowers and candles around it.

It was only a few minutes before people started to enter. All-clad in mournful color and in a corresponding mood. I identified a number of PRT troopers and Umit direct superiors that I met once.

The last person to enter I recognize from Umit's effusive description, his wife Nour. She was standing proud but visibly distraught, she wasn't currently crying but it was easy to tell that she had very recently and only her strong will prevent her from doing so right now.

Right by her side was an older man, her father presumably. He appears ready to catch her any moment. I also noted an older couple in much worse shape, tear track obvious on their check. Umit's parent certainly.

The ceremony began soon after, the words of the priest were full of praise, speaking of Umit's courage and devotion. I'll honestly admit that my attention wasn't on the exact words used. I was lost in thought remembering what little time I spent with the man, trying to engrave those moments in my memory.

I noticed that Nour had started to cry and that she was being held by her father. The Menagerie chose that moment to trigger but I ignored it, I would look later.

The ceremony itself didn't last very long, at the end, six troopers stepped up to lift the coffin and slowly marched out, toward the adjacent cemetery. The assistance followed, Nour just behind the coffin still crying slowly. I was the last outside, keeping a respectful distance to avoid accidental contact.

The second ceremony passed in a blur, I saw through blurry eyes as Nour and Umit's parents fell to their knees to touch the coffin one last time. One hour later I was the last person left and I approached the new grave.

"I don't know what to say. We barely knew each other but perhaps we could have been friends. I can only promise to do my best. Farewell."

I knelt to deposit a flower and with one last look, I left.

Wordcount: 1296
Excess word: 178
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing much to say, not a happy chapter but it wasn't supposed to be.

For the roll, 480 points.

[] Creature

[] Power

Voting will be closed Thursday at 3 PM GMT

Not really powers this time, either a small bonus creature each time we gained another one or a completely random creature.


[] 100 Micro Bonus
[] 200 Random Gain

[] Reject everything and keep points.

Voting will be closed Friday at 3 PM GMT

Response:

JumpFail200 said:

Was wondering if this is supposed to be a lack of materials or your interpretation of the invisibility cloak, a demiguise is small so one hide wouldn't be enough, while a normal cloak can hide an adult male of Dumbledore's stature.(with hat.)

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It's because we only got the fur of one Demiguise and couldn't yet summon more. For a full cloak, I estimated that three Demiguise are needed.