Kyle's 18th birthday is just around the corner. His parents have been busy with preparing for it, his friends have been palling around with him / asking him about if he's going to get a girlfriend in honor of his birthday and all that teenage stuff.

As he's walking down the street, however, Kyle can see up ahead, there is a commotion. A small crowd has gathered around a brawl between two men.
This message was last updated by the player at 05:34, Sat 07 Sept 2013.

  On the one hand, Kyle should be thankful growing up in an environment of stocked shelving means he isn't quite so excitable about the prospect of free gifts.  On the other hand, it makes it so much harder to fake a thank you for half finished socks.

  Still, while we'd like to pretend otherwise, Kyle has not yet, nor will in the known future develop an amount of jadedness where he could ignore an apparent brawl in his home town.  So of course the young man heads over, wondering if he should offer a discount for healing on the guy with the least injuries.

It's a pair of men who have been at odds in the past and this brawl was seen coming. They're both stubborn, bull-headed tough guys. Neither looks happy. They are serious about this fight. But Kyle always had sharper eyes than the average guy and notices a little girl in the crowd who he doesn't recognize. Sure, that happens, what with passers by sometimes. But a few things set her apart; Some kind of cloak with the hood up (Most leave their hood down when out in public), a veil (the middle east isn't even known about, so veils are an uncommon sight), and the fact her eyes seem really intent on following the fight as if excited by it (most little girls don't like violence and would follow a fight with worry).

  We wish Kyle paid more attention to where dad got those silk imports, in hindsight.

  Kyle sidles his way towards the Girl while keeping an eye on the people trying to gouge out eachother's eyes with an overly waxed moustache to the face or whatever lunacy.  He was health conscious enough to know enduring a brawl, but got the feeling someone paying that much attention to what locals took for granted was...

  Oh, right.  "Not from around a place where people punch eachother over... honestly I can't guess even despite them doing this constantly."

Raichel seems to not even think Kyle was talking to her at first, though his talking drew her attention momentarily as her head tilts as if pointing an ear towards him. She glances up to see Kyle looking at her and ohs! "I... um..." the little girl starts, as if pulled out of concentration. She glances back at the fight. "Right. Not from here... Just passing through."

  Kyle nods, "Lots of families and traders just passing through.  Sometimes it feels like there are more people who leave on a given day than the ones who live here."  He looks back to the (allegedly) sober brawl.  "Is it really that interesting?  I mean, I could see some educational value for how now to fight."

The men are finally just laying on the ground, panting, exhausted from the fight as neither one can move anymore. So the law man comes and hauls them off.

Raichel groans a little like a pouting child who's been told she can't have a cookie. "...yes, it's that interesting." She looks up at Kyle. "Don't you have hobbies people think you weird for?" she almost asks like EVERYONE should have weird hobbies.

  "My mother wanted me to learn cantrips, I ended up working out how to turn crossbow bolts into acid."  Melf's Acid Arrow is a famous well respected spell, it's clearly discrimination against crossbows.  "Dad couldn't decide if it meaning you had to buy more crossbow bolts to replace the ones you lose was good or bad."  Bolts cost more!

Raichel didn't know what to make of this guy. "Sounds weird."

Kyle gets an odd dejavu feeling.

Just then, a villager says, "What's with the hood, kid? Steal something?"

Raichel's eyes show anger as she looks in that person's direction, and she says, "Did NOT! You take that back!"

  What's Dejavu for something that hasn't happened yet?  It sounds like a word a timetraveler would need.  "Yes, you did ask for weird."

  Then Raichel gets hit with the clothing equivalent of pulling over a red sports car.  "Has something gone missing?  Should be able to tell right?"  Not everyone actually pays the degree of many 'one free' peppermints were actually taken  attention your dad does to inventory Kyle.

  Of course, cynical nature means knowing it's easier to get some people to want to avoid looking like they don't pay attention to their business.

The man says, "I know how we can tell... empty your pockets, kid!"

The little girl hurumfishly yanks her pockets inside-out. "HAPPY?!"

The man says, "No, I'm not! And don't talk back to your elders like that, kid!"

The little girl turns her side slightly towards the man and says, "Next time someone older than me kicks you in the nuts, I'll remember to not talk back to him!"

The villager looks ready to slap the kid silly, hand cocked and everything.

  We would be lying if we said that, right now, there wasn't is totally an alternate timeline where in the aftermath, Kyle looks to Raichel and says 'wait, that wasn't a suggestion? Oops.'

  As it is though, Kyle instead steps in front of Raichel and says "Hello, it's my birthday.  How about you get me the gift of not knocking a little girl's teeth out of her head in front of the local law?."  Of course that might be out of this guys price range.

The man frowns. "Something's up with that kid... I suggest you find out before she takes something of yours." He huffs off.

Raichel says, "...thanks."

  "I would have felt bad if I let him just hit you."   Could they have hit Raichel?  Now there's a question.  "So who did you come here with?  As much as I like my hometown, you probably shouldn't be running around a new place alone."

Raichel says, "My family. They said they were going to be at the inn."

 Oh, so they were in the sensible place then.  Kyle you're supposed to have a good INT mod, figure these things out.  "Oh, right.  I'm Kyle.  Sorry the sights have been a sad slapfight and threats of one so far.  Anything you wanted to see while you were here?"

Raichel says, "I wanted to see fights. But the fights are over, so.. I dunno. Do you know where the town guard trains? Are there any real good fighters here in town?"

  Certainly dedicated to her hobbies.  Then again her's would probably have less property damage (he only melted a plate that ONE TIME).  "Well, I know where the guardhouse is.  But I don't know if they'd let us inside to watch them hit eachother.  Crossbow range is outside though."

  He shrugs, "I don't know about real good fighters, most of that sort are among the people just passing through.  The guards can handle bandits well enough at least."

Raichel shrugs. "Alright... then if you want, could you walk with me to the inn?" once they get going, Raichel asks, "How do you feel about other races? Like elves, dwarves, halflings..."

  "Hadn't really thought about it.  Can't be quite generous to say I was raised by tolerant people, so much as ones who don't care as long as they are a paying customer."  One bottle of mouthwash for the mindflayer coming up.

  "Though I guess 'who cares' when someone isn't causing problems is better than hating grandpa because he's shorter than me." Not to mention spectacularly hypocritical to comment on Vyrolka red hair, if we ignore 'Vyrolka +5 bonus to pass as human'.

Raichel says, "What about "monster races" like half orcs and shifters?"

  "Don't get as many of them around here, though when we do it's usually one traveling with humans on a job.  Most of them passed through dad's shop at some point or another to buy something." Kyle had facepalmed when Dad has asked if they wanted their change in coppers.

  "So, I'm sure there's some I'd dislike out there somewhere but what I've seen has just been pretty normal."

Raichel says, "I ask 'cause I'm a shifter. It's why I wear the hood and veil. Do you think me and my family will be driven out of town if it's found out we're shifters?"

  "Probably not.  There's always going to be some complaining, but any town a Minotaur barbarian has bought cupcakes from won't run out a shifter family just staying at the Inn.  Unless you really do steal something, it would be bad."  that last part stated Egon style.

  "Still, thanks for thinking I was worth telling."

Raichel pulls down her hood and veil, letting her kitty appearance show. Her tail unravels from her waste. The veil was needed to cover her cheeks, mostly, since she has those stripes on her cheeks. She smiles up at Kyle. "Say. Have I met you before? Something's familiar about you."

 Cute kid, maybe the Razorclaws would have better PR if they made their kids more widely known?  "Don't think so? Unless we were both too young to remember it."  He'd probably remember if he had to convince her not to continue on half dead into an enemy stronghold or something crazy like that.

When the pair arrive at the inn, Kyle can see a pair of cloaked adults and two cloaked children. Upon seeing Raichel unhooded, the family look stunned for a moment. But seeing Kyle isn't angry or scared, the family decide to trust what Raichel has done as a sign and they unhood and unveil. Kyle gets that dejavu again, once he sees little 12-yr-old Mittens and 9-year-old Timothius. The parents don't "ring a bell" at all.

  Kyle waves, "Hello, I'm Kyle.  I'm also starting to wonder if I've met you before?"  Raichel's question comes to mind again, considering how much apparent Dejavu is going on.  "I hope your visit works out."

Raichel and Timothius head to each other, giggling and hugging. The two immediately start wallowing in twinliness, invoking more dejavu. The parents get caught up on what all happened between Kyle and Raichel before finding out a bit about Kyle. They assure the guy they've never met him.

  Kyle nods, "Just a feeling.  If there was anywhere around here you wanted to be shown around, just ask.  I feel like there should be more to here than idiot brawls and accusing children of theft."

Raichel's parents spend the rest of the day having Kyle show their family around town. By day's end, Kyle definitely feels like he's met the children before and has the odd sensation of some kind of soldier brotherhood. The kids seem to be feeling odd too, but each react differently. Timothius mostly hides behind Raichel. Mittens increases her silly factor. Raichel glances at Kyle often and occasionally gives him ponderous looks.

  Kyle finds himself liking kids who are not annoying, the shock of it all.  "-And that's why there are cupcakes with peppermint stick horns now."  No we're not letting that tiny joke go.  "The little candy axes didn't work out."

  He looks over to Raichel, finally noticing look number fifteen through seventeen "Something on your mind, Raichel?"

Raichel says, "I can't get over the fact you feel familiar. And close... like someone I owe my life to."

  "What, people threaten to smack you enough that my stepping in stands out?  Or something weirder neither of us can figure out?"  He looks to the other shifter siblings, then back to Raichel  "Can't say that I'm not liking you all way more than just a few hours together would probably cause though."

Raichel says, "Something weird's going on. I don't know what, but definitely weird."

The day gets late and the twins yawn in unison. They wish Kyle a good night and head to bed. That night, Kyle has a dream of fighting alongside older versions of the three children. When he wakes, the dream seems to fade, but has the distinct feeling of being a memory, rather than a dream.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Sat 07 Sept 2013.

  Kyle is wishing he paid more attention to scrying subjects at this point.  Ritual qualifications, sure.  But artificers only get a head start beyond their level for enchanting and disenchanting at all.

  'It's going to be one of THOSE days, if I'm already planning on asking insane sounding questions' he thinks.

  The process of morning perpetration and feeding take place, and out Kyle goes.  Approaching doors mindfully in case of the cliche of one of the Shifter Kids rushing into him on the way through to ask the same thing.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:22, Sat 07 Sept 2013.

Kyle's parents guide him down to the shop area. When he gets down there, all his friends, including the shifter family, are all there and yell "SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!"

  More evidence that Kyle is capable of smiling takes place.  "Thank you, everyone.  It was nice of you to set this up."  He's already working out how to arrange fruit punch 'accidents' to anyone who brings up the Girlfriend by birthday subject though.

One of Kyle's doofier friends does, in fact, bring it up. "I saw you hanging out with the shifter girl all day yesterday. She your birthday girlfri-hey!"

Raichel giggles, though also blushes.

  Raichel is a nice girl, but Kyle doesn't think he's at a point in his life yet where dating someone half his age is appealing.

  "You still have cake, so things could be worse." Today we learned that delicious cake can be a veiled threat.

Raichel slides her foot. "I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend, Mr Kyle, if it made you happy or was a good birthday present..."

Timothius looks at her with surprise for a moment, but then has an understanding smile.

Mittens, thankfully, was distracted.

  Even if it's probably just a crush, Kyle still appreciates the thought.  "You don't have to get me anything, Raichel.  Nevermind that It'd be selfish to expect something when you only knew about it less than a day."

  He smiles softly, then sighs,  "I can't believe I'm finding myself saying this, but maybe when you're older and still feel that way.  Even with what counts as my openmindedness, I wouldn't want to think of someone your age that way... Help me out here, does there even exist a way to say 'no, but I appreciate the thought' without hurting your feelings?"

Raichel seems to go back to being ponderous. "To be honest, I'm not even sure why I put you on the spot like that. Sorry, Kyle..."

Timothius says, "The weird feelings mix-up?"

Raichel says, "Yeah. But I wonder how we're supposed to get to the bottom of it."

 "It's fine Raichel, no need to be sorry about being nice."  Or is there!  You gave our health potions to the slavers what are you doing?

  "Most I could do is try and read through what books I have that even come close to the subject later.