Character Cantina II

Kiora raised an eyebrow at the man's strange waving, and landed next to Kohana.

"Change me back," she said, still watching Cyrus out of a corner of her eye. "I can't join in on this with hooves."

Kohana smirked into her wine glass and patted the pony on the head. "I'll humor you, but only because I want to see what you can come up with to compliment this guy with no prep time."

With a wave of her hand and a muttered arcane phrase, Kiora was enveloped in a swirling mass of energy. After a few seconds, it dissipated, and Kiora wiggled her fingers before clutching them to her chest.

"I missed these so much!" she cried, before looking up at the awkward stares surrounding her. "What? You go without fingers for a few weeks, see how much you miss them."

Lafayette snapped out of staring at the strange woman and looked back to the bald man. There were many things about that sentence that he didn't quite understand. Like "strange" and "other" and "things" and "your". Comparisons were not his thing — and of course things tended to change so much each time he came to the surface that every time he saw a strange, new world.

"You're pretty strange," he answered.

Whilst Gillian was behaving like his usual self, the lieutenant cocked her head in the direction of the music, it was coming from down the hall. She got up from her chair and began to make her way over towards the music, the only person on the squad who seemed to notice her departure being the commander, who paid no heed and continued to stare ahead and chew aimlessly on the straw.

As she walked down the hall, she noticed an even more peculiar sight, also heading towards the piano was a small boy and, to her amazement, what looked like a winged horse. It looks like a... what did they call it, she mused to herself, oh, Pegasus. She vaguely remembered the myth, a hero slaying the famous gorgon Medusa and from the blood seeping from her severed neck, the winged horse Pegasus arose. She contemplated what the ancient Greeks were smoking when they came up with that one, hell, she thought, what were they smoking with all of that shit?

Surrounding the piano were a number of tables that had chairs appropriately around them. A man was hunched over and was mechanically churning out tunes, like some kind of robot. She went over to one of the adjacent walls near the piano and eyed the peculiar couple that was seated near her. The man seated across from the snake-woman caught her attention, he was one of the few "normal" people in that place. The light from the Cosmic Cantina caught her green eyes and caused them to shine; she was beginning to like this place, as odd as it was.

Overcoat, no overcoat; it probably confused anyone who noticed it disappear as Samuel entered, but the whole black longcoat approach didn't seem right. Black pants to armored boots; black shirt as well, silver lines up the front in some sort of closure that had no obvious method of operation. Obviously military uniform in some way, obviously devoid of identifying insignia.

Everybody looked...well okay not everybody looked normal, there was a winged horse or pony, the distinction between those two things wasn't something he entirely understood, and some snake people, but not completely bizarre to his eyes either. Good for a first glance and a moment of evaluation as he swept his gaze across the room, not enough to stare at.

An aside glance at Gerard and the pitcher of beer as he approached the bar is followed by a turn in place to assess who has ordered what if possible. "Is this the sort of place where the staff gets offended if I ask for water?"

edited 13th Sep '11 4:52:25 PM by Night

Kokabiel looked at Lafayette curiously, before finally saying, "point taken. But I mean... oh, forget it." Lafayette was an interesting creature, but he did not have the information Kokabiel sought, or if he did, it was unlikely Kokabiel would be able to pry it from him easily.

Then, overhearing Samuel, he raised his glass of water towards him and said, "they certainly didn't complain when I made my order. The people here are so very colorful... I can't imagine the staff is anything but relieved when they decide to stay sober."

"And you," Kokabiel said to Gerard, "have yet to answer my question."

[Bar—Brent]

"No," Brent said flatly as he poured a glass of cold water from a jug. Already, the water began to condense around his fingers.

He placed the glass on the counter, "And it's free also."

"Well, you are very strange," said Lafayette, "And you're on Earth, so... you are a strange thing on my Earth." He felt odd saying that the Earth was his, but this whole language thing had been difficult in the first place, despite having so many human years to learn.

He saw the man with the overcoat disappear his overcoat. He must have had clothes that were not clothes — another projection, like himself, perhaps? Slowly, he tried to extend his field again, out to this person, in an attempt to not disturb the electrical appliances inside the building. The air around him seemed to hum almost imperceptibly.

Kokabiel said to Lafayette, slightly amused, "you utterly misunderstand. You are not on your Earth, or any of the myriad Earths. This place is called the Cosmic Cantina for very good reason — it exists between worlds, built upon the tenuous strings of a universe neither me nor the one who sent me fully understands." Realizing the granduer of his claim, Kokabiel added, "if you doubt me, I will wager you this: speak to another claiming to know of Earth. You will find the Earth they know is not the Earth you know."

He peered into his glass, and said, "strange, don't you think?" Then he casually lifted his glass over his head, and poured it out over the table. The water stopped halfway down, forming into a sphere, which gained color and turned into an impossibly detailed globe of Earth as seen from space. Contemplating it, he mused, "what is it about that miserable rock?"

edited 13th Sep '11 6:53:04 PM by KillerClowns

And, as it was, Lafayette did not quite understand the representation — the Earth from a miltidimensional, subterranean being looked nothing like that. The connection between that symbol and the earth was tenuous at best. Having the Earth he knew be different from the Earth of everyone around him was actually the standard state of affairs for him. Because of this, he couldn't quite believe Kokabiel's claim.

"The rock is the best part," said Lafayette. "It's warm." He took the globe into his hands and slurped it up. If there was one thing worse than hunger, it was thirst.

Raising his eyebrows, Kokabiel said, "well... you should hope nobody witnessing that assumes that's a metaphor. Though I get the feeling metaphors are another of those curious human concepts you don't quite get." He shook his head, then said, "I suppose I have an advantage, though." Leaning in and speaking low, he continued, "I have been around humans for a very long time, and it is my unfortunate task to deal with them. Although I confess, they are such useful creatures. Tell me, what do you make of them?" It occurred to him the drunkard who had tried to punch him could theoretically overhear, but he didn't seem especially coherent.

edited 13th Sep '11 7:10:50 PM by KillerClowns

A nod to the bartender. Be polite; be cautious, really, but it comes out as politness. "Ah. Thank you then. Alchohol...lacks the appeal it used to have."

A gradual change in the color of the clothes; the silver remained the same, but the black deepened and darkened. Less fabric and more clearly a material that was meant to absorb light or other forms of energy, shunt it off elsewhere; redirect the probe rather than accept it. Samuel glanced down at his clothes and wondered what had caused it; the response was automatic rather than intentional, and absent any apparent source to him.

Though come to think of it, there was something...almost fuzzy about how Lafayette appeared. Interference maybe. Only him, though. A relatively good sign.

A soldier? Hector raised an eyebrow. "No, not a soldier," he said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't serve the dogs ruling the place I come from anyways."

Hector pointed at the firearms dangling at the man's waist. "Are you a soldier?"

"There are so many," said Lafayette. "I have never seen so many... there were not so many last time..." He stopped eating, full, but trying to keep all of the bread still in his shirt. "They do a lot of things. But they do not last forever. They left within the year..." Lafayette's language tried to venture into his natural tense, which wasn't quite comprehensible in any human tongue.

"Useful," Lafayette repeated. He didn't really understand that term either. How could a creature be useful?

His field extended farther, reaching the man now without a coat, weaving around him, not touching... oh... oh. Lafayette breathed in. He didn't recognize the signature, but this was familiar...

edited 13th Sep '11 8:00:05 PM by OhSoIntoCats

The man leaned against the front of the bar, propping his head up on his elbow. "I used to be. Not exactly in a professional capacity though. I was a conscript. Now I'm a mercenary. Can't say the job agrees with me exactly," he absentmindedly massaged one of the scars on his face, "but at least it's work."

Not a soldier? Maybe he had misread this man. "Wish more people where I come from had your attitude. So, if you're not a soldier then what are you?"

Hector took a swig from his mug of beer. He laughed. Clearly, this man had no idea where he was from or who he might be, just as he had no idea who he was or from where he came.

"A traitor and a criminal," Hector said. "But I suppose that there are worse descriptors for a man's life."

Oh, great, more people. Cyrus tries to motion them to stay out of William's line of sight. If he notices them, he might get too nervous and stop playing.

"I missed these so much!"

William's hands freeze in position and his head jerks until he faces the girl who had made the exclamation. His eye twitches at her. His fingers still frozen, looking like claws, he adjusts his glasses with the heel of his hand.

Cyrus shrinks in the corner.

The man chuckled. "Oh, certainly. Traitors and criminals I keep regular company with. Far from the worst if you ask me. You could be a loyalist or a judge." Drinking again, deeply, from his tankard, he thumped a hand on the man's shoulder.

"So! Tell me where you're from. I'm sure yours is an interesting life, for a certain definition of the word. You must have plenty of stories..."

—————

The front door to the Cantina opened a crack and a wiry figure slipped inside. It was vaguely saurian-looking, covered in a mosaic of tiny dull green scales, with a slight frame, short rounded snout, digitigrade legs ending in two talon-bearing feet and two large eyes. A nicitating membrane flashed over them, then back again, a puzzled blink.

Confused, the creature surveyed it's immediate surroundings with an air of caution, then jumped slightly as the door shut behind it. It immediately opened it before noticing something about the other side and hurriedly shutting it again. By it's behavior, a Human observer might have expected it to be sweating, if it could sweat. Not all expressions carried over between the species.

It's back pressed to the door, the nervous lizard creature took another desperate look around. As it's eyes swept across the room once more, it noticed a soldier dressed in a military overcoat sitting at the bar and, after a second of searching, stiffened up in outright panic. It looked to the ceiling, nicitating membranes sliding over it's eyes once again as if sending off a prayer to some deity, then slinked off as inconspicuously as possible to a table off in the corner of the Cantina.

It settled in at a far table, the chair backed into the corner, providing it with a good view of the rest of the bar and it's clientele. However, it wasn't watching any of them as strange and out of place as they all seemed. It was watching the soldier at the bar with the brown hair and overcoat.

It didn't blink.

Ian noticed the nervous reptilian creature has he finished eating a piece of bread. Looking at it a bit, he turned to Pandora before going up to the creature. He extended his hand with a full loaf of bread in it.

edited 13th Sep '11 8:13:51 PM by draconiansuperior

[Main Room—Cathy]

Cathy spotted the lizard-like creature and rushed over to greet him in the far table. It looked nervous, so she refrained from getting to close to it.

"Welcome to the Cantina," Cathy said in a warm voice. "I'm Cathy. Would you like anything?"

[Side Room—Finn]

Seeing that the guy at the piano was a bit uncomfortable with the ever-growing crowd, Finn decided to move back into the main room. He walked out without making his presence known, closing the wooden door (was the wood fireproof?) behind him.

Finn spotted a normal human and a purple-haired person by one of the tables. He fidgeted with his fingers. Should he approach them? Bryan had always been bugging him about socializing on his own accord, and considering what happened on Thanksgiving, he should seize the opportunity.

While the ordinary person moved to the lizard alien, Finn walked over, cleared his mouth, and said. "Umm...do you mind if I take a seat?" His voice was a bit shaky. Was it good enough? Finn kept his crooked and sheepish smile on his face.

edited 13th Sep '11 8:29:10 PM by chihuahua0

The saurian-looking creature stiffened up again, some sort of defense mechanism, regarding the Human and his offering with a look of distrust. Or, at least, as best a look of distrust as could be expressed by it's decidedly non-Human features. Realizing this after a few seconds of staring, and in case the look failed to convey the message, it hissed words in a low dry rasp. "Get away!"

Turning aside, it pushed the loaf of bread the Human offered lightly away with one hand, adding hesitantly at the end, "I... I'm not hungry."

This was a lie, as it's skinny, pliant body attested to. It was famished, but right now wanted to avoid attention more than it wanted to eat.

It's eyes shifted from the newcomer to who looked to be the Cantina's owner. Saying nothing, the lizard-creature just seemed to sink lower into it's corner chair as if it wanted to either turn invisible or disappear altogether.

edited 13th Sep '11 8:30:58 PM by Gault

Pandora turned toward Finn and smiled, "Sure, it's fine." She adjusted her tail as she made room for his chair. She smiled as she looked at Ian, who still had his hand extended with the bread to the creature, but it pushed it awaym even when Cathy had approached it.

She turned back toward Finn, "So, what brings you to this Catina?"

edited 13th Sep '11 8:21:57 PM by draconiansuperior

[Main Room]

"All right," Cathy nodded and walked away, leaving that particular guest alone. It was proper to let patrons have their space unless they were being disruptive.

Meanwhile, Finn gripped the back of the chair as he slipped into it. He loosened his arms and looked at the woman. Should he maintain eye contact, or flit it around? Maybe a little of both would be fine. Talking to people was still awkward, since conversations with people he wasn't familiar with tended to be one-sided—with the other person doing the talking, "There was a...psychic anomaly nearby. Upon investigating it, I arrived here. Considering the nature of anomalies, this could be a dream, or an actual pocket-verse." He looked around a little more. How long should he be there? Was time distorted?

William takes a few deep breaths and decides what to play next. A nocturne. Calm and slow.

He's surprised at the quality of the piano. Real ivory, even. How does the landlady afford this? Not that he's complaining, of course. He sinks into the music again and pushes his awareness of the onlookers to the back of his mind.

Cyrus goes to the main room to refill his tankard of beer. There are some mean looking people in here. They remind him of his sisters, and he shivers. Not even Matthias looks this tough. Not even his wife can, but with her childish body, that would be very difficult. And Josef Pallone... as Cyrus hands over the tankard for the bartender to refill it, he shivers again and sits on a stool, shoulders hunched.

Don't hurt me don't hurt me

Hector shook his head. "Well, I could tell you stories, but then I'd have to lie, wouldn't I? I'm just a man who can do some parlor tricks."

Saying so, Hector dug a coin out of his pocket and placed it flat on his palm. A glowing white triangle formed above the surface of his hand as the coin jumped up into the air.

"See? Nothing special. I'm afraid that I'm no storyteller. What story is there to tell? It's been told before, several times over. You have a source of power, and the only difference making this story any special is that power is literally in the hands of a select few. So the government wants that power. And I won't let them have it. Simple, right? Right. I'm Hector Winthrop. Your name?"

Pandora immediately gained interest in what Finn had stated. As Ian returned from the reptilian being and sat down next to Pandora, and looked at Finn, "Pocket dimensions aye, I doubt that this would be a dream, but it is pretty weird here, with all the people, but then again, we work with weirder people."

edited 13th Sep '11 8:38:01 PM by draconiansuperior