Character Capital

[Pub]

To Adam's relief, Howell was slowly but surely calming down. Looks like his brother's tricks worked after all.

Even though Howell turned away, Adam still rubbed his back. He used the tissue Marie gave him and wiped his eyes. When he said the reason why he was so upset, he gasped.

Suddenly it all made sense; it'd be totally odd for Iris to not be around her little brother in a city this big. He didn't know her that well—-he only met her after he and Jackson mysteriously popped up on the island—-but what he seen of her, she cared about him very deeply. The fact that Howell was here by himself was very troubling.

"Wait...your sister is Ms. Iris, right?" he asked, "Oh my God...what happened? Did you guys get separated?"

[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)

Howell closed his eyes and nodded again.

"We... we didn't get split up. She... left home. And it's just... I miss her." his eyes opened, and he looked at Adam helplessly. "I shouldn't be here, by myself, looking... but... I don't know what to do."

He continued to look at Adam for a few more seconds, then turned back to his food. He grabbed the bowl of macaroni that he'd ordered earlier. The cheese on the top layer had started to harden, and it was growing rather tepid, but Howell simply grabbed a spoon and began voraciously devouring the stuff like it was the first food he'd seen in days.

every little word and every little step

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Qrlil regretted that she didn't have eyebrows or eyebridges to raise dramatically as she'd seen a number of mammals do. Somehow, tipping her head to an angle meant to convey incredulity just didn't seem to come across as strongly, at least across the species barrier.

"Er," she said. "Warchant concerts? I do hope that is merely cultural terminology of some type, and not a literal description. Er - no offense."

She lifted her head and whistled slightly, a little embarrassed, and looked again at the list. "Anyway. Well, I suppose if we all want a comedy, we may as well go for the one that has obvious subtextual relevance to my own life..."

Hissing slightly, she had the terminal highlight "Grqr". The other entertainments disappeared and more information about it came up. I can mention anything that the other characters want to focus on in particular. "So, flat or full projection? Or does it matter?" She tipped her head. "Also, any other questions?"

Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite

"Oh um, it's just a music genre," Garkin explained, noticing Qrlil's reaction. "Lot's of drums, usually a lead singer with an unusual voice backed by a choir... and overly dramatic to the point of borderline silliness. It's loosely inspired by old war cries and battle songs, but the modern lyrics don't usually represent that."

He turned back to the projection. "Hm, a banned story?" he commented, smirking a bit. "Those tend to be interesting."

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Angua nodded again, somewhat anxious for the show to begin. "Alright then, let's have a look, shall we?"

yey

[Pub]

Adam frowned heavily as he watched Howell devour his food. He completely understood where the boy was coming from, and could relate to him to some way. Still, he wished that there was more he could do. More that he could say instead of sounding like a broken record.

For a few minutes, he just looked at Howell, then at the table, then back at Howell. Finally, he took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Howell," he said, "I know you really want to leave soon, but...can you at least stay for tonight? Just for tonight? After that, I won't try to stop you."

He looked down at his food.

"Just...I don't know if I'll see you again after this. I just want to spend time with you a little longer." He shrugged, "I want to help you, but I know you want to do this yourself, and..." he sighed, "Whatever you do, I won't stop you. Just know that...if you do want to come back, we'll always be here for you, ok?"

Hotel Fantastique

The three motorcycles rolled into the underground parking area of the Hotel Fantastique and the five dismounted.

It had been a great ride, threading through narrow streets, crossing the bridges over the canals and taking in the sights and exotic smells of West Side but now it was over.

Kris, Teri, James and Wolfe took their helmets off.

Wolfe was still grinning from ear to ear. "That was great. I haven't been able to do that in a long time."

Teri's grin was just as big. "Neither have I."

James looked around at the others, beaming. "That certainly was enjoyable.

Wolfe turned to Henry. "This is the parking area for the hotel we're staying at. It's only a short walk to the karaoke bar and a slightly longer drunken lurch back."

Kris plugged the rental bike into the charging socket and stowed her helmet. "Shall we go?"

Teri nodded. "I've just sent a text message to Sir Archibald telling him where we're going."

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

"I would not place too much emphasis on that," Qrlil said, amused. "The Public Morale Sub-Order is considered, shall we say, somewhat overzealous in its desire to 'prevent slanderous attacks upon our culture from damaging public morale' even by fairly dogmatic qrtxians. I rather suspect the only reason they have as much leeway as they do is that most qrtxians have no interest in alien entertainment anyway. Though then again, it is not normally banned. Otherwise my life would have been quite different."

She tilted her head for a few moments, considering both that and Zerrimus's somewhat amusing description of warchant concerts. Then she stood up as another idea occurred to her. "I should get more snacks. I understand eating them is considered something of a ritual when collectively watching entertainment."

She quickly moved to the kitchen area, picked up a handful of food storage units, and somewhat unsteadily carried them back to the couch. There she placed them in front of it and sat down, smoothing down her robes somewhat primly.

"Anything else you need, or shall I begin?"

Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite

Garkin scratched the side of his head. Qrlil's explanation wasn't all that surprising given what she'd already told him about her home world.

"I'm fine," he said as she returned to the couch. "Let's find out what the Public Morale guys were so scared of, shall we?"

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Angua grinned, nodding to Garkin. "Yeah. Let's see what the Qrxians think is scandalous."

yey

[Museum Park - East] (Buso, Seller, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)

"Not your finger-?! What?! Yes it is! It is completely your finger on the trigger! Are you crazy?!" Said Akira. "Actually, don't answer that, because it's pretty clear."

Then he turned to Moreena. "Wha-what was that?!" He said, frantic and exasperated. "Was that a threat?! Why are you threatening her?! We are the ones in danger here, remember?! Come on!"

Miyuki go a hold of herself just long enough to process the last bit of what the Seller had said. Slowly, reluctantly, she sheathed her sword, confident that she could still decapitate the man with only her bare hands if that ever became necessary.

Not entirely dead.

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Qrlil sighed, though it was mostly with amusement. "I told you, it is not all that - oh, never mind."

She took Angua's hand and sent a series of signals to the terminal, which proceeded to interface with the room as a whole. The lights dimmed and a holographic projection appeared in front of the couch, beginning the entertainment.

The initial parts of the story were set in qrtxian space, introducing the main character, a young male qrtxian by the name of Grqr. A series of comedic - if rather sharply satirical - scenes made it clear that, though he was an essentially good-natured being, he unthinkingly bought into the patronizing attitude of the qrtxians around him towards other species. Soon, he would volunteer for a clerical role on a trade mission to the space of a civilization known as the G'vek league, expressing his desire to view 'primitive beings' up close.

In fact. he expressed it in wording (of a rather fourth-wall-denting nature) that made it quite clear to savvy audiences that he would be seeing them up closer than he expected.

Qrlil glanced away from the hologram briefly to look at the others, seeing how they were responding. "You know," she said, "you can talk. I wouldn't mind."

Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite

Garkin leaned back on the couch, directing his attention towards the projection. He was curious about the story itself, but more so about the setting. This was the first proper look he would get at Qrlil's universe after all.

He smirked a bit to himself as the main character prepared for his journey, glancing over at Qrlil.

"Hm, there's no way this won't go exactly as planned, right?" he commented, grabbing another handful of snacks from the storage units in front of them.

edited 19th Oct '15 12:43:33 PM by Corvidae

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)

Howell had completely emptied his bowl of macaroni in a matter of minutes; minutes that felt more like seconds with how relentlessly he had dug into them. He set it back down on the table, shut his eyes, then rubbed at them with the palms of his hands.

"I don't know if I could find you." he said, peeking out at Adam with his left eye while he rubbed away at the right. "Like you said, I don't know if we'd ever see each other again." he stopped rubbing, and looked down at his lap. "I don't even know how I found you this time. Or how you found me. Or... how I'm ever going to..."

He clamped his mouth shut, followed, again, by his eyes, preventing himself from saying anything else. He just breathed slowly through his nose. After a handful of seconds, his mouth opened again.

"Adam?" he quietly asked of the world. Then he paused. "I'll think about it. But, please, don't tell your friends about what I'm doing. Okay?"



[Museum Park ~ East (Near Bench)](Buso, Seller, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)

The Seller let out another mildly irritated-sounding sigh, then turned in place to face Akira, peering intensely at him.

"If you have any wits about you, try to process the words that are being spoken: the only thing that will cause my personnel to take drastic measures with your and Buso's necks is if someone else attempts to assault me. Outside of that particular event, you can consider yourself safe as a babe in his mother's arms."

He left the boy with a bit of a smirk on his lips, stepping back closer to the bench. Then he sat back down, returned the phone to his lap, and with a shrug, said, "But since we all seem to be willing to behave..." he raised the receiver to his ear and began punching in another number. Before he finished, his eyes met Akira again, and he added in a low voice, "and you'd best be willing to behave, or we'll be here all night. No funny business." The seller finished putting in the number and ordered his 'personnel' to "release them at once."

Moments later, the invisible forces that had taken hold of Akira and Buso's heads relinquished their grip. So too did the force holding each of them in place. Beneath his mask, and deep within his head, Buso felt like a clock had begun ticking. Before, he had been starting to feel wracked with guilt. In retrospect, everything seemed to lead back to him. Miyuki, Kyana, Akira; they wouldn't be anywhere near the park if he hadn't stopped them so many hours earlier and coerced them into helping him. He would have been by himself when Luíseach had presented her task for them; the theft they were meant to commit. And he would have been by himself when they were inevitably caught. It was even his doing that got Akira restrained in the first place, which lead, of course, to Miyuki's arrival, and the subsequent string of events that put his and Akira's lives on the line. And the worst part was that they still seemed to believe that he was dangerously ill.

But now he was free. Free to act carefully. Free to make one precise move. He still hadn't spoken since the Seller had first ordered his mouth shut, but now, perhaps he had something to say.

"Now," the Seller continued, "I am holding all four of you accountable because all four of you knew what you were getting into—namely stealing—and you all went along with it with no objections. You were under no force of obligation to commit this crime, but you were a party to it nonetheless. For that reason, I will require indemnity from the lot of you. Fortunately, I'm willing to allow you to repay me as a group. You see, I would like you to complete a task for me."

Midway through the Seller's talk, Buso edged slightly closer to Miyuki and whispered, almost inaudibly, under his breath, "Miyuki... can you... fly with... three of us... no bench?"

every little word and every little step

[Pub]

Adam nodded.

"My lips are sealed." he said, smiling, "Promise."

Marie came over to the table, but had no intention of staying long. Instead, she looked between Adam and Howell and flipped her hair.

"Me and others are outside." she said, "Don't worry; take as much time as you can, dear. We're heading to the Karaoke soon."

"Ok!" Adam said, "I'll be there soon."

"Let me know if there's any problems, ok? See you in a bit!"

When she walked away, Adam was silent briefly. In reality, he didn't want to leave. Not at that very moment, at least. At the same time, he knew he couldn't just stay in the pub all night. His friends needed them, and they still had a job to do. Plus, he wanted to bring the good mood back once he left; dragging this on wasn't doing anything good.

"I just want you to know," he finally said, "I'm glad I got to see you again. And I mean it."

Museum Park - East (Near Bench)(Seller, Buso, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)

Moreena glanced over at the - apparently quite upset - young man.

"Please try to calm down," she said, with a hint of barely visible annoyance on her face. "I am trying to save your life here, you know."

Humans... always so damnably ungrateful. She turned back to the sinister looking phone-man again.

"Ah, it seems like we're getting somewhere at last."

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Angua, transfixed by the projection, said out of the corner of her mouth to Qrlil, "Were you ever like this?"

yey

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

Although not produced on location, the program was indeed an accurate representation of qrtxian space. The buildings depicted generally were made out of a crystalline substance - though it was clearly actually some kind of artificial material interlaced with technology, as could be seen in a number of scenes - and had a slightly improbable inverted-trapezoid look that was an obvious clue to their advanced nature. Qrtxian technology itself generally had a smooth, geometric look; although this was just an aesthetic choice, it became clear as the plot moved to g'vek space that it was significantly more advanced than that of the g'vek.

The film also made it clear that despite their cultural homogenity, the qrtxians were nevertheless a diverse group. Though they all shared the same basic overall gray tone, there were a number of different scale-mottlings in evidence, as well as a great variety in heights (though none topped two meters) and facial features. They did not all wear robes in the same fashion as Qrlil, either, though all of their clothing was still made out of smartcloth.

"That is actually a special effect of some type, I believe," Qrlil commented to Zerrimus after one scene demonstrating this. "I think the cthwui are the only other species with as advanced a level of nanotechnology as qrtxians, and they do not even wear clothing."

She turned towards Angua. "And no, I was not," she said, then tilted her head. "Well, not quite, at least. I always was far too interested in other cultures to be this... oblivious." She helped herself to some fruit. "Don't worry, though, he does get better."

The journey to g'vek space was treated much more quickly than it would have taken in real life, and soon Grqr had disembarked with the rest of the qrtxian trade mission, who were obviously eager to finish their business and be done with it. The g'vek (who were the same species of six-legged reptiles as the cartoon that had decorated her breakfast box) clearly had a much more culturally and visually diverse civilization than the qrtxians, and Grqr - quite cheerfully curious about the aliens in his slightly stuck-up way - had soon wandered off to explore their spaceport. A series of comedic misadventures occurred, and he managed to extricate himself from them just in time to witness the departure of the qrtxians' disk-shaped transport.

"This is the one part where I can actually sympathize with the Public Morale Sub-Order's irritation," Qrlil commented quietly. "It's a little contrived - in real life the qrtxian government has always been much more concerned about the safety of their citizens when traveling than this would indicate."

Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite

"Why is that?" Garkin asked in response to Qrlil's comment about the smartcloth. "Couldn't they just buy some real nano-tech clothes for the actors?"

Well, to be fair, it was entirely possible that they couldn't. Perhaps the technology was restricted to Qrtxian citizens or something.

"Hm, yes," Garkin responded to her final comment. "You'd think they'd notice that he's not on board, at least."

Since Qrlil was so far the only Qrtxian he had met, it was interesting to see what other members of her species looked like. The G'vek, who sort-of-but-not-quite reminded him of the Murpaki from his own universe - he felt oddly at ease with the concept of multiple realities by now - also caught his attention.

edited 22nd Oct '15 7:27:19 AM by Corvidae

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)

Howell nodded once, slowly, at Adam's promise. He said nothing as Marie approached and gave them an update on what the rest of the group was doing. He couldn't even look at her outside of a quick glance.

Karaoke...

It seemed so far gone from the rest of the thoughts in his head. Like it was from another world altogether. A thought from another planet.

After Marie had left, Howell turned his head to look at Adam again. To look directly at him. The other boy seemed hopeful- almost happy with thoughts of the future. There was a brightness in his eyes that couldn't be found in Howell's own, whether lost in their weariness, or in their foreign nature. He didn't think he could give Adam what he wanted, but he stared back nonetheless.

Slowly, his mouth cracked into a long smile, then he scooted towards Adam, and pulled him into another hug.

every little word and every little step

[Museum Park - East] (Near Bench) (Buso, Seller, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)

Akira collapsed onto his knees and breathed a powerful sigh of relief. For a few moments, he wasn't sure if he was going to faint, throw up, or both. But thankfully, neither ended up occurring. "Everyone's crazy..." He muttered to himself, breathlessly. "This whole place... Completely nuts..."

Miyuki rushed over to him and knelt by his side. Her face was still completely hidden, but Akira knew her well enough to read her subtle body language. "I'm okay." He told her. "Really. I'm alright."

Moreena addressed him right about then, and he nodded vigorously. "Right." He said. "Right, yeah, yes, sorry." He was still dizzy, but the threat of his neck snapping had become more vague and less imminent, and that had done wonders for his stress levels.

Meanwhile, Miyuki turned to Buso. She seemed to think for a moment, and then simply nodded.

Not entirely dead.

[Pub]

Howell was smiling again.

It was the first time since they got to the Pub Adam seen him smile. That in itself brought the good mood back for him. He hugged him back tightly, chuckling.

"You're smiling." he said, "That's a great start."

It was then that he realized that by now, his food had gotten cold. However, he honestly didn't care at that point (well, he did care about Jackson's inevitable lecture about him wasting food). Aside from the fact that he was never hungry in the first place, the early drama ruined any appetite he could've had in the first place. Thankfully, it seemed to vanish. At least for now.

"Did you think it over?" he asked, "I-I don't want to rush or pressure you. Whatever you want to do, I won't stop you, Howell."

[MUSEUM PARK - EAST]

Lara listened to the conversation, sitting on a bench opposite of the stranger. Up 'til now, she observed that every time he had ordered the unseen forces to tighten or loosen its grip, it always began with bringing the phone to his ears. It was a fleeting thought, but what would happen if someone snatched it away?

Once there was a pause in the conversation, she spoke up.

"Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'business'?"

[Museum Park ~ East (Near Bench)](Buso, Seller, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)

"Trade." the seller answered, smiling coolly at Lara. "Goods for goods, services for services, and all the like in between mixed together. Perhaps I need these goods or these services, or perhaps I simply trade because it is what I do. I can, and do, offer people the things that they want and can't feasibly attain for themselves. Things they sometimes cannot even conceive of attaining. And always for a fair price."

He straightened his bow tie with one hand while the other still held the phone receiver to his ear. "And I am very particular about maintaining a very sound reputation. An infallible reputation." his eyes slid over to Miyuki and Akira, and his smile disappeared. "You'll have to understand that I am very protective of this reputation, and I cannot simply sit idly by when a client of mine is assaulted and has their end of our trade stolen mere hours after the trade occurred. It shines a poor, if not suspicious light on myself. Fewer people want to trade. You understand where this goes?"

In the middle of the man's words, Buso turned his mask slowly, to the left and to the right. There were no figures in sight, though that didn't really tell Buso anything. They weren't moving, but he had no idea how close they were. Could they hear him? Could they tell the man what he was saying through that shiny black phone of his? Risky was the word on his mind. Very, very, risky.

"When... the time... comes..." Buso whispered, turning his head ever-so-slightly towards Miyuki, "...fly."

"I'm so terribly sorry Buso," the seller said, speaking up suddenly as his eyes locked on the masked man, "what was that you said? Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?"

Buso hadn't been moving a great deal beforehand, but as soon as the man mentioned his name, he froze. His mask snapped to attention. After a few moments of tense silence, he managed to say, "...I would like to speak with Kyana." Internally, he praised the graces of his mask. He could just about feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

The seller looked directly at Kyana, then back to Buso, shaking his head. He gestured in her direction with his free hand, "Well she is standing right there. I believe she can hear you."

There was another pause. "I... wish to speak with her in private." Buso added.

"If that's true, then you can wait until after we're finished here." The seller's eyebrows arched dangerously. "However, what I'd like to know is why you felt the need to tell Miyuki. Or is that... not what you told her?"

Buso's hand began to tremble, as though it was going to make a move on its own. The seller ran his tongue over his lips, his mouth opening slightly in a displeased sneer. He pressed the phone's receiver right against his ear and prepared to issue a new command.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

The seller squinted down at it, his face a mix of confusion and annoyance. "Eh?"

Wasting no further time, he pressed a button on the phone body, waited a moment, and then spoke into the receiver, impatiently demanding, "Yes? Who is it?"

Almost as soon as the phone rang, Buso turned his mask to Kyana and rapidly waved her closer, hissing her name anxiously. "Kyana."




[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)

Howell didn't say anything when Adam pointed out his smile. He couldn't say anything. It would break his smile. And it would break more than his smile.

He just tightened his hug around the other boy, as though a tighter hug could somehow speak to the vast range of emotions that were coursing through him. It couldn't, but it still felt like a nice gesture, and it had to be miles better than speaking what was really on his mind.

After a few more seconds, he finally pulled back away. His smile had dimmed slightly, but it still hung on his face like an old cobweb. A moment later, he said, "I need a little more time to think about it. But I don't have to do that here." he glanced at his hamburger, "We should get some boxes and... go."

every little word and every little step

[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]

"There is more to smartcloth than simply the... the aesthetic element," Qrlil replied quietly to Zerrimus, as within the hologram a group of g'vek tried to explain to a nervously obstinate Grqr that he was, in fact, stranded on an alien world. It was actually slightly unsettling, but fortunately the exaggerated nature of the scene helped to preserve the comedic tone. (She had found that was a common feature of humor among multiple species). "It is not that difficult to design clothing that can change its appearance, but truly adaptive technology is something else entirely. I am not certain I blame the ruling council even now for not allowing its trade." Though hopefully once the True Alliance was operational, the galactic environment would be safer for that type of thing.

She glanced over at Angua, checking on how she was enjoying the entertainment - since both medium and story might be perhaps less broadly familiar to her than they would be to Zerrimus - before resuming watching the story. Having finally accepted that he was stuck for the moment on the (fictional) g'vek planet of Len'vek, Grqr had decided to view the situation as a sort of extended vacation, and had enthusiastically thrown himself into his surroundings. Unfortunately for him, he had not yet lost his slightly superior attitude towards them, which resulted in a number of further comedic misunderstandings. The situation only avoided becoming worse because a female g'vek with a scale tone very similar to that of a qrtxian (named N'ven, though this had only come up once in dialogue so far) was attempting to smooth awkward situations he became involved in.

Though the story had rarely been hiss-out-loud funny to her, Qrlil found herself admiring the balancing act the writers had performed, in that they were able to satirize some of the more unpleasant aspects of qrtxian society through their main character, while at the same time avoiding making him unlikable.