[Synxni Research Nexus (Hallway)]
"Of course," said a person, Elizabeth, stepping into the hallway out of thin air. She was about 5'/1.5m tall, wearing very dark blue robes, with crystal-white hair, and crystal goggles, obscuring her eyes completely, and a slightly pale complexion.
Looking at the fossil, she said, "you have a very interesting-looking artifact. But I will need to scan you as well to allow you to enter."
If the First Advocate consented, Elizabeth would look at him intently, performing a multidimentionsal aura-spectral scan, to detect any powers, abilities, magic, or connections to other universes.
[Bar]
"Probably a good idea," Maroko said to Isaac, "I'd rather stay away from any crazy transdimensional aliens, at least on this vacation." And having to call in help from the concept girls would be beyond embarrassing, she thought, better to let the professionals handle it.
"Aww... alright. Ice skating sounds good," Nanami said, "I did suggest it, after all." She stuck out her tongue a bit, then said, "so... meet you there, Isaac? We should probably get changed into something warmer."
"Sounds good to me," Maroko said, "and honestly, I have a bad feeling about what's beyond that portal anyways..."
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Synxni Research Nexus (Hallway)]
The First Advocate nodded his assent. Scans would reveal that he had the mild magic resistance inherent to any organism from his universe and some anti-magical training. Enough to painfully deal with intruding telepaths by inserting thoughts into the reading mind that the reader's bodies would be forced to obey. Other than that, he was perfectly mundane, and looked down at Elizabeth with the benign impatience of a man used to wading through bureaucratic red tape.
[Bar —> Equipment Rental]
Isaac finished his coke and said, "sure. This ain't exactly winter gear itself. Wasn't planning on over-nighting it, so I'm gonna need to borrow something from the locals, but, uh... yeah, should be quick." He paused, checked a nearby map, and — "portals, man, fuckin' love 'em" — headed through the nearest warp door into the equipment rental.
I honestly don't recall if anyone's there or not... a quick check seems negative, unless I missed someone...
edited 29th May '15 5:56:53 AM by KillerClowns
[HOT SPRINGS]
Rick managed to get a decent grasp of Izeri's complex explanation. "So basically, you want to make, say, a moving picture? Where the flow of fire is actually moving in a picture?" A short nod later, he continued. "I think I know what you're talking about. Video, that's what we call it, has become entirely normal where I come from."
Attitude is prohibited
[Bar]
"Pleased to meet you too! I'm Hoshi, and my friend here is Gwion." She gestured to him as she introduced him, then offered to shake Nikki's hand, which she would do vigorously. She also noticed Nikki's lemonade move in some strange way, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was odd about it. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you too, Tickles." She said, gently tapping the side of the jar. "So!" She said, her attention returning to Nikki. "Where are you and Tickles from? Somewhere interesting, I hope!"
Not entirely dead.
[Synxni Research Nexus (Hallway) >> Nexus Conduit >> Lab 42]
Elizabeth looked at the The First Advocate intently for a few seconds, before saying, "interesting. Although not unexpected. This way, please." She then turned around, and led The First Advocate down the hallway and to a closed octagonal door. It dilated open, revealing a large chamber, a Nexus Conduit. This chamber was quite large, about as wide as baseball field, and seemingly infinite above and below. A large transparent conduit was suspended in the center of the chamber, tendrils of white energy traveling through it. They walked along a two-person wide catwalk, with railings, which circled the central conduit, although too far away to touch, and had eight connections to eight doors along the walls, one of which they walked from.
"Please stay on the walkway," Elizabeth said, escorting The First Advocate to another octagonal door, diagonally opposite from the one they had arrived here by, on the left.
It dilated open as well, revealing a medium sized-room, which to the knowledgeable would look like a sort of futuristic genetics lab. The room was decked out in all white, with a variety of comprehensible and strange-looking equipment set up on the floor and on a variety of benches. On the right side of the room was an enormous holographic display, mostly blank, and on the left side was what looked like a window, showing a view of the conduit they had arrived from, as if the window was just above the door outside, in clear defiance of Euclidean geometry.
"He is here," Elizabeth said, once they arrived in the room, the door closing behind them.
"Great! Great!" said a man, who had been looking in a microscope. He was wearing a lab coat, and looked positively ordinary. He stood up from one of the benches and walked over to The First Advocate. "I hear you have a fantastic fossil you want revived!" he said, probably shaking the First Advocate's hand vigorously if he even gave the slightest sign that was a tradition his culture respected. "Well, you've come to the right place - here at the Synxni Research Nexus, the impossible is our job."
Of course, this is assuming The First Advocate follows. Also note that neither Elizabeth nor the man are telepaths.
[Bar >> Rooms]
"See you there, then!" Nanami said, as she and Maroko walked to another warp door to their room.
[Equipment Rental (Ice Skating)]
"Hi! Would you like to check out any equipment?" said a (female) Takumi
from behind the counter of the equipment rental stand. She was probably not there a second ago, but it was generally regarded as best not to dwell on staff teleportation.
A moment later, Nanami and Maroko arrived through the warp door as well, wearing warmer clothing, but not overly so. Maroko had on a thicker dark blue sweater, and Nanami was wearing a thin, bubbly dark purple coat.
"Hey Isaac! Ready to go?" Nanami said, "we've got all our equipment!" She then pulled out two pairs of ice skates, one pair in pastel purple, the other in light yellow, both which really shouldn't have fit in her purse.
Maroko merely sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Hot Springs]
Izeri looked crestfallen, and Qal answered for you. "No, not what she was shootin' for; we've got movers."
"It's my fault," Izeri said. "I rambled. A bit." Then she cleared her throat and said, "more like... well, when I say I'm trying to paint motion, I was being metaphorical." She considered that it'd be easier if she could show an example. "An ordinary painting, still, but you can... sort of feel like it's in motion, even if it isn't. The... the impression of movement, I guess you could say?"
Izeri added, "this might sound all artsy to you, like, why make a painting feel like it's in motion when you can actually just make a mover out of it? But," she scoffed, "well, there's art, and there's movers. The first major one we had was propaganda made by a criminal arms dealer looking to start a war, and that kinda set the stage."
[Lab 42]
While Kykzavi culture had no equivalent of the handshake, the First Advocate himself was familiar with Western traditions, returning the handshake firmly. "It's always good to see scientists so enthusiastic about their work," he said. Keeps them from worrying about moral quandaries, he thought to himself. Then he showed the scientist the fossil, with a firm grip, and said "I hope you don't mind if I watch; I'm rather curious about the process. You need not water it down too much, by the way: Oxford left me with a reasonable grounding in the natural sciences." He'd not let the fossil go until he got a positive answer, or at least a chance to respond to a negative one.
[Equipment Rental (Ice Skating)]
Isaac tossed his labcoat on a nearby rack and said, "yeah, could I get... skates, obviously, but also a warm coat, a hat, some gloves? Kinda didn't think this plan through. Oh, an' thanks." Then he turned to the girls, glanced at the purse, and said, "neat trick. Does it travel through time as well?" A beat, then, he muttered, "sorry, Doctor Who reference, couldn't resist."
The requested equipment was brought quickly; Isaac thanked the employee again and began to get dressed.
edited 29th May '15 6:01:04 AM by KillerClowns
I forgot to mention my character Tali is at the Ski Equipment Building but it's fine. Not sure what she would do anyway besides greet people but someone already did that. lol
Bar
Nikki looked a bit surprised by the woman's vigorous handshake but returned the handshake anyway. Despite how hard she jiggled the water in the jar did not spill still. When asked where she came from the girl giggled. "Oh, it's nowhere really special. I come from the New City of Capital. It is an interesting city, with a portal that leads to all sorts of places. That's how I got here." she explained with a smile then added, "Where are you from if you don't mind me asking."
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[HOT SPRINGS]
"Oh." Rick responded, taking a second to laugh at his density. "So you're just saying that you're struggling with a certain piece of yours. Unsure if the result is the one you see in your head."
Shrugging, he started to explain. "Every artist goes through that—not satisfied with the result of something. But y'know, with how much you seem to think about it, it's only possible you're working on it as much, right?"
Smiling, he said, "If you're putting that kinda time into it, you'll do fine. Has your art ever supported you or anything?"
[UPPER FLOOR HALLWAY-OUTSIDE ROOM 222]
Lara stood outside her door, twirling the red bracelet around her finger. Technically, she was having a dull time, though it remained a decent time. Occasionally, having herself for company was enough.
Abruptly, she flicked her hand to catch and hold still the bracelet, and casually studied its patterns. At this point in her life, wearing them had become just about second nature to her. The irony amused her, since the ones that had originally created it would go into conniptions over her lax treatment of them. And then there was the man that handed them to her.
You went pretty hard to get some silly pieces of jewelry. She thought to herself in reminiscence.
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
Gwion finally managed to wrest his eyes from the octopus in the jar. Of all the bizarre things he had seen - and learned - over the last few weeks, a pet - or friend - octopus in a jar had to be one of the weirdest. Rescued? From what? And the less he tried to analyse the name, the better.He couldn't help but think of the lobster joke his father had once told him. "I gave it to you to take home for dinner." "I did, and he enjoyed it so now I'm taking him out to a movie."
"Nice to meet you, Nikki." He offered his hand for a firm, and less energetic than Hoshi's, handshake. "And Tickles, too, of course. I won't shake his hand - I wouldn't know where to start. Or stop."
He took a sip of his drink. "This 'Capital' sounds like the place I've been to recently. Are you a native of there or did you just come through there? I'm from Earth - one of them, anyway - and I came through the Capital to get here. Hoshi is from somewhere that was once called Earth many many years ago, but is now called Ailyss. For my own reasons, I'm taking it as being the future of a different version of Earth than my own."
Lobby -> Upper Floor Hallway
One minute her surroundings were more or less familiar, or at least mundane. The next minute she found herself standing in the lobby of some fancy hotel standing on top of a mountain. Naturally, Mary was somewhat confused if the weird glance she gave the inter-dimensional door was any indication.
"...Well, that works," she said to herself with a shrug before making her way to the front desk and signing in.
She appeared to be around her mid teens in age and Caucasian in ethnicity. She had long, wavy red hair and blue eyes in addition to a number of freckles. She was not apparently dressed for the weather; she wore a tight, dark blue t-shirt, somewhat faded and well-worn blue jeans, and a pair of brown leather boots. She also carried a dull green duffel bag that was obviously very full but didn't quite strain her.
Once she was done signing in and received her keys, Mary grabbed a map before immediately heading upstairs. Her immediate priority was checking out her room and dropping her stuff off; she was going to be here a while and would have all the time in the world to check the rest of the place out.
Upon reaching the rooms, she slowed down and alternated between checking the number on her keys and comparing it to the number on the doors. She was mostly focused on that and so almost missed the other girl who happened to be there. When she actually did notice the other girl, at first she only gave her a brief glance and then went back to the task at hand.
However, it then occurred to her that she wasn't going to know anyone here right off the bat. A peer might have been a good place to start, and since this girl was already here she might as well kill two birds with one stone, to use figurative language. She did not condone the actual killing of actual birds.
"Hey, how's it going?" she asked the girl, giving her a big grin and a wave.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[UPPER FLOOR HALLWAY-OUTSIDE ROOM 222]
Lara started twirling her bracelet again, when an unfamiliar voice greeted her.
"Hey, how's it going?"
Lara started, jumping enough to make her bracelet fly off her finger, landing on the floor, and rolled to a stop at the girl's feet. The girl immediately marched right up to her, bent down and snatched it off the floor before saying anything. "Uh... Hey." She finally said. "Uh... Am I supposed to know you?" She added after looking to and fro. Had she been that distracted that she couldn't see someone approaching?
edited 30th May '15 9:02:49 AM by TroPartner
Upper Floor Hallway
Mary jumped a little herself when the other girl did. Apparently, the other girl hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. Why she hadn't was beyond Mary; given where she was standing, she probably should have been making sure not to get in anyone's way.
She briefly looked down at the bracelet that landed near her feet. She was about to reach down and get it for the other girl when she decided to go and get it herself before she could even move. She raised an eyebrow before shrugging and answering the girl's question.
"Not as far as I know. At least, I hope knowing the other guests wasn't a requirement for coming here because I probably failed pretty hard there." She made a small chuckle. "Since you happened to be here I figured I'd say hi and see how things went. And as for that...I, uh, I'm sorry for startling you like that."
She stuck out a hand. "Name's Mary."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[UPPER FLOOR HALLWAY-OUTSIDE ROOM 222]
After replacing the bracelet on her wrist, Lara looked at Mary's hand before taking it. "Lara. And I am just fine for being scared like that. I've had worse."
Dropping her hands to her side, she continued, "I don't think I need to know the other guests. Even if I did, I've already recognized one face, so I shouldn't be in trouble."
Lara paused, taking a better look at the arrival. This girl was either stupid or had no idea where she was going, considering all she wore. "And you probably haven't been here long, either." She deduced as a result.
[Hot Springs]
At this point, Izeri cleared her throat nervously and said, "er, I think it could. Support me. Well enough. I guess." She seemed eager to not delve into this topic; the fact was, she could survive on her income, but living the life she'd grown up in and comfortable with? That wouldn't be possible without Qal covering most of their bills. "So, what is it you do for a living," she said, with no intention beyond avoiding the awkward topic. "Oh, and Xia, you too! I mean, you've been quiet back there."
Bar
Nikki giggled at Gwion's comment on Tickles. "Pleased to meet you Gwion." the black haired girl replied to his introduction and shook his hand. When he explained where he and Hoshi were from, her eyes widened in shock and she quietly said, "Oh my." to how their earths were different. It was like they lived in parallel worlds. But it didn't seem to bother her too much.
"I believe I was born somewhere outside of Capital and moved to Capital at a very young age. But I don't remember where it was. I found Tickles stranded far from water there and decided to help him. We've been friends since. For you see we can communicate, can't we Tickles?" she explained and Tickles wiggled his squishy red tentacles about as if to agree.
Hot Springs
Xia had gone back to her book which actually had to do with plants, listening only occasionally to the conversation at hand between Rick and the girls. Her talk of painting held her attention for awhile but she turned again until one of the girls asked what she did for a living. She honestly wouldn't want to know what Xia 'actually' did back at home. Smiling as she put her book down she replied, "I tend a flower garden back home. Sure I can summon whatever flowers I like whenever I want but I do find it satisfying to grow them as well." This was partly true, Ai did most of the gardening even though she too could summon flowers (though had less control of it).
edited 1st Jun '15 5:51:34 PM by Sphinxyness
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[Synxni Research Nexus (Lab 42)]
"Thanks!" the man said, "of course, of course! It would be odd if you didn't want to watch. First we'll want to scan it, and then perform the necessary reconstruction and revivification processes."
"I will stay as well, Alan," Elizabeth said.
"Certainly, Liz - sounds great," the man, Alan, said, "oh! I forgot to introduce myself - Alan, Transdimensional Biology Specialist, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I tend to get wrapped up in my work sometimes, sorry. And I'll try to explain as best as possible, but some of this can get rather technical."
Alan will take the fossil and look at it while they're talking if The First Advocate lets it go.
[Equipment Rental (Ice Skating)]
"Sure, here you go!" Takumi said, placing all the requested clothing and equipment on the counter for Isaac.
"Oh... uh... ah... we just got dressed quickly, that's all," Nanami said, looking embarrassed.
"Let's just get ready," Maroko said, putting on her ice skates. Their skates closely-approximate their hair color, although a bit lighter.
"Okay. Sounds good," Nanami said, putting hers on as well.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
Upper Floor Hallway
As far as Mary could tell, Lara was one of those standoffish "don't mess with me" types, though at least she did offer a half-decent handshake. Mary was sort of tempted to try and get her to lighten up a little, but on the other hand that could just end up with the two of them annoying the crap out of each other. Maybe not the best way to spend a vacation.
"I don't know. When you're in a place like this where you barely know anyone else, I'd try to make friends just so I have someone to fall back on. But that's just me."
She shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I did just get here. Came through that fancy portal door in the lobby. I was going to drop my stuff off first before exploring a little bit." She offered another friendly smile. "You're welcome to come with if you want, though I suppose I won't blame you if you don't want."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Attitude is prohibited
[Bar]
Hoshi watched the girl ask the little tentacled aquatic creature a question, and tried to determine whether she was totally crazy or just quirky. But then again, given what she'd heard about the Capital, maybe Nikki really could communicate with the squishy little guy. There was only one way to be sure: more investigation!
"So, uh," She said, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous her questions were going to sound. "What do you and Tickles like to talk about? Life under water? Favourite types of fish?" She leaned over to get a slightly closer look at the octopus. "The locations of sunken treasures, maybe?"
Not entirely dead.
[UPPER FLOOR HALLWAY-OUTSIDE ROOM 222]
Lara turned to make a brief glance at her door before answering.
"I just finished unpacking and, honestly, I'd also like to see what this place's got."
Raising an eyebrow as her face gave a faint smirk, she concluded with, "If anything, having someone other than that chunk I came with for company would be a nice change of pace. Y'have anyplace in mind?"
[Synxni Research Nexus (Lab 42)]
The First Advocate handed Alan the fossil carefully, and said, "very well. I presume the fossil will be irrevocably transformed in the process?" He shrugged; an acceptable loss, to say the least. "Though I should perhaps advise against wasting efforts attempting to damage the shell-structure. It is... quite invulnerable."
[Equipment Rental (Ice Skating)]
Isaac threw on the winter clothing, which he noticed (perhaps too) conveniently matched the white-with-pastel-trim color scheme that always went along with his corporation. "Aight," he said, deciding not to ask any further about the dimension-ignoring purse he'd commented on earlier. He took a few careful steps. "Shit," he muttered, "this gonna take a while..." he paused. "Well, one thing I learned back in grad school: you gotta fall on your ass a few times to learn anything." He looked between his new companions and, curious, asked, "speakin' of grad school... either of you heading that way? Or maybe you already there, older than you look. No offense meant, but you definitely look undergrad." And they felt undergrad as well, though that seemed a bit rude to say aloud.
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
(as if there's any need to distinguish between him and the Terra Novan group at the moment...)A sentient octopus. Well, it was from the same world as the Capital, so that probably wasn't as strange as it might have been elsewhere. From Gwion's experience of the Capital, sentient octopi would probably barely rate a "1" on the weirdometer.
"The locations of sunken treasures, maybe?"
Gwion grinned at that. "Doesn't- ahhh, Tickles mind being stuck in such a small container?" Mind you, at least it had water - that's got to feel like heaven after being stranded on dry land.
Bar
Nikki smiled at Hoshi as she asked her questions then sat in thought for a moment. Gwion's questions had her thinking as well. The black haired girl decided to answer both. "Well... I tell him about my day and such and when I first got him I asked what he liked to eat. I don't always keep him with me, I have a salt water tank for him back home. Since he seems to take awhile to grow, I thought a jar would be ok to keep him in on the go. He doesn't seem to mind it. Of course when he gets bigger, I'll have to think of something else to keep him in." she explained, looking down into her jar briefly.
"As for sunken treasure... He may have seen some when he was in the ocean. I never really asked."
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[HOT SPRINGS]
Rick observed Izeri's reluctance in answering. Whoops. Asked something I probably shouldn't have.
Thus, he was equally ready to change the subject. "Self-defense teacher... Well, maybe that's a bit broad. It's mainly boxing, among other things. Y'know, very straightforward types of combat."
After hearing Xia, he turned ans commented, "I suppose I don't have to ask if you've got a green thumb."
Attitude is prohibited
[Bar]
"You haven't asked?" Said Hoshi, apparently slightly alarmed. "Well what are you waiting for! Ask!" She laughed. "There might be all kinds of goodies at the bottom of the sea!" She paused, briefly, and gave Tickles a close inspection, then looked up at Nikki. "So, can you communicate with all fishy-things, or just your friend here? And can he talk to anyone, or just you? Other fishy-things, maybe?"
Then an idea came to her. "By the way... Unrelated, but... Do you like skiing, Nikki?"
edited 3rd Jun '15 8:56:08 PM by Blackfire667
Not entirely dead.
[Hot Springs]
Izeri brightened and said, "yeah. A painter. A bit old-fashioned, don't really get the stuff coming out of Zaofu..." a gentle elbow from Qal reminded her to give context. "Er, sorry. Basically, what I mean, is I generally prefer a... well, not abstract, not totally obsessed with realism, just... maybe someone will think of a word?" She sighed, wishing she were better at explaining. "I don't do a lot of symbolism, unless something really catches my eye. But at the same time... if you want to know how someone looks, you can get a photograph." Qal was now wearing a clear here we go again look, but patiently let Izeri continue. "Now... have you seen a photograph? An instant, captured in time. But... imagine a photograph of fire, right? I mean, even if it had color, it wouldn't be much like..." with a single gesture, she conjured a tongue of flame in her hands. "...this, would it?" Making the fire dance between her fingers, she continued, "that's what I've been experimenting with. To capture motion in a still frame... the vitality of life, the dance of light and shadow..." she extinguished the flame with a flick of her wrist, then added, "...I do hope I'm not boring you. Art's very important, but I understand not everyone is interested in the details."
edited 26th May '15 9:54:33 PM by KillerClowns