[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Brin frowned, considered, and decided to start with the truth she'd realized over the night. "Probably not," Brin said, guiltily but steadily meeting Kito's eyes. "As you've probably guessed, I'm used to only thinking of, well, two-legged teammates." Her gaze briefly wavered, but she kept on. "Doesn't make it right, of course. A policewoman who only thinks of people like herself as people isn't worthy of her badge, is she? I guess all that's left is to see if I can do better at being worthy of mine. "
Suela, now coherent-ish after a full cup of her tea, gave a slight approving nod and filed the thought away for further analysis when her head was up to it, but otherwise stayed out of the conversation. She could, at least, now be communicated with if so desired. She even managed to mumble, "berries? Yeah, sounds good." She helped herself to a small handful, remembered to say, "thanks, Blair," and began to delicately pick at them.
edited 4th Feb '16 8:19:45 PM by KillerClowns
Drummer Boy
[Hotel Room 106 —> Dining Hall]
<i don't want to carry too much, but we should probably pick up some snacks from the general store on our way out of town. or maybe we can get some of the hotel food somehow. just need a container of some sort>
Arthur had all his outer armor pieces on now except the helmet, which he was holding. Wearing helmets was not conducive to eating breakfast. Once at the dining hall, he claimed a table by setting the helmet down and went off to fill a tray with food. He came back with bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, and a mug of coffee.
<so, just checking, are you really sure you want to do this? i know i'm boring and terrible, if you just want to draw a map and leave that's totally fine>
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Kito shrugged. "It's not surprising. Brin, I don't want to judge you too harshly. It wasn't admirable, but it's hard to be admirable when your instincts take over. I'm not exactly a paragon of virtue myself. And you made a good apology. I appreciate it."
Tell her I do too.
"And Cyrus is also willing to move on. You know, maybe we can try occupying different bodies for a while. It'll help drive home the point that I am a person in my own right. Well, mostly. It might be more appropriate to say that we're two sides of the same coin. But I'm not staying in this body for longer than a day. The teeth are awful, the nose is awful, the ears are awful, having dark goggles stuck on your face all day is awful, feeling sweaty is awful, and looking like a fragile twig is awful. But at least I can talk and have opposable thumbs, yeah? Those things are pretty good."
You're just not used to it.
I don't want to be.
Then what are you complaining about? Cyrus went over to inspect the pile of arrows by the campfire and sniffed them, trying to figure out what they had used to glue the feathers to the wood. Not bad, considering what they had to work with. I'd like to see his marksmanship. Say, those two weren't around for the first explanation yesterday, were they? You might want to let them know.
It was clear that it wasn't quite the same person in that body. Blair and Roscoe would probably notice Kito's stronger voice and air of self-assurance. Unlike Cyrus's excitable and slightly nervous energy, Kito exuded an aura best described as casually aggressive. "So, Cyrus mentioned yesterday that our souls are fused, yeah? We're changing things up today. Hope you can get used to me."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Grand Hotel (2nd Floor Hallway)
"He what?" Scents said. Apparently it was a little more serious than she had guessed from the smell - though she couldn't help but be darkly amused as well. Her ears pivoted forward. "What, again?"
She shook her head and gave Pancake the cat a look. What can you do about these furless folks, huh? "Have you - when did you notice? Could he have just wandered off exploring or something?" She hesitated. "Or were there... signs of something more criminal-ish?"
Quite truthfully, she'd rather just go downstairs then try and run even a very abbreviated investigation. She didn't like letting her employer out of her sight for long. But she couldn't just ignore this.
[Grand Hotel (Iraal and Scents's Room -> Dining Hall)]
Meanwhile, a few minutes after Scents had left, Iraal also exited their room. She'd left the datapaper behind, along with her coat, but she was still engrossed in the journal her backup had overlaid onto her vision, just inside her sunglasses. If the hotel had been a little more crowded, events might have taken an unfortunate turn, but fortunately she didn't run into anyone on the way downstairs.
She made her way into the dining room and looked around, feeling a bit awkward at suddenly being around a large group of unfamiliar people again, though it would take only a moment for her to shrug it off. If no one calls to her, she'll go sit down at a table by herself.
[Hotel-Hallway]
"No. Not at all." John said, "I woke up, and he literally was just...gone. The windows are closed and so was the door. No one came through; I would've noticed! He just vanished out of thin air!"
James added, "The bed doesn't even looked anyone even moved from there. Look, if you want to look for yourself, go ahead! We're not overreacting."
Guilt from last night started to sink in. If Joseph knew something like this was going to happen, then he shouldn't have gotten mad at him over his joke and stormed off. Was that seriously how he was gonna end that night? Pissed off at a kid for something seriously minor.
"James, we seriously can't keep standing here; we seriously need to keep looking!" John said, increasingly hysterical, "He could be anywhere! He could probably be in danger!"
"But what if he's not here? As in he's not in this timeline?" James asked, "You said that he said something about the time traveling and-" He quickly stopped himself, realizing that he was definitely not helping. "...We'll start asking around, after Scents investigates our room."
edited 7th Feb '16 8:59:30 AM by Masterofchaos
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
If Irina's rising or the rising of the sun itself disturbed Connie at all, she wasn't showing it. It was hard to say for how long she had remained awake the night before, but judging from the hair band still dangling loosely in her fingers and the lack of pajamas of any sort, she probably hadn't gone to bed until she was really, very tired. She rubbed her face into her pillow a bit, her expression cycling through various forms of groggy frowning, then she fell still again, silent but for some quiet breathing.
On the other end of things—quite literally at the other end of the room and out the door to the balcony—Davey seemed fairly well awake. He was sitting by himself in an open-back folding chair. His paw-like hands were loosely clasped together, hanging between his legs. He was still wearing the same clothes that he'd fallen asleep in, though the night hadn't done them any favors. His shirt was untucked, partly unbuttoned, and quite wrinkled. His fur—where it was visible on his head or his arms past his loosely rolled-up sleeves—seemed a little more ruffled than it had been the day before. He'd either only just woken up, or had been sitting by himself for quite some time.
His ears twitched slightly as the balcony door opened, though he swiftly swept them back when Irina stepped out. His dark brown eyes flickered in her direction for a moment, and a small smile appeared on his bewhiskered mouth.
“Sleep in and miss the best part of the day?” he asked, leaning back a little in his chair, “Wouldn’t dream of it. Partly because that sounds like a very lousy dream, and partly because…” he paused for a moment, turning his eyes back to the sky and letting out an airy sigh. He held his arms out, open-palmed, gesturing at what he saw. “...well, look at it. Just look.”
Davey let his arms fall back down to his sides, taking in the view in silence; a silence broken only by the sounds of the morning, and the soft scraping of Davey nudging a second chair in Irina’s direction.
edited 16th Nov '17 1:04:40 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
Paladin of Light
[Hotel hallway - Kaito, Chisa, Trinity, Recon]
The young agent smiled as he heard both ladies speak their greetings back to him, glad to hear that they slept well. His gaze fell to Chisa, seeing how she was fiddling with her short red hair. She seemed to be a bit shy this morning, but Kaito didn't think too much into it. With a soft pat to her head he gave her another smile. "I'm glad to hear it. You rebound fast, young lady." he said encouragingly.
Turning to Trinity next he nodded to her question, "I could most certainly go for some breakfast. I'm rather famished to be honest." he said, placing a hand on his stomach. When Recon showed up, Kaito was actually surprised at how tired the guy still was, however, when you're part machine no one can really fully disconnect and get adequate sleep because there's always something going on in the background—he couldn't blame the guy, really.
[Hotel hallway - Kaito, Chisa, Trinity, Recon]
"Breakfast it is then, reached through unanimous decision," Recon said cheerfully. He raised his nose into the air, sniffing audibly.
"Hmm, bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, and coffee are up for grabs." Recon noted aloud. "So this ain't one of those cheap hotels where they skimp on the food. Think there's more too. Anyway, lead the way Trinity."
Mountain Pass - Campsite
The response Brin gave was certainly honorable. Roscoe smiled a little. She liked to think people could be tolerant of others less like themselves. That added to her good mood, as did the gentle soothing of her cramped shoulder and arm muscles under Blair’s hands.
She had noticed the eye-color change, but had missed what it indicated. Not until the man used the phrase “and Cyrus is…” did she or Blair realize that the two had switched bodies. Roscoe raised an eyebrow and looked up at Blair, who chuckled at Kito’s remarks at being human.
“Oh yes, opposable thumbs are helpful.” Blair took a few berries from Roscoe’s hand and fed them to her; the movement occurred like a secondhand thought. “But the senses are so much duller, aren’t they?”
He glanced down at Cyrus, who was clearly inspecting the pile of arrows. Indeed, the feathers were not glued on, but had been tied on in a spiral pattern using plant sinew, fibers carefully separated from tree bark.Strong enough to keep the feathers in place, but not strong enough to make suitable bowstring unless they were braided into thread.
Kito addressed the pair with a brief explanation. To that, Roscoe grinned and Blair gave an amused smirk. “I think we can, Kito,” Blair said with a slight nod. “Meanwhile, I hope Cyrus makes a good wolf," he joked.
As Suela seemed interested in the berries, Blair gave her a nod as well. He had taken note of her tea and, while he guessed it was a type of plant, he could not place the scent. “What’s your brew?”
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
((Heh, I like how Zuri was practically invisible in the dining hall. It's no wonder she calls herself a ghost.))
Hotel - Dining Hall (Zuri)
Just as Zuri was taking a sip of her tea, she noticed a familiar green-skinned woman with sunglasses enter the dining hall. As soon as she recognized her, she stood up and waved to her.
"Iraal!" Zuri called out. "Is Scents not with you? You can sit with me if you like."
Hotel - Room 205 (Nemaforte, Annie, Gregory)
Nemaforte slowly opened and blinked her flesh-pink eyeswhen Annie pulled the covers off of her. "Why, would you rather that I share a bed with Gregory?" she replied calmly. "On Orenya at least, if a group of guests sleep in a room and there are not enough beds for all them, it is rude for people of opposite sex to share a bed if not romantic. Unless you would try to pair me with him."
There was a twinkle in her eye, and then she winked at Gregory before sitting up. "Spooked... it was the sun. In Zurem the sun never shine, and so I only ever see sunlight on my travel to Rumia, where it stays still in the sky. I..." and here she blushed slightly and bowed her head. "...I did not know this place had day-night cycle. I have but read about such cycle in fiction. Sure it would take me getting used to a bit." Then she looked up. "But, I must still come with you to the mountains, for the daytime maybe have more customers. Good thing I have my hat and cloak, so can shield me from the sunlight."
She then glanced at the bathroom. "Maybe if I take a shower first, it will help with the heat."
I imagine the next part will just be everyone getting ready for the day, so you can just finish up any conversation and then have Annie and Gregory start preparing themselves.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Hotel Hallway - Dining Room
Chisa blushed but she smiled as Kaito pet her head. Trinity grinned at the two of them then at Recon. "Sounds good. Alright then, follow me." she replied and led the way through the hallway to the dining room. Sure enough it was as Recon said, pancakes, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, everything you could ever want for breakfast was displayed. Trinity and Chisa were staring with widened eyes at all the food until finally the older female said, "Well, get whatever you want. I think I can pay for it all." It was all you can eat breakfast anyway.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Attitude is prohibited
[Mountain Pass] (Campsite)
"Uh..." Hoshi gave a small, nervous laugh. "Listen, Cyrus, or Kito, or whoever you are right now. I'm not gonna pretend I understand this 'magic' thing you've got going on." She stood. "But if you're fishing for an apology from Miyuki, well, you're not gonna get it. 'Sorry' just isn't really in her nature, okay?" She grinned sheepishly. "But, hey! I can tell you're upset, so, y'know what?" She put a hand on her heart. "On her behalf - oh, hell - on behalf of the whole freakin' Hakodan Empire, I'm real sorry, okay?" She bowed, deeply. And then after a moment, she straightened back up. "So... We can all be friends now, right? No need to mentioned this to her once she gets back, okay? We'll all get along better this way." She said. "Trust me!"
Not entirely dead.
[dining room - Tsadro, Arthur]
Maintaining the stern demeanor he fostered last night was getting rather tedious, Tsadro had to admit, but, well, this wasn't exactly how he planned on loosening up today. The fact that Arthur was indecisive, and that his team was that disrespectful and disordered... perhaps they bothered him less the previous night than they should have. Yes, they did- he let his own desire for philosophical chitchat take over, and presumed Arthur would handle his situation with himself and his team like a responsible adult, like anyone promoted by a military to a leadership position. Looked like he presumed wrong.
Tsadro could skim implant comms very fast, he could catch their gist almost faster than if they had been spoken. Nary a second after Arthur hit what must have been the send button, he stopped in the middle of squeezing a lemon into his tea to shoot the boy a glare. His pale eyes, which Arthur probably would have likened to granite earlier, were well and truly smoldering.
"A novel idea," he began, voice low. Without taking his eyes from Arthur's, he set the lemon on his saucer, fingers briefly shaking as he did so. "If you keep pitying yourself, I just might. You impressed me very much when I learned that you and your team defected. When you denied yourself the ability to return home, or potentially settle and back out, for the sake of these androids. How noble."
"I suppose I wasn't clear last night," he said, stirring his tea. "You seem to have surrendered the will you humans hold so dear. Your team is growing insubordinate when you need each other more than ever, and you've chosen to give up. To let them be children and remain on your ship while you wander an unknown world alone. To let the grandest decision of your life go to waste. All so you can sit there paralyzed and bemoan your misfortune. I'm going to guess you said that as a cry for help, so I suppose you've tricked me into helping you again. You are captain and you defected for a reason, so own it."
edited 6th Feb '16 4:48:46 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Professional Recluse
Katya
Someone addressed her in the native tongue behind her. The voice was a familiar one, the last she recalled it from was a vacation a long time ago.
"Wolfe, Teri! Khorosho, it's a relief to find friendly faces in this awful place." He was about as she remembered him, sun beaten and greying hair. Teri too, still mostly brown but the hat with strange words seemed to suit her somehow. The younger woman's spontaneity was most amusing along with her unusual voice.
"Are the other's here too?" she asked remembering the group, her lip curled at the memory, "Mad Bastards." it had flair and a distinct western feel that reminded her of the Americans she met near the end of the war. A spiritful and odd bunch, always giving their formations odd names, Easy Company, Big Red One, Flying Tigers. She almost regretted the precision of the Red Army discouraging such practices, it seemed like great fun.
The hotel did have Kasha, the day was looking up even more.
edited 5th Feb '16 11:35:54 PM by Slysheen
Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
[Room 205]
Annie let out a yawn as she stretched out her arms, still reeling from exhaustion. "You know, now that you mention it... I was so tired when we got here, I didn't even notice the hotel gave us two beds between the three of us."
"Yeah, I wonder why they thought we'd only need two," Gregory replied as he crawled out of his own bed. "Unless they thought that... you and I were..."
The two gave each other an awkward glance before Annie let out some nervous laughter. "Ha, yeah right! Could you imagine? That would be totally... weird, right?" She cleared her throat before turning her attention back to Nemaforte. "You know, that rest did let me recharge my powers just a little bit. Nothing special, but I could teleport us to the mountains, saves us the hike."
"Unless you want the exercise," Gregory chimed in, "because let me tell you, hurtling yourself through a hole ripped open in the very fabric of reality is not the healthier option. It tends to make you... queasy."
[Mountain Pass - Campsite]
Suela took a moment to recall the particular mix. "For flavor, mainly mountain rose. Also some emperor's shoe. Flower, that is, not actual shoe. Spirit's lantern, also flower. For energy, Yoth tea fern. Also coca leaves and ginseng." She then looked between Cyrus and Kito, clearly considering. Questions about their connection and experiments were already brewing slowly in her mind, and she started sorting the ones that would be rude, unethical, or dangerous from the ones she might get answers for. Where was the Emperor when she needed him?
Brin was happy with the silence for the moment.
Crazy Kiwi
Grand Hotel - Dining Hall
Katya, Teri and WolfeTeri grinned when Katya remembered their names and greeted them enthusiastically. "Kris and the others are over there." She pointed in the direction of the table where the others sat. She could see that the breakfast they had ordered had already been delivered and James was rejoining the rest at the table. "You're welcome to join us when you've got your breakfast organised."
Wolfe nodded agreement. "You are indeed. It's great seeing you again." He grinned. "Fair warning, though: we're not here on holiday, so it won't all be propping up the bar and chatting like last time."
Peggy, Kris, Karl, James and Vic
James returned to his seat at the table and started tucking into his breakfast.
Kris looked at across at Wolfe and Teri. The woman they were talking with looked familiar but it took her a moment to make the connection and remember where she had seen her before and a little longer to come up with the name: Katya. "That's that Russian woman we met at the Mountain Resort."
Karl looked across where Kris was looking. He remembered hearing about Katya from Kris, Teri and Wolfe; she sounded like an interesting person.
Peggy looked as well. As a relative newcomer to the group, she wasn't as familiar with the stories of the Mountain Resort as Karl and James, but she was aware that Kris, Teri and Wolfe had been to a resort after their visit to Capital City and had mentioned a Russian woman.
She hoped that the woman would join them for breakfast so she would get the opportunity to meet her properly.
"Hope she sits with us for breakfast," said Kris, "it'll be good to catch up again."
Drummer Boy
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Don't push it, Kito.
Oh yeah? She and the rest of this "Hakodan Empire" weren't there last night, she can't—
She knows Miyuki better than we do. She's clearly trying to avoid a fight.
Ugh. And I thought you were the one angrier about this. "Fine." He was scowling. "For the sake of keeping the peace, we'll leave it at that for now, Hoshi." There was an ever-so-slight emphasis on "for now."
"And yeah, it always takes a bit of time to really get used to this." Kito held his hands in front of his face and stared as he flexed them. "I rely on my nose and ears so much. Not that a Wolfram's eyes are bad, they're just... not as good. Fortunately, Cyrus and I have practiced using each others' bodies before, since there are a few circumstances where accidental switching is possible. And since those circumstances usually occur during fights involving magic, it's important to adapt quickly."
Cyrus sniffed the air. I think I'd like to try some of this tea sometime.
You need to stay the hell away from anything that provides "energy."
[Hotel Dining Room]
Arthur put his elbow on the table and propped up his head by hiding his face with his hand. His eyes were screwed shut so tightly that he was beginning to see hazy stars at the edges of the darkness.
He was almost too numb to know what he was feeling. Almost. A part of him was angry because Tsadro didn't know the whole story and would dismiss it as excuses, but also firmly believed that if Tsadro did hear him out, he'd understand. Another part of him completely agreed with Tsadro.
The unexpected anger had rattled him. Was that panic making his heart pound like this? Yeah, it had to be, at the rate he was going Tsadro wasn't even going to leave him a map.
And still yet another part of him was encouraging him to talk things out, apologize because he didn't realize that the offhand, self-deprecating comment of the kind that he was so used to making would come off this way.
Okay. Just breathe. We gotta breathe.
Finally, he uncovered his face, looking like he needed a hell lot more coffee than what was already on the table, and tapped out a response at a speed slightly slower than normal. Instead of hitting send, he turned on his tablet screen and slid it across the table. No way in hell was he letting this show up in a log accessible by other team members.
<i'm glad you're being honest with me, and thank you. i'll stop being a whiny bitch. i can't force anyone to be my therapist. it's been so long since i've interacted with someone outside of the team, i guess my filter's gone, and i needed to check myself. we normally send scouts in pairs, but yesterday everyone was either injured or busy with a job, like nymue with the computers, and i insisted on leaving by myself because i was sure i'd lash out and do something i'd regret if i was with any of them for another second. i'm not saying any of this was okay or a good idea. it is what it is, whether i made these choices with a clear mind or while i was too upset to see straight.>
edited 7th Feb '16 10:59:13 AM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[dining room - Tsadro, Arthur]
His gaze went to the tablet as soon as Arthur pushed it towards him. Moving his tea over, he picked up the tablet and let out a sigh to calm himself down, eyes wide and granite-hard and impossible to read once again.
The outburst- by Tsadro's standards -clearly shook him, the kid couldn't even bear to look. Just starting to read it more thoroughly after the initial skim, it seemed like it worked.
Tsadro got up and walked around the table to the other side, tablet in hand. Placing his free hand on Arthur's shoulder, he let their eyes meet for but a second.
"Much better." He let go of Arthur's shoulder. "Thank you for being a leader, Captain." He inclined his head, then set the tablet next to Arthur's plate of food and returned to his seat.
"Leaders don't undermine themselves. They don't do it with their words, they don't let their own comrades disrespect them. Please don't forget that." He picked up his mug of tea. "Eat, your breakfast is getting cold," he said, taking a large sip, before peering into the tea. Flavor was odd, but it would do.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Grand Hotel (2nd Floor Hallway -> Room 204)]
Scents gave James an incredulous look, taking him in with all three of her eyes. "Did you... say time travel?" It actually wasn't the idea that startled her so much. She left worrying about the philosophy and such of it all to Iraal, but she was more or less willing to believe anything could happen here. But if that was a possibility the two humans were seriously considering, what the keav did they expect her to contribute?
She grabbed at something else James had said. "I'll search the room, at least - but if you're seriously thinking he's been whisked off to another universe or something, I don't know what you're expecting from me. I'm just private security."
She trudged off into the room, muttering a word under her breath that her translation software rendered as "Genitals." Her ears, eyes, and nostrils were all alert for clues, but she was not expecting to find any.
[Grand Hotel (Dining Hall)]
Iraal was absorbed enough in her quarterly that she didn't notice at first when Zuri began speaking to her, but she had heard before the young woman got to the end of her sentences. Her first (and second) inclination was to ask her social software for an appropriate way to decline, but a thought occurred to her. There might be a way, although preferably only after Scents arrived from wherever she had gone, to take advantage of their previous interaction. So she nodded stiffly and moved to sit down at the table with Zuri.
"Scents is somewhere else right now," she said without preamble, "but she should join us soon. She actually left before I did, but she tends to be less focused than I am." Not that Scents was unprofessional at all, but her assistant, like all of her previous assistants, had more possible distractions than Iraal expected she ever would. She flagged down a waiter - not the same one as last night - and asked if they had any sy yen nuts. Then she turned towards Zuri. "Was there something in particular you wanted to ask?"
[Hotel-Hallway]
Scents had pretty much said what James was already thinking; that this whole search was probably going to be fruitless. If Joseph really did go to another universe...then he was far out of their reach.
He sadly turned to John. "Honey, I know you want to find him but...Scents has a point. He's probably not in this timeline anymore. There's probably not much we can do except have breakfast and..."
John shook his head. "No, he has to be here somewhere! M-Maybe someone downstairs has seen him! T-They had to! They..." He gently handed James Pancake, then, rather than take the elevator, rushed down the stairs.
"John!" James called, "John, wait!"
By then, John had already vanished down the stairs. He was going to go after him, but for now, he had to make sure Scents went back to her regular schedule.
He walked back in the room with Scents. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to disrupt your evening like this. I'm not completely sure how his whole 'time travel' thing works, but I'm sure he's not here anymore." He sighed, "Oh, John's going to be so devastated..."
Don't worry; since Joseph is out of the thread, I won't start a huge search party.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Hotel - Room 205 (Nemaforte, Annie, Gregory)
Nemaforte was quietly giggling while Annie and Gregory were conversing. But she stopped short when Annie mentioned the teleportation.
"Oh... Well, that would save a lot of trouble," Nemaforte mentioned. "Although, speaking of queasy, I also think it is a good idea for food to be first on our agenda. Preferably something quick. For if eating some of my herbs on an empty tummy is a bad idea, bending reality on one would maybe also be bad. I will be too glad to cover it. We need not teleport downstairs though, maybe."
She grabbed her hat and capelet and started putting them on, and also made sure all her herbs were in her bag. After the three finished getting ready for the day, Nemaforte stood by the door and invited Annie and Gregory to follow her downstairs.
Hotel - Dining Hall (Zuri, Iraal)
A nervous smile spread across Zuri's face as Iraal sat down near her. "Well I uh, don't have any more questions really. And Lupin should be down shortly... I hope. Hold on a bit."
On a whim, Zuri leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, again letting her consciousness drift out of her as a very faint ghostly form. While her body stayed in a sleep-like state, her astral projection drifted up, across the ceiling and out the dining room, and up to the third floor of the hotel. Scanning the hallway, she found the Sagebrush Suite and entered it, drifting right through the wall, and then past the wall separating the common room from Lupin's bedroom. Lupin was still fast asleep on the bed.
"Lupin?" Zuri called, though her voice produced no sound. (Meanwhile, her body in the dining hall moved slightly.) Concerned now, she drifted over to him, and then floated right through him. When she drifted through his head though, something hard hit her. It felt like she rammed her head right into a wall. Upon the "impact", her consciousness faded back, flowing back into the dining hall and into her body.
Gasping, Zuri blinked her eyes and adjusted back to being in her body. It was still an odd sensation, forcing an out-of-body experience on herself. She still had a bit of a headache, and rubbed her head a bit before speaking.
"That is so odd. That's the third time I ran into a barrier while projecting. What did Merlin say about those barriers? And why would one appear at..." She blinked again, having momentarily forgotten that Iraal was still there. "Oh, I digress. It's just that... well, astral projection involves separating the soul from the body, sending it out to explore both the physical and astral planes. This isn't making any sense to you, is it. It's just... strange. Anyway, I'm not sure if Lupin will be joining us, as I couldn't wake him up. He's still alive, I checked, but... something's just not right with him. I hit a strange barrier when I tried to go near him. Usually when a barrier like that appears, it means... there's some sort of disruption in the surrounding psychic energies. ...That didn't make any sense to you either I bet... but why would such a disruption appear near the mountains? I... wonder..." Her voice trailed off into space.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Professional Recluse
Katya
"Indeed. I admit I have been wondering what it is you and your group do. No attack intended, but you do not seem like the exalted worker profile."
She picked up her tray and followed the pair. Wolfe was nervous, she'd seen it before the smile. In a way she preferred rarer joy, she didn't trust people who smiled too much, it seemed too false. Teri was more upbeat but she found the girl more naturally cheerful than acting.
She leaned in closer to Wolfe as they walked. ""Something worries you, your business is your own. But need I be concerned?" She trusted him more than most but survival depended on knowledge and action as much as luck.
edited 8th Feb '16 9:31:50 PM by Slysheen
Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
[Grand Hotel (Room 204)]
Gah. Shit.
Scents wasn't exactly proud or anything to admit it, but her strongest reaction to this development was relief. This looked like it was going way outside her usual field of expertise - or even more so than the rest of this place, anyway.
Still, while she had only ever had the briefest training at handling emotional trauma (it wasn't really the sort of thing her particular jobs specialized in), she knew she couldn't just say nothing here. "Yeah, it's no problem," she told James. "I should join the doc soon - I don't like letting her get out of sight for long, and not just because of duty - but any decent person would spare at least a moment to help."
She walked to the open door and stuck her head out, one eye peering in the direction that John had run off. "Is he going to be all right?"
[Grand Hotel (Dining Hall)]
Iraal opened her mouth to ask what Zuri wanted her to wait for, then paused and shut it, silently, as the barely-visible form drifted out. She proceeded to do the same thing more than once over the course of the ensuing conversation, just barely managing to get out a "W-what?" on one occasion before the next bizarre statement threw her mind into turmoil again. There was certainly no amount of social interaction software suitable for something like this!
The waiter came by with a plate of small, irregularly-shaped brown nuts and set them in front of her, but she barely noticed.
Finally, as Zuri stopped speaking, she managed to calm herself. She'd already heard about some of the strange properties of Zuri's reality; trying to analyze them now would be a massive distraction and generally inconvenient, but she shouldn't be disturbed - or at least, allow herself to be disturbed again - by seeing them in action. It just wasn't professional.
One thing had stood out to her more than any of the rest, though. She wasn't certain if it was a true insight or just a guess, but:
"The mountains?" she repeated. "According to my information, that's also in the general direction of this 'Dead God.'"
She drew herself up straight. This might be an opportunity...
"Zuri, how would you like to go on an adventure?"
Paladin of Light
[Hotel - Kaito, Chisa, Trinity, Recon]
Now that everyone had decided on going to breakfast, Kaito followed after Trinity; coming to walk at Chisa's side on their way down to the main floor. Even though she was out of immediate danger since they had arrived last night, the young agent still instinctively thought it would be a good idea to stay by the young lady's side.
Kaito felt his stomach churn, he definitely had worked up an appetite for some well deserved, and well made food. Recon's prediction had indeed been correct; there were eggs, bacon, toast—the whole nine yards. This place certainly wasn't stingy and it showed. He made a quick pass by several places, choosing a good array of food.
Once he felt his plate was full enough, Kaito came up to Trinity, "Thank you very much for being so generous, but honestly; I could most definitely help pay for at least half, if not for you and the young lady." he stated generously. The young man was not one to let others pay completely for things, especially when it came to meals for more than just himself, plus, by all rights, being the initial care-taker of the girl, allowed him at least that much. He at least wanted to put it out there to show his gratitude.
Mountain Pass
Having never been granted a tent, Blair and Roscoe had fallen asleep near the campfire, beside a small pile of arrows. They were indeed fully-fledged arrows now; twelve in total. They were both hoping that would be enough.
Blair was perfectly accustomed to sleeping on the ground. Roscoe, who was less so, had curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. Anyone who had observed them before they woke would have found them as such. They had stayed up late into the night, but kept to themselves, saying nothing and indeed hardly sharing a thought.
As the others emerged from their tents, however, they would find only Roscoe at the campfire, doing her best to comb out her thick brown hair using only her fingers. The items in her pack had been placed there for exploring, not for an extended stay. Her lover’s curiosity had rubbed off on her a bit, but she also wanted to be back at home with her usual comforts. Her kind were not cut out for general outdoorsing.
She watched silently as the others gathered, offering a warm smile and nod to Suela, Brin, Cyrus, Kito, and Hoshi as she saw them. Not everyone seemed cheerful. A bit of small talk commenced, which Roscoe expected. She did not expect the turn things took when Brin first offered her apology. She took note of everything that occurred, including the sight of Cyrus’ eyes in gold, and quietly hoped the discussion would pass before Blair returned.
But since Miyuki was away from the group and Blair was already on his way back, she doubted that would be the case. And indeed, Blair appeared amidst a thicket of trees, having gone out to venture among the plant life when the sun rose. The cool air gave him an actual reason to be wearing a coat. He was of the opinion that the others had gotten up too late. Roscoe begged to differ.
Aaah. I love the pleasant sense of tension on a bright blue morning. Not really.
Roscoe glanced back at him. In the bright daylight it was easier to see how pale Blair’s skin really was, but the faint coloration of his irises was less intimidating. You’d better hope they don’t turn on you.
Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m not in the mood for drama. Yet.
He was carrying a large bundle wrapped in cloth; after sitting next to Roscoe, he placed the bundle down and let the cloth flutter to the sides, revealing a large assortment of berries. They were all safe to eat; having grown up in a forest, Blair’s sense of which plants were poisonous and which weren’t was one that never failed him.
“Anyone for berries?” he asked lightly as he picked up a bunch, poured some into Roscoe’s hands, and ate a few himself before stepping around to massage Roscoe’s shoulders.