Crazy Kiwi
Southern Desert, near the mine
[Maya, Amy, Connie, Joseph and Aubrey]"Follow me, adventurers!" That devil-may-care, almost enthusiastic, attitude in the face of adversity was what had annoyed Aubrey most about his previous travelling companions - they had treated being lost in a vast unknown forest inhabited by bears and wolves as if it were a jolly romp in the park. Now, however, it was familiar and reassuring; a sure sign of hope and confidence. Aubrey could now appreciate the importance of remaining cheerful; of not succumbing to despair. "Thou shalt be of cheerful countenance at all times, even though thy face be unwashed and thy beard unshaven"' - one of the Ten Commandments for Survivors, quoted on numerous occasions on his earlier "adventure".
Maya signed something that Aubrey couldn't understand. From Amelia's reaction, it was some sort of playful insult or gibe.
Joseph started explaining where he came from and Aubrey listened intently. Earth? Of 1992? Surely that couldn't be right - if there were lizard-men wandering around Earth in 1992, people he had met from that era would have mentioned it. Suddenly finding oneself transported to another world seemed "normal" enough - Aubrey had experienced it first-hand - but so frequently?
Then Aubrey had an epiphany. What Joseph had said about different planets or dimensions resonated with something he had heard speculated upon, but had dismissed as being unlikely - the possibility of other "parallel universes". Perhaps Joseph came from a different "Earth", one that did have lizard-men in the nineteen-nineties, rather than the "Earth" he and the others had come from. If so, this would be the greatest discovery in years!
"I understand about being transported to another world," he said when Joseph had finished talking. "I was on my way to dine at the Gresham after work one evening and suddenly found myself in the middle of the wilderness lying beside a river, and apparently no time had elapsed by my watch. I was almost instantly found by others who had all met the same fate, all from different points in Earth's history - it was very confusing. Later, we discovered that we weren't on Earth at all; that we had been transported to another planet. I've since met many others who have experienced the same thing, but I must say I have never before now met someone to whom it has happened more than once."
Waiting on Lady T before I post for the Northern Desert
edited 21st Oct '16 1:19:03 PM by Wolf1066
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Cynthia, Rin, Davey)
"Oh," Cynthia stopped what she was doing, and closed the pack back up, "I guess that's good to hear. Except for your clothes, I guess..." She frowned slightly, wishing she could help Davey out. She gave him a courteous head nod when Rin introduced her, "I'm probably not going to be staying here overnight, though I do have business to attend to in the area."
Shouldering the pack, she fiddled around with her gauntlet, the lone piece of armor clicking as plates of metal bumped against each other. She looked at Davey, blinking her solitary green eye at him. Blood stained clothes and matted fur aside, the furry man was certainly an unusual individual, and conveyed a sense of huggable adorableness to her.
[Southern Desert]
As they walked, Amy turned around, seeing Maya was still near her.
"You think Grandma will believe me when I tell her all of this?" Amy asked.
Nah. Maya signed, She'll think you're telling a huge story. It's best that we don't tell her and make something else. Like we flew to Georgia for a while and stayed the night.
Amy frowned. "You're right. Sad I won't be able to tell her about Davey..." she then hugged herself, "Oh, I can't wait to see him again! I'm gonna give the biggest hug ever!"
You're not gonna lift him off the ground like a stuff animal again, right?
"That was just a one time thing! I'll give a proper hug this time!" She then gasped, "Ooh! Maybe I can fly him over to my house so he can meet grandma! Then she'll believe me!"
Maya blinked. That's a terrible idea. Not only you will you scare her half to death, but I doubt Davey would like that at all. Besides, he needs to be with Connie and whoever this Rip guy is. We can't just take him away from that.
Amy frowned again. "You're right...but I'll be sure to visit him whenever I can!" She then looked ahead, and her eyes widened, "Our plane! There it is!"
She grabbed Maya's arm and rushed to it. The plane had two seats, but they were wide enough to fit in more than two people, like Amy had said earlier.
"Tadaaa!" she said, "Pick your seats, friends! Be sure to buckle up!"
edited 22nd Dec '16 12:43:45 AM by Masterofchaos
[Mountain Trail: Wagon (Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Oswald)]
Scents had more than sharp enough hearing to pick up on Nemaforte's comments to Oswald, but she settled for giving her a stare (recognizable only by the direction the helmet was pointing in) and an ear-twitch that reflected more amusement than anything else (which wasn't recognizable to the others at all). Family pet? Really? Really??
She also half-wondered how it was Nemaforte was already starting to think of the rest of the party as 'family', but really, she'd given up trying to figure the small witch out. Every time she came up with some good explanation, like the stuff about her past, there were also way too many new questions.
Although.
"Uh, hey, respect, but is anyone else kinda uncomfortable with her dispersing herbs after that last story?" she asked the humans, giving a particular glance to Gwion, who reminded her most of herself from what little she knew of them. Another thought occurred: her own armor filtered the mist out, but Iraal wasn't wearing anything. "Doc?"
Iraal, for her part, was paying absolutely no attention to anyone else in the wagon. The minute the strange, vaguely aquatic form of the rising Dead God - now clearly indicated to be some kind of ship, not just an archaeotech wreck - became visible over the mountains, she had moved to the robot and opened one of its storage compartments, removing a pair of pale red multisensor hemispheres which she placed over her glasses, one for each eye. They snapped into place with an audible click at the same time as they linked with her neural software. So set, she stood up - easily keeping her balance despite the horses' fast pace - and watched the ancient construct rise into the sky with rapt interest. Her own senses, independent of the data flow, seemed to be operating with unusual focus.
"It's closer to an ammonite than a cephalopod, but there is definitely a possibility of the Archon Lineage," she said out loud to no one in particular. "It's truly a loss to science that we were not able to get any closer."
Scents sighed at her charge, then returned her attention to Nemaforte and especially Oswald, who looked to be in a bad place emotionally.
[Southern Desert ~ Heading North] (Connie, Joseph, Amy, Aubrey, Maya)
Joseph nodded slowly in recognition as Aubrey described his own experience and the others he has met in the same situation. "Yep..." he murmured, almost to himself, "sounds all too familiar." Speaking a little louder, he added, "I've met a few people who've had it happen more than once, but none like me. For me, it never stops. I go a day, maybe two if I'm lucky, and then somehow I'm somewhere else, with nothing but the clothes on my back." He let out a short and somewhat bitter laugh, "I've probably left my personal belongings across like ten different 'worlds', or whatever you wanna call them. Maybe I should start writing 'Joe was here' on everything I own."
He tried to smile it off, as if he had his head on straight and none of it really bothered him. The best he could manage was looking like he kinda had to sneeze, so he turned his head away entirely until he could get himself under control.
A little ways up ahead, Connie had drifted back slightly closer to Aubrey and Joseph, discreetly shooting them sideways glances now and again as she listened in.
"Hey, uh..." Joseph was looking at Aubrey again, "can I ask you something? It's... I mean, I don't want to press if it's one of those things you wouldn't discuss, but I was wondering: back in the mine, in that room," he paused for a moment, hesitating and searching for an eloquent, nuanced way to phrase a question. "What was it like, being in there? Being stuck in there?"
Before Connie (or Joseph) could hear the response, they had, in short order, reached Amy and Maya's nebulously-parked aircraft. She left lizard and man alone for the time being and rejoined the other two girls, pocketing her hands and looking over the plane.
"So this is her, huh?" she said, tipping her head one way and the other as though she were giving the plane a serious evaluation. As though she knew the first thing about evaluating planes. "And this thing does fly, correct? The engine isn't going to break down right after we take off, right? Barring anything like that, I guess the seating arrangements you talked about earlier should do fine, at least so long as Maya and the guys don't mind cuddling a bit."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Cynthia, Rin)
A small smile formed beneath Davey's whiskers. He shook his head, "Oh, no no. And I'm not actually an-" he paused, and decided to save himself the trouble of explaining that he wasn't actually an otter, and all the trouble that that explanation entailed. "Oh well, never mind it," he said, waving the thought off with a small paw-like hand before composing himself and taking a quick bow, "David Harkness, at your service, at your pleasure."
He glanced briefly at the front door, then back at the two women, his tail sweeping in the opposite direction each time. He tilted his head slightly, saying, "May I ask, if you don't mind, how you wound up here if you weren't looking for a place to stay?"
this place needs me here
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Northern Desert - South of Ritual Site (Lupin, Yamiko, Mari, James, Kris, Kaitlyn)
Yamiko laughed right along with Kris and Mari at Vicky's confusion of the term "pissed". Even without telepathy, she knew what the term meant just from the context. She sighed to calm herself, and felt dizzy and a bit nauseated all of a sudden. Once again she felt that same feeling of being disconnected from reality, of everything flowing in a wave-like motion... and just before she closed her eyes, she quietly snickered at how green the horses looked, as if they were ten times as nauseated as she was. She knew the nausea was due to the sake, as she hadn't really felt it before drinking it.
Guess that's what I get for drinking on an empty stomach...
Just in case, she reached into her purse and pulled out a tissue (she always carried a pack of them around, given how stupidly easy it was to make her cry), for now just stuffing it into the space between her underwhelming breasts.
Lupin had been slightly amused at James having told him to mount the horse from the left side, when Yamiko had done so from the right. He knew that this was the reason why when automobiles were invented, the British and all colonies thereof drove on the left side of the road while nearly everyone else drove on the right. He listened to the talk about Vicky with a bit of disdain, remembering how Vicky had a habit of being a showoff (and a loud one at that). Was this how she would have also behaved had the three of them not been kicked off the wagon?
He glanced behind at the mountains as if out of longing... but a sight there surprised him. Some very large, alien, shelled creature was rising up from there. There didn't seem to be much of an aura about it - if anything, more like an anti-aura, seeking to draw all magic in and nullify it.
So that's the Dead God... I wish I could remember what Merlin said about the "aura" about Nightfright... could it be similar to this? A sense of dread suddenly filled him. In all the students' talk about Nightfright, they had never actually seen him - he was just a mysterious entity looming in the background. Would he, too, rise at some point and lock the world in a nightmare? At the very least, though, the rising of the Dead God didn't seen to affect anything all the way out here.
These thoughts of Lupin's found their way into Yamiko's head in her heightened state of psychic awareness... the Dead God? Rather than physically looking behind, she read in Lupin's mind how he saw it... it looked kind of like an enormous ammonite, or perhaps a space nautilus. As she focused on the image, she felt a ringing in her ears, growing ever louder until it caused the whole of her inner vision to turn white. She felt even more dizzy, and covered her ears while keeping her eyes shut tight.
She had forgotten that she was sitting on a saddle, and thus soon found herself tipping right over. Panicking, she opened her eyes and caught the other side of the saddle just in time to avoid falling off the horse. She even managed to catch her foot in the stirrup and push herself right back up. When she did, she realized that her nose had gone runny, but when she pulled out a tissue to wipe it, she realized that she had a nosebleed. And then for some reason she snickered, and then slumped in her seat and got a better grip on the saddle when her dizziness returned.
Northern Desert - Approaching Town (Vicky)
Vicky was thoroughly enjoying her flight, and finding it surprisingly easy to concentrate on it. As she went further and further along, she began to feel as if she was flying through a warp, akin to the light-speed travel experienced by characters in many a sci-fi. She was also aware how greenish the landscape looked, which momentarily startled her. She felt herself suddenly starting to drop, but she quickly re-focused and lifted herself higher. From doing research for the report she wrote on telekinetic phenomena, she knew that stronger forms of psychokinesis were the result of either a powerful supernatural entity, or the product of profound discipline and focus. She knew the latter was true - self-levitation was one of the first things she practiced upon obtaining her powers, even though it was technically an advanced skill.
In fact, she soon found out that lowering herself closer to the ground actually made flying easier - which to her made sense, as if the ability was aura-based, such aural forces would be able to "bounce" right off of those coming from the sagebrush and smaller weeds scattered about the desert and the occasional lizard or rattlesnake hiding within them - or even the ground itself. Since these thoughts were relative to the subject, she was still able to focus on flying despite it, despite the heat and pressure slowly building up in her head. It was as if her brain was an engine powering one of those little hover drones that had been all over the news lately.
Although she occasionally had to swerve out of the way of a rock formation, the desert was mostly flat, and soon enough she had left the horses behind completely. When she spotted the town in the distance, she lifted herself up a little higher and then extended her dominant arm forward - predictably, this caused her to lose a few feet of height, bringing her back to the level she was at before. But it also caused her to move a bit faster, as if her hand had a magnetic attraction to the town itself.
Anyone along the northern border of town, including at the train station, will likely be able to spot Vicky approaching from a distance, hovering a meter or two off the ground.
edited 22nd Oct '16 7:05:22 PM by ladytanuki
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.
[Southern Desert (Plane)]
Maya almost aggressively signed something, but quickly stopped herself. Instead of risking going into another argument, she closed her eyes, clapped her hands together, and took a deep breath. Then she exhaled and looked at Connie in the face.
It's fine. she signed. You will be fine. Amy and I have been doing this for years. Don't worry about it, ok? Just focus on finally being in a safe place...semi safe place.
Amy nodded with a bright smile. "Righty, my co-pilot! Remember my story back in the hotel? If anything happens, Maya will be there to help! Now, pick your seats! We're on a time limit, after all! Who knows when the kidnappers and Omar might come back? Let's hurry!"
She was the first to get inside the plane, heading to the wheel. Instantly, she put on her goggles and helmet, then buckled up. She left enough room for the next person to sit next to her.
Maya sat in the backseat, also putting down her goggles and helmet. She realized that they didn't have any spares for the others, but figured it wasn't too much of a big deal. No one was gonna fall off or lose the ears, after all. She also made sure she made room for the others.
Crazy Kiwi
Mountain Trail: Wagon
[Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Oswald, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]Wolfe eyed the contraption that Nemaforte assembled with some suspicion - he'd seen the effects of her herbs before and wasn't at all thrilled or reassured by her description of the herb. Incense? He hoped so, but then again Nemaforte had demonstrated a casual attitude to seriously mind-bending drugs and her idea of "incense" could be anything short of "causes you to see things that aren't there". Considering the broad category of "relaxants" included alcohol and marijuana and the "herbal sticks" that he, Teri and Gwion had been using contained nicotine - albeit not a psychotropic drug, but hardly "harmless" - he had reservations about being subjected to whatever influences this "incense" might have.
As the mist began to spill from the device in a clearly visible sheet he moved to get out of its way and avoid inhaling it, noticing that Teri and Gwion were doing the same. Obviously they shared his concerns.
Scents also voiced concerns and asked if they were uncomfortable with the dispersing of unknown herbs.
Gwion actively vaulted off the side of the wagon and landed at a jog to keep pace with the wagon - fortunately there was a maximum speed it could maintain on the narrow rutted trail and he was easily able to keep pace.
Teri, for her part, held her breath and bent down into the mist so that she could turn the knob to the "off" position. When she surfaced, she noticed Iraal staring in the direction of the ridge and turned her own gaze in the same direction. "Fuck a duck!"
Wolfe turned at Teri's startled exclamation and looked to see what she was staring at, just in time to hear Iraal's assessment. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a shame we're not already further away!"
Gwion was too busy keeping his footing and choosing his path on the uneven ground beside the trail to pay any attention to what they were looking at.
"It don't look very fucking 'dead' to me," said Teri, staring up at the rising vessel. A movement out of the corner of her eye attracted her attention to Gwion jogging and jumping alongside the wagon. "S'alright, I've switched it off, you can get back onto the wagon now."
Already the stream of mist was diminishing as the vapouriser cooled.
Gwion grabbed the low side of the wagon and performed an effortless vault that brought him back on board. Then he was able to turn his attention to the sight of the badly-named "Dead God" rising up into the sky. It looked huge even at this distance and Gwion fervently hoped that they were far enough away to avoid whatever destruction the thing was capable of unleashing.
Southern Desert —> Plane
[Connie, Joseph, Amy, Maya, Aubrey]"...somewhere else, with nothing but the clothes on my back." Aubrey could certainly relate to that. When it had happened to him, he was dressed for a London December with only a few shillings and pence in cash, watch, cigarette case and matches and a fully-loaded "Bull Dog" in his pockets. Because of that experience, he he had taken to carrying a number of useful items - a "Personal Survival Kit", if you will - on his person at all times. Of which, the only thing his abductors hadn't taken from him was the small wad he had hidden in the heel of his shoe.
Joseph asked what it was like being trapped in the underground room but before Aubrey could answer, they arrived at the "plane". Sure enough, it was some sort of aeroplane; Aubrey had seen enough examples in photographs and movies to determine that much. It looked smaller than he had expected but certainly large enough to fit the five of them. The thought that soon they would be able to speed away from this place - and thus avoid an encounter with his abductors - filled Aubrey with a profound sense of relief.
As they approached the "plane", Aubrey turned his attention to Joseph's question. "I felt totally lost and bereft of power. I was entirely at the mercy and whim of my abductors - I've never felt so helpless in all my life. Compared with that, as scary as it was making the swim through the tunnel, that was as nothing to being locked in that room in the dark, never knowing if they would kill me or not or if they would return with more food and water. It's better to face a danger on your feet than to be helpless." He looked at Joseph. "Now, if I may ask, given the number of times you've found yourself transported, have you ever considered carrying things on you at all times that may make life easier when you suddenly find yourself somewhere else?"
Amelia echoed Aubrey's thoughts about getting away before the mysterious kidnappers could return and asked everyone to hurry before clambering into the front seat of the plane. Maya got into the back and Aubrey stood back to let Constance and Joseph have their choice of seats.
Northern Desert - en route to town
[Lupin, Yamiko, Mari, Kris, Kaitlyn, James]From her position at the rear of the procession, Kaitlyn was ideally placed to see Lupin look towards the mountains and then suddenly fix on something he saw there. She followed his gaze and saw the thing rising up into the air above the range. It must have been quite large to be clearly visible at this distance. "Hey guys! I think I've found the 'Dead God'."
James and Kris both turned and looked in the direction of the mountains. Sure enough, there was something there. James produced a brass-bodied telescope from his haversack and directed it at the thing to get a better look. There was something about it and the way it effortlessly lifted itself into the air that filled James with dread. And the others are near that thing! He hoped that his companions and the others would get safely away - Zuri's sudden demise was already one too many.
Kris noticed Yamiko's sudden slumping and looked back to check on her. Yamiko managed to steady herself but her nose was bleeding and she didn't look well. Kris considered calling a stop to tend to her but decided that it would probably be better to get everyone back to town, safely out of the desert. After all, Yamiko might need the services of a doctor.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Desert Trail - Wagon (Nemaforte, Oswald, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion)
Nemaforte could definitely sense much regret and weariness in his aura. As well as something else - something almost fatalistic, the same sort of feeling Zuri had about her prior to her death. Death in general didn't faze her much, even when Oswald mentioned it - even when he implicitly mentioned Zuri, since she did not have the emotional capacity to mourn for her. If anything, she grinned a slight bit, even though she was not able to understand part of what Oswald actually said.
"Most people do become emotional over the death of someone. Seeming it is only me who can forget. Zuri's fate was beyond my magic, but what will you do with the life you are now given? Seeming the curse that harmed you before lingers in your mind. To heal it might simply take... time."
Nemaforte hadn't paid attention to what the others were saying, but was interrupted by Gwion landing in the wagon. Did he just decide to jump up and down in there, or what? But Nemaforte's confusion was soon resolved when she saw the same sort of aura around all of them that Iraal had earlier just after screaming. She also noticed that her vaporizer had been turned off, and saw traces of the magical energies given off by the herb dissipating. Even in her altered state of mind she could put two and two together.
"Seeming you do not like relaxing," she joked to all of them. "You act like I was boiling drakima root." Here she uttered a small mirthless chuckle. "Why do you all dwell on life's little griefs..." Her voice trailed off as she stood right next to the vaporizer and faced the back of the wagon.
"Sorpiri-naya!"
Abruptly she pushed outward with her palms, and when she did, a gust of wind pushed all remaining traces of the herbal mist out of the wagon and up into the air, so it didn't blow in the face of the pack horse.
Afterward, she disassembled the vaporizer and was about to place it back in her bag... but decided to keep it out and bring it with her when she sat next to Oswald, who looked like he might actually need the relaxing and focusing effects of the herb.
"Maybe not to forget, but to set aside, could help the healing," she said to him. "It will seem not doable, but you need to try to sleep, or to calm the worries in your mind while in this wagon. I can promise that no harm shall come to you."
She was still holding the vaporizer which was still switched off, but which could still easily be smelled at a very close distance. Even Nemaforte, though on top of being under the influence of the Mushroom of Time, could feel its calming and mind-clearing effects.
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.
Drummer Boy
[Alliance Lab]
<we noticed that the computers in these labs tend to be difficult to deal with. not sure why. but nymue hasn't found any malware or anything, so at least there's that>
Arthur watched the progress bar creep towards completion. This was so straightforward. Unlike the time he and Galahad almost got clobbered by a falling light because they were too busy arguing to see it coming. Unlike the time Merlin punched a computer Nymue was trying to get data off of because he was pissed at Lancelot again.
Wow, it was actually kind of nice not having them around. No Merlin or Galahad to fuck everyone over with their lone wolf bullshit. Nymue could hack everything remotely and she was a lot less annoying on a screen than she was in person. Lancelot could keep out of the way. And Gwen could just relax.
No, wait, that was stupid. This was exactly what that made Merlin and Galahad such liabilities. They needed to watch each others' backs and all that. And hey, things weren't always bad. In fact, they used to be pretty good. Until they decided to side with the aliens. The aliens they had never even met. By throwing away their chances of seeing their families again. Or in Merlin's case, forcing him to side with those who had killed his family.
All right, so it was understandable that everyone was on edge. Arthur included. They had discussed this already. Many times. And it never went anywhere. Team morale got worse by the day. Sometimes Arthur even wondered if he or Gwen would be the first to get in a disagreement and get murdered in the heat of the moment. He knew it was stupid. They hadn't been stuck long enough for anyone to get that crazy. But he couldn't help but think about it.
Just... how were they fucking up this hard?
Maybe the Alliance was right. This project was made to be temporary. It'd be easier to turn a paper plane into a spaceship than make Unit Psi into a reliable team.
God, and there he was again, dwelling on it and wallowing in self-pity. He almost wanted to take off his helmet and smack himself.
File transfer complete. We're almost done. It's going to be okay. Arthur disconnected from the lab computer and started going through the files on his tablet. Just a cursory glance to see what this particular lab was all about.
... no way.
<anyone here familiar with portal technology? it's okay if you're not, i think i can figure this out. we've found blueprints for the machines and stuff at other labs, but it looks like we may have found the testing facility>
The tablet suddenly emitted a flood of complicated holographic diagrams and calculations. They seemed to make some sense to Arthur, who was scanning them carefully.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[alliance lab]
Arthur had begun to watch the progress bar as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. Tsadro walked around the side of the terminal, finding that his hunch was right. The kid's eyes had that distant look in them again. And he was too late to determine if Arthur had gotten the hint from his stare, or if he was merely responding to his tablet.
"Portal technology? Are you saying there's a portal machine inside? What needs to be done with it?"
He glanced at the tablet... those were not maps. Whoever directed this lab must have gotten complacent to allow equipment schematics onto a security terminal. Tsadro moved next to what he thought was the way to the rest of the lab- the other doorway looked like another security room. He glanced down that direction first, then watched Arthur expectantly as he awaited further instructions to move in.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Northern Desert] (Yamiko, Vicky, Lupin, Mari, James, Kris, Kaitlyn)
Upon noticing everyone else looking back, Mari turned her head towards the rising Dead God. Her eyes widened slightly, lip twitching, "Damn, that thing is big." She decided to focus her sensing on the Dead God. Its power extended some distance away from where she saw it, a maelstrom of ominous energy rising into the sky. As she continued to focus on it, a migraine began to form, forcing her to look away.
It needed to be dealt with, in some way, shape, or form. Pulling her relatively large smart phone out of her pocket, she attempted to obtain a signal, any kind of signal, to no avail. "Can never get service when you need it..." she grumbled under her breath as she switched her phone off. Frowning, she resigned herself to simply sitting back and watching the desert landscape.
edited 25th Oct '16 2:46:46 PM by WillDeRegio
[Northeastern Forest ~ Trail to Town (Wagon)] (Oswald, Gwion, Iraal, Nemaforte, Scents, Teri, Wolfe)
Oswald had the stony look of a phlegmatic gargoyle, and some of the features to match. It seemed only his eyes were moving, and even those looked barley alive, weighed down and shrouded by what seemed to be an endlessly growing weariness. Despite his claim to not want sleep, it looked as though he could fade out at any moment, though he clung on to consciousness for the time being.
What managed to break through the weight on his gaze was mostly confusion. Confusion, less for a lack of information and more for an inability to understand. To understand how something could be the way it was. Confusion for Nemaforte. It persisted as she dealt with the lingering vapor, and as she scolded them for dwelling on grief, and as she returned to him, again suggesting that he forget or put aside his worries.
His gaze fell to his hand, resting idly against the wagon floor. It moved slightly, barely more than a twitch, as though daring to spring to life. He raised it slowly, about a half foot off the floor. He let it fall.
"I appreciate the advice." he said a little flatly. And... that's all he said. He let his eyes linger on Nemaforte for a moment longer, then he turned away.
[Southern Desert ~ Heading North (Plane)] (Connie, Joseph, Amy, Maya, Aubrey)
"Yes, I do remember that story," Connie replied, raising her eyebrows slowly/ "As I recall, it involved... uh, what was it...? Oh yeah, the plane broke down in mid flight." She gave them a probing look for a few seconds before letting out a soft tss of a laugh and shaking her head. "It's all right, I'll… I trust you two."
Meanwhile, Joseph found himself staring past the plane, out into the desert and beyond, losing focus as he listened to Aubrey's words. He reached a hand up and brushed the soft side of his clawed finger across his neck, pressing in slightly. It still felt sore; bruised and a little raw from straining. At the time, he'd hardly noticed. Perhaps the sensation had been buried under all of his other pains, or pushed aside in his singly focused drive to escape.
His hand fell back to his side. It wasn't worth mulling over. Aubrey's words were enough.
Snapping back into the here and now, Joe looked up at Aubrey and answered, "Well, I haven't been to home base in what feels like ages. I don't know... half a month, maybe? I've been bouncing from place to place, you know? I'm lucky if there's anywhere nearby where I can stock up. Even luckier if I can manage to keep whatever I get."
He glanced between the plane's two seating options, lingering briefly on the cockpit's control dashboard before shooting a quick look back at his tail. He didn't doubt that he could keep himself very still as the situation called for it, but nonetheless, he didn't fancy the idea of being the one responsible for crashing the plane, even if by honest accident.
Joseph climbed into the back seat of the plane, then faced back towards Aubrey as he continued. "I guess just I never thought it would be worth the effort. I mean, maybe if I kept it all in a bag that I wore literally 24 hours a day. This thing... this thing where I move, I'm still not so great at predicting it. It's hit me in the shower, when I go swimming, in my sleep… y'know, half the time it's all I can do to keep myself fully clothed. I guess you could say it's just a little too idealistic for me, which is kinda sad, but there it is."
While Joe tried to settle himself in—already a little uncomfortable just sitting stationary and sharing a spot with one other person—Connie got into the front alongside Amy, saying, "Guess I'm riding shotgun, if you can call it that." She glanced over at the young pilot and asked, "This doesn't mean I've got a position of responsibility in this thing, does it? I can fly about as well as I can drive sled dogs." She paused for a moment. "Actually, even that's probably overstating it."
Joseph squinted up at the sky above.
"Think it could rain?"
this place needs me here
[Southern Desert]
It already rained earlier. Maya signed, If it happens again, then we're all screwed. Just relax, ok Joesph?
Amy giggled. "Don't worry! I'll handle everything from here!" She playfully squished Connie's cheeks, "Leave it to me! Now, you gotta buckle up." She started the engine, then looked back at the others. "Everybody ready back there?"
Maya gave a thumbs up.
"That's good! Now, don't worry everyone; I've been doing this for years, so I'll be sure to get us to town safely. Buckle up everyone! It's gonna be a little windy!"
Without further ado, she started the plane, and soon, they were in the air, though not too high enough so they couldn't see the town.
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast] (Main Hall) (Davey, Cynthia, Rin)
Well then. So not only did it... Or rather, did he look, dress, talk and act like person, but he also had a normal name, too. Supposed that she could could deal with that easily enough. This was a strange place, after all.
"There was a, um, violent confrontation just outside," said Rin, recalling how badly Cynthia had been beaten and now starting to slightly regret not intervening. "Cynthia was wounded, I escorted her inside and helped her," she concluded, with a slight shrug.
Not entirely dead.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Cynthia, Rin)
Davey nodded in understanding—regrettable understanding—as Rin described the a 'violent confrontation' outside the building. "Yyyeah, there have been handful of those today, haven't there?" he held his arms out and looked down at his bloodied shirt again, "This came about from another 'violent confrontation' while we—myself and the friend I spoke of—were trying to flee the first one; the one you're about, if I assume correctly. An adjacent confrontation, you could say." He shook his head with a weary dismay, "You wouldn't think such a small town could contain so much chaos, but here we are."
He dropped his arms back to his side, falling silent himself at the same time, and leaving the room to a moment of quiet contemplation. His whiskers twitched slightly along with his mouth as looked at Cynthia again, this time more carefully observing her condition. It stirred up a memory from earlier, when he and Irina had mounted her hoverbike and were just pulling away. Davey remembered hearing something that had made him feel sick, even guilty. A fight... or a beatdown. The sound of pain.
His mouth lingered in a half-open stasis for a second or two before he spoke again, looking at Cynthia. "I'm sorry for your terrible misfortune. It seems no noble cause was left unscathed today. But at least we can say, if nothing else, we're all each still in one piece, aren't we? And the situation has calmed itself... for the time being." He heaved a small sigh, and nearly began to rub at his eyes with one of his hands, before getting an up-close reminder of why he'd made a point to avoid touching things since tending to Irina's wound.
Davey glanced up at the second floor for a moment when a thought struck him. "Oh, by the way," he began, "have either of you seen a girl around here? She's a teenager, with uh, dark hair, probably in a bun, and, nnn..." he tried to visualize Connie at breakfast, picturing her clothes, or any other obvious distinction. Ultimately, all he could drum up was, "...wearing a dark shirt?"
this place needs me here
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Cynthia, Davey, Rin)
Cynthia brushed her military tunic off, absentmindedly poking a finger through the tear in the material. "Yeah, I was hurt, but I'm fine now." She listened to Davey while reaching over to pull something out of her pack. She handed a bottle labeled 'Alcohol' over to him. There was an additional handwritten note attached to it, Denatured. Do Not Drink. "You can use this to clean your hands."
Given the description of the person Davey was looking for, Cynthia shook her head, "No, I can't that I have. But, I'm sure she'll turn up." She blinked a few times before continuing, "I'm looking for some people, too. A girl about my height, black hair, blueish eyes, last seen wearing all blue. Goes by the name Minerva."
Crazy Kiwi
Alliance Lab
[Tsadro, Arthur, Peggy, Sophia, Karl, Finn]Sophia and Finn's eyes met and they shared a silent "what the fuck is all this, anyway" look. Arthur seemed to be intent on his computer work and there was not a lot coming from Tsadro. The two self-styled "Mad Bastards" looked even more lost, wandering around the lab - it was strange how they could seem so bewildered by some technology and yet be completely at ease with sophisticated cybernetic prostheses.
Then Arthur asked if anyone knew anything about portal technology. Sophia shook her head - the only portals she knew of were the ones that she and Gwion had used to get to Capital City and then from there to this place. They were like a Personal Office - she knew how to use them and what they could do, but the technology behind them was not her area of expertise.
Karl shook his head in response to Arthur's question. "Portals, yes. The technology, no." If the strange holographic images were anything to go by, he had no desire to know, either.
Peggy tapped him on the arm and indicated Tsadro, who seemed intent on checking out another part of the lab. They moved in his direction.
It seemed to Peggy that they were getting nowhere - sure, they'd found a hidden room with an elaborate means of disguising the entrance, but that just made it even less likely that she and Karl would find what they were seeking in here. Perhaps elsewhere in the upper tunnels they might find something, but down here, in what was sealed away, not a chance.
As far as she was concerned, the sooner they got this place explored and were able to move on, the better.
Just then, her radio buzzed. She took it from her bag and replied. What came back was mostly static with Wolfe's voice scarcely audible - probably due to the distance and the fact that she was underground. She managed to catch a few words - something about him having to abandon the search and return to town - but couldn't make much more sense of it.
"They're giving up?" Karl asked. "Was ist los?"
Peggy shrugged. "No idea. If he said, it was lost in the static."
Plane
[Maya, Amy, Connie, Joseph, Aubrey]Getting into the plane proved tricky with just one hand and a weak leg. Aubrey dropped the now-superfluous metal bar to free up his hand and managed to scramble into the rear seat beside Joseph. He mulled over what Joseph had said about the difficulty of carrying stuff with him. Aubrey had never heard of anyone being transported while they were asleep or even just in the shower - all those he had spoken with had been awake and moving, on their way somewhere. Clearly Joseph's situation was unique. "I see. That certainly makes things extremely difficult.
Amelia started the plane's engine - it reminded Aubrey of the petrol-powered cars he had seen on Earth before he left - and then they were off. As the ground fell away beneath them, Aubrey felt exhilarated. This was like nothing he had ever experienced before and he was too excited by it to feel even slightly scared. Man's conquest of Nature! The power to take to the sky.
Now that he didn't have to worry about attracting the unwanted attention of his abductors - the plane would attract enough attention and there wouldn't be anything his abductors could do about it, anyway - Aubrey started singing the chorus of Fight Song out loud in a pleasant and confident voice.
edited 30th Oct '16 3:22:10 AM by Wolf1066
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Cynthia, Rin)
"Oh," Davey said as he accepted the bottle, looking down at it and turning it over in his hands "how thoughtful. Thank you. I'll get these sparkling yet," he added, raising one of his paw-like hands and wiggling his short, blood-coated fingers. "I don't think I can say the same for my poor shirt though."
Cynthia not seeing Connie was disheartening to say the least, and her blind reassurances did little to alleviate a slowly growing burden in his gut. Since the appearance of tanks at their doorstep and all the commotion it brought with it, he'd been so focused on helping himself and Irina get to safety that he felt now that he'd neglected Connie and her own well-being. And here in the present, the consequence of that neglect was revealing itself. Connie was gone, and to where, in what condition, Davey hadn't the slightest clue.
He found he was barely listening to Cynthia's next words, staring at the distant floor while rummaging through his brain for some kind of plan. However, when he heard the name 'Minerva', he raised his head and his dark eyes lit up. "Minerva? Yes," he nodded slowly, "she was... here."
Davey paused, eyeing Rin and Cynthia, carefully reevaluating them. His free hand slid slowly down his side, coming to rest around his lower back. His nose twitched. "Quite a lot of people seem to be after that girl, why is beyond me." He shook his head, then looked back at Cynthia and spoke in a voice that—while not entirely unfriendly—had a sharp point to it, demanding a response. "So what do you want with her?"
[Southern Desert ~ Flying North (Plane)] (Connie, Joseph, Amy, Maya, Aubrey)
"You're telling me!" Joseph said, just before the plane started up. He made sure he was secure and hunkered inward, anticipating an uncomfortable and hopefully mercifully short plane ride. The seat was actually bigger than he was giving it credit for, but between making space for his tail, being sandwiched by Maya and Aubrey, and his own strong reluctance to invade their respective personal spaces, it was rough going, or rough sitting, as it were.
Within moments, the plane was hurtling forward, and not long after came the unplaceable sensation of the plane lifting off the ground and soaring into the air. Without hardly thinking about it, Connie found herself edging closer to the center of her seat, gripping onto anything she could lay her hands on. Her jaw trembled, but she was at a loss for words, or any other intelligent form of communication. It was all she could do to watch the sky and the increasingly distant desert race by without losing herself completely to the massive, petrifying spectacle of it all.
Joseph, meanwhile, was craning his neck to get a better look off the sides. He had to pull his head back a bit to keep from breathing down either of his co-passenger's necks, which made the whole thing a bit difficult, but it did take his mind off of his discomfort. It took him a few seconds to even realize that Aubrey had started singing. Though he didn't know the song, nor could he make out all the words for the rush of the wind and rumble of the engine, it brought a wide smile to his big mouth to see the man in such high spirits. It was quite a change to go from being locked in a dark, dismal underground space to flying through the air, free as a bird. Well, free as a bird riding on another, freer bird's back.
And there he was, the flying lizard. Mr. Pterodactyl himself. Up in the sky. Up in the weather. He too had made an escape, turned away from the precipice of an unknown doom, now flying high above that danger, back into the hands of safety, a little smarter to boot. Sure he still had problems, big problems, but they didn't involve being held captive, or worse, being dead. There was still time for him to figure it all out. That's what counted.
[Town ~ Main Street (Alley)] (Omar)
Around the corner of the town's largest hotel, standing at the edge of the alleyway, leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette was a man. A man with short blonde hair like freshly mowed grass. A man with dark lines under his eyes. A man who had not slept in the past thirty six hours.
He was engaged in a cycle of interchangeable actions. Take a drag. Check watch. Exhale. Breathe deeply. Look around the corner. Watch the front doors. Watch all the comers and goers. Keep track of the time. Check watch. Take a drag. Look around the corner. Exhale. Watch the front doors. Breathe.
It was getting late. Not so late that he'd miss his mark again, but those he'd left in the shelter would be wondering where he was, why he hadn't returned yet, getting restless. Soon he'd just have to cut his losses and head inside. There had been no sign of either John or James and for all he knew, they could have checked out that morning. The last resort was, of course, asking after them at the front desk, but he preferred not to get so directly re-involved. All he really had to do was see the men to confirm their status. Just one glimpse and he'd be set.
The doors opened. Omar removed his cigarette and held his breath. He watched. He waited.
Some guy with a silly mustache and an older woman stepped out. They were laughing, giggling like a pair of jerks about something altogether trivial and stupid. Omar closed his eyes, letting out his breath. He took a drag.
this place needs me here
[Southern Desert-Heading to town]
The sensation of being in the sky was thrilling. The wind blowing through both of the girls hair, the smell of the fresh air, the sight of the slowing lowering sun...it was the most amazing feeling in the world. And now everyone got to experience the joy of flying,
Then Amy glanced over to Connie, who seemed to have the complete opposite reaction. Now Connie's nervousness about earlier made sense; the poor girl was possibly scared of heights.
Amy put a comforting hand on Connie's shoulder.
"It'll be ok!" she said loudly, hoping she would hear her; without headsets like other pilots, it was hard to hear each other with wind loudly blowing in their ears. "We're almost to town! Don't you worry! Just close your eyes!" She giggled, "The first time is always the scariest, but you'll get used to it eventually!"
Amy looked down, and sure enough, she could see the town coming up from under the plane. She began to slowly descend, trying to find a nice parking place right by the town. Soon, she found it; right next to the town entrance. It wouldn't be too much of a walk to get to Bed and Breakfast or the other hotel.
She turned off the plane engine, and happily turned to everyone. "We're here! Watch you step when you walk out, ok?"
[Hotel-Main Street]
It was getting late.
Some people decided to go upstairs, others decided to leave the hotel. Only a handful of people—including John and James—remained in the lobby.
Pancake was sitting on John's lap, purring as John scratched her chin. James was looking down at the ground, seemingly lost in thought. This, of course, got John's attention.
"You ok?" he asked, snapping James back to reality.
"Hmm?" James said, "Oh. Y-Yeah...I'm fine. I just, uh...was thinking."
John quirked an eyebrow, "Is something bothering you? Look, we're out of the desert, and the tanks are gone. We're fine now. We can relax; just the two of us."
"I know that, but that's not what I'm thinking of." James frowned heavily, "Before Joesph vanished...the last conversation we had was me snapping at him over a joke. He left when I was still pissed at him. I didn't get the chance to apologize to him. I...I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye."
John frowned. "Me neither. I had all these plans for us to do and then he just left. It wasn't his fault, but just...no matter what Omar said, I still worry. What if he's out there, scared and alone? I just wish I could at least have some clue that he's alright. I miss our son..."
Pancake squeaked.
Neither men said a word for a full minute. Then, James stood and stretched.
"You want to try that walk again?" he asked, "I feel like we both need it."
John blinked, before smiling softly, "Spending time with you would be the best."
"Aww, don't get all sappy on me."
John stood up as well, letting Pancake climb onto his right shoulder, "Oh, you walked right into that one!"
Both of the men laughed, before giving each other a quick kiss. After that, they walked outside and began to step away from the hotel.
As they were about to corner, John looked up, and once he saw Omar in the alley, his eyes widened, "Omar?"
James looked in that direction as well, blinking. "Well, I'll be damned. I thought you already left the Frontier; what are you doing back so soon?"
Crazy Kiwi
Plane —> Town
[Maya, Amy, Connie, Joseph, Aubrey]The town, viewed from the air, was nothing like Aubrey had expected but it definitely fit in with the vast expanse of desert over which they were flying. Back on Earth, he had seen photographs of American frontier and prospecting towns and the buildings that were rapidly approaching had that very look about them. For the first time, Aubrey began to doubt that contacting Pearl would be a simple matter of locating a phone, telegraph or radio.
The flight was over remarkably quickly, such was the speed with which they were able to cover the distance, and it wasn't long before Amelia brought the aeroplane in to land within easy walking distance of the town centre.
From ground level, the similarity to the photographs was even stronger. Aubrey was able to identify a train station, a bank, something that just had to be a saloon, a livery stable and a variety of shops. The main street was made of dirt and quite wide and the whole place had the look of a Western United States town of his own era.
What is this place? Where am I? Aubrey climbed out of the seat and carefully made his way to the ground. Wherever he was, at least there were facilities here he could use. He was mindful that he was unshod and half naked and he needed to address these problems.
Given the alien nature of the town, he was unsure of whether or not the money he clenched in his fist would be accepted here, so it seemed that the bank - as loath as he was to enter such a place in his current state - might be the best place to start. The bank should be able to confirm his money was good here or exchange it for local currency if it wasn't.
As strange as he found the town, it was a relief after the mine and the desert. Civilisation: clothes, food, cigarettes and more - perhaps even a telegraph office. Undoubtedly there would be some sort of law enforcement here and he would be able to report his abduction to the local authorities.
He turned to the others. "I cannot possibly repay the debt I owe all of you for rescuing me, but if my funds allow I can at least buy dinner and drinks." And if £5 wasn't enough to get him properly outfitted and pay for the meal, Aubrey would be very much surprised.
[Town ~ Main Street (Alley)] (Omar, James, John, Pancake)
Omar pulled back into the alleyway a bit, allowing himself a few precious seconds of shuteye. He was wasting time, and probably being more careful than was needed. The situation was sensitive, but this far along it was unlikely that the two men would pose any serious threat to it's success, and he himself would have to blunder in a big way for either of them to feel the need to interfere. And, hell, even then, he would have to go out of his way to leave a trail of breadcrumbs for the two to follow back to the cave. Plus, as a last resort, he could always lock the door. But now he was planning for circumstances that would never happen.
He let out his breath, followed by a short, muffled cough. All he would do was step into the hotel, approach the front desk, ask after John and James, and leave with whatever answer he got. He opened his eyes slightly and began placing his near-spent cigarette back in his mouth.
"Omar?"
Omar's eyes flew open. He clamped down hard on the cigarette. Of course the one minute out of the past fifty that he hadn't spent staunchly watching the doors and streets for the two men would be the precise minute that the two men appeared. A watched pot never boils, he thought grudgingly, but let your eyes wander and it'll erupt.
Pulling himself together, he tossed the short remains of his cigarette down at his feet and stubbed it with his boot. At the same time, he turned to the two men and wrenched his mouth into what seemed like an easy smile.
"Hello again," he said, nodding to each of them, "John, James. Ah, no, I wasn't planning on leaving entirely— not yet, anyhow. I just had other business to look after. Can't frolic about all day."
He raised his fingers to his mouth for a forgetful moment, before withdrawing them and asking, "Enjoying your afternoon? Free of your burdens, I hope?"
[Southern Desert ~ Near Town (Plane)] (Connie, Joseph, Amy, Maya, Aubrey)
Connie kept more or less the same level of composure throughout the rest of the flight. She tried responding to Amy's reassurance while the wind whipped her hair about her face, but her voice was inaudible, and her words didn't add up to much anyway.
As they began to descend for the landing, Connie clenched her teeth, tensed her muscles, and squinted her eyes until they were shut.
The landing was pretty smooth considering it wasn't done on a real designated strip. The engine cut out and Connie could hear the sound of the others unbuckling and shuffling out of their seats. It wasn't until she felt a soft tapping on her shoulder that she opened her eyes.
"Connie?"
It was Joseph, peering at her with one of his big, curious eyes. "We've- uh, we've touched down, you know."
She glanced from him to the surrounding desert and the nearby town, as if she needed to confirm his words for some reason. "Yeah," she nodded, "Yeah, thanks Joe. Just give me a minute, you go ahead."
"Need any help getting out?" he asked, pulling back and tilting his head slightly.
"I got myself in fine, I'll get myself out fine."
Joe paused for a moment, then shrugged and climbed out of the plane. Once grounded, he took a moment to flex his cramped limbs, heaving a long sigh of relief. He turned his attention to Audrey as the man expressed his gratitude and desire to repay them. Joe's first inclination was to politely decline, because it almost always was, but a faint churning in his stomach raised its objection.
"Well, I mean…" he began leading into his reluctant acceptance, "if-"
"No way dude. Until you're on your feet again, you shouldn't be paying for anyone else's… anything." Connie climbed down from the plane and began fixing her hair—as much as it could be fixed anyway. It was extra springy after the powerful air drying it had received about a hundred feet skyward. "If you really want to say thanks, just say it. That's good enough."
Joseph fought hard to keep from showing his disappointment, ending up with a twisted sort of smile that only looked all the more loopy with his big mouth.
"And I'm sure we'd appreciate your company at dinner," she continued while she finished tying her hair into an even looser knot than the one before, "I just need to touch bases with David first." She turned her eyes to Amy and Maya, "Sound reasonable enough?"
this place needs me here
[Town]
Amy and Maya were the last people to hop out of the plane. Amy dusted herself off, then turned happily to her friends.
"See?" she said, "That wasn't so bad, was it? We should do that again!"
First, she turned to Aubrey. "Connie's right! You should keep your cash! You need enough to eat and sleep! It would be very selfish of us to take that!"
Maya turned to Connie. Shouldn't we stop a possible kidnapper BEFORE we go meet Davey?
"Oh," Amy said, "Don't worry, he won't get away, but we still need to make sure everyone else is ok! We haven't seen Davey or Iri or Sam since the tanks. Checking on our friends shouldn't take too long, anyway."
Maya twisted her lip. I...guess... She turned to everyone, Sorry if I sound like an ass, but I feel like we're overreacting.
Amy tilted her head. "Why?"
It's just...yeah it's suspicious that Omar didn't want Joe to leave, and we just happened to stumble upon Aubrey, but think about it; if he really was the person who trapped him there...don't you think he would've kept tighter security to make sure NONE of us got out? Don't you think that someone should've been at all sides of the cave to make sure there's no easy escape? Shouldn't we be dead by now? As in possibly have the plane shot down? Or killed the moment we emerged? Like...this all could just be a coincidence.
"Well, Aubrey couldn't see the kidnappers." Amy said, "And on top of that, we didn't want to wait to see what they looked like! So glad that we got out when we did!"
That's the point I'm making; we should not have got out that quickly. In any situation like this, there would be more people on guard to make sure the hostages don't escape so easily. Either Omar is that incompetent—which, honestly, doesn't seem likely—or we got the wrong guy. And if we really think this guy is our villain, don't you think stopping him would be the first thing on our agenda? Yeah, I want to see Davey too, but if what Connie said is true, I would do the Davey check later.
She looked at Connie. Look, I'm not trying to be an asshole. I just want to say what's been bothering me since we discovered that room. Take it what you will.
[Main Street]
James slightly cringed.
"It's...been a day." he said, "Uh, I won't go too much into it, but honestly, coming here and seeing tanks storm the town was not on our to do list."
John glanced at James, "Hey, don't say that so casually! You just dumped some heavy shit on him too quickly!"
"Sorry, sorry." James said, sighing, "In any case, I don't think either one of us had a break since Joesph vanished." He looked down, "Jesus, you just got back and I'm just spouting shit onto you, I-I'm sorry. Uh...how have you been since you went out?"
"Found anything new?" John asked, "Hopefully something cool."
Pancake leaped out off of John and trotted over to Omar, sniffing his shoes.
edited 3rd Nov '16 11:17:58 PM by Masterofchaos
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast] (Main Hall) (Davey, Cynthia, Rin)
David, it seemed, was looking for someone. And, as it so happened, Cynthia was too. Rin found that to be a bit of a strange coincidence, though it wasn't wholly surprising, given the brief but nonetheless intense chaos that had erupted in the town. There were probably quite a few people looking to make sure their friends and loved ones were safe. Although, for her part, Rin was not at all concerned for Miyuki, Hoshi, Maya or even Hana. She knew full well how capable they were.
What did trouble her, though, was the shift in David's manner upon mention of the person Cynthia was looking for, this 'Minerva' character. She noticed the placement of his hand as well, and found the gesture mildly suspicious. He didn't seem like much of a threat, but if he was going for a weapon, she would have to be prepared. Violence seemed unlikely, but if it did break out she would respond in kind. As casually as she could, she let a hand rest on the hilt of her katana. Not gripping the weapon, but ready and waiting.
"I'm afraid I haven't seen either of those people," Rin ventured. "But i suppose that, if you think it would be convenient, we could look for them together..." she said, glancing back and forth between David and Cynthia.
Not entirely dead.
[Bed & Breakfast] (Main Hall) (Cynthia, Rin, Davey)
Much to Rin's surprise, Cynthia had very suddenly gone from a very serious-sounding woman on a serious-sounding mission to expressing almost childlike enthusiasm. It was a rather strange turn of events, to be sure, much like the small, furry, bloody... Person, apparently, that had walked in a moment ago.
Speaking of, it took her a second to realize that it... Or rather, that he was addressing her now. "Oh, uh," she began, slightly startled. "No, no, we're not trying to get a room..."
He walks, talks and dresses well, thought Rin. I suppose there's no need to be rude to him, just because he's not quite...
She walked over to him, standing next to Cynthia. "I'm Rin," she said, with a quick, perfunctory bow. "And this is Cynthia," she continued, gesturing towards her. "I assume your name isn't actually 'Mr. Otter,' is it?"
Not entirely dead.