[Bed and Breakfast]
Amy quirked an eyebrow.
"Connie...that doesn't make any sense." she said, "If you're worried about Davey, why wouldn't you go upstairs to go check on him? Isn't he one of your friends? If I was super worried, I would run up those stairs ASAP!"
Something Maya said dawned on her; now that she truly thought about it...nothing Connie said made sense earlier. Even more baffling, she didn't seem so concerned about a possible kidnapper still being out there, ready to strike at any moment. On top of that, they shouldn't left as easy as they did. Could it be...?
She looked at Joseph, then the door, and suddenly, a horrible thought came to her.
"Sorry guys!" she said, heading to the door, "I'll be back, I promise! I have to go find my friend. I'ms sure she's not to far from here!"
Without waiting for anyone else to respond, she bolted out the door.
[Town (Main Street)]
Maya's looked baffled.
I DO care for Joseph...that's why we got him away from you! she wrote, After we found that man you kept hiding deep in the cave! Like did you think we weren't going to find out soon?
She furrowed her eyebrows. Just give it up! We FOUND your little secret! Why were you hiding another man deep in the cave?
She then looked at Omar's eyes, then realized something. If Omar truly was Aubrey kidnapper...he wouldn't look the way he was looking right now. This wasn't the look of someone who was caught for his crimes; this was the look of someone who was confused and scared.
This was not a kidnapper.
...You don't know what the hell I'm talking about, do you? She lowered her knife, a sinking feeling in her chest, Oh my fucking GOD....I KNEW I shouldn't have listened to Connie.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Northern Desert - Horseback (Lupin, Yamiko, James, Kris, Kaitlyn, Mari)
Lupin's fingerless-gloved hand shook as he slid his phone back into his coat pocket, while keeping Yamiko firmly in his gaze. As he watched, he saw the dark aura cloud around her grow, sprouting a dark mist, and then that mist condensed and her aura grew even darker. Then more explanding dark mist, more condensing, more darkening... the process repeated, and before long Lupin saw a solid black line all around Yamiko. As he watched the process, his head began to hurt and his ears began to ring, and soon as he noticed it, he looked away.
But the headache and the ringing didn't go away. In fact, suddenly, Yamiko transmitted this sensation to everyone - pressure building up inside the head, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, dizziness, impeded thinking, even possibly a pins-and-needles sensation scattered about the body. Lupin was no exception to this - he felt as if his head was in a fog and his body was penetrated by lots of mild electrical shocks, having an increased sensitivity to it thanks to his aura sensing abilities.
Apparently the horses felt it too, or something similar to it, as with utterly terrified whinnies, they broke into a run, traveling as fast as they possibly could given the weight they were carrying, fearing for their lives or possibly something more.
Though the horses kept running, the odd sensation in their riders passed after a little while. Disoriented for a little bit, Lupin looked around for a while as his vision slowly returned to normal - and one thing he saw was a glow somewhere off to his rear left.
"I-is that the wagon over at eight o'clock?" he blurted out without even realizing it.
As his vision returned fully, he looked again - he couldn't see a wagon, but saw a definite aural glow in that direction. He wished he could remember what that group's auras looked like, for that glow could've been coming from some other group out in the desert. And then he suddenly remembered that he was on a faster-moving horse, and focused on getting a better grip on the saddle.
While Lupin was preoccupied with the strange glow, Yamiko continued to slump forward in her seat - by now the top of her head was pressing into Kris's back. Her nose was no longer bleeding, but she seemed very tired, and still unresponsive.
Northern Desert - Wagon (Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Oswald)
After Oswald thanked her, Nemaforte sat back and relaxed a bit. As she did, she felt as if there was a great distance between her and everyone around her - though thanks to the Mushroom of Time, it was more of a temporal distance. And yet, she felt more aware than ever, especially with the "soothemist" herb she had just vaporized adding to the already inceased awareness that the mushroom had a habit of inducing. In fact, just now she was listening to Iraal's analysis of the Dead God, hearing every word quite clearly even though they should have gone by more slowly. After that she sat back and waited for what seemed like a very long time.
After said apparently-very-long time, she became quite bored, and in her boredom she decided to walk over to where Zuri's body lay. Halfway there, she stumbled and fell onto her knees - this was because in reality, she was trying to walk way too quickly. Once she finally did reach the body, she lifted Zuri's hand up, again gauging how slowly time was flowing by watching it fall. To her it seemed to take an unusually long time, and with a puzzled look on her face, she reached into her bag and took out the bottle containing the mushrooms, counting them.
One, two... no wonder, I ate a whole cap! Seeming I wasn't paying attention... though if drakima could not break me, this likely will not.
It was just then that she noticed a couple of plastic discs lying on top of Zuri's still-open eyes. Immediately she blinked, wondering if her eyes deceived her - and yet, there they were. She could even touch them, and when she picked one up, she noticed that it was soft yet translucent like one variety of Orenyan glass, but also very thin, and it had a light blue ring seemingly painted on the edges. "What is this?" she said aloud. But soon she seemed to find her answer, as when she looked back down at Zuri's eye, she saw that it was reddish pink instead of blue. At this she smiled. "Interesting... we even have the same eyes."
Carefully, she placed what turned out to be a contact lens (not like Nemaforte knew what that was) back onto Zuri's eye and moved away - this time intentionally doing so more slowly (normally, to everyone else), paying close attention to how quickly her feet naturally wanted to move. Returning to her place next to Oswald, she settled in her seat and closed her eyes, as that always seemed to help her when she was higher than intended. She even unfastened her sunglasses and held them in her hand, where she lightly tossed it in said hand on occasion. And yet, despite all this, she felt perfectly calm.
edited 27th Nov '16 11:29:37 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.
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast]
David's total lack of a response was a bit suspicious. Rin was beginning to suspect that perhaps something untoward had happened to him... Plus his friend were being awfully sheepish about the whole thing. The situation was calling out for a resolution, preferably a quick one.
"Perhaps you had better just open the door, " she suggested. "He's had plenty of time to respond. If something has somehow happened, finding out soon would be better than hemming and hawing in front of the door ages. And if he's fine in there, then you're both a bit embarrassed, but at least you can stop worrying." She paused, considering how reluctant they'd all been so far, then added "I will open the door if you aren't comfortable doing it."
Not entirely dead.
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Cynthia, Connie, Joseph, Rin)
Cynthia looked down at the table. She recalled seeing Minerva standing out front of this building, but lost track of her when she fought Captain Greer. Connie and Amy had last seen her here, but that was before the fight. Davey had seen Minerva as well, which would imply that he'd seen her somewhere outside. The problem was, there were a lot of places that girl could have gone to, and she had no clue where.
While Cynthia was thinking, Connie had headed back over to the bathroom door and was currently being hesitant about finding out whether Davey was in there or not, and Amy had rushed off to find her friend. Looking over to where Connie was, she noticed the stairs to the second floor. Maybe...
The young knight stood up and walked over to the stairs. "I'm going to see if Minerva is in one of the rooms upstairs. I'd rather not go looking all around town only to find out she was here the whole time." She said, before dashing up the stairs.
edited 30th Nov '16 7:15:33 PM by WillDeRegio
[Northern Desert ~ Trail to Town (Wagon)] (Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Oswald)
Oswald remained distant and seemingly disinterested by the excited chatter, small talk, and quiet self-directed murmurings of those around him. His gaze was mostly cast outward from the wagon, thrown into the dirt and brush of the dimming scenery, occasionally catching onto something, hanging there for few seconds until the travelling wagon pulled and stretched and tore him away.
It was at those times that his gaze ventured back inside, to the immediacy therein. But still he had yet to pay the others much mind. Aside from a lingering thoughtless moment of staring, he ignored them, almost as if the curse had returned to his eyes. However, while he didn't look long on those who were still present in mind and spirit, he spent an uninterrupted minute staring at the lifeless body they still shared space with. Though his gaze remained largely stony, a keen eye would be able to his dulled, dried sadness and confusion. And when reeling his gaze back in for a fourth or fifth time, only to discover Nemaforte playing with the body's hand and eyes, his alarm was plain to see.
Oswald opened his mouth to say something, but between his general weakness and stupefaction over what Nemaforte was doing, it wasn't until the small witch had made it all the way back to her place next to him that his words finally materialized.
"...Why?" he breathed, shaking his head almost imperceptibly and squinting at Nemaforte. "What exactly was that about? Can't you let the dead rest?"
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)
Connie glanced after Amy with faint confusion and even fainter interest as the other girl raced out the front door to hunt down the missing Maya. Connie had her own missing friend to worry about just at that moment; it wouldn't do to well to divide her attention.
She listened to the blue-haired stranger's words and closed her eyes, conceding with a nod, saying, "Yeah... yeah, yeah, no, you're right." She raised her head, letting out her breath.
"Hey," piped Joseph, looking on from his chair. He tried for a reassuring smile. "What's the worst the could've happened?"
"Please don't ask me that," Connie replied flatly, closing her eyes once again, "not in the building that was surrounded by tanks only a handful of hours ago."
Joe shrugged, but made no further attempt to reassure her. Which was probably for the best; the only way Connie was going to be reassured was by knowing exactly what was on the other side of the door beforehand, and since that couldn't be done, she would just have to open it herself without the reassurance.
"Screw it," she muttered, "I've got this. I'm going in. Maybe he's just listening to music really loud with earphones and a Walkman that I've never seen before. Yeah. Plausible, right?" She glanced once more in the direction of the three that remained, let out one last sigh of resolution, then turned the knob and walked forward, pushing the door open.
[(Stairside Bathroom)] (Connie, Davey)
Nearest to the door was the sink, which still had some residual redness about it's edges and a not-quite-sealed bottle of cleaning alcohol. Next to the sink was the light blue and dark red mess of Davey's shirt, discarded in a lump on the floor near to the short shotgun that he'd been carrying from a strap around his shoulder ever since the tanks showed up.
"David..." Connie began as she stepped inside, pushing the door open further. Her voice straddled a line between exasperated and cautious while her eyes searched the room. They quickly caught sight of something in the mirror. Her breathing quickened. She quickly pushed open the door the rest of the way and walked further in, until she was right about at the center of the room. She looked in the corner reflected by the mirror, and felt her voice catch in her throat.
Davey was huddled in the corner. He was down on his knees, with his head against the wall and his hands clamped over his ears; a position not too different from the one he'd been found in that very morning* . For a terrifying few seconds, Connie feared that her worst suspicions had turned out to be true. She stepped forward briskly, her voice cutting with sudden urgency, "David!?"
The short, otter-like creature stirred, shifting slightly, turning his head for a very brief moment to finally acknowledge Connie. He didn't appear to be injured, at least not obviously, but as much as it alleviated her concern for his health, seeing his face for that instant caught her by an even greater surprise. It froze her in her tracks, standing a couple inches shy of five feet away, hands held halfway between acting and lying dormant.
"David... are you... crying?"
[(Main Hall)] (Joseph, Rin)
Shortly after Connie opened the bathroom door, Cynthia announced her intention to search for her missing 'Minerva' in the upstairs room, before promptly heading on up. And thus the main hall was left empty but for the two who seemed to be the least involved in any of the surrounding situations. The air was calm and quiet, all notable sounds coming in from a distance and serving to only further highlight the silence of their immediate surroundings. Joseph could practically feel his eyes bugging out of his head as he tried to steer his awkward stare anywhere else but at the one other person in the room.
Fortunately, his unease was quickly forgotten when he heard the sound of Connie's voice frightfully calling out her friend's name, 'David'. He looked towards the bathroom door, but it was set at such an angle that you wouldn't be able to see in unless you were just about standing right in front of it. So he waited for several long seconds, wondering whether or not he should go and see what the matter was, or wait a few more seconds. The latter choice won out for a little while, in time for Connie herself to resurface. The teen stuck her head out from the door, gripping the handle tightly. She made quick note of Joseph and—craning her neck a bit—Rin, then offered about as vague and brief an "explanation" as was possible.
"I'm, uh… I'm gonna be a while. Don't come in."
With that, she vanished back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Joe blinked twice, unsure of whether to be reassured or more concerned. "All right," he said, about five seconds too late. With that particular avenue of distraction closed off, he supposed it would probably be for the best to at least try to fill the empty air with something a little less stifling.
With his cheery dial turned up and his tail coiled slightly around one leg of his chair for some kind of support, he raised his head, looking at the blue-haired stranger. "So... where are you from originally? Oh yeah," he pushed away from the backrest slightly and tapped a clawed finger against his chest, "I'm Joseph, if it matters."
[Town ~ East of Main Street] (Omar, Maya)
While Maya had her little revelation, Omar moved to act. He had heard enough, or had read enough, as it were. Time was short, and Maya wasn't complying.
Before she could finish her last message, Omar turned his motorcycle and gave the bike gas, accelerating quickly (and loudly) in a wide arc around the girl. When he came to a stop again, he was around a third the length of a football field away. Leaving the engine running, he quickly kicked out the bike's stand and stepped off the seat, before wrestling the saddlebag the rest of the way open and withdrawing a compact handgun. In the span of a few seconds, he yanked his helmet off, tossed it to the side, reached into his back again, fishing out an object that a less savvy eye might mistake for a hardcore Pez dispenser, and discreetly slipped it into his back pocket.
With his especially lightweight weapon in hand—aimed squarely at the somewhat-distant Maya's lower body—Omar called out, "No more games! Drop your knife and tell me where Joseph is! You type it out, you throw me your phone! Stall or run, and you're asking for a flesh wound!"
this place needs me here
[Main Street]
Just when Maya finally realized this was the wrong man and lowered her weapon, Omar just had to whirl around and reach for a gun. Far from being intimidated, she instead looked up and down at him with bemusement.
You have got to be shitting me. she wrote.
Amy, meanwhile, was already sprinting through the town, until she finally saw, to her horror, Maya pointing her knife at Omar, while Omar was obviously holding a gun behind him. Fearing the worse, she dashed through and got in front of Omar.
"No! Stop! Please!" she begged, looking at Omar, "We've already been through enough! Don't hurt Maya, please! Please!"
Maya just shook her head. Obviously, her knife was just causing more and more problems. So, reluctantly, she put her knife away. She then slowly walked to her friend and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
This isn't our guy. she signed, relieved to finally be able to use both of her hands again. He's not Aubrey's kidnapper.
"...I kind of figured it out." Amy said rather somberly, "I remembered what you said about our escape and Connie said something kind of weird, and...I think we really made a huge mistake." She rubbed the back of her head, "Should we tell him where Joseph is? I'm kind of worried about what Connie's gonna say."
We need to. We're gonna cause more trouble if we don't. She glared, As for Connie...at this point, if she still wants to come to wild accusations, just ignore her. I knew this shit wasn't right.
Amy nodded, then turned her attention back to Omar. "He's at the Bed and Breakfast. I can show you the way if you want to! We're really, really sorry about this. We went deeper in the cave and found another man trapped down there, so we got him out and brought him here. We thought you were gonna trap Joseph there too." She then glared, "But that doesn't give you a right to try to shoot my friend! That would've make you look even worse!"
edited 30th Nov '16 6:52:52 PM by Masterofchaos
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast] (Main Hall)
Rin pursed her lips. Of all the possible outcomes, she hadn't been expecting I'm gonna be a while, don't come in. It was mildly concerning, and did not provide the resolution she'd been hoping. Curiously, the lizard-man appeared to have had a very similar reaction to her own. And, in all the fuss, had she forgotten to introduce herself?
Initially slightly startled when he addressed her, she cleared her throat and turned to face him. "I'm Rin," she said, with a simple, perfunctory bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Joseph, even if it is under..." She cast a sidelong glance at the bathroom, and the stars Cynthia had rushed up. "Unusual circumstances..." A brief pause, then she continued. "I come from a place called the Hakodan Empire. It's..." She hesitated, and looked around briefly, not wanting to find herself staring at Joseph's bizarre, lizardy hands or his tail. "It's a rather different place, compared to this town."
She wasn't sure she liked that, though it was certainly more stimulating than the hotel even could be. She leaned back against the banister by the stairs and looked over at Joseph. "And yourself? Where are you from?"
Not entirely dead.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Joseph, Rin)
Joseph let out a short, muffled laugh at Rin's mention of unusual circumstances. "Yeah, well, usual circumstances are like a rare treat these days, at least for me. And it's nice to meet you too, Rin," he added, with a smile that he worried might be too big, but it was a little too late now and- oh just go with it.
He'd never heard of the Hakodan Empire, but he hadn't really expected to. Half the people he met on a daily basis were from places that he would never have dreamed existed, but that meant little in the face of them, well... actually existing.
When she asked where he was from in return, Joe rubbed at the side of his head and said, "Eh... I'm from all over the place, but uh, originally I'm from Washington, in the US of A." He glanced at her briefly, though he didn't expect any more recognition for his place of origin than he had for hers. Still, it was kind of fun to watch that internal process play out on someone's face. He didn't usually get to see it for how often he would just avert his gaze, but he was feeling particularly bold just then. For some strange reason, he often felt bold when left on his own.
"Anyway," he continued, "I don't think anyone would guess that first try. My home is pretty different from this place too. At least in some ways. Not—y'know—not so much in others, but the locals aren't nearly as... ah... diverse I guess. And I guess it's calmer and more orderly on the whole, stuff like that."
He fell silent for a few moments, pondering an idea while idly sweeping his tail back and forth. Normally it was something he'd end up pondering to death without ever giving it a chance to be heard or resolved, but Joseph was still seized of that peculiar boldness. Might as well, right?
"Hey," he said, looking up at Rin again. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Where you're from... have you ever heard of like... uncontrollable travel through time and space? Like a person who keeps moving from place to place randomly—like, he- ...he she or they are in one place for like a day or two, then they open a door or something and suddenly they're in another place altogether, like another planet or something even more complicated... umm," he rubbed the side of his head again, trying to get his thoughts back on track, "and this person can't stop it or decide where to go next, it just happens. Have you ever- have you ever heard of anything like that, where you're from?"
Joe knit his hands together and blinked patiently, hoping that his expression didn't betray the sudden surge of nervousness and awkwardness that lay behind it. "I'm asking for a friend," he added. "And- uh, and curiosity, I guess."
[(Stairside Bathroom)] (Connie, Davey)
"You shouldn't keep them waiting," Davey said softly, still facing the corner, "this isn't something that gets solved in a matter of minutes."
His voice was clear enough, but it sounded so very forced and tense; a thin facade to mask his less-than-composed personal crisis.
As for herself, Connie was still reeling from seeing Davey with unmistakable tears in his eyes. In all the time she'd known him, she had never once seen him cry. Not once. She'd never even seen him come close to it. He had always seemed to stare down adversity and shrug off sadness. Not that he wasn't capable of feeling sad, he just never seemed to let it take hold of him. It was as though nothing could keep him down. Connie just about believed as much.
She turned away from the door, leaning against it for a second with her arms folded. Her eyes scanned the floor while she pushed her brain for ideas, approaches, solutions... anything.
"All right," she responded, stepping away from the door and closer to her friend, "lets... put off 'solving' for now. Maybe... lets focus on understanding."
She watched his bare back shivering and quivering as he tried to steady his breathing. It took a few seconds and a bit of soft snuffling, but he finally managed to say, "Connie, please... I'm in no fit state to be talking to anyone. You weren't even supposed to come in, you know."
"Well then you should have said something," she retorted. "I knocked. I tried talking to you, but all I got was radio silence in return." She stepped closer and dropped to a kneel. Her voice grew quieter, with a raw tenderness filling out its rough edges. "David, I haven't seen you since those tanks showed up at our doorstep. I was worried... I am worried. You've shut yourself in here, half naked with what looks like blood all over your shirt. And what about the Colonel? What about Irina?"
Davey tensed up and shuddered, the facade cracking again. "David..." Connie reached out and touched his small shoulder.
"Please, don't-"
"I'm not gonna hug you," Connie said, quickly pulling her hand away, "I won't. If you don't want to be hugged, I won't do it. But you've got to talk to someone. Why not let it be me?"
She paused, watching his whiskers twitched as he slowly turned his head, fixing her with a sad, wary eye. It took a fair bit of willpower to keep her surprise off of her face—she still couldn't believe that Davey had been crying—but she managed to hold her sincerity long enough to say, "I'm not kidding. I'm not gonna try hugging you or petting you. I won't think any less of you. I'll just listen. I only want to understand, and help you. I mean," her eyes fell and her mouth contorted slightly into a pained frown, "come on man, I can't leave you hurting like this."
Her face felt hot all of a sudden, accompanied by a tingling sensation tickling the inside of her nose. She winced and looked away, trying to resist the urge to rub at or otherwise bring attention to her own eyes. It is kind of embarrassing, isn't it?
While she tried to get her own emotions in check, Connie felt something touch her arm. She glanced back and, of course, it was David. He had finally turned himself all the way around, facing away from the wall, looking at her with both of his dark brown eyes. His nose was still twitching with rapid, shallow breaths, but it seemed to have calmed down just a bit.
"All right," he said, blinking slowly, "Okay. I'll talk to you, Connie. Tell me what you want to know, I'll say it."
This time it took a fair bit of willpower to keep from hugging him outright, but that wouldn't do very well for establishing trust. "Oh," she sighed in relief, "thank you. Here, lets just... how 'bout you tell me..." another pause, "tell me what happened after the tanks showed up."
[Town ~ East of Main Street] (Omar, Amy, Maya)
Omar switched targets as Amy—quite suddenly—appeared, glancing uncertainly between the two teenage girls.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?!" he breathed near silently to himself. His hand was steady, he had experience, but he was still presented with a situation that—until it was clear what the hell was going on—could turn out very badly very quickly. If he could help it, he didn't want to do anything drastic.
To the pleading Amy, Omar began, "Then tell her to drop the kn-"
Maya's knife had already been put away before he could finish his sentence. He sighed, still watching the two warily, but he let his hand relax just a bit. Still prepared to aim if need be, but no longer actively pointed. He listened—to one half of the discussion—as the girls communed, trying to sort out their story, until finally it was presented to him in a form that made sense.
"A man?" he repeated, brow knitting yet again in confusion, "in the cave? I don't..." he closed his eyes, trying to process it; trying to make sense of it, "he was trapped there... and he said I trapped him there?" Before getting an answer, he glanced at his gun and sighed. Then he turned it upward so that the bottom of the pistol grip was visible, and visibly empty. "I wasn't going to shoot her," he said, reaching to his back pocket and drawing out a loaded magazine. He held it up for them to see. "Kinda missing something for that to work. Besides that, the safety's on; I'd have better luck throwing it at her."
this place needs me here
[Main Street]
Amy and Maya blinked.
"Well...I-I'm glad I came when I did." Amy said, then turned to Maya, "You pulled a knife at him?! Are you crazy?!"
I told you already I wasn't going to let a possible kidnapper go loose. Maya signed, Besides, I wasn't going to actually going to stab the idiot. I just needed his attention and get answers.
"He could've shot you! You just have a knife! I-If he was the bad guy, you would've been dead! Why didn't you come and get me and Connie?"
Maya quirked an eyebrow. Connie? Are you fucking serious? Connie is all talk, no action. She's more comfortable of letting a possible kidnapper on the loose rather than trying to stop him from striking again. On top of that, I knew that something wasn't right with her 'claim', so if no one else was gonna investigate, I was gonna do it. She then reluctantly turned to Omar. ...So yeah. Sorry for pulling the knife on you.
Speaking of Connie, Amy was worried about how she was going to react to seeing Omar again. Admittedly, the girl was super paranoid and wouldn't allow mundane things to be just that; mundane. Of course they wouldn't have rescued Aubrey if they just stayed put, but how were they going to explain to her that Omar was not the one who took him? On top of that, there was going to be the matter of Joseph. No doubt he was going to be more confused than he already was.
This was going to be a bitch to explain.
Amy looked at Omar, "Ok! Now that we got everything settled, don't you wanna follow us to Bed and Breakfast? That's where Joseph is!"
edited 5th Dec '16 5:07:14 PM by Masterofchaos
[Mountain Trail: Wagon (Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Oswald)]
Iraal had returned all of her attention to the rising Dead God, but she managed to catch part of what Nemaforte was saying to herself - possibly from the lingering effects of what she now theorized had been the other's focusing drugs. She didn't entirely understand why the rest of the expedition was so opposed to them, since they weren't all that different from her own orncri. Although perhaps Nemaforte's general... everything offered an explanation.
A distant part of her thought, as Oswald roused from his stupor to object, that she should try to say something to him. The corpse Nemaforte was handling was just a shell. Although she was not so presumptuous as to not return it to whoever was proper so that they could enact their preferred belief system, it wasn't actually Zuri. (She didn't need her social interaction software to tell her that she shouldn't add her own ideas about a brain dissection if no one wanted the body, though).
At the moment, though, such social niceties had to be a lower priority. The ancient machine was still rising into the sky, and she wanted to see it herself whenever it jumped, or whatever it was going to do. Her instruments in Lament were better qualified for observation, but that didn't change millions of years of evolution. And the artifact itself had to be more important than one dead or upset sophont. The benefits it could bring!
So she said nothing.
Scents cocked her head as she jogged alongside the wagon, fixing Gwion with two of her eyes. "So you don't much like taking orders, do you? Typical human," she said, amused. "Pack species are so much better at these things. Suppose that's why I emigrated to a gluvpaki polity instead of a human one." Her ears waved before lying deadpan straight. "That, and the furries."
She knew that she was being a little more flippant than the situation warranted, but she figured that Gwion - whatever the Prophet he actually did do - had enough experience to know that it was as much a distraction as sincere. The Terra Novans, maybe not as much. She needed to get to know more about them.
Although, on the jaw, this fiasco would be over soon enough that she might not have to.
Turning enough so that one eye was fixed on Nemaforte, Oswald, and Zuri's body, she yipped to get their attention. "I gotta agree with Oswald," she said. "You two seemed to get pretty close pretty fast, but did you really know Zuri well enough that you know whether she'd want you doing that?"
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast] (Main Hall)
Rin tilted her head slightly, and furrowed her brow. Joseph seemed like a nice enough individual, but his background and interests seemed to be about as bizarre as his appearance. "Uncontrollable travel through time and space?" she said. "No, I've never heard of such a thing... That sounds like quite the pressing issue. I hope it isn't something that afflicts your friend. That would be quite unfortunate, to say the least." She suspected he was actually talking about himself, but if he didn't want to say as much, she wasn't gong to force the issue. It didn't much matter to her anyway.
"You come from the US of A?" She scratched her head. "Such a strange name... What kind of country is that?" she said. "Is there a US of B?"
Not entirely dead.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Desert Trail - Wagon (Nemaforte, Oswald, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion)
For what again felt like quite a long time, Nemaforte sat there, waiting for the sunglasses she had tossed in her hand to fall. They fell. She tossed them again, seemingly very slowly. And they stayed in the air even longer. During that time, she became aware of the clopping of the horses' hooves on the trail, the softer footsteps of Scents jogging alongside the wagon, the crackling noises of the wheels rolling over pebbles in the ground, and even her own heartbeat. And also the presence of everyone else in the wagon, driver included - though her eyes were closed, she could still sense their auras, "seeing" them right through her third eye. She paid special attention to that of Iraal, who seemed very intrigued at that moment. Other than that though, she felt as if the space around her was empty, and again felt that everyone presence was quite far away.
And yet, she could hear Oswald's voice from very close by - and as before, she heard every word he was saying precisely despite the time difference, though it had a noticeable reverb to it. He sounded utterly shocked at her inspection of Zuri's body. Yet she was not fazed - in fact, she was just about to utter a response, when she heard Scents speak up. Stopping mid-word, she listened in - it was about how well she knew Zuri. She took a moment to remember how she had watched Zuri die, and how she saw a very peculiar sort of aura leaving her at that moment, something kind of resembling her astral projection, but with less... shape.
Finally she found the words to speak, after what seemed like quite a while to her, but no more than a second after Scents finished speaking to everyone else. She spoke rather quickly, more so than usual, and took a small breath after every sentence. "Death is abandoning one's body, forever. It is why astral projection is dangerous if done too long. Zuri knows this - she knows more about it than any of you. And did you not hear her final words? She said, leave my body and go. Already we are not doing what she wanted, taking her body with us - but she does not care. If she did, I would have seen her spirit still nearby - but instead, it moved on." Afterward, she leaned back and pressed her back against the edge of the wagon, as she felt kind of light-headed.
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.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Joseph, Rin)
Joseph's smile fell before he could think to stop it. Even as he put it back on moments later, it had dimmed like an aged light bulb whose 'best' simply could not compare to the glow of one still in the ides of its youth.
"Yeah, that's okay," he said, though his eyes fell, "y'know, I didn't think- I mean, the way he talked about it it sounded like, y'know, a pretty- um, a pretty uncommon sort of thing. I'd need to talk to like, some kind of time wizard probably. It's okay." His hands had unclasped as well, his arms hanging limply over the chair's forwarded backrest, and his tail too had lost it's sway, resting against the ground behind him. If he'd had any notion of how ridiculously downcast he suddenly looked, he would have felt pretty self-conscious. As it was, he had become so distracted by his thoughts—stupid thing to ask—that it took him a few seconds before—stop getting your hopes up—he even took notice of Rin's follow-up question.
He raised his eyes again, "Oh, uh, no, it's not like that. I was just abbreviating. It's uh, 'The United States of America'; U S of... you get the picture." He brought up his hands, holding them apart as though a map of the country was floating between them. "It's almost like a bunch of little countries making up one jumbo-sized country. They each get to have their own rules, but ultimately have to abide by the bigger governing body. It's all real nice if you ignore the riots and people getting shot every day and the AIDS and all the other good stuff in the newspapers." He sighed and slumped forward slightly, then added quietly, almost to himself, "And all the weird stuff you don't see in the news." Speaking more levelly, he continued, "Anyway... I live in the northwest corner. Or lived. I'm from the northwest corner originally, I... never left the country before recently."
After another brief pause and a few blinks at the floor, Joe glanced up, shrugging casually. "So what kind of place is the 'Hadouken Empire'?" he asked. "It sounds imposing."
[(Stairside Bathroom)] (Connie, Davey)
"...a little while later, the medical transport showed up, and we... parted ways," Davey said, brushing back his whiskers as he wrapped up his story. "From there, it was just an uneventful walk back to this place, where I met the two lovely ladies right outside. One of them is looking for that girl from earlier; Minerva. Did you know that?"
Connie—who was now sitting on the bathroom floor alongside him—ignored Davey's question, still hanging on the words of his story. "You 'parted ways'..." she repeated with a slight, thoughtful frown. "Was there a nice long goodbye?"
Davey glanced in her direction briefly, his face motionless besides the near imperceptible waver in his dark brown eyes. He breathed out slowly through his nose, falling into a sort of sigh somewhere in the middle of it.
"No," he replied flatly.
Connie looked at him, staring expectantly until he finally continued.
"There wasn't any time. She was bleeding." That wasn't entirely true; Irina had been bleeding, dangerously so, but the little ritual she and Samuel had performed seemed to stabilize it well before her transport had arrived. "And besides that, we barely knew each other. We had less than a day, and spent precious little of it talking."
"But you liked her, didn't you?" Connie asked, leaning forward slightly.
Davey drew his head back until it was resting against the bathroom wall, and his gaze pointed straight up at the ceiling. "Well, she was pleasant company."
"Oh come on." Connie thumped him lightly on the arm. "It was more than that."
Davey let out another heavy sigh, calmly closing his eyes, "It doesn't matter. Irina is gone, and it's very likely that we'll never see her or Samuel again."
"But that's why you're in here cry- I mean... that's what's been eating at you, isn't it?"
"Connie, it's not that simple".
"Yeah it never is with you, is it?" She almost wanted to keep going, to point out how touchy and 'complicated' he could be. How even in confiding in her, he seemed adamant about keeping secrets and describing things in the vaguest possible ways, brushing off her earnest interest and desire to understand as if she were a child asking questions that were too big for her. Part of her even wanted to insinuate that he only acted that way for the attention, that his complexities were overblown, and that his problems were no different than your average Joe's. But as she looked at him, she couldn't help but notice the still-wet area just under his eyes. Another stab in the gut. Davey didn't cry. Davey did not let himself cry.
"All right," she said with a reluctant sigh, "so what is it then? What keeps it from being simple?"
Her friend opened his eyes again, a frown tugging at the corners of his furred mouth. He hesitated, glancing in a few directions before settling on the opposite wall. "Even if Irina hadn't been shot, even if they hadn't had to leave so quickly, even if they stayed here with us for a week, " he threw out his arms in a gesture that was at once both exaggerated and limp, "...nothing would have happened. Nothing would have come of this. Just a day or two of more pleasantries, and a polite goodbye if things weren't already awkward by that point."
Davey rolled his head to the side so that he was looking at Connie directly. "I'd still strike out. That just how it goes. Irina was far from the first—you've been around long enough to know that, and you've only seen the tip of the iceberg. And of course, because I have no sense in me, I'm sure she won't be the last." He looked away again, rubbing a hand against his forehead and shrugging in resignation. "Almost four years of striking out, of course nothing would have changed. I can't make it work. I can't make this work. I've tried and I've tried and I just can't."
A few seconds of silence passed as Connie looked over Davey again and thought. There was something about his voice, the level way he spoke. These were things that upset him, to be sure, but they were also things he was evidently able to talk about without too much fuss. It was part of his issue, but not quite the core.
She opened her mouth for a few seconds, sucking on air a moment before finally speaking. "Dave, have you ever wondered if maybe you should- or- or rather, that you might have better luck if you tried pursuing someone who-"
"Someone who's more like myself?" he finished for her.
Connie shrugged, playing it off as though those exact words weren't just about to leave her mouth.
"Yeah, sure, I've wondered that plenty. It's about as useful as wondering how things might be different if I was raised in Russia." He let his hand slide off of his head and turned his gaze back to Connie. "First of all, I've never met anyone else who is like me. I'm actually of the mind that there is no one else who is like me. Not... not in this way. And secondly, I can't just... change what I'm attracted to on a whim. Don't get me wrong, a kind heart and warm personality go a long way, but there has to be something..." he paused, catching himself, "well, I don't need to elaborate."
Davey's statement begged a few questions, but Connie already had some pretty good ideas as to why he felt that way, even if he'd never said anything about it outright. Topics he avoided, questions he sidestepped; all of that empty air and those unspoken words amounted to a sort of negative space that painted a picture nearly as clear as its opposite.
[Town ~ East of Main Street] (Omar, Amy, Maya)
Omar listened in as he returned his unloaded gun to its pouch. He was still frowning tightly, brow still knitted in confusion and a bit of anxiety. There were still details and important answers missing from the quick summary Amy had provided; disturbing problems like the man they had purportedly found in the cave, his identity and potential involvement in Omar's plan. Or if the man really had been kidnapped and held captive, then that begged the question of who his captors were, and whether they were aware of what the cave contained. Not to mention the extent to which Joseph had been convinced that he, Omar, was a "bad guy", or that he had some sort of nefarious intentions.
But for how much these questions pestered his mind, there were far more pressing matters holding greater weight that he had to consider. "Yes," he said as he retrieved his helmet, "absolutely. And quickly, there's not much time," he pulled his helmet on and returned to his motorcycle, reclining the kickstand and taking his seat, "I can't possibly express that enough. We are in a hurry."
edited 9th Dec '16 6:43:30 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[Main Street-Outside Bed and Breakfast]
Amy nodded. "Ok, adventures! Let's go!" She quickly pointed to the direction of the Bed and Breakfast and dashed on, Maya not too far behind her.
Maya had no idea what they were going to expect once they got there. Joseph might be able to believe them once they proven that Omar was on his side all along. The real problem with all this was trying to convince Connie. From the very beginning, she assumed the worst about Omar. Ultimately, this just turned out be yet another layer of her unreasonable assumptions.
She didn't understand. Why was she just so adamant of trying to find something wrong with him when there was nothing there? Why did she ignore her suggestions that all of this was a mistake? And if she really thought that Omar was this evil kidnapper...why didn't she want to make more of an effort to stop him? Maya wondered if Connie even really believed half the stuff that came out of her mouth. When she got the chance, she had to talk to her.
Her train of thought screeched to a halt when she bumped into Amy, nearly making her friend fall into the sand.
"Maya!" Amy said, rubbing her back, "Ow!"
Sorry, sorry! Maya signed, Can you sign me when you're gonna stop? She looked up and noticed that they were in front of the Bed and Breakfast. Here we are. She turned around and waved to Omar, Haul your ass!
Attitude is prohibited
[Bed and Breakfast]
"Hakodan," Rin corrected. Joseph's description of his country was quite confusing. How could such a system possibly work? Then again, from the sound of things, perhaps it didn't work. She didn't know what 'aids' were, but given the context, she could guess. "And it is imposing. A nation-state should be imposing. This implies that it is strong, unified. Pure," she mused. "And of course, strength is an absolute necessity, given that the natural condition of any nation-state is that of total war..." She trailed off, pausing for a moment. This was all entirely normal to Rin, and she spoke about it quite casually, almost as though reciting something.
It took her a moment to realize she'd gone quiet. She looked over at Joseph and, briefly feeling self-conscious, quickly added, "er, rather... it's real nice, as you put it. There aren't any riots, and nobody gets shot in the streets, either." Worried that perhaps he wouldn't understand what she'd meant a moment ago, she quickly tried to think of some inoffensive things that might sound impressive to someone from a faraway land. "There are many, many factories," she assured him. "And our technology is the most advanced in the entire world." There were only two countries in the entire world, so far as she knew, but that was still a true statement. "I've lived there all my life. It's a good place to live," she said, and then pursed her lips, fully aware of how weak a point that was.
Not entirely dead.
Crazy Kiwi
Northern Desert - en route to town
[Lupin, Yamiko, Mari, Kaitlyn, Kris, James]As the headache and ringing in her ears subsided and her vision returned to normal, Kaitlyn was astounded to discover that she was still on the horse. It was as if some part of her had managed to keep control of her muscles and keep her clinging to the now-rapidly-moving and panicked animal despite the fact that she had practically blacked out - or at least greyed out. This was like earlier, when the horse had panicked over the undead donkey creature - except this time Kaitlyn was too amazed at not having fallen off to be scared.
She looked around and noted that the other two horses had also broken into a gallop and the others seemed to be recovering from a similar spell of disorientation - except Yamiko who seemed to be slumped against Kris' back. Kaitlyn had no idea of how Mari was faring and had no inclination to try turning around to see while the horse was plunging headlong across the desert.
James shook his head to clear the last vestiges of the headache and blurry vision, acutely aware that there was something definitely unnatural about what had just happened. A quick glance at the others was enough to see that whatever it was had affected them as well - and the most likely culprit was that huge alien monstrosity climbing into the sky above the mountain range. It might not actually be a "god" but it clearly had the means to mess with human and - if the current state of the horses was anything to go by - animal brains.
He decided to let the horses set their own pace - no point distressing them by forcing them to slow down while they were intent on getting to safety as fast as possible. No doubt they would slow of their own accord if tired.
James was familiar with the use of a clock face analogy to denote direction so when Lupin asked if the wagon was at "eight o'clock", he looked behind and to his left but could see no sign of the wagon amid the uneven terrain and scrubby vegetation. It occurred to him that the others may also have been affected by the alien artefact's strange influence and he hoped that they were safe, wherever they were, and getting a good distance between themselves and that thing.
The dark smudge ahead quickly resolved into the shape of buildings - the dwellings on the outskirts of the town. They'd be back in town soon, but whether that would be a safe distance from the effects of the artefact, James had no idea.
Sorry there's so little after such a delay. Still can't think of how to progress with Teri, Wolfe and Gwion so I'll give that a rest until tomorrow.
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)
Cynthia headed back towards the stairs. She had searched the entire second floor, and Minerva was nowhere to be found. She sighed before descending to the main lobby below, where she overheard the Rin talking about her home nation.
It was a rather uncomfortably similar description of another empire she was very well acquainted with. An empire whose military technology was at least a decade more advanced than anyone else. An empire with many cities dedicated to out producing the entire world.
Cynthia stood at the bottom of the stairs momentarily, staring slightly, before heading over to take a seat next to Joseph. "I couldn't find Minerva upstairs," she said. The young knight glanced at both of them, "So, what are you two talking about?"
[Northern Desert] (Mari, Lupin, Vicky, Yamiko, James, Kaitlyn, Kris)
Nearly falling off the horse when it got spooked, Mari simply gripped the panicked horse with her knees as it broke into a gallop, tight enough to steady herself. She was aware of Yamiko's outburst, however, the mild sensory attack was nothing compared to some of the varied and more powerful mental whammies she'd been hit with over the years. Though, given more time, Yamiko could become quite the formidable psychic.
When Lupin asked about the wagon, Mari focused her attention over in the direction indicated. As far as she could tell, there were multiple people there, and they were headed towards the town up ahead. She called out to Lupin, "I can sense some people over there, not sure if it's this wagon you're talkin' about."
Glancing back, Mari silently cursed at the ever-rising not-deceased space nautilus deity thing, wishing she had something sufficiently large and heavy enough to throw at whatever constituted its face for all the trouble it was causing. She crossed her arms, doing something like that would probably just draw its attention to her and everyone nearby.
Going back to ignoring the Dead God, she looked forward to arriving at the town. Where there's civilization, there's usually a bar. Mari frowned slightly, Unless this is a dry town...
[The Dead God]
{Reactor repairs complete. Test cycles report nominal status. Preparing for temporal/FTL jump. ERROR: temporal drive damaged beyond usability. ERROR: temporal drive blueprint corrupted. ERROR: Harmony of Light corrupted — estimated time to reconstruction, 10,000 years.}
{Preparing for foldspace jump. All systems nominal. Destination set. Initiating foldspace retreat.}
A massive portal leading to the air above an ocean on an evidently Earth-like opened near the Dead God. It silently slid through, leaving behind the world that it had blindly caused so much trouble.
edited 14th Dec '16 4:08:08 PM by KillerClowns
Crazy Kiwi
Mountain/Desert trail - Wagon
[Iraal, Scents, Nemaforte, Formerly Zuri, Oswald, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]Gwion gave an amused grin at Scents' off-hand and humorous reference to "furries" while also mentally noting that she must have a resonable knowledge of human cultures and subcultures to know and use the term. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a look of wry amusement on Wolfe's face and a look of puzzlement on Teri's.
He was disconcerted by Nemaforte's antics with Zuri's corpse and would have commented if Oswald and Scents had not already said pretty much everything that needed to be said on the matter. Instead, he exchanged a glance with Wolfe, who had also been watching.
Wolfe noticed Gwion's look and rolled his eyes and gave a slight shake of his head to wordlessly convey "Typical" - given Nemaforte's previous bizarre behaviour and frequent use of mind-altering herbs, her behaviour hadn't surprised him much.
Teri was more interested in the "Dead God" looming above the mountain range behind them - and not far enough away in her books - than what Nemaforte was doing. Without warning, some sort of portal opened in the sky and the "Dead God" slipped into it and vanished without a trace and without fuss. Teri let out a loud sigh of relief. "It's gone! Thank fuck!"
Wolfe looked up into the now empty sky, immensely relieved, then looked at Iraal - surely she would have been intensely interested in the passing of the Dead God.
Gwion looked at the sky and then back behind the wagon. "No point turning back towards the mountain at this late stage in the day." He turned to Wolfe and Teri. "If you still want to search the wilderness, I'd be happy to accompany you both out here again tomorrow." He figured that, with the Dead God gone, Iraal would have no further need to explore the wilderness and no further use for his services once she was safely back in town.
Main Street
[Aubrey]If there were any tea rooms, restaurants or cafés about, they weren't immediately evident but there was a building with signage identifying it as a saloon - if there were beverages to be had, that would be a good place to look.
Aubrey limped up the street and entered through the double swinging doors of The Tipsy Toad - a rather uninspiring name, to be sure, but it seemed fairly tidy inside and the clientele didn't look too rowdy. The Gresham, it was not; but it was certainly no worse than some of the taverns Aubrey had seen in his time.
He limped up to the bar and gave a smile to the bartender. "I don't suppose it would be possible to have a pot of tea?"
The bartender gave a grin at Aubrey's uncertain - almost querulous - tone. "Sure, pal. Tea, coffee, beer, whiskey... we've got it all."
Aubrey beamed. Salvation was at hand! "A pot of strong tea, sugar and milk would be fine." He placed some of the alien coins on the bar top and the bartender took one of the smallest denominations and gave him change. Aubrey pocketed his money and made his way to a table to rest himself.
Prices were reasonable here - he was automatically converting what he spent back into pounds, shillings and pence and could tell that he wasn't spending any more than he would do back in Hartmouth or New London - or the original London of his own time, for that matter.
He waited quietly and patiently and presently a youngish woman - fairly average looking but tidily dressed - brought a tray upon which was a small pitcher of milk, a clean cup, bowl of sugar, teaspoon and a steaming teapot. He gave her a thankful smile and got a pleasant smile in return.
With great relish and no small measure of joyful anticipation, Aubrey poured himself a tea, sweetened it with three generous spoonfuls of sugar, added a dash of milk then took an exploratory sip.
It probably wasn't the greatest tea in the world, but after his lengthy privation, it tasted like Nectar of the Gods. Pure Ambrosia! Satisfied, Aubrey lit a cigarette and relaxed back in the chair to enjoy his drink.
Now he was free! He still had to visit the local law enforcement and report his abduction and see if there was any way to contact his home - though it was looking very much like he might not be on the same world any more - but that could wait until after he had finished.
[Northern Desert ~ Trail to Town (Wagon)] (Nemaforte, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Oswald)
If Nemaforte's words did anything to assuage Oswald's concerns, he didn't show it. However, the frown he now wore bespoke more annoyance than alarm. He stared without blinking, quietly letting out a long, exasperated sigh.
"Okay," he began flatly, "and what about her loved ones? Family, friends, whoever it is we're bringing this body to. Perhaps you're simply not aware, but there is a common human concept of preserving a person's memory or dignity, even in death. Zuri may be gone, but treating her body as if it's nothing more than an empty husk is like treating written words as nothing more than markings on paper." He raised one of his soot-stained hands and gestured at the body, "That is not an empty husk to be thoughtlessly toyed with. That is Zuri's body. Leave it be."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)
Joseph blinked silently as Rin spoke of her country. He looked a little confused. He was a little confused. At least at the mention of a nation-state naturally being in 'total war'. Maybe he just didn't know enough about government. Certainly not Hakodan government.
The way Rin talked about her home made her sound like some sort of government official or military type, which brought about the concern—in his mind—of finding common ground.
"Factories, yeah," he nodded, "we got those. It was a big thing like a... a hundred, hundred-fifty years back?" he tried desperately to draw on his last high school history class; a subject that had not been on his mind in what felt like a very long time. "The working conditions used to be really crappy, but uh, they got better. Labor unions and stuff like that happened, I think." He suddenly felt like he was taking a test; a horrible, self-inflicted test that he hadn't studied for nearly well enough.
The other young woman—the one with the eye patch—returning to the room came as a bit of a relief, if only to Joe's own nervous little mind. She wandered over, took a seat—rather close to his own—and asked what they were talking about.
"Oh, just uh, where we're from," he answered with a trademark shrug, "our home countries, I guess. Just, y'know, casual talk. Kinda waiting for everyone else to get back." He paused for a moment, before lighting up again with, "I'm Joseph, by the way." It took a bit of effort to resist adding 'if it matters' again. Without thinking too much about it, he stuck his short-clawed hand out to shake. He hadn't done the same for Rin, but the other woman was closer. He just hoped she wouldn't get too weirded out by it.
[(Stairside Bathroom)] (Connie, Davey)
Davey and Connie both were silent for a few seconds, still mulling over what had already been said, and where to go from there.
"I think what really bites, what really gets me is knowing—as well as I do—how it's supposed to go." Davey said, folding his arms and staring bleary-eyed at the opposite wall. "And it was easy; it came so easy, and naturally. Now, its just..."
Connie noticed his small paw-like hands tightening into fists, tensing and fidgeting nervously.
"Sometimes... the way that they look at me, it aches. It makes me feel sick deep in my gut." He paused for a second. His eyes pointed down to his dusty feet. "I wasn't always such a loser."
"Aw, come on David- what is that? You're far from a loser."
Davey closed his eyes. His whiskers wobbled with the motions of his mouth. "Please Connie," he said, "I don't need you to feed me a line. This maddening self-pity is enough. As it stands, 'success' is no longer a word in my life's vocabulary."
"I don't-" Connie tried to interject, but Davey cut her off.
"You don't know, Connie," he said, flashing her a strangely intense look. "I'm sorry. You're sweet, and I know you want to help, but you just don't know. I used to be someone. It..." his words trailed off, along with his gaze.
Connie tipped her head slightly, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind one ear. She wanted to say something again, to try making him feel better, but it seemed he himself had more to say.
"It was a long time ago," he said, finally. "A very long time ago, in a dream. Before I knew a man called Rip. I was about your age."
"...in a dream?" she repeated with a hint of knowing skepticism. She could've said more, but mentioning the past was another thing Davey rarely did, and she didn't really want to sidetrack him.
"Yes," he said plainly, "and in the dream, I was a handsome young man. I lived in Yonkers. Yonkers New York. I knew people. I had friends. I could charm the pants off of the Emperor of China."
"China doesn't have an Emperor ...pretty sure."
Davey blinked at Connie, showing little enthusiasm. She grinned slightly and gave an awkward shrug. He blinked again, staring with an uncomfortable placidity.
"Oh just keep going," she said, finally. "Sorry, jeez."
"Hm. Well, anyway, I had that. I had my looks. My father—in the dream—was well-off. He was the worst kind of person, but he was well off, and that meant I was well-off. Once I started dating, I was almost never without a girlfriend. Cindy, Wendy, Linda, Barbra... Cunningham. Barbra Cunningham was her name..." he paused for a moment as he rerailed his thoughts, "that's just to name a few. Some quick pickups, some longer spells, but David Harkness never went to the pictures alone. Even when the dream turned strange, after I left home and met Rip, and the rug was pulled out from under me, it didn't take long to get back into the swing of it."
Connie's brow furrowed slightly. "Back into the swing... of dating? On Ianus?"
"I don't know if I'd call it that," Davey pondered, "it was a little different, not only because it's Ianus, but Rip's typical nomadic way kept us moving, but we had companions, occasionally. A fellow traveler, or someone from town, interested in seeing the world the way we did, interested in exploring..."
He heaved a heavy sigh, letting his head descend into his hands, propping it up as he stared beyond the bathroom wall, nurturing memories of nights long past. Connie let him have a few seconds for himself, biting her lip slightly before pressing, "Weren't you at all... I dunno, concerned with getting back home?"
Davey raised his head again, only to shake it solemnly. "While there are a few matters of unfinished business that I do long terribly to take care of back home," that was putting it lightly, "on the whole I don't miss it. And besides, the likelihood of finding-"
He cut himself off abruptly. He had been about to mention how historically unlikely—if not impossible—it was to find ones way back to their own place and time, before remembering who he was talking to. Connie, just shy of six months away from her own home, was not one to take such news well. It wasn't that she hadn't been told before, more than once, by well-meaning mouths, but hearing and accepting were two very different beasts, one quite a bit heavier than the other.
Instead, Davey finished with, "what I mean is, it's been too long. Give it another year and I'll have lived more of my life here than back on Earth. The people I knew in Yonkers will have moved away, or forgotten all about me. I'd be a stranger back home."
Emphasis on strange, thought Connie.
"But that's not what concerns me," he continued, his manner once again turning solemn. "I woke up from that dream... to today. Today, where I'm a loser; no mincing words. I spark and I spark and I can't light a flame. I can't make this work. I know I'm not attractive like I used t... like I was in the dream. I guess I wanted to believe that there was enough in me, in my personality to float the rest. And..." his face scrunched up slightly, wrinkles developing across the bridge of his snout, "there's not."
His breathing turned shaky, and for a few seconds Connie thought he was going to start crying again, right in front of her. But he held himself together, however loosely.
"Well, you said you wanted to understand," Davey said, pulling himself into a gloomy-but-manageable state, "what does that do for you? Did it help at all?"
Connie was frowning thoughtfully, her eyes concentrated on the ground. "Yeah- yeah, it does," she managed, nodding slightly, "it did. Sorry, it's just a lot to take in; I didn't-" she laughed slightly, "I mean, I guess you're right, I didn't know. And, I mean, obviously there's still a lot I don't know,"
"Tip of the iceberg," Davey said again with a faint nod of his own, "but there are some pits I'd like to keep sealed up for now, if that's all right with you."
"Yeah... I'm just thinking. I think I've- ...I might have some advice. Or an idea maybe. At least, I think I might get what the problem is, I just don't..." she gave him a sideways glance, "I don't know if you're gonna like what I've got to say."
[Town ~ Outside the Bed and Breakfast] (Omar, Amy, Maya)
Omar rode just fast enough on his motorcycle to keep pace with the two girls. He had a pretty good idea of where the bed and breakfast they mentioned was located—he had, after all, been in and around town for a few days—but he wanted to be sure, and he wanted to have the girls there with him when it came time to speak to Joseph.
The ride was short as it turned out that, as predicted, the building was only a few blocks away. He slowed down and killed the engine, tugging his helmet off once more. "All right," he said, dismounting his motorcycle and looking at the two teenagers, "listen, I need your full support when I talk to Weller. If you managed to convince him—enough to leave the cave—that I'm some kind of bad guy, then it's gonna take a bit to win him back over. I'm sure he won't be happy to see me. But speed is of the essence. The faster we get this done, the better. With me?"
this place needs me here
[Outside Bed and Breakfast-Bed and Breakfast]
Amy saluted,
"Don't worry!" she said, "I'll be sure to make sure he'll believe you again! I'll do the very best I can!" She turned to Maya, "Remember, let's not get aggressive; that's not gonna help us."
...Why did you assume that I was gonna get aggressive? Maya signed.
Amy gave an awkward smile and looked away. "Um...well...considering what you've done today..."
Oh, fine. I'll reel it in. Let's just get this shit over with.
Without wasting anymore time, Maya walked inside the building. Amy turned to Omar again and gave him an apologetic look.
"Sorry about all this." she said, opening the door for him, "We really didn't mean to make your job harder...we just thought we were rescuing someone. Hopefully we can get Joseph on your side again; making enemies is no fun!"
Sorry for the shortness x_x
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Northern Desert - Horseback (Yamiko, Lupin, Mari, James, Kris, Kaitlyn)
Lupin listened as both James and Mari commented on there maybe being a wagon off to their rear left. As Mari was the one with power-sensing abilities, he believed it when she mentioned a gathering off in that direction. At that point he thought about how Zuri would react to it - but felt a weight in his chest, remembering the news about her death. There was also that extraterrestrial witch - what was her name again? - who could also read auras (and was much more adept at it than he was), and thus might have had some sort of reaction as well.
Oh, right, he was still on a galloping horse! One that just then made a slight turn to avoid a particularly large sagebrush plant. His thought having distracted him from the ride, he slid right off the side of the saddle. He reached out to grab the edge of it like Yamiko had when she nearly fell off, but missed, and right afterward he fell face-down into the plant the horse had turned to avoid.
Though the brush braced his fall somewhat, he still fell rather hard onto his left arm, which he could immediately tell was broken once his head fell against it. But apparently not too much, as it still felt straight and wasn't bleeding. Looking up at the departing horses in an attempt to distract him from the imminent pain, he could see only blurry blobs with some sort of tall landscape distantly behind them.
My glasses must have fallen off... but I believe that is the town up ahead... it looks kind of close by...
As he looked back down and began to feel around for his glasses, he felt the pain in his arm quickly yet gradually coming on, and so his attention shifted to enduring it, shutting his eyes tight and crying out in trembling gasps.
Shortly after Lupin fell, the horses began to slow to a stop, trembling with exhaustion. They did seem less frightened than before, at least. They were all just a couple of miles from the edge of the town by that time, having run far enough to clear quite a distance.
Even Yamiko noticed this, wearily straightening herself up and wiping the last of the blood off her nose. "The Dead God..." she stammered weakly, "...is gone." And she knew that without even turning around, as she lost the telepathic connection with it. Indeed, by that point, the Dead God had entered the portal and disappeared. Though she had been too disoriented to notice Lupin fall off of James's horse, she did look up and see the buildings in the near distance. "And we're close to... to..."
She was still heavily disoriented, so much so that she couldn't even think of the word "town". And also very tired, such that she closed her eyes again and held onto the saddle for support.
edited 18th Dec '16 12:32:01 AM 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.
Crazy Kiwi
Northern Desert - en route to town
[Yamiko, Lupin, Mari, Kaitlyn, Kris, James]James felt Lupin start to slide as the horse dodged one of the large scrubby plants that dotted this part of the desert. He reached out to the side and behind to help steady the young man but his hand barely brushed the lad's clothes as Lupin toppled from the horse and landed in the plant.
Instantly, James started to rein the horse in and turn it about but the speed was such that he had gone a fair distance before the horse slowed to an unsteady walk.
The other horses also slowed and stopped - whether from exhaustion or following the lead of his horse, James neither knew nor cared. They were almost at town now - no more than a couple of miles by James' estimation - that someone should fall off at this point was what Wolfe would describe as "just fucking typical".
As he headed back past the other horses towards the bush where Lupin had fallen, James heard Yamiko say something about the Dead God being gone. He looked up at the sky over the distant mountains and, sure enough, she was right.
Kris looked up into the sky at Yamiko's words, relieved to discover that she was right. The horse beneath them was practically spent so Kris swung herself to the ground, putting a steadying hand on Yamiko so that she would not fall off. "You stay up there," she said to the weakened young woman. There was no doubt about it: the horses would not be able to carry two people any further and the town still looked at least three kilometres away - the lightweight Yamiko was about the most this horse would be able to carry any distance - which was just as well, as it was clearly evident that the teen was incapable of walking anywhere. Kris turned to Kaitlyn. "Y'might wanna hop down, we're walking from here."
James located the shrub and Lupin - sans glasses and clearly in pain - with no difficulty and dismounted nearby. "Are you all right?" His keen eyes spotted a glint of reflected sunlight about a yard away from the shrub - it turned out to be Lupin's glasses, thankfully unharmed after their flight due, no doubt, to the soft sandy soil on which they landed. James retrieved them and handed them to Lupin. "Can you walk? We're going to have to walk the rest of the way to town, the horse won't carry us."
Kaitlyn slid down from the trembling horse, her own legs feeling somewhat rubbery and sore from having clung tightly to the horse during its madcap flight across the desert. Kris looked completely comfortable and unfazed and Kaitlyn felt like smacking her.
Town wasn't far away - about half an hour's walk on level terrain, probably somewhat more across the desert - and, as sore as her legs were, Kaitlyn preferred the prospect of walking to that of putting her sore arse back on that saddle.
edited 18th Dec '16 2:34:08 PM by Wolf1066
[Northern Desert] (Mari, Lupin, Yamiko, James, Kaitlyn, Kris)
Mari dismounted when the horses slowed down. Lupin had managed to fall of his horse and landed in a bush, quite painfully by the look of it. However, James beat her to going to his aid.
Shrugging, she pinged her surroundings when Yamiko said the Dead God had departed. Prior experience taught her that just because something makes a grand exit, it doesn't mean its gone. She squeezed her right arm at that thought. Completing a sweep of the landscape, Mari confirmed that the Dead God was indeed gone.
Mari walked over to Yamiko, making sure she was close enough to act if something happened. Considering the part she played in getting Yamiko drunk, she'd make sure that the incapacitated psychic wouldn't fall off her horse as well.
It didn't seem to be terribly far to town from here, and Mari wasn't phased by the prospect of walking there. Though when they got there, it'd be interesting to see Little Miss Optimist's reaction to Lupin and Yamiko's conditions, to say the least.
edited 22nd Dec '16 8:51:02 PM by WillDeRegio
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Joseph, Amy, Cynthia, Rin)
Connie glanced from Amy to the door knob. She reached for it. It turned easily, and the door had a looseness about it that told her nothing else was blocking its movement. No lock, no dead bolt, no rearranged furniture. If she wanted to throw the door open right then, nothing would stop her.
She let go of the door knob and turned around to face Amy. "It's not," she said reluctantly, "but I... you know, I want to respect his privacy." That was about twenty-five percent of the truth, if one was being generous. It was joined by a strange fear of what she would find on the other side. What if Davey had slipped, hitting his head on the edge of the sink and giving himself a concussion? What if the two strangers were up to something, and she would find Davey tied up on the other side of the door? What if the force was displacing Joseph had suddenly decided to jump ship and vanish her friend to some other time and place?
"Shit..." she muttered under her breath. She was being a worrywart again, but she couldn't help it. It had been hours since she'd seen him; hours following and including a series of very concerning events.
Fortunately for Connie, it seemed as though the other girl was distracted for the time being, as now Maya had pulled her own disappearing act.
Joe raised his head, quickly scanning the room for any sign of the girl. "She's not...?" he began, before looking at Amy and confessing, "That's weird, I thought she was here." He frowned thoughtfully, staring at the floor with a furrowed brow. He remembered seeing at least the back of her head while they were walking up Main street, but couldn't recall if he'd seen her since.
[Town ~ East of Main Street](Omar, Maya)
Omar reached back and began unzipping a different saddlebag on his motorcycle while Maya typed her next message. He leaned back forward shortly before she finished and quickly scanned over the new message.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded angrily, "Weller wasn't kidnapped! He came along of his own volition and no one was stopping him from leaving," he gestured at Maya, "obviously. I'm trying to help him! To get him home; to get him back on the right track. I don't know what business you think you've got meddling with that. If you cared about Weller at all, you would tell me where he is right the fuck now. Don't make me ask again."
As he spoke, Omar's hand fell upon the throttle, tensing nervously. Ready to act fast.
this place needs me here