Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Railway Street - Wagon (Vicky, Scents, Teri, Wolfe)
Vicky didn't need Merlin's aura-reading to tell that Scents seemed a bit wary as she shook her hand. It was no wonder she was all too glad to join Teri and Wolfe for a drink. If pure alcohol was anything similar to the Cosmic Potion she had drunk earlier, she was certain they would be well relaxed by the end of the evening. Though her face was still wet with tears, she turned to the three and smiled. "Enjoy yourselves, okay? I... I'm heading to the Washington myself with my classmates, so looks like the big amber whale will be washing away all our sorrows tonight."
With a smile and a nod and a wave of the hand, she turned around to face Matt, the wagon driver. "Well thank you for helping us," she said to him. "This must have been a very long and... interesting day for you."
Matt let out a small chuckle. "At least you didn't hold me at gunpoint and demand that I take you to a secret hideout and then not bother to kill me so that I could tell the sheriff. That was an interesting day."
They laughed, all the way to the stable. And witht he wagon returned, Vicky walked off away from the sunset, back in the direction of the Washington.
Railway Street - near the Washington (Gon, Ari, Amanda, Zuri, Vicky)
Gon and Ari had just spent the last few minutes helping Zuri walk, explaining to any passerby who asked that she was drunk. Here both of them were very thankful that Zuri had only died a couple of hours ago, thus her body had not begun to rot to a noticeable extent. Occasionally there was a person who remarked on a spectral form of Zuri floating slightly out of her body, to which Ari or (more likely) Gon would remark that they were drunk. And if said person got angry with them and tried to punch them in the face, their fist would pull away with a severe burn courtesy of Gon's pyrokinesis.
"My my, I wish I could conjure flames like that."
After one such burnt-fisted man walked away, a scrawny teenage girl walked toward the three in the opposite direction. "And raise the dead. That would be an interesting ability as well." She was fiddling with a magic wand of some sort, one featuring a red orb with black bat wings on the sides, all attached to a black stick the length of her forearm. But soon enough, she stuck this wand inside her purse, whose skull design completed the creepy look about her.
Gon scowled as Amanda approached. "I thought you were checking up on Yamiko."
"Oh I was," said Amanda with a shrug, "but the darkness in my aura was so offputting that I had to walk away before someone killed me."
While Gon was busy giving Amanda an awkward stare, Ari spoke to her. "Well, at any rate, I don't think they'll have wine at any of these saloons."
"Gon! Ari! Oh, and Amanda too."
All three of them looked behind them to see Vicky running in their direction. Once she approached, she looked Amanda directly in the eye. "So, I'm sure you heard the news about Zuri?"
Amanda took a glance at the ghost girl she didn't yet realize was an actual ghost. "Must be tired from a long day out in the sun," she remarked. "With someone as pale as her, I imagine the sun would be an effective instrument of torture. Why here she looks as if she's dying of heat exhaustion, even though the sunlight isn't that strong!"
While Gon and Ari looked at each other in confusion, Vicky said to the three of them, "Uh, let's go get a table, shall we?"
And so the four headed into the surprisingly upscale saloon, awaiting whatever adventures befell them.
Doc Carson's (Nemaforte, Oswald, Yamiko, Lupin, Merlin)
The nurse scowled when Oswald asked her about her name. "Did you know the name Abigail is an old-fashioned word for 'caretaker'? It's as if I was destined to become a nurse. Cursed, perhaps. But ah well, if it's what I'm good at, then I suppose I shouldn't complain, even if I did have ambitions of being something different."
For several moments she silently patched up the remainder of the wounds on Oswald's feet. But at the last minute she looked squarely up at him. "Something tells me the same may be true of you. You couldn't have wanted those horns and that snout, did you? What did you really want to be? At least that elf witch..."
The nurse took a glance at Nemaforte, who was sitting against the back of the chair with her eyes closed, not even reacting to what she said. "...Is too drugged out to worry about such things," she finished with a shrug. "Looks like all the both of you need is a good night's rest, and when morning comes you should be good as new. If I were you, though, I'd get out of this God forsaken place. Legend has it that the trains that leave the station travel to any place in the universe - I would have loved to go to Tahiti, but I'm stuck here in this dry and sweaty place. Tell me, if you could go anywhere in the universe right now, where would you go?"
While all this was going on, over in the other room, three men stared in shock at the woman who had just proclaimed that the world they were in was not real.
"...Not real?" Doc Carson remarked. "Young lady, you just woke up from a most pecular accident. Perhaps you should just rest..."
"I've rested enough," Yamiko spoke, sliding off the bed and batting away Merlin's hand when he reached out to her. And seconds later, a telepathic message reached everyone in the room except the Doctor. Worry about me later. Right now we should meet up with the others at the Washington.
She looked over at Lupin, and in the moment that their eyes met, Lupin was reminded of that eerie scene in the darkly-decorated bar, where the two of them were more impossibly fancily dressed than they currently were, solemnly saying casual goodbyes to each other. Lupin looked at Merlin... who then looked at the Doc. "So? What news of the fate of the child of darkness?" asked the short ponytailed man in the purple coat to the middle-aged stubbled man in the scrubs.
The Doctor nodded and gave Merlin a small smile. "I was content to let her go with a prescription for a good night's rest and a strong dose of caffeine. Honestly I think she could still use both."
With a chuckle, Merlin walked out of the room, and just then caught a glimpse of the elfin witch he had passed by on the way here. Much to his surprise though, her aura looked just about as weak as Yamiko's had been before she regained consciousness. Besides that, though, there was a definite otherworldly air about her. Same was true of the hairless minotaur she arrived with - though he actually looked to be recovering quite nicely.
He looked briefly back at Lupin. "The fates are telling me that one of these two is someone you know."
Ignoring Merlin's lofty prediction, Lupin replied. "I know the witch. She's actually from another planet, and is even better at reading auras than you are." But his voice was empty - and immediately after he spoke, he turned back to Yamiko, following as she walked out of the room, carrying the large and mostly empty rucksack with her. "Erm, you take care of them, all right?"
Merlin gazed on, stupefied, as the couple left, gazing defeatedly back at the horned patient and the pale potential patient, and the nurse who looked clearly annoyed given the state of her aura. Along with it, a hint of displeasure at perhaps her profession, or her hobbies, or both.
"So, we meet again," said Merlin to Oswald (as well as Nemaforte if she was listening), first lightly touching a hand to his own chest. "Merlin Caparelli, investigator of paranormal phenomena, and most pleased to make your bovine acquaintance. So let me guess. Weariness from being out in the desert too long?"
And then he looked over at the witch and the frayed nature of her aura. He heaved a sigh. "I would be inclined to help restore your aura as well, but all the energy I had for healing has been spent on the patient I initially came here for. Instead, all I can offer to the both of you is the opportunity to join us at the Washington."
"Ugh, you folks get to go out and celebrate," said Abigail, "while I'm just stuck in here working. Fortunately, you should be fine, so long as you don't drink too much or wander out into the desert again."
edited 10th Mar '17 10:39:51 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.
[Town ~ Outside Doc Carson's] (Mari, Kaitlyn)
Mari nodded, "Yeah, I've seen pleanty o' people actin' this way. Weird shit does that t'people." She cast her gaze up towards the darkening evening sky, "Though, today wouldn't really count as terribly weird in my book."
With the offer of joining Kaitlyn at a local pub, Mari grinned. "Sure, I'm game for that," she said. "Lead the way."
[Southern Desert ~ Cave (Underground Bunker)] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)
Cynthia pursed her lips as Rin told her and Joseph to stay put. "I can..." she started, do what exactly? I'm a knight, not an electrician! She grumbled something, more of a squeak actually, in discontent and plopped down on the ground, leaving her magical light floating in mid air.
"Well, even if we can't get the generator back up and running, at least I'm still here, so you guys won't have to be in the dark," Cynthia said, holding out her palm so the ball of light could return to it, before lofting it up for emphasis.
She craned her head towards Rin as she headed towards the generator, somewhere in the shadows of the room. "Do you need some light over there?" Cynthia asked.
The rat, having been shooed out of the way by Rin, took a position on a bookshelf just within the range of Cynthia's light. It resumed grooming, staring at the giants who had interrupted its day.
Crazy Kiwi
E. Railway Street
[Iraal, Scents, Vicky, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]As Iraal settled the account, Gwion was relieved to hear that unprofessional behaviour was quite rare - it seemed that Iraal was just naturally untrusting of others.
She was quite candid about how she felt about the day's "adventure" and Gwion was inclined to agree with her. It had been, in his estimation, a complete Charlie Foxtrot. He had not been particularly enthused by the prospect of walking vast distances through a wilderness, but he hadn't wanted the entire expedition to be first jeopardised by outside influences and then completely cancelled due to the unexpected activation of the target.
Her plans and question about his own gave him cause to smile. He had not been able to hear much of the exchange between the two "Mad Bastards" and Scents, but he had heard enough to gather that they were planning to go to the saloon. "Well, since I'm now officially off duty, I was planning on having a drink - and so, it would seem, is your assistant."
Scents was already striking out in the direction of The Tipsy Toad, which was, as far as Gwion knew, where the other "Mad Bastards" and his friends were. "Would you care to join us all for a drink? My shout, the beverage of your choice. You'll at least be in the right place to collect your assistant." He remembered what she had said earlier. "You need not fear any unprofessional behaviour."
Teri and Wolfe waved as Vicky walked off then gathered up their few personal belongings, including the .22 calibre rifle that Wolfe had recently purchased.
Wolfe turned to Matt. "Thanks for everything, mate, sorry it was such a shit of a time. You can keep our provisions as extra payment - we won't be needing 'em, now."
Matt nodded his thanks and watched as Teri and Wolfe headed up the street after the furry one. He shook his head - odd how a furry alien and a green alien should be the amongst the least unusual things on the journey. He looked in the direction of the green alien and the man with the artificial arm - once they had claimed their belongings he could be on his way back to the stable, a nice meal and a good strong whiskey...
Outside Doc Carson's —> The Tipsy Toad
[Mari, Kaitlyn + Sophia, Kris, Peggy, Finn, James, Karl, Aubrey]Kaitlyn shook her head softly. It might not have been a weird day by Mari's standards, but from her own point of view - which included people having themselves surgically modified and enhanced to resemble creatures of fantasy then living under the streets of a city and people who believed they could spiritually transform into wolves - it had been a seriously fucked-up day.
As Mari was amenable to the idea of finding a pub, Kaitlyn detached herself from the hitching rail. It seemed that everyone was congregating at The Tipsy Toad - that was where Kris had got off and where James would have gone after the Livery Stable, apparently Sophia, Finn and the two younger ones from Terra Nova were already there and no doubt Gwion and the others would make their way there eventually - so that was the direction she headed.
It wasn't a long walk at all and as soon as she pushed open the swinging doors she could see the clump of familiar people around one of the tables. The one unfamiliar face belonged to a middle-aged guy with mutton chops, dark three-piece suit and a bowler - that just had to be "Aubrey".
[Town ~ The Tipsy Toad] (Mari, Aubrey, Finn, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia)
Mari pushed her way into The Tipsy Toad, minding the top of the door frame along the way. Gathered there around a table in a nice, sizable group, was James and Kris from the trip out of the desert, along with a few new faces.
Mari pulled up a chair and squeezed in at the table, giving a nod in greeting to Kris and James. "'Ello! Name's Mari," she said to the others, grinning.
edited 12th Mar '17 7:22:17 PM by WillDeRegio
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Maya)
"In truth," Davey murmured, unbuttoning the flowery shirt Connie had brought him, "I never quite found the appropriate mood for this one. Well," he shrugged, "do-or-die I guess."
He and Connie both turned to look as Amy returned from her shower, dressed in radiant colors and looking altogether spick-and-span compared to the other two girls. "Now there's a hat I haven't seen in a while," Davey remarked, pulling his arms through his shirt sleeves.
"Whoa, careful," Connie said as Amy hugged her. "you don't want to undo all that cleaning you just did, do you?" She smiled, though she still seemed just a little less energetic than she had been before. "It's good to see you too, Amy. And you do look nice, you know. Try not to muss it up."
Davey squirmed in his seat a tiny, near-imperceptible bit when Amy doted over the mere idea of he and Maya 'playing'. He had just about finished buttoning his shirt up, and was now eyeing it as best he could to see how he looked. No angle was particularly reaffirming.
To Amy's question about what to do next, Connie frowned and offered up a shrug. "Well," she said, "I mean... I told Aubrey to meet us here so we could go get dinner, you know, in celebration of his liberation and all that."
"Very impressive work, by the way," Davey mentioned.
"Thanks," Connie said, beaming for a moment. "Anyway, so I guess we wait here, or at least have someone wait here for when he shows up. Unless... you don't think my instructions were too vague, do you?"
"There's also the matter of Cynthia," Davey added, nodding to the pile of her stuff a few feet a way, "I volunteered to look after her belongings while she helped your friend, remember?"
Connie nodded, "Right, yeah, yeah, I think I was a little spaced out just then, but yeah, now that you mention it, I told Joe to come back if things don't work out in that cave. If he does come back, I guess he'd be with her. So, yeah... like I said, at least one person has to stay here and be in charge of all that. Or we could all stay here until they show up, you know? I think me and Maya could probably use showers too."
She glanced at the other two girls, turning her hands out in a shrug, as though to ask, ;whaddya think?
[Town ~ Doc Carson's] (Oswald, Merlin, Nemaforte)
"Ambitions don't like to be ignored," Oswald said with a small, knowing smile. "They'll eat at you bit by bit until little else is left and they can't be ignored any longer." There was a pause, then he smiled more broadly, "Or so I'm told."
He popped a date into his mouth, chewing it slowly and savoring the flavor, a look of quiet contentment filling his face. That contentment was was replaced swiftly by a puzzled frown when the nurse asked him about his own supposed destiny.
"I don't know." He said quite plainly. "Most don't usually ask me so directly, and... well, I don't know." He tapped his sooty fingers against the side of his head and gazed down the length of his snout. "I've been this way as long as I can remember. From the day I was born, according to my mother. She had the grace to love and raise me as any other child for as long as she was able. In honesty, there were a few caveats; I wasn't allowed to go out very often, and very few people were allowed to know about me. I lived in extreme seclusion but... for as strange as it may sound, I don't resent it."
His eyes having lost a bit of their focus, returned to find the nurse. "Should I resent it? Certainly I never asked to be born the way that I am, but then I never asked to be born at all, and I'm just as certainly not sorry to be alive. In any case, this is the only way I've ever been. I don't know any other way. I wasn't even aware that I had a curse for most of my life. I was simply different, and even learning that much was quite the overdue revelation."
He looked down slightly, his wide mouth bearing a faint smile at the reminiscence. "When I first learned of the curse, I wondered if there was something in me that felt incomplete or missing, or perhaps untrue, because of it. Because of it's presence, and how it was altering my natural state of being, I suppose. I thought I might feel unnatural, but if I do, I don't recognize it. When I look in the mirror, I don't see something twisted and bent away from nature's intention. I just I see myself. Would I have had an easier life without this curse? You could argue that, yes. Could I still have an easier life if I were somehow able to rid myself of it?" He raised his shoulders, "Maybe so. Would I have fewer problems? Would I simply have different problems? Would I be a better person? Would I be happier?"
Oswald closed his eyes for a long and slow blink. He gave a slight shake of his head, little more than a shiver. "I don't know. I can't know. And to be honest, I don't think about it all that much. Yearning after wild suppositions just doesn't seem healthy to me."
He cracked a smile and laughed a short laugh that was heartier than any he'd had in weeks. "Look at me," he said, reaching for the glass of water, "getting talkative again; I really must be feeling better." He patted the mattress with the end of his tail and asked, with a half-serious enthusiasm in his eyes, "Oh please tell me, is this some kind of magic bed?"
After a drink of water, a few almonds, more water, another date, and a bit more water beyond that, Oswald considered the nurse's second question. "Ah... Tahiti." He smiled and hummed out a sigh, "Mmm, Tahiti sounds wonderful. I don't think I'd mind ending up there once my travelling days are behind me. But for now, I do have a destination in mind: Nova Scotia. Or maybe I'd go to the set of Metropolis, if that's an option." His eyes lit up again, "Oh, that would be something."
A moment passed and his brief ardency faded into something far more sober. "Of course, I won't be going anywhere for a while. Not until I'm well enough to find work, and then not until I've worked enough to afford my way back into a state of decency. I've been set quite flat on my back by this latest escapade. I have no money, no supplies, nothing but the rags I'm wearing now I'm afraid."
Oswald was gnawing on a piece of toast when the short young man from earlier stepped back into the room, accompanied by two others. After sharing a few words, they parted ways, leaving only the shorter young man behind. He set his sights on Oswald and introduced himself as one Merlin Caparelli. Oswald smiled, and barely restrained an amused snort at Merlin's choice of words to describe his 'acquaintance.'
"Oswald Orozco," he replied, setting aside his toast and performing his best bedridden bow, "most pleased to make your own." At Merlin's guess, he tilted his head with a quick frown, "Not quite. I was in the woods mostly, for several days. My hearing and my vision were affected by an unusual curse, put upon me. I couldn't see certain things, or hear them. People, wildlife, I presume. Perhaps even the paths I tried to remember. I lost every campsite I tried to set up. I couldn't hunt anything. It was only by some miraculous fortune that I crossed the path of her expedition," he lifted his head, nodding it towards Nemaforte. "Without their intervention, I fear I would have starved to death, if I didn't end up choking on rocks first."
He smiled sadly, lowering his head and becoming silent for a few moments. "I suppose this desert must be veritable goldmine for an investigator of paranormal phenomena, what with crazies like me wandering around. Mhmm... hm."
When Merlin made his offer, curiosity once again overtook his eyes. "The Washington?" he repeated. "Is that a bar?" Once again, the enthusiasm faded moments later. "Oh, I don't think I'm in any fit state to be out socializing. If we ignore my mess of an appearance, I still don't have any money. And even if I could somehow open a tab, that seems like an unwise decision before I have some form of income. But thank you for the invitation, and by all means, enjoy. And Nemaforte," he raised his head and spoke up a little more, "Don't let me keep you here."
His gaze lingered on her for a while longer, and the longer he looked, the deeper his concern grew.
[Southern Desert ~ Subterranean Shelter] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)
"Waiting, sure," Joseph nodded, content to remain as close to Cynthia's glowing ball of light and the blessing of general-visibility-of-any-sort that it provided. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly close to any of the walls, so he had to just stand there uneasily, tail swaying slowly, and head swiveling like mad as he watched the shadows for movement. Despite the plausible explanations for everything that seemed fishy, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and now he had some dreadful sensation writhing it's way through his insides, this idea that firing up the generator would illuminate the whole fish trap and seal the deal.
He closed his eyes. The light Cynthia had conjured still lit up his eyelids. It's okay, he thought, just cut it out. You're fine. Nothing is wrong. You're going to be fine, and in just a few minutes, you're going to go home. At least nothing soun-
A rapid skittering sound interrupted his thoughts, and his eyes opened wide. It was, of course, just the rat, climbing up onto the nearby bookshelf. He held his breath, gritting his teeth in a self-effacing grimace, then let it all out when he had calmed his wary mind. Crap... I'm losing it. At least had never been afraid of rats, even ones on the large-side.
In an effort to keep himself a little more distracted, he turned his attention to Cynthia's magic light. He stepped a little closer to it and reached out his hand, as though to touch it.
"So, uh... is this one of those coin-behind-the-ear sort of tricks?" he asked, jokingly. "You know, normally I only see these inside of light bulbs, so it's pretty cool to see one out in the wild. A light, I mean."
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Amy blushed when Connie complimented her.
"Aww, shucks." she said, holding her cheeks, "You're too sweet! Thank you!"
See, Maya signed, Knew you secretly had a thing for Amy.
"Maya! Don't ruin this!" Clearing her throat, Amy continued, "Anyway, I can wait! Aubrey is taking a bit, but he could just be getting used to the outdoors again. Who knows how long he's been down there? Poor man. And hopefully Cynthia comes back too! That just means we have a big group! And we can make more friends!"
Maya streched. In the meantime, me and Connie should hit the showers. We've been out there for a long ass time, and I'm starting to smell.
"We'll wait for you two out here!" Amy said, sitting in the chair, "That just means I get to talk to Davey a little longer! Which is always fun! I love talking to Davey!"
Yeah. Maya signed, smirking, We can tell.
Attitude is prohibited
[Subterranean Shelter]
The generator was a pretty simple contraption, as it turned out, and the instructions were quite clear. Rin flicked a switch, turned a knob and pushed a button. The generator roared to life and rumbled loudly for a few moments, as if protesting its activation, before settling into a consistent - and somewhat quieter - droning. The lights all flickered a few times before turning on properly, and Rin smiled as she surveyed the room, her visor disappearing off her face. "That's better," she said. Hopefully Omar was indeed a trustworthy individual, and the generator hadn't activated anything nefarious...
Feeling a tad more optimistic than before, she walked back over to Cynthia and Joseph. "That should make things easier," she said. "Let's continue on, shall we?"
Not entirely dead.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Doc Carson's (Nemaforte, Oswald, Merlin)
While Oswald was telling the tale of his curse, Abigail listened intently, but quickly lost interest when he talked about being isolated. Once he was done, she shook her head. "Some witch doctor out there is in for a whole lotta trouble."
"A witch doctor am I." The voice came from Nemaforte, who was still leaning back in the chair and looking excessively tired, but had opened her eyes just enough to see the bleary images of Oswald and Abigail in the room. She spoke to the former, but couldn't for the life of her think of his name. "So both us with curse for long. From mine was an herb, but not all for my life..." Her words were a bit more slurred than usual. She gazed around the room for some time, and had a hard time recognizing half of the objects in it. It even took her a while to figure out that the thing Oswald was sitting on was a bed - a "magic bed" as he jokingly called it. Ah, Oswald, that was his name - though she was barely paying attention.
"Nova Scotia?" Abigail said to Oswald on the mention of travel. "Nice place, though a bit cold for menote . Though if I were homeless like you, I'd probably go somewhere in Europe - probably something like Spain, Italy, or Greece since everywhere else is too cold. Or better yet, somewhere where there's a Satanist cult - you'd fit right in there. Or in a metal band."
"I do not believe he sounds like the type to associate with Satanists," Merlin mentioned, and leaned in toward Oswald, jabbing a thumb in Abigail's direction. "Can you believe this woman? If you ask me, so far her rear end sounds more appealing than her front." He noted how her scrubs fit rather tightly around her hips.
Just then he felt the pillow from the bed hitting his back. "I heard that, you perv," said Abigail in a scathing tone. Ignoring her, Merlin spoke in a more "proper" manner to Oswald, and smiled a bit when he mentioned paranormal excursions into the desert. "Well as a matter of fact, my classmates and I have had our share of paranormal activity already - though I believe it carried over from Boston. I wouldn't consider you a weirdo though - if anything, you remind me of a minotaur. In fact, I'd be all too glad to buy you a drink if you do decide to join us. But if you would prefer to rest, I would encourage it."
He turned to Nemaforte. "And you don't look so well yourself. Your aura looked most peculiar when I walked in - similar to when I saw Warren's when he was on an acid trip," he added as an aside. His gaze fell to her slightly-open bag, where he could just barely make out a couple of plants with unusually strong auras about them.
Nemaforte let out a very faint chuckle. "How does acid... trip you? Would not... burn you afooooore?" It took her quite a while to remember that the other kind of acid is corrosive. After she finished her sentence, her eyes slid shut once more.
Merlin looked at her slightly wide-eyed for a moment - her aura, especially around her head, looked noticeably weaker than that of a person who was merely sleepy. At that time, he saw the Doctor walk by out of the corner of his eye. As he gave him a closer and more curious look, even though he had his back turned, he appeared to notice him, turning around to face Merlin and Nemaforte. "Is there a problem?" And then he saw the look of concern in Merlin's marble-green eyes, and gazed over to the elfin witch. He sighed. "She looks like my nephew after he returns from one of those raves. He always does waaaaaay too much molly at those. Was she on any sort of drug, by any chance?" That question was directed at everyone in the room. Abigail merely shrugged; Merlin merely said it's a possibility.
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
The Tipsy Toad
[Mari, Kaitlyn, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Karl, James, Finn, Aubrey]The mood around the table was light. Aubrey was overjoyed because not only was he free, he was in the company of former comrades who had taken the time and effort to go looking for him. Kris, Peggy, Karl and James, for their part, were overjoyed to see that Aubrey was safe and well and had been amazed to hear of his imprisonment and eventual rescue. Sophia and Finn were just glad that their sortie into the desert, although ultimately fruitless, had had a happy ending - and, if the truth were to be known, that there was no more need to go searching.
Kaitlyn was glad, after the arduous and often bizarre journey in the wilderness, to be able to sit down on something that didn't move beneath her, wasn't likely to suddenly take off and that she didn't have to grip with her thighs. Being reunited with two of her friends was just the 'icing on the cake', so far as she was concerned.
Mari's arrival and good-humoured self-insertion into the group was met with smiles and introductions and good humour.
Aubrey was quite taken aback at her height - he had always imagined Japanese as being shorter than the average person - but accepted her arrival. After all, James and Kris clearly knew her and she seemed an affable sort.
Kaitlyn looked at the door. There was no way of telling when Gwion and the other two would arrive and she wasn't prepared to wait for a drink. She called over the young serving girl, ordered herself a pint of beer and then turned to Mari. "Whatcha havin'? My shout."
Sophia looked up, all ears. "If you're shouting, I'll have another beer, thanks."
Finn wordlessly slid his now-empty whiskey glass across the table towards Kaitlyn.
James looked over at Mari as Kaitlyn was obviously otherwise busy. "How are Yamiko and Lupin faring?"
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Maya)
Connie only rolled her eyes at Maya's message, letting out a small sigh before folding her arms and taking position against a nearby wall.
"Sounds groovy," she said with a languid smile, once all had been decided. "Maya," she turned her eyes back to the other girl and gestured further down the hall, where Amy had come from, "you can go ahead and get started on that shower. I'm gonna grab a change of clothes, and then hit the other shower."
Davey blinked and wrinkled his furry brow. "There's another shower?"
Connie stared at him for a moment, as though she hadn't quite registered his question as a question, or as though she couldn't understand why there was a question to be asked in the first place. "...yes, it's in the back room. Margaret's room?"
"Margaret's room?" he repeated, surprise overtaking confusion.
"Yes", Connie declared again, "I talked to her yesterday, remember? She said I could use that shower if you were hogging the main one." She hesitated, ultimately deciding to leave out Margaret's rather choice musing, wherein she had wondered aloud whether or not Davey even took showers anymore, or if he just licked himself clean.
It was probably a good call, Davey looked sour enough with just the shower-hogging comment on his mind. "Well," he grumbled, "isn't that just like her…"
Connie edged towards the stairs, with only a soft, "Ciao," to signal her departure. In truth, she was trying hard to keep her amusement from showing. There was still something that struck her as funny when Davey got upset, at least about trifling matters. Something in the disconnect between his serious temperament and his small and—though she'd never say it in front of him—cute appearance. Once she started climbing the stairs, it was all smiles.
"Where is that woman, anyway?" Davey muttered, folding his arms. "It's a curious way to manage an establishment, disappearing without a word. She's lucky the building is still standing, all things considered." Suddenly, a mischievous smile crossed his face, and he glanced at Amy.
"Hey, what do you think about drumming up a tall-ish tale, about the heroism we displayed in defending this bed and breakfast from an army of tanks? You know," he grinned, whiskers bouncing, "something to tell Margaret when she finally shows up. It would be a heck of a way to introduce you and Maya."
[Town ~ Doc Carson's] (Oswald, Merlin, Nemaforte)
Oswald's expression—which had turned quite stony in staring at Nemaforte's listlessness—softened into a warm smile when she finally spoke up. Of her statement, he said nothing, perhaps not even bothering to try figuring out what she meant by it. He seemed relieved enough that she hadn't slipped into a coma.
"Well, Abigail," he said, turning his eyes to the nurse, "I grew up in a place not all that far south of there, in a house by the sea. I've spent many days on those snow coated beaches, and I've faced down that icy tide. Needless to say, the cold doesn't bother me much." He popped another date into his mouth and leaned back a bit, resting his hands behind his head. "In any case, I don't know that I'd settle down in Novia Scotia. As of yet, I hope only to find someone there, in Mahone Bay. I might be years late, but I've fixed my mind upon going, so go I will," he nodded slowly, "and go I have."
His nostrils flared slightly as he sighed, "Whatever comes of that... I am still young. I haven't been doing it for very long, this travelling. Seeing the world beyond the silver screen. Who can say? Maybe I will go to Europe. As for affiliating with Satanists…" he tilted his head in consideration, "it would save me the trouble of trying to convince people that I'm not affiliated with Satanists. But then I'd have some mighty expectations to meet." He shook his head with a small smile, "I don't think they would be very impressed."
Oswald was chewing on his last bit of toast when Merlin's remarked about the nurse's rear end, to which he stopped chewing and met the young man with a very dry stare. He resumed his chewing with a bit of a smile as the soft thud of a pillow signalled the nurse's vengeance.
"Mm, minotaur," he repeated when Merlin brought it up. "I've heard that before." He frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on his feet at the end of the bed. "I don't know if I'm fond of the comparison. It's a sad story, the Minotaur's... but I'd be lying to say that I don't see the resemblance."
To the young man's offer, his smile returned in a slighter form. "That's very kind of you, I-" his words caught, and he closed his mouth for a thoughtful moment. "Hmn... well, perhaps. I would have to wash my hands and face at the very least." His eyes lit up, and he turned his attention back to the nurse, "Abigail, is there a sink around here that you could, perhaps, point me towards?"
Merlin turned to focus on Nemaforte, looking, to Oswald's dismay, rather concerned about her prevailing condition. It even attracted the attention the doctor himself. To the man's question, Oswald hesitated, then began nodding slowly, "Yes... yes, I believe she was. I've seen her consume some substances from her bag. I suppose that would explain..."
His words trailed off, and, like a revolving door, the concerned stare returned.
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Maya gave a two finger salute. See ya'll in a bit.
After she left, Amy nodded excitedly at Davey.
"Great!" she said, "I can't wait to tell her about how we survived the tanks, and about how you managed to fight them off! That's gonna be so cool!"
She then realized something. "Hey...you never really told me what Margret is like. Is she nice? How long have you known her? Are you guys close friends?"
She then tilted her head.
"Now that I think about it, did she invite you guys to this place? I meant to ask you all of that earlier, but...you know. Tanks." She scratched her head, "You guys talk about her a lot, so I'm curious! Then again, I'm always curious about new people!"
[Town ~ The Tipsy Toad] (Mari, Aubrey, Finn, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia)
"I'll take a pint, too," Mari said, leaning back in her chair, noting her arrival had elicited a small amount of surprise from the man in period dress. She smiled at him.
She then turned towards James. "They should be restin' up at Doc Carson's. Lupin should be alright, just a broken arm," Mari replied, noting how mundane she made breaking an arm sound. "Yamiko... she's alive, but the doc ain't certain 'ow much damage 'er mind took pokin' at that Dead God thingy." She frowned, "lights are on, but nobody's 'ome right now."
Mari crossed her arms, "A few of 'er classmates showed up, and one o'em said she might be able to 'elp, so Yamiko's case ain't totally 'opeless."
[Southern Desert ~ Cave (Underground Bunker)] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)
Cynthia observed Joseph as he nervously stood around being unnerved by the things going on around him. She began to pull the ball of light away when Joseph began to reach for it. "It's not a trick. This is an orb of luminescent ether, and you really wouldn't want to stick your hand in it," she warned.
Then the room's lights flickered on, apparently Rin had found the generator. Now that the room was properly illuminated, Cynthia dispersed her spell, the ball of light fading away into small particles. The young knight stood up when Rin returned.
"Hmm?" Cynthia tilted her head when Rin suggested that they continue on. "Didn't Omar say we should wait here for him?" she asked. With the insistence on the frailty of the means of getting Joseph back home, Cynthia didn't want to go poking around and accidentally trap the salamander man here.
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Maya)
"Oh yes, yes," Davey said, nodding enthusiastically in return, "and somewhere we'll have to work in how you three rescued a prisoner of war. Or let's make it two, we'll call your amphibian friend one as well."
He paused for a moment, sighing contentedly as he leaned back in his chair. "Doubtless she won't take my word for it, but," he directed a finger towards the front door, "if we show her the tracks outside, we might just earn enough credibility to sell the rest of the story."
When Amy began asking about Margaret herself, his smile faltered. "Margaret... well, I suppose it depends. She's certainly capable of being nice. I might even go so far as to say she's nice to most people; she and Connie seemed to have hit it off well enough. But she and I," he shook his head, "we have some trouble getting along. This is only the second time I've met her, actually, and the last—eh, first—time was nearly five years ago. You would think that after all that time, after how we've changed, or at least how we've presumed to change, we'd both be willing to let bygones be bygones, but..." he shook his head again and threw his small shoulders up in a shrug, "going by yesterday, you could convince me that not a minute has passed since then."
Davey looked away and waved his hand as if he were shooing a fly, "Anyway, she's Rip's aunt, actually. I don't know if it was so much an invitation, but she's said this place is always open to him. Usually he'll go alone because he knows how we are, me and- ...well. But this is the first time the opportunity has arisen since Connie came on board, so I suppose it seemed easier to bring us both along."
He turned his head and gave a long glance at the front door. "I do wonder where she is. And why she left. And why she hasn't returned." His mouth twisted into a half-hearted smile, "I hope it's not just because I'm here."
[Southern Desert ~ Subterranean Shelter] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)
Joseph snatched his hand back, and put on a stupid grin. "Oh yeah, sure, y'know, I- I- I was just kidding anyway." Stop being such a friggin' child.
He turned his head away, trying to find something else to focus on. It wasn't easy when most everything in any given direction was pitch dark. It only served to make him feel more uneasy, which in turn made him feel irritated and confused with himself. He had never had issues with the dark before, at least not to his knowledge, as far back as he could recall. Yet he was more panicky than he'd ever been since arriving in the desert. He kept clinging to and worrying about small things, whatever he could lay his hands on, trying to blow them up into potential catastrophes. It was as if, somehow, deep in his subconscious, he wanted some kind of complication. Like he wouldn't know what to do if things just went smoothly for five minutes.
Fortunately, he wasn't left with his thoughts for too long, as the generator roared its declaration of life like a very inarticulate Victor Frankenstein. And with that life came light, and with that light came the the realization that no, there wasn't anything sinister lurking in the dark corners of the room. It was just him, Cynthia, Rin, and a large—and probably irritated—rat.
Against great resistance, Joe found it in himself to relax for just a moment, at least about that which he could now see. If he was being honest with himself, it was a little relieving to see the room again, just the same as he and his companions had left it earlier that afternoon.
On the subject of whether or not they should continue, he pointed to the now-visible gaping hole in the wall said, "I mean, I've been in there, I know where it goes, but, yeah, Omar is the one who knows what we're supposed to be doing, and whatever we're supposed to find in there," he shrugged, "we didn't see it the first time around. So, uh, I guess it makes more sense to wait, doesn't it?"
He moved towards the nearest wall, leaned against it, and stuck his hands in his pockets. Then he glanced between Rin and Cynthia, and asked, "Have I said thanks yet, by the way? Cause I- I mean, really," he tried giving them heach as sincere a look of appreciation as he and his weird lizardy head could muster, "thanks. I mean I'd like to just trust Omar and everything, but my life has been so relentlessly crazy lately, I just don't know what to believe. So I'm... I'm just really glad that you two came along. I wish I could pay you or something." He paused for a moment, then, with a big dumb grin, he shrugged and suggested, "I could give you my autograph. You know, in the super off chance that it magically becomes worth something."
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Amy tilted her head. "Well, if she ever shows up, I'll make sure she'll be nice to you! I'll probably pinch her cheeks until she does!"
After a minute, she fell silent, which would be a red flag that something was wrong. She looked uncomfortably at the outdoors, then gave a very heavy sigh and turned back to Davey.
"...Hey, Davey?" she then said. "There's...something I have to tell you."
She lowered her head.
"You know earlier when I told that story about me and Maya? The story of how we flew in the storm and how Maya saved us in mid flight? Well...we made most of that up." She rubbed her arm, "We really did take uncle's plane, and it really did start storming...but Maya didn't fix the plane mid flight. The truth is...the plane crashed. I got hurt really badly and Maya had to carry me to a hospital. I wouldn't be here right now talking to you if she didn't."
She wiped her eyes.
"We always agreed to tell that exaggerated version because...I wanted you guys to think we were amazing. Who wants to hear a story of two girls nearly dying because they were being stupid? No one! So...we stretched the truth. But you probably already knew I wasn't being honest."
She looked back at Davey. "I'm sorry. I-I like you guys and I wanted you guys to like us but...I-I should've been honest. ...Are you mad at me?"
Attitude is prohibited
[Subterranean Shelter]
Rin waved a dismissive hand as Joseph thanked her for coming with him, and smiled. "Don't worry about it. We're happy to help," she glanced over at Cynthia. "Right?"
Truthfully, such selflessness was a bit unlike her. She couldn't quite identify why she'd been so eager to help the strange, lizardy boy - man? - called Joseph. Had she felt sorry for him? He was remarkably human, after all, especially for a peculiar reptile. Could it really be so simple as her not trusting Omar? She'd never been one to put much stock in instinct and intuition, but what other justification did she have? She'd only spoken with the man for a handful of minutes. That was hardly enough time to form an informed opinion. And speaking of Omar...
She shifted her attention over to the hole in the wall. "I suppose he did say to wait here, didn't he?" she mused. "But on the other hand, I am quite curious." She stared at the hole intently for a few moment, then looked back at Joseph and Cynthia. "I'm thinking of scouting ahead a bit. Not far, just peek. Would you two like to stay here, or come with me?"
She had tried to be a bit casual, but her tone and her expression were utterly serious. It was clear that she was going on ahead, with or without any company.
Not entirely dead.
[E. Railroad Street (Iraal, Gwion, Scents, Teri, Wolfe)]
"Actually, I think it would be best if we simply got out of here as soon as possible," Iraal told Gwion. "I'm sure Scents can find more than enough places to intoxicate herself on Gluvpakis." A line of text scrolled across her vision. "The planet where we will be returning to," she clarified.
She sent a message to Scents, as well as a recall command to Student's Lament. The robot whirred to life and moved straight off the back of the wagon onto the street, its all-terrain undercarriage easily absorbing the shock, while the vayen turned and flicked her ears in an acknowledgment.
Turning back to Teri and Wolfe, Scents waved a paw in what she understood to be a farewell. "On second thought, doc says we should just go home now before anything else stupid and supernatural happens," she told them. "See you around. That's not a meaningless statement - doc says people who go through the Gates meet up again way more than coincidence should call for. I'd call it the One, but... yeah, I'm going to have to do some thinking now after that ghost thing."
She turned back towards the wagon to retrieve their remaining items, while Iraal inclined her head slightly to Gwion. Once any final remarks had been said, the two of them would depart for the train station in hopes of catching a late-evening route home.
Yeah, I just can't muster the energy to keep these two going.
[Southern Desert ~ Cave (Underground Bunker)] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)
Cythia nodded vigorously, "Yeah, no problem at all!"
The young knight frowned at Rin's insistence at exploring the caves. She tapped her chin a few times before snapping her fingers, her eye metaphorically lighting up as she came upon an idea.
Holding her palm out, Cynthia cast a spell to form a pair of glimmering white orbs, bound by a thread of light. She passed one of the orbs to Rin. "If Joseph wants to stay here, I can stay with him. But, you can take this with you, and if you find something interesting, just squeeze the ball, and it changes colors. That way, we can follow the string to find you. I can do the same on my end if Omar shows up while your gone. Just head back if it turns red," she instructed.
She turned to Joseph, "Or, we can leave an orb here if we all want to go exploring so we can find our way back, or so Omar can find us when he gets here, which ever happens first." She crossed her arms. "I'll go where ever you go, Joseph," Cynthia said, briefly nodding her head.
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Maya)
Davey laughed quietly when Amy described her method of making Margaret treat him well. "Somehow," he said, running a hand across his head and ears, "I don't think that would go over so well. Call me crazy."
When the next few seconds passed in silence, he raised his head to look at Amy, wondering where her thoughts were. Judging by her averted eyes and generally glum aura, they were fixed on something heavy.
Before Davey could ask, Amy raised her head and explained exactly what was bothering her. It turned out that her earlier plane story had been slightly... embellished, to put it nicely. That the story of Maya diagnosing and nebulously fixing a plane in freefall during a thunderstorm wasn't entirely true came as no surprise at all, but the real story that had been tidied over was felt with bit more of a shock.
He blinked, looking at Amy with renewed curiosity, searching to see if there was any visible scar tissue, or some other indication of how badly she had been injured. It seemed she had been very, very lucky to have come away from such a perilous accident as physically able as he'd seen her act all day. He even had a mind to tell her so, but watching her trying to avoid tears, and worrying about what he thought of her, Davey knew it wasn't the right thing to say. He could think of a dozen things to say, but none of them felt right. Even in his mind they sounded ineffectual. Misplaced advice, useless wisdom, half-hearted words of comfort. No, it was all wrong.
He pulled in and let out his breath in slow, controlled measures, then pushed himself out of his chair and onto the floor. He gave his shirt and pants a quick once-over with his hands to straighten out the old wrinkles and replace them with new wrinkles, then looked at Amy again. Between the less-obviously expressive features of his face and the oblique nature of the expression itself, it was hard to say if his look was more concerned or more stern. Leaving little time to wonder, Davey walked across the floor to where Amy was. He stood before her, raising his head slightly to meet her eyes.
Without a word, he opened his arms, held them out, and embraced her in a hug.
"We all make mistakes, Amy. It's okay. It's part of being human. Being ashamed of something, wanting to hide it, I understand completely. Believe me, I've got plenty of stories that I gussy up, or strip to leave out the rough parts, or just don't tell at all. It's okay. Trust me," he pulled back slightly and shook his head, "I'm not mad."
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
To Amy's surprise, Davey hugged her first. Her surprise then turned to relief when Davey forgave her, and understood why she did what she did.
"Thank you..." she said, "I was so worried; I don't have a lot of friends besides you guys and Maya, so I was scared to tell you the truth."
She rubbed the back of her head.
"The truth is that my uncle and grandma are still worried about me flying even though I gotten better, so I wanted to prove to them hat everything would be fine! So me and Maya flew the plane again...and that's how we ended up here. Thinking back now, it was really stupid...but then I would've never met you or the others!"
She twisted her lip. "But now I'm kind of nervous of telling Connie; she's already scared of planes..." Shook her head, "But you don't wanna hear me talk about myself a lot! Now I wanna know more about you, Davey!"
Crazy Kiwi
E. Railroad Street
[Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]Gwion nodded. He hadn't needed Iraal's clarification - he had already surmised that Gluvpakis was their destination - but appreciated her desire to be clear and understandable. He gave her a warm smile. "Sorry that we have to say farewell so soon, but no doubt you'll have a lot to attend to. I hope that today wasn't a total waste and that you were able to gather at least some useful data."
Wolfe was disappointed that Scents and Iraal had to leave so soon but could well understand the reasoning behind it. He gave Scents a wry grin, thinking of the number of times they had encountered people they had previously met. "Yes, I'm sure that we will meet up again some day-" he glanced over at Gwion, "it seems to be 'normal' for these places. All the best to you both until next time."
Teri gave Scents a smile. "Well, it's been lovely meetin' ya 'n' I'm sad to see y'go. Take care - 'n' I hope you get back without any further stupid supernatural stuff happenin'."
They watched as Scents retrieved her stuff from the wagon then waved as Iraal, Scents and their robot headed off in the direction of the Railway Station.
Gwion returned to the wagon and retrieved his pack and the lever-action rifle he had bought. He was at a loss as to what to do about the pile of provisions he had bought for the journey - he no longer needed them and really didn't feel inclined to lug them around with him.
It seemed that the two Terra Novans felt the same way as they had only taken their personal gear and rifles and had left their provisions tied to the pack horse. Gwion shrugged. Fuck it. He left his provisions where they were and wandered over to Teri and Wolfe. "Right! Now how about that drink?"
The three made good time towards The Tipsy Toad while Matt turned the wagon, pack horse and unexpected bounty of durable provisions towards the Livery Stable.
The Tipsy Toad
[Mari, Kaitlyn, Kris, Peggy, Sophia, Aubrey, Finn, James, Karl + Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]Kaitlyn turned back to the serving girl and handed over a bank note. "So we'd better make that eight pints and a whiskey." She dragged up a chair and sat down at the table next to Sophia.
James pursed his lips thoughtfully at Mari's assessment of the situation at the Doctor's Surgery. Broken arms were minor on the scale of injuries to which he was accustomed but Yamiko's status sounded a lot more serious. "I hope that her - ah - classmate is able to help her."
At that point, the double doors swung open and Wolfe sauntered in, scoped hunting rifle slung over one shoulder and .22 calibre held casually in his left hand, pointed at the floor. Behind him came Teri then Gwion.
Wolfe saw the group and saw Peggy wave a greeting. They were all there: Peggy, Kris, Karl, James and Aubrey - as promised. Sophia, Kaitlyn and Finn... and a really striking-looking woman Wolfe had never seen before. Where had they found her? Japanese features, bright red hair and clothes that called attention to, rather than revealed, her rather obvious endowments.
He glanced at Teri, who was also giving the newcomer a puzzled look. No clues there, then.
All three put their rifles on a neighbouring table for safe-keeping and grabbed some of the chairs to sit down with the others.
Teri sank into her chair with relief that the journeying was over and that their mission had been completed successfully. Aubrey looked to be in extremely good shape - new clothes and hat - and everyone was back together in, and this was the important bit, a pub. "Ev'nin' all." She grinned then turned to the red-haired woman. "Pleased t'meecha. Teri's th' name."
Gwion took the opportunity to check out the object of the Mad Bastards' search. He didn't look like the usual sort abduction target, but appearances could be deceiving. "Aubrey, I presume." He extended his hand. "Glad to see you're all right. You've got a great group of friends - they've been tearing up the territory looking for you."
Aubrey beamed and shook Gwion's hand. "Thank you." He looked over at Sophia, Finn and Kaitlyn. "You seem to have an interesting group of friends. I appreciate the help you all provided."
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Amy)
Davey took a step back, his ears picking up slightly as he folded his arms and looked at Amy in disbelief. "That is really stupid," he agreed, blinking a few times and nodding. "And... in some regards, brave. But I can't imagine your folks will be at all pleased with your decision." He looked away, gave a shake of his head and huffed, "stupid and brave, now that's a volatile combination. It could lead to fame and fortune, or... failure. Failure, disability, an early death-" he waved a paw-like hand, "well, the list stretches on in both directions. I hope I don't have to tell you how fortunate you've been, coming away from your accident able-bodied and with no apparent fear of flying, but not every risk can turn out in your favor.
"Ah, I don't mean to dump all of this on you," he added, glancing towards the stair-side bathroom,"I somehow doubt Maya is much of a Jiminy Cricket, after all." He paused, then looked at Amy again, "And don't worry about Connie, she's a very reasonable girl. I'm certain she'll understand too. And if she doesn't, well... I'll buy you a cola."
When Amy turned her interest to Davey himself, he seemed dismissive, waving his hand again and turning away. "Oh, what's there to know about me?" he asked, knowing full well that there was plenty he hadn't told her, or anyone else besides Rip for that matter. He walked back over to his chair, flashing a small, toothy grin and saying, "I'm just taking life as easy as I can. I don't sit too idle, and I don't get too involved. Stay between the poles, and you get something nice and temperate."
[Southern Desert ~ Subterranean Shelter] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)
Joe found himself staring in wonder, when Cynthia magicked up two new shiny orbs that looked strung together like a luminescent necklace. Apparently these ones were safe to touch, and served as some kind of elaborate breadcrumb trail.
"That really is something," he murmured offhandedly, before turning his attention to the matter—small though it was—at hand. Rin seemed pretty dead set on taking a look ahead, and Omar was still curiously absent. Joe glanced briefly back at the vacant stairs, wondering if something had happened, or if he needed a hand, and generally just what it was that was taking him so long. He'd been making such a big deal about 'urgency' and 'no time' for the past half hour or so, it was strange to think that he'd be lollygagging now, in the final stretch.
"I mean..." Joseph slowly turned his head back to look at Rin, and then at the ominous hole in the wall, "like I said, I've been in there. There's not much to see. Dirt, cobwebs, rusty railway tracks, uh... maybe a few pickaxes... rubble- well," he tilted his head side to side, "I guess dirt kind of covers that. I think we swiped up all the interesting stuff the first time around, namely the guy we sprang from a pitch black underground prison." Shrugging, he added, "I guess you could check out his cell if you wanted to, but it's a lot further in."
When he heard Cynthia's very noble, I'll go wherever you go, he nearly bit his tongue trying not to laugh. With great effort, he restrained his mouth and narrowed his eyelids, then slowly turned his head, fixing his eyes on her. He flicked his tail in style, then, putting together the voice of a brooding and tortured B movie action star, he uttered, "Even to the ends of the earth?"
It took about five seconds before his big dumb lizardy grin resurfaced.
Once he had collected himself enough to give honest regard to the question of staying or going, he sighed, rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I... well, what the hell, guess it's not a big deal. We'll probably only be a minute or two anyway," he added, glancing once more at the stairs, still wondering. The hum of the generator and faint buzzing of the lights made it difficult to discern distant sounds, but there seemed to be nothing to indicate Omar's presence. Just a minute or two...
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Amy sighed. "Now you're sounding like my grandma...since then, I haven't had anything major like that happen to me! That's why I landed the plane before things got worse; that way, history won't repeat itself! Don't worry about me, Davey!"
She twisted her lip.
"Aww. That's not much. Why you gotta be so secretive, Davey? You don't have to be! You can trust me, Davey! Unless you're not ready...that's ok, too! Don't worry, I won't pressure you!"
She tapped her chin."But that means I have to find more stuff to share about myself. Huh...well, I just told you the truth about the plane...but other than that, all I can tell you is that I love exploring! And...you, Maya, and Connie are the very few friends I made." She frowned, "Well, it sounds super depressing when I say it like that, but it's true! I try my best to treasure the friends I made here, and I'm really sad that I have to leave soon..."
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
The Washington (Vicky, Zuri, Gon, Ari, Amanda,Yamiko, Lupin)
Out of the three saloons in town, the Washington was the cleanest and the most upscale, and the least likely to attract any troublesome outlaws. Which was just exactly what the psychic college students needed at the end of what was possibly one of the longest days of their lives. Especially for Vicky, who had arrived here this morning quite innocuously from a train, and her adventure had quickly gone from unexpectedly bizarre to downright dangerous.
It was Vicky who took the initiative in ordering a table, entering right in front of the Japanese siblings who were supporting Zuri's body on each of their shoulders, with Amanda watching expectantly from behind. The gruff-looking man who served as one of the owners initially raised a very thick eyebrow at the teen's presence and high squeaky voice, but eventually just shrugged. "Aight then. What can I get ye?" His speech was very slow, as if his lips and tongue were made of lead.
"You better have wine," said Amanda, gesturing a bony hand in his direction. Immediately the other four turned to stare at her.
"Wine?!" Gon asked her. "In a fucking saloon? Are you fucking kidding me?" He turned to the man. "A round of bourbon for us, please."
"But I don't like whiskey," said Ari.
"I would not say that in a place like this if I were you," Zuri's ghost, which just then floated out of her body, spoke, then turned over to the man. "Though I prefer brandy myself."
"But you're dead," Vicky blurted out. "You don't even need to dr- oops!" She clasped her hands over her mouth.
At the same time, Amanda grinned broadly, grasping one of Zuri's wrists and then grinning even more broadly. "She is dead! I thought this dream would never come true!"
"Did someone mention a dream?"
A somber-looking young red-headed woman in an elegant red and black dress approached the group, followed closely by a scrawny black-clad man with his arm in a sling. It was the former who had just spoken, and also the one Vicky smiled broadly at. "Yamiko! You're okay!!"
"What happened to your arm?" Gon asked Lupin.
Lupin heaved a very dry sigh. "Shouldn't it be obvious? As for why, I fell off a horse."
The man staffing the place, though, was giving Zuri a stupefied look, especially once she moved back behind her body and moved it into a sitting position at the round-tabled booth they had chosen - which was large enough to seat ten. "Well I'll be," he said, rubbing the side of his head... and then shrugged. "Still, libations for the dead ain't the strangest thing I'd never seen. And we actually do have wine. And brandy. We have everythin'. What can I get ye?"
Once everyone placed their orders, they took their seats. Upon hearing the news of Zuri's death, Amanda scooted in right next to her body at the far end of the booth, while at the body's other side sat Zuri's ghost herself - such that it looked like she had a very drunk clone sitting next to her. For the next few moments, the crazed emo-punk teen girl looked between the two Zuris, withdrawing her wand from her purse. "Now I wonder..."
She thrust her wand at Zuri's body... but nothing happened. "Ugh, of course. Dead bodies cannot feel pain. Souls, on the other hand..." She turned toward Zuri's ghost... who she just caught running right through the wall of the saloon. "...They can phase through solid matter if they are not attached to a body. Hmm..."
She reached for the athame Zuri's body was holding in her hands... but the ritual dagger floated right out of it, until it was in Vicky's hands.
"This is my roommate you're talking about, you know. You can't just torture her!"
"Oh she can," Yamiko remarked, still sounding very distant. "And what's stopping you?" she asked Amanda. "Souls can most certainly be tortured, even if their body has died."
"Why are we even talking about this!?" Gon complained. "We ended up in some crazy-ass frontier town that is possibly another of Nightfright's dreamscapes... hey wait!" His face suddenly brightened, but...
"No, this as real as Boston is." Yamiko was gazing down at the table. "And in many other alternate realities, you would be dead. Right now I see another alternate reality in which you" and here she looked at Ari "are kidnapped by a virtual entity through a computer screennote . And another in which you" and here she looked to Amanda "can raise the dead, at a price."
Vicky was taken aback, but... "What about me?"
Yamiko looked squarely at the cheerful telekinetic. "Your story has already been told. Right now this is your second story, which we are all sharing, though if it had a protagonist, that would be Zuri."
Vicky was taken aback, not only about the story thing, but also the lingering thoughts behind what Yamiko and Amanda had said about Zuri. She held the ritual dagger close, preparing to mentally throw Amanda out the curiously thin window if she tried to take it by force. Amanda, not surprisingly, was smiling with awe at her future as a necromancer in another story. Vicky scowled. There's no way we can be in a story. How twisted would an author have to be to think up someone like her?
Doc Carson's (Nemaforte, Oswald, Merlin, Ghost!Zuri)
Abigail scowled when Oswald mentioned a sink, gesturing to the side at one directly opposite where Oswald was sitting. "You're lucky I cleaned out that sink last night. Some cur all hopped up on opium wandered in here the other day and had the audacity to ask for a fix while holding me at gunpoint. Tough crowd 'round here. I hope the world out there is better to you than it was to me in this..." and here she lowered her voice to a whisper, "...hellhole. Being a nurse ain't easy." In fact, if Oswald looked closely, he might have been able to see several tiny welts along the length of her forearm.
Meanwhile, the Doc decided it was time to get the drugged-out witch checked out. Taking off her hat, he hooked her up to the same machine he had used on Yamiko to check her brain activity. While setting it up, Merlin looked on with fascination. "Well well, I know it is a disproven myth about such devices, but might you have used such a device on adventures of the supernatural sort.
The doc's brow furrowed so deeply that it looked almost like an extension of his brain. "I'm in the business for treating people, not answerin' personal questions. You want that, go talk to me when I'm at home, which I never am. You damn kids are always so damn intrusive, you know that?" He sighed and rubbed his forehead, returning his attention to the strange machine. "Well, there's some unusually strong activity in the frontal lobe, but other than that, looks like a classic case of comedown off any hallucinogenic drug. Unfortunately, it is not in my policy to look through a patient's possessions." It was funny that he said that, for while nobody was looking, Merlin had swiped a bottle of spiraling yellow leaves out of said bag and slipped it into his pocket.
"...Wait, what's this?" The doctor had found a strange depression in the middle of her forehead, seemingly separating her brain from the outside only with skin. "A physical third eye? Well, I never..."
Merlin was just about to remark on that, but just then, a young albino woman approached him, and though she mostly looked ordinary (perfectly opaque for once), she did not have a shadow, nor a reflection on the mirrors on the walls. It wasn't long before she found three people she recognized in the same room. One of them, Merlin, found his smile brighten when he saw her, and when he went to hug her, he actually felt something of substance - though it was like holding fog that had somehow solidified. But her aura looked, to him (and Nemaforte as well), like that of any mortal person, and in its nuances was a serene calmness.
Tears welled up at the corners at the edges of Merlin's eyes. "Zuri... you have become more beautiful than I have ever imagined. Impossibly so, like a ghost of your former sinful self. ...Not that you have ever sinned in my eyes, I am sure," he hastily added as he let go of her.
Zuri took a step backward, an awkward smile appearing on her face. "Oh, hello Oswald and Nemaforte," she then decided to add to take her mind off the subject. But then she looked back at Merlin. "The rest of us are already at the Washington. Are you coming?"
"Why yes," said Merlin. "And I believe those two will be accompanying us."
"You are lucky indeed," said Abigail with a roll of her eyes. "Doc wants me to disinfect all the equipment tonight."
As soon as Zuri saw Nemaforte on the other bed (the Doc had retracted the curtain since everyone seemed to know each other), she ran over to her. "You do not look well. Perhaps you should not use so many of your herbs at once next time."
"I can use more," Nemaforte spoke. "But herbs of not. Do what an ordinary drink will." Zuri gave her a shocked look as if to say 'are you crazy'. "You forget that my name means 'poisoned blood'. Ready I will now be to go."
The doctor looked at her, shocked. "But there are entire regions of your brain that have been..." Before he could finish, Nemaforte levitated away the electrodes that had been attached to her head, causing the readings on the machine to momentarily spike. "...Um, well. That is a... oh my." Nemaforte slid off the bed and started to walk away, but tripped and fell... and picked herself up again.
"Oh please," said Merlin, noticing how she had dropped her bag, "allow me to carry that for you. I could use the exer- wow, this is a bit heavier than it looks." He had to cradle the bag in his arms rather than hold it by the handle in order to not numb his fingers when he carried it.
The Doc stood there shaking his head. "She looks fine at least... I honestly don't know what to say about this one. I think I'm about to close up for the night anyway. Abigail, I still want that equipment cleaned though," he added when she got a hopeful smile on her face.
Merlin looked at Nemaforte, astonished. "My my, her aura does look a little better now. Perhaps extraterrestrials are supernaturally drug-resistant."
Zuri gave Nemaforte a dirty look as well, remembering how she had said earlier that she was always high on something, but also remembered the incident in the ritual both of them attempted for Oswald, where she still felt guilty over stopping Nemaforte's spell. Perhaps she didn't understand after all. "Well then, Oswald, are you coming with us?" she asked, as the three prepared to head out.
"Thank you most sincerely, Doc, for everything," said Merlin. "And you, Abigail." And he walked over to the other bed to help Oswald up... or would have, had he not been holding Nemaforte's bag. So Zuri did so instead - and as before, though she felt cold and foggy, she was still tangible, by the force of her will.
edited 25th Mar '17 1:52:45 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.
[Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Amy)
Davey's mouth wavered. He considered reminding Amy that the whole reason behind her needing to land the plane was because she had flown it into another storm, but ultimately he held his tongue. The girl clearly already had some self-esteem problems, and doing nothing but nagging over every one of her mistakes would only make them worse.
She seemed surprisingly content to give up on pressing him for more details about himself, even as he'd mentally braced himself for what he might have had to answer. Davey let it be for the moment, climbing back onto his large cushioned armchair and listening to Amy as she told him more about herself. Again, when she talked about not having many friends, the shaky foundation of her self-esteem was exposed, though she tried to downplay it.
"I bet you could make more friends easily," he said, knitting his small fingers together and laying them on his lap, "it just takes a bit of know-how. Although," his mouth tilted into a sideways frown, "I can't recommend trying the same method you used to meet me. That, I can say with confidence, was a very special, right-time-wrong-place only-good-once deal."
Davey paused for a second, tilting his head as he considered the teenage girl across from him. "Amy," he said finally, "do you think there's a specific reason that you haven't had much luck with making friends? Are you and Maya unpopular for some reason? I know it can feel like fighting an impossible uphill battle when you have a stigma to contend while also sidestepping the regular pitfalls of that social ballet. Or... is it just isolation?"
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]
Maya let go of Davey, still smirking. When she remembered what she was suppose to tell Connie, she slapped her forehead.
Fuck. she wrote, Sorry, Davey. I honestly forgot. ...At least you'll still look nice.
She then turned to Connie. Oh, Amy? She's just taking a shower. She should be done right about now. She gave Davey a playful nudge on his shoulder, We've just been here sitting and talking for a while, keeping each other company, ya know?
As if on cue, Amy came in, humming to herself. She was now wearing a bright yellow dress and white sandals, along with a blue Cloche on her head.
"Connie!" she said, pulling her into a gentle hug, "You're back down! It's so good to see you!" She looked around the room, "You guys been good since I was gone, right? No fighting?"
Maya shook her head. Unless you count giving him a noogie fighting, nah, we've been good.
Amy giggled. "Aww, you two are playing! That's so sweet! I wish I was here to see it." She then let go of Connie. "Ok! What do we do next, adventurers?"