Character Frontier

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

Maya shook her head and crossed her arms.

Yup. she signed, Adam times two. Anyway, Davey, if we thought what you were gonna say was gonna wear us out, we wouldn't have asked you in the first place. Besides, it is kind of weird that you're more willing to tell two people you barely know your life story than someone you known for a while. Connie cares about you, Dave. Well, we do too but you get my point.

Amy nodded.

"I don't mind you sharing stuff about you, but don't do that to your friends, Davey!" Amy said, "Go apologize to Connie! Or I'll pinch your cheeks!"

That's not gonna help, Amy. Maya signed, But, for real, dude; there's clearly something wrong and it's more than what you told me and Amy. Just cut the bullshit and just tell us what's going on. Matter of fact, be upfront with Connie. She's your closest friend, for Christ sake!

edited 17th Apr '17 10:30:21 AM by Masterofchaos

[Town ~ The Tipsy Toad] (Mari, Aubrey, Finn, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia)

Mari leaned back for a moment, "I see." While this place superficially looked like the American Southwest, these folks confirmed her earlier observations that this really wasn't. She sighed before taking a drink.

"Yep, I'm from Earth. I love 'ow that might be optional around 'ere," she said. With an accompanying jingle of those invisible bells, Mari shook her head, "Born and raised in Japan. Lived in London for awhile, though."

[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)

Cynthia nodded in agreement with Joseph, and moved to stall Rin. "You know, for someone who doesn't want to buried alive, you seem kinda eager to do so," she stated, crossly. "At least let me help. While we have a time restraint, I can still look this over and figure it out before we end up stuck between the trenches."

She turned to Joseph, "I can show you what I can do. Cover your ears." The young knight walked a few paces away from the cave-in, and picked up a small rock. Holding it in her outstretched gauntleted hand, Cynthia narrowed her eyes in concentration. A glowing, square platform, comprised of geometric figures, formed underneath the rock, lifting it up off her palm. Using her other hand to perform circular gestures, the square became a cube of glowing energy, encasing the rock.

She closed her left hand, and with it, the box blazed white, before collapsing in upon itself. A thunderclap erupted as the rock was vaporized into a rapidly dispersing cloud of dust. Beads of sweat coursed from Cynthia's brow as she took a moment to catch her breath.

Turning back towards the others, she rubbed the back of her head. "I can do that on a much larger scale, so clearing that," she pointed towards the cave-in, "would be a piece of cake. I'd just have to surpass my limits for something like this," she said. Cynthia stared intently at the wall of boulders, "and I'm not sure what that would do to whatever it is that could get you home."

The young knight then stood at attention, "Well, maybe I can get a better look at the other side, I might be able to do this." She then outstretched her arms, forming glowing hexagons on the ceiling of the tunnel before nodding towards Rin. "So, at the very least, allow me to put up some barriers so you can start clearing away some of the smaller stuff!"

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Davey, Amy, Maya)

Davey found himself clenching his teeth. He forced it into a grimacing smile, and pushed himself out of his chair. "Girls, please," he said, taking a moment to smooth out his shirt, "I love you three, but you are breaking my heart." He met each of them with serious stare. "You have no idea what it is you're asking for."

Without another word, he marched past Connie, heading to the stairs, his tail near dragging behind him.

Connie looked on with an open-mouthed frown, concern tightly knitting her eyebrows. "David..."

"Hm?" Davey looked back, the thin veneer of a smile still painted on his furred face. He was about three steps up the stairs, putting him above level height with most of the girls.

"Can't you at least tell us why?"

His smile faded (if it was ever really there at all). "There doesn't have to be a 'why'," he replied flatly. "It's my business. No one else's."

He began to turn back away, leaving Connie to glance at the other two teens and shrug helplessly. However, before Davey was able to climb more than a step further, he was stopped by Connie's next words.

"Oh right," she said, "but I bet you would have told Irina if she were still here."

"What is it with you?" Davey asked, his voice quiet at first, but growing steadily. For a moment his hands were once again pressed to his head. "What don't you understand about it being my business?" He turned around finally, glowering down at them. "It is my business who I tell. It is my business what I tell. It is my business. And for the record," he turned his sights to Maya, "I haven't told you my life's story. I couldn't. What you've heard is window dressing. A tiny fraction of what I've gone through."

A bitter grin flashed across his weaselly face. "You want more? Okay, here's a fun little anecdote. About six years ago, Rip and I were working in a city to the west. It had suffered an extreme disaster about a year before, ripped it to shreds, really, and we had been hired—along with others—to help provide relief. In particular, we were there to uproot the lingering criminal underbelly that had swept in in the absence of order. One day, we ran across a mugging. The would-be mugger ran scared when he saw we meant business, but we were able to help his would-be victim back to his house.

"The thing is, the man guided us to the foot of a concrete mess. There was barely more than a foundation and bits of the framework. Cleaned out here and there, but the place didn't have more than two square feet of roofing. We tried to convince him to leave— to let us show him to one of the shelters, but he wouldn't have any of it. He refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. He just thanked us, bid us good day, and went about his business in his ruined house."

Davey frowned, folding his arms and shaking his head, "And I can't forget the expression on Rips face when he looked at that man. It was that look of being so confused, so perplexed by someone's hapless existence that you don't know what to do but feel sorry for them." He shrugged, "So why do I remember that look? What does this story have to do with anything? Well, I became very intimately familiar with that look. You see, I've told people my life's story before. I've told them a lot more than I've told you, in any case. And what do I get in return? That look. That limp fucking pity."

He said nothing for a moment. He just breathed, his small chest rising and falling until it became steady. "If I wanted people to feel sorry for me, I would still go to group therapy."

Connie was silent for a while as well, considering what he'd said and—perhaps even moreso—the emotion behind it all. There were a few things she had never known Davey to commonly do. Crying was one, and swearing was another. At least, he didn't swear nearly as much as she or Rip did. It did make him seem a little less gentlemanly, she had to admit.

"So that's what this is," she said finally, "you think we're going to start treating you differently? That's what you're afraid of?" She shook her head and held her arms out at her sides, "Because, you don't have to be. Really, David. I love you dude, I respect you. Occasionally I even look up to you. And knowing what kind of person you are today, I really don't think some story about who you were before is going to change that."

David gazed down from the stairs, looking her in the eye. She was being about as genuine as she'd ever been. "That's a really nice sentiment Connie," he said at last. "I remember Rip said much the same once. If you really want to hear these stories, you can go find and ask him. He knows. He was there for most of it." He rubbed a hand across his head, drawing back his ears. "Rip," he said again, staring off at a distant wall, wearing a sorry smile, "my best friend. He could read me from day one, you remember? Yeah, you were listening. He understands how I am better than anyone. And..." he took a slow, shaky breath, "I can still catch him to this day, fixing me with that look."

His eyes drifted back to the other three. His mouth twitched slightly, but he couldn't manage any smile, bitter or not. He held out his arms and gestured to himself.

"The man living in a ruined house."


Then his arms fell limp, he turned back around and climbed the rest of the way up the stairs.

"I'll be in our room." He said when he had reached the top. He walked across the upper floor to the door of the aforementioned room, then added, "Stop worrying about me."

As soon as the door sounded shut, Connie let out a sigh, and, like a balloon losing air, half walked, half stumbled into the nearest chair. She slumped down and muttered, "Well, this day has finally gone to complete shit."

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

Welp. Maya signed, then shrugging, I tried.

Amy frowned heavily. "I feel like this is my fault. I'm sorry, Connie. I really didn't mean to cause all this."

Look, you didn't do anything wrong. There are just some people who don't wanna share everything about them. Sometimes they just wanna keep it bottled up inside; it's not healthy, but that's what happens. There are just some people you can't be a second therapist to.

Amy looked down. "...You're right, but still..."

Besides, Maya sat at a nearby chair, This is something more for Connie to handle, if you ask me. We only known Davey for, like, a day. She's known him longer than that. She then turned her attention to a depressed Connie, How about you chill with us for a bit? Davey looks like he needs a moment; unless you still wanna try to get him to talk.

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Amy, Maya)

Connie glared miserably up at the distant ceiling. "It's not your fault Amy. Or Maya. I'm the one who pushed, and hell, I knew he was a little sensitive about certain things, I just thought..." she shook her head, "well I didn't think he would respond like that. I guess I figured I could force it. Serves me right I s'pose."

She gave a weak half-smile—a little closer to a half-frown, actually—at Maya's offer, and lifted up her towel. "I'm still supposed to take a shower. Kinda got sidetracked, you know?" She looked away, "This sucks. Honestly, I can't tell if I've just taken two steps backwards or an ugly lurch forward. We had a really good talk earlier, me and Dave. It was just before you guys came back with Omar. He even said that he'd tell me-" she caught herself, glancing between the two other teens, "...about... something... just not today. Now I feel like I've fucked it all to hell. All that goodwill, "she gave her hands a sliding clap, "kaput. But no, it's not your fault."

In the distance, the quiet hum and rumble of an engine and the slow crackling of rubber over dirt could be heard steadily approaching, though it would be easy to miss if one wasn't paying close attention.

[Town ~ The Washington] (Oswald, Nemaforte, Psychic College Students)

"That's it, more or less," Oswald said, bobbing his head slowly in agreement with Zuri's assessment.

He laid his hands gently on the table, one atop the other, and cast his eyes around at his tablemates, taking a moment to observe quietly, and perhaps simply to soak up what it was like, being in their company.

He nodded again at Yamiko's suggestion, wearing a small smile that showed his oddly-shaped teeth. "Yes... yes, easy on the stomach sounds just fine. Gin and tonic it is."

He recoiled slightly, his usually placid eyes widening at the sudden contentious—albeit spirited—response from Gon, right next to him. His gaze lingered on the young man for a second or two, before returning to watch the others.

When Boston was mentioned, his eyes lit up again. "You're all from Boston?" he asked, beaming once more. "I've been there. I left the nest not too far south of it, and I passed through on my way north. I can't say it has my favorite coast, but the people I met there weren't a bad sort."

The conversation turned—one might say predictably—back to the subject of Oswald's unusual appearance, and though Merlin thoughtfully offered a somewhat less typical question, Oswald smiled calmly and said, "Oh, it's all right, I don't mind answering. It's a bit of a relief actually, to speak of it openly and without it feeling... too much like an interrogation."

He turned his attention to Ari, "To answer your question," he paused, hesitating for a thoughtful moment, before nodding, "y...yes, I've heard tell of others who... may be like myself, though I've never had the fortune of encountering any, and the stories are slight on detail. Unfortunately, many of these stories paint those who've come before me in unfavorable colors; suffice to say they haven't set the best precedent for someone like myself. Now, I had hoped to leave a better impression on the people I've come across, but it's proved..." he glanced momentarily at Zuri's ghost and sighed, "...difficult."

Slowly, he shifted his gaze to Merlin, managing to reclaim something of a smile. "Mmm, reading, yes, yes yes. It's been a while since I've had both spare time and a book, but I was a voracious reader back home. No subject in particular- my father would bring me whatever he could find whenever the opportunity arose, and usually bought them in bulk. I don't think I left any of those books unopened." He paused, balling up his fist and touching it against his mouth in thought. "I suppose I had a bit of a special liking for anything Arthurian. Knights, castles, great quests, and glory." He smiled slowly behind his hand, and a small hum of a chuckle sounded from deep within.

[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)

Joseph's attention was momentarily seized away by Rin's sudden initiative, which to him seemed to be veering on the reckless side, though he could only manage to vocalize his thoughts in a series of half-phrases that went a bit like, "Hey tha- uh, should- shuj you be- I mean, that's kind of- uh..."

Fortunately, Cynthia was able to convey more-or-less the same message in a far more intelligible form, to which Joe gave a hearty nod of agreement and a solid, "Yeah." Springboarding off of this confident statement, he continued a little more slowly, "I mean, don't you think that just wiggling the rocks around is going to, like... agitate the collapse?" he clicked his claw-tipped fingers together, tilting his head with a slight lizardy grimace, "Maybe I don't quite get what you're doing here, but that seems like a good way to trigger another cave-in. Like, what if there are more rocks above those, and the way it's wedged right now is the only thing keeping them from falling in and crushing us, or knocking out these old-ass beams and then the whole tunnel might collapse. And crush us."

While that hadn't happened with just the one rock Rin had removed, it still seemed like a pertinent concern. Not getting crushed always did kind of seem important. Meanwhile, Cynthia decided to demonstrate her own method of rock clearing. Joseph covered his ears—small as they were—as instructed and watched, his swiftly waving tail betraying some of his excitement again. When the rock completely vaporized, his widened eyes betrayed the rest.

Not entirely sure what to say at first, he murmured, "This must be another one of those coin-behind-the-ear tricks." He thought over what she said about clearing out the cave-in, though, as impressive as the demonstration was, he couldn't help feeling just a little bit skeptical. "Maybe I don't quite get what you're saying, but, uh... 'surpassing your limits' sounds like the opposite of a piece of cake. I mean, I won't pretend to know how this all works, or how this any of it works, but it looked like doing that with just a little rock took a bit out of you. I don't want you passing out."

Joe gave the foreboding barrier another glancing-over, walking back and forth as he looked it up and down. "Hey," he said, stopping near the right side of the pile, "look, there's a gap over here. It's- it's big enough that someone could almost fit through." Indeed, there was a small bit of open space near the very bottom of the pile, beneath two particularly large boulders. He crouched down and tilted his head, peering through the miniature tunnel. "I think it goes all the way through."

Glancing back at the other two, he asked, "Think one of you two could do something to make it just a little more open? These rocks look pretty big," he stepped back, framing the rocks between his hands, which he held up in a sort of field goal shape, "I think they'll hold if you don't explode the whole thing. I mean..." he looked back again and shrugged, "if that's possible."

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

Amy shook her head.

"If you guys are really good friends, he would understand." she said, "Trust me; he wouldn't blow you off like that if you guys weren't close. Don't give up yet, Connie!"

She pulled Connie into a hug.

"Here's Amy's greatest-wonderful-excellent solution to sadness! It'll be ok, Connie!"

Maya smiled warmly, stretching her hands.

Just let things cool down. she signed, I'm sure by tomorrow morning everything will be fine. Davey just needs a moment, that's all.

edited 20th Apr '17 2:47:17 PM by Masterofchaos

The Washington (Oswald, Nemaforte, and the psychic college students)

This saloon had very quick service; while Oswald was still responding to Merlin, the server returned with a gin and tonic for Oswald and a second glass of wine Lupin had requested at the last minute. Lupin had finished his first glass rather quickly, for the aftermath of all that had went on that day put a lot of unexpected strain on his mind. Listening to Oswald's mention of more animal hybrids like him left him pondering, partly about what life would be like if he himself had been born with wolf characteristics. He shuddered a tiny bit. Probably... a lot worse.

Merlin, meanwhile, smiled more and more broadly as Oswald went on, especially when he mentioned Arthurian tales. "Alas, it's a small world after all!" he spoke, leaning forward and giving Oswald an endearing look, making the green eyeshadow stand out and make his already-green eyes seem dull in comparison. "I, too, have been fascinated by books since I was little, particularly fantasy novels and books on topics of the supernatural. Why, I can understand your penchant for it, as the ability of such tales to whisk you away into an alternate universe is a potent sort of enchantment indeed! Arthurian legends were of particular interest to me as well, as well it should be considering my name is Merlin." And it was a good thing he was still leaning forward; otherwise the ostentatious hand gestures he made would have smacked Nemaforte in the face.

The sunestre herbalist had taken out a vial from her bag and added a drop of some sort of extract from it (and a strongly fragrant one at that, with a scent reminiscent of rosemary) to her half-full bourbon glass. Then she cupped it in her outstretched palm, where steam-like wisps rose out of it. After a while of that, she poured another glass of bourbon into it, let out more steam, and then took a sip. "Theoka. Stonespice. Very delicious this is." ...Of course, Nemaforte's definition of delicious was very different from that of the average human.

Gon gave Nemaforte a disapproving look. "Who the fuck puts essential oils in-" He stopped abruptly as Ari elbowed him in the side. Nervously, he spoke to Oswald instead. "Ehehe, that's actually pretty cool, man. I bet if there were more people like you, the world wouldn't be so fearful of homo animalia like that."

"Homo animalia... yes, an apt term indeed," said Merlin, still radiating enough enthusiasm to rival Vicky. "I have to wonder what caused such beings to come into existence. Perhaps it is something I should investigate someday, as it is truly my passion to look into matters of the mind and spirit."

Zuri's ghost cast a smile in his direction. "I can say the same."

"I didn't expected a human like you to be so intuned to such matters," said Nemaforte. "Seeming you have a third eye that is hidden."

As Merlin looked at her, he noticed how her aura seemed to randomly drift away from her body for moments at a time. He raised an eyebrow; this was typically a mark of disorientation, and yet she seemed perfectly calm and aware despite it. Moments later a thought entered his mind, a tidbit of knowledge that Nemaforte had already used a "cooling powder", two glasses of cosmic potion, and a "mushroom of time". Well, perhaps Yamiko's remark about Nemaforte being the Ozzy Osbourne of Orenya rings true after all. In fact, looking at Yamiko, he could immediately tell that that thought was one she sent him. To which he nodded and smiled, for the return of her telepathic abilities was a good sign on her part indeed.

While all this was going on, Ari and Amanda were having a hushed discussion about the undead. The topic came up since they were both sitting next to Zuri's corpse, which was twitching about as her ghost went back inside it, trying once again to see if she could move it. Vicky was strangely silent throughout all of this, though mostly because she was feeling all woozy from the booze(y), as this was her second drink in her entire life (the first being the cosmic potion she drank out in the desert).

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Amy, Maya)

"I know," Connie nodded, "I know. Somehow it doesn't make this any better." She lifted her eyes to Amy. "Dave doesn't get angry like that. Not normally— not since I've known him. And," she nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm sure he'll 'get over' it, but this is always going to be there. This has happened, and now I just..." she shook her head slowly, "I just don't know if he's going to trust me the same way he used to. Enough to tell me things, you know, like confide in me sometimes and-"

Before she could finish, the front doorknob had turned, the whole door pushed open, and in stepped two familiar figures, caught in some giggling moment of joviality that seemed entirely foreign to the room that lay ahead of them.

The first one was a stout, older woman who at least Connie would recognize. She was looking back at the other person and laughing at something he had said about fishing a dress out of a pigsty. That second person was a tall, dark eyed man with a mustache and some sideburns that pointed fiercely inward, almost connecting to his mustache, but not quite.

Margaret stepped in first, followed by Rip. His eyebrows raised slightly as he glanced at Connie, before lowering in some confusion when his sights crossed over the other two girls.

"Connie!" he said, pulling a broad smile, "Good evening! At least I hope it's been," his smile vanished for a moment of mock-graveness, "for your sake. For all our sakes."

Connie tried to smile in return, but her face was tired from dealing with everything. The best she could manage was a look akin to pleasant surprise.

"And I see you have company," Margaret added, her lively eyes flashing across Amy and Maya with a lordly—or perhaps landlordly—presence.

"Now hold on." Rip stepped forward, flexing a tight-jawed frown while narrowing his eyes. "I know these two," he said, waving twin fingers between the teenagers. "Ahyeah... you're the two snoops from this morning, asking about Davey." He crossed his arms and shot a quick glance up at the ceiling, "I suppose this means you found him."

Connie, who still hadn't said anything since the room had gained a small crowd, just looked down and sighed.

"All right," Rip frowned, his eyes shifting between the three girls and the room, searching for something that was out of place. "What's the quandary here? I see no Davey, and a teenage girl who looks just about ready to drown in her chair. "

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

To Amy's surprise, it turned out that Rip was the same man she met earlier. How did she not pick up on that from before?

"Hey!" she said, "You're the guy that called me nosy earlier!"

Maya blinked. Nice to show you have tact, Amy.

"That's ok!" Amy continued, "I don't hold grudges! Connie and Davey really missed you, so I will give you a welcome back hug for them!"

She pulled Rip into a quick, gentle hug, then pulled away so she wouldn't linger. Of course, this did not at all change dower mood.

Well, Maya signed, Long story short, we had a wild day, and then just now we had a...not really good evening. If you wanna see Davey, he's upstairs in the room. I think he wants to see you more than anything. She pointed to the top of the steps, He seems kind of upset right now and I think he may need your support.

[Old Mine]

Rin, now with both feet firmly on the ground, shook her head and sighed. "I don't see how that could possibly be less dangerous than what I was doing," she said to Cynthia. "I mean, the noise alone could've been a problem! And if it's that loud from just a small rock, how loud would it be for all that?" she pointed to the pile blocking their path. "Plus, if the situation is really so delicate that me moving a few rocks, just enough to see through - by hand, no less! - could cause a cave-in, how is vaporizing a huge pile better?! That would cause a cave-in for sure! Not to mention your earlier concerns about 'magic interference', whatever that means! Plus you look like you could've passed out..."

She sighed again, heavily, and put her hands on her hips. After taking a moment to collect herself, she resumed. "Sorry," she said. "I don't mean to snap at you."

It was then that she noticed Joseph, and what he was suggesting. Walking over to the small opening, she stood next to him and inspected it. "I don't think 'exploding' anything is very wise," she suggested. "But I might be able to move one of those rocks, if only a bit. Maybe hold the tunnel open, but a while..."

[Town ~ The Washington](Oswald, Nemaforte, Psychic College Students)

"Ah, what swiftness!" said an increasingly cheery Oswald as the waiter returned with the new drinks. "Thank you my good man," he added, with a grateful bow of his head.

He lifted his glass, though he didn't bring it to his mouth just yet, eyeing it instead with faint curiosity. As Merlin began to speak, Oswald's attention was whisked back away to listen to the young man as he shared his own enthusiasm. When he brought up his name, Oswald blinked several times, his eyes widening as he said, "Merlin! Of course. I hadn't even considered..." Then, bearing a smile large enough to rival Merlin's own, he raised his glass. "Well, cheers to you my sorcerous friend."

With that, he gave his drink a proper drinking, nearly crossing his eyes to stare at his glass as the contents hit his tongue. Whatever the quality, the taste of the gin and tonic appeared to have surprised.

He set the glass back down, quietly mulling over the flavor until Gon began talking to him. It wasn't entirely clear if by 'more people like you', Gon had meant more people with animal features in general, or more of those people trying to make a good impression, as Oswald was. Either way, he averted his gaze and rubbed the side of his boxy muzzle, murmuring, "Oh, well, who can know?"

He took another sip of his gin and tonic, glancing momentarily. "It is a very strange thing," he continued, speaking to Merlin now, "and certainly something I wish I understood better. My parents, my mother and biological father, they were both humans. Ordinary humans as far as anyone could tell, themselves included." He tipped his free hand over, raising it slightly in a one-armed shrug. "Yet... I happened."

Oswald set his drink down and leaned back, staring at it with a slightly furrowed brow and a pensive shadow in his eyes. "I've been told more than once that I have a curse, but where it comes from or why it's with me, I don't know. And those others like me, is it the cause of a curse as well, or something entirely different?" He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head slowly. "I don't know.

"What makes this all the more perplexing is that less than half a century ago, such things as curses and psychic powers were refuted as superstition or fantasy. There was never strong enough evidence to prove the existence of these things beyond a reasonable doubt. There were no people like myself or yourselves; not beyond the realm of fiction. Books, films, myths, works of art, yes, but nothing living and breathing. My father told me that things changed in the 1990s. No one seems able pinpoint an exact date, but reports of the strange, inexplicable, even supernatural began to skyrocket early in the decade, and I'm certain that I can trace this," he waved a hand in front of his face, "at least in part, back to then. I just need to find someone or something that can tell me more."

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Margaret, Rip, Amy, Maya)

"Yeah," Rip nodded plainly at Amy's statement, "you were."

He looked confused when she announced her intention to hug him, and before he knew it, there she was already hugging him. It was all he could do to raise his arms up as though he was wading waist-deep through a pool of water. He shared a glance with Margaret, who seemed quite entertained by the little ordeal.

"Well Roger," she said, a smile illuminating her cheeks, "I didn't know you were such a cuddler."

"Yeah, me either," he replied, before cocking his head at Amy the girl let go and stepped away. "Uh hey, Connie is right there. I'm pretty buck sure that if she wanted to give me a hug, she could stand up and," he turned over his hands in a slight shrug, "do it herself, yeah?"

Rip listened to Maya's explanation, nodding slowly and—when she was finished—repeating, "Wild day, not good evening, Davey is upset." He glanced between Amy and Maya for a moment before realizing that was all he was going to get. "And that's it?" He asked, fixing the latter with a tired look. "That doesn't give me a whole lot to go off of, you know. And what about Connie? She's partway to being a puddle, how's that?"

"I'm the one that upset David," she said, speaking from beneath her hands in what might best be described as a loud murmur.

"Ah..." Rip growled, "that explains it a bit. But go on, fill me in some more: what happened between you two?"

"Did you try to make him do his own laundry?" Margaret suggested.

Connie looked up, glancing at Maya and Amy for a second before looking back at the other two, "It's, um... I..." she paused, averting her eyes to the floor, "I think I asked him too many personal questions."

Rip's eyes—which were usually held in some kind of squint—widened in surprise. "Really? Davey got mad at you for that? For prying a bit? Some curiosity?"

"Yeah, I- I mean... I think that's what did it." She said. "He kept saying that I didn't know what I was asking for. Look- if you could just tell him that I didn't- y'know, I didn't mean to hurt him, then-"

"Oh don't worry about that," Rip said, waving it away, "It's just strange. Don't get me sideways, Davey likes keeping his secrets. I could understand him getting upset if one of you two were nosing it up," he shot a quick glance at Amy and Maya, "but you, Connie? That's not right."

He paused for a second, glancing around the hall again, the same way he had when he was looking for Davey. "By the way, is that uh... -Irina right? Is she still around?"

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

Maya shook her head.

No, she left a while back. she signed, It's pretty much just been the four of us for a bit. There were other people earlier, but they left too.

Amy pulled Connie into another hug.

"Please, don't beat yourself up over this!" Amy said, "I think we're all just overwhelmed from today. Don't worry; you have friends here to cheer you up! Like me!" She squished Connie's cheek in order to make it look like she was smiling, "There we go!"

Maya smirked, then turned back to Rip. If you wanna talk to him, he's upstairs, like I said.

[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)

The young knight flinched back when Rin started ranting at her. Cynthia glanced down at the floor, unwilling to make eye contact with the others. "I'm sorry..." she said, deflated, "I really didn't think that through."

She eventually lifted her head up, the forlorn look on her face gradually fading away. "What I did was an implosion," she said, correcting Rin, "and, if I imploded the rock slower, nothing bad should happen." She glanced over to the tunnel blockage, "There's still the mystery of what exactly is over there. I can sense some sort of power coming from over there, but I'm not sure what exactly. Besides, Omar said that there was a time limit... speaking of which, I wonder what's keeping him," she said, tapping her chin with her gloved hand.

Still glancing at the blockage, Cynthia gave another suggestion, "I could melt the rock, much less likely of caving in the tunnel, and I can use my barriers to protect us." She then tapped her left shoulder, "As for power concerns, I've got a trick up my sleeve."

The Washington (Oswald, Nemaforte, and the psychic college students)

Merlin smiled playfully as Oswald reacted to the mention of his name, but the smile faded when he said "my sorcerous friend". "...I think you mean wizardly," he corrected. "Sorcery typically pertains to more offensive, controlling, or harmful magic. And what sorcerers learn through raw talent, wizards learn through study and practice."

"You are sounding like a D&D rulebook," said Ari from across the table. "Speaking of which, why have we never played that during our meetings?"

"That's a great idea!" Vicky exclaimed.

"Our meetings are study sessions, not playdates," Lupin flatly remarked. "We can have our fun after dealing with Nightfright."

"Speaking of," Zuri wondered, "I don't think this is one of Nightfright's dreamscapes. I could tell this world was real when I decided to return to my body." Funny how she said that, because her ghostly head (which was now very transparent) was peeking out the top of her physical head as she spoke.

"Oh?" Amanda asked. "How can you be so sure of that? Life and the afterlife do not cross the plane of dreams as far as I know, so if this is a dreamscape... well, shame, that would mean that in reality, you are not dead yet."

Zuri slapped Amanda in the face, this time allowing her hand to phase right through it so that she could feel the coldness emanating from it. "You are forgetting that my power was astral projection! Out of all of us, I alone can cross between the circles and reality."

Chuckling and shaking his head all the while, Merlin finally looked to Oswald again, the look of intrigue returning to his face. "How fascinating! Ah, how I would love to investigate the origins of those mysterious supernatural breakouts of the nineties. Though I don't recall that happening myself. Thus it would stand to reason that we are from parallel worlds, you and us."

"Or is another planet," Nemaforte remarked, as she downed the other half of her herb-infused bourbon. "Seeming this is a place between worlds that does affect all's worlds of origin equally. The world people came here from... this place is their same reality as from home. An intersection of all realities it is."

"Nemaforte is correct," said Yamiko, who still had that odd distant quality about her voice. Even Lupin leaned in closer to her, giving her a look of concern. "So nothing here was due to Nightfright after all. And no, I did not know this beforehand."

"A hub world?" Gon asked, bewildered. "What is this, some sort of video game?" Then he looked back to Oswald, just as intrigued as Merlin had been. "Well if the phenomena are occuring frequently enough, then hopefully over time people will start to accept it as more normal. We are way past the age of the witch hunt, after all."

"Yes," said Zuri's ghost with a smile. Now leaving her body entirely, she phased through the table until her head and shoulders were peeking out of it at Oswald. "Perhaps you can reach out to others who have been victims of these phenomena. Perhaps you can reach out to other paranormal investigators like Merlin here. Surely much of these phenomena must have at least been in the news..."

While Zuri was out of her body, Amanda was jabbing her wand at it without actually touching it. With each jab, the body's fingers moved a slight bit. Merlin looked over and saw the highly distressed aura about Amanda's wand, and his eyes widened. "Now what good would torturing a corpse do?"

Amanda cracked a smirk. "I am trying to re-animate it. If Yamiko's prediction about me being able to raise the dead in the future is correct, then I might as well start fulfilling it. Pain receptors are actually not a bad place to start..."

"At a price," Yamiko repeated, giving Amanda a look that was more solemn than anything else. She looked around at the others. "And I predict that after we leave here, we will go to the train station and part ways."

The Tipsy Toad

Gwion was impressed - Mari's fluency and command of English suggested that she had been speaking it for quite some time.

Teri turned to look at Mari and nodded. "Not only is bein' from Earth optional, there seem to be a large number of Earths to 'be' from. When were you in London?"

Aubrey stole a look at Kris' wristwatch and noted the time. "I hate to break up the party, but I would like to go and give proper thanks to Constance and the others now that I'm properly attired and feeling more like myself."

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Margaret, Rip, Amy, Maya)

Connie patted aside Amy's hand, murmuring, "Amy, please," then nodded in agreement to Maya's answer and added, "Yeah, he... he... well, we had this really," she took a deep breath, "really insane afternoon, and I think she ended up getting injured and had to leave. Dave seemed, um," she glanced quickly between Maya, Amy, and Margaret, before continuing quietly, "he seemed kind of upset about it."

"Uh-hmn..." Rip cupped his chin thoughtfully, "yep, that'd explain the touchiness. You haven't been around long enough to see it Connie, but Davey always gets to be a little extra sensitive when he misses his shot with a ladyfriend. This has probably been building up over his last few attempts."

Margaret raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Isn't he always extra sensitive?"

"Margaret, be nice," Rip quietly chided.

"Well getting up in arms and storming off to his room over a young woman—his friend no less—asking innocuous questions, what do you call that?" She glanced at the three teenagers, "They were innocuous, weren't they?"

"I'm sure they were," Rip answered, "but Maggie-"

"Well I would call it childish. And this coming from a, ah... how old is David now?"

Rip looked Margaret in the eye, waiting patiently until she realized that he was trying to speak. When the moment finally came, he answered slow and deliberately, "Twenty nine. And in those twenty nine years, Davey has been put through more misfortune than most of us will see in our entire lives. He may act out now and then, but it comes from a place of reason. You haven't heard the whole story, or the half of it, for that matter, so I understand why you might lack some sympathy, but he deserves more credit than you're giving him. Even just for braving each day with the spirit that he brings."

For a moment, it looked like Margaret was going to shoot back with something else, but Rip fixed her with a knowing stare until that look went away. She sighed, blinking a few times to disguise a quick eyeroll. "Very well, I'll say no more about it."

"All right," Rip said, running a hand over his hair and glancing up the stairs, "well, I suppose I'd better go talk to him. You stay here with Connie and..." he looked over the other two girls, squinting slightly, "I ever get your names?"

"Oh, shi- shoot, sorry-" Connie said, quickly standing from her chair, then moving between the two sets of people. "Rip and Margaret, this is Amy and Maya. Uh, Davey met them yesterday and invited them over earlier this afternoon. We've... been through a lot since then."

"Yeah, yeah, the 'really insane afternoon'," Rip nodded.

Turning to the two other teens, Connie continued, "Maya and Amy, this is Margaret and Rip. Margaret owns this place, and uh- well, Dave told you about Rip."

"Oh did he?" Rip asked, raising his eyebrows in interest. He tugged lightly at the ends of his mustache and smirked jokingly. "All the good stuff, I hope. Well," he straightened his jacket, "pleasure meeting you again Amy and Maya. I'll be back in a jiff."

With that, he began ascending the staircase, leaving the four girls to themselves.

[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)

Joseph turned his head and glanced back up at the other two, fearing for a moment that Rin's irritated scolding was going to evolve into a full blow squabble, distracting from the matter at hand.

"Hey," he began, his voice coming out a little more meekly than he would have liked. He offered a discomforted smile, "I mean, uh... we're all just playing it by ear here, y'know. "

Fortunately Rin apologized, the situation—if it could be called that—defused itself, and they were back to planning. Joseph stood back up, giving Rin space to look at the crevice.

When she suggested moving one of the rocks, he scratched his head and asked. "You think that'd work? It looks wide enough," he tilted his head, and spread his hands out one above the other, "I think it just needs a little more, wuh buh buh buh whaddyacallit..." he shook his head, rattling his brain for the right word, clearance. You know, or- or headroom, I guess. If you think you could do that by moving one of those rocks, I'd say go for it, it's just... I guess I'm worried it'll cause the rocks to shift and then it'll be tall enough, but too narrow."

Joseph paused for a moment, looking at the large rocks at the bottom of the much larger pile that surely weighed several tons. He blinked at the pile twice, before turning back to Rin with an astonished stare. "...you can... move those?" he asked, the realization hitting him just a tad bit late.

Before Rin could answer, Cynthia was speaking again, clarifying a few things and offering a few other suggestions as to how she might help with the situation at hand. The mention of implosion was a little beyond Joseph's comprehension, and the melting sounded messy, but the talk of barriers gave him an idea.

"Are your- these barriers," he began turning to face her, and squinting slightly past the light, "can they be used to support things? Like, hold stuff up? Or- or if not, do you think, uh- is it possible for you to implode or melt just part of a rock without dismantling the whole thing?"

Joe turned back to the crevice, sighing slightly before crouching down again, "What I'd like to do is— see how the rocks here kind of meet at the top?" He put his hands together, claws touching to form a tent-like triangle. "I don't want to mess with that and accidentally cause this opening down here to collapse. If we could somehow cut away at the base here—just big enough to crawl through without worrying about getting stuck, y'know—and leave the top intact I think that'd do the trick." He glanced back up at Cynthia and Rin, then looked at the hole again. "Or... or maybe if your barriers can keep the rocks from moving, Rin could move the rocks apart a bit, and you could put up barriers, like support beams, to keep the rest of the pile from falling in. Aw hell I don't know," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "what do you think?"

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

So, it was just the four of them now.

It was slightly awkward, given that mood was still dower, but Amy was determined to make everything slightly better.

First, she turned to Margaret.

"I'm Amy!" she said, "Over there is my friend Maya!"

Maya was once again playing games on her phone, not lifting her head up. Seeing that Margaret could get the wrong idea, Amy quickly added, "She's deaf and mute, so she uses sign language or her phone! I'll translate almost everything she says."

She tilted her head, "Davey told me about you. Do you travel too? Do you go on adventures too? Do you live in the Frontier? I have so many questions!"

Maya glanced at Connie. Seeing that she still looked depressed, she slung an arm around her shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

It's going to be ok. she wrote.

edited 2nd May '17 6:53:11 PM by Masterofchaos

[Town ~ The Tipsy Toad] (Mari, Aubrey, Finn, James, Kaitlyn, Karl, Kris, Peggy, Sophia)

Mari tapped her chin in thought for a moment, pondering Teri’s statement. "If I recall correctly, the last time I was in London was for watchin' the 2012 Olympics," she said, before shrugging, "I currently live in Japan again, so..."

She leaned back in her seat to give Aubrey a smile and small salute, "Well, was nice meetin' ya, Aubrey. Good luck on getting' back 'ome!" she said, before returning to her drink.

[Town ~ The Washington](Oswald, Nemaforte, Psychic College Students)

Oswald listened, sipping occasionally from his drink, as Merlin corrected his terminology, and offered a deeper explanation of the differences. That in turn sidetracked into talk of a game, of which, from the slightly distracted look that creeped into his eye, it was hard to tell if Oswald was familiar. However, by the time they started discussing something called Nightfright and it's dreamscapes, Oswald had clearly zoned out, wearing a remarkably blank—though not discontented—look on his long face.

"Well, you'll have to forgive me," he said, once there was a break in the chatter, "I admit I was ignorant of the finer distinctions between wizardry and sorcery, if you can believe it." He flashed a quick grin, then touched his hand to his mouth ponderously. "From the way you describe them, I suppose it's more likely that a sorcerer gave me my curse then. That is, assuming they intended to harm, and this curse wasn't supposed to be for my own good in some nebulous way. Although then I believe it would be a charm, wouldn't it? Or an enchantment or a..."

He paused, his mouth falling for a moment before picking back up with a belly laugh at his own silliness. "If you couldn't tell, I have but a very faint understanding of magical nomenclature. Alas, I must've lacked that particular book."

When Merlin mentioned that they were from parallel worlds, Oswald closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "Yes, I'm inclined to agree," he said. "I thought as much earlier today, actually, when I first glimpsed those that retrieved me from my desert stupor. If bands as eclectic as they exist in my world, I have yet to know of it."

He drummed his fingers on the tabletop for a moment, then continued, "And to add to that, this isn't the first time I've been withdrawn, if only temporarily, from my own world. Why, it's become a nearly biannual excursion. Mm..." He looked away, leaning with one elbow propped atop the back of his seat and casting a yearning gaze around the room. "I find it hard not to linger. This time I feel I have no choice but to do so. But eventually, as is always, there will be that call to return. Whatever invisible hand guided me here... so too will nudge me back on my way."

Oswald was met with quite the surprise when he turned his attention back to the table, and discovered Zuri's ghostly head staring back at him. His mouth remained shut, but he recoiled, and his eyes widened so much that his pupils contracted into narrow slits.

"Wi- wuh- well, hello there," he stammered out, blinking rapidly. "I uh, I'd like to think as much myself," he continued just barely rerailing himself to reply to Gon, "but part of me believes that people won't accept it until they can understand it, and who can say when that will be?

"As for reaching out," he looked back at Zuri, more calmly this time, though not without a quick glance towards her actual body, "I wish I had the leisure to do so, but I've have more than enough on my plate in these fretful days. And disregarding my own reservations, I've seen it as customary to keep a low profile about these strange happenings. People don't want the association. It's avoided and so are those they perceive to attract it."

Oswald drummed his fingers on the tabletop again (simultaneously tapping his foot against the floor and slapping his tail against the side of his seat), and glanced at the ceiling. "This isn't the same everywhere," he said, "but I've seen a woman— a perfectly ordinary looking woman avoided by others as if she was a leper. As it turned out, the woman's former housemate used to have a dog, and her housemate would talk to the dog, as one does. However, over time it became clear that it wasn't ordinary 'dog-talk' if you will, but arguing, and scheming and the discussion of things arcane. Eventually, the woman realized that her housemate hadn't been talking to the dog at all, but to the dog's fleas. It grew worse and worse, until one night, a neighbor reported seeing a number of strange bright lights flashing through the house, and a cloud of smoke above the building, without a fire or even a chimney. The next morning, the housemate and her dog had disappeared. All they found was a broken window, and the woman said she had slept through the whole thing, whatever it had been. Ten years had passed between the incident and my asking, but in the eyes of those townsfolk she called neighbors, its cloud still cast a shadow over her wherever she went.

"That's the association people don't want," he continued, finishing up, "and that, I predict will make it quite difficult to reach out to others- other victims. It's an unattractive label, and that's to put it lightly."

edited 31st Oct '17 4:08:13 PM by Ryuhza

The Washington (Oswald, Nemaforte, and the psychic college students)

Merlin was not surprised in the least when Oswald mentioned not knowing about the distinction between wizards and sorcerers; in fact, he smiled and made a grandiose hand gesture, nearly whacking Lupin in the face. "Ah, no need to worry at all! I pride myself on my knowledge of the arcane, so in fact I would have been surprised if you did know the distinction. And I imagine roleplay was not quite your cup of tea, as it is quite difficult without any friends to play with you. At the very least, though, you can consider me a friend, even if our sole meeting is brief."

Zuri nodded her ghostly head. "And me. And now that I am a ghost, it is very likely that I may be able to visit you once you return to your home, if you can call it that. I am willing to bet that that sorcerer did in fact mean harm. You do not strike me as the type of person who would do something that justifies a karmic punishment."

"Unless merely existing would justify it," said Yamiko. "I know that from experience, as I have had a curse on me ever since I was born, one targeted at my family. Not one as dire as yours; it mostly manifests as nightmares and inviting misfortune. Though right now I seem... distant from it..."

Merlin gave Yamiko a look of concern. "Your aura is not completely attached to your body. Once we are back in Boston, I am going to help you get rid of that curse."

Lupin was also giving Yamiko a look of concern, but a mild one, mostly sitting back and enjoying his wine. He found it odd that Oswald did not ask them about Nightfright... but upon hearing what he said about people being prejudiced against victims of the supernatural, he could understand why. No use learning more about such occurrences when it might invite such isolation.

Amanda, meanwhile, coughed as her own wine went down the wrong way... but it was a gleeful cough, such that she refused the glass of water Ari offered her. "That sorcerer who put a curse on you sounds like such a coward," she said to Oswald. "Why, if it were me, I would be right in your face when I place it, such that I could torment you in nightmares more effectively. And it baffles me why that sorcerer would place a curse that only affects your appearance on you before you were born. I have to wonder if it was the same one who placed both, as like with Yamiko, family rivalry may have been involved."

Then when Oswald mentioned traveling between alternate realities regularly, Gon's eyes and mouth widened. "Really? Dude, that's awesome! Hey, maybe one day you'll find a world where you can stay permanently, as your home world sounds pretty crappy. ...Uh, you don't mean just through reading, do you?" He rubbed the back of his head, like he always did when nervous.

"If seeming Orenya is on an alternate plane," said Nemaforte, wavering back and forth in her seat yet calmly enjoying herself, "I would very much take you with me back there. Everyone there knows and embraces things of the mind and spirit. If eternal darkness you do not mind, the town of Nendari is very welcome to the strange."

"I wanna go!" Vicky blurted out, bouncing in her seat.

"Your planet definitely sounds like an interesting place," said Merlin, "and an excellent place to study the psychic arts. But alas, Earth needs us."

That was when Oswald told the tale of the woman who was the housemate of who could only be a witch. Gon's eyes widened for a second time, though this time his mouth didn't. "What?! People avoided her just because she was the victim of a paranormal event? That is a special kind of fucked up. I mean seriously, you'd think sci-fi shows and such would make people more curious and intrigued by that sort of thing... What is this, the freaking Inquisition? I'd like to burn those haters at the stake..." He briefly flashed a small flame out of his upturned palm.

Ari sighed and shook her head. "Oh brother... heh, I made a joke." Notably, she was the only one at the table who had drunk nothing but water so far. Which was funny, as the group was in no need of a designated driver.

"Ugh, I see what you mean about people who don't trust those involved with the supernatural," said Vicky after finishing her glass of (very diluted) brandy. "You met Iraal, right? If it wasn't for that green-skinned googly-eyed bitch getting all flipped out over some spirits visiting us, the lovebirds and I would've been on that wagon with you." The other students widened their eyes almost in unison, as this was the first time they had ever heard Vicky swear.

Except Yamiko, who put on a very amused smile... briefly. "Actually it was kind of my fault, since I was the one who was fully possessed... so technically it was Amanda's fault." She shot a glare at the younger teen.

Amanda smiled, pressing her wand to her chest. "I am flattered." She ignored Yamiko's voice in her head: When I say "at a price", it means that you will be possessed. I'd even say you already are. As well as the brief image of a young boy with a distant gaze that flashed in her mind. Who was she to worry about the negative parts of the future? If anything, she embraced them.

"I guess I should take back what I said about visiting you," said Zuri to Oswald, sinking in her spot until just her head was peeking out through the table. "If someone sees me with you, you could get into a lot of trouble. Although, I can be invisible."

[Old Mine]

Rin stared at the rocks intently for a few moments, carefully considering the situation and only paying partial attention to Joseph. When he remarked that, or asked if, she could move the large boulders in her way, it took a moment to realize she was due to respond. She glanced over at him, then back at the rocks, and after a second, simply replied with "probably."

Eventually, she sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm no expert on these sorts of things," she said, looking over at Joseph. "So that plan sounds about as good as any," turning to Cynthia, she continued. "I just hope that 'magic interference' you mentioned earlier doesn't turn out to be a problem."

She stretched, took a deep breath, and started rolling her shoulders. "Thoughts, anyone? Last chance for objections. If there aren't any, I'm gonna try and start making some space." She glanced back at Cynthia, and added, "assuming you can get those barriers up right away, that is."

She looked past Cyntha at the tunnel behind them. "And where the hell's Omar, anyway?"

[Southern Desert ~ Cave (Underground Bunker)] (Cynthia, Joseph, Rin)

Cynthia nodded, "Yes, my barriers can be used for support." She looked over the blockage once more, before stepping back. Performing a series of gestures, geometric panels sprang to life. The young knight motioned them into position, reinforcing the space Rin would be working in. "Done," she chimed.

Glancing down at the magic string that she had set up to act as a single, she noticed that it remained the same color as before, which meant that no one had disturbed it. Cynthia turned to shrug at Rin, "I'm not sure where he might be, or what's keeping him." She then frowned, "You don't suppose he left us here, do you?"

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Margaret, Amy, Maya)

Margaret's gaze shifted slowly between Amy and Maya, before returning to fix with confusion on the former. She was probably wondering why Amy was repeating information that had been relayed only moments before or was otherwise self-evident. A hesitant, "...yes," was all she said to the girl at first, paired with a prolonged squint. A few moments later, she added, "And no. I don't really travel, not like Roger and his ilk do. I do live here; my home and my place of business are one and the same, and you're standing in both of them right now."

Meanwhile, Connie—still gripping her towel and change of clothes—glanced over at Maya as the other teen tried offering some form of comfort. Connie pursed her lips into a small frown and lowered her eyes for a moment.

"Look, I... thanks," she said quietly, "and I know. I do. It's just..." she sighed and looked away, "just let me have this. I'm not ready to get back on the horse yet."

"Well, I hope you two were able to enjoy my humble establishment," Margaret said, walking over to her welcoming counter and dusting off the top, "I'm sorry I couldn't be here to oversee the place in person."

Connie, taking a quick break from her glum detachment, looked up and asked, "Hey, where were you anyway?"

"Oh," Margaret waved her hand around, almost like she was conducting a symphony orchestra, "out and about. I'm certain you don't want to hear an old woman prattle on."

"Nah, come on, you got us all curious. You've been missing since breakfast— which was amazing, by the way. I've been meaning to tell you, but, you know..."

Margaret smiled, "Well thank you. It's been a good while—or more appropriately, a rather lousy while—since I've had to cook for anyone besides myself, but it was much easier with an extra set of hands. And if you must know, I was out on the town with Duncan. He- he's my, was my help in the kitchen. Very... he's very helpful, he is. And courteous. He's quite pleasant company for someone so young; he knows how to listen, and- aha!"

She waved a finger at Connie, who had evidently lost interest in Margaret's explanation in favor of scrutinizing the stairs with an entirely separate curiosity.

"There you have it," Margaret said, crossness in her voice, "now what did I say just a moment ago?"

Connie blinked, glancing first at the other teens, then at Margaret, as though she wasn't sure for a moment who was being addressed. "Huh? Oh- sorry?" she tilted her head for a moment, before finally sorting it all out. "Sorry!" she said finally, throwing a few feeble gestures at the staircase. "It's just... I'm wondering, you know, about how this is all- how it's all going to play out in the end."

Margaret shook her head, half-smiling. "Connie, I understand why your thoughts would be otherwise occupied. You don't have to pretend to be interested in my humdrum affairs."

"Yeah, but..."

"Please," Margaret placed a hand over her heart and widened her eyes, mimicking as if she had been stabbed, "I can survive without every unavailing nicety. I appreciate the intention, but you are excused to send your attentions elsewhere, and if you don't mind, I think I had best do the same." With that, the older woman walked past the girls, offering an unavailing, "nice meeting you two," to Amy and Maya as she stepped by, heading off to a door and into a room on the side of the hall.

It didn't take long before Connie was looking back up the stairs, though her eyes drifted towards the other girls a few times, as though they were somehow distracting her. Finally, she looked at them directly, and said, "Hey, Amy, Maya, look um, you really don't have to stay if you don't want to. I know this is like... you know, when you're at a friend's place to hang out, and partway through some weird family conflict comes up and their parents are yelling at each other and your friend maybe gets caught up in the middle of it, and you're just stuck there trying to be polite but everything is really awkward and uncomfortable. Right? And I don't want to put you through that, I mean, any more than I already have. Hell, I don't even know what's left in the night."

She leaned back in her chair, sagging in it a bit and sighing, "Dunno if Aubrey is going to show up. Maybe he went and got pissfaced and ended up getting kidnapped again by whoever actually did it in the first place. But nah, he doesn't really seem the type to go overboard, does he? Even in a big post-imprisonment celebration. I dunno, maybe he just got lost." She glanced across the hall to the small pile of luggage Cynthia had left behind, "And I guess we're supposed to look after whatsherface's stuff until she gets back, maybe with Joseph, maybe not. Hopefully I only made one major screwup tonight."

Connie, in her slouch, kicked a bit of dust up off the floor and mumbled, "Might just end up eating cold breakfast. And then there's this shit with Dave and Rip." She thumbed wearily up the stairs. "Who knows how that'll turn out. I mean, I guess they each know the other better than anyone else, and better than anyone else knows either individually, you know, but..." she bit her lip for a moment, then frowned and shook her head, "I mean, they're both so messed up. Like, you'll hear them each say that about the other, but I don't know if they've got any self-awareness about it. It's like two lemons trying to give each other a tow. It's ridiculous."

She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed again. "Like I said, you two don't have to stay. I don't see this night bouncing back."

[Town ~ The Washington](Oswald, Nemaforte, Psychic College Students)

Oswald paused for a moment, blinking at Merlin with a rather plain and hard-to-read expression when the young man mentioned his not having any friends. Then his mouth cracked into a big grin.

"Well thank you, Merlin," he said, raising his glass again, "and consider you a friend, I shall. To add to that, though we may hail from divergent realities, there remains the off chance that we should meet again in a place like this." He quickly downed the last of his drink, then concluded by saying, "It wouldn't be the first time."

His eyes widened with clear interest when Zuri said the same, and mentioned possibly being able to somehow follow him back to his own world. "Really?" He said, eyes on the blink again. "I had no idea ghosts were so capable. On the contrary, I was under the impression that they were far more constrained, haunting that where they died and whatnot." He tilted his head ever so slightly and narrowed his eyes a bit, "But perhaps you are a special case, hmn? Given your eminent psychic aptitude, it seems... plausible, maybe. Or maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. Maybe I can no longer distinguish between the reality and the fiction." With a bit of a smile, he placed a hand against the face of his muzzle, tapping his finger there thoughtfully. "Aye, it seems just as plausible."

Oswald said nothing to Zuri's other comments, but his smile did disappear. His expression returned to quiet curiosity as the students offered their own experiences, murmured about auras, and somewhat concerningly, described how they—or she, rather—would have placed Oswald's curse the right way.

His brow knitted slightly, as much with confusion as with apprehension, but, after giving the other students a quick glance, all he said was, "Well, I... hope the curse has something to do with my family; as of yet that's my only lead. My father—my biological father—lives in Nova Scotia; that's where I'm headed. I've never met him, but he's supposed to know about me and I'm hoping he can help figure out where this curse comes from, or what it means, for lack of a better question."

Oswald was silent for another moment, one he spent squinting uneasily at Amanda. It looked as though he was about to say something, but before he could, Gon began talking. "No," he said, with a bit of a laugh, "not just through reading. I mean as we are here and now. As enticing as it sounds, I don't think I'm prepared to abandon my world entirely." He shook his head, "Not yet. Not while these questions still linger in my mind. Though," he smiled at Nemaforte, "thank you for your kind offer, I really do appreciate the passion behind it. Just from your few words and you yourself, of course, your Orenya strikes me as a wondrous place. One I would very much like to see, but..." he closed his eyes, sighing softly through his nose, "well."

His eyes widened slightly at Gon's heated response to his story. "Whoa there," he said, as if he was halting a horse, "I know it's aggravating, but their behavior is rooted in fear, a fear that is perhaps not entirely without ground. As I've said, these strange occurrences are far from being understood, but many people believe them to be almost contagious, if you will. Not to say that one's same exact experiences would pass to another person, but that the proximity, uh... ah-" he gestured briefly at Yamiko, "that it invites misfortune. Strange, supernatural misfortune. Madness, even." Oswald picked up his empty glass and tipped it from side to side, eyeing it as he continued, "Obviously I can't say how much of that is verifiably true, but given that I was recently afflicted with a supernatural curse that left me part-blind, part-deaf, and nearly killed me over the course of several days, I can at the very least understand that fear."

He looked a little uncomfortable, or perhaps simply unsure of what to say when Vicky mouthed off about Iraal. All he could get in edgewise was a noncommittal, "Well, briefly..." before the young woman delved into her animosity for the alien. All he could do was glance at the others and give a small shrug.

At Zuri's reconsideration of her earlier offer to visit, he offered a soft, good-natured smile and said, "I already fly close to trouble just by merit of being who I am. There's little more damage that being seen with a ghost could do."

Now that he had a moment, Oswald glanced at Amanda again, noticing the quiet spat between her and Yamiko, as well as some talk of possession. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and spoke purposefully.

"Pardon me, perhaps you won't mind answering a question of mine—perhaps you will," he murmured, "eh, I digress." He fixed Amanda with a serious—though not yet accusatory—gaze, and asked, "Is it true that you practice psychological torture? And if so, don't you," he stuck his arm out slightly, gesturing in a wide sweep, "any of you, find that ah... ethically problematic?"

[Southern Desert ~ Old Mine] (Joseph, Cynthia, Rin)

Joseph tried to smile when the elements of his idea began coming together just as he had hoped, but the talk of Omar's absence weighed heavy on his mind. In truth, he'd tried not to think about it too much, for fear of opening the floodgate of wonder and speculation.

Where was he?

Nearby. That much has to be true, or we would have heard his motorcycle.

What was he doing?

Handling my supplies, probably. Double checking. Triple checking.

What was taking him so long?

Could be a lot of things. Maybe he's having trouble carrying it all. Maybe there was some last-minute adjustment that needed to be made. Maybe he's staring at the friggin' stars.

What were Omar's intentions?

He wants to help me. He thinks it's important. Maybe it is important. Maybe he's just a really nice guy who has all the right means. Maybe he's some kind of low-key angel. Maybe he's up to no good.

Was he on Joseph's side?

...it seems that way. Were they right about him the first time?

I don't know. I don't know.

Could Omar be trus-

"I don't know." Joe said, his eyes still a little unfocused and spaced-out. "I mean, yeah, no, go ahead," he flapped his hand at the rock pile and gave Rin a quick thumbs up in case his words sounded a little too at-odds with each other. "I don't know about Omar," he further clarified, "but last time I wigged out because he was gone for a while, I ran myself in a big circle and wasted a lot of time. And speaking of, I know this thing is supposed to be on a time limit, but, y'know, I figure Omar knows that as well as anyone. Better than anyone, since it's his plan and all." If we were cutting it too close, I think he'd be down here to tell us."

For all of his reasoning, Joseph couldn't quite keep from nervously fidgeting with his hands, nor could keep from fearfully brushing his big tail across the back of his legs, nor could he even manage a confident smile that didn't chatter a bit.

"So, uh, let's get this thing set up," he said, flashing his aforementioned smile, "so we'll be all set to go when he shows up, and..." he jabbed a clawed finger at his invisible wristwatch, "you know."

edited 10th May '17 12:01:16 AM by Ryuhza

[Bed and Breakfast (Lobby)]

Amy waved at Margret. "See you later!"

She then frowned at Connie, tilting her head. "Aw, but I don't want to leave you guys yet! I have to get my plane ready tomorrow, so I want to spend a little more time with you!" She shook her head, "Besides, I don't want to leave you like this! You're so sad, and I don't want you to keep beating yourself over it."

And again, Maya signed, Davey just needs a moment. The day has been wild, and our emotions are little extreme. Once we all calm down, everything will be fine. Don't dwell so much.

Amy nodded. "I don't want to leave my friends when they're upset, and I don't want the night to end on a sour note, so I'm gonna stay a little longer. That means more stories if you want!"

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Amy, Maya)

Connie kept looking up the stairs, using every moment of silence to try listening in. But try as she might, she couldn't hear anything that she was sure wasn't just in her head. She supposed that was a good thing; it meant they weren't yelling at each other. She'd never known them to do so before, but there was a first time for everything.

With what felt like a monumental effort, she dragged her attention away from the stairs and paid some to the other two girls, still offering well-meant but fruitless words of comfort. Connie suspected only one of two things would get her feeling back at evens with the world: a lot of time—and a good dose of sleep besides—or Davey himself stepping out of that room, marching down those stairs and issuing some kind of... she didn't know what. An apology, maybe? An understanding? A solo ditty about friendship? Whatever would make it feel like things were straight between them again, she supposed.

All that aside, she wasn't going to tell Amy and Maya to go home twice. If they wanted to stick it out to the bitter end, that was their call. So Connie laid her towel and change of clothes across her lap, rose out of her slouch a bit, then leaned back for comfort's sake, and shrugged.

"All right, shoot."