Character Halloween

[Forest's Edge (Oswald, Krajn)]

Krajn looked over at Oswald curiously, not convinced that he was being entirely forthcoming with her. She dismissed it, though, not wishing to pry and knowing that she wasn't particularly skilled at it even if she did. Her eyes followed his to the lights on the tree briefly, then refocused as she considered her answer to his question.

"As I said, I am a Qvn Jxilkr. I'm... I'm not quite certain how to explain that if you don't know what it is." She tried to shrug off the sense of offended dignity that came with that thought; his universe didn't even (to his knowledge) have qrtxians, after all. "We're part culture, part organization, devoted to trying to make up for the errors of the old ways. Er, that is, several centuries ago qrtxians were intensely xenophobic and did nothing to help the rest of the galaxy even though their advanced technology could have let them do so. The Qvn Jxilkr attempt the opposite."

She paused, uncertain - as she often was - whether she'd explained too much or not enough.

[Ballroom (Priss, Harry, a worker)]

"Batman," Harry offered as a counterpoint.

He wanted to leave it there, but after a moment felt obliged to continue "At least, I think he's about vengeance, anyway. Honestly, superheroes aren't really a genre I specialize in."

Then why did I even bring it up? Way to make yourself look stupid again, Carter.

Looking for a distraction, he found himself offered one for free as Priss pointed out the workers. "Yeah, guess so. It makes sense when you think about it - a Halloween party not starting until after it gets dark." He pushed idly at the goggles of his costume again. "Wonder if that means some more guests might show up, too."

The worker continued setting up decorations.

[Dining Hall]

"Don't mind me," the second worker said as he entered. He then began setting up decorations as well.

The last traces of sunlight had vanished utterly from the sky, and night fell in earnest upon the castle and its surroundings. The storm continued to build in the distance, but for the moment everything seemed still. Only the lonely owl and the distant howling of wolves (at least, it sounded like wolves) disturbed the silence for a few moments. Then loud booms rang out across the grounds as the castle's clock tower sounded out the hour, disturbing the bats within, who fluttered briefly across the roof of the castle before settling down.

The current time is 9:00 PM.

edited 3rd Dec '14 6:18:52 PM by nrjxll

[Parlor]

"Yes, you could say Cyana is a good friend of mine," Inzami said, "and don't worry if you don't remember all the details - memory fragmentation is to be expected in these kinds of interdimensional travel situations. Also, you say you've been traveling for a couple months... good to know."

"I wouldn't worry if you felt as though it was a dream - Cyana and her kind have that effect," she said, "but I suppose I just wanted to make sure there weren't any ill feelings."

Looking around the room, Inzami also said, "and I suppose I could give you some company - it doesn't look like anyone else is here."

[West Wing-Hallway]

Marie nodded. "We'll be back. Please check on him while we're gone."

When all three of the teens went through the hallway, Adam still felt extremely worried about Recon.

"If whatever happened in that caused him to act like that," he said, "What are the chances of someone else going through that? What's in there?"

"That's why we're getting Jacky, buddy." Nick said, patting Adam's back, "He can probably figure out what happened. We just have to trust him."

I hope you're right. Adam thought.

Blegh. Sorry for the shortness.

[Outside ~ Forest's Edge] (Oswald, Krajn)

"Ah," Oswald nodded, turning his eyes toward Krajn, "atoning for sins of times long past and... paving the way for a better future. That's certainly a very noble cause. Selfless too, I suppose, save perhaps the overall cultural benefit that comes with being viewed as a less xenophobic species. Even so, it can't always be easy dedicating your life to such a large and rather immaterial cause, however good it's ultimate intentions may be. Good on you to be a part of that."

His gaze turned to the rows of trees extending deeper into the forest, and to the ground, blanketed in grass, fallen leaves, and twigs, all of which were slowly blending together beneath the encroaching night's sky.

"I wonder if mankind wouldn't be much better off if they had a... ah," his face strained slightly, as though he had just taken a bite of a surprisingly tangy fruit, "Qvn Jxilkr of their own. Or- well, I suppose there's really no wondering to be had; of course they would be better off. But they remain so greatly divided."

He frowned, looking vaguely disappointed as he continued to walk in silence.

[Forest's Edge (Oswald, Krajn)]

"I'm not sure humans could have Qvn Jxilkr of their own," Krajn said. She bent backwards slightly in discomfort. "That is... I don't mean to say that with a negative sense. But as I said, it's - we're - both an organization and a culture. I was raised Qvn Jxilkr. I could have obviously chosen to be something else, but my point is that is humans often seem uncomfortable with that kind of social structure. Harry certainly is, though he usually seems embarrassed to admit it."

She paused again, not having intended to say that last out loud, then continued on. "I don't mean to say that I'm not proud of what I am - I am, very much so. But I don't know how well the model could be translated to another species."

Thunder boomed distantly, and she sniffed the air, noticing a slight tinge of ozone. Glancing over at Oswald, she debated whether to continue - to tell him, even if in part, about the true downside of being what she was. It wasn't something she'd ever felt comfortable with except when with Ghiln (and she wasn't an option anymore), but she felt comfortable around Oswald. And who would he tell that would matter to me anyway?

But she decided it could wait for later. Instead, she nodded at the forest, which seemed more - ominous was certainly not the word; gloomy perhaps - than ever. "So. Shall we go in, then?"

[[West Wing]]

“I don’t have much of a choice really,” Michael replied to Warren, slipping his cell phone back into his pocket, “Sleep will come whether I want it or not; half an hour now’s better than passing out later when something’s actually happening. Like, say, if he,” he pointed towards where Recon had been standing before he disappeared, “starts taking orders from someone else; someone more committed to causing us harm. I’d like to be well rested by then.”

He turned as the teens began to leave and said, “Well, see you guys later.” He followed them as they walked back to the Dining Hall. After a little while of hearing them talk, he asked, “So, does Jackson have some experience with the occult? You guys seem to be expecting a lot out of him, considering even the goddess back there was having trouble.”

edited 6th Dec '14 7:39:12 AM by Elfhunter

[West Wing]

Moreena watched Hei and the teenagers leave. She wondered what kind of person their friend was if they really thought he could help. The possibility of being outmatched by a mere human did little to soften her mood. The visions in the forbidden room, the castle blocking her powers... oh, whoever was behind all this would pay.

Noticing that her claws had lengthened once again, Moreena took a deep breath and did her best to keep her emotions in check. She walked over to one of the locked doors and turned her head towards Dakota.

"Recon is still here," she said. "He's just showing off his stealth skills. I say we keep searching for that key until the others get back."

Im on my phone right now so expect some issues.

[Dining Room]

Kommissar noticed the lack of reaction from Henri and felt relieved. With the coffee in his system, he relaxed.

Perhaps it was just him that was on edge, and the bad feeling in his gut was there because he hasn't had time to relax since his last job. Perhaps this was just a Halloween party after all- with the place decorated to look creepy. But he couldn't ignore his senses. They haven't failed me yet.

A person in work clothes entered, and startes to set up decorations. Kommissar sighed in extra relief. But after a few seconds of idle, he glanced down at his mask. The masked man set down the half-empty mug and slipped it back on, eyeing the worker who was preoccupied.

Herr proceeeded to pretend that didn't happen.

[Dining Hall]

That was...quite a name. Not like one he ever heard of before.

After Henri's introduction, Jackson nodded, "Yep. Jackson's my name." He stretched, "So, I'm guessing either you two got invited here or just stumbled upon the place by pure chance." He shrugged, "Course, if I'm being too nosy, call me out."

[Hallway]

Marie swung her sword again. "Yes and no. Yes, we have dealt with situations where one of us ended up in the same state as Recon. But the solutions are always different. Sometimes it can be solved by snapping your fingers or just destroying the source thats causing it. That's why we're getting Jackson; he's pretty much the only one in our group who knows what to do." She tapped her fingers, "But if a goddess doesn't know how to turn him back..."

"Whatever is in there, I hope we can figure it out soon." Adam said, "I don't want anyone else being like Mr. Recon, or worse."

"Same." Nick said, before turning to Hei, "As soon as that find this host of ours, they have a lot to answer for."

edited 6th Dec '14 1:33:51 PM by Masterofchaos

[Ballroom]

"Bloody vengeance." Priss replied. "I've got anger issues." The smile to accompany that was almost angelic. Almost. "It seems kind of sketchy they'd start setting up after dark, though. You'd set up first, start at dark. Hell, moving everything from the truck after it's dark out can be dangerous."

She crossed her arms. "The roadies got lost, I bet."

[Outside ~ Forest's Edge —> Forest] (Oswald, Krajn)

"No?" Oswald said, wonderingly, "It doesn't sound all too strange to me. Humankind—at least, the humankind that I am familiar with outside of these transient meeting places—has plenty of social orders that sound much like what you describe. Have you ever heard of the Amish? They live an old-fashioned life in a modern day and age, and raise their kids in that same fashion. Or..." Oswald rubbed behind one of his horns, "they did. I suppose I don't know what they are up to now, if they still exist. In truth, all I know comes from an ages-old documentary I watched a few years ago."

Before continuing deeper into the forest, Oswald took a few seconds to turn in a full circle, slowly surveying their departure point. He turned his narrowed eyes to the forest beyond, then raised up a hand to his face, guiding an invisible line from the square of his muzzle to the most distant trees that were visible before vanishing into the gloom. He raised his head to the sky for a moment, then finally said, "All right, but..." he lowered his head, glancing at Krajn, "we mustn't be too long, lest the forest's open arms close again on those within."

With that, he shot Krajn a smile, and headed towards the denser forest.

not necessarily free, just happened to have a clear mind.

edited 10th Mar '16 10:57:13 AM by Ryuhza

[West Wing]

Dakota looked at her. "Huh? Oh...hmm. Yeah, okay. Should I smash down some more doors?"

Warren laughed a little bit and leaned against the wall. "I say we go for it."

Gah, sorry it's so short

[Forest's Edge -> Forest (Oswald, Krajn)]

Krajn tipped her head sideways. Was that a quote? That sounded like a quote.

Or perhaps Oswald had just been trying to be... spooky. Hissing slightly, she followed him into the forest. The trees were thick, but not so much so that she was unable to move without the aid of her fighting-sticks. A more immediate concern was the darkness, as even with many of the branches devoid of leaves, there were enough to block out most of the moonlight. Even with pulling both of her eyelids back as far as she could, she doubted she would have been able to see much without the assistance of her enhancements.

Briefly, she wondered what she herself looked like right now. In the darkness beneath the trees, she'd probably - perhaps I should even say hopefully - look like a true Zhrrq Z'hrrn, all night and shadow save for two glowing red eyes. Moonlight glinted off her fighting-sticks, and she sighed quietly. ...And save for these, I suppose.

"So," she said cheerfully to Oswald as they continued to walk, "I don't believe you have ever said. What else happened at that university - er, apparent university - after my companions and I departed? Did you ever discover what was behind it all?"

[Ballroom (Priss, Harry)]

"Hey, it's not like anything else about this isn't sketchy," Harry said. "Or maybe they did do some setting up before - I just can't believe this whole Castle Dracula look isn't at least a little bogus."

He wondered briefly about that mention of 'anger issues', but decided not to follow up on it. Not because he thought it'd bother Priss - current evidence suggested she'd be more annoyed by him not asking - but more because frankly he'd had enough of depressing topics for one conversation. This was supposed to be a party, dammit, even if the evidence for it - like he'd just said - was a little... missing.

So I guess it's on me to shift the subject again, huh? What to ask, what to ask...

"...You ever gone surfing?"

edited 8th Dec '14 12:29:03 AM by nrjxll

[West Wing]

Moreena walked over to Dakota. With the teenagers gone and Recon being unlikely to care, this would be a good time to confirm her suspicions about the girl.

"Speaking about smashing doors down..." she began. "Please forgive me if I'm being insensitive, but the apparent ease with which you do just that, in combination with your little speech about powers and morality earlier..."

Moreena did her best to look nonthreatening, failing spectacularly, and continued in a lower voice:

"You're not just an average human girl, are you?"

[[West Wing]] -> [[Dining Hall]]

“Huh, didn’t really expect it to be that common,” Michael said. Surprising as it was, despite of the spectrum of powers he’d seen in his city, mind control wasn’t one of them. “Well, I guess experience might count for more here than power.”

“So, I’m guessing Jackson has magical powers? What about you guys?”

[West Wing]

Dakota looked at her nervously. "What if I told you I was only, uh, part-human?" Seeing as Moreena was a death goddess, they might not have any reason to judge her poorly or see her as a freak. She knew that. But telling the truth was difficult, not because of fear, but it was because she never had to tell anyone other than Warren and Roy, her adoptive father, about it. It made her feel vulnerable and confused. "Well, I'm mostly human, I think. But...hehe...I sort of have a robot hand that creates lightning and can easy break through something as flimsy as a door..." Dakota sighed and pulled off her glove, revealing her metal hand. "Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but where I come from, I'm already the freak as it is, I don't need to be labeled "inhuman" as well..."

Warren watched the two girls talking. He could read his friend's lips and was able to pick up on what she was saying. Inside, he almost wanted to go in and protect her. But if anyone was the protector of the duo, it was Dakota, and if she trusted Moreena enough to tell her secret, he decided he should trust her as well.

[West Wing]

"That's an interesting design," Moreena said as she leaned in to take a closer look. "Some mortals back home replace lost limbs with enchanted clockwork, but I haven't seen anything quite like this."

She paused for a moment, noticing how nervous the girl was.

"I can't see why it would make you any less human though."

Dakota frowned. "Because it's not human! It's unnatural. If I didn't wake up and escape, I'd be mostly made of metal and have my mind taken away. I'm not calling myself inhuman...but it's not like it won't happen. Not if my enemies know it'll get to me." She paused. "I can think of a few of them who'd use it against me."

Warren sighed and wandered over. "People can be cruel. I think it's pretty cool, but, that's just me."

[Ballroom]

"Like, with real water and waves and sand and stuff? Nope. Never been out of Tokyo. Hell, you can go on tour and not leave Tokyo if you plan well." Priss chuckled. "Done that twice. I might have to actually leave next time, though, just for a tour of Japan proper."

[Ballroom (Priss, Harry)]

Harry looked surprised. "Wow. You've never been out of Tokyo? You mean just with the band, or ever?

It wasn't that weird when he thought about it for a moment. He didn't know that much about Tokyo specifically, but Earth's major cities were supposed to be about as big as you could get without going full arcology. The ones he'd been to certainly were. Though that probably didn't hold true for Priss's Earth - or did it?

I'll ask in a moment, I think.

Meanwhile, the worker continued setting up decorations.

[West Wing]

"Someone else did this to you?" Moreena asked. This was rather different from what she had expected.

"I'm sorry if I made you remember something unpleasant, but when I see something new and interesting I just can't help but investigate."

She slowly shook her head. "I guess a few millennia of boredom does that to you."

[Hallway]

Nick chuckled.

"Oh, a lot of our problems could be solved if that was the case." Nick said, "But no, none of us have powers. We've just been so used to running into stuff like this that we've been prepared. Technology saved our asses."

Adam nodded. "Since we started traveling together, he's been helping us survive the weird stuff we've been running into. But a problem that a goddess can't fix is new to us." He looked Hei over, "Have you dealt with any weird supernatural stuff?"

Sorry for the shortness.

edited 10th Dec '14 3:11:46 PM by Masterofchaos

[Ballroom]

"You could live your whole life in the city and never have cause to go more than four blocks from your door." Priss replied. "Not all of it, of course, but it's still very possible. You've never been to a big city? You have spaceships, surely something like that's around somewhere."

She evaluated the setup with a critical eye, having apparently seen very similar setups done many times before, and wandered over to briefly poke at it.

edited 10th Dec '14 4:12:09 PM by Night

[Ballroom]

"I've most totally been to a big city," Harry replied. "The ones on New California - that's the planet where I was born - might not be much," or possibly they are, depending on what her Earth's like. Totally need to ask that sometime soon, "but I've been to Earth twice. I know what some of the cities there are like. And that's saying nothing about some other planets."

He waved his hand slightly. "But still, I'd think people would usually want to - to travel, you know? Get out, get around, see somewhere else, even if it's just another big city. I'd think that's even more true for your Earth, because you probably don't have quite the same deal of full-immersion planetlink, and stuff."

Though if you ask me playing virtual tourist's bogus next to the real deal anyway.

Sort of want to wait on the dining room to do more with the workers.

[[West Wing]] —-> [[Dining Hall]]

“Sure, if not being the slowest person in the room can be considered “dealing with” them,” Michael lied, “My city’s been infested with demons for a couple of months now, it’d be hard not to run into one eventually.” He stopped and yawned. Sleep was setting in a bit quicker than expected; maybe because it was colder here?

“Running’s the best thing us regular people can do if we come up against one,” Michael continued, “Those things could get up from a shotgun blast to the face. We’d be in pretty deep shit if it weren’t for The Wizard.”

I'm not one to complain. Same problem here.

edited 11th Dec '14 11:07:59 AM by Elfhunter