[THE FORT - MESS HALL > STOCKADE]
Christopher remained where he was; he was no interrogator by a long shot. That, and it would be one more piece of excitement that he'd be spared of.
Tana, however, decided to follow the small band of interrogators for the time being. Once they reached their quarry, the old woman merely satisfied herself by leaning her back against the wall and listening, letting the others work their magic. She wasn't going to particularly enjoy this event, but whatever information this prisoner would reveal might be worth being first party to. She would relay it to Chris later.
Rail Siding - Trinity, Grey man, Kaito, Monster (nearby Jeanette and crew, Chisa)
The Tenno turned back towards Kaito and the grey man. "I believe you. You would have attacked me by now if you had bad intentions." she said to Kaito then looked from the monster to the mysterious man. "Godzilla? I have no idea what that is. But this is no friend of mine." Trinity backed up a bit as the monster drew closer. In truth she had never fought anything as large as this, not even the juggernaught infested she had faced were this huge.
But it wasn't going to stop her from protecting the child AI in the tanks. The second it lunged for one of them she quickly dashed forward and jumped up, aiming her gun and shooting down the monster's side. The gun was an automatic rifle, shooting rapid but strong bullets.
Chisa braced herself in the tanks, having no idea what was going on outside but clearly something big was out there and on the attack.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
What now, who was this- a hacker, or one of the friends he was communicating with earlier? The fact that she hadn't alerted Arthur to her presence was rather suspect. Sure, if he knew for sure that she was one of Arthur's friends, Tsadro could chalk it up to her simply wanting to speak with him in private, but these implants had the power to give him grand-mal seizures with a single well-placed DoS attack or malware. Not something he wanted to leave up to chance, especially since Arthur wasn't likely to find the emergency-off switch in the back of his neck. Having the young woman turn out to have hacked Arthur's tablet would be an unfortunate end to the night.
"Someone appears to be contacting me through your equipment," he said with his voice.
<Identify yourself,> he transmitted.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Crazy Kiwi
Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite
Samuel, Vic and the Mad BastardsJames looked from Vic to Samuel as they ventured their suggestions and opinions for the morrow. "We haven't really fully explored the desert, but we also need to try the forest as well. I'm wondering if we shouldn't split up into two or three groups in order to cover more area."
Teri mulled this over for a moment. "We'd need at least two groups to cover the woods and the desert, and even then, both of those are fucking large areas."
Karl nodded. He had been thinking along similar lines, albeit in his native German.
Peggy took a drag on her cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Maybe tomorrow morning we can see if there's a group heading in the direction of the woods. Perhaps some one's going that way and would like others to join them."
Kris turned to Samuel. "And if you and Todd are going out into the desert to look for your search party, some of us could come with you - if you don't mind. Who knows what else we might find in the process."
edited 9th Dec '15 11:20:12 AM by Wolf1066
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
Davey simply smiled in return, nodding his head once.
"Hey, Davey."
Again, Davey's ear's perked up a tiny bit, and his eyes fixed on Connie. Her back was still turned to him as she spoke, but her words were clear and callous. She didn't have to look to know that she had his full attention.
"This? Going out in this weather with that thing crawling around? This is the most downright idiotic thing you've done in a long time." She gave the words a moment to settle, then added, "Don't go one-upping yourself tonight."
Davey sighed, rubbing a hand down his forehead and along his short muzzle. He stared across the room at her back, and in a tired voice, he explained, "Connie, if I don't do this, it's sure to leave me feeling cranky all night and all morning, and you don't want that— you don't. I'll be back soon enough, and no worse for wear. Again, if you'd like to keep an especially close eye on me, you can come along! No one is stopping you." He held out his small arms and shrugged, turning his gaze briefly to Irina, as if to find some sort of moral support.
Connie glanced at the window again, staring at it for several long, long, seconds.
She drew in a slow, deep breath, shoulders rising and sagging again, then turned enough to fix Davey with an unhappy smile.
"Buenas noches, majadero." she said, conclusively. It wasn't a direct 'no', but it didn't have to be; her expression carried the message.
Davey sighed again, and went to the door. He reached for the handle, turned it, and opened the door a crack. Then he paused, looked back, and did his best to muster up the most confident smile a weasely face like his could bear. "In good time and good health, I'll see you two again."
The tiny unsleeved tip of his tail was the last thing visible before the door shut behind him. Connie's smile disappeared as soon as he did. She shot a glance at Irina, then walked over and sank into one of the cushioned chairs, grumbling, "This is bullshit..."
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Room 204)] (Joseph, James, Pancake)
"Wow, sounds rough..." Joseph said, looking around the room for a place to sit. Even with the borrowed jacket on, he still felt so grimy that he didn't want to touch much of anything if he could help it. He ended up sitting square on the floor, in a sort of cross-legged position with his big tail trailing on the floor behind him.
"I mean, I guess at least I've got my mom and... I guess Rick, and a few others. I didn't get kicked out or abandoned or anything like that. She didn't even freak out for that long either, considering..."
As his thoughts drifted back to home, pulling up old memories and strong sentiments, Joseph's eyes began to twitch slightly. His lizardy brow creased a bit. The corners of his large mouth wobbled.
"I should-" Joe caught himself as his voice began to waver. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and tried again, "uh... I should call. I mean, I should try, right? There's no harm in trying right?" he began nodding slowly, "I should try to call home, yeah. Is there a phone around here?"
this place needs me here
[Hotel-Room 204]
James gave a light chuckle.
"Rough." he repeated, "Rough is a bit of an understatement, buddy. But I guess that would be the right word for it."
He then noticed Joesph's sudden reaction and began to worry. He set Pancake on the bed and knelt down to him. "Hey...if it's too much, you don't have to do it. But if you want to..." his eyes glanced around the room, until he saw the phone next to his bed. "There's one right there. If that doesn't work, I have a cell phone."
He put two hands on Joseph's shoulder.
"I'm here if you need anything, ok?" he gave a small smile, "It'll be ok."
He then heard the sound of the shower turning off. John must be wrapping up. he thought, I was wondering when he was gonna finish...
PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite]
Samuel itched his chin again. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. I'll run it by Todd later. But once we establish contact, I'd think Vic has to..."
Vic's face had lit up for a moment. The forest... All those trees... But once Samuel said the last sentence, he interjected, "I don't wanna leave right away. I don't have much to go back to, to start."
Before anyone could say anything else, someone knocked on the door. The Colonel eyed for someone else to get it—he didn't have two full legs. Vic took the cigarette out of his mouth and went for the door.
The cleaning crew entered and took all the dirty plates. Samuel had time to strap the prosthetic back on to give their combined compliments. One replied that he would relay it to the chef. Another worker came in with a large platter with a chrome dome.
Vic eyed it strangely. "Uh, we didn't order anything."
Samuel gave a playful wink to the whole group. "Decided we can have a little dessert while we're here." The worker set the mysterious platter down along with a stack of small plates and left behind the others. Sam waited until they left.
He lifted up the top, revealing a large cake, coated in thick white icing. He took a knife from atop platter and cut into it. He made himself a good-sized slice and put it on the small plate. It was a multi-layered red velvet cake, undoubtedly with cream cheese icing. He yelled, "All right, who wants cake?"
Todd reluctantly returned, eyes squinting in the light. A bath robe of sorts was wrapped around him. He sighed at the sight. "Really, Sam? You have a sweet tooth now?"
The bald man shrugged and feigned a frown.
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
Irina had nothing left to say to Davey before he finally left. She focused on feeling Garganteum's prescence. For the moment, it was near, but still far off. She sighed a bit in relief. Too close for comfort, still.
She gathered her thought before getting near to the other girl. She said, "Connie, I know there's danger out there, but sometimes you can't change someone's mind," she reached out to touch her shoulder, but decided otherwise. "As stupid as it is."
She looked out into the sandstorm, feeling uneasy still. The anxiety would always be bad despite her being inside. "It doesn't seem you'd want to go out yourself and stay with him anyway. If you don't want to stop him, the let it be." Irina returned to her bed and plopped down on it. She began to unlace her desert-worn shoes.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Crazy Kiwi
Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite
The revealing and cutting of the cake was watched with great interest.When Kris saw the interior of the cake, she squealed with delight. "Velvet cake!"
"What's 'Velvet cake'?" James asked.
"A red chocolate cake." Kris was already up and heading for it.
At the mention of chocolate, the other Mad Bastards came to their feet en masse. Real coffee was a rare enough treat on Terra Nova as it was difficult to grow in the climate; chocolate was impossible to get. Two years of living in cocoa-free Terra Nova had sharpened all their appetites for the rich flavour of chocolate.
Wolfe only ever ate chocolate when he was "in the mood for it" - and, since he hadn't had chocolate since the visit to the Mountain Resort two years earlier, he was most definitely in the mood for some.
The cake was rich, sweet and moist and pure heaven to eat. Peggy savoured each mouthful of the large slice she had cut.
James turned to Samuel. "This is a wonderful and unexpected treat. Thank you so much."
The others gave their thanks in turn - some somewhat muffled by mouthfuls of cake.
"Y'know what we should do?" Said Teri between mouthfuls. "Buy one of these and auction it off back on Terra Nova - we could set ourselves up for life."
Karl laughed. "Think of what we would get for just a slice of this."
Mr ship
[Fort-Mess Hall> Stockade.]
Henry walked with the others to the prisoner in hopes of getting information out of them. He decided to light a cigarette, stand back and listen while the others talked to him.
The prisoner gave up rather easily to Henry's surprise. He listened to the prisoners words as he explained where he was from and why he was here. However that just raised a couple more questions.
"Wait a second." Henry started as he approached the cell. "I have two questions for you. One how did you learn of this place, and two how did you and your group manage to cross dimensions to get here?"
Crazy Kiwi
Northwestern Desert - The Fort (Stockade)
Sophia caught Rin's wink and carefully kept her face stoney, despite wanting to grin. She blew on the end of her cigarette again, making it glow fiercely."Wait a second," said Henry. "I have two questions for you. One how did you learn of this place, and two how did you and your group manage to cross dimensions to get here?"
The prisoner, David, turned to look at the tall bearded man that was approaching the cell and shrugged. "I don't know how Jason found out about this place, he never told us of his informants. As to how, we liberated some transdimensional transport bracelets from a government research facility and used them to get us here." He pointed at the table upon which his gear had been put.
Kaitlyn wandered over to the table to have a closer look.
Finn grinned broadly. "'Liberated', is it? So these gadgets were enslaved, then. Good t'ing y' cleared that up or I'd'a been t'inkin' you'd simply stolen 'em."
Gwion chuckled. "So what's this R.O.T, anyway? And what is it about the government that you feel armed insurrection is warranted? Do they eat babies, perchance?"
David looked at him as if he were completely stupid. "The 'Republic of Texas', of course! And the government may as well eat babies, their policies are horrific.
Kaitlyn turned the "transdimensional transport bracelet" over in her hands. It looked like something out of an old science fiction movie. She turned to the prisoner and cocked her head. "So, if you succeeded in taking this place, what's stopping your government's forces from just using bracelets like these to materialise in the middle of the fort like you did?"
David shook his head. "They wouldn't know where we were hiding out, at first, and Jason had plans to liberate some devices that prevent interdimensional portals opening within a hundred yard radius. If we set a few of them up around the fort no one would be able to get inside."
"Fookin' jayzus! More liberatin'. You guys must be the heroes of oppressed electronics everywhere."
[Grand Hotel (Lobby)]
Scents burst out laughing, looking at Maya. "Awwwww. She's adorable!"
The reaction was only partially honest. She was more than a little genuinely amused by the human woman's weird shyness; not that everybody she knew was an extrovert, but they didn't usually react like this in public (or go into jobs where it would be a problem, neither). And blushing just looked weird. But she was also interested in figuring out just what kind of upper class Hana was, and her reaction would give her a clue: would she join the stranger in poking fun at her own employee, or stick up for her?
Otherwise occupied. I wonder with what?
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
Connie glared from her slouch at the door across the room, only briefly diverting her eyes when Irina offered her advice, to which she responded with a surly huff, and a "Yeah, whatever." then she sighed and slumped somehow further into the chair. She was beginning to slide off. "I shouldn't've said anything. I'll bet it just made things worse, like, I challenged his status as the..." she waved her hands around, "'most fearless ferret-ass-chipmunk-whatever-the-hell-he-is in town', and he had to prove me wrong. That's his problem; he's always trying to show off to people. And it is stupid. Like, oh hey, my friend dared me to jump off a bridge and I'm gonna do it. Only worse, 'cause it's more like, oh hey, my friend told me not to jump off a bridge and I'm still gonna do it. That's pretty friggin' stupid."
She paused, looking ready to keep going at it, then glanced at Irina on her bed, and let out what she could in a sigh. "Sorry." she murmured. "You're right anyway. I can't do anything about it 'cause I'm not thick-skulled enough to go out there myself. I just... well whatever. I don't really even care."
By that point she had slumped so far down into her chair that she wasn't even sitting on it anymore, just laying on it with her back while her feet kept her upright in a sort of crab-walk position.
this place needs me here
PAINKILLER
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
Irina shook her head slightly. "Seems males of any species have massive egos." She returned to her sleeping place and continued to strip her clothes. Under her robes and light leather armor was a tank-top. She placed the growing pile of clothes near her bag.
She removed her head scarf, revealing straight, dark brown hair at jaw length. She shook it all loose before commenting, "Also, I beg to differ on not caring. Anger means concern."
Irina pulled her bag back up and sifted through it. She pulled out a sack as well as her canteen. "Hungry, Connie? I've got crispy biscuits and taranles. I promise they're edible." The desert woman opened her canteen and drank from it.
[Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite]
Samuel smiled wider as the group was ecstatic. It seemed sweets were not common at all on Terra Nova— and the thought had relevance when they intended on selling it. He sat down to take bites of his own. "I like spoilin' people, what can I say?"
Todd came to sit, and cut himself a sliver. While he was full and quite tired, he figured it would please Samuel. Vic took a couple bites from his own small-ish slice before he began to devour it. He smiled wide, enjoying the sweetness. Is this what it's like to be normal? The day before this, I was just a poor boy... But after it, the troop... They...
Vic then began to tear up. He sat back and began wiping his eyes. Samuel noticed. He leaned to his right and put an arm around him. "Hey, chocolate ain't spicy, what's the matter?"
He choked out, "I-I never had it good. Steak, cake, a goddamn smoke. I—I don't deserve this. Why didn't I die? Why not me?" He began to sob a bit.
Samuel furrowed his brow. "Hey, hey, it's all right. Go to the bathroom. Wash yourself up. It's been a long day, can't blame you." Vic nodded a bit before standing up to leave. The Colonel clicked his teeth. "Poor kid."
Todd stared at his plate, chewing slowly.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[Forest]
And on that note, the bemused group retrieved Suela and the camel, and made their way towards the Valley of the Dead God. Some had to leave, due to other concerns, but they still managed to make good time...
[Mountaintop]
Molag decided she'd earned an explanation. "They're... birds, 'bout this big," he held his hand to indicate a creature no larger than a starling, "but... like something you'd find on Tuchanka. They like meat, and they can teleport. So they'll find a creature, pop right into its heart, dig their way out." His ugly features contorted into a clear grimace. "Usually they just snack on all the other wonderful beasts you find in that valley, but every so often, they.... flock. Sometimes just watching. Sometimes... not." A pause. "Oh... looks like my ride's here." And he vanished in a burst of cyan light.
[Mountain Pass]
"It's getting dark," Suela said with a yawn, eyeing the sky. This world's silver-white moon was a disconcerting sight, and it was much dimmer than the comforting red glow that her own world's moon provided. (Comforting when you'd grown up with it, anyways.)
"We can set up camp," Brin suggested. "Get the rest of this trip over with tonight. Hopefully we don't have any trouble with those birds that scared off those bandits."
Suela nodded, and asked her remaining companions, "any disagreements?" She was already unpacking Cloudsplitter. To herself, she said, "tea's starting to wear off anyways."
edited 11th Dec '15 9:06:01 PM by KillerClowns
Drummer Boy
[Mountain Pass]
"Yes, please, let's set up camp. It feels like ages since we ate anything." Cyrus took the satchel off of Kito's back and dug around for his canteen. "How many tents did we buy, again? I'd like to have one set up as soon as possible..."
Kito simply left.
"Don't mind him! He's just going off to sample the wildlife. I'm sure there's lots of tasty animals around here, but he'll be back to help us keep the camp safe while we're sleeping. Normally we go hunting together but I'm too tired right now. By the way, if anyone wants water, I'm about to make some. Fair warning, though, there'll be flashing lights."
[Hotel Room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
Wait, what?
At long last, he turned his earpiece back on. <nymue i swear to god>
"Aw, how'd you know it was me? Oh, right, I'm the only person smart enough. So Arthur hasn't told you about us, I see."
<because you are all being fucking annoying today now TELL ME HOW TO DISCONNECT>
"We're Unit Psi, former soldiers of the World Alliance, but our affiliation with them is over, and good riddance. We work for ourselves now. There are six of us in total, but I'm the only one in the control room now. Everyone else is busy doing other stuff. My taskname's Nymue, nice to meet ya. Anyway, Arthur, why don't you give your tablet to Tsadro and let me talk to him face-to-face?"
<jesus christ why>
"What, do you want me to try talking to the rest of the team? Lancelot's asleep, by the way."
He considered this for a moment <i kind of wanted to take a shower anyway>
Before he disappeared into the bathroom, he popped his tablet out of the holder and leaving it on a table near Tsadro. The dark screen suddenly flickered to life. On the other end was a lean young woman in a black tank top. Her skin was quite tan and something about her eyes strongly suggested East Asian ancestry, but at the same time it didn't seem like an entirely safe assumption to make, either. She had long black hair haphazardly gathered in a ponytail tied near the top of her head. Behind her was a blank monitor embedded in a gray metal wall. She seemed to be alone.
"There we go, now I can disconnect from your implants. Yeah, sorry 'bout that, our dear captain's kinda pissed at us right now, no one listens to Gwen when he's not here, some other stuff happened... yeah, we're all on edge. But hey, who needs friends when you've got computers, right? Seriously though, we found a weird robot the other day and Galahad plugged it into the ship's main fucking computer without asking anyone like the fucking dipshit he is goddamn do I hate that fucker ANYWAY now the ship's systems are fucked and I'm the only one who can fix it. Don't worry about your implants, though, we all have personal tablets like Arthur and they were offline when this whole mess started and I've taken precautions. We'd've known by now if anything spread to them, trust me. I got kinda sick of working nonstop, though, so I decided to hit you up. I've been stuck with the same five people for a month, yo, and we don't even get along that well. We found a couple of robots a few weeks ago, but they're not great conversation partners, so I'm not really counting them. So, you're probably wondering why I didn't want Henr—Arthur to know I was trying to talk to you. I knew he'd try to stop me. Probably thought I'd annoy you. Hard to believe we're good friends, huh? But I wasn't about to let him have all the fun when we're all stuck here doing fuck all." She made a lazy grin. "I know I got a motormouth, sorry. I can try to reel myself in if you want me to."
edited 12th Dec '15 8:58:50 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Attitude is prohibited
[The Fort] (Stockade)
Rin turned her back to the prisoner and moved over to Gwion. "There's that words again." She said, in a low voice, almost a whisper. "What, exactly, is this 'texas?' It's a location, correct? Is it, to your knowledge, supposed to have a republic?" She waited for an answer, and then a moment or two later, turned back to their captive.
"Alright, David," She said to him. "We appreciate how cooperative you've been thus far. Don't we?" She turned her head, briefly, to give Sophia a pleasant smile. "Now, on to my next question: are any more of your comrade on their way here? Should we expect any company? And remember," She held up a finger. "If we find out you've lied to us, some of us are going to be very upset." She chided.
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
Maya's cheeks got a fair bit redder, and she didn't say anything.
Hana chuckled quietly. "Yes, it is rather endearing, isn't it?" She put a hand on Maya's shoulder, reassuringly. "But of course, there's nothing wrong with being a bit reserved..."
[Mountaintop >>> Mountain Pass]
Hoshi grimaced as the description of the birds. That sounded like an experience she'd very much like to go without. She might have asked him some follow-up questions, when he suddenly vanished in a burst of light. She was left wondering if everything in this strange, sandy place could teleport. Wasting no time, she took off into the sky, fleeing the birds and heading back to the others.
Later, having given Miyuki, and anyone else who had wanted to listen, a rather dramatic retelling of everything that had happened to her while she'd been separated from the group, she'd happily rejoined their little caravan and was eager to continue the adventure.
Miyuki knew her friend well enough the filter the embellishments from the facts of her story. She wasn't about to admit it, but secretly, she was relieved that Hoshi was back by her side. Both because she enjoyed her blonde compatriots' company, even if it didn't seem that way sometimes, and because, at least in her opinion, their group was not exactly the most cohesive unit... It was good, she felt, to have someone truly dependable backing her up.
Not entirely dead.
[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur, Nymue)]
To him, Nymue just looked Mialian, but she sounded... Porintic, maybe? Tsadro almost would have found it weird had his train of thought not been derailed by her terminating the signal. His head didn't spin anywhere near as much as it would before he modded the comm driver, thank the Gods, but the room and sound of the shower still faded away as he tried to catch the gist of what she was saying.
Arthur had somehow worked himself into a position of authority, probably because his team knew him beforehand. He was angry at them, they were all angry at each other, yeah, whatever... they found a robot and it hosed their computers? Oh, hell, what would he do without those security routines, and the sandboxing, and all that other code he slaved over... part of him almost wanted to end this conversation right now so he could sleep for a couple hours and run a full scan. What the hell did they know about his implants' firmware, especially since he wrote most of it?
So after she brushed that off, they're angry again. Arthur's name may not actually be Arthur, it might be a derivative of Henri's name, and Arthur was afraid Nymue was going to annoy him. Kid probably wasn't wrong, the girl had managed a spiel rivaling Doctor Acquati at his most excited and caffeinated.
How about they get to the point, then. "He was communicating with the five of you while he stared at me in the bar? You, at least, have been listening this entire time?" He spoke with the same even tone that he had been using all night, partially to see if she would assume he was angry. In truth, had he cared at all about six strangers from another world knowing about himself and Rivari, he wouldn't have told Arthur even if he knew the kid was solo.
But the lab Arthur mentioned offhand had to have something to do with those robots... and had the answers been 'yes', their reasoning for speaking with him had to be part of that.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Drummer Boy
[Hotel Room 106]
Nymue scratched her head. "Bar? Oh, right, the bar. Man, that feels like hours ago. Has it been hours? I dunno. Long story short, some shit went down over here and we haven't been able to keep track of Arthur for a while. Doesn't help that we pissed him off and he turned off his earpiece a little after he went in. I've been here in the computer room trying to calm myself down, and I didn't pay attention to the time when I went in. So no, we don't know what went down between you two since you guys met at the bar, but I can access the logs in his tablet and get myself up to speed. Actually, lemme just take care of that right now."
She had been inspecting her fingernails while talking to him, but now she was reaching in front of her. He couldn't see her hands now, but judging by the sounds, she was using a keyboard a little more aggressively than was probably necessary, although she wasn't quite pounding it.
"Man, I really don't like these tablets. It's nice that they come with keyboards to plug them into but I just don't like 'em. Good thing I decided to sneak my laptop into training camp. But I'm not using that right now, haven't gotten around to fixing the webcam yet, unfortunately. It's a little better than the tablet ones, sorry about not being able to show you my gorgeous face in super high definition. I went through a lot of pain to finally get a decent machine, I wasn't gonna leave it behind just because the military's got rules. Oh yeah, did the staring at the bar creep you out or anything? He's not always careful about what his eyes are doing. I know, I can be the same way. With us it tends to be too much eye contact or none at all, not often in between. We're awkward weirdos in general. So yeah, sorry if it was creepy. 'Kay, got to the logs, I'm gonna skim them now. I'm serious, though, you can tell me to talk less if you want. I can go on forever if no one stops me."
edited 12th Dec '15 11:47:48 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Mountain Pass
The small flash that accompanied their arrival died quickly, giving way to darkness all around. An unfamiliar moon gave the only relief, and only hinted at the wilderness around them. “See? You pulled it off,” Blair said with a smile. “You’ve done well.”
Roscoe did not smile. “Maybe. I don’t feel so well.” She blinked. “Why is it so dark?”
“You did use a bit too much light. Your eyes will adjust.” Blair placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come, let’s see where you’ve brought us.”
A little reluctantly, Roscoe took Blair’s hand and ventured up the path with him. “I still can’t see,” she said. “Blair, I think I have human sight.”
He glanced at her. “What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s so dull.” Roscoe pouted a bit. “How do they even see the stars?”
“True.” Blair glanced up at the sky. “To tell the truth, I’m not quite feeling myself either.”
Roscoe dropped his hand and groaned. “Great. What do you feel?”
He looked at her. “I’ve lost a fair amount of my power. Just my Fae magic is left.”
“Lucky you. I’ve lost everything, I think.” Roscoe folded her arms against the wind. “I’m human.”
Blair frowned. “That isn’t such a bad thing.”
“You keep saying that like you’re human.” Roscoe looked up at him. A full foot of height separated them, as did ten years of age, to all appearances. Of course, that was why Roscoe had stopped counting on appearances. “What happened? Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all. We’re just on a dimension that’s new to us, and our attributes are trying to compensate. It’s only temporary.” Blair leaned in and pecked Roscoe’s cheek. “You’ve found a whole new plane. That’s exciting!”
She was still reluctant. “I’d be more excited if this new dimension liked me.”
He could have told her, Blair thought as he watched Roscoe frown. He did not take any joy from lying to her. But Roscoe, the poor dear, was a terrible liar; and so while she had indeed opened the rift that had allowed them passage onto this new plane, it was he who had fixed the destination, and he who had suspended their powers in the crossing. That way, she did not need to lie, because she did not know what was the truth. And he did not need any others finding out who they truly were, or why he was truly there.
“Dimensions are picky. You met Faerie.” He squeezed her hand. “We should look around whilst we’re here.”
“It’s a mountain in the middle of nowhere, Blair,” Roscoe half-protested. She already knew there was no dissuading him. Nature was Blair’s habitat. But there was just something about the whole arrangement that did not sit right with her.
They made their way up the pass, listening to the sounds around them, until they both distinctly heard signs of much less typical life. There’s a camp up ahead. Roscoe gave Blair a look, studying him, and finally followed him as they cautiously approached the camp.
edited 13th Dec '15 1:03:31 AM by savlamar
[Mountain Pass]
They had plenty of tents — enough for their former group, which meant they now had spare. Same with food; Suela's poor camel was relieved to have his load lightened. Suela set up the tents, easily figuring out the unfamiliar instructions, while Brin took watch. Conversationally, Suela said, "it's strange, being under an alien sky..." she looked up. "Still not used to all those stars."
Brin noticed the two figures in the distance warily. "For Raava's sake..." she muttered, approaching. Cautiously, the guarded stance of a woman who didn't want trouble, but was willing to prevent it violently if absolutely necessary. A mountain pass favored her greatly, at least. She yelled out, "friend or foe? We're just trying to reach the Valley of the Dead God."
Drummer Boy
[Mountain Pass]
Cyrus was just about to go inside his tent, but what Suela just said seemed odd. "Do you... not have stars back home?" Now that it was darker out, he felt a little less hesitant to take off his goggles, so he put them on his forehead so he could rub the deep imprints they made on his face after wearing the all day. Still, he took care not to directly face anyone.
Kito had left with the intention of making a quick trip back to the forest—not a terribly great distance for an animal with his stamina—to find fresh meat, but that had to be put on hold to make sure there was nothing concerning about the new arrivals.
"D-don't worry, he won't hurt you if you don't try to hurt him!" Cyrus called out as the Wolfram followed Brin, familiarizing himself with the newcomers' scents.
edited 29th Dec '15 12:50:16 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Grand Hotel (Lobby)]
Scents kept a blank face, but on the inside she was kind of annoyed. That response hadn't done much more to clear up the situation. It's almost like Hana actually knew what I was trying to do and headed it off.
Actually, I guess it's possible, depending.
Maya didn't seem particularly bothered by anything. But it was hard to tell with her reactions. Scents wished at times like these that she had met more humans, but between how out of the way Cah Yes was, and working for the Theocracy, there weren't a lot of chances.
"No, oh, of course not," she replied aloud. "I don't meet a ton in my line of work, though. Even the doc isn't really - just more... not social."
Meanwhile, Iraal had disengaged from the link connection into her mind. To her lack of surprise, the connection had indeed been weak, frequently rendering the projected visuals as monochromatic - red, green, or a rather ominous view. But it had been pleasant to catch up on the news anyway.
Turning, she headed towards Scents and the human women, the robot trailing at her heels. Scents turned her head to see her coming with one eye, noticing as she did that the lobby appeared to have cleared out entirely.
"I believe our next step," the orl said as she arrived, "should be to find food."
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
"Well, as of now I don't care anymore." Connie responded, finally picking herself back up and settling into a more normal sitting position. Her voice was slowly losing it's tension as well, migrating back into the spacey—even slightly stoned—tone it usually carried. "Its the healthy choice."
She linked her fingers and restlessly rocked back and forth in the chair for a few seconds. A few seconds later, she was sitting on top of her own bed, eyeing Irina and her sack with a bored-looking frown.
"Pardon me, but, ...the hell is a taranle?"
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Main Hall)](Davey, Margaret)
It only took a few moments of solitude and mental independence for Davey to start feeling better. His choices made sense again, undiluted by the insistence that he hadn't thought things through, or that he was getting involved with something more dangerous than he could handle. He stood at the top of the stairs, suited up and ready to brave the storm, feeling strong; feeling mighty. Feeling cleansed.
He sucked in a deep breath that seemed altogether too large for his slim and junior-sized body, then descended the stairs into the warmly lit main hall, moving to the door with a willful march.
"David, is that you again?"
Davey clenched his pointy set of teeth into a forceful grin as he neared Margaret at the front desk. "Yes Margaret, it's me. And it will be the next time too. As a matter of sure fact, every time you see me come through here, it is, in fact, me."
Margaret frowned, giving Davey a dead-eyed glare from behind her desk. "Well pardon me if I don't quite catch on so quickly, David. You just look so very, very different from the last time you were here."
"It's been a long time." Davey replied, solemnly.
"Hmmh... and this- this..." she gestured a hand at him and squinted behind her glasses, "what... what are you wearing?"
"My going-out clothes." he said, smiling a small, sly smile. "They're for going out."
Margaret's eyebrows shot up and eyes flew open. After a few moments of initial surprise, she quickly settled into a contentious stare, and asked, "What, are you being funny? You're not going out; not in this weather." she nodded at the front door for emphasis. Even from within the walls of the house, the rattling sandy winds sounded loudly and harshly.
"Well actually I've become pretty well fixed on the idea that yes I am, but it was nice chatting with you. Nice to know how you feel." Davey gave her another one of his sugar-plum weasel smiles and marched onward toward the door.
"I'm not washing any of that, young man." she warned as he reached for the handle.
Davey glanced back. "Why not?"
"Because I don't wash the clothes of smart-mouthed upstarts who freeload off of my good graces. Especially when they're actively choosing to dirty their clothes with highly objectionable decisions."
The door was opened and closed before she had time to finish.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Room 204)] (Joseph, James, Pancake)
Joseph quickly blinked away any unsightly shimmering from his eyes as James got closer. He had a hard time looking the guy in the eyes, especially at such a close range, but he did manage to give him a few meaningful glances, nod, and murmur a nervous, "Yeah... yeah, okay. I should. I should do this. I want to do this."
He took a deep breath, clicked his teeth twice, blinked, and climbed to his feet. It didn't seem like there was any reason to be nervous, yet the idea of trying to make a call home felt somehow daunting. At the same time, Joseph hadn't lied. His own personal desire was just enough to push through any early hangups and take a shot. It was just a phone call.
He took a few steps, then stopped, eyeing his shoes. Maybe now was a good time to take them off. They had leaked away and otherwise dried all the water they'd soaked up during his logless Splash Mountain ride, but they were getting kinda crusty, and he hadn't noticed before, but his feet were really starting to ache. Although, if they were going to go get food, then he'd probably have to slip them back on in a bit anyway, so it'd probably be a big waste of time, which...
Joe raised his head, his eyes meeting the phone again. When had it ever become so difficult to just walk across a small hotel room, achy feet or not? There were only two outcomes, either he would be able to get a hold of his folks, or he wouldn't. He'd call, and he'd get some voice telling him the number wasn't available, because his world didn't have aliens wandering around in hotel lobbies in towns where no one paid you a second glance if you were a giant talking lizard. Or... or he would somehow connect, and his mom would pick up, and... well, what then? What was he supposed to say? How could he explain anything that had happened? How would it help? He had no earthly idea of where he was. He could point ten times at a world map and be thousands of miles off each time, if not billions of miles off because he was pointing at the wrong planet. He was hopelessly lost, and hearing the sound of a familiar voice... wouldn't that just make things worse?
He stood next to the phone and stared at it, a blank expression on his long, nervous face. Suddenly, he opened his mouth, and asked,
"Have you guys ever been stuck in a... like a... a time warp?"
this place needs me here
[Hotel-Room 204]
James quirked an eyebrow.
"A time warp?" he repeated, "What do you mean; like feeling like you don't belong somewhere?"
Just then, John opened the door, now wearing a dark blue shirt and light brown pants. He had a huge smile on his face, obviously oblivious to the situation at hand.
"I'm back!" he said, closing the door behind him, "Whew, that felt so nice! I didn't realize how much sand I had until I-"
He stopped when he saw that Joseph seemed upset about something, and just like that, his smile was replaced with a concerned frown.
"Joseph? You ok? Something wrong?" he asked, before turning to James and sitting next to him, "What's going on? What happened?"
"He wanted to call home," James said, "But it looks like he has cold feet. He just asked if we ever been stuck in a time warp."
"Time warp?" he looked at Joseph, "What do you mean by that?" He blinked, "Are you feeling nervous about something?"
John's voice had woken Pancake back up—not that she minded. She trotted over to him and leaped onto his lap.
Northwestern Desert - Fort (Stockade)
PrisonerOne of the captors - a woman dressed in some sort of body armour and wearing a sword - said, "We're going to ask you some questions now, and if you answer them well, then we'll stay on this side of the cell, you can stay there, and the floor stays relatively clean and free of your blood. If not, then, well..." She then looked right at the woman who had practically strangled the life out of him while snarling like she wanted to tear his throat out with her teeth.
Suddenly, the bars that had seemed like an impenetrable trap seemed both reassuringly solid and terrifyingly easy to open. He swallowed.
The questions were, thankfully, very simple but the smile that followed them was hardly reassuring.
"My name—" his voice caught in his throat. "My name is David Ericson, from the R.O.T. on Earth. We are - were - a political group dedicated to overthrowing the government and we wanted a base of operations where we would be safe from their troops. We used to number over one hundred but the thirty of us who came here are all that were left after clashes with loyalist troops. Our intelligence suggested that this was a soft target - a small platoon of primitively armed soldiers - and Jason - that was our leader - figured we could gain control of the fort with little opposition or risk and use it as a base."
I will post for the "Mud Bustids i' th' hotel" when I get back from dinner.
edited 7th Dec '15 8:10:52 PM by Wolf1066