PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite]
Vic sniffled but held his chin up. He said, "That sounds fine, thanks."
Samuel shrugged. "I see. It's just a funny thing to me, even though we got a famine. Well, we ain't starving, but the poor are."
The door opened again, and only a few workers came to clean up the mess. They left the remaining cake, and even gave it a glass lid. Samuel said his thanks before they left.
Vic stared at the glass. "Think we can have some for breakfast?"
The Colonel winked. "Hey, I don't make the rules, kid. You got it, you have it."
Almost afterwards, the man stretched and could feel tightness and weariness abound. He knew he wasn't 33 anymore, for sure, but it still came upon him shockingly. He figured it was the battle from earlier, and the walk to the Frontier town. Possibly other issues too.
Samuel continued to stretch. He rolled his neck, warranting some cricks to get loose in audible cracks. "Don'tcha think it'd be a good time to retire? Long day and all."
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
Irina finished her bite before explaining, "I come from a country called Serenica. It's mostly a desert country, though there's some grasslands. I do all kinds of work. I travel in caravans to protect them from robbers. I also help people travel in the deserts, like use good routes and keep them from getting lost.... " As she rattled off jobs in her mind, she stopped. She settled on, "I basically get hired for most of anything," she raised her eyebrow. "Except for... Escorting. And I mean the sexual kind. Sure it pays well, but I'd rather be fighting off raiders and eating 30 blackberry taranles than get into the pants of a stranger. Believe me, some don't bathe." She shuddered.
She took another one out. It had begun to leak. It was an opaque brown liquid. Irina's expression lit up. "Ah, this one is chocolate! A delicacy." She contemplating eating it for a moment. She said as she held the treat out, "How about you?"
Current Time: 10:00 PM
Current Weather: Strangely enough, the sandstorm passed from the west. The whipping winds and sands seemed to concentrate around a certain area... The winds otherwise died down. It's a possibility it will pass in the next couple hours.
edited 28th Dec '15 6:43:46 PM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
He nodded about the labs. The shaking was a little concerning. Arthur didn't strike him as particularly afraid or nervous, even taking into account that he had admonished the kid earlier. But then he started speaking again.
What?
Tsadro gave Arthur a hard stare. He thought he cleared that up already... that his people were not a monolith, and that questions like that are about as inane as asking how humans have time to accomplish anything other than mere survival. At least this time, he could work both interpretations in.
<Is that intended to be a query of how individuals of my people would maintain this hobby in general, or how I do it?> He blinked, then glanced away with a near-imperceptible sigh. <Depends entirely on the oath-holder. Boring answer, I know. I've been sworn to people who wanted me to be dumb and complacent. I've been sworn to people who don't mind or actively want me to pursue a life outside my duties. Like right now.>
<Even still, oaths last until the holder's death at the longest, and the current holder has no real say over who the Rivari's next holder is. Unless the oath-holder is the sort who destroys their Rivari's possessions and at least orders them to not read or write unless specifically asked, taking notes is an option.>
Tsadro waited a bit to give him time to process the response, seeing Arthur's hand start to shake again as he moved to operate the tablet. Come to think of it, wasn't one of Acquati's sons diabetic?
<You're shaking. Blood sugar?>
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Mountain Pass - Campsite
Some help Roscoe was going to be, if it came down to any sort of fight. Trapped in human form, with no powers, only basic self-defense (the sort a woman might learn when she moves to a big city), and some knowledge of how to stab people with pointy things. Fortunately, a knife she did have; with Blair she never left home without one.
Glancing briefly at Hoshi, she watched Suela put together the arbalest. “Um, okay,” she said in response to Suela. “Makes sense.” Roscoe would not fire into a melee either. She knew who would fire into a melee, though. Fortunately, he had impeccable aim. Usually.
“By the way,” Roscoe said to Suela, “I noticed you have a couple of extra tents. Would it be okay if Blair and I borrowed one for the night?”
—
Just beyond the camp, Blair was inspecting the trees. Mostly around them were large, fully-grown specimens, so he decided he was probably better off with a large branch, instead of trying to find a sapling. There were some trees which he could most closely identify as some variation of ironwood; not ideal, but he could not exactly be choosy. He reached for one mostly-bare branch - easy enough at six foot three - cut it off, and inspected it.
Cyrus had made a comment about lighting. Blair could see well enough, even in the growing dark; besides, his other senses were sharp enough to cover what he was missing. But upon glancing at Cyrus again, he realized the suggestion was not necessarily for him. Cyrus was still wearing dark goggles. Why? “Sure,” Blair said quite casually. He continued to work, testing the branch for length and flexibility, and decided it would do. “What sort of magic do you do?” he added in an offhand sort of way, as though he knew very little about the subject.
As they chatted, Blair also picked up several sticks, and managed to find some stray feathers as well; these would be for his arrows. Along with string, some tree bark, and his knife, he figured he should be set. It was about ten o’clock when they made it back to the camp, fortunately without incident on their end.
Attitude is prohibited
[Mountain Pass]
The difficult terrain was not problem at all for Miyuki, whose thrusters allowed her to silently glide a few inches above it all. She set down next to the others, observing the strangers ahead of them. "Those vehicles aren't camouflaged at all." She remarked, quietly. "And neither are the soldiers. Unless they're hiding something, they're probably not planning anything hostile..." Her visor reappeared on her face. "Give me a minute, and I can find out what a few of them are saying."
Her view zoomed in, and she moved it slowly between the faces she could see, her lip-reading efforts eased by her visor's light-enhancing function.
[Mountain Pass, Campsite]
Hoshi walked over to Suela. "Hey!" She said. "That's a nice..." She glanced, uncertainly, at the arbalest. "Uh... Thing... Are we going somewhere?"
Not entirely dead.
Drummer Boy
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Large, dancing sparks reminiscent of fireflies filled the air around them. "Well... I can do just about anything the laws of magic permit me to, but some things come more naturally than others. The way energy flows in my soul lends itself towards fragmentation, like these sparks, because I have low amplification. I can control my energy output by adjusting it by very precise increments, but those increments are tiny and it's difficult for me to concentrate my efforts into, say, a big ball of fire. I have an inclination towards generating electricity, but some people don't have a predisposition towards anything in particular. So what about your magic?"
[Mountain Pass]
Kito stayed alert, all his senses ready to pick up on anything that might be approaching.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Crazy Kiwi
Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite
Samuel stretched, eliciting a number of audible cracks. "Don'tcha think it'd be a good time to retire? Long day and all."James nodded. "It certainly has been." He was mindful that, in addition to the events since they had arrived here, he had risen at five that morning to catch the train at six - it had been a very long day. Back home, he wouldn't normally stay awake this long, not even in summer with its longer days.
Kris gave a languid stretch and smiled at James. "Time to hit the hay, I guess."
Peggy and Karl both rose and bade everyone good night and were first out the door. Teri watched them go then gave Wolfe a playful slap on the arm with the back of her hand. "Up ya get, old fart."
"After you, young tart," Wolfe replied with a grin. Despite the ungodly hour they had risen that morning, he still didn't feel tired. His body was telling him that it wasn't midnight yet. Still, it wouldn't hurt to get comfortable and horizontal. He stood, noting which muscles protested, and had a quick memory flash of clinging onto the top of an Armoured Personnel Carrier as it bounced across the desert. Sheer fucking madness!
Teri looked up at him with a cheeky grin and extended her hand. He took her hand and helped her to her feet, ignoring the twinges all the way along his arm and down his shoulderblade. "Who's the 'old fart'?" he asked.
"Well, I was born only four days after you. Hardly my fault if you took the long way 'round."
With a brief "night night, all", they headed for the room they had chosen.
Kris looked around. "They're gone. Way to kill the party, Samuel." She treated him to one of her most wicked grins and James shook his head slowly and chuckled.
James and Kris rose, said good night, and headed to their room.
Wolfe and Teri repaired to the ensuite and changed into clean polypropylene T-shirts and underpants - which was as near as they got to "pyjamas". They hung their clothes on the hooks but took their pistols with them when they returned to the bedroom.
Teri made for the bed nearest the ensuite and stowed her SIG-Sauer P226 under one of the pillows. Wolfe went to the other side of the bed and slipped his Walther P99 under the pillow. Ever since they began living on Terra Nova, they had become accustomed to sleeping with at least a pistol close at hand.
Kris and James entered the bedroom in time to encounter Peggy and Karl exiting the ensuite, already changed for bed. Karl hung his belt from the headboard so that his Walther P.38 in its holster hung where he could reach it and Peggy hid her Browning Hi-Power under the pillow on the opposite side of the bed.
Kris and James quickly got changed and made their way to the second bed. James checked the safety catch on his Lahti L-35 and tucked it under his pillow then laid his Mosin-Nagant rifle on the floor beside the bed. Kris had removed her Beretta Mod. 2065note from the speed-holster and just tucked it under a pillow.
What ever dangers the night might bring, they were prepared - and at least here there was a better than fifty-percent chance that it wouldn't involve marauding bears.
@electronic-tragedy: you can decide how much of Teri and Wolfe's bed-time routine Vic sees when he enters the room - short of him barging in on them while they were changing, of course... they're likely to have noticed that and reacted.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Mountain Pass]
Even enhanced as she was, Miyuki was having a hard time making out what the soldiers were saying. The two on watch weren't particularly talkative, nor was the one working at the portable computer. The two that appeared to be discussing their situation were turned away from her half the time, so she only caught snatches of conversation from them. Not enough to be properly legible. A few words stood out, however: coordinates, terrain, survey, reconnaissance.
They finished speaking and one of the two, evidently the squad leader, hitched a foot up on the scout car's front tire and hoisted himself up so he was standing on the hood. There was no longer any need for lip-reading, as the man's yelling carried easily over the distance.
"Alright, plant the spike and set up some lights! We're making camp here for the night!"
The others reacted immediately, the two on watch moving back to the open hatch of the MRAP and hauling out what looked like a long, thin metal spike, tapering to a point and half as long as either one of them was tall. Using entrenching tools, the two began to dig a small hole into the ground just off of the road.
yey
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Elevator —> Dining Hall)] (Joseph, James, John, Pancake)
Joseph only looked on, blinking dumbfoundedly at John chasing after Pancake, or what seemed to be real life turning into a cartoon before his very eyes.
"I know we're a little past this point," he murmured, "but... I'm not sure that bringing Pancake along for dinner was the wisest decision." he craned his neck slightly, trying to follow her movements into and through the dining hall. "Call it a hunch."
While following John and Pancake into the dining hall, Joseph felt, for the first time in a long time, somewhat embarrassed not because of himself, but because of who he was with. Fortunately, the other diners appeared to be distracted enough not to pay the runaway cat or her desperate owner too much mind. Even so, Joe couldn't help sliding his hands into his pockets and becoming suddenly very interested in the dining hall's ceiling.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Entrance)](Davey, Amy, Maya)
Davey sighed, muttering, "Oh, this again...," under his breath. He mustered up another polite—and slightly strained—smile, and said, "Well, on the off-chance that they aren't closed at this time and are willing to open their doors to a helpless passerby caught in the middle of a storm, I would very much enjoy the opportunity to be that passerby. On top of that, it is the only reason I left the cozy little cottage I'm boarding at, so if I'm not working to that end, or at the very least guiding lost girls out of sandstorms, then, well, I don't know what I'm doing out here at all."
He took a quick breath, then joined his hands and looked at both girls in turn, saying, "Maya, Amy, ladies; it's been a pleasure making your acquaintance. You two seem to have good heads on your shoulders; I trust you can handle yourselves well enough from here on out. This is where we part ways for the evening. I wish you luck. It's been a pleas- I already said that." he smiled a little more sweetly than before—as sweetly as his otter-like features could manage—and gave them a small wave as he stepped back into the hotel's entryway, "Ta ta then!"
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Irina)
Connie nodded steadily as she listened, slowly raising her eyebrows when talk turned to what Irina didn't do and the bathing habits of strangers in the desert.
"Right... right..." she murmured propping herself up against the wall a bit more. "That sounds a lot like what Davey and Rip do, actually, but, you know... again, without the escort services." Now there was a lovely image to picture before bed.
"Hey, thanks," she said, leaning forward to accept the taranle. Then she propped up a pillow behind her back before returning to her quite literally laid-back position, sighing. "I'm from a country called the United States. Not a super pretty name or anything; more descriptive. Well 'the United States of America' in full. I don't know if you've heard of it." her words came out sounding both casual and sincere. "It's a little too big to really describe what it's like there, at least climate wise, but where I live it's..." she shrugged, "yeah, it's mostly desert. State called 'Arizona'."
Her eyes fell slightly, focusing on the floor for a few moments while, in a dull, possibly tired sounding voice, she said, "Haven't been there in a while, but I'll be going back as soon... well... I'll be going back soon." She raised her eyes back to Irina and smiled, then popped the taranle whole into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
this place needs me here
[Hotel-Dining Hall]
James laughed.
"Oh, you're going to fight a losing battle with John in that regard." he said, "He will always have Pancake with him no matter what. That's his baby, after all. At this point, I've gotten used to it. You will too. Trust me."
John finally rejoined the others, with Pancake back in his arm and a tiny fish in her mouth.
"Sorry about that!" John said, putting Pancake on his shoulder, "She got a little greedy. But now that that's out the way, we should grab some food and..."
He paused, then yawned.
"Oh. I-I didn't realize how late it was until now." he rubbed his eyes, "D-Don't mind me. Just make sure you get as much food as you can, ok?"
Pancake was too busy eating her fish.
"I'm just gonna have a salad," James said as he walked to the trays, "Take your time, guys."
[Hotel-Lobby]
Amy and Maya looked at each other, then back to David.
"Are you sure?" Amy asked, before pulling out some money, "Well...you should have this, as a token as our thanks." She handed it to David. "It should be enough for the bar in case they have some sort of fee. Be careful out there, ok friend?"
Come back here if it's closed. Maya signed, I'm really sure that it is, but since you really want to go there...just don't get hurt. She glanced away, What a weird dude.
Mountain Pass - Campsite (Blair)
The way Cyrus explained his magic was decidedly scientific. There was nothing wrong with that; science and magic were not as different as one might argue. Magic, in face, was science; it just played by more flexible rules.
Blair observed the sparks of light as he listened, allowing Cyrus to continue his explanation unhindered. Let people talk and they will say much more than they would have had you led them, most of the time, Blair had learned. Most people, regardless of whether they realized it, liked to talk about themselves, because it was a familiar and comfortable subject. Blair did not like talking about himself, because for him the subject was difficult. And so if one - even Roscoe - wanted to know something about him, one had to ask directly, and very specifically.
So when Cyrus turned the question on him, he did not immediately respond. He studied Cyrus’ expression in the sparklight, to discern whether the man was just making conversation or really had picked up on something magical about him. It was not unusual for others to notice, although he would have congratulated Cyrus on doing so here. The extent to which one noticed was what usually gave Blair the most concern.
At length, he replied, “Nature. I draw most of my energy from it, and most of what I can do is based on my environment at the time.” Although that was not the entire truth, it would have to do, as telling much more could give too much away. He raised an eyebrow slowly. “Many magic users around me never pick up on the fact that I am one of them. How did you?”
Drummer Boy
[Hotel Room 106]
<i see. thought there was a chance for something to happen... somewhere along the line, i guess>
Arthur went to rummage through his discarded outer suit pieces and came up with an energy bar wrapped in plastic. <i'm good now, i just eat really infrequently for some reason. but i always keep some of these things in my suit whenever i plan to be away from the ship for a while>
He took a reasonably sized bite and chewed slowly. <it's hard to talk. you intimidate me and i'm not sure why>
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
"'Nature' isn't exactly a neat and tidy category, is it?" Cyrus made the sparks arrange themselves in slowly rotating concentric circles over their heads, just for fun. "Would you care to elaborate on what exactly you're referring to when you say that? As for how I know about your magic... Kito's very sensitive."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Suela listened to the debate in silence for a bit, idly considering her own thoughts. She hadn't had anything to add for the most part. Her native experiences with magic had been only with mundane charlatans and demented void mages, and she was beginning to suspect those were the only two categories of magic on her home world.
Until Blair had stumbled loosely on a topic that interested Suela. With a glitter in her eye, she said, "you say your spells are shaped by your environment? So the powers you have would not be the same in a desert as in a rain forest, right? Or, for that matter, a rice terrace or a city?" It was the last part that interested her; she had strong doubts that concepts like "natural" were even meaningful, and she was curious to dig into the topic a bit. (Whatever else the merits of this particular argument, she'd initially reached it somewhat irrationally, though she didn't know it. It was mostly a response to the self-serving definitions of "natural" used by the Yoth priesthood and their sympathizers to argue against women's rights.)
Will have something for Brin after Blackfire posts, but I'm keeping my writing slow to account for a flu, complete with a mild case of irrational-fuck-the-world-itis, I seem to have come down with.
edited 31st Dec '15 9:51:28 AM by KillerClowns
[Mountain Pass]
"Good points," Brin agreed. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she surveyed them, she added, "I'd still like to know what they're up to, though." Still a cop. "Miyuki, catch anything interesting? Know what they're doing with that spike?"
She glanced down at Kito. "You might be the best or the worst one to send down. They might let you hear and see things they wouldn't want humans to know. Or they might get scared and shoot you, thinking you're a dangerous best." She gave the strangers another look-over. "I think if you play nice, give them puppy-dog eyes, and don't scare them, you'll probably be safe. So I'd like you to go down and investigate up close — but it's your call if you're up to it." Obviously, Kito wouldn't be able to tell them what he found down there. But he could give them a general impression; if he came back in a terrified rush, they'd need to get ready for a mess.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Dining Hall)] (Joseph, James, John, Pancake)
Joseph shrugged, "Well, you could do a lot worse as far as cats go. At least she doesn't pee on everything."
When John rejoined them, he added, "I just hope the hotel management or whoever doesn't have any issues with her being around here." But no one had said anything about it so far. With any luck, that would remain the status quo.
John's yawning and remark about the lateness of the day stirred up some unwanted thoughts that had been lying mostly dormant in Joseph's mind. He probably didn't have much time left. Since leaving home, there hadn't been many occasions where he'd been able to sleep and wake up in the same place the next day. At some point, he'd have to try to explain the situation to the two men who had been, for that day, his friends. He glanced at James, then Pancake then John.
He followed James to the trays and onward to the buffet-style dining setup, filling his own tray with just about anything that looked good. By that point, almost anything fit the bill.
Once his tray could no longer fit any more food, he made his way to an empty table, shooting discreet glances at the other diners as he went. Even knowing full well that he wasn't going to be ostracized for what he was or how he looked, it set him so much more at ease knowing that he wasn't the only one in a room who didn't look entirely normal. At the very least, it drew a curtain over many of the imaginary eyes needling him from every imaginable direction.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Entrance) —> Main Street (Sandstorm)](Davey)
Davey kept the door between the lobby and entryway open with one hand-like paw, then held the other up, palm out.
"No no, please, keep your money." he said, shaking his head, "Your thanks is thanks enough. And besides," he glanced between them, "I'm not the one who had to make an emergency landing in the middle of a sandstorm. In that situation, I'd say it's ill advisable to hand out wads of cash to near-strangers."
He began closing the door then, parting with, "Go spend that on something nice. And don't worry you two, I'll be as careful as I ever am, which is precisely careful enough. Take care now."
Once the door was closed, he gave them one last smile through the glass, then turned away, pulled his hood back over his head, walked to the other door, and let himself out.
this place needs me here
[Grand Hotel (Lobby)]
"And they say I am considered socially strange," Iraal said as the newcomer disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared. She was well aware, of course, that she was considered socially strange, but she was taking a moment to attempt a witticism. (Besides her, Scents looked quietly embarrassed, though it was probably hard for the humans to tell).
Both Iraal and her assistant went silent for a moment as they observed the strange, furry (but not vayen-like) biped exit the hotel. Scents growled silently at herself - she hadn't even noticed him appear, or the two young human women he had been speaking to either. Getting easily distracted, am I? That... that's... not great.
There was probably a reason for that, though, as the furry fellow leaving reminded her. She tugged at Iraal's coat sleeve to get her attention - a little ruder than just messaging her, but she was feeling that it was appropriate here - and looked at Hana and Maya.
"Hey, uh, apologies, but - while the doc might be as little concerned with physical issues as Lament there - we really need to go and find some food. I mean, like, really. Dunno even what time it is, but it's late, so we have to go." She paused. "Unless you want to come with us?"
Attitude is prohibited
[Mountain Pass]
"I saw something about a survey, reconnaissance, that sort of thing." Replied Miyuki. "I'm not sure what the spike is, but they're setting up lights. We should move if we don't want to be spotted."
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Hoshi knew just about nothing of magic. She'd heard old stories about the kinds of things people used to be able to do with ki, but those were only ever stories, and they sounded nothing like what Suela and the others were discussing.
She sighed, quietly, and listened for a while longer.
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
Hana shrugged. "We're not in any hurry to go anywhere, so I suppose we'll join you for a meal, if that's alright with you."
Maya, as usual, said nothing.
Not entirely dead.
[Hotel-Dining Hall]
James's plate was rather small; like he said, he only wanted a salad. John's, however, had corn, greens, two pieces of grilled chicken, and mash potatoes. Both men joined Joseph, noticing how big his plate was.
"Guess you really were hungry..." James said, before taking a bite out of his salad.
"The sandstorm should be gone by tomorrow." John said, breaking off a small piece of chicken and feeding it to Pancake. "I was still hoping we can find a gift shop around here."
"That does sound nice, but maybe our son here might have other plans." James looked directly at Joseph as he said this, "Since he staying with us for a while, maybe he might want to do something else." He winked.
"Aww, you two are getting along!" John said with a wide smile, "I knew you guys would! This vacation is already getting better! Now we can go exploring together and take pictures and..."
He started rambling on and on. James could only chuckle and turn back to Joseph. "By the way, you can keep the jacket. It looks better on you anyway."
[Grand Hotel-Lobby]
Amy and Maya waved at Davey as he walked back to the storm. Once he was out of sight, they turned to each other.
"So...what now?" Amy asked and signed.
Get a room? Maya signed, Get some sleep? You know, what you do in a hotel?
"You know what I meant!"
Well, we got to get our plane fixed tomorrow, assuming it isn't buried in the sand. Maybe we can find someone who could help us. Right now, I want to sleep.
Amy shrugged as the walked to the front counter. "Alright, alright. What do you even do in a Frontier anyway?"
And I will use them again on the next in thread day.
edited 1st Jan '16 3:11:56 PM by Masterofchaos
Mountain Pass - Campsite
Indeed not, and Blair had hoped to largely evade details regarding just how much he was tied in to nature, but Cyrus pressed him, as did Suela as they rejoined the women. Roscoe gave Blair an odd look, knowing that he disliked the subject; a slight raise of his arm served as silent indication for her to join him, where she snuggled against his side.
With a slight tilt of his head, Blair hid the brief look of annoyance that crossed his features. Sooner or later these people just might figure out what and who he was; he must not underestimate them. “My magic is fueled by the various energies around me, wherever I am. So no, I would not have the same capacities in a desert and a rain forest. I work with what the environment offers. Cities tend to pose… difficulties.” He had found his own ways around that, by purposely living in large cities. Besides, who would look for a powerful Fae in the midst of a concrete jungle?
“I can consistently control the weather, however. I also have a natural affinity for winter.” Meaning that he could call winter into effect any time he felt like in it - even in this barren place. It was one of the few perks of his birth. Glancing down, he saw Roscoe smile up at him and then step over to where Hoshi was kind of hanging out.
The little woman plopped down on a log and chuckled. “Hey, that stuff goes over my head too, and I live with that man.” She fiddled with a stick which she had plucked from Blair’s hand. “He’s been trying to teach me. It’s not my area.”
Glancing from Roscoe back to the others, Blair set his collected materials down and began to shave away at very particular parts of the tree branch. “It seems a bit strange that we should all end up together, as we seem to have magic in common.” He meant Cyrus and Kito of course, but the slight look he gave Suela also indicated Brin.
[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
A chance for what to happen? Social upheaval? Wouldn't the ability to take notes help preserve those ideas to fuel upheaval, or... well, he was fixing the shaking problem, at least.
Now, was Arthur genuinely unsure as to why he found him hard to talk to, or did he simply phrase it under the pretense of being polite? Tsadro paused for a moment. The fact that either situation seemed equally plausible sure said something. Thinking over everything he had said thus far, he guessed the actual reason, whether Arthur knew it or not, to be nothing new.
<Many of my employees feel it is not immediately obvious where the chief of staff ends and where I begin. They're not wrong. Take into account we've known each other for mere hours.>
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Crazy Kiwi
Northwestern Desert - Fort (Stockade)
Sophia, who had been moving to see what Rin had found, was utterly aghast at how Henry just snatched the device from Rin's hand and started waving around the room. Aside from the utter rudeness of the act, had he not noticed that she was trying to keep it quiet? She noticed Rin's annoyed frown and could quite understand it.Fortunately, it had proved informative as the prisoner had confirmed the device's function and she had learned something of the technological limits of Henry's world - the device looked to be on a par, construction-wise at least, with technology from her own version of Earth and apparently it was "advanced" compared to Henry's world. This was supported by the crude device Henry pulled from his bag and his descriptions of his world's computers.
Gwion had half expected Rin to clip Henry around the ear for snatching the device out of her hand and marvelled at her restraint. He had a healthy respect for the combat capabilities of Hakodan super soldiers. How has he survived this long if that's the way he acts? The bugger leads a charmed existence.
The prisoner was obviously desperate to be cooperative - and well he might, he was totally at the mercy of everyone in the room and obvously terrified.
Gwion turned to the Sergeant. "What'll become of him?" He jerked his head in the direction of the cell.
The Sergeant gave a thoughtful look. "Probably the firing squad."
Kaitlyn shook her head. "Surely not! That's a soldier's death. He and his buddies were wearing ski masks and apparently opened fire on unarmed people and he admitted that they're nothing more than a group of political dissidents - they're not soldiers, they're terrorists. Common murderers. He doesn't deserve the honour of a firing squad."
Finn nodded. "She's right. Hang the coont."
David shrank deep back in his cell, sobbing.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Dining Hall)] (Joseph, James, John, Pancake)
Joseph smiled faintly while he picked at his tray. He handled his utensils decently enough for a guy who essentially had very fat blades at the ends of his fingers. Like John, Joseph had fancied a bit of grilled chicken for his dinner tray. He'd also tossed in some leafy green stuff with diced tomatoes to make up something of a salad, much like James's. Both of these—along with a wide variety of other food items decorating his tray—he poked at with his fork, though he seemed to be having some silent trouble doing anything beyond the poking.
He didn't speak up much in response to the other two men either, and his eyes were downcast, though he wore something of a placid smile. From the outside, he didn't look unhappy, but one might well describe him as being very distracted.
"I haven't got any plans." Joseph murmured after James suggested that he might want to do something besides find a gift shop. He glanced up from his tray, pausing a few seconds and eyeing the two men before continuing, "Plans haven't been working out for me lately. Always falling through 'cause of, well, one thing or another. So I've been trying not to... you know, make so many of them, if they aren't ever going to work out right. For now, I'm just doing my best to just go with the flow, I guess. I've got no plans."
He stabbed a few leaves of lettuce onto his fork, followed by a bit of chicken, then dipped into a patch of refried beans of all things. He raised the small kebab-looking combination to his eyes, staring at it as if he were an archaeologist trying to identify a dug-up piece of bone.
"Thanks," he said, glancing at James while John continued on about their imagined adventures for the next day, "you didn't have to do that." Those words were the extent of any refusal, although refusal was his first instinct. If he ever wanted to try and get the rest of his clothes cleaned, he'd need something to wear in the meanwhile, so the coat would be handy to have on-hand. Even so, it stung a bit to think that he would probably disappear, coat and all, without getting the chance to say goodbye. A strange stranger in the sands, and the two men had offered him nothing but goodwill. And in return...
he stuck the fork into his mouth, pulling it back out a moment later, cleaned of all ingredients. Then he set his fork aside, grabbed a bowl of orange-colored soup, and began digging in.
edited 3rd Jan '16 2:46:15 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[Grand Hotel (Lobby -> Dining Hall)]
Scents blinked her eyes in quick sequence. She hadn't really been expecting a yes for an answer. Not that she particularly minded; she didn't know yet if she particularly wanted to get to know Hana and Maya, but if nothing else it would probably be entertaining.
"Hey, uh, doc," she said as they began walking across the lobby, "you did check if there's a place to eat, in here, I mean?"
Iraal had once again been thinking of something else - in this case a certain professional problem - but she refocused quickly enough. "Oh. Yes, there is a dining hall."
"Good," Scents said, and meant it. She had been worried they'd have to go outside. In honesty she didn't mind weather much more than Iraal did, but a sandstorm would be all kinds of horrible for maintaining her old armor suit.
As the group began heading more properly towards the dining hall, Iraal looked over at the two humans. She wasn't entirely certain about her assistant's unprompted decision to invite them to dinner, but she could possibly make some use of it. And she would not necessarily need her programming just to open the conversation.
"Tell me more about yourself, Hana," she said directly.
Drummer Boy
[Mountain Pass]
Humans did tend to panic at the sight of giant wolves, but maybe if he pretended he was just moseying along, they'd ignore him in the hopes that he would move on. Didn't most advice about wildlife basically tell people to leave them alone? Besides, he only needed to get close enough to make out their words better, and then Cyrus could relay them to the group. Worst case scenario, he knew how to defend himself.
Kito made his way down. The footing was bad on the winding, rocky pathways, but he managed. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Having to pay so much attention to where he was putting his feet slowed him down and made his approach seem less like an attack. Or so he hoped.
[Mountain Pass Campsite]
Cyrus didn't have much to say about Blair's magic. It was... terribly unscientific. Well, it was magic, but still. He watched Blair work on his bow and arrows, frowning slightly. "So, uhm... you've done this before, right?" If he comes up with anything vaguely respectable without magic, I'll be surprised.
edited 3rd Jan '16 1:04:01 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Mountain Pass - Campsite]
The closest thing Suela knew of to a "winter" was the wet season of her people's tropical rain forest territories, so she had only mythical-sounding reports of distant lands where temperatures swung from mountainous cold to lowland heat in the cycle of a year. She really wanted to get more out of Blair, but it felt dreadfully impersonal. She remembered the discomfort many, most recently Brin, had displayed when Suela had shown more interest in their strange homelands than the people themselves.
So she saw a chance to move the conversation somewhere more... human. "You seem experienced," Suela said to Blair, building on Cyrus' comment. Or merely over-confident, but if so, Suela still had a very large arbalest and a man with a lightning gun. "You mentioned you were cartographers before, so I suppose that means spending a lot of time in lands where things like law and mercy aren't available to keep people from descending to their," she sighed, "usual nasty, brutish selves." (Suela had never heard of Hobbes, who was several centuries away from being born even on Earth; the Hobbes reference was a dark jest of the translation magics.)
edited 3rd Jan '16 7:51:16 PM by KillerClowns
[Hotel-Elevator-Dining Hall]
James caught Joesph's smirk, and he couldn't help but smile as well. It was nice to see him smile, especially after what had happened not too long ago. Hopefully the rest of the night would go well.
Not even seconds after they got out the elevator, Pancake leaped off of John's shoulder and dash into the dining hall.
"Ah! PANCAKE!" John called, chasing after her, "W-Wait!"
The dining hall had plenty of people, but it wasn't super crowded; most of the seats were still empty. None of the people seem to pay John, Joesph, or James any attention—nor did they seem to notice an orange tabby cat trying to get into a fish that was in one of the food trays.
"Look like she found something good!" James said, chuckling. He then turned to Joesph, "Take as much time as you need. We're in no hurry."
This is not the Presidental Suite dining hall, just to avoid confusion. This one's downstairs, not far from the Grand Lobby.
[Hotel-Grand Lobby]
Amy smiled. "Like I said, I'll translate everything I can. Not everyone can understand sign language, after all, so we won't get upset if you have trouble."
When the two of them listened to David's explanation, they both quirked an eyebrow.
Pretty sure a bar's gonna be closed during a storm, friend. Maya signed.
"She said she's sure the bar's closed." Amy translated, "Especially during this storm. I mean...that's a really big risk for something that's probably going to open again tomorrow." She started to reach into her purse, "How about you stay here until the storm dies off? I mean, you don't want you're suit to get all dirty, don't you? It's really nice."
Very nice. Maya signed again, nodding. Don't worry; Amy will cover all three of us. Which is good, because I'm flat broke.