Giant alien spiders are no joke.
Northern Desert
"I don't see how I could have gotten this thing if I didn't make it," Hazel said with a wry tone in her voice. She frowned a bit at the distant expression of the man in the truck, slightly concerned if whether he had some sort of sinister machinations in mind, or was just confused for some reason. She wondered whether she should leave him be; his questions were starting to make her feel a bit uncomfortable. She did not like people prying into her necromancy, a path she spurned as a child.
Still, it didn't really stop Hazel from talking. Or using necromancy. "I used my magic to raise a dead donkey into my zombie thrall," Hazel rather bluntly clarified, in case Rip was one of those guys who couldn't understand anything other than straight, unambiguous statements. "You...understand my meaning, right?"
edited 28th Mar '16 8:16:56 PM by Tehpillowstar
"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." - R. W. Raymond
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)
Connie glanced downward at her clothes looking both confused and curious, as though Amy had just told her that a lizard was crawling around on them.
"Yeah?" she said. "It's an alright combo I guess. Got a shirt. Pants. Actually," she continued, taking greater notice of her shoe-less feet, “I probably should have put on something else by now, but... you know, long morning, long night... sometimes you just can't be bothered. Besides, you two don't seem like snooty types, so..." she shrugged, then glanced at Maya's device. "That thing's a phone? I thought it was some kind of calculator; I mean, jeez, it's flat."
Davey's gaze was still fixed on Irina, his hands held together just above his waist, and his tail swaying slowly just above the floor.
"It sounds as though it still holds personal importance to you," he said of the headscarf, "that's reason enough. I'd reckon most of us hold onto mementos of one sort or another, even if we don't think of them in that way."
He paused in thought for a few seconds, his own words causing him to wonder about himself and of others he knew; those who had bound themselves so strongly to the past. There was a time—less long ago than he cared to admit—when he was just the same.
By that point, Samuel had returned, headscarf in hand. When he offered to share a story, Davey perked up a bit, though without wholly forgoing his self-possessed bearing. "Xenon City?" he repeated curiously, "Do tell, do tell."
Connie broke away from her own conversation for a moment to suggest, "Hey, how about over breakfast, huh?" then she added in a bit of a sing-song voice, "People are huuungry, Dave. Get with the program."
Davey glanced at her, then back to Irina and Samuel. "Right, of course, ah..." He stepped away, moving to the dining room door, which he opened to peek inside. The room hadn't changed drastically since he'd last seen it* , though now the table was adorned with plates and utensils, six in front of the six chairs lining the table's long sides, leaving the chairs at the far ends unutilized. Astonishingly, there was still no food to be seen, though it's presence in the air was unmistakable. Davey frowned in confusion, his mind churning out a few nasty thoughts about where all that food could be ending up, and whose already-wide margins they were helping to expand. He quickly scorned those thoughts away, however, both for being mean spirited and simply illogical. Margaret wouldn't discuss breakfast with him and then just eat it all herself in the kitchen. Not unless she had some serious psychological issues, which seemed quite unlikely, especially if only to fit his childishly spiteful thoughts.
He pulled his head back out and turned to the others.
"Well," he began, speaking hesitantly, "it looks like there may still be a short wait, but go on in, get yourselves seated; don't be strangers. Although..." Davey paused, eyeing Maya and Amy. His eyes settled on Connie, to whom he smiled and said, "Connie, you'll introduce these two to Margaret, won't you? You can tell her I invited them, that should be good enough. I'll be just a moment." he said, then nodded towards the bathroom near the end of the hall, "Need another go-around on my hands."
With one last peppy look in each person's direction, he left for the bathroom and all the hand-cleansing that awaited him there. The door to the dining room remained slightly ajar, allowing the faint sounds and strong scents of the kitchen hustle to further invade the main hall.
[Northern Desert] (Rip, Hazel)
Rip's look of slightly-repulsed confusion persisted up until Hazel's final words. As soon as the clearest possible picture was painted, his grimace vanished, and his eyes flew wide open again, although this time he didn't speed off straight afterward. Instead, he put his hands on the base of the door's window frame and leaned forward quite suddenly.
"You can do that?!" He asked, suddenly sounding short on breath. "You can command the dead like that?"
His fingers began mindlessly drumming against the window frame as he eagerly awaited further confirmation. All he could think was, Gold, gold; we've struck gold!
this place needs me here
Giant alien spiders are no joke.
Northern Desert
"...Yes...?" The sudden change in the man's demeanor made Hazel feel additionally wary. "Why d'you ask?" What do you want?
"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." - R. W. Raymond
[outside tipsy toad - Tsadro, Arthur, Finn, Peggy, Karl, Sophia]
That did explain why he didn't see them coming, they didn't bring their vehicle. "Wondering where you'd gotten to."
The four studied a pair of hovercars hitched to the saloon, and began discussing them... until the one man, Karl, admitted that he had killed the owners. While Finn expressed his shock, Tsadro turned his palms out in a subtle shrug, quirking an eyebrow for a second. Oh. Of course. He almost wanted to ask what happened, did they attack him first, did they displease him, what?
"How many do they fit?"
They looked so odd. For one thing, they definitely weren't driving with magnetism... and all of the seats appeared to be facing forward.
Wait, did you have to drive them yourself?
He thought Mialian traffic was bad, even though the only cars allowed on the road had to be on autopilot. Just watching the autopilot computer execute a merge through traffic coming from eight directions terrified him, he didn't even want to imagine Feidren pulling it off manually.
edited 29th Mar '16 1:48:59 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Bed and Breakfast (Hall)]
Maya blinked.
Have you never seen a cell phone before? she signed, Like...ever? You are aware that most cell phones are flat...right?
"Maya!" Amy said and signed, "That's mean!" She looked back at Connie, "But I am curious; what kind of phone are you used to seeing? Have you used a cell phone before? I can show you how it works if you're interested."
At the mention of someone named Margaret, her eyes lit up.
"Oh! Is she going to be another guest? Ah! I love meeting new people!" She smiled, "Oh! Meeting new people is the best! Is she a friend of yours?"
Maya blinked again, before turning her attention back to her phone.
Small Valley
While Miyuki was in favor of sending Brin or Suela, with a similar point about Roscoe being rather defenseless, Suela instructed otherwise. Miyuki and Hoshi seemed to agree; Kito and Cyrus must have had some thoughts, but did not verbalize them. Roscoe frowned. That had not exactly turned out the way she had expected.
Your democracy has spoken, Roscoe.
The tiny woman narrowed her eyes at Blair. She could stop him. She was still certain her plan was right. But would that not make her a hypocrite? Since she had been the one to say “listen to the group,” she had to do exactly what she had said. Fine. But please be nice.
I will be. Blair did not actually plan to use an magic until he had a better understanding of what would trigger those bombs. He nodded toward Suela. “They may indeed, if simple persuasion fails.” Anyone could be bought, Blair believed; it was just a matter of sales pitch and price. He was well practiced at both.
“But first, I expect we have to get through the valley.” Blair nodded to the others, particularly Brin, Cyrus, and Kito. “Shall we?”
Crazy Kiwi
Outside The Tipsy Toad
At Tsadro's question, Finn looked at the seating in the hovercar. It looked like the standard "two in the front, three in the back" setup as in most cars he had seen."We should be able to fit five of us in the hovercar, 'n' Alpha's taking her bike and can take a pillion passenger if anyone's keen, so we've got more than enough transport for the six of us. I'm willing to drive the hovercar if no one else wants to."
He reached into the hovercar and powered up the controls. The needle on what looked suspiciously like the fuel gauge didn't move from its position near the lowest mark.
"Though it looks like this doesn't have a lot of fuel in it, so we may be fooked."
Karl wandered around the back of the hovercar and located what looked like a filler cap. He opened it and caught a whiff of the aroma from within. "Diesel. It runs on diesel."
Finn grinned. "In that case, I've got a solution - we'll just have to stop by the General Store before we set out."
Attitude is prohibited
[Hotel] (Lobby)
Rin crouched down next to the collapsed man. She did not particularly care about his well-being - she didn't even know his name - but she wasn't about to just walk away. That being said, though, she was neither a medic or a doctor, and thus had no idea how to help the man. So in the meantime, she reached her hand over to Pancake, to let the little cat sniff her fingers.
[Small Valley]
"Somebody mentioned democracy..." said Hoshi. "I don't know much about that, but I feel like that wasn't much of a vote." she chuckled. "Not that I'm complaining. I don't really care who goes. Besides, I suppose you did end up with the most, in the end. Counting your own vote, that is." She looked him up and down, and grinned. "Though, Roscoe's right; you are a little creepy. No offense, or anything."
Not entirely dead.
PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
"I was drinking water the way in... I guess I ran out awhile ago," he said, though a bit to himself for reassurance. Whatever it may have reassured. He sat up fully, though leaned himself against a nearby chair. His heart was throbbing in his ears, but his vision returned mostly. He'd faced this before, a long time ago, in a steamy foreign jungle. He passed out in the midst of a hunt, and only his comrades helped him then. One shoved water into his face, another gave him some Spam. God, he hated it, but it kept him going. At least now his environment was air conditioned. "I should have known better," he mumbled.
The man removed his jacket slowly. He laid it in front of him, just so he could rest his arms upon his knees. His muscles tensed a bit when stretched, but he sighed in final relaxation. He looked to the people watching over him and said, "I'm... No, call me Danny. Or Daniel, if you prefer." He wiped his nose, which still itched when he was near the cat. "So uh, what town is this? I feel like I'm somewhere weird."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)
Irina agreed, "Yeah, I suppose so." She looked upon the cloth in her pocket. She felt it in her fist.
"I'll tell it over breakfast...Though it should be lunch time by now, hah," Samuel said. "It's good one, I'll tell you that."
The two watched as Davey left to wash his hands, and for a moment Samuel considered following him. His hands were a bit dirty. He just wiped them off some more, and onto his pants. It's not like his ate with his fingers a lot.
Samuel pointed a thumb towards the dining room. "I'd rather go sit, with or without food."
Irina nodded at him to go on ahead. She found interest in what Maya held. "Wait, that's a phone? It is flat. It's like a hand-held communicator, but not a home phone."
Current Time: 11:00 AM
Current Weather: As the breeze wavered off, heat began to return to the western parts of the desert. More clouds moved in, beckoning for possible precipitation.
edited 30th Mar '16 6:41:33 AM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Main Hall)] (Connie, Amy, Maya)
"Not as I recall," Connie said, her eyebrows knitting further together as she studied the device. "I mean, I never had one myself; I don't know anyone who does, but they looked a helluva lot bigger than that in the commercials. I mean, it looked completely different. It had buttons, for one. How are you supposed to dial someone's number on that thing?"
She paused her phone-ogling for a moment to give Amy an incredulous look.
"Uh..." she began, the sound a low drawl. She sped up only slightly when it came to actual words. "Not exactly, she continued, "I only met her the other day. She's the lady that runs this place- er, or, owns it, I guess. Both. She's the one making breakfast for us."
She glanced up again as Irina joined them. "Right? That's what I was saying. You two aren't just pulling our legs, are you?"
[Northern Desert] (Rip, Hazel)
"Okay- okay, okay." Rip nodded, seeming suddenly in a hurry. He held up a finger as if he were about to dictate something that demanded great attention, but only managed to get out, "Can you- wait, hold on..." before he was turning towards the passenger seat, leaning over, and fumbling around with the glove compartment.
"And to think," he called back as he strained to get the compartment open, "I was going to ask if you knew of any good ravines or rivers to dispose of this kind of thing. But you- well... now you've afforded me a much better opportunity."
Inside the glove compartment were a few documents of varying importance, a snub-nosed revolver with a brown grip and a dark metal finish, a small cardboard box, and—front and center—a squarish object, just big enough to fit sturdily into Rip's hand, tucked into a black sock.
Rip hesitated for a moment, eyeing the sock-clothed item with some manner of anticipation. His hand hovered just in front of the glove compartment. He inched it forward. The concealed object shot backwards, smacking further into the glove compartment with a soft thud. Rip clenched his teeth and let out something like a growl, then plunged his arm towards the veritable snake hole, only for it to be met halfway there by the tucked away gun being knocked out of the glove compartment like a runaway hockey puck.
The gun made contact with his hand, and, by instinct, Rip tried to seize it out of the air. His first attempt did little but knock it upwards, as did his second. Soon he was growling expletives and juggling the gun like a circus clown with a death wish, all the while more of the glove compartment's contents were spilling out in haphazard fashion.
this place needs me here
[Bed and Breakfast]
Amy looked confusingly at Irina, then at Connie, then back at Irina.
"You...never seen a cell phone either?" she asked, "This is a phone. Well...a cell phone. It's a phone that you can carry around when you're out the house. It can be used as a calculator, but only if you download an app. I-If you know what an app is. Here, I can show you at the table."
As much as Amy wanted to help (and she loved showing people new things), it was very odd that a someone around her age and someone barely older than her didn't know what a cell phone was. She expected this kind of thing from elderly people; not from people who were possibly in 20th century. It baffled her mind.
What year are you guys from? Maya signed as she sat at the table, 1880? Jesus, you guys can't be serious right now. How the hell do you guys communicate with each other? Shouting? A pigeon? Putting a string in a paper cup and holding it to your ears?
"Maya!" Amy said, "That's mean!"
She, too, took a seat, then patted a seat next to her for Connie or Irina to sit next to her; it would make things easier.
[Hotel (Lobby)]
"You're in a Frontier, Daniel." James said, "Not too far from the desert. My fiance and I will make sure you're ok. Just don't try to move and you'll be good."
As if on cue, John came rushing back to the lobby, with a small plate of eggs, toast, sausage, and bacon. In his other hand, he held a clear glass cup of water with ice on the top.
"Here you go, sir." he said, "Eat and drink as much as you can." He set the plate on Daniel's lap, and the cup right next to him. "Where are you from, Daniel? Did you travel far to get here?"
Pancake curiously sniffed Rin's hand, before gently nudging her head against it, wanting to be petted.
[outside tipsy toad - Tsadro, Arthur, Finn, Peggy, Karl, Sophia]
"No complaints." Did he even know anybody who could actually drive a hovercar? Finn might have been the first. Tsadro didn't even have a normal car long enough for him to consider learning to drive it... that's why he hired Feidren, of course.
Finn tried starting it, only to find that it... ran out of petroleum. Petroleum? That sounded backwards. Tsadro looked up at Finn, giving him a single, slow nod. "How about loading your supplies in the trunk so we can get going?" He motioned towards their four new traveling companions with his whole hand as he said 'your'.
edited 31st Mar '16 9:01:57 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Bathroom)] (Davey)
Although he had spent plenty of time in there earlier, the quiet of the bathroom seemed strangely eerie to Davey compared to the relative “loudness” of the main hall. He could still hear the faint chatter of the girls outside; not their words—those were too indistinct—but their voices. He could even tell who was speaking in all those faded sounds. When he was surrounded on all other sides by silence, those voices seemed half a world away.
With no desire to prolong the silence any further, Davey strode over to the sink and turned it on. There was a mirror set just above it, large enough to reflect the whole of one's torso, if they were tall enough. Davey kept his eyes firmly on the sink. He turned the faucet on and held his small, lightly-furred hands under the flow of water, still keeping his eyes trained solely on the sink bowl. He carefully reached for the bar of soap and lathered his hands up. He kept his eyes down. He put the soap back and rubbed his hands together, then turned the faucet on again and washed them clean. He kept his eyes down. He shut the faucet off. He kept his eyes down. He stepped to the side of the sink and reached out for a hand towel to dry off with. In doing so, he caught a brief glimpse of himself in the mirror, and noticed that something was off.
Davey quickly finished drying his hands, then stepped back in front of the mirror. He stared at his seemingly squat reflection, honing in on one of the slim shoulders of his shirt. His dark eyes focused. He leaned forward.
There it was! A light bit of dust coating a crease in the shoulder of his shirt. He turned his head and craned his neck to see it firsthand. Now that he had noticed it, it seemed to stick out like an angry wart on the tip of a clean shaven chin. Davey retrieved a bit of toilet paper from a spare roll then stood tall—or as tall as he could manage—in front of the mirror, and wiped the dust away. It took a bit of doing, but he managed to clear it almost completely out of sight to the naked eye.
He returned his attention to the mirror, staring now directly at his own reflection. Meeting himself, eye to eye. He lightly pinched his already straight whiskers with his short, padded fingers, and slid them to the ends, as if to somehow straighten his whiskers further. He checked both eyes for any stowaway crust left from his sleep or developed during his outdoors excursion. He ran a hand across the fur at the top of his head. It was just about the same as the fur anywhere else on his head; not much to do with it. He first smoothed it back, then ran his hand in the other direction, giving it a light ruffle. He liked to think of it as the "rugged ruffle," though he knew that saying such aloud would guarantee just about anyone within hearing range laughing at him.
Well, he thought, staring at himself, what makes you the best? What can you offer that no one else can?
He tried a smile. It wasn't bad, he thought, but it always seemed just a little reserved, like he was holding back something. He tried a full on grin, flashing his teeth properly. It looked dopey and cute, as if he didn't quite know what he was doing but was giving it his all anyway. Back into the attic with that one.
He drew in a long breath that almost turned into a sigh. Before it could, Davey suddenly noticed something else, something that had quite literally been right under his nose. A faint brown dustiness lingered between his whiskers, right around his philtrum.
Oh no no no nonononono- how long has that been there?
Gripped by a sudden urgency, he grabbed another bit of toilet paper, bunched it up and rubbed ferociously at the offending area. It was more than necessary, but Davey gave a rats ass about necessity at that point. Once he was clean, he let out his breath, closing his eyes and letting his head drop forward.
If someone had noticed, they would have said something. Surely they would have said something.
He opened his eyes again only to find himself staring at another small dust deposit near the hem of his shirt, around the buttons.
Not good enough, he thought, his breathing starting to come rapidly as he reached for another piece of toilet paper, Not good enough at all.
this place needs me here
Giant alien spiders are no joke.
Northern Desert
Hazel stared and watched at Rip as he rummaged through the glove compartment, but when he started to juggle the revolver, she got nervous, if only because she didn't want to be accidentally shot in the face.
She held her hand up and willed the gun to stop bouncing about, just to hover in the air for a moment so that Rip could snatch it without smacking it about like a goof.
She peered into the glove compartment, scrunching her eyebrows together. "Uh, what is that? And why's it relevant to necromancy?"
"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." - R. W. Raymond
PAINKILLER
[Bed And Breakfast - Dining Room]
Irina chose a seat away from the seat Amy offered, just so Connie will sit next to both girls.
Samuel was standing near the table, but once his companion chose a seat, he took the one next to her. Samuel confirmed, "We're from Serenica. Our world is called Veneer. You guys must be from somewhere else. But I know military's working on better comms."
"Yeah, perhaps we'll have flat communicators in the next fifty years," Irina said. "But I hear that some mages can communicate telepathically."
The Colonel sneered a bit. "Eh, that's some bullshit to me. I get you can feel presences and stuff, but that's about it."
Irina shook her head. "It's only in rumors and scripture anyway."
"So... Should I wait on Davey to get back for the story? Or should I just wait on breakfast?"
edited 2nd Apr '16 10:57:58 AM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Crazy Kiwi
Outside The Tipsy Toad —> General Store
At Tsadro's words, Finn nodded and put his haversack, electric guitar and the recently-purchased provisions and equipment into the hovercar's storage area.Sophia got Finn's attention. "I'll go and pick up my bike from the hotel. Meet ya at the General Store, OK?"
Finn nodded and Sophia set off in the direction of the hotel.
Peggy put the .22-calibre rifle in the storage area but kept her SMLE with her as she clambered into the back of the hovercar.
Karl climbed in beside her, still holding his Mauser carbine - it would be of no use against wild animals or marauders in storage - and settled back for the ride.
whether Tsadro and Arthur climb in or one elects to go with Sophia to go on the bike or either or both elect to walk to the General Store, is up to the tropers; in any case, Finn's rolling out.
Finn jumped into the driver's seat fired up the hovercar's engine.
Turning the hovercar around in the wide main street - designed to accommodate a turning horse-and-cart - was a trivial matter and he guided the vehicle up the street and stopped outside the General Store.
Peggy and Karl hopped out of the hovercar when Finn stopped at the store just long enough to purchase nine one-gallon tins of vegetable oil and a one-gallon container of kerosene.
Finn was impressed to see that Peggy just automatically helped, grabbing a gallon tin of oil in each hand and carrying them with little apparent effort out to the hovercar.
Quite used to hard work and just getting on with it, he mused.
Finn opened the tins and poured them into the hovercar's fuel tan.
"Ten gallons of diesel substitute," he said once he was done. "Vegetable oil with ten percent kerosene to thin it out a bit. We should have no viscosity issues in this heat, anyway."
Just then Sophia rolled up on her motorcycle. Peggy recognised it as being similar to the one Teri had bought in Capital City - a street-fighter-esque electric bike.
"Let's be off, then," said Finn, climbing back into the driver's seat of the hovercar.
Finn will undoubtedly need directions to the temple from Tsadro or Arthur.
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Connie, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)
"Like I said, I've seen cell phones—at least in pictures," Connie, said, following the other girls into the dining room. She nodded her head at Maya's phone again, "they just don't look like that."
She lingered in the doorway for a moment, with one hand against the frame. She shot a last glance back out into the main hall, towards the bathroom. That door remained shut. Connie gave a loose, half shrug and stepped all the way into the dining room, taking a seat next to Amy. She figured Davey would enjoy a seat closer to Irina whenever he showed back up.
"Nice guess," she said after rolling her eyes. "You're off by around a century. Believe it or not, I'm from 1780. Do you think George Washington would make a good president? And how 'bout them powdered wigs, huh? Pretty sexy."
She leaned back a bit in her chair, eyeing the door to the kitchen for a while. That door too, remained shut. Samuel's talk of where he and Irina were from called her quickly back to attention. Ay dios mía. There's more. That was... unless Vaneer was just another name for Aurimundi. Could be. Something to ask Davey when she had a moment. After all, he was the one who had seemed so interested in Samuel's 'battle of Xerox City' story.
Connie said nothing of it for the time being. Instead, she answered Samuel with, "Well, telling the story isn't going to make us starve any faster. And I'm sure Davey won't mind too much. Just be sure to tell all the juicy bits first; he hates the really juicy bits."
[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Bathroom)](Davey)
Not good enough. Not nearly good enough.
Davey leaned over his shirt, rubbing away furiously at any spot that looked even the slightest bit brown. He was stooped over the toilet lid, over which his shirt was draped like a rudimentary ironing board. Everything above his waist was now bare, sans the white fur. A small pile of dust coated strips of toilet paper had amassed from his efforts. It didn't make sense, what he was doing, even to himself, yet he couldn't bring himself to stop. Outside, under the pressuring eyes of those that surrounded him, in uncomfortable situations, he had remained in control. Now, in the privacy in the bathroom, where he had gone to simply wash his hands, he was cracking up.
Stop it.
Not good enough.
Whatever faint marks of dust he hadn't been able to clear off had just gotten rubbed deeper into the fabric. There was only so much he could do with flimsy bits of semi-soft paper.
Stop. Stop stop stop. Get a hold of yourself. You aren't nervous. You aren't crazy. You shouldn't be. This panic needs to go away.
His breath was coming quickly and heavily. It sped up even further as he became aware of it. He hurried back over to the sink and gripped it's sides. He shut his eyes and tightened his grip. He clenched his teeth in a way that was neither dopey nor cute. He thought of faces, vanishing into deep black voids. He thought of running in fear. He thought of lives spent wondering, and answers he never delivered. He saw himself in the back of his dad's truck, young and sleepless, taking his life by the reigns and guiding it over the edge. He saw Rip, younger and without his mustache. Without the nick in his eyebrow. Without the dead look in his eyes. He felt his breathing begin to slow slightly.
Davey opened his eyes and raised his head. His reflection stared back at him, naked, furless, with eyes full of desperation and fear, like the eyes of a lost child. He shut his eyes again and felt his face. Everything on the outside seemed to be intact.
Not good enough.
With his eyes shut and his hands clutched to his short muzzle, Davey stumbled into a corner, hit the wall, and slid down to his knees.
[Northern Desert] (Rip, Hazel)
Once the opportunity was presented, Rip seized the gun too quickly to notice it had been hovering in the air so nicely for him. Once it was in his grasp, he quickly set it down and put his hands up defensively.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, twice for emphasis. "I assure you, I didn't mean to go waving that around. And It's not loaded, it's just... this damn thing."
He turned his sights back to the glove compartment, which had since calmed down, likely because it had run out of things to shoot out. He shoved his hand back into it and, after moving it back and forth for a bit, pulled out the sock-covered object.
With a grunt, Rip pushed himself back upright, the object gripped tightly in his hand. He finally unbuckled his seat belt, then opened the door, and stepped out, still holding the object up for Hazel to see.
"This," he declared, "is a stone. It is possessed. Possessed by something dead. I," he patted his chest, "need it to be not possessed. I need it exorcised. I desperately need it exorcised. If you can do that for me, forget the directions, I can drive you to town, I can find you a place to stay free of charge, hell, I'm sure I can send some money your way too, for services rendered."
The hand that held the sock-covered stone shook slightly before Rip could steady it. He frowned, pulling it closer to his chest and easing the stone out of the sock, into his other hand. It was solid and weighty, with a smooth surface, yet very sharp, slate-like edges. Jet black, and quite like onyx. In fact, one who didn't know any better might just as well conclude that it was onyx.
Rip looked back up at Hazel on her twisted mount. His mouth was set in a solemn frown. His dark brown eyes could stare through to the center of the earth. "Please. I need this."
edited 2nd Apr '16 2:37:06 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[outside general store, leaving town - Tsadro, Arthur, Finn, Peggy, Karl, Sophia]
Guess Tsadro was riding up front. He would have thought Karl would want a front seat for himself since he was larger than the others, but ookay. He secured all of his articles of clothing, and took his seat as they headed to the store. Eventually, the car was fueled and everyone got back in.
"It is located in the cliffs southwest of town. I will show you which opening to take and where to turn."
They would find that the place really wasn't that out-of-the way for a temple of its condition. The outside had definitely been weathered, and some stones were missing, but it was relatively structurally sound, and most people hadn't gotten to see past the atrium probably because of its guard. Maybe with any luck, since the temple's current squatters had left this world, the lion-beast wouldn't come back.
Wolf, if your group isn't going to try and talk to Arthur during the ride, we can skip through it and assume Tsadro was guiding Finn the whole way there, unavailable for conversation because he was focusing on where they were going.
edited 2nd Apr '16 9:33:19 AM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
A frontier? He mulled it over in his head a bit, but decided to eat the food placed nicely in front of him.
He took a piece of bacon and chewed on it, downing it with the water. He made sure he'd had a few bites and drinks before talking more at length.
Not noticing any utensils, he just picked up one of the eggs and took a large bite. "I just moved to California. A little neighborhood a bit north from LA—called Sunnydale or something. I live close to the Chinatown there."
"Wait, you said fiance, right?" He looked to the two men, giving each a glance. "Didn't think they allowed that yet. You two get married in Vegas?" He smiled as if to laugh at his joke, but a sneeze shot out of him. With his body jerk, a bit of the water spilled over in his hand and onto the floor. He wiped his nose with his hand, then transferred it onto his shorts. "Jesus, sorry."
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[Bed and Breakfast]
Maya smirked. Nice clapback. I like you, Connie.
"I don't think I heard of Vaneer!" Amy said, her eyes widening at Samuel., "Is it a foreign country? Is it near Alaska? Tell us, tell us!"
Maya stood up and stretched. If you guys don't mind, I'm going to go check on Davey. He's been in the bathroom way too long.
Amy blinked. "Do you need me to come with you? You know, just in case-"
I have a phone. Don't worry, you don't need to worry about me. Just tell me what Samuel or Irina said. See ya'll in a bit.
With a two finger salute, Maya walked away from the table. Amy turned her attention back to Samuel and Irina, her eyes widened in awe, "Well, tell us! Tell us!"
[Bed and Breakfast (Bathroom)]
It wasn't hard for her to navigate the hotel, and it didn't take long for her to find the bathroom. She was about to lightly knock on the door, until she realized that she wouldn't be able to hear or respond to Davey if he answered. So, instead, she gently opened the door.
There, she found Davey in a corner, on his knees and holding his head. Immediately, she knew something was wrong. He wasn't like this a few minutes ago, so what happened...?
For some reason, she was glad Amy wasn't with her. There would be no way she would help in anyway; not after nearly squeezing the poor dude to death. She decided to see what was going on by herself.
Are you ok? she wrote on her phone, lightly tapping David's shoulder with her other hand.
[Hotel (Lobby)]
John and James looked at each other, confused.
"Well...yeah...they did. In all 50 states." James said. Must be another time traveler. How many of those are we gonna run into?
"We might marry in Vegas, but we're not so sure yet." John said, before smiling, "But it would be nice to get out of Georgia for a while."
"Anyway," James said, "You said you came from California? How the hell did you get here from California? That's like MILES away! Did you drive here?"
"Dear, he probably took a plane." John tapped his chin, "There's too much water, and if he drove, his car would've sunk. Right?"
edited 2nd Apr '16 11:34:19 AM by Masterofchaos
PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
Danny answered, "I was driving, with a—friend—then I just got out and ran for awhile. Unless I've rally gotten myself somewhere weird. Like I took a wrong turn somewhere. I may've passed some water, but I don't know..." He only realized then he'd switched into automatic. Danny was delirious the whole walk there.
He was roused from his thoughts as something caught his attention a sentence before. "Holy shit, all 50? Since when?" he blurted, not considering the implications of it. "I mean, I don't think I'm in 1979 anymore." He took a large bite of his toast, then another sip. He was already starting to feel better.
"When I was little, I used to take road trips to Florida with my grandparents. We'd stop in Atlanta for a night, usually." After another drink, he added, "You know, you should get married in DC or somewhere on the coast. A lot of people like beach weddings."
[Bed & Breakfast] (Dining Room) (Irina, Samuel, Amy, Connie)
"Vaneer... It's a whole different planet," he explained. "We're from a western country called Serenica. We border Veniterre, Masmana, and the States of Ecra—the former east, the latter two south. The war I was in was against Veniterre. It first started when there were border disputes with oil moguls, then shit escalated from there."
Samuel folded his hands on the table. He paused for a second. "We didn't win. But I did well and I had a good time. I met a long time boyfriend there. Got some medals..."
Irina added, more softly, "And a criminal discharge."
He took a neatly folded napkin and fiddled with it. "Higher command always rode on the high horse, and my superior believed I could do Xenon over again, just after the Siege of Haderach failed. I didn't want my boys to shove their asses into hell and get mowed down. But yeah, cost me my title, my fame, and a part of my leg. Boyfriend stayed with me, but... My old superior gave him a promotion after my discharge. Obviously they liked him more as he followed the arse-filled orders. But I didn't want to see him anymore—he reminded me of the war, and reminded me of my greatest failure. I dunno if I should get back to him. He's changed, got his own interests, and they conflict with mine."
After he was done, he raised his head and laughed. "Look at me, rambling. Not even juicy stuff, unless you're into melodrama."
Samuel's stomach growled. It sounded more like a low whale call. He laughed again. "You know what, I'd rather have some food before I talk about the Battle." He sighed and leaned back. "I'd also like to have Davey around to hear it. I don't think I was nice to him."
Hooooooly shit so much dialogueee
edited 2nd Apr '16 2:31:34 PM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Attitude is prohibited
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
Rin didn't know what "California" was, or where the "50 states" were, but everyone around her seemed to know, so she decided not to say anything about that, at least for now.
"That's quite a story," said Rin, scratching under Pancake's chin. "Why did you get out of your vehicle? You walked to the point of exhausting yourself, presumably finding no water or shelter before now, so at some point before then, you must have wanted to turn back..."
Not entirely dead.
Small Valley
Standing six foot three, and sporting pale skin, pale eyes, and a history of using dark magic, Blair was well aware that he came off as creepy. There were some things that even Fae glamours could not conceal, and birth defects were included in that, much to the chagrin of his honored parents. And if something from his argument with Roscoe was going to be remarked upon, he was glad it was the misapplication of “democracy” and not the opposite, that being his supposed rank in Faerie. Roscoe was incapable of keeping her mouth shut, but thankfully she seemed to spout just enough inconsequential noise that the important stuff slipped by.
“None taken,” Blair said to Hoshi with a little grin. “I get that often.” He shouldered the bow and glanced at the sky. “Remember that bit I mentioned about being in tune with the weather? I’m sensing rain in the distance. We should get ahead of it.”
Although, for his use at least, a little precipitation might just be perfect.
[Stables -> Direction of the Mountains (Iraal, Scents, Wolfe, Teri, Gwion, others?)]
Scents followed along with Teri and the others heading for the stables, growling a little under her breath as the day got hotter. Vayen had evolved for a colder world than wherever this was.
By the time she arrived, the wagon and horses were ready to go. She flattened her ears slightly at the strong scent of the latter. Iraal stood nearby, wearing her sunhat and resting one hand on the surface of Lament. Wolfe and Gwion were already in the back of the wagon.
As the others took their places, she joined Iraal. "Right, let's get going," she told her employer. Letting her armor's mechanical systems do most of the work, she lifted the entire robot into the air and set it down on the back of the wagon next to the other supplies. Despite its size and being made out of metal, Lament did not seriously upset the balance of the wagon.
The same wouldn't necessarily hold true for Scents' armor, though. "I'll walk alongside," she told the others. "Maybe scout ahead, too, once we get somewhere where scouting would be a thing. You need a hand?"
Iraal made a negative gesture and climbed up easily into the back of the wagon. As Scents moved up the front of the wagon in an easy lope, she called back "By the way, doc - try and get some small talk going!"
With that, the group moved out and began to make their way in the direction of the forest and mountains.
[Hotel (Lobby)]
Pancake purred.
"Please, don't move." John said, "Here, I-I'll get you some food and water. James, can you watch him?" Without hesitation, he got up and ran to the dining hall.
James gently sat the man up. "He'll be back. Right now, you need to stay right there. Jesus Christ, man, what the hell happened?" He quirked an eyebrow, "Did you forget to drink or something? You're by a damn desert! You should know better."
He quickly stopped himself, realizing that he was not helping in the slightest.
"...Look, we'll get you some help. Just stay still."