Ben looked a little hurt as Arcade and Eve did not follow him outside, but he sighed and stepped out onto the hot sugar sand. He stopped for a moment and sighed, seeming a bit glum, before a familiar voice rang up behind him. He looked back and saw Spyro following him outside the library. He wanted to come with and help Ben look for the Omnitrix shard. Ben smiled a little at the dragon. At least someone wanted to help him.
"Thanks," Ben replied, pulling out the now-remote control-shaped phaser, and looking around for threats as they exited the library and headed out onto the sands. As he walked towards the nearest cluster of buildings to search for the saloon in question he looked over at Spyro.
"You said you were from... the Dragon Realms? What are they like? Well uh, besides the dragons," Ben asked, shrugging a bit.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither."He's not my-"
I didn't get to finish talking as I heard what was happening with Cole. He had looked so hopeful for a moment and then in mere seconds he just looked... broken. Trying to force a smile in a very transparent attempt of making it look like he was fine. I couldn't blame Rex for wanting to help, but there wasn't anything I could do about it other than offer meaningless comfort words, not that it stopped Rex from trying anyway. All I could was sigh.
"I've never seen you so frustrated before," Elias commented.
"Everything is... really difficult here," I responded, taking a deep breath to try to recollect my thoughts.
There was nothing for me to do right now except see what was going to happen now. Truthfully I could have left to the hospital with Elias, but I also was somewhat hoping Rex would be willing to bring us there since it would be faster. I certainly didn't want to risk getting sick again.
Arcade stopped devouring the sugar in his hand briefly to watch Eve try some. He chuckled softly at her reaction. It was a little bitter, as he knew she'd normally have a much stronger reaction, but it was something.
"I'd say it's less strange than the day I was put in a suit," he said, letting his distaste of that outfit show. He shrugged and started to walk away from the library into the desert.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life.""Thanks, dude...huh? 'What the fuck' what?" I pried.
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guessArcade had bad memories connected to suits. Bad, 'almost getting eaten' memories. However, Eve clearly didn't. He couldn't upset her just because of what the White Glove Society tried to do.
Just seeing her happy helped him genuinely smile. "Oh yeah?" He asked, "what do you like about them?"
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."Digger - The Desert, Coincidentally Near the Kid With the Stun Remote and His Pet Dragon (and His Pet Dragonfly)
Usually, when faced with dire circumstances, a wombat will assess their current situation and devise a practical strategy, and because we're not fighters, this "strategy" usually entails booking it and digging a hole to hide in until the person chasing you down either gives up or also digs in with you, and also digs into you.
But when the only thing to dig into is coarse, loose sand, and your enemy is a blistering sun that cannot be destroyed by throwing a pick axe at it, you're kind of at a loss. This was the case for me, as my terrible assessing skills were the reason I was walking in a desert made of sugar suffering from heat stroke.
This is why I'm an architect, not a tactician.
I dragged my feet across the sugar sand, sweating like crazy, regretting every moment of my existence. I should've stayed in the library. At least it was cold. At least it had books and sofas and it was cold. I've probably said this before, but fur isn't as useful when you spend all your time in blazing sunlight.
I took off my jacket and my backpack and started dragging it along the ground. It didn't help at all, but for some reason, it felt heavier. Was that a symptom of heat stroke? I can't remember. Is forgetfulness a symptom of heat stroke? I'm pretty sure I've read about this before. I think.
There was a bunch of buildings in the distance. If I could just...nope, I tripped over nothing and landed face-first in the sand. It tasted nothing like sand.
(holds pool noodle threateningly) Do you want to know what we do to artists?Spyro-Des(s)ert
Spyro nodded as Ben wanted to learn more about the world he came from. "Well," Spyro started,"The Dragon Realms is a pretty big place. We've got five worlds that make up the Realms, and each world is home to one of the five Dragon families. There's the Artisans, Peace Keepers, Magic Crafters, Beast Makers, and Dream Weavers," Spyro said, listing them off.
"I'm an Artisan dragon myself. They're responsible for all the dragon art and poetry and all that stuff," Spyro said, his voice betraying how unexciting he found it all. "The Artisan world is pretty, sure, with its rolling meadows and castles, but the Peace Keepers, now there's one a world more my speed." He had always preferred the tough desert of the Peace Keepers to the rolling meadows if the Artisans. He really wished he had been hatched a Peace Keeper. "The Peace Keepers are the desert warriors charged with keeping the Dragon Realms safe, and they're the biggest, toughest dragons in all of the realms" he said, much more excitedly.
"Yeah, though Spyro and I are usually the one's called in to save the day whenever a bad guy rears their ugly mug," Sparx buzzed in.
"True that,' Spyro said, nodding his head proudly in agreement. The Peace Keepers may have been the realms warriors, but he was the Realms greatest hero. Continuing on though...
"The Magic Casters are the ones who think up all the magic spells and make all the potions in the Dragon Realms, though they were pretty reclusive for a while. Took me rescuing them from a jerk named Gnasty Gnorc to get them to open up more. Plus, the mountain tops they live in are awesome for gliding," Spyro said, wings flapping at the memories of the sweet air one could catch there.
"The Beast Makers make most of the animals that inhabit the realms, as well as fodder for the dragonflies. They're a pretty laid back bunch, but their swamp isn't a place I like to visit very often,' Spyro said, shivering slightly at the memory of swamp muck between his scales, trees springing to life and trying to eat him, and the Tree Tops.
"And the Dream Weavers...well, they're one weird bunch. They live way up on some floating islands, and spend their time keeping nightmares in check," Spyro said.
"It's made 'em all a bit looney," Sparx added helpfully.
"But they're still pretty nice, despite that" Spyro finished.
It was then that Spyro noticed a small shape in the nearby sands. "Hold on a sec'" he told Ben, before walking over to the shape and discovering that it was some of sort of giant rodent passed out in the sand. Looks like the poor thing couldn't handle the heat as well as a dragon could. Well, he wasn't going to allow the poor lady to continue suffering, so Spyro used his ice breath to spray an icy mist to surround Digger, hoping that it would her cool down.
edited 11th Jul '17 10:33:08 PM by Dezmo
Ben looked concerned over at Digger, moving to try and help her up as Spyro tried to mist her with ice. He looked relieved, hoping she would come to, and fanned in front of her face to try and bring her back. While he did this he listened to what Spyro had said. His world was certainly... interesting. With all the weird stuff Ben had encountered, might as well give it a shot.
"My world's really different than that. It's called Earth, and it's full of humans like me," Ben explained. "We have a bunch of big cities with technology all over the place. I used to think magic wasn't real but then I got attacked by an evil wizard, and my cousin found some magical charms that made her really lucky. Anyway, when I was on summer vacation with my grandpa and my cousin, there was a light that fell from the sky. I looked and found my watch in a crater," Ben explained. "It grabbed onto my wrist and wouldn't let go, but it let me turn into alien superheroes!" He shrugged.
"Turned out it was being hunted by this megadweeb conqueror dude named Vilgax who wanted to use the Omnitrix to take over the galaxy or something. But he wants the watch from me and I can't let him have it!" Ben explained. He glanced at his bare wrist. "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about that right now. Or while I'm here at all, actually," Ben admitted sheepishly.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.Digger - Dessert Le Desert
"Urgh..."
I shook my head and sat up. It suddenly felt a lot cooler, and while I was totally grateful, the fact that it was from a dragon's bad breath was...less than fantastic. Ah well, beggars on the brink of death can't be choosers.
I rubbed my head and stood up, taking a look at my "saviors"; a purple dragon and the hero-kid Ben. I wasn't surprised by the dragon, but I've ran into this kid, like, three times now. Might as well make up for it.
"Hey, thanks for that. That's, what, twice you've saved my life now? Or one and a half, at least. Blood and shale, I hate owing people...well, whatever. A disloyal wombat is a lonely wombat, as ma used to say. I'm guessing you're out here for something important, otherwise you'd be somewhere with air conditioning."
(holds pool noodle threateningly) Do you want to know what we do to artists?Shenhua Comes To A Conclusion, Library > Outside
"Aiyah. You really a bitch, Miss Bookworm." Shenhua was mostly uninvolved in the discussions that were transpiring, swinging her legs idly from her sitting spot. "I guess must be nice, being God's secretary."
"Well, gonna go now. Will make sure dumbass kids not die too soon. Bye-bye." Ugh. Somehow she was angrier about that than she wanted to. Might be because it was Cole, and Cole was, what, Sawyer's only boyfriend that she hadn't attempted to carve up? Or her only boyfriend, in fact. Now that was a scary thought.
She left, but not before grabbing Cole's arm as he was leaving and leading him outside. "Come along." Then she grabbed Rex's. "And you come too. We need all chocolate in world to cheer this mop up." She gestured idly with Cole's arm. "And saving hero kids over there." Then she gestured with the same arm towards Ben's group.
Ciri - Library
"With Yoshika human once more and no longer able to be raised as an undead or controlled, the ones who should fear for their safety now are Seiga and her minions," Ciri said to Tairee and Philip. "Cowardice is no way to live, and I will not raise my daughter to give into fear and doubt." She winked at Philip. "And if you wished to be referred to as royalty, you needed only ask, Princess.""That sounds lovely, we shall need to see it in person. As for I didn't feel like taking on the throne, so I followed the Witcher's path," Ciri said to Yoshika. "Of course most of those titles are in name only, Nilfgaard having annexed the kingdoms. Though, I am the heiress of the Nilfgaardian Emperor... still, regardless of that, I have no desire to ever deal with my birth father again. I told you I was adopted by Geralt and Yen, did I not? They are the only family I need, along with you and Triss. Now regarding your ability to fight...."
She turned her head to Tairee once more. "It seems as though I must trouble you once more. Would you be able to grant Yoshika one of those weapons which the men of the guard use?" She pointed at Philip's phaser.
Sven... Sven, the man she'd been adopted by, right. Arcade supposed that that would give her some good memories surrounding suits. Getting her to talk about her partners seemed to cheer her up a bit, and that was the closest thing to a plan he had.
"Really?" He said, "what about Train? What does he like to wear?" The strategy to force the City to shift was a little more difficult when there weren't as many things to go around, but it didn't take long for the pair to arrive at the hospital.
Upon seeing it, Arcade's eyes widened in realization. "Oh... shit," he mumbled, "I might be fired." With a glance to Eve, he added, "I should probably check in, shouldn't I?" He didn't appear eager to move.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."Eve|Outside Hospital|Are You Trying To Invoke Homesickness?
Eve thought for a moment about Arcade's question. "...Train wears... Train wears....he wears..." She came to a stop, unsure how to explain what Train wears. "...pants...shirt...dumb looking jacket...." She felt better, talking about her partners. As if, by talking about them, she got a small amount of their strength.
They arrived at the hospital, and Arcade paused and hesitated. Eve looked at him, shrugging. "...up to you..."
[TOP SECRET]After Mary and Tairee stopped hugging, the little girl looked at the gloved hand Priest offered to her, and then at the woman's face. She looked quite calm and nice, so Mary didn't hesitate to get ahold of her hand. She'd felt quite nice the previous time she'd held it, and that was welcome too. While that sensation was not as powerful that time, she definitely felt a bit better just by holding onto that hand.
"Thanks, miss!" she exclaimed, giving the woman a smile. "I'd like that a lot!"
With Sadness no longer in the City, Mary would have to think of something later on to apologize to her. Kelsey was somewhere else in the City, so it was just a matter of finding her. Which left her with... Cole, who was still in the library. However... there seemed to be something going on between Tairee and Cole. Something that involved her, judging by the pointing of fingers and the crying. Cole looked at her, said a few things to Miss Tairee, and then tried to leave, with Rex and the other nice lady from before going with him. It was most confusing, and it caused Mary to not even try to go after him. Instead, she only called out to him from where she was standing, holding Priest's hand even tighter than before.
"...Cole?"
Cole didn't seem to have a response, until Rex and Shenhua both spoke somewhat negatively about Miss Tairee, and tried to guide him outside. There was a sudden flash of bared teeth, and with perhaps surprising strength he all but threw any grip on himself off.
"Don't insult Miss Tairee!" he spat at both of them. "She is the one who gives the messages from the Writer, not the one who makes them! Despite everything she has still done all she could to help us, and if the Writer doesn't want us to be helped then there isn't anything she can do! If...if that...offer is what the Writer thinks is fair then that shows how..."
His voice trailed off again, and he just shook his head, immediately turning his attention on Rex, practically glaring. "Don't try to help me. All the Writer will do is try to take something else away from someone else, or ask you to hurt someone in return...and I don't trust you to make a wise choice. ...it won't matter. Leave it be."
Cole heard a voice calling out to him, and looked over to Mary, expression going oddly blank again before that weird, not-entirely-smile came back. "It's all right, Mary. I...I know. I'm not angry at you. This...this isn't your fault. And don't let anyone tell you that it is."
That said, he turned to head out the door again, this time on his own.
"..." Feeling a bit torn on what to do at the moment given the fact that the obviously hurt boy who had received Mary's apology seemed to be on a self-destructive path, the woman let out a sigh and left him to his own devices. It was clear that he was dead set on his path of independence and coddling the boy would only earn his ire, even if the way he was going about things was rather unhealthy. An eye would be kept out for him at the very least so she could intervene if things got to the point where it wouldn't work out.
Feeling Mary hold onto her hand, the Priest let out a sigh and squeezed it softly. How long had it been before she had actual human contact that wasn't dressing wounds or slaying the wicked. It felt nice, just being able to enjoy the warmth of another person without having to cause harm. For a moment, the woman lost herself in the feeling, haven't actually expected for the girl to actually hold onto her hand. It was rather nice, but not something that should distract her from her mission. Growing soft would only invite disaster after all and she was walking a sharp tightrope as it was.
Still, outside of her own personal enjoyment, this act would be helping the girl Mary out. It was something that was her mission- to bring happiness to others and let them be able to enjoy the world as they should be. "You can just call me either Sin Sayer or Priest if you'd like, Mary. This City has the curious effect of making it so that I can't introduce my birth name." Still a bit confused as to why that particular event had happened to only her so far, the Mistress decided to let the girl continue holding on of her own accord.
"Now then, is there anything else that you would like me to help you with, little lady?" Said with a slight smile, the clergy woman continued to enjoy the moment while she could- knowing full well that in the future there would probably be cause for the other and darker side of the Priest to show its face.
Library
As stupid as it might have sounded to people who knew nothing about his world, Lucas wasn't really entirely clear on how big of a deal the whole royalty thing was. When the scope of your world is a few islands and the only forms of rulership experienced are non-existent or power tripping immortals, one doesn't really develop proper concepts of kingdoms and royalty. Sure he knew it was important, but it really wasn't hitting him as hard as it did Yoshika.
"I know a princess back home that fights with her fists," Lucas said to Yoshika, in reference to the part of her surprised babbling where she mentioned her beliefs on how well queens and swords worked together. "Well, she isn't really a princess... it's complicated. Anyways, the big fights for the daily challenges happen closer to the end of the day so we at least won't run into that on the way."
Why is a yam attacking me?"Uh, something came up. But I'm on my way, I promise" Rex explained to Lewis over the radio.
But he clearly wasn't expecting Shenhua to grab him by the arm along with Cole "Wait, what?" The latter wasn't too thrilled about the insults directed at Tairee and at this point Rex wasn't even going to argue that she was kind of a bitch.
"Ok, ok, forget that part. That's not important" Rex moved his arms as if he were trying to physically dissipate what he had said about the librarian because Cole didn't really need to think about that right now.
Immediately after that Cole made it perfectly clear that he didn't want Rex's help. Okay, so maybe Chise had a point but that didn't mean Rex was going to give up just yet.
"But, but... come on man, these things are tailor-made. He wants you to suffer so he gives you a horrible option but he likes keeping me on my toes and tiring me out—he apparently loves that—so if I ask him to help you, he's just going to give me a stupid challenge. What do you say?"
Mary called out to Cole at the worst possible time and, being Cole, he simply assured the little girl that he wasn't angry at her, that this whole thing wasn't her fault, and that she shouldn't let anyone tell her otherwise. And he was about to leave.
"Yeah, citation needed bu—dude, dude, dude! Wait!" He was gonna regret this, wasn't he? "So that's how it's gonna be? Okay, you leave me with no choice"
Rex mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Cole didn't want the Writer's help? Ok, there were ways around what he said about having to attack people or take something away from them.
"Tairee, do you want to go on a date? Like, right now?"
But then, Lucas dropped a much smaller bomb. "Well, only half the problem is that she fights a lot. All I remember of princesses is that they wear really long robes and have even longer hair, and they have people to guard them. Ciri just...didn't make me think of one, is all. That, and being royalty's a pretty big responsibility to have appear out of nowhere."
"...Though, how rare are princesses where you come from? There's only one or two in the whole country where I came from," she asked, wondering just how strange it is that everyone besides her had a connection to royalty.
It wouldn't surprise her if Seiga was a court magician somewhere, though...she seemed like she could force herself into that position.
Man, and I thought the library had had enough drama for a day.
"Rex, what's going on over there?"
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guess

When Lucas voiced his concern, Yoshika added hers. "You know...I don't think I'm gonna be able to help with that fight anymore. I know I would've jumped at it, maybe a whole 5 minutes ago, but I'm not the same person that killed a..."
She was going to say a certain epithet about silicon-based crustaceans, but she stopped herself and said "...Leviathan! Have I really been calling it a rock lobster this whole time?"
The last bombshell, of course, was her newly inherited multiple kingdoms holy shit. "...W-W-What? What?" Yoshika looked up at her mom, who was also apparently queen regent. "You never told me you're royalty! I thought you were just a...you know, just a really strong woman! I didn't even think queens fought with swords!"
A very small portion of her felt that it was good, in an odd sense. She had managed to court someone into taking care of her? That was very resourceful of her, good job.
Naturally, the majority of her had it in her head that she shouldn't be capable of finding a new mother. Seiga stopped in mid-air, letting her shoes drag across the sand before she fully halted herself. This meant that, if all she knew was true, Yoshika was completely and totally gone. Nothing she could do would bring her back to her.
For this reason, Seiga needed to sit down and think this over once again. Which she did.
edited 11th Jul '17 11:03:19 PM by wikkit