Drummer Boy
[Marble Corridor]
What's wrong with my head? Why won't it stop pounding? It feels like all the veins are trying to burst! This is all your fault, you damn Kartalian. Well, as long as it doesn't get worse...
"Well that's an interesting excuse. Considering that I may be a product of your subconscious, I seem to be doing a good job at annoying you. I wonder if you're trying to tell yourself something. Or maybe I'm a real person with too many opinions, rapidly draining patience, and a fondness for dueling."
A mischievous grin appeared on Seilaan's face as she tried to slash at her opponent. Mazra would find that although Seilaan tried to stay in as close range, she was slippery and evasive, transitioning from defensive and offensive positions as seamlessly as possible. Her attacks almost always came in the middle of Mazra's own.
I think... the headache is starting to go away... yes! Of course! Dueling is fun. Well, this isn't exactly a bout of friendly sparring, but as long as they're not Lord Pallone or anyone like that, it's going to be fun.
[Farm (inside barn)]
Damn it! I just can't reach her... no use wasting my energy like this, I'll just make attempts periodically.
Ren Yangchao tightened their grip on their teacup. It was almost lukewarm. They took a long drink, finishing it off.
"So that's settled." They sounded fairly content, considering that their ward and regeneration point had very recently made herself go poof in a fit of rage. "I suppose you'd all like to move on to something more peaceful?"
Coming up with peaceful, relationship-building activities was not Ren Yangchao's forte, but there was one thing that might be worth a try.
"Anyone else feeling hungry? As long as we have the ability to summon anything we want, I suppose we could have a potluck of sorts."
They weren't sure what conversations that would produce—in fact, fighting over a good meal was almost as common as making peace over one, in their experience—but just mentioning food usually put people in a better mood, so there was that.
[Ritter Clinic (parlor) —> The Blizzard]
"All right. Guess everything's settled. Let me just head upstairs and—oh, never mind." The clothes Friedrich had meant to fetch from a little-used wardrobe upstairs were lying on the sofa next to him—a formidable pile of coats, boots, gloves, and furry hats. "Maybe I brought them out earlier and forgot. Things seem to be happening in a bit of a dream-like haze lately. Maybe it's the whiskey."
"Where are you all going?"
Friedrich jumped when he heard Heinrich's voice; he hadn't noticed that Heinrich had come so close. "We're going to put lights outside," he said evenly. "So other lost folks will know they can come here. We might be out for a while, but don't worry. The lights can guide us back, too."
"Oh! Be careful, now!" Heinrich smiled, but his brow was furrowed slightly. "Never underestimate a snowstorm. I'll look after the goat. You never did get around to naming her, did you?"
"Guess not. Everyone, keep on your toes while we're gone, all right?"
Once they were all suited up and at the front door, Friedrich summoned a handful of golden flames and held them aloft like a torch as he stepped into the storm.
"We have to find the cemetery," he said matter-of-factly. "We need to see what's in Heinrich's grave now—if there's a grave at all. I desperately want to trust whoever or whatever is in the parlor right now, but I—Henry's right. Something weird's going on. We should have done this hours ago."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Mr ship
[Clinic-Parlor/Henry]
Henry watched as Friedrich and Iveya left and turned to Heinrich putting his arm over his shoulder.
"Don't worry about them. They should be fine, better than me anyways." He said looking down at his injuries before looking back up at Heinrich.
"Now let's get back to the warmth of the fire. I'm curious about the country you two are from. Friedrich has only painted a small picture but from what he says it sounds like there's some problems going on there."
[Twilight Ball/Lauren]
Lauren walked through the fog until she reached some kind of dance hall in the middle of it and judging from the light and music coming from it it looked like there were people in there.
"Finally." She said to herself as she straightened her torn blouse and suit jacket in a rather vain attempt to look somewhat presentable.
Opening the doors she walked in and looked around. The place was very finely decorated of high quality wood, decorations and a glass sky light. It reminded her of the CIA file photos Henry's old mansion before he burnt it down.
She looked around at the people, most of them looked nondescript and not worth her time. However near the buffet table she saw three women who stood out. One had red hair and wore a black t shirt with a skirt, another two however looked almost like fairies with wings on their backs.
"Looks like the kind of people who got stuck here too." She said to herself before walking over to the three and extended her hand to introduce herself. "Hello there. Lauren Safon, former CIA. I was wondering if you three woke up in this place too."
edited 3rd Jan '17 7:23:18 PM by Mrship21
[Beta Town] (Ruka, Ari, Gon)
The Messenger found itself in dire straits, but it didn't care. It would make to take as many of these things with it when it would inevitably be destroyed. Surrounded by flames, slowed by electricity, and frozen in place with ice, the Knight swept its lance in an arc, knocking aside any Mystripets or V-bots within its thirty foot reach.
"Haaah!" The Knight turned its head towards the source of the yell, aiming its lance at Ruka, who had broken into a run towards it. It jabbed the lance, cloaked in a kaleidoscope of colors, at the woman to no avail. Ruka easily ducked under the lance, low to the ground, and quickly cleared the distance. Another light turned red. "You're mine!" she snarled as she stopped on a dime directly in front of the Messenger.
"Die!" She lept up, reached forward with her electrically clawed hand, and grasped the Messenger by its head. Her momentum dragged the machine with her, pulling it free from the ice, its injured leg ripped off in the process. The lance fell to the ground as half-ghost and machine soared through the air.
The Knight's head was slammed into the ground, digging into the ground as the two slid to a stop. It tried to stab the snarling woman with the plasma blade in an attempt to get her off its chest, only to have a armor clad fist smash into its shoulder. Ruka swiped her hand across its face, gouging deep claw marks into the metal. She raised her clawed hand to strike another savage blow on the machine.
Pain blossomed in her right shoulder, accompanied by the sound of rending metal. She glanced down at the slender lance tip which had sprouted out the right side of her chest plate, slightly left of her armpit. Her gaze followed the lance, and she notice that the Messenger had impaled itself along with her. A fourth light on the Messenger's chest turned red.
Ruka formulated a hasty, reckless plan as she pushed aside the horrible pain. The lance was made of metal, connecting the two of them. She grinned wickedly as she braced for what was about to happen.
The lightning roared down from the sky, striking the lance. The surge of electricity surged through Ruka and the Knight. The Messenger flailed about, dislodging the lance from its chest. It floated upwards onto its remaining leg, shaking as the fifth light turned red.
Pushing herself off the lance, Ruka stumbled away before the Messenger retrieved it. She stared at the machine, noting the gaping hole in its chest, exposing all sorts of strange glowy bits inside. Clutching her wounded shoulder, she stumbled away from the machine as the V-Bots began another assault on the machine. She glanced back to see the Knight leaping away. That stupid machine isn't bothering to stick with a single target... Oh dear.
Ruka found herself face down on the ground, the crimson stain on her under suit growing ever larger.
[Twilight Ball] (June, Amiluet, Ferisen, Lauren)
June stifled another laugh, "Oh no, I'm not the queen of construction! Though, I sometimes manage construction projects, among other things. Like I said, I manage people."
She raised an amused eyebrow at the word Amiluet used. Judging by the admonishment Ferisen was giving her sister, June assumed Kraguor was a curse word of some kind. She grinned, [["Hmmm, you know, I know someone named Kraguar, nice chap. A real buzzkill at parties, though."]]
June returned to nibbling on her cheese cube, listening to the cultural reason of illegal cheese. Finishing the morsel, her eyes lit up as she snapped her fingers. She finally recognized the flavor. "Soy cheese!" she exclaimed, "Though, why it's blue is beyond me." June tapped her chin a few times, "Maybe."
She turned when she saw the new arrival approach. She waved, "I'm June, this is Amiluet and Ferisen," she said, pointing towards each lady when she said their names. She circled the lady once, observing her ruined suit. "So you used to work for the government... very interesting." June grinned, stepping back.
Setting her plate down, she flicked aside a bang of her hair. "Where was I? Oh! As for how I know that this is a dream," she said, "I know a place like this, another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of the mind. A wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination. A place that lies between dreams and reality. Some might call it... the Twilight Zone." She grinned after her Rod Sterling impression, before erupting into bubbling laughter.
Calming down from her outburst of laughter, June wiped a tear from her eye. "But seriously, I can tell when I'm dreaming. And right now, I definitely know that I'm in a dream. Can't really explain why, I just know," she said, before starting on another scone.
[Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle (Main Keep 1st Floor)] (Rin, Gwenafer, Adam, Nick, Jackson, Gliosem, Alice)
Rin stopped in her tracks, arms folded as she gazed off down the hallway. "I understand where you are coming from. Why trust someone who drugged me to make tea for us?" she said. Closing her eyes, she placed her chin on her chest and sighed. "I have known Megumi for over twenty five years, and during those years, she has served me faithfully. She has always had my best interests at heart, and I should trust her judgment."
She paused for a moment, before continuing, "Recently, I have been putting work ahead of sleep. Now that I have thought about it, my maid was only trying to make sure I did not push myself too far, that is all. She does not have any reason to put anything into any food or drink you might have here."
Rin continued down the hall, before stopping at a sliding door. She turned towards Gliosem, "None of us are going to have recursive dreams on my watch. They are too ter— Nevermind that, we are here." She slid the door open, revealing entryway to a room twelve feet across and twenty four feet deep. The walls were made of thin paper over a lattice of bamboo, with sliding doors to the adjacent rooms. The floor was covered wall to wall in sixteen large straw mats that were soft and comfortable under ones feet. In the center of the room was a low, rectangular wooden table, with eight cups on saucers placed around it.
Rin removed her boots in the entry way, placing them to the side, before stepping into the room. "Please, remove your shoes before entering, and take a seat around the table," she stated as she removed her sword and scabbard from her uniform. She then walked over to the far end of the table sat down, seiza-style, on the floor, setting Tōshō down next to her.
edited 16th Jan '17 2:26:32 PM by WillDeRegio
[Castle (Main Keep 1st Floor)]
The boys still felt uncomfortable with this whole idea, but Rin seemed convinced that this women had no malice in her heart. On top of that, they didn't want to cause a rift between them and Rin, so all they did was look at each other uncomfortably and followed her inside.
After taking off their shoes and putting them to the side, the boys sat at different ends of the table. Nick sat at the center, Jackson was on left, and Adam was on the right.
"If Ms. Rin fell asleep because she was drugged," he said to his friends in a hushed voice, "Does that mean that this Ms.Megami is a dream?"
"Not sure." Jackson also whispered, "But let's still try to get on her good side. Rin seems to trust her judgement after all."
"As long as the food she offers us doesn't put us in a damn coma." Nick whispered, crossing his arms, "Jesus, these dreams are getting more confusing."
It's a bird.
Snow Castle (Gwenafer, Gliosem, Alice, Rin, Adam, Nick, Jackson)
"Wait, you did it on purpose?" Gwenafer asked Gliosem, with a surprised expression that slowly turned into a smirk of sorts. "Do you uh, come here often? Know what the rules are and whatnot?"
Following Rin's example, Gwenafer took off her boots and stepped into the room. The walls of paper and odd looking wood made her think of Duskport and the surrounding islands, but it wasn't quite the same of course. She picked a spot by the table and - somewhat awkwardly - sat down, mimicking the admiral's kneeling position. She still felt a bit suspicious, but Rin's explanation had made sense. Drugging her seemed a bit drastic though.
"If my crew mates thought I was working too much," Gwenafer commented, "they'd probably drop me off at the nearest tavern or brothel. Just sayin'."
edited 6th Jan '17 10:50:36 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Man on a Mission
[Ritter Clinic - Parlor]
-“Uh? Ms. Iveya, what do you mean by-”
But yet again, Ruth's timing was ill-fated, as Iveya's attention was required by Friedrich in order to discreetly discuss something. Even as she tried to pay close attention, the confused girl was unable to discern anything about their conversation, and before she could even assimilate what was going on, the two of them left the building in order to tend to some business outside.
-“Just a week ago, I'd have tried to go outside with them...”, she thought as she mournfully looked towards the direction where they left, “... I feel so useless... No wonder they say ignorance is bliss... I would have been happier not knowing how ineffective and weak we really are.”
Seeing how her current company was more interested in talking with one another, and with nothing of value to add to their possible conversation, she quietly left her seat and made her way to an adjacent room, where the goat was resting at the moment. She sat on the floor beside it, and tried to pet it... but she held her hand mere centimeters before touching its fur, as she didn't want to disturb it.
-“...Are you happy, little buddy?”, she said as she clasped her hands together while they rested on her knees, “I know you can't answer me, but... I don't know what I'm even doing right now, and I don't have anyone to speak to.”
She stopped for a moment, as her eyes started watering a little bit because of the memories of all the people and regrets she left back home.
-“...and even if I did, I don't know if they would want to speak to me again... not after all the things I've done and said.”
[Outside Ritter Clinic, in the Blizzard]
Not long after confirming the location of the person they were looking for, the cloaked figure arrived to the threshold of the building before them. It looked like a rustic house of some kind, ordinary and unremarkable to the naked eyes, but it felt as if was enveloped by a strange aura... possibly an invisible shield. The new visitor contemplated the option of forcefully dispelling it... but they decided against it, as that would be a rather hostile gesture. They would prefer to avoid any kind of unnecessary conflict or bloodshed.
Fortunately for the visitor, a couple of people stepped outside the building, outside the barrier's effective range. This was a good chance to try to negotiate and end this mission in a peaceful and uneventful manner.
-“Are either of you the masters of this abode?”, the stranger exclaimed as they knelt on one knee before those in front of them , “My name is Zeles Zepheiren.”
The cloaked figure said with an echoing and deep metallic voice. Their hands and legs were covered in what appeared to be armor, with their face still obscured by the hood over their head.
-“I apologize for my bluntness, and the circumstances of this meeting, but my mission is of the utmost importance. I came here to retrieve a person.”
Zeles said as they raised their head, revealing the metallic “face” under the hood, which resembled a mechanical knight helmet with a single speck of green light shining brightly from their “eyeslit”.
-“Her name is Ruth Diederich, and I know for certain she's inside this building.”
edited 9th Jan '17 6:29:55 AM by VPhantom
"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"
[Outside Ritter Clinic, in the Blizzard]
Iveya gave the stranger a fist-to-chest salute and said, "Iveya ul'Uelshu, of the Uelane Magocracy." And Zeles is being quite ambiguous, isn't he? (Iveya wasn't used to dealing with non-binary entities, and assigned the suspicious entity a male gender because it seemed more fitting.) Seems a bit odd. "As a Mage entrusted with the blessings of Amu, however, it is my duty to ask your mission before I can permit you to proceed. Just a formality." Seeing an opportunity, the Eyes and Teeth gently placed a particularly chosen thought-fragment into her mind, and Iveya went with it. Her mood darkening with an odd speed, she added, "you could be a slaver for all I know." That word, "slaver" dripped with a deep hatred, instilled from childhood, against what she had been taught was the ultimate and most unforgivable breed of evil. Her posture changed as she said this. A defensive crouch, ready to wield pistol and spell. A wordless threat; she could strike at any moment. She wasn't about to start a fight for no good reason; she would relax if Zeles' answer satisfied her and seemed full and sincere. But any evasiveness, ambiguity, or attempt at deception would be read as evidence of their guilt.
Meanwhile, the Eyes and Teeth probed Zeles, measuring their power, seeking out any weakness of body, mind, or soul. What could kill them? What could hurt them? What did they fear? It did not make any effort to disguise itself from Zeles; indeed, it whispered into their mind. No matter how hard they tried, Zeles wouldn't be able to make out precisely what the Eyes and Teeth was saying. But it had a certain tone. The muttering was sarcastic, a thin veneer of politeness failing to hide sneering condescension, occasionally broken up by strange, half-stifled giggling. It was as if the Eyes and Teeth was laughing at some joke Zeles wasn't in on and wasn't supposed to know about.
edited 9th Jan '17 5:53:37 PM by KillerClowns
[Marble Corridor (Seilaan, Mazra)]
Mazra jumped backwards from the ice-blade's slash, moving more nimbly than her weight would have suggested (and, she admitted, a little more nimbly than she could move when awake). She looked at Seilaan blankly as she set the field-sword in a defensive stance.
"Um. What? The main reason I think you are real is that" - she attacked, and was surprised by how quickly Seilaan responded - "I know what my subconscious would like to lecture me about, and this isn't - it!"
She tried to give Seilaan more space, realizing that the younger girl seemed to prefer staying in close. Probably that was because she had a shorter reach, but also... She might be more... naturally skilled than I am. But that's not as important as what you can do with it, right?
Perhaps it was time to try another sort of attack. Staying again in a defensive stance unless Seilaan attacked too aggressively, she raised her eyebrows and let the grin that was naturally coming from the duel show itself. "You know, my father and Talons say I see too much silly fiction, but at least I've got enough sense to know that the whole lord-and-scoundrel thing doesn't actually work." (This line of offense was technically a guess on her part, but if nothing else it might be a good feint).
Trying to find the right balance between generalities and specifics in terms of the duel. I think this works, but we should probably establish what happens when the swords actually hit each other.
Snow Castle (Rin, Gwenafer, Gliosem, Alice, Nick, Jackson, Adam, ???)
"Hihi! What are you doing?" asked an odd, high-pitched, almost sing-songy feminine voice from somewhere in the back of the room.
The owner of said voice was a girl who couldn't have been any older than eleven, of average height and build for someone her age. She had short, straight yellow hair, some of which was tied into two pigtails on either side of her head, and bright green eyes. She wore a fancy yellow dress with white trimmings, white stockings, and yellow strapped sandals. She held a short scepter in her right hand.
"Is there still room? It looks like fun~" she continued, a small, eager smile on her face. She didn't seem to have heard Rin's request to take her shoes off, or indeed acknowledged that anyone else was having a conversation at all, or maybe she did and just didn't care what she was interrupting.
edited 8th Jan '17 12:58:32 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Twilight Ball (Ferisen, Amiluet, June, Lauren)
Perfect - now we have two Earthlings to balance out the two Orenyans.
Amiluet was at first confused at the concept of "soy" cheese (such a plant didn't exist on Orenya), but what really made her laugh (snicker, specifically) was June's mention of a party pooper named Kraguar. "Must be quite a stinky fellow. The word refers to a big stinking heap of rotting waste that some uncourteous fool leaves out in the open."
"I believe she was joking," said Ferisen.
Amiluet scoffed. "So was I, you know. You're supposed to be the clairvoyant one - you couldn't see that?"
While the sisters were bickering, another person approached the three of them. This woman looked to be quite formally dressed, though not in a manner Ferisen and Amiluet were used to. She looked older than any of them, and a quick scan of her aura told them that she was very serious and had an air of professionalism about her. They didn't know what the CIA was, until June explained that it was some sort of government.
"Those are interesting clothes you're wearing, Lauren, though they look to be in need of cleaning," said Amiluet. "So does this mean you're from Earth too?" She guessed she was - how else would June know what the CIA was - unless it was the government of some other bizarre world June must have explored. "We're currently on the planet Orenya, so we don't have a CIA here. I think the only government we have consists of mayors of various towns that occasionally talk to each other. But we're not affiliated with it - we're just musicians. You didn't catch our performance, did you?"
"No, she came in after it," Ferisen explained, owing her sister one on the subject of clairvoyance - though this was a case of just being observant in general. She looked at June, who was clearly joking about the Twilight Zone thing (especially since this place was a literal twilight zone), but was apparently experienced with lucid dreaming. This, Ferisen found peculiar, given the myths about Earthlings not having much experience with magic, but perhaps there were some individuals who were after all. Casting a side glance at Amiluet, she spoke to June. "The force is strong with this one." She didn't know how that thought popped into her head, since she didn't know anything about movies. "Lucid dreaming is a rather difficult skill to master without the assistance of certain herbs." Like the one Glee gave to us before bed.
Then she looked toward Lauren. "I can tell you have been to many places in the world of dreams, which could explain your outfit. If you like, we might be able to find something cleaner for you to wear."
Snow Castle (Rin, Nick, Jackson, Adam, Gwenafer, Gliosem, Alice)
While Gliosem was following Rin down the hall, she heard Alice asking about the tune she had been humming. "Oh, it just came to me. I am quite skilled with clairaudience, particularly with respect to music, so I often pick up on various melodies from my surroundings. My sisters and I even use some of those tunes as the basis for our performances. Although, once or twice we got into trouble for using a melody that had been in someone's head, which is a shame because I cannot tell the difference." She glanced around at the group. "So if any of you recognize anything that I sing or play, please let me know so I may avoid using it for such." Copyright law didn't exist on Orenya, but she figured this was a common courtesy.
That's when Gwenafer spoke to her, sounding quite surprised at the notion of her drugging herself. But then she had to remind herself that the two of them were from entirely different cultures. She also remembered Gwenafer's comment about her eye just being an ordinary artificial eye. She very much doubted that given the aura about it (transplants typically adapt to that of the person unless said object was sentimental to someone), but decided to pay it no mind as she replied. "I'd say this is only my... second time experiencing a dream of this complexity. The first time occurred when I was much younger and was more of an elaborate reaction to hypnotism - though I do have some experience with astral projection, which dreaming could be considered a form of. One thing I do know about dreams is that they have no rules by definition, though it is considered rude to personally invade and control someone else's dream without their permission - or to cause harm to anyone sharing the dream in general." The last part would seem to be common sense.
Once they were in the tea parlor, Rin instructed everyone to remove their shoes. Initially this seemed odd to Gliosem, but she understood the logic behind it, given how clean and delicately wooden the floor was. And so, she reached down and took off her sandals, which were rather unusual by Earth standards - consisting of two wooden soles (the front one narrow, the rear one wide and crescent shaped, both black) connected by a tough strip of cloth, attached to thong straps around the toes and strings tied around the feet and ankles (all dark blue like much of her outfit). Gliosem was thankful that she had thought to wear her insulated white toe socks with themnote - she had done so for the purpose of a possible excursion to Zurem (the dark side of the planet) after the ball, but they served their purpose well in this snowy weather and fit the aesthetic. Notably, she had three toes on each foot - one big one in the middle flanked by two smaller ones behind, all rather narrow.
Once at the table, she sat in the same position as Gwenafer and Rin, only elevated slightly on her toesnote . As she did so, she pulled out an instrument from underneath her cape. At first glance it resembled an oversized abacus, about the size of most vanity mirrors, but the clear glass beads were of uneven size and seemed scattered haphazardly on what resembled harp strings. This she placed before her underneath the table so nobody would step on it.
Again Gon and Ari will have to wait, due to time constraints and the fact that I'm just not in the mood for combat writing right now.
edited 8th Jan '17 1:40:08 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
[Snow Castle (Rin, Nick, Jackson, Adam, Gwenafer, Gliosem, Alice)]
Alice left her shoes at the door and, following Rin's example, left her bandolier with Rin's blade. She had enough knives hidden on her person if things went wrong. Then she recalled why she was rarely brought along to business trips to Japan. That damn sitting position. Well, that and the fact that Hadia was usually way more eager to tag along so she could expand upon her expansive collection of otaku miscellany.
With her fellow Terrans already making no effort to imitate, Alice decided to avoid the risk of embarrassing herself with a fidgety, sloppy seiza. She slipped into an Indian lotus position, legs crossed, ankles high. Clearly formalized, but a position she had more experience with, and was more able to stay still and tranquil in. Hopefully the respectful intention translated.
"You should be careful," Alice then replied to Gliosem, her expression dark. "Some songs are best left forgotten. Or more importantly, some Songs." The slight lilting accent on the latter use of the word, an imitation of Thuexatiqome's Uelane accent, implied the capital letter. "So if you can," here, she gave Gliosem a glare fit to flay flesh from bone, "stay out of my head. Because it would be unfortunate if you found something more unhealthy than a very catchy theme park song." And then, just like that, fast enough to give one emotional whiplash, she flashed Gliosem a toothy grin. Her usual cheer actually returned slightly; she did so love threatening people.
Letting the ominous thought hang in the air, Alice's attention fell upon the newcomer. She surreptitiously tapped her socks, quietly hoping the guest would take the hint without further explanation, and said to her, "Admiral Rin's decision, not mine." She gave a slight nod to Rin, then added, briefly raising her hands from her lap to indicate herself, "Alice Winters, Chief Sec..." she stopped, corrected herself, with a sigh, "Chief Executive Officer, Western Amalgamated."
Maybe if nobody mentioned the whole thing about Megumi drugging Rin's tea earlier, the new kid would be first to drink? Save Alice a lot of trouble if Megumi planned some new shit. She seemed exceedingly bouncy and bubbly... kind of like Alice, most days, though not so much in the shadow of Sigmund's death. Still, Alice knew that the tiny blighter could well have as many surprises as Alice herself. In the general population, the odds of this was low, but obviously, this was not the general population.
edited 8th Jan '17 8:58:03 PM by KillerClowns
Man on a Mission
[Outside Ritter Clinic, in the Blizzard]
-“I'm sorry, but I can't disclose the full extend of our mission, both for Ms. Ruth's safety, and the well-being of those depending on her.”
Zeles spoke as they rose to their feet, still bearing a non-threating stance despite Iveya's defensive posture and the unknown presence trying to pry on their mind. So many years fighting against unspeakable cosmic horrors had prepared Zeles and their comrades to defend against this kinds of threads. No matter how hard this entity tried, all they would be able to extract from Zeles would be an inscrutable series of irrational numbers, recursive fractal images and cacophonous blank noise, as the instigator own thoughts and intentions reflected back on them.
However, the existence of this kind of entity inside this extradimensional-plane made the knight worried about Ruth's safety, as she wasn't trained to deal with this kind of psionic assaults. Despite her unique condition, and the bravery Zeles had seen her display before, she still was an ordinary human for most intents and purposes. If this thing were to break her mind and spirit, the mission would be compromised. It was imperative for them to abandon this place as soon as possible.
-“ ...but I can assure you she's working with us out of her own free will. We've made sure her stay back at her current residence is a pleasant and safe one. If she was forced to act against her principles, she wouldn't be able to fulfill the role she was summoned to accomplish. I don't blame you for being cautious, but if you allow me to speak with Ruth, you will know for certain I'm not an enemy of hers.”
"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
The Eldritch Factory, Forest of Bones (Durnem, Ayako, Ethoya, The Midnight Stitcher)
Not even flinching or showing any worry when Ayako warned them all to stay back, The Midnight Stitcher simply glanced up to watch her spell- His head twisting with incredible speed to witness the blast hit the creature head on. Not one trace of empathy on his face hearing the creature's defiant scream, a look of concern soon crossed the unnatural man's face as he turned towards Ayako. His eyes turning black with his sadness, The Midnight Stitcher's arms hang limply as he thought to himself.
"Maybe they were right... I am a destroyer, a killer, what right do I have to exist in a world I am unable to help? Not like they can kill me though... Mage girl is certainly stronger than I gave her credit, and I reckon that corrosive fluid could effortlessly extinct the human race. But, nothing has ever harmed me, so what could even kill this body of mine? Suppose I just have to keep selfishly existing, then." His eyes lingering on Ayako for a moment, they return to his normal crimson & gold as he addresses Ethoya.
"Mockery? That's giving that thing too much credit, as even a real mockery would of had self-preservation skills. If I had to guess, it was probably a Golem of some kind. Though, that would mean there's a hostile mage somewhere nearby, as such a stupid thing couldn't have possibly sought us out on its own will. Regardless, there's very little reason to stay in this spot much longer."
Walking up to the hole in the ground, the humanoid abomination glances over the edge- Seeing no sign of the elevator platform with Vita anymore. Growling lightly to himself, The Midnight Stitcher rotates his head to look at Ayako. Looking down at the ground in perhaps shame, he finally speaks up "I am sorry I was unable to offer you aid in your recovery. If you have any wounds, I could seal them shut with my stitching... Either way, shall we descend this pit? I came across another one earlier, and I'm starting to think they may help us find the core of this place."
The Eldritch Factory, Heart Forge (Emriel, Ashleigh, Noire)
Noire's attention being grabbed as Ashleigh cut herself off, she turned back- And saw Phoebe was nowhere to be seen, whereas a new & clearly fantastical being appeared. Blinking at the acrobatic feats of the pink winged humanoid, Noire mostly watched as she & Ashleigh conversed with each other. "Must be a niche band or entertainment troupe, though I'm not too surprised she isn't familiar with Mysteria. But... Why would she take offense to being called a fairy, and what's a sumiri?"
Yet as she pondered things over, Noire suddenly found herself being addressed by Emriel. Pointlessly looking around the room before realizing the Sumiri(?) meant her, Noire plants her sword into the ground before speaking casually polite. "I'm Noire Blanc, adopted daughter of Demon Goddess Lilith- You know, the famous inventor of Soul Synchronization? Mother of the Lilin ethnic group? Opposed to the Servants' tyranny? Though..." Closing her eyes in thought and bringing her right hand to her chin, Noire sighs before speaking with a more disappointed yet also curious tone.
"Orenya is separated from the rest of Earth's known cultures isn't it? I've never heard that name before, so it must be elsewhere in the universe, hidden somewhere on Earth, or belonging to a pocket dimension or another universe outright correct? In which case, you have absolutely no idea what I was talking about do you? Still, would explain why I have no frame of reference for Sumiris..."
Stretching out her back, Noire glances towards the prominently noticeable door before once again talking. "Far as I can tell, this is some kind of place where Eldritchs are born, so you could call it an Eldritch Factory- Even though we've only seen two so far. Oh right, if you're not an innately magical being, you should excise caution- Eldritch biology is mutagenic, so unless this is comparatively normal blood, I wouldn't let that touch your bare skin. What else..."
Snapping her left fingers together in realization, the black haired & white eyed girl goes on. "Ashleigh there isn't a formal member of the Masquerade, so she can be rather entertainingly wrong when it comes to the fantastical- She actually thought Wights are specifically undead creatures, and has no idea what Homunculi are despite having several at her command. Which reminds me..."
Glancing over to Emriel and resting her hand on the handle of Death's Knell, Noire speaks with an unusually serious bent. "Are you one of the Fair Folk? They do take offense to being called fairies, and you appeared abruptly even though at least one of us should of noticed if you were mundanely hiding... Really, I'm only asking because we've already been randomly threatened by a mysterious stranger, and attacked twice by the same Eldritch. I'm in no mood for Fae antics, okay?"
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
[Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle (Main Keep 1st Floor)] (Rin, Gwenafer, Adam, Nick, Jackson, Gliosem, Alice)
The Admiral watched as a few of her guests began mimicking her manner of sitting. Foreigners, and those who hadn't been trained in the art of sitting properly, had a tendency of doing that. Usually they'd end up squirming about when their legs started to fall asleep. She looked over towards Alice and the three boys, who had sat down in a more manageable manner of sitting. Rin nodded slightly in approval. She'd rather have comfortable guests than someone who tried to please her.
"I will be sure to let you know if you play any songs I recognize," Rin said to Gliosem. She attempted to recall a tune, only getting off the first few chords in her head before being interrupted by the newcomer.
Rin managed to stop her eyebrow from betraying her surprise and annoyance at the sound of this chipper voice coming from behind her. She steepled her fingers as she leaned her elbows on the table, hiding her frown. How did that girl even get in the room that way? she thought. There wasn't a door there, and she wasn't in the room to begin with...
And then there was soft crack. Rin flinched. Alice had made an attempt at warning the girl to remove her shoes, but was a few seconds too late. Rin quietly sighed, one of the floor mats would have to be replaced. She turned her head to glance at the newcomer. "And who might you be, child?" she asked.
Rin glanced over at Alice, processing the information the last five words Alice said provided. She ran a company, potentially a company that bought out its competitors, like what was happening overseas. Glancing down, she noticed that the woman had placed her bandolier next to Rin's own sword. She quietly and discreetly passed Alice's equipment over to her. "So, what does your company deal in, Ms. Winters?" she asked, still hiding her mouth behind her clasped hands.
The door on Rin's right opened slightly, and Megumi poked her head into the room. "Oh, we have another guest... I'll have to get her a cup as well," she stated, noticing the child in the back of the room. "M'lady," she said, beckoning her master over.
As Rin approached, Megumi held up an opaque jar. "We have a small problem," she whispered to the Admiral, before opening the jar, "I noticed this wasn't were I put it last, and when I looked inside..."
Rin raised an eyebrow, before glancing down into the jar. "Oh?" It was completely empty, as if it had never been used. She noticed the label, and her frown deepened, "Oh. That is... peculiar. Though, I am not sure if we should be entirely concerned with it. A lot of strange occurrences have appeared in this dream," she motioned with her eyes towards the girl, "and perhaps it disappeared due to the subconscious desired of everyone else."
Megumi frowned slightly as she recapped the jar. "Perhaps you are right, M'lady," she whispered. Anyway, the tea will be ready soon," the maid stated as she prepared to head back into the adjacent room.
Rin placed a hand on her maid's shoulder to stop her. "The tatami by the back wall needs replacing," she said, before continuing in a quieter tone, "our newest guest accidentally damaged it."
Megumi's ears twitched slightly as she nodded, "Of course, M'lady, I'll get someone to replace it as soon as possible." Megumi slid the door shut behind her as Rin returned to her seat.
The Admiral resumed her previous aloof posture, casting her gaze at Gliosem. "I would prefer my dreams to have clearly defined rules, so I am aware of what to expect. However, if that were the case, this... eclectic group would not have come together, for better or worse," she said before sighing softly.
Drummer Boy
[The Blizzard]
Friedrich stared coolly at the stranger. "Sorry that I'm not the trusting type, but you're not making a particularly compelling case to let you anywhere near my house. You really expect me to take your word alone on this?" He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to confirm that Ruth was in the building, but reasoned that if Iveya didn't try to call bullshit on the stranger's claim, it was too late for any denial to seem very truthful. "I can send a message to Ruth. See if she knows you. Until we hear back from her, the three of us are staying right here. Deal?"
Just in case the stranger wasn't happy with that, Friedrich allowed more of the Elder's presence to fill his body with raw magic. Iveya was already poised to attack if necessary. Good.
Friedrich had to be honest with himself: he was not feeling confident about getting in an altercation. He'd never been a fighter. That just wasn't what his powers were good for. Hopefully Iveya wasn't expecting too much from him.
[Ritter Clinic (parlor)]
This time, Heinrich's laugh was a bit hollow. "Oh yes. Problems. If your country's got enough problems to compel the world's most cynical doctor to found a resistance network, then you have problems." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. "Well, to be fair, Friedrich wasn't so cynical when he was younger, but he never really had much faith in humanity to begin with. But that makes it all the more remarkable that he's gone so far to help his fellow man, don't you think? He can be a bitter grump, but my brother has always been a good man. That's why I knew I could trust him to take care of my children when I—"
Heinrich bit his lip and stared into the fire. "I was preparing to go somewhere when I fell into the river, I believe," he said quietly. "Somewhere far away. I knew I would be leaving my children to Friedrich for a long time, so—but where was I going?There really isn't much reason to leave Andelin, we don't have any extended family living far away, the general store's inventory all comes from Gamino and that's only an hour's walk, and..."
His muttering grew more and more rapid until it trailed off into nothing. Heinrich chuckled quietly. "Ah, well, I suppose you can forget a lot in seventeen years. Even if you spent them dead. Sorry, where were we? The Republic's problems! Yes. Where would you like to begin? Income inequality spiraling out of control? Violent hatred of ethnic minorities, religious groups, and the poor? Authoritarian government that censors whatever it pleases and makes critics disappear? Honestly, just pick a poison and we probably have it somewhere here."
[Marble Corridor]
"Oh, so I am real now! Exciting." Seilaan's voice was almost perfectly level, as if they were chatting over tea instead of having a sword fight. She changed up her strategy a bit... hm. Just to take a little time to breathe, she took a defensive stance as well. "Well, how do you define 'work'? Are you saying that unjust regimes collapse quickly? I thought we went over that already. Remember my lecture on hegemony? It's fine to just confirm that you've barely listened to me. It's never too late to be honest."
She attacked, but it was hardly more than a flick of her sword, just a test. Almost a mocking one.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Outside Ritter Clinic, in the Blizzard] (Friedrich, Iveya, Zeles)
The Eyes and Teeth's mockery slowly lost its edge, replaced by legitimate annoyance. It had beaten far more powerful foes, as the Dead Gods could attest. But with a channeler as unwilling and wary as Iveya, a strong-willed mortal was too tricky a thing, to say nothing of the clearly experienced and probably inhuman Zeles. Its mumbling, still not quite comprehensible, took on a tone of grudge-holding cursing and muttering as it realized it had no ideas...
The Eyes and Teeth did try to prod Iveya into getting angry with Zeles for denying her authority, but to its disappointment, she ignored the urge. After all, she was outside of Uel, and technically had no authority here. Iveya's stance did not, however, soften. She nodded at Friedrich. "As he said, we are staying here, and he shall deliver his message as he sees fit." She looked Zeles in the eye-slit as she added, "you see, if she fears you, she may not be able to refuse you when you stand in the same room as her." She'd learned that suffering under her mother. "Maybe this is all a terrible misunderstanding. Though if it is, I advise next time you bring someone who knows how to actually speak to people." She cleared her throat, comically lowered her voice, and imitated Zeles' tone, though with an extra dose of monotone: "'We've made sure her stay back at her current residence is a pleasant and safe one.'" Returning to her own voice, she continued, "spirits, 'current residence' sounds like a Kykzavi euphemism for a gulag! Do you not hear how suspicious that sounds?"
She still wanted to know if Zeles had any explanation for that unconventional outfit, but that could wait.
edited 10th Jan '17 6:40:11 AM by KillerClowns
[Snow Castle-Main Keep 1st Floor]
Another newcomer; this time, it looked like to be a very young girl. Much, much younger than the three boys.
How the hell did she get here? Nick thought, Yeah, dream place, but how did she even know where to go, or get in? ...My head hurts.
"Hello!" Adam said, giving a friendly smile, "What's your name? ...How did you get in the castle?"
It was very obvious that Adam's demeanor towards the young girl was much different than when he first introduced himself to the others. It seemed that he was much more cheerful and a little outgoing than extremely shy and reserved.
"Uh," Jackson said, a little lost at the newcomer, "Y-you can come sit at our end; there should be plenty of room." He then looked at Rin, "If...that's ok with you. I mean, it is your castle."
If he was perfectly honest with himself, he had no idea what to expect. With suddenly running into his friends, then meeting strangers out of the clear blue sky, it shouldn't have been too odd to see a girl no older than eleven suddenly barging into the room. And yet, he still found himself baffled.
He still wondered when he, or any of them, were gonna wake up.
It's a bird.
Snow Castle (Gwenafer, Gliosem, Alice, Rin, Adam, Nick, Jackson, ???)
"No rules?" Gwenafer responded to Gliosem, while she removed her weapons and placed them at her side. "So you never know what to expect then? Great."
The parts about hearing the songs in people's heads and invading their dreams caught her attention - the description of how the latter was "considered rude" sounded strangely familiar somehow - and she could definitely understand Alice's aggressive reaction to it. Gwenafer wouldn't want anyone running around inside her head either, after all.
She shifted her weight around a bit, trying to get comfortable with the unusual sitting position, as she noticed the new person. Where the Depths did she come from?
"Oh, hello there," she said, slightly caught off guard by the arrival of this scepter wielding little girl. "The name's Gwenafer."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Snow Castle (Magdalene, Rin, Alice, Gliosem, Gwenafer, Jackson, Nick, Adam)
"I'm Magdalene!" the girl replied in response to all the people asking her name, "Though some people like to call me Maggie. Or Mags." Then a small look of realization crossed her face as she realized just what this "ad-meer-all" and "chief eggs-cute-if off-sir" mumbo-jumbo could have meant. "Or the Lonely Queen, though that bugs me for some reason.... I like being called the Queen of Yellow Flowers better!"
She continued on, apparently ignorant of the fact she just broke a floor mat. "I was taking a nap, and then I was wandering, and then I saw this place with a bunch of new people in it. So I thought I'd jump in and say hi~" She giggled, content with this explanation that made perfect sense to her. "And now I'm here!"
Then she finally noticed the black haired girl's...no woman's?...gesture, and from there noticed no one else was wearing shoes. Then she looked down at her own feet, and at that point caught sight of the cracked floor mat. From there, she had another moment of realization as she put two and two together. Then she looked back up and smiled.
"Oh, oopsies~" she said, not sounding all that bothered by her accidental vandalism, "I shouldn't do that again, should I?"
She giggled again, before sitting down and following the others' example. She even tried to find a place to put her shoes to not damage the mats further, although she ultimately settled on just dropping them behind her. Then she knelt down on the mat, looking rather intently at the crack.
She leaned back and then held her palm facing upwards. Suddenly, she manifested six yellow wings made of light. They didn't look much like any animal's; in fact, they bore a much stronger resemblance to flower petals. At the same time a small, pale wisp emerged from her palm and hovered just above it.
Then she knelt down and looked at the crack again. The wisp jumped up from her hand and then flew towards and apparently into the mat, making it flash bright yellow for a split second. After that, Magdalene placed a finger along the edge of the crack and moved it slowly alongside it.
While this was going on, she looked up at the woman who apparently was the ad-meer-al.
"If this breaks so easy, then why cover the floor with it and walk on it?" she asked, with a tone of genuine curiosity, "Aren't floors not supposed to break?"
To any magically-adept people who had the ability to scan her, she'd appear extremely bizarre. The best way of describing it was that it was as if she had more than one soul; in fact, it'd appear that she had at least twenty, give or take a soul. More probing would reveal that most of these souls were not actually her own, though it was unclear where they came from or why they were inside her. If they could get past all the "static," they'd find that the girl herself was more or less an ordinary human, albeit infused with magic from some outside source.
While this was also true of her upon her arrival, it would be especially obvious now that she was making use of her abilities. They might also notice that the cracked mat now also had a soul, although for all intents and purposes it was still an inanimate object.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
the cutest lizard
[Farm – Barn (Min, Varris, Vince, Ren Yangchao, Tsadro)]
Min inclined her head toward Ren and stared at them without blinking or changing her expression. They’d said… something about food. Probably just to change the subject, since what was the point of eating in a dream, anyway?
Dimly, Min remembered saying basically the same thing to Mazra ages ago, before all of this had had happened. Before she and Seilaan had disappeared to… wherever. Knowing Seilaan, they were probably either having another argument about economics or stabbing each other. One or the other. Maybe both. Probably not kissing, unless there’d been some subtext she’d missed earlier.
Seilaan was really something else - a politician who was willing to get her hands dirty instead of just hiding behind her money in some skyscraper on the wealthy side of town. And she knew how to fight, too… It’d been so long since Min had last gotten to spar with someone on that level.
Realizing that Min was too occupied with her thoughts to answer, Varris looked over at Ren and said, “There was this restaurant up on Conduit, by the water that separates South Bay and Downtown. Owner was this nice but kinda awkward reska man - I think his name was Roy or Royce or something like that. Lived there on his own in a room upstairs.”
He paused for a moment, as though considering leaving it at that. But there wasn’t really any reason to stop, and talking about it made him feel… warm, in some strange way. The memories were all so clear in his mind. “It wasn’t a super upscale place or anything, but on most nights it was packed with people, most of them just stopping to grab a cheap bite to eat before a having night on the town. Back when we were in the band we’d often play gigs there and usually stick around to eat after. We got along pretty well with Royce, all things considered. He even bought our album.
“But after a while, I guess we just... stopped going there. There was a lot going on, and we started to spend more time in Downtown. At least, until...” His voice trailed off, and he let out a soft sigh. “After the band broke up we had to find somewhere to stay, so we went to see if maybe Royce would let us crash at his place. When we got there the lights were all off and there was no one around. Sign on the door said it’d been closed around a year ago ‘until later notice’. Guess later never came.”
Varris took a deep breath. “Sorry for going on a bit of a tangent there. Anyway, the point is, all food is good, and it has been forever since we’ve had an actual meal...” He nudged Min gently, and she turned suddenly toward him, shaking herself out of her reverie. “Min, would you like something to eat?”
Min stared at him for a few seconds before eventually giving him a slight, reluctant nod.
edited 10th Jan '17 4:04:38 PM by Collen
Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...
[Marble Corridor (Seilaan, Mazra)]
Whoooooooosh... thud.
Mazra wasn't sure if she wasn't as good as this as she had thought, or Seilaan was just dense. Though it's probably the first one.
"Um, okay," she said, abandoning the Min thing for the moment and batting away the patronizing flick with a minimalistic parry of her field-sword. She brought it back to a defensive stance, the blue glow of the force field reflecting off of the marble floor. This corridor needs a carpet. "But I didn't say 'quickly'. I said eventually. The Corinarchi Empire has existed for a millenium and a half" - she launched a few probing attacks, trying to get Seilaan's measure. She had to have some sort of predictable style, even if it wasn't obvious. That's what all the swordmasters said, to some extent. "And not just on one planet. I kind of think that should tell you something."
Her hands were starting to grow a little sweaty (well, it wasn't just her hands, but nothing else was visible). She hoped the dream would get rid of that, the same way it was starting to manifest some kind of mist on the floor that might be forming into a carpet. "Though actually, I'm not sure right now what I am trying to tell you. Or the other way around. Seriously, I get" - slash - "the whole you-think-I'm-an-arrogant-bourgeois-exploiter thing." (Though she wasn't sure about 'bourgeois'). "But what the First is the point? I mean, this started just because you were mad that my sword hilt was decorated or something."
Emperor, I can't even remember.
[farm, inside barn]
Tsadro downed his tea and sighed, hiding his face with his free hand. What in Idra's name was wrong with him? He'd been over this years ago. It was two years out of centuries. Two years that were a walk in the park compared to the ten he spent just training in the military. And here he was, letting his subconscious mind harp on it like he just couldn't help himself.
He idly watched Lise gaze out over the farm. Ren Yangchao brought up food, right? He knew what he could use now.
Vince rested his chin in his hand. "Restaurants can be fickle, even when you know what you're doing. Did you have a usual there?" He stood, noticing both his chief of staff and his dog looking at him, trying to catch his eye. The simple fact that he wasn't just seeing fog outside the barn's windows to his right told him all he needed to know.
He stood carefully and headed for the door, stopping to rest his hand on the side of the doorway. "Because it looks like the dream heard."
The ivy-kissed cobblestone farmhouse returned exactly where it'd always been, its back patio facing the pasture fence gate. A table flanked with wrought metal torches beckoned them, with eight place settings and their foods of choice at the ready.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Beta Town (Gon, Ari, Ruka)
While Galaxeon was flying all around the Messenger knight, he rammed right into the lance the latter swung around, knocking the space knightnote to the ground. By that time, though, the wall of electricity was complete.
Once Ruka went in to attack the Messenger, Kinaga dispeled her wall of fire so that Ruka would not get burnt - in fact, she let it melt the ice off of the Messenger's detached leg. Gon let his jaw drop as Ruka grappled with the Messenger, both of them getting stabbed with lances along the way, and more red lights appearing on the messenger. Ruka seemed quite badly injured from the ordeal, but that didn't make Gon any less impressed.
"Whoa, that was awesome! It's like something out of an action movie!"
He was about to run to her, but Kinaga blocked him with an outstretched arm. "Stay behind me - I don't want you to be a target."
So instead he used a Cure Sprite from his Scanner, pointing the Scanner in such a way that the little ball of light entered the wound in Ruka's shoulder, ceasing the bleeding and alleviating the pain somewhat.
"Are you all right?" Ari had just arrived on the scene with Aki flying above her, the former running over to Ruka and the latter gawking at the one-legged hole-chested Messenger. But not for long, as when he saw the Messenger leaping away on his remaining foot, he chased after it, blowing the same flaming silk strings he used to trap the smaller robot at this larger and more powerful machine-thingy, this time hoping to ensnare its arms and/or pull its lance away.
While the V-Bots continued their assault, Lord Metatronic was still busy with repairing the ones that had gotten damaged, which a few of them had with its lance sweep. Meanwhile, Satori was flying after the Messenger, keeping high above Aki and waiting for an opportunity to strike. But before she could get close...
"Satori, Galaxeon, come back here!" Gon shouted.
The sword-wielding space knight positioned himself in front of Gon and extended his left gauntlet into a shield. "Is it time?" he whispered to Gon and Kinaga.
"Yes it is," Gon replied, to which Kinaga nodded and slithered forward in the direction of the Messenger.
The clairvoyant ice dragon moved in front of Ari and Ruka and conjured a spherical force field around them, holding her crystal ball high above her while both it and her third eye glowed.
"That's an Aura Shield," Ari explained to Ruka. "It blocks incoming Magic attacks, but allows anyone currently inside it to leave. I think Satori read Gon's mind on what he's planning, so you should stay back for now if you don't want to get scorched."
Once she was a bit closer, Kinaga spread her golden wings, soaring high into the air and positioning herself right above and slightly in front of Aki, who she told to stay away from the Messenger. Once the fiery dragonfly was clear (regardless of whether he had successfully trapped the Messenger with his Flaming Silk), she extended her staff at the Messenger, the flame atop it growing and burning with a bright golden light that matched her wings.
"Sacred Blaze!" As soon as she spoke the words, the tall-ish buildings of Beta Town vanished into surrounding darkness, and the asphalt below the Messenger's vicinity turned to nearly-molten rock, moving with the Messenger wherever it went. The temperature of the area quickly increased until it became nearly uncomfortably hot, and the air was filled with sparkling embers. Pillars of fire briefly flared up in a ring surrounding the Messenger, first weak-ish ones at a distance, then brighter ones closer by, and finally when they were close to the Messenger, they merged into a spiraling inferno that reached almost to the sky, engulfing and surrounding the lance-wielding space knight in a deluge of flame while pulling it upward towards the top.
Once the Messenger was at the top of the spiraling flame pillar, all the flames and embers vanished, the ground returned to regular asphalt, and the regular buildings returned to the scene. This left the Messenger in free fall towards the ground, and as an unfortunate side effect, also left all the V-Bots in the area badly scorched, as well as Lord Metatronic himself. The latter spent the next few moments sitting there with a pulsating green light on his chest, slowly recharging.
The attack took a lot out of Kinaga, so much that she reverted back to her "child" form as the little feathered salamander known as Triumph, who sat on the ground near Galaxeon. "Whoo, I think dat's enough fire power for the day."
Snow Castle (Rin, Gwenafer, Magdalene, Alice, Gliosem, Nick, Adam, Jackson)
Gliosem would have expected some sort of perturbed reaction from Alice if the song she had hummed had been something in the latter's head, but Alice seemed outright furious, even if she couldn't see said fury in her aura (again, it was covered up by the "anti-aura" ever present about her). It frightened her indeed, such that she hardly even noticed the smile Alice put on afterward (the fact that she couldn't detect any sudden playfulness in her aura helped).
She was just about to respond when she felt a great surge of energy from somewhere else in the room, accompanied by a crack like the sound of a canvas breaking. But when she looked over at the young girl who was the source of the crack, she hardly even noticed that her shoes were still on. Instead her full attention was on an intense glow around her, accompanied by several flashing lights moving in and out of her body. It was so bright that Gliosem actually had to move an arm in front of her eyes so as to avoid being blinded, even though the light was not physical and likely invisible to everyone else. Nevertheless, she tried to get a better look at her, noticing the pigtails and the cheerful demeanor about her. And the way she said she preferred to be called the "Queen of Yellow Flowers". And the fact that she sprouted wings (though she doubted she was a sumiri, as they never had six of them) and performed some sort of healing spell on the broken mat, though at that point Gliosem had to look away because her aura just then glowed even brighter, such that she appeared almost as a yellow silhouette, just as bright as Earth's sun if not more so.
At that point Alice, Rin, and Gwenafer introduced themselves; the latter two also remarked on Gliosem's comment about dream rules. Gliosem found it odd that Rin preferred her dreams to have rules, a sentiment which Gwenafer seemed to share as well judging by the clear worry about not knowing what to expect. Frowning slightly, she spoke to both of them. "How strange. Dreams, especially lucid ones, are all about exploration, so I would think it's more beneficial to keep an open mind and welcome any surprises."
She didn't realize that she was putting her foot in her mouth there, as the sight of both Alice and Magdalene was very surprising, and not in a good way either. She felt very uncomfortable in both of their presences, feeling a strong urge to get up and leave the castle altogether and travel back into the dreamy fog. And she worried whether the others would be able to read that worry in her aura, until she remembered that most of them were likely not nearly as aware of aural energies as she was. For a second she closed her eyes, softly humming a tune that happened to be the tune Rin was thinking of, though it was not loud enough for anyone to hear. Once she was calm, she turned towards the young flower queen, though not looking at her directly.
"I am Gliosem Baoshra, lead singer of a musical group called the Four Bardic Sisters. Though right now my sisters are elsewhere in the dream world. Actually you remind me of the youngest one, Amiluet. She also commands flowers, though she doesn't have nearly as much... power... as you do." She felt shy about asking where that power came from, though it was obviously great - that crack in the floor was still glowing brightly (to her) long after the spell was over. "Forgive me if I seem reluctant to look at you - your aura is blindingly bright."
Then she remembered Alice, who she was also reluctant to look at - but felt the need to speak some words of reassurance. "Alice, I can assure you that mind-reading is frowned upon where I am from, and that I can only pick up on melodies, not words or thoughts. Truly I did not even know that tune was in your mind, and for that I apologize. But if it would comfort you, I would be willing to leave..." and here she turned to Rin, "...if I can have your permission to take my leave." But she looked conflicted; she kind of wanted to stay, but wasn't sure if it would be good for her given all the awkward or outright negative reactions to what she had said.
Eldritch Factory - Heart Forge (Noire, Ashleigh, Emriel)
Emriel just stood there and blinked when Noire explained who she was - she hadn't a clue about Lilith, or Lilin, or the Servants... though she did raise a brief finger at the mention of soul synchronization. Then she shook her head when Noire rhetorically asked if any of that made sense to her.
"Orenya and Earth are actually different planets," she finally explained. "Different sun, different moons - though I heard there's a star visible from both."
"What? You're from outer space?" Ashleigh exclaimed, but quickly calmed down. "Well, I never would have guessed. Noire seems to be from some alternate dimension of Earth, giving rise to many of its mythical legends," Ashleigh decided to add, then cast a dirty look at Noire. "Though there are clearly some mythical legends you Preciouses didn't bother to share with us - that or the sadly ignorant people of the Dark Ages simply decided not to pass on such knowledge." She shook her head. "I may be religious, but I at least try to be somewhat open-minded."
Emriel flinched about Noire's remark about the blood. "I-I-I tasted some of that blood earlier! Does that mean it'll poison me?! Or transform me into an Eldritch?" She had hardly heard the word "mutagenic" used, but vaguely remembered the term referring to inducing some sort of transformation, like the more subtle black spells some sorcerers used. "Though worst comes to worst, I do know a couple of healing spells."
But she merely scoffed at Noire's trash-talk about Ashleigh, especially the remark about wights. "Seriously? Some wights are undead, but mostly they're just wandering souls who have lost all sense of identity."
"Actually, according to Noire, wights are beings that exist in a physically and magically impossible state. All Eldritchs are 'wights' if I'm not mistaken... maybe we should just agree that all our wights are different."
Then Emriel scowled about the remark about the fair folk. "What, you mean a god? Don't be ridiculous - gods are easily detectable by their aura, should they decide to take a physical form. As you can see, I am perfectly mortal."
Ashleigh's eyes widened a bit. "You can read auras?"
"Duh. You mean you can't?"
Ashleigh shook her head. "Most people on Earth cannot - at least not my version of Earth," she added with a nod to Noire, followed by blushing. "Although, I do know an otherwise ordinary human who can read auras - but only because he extensively studies paranormal phenomena."
Emriel smirked. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" When Ashleigh blushed again, she continued. "I see that in your aura - the same intense passion I feel when I dance. I won't pry into the dynamics of the relationship, but love is nothing to be ashamed of."
She looked around, noticing just now a reddish glow about the walls and the blood splatters - it almost blended in because the surroundings were already red. "Speaking of auras, it looks like this place has an ambient magic about it. On Orenya there is a similar ambience called the magisphere, but that's mostly in the air." She noticed the door, one distinct from the black gate, pointing to it. "Where does that door lead?"
"Hopefully someplace safer," Ashleigh mentioned, crossing her arms and shivering slightly, while looking at Noire. "I'm not magical at all, so if what you said about mutagens is true, I wouldn't want to be hit by one of those flying clots. It doesn't infect if it's dried, does it?" After all, dream or not, she didn't feel like getting cancer.
Emriel took a couple of steps towards the door, glancing first at Ashleigh. "I am rather good at large-scale psychokinesis, so I bet I can deflect those from you if necessary - even though I mostly use it on myself." Then she looked at Noire. "That and my usual acrobatics are the only 'fae antics' you'll see me pull around here, as I'm not particularly skilled with spellwork. We're in a dream anyway, so why are we even worrying about this?"
edited 15th Jan '17 6:21:13 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
[Snow Castle (Rin, Gwenafer, Magdalene, Alice, Gliosem, Nick, Adam, Jackson)]
Alice had no strong opinions about Gliosem staying or going. If the winged woman was honest, that was one problem resolved. If not, well, a mind-reading attempt on Alice would be more dangerous to the reader than Alice. The deciding factor was simply that shooing her out into the cold over what the others could well assume was an innocent mistake wouldn't look good. So she shrugged and said, a bit coldly but not impolitely, "don't worry. I think we have... an understanding." She failed to hide a malevolent smirk as she said this, though.
Which brought Alice's dark attentions to Maggie. Oh, she did have a power to her. She could understand why Gliosem perceived her as "blindingly bright". There was a strange energy, discordant even by the standards of magic. She made a mental note to watch the child-shaped abomination carefully. The seraph wings in particularly struck Alice as perhaps a bad sign; she was either very powerful or prone to grandiosity. Or both. Was there a malevolent cunning hiding behind that innocent mask, or did this strange Lonely Queen truly have the mind of a child?
Alice hoped it was the former. Greedy, cunning evil could be reasoned with. Innocence blindly hungered for... "justice". What a vile word, to Alice's mind. Provincial concepts of "justice" were the touchstone of every petty despot's speeches, the poison that turned men into servants of genocide, the axle upon which the wheel of vengeance turned. She took a moment to meditate on this — Sigmund's death has made me very introspective, hasn't it? — before returning to the present. (Had she spent further on it, she might have noticed how often she unironically spoke of "justice" to seek to right wrongs dealt to her and those she cared about.)
Then Alice turned to Rin and cleared her throat. "Now, where were we? Oh yes. Western Amalgamated." How to summarize such a massive entity, a de facto nation state? "We deal in agribusiness. Engineering the seeds. Manufacturing the fertilizer, pesticides, various other chemicals. Some food processing, though only our algaculture division makes an end-product you'd find on a typical grocery store shelf." A pause as she considered what else was worth mentioning. "We've also expanded a bit into the commodities and logistics side of things. Some pharmaceuticals, bioplastics and other chemistry projects on the side." She was massively downplaying what a massive entity Western Amalgamated was, able to exist only because it walked a path of gutted or obliterated anti-monopoly laws. But these weren't potential investors, and threatening people with lawsuits or WARDens wasn't an option here. So she figured she should downplay her company for the moment, without explicitly saying it was small, to avoid attracting too much curiosity. Make it sound boring. Although there was one last thing she'd have to mention. "And modern geopolitical realities," she gave Jackson , Nick, and Adam a meaningful glance here, as if to say, you guys know what I'm talking about, "meant we had to start a corporate security branch. Which I was in charge of before my predecessor, Sigmund Clark..." she sighed, "passed on and made me CEO." Her eyes briefly glittered with tears as she was brought back to that matter, though she refused to let them fall.
For her part Maggie might notice, much as Gliosem did, that any attempt to get a reading on Alice was futile. Perhaps her soul was protected completely by her colorless, magic-silencing aura. Or perhaps that aura was her soul, twisted into a weapon by training. Or perhaps she didn't even have a soul. The question of what anti-magic meant for the soul was long-debated across Alos and Terra. The answer was uncertain, and ultimately irrelevant.
edited 15th Jan '17 10:05:00 PM by KillerClowns
[Snow Castle (Megumi, Rin, Gwenafer, Nick, Jackson, Adam, Gliosem, Alice)]
Alice gave Rin a bemused look. She kept her mouth shut, having nothing to add, but thought to herself, This Megumi had better either be Rin's closest childhood friend or a lover so skilled she'd make that loony courtesan from Valmoth look like a pillow-humping weeaboo. Or both. Either way, I think my appetite is gone.
Instead, Alice turned to Gliosem. "Interesting tune," she said, her voice just a bit too sweet as she tried to hide the ice. "Where did you hear it? And I'll pass on the dream-within-a-dream. I'd like to keep Inception in the realm of fiction." This was a dream? That Sigmund's death might be part of the dream didn't — couldn't — occur to Alice. But it clearly wasn't a mundane dream either. Too orderly. Trans-dimensional mischief, she knew it. Didn't one of her intelligence briefs suggest the elder Shirazis had met one of these? Dubious reports, of course, dubious sources.
[Ritter Clinic (parlor)]
Iveya looked at the pistol with her eyebrows raised. "You a boar hunter or something?" Hesitantly, she took it and said, "I'll keep your warning in mind. And thank you." Then she stood. "Very well, whatever mischief you think is out there, perhaps better to not let it knock on your door." She nodded at Friedrich. "So, have you a coat to lend me? And then we can see what the snows have for us."
edited 2nd Jan '17 7:16:29 PM by KillerClowns