[Deck 10 - Comet Cafe (Loki, QR, Warren, Sakura)]
QR stared flatly at Loki. Really? Really.
"I cannot help but think at this moment that my people's gods are much scarier than you are," she said drily. "And that includes the ones that are not very good at it."
She turned to the newcomer and slightly dipped her head in a greeting posture. "Greetings. I am called QR, of... no planet in particular, really, at least not anymore." She tilted her neck slightly. "But my species homeworld is the planet Qrtx, if that means anything to you." He had apparently recognized them both as female, so either he'd heard her voice from a distance or he'd actually met qrtxians before. Albeit probably real qrtxians.
"And this woman... would probably prefer to name herself, actually."
She glanced over as Sakura rejoined the group, but said nothing. It would be rather inconvenient if she had to once again go through the fictitious 'Inigo' persona, but on the other hand Loki wasn't quite coming across as the common ground being she'd hoped for.
Sigh.
[Hangar - Scout (Halberd, Reshk, 'The Zaran')]
Reshk and the zaran exchanged glances with at least one eye on each end.
"Then it sounds like we have ourselves a discussion," Reshk said. He beckoned Halberd forward into the Scout's cockpit. Like the rest of the ship, it was extremely cramped, curved, and lit in harsh purple lighting. A silvery curved screen dominated the end.
Reshk waved one limb at the zaran, who silently interfaced with the ship's systems. After a moment, the screen swirled - looking more like liquid than anything else - and cleared to reveal the upper quarter of a humanoid man wearing a full-face mask/helmet, almost featureless except for a stylized grin and glowing eye-dots. He was heavily overweight, but the tailoring of his clothes, which were worked with fine silver and gray thread, left no visible strain on them. There was no visible skin anywhere.
"Mister Reshk," the Fat Man said in a pleasant if slightly electronically-distorted tenor. "In light of our previous conversation, I assume I can take it as granted that the reason why you and your guest are calling me is to discuss a business proposition?" The eye-dots shifted slightly, as if to suggest that more was remaining unsaid.
"Yessir, your lordship," Reshk said, nodding. "This character here, moniker of Halberd, sounds like he'd be willing and able to be a temp for the organization. Zer?" He nodded at Halberd for the human to make his own introductions.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Sickbay (Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel, Lucina)
Lucina scowled a bit when Gabriel voiced his concerns about side effects for her healing magic. Looking at Jen Jara, she guessed that the insectoid alien had similar doubts. Under most circumstances it would have been a plausible worry, but given Lucina's conceited nature and the fact that she had spent the past hour (or, well, it seemed like an hour at least) conversing with someone who doubted everything she did, it didn't register as such to her.
Fortunately, Gabriel asked her about what the demons were up to, so she let her expression lead into that. "Well, where to start... first, one of them pulled a man's soul straight out of the underworld and showed it to me in a crystal. Then they tried to convince me to put the soul in a doll. And then they went on about representing the Seven Deadly Sins. And tried to offer me power with obvious strings attached. Frankly though, I wouldn't waste my time with them if I were you - at least they didn't exactly hurt me."
She thought of something else Gabriel said. "Unleeeeeess, demons are different in... what, a century into the future? My, I feel so old! Though what am I saying, a century must be a blink of an eye to a demon. Or an angel for that matter."
"I say," said Winky, "the Bible and the Mayan calendar, among others, predict a catastrophic event roughly a century from now. Could it be demons?"
Lucina placed a gloved hand over where Winky's mouth would be on his face. (It was safe to assume the mouth was somewhere underneath that hinged mustache that twitched when he spoke.) "Leeeeeeeet's not think about that now. This is a hospital, not a church! And this young lady is still paralyzed. And by the way, no, no side effects I am aware of! Now, it has been a while since I have done this on a properly living being, no offense Winky..." Excluding herself, of course.
Since the problem seemed to be all over Syrni Sandra's body, Lucina placed her hands on roughly where her shoulders were. There she focused, on the girl's soul in fact, stimulating and empowering it. To many of her "patients", this manifested as a soothing serge of energy throughout their body, homing in on any parts where the soul's vessel seemed to not be functioning properly or was inching closer to being no longer habitable. To someone who was paralyzed, it would ease up the tension in their muscles and restore movement. It was not a very severe ailment, so the process took less than a minute.
Stepping back, Lucina paused and pondered for a bit. "Hmm, actually, I did think of a side effect." Another pause, to gauge everyone's reaction. "Dependence. But it's purely psychological. See, when someone finds out that there's this talented healer in town whose abilities surpass modern medicine—modern to me anyway—they start calling the healer for every single thing that ails them, until before you know it, they come to them with a paper cut. Don't be that person, and you will be just fine."
Halberd coming soon.
edited 9th Apr '18 2:39:08 AM 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.
Sickbay (Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel, Lucina) -> Bathroom (Syrni Sandra)
Syrni Sandra commented, "The founder of the Web of Friendship has already lived through uneventful days where Earth was predicted to end. We know better than to panic over doomsday prophecies."
The hospital bed was high enough to where Lucina had to join Syrni Sandra on the bed to place her hands on the Void Maiden's shoulders — here the Viporis skeleton was internal. Syrni Sandra blinked in surprise and smiled in a motherly fashion. "Goodness, I didn't know this spell needed skin contact!"
Syrni Sandra called a medic bot to detach the saline drip as Lucina's spell started. The instant the IV was pulled and the spell was finished, Syrni Sandra carefully got out of bed, trying not to knock Lucina off the edge. Syrni Sandra spoke with her true voicenote for the first time in a while, "Duly noted, and thank you very much. Now please excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." With that, she leaped into the air and teleported off.
Jen Jara's curiosity had been satisfied, Syrni Sandra was perfectly fine. Jen Jara realized the saline drip was responsible for the bathroom visit as she, too, felt a mounting pressure in her bladder. "Okay, okay, you can heal me too, and you don't have to worry about psychological dependency. That sort of problem gets ruthlessly squashed, both in Viporis culture and Web of Friendship culture."
The medic bot stood by to pull the IV on Jen Jara whenever Lucina's next healing spell started.
edited 9th Apr '18 9:04:38 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Sickbay (Jen Jara, Gabriel, Lucina)]
To Lucina, Gabriel said, "demons haven't changed that much in, oh, five hundred years or so?" (He was speaking from personal experience.) "And," he continued, "I... I'm supposed to be on vacation, but I'll keep an eye out." He shrugged, then added, "we're past the Mayan doomsday, by the way. Busy time," he grimaced, "uptick in Heaven and Hell breaking the rules, but nothing apocalyptic. Or if there was, someone else got to it before I did."
He looked over at Jen and added to Lucina, "well, you heard the woman. Oh, and I at least do appreciate this, by the way. We've only just met, but those two seem quite agreeable; it's good to see them up and not fighting across the ship." He gave a wry half-smirk at this. "Interesting combat style. A lot of teleportation. We might get a demonstration later. You do any fighting, or do you focus on more academic magics?"
edited 14th Apr '18 8:51:02 PM by KillerClowns
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Sickbay (Jen Jara, Syrni Sandra, Gabriel, Lucina)
Lucina shrugged. "I don't believe all the apocalypse nonsense either, but you know, I like to acknowledge it juuuuuuust in case." She looked over at Gabriel, who asked about whether she had any fighting experience. To this she gave a brief but very childish laugh.
"Fighting? Someone of my position has no business getting her hands dirty. If I were to encounter an enemy who needs to be taken care of with force, that's what my royal guard, of sorts, is for. And they are wooden soldiers, so no human lives even need to be wasted! Besides, my magic is intended to heal, not to harm; far as I know my magic can only harm unholy beings, such as vampires and the like... maybe demons as well. Ohhhh, speaking of healing... now it's your turn!"
She looked over to Jen Jara, who was originally skeptical about her healing magic, but after seeing Syrni Sandra come out of it okay, finally agreed. And so Lucina used the exact same healing procedure that she had used on Syrni Sandra; they were both viporises and had both been paralyzed by the same method, so there wasn't really a difference. After she finished, she blinked at the two adn at Gabriel, confused. "Tele-por-tation? Does that mean, hmm, magically transporting from one place to another? ...Hmm, no, that would be quite impossible now would it..."
"I say," said Winky, "I cannot begin to fathom the magic that would be involved in such a feat."
Lucina narrowed her eyes. "You cannot fathom any magic."
The little wooden puppet shifted around on Lucina's shoulder, trying to think of anything he might know about magic. He vaguely remembered some trick with a magic mirror Lucina had shown him a while back, but that was it. One might think the dolls in Lucina's court were empty-headed, but though Winky's was literally solid, it ought to have been empty at least of magic; he couldn't even grasp the magic that animated him.
"...I say, touche."
Sick Bay (Gabriel Kardos, Lucina, Winky, Jen Jara)
Jen Jara smiled and shimmied her feathers at Gabriel Kardos. "We're on vacation, too. The Web of Friendship isn't facing any crises and the Void Maidens calculate plenty of extra time post-battle for R&R." She cast an annoyed glance at the emotionless computer voicing her thoughts.
Once Lucina had healed her, Jen Jara said in her true voicenote "Thank you. And just so you know, teleportation might be impossible in your world, but it's easy for us Viporises. Like this..." She leaped into the air and did a few teleports around the corners of the bed she'd been laying on, bouncing off the floor in between each teleport without touching any of the medical equipment.
"So, Gabriel, you mentioned a demonstration. After I use the bathroom, you still up for a friendly sparring match with me?" She waited for his answer, then picked up her sunglasses and put them on again before disappearing.
Syrni Sandra reappeared, smiling brightly. "Hi! I'm back. What did I miss?" The harness she'd been wearing was now gone.
edited 23rd Apr '18 8:02:27 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Sickbay (Syrni Sandra, Gabriel Kardos, Lucina, Winky)]
Gabriel nodded at Lucina when she mentioned not fighting. Made sense a healer would, like a medic, avoid fighting, and using wooden soldiers was sensible. For his part, he enjoyed sparring, — for much of his early life, it had been the only thing he had been any good at — and even took more pleasure in his job than he cared to admit, but to each their own.
"Teleportation," he said, "doesn't seem impossible, but for my part... if you move fast enough, the difference is a moot point."
He nodded at Jen Jara when she mentioned the sparring match. He'd observed the teleporation with interest — trying to pick out any tells regarding it he could exploit. Could he follow her eyes to ther destination and suprise her with a waiting fan blade? Could he turn the fraction of a second before the teleportation into an opening one of his superhuman speed could exploit? "Certainly. It's been too long since I've faced a worth foe without life and death on the line."
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Sickbay (Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel, Lucina, Winky)
Lucina listened with much interest as the others described/demonstrated teleportation. Initially she had to agree with what Gabriel said about moving fast enough, but perhaps either human eyes were too slow to track such movement, or the viporis was indeed instantly moving from one place to another. And the world Lucina came from simply lacked the technology to record such movement; it would seem to be instantaneous as well.
Then Syrni Sandra reappeared, and when Gabriel failed to offer a recap, Lucina did that job for him. "Oh, you missed so much! We had five patients come in with simultaneous cases of severe indigestion, caused by a spoiled coffee used in the Comet Cafe. And I healed them all while you— you don't buy that do you." Especially since Gabriel, who had seen all that not happen, was standing right there.
"I say," said Winky, "your sister there jumped all over the room by tele-porting! And this young man accepted her offer of a sparring match."
"Winky, do you know why I have a reputation for lying?" Lucina playfully retorted, setting the marionette down on the bed and pointing at him. "Because for me, telling the truth takes more time, and chaps like you spit it out before I can utter two words of it!" Looking over to Gabriel, she continued on, "Speaking of sparring, would you mind if I watch? That way, neither of you have to worry about accidentally hurting one another."
"Oh, and besides," she told Syrni Sandra, "your teleportation ability... is it possible to take other people with you while teleporting? Say if you grasped someone's hand; would they be brought with you or be left standing alone?" She was gesturing out with her own hand as she said this, easily within grabbing distance of the viporis.
Hangar - Scout (Reshk, The Zaran, Halberd)
As Halberd followed the two into the cockpit, he pulled a black cat mask out of his bag, in case the meeting involved a video call. Sure enough, it did, and the Fat Man even had the same idea, except with a different mask. His voice was also distorted, a feat that Halberd, sadly, could not replicate with his mask.
"Hello," he said after Reshk initiated the connection, "I am Halberd of the Black Cat Bandits. You might think of me as their leader. We dedicate ourselves to various clandestine infiltrations, and even have our own ship that would lend itself to intergalactic missions. This lad here has provided me with an idea of what sort of operations your syndicate, so to speak, runs—but I would like to know more; perhaps there is a way our skills may align."
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.Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra; Gabriel Kardos; Lucina, Winky)
Syrni Sandra hid a grin behind her hand at Lucina's tall tale, then laughed at Winky's use of the word "sister". She corrected, "We're not sisters!"
Syrni Sandra sighed at the rest of the news, "Oh dear, Jen Jara was serious about that. Well, I suppose I could referee, especially if there's gonna be an audience."
Syrni Sandra's face brightened at Lucina's curiosity and apparent eagerness for a demonstration. "It usually takes a bit more contact than just holding hands, but yes, we can carry someone through a teleport. Leaving someone behind is a bit more complicated, I can explain that later. Now, since you're clearly too big for my pouch..." She crouched, "...I'll have to carry you piggyback if you want to teleport with me." Something occurred to her. "Winky, you can fit in my pouch, I can easily carry you both at the same time. Do you want a ride, too?"
Author's note: Viporises are marsupials, Syrni Sandra is referring to her biological pouch but has failed to explicitly specify that.
edited 8th May '18 10:16:15 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra; Gabriel Kardos; Lucina, Winky)]
"Then," Gabriel said, "I suppose the same sparring room as before?" Glancing at Syrni, he said, "don't worry, I won't cause too much damage, and I'm... fairly resilient." This was an understatement — for those without superhuman powers, heavy anti-tank weapons would be necessary to even put a dent in him. Then again, who knew what these aliens were capable of? He'd test the waters carefully. "Tell your sister I'll be waiting in the same arena you two had." He stretched. "I'm looking forward to it, whether or not we start fighting immediately or enjoy a bit of banter. Good heavens, but I love a bit of pre-fight banter... must be the angels rubbing off on me. Dreadfully chatty fellows." He cleared his throat, nodded, and headed off.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos)]
Gabriel entered the room with a glance around, instinctively making a swift turn to face the door as soon as he was in — but his senses listening for an attack from any angle.
Gabriel did not notice that, among the wreckage, the Songmind's physical avatar had vanished. It had never even been there — patching another piece of debris in its place to ensure a clean temporal shift — so the Viporises Void Maidens would also fail to note its disappearance, unless they had resistance to such temporal alterations.
edited 16th May '18 7:06:16 PM by KillerClowns
Author's note: This post has been drastically expanded in light of the post below.
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra; Gabriel Kardos; Lucina, Winky)
Syrni Sandra repeated, "We're not sisters." She messaged Jen Jara through their microchips anyway, updating her on everything that had happened. "Okay, she knows. We'll catch up with you there."
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra; Gabriel Kardos; Lucina, Winky) -> Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos)
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra; Lucina, Winky) -> Restrooms (Jen Jara; Lucina, Winky)]]
As Gabriel Kardos left for the combat zone, Lucina made an unexpected move for the bathroom along with Winky, leaving Syrni Sandra to make up her mind on who to follow. Dithering, Syrni Sandra stayed put, knowing she could teleport to catch up to whoever she chose to follow.
Bathroom (Jen Jara; Lucina, Winky)
Jen Jara had just finished washing her hands when Lucina and Winky showed up, she was slightly annoyed at seeing Lucina unexpectedly show up, but hid it.
Then the PA system called Lucina to the pool deck. Jen Jara thought to herself, "About time!" and said a brusque goodbye.
Bathroom (Jen Jara; Lucina, Winky) -> toward the Pool Deck (Lucina, Winky... and the pool gang)
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra) -> toward the Pool Deck (Syrni Sandra; Lucina, Winky... and the pool gang)
Syrni Sandra also heard the PA summons and wondered what was going on. She teleported to the pool deck and was taken aback by the people waiting for Lucina and Winky. She said her goodbyes as it became apparent that the group was leaving, a little sad at the departure of the intriguing child.
To anyone who remained, Syrni Sandra announced, "There's a sparring session about to happen in the Combat Zone, if anyone wants to watch."
Bathroom (Jen Jara) -> Room 8.091 -> Sick Bay -> Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara)'''
Jen Jara found the room Syrni Sandra had reserved with a small amount of difficulty. She deposited her IGPS harness there, then teleported to the Combat Zone, landing with a soft crunch, like stepping on sand, on top of the samenote black mound she'd hid behind to wait in ambush for Syrni Sandra. She announced, "Lucina was called home."
Author's note
"Well, we can't start sparring until the referee gets here, but I was told you said you'd enjoy a bit of banter beforehand." She seized the opportunity to comment on something she'd let slide earlier, "So you say if one moves fast enough, the difference between that and teleportation is a moot point? That may be the case cramped into one room on a spaceship, but speed alone can't get anyone off this spaceship and onto a planet in less than the blink of an eye."
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B)''' -> Wherever Tigris is
Syrni Sandra teleported back to Sick Bay to persuade a medic bot to stand by for whatever injuries might happen in the Combat Zone. M3D1C B0B agreed, so she tried to pick him up so she could teleport him there, but he was too heavy for her to lift, so she jogged alongside him out of Sick Bay...
...and they came to a screeching halt, almost crashing into a blonde, blue-eyed woman.
"I'm so sorry!" Syrni Sandra apologized, "I should have watched my inertia!"
edited 6th Jun '18 9:12:50 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Sickbay-> Restrooms -> toward the Pool Deck (Lucina, Winky... and the pool gang)
Lucina felt quite excited as she followed Jen Jara into the bathroom, wondering with much anticipation how the two combatants would fight... well, spar at the least. It reminded her of an idea she once had for her kingdom that even she dubbed crazy: doll gladiator fights. Sounded too barbaric for her liking, so she had scrapped it.
Over in the men's restroom, Winky had just spotted a urinal meant for aliens as tall (short, rather) as he was, when he stopped and said, "I say, now that I am a marionette, I don't even need to use one of these, do I?"
And then an announcement came over the speakers for all the ship to hear.
"Lucina Geppetto, please report to the pool deck. I repeat, will Lucina Geppetto please report to the pool deck immediately."
Lucina, who had just finished washing her hands, shot the speaker an annoyed glance. "It better be quick! I have a very important sparring bout to watch!"
Over in the men's restroom, Winky said the same thing, except with "I say" at the beginning of course.
Both of them could only manage a quick wave goodbye to Gabriel or the viporises before needing to head off; a security robot spotted them and immediately insisted on escorting them up to the pool deck, for whatever trouble awaited them.
The trouble, as it turned out, was little more than a family reunion. Lucina was understandably shocked at the sight of her sister there, though whether it was her mere presence or how she could still move about when dead was unclear. Carlotta was there too, immediately apologizing to Lucina for having been away for so long. And both of them introduced Sinistrina's new friend, Rebecca, and told of her tale and how she inspired the creation of a necromancy club aboard the ship... which sadly had to disband due to lack of membership.
And then they pushed Lucina into Sinistrina's hand mirror.
Carlotta, eyes wide, said to Sinistrina, "Uh... will she be all right in there?"
"She has the power of life. I would be surprised if death could even touch her. I must have a private word with her, so why don't you keep Rebecca company until I return?"
And she handed Carlotta the mirror and entered it herself. Gods only know what she and Lucina talked about in there, but needless to say, once the IMS Carpe Noctem beamed all of them back to Solevaille, their hometown would never be the same again.
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.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara)]
Fortunately for Jen Jara, while Gabriel had tensed, it was only in waiting for an attack to counter; as she made none, he merely turned, leisurely, towards her.
"So banter it is?" Gabriel said. "I suppose you're right about very long distances like that, but I only have the one planet to worry about, and I find I move fast enough in a sprint for that." She could see how fast later. "How do you deal with FTL jumping, if that's how it goes? And, you know, the metaphorical headaches that go with that sort of thing?"
He studied Jen, his own face impassive as he toyed with his bladed metallic fans, testing the motion of the opening and closing. One bore a symbol of a sun, the other, a moon, both polished silver on fields of gold. He ran a finger across the edge — razor sharp, of course. Drops of blood fell from his fingers, but it was downy white feathers that landed gently on the floor, and no wound or mark was visible on his fingers. Too sharp, too dangerous, for now. He dismissed them in a flash of light, before stretching his fingers and arms. He could always call the blades back later, using them closed as bludgeons as a stopgap.
[Pool Deck —> Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara, Ethoya Uvalex)]
Ethoya would have intervened if she'd been there for Lucina's farewell, but she was curious to see what this sparring was about. And what the presence she sensed was. Turning her shifting feather-clothing back into a floor-length skirt and shirt, she made her way to the place.
As the first audience member arrived, she and Gabriel studied one another. Different native universes. Different metaphysics. Neither could quite make heads or tails of the other, but the initial impressions on both ends were... not exactly positive. Because, in fact, both were beings of light... and both had bad experiences with their kin. Gabriel worked with, but mistrusted angels — useful allies, but vastly more alien than human. He could only tell that Ethoya was... something like them? And Ethoya sensed the touch of those beings on Gabriel, closer to the more disturbed creatures of the Void than anything born from the Xayu. They exchanged no words, only wary frowns, before Gabriel turned back to Jen Jara.
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara)
Jen Jara blinked in confusion a couple of times. Only the Ancient Ones of the Viporises had lived long enough to hone the talent of sprinting in super-speed. Jen Jara was just barely old enough to twitch her body around. But then again, Gabriel Kardos was obviously not a Viporis.
Seeing his blood turn into downy white feathers just made it even more obvious. She smiled, a thrill of anticipation springing from her heart to... down lower. "Neat healing. Looks like I won't have to hold back on my kicks after all." She did a dainty hop off the mound and landed lightly on the floor, then wiggled her toes a little bit, clicking the points of her curved chitinous spurs against the floor.
Regarding teleportation, she answered, "It's not faster-than-light, it's making a temporary shortcut. Imagine a piece of paper..."
Pool Deck (Ethoya Uvalex) -> Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)
Jen Jara was interrupted by the arrival of a strange black-and-yellow-eyed humanoid with golden feathery... clothes? She noted the tense, wary stares the stranger exchanged with Gabriel. Well, if there was a potential for hostilities to erupt...
Instinctively, Jen Jara rapped the flats of her fingernails sharply on her thighs, producing a loud click where keratin collided with chitin. If Syrni Sandra were here, she would have recognized that move as a frustrated declaration of interrupted flirting, and said or done something diplomatic to forestall what Jen Jara was about to do next.
Jen Jara slowly swayed her hips as she prowled over to stand beside Gabriel — just barely out of reach of him, but still closer to him than to the stranger. Jen Jara's vigilant, equally tense and wary gaze fixed upon the stranger was hidden behind her sunglasses, while the rest of her face was carefully neutral. In one fluid motion, she bent her knees and dipped to the floor for a split second, just long enough to deftly snatch one of Gabriel's downy white blood-feathers. Slowly brushing it across her chin, she asked in a deceptively light and friendly tone, "Well, well, well, looks like we'll have an audience after all. And who are you?"
Jen Jara wasn't yet in full drive-off-the-rival-female mode, but the hint she was dropping with that move with Gabriel's feather would have been obvious to fellow Viporises. Not that she was worried about this stranger flirting with Gabriel, no, Jen Jara was more concerned about an outbreak of hostilities distracting him from herself.
edited 7th Jun '18 9:32:18 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)]
Gabriel's raised an eyebrow in mild alarm, brought a thoughtful finger to his lower lip, and muttered an exclamation of mild shock in his native Hungarian as he noted Jen Jara's interest in the feather. Whatever the actual intention was, the whole scene looked most disconcerting to Gabriel. "That, uh, could you not do that?" His eyes went to the feather Jen Jara was toying with in a way that reminded him of some of the more creepily sensual demons he'd encountered. He'd never understood the attraction to that kind of thing.
Matching Jen Jara's challenge with a playful grin, Ethoya said, "Ethoya Uvalex," she brought a hand to her chest in a salute, "at your service. And if you've a thing for feathers..." she pulled a feather loose from her shirt and, carefully judging Jen Jara's reaction, offered it to her, "I might be more help than that... curious fellow." She looked over at Gabriel who, for his part, was still wondering just what Jen Jara was thinking.
edited 8th Jun '18 8:04:17 PM by KillerClowns
Near the Sickbay (Tigris, Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B)
Still feeling the jitters from her coffee, Tigris wandered through the winding corridors, the slight bounce in her step causing her sneakers to squeak lightly on the polished floor. She was feeling jaunty today, and had been even before the coffee, which was a welcome change from the aloofness and fatigue that had fallen upon her for the past...how long had it been? A day or two?
It could have been caused by any number of things, but she'd chalked it up to her body adjusting to the different auras around the ship, all from different realities and following different rules. But now, having spent some quiet time alone in the spa, the library, and the gardens, Tigris was determined to quit missing out on whatever had prompted that intercom announcement about combatants.
She approached the corner near the sickbay, where she'd helped Gabriel and Anna recover from their ordeal barely a few hours into the voyage. Legs vibrating with caffeinated vigor, she rounded the corner—
“Aahhh!”
—and nearly crashed straight into an orange-feathered, green-armored mammalian creature, a startling amalgamation of forms. She was barefoot and wore a simple gray toga, but she seemed to possess the kind of vigilance seen in warriors. A medical droid hovered behind her.
“I'm so sorry,” the creature said. “I should have watched my inertia.”
“No worries,” said Tigris. She took a step back to a comfortable distance. If there really were fights going on, this person looked like they'd know a thing about them. “Do you know what's up with that announcement about combatants? It's all for sport, I hope.”
edited 7th Jun '18 9:47:06 PM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)
Jen Jara sighed in annoyance, taking Gabriel's feather away from her chin but not dropping it. What was with these mixed messages from Gabriel? She considered Ethoya Uvalex's feather offering but didn't take it just yet. Well, this was unexpected, Jen Jara had never had another female flirting with her before.
Oh. D'oy. Three different species involved. Looks like she had some explaining to do.
"Nice to meet you, Ethoya Uvalex. My name is Jen Jara, and I'm a Viporis. Now, there's three different species here, so in the interest of avoiding more nonverbal miscommunication, I have some explaining to do. It's not so much the feathers themselves as who they come from that's important to me. Gabriel Kardos, I've been trying to flirt with you this whole time. Are you interested in me or not?"
Near the Sickbay (Tigris; Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B)
Syrni Sandra folded her stinger-thumbs under her other thumbs as she listened to the woman she'd nearly crashed into. She explained, "Oh, that. Yeah, it's all for sport." Well, sort of. Jen Jara challenged Gabriel for sport, but calling the ritual combat between Void Maidens "sport" was technically accurate but also an oversimplification that would take too long to explain. "You already missed the tail end of the ritual combat between me and my fellow Void Maiden. That was what the earlier announcement over the PA system was about, we didn't know fighting outside designated zones on this ship was against the rules when we arrived. But then once that was over, Jen Jara wanted to do more friendly sparring with this guy we met named Gabriel Kardos. They won't start without me there to referee, so do you want to watch?"
Syrni Sandra realized, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Syrni Sandra, I'm from the Viporis species. I'm what's called a Void Maiden, one of select few capable of teleporting off my home moon." She held up her hands palms-up to show her still-folded thumbs in her culture's peaceful greeting gesture.
edited 8th Jun '18 6:20:56 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Near the Sickbay (Tigris, 'Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B)'
The chimerical woman retracted a pair of stinger-like appendages, relaxing into a casual stance. Tigris listened to her explanation of the ritual combat that had caused the alarm, and of the friendly contests that were underway. It sounded intriguing. True, she hadn’t expected to fight on vacation, so she hadn’t brought much in the way of battle gear, but she’d done nothing but sit around the past few days and was growing restless. She cracked a smile and began to accept, before realizing she still didn’t know the woman’s name.
As if she’d read Tigris’ mind, the woman introduced herself: Syrni Sandra, a Void Maiden from the Viporis species. It didn’t ring any bells, but that hardly surprised her here.
“Tigris Liarren,” she said, suddenly realizing she had no idea how to respond to Syrni Sandra’s palms-up gesture. She could hardly disregard it with a very Earthlike handshake, but somehow she felt that imitating the gesture or placing her own palms upon the warrior’s would be even more ignorant.
“I’m a sorceress,” she continued instead, showing the tattoo on the back of her hand. “I specialize in naturalist arts and in combat spells, and I think it would be interesting to see what others are capable of.”
edited 8th Jun '18 12:33:03 PM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?Near Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B and Tigris) -> Past the Moonshine Bar (Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B and Tigris)
"Fascinating," Syrni Sandra stared at the tattoo. She had no idea what it meant, but judging from context, it was probably a sorceress's mark.
She noticed Tigris had looked a little puzzled at the greeting gesture and explained, "Oh, in case you're wondering..." she held up one six-fingered hand and pointed with the other, "This second thumb here, the one that doesn't correspond to a human thumb, it's got a stinger in the tip. Same with the other hand. That's why I don't shake hands. Instead, I fold my stinger-thumbs under my other thumbs like so..." she repeated the greeting gesture, "...and that means I'm not gonna sting you. No need for you to contort your pinkies to try and imitate it." Although she did know one human who could pull that off, not all humans had nimble fingers.
Walking with Tigris in the direction of the Combat Zone, Syrni Sandra chuckled, "Oh boy, are you in for a treat. So far I've only seen a hint of what Gabriel Kardos is capable of, and what I've seen is awesome. And Jen Jara loves to show off."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)]
"Ah," Gabriel said, biting his lip. "Don't get me wrong, you're lovely. It's... ah..." at this point, he could diplomatically claim to be gay. It was a pretty easy sell. But could he keep the lie up, and did he want to lie in the first place?
"I've already got a woman in my life," he said, quickly. Well, not quite, not since she was... dead, and worse than dead, even. Who knew what was left of her soul, even if Gabriel one day found a way down to drag her back? But, even centuries after, he couldn't forget her, or betray what they had. "So, can't really see you, that way. I'm sorry."
Ethoya said nothing, the offered feather still held out between two fingers, her other hand on her hip. Still, the grin on her face left little ambiguity — she knew exactly what she was doing.
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)
Jen Jara paled, dropped Gabriel's feather and staggered backwards in shock at what she'd done and what she'd almost done. "Oh... man, I'm, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'm glad you told me. Seriously, I don't want to get between you and her. That would be... that not be proper. Not in the slightest." Her back hit the wall. She leaned on it for support and took a few deep breaths.
"Wait a minute, if you're taken, why'd you shed feathers in front of me? Were you..." she re-examined the context and inferred, "You were just testing your weapon, weren't you? With no idea what deliberately shedding feathers in front of a Viporis means in my culture..." Jen Jara realized she'd forgotten to take her heat control pill. Well, no wonder this had escalated too far! "Oh, I'm such an idiot!" she groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "Please forgive my irrational behavior, I forgot to take my heat control pill. Believe me, Gabriel, I would have asked you whether you were available before I considered flirting if I'd been thinking clearly."
She sighed. "Well, I still want to spar you, properly professional and sportsmanlike. I am capable of controlling myself." She pictured her initial unsportsmanlike ideas for distracting him on sheets of paper, tore them up, and threw the pieces into an imaginary trash can.
Then Jen Jara turned to Ethoya. "All right, Ethoya, sorry to keep you hanging there. Just to make absolutely certain, you were flirting with me, right?"
Author's note:
"Well, uh..." Jen Jara nervously ran her fingers through her head-feathers, preening them. "Gee, I've never had another female flirt with me before..." As long as she was in heat, her hormones would be craving specifically males, but that was just primitive instincts being primitive instincts. Intellectually, she was fascinated, and curious as to what would happen if she went along with Ethoya's flirting.
Jen Jara found a loose feather, it fell out into her fingers. The black feather wasn't downy, it was long, mostly straight and mostly symmetrical, like the kind of flight feathers found in a bird's tail. She twiddled it until it flashed its purple iridescence. "Tell you what — I can't exactly spar while trying to hold on to your feather, so how about you hold on to one of mine? I'll be back for yours."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)]
So far as both Gabriel and Ethoya were concerned, this was an improvement, albeit for different reasons.
"Glad you understand," Gabriel said. "And don't worry about it — you didn't know, weren't thinking clearly, and stopped when you found out. I can't ask any more. If you need to get those pills, I can wait." He pulled out a makeup mirror, briefly checking his face to see if anything needed retouching. Nope. Still good. "But if you trust yourself, fair enough. Are we waiting for Syrni, then? Or shall we get started?"
Ethoya took the offered feather with a smile and a nod, gently feeling along the edges of the shaft. Ethoya's own gifted feather floated away from Jen Jara and returned itself to its place of its own accord — it was technically an extension of Ethoya's form, and could be controlled as such. "I look forward to it," Ethoya said. "Good luck! I hope you like whiksey!" This last was said with a wink — it wasn't necessary, but Ethoya had a fondness for hard liquor (not least because it didn't hinder her.)
Near the Sickbay—>Combat Zone (Tigris, 'Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B)'
Tigris took some excitement at Syrni Sandra’s words. She started doing some mental preparation, constructing the cognitive framework necessary for optimal combat casting. Ambience to heat to hand. Foresight to mirror to heart. Adrenaline to lightning to feet. Peace and presence. Reflection of reaction.
It had long ago become second nature to her, easy enough to perform in the background, and within moments she was ready for battle. Flare and light could be summoned to hand with automatic neural firings, rather than requiring independent focus.
“You said there were some sparring already,” she said. “Gabriel and your companion Jen Jara, right? Are they Viporis also?”
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)]
"Whew!" Jen Jara was relieved that Gabriel understood. "Unfortunately, those pills are for preventing heat, not stopping it once it starts." At this point she'd need to stand next to a volcano or on a tectonic fault line if she wanted to shock her reproductive system into cancelling after one cycle. "Syrni Sandra said she'd referee. Knowing she's watching will supplement my self-control. I'll message her."
Jen Jara activated her communication microchip. "Syrni Sandra, where are you? You'd better hurry up and get here, we're waiting on you to referee."
Past the Moonshine Bar -> Outside the Combat Zone (Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B and Tigris)
Syrni Sandra got Jen Jara's message and messaged back, "I'm on my way with a medic bot and a spectator. I see the door to the Combat Zone now." She informed Tigris, "They're waiting for me to referee, and I've just been informed they're getting impatient. Ah, there's the door now. Jen Jara is a Viporis, Gabriel isn't. I'm... not sure what species he is, I didn't ask him. My best guess is superhuman."
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Jen Jara; Ethoya Uvalex)]
"Syrni Sandra will be here within seconds... whoa!" Jen Jara fumbled her own feather as Ethoya reached for it, but Ethoya caught it just fine. "C-careful," Jen Jara stammered, hastily folding her stinger-thumbs under her other thumbs, "You can't just reach for my hands like that, I've got stingers in my thumbs." She noticed Ethoya's golden feather move independantly back into position and started to blush as her imagination ran away with her. "I, I uh... I've never tried whiskey."
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
Syrni Sandra knocked before opening the door, calling, "Don't attack, we're spectators!"
Syrni Sandra was met with a strange sight. A few downy white feathers were scattered at Gabriel's feet, there was a strange lady with golden feathery... clothes? And the stranger was holding one of Jen Jara's feathers.
Syrni Sandra crossed her arms and arched one eyebrow over her sunglasses, looking to Jen Jara for an explanation.
Jen Jara gave a "why not?" shrug and laconically explained over the microchip comms, "Slight miscommunication, we sorted it out. He's taken, I apologized, then she started it."
Syrni Sandra adjusted her sunglasses and made a note to give the stranger with Jen Jara's feather the obligatory warning soon. Preferably in between introductions and sparring.
Then she glanced at Gabriel. Despite being warned that he was taken, her hormones were still surging at the sight of him. She realized she'd forgotten to take her heat control pill and thought to herself, "Oh, This Is Gonna Suck..."
She cleared her throat and said out loud, "Well, uh, looks like there's some introductions to be made all around. My name is Syrni Sandra, I'm a Void Maiden Viporis and member of the Web of Friendship, and I'll be refereeing this upcoming sparring match."
"My name is Jen Jara, I'm another Void Maiden Viporis and fellow Web member, and I'll be sparring Gabriel Kardos."
"I am M3D1C B0B and I am here just in case anyone gets hurt."
And suddenly
, the two Void Maidens simultaneously sneezed.
edited 12th Jun '18 8:56:22 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Sick Bay (Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel Kardos, Lucina, Winky)
Jen Jara was impressed that Gabriel was bold enough to voice some of the concerns that she had kept to herself and Syrni Sandra. What a perfect opportunity for her subtle little espionage on Lucina. A carefully masked smile nearly appeared on Jen Jara's face.
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.