TwistedMUCK - User contributions [en]

2020-04-25 - Meeting at the IHOB

2020-06-07T01:00:44Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Meeting at the IHOB |Summary = Rayne has gone out for breakfast. Blake shows up and once again manages to get Rayne to open up more than she typically..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Meeting at the IHOB
|Summary = Rayne has gone out for breakfast. Blake shows up and once again manages to get Rayne to open up more than she typically does.
|Who = [[Blake Haushaeker]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = April 25th, 2020
|Where = Interdimensional House Of Breakfast
|Log=

There, at the edge of the Red Light District partially hanging over a cliff over the abyss into nothingness, is a place. A place that focuses all of its efforts into feeding people. That's right. It's a restaurant. Not as dramatic as it sounded at first, is it? But there's more to this restaurant! It's vaguely house-shaped, even though it's clearly built with the intention of being used as a restaurant, complete with the typical large windows and even a back balcony that... well, overlooks the chasm into nothingness. It's not very popular, for some reason. But there's more! The food here, well, they focus entirely on breakfast foods! What kind? Any kind! Custom cereals, pancakes, waffles, toast, eggs, you name it, they have it! Even things that western audiences don't think of as breakfast but other cultures do! And in a place like this, well... it's Mabase City, so it's a pretty interdimensional place, right? It's the Interdimensional House of Breakfast, or IHOB for short. Never mind the fact that one of the waitresses is hobbling right now, she just sprained an ankle a week ago. That's a coincidence.

Here at the IHOB, out on that... not so popular deck with a view of, well, nothing, sits a certain rainbow haired woman that, well, really, who else is it but Rayne? She's pretty identifiable. She's currently sitting there, reading a newspaper while sipping on a cup of coffee. Apparently her food hasn't arrived yet.

By now Blake has taken a tour of most of the city's eating spots. Everything from the popular UR and the Taco stand by the police station to some of those more questionable eateries smuggled into back allies like "The Mystery Box" which doesn't offer a menu at all, just whatever they decide to serve up that day. That place is kinda fun. Still, if it's breakfast food you're wanting then there is no better place to go than IHOB. Blake's made it a point to come back to this place every couple of weeks or so but usually she turns up at least once a week. Like Tramp, she has a different place to pick up a meal pretty much every night.

As she pulls up to the restaurant, Blake's keen eyes spy the familiar rainbow haired maiden up on a balcony. Wow, like Romeo and Juliet! Yes, Blake actually knows this work, thanks to her cultured girlfriend of some time back. She hops off her bike, doffs her helmet and calls to Rayne from the street, "Yo! What light through yonder window breaks and whatever!" She grins up at the chief, the light reflecting off her mirrored shades making her look like a crazed, wild insect.

Rayne blinks and looks over at the calling voice. Yes, she recognizes it at this point. The words, however, seem alien coming from Blake's mouth. "Huh?" she asks. "Please don't break the windows here, Blake." She wouldn't put it past Blake to chuck rocks at a window to get her attention. Actually, she is familiar with Shakespeare, it just sounds... wrong coming from Blake to the point that she doesn't recognize the line immediately. "What are you up to today?" she follows up with conversationally.

"Eating! Hold on, I'll come up," And for a hot minute, it looks like Blake might actually consider climbing up to the balcony from the outside but, mercifully, she has the decorum to go inside the building and climb the stairs like a civilized human being....or...living being, anyway. It isn't long before she tromps her way to Rayne's table, grinning down at her friend. Snatching a chair she turns it in that cliche cowboy way -you know, backwards- and straddles the seat, leaning her elbows on the back of it. "S'up chief? Been a while."

Rayne gets a look of trepidation at Blake as she appears to be determining the best way to scale the outside... but no. There's a sigh of relief while Blake is inside the building, done and over by the time the werewolf is out on the balcony. There's a good six tables out here, but Rayne's is the only one occupied right now. "Eh. Not much. Found out a friend of mine is effectively a were-hyena. Everyone's kinda bummed about it because it looks like it can be transmitted if there's blood contact."

Blake 's eyes light up, "Whoa, cool! Never heard of that. Ah, it's not so bad. IF its anything like being a wolf, anyway. Though I guess some of that...cursed stuff...is kinda crappy. How's it work? Full moon and all that or is it triggered by laughin' too much?" She flashes a grin. It's a terrible joke and she doesn't mean to be insensitive but in her mind it just doesn't sound like a problem. On the other hand, Chloe's transformation was very much a problem, so she isn't entirely clueless about these things. Hyenas, though, that is very new.

Rayne shakes her head. "No, no, it's only a one-time transformation. Like, when I first met him, I thought it was just his species, but no, he was born human. Some dark promise of new power from a mad scientist turning out to not be a good idea kind of thing. He permanently looks like a hyenamorph."

Blake arches a brow, "Ohhhhh." She frowns, shaking her head, "Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry." There seems to be little else she can say about that, though. She doesn't know the guy but obviously the news upsets Rayne. Sounds like this friend of hers is going to have to be more careful with his bodily fluids. Maybe that's what's got her feeling low? She probes a little. "You guys close?"

Rayne shrugs. "I mean... At this point, he's kind of my oldest friend here? He's one of the old guard, I'd say... The people I would sometimes run with when I wasn't the one in charge. My boss then kinda put some magic mark on him to leash him in, but if you ask me, if he just treated Urus with respect instead of acting like a god over an underling, it wouldn't have been needed."

Blake feh's, "That's cause people do stupid things when they're scared and nothing gets people more scared than things they can't control. Like, if they don't understand it then they have to put a leash on it...figuratively, you know?" She shakes her head, sighing heavily. "That's the same everywhere. Even among supernaturals, you'd have these factions of people trying to keep someone or other underfoot." She shrugs. "That's people for ya. Even in our kind there are like...levels of acceptability. True wolf -" she hooks a thumb towards herself, "We're like the cream of the crop....except if you're not in pack...." She grins and hooks a thumb towards herself yet again, "Also me...Cursed werewolves are kinda looked on with pity cause they didn't ask for it, ya know? Just people who got themselves cursed somehow....But lycans....Shit, they're the worst. Those guys are a plague. They're basically made in a lab and they will fuck your shit up....At least, that's how it was before Chloe. She got pinched by one and caught the virus but we managed to work through her blood lust. It took A LOT of time but it worked...for her anyway. She wasn't a mindless monster...but yeah, she could totally pass it on to someone if she bit em...like...a human anyway. But like....True wolves? They hate em. They'll kill em on sight...which is usually for the best cause lycans will rip out your throat just like that!" She snaps her fingers. "That's how we met, ya know? I was hired to smuggle C'lo outta a hospital where the alpha was the Chief doc there and she was pretty much gonna kill her anyway before she could fully turn....Prejudice is everywhere, man. Everywhere."

Rayne winces at Blake's story of Chloe's past. "Yeah, Urus sounds pretty... Lycan-like, except he can't make himself look human again." Her food arrives! It's... a rice porridge, a cruller, and some steamed dumplings? Rayne looks like she's not entirely certain of the food herself... apparently she's trying something new. The waitress at least is skilled enough to get it there perfectly fine even though she has that clearly injured ankle. She also asks Blake what she'd like. "It sucks that people do those kinds of things to other people, but... at least it meant you got to meet Chloe in this life?"

Blake as can be expected, hasn't bothered to even read the menu. Instead, she tells the poor waitress to surprise her. "Just make sure it's big." So, whatever that means. She has a healthy appetite but she isn't terribly discerning aside from the fact that its preferably cooked to some degree- usually. She agrees with Rayne, "Oh yeah! It's great. Plus it was a professional challenge, know what I mean? I'm used to killing the damn things so taking her out without actually, you know, hurting her was tricky but good practice. Oh yeah, and I fought the alpha. Dr. C! Man, she kicked my ass, not gonna lie. I pretty close to dead for a while there but it all worked out in the end. She got over her crazy and C'lo got over hers. We all learned something new. - Dude...what is that stuff?" She can't just ask this question either. She's got to rudely point to the bowl of porridge. "Looks like jail food."

Rayne dunks her kruller into the porridge. "So... who ''hired'' you to do that? Or was it Chloe having been able to get an internet connection or something? I kinda don't picture that place letting her do that, for some reason..." She looks down at her food, then shrugs. "It's Chinese." She takes a bite of the kruller and tilts her head as she considers the food. "It's actually spiced pretty well. And I won't ask how you know what jail food is like."

Blake just laughs and lets that go unanswered. They both know she's probably gotten into her fair share of bar room brawls and god knows what other shenanigans. Probably not the best thing to talk to your cop friend about. Maybe some day. Blake leans her chair forward, balancing it on the front legs which is a terrible idea. "Chinese, huh? Yeah, I guess they do like their rice. It just looks so soupy. Nyeh." For once something doesn't look appealing to Blake. It's a miracle. "Oh! That was her ex girlfriend. Long story but it's kinda like....Okay...get this." Blake plonks the chair down and you can be sure that she is about pull Rayne into the weeds of a long long story. "So like, True Wolves all have a territory they cover. You've got an alpha that covers a region, right? So...the Hales are like the tippy top. Not only does big daddy cover his own area but he's kinda the boss of everyone....Anyway, his daughter...Dr. C - Cate?she's the alpha of the town I kinda crashed in for a while. I got mixed up with her youngest son..." She flashes Rayne a lascivious grin. "We hooked up for a while so I got to know the family. Rolf's older sister - well, his LITTLE older sister...He's got a couple of sisters...so like the one just before him...She has this girlfriend, Ali, who grew up with the family and she's got all kinds of weird magic power...fire mostly...Chloe was her ex...and that whole gang got together one day at a coffee shop and on the way out lycans attacked. It was coordinated so like...I was with Rolf at the Agency?That's a whole other story...they work for The Agency - Anyway, lycans came and fucked their shit up pretty bad. Chloe got caught in the crossfire...They took her to the hospital and soon she tested positive for the lycan virus...So Cate was gonna kill her but Ali wouldn't have any of it so....she hired me...smuggled her out and I took her and ran." This has got to be the most convoluted retelling of the story but it's all true.

Rayne munches on her food as she listens to the full story. An already ex hiring a merc (a merc she's already on friendly terms with, but still) is a bit odd to Rayne, but apparently it was an amicable breakup? Whatever. She rolls her eyes at Blake's flashed grin. Rayne was able to figure that part out ''without'' the grin. Yeah, trying to keep track of the various sisters and brother and types of werewolves is a bit confusing, but she ''thinks'' she's got a handle on it? "Ah. I see. I think." There's a slight frown as she's not 100 percent certain on that. "All that territorial stuff sounds a bit petty, out of date bullshit to me, but I guess that's how wolves do."

Blake nods, "Yeah, I agree. Never had a pack since my mom and dad were part of a pack that got themselves killed for being stupid." And that is all she has to say about that. "Didn't really grow up as a wolf anyway. Didn't really know much about it...just kinda figured it out along the way. I broke a kid's arm playing tag. Punched a tree. It all started to come together after a while, you know? Super healing, smell, speed. Problem is that packs don't really trust wolves like me. Most lone wolves came to be that cause they got kicked out and usually for being dicks. There are just a few like me who have their reasons....but we're not super popular....Hey, what about your people. They travel in flocks?"

Rayne listens, nodding from time to time, but then blinks as the conversation turns to herself. "Oh. Uh. Well. I don't really know so much, myself. Never met a large group of them in one place... Father said his people lived on their own on Sicily before Carthage decided they shouldn't. But he always describes it in a way that really makes me think it was more human than bird-like in nature... just a little backwards compared to what I understand of the people around them. He doesn't talk about it much... I kinda get the feeling we might be a bit of an endangered species, so to speak."

This is about when the first wave of Blake's meal shows up. Unfortunately for her, it includes that porridge in addition to some very pale looking sausages, almost white, with the insides very finely ground. There's also a plate of fried eggs with some form of sliced meat and dill sprinkled on top.

Blake hmphs, "Well, you know what that means don'tcha? Better get to pro-creatin'!" She waggles her brows but the truth is that she's only partly kidding. Hey, what's Rayne got to lose at this point? She'd probably be a decent mother, if not a little Type A about it but there are worse things. Ah! And now the spread arrives. Blake claps her hands together, "AW yeah! Alright!" The smell of all these different meat products makes her very happy....And then there's the porridge. "Aw man, NAW! This stuff?" She peers down at the concoction incredulously. "Dude...Its like wet cement." She tilts her head to one side and then proceeds to jab a finger into the bowl and then her mouth. She considers the confection. "Eh, s'alright. Had worse." With that, she takes up the bowl and drinks the stuff down like soup...in spite of it NOT having the texture of it. Lovely table manners.

Rayne winces at Blake's manners. The 'porridge' is actually rice, primarily. It's Chinese, of course it's rice. The procreating comment of course gets an eyeroll. "Eh. If I was concerned about it, I would have tried to have kids with Harold rather than just finish raising his." She glances away. "...Lot of good ''that'' did me." Apparently she had some history with said step-children that wasn't so great. She is, of course, eating her food much more slowly than Blake. Whose next plate appears to be something not from Earth at all. Good luck with that!

Blake catches the snag in Rayne's mood at the mention of this past relationship. It occurs to Blake that Rayne does typically carry on alone most days. The more she knows of this woman, the more she is convinced this is by design. Rayne's afraid of something. She slurps up the last of the goop and sets the bowl on the table with a -thunk-. "Can I ask ya something? What are you waitin' for? Look its none of my business but...You're a nice lady and, yeah sure, you've got a lot of baggage but who doesn't, right?...You spend a lot of time alone and I just wonder if you're not getting yourself used to a life that really isn't gonna make ya happy in the long run." Blake's expression this time is thoughtful and when she glances Rayne's way there is none of her usual mischief. She's really trying to -see- Rayne here and that can sometimes be a little disconcerting.

Rayne groans and facepalms. Well, she can't tell off Blake for prying that much. It'd just feel... wrong somehow. "I'm not... 'waiting' per say. I'm just not looking. It's not like I have time right now anyway. But it's like..." she pauses, then looks up. "Didn't we already have this conversation?" There's a slight head tilt before she shakes her head. "No, that was about my physical space issue, wasn't it? Same thing, though."

Blake doesn't relent just yet. "What about friends? Look, " she holds up her hands. "It's not my call. I hear ya. You've got your reasons and you're entitled to them. Not saying you need to go and hook up all over the place like me...But I just wonder if being alone so much in general is good for ya. There's gotta be more to life than work and your little apartment." She shrugs and then pounds her fist on the table once. "I'm gonna be your friend. We'll...work out what that means in your terms and all but there's gotta be some room for compromise too. Let me take ya out once in a while. You don't have to get shit faced. I'll take care of that part but, you know, other stuff. You need to live just for you once in a while...but that also means letting yourself get close to people...in some way. They'll care, whether you like it or not. I do. That's all I'm sayin."

Rayne blinks and pulls her head back. "I have friends! Urus, Sunset... uhh..." When was the last time she spoke with Sunset? And both of them are from the time before all this mess happened. She hangs her head and sighs. "Am I really getting that pathetic?" There's a sigh and a nod. "I acquiesce to your demands..."

"Hey!" Blake scolds, holding up a finger in warning, "There's nothin' pathetic about being lonely and overworked. That's like a typical first world problem. A lot of successful people struggle with that shit but you don't have to. I'm gonna help ya with that." And now she grins and the mischief is back. She's happy to have gotten this out of Rayne. So much so, in fact, that she has to confess. "And I guess you're gonna help me too. I used to be better at travelin' around alone but....I guess I got used to being around people...settling. Feels...weird to be disconnected again, you know? Feels...I dunno, wrong. I like your company, Rayne. You're all...surly and shit but you're smart and you've got a good heart. You're good people and I like that."

|}}

2020-03-23 - Chimmy Chow Mein

2020-06-07T00:38:19Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Chimmy Chow Mein |Summary = Rayne has to deal with both Blake and a rookie. Not that the rookie actually did anything wrong. No, it's Blake and what s..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Chimmy Chow Mein
|Summary = Rayne has to deal with both Blake and a rookie. Not that the rookie actually did anything wrong. No, it's Blake and what she recorded on her phone that gives Rayne the biggest headache.
|Who = [[Blake Haushaeker]], [[Kaijin]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = March 23rd, 2020
|Where = Truce Fountain Courtyard
|Log=

It's late afternoon, the weather is... nice. No word on that changing anytime soon. It rarely isn't 'nice' here. That's what happens when the sky isn't even actually real... But at any rate, the door to the courthouse opens and out steps Rayne, done with a day's work. Predictably, she looks exhausted. She looks at her watch, then briefly around the courtyard. "Hrm. Food or just turn in?"

"That depends on what you're turning into." comes the joke from Kaijin, who's sitting on the steps, looking up from where she was munching on a hot dog. She grins. "Sorry. Chief. Couldn't resist." she says as she gets to her feet. "Just clocking out too, I'm guessing?"

Why, who would be out there in said courtyard? It's Blake, of course. Now, someone with a suspicious mind might wonder if Blake were not some kind of crazed stalker, with the way she has of turning up just where Rayne is going to be and they miiiight be onto something. It isn't stalking, exactly, but Blake does seem to show up where the chief is whenever boredom hits...which is often. Today she's parked her bike right then and there in front of the court yard. She's got a large paper sack with her and the moment she lays her eyes on Rayne, she's waving it in the air, "CHIEF! YO CHIEF! Come here!" She stops short only when this other mysterious and unknown figure appears to address her friend. Huh. Who the hell is that? She's never seen them before.

Rayne's eyes initially pass over Kaijin in her sweep across the courtyard. She sees other officers all the time, after all. In fact, she'd seen Kaijin several times earlier in the day already. It was Blake that managed to get a stop in her gaze. Does she have the energy to deal with Blake today?

Does Rayne ever?

The Chief blinks and looks down at at Kaijin. "Uh?" she manages to get out at the first. "Oh, uh, yeah, I-" And then she's apparently gotten Blake's attention. As per usual, it's not Rayne's choice for if she deals with Blake or not. Not that she's ever particularly ''regretted'' hanging out with Blake in the past. Well, maybe that first time. She still doesn't remember most of that. Her eyes spot the paper bag Blake is holding, and she mentally makes the call of what that bag contains. Though she's not spotted any grease stains on it of yet. "Hey, Blake," she says tiredly, but raises an eyebrow at the sudden stop. That's a bit unlike her.

Turning to the new voice, and noticing the punk look, Kaijin can't quite help the grin that finds its way across her face. The look is unusual. But very much resembles the 80s. And she's into the whole retro look. With a shrug she turns back to Rayne. "If you're looking for something to snack on, guy down the street makes a mean hot dog. Great cheese sauce too," she says. "Took over from his dad who apparently retired sometime last week."

By this point curiosity has sunk its teeth into Blake and, as always, she has to go check it out- IT, being Kaijin this time. Now, she's dealt with all kinds of supernaturals in her world. Some of these creatures have certainly been more humanoid than others but she hasn't seen one quite like this lady. Kinda hot too, if you're into that sorta thing. She swaggers her way towards the pair and hold out the bag, "Hold off on the hotdogs, chief. You gotta try these- " With a cheezy grin, she pauses for effect. It's easy to tell that she absolutely thinks she's building suspense but mostly one might wonder what is staining the bag in such an unappetizing sort of way, "Chimmy-Chow-Meins!" With that very important business out of the way, she turns her attention to Kaijin, offering a friendly shake, "Sup? I'm Blake."

Rayne blinks blearily and looks back to Kaijin again. "Hot dog place? I've... ''probably'' eaten from them before?" She doesn't actually sound sure of that. She then blinks and looks back at Blake again at the offered food. "Try... wh-" She blinks again. "Chimmy what nows?" Okay, now Rayne just looks confused. "I... can't say I've heard of that before."

'Chow mein? Huh. Don't think I've ever had that,' Kaijin thinks to herself, but shrugs. When the brunette offers her hand, Kaijin takes it with a grin and laughs. "Kaijin. Nice to meet you." she says with a nod, as her tail flicks a bit. "I'm guessing you've been around awhile, if you're friends with the chief here."

The lack of knowledge on Rayne's part gets a shrug. "Deep fired noodles, I think." she says in answer to Rayne's question about what Chow Mein is.

Snapping her fingers as if just remembering, she turns to Rayne. "Oh by the way, Chief, Edmond down in Evidence said he's using a padlock for tonight because someone down there messed up the interface with the computer lock. IT's on it and it should be back to normal by midnight, but just in case it isn't, he said he'd be passing out copies of the key tomorrow morning just in case anyone needs to get in to grab something for a case. He would have told you himself, but he was in a rush to get the IT guys on it. I was just...y'know, kinda there at my desk working on that noise complaint from earlier in the morning, so he just dropped that on me for conveience." She says.

"Sweet, " Blake says in reply to Kaijin's friendly introduction. She seems nice enough and if she's friends with the chief then, well, that's good. She does have to make a small correction though, "Kinda. Like a chimmychanga but stuffed with chow mein. Total foodgasm." A wink. As the talk turns to business, though, Blake can only stand there with her hands in her pockets and third wheel it like a boss. She doesn't seem to mind, though. That's one good thing about this strange woman - she seems pretty comfortable wherever she is. She takes the time to really eyeball the two of them. As usual, Rayne looks tired. Working too much as always, no doubt. Her friend doesn't seem so worn but maybe she's a lower rank? Or a different department? Hm.

Rayne glances back to Kaijin at the explanation of Chow Mein, but doesn't say anything in response just yet. She looks like she's about to say something to Blake when the explanation of the issue with the padlock and needing a key and- "Oh, for... We need someone watching that door the entire time, then. We shouldn't have just a commercially available padlock on that!" She once again sounds just exhausted as she says that. She groans as she facepalms. After a count of three(yes, she did count under her breath) she separates her fingers to be able to peer through them with one eye, at least. "And no offense, but that's not the kind of thing he should be blabbing about to a rookie. He should keep that on a need to know basis. He's getting too damn casual over there." She takes a deep breath in, then out before looking back to Blake again. "Right. Where is the Chimmy Chow Mein." She's had hotdogs before. She... ''thinks'' she's even had the very ones Kaijin has suggested. Blake, as usual, has found (or created), something entirely new and decidedly unhealthy for the heart.

Kaijin winces. "I don't think he meant any harm in passing it along to me, Chief. He seemed like he was in a rush to get the thing fixed so he just dropped the info with the first person he saw." Turning to Blake, Kaijin raises a brow. "Huh. Never was a big fan of chimmychangas. But hey, whatever does it for you. I'm a meat lover's pizza girl. Well, that and I'm a hot dog fiend," she says with a chuckle. "So you in a band or something? You got the whole 80's style metal hair band thing going on. Looks good on you, actually. I could never really pull off that kinda look. My hair just can't do the whole 'rock' look. Kinda jealous, all truth be told. Though I guess since I'm a cop, that's .... ''probably'' .... a good thing?" She shrugs.

Sooo she is a rookie. Well, that explains it. Still, she doesn't have that naive rookie charm a lot of them do. Seems to Blake this girl's probably been around the block a few times. Well, who hasn't at this point, right? "Never met a pizza I didn't like...or a hotdog for that matter. I'll eat whatever," she says with a careless shrug. It's true. When it comes to cuisine, it's fair to say that Blake isn't at all discerning. It's a survival thing...probably.

Soon the conversation shifts to herself personally, though, and she can't help but offer a broad grin. "Dude, that's awesome. Naw, not in a band anymore. Like, once for like a little while but it doesn't pay nearly as good as busting some heads, you know? That's where the money's at....and the fun. Love me some tunes, though. Can't fight without them! That's why I never leave home without her!" At this, Blake points to her bike which is the total opposite of Blake - pristine and brand spanking new by all appearances. Strapped to the back, though, is a beat-up pack and a very old, very clunky looking boom box. Yes. "You ever seen the chief dance?"

Rayne groans and facepalms again. "Of course he didn't mean harm. He never does. That doesn't mean he didn't screw up." She takes another deep breath in and fully removes her hand from her face. "...We don't have a hair style dress code, Patroller. You can wear it however you want, so long as it doesn't interfere with your work." She looks like she's about to just let the two talk, even considering sneaking out... But then Blake brings up something that she's sure happened on that first day the two met. It's like a deer caught in headlights. . o O ( ''I didn't... did I? Damned minuscule alcohol tolerance!'' )

"Huh. I'll keep that in mind, Chief." The half-Titan says with a smile and a thumbs up. Then Kaijin's brows lift as she turns to Blake and and she grins. "Only been here a little while. So I haven't seen too much of anything by anyone yet," she says with a laugh. "But seriously, she dances? Please tell me you have video of this! I spent most of my life either learning about what I can do or else working as the ambassador for the Titans via Monarch. So while I could....y'know, get out, but I never got to really just hang loose. Humans may have found me interesting enough to look at, but I didn't get too many dates. I mean....well," she shrugs, gesturing herself over. "half human, half Titan...I was mostly a curiosity at some level than an actual prospect for dates." She snickers. "And I'm a sucker for 80s rock, as it happens. Part of why your look kinda grabbed my attention."

Blake ahhhhhhs, in a completely un-subtle way, nodding as she does. So that's what she is. Human and titan. That's definitely a first for her. Well, it's a good look for sure. More importantly, Kaijin asks the million dollar question and to that, Blake is very happy to deliver a favorable response. "Oh hell yeah, you know it!" Moments later, she's dug out her cellphone and begun to scroll through it's archive of god knows what she has mixed in there. From whatever glances the pair may be able to steal, it looks like a mixture of things - everything from bizarre foods, very mangled monsters with Blake powerposing over them, a pretty brunette girl, and - ah! Finally. Just what she's been looking for. She fires it up. "Check it!" She lets the damning video play...so long as no one (ahem, Rayne) runs interference here. "Hey listen, you ever wanna come out with us...we can all have a pretty good time. Just call me!"

Rayne is glad to let the work talk just... die out for now. She's off the clock, damnit! ...yes, she's salary, shut up! She's facepalmed again, however, and mumbles, "Please don't." Is she talking directly to Blake to get her to not show it, or to whatever powers may be listening to make it so Blake in fact didn't film it. Either way, her plea goes unanswered, and there is drunk Rayne dancing on Blake's phone. She looks like she'd probably be fairly good at it... if she weren't so clearly completely hammered. Nope, not responding any more behind that. Just remaining in facepalm mode, her face slowly going red.

Well, to be specific, she's part Godzilla. But then again, he is ''the'' Titan, so yeah. That's a thing. She snickers a bit at the posing shots Blake has above a bunch of random monsters. The brunette gets a curious raise of a brow. But Kaijin ultimately puts it down to either sister, friend, or girlfriend. Overall, not necessarily her business. But she's all smiles at the offer.

"Sounds like fun. Just don't ask me to dance in a crowded room. This tail of mine has a mind of its down when music spins up. I doubt my father was much of a music lover, so I'm pretty sure that's just a me thing," she says. Though she clearly has never seen the Toho version of her old man dancing. Seriously. Godzilla does some kind of weird jig in Monster Zero. Look it up. She begins chuckling, clearly trying not to laugh ''too'' hard at how funny Rayne looks when dancing. And nnnnot entirely succeeding. "Oh wow. This is just hilariously awesome. You ever get her to do this when she's not plastered? Cause I'm pretty sure she's about 80 sheets to the wind here. Even Ghidorah would be like 'wtf' here." Well, Kevin would probably be enjoying it. ichi and Ni would just be wondering what they were looking at.

Blake laughs, "Not yet. I'm workin' on her. Keep telling her she's gotta loosen up, live a little you know?" She shrugs, as is her habit. As her eyes shift to her friend, she notes the unnatural scarlet hue her face has become and shows her some semblance of mercy. She shuts it off before getting to the really good part of the video, to be sure. Let's just say that there was a dance battle. All the same, she has been spared this. Blake deposits her phone in her jacket. "Ah, you get people drunk enough and nobody cares. Ever been in a mosh pit? You get hit with all kinds of body parts. It just comes with the territory. My offer stands. Next time the chief and I tear it up, you should come with. Speaking of which...When are you free?" This question goes to the uber embarrassed chief.

Rayne once again takes a deep breath in, then out. "Not since I inherited command of TASK, no." Her face color is returning, and she lowers her hand again. There's still a bit of a slump, though. "As a general rule, I do not socialize in that manner with subordinates. It can be taken the wrong way," she says without actually looking at either one of the two. She does then look at Blake, looking more tired than she did when she stepped out of the courthouse. "...Technically now. I'm not about to go do ''that'' again, though."

"Uh....no I can't say I've ever been in a mosh pit. Then again, when a single whack of this thing can cause broken bones or send people flying....Godzilla's little girl ain't no 130 pound weakling, y'know." Kaijin shrugs. "Enh, maybe someday. But yeah, I'm always interested in getting to chill out with new friends, so I'm up for it when you guys are."

Blake clicks her tongue. "Aw, come on chief. What've ya got to lose? Nobody cares how bad you dance." She's clearly teasing but in case it's not clear, she's quick to add "I'm playin' with ya. I think you've got some moves." Something impressed Blake about that evening anyway. And now, grinning like the cat who caught the canary, Blake slings an arm around Kaijin's shoulders, "I like her. She's fun. See? Two against one. We need to go do somethin' fun. Forget about all that work stuff. Anyone looks at you funny, you can say she's here with me. Who cares anyway?" Blake, never having had a formal job of any kind certainly wouldn't understand this impropriety. When you're a traveling mercenary, you pretty much live by your own rules. See, this girl needs an occupation because boredom is exactly what always leads to these exact conversations.

Rayne glances quickly at the tail and says, "Yeah." She can see that as a problem. She looks between the two and sighs. "Look. Seriously. I do ''not'' have the energy to go out dancing right now even if I wanted to. I had planned an evening of maybe getting something to eat and definitely curling up either in bed or on the couch with hopefully one or both of my cats curling up with me." Two cats doesn't make someone a crazy cat lady, right? It takes what, a half dozen at least? There's a pause, and then she at least sort of straightens up. "I should. I'm... all kinds of rusty, but there was a time I did it for a living. I mean, just as backup, but still." Her shoulders slump further again, however, as she shakes her head with a sigh. "It's a subordinate/superior thing, Blake. I'm guessing it's just not something in your experience..."

Kaijin grins a bit. New friends are always a good thing. "Oh sure. I see how it is. I'm just the convenient excuse, right?" She laughs, clearly having some playful fun at Blake's expense. "But seriously though, what'd you have in mind? Cause, not to sound too much like a kid....screw it, I don't care if I sound like a kid....I'm a sucker for video aracdes. A few friends introduced me to that, and I was kinda hooked for life. I don't mind the home systems, but going to the arcades is a lot more fun somehow." Then Kaijin looks over at Rayne. "Wait, really? You danced professionally? Cool."

Blake whistles, waggling he brows. "I'll ask no more questions, wink." Yes, she actually says wink while doing it. Whatever kind of dancing Rayne did is left up to Blake's imagination and it may be that she prefers it that way. She has a very vivid imagination. Now, to most anyone with any sense of social graces, it would be obvious that Rayne would prefer to spend a quiet evening at home. In Blake's mind, however, crashing at Rayne's house and watching movies over pizza and beer sounds like a really inviting prospect. Why the hell not, right? That's what friends do...right? Blake doesn't have many of those but that's kind of how she figures it must be. I mean, that's very much what she'd like if she were a friend. Ah, but Kaijin's suggestion sounds cool too! She loves arcades, as she has a healthy appetite for competition. Which to choose. "Aw man! Both those things sound super cool. Do they have air hockey...Cause, if they have air hockey, I'm totally there. Dude, I know! I know!" Ah, inspiration hits. "We can go to the arcade, blow off some steam, then go back to your place and crash on the couch with ya and watch Slaughter Party 3: Bikini T-Rex Massacre! Yeah!?" This is her greatest idea ever.

Rayne looks at Kaijin with a raised eyebrow. "What makes that kid-like? I mean, it's not my scene, but I fail to see what's childish about it." She genuinely looks confused by that. She lets the professional dancing subject get dropped, thankfully oblivious to whatever is in Blake's mind about it. Less so with the non-dancing part of what Blake is thinking. "First off, I don't actually know of any arcades... second off... When did me going home include it not being by myself?" She sounds exasperated, then looks at Kaijin again. "And absolutely under no circumstances am I going to have a subordinate in my apartment," she says after looking back at Blake. "Look... guys, I... mostly appreciate it, but I'm really tired. If you two want go find and hang out in an arcade, be my guest. But I'm... I'm really tired."

"I don't think I've ''ever'' seen a video arcade that didn't have an air hockey table, now I come to think of it." Kaijin says with a grin. Then that movie title draws so much laughter she doubles over. "Oh my God, that just sounds so damn cheesy! B-film slasher flick?" she asks. Clearly, she has no problem with it. It just sounds hilarious. "Please tell me the T-Rex does a dance number in the swimsuit. That would be seriously boss!" Then Rayne speaks up. "Yeah, I kinda noticed that you seem seriously run down a lot since I joined the force. I get that you're top of the chain at the precinct," well, unless there's a commissioner abover her, but Kaijin has no clue if that's the case, "but you don't need to run yourself into the ground, Chief. Hell, you honestly ''shouldn't''. Not healthy for you." Then she looks over at Blake. "Truth be told, I dunno where there are any arcades here, either. I kinda hoped you did." She's not sure what to do here, as she doesn't know Rayne very well and doesn't wanna drag her into...whatever the heck comes next. But at the same time, she also wouldn't mind Rayne not seeming so run down either. Superior officer or not, a chief of police is no good to anyone when they're dead on their feet.

See, now Blake would have taken this time to tell Kaijin all about the ukulele solo that the T-Rex has at the climax of the film but the mood's been a little spoiled here. Rayne, all business as usual, has made it very clear that she isn't looking for company tonight. Damn. For some reason, she was really looking forward to seeing her tonight. Blake, of course, plays it off as best as she can. "Well that sucks." Okay, she didn't really play it off at all but she's not about to pout about it. "Yeah, alright chief. You go have your you time or whatever. " So.much.like.Chloe. "I'm gonna...uh...find something to do. Like, spar maybe? You ever played headbutts," she asks Kaijin, already moving on.

Rayne sighs and puts her hand on her forehead, closing her eyes as she sighs again. "I don't need you telling me this, Patroller." Her shoulders slump even more. "I'm sure there's an arcade around somewhere, I just don't, you know, know ''where'' it is. You two, uh, go have your fun together." Somehow, she looks defeated. She does look up at Blake again as the phrase 'played headbutts' is mentioned with one eyebrow lowered and the other raised.

"....Uh....no? But if it involves headbutting people to see who falls over first, I ....really... don't think that's a good idea. I mean....I may not look it but I got more than my fair share of my father's physical resistance to damage as much as I got his strength. You probably don't want someone who can headbutt buildings hard enough to do visible damage and not feel any pain from it going into a skull bashing contest, y'know? That would get messier than taking a sledgehammer to a watermelon." She says sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "But if you wanna have a friendly spar or something, that I can do. Easier to keep my strength in check than it is to sudden not have my natural physical toughness, after all." she says with a grin.

Somehow Kaijin's cautions do not have their desired effect. If there is ever anything that gets Blake going, it's taking on an opponent more powerful than herself. The last thing she wants is someone to take it easy on her. However, this latest turn has her considering another brilliant idea. "Dude, no way. You can smash walls with your head? I did that once. I got locked in this guy's basement and, you know, to hell with that. Never taken out a whole building tho. Man, I gotta see that!" This isn't a figure of speech. It's obvious from the way she's looking at Kaijin that she expects the girl to deliver. Surely there's some condemned building around here she can mow down, right? Looks like she's got plans for the night after all.

Rayne looks like she's about to be back to as normal as she gets. And then Blake more or less suggests Kaijin should head-butt a building down. Once again, it's a good thing Rayne doesn't have a cup of coffee. She'd have done about three or four spit takes during the course of this conversation. "Abso-freaking-lutely NOT!"

Kaijin blinks, and if she were an anime character, would be sweatdropping majorly right now. Thankfully, Rayne steps in just before she could look over to her for help and breathes a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I'm kinda with the chief here. Just because I ''can'' do something, doesn't mean I ''should''. Sheesh. What do you take me for, Rodan?"

Blake looks between the pair, a look of utter incredulity on her face, "What? I didn't say it had to have people or anything in it. Just a building. Don't you guys have slums around here or something?" In her mind there could be zero harm in this sort of thing but Blake can sort of read the room, thankfully and does let it go. She holds up her hands, "Yeah, alright, alright. Just thought it'd be cool to see."

Rayne takes a breath in, then out. "There are no condemned buildings. Everything is inhabited. Mabase is a much younger city than you're probably thinking it is... I'd point out when I arrived in this whole... ''place'' that there was no Mabase and I was living in Twisted City. Mabase didn't exist yet back then. Twisted City no longer exists."

"On top of that...yeah, when buildings get wrecked, they tend to cause a lot of shaking anyway. Really don't wanna do that if I don't have to. Now if you wanted to find some place out in the wilderness where nobody was around, I could probably crack a few boulders but...." Kaijin shrugs.

Blake considers it a moment. Yeah, that'd be cool to see and all but it certainly doesn't seem half as cool as seeing a building crumble. She waves it off, "Naw, I'm good. I'll probably just go cruise around the city." She jerks her thumb to her bike. "Hella gets kinda cranky if I neglect her for too long. Can't have that." With that, Blake reaches into her jacket pocket again and begins rifling through it until she finally finds what she's looking for. She takes out a pen and a candybar wrapper and writes on the inside of it. "Here, my digits. Call me up sometime if ya wanna hang. And if ya find that arcade, DEFINITELY call me. I'll , uh, just cruise on outta here. Peace!" And just like the cliche she is, she walks away, gracing the ladies with a peace sign as she walks away.

|}}

2019-12-11 - Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing

2020-06-07T00:21:46Z

Rayne: The adventure was continued!

{{Logsummary|
Title = Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing
|Summary = Arriving at the destination they were travelling to in [[2019-11-14 - Let's Be Pirates!]], the trio go ahead and partake in what's there.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = December 11th, 2019
|Where = The Void Beyond Mabase
|Log=

Mimi Valroon leans back as much as her seat will let her as she looks over the two buildings, glancing between the gas station and the diner. 'Is that all' indeed. "Uh... huh. So, uh, I don't suppose you two want to grab a bite to eat? Because we're fine on fuel if we're not going past here."

Even though they ate lunch right before leaving, food sounds very appealing all the same just now. "I could eat," Gemma says, a smile gracing her lips.

"Dear God, I wonder what sort of menu a floating chunk of rock has to offer? Curiosity may kill us all after this...but there's little else to do. I'm in," Felicity says, regarding her surroundings with intense scrutiny that only an admiral's daughter can muster this way.

Mimi Valroon finally gets out of her seat and hangs her headset on the back of it. "It looks like one of those total dives you find on the side of a highway in the States. Kinda a crapshoot when it comes to how the food is." She shifts her shoulders and bounces on her feet slightly before heading to the hatch to let the group out of the plane. "I suppose here, it's a crapshoot as to what is actually ''is'', too. And we may have to deal with pirates." Wait, aren't these three supposed to be pirates? Clearly not in Mimi's mind yet.

"Imports would be my guess. Either way, it can't be worse than some of the things I've had to ingest in the past few years. And given the fact that there was a flying galleon attached to the platform, I'd say pirates are likely, but they may not be as bad as you think, and if they are I'm sure we can handle ourselves," Gemma says, confidently. When you've dealt with an army from the Winterlands, pirates don't seem nearly as scary as they might have sounded when she was younger.

There's a glint in Felicity's eye at this talk of piracy and danger. It seems these are the appetites that call to her. Yes, any sensible young woman would wish to avoid danger but Felicity, while having been called a great many things in her life, has not once been saddled with 'sensible.' To even think it! It just so happen that Felicity had anticipated such an occasion and brought along her trusty sword. Now that they are about to disembark, she goes to fetch and fasten it to her person, somehow seeming to stand a bit taller and more gallantly as a result. "Let them come. We'll dispatch them...Though I rather doubt they'd take much. Notice of a trio of ordinary girls....Except for perhaps...more lascivious urges. Hrmph."

Mimi Valroon mumbles, "Well, I doubt the grow much on this rock..." as she fastens her own pistol holster to her hip. Yes, the Mauser. "I'm betting if they're not actively already raiding, though, they won't want to bother anyone. Also, I'm not seeing any black flags." Not that the trio will directly pass by the ship: Halberd, not needing to be moored to a dock, landed fairly close. No, the most interesting vehicle they pass by is a Winnebago with wings apparently haphazardly bolted onto it.

"I would not care to try to fly in this," Gemma says as they pass the Winnebago. "At least Halberd was created to fly, and I am rather certain that simply adding wings to a vehicle or objects does not make it fit for flight. I'd be much too frightened to plummet down into the endless void?"

Felicity can only laugh at the ridiculous looking thing, yet she finds something to admire in its little "can-do" attitude, if in fact objects could be said to embody such a thing. It defies convention and there is certainly a lot to admire in that. Absurd, maybe, but bold and if there is one thing Felicity likes it is boldness....well, her own, anyway. "I'm reminded of a time Skeeve and I toured the outer regions of Elmoria. The port cities were full of all sorts of strange crafts from all over. Most of them were proper air ships, of course, but there were a few absurdly bizarre contraptions that surely must have led to many grisly deaths...One exploded then and there. The creatures that managed to eject all looked like small lizards with great fat chicken bodies...Honestly, I've never seen the like!"

A guy in a brown leather jacket and what looks like a human-dog hybrid in a brown jumpsuit hurry by on their way to the Winnebago. Yes, the dog-man has a 'doggy bag' of leftovers.

"It... probably works somehow," says Mimi, careful not to say aloud what she's talking about in earshot of the two. It's best not to insult someone's plane, ship, whatever in front of them. She knows from both ends of that." She pauses, then winces as Fee talks about the exploding lizard-chicken ship. "That sounds... like... quite the sight to see?" She really can't even imagine it. But of course they're at the Diner now! It looks very much like the classical 50s diner, but not a menu to be found. Scattered about the place are a bunch of rakish but sharply dressed individuals in red and gold uniforms, all well armed with a wide array of weaponry between them, but all clearly here to partake in the food.

"Anyone knows who they are?" Gemma asks in a low voice, wondering why so many men in uniform would be gathered here and what their next stop or mission could be. Most of them are young, handsome and well built and act as if they very much know it. As the trio of girls move towards one of the free booths, a dark haired and dashing young man with a mustache elbows one of his mates and nods at Felicity as she passes, grinning wolfishly.

Felicity 's first thought upon entering is that there are already far too many people for this small space to accommodate comfortably. Oddly, her mind whooshes back to her mother's salon in Paris, with all of it's Bohemian artists and poets milling about. But, no. This diner is nothing like that. The aesthetic is completely different and the people here are certainly not sappy artists. What draws her eye are the weapons. Lots, and lots of weapons as far as the eye can see. The red uniforms immediately call to mind the English soldiers with their intensely red coats. It's Gemma who asks the question that flits across her mind - who are these people? As long as she's been in Mabase, she's never seen soldiers of this sort.

Either she hasn't noticed or she simply refuses to acknowledge the mustachioed fellow who seems to gawking. Instead she moves to stand closer to Mimi and Gemma. "Here now," she says quietly to the girls. "From where do you suppose they hail? Armed that much, they must surely know where to find a good adventure." Ah. It's given her ideas.

Mimi Valroon shrugs at the question of who the dozen or so apparent soldiers are. "Never seen 'em before, either. Probably are from that sailship, I'm guessing?"

And approaching now is a waitress... no, not the bubbly, attractive, flirty type. This is the mid-50s, jaded, seen everything and no longer cares type. "Soup or salad?" she asks with a disinterested, gravelly voice.

Gemma seems a little taken aback by the waitress' lack of manners, but she recovers quickly. "Soup," she says though what she'd really like is to ask if there is anything else on the menu but the older lady's expression does not invite questioning.

Well, this is to be expected isn't it? Felicity regards the waitress cooly. This is a question that - aside from being somewhat rudely put -lacks vital portions of information. Felicity refuses to make an uninformed decision. "What -sort- of soup and salad?" The whole time, she's giving the server the most baleful of looks, annoyed by the oversight.

Mimi Valroon says, "Uh, salad?" She looks to Felicity, then back to the waitress as Fee asks her question.

Said waitress shrugs at the question. She's completely unfazed by the dirty look from Fee. "The cook makes it up as he goes in there. Right now the soup has some rice and vegetables in it. Smells like it has a lot of spice? Salad's got nuts and some fried meat in it. Some kinda green dressing." No mention of what the meat is. Likely she doesn't know. If anyone looks around... there apparently are no other options. Everyone here is eating either soup or salad... but on the plus side, everyone seems to be enjoying the food.

Gemma eyes Felicity with a quirked eyebrow as they all wait for her to make a decision, including the waitress who sighs to emphasize the fact that she doesn't have all day and that if this young lady cannot make a choice, there are plenty of other customers who will.

None of what the waitress has to say inspires a great deal of confidence. She makes a small derisive sound - a scoff of sorts - but settles on what seems the safest option. "Soup then." If it comes bearing any sort of unwelcome additions, however....When the woman is out of earshot, Felicity says, "Any hint of an unidentifiable substance...or an inappropriate number of legs floating up from the bloody concoction and I will throw out it the window."

The waitress also asks what they want to drink before she leaves, offering as close alternatives as she can, but nothing is alcoholic here.

After she's gone, Mimi shrugs. "I'm... betting there's going to be a lot of unidentified out here, Felicity. You might need to get used to it. As for me, looking at everyone else's reactions, I'm not too worried about it."

"I stand by what I said, at least it looks edible," Gemma says. "Say, Felicity, you seem to have caught that gentleman's eye. Hopefully you will be kind enough to let him down easy." As if on cue, the young man straightens his uniform, brushing his hair back as if trying to straighten strays and walks toward them in a confident stride. "Excuse me, miss, I come on behalf of my friend. He seems quite stricken with you but lacks the nerve to make your acquaintance. I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to agree?" He says, nodding in the direction he came from, indicating the young man he left behind who's cheeks could not be more red and looks like he'd very much like to melt into the floor. His ears are a bit too big as are his front teeth and his nose, but his face isn't completely unpleasant and his eyes are kind. His hair are on the longer side of short and slightly curly and brown, nearly the same color as his eyes.

Felicity, gaze meets the stranger's and she listens to his plea with an impassive air. Her eyes flick to the gentleman in question, the man's friend and...Oh dear. He is a tragic sight to behold and it must have taken Felicity every bit of strength not to offer him a pitying look. She allows him the time to give his little speech without interruption but that seems as far as she is willing to go. "I fear not," she begins with a surprisingly well put-on apologetic air. "Tempting though that may be...I am already spoken for, isn't it so....-darling-?" This last word is said with no little emphasis and while looping her arm through none other than Captain Mimi Valroon. Felicity leans in closer, patting the girl's hand.

Mimi Valroon looks as the man approaches and listens as well. Yes, she looks to the guy that ''clearly'' does not want to be noticed before looking briefly to Felicity to gauge her expression. Oh, yeah, she can tell there's no interest there at all. Mimi herself nods when Felicity gives her initial rejection, but when Mimi's arm is enfolded by Fee's, that gets a surprised look from Mimi. She tries to play along, but that initial look of surprise may have already given away that Mimi indeed has not spoken for Fee. "Oh, uh, yeah! Absolutely, uh, my sweet." Also, it doesn't help that she's apparently a horrible actor when put on the spot like this. Or that Mimi is going nearly half as red as that guy trying to become one with his bench seat over there.

Gemma can only lean the side of her forehead in her hand with her eyes closed. Wouldn't it have been simply better for everyone involved to just say that she was not interested? But of course not, this is Fee, and every occasion is as good as the next to make someone squirm a little bit more than necessary. She sighs a lock of hair out of her eyes and looks out the window, hoping that the slow torture suffered by Mimi and those gentlemen will soon end and they will all move on from this incident with little more than a slightly bruised ego. If chance were on their luck, the waitress would bring their food now but Gemma is disappointed to find that she is nowhere near at the moment.

Oh for the love of! "Darling Mimi, no need to be -shy-," Felicity says, putting on her most convincingly affectionate tone while giving her "lover's" hand an immoderate squeeze. "We aren't living under your father's draconian reign any longer. We are free to love unrestrained!" She leans in close to Mimi, slipping an arm around her shoulder and giving her a look that is not exactly dreamy, rather, one demanding fealty.

As for the gentleman, if he is suspicious, he doesn't immediately show it. His emissary can do little more than to accept this as the truth. What would insisting do? Besides, he is only the messenger. With a nod of his head and casual apology, he sees his way back to his table to confer with the pining friend. This leaves Felicity to her friends. "Honestly, I don't know what I see in you," she teases as she disengages from her friend. "You must be a fantastic lover."

Felicity's look of command is met with one far more resembling 'deer caught in headlights', but at least the look is given to her and not the guy. Well, he's walking away now. Once disengaged with, Mimi outright faceplants onto the table. "Really? I'd love to have experienced that myself rather than just hear about it from someone else. Not that you sound convinced, either." Yeah, Mimi's just playing along with that statement. "If you really don't know why, then perhaps we simply weren't meant to be." And yet, the aviatrix doesn't lift her head yet, either. Oh, and NOW the waitress shows up with their orders.

The sight of the approaching waitress cheers up Gemma. "Well as long as you remain civil on our expeditions. You don't even have to remain friends if it brings back painful memories. Either way, an empty stomach is not a state on which one should have these conversations." After her soup is nearly thrown in front of her and the content swishes around the bowl, dangerously close to the edge, Gemma quirks an eyebrow as she looks at it and snifs, unconvinced. After a few more seconds, she shrugs. "I can't be any worse than the porridge at Spence..."

Felicity laughs, whether it be from Gemma's crack about the porridge at Spence or at the desolate state Mimi is in. "You need a bit of the old devil in you, old girl," Felicity says, sounding every bit the rake, though she does rub Mimi's back kindly. Ah, but now it's onto the soup. The concoction looks something like minestrone with the requisite beans and bits of green and red one can assume are tomato or pepper. At glance it already looks too watered down for Felicity's taste. It lacks the substance she would prefer, and she has a strong suspicion they simply have added more water to a diminishing batch of midday soup. Taking her up her spoon, she does her best to rally her friend, "We must be brave girls," and with that she takes a spoonful and gives it an experimental taste. Her brows knit. "It's wanting salt...or more to the point, flavor...of any kind." She adds salt and gives it another taste. Her expression changes very little. "Bland, but otherwise inoffensive."

Mimi Valroon's muffled voice comes up as, "Okay, we can end the joke now." There's a startled twitch at the backrub, but she doesn't seem to especially object to it. Mimi rights herself again and is still a bit red-faced, finally responding, "What's wrong with the new devil?" She looks down at her salad and... tilts her head. None of the veggies strewn about on it look familiar to her, in fact, none look like they're native to Earth at all. The meat, of course, is breaded and unidentifiable, but there are little red and blue specks in the breading. "...What is this stuff?" she manages to blurt out, beginning to wonder if she should have ordered the bland soup instead. Well, it's time to be adventurous. She takes her fork and pokes at the salad once or twice before finally biting the bullet and, well, biting into the salad. Her eyes widen and... no, she doesn't spit it out. She goes for more. "You guys should have ordered the salad!"

It's about this time that a very large, very rough, very ''green'' man with slightly pointed ears steps out of the bathroom and makes his way back to the kitchen. No, his hands do not still look dirty. About twenty seconds later, there is some loud shouting in a guttural language and then the sound of someone else apparently pleading, though the words are hard to make out. A loud '''THOCK''' is heard, then a scream. The passing waitress looks in the direction of the kitchen with a look of utter disinterest and says, "I don't think Coork likes the new guy," without missing a step. Some arguing is heard still, the not-so guttural voice sounding a bit more alarmed now, and finally the sound of a large pot being dropped or hit against something.

"Dear me!" Gemma exclaims after jumping a little off her seat at the loud noise, nearly dropping her spoon. "I suppose that means this new hire is the one who made the soup... Well, this seems to me no way to treat a new employee and I'll gladly encourage his cooking attempt in protest."

Like anyone with ears, Felicity's attention is also drawn to the ruckus in the kitchens. She's certainly not one who is above upbraiding the help when the situation calls for it, but she generally has the class not to do it in such a public manner. That only makes a spectacle of you and shows one to be on their level. Heaven forbid! She had just been about to question Mimi about her salad when the commotion began and now, she finds herself too distracted to enjoy her meal. Unlike Gemma, however, Felicity's of the mind to leave well enough alone. "Don't get involved, Gemma. For all we know, he's relieved himself in the gravy or licked his fingers while preparing our meals. It's not our concern...Well, it is if he's done -that-," she is quick to correct herself. Thinking better of it, Felicity pushes her soup away.

Mimi Valroon looks down at her salad again, then back out at the kitchen area. Well, she's not stopping. This tastes too good! ...Whatever the hell it is. "It did sound more like the soup pot was the point of argument, yes... But... I suppose we should be heading onward soon. Back home after this?" As for the other patrons, the uniformed ship crew seems to completely ignore the goings on in the kitchen, as do most of the others. Apparently loud noises are known to happen in there.

"Yes, I suppose we should," Gemma says, looking undecided about whether or not to keep eating after what Felicity said. "So what's next on our plan? What adventures await? I know you'd like to explore the void some more, but I'd like to search for the door to the Realms too."

"I thought we might have a look around here a bit more....Alas, there doesn't seem to be much worth looking at," Felicity says, her eyes drifting back towards the oblivious men going on about their business. Still, a place like this is sure to have interesting people passing through. Would it be too much to hope for that they run into someone or something that injects a little excitement into their outing?...Apparently. "Yes, " Felicity says wistfully, playing with soup, spooning a bit and pouring it back into the bowl over and over again. "Oh how I long for the Realms....to do a bit of magic." Yes, she might have turned that sludge into a grand feast! Ah, but why waste it on something so ridiculous. And then a terrible idea takes hold. She sits up, her lips slithering into a devil of a grin. "Oooor....we might have a bit of fun now...." Her eyes flick to the men again. "Aren't you curious about what might be in some of those other ships?"

Mimi Valroon shrugs. "I'm open to whichever. I actually am really curious to see what these 'Realms' are like. It's something completely... different to me." Her eyes then narrow as she looks to Felicity. "...Felicity? Don't be a ''bad'' pirate."

"Hmm, this sounds like a bad idea, Felicity. Look at how many uniformed men there are around here. I doubt that they'll be too kind to catch anyone where they shouldn't be. Or worse, they might send the cook..." Gemma says as she finally pushes away her soup. There are some biscuits in the plane and they are starting to sound more and more scrumptious by the minute.

"Yes, -here-, not on the ship. If we're to have a chance at all its now," Felicity says, liking this idea more and more as she goes along. But naturally she has pushback. Gemma always being so bloody sensible and Mimi with her aversion to piracy! They are exasperating, the both of them! "Oh for God's sake, you can't very well go and declare it bad piracy without knowing what sort of cargo they've stashed under the decks. For all you know, they've women by the crates stowed under there. Slave trade is certainly nothing to sniff at. It wouldn't surprise me. Spoils of some interstellar war! Would we be -bad- pirates then if our discovery led to their rescue? Besides, we have something they -don't- have." At this, she slides her eyes towards Gemma, fixing her with proud gaze.

Mimi Valroon sighs and facepalms. "Oh my god. You're actually serious about this, aren't you. Okay, fine. We'll pay for our food here, then Gemma and I will drag you back to Halberd and tie you to your chair so you don't cause us more trouble." She makes a hand motion around the room, emphasizing the pair of which one apparently had taken a liking to Fee. "They don't exactly strike me as the 'human trafficking' type."

Felicity's got her and she must know it. Gemma's sense of justice has been struck and though what Felicity suggests isn't likely, it isn't completely out of this world either, or the next... It could happen, couldn't it? And what if they go on their merry way when there is someone in need whose only chance would be a trio of green pirates? Gemma bites her lip, looking apologetically at Mimi. "It couldn't hurt to look... Worst case scenario, it'll be practice for when we really need to do so."

A look of triumph comes over Felicity. She doesn't intend to lose and in her mind, Gemma's agreement to the plot sounds her victory. "Ahah! There, you see? Gemma backs this venture. It's done. We shall proceed with the plan....Oh, don't look so forlorn, Mimi. We won't get caught." She cuts a glance to the redhead, smirking smugly. "We have a secret weapon. They will ''never'' know what hit them." The meaningful look she gives Gemma could leave no room for question. Mimi may not have the slightest what Fee is on about, but Gemma is sure to catch wind.

Mimi Valroon groans and puts her face into both of her hands. "Worst case scenario is we get killed. Second worst is our reputation in Mabase is ruined to the point we can't get hired for anything and we're total outcasts. There is absolutely no way you can possibly convince me to take part in your little operation!"

A quick pan wipe and our heroines are crouched behind some cover near that sailing vessel. Mimi looks at Felicity and deadpans, "I still have no idea how you managed to convince me to do this."

Continued in [[2020-02-26 - But What Was the Real Treasure?]]
|}}

2020-02-26 - But What Was the Real Treasure?

2020-06-07T00:20:34Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = But What Was the Real Treasure? |Summary = Continuing from 2019-12-11 - Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing, our 'heroes' raid the 'pirate' vessel..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = But What Was the Real Treasure?
|Summary = Continuing from [[2019-12-11 - Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing]], our 'heroes' raid the 'pirate' vessel.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = Month Day, Year.
|Where = The Void Beyond Mabase
|Log=

Mimi Valroon groans and puts her face into both of her hands. "Worst case scenario is we get killed. Second worst is our reputation in Mabase is ruined to the point we can't get hired for anything and we're total outcasts. There is absolutely no way you can possibly convince me to take part in your little operation!"

A quick pan wipe and our heroines are crouched behind some cover near that sailing vessel. Mimi looks at Felicity and deadpans, "I still have no idea how you managed to convince me to do this."

"Oh hush, Mimi, it'll be fine," Gemma says though her sweaty palms say otherwise. Even though she agreed to it in the first place, she still can't keep the nervousness at bay. "We'll have to get past this man if we are to get inside," she says, speaking of the uniformed man who must have been severely punished for something or other to be stuck here while the other ones are in the restaurant, eating and having fun.

Felicity is alive with their mischief. Crouching behind several crates, she peers around the side to get a head count. "Five. There are five of them, Gemma. It will take more than a distraction to get by all of them. You know what you must do," She says, staring at her friend meaningfully. "Go on. Use the magic."

Mimi Valroon keeps her head down for the moment. Yes, she has her pistol on her, but if worse comes to worse, she's more likely to use a knife for more silent takedowns. She whispers, "Five you can see, you mean. We can't see what's below deck on that thing."

Indeed, it looks like there could be two or even three floors below deck. What look like gun ports line that first deck below, but they're all closed, hiding whatever weaponry may be there. Prominently painted on the side near the bow is the ship's name: Bigby's Bonzai Blaster. And the guy at the foot of the gangplank in fact looks both bored and indignant. "Drawing lots my ass, he totally rigged that..." and other such muttered complaints can be heard. He doesn't want to be there. At least the trio on the main deck are able to chat with each other. By the sounds of things, one is trying to get another's confidence up in his ability to man the helm, but the other isn't really helping with how he manages to bring up the 'last two times' the helmsperson hit something. The last seen is up on the crow's nest. It's quite possible she's asleep.

Five. How could she have missed them? Gemma was so focused on the man near the ramp that she didn't even pay attention to the rest of her surroundings. Her cheeks redden and she chastises herself internally. This might be mostly a practice run, unless they encounter something out of the ordinary, but she should treat it with all the seriousness of a real infiltration. "The... magic?" She answers as if it were the first time she hears about it. It's been a while she's needed to use it for anything more serious than very small illusions on one person at a time, but there's no time like the present and she nods, her brow knitting in determination. After observing a little longer, she turns to Mimi and Felicity. "Follow me and stay close, but just behind me, on each side. With that, she waits until nobody is looking in their direction and gets up, striding straight toward the man guarding the ramp. What he will see, and everyone else except Felicity and Mimi, is the ship's Captain heading to get aboard and flanked by two of his men, the awkward boy who had an eye on Fee as well as his wingman.

Felicity 's face is fit to split for all that she is smiling. She is surely the cat that caught the canary now. The magic! The glorious magic! Ah, it's been such a long time since they were up to their old tricks. Now it's so close that she can taste it! Quickly, she scampers to the spot Gemma chooses and waits for her to work her magic- literally. Soon, the familiar old feeling to comes upon her. It isn't what one would think. IT doesn't come on like a bolt of lightning, though there is something about it that makes the air feel charged somehow. It's warm, like slipping into a bathtub and just as intoxicating. Just like that, Gemma's illusion is cast over them. They haven't changed, of course. It's simply a trick of the light but it still leaves that zing in the air. Felicity practically WHOOPS, "I can feel it! You've really still got it!"

Mimi Valroon is quick onto her feet and following up. She stays quiet, not knowing the nature of what's actually happened with The Magic in this situation. The guard, however, yawns before noticing the three approaching. "Oh! Captain! Back already? Thought you were going to wait it out and make sure Moravik didn't get himself into trouble again." The guard doesn't, however, let himself be in the way of his 'captain', instead stepping aside.

Quick, think of something to say? "I'm not his nanny" Gemma says with all the indignance she can muster. To her companions, it will sound as if it is just her speaking, but to those under falling prey to the illusion, they hear the voice of the Captain they know. "I got tired of dealing with children. The rest of the crew is there to watch over this delicate flower and they will face my wrath if they behave in a way that impairs my reputation. Are you questioning me, soldier?"

Whatever the soldier's response - something very humble and respectful, no doubt - Felicity nudges Mimi lightly and quips, "Such a ball buster, our captain." Oh yes, modern slang for our Victorian girl. This is what comes of hanging around modern day people for as many years as she has. Suffice to say, she find's Gemma's performance amusing. She whispers again, "I thought she might use the magic to make us invisible, but this so much better, don't you think Mimi? Oh I say?" Another nudge. "I do believe that gentleman fancies you...whoever you are now. Not terribly uncommon, though my father would never speak of it, mind. One would never. Oh, but it happened." The soldier she's referring to does seem to be looking in their direction but whether its due to any attraction is anyone's guess.

The guard takes a step back and holds up his hands. "Woah, woah! Sorry, captain! Jeeze, what did he do to get you this pissed off?" ...Apparently Gemma may have overestimated the militaristic nature of this particular ship crew.

Mimi, already facepalming over the error in judging the nature of this crew in general, says to the guard, "Don't ask. Just... don't ask." She lifts her head to look in the direction of the soldier in question that Fee seems to be alluding to. It's pretty hard to tell, considering the helmet's visor makes his upper face pretty much impossible to make out. Mimi shrugs, instead.

"Eh, I'll just ask Brines when she gets back what happened with Moravik," says the guard as the trio make their way onto the ship's deck itself. The other three in conversation on deck look up, offer quick but sloppy salutes to Gemma, and continue their conversation.

Gemma offers a polite nod in return but continues without stopping, walking decisively toward the door heading inside. Once they are all in and the door has been shut behind her, she feels safe enough to chance a whispered question. "Where should we go from here? Lower floors?"

Felicity grins, enjoying the thrill of being precisely somewhere she shouldn't be. Nothing quite gets the blood flowing like a naughty little venture. Now that they are passed the first obstacle, her confidence swells just a touch. "Anywhere we bloody want! We could look through their drawers, if we wanted...though I can't say I fancy thumbing through dog-eared pin-ups encrusted with god knows what. I say we go straight to the hold to get a look at their cargo."

Mimi Valroon lets out a breath once they're behind closed doors. "Yeah," she says quietly. "If they have what you're fearing they have, they're going to be in the bottom hold. Farthest from any way outside. But keep on guard, there may still be some left down here."

Pan wipe and the trio are in front of a door near the bottom of the ship with the word 'Treasure' proudly emblazoned on it and a padlock or three holding it shut. "Seriously? They were ''all'' up there on the deck?!" Mimi asks through gritted teeth. "They didn't even notice when you tripped over that cart with the commemorative dishes."

Gemma's cheek darken anew at the comment. "It wasn't my fault, who thought it would be a good idea to put it in the middle of the place right around the corner anyway?" She huffs and then brings her attention to the door ahead. "Huh, it must be the same person who wrote this note if you ask me. This is akin to having a flashing sign telling thieves to come in and treat themselves."

Felicity giggles at Gemma's expense. To Mimi she says, "See her parry? Deflection won't save you, Gemma dear. We know you're a bull in a China shop." She's always been the clumsy one in their little group and that apparently hasn't changed after all of these years. "Oh honestly, they couldn't be so stupid, could they?" Felicity pokes at the sign, as if doing so might compel it go divulge its secrets. "What do you suppose is -really- behind this door? Gold? Stolen artifacts? Contraband of some sort? Oh perhaps our stolen maidens are there." BAM-BAM Felicity raps on the door with a fist, "Oh hello! I say, any nubile young women taken against their within these walls say - AY! Mmm?" She presses an ear to the door and then dissolves into a laugh. She obviously thinks this is one great big joke. "Oh go on, Gem. Do something about those locks. Let's have a look at what they're hoarding back there."

There is no response to the knocking or the calling from behind the door. If there are indeed stolen maidens, they are unconscious or otherwise rendered unable to speak. Of course, they'd also hear Fee as one of the crew members, anyway, assuming Gemma's spellwork is still up. Mimi had nearly put her own ear to the door before Fee did the knocking, but thankfully not quite. Instead, she's just listening alongside her fellow blonde. "Locks look normal to me. A good old bobby-pin should be just fine if you ask me."

"In this case Mimi, dear, why don't you do the honors? Trying to keep up an illusion isn't small work and I don't want to overdo it should we need it later," Gemma says before turning to Fee. "I thought this was going to be a team effort, or am I expected to do all the work in our future endeavours?"

Felicity arches a brow and, while still eyeing Mimi with something like admiration, says, "No, I simply didn't know that our righteous, innocent little Mimi was in possession of such guile." She moves aside, motioning to the various and very stubborn looking locks. "Have at it." In spite of her cavalier attitude, she is clearly keenly interested. She'd very much like to see Mimi manage this.

Mimi has produced a small knife out of a pocket somewhere and a bobby pin out of her hair before Gemma has even said the word 'honors.' It's not a normal looking bobby pin, if anyone looks closely at it: It's been flattened somewhat to more easily fit into a lock. "Hold the padlock steady for me, could you?" Because she needs both hands to try to do the actual lockpicking. Oh, Fee. Never doubt the Golden Sparrow's ability to deal with any mechanical problems the group may come across. Tumbler locks are most definitely mechanical.

Gemma obliges and holds the lock in place while looking back. With Fee's and Mimi's attention on the lock, someone needs to look out for signs of trouble as where they are now is as good as a death trap with no other exit than the way they came. Should the actual captain make his way back onto the ship, the lookouts will no doubt realize that they were fooled and come looking for the culprits. Oh well, if it should come to this then Gemma's invisibility trick might be what the occasion calls for.

Felicity offers her services a lock holder, enabling Mimi to work disrupted. Hopefully Mimi can work quickly or else the complaints will begin.

Mimi Valroon is trying, but the lock is awkwardly positioned. She crouches down, then says, "No, try to turn it, like... Oh, for crying out loud, don't you ''both'' clamber over it!" There's no click yet. It takes another bit of work on Mimi's part before that first lock clicks open. "...One down, two to go..." Of course, the second lock pops open almost immediately in her fingers. "...Seriously, skeleton keys still?" She finally gets to work on that last lock... But now there's some loud talking heard abovedeck.

Gemma's head snaps toward the ceiling and her heart starts pumping faster. "Hurry, Mimi. Just get us in, I'll take care of the rest but it'll be easier if we aren't found standing around here."

Felicity keeps her composure, but her eyes also turn towards the sounds overhead. That unsettling feeling that they may have just been found out is quick to pounce, but she is prepared to dive straight away into a backup plan. She holds the lock steady and looks towards Gemma. She says nothing but the pressure for Gemma to make good on her magical gifts is most certainly going to be felt.

It takes just a little longer than the first lock did, but there is that audible click when the lock opens. "Open," she says simply. "Shall we jump on in? Can you illusion up the locks being back in place?" Because yeah, there's the sound of someone walking down the steps. Luckily they had to double back to get here, but... Mimi decides to just go ahead and open the door. "Was afraid it'd creak loudly," she mumbles before darting into the room. Inside are, well, treasure chests. The classical pirate looking ones, four of them. They do look large enough to possibly hold a person each, however... perhaps two if they're bundled up tightly.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking of," Gemma says and as soon as the door is open, she picks up the lock, gets in and closes the door behind them, concentrating hard on the illusion she's trying to conjure. The steps are coming closer and she holds her breath as they stop on the other side. The newly arrived will see the door just as it should be, locked with everything in place.

Phew! Just in the nick of time! As the sounds moved closer, Felicity's own heart was starting to pound. Through gritted teeth she'd started to urge Mimi to work faster with a quiet but increasingly urgent, "Come on, come on!" Now safely out of the hall, she can take in the grandeur of the riches within. "Dear god!" She says in a frantic whisper, her face splitting into a devilish grin. "Oho, I think I shall like being a pirate very much." Felicity strides over and immediately begins to put her her hands all over everything in the damned chests. Moment's later she's sporting a beautiful emerald ring. "Darling, can you believe the Granmama left her fortune to Penelope and all I got was this trifle? Tsk."

Sure, ''one'' of the chests has gold and jewels. The one Mimi opens, however, is filled with Star Wars action figures. Mint in box. With bubble wrap. "What the heck?" Sure enough, none of the chests have people in them. One of the chests is empty but has the phrase 'Friendship and Memories' written on the bottom of it with quite flowery lettering. Yeah. This ship's crew is a little weird.

Sounds are heard outside, including the voice of the guy that had come over to talk to the trio. Clear as day, he's saying, "Well, they're clearly not ''there''!" and then he and the two other voices are moving on.

When the coast sounds clear again, Mimi asks, "Uh... so now what?"

"Well, clearly there are no maiden in distress here. Say, Fee, this was your idea in the first place. What do you wish to do now? I'm of the opinion we should make our getaway now. We've proved that we can, and there's no one in need of saving. Doing anything more than leaving might bring us a lot more trouble than is worth now," Gemma says though she does look around at the strange clutter around.

Felicity shushes Gemma, putting a finger to her lips. She wants to be sure the coast is truly clear before she starts to celebrate. For the moment, the silence on the other side of that door seems a pretty clear indication they have, indeed, moved on. Still fingering the treasure in the one half way dependable chest Felicity considers the question, chewing on her bottom lip as she does. "I suppose. There doesn't seem to be anything worth noting here. Hm. " It doesn't stop her from pocketing a little bit of that treasure. What's a ring and a handful of gems? "Oh very well. Lead on then." If one didn't know any better, they might think that Felicity is actually disappointed at the prospect of such an uneventful adventure. They'd be right.

Mimi Valroon steps over to the door and opens it slightly to look. "So are you going to magic up a new way for us to sneak through?" she whispers upon seeing the coast being clear. "Or are we going to have to do this the old fashioned way?" Nope. Hand isn't getting close to her pistol right now. Time now is for silence. Not the hand-me-downs she got from ''her'' 'Granmama'.

"Indeed I will," Gemma answers without hesitation. "This little trick was a good laugh while it lasted but I think leaving unnoticed is the better option now." Turning to look at Felicity, she grins like the cat who caught the canary. "They'll never know what happened. My guess is the captain will assume they were drinking on duty. Come now, stay close to me and make as little noise as possible, it's easier when I don't have as much to conceal."

Felicity follows Gemma's lead, leaning in close to get a sneak peek out of the doorway too. For now, it seems like they are still in the clear. Her eyes flick back to the chests one last time and she can't help but muse, "What an eccentric crew. I wonder what on earth they are planning to do with all of those things. It makes no sense."

Mimi Valroon creeps forward, whispering one last, "I'd like to be a fly on the wall when they discuss what happened today," before she clamps up for the time being. Mimi is... surprisingly good at moving completely silently when she wants to. The crew is looking around for intruders, and in doing so... they aren't completely blocking the doorways. They're on the move as they look... sure, someone's keeping an eye on the exits, but what good does that do when the intruders are invisible?

The way back to the deck is mostly uneventful except the one guy that nearly bumps into them. Gemma might not usually be known for her grace, but she gives this sneaking task her all and her quick thinking allows her to strongly suggest to him that he turn the other way and inspect the room nearby. Before long, they are off the ship and she keeps their cover up a little while longer until they are out of sight, for a trio of girls appearing out of thin air would surely raise suspicions. Finally, she stops and turns to the others. "We've made it safe and sound, ladies."

Well now what would be fun in leaving without having any little fun with invisibility? Gemma may be content to have it this way, but not Felicity. As the trio takes every care not to draw attention to their movements, one member of this trio chooses to defect. Now, she isn't fool enough to really start any sort of real trouble, but mischief...oh there's always time for that. So then, as they disembark, Felicity spies a pair of guards looking about as unenchanted as one might imagine being stuck on guard duty might make them feel. As she passes, she gives one of the guards a quick slap on the the rear then hurries to safety with the other girls. Naturally this has the guard turning sharply to see who has the -cheek- to do something like that (hehe) but he's met with only his fellow guard's man. Chaos ensues, much to Felicity's delight.

Mimi Valroon leans against the convenient cover they reappeared behind. "Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, Fee? Honestly, I think that crew didn't deserve what we did to them. Actually, they're a little... pathetic, in a way. I feel sorry for them. But they look like they're having fun?" She looks back to the two guardsmen who have begun... making out? Mimi blinks at that a few times in surprise, then looks back to Fee for a second before shrugging. "...Eh. They'll be okay. I think." She glances back at the ship again and adds, "Maybe." She looks back to Halberd now before she says, "Well, uh, you two ready to go, or do you have more mischief in mind?"

"Oh my god," Gemma manages to gasp in between giggles at the whole scene playing out nearby. "Well, it looks like you made them a favor, Fee, you naughty girl. Honestly, this whole endeavor was worth it just for this. I will cherish this moment until the day I die," she says then laughs some more before wiping a tear of the corner of her eye. Taking a deep calming breath, she adds, "Yes, I think it is time to go back."

Felicity laughs, though it comes out nearly a scoff. She can scarcely believe it. That certainly didn't go as planned but now that it has, she can't help but gawk, taken by an uncontrollable case of the giggles. "Dear God! They've really gone for it, haven't they? Hah! From pirate to match maker, well. At least someone found treasure." She turns to Mimi, a wicked little smile on her full lips, "Are they giving you ideas, Mimi? Would you fancy more....mischief?" She sidles up to the girl, licking her lips with a predatory sort of hunger.

Mimi Valroon nods once to Gemma in agreement with the vote to go back, then looks back to Fee. And blinks in confusion. "Uhhhh... I'm more for heading back home for now, honestly," she says carefully since she's not sure what the heck Fee is going on about this time. ''Them'' giving her ideas for mischief? It's Fee that's the mischief maker, not those two... And why is Mimi blushing now? She lets out an exasperated sigh, then turns towards Halberd. "Let's... let's go. I'd rather not go so long out here as to test the sleeping arrangements on Halberd." Because it will be cramped. Mimi was unable to find a way around that.

In turn, Gemma sidles up to Fee and links her arm with hers. "Oh, it's all right, Fee," she whispers conspiratorially. "We can always find some mischief in town if you like while Mimi is taking her rest, or petting her metal lover."

Felicity laughs full on now, utterly unrestrained. Yes, Gemma's right. It was worth it. Admiring her pretty new, shew nods her assent, "Yes, veery well. I am nearly satisfied as it is. Off we go, then." So to the flying machine it is. Still, she muses "What an unusual afternoon. That ship! Aren't you curious about them? I see no point in their cargo, save for a few odd trinkets."

Mimi Valroon glances at Gemma with a sour look at first, but then smirks and says, "I'll be petting Halberd, yes." She looks to Fee and shrugs. "I think they're just raw adventurers. In it more for the adventure than the treasure." She pauses, then amends, "The physical treasure." Yeah, she remembers that one chest with just 'Friendship and Memories' written in it. Drawn, really. "Honestly, I kinda think I get them. They're a bit cheesy for my liking, but I get them."

"I suppose they do look like a lively bunch? I prefer our arrangements however." Gemma says, though the unspoken is that she would not want to travel with such a big crew. But this little adventure has given Gemma a taste for it and to really put in practice what she and Felicity have schemed about under the influence of alcohol. "Fee, I think it's time we try to find our way into the Realms again soon."

Though she doesn't say it, the thought does cross Felicity's mind that they too may have little to show for their first pirating caper. After all, the only thing they've come away with now is a bit of jewelry and some quality entertainment. Ah, but when Gemma says the magic words, all thoughts of anything else simply vanish. Felicity's smile threatens to split her face in half, it's gone so wide. "Ohhh yes! Gemma darling, NOW you're talking!" She pounces her friend, bestowing a big kiss on her cheek, then throwing an arm around her shoulders. "I can't wait to see it again. Oh Mimi, you will love it. Just you wait! Anything you could possibly dream is there for the taking. All you have to do is want it and its yours." NOW Felicity is fully satisfied after all.

|}}

2020-05-03 - Into the Realms

2020-06-07T00:05:35Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Into the Realms |Summary = Finally, Gemma and Felicity open a gateway into the Realms. And of course their newer, less magical friend comes along wit..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Into the Realms
|Summary = Finally, Gemma and Felicity open a gateway into the Realms. And of course their newer, less magical friend comes along with.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = May 3rd, 2020
|Where = The Realms (Off Grid)
|Log=

The Realms are alive! No ruins wait for the girls here. No, what awaits is a garden but not one like Mimi would have seen before. It's grown wild and lush and full of colors. Iridescent light shimmers on broad, leaves that hang from large trees. Tall grasses brush against their knees and a smattering of flowers lay at their feet. Toadstools and vines can be seen and the sound of water moving in the distance fills their ears. Ahhh and the birds or...something like birds fly around in a beautiful twilight sky, the pink, orange, and purple hues blending with the last vestiges of blue. This doesn't look real. In fact, it could very easily pass for a surrealist painting, with the high saturation of color and whimsical shapes the plants take. One look at this paradise and Felicity lets out a sharp cry of joy and tears off running through the grass like a maniac. "It's here! It's all here!"

Mimi Valroon shrugs again. "If you say so." She doesn't sound like she doesn't trust Gemma... no, she sounds like she's just going along with it. It's what Mimi expect will be her response to a LOT inside the Realms. Her heart, too, races as she witnesses the clear magic going on... all this is new. Magic was all tricks and exploits of physics in her world. Unless you count varytitite. She's still not sure what to make of it only seeming to exist in her own Earth. She looks to Felicity, about to say something when her hand is grabbed and she's pulled through! She looks around in wonder at all that's around her and stumbles backward just a half step. No, not enough to fall back through the portal again, but she does tighten her grip on Felicity's hand just a bit all the same. She's seen a lot of lush rainforests in her travels... they were all nothing in comparison to this.

Felicity twirls around like a silly schoolgirl, arms out-stretched and head turned towards the vibrant sky. "It's marvelous! Oh, it's sublime!" She laughs and laughs taking in its glorious splendor. This is exactly what she's needed. She turns to Mimi, "Mimi! Watch." Felicity reaches down to pick up a flower, blows one it and the petals scatter to the wind soon turning into colorful spectral butterflies, then eagles, and then galloping horses that whoosh by before dissolving into golden pixie dust. "Try it!" She commands, flashing a grin.

Mimi Valroon makes a quick secondary but unsuccessful grab for Fee's hand again when she goes off spinning looking at the sky, but the aviatrix manages to recover her composure fairly quickly. No one saw that, right? >.> <.< She takes a breath to calm her nerves and carefully reaches down to pick up one of the flowers... Except instead of just blowing, she takes a deep breath in first. Oops. She nearly inhales a petal before coughing it right out again with all it's freaky psychedelic effects! "...Uhhh... That won't have a poor effect, will I?" She's not going to forget that time her hand brushed that frog in the Amazon. If Svetlana hadn't been watching over her, who knows what Mimi would have done on that 'trip'?

Gemma giggles like a schoolgirl, nearly high on the magic and the elation of being in the Realms again, with her friends. "Oh, Mimi, really," she says after a few, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "You'll be perfectly fine, aside from your ego. You should know that you can do anything you like here. Should you wish for a prince, or a sword like Felicity, or be weighted down with golden jewelry, it'll be so for everyone to see, at least while we're in here. Why don't you have a bit of fun with it? What is it that you want?"

"Yes, " comes Felicity's voice as she makes her triumphant return. "You really oughtn't overthink it! You must let your desires run free!" She motions grandly and, it should be noted, that the Felicity who returns is not exactly the one that left one. She has returned in shimmering armor, a winged helmet on her head and a cape billowing behind her. She's found her niche once more as a valkyrie warrior. "Oh Gemma! We simply MUST show her EVERYTHING!"

Mimi Valroon breathes out a sigh of relief. "Anything I like at all?" Her whole she's been working towards the things she wanted more than anything else. And she'd made it! She's an expert pilot already, she knows how to protect herself, and how to repair and upgrade her mechanics... The thought of just... wishing and gaining some sort of magical power at all is a foreign idea to her, and she's frowning as she attempts to think of whatever it would be. Jewelry? Bah. A sword? Far from her style... And what's the point of some magically constructed prince? "I don't know," she admits. "Seeing what comes up is kind of the point of adventure to me..." She of course also does a double take as Fee's outfit has completely changed. "Look, it's easier said than done, Felicity..." Alas, Mimi isn't the most creative person when it doesn't come to customizing Halberd.

Gemma sighs. "What are we going to do with you, Mimi? If you can't even have a little bit of fun with it!" She grows a little more serious but there is a soft smile on her lips and a faraway look in her eyes. "I know someone like that once, who said that everything they wanted was right in front of them. At least we can still go on an adventure, there is much to see here, right Fee?" She says, paying no mind to her extravagance.

Felicity says, "Not here it isn't," Felicity says in reply to Mimi. "It's imagination you lack, that's all." She says with a sniff. She can't even begin to comprehend how Mimi lives so contentedly with things as they are but she isn't about to start in on her now. There are far too many things to do now. There is too much to see! To Gemma, however, she replies by raising her sword, "AS my lady commands, thus it shall be!" But where to begin? The world is theirs to conquer again but...there is always the possibility they could run into some of the more irritating inhabitants - centaurs or shape shifters. "Lead on. Towards true north, milady, " she says still playing a part."

Mimi Valroon firmly plants her hands on her hips. "Well, seeing what there is to see ''is'' my desire, so it clearly is working!" No, she's not serious. Her temporarily overconfident expression falters just as fast, however, at Fee's criticism. "And so what if I lack in it? You two simply think differently than I do, having had experience here already. I'm sure if I were the age you two were when you first came in, I'd be a bit more 'imaginative', but forgive me for actually being successful in my young adult life!" She pauses at Fee's knightly behavior, waiting a moment after she's done to say, "Are you a viking or a knight?" to suggest she thinks Fee might be a bit mixed up in her archetypes.

"Ladies, let's not fight on this beautiful day or I shall have to leave you behind and visit on my own," Gemma chides as she knows full well that Felicity's moods can quickly turn sour. It may be that being back in the Realms is enough to keep her spirits high, or she can turn around and bite, one never really knows with her, but Gemma has no desire to find out. "We're here to have fun, aren't we? Also, I'd very much appreciate it if you didn't judge our origins and status. I promise you it is far from being only riches and parties, you have no idea what kind of pressure we've had on our back growing up, how much of a relief this place once was. It was the only place where we could be free, where we could be ourselves."

Gemma is right about the effects of the Realms on Felicity's mood. She seems impervious to any slings or arrows at the moment. She didn't really take Mimi's teasing as anything more than that. It certainly hasn't taken the gleam off her armor. "Yes. We were not afforded the same freedom to make of ourselves what we wished. Means or not, there were RULES governing our every action. Its only because of the Realms that we didn't go mad and hang ourselves form the school tower." She smirks and slings arm around Gemma's shoulders. "We turned out quite fine! Come!" She waves to Mimi. "We mustn't chatter endlessly when there is so much yet to DO!"

Mimi Valroon looks the pair with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I meant that... when someone's younger, your dreams run a bit more wild is all... and I can see when someone has access to a place where those dreams can become reality so quickly, well..." She clears her throat. "Um, anyway. Yes. Sorry. Let's go do! ...as you said. More or less."

"Let us go to the river then! I wish to see if Gorgon is there. And then, maybe she can take us on a tour. I hope you don't struggle with seasickness Mimi. No shame if you do, I've had my moments, especially when sailing from London to New York, ugh, that was dreadful. I felt it a bit the first time we sailed around the river as well, though never to the same extent," Gemma chit chats as she walks towards the river, her own arm around Felicity's waist.

Felicity scoffs, "Nonsense! Mimi is a world class aviatrix. What's a bit of water? Mmm?" And just like that, the pilot is back in Felicity's favor. In truth, she's never really been out of her favor...at least...not for a while now. When someone's moods are as mercurial as Felicity's, you just come to understand that your standing is in a state of constant flux and only she can decide where the needle points. "Do you really think she might be there? I thought she'd given up her bonds." Then again, Gorgon has always been a mysterious creature whose motivations are always a secret to all but her.

A little path opens up before the girls and as they stroll it seems as though the brush move aside for them. Here, Gemma is regaled as the priestess who brought about a great change. She restored the magic to its rightful place and in doing so, the world seems to hum in harmony with her life pulse. The air smells sweet, like honeysuckle but also spiced like cinnamon. The breeze that blows through is a soft caress and it beckons them further down the path. As they walk, the clustered branches and bushes spread out a bit more until it opens up to a clearing where a large body of aquamarine water cuts a swath through the land. They've arrived.

Mimi Valroon admits, "Water is worse than air, that's for certain. It's the more... pure randomness of it. But I've not once thrown up! ...other than that one time I'd had far too much to drink, but I can't really blame the water on that." She follows along looking at the arm around Felicity's waist as she walks behind the pair, then asks, "Gorgon? Like... Medusa?" She watches as the plants move aside for the two, half expecting and indeed ready for them to move back into place directly in front of her. No, she still thinks in a manner like she's in the normal world, not one where everything moves and changes to your whims.

"Medusa was a gorgon's name, yes, but that was in Greek mythology. In the Realms, there used to be many gorgons, but this one is the last of her kind and simply goes by Gorgon. She used to be tied to this ship that wandered around the Realms on the river. It is no longer the case, but she still steered it last I was here," Gemma says. As the vegetation parts and makes way for the landscape ahead, Gemma puts her hand above her eyes to spare them the glare of the sun, spying along the river and spotting not too far off the beautiful ship, its sail flowing in the wind and the wing-like gangway resting on the riverbank. Someone can be seen walking on the deck but it is too far to see who even though Gemma feels fairly certain it is indeed whom she hopes for. "Look, it's there!"

Felicity leaves the history lesson to her friend. She's not so interested in old stories, she wants to make new ones. Like Gemma, she's spied the ship there docked and waiting. It's even more impressive than she remembered. Grinning like a mad woman she says, "Last one to the ship is a ninny pants!" She breaks into a fearsome run, tearing down the slope of the hill towards the ship. They can participate or not but Felicity's need to exert herself must be satisfied with or without them. "AHOOOOY" She calls boldly to the figure onboard.

Mimi Valroon opens her mouth to wonder at why the sails are fully opened when the ship is docked... But then decides against. No, in a magical place like this, the owner likely decided the ship looked far more dramatic with its sail billowing, and thus... it works? Is that how this place works? Maybe Mimi is starting to understand this place... but she's really not sure. No, she'll just wait behind her friends. Wait. Last... "H-hey! I said not to-" And she's off chasing the just a few moments ago knightly speaking Felicity. What was it she said not to? Whatever it is, it's forgotten. Gemma had best hurry as well or she'll be the ninny-pants!

"Felicity!" Gemma half chides, half laughs, but she won't be left behind and tears off after her. Gemma can hold her own running, but it was hardly a contest at Spence where most girls could hardly stand the thought of doing anything other than be silent and pretty. Here though, she's hardly the most athletic of the three and she is still sore from the last fencing lesson Felicity gave her and so despite her best efforts, it turns out that she is the ninny pants indeed when she finally gets to the ship. Bending over to catch her breath for a minute, she finally unwraps but her pride isn't the worst for wear as she is too happy to confirm her suspicion that it is indeed Gorgon on the ship. "Gorgon, it's been too long," she says beaming but still a little winded.

The large figure, who is a color somewhere between green and grey, slowly turns its head in the direction of the commotion. Her expressionless face doesn't appear to register any recognition yet it obviously aware of the newcomers. Taller than a normal human, the statuesque Gorgon towers above Felicity by a good 4 or 5 feet. Like Medusa, her hair is a tangle of snakes all which move of their own accord with a hypnotic, fluid grace. Gorgon blinks her yellow eyes, taking in the trio and...remarkably...offers something like a smile. "Mossssst hiiiigh. You have returned." Her eyes slide to Mimi taking in the stranger with an impassive air. She does not know this woman but if she is in Gemma's company, she is not concerned.

Felicity, not one for subtlety, has to ask, "What are you doing still skulking about here. I thought you were free to go wherever you wanted." "I am," she replies in that same syrupy, low, tone as always.

Mimi Valroon realizes she might have erred arriving before Gemma... but in the end it's apparently not so bad. At least she didn't beat Fee here. Mimi eeps and slinks back slightly as Gorgon's gaze reaches her. Well, it looks like the... humongous, snake-haired woman doesn't seem to see her as a threat. And Mimi just now realized that she shouldn't have met her gaze if the old Greek tales were to be believed. Well, apparently that wasn't true. Or is an ability that Gorgon only uses when she feels threatened. Mimi, other than that non-verbal exclamation, remains silent until she's introduced, clearly somewhat intimidated by the huge woman, even if she's clearly on friendly terms with her friends.

"Gorgon, I'm so happy to see that you are well," Gemma says and climbs on the ship without further ado, throwing her arms around the big creature. "Mimi, come, there's nothing to fear. This is Gorgon, she is somewhat of a guide around here. Gorgon, this is my friend Mimi. We met in another world, she pilots an airplane. It is like a ship but in the air, with wings and all made of metal. I can't say I was incredibly fond of flying at first, but I got used to it. She helped us find a door the door back to the Realms in that other world."

Felicity offers her arm to Mimi in a "gentlemanly" fashion, then proceeds to board the ship as well. Once there she takes to helm, surveying the waters ahead and looking for signs of life...or anything interesting at all. She leaves the girls to their catchup, her mind already on her next conquest...though she's not out of earshot.

Gorgon's eyes linger on Mimi a few beats longer than would be comforting, her gaze searching the young woman. When she does, all the snakes seem to follow suit, bobbing around her face and poking out their tongues as they hiss with curiosity. "I would not think a ship capable...to take to the skiessss.... but there are many strange worlds beyond thesssseee." She nods towards Mimi which is the closest to a cordial greeting anyone has ever gotten from her. A pause. "I am pleased to see you well, mosssst high. Will you sssstay long?"

Mimi Valroon takes the offered arm from Fee and walks up. She stands there as Gemma introduces her, but then the subject turns to airplanes and... Like a ship but in the sky? "Well, there ''are'' proper skyships where I'm from, as well, but an airplane is something different... An airplane truly soars on its wings, while a skyship just... floats there from the varytitite, pushed along by wind or engines." But she then goes a bit more quiet again as she's not longer being addressed. Again. But she's okay with that. She's the stranger here.

"I don't expect I'm here for an extended stay no, but I do intend to visit more often now. The purpose of my travels was to find Felicity and now that I have I'd like to enjoy myself a little, and I've missed the Realms too. It just feels like home, despite the terrible things that happened. Has much happened since I last saw you? I have been here every now and then but most of the time I left again almost right away so I wasn't able to come see you."

|}}

2020-05-02 - A New Experience

2020-06-06T23:11:49Z

Rayne: apparently capitalization matters.

{{Logsummary|
Title = A New Experience
|Summary = Vergil explains and uses his bonding ability on SilverSight
|Who = [[Vergil Madox]], [[SilverSight]],
|Date = May 2nd, 2020.
|Where = Mabase library.
|Log=

Vergil Madox has come back to the library once more. feeling a bit tired, which is unusual for his species. which is why the ochaziss is actually crawling in his orange blob form under the door instead of as a human going through. he starts undulating towards another shelf, a good book or 7 is what he needs to relax he thinks.

SilverSight seems to be working with the main reception computer today. Possibly entering in various book information and the like. Though he's not using the keyboard or mouse it seems. His horn is glowing and his eyes are looking all about the screen.. and sometimes something only maybe even he can see?

Vergil Madox gathers a few tomes on his "back" before depositing them on a table. "good evening silver." vergil ripples. "how are you this evening, I hope you don't mind but I let myself in." he states, a small pseudopod lifting a cover on a book entitled "Almanac of Ferocious Beasts of Pandora by Sir Hammerlocke" just one of many in the stack he plans on going through tonight.

SilverSight blinks a few times and looks over the counter to the orange gloopie holding books, "Oh, hello again Vergil. It's quite alright. The library is open to everyone at just about any time. I haven't posted official hours yet after all, Find some good things to read?"

Vergil Madox nods a pseudopod. "indeed. I have and your collection has as of right now been quite a good read as of so far having gone through ten of your books already." he says "I'm doing 7 over the next hour because I'm a bit tired." he says "which is unusual." he says "though it's likely because I have not bonded or eaten in a long while. probably a month." he muses

SilverSight ooohs and nods, "Well that's.. actually pretty impressive even compared to my own records." He tilts his head curiously at the last bit, "Well what do you normally eat then? Anything a regular human or pony may eat or do you have a special diet?"

Vergil Madox ripples "I can eat just about anything but I don't like to, adds to my mass and makes being smaller creatures much more difficult and getting rid of that mass is a painful procedure so... rather not but I will if this keeps up, I prefer my bonding. much more efficient but I shouldnt expect anyone to take me up on that for qutie a while." the blob says seeming to cover the book as a page turns every other second.

SilverSight watches the book pages flick so rapidly. Even he doesn't read that fast! Clearly the orange one should have the book cutie mark, "Hmm. Well many people seem to have some issue with ending up fat, yet hate exercising to work it off. I was actually relatively malnourished before I ended up in Neo Tokyo." He rubs a hoof under his chin, "What's this.. bonding procedure like?"

Vergil Madox ripples once more "there is no way for me to get rid of mass without literally destroying it which means... essentially the equivalent of you taking a slice out of you. it's not fun in the slightest." he states. he is flipping through them quite quickly but his absolutely perfect memory means he only has to skim the pages essentially to remember the entire book by heart. he can recite Shakespeare if that means anything. "this is the part I kept secret. I am a symbiote. that means I work with other organisms for a common benefit. I can give them some of my powers, the shape-changing, my memories, an improvement to theirs, for the price of some of their metabolism, in the end you feel tired for a night, wake up refreshed, I get another solid month of alertness."

SilverSight could probably shoot a nice beam of disintegration magic at a big that the blob has broken off for the purpose of reducing mass, but he has a feeling the guy wouldn't go for it. He listens carefully to the bonding process and hmms, "Curious. Can't say I've ever met a symbiote like that before. Do you connect to the other person's nervous system somehow?"

Vergil Madox would still feel it, he can break himself into many pieces and feel every bit so unless disintegration magic is painless. likely not. "I do, I absorb through the skin and have some things of my own and also bond to your body. Are you simply curious or weighing the options of offering?"

SilverSight does have doubts that it would be painless, sadly. At least everyone he's shot at seemed to be quite unhappy as they turned into a pile of glowing pink dust. A small shrug is given, "Well you say it'd just be.. what a day's worth of activity and a nice nap and you're good for a whole month. Not sure what I'd do with such abilities though."

Vergil Madox states. "well its about 5 now, if you go till about 11 with me I'll be set." he says coming down off the table undulating toward the desk. "anything you'd like I can modify your form, help you remember important things. even use your mind as your own personal movie theatre." he says "if you trust me that is. I can't hide inside you so I'll have to put my mass somewhere." he mentions.

SilverSight chuckles softly to that, "I don't think I need much in the way of modificiations and I honestly doubt that you would enjoy the movies that would play in MY head, assuming you get to watch them too. Where would your mass be going?"

Vergil Madox comes and climbs up the desk "anywhere you would like or I can choose a location or two." he says "all modifications are temporary, once I leave you will be back to how you were before I interacted with no ill effects other than maybe a bit of fatigue that will go away over time."

SilverSight reaches a hoof to gently pokepoke at the orange critter, "Well I guess I don't have any particular location in mind. I guess you could chill out on my back or something?"

Vergil Madox says "I'd have to become a part of you, which means adding over a hundred and fifty pounds to your back would both look and feel awkward I think. though if you trust me enough I have a few theories we can try. you must allow me in however, if you try to push me out you will succeed."

SilverSight chuckles softly, "I may not look it, but I do promise that we ponies are stronger than we look. Since you have more knowledge of the concept, I'm quite willing to listen to your ideas and theories."

Vergil Madox states. "if you want a more even layer I can add muscle or fat all over or grow you overall. if you dont mind more centralized weight I can grow out body parts like your hooves or belly." he states. "though any combination of them is possible as long as all my mass is accounted for."

SilverSight hmms and nods, "Alright.. that's fair I suppose. It would help carry such a weight if your mass was used to make me even stronger to handle it to begin with. An overall increase, with extra attention to the legs would probably be best so I don't end up unbalanced." A soft chuckle is given, "I might even end up looking like Big Macintosh."

Vergil Madox states "if you're ready then put your hoof on me and I'll absorb into you." he says

SilverSight stands up from the chair he's in and lifts a hoof on the table to poke into the jell-o mass once again.

The orange mass begins to disappear as it is absorbed into the pony's hoof and begins spreading a warmth and tightness entering the pony's body as the muscles begin to tense and grow, the soft shape of Silversight slowly becoming toned as each muscle group grows slightly larger bit by bit as more of vergil comes in.

SilverSight would probably wiggle fingers at the tingly sensation if he had any. ... maybe he can see what the big deal is with fingers now? He shifts on his hooves as he feels his body changing and getting a little bigger and stronger.

Vergil Madox continues pouring in as all 160 pounds of his body absorb into the pony. all 160 pounds of that being made into pure muscle turning the fairly average pony into a bodybuilder version of himself, thick neck, ripped haunches and forelegs, and deep chest. he was a beastly looking pony. "how is that?" Vergil asks, his voice seeming to come from every direction, echoing like a cave when in reality it was all in silver's head, Vergil was unable to be heard outside.

SilverSight meeps and wiggles ears at the sensation of the.. not even surround sound. Inner voice? He starts moving around curiously, seeing how the muscles flex as he moves and the deeep thumpthump on the floor with each hoofbeat, "Well now.. that sure as hell feels different."

silver has full control each of his muscles rippling, even this famed macintosh might have to stand aside for the new powerhouse. it is more like an inner voice really . "different good I hope." Vergil states. "I can of course readjust as needed, less in one area, more in another, or something different."

SilverSight shrugs giant shoulders, "Oh it's fine.. just taking some getting used to. Do you have any control of my body like this? Or do you just.. kinda hitch a ride?

Vergil Madox states "I only have control if you want me to, your body understands your desires. but if you don't want me to you have full control and yes, I'm merely a passenger." he says. "though I am able to change where my and your mass goes. if you wanted to get even more muscular I can shrink your overall size to add to your impressive build"

SilverSight goes for a walk around the library to get a feel for the size and shape, "You needn't worry about that. I was never terribly interested in trying to get any bigger than I already was, so this is plenty."

Silver would feel the power of his new form, athletic and strong, much like a stalion should and then some. his unnatural bulk showing quite well. he is a bit wider too. "simply mentioning the nearly infinite biological possibilities."

SilverSight finds a place to lay himself down and streeetch out to relax, "Mmrph.. I guess I make my own pillow now. You said you shared memories? Anything interesting to watch?"

Vergil Madox states. "It depends on what you find interesting." he admits. "are you enjoying your new bulk?"

SilverSight hmmms, "well I myself am a fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres for the most part. The humanoids come up with some pretty interesting stuff that never occured to ponies of my timeline. And the muscles are fine. I feel a bit heavy, but that's to be expected and I can manage the extra weight."

Vergil Madox begins shifting. "I'm going to try somthing." he states as the pony's giant muscles fade, but his lower legs and hooves are growing by significant margins in return, the pony now back to normal but with giant hooves nearly as big as his own body. "well its not exactly a movie per-say, it plays memories like a movie. and allows you to be in a dream like coma with me using your mind and imagination as the basis. I do not suggest that for first time bonders however."

SilverSight... suddenly has giant hooves! Well that also feels quite strange. And yet he's somehow able to walk around with them.. modrately okay, "Huh.. Well if it helsp any, I'm well-practiced in the art of lucid dreaming and memory spells."

Vergil Madox seems impressed. "all that is, is basiccaly an induced lucid dream state. interesting, we may have to dig a bit deeper." he says. "another time perhaps. as you can see modification of your form is easy." he states.

SilverSight nodnods to that, "Very much so. I'm quite impressed that it doesn't cause any pain or physical damage. Do you create the additional tissues and bone structures to use?"

Vergil Madox confirms "yes, I do create new structures as long as they are organic." he state, or modifications of ones that already exist depending on what the change in question is." he states "I'm decent at my job here. and therefore I do not cause discompfort."

SilverSight hmms and nods, "Well that is quite nice, yes. I imagine that I'd be more entertaining for you if my imagination was all that great. It's part of why I enjoy reading so many books. New ideas and thoughts to be had."

Vergil Madox smiles internally. "well if you don't mind I'll keep you like this for the night and recharge, I very much thank you for the oportunity and your trust." he states. "You do not know how thankfull I am. should you need my service you know what I can do if need be." he says.

SilverSight chuckles softly, "I'm glad to be of assistance. I would like for my friends to be well-fed and healthy. As has been stated, at least I take no lasting damage for allowing you to temporarily share my body."

|}}

2019-12-11 - Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing

2020-02-28T02:04:49Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing |Summary = Arriving at the destination they were travelling to in 2019-11-14 - Let's Be Pirates!, the trio go..."

2019-11-14 - Let's Be Pirates!

2020-02-28T01:41:45Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Let's Be Pirates! |Summary = Mimi flies Gemma and Felicity out to a place she'd heard about from other explorers. While travelling, Gemma and Felicit..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Let's Be Pirates!
|Summary = Mimi flies Gemma and Felicity out to a place she'd heard about from other explorers. While travelling, Gemma and Felicity try to convince Mimi to do something she... would rather not do.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = November 14th, 2019
|Where = The Void Beyond Mabase
|Log=

At long last, a mission. For a few weeks now these ladies have been at it hard with the training and preparations but now they are really heading out there to do more than practice. Today marks one of the first real explorations they are to do of the airspace above the tangle of Twisted City- aka Mabase. All of the skills they have been working to hone are finally being put to practical use. There is a kind of excitement charging the air, but also a solemnity that goes hand in hand with committing to any job. This is no game. This is real.

Felicity, fastened to her hanging seat surveys her chunk of kingdom with the cool, confidence of a woman who has the benefit of extensive experience in all things adventurous, yet she is not foolish or careless. She's simply ready to go. On the other hand, somethings well never change. Headset in place, she speaks to her crewmates, "Today is the day I shall finally shoot something." This pronouncement has nothing to prompt it whatsoever. "I feel it."

Pre-flights are done, and engines are warming up the old varytitite. This wondrous mineral that lets Mimi's plane just float up off the ground without a runway... and apparently she's not wised up to the fact that no one else has heard of it, because she's not once offered an explanation unless directly asked. She's about to say something, but Fee says something first, the subject of which brings a wince to her. "...I should hope not... We're only going out to that outpost today, the one I've heard has the really good food?" She sounds ''slightly'' unsure of herself. The other explorers she talked to declined to actually /describe/ said food, instead saying just 'you'll have to see what's there for yourself'. "Enough people make that trek that it ''should'' be free of any trouble..."

"You will kill Felicity's spirits with such talks if you keep it up, Mimi," Gemma says absent-mindedly as she checks the radar. Though there is nothing noteworthy at the moment, she's been deemed navigator by default and she intends to take that job seriously if it means that they should live another day without crashing into something unseen to the eyes into that void. Her hand goes to her hair and her fingers run through it instinctively and with an ounce of nervousness, and she is surprised to be reminded of how much shorter her red locks are now. Even though it's been a few weeks now, she still hasn't grown fully accustomed to her new look and the shoulder length. But even though it still feels strange, it isn't a bad thing for she can definitely say she doesn't dislike it in the least. It's just different. "Do you know how long it will take us to get there?" She asks, addressing Mimi again and this time looking at her.

"If trouble were always expected, we shouldn't often have it, "is all that Felicity can say in retort to Mimi's very fair and logical commentary. Bah! The truth is that she will look for any excuse to pull that trigger. It will take just one drop of opposition for her to let loose the hounds of war. Let's face it, the only thing more frustrating than not having any power, is having it but being unable to exercise it. Still, she isn't foolish enough to start trouble. She has this much sense, at least. She is content to have this option all the same. And now Gemma's gone and asked the question she had in mind. Yes, just how far -is- it?

Mimi Valroon rolls her eyes, even if it's unseen. "It's not like I told you to just sit in the drop-seat or anything," she says. Halberd, meanwhile, is lifting off under her care already and heading off towards the general mall area. She's long since stopped announcing what she does to the two: that's something she does for people that aren't used to flying. "I was told it was four hours out, but then again, that was talking with pilots of ''those'' things." She says that with a vague motion of her head towards one of the nearby dirigibles moored to the top of the lone remaining tower of Plowse Bridge.

"Those things? Is that what you call it?" Gemma asks, snickering and throwing a naughty look at Felicity. She brings her eyes back to the radar then looks outside to appreciate the view as it won't last much longer. "Four hours is a long time to keep your eyes glued to a radar? How you even expect to see anything worth shooting at in the void is beyond me."

"Airships," Felicity says. "Skeeve and I traveled on loads of those. They are unbearably slow, but the view is quite nice." Never is there an opportunity where Felicity Worthington will squander an opportunity to boast just a little bit. It's clear she means to impress her friend with her experience, though she did catch the naughty little smile on Gemma's face and returned one in kind. "As for the void, I expect Mimi requires your diligence on that front for the whole of these 4 hours. So sorry to inconvenience you, Gemma dear, but none of wish to die....Suck it up."

Mimi Valroon laughs, then grins sheepishly. "They're slow, dumpy, giant targets, and have horrible carry weight. Really, why does anyone at all ''use'' dirigibles?" She looks back at Fee and shrugs before she frowns. "Well, I understand the way they did it in the War with one of these is the radar operator would give a heading and the gunner would fire in the direction while the pilot aims in." There's also a spotlight on that turret, as well. "And any landmass should be big and obvious pretty quickly."

Gemma brings her hand to her heart with a dramatic flair worthy of theater. The shocked and mildly offended look she throws Felicity only adds to the effect. "You doubt me? Though I risk dying of boredom, I shall not fail from upholding my task and will power through the misery. Be glad I am willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good, for I should not be so hopeful if you were the one in my place." She offers Felicity an air kiss and then grins mischievously before turning her attention back to the radar. The incoming void chases away her prior foolishness and she grows more serious, focused.

Felicity cocks her head to the side, draws a finger gun and opens fire on Gemma in this manner, a crooked grin on her face. "For your insubordination." Ah, how jolly they all are. This little day trip is precisely what they all needed - a damned purpose. "You want me to shoot at landmasses? Hmm." Beggars can't be chooser, but she had rather hoped for some air-pirates. This is when she remembers that she and Gemma have already pronounced themselves pirates already. "Mimi, have you given any thought to your pirate name? If you are to be one of us you cannot go by such an innocuous name as '''MIMI'''. It must be something truly terrifying and worthy of your new station."

Mimi Valroon laughs again. "Oh, you think this is boredom? I flew over the ''Pacific'', I will remind you, and I didn't even have conversation! This is just a little outing." There's another eyeroll, however, and Mimi says, "For the last time... we are not pirates! We ''shoot'' pirates!" This line of conversation has just gotten exhausting for Mimi... These two keep acting like pirates are some romantic adventurous thing... rather than the murderous criminals that had tried to snipe her out of her pilot's chair in mid-flight. She looks up at the replacement glass she'd had to put in that one panel... it's still looking just a little too blue to her compared to the rest. "But if you want, you can come up with names for me to shoot down," she says tiredly.

Without taking her eyes off the radar, Gemma humphs. "We shall be pirates with or without your help, Mimi Valroon, even if it means we will not be flying. We bow to no one, and freedom is our mistress I'll have you know. But if you wish to follow us in those adventures as well, I strongly suggest you come up with a name worthy of it." Nothing says she cannot hold a conversation while performing her duty, especially when there is nothing on the horizon so far.

Felicity sniffs in that tell-tale way that precedes a Felicity lecture. "My father, Admiral Worthington, you will recall, made very fast work of pirates - particularly those skulking about the Mediterranean. Those men were loathsome criminals guilty of all manner of crimes imaginable. To hear him tell it would make your skin crawl. Those men paid their dues, I'll tell you. But what you may not know is that my father also had men in his employ who also sailed upon those same waters and worked in the same trade, only serving under her majesty's banner. Privateers. Sanctioned piracy. Perfectly legal. I fail to see how our efforts are any different. I've told you, we aren't going to steal from or murder anyone who doesn't absolutely deserve it. It was good enough for Robin Hood and it is certainly good enough for Lady Vicious, Crimson Shadow, and Captain NinnyBunny."

Mimi Valroon rolls her eyes at Gemma's comments about 'freedom' and 'adventure'. It's the same old romantic BS that Mimi was expecting. She grits her teeth slightly at Fee's lecture. "Yes. I know. I've encountered pirates ''myself'' if you would remember," she says in the middle of it. "So what you're saying is you just want to ''call'' yourselves pirates without actually ''being'' pirates," she says dryly. "And are you going to actually be serious about naming, or are you going to only come up with things that are obviously going to be shot down?"

"Oh, we have never been more serious, Mimi Valroon. We chose our own names, so unless you will do the same, we shall be forced to either leave you behind on our future adventures, or keep calling you Captain NinnyBunny, whether you like it or not. Now head a little more to the left if you will, it looks like we could have some flying debris out there," Gemma says.

What Felicity is most concerned with is the -fun- aspect of it all. If you ask her, hijacking precious cargo from undeserving greedy wretches is precisely the life and name she'd like to make for herself. She rolls her eyes, waving all of Mimi's perfectly logical arguments away as if they were a plume of malodorous smoke. "-Privateer-, then" she says with great disdain. "though it doesn't have nearly the same ring as pirate. Honestly, must you -always- be so exhaustingly reasonable?"

Mimi Valroon mumbles, "I think 'Captain Valroon' actually sounds kinda good." She peers over her shoulder and sticks her tongue out at Fee, even if she probably can't be seen. "I think it's perfectly reasonable to be.... uh... reasonable." She frowns as she makes the requested adjustment... not at the adjustment, no, it's at the thoughts of all this. "Something with Valkyrie?" she says at a mumble again. "And it's still just 'Adventurers' in the end, if you ask me. But maybe a bit more likely to go on the offensive and loot those that cross us?"

The debris seems to just have been the precursor, however, as a much larger mass shows up on the radar soon, as well. But this time perhaps the radar isn't completely needed, as there are lights visible in the darkness up ahead, as well.

"Well sometimes you have to be unreasonable to be reasonable. What if we cross people that would be only too glad to try to get their hands on us afterward? It seems to me that calling you Mimi, Captain Valroon or using your full name would be much more foolish than any other name you could come up with," Gemma frowns at the radar and, looking up, notices the lights as well. "I thought you said the waypoint would be four hours away? Even taking into consideration the fact that it was airship talk, this seems rather early."

As much as Felicity enjoys a good verbal sparring match, her attention is very quickly absorbed by the activity up ahead. After traveling through endless void, its astounding how even a little blip on a radar can ramp up the excitement. Reflexively, Felicity's hands settle on gun's controls, fingers just teasing the triggers. The lights come into view and she can just make out a vague shape as it just comes into view. "What is it?" She asks, tense but eager for whatever it may be. She really, really wants to shoot something damn it all!

Mimi Valroon frowns at the upcoming object as well, turning on the wing-mounted floodlights. A little something she upgraded in Mabase when she learned of it... the old incandescent landing lights have been beefed up with that 'LED' type of lights that salesman was spouting the wonders of. For once, the salesman wasn't exaggerating, she found. "I think looking for Halberd will be the key factor. She's pretty distinctive, I'm finding. And it's not like they can, say, use family against us or anything of the sort." With the lights shining on the bulbous object ahead, it seems those on said object are keen to return the favor, shining lights at Halberd in return. Mimi winces at first in the light, but it's an understandable thing. "Oh... Yeah, I've seen that one moored at the bridge... Timelady's Grace, I think it was called?" Halberd's lights shine momentarily on a fairly baudy pinup of a woman in a short skirt, what looks like a sleeveless sailor-styled top, and long, dark green hair. She also has a pole... staff, really, that vaguely resembles a key. Mimi quickly turns Halberd away from the image. She certainly doesn't want to ram into it, afterall!

"It looks like we are in the clear after that, at least for now. However, I must say I am fighting will all my might against the urge to hit my head on the radar panel repeatedly because of you, Mimi. You have to think ahead, for surely you realize that we will most likely not be able to bring Halberd if we travel to other worlds and that our means of transportation there will be either our very own feet, or whatever we find there. Using names other than our own is not only smart, but might be necessary at times. I should know as I've visited more world than you'd care to think about," Gemma says, never letting down her guard as far as the radar goes.

Naturally, it's the bawdy sketch that arrests Felicity's attention. Imagine being thousands of feet up in the air and coming face to face with a floating, scantily clad, suggestively posing woman that looms larger than life in your tiny window. It actually causes her to do a doubletake and then she's laughing in that unrestrained way that is her habit. "Oh myyyy," she giggles. "Well, well, Timelady IS ''most'' gracious." To the others- whose bickering has begun to bore her - she says, "'Tis true what they say, there are ever so many sights best taken in from above."

Mimi Valroon looks back at Gemma with a mildly aghast look to her face. Leaving Halberd behind? Going to a completely different ''world'' without her? The thought is an awful one for the aviatrix. "I-If we're on a world that distant, what difference does what name we use make, anyway? What makes it so necessary?" She looks back over her shoulder again as they've by now quickly cleared the airship travelling in the opposite direction. Its status as a friendly is likely made even more clear if one were to look at the gondola as they passed and seen someone in there waving cheerfully.

"I can travel between worlds, so it is safe to assume there are others who can as well and I'd rather not spread my real name around for anyone to track except where it is already known. This isn't a game, but it also doesn't mean that we cannot have a little bit of fun with it, why must you be so close minded?" Gemma pouts, wondering if she might not willingly end up with a noose around her neck if she has to adventure while enduring this attitude for very long. Even Ann was more willing than this, and that is saying something. False names have helped them more than once in the past so why someone would be so reticent to use one is beyond her.

With a long, weary sigh, Felicity says, "It's no use, Gemma. You're wasting your breath. Captain NinnyBunny has an aversion to '''fun'''. No offense, Mimi, but your flying is the most interesting thing about you. For all else, you are criminally dull." As if to underscore this point, a well-timed yawn escapes the blonde who has slipped back into "passenger mode" now that the excitement has ebbed away. IT's astounding how viciously frank Felicity can be. "As your dear friend, I say to you that you must venture out of your shell now and again, lest you become a wind up a spinster long before your time." Yes, she has the audacity to call herself Mimi's "dear friend" after all of this, but she really does believe it. She is fond of Mimi, for however frustrating she may be, there is a certain sweetness about her. Like all sweets, though, she can take it in doses.

Mimi Valroon sighs and hangs her head. She can easily fly straight and level in this position, don't worry. "I'm just not good with that kind of creative thought process, okay? I think... mechanically. Analytically. Not... 'this would be neat!'-way. I know I love to fly and see new things, but... thinking of those new things isn't my strong suit. That's why I just traveled." She looks back over her shoulder again and dryly says, "And I'm sorry if I bore you so much."

"You don't have to be good at it to try, Mimi. You've been digging your heels in the ground and refusing to take a step forward ever since we started to talk about this, nearly making fun of us on the matter. That's not trying. Fee's right, you must dare to leave the comfort of the familiar every now and then, else how will you even know what you are good at, and what you even like?" Gemma says, more delicate than Felicity on how she phrases things.

Not unreasonably, Felicity offers, "Try it, at least. Come out with us and if you absolute hate it then we shan't force you to join our ranks...tempting though it may be." A grin. Felicity stretches out in her seat, trying to alleviate the cramping in her backside. This will take a little getting used to, staying so still for so long! Still, she wouldn't dream of complaining. This is actually something she is enjoying immensely. "I know you have an adventurer's spirit...or else we wouldn't be here right now. I think you keep the rest of you locked away somewhere out of reach. Proper baggage, some trauma or other you've tried to bury alive...But it's YOU whose buried, Mimi. You're the one buried alive. We're just trying to save you so you can BREATHE freely, for once...That's probably why you enjoy flying as much as you do?as much as '''I''' do...There's nothing to anchor you up here. Nothing at all..." Except gravity, but that's not a thought she's willing to entertain at all. "We're the same, all three of us...each in our way."

"I've been digging my heels because you insist on calling yourselves something absolutely reprehensible!" Mimi is referring to 'pirates', not their names. "I do ''not'' want to be associated with ''that'' lot!" She pouts, puffing her cheeks out a bit as she focuses on the emptiness beyond the windscreen in front of her. She takes a deep breath in through her nose, then sighs. "I'll try it. But being that separated from Halberd... We ''will'' be able to come back as well, right?" There's a pause as she thinks on something, then says, "Ceve... Meds?" No, that's a dumb pseudonym. All the talk of Mimi burying herself manages to get her to fidget uncomfortably in her seat, and she can't really offer any response to it.

"The point is to come back, yes. I'll have to do a few test runs before though. If the worst should happen, I'll simply be gone and you will still be here with your paramor," Gemma says and it's impossible to tell whether she is joking or not. Truth be told, she doubts that it will happen as she has grown to have a better handle on her powers over time and there are avenues she can explore should this fate befall her, but her mind being what it is there is still the inkling of a doubt in there and dry humour has always been her savior in such cases.

"Of course we'll come back. I've every confidence in Gemma's abilities, having seem the first hand." Felicity has spoken and thus the words passed into law. That's how it work in her mind, anyway. The truth is that Felicity has a habit of firmly believing in a great deal of many things that aren't necessarily to be fully trusted. Her faith is unshakeable in those for whom she most cares. That can be troublesome...like...glossing over the fact that the love of your life is a corrupted spirit who feeds on the blood of wild animals and performs blood sacrifices to evil spirits...But hey! Lucky for Mimi, this time Fee's actually right about Gemma. "This is my home now, Mimi. I wouldn't risk it if I didn't think it worthwhile"

Mimi Valroon winces. "S-sorry. Yeah, you know what you're doing with that, Gemma, I should trust in you like you trust me to fly Halberd." She falls silent for a good moment, possibly interrupting someone else when she says, "...Lady Partisan?"

"If that means you will be partisan to our cause then so be it," Gemma says with a smile. Mimi is trying, the poor soul, and she will not be the one to crush her attempts. They can work with that as long as Mimi herself plays the part. She only hopes that there will be no need to put the emphasis on the -lady- part of the equation or else she and Felicity will have much teaching to do.

Felicity snorts, the name not at all the stuff of legend. "Terrifying," Felicity snarks. But she's content to see Mimi being much more a sport than before so she gets partial credit, at least, for that. As she has little else to do, Fee puts her mind to conjuring a little something that may be nearer the mark. "As you are an aviator, perhaps something relating to that may do...Captain Falcon...or...The Screaming Eagle!" She laughs, apparently unable to deny the cheesiness of those names either.

Mimi Valroon shakes her head at what Gemma says, despite the other's smile. "No, Partisan is a type of spear... like Halberd." She glances over her shoulder again. "Yeah, I suppose I am the Captain as I own the 'ship'. But I don't think I'm that much of a screamer. And... something about 'Captain Falcon' just tells me that'd be a bad idea." Her eyes are back on the space in front of her, the airship now long past.

"Hmmm.. Maybe something that references to your flying without having to do with being a captain? I mean you are a pilot much more than a captain after all, and what is the point of calling yourself a captain if you're without your ship, be it airborne or waterborne.. Sky something? Or something with a bird.. Or an insect?" At that, Gemma starts giggling as it starts to sound rather absurd. Sure, not all insects are awful, but this hardly sounded like a compliment.

This brings on a fresh round of giggles from Felicity. "Careful, Mimi, "she warns. "Gemma's just trying to find another opening to slip in the locusts." And because Felicity could not be one to let the joke end there, she must take this to another level and add, "Even you aren't that much of a nuisance." With friends such as these...yet. "Oh, let her call herself whatever she pleases, Gemma. For all we suggest, it's she who will have to live with it. Besides, what good does it do to profess freedom, while persuading Mimi do call herself something -WE- force upon her?" For Felicity, this is truly a rare insight and consideration. Enjoy it while you can.

Mimi Valroon taps her chin with a finger while her other hand keeps a solid grip on the controls. She considers Gemma's words, then finally says, "Locusts?" in response to Fee's warning. She remains quiet to the rest of what Fee says, that rare bit of ''actual'' insight vs the frequency Felicity no doubt believes it to happen. Finally, however, she says, "Gold Sparrow?"

Gemma smiles. "It suits you," she says simply and purposefully ignoring the locust question. That is one world she will NOT be visiting ever again if it can be helped, thank you very much. "I'm glad you agreed to play, Mimi. Oh, sorry, Gold Sparrow. Yes, I like the sound of that, well done."

Felicity hrms, "Sounds like the sort of name given to a spy." She cannot help but idly wonder just what kind of a spy Mimi might make. She certainly -looks- innocent enough. Perhaps she's even done a bit of that sort of thing in her adventures past. There is so much more to uncover about the enigma that is Mimi, that's for certain. She is a walking contradiction. "Well, at any rate welcome to the sisterhood." It feels good be a part of something like that again. It seems like ages ago she and Gemma and Ann and Pippa took the world by storm. Now here they are, forging ahead in new adventures. "And as such, I ask you, dear sister?when can I bloody fly?" She laughs raucously at this. Obviously she won't be flying right now, but she feels the need to put the message out there...she still wants to learn and she plans to hold Mimi to that "promise."

Mimi Valroon raises an eyebrow and looks over to Gemma. "'Play'?" she asks with a slightly worried tone. "Well... I've had a lot of experiences with spies, apparently. And I... just liked the sound of 'sparrow' for some reason." It's Fee's request for flight lessons, however, that gets a wince. "Oh. That. Uh. Not sure, actually! Considering you'd need to be in Gemma's seat to start with, definitely not while we're out ''here''." Finally, however, the vague form of a landmass appears on Gemma's scopes.

"There is something very big coming up ahead, stationary though. Oh, could we be here already? What do you think we will find? What sorts of sordid tales did the other sky captains tell you of this place, Mimi?" Gemma asks, not truly thinking there would be something very dangerous given that people do seem to come and go on a semi regular basis, but you never know.

Felicity laughs, "If this is like any other port town, you can expect to find all manner of debauchery." She waggles her brows to no one in particular. This is clearly not the case, however. "I rather doubt it, though. It can be no stranger than Mabase proper. The only difference is that those who come this far have the means to fly." But where did they come from and where would they be going? "Funny, in all my travels with Skeeve, we never explored Mabase...not really. We always ventured to other worlds. Ironic, isn't it?"

Mimi Valroon deadpans, "They said the food was good." Moving back to a more conversational tone, she says, "Yeah, well, I've seen a lot of things that want to break my Sanity in Mabase already, thanks. Like that fanged... cat thing. With the hat. What heading changes should I make, Gemma?" She flicks on the landing lights again, trying to see if she can spot the island herself.

"Starboard side, 20 degrees. It's hard to tell where we are supposed to land though, I suppose we'll have to get closer first then circle around a bit until we find a safe spot," Gemma says in a serious tone while checking the radar before continuing on a more jovial tone. "If you hated the cat creature, I worry about what you will make of Gorgon when you meet her, when we are finally able to get into the Realms Of Fee, how great will it be to go there together again?"

This will mark the first time that Felicity has ventured into one of these land masses above Twisted City. While she is certain it will not be terribly different from what can be found below, there is the tiniest spark of hope that it will be. What she wouldn't do for a little excitement! This fact becomes startlingly clear to her as Mimi and Gemma share their exchanges. The anticipation of their landing gets her heart pumping and she finds herself craning her neck to try to spy anything at all from her vantage point. But Gemma's right! There are so many possibilities awaiting them now that she is here to lead them through doorways. "Ohhh yes, " she says, sounding dreamy and a little far off. "It's like I've been telling Mimi...there's no describing it. One really must EXPERIENCE it to see for themselves." But even as she says this, she's a wee bit distracted, this very present adventure keeping her attention on the here and now. "Gemma, mind your screen. It wouldn't do to send us crashing before we've seen what's here."

Mimi Valroon angles Halberd in the direction, the lights soon meeting other visible, lit signs of something else actually there. It's a chunk of random land with large bits poking out. Landing platforms, docks, many different ways of landing are there. "Anything on Radio?" she asks, not expecting an affirmative since there's not really been much in air traffic control in Mabase, either. She angles in for a landing on one of the platforms, looking over the other craft here. A couple of airships, a hot air balloon, what looks like an actual pirate ship just moored to a dock like it was in the sea, and then what are just random jumbles of shapes to Mimi, but others might recognize as actual space ships here and there. Of these, none but the old galleon look like they could hold more than a dozen people at most, though.

"I've been curious about those ever since Felicity mentioned them," Mimi admits. "Though those...gentlemen that sold the books she found were a bit odd, to say the least." And the landmass isn't above so much as far off to the west. No, the structure above the city is something else entirely, something she was told to 'just not worry about'. "Good job finding it, Gemma, I think I would have flown right past it if you'd not spotted it." And with that, she's already going into her landing procedures.

"Negative," Gemma confirms Mimi's assumptions as far as the radio goes. "Well, there was a book that mentioned the Realms as well in our world. It was written by a member or the Order, someone who had been in the Realms, be it in spirit or otherwise, and we found that book in a bookstore. What I mean is, simply because those gentlemen sold you books does not mean they know more than that about the Realms. And now you're only trying to flatter me, you've been flying all these years without my help, I doubt you would have failed this simple mission without us."

The first impression Felicity has of the upcoming platforms is how like the platform where Halberd resides they are. Perhaps not identical in make or appearance, but the general structure and the idea behind them is the same. But more than the structures themselves, it's the other ships that really get her up and out of her seat. Dirigibles she's seen but galleons! Dear God! "Look! A galleon," she says, laughing through her astonishment. "Seeing one at sea would have been something but up here! HAH!, if my father could see this!" She presses her face to the glass, as much as she possibly can anyway. "Do you suppose they're -real- pirates? Certainly they wouldn't make themselves so conspicuous..."

Mimi Valroon shakes her head. "Oh, I doubt they did. They just had the books. But they were ''very'' odd." She says nothing more on the subject of flattery, however, as she lands fully. "I hope not. On the other hand, I'd assume they'd be a very different sort of pirate than what I've run into. I've never seen an old ship like that, though... I thought the old skysail ships had more... evenly arranged sails, not just the old 'all up top' sort." And they've touched down! Ahead is a pair of buildings... one looking very much like a gas station, the other like a diner.

"My dear Felicity, I'll have you know that I was doing my job and keeping my eyes on the radar. Also, you're assuming that they either A- know better, B- aren't from another era where that is the only way they would dream of appearing or C- even care at all whether or not they look conspicuous. Either way, I am glad to be relieved of my post. I do so hope we will get to fly somewhere that isn't all murk and gloom eventually, I should like to enjoy the view a little," Gemma says as she removes the headset and unbuckles her belt, springing to her feet.

Continued in [[2019-12-11 - Restaurant in the Middle of Nothing]]
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2019-11-24 - Beerios

2020-01-27T03:06:31Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Beerios |Summary = Sarra and Blake have a conversation over an odd breakfast |Who = Blake Haushaeker, MoonShadow |Date = November 24th,..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Beerios
|Summary = Sarra and Blake have a conversation over an odd breakfast
|Who = [[Blake Haushaeker]], [[MoonShadow]]
|Date = November 24th, 2019
|Where = The Usual Restaurant
|Log=

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so they say. Well, stuff it! Not everyone has a chance to have a balanced breakfast. Some people's lives are so busy that they power through the day with only a scanty meal wherever and whenever they can get it. Well, that's not Blake...at least not today. Since she's got so much time on her hands and a bit of cash to burn, she's found her way to the one spot in town that is sure to offer a nice, hearty meal - the UR! So, Blake's found herself a nice spot at the bar and ordered about half a dozen different things to try. Pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast, a Danish, some ham, breakfast casserole, and a bowl cereal that. Cereal is the opener here and she gobbles it down greedily. One thing's for sure, displacement hasn't killed her appetite.

Sarra_Moon steps into the usual, her children in tow as she spots Blake and wanders up to the bar "Hi there" she says as her wolves trail behind her. she turns to the bare keep and orders a stake for each wolf, cooked rare as well as a large breakfast of eggs, lots of bacon and sausage as she takes a seat next to you.

Blake turns, a mouth full of cereal and somehow manages to smile broadly through it. "Mmpth," is her excited greeting, waving to the incoming family. She slides her place over a bit, turning to face Sarra as she takes her place next to her. "Moony! 'Sup, girl?" She helps herself to another bite. There is definitely something off about Blake's cereal. That isn't milk in the bowl.

Sarra_Moon smiles "Nothing really, just thought me and my children would grab some breakfast.

Blake nods, "Yeah, same! Dude, you ever tried Beer-ios?" Blake holds up her bowl so that Sarra can see its questionable contents. As the name implies, what Sarra will find is a large amount of cheerios floating in a bubbly, amber liquid. Yup, that's beer. "You oughtta. I find the best kind is when you mix honey nut with a good stout. Kinda that...sweet and salty thing. Wanna bite?" She generously presents Sarra with a spoon in her face, brimming with the concoction.

Sarra_Moon takes the spoon and tries the cereal as she smiles "Not bad, so what have you been up too?"

Blake beams, "Right? Help yourself man! YO!" She motions to the barkeep, "Another spoon here. Thanks!" Spoon delivered, she places the bowl between the pair of them but with a steak on the way, who could blame Sarra for refusing another helping? Either way, Blake is content enough for the company. "Not much. Wandering, mostly. I should probably find something to do. Money won't make itself."

Sarra_Moon says, "This is true, I'm sure you could find odd jobs around, what did you do before you got here?" she asks as she eats more cereal"

Blake says, "Ah, mostly beat stuff up. Hunted down all kinds of beasties. Shook down the Vampire mobs...You know, mercenary shit. I like sticking up for the little guy." Of this, Blake is immensely proud. If there is one thing she can boast about, it's her good reputation as a mercenary...and her bike...and her proficiency in combat...and her looks and...Ok ok. Blake likes to boast a lot but it's surprisingly casual."

Sarra_Moon nods "I'm not too bad at combat myself" she smiles as she eats with you "This place is much more relaxing then were I was from thou, my kind was invoved in a secret war to protect mother earth, a mostly loseing one"

Blake frowns, "That sucks." In spite of this seeming like a serious understatement, there could be no doubting her sincerity. It's written plainly on her face. She pats Sarra's arm. "Guess you've gotta second chance here, right? I hope it's not -too- relaxing, though. I get a little...antsy when not much is going on. Gotta cut loose once in a while or I get to feeling...I dunno..stifled."

Sarra_Moon nods "I'm built for fighting so I do try to find things to occupy my time with"

Blake grins crookedly, "Yeah? Well, maybe you and me can go at it some time. Little sparring match? Yeah?"

Sarra_Moon smiles "I'd like that, In human form or not?" she asks as her food arives, her wolves tearing into the steaks as she smiles.

Blake blinks, "Huh? Oh, yeah! Totally. I don't usually do it the other way. Not really my thing." Nevermind that this is her true form. Nevermind that, technically, that is the way that most wolves would have preferred to do it. Blake goes it her own way. Still, the idea of a sparring match is exciting. She takes a huge spoonful of beerios and waves her spoon at Sarra, "I bet you're one of those wiry ones. All speed and precision"

Sarra_Moon smiles "I am in farly good physical condition for both strangth and speed, and I am a matial artist"

Blake ahhhs, now diverting her attention to the bacon nearby and chowing down on that. "My girlfriend's one of those. Black belt and all. Pretty good too. Me, I pretty much just punch things. You know, basic brawler but it works." Understatement of the year. Blake's success in her work comes from her sheer stubbornness and brawn. No finesse whatsoever but she can appreciate it when she sees it.

Sarra_Moon smiles and tilts her head "Girlfriend?" she smiles at you

Blake grins wolfishly,"Chloe." Right on cue, Blake tosses the last bit of bacon in the air, catches it in her mouth, and reaches into her jacket pocket for her cellphone. She scrolls through her pics, laughing or smiling dreamily at some of them with odd commentary like, "Oh yeah, that was the beholder I kicked across a football field....that thing FLEW, man! Hahah! Oh oh, and this one, check it out? Totally set that Treant on fire. Hahah wicked cool. I mean, it kinda screamed a lot but that's pretty much what you'd expect....Yeah, here ya go." The picture Blake finally lands on is that of a strikingly pretty young woman with dark hair and dark eyes. Her mouth is set in a begrudging half smile. She didn't want her picture taken, clearly, but seems to have relented. "That's my girl. That's Chloe."

Sarra_Moon looks at the pic and smiles "Very lovely" she says as she eats her own breakfast

Blake grins, staring proudly at the picture on her phone, "Oh yeah, Chloe's great. Moody thing, but great." She allows herself a moment or two longer to admire her girlfriend's image before replacing the phone in her jacket. "How bout you? You've got kids so...where's your fella?" She waggles her brows meaningfully.
A moment of sadness crosses her face before she shakes herself "He's gone, killed by human hunters" she says as she pets her chieldren.

Blake says, "Oh what? In the war? Oh man, I'm sorry." She puts a hand on Sarra's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "That's rough. And with the kids? How ya holding up?""

Sarra_Moon says, "I'm fine, I was raised as a wolf, we're resilient to loss""

Blake's lips form a tight line for just a fraction of a second. "Yeah, I get that," she says with a nod. "I pretty much grew up on my own. I only had my grandpa and we moved all over all the time. Couldn't stay in one place for long cause there were some guys after us. Eventually we wound up at the Hausehaeker compound - human mercenary family...big name...big guys...big business. Guess they owed grandpa pretty big cause they took me in and...I never saw grandpa again.The Haushaekers taught me a lot of what I know but...they were just making good on their word to keep a roof over my head...feed me, that kinda thing. They weren't like...family or anything. Grandpa was the only family I ever had that I know...and he just took off so...yeah. I get ya.

Sarra_Moon nods and places a hand on your shoulder "Sorry to hear that."

Blake is quick to brush it all off, though she doesn't remove Sarra's hand. "Aw naw! You kidding'? That's what's made me so awesome!" She says this completely UNironically, a broad grin on her face. "Thanks to grandpa, I got used to moving around a lot as a kid. He taught me how to live on my own...what to look out for...what to salvage...Thanks to the Haushaekers, I got my break in the biz. I cut my teeth as a mercenary working some odd jobs with them. I was outta there at 16, on my own, with nothin but my pack and Hella - that's my bike. Oh yeah, I definitely have them to thank for that. I mean, she'd bought now but all the parts and the work that went into her coulda happened if I hadn't been an honorary Haushaeker...So here I am." She turns this bright grin to her friend. "It's probably the same for you. The war and all's probably made you, like, a hundred times cooler."

Sarra_Moon says, "I learnd my fighting style as well as several other abilities during it""

Blake playfully socks Sarra's arm, probably a little harder than is necessary as she tends not to be particularly aware of her own strength. "Ey! Hands on learner! That's what I'm talking about. It's the best way! So...like, the war...What's that about?"

Sarra_Moon says, "you sure you want to know, despite my strength and such it can be tariffing" she doesn't seem to be bothered by the hit to the arm, seems she is a tuogh little thing"

Blake nods her assent. She's definitely up for it. She's been around the block a few times herself and nearly died on more than one occasion. Besides, she wants to give Sarra a chance to share her story. It'll be good for her.

|}}

Blake Haushaeker

2020-01-26T21:34:50Z

Rayne: got the pronunciation from her player.

{{2019Profile|
|Image=Blake H1.png
|Name={{PAGENAME}}
|Pronunciation=(Blake House-Hawker)
|Alias=
|Occupation=Mercenary
|Series=Original (Oslund Saga)
|Threat=
|Alignment=Neutral Good
|Gender=Female
|Species=Werewolf
|Short=Tall, curvy, two-fisted, beer-drinking, tune-blasting, motorcycle mercenary babe! Oh yeah, and a werewolf. Ptffs, No big.
|Extra1='''Misc:'''
|Age=Appears 27 or round-about
|Birthdate=
|Height=5ft9
|Weight=151 lbs of pure awesome
|Desc=Tall and curvy, Blake is so much the picture of a rock-n-roll bombshell that it's almost cliche. It is impossible not to notice this woman. For one thing, she is built like a brick, all bust, small waist, and hips and her clothing do very little to hide that. Being the roving warrior she is, Blake's choice in wardrobe might tend towards the practical, but aesthetically can best described as rocker-biker chic. She favors jeans, tall boots, T-shirts, and almost always her trusty leather jacket. All of the above seem to have seen too many bad days. The jeans have holes along the thigh, her T - shirts, all of which have some kind dumb slogan or cheezy "engrish" saying on them, are loose, sleeveless or cropped, and her jacket and boots wear their battle scars proudly.

Blake's hair is as untidy as the rest of her. Her unruly mane of wavy hair is cut just above the shoulders in a vaguely A-line style and comes in a rare shade of very, -very- light brown. From under this wild mop, a pair of cat-like eyes in striking violet gleam with mischief. Curiously, they are slightly mismatched, the right one having a small area of discoloration just above the pupil making it a shade or two lighter than the rest of it.

Even putting aside her VERY noticeable, ample feminine "charms" there's just something about Blake that's winning. It's a kind of energy she brings to any room she saunters into - star quality, you might say. She's the kind of person who, in spite of possessing a stunning beauty, is also of an exceptionally warm nature. Her friendly, easygoing manner puts people at ease. She's got a crooked grin for all she meets. Everyone's a bud, if you're down for a beer...or 12. Even so, there is wildness inherent in Blake. Underneath that casual, careless air is a restless spirit that's just rearing for a good fight and she fights hard! She also drinks lots, drives fast, and parties like nobody's business cause, you know, YOLO.

Blake doesn't have much in this world - her looks, her rep, her bike, her tunes, and the clothes on her back. The other odds and ends of her life are all stashed away in a storage unit somewhere far from here. It makes no difference, though. Blake's a consummate citizen of the world...whichever one it is.
|Extra2='''Flaws:''' 
|Background=Personality and background information goes here. To use citations to reference specific logs mark them like this: <pre>[[link to page|short name]]</pre> For an examples look up the pages for [[Johnny_C]] or [[Tabitha]]. These will auto-populate in the notes section below.
|Skills=
|Gallery=<center><gallery>
File:Blake H1.png
File:Blake H2.png
File:Blake H3.png
File:Blake Hella.jpg
</gallery></center>
|MusicEmbed=See [[Theme_Music]] for help with this section.
|Logs={{Template:Logs}}
|WarkerName=

If you wish to use the Warker service, please visit [[:Category:Warker_Service]], otherwise delete this text!

|}}

File:Blake Haushaeker-icon.gif

2020-01-26T20:36:04Z

Rayne:

File:Blake Hella.jpg

2020-01-26T20:30:48Z

Rayne: Rayne moved page File:49093014757 207def4b7d o.jpg to File:Blake Hella.jpg without leaving a redirect: For some reason it keeps changing the file here to what the file is on my computer. >.>

File:Blake Hella.jpg

2020-01-26T20:29:55Z

Rayne:

File:Blake H2.png

2020-01-26T20:28:43Z

Rayne: Rayne moved page File:Blake 2.png to File:Blake H2.png

File:Blake 2.png

2020-01-26T20:28:43Z

Rayne: Rayne moved page File:Blake 2.png to File:Blake H2.png

#REDIRECT [[File:Blake H2.png]]

File:Blake H3.png

2020-01-26T20:28:15Z

Rayne: Rayne moved page File:Blake 3.png to File:Blake H3.png without leaving a redirect

File:Blake H3.png

2020-01-26T20:27:33Z

Rayne:

File:Blake H2.png

2020-01-26T20:25:37Z

Rayne:

File:Blake H1.png

2020-01-26T20:22:04Z

Rayne:

Blake Haushaeker

2020-01-26T20:19:37Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{2019Profile| |Image=Blake H1.png |Name={{PAGENAME}} |Pronunciation= |Alias= |Occupation=Mercenary |Series=Original (Oslund Saga) |Threat= |Alignment=Neutral Good |Gender=Fem..."

{{2019Profile|
|Image=Blake H1.png
|Name={{PAGENAME}}
|Pronunciation=
|Alias=
|Occupation=Mercenary
|Series=Original (Oslund Saga)
|Threat=
|Alignment=Neutral Good
|Gender=Female
|Species=Werewolf
|Short=Tall, curvy, two-fisted, beer-drinking, tune-blasting, motorcycle mercenary babe! Oh yeah, and a werewolf. Ptffs, No big.
|Extra1='''Misc:'''
|Age=Appears 27 or round-about
|Birthdate=
|Height=5ft9
|Weight=151 lbs of pure awesome
|Desc=Tall and curvy, Blake is so much the picture of a rock-n-roll bombshell that it's almost cliche. It is impossible not to notice this woman. For one thing, she is built like a brick, all bust, small waist, and hips and her clothing do very little to hide that. Being the roving warrior she is, Blake's choice in wardrobe might tend towards the practical, but aesthetically can best described as rocker-biker chic. She favors jeans, tall boots, T-shirts, and almost always her trusty leather jacket. All of the above seem to have seen too many bad days. The jeans have holes along the thigh, her T - shirts, all of which have some kind dumb slogan or cheezy "engrish" saying on them, are loose, sleeveless or cropped, and her jacket and boots wear their battle scars proudly.

Blake's hair is as untidy as the rest of her. Her unruly mane of wavy hair is cut just above the shoulders in a vaguely A-line style and comes in a rare shade of very, -very- light brown. From under this wild mop, a pair of cat-like eyes in striking violet gleam with mischief. Curiously, they are slightly mismatched, the right one having a small area of discoloration just above the pupil making it a shade or two lighter than the rest of it.

Even putting aside her VERY noticeable, ample feminine "charms" there's just something about Blake that's winning. It's a kind of energy she brings to any room she saunters into - star quality, you might say. She's the kind of person who, in spite of possessing a stunning beauty, is also of an exceptionally warm nature. Her friendly, easygoing manner puts people at ease. She's got a crooked grin for all she meets. Everyone's a bud, if you're down for a beer...or 12. Even so, there is wildness inherent in Blake. Underneath that casual, careless air is a restless spirit that's just rearing for a good fight and she fights hard! She also drinks lots, drives fast, and parties like nobody's business cause, you know, YOLO.

Blake doesn't have much in this world - her looks, her rep, her bike, her tunes, and the clothes on her back. The other odds and ends of her life are all stashed away in a storage unit somewhere far from here. It makes no difference, though. Blake's a consummate citizen of the world...whichever one it is.
|Extra2='''Flaws:''' 
|Background=Personality and background information goes here. To use citations to reference specific logs mark them like this: <pre>[[link to page|short name]]</pre> For an examples look up the pages for [[Johnny_C]] or [[Tabitha]]. These will auto-populate in the notes section below.
|Skills=
|Gallery=<center><gallery>
File:Blake H1.png
File:Blake H2.png
File:Blake H3.png
File:Blake Hella.jpg
</gallery></center>
|MusicEmbed=See [[Theme_Music]] for help with this section.
|Logs={{Template:Logs}}
|WarkerName=

If you wish to use the Warker service, please visit [[:Category:Warker_Service]], otherwise delete this text!

|}}

2020-01-25 - Talking Over Burger Dogs

2020-01-26T19:17:17Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Talking over Burger Dogs |Summary = Both Blake and Rayne have a need to hit the convenience store. So why not just ride together? Somehow, Blake get..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Talking over Burger Dogs
|Summary = Both Blake and Rayne have a need to hit the convenience store. So why not just ride together? Somehow, Blake gets more information about Rayne's personal life than people that have known her far longer.
|Who = [[Blake Haushaeker]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = January 25th, 2020
|Where = [[Integra's Arms Apartments]], [[24*7]]
|Log=

Where will YOU be when hunger strikes? Well, if you're Blake then it will strike fast and furiously while you're riding and elevator in the building housing your run-down apartment. It's all good. If you're Blake, you've got a little money to throw at that problem and you're not too particular about where you make that happen. So, leaning back against the wall of the elevator, with earbuds that do next to nothing to dampen the sound, Blake jams out to some raucous tune on her playlist, eyes closed and banging the hell out of some imaginary drums.

And then the elevator stops again after going down only one floor. Don't you hate it when that happens? The doors open and in walks Rayne, raising an eyebrow at the woman banging on imaginary drums. The raised eyebrow then turns into slightly narrowed eyes. No, Rayne knows who this is, she's met her before, but where? And why does she get a headache like she's having a hangover just looking at her? There's a slight shrug before she steps to another wall to give plenty of space. Because it's Rayne. Ground floor button is already lit up, good. Now if only she could properly place who this woman was...

Blake is vaguely aware of the doors opening and another person joining her. She barely cracks an eye open because now it's time for the guitar solo and you just don't interrupt that. Still, she's a friendly sort so she says, "THIS PART'S BANGIN'! LOVE THIS SONG." She has no idea how loud she's talking, clearly. Doesn't matter though because it's not that she recognizes the woman in the elevator with her. She breaks into an oversized grin and flicks the headphones out, "Hey!" She says, giving her the classic nod in greeting.

Rayne raises a hand in a somewhat nervous way. "H-hey!" she says. She knows she's seen this woman before, and she's assuming she's recognized... the rainbow hair stands out, after all. Of course, perhaps Blake more associated her with the armor, which Rayne is not currently wearing? Not that Rayne would know what she was wearing last time she saw the woman. She'd assume police uniform, usually, but... "You... know I can't hear it, right?" she says a little more loudly than she normally would.

Blake looks puzzled, "Yeah? Huh, that's weird. These are cheap so people can usually hear it even when they're in my ears." She motions to her own ears, "You might wanna have your checked out or something. How ya been? Head ok? Pffs, not that a hangover could last a month...except in like Mapang, there's this one drink that's basically laced with every narcotic you can think of and...you get a few too many of those and whoaaa..." This story is topped off with spirit fingers just to add that perfect touch. There's a pause. "You don't remember me, huh?" She says, her grin suddenly twisting towards a little mischief. Rayne's got that "deer caught in headlights" look just now.

Rayne rolls her eyes. "Correction. I can't hear it well enough to ''properly'' hear it. Just tinny meh-ness." But the rest of what Blake says clicks her memory back into place. And causes a facepalm. "Ah. Right, that's when I saw you. Gods, I've not been on a bender that bad in decades, not since my divorce." She sighs and looks up, smiling weakly. "Blake, was it?"

Blake grins broadly, nodding as she jerks a thumb towards her chest, "Yeah, Blake. Ah, it's no big. That's how I know you were havin' a good time. You got pretty wasted. Probably shoulda warned ya. Got a pretty high tolerance. Wolf and all, you know?" It's quite possible that Rayne didn't know but Blake doesn't seem to be particularly guarded about...well, anything. Mostly, she just seems happy to run into a drinking buddy. "How ya been? You live here?"

Rayne blinks. "Wolf?" Apparently, no, she didn't know. "I, uh, well, work's been hell. As predicted." She's assuming she likely complained about work while she was drunk. Why does she have to be such a damn lightweight? She blames it on her mother. "And yeah. Lived here since shortly after I arrived in Twisted." Not Mabase, Twisted. "Got it set up to look like my ship. Little reminder of home, I suppose. How's yours set up?" Small talk. This is that thing Rayne's been terrible at for the past year or two. She needs to get back into practice. Is the elevator slow today?

Blake says, "Rad," she says utterly sincerely. Sometimes it's hard to imagine anyone can be such a walking cliche but somehow Blake pulls it off without flinching. "Sounds nice." In theory it sounds nice. Blake herself has never had a home to speak of so she can only conjure images that she's likely seen on sitcoms or concocted in her own imagination. The accuracy of these images are up for debate. "My place? Oh, you know. I've gotta place to stash my stuff. Got a space to throw my sleeping bag down. Pretty much all I need.""

Rayne blinks a few times, and actually looks a little disappointed. Maybe she's a little nosy, but she does always like hearing about, or better yet, seeing, what other peoples apartments are set up as in Integra Arms. ...Not that she's seen more than two other peoples' apartments, mind you. Neither of which are here anymore. Rayne deflates a little, having made herself a little more depressed again. "Really? You can have it set up as just about anything and you just have... 'a place'?" She sighs, and the door opens. She steps on through, predictably, into the lobby on her way to outside. Conversation isn't over yet, she's assuming Blake is heading out as well. Because why else would she be there in the elevator, going down?

Blake shrugs, "Yeah. I don't have a lot of stuff. Never needed more than just some things and a few really nice things." Blake tugs on the lapels of her well-loved-very-worn leather jacket. There's no denying that it is a quality jacket but it looks like it's lived several lifetimes already. Blake's easy strides keep in step with Rayne and though she's keeping up with the woman, she never looks like she's in any kind of hurry to do so. "Maybe it's the wolf thing. Werewolf, yeah. I thought I told ya but that might've been somewhere between the tequila and bourbon shots. Anyway.... Moved around a lot...like, all my life. The only place I've ever really had is my girlfriend's but that's more hers than mine. I just kinda crash there.- Hey, where ya going? Wanna lift?" She asks, just realizing she has no idea if they are even headed in the same direction.

Rayne doesn't look to be in any particular hurry, either. "Ehhh... I... don't really remember anything after the scrap yard. Werewolf? Hrm. Have you met Sarra?" Nope, no real surprise out of her there. She's pretty jaded. A hand moves up and to her own collarbone as she simply says, "Phoenix," before continuing the conversation without a hitch. "I usually find a place to stay for about eight years or so before I move on again... s'why I liked the Spectral Eagle so much. It could go anywhere with me." There's an ever so slight headtilt and the quickest of glances as Blake mentions a girlfriend. Well, at least in this situation Rayne won't have to rely on her classically malfunctioning gaydar. "It's nice to have a place to call your own, at the end of the day... or at least I think so." The doors open and she says, "Just the convenience store to pick up a few things. Don't want the hassle of the crowds at the S-Mart." She looks over at Blake again and says, "Ehhh... no thanks. As I recall, you have a bike, and as you may recall, I have, uh, personal space issues."

Blake actually looks nearly offended - nearly. It isn't for herself, though. It's Hella she's thinking about. How could anyone not want to jump at the opportunity to catch a ride on that beautiful piece of machinery? She doesn't linger there, though. "Ohhhh yeaaaah," Blake sees, seeming to finally recall the awkward way in which Rayne seemed to recoil at any sort of physical contact. Maybe it's a phoenix thing...which, by the way is really cool in Blake's mind. She's never once met one of her kind. In fact, that's why it earned her another monosyllabic compliment, "cool" when Rayne confessed it.

In any case it turns out that they are both headed in exactly the same direction after all. "Hey! Me too. Kinda hungry. You walkin then? I could stretch my legs. I get kinda antsy without something to do anyway. Tag along?"

Rayne nods once again, looking away. She is not happy about that mental trait of hers. "Oh. Well, I was actually planning on riding there, myself. On that Ninja with the bad cylinder?" From the sound of it, Rayne still hasn't fixed the problem. "Not sure how well it counts as 'something to do', but..." She shrugs. "No reason not to ride in tandem. Or just walk, if you really want to."

Uhoh. Suddenly there's a gleam in Blake's eye and one would do best not to trust that look. It's precisely that look that got Rayne into trouble the first time they met. Riding in tandem is -closer- to what Blake would like to do but it's just that there is something in Blake's nature that makes her crave competition. What she says is, "Race ya." It's not a question. If walking would have satisfied her desire to get out some of those wiggles, well, a race is just going to crank that adrenalin up to 11.

Rayne stops in her steps and gives Blake a look like a parent disappointed in their child. "I am not ''racing'' through the streets of my city." Right. Chief of police, remember? No reckless endangerment. It seems Rayne indeed is not trusting that look. Unlike last time.

Blake looks aghast, "Whu!? Why not? It's a blast." Honestly, she regards Rayne as if she were the craziest person she'd ever met not to jump at this fantastic opportunity to have a bit of fun. She can't -always- be on duty, right? "Ohhhhh, I get it," Blake suddenly says, nodding slowly and adopting that "all knowing" look again. "Riiiight. You're afraid to lose. You know I'll smoke you." She clicks her tongue, folding her arms across her chest. "You gotta have more faith in your ride than that, Rayne. I mean, you'll totally lose but still...you can't let HER hear ya talk like that."

Rayne raises an eyebrow at the the instigation. "If you want to look at it that way, 'she' is injured. Why would I put 'her' through that." From her tone of voice, Rayne doesn't have nearly the reverence for her bike that Blake has in Hella. She shakes her head. "Besides the fact that yes, I would expect my nearly-stock bike to loose out to yours, I won't condone that kind of reckless behavior on the streets of my city!" She actually sounds insulted.

Well that isn't any fun. It's actually the mention of the bike's "boo boo" that makes Blake relent, though with a heavy sigh that does nothing to hide her disappointment. "I mean, it's only reckless if you don't know how to handle her." She leaves it at that. "Alright, alright. Have it your way, chief." The evocation of Rayne's rank shows where the battle lines are drawn on this one. Rayne's a stuffed shirt in this but Blake won't hold it against her entirely. "We can granny ride, it's cool." Thumbs up to granny riding.

Rayne huffs. "I know how, but it's been far too many years since I raced. Though admittedly it was on electric, which has a completely different acceleration profile, from what I understand." Her eyes narrow again at the mention of 'granny' riding, a look that she holds for a full two seconds before sighing and slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Is that how stuffy I'm getting?" she almost whines. And she's walking again, this time to where she's parked her motorcycle. No name to it, Rayne has only ever called it by its model. Unlike the Spectral Eagle.

Hella is not so very from where Rayne has her bike parked. In contrast to Blake, who always looks like she just walked away from a barfight she just won, -she- is actually pristine and gleaming. Not unsympathetic, Blake gives Rayne a small shrug, "Kinda, but you've got a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. Just sorta comes with the territory. Your job kinda sucks, so it's gotta be a mood killer." Blake has to stop herself from giving the girl a slap on the back. It's so hard to pull back those impulses to be all chummy-like and touch everyone. At least she seems to have learned. Instead she wanders to her ride and "saddles up." "Don't feel bad. -I- like ya," she says as she throws on her helmet. "I can tell you're good people...not like those asshole 5-0's. You're cool."

Rayne walks along in silence until she says simply, "Yeah." It's hard to tell what she's agreeing with. Lots of responsibilities? That being stuffy just comes with being the chief? Or is she even agreeing with her job sucking? She mounts her own bike... It is a little customized. It has saddlebags added to it... which is almost a crime for a sleek sports bike like the ZX-14. It also has custom mufflers on it... no, not to make it louder. She's apparently fitted it with ''stronger'' mufflers to actually make it ''less'' noisy. Well, she has said many times she's more used to electric rather than internal combustion. "Well. I like to think I'm a good person," she says as she puts her own helmet on. "Or at least that I try." From the same saddlebag that had her helmet, she pulls out a hair tie and puts that on as well. Her hair is a bit long to be riding in a motorcycle, even if it's not super long. It just gets annoying whipping around her.

Blake's own gear is stashed in the compartment under the seat. It must be considerably roomie to hold her helmet but then again it is only a skullcap. Moment's later, she's firing up the engine which, unlike Rayne's polite ride, emits throaty sort of roar when awakened. Blake easily walks it out of its space and inches towards Rayne, more walk than ride just now. "Heeeeey, don't worry about it. You're fine." These are wise words to live by. "Life's too short to think too much about it. You've just gotta be...you know...chill." She gives the throttle a little tease, still keeping the brake on, and the bike makes that satisfying vroooommm vrooommmmm sound which is music to Blake's ears but likely obnoxious to most anyone else passing by.

Rayne gives Blake a blanks look through the visor of her full helmet for a full three seconds before laughing. "Too short. Right. I've got a little different a perspective than you do. But I do miss the days when I ''could'' just be 'chill'." She guns her own engine, which sounds off in more than just being quieter. Most people probably couldn't tell, but Blake may well be able to hear the slight offness that is cylinder two. Rayne in fact winces, mentally reminding herself not to do that again until she gets that fixed. "Well, let's be off," she half yells. She has to over Hella's engine. With that said, she wastes no time and is moving. She may be a bit of a granny in a lot of her philosophies... but not in how fast she accelerates once she gets on the road.

Oh yeah. Blake figures a phoenix probably would live longer than a werewolf but a werewolf surely lives longer than a human too. They have that much in common. She doesn't say anything else in regard to that, though. She's more than happy to let her driving do the talking now. Sure enough, the pair take off from the parking lot and Blake is actually happily surprised to find that Rayne, while not willing to race is still actually willing to push the limits once she gets going. So she does like speed! It's hard to top that feel of 590 lbs throbbing beneath you, the wind whipping at your face as the cityscape wizzes by. Oh heeeeell yeah! Race or not, it still feels damn good to get out there. Now, Blake said she would smoke Rayne on the road and she probably could but she doesn't. She actually rides in tandem, content to have the company of someone who can appreciate the feel of it all. Not only that but Rayne's bike is no slouch. It's a respectable machine with a good amount of pep for being a little off its game. Yeah, she's gotta give it to Rayne here. Respect.

Blake more or less follows Rayne's lead here. Though the temptation to kick it into high gear is sometimes too tempting, she manages to fend off the impulse out of politeness. See? Blake's a sport! Though she modulates her speed, Blake does at least have her fun by way of sharper turns and more sudden stops. She likes her ride to be a little less smooth, it seems. The bike is for fun, damn it. She will damn well have fun. Finally, though, the pair arrives at the 24*7 and Blake parks it pretty much right then and there. She cuts the engine, tosses the keys in her pocket and quickly doffs off the headgear. "She's a beauty, Rayne, no question. Bet she's even better when she feels good." The pair steps into the convenience store and suddenly the smell of cheap food fills the air. It's that kind of smell of fried food that just clings to your clothes for the rest of the day. IT makes Blake uncommonly happy. "Oh HELL yeah! They've got hotdogs!" She tromps over to where the abnormally pink "sausages" roll around on bars and suddenly Blake calls out again, "Rayne! Check it out! Burger dogs! Ooo, cheesy center!" She's not wasting time gathering hotdogs the way people gather corn or cotton. Not one, not two, not even three, but 5 of the damn things. She's got to give it all the fixings too. All the packet pickles and onions and mustard one can dream about!

Rayne pulls off her helmet as well, pulling off the hair tie as well in the same motion and giving a bit of a practiced hair flip to loosen it up. If it were in slow motion, you'd think it was a shampoo commercial or something. "'When she feels good'?" Rayne blinks in non-comprehension at first, then looks down at her bike. "Oh. Right. Yeah, I guess." Rayne is not one to put that kind of personality to her bike, it seems. To her, it's an object. An 'it' rather than a 'her'. Though this isn't the first time she's talked to someone that feels that way to a vehicle, no, far from it... Her mother is the same way with the ship she's in charge of.

Once they're inside, Rayne raises an eyebrow at the sheer joy at finding the hotdogs. She's on her way to the wall of refrigerated drinks. "I prefer them grilled over that style, but whatever gets your ship to orbit." She does poke her head around the corner of the shelving at the mention of burger dogs. "...Burger dogs? What's that?" The obvious answer to her is ground beef in the shape of a hot-dog, but in Rayne's mind this has some logistics issues. She has a half-gallon of milk in one hand and a soda that looks to be some limited edition strange flavor in the other as she comes for a closer look.

What's that? What's -that-, Rayne asks? "Perfection," is Blake's answer as she holds the grease-glistening molded beef aloft as if it were the bread of life itself. She offers no insight into just what makes this thing so perfect, not yet anyway. She's far too busy slathering it with all manner of fixings. By the time she's through, they really don't look any more appetizing to anyone with more refined tastes than Blake...which is likely anybody. That's only part one, though. Now she's on the hunt for drinks and 'sides' which really amount to beer and even more greasy foods like chips. Toss in a couple of snack cakes and she's soon juggling way more than seems practical but she's managing somehow. "Seriously, you gotta try one of these, chief."

Rayne looks blankly at the object of adoration for a full five seconds before monotoning, "It's a burger in a different shape." She sighs, shrugs, and prepares one for herself. Why not? What's it going to do, give her a heart attack? She has a high metabolism. She's a bit lighter with the fixings... just cheese, ketchup, and onions. "All right, all right, I'll bite. In a literal sense." She doesn't seem interested in loading up with anything else, however. Her odd flavored drink and bottle of milk were her real goals, after all. "Is this what you normally eat?"

Blake shrugs lightly, but nods "Sometimes." She sets her haul down on the counter, allowing the clerk to do their job. "Beer-- always. The other stuff, eh, it's whatever's around. Sometimes I go for days without eating much cause I'm on the road or hunting lycans or busting up some screwts but if I make a killing -eh, heheheh, get it? A killing? Right?- Ahhh," She waves away her unintentional joke, "If I make bank, I can eat fancy.It's all the same to me."

Rayne frowns ever so slightly at the 'beer always' part. "I suppose I can understand that, given what little I know of your history." Which really is very little. "But going ''days'' without anything to eat... that sounds pretty terrible. Wouldn't that make you ''less'' effective in a hunt?" She gets through her purchase in significantly less time, of course. "But if you cook and actually prepare meals, it's less money than buying this kind of stuff... well, I suppose the snacks travel better."

Blake gives a snort of a laugh as she tosses the clerk some cash and begins to gather her delicious snacks, "Yeaaaah, I don't do that. Not my thing." It would surprise no one to know that there is nothing of the domestic in Blake. NONE.WHATSOEVER. Even as the walk back out into the parking lot, she tears into one of the hotdogs, slurping up the gooey pickle relish as it drips down the side. "I don't have that problem so much now but when I first started, I was just a kid. Had to cut my teeth in the business and the business is pretty cut throat. Everyone wants the jobs and the bounties. Can't blame em. We've all gotta eat." She parks herself atop her bike and settles there as if this were the most perfect dining spot in all of Mabase. This whole balancing act is obviously one that is very well practiced. At least most everything except the dogs are in a bag now. "So ya wanna know my history? Whaddya wanna know. Ask me anything ya want...But then you've gotta tell me your story."

Rayne says, "Yes, exactly." She takes a seat as well after loading the milk into her saddle bag, leaning against her bike, more or less. Yes, the kickstand is on the other side. She's not that awkward. "You have to eat. And when you're cash strapped... oh, never mind. It's a good tool, cooking. My father taught me a lot in that regard." She pauses as she considers what she would want to know of Blake's history, then shrugs. "...Honestly? I don't even know enough to know what to ask. What ''should'' I want to know about your history?"

Blake stares blankly, a huge wad of hotdog puffing out her cheek as she chews. No one's ever asked her that kind of question before and it's clearly thrown her for a loop. What should someone WANT to know about her? If you were to ask Blake, she'd say that her awesomeness is on display for all to see already and that anything else beneath the surface is just icing on the sexy-ass cake. She really would say that. But that's not the kind of answer Rayne is looking for, no doubt. She has to pause a moment to consider this. "Youuuu....wanna know how I got into the biz?"

Rayne pauses, then nods, a bite of the burger-dog in her mouth. Once that's swallowed, she says, "Yes, I suppose that's a start. It would be interesting to have different perspectives into how people get into that. You said you were a bounty hunter? Or, considering the nature of things... just a hunter?"

Blake considers the question, her face screwing up as she munches. "Mercenary, but I do a lot of hunting on the job. It's...uh, kinda a long story." Blake rubs the back of her head. "Basically, my parents were bad news and got themselves killed when I was just a baby so my grandpa took me in. Whatever shit my parents did kinda followed him around, though so we were basically on the run for a while. We lived wherever we could park it a day or two safely. Sometimes less sometimes more. He taught me a buncha stuff about roughing it and how to keep myself alive. How to keep a low profile....if I need to...Anyway, one day he takes me to this big mansion his friend lives in. This guy owes grandpa a favor so grandpa cashes in. Haushaeker's his name and he and his whole family are mercenaries. Well, grandpa dumps there for him to hide out. Haushaeker keeps his word...raises and trains me with his own kids and I get my first taste of kicking ass for pay. I tagged along a few times and eventually figured I'd gotten the gist of it, I took off and I've been on my own since. My first few jobs paid for all the parts for this girl." She pats Hella. "We've been together ever since."

Rayne eats and drinks in silence as Blake talks, taking in the story. "Hrm. Interesting. And... where does the whole... wolf thing come into play with that? How did that play a part in it all?"

Blake blinks, "Why? Oh, I was born that way." She grins. "That's what powers these GUNS!" And with that, she favors Rayne with the flex of her arm. "Also makes me stronger, faster, more badass than humans. I can turn into my wolf form if I need to but--pfffs, what's the point?"

Rayne blinks, then nods with a bit of a grin. "A bit the same with being a phoenix. Got it from my father." Though it doesn't add to her physical strength, so instead she holds out a hand and forms a small ball of fire for a second before closing her hand again and snuffing the flame. "And same with the 'what's the point in transforming' part. Okay, so ask your questions."

Blake's eyes light up, once again unable to articulate her excitement for the obscene amount of hamburger dog in her mouth. "MMPTH" which, loosely translated is - "COOL!" She's impressed either way. As mentioned before, she's never actually seen a phoenix in person before and so this is a little like Christmas morning to her. More stories to tell about hella cool creatures. She swallows down the burger with the help of about third of a can of beer downed in one go. "Dude, that was wicked. What else can ya do? And what's up with your dad? Did he diddle a human to make you?"

Rayne eyes that downed beer with a look of derision. "...Don't make me give you a field sobriety test before we leave." Well, Blake's not drinking and driving ''yet''. The warning may be enough. Or so Rayne hopes. She takes a breath in and out, then says, "I'm effectively immortal. I don't age, and I'm rather hard to permanently kill." She doesn't like actually giving the details on how to get around that. "That's... pretty much it. Oh, and phoenixes have odd hair." She points to her own head of hair. Yes, very odd. "Eheh... 'diddle'. Cute. Kind of yes, kind of no. He and my mother were in what he described as a serious relationship, but she cut it off before even telling him she was pregnant. I... have a hard time reading my mother, so I'm really not sure how seriously she ever took him. But in my universe, well, all those 'legendary' creatures are kind of... secondary? If you're a phoenix, a dragon, a coatl, whatever, you've got to be something else, too." She motions to Blake. "Kinda like you could be described as both a human and a werewolf? I'm a human ''and'' a phoenix. My father is human and phoenix. So it's not really that odd for him to want to 'diddle a human'."

Blake nods, though she doesn't completely get it. She gets the general idea, though. Raynes' world seems similar to her own in that there are supernatural creatures in it and that the intermingling of species isn't necessarily such a strange thing. Chris had a human mother, if she recalled correctly. In any case, she seems to follow enough to say, "And it doesn't water down your powers or abilities either huh? I mean, I'm basically a pure blood. Both my parents were wolves....but I was never part of a pack so..." So why live as anything but a human being? But it seems to Blake that Rayne's very much in the same boat there. "And you never lived with any of your kind so...we're the same that way. I get ya. I get ya." Blake holds up her can and downs what's left of it then waves the empty can. "Wolf. I don't get drunk. Or...it takes a helluva lot more to do it than one watery beer. You don't have to worry, chief. I'm totally one with sobriety."

Rayne shakes her head. "No. It's just... how it is. A phoenix only truly becomes a phoenix when they die a sudden or violent death. A dragon only becomes an actual dragon if they press through an extreme emotional challenge with a certain mindset. I don't know how it is with the other races. I've never ''met'' any of the other races. But until that point, you're just... whatever your mundane species is. But you have that potential." She points to her hair. "Except phoenixes have a tell in unusual hair color." She then points to her violet eyes. "And dragons have unusual eyes." She looks down, then back up again. "Well, I lived with my father. Does that count?" She shrugs, then narrows her eyes. "I'll be the judge on that when we leave." She's not stopping her, though.

Blake shrugs and nods which one can only assume means that it counts on some level. Its interesting though. "We've kinda got something like that. Wolves pretty much look like people till their first change. Just like humans it's like a coming of age thing so it hits at about 17, 18 years old. It's...pretty intense. Most wolves have their lifebond then but...not everyone, I guess." She crumples up her hotdog papers and takes aim at the trashcan some distance away. Moments later she's scored a 3 pointer. Blake raises her arms above her head, looking very pleased with herself. "So...you lived with your dad. What happened with your mom? She bounce on ya?" Blake offers Rayne a beer, a small smile threatening to spread. She knows this is asking for trouble but she has a penchant for that.

Rayne tilts her head. "Lifebond? What's that?" She doesn't go through the effort of throwing her garbage, instead just balling it up and leaving it on top of her bike's seat for the moment. The question on her mom makes her laugh. "Kinda the opposite. Once I found out about my dad, I'm the one that bounced on my mom. She was the one I lived with until I was thirteen." She looks at the offered beer and leans away. "Eeeh, no. I'm driving, and you've seen what a lightweight I am."

Blake oooohs, about Rayne's mom. Her own experience with parents being not stellar, she hesitates to dig too deeply into that one right away. Seems like there is the potential for strain there and why bring up unpleasantries now? Blake gives a small laugh and then cracks the next can of beer open and helps herself. "Life bond's like uhh...you know...imprinting, I guess you could say. Kinda like when a baby duck sees another big old duck and is fixated on it? Kinda like that but it's more complicated and it's more....sexual and spiritual. Basically, we mate for life. Whenever the change hits, we kinda...connect, you know - with someone, whoever that might be...and that's your mate for life. Usually. Sometimes it doesn't work out and things get...messy." She takes a drink. "You guys have anything like that? I guess not, if your mom and dad weren't exactly..." Blake motions with her hands "Together. You don't have to tell me about if it you don't want."

Rayne tilts her head. "Huh," is all she says. "Oh! Uh, no, no, nothing like that," she says with a slight blush. "Heck, I've been married twice, myself. It's kinda the opposite, really. Early on it's as easy as it is for pure humans." She looks sadly up into the sky. "But you get older, even if you don't look it. It just gets... harder. You pick up quirks that can make it harder for others to see you that way. Or make it just overall harder. Or you're just end up too old fashioned and end up standing out as a weirdo." She then looks over to Blake again and laughs once. "I think she just didn't want to lose face in the Family. My father was more or less a nobody, after all. I had to piece that together myself, though, she'd just change the subject."

Blake says, "Oh, I get it. She had you out of wedlock. You're the 'Oh shit' baby." She nods sagely and sips her beer, savoring it's bitterness. "So, if you don't mind me asking....What's with the....you kn ow..." She waggles her fingers at Rayne. "Or is that too personal. I don't wanna pry. I just wondered if it was one of those quirks or if....it was something else." The last thing Blake wants to do is suddenly take Rayne into PTSDville. That wouldn't be very fair. Generally, Blake avoids those kinds of more intrusive questions anyway - unless it has to do with sex. That's different. But stories about terrible past experiences and things of that nature must be navigated with a more expert hand. The timing has to be perfect. You can't force it and so, this is one of those moments where Blake is taking that chance just a little bit, but she has every intention of being respectful."

Rayne glances away. "Eheh... Yeah. Which is especially bad when you're in one of the noble houses." She looks back to Blake again, tilting her head. "Eh? What are you talking about?" She looks at the waggling fingers, then down at her own. Then it click, and she laughs nervously. "OH. THAT." She looks supremely uncomfortable suddenly, but then says, "It's... It stems from a supreme lack of confidence. In a lot of things. Mostly about myself, but also in others."

Blake snaps her fingers, "I knew it. Your mom had a thing for bad boys. I get it. Not my thing, but I get it. I always liked pretty boys. There's just somethin' about em." She quickly waves that off, though. They aren't talking about her, they're talking about Rayne and things are really starting to come together in that way. The more of these little bits and pieces she picks up, the clearer that final picture gets to be for her. It's this last bit about Rayne's special issues that really strikes a chord with Blake. In a way, it reminds her a lot of Chloe who was RIDICULOUSLY hard to get to know, not to mention get close to. "Trust. You're talking about trust. You can't open up to people you can't trust and you can't trust people cause...well, some of them suck and if you've tangled with THAT kind, they kinda leave lingering scars." Blake's eyes search Rayne's for any hint of truth there. She's probing her, yes, but there's real sympathy there too in that gaze.

Rayne shrugs. "I guess she did. Bounty hunting is considered 'bad' by a lot of people..." She looks back up to Blake with a tilted head, then shakes it. "It's not others that I don't trust. It's my ability to read them. To know where I stand. Where they stand. What the body language means. So I've just become... afraid of it. Nervous about it. I can throw a punch, get into fights, even just spar, and I'm just fine."

"...." Thoughtful pause. "I don't get it," Blake says, completely deadpan. Bless her, she's trying.

Rayne winces, cursing her own inability to explain it. "Sorry. I'm not good with this kind of stuff." She struggles for another moment before saying, "Let's go with... I've gotten to be so shy and uncertain that I'm afraid of giving the wrong signals, and that I'm picking up the wrong signals or missing them entirely and after what happened with Geoff and the whole debacle of me screwing up his arranged marriage to my mother I've kind of become severely withdrawn? I've gotten everything mixed up."

Blake oohhhhhhs, "You're socially awkward, gotcha." This is quite possibly the worst thing she could say about that, but again, she means no ill will. This is further evidenced by the next thing she says. "Nothin' wrong with that. You can't get it right every time." Her entire attitude towards this is very offhand. She doesn't seem to think it strange at all that Rayne's had two divorces and that her stiffness around people comes from this crippling shyness. She's also not questioning her extreme aversion to human touch. In her mind 'oh, socially awkward' kind of covers it. Even if it runs deeper than this - which is always possible- Blake is content to convey to Rayne that, at least where she is concerned, she's got absolutely nothing to worry about. "Most of the time, people are too busy thinkin' about themselves to notice you...Unless you're me. Everyone notices me." She winks not at all ironically.

Rayne makes a very frustrated noise, but nods. "To the extreme." She takes a deep breath in, then out. "Now I want a drink for when I get home," she says. "If I could just... ''know'', then it wouldn't be a problem. But I never know anymore." There's another deep breath. "I'm always thinking about others, except I never know ''what'' to think."

Blake snaps her fingers and points, "That's your problem right there." She tosses a can of beer Rayne's way and continues. "Ya think too much. That's a surefire way to overcomplicate your life. ME, I never think about anything. I just go with the flow. I just let things happen and see where it takes me." She finishes her beer and proceeds to take the empty can and, in a swift motion, crunches the can against her forehead. It makes a neat little puck. "Heh, sweet," she says, tossing it into the bin. Again, she makes it which is almost annoying.

Rayne catches the beer and looks at it longingly for a moment before saying, "Mind if I wait to drink this until I get home? And trust me, not thinking is what overcomplicated my life and got me into this to begin with. I still like going with the flow more than making lots of plans, though." She frowns as she says this, looking away. "A great sage once said, 'No plan survives contact with the enemy.'"

"Knock yourself out, "Blake says charitably. She's pretty generous with her things and isn't so fussed about when or where people choose to enjoy her little freebies. "Yeah, so what about that? You're twice divorced, huh? Ever think maybe dudes just aren't your thing? Me, I like a little bit of everything. Seems like mostly pretty, nerdy guys and kinda....dark and broody girls. I dunno why. It's just a thing." She shrugs. "Maybe you just gotta find your type. I'll bet I can guess. Ya need someone sweet on you...who's got that nurturing thing but also a spine enough to bitchslap ya when you're asking for it. Seems like you're the kinda girl who takes care of people a lot so...who's gonna take care of you?"

Rayne is quick to correct Blake. "Once divorced. I'm a widow of my first marriage. And please. I've known I'm bi for over three hundred and fifty years. Who said both marriages were to guys? It's the one that wasn't that went south." She frowns as she pauses, then says, "Everything went south when someone mistook me for her daughter. Not aging and everything."

Rayne raises an eyebrow at the mention of dark and broody girls. Is that her right now? She doesn't even know. "Yeah, well, 'my type' is either so hard to figure out that after four hundred years I still don't know it, or it shifts like everything else does. But... you're probably right about the rest. I think? I dunno."

Blake makes a face, looking pained. "Ooo, ouch. Sorry, man. My bad. That's what I get for assuming." So it turns out that Blake and the chief actually have a lot more in common here than she might have guessed. They both dabble on either side of the fence. However, it seems Rayne's had the the worst luck between the two of them. On the other hand, when Rayne concedes that she might be right about needing a bit of TLC, Blake offers a genuinely warm smile. "I think we all need someone like that, for different reasons. Bad luck, that's all it is. Just remember, no one gets it right until they do. The road to happiness is full of a buncha potholes. Sometimes you blow out your sidewall and it SUCKS...but it's not forever. You just gotta get yourself a new tire and keep rollin. You've made it this far. What's a little more? You got this, chief. Maybe what ya need mostly is friends. You got one here, so that's a start."

Rayne offers a quick smile. "Yeah, well. That's why I don't assume. I've been wrong more times than I've been right in the past hundred years." She nods and deflates a little. "Yeah, well. I'm definitely having a drier spell. I think I'm riding on two rims right now." She laughs, then shakes her head. "Thanks. But... speaking of tires, I should head back. My milk won't last forever out here, afterall."

|}}

Mabase City Police Department

2020-01-26T18:23:43Z

Rayne: found a way around the errors I was getting, now we have the detectives section added.

The '''Mabase City Police Department''' is the official peace keeping force on Twisted.
{| border=1 style="float:right; width: 20em; padding: 1em; margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; background-color: #000;"
! colspan=2| [[File:MCPD_Badge.png|200px|Badge carried by MCPD officers]]
|-
| '''Chief of Police''' || [[Rayne|Rayne Hurris]]
|-
| '''Headquarters''' || [[Mabase City Police Department]]
|}

__TOC__
Filling a gap previously held by [[:Category:TASK|T.A.S.K.]], the Mabase City Police Force was founded by [[Rayne|Rayne Hurris]] in 4 UT to keep the citizens of Twisted safe from otherworldly threats. Unlike T.A.S.K. which was originally focused primarily on preventing cross-world contamination, the MCPD has been established to protect the citizens of Twisted and help them to feel safe - something which was very important once the Twisted Street was shattered. Currently there isn't a police academy on Twisted. Applicants need to get approval from Chief Hurris and she takes interviews very seriously.

The Police Station itself is a single story building built onto the rear of the [[Mabase City Courthouse|Courthouse]] and shares a parking lot with it. In fact, the only way to reach the Police Station is through the Courthouse parking lot. Usually located at the rear lot behind the MCPD is the [[Taco Juan's]] taco truck.

==Grid Descriptions==
===''MCPD - Rear Parking Lot(#5289R)''===
''Used mainly for the police department itself, the rear parking lot wraps around the building. (It might connect to Fukuoka Court North at some point) From here you can walk directly into the Police Department or visit 'TACO JUAN'S' a mobile taco stand usually parked here.''

===''MCPD - Main Entrance and Lobby(#5295R)''===
''Inside the doors is a large waiting room and lobby. There are doors leading into public bathrooms and access to the rear of the Courthouse. Beside the reception desk window is a hallway that requires a keycard to enter. This leads to the main interior of the Police Department.''

===''MCPD - Offices and Training Rooms(#5298R)''===
''A long series of hallways containing rooms used as offices for the various departments, the large training room, and evidence lockers. A very scary, overly secure looking door is labeled ARMORY.''

====''MCPD - Locker Rooms(#5301R)''====
''A large room seperated in half by a concrete wall for men and women. Both sides are identical with many lockers, benches to sit on, and private showers with small toilet areas. While technically this is two separate rooms, we're combining them here in the description to save space.''

====''MCPD - Break Room(#5304R)''====
''Your standard break room with two tables and lots of chairs. A well maintained coffee maker rests on a counter next to a huge stack of unused styrofoam cups.''

===''MCPD - Services(#5307R)''===
''From one series of hallways to another. This wing holds the long booking desk, medical exam room, and a very well stocked kitchen used for cooking meals for the officers and prisoners in the jail beyond. The entrance to the parking garage is located across from the booking desk through a series of holding rooms.''

===''MCPD - Jail(#5310R)''===
''This last wing of the MCPD is the Jail itself. The hallway ends in a large room with a control desk in the center. All along the walls are doors which lead to security rooms which keep the cells themselves seperate from one another. There is also a door that leads to a small exercise room and another that holds a multi-purpose library.''

====MCPD - Jail Cell (Generic)(#5313R)====
''All cells in the MCPD have white concrete walls, a metal bunk bed, and a metal toilet with the absolute minimum amount of water in it. The exception is the two special needs cells which only have one bed each. While there's no way to see it, behind each cell is a long service corridor and machine room which wraps around the jail and is only accessible from the rear parking lot. Why include that in the room description? Well, let's just say some people are better at escaping than anyone is going to admit.''

==Noteable Characters==
===Chief of Police Rayne Hurris===
Formerly the second of TASK under [[Kotal Kahn]], Rayne took over that organization's leadership upon her predecessor's disappearance. Largely concerned more for public safety than cross-contamination, she converted that force into a proper Police Department. Rayne is known for being very jaded and serious at all times. While little makes her afraid, she has been known to have a short temper and be quick to snap at officers.

===Captain Mike Cosgrove===
Second in command of the MCPD, Captain Cosgrove got his position out of sheer experience in policework. He is known for not abiding by nonsense from those under him, often simply telling junior officers to 'cut it out'. He is also well known for pointing out some officers for being 'whiny boys'. Much like Rayne, very little seems to phase him, and he very rarely is anything but calm.

===Regular Officers===
For the most part, regular MCPD officers are to be considered just like regular, mundane police officers in the real world. They regularly report in over radio, especially when something suspicious or dangerous happens. As for equipment, they are all armed with a pistol, a stun gun, and pepper spray. The trunk of a squad car has heavier equipment including shotguns and even a LAW rocket, in case of extreme emergencies. An officer that uses the LAW rocket without good reason is likely to get fired if they're lucky. Regular Officers are trained to try to talk down a situation first before resorting to weaponry, but aren't afraid to defend themselves or others.
====TASK Veterans====
TASK Veterans largely play the part of a SWAT team. Most have carried over equipment from the old organization, including heavy body armor, and are more likely to be carrying heavier weaponry around, as well. TASK Veterans tend to be a bit more combat oriented in personality, many having been recruited under the leadership of Kotal Kahn.

===Detectives===
Currently, there are three full-time detectives on the MCPD's payroll.

'''[[Jack Hawksmoor]]'''

'''Sam'''

Sam is clearly from some sort of Film Noir world. He usually wears a trenchcoat and fedora over his uniform, and is well known for monologueing as if people can't hear him. He carries a personal .45 revolver, and generally is extremely serious. Sam is an open NPC available for anyone to use in a scene.

'''Cheyenne'''

Cheyenne is apparently from some variation of a prime time crime drama. While generally very good at her job, she often is called out for trying to do more than she should, for instance getting in the way of lab techs or even attempting to do arrests herself. She is generally all business, but isn't too serious to keep from cracking a joke every now and then. Especially puns. Cheyenne is an open NPC available for anyone to use in a scene.

{{Navbox/City_of_Mabase}}
[[Category:City_of_Mabase/Buildings]]
[[Category:Locations]]

Mabase City Police Department

2020-01-26T18:18:13Z

Rayne: Adding in involved characters. For some reason the detectives section is giving errors when tried to upload.

The '''Mabase City Police Department''' is the official peace keeping force on Twisted.
{| border=1 style="float:right; width: 20em; padding: 1em; margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; background-color: #000;"
! colspan=2| [[File:MCPD_Badge.png|200px|Badge carried by MCPD officers]]
|-
| '''Chief of Police''' || [[Rayne|Rayne Hurris]]
|-
| '''Headquarters''' || [[Mabase City Police Department]]
|}

__TOC__
Filling a gap previously held by [[:Category:TASK|T.A.S.K.]], the Mabase City Police Force was founded by [[Rayne|Rayne Hurris]] in 4 UT to keep the citizens of Twisted safe from otherworldly threats. Unlike T.A.S.K. which was originally focused primarily on preventing cross-world contamination, the MCPD has been established to protect the citizens of Twisted and help them to feel safe - something which was very important once the Twisted Street was shattered. Currently there isn't a police academy on Twisted. Applicants need to get approval from Chief Hurris and she takes interviews very seriously.

The Police Station itself is a single story building built onto the rear of the [[Mabase City Courthouse|Courthouse]] and shares a parking lot with it. In fact, the only way to reach the Police Station is through the Courthouse parking lot. Usually located at the rear lot behind the MCPD is the [[Taco Juan's]] taco truck.

==Grid Descriptions==
===''MCPD - Rear Parking Lot(#5289R)''===
''Used mainly for the police department itself, the rear parking lot wraps around the building. (It might connect to Fukuoka Court North at some point) From here you can walk directly into the Police Department or visit 'TACO JUAN'S' a mobile taco stand usually parked here.''

===''MCPD - Main Entrance and Lobby(#5295R)''===
''Inside the doors is a large waiting room and lobby. There are doors leading into public bathrooms and access to the rear of the Courthouse. Beside the reception desk window is a hallway that requires a keycard to enter. This leads to the main interior of the Police Department.''

===''MCPD - Offices and Training Rooms(#5298R)''===
''A long series of hallways containing rooms used as offices for the various departments, the large training room, and evidence lockers. A very scary, overly secure looking door is labeled ARMORY.''

====''MCPD - Locker Rooms(#5301R)''====
''A large room seperated in half by a concrete wall for men and women. Both sides are identical with many lockers, benches to sit on, and private showers with small toilet areas. While technically this is two separate rooms, we're combining them here in the description to save space.''

====''MCPD - Break Room(#5304R)''====
''Your standard break room with two tables and lots of chairs. A well maintained coffee maker rests on a counter next to a huge stack of unused styrofoam cups.''

===''MCPD - Services(#5307R)''===
''From one series of hallways to another. This wing holds the long booking desk, medical exam room, and a very well stocked kitchen used for cooking meals for the officers and prisoners in the jail beyond. The entrance to the parking garage is located across from the booking desk through a series of holding rooms.''

===''MCPD - Jail(#5310R)''===
''This last wing of the MCPD is the Jail itself. The hallway ends in a large room with a control desk in the center. All along the walls are doors which lead to security rooms which keep the cells themselves seperate from one another. There is also a door that leads to a small exercise room and another that holds a multi-purpose library.''

====MCPD - Jail Cell (Generic)(#5313R)====
''All cells in the MCPD have white concrete walls, a metal bunk bed, and a metal toilet with the absolute minimum amount of water in it. The exception is the two special needs cells which only have one bed each. While there's no way to see it, behind each cell is a long service corridor and machine room which wraps around the jail and is only accessible from the rear parking lot. Why include that in the room description? Well, let's just say some people are better at escaping than anyone is going to admit.''

==Noteable Characters==
===Chief of Police Rayne Hurris===
Formerly the second of TASK under [[Kotal Kahn]], Rayne took over that organization's leadership upon her predecessor's disappearance. Largely concerned more for public safety than cross-contamination, she converted that force into a proper Police Department. Rayne is known for being very jaded and serious at all times. While little makes her afraid, she has been known to have a short temper and be quick to snap at officers.

===Captain Mike Cosgrove===
Second in command of the MCPD, Captain Cosgrove got his position out of sheer experience in policework. He is known for not abiding by nonsense from those under him, often simply telling junior officers to 'cut it out'. He is also well known for pointing out some officers for being 'whiny boys'. Much like Rayne, very little seems to phase him, and he very rarely is anything but calm.

===Regular Officers===
For the most part, regular MCPD officers are to be considered just like regular, mundane police officers in the real world. They regularly report in over radio, especially when something suspicious or dangerous happens. As for equipment, they are all armed with a pistol, a stun gun, and pepper spray. The trunk of a squad car has heavier equipment including shotguns and even a LAW rocket, in case of extreme emergencies. An officer that uses the LAW rocket without good reason is likely to get fired if they're lucky. Regular Officers are trained to try to talk down a situation first before resorting to weaponry, but aren't afraid to defend themselves or others.
====TASK Veterans====
TASK Veterans largely play the part of a SWAT team. Most have carried over equipment from the old organization, including heavy body armor, and are more likely to be carrying heavier weaponry around, as well. TASK Veterans tend to be a bit more combat oriented in personality, many having been recruited under the leadership of Kotal Kahn.

{{Navbox/City_of_Mabase}}
[[Category:City_of_Mabase/Buildings]]
[[Category:Locations]]

2020-01-23 - Part Timers

2020-01-25T23:26:54Z

Rayne: Somewhere on the muck, Twitch has disconnected.

{{Logsummary|
Title = Part Timers
|Summary = Ami reports what she saw to Rayne, and gets an offer she can refuse. And a ... partner?
|Who = [[Ami]], [[Rayne]], [[Shirou]]
|Date = January 23, 2020.
|Where = Police Department.
|Log=

The police precinct - Ami has been here more than once, but generally not on this side of the lobby divider. As she walks through the hallway, she smiles nervously at anyone who happens to be passing by, regardless of whether it's appropriate. She's a bit on edge, not just from the idea of talking to the Chief of Police, but because of what she saw. And of course, because if noone else saw it, if noone else on staff COULD have seen it... well. She'll leap off that bridge when she comes to it.

As she approaches the door to Rayne's office, she looks at it for a moment before knocking very softly. Unless the door is already open, in which case she'll hover nervously for a moment before peeking in to make eye contact. Either way, she appears like she's going out of her way not to be bothersome - to a fault, really.

"Excuse me, Chief?" Her voice is maybe a little lower than it needs to be. Like she's already expecting to be chastised and she hasn't said anything yet. Was it the yelling?

It was probably the yelling.

A slightly hoarse voice, definitely tired sounds from within. "Enter, please," says the Cheif. Inside, the office of the Mabase Chief of Police is a surprisingly decorated room, but all in odd manners. First of all, there is of course the desk itself, a large, wooden affair with a computer on one side and an open space for interacting with others on the other. The chair the Chief sits in is no more comfortable than the ones on the visitors' side, a fairly simple looking office chair, nothing large or plush, but behind it, prominantly displayed on the wall, is a large battle axe. Almost completely counter to that, however, are the two large drawings on the side walls. Each is a drawing of a cat, charcoal drawings of all things. On the left is a siamese that looks like its about to pounce on a mouse(or more accurately, a cat toy), while on the right is a longhair cat, mostly black but with white paws and belly as well as a white splotch on the nose, this one lounging atop a cat tower. Other small tokens, trophies of sorts, are about the walls on shelves. An odd bit of black material that looks like it could be a shard of armor, but looks strangely organic as well, what looks like a 3D printed model of some small starship, as well as other bits.

Of course Rayne is there, on the computer's side of her desk, looking at something on the screen. Everything about her body language reads as exhaustion. She's slouched slightly, left elbow on the desk with her chin resting on her wrist and her fingers covering up much of the left side of her face. It goes as far as having the tips of her index and middle fingers bracketing the sides of her eye, her ring finger resting on her nose, and her pinky across the space between her upper lip and nose. Her right hand is on her computer's mouse, and her gaze is still fully set on the screen there.

"Thank you." Ami bows her head briefly, and then instinctively pushes her glasses back up as she walks in. Their display shows her whatever state of magic is in the general area, most likely Rayne's own aura and any miscellaneous enchantments in the room. Nothing is visible from the other side, though. They just look like normal, very light prescription glasses. Magic and all that.

Once the young woman steps into the room, her vision is almost immediately drawn to the cat pictures on the walls. She smiles softly at them; it turns out she is a cat person, too. When she turns her attention back to Rayne, though, her brows furrow. The chief of police just looks... dead tired. Well, it has been one of those days. Ami waits just a moment, until it seems clear that Rayne's attention hasn't left her screen, and then she clears her throat before lifting her chin a little, and speaking up. "...I know your time is valuable, and I'm not here to waste it." She read once that Rayne likes people to be direct. "You didn't have any magical experts watching what just happened." She pauses, swallows, and then tucks her chin in. If she has Rayne's attention now, she'll reach to close the office door.

"So you probably think there was only one." Ominous!

Rayne does look up from the computer as Ami enters, and says, "Miss Mizuno, I presume? Please, take a seat." She looks back to the computer again as Ami more or less apologizes and looks to the bluenette more fully when she mentions the lack of magical experts, finally lowering her hand. Rayne looks young. Too young to have such an important job... From her looks, she can't be more than twenty. But on the other hand, the tiredness in her eyes belies something else, a look that suggests she's far older than her physical body represents. She pauses at Ami's ominous revelation for a full two seconds as her expression turns from tired to a bit more alert... if perhaps a bit more angry as well. Luckily for Ami, the anger doesn't appear directed at her. "...What do you mean 'think there was only one?' There are more of those things in the building?" She's already standing up.

"No, not inside. And not anymore." Ami responds quickly, biting at her lip before continuing. Where to start? Context. Context will help. "I stepped out of the lobby during the commotion," Ami begins, leaving out that she was evacuating an old woman, "and took a moment to analyze the station. I only intended to see if the man in the uniform was a magical threat, but..." She swallows, then, realizing she hadn't taken a seat when she was asked to. Too late now, Rayne is standing.

"...There were strange readings - or rather, not-readings. Empty spaces where there was no magic when there should have been at least ambient magic. I'd never seen anything like them, just sort of... patches of void." The blue-haired girl shrugs, unable to explain it more clearly than that. "There were many of them, all facing the station and watching, as if waiting. And then I saw... there was one IN the station. That's when I came back and..." Right, she walked BACK into a dangerous situation. "...Well, you were there."

Well, now that she knows they're not in the building anymore, Rayne immediately sits again. Or perhaps falling into her seat is a more apt term? Regardless, now Ami is the only one still standing again, though Rayne is more looking down at the desk in thought. "...Like on the cameras. After it was injured. They're not as good at cloaking themselves from magic and leave a perceivable void..." She looks up again at the mention of many of them around the station. "Are they still out there?" Yes, she was there. That is an established and unimportant fact for her at the moment.

"No." Ami answers Rayne directly and immediately. "Or if they are, I can't see them, and that's worse. But that seems unlikely." Yes, down that way lies paranoia and madness. Now that Rayne is seated again, Ami does go ahead and sit down, as well. She adjusts her vest and skirt, and smiles one of those shallow smiles intended to be comforting. She's good at it, but it's still not all that reassuring.

"I think they left when the one attacked Mister..." She pauses, thinking back. She didn't get his name. "...Junior?" Rayne knows who she's talking about, it's ok. Specificity isn't always needed.

"...Did I hear correctly that the department is not equipped to analyze this?" Yes, of course she did, it wasn't like Rayne was quiet. Hopefully rhetorical questions aren't on the list of Rayne's pet peeves. The chief could use a few less things bothering her right now, not more.

Rayne slumps her shoulders visibly when Ami says they're not there. The smile... apparently does nothing to reassure Rayne, at least not judging from her expression. At least it didn't hurt. She motions for Ami to merely continue at the mention of 'Junior'. Sure, it's wrong, but Rayne called him that, herself. The last, however, causes Rayne to wince. "...We are currently lacking in a magical analysis expert," Rayne says in what sounds far too 'official' a voice. It's like she's a bad actress reading from a script. At least she seems more upset by the reminder of the lack rather than the rhetorical question. She takes a breath in, then asks, "Are you, per chance, offering services to such?" There's... a hopeful tone in her voice there.

It's Ami's turn to wince, ever so slightly. She actually tries to hide it - but she is bad at poker, bad at lying, and wears her emotions on her sleeve. So it's just minimized. "It sounds like you need someone, certainly." She has no problem helping the police, or she wouldn't be here. But the increased scrutiny might make her 'nightlife' a bit more complicated. "I'm not a mage in the traditional sense, but analysis is actually my specialty, I'm..." She pauses.

Ami is the reincarnation ofa millenia-old planetary guardian with a magical computer several times older than most human civilizations, and also a Mercurian space princess. That might be a bit much to fit in ten words or less.

"It might be easier if I show you." Ami reaches into her purse again, pulling out her palmtop computer. It's a light turquoise device that actually closely resembles a certain dual-screened Nintendo product, but with a slightly modified version of the mythological symbol for mercury emblazoned in the middle. And what is that modification? The circle is shaped like a heart. Adorable.

It also has a keypad instead of a lower touch-screen. When Ami turns it around and shows it to Rayne, she's actually keyed it to show what her glasses are seeing - which in this case is Rayne, the fiery magic surrounding her, and any other obviously magical things in the room. It's actually quite beautiful, even if Rayne is the only magical thing at the moment.

Rayne deadpans, "Yeah." She raises an eyebrow as Ami trails off after calling herself 'not a mage', but lets Ami continue without interrupting. She straightens up slightly as the computer is pulled out, not recognizing the symbol at all. To her, it looks more like that female symbol but with horns for some reason. And a heart instead of a circle. At the moment... just a symbol. She looks over the image, and recognizes the image for what it is. At the moment, the only other magical thing than Rayne in the room... is a bangle around Rayne's ankle that's currently not visible otherwise. It's a definitely separate magical aura from Rayne's overall... it's also not something new. She glances about slightly, then nods. "The glasses," she ventures as where the viewpoint is coming from. "Can you make additional sensors like this?"
Rayne is well aware that some things simply come with people and aren't necessarily reproduceable.

While there's a nod spared for Rayne's guess on the viewpoint, there's another wince from Ami at the question. She was able to make the glasses using her visor as a base in only a few short years of reverse engineering and the occasional scavenging of magitech when it showed up and noone was claiming it. It was the most impressive thing she's done since she reincarnated; a human hasn't produced anything capable of interfacing with Moon Kingdom technology - excluding Ami - ever. Since the fall of the kingdom, she's the only one. This is excluding the fact that the glasses only work with said computer. And the computer itself was made by her, personally, when she had the benefit of an exponentially more advanced education thousands of years ago. And access to production methods that would be considered cutting edge in any galactic empire. When Ami started, she couldn't even read her own commented code.

"Do you want the short no, or the long no?" Oh, look who found a sense of humor.

Rayne sighs and shakes her head, slumping slightly again. "I might ask for the long no later, but that's effectively answering the question already." She leans forward and plants her elbows onto the desk again, cupping her chin in both palms and raising her index fingers to inner corners of her eyes as she closes them. "Right. So. But you /are/ able to at least analyze directly." Her predecessor might have outright demanded her assistance at this point, but Rayne isn't a god of war and sacrifice. "Which... as I'm assuming you heard me yelling out in the hall twenty minutes ago, is still something we need." She opens her eyes again, and looks Ami dead on. "I'm going to be blunt here. I need someone that can do that on the force. I do not want to have to contract outside. I'd rather have someone /here/ I can just send to the field or send magical things found as evidence to be analyzed."

For what it's worth, Ami looks very apologetic when Rayne slumps. She could technically make more of them with unlimited resources and unlimited time. But if either were options available to the PD, they probably wouldn't be short a magic expert on staff. When Rayne looks her dead on, Ami quails a bit. "I..." She has freelance work. She was studying to be a doctor, not a police officer. She has her nightlife, which is directly at odds with most forms of law enforcement. She has an abundance of reasons to say no. But she does want to help.

"...I have some reservations." Heartbeat. "But I'm going to help - my mind's made up. So." The young lady sits up straighter in her chair, and straightens her vest, just a bit. "Logistics later, Justice now?" Her head tilts at the end of the question, maybe just a little too cutely.

Rayne frowns and tilts her head as well, not aware that she might be mimicking Ami's motion. Reservations? What kind of reputation has the MCPD gotten that she's not aware of? "Well... I'll take contractor if that's all I can get. Or part-time work. You'd not be the only part-timer on the force if you went that option." She straightens up herself. "Yes. Justice and public safety. What has your analysis told you about what these things are? Or do you need more time to look into it?" It's been... what, a half an hour to forty five minutes since all that happened? Rayne can understand not having the time to have properly analyzed that yet.

Whatever reaction Ami was expecting, she seems relieved when Rayne doesn't push too hard. Maybe she'd heard of Kotal's approach before? "We'll work that out." She nods, agreeing to either consulting or part time work, it's hard to tell. Regardless, she turns her palmtop around and starts typing into it for a moment. "It's only a preliminary analysis, but the absence of magic in their area leads me to believe they're some sort of void elementals - and they seemed to dwell in shadow, which may be relevant." She clears her throat, and furrows her brows. "I've never run into anything quite like them, but I've seen users of shadow magic that were able to use shadows as portals. It's a stretch, but there might be some relation there."

Ami cues up an image of the creature as she saw its core just before Rayne smashed it. It just shows up as a dim core of blackness. But that's not nothing! She turns her palmtop around to show Rayne, neglecting to notice that there are trace hints of frost magic mixed in with Rayne's firey aura and the black... nothingness. "They seem to be quite durable, and... I couldn't quite catch what shape it took here, but it seemed less amorphous when it attacked." True, the angle actually doesn't make it clear what form the creature took. Just that it had legs and was thrashing about in what looks like the silhouette of a man's mouth and throat. Well, that's a lot more than most people can see through walls.

Rayne leans back and lets Ami do her typing, then leans forward again to look at the small screen. "...Better lighting in the precinct," she mumbles, then nods. "Hrm," she says. She doesn't know enough about what she's looking at to notice the frost, either. "Yeah. I didn't see it until this point, myself, and I don't have reports form the officers involved yet. I'll send them your way when I get them." She leans back again and says, "But it looked vaguely cat-like to me. Glowing eyes." She chuckles at that. If the eyes were to intimidate, they failed. No eyes is far freakier than glowing. Rayne knows from personal experience. That black bit of exoskeleton on the wall is proof of that. "I suppose there's not much more we can get until you see those reports, is there?"

There would be a gentle knock at Rayne's office door. It's one that's hard enough to be audible, but soft in a way that almost seems to appologise for possibly interrupting any talk happening inside.

"Not a lot..." Ami confesses. "...Unfortunately, because this was completely new, and I came here for something completely unrelated, I wasn't prepared for a detailed analysis. I can get a lot more information if one should appear again." She pauses at that, tilting her head in the opposite direction this time. "Well, if they wait for me to get home and make the proper adjustments first. Seeing one again now wouldn't help much." Don't tempt fate, Ami. Don't you do it.

Thankfully, a door is knocked on, and they can both get away from that rather unpleasant thought.

Rayne nods, understanding. "Things need to be calibrated... What /were/ you here for, then?" she asks. But then that is interrupted by the knock at the door. She pauses, looks at Ami, then looks at the door and says, "Yes?"

The door opens carefully before Shirou's red headed face pops in. "Sorry Chief, I heard something happened earlier and that we had something going on with magic," he states, "I'm definitely not an expert, but I might be able to assist slightly?" He offers a small head bow toward both of them, but holds saying anything to Ami as of yet.

When Rayne asks what Ami was here for, she blushes, her cheeks turning a light pink. Before she can answer, there's that knock, and she turns to look towards Shirou when he peeks his head in. Nothing unusual here, just a blue-haired girl blushing fiercely. Thursdays, right?

Rayne does /not/ typically have girls in her office blushing like this! ...seriously, Rayne outwardly shows signs of perhaps being Ace. ...she's not, mind you, and that's really just a symptom of her being horribly shy in that regard. "Ah. Speak of the devil. So to speak. Miss Mizuno, this is Emiya Shirou, the part-timer I mentioned." Yeah, all she mentioned at all was him being a part timer. "You know more about magic than just your... weapon summoning stuff?" Hey, Rayne herself knows a handful of spells. She knows full well that just because you can cast a little magic means nothing about your ability to analyze it. "But yes. Miss Mizuno here was just offering her help as well. She happened to be in the reception area when the incident happened... for some reason." She glances at Ami, who seemed very reluctant to answer the last question. Though the blush is a very odd reaction to the question. Rayne tilts her head slightly at that thought, one eyebrow lowering.

"Yes, I am a magus, I'm just a rather subpar one," Shirou replies, "I have learned various things from my home world and some other things from my time in the multiverses. Can I have a bit of a minor fill in on what actually happened?"

"H-Hello!" Ami's minor stutter is more to do with Rayne's previous question than anything else - so she has no real problems greeting Shirou. "It's a pleasure to meet you." However, as convenient as Shirou's timing was, Ami is not spared the indignity of having that question remembered. In fact, now she likely gets to explain herself twice. Oh well, she made the mistake already - having more people know about it is hardly as embarrassing as having done it in the first place. And she WAS about to report it. Anyway...

"A man was chased into police custody by either an anthropomorphic cat, a bunch of void-creatures, or both. Still unsure on that, and..." Ami blinks, slowly realizing that Rayne is probably the one that should be answering that, and trails off. It's a habit. She does the explaining thing. She'll have to get that under control.

Rayne looks up at Shirou and tilts her head as she processes that. Well, she could be considered a sub-par magus, as well. But she's not studied anything at all. She nods to him and looks to Ami, about to ask her to explain what happened, but then she doesn't have to. Her head tilt intensifies slightly, but then she shrugs. "Personally, I think the timing of the attack and my refusal to turn over JR to the cat-man is far too close to be a coincidence. Please, Miss Mizuno, continue. You're likely able to explain what you saw better than I can."

"Hello," Shirou replies toward Ami, "Sorry for stepping in like this. If you'll be working on the situation, I can back you up if the Chief agrees with that idea." He quiets down again, peering between the two as they speak.

"Oh." Ami seems surprised when Rayne asks her to continue, for some reason, and nods before continuing. "This 'JR' character burst into the lobby and remitted himself to police custody for protection. Shortly after, a sharply dressed man with a cat's face came looking for him, and then shortly after Chief Rayne refused to give him up a nearly invisible, amorphous creature made of void or shadow slipped into the station, turned into a cat, and tried to murder JR." Ok, that might require clearer explanation.

"There were more of them hiding in shadows outside, watching the station." She pauses, swallowing again. "...A lot more, but after the attack, they seem to have gone into hiding. They didn't show up on my scans at all - they were substanceless - aggressively so." ... Well that is the long and short of it.

Ami glances back to Rayne, who is looking more and more like she needs a coffee. "... I can go over these recordings with Shirou and report our conclusions back to you, if that's alright."

Oh look, an excuse for Rayne to get peace and quiet for five seconds!

Shirou nods in reply. "I might also be able to help if you have anything I can smell in connection to these shadow cats..." he notes as he looks toward Rayne's mention of looking over the recordings. He then offers a nod again as she offs to caffinate herself and the like.

"Oh, of c--..." Ami stops in mid-sentence, having started agreeing to what Shirou was asking before it processed. "...to smell?" She tilts her head to one side. He looks like such a normal young man. "...I think that might be difficult."

The girl cues up some images on her palmtop, before turning it so that Shirou can see. It's a representation of the fiery magical aura of Rayne as she cuts a blankness in the recording in half and it sort of... ghosts away. As seen through several walls from the lobby. So it's not particularly clear. But there are lots of notations on the recording in Mercurian that Ami can explain - if Shirou asks.

Shirou does, indeed question what the notations mean. As for the smelling thing. "Yes, it's a smaller skill I have, sometimes if enough of a particular kind of magic, like symbols for making barriers, is left in an area I can almost smell it. Smell is not entirely the right word, I just have a clearer sense for it than most magi I know, and I can sometimes track the feeling of it to it's source."

"That sounds rather useful!" Ami says with a smile, and then points to the screens notations as Shirou asks about them in turn. "This is an indication of the elemental type. As you can see the chief's magic is largely fire based." Surprising noone. "Unfortunately..." She points at the void in the recording. "...I've not run into anything like these before, so my sensors weren't calibrated properly." Or at all, really. "...So I don't have any notations on them." She plans to next time, for what it's worth.

"They seem on sight as if they might be related to things like darkness or imaginary numbers, but things aren't always what they look like," Shirou murmurs, "I imagine you weren't exactly prepared to run into something like this?"

Nodding at Shirou's observations, but not really sure what they mean, Ami looks a bit taken aback when Shirou asks if she was prepared to run into these things. "No, not at all." The blue-haired girl blushes again, and glances to one side. "I...I was here to report someone for reckless endangerment." She tucks in her chin, and lowers her eyes to the ground in embarrassment. "...That someone is me." Wait, really? Who reports themselves?

Shirou blinks at Ami's revelation. "I tend not to report that sort of thing about myself, but then there's usually someone else around to scold me about it when I'm recklessly endangering /myself/ anyway," he admits, "What was the reckless endangerment in question?"

"Well, it seemed only right, as noone came to ask me any questions afterwards. I felt awful." ... Someone has, perhaps, too strong a conscience, even for Shirou? "...The other day a young man..." Barged in on Ami in the women's restroom. "...Startled me." It triggered her fight or flight reflex. "I have some magical powers, and I reacted defensively." She nearly froze the poor kid to death - he was just very quick and managed to avoid it. "...He could have been seriously hurt." That's a pretty bad reaction to have instinctively. But in Ami's defense, she didn't always have powers in her base form. It's been... an adjustment.

Shirou tilts his head. "Ah, as far as I've heard, we've gotten no reports of anything like that happening," he states, "I think you'll be alright? He probably decided he somehow deserved it or he wasn't hurt all that much?" As for her not having expected the monsters, he looks thoughtful for a moment. "Does your item record automatically, or did you start it due to seeing the creatures?" He's not doing this in a way like he's suspecting her of anything. He seems to just be trying to figure out information from what they have.

"I don't think anyone deserves..." Ami pauses, and then shakes her head. "Regardless, honesty is an important component of justice." ...She doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd be particularly passionate about justice, but there it is.

"...And I have to manually start the recording," Ami confirms, scrolling back to the beginning, which is when she re-entered the precinct. "...I used to have it set to automatically record any time it was in use. But after a while, I decided that there were privacy concerns."

Shirou nods in reply. "Yes, it's an admirable thing to do," he says of Ami's honesty, "Having been in a few multiverses now though, I'll be more surprised if you get into any trouble over this than if you don't. Most people in these places are made of much tougher stuff than normal. It's usually fine if you aren't out causing all out purposeful chaos and destruction."

That draws a look of surprise from Ami. "Multiple multiverses? I didn't know you were so well-traveled." She smiles brightly, and watches Shirou for a moment, instead of the computer. He seems like maybe he could be a complementary partner after all. Partner? Liason. She's not yet agreed to be on the force; for a number of reasons. "And thank you for the vote of confidence."

She clears her throat after a moment, and looks back to the computer screen. "...Unfortunately, I had to choose between making adjustments, or getting back in time to warn the chief, I just didn't have these calibrated properly for void creatures - if that's what they are." She taps her glasses, and furrows her brow. "I'll be ready next time." Optimistic!

Shirou offers a smile and another nod. "We'll try to be more ready next time for...whatever is going on. I'll put a pause on what I've been worrying over for a self appointed project so I can be more present here."

"Oh?" Ami has a curious look on her face when Shirou says he'll cancel what he was working on, but she doesn't press him for details. "Well, I look forward to working with you, then. Maybe we can figure out how to employ your gift beyond... well. Scent." Ami doesn't quite understand Shirou's intuition, but she's sure they'll be able to make it work.

Shirou smiles again. "I look forward to it as well," he admits, "It'll feel like old times again, when I was back with my friends from home...but probably without being called an idiot quite so often."

That draws a look of concern from Ami. "...You say these were your friends?" She doesn't much like the idea of people calling their friends idiots. Then again, she remembers how contentious Rei and Usagi's relationship sometimes was.

Shirou nods in reply. "I'm not a very good magus, and I also am a lot less concerned for my own well being than some would like," he explains, "So I got scolded rather often, it was all well meant."

"I think intentions are what's most important." Ami looks Shirou over once more, and then furrows her brows. "But I don't think you should be reckless with your safety. People would worry." Well, it sounds like people DID worry, and then they yelled at him for it. Honestly, no wonder he feels at home.

"It's been a long struggle, but I've been trying to improve on that front," Shirou admits, "...is there anything you'd like to tell about yourself? We seem to have talked on my experiance with magic some but not the other way around so much."

"Ah!" A hint of color finds its way into Ami's face, and she gives a small laugh. "Of course, I'm sorry." She clears her throat, and sits up straight, like when she was talking to Rayne earlier.

"I grew up in a version of Japan that was often under attack from demons." Sounds wholesome. "But my friends and I were able to find power inside to fight them back." She glances down at her palmtop again, more wistfully than analytically. "...There ended up being a lot more to that power and our lives than we ever could have imagined - but we got through it all together." She doesn't look like she's looking at her computer anymore. She's looking past it. Years ago, it feels like a lifetime, Ami remembers the first time she'd really taken a look at the device.

--

It was a marvelous piece of technology - older than human civilization - and Ami was anxious to unlock its secrets. A yellow keypad adorned the front, with direction buttons and a carriage return for typing. These were not foreign to Ami, even if she didn't know the language on the keys. But there were also five buttons below the keypad, in order green, orange, pink, red, then blue. She had been curious about their functions, so she started with the green one.

When she pressed it, a red symbol flashed onto the screen. She didn't recognize the symbol, couldn't yet translate the Mercurian script it was in. But ancient memories from millennia ago stirred within her. She '''''hated''''' that red symbol - more than she had ever hated anything she had seen in her life. She pressed the orange button. Red flashed before her eyes, and she clenched her jaw. An overwhelming sorrow filled her, and she didn't know why. She pressed the pink button, jabbed at it angrily, really. Another red flash. It was blurry - and she realized idly that tears were welling up in her eyes. That didn't even make sense; she didn't know what these symbols were, why was she crying?

Spitefully, trying to keep her tears from turning into sobs, she had pressed the red button. She saw red once more. She ''FELT'' the red. This stupid, STUPID, AWFUL MACHINE. Why did she feel this way? Quaking with rage and sadness she had no way of understanding, Ami's finger stabbed the blue button. This one, only this one, lit up green. An eons-old despair filled her - vast and terrible, and more than her fourteen years of life could ever have prepared her for. Dim flickers, vestiges of long dead memories were screaming in the back of her mind. She wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed.

Hateful machine.

--

"..." Ami shakes her head and looks back at Shirou with a soft smile. "...Um, sorry. I was somewhere else for a moment."

The redhead is seen as rather oblivious and slow by some, but he's got the kind of experience that leads him to quietly watch this vacant look in a form of understanding. "Something in the past, right," he wonders, "...do you want some tea?"

"Oh?" Ami blinks a little, and realizing that her eyes are getting just a hint moist, she gives a quiet laugh, and then nods gratefully. "Tea. I'd like that, thank you." This poor young man was just asking about her magic abilities, and now he's relegated to getting her tea to ease her flashbacks. That seemed to come out of nowhere.

Shirou seems all too happy to just suddenly be playing tea-boy as well. It's not in some awkward seeming 'yay I can get away from this' sort of way, he just seems comfortable with the act of making tea. He'd make sure of any preferences before offing for a moment to take care of things, then returns once things are properly set up for the brewing. He'd also offer her a small bit of tissue without being asked. "The multiverses always seem to have a lot of people who've had it rough," he notes, "In my own case, I also lived in Japan, in reality where magic existed, but magi were in hiding from humanity for fear of more things like the witch hunts. However, magic was also growing weaker over time and a lot of the magi wanted to reach something that was known to be the root of all knowledge, and they created some magic war to try and do that. I accidentally got roped into it and then did what I could to keep anyone who might try to activate the destructive 'grail' to reach that root thing from winning the war...and after getting pulled into the multiverse I ended up in some more of those, but for the most part it's been surprisingly peaceful compaired to that first war."

Ami isn't just grateful for the tea, she's also grateful for the conversation and attentiveness. She thanks Shirou for the tea when he returns. It turns out she prefers vanilla oolong, for the record.

She breathes the steam in deeply before taking a sip, and sighs quietly. She repeats this process slowly as she listens to Shirou tell his tale, just sitting in silence and enjoying company and a nice therapeutic drink. And it sure sounds like he's seen his fair share of crazy things, too. "...I'm glad you're finally getting a chance to enjoy some peace. It sounds like you went through a lot."

Understatement - it's a gift.

Shirou rubs at the back of his neck a little. "Yeah, but at least it keeps me from thinking idly too long," he replies, "You sound like you've been through a lot too. It's probably weird to say this so soon but...I kind of like helping people so, feel free to ask if you need some food or tea, or just someone to talk to." It's totally not that he likes cooking. Nope, he doesn't like cooking or anything.

That draws a warm laugh from the blue-haired girl. Ami gives Shirou a bright smile, finally. "...You remind me of a good friend of mine. She would have made the same offer, and also right away." She pauses, and tilts her head to one side as she thinks. "She loves cooking, and fixing things, and ...well, and being domestic." That last one might be a bit of a betrayal to leak to someone else - but Ami doesn't think Makoto would mind. Not really.

Shirou blushes slightly as if he's somehow been caught red handed at something. "Ahh," he admits, "Yeah, I....guess I'm kind of skilled at those sorts of things too." It still totally isn't like he likes them. Nope. He's just used to doing them. Stop looking at him like that! "I'm glad I can remind you of someone positive though."

With another, smaller smile, Ami nods. "That you do." When she got here, she would still have been using honorifics and super formal courteous speech. But today she forcefully argued with a police woman. Big steps.

"...Thank you, Shirou."

"No problem," Shirou replies, "Seeing you smile instead of cry is my idea of a good day's reward.... saying that outloud sounds so cheesy though. Now I've embarassed myself."

With another laugh, Ami shakes her head, color tinging her cheeks once more. "Nothing kind like that is cheesy. Don't let anyone tell you differently." Yes, these two will definitely get along...
|}}

2019-12-13 - Down in the Scrap Pile

2020-01-25T23:20:21Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Down in the Scrap Pile |Summary = Rayne's bike needs some work, so she goes down below the bridge to see just what can be found in that scrapyard down..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Down in the Scrap Pile
|Summary = Rayne's bike needs some work, so she goes down below the bridge to see just what can be found in that scrapyard down there.
|Who = [[Blake Haushaeker]], [[Rayne]], [[Twitch]]
|Date = December 13th, 2019
|Where = Mabase Scrapyard
|Log=

Mabase- a city as strange as its name, at least that's Blake Haushaeker's impression so far. Lucky for her, strange isn't really a problem. Strange is actually what she deals in on the daily. After cruising the city for a day or so, she's managed to get a pretty good feel of its layout. The scattered fragments of city are sort of piecemealed together by a loose network of locations...interspaced by voids - cool - and a collection of all kinds of people from all kinds of places. Well, alright! That's Blake's kind of place.

Having nothing better to do Blake's continued her explorations which have led her, bike and all, here to this scrap yard. Talk about jackpot! Sure, yeah, okay there's a lot of junk but some of it could be pretty useful. Strolling around the place, she regards its offerings like an all you can eat buffet of potential goodness. Hey, sometimes you need extra bits for your ride. It happens...a lot if you're in Blake's business, actually. So that's what occupies the woman this evening. She's busy rooting around for any parts that might be useful for her bike. Once in a while, a certain type of car or some random bit of rubbish will hold her attention..like the El Camino. "Whoa, hah, dude. These old things!" She plops into the seat of the dilapidated car and kicks back a moment or two just getting the feel for her.

The sounds of the rickety elevator descending is heard once again, and this time, just one lone woman in armor exits.

Rayne Hurris, chief of police.

Some shadier folks in the area spot her and make themselves less visible, their activity going unnoticed by her for now. No, for the moment, she's merely walking along, her expression less like someone looking for trouble(or rather, trouble''makers'') and more like a tourist who is not impressed by what she sees. It's her first time here, and she's quite honestly not sure about what she will find... this far below, has this place become a crime-ridden hole, or is it legitimately a place where people simply find the spare parts they need? She'd go incognito, but... well, her hair kind of makes that impossible, doesn't it? She looks down at the hood of a car she passes, wiping a bit of grime off the maker's logo with a bit of curiosity. "...well, that cleared up nothing," she mumbles before looking up and seeing that there's someone sitting in it! "Oh! Uh, sorry," she says sheepishly.

In all probability, most days Blake would have heard or smelled Rayne coming from a mile away. Her acute senses are pretty well attuned to this naturally but even more so by virtue of her profession. Since her arrival in Mabase, however, she been suffering a bout of that inter-dimensional 'jet lag' and it's left her usually sharp senses just a little on the dull side. Well, that and badass cars are always going to occupy her attention in much sharper focus than anything else. Suffice to say, when the hand swipes across her windshield she is a little surprised. She sits there, letting this little encounter sink in a beat or two and then is out of the seat and grinning widely at this new entrant. "Whoa," she says, sounding like she just wandered off of a beach in So-Cal. "Dude, ya got me." She waves a finger at Rayne, winking - Whatever that means.

Rayne glances around before looking back with a lowered eyebrow. "'Got you' with what, exactly?" she asks. It's dry at first, but then her social guard is back up again and she sounds more official somehow when she says, "I was merely under the impression that this was a car left here by someone that didn't want it. I wasn't aware anyone was there." There's a dismissive wave and she says, "Don't mind me. I didn't mean to intrude."

Blake attempts to clarify, "Like, off my guard? Surprised me, you know?" Blake leans against the car, one hand resting on the open door as she takes in Rayne's full armored splendor. "Duuude, sweet digs. That for real?" Rayne's attempt at a speedy escape are apparently not going to work on this particular individual just yet. It appears that she will be ensnared in a conversation after all. "Super cool," Blake says, nodding her approval. "Hard to move in that?"

Rayne offers a quick smile, but it's gone very quickly. "Well, it was mutual then, I suppose." She looks upward, then mumbles, "Not the easiest to see down here..." She blinks, taking a second to understand what it was Blake meant by 'digs' and looks down at herself. "Oh! Yes, it's for real. Dwarven made, mythril. It's actually fairly easy to move in. Mythril is a lot lighter than it looks... Like, aluminum weight, steel strength. Or somewhere around there." It's like conversation with a stranger on something unofficial is difficult for her.

Blake's expression shows her recognition and then she confirms it, nodding as she says, "Yeah, yeah! Mythril's great. Packs a punch. I got stabbed by a mythril dagger once, " she says flippantly. "Pissed off a dwarf. They don't like losing drinking contests...or anything, I guess." She shrugs lightly in a 'whatcha gonna do' kind of way. If there was any bad blood between Blake and this dwarf, though, there's no trace of it in her recounting of the tale. "Kinda pricey. You call in a favor?"

Rayne nods. "Helped set up a communication system for him and his wife so people wouldn't just pound on the dock to get her attention. Really... really long story." She glances out across the scrapyard. "I try to avoid drinking contests. I always lose them."

Blake laughs. "Ah, whut?! You gotta build up your stamina. Just keep drinkin. " she offers helpfully. At this she steps away from the car, throwing the door shut with a careless air. She takes a moment to stretch and pop her neck. "So, you're totally a cop aren't ya?"

Rayne frowns and glances away again. "Yeah, apparently there's a genetic component to my lack of stamina. I'll just continue as I am, thanks." She looks back to Blake and tilts her head. "...I'm guessing you're new here, then. Rayne Hurris. Chief of Police." She expects most people that have been here for long to recognize her by now. Former councilwoman, founder of the police department, extremely recognizable hair.

Blake whistles, raising her brows. She is duly impressed. No wonder Rayne had that air about her. Blake may not be formally educated but she's got street smarts and generally can get a pretty good read on people, her line of work might be very difficult otherwise. Something about Rayne's imperious attitude and the quality of her gear tipped her off on this but given this pedigree, it's hardly any wonder. At this, Blake offers a handshake. "Nice to meetcha, chief. -Blake," she says, jerking a thumb towards herself. "My job's kinda a day by day thing. I'm kinda a mercenary. Deal mostly in weird stuff, you know - demon dogs, cursed item retrieval, hell beasts, rogue vampires, gang warfare....I just kinda....clean up stuff, know what I mean?"

Rayne looks at the offered hand with clear apprehension. There's a debate in her head... attempt to break through her almost phobia of physical contact to take it to keep a polite exterior, or just- "Um, sorry, I've got a... ''thing'' about personal space," she says with a slightly miserably tone. No, she is clearly not happy about it herself. Why do so many people want to do that when they first meet her? Is this part of why she's had so much trouble making friends these past two years? No, she knows that's not the real reason. "Sounds like my life a few years ago, except you were describing allies with half of them," she says dryly. "And yeah. I do. I do it too, but a little less... mercenary-like."

Luckily, Rayne's personal hang-up doesn't bother Blake in the least. Whatever that's about isn't any of her business and if this chief has boundaries she feels the need to protect, she's not gonna say anything against it. On the contrary, she respects her honesty. Blake shrugs off the refusal with a light, "No big," breaking into a big crooked grin. As to the rest of her commentary, all Blake can say to that is, "Yeah, well, it's pretty much all I know. Been at it as long as I can remember....which, varies sometimes." She knocks on her head. "I've taken a few knocks now and again---Just kidding...sorta." A pause, "Soooo, whatcha doin' down here, chief? Patrolling? I thought you guys were mostly pencil pushers when ya got up to the top rung."

Rayne looks relieved at the lack of insult. Few people are insulted, but she's always afraid they will be. "Your whole life? you probably have more experience in that kind of stuff than I do as a cop, then," she says with a sideways glance. "And yeah, I know it's a dangerous field. But I'm not actually here on anything official. I just... wanted to see what was down here. Someone set up that elevator pretty recently and I've not had a chance to look down here myself." She looks out over the scrap field again and mumbles, "Wondering if this might be a good place to find spare bike parts, too." More aloud, she says, "Well, I am, but that's not actually by choice. I think I lead better from the front, personally."

Blake snaps her fingers and points to Rayne. "I totally respect that. I like a girl who can get her hands dirty. I keep mine filthy." O-kaaaay. You are free to interpret that as you will. Hands on hips, she regards Rayne with what could only be described as a look of utter and complete approval, complete with knowing nod. But this approval comes not only from her leadership style, but from what she said only moments before. "Wait, wait, you ride? Duuude!" At this, she breaks into an over-generous grin, then proceeds to invite herself into Rayne's bubble. "Check it out!" She motions towards some distance away where her monstrously beefy motorcycle sits, gleaming in the strange light of the scrap yard. Here among the trashed vehicles and other rubbish, it really does look like some fabled creature...like it just knew Blake would point her out. "That's my girl right there. Hella. She's gorgeous, right? Yeaaaahhhh. Worth every penny. What about you? Whatcha riding?"

Rayne lowers an eyebrow to give a look that's somewhere between confused and off-put at the comment of 'keeping my hands filthy.' She glances to Blake's hands(and thus hips) to give a quick check of 'is that literal?' before she looks up. "Huh?" is all she says at first in response to the question of 'you ride?' When Blake shoves herself into Rayne's bubble, the rainbow-haired one takes a clear step back out of pure reflex. "Uh?" she says as she looks at the bike. "Oh! Nice, yes! Um, mine isn't quite so suped up as yours, I'm guessing." She points upward. The bike isn't here. She's now wondering how she missed seeing that actually near-pristine vehicle among all the near-scrap here. "Oh! Uh, it's a Ninja ZX-14R. It's, uh, seen better days, though."

Blake says, "Eh, she's been around the block a few times...but I'd trust her with my life, I mean, I've had to so..." Her gaze lingers admiringly on the 586 pound beast though she is paying attention to Rayne. Trust that when it comes to talking shop, she's AAALLLL ears. "The Ninja's a sweet ride. Kawasaki's are pretty fun. Peppy things. What ya top out at? Something like...175? 180?""

Rayne glances back at Hella, then back to Blake again. "...To run away from danger?" she deadpans. She then frowns, then shakes her head. "Don't know. No safe straightaways around here to actually top it out for anywhere near that. And it's used. Engine's not in top shape anymore, cylinder two is showing some excess wear. But it still runs. You've... heard of Ninjas before? It wasn't a brand I was familiar with before I went looking for one here."

Blake hadn't considered that Ninjas might not be a universal thing. Actually, Blake hadn't even considered that motorcycles themselves might not be a universal thing. There's a bit of a learning curve here, bear with her. This would be one of her quirks - not always thinking things through. "Yeah sure, who hasn't?" Like, what kind of crazy talk is this? "Oh..." It begins to register. "So you're not from here, huh? Me neither." As if anyone here would be. Blake adds, "Hey, if you want me to take a look at your bike, I can. I'm not an expert but I tinker. I do light maintenance on Hella all the time."

Rayne shakes her head, saying, "There's a high percentage of... 'immigrants' here. I'm going to guess Kawasaki is a brand that exists in numerous universes, though. There's a lot of things like that. Heck, I don't even actually know if it existed in my universe or not, truthfully. Most of my time on Earth I was in Italy, not Japan." She says this with a shrug, as if having spent a lot of time not on the planet weren't a big deal. "Oh, I know what I'm doing, too. I spent seven years as an auto mechanic. Granted, not much in internal combustion experience over electric, but... other than the motor, the basics are the same. And I... ''think'' I've caught myself up well enough on internal combustion?" She looks around the scrapyard again before saying, "...What I'd need is parts. I don't have access to a fabricator."

Blake nods, "Gotcha" but she probably doesn't. All of this talk if alternate universes is kind of over her head. She takes it in stride, as is her M.O. but she definitely doesn't have a clue how the hell she managed to get here other than to say she took a wrong turn somewhere. That is one hell of a bad turn. At any rate, she turns her eye to the scrapyard. "Wanna hand, chief? I got nothin' to do."

Rayne glances around again, then sighs and before shrugging and then nodding. "Yeah. I suppose. You know what you're looking for in matching equipment, I suppose. Granted, I wasn't actually planning on more than just browsing." She looks away from Blake again as she mumbles, "...Wish I'd noticed the excess wear before the dimensional shredding. There were some actual ''shops'' in Neo-Edo."

Blake gets to it! Rummaging is something she's learned to do pretty well, really. She's had to. Its actually what started her career, if you want to be technical about it. Not that watching her in action gives much of this away. She just goes on about her business, making conversation as she does. "Yeah, so what's with that anyway? I mean, one second I'm cavin' in a Screwt's skull and the next one, WHOOSH, I'm here. I thought maybe one of those Black guild mages did some kinda fuckery but now I'm thinkin....something else."

Rayne is a much more eyes only scrounger, keeping an eye out for any bikes or engines that resemble her own rather than going in hands first. Clearly not as experienced a scrounger as Blake is. As Blake has had to be. "What's with what? Screwt?" She then blinks. "OH. So... you really ''are'' new here, then. Um, no, it's definitely something else. Twisted kind of just... ''does'' that to people. I don't understand it, myself. I just deal with the problems that arise from it later on. Granted, things have calmed down compared to ''before'' the dimensional tearing... uh... long story."

Blake raises a brow slightly at "dimensional tearing" and pretty much decides that it's well out of the realm of her caring. She waves a hand, "Whatever. None of that makes sense to me so..." She shrugs for what has to be the 100th time today. She's got her eye on a particularly gnarled hunk of metal. She must see something promising in it, though because she's zeroed in on it. Blake talks all the while. "Weird stuff happens back home all the time too. Usually magic stuff or curses. Got all kinds of nasty bastards preying on humans and all but, you know, nothing quite this scale." Apparently having made up her mind about this hunk, she gives it a couple of swift, hard kicks, breaking part of it apart. She squats to rummage through it. "You got stuff like that here? Rogue mages or...like...demons? Low grade monsters?"

Rayne steps along, looking through the junk piles as well, but clearly far more lost than Blake as far as thinking she can find anything. She takes a step back as Blake makes her kicks at the hunk of scrap, quite simply not seeing what Blake does in it. "Nothing organized or anything. Like I said, things are a lot calmer than before the fabric of the universe got torn to shreds. But there's still a few here and there. We deal with 'pest control' as much as more normal police work, I'll admit. But even that's been relatively tame the past year." She tilts her head slightly before saying, "Do you... see anything interesting in that?" with a tone that suggests she just sees junk.

The little rat girl descends down the elevator, a drown hovering above her head as she also has a shopping cart, the cart is empty for the moment. As the elevater reaches the bottom, she steps out, humming to herself, tail twitching as her drone surveys the area, the drone armed with a small weapon.

Blake makes a face as she digs through the bits of metal she managed to dislodge from...well, other bits of metal. She palms one particularly twisty bit before hopping to her feet. "Yeah, " she says holding it between her fingers and showing it to Rayne with an air of triumph. It reveals itself to be...well...something. It doesn't look like anything useful at all, but Blake seems to have claimed it because moments later its pocketed. "Mmm. Place this crazy being so quiet is weird..." She rubs the back of head wearing a troubled expression. "Dotcha get kinda...bored?" The movement coming from the elevator catches Blake's eye and her gaze flicks to it for a moment. What she sees makes her want to grin, though she makes no comment. She's still engaging Rayne in conversation

Rayne's eyebrow raises at the pocketing of the random bit of... stuff. She shakes her head, though, assuming she's the one that doesn't know what she's looking at rather than Blake. "I'm not sure 'quiet' is the word I'd pick. We just don't have ''organized'' or ''repeat'' threats. There's no alien hive in the cabbage patch, there's no fog monsters, there's no vicious snake people off the beach. But we still get the occasional black and white monster that we need to bring out the LAWS for. We still get demons getting summoned in either on purpose or by chance, but there's no pattern I've seen. And there's of course all the mundane crap that I have to deal with. You'd ''think'' that people would be more cautious about muggings and burglaries when there's this many superpowered people around, but... no, it still goes on." She then grimaces. "I ''wish'' I were bored." She flicks her gaze in the direction that Blake does, but unless that weapon is pointed at a person, she's not particularly caring for the moment. Being armed down here feels like a reasonable precaution to her.

Twitch scurries along through the scrap, picking up bits a nd pieces here and there, most looking like complete junk, though she seems exited by what she finds. As she moves closer to were Blake and Rayne are, she'll wave to the two,"Hi!"

The more Blake hears about Twisted City, the more she has the sinking feeling that she's going to find herself with a lot of energy to burn and nowhere to direct it. Just thinking about it makes her skin feel itchy. Naw, man. She's gotta find something to do around here or else she's going to go nuts. "Yeah, and I'm guessing you guys aren't wild about mercenaries, huh?" That wouldn't be the first place she's been too that doesn't take kindly to her kind but...that doesn't mean she'd necessarily avoid the jobs either.

It's about this time that this time that the diminutive rat-person comes strutting their way. As far as rats go, she's kind of a biggen! But as far as ROUS' go...she's a little more on the dinky side. Either way, her arrival at least keeps things interesting. "Yo! Sup" Blake asks, flashing a fanged grin.

Rayne pauses before carefully saying, "There's a bounty board." From her tone, she apparently doesn't like using it, but she sees why. Some places a cop just can't manage to go without drawing enough attention to make things worse. Sometimes a more brutal touch is needed. Sometimes she's just too damn shorthanded. Mostly the latter, really. She turns to look to Twitch with a tired wave and says, "Hello," as the ysoki approaches and makes her presence known. She then proceeds to do a double take as she notices the fangs in Blake's grin.

Twitch tilts her head at the fangs as she pulls out a little data pad and fiddles with it some, the drone moving over to scan blake, the weapon still lowered however as twitch squeaks "Hi, just doing a bit of shopping, its amazing what humans through away."

Blake gives a small chuckle, "I know right? They trash so much." She motions with her head towards her pristine bike just a short distance away, "S'how I got Hella put together. People just kept trashin' their bikes and cars and dumping all these parts in their garage. I took what I needed and over time she got up and runnin and now?" Blake wolf-whistles at her bike (completely unironically) "She's friggen hot." Blake saunters over to Twitch and pops a squat so she can get a better look at the girl. "Soooo...what's your deal? What's with the chopper? You work with this one?" She jerks her head towards Rayne. "Naw. You don't seem like a cop." She regards Rayne with a small tilt of the head and adds, "No offense."

Rayne says, "'Shopping'?" with a raised eyebrow, then her frown deepens slightly as Blake mentions how she managed to scrounge that monster bike together from spare parts. There was a time that such a project would have made Rayne drool, but that was ages ago for her, long before arriving in Twisted. She remains quiet, however, as Blake proceeds to interview Twitch. This expression is accompanied by a slight eyebrow twitch at the 'no offense' part. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Twitch smiles at Blake "I'm a Ysoki from the planet Akaton, in the Golarion system, as fore my occupation, I'm the chief engineer of the GOLDEN VANGUARD, Its a pleasure to meet you." she offers her paw to Blake as her tail twitches "And the best damned Starship engineer in the Pact systems at that."

Blake raises her brows. "Wow, that's some fancy talk," Blake says as Twitch finishes her spiel about her position and her ship. She may not know much about starships...like...anything at all...but she can appreciate someone's love for their ride. That's something she can certainly relate too. "Yeah, I dunno anythin' about starships and all.... But that sounds like a wicked ride. Totally get it. I feel ya, chief. Name's Blake." Blake jerks her thumb towards her chest. "My friend there's a different kinda chief. She's the Five-Oh." Blake's just gonna pretend she didn't hear Rayne's question. 9.9; She's got nothing against cops but...they do have a tendency to cramp her style on occasion.

Rayne raises a hand to her forehead. The ego trip type. Great. "Welcome to Mabase. I don't believe we have any starships here at the moment." She sighs, then shakes her head, already feeling like, once again, her job is getting in the way of ever having anything resembling a social life.

Twitch smiles at Rayne "Hey I have no problem with law enforcement, helped station security occasionally, when needed" she smiles at Rayne and nods "I've noticed, still have plenty to do, like work on recon here" she says, then turns to Blake "And nice to meet you, love the bike"

Blake has been watching this curious little figure with amusement and curiosity. If there's one thing that is sure to keep Blake's interest, it's anything out of the ordinary and after all she's been through she's still not entirely jaded by it. "So, like, is everyone on your planet a little rat?" Zero points for tact but she doesn't seem to mean any harm by the question. Hands shoved into her pockets, she fiddles with the hunk of metal there.

Rayne glances to the side, to the mounds of.... junk. No, trying to find the parts she needs is definitely beyond her. If she could get her hands on a fabricator, she's certain she could build the parts needed, but... would she really have the time anymore to actually put together the design? "Well, it's good you keep yourself busy," she says with a bit of a distracted tone.

Twitch shakes her head at Blake" there are humans on my planet as well, also a four armed humanoid as well as a lizard race" she then looks over to Rayne "You look lost there, need help finding anything?"

Blake grins broadly, "Dude! That's -awesome-!" See, how Twitch's planet sounds like a hell of a lot more fun than here. Though...Rayne did mention that bounty board. You bet your ass she'll find her way to that. Blake gives the twisted hunk of metal another good kick this time just for fun and it hurtles a good ways until smashing into the windshield of another abandoned vehicle. "Goal," she says raising her hand in a half-assed gesture. "We're looking for parts for the chief's bike. Me, I'm just windowshoppin'"

Rayne winces at the kick, but is that really vandalism when everything here is abandoned junk? She looks back to Twitch and starts to say, "I'm not really-" But of course Blake is already speaking over her more quiet tone. "Um, yeah. Cylinder two is showing more wear than it should."

The rat girl nods "Well could help you look at least, I like helping." She gives a big grin, witch shows off her own sharp teeth. "Besides, I'm looking for some stuff as well, to update recon's scanners and weapon systems."

Blake turns to Rayne and winks, "See chief? We've gotchu!" Looks like it's going to be a team effort now. I mean, it just kind of worked out that way. Blake was here to begin with and then everyone showed up but it's not like Blake minds. Already she's diving right into the task, tromping through the rubbish, kicking bits of metal and glass out of the way and pausing once in a while to eyeball something that seems interesting. "Yeah, back home you had to be careful around places like this. Not just cause of the gangs or the goblins but cause hunkleschnarfs like to nest under big old piles of broken shit. I dunno what it is about junk they like so much but, love it....This one time, I was cruising around one of these old dumpsites and I kick over this door, right? And-BAM! like...15 of the damn things spring out at me..." She's telling someone this story...apparently.

Rayne sighs and then shrugs. "All right then. But I'm not entirely certain what I'm looking for, anyway. Like I was telling Blake earlier, I'm a novice at internal combustion engines. I'm not even certain I ''can'' fix up the cylinder without just... replacing the whole block. But I know the piston on it is probably better off just replaced." She looks over the scavenging and nods. "We've had a goblin problem. I'm not entirely convinced they're actually gone, to be honest, but I've not gotten ''specific'' reports about them." She blinks and looks over at Blake and asks, "Hunkleschnarf?" She stares at Blake for a moment, then looks to Twitch. "Uh, the motor in question is for a Ninja ZX-14R. 1,441cc, four-stroke inline four." She looks back to Blake again to say, "I still don't understand how ''only'' the second cylinder is showing the wear, but like I said, new to internal combustion."

Twitch take out her data pad and puts in the info, examining the results before nodding and joining Blake in the search "It is a rather primitive tech were I'm from, but some of the vehicles in my fathers caravan still use it"

Blake prattles on as if she's not heard a word of anything else. "Oh yeah, nasty buggers. They're kinda like...I dunno, Armadillos but also kinda like earwigs or something'. Scorpions? Something kinda buggy but with a lot of teeth. Nasty bite but the tail's the real problem. They'll wallop ya with the big bone on the end and then try to run ya through with the spikes....I mean when they're babies it's not so bad. After a couple of stomps you can start to break down their carapace and get into the guts...but the mom and daddy?" She whistles. "They put up a hell of a fight. But if ya see one, you've probably got twenty so get ready for a fight....Oh hey! Check it!" Blake rises, holding up some random part for a bike. "Here!" She tosses it from where she is to Rayne which is some considerable distance but her aim's pretty good.

Rayne nods to Twitch. "Yeah, same here. I'm far more familiar with electric vehicles. Internal combustion is kinda a relic when I'm from." Yes, when, not where. Since she's fairly certain Blake comes from some other universe that's further in the past than she is, but still contains Earth as she knows it, for the most part. It's usually a relatively safe assumption for her. "So, something like an isopod with an attack tail. Got it. I'll just burn them with fire if I come across them." She blinks at the toss and barely avoids getting clocked with the part thrown her way. Stepping to its landing place, she says, "...I don't need a new clutch. ''That'' part is fine."

Twitch picks through the wreckage as she finds several other components for said bike, as well as some others for herself" Always room for improvement, even on working systems"

Blake says, "Yeah, ya never know. Hey, toss that back to me, will ya?" If Rayne's not going to hang onto it, she may as well. Blake's no packrat but she's definitely not going to squander an opportunity. Spare parts are a handy thing to have. Whether or not Rayne complies, Blake walks her way back to her bike and rummages around in her pack. It isn't long before she manages to pull out what she was looking for, "Sweet! Still got em. Hey, you guys up for some tacos? They're probably still good. Best in town back home." She waves a grease stained bag in the air "tempting" them."

Rayne tosses the clutch back. "Improvement, yes. Replacing a perfectly fine component for one that's in worse condition is another thing entirely," she says dryly. "And I don't need it to get higher performance, I just don't want it falling apart on me." She tilts her head as Blake rummages through the pack, then pales slightly at the sight of the old tacos being produced. "I'll... Stick with Taco Juan's, thanks."

Twitch scurries over "Ill take one" she says "Never turns down free food" seems she doesn't mind that there old

Blake is happy to share her oh-so-delicious and partly squashed tacos. She takes a couple of the wrapped tacos and delivers them to Twitch. She holds the bag up, "You sure, chief? Got like 6 extras." She doesn't wait for an answer before digging into hers. To be fair, they could be worse. There is something magical about the preservatives in these tacos that make them reasonably palatable. Worst is witty lettuce and a slightly softer shell - stale. But the flavor is decent for something cheap.

Rayne nods. "I'll be fine. I'll have to show you Taco Juan's later. Best Tacos in Mabase, hands down. The owner is a bit... unstable, but hey, who isn't in this place?" She shrugs. She also looks around the place, still. It's becoming increasingly clear that she's not just looking for parts, but, in a more difference sense than perhaps Blake would be, she's looking for trouble.

Twitch munches on taco as she miles "Well need to be off, see you both around" as she scurries deeper into the scrapyard

Blake plops down on the hood of a banged up car and settles, sitting Indian style while chowing down on her skeezy tacos. In spite of the less than enthralling atmosphere, she seems to be enjoying herself for now. She waves lazily to the retreating rat-girl, "Later," though whether or not they will actually cross paths again is anyone's guess. If Twitch enjoys the scrapyard as much as she seems to, then it's probable they will meet again. Still, this leaves Blake exclusively in Rayne's company again and Rayne...Well, she's got that "cop look" about her just now. "Soooooo," she begins....but isn't sure what to say to this woman just now. "Wanna get a beer or somethin'?" That's the best she could do? Yes. Yes it is.

Rayne distractedly waves to the retreating ysoki, then blinks at Blake as she asks about going up for a beer. Because ''everything'' is up from here. "Huh?" she asks in almost surprise. Well, it's not like she's on duty. Crap, was she in patrol mode again? Rayne supposes that may be because of how shifty this entire area feels to her... but she shakes her head at her own thoughts. "Eh. Why not?" she says with a shrug. "I've been on a hard ginger ale kick of late, have you tried that?"

Blake, cheeks full of the last remnants of taco, somehow manages a broad grin. It's clear she's pretty thrilled by the prospect of hitting up a bar or club. She chokes it down just in time to fist pump and give a whoop of approval, "YEAH! Alright! That's what I like!" She leaps off the car and moves to Rayne's side, "Naw, never...but I'll try anything once or twice. Why the hell not?" She gives Rayne a good clap on the back for good measure. "Let's go get shit-faced, chief!"

Rayne takes a half-step away as Blake jumps to her side, clearly a reflexive action. Also clearly related to Rayne's aforementioned 'personal space issue'. "Uh, yeah, the Usual has an all right-" At the clap on the back, however, she takes a sharp breath in and tenses up. Her eyes widen, her mouth turns to a grimace, and her shoulders hunch upward. No comment on getting shit-faced, her personal space issue got set off in full.

Blake doesn't notice immediately. It's just not her nature to be so hands off. Rayne just has the misfortune of having encountered one of the most touchy-feely women in the history of Valedane. Hugs, noogies, headlocks, and a good ol' sock in the arm are just other ways to say 'hi friend!'. "Yeah, so you're gonna have to take the lead on this one cause I'm still finding my way around the--Whoa. You okay there?" NOW she's noticed.

|}}

2020-01-21 - Eight Legs or Four Arms?

2020-01-25T21:51:55Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Eight Legs or Four Arms? |Summary = Ash and Theo, recent arrivals, visit the Welcome Center. There, they meet Jeremy, one of the more... physically..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Eight Legs or Four Arms?
|Summary = Ash and Theo, recent arrivals, visit the Welcome Center. There, they meet Jeremy, one of the more... physically unusual employees there.
|Who = [[Ash Tenou]], [[Jack Hawksmoor]], [[Theo]]
|Date = January 21st, 2020
|Where = Welcome Center
|Log=

It's a fairly ordinary if slow evening in the Welcome Center. Tonight, it's Jeremy manning the reception desk... actually the entire place for now. He's currently lounging in the chair behind the desk, reading a magazine. He's also currently(well, permanently, actually) a human sized, four armed starfish. Two of his arms are somehow wearing pants, the other two have been stuffed into the sleeves of a button-down shirt that has been left completely unbuttoned... obviously, because how else would he be able to see out of the large eye in the center of his 'chest'?

For Ash this wasn't entirely new. He wandered the welcome center in tan knee length shorts, sandals.... and a shirt loud enough to not even match itself. he adjusted the alolah'n cap as he looked the place over, frowning. He looked at the paper in his hands, frowning at it then looking back to the starfish at the counter before giving a resigned sigh.

"So, this is for new arrivals to this... place?" He sounded like an exasperated teenager. Yet... "Look, I'm sorry if I'm the nth person to bug you about this but the pamplets have the right of it and there being no way back?" He sounded less desperate and more annoyed.

Jeremy sits upright as soon as the door opens, hiding the magazine on his lap as he scoots slightly forward. Not in an 'I'm caught' manner so much as a 'back to work!' manner. "Hello and Welcome to Mabase!" He says cheerfully, but then there's that usual question. It sounds almost scripted, but still genuine when he says, "Yes, I'm sorry. There ''are'' some stable portals, but unfortunately unless you arrived through one of those portals, it is very unlikely that any of them are connected to the realm you arrived from."

Spiders. There are suddenly spiders. A handful of tiny metal spiders skitter into the welcome center. They climb up the wall and look from the ceiling. This is, of course, Theo surveying the scene from elsewhere. It becomes clearer when a blond teenage boy walks into the room, wearing a green t-shirt, denim vest, faded jeans, and battered sneakers. And a pair of pins, one on each lapel.

This blond fellow very much looks new and confused, casting a wide-eyed glance around the room. He happens to catch the end of Ash's question, and blinks. He looks from Ash to the... okay. Yeah. Seeing the starfish in pants and a shirt gives him pause for a long moment. Clearly at least he's surprised at what he sees.

The guy who enters behind Theo is being polite. He's using the door. Of course, to unfamiliar eyes he might look a bit, shall we say, "bum-like," with his off-the-rack suit, white t-shirt instead of a button down and distinct lack of footwear. "Yo, Jeremy," he greets the starfish before looking around. Spiders.

Ash Tenou frowned, his shoulders slumping before muttering, "Ordis's gonna think I abandoned him again...." His voice soft. there was an edge to it. then. a deep breath. His eyes closed.

breath in.

Breath out.

that is when he noticed the spiders.. All of them centering on the blonde. An eyebrow raised as he turned more fully, "..>Stand user..." He hated the fact he was apparently stuck in this Mbasa city, or wherever here was even more now. "OK.... Kid," His voice a very deliberate calm, "Any chance at making the spiders go away? You're safe here. It's OK." His posture would perhaps look casual to the untrained observer, but his hands had left his pockets and his weight shifted to his back foot. He would give the 'bum' in the suit a casual wave, showing something on his right wrist, a bracelet of interlocked metal segments and a single disc-like bulge even as his eyes remained on Theo.

Jeremy doesn't react to the spiders. At all. Instead, he cheerfully greets Theodore as he enters, alerted only by the sound of the door opening. "Hello! Welcome to Mabase! I'll be with you in a few moments!" It's difficult to help more than one person at a time. As neither seems to be in a panic, Jeremy will of course focus his efforts on Ash. First come, first served, after all! But he does still greet the last to enter. "Mr. Hawksmoor! A pleasure as always, but I'm afraid I don't have much time to chat." His voice does not sound like it would be coming from a starfish, but sounds perfectly normal human. It's masculine, but very soft... like an overly caring school counselor. Finally, he looks back to Ash again. "Sorry about that. But... yes, I'm afraid we don't have a way of sending messages across to those left behind, either." He looks around the room in confusion. "Spiders?" He knows he's not the one addressed with the request. He's just confused. What spiders?

Theo notes one Jack Hawksmoor when he greets Jeremy, and turns to look, recognizing the voice. He offers a wave in Jack's direction, too. "Hi there," he greets. But then, the blond kid turns to look at Ash with the mention of the spiders. He looks up at them. "Oh, er... you can see them too?" he inquires. "That's three people so far who can see them. I'm sorry. They're harmless though -- not venomous, they don't really even have teeth or fangs, and they're too small to really be dangerous."

That said, though, he beckons to the spiders on the ceiling and they sort of 'Mission Impossible' down to him, on golden threads that disappear when they're no longer needed. Theo raises his hand to cover his mouth loosely... and the spiders crawl under it, disappearing. When he draws his hand away, they're gone. "Sorry abot that. I tend to send them to scout when I don't know an area."

Jeremy's reaction gets a sheepish look from Theo. "Uh... yeah. They're mine. Don't worry about it. I have weird psychic powers that manifest in ways some people can't see." He has little problem with telling Jeremy, because... well. He's a giant starfish. On Theo's scale anyway, that's a little weirder than 'I have psychic spiders'.

"And they're harmless," Jack says, shooting Ash a look. "From what I've seen, anyway." The spiders might well be disconcerting, though...to those who can see them and, yes, to those who can't.

Jeremy laughs nervously while looking around the room. "Yes, well, um, glad to hear they're harmless..." Where are the spiders, where are the spiders? Wait, invisible? Even freakier! Luckily, Jeremy has enough self-control to not let his squeamishness show beyond that brief nervous laughter.

Ash Tenou looked to the starfish and shrugged before calmly stating, "Is what it is. Miwa's gonna be annoyed." More along the lines of 'heartbroken.' Alolah was special to him, but to her? It was home.

Instead he points to one of the little metal spiders, "You don't see those?" He looked to the starfish, gesturing. "I could be worng, but the blonde there is generating them as a sort of quirk from his home. I'm going off memory from a speedwagon pamplet but stands are basically a user's fighting spirit given form and given a very narrow set of 'things they can do.'" He... wasn't sure how right that was and had a feeling that had a lot of holes and astrisks in it. "It looked near enough like how I pilot my warframe to do a little digging," He offered as way of explanation.

He sees Theo's 'disposal' of the spiders and raises an eyebrow. "Even if all they can do is provide reconnaissance they're a major advantage in a fight." He gestured to himself, "I'm Ash.. uh," He paused frowning. "I guess Tenou is as good a last name as any and you need a way to keep me separate from all the other Ashes this place is bound to have."

Only then did he look to jack, a very deliberate careful look. "Harmless is relative. I don't think our friend here has any harmful intent, but even if a thing has no poison fangs, or sharpness of claw does not mean it can't become a weapon. You just have to get creative."

Theo nods to Jack's mention of the spiders. "Yes, that's right. They're far too small to hurt anyone in the typical ways a spider can." And there was only a handful there, just enough for recon work, so even less reason for anyone to worry. He sends a reassuring look to Jeremy. "It's all right. You've no need to worry. I've put them away now, they're no longer skittering about." He doesn't have any sort of accent, but he has a rather formal way of speaking, enunciating his words clearly, and choosing 'yes' over 'yeah'.

But then Ash mentions 'Speedwagon'... and Theo blinks, looking with wide amber eyes at him. "Speedwagon... do you mean the Speedwagon Foundation?" he inquires. "They're a medical and ecological research firm in my world... are you from there?" Pause, and he considers Ash's words. "...S-Stand?" Clearly he hasn't heard that word before... maybe a relatively newly-fledged Stand-user? Not like the young fella with the pompadour that Ash might remember.

He also looks a little embarrassed at the mention of being a weapon. "Well, yes... they do have lots of ways to fight, but... I'm rather trying to put Mr. Jeremy at ease. But..." He bows politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ash. My name is Theodore Rabanne. 'Theo', if you like."

Jack rolls his eyes (currently not even a bit red, thankfully), "He's a medic. Which doesn't mean he's not dangerous, but..." And then he looks between the two. "Well, huh. Maybe you guys can help each other out then." Because they'd already know the differences.

Jeremy is the picture of calm! ...Nevermind the slight twitching of the small tentacles at the ends of his arms. Really, they're functionally just fingers. That twitching isn't a sign of nervousness at all, no. />\ Oh, but the two may be from the same world? This is wonderful, usually this helps people acclimate better, having some sense of familiarity to grasp on to. "I don't, no," he says in response to Ash's question. For the moment, however, he glances between the occupants of the room, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. He's a patient starfish.

Ash Tenou focused his attention on Theo and slow nodded, "Speedwagon Foundation does a lot of research into paranormal and at least what i'd seen showed they were familiar enough with Stands to know they were native rather than imports from other worlds." A pause as his eyes unfocus, trying to recall details. "I'm not from your world. I'd simply landed in Morioh and was actually kind of enjoying the place when a few odd things happened." Nothing major just a stand-like projection that resembled his warframe.

He then looked to the starfish, "Yea, they're gone. Plus the kid doesn't seem the type to start fights unless provoked." He looked the starfish over, more curious than disturbed. "I have questions I'm not sure I want the answers to. there was a chuckle.

And when Jack spoke Ash's chuckle turned into light laughter, "I'm dating a girl that's a pop singer from a world that's got at worst leg breakers and bored kids raising hell. Yet I've seen her stare down literal demonic armies. You'd be surprised at how much backbone the quiet ones have."

Finally he turned back to Jeremy, "Hey," his voice was soft. "It's alright man." He looked at the finger-like tentacles. "Rough day we're not helping with or new doing desk work?"

Theo nods eagerly to Jack's explanation. "That's right. I'm basically... Well, I suppose 'psychic healer' might be an appropriate term, too." He looks to Jack. "Is that about right? I'm not sure if there's actually a difference. But yes."

Looking to Jeremy, he assures, "I have less interest in figuring out how to make them dangerous and more in trying to see how I can help injured people not-be-injured anymore. And yes, I put them away." He chuckles. Theo doesn't notice the twitching of those small 'fingers'. He can't see that well without his spiders, and he's put them away so he can put Jeremy more at ease.

Ash's words of the Speedwagon Foundation gets a blink. "Wow... really? They know about all this? And it's a native thing?" That means one thing to Theo -- he's not the only one. He never was. "...I never realized. But then again, it really doesn't surprise me. If anyone would know about paranormal phenomena, it would be them. They have their fingers in a lot of pies..."

"Oh, I didn't say he didn't have backbone," Jack says. "Given some of the paramedics I've met. Crazy, some of them."

Jeremy retracts the tentacles, realizing he may be exuding an air of nervousness through them. "Oh, it's been a slow enough day that I've gotten all my paperwork caught up, easily." From his tone of voice, it doesn't sound like that was too much of a challenge, nor very unusual. He's listening in on the conversation, yes, but unless there are questions about how to get situated, he won't interrupt into it. There is a sort-of-nod to Theo as he mentions his intentions with the spiders - one could argue it's a slight and repeated bow, though, considering Jeremy doesn't have a proper head. How is he talking? His mouth isn't even visible. He also doesn't appear to have a backbone.

"Nope!" Ash's voice was cheerful, "Kid I ran into had this stand that was like a giant cyborg man that could fix things by punching them." He had hoped to go to Morioh again, the place was nice from what he'd seen. bit of a weirdness magnet but given his own strangeness maybe that's what drew him there.

Ash looked to Jeremy, smiling. "So, what sort of paperwork needs to be filled out for a couple new arrivals?" There was a beat as he considered Theo and shook his head, "Me and the primarina lady that came with me. She's doing the more peopley bits of figuring things out. I figure save her the hassle of getting her paperwork while i'm over here." A helpless shrug and seemingly no care that Jeremy wasn't even vaguely humanoid. "I don't mean to pry but.... where's your mouth? Or are you a telepath?"

Theo grins at Jack's words. "Ah, no, he's right. I don't really have anything resembling a backbone," he assures. "I mean... literally of course, yes, I do. I'm a vertebrate, I rather need one of those to function. But no, I generally run from danger. I run from not-danger, too. Come to think of it, I run from a lot of things." He chuckles.

Ash mentions the paperwork then, and he nods. "Oh, that's right. I suppose there's a procedure that a newcomer needs to go through. Particularly if, as you mention, most of us will be stuck here. I'll need to do that as well."

And then he considers the account of someone with a cyborg Stand that fixed things by punching them. "That... is really strange," he admits. "But I hope he made it work. And I hope he helped people with it. It's a pity I didn't get to meet him. Had I known that these... 'Stands' were more common, I wouldn't have run away to begin with..."

Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "Nothing wrong with running, though. Sometimes it's the best course of action." He doesn't involve himself in the conversation about Stands, except to note the term. Might come in handy.

"Oh, not much, really! Just some basic information, really... Nothing beyond what would be on a driver's licence, if they have those in your home dimension. I can take your picture and give you a proper ID if you like. But what I'm more here for is to give ''you'' information rather than the other way around." Jeremy looks between Theo and Ash, then raises an arm. "I'm the one that's not a vertebrate. And my mouths are where you would call your armpits." Indeed, when he raised his arm, his voice became a slight bit louder. Also, the motion was a bit too fluid for him to have any arm bones. "And I assure you, having what you may consider to be a strange power is no reason to run from society here. Why, Mr. Hawksmoor here has one of the strangest powers I've ever seen! Far stranger than... controlling invisible spiders." Yes, apparently Jeremy has a slight spider phobia.

Ash Tenou shrugged at Theo's admission of cowardice, "Running when you're pretty sure you're gonna get pasted isn't lack of backbone, it's having more sense than I've got." Says the 'teenager who's left hand trails to his left hip, fingers curling as if around something absent. Instead of commenting over Theo having run from home he turned back to Jeremy.

As heartless seeming as it might have been, if here was Permanent, there was no way for that kid to take it back. Just like there was no way for him to tell Ordis where he was.. .barring Ordis somehow finding the same anomaly. A maybe, but he had to presume Ordis, his ship, and everything else was gone. Which brought to mind something else, "I'm gonna need to find work. Only have a little of the money from Miwa's home and I'm not sure what the exchange rates are.... plus that's not gonna last long."

Then Jeremy raised an arm, revealing armpit-mouth. causing him to quirk an eyebrow. "So no pitchforks and torches. No white lab coat amoral science types wanting to poke and prod?" He gave a friendly smile at this information before looking to Hawksmoor. "Color me interested. about all I've got is a mainline tap into a whole universe of self contradicting power." No mention of the madness and all that came with the experience. As if demonstrating he extended his left arm, palm up, and caused what looked like a small flame to form that switched from green to purple, to yellow, to white.... and then before extinguishing seemingly turning into a sort of 'black' that drank in the surrounding light before he closed his hand around the little flame. "But I'm not here to compare oddities. I'm just glad nobody cares."

Theo does something in response to Jack's words of running away sometimes being the best course of action. This gesture is commonly known as a 'sagenod'. Theo sagenods at this. "There is very definitely wisdom in that," he agrees. "It's not a lot of use to anyone if you throw yourself at a situation you can't handle. Least of all yourself, because then you would be dead."

Now, Theo can't help but snicker a little at the mention of mouths being in armpits. But he is trying to be polite, so he purses his lips to muffle the sound, and ducks his head to hide the whole thing. "We all have much to learn. But... well, as far as I knew, no one in my home world could do that. That said, I also panicked. I'm sure I would have eventually gone back home once I'd calmed down, if I'd given it some thought." Oh, an ID! "That might be useful, so the police here know that I'm... well, 'registered', I suppose you'd call it," he agrees.

Ash's words of running get a nod as well. "I suppose, at least, you could run to people who '''can''' handle the situation," he notes. He doesn't interrupt Ash's conversation to Jeremy. But that flame? That gets a blink. "Oh, wow," he breathes. He raises a hand as if he wants to touch the flame, but pulls his hand back before he gets it close. Wait, wasn't this kid just talking about how much fo a coward he was? And was going to touch '''void flames'''?!

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Definitely no shame with that." Jack leans against the wall. "I should get going, though. You guys will be okay, right?"

|}}

2020-01-19 - New Here and Just Hangin' Around

2020-01-19T21:04:53Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = New Here and Just Hangin' Around |Summary = Alissa arrives in Mabase, to be greeted by Rayne |Who = Alissa Bailey, Rayne |Date = Januar..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = New Here and Just Hangin' Around
|Summary = Alissa arrives in Mabase, to be greeted by Rayne
|Who = [[Alissa Bailey]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = January 19th, 2020
|Where = [[Nowhereto Park]]
|Log=

It's a clear day... Is this determined by Bishop, is it a program he made, or is it actual random depending on... well, the chaos of this world? Rayne doesn't know. But she does know that since she's off work for the day, she's taking advantage of it. So there she is, trying to get back into that hobby she picked up a couple of years ago again. She's back to her old habit with it, as well... she's up in a tree, seated on one of the sturdier branches with her back to the trunk. Resting against a leg, bent to provide a better angle, is what looks like an oversized notepad that she's writing on. No, make that sketching on. She's drawing one of the other trees in the park this time, just practicing her sketching skills.

There's a sudden flare of bright blue and yellow light that comes up from one of the nearby trees, its bright enough to make one squint if looking directly at it. There is then the shout of surprise of a young woman amongst the trees. There's the sound several branches breaking and then silence. There's no sound of impact of something hitting the ground, but there is definitely words that follow, as a young woman is heard. "Oh! This definitely isn't Arcadia!" the source of the voice is perhaps three or four trees off and one might catch the shrouded silhouette of something hanging from the branches.

Rayne winces at the flash of light, grumbling for a moment before the announcement is proclaimed. "Oh," she says plainly. She then sighs and packs her charcoal stick into the small container at the bottom of her art pad before lowering it down to the ground with a rope. She was prepared to do this in a tree today, after all. It's not like she hasn't done this before. With it now safely on the ground, Rayne grips the branch below her and executes a casual flip to the underside before jumping down to the ground herself. She pats off her backside lightly to remove any debris of the bark as she starts making her way towards the source of the flash and sound of the voice, leaving her art pad behind for now.

Alissa Bailey Hangs from one of the branches in the tree, maybe seven or so feet up. A red cloak had been caught by one of the heftier branches and one of its smaller branches was poking through the cloak. Alissa is in her middling teens, she has golden blonde hair that extends past her shoulders a little, with much of it tied into a crown braid, then braided down past her back, and brilliant green eyes that seem to glow with their own inner light. A small light remains flowing around her for a few short moments, she looks around for a moment then looks downward, noting the approaching Rayne. She offers a wave and bright smile. "Helloes!" she greets, there's a cheerful tone, obviously chipper despite her circumstances. "I'm Alissa Bailey. Nice to meet you!" she doesn't seem too bothered by her predicament in the tree. "Do you happen to know where this is?" she gestures around.

The rainbow haired young lady, herself appearing in her late teens, looks up at the blonde, blinking slightly with her violet eyes at the sight of the teenager hanging by a branch through her cloak. "Um, hi," she says, tilting her head slightly at the oddness of the fact that Alissa appear to be not particularly concerned about being stuck in a tree. Well, if she's not worried about it, neither will Rayne. "Rayne Hurris. Um, sure. Nowhereto Park, east side of the city of Mabase which itself floats in the void of space commonly called Twisted." This looks like a new arrival to her eyes, so she's being quite elaborate in her answer, but she doesn't go into the whole dimensional nexus thing yet, just in case she's wrong. If she was wrong, then she just sounds slightly sarcastic. "Do you, uh, need any help?"

"Help?" she asks, confused, then looks around a moment, then flails her arms. She had not noticed she had been stuck in the tree or something, sadly, the flailing of her arms was putting undue stress on the branch and it was beginning to crack. "Um! Maybe! I expended too much mana and I don't think I can manage another spell!" she exclaims. "I had thought I was floating!" she offers with a sheepish smile. She stops flailing after a bit but the damage has been done. "Um. Which way is Arcadia from here?" she asks.

Rayne blinks, then facepalms for a split second before looking up again. "Okay, uh... lemme think a second..." She could just reach up and help, right? But no, she instead detaches the two swords from her hips, scabbards and all, and reaches up with them, where the tips would be, towards Alissa's hands while still keeping a firm grip on the actual handles with her own. "Oh, um...Arcadia... Can't say I've heard of that, sadly, but I'm guessing it's not on this plane of existence." She winces slightly as she says this, but otherwise sounds conversational. She's not so good at breaking that news as she used to be.

The extra reach of the sword was just enough for Alissa to grab on with both hands. With a short twist, she uses the extra leverage from the sword to break the smaller branch keeping her stuck and she begins to fall to the ground. A short flip is made as she pushes off the sword and lands on the ground and nods. "Thanks! You're a life saver!" she said, she keeps her usual cheer even as she's given some alarming news, she crosses her arms. "Another plane of existence? Wow.." she looks around thoughtfully. "I knew heaven was on another level existence, but I had no idea there was other places like this." she seemed to be taking the news quite well, nothing seeming to damper her mood as she looks to Rayne. "Oh no, I hope the people I was transporting with my light made it safely! Our boat capsized and I had to engulf everyone in light and shift them back to Arcadia! But something went wrong and now I'm here!" Now that she is at level with Rayne, the young woman stands fairly tall for her age, at 5'7. A staff is on her back on a leather sling that glows with brilliant runes of light, and a greatsword rests besides it that glows similarly. Her state of dress is that of common clothes of that of a medieval society. Tougher, cheap fabrics that are made to last, and survive the elements. She has a laborer's physique, most noticeably seen in her powerful shoulders, and the callused hands she's got speak many a tale. "You don't know the way back, do you?" she asks.

Rayne dryly quips, "Yeah, we're a little in the other direction," when the comparison to heaven is brought up. She pauses, then frowns. "Teleportation spell accident? Interesting. I suppose that's as good an explanation as any I've heard for coming here." She then shrugs. "There's no telling what happened to the others, sorry. I still don't understand why people randomly show up here." If it weren't for her hair, she herself wouldn't look too out of place in a medieval society, with her tunic and hardened leather chest plate. Well, leather instead of metal would be a bit odd in historical, but less so for a lot of fantasy settings. She's a few inches shorter than Alissa is already, though. "...Um... no. No I do not know the way. You'd need some sort of dimension-hopping spell, and I've heard even that's iffy." Sure, there's some portals, but considering she's not heard of Arcadia, she's going to assume that's not linked to any of the portals she's aware of.

Alissa Bailey crosses her arms and paces a little. "To be honest, Light based transportation isn't normally capable of making something like that happen, but it was also the first time I tried teleporting a whole boat crew, in fact, I was risking overstressing my gate doing that. I'm lucky I'm not in a coma right now..That might be why it was enough to cause a distortion." she admits to Rayne. She dusts herself off and lets out a small sigh, but the smiles brightly. "So its common for people to show up here?" she crosses her arms. "My older brother was on that boat. Maybe He'll show up too." she nods and then takes a moment, sitting down against the tree. "Other direction, huh?" she looks about. "Doesn't seem that bad to me." she comments. "Sounds like I'm gonna be here for a while. Do you got um, any suggestion on what I should do?" she asks.

While Rayne reattaches her scabbards to her belts, she nods grimly at the mention of the overstressing might be why the malfunction happened, even if she's completely clueless on the details. Complete magic novice, over here. "Can't say if he will or won't. The entire time I've been here, a total of one other person from my universe ever showed up. It was someone I'd never met or heard of before." She let's any comments on Hell go unsaid, instead responding only to the question of what Alissa should do. She sighs and sits against a nearby tree, facing the newcomer. "Well, there's a lot of things that can be done. It all depends on what you're good at, of course. If you're used to being a travelling adventurer, that might be problematic." She can't help but notice the weapon on Alissa's back, of course. "There's a bounty board at town hall, but there's a lot of competition for that. No one wants to work for the actual police... er... town guard?" She's never sure what terms people will recognize. On the other hands, this is starting to remind her of when she ran the Welcome Center instead of the Police. Happier times, those.

"No, I'm not too interested in bounty hunting. Thats a dark job, that." Alissa admits to Rayne. "Where I'm from, I'm a priestess of my lands god, and wield his light." she holds up a hand to make a small mote of light appear, nothing extensive. "My specialty is the clerical arts. The healing of wounds and the preservation of life, but I also know the way of the blade and offensive and defensive light magic." Alissa explains in brief. "Beyond that I was just a farmgirl!" she said cheerily after, but suddenly, her eyes widen as she realizes something, and her expression changes from a smile for the first time to a deep frown as she looks to be in thought.

Rayne blinks. It's been a while since she's spoken with a priestess... and of course this makes her a bit more melancholy as her mind turns to Silencia for a moment. "Yeah... sorry. I don't think your deity's reach quite extends this far..." No, she's not questioning how Alissa is able to create faith based magic outside of the reach of said deity... but Rayne just doesn't understand gods. It's part of why she now tries to avoid anyone claiming to be one. Yeah, that can be a thing here. "Well! On the other hand, we can always use healers in town! Trouble happens, and right now we only have a small, non-magic based clinic. Or I'm sure we could find a setup for a farm..." She then glances away before saying in an annoyed tone, "Not that those rich idiots wanting land for themselves made that any easier." Yes, she's still pissed off about the Gardens project getting stalled after just one platform was constructed. Which is currently being used as a landing platform, of all things.

Alissa Bailey is broken out her long thoughts for a moment. "I have a good amount of time to maybe.. find another source of mana, but..you might be right and the connection to my god might have been cut after transitioning to wherever this is. Where I'm from, people like myself draw mana through their 'gate'..when the connection is cut, one slowly loses access to that mana, until they finally go 'gray', and lose all mana." there is a sense of worry in her tone, and obvious discomfort over the idea of finding another source. But she recovers quickly. "Sadly, I'm not a healer in the normal sense. A cleric makes certain oaths, and one of those is to avoid the pursuit of medical science." she said. "But I can do a lot while I still have mana. I'll help anyone injured." she then frowns. "Nobles are ruining things for the common people?" she asks at the mention of the wealthy.

Rayne frowns, nodding. Is there some sort of microscopic gateway hole that can keep her mana fed? Rayne won't pretend to know. Maybe that particular deity is truly pan-dimensional and the dimensional difference means nothing to them. Alissa will just have to find out on her own. "Why would you... never mind, tradition." She shakes her head. "I did mean like a thing where you would heal with magic, for the record, but if you're going to end up that limited..." She'd understand wanting to save it for real emergencies. She blinks and laughs once. "Oh! That, yeah, well... I'd come up with a plan for a more... traditional method of keeping Mabase sustained on food rather than... however it's currently being done. But, uh, that kind of got nixed in favor of using the land for more houses."

The youth smiles a little "Mhm, If someone is truly hurt, such as badly broken bones, or a missing limb, or on the brink of death, I'll do whatever I can to help them, but helping with injuries that can heal with time, or with the attention of a doctor is a poor use of my lords light, even if I wasn't potentially cut off, I'd be careful of using it trivially." There was clearly certain guidelines that the youth followed with her arts. "Maybe I could help you convince them that land is needed to feed people as well?" she asks. "I'm a farmer. I know the importance of the various crops, and even livestock."

Rayne sighs and shakes her head. She alters her voice to be much lower and says, "'What do you know about the way things are done around here? I've lived here longer than you've been alive, young lady!'" She scoffs and shakes her head. "That's what they'll say, and they'll just ignore you. But you're welcome to try. To them, the way things are working now is just fine." Why does she work so hard to protect them, again? Sometimes, Rayne wonders. She frowns, less at the situation and more at herself. When did she get so jaded?

"That just makes me want to try harder!" Alissa exclaims, setting her hands on her hips. "People who let hubris and pride of their age and experience close their mind to new ideas and experiences!" she says after. "That is one of the greater sins any one person could make. Alissa didn't look one bit dissuaded by Rayne's words. "Ignore me all they want, but when a farm just crops up and is doing good for people, what then?" she offers with a big grin. "Its all in the approach, sometimes being ignored is a good thing, because they're too prideful to actually acknowledge your efforts." she said with a grin. "Where words aren't enough, action is to be taken!"

Rayne looks up again at Alissa with a weak smile. Oh, if only Alissa knew she was talking to someone over four hundred years old. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Over four hundred, and yet never held onto a career as long as most people would. "Sometimes, I wish I could do things that way, but lately, most of my ideas worth doing have gotten too big to ignore. Or just... people would notice me doing things." She chuckles, then says dryly, "I'm not exactly the lowest profile person in Mabase."

Alissa Bailey keeps her smile strong "Sometimes you can use the big ideas to take attention away from something smaller. Its like a distraction." she said with a laugh, Alissa clearly sounds like she's had to do something like this before. She aims to step closer to Rayne, and give her a hefty pat on the shoulder. "It sounds like you've been doing a lot, the best thing is to not let set backs get you down!" she said. "When I was little, when the demons were over taking my home, I never gave up, even if what I could do was limited. I did everything I could to help, and with a group effort my homeland is now free."

Rayne makes a slight motion away as Alissa steps closer, but it's when she outright tenses up, complete with the sharp intake of air that makes it clear that Rayne does not like that kind of physical contact. "I, uh, sorry, I kind of have a personal space... thing." Well, that would explain why she used her swords instead of, you know, just reaching up to help Alissa down directly. They aren't long swords. She does calm down soon enough, and tries to act like nothing went wrong just then. "Uh, yeah, well, uh, that can be a thing. I've not had to deal with, well, that exactly, sort of... Okay, I've had a history of running from problems in the past..." She shakes her head. Not exactly a smooth recovery, on her part. "Well, um, yeah. If you can find the space, more power to you."

Alissa Bailey is quick to pick up on the discomfort and smiles, stepping back. She listens to Rayne and nods a little. "I understand. Its okay." she sets her hands at her lap and says. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. No one is perfect and no one is made perfect. You've already done a lot to help me, and I think you should feel good about that at least." she said. "And If I can, I'll find away to help you out in return.

Rayne nods a bit too quickly in her continued discomfort. "Well, I'm pretty easy to find. Just find the courthouse and police station and ask for the Chief of Police. For now... Eh, honestly, you're best off just looking around the city for now. Oh! And if you need more help getting situated, there's always the Welcome Center... it's in the courthouse, too. Um, there's a chapel there? I've never really paid it any mind."

"Um.. is there a map or something?" Alissa asks curiously, looking around. "This looks like a park, but I see a lot of stuff I don't recognize."

Rayne shakes her head. "Not that I have, no. There's some in the welcome center... Well, if you find the fountain, the courthouse is one of the two large buildings nearby... the other being the arena. I... don't frequent that place anymore."

Alissa Bailey nods a little. "I guess it doesn't hurt to look around. I won't keep you further! Thanks a lot, time to explore." Unless shes stopped, she begins heading off through the park.

|}}

Rayne

2020-01-05T02:07:52Z

Rayne:

{{2019Profile|
|Image=Rayne.png
|Name=Rayne Hurris
|Pronunciation=
|Alias=
|Occupation=
|Series=Lethumi
|Threat=Block Buster
|Alignment=Chaotic Good
|Gender=Female
|Species=Phoenix
|Short=A woman with rainbow colored hair, usually armed with a pair of swords and a quiver of arrows.
|Extra1='''Misc:'''
|Age=Roughly 400, though she looks to be in her very late teens.
|Birthdate=May 19 2031
|Height=5'4"
|Weight=
|Desc=Probably the first thing that attracts your attention to the woman you're looking at is her hair; a full rainbow of color from red on her left to a deep violet on her right cascades down to her shoulders. Once you stop looking at her hair, you might next notice the odd color of her eyes, a violet color. Currently she is wearing what seems to be brown leather armor of utilitarian build. The shirt covers her torso well, but not her upper arms. Under the chest armor is a green tunic whose sleeves are tucked into her bracers. The collar of the tunic also pokes up over the armor, rising most of the way up her neck. Below, her tunic flares out almost like a short skirt, though her legs are well covered by the pants of her armor, with a holstered blaster on a thigh holster on her right. A pair of sturdy looking boots rise halfway up to her knees. Attached to a pair of crossing belts are a pair of sheaths holding lightly curved short swords on each hip, and a quiver of arrows is held almost horizontally at the small of her back. Oddly enough, there doesn't seem to be a bow to go with those arrows.
|Extra2='''Flaws:''' 
|Background=
Rayne was born the daughter of Maniko Hurris and Gonfei Thri. Maniko herself was an adopted daughter into House Hurris, the second most powerful family on the planet of Avia, as well as the captain of the dragonship ''Wings of the Dragon''. As such, Rayne grew up primarily being raised by the noble house's nannies and servants, despite being born out of wedlock. Rayne grew to chafe at the rules stuffiness of the official family home, and by age ten she was regularly causing trouble throughout the huge mansion. In exasperation, Maniko finally introduced Rayne to her father Gonfei, who was known as an infamous bounty hunter at the time. Prior to this, Gonfei was unaware of Rayne's existence. Rayne, having been a fan of Gonthri Fei (Gonfei's pseudonym) prior to the meeting, was star struck. On her 14th birthday, Rayne managed to escape the Hurris family compound and find her way across half the galaxy to find her father.

While Gonfei did take his daughter in, though while doing so he retired from being an active bounty hunter to make sure his child was cared for. Rayne bonded with her father much more than she ever did with her mother, primarily on account of his always being there, as opposed to Maniko usually having been away with the Second Avian Fleet. During this time, Gonfei revealed to Rayne her heritage as a phoenix, instilling in her a sense that she was more than just some spoiled rich kid who would likely just coast through life. Gonfei did not spoil Rayne, instead enforcing that she properly get a normal high school and later college education.

Now on her own, Rayne would go through most of her life going through various jobs and learning various skills as her hobbies change through the next few centuries. At one point, she attempted to mend her relationship with her mother, at which point she learned of her draconic heritage on that side of her bloodline. As to awaken as a dragon takes a moment of extreme duress, Rayne remains happy to not have awakened in that regard.

In the past 30 years, Rayne's wanderlust had taken her to a system where the inhabitable planet, Cevernal, is known for having such extreme high atmospheric electromagnetic storms that it knocks out almost any electrical device on the surface, and is only considered inhabitable because of a strong magic user presence with individuals capable of sending craft into orbit. There she dabbled in learning magic, though as usual, she didn't really come close to mastering that ability. There she did pick up an enchanted set of short swords that, when combined, form a short bow. And it is from there that she somehow managed to find herself on Twisted.

==In Twisted==

Rayne has been very active in Twisted since her arrival. She joined with DMC/TASK shortly after [[Kotal_Kahn|Kotal]] received control from Dante, and after a few months of service, Kotal decided that she should be his Second in command. After a few months of this new status quo, Rayne had begun pondering a new branch to be more welcoming rather than threatening to newer arrivals, and with the announcement of a possible new Council with her as a member, she began working on this idea in earnest, recruiting both [[Sunset]] Shimmer and [[Serenity]] to this new Welcome Center project. This was initially intended to eventually be a separate organization from TASK, but due to lack of staff, it has remained a part of TASK, including being housed in what was a large storage room on the bottom floor of TASK Headquarters. Initially Rayne was Second in TASK as well as operating this new group, but more recent events, including the disappearance of Kotal Kahn and several of those close to him, have resulted in Rayne fully taking over as Director of TASK, leaving the Welcome Center manned primarily by Sunset Shimmer. Rayne has recently adopted a pair of cats, Yin and Yang, to keep her company in her apartment.

==Notes==

Rayne's mother, Maniko Hurris, is the same Maniko that was on NeoTokyo long ago. As such, [http://marrowproductions.com/neotokyo/index.php?title=Violet Violet at NeoTokyo]is her half-sister.

|Skills=In the past 4 centuries, Rayne has picked up a number of hobbies and taken up a number of jobs. As such, she has become a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. She has had dozens of careers, none of which require a specialized degree. She knows her way around general mechanical and electrical repair work fairly well, though she's far from being able to create new or improved devices.

She knows how to pilot light airplanes and spacecraft, though isn't familiar with fighter combat beyond what she's seen in video games. She also would need a navigation system even if she was in a world she was familiar with.

She has learned numerable combat styles from various dojos, but has mastered none of them. She shows her best combat skills with a pair of short swords and/or a bow, as that was her most recent focus, though she definitely knows what she's doing in unarmed combat, as well. She'd get knocked out in the first round of a Street Fighter tournament, but she knows what she's doing. She knows how to handle a firearm, but considers that a past hobby that she's not as much into anymore.

Rayne has learned a limited amount of magic. She's far from an expert and generally only uses it for small tricks to make her life easier, such as spells that help with personal hygiene, help her locate personal possessions, that sort of thing. If put into Dungeons and Dragons terms, she'd barely be considered a first level wizard, and basically only knows cantrips, with the exception of some minor fire spells. We're talking little fire bolt spells, not something like a fireball. This is primarily because being a phoenix gives her an affinity with fire.

As a phoenix, her abilities are less than some might think. The most important ability this gives her is her limited immortality, of sorts. While she never ages, the more dramatic form of this is that she can effectively raise herself from death. Upon death, if it is possible for her body to be consumed in flames, it will spontaneous combust, and Rayne will emerge from it in the form of a flaming bird. If her body isn't able to catch fire(most simply done by depriving it of oxygen, be it underwater, an atmosphere with no oxygen, or in a vacuum), then she will not be able to resurrect herself. It takes Rayne about a month to recover her life force sufficiently to resurrect herself, so if she were killed again in that period she would be dead dead. Outside of resurrection, being on fire doesn't really do significant damage to Rayne, but she does find it extremely unpleasant(it still hurts as much as it would to a normal person), and that lack of damage wouldn't extend to her clothing.

Rayne is capable of transforming herself into a flaming bird form, with all the abilities one would expect of a large eagle, including flight. In this form, fire doesn't hurt her at all, and she can in fact control flames within about a foot of her, including causing her fire aura to nearly die out. She does not, however, typically enjoy this form, and generally will only take the form only when she is reborn after a death.

Rayne's draconic heritage is currently effectively locked from her, though if an item were somehow (presumably magically) locked so only a dragon could use it, she would be able to. In the event that she were to unlock her draconic heritage, she would be able to take a hybrid form and a full dragon form. In hybrid form, she would have draconic wings and marks on her face that match the color her draconic form. In this form, she would have significantly increased strength, and with practice would be able to use the wings to fly. She would also have resistance to damage from and minor manipulation in her elemental affinity in the form of small blasts. In draconic form, which would be roughly the size of a small car, she would have the expected abilities of a dragon, including a breath weapon and immunities tied to her draconic elemental affinity, as well as flight would come more naturally than it would in hybrid form. Unlocking her draconic heritage would take a major event, however, as it requires extreme emotional duress. The emotion she is under when she unlocks it would determine her elemental affinity that she would permanently have as a dragon. For example, if she's seeking vengeance or justice, she would have fire; protectiveness or possessiveness would align her with earth(and thus a resistance and breath weapon involving acid); desperation or determination would attune her to wind and lightning, and paranoia or faith would attune her to water and ice. It would usually take a life or death situation for a dragon to be awakened like this, making it less likely for Rayne as her phoenix heritage makes a life or death situation typically less stressful.
|Gallery=<center><gallery>
</gallery></center>
|MusicEmbed=[http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/469175 Flying'n'Stuff - F-777]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSQcWEzw2h0 It's My Turn - RWBY], from the viewpoint of Rayne talking to herself.
|Logs={{Template:Logs}}
|WarkerName=
|Warker=
|}} 

{{Navbox/Twisted_Council}}
[[Category:TASK]]
[[Category:Active]]
[[Category:Twisted_Council]]

2019-10-18 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 3

2020-01-04T13:53:26Z

Rayne: forgot to do all the little edits of getting italics to work (and some spelling errors here and there)

{{Logsummary|
Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2
|Summary = The game continues, and Mimi just remains full of awkward.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = October 18th, 2019
|Where = Felicity's Apartment
|Log=

[[2019-10-08 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2|Continuing where we left off...]]

"I beg you pardon? I'll have you know that I'm perfectly healthy, thank you very much!" Gemma huffs, still crimson. People do much more than kissing and Mimi would surely die of shock were she to learn of what goes on in a lovers' bed. For the life of her Gemma cannot remember feeling that way about kissing despite her Victorian upbringing and she's starting to think that she isn't so prudish after all when compared to the young woman next to her who reacts to kisses the way a child might. "You might change your mind when you grow up," she says, unable to keep herself from casting a barb, her own ego having taken a blow from Mimi's reaction. Felicity's goading brings no help and only proceeds to tarnish Gemma's mood even further. "Well, it's your turn now Mimi, get on with it," she adds, sounding just as jolly at the prospect as she looks, sitting back down to take a few sips of her drink and looking much like a petulant child.

At the top of Mimi's list of unromantic, unsexy things? Getting ''told'' to do something. By being ''told'' she has to kiss Gemma, it's become a chore. It's become a thing detached from emotion, detached from any form of excitement or feeling. So of course she looked upon it afterword as just... sticking your tongue into another person's mouth. And how is it her fault she's never found someone she actually wanted to do that to?! (It's totally her fault, by the way.) "That's not what I meant! I mean... okay, I don't know what I mean. It just seems... silly, in a a way?" She doesn't know what she's talking about anymore, and she's the first person that would admit it if asked. Okay, she's gone full red from embarrassment now. She can't help but feel like she's just not the right person to be playing this sort of game. Her response to the truth was deemed untruthful despite her telling the truth, her dare upset the other person, and the dare she gave would likely have been followed if she'd just suggested Fee do it when they weren't playing the game and sober. Mimi lets out a sigh, really wishing the rain would let up so she could just escape the situation. But they're both looking at her now because- "Uwah? OH! Uh... Right... well... Gemma? Truth or Dare?"

For Felicity's part in all of this, she can only adopt that look girls get when someone has said something especially catty - that, mouth gone the shape of a complete "O", then quickly twisting into an unkind smile. "Meee-OW, Gemma," she mutters, much more amused than admonishing but she keeps herself out of the fray, happy to simply enjoy the chaos as the game kareens out of control.

To be fair, she does give Mimi a somewhat sympathetic look - somewhat- after her honest but awkward defense just then. It's hard to argue with so earnest a plea so...again, she leaves well enough alone quite ready to move on herself to whatever the next twist might bring.

With a sharp exhale, Gemma crosses her arms after putting her glass on the table and looks away as if looking at anyone present might burn her. "Truth," she says despite her attitude, not that she feels like talking much or revealing anything, but she's not about to undertake another dare so soon after this one, especially since it was not even hers.

Well, Mimi was honestly hoping more for a 'truth' than a dare. Still, she's not sure what it is to ask, and the long pause is sure proof of that. A few things come across her mind, but then she glances at Fee... no, she'd be called childish or a prude again or something of the sort. "Have, uh, how many, no, how often do you... have you? Watched... or looked... adult movies or pictures?" Could she have said that more awkwardly? Actually, it's almost surprising that she's even aware of these things. She sighs looking at the ground, already sure that she's going to get teased somehow for even asking it.

Mimi's question does earn her a giggle though she may be surprised to find that Felicity does not actually give her a hard time about this. It's actually not bad considering the source. Felicity offers Mimi a tiny round of applause and a full-ripe grin. "Well done, "she says, still giggling. "Yes, Gemma, do enlighten us. Just how much filth do you keep stashed away in your closet and is there any room in there with all your skeletons?"

Turning her head towards Mimi, Gemma raises her eyebrows in a way that screams 'really?' What feels truly surprising at the moment is that Mimi even seems to be aware of anything 'adult'. "Movies, never. Last pictures I voluntarily looked at were a few years ago now. Not that common in Victorian England to be honest. Someone drew a rather provocative and crude picture of a man and a woman mating. Fee, Ann, Pippa and I found it in a book. We all said it was disgusting but none of us turning away. Then there were the drawings in the caves of sighs in the Realms depicting many scenes of love and pleasure," she says matter of factly. By then, those scenes don't really make her blush anymore for she's seen them many times and so have the rest of her little ragtag band back then. "I don't have anything stashed anywhere. Some places I visited don't hide their deprivation so anyone who has eyes might catch a glimpse of something whether they want it or not." Nothing in this question ruffled her feathers much so she's starting to simmer down a bit. Her arms are still crossed when she turns to Felicity though, not wasting any time before moving on. "Truth or dare?"

What was Mimi afraid more of? Offending Gemma? Or having Felicity scoff at her for not being ''more'' risque? Either way, she managed to not do either, but she still feels fairly terrible. No, she's never playing this game again, despite any future protests Felicity would give her. It just feels so... empty and silly to her at best. Outright demeaning at worst. She looks at her cup of alcohol and wonders if she's had too much or not enough? Either way, she chugs what she has left.

"Truth," Felicity declares, not really taking much time to consider her options. If anyone here were being honest, they would surely know that it's 'truth' that is harder for Felicity anyway. Actions are infinitely easier than bearing one's soul...for Felicity, anyway. This gesture is a peace offering, showing that she is willing to be a good sport and put herself in uncomfortable positions just as much as anyone else.

Gemma's expression betray slight surprise as well as a little bit of disappointment as she was already trying to think of whatever could be torturous enough to pass as an acceptable dare for the great Felicity Worthington. This answer leaves her at a loss for an instant and her momentary silence makes it obvious. Right, question it is. It has to be a good one though. Felicity would simply take anything naughty in strides and flaunt her answers around unbothered and probably even enjoy causing the others to get flustered. Her green eyes fix Felicity intently and she takes a sip of her drink. For a moment, she's tempted to ask something incriminating that would be much more likely to make Gemma furious rather more than make Felicity squirm. In the end, she decides to aim for the heart. "What's something you've never told me about yourself that you wish you could but was never able to because you fear what I might think or how I might react?"

Mimi Valroon looks between the two. Truth? She's a bit more obviously surprised then Gemma at that, but she stays silent. She now is certain that Felicity would do almost litterally anything asked of her. Or was that the issue? It's not a challange for her, is it? Mimi frowns and looks down at her empty drink. She's definitely both too drunk and not drunk enough for this at the same time, she decides. And she's already dreading what will come her way next.

Felicity sits silently, her cool grey eyes lingering on Gemma for a few moments following her question. It's an interesting one and not exactly what she expected. Then again, the entire point of the game is the unexpected, isn't it? She considers the question, leaning back in her armchair. She chews her lip. She isn't stalling, truly. She is actually taking a moment to really think about Gemma's question, which in itself is something already. At last she says, "As much as I cherish my independence, now that I have it, I find...I dislike solitude. Loneliness is a familiar haunt in my home I cannot abide."

Why Fee would fear her reaction on that matter is beyond Gemma for she knows much too well what loneliness feels like. Even before she set out on her own -and too often even while surrounded by others- she has felt the grip of isolation and the heartache and insecurities that come with it. But this is Felicity we're talking about and any admission of vulnerability or needing others is no doubt as mortifying as having to describe her underwear is for her. Gemma finds that her animosity has flown away and so has any desire to keep playing this game. Never would she dare to gloat or make fun of Felicity's answer for fear that she shall never be trusted with any further confession and, more to the point, she simply does not want to. She empties the content of her glass then says, "I'm tired of playing. Isn't there a movie we can watch?"

Mimi Valroon tilts her head slightly at Felicity's answer, but doesn't say anything. No... this is an answer that fits in line with what she's heard of Fee so far. She opens her mouth, mentally debating what to say. She could call a penalty because 'we all knew that already,' but no. She shuts her mouth again and then leans back into the couch, stretching both arms above her head as she looks up at the ceiling. "Yes, we've all had a pair of turns," she says in agreement with Gemma. And thankfully she's not had to put on ''that'' top in the course of tonight. Why does she feel like the room is drafty, though... She blinks and looks at her outstretched arms, then remembers her initial penalty. Right. She's just in a bra for her top right now. She quickly lowers her arms again and partially covers up... a half-hearted attempt, considering how long she's not bothered to hide things up to now, anyway. It ends up being mostly covering her stomach with crossed arms. What can she really do at this point, anyway. >.>

'Fear' wouldn't be the right word, not exactly. The truth is that after all she's been through, it's easier to admit something like this than it might have been back in the early days here in Twisted City. It's a question of pride and of protecting oneself by never admitting weakness. Yet it might not surprise anyone at this point. Funny enough, Felicity didn't feel any awkwardness over her answer until the game's abrupt ending. The mood has sunk here and she finds that it's left her feeling strangely put out. "We could just drink ourselves into oblivion. There's always that and I'm sure you know how very obliging Mr. Alexander can be on that account." She shrugs, idly playing with her sword. "Unless either of you have a clever idea? Mmm? Mimi?" Well, they did try Felicity's game so perhaps Mimi has better ideas.

"I already suggested a movie, I don't have any other idea. The weather is still awful and I'd rather not drink myself to death again, so unless Mimi has an incredible idea I think maybe I'll read a bit then head to bed. Maybe we'll have better luck next time with the weather when we plan to go out." Given the time that people usually head out to clubs it is already late anyway and Gemma sees no point in staying up just for the sake of it. She finds that the game has drained her and she feels the need to be alone or sleep, possibly both.

Mimi Valroon glances between the two, then says, "I've heard tales of curling up on the couch to a good movie in much the same way I used to curl up with a good book when I was in my teens. If we can find a way to do that I'm game... but if not, getting an earlier start on tomorrow isn't that bad, either."

That makes two votes in favor of movies. Well, there is a TV there that has not seen a great deal of use. "It seems the votes are in." Felicity casually reaches for the nearby remote and flicks on the TV-- opening a whole Pandora's box of entertainment. Suffice to say they likely debated over what to watch...switched channels numerous times and likely landed on something silly, raunchy or random. Either way it had the desired effect and chased away their boredom for one miserably wet night.

Mimi Valroon asks, "Uh.... can I put my shirt back on?"

|}}

2019-10-18 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 3

2020-01-04T13:50:52Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2 |Summary = The game continues, and Mimi just remains full of awkward. |Who = Felicity, Gemma Doyle, Mim..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2
|Summary = The game continues, and Mimi just remains full of awkward.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = October 18th, 2019
|Where = Felicity's Apartment
|Log=

[[2019-10-08 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2|Continuing where we left off...]]

"I beg you pardon? I'll have you know that I'm perfectly healthy, thank you very much!" Gemma huffs, still crimson. People do much more than kissing and Mimi would surely die of shock were she to learn of what goes on in a lovers' bed. For the life of her Gemma cannot remember feeling that way about kissing despite her Victorian upbringing and she's starting to think that she isn't so prudish after all when compared to the young woman next to her who reacts to kisses the way a child might. "You might change your mind when you grow up," she says, unable to keep herself from casting a barb, her own ego having taken a blow from Mimi's reaction. Felicity's goading brings no help and only proceeds to tarnish Gemma's mood even further. "Well, it's your turn now Mimi, get on with it," she adds, sounding just as jolly at the prospect as she looks, sitting back down to take a few sips of her drink and looking much like a petulant child.

At the top of Mimi's list of unromantic, unsexy things? Getting /told/ to do something. By being /told/ she has to kiss Gemma, it's become a chore. It's become a thing detached from emotion, detached from any form of excitement or feeling. So of course she looked upon it afterword as just... sticking your tongue into another person's mouth. And how is it her fault she's never found someone she actually wanted to do that to?! (It's totally her fault, by the way.) "That's not what I meant! I mean... okay, I don't know what I mean. It just seems... silly, in a a way?" She doesn't know what she's talking about anymore, and she's the first person that would admit it if asked. Okay, she's gone full red from embarassment now. She can't help but feel like she's just not the right person to be playing this sort of game. Her response to the truth was deemed untruthful depsite her telling the truth, her dare upset the other person, and the dare she gave would likely have been followed if she'd just suggested Fee do it when they weren't playing the game and sober. Mimi lets out a sigh, really wishing the rain would let up so she could just escape the situation. But they're both looking at her now because- "Uwah? OH! Uh... Right... well... Gemma? Truth or Dare?"

For Felicity's part in all of this, she can only adopt that look girls get when someone has said something especially catty - that, mouth gone the shape of a complete "O", then quickly twisting into an unkind smile. "Meee-OW, Gemma," she mutters, much more amused than admonishing but she keeps herself out of the fray, happy to simply enjoy the chaos as the game kareens out of control.

To be fair, she does give Mimi a somewhat sympathetic look - somewhat- after her honest but awkward defense just then. It's hard to argue with so earnest a plea so...again, she leaves well enough alone quite ready to move on herself to whatever the next twist might bring.

With a sharp exhale, Gemma crosses her arms after putting her glass on the table and looks away as if looking at anyone present might burn her. "Truth," she says despite her attitude, not that she feels like talking much or revealing anything, but she's not about to undertake another dare so soon after this one, especially since it was not even hers.

Well, Mimi was honestly hoping more for a 'truth' than a dare. Still, she's not sure what it is to ask, and the long pause is sure proof of that. A few things come across her mind, but then she glances at Fee... no, she'd be called childish or a prude again or something of the sort. "Have, uh, how many, no, how often do you... have you? Watched... or looked... adult movies or pictures?" Could she have said that more awkwardly? Actually, it's almost surprising that she's even aware of these things. She sighs looking at the ground, already sure that she's going to get teased somehow for even asking it.

Mimi's question does earn her a giggle though she may be surprised to find that Felicity does not actually give her a hard time about this. It's actually not bad considering the source. Felicity offers Mimi a tiny round of applause and a full-ripe grin. "Well done, "she says, still giggling. "Yes, Gemma, do enlighten us. Just how much filth do you keep stashed away in your closet and is there any room in there with all your skeletons?"

Turning her head towards Mimi, Gemma raises her eyebrows in a way that screams 'really?' What feels truly surprising at the moment is that Mimi even seems to be aware of anything 'adult'. "Movies, never. Last pictures I voluntarily looked at were a few years ago now. Not that common in Victorian England to be honest. Someone drew a rather provocative and crude picture of a man and a woman mating. Fee, Ann, Pippa and I found it in a book. We all said it was disgusting but none of us turning away. Then there were the drawings in the caves of sighs in the Realms depicting many scenes of love and pleasure," she says matter of factly. By then, those scenes don't really make her blush anymore for she's seen them many times and so have the rest of her little ragtag band back then. "I don't have anything stashed anywhere. Some places I visited don't hide their depravation so anyone who has eyes might catch a glimpse of something whether they want it or not." Nothing in this question ruffled her feathers much so she's starting to simmer down a bit. Her arms are still crossed when she turns to Felicity though, not wasting any time before moving on. "Truth or dare?"

What was Mimi afraid more of? Offending Gemma? Or having Felicity scoff at her for not being /more/ risque? Either way, she managed to not do either, but she still feels fairly terrible. No, she's never playing this game again, despite any future protests Felicity would give her. It just feels so... empty and silly to her at best. Outright demeaning at worst. She looks at her cup of alcohol and wonders if she's had too much or not enough? Either way, she chugs what she has left.

"Truth," Felicity declares, not really taking much time to consider her options. If anyone here were being honest, they would surely know that it's 'truth' that is harder for Felicity anyway. Actions are infinitely easier than bearing one's soul...for Felicity, anyway. This gesture is a peace offering, showing that she is willing to be a good sport and put herself in uncomfortable positions just as much as anyone else.

Gemma's expression betray slight surprise as well as a little bit of disappointment as she was already trying to think of whatever could be torturous enough to pass as an acceptable dare for the great Felicity Worthington. This answer leaves her at a loss for an instant and her momentary silence makes it obvious. Right, question it is. It has to be a good one though. Felicity would simply take anything naughty in strides and flaunt her answers around unbothered and probably even enjoy causing the others to get flustered. Her green eyes fix Felicity intently and she takes a sip of her drink. For a moment, she's tempted to ask something incriminating that would be much more likely to make Gemma furious rather more than make Felicity squirm. In the end, she decides to aim for the heart. "What's something you've never told me about yourself that you wish you could but was never able to because you fear what I might think or how I might react?"

Mimi Valroon looks between the two. Truth? She's a bit more obviously surprised then Gemma at that, but she stays silent. She now is certain that Felicity would do almost litterally anything asked of her. Or was that the issue? It's not a challange for her, is it? Mimi frowns and looks down at her empty drink. She's definitely both too drunk and not drunk enough for this at the same time, she decides. And she's already dreading what will come her way next.

Felicity sits silently, her cool grey eyes lingering on Gemma for a few moments following her question. It's an interesting one and not exactly what she expected. Then again, the entire point of the game is the unexpected, isn't it? She considers the question, leaning back in her armchair. She chews her lip. She isn't stalling, truly. She is actually taking a moment to really think about Gemma's question, which in itself is something already. At last she says, "As much as I cherish my independence, now that I have it, I find...I dislike solitude. Loneliness is a familiar haunt in my home I cannot abide."

Why Fee would fear her reaction on that matter is beyond Gemma for she knows much too well what loneliness feels like. Even before she set out on her own -and too often even while surrounded by others- she has felt the grip of isolation and the heartache and insecurities that come with it. But this is Felicity we're talking about and any admission of vulnerability or needing others is no doubt as mortifying as having to describe her underwear is for her. Gemma finds that her animosity has flown away and so has any desire to keep playing this game. Never would she dare to gloat or make fun of Felicity's answer for fear that she shall never be trusted with any further confession and, more to the point, she simply does not want to. She empties the content of her glass then says, "I'm tired of playing. Isn't there a movie we can watch?"

Mimi Valroon tilts her head slightly at Felicity's answer, but doesn't say anything. No... this is an answer that fits in line with what she's heard of Fee so far. She opens her mouth, mentally debating what to say. She could call a penalty because 'we all knew that already,' but no. She shuts her mouth again and then leans back into the couch, stretching both arms above her head as she looks up at the ceiling. "Yes, we've all had a pair of turns," she says in agreement with Gemma. And thankfully she's not had to put on /that/ top in the course of tonight. Why does she feel like the room is drafty, though... She blinks and looks at her outstretched arms, then remembers her initial penalty. Right. She's just in a bra for her top right now. She quickly lowers her arms again and partially covers up... a half-hearted attempt, considering how long she's not bothered to hide things up to now, anyway. It ends up being mostly covering her stomach with crossed arms. What can she really do at this point, anyway. >.>

'Fear' wouldn't be the right word, not exactly. The truth is that after all she's been through, it's easier to admit something like this than it might have been back in the early days here in Twisted City. It's a question of pride and of protecting oneself by never admitting weakness. Yet it might not surprise anyone at this point. Funny enough, Felicity didn't feel any awkwardness over her answer until the game's abrupt ending. The mood has sunk here and she finds that it's left her feeling strangely put out. "We could just drink ourselves into oblivion. There's always that and I'm sure you know how very obliging Mr. Alexander can be on that account." She shrugs, idly playing with her sword. "Unless either of you have a clever idea? Mmm? Mimi?" Well, they did try Felicity's game so perhaps Mimi has better ideas.

"I already suggested a movie, I don't have any other idea. The weather is still awful and I'd rather not drink myself to death again, so unless Mimi has an incredible idea I think maybe I'll read a bit then head to bed. Maybe we'll have better luck next time with the weather when we plan to go out." Given the time that people usually head out to clubs it is already late anyway and Gemma sees no point in staying up just for the sake of it. She finds that the game has drained her and she feels the need to be alone or sleep, possibly both.

Mimi Valroon glances between the two, then says, "I've heard tales of curling up on the couch to a good movie in much the same way I used to curl up with a good book when I was in my teens. If we can find a way to do that I'm game... but if not, getting an earlier start on tomorrow isn't that bad, either."

That makes two votes in favor of movies. Well, there is a TV there that has not seen a great deal of use. "It seems the votes are in." Felicity casually reaches for the nearby remote and flicks on the TV-- opening a whole Pandora's box of entertainment. Suffice to say they likely debated over what to watch...switched channels numerous times and likely landed on something silly, raunchy or random. Either way it had the desired effect and chased away their boredom for one miserably wet night.

Mimi Valroon asks, "Uh.... can I put my shirt back on?"

|}}

2019-10-08 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2

2020-01-04T13:44:37Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2 |Summary = Really, it was only a matter of time. Of ''course'' Fee makes ''that'' dare. |Who = Felicity, G..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2
|Summary = Really, it was only a matter of time. Of ''course'' Fee makes ''that'' dare.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = October 8th, 2019
|Where = Felicity's Apartment
|Log=

[[2019-10-07 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 1|Continuing where we left off...]]

Well, if Mimi is in then it will happen with or without Gemma's consent and it is pointless to fight it. Besides, she will absolutely not be the coward to opt out at this point and so she says, "You devil, where do I sign this contract?" With that, she mimics the others and lifts her glass, waiting for their leader to pronounce the end of the ritual and the beginning of the deadly game they are about to play.

Now that they have all taken their poison, the ritual has officially commenced. "Let the game begin," Felicity purrs, licking some extra cream off of her lips. As she is the master of ceremonies, she takes it upon herself to select her first victim. It would be easy enough to choose Mimi, as she is the "smaller prey" here but it is first important to lure her in with a false sense of security and so Felicity turns her attention to her old friend. "Gemma, " she coos. "As you so often enjoy taking on the role of de-facto leader, your rights of initiation shall be first. Truth or dare?" She cuts a sly glance to Mimi, making sure she is paying attention to how the game is played as they are modeling it so perfectly.

Boredom really can be the cause of horrible, horrible things. This is the only reason Mimi agreed to it... tales of horror abound from the legends of this game. Horrifying haircuts. Outright criminal activity. Undesireable guys called and asked on dates. Horribly deep, dark secrets revealed. She'll be paying attention here to how far Felicity goes with this.

"I wouldn't say I enjoy it.." Gemma grumbles as she thinks this through. This evening has the potential to take many turns, each anxiety inducing and with the promise of either relief, disaster or, even worse, complete humiliation. Choose wisely, Gem.. She doesn't feel especially daring at the moment and, since she's already told many things to Felicity that she hasn't told other souls, this option seems like the safer bet for now. "Truth," she says finally, hoping that she will not regret her choice.

Felicity smirks. "Very well. Describe your knickers." The question comes at rapid fire, Felicity obviously not having a precious moment to waste on deliberation.

Mimi Valroon blinks in surprise, honestly having expected much worse. Maybe this won't go so poorly as she thought it might? On the other hand... Really? Just a question about underwear?

Despite herself, Gemma's face turns the color of a chili pepper and feels just as hot. This could have been much worse, of course, but the Victorian in her knows how improper that is and revealing sort of information is definitely on the embarrassing side of things, especially given the ones she's sporting on at the moment. Felicity will never let her live it down but thinking of the possible penalty makes it worth suffering for a while. "White, with pink threads around the seams and a small pink bow on the front at the top." She takes a deep breath. "T-They also have little black hearts, stars, rainbows, bunnies and unicorns all over?" She finishes, burying her face in her hand, not even wanting to look at Felicity who has no doubt the shittiest of grins at this revelation. When she feels able to bear her shame publicly after a moment, she removes her hand and fixes Mimi. "Truth or dare?"

Felicity has the misfortune of being in the middle of taking a sip of her drink when the 'hearts, stars, rainbows, bunnies, and unicorns' are revealed. A mouth full of Brandy Alexander, Felicity's eyes go wide and her cheeks puff out as a loud SNORT escapes her and she must quickly cover her mouth with her hands lest she spew drink everywhere. There's a noise coming from her that very much sounds like choking but, it turns out is laughter - a fact that only becomes more obvious once the offending liquid has been swallowed down. "How precious!" She says, gleefully.

Mimi Valroon does her best not to laugh. Luckily she doesn't have a mouthful at the moment, so there's no threat of a spit-take, but a balled hand comes up to her mouth to block out the laugh, resulting in her cheeks blowing out for a second and a sound almost sneeze-like coming from her nose. The threat over, she parts her lips to cause the air audibly to leave. "Truth," she says.

The fact that even Mimi, whom she thought might have had the decency to spare her, clearly laughs despite poorly trying to hide it makes Gemma speak before even thinking about it. "Did you ever have a naughty dream about someone and if so you must spit out the details, all of it." Knowing full well that she's likely to regret it later, there is still something sweet about seeing Mimi's expression now. Gemma grins as if she were Felicity herself.

Felicity grins like the cat that's caught the canary. She shoots Gemma a look of grand approval, "Ohhh, well done Gemma." Felicity makes a show of making herself comfortable, leaning on her coffee table with her elbows propped up and her chin resting daintily on her hands, head tilting slightly, "Remember you are sworn to truth. Spare no details - or else!" How they are to know she is withholding is beyond anyone, truly. At best, Felicity will pounce on any suspicion that something juicy is being kept from her.

Mimi Valroon lets out a sigh and hangs her head. Dreams? Great. She's someone that sleeps so ''soundly'' that she almost never remembers them. "None I can remember," she says, then looks up, directly into actually first Felicity's eyes rather than Gemma's, but Gemma does ger her turn as well. "I rarely remember my dreams. They just kind of... flit out of my head before I know it. I... ''think'' I did once? But I only have a vague sense."

"Pffffff, that is so boring.." Gemma says, suddenly slouching in the most unladylike fashion. Her vengeance has been shot to dust and she's feeling sour about it. "Ugh, maybe I am simply jealous. Sometimes I wish I did not remember my dreams, they've often been a bother, or a reason for me to stay awake. Well out with it then, if you've nothing more to say on the subject it is your turn."

Felicity makes a face, "That will not do. That is not an answer, Mimi, and I rule against it. Therefore, you have earned yourself the first penalty of the game. Pity it's come so soon." Felicity hrms, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Better make it a good one. Mimi, as punishment you must lose an article of clothing. Take off your shirt."

Mimi Valroon shrugs to Gemma, apologetic for not having hardly anything to remember... but then winces at Fee. "Oh, come on! I can't help it if I don't remember my dreams!" She grumbles as she starts unbuttoning her shirt. No, it's no striptease, Fee, it's all just getting the thing off. And of course, underneath is a rather plain cotton bra, nothing to get excited about there, either. How dull ''is'' this girl when it doesn't come to flying? "All right, Felicity, I suppose I should ask you the truth or dare question now, shouldn't I?"

Gemma would protest Felicity's punishment if she didn't feel so dissatisfied with the turn of events herself. Instead, she leans back on her elbows, letting Mimi suffer her own form of embarrassment as she eagerly waits for the trials Felicity shall face. She only hopes that Mimi has more imagination when it comes to truth or dare than she does about her dreams.

Felicity sighs, a vaguely pained look crossing her face as she brushes her long bangs aside from her face. "Dear me. Between the two of you, I fear I've wandered into a convent. I can see our next outing will have to be Lady Victoria's Chamber so that you may BOTH be outfitted more properly. Preferably something that is not drab cotton or includes fanciful - " and here she begins to laugh anew - "unicorns. Oh honestly!" She allows herself another round of laughter before settling in and facing the firing squad like the proud woman she is. She lifts her chin, shoulders squared and says, what her friends probably already suspect she would, "Dare."

Mimi Valroon puffs her cheeks out indignantly. She then glances at Fee, then says, "Don't you have chainmail? Go put that on."

Gemma makes a face. As she remembers from back in the days, Felicity was more than happy to be outfitted with such garments. "That doesn't really sound like punishment to me as far as she's concerned," she says, her cheeks still hot from the latest assault Felicity has made towards her undergarments. With that, she takes a sip of her drink, her expression somewhere between bored and frustrated.

Felicity blinks, truly incredulous, "Is that your dare? Why, I should have your pants for that, Mimi! But--" She rises oh-so-dramatically and nods once. "As you wish." Felicity sashays off to her bedroom. There she will undergo the necessary transformations. Always one to go above and beyond, the figure that emerges from the bedroom after the span of about 5 minutes is a rather striking one - in the most ridiculous way, naturally. Oh yes, Felicity has donned her tiny "chainmail" bikini. That in itself is rather eye-catching, what with the way it showcases her ample bosom. However, the strappy leather boots, valkyrie crown, and sword are utterly unnecessary. Theres only one item missing from this ensemble - her own pants. Felicity has returned wearing her all of this with only a pair of satin and lace magenta panties. She holds her sword aloft, "Behold! Look upon my visage and tremble in wonder and awe!" It's...quite a look.

Mimi Valroon blinks in confusion. "Have my... pants?" Are bad questions and dares also punishable? Mimi never should have agreed to this. When Felicity is gone, Mimi looks to Gemma and says, "It's... not exactly full chainmail." Fee's timing upon return is absolutely impeccable, however, as the current look fully does get a spit-take.

This new development is definitely not boring, more like shocking enough to widen Gemma's eyes the size of saucers. Her mouth opens for form a rather large O before she remembers herself and straightens up though once more it seems that the color has found her cheeks. "You always have to overdo it," she says, shaking her head though it is really her own embarrassment that she is trying to shake away. What has the modern world done to her dear friend? Probably nothing that wasn't already in her.. "Do not blame anyone other than yourself if you end up having to lose an article of clothing as you have little to choose from now." Maybe she is also a little jealous of Felicity's comfort with displaying her body this way, and wearing even the most ridiculous outfit with utmost elegance.. That and having knickers that are not going to be talked about for years, at least not in a shameful way.

Felicity is all honor, glory and...a great deal of skin - ah, such a powerful pose. That is, until Mimi spews. "Oh! Mimi! Mind the carpets! " She scolds, shaking her head and having the audacity to conduct herself as if she is the one with any sense of decorum. Napkins are needed, naturally. It's her mess to clean, after all. "For your treachery, you shall pay! Now you really SHALL lose your pants. Off with them, Mimi! You must mop up your spittle with them."

Mimi Valroon is quick to get the napkin to start cleaning up. The demand to lose her pants just gets a sharp look from Mimi. "I beg your pardon? I wasn't even asked another question yet! Under what grounds do you get to demand I lose my pants?!"

"I would not question her if I were you Mimi, or else you might lose more than your pants," Gemma says, more than happy to let the drama unfold in front of her rather than being the target. War is war, and when it comes to this game and what she has learned about it so far, it is clear that she is on her own side and no one else's.

"On the grounds that my carpet is worth considerably more than your ragged little pants and that the former is likely ruined thanks to your little performance just then." Felicity pauses to consider, "However, I am not an unreasonable woman. I might be persuaded to show you mercy....if you chose to take a dare this time. Mmm? What shall it be, Mimi? Your honor or your dignity?"

Mimi Valroon sighs and shakes her head. She's actually considering quitting this entire endeavor and going for a walk in the rain, but no. "I was already going to clean it up," she grumbles, then looks to Fee with almost fire in her eyes. "Fine then. Dare."

Gemma sits up, all ears and eyes at attention and waiting to see just what Felicity might have in store for Mimi. Nothing good, no doubt about that, but Gemma finds that she is still eager to see what's next despite feeling a little sorry for Mimi. Oh well, they all had a choice before entering this game, and they all said yes. She herself might not even have if Mimi had not given her consent, so there it is. Quiet and still as a rock, she waits for Felicity's next words.

Felicity lets the question hang in the air a moment, allowing the tension to rise just a bit more. She takes up her drink and savors the deliciously sweet cocktail, a little something to whet her appetite before the main course. Her eyes flick from Mimi to Gemma. Pointing from one to the other with her sword she says, "Kiss Gemma."

Mimi Valroon pauses a moment as the silence reigns, wondering if she should have just cleaned the mess with her pants, get dressed properly, then go out in the rain to grab a bite to eat or something. When it finally comes out, though, she goes a bit more red. She looks at Gemma, then looks back and says, "Um okay. Assuming she doesn't stop me. Though she didn't accept a dare yet." Does she look like she's delaying? Not really, no, she looks more like she's trying to figure out the logistics or something. Perhaps she's waiting to see if Gemma refuses and they can start a rebellion against the cruel overlord that is the Barbarian Queen Felicity?

"WHAT?!" The word is out of Gemma's mouth before she can even think it. "I did not agree to this, this is Mimi's dare, why am I getting pulled in?!" She protests vehemently, suddenly on her feet, a hand shooting out towards Mimi as she speaks. "It isn't my turn, you can't do this," she adds, crossing her arms. Her apple red cheeks betray the fact that it is more embarassment than anything else that makes her react this way. Visibly, kissing is not to be taken as lightly for Gemma as it is for Felicity.

Felicity, cool as a cucumber, slides her gaze to the vehemently protesting Gemma. "I can," she says with implacable calm. "There's no rule against. A dare's a dare. Fair game, Gemma." She takes her seat now in one of her cushy armchairs effectively enthroned there. She's yet to relinquish her sword and now her free hand is occupied by her drink, really cementing this crazed warlord aesthetic. "Oh come now. All of this over nothing. It's only a kiss. Don't be so insensitive, Gemma." She looks to Mimi, "You'll hurt our friend's feelings." She offers a 'sympathetic' smile to Mimi but it quickly breaks into a naughty grin and she begins to laugh. She knows she's being bad but she's enjoying it.

Mimi Valroon rolls her eyes at the 'insensitive' mark, but then positions herself next to Gemma. "Look, let's just get this over with so she can giggle and move on with it." She glances back at Fee. "That or we kick her chair over, grab my shirt, and run out the door." With the rain still absolutely pouring outside, she seems to be more keen on just getting the peck done and over with, however, and starts closing in.

Mimi's suggestion is rather tempting, but given that they are both being sheltered by Felicity and knowing how mercurial her moods can be, it does not seem worth the risk. Besides, running out the door to go where? And in that weather? Gemma sighs, resigned. "Very well. But you will pay for that, Felicity Worthington, mark my words," she says, her eyes flashing towards the scantily-clad enthroned young woman studying the scene.

Felicity gives a throaty chuckle, winks and holds up her glass. "Bring it on!" She is more than prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead. Of course, the lady terror would be remiss if she did not expound on her instructions. "Go on then - and none of that chaste, lips barely touching sort of timid school yard kissing! This must be a -real- kiss, or else it is forfeit." She claps her hands twice, initiating the whole ordeal.

Mimi Valroon blinks and stops her approach to look at Felicity again. "Wait, what?" She looks back at Gemma again, a look of mild confusion as she attempt to figure out what Fee is even talking about. No, she's far too uninitiated in these things. "I hope ''you'' know what she's talking about," she whispers to her co-victim.

"I've kissed before, I don't believe I need your good counsel," Gemma all but barks at Felicity but Mimi's following comment leave her with the urge her to facepalm for all that she is worth. "You know.." she says, cringing a little, hoping that Mimi will catch her drift but her efforts seem pointless. "She means a real kiss, like between lovers.. with tongue.." Gemma adds finally, reddening anew as she balls her fists. Damned Felicity. Now she will really have to make her retaliation something to remember.

Felicity is very happy to watch the pair squirm their way through this ordeal. It's turned out to be far more entertaining than she'd imagined. She makes a show of using wiping a smudge off of her blade, waiting. Though she's playing it cool, she's starting to be overcome by another wave of giggles. She can hear Gemma perfectly, of course, and its just too funny for words. All of this is almost better than the kiss itself.

Mimi Valroon almost hisses, "''I'm'' the one that needs the counsel here. Look, just... take the lead or whatever. I'll just... follow suit or something." With that said, the inexperienced one leans in again...

Gemma's surprise at Mimi's confession forces her eyebrows up. "Oh.." There's really nothing else she can say about the matter, suddenly feeling a little sorry for the girl who is forced to be robbed of her first kiss with someone she's known only for two weeks, but Gemma takes comfort in the fact that it could also be much worse. At least, she's not trying to use her, and Mimi seems very accepting of her fate. "Right.." Gemma says again as Mimi leans in. She gulps but even through her nervousness she has the decency of meeting Mimi halfway. Putting a gentle hand on Mimi's cheek, Gemma closes her eyes as her lips meet the other girl's, nothing worse than being stared at while you're that close to someone. She presses her mouth to Mimi's softly, once, twice, not wanting to rush the girl, letting the next step come by itself instinctively. Gemma's lips part and her tongue gently pushes through Mimi's lips, meeting hers and caressing it softly long enough to be certain that Felicity will not request a do over and then she pulls away. Now that the moment is over, her face burns all the way up to her ears and she looks at her feet. "Happy?" She nearly growls as she turns to Felicity.

Mimi Valroon can be described as 'putting up with it' for much of this. There's certainly a noise of surprise as teh tongue is inserted, but she tries to follow the lead. Yes, including mimicking putting a hand onto Gemma's cheek for this. When it's over she pulls away, bright red and scraping the top of her tongue against her teeth. "People do this ''regularly''? With the whole... tongue in mouth and... it feels just... ''unsanitary''."

Felicity watches the pair with some interest. For someone who's just asked a pair of women to share a kiss - and for having insisted on it - she seems surprisingly detached from the spectacle. One can only say ''fairly'' detached because the twinkle in her eye and the quirk of her lips betray her amusement. She's impressed, actually, they've not opted for the penalty after it all. Kudos to them, then. She is about to make a comment to Gemma. Some quip about how this game's boring now but Mimi's comments leave her flabbergasted. She snorts, laughing derisively. "Oh dear. Far from a rave review, Gemma. It would seem your performance has left Mimi wanting. That, or Mimi is bound for a life of puritanical abstinence. Either way, a tragic end to a positively lovely performance." She claps. "Very sporting. Well done, ladies."

[[2019-10-18 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 3|To Be Continued...]]
|}}

2019-10-07 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 1

2020-01-04T13:37:18Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 1 |Summary = It's raining far too hard for the trio of Gemma Doyle, Felicity Worthington, and Mimi Valroon to go ''out'..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 1
|Summary = It's raining far too hard for the trio of Gemma Doyle, Felicity Worthington, and Mimi Valroon to go ''out'' and do stuff. So what to do...
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = October 7th, 2019
|Where = Felicity's Apartment
|Log=

It is a night for torrential rains. The water and winds batter the windows of the apartment, bolts of lightning tearing across the sky, illuminating the collection of odds and ends that make up Mabase's cityscape - that jagged skyline. The effect is an eerie one, not entirely comforting even for those who enjoy such weather events. Of course, torrential rains mean that any fun to be had must be limited to what can be done indoors. Any plans of going out for the evening have now been sniped. Is it real rain? Is it a simulation? Who can say? IT's certainly real enough to soak one through to the bone and so, all hopes of going to the club tonight are down the drain. This leaves our trio of girls in the rather unfortunate position of being all dressed up with nowhere to go. That won't do. Felicity stares hard out of the window, hands on her hips as if she could command it away but, alas, no. "Bloody weather. Fine time for a storm."

Mimi Valroon is, herself, draped over half the couch. "There's nothing to be done. I'd not even go out ''flying'' in this kind of weather if I could at ''all'' avoid it. It'd have to catch me already in the air." Because of course she goes to flying. "We could always just turn in early, I suppose..."

"This isn't what you call turning in early, we haven't even had a chance to go out yet," Gemma says, not as bitter about it as Felicity but still disappointed. She rather liked the idea to partake in the modern nightlife, do what young people like them do for fun on Friday nights here, that sort of thing. Ah, but it will have to be for another time and Gemma is more resigned about it, though she feels if they do not find a way to make something out of the evening, Felicity's temper will follow them for a day or two, especially if the storm goes on all weekend. "Surely there is something we could do here? Do you have any games, Fee?"

Felicity harrumphs, turning to scoff in Mimi's general direction, "There is only one thing that could get me into bed this early and that is sadly off the table." She tears herself away from the window and saunters back towards her small living room, grumpily thoughtful as she does. Yes, they will not waste this night all because the weather has decided not to be a sport. "Yes, of course! Cards, and little blocks called Jenga?" all of which sound like exactly the very wholesome kind of fun she's not particularly excited to get herself into. Another idea floats into her mind and suddenly she's smiling like the devil himself. "But there -IS- something. However, it shall require a sacrament!" Gemma ought to catch her meaning and even if she doesn't, she is already barreling into the kitchen and raiding her cabinets for the ingredients for her magical elixir.

Mimi Valroon sighs and nods. "Okay, yeah, I suppose going with what I would have done when stranded ''probably'' is a bit of a meh idea..." She then nods with a light grin at Gemma. "I was kinda thinking board games, too!" She tilts her head at the mention of cards and something she's not heard of, but raises an eyebrow as Fee clearly has another idea. "Sacrament?" She blinks, then looks to Gemma as if for translation.

Gemma's stomach seems to shrink in protest for she knows exactly what Felicity means to do and after their first night reunited two weeks ago and their lack of restraint with alcohol, she isn't overly keen to repeat the experience. Oh well, when Felicity has an idea in mind, there is no talking her out of it, so it looks like Gemma will simply have to be more responsible towards her own limits. "Trouble.." She answers Mimi as if this explained it all.

"I heard that. I find your lack of faith disturbing, Gemma. " Felicity says, busily stirring a bit of cream. "Don't let her fool you, Mimi. I know all too well how she is weak to temptation." IIt isn't long before Felicity has thrown together the deadly concoction, a delectable looking and very tall milk-shake like confection which she delivers to the three girls on a tray held aloft as if it really -were- some sort of religious ritual playing out before them. Three cups, each with a coffee-colored milky liquid and a great deal of cream on top. She slides one to Gemma and one to Mimi, saying "Brandy Alexander at your service. She shall make fine company for our games- Oh, such games!"

Mimi Valroon says, "That was a given," to Gemma at a low tone. Oh, but she looks so innocent as Felicity returns! "Oooh. Mixed drinks for us tonight, Miss Worthington?" She doesn't drink ''much'', but she's certainly not new to it, either. Certainly she's not flying anytime soon, so what's the harm tonight, right? ...Right? "And what games did ''you'' have in mind, Felicity?"

"I would very much like to know as well," Gemma says, taking her poison despite her misgivings but leaving it untouched for now. Whatever games Felicity might have, the expression she sports right now betrays that they are in for a lot more than cards and family games. "And if I am not mistaken, you were not too fond of the next morning last time so do not pretend you aren't weak to temptation as well, Felicity."

Felicity in answer, holds up her glass and gives it a little shake as if to say - see? I hide nothing. At any rate, she is seated quite comfortably on the rug under her shiny black coffee table. She waves for the girls to join her, "Come, gather around. We must have unity of spirit before we can proceed." It's ridiculous but, there it is. She's purposely being ridiculous. "Ladies, as the elements will not allow us our pleasures tonight, we shall make our own sport here. No, we shan't play cards or Jenga or anything of the sort. Put aside such childish notions and instead prepare yourselves for a truly unique bonding experience fit for our blossoming sisterhood ? the NEW Order! Sisters, I propose Truth or Dare."

Mimi Valroon says, "...Is ''that'' what you were doing that night I was out looking for some building supplies?" Mimi still comes down to the floor level, finally undraping herself from the couch. She accepts the concoction, though doesn't drink yet. There may be a toast or some other ritualistic... thing before she is supposed to drink. "...Truth or dare?" she says with a little trepidation. "I've heard tales, but not played myself before...""

Gemma frowns at the name and after Mimi suggest that they may have played it before, she says, "Not from what I can remember, though there is a gap in that evening.. I fear I've not heard of that game before and I fear even more to hear about what it implies. What are the rules?" She joins the other two on the floor without waiting for an answer anyway.

"Very simple. We each take turns calling on one another to make a choice - to answer with complete truth ANY question asked OR to perform a dare to be determined by player who has chosen you for their sacrifice." Felicity offers a full-fanged sort of grin, clearly relishing the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' nature of the game. "Refusal to participate in either will result in a stiff penalty effective immediately. That shall also be decided at the time, though we shall leave -that- open to a group decision. If all are in agreement, we shall have a toast to seal our compact. Once the game has commenced, you are committed - NO backing out."

Mimi Valroon nods grimly. It's just as she feared. Were this with just Gemma, she wouldn't be so worried. But this is Felicity involved here. Well, Mimi doesn't have any secrets to hide, so she'll have to go with truths more than dares, she figures. There's a sigh of resignation, then she raises her glass.

[[2019-10-08 - Rainy Night Truth or Dare Part 2|To Be Continued]]
|}}

Gemma Doyle

2020-01-04T05:14:18Z

Rayne:

{{2014Profile|
|Image=Gemma.jpg
|Name={{PAGENAME}}
|Pronunciation=
|Series=Gemma Doyle Trilogy
|Threat=
|Class=Priestess
|Alignment=Chaotic good
|Gender=Female
|Species=Human
|Age=21
|Birthdate=June 21st 1879
|Height=5'8"
|Weight=I'd rather not say
|Short=A tall and lanky young woman with red gold hair and startling green eyes turned up at the corners. She has fair skin sprinkled with too many freckles to her taste. Her hair may be pulled up in a messy bun or cascading down to her mid back depending on her mood of the moment and she wears a somewhat gunge chic attire, usually a skirt, leggings and a loose top/jacket with Converse. The finishing touch is a peculiar silver amulet depicting the crescent eye.
|Desc=The tall and lanky young woman ahead is, unlike her own assumptions, far from unnoticeable. Her fair and freckled skin, mane of fiery hair and startling green eyes have sometimes gotten her unpleasant attention in her Victorian era and so she can carry herself a bit awkwardly, her shoulders slightly stooped as a way of making up for being more often than not taller than other girls her age. She is by no means a femme fatale type, but boasts a decent profile, straight nose and good jaw. On most days, a silver amulet hangs around her neck depicting a moon crescent topped with an eye. The rest of her attire is somewhat grunge chic and often comprising of dark leggings, a skirt, a t-shirt and a loose plaid shirt or a jacket along with a pair of Converse or ankle boots. She wears her hair either down or pulled up in a messy bun depending on her feeling of the moment, changing at times throughout the day. There is something in Gemma's gaze which suggests that she is an independent thinker wise beyond her years though the upturned corners of her eyes betray a hint of playfulness and an ability to hold her own in pettier exchanges. She is often seen looking rather serious, but her features light up around those she cares about and her warm smile gives away the depth of affection she is capable of.
|Skills=
|MusicEmbed=Please see [[Theme Music]] for instructions.
|Logs={{Template:Logs}}
|}} 
==Background==
Born in the late 1800s and raised in India until her 16th birthday, Gemma first idealized England and its depictions in her grandmother’s letters while she grew up. During her early teens, her relationship with her mother with whom she was always close soured and she resented her for not allowing her to go to England as her older brother Tom had been allowed to do when he came of age. Everything changed when she turned sixteen as that very day her mother took her own life under strange circumstances. It was also the day that Gemma first came to know she had powers, having witnessed the traumatic event in a vision as it was happening.

Shortly after, Gemma finally gets her wish to see England and is sent to attend the Spence Academy, a finishing school for young ladies where she befriends her roommate Ann, an orphan and scholarship student sponsored by distant relatives who intend to make her their governess once she graduates, and eventually [[Felicity]] and Pippa, although begrudgingly. Together, and with the use of Gemma’s powers, they discover The Realms, a world inhabited by fantastical creatures and where the magic is alive. However, over time they also discover a much darker side of it, and the story behind The Order’s demise, a secret society of sorceresses that were eventually forced into hiding after one of their own, Circe, betrayed them by offering a blood sacrifice to the evil creatures within The Realms.

Through their adventures in The Realms, the girls come to learn about good and evil, power, choice and loss. Gemma must carry the great responsibilities that falls upon her shoulders, being the only one who can access The Realms and restore the peace as well as decide if and how to share the magic with its inhabitants. Though she postpones any decision making on the matter as long as she can, angering some of the creatures that could be her allies as well as giving plenty if time to the dark spirits to endanger both worlds in the process, in the end she makes good on her promises and gives back the magic to the lands so that anyone in The Realms may draw on it, although it still flows in her veins.

Shortly after things settle in The Realms, Gemma and Felicity graduate Spence and officially become young ladies. Ann manages to secure employment as an actress and follow her own path instead of the one that was laid out for her and Felicity follows her mother to Paris, a place where she feels she may be able to escape her demons as well as allow herself to explore her sexuality in a place that is reputed to be less judgmental than Victorian England. Gemma decides to cut her season short and move to the United States to attend university and learn to fend for herself.

Four years later, Gemma more or less accidentally makes her way to Twisted. Ever since her friend Felicity disappeared, she has been relentlessly looking for her, traveling different worlds in the hopes of finding her. The mischievous creatures of The Realms responsible for Felicity’s disappearance having been no help, the past three years has involved a lot of trial and error, but Gemma is not one to give up so easily, especially without knowing the kind of predicament her friend might be in.
==Notes==
<references />
[[Category: Active]]

2019-11-22 - Jack with a Map?

2019-12-30T21:34:06Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Jack with a Map? |Summary = Rayne and Jack Hawksmoor breifly discuss work before switching over to some deeper talk on Twisted's last rending. |Who..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Jack with a Map?
|Summary = Rayne and Jack Hawksmoor breifly discuss work before switching over to some deeper talk on Twisted's last rending.
|Who = [[Jack Hawksmoor]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = November 22nd, 2019
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

Rayne steps into the UR with a groaned sigh as she shakes her head, then makes her way straight towards the bar without even looking around. It's when she orders a hard ginger ale that she looks around finally, spotting Jack. A frown for Rayne is more common than not of late, but Jack's frown gets a slight headtilt as she wonders if she should bother him or not.

Jack Hawksmoor lifts a hand in salute to the chief, which is probably a sign that he can be bothered.

Rayne takes her arrived drink and makes her way to Jack's table, where she spins the seat around to sit on backwards. "So. You with a map. That's unusual."

It's got marks on it. Some of them were made by Jack. "I'm making notes," he says. No, he doesn't need a map, not at all. But his memory isn't perfect.

Rayne looks over the map and notes, trying to make out what it is while taking a sip of her drink. "This a case?" she ventures after swallowing.

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "No, it's my trying to understand the dimensional anomalies better," he says. "The case is..." He sighs. "Don't you hate when you are pretty sure you know who did the thing but you can't actually prove it enough to bring them in?"

Rayne winces. "Yeah, I just kind of... try to move with the flow on those. But yeah, I do. It's even worse when you get up to the top and the big things that aren't even quantifiable as crimes."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Oh, believe me, I've...I mean, how to you quantify genetically engineering telepaths and using them to try and destroy the world?"

Rayne says, "Point. But I'm thinking more subtle than that, personally. Eh. Whatever. So what's the case, exactly?" No, the Chief normally doesn't keep her eye on every single case. Anymore."

"That burglary over on Mabase Street," Jack says. Of course she doesn't. "Fairly standard, hacked the security system...and then stole the homeowner's entire safe." He rolls his eyes. "Safes aren't really the best way to protect your stuff."

Rayne shakes her head. "There's honestly not that much you ''can'' use in a place like this. So this narrows down things to the point where you have someone that can carry off a safe as well as hack security systems. Which you've already done, obviously, you just have no evidence that ties to that individual specifically, as opposed to some ''other'' person with both abilities." She sighs again and takes a swig.

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Exactly. They have an alibi, but it's...one of ''those'' alibis." He turns back to the map. "And besides, I know they did it, but not admissible."

Rayne deadpans, "Does their alibi have an alibi?" She shakes her head again, then mentally pulls herself away. Noooo, not in the office, try to ''not'' get involved in everything. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way. Catch the alibi's slipup."

Jack Hawksmoor laughs a bit at that. "Yeah, sometimes..." And then he turns back to the map. "So, I'm worrying about this for right now. See, I've overlaid the old configuration of Mabase over the new one."

Rayne corrects, "Twisted. The old city was Twisted. We renamed it after... the whole dimension ripping apart thing."

"Did you?" Jack studies her. "And where did the new name come from?" Then he turns back to the map. "Which shows me part of the pattern of the dimensional rip."

Rayne pauses, then says, "You based it on the ruins? Not Twisted or Neo-Edo?"

"I'm basing it on the differences between before and after," Jack says, with a shrug.

Rayne says, "...So is this related to the case, or is this just for fun?"

"Neither really. I mean, it's fun, but it also tells me things. About the city, about the world." He leans back. "I mean, sure, it's curiosity, but I care about the city."

Rayne sets her drink, still mostly untouched, down before resting her chin atop her hands, themselves planted on the back of the chair she's sitting on backwards. "What's it telling you?"

Jack Hawksmoor hrms. "That everything's falling and stable at the same time. You know how an arch works?"

Rayne winces, then nods. "I'm not gonna like this."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "What I'm saying is that Twisted is kind of like that. It's very stable, as long as nothing messes with the keystone."

Rayne points upward. "Bishop?"

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "Oh, Bishop's important, he's keeping things working that make sure gravity goes the way it's supposed to and we can breathe. Which kinda does matter."

Rayne raises an eyebrow, then ventures, "Lady Setsuna and the Council?"

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "Think more physical. And isn't Lady Setsuna kind of MIA?"

Rayne pauses, then nods. "In a way. I think she's just gone more... behind the scenes. I don't think she likes being in the public eye at all. And is worse at making friends than I've been the past two years. But I think she's still there."

Jack Hawksmoor purses his lips...and elects not to say anything. "No, as far as I can tell, the keystone? We're sitting in it."

Rayne offers a quick, humorless grin. "The Usual. That was actually going to be my next guess."

Jack Hawksmoor nods, "Which...I'm starting to have thoughts on what is causing dimensional rips and collapses. But...so, Twisted IS stable, at least for the medium term. Making it more so...that's the challenge."

Rayne winces. "Yeah, uh, well. You ''do'' know what caused the last collapse, right?"

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "No. Fill me in so I can keep an eye open for similar problems?"

Rayne says, "...I don't think 'trying to move a large array of portals to other dimensions' is a thing that's likely to happen again soon. We just need to keep them where they stand naturally." She looks a bit more seriously at Jack. "Seriously. Do. Not. Attempt. To move portals."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Got it. I don't think I can move them. Now, I am pretty sure I could close a transient portal or rift that was causing problems, but I'm not touching the permanent ones."

Rayne says, "I'd be careful even with that. What happened was I wanted TASK, the police department's predecessor, to have a more up close presence for people to see. To be more in the community and not hide behind 'city hall'." She actually uses air quotes there. Perhaps Jack has heard that at one point the building called 'city hall' was an arena. "TASK HQ also housed all the portals on a spiral staircase on the outside of the building... they were moved there before I got here. Apparently that was a bad idea, and the second time they were tried to be moved..."

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "There's a difference between a wound and your belly button."

Rayne says, "So, yeah. That's why standard procedure is to cordon something like that off rather than try to remove or close them. Some permanent portals have ''still'' not been located, if they exist at all anymore."

"I might be able to help with that. The city can...feel them." His lips quirk. "But it's not quite like I can just point them out on a map." Too easy.

Rayne shakes her head. "I'd not worry about it unless someone is... digging toward them or something. Get them a warning about what they're about to find." She's assuming Jack could tell when that's happening.

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "What if it's a portal somebody's been looking for? And I'm ''sure'' it's the right one?"

Rayne pauses, then says, "We'll need to handle that on a case by case basis. And possibly get the council involved. I don't think it's in our power to make the descision to make a portal available or not. But I'm also pretty sure we aren't required to ''stop'' it from happening, either. Unless it's a danger, of course."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Mostly it's Rainbow Dash. She finds this place really hard to deal with. She's been hanging out in Gotham a lot, and I don't think she'd be too upset if the portal closed behind her. But if I did find a path to Equestria..."

Rayne mumbles, "But would it be ''hers'' or not?" She sighs and shakes her head. "That's why I said case by case. I'd send her through, but we'd need to keep that one from being public knowledge, I think. It's too... nice a place to get tainted by the messed up crap here, from what I understand."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "I...yes. I probably can't go there myself anyway," Jack adds, something faintly wistful to his tone.

Rayne says, "I'm not so sure how well the place would deal with us 'two leggers' at all. But do you... ''require'' a city?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem. Rainbow Dash has assured me there are cities in Equestria." Okay, he just admitted it, casually. "The problem is Equestria apparently changes everyone who goes there into some more appropriate form. And I don't know if..." He shrugs. "If that magic can handle cyborgs."

Rayne blinks and tilts her head. "More appropriate... so I guess no two-legger issues, then, I suppose."

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Right, and while wandering around as a pony for a while would be interesting, I...don't trust it."

Rayne deadpans, "You might notice I've never set foot through any of the portals, myself."

Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "I've gone through the one to Gotham. But I could ''see'' the city through it, so it seemed safe. A lot like my world. Except not."

Rayne picks up her glass and swirls it, but doesn't drink. "A lot like your world? Your world had a Gotham, I take it?"

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head. "No, but that world seems to have a good number of posthumans, similar technology...a few years ahead, but no more."
|}}

2019-10-26 - Space Travel as the Norm

2019-12-30T21:21:02Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Space Travel as the Norm |Summary = Rayne talks to Constantine about her home universe, how normal space travel is, and how weird the last planet she..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Space Travel as the Norm
|Summary = Rayne talks to Constantine about her home universe, how normal space travel is, and how weird the last planet she was on was.
|Who = [[Constantine]], [[MoonShadow]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = October 26th, 2019
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

Rayne steps into the UR, looking tired as she often does.

John Constantine has taken a seat at the bar. As usual, he has whisky in front of him, along with a random selection of bar snacks.

Rayne steps on up to the bar and practically falls onto the barstool, where she orders a hard ginger ale. "Hey, John," she says.

"Hey, love. Long day?" he asks, reaching for a buffalo wing and then munching on it, careful not to spill any sauce on the Coat.

Rayne twitches slightly as she always does at being called 'love'. "Aren't they all?" she says flatly.

Either he's oblivious to it or the habit is JUST that hard to break. "Not necessarily." One shoulder shrugs upwards. "Is that Crabbie's?"

Rayne takes a gulp of her newly arrived drink, then raises an eyebrow as she looks at Constantine again. "...Crabbie's?"

"Really good brand of hard ginger beer from Scotland. Wonder if they have it here?" he glances questioningly at the barkeep.

Rayne looks at the drink, then shrugs. It's in a glass. Steve, on the other hand, nods. "It is," he says.

John Constantine ahas. Downs his whiskey. "Get me one of those." Hey, he's not drunk. Yet.

"Been a long time since I've been to Earth," Rayne says idly. "And I'm not even talking just Earth itself. Not been to Earth controlled ''space'' in nearly a century. Don't think I ever made it to the British Isles."

Sarra_Moon enters into the usual, wearing jeans and a teeshirt, her three wolves following behind her, the wolves giving a quick glance at John, keeping an eye on him as sarra heads to the bar.

John Constantine nods. "Not been to many other places." If Sara gets her way...but of course, Sara hasn't found him, which likely means she can't. Or time's flowing differently, always possible. He glances at the pack for a moment, offers a slightly weak smile.

Rayne nods. "It's something that took a little getting used to. People that never left the planet of their birth." She looks up to John again, saying, "To me, it's probably like people that never left the area around their home town to you."

Sarra_Moon orders a Guinness and a steak Rare and one steak for each wolf as well. petting a wolf as she relaxes

John Constantine shrugs. "Earth doesn't really have space travel yet where I'm from. Will soon, but doesn't. I have a friend with a timeship, though, so..." He knows something of the future.

Rayne gives Sarra a nod of greeting, but continues her conversation. "Yeah, I know. That's the case with ''most'' people around here. Well, not the timeship part. Just the... yeah. I've just never lived ''without'' the thought of space travel being normal."

Sarra_Moon waves to Rayne and smiles "Hi Rayne, how have you been?" she asks as she pets a wolf, taking a sip of her beer when it arives

"Always been kind of day after tomorrow for me. I suppose I'm a Medieval peasant, then." He lifts his fresh glass of Crabbie's to her, clearly not offended. John's probably quipping about the never left their home town line.

Rayne shrugs to Sarra. "The same as I always am." From her tone of voice, this is mediocre at best. She looks back to Constantine again and says, "Heh, well, I've lived that life, too. Spent some time on a world whose EM field just wrecks electronics and even tends to make anything large and metal heat up. Don't know the physics of it."

Sarra_Moon tilts her head at the tone in Rayne's voice "Everything ok?" she wonders out loud, one of her wolves moving over to sniff at Rayne.

John Constantine hrms. "Sure it was physics? Might have been a planet-wide curse, although it would take a lot of power to achieve something like ''that''," Constantine muses. He's not addressing Rayne's mood. Perhaps he figures talking about weird worlds with no tech allowed will take her mind off of work.

Rayne shrugs to Sarra. This is normal for her. "No, actually, I'm not. It would make sense. But the general consensus is that it's got a lot to do with the magnetic field. Buuuuut magic ''does'' exist in my home universe, so I can't rule it out."

John Constantine hrms. "Or it could even be the combination of both. I don't know the laws of magic where you come from."

Rayne says, "Considering there's a prominent starship design firm that uses hybrid magic and conventional tech, I'm guessing combination is pretty likely."

John Constantine nods. "'Course, some people would probably find a world like that to be a cool vacation spot if you can work out the getting to and from."

Rayne nods. "That's... kinda what I did. Except it's a pretty violent place. Turns out approximately half the natives really don't like outsiders. And they consider the natives that ''do'' like outsiders to ''be'' outsiders. One literally punched me into this place. Well, I think he was just as surprised as I was, buuuuuut...."

John Constantine ahas. "See, that would explain it. If you did it right, you could power the spell to alter the EM field off the EM field, but I was trying to work out why...and now I suspect I know." John's lips quirked. "Any bets their ancestors kept trying to conquer everyone so somebody decided to confine them to their home planet?"

Rayne laughs, then shakes her head. "Yooooooouuuu underestimate the Tyrian Empire. I'd more believe the locals did it to keep people ''off'' and ''away''. I'd never heard anything about the Tuuk being off Cevernal."

John Constantine ahs. "Also a reasonable explanation," he says, with a slight shrug. "Point is, good quarantine method."

Rayne snorts. "Yeah, except mages have ways of getting to orbit. Not easy, but it can be done. It's a great place to escape everything, though..."

John Constantine nods. "Well, except the locals." He lifts his glass, takes a generous swig.

Rayne takes a quick swig as well. "Yeah, well, I wasn't thinking so much about the locals when I went there. At that time in my life, I was a little prone to overreactions."

John Constantine snorts a bit. "Aren't we all, love?"

Rayne sighs and shakes her head. "I caused a controversy, managed to break a political marriage between two ''other'' people, so I just decided I wanted to disappear when the paparazzi started taking pictures of me..."

John Constantine ahs, "That's not overreacting, love. I've seen what people will do to get away from those clowns."

Rayne shakes her head. "I could have melded into the proverbial shadows without going that far. Could've asked my father for help again, he's good at starting new lives over again."

"Still, they're horribly persistent. Good reason to stay under the radar." Yeah, John doesn't think she was ''that'' crazy.

Rayne says, "Well, I'm so far under the radar now...." She pauses, then just shakes her head. "Eh. Another life by now."

"Doesn't seem likely I'll make it back either." For a moment, John wonders if it will make a difference. No. It won't.

Rayne looks down at her drink, not liking to comment on people's chances on returning home from here. She doesn't like to break hope, but... she also doesn't have any reason to actually beleive it to be acheivable.

"Found a way to something like my world that wasn't," Constantine adds, wryly.

|}}

2019-10-25 - The City Can Hear You

2019-12-30T21:08:02Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = The City Can Hear You |Summary = Lucy laughs, Mimi freaks out, Rainbow Dash complains. The city has a thick skin, thankfully. |Who = Jack Hawks..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = The City Can Hear You
|Summary = Lucy laughs, Mimi freaks out, Rainbow Dash complains. The city has a thick skin, thankfully.
|Who = [[Jack Hawksmoor]], [[Lucy Lacemaker]], [[Mimi Valroon]], [[Rainbow Dash]]
|Date = October 25th, 2019
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

Jack Hawksmoor comes wandering into the Usual, looking a little tired and rather thoughtful. He claims a table near the bar, dropping into the seat and pulling out a phone, which he peers at.

Mimi Valroon, for her part, is already at the bar. She's drinking a glass that is definitely dark and fizzy of some sort, but only those that venture close could identify it from the myriad of options it could be. She looks over as the man enter, looking at the phone for a moment before frowning and looking down into her drink again. Just another reminder of how backwards her world is compared to... where everyone else came from.

Jack Hawksmoor considers, then lifts a hand to the flygirl. "Hey," he greets, tucking the phone away after checking whatever it was checking. (To be fair, he's not used to civilians having them either...)

Mimi Valroon winces slightly, having been caught. She looks up again, and says, "Oh, uh, hi. How are you today?" She's pretty sure she's met him before, but can't remember the name of the guy for the life of her.

"Not bad. You're..." He tilts his head. He's met her, but... "The pilot."

"And I'm Lucy! Pleasure to make your acquaintances, doves~" That would be the high-pitched ol' auntie-like voice of the white-furred with red polka dots creature vaguely resembling a cat ferret thing, currently popping up out of god damn nowhere as she hops up on one of the barstools and orders the heaviest drink the establishment has. "Any idea where the hell this is, perchance?"

Jack Hawksmoor has been called a few things, mostly by people with British accents. Or Jenny. Dove, however, is a new one. The nondescript man tilts his head slightly. "Jack Hawksmoor," he introduces for Lucy's benefit, inadvertently bailing out poor Mimi and her memory.

Mimi Valroon looks a bit more releived at the fact that her name isn't remembered, either. "Mimi. Well, you may well feel better in knowing that I don't remem...ber..." She's lost her train of thought. The freakish(well, to her still unused to non-completely mundane animals mind it is) creature hops up and orders a drink. Well, at least Jack answered her unfinished question, anyway.

Lucy Lacemaker snatches up the glass the moment it's given to her by the barkeep, and she downs the whole thing in two gulps. "Tastes like cold piss! I like it." she remarks with a toothy (VERY toothy) grin, then turns toward Mimi and Jack, her eyes rolling about for a moment before settling into focus. There's a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she continues. "That's quite alright, li'l doves, nobody has to answer the fuckin' question 'til they're good an' ready."

Mimi Valroon is clearly moderately freaked out by Lucy. The grin does not help. "...The... Usual... Restaurant?"

"Mabase City, and you fell through a hole in space," Jack says, finally, studying Lucy. Not humanoid, but not stranger than a pony. He's adjusted.

Lucy Lacemaker rolls her eyes again, though this time it's voluntary. "Well I fuckin' know ''vat''! Said so righ' onna sign outside, it did. Wha' I wan' to know is-" And then Jack answers more helpfully, and Lucy regards him with a grateful nod. "Fank you sah! Never 'eard of a fuckin' Mabase City, but an 'ole in space, now vat's an odd occurrence. Common 'round 'ere, is it?"

Mimi Valroon says, "Well, I mean, uh, I think it's how we're all here?"

Mildly, "This place is the bottom of the hole. There's ways out, but they might not lead you somewhere you want to go." A pause. "Not meaning they're deadly dangerous, just that they probably aren't where you came from." And wouldn't, thus, make Lucy any better off. Jack shifts position, half standing to lean against the bar.

Lucy Lacemaker orders another drink, just as she will continue to do for some time yet. This establishment will learn, oh boy will it ever learn. "I see, some kinda dimensional nexus, eh? Crossroads of sorts? Fuckin' 'ell, I fought I'd seen it all. Guessin' somefin' like me's no uncommon sight eiver, considerin' I 'aven't been shot yet. Was right in the middle of decapitatin' Winifred when suddenly I'm in a fuckin' park full o' fuckin' 'umans, couple of 'em give me a stare but they all just go 'bout veir business."

She downs another drink. "So fuck it, may as well take advantage an' see if I can find a good pub. Fis place does tabs, yeah?"

Mimi Valroon looks down at her drink, wondering if she should toss it out. Then she remembers its not alcoholic. "...Well, I suppose I should expect similar out in the void," she mumbles.

Lucy Lacemaker is on her fifth drink now. Where'd the third and fourth go? Down her gullet while you weren't watching. "Wha' do you mean by vat?" she asks Mimi, curiously raising an eyebrow.

"I haven't seen anything quite like you, but there are enough non-humans around that, yeah, people won't waise an eyebrow." Jack doesn't ask about the decapitating part. he doesn't want to know...

Mimi Valroon winces slightly, then says, "I mean... I should expect the unexpected. Things-People!- I've never seen before. Just... anything, really." She pauses, then adds, "I mean, if this is the ''stable'' part of this world..."

Lucy Lacemaker settles back in her seat again, downing yet another glass of straight... absinthe? Is that absinthe? "Oh. Boring. I fought maybe you knew somefin' I didn't." she disappointedly mumbles, then shrugs and lays her head on the bar. "It's nice to get out o' the 'ouse though. 'Aven't gotten a chance to go to a decent pub in fuckin'... 'ell, centuries. Or maybe vat was when Shuck an' I tried to make blackstrap rum an' accidentally set 'alf of London on fire. I forget. Caught an earful for vat'n, heheh."

"London probably wasn't happy about it," Jack says, casually. And...apparently Lucy's immune to the effects of alcohol. Noted.

Mimi Valroon says, "Uhhh, no. Not unless you count flying." She considers that her best talent, afterall. She pauses, then says, "You set ''London'' on fire?"

Lucy Lacemaker titters as she recalls that far-off event. "Oh, yes! It was a fuckin' fright when it 'appened, didn't know if we'd even make it out alive. Can't remember why we did it in a bakery though, somefin' 'bout the yeast I fink? Vey called it va Great Fire o' London after, funny enough. Wasn't va first ''or'' last time London'd nearly burnt down, haha!"

Rainbow Dash floats in, nodduing a greeting to anybody she knows, landing on a barstool and taking a seat there. "Yo, cider please and some curly fries..." she asks whom ever is behind the bar.

Mimi Valroon blinks and watches as the small, pastel pegasus overs in. She then looks to the fanged, lazy eyed cat-ferret-thing and asks, "I'm sorry, what were we talking about again?" She's getting hit by too much weirdness right now. Why are these two so much stranger to her than that guy with the elephant head she saw twice?

"Ah, yeah. Back when they built everything in wood and built stuff way too close together. Sadly, it didn't take much." He lifts a hand. "Dash," he greets, cheerfully.

Lucy Lacemaker laughs outright this time, showing way too much of those long, needle-like teeth. "Oh, I know! Everyfing was built like shit back ven! Not vat it's much better nowadays, o' course." She also waves to Rainbow Dash as the pegasus comes in, though her gaze lingers. "Right, so, 'umans I expected, but a rainbow fuckin' pegasus is new to me. Not a Kivouachian, I can tell by va eyes. Where're you from, ven?"

Rainbow Dash Yo's in return, grabbing her drink with a wing and taking a gulp. "Human cities are SO smoggy...yuck...totally dries my throat out." she wipes her mouth with the back of a hood, glancing at the faces she hasn't seen before. but hey, she's from Equestria and Neo-Tokyo. She knows all about strange.

"You realize the city can hear you, right?" Jack says in his quiet, New York-tinged tones. He sounds amused, though, rather than upset.

Rainbow Dash hmms? not sure if Lucy's talking to her? "Who...me? I'm outta Equestria..."

Mimi Valroon blinks and looks back to Jack now. Hey's she's looking at a normal(looking) human again! Normalcy? Maybe? "...The ''city'' can actually hear us?"

"Liiike I give a ssshit." Lucy slurs a little, finally feeling the effects of the alcohol after... how many glasses now? She's lost count. Everyone else probably has too. "Never 'eard of Equestria eiver. Sounds like a fuckin' feme park. 'Orses everywhere! Pettin' zoo, carousels, uh... wha' ovver rides use 'orses again?"

Okay, not ''immune'' to alcohol. Just heavily resistant. "In her own way," Jack said. He shrugs. "She's used to it."

Rainbow Dash regards Lucy for a minute, then leans on her elbows at the bar, back to the bar. "Oh sure, yeah, we all live in petting zoos and live on sugar cubes. It's a heck of a place.

It takes a moment for Mimi to realize that Jack is talking about the city. "Oh, uh..." She glances back to the other two, then back to Jack again. "...Well, uh... yeah, I imagine... 'she' has thick skin by now? I mean, with all the people that want to go back home to what's... normal to them. Especially when they first get here, I bet."

Lucy Lacemaker chuckles at Rainbow's answer, though it's unclear if she believes the pony or not. "Sounds like it. I should visit one day, always loved pettin' zoos. You look too colorful to eat though, probably give me some indigestion..." She trails off into some mumbling, continuing her drinking spree in the process.

Rainbow Dash pffts. "You'd never catch me. I'm just part of your imagination anyway, ya know, like a pink elephant.

Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "Don't taunt the drunk person, Dash." The pegasus is, after all, quite real. To Mimi, "Yeah. That and every city in existence gets insulted sometimes. Not everyone likes cities, not everyone likes ''all'' cities."

Lucy Lacemaker raises one of her long, bright red claws. "Not drunk. Not finished drinkin' yet. Anovver one, barkeepsie." she mumbles, though she's noticeably slowing down now.

Rainbow Dash says, "She talks like a racoon I know....."

Mimi Valroon tilts her head slightly as she considers. "Yeah, I guess so. I've got nothing against cities, though I've certainly spent a lot of time away from them." She finishes her own drink, then slides off her stool. "Well... I think I'll be taking my leave for the night, though. Um, have good nights, everyone?" She then pauses as she looks at the flying pony before saying, "Clear skies," with a slight nod. That said, she starts making her way to the exit.

Rainbow Dash says, "See ya," to Mimi as she leaves, waving a wing."

Lucy Lacemaker waves lazily at Mimi. "Yeah, 'ave a jolly evenin' yourself, dearie. I'll just be 'ere drownin' meself in alcohol. 'Aven't been able to indulge like this in... in... fuck, gettin' foggy..."

Rainbow Dash doesn't understand the whole getting drunk thing. Must be something humans and racoons just...do. She shrugs, taking another gulp of cider and watches as Lucy seems to be hitting some kind of limit.

Jack Hawksmoor is also not drinking. Of course, nobody's seen the guy with no shoes eat or drink ''anything''. He waves to Mimi, then turns back to the non-humans. "You're drunk," he points out to Lucy. "Somebody's gonna have to carry you to a bed at this rate." Is he offering? Obliquely, possibly.

Lucy Lacemaker blinks blearily at Jack, first one eye and then the other, out of sync. They even drift apart slightly. "Sorry mate, I don't... *urp* swing vat way..." She hiccups, then orders another drink, "for the road" as she puts it.

Rainbow Dash says, "Heh..well, Jack, better ask if the road wants one?" She floats up, laughing at her own joke. "Seriously, who gets to say that?""

Jack Hawksmoor laughs a bit. "That was a genuine offer to get you safely to a place you can sleep it off." They're not even the same ''species''!

Lucy Lacemaker waves a clawed hand dismissively at Jack. "Nah. I'll just find a bench to pass out under, did it fer... *hic* longer'n you've been alive, guarantee. Nuffin' gonna 'urt me, not 'round 'ere. 'Less ya got some fuckin' serial arsonists wha' like settin' small furry creatures on fire..." She trails off into more mumbling, then faceplants into her latest glass, spilling it all over the bar.

|}}

2019-10-13 - What Could Possibly go Wrong?

2019-10-14T21:27:06Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = What Could Possibly Go Wrong? |Summary = Rayne talks with Liyara again. Absolutely nothing is said that Rayne will later come to regret. |Who = [..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
|Summary = Rayne talks with Liyara again. Absolutely nothing is said that Rayne will later come to regret.
|Who = [[Liyara]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = October 13th, 2010
|Where = [[Fukuoka Court North]]
|Log=

It's a lovely day under the synthetic sky today in Mabase. And Rayne... is hiding. Really, this isn't that unusual a thing. She likes trees. She especially likes how foliage can hide her when she's in them. This in addition to the fact that most people just don't look ''up'' when walking along. With this, she's able to be outside without being noticed by everyone, and also without being on the somewhat grimy rooftop of the apartment building nearby. So there she is, perhaps napping, perhaps just people watching, but definitely relaxing. For once.

There aren't very many residents who share Rayne's love of trees for so profoundly a different reason as Liyara does. Honestly, every time she sees one, she has to remind herself that societies frown upon their lovely foliage being turned into even lovelier torches. But oh, they do go up so nicely, and surely she could light just one? ... No. No. No, save it for later. There'll always be some big fight in which she accidentally burns down a tree. Who could blame her for being imperfect? Surely no one would think she missed on '''purpose'''. Who does that?

And so when Liyara comes walking through the area to look at furnishings, she is also looking at the trees, envisioning them as flaming spears stabbing upward into the sky. Oh, they are so beautiful in her mind's eye. This is really the only reason she's looking up, as she, like most people, doesn't really look up when walking about. But any reason is good enough, when it lets her someone in the trees. She starts wandering in that direction, which seems more like a glide than anything else. Her feet are touching the ground, but only barely.

Rayne currently only has a single eye open, and is in fact barely paying attention to what's going on around her. The motion in red, however, does catch said eye and she glances downward at the approaching... Oh, it's Liyara again. Aaaaand the half-dragon has apparently noticed her. Or at least noticed that ''someone'' is there. The second eye is opened and she adjusts her position, going from lounging with just her upper back against the trunk and resting her crossed legs up on the branch to fully sitting more or less upright with both legs dangling off the same side of the branch, facing the approaching one. Well, just in case she's not noticed, she's holding off on saying anything just yet.

"That certainly looks comfortable." Liyara comments as she approaches the tree, more to herself than Rayne, but Rayne can probably hear it. When Liyara leans over and angles her head to get a better look up in the tree, she notices rainbow hair. Well, that certainly narrows things down. It's really very considerate of Rayne to make it easier to identify her that way. Liyara slowly drifts to a stop just underneath the tree and just... watches Rayne for a moment. Her tail flits back and forth on the ground below, leaving small dust clouds in its wake. She doesn't say anything more, but she smiles brightly. Something about it seems to say, "I caught you!"

Rayne doesn't attempt to hide the fact that she's there after Liyara speaks up. "Well, it's not exactly soft, but it works. In the week before I got an apartment here, I actually did sleep up in trees in the park. I've spent a fair enough amount of time on Cevernal travelling and got used to it there," she says casually. "How's the city treating you, Liyara?" ...That seems to be her standard greeting.

"Cevernal." Liyara tests out the word, raising an eyebrow but not asking any more about it. Rayne will offer if she wants, and Liyara gets to not be seen as nosy! Ah, the subtleties of human conversation. Much more fun than Dragon conversation. ... Much.

"It seems to be treating me much the same. I'm fed well and have amassed a small..." Don't say hoard. Don't say hoard. "...mountain of books." ... That was little better. But it was better.

Rayne nods. "Last planet I was on before I came here. Long, complicated story behind that. Anyway... A mountain? Glad you've landed on your feet and found a place to stay, then." Gods, when did she get so bad at small talk? She looks over her shoulder at the nearby apartment complex, then motions with her head in that direction. "Are you staying there, or have you found another place?"

After blinking for a moment, Liyara shakes her head. "Oh. I don't hoard the actual documents." '''Blood of Tiamat''', she said it anyway! She clears her throat to distract from her choice of words, and then taps her temple slightly. "They're in here." Did she memorize them, or...? "None of them said anything about Cevernal, though." Well, she clearly wasn't reading the right books.

Rayne nods, saying, "Aaaah, so just a metaphorical mountain, then. And it doesn't surprise me that you've not come across it... as far as I know, I'm the only..." She pauses, then corrects herself, "It's only been me and one other that's come from my universe... and I know I didn't write any books, and kinda doubt she did, either. But she did bring one or two. Only in digital format, though. No clue what happened to her, though." She shrugs, clearly not distraught over this other person from her universe. Heck, she almost forgot about her.

"Digital?" Liyara doesn't seem familiar with the term, but a second later, she makes a small sound of revelation. "Ah. Stored on a computer." She pauses, tilting her head to one side, and her eyes glass over, like she's reading something. But she's not. After a moment longer, she tilts her head back a bit. "...I wonder about the backwards compatibility of an advanced space race's formats with this place's computers." Whoa, wait, didn't she not even recognize the term a second ago?

Rayne nods. "Yeah, on a computer." She blinks at the pause, raising an eyebrow at the look on Liyara's face. There's a slight pause after Liyara's question before she cautiously says, "Uh... well... You'd be surprised how advanced the computer systems actually are around here. There's stuff here that's well advanced of even where I'm from. Especially in Artificial Intelligence."

"Oh?" Liyara smiles. Advanced computers. She's been doing this the slow way, it turns out. "...That's good to know." Really good, actually. But Artificial Intelligence? That draws another, longer pause from Liyara. Artificial Intelligence. Her eyes glass over again. Reading. Reading. Wait. "...Ah!" Liyara's overly-green eyes widen and then her face brightens, too. "AI. That's what Jack was talking about the other day, isn't it?" ...? Oh. Bishop. Well, sure. ... She only just got that? Well. She did get it. That's what counts, right? "...I admit, I don't think I fully understood at the time." Someone has high standards for herself.

Rayne tilts her head further at the new long pause. "You have some sort of... magical book storage ability?" she ventures. "Okay, I'm kinda jealous now. But... yeah, that's AI. Synths, as they tend to be called here. Medical Mechanica makes them... but they're pretty damned secretive about it."

"Magical..." Liyara looks confused at Rayne's question, but only briefly. She seems to be the type to only ever show confusion briefly. Either she understands things quickly, or hides her feelings a lot. Or maybe both. "Oh, no. Nothing so elaborate. I almost exclusively use incendiary magic." Once more, the winged woman taps her temple again with her index finger.

"Eidetic memory, or close enough." There's a half-skip, and then Liyara explains, as if realizing that more context would be helpful. "I remember what I see near-perfectly, but I still have to consciously read it once it's in here." Her eyes lid at the explanation of Medical Mechanica though, and Liyara's smile turns into a bit of a grin. "...I do love secrets." Uh oh.

Rayne blinks, then nods. "Fire, huh? Kinda my strongsuit, too, with magic. Seriously, I just know little tricks like cleaning and mending spells, and then there's the fire stuff." No, she's not demonstrating while in the tree. "For obvious reasons," she states, then just moves on. "But that's ''some'' memory you've got if you can memorize entire books without really knowing what's in them! You sure it isn't magical?" That look on Liyara's face... doesn't disturb Rayne as much as it probably should. She leans forward and says, barely loud enough to be heard, "I never said this. But if you ''happen'' to find out information, there's people that want to know." And then she's right back to conversational tone again. "Well, so long as you know the difference between secrets that ''should'' be out in public and the ones that... shouldn't?" She's talking government and corporation transparency versus personal privacy, but who knows if she's getting that across or not.

There's a quick nod from Liyara when Rayne comments on being good at fire. Well, Liyara seems to be under the impression from their previous conversation that Rayne is a half-dragon, so it ''would'' make sense to her. "It's not magic, but I certainly am." The redhead pauses, furrowing her brow. "...At the risk of coming off poorly again, my mind just works..." She clenches her jaw. Don't say better. Don't say smoother. Don't use comparatives at all! "...fast." Good... "So it's normal to me." Right, but not to other people, is the implication. Hey, implying it is better than saying it! Progress!

"Oh, and I'm a teacher, I'm very good at distinguishing between what makes good curriculum and what should be..." Used for blackmail. "...private." Yes, that.

Rayne nods, then sighs. Of course, with Rayne it's not the dragon that's bringing out the fire aspect, but what her father was. "Yeah, wish I were anywhere above average in that regard. But I'm a little below if anything, considering how old I am." Yes, Rayne didn't take offense at that this time, it seems. She then tilts her head. "A teacher? What do you teach?"

"Well, as headmaster of the Tolarian academy..." Liyara begins, pride more than a little evident in her voice. Never mind how she was almost kicked out when she first arrived. Nevermind that at all. "...I teach all subjects. Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, etc." No. Don't say etc. The schools of magic aren't common knowledge here, Liyara! "...I don't practice anything but Evocation. But that's never stopped anyone from being a good teacher before." Go back! You left a few out!

"Oh, and... are you of an unusual age? You appear to be, well... about my age." Apparent age. Liyara is much older than she looks, but there's a lot of that going around in this conversation.

Rayne blinks. "Headmaster? Have you considered employment at the academy here?" she asks, but the specialization of the academy that Liyara had been apart of quickly becomes clear. "Ooooh. All magic stuff, then? And yeah, that's called 'the paradox of expertise,' I think? Or something like that? Where the best at doing something usually is a pretty lousy teacher at it?" She sounds slightly unsure of herself at this, but then promptly forgets this and nods. "Yeah, well... I'm assuming you mean the age you appear, as opposed to your actual age... I'm about four hundred." Yes, Rayne assumes that someone that looks as young as Liyara looks isn't actually that young when they've been a headmaster of a school.

"Indeed. Though for my purposes, evocation is no harder to teach than the others. Dragons and their kin have inherent magic, so study isn't really our preferred method of advancement." Liyara tilts her head and laughs a little. Her laughter is rich, warm, and pleasant. "But I've found that knowledge is the key to almost everything." Blackmail, espionage, and forbidden magic are all quite handy! "So I feel blessed."

"Four hundred! Oh my!" Liyara looks genuinely surprised. "Well, you don't look a day over twenty-six!" Oddly specific. "I'm not in your range, but you're right that I look younger than I am." She smiles brightly. "Draconic blood. Burns away the impurities. Or so I tell my students." She seems to be enjoying herself, now.

Rainbow Dash is making her way across the area, her shadow zooming along on the pavement below her and she catches sight of some people she's met before and decides to try and be social! Not that it's a real issue usually, but she's been exploring this place..and trying to find a way out! So, she swoops down about level with Rayne's perch. "Yo!"

Rayne shrugs. "Well, I don't know the full differences, granted. I'm sure that does make it more difficult for you to explain it, though, having it be so inherant. I know I had to have an expert actually ''look'' at something inherent in me to make an enhancing magic item for it. I certainly couldn't have explained it to him." The mention of twenty six specifically gets an odd look. "I'm... not sure how I should take that. I stopped aging when I was seventeen, but I suppose I do try to make myself seem older... so other people give me more respect." She pauses, then grins. "Yeah, but it's not nearly so age inhibiting as Phoenix, is it?" She then spots the motion a little upward and looks up at the other rainbow hair/maned one approaches. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. How's the city treating you?"

Rainbow Dash says, "It's okay so far," she nods, she doesn't intend on staying here long after all. She has a life! "I don't intend on gettin used to it. This little blue Pegasus is gonna find a way home."

The sight of a pony zooming down out of the air should get more of a reaction from Liyara than it does, but she's basically decided that this place is like if the Feywild and the Shadowfell collided, and everyone lives in the wreckage. So she just smiles. "Ah. The flying pony." Success! Didn't insult the pegasus! "Good day!" Liyara seems to be in a good mood.

"I don't know too much about Phoenix blood; they don't generally mix with the populace in Toril, as they're rare, fleeting, and..." She makes a bird-shaped gesture with her hands, trying to explain that they can't really casually become humanoids like dragons can, but then shrugs. "...Not romantically inclined." Well there you go. She just came right out and said it. After a moment, she pauses, then gives Rayne another look over. "...It's only just now occurred to me. You greet everyone that way."

Rayne gives Dash an apologetic smile. It's become clear to her how miserable Rainbow Dash can get in this limited space and projected sky over Mabase. She sighs and shakes her head, then looks back to Liyara. "Well, that's a difference between our universes, I suppose. Plenty rare and fleeting, I suppose, but I personally consider it a bit too long since I've had a romantic partner." She blinks and then says, "Well... yeah. I'm kind of a representative of the city, in a way, so I like to know how things are going in that regard."

Rainbow Dash says, "I know a Phoenix...her name's Philomina, she's Princess Celestia's pet. And in Neo-Tokyo, there was a few people who were part Phoenix. I have NO idea how that even works."

"Ah, well. I'm sure you could find someone if you were truly so inclined." Liyara dismisses Rayne's comment about romance casually; apparently she thinks that Rayne should have no difficulties in that regard. Why? Probably superficial reasons. It's not like Liyara knows Rayne very well. And she has a low estimation of humans, so... if Rayne really wants to do the math, she could probably work it out.

"But I'm surprised someone as old as you would..." Liyara, if you say 'stoop so low', you will have to strangle yourself. "...deign to do government work." Oh, someone doesn't think very highly of governments, either? Well, medieval governments were probably pretty poorly structured, so that tracks. Liyara glances to Rainbow Dash after a longer moment, and then gives a little laugh. "A pet phoenix? Well, I suppose when they're young..." She seems to think the idea is silly. But then, she would probably react the same way if someone said they had a pet dragon. Which people sometimes do.

Rayne visibly winces at the mention of the pet Phoenix. "Yeah," she says with a mildly annoyed tone. "Twilight mentioned her, too." She shakes her head in annoyance, then says, "Well, like I've said before, different universes have different rules... especially with so-called mythological species." She then winces again at Liyara's mention of 'oh, you can just find someone'. "Easier said than done," she mumbles, having long since lost her confidence in being able to tell when someone is as remotely interested in her as she is in them. No, she's at a point in her life where she just hides those feelings out of a sense of fear, and can't figure out how to get herself out of that rut. "Well, I kind of just... fell into the role, honestly. My predecessor was a god of sun and war, ran TASK as a paramilitary group... after the whole dimensional collapse thing, I restructured it entirely into the Mabase City Police Department." She gives Liyara an odd look at the mention of 'when they're young,' but then shakes her head to dismiss her own distaste at that remark.

Rainbow Dash says, "Naw...Philomina is really, really old...." she shrugs. Just a burning bird after all. "Fluttershy caused a little problem when she thought she was sick and took her to try and heal her. turns out she was just, ya know, gonna rebirth herself or something."

It seems to take Liyara a bit by surprise when Rayne says that different universes have different rules for 'mythological species'. Mythological? She did read that not all universes seem to have Dragons, but... She tilts her head and her eyes glass over for a moment. Rayne will probably recognize this as her doing some more reading in her head. "...Oh. I see." She un-spaces out just in time to catch Rayne's odd look, and she offers an apologetic smile. "...I've met a baby phoenix before. They were almost as intelligent as an adult human, and much better conversation." ... Wait, really? "...So they could..." She slows down in her speech. "Make... a good..." Her eyes narrow, and her tail flicks. "... I'm doing it again, aren't I?" Maybe a little.

Rayne mumbles, "Doubt she's as old as my father," before shrugging. Philimina was an old conversation for her. She looks between the two again, then says, "I... probably should clarify... in my home universe, those types of 'magical' species and the like... they're all what my father called 'second level' species. As in... every one of them is born without anything inherently odd except for maybe a few tells. Hair in phoenixes, eyes in a dragon, for instance. I don't know about Fey, Coatls, or Thunderbirds. Actually, I'm not sure Thunderbirds actually exist... BUT... Yeah, something happens in the normal lifespan and the latent heritage gets activated. With phoenixes, it's dying an unnatural or violent death, with dragons it's involving overcoming extreme emotional adversity..." She then pauses and looks back and forth, then facepalms. "...You two don't know I'm a phoenix, do you?" She forgets that's not common knowledge, sometimes.

Rainbow Dash says, "I think you sorta mentioned it before..." she shrugs in the air, 'Or I coulda been thinkin' about what's her name back in Neo-Tokyo. Human names are weird, though...."

Liyara just lets her head droop a little bit. "...I just put it together a second ago." So that's what that was. Doing it again was 'insulting you again', then. She takes a deep breath, and then shrugs. "...I guess I'll just get used to being the rude one." Her intentions are good! ... Well, at the moment anyway.

"Your places are both pretty different; I've never heard of a phoenix-blood, let alone..." She gestures at all of Rayne, because that says everything, doesn't it? "...And in my world, it's very common for horses to talk and even fly, but I've not met a single flying, talking pony until I arrived here." She pauses, thinking for a moment. "...And actually, never a pony pegasus."

Rainbow Dash laughs, "hey, where I come from, I'm the rude one- don't worry about it! I can get all four hooves in my mouth at once!"

Rayne shrugs to Rainbow Dash. She honestly doesn't remember if she told her before or not. "Well, pony names are weird for us, too." It's as she explained how the races work in her universe... she still considers herself human as well. She then looks to Liyara and says, "Don't worry about it. Like I said, different universes, different rules." She glances between the two, then says, "The first I met was an alicorn." She then smiles bemusedly and says, "That would take a lot of flexibility and a big mouth."

Rainbow Dash says, "I'm sure Pinkie Pie could do it."

This just draws a burst of suppressed laughter from Liyara, who covers her mouth with the back of her hand to help keep it muffled. "It sounds like you have some interesting friends, Rainbow." No, it's not a first name, Liyara. Ah well, Rainbow Dash seems tolerant enough to forgive it. Liyara looks back to Rayne, and then smiles, before her wings start flapping, and she slowly flits up so that she's at eye-level with the other two. Once in the air, she peers at Rayne's eyes for a moment. "...So, half and half, then?"

Rainbow Dash says, "Oh yeah, totally," she nods, then looks suddenly VERY sad, but covers it up quickly. "Place is so dusty," she mutters, then continues. "Pinkie's pretty crazy, she can just...do things....that other ponies just can't. I'm the fastest Pony in Equestria and somehow she can get somewhere before I can, even when I'm trying to get away from her.""
Rayne tilts her head slightly at the mention of Pinkie Pie. It's not one she's heard ''that'' much about. At least not the purely pony version of. She looks back to Liyara in time to see her suddenly looking at her eyes. There's a slight blush at the close look, then she says, "Uh, yeah, more or less. My mother was a Dragon, my father a Phoenix. Neither knew what the other was at the time, apparently. My phoenix blood has been activated, my dragon... not so much. And as traumatic as I've heard an experience has to be for that to happen, I'm kinda okay with that." She then looks to Rainbow Dash and says, "Doesn't that make-" but then she shuts her mouth, deciding it's probably best to not test Dash's ego that way.
Rainbow Dash says, "NO...she's not faster. She cheats."

Seeing Rainbow Dash's sadness, even for a moment, causes Liyara's eyes to lid a bit. It seems everyone around here wants to get home, so it's no wonder Rayne didn't think it would be too easy. Liyara's not in the habit of charity, but maybe when she figures out how to create a portal home, she can figure out how to help the ones she's met here, too. It's not like her to care, but she shares their predicament.

Outwardly, Liyara is just focused on the conversation like a good participant. "I'm not nearly as fast as Korrin, but no matter how fast he is, he can't run somewhere faster than I can... ''could''... teleport there." Inwardly, though, she's not really even in the conversation. It's auto-pilot. Inwardly, she's thinking about what Rayne said. Draconic blood triggered by traumatic experiences. Interesting. Well. Everyone would be better off if they were a little more draconic, wouldn't they?

Rayne should not have told her that.

Rainbow Dash hates seeming vulnerable and..stuff. So she locks it down best she can, but talking about her friends is a soft spot. "Teleporting isn't quite what she does...we can't figure it out. She just..doesn't play by the rules of any kind of physics.

Rayne has lived four hundred years without being able to talk to a stranger about being a phoenix, let alone having the potential in her to be a dragon. Now that she's in a place with dragons and pegasi and even the occasional deity(pains in the ass, as far as Rayne's experience is concerned) being just... ''there'', she sometimes doesn't think about the fact that perhaps there are some things she ''shouldn't'' say, still. "Well, I'd say there had to be something behind it, but I understand your world not only doesn't have interstellar space, but isn't even heliocentric. And apparently actually requires the sun to be manually moved. So I'm not gonna ask about something even ''you'' can't explain about it."

Liyara is about to say that from Rainbow Dash's description, Pinkie Pie sounds a little like an old student of hers with a feathered red hat, but then Rayne drops that information about Rainbow Dash's world. "...Wait, go back? None of what you just said makes sense." Equestria.

Inwardly, the plotting and scheming has begun. Of course one must be properly distanced and separated from the traumatic event so as not to be blamed. Yes, she's already on the 'how to get away with it' stage, and she's moving right on to the 'how to kindly offer to help the new dragon learn the ropes'. Things like ethical quandaries and moral boundaries and incompatible dragon-types aren't really in her wheelhouse right now. Results! Results are what matter.

Rayne says, "Yeah. Their world doesn't make sense. So if someone there breaks even ''those'' laws of physics... no, I'm not going to even remotely ''attempt'' to figure it out. I imagine if I met Pinkie Pie, my brain would break down."

Rainbow Dash says, "Oh yeah..like she said; our Sun and Moon are raised and lowered by our Princesses, we have to help the leaves fall..and we gotta clear away winter, too."

These description make Liyara's head spin, so she just shakes it after a moment. "Right, well... Then that's a mystery for another day." She folds her fingers together for a moment in an almost "Mr. Burns" style gesture, and then realizes what she's doing and puts them behind her quickly. "I'm afraid I must be on my way, I just wanted to say hello. It's been a pleasure." Yes. She has much plotting to do. Much plotting indeed.

Rainbow Dash says, "See ya!"

Rayne nods, then leans back to relax again in her position in the tree. "Well, it was nice chatting with you again, Liyara. Have a nice day."

|}}

2019-10-06 - Point Me to the Nearest Portal

2019-10-14T21:08:28Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Point Me to the Nearest Portal |Summary = A new arrival appears, and she's already used to multiplanar existence. |Who = Jack Hawksmoor, Liy..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Point Me to the Nearest Portal
|Summary = A new arrival appears, and she's already used to multiplanar existence.
|Who = [[Jack Hawksmoor]], [[Liyara]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = October 6th, 2019
|Where = [[Twisted St. and Fukuoka Ct.]]
|Log=

The chaotic merging point of Fukuoka and Twisted Street is home to many strange effects. Cracks in reality, floating island-bits, and shattered stones punctuate everyday living here. So what's one more weird fluctuation in space and time? A ripple? A portal? It's hard to say, but it looks more like a puff of smoke and fire than anything else. Whatever it is, it appears about ten feet off the ground, and is immediately followed by a small draconic humanoid appearing in the air. She falls immediately, yelping in surprise, and lands rather harshly on her rear.

"..." She grits her teeth, stands up, and dusts herself before looking around. "...Bards. Are. The. Worst." As she takes stock of her surroundings, she blinks slowly, and pats down her skirts while her tail flits about in irritation. "...This isn't any plane I'm familiar with." She's seen nicer places. She lives in a nicer place. But ... something about the Chaos is actually a bit appealing.

And a woman in leather armor which wouldn't look out of place in a medeival fantasy world happens to have been walking by at that very moment. Though, to be a bit more anachronistic, she's also currently drinking from a to-go coffee cup from a convenience store. And has rainbow colored hair. "Oh, come on. I've known some performers that were pretty good people," she says with a deadpan. . o O ( ''Looks like a new arrival.'' ) She reaches up with her free hand and rubs at the inner corners of her eyes. This used to be her ''job'', why does she find this situation so difficult now? "Yeah, well, uh... Welcome to the plane of Twisted? And the city of Mabase."

"Oh, to be certain, but their number sink lower than almost any I've ever..." The newcomer begins to respond automatically, then slowly trails off and looks at the rainbow-haired and armored woman. "...Oh. I'm dreadfully sorry, I didn't notice there was anyone around." She takes note of the drink, and glances around. When she notices the convenience store on the corner, she quirks her head to one side.

"...Twisted. Mabase." She handles the words like they're marbles in her mouth, but then seems to swallow and nods. "Thank you. The first time I've received a proper greeting after being banished." She offers a hand towards the coffee-wielder. "I'm Liyara. A pleasure." She didn't seem like she was pleased a moment ago. But she's smiling now. So.

Rayne shrugs. "Well, you ''were'' just pulled unwittingly through some dimensional shenanigans across the multiverse and dumped here. I can understand the distraction." She takes a sip of her coffee, then raises an eyebrow. "Banished?" Oh, but then the hand is offered... and Rayne shies away from it. "Uhhh... Rayne Hurris," she says, then offers a friendly but quite awkward wave. "Um... sorry, I kind of have a... thing with physical contact." The look on her face suggests annoyance with herself more than anything else.

There is another quirk of Liyara's head when the word 'multiverse' gets tossed around, but she doesn't draw any further attention to it, rolling right along with the flow of conversation. When Rayne shies away from her hand, she retracts it with a slightly warmer smile. "That seems sensible." She returns to patting down her clothes for a moment, and then looks around once more.

"To be honest, I've never fully understood the gesture. But courtesy is courtesy." Her tail swishes a little on the ground, a little like a nervous cat, and she resumes her analysis of her surroundings. "I was banished from the material plane by a bard who thinks too highly of herself." She pauses, furrowing her brow. "... I might have deserved it. Full disclosure."

Rayne lets out a clear sigh of relief that she hasn't insulted the newcomer by not taking her hand. The free hand has gone to her chest just below her neck in the process of the sigh, but then she looks up and grips the hand a moment before saying a bit more seriously and with a lower tone of voice, "You're not going to cause trouble ''here'' are you?" Her eyes have narrowed. Someone was banished from a plane of existence and dumped on her metaphysical lap? This is not the kind of thing Rayne needs while right now. Really, why do people do things that way?! Don't they realize the troublemaker is just going to become someone else's problem? It doesn't solve anything for a net gain at all!

"Oh, heavens no." Liyara places a hand to her chest as if wounded by the accusation, but she doesn't look offended. It's clearly just for effect. "I just said some things that I probably shouldn't have, and we're both going to regret it." She shakes her head, and offers a placating smile.

"Honestly, I'm not even going to be here long, if you can just point me to the nearest portal to the material plane, I'll be out of your hair in no time." She's beaming now. Clearly this sounds like an easy request to her. She may not fully appreciate the scope of where she's ended up.

Rayne eyes the apparent Dragon-half carefully before saying, "Well, I ''hope'' Mabase doesn't treat you so poorly as for you to regret it that much, but...." She shrugs. It's the second part that gets a frowns. "Um... you're going to have to be a LOT more specific. And the portals aren't as... stable as they used to be. And there doesn't seem to be as many. And they're a bit scattered now. Enough that I don't really know where to point you to most, anyway."

"I found a couple of stable ones," comes a voice from...the roof of the 24. It's a voice that Rayne will find quite familiar. Yup. Jack Hawksmoor is crouched on the roof. How long has he been there? How did he get there? Both open questions....to which you may or may not want the answer.

Rainbow Dash flies unexpectedly into the crazy area...and all her flight senses snap; nothing makes sense, up is down and down is behind her...and there..are those islands floating in the sky? She's does a Charlie Brown AUGH!!! And spins out of control at high speed, bounces off something that felt like Jell-O and careens in a spin towards the only stable area, the small shop and crashes into the roof, bouncing off and landing in a heap on the front step. *twitch*

Those comments draw a headtilt from Liyara, who glances up to the person on the roof. "...?" Surely this isn't that complicated. There's only one material plane. Well, surely they're just a bit simple and unware of the way of things. Not everyone is as educated as herself, and she couldn't ''possibly'' be wrong. "...Of course. The prime material plane. Home to the land of Faerun on the planet of Toril." She offers a bright smile.

"...Is it terribly common for the portals here to be unstable?" She doesn't much like the sound of that. "Perhaps I'd be better off doing the research and opening my own--" Liyara pauses in mid-speech at the sound of a crash. She glances over at the convenience store.

"...Was that a horse?"

Rayne tilts her head. "Toril? Never heard of it. Do you know which galactic arm that's in? Oh, who am I kidding, I'm pretty sure you're not from ''my'' universe," she says with a glance to the side. She takes a sip of her coffee just in time to do a spit-take at Jack's talking. Luckily she had barely gotten any into her mouth and wasn't aimed at Liyara. She wipes her mouth off in embarrassment at having done that, then says, "It's far more common then stable ones, at this point, but that's par for the course with EVERYTHING in this realm...." She looks over at Rainbow Dash the same time that Liyara does and facepalms. "...Aren't you supposed to be some sort of expert flier? You're letting some little dimensional instability affect you that much?" She then looks to Liyara and says, "Pegasus, technically."

Rainbow Dash merfs...'Rub it in why don'tcha?'

"She is ''not'' a horse," Jack says, vaulting off the roof, he does a twist and lands on his feet next to Rainbow Dash. He'd offer her a hand, but he's not sure exactly HOW you give a hand up to a quadruped, so he kind of stands there. To Liyara, "Toril? Never heard of it."

Rainbow Dash rolls to her feet and shake-shakes her head and mane. "I hate this place..." she grumbles, 'Fake skies, dimensional insta-what ever," she grumbles, checking her wings, "Yeah. Pegasus. Horses don't talk."

"A pegasus, then. Apologies." Liyara looks like she needs something to do with her hands, so she smooths her dress down a bit. She looks to Jack as he lands. He seems agile. She turns to Rainbow Dash, and tilts her head again before offering a bright smile. "I'm afraid I've encountered far more talking horses than talking Pegasi in my years. Forgive me?" She looks calm and polite, but in her head, there's a different story.

Galactic arm? Different universe? Is that what she meant earlier? Did she leave the skein of her entire reality? That's not how banishment works! What's happening? Panic! Panic!

Meanwhile, outwardly... "This place seems almost as colorful as Neverwinter." Oh. If she knew.

Rayne winces at Rainbow Dash's complaints. "We're managing as best we can," she says quietly. "It's hard rebuilding after that kind of dimensional disaster." She sits down on a nearby bench and sips her coffee again. "It's colorful, alright."

Rainbow Dash says, "No prob. I'm kinda used to it...at least nobody here's called me a Dinosaur. I still don't even understand that!" she flaps her wings, rising up and floating in the air. "I'm Rainbow Dash, from Equestria," she says to Liyara. "We're ponies, but yeah, I'm totally a pegasus. All sorts there. Unicorns, Erath Ponies, Griffons, Dragons, the works."

Jack Hawksmoor is, yes, agile. Also shoeless. "Okay, look. You're in an entire different part of reality. It takes some getting used to. There's a chance of a portal home. There's a chance you're stuck here for the rest of your life." The man leans against the wall of the convenience store. His eyes glint red for a moment.

Dimensional Disaster? Liyara doesn't like the sound of where she's ended up. But letting emotions like fear and apprehension show is for the rabble. She's above that kind of thing.

"Oh my. That sounds serious." She calms herself down, inwardly. If she's not just in some strange demiplane, she might have spend a while here before she can figure out how to return home. But she'll manage. The Academy will still be waiting for her, of that much she's certain.

"Equestria?" She's turned to face Rainbow Dash now. "Well, that certainly sounds pleasant." Of course there are dragons there. There are dragons everywhere. "But..."

There's a quick turn to Jack, and Liyara's face falls very slightly. Nowhere near as disappointed looking as she feels. Her entire life? Nope, that's not happening. "...Well, that's going to offset my plans." A bit. "...But always put a good foot forward, yes?" She looks to everyone assembled. "...It sounds like this plane is in just as dire need of help as my own." Actually, Liyara's is probably a little bit better off without her. If we're being honest.

"Oh, it's definitely worse off than mine," Jack says, then he detaches himself from the wall (no, not literally) and offers a hand to Liyara. "Jack Hawksmoor." Hopefully she's from a place where last names actually exist, or he just confused her more.

Rayne looks up at Rainbow Dash. "...Dinosaur? What? Who ever called you that somewhere else?" No, she just can not see how someone could think the pony pegasus was a dinosaur. "Uh, yes. Well. And to put things into perspective... I'm from a universe where travel among the stars is commonplace. Hence my question about galactic arms and the like..." She shakes her head, then laughs humorlessly. "Getting stuck here puts an offset in everyone's plans. You'll have to come up with new ones. And if you can actually help... It would be appreciated."

Rainbow Dash says, "You're new here? Try to not worry, I was trapped someplace else for a long time...found my way home, then got shuffled here!" is that supposed to be helpful? She's trying anyway....

"Liyara." The golden-winged girl takes Jack's hand and shakes it politely. "Just Liyara, I'm afraid. My family never earned themselves a name, and I've no interest, myself." ... Right. Because people have to earn a last name where she's from? ... That sounds odd.

When Rayne explains, Liyara's eyes light up. "Oh! That's quite lovely. Normally only wizards and mages travel between star systems in my world." Well, at least someone does it. "Are your people all talented magicians, then?" That actually doesn't sound lovely to her. That sounds dangerous. But it's surely nice for the people who live there.

Finally turning upon Rainbow Dash, she offers up a warm, sincere smile. "Oh, I'm not worried. I'll find my way home. I'll just have to factor in some additional variables." She pauses, then a hint of a blush rises in her cheeks. "Ah, but thank you for your encouragement." Yes, don't let the courtesy lapse now that you're in a new place. That would be a disaster.

It's odd, but not unheard of. "Mine's had mine for a while," he says, quietly. Then he glances at Rayne. "Space travel exists where I'm from, but humans aren't really all the way in the party yet, if you know what I mean."

Rayne looks at Liyara for a moment. Sure, sure, the tail, wings, and horns. But it's the eyes that are somehow getting the most of Rayne's attention, for some reason. Suddenly, she blurts out, "So are you a dragon?" She blinks, then shakes her head, actually responding to what was asked of her. "Uh, sorry. No, no, ''that's'' actually pretty rare. ''Really'' rare. The starfaring stuff is all technology." She glances at Jack and says, "Yeah, I've gathered you're from the... 2000 area? I left from the twenty-fifth century."

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah...ya do seem sorta dragony. But that's cool, I know some pretty awesome dragons."

Liyara actually blinks at Rayne's outburst of a question, then gives a musical laugh at Rainbow Dash's words. "My mother was a dragon. My father was..." She pauses, her too-green eyes flickering off to the left for just a moment. "...not." She immediately changes the subject.

"...Technology? That can travel the stars? I don't mind admitting, that sounds a little farfetched to me." Humans can't do things like that without magic. They're nowhere near intelligent enough. They can barely manage ''with'' magic.

"Slightly earlier, actually, 1990s, but I probably manage to be more tech savvy because I was working with people who had state of the art stuff they didn't like to admit to. And the space station, I think, was a bit ahead of some 2000s people," Jack muses. He glances at Liyara. Ah, so she's a half dragon, and embarrassed by the non dragon half.

Rainbow Dash says, "Hey, I'm not gonna judge."

Rayne offers a quick smile to Liyara. "Hey, well, I suppose I'm not the only one, then." She points to her violet colored eyes for some reason. But she picks up on the change of subject and drops that subject now. "Oh, absolutely. There's like... three different methods for faster than light travel now. Well, common ones, at any rate. As a former light starship repair technician myself, I can assure you that no magic is involved!"

Jack Hawksmoor winks at Rayne, then crouches and does an upward leaping move that's definitely beyond the reach of a normal, unenhanced human. He ends up upside down, feet against the wall of the 24...and sticking to it. "It's actually pretty amazing what can be done without magic." Show. Off.

Rainbow Dash says, "Equstria is all about magic!"

Liyara definitely seems to take notice when Rayne points to her eyes and implies that she is a halfie. She seems to relax, just a little bit, even to the point of being amused when Jack sticks to the wall. But then her curiosity comes out.

"Faster than light travel?" Liyara blinks at that, and tilts her head slowly. "...What does light have to do with..." She pauses, biting the question before it can finish coming out. Then she swallows, and her eyes go a bit wider. Like she's just had a realization. "...You don't mean you actually travel there. Like... in a ship?" She looks incredulous. "...By locomotion?!?"

That's ridiculous. Rainbow Dash's world has the right of it. Magic is the way of things. Traveling faster than light? What a brute force method! ... How like humans.

Rainbow Dash says, "I'm fast...but I can't do light speed. YET!" she boasts with a laugh, "Totally gonna crack that one of these days!"

Rayne shrugs. "Well, technically one involves warping space, one involves punching holes into another universe where distance is significantly shorter, and another involves quantum flux in ways I don't understand. In general, if an FTL's problem isn't with an electronic part or one of the larger, chunkier parts, I never would touch it for safety reasons, so I never did learn the details. So 'locomotion' is debatable, but we do call them ships, yes."

"I think," says the upside-down citywalker, "She's saying that long distance teleportation is the easiest way to move from planet to planet where she comes from." Jack pauses. "We have teleportation where I come from. But last time I used it, I wound up here. And...not over interstellar distances."
Rainbow Dash says, "Unicorns can teleport...some of 'em, kind of a spell."

"..." Liyara listens, her eyes getting progressively wider. "...All of that with technology?" She glances at Jack. "Yes... generally. Or portals." She is looking rather nonplussed. Rainbow Dash makes sense; but what Rayne and Jack are saying is just... impossible. The cutting edge of human technology where she's from is ''plumbing'', and that was invented hundreds of years ago.

"...I'm honestly amazed. And if you'll forgive me, a bit speechless." ...Somehow, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who's ever actually speechless.
Rayne looks at Liyara for another moment, then shrugs. "Yeah, no one in my universe has portals or teleportation, even in magic form, as far as I know. I'm guessing our universes had different development directions. ''That'' thought would have shocked me before I got punched into Twisted. Uh... by now, well, nothing really phases me anymore. Sorry, I'm a bit jaded."

"Actually, it's mostly portals. What I do doesn't...quite...count as teleportation." And he...disappears. To be more precise, he flows into the wall. Yeah, he's in FULL showoff mode right now.

Rainbow Dash says, "Equestria isn't that much tekkie at all...we've got trains and movies and cities and stuff...but no computer stuff or cars and planes. We do have balloons, though, slow as heck though. They drive me crazy."

Liyara shakes her head. She doesn't understand how technology could ever imitate magic to that degree. But that's hardly the weirdest thing to hear today. She'll get over it. She watches Jack melt into the wall, and smiles a bit. "...Meld into stone. Are you sure you're not using magic?" She doesn't actually have any way to tell other than recognizing the effect from a spell she's known. It still could have been Subtle Spell.

"...Well, to be fair, interstellar teleportation is still fairly rare where I'm from. Portals can take you anywhere, of course." Of course.

"...Wait. Balloons?"

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah. Hot air balloons."

Rayne rolls her eyes at Jack's antics. "That's enough showing off, Detective." She sighs and shakes her head. "We have some more powered balloons parked at the Plowse Bridge ruins, but I've not talked much to the people running them." She pauses a moment, then looks directly at Liyara again to ask, "Are you going to be okay? I mean.... more than likely, it will take a long time for you to find a way to reliably get yourself home."

Jack Hawksmoor rises out of the ground next to Rayne. "Positive. But fine, I'll stop." His tone is wryly amused. "Somebody needs to give directions to the Usual." Half-dragons, unlike cyborgs, need to eat.

"Because hot air rises?" Liyara laughs a little. That's one way to travel, she supposes. Though that just seems so... ... cobbled together. "...Clever." Not what she was thinking.

At Rayne's question, she gives a soft laugh. "I'm sure it will take some adjusting, but it's hardly the strangest day I've ever had." It actually does rank!

Unfortunately, she doesn't know what 'The Usual' is.

Rainbow Dash says, "Well, yeah..that's what hot air does where I come from," she teases. "In Neo-Tokyo, we had a portal back home, back and forth. It was totally awesome."

Rainbow Dash slumps just a little in the air.

Rayne glances aside at Rainbow Dash, opens her mouth, then decides against saying the 'it comes from your mouth?' quip out loud. Instead, she nods to Jack and says, "Point. So, Liyara, if you head that way down the road," she points to the east when she says this, "You can find a restaurant with a sign calling itself 'The Usual Restaurant.' You can get yourself some food there if you need it. That way," This time she points to the north, "You'll come across a fountain. Near there is the Courthouse, where you'll find the official Welcome Center inside. They can help you there in some more official manners. I'm not sure what processes Sunset has set up there since I stopped running the place." Rainbow Dash's slump once again gets Rayne to wince. For some reason, she takes Dash's complaints, even the unspoken, personally, it seems.

Jack Hawksmoor looks at Dash. Softly, "I'm still looking. I ''will'' let you know if I find something." Rayne can explain where and what the Usual is to the newcomer. Given Dash is managing to slump ''while flying'' he figures she needs some attention right now.

Rainbow Dash pffts, "I'm not worried about it. I can manage." She props her bravado up.

Liyara doesn't look very worried, either. "Well, once I locate a wizard and the right temporal and spatial coordinates, I'm sure I can just return around the time I left." ... That's optimistic. "It's not as though I'll lose much time." ... What about all the time she'll lose trying to find that information? Could be a lot! "It sounds like I might be able to help other people with that same problem, so that seems to be worth learning." It sure sounds like it!

And then someone mentions food. Liyara orients on Rayne quickly. "...I wonder what kind of foods this plane offers." Her eyes lit up a bit there. She might like food. A little.

"Lots, from what I've seen," Jack says. "I mean, people come here from all over the place, from all kinds of worlds, and bring recipes with them." Food, such an important part of being human...

Rayne glances away at Liyara's confidence at being able to return. "Right... well... good luck... I guess." She downs the rest of her coffee, then tosses the cup into a trash bin. "Well, I suppose I should show you the Usual myself? And yeah, there's a lot, though the Usual has mostly Earth food. Not that I mind, personally."

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah, it's got most stuff from Equestria, but that's just mostly stuff with no meat."

Liyara definitely does seem to be unusually confident about returning home. But then, she says interplanar travel isn't that unusual for her, and probably thinks this is similar. It probably isn't. Probably.

"Earth food? Food made out of earth? I can't see the appeal, honestly." Well... she's going to have a few more misunderstandings. That's for sure. She glances at Rainbow Dash. "... No... meat?" She sounds almost as confused as when Rayne suggested Faster than Light travel.

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah. Ponies. We don't eat meat."

"Earth's a planet. I know, kind of a boring name," Jack adds.

Rayne blinks, then laughs. "Okay, yeah, I suppose the planet's name is kinda dumb, but that's what it's called! the food's super varied, though. It's the world where humans come from in most universes."

"But you said they have dragons..." Liyara clearly doesn't follow Rainbow Dash; if they have dragons, meat should be a pretty big part of their dishes! When Jack and Rayne explain that Earth is a planet, she can't help herself. She scoffs. Just a little. "Naming the world Earth..." There's just a little disdain in that.

Here's our planet! We've called it ... Ground! Here's our river, the great river Blue! And here's our desert. We call it the Sandy Desert! A fine human name! Like the water lake, and the forest of trees!

Liyara manages not to completely let this disdain show, but she definitely seems like she's bemused. "...Well. If it has a variety of food, I can hardly complain."

Jack Hawksmoor shakes his head a little bit. "I didn't do it," he says, simply, meaning the name. He's now standing relaxed, hands at his sides.

Rayne tilts her head, then shrugs. "I was born on Avia, myself. Earth's a nature preserve in my time. Anyway... I kinda have an early morning tomorrow, so I'm sure Jack or Rainbow Dash can show you the way to the Usual..." She glances in their direction just after saying this.

Rainbow Dash laughs a little, 'Ponies arent Dragons, we eat different stuff," she replies, then adds, "I heard Earth is called Terra or Gaia from Twilight, she's totally into that stuff. Humans call it Earth for I dunno why.

Liyara manages to take Rayne's cues well enough, and she waves goodbye to Rayne with a grateful smile for the handoff. She seems interested in the other names for Earth, and smiles as she nods in response to Rainbow Dash. "Those sound much nicer. What does Terra mean?" ... She's not going to be happy when she finds out it means earth, is she?

Rainbow Dash says, "I dunno," and shrugs, 'Twilight knows all that stuff, I don't always listen to her when she's goin' on about stuff."

Jack Hawksmoor isn't going to be the one who tells her. Nope. "So...shall we?" He nods to Rayne. "Get some ''rest''."

Rayne sighs and shakes her head. "I will, I will. And welcome to Twisted, Liyara." With that, she starts making her way to the north, to her apartment.

Rainbow Dash says, "Later Rayne."

Liyara certainly seems like she's going to be ok. She's got an easy smile, and is getting along ok with people. Outwardly, anyway. Inwardly?

Disaster! A completely different universe?! A world entirely of hor-- of ponies? NO MEAT? It's going to be ok. Humans and horses. She knows how to handle humans and horses. Everything's going to be '''FINE'''.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Rayne." Yup. All the chill. Off to the restaurant!

|}}

2019-10-10 - Phlogiston and Chips.

2019-10-14T14:53:16Z

Rayne: fixed some character names to get them linked properly.

{{Logsummary|
Title = Phlogiston and Chips
|Summary = Liyara runs into Rayne on her way to meet Constantine, but abandons her for the chaos of The Usual.
|Who = [[Rayne]], [[Liyara]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Hinoken]], [[Constantine]], [[Rocket Raccoon]]
|Date = October 10, 2019.
|Where = The Usual (and its environs.)
|Log=

Rayne steps out of the Usual, arms held upward with her hands clasped behind her neck and elbows poking outward.

After Liyara's rather disastrous faux paus earlier, she decided to spend her time with some books to ease her mind. Books are wonderful; the interaction is one way, nothing you say to them upsets them (usually), and she can zoom through several in an hour.

More specifically, Liyara has been studying books on cosmology, astronomy, and and several human histories. She feels like she is a little better equipped for her meeting with that trenchcoat with a man inside now.

As she heads towards the usual, she blinks as she sees a rainbow head of hair, and purses her lips for just a moment, before shrugging and deciding to... what do humans say? Roll with it. "Afternoon, Rayne!" She keeps her voice cheerful, and seems like she's just going to pretend earlier never happened.

Rayne takes a deep breath in, then out again before she turns to look. Sure, the smile is a little forced. But it's still a smile, right? "Oh. Liyara." Hey, she got the name right this time! "How are you doing today? The city treating you well?"

"Quite pleasantly." Liyara's smile doesn't look forced; actually, it looks perfectly natural and sincere. Which is intended to put the other woman at ease, but probably just seems out of place given the circumstances.

"I found a library!" ...Oh, that's the end of her statement. Well, whatever floats her boat.

Rayne drops the fake smile, but at least she's still neutral. Really, it's her common expression the past year or so. "Oh, yes. The library. There's also an occult book store. That might have something else you might want for your research, maybe, but of course that's not free."

That causes Liyara's smile to waver, just a bit. "...Well, I'm sure I'll find a way." Most book shops aren't really equipped to deal with someone who can read at her speed, she can probably just make several visits.

"More importantly, I've gotten an understanding of the difference between most universes and mine!" ... One would imagine there isn't just ONE difference, but she seems to think so. Also, she's adapted rather quickly, it seems.

Rayne shrugs before nodding, assuming Liyara is talking about a way to make some money, but then tilts her head. "'The' difference? Huh. Well, now you have me curious. What is 'the' difference that is so vital?" She leans against the outer wall of the Usual, lifting one foot to place the sole of her boot flat against the wall.

"Phlogiston!" Liyara says brightly, practically beaming. This smile is actually fully sincere, and there is a difference, since one was practiced for many years, and the other is just natural. Her tail swishes back and forth like a cat with a toy, so whatever Phlogiston is, she seems to think it's important, at least.

"All the universes I read about with interstellar travel are capable of it because there is no phlogiston." Right, well, as annoying as it is that she seems to think humans are slow, she should probably still provide context.

Rayne blinks. Twice. "Phlogiston," she says to make sure she heard that correctly. "As I am from one of these universes that doesn't have phlogostan, would you mind elaborating?" It's that different look to Liyara's smile now that has her interest even more piqued. "Please, enlighten this humble former starship mechanic."

"Ah!" Liyara gives a small laugh, and then shakes her head. "Sorry! Sorry! It's just very exciting." Is it, though? "Our universe has very little wildspace, the uh, the vaccuum between planets." Also known as just... space. "Most of it is suffused by a potent explosive fluid called Phlogiston. Almost all of it, in fact. The only reason our planets are liveable is because our star systems are encased in ..." The dragon-lady holds her arms out very wide. "...Really big spheres made of Crystal!"

Their star systems are encased in a sphere? The whole systems? "We call them crystal spheres, some of your books have something similar... hmm... Tyson Spheres?" So close, and yet...

Rayne blinks at the mention of crystal spheres. "...I feel like I've heard that before. The, uh, Crystal Sphere part, that is. But I can't remember where from. But... yeah. If you have to punch through a crystal sphere... And then are surrounded in explosives, yes. Yes, that would stop EVERYTHING I know of, considering pretty much any engine would likely set that off." She pauses, then adds, "Well, other than gravitic drive, but that's rediculously energy inefficient." She then pauses again before tilting her head. "...Tyson? I don't think I've heard of it. They must not be in my universe, either."

Liyara doesn't even consider that she's mis-remembered the name; she has perfect memory after all! Ish! "Well, the ones in the books I read about sound like they were made without magic, which..." She sways for a moment. "...Sounds horribly inefficient. So good that noone wasted their time." Right, but ... why is this exciting?

"Mine used the raw energy in some of the Phlogiston to create the crystal spheres, and within the spheres..." She pauses, trying to find a better word, but ends up using the one she's always used. "...The Weave. Magic." ... She probably skipped a few thousand steps there.

Rayne shrugs. "I wouldn't know. It sounds like something big, and I only worked on personal cruiser sized ships." She listens on to the further explanation, then tilts her head. "...Wait, so magic doesn't exist outside the sphere? No intersteller leylines?" It's something she's /heard/ of as an apprentice mage that never got anywhere.

Liyara doesn't seem to understand Rayne's question for a moment, and then she blinks. "Oh. Um. It does, but only dragons and elementals can use it easily." Says the dragon. "Humans can't really..." She gestures at the air for a moment, and blushes again. "...Not for the purposes of..." Lesser beings? Mortals? "...Let's say no."

She glances over at the Usual, and summons her book for a moment. "I've got an appointment with a local mage, I can get a better handle on the terminology and let you know next time we meet!" ... That was probably her best attempt at politely ending the conversation. Needs work.

And just like that, she is gone. Liyara blows into the Usual and out of Rayne's hair.

''[Meanwhile, in the Usual...]''

Rainbow Dash floats in through the door, taking stock of people and who ever might be inside. One she knows, another she doesn't beyond the other faceless patrons in the background and at the bar.

Hinoken is just chilling at the moment, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head as he watches the patrons milling about, an already empty plate in front of him. As the colorful pony comes in, his attention is immediately grabbed by the odd sight, and he waves to her. "Evening!"

And just behind the pegasus, in total contrast, a brooding wizard in a trenchcoat with a faint smell of tobacco smoke behind him. He's heading for the bar. "Hey, Dash," he greets, then glances at Hinoken.

Rainbow Dash plants herself on a barstool and orders a cider, craning her long neck around as she's greeted. "Yo," she replies with a wave of her hoof. "What's up, John?" she asks, taking a swig of her cider as it's placed before her.

Hinoken waves to the wizard as well, though it's less odd of a sight than the rainbow-maned cyan pegasus. "Can't say I'm familiar with your faces, but I mostly spend my time here in the kitchen. How're your evenings going?"

John Constantine ahs. "The *cook*," he says with slight emphasis. Then he gives the man a salute, before turning to Rainbow Dash. "Any luck finding real sky, love?"

Rainbow Dash says, "I'm Rainbow Dash," in reply, "Eeh...goin' okay, as okay as the place can be." She doesn't like the fake skies and all. It also kind of limits what she can do. She looks back to John' Yeah...found some in Gotham," she replies, "Kind ofa grungy weird place, but..it's real anyway.""

The Usual is frequented by many unusual people, and there is a certain bar that has to be met for something to be particularly surprising in the restaurant. So it's probably taken right in stride when Liyara walks in with her long, gold tail dragging.

The winged woman practically breezes into the establishment, looking around to see if her would-be-cohort has arrived yet. She's pleased to see the trenchcoat-with-a-man-inside. Perfect. She didn't expect to see quite the colorful array of other characters, however. She still looks pleased. Maybe even excited. Now where to find a seat?

Hinoken glances over at Liyara, giving her a wave as well. "Evening, ma'am! Make yourself at home, I'm on break but we've got our other guy handling it for now. If any of you want anything in particular, just hollar at me and I'll relay the order to the back... and trust me, they /won't/ mess it up." This last part sounds almost like a threat.

Rainbow Dash is sitting at the bar, sipping cider, her tail swishing ocacsionally as it hangs off the barstool

And...John doesn't react to her entrance. At all. Or to the chef, any further. "Wait. Did you say *Gotham*?"

As it turns out, Liyara would like nothing better than to make herself at home. She moves to find a seat near John, but notices he's having a conversation. So she heads over to near Hinoken to take a seat, having learned to wrap her tail around the seat rather than need a second one. "I'm getting used to this." She offers a fanged grin.

Rainbow Dash nods to John "Yep. I've met that Batman guy a few times back in Neo-Tokyo. Pretty cool."
Rainbow Dash says, "He's supposed to hang out there...but..dunno if it's the same guy."

Hinoken shrugs at Dash and John as they talk about Gotham. Place he should probably visit, actually. Sounds fun. Turning his attention to Liyara though, he gives her a friendly smile and a nod. "So, that one of those cosplay things, or is it real? Hard to tell around here."

John Constantine frowns. "Batman vanished years ago." Oh joy. Multiverse. "But I should probably still check it out." He then glances at Liyara. "Sorry. It seems there *might* be a portal to my home from here."

Rainbow Dash says, "Could be he got sucked into Neo-Tokyo...here was there with that Robin kid, too."

"Cos...play?" Liyara has learned a lot of new words since arriving in Twisted, but that is not amongst them. She glances down at her tail, and then offers a more subdued smile Hinoken's way. "If you mean my tail, it's real. Inherited it from my mother." She glances at the cook for a moment, assessing him. She used to be very good at that, when there were only a limited number of places someone could hail from. Now... not so much.

When John explains to her, Liyara smiles a bit. Their discussion can wait. "Another time, then, I suppose."

Rainbow Dash looks to Liyara, "That's when people..an' ponies too, yeah, dress up as characters they like. I'm big on conventions."

Hinoken nods, shrugging. "What the crayon box explosion said. And like I said, it's hard to tell around here, since we get so many people from so many crazy worlds. You like steak?"

"It's a thing," John said. "And I'll check it out later. I'm not exactly in a huge hurry to deal with Sara." Despite the words, there's a warmth to his tone.

Crayon box... Liyara is hearing a lot of new words today. She doesn't know why anyone would want to dress up as her, or who Sara is. However, confusion at cosplay was more than enough, she'll just roll with the rest. "I certainly do enjoy a good cow now and again." ... Maybe she's still learning the language?

"...Ah, well, if you're not that anxious to go, then it'll be nice to chat." This is sent John's way, but Liyara is dividing her attention between everyone present well enough.

Rainbow Dash's eyes make that violin noise as somepony she just met...calls her a crayon box. She makes that chiuauau growly noise some ponies make occasionally, but doesn't kick him through a wall or anything.

Hinoken sideglances toward Rainbow, flashing her the same smile he gave Liyara. "Sorry, sorry, that was rude of me. What's your name, then? I'm Kenichi Hino, but most people just call me Hinoken." Then, to Liyara, he laughs a little and says, "A whole cow? Whew, that's quite an appetite."

John Constantine kind of missed the crayon box comment. "Right now, I'm anxious for food and whiskey, love. Talk would be good too, though."

Rainbow Dash snerks to John, "Well, you ARE in a bar, right? Seems you got all three..."

"Liyara." The dragon-lady offers her name too, and resumes her smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hinoken." Liyara extends her hand in greeting, and then the smile turns into a bit of a grin. "I'm not exactly a dainty eater." John can attest to that from last time he met her here. On that note, Liyara glances to the trenchcoat with a flap of her wings. "I can sympathize - food is always worth indulging in." Whiskey isn't really her style, though. Alcohol is unwise when your circulatory system mostly circulates fire.

Rainbow Dash sips her cider and orders some onion rings, resting her chin on her 'palm' as she seems lost in thought

Hinoken chuckles and nods to Liyara. "Aye, I've met a few big eaters in my life. Tried to open a curry shop with my... er, friends, and some people would just eat us out of house and home if we didn't tell 'em to leave." he recounts, accepting her offer of a handshake. After that, he asks Rainbow again, "So what was your name? I don't think I heard if you answered before."

Rainbow Dash spins around on the stool, "Well, it ain't Crayon Box! How do you even know her? Plus, she's an Earth Pony." "I'm Rainbow Dash."

John Constantine can't help but laugh a bit. "Oh, there's actually somebody *called* Crayon Box." Yeah, that would make it interesting. He orders the fantastic, but very Constantine, combination of fish and chips and Jack Daniels.

An earth pony? Liyara glances back to Rainbow Dash at that statement. Why would a pony be made of... oh, right. Earth. She forgets that people named a planet "dirt". Well. She'd like to forget. "...Alright, I surrender. What is a crayon box?" ... Right. New.

Rainbow Dash says, "Fillies color with 'em, ya know, it's an art thing."

Hinoken raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn't question it. "Alright, well, nice to meet you... Rainbow Dash. You can call me Hinoken, like I was saying before. Used to have another nickname, but we don't talk about that anymore." He also adds to Rainbow's explanation, "It's a box that holds crayons. They're little colored wax sticks, popular with young kids since they're not sharp and relatively harmless if swallowed."

Hinoken further adds, "Plus they melt real well, you can mix and match the colors that way. Heheh, good times."

<nowiki> </nowiki>"Blimey."

<nowiki> </nowiki>A figure enters the Usual with a practiced elegance that can only be attained through a combination of drunkenness and blatant presence. This larger-than-life figure, however, is rather diminutive compared to many average peers. Fuzzy and furred, a walking talking raccoon wanders further along. His whiskers are frazzled and the fur on his tail is unkempt and smudged with additional black markings that might be comparable to soot. A single small hand is pressed to his forehead, self-cradling through a headache, as his metal-booted steps mark each advancing segment closer to the bar. His focus on such a destination is intense for one that appears to be so addled.

John Constantine frowns. "I'm sorry, Liyara, we'll have to raincheck. There's something going on." He's not sure what, but he's getting vibes, and when he gets vibes, it's best to investigate. As he stands to leave, he blinks a couple of times at the raccoon, and then he's gone.

Hinoken waves yet again to another newcomer... this time a raccoon. "We're just attracting all the furballs tonight, aren't we?" he remarks, then takes a closer look at Rocket and notes, "Buddy, are you drunk already? You sure you should be drinking more?"

The dual explanations from Rainbow Dash and Hinoken cause Liyara to nod slowly, her too-green eyes blinking rapidly. For art. So like dry paints. That's actually moderately clever. "Well, that makes everything make perfect sense." She pauses, glancing to Constantine's food. "...Almost everything." Why does fish and chips come with fish and fries? This question goes unasked.

The dragon-lady nods to John when he has to leave. She understands when something demands immediate attention. So she carries on her conversation. "...Is wax melting a common hobby?" Liyara loves fire. To some degree, she is fire? Liyara loves herself. She approves of anything that involves melting, scorching, and other incendiary adjectives as well. Her questioning pauses when a raccoon enters the room, however. Then it resumes.

"...I'm not supposed to call horses horses. Am I allowed to call raccoons raccoons?"

Rainbow Dash says, "I'm NOT a Horse!"

<nowiki> </nowiki>Climbing atop a stool at the bar, the small individual seems to be shrugging off if not entirely ignoring the words flying toward the air in his direction. This athletic act is so performed with an equal amount of practice and twice as much stubbornness. "Words. So many w..."

<nowiki> </nowiki>Exhaling sharply and using a hand to try to gesture an amount of quietness as much as gather attention from anybody willing to listen to the short one give an order, "First fings first, me engine requires a certain amount o'fuel and it prefers 'igh-grade efanol. Free shots, at va least, o'va House's choice and two pints furvuh, whatevuh's on tap, for va Not A Raccoon." Tiny claws tap against the bartop. "Wait, I didn't lose me Earf monies, did I?"

<nowiki> </nowiki>The raccoon pauses to pat down his pockets. "Flark me..."

Rainbow Dash plops some money down for Rocket. "I'll buy ya a round..."

Rainbow Dash says, "You look like you could use it."

It turns out that Liyara has exactly zero problem understanding the drunken not-a-raccoon, which is ironic considering how many perfectly normal words she's been getting tripped up on today. What she does have a problem understanding is why a drunken raccoon wants to get drunker. She tosses a gold coin his way, regardless. "...Well..." She pauses, glancing back at Rainbow Dash, "...You may not be a horse. But that raccoon is definitely a Dwarf." She has seen a number of them in her time.

Liyara looks like she's going to elaborate on that particular accusation, when the vertical pupils in her eyes dilate suddenly. "...Ooh. Something's on *FIRE*. I'll be right back." She slowly gets up from her stool, elegantly uncurls her tail so as to keep her impossible dress in place, and then ... makes a mad dash for the door, tail swinging wide and thwapping various people's feet on the way out. What's the point of trying to act all poised if she's just going to ruin it a moment later?

Rainbow Dash says, "Pony. Pegasus. Not a horse. Horses are big and dumb and don't talk."
Rainbow Dash says, "They sure don't fly."
Rainbow Dash decides if something's on fire, she can maybe help put it out! 'Gotta fly, all, my public needs me!"

<nowiki> </nowiki>"So, uh, anybody 'ere want to buy me a dri-" the raccoon says, louder, before finding a number of offers sent his way that silences his question with welcome interruption. "Well. Okay!" The yellow jumpsuit-clad fuzzyguy actually manages a smile despite his disorientation. It's actually enough to break his weariness and pull him out into a field of conversation to accept such questions, even the former ones. "In all actuali'y, I 'aven't 'ad anyfing t'drink yet. A situation soon remedied, innit. No, I was working on a new pro'otype for 'unting in va Badlands, yeah?"

<nowiki> </nowiki>Rather than sitting on the stool, Rocket uses the stooltop for his feet and sits on the bar's countertop instead; such class. "Well, I must 'ave made a bit o'va miscalculation, for va whole fing done exploded-like. Now, I'd figure wot such a fing might take out 'alf a city block -- but vat's purely 'tween us -- but, no. Ears ringing, brain screaming. I got all...disorienta'ed. Couldn't even find me way 'ome, but at least I found vis Wa'erin' 'ole. Tried, Trusted and True, innit?"

<nowiki> </nowiki>"Figure I'll try a'find me way to va Tower first, and ven 'ome from vere." So, yes, clearly Rocket means Neo Tokyo Tower. It's the same one.

[The Log stops here due to the hour and California being on fire.]

|}}

2019-10-01 - Into the Wild Black Yonder

2019-10-10T03:04:56Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Into the Wild Black Yonder |Summary = Mimi, Fee, and Gem head off into the void aboard Halberd. And then someone falls from the sky. |Who = Fel..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Into the Wild Black Yonder
|Summary = Mimi, Fee, and Gem head off into the void aboard Halberd. And then someone falls from the sky.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]], [[Steven Universe]]
|Date = October 1st, 2019
|Where = [[Mabase Gardens]]
|Log=

In the gardens, atop that one completed tower, sits a lone aircraft. Its wings are quite unusual... cruciform from the front, rather than just jutting out from the sides. But there it sits, with no clear place for it to take off... but that's okay, because there's that one strange crystal from Mimi's version of Earth that actually allows vessels to defy gravity... no, she's not yet found out that Varytitite only exists in her one home dimension. For now, Mimi is up there, having headed out quite early in the morning to go up and do another checkup on the vessel in preparation for the planned flight today.

As she arrives in Felicity's company, Gemma is fashionably late as would be expected. She was allowed to sleep in and after she got up and made herself presentable, they went out to brunch, one of the loveliest inventions of the modern era. After nearly a week of not doing much, sleeping much more than would be proper and having many a heart to heart with Felicity, Gemma finally feels more like herself, and a lot calmer and open to trying out new things. With some distance from their fight now, she is ashamed of having acted in such a beastly way, and to have harbored less than noble feelings about Felicity's situation and her new friend. Mimi no doubt saved their friendship and now that she has had a bit of time to get to know her and process it all, she is grateful indeed. "Good morning, Mimi," she says cheerfully as she spots the girl checking the outside of the aircraft. "Is it even still morning?"

"She is with her paramour," Felicity quips, a hand on her hip as she surveys the plane with no little pleasure. She may not have the connection that Mimi does to this magnificent piece of machinery, but she certainly appreciates the possibilities it affords her. To her, this plane is synonymous with the promise of adventure. Purpose! ALL of that is extraordinarily fun. "You'll be lucky to get two syllables out of her when she's in that mood," Felicity says with a grin. Yes, Mimi is generally very absorbed in her work. No question.

Mimi Valroon taps the radar antenna on the lower left wingtip, then looks back to the pair and finally nods. "Good... Well, I hope it's morning. I've got some sandwiches and sodas in a cooler inside if we're past there already." She steps over to the nose of the craft and pats it lightly befores asking Gemma, "What do you think of her? They didn't have planes yet in your time, right? Just airships?" Paramour indeed. Or perhaps it's better described as her baby? She's not arguing with Felicity's comments, at the very least.

"Right, though I have see airplanes in other places. Yours looks different though, less? polished I suppose. It looks closer to a war plane, not one for passengers. You've been talking about the great war, were you fighting in it?" Gemma asks, unsure how to feel about the craft just yet, and especially about riding it. She is ready for trying things, but is also very aware of her last ship ride and how she felt for most of it. Hopefully she can get her.. sky legs?
Felicity politely allows for Mimi to fill in all of those little details for Gemma. She knows the story fairly well herself, by now, but is allowing the young woman to speak of her pride and joy. She likes watching her when she does. It seems to cast a whole new light on the funny little blonde's face - scar and all. Meanwhile, she contents herself to climb aboard already and go poking about inside, being nosey about just what kind of provisions Mimi keeps in stock now that she's had a chance to rearrange some things. Maybe getting a better look at its interior will also help them figure out how to organize for sleeping arrangements and such. Hah. A crew of three. Felicity is very prepared to make herself at home here.

Mimi Valroon shakes her head. "No, I was too young to join the WASPS... Halberd, though, she fought in it. She's a P-65b Crossguard... a night fighter. She's war surplus... though the military took their radar out. I've gotten a less powerful one to put in... good for spotting storm clouds in the dark. And landmasses out here, I'm guessing." She motions for Gemma to follow her on up into the side hatch. So far Mimi hasn't actually installed anything new just yet... she's holding off on that for now. But the hammock is gone now, and the containers on the wall have a bit less in them than before... as much of their contents have been moved to Fee's apartment for the time being. To the left of the entrance hatch is a raised seat hanging from the ceiling... clearly there for that gunner up top to sit in. To the right(or rather, to the front of the craft) is the cockpit and its two seats and myriad of dials and switches. Only three seats... definitely a crew of three. And yet, for a year, it had a crew of just one, Mimi. Also, the inside looks even less polished than the outside, with frame bracing clearly visible.

Following Mimi inside, Gemma finds that she is not reassured to see what it looks like. Surely if this belonged to the military it has to be sturdy and safe though.. But she will be a good sport and not complain about it because that is the sort of person that she is and it is what must be done. "Where am I going to sit, then?" She asks given that there are only three seats and the assignment has most likely been made already, one being obvious pilot and the second whichever Fee has set her sights on.

Felicity comes up behind Gemma and gently takes her by the shoulders, steering her towards the front. "This is an experience to be relished in its full splendor! You simply ''must'' ride along with Mimi as I did." That means sitting in the front. The cabin offers up it's dizzying array of switches and dials of of which will surely reveal as much to Gemma as they did to Felicity - which is to say nothing at all. However, sitting in the front does give Gemma the perfect bird's eye view of the landscape. If she is to appreciate flying, she will have to see this for herself. Felicity turns her attention to Mimi, Gemma now deposited in the proper seat. "I shall sit up there." She points to the seat hanging from the ceiling and flashes a grin. She will want to be used to that, after all.

Mimi Valroon nods in agreement, then moves alongside Gemma to make sure she's strapped in... then looks back to the seat that Fee is clearly going to be sitting in. "Let me show you how to strap yourself in." She shows Fee the footholds to climb in, the straps and, yes, the controls for it. "When I've got the engines on, there'll be enough power for you to turn this around. There's no rounds loaded, but... still please don't pull the triggers while we're over the city." With that said, she makes her way on to the cockpit herself and straps in before she starts flipping switches and turning knobs. Sure, they're all labeled, but it's clear Mimi isn't looking at the labels. She's not even looking at the switches or knobs, but instead at dials that also seem foreign to non-pilots. "Put on the headset on the back of your seat," she says, pointing to a set of large headphones stowed there. No, she's not forgetting this time. She calls back to Fee, "There should be a set on your seat as well." With that said, her own is on as well and she flips one final switch. The engines engage, then roar to life. "Let me know when you're ready," she says over the plane's headphone based intercom system.

Headset on, wide eyed and gripping the seat, Gemma is as ready as she's ever likely to be. The roar of the engine reverberates inside of her and she cannot say she is fond of the sensation. "R-Ready," she says anyway, because it serves no purpose to delay the inevitable.

Felicity takes time to adjust to this new rigging. It's not like the seat in the front, that has that reliably stationary feel that simulates having one's feet on the ground. Literally, Felicity does not right now but the prospect is thrilling. She's got the headset on and her hands on the guns controls too, in spite of being cautioned. She won't fire, of course, though telling Felicity not to do something is as good as any dare. Still, when she made up her mind to invite herself onto Mimi's crew, she was quite in earnest about learning the ropes and therefore takes this privilege with the gravity it deserves. She won't do something stupid now. At any rate, the engines crank on and she can feel her heart begin to beat a little faster. The anticipation of that take off already has her buzzing with excitement. "Don't go easy on her, Mimi. Halberd deserves better! " She says with a wicked laugh.

Mimi Valroon glances back over her shoulder at Fee. "No, I think I'll be avoiding the more complex maneuvers. No barrel rolls today. Gemma, if you need it, I did get some bags for you just to your right." She's taking the possibility seriously that things can go very wrong for Gemma today. "Engaging Varytitite." She brings up a smaller throttle in front of the main one and there's a feeling of moving upwards... accompanied by the view outside, of course. No, it's not negating gravity entirely, just lifting upwards. "Defeathering the props," she announces, and the plane starts moving forward! Stable, simple flight for now, as she pushes the main throttle forward, then brings that smaller throttle back. "...We are now aloft entirely by our wings."

Gemma's heart leaps in her throat when the plane moves upward even though the maneuver is rather smooth. It's a feeling she's not accustomed to and given the extra measures taken by Mimi on her behalf, she hopes she will not embarrass herself today. When the plane moves forward, a quiet "Goodness" escapes her, her hands still clutching the seat. In truth, she's had much bumpier carriage rides than this so far, so it's much more the fact that she isn't yet accustomed to the feelings associated with being airborne in an aircraft and it is not like having control when she and her friends flew using magic. If only she understood the jargon Mimi is using then she might know what is coming next, but as it is now she has to experience it as it comes.

"Spoil sport," Felicity says from her perch, and sticks her tongue out at Mimi - not that the very busy aviatrix will see this. And they're off! Once again that sensation of her stomach dropping assaults her and Felicity is forced to draw a sharp breath. Her grip on the controls tightens, though she's careful to not go pulling any triggers. It is such a rush to take off like this and she isn't quite accustomed to it yet, though to be sure she's enjoying it a good deal more than Gemma would. "Whoo!" Felicity gives a little war cry from the back, apparently thoroughly enjoying the half-uncomfortable, half-exhilarating sensation of being on this plane. "Oh it's bloody marvelous, isn't it Gemma?"

Mimi Valroon flips another switch and, after a few seconds, the ride actually becomes a little smoother. She banks a wide turn, flying around the gardens area, then up towards Mabase Drive and towards the park again. "It's actually a little odd for me having absolutely no air traffic control over a populated area. Do keep an eye out for anything in the sky, but since there's not even an airport, I'm not expecting anything. Just those flimsy balloons, and really, you can't miss those." They rarely are over the city, either, anyway. She lets the talk of the thrill of it go between the other two... To her, this is like cruising down a city street.

"I'm not quite there yet," Gemma offers Felicity, but at least so far she's not feeling sick. The feelings here are not like that of a boat on a rolling sea and that is something to be glad of. As the rode becomes smoother, she discovers that she is starting to feel more at ease and can actually start to look around without being distracted by her racing heart. "The view.. It's incredible! Things look so small from up here, the people.. They are like insects busying about, it's quite fascinating."

Felicity giggles from behind, "Some of them actually ''ARE'' insects. There are all sorts of beasties down there, Gemma. Not so different from the Realms in that respect. Oh Mimi! Do one of your tricks? Please!" Yes, Felicity is eager to have a little more of a dare-devil experience up here. Not that the view isn't incredible on its own. She does appreciate it, but she's also a thrill seeker so she tries to put the charm on her. "You're such an extraordinary pilot. Don't be afraid to show off a little. Your talents ought to be enjoyed by all...Gemma will mostly likely survive. If not, we shall pay a fine tribute to her whence she's gone."

Mimi Valroon says, "Being up here can really put things into a different perspective, can't it? What seems so big from the ground can feel so much smaller from up here. It can give you a different perspective on life entirely... And look at how little care most people put to the tops of buildings!" She rolls her eyes unseen at Felicity's request... and the wording of it. Well, this one shouldn't be too bad... She banks the plane a bit more sharply, but also pulls up more, putting them into a tighter turn that still keeps things ''feeling'' like the deck of the plane is down, and yet looking out the window it's plain and clear that they're tilted quite a bit. "Isn't that your apartment building to our left?" she asks casually.

"I suppose so. But even from the ground I've often noticed that some of the things people trouble themselves with is not at all worth all the fuss. Of course, given that everything is based on appearances where we are from and the fact that I do not share those kinds of concerns, I might not be the best judge," Gemma says, and just as she's starting to enjoy herself a bit, the sudden maneuver steals an unlady curse out of her. "Blast!" Gemma exclaims, though it's more the surprise rather than the fact that she is starting to feel sick.

Uncharitably, Felicity lets loose a raucous laugh at Gemma's expense. For her part, she let loose a small squeal as it was happening but then found that Mimi was clearly holding back. "Was that all," she asks, never feeling the need to hide her disappointment. She takes it sportingly enough, though. Mimi is the consummate professional and she will not compromise anyone else's comfort for someone else's enjoyment. Such a do-gooder. "Gemma Doyle! Do you kiss your grandmama with that mouth? Tsk. Tsk. America's had quite a de-civilizing effect on you." A pause. "I like it. - Mimi, how fast can you take us?" There's a devilish gleam in this girl's eye. She hasn't tired yet of pushing the envelope. You've got your hands full, Mimi Valroon.

"I've got one more that's not as upsetting to the stomach as you might think." With that said, she does bring it up to full throttle, then pulls back on her control yoke. With that done, the plane climbs for a bit... and then she fully yanks all the way back. They're going up, up, vertical... beyond that! They've gone upside down, but there's still a feeling of gravity from the plane's motion. It's over quite quickly, however, that odd sensation of the ground above one's head, and they're leveling out again... a bit lower than they were before, granted, but it's there. Where were Mimi's eyes during this? On one of her gauges. Watching that airspeed indicator was important when they were vertical. The throttle had gone back down when they were diving, of course, as well.

"It is something I learned from my brother, sadly, not America. I've been called uncivilized many a time before though, Cecily comes to mind as does Mrs. Nightwing, or have you forgotten?" The plane suddenly lurches and Gemma grips the seat anew, feeling the change in pressure and her blood move to her head. "Goodness, goodness, goodness?" she mutters the whole time until they are finally back to normal and then a nervous giggle escapes her. "T-That was quite something, I can't decide if I've liked it or not.." So far so good though as far as her stomach holding onto its content.

THIS time, Felicity got what she asked for. It may not be a death defying feat, but its certainly a feeling altogether alien to her. The plane goes vertical and already Fee is feeling its effects. She lets loose with another "WHOO," and then dissolves into laughter that sounds almost half-crazed. Nervous energy. Even more peculiar is the sensation she gets when realizing that down is up and up is down. "Oh!" She says, for a moment a wave of something like panic gripping her, but it quickly passes and the result is a much, much happier Felicity than when the flight began. Felicity howls, yes, howls from the back and showers Mimi with cheers. "Oh how sublime! Mimi that was extraordinary! WONDERFUL! Again! Do it again!" But now she's only being greedy. "You MUST teach me to do that when I learn to fly. I shan't give you a moment's rest until you do!" She won't either.

Mimi Valroon offers a quick grin to Gemma as she explains to them both, "I figured it's nice and dramatic without actually being too gut-wrenching. I figure I should get you guys more familiar with how all this feels before I start doing rolls and stalls." She glances at a gauge, then adds, "Though you always lose altitude when doing that." Indeed, they're currently climbing again, getting back up to their original altitude. "Baby steps, Fee, baby steps. If you screw that up, you can stall out, and getting out of that is not as easy."

Gemma shakes her head for Mimi's benefit and looks at her with wide eyes while mouthing "Don't". She's not eager to get in peril again just yet and the thought of being at the mercy of Felicity and her enthusiasm is not a welcome one as she needs a lot more thrill than Gemma herself.

Felicity may be a bit of a dare-devil, but she certainly isn't fool enough to try and play with things she doesn't fully understand...at least, not just this second. She says nothing to Mimi, but nods her assent. She accepts this explanation and seems to be enjoying herself regardless of the lack of loop-de-loops this outing has afforded her. "When can I shoot something?" Ah there it is. This is the question she poses after only a few moment's peace. Ms. Worthington has an itchy trigger finger.

Mimi Valroon gives Gemma a quick nod, figuring what it is she's saying the 'don't' to is to do it again. She of course can't see Felicity's nod from where she is, but neither can Fee see Mimi's eyeroll. "When we have something to shoot at," she says. "So not here. Maybe when we get to the next island out next flight we can have some target practice?" She takes a deep breath in, then out. "But... my next question is, are you ready to see what's out there beyond the sky? Both of you?"

Despite having willingly traveled between worlds for years, Gemma's mouth seems to dry up at the question and she swallows. "You mean the void?" After what she's seen from that, there are many things she'd rather do than to plunge into it. The combination of the dark swirling vortex and its unknowns do not seem to be the kind of place one wishes to go on vacation that's for sure.

Felicity feels none of the hesitance that Gemma seems to convey. "I am, " she announces, sounding unwaveringly resolute. It is not unlike Felicity Worthington to plunge headfirst into the unknown. To this end, however, it should be noted that her determination in this task is equal to the faith she puts in Mimi's skills as a pilot. In anyone else's hands, she may not be so trusting of her own fate.

Mimi Valroon she glances at Gemma again. This is more up to her at this point. She reaches over to the console in front of the redhead and flips a few switches. The circular viewscreen in the center of the panel in front of Gemma hums to life showing a few vague shapes. "That's the radar screen, Gemma. It lets us see in the dark... and there's a lot of darkness out there. It's part of how we're going to plan on finding the missing landmasses out there. And... did you ever learn any orienteering?" she asks somewhat doubtfully. The last was more or less directed at both, however.

Seeing in the dark sounds rather nice but isn't a concept Gemma has had the pleasure to play with really and it sounds more like wishful thinking, but Mimi knows what she is talking about and she is also from another era. Gemma has seen many things in other worlds and isn't a complete stranger to some forms of technology, but she can guess that most people would not need such things in everyday life even in more modern eras. "I cannot say I have. My amulet doubles as a compass at times, but I doubt it works in a similar fashion," she says, pulling said amulet up and slightly towards Mimi. "Plus, I don't think it serves any purpose other than those that are Realms related."

Felicity doesn't much enjoy the prospect of being left out of anything remotely interesting. From her perch here in the back, and with nothing to shoot at, Felicity is forced to third-wheeling it. That's simply unacceptable. She begins to undo her harness, "Hold on, if you're going to explain how to read the radar, I'm coming too!" Surely she doesn't '''HAVE''' to be seated, right? Well, she's about to find out because she's unbuckling herself as she speaks, and is very prepared to climb down.

Not to worry, Fee! If this were an airliner, the 'fasten seat belts' light would not currently be on. Straight and level flying for the moment. If Mimi turns, it's a long, slow one that is easy to compensate for. "Well, compasses get a little screwy out there. We're gonna have to rely on gyros and will need to calculate distances from airspeeds... we may all need to study up more on that if we're going to do this?" It's actually vocalized as a question. She's not sure what Gemma is thinking for now. "So the necklace... only works in the Realms?"

As she listens to Mimi, Gemma nods her agreement. Yes of course, it makes so much sense to learn on this subject before jumping into the void, and she's fine with that. Instinctively, she looks down at her amulet when Mimi asks about it and her fingers caress its side for and instant, a memory of her mother passing by in her mind. "Well, more or less," she replies. "It can work outside too, but as far as I know it is only good to find your way back there, or inside to find certain places - it glows when you are on the right path. It's rather simple to use yet easy to miss as it can be subtle at times. Depending how close you are it's glow will be weaker or stronger."

By now, Felicity has made her way to the front of the cabin, her post abandoned for the time being. She leans against Gemma's seat, craning her neck slightly to get a good view of the radar screen. This is the first time she's really paid any attention to something like this. Her father's ships never had this kind of technology, so even her brief visits - the once or twice she had them - wouldn't have lent her any inkling of what this is or how it works. She's going to have to strain to hear, but she's game all the same. "That's it there?" She points to the screen. "This will show you objects up ahead? How?" She all but shouts her question.

Mimi Valroon nods to Gemma as she looks back forward. "I see. Sounds like it could be really useful in the right circumstances, but..." 'Not this one' is what goes unsaid. "Oh, uh..." She glances back at Fee again, then lowers her mic so as not to blow out Gemma's(and her own) eardrums as she shouts, "It's like... you know how when you yell in some places you can get an echo? It's kinda like that, except it's light instead of sound, and it's a kind of light we can't see." She hopes that makes sense. "It's pretty blurry, though... I mean..." She noses down a bit so that Integra Arms shows up, but it's a fairly vague blob instead of the boxy building it should be.

Casting a doubtful look at the radar, Gemma says, "I see that this is as cryptic as my visions. And that helps you navigate? Because as far as I'm concerned they do not and most of the time I end up realising what they mean when it's too late, so hopefully this isn't the case."

Felicity gives Gemma a haughty little smile, "Hopefully Halberd will not be informing you that specters lay in waiting within the void, eager to devour our flesh and suck marrow from our bones. Too bad, Gemma. It appears you won't be able to rely on your third eye ''this'' time around." She rather likes this prospect, she and Gemma on a level playing field. She may have grown in these last few years but she is not above being just petty enough to give her friend a playful razzing. "There." She points to the odd amorphous blob on the screen. "That is Integra Arms?-- Are we meant to be able to decipher this? It's only a shape. IT looks like a blob." She scrutinizes the image thinking it quite crude indeed.

Mimi Valroon sighs and nods. "It was hard for me to get even this outdated radar. If I could have gotten my hands on the radar Halberd was built to house, well, we'd be able to pick out things a little smaller than Halberd herself. Buuuuuuut.... that's still considered too 'secret' to be able to just hand out to civilians, unlike the rest of a Crossguard." She looks back at Felicity to say, "But the important part is it will show us when we're coming up on a landmass. It's ''dark'' out there." She looks ahead and says, "And if it looks darker, kinda like an actual cloud? It's lots of small things. Like rain."

A finger on her lips and looking to the side in a thoughtful expression, Gemma says, "Yes, I see, but that was there, was it not? Maybe it ''would'' be possible to get something better here, something that might not be as good as military grade, but that would still be even better than Halberd's original radar." Suddenly, she turns her head round to face Felicity. "Fee, you've been here the longest, do you think that we could get our hands on something like that?"

Felicity arches a brow. It's an unexpected question but she rather likes the way it was posed to her. She really has been here the longest, hasn't she? "Hmm," she says, considering. "Possibly. I know there is a great deal of technology and magic too that can be found in Mabase. I've not seen any other planes here, though. Only airships...and that was some time ago. Nothing since my return." If some of her old traveling companions were around, they certainly could help but as they are not she does not bother to mention them. To Mimi, she says, "I want to see the void. Will you take us, Mimi." That is really going to be the only way to get a sense for how difficult their jobs will be.

Mimi Valroon winces at calling some other more modern radar 'better than Halberd's original' as 'not being military grade'. It's that reminder again that, to a lot of people here, everything about Halberd is outdated. "I've not seen anything in the markets I've been to," she shouts over the noise. "But I'll keep looking around." She looks up at Fee in surprise at the request to see the void, then gives a quick glance to Gemma. There's a quick nod, then she banks the plane to head to the southeast again. "Okay. We'll make our way," she says grimly.

A sense of foreboding gnaws at Gemma's insides as the plane turns to head towards the void. She keeps her eyes trained on the radar in an attempt to familiarize herself with it for the short time that they can still actually see where they are going and what the blobs on the radar might look like when you set eyes upon them. "Have either of you gone into it already? Are you certain it is safe?" It wouldn't do to make all her way up to here only to croak in the emptiness.

Felicity gestures vaguely with a nod towards Mimi. "Mimi has." She does not, however, set Gemma's mind at ease regarding the dangers that may or may not lay in wait in the Void. If there were nothing to fear, navigation wouldn't be as critical as it appears to be. There is a very good reason for Mimi to use a second with their eyes trained on the radar. Felicity is dying to see what is out there - or rather, what isn't. It sounds deeply disturbing and yet there is something to be said for staring directly into the darkness. She is brave, yes, but her lips are a tight line as she grips the back of Gemmas chair.

Mimi Valroon nods silently. There's a breif moment of silence as they pass over the edge of the land, then she says, "It... disturbed me. But this is something I can do for everyone. Find those landmasses out there. Maybe there's people out there. Maybe there's things out there that can help people here. But most of all, I don't want to forever just pretend that this sky above us is the real thing. I need to go ''out'' there." And soon, it's suddenly there. The edge, the blue light of the simulated sky washing over them and then... nothing. There's no more sun shining light down on them. Mimi reaches up and flicks a switch that turns on interior lighting, something she'd forgotten to do ahead of time.

Gemma clenches her jaw when the light disappears for an instant before it's on in the plane. There's nothing reassuring in what she hears, other than the fact that Mimi is still alive and breathing despite having gone there, so there's that. "It seems highly unlikely that there would be people out there. Leftovers of past civilizations maybe, but we cannot see a thing here, how do you suppose anyone could live?"

"We're here, aren't we? We had to get here somehow. Who's to say that there aren't other pockets of reality out there. " She nods toward the absolute pitch black as they venture towards it. "You know what I've seen, Gemma." She goes a little more quiet, "Anything's possible." In spite of the calm in her voice, Felicity's own pulse is starting to quicken. Being marooned in an unknown reality is disorienting enough without being completely cast out of anywhere material. She draws a breath, straightening as one might when facing a firing squad. It's all gone. Just like that, vanished. Now she sees precisely what Mimi meant. There is nothing to see. Nothing at all. It is the most disconcertingly isolating feeling. "Dear God..." She mumbles under her breath. "You came here....alone?" She asks Mimi, in wonder.

Mimi Valroon pauses, then admits, "Well.... if nothing else, yeah, we might be able to just find some interesting stuff." There's a shrug, then she looks over at Felicity. "Yeah, though. There might be. Maybe some other setup. I dunno. But I know some others have found some places out there. Next time we go out, I want to go see one of the ones they've already found. See what it is I'll... we'll be finding out there." That said, she brings the plane around in a wide turn to face Mabase again. There's the landmass, floating in the void, lit up by its artificial sun. The projected sky behind it. The... floating mass above it? Whatever that is up there, it's not visible from the city itself.

As Felicity, Gemma is quite rattled by the experience and the idea of going back there isn't appealing in the least. However, seeing what Mabase looks like as they go back, she can see that there is a false sense of safety in it as well. Anything could happen. Nothing looks stable even though it might feel this way while being in the city. And last but not least, Mimi has a mind of going back there either way, and Gemma has no wish to let her, or Felicity as she very well knows would follow, go back without her. "You won't have to go back there alone again, Mimi, unless that's what you wish." They're friends now, and she will not leave anyone behind, not ever again.

Felicity remains rather silent, taking in the whole of the experience. It's true what Mimi said- it's indescribably upsetting. It isn't only the void that has her feeling odd, though. It's seeing Mabase for what it is that has her perplexed. Until now, she'd taken it as any other city, though a bit torn asunder by fragmented realities. As it turns out even this sense of reality is a ruse. She draws a breath, scowling at the city as it comes slowly back into view. "None of its real, " she mutters bitterly. The landmass comes into view and her eyes flick to its looming shape there and then the radar. "I don't understand any of this."

Mimi Valroon nods absently, reaching over to pat Gemma's hand once. "Thanks." She then looks up at Gemma and shakes her head. "The people are real. They're just all trying to get by. ''We're'' all just trying to get by." She then looks out again, then at the radar. "Oh! Well, see there, how the large mass is... hold on, let me widen the scope..." She reaches over to the radar to adjust a dial or two, and then there's an outline of the approaching land ahead of them. "See, here is the land up ahead. If it weren't for the light, this would be the only way we'd know it was there, right? That's why the radar is going to be invaluable." Wait, did she think ''that'' was what Fee meant by not understanding? Or is this just her sense of humor?

Gemma offers Mimi a smile then looks at the radar as well as Mabase in turns, the gears turning inside her mind. "Maybe it is possible that some landmasses would have cities like Mabase only the? shell? Maybe the shell would be opaque and then we would never know it is there is no light comes from it," she says. Count on a master of illusions to think of such things.

Felicity looks at Mimi as if she were concussed and speaking absolute nonsense. "I ''know'' what it is! I can see that, and the blob!" Felicity's existential crisis has put her in a prickly mood and she retreats into herself, folding her arms across her chest, glowering at the instruments and all of bloody Mabase for messing with her sense of security. Even so, by Felicity standards, she is showing reasonable restraint here. Funny, it isn't the void she finds unsettling after all, it's Mabase. It's Gemma's question that begins to pull her back out of herself. "It's like...something shattered into a thousand pieces and we're all just scrambling about trying to hang onto whatever fractals will have us. We could change that...If what you say is true."

Mimi Valroon nods absently. "Well, only one way to find out." And with that, they're back inside the simulated sky of Mabase once more. There's a slight wince as a hand comes up to shield her eyes from the sun for a moment. "And that's to go out there and see what we can find. Maybe just shattered peices, but maybe whole cities." She glances around and spots the lone tower of the Gardens and starts heading in, reaching around to flip switches and turn knobs as she does so. And one of those switches makes the flight a little less smooth. "Oh, uh... might want to take you seat again, Felicity," she says a slight too late.

"Well, for some people it isn't only about hanging onto anything that will have them, I think for some people Mabase really is home, and the only one they have ever known. Like Mimi said, the people are real. The buildings are, and the lives built there. Even the city itself is real. The only thing that isn't is the sky, the night and day. But in the end, as you get to know people, they all have a different opinion on what is real and what isn't, what is truth and what isn't. Maybe it's all just an illusion in the end and none of us really knows the real truth of it all because we are all blinded by our own perception," Gemma says with a faraway look before the plane shakes and she turns to find out about Felicity's fate.

Felicity makes a face. "Well there's a cheery thought," she says deciding once and for all that she's had enough of this topic of conversation. Best to look forward now. Gemma's right, of course. At least, it suits Felicity for Gemma to be right because it validates the life she has built for herself here. It's precisely the vindication she's been needing just now. As if the Heavens themselves saw fit to shake things up, Mimi absently goes on about her business without sparing a thought to Felicity's lack of restraint. The result is that Felicity loses her balance and tumbles slightly into Gemma's lap. "Warn a lady," she snaps, trying to remove herself from Gemma's person as delicately as possible without so much as an 'excuse me' as she does. She cannot be blamed for any gropings that occurred in the process. In any case, she manages to get herself towards the back and climbs into her seat. She doesn't bother with the headphones this time. They're almost there anyway.

It's as if everthing from the start was going in reverse. Knobs turned, throttles adjusted, switches flipped, just this time Mimi doesn't narrate it. "That... is a bit more existential than I would have put it, but I suppose so, yeah." She then calls back behind her, "Sorry!" She reaches the point where the plane is hovering over the platform, then glances back to make sure Fee is strapped in. Finally, she sets the plane down, far more gently than the last time Fee flew. Sure, it's noticeable, but nowhere near as jarring. "...Thank you for flying Valroon Air."

"Thank you, madam commander." Gemma offers a slight bow and smiles, happy to be on the ground again despite her earlier speech and whether or not it is real or not. After taking off her headset, her fingers work the straps as to free herself from their grasp and, while doing so, she glances back at Felicity then whispers to Mimi, "I'm sure it'll come to no surprise to you that she can be quite moody. I'm not sure what it is that cheers her up nowadays, do you have any idea on how we could improve the situation?"

Felicity also works herself free of her bindings. More than before she's eager to learn how to fire those guns. At the very least, she will feel that she's done something useful. She has had her first taste of the radar, at least. It seems much simpler than Mimi made it sound, though. You look for blobs. How hard can it be? She's starting to climb back down from her seat as she catches Gemma's head bent in conference with Mimi up in the cabin. "What are you whispering about up there?" Surprisingly, she does not go to the front to join them, but rather turns her attention to business. She saunters towards the space cleared away for the bunks and tries to visualize just how to organize the space in a way that will be both practical ''and'' comfortable. She holds her chin, scrutinizing the seemingly cramped dimensions.

Mimi Valroon grins slightly while she shuts off the engines, then looks back to Fee as she undoes her own straps. "Oh, no surprise at all. I've not known her nearly as long as you and I've already discovered that one. But the happiest I think I've seen her, short of your arrival, was the shopping trip she took me on that one time." She stands up and steps over to where Fee is looking things over. "Oh, nothing~," she says. "...Trying to figure out how to fit everything?" she ventures. "I could make it work with two, three is being a bit of a challange. Maybe just setting up a tent outside would be better?"

Gemma ventures to where the other two are and looks around, examining the place as well. "Hmm, well it could do in some places, but we have no idea what we might face if we do find other landmasses. Maybe we could install a hammock? Strap it on at bedtime and take it off afterwards, so it won't be in the way and we could still be all safely inside."

"That won't work, she's tried that already," Felicity says, not bothering to offer any alternatives. It does seem that putting her mind to a task, however, is helping her focus on other things at the very least. After a moment, she says to Mimi, "I agree with Gemma, though. We don't know what to expect out there. Perhaps one of us should keep watch. We take turns, then we'll only require two beds at a time at any point." Felicity's got her hands on her hips, the glint in her eyes and curious expression that could lead one to suspect she's already picturing what kinds of creatures she can impale on the end of her sword, or with an arrow.

Mimi Valroon nods in agreement with Fee. "That's actually the setup I had before. For just me." She points out the two hooks, then adds, "They take up more space than you think, especially by the length." She frowns, then looks over the place. "Well, if we set up the bunks as I'd originally planned, then have another just on the floor with a mat or sleeping bag..." She shrugs, then opens the door. "Lemme go chock the wheels real quick." She doesn't seem as concerned with keeping watch.

"That seems reasonable, I've slept on worse," Gemma says. "Would you be able to stand it?" She asks with a grin, obviously teasing Felicity about her own beddings at home.

Felicity volleys back with a cryptic, "What makes you think I haven't?" Felicity moves closer to where Gemma is, eying her curiously. Funny, she seems no worse for wear after their flight into the void. Somehow that's vaguely irritating, though she won't entertain that just now. "So! How does it feel to command the skies, Gemma? Its marvelous, isn't it? Makes everything seem so small." Felicity moves towards the hatch, leaning there on one arm in a pose that is far more swashbuckling than it has any business being. "Are you up for this? To see all there is out there? Do you really want to know?" She watches Mimi go about her business as usual just below. Nothing seems to distract her from her purpose, does it? There's something enviable in Mimi's simplistic ways.

There's also the practicality part of not wanting to rely on just brakes to make sure Halberd doesn't fall off the tower! Mimi looks back up to the now blocked by Fee hatch and says, "We can take turns being on the floor," she says. "And I know I'm up for it. It's a bit more extreme than what I did back home, but it's essentially the same thing."

Crossing her arms, Gemma replies to Felicity. "I can handle it. I've seen and done things that were equally dismaying, only back then I didn't have the luxury of company. So this, with us three, it doesn't sound so bad after all." Her grin makes her look much braver and eager than she feels, but even though the plane might not be her favorite means of transport so far, having shared the experience with friends makes it so much better than what she had grown accustomed to lately.

"Hah! You've been caught you in a lie, Gemma Doyle. You were not ''always'' wanting for company, though you'd like us to believe so. Think of all your good friends you left behind a few worlds back. The were fine company!- all wriggling legs and voracious appetites. " Ah yes. She had to bring up the locusts. By now, Mimi returns, or rather she would like to but Felicity seems to be standing in her way. She steps aside, giving the aviatrix passage. "I'm in," she says, settling the sleeping debate, "And so is Gemma. You've got your team now."

Mimi Valroon smirks as she climbs in and takes her seat in the pilot's chair, then swivels it around to face the other two. "It sounds like it. Well then. I think our next flight will be training of sorts for all of us as we go find one of the islands someone else already has?" There's a pause, and then she says a bit more timidly, "And... how goes trying to get to the realms?"

Pouting, Gemma retorts, "If you keep bringing this up, Felicity Worthington, I swear I shall make it my life's mission to give you a taste of that world before I die." The conversation moves onto other subject and Gemma leaves her threat hanging in the air for a later date. "To tell the truth I have not tried yet. I came here to find Felicity and in other worlds I only started searching for the door when I felt certain that she was not there."

"I've not seen Zelgadis for several days now. Last we met, he was searching for..." Felicity pauses and then says with meaningful emphasis, "an 'appropriate venue' for our experiments. He is so very like a temperamental artist who needs the light just so before inspiration takes him," she says with a grin. In all likelihood what Zelgadis is really striving for damage control. Best to limit their attempts at conjuring to a very controlled area. This, however, is decidedly out of Felicity's scope."Now that Gemma is here, you may be seeing the Realms much sooner than you'd hoped, Mimi." Felicity stalks towards the front and throws herself into the passenger's seat, lavishing the young woman with one of her winning smiles. "After what you've seen, you could do with a little magic."

Mimi Valroon nods once to Gemma, then looks at Felicity with a slightly tilted head. "Ah, yes. The man you said looked so hideous that I'd run away screaming and then tried to convince me to date?" She rolls her eyes. "And I've not seen anything you two haven't, now."

Gemma's eyes widen. "I've not heard that story yet!" She exclaims as if outraged that such matters were kept from her. "Do not worry so, Mimi, she does that to everyone." A wicked smirk stretches her lips. "Did she ever tell you about Horace, the man she almost married?"

"YE GODS! There's a name!" Felicity shakes her head, looking thoroughly disgusted by the very thought. "I was ''never'' going to marry him," she says for Mimi's benefit. "The very thought...Ech." She shudders. "Horace Markham, that old milksop! It's a wonder he's ever come into whiskers." A sly look works its way on Felicity's features and suddenly she's smirking again. "You might do well with him, though, Mimi. He's more your sort of fellow - I wager. Innocent."

Mimi Valroon glances at Gemma and dryly says, "Yes, I'm beginning to get that." She pauses at the elaboration of Horace, taking a moment before she says, "'Milksop'? And why is it you seem to think every guy you reject would be perfect for me?" >.> "And I don't see how I'm innocent," she mumbles.

Gemma glances at Felicity and brings her hand to her mouth, hiding the smile that takes shape there and struggling to keep a giggle in. "Well, Mimi, luckily for you, that means you can have any man in this world or the next."

Felicity has a good laugh at this to Gemma's benefit and at Mimi's expense. She shares a glance with her friend, but her Cheshire grin will reveal nothing more. She's perfectly content to let that lay. After a moment, though, her expression changes and she lets out a little huff. "I want to do something fun!" Nothing petulant in this statement.

Mimi Valroon glances at Felicity. "High standards much?" She rolls her eyes, then says, "I don't want ''any'' man in the world, I want a ''good'' one." She shakes her head, then asks, "Well, have anything in particular in mind? We've already done everything ''I'' was planning on doing today."

By now, Gemma is barely containing her giggles. Mimi isn't wrong about Felicity's high standards one bit, but she is wrong about many other things. She makes a face at the next part though. Her criteria sound so? generic. As much as she doesn't agree with Felicity on everything, she would on this matter as this sound like the most boring coupling in the world. But before she can say anything about it the subject moves on to activities and one of her eyebrows quirks up. "Do not look to me for answers, I hardly know this place as I've only been here a few days."

"Why shouldn't I? Just because you are easily satisfied doesn't mean I should be," Felicity says, staring down her nose at Mimi in such a condescending manner. She isn't angry, though. This comment merely comes as a statement of fact. Her standards might be high, it's true, but not necessarily in the way that Mimi imagines. It isn't about a man being utter perfection or about money. It's about a true and deeply felt connection that must be mutually felt. Also, it would be ever so helpful if the person in question were sans penis. That is rather a sticking point. As the conversation is back to what they will do, however, Felicity considers their options. She is in one of those particularly vexing moods where she finds herself with an abundance of energy and very little outlet for it. "Gemma!Perhaps you could try to make the door of light appear. There are three of us here now and..." And Gemma's already said that doesn't work here. "Oh bloody hell, I don't know.....I could do with something to shoot."

Mimi Valroon glances away. "If I were so easily satisfied I think I would have been on a few more dates than I have been," she mumbles. There's a shaking of her head, then she tilts her head. "Should I get my guns out of the nose?"

Uh oh, these two, they will not let it go, this could go on for hours? "I thought you said we should not shoot at anything around the city? This was rather sound advice if you ask me," Gemma says, hoping that the subject will move on once and for all as she has seen this sort of tug of war go awry on more than one occasion.

Oh no, Felicity is on the scent of blood and there will be no turning back now. Its as if Mimi flipped the magic switch and suddenly, all of Felicity's surliness seems to evanesce. She is about to voice her assent when Gemma interjects with something sensible and it brings a harsh, "Oh hush, Gemma! I for one wish to try my hand at modern marksmanship! Mimi, go get them!"

The clouds in the sky of Twisted lazily float along, almost as if they were being carried by an invisible river and they were just being taken along for the ride. Yet, it's not uncommon to see random swirls of color dancing amongst the fluffy white balls of cotton.

Yet, for the observant eye may infact notice that a pink ball of light hurtles through the air on a collision course with the makeshift airstrip, while streaks of red and blue alternate bouncing into the ball. Eventually, the red and blue streaks break off, seeking to return to playing amongst the clouds. The pink ball however slams into the ground, kicking up a violent swirl of dust and debris.

Yet, for those who still bother to pay attention would easily hear the screams of a young man, ranting violently into sky above them.

"WHY ARE THERE EVIL UNICORNS!? GARNET!? PEARL!? AMETHYST?! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Mimi Valroon waves a hand. "Oh, there has to be a shooting range or something in the city, right? I'll go get them." With that said, she's already jumping down from the hatch just as the young man slams into the ground. Apparently she hadn't noticed the oddities ahead of time. They weren't up there when they were flying! She just pauses, not entirely recovered from the landing of her own jump as she looks at the guy that just survived litterally falling from what passes for Twisted's sky. "Uh... what? Unicorns?"

Gemma, who had ducked behind the dashboard as the object crash landed right in front of them, raises her head slightly to look through to windshield with wide eyed and then turns around with an air of disbelief directed at Mimi. "You cannot be serious! That is the thing that is the most noticeable to you in what just happened?"

Well, it is often said that one should be careful what they wish for. It appears that Felicity Worthington has been monkey pawed. She wanted excitement, after all. She simply had no idea that excitement would take the form of an object hurling through the skies at an unbelievable speed and force. Even less, she would have no idea that the object in question would be a boy.

Much like Gemma, she found herself transfixed by the strange glow that suddenly caught her eye, though she herself did not duck, only shielded her eyes from the flash. The moment the figure impacts, she's scrambling from her seat and calling after Mimi on her way to the hatch, "The GUNS, Mimi! The Guns!" If there was ''ever'' a reason to have one on hand, this very well could be that one.

"The unicorns! The red and blue ones! You guys didn't see them!?" The boy stands up from the neat little impact crater he made, casually dusting himself off like this isn't the first time he's had that sort of thing happen (nor will it be the last). "You guys haven't seen any Gems around have you? Tall one with black hair? Short purple one with white hair? Maybe a thin one with pink hair?"

Mimi Valroon looks back at the doorway and shouts, "Hey, there's a lot more, that's just the one that I felt I could actually put into words!" She blinks at what Felicity says, then looks over at the guy again. "...I dunno, he doesn't exactly strike me as a threat... He's just kinda... yelling at the sky?" She looks over at him again as that's not longer the exact case. She slowly shakes her head at the part about seeing the unicorns, then asks, again slowly, "Hairy... gems?" She's sloooooowly backing away towards the nose of the plane.

"I agree with Felicity, get the guns, Mimi, now!" In a world where anything seems possible and, especially, any threat, it will not hurt to be careful. "Yelling at the sky is not usually a sign of sanity in most worlds," she adds for good effect. But when the boy switches his attention to them and asks them about the Gems, Gemma is surely glad he did not mention the tall one with the red hair.

Felicity's eyes flick to Mimi, who -not SO surreptitiously- is inching her way towards the nose of the plane where her weapons are stashed. Yes, good thinking. For her part, she's finally made her way out of the hatch and finds herself staring at...some bizarre little troll of a boy. "He's only a boy," Felicity mumbles, thoroughly puzzled by the entire scene. The more the boy in question speaks, however, the more confounding he is. "What an odd little fellow," she says suddenly laughing. "I think he's gone a bit simple. Most likely on impact," her husky and heavily English accented voice only serve to make the young woman sound doubly condescending.

The fact that the trio of women are yelling for guns is enough to make the boy come to a halt. "Whoa! Wait a minute! I'm not a bad guy! I'm just trying to find my friends! Look! I'll show you them!"

He reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out a rather fancy smart phone. He starts tapping the screen, obviously swiping through the photos, "No.. Pebble.. Another Pebble.. Connie.. Lion.. Lion again.. Dad.. More Pebbles... I need to make sure to change the passcode on my phone again... Oh hey! Mayor Nanefua! Sour Cream... Sadie.. Lars.. Okay, here we go!"

The boy turns the phone towards the trio of gun happy women, showing them a picture of three other people alongside a much younger version of himself. "Look! This is them. You haven't seen them, have you?"

Mimi Valroon shoots a look back at Gemma. The redhead has a certain... lack of subtlety in these situations, apparently. She sighs and shakes her head, but the guy doesn't actually feel threatening to her. But then the cell phone comes out. Ooh! One of these things that... a lot of people have! She's not actually seen one up close before! "There's... pictures?" she says somewhat stupidly. "Uh, no, I've not," she says. "These are the gems you mentioned?" she asks, really not sure if that's right or not.

Felicity barely considers the images on the screen. She doesn't need to look to know she hasn't seen anyone that fits the incredibly ridiculous description this boy offered. She turns her eyes skyward, gesturing vaguely overhead, "Perhaps you left them on a passing cloud."

The boy sighs loudly as the three women confirm his suspicions, and in reality his worst fears. He's here, alone, and he has absolutely no idea just exactly where he is. It takes him a few moments to finally speak again as he does his best to remain calm, collected and composed.

Though there is a brief moment where obvious irritation at Felicity does cross his face. "If they were on a passing cloud, then I wouldn't have been chased by evil unicorns." As silly as the words seem leaving his mouth, it's obvious they're sincere and stated as an utter fact. "Well.. I guess I'll keep looking."

Shoving the phone back into his pocket, the boy walks away, sticking both hands into the pockets of his jacket, only to pause for a moment, turning his head back. "Oh yeah! I'm Steven! Steven Universe! Thanks anyways!"

And with that, Steven breaks into a run, allowing himself to be carried away by the hope that things will work out in the end.

Mimi Valroon pauses, watching as the boy just runs away again, presumably into the elevator. Unless he jumped off the platform. She slowly turns to look back at the other two and says, "Well, ''that'' happened. What were we talking about again?"

"Felicity wanted to shoot something?" Gemma says absentmindedly, still a little put off by the incident.

Felicity seems to be the only one of the group to find this entire bizarre happenstance rather hilarious. She seems to be having a good laugh at the boy's expense."What an eccentric performance! Honestly, he was positively barking!" At the very least, this disruption has lightened Felicity's precariously darkening mood. Hands at her hips, she regards her pair of friends, saying "You heard Gemma! Produce your finest pistols, milady Valroon!"

Mimi Valroon blinks and looks back to the nose, then to where Steven had left. "...Does that happen often? Oh, whatever." She shakes her head rapidly and the look of utter confusion finally vacates her face. "Yes, yes. Let me get them. I've a few in here..." She makes her way to the nose, ahead of the cockpit but not quite at the tip where she opens a hatch with a key.

"I was wondering the same thing. I've seen many strange things, but people falling down the sky is not common happenstance to the best of my knowledge," Gemma says, finally getting up from her seat, her hair a little bit messier than when they first left. "You mean to go to the shooting range then? Honestly, I think I still rather prefer archery."

Felicity rolls her eyes a bit, "Oh, don't be so tiresome, Gemma. This is a ''new'' age! Arrows are fine and good in a certain capacity but...if you'd seen what I had seen in my travels, you might not turn your nose up at a solid firearm." Of course, Felicity has no experience firing a gun. The closest she has come to is a crossbow. She is a rather quick study when it comes to weapons, for whatever reason. As Mimi opens the hatch, Felicity moves closer to have a look for herself. Maybe something will catch her eye.

Inside the hatch is... More storage! And a lot of wires bundled neatly on the top that lead to another, separate compartment at the very front of the nose. Mimi pulls out a few cases that seem to be to keep whatever is inside protected from the elements rather than being secure, and sets them on the ground. One is long, just over a meter in length, while the other three are significantly smaller. It's clear what's there. A rifle and three pistols. They're even labeled: Winchester '94, Colt SAA, M1911, and Mauser C96. "This is what I have," she announces before taking one more box, one labeled simply, 'Small Arms Ammo.'

"No, I understand their purpose for defending oneself but for fun? At least archery requires a lot more skill if you are to do it right, that is all I meant." By that point, Mimi has returned with her gear. She eyes them all a moment before saying, "If I had to pick one, I'd go with the rifle."

Mimi produces her arms and Felicity is all attention. Her eyes gleam as she takes in the small collection before her. As with everything else, Felicity's idea of ''looking'' involves both eyes ''and'' hands. She fingers each one in turn, taking a moment to feel the weight of them in her hands, feel the curve of the handle. "My father kept a rifle like this one - for hunting." She takes aim at an invisible target, closing her eye against it but quickly replaces it, moving to the next. Of all the guns, however, the one that most captures her interest is the Mauser. She takes it in her hand, turning it over, "How unusual." She throws a grin back to Mimi and Gemma, "It has a certain elegance, doesn't it?"

Mimi Valroon nods. "Well, yes, but I was learning to fly instead of shoot a bow." She glances back and forth as they seem to pick out favorite already. "Oh, that's what I have that one for, too. Good old Winchester." She's not worried about the aiming. She makes sure there's nothing in the chambers and nothing loaded before she stows them like this. There is a ''slight'' wince as Felicity seems to take a liking to the Mauser. "I, er, I suppose," she says. She had no qualms with Fee handling the other two, but for some reason with that one she's slightly worried? There's clearly a story somewhere behind that one. It's also the only one not American made.

Gemma makes a face. "I suppose if you like blocky things. But if we are to do this, I'd rather be long range. I like to see what's coming, and I'd rather be further away from the action if I can afford it. Besides, someone has to watch your back while you get in trouble." She grins at Felicity.

Felicity gives a sharp bark of a laugh, "You!? Ye Gods! It's my back I'm worried about with at my rear. If your marksmanship with a rifle is anything like your archery, we're all done for." She grins and turns her attention to Mimi. "Yes, I shall have this one....What? What's that look for?"

Mimi Valroon nods somewhat absently to what Gemma says, but it's clear she's only half paying attention. She opens her mouth for a moment before actually saying anything. Finally, she says, "I'd... rather you not," in an almost apologetic tone. There's another pause as she tries to find the words, then finally just settles on, "It was Svetlana's."

"You're too unfair by half." Gemma frowns. "I can shoot properly, you know I've had to?" she says, looking ready to brood for an hour, but at Mimi's comment, curiosity gets the better of her. "Who's Svetlana?"

For a moment, Felicity is about to raise a protest. What does Mimi mean by all this? Teasing her with these guns and then denying her at the last minute? She doesn't appreciate it in the least. She is about to tell her as much when she evokes the familiar name. Felicity's protests die on her lips, which close in a tight line. She hasn't relinquished her weapon, mind you. If anything, she seems to be gripping it more firmly. At Gemma's question, her eyes slide back to Mimi. She doesn't supply the answer herself, but rather tries to roll right over the matter as quickly as possible. "All the more reason to take it off your hands," she says, matter of factly. As an afterthought she adds, "It's only a gun, Mimi."

Mimi Valroon takes a deep breath in, then out. "Svetlana... She was... I mean... A lot of things. She was a friend, a companion in the forests. She's also the first person I had to kill." Mimi is showing signs of a ''lot'' of conflicted feelings in her, and seems very hesitant to go into details. "She... I mean... We went..." She takes a deep breath in and out again, closing her eyes. "In Macapa, she... I... we met, and then we... we went into the jungle. We went through a lot of things. But she had another partner... or boss, or... I don't know. We had that... last clue and then... I didn't know about Irin until then. She was following us. But they knew where to go then and... Irin told her to kill me."

Gemma's horrified expression slowly changes to one of mixed sadness and understanding. "I'm sorry, Mimi. I had something similar happen once. Someone I thought to me my friend, and she betrayed me used me and left many dead in in her wake. It is a hard cross to bear even when you know the choice you made is the better one of two terrible ones."

Felicity takes in all of this - the story, Mimi's conflicted demeanor - and weighs it behind an impassive mask. She's heard this part of this before. She's known for a while now that Mimi had to kill a woman and that this woman was responsible for the mark upon her face. There's something like understanding there between the two of them at this time. Betrayal is not something entirely unfamiliar to Felicity. At the same time, some of these dots aren't connecting for her. Stubbornly, Felicity holds fast to the gun, holding it up in a near taunt. "If this upsets you so, I would think ridding yourself of that burden would be the best course. What purpose do you have in keeping such a dismal reminder of your bloody past?"

Mimi Valroon shakes her head. "She didn't ''want'' to do it. She ''had'' to. I saw the look in her eyes. She was scared... but not afraid of me so much as of Irin." Mimi sits down on the grass, her back against the nose wheel. "We didn't get time to talk, of course, but I could see it in her. She knew if she didn't kill me, that Irin would kill us both. So we fought. I cut her jugular vein and then pulled her gun to shoot Irin before she could react." She pulls her legs in, burying her face in her knees. "After that, I saw she had been crying the entire time. Her last words... 'Better you live than me.'"

Shooting a dirty look at Felicity for being insensitive, Gemma goes to sit next to Mimi and puts an arm around her. "It's all right, Mimi. You can keep that weapon if it means so much to you." She sends another glance in Felicity's direction, pleading for her to agree. "There are things it is best not to part with even when they remind us of painful things." At this, Gemma pulls her amulet from under her shirt and shows it to Mimi. "This has helped me in many situations, but it is also an item that was acquired after someone else paid the price with their life. It was later passed down to me by my mother and eventually I found out how she came to be in possession of it, and the terrible things that she did in her youth. There are times I just wanted to throw it away and forget about it all, but I couldn't. Her story is a part of mine, including its beautiful moments as well as the dreadful ones."

Felicity regards the scene with an air of cool detachment. For the life of her she cannot figure why on earth Mimi would feel any sense of loyalty to a woman who was too afraid to make what she takes to be the obvious choice. The question is disquieting in its own way. Gemma's words do nothing to help quell a snippet of memory that flits through her mind. It's only a flash, but moments later she approaches the pair and lets the gun drop at Mimi's feet. "She made her choice," she says quietly. Whether it's meant to be comforting or simply a statement of fact, who can say. Either way, she has relinquished the weapon.

Mimi Valroon lifts her head out of her knees enough to look at the amulet, then nods. Yes, she's crying, but at least she's not sniffing or sobbing audibly. She nods at the end silently, then looks down at the gun that has been dropped at her feet. She carefully picks the gun up and holds it against her chest... still practicing gun safety even if she's 99.999% sure it's not loaded. In other words, she's careful not to point the business end anywhere but at the ground next to her. "...It was the knife I left in the jungle to rust." Mimi then adds, "The Peacemaker was my grandmother's. You'd have liked her. And I think she'd have liked you."

Gemma squeezes Mimi's shoulders. Just imagining what Mimi must have felt in that moment, finding out she was betrayed, fighting someone she thought of as friend, killing two and finding herself in the middle of that jungle alone and wounded when it was all over? How lonely and painful. Gemma can only put her other arm around her and hold her tight for a moment. "You are very brave, Mimi. It must be so hard for you to trust after this happened to you, to let anyone close enough to call them friends again."

Felicity leans against the side of the plane, her arms folded over her chest. She keeps her silence, Gemma clearly better suited to offer Mimi the kindness she so needs at this time. She can think of nothing comforting to say. The greatest kindness she can offer Mimi right now ''is'' her silence.

"Well, I tend not to trust Russians anymore, at least," Mimi wisecracks. Getting more sober again, she says, "I've gotten over the... generalness of it. Otherwise I'm guessing I'd not have taken up Felicity's offer to stay in her apartment." She looks up at Felicity and says, "Thanks again for that, by the way." She wipes her eyes with a sleeve and stands up. "Right. We were going to test fire these?"

Gemma smiles kindly and gets up in turn. "If you still feel like doing that," she offers, not wanting Mimi to feel like she is obligated to do anything that might make her feel worse despite a certain someone's insistence and boredom.

Felicity - not unkindly - says, "Not at all." The smile she favors Mimi with may not her most charismatically charged, full-sail sort but it's genuine. Now that Mimi seems to have recovered herself a bit, Felicity is happy to push forward. To her mind, that's the best course in any of these unpleasant situations. Why wallow? Best to charge ahead without thinking as much about such things.

To Gemma she says, "Of course she does and I agree. Personally, I can't think of a more perfect segue. Blow your troubles to oblivion! You'll feel much better." Ah, there's Felicity's comforting words at last.

Mimi Valroon nods and walks back to the cases and carefully packs the Mauser away. "The holsters are all with my stuff in your apartment, so... We'd probably be best off carrying them in the cases. So we don't scare anyone."

"Very well," Gemma says. "I have no idea where this shooting range is situated so you'll have to lead the way." She isn't as excited as Felicity about the prospect, but she can be a good sport, especially since this seems to have helped Mimi recover. Keep going, power through the pain, put on a pleasant smile, she might not have done so bad in their times.
|}}

2019-09-21 - Botched Reunion

2019-10-10T01:05:10Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Botched Reunion |Summary = Fee and Gemma are reunited! ...And if it weren't for Mimi, they'd part ways again. |Who = Felicity, [[Gemma Doyle]..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Botched Reunion
|Summary = Fee and Gemma are reunited! ...And if it weren't for Mimi, they'd part ways again.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Gemma Doyle]], [[Mimi Valroon]]
|Date = September 21st, 2019
|Where = [[New Market Mall]]
|Log=

Ah! The shopping district. Perhaps the one space in all of Mabase that half-way passes for normal...half way. As always, it is bustling with activity. People of all colors, shapes, sizes, and species wander about, sometimes milling at a storefront or spying the latest sale. It's one of those idiosyncratic quirks of the human race - and perhaps all living, thinking human-like beings - to carve out some space of normalcy amongst the fantastical. Yes, Mabase is a strange city surrounded by infinite voids and other oddities but the shopping here is just great! What makes it even better is how all of the cultures that span the entire multiverse all come together here to offer up quite eclectic goods.

Today's errand brings Felicity and Mimi back to the shopping district. Felicity is slightly irritated that the throw she purchased isn't exactly the shade she had first taken it for. In the store's light, it seemed perfect for her couch but once she got it into her actual apartment, the hue seemed infinitely more garish than was tolerable and so back it must go. In addition, she's got her blade with her that is wanting a bit of sharpening. IN the mall, there's a shop that should help with that. Meanwhile, though, she is regaling Mimi with one of her stories of her many travels across the multiverse. "And then, Madam Oda burst through the door right at the moment that HE turned into a SHE and? Well, I'll tell you, it took several years off both their lives. Hah! It serves him right, the lout."

Mimi Valroon is far from adverse to blades herself! Though her own knives are far less elaborate and fancy than Fee's. Still, when the subject was brought up, Mimi decided she should have an actual expert look at her daggers and make sure they're not about to shatter on her... they are scavenged from the middle of an adventure, afterall. Her firearms aren't leaving Halberd for now. She laughs at the end of Fee's tale and asks, "Well, I'm still having a hard time imagining that transformation in a person, but I'll ''bet'' it was a shock!"

Felicity laughs uncharitably, "Oh yes, the old battle axe never knew what hit her. But you see, that is what one comes to expect when traveling with the likes Skeeve Plowse. For all of his faults- and, trust that there are many- he is certainly never dull. " Yes, being dull is one of the very worst things one might be in Felicity's book. Its at least a sure-fire way to relegate you to irrelevance in her mind, anyway. Now she's wearing that smile that betrays her naughty thoughts, but whatever other memories are fluttering around in there, she doesn't share them. Something occurs to her then. She cocks her head and eyes Mimi suspiciously. "I say, have you never had a traveling companion? In all your stories I've yet to hear you mention one."

Mimi Valroon stops a moment. It's the first time Fee has mentioned Skeeve's last name to her. "Plowse? Like the ruined bridge?" She is quick to catch up, however. "Oh! Well, no, I've always been kind of a solo act, I suppose. I had a friend I'd asked when I was getting ready to get started, but she didn't want to go so far from the States as I was planning on going. Said she had some plans... aaaaaand she had a kid by the time I got back."

Felicity wrinkles her nose as if the very thought of it might assault her nostrils with the foul stench of domesticity. "Her loss, " She says with a shrug. "She can keep herself anchored to this earth while you and I take to the skies!" She turns her eyes skyward, lifting her arms above her head shopping bag and all. "That's REALLY living." Felicity gives Mimi a little conspiratorial grin. As for the matter with the bridge, she treats it as the afterthought it is in her mind. "Oh yes, I suppose so. Just like him to attach his name to something that comes down in a crumbling ruin. He was ever so fond of charity cases. I daresay, if he ever ran out of ways to exercise his martyrdom he wouldn't know what to do with himself. " They are friends, truly. This is a love tap.

The hustle and bustle of the shopping district is a little overwhelming to say the least. With so many people around and the noise, so many things to see in a place she does not know along with the fact that there really isn't a method to her own madness all make for a rather draining experience. Gemma has been here for a few hours already, looking for something or nothing at all, feeling her way around to see if she can pick up on anything, glancing at her amulet every now and then to see if it senses a portal nearby, but as expected none of those things come to pass. Getting impatient and annoyed, she laments the strength of her powers which is lesser here than they are in The Realms or her own world. She'd very much like to stop time at the moment, but it looks like she will have to resort to the same methods as ordinary people do and that is heading back to a more or less silent sanctuary, in this case a room that she was able to rent without paying ahead, with a little extra suggestion on her part. She does intend to pay for it though, she'll find a way, she always does. All right, Gem, time to go, she tells herself. Her rumbling stomach is starting to make her feel cranky and she has no intention of exhausting herself trying to bend someone else to her will or if it would even work. Turning on her heels, she starts heading back the way she came, walking with purpose, her attention drifting to the possibility of a meal and some quiet.

Mimi Valroon nods a few times. "Oh, I agree. I gave her the chance to have the adventure of a lifetime and she doesn't want to go so she can get some guy that used to put bugs in her hair to propose to her?" She rolls her eyes, clearly having lost some respect for her childhood friend over this. "Charity? Urg. It's one thing to help people out, but another entirely to put yourself at that much risk to do it... It's currently an airship mooring tower. Apparently there's a lot of people out there trying to explore in those flimsy, oversized, bulbous things." Of course if Gemma is making her way towards them, Mimi isn't going to put any thought into her, not having a clue who she is.

To the bug incident, Felicity can only roll her eyes and make a kind of sound in the back of her throat. Typical boys. Somehow that's turned out to be very winning. Well, by the sound of it Mimi's friend is more suited to the dreary. Let her cordon off her life with her white picket fences and let -them- have a taste of true freedom. "What an enchanted proposal that must have made, with cockroaches dangling from her veil and centipedes scurrying under her skirts. My love! With this beetle I thee wed!" Well now that's got her laughing, picturing the utter ridiculousness of it all.

A kind of scoffing sound at the mention of the bulbous things. "Well, better them. For us, the VOIDS await. Speaking of which I wanted to ask?" Something catches Felicity's eye. A movement in the crowd draws her attention from her friend for a moment. She narrows her eyes but just then a giant man with the head of an elephant steps in. He and his habit companion walk together hand-in-hand. Funny, for a moment she thought...

Mimi Valroon shakes her head. "No no, I meant, when were like ''five'' he did that." She looks back again at the question and the cutting off of it. "What?" She looks back to where Fee is looking, then back at Fee again. "...We saw those two the first time you dragged me here and you didn't bat an eye. What's the question? Something about the radar? It's easier to explain when you've got it in front of you."

Gemma stops in her tracks for an instead, the elephant man unsettling her, as if Ganesha himself now walked among mortals. It isn't the strangest thing that she has seen throughout the past few years, but every new creature has a tendency to surprise her still at first. A slight smile and a shake of her head later, she's on her not so merry way again. She stops for a minute at a store front displaying some clothes that seem to be to her liking, though she currently lacks the money or the will to do anything about that, but makes a mental note of it for later just in case before heading off again.

Felicity is now standing on tip-toes, craning her neck to try and see through the crowd. ITs as if this shopping district has never been this congested before. What the bloody hell are all those people doing milling right where she wants to see? Its just that, for a moment, she could have sworn she caught sight of a familiar figure, moving awkwardly through the crowd in a way that is singularly her own - slightly hunched but preoccupied and purposeful in their gait. Felicity gives Mimi a baleful look. "Shhh," she commands, as if the chattering would somehow obscure her view. And then, there it is again. The glint of red hair peeks its wait through an opening in the crowd. Its only an instant but Felicity could swear she sees her friend. Eyes wide, breath catching in her chest she just manages to whisper out, "Gemma?" Is she dreaming? At glance the figure seems doesn't stand out, outfitted in clothing that do well to suit the times and place. She might be anyone. But it isn't. It's -her-. Suddenly thrusting her bags into Mimi's arms and without a word of explanation, Felicity's shouting across the distance, hands cupped to her mouth, "Gemma! Gemma Doyle!" She shouts, positively giddy and jumping up and down like a lunatic, waving her arm to catch her attention. No time to waste, though and very quickly, Felicity is pushing her way through the oceans of shoppers to get to where Gemma is, lost in daydreams...as always.

Mimi Valroon tilts her head, wondering just what has Fee so interested. "Uhhh... Felicity?" she asks just in time to get shushed. The look of confusion just intensifies, but she doesn't hear the first utterance of Gemma's name over the general noise of the crowd. The shout, however, is clear. One of the friends Felicity had mentioned several times? Wait, does Fee ''see'' her there? Mimi remains silent, but her gaze snaps out to where Felicity was looking to try to get a look at... yeah, she has no clue what Gemma looks like. Well, might as well follow Fee to where she's going, at least, right?

For a fleeting moment, Gemma could swear she heard her name. She looks about but can see nothing except unfamiliar faces and so she shrugs and keeps moving, relegating the experience to wishful thinking. She might be going mad after all this time, most people would have deemed her quest to be in the first place. At the same time, it isn't like she hasn't heard or seen things that weren't there on some occasions. Food and rest, it'll do her good and soothe her mind and so she starts walking faster, eager to get out of the noise and crowd.

Felicity will not be deterred. She has most certainly spotted her friend and, heart pounding, she will chase her down in this crowed. She is a woman with a purpose and woe to anyone who stands in the way of that purpose. She navigates her way through the crowed, having to give a little hop now and then just to be sure she's still got Gemma in her sites. For a girl so tall, she does make herself impossible to see sometimes. Felicity elbows her way past a few stupidly slow warrior types. "Pardon me! Excuse me! - OH! Move over!" She says, having exercised as much patience as is humanly possible at this point. With this last shove there is now mere feet between herself and the girl who most definitely is her friend. "GEMMA!" She shouts, no doubt turning the heads of others in the vicinity as well. She crosses the distance and all but throws herself at the girl in a fierce embrace.

Mimi Valroon simply follows quickly behind Fee, apologizing to the shoved for her relatively new friend as she goes. "Sorry... sorry, sorry!" But she's not going to try to interrupt anything going on with Felicity for now, no way, so she's only dealing with the aftermath of Fee rather than doing anything proactive.

This time she knows she's heard her name and that voice is unmistakable to her ears. There's a part of her that is afraid to believe it, that it could never be so easy, not after only just having arrived in this world, but anyone with half a head could easily remind her that there has been nothing easy about this given how long she has been wandering in the search of Felicity Worthington. Her eyes are wide as she swivels round just in time to be pounced by the blonde coming her way at exponential speed. It's all she can do not to tumble backwards and she manages to find her balance just in time. "F-Fee? Is that really you?" She croaks, the strength of the embrace nearly choking her.

Felicity is all laughs, and at near tears with the sheer joy of reuniting with her long-lost friend. "Of course it is, you ninny!" She draws back, taking Gemma's hands in her own. "What sort of question is that?" Felicity takes a moment to drink in her friend's presence, her grey eyes flicking by degrees over each item that makes up Gemma's new makeover. Last they met, she was still sporting the requisite corset and petticoats. Still holding fast to Gemma's hands, she takes step back, shaking her head. "Look at you! So modern! -Very- fetching. You're quite the picture. You could pass for a native? Oh, but I'd know you anywhere. When I saw you just there, brooding as always, I -knew- it was you." She flashes a naughty grin. "I can scarcely believe. Gemma Doyle, HERE. What are you -doing- here?"

There's another blonde here, too! The one with the goggles is, of course, not getting in the way of this. She's just standing to the side somewhat awkwardly, glancing around and wondering what, if anything she should be doing right now. Her smile is a bit tight lipped, but it's still pretty genuine. How wonderful that her friend found ''her'' old friend! But of course now she feels like she's intruding, almost.

Everything is happening so fast and Felicity's words that come tumbling out in a string barely giving Gemma time to think, but Fee's question brings her back to the here and now easily. "I've been looking for you, Fee, ever since you disappeared," Gemma says, still looking a bit shell-shocked as if she just woke up from a dream and isn't quite sure whether or not she's awake yet.

Felicity blinks, somehow having the audacity to look surprised by this. "For me?" Her full lips twist into a triumphant smile, "Hah! And I found -you-, it seems." Felicity folds her arms across her chest, looking rather pleased with the ironic turn of events. That's clearly not how things went down when you look at the big picture but she can never forgo a chance to tease. OF course, she has no idea what Gemma has been through. For all she knows, Gemma just tried the door of light and popped back into bed after turning up nothing. She has no idea. Spying Mimi at her side, she suddenly remembers that she has something like manners. "Ah! Mimi! You're here." Yes, and Mimi also happens to be carrying Felicity's bags but that is a trifle she won't concern herself with just now. "I'd like for you to meet my friend, the illustrious Gemma Doyle. " She leans over, "The one I told you about. The New Yorker." That isn't all she's told her, but it will do for now. To Gemma she says, "Gemma, this is Mimi Valroon. We're partners." This grand pronouncement explains everything, naturally...not.

Mimi Valroon blinks. "Uh, yes, I am. I came here with you, remember?" She then nods again. "I gathered from the amount of times you've shouted her name in the past minute, yes," she says with the lightest of smirks. She can tease, too. She then looks to Gemma and says, "Yes. The Indianan." She then glances at Fee a moment before shrugging and nodding. Business partners of a sort, yes. But Halberd's still ''her'' plane.

For an instant, doubt creeps in. What if this isn't Felicity after all? But Gemma can feel the strong emotions emanating from her, the magic enabling her to pick up on them, and with that she knows that this is finally truly her. With that realization, tears start to prick at her eyes as her lips stretch into a smile that threatens to split her face in two. "Of course you'd say that," she says, half laughing and half sobbing, gripping Felicity's forearms as if she will disappear were she to let go. But then, someone else arrives, introductions are made and Gemma's smile falters and becomes somewhat strained. What? "How do you do," she finally says after a few seconds. In all of the scenarios that have played in her mind for the past few years, this is never what she imagined would happen and suddenly, she wants to kick herself with very pointy boots. Here she's been looking for her friend for ages and when they finally reunite she discovers that she is doing just fine, perfect in fact, seemingly even better than she ever has and suddenly Gemma feels completely irrelevant. In the span of a few minutes, she went from having a mission to wondering why she is even here, standing awkwardly in front of Felicity and this Mimi Valroon. Nice to know Fee has been talking about her at least and hasn't forgotten her old friends?

Felicity laughs at Mimi's joke, and to Gemma says, "She's always like that - odd duck, but perfectly enchanting in her own way." Is that sarcasm? It's hard to tell but Felicity does seem to genuinely enjoy Mimi's company for reasons outside of her thirst for adventure and Mimi's ability to quench that thirst. Of course, Felicity is off and rambling. Now that Gemma is here, there's quite a lot of ground to cover. She's got her friend by the arm, in that way that she typically does when she's cozying up. "I've ever so much to tell you! Mimi is teaching me to fly, can you believe it? You should see her plane! Oh Mimi, you simply -must- take her up for a ride! It's positively thrilling! I had gooseflesh - and the VIEW! It's breathtaking, I tell you. But how long have you been here? However did you arrive? Did you make the door of light? OH! Just wait until you see what I found here? Mimi and I, we were shopping and - just over there, there's a shop and.....Oh, I say. Gemma, are you quite alright? You seem a bit peaked."

Mimi Valroon takes a moment to respond. "How do I- OH! I'm well, I suppose. I've not been here that long, but I'm managed to land on my feet, so to speak." She gives barely a glance in Felicity's direction at being called an 'odd duck'. She starts to say something in response to flying, but she can't seem to get more than a half-syllable out before Fee is already going again. Finally she gets her opening, and sounds exasperated as she says, "Well, honestly, you needn't have asked, Felicity. Of course I would take up a friend of yours! Just, uh, one of you will have to ride in the guns..." She'd comment about how Fee isn't letting Gem get a word in edgewise... but that would just interrupt Gem further, wouldn't it?

"Yes, I'm quite all right, thank you," Gemma answers a bit stiffly, but knowing Felicity isn't about to let her off the hook that easily, she adds, "I'm only rather exhausted and famished." It isn't a complete lie either for she is. It's only that there are other things getting under her skin as well, and in some ways she is just as annoyed at her own feelings on the matter. Shouldn't she be glad that Fee is good, happy, that she hasn't been suffering in some horrible conditions since her disappearance? Of course she is glad! But there is also a part of her that wonders if this wasn't a fool's errand after all, if she didn't throw away years of her life for nothing. It isn't like Felicity seems to need her judging by what she sees here.

Felicity levels a probing look on her friend who is, naturally, behaving in such a manner that only proves that she is probably not being entirely honest. As irritating as this is, it's also a marker of how perfectly Gemma Doyle, Gemma Doyle is being right now. Her gaze lingers a moment or two longer than is necessary - just to let Gemma know that she absolutely is aware of her nonsense and won't have it...but it will have to be dealt with later. There are too many other things that are infinitely more important. She'll get it out of her friend sooner or later. Instead, Felicity loops an arm through Gemmas, in a gesture that Mimi is surely all-too familiar with by now. "Oh, Heaven forbid. It wouldn't do for our new friend to bear witness to how insufferably moody you become when wanting for a meal." She raises her brows meaningfully at Mimi - aka, their new friend. "Very well! We shall see to it that you acquire sustenance and then you can tell us ALL your news! Come on!" Whether Gemma's legs are moving or not, Felicity is already pulling her in the direction of the mall.

Mimi Valroon glances back and forth between the two somewhat awkwardly as Fee gives Gem that probing look. In the end, though, she nods cheerfully. "Yes, the famished part is pretty easy to fix, isn't it?" she says in more or less agreement with Fee. She's practically being dragged now, as well. Both of Fee's arms are taken... was this on purpose to keep Mimi carrying her bags? Mimi certainly has her suspicions...

Felicity's strong pull may get Gemma moving, but it isn't without offering any resistance. "But Fee," she whines, "I can't eat here, I?" She lowers her voice and continues. "I haven't got any money? I'd rather not have to fool anyone else, if you catch my meaning. That isn't right."

Felicity looks at Gemma as if she's grown a second head. She huffs with just a hint of exasperation. She doesn't like resistance, to be sure. "What on earth are you talking about?" It takes a moment but then she does catch Gemma's meaning. The magic, of course. "Oh. You won't be needing to rely on -that- here now...tempting though it may be," she adds this last portion with a wicked little grin. "Oh, honestly Gemma! How do you suppose I've managed here for all these years? Mmmm? Do you take me for a pauper? And what about Mimi?" Felicity motions grandly to her friend. "Do you suppose she outfitted herself in the latest fashion? Who do you suppose was her benefactress." The answer will shock no one. "I'll tell you who, Gemma. ME. I am not about to let my dearest friend become insensible out here in the streets. And it if comes to it, Mimi and I will drag you by force." As if to demonstrate, she tightens her grip turning her jolly friendly gesture into a bone crushing sort of gesture. She gives Mimi a conspiratorial nod.

Mimi Valroon looks of course far more lost than Fee as to what Gemma is talking about. "Huh?" is all she manages to say in that regard, though at least she says it quietly enough to not really interrupt. Mimi then blushes slightly at the mention of Fee being her benefactress. "It was a ploy to get me to... hire her? Er... be hired by her? Become partners, as she mentioned," she finally decides on. Yeah, sure, that can't be taken the wrong way, can it? She then stage whispers to Gemma, "Just be careful if she offers to buy you clothes. She has some strange tastes." Afterall... there was... THAT outfit.

Dearest friend? That mention alone is enough to weaken Gemma's resolve and bring back on a slight smile despite the fact that experience has taught her owing Felicity can sometimes backfire. But the thought of food, especially what Felicity's notion of what food should be, along with the thought of sitting down and, hopefully, in a place that is less frantic than where they are at the moment sounds too inviting to pass despite her misgivings. "Oh all right, but I will pay you back, mark my word," she says, finally letting herself be maneuvered through the crowd without fighting. Mimi's remark does get her attention though and she turns to look at her with an incredulous look. "Oh?" A memory flashes in Gemma's mind, Felicity requesting to have a dress tailored so that the decolletage be much lower than proper. However, with the things she has seen since leaving their Victorian era, it isn't worth batting an eyelash over such things anymore and now she really wonders what it is that Mimi means by it. "What do you mean by it?"

Finally! Gemma can be as stubborn as a mule at times, but usually can be persuaded to come around. Felicity is pleased to see this is one of those times when she doesn't have to employ the proverbial 'big guns.' She eases a bit of the pressure on Gemma's arm, though not entirely. She's still got to goad her on her way. Mimi, on the other hand, is going to find herself on the receiving end of a death-glare. When Felicity looks to her friends for support, she does not expect for them to turn and bite the hand that feeds them. Money isn't a subject that is in very good taste to discuss, but Mimi's little dig requires a response. "Really? I certainly didn't hear you complain when we left the boutique with 5 bags each." To Gemma she adds, "There's gratitude for you!" No good deed goes unpunished..even the mutually beneficial kind.

Felicity heads towards the mall with the two ladies in tow!

Mimi Valroon might have given an actual answer to Gemma... if it weren't for that death glare. She almost shrinks back slightly at it, mostly at the fact that she misread Fee, apparently. "Um... nothing, nevermind. Kind of a... bad attempt at a joke." There's a slight pause, then she adds, "And it was part of the business deal, was it not? ...And you practically turned it into a challenge..."

Gemma feels a little sorry for Mimi having often been on the receiving end of Felicity's legendary glares or cutting remarks. "Oh, Fee, it isn't like I was blind to that fact. Even back in London you did sometimes have unusual tastes. Where are you leading us?" She asks, her hunger taunting her with mental images of meals possibilities.

Now she's done it. Gemma's peacemaking will not help this time. Felicity's fuse has been lit. "Mimi Valroon! I'll have none of this talk here and now. It is in very -poor- taste to discuss business so openly," Felicity sniffs, the tilt of her chin emphasizing just how far beneath her this subject matter is in front of Gemma."What will Gemma think of you? Now no more, you'll spoil her appetite." The truth is, she doesn't need Gemma to know that she had to buy herself a spot on Mimi's plane. That's not nearly as impressive as having earned the right to be there...which she certainly will given the chance. She just needed to secure that chance. Still, it's important for Gemma to know that she's been doing well for herself...so she can't have Mimi go spoiling that. Felicity pats Gemma's arm. "Forgive her, Gemma. She's a lovely girl really, in spite her woeful lack of manners." Her eyes slide pointedly to Mimi. "A bit of a tomboy, if you know what I mean. But she generally means well and is a crack pilot, just wait till you see." And just like that, the charm is back. This is spoken in that "confidential" tone which is not at all confidential and perfectly audible to Mimi, in spite of pretense. "Ah! Just this way." As the group travels through the mall - with all of it's many shops - the smell of food begins to waft towards them. It's that delicious blend of multi-cultural fast food that fills the air. NOT exactly Felicity's 5 star dining experiences but it will do in a pinch and might pass for 'quaint' enough to be fun.

Mimi Valroon is now quite sufficiently cowed. Really, had Fee brought the subject up without the shopping spree, Mimi probably would have given her a chance at it anyway... Great, now she's wondering if her spot on that couch might be about to be taken away. It's Fee's own stage whispering that gets her to finally not want to hide herself behind the bags she's carrying. Well, and the fact that she's likely ''still'' being dragged along with. "We can't all be born to British aristocracy," mumbles the girl from rural Indiana in regards to her mannerisms.

Turning to Mimi when Felicity is not looking, Gemma offers a pained expression of sympathy for her woes. It's a long way to fall indeed when Felicity is crossed with you, or has purely lost interest. "There is nothing to forgive, my appetite is alive and well, it shan't be spoiled so easily," she says. Not everyone should be British aristocracy of course, and Gemma's thoughts wander onto Ann and whether or not Felicity has forgotten about her. After all, she was their dear friend too, and far from being as privileged as they were. "Some of the most horrid people I have met were born from privilege," she feels compelled to add for Mimi's benefits after a few moments.

It seems the point has been made and Felicity is sufficiently content to let it rest there. She does actually care for Mimi, in spite of her sometimes being infuriatingly dense. Namely, never try to confess anything to her. Still, she is rather jolly company and has enjoyed the time they have spent together since her arrival. Felicity makes a sort of choking sound then groans out, "Looord and Lady Denby. Ugh! Even from here their airs and penchant for self-aggrandizement could weigh one down intolerably!" To Mimi she says, "No, you may count yourself rather fortunate to have grown up half-wild. It's rather what I like about you...mostly, anyway."

Mimi Valroon admits, "I wouldn't say I wasn't born into privilege... I ''was'' able to get ahold of Halberd, afterall... But it's pretty different on my side of the pond to yours, I reckon. And... Yeah, I've run into one of those types. Tried to set himself up as a god to some Pacific Islanders... long story." She shakes her head. "Um, but, yes... There's... a lot of selection for food here," she says, slightly overwhelmed herself.

Copying Mimi, Gemma looks around, her sense of smell assaulted by such variety that it Is hard to tell which is which or where it comes from. Some of the stalls are looking less than inviting so she will surely not be visiting those. "Say, do you suppose there is anything Indian?like?" She's feeling nostalgic for home, the one where she grew up, not the ones she's had to make her homes later.

Felicity makes a show of rolling her eyes, and to Mimi says, smiling naughtily, "Gemma has a taste for -all- things -Indian-. She's rather uncompromising in this regard." Of course, there most definitely is a kiosk with fresh Indian food. It's tucked away, slightly hidden behind one of the pillars supporting the second floor but it's there, the smell of curries and other spiced foods filling the air. Carelessly, Felicity gestures towards the kiosk, "There, with the funny little man." Midget, she means. A funny looking little man stands onto a stool, dishing out various delightful concoctions. Curry, Dosa, Butter Chicken, Malai Kofta, Matar Paneer...You name it! YOU do it, because Felicity could not begin to pronounce some of those monstrous creations. She dutifully goes along, though, purse at the ready. To Mimi, once again, she says as she gestures to the surrounding stalls, "You may have whatever you like. It shall be my treat....because I am very generously offering to help my friends." Oh, so, not put to rest at all. She smiles.

Mimi Valroon has managed to get herself stuck looking at a sign that says 'Freckle Bitch's'. She blinks and looks back to Fee and Gemma. "Huh? Wha? Indian. Yeah, sounds good. Haven't had any since I stopped in Jamnagar," she says somewhat distractedly. "Think they have any... what was it called again? Chat?" No, she can't pronounce it well, either. "Seriously, though... Freckle Bitch's?" Okay, she's saying what she's actually thinking out loud, now.

"Fee, you are terrible," Gemma chides at the comment on the matter of her tastes. As they get closer to the stall, the smell of Indian food grows stronger, making the others disappear inch by inch. Yes, that is precisely what's wanting and a genuine smile spreads on her lips as she walks to the man and requests one of the specials that includes a few different dishes so that she doesn't have to spend more energy on decision. As she waits for her meal, she catches Mimi's remark and, following her line of sight, notices the sign as well. Her cheeks turn pink at the realization that this barely clothed woman offering a a sandwich rather suggestively shares her complexion and fiery hair and that's even without considering the offensive denomination.

Felicity, at first, takes Mimi for stark raving mad. "Freckle - what?!" She sputters, though it quickly dissolves into a laugh. Like Gemma, she follows her line of sight and finds herself gazing upon a rather provocative sign - scantily clad woman in a needlessly alluring pose while brandishing an oversized hamburger. Is this really a legitimate business establishment? "Dear me!" Of course, she's laughing rather hard now, holding her stomach. Reading the menu has not bestowed any more legitimacy to the place. "Chicken...Ba-Bazooms!?" It's so much, she has to support herself on a table to let the waves of laughter subside. "Oh, how bloody marvelous. Yes! Yes, I shall offer my patronage to the Freckle B-" she can scarcely say it. "Bitch." She's not joking. OR else, even if she is she does actually mean to make good on this pronouncement for there she goes, leaving Gemma and Mimi with a handful of bills to take care of their own orders.

Mimi Valroon expressed an interest in and familiarity with Indian food as well... does that make her the expert Gemma is? Hardly! She merely passed through the area over the course of a few days! So when Gemma makes her order, Mimi is temporarily paying attention again and actually follows her lead. It sounds like Gemma has a much stronger affinity to the food, after all! She does looks surprised that Fee is heading to the somewhat offensively named option, but then looks to Gemma to ask, "Uh... should we be shocked that she's going there, or is this pretty much in line with the Felicity you know?"

Gemma lets out a long sigh then says, "I wish I could say it isn't but yes, she does so love to perturb people. It is one of her greatest joys to be more outrageous than she needs be only to get a reaction, or to aggravate someone she has a grudge against." By now, she has seen it happen often enough to know this but this particular case is getting under her skin. Of course Fee would find it amusing for she herself bears no resemblance to that food selling strumpet!

Felicity is, herself, rather occupied with the purchase of her own dinner at this time. She stands in the surprisingly long line, perusing whatever other outrageously named dishes they offer, giggling to herself like the teenage girl she was long before coming here. Some things just never change. She turns to mouth something to the pair and gestures...something...lengthy? Whatever it is surely is crude. She's going to be a while though. Good that Mimi and Gem have each other for company.

Mimi Valroon watches Fee a moment before nodding to Gemma. "Yeah. She owns a chainmail bra now. I mean, it doesn't look like it offers any support, but that's clearly not why she bought it." Mimi is still not very familiar with the concept of a bikini. She thinks maybe she heard the word flying through the Marshal islands? She then blinks again at Fee's hand motions. "I think she's getting a hot dog?" she says far too innocently. She just gives Fee a thumbs up before looking back to Gemma again. "You sounded way more familiar with Indian food than I am... I only flew through over a few days. You've spent a lot more time there, I take it?"

Turning her attention to Mimi, Gemma nods. "Yes, I was born there and lived there up until I turned 16. After that, my father and I moved back to London, and then I attended the Spence Academy where I met Felicity. I know India the way I experienced it though. The English there are privileged there where and when we are from, I'm sure you'll have noticed befriending Felicity, so I cannot boast to really know what it is like for Indians who live there. I can only tell you that despite my wishing to leave for England in the last few years I was in India, I felt more miserable than ever once I got my wish and only wished to return home."

Mimi Valroon listens in as they get to the front of their line. She's intending to just duplicate Gemma's order when its her turn. Fee's old friend likely is going to order the most nostalgic and thus the most authentic and tasty, right? Well, she'll try something new at any rate. "Ha! So you're from India and I'm from Indiana. We're practically from the same place!" she jokes. "Spence Academy... Sounds like it must have been ''some'' place if you met Felicity there. And the whole... Realms thing." Yes, Fee's told her about the Realms.

"Spence is a finishing school for young ladies. I am hoping its purpose has started to change since I left, but while we were attending it was meant to teach us how to become proper ladies, wives and mothers deemed worthy of the great British Empire. It is rubbish if you ask me. We were not supposed to learn how to think, only to behave and learn how to be proper and pleasing. Some of us were very happy to follow society's expectations and would not have wanted anything different if it had been offered to them, but Fee and I could not bear that cross." Gemma turns as her plate is offered to her and she puts in on one of the platters along with utensils.

Mimi Valroon wrinkles her nose. Well, no wonder Fee never talked about the place. "Sounds pointless. I mean... going to ''school'' for that kind of thing? If you don't pick that up from your mother just... you know, living, then something went wrong." Her own tray is taken now as well. "Well, I don't know if you'd be happy to know or be distraught that jolly old England almost got taken over by the Germans in The War. It took her old colonies to get her out of that pickle!" And from the look of smugness, yes, she's talking about the United States. Damn Yank, as Fee might say.

"Well, mothers aren't there to teach most of us, really. The upper class relies on nannies, maids and the likes while parents parade around for appearances and maintain their status. However, most families have their dark secrets and God forbid if they get out. Scandal is a death worse than any others for many. I benefited from a slightly different upbringing, but my family was far from being an example of what is proper. Do not misinterpret me though, I still do not wish people to suffer even when they vex me so and am sad to learn that there was war. Where should we sit? Should we wait for Felicity?"

Mimi Valroon grimaces at the description of those upper class families. She's glad she wasn't raised that way. "Oh, uh... well, I think she'll be able to find us." Just look for the redhead sitting next to the blonde that has goggles on her forehead. They're a hard pair to miss. "The line looked longer at the place she was going to." Nope, not mentioning its name. "I am glad I didn't have to worry about that kind of stuff... but I'm betting the two of you almost see me as a yokel..."

Finally Felicity has worked her way to the front of the line and comes away with her tray of food, still piping hot. The devil of the grin she wears shows her amusement. She cuts a swath through the tables and booths, having found her choice spot just a little ways away from the crowd and next to some decorative plants. Spying her friends from across the way, she waves her hand, "Over here!" She calls - which, technically is appalling manners but ask her if she cares right now! Just do it.

"Nonsense," Gemma says and at as she does so, she spots Felicity and cringes slightly at her call. "I suppose she found us a table after all." As they make their way to where Felicity sits, she continues. "Just because you have learned manners does not mean you act like a human being. When you are more worried about status and appearances, you cannot make time for the things that truly matters. I envy the freedom and care you seem to have enjoyed in your upbringing."

Mimi Valroon offers a quick grin again as they make it to where Fee has declared they shall dine. "Well, admittedly I showed a bit more 'freedom' than my mother would have cared for me to have." She takes a seat and says, "Though Grandma was watching me, sooooo... I wasn't in any real danger, right?" She laughs at that for some reason.

Felicity is just waiting to pounce on her friends, alive with her newest discovery. She holds up what looks like a strip of deep-fried chicken. "Behold! Ladies, I give you the Freckle Bitche's house special- Chicken Bazooms...Double D!" She holds the chicken tender aloft, as if it were the philosopher's stone and gazes on it so solemnly that you'd almost take her seriously....almost. She tears into it with a vicious bite. "Mmm," she says through a mouthful. "Delicious!" She waggles her brows at the pair. "You simply MUST have a look at their menu sometime. Do you know, they actually have a beverage called..." here come the giggles again "the slippery nipple!" She could not be more pleased by this discovery. Honestly, she couldn't.

At this, Gemma's cheeks take on a little more color than they are used to. "How charming," she says, taking place in front of Felicity, not quite sure where her place should be nowadays. She's been mostly on her own for a while now, and so this is where she tends to relegate herself by force of habit even now. She lowers slightly toward her plate and inhales the fragrance coming from it. A slight smile graces her lips as the familiar spices bring her comfort.

Mimi Valroon blinks twice. "Chicken Ba-" She blinks twice, then blushes ever so slightly. "I... shouldn't be too surprised, I suppose." She takes... the most convenient seat, not paying attention to what it might mean to any social standings. "I'm going to guess this 'slippery nipple' involves milk?" There's a pause, and she ponders, "...What makes it 'slippery'?"

Felicity gives Mimi what can only be described as a predatory look, a lascivious grin slithering its way across her lips, "Why don't you find out?" She cuts a meaningful glance to Gemma. She dips her chicken daintily in the small tub of sauce that comes with the chicken-- a sauce whose's name inspires very little confidence boasting the grand title of 'special sauce.' It doesn't taste that special, really. Honey mustard, maybe? Perhaps a dash of ginger? Who knows. It's perfectly edible, though. "Gemma," she says suddenly, "now that you're here you'll have to come along with us on our rides. Perhaps, Mimi will let you tag along for a few of our missions, mm?" She volleys this question to Mimi now.

"Flying, you mean? Oh dear?" The only time Gemma flew was after one of their excursions in The Realms and they did so in the skies of London, but it is one thing to do that using magic and another entirely to be shaken around by a machine. Already not being very good with ships, she wonders just how well she would fare in plane. Well, nothing is set in stone yet. Her mission was to find Felicity and now that she has, it has moved on to enjoy a good meal and she digs right in, and rather unceremoniously at that.

Mimi Valroon shakes her head. "I'm adventurous, but not ''that'' adventurous." At Felicity's suggestion to Gemma, however, she nods. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to have two people able to read the radar. And the heavens only know what we're going to actually find out there... we may need the extra help." She then frowns. "...Well, it's a good thing I didn't start putting in those bunks yet... We might need three?" Gemma's expression is one she recognizes, though. A sort of fear. "Uhhhh.... do you get seasick?" she asks, dreading the answer.

Felicity rolls right over Gemma's answer, "Of course not. Do you forget you are speaking to the great Gemma Doyle? The savior of the Realms and mistress of magic?" She shakes her head, "She wouldn't let a little thing like motion sickness impede our progress." There's a dare in that comment. Gemma wouldn't let it happen because that would make her a drag. But it's entirely possible that Felicity -also- has this much confidence in her friend. "Oh but you should have seen it, Gemma!" Felicity's eyes go wide, recalling the incident. "Mimi's arrival on this world -- Well, she certainly knows how to make an entrance." At this, she recounts the manner in which the two came to be acquainted...how Mimi's plane swooped in and landed dead center of a pristine park. "And in broad daylight! Hah! You should have seen those families scatter, grandmothers clutching at their bosoms, infants shrieking in tears. They all changed their tune once they saw how perfectly she landed the thing. I tell you, not a blade of grass was upturned. She's quite good, our Mimi." A compliment! Remarkable!

Gemma's eyebows are high as she listens to the recollection. "Impressive," she says finally, though given the situation it still sounds like an understatement. Scary too, but she will not say so. Felicity's dare is fresh and pricks at her pride just the right amount and so she looks at Mimi to answer her previous question. "I've gotten seasick, yes, but that has not stopped me from doing what must be done." With that, she shoots a defiant glance at Felicity, her reward for goading her so.

"It was the best landing spot I could find!" says Mimi indignantly. "I picked out a spot that didn't have anyone actually picnicking there! ...Propeller blades are not something to be taken lightly, afterall." Well, she's admitting it's possible someone could have potentially gotten hurt. "And I've been flying since I was six. Of ''course'' I'm good." The grin she's wearing falters ever so slightly at the mention of Gemma having gotten seasick. "...Well, you can get used to it."

Felicity waves the concern - and Gemma's look- off as if it were no more than a bit of dust in the air, "That was so long ago. I'm certain she's got the knack of it now. Besides, it's quite different from being on the sea. Not at all the same." She would know, she's done both. "I say, why don't we have a look the old bird when we've finished here? It's been several days and I'm dying to get back the cockpit. Then Gemma could have a look around and you could give her a little taste of what is to come. Better now than when we are actually on a mission." She takes another healthy bite of chicken and then waves it in their faces and offers tauntingly "Would either of you fine ladies care to sample my bazooms? Mmmmm?"

"I should think not. I have a perfectly good meal right in front of me. But Fee, must we get to flying right away? I'm not feeling up for traveling just now." Indeed, at this moment Gemma is more of the feeling that she's done enough traveling for a lifetime and would like to rest, to sleep, maybe for a year. Yes, that sounds appealing? Maybe Felicity and Mimi can go on an adventure while she does just that, there's an idea.

Mimi Valroon pauses a moment, then looks at Fee. "Yes, she ''has'' just gotten here, more or less, right? Depending on her circumstances, she might want to get a solid night's rest in a real bed... or the couch." She says this last bit with a slight frown. That's been where ''she'' was sleeping. On the other hand, Mimi suspects she's more used to rougher conditions. "Though I wouldn't mind showing Halberd off." As far as sampling the bazooms are concerned... She actually does grab one to take a bite. "Hrm. Honestly, not that different from some others I've had. Other than the size."

Felicity really wants to say something naughty. Everything steers her towards that course. "Ah! We have a connoisseur in our midst." She gives a dramatic little dip of her head as if to show respect. "You shall have to mentor me on such affairs." She is definitely not talking about chicken but she knows very well that Mimi won't have a clue just what she means anyway. "Oh Gem, don't be that way," she says and there's almost a pleading in her exasperated little whinge. "You won't have to do a thing. Simply take in the view! Surely you haven't come all this way to brood. It's been AGES since we've been together and I am anxious for us to have bit of fun!"

"You don't need me to have fun," Gemma says more sourly than necessary. "It's been ages since I haven't had a chance to stop and rest, I'm exhausted and unless you want to finish me off, I'd suggest you allow me a few days before prompting any form of excitement upon me." Leaning her head on her hand, she drops her eyes to her food and stares at it as if it were taunting her as well, playing with it with her fork, torn between the fact that she is still hungry and not feeling like eating anymore.

Mimi Valroon opens her mouth as if to speak, but then the two far longer termed friends start practically arguing over what to do next... And she goes instead to simply eat her food. She now considers herself to be the outsider here more, and doesn't feel like it's her place to really have any input... especially when she doesn't know Gemma hardly at all. Is she prone to this kind of exaggeration and is fine? Or is Fee trying to goad her further than the redhead is actually ready for at the moment? Mimi can't really be sure.

This little outburst of Gemma's leaves has the effect of rubbing Felicity very much the wrong way. Genuinely excited to see her friend and eager to show her the wonders of her world, she finds instead that Gemma has arrived in a surly and disagreeable mood. A moment or two pass, and you can just see her weighing the situation in her mind, choosing which course feels most appropriate. Alas, her feelings are actually hurt. She straightens, "Quite right." She says, suddenly throwing her napkin into the center of the table with a snap. "I don't need you." She rises imperiously from her chair, staring daggers at the top of Gemma's head. "You may see to your own welcome. Mimi and I will attend to our affairs." She looks to Mimi - her cue that she should follow. "So lovely to see you again, Gemma." She says, sounding very much like she'd like to smash her tray over the girl's head.

Gemma should be feeling no surprise at all at this turn of event and yet? Felicity's comment hits her bullseye in her greatest weakness and the hurt she feels makes her shout after her, "Yes, always a pleasure!" In turn, she gets up as well and walks away briskly in the opposite direction without even bidding Mimi goodbye. Her eyes sting with tears and she's certain that she will not have the strength to keep them in if she were to utter another word. She has to go back. Back to her room and then she will search for the door again, and once she finds it, she will go home because she is obviously not needed here? Maybe not even anywhere, but that's a matter she will have to ponder on another day.

Mimi Valroon just blinks and looks back and forth between the two. Perhaps it's a moment too late, but Mimi just... snaps. "Felicity Worthington! Gemma Doyle! SIT DOWN!" If she knew middle names, she'd have used them. "Felicity! Your friend has been looking for you for I don't even know how many ''years'' by the sound of it, and you're just dismissing her that quickly?! Let the woman ''rest'' a day or two and get her bearings straight! And Gemma! Are you really going to just walk away like that after having looked for her for that long?!" Mimi looks outright... pissed. At both of them. Well, mostly at Fee.

Felicity just stares after Gemma, a silent storm brewing there inside. Yes, she's hurt now and she's certainly not going to beg for her to come back...but at the same time, she knows her friend well enough to know something is amiss with her. Well, that's not HER fault, is it? She is just about to turn to Mimi to say "Let her go. She?" But Mimi stuns her into silence. Of all the unexpected things she has encountered today, this is likely the most surprising. It has the effect of a bucket of cold water. Her mouth hangs open in utter astonishment. When she finally regains her composure enough to speak, she says, "Mimi! See here?!" But she's having none of it, apparently. Now she's calling Gemma back to the table and scolding them both. "Don't do that!" She hisses in a whisper. "We aren't children!" She protests, but her cheeks have grown pink and...she hasn't exactly gone anywhere either. Seems Mimi has managed to stall her after all.

People are starting to turn and look in their direction, at Mimi, and her, and most likely Felicity as well. The outburst has definitely caught their attention and some even stare with their mouth open, fork hanging nearby. Gemma is starting to feel like a carnival attraction displayed for everyone to see the strange and beastly things Mother Nature can do and it does nothing to soothe her ache to get as far of this place as possible. Despite that though, Mimi's words do reach her and she stops though cannot bear to turn and face them just yet. How can she do that now when she wishes she could disappear from view? If Felicity even going to listen and turn back, does she care enough to do so? And more importantly, does Gemma even want to look and find out for what if she turns and Fee hasn't? And what if she does but Gemma doesn't? Now that is something she knows she could not bear and so with balled fists and clenched jaw, she braces herself and turns her head just enough to glance behind. Doing so, her gaze meets Felicity's and the look of plain hurt on Gemma's face along with her glassy eyes betray that whatever she feels right now runs so much deeper than petulance or anger.

Mimi Valroon gives Felicity a GLARE. "Then don't act like one. Gemma is already emotionally overwhelmed and you're forcing far too much onto her for having just gotten here!" She lets out a quite audible huff of air as she stands up. She clearly doesn't care about all the eyes on her. "Is this really how you want the meeting up with your old friend to end?" Yes, she's focusing far more on Felicity... but she ''knows'' her far better than she knows Gemma. And she's also kinda more blaming Fee for this than Gem, anyway. She looks to Gemma with a look that's better described as apologetic... but she doesn't really think Gemma is even paying attention to her expression.

Felicity may never shy away from a crowd but this sort of attention isn't the type she particularly enjoys. This is what is called a 'scandal' in their time and in spite of the fact that Mabase is a different time and place, the stigma of such things is properly ingrained into her noble English blood. It's a question of character. In any case, she is not particularly enjoying chastisement at the hands of her friend. "Forcing her!" Felicity protests. "Mimi Valroon, " she says, her own voice still a low hiss, though it's more defensive than usual. Mimi's got her on her back heel now. "I can't say what's gotten into you but I don't appreciate your tone. You'd do well to mind it." It's about this time that Gemma turns back to eye the pair. Felicity meets her eyes, with her own steely gaze. She straightens her back, and folds her arms over her chest. She's clearly waiting for Gemma to come back. As a show of good faith - if one could call it such a thing - Felicity drops unceremoniously into a chair and turns her eyes towards the ceiling...looking every bit the petulant child she just said she wasn't. For those who know her, though, the message is clear - She's cooperating.

There is nothing inviting about the scene Gemma is witnessing right now, especially the glaring Felicity has to offer, but she's not leaving anymore and for her that is far more yielding than the old Fee would have allowed. After another second of hesitation, Gemma takes a deep breath and finally makes her way back though she looks at her feet to avoid meeting the gaze of any onlookers and even more because she feels unable to looks at Felicity or Mimi in the eyes given how deeply she is wounded. It feels like making her way to her own execution and the walk is over much too soon. Taking her seat again, she sits still as a stone, hands folded on her lap and looking at the table in silence.

Mimi Valroon looks between the two and lets out a sigh of relief. She does NOT want to see these two old friends just... end everything like that. But she's already more or less exhausted what she can do. She really hopes she's not making things ''worse''. Her tone of voice is no longer harsh, instead trying to be soothing... not something Mimi is used to doing, admittedly. "Guys... please. I've heard so much from Felicity how fond she is of her old friends. I saw the look in your eyes, Gemma, when you first realized it was Felicity calling you. I... I can't stand the thought of it just... of you just... Of that just being ''it''." Oh, crap, she's crying now. Why is ''Mimi'' the one crying?! She resists the urge to lower her goggles to cover her eyes.

Now settled at the table, Felicity, Gemma, and Mimi get to enjoy a few moments of awkward silence. The tension has unwound just a bit, but the dust still hangs in the air. Felicity rolls her shoulders back and levels her gaze on Gemma. The ice is gone from it, replaced by a more perplexed and probing look. Something is eating at her friend, she can see it fairly plainly. It's Mimi who speaks again, though, and her gaze flicks to her new friend with mingling resentment and respect. She had no idea the old girl had it in her. Then she starts crying. Felicity mutters, completely astounded,"Mimi, What on earth are you crying for? Dear God." She reaches into her pockets, pulling out a handkerchief. "Whatever did they put in that Indian food? I must be laced with something. Here. Don't cry." Her tone now is surprisingly conciliatory as she leans closer to offer the pristine cloth to Mimi. She eyes Gemma from the corner of her eyes and then turns to face her squarely. "Well-" But she seemingly can think of nothing else to say. It's a start, one supposes.

What Mimi says brings some comfort to Gemma and she raises her eyes to look at her. What she says next is true, and Gemma feels like she's going to cry at how close she came to run away and never turn back but then something surprising happens and it is instead Mimi who starts crying. Gemma's eyes widen and she can't stop herself from glancing at Felicity with a look of puzzlement that screams what now? But it seems Felicity has things well in hands and takes care of this new development. When she turns back to her though, it is not with the care she has just shown herself capable of, but her lack of words does indicate that something has shifted, at least. However, Gemma is not feeling very eloquent either, not even sure where to start. "Well -" She says in turn, then despite herself the left corner of her lips lifts up halfway. This is all so foolish, maybe she really should sleep for a week before attempting to interact with another human being.

Mimi Valroon grits her teeth and says, "I don't *know*," in response to the question of her crying. She pushes the handkerchief away, though, and points instead to Gemma. Attention on Gemma, not Mimi! She's rubbing at her eyes with a sleeve instead... good thing she doesn't typically wear makeup unless it's a special occasion. "How drained can you feel when leaving the Realms?" she ventures forth as a theory for why Gemma might be so tired seeming.
Felicity spies the little twitch in Gemma's mouth and finds it's contagious. Her own lips twitch ever so slightly. The situation has been so needlessly dramatic, honestly. Suddenly, the absurdity of it all begins to sink in...punctuated by Mimi's sniffles in the background. The half smile inches its way into a full-on smile and suddenly Felicity snorts out a laugh, "Oh but you are trying, Gemma Doyle!" Felicity reaches for Gemma's hands, taking them in her own, her grip strong and sure. She gives them a little reassuring squeeze. "I've decided not to do you in, not just yet." This little jab is a throwback to the comment that started it all. It's a way to let Gemma know that her own feelings might have been hurt in this, but that she's willing to overlook it this time.

Gemma's own smile grows in answer to Felicity's and she grips her hands back tightly, eyes stinging anew. "Thank you, I appreciate it." And just like that, it's her turn to cry. She pulls her hands back to hide her face and her voice echoes from behind them as she says through her silent sobs, "Sorry.. It's.. Sorry.. It's not The Realms, or the magic.. I'm just.."

Mimi Valroon sees that everything is now back on track the way it should be... and now she looks absolutely ''exhausted''. She slides her tray to the side and promptly drops her head onto the table. "Just tired," she says.

Felicity is the only one left not shedding any tears here. Between Gemma and Mimi, this entire table is going to be awash in salty tears. To her credit, Felicity moves from her spot, sliding over to sit next to Gemma and slips an arm around her shoulders, head bent low and making soft "Shhh" sounds. As Mini rejected it, she offers the handkerchief to Gemma instead. She gently strokes her hair, quipping after a time, "I shall be forced to carry an entire battalion of handkerchiefs after this. I'll stuff them up my sleeves like a street magician."

Gemma leans into Felicity as the tears keep coming. She snorts ungracefully at Fee's comment and eventually her sobs become fewer until the last one shakes her and she can finally breathe normally. It's been such a long time now that she hasn't been around someone close to her, hasn't gotten this kind of treatment or affection, and her tears might have been as much over that as they are over their fight and her own exhaustion. She doesn't move from the embrace or even lifts her head to look at Felicity when she finally says with a voice thick with the aftermath of tears, "I've missed you, Fee, and I've been so worried about you. That's why I could not stop looking.. I haven't been home in three years, I've been on my own all this time. Sure, I've met people here and there, but I never stuck around long enough and I was never sure who I could trust.."

Mimi Valroon lifts her head up from the table again. "And then you found her, and I'm here," she says somewhat guiltily. "I... I'm sorry. I never factored into this moment in your mind, and..."

Felicity 's cheeks go pink again. Hearing such an honest confession has a somewhat humbling effect on her - somewhat, though it's also something she can understand. She hadn't thought about the possibility that Gemma may have been out there wandering aimlessly. She took it for granted that she'd simply gone home every night and slept in her own bed then resumed searching on her own time. She just hadn't thought about it. "That makes two of us, " she says, quietly, voice made huskier by it. "There is so much I need to tell you...but Gemma...." At this, she gently lifts her chin with with her fingers until Gemma's eyes meet hers. "I am so glad you are here....I've missed you too, my dear friend." And with that, she kisses Gemma sweetly on the cheek. There's a moment there, a pause, but what Mimi has said registers. "Don't be daft, Mimi," she says, though there is no bite to her tone. "You've nothing to be sorry for. You're just as lost as we've all been. It's why we ''must'' stick together." Suddenly Felicity is on her feet, gently pulling Gemma with her. "I think it's time we go home."

Gemma could cry all over again at the guilt that gnaws at her for having felt slighted that Felicity looked happy, and well surrounded. But before she can, Felicity has decided that they should all go and she is too drained to do anything but follow. Her thoughts wander to the place she has been 'renting' but that is something for the morrow as for now home sounds like just what she needs, and after all this time she doesn't feel like being alone again.

Mimi Valroon shovels the last of her food in before dragging herself back up to her feet. "We can always get our blades sharpened another day. But yes, at this point, collapsing onto the couch sounds... good."

Leaving the drama and the leftover chicken bazooms there in the trash bin of the mall - where those things all belong - the trio of girls makes way for "home," with the promise of stories and future mid-air adventures on the horizon. Adieu, Freckle Bitch.

|}}

2019-09-17 - Flying the Fake Skies

2019-10-10T00:38:28Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Flying the Fake Skies |Summary = Rainbow Dash complains about the nature of Mabase's sky. |Who = Constantine, MoonShadow, Rainbow Dash..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Flying the Fake Skies
|Summary = Rainbow Dash complains about the nature of Mabase's sky.
|Who = [[Constantine]], [[MoonShadow]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = September 17th, 2029
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

Sarra_Moon Steps into the Usual, stopping for a moment as she spots John, her wolf-like ears shooting up strait for a moment, before she visibly forces herself to relax, she continues walking to the bar, her wolves following her, keeping an Eye on John

John Constantine doesn't seem, outwardly, like somebody the wolves would have a problem with. Reaching the bar, he hops onto a stool. "Hey, barkeep." Cheerful, rather than impatient.

Sarra_Moon takes a seat at the bar, but keeps her distance from John as she waves to the bar keep as well, her wolves laying by her feet

John Constantine is used to being shunned. It comes with the territory. Once the barkeep comes over, "Get me a Macallan and..." He considers for a moment. "Steak and ale pie?" A slight question, to ensure they have it. They seem to have everything...

Sarra_Moon eyes John and trys to be friendly, despite the feeling she gets from him, he seems nice enough and he was fighting that demon after all, she asks "So...Umm how are you settling into the city, get a place to live yet"

"Got a place," he says, turning towards Sarra. He can see the conflict in her. "I'm not offended, love. I know I'm not the most..." His lips quirk. "Pleasant."

Sarra_Moon gives a half hearted smile "Its my instincts kicking in, nothing against you personally, but I have more in common with my children then I do with humans" she explains as she turns to the Bar keep and orders "Steak, one each for me and my wolves, all Rare"

What can a man say to that. "I figured." Where he comes from, she'd be a monster. As she isn't acting like one, he's figuring werewolves are a bit more civilized in her world. A bit more...controlled.

Sarra_Moon nods to John "So please forgive if I act rude towards you sometimes, its not intentional, also, please forgive my children" She says this as one of the wolves growl.

John Constantine shakes his head. "I set foot on this path myself," he tells the wolf, reaching for his whisky. Drinking it neat.

Sarra_Moon nods "So what have you been up too since last I saw you" She pets the wolf gently as it calms back down
"Researching the local lore about demons and such," John says. "Learning who the players are."

Sarra_Moon nods "Find anything interesting?"

John Constantine hrms. "Seems there was a period of time where the Devil was running this place," he says wryly. "Kind of glad I missed that."

Sarra_Moon shudders at that "That does not sound good at all"

"He was probably the most ''competent'' guy to lead this place, mind." Amusement flows through his tone. "But, enough of infernal politics.

Sarra_Moon nods "I bet he was, "I am sure he has a lot of experience in such matters"

"Demons, by definition, do NOT enjoy being told what to do," the man points out.

Rayne steps into the usual hiding a yawn behind her hand. Not spotting anyone she considers a personal friend(that list is sadly not very large at the moment), she makes her way on to the bar.

Sarra_Moon nods to Rayne as she enters then turns back to John "That, I am well aware of"

John Constantine waves to the entering, yawning woman. His pie arrives and he picks at it. "If they did, they'd be angels," he quips. "And even more dangerous, in many ways."

Sarra_Moon says, "Don't really think I wanna meet them either to be honest, not that I ever have." she says as her own food arrives and she starts to eat

"To know it...or maybe you ''would'' know at that," John muses. They can smell him, after all, so he's sure the pack could sniff out a demon.

Rayne glances over at the two, trying to figure out what they're talking about since she showed up in the middle of the conversation.

Sarra_Moon nods "I'm not sure if my senses would be able to detect one actually, never tried looking for a Demon"

John Constantine purses his lips. "I don't know how your kind of wolf..." He glances over at Rayne, who's clearly hearing it all whoosh over her head. "Demon talk, love."

Rayne nods. "Aaah. Okay. Oddly enough, we don't get that many demons around here. Honestly, it kinda surprises me."

Sarra_Moon says, :tilts her head "How my kind of wolf...What?" she asks

"There's werewolves where I come from, but they ain't like you at all," John explains. He glances at Rayne. "They hide well. Or they're busy somewhere else."

Sarra_Moon nods "O that, Werewolves on my world differ greatly from most worlds it appears, we are very different from the legends

Rayne frowns, then shrugs. "Well, as long as they don't cause me any trouble. And by me, I mean ''anyone'' since that ends up becoming my problem." She shrugs, then looks at Sarra for a moment. "...You'd think there'd be werewolves in my universe, but I've never heard of it as anything more than legends... I mean, there's coatls, fey, dragons, phoenixes, and more 'aliens' than you can shake a stick at."

"Different laws of physics and magic," the trenchcoated man opines. Between mouthfuls of pie.

Rainbow Dash wanders in, not seeming her usual self. She hops onto a bar and orders a cider from whom ever is behind the counter.

Sarra_Moon nods "I will try to keep that in mind, I try not to cause too much trouble in any event" she says to Rayne, then turns to Dash"You ok?"

Rainbow Dash pffts, gulping her cider. "Heck no, I'm fine, just trapped here without my friends and the freaking SKY here isn't even real. I'm a PEGASUS and there's not even a real SKY!

"And different..." And then he turns and blinks. His jaw lowers a little. Then he pulls himself together."Well, ''that'' is certainly different."

Rayne shakes her head. "Sorry, no. It's just a simulation... Be glad you weren't here before it was repaired. This whole Twisted realm is a bit... messed up, I'll admit. I'd not fly far out past where you can see the sky if I were you. You ''don't'' want to get lost out there."

Rainbow Dash merfs and sucks down more cider. "What's a Pegasus without a real sky? I can't gather clouds, I can't make snow or lightning or Rain....I'm at..at..half power here!

"This isn't a planet." The man's tone softens. "You're still you, though." Hopefully. He's never ''met'' a pegasus before...

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah..well, if I were somepony else, it wouldn't be a problem, but I'm ME! So...it's a problem."

"This whole world feels completely off to my own senses, my kind being connected to nature, only problem is everything here is artificial, so I do understand how you feel somewhat" Sarra says as she shake her head

Rainbow Dash looks at her cider suspiciously.....

Rayne shakes her head. "The plants and animals are real. Just... not the land or sky."

Rainbow Dash says, "Where's Dr.Hooves when you need him? gah."

"Doctor Who?" Constantine asks, not quiet hearing the name.

Rainbow Dash says, "Dr.Hooves..." in reply. "Multiverse thing, probably the same guy I guess...kinda understands this kind of thing."

Rayne sighs lowers her head. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I really am. We do everything we can for people, but... We can't do more than we have to make a sky. We can't turn these drifting chunks into an actual planet."

"Was it one, once?" John asks, quietly. Maybe just for the data point.

Rayne nods. "As far as I can tell, it's a rogue planet in trans-galactic space. That's... just a theory of mine, though."

Rainbow Dash puckers her face tight for a moment. Then plops her head on the bar. "Gotta be a way back..." she mutters.

"I'm not a physicist," John muses. "But that explains a good bit."

Rayne shakes her head. "Me neither. But it's a guess based on the lack of... anything in the sky outside." She looks back to Rainbow Dash and winces. She feels bad for the pegasus, but... there's really nothing she can do for her.

Sarra_Moon nods "I guess that make sense"

"I'm actually thinking pocket dimension," John adds. Still between mouthfuls of pie.

Rayne grimaces again. "I'm just trying to put it into something that makes sense based on what I knew before I got here... well, made sense. It doesn't explain things very well anymore."

Rainbow Dash rests her chin on her crossed for-legs. "This totally not fair.." she mutters. "Already got trapped in Neo-Tokyo, but we beat that, got home, had a portal back and forth. Everything was awesome. Why in Celestia's name did I get shuffled into ANOTHER place?"

"Something has a sense of humor?" John says. "I hope you find a way back." HE doesn't mind being here. He understands that she does.

Rainbow Dash says, "If it's freaking Discord, I will KICK HIS BUTT."

Rayne just grimaces again. Normally when someone starts lamenting this, she'd suggest going to see Sunset at the Welcome Center... but Dash, of course, already has met Sunset here, on top of already having known her. "I'm sorry," is all she says, even if it really wasn't her fault at all.

John Constantine hasn't talked to Sunset yet. Whoever that is. "I can't fix it," is all he says...and turns to the bar to order another scotch.

Sarra_Moon nods "All we can do is make the best out of a bad situation."

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah..well...I'm Rainbow Dash, and I ain't lettin' nothin' stop me," she huffs, "I'm totally gonna find my way back! Ponyville needs me! Equestria needs me! My friends need me!" She rises up, sucking down the last of her cider."

Rayne says, "....How's the cider? I've never tried it here before, actually."

Rainbow Dash says, "It's not Sweet Apple Acre's, but, there's only one place to get that. It's okay, I guess." Even if it IS Sweet Apple acres, it's just make her more moody then she already is.

John Constantine isn't interested. It's not alcoholic cider. His second whisky goes down the hatch. "Can't change what can't be changed, love. You can look for a way to change it, sure."

Rainbow Dash says, "Huh..this Pony I know, Strawberry Fields, told me kinda the same thing."

Rainbow Dash says, "No song you can sing that can't be sung, nothing you can do that can't be done..."

...and the pony bursts into song. Constantine stares for a moment, then laughs a bit harshly.

Rainbow Dash says, "Usually other ponies join and we'd get a whole musical number going."

|}}

2019-09-15 - Ponies, Wolf, Phoenix

2019-10-10T00:27:26Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Ponies, Wolf, Phoenix |Summary = Sunset and Rainbow Dash finally find each other! |Who = MoonShadow, Rainbow Dash, Rayne, Sunset |..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Ponies, Wolf, Phoenix
|Summary = Sunset and Rainbow Dash finally find each other!
|Who = [[MoonShadow]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Rayne]], [[Sunset]]
|Date = September 15th, 2019
|Where = [[Nowhereto Park]]
|Log=

Sunset can only really shrug again, carefully as to not spill the remains of her smoothie. "I know there's some connection between here and there but I don't know the specifics." She offers Dash a small smile. "It is nice to see another Equestrian again though." Even if she is rarely ever one herself anymore.

Rainbow Dash says, "So...in that form, you keep your cutie mark or what?" Priorities! "But yeah, glad to see SOMEPONY I know," she grins, then looks to Moonshadow. "Or Kinda Know. There was that David guy here before too, but I think he poofed back out or something. I've been hunting all over for a portal back. I have a freaking Wonderbolts show coming up and I'm gonna miss it!"

"Not... as literally as in Equestria," Sunset replies, turning and pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the back of her leather jacket, which has the replica of her cutie mark decorating the back. She might be blushing a little at the way Dash asked, but the orangish tone of her skin makes it difficult to tell when she's looked away. Though she does snicker a little. Different names, but that's definitely a Rainbow Dash.

MoonShadow tilts her head ''(Still don't get this cutie mark thing, how it works)''

Rainbow Dash looks to Moonshadow. "It's like a magical tattoo ya get when you find your life's purpose. Then you get a sweet party when it appears. A cute-senada!" she looks back to Sunset, then tilts her head. "Huh...that's weird...no cutie mark in human form? That's be totally cute though," she grins.

It's been long... too long. But things finally have felt like they have calmed down enough that Rayne is finally reaching the point where her entire life doesn't feel like it's revolving around nothing but work. It's like she's forgotten what it's like to have free time! Thus, for quite possibly the first time since Mabase City was formed, Rayne is making her way into Nowhereto Park. No, she's not gone back to wearing regular clothes just yet. She's still wearing the lighter armor getup. But at least she's coming in with what looks like an overside clipboard that has an attached case on it. Time to see just how much of ''this'' skill she's lost.

Rainbow Dash hmms? as another human type enters the area...."Yo! Nice hair!"

"But I still have some magic abilities, from the Equestria magic that was seeping into the other world." Sunset turns her attention in the other direction when Dash mentions hair, and smirks as she sees why the pegasus thinks it's nice. "Hello Rayne!" she calls out, waving to her friend.

The wolf looks up and then wags her tail in greetings to Ryne ''(Hi Rayne)''

Rayne blinks and looks over at Sunset and Dash. "Oh! Hey, I see you two managed to find each other!" she says with a smile. She blinks and looks around at the telepathic communication, unsure of where it came from.

Rainbow Dash says, "We Ponies seem to congregate easily..." she grins."

MoonShadow shakes her head and barks ''(Its me, Sarra, we met in the usual)''

Rainbow Dash says, "So..what're you guys DO here?" To Rayne and Sunset, 'Is there anypony else here I might or should know?"

Rayne looks at the wolf for a moment before she realizes the connection. "Oh! Yes, hi, sorry," she says sheepishly. At Rainbow Dash's question, however, she slumps her shoulders slightly before tiredly saying, "Well, I run the police force here."

Rainbow Dash teases, looking at Sunset. "Keep a close eye on this pony, then," :p

Sunset just sticks her tongue out at Dash, teasing her right back. "Oh, she knows all about my 'past shenanigans'."

Rayne glances at Sunset, then smirks at Rainbow Dash. "Oh, I do. She ''does'' work in the same building. I used to be her boss, actually."

Rainbow Dash says, "Law enforcement, huh? You'll have to catch me to give me a speeding ticket."

MoonShadow shakes her head and lays down, listening to the banter with curiosity.

Rayne looks at Rainbow Dash for a moment before saying, "You don't strike me as the sort to actually drive a car. So if I'm busting you for something related to your speed, it'd end up being reckless endangerment if you were to actually spook people with it. And, you know, property damage if you can't make a turn properly?"

Rainbow Dash pffts, "hey, I'm a professional! Like I ever crash...."

Rayne smirks. "Well, then. Just don't buzz people and we're fine."

Sunset off-sides. "Intentionally crash"

Rainbow Dash looks to Rayne. "Why in Equestria would I Intentionally crash?" O.o

Sunset puts a hand over her mouth to keep from snickering too loudly. Just the confusion from Dash is enough amusement. Then ahems softly. "Just don't practice your Rainbooms at a low altitude, Dash. The buildings are taller here than in Ponyville."

MoonShadow blinks ''(Ok, Rainboom?)'' the wolf looks confussed

Rainbow Dash says, "That's when I break the sound barrier and BOOM! There's a TOTALLY awesome explosion of Rainbow colors! Totally awesome...." she beams. "I'm the only Pony who can do it."

MoonShadow blinks and nods ''( Ok, that's pretty fast then.)''

Rayne's left eye twitches. "Yes. Do not do that. I do ''not'' want to get a thousand noise complaints over you," she says at a deadpan. Dash is able to go super-sonic? Sure, why not. She then shakes her head. "But enough work talk, I'm ''trying'' to take a day off."

Rainbow Dash says, "My top speed is about 7,000 miles an hour...but I don't like to brag." She obviously LOVES bragging.

Rayne again repeats herself, "Yeah, don't do that here unless you're over the Void." Of course, going that fast would put Dash over the void pretty fast. But again she shakes her head to try to get herself to change mindsets. It's become so HARD to turn off the Chief of Police mentality for her.

Sunset just rolls her eyes a bit at the 'don't like to brag'. There's something both Rainbow Dash's share, and while this is not the Dash she's gotten use to, it's still comforting to be around. At least this is a bragger that's only exaggerating, they can back most of it up. "Well, you got out of the office, that's a start." She resumes sipping on the smoothie she'd almost forgotten she has.

Rayne says, "I don't ''live'' there. It just feels like it."

Rainbow Dash floats closer to Rayne, peering. Hmm. "Same hair, your name's Rain," she can't see spelling, "Guess we kinda have a few things in common." She then looks to Sunset, then back to Rayne. She did mention SOMETHING about another Rainbow someone after all.

Rainbow Dash like Peppermint Patty, sometimes she just doesn't listen.

Rayne laughs humorlessly once. "But of course I'm older than you," she says, then shakes her head more slowly than she had been.

Rainbow Dash says, "As long as you're not another ME. That kinda thing freaks me out. But..you're way too serious to be me, so, no worries." she flips in the air."

Sunset just starts snickering again to herself at some amusing thought about that, but leaves it at that. "I don't know if the reality could handle two of you, Dash. Two Twilights in the same place is confusing enough."

Rainbow Dash says, "What? Two Twi's here? O.o my brain would implode..."

Rayne shakes her head. "Maybe in another phase of my life, but I never got into racing. And... I've not always been this serious," she says tiredly. She glances at Sunset, then looks back to Rainbow Dash. "Twilight's not been here for about... what, three years now?"

Rainbow Dash says, "This Multiverse thing hurts my brain."

Sunset laughs a bit. "Not here. But she had visited us in Canterlot High after we befriended that Twilight Sparkle." There was also the whole her, Twilight and Dash ending up in Equestria accidentally but everyone but Twilight and Spike seems to have missed that.

Sunset asides to Rayne, mostly to tease Dash a little more. "And there's probably more than that, considering." There's how many different worlds out there?

Rayne nods tiredly. "Probably? I don't know. I try not to think too hard about the whole multiverse thing and just... deal with it as it applies here. It tends to hurt ''my'' brain, too."

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah..well..I'm the real deal, so, these other Dash's can do what they want. I'll just keep being the most awesome!"

Sunset leans closer to Rayne and whispers with a smirk. "It's just easier to let her be than try to stop her. Unless she tries to do something stupid."

Rayne glances at Sunset and says, "Well... yeah? Not unless I see someone actually doing something wrong am I ever gonna do anything. If being a bit boastful was a crime, my predecessor would have been put away himself."

Rainbow Dash works her hands like a couple of puppets. "Gosh! This Rainbow Dash mare is totally the fastest thing on the planet ever, we'd better keep an eye on her, instead of..." The other hoof talks now, "..instead of, Hey, maybe she can be helpful fight evil and stuff! Plus, she's totally awesome!" The other Puppet noddles, 'She really totally is, I wish I could meet her," and the other Puppet-hoof nods as well. She's totally getting carried away and totally forgetting the point she was trying to make.

MoonShadow rolls her eyes at dash and shakes her head,

Rayne looks at Ranbow Dash for a moment as she considers what kind of officer the pegasus would be. She visibly shivers at the thought of actually having to deal with Rainbow as a subordinate. Completely unmanageable. Instead of commenting on that, she says, "'Planet' might be a bit of an over exaggeration."

Rainbow Dash pffts I'm faster'n then that Hedgehog guy...I'm fastern' any jet...I'll admit I might not be faster then that Flash guy, but I can fly. Anyway, I don't want a job, I'm just sayin'. if you need my help, that's what I do. I'm sort of a big deal Super-hero type back home.

Rayne actually grimaces slightly at the mention of being a super-hero type. Hey, she's the Police Chief. Isn't it traditional for police forces to have issues with the superheroes? Well, except for that ''one'' officer that's friends with the superhero.

"Well, technically she ''does'' have experience as a protector of justice and friendship." Sunset winks at Rayne, then leans over to Rainbow Dash. "But police officers have to follow a lot of rules and regulations, even more than Wonderbolts do, and can't just go flying off on their own. You're probably best off just helping on occasion as a friendly neighborhood pegasus, much like you guys did in Equestria for the Princesses without actually being members of the Royal Guard or such."

Rayne sighs and rubs her temples. "Yeah. And I'm the one that inevitably gets yelled at when an officer ''doesn't'' follow the rules, and then I have to yell at said officer..." It's pretty clear that Rayne is a very worn out individual from her job.

Rainbow Dash says, "Not to worry! I've..WE'VE...(she corrects) saved Equestria and Neo-Tokyo, like, a billion times. Though somebody must've dropped the ball with Neo-Tokyo)I'm totally a pro at this, so, Mosnters, baddies, I've dealt with 'em all. The great things is, you don't have to yell at me, 'cause I'm not an officer or anything! I'm just..the super awesome pegasus who swoops in and kicks butt."

Sunset points a finger at Dash. "Just make sure it's actually a monster. Not everyone that comes to this place is violent just because they don't look 'normal' like we do." Yes, she's perfectly fine with calling a telepathic wolf and a flying rainbow colored horse 'normal'. It IS in comparison to things she's seen.

Rainbow Dash laughs, "Well, DUH, I was in Neo-Tokyo for ages. I don't kick butt unless said baddie or monsters is doing something bad or monster-y.

Sunset gives Rayne a silent 'That's the best you're going to get, you're welcome' look.

Rayne almost visibly has a headache at this point. "Yes... yes, thank you, Rainbow Dash," she says. . o O ( ''Just... smile and nod, Rayne, just smile and nod.'' ) She just hopes Rainbow Dash doesn't get... eaten or something. Or go so fast she flies out of the range of the artificial sky and gets lost in the void. Okay, the second is far more likely. "Just.... be careful out there," she manages to say. No, nothing else will get through to the pegasus. Dash would have fit in under Kotal rather well, she thinks.

Rainbow Dash says, "Anyway...I'm out looking for portals to get home, so, hopefully you won't have to worry about me doing something that'll upset this place....you know your clouds are really uncomfortable?"

"I bet. Not Cloudsdale made." Sunset resumes sipping her smoothie, only to get that disappointing 'empty' gurgle. "It was nice to see you Dash. But I think I'm gonna go get another drink and call it a night." She waves to both as she turns to walk back out of the park.

Rayne glances upwards into the sky. "Really? Honestly, I wasn't aware any of the clouds were actually ''real''."

Rainbow Dash says, "Fake clouds,,,figures..." she sighs a bit sadly. Then puts her brave face back on. "I gotta get outta here!" with that, she rockets off....."

|}}

2019-08-21 - Double Rainbow, All the Way

2019-10-10T00:14:39Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Double Rainbow! All the Way! |Summary = Rayne comes across a couple of refugees from NeoTokyo. One has an odd similarity to her... |Who = David..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Double Rainbow! All the Way!
|Summary = Rayne comes across a couple of refugees from NeoTokyo. One has an odd similarity to her...
|Who = [[David]], [[Rainbow Dash]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = Month Day, Year.
|Where = [[Truce Fountain]]
|Log=

As he will help Dash up to all fours if she will let him and nods, "Yeah It's me from Neo-Tokyo with the flashy armor." he says and will stand up picking his bags up. "Yeah no this isn't Neo-Tokyo, It's a different place with similar breeches to other worlds. One connection is Neo-Tokyo. Right now that Connection is either damaged or outta commission for a while." He says. "But I have to admit you are a sight for sore eyes."

Rainbow Dash gets to her feet, checking her wings. "Good ta see you too," she nods, "I was just heading through the portal to Neo-Tokyo and..bam! Wound up here! I'm glad it's not just me! Anypony else showed up here> I'm guessing there's no portal back....

David shaking his head and says, "The portal I went through kinda had a hissy fit and sorta imploded. So it's a no go. But no no one else has shown up yet." And thinks, "BUT, I have this." and pulls out a tricorder, "this is transmitting a signal that I am hoping my crew can lock onto and try and bring me home." he says pulling it back into his pocket.

Rainbow Dash says, "Wonder what happened...not that I'd really understand it anyway...but these portal things are just getting out of control!" she rises up, flapping her wings. "And I'm stuck in a strange place...again."

David nods and says, "I was considering getting an apartment here till I could find away back, Or get pulled back by my crew." he tells Dash. "And I would hate for them to pull me back and leave you here stuck."

Rainbow Dash says, "I'm sure Twilight and everypony is looking for me...so...I shouldn't worry. Fluttershy can always butter up Discord, just a matter of time, I'm sure," she shrugs. "It IS totally annoying though." -_-"

David says, "tell me about it, I have My wife and kits back home and I am half nuts wanting to be with them again." Shaking himself out and will say, "You up for Some of my chipolte Portabella burgers?" he asks as they will need to make a brief stop at Smart, despite the headaches it gives him."

Rainbow Dash says, "Naw...I'm good. I gotta get my footing in this place and see if any Pony else has been stranded. How long have you been here, anyway? No other Ponies or anybody else from Neo-Tokyo or Equestria?"

David shakes his head and says, "No, I haven't heard of anyone showing up and it's pretty small maybe a few blocks. the place seems very unstable." he says.

"Maybe a week or so, not too long, but longer than I intended." he says.

There's more than one rainbow haired individual in the fountain area. The other... looks more distracted by something on her phone. She's drinking from a bottle of pink liquid... some exotic soda or something? Regardless, she doesn't seem to notice the other two at the moment as she heads towards the somewhat boxy building nearby. The one that has signs on it suggesting a police station. Yes, it's most definitely the one David met at the convenience store.

Rainbow Dash hmms and poke-pokes at a wall. "Seems pretty solid," she mutters, "Might be in flux or something...."

David nods. And looking over to Rayne and he waves to here. "Hey Rayne," and he will pull out that booklet he was given the Welcome Center, "This is something from the Welcome Center. Couple days ago found some varmints who tried to take advantage of my new arrival. So take a modicum of of caution on such.

Rainbow Dash says, "Hey..it's me!" she smirks. "I can totally take care of myself," she looks to Rayne and Yo's!

Rayne lifts her head at the sound of her name, looking over to where David is and... pauses in her tracks. "...Rainbow Dash, I presume?" She glances back at the courthouse, then over to the pony again. "Oh, uh, and hi, D... Daniel, was it?" She looks like she's pretty sure she got the name wrong and is not happy with that fact.

Rainbow Dash says, "That's right? You from Neo-Tokyo?" she asks, "Or are ya just a fan from here?" she grins, always liking fans."

as he listens to the wrong name and says, "David." he corrects politely.

Rayne winces. "David, right, sorry." She laughs a bit nervously as she looks to Rainbow Dash and says, "Ehhhh, no, not from Neo-Tokyo, though I was there... a long time ago for a little bit. And... it's a long story... I, uh, knew Twilight Sparkle for a while, and I currently consider Sunset Shimmer to be my best friend?"

Rainbow Dash says, "Sunset's here? Awesome....she..last I heard was in that other place where all us Ponies are human girls. man, his extra-portal-dimensional thingis is breaking my brain...but It's awesome Sunset is here! Maybe she can help me get home..er.help US get home..." she nods to David."

David nods and says, "I don't understand magic really than manipulating energy but Won't be bad having more help to get home." he nods to Rayne and with a smile says, "For now I was planning to get an apartment here soon. I have a feeling we might end up here for a while." he just has one of those feelings it will happen.

Rayne winces slightly, then says, "Well... not really, no. She's not a pony here... so she doesn't have her magic. She doesn't have any way of jumping dimensions. She's, uh, helping people deal with coming to this world, really. She works in the building over there," she looks towards the government looking building, "In the Welcome Center. Runs it, really, but I don't think she's in right now." She looks back to David and says, "Well, there's a few options on that..." She eyes the pamphlet he was carrying from the Welcome Center, then says, "But I'm guessing they went over that with you already?"

Rainbow Dash says, "I should talk to her...it's been a while. Wonder how my human self is doing? Augh! There goes my brain snapping again..."

David noddles, "More or less I may head back when I have more time and I am not starving." he says. Looking over to Dash he says, "Your brain snapped? you have a brain?" he asks in a teasing voice for Dash to hear. "I been meaning getting back to Equestria for a while. Bring the Wife and Kids."

Rayne smiles and says, "I'll let her know you're in town when I see her. You can ask about your counterpart when you do?" She winces in sympathy at Dash's brain snapping. Yeah. Sometimes things throw her off here still, too. She looks to
David more in suprise, though. "You've been there?"

David nods and says, "Oh yeah Equestria is very very wonderful. Great for Spiritual healing." he doesn't go on any more detail as he says, "I turn into an Earthpony there."

Rainbow Dash doesn't seem particularly charmed by David's teasing. -.- She then looks to Rayne, "Totally awesome. Yeah...Neo-Tokyo's got a portal right to Equestria, so, makes it kinda easy to go back and forth. You go there, you get ponyfied."

Rayne looks a little taken aback by that. "Ponified?" She looks between the two. "It... changes your form?" Apparently this doesn't appeal much to Rayne. Yes, it's clear the effect is temporary since David is human again.

Rainbow Dash says, "Hey..works the same way when Sunset goes to..that other Equestria..."

David nods and says, "Yes. No one told me so when I step through I end up face first eating dirt."

Rainbow Dash says, "Just backwards."

Rayne nods, blinking in remembrance that yes, Sunset was originally a pony. Rayne herself has never seen ponified Sunset(Or is that non-humanfied Sunset?), even if the Twilight she knew swapped back and forth. "Er... yeah, backwards."

David thinks, "Well that's odd." he's wondering why they wouldn't be anthro ponies but anyway. He nods and says, "Well it is good to see a friendly face here Dash."

David says, "and Rayne thanks for telling me about the official welcome center."

Rainbow Dash says, "Yeah...totally," she nods, "Maybe the portal will open up...but at least we can hope for the best, what are the odds the two of us would show up from the same place? Anyway, I gotta crash, finsmyself some cirrs and figure out what I'm gonna do next, I'll be around!" She waves, then shoots up into teh sky, looking for a good nesting spot for the night..."

|}}

2019-09-08 - A Warlock, a Death Knight, and a Werewolf

2019-10-09T23:58:56Z

Rayne: correcting the 'who' be removing John from Constantine

{{Logsummary|
Title = A Warlock, a Death Knight, and a Werewolf Walk Into a Cemetery...
|Summary = Constantine appears at the Peaceful Glade Cemetery while fighting a demon. He's aided by Sarra and Doommuffin in dispatching the beast.
|Who = [[Doommuffin]], [[Constantine]], [[MoonShadow]]
|Date = September 8th, 2019
|Where = [[Peaceful Glade Cemetery]]
|Log=

This being Mabase City, portals are a thing. Portals opening right at the entrance to the cemetery? Also a thing. For this particular portal to open here might be irony...but there it is, twisting open as something comes through at about the speed of a good fastball. Said something is a man. Said man is '''not''' coming through the portal under his own power. He lands in a heap, although he at least knows to tuck and roll.

The second thing which comes through the portal is a massively tall, heavily muscled demon. Complete with horns and a tail with the little point on the end. And claws. Judging by the fact that the man who landed in a heap is bleeding slightly, those claws have seen some use. The demon is stalking towards his victim and either has not noticed the change of combat venue, or doesn't care.

As for the man? He's picking himself up and starting to chant in a harsh, ancient language.

Just another quiet Sunday in Mabase, right?

Slow, plodding... metallic footsteps. There is no speed today. The blue and gold painted, seemingly crudely built, vaguely lion-like robot walks at a slow pace towards the graveyard. On its back, its master. The one that raised the spirit possessing the mechanical monstrosity. There's no saddle, instead just hand and footholds... but for now, at this pace, the heavily armored yet tiny woman needs none of them. But then, of course, the whole portal, guy flying not under his own power, and demon thing happens. "Oh my!" says the tiny woman in her almost sickeningly cutesy voice. "It looks like we have a newcomer, Deathcake!" She sits up on the machine, grabs one hand onto a handhold as she sets her armored boots into the footholds, while her other hand reaches up to adjust something on her goggles. "It appears I stand corrected tonight. We do not have one newcomer, but two!" The robotic lion... meows questioningly. It did not sound remotely like a lion. It sounded like the ghost of a siamese.

There's a good reason for that, but perhaps that's a story for another day.

An icy glow lights up behind the lenses of the goggles, and the blue lion picks up its pace, rushing forward to the site of the fight which has spilled over from some other universe onto Mabase's streets. "Excuse me!" she calls out. "But if you're going to get into a fight here, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to properly welcome you to Twisted!" She's been in this dimension for a while... habits of old names die hard. Also, apparently she considers a proper welcome to include combat, because she's pulling a sword that's longer than she is tall.

A back of wolves just happened to be near by when the Portal opens, a large white wolf leading them as the pack was checking out the cemetery. Was this coincidence, not likely as Sarra was checking out this cemetery for things not quite dead, that should be. The white wolf lifts her head as she hears a grash and moves to investigate, spotting the Demon and the human. She instantly detects the dark magic surrounding both, but the Demon is clearly the bigger threat, she motions for her children to hide as she sneaks closer, making absolutely no sound.

Yup, that's a real, actual demon from the very depths of Hell. It's also pissed off. Right now, it's mostly interested in the guy it just threw through the portal, but red glowing eyes also take in the...diminutive undead with the very, very large sword. So, let's see. One demon, one thing which isn't quite dead but should be and a master of the dark arts. If it wasn't for, ya know, "demon," it might be less clear who the good guys are here.

The man skitters back as the demon lunges at them and stops chanting long enough to yell, "Keep it busy" at the death knight. Neither has seen the sneaky sneaky werewolf yet.

Ooooh, so was it Doommuffin that the wolves were looking for? They need have only posted something in the bounty office to have gotten her attention! Any questions of that aside, there's certainly no hesitation on the part of the tiny woman as he leaps into battle quite literally off the back of the robotic cat. The cat itself passes by, travelling on for a hundred yards before it stops and looks back. As for the diminutive woman herself, the runes on her blade glow brightly in the same icy blue as the light behind her goggles as she interposes her greatsword's blade between herself and the striking demon. Edge on, of course. "Attention newcomers to this wonderfully Twisted world you now find yourselves in. As I am currently unaware of the proper details behind what may be happening in this instance, I will request that you calm down for but a moment and explain these circumstances so that I might more properly appraise the situation." ...Yes, she's asking for an explanation of why the demon is attacking the guy. And it appears to be directed at the demon.

MoonShadow seems less willing to talk to the demon as she sneaks up in wolf form, its easy to see who her target should be, she waits for just the right time, positioning herself to the demons back and as soon as she lines up, she would pounce, her form sifting in mid air from wolf to monstrosity, a ten foot tall half wolf half women as she leaps for the demons back with lightning quick reflexes, something that big, should not move that fast.

The demon doesn't seem about to explain. Or maybe it's one of the real dumb ones and those were far too many big words for it. Right as its about to make another grab for the sorcerer, though, a werewolf jumps onto its back. This abruptly becomes its larger problem as it tries to shake her off.

The man? Still chanting.

"Oh my, how long has a worgen been here?" chirps the small woman. She glances back at the lone human here and asks, "Or is she with you? Oh, nevermind." She looks back at the demon eyes glowing bright behind the goggles again. "Well, if no one wants to talk, it has been far too long since I have hunted Burning Legion. Perhaps it is time for a return to that with this similar sensation? Remember, you could have attempted to explain, but you are just wordlessly attacking like an abyssal. How crude. Deathcake, take out its legs." With those words ''finally'' done being spoken, the three foot tall woman darts in remarkably quick towards the demon. Dark, foul energies surround the blade before she leaps up and strikes at the demon's stomach, releasing a burst of necrotic energy along with the potency of the blade itself.

But let's not forget the other combatant. The loud whine of turbines comes to life as the robo-cat crouches down, what looks like two crudely made jet engines now extending from its back and a pair of three foot long blade unfolding out from either side. The robot-cat is low to the ground, its blade-ended tail swishing behind it... and yes, its rump is shaking slightly. It's very much acting like a housecat about to pounce. With the jet engines revved to full throttle, the claws disengage the ground and the cat starts running right for the demon from behind. It seems to be aiming to weave right between the demon's legs with a goal of connecting those blades on the legs as it passes.

MoonShadow bites and claws at the demon, she is rather strong and hard to through off, her claws digging in as her teeth bite down and tear at its flesh, this tastes awful, shes conna need to rince her mouth out after this

Graaah! The demon roars with rage...there's now a werewolf clawing at him (although no doubt he tastes utterly awful), a gnome slashing at his stomach, and a robocat running at its legs. The man...keeps chanting. The demon decides the best thing to do is try to grab the gnome and throw it at him. Despite all the attacks, it's clear who Mr Infernal thinks is the '''real''' threat here.

Grabbed by a giant demon. Great. It's like Ignis all over again. Well, at least it doesn't shove her into a pot of molten metal at its crotch. Well, this time, while grabbed, Doommuffin reaches into a beltpouch and prepares for what most don't expect from a knight born of the eldrich horror of undeath. She pulls a grenade. Sure, she's thrown, but she tosses the grenade up just enough right before her own momentum would be transferred to the explosive. Oh look, demon, there's a funny looking rock just up there. And now there's shrapnel flying everywhere. On the other hand, here's hoping Mr. Warlock person is prepared to have a flying three foot tall woman in full plate collide with him, because... yeah, she's not quite able to stop ''that'' from happening. As for the cat, apparently its blades didn't do much but scratch the demon's legs if it had such little a reaction to it. Well, it's not like it can stop its momentum on a dime with the jet engines running, but at least it folds its blades in again before it passes John by.

Oof! Gnome in plate lands on warlock. The chant falters. As for the cat, it whooshes past. The werewolf is doing a rather better job damaging the demon, it seems. And it does have a nice big wound, dripping black blood, where Doommuffin slashed it with the runeblade. The demon snarls and tries once more to shake the crinos off. It's slowing down, that's for sure. But it's definitely not out yet.

MoonShadow tries to grips the demons neck, as her claws rip away flesh, growling as she holds on tight, trying to use her weight to through the demon off balance as she tears into it, spitting out the flesh and blood when she can. When the grenade goes off she leaps from the demons back, still taking some damage from the shrapnel, but that starts to heal almost instantly

And then the grenade goes off, and blows off a demon hand. The demon '''snarls'''. But it can't run, thanks to still...oh wait. The werewolf moved. The demon is now trying to run back through the portal. Except, what portal?

Doommuffin is quick to get to her feet again, shaking her head and saying, "I apologize. It appears I am not properly enough in the mentality of going into a murderous rampage. Allow me to remedy that situation." Her voice echoes oddly as she speaks, belying the unnatural state of... well, her. "It appears to be trying to retreat. Cowardice does not become creatures of this sort. Come '''BACK'''." As she says the last few words, dark energy grows in her off hand, an energy she thrusts at the demon. It leaves behind a tendril to her hand, a visible line of dark energy. Should the tendril connect with the demon, she pulls back quickly and violently with the hand. It doesn't always work on massive creatures, but this ability known as Death Grip was concocted with the sole purpose of pulling the fleeing back into range for another strike.

In the back, the robo-cat's engines have finally gone to a mode idle sound as it finally is able to stop and turn around, preparing itself for another run.

MoonShadow watches the creature, circling it, now walking on all fours, she massive wolf biding its time to strike again

This particular demon is not overly smart...but it's cunning. When it gets grabbed, it doesn't resist...in fact, it does the exact opposite. Now it's flying towards the gnome and the warlock!

Doommuffin sets herself for the return strike. One foot set back and ready to brace herself. Blade held upright in the path between herself and the demon. Do you think this is the first time she's faced something this large? Please! She's death gripped far larger. The ability ends its momentum directly in front of her, not letting it go past. Still, the blade is prepared for its next strike, the blade coating in frost. Large, sharp ice crystals across the blade have formed by the time the demon arrives, and the blade is swung forward to meet it. Behind, the sounds of the jet engines can be heard growing again as Deathcake begins its second run, this time without the blades extended.

MoonShadow moves after the demon, aiming low to bite at its legs, trying to knock it down.

The demon roars again as its stopped, slashing at the gnome with one hand and trying to get over her head to the warlock with the other. It hasn't noticed the cat...or the werewolf, who doesn't quite get it down, but it's clearly on the ropes. The harsh chanting doesn't falter this time. Thank you, gnome...

Doommuffin goes ahead and takes the slash, herself relatively unconcerned about getting hurt. The armor isn't just for show(granted, however, it is ''partially'' for show. The skull motifs don't actually give her any powers, afterall). She makes a return swing without buffing the blade any this time, but as the arm reaches over her, the blade goes dark again before she swings up to intercept... oh, it's already reached past her, yes, but that won't stop her from using that extension to turn the arm into a much more meaty and open target for this strike, the energy on the blade this time seeking to leech life force from the demon to recover her own wounds.

And then there's Deathcake. Jet-powered robot lion POUNCE! Yeah, it's going for a full body pounce with its claws fully outstretched this time rather than just a passing slash. That's a fair amount of momentum that just lept at the demon!

MoonShadow bites and slashes at the demons legs, tearing away flesh in flurry of strikes, her claws digging in deep and then backs off as the robo lion pounces, the werewolf now attacking from a different angle, biting into the rib cage, throwing her weight into the strike to add to the lions

The demon roars. It can't run, it can't get to its target...and the warlock shouts, and abruptly? There's nothing where it was but smoke and brimstone. Getting to his feet, straightening his tie. "Got the bugger," he says, laconically. "Thanks." He certainly couldn't have got it '''without''' them.

The sound of a very surprised cat escapes the robotic lion, and when it hits the ground, it scampers off to hide behind the wall of the cemetery. "Awwww. We did not make it suffer nearly enough. Not for my preferences."

MoonShadow blinks as her target is suddenly gone, she looks to the warlock then the gnome and nods, its form slowly melting to a women in her mid thirties, she has wolf ears and a tail, the collar around her neck shifting into a pendent, witch happens to be all she is wearing "What was that thing and why was it after you?" she asks as she touches her pendant and jeans and a teeshirt appear from nowhere as she puts them on.

"Kylux demon, and I pissed it off. Got between it and somebody who couldn't defend themselves." The man starts making an inventory of his hurts, glancing between gnome and werewolf. "Wanker."

Doommuffin says, "Well then. I suppose that the threat is, for the forseeable future, over then?" Why does she sound dissapointed? "Oh, my. Such language!" She giggles, then says, "I do not beleive either of the two of us are capable of that particular action, as she herself has shown more directly."

"I meant the demon." Which probably isn't either, but who cares. "Grah. So...let's see." He glances around, then up. "Well, I'm '''not''' in Hell." Yet, anyway.

Sarra_Moon smiles and in agreement with the gnme "Then again mybe he's blind" she says then turns to the human "My name is Sarra, and welcome to the city"

The robot lion comes out from hiding again, timidly approaching the group. It's keeping its distance from the wolves as it tries to get closer to Doommuffing. It really is acting like a timid housecat. "No, you are in fact not in hell, though I have heard of others comparing it to such in the past. Oh! And when I arrived, it ''was'' under the control of a being that called itself 'Sen~ior Diablo'! So perhaps you are not as far from such as you might initially beleive?" chirps the gnome.

John Constantine snorts. "Nah, I know from Hell, and this isn't Hell. It isn't Earth either, though, if I miss my guess. So, what '''planet''' am I on?" Reasonable conclusion to come to. He glances between the two. "John Constantine, Master of the Dark Arts." Well, he showed '''some''' ability, although Master might be...pushing it.

Three wolves come out of hiding, moving to Sarra's side as she pets them "I can tell" as for what planet there on "I'm not rightly sure what plant this is"

Doommuffin giggles again. "I am terribly sorry, but your question cannot be answered as you have asked it. There is no planet that we are on, but rather, we are on a chunk of dirt floating in a void. I am aware that the vague description I have given does in fact fit the definition of a planet as well, however I assure you that this is not the case, and in fact the land mass beneath your feet is not massive enough to create gravity through conventional means. Also, I am called Doommuffin, and this is Deathcake."

"MIAO!" Yes, the robot lion meowed like a housecat.

John Constantine ahs. He eyes the wolves somewhat suspiciously. Dogs generally don't like him. He's fairly sure wolves don't either. "Well, at least it's not Hell," he says, a bit of humor returning as he straightens his tie. He's got blood (some his own, some demonic) on him and he looks like he '''really''' needs a bath right about now.

Doommuffin frowns before saying, "No. We have already established the fact that you are not in any official form of hell."

John Constantine looks around. "Well, sooner or later she'll track me down. Any place around here I can clean up?" He's NOT fit for civilized company right now.

Doommuffin doesn't seem to care about the fact that he's covered in blood. "Oh? I am going to presume that the 'she' in your statement is not referring to the ruffian we had just dealt with a moment prior? Oh! Well, I suppose you can always go to the local homeless shelter. They are properly equipped to deal with your current situation, I believe."

"I suppose." Homeless shelter. Well, given the demon managed to transport him across planes. Or he did. He's not entirely sure ''what'' happened there, but he certainly doesn't have anything but the clothes on his back right now.

|}}

2019-09-15 - Who Wants to be 'Saved'?

2019-10-09T23:58:15Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Who Wants to be 'Saved'? |Summary = Constantine regales Rayne of some of his old friends. |Who = Constantine, Rayne |Date = September 1..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Who Wants to be 'Saved'?
|Summary = Constantine regales Rayne of some of his old friends.
|Who = [[Constantine]], [[Rayne]]
|Date = September 15th, 2019
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

Rayne steps into the Usual with a large clipboard with attached small case tucked under her arm.

There's a guy at the bar, idly flirting with a young man who, mind, leaves as Rayne enters. He's a bit of a scruffy guy, blonde, trenchcoat. He doesn't notice the police chief right away.

Rayne steps aside as the other guy leaves, giving him some space. Welp, now there's a free spot at the bar. Thus, Rayne walks right on up to said free space and takes a seat after carefully setting the oversized clipboard against it. "I think I'm in the mood for a cherry smoothie today," she tells the barkeep.

John Constantine glances at the young woman, giving her a slight assessing look. It's not sexual so much as curiosity. He's got a beer in front of him, from which he takes a swig. Then he finally offers, "Hello."

Rayne is used to that look. It's the hair. She glance back and offers a smile, for once(for her) not tired. She's not worked ALL DAY and it's finally starting to show! "Hello. Haven't seen you around." Please don't be someone she's met before and she's just forgotten...

"I think I would remember you, love," the man says. Liverpool accent, if she knows enough to place it. The love is casual, as if he says that to everyone. Loose tie. There's something slightly haunted in his eyes, mind.

Rayne shows no signs of having any idea what the accent is... which of course doesn't mean anything either way. She's definitely not from Liverpool, herself, and her own... is very difficult to place. Perhaps the slightest hint of a romance language influence, but it's extremely slight. She shrugs and reaches for her cherry smoothie, her eyes focused more on that than on the man by far. "I suppose I'm a bit distinctive," she says.

"It's the hair," the man jokes, lightening his tone for a moment. "Quite the fashion statement." Yeah, he's assuming it's a dye job.

Rayne manages to roll her eyes. "Yeah. A real fashion statement, all right," she monotones. She shakes her head, but decides not to go into it with someone she just met. "Rayne Hurris," she says instead.

"John Constantine," the blonde introduces. He hesitates before offering his hand; it's not really a British thing and he's not sure whether it's her thing either.

Apparently it's ''not'' her thing, because she looks down at it with a look of extreme trepidation. Instead of taking it, Rayne apologizes. "Uh, sorry, I, uh, have a thing about personal space. Nice to meet you," she says in an almost miserable tone. No, she doesn't ''like'' being that way.

John Constantine lowers the hand. "That's fine, never cared that much for the custom myself." He doesn't seem offended...perhaps even a little bit relieved.

Rayne sighs and hangs her head slightly. "Well, that's a slight releif, I suppose. I've outright insulted people because of it before." She straightens up and offers another apologetic smile. "Welp. Yeah. Anyway... How's the city treating you?"

"Americans, likely," John quips. "And, I suppose it's well enough." He's clearly very lost, or Sara would have found him already.

Rayne shrugs. "Sure, why not?" she says. "Well, glad the place is working out for you, then?" It's like she took the comment on the city being well enough as something personal.

"I suppose." A pause. "I finally found a place I could hide from Sara," he quips.

Rayne raises an eyebrow. "Obsessed Ex?"

John Constantine laughs. "No, friend with ideas for my improvement."

Rayne winces. "Oh. Yeah. That. A 'friend' that just wants you to be a 'better person'. That can be... yeah..." She shakes her head.

"Oh, I love her," John says. "She's just very persistent."

Rayne tilts her head, then shrugs. "Ah. So an ''actual'' friend, then, and not some nosy acquaintance. ...Why did you want to hide from her, again?"

"Because, love, she thinks she can save everyone. You must have met the type." And some people can't be saved. John worked that out a long time ago.

Rayne says, "Like... Religious saved? Or just the 'I can fix all of everyone's problems' saved?"

Ironically, in John's case, those two are one and the same. "The latter."

Rayne nods. "Well, glad she's not here for my own sake, then," she mumbles. "Uhh... nothing personal. But I don't need someone I don't know telling me how to fix all my problems when they've never ''had'' said problems."

John Constantine shrugs. "Well, I can at least say I won't do that." He can't fix his own problems. He'll not even ''start'' on other people's.

|}}

2019-09-10 - Brooklyn, Upstate New York, Indiana

2019-10-09T23:42:55Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = Brooklyn Upstate New York, Indiana |Summary = Three people from different versions of America have a conversation in the Usual Restaurant. |Who =..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = Brooklyn Upstate New York, Indiana
|Summary = Three people from different versions of America have a conversation in the Usual Restaurant.
|Who = [[Jack Hawksmoor]], [[Mimi Valroon]], [[MoonShadow]]
|Date = September 10th, 2019
|Where = [[The Usual Restaurant]]
|Log=

It's not Thursday, so there's actually staff in the Usual. Also in the Usual, at the end of the bar, a certain nondescript man most notable for his lack of footwear. It's Twisted, so that isn't that weird. Really.

Mimi Valroon steps into the Usual, almost timid as she looks around. There's a sigh of relief, and she walks in. Yeah, her brain is still having difficulty with the weirdness of the city. But today there doesn't seem to be anyone but normal, perfectly ordinary humans! Sure, that one guy is wearing flip flops(don't correct her), but she can deal with that. There's a slight shiver across her body before she finally reaches the bar to sit down with a louder, more relieved sounding sigh.

"Long day?" the man asks, a slight New York accent marking his speech. No, those aren't flip flops. But he's not going to correct her. The slight, very slight red tint to his eyes might be a little bit more of a concern.

Mimi Valroon looks back. "Eh? Oh... kinda... I mean, uh..." She looks over and starts slightly at the red eyes, but, well, too late to back out now! "More... Unsettling?" She looks back to the approaching bartender and orders a root beer float before looking back to Jack again. "...I flew out over the Void for the first time today."

Jack Hawksmoor winces. "Oh. That will do it." He knows that half of this world is fake. Bishop made it very clear to him. "Don't ever ask me to go out there." He'd probably pass out or worse anyway...

Mimi Valroon grimaces and nods. It was the most unsettling experience of her life. Worse than suddenly finding her plane over Mabase instead of Bermuda. Worse than finding the city filled with so many non-humans when her own world had no sapient life other than humans. It's something she's going to have to get used to... but for now, she just wants some normalcy. Thus, the root beer float ordered from the bartender.

"Not the biggest fan of planes and flying at the best of times." He does give her a look he hopes is sympathetic. "Jack Hawksmoor," is the introduction given. And yes, he does offer his hand. And, by the way, he's still human. Kind of. Sort of.

He's close enough for Mimi right now! She's not speciesist so much as just overwhelmed by the strangeness and wants something that seems more normal to her right now. "Hey, not everyone is, that's fine," she says as she takes and shakes the hand. "Mimi Valroon," she introduces herself as. "But I guess we're not going to be much more than casual acquaintances, if you're not, though." It sounds perhaps a bit standoffish, but there's an accompanying wink to show that yes, she is kidding.

Jack Hawksmoor laughs a bit. "Oh, don't worry, you're not the first pilot I've known." And it's pretty much...pilots enjoy flying or they don't spend all that time learning to do it.

While Mimi is certainly listening to Jack still, when the float arrives all her other senses seem much more preoccupied with it instead. "And you're not the first I've met that refuses to fly, either. But for me, it's my life. So I need to get used to.... ''out there'' soon so I can get going on living."

"I reckon most people here don't want to think about it," Jack muses. "I don't have good advice, but I do know it's usually a good idea to keep facing things which bother you if they aren't hurting you."

Mimi Valroon looks out to the south, then looks back and nods. "Does anyone have advice? I mean..." she shakes her head. "Nevermind. I'm just... yeah. I need to keep facing it, like you said. Facing the unknown is what adventure ''is'', right?"

Jack Hawksmoor hrms. "Well, Bishop probably knows more about the void, but he's a jerk, I wouldn't send my worst enemy to him."

Mimi Valroon blinks a few times, spoon in her mouth for a moment before she removes it and places it in the tall, frosty glass. "Who?"

"Bishop's the AI that handles life support and stuff. And like I said, kind of a jerk. I don't think he has any friends and furthermore, I don't think he ''wants'' any friends." Jack's lips quirk. "We have an understanding, but that's as far as it goes.

Mimi Valroon furrows her brow slightly. "AI? What's that?" The asshole that doesn't have nor want friends? That's easier for her to comprehend. The term AI however is completely unknown to her.

"Artificial intelligence. He's a sentient computer. Guessing those haven't shown up yet where you're from." Not that they're really there where Jack is, but at least the concepts are...

Sarra_Moon steps into the usual, she spots jack and waves as three large grey wolves follow her in. She steps up to the bar and orders a beer as her wolves lay by her feet.

Mimi Valroon blinks and tilts her head. She's picturing this giant, room sized machine having a conversation with Jack right now. The mental image is enough that she's not noticed Sarra coming in yet.

Jack Hawksmoor makes scritching motions wolf-wards. "Or do you actually have...are you still from a time where computers are people?"

A wolf gets up and wanders over to Jack, pressing its head up against his hand as thje wolf wags its tail and Sarra grins.

Mimi Valroon just looks confused now. "Uhhh... well, for the complex stuff they're using those... big things? With the switches and punchcards and stuff? I mean, it's so expensive and big that I've not heard of anyone other than the military using them... Airship and seaship firing computers. I've actually seen one!"

Jack Hawksmoor ahs. "Just a matter of tech getting better over time as we learn to do it more."

Sarra_Moon sips her beer, listening in to the conversation as the wolf by jack leans into him

Mimi Valroon glances around, then sighs and hangs her head. "Lemme guess... I come from what you consider to be a primitive time, don't I?" she says miserably.

"Actually, true sentient AI is something we're still working on where I'm from, it's still fiction. There's ''everything'' here." Case in point. Wolf.

Sarra_Moon smiles "AI like that doesn't exist were I'm from either" she says as her wolf leans into jack

Mimi Valroon blinks, looks down, and apparently just now notices the wolf here! She blinks at the animal in the Usual, then remembers this isn't the first time. She looks over to see Sarra and says, "Oh! Uh, uh... N... wolf woman. The, uh, name is escaping me."

Sarra_Moon says, "Sarra" she smiles as she pets one of her wolves, the other leaning into Jack"

"And friendly wolves don't exist where I am outside of sanctuaries." Scritch. Jack doesn't seem bothered by the animal, clearly they've met before.

Mimi Valroon winces, then nods. "Right. Sorry. Mimi. And I can't say I've encountered a friendly wolf back home, either."

Sarra_Moon says, "There friendly because there so used to humans, will and there slightly more intelligent then normal wolves"

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "I mean, people have wolves, in certain places, but you can't just get one. Especially not in big cities.

Sarra_Moon shakes her head "O its the same were I'm from, but these are my children, and I've always kept them close

Mimi Valroon says, "I've heard of some people bringing small dogs with them on their planes, but nothing like a wolves." Because of course everything comes back to flying for her. "I'm guessing... you didn't spend as much time in big cities?"

"I doubt they'd be comfortable in Times Square," Jack quips. Mabase is a decent sized city. It's not a ''big'' one.

Sarra_Moon says, "Lived in upstate New York""

Mimi Valroon nods a few times, then looks down at her dessert again. "Yeah, I can see it upstate. Well, depends on the area, I guess, but... yeah, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're not from Buffalo or the resorts, either."

Sarra_Moon lived in the forest mostly, only occasionally went to any town or city

"Whilst I'm from Brooklyn." He's pretty sure the pilot from, what, the 1950s, knows that. Unless she's not from Earth at all.

Mimi Valroon nods and says, "I'm from Indiana." So, yes, from Earth.

Jack Hawksmoor nods. "Ah, so one of the flat states," he quips, cheerfully. Manhattan, contrary to popular belief, is not actually flat. Of course...where really is?

Mimi Valroon nods. "Relatively speaking. Is it any wonder my family got into flight?"

"That or horses or something, right?" A pause. "I mean, Indianapolis is a nice place. Fairly quiet."

Sarra_Moon smiles "I've been there"

Mimi Valroon tilts her head. "Horses? Um... sure, why not? No, I'm the daughter of an Army Air Force General and my grandparents were running a skyshow. Grandma was wingwalking at 82!"

"Flying as soon as you could reach the controls, then?" Jack asks. "Having a legacy like that..."

Mimi Valroon nods. "Pretty much! Though my mother wasn't too happy about it when she found out, I hear."

"Sounds like you had good parents," Jack says, almost wistfully.

Mimi Valroon nods. "I guess so, but it's hard to really say when I don't have any other parents to compare them to," she jokes.

Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "You can compare them to other people's."

Mimi Valroon waves a hand in dismissal, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I'd have to ''really'' grill them to actually understand it, and I'm not one to pry that much!"

Jack Hawksmoor looks thoughtful. A little distant. "Sometimes it's obvious."

Mimi Valroon says, "...I... meant that as a joke, sorry."

Jack Hawksmoor laughs humorlessly. "Sorry. Parents might...be a sore point."

Mimi Valroon nods, then goes back to her Root Beer Float. She has no legitimate complaints about her parents, she can agree with that. The concept of how bad things can go, well, she's not really used to it.

Jack Hawksmoor leans back against the bar. At some point during this conversation, he lost his wolf friend. Oh well. "And...of course...you fell through the Bermuda Triangle. I guess ''somebody'' had to."

Mimi Valroon blinks and looks up. "That's the second time I've heard that since I've gotten here. What's the Bermuda Triangle?"

"Area by Bermuda known for ships and planes going missing," Jack says. "In my world it's because of a crashed alien spaceship." Because of course it is.

Mimi Valroon looks slightly confused by this. "...Alien.... oh, you mean like in War of the Worlds? That kind of thing? Lying in wait for us?"

"Not lying in wait, just kind of there messing up people's compasses," Jack explains. "Not so much of an issue any more."

Mimi Valroon sighs and shakes her head. "Some worlds are just... so weird."

"I suspect there's something weird about yours from my perspective," Jack points out. "What year is it, anyway, where you come from?"

Mimi Valroon shrugs, then nods. "Probably. But I've not run into it yet. It's 1942 where... when I'm from."

"1999," Jack explains. "So, a few decades difference." 1942. The war. If it happened there.

|}}

Doommuffin

2019-09-18T00:28:20Z

Rayne: DM's been in a scene recently! That makes her active, right?

{{2014Profile|
|Image=Doommuffin.jpg
|Name=Doommuffin
|Series=Warcraft
|Threat=City Smasher
|Class=Death Knight
|Alignment=Neutral Evil
|Gender=Female
|Species=Gnome
|Age=56
|Birthdate=
|Height=3 foot nothing
|Weight=
|Short=A gnomish Death Knight.
|Desc=Before you is a... no, look down. Yes, there. Before you is a gnome. A grand 3 feet tall, truly a prime specimen of gnomish womanhood. Fine green hair, pulled back into twin ponytails (Though she'd call them boar tails for some reason), a cute button nose, and.. uhhh... creepily blue glowing eyes... She's not really your typical gnome. No, the dark plate armor and giant sword(giant for her, anyway) kinda give this away a bit more with their whole skulls and death motifs, not to mention the odd pallor to her skin. Those that can sense such things can also tell that she's quite undead at the moment, though she does keep herself well. Another thing she keeps is an adorable siamese cat! Except it's dead, too, but this time a bit with less body and more transparentness.
|Skills=Doommuffin's skills are in three primary areas: heavy melee weapons, necromancy, and tinkering.

As a former warrior and current Death Knight, Doommuffin is quite proficient with heavy two-handed weapons, favoring swords. Actually, it's quite comical to see her wield them up until she starts slaughtering things.

When she was much younger, the then Aria had already begun to learn how to be a mage. As such, when she became a Death Knight, she proved quite proficient in the necromancy side of things. Though this, she can empower her weapon strikes, cast damaging spells involving icy disease or pure unholy energy, temporarily reduce the effectiveness of magic in a sphere around her, and even temporarily raise the dead! It's not a pretty sight when she does that, though, and she doesn't like to do it. In short (pun not intended), she's an Undeath specialized Death Knight, though instead of having a ghoul pet constantly, she has a ghost cat.

To call Doommuffin's other primary skill 'tinkering' is a bit of an understatement, even if that's the term she would use to describe it. She is a true Gnomish Engineer. Explosives, robots, strange devices, you name it, she can make a very cludgy version of it! This is, however, Gnomish Engineering at its finest. Which means there is always a major flaw to temper her wondrous inventions. In practice, she usually focuses on robots that are in turn possessed by her ghost cat Deathcake.

|Stats= '''PHYSICAL ABILITY''': 6

'''KNOWLEDGE''': 5

'''MAGICAL KNOWLEDGE''': 6

'''SUPERHUMAN ABILITY''': 0

|MusicEmbed=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL-j8h0r2Q8 Operation: Gnomeregan] or [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAgop_oQbK8 Assault on New Avalon] depending on her mood.
|Logs={{Template:Logs}}
|}} 
==Background==

Aria Silverfingers was born to a long line of gnomish mages. Raised with high hopes, all expected her to be yet another wielder of the arcane! Then the Second War happened, and everyone in her family went and hid in Ironforge while orcs looted the rest of Dun Moragh. I'm sure Gnomeregan was fine. Stuck inside Ironforge, Aria watched and learned of these wonderful, yet simple... wonderfully simple combat techniques of hitting hour enemies with large blunt and/or sharp objects! Orcs loved it! Dwarves loved it! Surely these two other races were on to something!

And so, much to her family's distress and dismay, 28 year old Aria (that's like being in the early teens to a human) turned her back on learning magery and began to train with the dwarves, learning the fine art of smashing enemies with physical force instead of the vast powers of the arcane! Of course the dwarven children in her training classes thought she was hilarious and adorable, and never thought the little gnome would really match up to dwarven standards. Aria, of course, proved them wrong. While the dwarves all learned the usual techniques, Aria learned different ones in addition. Leverage, agility, and of course with training she was much stronger than usual.

Proudly, her trainers declared her fully trained, and she walked back to Gnomeregan feeling 4 feet tall with pride! Then the Troggs invaded. Like, the same day. While Aria fought vailiantly alongside the other defenders of Gnomeregan, soon things went from bad to worse in rather ledendary ways that only gnomes can pull off. Long story short, Gnomeregan was left completely uninhabitable, and everyone limped back to Ironforge, where they found out about that whole 'Third War' thing that was going on at the same time. Woops. Now a member of the Alliance, Aria continued to have adventures across Azeroth for a while. Still, she felt just a little guilty for not having been involved in the third war proper. When Naxxramas showed up over the Plaguelands, seeming to herald a new Scourge invasion, she joined Ardent Dawn and fought this new, lesser scourge invasion, continuing to hold the lines while others went off to Outland to fight the Legion there.

And then she went and got herself killed.

That's not the end of things, of course. When the Lich King gets involved, that's just another step in life. In preparation of attacking Light's Hope Chapel, a new army of Death Knights was being raised. And wouldn't you know it, but Aria was one of them! It was here that she started to earn her new name. An orc trainee was taunting her, calling her a little muffin. He didn't pass muster. She did. She was his doom. And thus a new nickname, one she embraced, was applied to her. New Avalon was soon destroyed, and this new Death Knight army marched on Light's Hope. Things didn't go as well there. Or did they? It all depends on your point of view, but at the end of it all, Tiron Fordring held Ashbringer and Darion Morgrain created the Order of the Ebon Blade to fight against the Lich King in Northrend. Rejoining the Alliance, the gnome now known as Doommuffin fought loyally for years, across the campaigns in Northrend, the shattered Azeroth, and into Pandaria. But before all these battles, he started by raising her beloved pet cat as a ghost. Girl's gotta have priorities.

==Notes==
<references />
[[Category:Active]]

2019-09-08 - A Warlock, a Death Knight, and a Werewolf

2019-09-18T00:26:07Z

Rayne: Created page with "{{Logsummary| Title = A Warlock, a Death Knight, and a Werewolf Walk Into a Cemetery... |Summary = Constantine appears at the Peaceful Glade Cemetery while fighting a demon..."

{{Logsummary|
Title = A Warlock, a Death Knight, and a Werewolf Walk Into a Cemetery...
|Summary = Constantine appears at the Peaceful Glade Cemetery while fighting a demon. He's aided by Sarra and Doommuffin in dispatching the beast.
|Who = [[Doommuffin]], [[John Constantine]], [[MoonShadow]]
|Date = September 8th, 2019
|Where = [[Peaceful Glade Cemetery]]
|Log=

This being Mabase City, portals are a thing. Portals opening right at the entrance to the cemetery? Also a thing. For this particular portal to open here might be irony...but there it is, twisting open as something comes through at about the speed of a good fastball. Said something is a man. Said man is '''not''' coming through the portal under his own power. He lands in a heap, although he at least knows to tuck and roll.

The second thing which comes through the portal is a massively tall, heavily muscled demon. Complete with horns and a tail with the little point on the end. And claws. Judging by the fact that the man who landed in a heap is bleeding slightly, those claws have seen some use. The demon is stalking towards his victim and either has not noticed the change of combat venue, or doesn't care.

As for the man? He's picking himself up and starting to chant in a harsh, ancient language.

Just another quiet Sunday in Mabase, right?

Slow, plodding... metallic footsteps. There is no speed today. The blue and gold painted, seemingly crudely built, vaguely lion-like robot walks at a slow pace towards the graveyard. On its back, its master. The one that raised the spirit possessing the mechanical monstrosity. There's no saddle, instead just hand and footholds... but for now, at this pace, the heavily armored yet tiny woman needs none of them. But then, of course, the whole portal, guy flying not under his own power, and demon thing happens. "Oh my!" says the tiny woman in her almost sickeningly cutesy voice. "It looks like we have a newcomer, Deathcake!" She sits up on the machine, grabs one hand onto a handhold as she sets her armored boots into the footholds, while her other hand reaches up to adjust something on her goggles. "It appears I stand corrected tonight. We do not have one newcomer, but two!" The robotic lion... meows questioningly. It did not sound remotely like a lion. It sounded like the ghost of a siamese.

There's a good reason for that, but perhaps that's a story for another day.

An icy glow lights up behind the lenses of the goggles, and the blue lion picks up its pace, rushing forward to the site of the fight which has spilled over from some other universe onto Mabase's streets. "Excuse me!" she calls out. "But if you're going to get into a fight here, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to properly welcome you to Twisted!" She's been in this dimension for a while... habits of old names die hard. Also, apparently she considers a proper welcome to include combat, because she's pulling a sword that's longer than she is tall.

A back of wolves just happened to be near by when the Portal opens, a large white wolf leading them as the pack was checking out the cemetery. Was this coincidence, not likely as Sarra was checking out this cemetery for things not quite dead, that should be. The white wolf lifts her head as she hears a grash and moves to investigate, spotting the Demon and the human. She instantly detects the dark magic surrounding both, but the Demon is clearly the bigger threat, she motions for her children to hide as she sneaks closer, making absolutely no sound.

Yup, that's a real, actual demon from the very depths of Hell. It's also pissed off. Right now, it's mostly interested in the guy it just threw through the portal, but red glowing eyes also take in the...diminutive undead with the very, very large sword. So, let's see. One demon, one thing which isn't quite dead but should be and a master of the dark arts. If it wasn't for, ya know, "demon," it might be less clear who the good guys are here.

The man skitters back as the demon lunges at them and stops chanting long enough to yell, "Keep it busy" at the death knight. Neither has seen the sneaky sneaky werewolf yet.

Ooooh, so was it Doommuffin that the wolves were looking for? They need have only posted something in the bounty office to have gotten her attention! Any questions of that aside, there's certainly no hesitation on the part of the tiny woman as he leaps into battle quite literally off the back of the robotic cat. The cat itself passes by, travelling on for a hundred yards before it stops and looks back. As for the diminutive woman herself, the runes on her blade glow brightly in the same icy blue as the light behind her goggles as she interposes her greatsword's blade between herself and the striking demon. Edge on, of course. "Attention newcomers to this wonderfully Twisted world you now find yourselves in. As I am currently unaware of the proper details behind what may be happening in this instance, I will request that you calm down for but a moment and explain these circumstances so that I might more properly appraise the situation." ...Yes, she's asking for an explanation of why the demon is attacking the guy. And it appears to be directed at the demon.

MoonShadow seems less willing to talk to the demon as she sneaks up in wolf form, its easy to see who her target should be, she waits for just the right time, positioning herself to the demons back and as soon as she lines up, she would pounce, her form sifting in mid air from wolf to monstrosity, a ten foot tall half wolf half women as she leaps for the demons back with lightning quick reflexes, something that big, should not move that fast.

The demon doesn't seem about to explain. Or maybe it's one of the real dumb ones and those were far too many big words for it. Right as its about to make another grab for the sorcerer, though, a werewolf jumps onto its back. This abruptly becomes its larger problem as it tries to shake her off.

The man? Still chanting.

"Oh my, how long has a worgen been here?" chirps the small woman. She glances back at the lone human here and asks, "Or is she with you? Oh, nevermind." She looks back at the demon eyes glowing bright behind the goggles again. "Well, if no one wants to talk, it has been far too long since I have hunted Burning Legion. Perhaps it is time for a return to that with this similar sensation? Remember, you could have attempted to explain, but you are just wordlessly attacking like an abyssal. How crude. Deathcake, take out its legs." With those words ''finally'' done being spoken, the three foot tall woman darts in remarkably quick towards the demon. Dark, foul energies surround the blade before she leaps up and strikes at the demon's stomach, releasing a burst of necrotic energy along with the potency of the blade itself.

But let's not forget the other combatant. The loud whine of turbines comes to life as the robo-cat crouches down, what looks like two crudely made jet engines now extending from its back and a pair of three foot long blade unfolding out from either side. The robot-cat is low to the ground, its blade-ended tail swishing behind it... and yes, its rump is shaking slightly. It's very much acting like a housecat about to pounce. With the jet engines revved to full throttle, the claws disengage the ground and the cat starts running right for the demon from behind. It seems to be aiming to weave right between the demon's legs with a goal of connecting those blades on the legs as it passes.

MoonShadow bites and claws at the demon, she is rather strong and hard to through off, her claws digging in as her teeth bite down and tear at its flesh, this tastes awful, shes conna need to rince her mouth out after this

Graaah! The demon roars with rage...there's now a werewolf clawing at him (although no doubt he tastes utterly awful), a gnome slashing at his stomach, and a robocat running at its legs. The man...keeps chanting. The demon decides the best thing to do is try to grab the gnome and throw it at him. Despite all the attacks, it's clear who Mr Infernal thinks is the '''real''' threat here.

Grabbed by a giant demon. Great. It's like Ignis all over again. Well, at least it doesn't shove her into a pot of molten metal at its crotch. Well, this time, while grabbed, Doommuffin reaches into a beltpouch and prepares for what most don't expect from a knight born of the eldrich horror of undeath. She pulls a grenade. Sure, she's thrown, but she tosses the grenade up just enough right before her own momentum would be transferred to the explosive. Oh look, demon, there's a funny looking rock just up there. And now there's shrapnel flying everywhere. On the other hand, here's hoping Mr. Warlock person is prepared to have a flying three foot tall woman in full plate collide with him, because... yeah, she's not quite able to stop ''that'' from happening. As for the cat, apparently its blades didn't do much but scratch the demon's legs if it had such little a reaction to it. Well, it's not like it can stop its momentum on a dime with the jet engines running, but at least it folds its blades in again before it passes John by.

Oof! Gnome in plate lands on warlock. The chant falters. As for the cat, it whooshes past. The werewolf is doing a rather better job damaging the demon, it seems. And it does have a nice big wound, dripping black blood, where Doommuffin slashed it with the runeblade. The demon snarls and tries once more to shake the crinos off. It's slowing down, that's for sure. But it's definitely not out yet.

MoonShadow tries to grips the demons neck, as her claws rip away flesh, growling as she holds on tight, trying to use her weight to through the demon off balance as she tears into it, spitting out the flesh and blood when she can. When the grenade goes off she leaps from the demons back, still taking some damage from the shrapnel, but that starts to heal almost instantly

And then the grenade goes off, and blows off a demon hand. The demon '''snarls'''. But it can't run, thanks to still...oh wait. The werewolf moved. The demon is now trying to run back through the portal. Except, what portal?

Doommuffin is quick to get to her feet again, shaking her head and saying, "I apologize. It appears I am not properly enough in the mentality of going into a murderous rampage. Allow me to remedy that situation." Her voice echoes oddly as she speaks, belying the unnatural state of... well, her. "It appears to be trying to retreat. Cowardice does not become creatures of this sort. Come '''BACK'''." As she says the last few words, dark energy grows in her off hand, an energy she thrusts at the demon. It leaves behind a tendril to her hand, a visible line of dark energy. Should the tendril connect with the demon, she pulls back quickly and violently with the hand. It doesn't always work on massive creatures, but this ability known as Death Grip was concocted with the sole purpose of pulling the fleeing back into range for another strike.

In the back, the robo-cat's engines have finally gone to a mode idle sound as it finally is able to stop and turn around, preparing itself for another run.

MoonShadow watches the creature, circling it, now walking on all fours, she massive wolf biding its time to strike again

This particular demon is not overly smart...but it's cunning. When it gets grabbed, it doesn't resist...in fact, it does the exact opposite. Now it's flying towards the gnome and the warlock!

Doommuffin sets herself for the return strike. One foot set back and ready to brace herself. Blade held upright in the path between herself and the demon. Do you think this is the first time she's faced something this large? Please! She's death gripped far larger. The ability ends its momentum directly in front of her, not letting it go past. Still, the blade is prepared for its next strike, the blade coating in frost. Large, sharp ice crystals across the blade have formed by the time the demon arrives, and the blade is swung forward to meet it. Behind, the sounds of the jet engines can be heard growing again as Deathcake begins its second run, this time without the blades extended.

MoonShadow moves after the demon, aiming low to bite at its legs, trying to knock it down.

The demon roars again as its stopped, slashing at the gnome with one hand and trying to get over her head to the warlock with the other. It hasn't noticed the cat...or the werewolf, who doesn't quite get it down, but it's clearly on the ropes. The harsh chanting doesn't falter this time. Thank you, gnome...

Doommuffin goes ahead and takes the slash, herself relatively unconcerned about getting hurt. The armor isn't just for show(granted, however, it is ''partially'' for show. The skull motifs don't actually give her any powers, afterall). She makes a return swing without buffing the blade any this time, but as the arm reaches over her, the blade goes dark again before she swings up to intercept... oh, it's already reached past her, yes, but that won't stop her from using that extension to turn the arm into a much more meaty and open target for this strike, the energy on the blade this time seeking to leech life force from the demon to recover her own wounds.

And then there's Deathcake. Jet-powered robot lion POUNCE! Yeah, it's going for a full body pounce with its claws fully outstretched this time rather than just a passing slash. That's a fair amount of momentum that just lept at the demon!

MoonShadow bites and slashes at the demons legs, tearing away flesh in flurry of strikes, her claws digging in deep and then backs off as the robo lion pounces, the werewolf now attacking from a different angle, biting into the rib cage, throwing her weight into the strike to add to the lions

The demon roars. It can't run, it can't get to its target...and the warlock shouts, and abruptly? There's nothing where it was but smoke and brimstone. Getting to his feet, straightening his tie. "Got the bugger," he says, laconically. "Thanks." He certainly couldn't have got it '''without''' them.

The sound of a very surprised cat escapes the robotic lion, and when it hits the ground, it scampers off to hide behind the wall of the cemetery. "Awwww. We did not make it suffer nearly enough. Not for my preferences."

MoonShadow blinks as her target is suddenly gone, she looks to the warlock then the gnome and nods, its form slowly melting to a women in her mid thirties, she has wolf ears and a tail, the collar around her neck shifting into a pendent, witch happens to be all she is wearing "What was that thing and why was it after you?" she asks as she touches her pendant and jeans and a teeshirt appear from nowhere as she puts them on.

"Kylux demon, and I pissed it off. Got between it and somebody who couldn't defend themselves." The man starts making an inventory of his hurts, glancing between gnome and werewolf. "Wanker."

Doommuffin says, "Well then. I suppose that the threat is, for the forseeable future, over then?" Why does she sound dissapointed? "Oh, my. Such language!" She giggles, then says, "I do not beleive either of the two of us are capable of that particular action, as she herself has shown more directly."

"I meant the demon." Which probably isn't either, but who cares. "Grah. So...let's see." He glances around, then up. "Well, I'm '''not''' in Hell." Yet, anyway.

Sarra_Moon smiles and in agreement with the gnme "Then again mybe he's blind" she says then turns to the human "My name is Sarra, and welcome to the city"

The robot lion comes out from hiding again, timidly approaching the group. It's keeping its distance from the wolves as it tries to get closer to Doommuffing. It really is acting like a timid housecat. "No, you are in fact not in hell, though I have heard of others comparing it to such in the past. Oh! And when I arrived, it ''was'' under the control of a being that called itself 'Sen~ior Diablo'! So perhaps you are not as far from such as you might initially beleive?" chirps the gnome.

John Constantine snorts. "Nah, I know from Hell, and this isn't Hell. It isn't Earth either, though, if I miss my guess. So, what '''planet''' am I on?" Reasonable conclusion to come to. He glances between the two. "John Constantine, Master of the Dark Arts." Well, he showed '''some''' ability, although Master might be...pushing it.

Three wolves come out of hiding, moving to Sarra's side as she pets them "I can tell" as for what planet there on "I'm not rightly sure what plant this is"

Doommuffin giggles again. "I am terribly sorry, but your question cannot be answered as you have asked it. There is no planet that we are on, but rather, we are on a chunk of dirt floating in a void. I am aware that the vague description I have given does in fact fit the definition of a planet as well, however I assure you that this is not the case, and in fact the land mass beneath your feet is not massive enough to create gravity through conventional means. Also, I am called Doommuffin, and this is Deathcake."

"MIAO!" Yes, the robot lion meowed like a housecat.

John Constantine ahs. He eyes the wolves somewhat suspiciously. Dogs generally don't like him. He's fairly sure wolves don't either. "Well, at least it's not Hell," he says, a bit of humor returning as he straightens his tie. He's got blood (some his own, some demonic) on him and he looks like he '''really''' needs a bath right about now.

Doommuffin frowns before saying, "No. We have already established the fact that you are not in any official form of hell."

John Constantine looks around. "Well, sooner or later she'll track me down. Any place around here I can clean up?" He's NOT fit for civilized company right now.

Doommuffin doesn't seem to care about the fact that he's covered in blood. "Oh? I am going to presume that the 'she' in your statement is not referring to the ruffian we had just dealt with a moment prior? Oh! Well, I suppose you can always go to the local homeless shelter. They are properly equipped to deal with your current situation, I believe."

"I suppose." Homeless shelter. Well, given the demon managed to transport him across planes. Or he did. He's not entirely sure ''what'' happened there, but he certainly doesn't have anything but the clothes on his back right now.

|}}

2019-09-05 - Bookshopping in a Strange Place

2019-09-07T15:01:53Z

Rayne: TO BE CONTINUED... ...on the next log.

{{Logsummary|
Title = Bookshopping in a Strange Place
|Summary = Fee takes Mimi out bookshopping as part of showing Mimi around town! Fee finds what she's looking for. Mimi finds that a human with no powers can be stranger than a talking slug.
|Who = [[Felicity]], [[Mimi Valroon]], [[Spengler]], [[Stantz]]
|Date = September 5th, 2019
|Where = [[Truce Fountain]], [[Adachi Boulevard]], [[Higashi Ayase Street]], [[Rays Occult Books|Ray's Occult Books]]
|Log=

Thankfully, a lot of Mimi's money still seems to be good here, for some reason... well, she's not going to complain about that! So she'd told Felicity she'd be out to get some more supplies ready for an expedition. If she's going to go exploring and finding landmasses for a bounty of sorts, well, she's going to need to be able to communicate that. For now, even if she finds something someone else is aware of, it'll be good to at least know that she's communicating where things are well. But she'd been told by her temporary roommate (for which she is very much grateful!) to meet at the fountain around lunch time, there should be something interesting to see, well, she can't pass up on that, can she? So now Mimi is sitting there at the fountain, one that looks a bit too old for where it is almost. She sits on the edge, then looks down at the nick in the cement. "...It looks like someone shoved a machete or something in it while it was curing..."

Felicity is fashionably late, though not by too terribly much. She strides into the scene, a jolly and, as is typical, haughty expression on her face. She lights up at the sight of her newfound friend. "Mimi!" She calls out, waving to her. "Don't you look a picture?" In truth, Mimi looks very much like she did the last time that they met...which would have been only a few hours ago. Still, there is something so very picturesque about this swashbuckling girl seated at the old, beautiful fountain. She doesn't apologize for her tardiness. What she does do, however, is favor Mimi with a very French greeting of a kiss to either cheek...or at the very least, she means to greet her this way.

Mimi Valroon stands up again at Felicity's announcement of her presence. "Afternoon, Felicity. It's not been that long, just a-" And then the French greeting catches her off guard, but hey, she's heard of this before. She doesn't partake in it, just kind of... lets it happen to her. "...I thought you were British," is all she says in response to it. She's got her goggles on again today, having pulled them out of Halberd for some reason, but they're resting snugly on to top of her forehead rather than on her face. They're also clean looking... perhaps that's what she'd gotten them out for, as the last time Fee likely saw them hanging in Halberd they were a little mucked up. "Okay, so what was it you wanted to show me?"

Felicity smiles knowingly, "There are many things you do not know about me, -mademoiselle- Valroon." She is sure to give the French an extra umph just to be a little more obnoxious about it. They've only just started their day and already she's in a teasing mood. "Yes," she begins, taking Mimi's arm in that chummy way she often does. "Patience! We must -savor- the moment. Walk with me!" It's not as if Mimi has a choice. Not only is Felicity 'escorting her' again, but the whole point is to go and see things. "Do you remember the other day when we were speaking of the Realms? Well, it started me thinking...I've never actually ruled out the possibility that they might exist here as well...not entirely."

There's a slight eyeroll as Mimi strongly suspects Felicity of hamming it up. "Yes, I'm gathering." But now she's arm in arm with Felicity again and being pulled along. This is not dragging, Mimi is a willing participant. "I do..." she says cautiously, but then she brightens up a little. "So you can show me the-" There's a stop as she recalls, "Oh, right. Only 'the chosen' can see it."

"No," Felicity is quick to correct. "Only the chosen may -get- you there. Anyone can go, if they know of it." She lowers her voice, which only makes it come all the huskier. She tells this as if it were a great, naughty sort of secret. "That's why we mustn't be so obvious. We don't want jus -anybody- showing themselves in. Ugh, can you imagine? No." She shakes her head, keeping that confidential tone. "If we find anything, this stays between you and me." She is very quick to add, however, "I don't -know- we will, of course. It's only a whim but I say we chase it down! What you say?"

Mimi Valroon's expression brightens a little again. She definitely wants to see this place that Fee spoke so highly of! She's not so certain that what she sees there will beat out flying for her, but she's fairly certain that's a matter of opinion. Because flying. She nods to Felicity with a more serious look, saying, "I understand. Just between us. I understand secrecy." She looks forward to where they're walking again and says, "Well, it's like when I was looking for El Dorado, isn't it? Just because you hope to find something doesn't mean it's there."

Felicity nods her agreement, "Indeed! But where we're going, I am hoping we will find something better than fool's gold." She leads the way Westward, Mimi in tow. It's really a bit of a lark and even if she does find something there, it's not exactly a key to the Realms. But what has Felicity got to lose now? "You're something of a treasure hunter, aren't you?" She asks, offhandedly. "We shall have to put your skills to the test."

"A bit!" says Mimi with a sing-song voice. "Though my record at actually ''finding'' treasure is less than stellar." Her happy mood is tempered somewhat as they move along, however... In large part to the breakdown of reality starting to happen in this area. In fact, there's a slight tightening of her own grip on Fee's arm. Nope, still not used to this.

Felicity says, "Let's improve upon that, shall we," Felicity says. As they stroll through this part of the city, even Felicity finds herself slightly unsettled. She'll be damned if she let's on, though. Instead, she does what she does best - project! Her eyes slide to Mimi's and she smiles reassuringly, "What? The fabric of time and space unraveling before your very eyes got you down?--It certainly makes parts of this city an absolute eyesore. But, I imagine vagrancy is less of a problem. Any unwanted elements dare to venture unto your well tended lawns and you can simply punt them into oblivion with one swift kick of your boot!" When in doubt, make light of it."

"Yes. Yes it does," states Mimi quite plainly. Is she really planning on flying Halberd out into the mess of chaos like what she's looking at in front of her? ...She's going to have to if she's going to have any place to fly, isn't she? "Wait, are we walking ''into'' that mess of... reality?"

Felicity deadpans, "Only if you want to get to where we are going." She regards Mimi for a moment or two longer than is necessary and then there it is, the vicious little smirk. "Aren't you a brave girl? Didn't you single-handedly take on Russians? Haven't you flown half way around the world in the plane of yours? What are a few steps into the...." And here come the spooky fingers, waggling in a taunting fashion "unknoooown?" Felicity has broken away from Mimi just to make this little gesture. She walks backwards towards the strange, fragmented reality. "Come on! If you can't go this far, you'll never make it into the Realms.

Mimi Valroon glances to the side. "Well, you know, when I flew around the world, I didn't exactly come across a place where it ''ended'', did I? I did make it the entire way, just... not so much excitement happened between India and across Europe and Greenland." Not even much in the lines of tourism... Most of Europe was in ruins still. She sighs, closing her eyes briefly and slumping her shoulders before looking forward at Felicity as she walks on. She's not slowing down. Not exactly picking up her pace either, but not slowing down.

Felicity says, "And I want to hear ALL about it...so...come!" As for herself, Felicity does boldly leap ...or walk through...or however that works from one fragment to the other. It's a good thing that Mimi isn't still holding her arm, she might have felt her quickening pulse just moments before. But she does it, as she does everything else - impetuously. So now she waits for Mimi to venture through. Cupping her hands to her mouth she says, "You can do it, Mimi! Come on! The weather's just as lovely on this side."

"Hold your horses, I'm coming, I'm coming," grumbles Mimi as she walks right on through as well. No, she's not likely to ever get used to this. On the other hand, someone just drove a car straight through as if nothing was out of the ordinary, yeah. To make a fuss out of this is very... touristy? She's not sure what the word should be, but she's stepped on through by now and saying, "You're acting like there was a chance I wasn't going to do it."

"You sounded like you wouldn't," is Felicity's swift, nonchalant response. "I'm pleased to see you are as brave outside of your plane as you are when piloting it. Well done." And that puts that bit to rest in her mind. As they draw nearer to their destination, the landscape looks less and less welcoming, to be sure. Fee pulls a face. "Dear God. Worse and worse." So this world does get under Felicity's skin now and again. It's not very pretty to look at, that's for sure. "Of course, it couldn't be on a well lit, posh, boulevard. It's ALWAYS a place like this. Ugh." She grumbles and says, "We're nearly there."

Mimi Valroon rolls her eyes again at the ribbing, or what at least she's perceiving as ribbing. "For the record, I ''have'' been through here before, I just... took a cab last time." She glances over at the bridge to the southwest... or what remains of it. She shakes her head, then smirks at Fee's fretting over how bad the place looks. "Oh, like this is any worse than Singapore. Well, not counting the breaks in reality, of course." She glances around, spotting the large shopping center and tilting her head slightly in curiosity. "A lot of people going there, what's that?" she asks, not familiar with the concept of a mall yet.

Felicity says, "Ah, so your bravery extends to the cabin of a car as well. Jolly Good!"Yes, she is definitely teasing the girl. This time, though Mimi manages to lose her completely. "Singapore? That means nothing to me." IT must be a 'future thing.' Now that they have made it to the 'shopping district' of sorts, there are more people coming and going and as Mimi has noted, they gather in the largest masses when they head into the mall. "Oh that? That's only the mall," she says with a sniff. "Its a bit like the Crystal Palace, of the Champs Elysees....only far more common...Like a Turkish Bazaar."

Mimi Valroon eyerolling is becoming a theme of the afternoon. She then blinks at the complete unfamiliarity with Singapore. "What? Really? It's a British territory, I'd figure you'd know all about it." She looks back out at the mall as Felicity tries to describe it... Crystal Palace? Champs Elysees? These mean nothing to- "Ooooh. Okay, I get it. I think." Because of course it's the Turkish Bazaar that she'd actually been to.

Felicity says, "If -fashion- is what you seek, well there is no better place to go-- here, anyway." Clearly when she's thinking longingly of the little shops in Paris with which she grew so spoiled. That might give Felicity and idea or two, actually. Maybe after this little adventure, there is more fun to be had. "Ah! There it is " She says, suddenly the excitement in her voice undeniable. She's set her sights on the magic shop just a couple of storefronts down. "Our destination awaits!" She motions grandly and suddenly takes her steps at a faster clip."

"I am certainly not... Fashion averse," Mimi admits. Okay, so, her fancier clothing certainly needs an ironing, but she did bring a couple of dresses, and Felicity has witnessed first hand that Mimi brought jewelry. Oddly used, yes, but it's there. She was going to go to Bermuda! It was a vacation! She's a woman in her young twenties with ''no prospects''! She was on the hunt, of course she brought some dresses! Well, 'hunt' might be a bit of an exaggeration, maybe just 'hopeful' was better. Regardless, that's apparently later in the plans. "Huh. It doesn't look particularly magical. It looks like a weird book store."

Felicity clears her throat with a pronounce "A-HEM. -Occult-." She waves to the words above them on the sign. "It looks exactly as it should for what I expect to find here. In my experience, the weirder the better," She gives a wink and a smile and ushers the both of them into the shop. She's never been in this one before and she is just positively tingling all over with possibility. Could she find a book about the Realms here? Will it help her unlock that door for herself? They shall see.

Mimi Valroon deadpans, "Right. 'Occult'. That makes it less weird." She sighs and walks on in, looking around and proclaiming, "This place is the most... disorganized looking bookstore I've ever set foot in." She steps to the side to let Felicity look around before saying, "Seriously, how are you supposed to find what you're looking for in this mess?"

It's true. This place looks like a hoarder has the run of it. Weird is definitely what she was hoping for and -occult- is the key word. "Dear God, " she says, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of books littered about the place. "How is anyone to make heads or tales of this place?" She moves, careful to slink her way between a couple of tables with books stacked on it for display. "I shouldn't be surprised to find the proprietor's body crushed under a stack of these monstrous books - Look at the size of this!" She hefts a book with a small groan and it's easily the size of 3 or 4 encyclopedias. She sets it down - no, more like lets it THUD loudly onto the table, making a stack JUMP up and back down. Well, that ought to get someone's attention. She fingers the spines of books as she passes. "Dreamwalking and Astral Projection...Alien Abductions: It's not an Owl...The Bermuda Triangle...."

Mimi Valroon says, "Exactly," as she looks about the place, then shakes her head. "I think we'd smell it if that were the case." She blinks, then hastily adds, "Or he'd be calling for help." She wanders off slightly (okay, she's mostly just looking in another direction) as Felicity reads the book titles, then looks over at the mention of the last one. "'Bermuda Triangle'?" she asks with the tone of someone that's never heard the term before. Hey, she was just on her way there less than a week ago...

Felicity picks up the book and waves it in the air, donning a mock 'spooky' tone, "Bewaaaaare the triangle! BEWAAARE! For it is all sharp corners!" She gives a little shudder before carelessly tossing that book right back to where it was. "Honestly, it all looks like rubbish. We will have to rummage for hours before we find our nugget--Fools gold, indeed!" She ventures a little deeper "Oh, what's this? Witchcraft. Mmm...Do keep a sharp eye. We are looking for anything that references the Realms, or the Order...Perhaps a compendium of Secret societies ...Mary Dowd's diary. Do you see anything over there? "

Mimi Valroon looks through some books herself. "Here's something on the Forgotten Realms? It's published by some Wizards of the West Coast, so it sounds... mildly legitimate? But I'm guessing it's not the same thing." She flips through the book, mumbling, "There's a lot of charts here..."

Felicity 's ears perk up immediately. She 's across the room in three long strides taken at a run. "Let me see it!" She all but snatches the book from Mimi's hands, her grey eyes scouring it's pages. The illustrations do show some things that might look mildly familiar. "There! Centaurs...I'd recognize the beastly things anywhere. Vile creatures." She flips a few more pages "What on EARTH are all these numbers?...Yech! How monstrous!" She says, literally recoiling from a picture of a Beholder. "Not at all like the Gorgon I know." Felicity presses her lips together and finds that she is inclined to agree with Mimi. "I do not think these are the Realms I am looking for."

Mimi Valroon shakes her head and keeps looking, but so far she's not finding anything. "So they're not Winterland creatures, then," she says of the balls with eyesstalks. "Nothing else seems to really match... What was the Order's name again? Here's something published by Guardians of Order... Here's a book called 'Order of the Phoenix.'" She's giving these examples of why she's hoping there's a more specific name than just 'The Order' rather than thinking these have anything to do with it.

Felicity growls in growing irritation. "No, they are simply THE ORDER," she says grandly, rolling her eyes as she does. "Oh its impossible. It would take weeks to peruse this entire collection....It was only an idea." She says, throwing herself into an armchair with a huff. Her landing sends up a cloud of dust that rises well above the chair and then descends upon Felicity and anything within a 5 foot radius of her. This sets Fee to coughing. "Bloody bastard!" She says, cursing. She is positively the picture of petulance as she sits there, chin in her palm glowering at every book in the place.

Mimi Valroon grumbles, "Well, it'd be nice had they been a little more specific..." Too many this and that orders! She looks back at the mention of the impossibility, but that dust cloud and coughing fit happen first. "You okay there? Maybe the dust has spoooooky and myyystical spores and diseases in it." It's her turn to tease Felicity! "But in all seriousness, maybe we can find... someone that works here hidden in this mess somewhere... They... presumably would know their own inventory?"

Stepping out of the backroom is Egon. A tall figure with dark hair and glasses who thinks lab coats are casual clothes. "Ray, this is important. If you look at the way the pke valiances are fluctuat-uh." The man glances around and then walks backwards through the doorway he entered, "Ray? There's pedestrians in your establishment. You might want to put your pants back on."

Felicity sighs, draping herself melodramatically across the armchair, "A helpful proprietor suddenly appearing at this time would truly be MAGIC about now!" And she huffs and puffs some more, craning her neck to peer at the books just there out of arm's reach. She furrows her brows at some of the bizarre titles. "Kybalion...Initiation into Hermetics......The Book of Lies! OH That promises to be MOST helpful."

Mimi Valroon overhears someone in the back and is about to say something when instead Felicity speaks first. Thus, her response. "Preferably a proprietor that is wearing pants."

The sound of an audible sigh can be heard. "Fine." A few moments later he comes out, somehow he got his pants back on quickly, yet he had the googles in his hair and a cigarette unlit hanging from his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, I know it's Important, so are paying customers." Maybe it was to much time around Venkman or just tired not wanting to lose anymore property. Stepping out he couldn't help but laugh, as the cigarette was moved behind his lips. "Don't worry the store floor is always a pants only zone. How can I be of help?"

Egon eyes the two suspiciously, taking out what looks like a calculator that's making weird beeping noises. Every time it gets close to someone else it squawks. "...fascinating." He turns back to Ray and shrugs, "You can't vector an escape velocity for spectral orifices while wearing pants. We'll have to start over again later if you can still find your librarian."

By now, Felicity is well out of her wallowing and onto her feet, fully at attention. Still, the look she is favoring this gentleman with - the one with an apparent aversion to pants - is incredulous bordering on downright snobby. "You're the proprietor of this...shop?" Felicity seems to have trouble acknowledging this hodge lodge of items is a shop, after all. She's no sooner gotten this out that Egon appears with...something. She isn't feeling an incredible amount of faith in these men. She cuts a glance to her companion that can best be described as a 'WTF' look,

Mimi Valroon, on the other hand, seems to be not the slightest bit surprised that the two here are this eccentric. "Glad to hear it," she deadpans to Ray. She looks to Felicity for any actual inquiries, however, as she herself is more just along for the ride, so to speak(as opposed to Felicity yesterday in a far more literal sense). It's Egon that has her looking confused and perhaps a slight worried. It's not like she knows what a calculator is, so the device he's holding looks completely alien to her. "...Do I even want to know what 'spectral orifices' are and why pants are a problem with them?"

Ray nodded when the question was asked by Felicity. "I am indeed, I'm Ray." The sign outside did say Ray's Occult Books, after all. What did they expect otherwise. "So, what do you need, what can I help you with?" He asked, trying to ignore his friend for the moment.

Egon raises an eyebrow at Mimi for questioning him. "It's simple. The orifices of a spectral being, um..." He points towards the front counter where the Ghostbuster memorabilia is kept. "A ghost. We were trying to figure out the speed at which a vaporous apparition could manifest a steady stream of ectoplasm. It's faster to wash it off than to do laundry, plus it can very easily become contaminated. Dr. Stantz is more likely to be," He pauses, not wanting to say the next word, "...slimed than I am. Dr. Venkman was a more adequate target but he's made himself unavailable."

Felicity can only stare at Egon as if he were a lunatic - which he might be for all of what he's saying doesn't make a modicum of sense to her. But she didn't come here for that. She shakes her, leaving her friend to attend to...whatever that conversation is. "Yes! I'm looking for a book on The Realms, or The Order. Have you any?" She says this with such conviction, as if they weren't quite possibly the vaguest sounding subjects one could possibly be looking for in an occult book store. To her credit, they are called exactly this.

Mimi Valroon pauses a moment before deadpanning, "I can't imagine why Dr. Venkman made himself unavailable." She shakes her head with a sigh. "So you're testing the speed of a ghost spitting? Why does it have to be ''at'' a person?"

A slight nod was given as Ray's mind was already running an inventory through his head of all of the ghostly and ghastly and wonderful mystical books he could think of that might even be of use. "Off the top of my head I'd say closest we have are over here." He stepped out from around the corner tugging the googles off the top of his head sitting them on the counter to grab up his glasses and moving towards a darker set of shelves. "We have Entering Dreams: Passages into Unearthly Realms, Realms: A Tourists Guide, and I believe we still have a copy of Documenting the Order: Mysticism and the Occult. If any of those are close to what you are looking for they should be right around here." He pushed his glasses in place and started scanning the selves.

Dr. Spangler crosses his arms defensively and lowers his voice, "Because no one questioned it before now." That's all he has to say. Why does he look upset by that question?

Mimi Valroon looks over at Ray in actual surprise. She half expected him to go for that 'Forgotten Realms' book she found shortly before he arrived. Less surprised that he actually has things that potentially are what Felicity is looking for, because... well, how can she tell what is and isn't normal in ''this'' place? What surprises her the most, however, is that she apparently interpreted things correctly and they are in fact clocking the air speed of ghost spit. Egon is getting a somewhat dumbstruck look from the aviatrix. "...Uh... fair... point?"

Well that get's Fee's attention. All of these titles sound promising. Ah! This weird little man has managed to put the sparkle back into those cool grey eyes. The young woman's face brightens with a broad, full-sail smile. "Yes! Yes, there's -sure- to be something there. I'd like to see all of them, " she says, her excitement mounting. And now suddenly her tune has changed. She nudges Mimi with her elbow. "There, see? I told you that 'weird' is promising!"

Mimi Valroon says, "...Then the place is ''very'' promising..."

He couldn't help but grin at that reaction, finding two out of three quickly as he kept them in the crook of his elbow looking for the third after a second he held them over. "I gotta check the back room for Documenting the Order. Just hang around a second." He offered before looking at Egon. "Play nice."

Egon looks to Ray and tilts his head, "What happened to Miss Griffin? I thought you had hired people to do this work for you?" He takes out that calculator-looking thing again and starts tapping away on it. "Don't tell me they fell into another of these dimensional vortexes like your last assistant?" There's a weird buzzing from the device this time which he solves by smacking it and putting it away. Of course Ray walks away and leaves him standing there without his answer, making him frown. "I always play 'nice'." Why did that need to be in quotes?

Felicity quite happily takes the books off Ray's hands. She an scarcely believe that she would have quite this much luck. Coming here in the first place was just a crazy whim- a hope, a prayer! And yet, here she is holding two books which already make that twice literature she had on the subject even back home. This is going to light a little fire under the young woman for sure. Now that business is being taken care of, though, she can't help but pay more attention to the insane looking gadgetry and just has to ask, "What the devil IS that thing?"

Mimi Valroon glances back and forth, herself feeling a little more out of her element now that the owners are here. They're so very serious and... she doesn't really have a firm grasp on what half the one still here has been saying. Really, she was shocked she understood the spitting part. "...Dimensional vortexes?" she asks with a bit of worry in her tone. Don't mind her, she's new here in Mabase. At least she understands percussive maintenance. She offers Felicity a quick smile at her temporary roomate's grand luck in coming here, then looks back at Egon's equipment again before simply nodding in seconding Felicity's question.

The scientist hmm's at Felicity's question and takes back out the device in question, "A modified PC-4 Pocket Computer. I tried to rewire it using parts from one of our old PKE Meters, but it caught on fire." That doesn't exactly explain what it is, but that's all you're getting out of Egon for now on the subject. Dimensional vortexes however... "Passage ways between this and other realities. We used to have a firehouse off of Park Road before the first reconfiguration of Twisted. Ever since it was 'displaced' we've been humoring ourselves by assuming that everything that vanishes clearly went into a dimensional vortex." He tilts his head as he ponders that further, "At least that means it'll turn up again sooner or later. I once spent a week studying if the same phenomena happens to socks that are left in the dryer." The device in his hands makes a rather pathetic whine. "Results where inconclusive."

Felicity truly didn't understand a great deal of - okay, none at all - the first half of what he said. The bit about dimensional vortexes, however, does actually make sense. In her travels with Skeeve in the olden days, they had a great deal many discussions about that...not that she really could wrap her mind around it completely. The last bit, however, gets a laugh out of her. "Socks?! That's ridiculous! You're positively barking!" She shakes her head, and asides to Mimi, "There is NO mystery in missing socks. Back at Spence, we knew precisely why all our stockings went missing." A pause. "PIXIES!" She says, widening her eyes meaningfully.

Coming out he shook his head some. "Sorry, ma'am it seems to be missing, but try back in a week or so. When books vanish they tend to reappear not to long after. If I see it it'll set it aside for you." He spoke but also... what the hell did he miss? Pixies?

Mimi Valroon tilts her head ever so slightly at the explanation of the device, clearly having no further clues than Felicity of what Egon had said. Of the rest... "Is that what also ''brings'' people here? Is that what happened to me and Halberd? Wait, related to missing ''socks''?" She looks back to Felicity as if to go to her for things that sound sane, but then she goes talking about pixies stealing stalkings. After that, Mimi just.... finds something to sit down on. She heard the full thing and still is just as confused as Ray.

Egon scoffs at the notion of pixies. "Those aren't supernatural, they're mythological." He shakes his head looking relieved when Ray returns, "We generally deal in things which can be scientifically measured, not fantasies."

"It's not a myth if it's REAL," Felicity returns with just an edge of irritation in her tone. The nerve! The man can wave his weird little machine all over the place and then turn around and cast aspersions at the notions of pixies being real? Felicity chalks this up to -MEN. If -they- can't explain it, it can't be real. At least, that's certainly the Victorian way. Nevertheless, she's had great success so she has to begrudgingly admit that they aren't entirely useless specimens of manhood. Though it's disappointing that the final book was not to be found, she's still fairly satisfied with the two she has. "Yes, do," Felicity says to Ray and then sets the other pair of books on the counter. "And I'll be taking these now. How much?" She's already reaching into her pocket for her coin purse.

Ray picks both up ringing them up, the price displayed from the machine was pretty fair given the rarity but also not over priced either. Stating the price since the player has NO idea how much to charge. "And yeah, I'll keep an eye out, just call sometime and I'll let you know if it's been found."

Mimi Valroon timidly raises a hand. "Yeah, um... I can attest to things like that. El Dorado was thought to be a Myth. It's not, it's real, it's just... not actual gold? And in Brazil." Big difference between a supposed city of gold and a faerie, though. There's a pause, and then it's like she's snapped. "And seriously, we're all from different worlds here! Ghosts are just mythological in my world, too, and you're going on about testing how far they can spit or something! Why are you scoffing so much about pixies being real in the world '''she's''' from?!" It miiiiiight be time to get her out of here soon. She seems to be fine with Ray, though.

Egon simply blinks at the responses, his calculator making louder sounds as emotions become amplified. He looks down and taps a few devices. "...fascinating, that's an even better response than we got taking away the puppy." Wait, what? That's Egon for you. There are reasons he doesn't have many friends.

Felicity is very happy to be getting a move on now that this transaction is complete and that she has left her contact information. Who knew that the pant-less one would end up being the -less- offensive of the two? More surprising, however, is Mimi's little flare of temper. That was veeeery unexpected. "Don't trouble yourself, Mimi. Our business is concluded here. Thank you sir," She says to Ray. Then, looking down her nose at Egon says, "Leave him to his..." words seem to fail her when it comes to describing whatever process Egon seems to be going through. In the end, she just shakes her head and mutters under her breath, "Lunatic." She marches herself towards the exit.

Ray looked to Egon with a deadpan look. "I said play nice. This is why i told you no more twinkies." Was he serious? Nah, theirs a box in the back. "Come back anytime, were open till midnight." A small wave and he turned back to Egon. "So, time to try again?"

Mimi Valroon's eyebrow twitches slightly at Egon's continued dryness. She looks at Felicity, then blinks, then looks to Ray. "Uh, thanks, uh, sorry, uh... bye." And with that she's following Felicity out the door, slightly red in the face in embarrassment over her own outburst.

Egon holds up his hand to wave, but everyone walked out before he could do so. He looks at his hand and puts it down with a sigh before returning his attention to Ray. "How about we order a pizza this time? Something about watching you get doused in ectoplasm always makes me hungry."

Mimi Valroon follows Felicity out and says, "Um... that went... well?"

Once out of the shop, Felicity is wearing the look of the cat that caught the canary. "Utter lunacy, I tell you! 'Ray! You'll want to put on your pants!'" She intones. "I mean, can you believe it!?" She actually laughs. "For a moment, I thought the worst. I'm almost glad the last book was missing. I don't want to know what horror go on in that back room." She holds up her bag in triumph, "But we are VICTORIOUS, Mimi! We did it!" She laughs and grabs Mimi's hands in a cheer. "Hah, and you! I thought you might take that man's head off. Oh I would have liked to see that. How marvelous!"

Mimi Valroon points out, "But now you'll have to come back again." She pauses a moment, and then says, "Apparently they were getting a ghost librarian to spit on them and checking the velocit-" Hands are grabbed! Mimi's face is reddened again! And then paled. "Oh, um, yeah, uh, he, uh, I think he... wanted that?"

Felicity wasn't expecting that response- neither one, to be exact. The smile completely poofs right off of the young woman's face and is replaced with the most perplexed look, "WHAT?!--A ghost librarian? Spitting? --" As if that weren't enough to process, she then has to ask. "And what do you mean he 'wanted' that?"

The color comes back to Mimi's face again. "Um... I mean... That's what it sounded like what they were doing back there? And when I yelled at him, he didn't react other than to say something about taking away a puppy... I'm not going to pretend to understand the ''why'' of anything he said, but..."

Felicity is properly disturbed now. Taking puppies? Ghosts spitting? "Why on earth can't they just sell books, like shopkeepers should! If they wish to behave like children, thought ought not do it so openly. They'll chase all their clientele away." She says this with a sniff. Of course, Mimi's right, she will have to go back to get the other book. She'll have to come armed next time. She puts the subject to rest. "Well, I believe that you and I have a date with the mall, mm? What do you think?" She motions to the busy shopping center with a slight nod of the head. "I could could make you my pet. Are you game?"

Mimi Valroon pauses a moment before saying, "Something tells me the book store is more the side job for them rather than what they're really doing." She glances back to Fee at the mention of the mall. "Eh? OH! Sure, why not?" she says. It's the word 'pet,' however, that gives her a slight pause. "Um... Sure."

Felicity gives Mimi a helpful little push from behind, noting her slight hesitation. "Oh, that's the spirit! Pip pip! Very good! Off we go!" The prospect of shopping is always sure to brighten Felicity's spirits. As is the custom with the very wealthy - not the bourgeoisie - to accrue items of quality, not in quantity. Felicity's taste in such matters has remained rather discerning, though she does certainly appreciate the more daring models available. She's very eager to see just what Mimi is like out of those pilot's clothes--INNOCENTLY, naturally! She leads the charge this way.

Mimi Valroon sighs at the push, saying, "All right, all right, I'm coming, no need to be pushy!" Was the pun intended or not? Only Mimi knows for sure... As for her clothes, hey, she has more than this garb! But she was planning on spending a fair amount of time at the beach and in higher society hangouts at Bermuda, so this is, for the most part, all she feels comfortable wearing around Mabase of what she currently has with her. Little does she know(okay, she has a sneaking suspicion) that what Fee is likely to suggest on her is likely to be more of the same higher society grades of clothing. The style itself may be vastly different, but still.

Continued in [[2019-09-06 - Clothes Shopping in a More Normal Place|Clothes Shopping in a More Normal Place]]
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