Summary: Not that Sammy has ever worn a hat. It wouldn't work with the ears, y'know.
Anyway, along with the re-debut of our favourite catgirl we also meet newcomers Ghaleon and Rick, welcomed by the singular welcoming committee of Wolfe - upon the beautiful, ever-scenic wastelands of Twisted.
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The information contained within this log is to be considered information gained Out of Character (OOC).
This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved.
Questions should be directed to staff.
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The Wastelands
Further out from the center of Twisted street and the wavering stablity lie the Wastelands. Dry and overcast, the Wastelands are a maelstrom of chaos. Sane people won't venture out this far from the axis of the world, due to the unstability equating to suicide. A desert and a dead land, they mirror the Wastelands of Hell, broken trees and expired brush lightly specking the view.
Wolfe stands atop a rock, staring out into the wastelands. Another being floats besides him, a strange creature, mostly human with a stag's head and legs, wings and a flaming tail. It floats a few inches off the ground, arms spread wide as a whirling of energy surrounds it. Wolfe looks at it every once on a while, before looking back out into the wastelands.
Ghaleon gasps as he appear in the Wastelands in full robe outfit, he blinks as he looks around and wonder where he is, last thing he remember was being beating by Hiro and then Zophar, the God of Evil taking the live force he have him for betraying him, he should be in the underworld again but it seems he's not.
A rupture in the wall between dimensions is not a rare sight in the realm of Twisted; the residents, however normal, may even become accustomed to the telltale signs. Such may happen now, as a vague shimmer in the air not fifteen feet from the standing teenager coalesces into a fiery maelstrom, flickering edges of a burning circle exploding into the atmosphere with a searing heat that fries the senses - sending a palpable tingle through mortal bodies. A beat later, the centre solidifies into darkness, pulsing with an inner light that seems to forcefully eject a tiny figure. The figure grows in size, taking on shape and form.
A dark-haired girl, scantily clad in torn rags, peppered in blood and other, more viscous fluids. Vivid greens and dull yellows mar her skin, streaks of rusty brown marking where the blood has dried. Every inch of skin not covered in tatty cloth is soaked in vile stuff, and her breath comes in deep, pained gasps. One fist is clenched in the air, shaking from the effort of hurling a punch - a blow whose force has already been dispersed. As the circle closes with a quivering hum, she collapses to her knees, wrapped in tendrils of matted black hair and dripping with sweat. The girl is a mess... she is also more than a girl, evidenced by the sopping wet tail that tangles in the dust of the waste ground behind her. And by the catlike set of ears bulging beneath the tangled waves of her bangs.
Wolfe turns at the arrival of two beings, he crosses his arms over his chest. "Well.. this is different." The demon's head turns to look at the teen, head tilting. "No, keep up what you're doing. You'll know if I need you." He drops down off the rock, "Hello? You seem either like new arrivals, or.. very lost indeed."
Ghaleon moves to his feet in a graceful flowing way, he robe flutter in a breath that's not there, he glares at the teen. "Where am I and who are you?" Ghaleon head turns and watchs the girl appear. "What magic is this?"
Quaking fingertips rise to her face, moving in a panicked scramble to clear the raven tendrils that mar her vision, baring to the light - for the first time in far too long - a set of striking blue eyes. A mouth with bloodied lips curls into a vicious smile, and with pupils wildly dilated the girl glances between Wolfe, his hovering demon, and the regal figure of Ghaleon to her other flank. She looks without recognising, listens without hearing, though as reality begins to dawn the smile widens, becomes a barked laugh. Generous lips part with a dry crack, and she throws back her head, drawing out the sound into a delirious gasp. Tears flicker in the corners of her eyes, and with an expression torn between mirth and disbelief, she glances once more between the two men.
"Yer people..." she utters with a shake of her head, bloody hair slapping at her cheeks, "Yer really people. Actual, real, live people!" Suddenly she is on her feet, staggering and almost toppling with the sheer effort it takes. Desperately worn muscles work overtime beneath her rags, allowing her to stay upright as she stumbles to Ghaleon, reaching out with a lithe-fingered hand to attempt a cursory nudge against his shoulder. She says nothing more, simply staring as though awestruck.
"This is Twisted, and I'm one of it's unfortunate residents. As it seems you are now too." Wolfe pulls a few cards out of his pocket, eyeing them while voicing a small "Hmm.." There is a brief flare of power from the floating demon, cause Wolfe to look over. "Lock on to it, track it." His eyes return over to the girl and the man, one brow raising slightly. "Yes, well, I'm a real live person. He..." He jerks his thumb towards the demon. "Is nothing of the sort. And I can't speak for the other new arrival."
Ghaleon glares at the teen, then compost himself. "I'm very much real alive I don't know, you all might be part of my personal hell that Zophar made for me.". Ghaleon catch's the young girl and hold up so she won't fall. "be careful, you look like you need to rest."
'Twisted'. The name resonates deep within the feline new arrival, her brain sending forth a rush of associated images, an influx of knowledge of which she takes little note for the moment. The significance of her location can dawn later. For now, she feels the strength of another being supporting her, and forgets everything but the sensation. Just for a moment. Her eyes close, and her breath catches. When she opens her mouth to fill her lungs, she looks up at Ghaleon without embarassment, but with a grin.
"You don't know how true that is," she murmurs in reply to his observation, shaking her head slowly as she looks him up and down. A moment later, she composes herself with another quick breath, and stands under her own power, pulling away with a gentle pat upon his shoulder. "It doesn't matter if you're /human/," the girl insists as she turns back toward the tall youth, sapphire-hued eyes glinting in spite of her fatigue. With a shrug of her shoulders she takes a jarring step toward Wolfe, and lifts her right hand, clenched to a fist in the air between them. She speaks over it, a vestige of madness flickering in her expression - though she is rapidly calming. "What matters is I'm not imagining you, an' I'm free to walk away from you."
"What matters," she repeats, the laughter of pure joy in her voice, "Is that I'm free!"
"The only personal hell I'm a part of is my own, trust me on that. This is a real place, unfortunately. Though far removed from whatever dimension you come from." Wolfe spins the cards a few times in his fingers before returning them to his pocket. "Well, I assume that makes it a better circumstance than where you're from." He gives a rather sharp laugh. "Well, then I never figured I'd be playing the welcoming commity. No good at that." The demon turns once more to look at the teen. "No, I don't think they are, not at all."
Ghaleon sighs. "to be free is a good thing, everbody need to be free, if my old friend was still alive he would think the same thing." Ghaleon shakes his head, no time to think about Dyne now, he turns to the teenager. "do you know if there's away to return to where I was?" he glares at the demon some.
After uttering her last, the girl seems to fade from the exchange, heaving several dusty lungfuls of air as the two men speak. On a slowly settled whim she drifts aside, taking several steps away from the small group and settling herself down with a gentle huff, folding her legs beneath her in the dirt. A considering gaze goes down to her ichor-splashed form, taking in the rags and the body beneath them. But it has no emotional impact, only registers a barely audible grunt as she looks up at Ghaleon's question.
"There's never a way back," she interjects, flickering an apologetic sidelong glance to Wolfe - whom she's suddenly aware they have interrupted in the middle of his own business, whatever it may be. Her tone is somewhat dull, blunt and heavy, but she smiles in spite of that, turning those eyes back onto the seeming knight. "Y'come one way, and y'might find another, but the gates always close. You have to start a new life." She tries to look encouraging, drawing her shoulders up and maintaining eye contact, "But sometimes, newer is better. Trust me. It's... Samantha, by the way," she tilts her head, as though surprised to hear her own name, and looks once more to Wolfe. "Pleased to meetcha both."
Wolfe says, "Oh that's simple, find the right portal and take it. Unfortunately, there's countless portals constantly shifting about that lead to a similarly countless number of dimensions. So simple to say, nearly impossible to do. No, like the rest of us, you are most likely trapped here. So, the young lady is indeed correct. One way trip." Wolfe smiles towards Ghaleon. "You have an issue with my companion?" He gives a short laugh. "He's harmless, mostly. Yes you are, and stop arguing with me.."
Ghaleon let's out a small growl to himself as he thinkto himself (Just great I'm stuck here, with no way out, at least it's better then being under Zophar control or Althena watchful eye, I will have to fine and bend the people here under my power and rebuild my empire in this new land.) He turns back to the girl. "I am Ghaleon, The Premier of the magic school on the floating city of Vane." He turns back to the boy. "No he just remind me of a group of evil being from my realm."
Ghaleon let's out a small growl to himself as he thinkto himself (Just great I'm stuck here, with no way out, at least it's better then being under Zophar control or Althena watchful eye, I will have to fine and bend the people here under my power and rebuild my empire in this new land.) He turns back to the girl. "I am Ghaleon, The Premier of the magic school on the floating city of Vane." He turns back to the boy. "No he just remind me of a group of evil being from my realm."
Samantha watches Wolfe thoughtfully, canting her head a little further as he 'converses' with his counterpart, her ears giving an unconscious twitch. "Telepathy?" She asks, tone distant, "I remember telepathy, it..." She trails off, waving a hand somewhat helplessly as she struggles to maintain her outward composure. So many memories recalled, it feels like an age since she carried out basic activities for the simplest of reasons, and yet the mind is so quick to move on. She utters a clumsy laugh, and finishes lamely, "It came in handy. Does yer friend speak to other people or just you?"
Ghaleon's introduction brooks a surprised glance from the girl, who takes her attention momentarily from Wolfe to send him a deep nod of respectful greeting. Unintentionally she allows her mental echo of his words to reach her lips, and she silently mouths, 'magic school?', as the overgrown nails of her left hand curl against packed dirt. So many memories.
Wolfe shrugs. "No not telepathy. He's me, I'm him, as he so eloquently put once." The demon's eyes narrow slightly as it looks at the teen. "You can call him Furfur, but no, in general he only talks to me, but like I said, he is me, so talking to me is just as good." He sits down on the rock he was once standing on, the demon still going about his business of floating and whatever other thing he was doing. "I'm Wolfe."
Ghaleon nods to wolfe as he keeps quiet for now and just lising, it's good to get info about people before you act.
With a slow nod, Samantha acknowledges Wolfe's response, turning back to him with a restoration of her smile. Her voice is still shaky, fainter than it likely should be, but she is losing uncertainty by the second, even as her shoulders continue to slump. "Wolfe, and Furfur," she bounces a glance between boy and demon, "Got it." She lingers on his companion for a few moments, falling silent and letting that silence reign over the howling wind and distant sound of dimensions warping. It rings as a pleasant sea breeze, and when she speaks again it is almost with a gentle regret.
"Y'said this was Twisted? Wolfe, I've been here before, an' I'm almost afraid to ask..." She draws in a slow breath, releasing through her nose and swallowing before she continues, "What's happening here? I need to know whatever you can say. Important events, important people. I don't know when I was last here, but it matters. It all matters." She looks at him hopefully, and makes the effort to sit a little more upright, resting her hands in her lap.
Wolfe shrugs, "It's quiet mostly. But you know what they say about the calm before the storm, yes?" He gives a rather load sigh. "But I've only been here a month myself, so I'm not a hundred percent on what's going on in this pit of a dimension anyway." Furfur turns back out towards the wastelands, the swirl of power circling him once more.
And oddly, as people look towards the wastelands, there is a sort of a shimmer in the air, out of which there steps a slender figure, a white cane in one hand. Tapping in on the ground as he walks forwards, towards the other people present, he seems to hesitate, frowning even, "That's odd.. So few.. Now where the hell am I? " he still sounds fairly calm, speaking in a northern english accent.
Ghaleon nods as he keeps listing, hr turns when he see a shimmer and out appear another person. "it seem they a flux in space and time today and everbody is appearing."
From what little she has been unable to understand, Samantha has some doubt that Twisted can be at peace in any sense... her last, brief and torturously difficult to remember tenure resulted in a pact with the Devil that has never been fulfilled. A pact made by a girl out of her mind, a creature torn between two identities. She shakes her head briskly at the thought, a convulsive shudder starting up the length of her spine. "Okay," she murmurs resignedly, tweaking a small smile for Wolfe's benefit, easily able to hide any disappointment - still riding the wave of her freedom from literal Hell. Idly, her right hand lifts to rub at her stained left bicep, turning some dried fluid to a dusty cloud that floats off on the wind.
Her cool blue eyes dance to the source of a new disturbance, catching the blind man as he approaches, and without pausing to think she attempts to stand and assist his passage, immediately falling to one knee and one hand in the dirt. She cringes, more at her own weakness than any perceivable pain, and slowly begins to rise more cautiously. "I think it's always like this," she calls back to Ghaleon, before finally taking a few steps to the approaching Englishman's side. "Y'might be in for a bit of a shock," she tells him softly, guiding him with a hand upon his elbow, "We all seem t'be friends, but you're not in Kansas any more. This is a place known as 'Twisted', an' you're in another dimension."
Wolfe looks over at the sound of a new voice. "Hmm, now that's a familiar accent." He glances towards Furfur, and then nods his head. "Alright, keep it going." Standing he turns towards the new arrival. "As the third arrival I'm aware of today, welcome to the hell hole known as Twisted." He looks over to Samantha. "I don't think he cares about Kansas.. probably more like.. York? Hmm.. maybe."
Rick chuckles, "A new dimension.. It figures.. And while I like York, it isn't where I'm from. My name's Rick, by the way.." he bows for a moment, sweeping his cane to one side as he does so. "And I am from a town called Blackpool.. Though I WAS just in Central Park, New York, the last I knew."
Ghaleon nods to the new comer. "I am Ghaleon, The Premier of the magic school on the floating city of Vane., I don't know of these places called york or Kansas, my plane is called Lunar which has the blue star orbiting it."
Amongst all the parallel worlds, it's actually a rarity to hear someone speak of towns and cities on Earth. Samantha had almost forgotten it was home for so many years; for her childhood, for the experiences that have shaped her. A breathless, astonished laugh rushes past her lips, "I haven't heard anyone talk about those places in a while." Her accent is distinctly American, somewhere around the East Coast - though she's clearly not a New Yorker. "I grew up around Southtown." It comes out naturally, on the rather blindly made assumption that all forms of Earth are the same. As she steps away from Rick, crossing her arms loosely about her bruised midriff, hands dangling in space rather than clasping at her body, she glances once more toward Ghaleon.
"I also took magic lessons for a while... there's something familiar about you, but I can't pin it down."
Wolfe says, "New York, lovely city.. pollution, over crowding and psycho's aside of course. But it's home." He shrugs haplessly, "I was walking down an alley, then boom, I was here. And while there's less pollution and crowding here, there are just as many psychos, so at least that part makes me feel at home." Turning towards Ghaleon, he just chuckles. "Lunar.. well, that might be the moon from one of Earth's many itterations. Most of the people here are from Earth, and very few seem to be from the same version of it."
Rick hmms, "South Town.. the name rings a bell.. I know I have heard it mentioned before, something about a fighting tournament there?" at the mention of psycho's, he frowns, "Psycho's, you say? .. I almost dread to ask.,.. but any of you familiar with the beings known as Youma?"
Ghaleon shakes his head at rick, he turns to Samantha and holds out his hand, a blast of flames appears on his open palm and they start to dance like there a living being. "did you ever learn how to do something like this?"
"The King of Fighters," Samantha shoots back to Rick, her voice taking on that distant quality it held earlier in this meeting. "It feels like a long time ago, it was the beginning of everything..." She trails off, clearing her throat, suddenly so conscious of how dry it is, of how much she needs to rest. But Ghaleon's display seems to enthrall her nonetheless, the glint of nostalgia in her eye growing, encompassing her expression until it looks as though she may begin to either laugh or cry. A hand lifts, fingertips once more curling, but the motion stops, and she relaxes her joints.
"I did," she murmurs, not only registering the sight - which is common enough amongst mages - but the /feel/ of that magical force flowing, the purely elemental nature it maintains. There may be others similar to it, but each world's power possesses a unique flow. That much she has learned. Suddenly, she grins, looking up at Ghaleon with equally sudden ignorance for the other two, "My teacher should be here. C-Cale." She catches her own stammer, blinking before she finishes, "Dragonmaster Cale Charis."
Wolfe looks to Samantha. "Go to the Usual, there are rooms for new arrivals, and they don't ask questions." He stands up, putting his hands in his pockets, his arm goes out to the purple flames engulfing his hand and the demon Furfur, who then simply vanishes as the flames wink out.
Rick hmms, turning towards Ghaleon, then Samantha, and lastly to Wolfe, before he nods, "You three are certainly interesting.. Though of course.. I can't actually see you.. you have such interesting shadows.. that said, I don't like the feel of the air in this place, it feels.. unstable."
Ghaleon growls to himself when he hear her master name, he close his fist and kills the flames, (A dragonmaster here can't be, I must now more.) "ummm tell me did you master ever tell you where he's from?"
To lack input from anything but your head for so long... and then to be exposed to this... it's dizzying. The half-human girl shoots glances back and forth, to Wolfe and to Rick as they speak, and then back to Ghaleon himself. The blind man is interesting himself; but before the mention of an old favourite haunt, a place she had no idea existed in more than one temporal and dimensional space, and the subject of Cale along with it, the world is an expanse of black and white with a single, glowing spot of colour. Something for a wildly spinning mind to latch onto.
She shakes her head in response to the master magician. "No, we..." Her expression turns wry, a flash of maturity showing through, age beyond her years showing in her visage. Worry lines apparent that were not before, beneath the crimson mask. "We didn't talk much about the past. It was always a painful thing to talk about, and Cale's just Cale. I don't need to know everything about him." A hint of suspicion in her eye - clearly she has a high degree of intelligence, despite her impulsive behaviour today, "Why?"
Rick hmms, now turning to face ghaleon, listening very carefully to the magus, his tone of voice, something about him seems concerned, and that makes the blind man curious, but he isn't going to say anything just yet.
Wolfe hunkers down on the ground, pulling out a stack of cards from his pocket. He gives it a quick shuffle, drawing off the top and laying them on the ground face down. He goes quiet for the most part, softly muttering to himself. "It is unstable. Twisted is a nexus of sorts. You can compare it to the bottom point of a whirl pool. Everything in all dimensions being pulled to this one point, nearly impossible to get back out again. There are walls, but we are the ones who slipped through the cracks. The cast off detrius of our homes."
Ghaleon nods as he thinks to himself again. (umm maybe i will have to find out.) "I would like to speak with your master, we are old friends and i want to surpise him with it." he gives his best fake smiles.
Live a few different lives, be manipulated often enough within them, and even the most trusting will eventually learn to see the falsity in a smile; or indeed any expression. Samantha's own does not budge an inch before Ghaleon's, however, and it is impossible to tell whether or not she registers the hidden intent. She simply bows her head faintly as she responds. "If the Usual's here, then there's a possibility Cale will be. He-" she falters again, and breathes a sigh, lifting her head up with a bold toss, "We saw each other, last time I came to this world. If he is here, I need to find him."
Half-turning away from Ghaleon, she nods her head toward Wolfe, "You seem to have your bearings. Any idea which way I should start headin' ta get back to civilisation?" As she awaits a reply, she looks to the cards he has spread upon the waste ground before him. Fortune telling, merging with demons... it's just as interesting as it used to be, and probably just as dangerous. Out of the fire and into the frying pan.
Wolfe taps one of the cards, "That's what I'm figuring out, stuff around here shifts." He lifts the card, and motions to his right. "That way." He gathers up the cards, and turns towards the direction he pointed. He shakes his head as the other man vanishes. "Follow me, I won't teleport."
The departure of Ghaleon catches Samantha off-guard, and she momentarily ceases watching Wolfe at his work to attempt a gesture of farewell. Astonishment turns to amusement however, as with the course of the day thus far she is ill-inclined to fall into pettiness. A chuckle bubbles up in her parched throat, and as she mentally files away the name, the face and his desire to meet with one of her most beloved friends, the girl turns her attention back to Wolfe and the nearby Rick; taking a few steps to once more stand beside the blind man.
"That way?" She echoes the teenager, flashing a wide grin of grateful relief. "Then let's all go together. I've made one big journey on my own, it'd be beyond nice to have some company. Y'got no idea how long it's been." Gently taking the Englishman's elbow, she heads off in the indicated direction, taking it as slowly as her renewed enthusiasm will allow. It may not be a home of old; but it's somewhere, and a future awaits.
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