| Krystals and Kombat | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary: A conversation about magic turns into a history lesson at the Usual     |
John Constantine is settled at the end of the bar, accompanied by a glass of whisky and a book. Judging by the amusement on his face, he seems to be finding said volume *quite* entertaining. Rayne enters the Usual, waving to George as she passes by on her way to the bar as well. She takes her seat at the bar, then glances at Constantine a moment before saying, "The library has been popular lately, hasn't it?" John Constantine laughs. "I suppose." He is being careful enough with the book that it might well be from the library. It appears to be...some kind of new age "magic" book. John *has* to be reading it for mockery purposes. Rayne does a double take at the title of the book, then says, "...'Feng Shui of Crystals'?" John Constantine grins. "It's utterly, delightfully, *awful*," he admits. "Sometimes real stuff gets hidden with the fluff, but not this time." Rayne says, "....So... what is it? A book about just shoving random crystals around your home or something?" The door to the usual opens, and in walks Cammy, who seems about as normal as she ever gets. But hearing about crystals in homes, she raises a brow. Seems she came in just as someone was getting their Feng Shui on. Not that she knows what that is, but she /is/ somewhat aware of the concept of decoration for homes. She's been on several missions that required her to understand at least a few basic concepts not related to combat. John Constantine hrms. "Oh, it's definitely not random. A couple of things in here might even be helpful, but most of it isn't going to help anyone out." He lifts a hand to Cammy as she enters. Rayne gives Cammy a breif glance, but doesn't really recognize her so she continues her conversation. "So it's actually not complete bullshit?" Cammy makes her way to the bar, and orders some food, before turning to the others. "Decoration of a house seems like a normal part of owning said house." she says in her usual emotionless near-monotone. "Though crystals would cause more problems then they solve due to their ability to reflect and refract light." "Crystals *can* be used in certain kinds of magic, mostly to focus magical energy. Simple quartz is the best, though." He glances at Cammy. "Well, there's that, too." Rayne shakes her head as she looks at Cammy. "Oh, no, but these crystals are 'magical' and enhance your chi to bring you peace and balance in your life." To most people, it is fairly obvious that Rayne is being quite sarcastic. Hopefully Cammy has figured this out. The eyeroll at the end may be a clue, as well. She looks to Constantine again to ask, "So is this actually suggesting quartz, or is it suggesting just about everything else?" John Constantine laughs. "Just about everything else, and her correspondences are more wrong than right. A lot more wrong than right." Cammy simply listens. She doesn't entirely understand sarcasm fully, but she recognizes that tone enough to know that Rayne is /probably/ being facetious. "Magic is rarely a substitue for one's own ability to keep their life in order, and even rarer is it when magic makes for effective use in direct hand to hand combat." Rayne snickers at Constantine, then pauses to look at Cammy. "...Magic is mostly useful for utilitarian needs, in my experience. Though I'll admit I have enough of an affinity with fire to be able to pull that off mid-combat." She pauses, and then says, "And then there was the time I pulled off that minor illusion to get a vampire off of me." "Magic, love, is how you don't *get* into direct hand to hand combat in the first place." A pause. "Except you seem to enjoy it, so..." He turns to Rayne. "Vampire?" "Magic is typically only useful at mid to longe range in this...my...experience." Cammy says. Then looks over at Rayne as well. "This...I...would say Vampires do not exist, but given the nature of this place and NeoTokyo, logic dictates that somewhere out there, they indeed do." Rayne frowns, then shakes her head. "Ehhh... Long story. Suffice to say, she was apparently turned into a vampire as a child and... remained extremely childlike in all the worst ways." She looks back to Cammy and then nods. "That and boosting magic. Not that I know any of that." She then laughs. "Oh, they exist in /some/ universes, that's for sure." John Constantine winces. "That doesn't seem like a fun thing to deal with, no." He nods to Cammy. "Exactly." "...Assuming the lore that this....I...have read is correct, then it's possible for an individual to make use of a body that seems eternally young to lure adversaries into a false sense of security before attacking. It would make finding prey easier, in some regards." Cammy points out. Then turns to Constantine. "Bearing in mind, magic is illegal in most fighting tournaments." Though for some reason ki and chi blasts-- and whatever the hell Psycho Power and Soul Power are-- seem perfectly normal. Even she can't quite figure that one out. Rayne shakes her head. "It certainly wasn't, no. And, she just attacked me out of nowhere, she didn't try to lure me into anything." She shrugs, then says, "And yeah, I can see that. Unless it was specifically a magic tournament. Which I'm assuming is a thing. Tournaments have rules, and that seems a reasonable one." John Constantine nods. "Makes sense to me." He shrugs a bit. "So, you're a professional, then." There IS an arena here... "This...I...am a fighter, yes. It is in fact my primary purpose." Cammy nods. "Though until arriving in places such as this and NeoTokyo, money was largely not an issue. However most tournaments do provide monetary compensation for those who place well in such events. Which, should I manage to enter such a tournament, it can be a means of self-support." Rayne frowns, then says, "Are there still those tournaments here? I don't pay attention to the arranged matches anymore. Unlike my predicessor, I don't really consider those kinds of fights... as appealing." And yet, she still misses the big blue lug. "That kind of thing isn't to everybody's taste," John says, with a shrug. Cammy seems to have no reaction to this. Instead, she simply starts in on her food as it arrives. "Where would this...I...look to find out if such tournaments are still held?" Rayne shrugs, then says, "Probably the arena?" She shrugs, then says, "But considering Kotal was the one organizing them before, I can't really promise you'll find anything." Who or what is a Kotol?" Cammy asks, unfamiliar with the name, and so looking to get at least some information about it. John Constantine isn't familiar with the name either, but rather than double up on Cammy's question, he turns to the barkeep and orders a club sandwich. Rayne says, "That'd be my predicessor. A god of war and sun that adored one on one kombat." Cammy blinks. "A...god?" Even for someone as repressed emotionally as she is, the disbelief is palpable. John Constantine shakes his head. "Actual god or, ya know..." He's encountered mistaken gods before. Rayne shrugs. "Well, he was certainly worshipped as one on the Earth of his universe. Of course, he claimed I'd have been worshipped as a goddess on his world, so, take it as you want. He certainly had a lot of power, that's for sure, and even was able to bestow powers on another as his priestess." "...What would the purpose be of having someone as a priestess if one was already being worshipped? Assuming he was an actual god, at least?" Cammy asks, before digging into her food again. "Seems superfluous." Rayne shrugs to Cammy. "I dunno. He seemed to be doing fine before Sil got here. Honestly, she seemed an odd fit to his religion to me, anyway. But... neither are here to ask that to, so who knows?" "And who was 'Sil'?" Cammy asks. "Logically, she was unlikely to be related to the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien." John Constantine shakes his head in amusement. "Real gods are a quite different matter." Of course, there's gods and gods, as he well knows. Rayne tilts her head. "Who? No, Sil is... was short for Silencia. She was a fey woman that lived here some time ago...." She looks down into her drink, then quietly says, "She was a friend." Rayne hasn't gotten herself to wear any of the clothes that she bought when shopping with Sil since she left. She then blinks and looks up. "Yeah, well... I kind of make it a policy not to involve myself with anyone or anything claiming to be a deity anymore if I can help it. Of course, if they cause trouble... my job means I can't help it." "Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. He wrote several books referred to as part of the 'Middle Earth' series. The most promenent are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. However he also wrote a book called the Silmarillion. They were known as 'Sil' or 'sils' for short." Cammy supplies semi-helpfully. Rayne lowers an eyebrow and says, "Uh, yeah, don't think there's a relation, thanks." Cammy shrugs, and continues to eat. She tried. She's still not great shakes at the whole 'socializing' thing. John Constantine apparently isn't either, right now. Or is hungry. Munch. Rayne has certainly been better at it in the past than she is now, that's for sure. "Um... anyway... that's the past. We should worry more about the present and future." Cammy is definitely hungry. Even the Zero Doll needs food. "Affirmative. Though in this case, there seems to be little danger to either at the moment." "Eh, nothing wrong with worrying about the past as long as you don't do it excessively, love." Munch. Rayne says, "Yeah, yeah. I don't mean in an existential kind of way, or even of an actual danger kind of way. I just mean... in general, you know? That's what's next coming. That's what we're preparing for, even if it's just something like having a date or something mundane and minor like that." "...Date?" Cammy asks, sounding as confused as she ever gets. "What does a fruit have to do with anything?" Rayne gives Cammy a blank look. "...you're actually serious, aren't you?" she deadpans. "Why would this...I...not be?" Cammy asks, honestly seeming not to get it. "A social outing viz a friend or romantic acquaintance, typically viz ze intent of getting to know one another better... or simply having a good time." comes Johann's voice as he enters, settling down near the others. "Zat is a date." Rayne facepalms. "By the gods," she mumbles, then looks up at Cammy again. However, she's saved having to explain this by the entering doctor. "..Strange. Why name such a thing after a food?" Cammy ponders. Then frowns cutely as something else in that explanation comes to mind. "Query; 'romantic' acquiantance? This u..." she shakes her head. Still getting used to first person. "I...do not recognize the term." John Constantine shakes his head. "You will," John promises. "I need to go." He waves to both, and then to the entering doctor. Rayne sighs and shakes her head. "This is aaaaaaaaall on you, Doctor." She then waves to Constantine on his way out. Johann chuckles a little, but smiles and patiently continues to explain. "It is more named after 'dates' in reference to time, more specifically how zey tend to be scheduled ahead of time on specific... vell, dates. As for romance, it is a concept relating to feelings of love, specifically ze sort related to reproductive urges, although ze end result may not necessarily /be/ reproduction. Does zat explain it adequately?" he says, then waves goodbye to John as well. Cammy ponders this while munching a bit on her food. Then shakes her head. "Not entirely. Reproduction is a standard biological need for most biological species. However, ...I...do not understand what 'love' supposedly has to do with it. Or even the purpose of such an emotion." The door to the usual jingles open and a ceratin blue hued pegasus enters. She greets with a nod, seeming a bit more subdued then usual, but hey, she's a fish out of water AGIAN. So to speak. Johann leans back in his chair slightly, shrugging. "Zat is a complicated subject nobody can ever seem to agree on. I cannot give a professional opinion, unfortunately... although ze romantic in me believes it is a necessary component to our species's survival as a whole. Fighting is useful when zere is danger, yes, but vhen zat danger is gone, one must recover from ze losses, no? And zen you evolve from zere and vithin a few million years, vell..." Unsure what to say to that, Cammy opts not to say anything at all, and instead turns to the entering pegasus. "Rainbow Dash. You appear...." what would be the right term? "Less energetic...than usual for you." Rainbow Dash pffts, 'Totally bummed," she mutters. "It's HOPELESs! I'm never gonna get outta this place!" she hops up on abarstool. 'cider." she says flatly. Rayne adds, "And, as our good doctor here can attest to, it certainly doesn't even always happen with compatible species, anyway." This evening is just constantly reminding her of all the people that are no longer here... Now she's reminded of Ren again. "But yes. If biological needs are all that concerns you... is there really a point to living anymore? Love can go a long way to making life more fulfilling." And yet she said that with a fairly miserable tone in the end. Johann sighs as Rayne brings up that old chestnut. "Yes, I had a relationship with a... very strange aquatic creature. Her name vas Serenity, and she vas ze most beautiful, vonderful person I had met in a long time. I still vonder vhere she vent..." he remarks, trailing off in thought. "....I do not understand. I was designed for combat. What does part does 'love' play in that?" Cammy asks. Turning to Rainbow she raises a brow. "You found your way to your world before. Would it not be possible to replicate the circumstances of that here?" Rainbow Dash says, "That's the problem with this kinda place...it sucks ya in and spits ya out and if ya find a special somepony, they can get sucked away too...." she gulps some cider like it's booze." Rainbow Dash looks to Cammy, "I didn't find it..Rarity did...and I don't think we're gonan find a castle with a secret door to Equestria here." Rayne slumps her shoulders and looks away at what Rainbow Dash says, puffing out her cheeks slightly. >.> Johann reaches over to Rainbow to give her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Still, better to make ze best of ze time you have zan vorry about vhat might be, no? Live in ze moment." Rainbow Dash flaps a wing, shoving the hand away. "I made a lot of friends in Neo-Tokyo and now I've lost all my friends in Equestria- what's the point of making friends if yer just gonna get shuffled into another universe at any moment? I'm sure not gonna get involved with anypony that can be gone any second. What IS it with things lately, anyway? Rayne says very quietly, "Welcome to Twisted." Not Mabase City, as she usually would say. Johann just settles back in his seat again, nodding solemnly. "Tvisted is an apt name." "That seems tactically unsound, Rainbow Dash. You cannot avoid encountering people in either this city or NeoTokyo." Cammy says sagely. Rainbow Dash says, "Oh, I'm not sayin' I can't encounter people, I'm just not gonna get close to anybody. Not THIS little blue Pegasus, nu-uh, not playin' that game, Universe." Rayne winces, what Rainbow Dash says reminding her too much of herself the past two years. Has she really done so poorly with her personal life? She drops her forhead to the bar counter and taps it there three times before resting it there. "That seems like it would be painful." Cammy says as she watches Rayne bouncing her head off the bar. Rayne sighs and slowly lifts her head again. "Yeah, kinda. Look, I think I'm gonna go home and try to get some shut-eye." With that said, she stands up and starts making her way towards the door. Rainbow Dash plonks her own head on the bar. Now she's bringing everbody else down with her. What about all those friendship lessons? What about never giving up? She has to pull herself out of this nose-dive or she's gonna wind up being really bitter or something. | |
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