Personification Life - IC Part VIII [open]

[Urran]

Anew shrugged and walked off. She would probably be back later.For now, however, she continued to wander the halls.

[Giovenith]

"This horn isn't for show, friend. It's how I focus the magic native to ponies. Willow has magic as well, but it is mostly expressed in how he can control clouds and weather, and stuff. Earth ponies' natural magic manifests in strange ways. It seems to make them more creative and innovative. But some seem to have precognition as a result of it. But unicorn magic is much more tangible, and visible. I happen to specialize in levitation magic. Some unicorns are just good at magic in general. Others use it to create things other ponies can't without the help of magic."

Sterling carefully watched what Giovenith was doing with the stove, prepared to throw something over and possible fires thAt could start. " do you need any help, Gio? I'd be willing to help you, but be warned that baking is not my strong suit."

"That sounds rather complex," said Giovenith, already rubbing some butter she found around on the pan like she had once seen on television. "But not strange, not like the way the books made you guys out to be. It makes sense, I suppose, especially the levitation bit, considering you don't have hands."

At this, Willow actually held his grey hoof up in front of him and took a good look at it for once. To him, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, hooves were the most normal limb ends, and ponies seemed to get along just fine with them. Actually, Willow personally thought that hands looked pretty creepy, they were flat circle things, with gnarly little bending bones covered by a thin strip of flesh that moved and folded up erratically. Not to mention that they looked fairly delicate, and he secretly wondered if hyoo-muns were constantly keeping an eye out for things that might accidentally break them or cut them off.

But then again, as he actually watched Giovenith grabs and sort things in her troubled circus to create pancakes, he began to see just how they might actually benefit the hyoo-muns. A unicorn who was handy with levitation, of course, would have little trouble grabbing all of the ingredients and putting them together, but for a non-unicorn pony who just so happened to not have any unicorns around, doing something simple like making pancakes took a lot of... balance. Willow normally did not consciously think about such mundane tasks, hardly any sentient creature did, but he began to realize that if he had been doing the cooking, it would have been balancing things on his head, in his mouth, on the flat part of his hooves, or trying to grip his wrist around something, or carry it all in his front legs/arms (which would have been further complicated by needing to properly walk, if he hadn't had wings).

Giovenith didn't have such problems. He saw her hands curl around and grip the ingredients and utensils, so that her arms could bend and swing them around all she wanted without it going flying somewhere. She could hold more small things with more stability by simply clenching them in-between her fingers, rather than having to balance it all. A task like buttering the pan took less time as well, seeing as how the long, little parts of the hands were also able to bend and grip things to a more accurate point. Heck, even beyond the hands, the mere fact that she was bipedal made things go faster because the girl didn't have to take a moment and consider how to step. Paying attention to all of this, Willow began to see with rather grim realization how these creatures had been able to dominate the ponies of their world (other than, you know, the whole sentience thing). They were biologically built for quick multitasking!

"... Mhmm," Willow hummed, keep his more passing thoughts to himself, as usual.

[New Aksarben]

Much too antiquated to even comprehend the controls to the games, Drova was content to simply watch the prince play the video games. Although she was saddened about the loss of her sister, being with a friend was much better than staring at some dumb statue . . . Even if Chrys was quite beautiful. The view was nice as well, Octavian was missing out on that really, but hey, that was different. He was bending over to pick up the game really, and couldn't see what she saw.

"So how do you play anyways? Oh, wait, I think I see another game there, looks interesting."

It was simply a ploy really, to keep the view.

"Well, each game plays differently. I can explain it better by showing you in the game. Video games in general require actually seeing the game to understand how to play it, really. You'll probably have a better understanding of it after playing for a bit." Octavian nodded as he continued looking around the pile. The prince decided to get some kind of organizer for all the games, seeing as they were basically in a massive pile and difficult to sort through. One of his ears flicked backwards in annoyance as he began moving the games into more clearly defined piles and stacks, just trying to get it a bit more organized.

Octavian began looking around the piles and stacks even more following Drova mentioning a game that looked interesting, "Well, what did the cover look like? What was the title? 'looking interesting' isn't really enough for me to find a game off of. A bit more detail would be appreciated, amicus." Octavian chuckled a bit, but continued searching for the game she possibly could be referring to. His feline tail waved above him lazily, as it always seemed to be doing.

---

"Well, we can kind of grab things. But it can be difficult, and requires a lot of balance. But yeah, I can see your claw-things on your hands being useful. Diamond Dogs have those in our world, which helps them dig and grab onto gems. Discord also had hands, I believe. But he was also incredibly odd...." Sterling shuddered a bit remembering Discord and his insanity, but focused on the smell of pancakes, which made him smile brightly.

Sterling had also been noticing that humans seemed to be able to do more things at once than most ponies could. While Sterling never had any trouble with doing several things at once, if you took away his magic, he would be just as helpless to do simple things like writing or baking something. It was quite convenient that most foods ponies ate were relatively simple to make and produce in general. Except sweets of course. But baker ponies never seemed to have trouble with that, either. Even if they were earth ponies and thus couldn't use levitation magic. Then again, talents went quite a long way to make ponies great at whatever they were destined to be skilled at.

Thinking of talents and such, Sterling had a question for Giovenith. "Gio? Do humans have special talents and cutie marks like us ponies? you all seem to be wearing clothes at all times, so I haven't been able to tell so far. By talent, I mean the skill you were destined to be good at, and discover around the transition from being a foal to being an adult. The thing that will be your job for basically the rest of your life." Sterling tilted his head as he continued watching Giovenith make the pancakes, seeing his question as a completely logical and rational one to ask at this moment.

[The BranRiech]

Breaking her own concentration, Drova figured she'd need to actually point out a game, and she bent over as well from where she was on the couch. The girl pointed to a game that interested her and sat back. "That one, there, on the top. You see it, oh, what's the word, Amice?" She chuckled. "Sorry if I'm butchering your language. I don't mean to. Our people only has a tenuous grasp of Latin. We were already underground by that time, only having limited contact with the Romans. Their empire was above us, ours under them. I'm pretty certain at least."

[New Aksarben]

Breaking her own concentration, Drova figured she'd need to actually point out a game, and she bent over as well from where she was on the couch. The girl pointed to a game that interested her and sat back. "That one, there, on the top. You see it, oh, what's the word, Amice?" She chuckled. "Sorry if I'm butchering your language. I don't mean to. Our people only has a tenuous grasp of Latin. We were already underground by that time, only having limited contact with the Romans. Their empire was above us, ours under them. I'm pretty certain at least."

"Amice means friend, or ally." Octavian responded, picking up that game and looking at it for a bit. "I do not call many people that. You're a good friend, Drova, so I call you that when I don't feel like saying your name." The prince shrugged, and handed the game over to Drova, before looking back down at the pile for any other games they could possibly play. He was putting any games he thought might be fun to play with Drova into one pile off to the side of the main ones, but it only had a few games so far.

"The game you saw is basically a historical game about my nation's war against Sasnak. Its a shooter game, which basically mean you shoot guns at your enemy and accomplish certain objectives to win each mission. Kind of fun, and you would learn some of the history of my nation playing that." Octavian quickly put the GTA game from earlier in the Xbox he had bought to play it and other games, before bending back over to look for more games while the game booted up.

[Giovenith]

"Special talents? Well everyone's talented at something, aren't they?" pondered Giovenith, back to working on the batter. "And as for Cutie Marks, you must mean those delightful little pictures on your flanks! Yes?"

"Yes," confirmed Willow.

"Oh no, I'm afraid we haven't got anything like that, not even underneath our clothing. You just have to get to know a person to see what they're good at," the girl explained, beginning to pour the batter into the pan with a sizzle. "And even then, they're probably no where near as honed in as you two seem to describe your talents. People just dozy on through their lives, discovering themselves little by little, day by day, with different results every time."

Willow stared at her for a few moments, blinking slowly and absorbing this new information. "That's really, really sad."

"How so, little pony?" Giovenith didn't seem distressed by this blatant comment, concentrating rather serenely on her pancakes.

"How are you supposed to know what really makes you happy in life? You might discover it at one point, but then have no way to confirm that it's the right way," explained Willow, with slight solemnity. "Aren't you just wandering rather about aimlessly through life? It's like looking for something specific in a dark room full of lots of things, only you have no clue what you're looking for, so you're lost forever."

Given the importance put on Cutie Marks in Equestria culture, the idea of never having any way to know your path in life seemed to Willow a bit like never ending Tartarus. Granted, other creatures like Buffalo and Griffons didn't have Cutie Marks either, but Willow had always figured that their lives were different enough that they didn't need them. Hyoo-muns, on the other hoof, despite all of their odd differences, were more alike to the ponies than anything else he had come into contact with, so they must have needed something to guide them. Grief, if Willow had never found his own Cutie Mark, he probably would have been damned to a life of misery and being an unspoken constant disappointment to his parents.

"Oh not really. ... Well maybe a little," responded Giovenith, calmly. "Not if you know how to play the game, anyway. Just because we have no physical sign to show us doesn't mean we can never feel what makes us happy inside. All it takes is having the ability to listen to yourself, and that can be difficult sometimes. But if you can come through, then your talent, and you, shines out all the better."

"Mmmm." Willow wasn't convinced, but unlike the other times his beliefs had clashed with Giovenith's, it was partially because he knew he didn't quite get what she meant. He didn't want to argue on the basis of something he probably never would understand.

[Primordial Luxa]

The food shivered slightly but otherwise the molecules had settled and a fresh, steaming edible breakfast was finished. Insidious nodded imagining that the event could stir up quite a mess and that more than a few important people would be wanting explanations. “Sounds like a fair amount of work. I have to put the finishing touches on that art piece and then give Primordial some help in the lab, but ill be free after that.”

"Sounds like a rendezvous." Arthur confirmed as he dug into breakfast. He occasionally wiped the meat against the blood sticking to his skin for added flavor.

"I'll see you then. I really did enjoy our time together." he said before giving Insidious a kiss. He then left to take a shower and get some clothes on before Koontz regained consciousness.

She nodded an continued eating pulling up a hololithic new broadcast from another dimension. Arthur would find the insidious's apartment was teeming with life and even the lowliest of appliances seemed to be biological in some way, shape or form. However it would not be too difficult to navigate and he would be able to get cleaned up and back down to the entrace with little fuss as Insidious had programmed the DiEMOS to escort him back.

[The BranRiech]

"Sasnak, huh?" Drova asked, confused. Well, it would most certainly be interesting to learn about his friend's nation, and who knows? Maybe she'd get to play as well. No, she'd be absolutely atrocious at anything that required concentration, like video games probably did. The console, dated by today's standards, was a marvel for Drova though, and she kept concentrating on that, as well as a few other things, but mostly the console. "You use such electronics for simple entertainment?"

For a people who, again, were near the early 20th century in terms of technology, the idea was a bit funny. Cars? She understood, but electronics for entertainment? Sure, she knew of TV's, but this was a bit different.

[New Aksarben]

"Sasnak, huh?" Drova asked, confused. Well, it would most certainly be interesting to learn about his friend's nation, and who knows? Maybe she'd get to play as well. No, she'd be absolutely atrocious at anything that required concentration, like video games probably did. The console, dated by today's standards, was a marvel for Drova though, and she kept concentrating on that, as well as a few other things, but mostly the console. "You use such electronics for simple entertainment?"

For a people who, again, were near the early 20th century in terms of technology, the idea was a bit funny. Cars? She understood, but electronics for entertainment? Sure, she knew of TV's, but this was a bit different.

"Yeah, we do. This is quite simple system by my nation's standards, but we use different formats, so that game doesn't run on my nation's consoles and we have to run it on this one." Octavian explained as the game continued booting up, with the intro beginning to play. Octavian placed a few more games on the pile as it played, and soon plopped down on the couch next to his friend.

"Oh, and I'm sure you never heard of Sasnak. It was the biggest enemy of my people for the longest time. A Carthage to our Rome. We conquered them after several bloody wars, and claimed the territory of much of Amaseia before we finally took their capital. There's enough history of the wars that a company was able to make a video game series with over twenty games so far just for it. They lasted hundreds of years, but after a certain point it was a bygone conclusion that my homeland would win." Octavian grinned at that, glancing over at Drova, before looking back at the TV.

---

"Hm..... Interesting..... So Hyoo-mans don't have cutie marks....... But I suppose that makes sense. I have only ever seen something similar in zebras anyway. Zebras in our world have these weird patterns where their cutie mark should be, and I've always assumed it was their version. The symbols must mean something to them, I guess. Just like our cutie marks likely only make sense to us ponies." Sterling performed a gesture similar to scratching his chin with one of his front hooves, and his face had a look that showed thought and curiosity.

But since it seemed like that topic was done with, Sterling decided to focus on the pancakes again. "When will the pancakes be done, Gio? And did you put anything good in them?"

[The BranRiech]

"Yeah, too much history. I'm not even from your nation, man. We've only been in one major war, when we were driven underground. It's just ancient history to me, but recently, the only Pyersai military action was suppressing Miner's revolts in the deeper sections of the realm." Drova said. "My cousin commanded a few operations there." She nodded. "But this game seems interesting!"

Really, she was hoping Octavian would be concentrating too much on the game, giving her a nice view.

[Giovenith]

"Innnnnnnnnnnnn just a few seconds! You said liked both berries and chocolate chips in them, so I added both!" said Giovenith, smiling and flipping said pancakes.

In only a few more minutes, the pancakes were finally complete. They weren't the greatest in the world, obviously, but seemed edible enough as she placed them on little plates for her pony friends. "You guys can use forks, right?"

[New Aksarben]

"Yeah, too much history. I'm not even from your nation, man. We've only been in one major war, when we were driven underground. It's just ancient history to me, but recently, the only Pyersai military action was suppressing Miner's revolts in the deeper sections of the realm." Drova said. "My cousin commanded a few operations there." She nodded. "But this game seems interesting!"

Really, she was hoping Octavian would be concentrating too much on the game, giving her a nice view.

"Hmm. Interesting. It would make sense your people have not been in many wars, as you do not seem too suited for violence, and being so isolated would definitely prevent any war with humanity." Octavian mused, glancing over at Drova as he did so. His tail continued waving behind him, back and forth over and over again. IT occasionally got near Drova, but that was by chance more than anything. Of course, Octavian was still shirtless as he had not had any time to put one on, nor did he see any reason to as they weren't going anywhere special.

"Anyway, how about we get to playing this game? I'll show you some of the stuff you can do in the game, and then we can try multiplayer, how about?" Octavian asked, glancing over at his friend again, to see what she thought of the idea. The music from the title screen played at a low volume as to not hurt Drova's ears, showing that Octavian cared to not hurt his friend so absentmindedly.

---

"Thank you so much, Giovenith!" Sterling responded with a grin and a bow. He even levitated his fez up a bit as well, before placing it in the same exact position as before. "I love blueberry-chocolate pancakes! My mom used to make them all the time! Her skill actually was baking, by the way. So she made really good food!" Sterling bounced up and down slightly, excited at the prospect of having some pancakes. The only things he loved more than pancakes made well were his fex and books.

But then Sterling blinked, and thought. "I should be able to use a fork with my leviatation magic, but I have no idea if Sterling will be able to. Unless he can hold onto it with his wings. I've heard of pegasi doing things like that, using wings to hold onto things and such. I may be mistaken about that though. But if not, he could always just eat it from the plate or something. Willow's not helpless. He'll figure something out." Sterling nodded in conjunction to his statement, affirming his belief in his words.

[The BranRiech]

Drova would actually have to learn to play a game? On a console!?

Dammit. "Octavian, you're going to kick my ass." She chuckled dryly. It was probably one of those times though, when a friend would challenge you to something just to prove they were better at it. Like with archery. It was a niche sport with his people, and Drova sucked at it, hurting himself more than once. What would his friends try and do? Always challenge the prince to an archery challenge, because hey, they could beat him in it. "Well, you can kick my ass then, then maybe we could fence? Nah, I've got no equipment for that."

She looked over quickly and shrugged. "You got snacks around here?"

[New Aksarben]

Drova would actually have to learn to play a game? On a console!?

Dammit. "Octavian, you're going to kick my ass." She chuckled dryly. It was probably one of those times though, when a friend would challenge you to something just to prove they were better at it. Like with archery. It was a niche sport with his people, and Drova sucked at it, hurting himself more than once. What would his friends try and do? Always challenge the prince to an archery challenge, because hey, they could beat him in it. "Well, you can kick my ass then, then maybe we could fence? Nah, I've got no equipment for that."

She looked over quickly and shrugged. "You got snacks around here?"

Octavian chuckled. "Possibly, but I have not played this game very much either, Drova. You might be a natural at this game if you try." Octavian inadvertently demonstrated this as he somehow managed to ram a car into a tree and end up flipped upside down on top of another car. "Yeah. I suck at the driving part especially." The prince chuckled yet again, and set a second controller on the arm of the couch nearest Drova, leaning over her in the process to place it there. He still hadn't noticed that Drova seemed to be more interested in watching him than the game, which wasn't too obvious, really.

"But on the subject of snacks, I have plenty of food in the little kitchenette thing over in the corner of the room. Some good food in the fridge, and in the pantry, and also plenty of things to drink. From sodas to wine. And of course water, if you would prefer that." Octavian glanced over at his friend again, the momentary distraction leading to his character in the game(which was GTA 5, just so you all know) getting flattened by a semi. Then a bus, somehow. The randomimity of it made Octavian laugh a little, seeing as the character got sent flying into the bus by the semi, and then run over yet again.

[Giovenith]

"Awww, that's so sweet! I'm glad I could make you happy!" Giovenith smiled a bright, true, genuine smile. Happiness from nostalgia was one her most favorite emotions to feel and witness, and it was ten times more wonderful when one had a part in creating it. "Oh, do you need help then, Willow?"

"No, Sterling's right, I'll just figure something out," said Willow with less sheer enthusiasm, rising into the air and gently grabbing his own plate.

"Oh, are you absolutely sure?"

"Quite."

"Really, really, really, really-"

"Giovenith, I've eaten off of plates before."

"Just making suuuuuuuuuuure..."

The pegasus turned away from her so she wouldn't see him roll his eyes, before settling down at a nearby table. Normally, however he planned on eating something off of a plate took only a moment's consideration, but Willow found that it was a bit hard to stop second-guessing himself when his actions were being stared at intently by a hyoo-mun only a few feet away. She pretended to be looking another way when he snapped his head over at her, but Willow wasn't stupid. Giovenith was probably only curious to see just how he would accomplish the task, but it was obnoxious none the less. Thus, the pegasus-pony resolved to pointedly taking his plate in his hooves and turning his back to her so that there was no way she could subtlety try to spy on him, before cutting up the pancakes with the silverware in his mouth and eating it straight off the plate.

"Hmf," Giovenith harrumphed and narrowed her eyes a bit at Willow's back, before turning a warmer attention onto Sterling. He probably wouldn't mind her watching him levitate more stuff, plus, it was more meaningful to see him enjoy the pancakes.

[The BranRiech]

"Heh, thanks." Drova blushed a slight bit, noting the controller as she got up to get snacks. She came back with some crisps a few minutes later, as well as a glass of water. "So, what's been happening in the game so far?"

Drova might as well have been blind. She noticed the bus, but only because she'd seen the same on the streets of Bielefeld before, and figured they were just some human thing. Well, they were, and they seemed pretty efficient at getting people around places. "Why'd it run you over?" Drova asked with slight interest, sitting down a tad bit closer to Octavian.

"Mmm, want some?"

She held out the bag of chips.

[New Aksarben]

"Heh, thanks." Drova blushed a slight bit, noting the controller as she got up to get snacks. She came back with some crisps a few minutes later, as well as a glass of water. "So, what's been happening in the game so far?"

Drova might as well have been blind. She noticed the bus, but only because she'd seen the same on the streets of Bielefeld before, and figured they were just some human thing. Well, they were, and they seemed pretty efficient at getting people around places. "Why'd it run you over?" Drova asked with slight interest, sitting down a tad bit closer to Octavian.

"Mmm, want some?"

She held out the bag of chips.

"Sure." Octavian said with a small smile and a nod, reaching into the bag to remove a small pile of chips, which he placed on his lap so he could take chips at his leisure. He said a quick thank you in Latin, quite a lot from him, seeing as he rarely thanked anyone for anything ever. He then handed the bag of chips back to his friend, before unpausing the game and heading out with the character to continue doing random things, namely taking a car after randomly hitting a pedestrian with a haymaker.

"Well, the bus ran me over because I happened to get in its way on accident. namely because I got distracted with handing you that controller, and got hit by a semi, which threw me at the bus." Octavian chuckled again, "Random things like that can ha-" Octavian got cut off as the oddest thing happen, he had been driving at very high speed, and his car had caught itself on something. It went up into the air, and its momentum caused it to basically grind over the rail of the overpass he had been passing before he was squarely deposited back onto all four tires. "Well, there's another good example of random things that can happen. I have never seen a car grind something before. Ever." Octavian laughed, and ate one of the chips, smiling (uncharacteristically) brightly at Drova.

---

Sterling was already about halfway done with the pancake when Gio turned back around, as he was using his magic to not only cut up the pieces, but to use a fork and bring them to his mouth to eat. Sterling smiled happily to Giovenith, and said, "Great job with the pancakes, Gio. Especially since you probably haven't made them from scratch too often before this." Sterling nodded, before eating some more of the pancake.

He was sitting down with his rear end on the floor as he ate, levitating the plate in front of him just like a person would hold a plate in front of them from lack of a table or something else to set it on. His behavior was quite like a human, with obvious exceptions to how he ate and various other things. He smiled up at Gio some more. He wasn't used to being shorter than others, actually. In Ponyville he was one of the taller ponies, with only a few other stallions being taller than he was. "Thanks again for the pancakes, by the way, Gio!"

[The Abel Imaginarium]

Iridescent

18 year old Abel casually exited his room and locked the apartment door behind him. He had spent an entire day sorting out his stuff and cleaning up the place to his liking. Right now he decided to go out, relax and explore a few of the places the crazy receptionist has suggested to him on the very first day he arrived.

Tilting the metal forehead protector to cover his left Sharingan eye, Abel smoothened his white hair and nonchalantly proceeded out of the building, not forgetting to bring along one of his favorite novels of course. It didn't take him that long to reach the Chaos Restaurant which was surprisingly quite nearby and before he finished reading 4 pages of the story he had already entered the place.

"Hmph......the old man was right afterall," Abel thought to himself as he calmly looked around the area. "This IS neutral ground.....there's a certain change to the usual atmosphere I was experiencing not long ago and I can already feel my chakra ebbing to the point of a normal human being's energy force. Just right enough to prevent me or anybody else in here from using magic or any stuff like that.......oh well...."

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to take a seat at a nearby vacant table and to continue his novel while waiting for someone to come and take his order.

[Giovenith]

Sterling was already about halfway done with the pancake when Gio turned back around, as he was using his magic to not only cut up the pieces, but to use a fork and bring them to his mouth to eat. Sterling smiled happily to Giovenith, and said, "Great job with the pancakes, Gio. Especially since you probably haven't made them from scratch too often before this." Sterling nodded, before eating some more of the pancake.

He was sitting down with his rear end on the floor as he ate, levitating the plate in front of him just like a person would hold a plate in front of them from lack of a table or something else to set it on. His behavior was quite like a human, with obvious exceptions to how he ate and various other things. He smiled up at Gio some more. He wasn't used to being shorter than others, actually. In Ponyville he was one of the taller ponies, with only a few other stallions being taller than he was. "Thanks again for the pancakes, by the way, Gio!"

"It's no problem at all, little Sterling!" assured Giovenith, smiling back at the pony. "I am happy to be of service to all of my friends, especially if they are having trouble adapting to a new place around them. There doesn't seem to me for there to be an excuse not to."

Willow shrugged, as much form of agreement to her sentiment as he would currently give. He was still eating.

At this, Giovenith took a moment to kneel down, move a bit closer to Sterling, and ask very quietly, "... What exactly is wrong with him?"

[New Aksarben]

"It's no problem at all, little Sterling!" assured Giovenith, smiling back at the pony. "I am happy to be of service to all of my friends, especially if they are having trouble adapting to a new place around them. There doesn't seem to me for there to be an excuse not to."

Willow shrugged, as much form of agreement to her sentiment as he would currently give. He was still eating.

At this, Giovenith took a moment to kneel down, move a bit closer to Sterling, and ask very quietly, "... What exactly is wrong with him?"

"Well, nothing. He's just not very social." Sterling responded with a shrug. "I have no idea why, really. He doesn't have too many friends, but he seems to prefer it that way. There may be a reason for him being so antisocial all the time, but I have never heard it before." Sterling stuck some more pancake into his mouth to eat it, to buy a bit more time before having to say more on the subject. It wasn't the nicest of subjects, considering that Willow was a bit of a rarity in their world. Most ponies were at least polite to strangers(excepting the stuck up ponies of course), but Sterling just didn't seem to ever acknowledge any other pony unless they spoke to him first, and then it was usually a nonverbal response.

"Well, He's been like that for as long as I've known him. During the Winter Wrap up I met him at, he was working completely alone to clear some snow, and accidentally got a whole mess of it dumped on him. I hurried over and asked him if I could help at all, and he simply said, "Meh," while shivering and covered in snow. He was being so anti-social that I was basically forced to drag him to the infirmary with my magic to get him help. I was basically the first pony he met there, and he had almost been avoiding everypony else until that point." Sterling sighed, and looked up at Gio. "He's just a bit odd. He's an artist, and quite cynical. He doesn't take anything at face value, really. Have you seen any of his art?"

[Giovenith]

"Not any yet, but I know he stuffs papers he's working on under his little blanket nest thing. I'm an artist myself, so I know about the kind of urge to keep unfinished pieces away from other eyes, so I guess that part makes sense," said Giovenith. "And that's a bit of an odd way to meet, but nice, in a way. It's just, I suppose, despite there being few other talking ponies in this world I personally know of, there is something of a stereotype surrounding the idea that they would be overly cheerful, childish, super happy social sacks of sugar. Not that you guys are that, but that's what the wide wild guessing came up with."

Giovenith was unaware that that stereotype already somewhat existed in the world where Equestria resided as well, mainly held among the Griffons and the Dragons. Like any stereotype, it had it's root beginnings in some minor truths (ponies generally did hold something of a 'smile at all, friendship is best' attitude), but getting on the more important picture showed that things were perfectly capable of going, and often did, in wildly different directions than what was expected. Sterling was friendly and cheerful-seeming, but not in the kind of saccharine brain-dead way that had often been portrayed, and Willow... well, Willow was Willow, as they had all just agreed on.

OOC: Gotta go to bed now, see ya round.

[Tiltjuice]

Without warning, Katya linked an arm around one of Dora's and laid down a bit. The cool air was calming to her, especially with its air flow, and being alone with Just Dora was something she didn't do much anymore, which was special.

She looked down at her belly. It was weird that it had just barely grown. In fact, this was probably the first time she had noticed it, ever so slightly puffing out. It would probably be bigger rather soon. Other things certainly were, just as her bust, her frequent fatigue and nausea, hot flashes. All of this she kept secret, though. It was her burden.

"So, Dora, what do you want to do now?", She asked curiously. She hinted at something else, subtly, but calmly.

Dora's glance also drifted downward to Katya's belly, and then she smiled. Having let herself lean back against the two chairs with Katya, she wasn't in a particular hurry to move.

"I've got nowhere else to be. Right away, anyway," Dora admitted, and then leaned in closer, kissing Katya again after a long while. As she pulled away, she raised an eyebrow and shot an inquisitive look to Katya. "We never did get to thoroughly celebrate your pregnancy. Luce and Yoshi aren't here, but maybe we could hold our own?"

Outside, the rain continued showering down from clouds as gray as the ex-Conservator's eyes.

---

"Eh?" Misaki hadn't ever seen anything like it. The fabric of her kimono and even the things underneath it seemed to dry in record time. It was an interesting ability. Misaki, although one of Lust's cultists, wasn't part of Minerva's group. The concept of time manipulation elluded her. She briefly wondered if he could cause people to burn right up like a mouthful of pork accidentally dropped into a fire.

She waited to speak lest she break his concentration. She bowed once he removed his hands. "Yes, let's split up and meet back here. I will start with those my boss considers close friends. They might be more open to receiving me. I shall start with Mr. Nikanor as he is her oldest friend here."

The tiny Asian smoothed out a few wrinkles... it would take a press to restore the material to absolute crisp edges... and bowed to the Conservator. "Thank you for drying me." She would have added that she was curious as to how he did it, but she felt it would be rude to ask.

"Of course," Luce said, as mildly and tranquilly as ever, with an answering bow. "I could not let you remain as you were, in good conscience." He didn't know if cultists could get sick, but that wasn't best left to chance.

"As for myself, I..." He thought for a few moments. "...I will start with my Sister, to see if she has any insights on why she received a cane; and then move on to her one-time lover, the demon/goddess."

He bowed slightly again, and then headed off toward the stairs.

---

Hans used the tissue to wipe the moisture from his cheek. His eye was reddened from the irritation but he ignored the sting.

He pushed the peanut bowl away. "We warn others. We tell them to be on guard. To not leave themselves exposed. To not confront him. Confronting him feeds him power."

The cultist realized people wouldn't believe them. That was how it was every time Bane turned up. It was frustrating. It was even more frustrating when they set out to try to find him. Bane grew powerful from those brave beings.

"We can also ask them to report anything unusual. Have them go to a central person. Our group is hard to find, and most have gone to ground. Perhaps one of your people? Luce? I don't know his rank within your structure but he seems to know people. They seem comfortable around him."

A thought dawned on him, a memory of Chrys' fierce nature during their fight in Japan. He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of her own. "Don't run out there trying to find him. He won't listen to reason. He slips through time, and out of it, as easily as Minerva and your group. More than that, he caught Minerva once by that method. Tore her legs off and used the bones to nail her to a box. He's too powerful for you and I," he implored her. "Please, Chrys. You're my friend. It would be terrible if your light were extinguished from the universe."

Chrys' eyes narrowed in concentration, and she nodded in response to Hans' initial warnings on what the others should do with Bane. And unusual - that would be hard, she thought, in this building. She opened her mouth to ask a follow-up question on that, but paused as Hans continued and covered her hand with his.

"Not to worry, I like my limbs right where they are," she replied in her usual light chime, even as chills snaked up and down her spine at the idea of confronting someone who shared at least one power with her. She gave Hans what she hoped was an encouraging look, and squeezed his hand lightly.

It was at that point that a key turned in the lock and Luce stepped inside, stopping short as he saw Hans.

"Hello," he greeted the cultist, somewhat surprised to see him. The door shut with a soft thud.

---

"Sure thing.",, Torii saluted. "I'll drop by, grab my gun and my uniform, and then we can get moving."

"Not any yet, but I know he stuffs papers he's working on under his little blanket nest thing. I'm an artist myself, so I know about the kind of urge to keep unfinished pieces away from other eyes, so I guess that part makes sense," said Giovenith. "And that's a bit of an odd way to meet, but nice, in a way. It's just, I suppose, despite there being few other talking ponies in this world I personally know of, there is something of a stereotype surrounding the idea that they would be overly cheerful, childish, super happy social sacks of sugar. Not that you guys are that, but that's what the wide wild guessing came up with."

Giovenith was unaware that that stereotype already somewhat existed in the world where Equestria resided as well, mainly held among the Griffons and the Dragons. Like any stereotype, it had it's root beginnings in some minor truths (ponies generally did hold something of a 'smile at all, friendship is best' attitude), but getting on the more important picture showed that things were perfectly capable of going, and often did, in wildly different directions than what was expected. Sterling was friendly and cheerful-seeming, but not in the kind of saccharine brain-dead way that had often been portrayed, and Willow... well, Willow was Willow, as they had all just agreed on.

OOC: Gotta go to bed now, see ya round.

Tasia led the way through the double doors to the communal kitchen, where she paused to grab a soda. Blinking casually at Giovenith, whom she recognized, she saw what seemed to be a black and gray pony as she turned slightly toward the exit to the hallway. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced backward at Torii to see if she saw it, too.

OOC - Goodnight Gio, and laters!

---

Iridescent

18 year old Abel casually exited his room and locked the apartment door behind him. He had spent an entire day sorting out his stuff and cleaning up the place to his liking. Right now he decided to go out, relax and explore a few of the places the crazy receptionist has suggested to him on the very first day he arrived.

Tilting the metal forehead protector to cover his left Sharingan eye, Abel smoothened his white hair and nonchalantly proceeded out of the building, not forgetting to bring along one of his favorite novels of course. It didn't take him that long to reach the Chaos Restaurant which was surprisingly quite nearby and before he finished reading 4 pages of the story he had already entered the place.

"Hmph......the old man was right afterall," Abel thought to himself as he calmly looked around the area. "This IS neutral ground.....there's a certain change to the usual atmosphere I was experiencing not long ago and I can already feel my chakra ebbing to the point of a normal human being's energy force. Just right enough to prevent me or anybody else in here from using magic or any stuff like that.......oh well...."

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to take a seat at a nearby vacant table and to continue his novel while waiting for someone to come and take his order.

(Image)

A rabbit and a tortoise watched the newcomer from a hidden vantage point. They were barely visible, behind the bar.

What do you make of this one? signed the first.

Don't know. Same approach prob, tapped the second, who couldn't talk, in Morse code.

And so it proved, as the once and current head chef of Chaos pushed open the double doors to welcome the newest patron and building resident himself, as he had done for others. Bronzed chef's hat atop his head, the gray-haired, clean-shaven man stopped at Abel's table.

"Welcome!" he boomed jovially, with a wide smile. "I am Cuisine, the head chef here. Having not seen you before, would I be right in guessing that this is your first time here?"

[The Abel Imaginarium]

Iridescent

18 year old Abel casually exited his room and locked the apartment door behind him. He had spent an entire day sorting out his stuff and cleaning up the place to his liking. Right now he decided to go out, relax and explore a few of the places the crazy receptionist has suggested to him on the very first day he arrived.

Tilting the metal forehead protector to cover his left Sharingan eye, Abel smoothened his white hair and nonchalantly proceeded out of the building, not forgetting to bring along one of his favorite novels of course. It didn't take him that long to reach the Chaos Restaurant which was surprisingly quite nearby and before he finished reading 4 pages of the story he had already entered the place.

"Hmph......the old man was right afterall," Abel thought to himself as he calmly looked around the area. "This IS neutral ground.....there's a certain change to the usual atmosphere I was experiencing not long ago and I can already feel my chakra ebbing to the point of a normal human being's energy force. Just right enough to prevent me or anybody else in here from using magic or any stuff like that.......oh well...."

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to take a seat at a nearby vacant table and to continue his novel while waiting for someone to come and take his order.

(Image)

A rabbit and a tortoise watched the newcomer from a hidden vantage point. They were barely visible, behind the bar.

What do you make of this one? signed the first.

Don't know. Same approach prob, tapped the second, who couldn't talk, in Morse code.

And so it proved, as the once and current head chef of Chaos pushed open the double doors to welcome the newest patron and building resident himself, as he had done for others. Bronzed chef's hat atop his head, the gray-haired, clean-shaven man stopped at Abel's table.

"Welcome!" he boomed jovially, with a wide smile. "I am Cuisine, the head chef here. Having not seen you before, would I be right in guessing that this is your first time here?"

Iridescent

Abel looked with surprise at the jovial elderly man who was a far cry from the lobby receptionist within the Apartment building.

Closing his novel calmly, he grinned from under his mask and replied, "Nice to meet you too....my name is Abel and yes....I just arrived at Bielefield only yesterday so I'm not surprised that you haven't seen me before. I heard that this was quite a popular hang-out area for the other residents in the apartment building so since I still have some free time, I decided to come and explore this place a little and hopefully get acquainted with a few of the said residents."

[Cerillium]

(OOC: in the spirit of odd spoiler titles)

Swith stared at her 1938 Opel Admiral 4-Door Cabriolet. She didn't mind if Minerva drove it. She was actually glad it was in good running condition. The lollipop stuck to the back seat annoyed her, as did the smell of wet wool.

Damnit Klaus!

Who else wore a wool uniform and would dare to ride around in her car?

She pried the lollipop from the seat and, thinking of no better way to clean it, ran her tongue along the leather until the sticky was gone. Hey, why not? Wouldn't you if you were Swith? Simple solutions work best.

The seat was nice and comfy and she turned on the heater before nudging the old car into gear and leaving the parking garage. She needed to get rid of Fram. To do that, she needed a young priest and an old priest. Any denomination would do. She almost considered dragging Fred Phelps up from America, but she didn't think she could stomach him. His liver, maybe. Not his personality. Then again...

The car stopped right before the street.

Then again, why not? He was perfect!

She backed up and reclaimed her parking spot, got out and closed the door. America, land of the free.

--

*KNOCK KNOCK*

It seemed innocent enough except for the fact that it was assertive and coming from ol' Fred's bedroom closet. The odd fundamentalist rolled over, not trusting his sleepy brain. He was about to dismiss it as a nightmare when the closet opened and a tiny woman stuck her head out.

"Hey," Swith wiggled her fingers at him.

The preacher bolted upright, sheets clutched to his chest.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a chaos god."

With that, she leaped from closet to bed, tackling him with enough force to knock him back to the mattress.

"Nom nom," she grinned, but she did nothing of the sort. Instead, she painfully sunk her sharp teeth into his shoulder and they vanished with a pop.



The Lair was just as opulent as when our readers last left it. The stench of grapes, sex and popcorn filled the space... all Fram's doing. She hadn't set foot in her home away from home since only Elohim himself knew when. The lights were low and the drooped bodies of succubi and incubi littered the floor.

"Watch your step," she warned the fractious pastor. "And don't, for any gods' sake, wake them up."

She frog marched him across the room until he was right in front of the empty throne.

"Right. Exorcise the bastard. I haven't got all day. My kids are due to wake up soon, and if I don't let the dogs out, they'll pee all over my kitchen."

Fred stared at the throne and then back at her. Warm blood trickled down his chest and dampened his night shirt. "What the hell? Foul creature! What the hell!"

Swith, oblivious to his pantheon's way of doing things, nodded her head. This was obviously part of the ritual.

The voluminous purple ostrich feathers laying beside the throne parted just enough for Fram to peer out at Swith and.....

"OHMYGODOHMYGOD! You brought Reverend Henry Kane!" Fram gushed.

He noted Swith's expression and huffed. "Oh you are a stick in the mud. Henry Kane. The leader of a Satanic, 19th century utopian cult who held an apocalyptic view on the world, sealing himself and his followers inside a cave system in order to die until they were dead."

The succubus on top of Fram grunted as he shoved her aside. He rose and positively beamed at the Reverend Fred Phelps. "I can't tell you what a pleasure it is having you here. Do sit down, silly beast. I'll whip up some cocktails!"

By that he meant he'd shout "brandy!" until glasses materialized in everyone's hands.

"Ogoti."

Kei stopped when she said the name. T'was a good name, and she dwelt on that for a few seconds before continuing. "I'm not. I'm really not happy with my existence now. There's no point other than to coddle Tieria, and then what do I get in return? Absolutely shit-all. There's no dates anymore, no "I love you, Kei" that I wake up looking forward to, and I guess no freedom."

The woman was letting it all out now, sounding like a pitiful child, but did she care? No. It felt too good to stop now.

"Tieria's nice, and I suppose I love him. But does he love me in return? I have no idea. I've never held down a relationship before like this, and . . . I don't think I'm even ready to do so."

"You can not suppose," Ogoti mused, "You either do or you do not. There isn't any suppose. So you must ask yourself, "Am I in love with him or am I in love with the thought of being in love?" The answer you give should always be honest. Never lie to yourself."

He folded his brown hands on his chest and regarded Kei. "Tieria seems to be a very nice man but I know little about him. You were with him before but broke off your relationship. Now you're back together. This isn't fair to him. Be there for him or do not be there for him."

Ogoti had an unspoken rule: never get between lovers. Polyamorous relationships grew sour when one attempted to speak ill of another's choice. The old god searched his heart and found that his desire to speak his mind wasn't due to attraction or undermining a rival. He found himself genuinely concerned for her overall well-being.

He leaned forward and set his palms on the table. His voice took on a kinder edge which was enhanced by his Indian English cadence. "Kei, listen to me. You can not coddle a man. You shouldn't even coddle a child. How will they grow strong if you always hold them? When you hold them, you hold them back. Some women coddle because they are selfish. They are strong, domineering women who get their way. This isn't a good idea. They want to keep that man trapped to their side. Some women coddle a man because he refuses to be a man. This is a parasitical relationship. All her energies are spent reassuring this type of man. He traps her into being both lover and mother.

"A woman is a beautiful creature. She is fashioned to be strong yet gentle, wise yet silly, nurturing yet encouraging. She can bear more physical pain than a man, in my belief. She is fashioned this way because she is a woman. A woman can be a powerful mate. She can be a powerful mother. She shouldn't be both things to the same person. To do so in draining on her psyche."

His eyes closed and he inhaled to settle his thoughts. "I ask this: what do you do together? Does your Tieria take an interest in your likes and dislikes? More importantly, do you take an interest in his? If all you do is have sex and wake up, this is not a healthy relationship."

He leaned back again and sighed. He'd spoken part of his mind.

[The BranRiech]

Seeing what was happening in the game made Drova giggle with glee. She didn't even know something so realistic (And funny looking) was possible with only electronics, that, for them, only powered lights and some types of Vehicles, like their version of cars that resembled minecarts that were electrically powered, much like a tram. Pollution, of course, was nearly non-existant, thanks to strict regulations about that, but still, smog could be a problem down in the mines.

"Heh, that was hilarious!" She continued giggling, and smiling back at Octavian. The smile Octavian received was quite uncharacteristic for Drova as well, and she never thoughts she'd smile that much.

--

"Truly? I believe he loves me, but realistically, based on his actions, I sometimes have to question it. We only do things when it's convenient for him, and he never says "I love you, Kei" anymore like he used to." Kei sighed. Ogoti was right. Tieria seemed to rely on her. He was tethered to her for moral support, but never gave anything in return to the goddess, who simply wanted to settle down, but still keep independence.

"You're right, about it all." She admitted. "He never grew up with a mother, I think he's drawing parallels with me and a mother he never had. It sounds reasonable, I'd say, but it's not."