Personification Life - IC Part VIII [open]

[Torsiedelle]

After a few seconds, Katya pulled away and scooted up beside Yoshi. She still felt a little awkward, being alone in Dora's apartment. She was also a little annoyed by her sudden departure. She still expected some time together. She wanted that much from the woman.

[Swith Witherward]

Toshi's foul mood intensified when he noticed the empty ball crawl. He opened the door and kicked balls out of the way. "Where are you little shits?" he crooned. "Come out wherever you are. Toshi has candy for you. Are you hungry?"

He stood and listened for sounds of breathing but heard nothing. Why hadn't the clown reported their escape? He spun to glare at the thing. Truth be told, and unknown to Toshi, Plotter's hand had clouded the clown's glowing, hollow eyes. It clouded Toshi's mind as well.

He stormed from the ball crawl and yanked open the outer door hard enough to make the hinges protest. His cruel eyes scanned the empty grounds. He hissed and strode into the fog.

He'd neglected to close the ball crawl pit's door.

---

Hans raised an eyebrow. "He took them to the Carnal Carnival's winter grounds?"

It was the only carnival he was familiar with but it made sense. No one would stumble on it; no one would be able to reach it outside of his pantheon. He picked the boy up and smiled at Chrys.

"Up for a little covert work?"

Sydney waited until the count of 100 just to be extra super sure Toshi wasn't coming back inside. The yellow ball shimmered and was replaced by two brown mice.

"Well," she said in a soft, mousy voice, "it's now or ever, Rachelle." She put her paws on the edge of the opening and hauled herself up, then dropped to the floor. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

--

Siduer was content to be held. He wrapped his arms around Hans neck and felt some of his frustrations leave him. "I'm sorry I hit your legs. That was mean. I'm sorry." He said this in a whisper just because.

[Urran]

After a few seconds, Katya pulled away and scooted up beside Yoshi. She still felt a little awkward, being alone in Dora's apartment. She was also a little annoyed by her sudden departure. She still expected some time together. She wanted that much from the woman.

He wrapped an arm around her with a blush. "So..w-what all did I miss while I was dead?" He figured that he would start conversation to pass the time, and besides, it would help them bond further.

[Torsiedelle]

"Well, here was another carnival. It was nice. Not as....adult as last time. Tora and her girlfriend had a few problems, from what she told me, but miss Giovenith helped them. She's so great...I wouldn't be surprised if Tira had a little crush in her new friend. Let's see, Branson has been up to something, I know, but I forget what. Kei and I hung out a few times. Of course, you know, Dora found some more "partners"...I'm not particularly happy about that. Not at all."

[The BranRiech]

"Mice?" Rachelle squeaked. Admittedly, it was pretty cool, and she could actually say she was a ball before, not that she would, but still, something new every day, right? She followed along and clambered out and through the door, down to the ground. It didn't help that Rachelle still didn't know where they were, they could have been on a different planet for all she knew.

--

Kei sat, taking a sip from her drink, when she offered it to Tieria, as he'd requested. She also ordered a burger for them to share, opting to have a fried egg placed on top, over the cheese and bacon, yet under the bun. It was something she wanted to try ever since her user tried it a few times and absolutely loved it.

[Urran]

"W-well...y-you have more than one partner...a-at first I wasn't happy about it, but I've come to accept it. Dora is Dora, you can either accept that she practices polyamory, because of what she is, or you can leave her. But I think that that would be sad. She was one of your first loves." Yoshi said with a nod, rubbing Katya's shoulder.


Tieria downed some of the EB and smiled. "I like it, it's nice." he ordered some more of the beverage.

[Primordial Luxa]

Primordial could see the wheels turning in Arthur's head and guested his intention well enough to excuse himself. He casually looks at his PCPU before remarking "Im quite sorry to do this to you, but do you think you could finish giving Arthur a tour? Something came up that requires my immediate attention." Insidious raises an eyebrow but he gives her a look that makes asking useless. "Of course" she says to him as primordial swiftly leaves the library. "So...what do you want to see" she says casting her arms wide to motion to the trillions of books surrounding them.

"Got anything that hasn't been written yet?" Arthur asked with a smirk. He waited for the right moment to say the right thing, putting his psychological skills to use. He deduced that her amoral corruption was the result of a past pain that cut deep, however the differences in cultural idiosyncrasies disallowed further deductions.

In the meantime he quickly climbed up the shelves to reach her level. After pulling himself over the rail he dusted off his suit and straightened his tie with a smile.

She perks up "We do indeed, by the standard time in this universe over 68% of our library hasn't been written, while another 12% will never be written." She turns her skin turning a deep pink in color with sets of curling smoke falling off her shoulders in strange tattooed patterns. "This way" she says walking down the rows of shelf's, as they walked it was obvious space was bending around them to allow them to walk the vast length of the room as though it were small and the shelf's wizzed by as blurs of color. "Anything you had in mind specifically?" He tone betrayed little beyond the normal hyper sensitization she embodied, while her form was lithe and liquid moving like smoke through the spacial anomaly. She was difficult to judge but if she did have some sort of hidden trauma it must be horrific beyond measure to warrant this much reactive joy as a cover.

[Torsiedelle]

"W-well...y-you have more than one partner...a-at first I wasn't happy about it, but I've come to accept it. Dora is Dora, you can either accept that she practices polyamory, because of what she is, or you can leave her. But I think that that would be sad. She was one of your first loves." Yoshi said with a nod, rubbing Katya's shoulder.


Tieria downed some of the EB and smiled. "I like it, it's nice." he ordered some more of the beverage.

"That's another thing.", Katya said. "Look....I know what I'm in right now is.....weird. I feel bad about it. I should be with just you, but....Dora...and she had all these others, and I didn't know about them. That pisses. Me. Off. Big time. "

She leaned back and huffed. "I'm sure I haven't given you enough time lately, let's go to my place so we can change that.", She said, mimicking the other woman's voice. "I mean, come know, that wasn't a lot of fucking time. I bet she's off with some other partner right now. At least.....I don't know. I just don't like it. It's hypocritical, but I don't care."

[Cerillium]

Inside the Room
The girls would encounter no resistance. The clown's eyes were blinded to their movements.

Outside, on the Carnival grounds
Toshi began checking the area. Nearly everything was still shut tight but that didn't mean small little shits weren't hiding in trash cans or under trailers.

Back at the Temple Gate
Hans heard Siduer's whisper. He sighed. "Next time, try words and not actions, alright?"

The cultist held his hand out to Chrys. "Take it. I'll move us there. We go, we try to find them, we avoid being noticed. Cat and mouse? There could be a hundred cultists guarding them for all we know. Let's plan for the worst?"

The Lobby
Ogoti chuckled. "Each person is unique, and they broadcast a unique aura. I recognized yours."

He stepped to the side to grant Dora a better view of the overly stuffed mailbox. It wouldn't normally be this packed but another handler wanted "mailbox checking" to be her thing so she'd have something to do IC and then she promptly forgets to check it (jab, poke jab). Ogoti's handler has digressed.....

"Just junk mail and catalogs," he shrugged, put his styrofoam cup upright in the box and shut the door again. "You look like you could use some coffee."

[Urran]

Yoshi sighed. "Her love for you hasn't changed, she just has more partners. I-I felt this way when you slept with her behind my back. I-it's a lonely and cold feeling, but Conservators HAVE to practice polyamory. It's part of their biology and psychology. She explained it to me in depth. N-now when she's not here, y-you do have me....y-you are making me feel like I'm not enough"

[Torsiedelle]

Yoshi sighed. "Her love for you hasn't changed, she just has more partners. I-I felt this way when you slept with her behind my back. I-it's a lonely and cold feeling, but Conservators HAVE to practice polyamory. It's part of their biology and psychology. She explained it to me in depth. N-now when she's not here, y-you do have me....y-you are making me feel like I'm not enough"

"Yea...I am.", Katya agreed coldly. "And that needs to change...Yoshi...I understand, I guess, how you felt. It's not good at all, and I feel bad..."

Katya may have been just angry or emotional at the moment, but she was starting to question a lot of things.

[Urran]

"I love you. N-never forget that Katya. E-even when Dora isn't here, I am. When she is here, I still love you, I love you enough to share you with another just so I can have you at all. I hope that she stays with you because she makes you happy, but if she leaves, or if you decide to leave her, I'm still here. A-and should you ever leave me." the very mention made his already shaky voice break. "I-I'll still love you."

[Swith Witherward]

"Mice?" Rachelle squeaked. Admittedly, it was pretty cool, and she could actually say she was a ball before, not that she would, but still, something new every day, right? She followed along and clambered out and through the door, down to the ground. It didn't help that Rachelle still didn't know where they were, they could have been on a different planet for all she knew.

"Okay, here's the rules," Sydney said, her mind thinking of it like an odd game. "The shadows are bad. The bad guys come out of them, and can see us if we walk in them. And we can't hide in cups and stuff, because they use holes to move around. So we stay in the light and walk like normal mice and if they spot us... we run really quick. And if I d-die," she had some difficulty even coming to terms with that word, "then don't be anyplace that's small because you'll turn back into you and get crushed by the small place."

[Torsiedelle]

"I love you. N-never forget that Katya. E-even when Dora isn't here, I am. When she is here, I still love you, I love you enough to share you with another just so I can have you at all. I hope that she stays with you because she makes you happy, but if she leaves, or if you decide to leave her, I'm still here. A-and should you ever leave me." the very mention made his already shaky voice break. "I-I'll still love you."

That was very calming to the girl, who seemed to be at peace again. "Yoshi...I don't say this enough, but I really love you."

She could say that to him, at least. She meant it, too. That made her feel even worse, but that was quickly pushed away by good thoughts. She still had Yoshi, even when Dora wasn't there.

[Urran]

"I love you too" Yoshi said softly. He kept rubbing her shoulder softly. She was right though, she didn't tell him that she loved him nearly enough. It made him wonder sometimes, but he pressed those thoughts to the back of his mind and banished them.

[Torsiedelle]

"Th.....thanks, Yoshi."

A smile spread across her face. She felt...happy. She felt happy to be sitting there with him. Was this bonding?

She had been so terrible to him. She thought of her mother....no, she wouldn't be like her mother. She was going to stick with Yoshi.

[Urran]

"Th.....thanks, Yoshi."

A smile spread across her face. She felt...happy. She felt happy to be sitting there with him. Was this bonding?

She had been so terrible to him. She thought of her mother....no, she wouldn't be like her mother. She was going to stick with Yoshi.

Yoshi didn't say anything, but he certainly felt closer to Katya than he had in a long while. He also thought of her mother, she was rich, maybe she would send an assassin after him...he gulped at the very thought. He definitely made up his mind to marry her. Mothers and Fathers should be together. Of course, he'd still let her have Dora.

[Tiltjuice]

Temple Gate

Chrys latched on. Hans' hand was solid, and warm.

"Good plan, good approach, I'm good to go whenever you are." Her eyes blazed the battle, murder, and sudden death look of her Celtic ancestors in preparation.

The Lobby

Dora's handler is very confused. Fortunately Dora is the sort who usually isn't confused.

"Well, we never did have that coffee date," she suggested. "Chaos?"

Dora's apartment

Luce finally finished his last round of darts and stood, brushing himself off. The statue of Denise in the far corner wasn't visible from where Katya and Yoshi were sitting next to the wall separating the closet and the entryway, so it must have been odd when he addressed it.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that," he admonished mildly, before turning to the pair. "Dora will come around. She's easy to talk to, and easy to deal with. No surprises, that one. Could I get you tea?"

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

"Got anything that hasn't been written yet?" Arthur asked with a smirk. He waited for the right moment to say the right thing, putting his psychological skills to use. He deduced that her amoral corruption was the result of a past pain that cut deep, however the differences in cultural idiosyncrasies disallowed further deductions.

In the meantime he quickly climbed up the shelves to reach her level. After pulling himself over the rail he dusted off his suit and straightened his tie with a smile.

She perks up "We do indeed, by the standard time in this universe over 68% of our library hasn't been written, while another 12% will never be written." She turns her skin turning a deep pink in color with sets of curling smoke falling off her shoulders in strange tattooed patterns. "This way" she says walking down the rows of shelf's, as they walked it was obvious space was bending around them to allow them to walk the vast length of the room as though it were small and the shelf's wizzed by as blurs of color. "Anything you had in mind specifically?" He tone betrayed little beyond the normal hyper sensitization she embodied, while her form was lithe and liquid moving like smoke through the spacial anomaly. She was difficult to judge but if she did have some sort of hidden trauma it must be horrific beyond measure to warrant this much reactive joy as a cover.

"Encyclopedia Galactica volume "APE" would be a start, then work our way out from there. Doing some research on a company my latest case study works for."Arthur explained as he remembered the stranger. He was taking things slow, trying not to look desperate. With as friendly a face he could muster he forgot to breath. Letting out a smokey cough he followed as he lit another cigarette, which was probably not a good idea to do around books.

[Torsiedelle]

Katya leaned against her boyfriend and closed her eyes. She was enjoying this a lot, despite being "ditched" by Dora. "Hey, Yoshi?", She asked. "Why don't we take a nap? Maybe just lay down for a few?"

Then Luce came in. She almost forgot he was there!

"Oh, tea? Um...sure. Would you care to join us? I haven't spoken with you in a while, Luce. It will be refreshing....wait...were you speaking with nothing?"

[Urran]

Katya leaned against her boyfriend and closed her eyes. She was enjoying this a lot, despite being "ditched" by Dora. "Hey, Yoshi?", She asked. "Why don't we take a nap? Maybe just lay down for a few?"

Yoshi looked up at Luce and shook his head, assuming that he was talking to them in his drowsy state. "No thank you Sir" he said politely. He turned back to Katya. "Yes, I-I'd like that."

[Tiltjuice]

Luce blinked in surprise. "Ah, you haven't seen Denise. She's - well, she's sort of our unofficial mascot, Dropped in to visit one day, and then she seemed to fall asleep and not wake up, so we took the liberty of preserving her. Chrys and I, I mean." He beckoned them to look around the corner.

"As for the tea - you two seem to be in two minds about that. I'll just leave a pot for you then, shall I? Feel free to help yourselves."

He smiled benignly and zoomed into the kitchen in a blur, then back out with a freshly made, steaming pot and two cups, which he left on the table closest to Katya and Yoshi. Katya and Yoshi seemed to be having differing opinions both on the tea (a relatively minor matter) and about wanting his company (somewhat less minor). So, erring on the side of caution in not intruding, he smiled again. "Maybe another time. Thank you for the offer, however."

He disappeared silently into the master bedroom to allow them privacy, switched on the TV, and began watching Animal Planet.

[AETEN II]

Tipper woke up and stretched against Volturius, who was spooning behind her. It was toasty warm under his wings. She knew they helped him cool down in some fashion, perhaps dispelling body heat or else the capillaries basked in the cooler temperature of the air and cooled down his blood. She wasn't too certain. What she was certain of was that they contained his scent. She stroked the membrane between two of the long finger bones and shivered in pleasure. She loved Snuggy's wings.

Their clothing had been in their room upon their return, not that they had any use for it. Instead, they'd basked in a little celebration all their own before falling to sleep exhausted from their efforts. The little cultist wasn't sure what time of day it was. It was getting more and more difficult for her to gauge it, especially as the warm sunlight that trickled through their window seemed to vanish earlier and earlier each night. She wondered if this was normal.

She closed her eyes and gave the Noise Marines some thought. Their presence had triggered memories in her. She tried to chase those thoughts down afterwards but to no avail... whatever the experiences were, they were lost to her.

The little cultist rolled over in Volturius' embrace and playfully nipped at his pectoral muscle with her strange teeth.

The muscle twitched slightly, both from the stimulus of Tipper's biting and likely from remaining signals from the previous performance, still trickling throughout his system. It was also likely amplified by the nip's close location to the large metal valve embedded in the muscle, a good inch or two from the spot of Tipper's nibbling. The bolt, from his augmentation during ascension to an astartes, connected to a small web of wires and tubes that connected to his organs and veins- allowing for combat 'stimulants' to be fed directly into his body, along with nutrients, and was thoroughly abused from its original purpose. Ages ago he might have found it painful for any contact to be made- horrendous even considering how it was firmly connected to his body. However, with time, his body had fully fused with it and all the other augmentations- his mechanical augments were treated like any other organic tissue by his body, and his tissues had fully bonded with them.

The tissue around them twitched further with Tipper's continued nibbling until Volturius was finally dragged out of his sleep. Normally, his waking would be an enjoyed event, were it not from the giant ball of light-pink hair that was stuck in his mouth. The Raptor gagged at the unpleasant surprise, coughing until an arm reached up from under Tipper and forcibly pulled her hair out of his mouth. Volturius smacked his jaw, rife with the unpleasant taste of keratin from Tipper's long locks that had somehow wiggled their way into his mouth during his sleep. Worse still, his hand was now busy exacting shed strands of pink hair from his black tongue, wiping his digits off on her bare shoulder and returning the hair to its owner.

"Bleh. From now o- PFT..., on, tie your hair in a bun when sleeping. Keratin is a terrible taste to awake to." Volturius commented to Tipper, not exactly annoyed at her, but more specifically what grew from her scalp and he found currently in his mouth. Blessed by Slaanesh be damned, yes, her mutations were 'holy' gifts indeed, but blessed hair or not, it still tasted terrible.

[The BranRiech]

"If I die . . ." Rachelle squeaked once more, following along, wondering if mice moved in pairs. She certainly was scared, the clown that could be hiding security cameras, the shadows where bad guys would pop out of like a horror movie, and simply being spotted added up to be one of the more dangerous events of her life, right up there with the Drones. "If I die, blame this adventure on me, if I don't make it, it was my idea to go to Paris and Japan, not yours."

She spoke once more. "You'll do that for me, right?"

--

"Hmm, it is good, isn't it? Y-You should try more, and more, and more . . ."

Kei's dialogue was indicative of what she'd definitely be ordering more and more and more of, ending up buzzed within a few minutes of downing drink. She shrugged, not feeling as good as she once did, drinking for fun with the Conservators, where the point was to drink as much as possible and have fun afterwards. Now it was just her and Tieria, someone who couldn't even get drunk!

[Cerillium]

Temple Gate

Chrys latched on. Hans' hand was solid, and warm.

"Good plan, good approach, I'm good to go whenever you are." Her eyes blazed the battle, murder, and sudden death look of her Celtic ancestors in preparation.

The Lobby

Dora's handler is very confused. Fortunately Dora is the sort who usually isn't confused.

"Well, we never did have that coffee date," she suggested. "Chaos?"

Chrys and Hans (and Siduer)
(OOC note: Japan is several times zones ahead of Bielefeld. It is still early evening in the city.)
The peculiar sensation of Chrys' delicate fingers clasping Hans' calloused hand caused him to pause. He focused on her and noted the paradoxical turn his life had taken. The old cultist stood under a Japanese harvest moon in physical contact with a female. He had a small child on his hip.

It wasn’t romantic intentions that sprang to mind; he was thrust into that wonderful realm of being simply human again. It hadn’t been the cardigan earlier. It was Chrys herself. She wove a healing spell that shook his very foundations. Cool night air filled his lungs as he inhaled deeply. His Aryan features hardened. A steely glint seemed to radiate from his blue eyes. Her passion for battle kindled a kindred fire in his heart. He felt alive.

“We could take on the world, you and me,” he growled appreciatively. A fit of mischievous determination struck him. He gripped her hand more tightly and leaned towards her until their foreheads were touching. “I believe we could push back the hosts of Hell if we worked as a team. I like you, Conservator Chrys. I like your style.”

His eyes cast about for a good departure point and settled on a stone lantern tucked amd leafy ferns. It would do. He began to lead her towards it.

---

Dora
Ogoti, unlike Hans, had romantic intentions on his mind. His heart had stirred when he first detected Dora's approach. It now brimmed with could only be described as “warm fuzzies”. She’d remembered his offer! She’d taken time away from her other lovers to seek him out.

A smiled flickered to the corners of his mouth. His eyes didn’t lustfully rake over her. Rather, he worshipped every aspect of her. He longed to feel her fingertips brush his bare chest. He wondered if her hair was as soft as it appeared and he entertained the mild fantasy of cupping her chin to draw her mouth closer for a kiss. Here was a woman who deserved to be venerated by the gods.

Ogoti chastised himself. Any woman of such character should be courted. Perhaps he’d bed her in time if she was willing, but the chase – oh that thrilling chase – was just as exciting a prospect.

“My dear, everyone seems to haul you off to coffee or a dinner. I have a better idea. It’s not quite fall yet and the air is nice. Why don’t we take off our shoes, roll up our cuffs and walk barefoot on the beach? I’ll share my thoughts about my brother. Perhaps you can help me sort out my ideas regarding him? And in turn I’ll offer an eager ear to you and you can tell me what had you so displeased earlier. Unless, of course, you’d rather sit in some boring restaurant and stew over a cup of mediocre java?”

---

Rachelle and Sydney
The arcade already felt sinister; to two small mice, it was positively malevolent. Dark shadows loomed across the floor. The clown bobbed forwards and back, its sculpted resin face mocking Sydney and Rachelle as it leered down at them.

One dollar. A dollar wins a prize. The audio, which had been turned down on the device lest it annoy Toshi, was now detectable to mouse ears. The recorded voice was warped from years of use. It warbled low and then high and ended each sentence with haunting, hollow laughter. One dollar. Step right up!

Hardened chewing gum stained the floor in front of the dormant video games. The linoleum reeked of piss and grass clippings; it was somewhat sticking under their bare paws. There was a path between the ball crawl and the door that was clear of shadows but getting to it meant scurrying into the clown’s shadow as it swung forward.

One dollar wins a prize. Step right up!