Personification Life - IC Part VIII [open]

[The BranRiech]

The fall wasn't what got her (but the topic of their past conversations was now quite ironic), but it was where they appeared that really made Yuna smile. It looked like a larger, more fancy version of a commoners dwelling from her own homeland. The lack of windows visible made her feel secure, and the furnishings were perfectly fitting for her standards.

Training? Was this something having to do with her work? It couldn't be, but she had told Minerva about her work, so maybe? It was a possibility for the girl, but this was probably something else.

"It'll do perfectly, thank you, Will." She nodded, somewhat confused. Too late, the one person who could explain what was happening had already locked her in her room.

Investigating, she found that the only way out seemed to be the door, and that was locked from the outside. This didn't surprise her though, with her parents having doors locked all throughout the palace. "Bookwork?" She asked herself. Yeah, bookwork. She got to sitting down in the funky little chair in the corner, flipping through her book, scribbling things down, revising some sloppy work, and other things that happened to do with books.

Alright, bed time.

The young Pyersai slipped from her robes, leaving them folded in a corner where it seemed to be convenient. The next step was her underclothes, and then to the bath, and then to bed. It was a simple process, and wasn't thrown into this post because hey, baths are boring, as well as people simply going to bed, so it happened, but wasn't given detail.

--

The Prince's door opened with a sigh, only the sound came from Drova. He stood there, looking defeated. "Delivery?" He asked. "I didn't order anything, so what's the deal with this?"

[Erucia]

"S-Sorry, Ray..... I'm more mad at myself for not being able to protect you, really.... I didn't mean to hurt you at all. I'm just having quite a hard time controlling my emotions than anything. I'm not mad at you at all. I just.... Sorry." Albert shrunk back from Ray. He really didn't mean to piss Ray off. He just wasn't used to many of these feelings. And his kind of habitual reaction to strange emotions was to distract himself with violence. So he kind of did something incredibly stupid by shouting at Ray and punching him.

"I'm really sorry. I've never had someone as important as you to me die before. I really had no idea what to do.... so I kinda just fell back into old habits, I suppose..... I'll just head back to the apartment with Jacob...." Albert really had no idea what to say to Ray to make up for this, or what to do. So he thought it might be best to leave him alone for now. So He quietly headed over to Jacob, before looking back at Ray. "Unless you want to follow us.... Because I certainly don't want to hang around in someone else's house naked, so I'm guessing you might not want to either...."

He really wanted to hug Ray more, but he guessed he might have screwed up quite royally with this. He just hoped Ray would forgive him eventually. Albert realized he should have really have done something else when Ray had been revived, but he had chosen instead to let his anger at himself show up first. And for some reason had chosen to punch Ray. Albert looked towards the floor instead of at Ray's face directly, because he was worried he had messed up way too badly and drove Ray away from him.

Ray simply stood with his arms crossed, breathing heavily with the deep tone of frustration behind it all. He simply stood there and refused to look at Albert for several moments, as a method of revenge against having been punched. Staying away physically was a method of regaining some self control, and gradually, he felt his soft side coming back again. Or, whatever side wasn't going nuts with the more angered emotions.

But, after some period of time just standing there, he had the opportunity to repeatedly analyze what Albert had said. And with a decently short amount of time, it succeeded in wearing down on his heart and turning his feelings around. Ray began to cry lightly at first, and again went into a near-sobbing state with his face in his hands. In an attempt to counteract (or fuel) the crying, Ray walked back over to Albert and decided to grant him what they both desired.

"....I-I'm sorry...B-But don't do that to me again....", he choked out between periodic episodes of sobbing.

[Urran]

Yoshi scoffed at Ogoti and got up to walk out. And then he caught himself. What was happening to him? Did he have more of Akito's blood than he thought? He could have handled Octavian a bit better, but he had hurt Tora. Was he being over protective? Had he let his anger blind him? He felt ashamed. He felt different. He had never really been angry before and then Octavian struck Tora. He was scared, he had gone against everything that he stood for. Ogoti was right. He was a fool. Most people would have found it understandable for Yoshi to be angry at Octavian, maybe even curse him out, but not Yoshi. He felt that something was wrong with him, did something have a grip on his spirit? He had just SCOFFED at a chaos god! He gulped and began slowly walking backwards.

[Giovenith]

"I understand," Giovenith said, nodding. Ogoti's words had shun a much clearer light in the situation. No further comment was given by the girl, as the elder god had obviously said all that really had needed to be said. Yoshi should not have been violent, and, although it had not been said or really suggested, Giovenith had still extracted the message from the whole situation, that she herself needed to be a little less of a friend-pleaser and be more pointed when a friend did something wrong.

But despite her seeing the clarity of these things, Giovenith was still feeling a little sorry for Yoshi, mainly by the distress he showed now. It was the same irrational sympathy that doting, non-parental relative (like a grandparent or aunt) would experience when watching a child be disciplined by their parent. They knew it was the right thing to do, but they still found themselves wanting to be coddling, and had to restrict that for the better good.

[Urran]

Yoshi needed to lie down. Today had been for too much. He felt like himself again. But what was that earlier? He had felt like himself, but at the same time he felt like he was a complete stranger. He had been violent and rude. He wasn't like that! And he felt that he couldn't tell Gio or Ogoti how he felt because they might think that he was crazy, so instead they were going to think him a bad person. That was just great. "Thank you very much Mr. Ogoti" he said with a curt bow and turned to leave. He tussled Gio's hair. "G-goond night Gio." he turned limped out of the clinic and into the hallway.

[Torsiedelle]

"Oh..."

Katya chuckled. "We don't have a printer. Maybe there's one around....wait a minute, I got it!"

She walked to the dresser, peaked in, and started reaching around for something. "Here ya go!", She enthusiastically said, tossing Dora an old TF gun.

"Forgot we had that. Just out it back when your done. I'm sure you can get a printer, now. I'm taking a shower."

She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. After a minute, the shower came on, and area started puffing out from the door.

....

"Not particularly.", Dimitrus replied to Dia. "We've just had...incidents. well, not I, but my company, on some occasions."

[Urran]

Tieria felt a disturbance. [i]An Innovater?[i] he thought to himself. No, the city wouldn't let them in, but how? It didn't matter, he had pressing social matters at hand. Who besides Kei would miss him? NO ONE! He was a waste of space. He had lost all drive to make more drones or weapons to sell. He had lost drive to do anything. He lay on his bed in the dark and tried to gather his thoughts.

[Tiltjuice]

"Oh..."

Katya chuckled. "We don't have a printer. Maybe there's one around....wait a minute, I got it!"

She walked to the dresser, peaked in, and started reaching around for something. "Here ya go!", She enthusiastically said, tossing Dora an old TF gun.

"Forgot we had that. Just out it back when your done. I'm sure you can get a printer, now. I'm taking a shower."

She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. After a minute, the shower came on, and area started puffing out from the door.

Dora caught the TF gun and looked at it doubtfully. With her experience level in firearms...hopefully she wouldn't end up turning an irreplaceable item of Katya's into something that could run or fly away.

She glanced around, muttered a brief prayer to Fate under her breath, and shot the bed. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, and she was able to print out the letter. Frowning, she wondered how to turn the printer back into a bed; shooting it again did nothing, as it was still set to "Printer". Sighing, she decided to puzzle it out after she dropped the resignation letter off in Ray's mailbox. Katya hadn't given her any clothing, so she exited the door still unclothed, hoping not to run into any old men who might suffer heart attacks.

Behind her, a rabbit popped into existence. Opening up the TF gun, he twisted a few wires around, nodded to himself, and disappeared again. He had places to be and people to embarrass.

---

"Not particularly.", Dimitrus replied to Dia. "We've just had...incidents. well, not I, but my company, on some occasions."

"What kind of incidents?"

Talking to Dimitrus was quite easy, Dia thought. He looked her over again. The uniform didn't look much like it came from a company. Was she a mercenary?

---

The Prince's door opened with a sigh, only the sound came from Drova. He stood there, looking defeated. "Delivery?" He asked. "I didn't order anything, so what's the deal with this?"

"Delivery!" the salesman said enthusiastically, pointing to the 150% scale obsidian statue of Chrys. "Compliments of Allspice General Trading. You like?"

---

The normally effervescent Conservator paused on her bar stool and thought seriously, with a mien far closer to Luce's air of quiet contemplation. It was true, she thought, Hans' words. The words of her own reply dropped, one at a time, into the relatively still air of the club.

"It is what it is...we didn't sign up for the glory, you and I. At the end of it all, that's not such a bad thing, is it? To live or die in a noble cause?" She paused to gaze down at her reflection in the polished bar top. Yet unchanged, those eyes. Unmarred by wrinkles at the corners. No true white in the white-golden hair. All despite the fact that those who had been seen through the eyes, those who had given her a new name and a new sense of self, were long gone to the ravages of time. Was this what had prompted Dora to quit while she could? An attempt to make a life for herself among friends who would share her remaining lifespan?

"Troopers like myself rarely get called out to deal with ordinary people. If that happens, the situation is really, truly dire," Chrys said, as much to herself as to Hans. "The last time I left our main barracks was seventy years ago. Up until the invasions by the King in Yellow and the Drones, I haven't talked to someone who isn't a Conservator. Or fought with, or slept with. Something of a - No, it is a travesty, plain and simple. It's why I envy Luce and Dora for what they're able to do. Break away from us because he's supposed to travel the world, and she's daring enough to give up eternal life for love. I can't, and won't. But I'm thankful for the chance to be here, if only because I can get to know Hans. It's a start. We're both from these people, but no longer of them, and so we both tend to think of them as apart from us."

She signaled the bartender for a round of beers. The conversation was, as always, best continued over alcohol.

Hans took in her words, nodding at the truth of them. She wasn't so different. Conservators weren't so different. Their eternity was governed by other means and perhaps less precarious than a cultist's but they drew upon the same sort of legacy... duty.

Yellow King. Oh the irony. Hans was called out for the same reason, as were Minerva's lads. Up until that point, the two groups were eternally at each others throats. They fought in a future time, and in the past, constant harassment and death lobbed between sides. And now? He was pretty sure his boss was boffing Minerva. Hans wisely kept all that to himself.

"I am grateful to the Yellow King, then. If not for him, I'd have never met you. We were brought here for the same cause."

Chrys had struck home in so many ways. "I get tired of seeing the same faces and hearing the same voices. I know all of their habits. One man in a thousand coughs and I recognize him by the sound. We run out of things to say. We rehash the same arguments, repeat the same jokes, listen to the same laments, celebrate the same birthdays... year after year, decade after decade, and the millennium drag on. I wouldn't leave them, though, even if I could. We can't retire."

His mind wandered to the Wilting Succubus and all the cultists stuffed within its walls. The same men he'd known for most of his existence. The same snores and grunts and sneezes.

"I'd sleep with you. It would be nice to wake up to a pretty face."

Oh, wait, that came out wrong. He hadn't meant it sexually. Or maybe he had? He hadn't made a play on anyone for at least a hundred years.

Hans drummed the fingertips of both hands on the counter and stared straight ahead, color slowly rising to his cheeks and ears. Damn his Aryan blood... a blush stood out like a beacon. "Where's that beer? We ordered beer. Beer would be good."

Chrys wasn't quite sure how to take that. While she certainly wasn't averse to the idea, she thought it would be a little awkward, especially if they had to work together again. That plus there was no right way to do it. So, instead, she addressed the other things he said.

"You can't retire?"

A rabbit popped into existence on the top of the bar at that moment and slid two beers to the pair. He sniffed the air curiously.

[The BranRiech]

"A-A statue of Chrys?"

His day might not have been going very well, losing his sister and whatnot, but a statue of Chrys? It wasn't going to make up for his loss, but he certainly blushed when he saw it, smiling.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He stammered. There were several streaks going down his cheeks, from when he was crying, but no more. This gift was special, and he shouldn't show such weakness in front of strangers anyways.

[Torsiedelle]

"La~dee-da-dee-da~", Katya sang as she came out of the shower. Time to sit down with her friend, have some tea, maybe.... wait, she had left. That, and the bed was a printer. "Bloody hell.", She murmured, and picked the TF gun up. She simply switched the dial to reverse and shot the printer.

....

" Well, him and a Persian fellow arguing while I was teaching the man how to play a piano.", Dimitrus said. "I believe there was another event, but it slips my mind at the moment. I should get back to records, sharpish."

[Tiltjuice]

"La~dee-da-dee-da~", Katya sang as she came out of the shower. Time to sit down with her friend, have some tea, maybe.... wait, she had left. That, and the bed was a printer. "Bloody hell.", She murmured, and picked the TF gun up. She simply switched the dial to reverse and shot the printer.

Thanks to MB's tampering with the TF gun, the printer turned into a small school of piranha. The five or so of them began flopping around as they suffocated out of water.

Having dropped off the letter without incident, Dora wandered back in, waving to Tora and Tsu in passing. She stopped short as she saw the dying fish.

"Should I ask?" she drawled, raising an eyebrow.

---

" Well, him and a Persian fellow arguing while I was teaching the man how to play a piano.", Dimitrus said. "I believe there was another event, but it slips my mind at the moment. I should get back to records, sharpish."

Dia simply nodded, now confused, and waited for Octavian to notice the albino and the second tallest man in the building.

---

"A-A statue of Chrys?"

His day might not have been going very well, losing his sister and whatnot, but a statue of Chrys? It wasn't going to make up for his loss, but he certainly blushed when he saw it, smiling.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He stammered. There were several streaks going down his cheeks, from when he was crying, but no more. This gift was special, and he shouldn't show such weakness in front of strangers anyways.

"De nada," the salesman said. He whisked out a business card and handed it to Drova.

The large, jet-black statue glistened under the hallway lights. It was of Chrys in typical gladiatrix attire, although there was some creative license involved. Allspice hadn't been able to get an image of Chrys in the altogether, so instead of depicting her topless, they'd put Roman legionary's armor on her.

[The BranRiech]

That figure . . . Human, yet, similar to his own.

Drova was literally drooling at the statue in front of him. There was a definite improvement in color in the appearance of the woman, much more appealing to the young prince than her normal skin-color. Humans were always so pasty for some reason, well, not all, but quite a good lot of them were weird colored, like albinos.

"If only you were real . . ." He sighed, quietly enough for the salesman who spoke a funny language to hear. "WOuld you like to help me move this into my spare room? I'm planning on making it a gallery, I guess, for statues."

[Swith Witherward]

Chrys wasn't quite sure how to take that. While she certainly wasn't averse to the idea, she thought it would be a little awkward, especially if they had to work together again. That plus there was no right way to do it. So, instead, she addressed the other things he said.

"You can't retire?"

A rabbit popped into existence on the top of the bar at that moment and slid two beers to the pair. He sniffed the air curiously.

Hans, still vibrantly red, cleared his throat and considered the situation and Chrys' question.

The rabbit was familiar (he'd bitten Hans the last time) but bygones could be bygones. He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of nuts and bolts. Rumor had it that the bunny ate metal. He slipped the fistful onto a napkin and carefully pushed it towards MB.

"No, we can't retire. Our immortality is because we are hosts. We die once the tether to our daemon is permanently severed. The longer one has been a host, the more time they have to put their affairs in order. Usually, not much time. For some, it's instantaneous."

He realized he was prattling. Hans sipped his beer and wiped some frost from the glass with a finger, then turned on his stool to face Chrys. "Thank you for not slapping me. When I said I would sleep with you, I did mean literally. My mind was on the Inn above the tavern, and all of us packed like sardines. I wake up to their faces every day. But, it's also a compliment. We feel vulnerable when we sleep. The host is unconscious and at the whims of whatever is out there. Our daemon can't fully use our senses to perceive the world. To say that I would sleep with you is to say that I trust in your skills enough to feel protected while I slumbered."

He smiled a bit bashfully, something he seldom did (it would have earned him a solid year's mockery from his companions) and added, "Not that I didn't consider the other way that phrase could have been applied, after I'd already said it. I find you absolutely beautiful. But I'm rubbish when it comes to courting the opposite sex. We're War, not Lust. My daemon isn't geared towards lovemaking. It literally crawls out of my skin and retreats to avoid those emotions, which leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable, more so than if asleep. While enjoying sexual companionship would be nice, it would be like making love to a woman while holding a fragile leash, at the end of which was a small yappy dog attempting to run away. We obviously don't get laid often, but we also don't miss it after a while. Sometimes, after battle, emotional signals get crossed... lust and rage. Then it's good to have a regular female cultist, one like Tipper, around because the activities that follow are just carnal and celebratory. They don't lead to romance and fawning."

His grin faltered. "War's hosts are not allowed to love. We can, but it's forbidden. Maybe that's changed now that Klaus had reclaimed his position? I don't know."

He took in her expression and her endearing features. She had no idea how fortunate she was to be what she was. He didn't resent it. In fact, he was pleased that she had the liberty to do as she pleased. She was free to be effervescent and vibrant and partake in all the world offered. She could love whom she wished, and deserved to be loved by someone who wasn't...

Wasn't what?

Like me.

Hans' jaw set and his face hardened. It was as if the last two days of liberation had been pulled away from him. No, he chose to bury the buoyant feelings she'd rekindled in him. He turned to face the space behind the bar again and gently stroked the top of MB's head. If the rabbit bit him, it bit him. The physical pain would be easier to cope with than the sudden, crushing ache that had seized him when he finally spoke the truth of his situation.

[Giovenith]

Giovenith smiled after Yoshi, before giving Ogoti a bow herself and running off to her room. Once the door was closed, she took a deep breath, and began to looking for paper and pen. Her chosen writing instrument had been a sparkly purple gel-pen, but that did not change the solemn-felt nature of the message she scribbled down on the fancy template.

"Octavian,

This is Giovenith writing you, in my own hand. I am sending this message by letter, because I do not feel secure in saying it to you in person. Recently, several distressing things have come to my attention, and now force me to rearrange my perceptions of the people around me.

I do not approve of unwarranted violence, as I believe that there are ways that everyone can be happy without exploiting another. That said, I know what happened between you and Yoshi, and the encounter you had with Miss Torii. Both of these individuals are ones I keep very close to my heart, something that breaks now after hearing about someone who I believed was friendly being unnecessarily cruel to and harming them. It matters not what they have done, for now, this letter is about you.

I am not enraged, I am very disappointed. I am obviously disappointed in you, but more so, I am disappointed in myself. I am disappointed to have allowed myself to be deceived to such an extent, and for being blind to what I suppose could have been signs everywhere. I thought you to be a nice person. To say we are no longer friends would be a lie; for I had deluded myself into believing that I was friends with a person who did not actually exist.

Think of me what you will, but I will not go out of my way to antagonize you. I do not strike out, or come to you with a long speech. I am no longer your friend, but I refuse to be your enemy. Consider this my last willing communication with you at all. I am only sorry that this is what had to happen to all of us. If you ever grow a heart, feel free to speak to me again.

~Giovenith"

Purposely taking back favor from someone felt so very alien to the coddling godling, but the iron-heavy feeling in her stomach told her it was the best option. Looking over the message, Giovenith did not think that it sounded like her at all, much too relatively cold... she supposed that it was supposed to be, though. No wishes of luck, no confirmations of belief, nothing. To her body and soul, it felt... unnatural. But acception was a reward for being acceptable, and that was that the thing about rewards, though? You had to earn them. You had to earn Giovenith.

The letter was quickly folded into a bird and set off to it's destination, taking any chance to turn back with it. Giovenith had changed things for herself rather dramatically... it hurt, to turn her back on someone, even someone who had lost the right to stand to her front.

But she was beginning to see that not all that was best was cozy.

[Torsiedelle]

As Dora walked by again, Torii gently pulled Tsu away to keep talking.

Katya was laughing nervously. "Um...just a mistake. Let's see here..."
She fired the TF gun again, hoping to get their bed back.

....

Dimitrus glanced to Dia.

"Perhaps you should get his attention?"

[Swith Witherward]

"Sophie, wirst du dich verletzt."

Klaus fished a pen knife from his pocket and knelt beside her. "Schritt beiseite. Erlauben Papa, Ihnen zu helfen, ja?"

Complaint laughter was her response. She scooted in front of him to select her desired cluster. "Floor!"

"Flower," he gently corrected her. He placed the woody stem between blade and thumb and pressed to cut it. "Flower," he repeated and playfully poked her nose with it.

"Flowwar!"

He snorted as she bolted up the path towards Minerva with the cluster in her hand. She presented to Minerva and burst into a fresh batch of giggles.

Klaus rose and followed her. He kissed Minerva's cheek in greeting then snorted again as Sohpie ran in circles around them both. The child's laughter was infectious.

"She does this all day, you know," he sighed. "All day. We've been working on our English. How do you feel, Knuddelmous?"

Sophie knocked into her leg before she could answer. She wrapped Minerva's knee in a tight hug. "Hallo, Schatten-Frauen! Ich bin Sophie! Papa und ich sah einen Schmetterling."

Klaus cleared his throat and her tiny face tipped up to stare at him. She giggled. Releasing Minerva's leg, she stepped back, folding her hands in front of her and took a deep breath.

"Hallo Schadow Frauen." She peered up at Klaus again and drew another breath in order to address Minerva. "I am Sophie."

Her tiny face screwed up in concentration but she'd already forgotten what else she said. "Ich habe vergessen, was ich sagte, Papa?"

"What did you see?" he prompted.

"Oh! I zeeink sie Sch- butterink fly. Viz Papa. Ja, like zo!" Her tiny hands pressed together at the wrist and she clapped them to mimic large wings.

"All day," Klaus' eyes widened as he stressed the fact again.

"All day," Minerva's expression mirrored Klaus' own as the stuck the flower cluster in her hair. The purple clashed with her red locks. "Yes, all day. Every day. I was there. I know. For over a month. She's not even three yet, so she's full of energy."

The cultist leader laughed and halted Sophie's antics by picking her up.

The child burst into new giggles and went limp in her arms. She dangled slightly backwards and looked at her father upside down. "Hallo Papa," she sung to him in her soft voice. She cast her arms outward, nearly tumbling from Minerva's grasp, and demanded to be held.

"And here you go," Minerva chimed as she pawned the child onto her father.

She gathered up the loose folds of her bathrobe and sat in a deck chair. Her eyes turned to the vegetation beyond the back gate. It was still the same dimension that Ogoti had established, and the Oligocene epoch was in full swing. A small herd of paraceratherium grazed not too far away, their massive heads swinging upright to stare at the trio on the garden side of the fence before vanishing behind the treeline once again. Minerva grinned. Sophie had much more than English to learn.

She patted the deck chair next to her. "Klaus, you're not mad at me for doing this, are you?"

[Urran]

Yoshi had finally showered and lay down for the night. But his soft, warm bed brought him no comfort. He still felt that something was wrong, but what? He tossed and turned until finally a restless sleep came over the Urranese writer, but that's when the dream came.
Yoshi groaned and woke up, he was lying on the ground in a white kimono, he found that odd, it was so silky and smooth and then he noticed a few white feathers out of the corner of his eye, he had angel wings. But he didn't have time to worry about that. Where was he? The whole world was black, blacker than the blackest night except for where he was. A single light bulb shown down from the unseen ceiling and formed a patch of dim light all around him. He was alone and there was a gun next to him. Yoshi took this all in. This place was cold, and the light bulb was dying and making a high pitched whining noise. The kind that one might find in torture chambers under an old prison. He was scared and he looked at the gun. What did it symbolize. He started to think, was the world trying to tell him something?
But his musings were cut short by a laugh. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and he felt a chill rush over him. That laugh, it sounded like his but, distorted, sinister, like the kind that a serial killer may have after killing his latest victim. Yoshi couldn't scream, and oh how he trained. His neck muscles strained and his jaw hurt from opening his mouth so wide, but no sound came out. This was sheer terror.
Then, out of the shadows, stepped a figure. It too wore a white kimono, but this one was stained, stained in fresh blood. Yoshi sat up and followed the robe up until he saw the creatures face. There, he froze, just as he feared, it was his face. But there was a psychopathic smile frozen there, and his hair, it was on the wrong side of his face. Yoshi's eyes darted to the creatures back, black, bat wings. Then to its hand, a gun, just like Yoshi's. The creature laughed and pointed it right at Yoshi and scooted back on his butt and then froze, his blood ran cold, he found his back against a wall, there was no where to run.
"What's the matter Yoshi? You afraid?" it asked with yet another creepy laugh.
"Wh-who are you!?!" Yoshi demanded with a shaky and breaking voice.
"Oh that's sad. You don't even recognize yourself!" it chuckled darkly. Yoshi's worst fear had been realized.
"No! That can't be true!" Yoshi iris shrank.
"You know it is." it hissed. It cocked its gun and trained it on Yoshi's head. In a flash Yoshi had his own gun pointed at the creature.
"Get away from me! I don't want to do this!" Yoshi screamed, shaking his head.
"But you do! You do because it's your nature! There's nothing that you can do about it!" it cackled, throwing it's head back and laughing. Was this some kind of test, was this a struggle with his inner demons?
Yoshi decided that the only way that this battle could be won was being doing nothing. He tossed his gun to the side, it made a metallic clink as it skittered across the dim lit floor into oblivion. This caused the creature to growl and its eyes to glow a creepy golden color.
"Then your useless to me." it now had it's finger on the trigger and Yoshi's heart began to pound beyond his control. He began to beg for his life. He pleaded to be spared for Katya and Tora. He pleaded to be spared for Swith, for Jacob, for Gio, for the Bran family, and for his unborn child. But of course the creature just laughed, the kind of life that would have made Hitler's blood run cold. "It's no good, you're gonna DIE!" The gun flashed, there was a sound of thunder. Multiple times. The creature laughed manically as Yoshi screamed and writhed in agony.

Yoshi woke up screaming. He sat straight up and put his hand to his chest, panting. He had broken out into a cold sweat. Then he surveyed his room, everything was normal and quiet. He got up and walked into his kitchen and fetched a notebook to write the dream down.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

She smiles as her skin turns a very bright shade of red covered by the silhouettes of black birds. "My place?" she replies extending a hand and priming her SPADE

"Yes, I think that would be lovely." Arthur said with a smirk taking her hand with his and grabbing his folded pants with his claw.

[New Aksarben]

Ray simply stood with his arms crossed, breathing heavily with the deep tone of frustration behind it all. He simply stood there and refused to look at Albert for several moments, as a method of revenge against having been punched. Staying away physically was a method of regaining some self control, and gradually, he felt his soft side coming back again. Or, whatever side wasn't going nuts with the more angered emotions.

But, after some period of time just standing there, he had the opportunity to repeatedly analyze what Albert had said. And with a decently short amount of time, it succeeded in wearing down on his heart and turning his feelings around. Ray began to cry lightly at first, and again went into a near-sobbing state with his face in his hands. In an attempt to counteract (or fuel) the crying, Ray walked back over to Albert and decided to grant him what they both desired.

"....I-I'm sorry...B-But don't do that to me again....", he choked out between periodic episodes of sobbing.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I have no idea why I punched you like that...... But lets just get back to our apartment and get some clothes, okay? I kind of want to get to work on my VR room again. And I'm sure you have stuff to do yourself, no? But anyway, I'll make it up to you later, Ray. I can promise you that I will never hurt you again. Especially in such an uncalled for manner."

Albert gave another quick hug to Ray, as a way of confirming what he said. He had a genuinely sorrowful look on his face, which was still quite unusual for him to be showing openly. But this was important enough to not bother hiding his emotions. But he was starting to start relaxing more since Ray was back, and he didn't have to worry that Ray was missing him in the afterlife, or that he wouldn't ever see him again. But right now it would probably be a good idea to stop lingering around the raptor house. Jacob was already heading for the door anyway. So Albert didn't want to keep his brother waiting very long. Or for his boyfriend to continue standing around naked in front of other people. Speaking of that fact.....

Albert quickly removed the makeshift kilt he had made for himself out of his favorite jacket, one of his military ones from long ago, during the old Empire. Albert quickly looked over it, making sure everything of it was in order. Its primary color was Tyrian Purple, the same shade as his eyes, and age had only made the color more intense(one of the properties of the dye was that it only became a more obviously purple color as it aged). The crest of Aksarben was on the shoulder, and on the opposite shoulder was a golden colored aquila, in the same style as some old Roman legion's Vexillum. There were a few pockets on the inside of the jacket, and one was still holding his hammerspace bag from Gio.

He then looked back up at Ray, and extended his arm towards him. "Here. Take my jacket so you have some covering. You look cold with all that goop covering you, despite your fur. You could also use it as I was. I know you don't like being naked in public, so I thought I should give you my jacket." He said with a smile, handing the jacket to Ray without taking no for an answer. He wanted to do something nice to partially make up for his random punching of Ray, and thought that likely would help some.

"Now lets get going. While it is interesting hanging around the raptor house, I would rather get some new clothes on. And I'm sure you do too."

---

"I can hear you two you know." Octavian called over, tilting his head in their direction to look at them more directly. He was leaning against a wall now, and wondering where Drova had run off to. He was still quite curious as to what had made his friend run off after that strange guy earlier, but no one was there that could explain what had gone on while he had been fighting with Yoshi. He had also kind of spaced out for a while, which was why it had taken him this long to respond to them. It had nothing to do with his user being struck by incredible laziness basically this whole week, and partially having a lot of homework that he still hasn't finished completely. No, it was just that Octavian had spaced out for a while.

"What do you want with me, anyway? Its obvious you want me for something, so what is it?"

[Tiltjuice]

Dimitrus glanced to Dia.

"Perhaps you should get his attention?"

"If such a big man as myself didn't catch his attention - "

"I can hear you two you know." Octavian called over, tilting his head in their direction to look at them more directly. He was leaning against a wall now, and wondering where Drova had run off to. He was still quite curious as to what had made his friend run off after that strange guy earlier, but no one was there that could explain what had gone on while he had been fighting with Yoshi. He had also kind of spaced out for a while, which was why it had taken him this long to respond to them. It had nothing to do with his user being struck by incredible laziness basically this whole week, and partially having a lot of homework that he still hasn't finished completely. No, it was just that Octavian had spaced out for a while.

"What do you want with me, anyway? Its obvious you want me for something, so what is it?"

Dia broke off, shrugged and gestured to Dimitrus.

---

As Dora walked by again, Torii gently pulled Tsu away to keep talking.

Katya was laughing nervously. "Um...just a mistake. Let's see here..."
She fired the TF gun again, hoping to get their bed back.

As there had been no change to the TF gun's settings, the instrument turned the dead piranha into...dead piranha. Apparently it couldn't bring animals back to life.

Dora stood and watched, neutrally and calmly.

---

That figure . . . Human, yet, similar to his own.

Drova was literally drooling at the statue in front of him. There was a definite improvement in color in the appearance of the woman, much more appealing to the young prince than her normal skin-color. Humans were always so pasty for some reason, well, not all, but quite a good lot of them were weird colored, like albinos.

"If only you were real . . ." He sighed, quietly enough for the salesman who spoke a funny language to hear. "WOuld you like to help me move this into my spare room? I'm planning on making it a gallery, I guess, for statues."

The salesman shook his head. "Unfortunately I cannot. The human resources people and the lawyers would get furious with me, and then they'd be off to talk to our insurers. But there is a, how do you call it in English, a hand trolley?"

---

Chrys wasn't quite sure how to take that. While she certainly wasn't averse to the idea, she thought it would be a little awkward, especially if they had to work together again. That plus there was no right way to do it. So, instead, she addressed the other things he said.

"You can't retire?"

A rabbit popped into existence on the top of the bar at that moment and slid two beers to the pair. He sniffed the air curiously.

Hans, still vibrantly red, cleared his throat and considered the situation and Chrys' question.

The rabbit was familiar (he'd bitten Hans the last time) but bygones could be bygones. He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of nuts and bolts. Rumor had it that the bunny ate metal. He slipped the fistful onto a napkin and carefully pushed it towards MB.

"No, we can't retire. Our immortality is because we are hosts. We die once the tether to our daemon is permanently severed. The longer one has been a host, the more time they have to put their affairs in order. Usually, not much time. For some, it's instantaneous."

He realized he was prattling. Hans sipped his beer and wiped some frost from the glass with a finger, then turned on his stool to face Chrys. "Thank you for not slapping me. When I said I would sleep with you, I did mean literally. My mind was on the Inn above the tavern, and all of us packed like sardines. I wake up to their faces every day. But, it's also a compliment. We feel vulnerable when we sleep. The host is unconscious and at the whims of whatever is out there. Our daemon can't fully use our senses to perceive the world. To say that I would sleep with you is to say that I trust in your skills enough to feel protected while I slumbered."

He smiled a bit bashfully, something he seldom did (it would have earned him a solid year's mockery from his companions) and added, "Not that I didn't consider the other way that phrase could have been applied, after I'd already said it. I find you absolutely beautiful. But I'm rubbish when it comes to courting the opposite sex. We're War, not Lust. My daemon isn't geared towards lovemaking. It literally crawls out of my skin and retreats to avoid those emotions, which leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable, more so than if asleep. While enjoying sexual companionship would be nice, it would be like making love to a woman while holding a fragile leash, at the end of which was a small yappy dog attempting to run away. We obviously don't get laid often, but we also don't miss it after a while. Sometimes, after battle, emotional signals get crossed... lust and rage. Then it's good to have a regular female cultist, one like Tipper, around because the activities that follow are just carnal and celebratory. They don't lead to romance and fawning."

His grin faltered. "War's hosts are not allowed to love. We can, but it's forbidden. Maybe that's changed now that Klaus had reclaimed his position? I don't know."

He took in her expression and her endearing features. She had no idea how fortunate she was to be what she was. He didn't resent it. In fact, he was pleased that she had the liberty to do as she pleased. She was free to be effervescent and vibrant and partake in all the world offered. She could love whom she wished, and deserved to be loved by someone who wasn't...

Wasn't what?

Like me.

Hans' jaw set and his face hardened. It was as if the last two days of liberation had been pulled away from him. No, he chose to bury the buoyant feelings she'd rekindled in him. He turned to face the space behind the bar again and gently stroked the top of MB's head. If the rabbit bit him, it bit him. The physical pain would be easier to cope with than the sudden, crushing ache that had seized him when he finally spoke the truth of his situation.

Munching noises sounded in the background, as MB set to nibbling his "tip".

Chrys considered the information carefully. There were some questions, now, swirling around in her head, but Conservators were generally a closed-off sort, and she didn't want to pry for fear of offending Hans. She'd discuss it with Luce later, and maybe Dora, if she was around.

"No worries," she chimed, returning to her usual light tone in an effort to keep her companion's spirits up. She might have been out of practice in dealing with people, but turning away from her was a fairly clear sign. "We're a straightforward bunch. There's no need to fight against our own natures, I think. Even if there were, everything fades eventually, so we might as well enjoy ourselves while we can. I'm grateful for the compliment, too. I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you in any sense. If I didn't bear this rattlesnake sigil, I might be like your Tipper. It's not as if I mind that sort of treatment." She brushed her index fingertip along the back of his hand, in a gesture whose meaning she didn't know herself.

"Would you mind, my sharing that information with my own Brother?"

MB blinked owlishly in surprise as Hans began petting him. More beer?

[Primordial Luxa]

She smiles as her skin turns a very bright shade of red covered by the silhouettes of black birds. "My place?" she replies extending a hand and priming her SPADE

"Yes, I think that would be lovely." Arthur said with a smirk taking her hand with his and grabbing his folded pants with his claw.

With a flash of reality and unseeable infinities they were standing back in her apartment, as matter seethed and boiled around them like a flaming cloud of light. Her room was of an overly Victorian design and while they were inverted several dozen dimensions each of the walls was dominated by a large stained glass window built of strange multi-colored flesh and panels. Her rooms floor was nonexistent instead a series of large overly plus pillows cushioned their fall from higher planes. Insidious laughed as the pair tumbled out of the portal. She embraced Arthur for long second, curling herself around him, she reeked of a fragrance that remained Arthur of gas drowned roses.

*Fade to black*

[The BranRiech]

"Nevermind then . . ."

Drova was very near-drooling at the statue by the time the salesman finished speaking, and he didn't care to stop either, staring at the statue's every detail. He grabbed the hand-trolley (At first confused with how it worked), and loaded the statue onto it to carry inside. Normally, he'd have servants do it for him, maybe with him helping too, but with this device? He could move it without too much strain.

"The corner, right there, it will go."

He wheeled it over to the corner of his room, and set it down so the woman faced his bed for him to admire. Oh! He must commission a statue of himself be built out of the same material to set opposite of Chrys!

But then he realized.

Yuna was still gone, off collecting leaves and such, or so he thought.

[Erucia]

"I'm sorry. I really am. I have no idea why I punched you like that...... But lets just get back to our apartment and get some clothes, okay? I kind of want to get to work on my VR room again. And I'm sure you have stuff to do yourself, no? But anyway, I'll make it up to you later, Ray. I can promise you that I will never hurt you again. Especially in such an uncalled for manner."

Albert gave another quick hug to Ray, as a way of confirming what he said. He had a genuinely sorrowful look on his face, which was still quite unusual for him to be showing openly. But this was important enough to not bother hiding his emotions. But he was starting to start relaxing more since Ray was back, and he didn't have to worry that Ray was missing him in the afterlife, or that he wouldn't ever see him again. But right now it would probably be a good idea to stop lingering around the raptor house. Jacob was already heading for the door anyway. So Albert didn't want to keep his brother waiting very long. Or for his boyfriend to continue standing around naked in front of other people. Speaking of that fact.....

Albert quickly removed the makeshift kilt he had made for himself out of his favorite jacket, one of his military ones from long ago, during the old Empire. Albert quickly looked over it, making sure everything of it was in order. Its primary color was Tyrian Purple, the same shade as his eyes, and age had only made the color more intense(one of the properties of the dye was that it only became a more obviously purple color as it aged). The crest of Aksarben was on the shoulder, and on the opposite shoulder was a golden colored aquila, in the same style as some old Roman legion's Vexillum. There were a few pockets on the inside of the jacket, and one was still holding his hammerspace bag from Gio.

He then looked back up at Ray, and extended his arm towards him. "Here. Take my jacket so you have some covering. You look cold with all that goop covering you, despite your fur. You could also use it as I was. I know you don't like being naked in public, so I thought I should give you my jacket." He said with a smile, handing the jacket to Ray without taking no for an answer. He wanted to do something nice to partially make up for his random punching of Ray, and thought that likely would help some.

"Now lets get going. While it is interesting hanging around the raptor house, I would rather get some new clothes on. And I'm sure you do too."

Ray regrettably looked at the jacket and stopped his sniffling, and took it with a sigh. He originally tried to wear it, but he soon realized that he couldn't cover the parts he really wanted unseen with it worn that way. So, he fashioned it like one would tie a sweater around their waist: he tied it around and kept the front covered with the jacket. Ray responded to Albert with a smile in the hopes that he could help stamp out the fires that had been burning away for the past few moments.

"...Y-Yeah. Let's go ahead and head out," Ray continued his weak smile as he indicated to Scarface that they were free to get moving. With Jacob, Albert and himself all grouped together, Scarface then lead them out of the lab and back through the raptor house. Finally, he left them out at the entrance to the yard and exited back into the house, leaving the tattered bunch of animal-people standing around.

Needless to say, the walk home was not incredibly pleasant. The goop still trapped to Ray's fur was incredibly uncomfortable to deal with, and the lack of shoes allowed random crap to get caught up on everyone's feet. Worse yet, the open breeze of the coming winter made everyone cold and wrecked havoc with Ray's wet fur. Thankfully, it was not an incredibly long journey of shivering and cursing under one's breath, and they all soon arrived back at the apartment block. There, they made their shuffle to the elevator, waited around, and then finally arrived back to the Three Tails. A trail of goop had been left by Ray along the sidewalk outside, which had even been brought into the lobby somewhat and cut off at the elevator.

The first action of Ray was to immediately spend almost a half-hour in the shower getting all of the accumulated blobs of gunk out of his fur, and to use enough soap and conditioner to scrub clean Chernobyl. Next came a lesson in being forced to use the blowdryer even more than he'd once had to thanks to the thicker fur, and finally sitting around for the rest of the hour uncomfortably shivering and trying to dry himself off.

But it paid off in the end, and Ray was soon appearing as if he had some incredibly important business to take care of. Well, at least facially. He'd dressed up in a t-shirt, sweater and jeans, and he was soon out the door without much more other than a "goodbye". By the looks of it, he was going to try something.

[Urran]

Yoshi finally went to sleep but it was still restless. He was afraid now. Afraid that this dream was an omen of some kind. He tossed and turned the whole night.


Tieria, on the other hand, was out and about. He had decided to go and see the lake. It was supposedly named after Gio's mother. At any rate, he found the scene calming. It was quite tranquil. But still, this thoughts were restless. How did one make friends? How could he get the others to like him? He just didn't know.

[Cerillium]

The lights winked out and Ogoti locked the clinic door for the evening. He slipped the key into his pocket and extracted Will's note.

The cultist's idea was harebrained, enough so that it might just work. He was skeptical however but reserved judgement until the experiment was over. Would it be possible to teach something so backwoods and primitive? Perhaps. If the mind was open and certain things were overlooked. Certain it would work in that event but......

The god glanced outside the building's front doors. Night had settled. Streetlights bathed the pavement in soft light. The downtown skyscrapers sparkled on the horizon. It was going to be a lovely autumn evening, indeed.

He opted to visit the communal kitchen to see if anyone was knocking about.

"All day," Minerva's expression mirrored Klaus' own as the stuck the flower cluster in her hair. The purple clashed with her red locks. "Yes, all day. Every day. I was there. I know. For over a month. She's not even three yet, so she's full of energy."

The cultist leader laughed and halted Sophie's antics by picking her up.

The child burst into new giggles and went limp in her arms. She dangled slightly backwards and looked at her father upside down. "Hallo Papa," she sung to him in her soft voice. She cast her arms outward, nearly tumbling from Minerva's grasp, and demanded to be held.

"And here you go," Minerva chimed as she pawned the child onto her father.

She gathered up the loose folds of her bathrobe and sat in a deck chair. Her eyes turned to the vegetation beyond the back gate. It was still the same dimension that Ogoti had established, and the Oligocene epoch was in full swing. A small herd of paraceratherium grazed not too far away, their massive heads swinging upright to stare at the trio on the garden side of the fence before vanishing behind the treeline once again. Minerva grinned. Sophie had much more than English to learn.

She patted the deck chair next to her. "Klaus, you're not mad at me for doing this, are you?"

Klaus settled into the chair. The child in his arms yawned then rested her head against his chest. He studied her face a moment, appreciating the golden locks curled around her cheeks and forehead. He never thought he'd see her alive again.

In truth, he'd been angry with Minerva at first. What was she thinking, bringing a child into their troubled times? Yet when were times not troubled? Klaus had often pondered snatching Sophie from death but he'd make his excuses each time; there was little point in taking her from her fate and placing her in the precarious world of daemons, gods and death.

Things were different now. He wasn't beholden to Atosh. He wasn't alone. He was in a position and place where the child could thrive. Klaus had always sworn that he would return for her if he ever managed to reclaim his strength but Minerva, without even realizing it, had followed through on his vow.

"I'm not mad," he rocked his head to the side and smiled at his lover. "I was shocked at first. I was angry that you'd risked your life. Now? No. But where do we go from here? We've only two rooms. She hasn't anything to wear, nothing to sleep in and no toys. She hardly speaks English. She's still young enough to adapt to culture shock but this isn't Germany. It's Bielefeld. There's frightening things out there; things more frightening than Nazi Fascism and death camps. There are things in the building which would kill her and eat her, or torture her for a thrill. So don't think you're getting out of this lightly, Auntie Minerva. You accepted part of the responsibility when you fetched her here."

Sophie yawned again and closed her eyes. She drifted to sleep in his arms.