Personification Life - IC Part VIII [open]

[Cerillium]

Giovenith blinked down at the bead string for a moment, before raising her head back up at the god in front of her. "But what if no one is in a state to help? I mean..." Many of the reasons she had become reason were due to others feeling broken inside. The girl sometimes felt like she was desperately trying to salvage by scraping off what had been splattered onto concrete.

"Good question," Ogoti replied. "That's when insight comes into play. A person feeling insignificant and broken might find a sense of purpose if asked to help. A person feeling lost might find direction when set on a task. A person who is in such a sad state as to be of no help to anyone including himself because his burdens are too heavy? Giovenith, that is when you put the beads into your pocket and cup your empty hands around their heart. The beads will still be there when you're done."

He closed his eyes a moment. "Do you remember the box of cures high upon the shelf? There are times when your hands are too small to contain all the beads or too weak to lift the heart. Beads fall on the floor; pick them once your hands are less filled. The heart can't be lifted but it benefits from the gentle caress. Do what you can as best as you can. If all else fails, ask someone with bigger hands to help you hold both. Your hands will grow in time, don't worry."

[New Aksarben]

Octavian heard the noise that sounded like an explosion of some kind all the way from the ACF headquarters. After briefly confirming that indeed no Items had broken containment with his subordinates, the Prince pulled out a phone and called the raptor house, to find out if they had caused something to happen, and if he needed to be worried. As he waited for the raptors to pick up, he ordered several MTF's to prepare for deployment if needed, to neutralize a potential threat in the city. He also commandeered a car to drive him back to the building, which was definitely safer than his own facilities.

Neil answered the phone. "Just the man I wanted to talk to Octavian. One of our ballistic testing labs were purged from the house. It contained a stone tablet with an entity inside it. It must have gotten loose , triggering one of our security measures. And it must be strong to vaporize the entire lab in midair. I need you to capture it and I'm sending my two best agents for support. Bring heavy firepower." he explained.

The house was in lock down, with the deadlock shields activated and the chicks with Scarface in the panic room. Nevvie and Arthur were in the armory gearing up for the mission.

"Got it. Just how big is this thing? I want to know how many MTF's I need to send." Octavian asked, looking towards the city. He assumed Neil would know what they were, given the raptors had access to the ACF's databases. "I know for sure Pi-1 and Delta-5 are on standby right now, along with several other teams. How any would you recommend sending? Oh, and did it land in the city, because if it did, We might have some collateral damage." Octavian was all business right now, as they were facing something that could potentially be another SCP object.

He removed the phone from his ear for a second, to bark some orders in Latin telling them to bring the MTFs to full alert status, at least the ones not busy already. Octavian had a hunch that this might be Keter level for its danger. After a bit, he brought the phone back to his ear to hear Neil's response. "If we can get this thing contained again, we can hold it at my facilities here. I'll send a MTF to recover the tablet if necessary. I have a feeling it will be important to containing whatever this thing is."

[Giovenith]

Giovenith blinked down at the bead string for a moment, before raising her head back up at the god in front of her. "But what if no one is in a state to help? I mean..." Many of the reasons she had become reason were due to others feeling broken inside. The girl sometimes felt like she was desperately trying to salvage by scraping off what had been splattered onto concrete.

"Good question," Ogoti replied. "That's when insight comes into play. A person feeling insignificant and broken might find a sense of purpose if asked to help. A person feeling lost might find direction when set on a task. A person who is in such a sad state as to be of no help to anyone including himself because his burdens are too heavy? Giovenith, that is when you put the beads into your pocket and cup your empty hands around their heart. The beads will still be there when you're done."

He closed his eyes a moment. "Do you remember the box of cures high upon the shelf? There are times when your hands are too small to contain all the beads or too weak to lift the heart. Beads fall on the floor; pick them once your hands are less filled. The heart can't be lifted but it benefits from the gentle caress. Do what you can as best as you can. If all else fails, ask someone with bigger hands to help you hold both. Your hands will grow in time, don't worry."

"... I understand," whispered Giovenith, looking down at the floor again. "I just have to do what I can? The best I can?"

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

[REDACT]

[Cerillium]

"... I understand," whispered Giovenith, looking down at the floor again. "I just have to do what I can? The best I can?"

"If you've done the best you can and have done all you can then there's nothing to regret," Ogoti replied. "I don't believe in adding 'but it just wasn't good enough'. Nonsense. We can't master balance if we never tip over."

[New Aksarben]

(redacted)

[Giovenith]

"... I understand," whispered Giovenith, looking down at the floor again. "I just have to do what I can? The best I can?"

"If you've done the best you can and have done all you can then there's nothing to regret," Ogoti replied. "I don't believe in adding 'but it just wasn't good enough'. Nonsense. We can't master balance if we never tip over."

"That is what I try to believe, usually. That things don't happen unless you try," she pondered, looking to the side, before shifting her gaze back up at the elder god again. "Did you once fear being considered a bad god, too? I mean... if you can remember your start..." Somehow, Giovenith didn't think that most elder deities remembered much about their own godling years, if they had anything. From all the other tales she had, the childhood of gods were hardly ever written down, something that had caused her made her unsure many times.

[Cerillium]

"That is what I try to believe, usually. That things don't happen unless you try," she pondered, looking to the side, before shifting her gaze back up at the elder god again. "Did you once fear being considered a bad god, too? I mean... if you can remember your start..." Somehow, Giovenith didn't think that most elder deities remembered much about their own godling years, if they had anything. From all the other tales she had, the childhood of gods were hardly ever written down, something that had caused her made her unsure many times.

Ogoti's grin was almost trollish. "I've had my moments. There's a reason Swith sleeps in a box."

He leaned against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's difficult to use me as an example. Chaos vacillates to keep balance between extremes. People shrug and say "Well, that's chaos for you" when we screw up. We do have a naturally-occurring negative aspect. There's a difference between a "bad deity" and a deity who does his job very poorly, however.

"I'm the God of Disease, Decay, and Destruction but also the God of Rebirth in my pantheon. There are many ways to describe me and most of them aren't flattering. My first prayer was the petition from a grieving child. Won't I please restore his mother? Of course I will. I'll resurrect her! I unleashed an unintentional plague. Nothing says "bad god" like a blackened swath of rotting carcases as far as the eye can see." He lowered his hand to sheepishly peer at Giovenith. "It became worse the harder I tried to fix it. I thought I had the recipe and when I screwed it up I tried to doctor it by throwing more spices in. The first prayer - botched. I'll forever feel remorse and shame over it because of the magnitude. I had no one to help me back then."

He shook his head to clear away the memory. "I still get things wrong even after all this time. There's no guarantee that something will turn out exactly as I want it. A mortal cries out to his god when he faces insurmountable odds. When god faces them, he cries out to... himself?

"It wasn't long ago when everyone took shelter in the restaurant. I honestly didn't know if my power would prevent the Drone's final weapon from destroying the building. Everyone's fate, even yours, rested on my ability to throw my energy into that protective sphere. I'm only an avatar in this form, Giovenith. I'm a speck of my true power. It was one of those "oh shit" moments where I had to cast my doubts and fears aside and rise up higher than I'd ever risen before. So much was riding on the culmination of discipline gained over countless aeons. Not power. Discipline. I cast my arms out and gave it my best shot. My best was good enough. It may not be in the future."

[Giovenith]

"... Well that's way more mucky than my stuff," said Giovenith, crossing her arms. Now she was feeling a bit spoiled again, though not with the same self-scolding as before... more so seeing the silliness in her own plights. Imagining the disappointment that probably came with messing up something like that thought, the godling felt a large amount of sympathy for the elder. "I think you did a super-mega-awesome-special-super-duper job," she said seriously, giving him a smile. "If I must say so myself."

[Swith Witherward]

Meanwhile, Swith had enjoyed a relaxing morning at the local zoo. She took the twins to see the exhibits and then allowed Sydney to take pictures of llamas with a cheap digital camera. They returned home for lunch and Swith spent a good hour trying to figure out how to work Thriller's old laptop... specifically how to turn it on. Siduer bailed her out by uploading the pictures by himself. Word had already reached her that Blythe and Xanthe had gone off to help their companions on some sort of quest, and she realized the building was a lot more quiet... and possibly a lot more safe... without the purple menace running around.

Ogoti hadn't returned yet so she took full advantage of the liberty from obligations. She corralled Minerva into going with her and the twins to purchase the one thing she'd always wanted.

The cultist leader stared at the 1938 Opel Admiral 4-Door Cabriolet with a puzzled look on her face. The saloon car wasn't something she'd expect Swith to want. It wasn't modern or flashy. It was elegant. Minerva felt a small pang of jealousy. How Swith had found the thing was beyond her ability to fathom yet there it was, parked in a field, and the kind prior owner was handing Swith the paperwork. It should be noted for future reference that Swith bought it with cold, hard cash from her own bank account.

The inside was like the outside in that it lacked all modern features. The seats made up for it however. They were the most comfortable things Minerva's butt had ever had the pleasure of sitting in. The lack of seat belts didn't seem to bother Swith. "That's what emergency spheres are for," she said while waving away the cultist leader's objections.

The twins climbed into the back and Swith slid into the driver's seat. She sat behind the wheel and enjoyed the feel of it right up until Minerva asked if she knew how to drive. A quick swap of seat positions occurred, and Minerva drove them to the BMV. Swith emerged sometime later with three prized possessions... a learner's permit, her own copy of a driver's education book, and registry for the vehicle. She'd insisted on a vanity plate as well: MY TOY.

"And now, a drive in!" Swith grinned.

"It's not dark and the city doesn't have one," Minerva quipped.

"And now, food procurement!" Swith snorted.

The cultist leader rolled her eyes and put the car into gear.

[Urran]

"Whatever you wish" Yuri said, leaning against the wall.

Tieria turned to face him. "It's hard to explain, thrust vectoring and nuclear power. You have much to learn. it flies far faster than ANY bird." His eyes glowed and a lift was lowered. "Step on" he said neutrally and hopped onto the large metal platform that would take them to the cockpit of the mighty beast.

Sigtrygg nervously stepped onto the platform as well. "Iez diis reeaallii saafe? Hoow kaan aniidiing flii beettarr deen a biird?" He asked, looking around nervously as he stood on the lift. It seemed a bit strange for such a large viking to be scared of anything, but he had no idea what this thing would be doing, and he frankly thought it was some kind of dragon made of armor.

"Of course, I used an earlier version to defend the city from an invasion." his eyes glowed again and the lift roared tonight and they were lifted 50 feet up to the cockpit which then opened allowing them to step inside. Tieria sat in the pilot seat and motioned to another chair behind him. 'You might wish to strap in."


Yuri gathered Yoshi's wardrobe and the other things Bran was promised in the will and gave them to Bran and Rylli. "Enjoy them"

[Cerillium]

"... Well that's way more mucky than my stuff," said Giovenith, crossing her arms. Now she was feeling a bit spoiled again, though not with the same self-scolding as before... more so seeing the silliness in her own plights. Imagining the disappointment that probably came with messing up something like that thought, the godling felt a large amount of sympathy for the elder. "I think you did a super-mega-awesome-special-super-duper job," she said seriously, giving him a smile. "If I must say so myself."

"Thank you," Ogoti smiled. "I think you did an excellent job in breaking the news to people."

[The BranRiech]

"And, you're going to show me how to put one on, right?" Bran asked, confused as to the operation of the clothing that he was given. He held onto the box full of things though, ready to set them down if needed.

"Thanks, Yuri."

[Urran]

"And, you're going to show me how to put one on, right?" Bran asked, confused as to the operation of the clothing that he was given. He held onto the box full of things though, ready to set them down if needed.

"Thanks, Yuri."

She walked over to the fridge. 'Of course" she opened the food preservation unit and light shown on her face."Huh, he cleared it out before he left..." she closed it and walked back into the main room. "What is going to be done about these rice paper doors and tatami mat floors? I'm sure they didn't come standard."

[Torsiedelle]

After going back to their apartment, after parting with Primordial, the sisters had to sort things out. Torii stood there, with an almost stupid look on her face. Katya had thrown her clothes into the washer and taken a shower. Now, she was looking at herself in the mirror, clearly stressed. "A...a grey hair...", She mumbled. The little strand of hair, slightly less colourful than the rest, stuck out like a sore thumb in her eyes. "A short hair...no, TWO short hairs! God damnit! I am starting to freak out!", She growled. Torii stared at her with a dumb look.



Katya grabbed a wine bottle with a shaky hand and began to pour herself a glass.

"I swear...Yoshi's gone, we got attacked by that monster...and we missed his will reading! Damn it, damn it, dakn it!", She screamed. "Aaagggh, I can't stand it....I'm going crazy. I just need a drink..."

She sat down and quickly three back her glass, then took the whole bottle. She had been like this in private since Yoshi died, acting fine in public. Even keeping her mind on trivial, happy things failed to stop her from grieving. She needed company right now...

She took the pearl necklace Yoshi gave her before, put it on where everyone could see it, and left the apartment. She wanted to find someone. Preferably Dora. Maybe Kei. She wanted a drinking buddy.

Torii decided to stay in the apartment and think about what she saw. She didn't like it at all....

She reminded herself to always carry her gun from now on.

[The BranRiech]

"Maybe we should leave them here, it tells a story, don't you think? I mean, they're nice decor and everything, and I'd take them, but I think they should stay." Bran said.

He knew he didn't have any say in the matter, but he thought that his opinion might be worth at least something.

"He did? Why would he do that?"

--

Kei was lounging in a tree near the apartment in the forest, she had set up her own hammock back there and was watching the branches sway back and forth in the rain.

[Urran]

"Maybe we should leave them here, it tells a story, don't you think? I mean, they're nice decor and everything, and I'd take them, but I think they should stay." Bran said.

He knew he didn't have any say in the matter, but he thought that his opinion might be worth at least something.

"He did? Why would he do that?"

--

Kei was lounging in a tree near the apartment in the forest, she had set up her own hammock back there and was watching the branches sway back and forth in the rain.

"He WAS going away and he didn't know how long..." Yuri said, looking over everything. She felt bad about this whole thing. She wanted to teach the Empire a lesson they would never forget.

[New Aksarben]

Sigtrygg nervously stepped onto the platform as well. "Iez diis reeaallii saafe? Hoow kaan aniidiing flii beettarr deen a biird?" He asked, looking around nervously as he stood on the lift. It seemed a bit strange for such a large viking to be scared of anything, but he had no idea what this thing would be doing, and he frankly thought it was some kind of dragon made of armor.

"Of course, I used an earlier version to defend the city from an invasion." his eyes glowed again and the lift roared tonight and they were lifted 50 feet up to the cockpit which then opened allowing them to step inside. Tieria sat in the pilot seat and motioned to another chair behind him. 'You might wish to strap in."


Yuri gathered Yoshi's wardrobe and the other things Bran was promised in the will and gave them to Bran and Rylli. "Enjoy them"

Sigtrygg nervously did as he was told. "Aerre yoou suurre diis iez saafe?" He asked, looking around the cockpit nervously. He had no idea what was going to happen, especially since he still didn't know what a plane was, nor this giant thing.

---

Jacob continued looking around Yoshi's apartment, making sure to not touch anything. He was mainly waiting for Yuri to give him the things of Yoshi's, but he was too polite to ask directly. Plus, he was too distracted by his memories of Yoshi. "I noticed that the decor and stuff appears when people first move in. My first apartment was like that, until it was destroyed by the drones. But he might have some things up on the wall and certain items might be his..."

[Torsiedelle]

"Maybe we should leave them here, it tells a story, don't you think? I mean, they're nice decor and everything, and I'd take them, but I think they should stay." Bran said.

He knew he didn't have any say in the matter, but he thought that his opinion might be worth at least something.

"He did? Why would he do that?"

--

Kei was lounging in a tree near the apartment in the forest, she had set up her own hammock back there and was watching the branches sway back and forth in the rain.

Katya dialed in the numbers for Dora, then Kei, and sent a quick little text asking if they wanted to go drink at Chaos. She then called Kei. She was nervous for some reason,, and even a little scared. She wondered why?

....

Torii was all alone now. She didn't want to bother Gio anymore. Katya had to deal with thing her own way (drinking and smoking), the Nikanors were god-knows where, and she felt totally useless. She promised she wouldn't hurt herself again, but the blade on the dresser looked so enticing...

Then she remembered Katya's wine bottle, which was still half-full. "Better time than any.", She thought. Maybe she could just have one glass...

[Urran]

Tieria didn't bother looking at Sig. "It is very safe, as long as you stay in your seat." he said, and a door to the outside opened up, flooding the dark room with light.



Yuri facepalmed. "Sorry Jacob" she was smart enough to get the hint. She grabbed the woodcut off of the wall and handed it to him. "Now...to find those books."

[New Aksarben]

Tieria didn't bother looking at Sig. "It is very safe, as long as you stay in your seat." he said, and a door to the outside opened up, flooding the dark room with light.



Yuri facepalmed. "Sorry Jacob" she was smart enough to get the hint. She grabbed the woodcut off of the wall and handed it to him. "Now...to find those books."

Sig held onto his seat, more than a little scared and nervous. "I wiill doo daat...." He really hoped this wasn't too freaky. Something like this was unthinkable during his time, especially since any experiments with flying ended with death. Mostly. Sometimes it ended with maiming or comas.

---

Jacob smiled weakly and nodded. "Thank you Yuri. I can help you search for the books and other things." He began looking around himself, careful not to disturb things too much. "Where would Yoshi keep some books..."

[Urran]

There was a low roaring sound and the suit lifted about 10 feet off of the ground before rocketed forward, slamming the duo back in there seats as they were ejected from the hanger and sent far into the air within seconds. The trees bent and the ground shook because of the power exerted by the thrusters on the suit. The leveled off at about a mile high. "How does it feel? We're now airborne."


Yuri began opening cabinets and closets. "They may be another room. Careful, don't damage any of the doors."

[The BranRiech]

"Well, yeah, but did he just throw away the food?" Bran asked as he set the box down and sat cross-legged on the floor. He was going to examine the things that Yoshi had left him, starting with the three Kimonos.

"These are really nice to the touch."

--

"Yellow?" Kei asked as she held the phone to her ear. She wasn't the slightest bit disturbed by the call, but she was still surprised that people were actually wanting to do anything today.

[Urran]

"Well, yeah, but did he just throw away the food?" Bran asked as he set the box down and sat cross-legged on the floor. He was going to examine the things that Yoshi had left him, starting with the three Kimonos.

"These are really nice to the touch."

--

"Yellow?" Kei asked as she held the phone to her ear. She wasn't the slightest bit disturbed by the call, but she was still surprised that people were actually wanting to do anything today.

"Well they are silk." Yuri said as she slide open one of the doors and walked into another room. "I found his bed room" she called.


Celebi roared over Kei's position. Tieria used a image magnifier to spy on her as he flew over. 'She still looks like an angel." he whispered so Sig wouldn't hear him. Within a few seconds they were facing the other way and he needed to focus on flying anyway.

[Torsiedelle]

"Kei.", Katya greeted. "Say, uh...I need a partner. A buddy. So....uh, whadya say we go to Chaos? Drinks? Maybe have Dora along, or whatever you want..."

She just wanted to get waisted with some friends. Kei because, Katya hated to admit, had a charm...and she was a good friends. Dora for the same reasons. Hell, she'd drink with her sister if she knew that her sister still drank from time to time.