Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Fennec]

Last time on Sups and Luc...

Superbia shrugged off the clipping as Lucius falls on the ground ground again with a loud "Oof."

he looked to see Blythe out of his half closed eyes. "Hello?"
Superbia, on the other hand, laid flat on the ceiling as he looked down at Xanthe.

The succubus winced from the sting caused from striking just about everyone in her flight path. She opened her wings and hissed at the blurry image in front of her and fought to refocus her eyes.

"F-feathers?" Blythe stared at the archangel as his outline became clearer. She pinned her leathery wings tightly behind her and furrowed her brow. "Feathers? You came home?"

She'd lost track of time... mainly because she'd been stuffed in a bag and kicked around the entire time Lucius had been gone. Her hands flew to her face and she hiccuped. "Oh Feathers!"

Lucius was knocked back again as she collided with him. "FeathersFeathersFeathersFeathers!" she squealed happily. The unfortunate archangel's face was peppered with kisses.

Xanthe was still in pain from her cold-moon experience with Klaus. A few more flight feather tips broke off. She stared back at Superbia and dimly registered the white demon. She wasn't the one in the relationship with him, so her only knowledge of him was limited to SoupsSoupsSoupsBlahBlahSexy *breathe* SoupsSoupsIsn'tHeWonderfulSoups! from Blythe. Oh, and Xanthe had helped rescue him from Envy and Wrath.

"Hello, Superbia," she wheezed. "Welcome back." She hadn't caught sight of Lucius yet.

[Fennec]

An awesome velociraptor in NM wrote: Unfamiliar with traditional Japanese etiquette, Fortu did as he was told to be polite. Feeling the floor beneath his feet, it reminded him a bit of walking around with claws, especially the sensation of the details and grooves of the floor.

"I believe it was Wu's Diamond Garden. Although it wasn't the first date, that was...." Fortu thoughtfully looked a bit up and to the right as he sorted through his memory.

"...Could we call Vegas a date? It's all sort of a blur, a very wonderful blur." Fortu said recalling the year's events. Some were good, and some were bad, but he loved every moment with Monique, except for the parts where he thought she was an assassin those were terrifying at the start when he met her.

Monique thought about it a moment. "No, it was more of a job. I suppose it was sort of a date, and I had fun while we were there, but nothing beats our time on the island. That was such a beautiful moment in my life. I can't even begin to tell you how much that meant to me. I was a stranger, some dime-novel broad and yet you trusted me and cared about me. You made me realize what love really is. When I lost everything... when I learned that my memories were fake, it was your love that kept me sane."

She cast a shy smile at him and looked down at the table, a blush on her cheeks.

This funny little cactus-snake-fellow-vent-fennec wrote:

"San? Oh, wait, nevermind. Yes. I am." Bran said, at first confused by Misaki, but then he figured it out and quickly regained his calm, questioning look that could almost be confused for a stare, but he wasn't.

"What is it you have come to ask about?"

Misaki laced her fingers together. Her kimono sleeves hid her hands. "A man came to see you? He offered you gifts. May I examine them and ask you questions about him?"

She wasn't sure if Bran would remember much about the man, but she had to get to the bottom of the matter.

"Evil?" Hans scratched behind his ear and thought about it for a moment.

"No, it's unfair to say "evil". Evil is profound malevolence when regarded as a supernatural force, ja? Bane doesn't seek to do evil. That primordial void sees us as an invasion. We're a cancer. We're a splinter. We intrude. It wants to purge us. Bane's been banished in the past but..."

Hans gave it more thought. His knowledge was rusty and drawing analogies was difficult. It was easier to convey thoughts through the bonds between cultists. He chewed his bottom lip and made a stab at it.

"Habituation. Touching the head of a low-intelligence animal like a crayfish or worm causes an alarm response, ja? It backs up. But over time, this response lessens as it perceives the stimuli as not life threatening. It doesn't back up. It stands there until you tap it hard enough to get a new response. At some point, it'll realize your taps could become life threatening because of the amount of effort you put into each strike. It tries a new tactic. It attacks.

"Bane is habituated. Our taps are meaningless. We can't hurt him. He's learned to come out fighting instead of tolerating our initial taps again. There isn't any contest to win, no challenge, no "sit down and play chess". We should warn the others, ja. We should because he won't wait until they tap. He'll attack straight off and without preamble."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Chrys jumped to her feet, almost overturning the table. It slid forward a few inches, wobbling. Luce pulled her and it back and gave Hans a half-apologetic, half-exasperated look, relieved the edge hadn't slammed into the cultist.

"So Bane wants us gone?" Luce asked again, just to make sure he was on the right track. A few extra seconds wouldn't hurt - he hoped. Perhaps foolishly, if Bane could step out of time just as easily as he and Chrys could.

Hans unclenched his abs and straightened his spine. His scrunched up, smiling face clearly said, hey, I'm used to it from her. He'd become almost fond of Chry's hyper energy. He wasn't troubled by it... War's cultists were sturdy. His restored the salt and pepper shaker and threw a pinch of salt over his left shoulder to ward off back luck.

"Yes. He's the beginning. As I said, a god killer. His role is to remove the powerful things so the weaker things are easier to pick off. There's no reason to panic yet. First, we don't know where he is in Bielefeld, if he's here at all. Second, we don't know what he'll go for first. He'll stay low for a while and wait. He'll watch. He'll prey on small things. Hookers, druggies, the homeless, and used car salesmen. People that no body wants around, and who won't be missed."

---

OOC: Bringing other characters/stories forward.

Charumati had restored her Lair but, instead of the usual black walls, she'd coped with Fram's Germanic/French pollution by adding her own traditions back in. It now felt like home. She'd dragged out every last stick of furniture, every cushion, every plant and all the beautiful architecture that had once graced her palace in ancient times. She'd been austere for too long. Her apartment with Thriller would remain modern but Charumati had felt the bittersweet pains of nostalgia.

The fire pit and altar remained although they were more upbeat. Her chosen cultists reclined on soft pallets and either read old texts or played chess to pass the time. Her favorite Keeper of Secrets stretched out in a corner for her nap.

Charumati paused at the stables to visit her Steeds, gently tugging at their long tongues as they greeted her. They were graceful, reptilian beauties, bipedal and long necked. She fancied their funny faces and soft hoots.

Satisfied that everything was again right in her world, the Chaos god shut the door and returned to the pedestrian life she had come to cherish. She was just Swith once again. She'd collect the twins, feed them supper, walk the dogs, pick up their poo, and sit down to play solitaire on Thriller's laptop after she'd tucked everyone into bed. A perfectly planned evening.

--

Minerva completed her rounds and returned to her apartment. She was sopping wet from the rain. A quick shower warmed her and a fast meal satisfied her hunger. She set out again in search of trouble.

--

The party was in full swing and Will...

Oh to hell with that. Fade to black.

[The BranRiech]

"The Cuban guy? Uh, yeah, sure." Bran said. He really didn't want to walk back to his shop in the rain, but hey, he had an umbrella or two. "They're at my shop, he gave me a forklift and a fax machine." He said, getting up to one, get his shoes on. And two, to find some umbrellas.

"We could go now, if I can find some umbrellas." He nodded.

[Germanic Templars]

Last time on Sups and Luc...

Superbia shrugged off the clipping as Lucius falls on the ground ground again with a loud "Oof."

he looked to see Blythe out of his half closed eyes. "Hello?"
Superbia, on the other hand, laid flat on the ceiling as he looked down at Xanthe.

The succubus winced from the sting caused from striking just about everyone in her flight path. She opened her wings and hissed at the blurry image in front of her and fought to refocus her eyes.

"F-feathers?" Blythe stared at the archangel as his outline became clearer. She pinned her leathery wings tightly behind her and furrowed her brow. "Feathers? You came home?"

She'd lost track of time... mainly because she'd been stuffed in a bag and kicked around the entire time Lucius had been gone. Her hands flew to her face and she hiccuped. "Oh Feathers!"

Lucius was knocked back again as she collided with him. "FeathersFeathersFeathersFeathers!" she squealed happily. The unfortunate archangel's face was peppered with kisses.

Xanthe was still in pain from her cold-moon experience with Klaus. A few more flight feather tips broke off. She stared back at Superbia and dimly registered the white demon. She wasn't the one in the relationship with him, so her only knowledge of him was limited to SoupsSoupsSoupsBlahBlahSexy *breathe* SoupsSoupsIsn'tHeWonderfulSoups! from Blythe. Oh, and Xanthe had helped rescue him from Envy and Wrath.

"Hello, Superbia," she wheezed. "Welcome back." She hadn't caught sight of Lucius yet.

"Yes, yes, we are back!" Lucius happily exclaimed. Superbia, on the other hand, stared at Xanthe a little longer before hopping down in front of her. He sniffed her a bit before having a dramatic pause.. After that he bellowed out fire from his mouth, hoping that it could warm her up.

[New Aksarben]

"Huh, well that is a tricky quandary," puffed Giovenith, tapping her pale cheek with her index finger and looking down.

"To say the least," added Willow, wishing the emphasize the serious nature of their situation. His feelings were similar Sterling's on the matter, and he didn't want Giovenith slipping into the perception that this was some kind of game that could easily be stalled.

"Well, I can provide the dragon spit," said Giovenith, smiling knowingly at the two ponies. "As for the other things though, yes, I am afraid they might be quite the challenge to obtain."

"Yes, I would assume so. We got lucky just finding the liquid ebony in our world. It has no uses, so it is not a very common thing to find in a market. But we got lucky and a con-pony was selling it there. And we were able to convince him to sell it to us for the correct price thanks to Willow's haggling skill. It was actually quite entertaining seeing the con-pony attempting to convince us it actually had uses. He even tried eating it, but all that proved was that it tastes disgusting on pies." HE snickered a bit, and rolled his eyes.

"But you can provide us with the dragon spit? How so? There are dragons on this world?"

[Germanic Templars]

Meanwhile back at the three dropships en route to Earth, Sapphire sat with her hands folded in her lap with a shoulder bag in the seat next to her. Running through her mind was how was she going to explain to Swith about Thriller's unexpected death. She briefly looked up and saw Aleki and J'aluk sitting with their heads bowed down.

In the lead dropship was Levi and his cloned self with a couple of boxes stacked and secured close to the cockpit door. Levi also sat in his seat, holding a recording mic close to him as he logged the summary and recent happenings prior to reaching this time and space.

In the final dropship sat in a wheelchair Barox with two children sitting next to him. One of them was a little girl with long black hair, black circular eyes, sharp teeth, and a purple bow in her hair. The other child was a 9 year old boy, who at first glance, looked as if he had severe ADD due to him always looking around. He had blond hair and one green eye with the other being a very light and bright blue.

The dropships, after several hours of flight and a warp speed, made it into the orbital pull of Earth and were making their decent onto the city. Finally they landed on the rooftop of the apartment, each door opened and all got out of their dropships. They soon scattered. Levi and Sapphire went to Swith's apartment room. Barox walked to the observatory, the kids also followed Barox. J'aluk went on a walk around town, while Aleki went back to his and Natiya's apartment. And finally, the clone Levi went and took all of the luggage from the dropships to Levi's apartment.

[Giovenith]

"Why yes there are, for as I know, many reside in the country from which I hail!" claimed Giovenith, with a hint of obvious pride.

"You're not from this land?" asked Willow, trying to imagine what kind of kingdom dividers this place might have. He played a bit with the idea that maybe all these gods possibly originated from a common land, but didn't dwell on it. Willow did not want to get sucked into this new world, he wanted to focus on living through the experience to see his own home once again.

"I've stayed in some places longer than others," perked Giovenith, looking off and smiling. "Shouldn't be too hard, I know the places to look."

Willow narrowed his eyes skeptically, though without hostility, and gave his wings a flap in agitation. "Dragons are dangerous. Don't pretend to be some expert with them based on where you've lived in your life, that's a fast-track to death." The pegasus didn't want the hyoo-mun to be secretly trying to be impressive, and wind up hurting itself in the process. Not only would it require a face-hoof strong enough to kill him, he honestly would have felt pretty awful if Giovenith hurt herself by trying to befriend them.

"I assure you that I am more than qualified," Giovenith dismissed, flicking her hands together as if to sweep off the notion that she was anything else but. "Believe me Willow, stranger things had flown just as well."

Not only did have high doubt in that, but Willow could have sworn that there was something about her tone that rang of... challenge. An unspoken guarantee that the pegasus would see things just the way she told of, no matter how strange or nonsensical she chose to make them. But Willow Streaks didn't fall so easily into such a modifiable position, oh no, not willingly. This girl wasn't as convincing as she seemed to be used to thinking she was. Willow would time a few kicks and screams before she could drag him into a delusional fantasy world, that was his unspoken guarantee.

Giovenith could tell the little winged horse wasn't convinced by the darker shift in it's already normally analytic expression. She got the distinct feeling that Willow must have been the type of child who would ruin nighttime legends and stories for everyone else by unabashedly pointing out their flaws when he was young (he had already done just as much not too long ago back in their room). Instead of just clapping to say he believed in fairies, he would first demand an explanation as to just how clapping affected fairies in the first place, and how they were aware an audience was listening. How unattractively stubborn. No matter though, he would come to see just how convincing she could be.

With the silent war between whimsicality and skepticism laid down, Giovenith turned her attentions to Sterling.

"As for those other ingredients, I'm sure we could find things around the place that would work just as well," she reassured with a quaint smile.

[New Aksarben]

"Most likely. But unless we get the right ingredients, it could possibly explode and hurt us..... There's a reason it calls for certain ingredients after all." Sterling said, sighing heavily. "I could possibly describe the properties of the ingredients to you so we can find suitable equivalents, Giovenith. I know them quite well, so that should not be a problem. The only one I might have some difficulty with would be the liquid ebony. Its not found in Equestria, except in the far south. Most of it seems to be in other parts of the world that Equestrian ponies rarely visit, anyway."

"And as Willow was saying, please do not get yourself hurt over us. If the dragons of this universe are anything like the ones in ours, then they are not the nicest of creatures, and may try to eat you. Which would suck as you are quite the nice person to help us get adjusted to life in this place like this." Sterling nodded again, giving a smile to the godling, before drinking some more water from his glass.

[Giovenith]

"Oh they wouldn't dare eat me," insisted Giovenith with relaxed confidence. "Fear not, for you will have your dragon spit soon enough, gentleponies." Personally, she couldn't wait to see the happy looks on the ponies' cute little faces!

"Someone's looking forward to the opportunity way too greatly..." whispered Wilow to Sterling. Personally, he wouldn't have been surprised if she failed horribly.

[New Aksarben]

"Oh they wouldn't dare eat me," insisted Giovenith with relaxed confidence. "Fear not, for you will have your dragon spit soon enough, gentleponies." Personally, she couldn't wait to see the happy looks on the ponies' cute little faces!

"Someone's looking forward to the opportunity way too greatly..." whispered Wilow to Sterling. Personally, he wouldn't have been surprised if she failed horribly.

"Well, just don't get yourself hurt in the process Giovenith. It would not be right to let you get hurt over us wanting to get home." Sterling responded with a concerned smile. He nodded to Willow in agreement, wondering exactly why Gio was so adamant about helping them. It was a bit strange,seeing as they only met, well, a few hours ago. It was a bit odd that she was so interested in helping them period.

"But I would be grateful if you got some dragon spit. As long as you did not get yourself hurt in the process of course."

[Giovenith]

"Oh they wouldn't dare eat me," insisted Giovenith with relaxed confidence. "Fear not, for you will have your dragon spit soon enough, gentleponies." Personally, she couldn't wait to see the happy looks on the ponies' cute little faces!

"Someone's looking forward to the opportunity way too greatly..." whispered Wilow to Sterling. Personally, he wouldn't have been surprised if she failed horribly.

"Well, just don't get yourself hurt in the process Giovenith. It would not be right to let you get hurt over us wanting to get home." Sterling responded with a concerned smile. He nodded to Willow in agreement, wondering exactly why Gio was so adamant about helping them. It was a bit strange,seeing as they only met, well, a few hours ago. It was a bit odd that she was so interested in helping them period.

"But I would be grateful if you got some dragon spit. As long as you did not get yourself hurt in the process of course."

"Your concern is very sweet," Giovenith smiled, appreciating the ponies' worry for her. "But I'm a tougher cookie than I look, I've been here longer, after all." Figuring it wouldn't have been the best choice of words to say, 'you should really be worrying more than me,' so she decided to leave it at. "Until then, I certainly hope you can make life here pleasant for yourselves."

[New Aksarben]

"Well, just don't get yourself hurt in the process Giovenith. It would not be right to let you get hurt over us wanting to get home." Sterling responded with a concerned smile. He nodded to Willow in agreement, wondering exactly why Gio was so adamant about helping them. It was a bit strange,seeing as they only met, well, a few hours ago. It was a bit odd that she was so interested in helping them period.

"But I would be grateful if you got some dragon spit. As long as you did not get yourself hurt in the process of course."

"Your concern is very sweet," Giovenith smiled, appreciating the ponies' worry for her. "But I'm a tougher cookie than I look, I've been here longer, after all." Figuring it wouldn't have been the best choice of words to say, 'you should really be worrying more than me,' so she decided to leave it at. "Until then, I certainly hope you can make life here pleasant for yourselves."

Sterling nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Gio. Its weird living here. Things don't make nearly as much sense here as in Equestria.... Especially seeing as the moon and sun somehow move on their own, as does the weather....." Sterling sighed heavily, finishing the water he had in his glass, and levitating it back over to the sink. It really was strange seeing it rain without pegasi moving the clouds into place, and not seeing a completely clear sky every day. Sterling then had a thought.

"...Willow, do you know if you can effect the weather here? I know my magic works, but does yours work here? The clouds might not be the same as back in our world, so you might not be able to control them at all..... Which would be very strange...."

[Giovenith]

"I hadn't the time to try," admitted Willow, giving a stray look toward the direction he remembered the door to outside was. "Truthfully, I gave it some thought, but I'm a bit concerned about how the clouds here might react if I attempted to control them. I don't want to try kick out lightning only to get struck myself."

"The clouds are pretty high up in the air too," said Giovenith, of course spotting the well-thought out unlikelihood of someone touching them.

"I'm sure that part won't really be a problem," dismissed Willow, waving a hoof. "Perhaps I'll try to move a few on a more cloudy day, when it comes. Surely moving can't have too many unforeseen consequences."

[Tiltjuice]

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Chrys jumped to her feet, almost overturning the table. It slid forward a few inches, wobbling. Luce pulled her and it back and gave Hans a half-apologetic, half-exasperated look, relieved the edge hadn't slammed into the cultist.

"So Bane wants us gone?" Luce asked again, just to make sure he was on the right track. A few extra seconds wouldn't hurt - he hoped. Perhaps foolishly, if Bane could step out of time just as easily as he and Chrys could.

Hans unclenched his abs and straightened his spine. His scrunched up, smiling face clearly said, hey, I'm used to it from her. He'd become almost fond of Chry's hyper energy. He wasn't troubled by it... War's cultists were sturdy. His restored the salt and pepper shaker and threw a pinch of salt over his left shoulder to ward off back luck.

"Yes. He's the beginning. As I said, a god killer. His role is to remove the powerful things so the weaker things are easier to pick off. There's no reason to panic yet. First, we don't know where he is in Bielefeld, if he's here at all. Second, we don't know what he'll go for first. He'll stay low for a while and wait. He'll watch. He'll prey on small things. Hookers, druggies, the homeless, and used car salesmen. People that no body wants around, and who won't be missed."

"Sounds like the typical serial killer," Luce surmised thoughtfully, nodding in acknowledgement of Hans' salt tossing. He let go of Chrys, who stood and stretched.

"Except for the used car salesmen part," she added, with a touch of dark humor. "Well, we'll -" she gestured between herself and Luce " - keep an eye out, and make sure to pair up when on patrols. It'll be rough, though, since there's only two of us."

---

Without hesitation, Katya replied with "I want to see the world. I want to live up my life, and go on adventures with my friends, and play my music, and not just he regulated to the role of a mother. I want to...be something. I'm highborn. I have to..."

Dora could understand this, right? She loved what she would be doing soon, and how things would change, but when she thought about it, she also bought about all the new duties and the expectations, and how other people turned out, and she didn't want to be like that. She was still young, and look at where she lived! She wanted to be adventurous like the other residents.

.....

"What uniform, you ask?", Torii said. "Why, the Junior military uniform of a Torsiedellie soldier! Actually, I gotta order a new one, since I'm seventeen now. I'll be getting a digi-camo mao-suit style uniform. Ya know, it'll be a nice change of attire, eh?"

Dora smiled, slow, smooth, and lazy. There was the spirit that had drawn her to Katya, originally.

"You are seeing the world, aren't you? Places outside of Torsiedelle, at any rate. Urran, and here in Bielefeld. And as long as you're with me, you'll never be 'just a mother'."

For the third time, hoping it would be the charm, she kissed Katya, this time pressing her hands to Katya's stomach with a hesitant reverence.

*****

"Oh, I can imagine. I'm looking for a new uniform myself, actually." Tasia managed to look relatively composed about this, even though her insides roiled over having to make such an admission.

[Torsiedelle]

Katya was starting to notice something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Damn her and her inability to read others!

To her slight embarrassment, she put and arm around Dora's shoulder and got a bit closer.

"So, um...are you thinking of...what I think you are? No? Getting closer?"

.....

"You are, huh?", Torii said. "Wait....aren't you one of them Time Cops? Grey and Tan, right?"

Grey and Tan, two colours that Tora was used to wearing, herself. Well, not in the same way as the conservators, but still....

Torii approached the door to her apartment.

[Swith Witherward]

"The Cuban guy? Uh, yeah, sure." Bran said. He really didn't want to walk back to his shop in the rain, but hey, he had an umbrella or two. "They're at my shop, he gave me a forklift and a fax machine." He said, getting up to one, get his shoes on. And two, to find some umbrellas.

"We could go now, if I can find some umbrellas." He nodded.

Misaki smiled and lifted an elbow to show that she had a rather large umbrella. The curved handle was resting at her elbow and the thing dangled down at her side. Very old fashioned perhaps, but very useful.

"I sincerely appreciate you allowing me to look at these items," the small cultist replied. And then, feeling that he deserved to know her name, she added, "I am Yamaguchi Misaki. Please call me Misaki." She was accustomed to being addressed by her given name.

"Yes, yes, we are back!" Lucius happily exclaimed. Superbia, on the other hand, stared at Xanthe a little longer before hopping down in front of her. He sniffed her a bit before having a dramatic pause.. After that he bellowed out fire from his mouth, hoping that it could warm her up.

Xanthe, first frozen and now crispy, rolled away from Superbia. She came to rest on her butt and her eyes widened as she met Lucius' own. "Oh my! You've returned too!"

She regenerated the burns to her skin (although her wings were now a complete mess and would take time to clean) and smiled. Her expression became radiant, and she tipped her head to the side and blinked away tears. "I've missed you so, Archangel." Overcome by joyful emotion, her head bowed and she offered a secret prayer to Elohim in gratitude for Lucius' return.

Blythe squeezed the archangel extra tight, content to purr rather than continue to assault his face. Her head turned and she caught sight of Superbia and the smouldering-winged Xanthe. She squealed and hurtled away, leaping through the air to tackle the demon.

"RAAWWWRR!"

...
The dropships, after several hours of flight and a warp speed, made it into the orbital pull of Earth and were making their decent onto the city. Finally they landed on the rooftop of the apartment, each door opened and all got out of their dropships. They soon scattered. Levi and Sapphire went to Swith's apartment room. Barox walked to the observatory, the kids also followed Barox. J'aluk went on a walk around town, while Aleki went back to his and Natiya's apartment. And finally, the clone Levi went and took all of the luggage from the dropships to Levi's apartment.

The door muffled the sounds of barking. Loud barking. Puppies grow up, you know!

"Mimsy! Seeluer! Shut up! Shut up! SIT!"

The last command was spoken intensely enough to make even the twins stop running around. Silence reigned as the door opened and was broken again as Swith's curious expression turned into one of absolute delight.

"Sapphire!" She pulled the girl into a warm embrace, rocking her gently for a few seconds. Just being in contact with Thriller's grandchild had pushed aside the ache she'd felt since everyone's sudden departure. She kissed her cheek and let her go, and then embraced Levi the same. Clone or not, he was family.

She stepped back, beaming at both of them and expecting to hear Thriller's booming voice coming up the hall, or perhaps the loud thuds of his mech suit. Of course, they'd just gotten back, so he might still be settling things. Work was work, and she understood that.

"Come in?" she asked, but now that her own emotions had broken, she was finally able to pick up on Sapphire's. Something wasn't right. There was a burden. Charumati, a being born from the emotions of mankind and other beings, found herself unwilling to explore Sapphire's surface emotions any further. Something wasn't right. Her smile faltered and her expression became passive.

"Siduer, take the dogs and your sister and go play in Sydney's room."

And then, nipping the twins' natural curiosity in the bud, she added. "NOW."

They left and Swith stepped aside. "Come in," she said again, still presenting Sapphire and Levi with a passive, kind face.

[Germanic Templars]

"Yes, yes, we are back!" Lucius happily exclaimed. Superbia, on the other hand, stared at Xanthe a little longer before hopping down in front of her. He sniffed her a bit before having a dramatic pause.. After that he bellowed out fire from his mouth, hoping that it could warm her up.

Xanthe, first frozen and now crispy, rolled away from Superbia. She came to rest on her butt and her eyes widened as she met Lucius' own. "Oh my! You've returned too!"

She regenerated the burns to her skin (although her wings were now a complete mess and would take time to clean) and smiled. Her expression became radiant, and she tipped her head to the side and blinked away tears. "I've missed you so, Archangel." Overcome by joyful emotion, her head bowed and she offered a secret prayer to Elohim in gratitude for Lucius' return.

Blythe squeezed the archangel extra tight, content to purr rather than continue to assault his face. Her head turned and she caught sight of Superbia and the smouldering-winged Xanthe. She squealed and hurtled away, leaping through the air to tackle the demon.

"RAAWWWRR!"

...
The dropships, after several hours of flight and a warp speed, made it into the orbital pull of Earth and were making their decent onto the city. Finally they landed on the rooftop of the apartment, each door opened and all got out of their dropships. They soon scattered. Levi and Sapphire went to Swith's apartment room. Barox walked to the observatory, the kids also followed Barox. J'aluk went on a walk around town, while Aleki went back to his and Natiya's apartment. And finally, the clone Levi went and took all of the luggage from the dropships to Levi's apartment.

The door muffled the sounds of barking. Loud barking. Puppies grow up, you know!

"Mimsy! Seeluer! Shut up! Shut up! SIT!"

The last command was spoken intensely enough to make even the twins stop running around. Silence reigned as the door opened and was broken again as Swith's curious expression turned into one of absolute delight.

"Sapphire!" She pulled the girl into a warm embrace, rocking her gently for a few seconds. Just being in contact with Thriller's grandchild had pushed aside the ache she'd felt since everyone's sudden departure. She kissed her cheek and let her go, and then embraced Levi the same. Clone or not, he was family.

She stepped back, beaming at both of them and expecting to hear Thriller's booming voice coming up the hall, or perhaps the loud thuds of his mech suit. Of course, they'd just gotten back, so he might still be settling things. Work was work, and she understood that.

"Come in?" she asked, but now that her own emotions had broken, she was finally able to pick up on Sapphire's. Something wasn't right. There was a burden. Charumati, a being born from the emotions of mankind and other beings, found herself unwilling to explore Sapphire's surface emotions any further. Something wasn't right. Her smile faltered and her expression became passive.

"Siduer, take the dogs and your sister and go play in Sydney's room."

And then, nipping the twins' natural curiosity in the bud, she added. "NOW."

They left and Swith stepped aside. "Come in," she said again, still presenting Sapphire and Levi with a passive, kind face.

"I miss you too, Xanthe." He replied as he sat up in his spot. Superbia gave out a laugh as he was being tackled. Lucius looked at them both and could possibly assume something, but rather not, instead he got up and walked over to Xanthe.

--

Seeing the kids out of the room, Sapphire instantly dropped her bag and fell onto Swith's shoulder, crying in a low enough way to not get the attention of the twins. Levi then stepped off to the side with a rolled up paper. By customs, he unrolled it like a scroll and read it as the following: "To Mrs. Charumati Thriller, we are sorry to inform you that your husband and soldier, Cornelius Thriller, has passed away on the date of October 23, 2181 while recovering at St. Claire Hospital on Xerxes Island, Third District. The cause of death your soldier is ruled to be technical accident. Again, we are deeply sorry to inform you of this tragedy."
He then rolled up the paper and stuffed it away.

[The BranRiech]

"Well, welcome to the bomb-shelter, Misaki." Bran smiled and started to lead the girl out of said dwelling. Hell, he just invited her in, what sort of person was he? Ah, screw it, she wanted to see what he'd been given, so that's what he'd do.

Finding the umbrellas near the door, he grabbed one and handed it gingerly to her.

"It's a nice walk, but not in the rain."

--

Natiya was sleeping on the couch by the time Aleki arrived, the door was open though, in that it wasn't locked. The TV was on, and it appeared that she was in the middle of dinner at the time, as a half-eaten bowl of Ramen sat unfinished on the coffee table.

[Germanic Templars]

Natiya was sleeping on the couch by the time Aleki arrived, the door was open though, in that it wasn't locked. The TV was on, and it appeared that she was in the middle of dinner at the time, as a half-eaten bowl of Ramen sat unfinished on the coffee table.

Aleki, gave a slow turn of the nob and a push on the door, he opened the door enough to slide in without detection. From there he quietly made his way over to the couch to see Natiya sleeping. With a soft sigh and a tear from his eye, he gave a small smile and a thought that he still had someone who was okay. He then picked up the bowl of noodles and placed them in the sink before going and taking off his damaged chest plate and gauntlets on the coffee table.

[New Aksarben]

"I hadn't the time to try," admitted Willow, giving a stray look toward the direction he remembered the door to outside was. "Truthfully, I gave it some thought, but I'm a bit concerned about how the clouds here might react if I attempted to control them. I don't want to try kick out lightning only to get struck myself."

"The clouds are pretty high up in the air too," said Giovenith, of course spotting the well-thought out unlikelihood of someone touching them.

"I'm sure that part won't really be a problem," dismissed Willow, waving a hoof. "Perhaps I'll try to move a few on a more cloudy day, when it comes. Surely moving can't have too many unforeseen consequences."

"Well, It shouldn't be too bad. Especially if they function in the right way." Sterling responded with a shrug. He couldn't see any problem with his friend flying up that high. After all, Pegasi did that every day on their world. Or more accurately, above it. The pegasi always came back, and you rarely heard of a pony dying from falling, as they always were caught by another pegasi.

"And it probably is a good idea to wait until the clouds clear a bit, and its not downpouring. And when it isn't late in the day, too. But it would be nice to know if you can do that, probably." Sterling shrugged again, and then yawned.

[Swith Witherward]

"I miss you too, Xanthe." He replied as he sat up in his spot. Superbia gave out a laugh as he was being tackled. Lucius looked at them both and could possibly assume something, but rather not, instead he got up and walked over to Xanthe.

--

Seeing the kids out of the room, Sapphire instantly dropped her bag and fell onto Swith's shoulder, crying in a low enough way to not get the attention of the twins. Levi then stepped off to the side with a rolled up paper. By customs, he unrolled it like a scroll and read it as the following: "To Mrs. Charumati Thriller, we are sorry to inform you that your husband and soldier, Cornelius Thriller, has passed away on the date of October 23, 2181 while recovering at St. Claire Hospital on Xerxes Island, Third District. The cause of death your soldier is ruled to be technical accident. Again, we are deeply sorry to inform you of this tragedy."
He then rolled up the paper and stuffed it away.

Xanthe rose and tucked her smouldering wings behind her. She shook her head and then caressed his cheek with her hand. As far as she was concerned, he was the only intelligent Heavenly being around, other than the janitor, and she'd missed his passive attitude and calm demeanor. "Welcome home," she sighed, and then she removed her hand and stepped back in case the physical contact made him uncomfortable. "We would have joined you but we were delayed. Want some coffee?"

At least, she hoped her words were heard over the commotion from Blythe. The succubus was born from emotion and the whole damn Building probably knew it just by the sounds she was making. She was almost vexed, not knowing what do to with herself. Her tail lashed out and thumped the floor, and she alternated excited squeaks with low hoots and odd growls as she rubbed her face and neck against Superbia's skin.

"Scent marking," Xanthe laughed. "She loves you equally. You just don't smell bad enough to roll around on."

--

Levi's words barely registered in Swith's ears. She didn't need to hear it to know the truth of it. Her protective nature prompted her mind to seal the twins' door to block out the sounds and then she buried her face against Sapphire's neck. She had to hold on to her. If she let go, Sapphire might flutter away like a dry leaf and she'd be alone. Her hand blindly reached out and latched onto Levi's wrist. She didn't give a shit about his personality. He was family. He was another leaf from that tree. Her head turned towards him. The pinch-eye grimace drew the corners of her mouth back far enough to expose her sharp back teeth. She was crying without making a sound, shuddering in Sapphire's arms and imploring Levi through expression alone to not walk away.

[Giovenith]

"I hadn't the time to try," admitted Willow, giving a stray look toward the direction he remembered the door to outside was. "Truthfully, I gave it some thought, but I'm a bit concerned about how the clouds here might react if I attempted to control them. I don't want to try kick out lightning only to get struck myself."

"The clouds are pretty high up in the air too," said Giovenith, of course spotting the well-thought out unlikelihood of someone touching them.

"I'm sure that part won't really be a problem," dismissed Willow, waving a hoof. "Perhaps I'll try to move a few on a more cloudy day, when it comes. Surely moving can't have too many unforeseen consequences."

"Well, It shouldn't be too bad. Especially if they function in the right way." Sterling responded with a shrug. He couldn't see any problem with his friend flying up that high. After all, Pegasi did that every day on their world. Or more accurately, above it. The pegasi always came back, and you rarely heard of a pony dying from falling, as they always were caught by another pegasi.

"And it probably is a good idea to wait until the clouds clear a bit, and its not downpouring. And when it isn't late in the day, too. But it would be nice to know if you can do that, probably." Sterling shrugged again, and then yawned.

"But he'd need to do as Rudolf said and watch out for airplanes," Giovenith warned, pulling up a seat to take, having been standing for a fairly long time. "You don't want to be hit by one if you're really going to be up in the clouds."

"I've been meaning to ask just what those were," said Willow, jumping at the opportunity once reminded of his previous quandary. "I know what a mathematical plane is, so is an airplane like a kind of dangerous weather phenomena here, or...?"

"An airplane is a giant metal tube with wings that flies through the sky, humans ride inside to reach long distances more quickly and with less obstacles," explained the godling without much surprise. If at least one-third the population of their land had wings, yeah, she supposed it would make a degree of sense why they hadn't invented airplanes.

[The BranRiech]

Another dream? She imagined this moment hundreds of times before, seeing the armor on the table gave her either the nicest dream ever, or the worst nightmare she could think of. Either Aleki would be home, or she'd see his corpse in her dreams. Still unable to tell the difference, she silently got up to find him, either way.

"A-Aleki?" She asked tentatively.

[Swith Witherward]

"Well, welcome to the bomb-shelter, Misaki." Bran smiled and started to lead the girl out of said dwelling. Hell, he just invited her in, what sort of person was he? Ah, screw it, she wanted to see what he'd been given, so that's what he'd do.

Finding the umbrellas near the door, he grabbed one and handed it gingerly to her.

"It's a nice walk, but not in the rain."

She held up her own umbrella again and bowed over his concern for her well-being. "I'm terribly sorry to ask you to step out on such a bad evening but the matter is pressing enough that I feel delay might not be best."

She stepped outside and opened her umbrella, waiting patiently for Bran to follow. "Please take me to your place of business."

[The BranRiech]

"But of course, no, it's fine. Rain hasn't stopped me from anything, although it's a bit cold." Bran nodded in agreement, that it was in-fact a horrible night to be out. Rain still pouring, he followed Misaki out the door, pointing down the street to where his own building sat, after a nice walk. "I was just there today, took my daughter there for her lessons." He said, hoping to make small talk. "So what's this all about, anyways?"