Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[The BranRiech]

"No idea what I'll do. Maybe someone around here needs some jobs to be done. I could always do those for people. I wouldn't mind. At least I'd be able to stay inside and not face the cold, freezing my butt off out there." Toscha laughed, taking yet another drink of his soda, cooling it slightly to keep the taste from leaving the fizzy drink.

"Or I'll work in the summer. My parents paid the rent in my apartment for a few month's worth."

--

Rachelle followed along, barely remembering the last time she'd been down into the lair before to see her friends. Most of the time her friends and her were off on some daring adventure (Or risking their lives in terribly dangerous situations), and Rachelle barely spent any time down here with them, so it'd be nice to finally see her friend's home.

She wandered over to the Twins, and the other children to decide what to do.

--

Yuna followed, a bit cautiously, not saying a word for some hidden fear of activating something or the other. Anything was possible with these Human contraptions, but this was a simple white door underneath an amazing building.

"I say we open it, eh?" She encouraged softly, wanting too, to see what the other side held for the teens.

[Cerillium]

Ogoti tossed the rod into a surgical towel. He was of mixed mind when it came to Insidious. The plague god had no qualms regarding disease however the Luxan's drug use was wanton and the fact that they'd somehow adapted their bodies to tolerate excess amounts of it without allowing themselves to feel the deterioration and illness brought on by use was something that rubbed him raw.

He formed a box, a gilded cage as ornate and gothic as one could want, and stuffed it into Insidious' mind. Totenkopf had his dark rooms, NVE had his strange city. Insidious could take refuge from her insanity and find solace in the protective cage, free from doubts and fears and drug-induced and god-stirred madness. He had to get to the bottom of things and that small sliver of Insidious which was hiding within her own mind was key. He added a comfortable couch and chair.

[Cerillium]

It's said that a sense of humor is the mark of intelligence. It's even said that humor is the best form of healing. In the case of the Building, humor was what it made it, and it had decided that it was bored and in need of a bit of adventure.

The doorknob slipped out of Torii's grasp as the door slammed fully open, banging against the wall. Steam... or perhaps fog, as it was cold... billowed from the chamber beyond and dampened the teenagers' hair, plastering it to their heads. There was an almighty lurch and the ground rolled, knocking them off balance and sending them into the fog. They clattered to the ground and then fell upwards. Up, up, up, piercing the fog.

The journey seemed to last for several frantic heartbeats as they wheeled and spun through the air like three autumn leaves caught in a vortex chamber. Faster and faster they went, with gravitational forces pushing their stomachs into the lowest parts of their bellies. The fog thinned moments before they crashed through the pipes running along the ceiling, and then they passed through the solid object as if it were tissue paper. They continued upwards into an even foggier room and then, inexplicably, they crashed into the next ceiling.

Stomachs returned to their correct positions. The world seemed to right itself. The teenagers would find that they were laying on the black and white parquet floor, and not a ceiling at all.

"Wha?" Marcus tried to say, but all that came out was a strangle murmur. He forced himself to not puke.

[Giovenith]

"No idea what I'll do. Maybe someone around here needs some jobs to be done. I could always do those for people. I wouldn't mind. At least I'd be able to stay inside and not face the cold, freezing my butt off out there." Toscha laughed, taking yet another drink of his soda, cooling it slightly to keep the taste from leaving the fizzy drink.

"Or I'll work in the summer. My parents paid the rent in my apartment for a few month's worth."

"Summer's probably a better option, that's when most of the part time jobs come out anyway," said Willow, getting up to finally throw the disk in the trash. "Hopefully you won't get a crummy one, though you seem like a patient po- mmm, person."

[Mincaldenteans]

Getting off the island and back to Bielefeld had been a radical change in climate for Dan, the young fae had scowled at face of winter. Back at the apartment, he had gotten into his dwelling and unpacked the few belongings he took with him; only to sit about with a tension in him he couldn't ease. Peering out the window, the city-scape of Bielefeld was just a vista of white. It looked beautiful even if Dan associated such settings with danger.

Winter.

He had a few run-ins with the Winter Court and their versions of 'games' usually ran to the disturbing and horrific. Not that Summer had any credit in temperance, but at least they were civilized about it.

The thought made Dan laugh out loud and thankfully he was alone so no one could hear him. Nothing in either courts were civilized, they just pretended. All pomp and fare, when in essence they were vicious, cruel masterminds after each other's mantle of power: all in the hopes of impressing the Queen, and only because they couldn't topple her from the throne. He and those born recently didn't quite understand the need for masks, veils, duplicity nor the thrill of violence or the politicking, but learned quickly how to play along. Dan always had trouble with it; he was a healer, an illusionary caster, he was a being of Spring and violence was simply not 'in his blood'. Faes of the same season had done their best to keep him away, only a few (Dan learned the hard way) were as deceptive as those born of Summer or Winter itself. Aurora herself once told him that he would be formidable if only he had put his reservations aside, but Dan didn't have a taste for any of it and Aurora never pressed the issue again - at least not directly. A smirk formed at the corner of his lips, the few times Dan was forced to fight he wondered if they actually let him win rather to his own credit. Somehow, either wouldn't surprise him.

Realizing he was brooding, he buried all thoughts of Summer and Winter and moved away from the window. Thinking of home wouldn't do any good, he reminded himself and as he looked around the empty living room, he decided he needed to get out for a bit. Maybe he'll visit Haven and see how it was doing with the blizzard. The store was still closed, the decor had yet been finalized and on the island Dan realized that sooner or later he'd have to get more help to run the store. Quickly rummaging through his belongings, he found a thick jacket, a beanie and a set of gloves. Hoping it would be enough - as he had no intention of walking through the streets at these temperatures and Haven was quite a distance to say the least; he called for a cab, locked up behind him, and set for the lobby to wait for the cab.

[The BranRiech]

"Summer's probably a better option, that's when most of the part time jobs come out anyway," said Willow, getting up to finally throw the disk in the trash. "Hopefully you won't get a crummy one, though you seem like a patient po- mmm, person."

"You don't need to call me a person." Toscha chuckled. "They 're cognates, mean the same thing." He shrugged, taking no offense with being called a pony, just like he hoped that Willow found no problem with being called a person.

"Yeah, summer probably, that's when my rent runs out anyways."

--

Meanwhile, away from the friendly chit-chatting . . .

As Marcus forced himself not to puke, Yuna had already done so, and was scooting away from a puddle of it nearby. She blushed, looking ashamed of herself. The sensations had reminded her of tumble out of the sky, and then combined with the sheer terror of hitting an object only to go right through it! She simply lost her lunch, didn't mean to, but did.

"Urgh . . . This room better be worth that." She shook her head/

[Germanic Templars]

"This map, well lets just say that it is in our archives. Even better, it shows you anywhere on the map where to find someone or something. Now then, you remember that scroll Lucius showed you, about the riddles and such? Turns out, it only works on certain occasions if it has certain materials near it. For example, if I wanted to learn about how the book Tail of Two Cities were to end, just put it near the book and it will tell you. Or if you want to understand else things, put the items near it and it shall work."

"That scroll and this map are tied together in some way?"

It was a silly question but Xanthe voiced it anyway. If anything, the map would tell them exactly where Lucius was, if he was on Earth still. The scroll was most likely in his possession. "What's he guarding, anyway?"

"Not tied together. Never was, it's just the scroll's properties it can do. Though one interesting thing I did learn that putting multiple books together seems to unlock more powers of it. Knowledge, I mean. I learned this when I was getting the map, I decided to get a quick read of the Book of Life in Heaven. Yes I know, it's just a list of all the people who are going to heaven at the end of time. Funny though, the names change so frequently, I never knew that."

"But alas you didn't want to hear that. When I put the scroll up to the book and asked the same question Lucius asked it, It came up with words all separated into spots, as if it were an unfinished story to where the author just placed words in areas just to go back and fill in the blanks as he wrote along because he was insane like that. Also did I mention it glowed a bit?" He explained in full.

He cleared his throat and continued. "And if you are wondering, it will tell us where Lucius is, even not on Earth. Guaranteed though it might not show Earth but another realm. Yes, it can map out other places. Now I should stop being side tracked like that, to answer your question, no I do not know what he was guarding."

---

Barox, who took his hand off the child's head, replied as he folded his hands behind his back. "Yes, the Doctor said something that he would be staying back for a little longer till she would wake up from her shock, coma-thingy."

---

Aleki placed his helmet back onto his head. With a twist to the left there came a clicking sound of it fitting onto the armor followed with hissing noise as it removed any "impurities" in the air. Smiling under his helmet, he gave a thumbs up back to her. "Lets do this!"

[Primordial Luxa]

Ogoti tossed the rod into a surgical towel. He was of mixed mind when it came to Insidious. The plague god had no qualms regarding disease however the Luxan's drug use was wanton and the fact that they'd somehow adapted their bodies to tolerate excess amounts of it without allowing themselves to feel the deterioration and illness brought on by use was something that rubbed him raw.

He formed a box, a gilded cage as ornate and gothic as one could want, and stuffed it into Insidious' mind. Totenkopf had his dark rooms, NVE had his strange city. Insidious could take refuge from her insanity and find solace in the protective cage, free from doubts and fears and drug-induced and god-stirred madness. He had to get to the bottom of things and that small sliver of Insidious which was hiding within her own mind was key. He added a comfortable couch and chair.

At the removal of the rod their marked a drastic change in Insidious's condition. Her pulse and temperature began to slowly return to normal levels and the deterioration of her skin began to slow down even though it was still falling apart due to her malnutrition. As soon as the rod was removed her skin changed from dark grey to a deathly pale blue that seemed to make her vibrate.

She formed in her cage like candle unmelting, rising from the ground in rolling waves of mental energy. Once she was complete she remained stationary for several long moment her eyes closed as she massaged her eyelids. However after half an hour she eventually opened them revealing an expression of surprise at her surrounding. She for some reason sat down on the floor in a semi fetal position hugging her legs and waited in silence as if she didn't trust her surroundings.

[Giovenith]

"Well I'm just glad you don't mind. From the use I've heard of the word person, it seems to apply to anything that is sapient, whereas I know pony is a specific species," Willow said, smiling faintly. "But if nopony really cares, than I suppose it isn't a problem. And if you need any help at all come this summer, please do not hesitate to ask."

He began to look around. "You said you were going to put the painting someplace?"

[Torsiedelle]

Tora moaned, and was barely keeping from vomiting, herself. "Deep, soft breaths.", She told herself, and sat in a hunched-over position on her knees. She didn't open her eyes yet, and only heard what was happening with her friends. "Yuna? Marcus", She called out, and eventually got to her feet, but she was still dizzy. She had to sit back down several times before finally being able to stand still, and she looked about the room curiously.

Her friends were still not well? She walked forward with baby steps to keep up, and crashed between her two peers to feel safer. She ignored Yuna's puking.

[Cerillium]

At the removal of the rod their marked a drastic change in Insidious's condition. Her pulse and temperature began to slowly return to normal levels and the deterioration of her skin began to slow down even though it was still falling apart due to her malnutrition. As soon as the rod was removed her skin changed from dark grey to a deathly pale blue that seemed to make her vibrate.

She formed in her cage like candle unmelting, rising from the ground in rolling waves of mental energy. Once she was complete she remained stationary for several long moment her eyes closed as she massaged her eyelids. However after half an hour she eventually opened them revealing an expression of surprise at her surrounding. She for some reason sat down on the floor in a semi fetal position hugging her legs and waited in silence as if she didn't trust her surroundings.

"Insidious?" Ogoti knelt next to the Luxan and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You deserved a safe space apart from whatever made you withdraw. Don't worry. I won't let you down."

He'd given her time to adjust and to express her emotions. He was determined to ease her burdens even as Sanjay worked his magic with her physical body. Ogoti had explained the process to him before settling into a chair to touch the Luxan's mind. Time was meaningless compared to a thought's speed. The communion between avatar and stricken woman could last several hours or even days as perceived by the mind yet the physical world might measure that same span in mere minutes.

"I'm not here to ask you to betray your gods," Ogoti spoke soothingly to Insidious. "In fact, I'm here for you to vent, if you so wish. Don't worry about lashing out at me. You can't do me any mental damage. I'm rather mindless, or so Swith always told me. I'm emotion, my dear. Come, have a seat in this comfortable chair. I'll get us some chai or, if you'd like, a nice glass of wine."

---

Meanwhile, in some distant room in the Building, three teenagers found themselves caught up in an adventure.

The room was pale and illuminated by fuzzy light that didn't seem to come from any fixtures. The walls were a lovely shade of gray that complimented the laminate squares adorning the floor. The ceiling was also gray and too high to touch even if a person jumped straight up. It was still foggy here and difficult to see more than a few feet in front of their noses. They could see each other however. Thankfully, the fog also obscured the gift Yuna had deposited on the floor. Strange music seemed to softly echo from the far end of this room and the lights were brighter there.

Marcus picked himself up and brushed his robe into place. "So, um, yeah," he shrugged and began to venture towards the music source.

The fog lifted to reveal a waiting room. It was somewhat upscale and done in umber and red hues. A plasma television depicted a fish tank. There was a massive brown door that dominated one corner. A brass plaque declared it to be the personal offices of O.C. Demens.

---

"Oh good," Wren felt better about leaving her behind now. "Well, he seems to know what he's doing. What did he mean by DNA? I'm guessing she was on the receiving end of some really bad news?"

She'd always wondered about the cat. She supposed Thriller had a naughty kink and had slept with something strange before meeting Swith; but Swith had been fairly strange herself. She was beginning to think Sapphire was now some genetic experiment much like Datus and Catherine. Poor Catherine. Doomed to facing the world with a shark's head instead of a normal face.

[The BranRiech]

"Oh yeah!"

Toscha quit the chit-chat, and sprung into action, grabbing the poster, and some nearby picture-hangers he'd bought for such an occasion when he ever decided to go out and buy some pictures to put up. WIllow's picture would work perfectly in their place though, and Toscha found a nice little spot nestled between two plants, allowing the green to blend well with the rest of the room.

One could look at the furniture in this part of the room and tell it was where the Lamia slept, simply basking on his floor when he slept.

--

"This is . . ."

A much more composed Yuna was about to make some sort of point when she heard the music, at the same time, hoping the others didn't notice her throw-up on the floor. The Pyersai wanted to forget that, and the waiting room they were in was much more interesting than some puke anyways! Yeah, it was. "Isn't Demens the landlord? My brother had me read the lease."

--

After a while of searching with no luck, which basically meant checking like . . . 2 rooms, Kei finally found the crippled Primordial outside of the apartment, lying in the snowy backyward next to the same obelisk that she found on the beach. "There you are, friend." She smiled warmly, wrapped in the scarf she was given by Naomi.

She bent down and carefully picked up the Luxan, carrying him like a soldier would carry a wounded comrade to safety.

[Giovenith]

"Very nice. You have good aesthetic senses," complimented Willow, tilting his head slightly to take in the whole scene of it. "Lovely, not to stroke my own ego or anything. If it is your taste that brought about this room, we could be home sellers together."

--

"This is just perfect! I wouldn't have thought of this before!"

Giovenith had finally come across the opportunity to do something she'd been too busy to do before: Use the special gift given to her by the Spanish delivery man. There hadn't been much time before what with all the moving around, but with a quiet moment to herself, Giovenith had seized the opportunity and gotten to putting it to good use. She had never worked with chain-mail jewelry before, but being the natural artist she was, it didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. Not only that, but Giovenith had figured out the perfect thing to use the unique jewelry on: The Sea Dress.

Yes, she still had the outfit she had created last year completely out of mollusk products (made entirely of sea silk, died Tyrian purple, laced with pearls and mother of pearl, etc.). It had been, like many of the outfits Giovenith had casually created, packed away and kept in her hammerspace bag until she found some use for it (which usually didn't happen). But upon receiving her Allspice gift (and still being naively unaware of the unscrupulous activities of the company), the girl had immediately pegged the outfit as in need of the extra accessories. Sure, maybe it sort of bent the whole "only mollusk products" rule, but the chain-mail jewelry just looked oh-so-much to her like old treasure, it would have been a travesty not to theme it up with an entire dress created of the sea!

All the jewelry was loops, and had been converted into a collar-like necklace (as the dress itself was strapless), delicate armlets, and even light accenting on the mother of pearl crown accessory (which then received extra pearls to go on this).

"You know, Pippa-Michelle," Giovenith mused, poking another placement pin into the golem's hand. It did not harm Pippa-Michelle, who was happy to act as a holder for her mistress's seamstress tools. "This is probably one of my more special dresses, yet it sits around without a day in the light. Isn't that sad?"

"Mmmmmm, sad," said Pippa-Michelle, not entirely aware of what Giovenith was talking about.

"Indeed! I would normally have you model it, but you're far too light and babydoll-faced. The heaviness of this piece requires someone more striking and imperious."

"A diva is the female version of a hustler."

"Indeed it is! But I like class, too. So that's it then, we need a classy diva? Is that what you're saying?" Classy divas were like diamonds, gorgeous and just right, but rare and guarded as hell.

"Up to the platform of surrender! I was broad, but I was kind..." Pippa-Michelle merely smiled a dimpled twinkle at her creator.

"Classy diva it is!" Giovenith felt satisfied with this conclusion, but realized something else. "It will have to wait will at that snow though, no modeling agencies will want to come here in that weather... and I've never worked with a professional before, we'll have to think about this. Alas." The godling carefully unplucked the pins from her golem before returning the outfit on it's mannequin to the corner of her room.

[Cerillium]

"This is . . ."

A much more composed Yuna was about to make some sort of point when she heard the music, at the same time, hoping the others didn't notice her throw-up on the floor. The Pyersai wanted to forget that, and the waiting room they were in was much more interesting than some puke anyways! Yeah, it was. "Isn't Demens the landlord? My brother had me read the lease."

--

After a while of searching with no luck, which basically meant checking like . . . 2 rooms, Kei finally found the crippled Primordial outside of the apartment, lying in the snowy backyward next to the same obelisk that she found on the beach. "There you are, friend." She smiled warmly, wrapped in the scarf she was given by Naomi.

She bent down and carefully picked up the Luxan, carrying him like a soldier would carry a wounded comrade to safety.

"Yeah," Marcus whispered. "That's the same guy. He fashioned the Building. Minerva said he showed up right before we were all due to come home, and then POOF! the Building was there again."

He sat down on a couch and picked up a copy of The Underworld Times. The daemonic lettering swirled until it presented some of the topics in languages that Yuna, Torii and Marcus would recognize as their native tongues. Other articles failed to translate at all. The front page blasted a headline about a winter god named Ullr. He denied any involvement with the recent blizzards on earth; a tribunal was in the works none the less. A gossip column stated that Ogoti and Chamunda were in talks again. The want ads held a few employment listings for Hell and there was an add asking for information about the Holy Grail (which had gone missing again). Lastly, there was an obituary for Charumati.

---

Kei would encounter the same handsome young healer that she met earlier. The writer won't post for the character, as Sanjay is new to the thread and not defined as a person yet. Instead, it's easier to state that the kindly nurses brought Primordial into a treatment room and tended to him as they had his companion.

Ogoti, being able to multitask while also distracted in thinking, removed whatever odd device was present and then dropped Primordial into a deep slumber while Sanjay tended the wounds.

"We still need to find Aegis," Ogoti said before returning to Insidious' room. "He might be in a worse state. Naomi would be beside herself if anything happened to him. She is quite taken with him and counts him as a good friend." He stepped back inside the room and settled into the chair again.

[Monfrox]

"Hey, wake up. You're here." "Grerrrgh..." "You wanna pay me extra for waiting here." "Oh, stow it. Here." "Thank you kindly, ma'am." "A pleasure." Captain Cinnamon Thompson yawned as she stepped out of the cab and grabbed her things. She retrieved a small sheet of paper from her jacket pocket and read it over. Under direct order from the highest command authority...blah blah blah....placed on leave....blah blah blah....indefinite amount of time. She sighed and looked up, then back to the paper and then back at the building again. This was the place, alright. At least, she hoped so.

Cinnamon stepped into the lobby and headed for the desk. She popped out one of her earbuds from the MP3 player she was using to listen to one of her favorite songs by Dos Gringos. Her duffle bag was up around her shoulder and her a small suitcase in her hand. She had her flightsuit coveralls with her, but not on at the time. She instead wore her blue flight jacket with the white fur on the collar and a somewhat civilian get-up underneath. "This is where I check in, right?" She thought, propping her elbow on the desk and yawning again.

[Cerillium]

"Hey, wake up. You're here." "Grerrrgh..." "You wanna pay me extra for waiting here." "Oh, stow it. Here." "Thank you kindly, ma'am." "A pleasure." Captain Cinnamon Thompson yawned as she stepped out of the cab and grabbed her things. She retrieved a small sheet of paper from her jacket pocket and read it over. Under direct order from the highest command authority...blah blah blah....placed on leave....blah blah blah....indefinite amount of time. She sighed and looked up, then back to the paper and then back at the building again. This was the place, alright. At least, she hoped so.

Cinnamon stepped into the lobby and headed for the desk. She popped out one of her earbuds from the MP3 player she was using to listen to one of her favorite songs by Dos Gringos. Her duffle bag was up around her shoulder and her a small suitcase in her hand. She had her flightsuit coveralls with her, but not on at the time. She instead wore her blue flight jacket with the white fur on the collar and a somewhat civilian get-up underneath. "This is where I check in, right?" She thought, propping her elbow on the desk and yawning again.

"Ja," the man behind the desk rummaged around until he found brochures (damn those fucking things, now it's a running gag) and a lease application. He ran through the spiel (sign here, there's the drop box, there's the elevators, oh and communal stuff is on the next floor up) and presented Cinnamon with a pen.

Short, sweet and to the point, just how Rudolf liked it. He'd stuff her signed application in the box and a golden key would appear, as always. She was slated to be on the 6th floor. And so, Cinnamon would become the newest resident, her name momentarily appearing on the scrap of paper Sanjay had seen earlier, and she could go about her business without needing to wait on the exhausted OP or his minions to get her settled in.

Bad minions. They didn't tell the OP they had lives when he was hiring them. Fired! All of them, the manky bastards! Back to the pits of hell! I'll hire drunken penguins next time!

*coughs*

"So," Rudolf smiled, now back in character and wondering what on earth had sparked that odd conversation in his head, "Sign here and we'll get you settled in, ja?"

[Monfrox]

Cinnamon yawned again and grudgingly filled out the paperwork as music still played. She hated paperwork so much, but sometimes it had to be done. She was also quite tired. "Yeah, here you are." She moved the filled out form to the man and grabbed the key her presented. Without much else to say, she went up to her room on the third floor, about halfway down the wall. She put the key in the lock and stepped in. She barely even noticed anything that wasn't the bed that she immediately sought out and flopped onto. She kicked off her boots and crawled in, the change in timezones had hit her a bit hard, and she needed a nap.

[Germanic Templars]

"Oh good," Wren felt better about leaving her behind now. "Well, he seems to know what he's doing. What did he mean by DNA? I'm guessing she was on the receiving end of some really bad news?"

She'd always wondered about the cat. She supposed Thriller had a naughty kink and had slept with something strange before meeting Swith; but Swith had been fairly strange herself. She was beginning to think Sapphire was now some genetic experiment much like Datus and Catherine. Poor Catherine. Doomed to facing the world with a shark's head instead of a normal face.

"Heck if I know really. I mean, for all I know they could be talking about finding out a long lost relative she knew from a long time ago." Barox guessed for the most part. Though the more he began to think about it, the more he wanted to know what exactly was it that caused her to faint.

[Primordial Luxa]

"Insidious?" Ogoti knelt next to the Luxan and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You deserved a safe space apart from whatever made you withdraw. Don't worry. I won't let you down."

He'd given her time to adjust and to express her emotions. He was determined to ease her burdens even as Sanjay worked his magic with her physical body. Ogoti had explained the process to him before settling into a chair to touch the Luxan's mind. Time was meaningless compared to a thought's speed. The communion between avatar and stricken woman could last several hours or even days as perceived by the mind yet the physical world might measure that same span in mere minutes.

"I'm not here to ask you to betray your gods," Ogoti spoke soothingly to Insidious. "In fact, I'm here for you to vent, if you so wish. Don't worry about lashing out at me. You can't do me any mental damage. I'm rather mindless, or so Swith always told me. I'm emotion, my dear. Come, have a seat in this comfortable chair. I'll get us some chai or, if you'd like, a nice glass of wine."

Insidious visibly flinched when he touched her and there was a real look of fear in her eyes that was unlike anything Ogoti had seen her display before. It was as if he was something horrible to her, an antagonist of the worst kind and worse Ogoti could tell that was the look only given to someone who had hurt them.

A quick mind probe would show that Insidious didn’t trust Ogoti or anything else in here even slightly. It was as if she expected at any second it all to melt away and be replaced with some horrifying truth. She returned to her curled and frightened position mumbling impossibly quietly “Not falling for it…”

Kei would encounter the same handsome young healer that she met earlier. The writer won't post for the character, as Sanjay is new to the thread and not defined as a person yet. Instead, it's easier to state that the kindly nurses brought Primordial into a treatment room and tended to him as they had his companion.

Ogoti, being able to multitask while also distracted in thinking, removed whatever odd device was present and then dropped Primordial into a deep slumber while Sanjay tended the wounds.

"We still need to find Aegis," Ogoti said before returning to Insidious' room. "He might be in a worse state. Naomi would be beside herself if anything happened to him. She is quite taken with him and counts him as a good friend." He stepped back inside the room and settled into the chair again.

Primordial was no better state than Insidious and his body was painfully falling apart in front of the others as gray chunks of flesh flaked off his body. He didn’t have any foreign objects inserted into his body like Insidious had but all of his internal organs were at least fifty years older than his external body was. His skin showed great signs of torture and mutilation that wasn’t like anything the Luxan’s typically did to themselves for pleasure or fashion.When he awoke he displayed a similar hysteria to Insidious and he lashed out with a primitive sentience at those around him forcing him to likewise be restrained and sedated.

[The BranRiech]

"Wouldn't mind selling homes . . ." Toscha said thoughtfully. He imagined himself in a business suit, selling his first home to some couple or something. He imagined Willow next to him too, shaking hands or something as they finally started making money. "Nah, I'd probably sell tree-houses or something."

--

"Oh, where is the grail, anyways?" Yuna asked as she paged through the magazine, printed in strange symbols that were the Pyersai alphabet. There was an old tale about the Holy grail in the Pyersai world, one of the few things to have made it to their people, heard from the surface by several spies and such. She read onward and then abandoned the thought. Wait, what were they waiting for now? "We're in a waiting room, why are we waiting?"

--

"Aegis is in the obelisk still, unless someone else came out to get him. I couldn't get to him in time before we left for home from the beach. Wanted to, couldn't." Kei said. She honestly didn't feel safe heading back into the thing, knowing that she was still quite weak from power-usage moving her house, and was still a weakened person.

"Could assemble a group to go and get him."

[Torsiedelle]

The place made Torii nervous. It was dark, and a little too open for her liking, and a little cold. How would they get back down to their apartments, anyway? Why hadn't they known of this place before?

She amused herself by looking at the newspaper, and her attention jumped to the grail. "Isn't the grail supposed to give those who drink from it eternal life and youth?"

It was something that interested her greatly...but besides that, this was a weird newspaper, and it mentioned Mrs. Swith? Torii missed the woman, despite them rarely meeting. She gave Torii great advice on Christmas Eve. Still, there was no use fretting over it right now. "So, um, this place is pretty weird. Who lives here again? Marcus? This looks like something you'd know."

[Giovenith]

"Wouldn't mind selling homes . . ." Toscha said thoughtfully. He imagined himself in a business suit, selling his first home to some couple or something. He imagined Willow next to him too, shaking hands or something as they finally started making money. "Nah, I'd probably sell tree-houses or something."

"If I was truly capable of selling things myself, I could fire Sunny and never have to listen to her nagging me again."

Willow smirked slightly at the fantasy of his Sponsor-Manager's bullshit being gone from his life, but then drew back into a poker face as he reluctantly admitted to himself that even Sunny's rotten attitude had taken on a slick glaze of nostalgia. She had been part of his old life, like it or not. Sure, she was the Equestria equivalent to a spammer when angry with her letters to Willow when she was displeased, but Sunny Stones was a huge part of the reason he'd been successful, and for that he was grateful.

"We'll rent out tree houses," the pegasus suddenly piped up with dry humor. "Charge the children two bits a half hour. No questions asked. They can play cards in there, do their homework, make out, so long as they don't spill their dang juice boxes on the floor and make them sticky. Then we'll sue them in a court of traditional playground law, for possession of their cookies and milk, and their time with the swing set."

[Monfrox]

Cinnamon woke up shortly into her nap by her stomach's rumbling. "Ugggh...hungry..." She mumbled. She looked around her room for the first time. It was rather spacey. A lot better than the barracks she was used to; Even bases in the Outer Territories didn't have it this good for personal quarters. But she didn't have time to worry about that now, and headed out to see about getting something to eat. The brochures were rather helpful, only they didn't really tell what was on the menu. She figured a trip to the communal kitchen would be best, and arrived in a few minutes. It didn't look like much, but it was a kitchen to be used by everyone.

[Cerillium]

J'aluk, still being stuck in his adrenaline rush, quickly ran of any possible being.. Which was back the way he was thrown out. He dashed forward before turning around, running full speed and head first into the door.

The nurses parted to each side; J'aluk would find himself barreling straight into Kei moments after she suggested forming a search party for Aegis. It was a spectacular tackle worthy of an American football game.

"Heck if I know really. I mean, for all I know they could be talking about finding out a long lost relative she knew from a long time ago." Barox guessed for the most part. Though the more he began to think about it, the more he wanted to know what exactly was it that caused her to faint.

Wren's curiosity only increased. She bit her lower lip and found the lack of answers vexing.

"Just call her," she suggested to Barox. "I mean, we won't know if we don't ask, right? Just tell her you saw she was in a bad way before we left and just wanted to know how she was doing. Or maybe call Smith and ask him?"

[Cerillium]

Insidious visibly flinched when he touched her and there was a real look of fear in her eyes that was unlike anything Ogoti had seen her display before. It was as if he was something horrible to her, an antagonist of the worst kind and worse Ogoti could tell that was the look only given to someone who had hurt them.

A quick mind probe would show that Insidious didn’t trust Ogoti or anything else in here even slightly. It was as if she expected at any second it all to melt away and be replaced with some horrifying truth. She returned to her curled and frightened position mumbling impossibly quietly “Not falling for it…”

---

Primordial was no better state than Insidious and his body was painfully falling apart in front of the others as gray chunks of flesh flaked off his body. He didn’t have any foreign objects inserted into his body like Insidious had but all of his internal organs were at least fifty years older than his external body was. His skin showed great signs of torture and mutilation that wasn’t like anything the Luxan’s typically did to themselves for pleasure or fashion.When he awoke he displayed a similar hysteria to Insidious and he lashed out with a primitive sentience at those around him forcing him to likewise be restrained and sedated.

"Of course you're not falling for it," Ogoti reassured her, "People fall all the time. They fall in love, they fall victim to insanity, they fall out of sorts, they fall into money. But you, Insidious, have hit rock bottom and can't fall any further. I can't alleviate your apprehensions and fears; I understand your lack of confidence in me. If I can reassure you of anything it is this: I have nothing to gain by your demise nor do you have anything I want. No ulterior motives from me. I certainly don't need followers or servants, and I respect your pantheon too much to meddle in their affairs."

He settled better onto the couch and crossed an ankle over the opposite knee. "However, Miss Kei was worried enough about to you drag you into my clinic. Primordial is here as well, and they're going to search for Aegis. Naomi would shit kittens if she knew any of you were suffering; She loves you all dearly, accept it or not. So, I'm here because you're my patient. I'm here because you and I embrace chaos, and I'm here because I want to know who would be foolish enough to fuck with our Luxan ambassadors and staff on this level. Granted, if your condition is a result of your gods, it's up to you to appeal to them for help."

His hand waved to draw her attention to the room. "This is just a corner of your mind. You're actually laying on a soft bed and induced into a coma to keep you from harming yourself and others. Help me help you and your companions, Insidious."

---

The nurses would keep Primordial in the same condition as Insidious while Sanjay worked to stabilize.

---

Marcus thought about it. He'd only sat down because it seemed the best thing to do in a waiting room. The boy cast a sheepish glance at Torii and Yuna. "Well, I figured we-"

The large brown door cracked open. A soft voice spoke. "Come in, please."