Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Tiltjuice]

"Well, there is some more minor work to be done on my part, but I can do that on my own when I go to bed. For now, I'm up for whatever.", Katya replied, sitting back normally and brushing her hair out of her face. "Well, so long as we don't end up doing something ridiculous or dangerous, or wander too far from home. "

The young woman leaned back again, and her belly so slightly poked out.
"So, what do you want to get? I'll pay for mine, 'Kay?"

Dora looked calmly back at Katya, nodding in acceptance. There was still the daredevil in her - the motorcycle stunt rider and orbital skydiver. She stepped firmly on those urges, though. Katya was here, she was real, and she came with a set of responsibilities Dora wasn't about to shirk.

"Count on it. I'm not leaving, not as long as you want me here," the redhead replied, more seriously than her average languid tone. She sat forward, her gaze intent. "Sleep is a long way off. For now, let's just enjoy ourselves."

She signaled a waiter. "Spicy beef noodles in soup and a Pepsi, please," she said for herself, and then gestured casually to Katya.

[The BranRiech]

"Ha! Well if I've got extra, I'll certainly bring some back, yes?"

Bran seemed ecstatic, he'd have wiring for a long many projects ahead of him, if he decided to make even more things, but all he wanted to do was simply start a repair business. "Well, I might keep some of it to help out with some things around the shop, if you don't mind." He nodded, patting Rachelle on the back, who was watching to see how they were loading the wire.

[Primordial Luxa]

"You know already, it's how you made your kids, right?" She chuckled. She found this Swith person a rather amusing, but interesting character.

--

He looked at the wings and nodded. "Come'ere." He said as he motioned her to come towards him.

She giggled. Well, of course she knew, but still.

"You didn't expect him to settle down and start a family?" Charumati asked.

--

Xanthe picked up a mug of coffee and approached Lucius. Embarrassed by the state of her feathers, she offered a small smile and then hesitantly moved her wing so he could see it better.

Aegis took the packet holding it up to the pits of his eye to examine. He found it ironic that someone as pure as Naomi was able to get their hands on something this pure and uploaded the thought to a data base of interesting thoughts.

“Yes lets.” He replied “where would you recommend? My work keeps me out of the cities more vibrant area’s so I’m not as familiar with them as I should be.” He normally had to stick to back alleys. Sewers and magical transportation when moving in the city which didn’t offer him much time to explore. He frequently learned about the various happenings and places in the city from his underlings or Primordial who enjoyed any opportunity he could find to write up papers on nonsense.

Naomi was a perplexing topic in his eyes, as her status as a godling set Aegis on edge. While her personality should have relaxed him to a stable middle ground, Luxan (and more importantly Lovecraftian) philosophy warned against trusting foreign gods, and acting in any way towards them that wasn’t reverence. So he always had the strange morale conflict of whether to assassinate her as a potential threat or to worship her in hopes of not being brutally murdered.

"Tim Hortons?" Naomi asked, oblivious to Aegis' thoughts. "It's not too far from here and they have pumpkin doughnut holes this time of year."

She was absolutely delighted that he'd taken her up on the offer. Naomi has recently begun to question if she were invisible. Ceril was always working, Fortu and Arthur had lives now, and Bones and his brothers were far away. She smiled at Aegis, gratitude in her eyes.

"I wouldn't leave. I've learned so much in one day, who's to say I won't learn even more with staying through this?" Yuna asked. "I was just wondering, since you said the only way out would kill me. I was intrigued." She said, smiling generously. What was also going through her mind, was memorizing the corridors they were going through. "But hunting, let's get to that, shall we? Small spears."

Will's face reflected relief.

"Alright then, to the weapons locker!"

He brought her down yet another corridor which should have intersected with the original corridor but didn't. The "weapons locker" turned out to be a disorganized room filled with weapons from all eras in no particular grouping. Spears they had, and plenty to choose from.

Will pointed to a small area where the long weapons were gathered like kindling. Some rested on tables, others were bundled together by fabric ties, and others were set on the floor. All were gathering dust. The room was hardly used.

"Sounds delightful" extending a gloved hand "what is the address?" he asked his mask changing his features slighlty and giving off a small internal glow that made his black pitted eyes glow with a tinge of blue.

He was excited to be able to explore the city more and knew that Naomi's relationships would keep the cities authorities from doing anything too rash.

[Giovenith]

"As long as I keep a blanket handy, and crank up the heat in my room. Lamias aren't supposed to live anywhere near snow. We're great in jungles and the desert, but other than that? We're an indoor people." Toscha said, frowning. "I'm fine though, you don't need to burden yourself. The apartment is fine as it is, just a bit nippy though."

"Well then, if it really is getting colder, it probably isn't a very good time to go out for a fly," Willow frowned at his own open wings. He wasn't generally one to go out in the freezing cold willingly either, even if it wasn't necessary to his survival. Unfortunately, the duties of all ponies during the coming of Spring are what forced him to really dig into the cold and-

Wait a minute. Willow just realized... if the sun and moon and weather here, by some strange, weird, unusual, unnatural magic, was able to control itself... than that meant...

"I don't have to do Winter Wrap Up," he spoke his realization to Toscha, as if the Lamia might actually understand what he meant. He smiled, "That... is so great."

[The BranRiech]

"Looks like we're both stuck in here then, am I right?" Toscha rolled his eyes. This place was already looking to be quite boring. "Even with a tail covering, I'd be really quite cold out there."

He almost skimmed over Willow's realization, but then backtracked the conversation. What was this wrap up he was talking about?

"Winter wrap up? What's that? Is it like a solstice or something?"

[Giovenith]

"Looks like we're both stuck in here then, am I right?" Toscha rolled his eyes. This place was already looking to be quite boring. "Even with a tail covering, I'd be really quite cold out there."

He almost skimmed over Willow's realization, but then backtracked the conversation. What was this wrap up he was talking about?

"Winter wrap up? What's that? Is it like a solstice or something?"

"Where I come from, seasons are manually changed by the inhabitants," explained Willow. "When winter ends and it's time for Spring, we call the change 'Winter Wrap Up.' It involves brushing away the snow, breaking up the ice, waking up hibernating animals, making nests for birds..." He paused. "I pretty much hated it. I knew it was necessary and didn't refuse to help, but I just didn't like trudging through the cold and being around so many ponies at once. I didn't like the little song everyone sang during it either, to tell the truth. I did, however, meet Sterling during the last Wrap Up, so that was an alright one, I suppose."

[The Damnatius]

Calvin lazily lounged about his apartment, unwilling to leave. He had no real conceivable thought as to why he was, but he was none the less. The small ashtray on the table in front of him was already occupied by two burnt out sticks, if there was one thing he did give any thought to, it was difference in quality. They were much better here, which he thought was rather strange, but he simply supposed that whatever planet he was on had real quality tobacco synths, or whatever dated equivalent they used to get the stuff. It made decent sense to him, and even if they were god awful he would still, as long as they served his needs which he ever so rarely thought about.

Leaning back on the chair, he put if feet up on the table, once more looking upwards at the ceiling, this time it clean and white, flat and undetailed. Finding this boring, looked away, finding any of the ramblings in his mind gone. With this, he stamped out his last cigarette. He got up, stretching briefly with a faint, odd noise. He supposed that maybe it was time to leave, after all, he was mildly hungry and read that there was a communal dining area. He dressed himself a bit more formally for the pubic outgoings, briefly checking the device on his wrist to see what it was his body needed to injest, linking it up with his visuals to assess whatever it was he found. He was uncertain of how these people maintained their diets, but he wouldn't relinquish his ways, that was for certain.

Leaving his residence, he briskly walked down the hallway to the elevator. Before ordering which floor he wished to go to, he momentarily looked back to see which one it was even on. Locating it, he pressed the but, meanwhile remembering that he probably should have the apartment's amenities added into his files for faster information recovery. He was so used to everything being at his fingertips that when it wasn't it seriously bothered him. Some would call it spoiled, but it would be all the same should you lose access to the internet itself; it was a basic part of society removed from him, a former member, now relegated to this. He knew this early, and accepted it, yet another thing to hate, to complain about, to despise.

The door opened, and he stepped out, each step after the other quick and concise afterwards, he silently proceeded towards the kitchen. What he would find and who he would encounter he did not know, all a part of the first few days in any new place, of course one would say there was a lot more to condition to in a place such as this.

[The BranRiech]

"Where I come from, seasons are manually changed by the inhabitants," explained Willow. "When winter ends and it's time for Spring, we call the change 'Winter Wrap Up.' It involves brushing away the snow, breaking up the ice, waking up hibernating animals, making nests for birds..." He paused. "I pretty much hated it. I knew it was necessary and didn't refuse to help, but I just didn't like trudging through the cold and being around so many ponies at once. I didn't like the little song everyone sang during it either, to tell the truth. I did, however, meet Sterling during the last Wrap Up, so that was an alright one, I suppose."

"Seems tedious, and cold." Toscha remarked. "It seems to weird, having to manually usher in the next season, if that's right. I've gotten somewhat used to winter, but not too much since we moved here. We just crank up the heat in the house, and wear these dumb things over our tails, since they're not insulated." He explained, digging through his backpack. "Eh, just picture a sweater, but for my tail. But interesting, why do you need to do that?"

[Giovenith]

"Where I come from, seasons are manually changed by the inhabitants," explained Willow. "When winter ends and it's time for Spring, we call the change 'Winter Wrap Up.' It involves brushing away the snow, breaking up the ice, waking up hibernating animals, making nests for birds..." He paused. "I pretty much hated it. I knew it was necessary and didn't refuse to help, but I just didn't like trudging through the cold and being around so many ponies at once. I didn't like the little song everyone sang during it either, to tell the truth. I did, however, meet Sterling during the last Wrap Up, so that was an alright one, I suppose."

"Seems tedious, and cold." Toscha remarked. "It seems to weird, having to manually usher in the next season, if that's right. I've gotten somewhat used to winter, but not too much since we moved here. We just crank up the heat in the house, and wear these dumb things over our tails, since they're not insulated." He explained, digging through his backpack. "Eh, just picture a sweater, but for my tail. But interesting, why do you need to do that?"

"Like a cozy?" Willow half-smiled at the thought of the tail-warmer, yet another silly/cute little sweater item for winter. It seemed that the yarn and string crafts always found a way to wiggle their way into one more opportunity to be worn, no matter the protests of the inhabitants in any world. "Sounds fluffy," he chuckled. At the question about the seasons, the pegasus looked puzzled. "... Because that's how seasons are changed, that's how it works. Ponies are meant to guide along nature through it's course. There are a few spots where nature and the seasons are said to take care of themselves with no assistance, but that's just..." Willow shivered, clearly deeply disturbed by the idea. "... unnatural. Although, I know that's how it apparently works here... somehow."

[The BranRiech]

"Like a cozy?" Willow half-smiled at the thought of the tail-warmer, yet another silly/cute little sweater item for winter. It seemed that the yarn and string crafts always found a way to wiggle their way into one more opportunity to be worn, no matter the protests of the inhabitants in any world. "Sounds fluffy," he chuckled. At the question about the seasons, the pegasus looked puzzled. "... Because that's how seasons are changed, that's how it works. Ponies are meant to guide along nature through it's course. There are a few spots where nature and the seasons are said to take care of themselves with no assistance, but that's just..." Willow shivered, clearly deeply disturbed by the idea. "... unnatural. Although, I know that's how it apparently works here... somehow."

"Yeah, except that my mom made it for me herself, so it looks more like an ugly sweater, to match up with the ugly sweater she also made for me." Toscha rolled his eyes, denying how comfortable the clothing actually was. In reality, because Lamias needed not wear pants (For obvious reasons), the covering was the closest thing they had to pants. "Well, I'll probably end up wearing it at some point, makes it harder to get around though."

He considered their reasons for season changing. "Huh, I was always used to the notion that seasons changed themselves, although some in our clan, the elders, think it's the gods, but since we moved here, I don't think that applies anymore." He thought.

[Swith Witherward]

Tina squeed quietly at the pat for her work. "My pleasure." she answered.

Jonathan was taken by surprise and fell limp onto the bed as he laughed. "Oh, aren't you exited this morning sexy." he jested with a smile and a soft kiss. He wondered what the day would hold for them, and in the back of his mind he felt something move out of place. There was something not right someplace else. But he would deal with that later, right now he spent his time with her. And the happiness she brought pushed those feelings of displacement back further into the recesses of his mind.

Caroline kissed him back and then burst into giggles. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives. A totally new chance to start over, fresh and clean from the absurdity of her prior life. Her joy could barely be contained.

"Let's get dressed and head to the lobby to sign a lease," she grinned. "Maybe have lunch afterwards? We can get everything set up and then figure out a way to conveniently bump into Neil and Gretta. I suppose we'll need to come up with a plan for that. They seem to never leave their house. Do they have any hobbies?"

"Sounds delightful" extending a gloved hand "what is the address?" he asked his mask changing his features slighlty and giving off a small internal glow that made his black pitted eyes glow with a tinge of blue.

He was excited to be able to explore the city more and knew that Naomi's relationships would keep the cities authorities from doing anything too rash.

Naomi looked at his hand, curious as to what he wanted. Payment? Oh!

It clicked. She placed her own into his outstretched palm, noting the texture of the glove and the strength of his fingers. "32 Main," she replied. This was an Outing. Naomi loved those. She didn't have much opportunity to see the city these days, and seeing it with a new companion was a delightful prospect indeed.

"Sure thing, I suppose we have all day, correct. Although I assume there's things that you'd like to get to at some point, right? I mean, I never wanted to be a Teacher's Assistant, but I guess that when I'm old and senile, I'll end up teaching someone, well, not that you're old and senile, but when I am." Yuna giggled, still holding onto her weapon of choice. For some reason or the other, because she'd been raised using them, Yuna never took onto guns. Well, she never took onto weapons in general, but if there was one she'd choose. It'd be the spear.

The room Will brought Yuna to was warm and dimly lit. Wooden boxes lined the walls towards the back and there were metal cages. The sweet smell of fruit mixed with a clean smell, which reflected that the room was carefully washed down on a routine basis. Chittering and a leathery rustling sound greeted their ears.

"Don't be too quick to spear anything in here," Will advised her.

He reached up and tugged a cord which switched on an overhead light bulb. The glow illuminated the inside of a cage where colorful bundles seemed suspended like drying laundry on thin wires. One by one, the bundles moved and a fuzzy snout emerged. The small colony of pups in the cage regarded Yuna with gentle eyes.

Will unlatched the cage and unfastened one of the bundles, carefully pulling it from the cage and holding it so Yuna could see the pup clearly. The baby bat blinked at her and yawned, revealing canine teeth and a soft pink tongue.

"We keep them as pets," Will explained. "They're highly intelligent and dead useful."

His hands unwrapped the bundle to expose the grey-headed flying fox's little body. "They get much bigger, of course. A whopping two pounds or more when grown, but their wing spans can be up to a meter. They're from Australia. But what might interest you is this."

The pup was placed on Will's shoulder where it clung happily and yawned again. Will brought Yuna to another cage and clicked on that light. Another bat was nestled inside, this one an adult. Its fur was dusty grey but it had a fuzzy collar of fur around its neck that was brilliant orange. The fox-like face peered at Yuna but then the animal settled back to sleep.

"We don't eat these, obviously," he said, gently rubbing a finger under the baby bat's chin. "Want a pet?"

[Giovenith]

"Mmmm, there's that word again," Willow brushed his wings against his sides and looked to the side.

The concept of gods as told in this world was still perplexing to him; Giovenith had pointed examples out, yet he could not visibly see any difference between them and other hyoo-muns, especially when pushed next to those stories she had read to him. She had compared the princesses to them. Both Rudolf and Toscha had mentioned them being told to control things like nature, but apparently not so these days. Perhaps then, in this world, they applied to different types of hyoo-muns, like the races of the ponies? He didn't know... truthfully, he didn't like to dwell on it. Something about the thoughts spoke of times gone by for good reason, and dark, dusty doors in the beyond best left closed.

Time to change the subject. "Not all sweaters are so bad, I enjoy mine." Willow held out a foreleg to demonstrate the pony-fitting black sweater he wore nearly all the time. "Smudges don't show up as well on black. Perhaps, if you really did feel embarrassed, we could obtain something closer to your personal style."

[Germanic Templars]

"Well I knew he started a family with just his daughter, but I didn't know he would later go on in life to marry a beautiful woman and have two kids and end up having grandchildren as well."

--

He gently pulled the wing a bit closer. He softly motion his hand over the burned marks of the wing. And with his healthy ability of healing, his hand as it brushed over the wounds, healed them.

Charumat blushed profusely at Ms. Thriller's comment. For a while, she was worried the woman wouldn't like her. She wasn't exactly a human.

"Thank you," she smiled. "He's been a good father, too."

She gave her thoughts a poke and found the question she wanted to ask. "What was Cornelius like when he was younger?"

--

"Eh?" Xanthe turned her head to examine the wing. She extended it and noticed the repairs, and she clapped. "Oh, wonderful! Thank you!"

Stray feathers fluttered across the floor as she gave the wing a good sweep. Then she turned and offered the other damaged wing to him, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Well when I first found him, near death with conjunctivitis and a fever, I felt like he deserved more. But that isn't the main thing, what he was like... Well he was a well known kid in his schools that he went to, especially high school. Made a lot of friends both in high school and the army. Now all around about him, he was a very respectful and straight forward person who, if saw wrong, would correct it. Though that was him during his teen years and adolescents. Now the few things that didn't change about him was his energetic behavior he had when he was a child. My goodness he was a pain for a while, but he was worth it."

--

He took the other wing and handled with care as he healed it form the injuries.

[Germanic Templars]

---

Wren, herself, remained asleep even while her systems ran.

The small orb had a few areas that could be upgraded. That is to say, they had room to add things. There was also a "voice" component that appeared to not be activated at all.

Datus studied the component for a while. He blinked a lot when studying it as if he was mentally taking snapshot photos of the device. He then, without warning, stopped blinking and stared at the device. His eyes dilated with his mind gone blank of thought or thinking. 30 seconds later he snapped out of it and continue to examine the orb, only this time he found himself with a minor headache. Few minutes later his headache became worse, he looked up a Wren and gently tugged on her to get her attention.

---

A hop, skip, and an elevator to the first floor later, and Natiya was knocking on the bomb shelter door, Aleki by her side. "Rylli, you home?"

A few seconds later, the door, as usual, like it'd done so many times before, slid open for the two. Rylli was holding the remote in her hands as she sat on the couch, droning out on TV at the moment. Tolya was in a crib off to the side of the room, after Bran had jerry-rigged locking wheels to the thing. It was quite sturdy though, per Bran's standards.

"Hey, Natiya, you bring someone over?" Rylli shouted from the living room. She couldn't see her sister-in-law, but knew it was her.

"She sure did!" Aleki cheerfully said. He always wanted to announce himself to an unsuspecting person for some reason in his life. He mentally checked that off his list in life.

[The BranRiech]

When were bats this cute!?

Yuna stood there, dumbfounded at the creatures. Their innocent little eyes stared at her with sincerity. She couldn't kill anything like thi- Oh! Wait, these weren't for hunting . . . Good.

She looked at the pups with a smile that screamed adoration for the tiny little things, gifted with flight, as she was. People always ended up comparing her people to these, and in some ways, they were right. "Huh? A pet?" She asked, looking up to see the Bats Will was looking at, and trying to get her attention to focus on.

"I've never had one before though." She sighed, figuring she'd end up forgetting to feed it or something.

--

"Well I mean, I wear my sweater and coverings, but I mean, it just looks like something so cliche', like my mom signed up for the Ugly sweater contest or something. I think that's a local tradition from the Human town we live in, not sure though, never cared. Well, she musn't have won, because now I have them." Toscha chuckled. "But yeah something more my style would be appreciated, but you don't have to."

He examined the sweater and shrugged. He didn't really know what else to say about it. It looked to fit quite comfortably though. "Nice, yeah, at least it ain't white, right?"

--

"Is that a wild Aleki I hear?! Natiya, what did I tell you about bringing them home!" Rylli shouted back, stil somewhat quiet though, Tolya was giggling in his crib, playing with the tiny little helicopter Swith gave him. "Aww, but mom, can I keep him?" Natiya pouted back, walking into the living room, rolling her eyes. "Realistically, though, I'm older." She poinked Rylli on the nose, and sat down.

It was true, Natiya was 26, and Rylli was merely 23. Of course, Rylli never expected to be married and have a kid already, but hey, life happened.

"So! Aleki's back?" She grinned at her Husband's sister.

[Torsiedelle]

"Well, there is some more minor work to be done on my part, but I can do that on my own when I go to bed. For now, I'm up for whatever.", Katya replied, sitting back normally and brushing her hair out of her face. "Well, so long as we don't end up doing something ridiculous or dangerous, or wander too far from home. "

The young woman leaned back again, and her belly so slightly poked out.
"So, what do you want to get? I'll pay for mine, 'Kay?"

Dora looked calmly back at Katya, nodding in acceptance. There was still the daredevil in her - the motorcycle stunt rider and orbital skydiver. She stepped firmly on those urges, though. Katya was here, she was real, and she came with a set of responsibilities Dora wasn't about to shirk.

"Count on it. I'm not leaving, not as long as you want me here," the redhead replied, more seriously than her average languid tone. She sat forward, her gaze intent. "Sleep is a long way off. For now, let's just enjoy ourselves."

She signaled a waiter. "Spicy beef noodles in soup and a Pepsi, please," she said for herself, and then gestured casually to Katya.

Something about Dora's change in character both made Katya giddy, and disappointed her a little. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was just....she'd ask soon. For now, it was a time to rest.

"Steak. Just plain steak, and a little more tea, please. Medium rare on the steak?", She asked the waiter, and then shifted her gaze over to Dora again. "As I said, I'll pay for my part. I feel spend today!"

She was starting to tap her fingers together, with a fairly wicked, and happy, grin.


........

"Yea, sure. After we get ice cream, we can go shopping. It'll be fun!"

Her enthusiasm was really making her giddy. Her heart was thumping in excitement as well.

[Primordial Luxa]

Tina squeed quietly at the pat for her work. "My pleasure." she answered.

Jonathan was taken by surprise and fell limp onto the bed as he laughed. "Oh, aren't you exited this morning sexy." he jested with a smile and a soft kiss. He wondered what the day would hold for them, and in the back of his mind he felt something move out of place. There was something not right someplace else. But he would deal with that later, right now he spent his time with her. And the happiness she brought pushed those feelings of displacement back further into the recesses of his mind.

Caroline kissed him back and then burst into giggles. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives. A totally new chance to start over, fresh and clean from the absurdity of her prior life. Her joy could barely be contained.

"Let's get dressed and head to the lobby to sign a lease," she grinned. "Maybe have lunch afterwards? We can get everything set up and then figure out a way to conveniently bump into Neil and Gretta. I suppose we'll need to come up with a plan for that. They seem to never leave their house. Do they have any hobbies?"

"Sounds delightful" extending a gloved hand "what is the address?" he asked his mask changing his features slighlty and giving off a small internal glow that made his black pitted eyes glow with a tinge of blue.

He was excited to be able to explore the city more and knew that Naomi's relationships would keep the cities authorities from doing anything too rash.

Naomi looked at his hand, curious as to what he wanted. Payment? Oh!

It clicked. She placed her own into his outstretched palm, noting the texture of the glove and the strength of his fingers. "32 Main," she replied. This was an Outing. Naomi loved those. She didn't have much opportunity to see the city these days, and seeing it with a new companion was a delightful prospect indeed.

"Sure thing, I suppose we have all day, correct. Although I assume there's things that you'd like to get to at some point, right? I mean, I never wanted to be a Teacher's Assistant, but I guess that when I'm old and senile, I'll end up teaching someone, well, not that you're old and senile, but when I am." Yuna giggled, still holding onto her weapon of choice. For some reason or the other, because she'd been raised using them, Yuna never took onto guns. Well, she never took onto weapons in general, but if there was one she'd choose. It'd be the spear.

The room Will brought Yuna to was warm and dimly lit. Wooden boxes lined the walls towards the back and there were metal cages. The sweet smell of fruit mixed with a clean smell, which reflected that the room was carefully washed down on a routine basis. Chittering and a leathery rustling sound greeted their ears.

"Don't be too quick to spear anything in here," Will advised her.

He reached up and tugged a cord which switched on an overhead light bulb. The glow illuminated the inside of a cage where colorful bundles seemed suspended like drying laundry on thin wires. One by one, the bundles moved and a fuzzy snout emerged. The small colony of pups in the cage regarded Yuna with gentle eyes.

Will unlatched the cage and unfastened one of the bundles, carefully pulling it from the cage and holding it so Yuna could see the pup clearly. The baby bat blinked at her and yawned, revealing canine teeth and a soft pink tongue.

"We keep them as pets," Will explained. "They're highly intelligent and dead useful."

His hands unwrapped the bundle to expose the grey-headed flying fox's little body. "They get much bigger, of course. A whopping two pounds or more when grown, but their wing spans can be up to a meter. They're from Australia. But what might interest you is this."

The pup was placed on Will's shoulder where it clung happily and yawned again. Will brought Yuna to another cage and clicked on that light. Another bat was nestled inside, this one an adult. Its fur was dusty grey but it had a fuzzy collar of fur around its neck that was brilliant orange. The fox-like face peered at Yuna but then the animal settled back to sleep.

"We don't eat these, obviously," he said, gently rubbing a finger under the baby bat's chin. "Want a pet?"

their was a sudden blinking of their surrounding as though the entire world had been turned off like an old TV. Around them was a black seething and chattering that sound completely in humane and menacing. Their was the violent nashing of teeth, violent screams and wails and beastial roars that echoed in their ears. Then it was over and they were standing across the street from the shop. Aegis looked down to make sure she was unharmed, his mask steaming in the cold night air. "You good?"

[Swith Witherward]

How long ago had that Zalgofest been? She’d leaped off a Segway and tackled him, and then he tackled her. That’s how it started, innocent and unintentional one warm night in August. Piles of stuffed toys, and laughter, and her shoes flying in opposite directions. More laughter and then a quick escape to his room for socks.

Socks.

Socks gave way to Oktoberfest and grey cardigan sweaters and roasted chestnuts. It was on that stone wall that he realized he had forgotten to be human. It was there that he’d healed from the intense grief caused by losing his brother. It was there that he’d fallen in love.

That wall! It was a backdrop of his life. The morning sun bathed the concrete and sand and captured the natural golden highlights in Chrys’ hair. It was only fitting that the wall be part of the sadness. She’d brought him here to leave no room for doubt, and if it were to end it was only fitting that the wall be part of it.

He felt as though he were riding into a battle which would end in window’s tears. The ocean’s lonely song echoed his heart’s sentiments. Not even the cold seemed to touch him. A warrior never quells in the face of danger, however. A warrior stood fast and saw his mission through to the end. He’d faced many deadly things (with fall less fear and dread!) and he prepared himself to face this as well.

She began to open her mouth and his mind inserted a half dozen statements he felt she would make but none of his imaginings could have prepared him for the actual words that tumbled out.

” I think...I'd like to give the idea of 'us' a try, if you don't mind.”

The ocean’s roar and the gull’s cry vanished, or perhaps they were just drowned out by the sudden explosion that had rocked his skull and chest. Anything else she said immediately after was inconsequential. No, it didn’t need to be right away… he’d wait a lifetime for his vivacious battle maiden. He’d wait an eternity until she was ready to beckon him to her side.

She slid from the wall and worked a magic no less intensive than the one she’d worked on his heart one October evening. She held up a flower forged from sand and time. His eyes fastened upon the fragile treasure and then on her own bare hands... hands that should have been encased in protective armor. His sadness hadn’t blocked out the cold. She had somehow made the air warmer. Had she done this to avoid casting an impenetrable shell over herself?

His worked quickly to unfasten his jacket buttons and then placed the warm wool over her shoulders as he knelt in the sand before her.

His hands cupped her own and brought the flower closer to eye level. It glistened between them in the morning light, a golden treasure which captured Chrys’ image at various angles. His eyes traveled beyond it to look into her frosty blue irises. He found his voice.

“I am German, a follower of the Teutonic set. We strongly believe in Wyrd. This is the connection of forces from the past, the present and the future… fate, or personal destiny, manifest. All things happen for a reason, Chrys. This chance we take together could go well or badly, but something has allowed us to be comrades, at least for a time, and for that I am most grateful.”

His gaze settled again on the cooling sculpture. “This is you, a golden flower.”

His fingers curled gently around the edges of her hands and he peered at her face again. “This is me, holding you and hoping to protect you from ever being shattered by careless wind or motion.”

The seagull took flight, as the sun's rays pierced the clouds and stirred up the air enough to help it keep aloft. Warmth pervaded Chrys, gliding along just underneath her skin, or so it seemed. So strange and new a feeling that Hans' words stirred in her, so different from that which had passed, centuries ago, between herself and Dia. The big man had struck sparks with her, and yet there had been times when he had been her trusted confidant as well. After time spent as partners, they'd become partners. With Hans, it was much different. Much easier; like slipping into a warm bath. And this, then, she supposed, was the first foot into the tub.

Her lean, elfin features softened. The growing heat bubbling up from Hans' words and reflecting back from his coat spoke to her on the most primal level. This wasn't at all what she expected. Easy, so easy, and so seductively, sublimely right - like the sirens of old.

"Your beliefs...they're so much a match for mine," she breathed in wonder. "How..."

Her eyes dropped for a moment to the sand, then snapped back up. Lost for words, she could only feel, in that moment, and so she did. Warmth, warmth, always warmth. The texture of his hands on hers, and the smooth surface of the delicate crystal under her fingers. The thick, soft wool draped over her arms.

"How?"

He was puzzled by her question. He knew very little about the Conservators' beliefs except that they seemed tied into Fate and Time. He'd never confirmed if it was the deities themselves or simply a philosophy. Yet how to answer her? Did she believe as he did? Had she come by her belief similarly to his own search for knowledge?

His mind thought upon his own life, prior to joining. The Thule Society, Rudolf Hess and his mentor, Professor Karl Haushofer, the Nazi fascination with the occult and Teutonic gods, and the Nazi party itself. Hans was never given a chance to choose his beliefs. They'd been chosen for him and he'd followed because that was the only way to avoid the truly dire things in life. His subsequent recruitment by Klaus had changed his life, and forged in him a deeper understanding of ancient Teutonic thought. Klaus had liberated him and simultaneously preserved him from turning into a monster far more sinister than a daemon host or agent of Chaos.

It was Klaus who taught him the truth about these beliefs. That Chaos was what it was, that gods were real but not as intrusive as people imagined, and that all the universe was governed by Fate. Not the god. The force which was woven by various gods who claimed it as their discipline, be it Fate or Plotter or a host of others from various pantheons. It was Wyrd... fate, personal destiny, that which all men are bound to unless something radical changes their course or takes them before destiny could be achieved.

These were things best discussed by a glowing fire and over mugs of hot tea. They were part of the magic of long winter nights. Kneeling on a beach wasn't conducive to such conversations. Hans' eyes met Chrys' own.

"One day, I'll tell you my story," he murmured. "It's not all beautiful. Some is shameful. Most is good. You will tell me yours, yes? We'll discover each other. But not now, and not here."

He rose, gently pulling her up with him and taking care to not allow the flower to drop.

When did the sun come out? Has the world always been this beautiful?

No. Truly, the world didn't exist until she'd stepped into it. It was a cold and barren place without her. The veracity of the moment filled his heart with a joy he'd never known could exist... she'd promised to give them a try. She wished to reciprocate his love. If she hadn't been there, Hans knew he would have run down the street yowling in joy and punching the air in triumph. He reigned himself in, however.

Barely.

His smile widened slowly, making him appear more than just a little mischievous. His hands tenderly lifted the flower from her own and he slipped it into a jacket pocket before adjusting it onto her shoulders better. Hammerspace pockets were wonderfully secure.

Mirth broke through and he impulsively plucked her from the sand, lifting her high and twirling around with her. A joyous cry broke from him to mix with his laughter. He set her down again and kissed her forehead. "I'm alive. You've breathed life back into me. I'm alive!"

[Urran]

Yoshi chuckled at Tora's excitement. Mission achieved, her mind was off Tsu. He held the door to the lobby open for her and looked out at the scenery. "My, it is a bit chilly today isn't it?" he asked. He loved the cold, being from a temperate climate where it snowed often. He wondered how often it snowed in the city? He contemplated this while he waited for Torii.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Caroline kissed him back and then burst into giggles. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives. A totally new chance to start over, fresh and clean from the absurdity of her prior life. Her joy could barely be contained.

"Let's get dressed and head to the lobby to sign a lease," she grinned. "Maybe have lunch afterwards? We can get everything set up and then figure out a way to conveniently bump into Neil and Gretta. I suppose we'll need to come up with a plan for that. They seem to never leave their house. Do they have any hobbies?"

"That sounds good, we should be all set up by dinner." Jonathan agreed, Just as excited and relaxed as he wasn't being hunted down with a price on his head. With a quick check of the weather in his head, he continued.

"Ah, as winter approaches they do shut themselves in. It's a cold blood thing, on top of the general paranoia. But I'm sure we can engineer a situation. But I doubt they'll even leave in the relatively cold weather." he replied. He was still a bit nervous about running into them since they were quite brilliant and usually figured everything out, then again they could be fooled by a moustache and a fake accent.

---

Meanwhile, irony strikes...

"I can't believe we didn't think of this before, and such a simple adaption of the Death-Ray." Neil said as he activated the device on his person. Suddenly the air around him warmed up from the (hopefully) non-lethal radiation. Gradually, Gretta lowered the temperature of the room to below freezing. Neil was quite comfortable and could see the extent of the impact the Personal-Heat Ray made as the rest of the room was coated in frost.

"The freezing cold can impair us nevermore!" Gretta declared in their next victory over the weather besides the Local Weather Transducer that controlled the weather around their house.

Neil moved about the room with the PHR comfortably following, thawing out the ground before he tread upon the floor. It was a victory over limits. A victory for SCIENCE! A victory short-lived...that should have checked the batteries as Neil flash-froze. The PHR did not eat up a lot of battery, but it was simply a case of forgetting to label which ones were depleted.

"Hang in there my Killer, I'll thaw you out." Gretta said to her popsicle of a husband as she sighed and began returning heat to the room.

---

Meanwhile, an open character appears...

Dr. Koontz entered the communal dining room scavenging for food. He didn't have his glasses on so he couldn't see, nor did he want to. This backwater universe was too much for him to take in at once. He needed to ease into it, and a change of clothes from this sweaty orange jumpsuit.

---

Meanwhile, the chicks decide to play...

As their parents let them in the backyard to play as they worked on a new invention. The triplets played cowboys again, pretending to round up the waffalos and prepared for a cattle drive. It was a phase since their parents let them watch western movies with the violent outlaws and the folk heroes. But now they found themselves thinking that they needed horses to ride. After all, what is a proper cowboy without a horse? With stetson hats on their heads, and mostly-harmless play revolvers holstered to their sides, they recalled the sight a few days back. A goal in-mind the snuck out of the yard and into the apartment their parents restricted them from.

Scarface watched and stealthily followed, making sure that wherever they went, they would be safe from harm. But they did not see or hear Scarface, but knew he was looking over their shoulders. However it would be blatantly obvious that there was a giant monster of a "man" walking around ten feet behind the little dinosaurs that pretended to be cowboys.

[The Damnatius]

Meanwhile, an open character appears...

Dr. Koontz entered the communal dining room scavenging for food. He didn't have his glasses on so he couldn't see, nor did he want to. This backwater universe was too much for him to take in at once. He needed to ease into it, and a change of clothes from this sweaty orange jumpsuit.

Calvin, who had entered the room just before, was put off by the man. Being the second living thing he had seen since entering, he didn't rightly know how to respond. Appearing to be visually impaired by his clunky movements, Calvin was unsure as whether or not to offer assistance. Of course, he reminded himself that these were still humans, and he still was rather pessimistic about them, even though he was one himself. With this, he continued with his own task at hand, rummaging around for food just as well. Each contained was briefing inspected by him, an invisible HUD displayed to him and only him which stated the values of each food compared to intake. I was only a matter of his own finicky nature, now, but found himself at an awkward impasse trying to search for his own thing to consume while the blind man fumbled around. He decided it would be best to urg him on out as soon as possible.

"You need help finding something?" He said, with a masked hint of annoyance in his voice just audible enough to grip the attention of virtually anyone who could hear.

[ApertureScienceInc]

Calvin, who had entered the room just before, was put off by the man. Being the second living thing he had seen since entering, he didn't rightly know how to respond. Appearing to be visually impaired by his clunky movements, Calvin was unsure as whether or not to offer assistance. Of course, he reminded himself that these were still humans, and he still was rather pessimistic about them, even though he was one himself. With this, he continued with his own task at hand, rummaging around for food just as well. Each contained was briefing inspected by him, an invisible HUD displayed to him and only him which stated the values of each food compared to intake. I was only a matter of his own finicky nature, now, but found himself at an awkward impasse trying to search for his own thing to consume while the blind man fumbled around. He decided it would be best to urge him on out as soon as possible.

"You need help finding something?" He said, with a masked hint of annoyance in his voice just audible enough to grip the attention of virtually anyone who could hear.

Koontz looked up with a can of spam in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. He was quite distressed but calmer than a few days ago. He was just as new to here from "Earth Prime" as Cave Johnson named it. Now he was more or less stranded and with no way back since he couldn't find the proper equipment nor had the resources to build his own way back. Not that he was ina hurry to do so anyway, but the comfort of tyrannical corporate culture was familiar and at least he could trust that things were as he knew them.

"Ah, you aren't one of those things, are you? Ah nevermind, I'm not sure if the food of this universe is safe. What if this can is not filled with beans, but asparagus or snake. I can't assume anything about this backwater universe filled with lizardmen and undefinable geometry...and you have no idea what I'm talking about are you?" Koontz pondered as he squinted at the stranger.

[The Damnatius]

Calvin, who had entered the room just before, was put off by the man. Being the second living thing he had seen since entering, he didn't rightly know how to respond. Appearing to be visually impaired by his clunky movements, Calvin was unsure as whether or not to offer assistance. Of course, he reminded himself that these were still humans, and he still was rather pessimistic about them, even though he was one himself. With this, he continued with his own task at hand, rummaging around for food just as well. Each contained was briefing inspected by him, an invisible HUD displayed to him and only him which stated the values of each food compared to intake. I was only a matter of his own finicky nature, now, but found himself at an awkward impasse trying to search for his own thing to consume while the blind man fumbled around. He decided it would be best to urge him on out as soon as possible.

"You need help finding something?" He said, with a masked hint of annoyance in his voice just audible enough to grip the attention of virtually anyone who could hear.

Koontz looked up with a can of spam in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. He was quite distressed but calmer than a few days ago. He was just as new to here from "Earth Prime" as Cave Johnson named it. Now he was more or less stranded and with no way back since he couldn't find the proper equipment nor had the resources to build his own way back. Not that he was ina hurry to do so anyway, but the comfort of tyrannical corporate culture was familiar and at least he could trust that things were as he knew them.

"Ah, you aren't one of those things, are you? Ah nevermind, I'm not sure if the food of this universe is safe. What if this can is not filled with beans, but asparagus or snake. I can't assume anything about this backwater universe filled with lizardmen and undefinable geometry...and you have no idea what I'm talking about are you?" Koontz pondered as he squinted at the stranger.

"No, er, no, not at all..." Calvin said, partially sorry he said a word. Talk of lizardmen and and hazards laying in every can made him slightly less comfortable, but he was partially certain that the man must have been going insane. It wasn't too far-fetched an idea, even his own paranoia of the world surrounding him did not extend to such bizarre notions. Calvin stepped just once back from Dr. Koontz, unsure if the man would go into a fit on mad rage or simply carry on with his business to Calvin's modest agitation.

Of course, even though he probably was completely mad, Calvin would look just a bit more than usual for lizard-like traits in other people, after all, he seemed to be of a vaguely similar circumstance.

[Swith Witherward]

"Well when I first found him, near death with conjunctivitis and a fever, I felt like he deserved more. But that isn't the main thing, what he was like... Well he was a well known kid in his schools that he went to, especially high school. Made a lot of friends both in high school and the army. Now all around about him, he was a very respectful and straight forward person who, if saw wrong, would correct it. Though that was him during his teen years and adolescents. Now the few things that didn't change about him was his energetic behavior he had when he was a child. My goodness he was a pain for a while, but he was worth it."

--

He took the other wing and handled with care as he healed it form the injuries.

"For a while?" Charumati giggled. She began to recount the story of the mech suit within a mech suit, adding in her own side of it where she clung to the canopy glass and ended up with flatmeat deer.

She was still giggling at the end of her tale. Truly Thriller was Mr. Adventure. It was his vibrant personality that had first drawn her to him. Well, let's be honest. He pretty much caught her attention when he moved into her living room and set up shop. She recounted those stories as well and then moved on to talk about her visit to Gliese and the tea house as well as adventures in Krute territory.

"Tell me, please," she sighed, "what prompted him to travel so far from home? How did he end up on Gliese?"

--

Xanthe flapped both wings. Perfect. They were working just fine. Better than fine!

She leaned over and kissed Lucius' cheek. "Thank you. I hate looking manky. I don't mind being in this form but wings should be white and clean."

The angel sat. "What were you doing that kept you away for so long?"

[Swith Witherward]

When were bats this cute!?

Yuna stood there, dumbfounded at the creatures. Their innocent little eyes stared at her with sincerity. She couldn't kill anything like thi- Oh! Wait, these weren't for hunting . . . Good.

She looked at the pups with a smile that screamed adoration for the tiny little things, gifted with flight, as she was. People always ended up comparing her people to these, and in some ways, they were right. "Huh? A pet?" She asked, looking up to see the Bats Will was looking at, and trying to get her attention to focus on.

"I've never had one before though." She sighed, figuring she'd end up forgetting to feed it or something.

"Pets stop you from going insane, or in my case, they restore a little sanity."

Will lowered his head and rubbed his chin against the bat. The pup, encouraged by the extra warmth, raised its snout and poked his neck.

"No worries, they eat fruit," Will said. "Are you sure you don't want one? They're clean animals as long as you put newspaper under their perch each day." He'd made up his mind to keep the one on his shoulder.