PL IC Thread IX++ //Oddsbodikins & Atomic Kittens//

[The Carlisle]

Kale didn't look at Torii for a long while, but her bodied showed her reaction. Veins popping from her arms, the grips on her bags getting tighter and tighter, and a slight shake to her entire body like the rumble of a volcano before it erupts. Kale was pissed, more pissed than she has ever been before. It had been a damn long time since she was this pissed at someone. And Torii, her friend of all people.

She knew not all people were the same, but there was a difference between holding differing beliefs to agree to disagree on, and holding irrational and hateful beliefs that killed so many people, especially those in her family. She remembered the sorrowful tales that her chieftess to her. Like Kale, she did not live through the darkest times, but she spoke of them with the same hurt and honesty as one who did would, speaking with the voice of the sufferers. The pain, the remorse, the sorrow, the hate, the loss; Eating away at the people as they abandoned their home in hopes of a new ones. All the tragedy, all caused by what Torii thought was "good".

She wanted to yell, shout at Torii's face, make her see the pain it caused, make her see the suffering emotions it evoked. But no, she couldn't, not here... not now. Things weren't... stable. She knew people around here were on edge. Seeing her go... off... wouldn't be good. She bit her lip, shutting it up.

But for now, Torii was leaving. As she walked away, Kale stared at Torii with resentful eyes most unlike her. Their status as friends was wavering, and it looks like, for now at least, she wasn't companions with her anymore. She wanted to scream so bad it hurt. It surprised her a bit when Drova asked her about coming with her. Caught a bit off guard, she composed herself to look better in front of him. It didn't do much, her face still red and body still tense. "Yes, please. Anything will be better right now," Kale said, "Thank you..."

[Swith Witherward]

A grin slowly crept onto Marcus' face. "You mean you didn't see the debate forum earlier today? They usually have interesting stuff on there, although there are days it gives me a headache. Oh.... oh man! Oh, today's was good! The topic was supposed to be unions and worker's rights, as they pertain to mundane and abhuman alike, but nobody stayed on topic. The big xeno lawyer was on it, and he took on that speciest, Briggs. Totally owned him towards the end. Epic! I can download it to a device, if you want. It really is something you should see. But I also think Ocho coined 'Extraordinary Beings' on the spot. The media's calling us ee-bees. And I think it's sort of annoyingly cute, but it's much better than 'abhuman' or 'abs'."

He laughed as he recalled Briggs' sour expression. Some days it really was worth getting out of bed, and this was one of those days. His attention returned to Sandy as the man began to inquire about the device. Marcus watched him turn the ward over in his fingers, and he shook his head.

"We can't mass produce them, unfortunately. My father has had a lot of time to fashion them. Several thousand years in sequence. His is a complex story. But the wards are, in part, technology. It's something I'm not at liberty to explain. Not that I don't want to; I haven't advanced enough yet to learn the mysteries. I can tell you that they take a very long time to make, and whatever goes into it is knowledge imparted by the Deus Mechanicus. I only have them because I was assigned as a driver. My father has many because of his job."

Sandy's question confused him and he looked to Giovenith. Perhaps this was something she could explain? "As far as I know, the priesthood doesn't work magic. Like spells and stuff? We have rites, but so do many organizations. Roman Catholics chanting Latin litanies sound just like us, if the listener doesn't speak Latin. Neither group is working magic, though."

Marcus tapped the housing encasing his cybernetic eye. "Your sparkles? My organic eye saw them. My other eye didn't. It won't fall for illusions, either, nor is it susceptible to spells where eye contact is necessary. It's tied to my processor. Machines aren't immune to magic, like a warp metal spell - if one exists - but some machines are built to not only detect magic, but also to withstand it."

[Swith Witherward]

"Mmhmm, interview," Neste wasn't paying much attention to the topic.

Her eyes followed the movement of Septimus' hands as he lifted his glass to his lips, but his gaze was downcast. She winced and folded her hands in front of her; she'd inevitably made him uncomfortable despite his broadcast thoughts moments prior. She prepared an apology, but it died before ever dancing off her tongue, replaced by an involuntary gasp as his leg brushed against her own. His message was direct. Her nostrils flared as she worked to keep her spine from arching. A moment's hesitation, and then her leg responded in kind.

Neste's hand trembled in anticipation as she brushed loose locks from her eyes to better see his face. They were trapped in public but Neste briefly considered sweeping everything off the table to put the surface to better use, Swithwardian prudishness be damned. The sudden weight of his hand on her arm coupled with the rough handling of the wine bottle sent her into transports of delight. The yearning grew into exquisite torture that preyed upon every fiber of her being. The restaurant vanished around them as her attention zeroed in on the suddenly emboldened cyborg. Septimus made eye contact. She didn't offer a nervous giggle, nor bother to hide her desire.

"Let's get away for a moment," she urged him as the fingers of her free hand traced along his digits. She was more than ready to throw cash at the waiter as they raced out the door, but that would be undigni--

Call a cab. His place? The damn bathroom? Slap up a shield, block the door, and clear the table.

Her hand lifted from his to caress his jaw; she relished the sensation of stubble under her delicate fingertips.

"We should go now," she leaned towards him and whispered, "I don't care where."

[Highfort]

Septimus let out an undignified grunt that petered into a shiver as Neste's fingers felt his face and ran down his jawline, tickling his stubble. Gulping, the cyborg maintained enough presence of mind to move aside his plate and utensils before closing the gap she'd narrowed by leaning towards him. Moistened lips captured her own as he let out a moan that would be very undignified given the office he would most likely be occupying tomorrow. But for that moment he didn't care about dignity because it didn't exist. Only he and she existed and he knew very well what he wanted to do to her.

He lingered against her lips, his tongue prying from its cage slightly to taste her before he pulled back, realizing they were still in a public place as the moment passed. She was right, they had to get away before doing anything hasty, if only so the two of them could be comfortable. Maintaining public image was a pleasant byproduct.

Sucking in a breath, his arms retreated from her to arrange his clothes and he called to the waiter, "Check please, sir!"

Turning back, his voice now intentionally maintaining a husky tone, he offered a beguiling smile, "Your place or mine?"

Before she could answer he chuckled involuntarily, muttering, "Never thought I'd actually get a chance to say that," as their waiter dutifully returned with a small plastic pad upon which a printed bill had been set. The younng man appeared to not have any opinions about him or the construct, though the cyborg would, much later, upon reflecting on this moment, chalk that up to professionalism.

"Set it on my tab, if you don't mind," Septimus was out of patience as the woman before him beckoned, "Septimus Itum - that's I-T-U-M. I have a feeling I'll be frequenting your establishment daily if you don't mind me saying so."

"Tabs are only set for government officials and VIPs, sir," the young man replied with little consideration for either of the party, "Are you either?"

"Do you consider tabs for shoe-ins?" Septimus tapped his fingers impatiently, standing up to usher Neste out of the booth and restaurant, "I'll be in tomorrow, most likely."

"You're the man from the Market District?" the young man's pupils dilated slightly as recognition overcame him, "Hm, yes, the abhuman candidate. The owner's supposed to be a huge fan of... whatever it is you stand for. Yes, I don't think he'll mind."

"Wonderful, take ten percent for yourself," Septimus smiled, the untimely interruption from earlier forgotten as he looked forward to time alone with Neste. He excused the both of them and they were out the door before the young man could even inquire if Septimus had read the bill.

"Sir?" the young man turned to the disturbed air that trailed the couple that had whisked themselves out the door, "Mr. Kelphanos doesn't accept tips for waiters! Ah, whatever, I'll add it on top of the usual gratuities."

Pulling Neste into a hug as they hailed down a cab, Septimus leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Forget the previous question. Doesn't matter whose place, just a place. I... don't know what's come over me but I love it. I... love you."

He shivered at the second admission. Something about it generated a wellspring of warmth within him, at finally being able to admit the feelings he'd been unable to quantify for so long. It was the one peaceful emotion amidst the whirlwind that assaulted him as soon as she'd leaned toward him and her lips had offered themselves up. All thoughts of tomorrow were blocked out as the cyborg was far more interested in what was going to happen within the next few hours.

[Giovenith]

"Oooooo!" Giovenith carefully took the knife with bright eyes and gave a sweet smile to Amanda. "Thank you so much, you guys worked so hard. I hope we can help return the favor someday!"

While carefully cutting a big slice for herself, Giovenith gave a brief shake of her head to Marcus when he looked to her for answers to his question. She may have been able to use magic but that didn't mean she knew everything or even most of how it worked, and she normally did not concern herself with debates about the pros and cons of magic, machinery, and science when pitted against one another. As far as Giovenith was concerned, if it ultimately worked in helping you achieve your goal, why question it?

"I've been thinking that perhaps we could begin looking for assistance from the internet in our struggle," she said, taking the slice onto her plate and playfully dabbing a bit of frosting on Amanda's nose as well as her own. "Even if 13 manages to pass, heaven forbid, there are still lots of people out there who are always willing to support the downtrodden if we are willing to share our stories. If it does pass, we should also be figuring out all we can about government to work toward some kind of appeal or work-around."

They were heavy suggestions for a time this early in the game, but Giovenith liked to hammer things while it was still easy to do so. Perhaps they were easier said than done, but you had to say before you could do at all, didn't you?

[Austropia]

Rowan checked her time piece. Despite her horrific flight into the city, she had managed to make it to Demens Towers quickly and without too much trouble. She was five minuets before her check in time. Perfect. Rowan hated being late. Something about the way her stomach churned and her blood pulsed ever faster flustered her and made her angry. Perhaps it threw her off her inner footing. Balance played a larger role in finding happiness for Rowan and chasing after time gave her flashes of memory she would prefer to forget.

She walked through the sliding door and into an air conditioned room. Her small suitcase bumped and then squeaked as its wheels jumped over the rubber door lining and slid across the tile floor. The lobby was bustling with mid day commotion which made it hard for her to navigate to the front desk. As she weaved her way through the crowd, she wondered how many of them she would get to know over her time in this new city. She had heard so many fantastic and mysterious stories about Bielefeld during her research that by now, she didn't know what was true or just make believe. All she new as she worked her way across the lobby was the excitement of being in someplace new. She stopped suddenly as an opening allowed her access to the front desk. She could feel her nerves rising as the thought of human interaction filled her mind.

Rowan inched towards the front desk.

"Um..... Excuse me sir," Her voice was soft and hesitant. "I'm Rowan Stone? I made an appointment with the building a few weeks ago."

[Zoblus]

I'm so tired, thank God, I'm finally here, thought Sal as he walked into the lobby. It had taken him five days to reach Bielefeld and after all those days of driving, flying, and waiting, he was finally there. There was a crowd of people, all visibly excited, filling the small lobby. He and his small suitcase barely found enough room to squeeze in, let alone sit down. He stared blankly around at the people, wondering from where and how far they had gone to reach this place. Sal had heard of Bielefeld in Marinaleda from a pair of traveling performers who passed through the town when he was still attending high school. The description of Bielefeld fascinated him and he swore to God later that day that he would one day go there.

Sal looked through his wallet and noticed that the trip had really burned through his savings. I think I have enough to pay the lease, but I'll have to find a job soon. Can't just go around begging for change. He had made an appointment a few days before he left Marinaleda and found out after checking his watch that he was right on time. Looking to see if there was any space at the front desk, he noticed at the far left, a space open up. Squeezing through the crowd, Sal managed to slither his way to the front. Clearing his throat, he said to the clerk:

"I'm Salvador, I made an appointment a couple of days back to reserve an apartment. How are you, good sir?"

[Tiltjuice]

A large and - on this occasion - unkempt pile of crimson robes unfolded itself from around the receptionist's deskchair in the lobby.

"The landlord is wise.
There will always be rooms free.
But things may soon change."

It appeared to respirate, but whether this was an illusion could not be accurately told.

"Joining the Building?
It is a simple process.
Avoid paper cuts."

A red tendril held out a clipboard with a number of assorted forms and pamphlets on it.

"SIgn these for a key," the being said at last.

"Free? Really?" Robert said looking around with a glance of paranoia. That immediately set him on edge, there was no such thing as a free lunch his dad had always told him when he was young. There was always a catch and he was sure that one offered by a pile of rags would be incredibly unnatural. He eventually however looked down at himself and remembered that he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to stay alive in the future.

"If you say so" he said while reading the contracts closely. He was looking for all the basic things which could cause him to pain unwanted fees later down the line but he didnt notice anything which looked sneaky so he relaxed and signed when he needed too. "You are quite and interesting specimen yourself." He commented "Are you perhaps a set of robes with an incredibly powerful sentience field or something else entirely?"

"Free? Available," the pile of robes amended. "Are you well? You appear injured from the bandages under your shirt. I, as many things, can help with that. There is usually a clinic also, but its occupants were on vacation last I heard. Alternately, there are other magical healers immediately available in this place, most likely either in room 2E or at the bar across the street."

Rowan checked her time piece. Despite her horrific flight into the city, she had managed to make it to Demens Towers quickly and without too much trouble. She was five minuets before her check in time. Perfect. Rowan hated being late. Something about the way her stomach churned and her blood pulsed ever faster flustered her and made her angry. Perhaps it threw her off her inner footing. Balance played a larger role in finding happiness for Rowan and chasing after time gave her flashes of memory she would prefer to forget.

She walked through the sliding door and into an air conditioned room. Her small suitcase bumped and then squeaked as its wheels jumped over the rubber door lining and slid across the tile floor. The lobby was bustling with mid day commotion which made it hard for her to navigate to the front desk. As she weaved her way through the crowd, she wondered how many of them she would get to know over her time in this new city. She had heard so many fantastic and mysterious stories about Bielefeld during her research that by now, she didn't know what was true or just make believe. All she new as she worked her way across the lobby was the excitement of being in someplace new. She stopped suddenly as an opening allowed her access to the front desk. She could feel her nerves rising as the thought of human interaction filled her mind.

Rowan inched towards the front desk.

"Um..... Excuse me sir," Her voice was soft and hesitant. "I'm Rowan Stone? I made an appointment with the building a few weeks ago."

Both the set of robes and a rabbit who hadn't seemed to be there a second ago turned to regard Rowan - at least, the rabbit definitely did. The set of robes, lacking any clear face or anything that resembled a face, were less obvious; but the point became moot when it turned back to Robert.

Hello! the rabbit signed with his ears, leaving trails of sparkling lights to spell out the words, not unlike those left by skywriters' planes. I am MB, welcome to Bielefeld. Papers rustled as MB flipped through the stack of papers, finding Rowan's rental agreement under the Underworld Times the cultist had left there. Lifting it out along with some brochures, he held them up for Rowan to take, and twitched his nose at her.

Sign first paper and keys to your room, gym, laundry appear. Also here is list of local sights and businesses. Also, it is not now safe to go out at night, especially if with people not obviously human.

I'm so tired, thank God, I'm finally here, thought Sal as he walked into the lobby. It had taken him five days to reach Bielefeld and after all those days of driving, flying, and waiting, he was finally there. There was a crowd of people, all visibly excited, filling the small lobby. He and his small suitcase barely found enough room to squeeze in, let alone sit down. He stared blankly around at the people, wondering from where and how far they had gone to reach this place. Sal had heard of Bielefeld in Marinaleda from a pair of traveling performers who passed through the town when he was still attending high school. The description of Bielefeld fascinated him and he swore to God later that day that he would one day go there.

Sal looked through his wallet and noticed that the trip had really burned through his savings. I think I have enough to pay the lease, but I'll have to find a job soon. Can't just go around begging for change. He had made an appointment a few days before he left Marinaleda and found out after checking his watch that he was right on time. Looking to see if there was any space at the front desk, he noticed at the far left, a space open up. Squeezing through the crowd, Sal managed to slither his way to the front. Clearing his throat, he said to the clerk:

"I'm Salvador, I made an appointment a couple of days back to reserve an apartment. How are you, good sir?"

More people! Joy! I am fine, MB signed, and proceeded to hand...paw...Salvador his papers as well, giving the same short speech and warning.

[Zoblus]

A rabbit signing with his ears, handing me my rental agreement? Eh, I've heard weirder stories about this place, thought Sal as he grabbed the rental agreement. He found where he needed to sign it and tried to pull off the most elaborate signature he could. The signature didn't turn out to amazing though, it ended up looking like something a doctor would write an a prescription. Handing over the agreement, Sal took up the keys and was about to leave when he remembered that he didn't know which room was his. Turning to MB, Sal asked politely:

"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't know which room I've got. Can you direct me to which floor and room I must go?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Oooooo!" Giovenith carefully took the knife with bright eyes and gave a sweet smile to Amanda. "Thank you so much, you guys worked so hard. I hope we can help return the favor someday!" [...]

"I've been thinking that perhaps we could begin looking for assistance from the internet in our struggle," she said, taking the slice onto her plate and playfully dabbing a bit of frosting on Amanda's nose as well as her own. "Even if 13 manages to pass, heaven forbid, there are still lots of people out there who are always willing to support the downtrodden if we are willing to share our stories. If it does pass, we should also be figuring out all we can about government to work toward some kind of appeal or work-around."

Amanda smiled indulgently at Giovenith's childish face-painting. She was a guest, even if she was more girl than goddess. Sandy caught Giovenith reaching towards Amanda's face out of the corner of his eye; it was hard for a married man to not notice people reaching for his wife, even if they meant no harm. While Amanda was distracted wiping the frosting off her nose with her napkin, Sandy gave Giovenith a sly wink; it would do Amanda good to loosen up a little around their younger guests.

Her nose cleaned off, Amanda turned back to Giovenith, and spoke warmly. "It's not work for us; cooking is part of how we relax. Sandy brought back a half-dozen kinds of flour from his last shopping trip, and that was just a day before the bar exam. So, it was pretty clear that he wanted to bake something after I'd passed. Since we'd been thinking of inviting the two of you over for some time, it worked out nicely."

She shifted to listen to Marcus' explanation about extraordinary beings, then chuckled softly. "Ocho does seem to be leading the pack on responding to the other side. 'E-Bs', indeed." She leaned closer to Giovenith and lowered her voice a little, so her conversation wouldn't clash with the theoretical discussion on the other side of the table. "Setting up an internet site is a good idea, as is getting our story out on social media. I'm going to be meeting with Ocho shortly to discuss legal strategy for Proposition 13." She pulled her phone just far enough out of her pocket to check the time. "Correction: I really have to leave now for that."

Amanda waited until there was break in the other conversation, then got Marcus' and Sandy's attention and put on her best hostess smile. "Marcus, please help yourself to some cake. There's plenty to go around. I regret that I've got to head out so I can talk with Ocho. We need to consider legal arguments in case Proposition 13 does pass, and discuss an equal-rights case that's already pending. It's been a pleasure hosting both of you, and please give your phone numbers to Sandy before you leave so we can stay in touch." In fact, her get-moving alarm on her phone wouldn't got off for a few more minutes, and she had a fair amount of time after that. But she really needed a few minutes by herself to catch her breath and relax.

Amanda stood up, pushed her chair in, and gave both of her guests a friendly parting smile before scurrying into the bedroom. She returned in a few seconds. "Sandy, where'd we put my--"

Sandy didn't bother to wait for her to finish, as he knew what she wanted. "Your laptop's in my desk drawer, and your gunbelt is in the refrigerator." Amanda gave him a single nod as she remembered the huge hurry in which they'd cleaned up. "Oh, that's right!" She disappeared into Sandy's workroom, and was greeted by the whistles and squawks of a parrot. Amanda emerged momentarily, carrying her laptop. She checked to make sure she had everything, patting her pockets for phone, wallet, and keys; and then her belly for her gun. She started to leave, then said at the door, "I'm not sure where I'm meeting Ocho, so I may take the jeep. I'll text you if I do. Goodbye, everyone!"

She opened the door, stepped through it, and locked it behind her. She stood in the hallway, taking deep breaths. After a minute of that, she shook her head, muttered "What a day!", and slowly walked to the elevator. While waiting for it, she sent Ocho a terse message: "Where to meet?" As she tapped send, the elevator arrived, and she stepped onto it without looking up from her phone. Might as well see what else I missed this morning. She skimmed the headlines on her way down to the lobby, then looked up to get her bearings. Where'd all these new faces come from?

"We can't mass produce them, unfortunately. My father has had a lot of time to fashion them. Several thousand years in sequence. His is a complex story. But the wards are, in part, technology. It's something I'm not at liberty to explain. Not that I don't want to; I haven't advanced enough yet to learn the mysteries."

Sandy listened to Marcus' story with a quizzical expression, but he decided not to ask about his father. "Oh, if the wards are part of the inner mysteries of your religion, don't leave one with me. Give me an hour to listen to one with Pegasus' ears, and I'll know all their secrets. I'll have to try to get use to that, too: where we're from, all the spell-casters have the Sight, and studying the other guy's magic was part of the game. That's why those who could used Veils and Masks to cover their secrets."

"And I think I asked the wrong question about those: your ward is technological, but works on magic. Our Veils and Masks are magical, so I was curious if you had technological means to do the same thing. Again, if you're allowed to tell me. Under the present circumstances, those could be big advantages over the other side."

Marcus tapped the housing encasing his cybernetic eye. "Your sparkles? My organic eye saw them. My other eye didn't. It won't fall for illusions, either, nor is it susceptible to spells where eye contact is necessary. It's tied to my processor. Machines aren't immune to magic, like a warp metal spell - if one exists - but some machines are built to not only detect magic, but also to withstand it."

"So you do have the Sight, after a fashion." Sandy rubbed his cheek while he thought about the rest of what Marcus said. "Doesn't that lead into a metaphysical morass, though? The fireworks spell produces light and sound, same as any other light and sound; it just lacks substance. How does your eye tell the difference? If this room was lit by magical light, would your cybernetic eye see only darkness?" Sandy took a long sip of his wine, considering the implications further. "You saw me conjure Amaanda's whiskey; I'd say it's mundane whiskey, and the magic that made it is long gone. Do you disagree? For that matter, you're looking at me now, and you saw me as Pegasus at the Carnival. How do my forms look to you? I'd say both are my 'true' forms, just one is brought to this world by magic. Or are you going to go all Butterfly Dreams on me?"

[Swith Witherward]

FUBAR opted to go with the explanation first. Perhaps the human would surmise the rest of the answers from that. It lowered itself to an at-rest position once they had entered the pool area. Soft ticks radiated from it as it allowed another diagnostic to process. The red lenses from its optic array aligned themselves, focusing squarely on Torii and casting her bare skin in a soft shade of red.

"The Drone Empire is an expansive, intergalactic empire of non-biological life forms, specifically Drones," it began with a tempo and cadence not unlike Morgan Freeman's (which it had recently been patterning its speech after). It spans millions of galaxies, Thadeus Proxii being the Empire's primary residence and the four others as technical secondaries. It is known well for it's firm animosity for and campaigns against biological forms of life, for which it is commonly criticized, yet makes little to no concessions despite this.

"While in most records the Empire is referred to as simply its main body in Thadeus Proxii, it consists of the Main Body (Thadeus Proxii) as well as over fourteen million various colonies across multiple galaxies, including the Milky way colony, the largest colony of the Empire, and thirteen Semi-Independent satellite nations within Thadeus Proxii still under technical Drone Rule. It has only one official capital, Raxxus Sigma, but three other planetary bodies serve as secondary centers for command within the empire. serves primarily as the forward capital of all colonial operations. Raxxus Sigma, nevertheless, still acts as the primary capital of the Empire that observes all Drone activities. All capitals are governed by separate Artificial Intelligences, The three Colonial Overseer Units, or the C.O.U's, as the Colonial Governors, who all respond to the Superior Artificially Intelligent Directing Entity, or the S.A.I.D.E. The latter governs the Empire as a whole and dictates the final decision over all issues in the Empire and it's 8.8+ duodecillion civilian units.

"The Empire has been around for a totality of 19,343 Time Sectors, or 1,934,300 human years, nearly two million years of continuous existence. In this time period, it has seen much diverse change, from its foundation to the present era. The largest percentage of Thadeus Proxii under Drone rule in the past was 99%, with the eventual (technical) decline to present day at 27%."

FUBAR paused to allow the human to digest the information. The soft ticks ominously ceased. "The Nifid lifeforms are synthetic based on technology. My zeptomites are the same as Nifid specialized cells. Both are hive mind species. Both are machine species."

It let that hang in the air a moment. The pool's pump kicked on and the filter basket along one side clattered under its plastic cover. FUBAR regarded it and the shimmering water before addressing her inquiry regarding his thoughts on Earth. It pondered the birds, bees, stray cats and humans it had encountered. It considered the current election and Ballot Measure 13. It thought of the Chaos faction, and the Raptors, and the Nifid. And then it spoke:

"This place - all of Earth and its solar system, and this arm of the Milky Way Galaxy - will be assimilated."



The sound of pen scratching paper stopped. Ocho sighed and glared at his phone. What now? Another annoying interview? His surly frown shifted to a more passive expression as Amanda's text displayed itself, and he tapped out a reply.

"Wilting Succubus. Take a right once you exit the Building. It's a few blocks down. Slack Street. Can't miss the pub signage."

Ocho blew out his candle, gathered his papers into a briefcase, and closed the burrow door behind him.


The Wilting Succubus was a cultist bar belonging to the Lads. Reminiscent of a 1940's era London pub in both form and function, it was the place place to discuss secrets (unless those secrets were about Chaos, and then it wasn't very safe at all). Worn wooden tables were kept company by thin wooden chairs that were magically reinforced to hold even the largest Astartes. The King's picture was proudly displayed above the bar, but other trinkets held just as much sentimental value and these, too, were set on display: cracked-lensed aviator goggles, a dusty and faded garter, an old programme advertising a wartime musical, and pictures of men in uniform. A cozy fire crackled in the hearth despite the summer heat outside.

Vera Lynn's "We'll meet again" was blaring as Ocho pushed his way through the narrow entrance door and towards his favorite table near the window. He eyed the period radio and snorted, and the barkeep lifted a massive hand to adjust the volume to more tolerable levels.

"Usual, xeno?" the former Astartes barkeep grunted.

"No. Hot tea today," Ocho settled into a chair. "I'm expecting company."

[The BranRiech]

"Something got you down? It's a beautiful day, so it couldn't be that." Drova shook his head, turning his head to look back at the apartment building in the distance, not too far, but a good walking distance. "Well, if I were alone, I'd fly, but with you, we can walk back." He conceded with a content shrug. "Anywhere you wanted to stop before we head back? Everyone seemed to have plans, but there's still plenty of time left in the day."

With the offer still up in the air, Drova considered things that they could do. There were so many possibilities, but his mind was coming up blank. "Well, we could always shop around here for a bit, or we could just head back and grab lunch at my place."

--

"Okay . . . So where would Giovenith be?"

Yuna hummed her self-made objectives to herself as she carefully made her way down the flight of stairs. hand gliding on the railing as she made her way down from the apartment, shortened robes fluttering with her movement. Truth-be-told, the girl didn't exactly know where to start looking, but decided on Giovenith and/or Marcus considering they'd both probably be together, thus allowing her to kill two birds with one stone.

With the day still early enough to give her plenty of time, Yuna didn't want to waste the plenty of time she had at her disposal, knowing that she too would have to pack her bags as well, and that would take her at least an hour, maybe even longer for her brother as well.

Figuring the lobby would be a good place to start looking, The winged-Priestess descended the stairs at a rapid pace now, passing by the various other floors on her way. She thanked the Gods that she'd put her hair up in a tight bun, without which her hair would be flaying out in all directions with the speed at which she bolted down the stairs now, entering the lobby in about 30 seconds.

While she didn't see any of her friends, Yuna knew that they were around, hopefully at least. "Mmm, what was . . . What was Gio's apartment number anyways?" She sighed, looking towards the elevator doors when she saw Amanda emerge, reading over the local headlines, and scanning the new faces that Yuna had yet to notice.

"Excuse me, Miss . . . Amanda, correct?" She asked, cheeks turning rosey-red. She remembered the woman from the meeting she was invited to, where she also last saw both Giovenith and Marcus. "Sorry, but would you happen to know where Giovenith or Marcus are? I need to . . . Tell them something quite important." She nodded. "Last time I saw them was at your place for the meeting."

[Primordial Luxa]

snip

“Ah.” Robert chuckled and handed the pile of robes several hundred dollar bills. “I am…fine for now. I can fix myself up once I get access to some rocks. I’m in much better shape than I look really. It was just a couple of loose shots from a passing gangster nothing too severe.” Robert was very hesitant about confront other magick users he found that most of his kind were a greedy and vindictive lot. He had met two others during his travels and both had tried to kill and steal his 591st and 375th pages from the Pnakotic Manuscripts. He assumed that anyone who had the will to use such devastating power usually also lacked many morals or were mentally unstable. Of course he sometimes worried about himself and if he was different from those two. “No I will be just fine until I get some sleep.”

Robert then turned to look at Rowan and Sal both of whom stood out as very peculiar specimens of the human condition. They both appeared quite healthy something which Robert had acquired a knack for detecting the more he used his eldritch abilities. He gave them both a cursory glance before moving to walk upstairs.

[Torsiedelle]

Tora listened with interest as the massive thing spoke. It sure sounded like a machine; it was slow, and clear, and unemotional. She liked it.

"The Nifid are the same as you? I'm surprised. I was under the impression that they were similar to your kind, but biological.", She raised an eyebrow. "Two million years is very impressive, as well; our planet's oldest civilization, China, is only ten thousand years old, and modern humans themselves are only around one-hundred thousand years old."

FUBAR's description was very interesting indeed. "You said that Drone rule on Thadeus Proxii went from ninety-nine percent, to twenty-seven percent. Why was that?"

And finally, "Assimilated?"

She cracked a (rather creepy) smile. "That sounds pretty certain. You know, I fought your kind two years ago, when the Nifid drove them out of this region? I was shot in the stomach. The Drones were terrifying, and awe-inspiring. Despite all their destruction and their threat to our planet, I can't help but be fascinated by your kind. Still,", Her mood switched to worried, "If it can be helped, I'd rather not see my home assimilated.", She said. "I don't expect you to understand, but I think my friends and family come before seeing more Drones. That said, I would love to see some more Drone technology."

Okay, her worry wasn't to great; well, it was -- being told that they would be assimilated was creepy, but it was FUBAR, the Drone war machine.

The thought of Drone tech made her look like a kid in a candy store. "Um, this is out of the blue, but do you have that big ray gun that Drones have? I kind of have a thing for weapons, and Drone weapons, I have to say, are the most impressive, beautiful things I've ever seen."

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Excuse me, Miss . . . Amanda, correct?" She asked, cheeks turning rosey-red. She remembered the woman from the meeting she was invited to, where she also last saw both Giovenith and Marcus. "Sorry, but would you happen to know where Giovenith or Marcus are? I need to . . . Tell them something quite important." She nodded. "Last time I saw them was at your place for the meeting."

Amanda smiled as she recognized the Pyersai girl among all the people in the lobby. "Oh, hello, Yuna! Yes, I'm Amanda." She hesitated: everything was always quite important to teenagers, even trivia about people they'd never met and never would. "'Quite important'?? What's happening?"

Amanda's phone pinged, and she glanced down at it unthinkingly. Ocho wanted to meet a bar nearby. Well, that made her gun superfluous; she'd wondered if his office was Downtown. Amanda shoved the phone in her pocket and looked back at Yuna. "Sorry about that; it's barely afternoon, and I've had a long day. I shouldn't be distracted by messages during a conversation." He smile crept back: she didn't expect the teen would repay the courtesy in kind, but she could at least mention it.

[Zoblus]

When Sal had turned around to ask the rabbit which room he got, he found that he had disappeared. Still don't know what room I got, he thought to himself. But looking at his key that MB handed him, he saw that the room number and floor were engraved on it. Never mind, thought Sal, shrugging his shoulders. He picked up his bag and started to move towards the elevator, squeezing once again through the crowd. As he entered the elevator, he rested his suitcase on the ground and pushed the button to the 7th floor, just like the key said.

As the elevator rose slowly, Sal began whistling an old folk song that he learned from mother. The song was about a group of young people who went off on an adventure and eventually came home filthy rich, improving the lives of the rest of the village. The song had brought him comfort during his trip, reminding him of not only his mother, but also his father. That was because his father had once gone on adventure like the people in the song, but instead of returning to Marinaleda with gold, he came home with the love of his life, Maria.

The elevator dinged as Sal finished his whistling, with the door opening up to the 7th floor. 7J, he thought, 7J. After moving down the hall, checking each door, he found the door and room that read 7J. The doors was a rustic style wooden door, with a simple iron door handle in front of it. Putting the key into the lock and opening it, Sal was surprised to see inside what he had always considered his dream home. The interior was designed in the way traditional Moroccan houses were, decorated with lavish Mediterranean furnishings, and with the walls painted white. Sal's mouth hung open in shock of the room before him, but he quickly composed himself and entered the apartment. Unpacking and putting everything he needed to in its place was easy, since Sal didn't bring much with: only a couple changes of clothes, soap, paper, the stuff he was wearing, and a couple of books.

Sal then laid down on the bed, and looked up at the ceiling. Sighing, he said to himself:

"This is going to be nice"

[The BranRiech]

Amanda smiled as she recognized the Pyersai girl among all the people in the lobby. "Oh, hello, Yuna! Yes, I'm Amanda." She hesitated: everything was always quite important to teenagers, even trivia about people they'd never met and never would. "'Quite important'?? What's happening?"

Amanda's phone pinged, and she glanced down at it unthinkingly. Ocho wanted to meet a bar nearby. Well, that made her gun superfluous; she'd wondered if his office was Downtown. Amanda shoved the phone in her pocket and looked back at Yuna. "Sorry about that; it's barely afternoon, and I've had a long day. I shouldn't be distracted by messages during a conversation." He smile crept back: she didn't expect the teen would repay the courtesy in kind, but she could at least mention it.

Watching as the kindly woman looked down at her phone for but a moment, Yuna shook her head. "Oh? It's completely alright, I suppose I was the one to suddenly address you." She smiled, though behind the kindness, held a tinge of fear and uncertainty. "Well, it has to do with the current events, as you know about from the meeting. I need to relay a message to all my friends, and I guess anyone else too, maybe? I-I think it's just for my friends." She nodded, smile wavering as it turned to a look of near-desperation. "I can't find any of them for the life of me, and I really only just got up about an hour ago."

[Northwest Slobovia]

Lobbying

"Well, it has to do with the current events, as you know about from the meeting. I need to relay a message to all my friends, and I guess anyone else too, maybe? I-I think it's just for my friends." She nodded, smile wavering as it turned to a look of near-desperation. "I can't find any of them for the life of me, and I really only just got up about an hour ago."

Amanda tried to puzzle out what Yuna was trying to say. She's carefully talking around the subject, hoping that I'll figure it out because the walls have ears. Which meeting? Yesterday's meeting, it seems, not the Residents' Meeting. And then 'her friends' are...? Marcus and Giovenith... who along with Sandy are some of the healers... which Minerva viewed as a 'secret weapon'. Maybe. I don't have the time for riddles right now.

"They're with Sandy in our apartment. We invited them over for lunch. Let me send him a message so he knows you're coming."

After Yuna left, Amanda took a deep breath, trying to clear her head again. Too many strange things in the last couple of days. Hopefully, the referendum would go well, and she could get a quiet night at home, not one spent with Public Relations trying to come up with an emergency plan.

Riddles about the Dark
Sandy's phone chimed, and he got a concerned look on his face. Amanda couldn't be more than a block or two away; something must have gone wrong. "Excuse me, Marcus, Amanda's sent me a message." He awkwardly dug the phone out of his pants pocket, stretching out his leg to do so. "Hm. Yuna's coming, apparently with some sort of message. Looks like we're having another guest over for dessert. I hope that's OK with the two of you; I don't think Amanda would interrupt our dessert on a whim. Pardon me for a minute." Sandy stood up, put his phone on the table, and cleared the glasses Amanda had been using, but left her untouched dessert plate and fork. He put out a drinking glass for Yuna, then on consideration, added a wine glass for her. Everybody else was drinking, and the wine was still on the table: might as well be hospitable to her.

Sandy was checking Yuna's place setting when there was a knock at the door: yup, it was Yuna. "Hello, Yuna! Come in, come in! Have a seat." Sandy made a sweeping welcoming gesture, and indicated the kitchen table. After Yuna entered, Sandy closed and locked the door behind her. "Amanda says you have something to say...?"

[The BranRiech]

With a curt nod, and a slightly awkward smile, Yuna quickly bolted back upstairs, not even bothering to take the elevator once again. She had no clue why Amanda seemed hesitant to tell her where her friends were, and thoughts were still buzzing around her head. Did her friends even want to see her right now with how everyone seemed to be acting towards her? What did she even do?

--

"Ah, yes." Yuna sighed contently as she stood there after entering the apartment, breathing somewhat heavily after another run back up the stairs she'd just ran down. "A-and I thank you dearly for preparing for my company, but I need to be somewhat quick, I don't think I have time to stay and eat." She shook her head.

And that's when Yuna stopped again.

What was she even going to say to her friends to convince them to pack their bags and be ready to leave by the end of the day? Surely she'd sound crazy if she said something along those lines, probably sounding like a crazed conspiracy theorist telling someone the world was about to end. But it wasn't really her job to make sure her friends heeded her warning. The best thing she could really do was pass on the information that she knew.

Moving her hands down to her sides, fiddling with the hem of her robes, Yuna looked over to Gio and Marcus, seated at the table as well.

"H-hey guys." She stuttered at first, shaking her head. Stop being a coward, Yuna. They're your friends, they don't hate you or anything. "We all need to pack up." She stated flatly, finding no alternative in her head to sugarcoat it any other way. Her face was neutral, but she was already expecting surprised responses, and or ridicule for the idea. "I-I have good reason to believe that they're coming to kick us out of the building, or something along those lines, so we need to be packed and ready to leave by the end of the day."

Stopping again. "I still have to let Torii, Kale, and my brother know, but our group, the teens and stuff, should be together." She closed her eyes after speaking, trying to remember whether or not John meant all of them, or simply Yuna.

"Just . . . All of us should be ready to leave by nightfall." She shook her head, placing her exposed arms on the back of the chair, a few stray strands of her icy-white hair dangling in her face.

[Giovenith]

Giving a friendly wave to Mrs. Amanda as she left, Giovenith had been content to let the two guys she'd been left with have a quick chat about their enchantments, enhancements, and techs while she got some long-awaited cake bites in. It was tasty as it looked, and she rushed a bit to get as much in as she could before her stomach inevitably got the signal that it was full.

Then in came Yuna, and at first the godling smiled and attempted to hurry her swallow so as to invite the princess over to partake in the cake with them, only for the newcomer to drop her news like a bomb.

Giovenith stopped chewing for a moment and stared in silence, before slowly swallowing her bite, dabbing her face, and setting aside her fork.

"Leave to where?" she asked, suddenly business as she carefully rose from the table. "Why only the adolescents?"

[The Carlisle]

Kale tried to calm herself down a bit for Drova. This really didn't involve him, and she didn't want him to worry so much because of her mood. She thought of what she had left to do. The groceries needed to be refridged, but she also needed to grow the plant for Remilia before the day ends. She can do all of it, there was plenty of time left.

"We can get lunch at your place first," Kale said, "I already got what I needed from here. We can come back later anyways. I wanna see the new garden and do something there before the day ends." With that said, Kale walked up to Drova. "Mind helping me with one?" Its not that heavy," she said. It was a lie; it was fairly heavy for a bag of groceries.

[Austropia]

Rowan checked her time piece. Despite her horrific flight into the city, she had managed to make it to Demens Towers quickly and without too much trouble. She was five minuets before her check in time. Perfect. Rowan hated being late. Something about the way her stomach churned and her blood pulsed ever faster flustered her and made her angry. Perhaps it threw her off her inner footing. Balance played a larger role in finding happiness for Rowan and chasing after time gave her flashes of memory she would prefer to forget.

She walked through the sliding door and into an air conditioned room. Her small suitcase bumped and then squeaked as its wheels jumped over the rubber door lining and slid across the tile floor. The lobby was bustling with mid day commotion which made it hard for her to navigate to the front desk. As she weaved her way through the crowd, she wondered how many of them she would get to know over her time in this new city. She had heard so many fantastic and mysterious stories about Bielefeld during her research that by now, she didn't know what was true or just make believe. All she new as she worked her way across the lobby was the excitement of being in someplace new. She stopped suddenly as an opening allowed her access to the front desk. She could feel her nerves rising as the thought of human interaction filled her mind.

Rowan inched towards the front desk.

"Um..... Excuse me sir," Her voice was soft and hesitant. "I'm Rowan Stone? I made an appointment with the building a few weeks ago."

Both the set of robes and a rabbit who hadn't seemed to be there a second ago turned to regard Rowan - at least, the rabbit definitely did. The set of robes, lacking any clear face or anything that resembled a face, were less obvious; but the point became moot when it turned back to Robert.

Hello! the rabbit signed with his ears, leaving trails of sparkling lights to spell out the words, not unlike those left by skywriters' planes. I am MB, welcome to Bielefeld. Papers rustled as MB flipped through the stack of papers, finding Rowan's rental agreement under the Underworld Times the cultist had left there. Lifting it out along with some brochures, he held them up for Rowan to take, and twitched his nose at her.

Sign first paper and keys to your room, gym, laundry appear. Also here is list of local sights and businesses. Also, it is not now safe to go out at night, especially if with people not obviously human.

Rowan reached out gingerly and took her apartment key. 9f. All the way at the top. Well, at least she would have a nice view of the city. She hastily jotted down a sloppy signature before thanking the rabbit under her breath, grabbing the list off the desk, and heading towards the elevator. She would need to make some acquaintances in the area if she wanted to get her dojo up and running. Perhaps studying a map of the city would supply her with the prime location for her business.

She heard a ding as the elevator doors slid open. As she trundled her suitcase into the box, should couldn't help but feel very small.

[Northwest Slobovia]

"I-I have good reason to believe that they're coming to kick us out of the building, or something along those lines, so we need to be packed and ready to leave by the end of the day."

Stopping again. "I still have to let Torii, Kale, and my brother know, but our group, the teens and stuff, should be together." She closed her eyes after speaking, trying to remember whether or not John meant all of them, or simply Yuna.

Well! That's certainly an interesting message! Sandy looked over Yuna, trying to figure out what must have just happened. The winged girl seemed breathless, excited, and flustered. Was there another meeting somewhere else? That would fit: she met with somebody and was told to spread the news. But why just the teenagers? And why so soon?

"Yuna, maybe you should catch your breath and tell us again, this time more slowly. Who is coming? Who needs to leave?" Not wanting to frighten or overwhelm the girl, Sandy paused and then asked gently, "And who asked you to tell us?"

[The BranRiech]

"I-I don't know, and I don't really think he meant just you guys, but anyone who overheard . . ." Yuna trailed off, listening to Sandy speak as well. "At any rate, we should be packed and prepared to leave as soon as possible. I-I don't know what's going to happen, but I trust in who I received the information from, he's a Cultist, like me." She responded, hopefully satisfying Sandy's wishes to know who set her about this.

"Sorry I'm being so freaked out, I guess."

Yuna started to visibly calm down, shoulders relaxing somewhat as her mind raked over what John had said to her. "A-and I don't think it was meant to sound that urgent either, but it's still a warning I guess, more of a suggestion, that we should be ready to move."

--

"Mmm? I can take one." Drova nodded, letting Kale catch up to him as they headed back home, walking back past the kind old man with the army surplus, and back past the shop where Drova had bought his necklace as well, and even past the first stand where they'd found that blasted tetrahedron. He reached over and slipped his hands around the loop of the bag in question.

For a Pyersai at least, Drova was indeed stronger than most, able to lug a heavy Pyersai rifle through his basic training, yet they still weren't the strongest race of people in the world. His torso tipped slightly as he took control of the bag, and he visibly grunted.

"Mmm, anything you'd like to eat? We don't have much food, but I have the ingredients to make sandwich wraps."

[Primordial Luxa]

Primordial had a very signature knock. It was a pair of quick loud blows follow by a very sudden trio of rhythmic one and finished with two very distinct end ones. It was defiantly something he had pick up from somewhere but most people would think it was just a catchy rhythm. The true was a much more sinister one. Primordials style of knocking as a deep seated psychological parasite which had been implant in him via an insurance company’s hypnotic advertisement on TV. The ad had been aired about a decade ago when he was younger and more susceptibly as part of one of Gegressive State’s various campaigns. Primordial didn’t know he was subconsciously spreading a company’s jingle every time he asked permission to enter a building but such a parasite was a testament to the Luxan method of advertisement. People were the primary tools of Luxan advertisement. Word of mouth and subconscious triggers were better than banners and sponsorships.

That was partially why Primordial was standing in front of Jasmines door with a clipboard and a bottle of wine.