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

[Rygondria]

Reginald waked up. as he looked around his room he saw a invitation and read its contents. After reading it he said," Thanksgiving?,Oh. The holiday celebrated by the yanks for giving thanks for the harvest and the blessings of the current year. I suppose i could go because free food. Of course there probably a deeper reason for me packing up but i can not think of it right now".

As reginald packed his suitcase he realized that they where maybe going to an island and that he would have to pack a swimsuit. Reginald groaned and said," I can believe i have to bring this bloody thing out. Sure it was current in my time but if i wear this thing i will be laughed at. Should i pack it.Oh fuck it"! He then grabbed his Victorian swimsuit and shoved into the very bottom of the suitcase hoping he did to swim. He also packed extra ammunition for his elephant rifle. a medical kit and even he Formal suit and top hat.

Reginald then walked into the kitchen area of the building with his suitcase. He then grabbed 3 rolls and sat down on a bench and started to eat the rolls.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Upon reading the invitation in their still drunken state, as it was the best way to avoid hangovers, Neil And Gretta perked up. An old friend had come back and there eas free food! They packed an untold amount of Hawaiian shirts and straw hats, along with the mobile lab. Yet as excited as they were, they completely distrusted the "inferior" construction of humans. They packed their own devices of destruction and transport in case the intended failed. They walked out to the lobby with their three children as thunderous steps followed. The towering monstrosity in a tux carried the raptors' luggage, Scarface was hunched over to fit in the halls.

[The BranRiech]

By the time morning struck, the Nikanor family was already ready and packed for the trip, Bran hacing read the invitation as he got up earlier, avoiding having gotten' too drunk the other night. They sat around the lobby, Rylli playing a game or two on her phone as Bran read a book, something in Russian. Rachelle sat on the floor nearby, entertaining Tolya, who was nestled in her arms. Drova too, showed up after a few minutes, soon to be joined by Yuna, who spent the morning washing her uniform, and even Toscha, who knew none of the names on the card, showed up as well, slithering in wearing a fancy dress shirt and nothing else.

Kei was the last to show up, wearing a flowing set of robes, carrying nothing on her as she took her seat in a far corner.

[Germanic Templars]

OOC: Far behind on this and want to finish it up naow... For the greater part of it. Anyway, not enough violence in this so here on this final segment, we will watch an angel and a demon fight....TO THE DEATH.


The knight dropped the sword, however, behind him and removed his gauntlets, as if he forgot on how to do a particular spell. Now with both hands over Superbia's snout he started chanting and before long there was a white glow that near as blinding as the sun with the same strength too for as the hands glowed bright on the demon's face, a sizzling sound accompanied by Superbia's high pitch scream capable of piercing almost any ears was heard.

The pain of the flames on his face was enough to let out a surprise attack that not even he knew about when he fired off a beam from out of his mouth and directly onto the knight's face, promptly causing him to fly and land on his back. However, that wasn't the only thing to fly off, the knight's helmet flew off of him, hitting the energy shield before falling into the abyss.

Motionless, the knight laid with a face burnt beyond any recognition. Superbia stood up and looked at the corpse with a smile as if he won. However, that grin would vanish as the knight's body began to levitate before positioning him standing upright. Looking back at Superbia was a burnt face with some flesh and blood coming off of it (notable the lack of eyes in the socket as well) with long white hair that came down. This mysterious, yet grotesque version of an angel looked back at the three in the shield, mostly at Xanthe. As he looked at them his face started to reconstruct itself before their very eyes. To behold them once the face was complete was that of a familiar face. That face was Lucius, Protector the Tome of Time. Lucius continued to gave at Xanthe and softly whispered, "I'm sorry." Before facing back at Superbia who looked at him dumbfounded at who his opponent was.

"L-Lucius...Why?" The demon asked. Lucius didn't care, instead the angel recalled his sword back to his hand and changed it back into the battle axe it was. Without much hesitation, Lucius charged with blinding speed and a battlecry, within a second he was in front of Superbia delivering a devastating, but not fatal, blow to him. This attack only enraged the demon even more and soon the battle was reaching the apex of it all as well as the end too. For after a few more minutes of fighting, Superbia was able to get a good hit on him which allowed him to pin Lucius to the ceiling of the dome with his feet. Superbia then proceeded to do the unthinkable to his only friend: He ripped the feathery wings off Lucius just before letting him go to fall into the abyss below them.

Now tired, scarred, and victorious, Superbia landed back on the platform where the three were at, somewhat not proud of but at the same time content with what he had done. Not even taking a step he felt something pierce through his chest. He gazed down to see a hook on the end of an energy chain through him. Superbia with an expression of hopelessness prior to being tugged on and pulled down into the abyss. The only thing heard from him as he fell was the high pitch scream as it, like him, faded into the blackness.

Blythe's rising wail shook the dust from the rafters. She would have followed Superbia into the abyss had Xanthe not pinned her arms back and all but sat on her. She kicked and thrashed, sharp talons gouging furrows in the hard floor, but the pseudo-angel refused to budge.

Tears streamed down Xanthe's face as she struggled with her companion. She didn't understand why Lucius had chosen to do what he did, and the memory of the demon tearing his wings off replayed in her mind like a horror movie. The more it played, the angrier she became, until she loathed Superbia with every fiber of her being. It was unfair of her, but she needed a target for her grief to savage.

"We're done here," she said bitterly once Blythe's wails had tapered off to hiccups and sniffles. "Samuel, take the book. Keep it safe. But we are done here. We aren't going back to the Building, either. Not yet. Not when memories are fresh. Maybe we'll go to the Congo. Maybe we'll skip around time. Paris is nice this time of year, as is Germany. Right now, we're not going to stay here a moment longer."

She rose and kissed Samuel's cheek before hauling Blythe up and flinging the succubi's arm around her neck to better support her weight. There wasn't any walking back through the way they'd come. The emotions were too great, and served as a corridor back to the Void.

"Take this goat," she placed the cold stone figure in the archangel's palm. "You can follow him to find us regardless of the dimension we shift to. You may not like where you end up. Goodbye."

The pair stepped backwards and then slipped into their own shadows.

---

Samuel sat there on his shins as he looked down at the trinket in his hands. He balled his hand into a fist and looked up at the oculus in the roof where light shone through. "It sure is dark outside." He said to himself as a tear streamed down his face. Samuel stood up as he placed the goat into a pocket on the inside of his robe before pulling out the scroll. He walked into the room where the book was kept on a pedestal in the middle of the room, closed. After some time he was able to gather the knowledge from the book and so the scroll became one step closer to complete as more words appeared onto the scroll but in variety of languages even some not used by humans, and some that were from the far past and the far future.

As the scroll was finished processing what was needed, he placed it back into robe, but something caught his eye, the book was closed a moment but now it is open to last few pages. Words were written with what was fresh ink written out seconds ago, inscribed on the paper was said as the following: Father and son; one never have known, a price for knowledge one must atone. A quarrel between two friends or a struggle between two bitter enemies? Known to be stuck with each other for the centuries. Here once laid Superbia and Lucius who fell into the void but they did they die when the plummeted into the hole like a couple of astroids?

Samuel looked at the riddle the book left for him before deciding it was time to leave. As he left the room, he saw out on the bridge Lucius's axe that was left behind. Odd it was since Lucius fell with his weapon, or did he? He has seen what the axe can do and what powers it holds. So rather then just walking past it, he grabbed a white cloth from his pocket big enough to wrap around the entire axe and covered it to prevent any demonic taint on it from coming to him. He carefully wrapped it up and carried it off back to the apartment to where he would place it onto the table in Lucius's and Xanthe's room.

Teh End of dat purt.

Dawn could not come soon enough for the City of Bielefeld. The citizens, now sober but still stumbling, drifted off to their homes and soft beds. The Residents retired to their apartments or each others apartments, or found places to spend away the hours. The Building sighed and might have fallen into a light slumber but...

Dawn comes early, after all.

Glittery dust danced in light as the sun's rays penetrated the lobby windows and doors. The smell of freshly percolated coffee filled the space. The halls and walls were cleaned and it was as if Zalgofest had never happened. (The bus was still resting on concrete blocks in the backyard.) The air held a sense of anticipation, and the reason for it became clear as Residents awoke. Someone had set invitations under doors while being slept.

The wording was elegantly written on white linen stock, an invitation to all residents to share Thanksgiving with them on Gliese before moving on to the Island for Christmas. It didn't matter if the resident was old or new, or even freshly arrived (those that came in would find the invitations stuffed into their hands right after they signed the lease). The ships would arrive later that day, at precisely 3 PM; Residents were to pack their bags and bring them down to the pier. The invitations were signed "warmest regards, the Thriller Family" but someone had added "Can't wait to see you! - Swith" to the bottom of each.


Marcus awoke on the floor of Mezran's apartment. He supposed he had nodded off despite the really good Tim Horton's coffee. He blinked himself awake and stared around at the unfamiliar surroundings, and silently prayed that the Klingon would remember that he was (hopefully) given permission to be there.

Per orders from Levi's clone, that was playing role of the Emperor, told the Admiral of the Navy (Who was stationed on the IES Malevolence just orbiting around Jupiter in the current system) to ready some dropships to pick up some honored guests that they will bring to the palace. Honored to do so, the Admiral got together a Wing of dropships and gave them coordinates to the apartment.... From there I will fill in later because GT has to go back to work as of naow.

[Torsiedelle]

Katya continued to scan over news and her favorite stories until she finished her coffee, while Torii became more and more awake. Torii didn't bother to look at the invitation yet, and Katya had really just scanned it over when she woke up, but the older sister now began to give it a second look, pouring another cup of coffee as she did. Torii stretched and yawned loudly, nearly rolling over on Nick. "I'm taking a shower.", She mumbled, sliding lazily out of bed and pulling some clothes out to get dressed with.

While she was in the shower, Katya was reading the letter again. "Regards, Swith?"

A momentary shock overtook her, then a feeling of pleasant surprise. "Well", She chuckled, "I suppose nobody can stay dead forever. Tora is going to want to hear this."

Her gaze moved over towards Nick. "A cat? Tora brought it in last night. Has she been keeping a cat?"

Meanwhile, in the shower, Torii was thinking about what she'd do from now on. Her friends were all right about science. It mattered how it was used. She saw how the Raptors used it. Would she really be able to work for them and use it the way she wanted to? She wanted to help others with it, and make amazing discoveries, and see everything the universe (or multiverse) could offer her. Yesterday, on the bus, wasn't something she wanted to see. Wasn't yesterday her eighteenth birthday, too? One second she was celebrating with her friends, the next they were trying to escape a collapsing universe. She loved everything that her friends did for her, but the whole "fighting to live and escaping dangerous realities" part really made that a bad birthday for her, if it even was the same day. She didn't know. Maybe she was just going crazy.

"Collapsing universes, different realities, timelines. I remember the drone universe, and then yesterday, we almost died, and then the Strex place..."

A creeping chill ran down her spine. "Those could have been my world. Those are all just as real as the life I've lived. How many terrible fates have I suffered, or everyone I know? How do I know this isn't just another hallucination or something, like what Gio had going on yesterday, or Bran? I don't want to know the answer."

She scratched at her skin, tapped her foot, listened to the running water. Something had to take her mind off of those thoughts. She go mad if she dwelled on them. Yesterday, she remembered, Marcus threw the party. Marcus was a good friend. She trusted him. Gio got her a clock. It was a very nice one, too. The Nikanors gave her a bike. She had to make up with Bran. She'd do that as soon as she could. Drova, too, for whatever reason. He stormed off during the party. Drova and Gio had some sort of argument. She'd see Drova, then Bran, maybe? She didn't want to commit herself to one thing. Did she? Maybe she'd see her friend, Drova.

Torii turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. Her plan for now was made up, it seemed. She hoped it was, anyway. She dried off and got dressed -- nothing particularly fancy, she thought, but she wanted to look nice and catch attention. She threw on her usual, a white spaghetti-strap tank top and denim short shorts, which was THE hip Western apparel if her knowledge of Micheal Bay movies and Country Music videos was correct (What was with that new Country Music anyway? It didn't sound like that Red Sovine fellow at all!), not to mention that nobody had protested to her wearing it before. It was warm, and she really didn't care who she attracted, as long as she got attention.

"You like it?", She asked, stepping out and showing Katya, who shrugged. "It looks the same as usual, just smaller straps."

"Exactly, it shows a little more, but nothing bad. I figured that since I'm eighteen now, I can get away with this top."

"Whatever you say.", Katya replied, "But you're still wearing your jacket. Put on socks, too."

"Eh, you're no fun."

"I have real fashion. Sorry if I'm not into the whole "Daisy Duke" look, but I have sense."

"...Eh, you're no fun."

Torii did as she was told, and, after blow drying her air and making sure it looked as good as usual, she sprayed on a little perfume and raced out the room to the lobby. Katya wasn't far behind her. After tidying up her clothing, Katya sampled some perfume as well, grabbed her coat and beret from Paris, and nuzzled the cat. "Alright, Kitty. We're leaving the room for now, and I don't want any animals in here. Don't worry, we'll be going...well, we'll be going somewhere this afternoon."

[Fvaarniimar]

Rmwtyliin Saagve Annvyeelee Fvaarniimalasaalakuuliia, as was the custom of her people, woke with the sun. For a moment, again, she believed the previous day's events a dream.

Then, of course, she started noticing things which weren't familiar, including the rough wool and cold metal of her opener-closer necklace. Made, she remembered now, by a Bomic woman of all people. One who had, without her input, all but adopted-in-practicality the girl. She gingerly fingered it. Never had she really thought that any of the Bomic might be nice, or creative. Niceness was easy enough to fake. An interest in making things, as opposed to destroying them? Such was all but required for one to develop skill in so doing, and the swift, precise knotting certainly demonstrated such ability.

Then again, such knots were used in weapons. That may well have been the reason for the woman's expertise.

The girl suddenly realized her need to use the bathroom. Quietly, so as not to wake the others she'd presumed to be utilizing such rooms (not to mention the odd rodent, sleeping on a cushion atop a piece of wooden furniture) she walked past the rooms which made up her apartment, giggling as the soft carpet tickled her feet. Later, after exiting the apartment, the dry clay, cool against her bare feet and leaving dust on these, reassured her, somewhat. Perhaps she was not home; still, she carried home within herself, such that something which had sensed what she could want in a place of her own had noticed, and had tailored just these surroundings to fit. She bent to scratch the clay; like ordinary clay, it turned to powdery curls, easy to crumble and sprinkle.

After several stairwells, several floors, and several doors, a bush served; the girl reentered, resolving to ask someone about food once more people seemed to have gotten up. As she re-opened the door of her apartment, testing the opener-closers despite its standing ajar, Rmwtyliin noticed a slip of paper. It looked formal enough to be important, and thus she decided to read it to Duncan. She wasn't that great at sounding out Latin script, let alone reading it, but, well, here she'd need to read it. That would take practice; this, practicing phonics, would be a step. Someone more self-aware than Rmwtyliin might have been rather startled, if not scared, by how quickly they'd seemed to conclude that nothing could be done. Rmwtyliin? She had stopped noticing it consciously, but she had a strong feeling that nothing could be done. She was so far from home as to quite literally be in another reality. Were there to be a strong indication that she could return to her home, the girl would certainly fight to do so, but otherwise she would attempt to live with the situation.

Reaching her room again, the girl sat down and silently prayed to the spirits while trying to wait for the naked mole rat to wake up. She held out for about 15 minutes, after which she briefly considered shaking the creature awake. Instead, she pulled a small but fragrant nut from her pouch, holding it under one of Duncan's nostrils while scratching the surface. Tiny eyes snapped open, and Rmwtyliin proffered the nut. Once Duncan had finished with it, she coughed to catch attention before picking up the invitation and slowly sounding it out, word by word.

It took a few tries to get everything just about deciphered, but within 1/125th of a day she'd gotten the gist of it. She was being invited to join a Thriller family for a holiday pertaining to giving thanks and then for some sort of Christmas, whatever that was. It did sound a little familiar. There would be ships - odd. She hadn't realized that there was anywhere to dock, here. (Someone less accustomed to sea air might have noticed a slight salty scent from the harbor; Fvaarniimar was an island.) Anyway, this would be - at 3/5 plus 4/125 of a day. (A sundial would prove helpful for this but - of course - she'd need to make do. If she was at this dock-place, or ready to be, by noon, that would get her there.) It was formal, and given the ships, being issued by a powerful family.

The girl hadn't expected to act as Naabviimliikunz, not for years to come. That being said. She was Fvaarniimar's representative in this reality. Although part of her just wanted to stay in this new home and try to get accustomed to things - it might be a slight. She would fail in her duties were she to do so. Besides, someone had taken the time to add a less formal note, and it did sound friendly.

In addition, she needed garments, at least Naaliiasz'... She didn't know how to get anything of the sort... While ceremonial clothing might serve for some things, it would hardly serve for weeks... Nothing made sense...

Assuming no one could hear her, Rmwtyliin buried her face in a pillow and cried. It was all too much.

Kwa'a Bhewehg, also known as the personification of Borksmiclen and hence also known by too many aliases to count, wasn't woken by sunlight: a strong, foreign aroma helped to rouse her, but what kept her from going back to sleep was the sound of a child's sobbing. She sighed. What on earth had she gotten herself into? What had she been thinking? Of course, she'd been thinking of obligation, and... She'd admit it, if only to herself. She saw this as a second chance, an opportunity not to make mistakes with the Fvaa or with Ythfiid. Of course she realized that the children were distinct. She could accept that - she'd learned from her siblings that no child was ever replaceable, and that each was a treasure. Still, she carried bits of Ythfiid inside of herself, and vice versa - literally, if the latter's nature were taken into account. Regardless, it had been foolish of her, relation or no, to presume to take on such a role to someone who so feared her; it would have been far more responsible to have found someone, or to let her do so.

Well, nothing for it now. Unless Rmwtyliin were to choose another guardian, she was doubly bound, by obligation and by word, to fill the role. She had cared for siblings over the years; she had run an orphanage, once. How hard could this be, even with a Fvaa child?

The woman rolled out of bed, grabbing a dress, styled plainly. Grey, it set off her eyes. Hopefully her new ward could stand the hue; if going over to comfort the girl, wearing something frightening would be counterproductive.

The invitation sat a few feet from the door, on stiff, soft-textured paper. Sounding out the words, she figured out that she was being invited to celebrate some holidays. (At least it had been more decipherable than the forms, which she'd finally just signed hoping that she wasn't agreeing to anything awful.) Frankly - this was exactly the kind of thing she'd wanted when she'd gone.

It occurred to her to wonder whether Rmwtyliin was going. She rather hoped so, as it at the very least would simplify things a great deal. The sobs seemed to have stopped; she knocked. It took about a minute, but a red-eyed girl, standing stiffly, opened her door, bleary-eyed rodent atop one shoulder.

Rmwtyliin's face fell when she saw who was there. She moved as if to shut the door, but then her stomach growled.

"I know where the kitchen is..." Kwa'a raised an eyebrow.

Stiffly, Rmwtyliin affected an exaggerated smile. "Okay." She made a point of locking the door before following the Bomic woman downstairs. About halfway down the fourth floor, she swallowed a little bit of her pride. "Do you know where I could get an appropriate celebration garment? Or, well, other such things?" She didn't have much in the way of options, after all, and besides the woman had said she'd be willing to help in such areas; perhaps she deserved a chance to prove that false, or true. And so it came out that the preteen had only the clothes which had literally been on her back; Kwa'a offered to share a few items, but suggested that they go shopping somewhere, especially considering as she, having focused on other necessities when packing, was also short on garments. It was decided that - if they could obtain information on merchants in time - they'd do so around noon. Otherwise... Well, perhaps "Gliese" might have something.

Meanwhile, they'd arrived at the kitchen. Rmwtyliin walked ahead, and immediately felt very much underprepared.

Reginald then walked into the kitchen area of the building with his suitcase. He then grabbed 3 rolls and sat down on a bench and started to eat the rolls.

Not to mention a bit scared. This was the violent, seemingly-evil-spirit-touched guy. Kwa'a, however, had no such qualms. As her ward grabbed a few rolls of her own and a cup of the strange aromatic drink, she leaned over.

"Hello. You know wouldn't the way of this town's roads, would you?"

---

Katya continued to scan over news and her favorite stories until she finished her coffee, while Torii became more and more awake. Torii didn't bother to look at the invitation yet, and Katya had really just scanned it over when she woke up, but the older sister now began to give it a second look, pouring another cup of coffee as she did. Torii stretched and yawned loudly, nearly rolling over on Nick. "I'm taking a shower.", She mumbled, sliding lazily out of bed and pulling some clothes out to get dressed with.

While she was in the shower, Katya was reading the letter again. "Regards, Swith?"

A momentary shock overtook her, then a feeling of pleasant surprise. "Well", She chuckled, "I suppose nobody can stay dead forever. Tora is going to want to hear this."

Her gaze moved over towards Nick. "A cat? Tora brought it in last night. Has she been keeping a cat?"

Meanwhile, in the shower, Torii was thinking about what she'd do from now on. Her friends were all right about science. It mattered how it was used. She saw how the Raptors used it. Would she really be able to work for them and use it the way she wanted to? She wanted to help others with it, and make amazing discoveries, and see everything the universe (or multiverse) could offer her. Yesterday, on the bus, wasn't something she wanted to see. Wasn't yesterday her eighteenth birthday, too? One second she was celebrating with her friends, the next they were trying to escape a collapsing universe. She loved everything that her friends did for her, but the whole "fighting to live and escaping dangerous realities" part really made that a bad birthday for her, if it even was the same day. She didn't know. Maybe she was just going crazy.

"Collapsing universes, different realities, timelines. I remember the drone universe, and then yesterday, we almost died, and then the Strex place..."

A creeping chill ran down her spine. "Those could have been my world. Those are all just as real as the life I've lived. How many terrible fates have I suffered, or everyone I know? How do I know this isn't just another hallucination or something, like what Gio had going on yesterday, or Bran? I don't want to know the answer."

She scratched at her skin, tapped her foot, listened to the running water. Something had to take her mind off of those thoughts. She go mad if she dwelled on them. Yesterday, she remembered, Marcus threw the party. Marcus was a good friend. She trusted him. Gio got her a clock. It was a very nice one, too. The Nikanors gave her a bike. She had to make up with Bran. She'd do that as soon as she could. Drova, too, for whatever reason. He stormed off during the party. Drova and Gio had some sort of argument. She'd see Drova, then Bran, maybe? She didn't want to commit herself to one thing. Did she? Maybe she'd see her friend, Drova.

Torii turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. Her plan for now was made up, it seemed. She hoped it was, anyway. She dried off and got dressed -- nothing particularly fancy, she thought, but she wanted to look nice and catch attention. She threw on her usual, a white spaghetti-strap tank top and denim short shorts, which was THE hip Western apparel if her knowledge of Micheal Bay movies and Country Music videos was correct (What was with that new Country Music anyway? It didn't sound like that Red Sovine fellow at all!), not to mention that nobody had protested to her wearing it before. It was warm, and she really didn't care who she attracted, as long as she got attention.

"You like it?", She asked, stepping out and showing Katya, who shrugged. "It looks the same as usual, just smaller straps."

"Exactly, it shows a little more, but nothing bad. I figured that since I'm eighteen now, I can get away with this top."

"Whatever you say.", Katya replied, "But you're still wearing your jacket. Put on socks, too."

"Eh, you're no fun."

"I have real fashion. Sorry if I'm not into the whole "Daisy Duke" look, but I have sense."

"...Eh, you're no fun."

Torii did as she was told, and, after blow drying her air and making sure it looked as good as usual, she sprayed on a little perfume and raced out the room to the lobby. Katya wasn't far behind her. After tidying up her clothing, Katya sampled some perfume as well, grabbed her coat and beret from Paris, and nuzzled the cat. "Alright, Kitty. We're leaving the room for now, and I don't want any animals in here. Don't worry, we'll be going...well, we'll be going somewhere this afternoon."

Nick lazily opened an eye. <Mhm, see-> That was as far as he got. Excitement, nostalgia, contentment, and in general happiness all hit him more or less simultaneously, and to a lesser extent would be felt by Torii. <See you! I think there's something upstairs!> Wide awake now, the cat zoomed off.

[Tsuyoi Tekikoku]

Tsu groaned and tossed,she rolled over then out of her bed onto her face. She got up and rubbed her face. Then she realized someone snuck into her room and shoved a invitation into her hand! She read it and sighed. It was a invitation with thanksgiving on that robot planet, the only problem she had is..who was she to celebrate thanksgiving with? She had no friends or family here. She didn't want to go but also didn't feel like being alone either. With forced energy she did her daily activities and packed up, wanting a change of clothing. She whipped on a hoodie with hexagon patterns on it,giving it a bit of a futuristic look and walked infront of a mirror, she spun a few times. "This..looks good on me...I'll make this my signature look!" She chirped and headed out the door with her stuff.

She stopped and ran back,grabbed three large bags of sunflower seeds then stuffed it into her suitcase. She marched out the door and down to the lobby, Shw noticed a few others their but chose to stay away from them and stood at the doorways waiting for whatever was going to take them to Gilese.

[Torsiedelle]

Katya jumped as Nick bolted off.

"Well, it must not like me...hmm..."

Oh well. She'd try again later. She started packing up all that she and Torii would need, beforehand, and then she'd join them. Better to be prepared, after all...

Once that was done, she grabbed two suitcases (they'd only be bringing clothes and a few accessories, like the laptop), and Torii's guitar, and laid them near the door, then went downstairs.

At that time, Torii wanted to try and surprise Drova, and ask him why he left yesterday. That was why he'd find himself suddenly being hugged from behind.

"Hey there, handsome!", She teased. "Ready for Gliese?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Bielefeld Market District

A beam of brilliant white light swept a small alley near Bielefeld's waterfront, dazzling despite the dawn. The end of the alley then filled with with a dull red glow, and a mud-caked jeep emerged from it, the driver and passenger looking out through wiper-cleared arcs in the muddy windshield.

Sandy Bela was behind the jeep's wheel; he thumbed the power button on the jeep's GPS. He watched it repeat “Searching for satellites...” a few times before inching the jeep forward, hoping to get better reception where the alley crossed a main street. Amanda Bela, sitting beside Sandy, cradled a large African Grey parrot in her arms. She kept glancing between it and the main street, trying to keep the bird entertained while looking for a landmark.

Sandy nosed the jeep out into the intersection; the only cross traffic was an early morning garbage truck. Sandy and Amanda read the company name painted on its side: “Bielefeld Metro Waste Company”. As Sandy started to say, “There's no Philly suburb called--”, Amanda quickly slid an iPad from between the front seats and brought up an atlas app. “We're in Germany”, she said, looking irritated... then confused. “But a German trash truck wouldn't have English on the side. Where are we?”

The parrot answered before Sandy could, squawking, “We're not in Kansas anymore!”. Sandy suddenly regretted teaching Plutarch to say that. Sandy drew a deep breath, then let it out as a drawn-out sigh, puffing out his cheeks. “I don't know”, he said slowly, “so we'll need to figure that out. Since the GPS is lost too, I'm going to say we're not on Earth. Or maybe not our Earth. I'm going to try a little reconnaissance.”

Sandy chanted Arabic syllables under his breath while making intricate gestures with with hands. With the Enchantment of the Wolf's Ears in place, he rolled down the jeep's driver's side window and stuck his head out. “I hear water... waves... seagulls. There's probably somebody by the waterfront even this early, a jogger or longshoreman. Maybe they can help us.” Amanda shrugged in acquiescence; she had no better ideas.

Sandy eased the jeep on the main street, slowing occasionally to listen again. He turned down any street that seemed to have louder sea-sounds coming from it. After many turns, he and Amanda found their way to a waterfront road, where Sandy parked. They stepped out of the jeep, shivering in their light coats, Plutarch trying to burrow further down under Amanda's jacket. Sandy cast the Critique of the Chill on the three of them, rationalizing that the odds of there being somebody with both the Gift and the Sight out this early was infinitesimal.

Amanda and Sandy studied the view from the coast. They had no idea what to make of the ruins far to their left, and the architecture of the business district far to their right could be any of a hundred modern cities. For what seemed the longest time, nobody was in sight. They were about to give up and try what looked like a distant heavy-industry port when somebody came into view.

[Swith Witherward]

Bielefeld Market District

A beam of brilliant white light swept a small alley near Bielefeld's waterfront, dazzling despite the dawn. The end of the alley then filled with with a dull red glow, and a mud-caked jeep emerged from it, the driver and passenger looking out through wiper-cleared arcs in the muddy windshield.

Sandy Bela was behind the jeep's wheel; he thumbed the power button on the jeep's GPS. He watched it repeat “Searching for satellites...” a few times before inching the jeep forward, hoping to get better reception where the alley crossed a main street. Amanda Bela, sitting beside Sandy, cradled a large African Grey parrot in her arms. She kept glancing between it and the main street, trying to keep the bird entertained while looking for a landmark.

Sandy nosed the jeep out into the intersection; the only cross traffic was an early morning garbage truck. Sandy and Amanda read the company name painted on its side: “Bielefeld Metro Waste Company”. As Sandy started to say, “There's no Philly suburb called--”, Amanda quickly slid an iPad from between the front seats and brought up an atlas app. “We're in Germany”, she said, looking irritated... then confused. “But a German trash truck wouldn't have English on the side. Where are we?”

The parrot answered before Sandy could, squawking, “We're not in Kansas anymore!”. Sandy suddenly regretted teaching Plutarch to say that. Sandy drew a deep breath, then let it out as a drawn-out sigh, puffing out his cheeks. “I don't know”, he said slowly, “so we'll need to figure that out. Since the GPS is lost too, I'm going to say we're not on Earth. Or maybe not our Earth. I'm going to try a little reconnaissance.”

Sandy chanted Arabic syllables under his breath while making intricate gestures with with hands. With the Enchantment of the Wolf's Ears in place, he rolled down the jeep's driver's side window and stuck his head out. “I hear water... waves... seagulls. There's probably somebody by the waterfront even this early, a jogger or longshoreman. Maybe they can help us.” Amanda shrugged in acquiescence; she had no better ideas.

Sandy eased the jeep on the main street, slowing occasionally to listen again. He turned down any street that seemed to have louder sea-sounds coming from it. After many turns, he and Amanda found their way to a waterfront road, where Sandy parked. They stepped out of the jeep, shivering in their light coats, Plutarch trying to burrow further down under Amanda's jacket. Sandy cast the Critique of the Chill on the three of them, rationalizing that the odds of there being somebody with both the Gift and the Sight out this early was infinitesimal.

Amanda and Sandy studied the view from the coast. They had no idea what to make of the ruins far to their left, and the architecture of the business district far to their right could be any of a hundred modern cities. For what seemed the longest time, nobody was in sight. They were about to give up and try what looked like a distant heavy-industry port when somebody came into view.

"Greetings!" chimed the man sitting on the top of the red mailbox. He was dressed like a WWII British aviator with a jaunty accent to match. "I'm Will and you're both late! We expected you several days ago. Well, Mr. Demens did. We just do his bidding because he's too cheap to hire an actual receptionist."

Will slid off the domed mailbox top and neatened his jacket. The cold November air nipped at his cheeks, causing them and his nose to redden. "I know I've just confused the hell out of you. That's normal around here. I'm probably the most sane person you'll meet today. Regardless, you have only a few short hours to get your things stowed in your new apartment... you are here for the long haul, I'm afraid... and park your vehicle. You see, you've been invited to Gliese by the Templar Emperor. It's Thanksgiving, mind, so there might be a ball. Ever been off planet?"

[Tiltjuice]

There was a lull in an apartment on the second floor as three women packed.

Well, two women packed and one tried to pack, only to be shooed back to the couch by one of the packers, who was wearing a guilty expression.

Not that they could be discerned as women, since all three were bundled up against the cold more than the Michelin Man.

Chrys tugged at the hem of her white dress, hoping the invitation they'd received would boost Tasia's flagging spirits, and wondered if her sister and Kei would do any partying. Dora had arched an eyebrow in curiosity at the closing, and curiosity drove her onward to meet the resurrected goddess as a fellow member of the Women Who Died and Came Back club.

Luce had wandered down to the beach, and Dia was...somewhere. Men.

Elsewhere, the just-as-heavily-bundled flute-playing ex-soldier in question was perched under the streetlight in front of the building, watching cars whiz by the two newcomers.

[Torsiedelle]

The figure was that of a young woman, who was out on a morning walk, her hands on her hips. She was light skinned, with long, red hair, but that was about where the normal appearance ended. She wore a long dress reminiscent of some Oriental fashion, with a long skirt that blew in the wind, showing off a little leg. The edges of the skirt on the bottom were slightly tattered, and had been self repaired some amount of times. As she got closer, it was evident that she was a healthy girl, if not skinny. From her neck hung a golden pendent of a Faravahar, which, depending on one's knowledge, was either a Zoroastrian symbol, or the national symbol of Iran. She smelled slightly of flowers...and oil...and rust...and booze...

She was a vagrant, really.

She gave a whistle to the couple. "Like the parrot.", She commented. "And the jeep."

And then a wave to the British soldier. "G'day, other person."

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Greetings!" chimed the man sitting on the top of the red mailbox. He was dressed like a WWII British aviator with a jaunty accent to match. "I'm Will and you're both late! We expected you several days ago. Well, Mr. Demens did. We just do his bidding because he's too cheap to hire an actual receptionist."

Will slid off the domed mailbox top and neatened his jacket. "I know I've just confused the hell out of you. That's normal around here. I'm probably the most sane person you'll meet today. Regardless, you have only a few short hours to get your things stowed in your new apartment... you are here for the long haul, I'm afraid... and park your vehicle. You see, you've been invited to Gliese by the Templar Emperor. It's Thanksgiving, mind, so there might be a ball. Ever been off planet?"

Sandy and Amanda were stunned for a second by this curious appearance. Sandy recovered first, having a bit more experience dealing with the bizarrely unexpected. "I, um... perha--yes! Yes, we have!" Sandy wasn't sure whether the verdant world they'd just come from was Earth or not, but regardless, it was otherworldly enough for him to count it as another planet. "But wait-- you said 'expected'. How could we be expected, and so long ago?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

She gave a whistle to the couple. "Like the parrot.", She commented. "And the jeep."

Sandy was too intent on the guy in the British uniform to notice her, but Plutarch caught the word "parrot". He poked his head all the way out from Amanda's jacket, and said "Pretty lady! Pretty lady!" before whistling a fragment of music. Amanda glanced down at him, at the waifish woman, and looked embarrassed. She thought, "Shoulda left him in the car, tearing up the upholstery or not."

[Torsiedelle]

"Okay, I like that parrot even more, now.", She said with a smile. "Are you immigrants, too? I notice these army guys around where I live now, and they seem to know when new people arrive."

[Germanic Templars]

"So then that will be the "normal" fur color, kinda like the color green on a mood ring." She replied before pondering on MB's question. Lava lamp..Where have I heard that..Don't think I have, maybe in a book..Maybe. She then answered to her friend, "Don't even know what that is, what is it? Sounds kinda exotic to me."

MB had only heard about it from Cuisine, who was secretly very retro but never talked about that part of his life. So, understandably, he had the wrong idea about what it was.

A lamp full of LAVA! And oil! All on fire! With pretty colors!

"Sounds cool! But dangerous...." Sapphire replied as she finished removing all of her gear. After a transfer into another sterile room to where she could do the procedure, she quickly drawed up and injected the serum into the bunny. After injecting every bit of it and removing the needle, she said with satisfaction, "There, done. Hopefully in a day you should be back to normal, and by that I mean you will have hair growing hopefully. Would be kinda bad though to see you covered in spikes or scales or something other than fur."

A moment crossed her over (and over her little radio) that the dropships to take the apartment were coming later today. "Oh crap. forgot to pack m-..." She paused for a moment as what would have been a bad rush of packing she realized she did n't have to do. "Never mind, going home; no packing needed." She sighed with relief. "Come now, drop ships will be here to take us to eat Thanksgiving on my home world."

---

Per orders from Levi's clone, that was playing role of the Emperor, told the Admiral of the Navy (Who was stationed on the IES Hand of Malevolence just orbiting around Jupiter in the current system) to ready some dropships to pick up some honored guests that they will bring to the palace. Honored to do so, the Admiral got together a Wing of dropships and gave them coordinates to the apartment.... From there I will fill in later because GT has to go back to work as of naow.

Continuing...... The ships were deployed from their hangars and sped towards the planet Earth. An Ensign jogged up the Admiral and gave a salute before saying, "Sir, pardon me for speaking my mind but, the clone pilots are out, are we really picking up honorary guests with them as the pilots? I mean, they can't even drive a car right without crashing it into several of their own kind."

"Relax. I have faith they can do it, plus we don't have the resources to spare at the moment."

--------

Speeding fast, the dropships arrived with haste and entered deep into the atmosphere, flaring their air brakes, shutting off engines, and covering over vital parts with heat shields. After slowing down enough to fly normally in the atmosphere of the planet, they quickly made for the apartment (because I don't want to take the time to try and spell the name of the city). Finally they arrived, but their ill skill caused them to do a rather sketchy landing in the middle of the street out front of the apartment. And as if three thuds of dropships landing wasn't loud enough, one even scrapped across the road, leaving a rather unpleasant metal-to-rock screeching sound.

But alas, the ships landed and the back doors opened, and they waited for the people of the apartment to arrive.

[Giovenith]

"Weeeeee!" Giovenith slid down the railing into the lobby, then dropped her rolling suitcase on the floor. She didn't need it, given her pockets, but it was still fun to carry around anyway. It was a suitcase on wheels! How was that not great? "Almost time to go!"

"Stop, stop! Let me go, I can get down myself!" Willow protested against Pippa-Michelle who had thrown him over her shoulder on the way out. He knew of her inability to properly walk downstairs without tumbling down like a broken toy, and wasn't keen on getting his neck snapped this morning.

"You can put him down, Pip-ster," Giovenith said amiably, propping up her suitcase.

The pegasus-pony slipped out of the golem's grasp before it could take it's usual plunder (and quick recovery), safely gliding down on his wings to his roommate's side. The godling offered him his saddlebag and a thermos filled with coffee, with a smirk.

"Gimme that," Willow swiped the bag and coffee, taking a good long sip of the bitter hot brew before looking around the lobby. "So... we're actually going to another planet?"

"Yes, Gliese!" Giovenith nodded, smiling. "It's ruled over by a resident who lives here."

"Figures."

"And... you're sure Sterling is gone for good?" The girl frowned, disappointed. She'd been informed this morning right after she'd tried to go looking for the unicorn-pony.

"Uh, yeah, pretty sure," Willow avoided eye contact, folding his ears and rubbing the back of his head sadly. "But you know, he's safe and at home now, so we can't complain about that. It's what's best for him, we should happy."

"But why didn't you get to go home, Willow?" Not that she was in any hurry to have her pony friend leave.

"I don't know." And that was the truth.

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Okay, I like that parrot even more, now.", She said with a smile. "Are you immigrants, too? I notice these army guys around where I live now, and they seem to know when new people arrive."

Amanda wasn't sure who she should be paying attention to, but since the woman was talking to her... "I... I guess so. We've just arrived... here. Where are we? This isn't a city either one of us recognize."

[Swith Witherward]

Sandy and Amanda were stunned for a second by this curious appearance. Sandy recovered first, having a bit more experience dealing with the bizarrely unexpected. "I, um... perha--yes! Yes, we have!" Sandy wasn't sure whether the verdant world they'd just come from was Earth or not, but regardless, it was otherworldly enough for him to count it as another planet. "But wait-- you said 'expected'. How could we be expected, and so long ago?"

"Nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition. As a result, people tend to expect the worst now. Of course, anticipation aside, we can expec- oh bloody hell!"

Will held on to his hat as the Templar ships touched down in the street. "RIGHT!" he shouted over the engines' din, "WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO GET YOU AN APARTMENT. I SAID, WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO - AW, TAH HELL WITH THIS NONSENSE!"

A small pop heralded the arrival of one of the cultist's trademark spells. A small, clear sphere surrounded the group on the street, blocking out the engine noise. Will coughed. "Right. We'll have to wait to get you an apartment. The ships have arrived sooner than expected, you see. You can park your Jeep in the garage or else I suppose the Templars can stow it on board. Don't worry about money or hankies or nothin'. I'll make you get whatever you need once we arrive."

[Swith Witherward]

CLATTER CRASH CLATTER BANG!

Naomi raced around her family's apartment adding all sorts of nonsense to the only piece of luggage she'd need. It was Swith's old bag and could hold just about anything, which meant that Naomi had packed nearly everything in order to avoid leaving something behind. She shoved the entire contents of Marcus' sock drawer into the front compartment and then tossed all his spare robes on top of that. Next was Ceril's closet. It was soon devoid of everything. Next was Eva's room, although all her toys were packed in the little girl's own skull and heart patterned suitcase.

"Ceril, hurry up!" Naomi urged, once again forgetting that the old cyborg had already left to pick Wren up from the hospital. No matter. She bustled Eva out of the door and up the stairs into the lobby and then... oh dear lord!

"NEIL!"

Naomi dropped her bag and wrapped the raptor in a tight hug, sprinkling a few kisses on his muzzle for good measure. "Oh I'm so glad you're coming along! I've missed you. Where have you been? What have you been up to? Where are the chicks?"

She gently let go of him in order to bestow a hug upon Gretta. "Chicks? Oh no, did I miss them growing up?" She let go of Gretta without waiting for a reply.

"Scarface! Oh my gosh! Oh I've missed you, too! My favorite portrait painter!"

Her gushing was cut short by the arrival of the ships.

---

Minerva curled up against Klaus's side a bit more tightly, her eyes closed fast to block out the invasive morning light. Her sleepy voice left no doubt as to her feelings, "You know, we're supposed to be on Gliese soon. Can't we just take one of your sewer tunnels?"

In fact, that tunnel lead right to the palace suite that Thriller and Charumati occupied. It wasn't as if it was a major inconvenience, unless someone was using the toilet while a cultist was creeping up from the tub drain, and Minerva wasn't expected to be of any service until the ball itself. Perhaps they could have a bit of a lie in, and be a bit naughty before the morning grew too old?

That little bit of wishful thinking would be followed by wish fulfillment, naturally, because Klaus always preferred to travel his own way. He would stay behind to pick up any stragglers that missed the ship.

By "picking up" I mean that he'll club the back of their heads and throw their unconscious bodies onto a transport ship.

---

"Giovenith! Torii!" Marcus bounded down the stairs, a slice of toast in one hand. His other clutched the strap to his luggage, and his smile was radiant. Gliese was a perfect pre-vacation vacation. He laughed and awkwardly hugged each girl before pointing at the newly arrived ships with his toast.

Myra had come along while he was hugging, and she poked him to get him to move over so she could greet her fellow Teen Club friends. "Well, time to go! I'm so excited! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year!"


The click of sharp toenails on tile announced the arrival of one Mr. Rodney Peabody Bodkins. He looked perfectly human today, and perfectly out of his element as he approached the only humans he knew. "Marcus. Giovenith. Pleasure to see you both. Shall we board?"

[Tiltjuice]

Minerva curled up against Klaus's side a bit more tightly, her eyes closed fast to block out the invasive morning light. Her sleepy voice left no doubt as to her feelings, "You know, we're supposed to be on Gliese soon. Can't we just take one of your sewer tunnels?"

In fact, that tunnel lead right to the palace suite that Thriller and Charumati occupied. It wasn't as if it was a major inconvenience, unless someone was using the toilet while a cultist was creeping up from the tub drain, and Minerva wasn't expected to be of any service until the ball itself. Perhaps they could have a bit of a lie in, and be a bit naughty before the morning grew too old?

That little bit of wishful thinking would be followed by wish fulfillment, naturally, because Klaus always preferred to travel his own way. He would stay behind to pick up any stragglers that missed the ship.

By "picking up" I mean that he'll club the back of their heads and throw their unconscious bodies onto a transport ship.

And right on cue, there he was.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

[Tiltjuice]

MB had only heard about it from Cuisine, who was secretly very retro but never talked about that part of his life. So, understandably, he had the wrong idea about what it was.

A lamp full of LAVA! And oil! All on fire! With pretty colors!

"Sounds cool! But dangerous...." Sapphire replied as she finished removing all of her gear. After a transfer into another sterile room to where she could do the procedure, she quickly drawed up and injected the serum into the bunny. After injecting every bit of it and removing the needle, she said with satisfaction, "There, done. Hopefully in a day you should be back to normal, and by that I mean you will have hair growing hopefully. Would be kinda bad though to see you covered in spikes or scales or something other than fur."

A moment crossed her over (and over her little radio) that the dropships to take the apartment were coming later today. "Oh crap. forgot to pack m-..." She paused for a moment as what would have been a bad rush of packing she realized she did n't have to do. "Never mind, going home; no packing needed." She sighed with relief. "Come now, drop ships will be here to take us to eat Thanksgiving on my home world."

No! No want to look like bad raptors. The bunny shuddered. Thanksgiving! Food! Rabbit attack turkey?

He tried sniffing himself, but couldn't tell anything different yet.

[Torsiedelle]

Torii accepted Marcus's hug, while still hugging Drova, and giggled. "Marcus! Gio! I'm really excited about this. Also kind of nervous, but more excited!", She said. She continued to hold onto and lean on Drova while she talked to the others. "Myra! Oh my god, where the hell have you been! I've been worried about you, ya know! Has public school been tough? I'm guessing so, because that's how it seems on TV, and I've never been."

....

"Oh, shit."

Jasmine covered her ears until the bubble was put up, then watched the ships with some wonder...and nervousness.

"Hey, um, this bubble is pretty cool, and ships and all...but, we're not going to be in those right? Because...."

She chuckled. "Well, I'm kind of afraid of flying."

[Giovenith]

"They're here!" Giovenith yelled excitedly as the deafening sounds of the arriving Gliese ships filled the air, jumping up and down a bit happily.

"WHAT?" Willow rubbed his ears, disturbed by the sudden screaming of engines and metal on concrete. Pippa-Michelle, rather disturbed at the noise herself, yet again picked up the pony (to his annoyance) and hugged him out of anxiety.

The teen godling ignored the two, as she happily greeted her other friends who had just arrived, laughing at she received and returned Marcus and Myra's hugs. "I know! It'll be good to revisit everything, take some time to really explore this time." She smiled at the arrival of Mr. Bodkins, remembering their fun exchange with the shiny basket. "Yes we should! Much better than air travel, you know? I learned that when I first made Pippa-Michelle."

Said golem was busy rubbing her face into a helpless Willow's hair, destroying it's once-combed state as the equine just took it with a deadpan.

"We should get hopping on!" Giovenith smiled at all her friends. "So we can all sit together!"

[Mincaldenteans]

Marcus awoke on the floor of Mezran's apartment. He supposed he had nodded off despite the really good Tim Horton's coffee. He blinked himself awake and stared around at the unfamiliar surroundings, and silently prayed that the Klingon would remember that he was (hopefully) given permission to be there.

"He awakens! I hope that targ fur is as comfortable as it looked. I chose not to wake you, but only within a hairs breadth," Mezran said with crooked teethed smile.

"Come my friend, you must get ready, we have some kind of feast we need to attend, a Tanksgeevens," the Klingon said slowly with a frown etched at the pronunciation. Trust the humans with their delicate and soft connotations and inflections. Standing up from his chair where he sat sharpening his mek'leth, the Klingon put the weapon against the wall with special attention given to it as though it was a rite or ritual.

"I have a replicator for whatever food you desire or if you need clothes. There is a sonic shower also, if you need it," the Klingon said without looking back, resting the weapon and moving off to open a ceremonial box made of old lacquered dark wood. Inside revealed a small idol of Kahless himself. He was about to say a word or two in hush whispers when the deep rumblings of engines could be heard outside his apartment and the Klingon looked upon the descending dropships with an appreciative rumble at their design. His people would approve of it in an aesthetic sense, they looked menacing even without weapons to bear (at least none that he recognized or could assume).

"Ah! They are here. Quickly, mAH'CuS," he said, grabbing his duffle bag made of common synthetic fibers and swung it over his massive shoulders.

He turned to look at the man; he was already out the door. Mezran chuckled (rumble-chuckled), and walked out.

--//\\--

"I think its here," Dan said with a tilt of his head, sipping on coffee while he had watched the many tiny ships that had descended with grace land and open its seals. They looked sharp, inorganic, and its features were too angular for the fae to appreciate it. But he wasn't about to complain, not when it was about to take them off world. There was a peculiar rush of excitement at being the first fae (that he knew of) to be off planet and the Summer being had to admit he was feeling edgy to get on board and out into the vast unknown.

"Are you always this chipper in the morning?" Hunter grumbled, looking out into the blinding morning with arms crossed. His Nevidian eyes were shielded by a pair of aviators, a small blessing considering daylight would technically blind him without protection. He wondered what the planet would be like, never mind there was an actual inhabited planet to go to that seemed far off.

What's so far off about it? He smirked at the thought, you lived under the earth half your life.

"I'm part of Summer," Dan said with a bigger smile than he already had. It tormented his friend, or at least annoyed him; that in itself was reward enough. "It comes naturally."

"Yeah yeah... oh sorry, excuse me," Hunter said with quick movements as the whole lot of D.V. came running through with blocks of luggage that looked as though were chests rather than actual baggage.

"Lots of shopping to do!" Cherry said gleefully clapping her hands ecstatically, her long ankle length coat fluttered behind in her wake as she followed the rest Dwayna's Vigilant out to wait to be ushered into one of the transports. A collective groan from Erick, Traxt and Anais could be heard along with a couple snickers.

"Ready?" Dan said lightly. Their bags, what little belongings each of them had were already packed in one luggage each.

"Sure. Are you sure we're going off-planet?"

Dan shrugged, "Myra seemed certain. Let's go find out!" He said with a bigger smile. On purpose.

"Definitely too chipper."

--//\\--

Mab strolled along the lobby to see the many peculiar vessel touch softly upon the ground. She crossed her arms and looked upon the lot of this strange beings cobbled together, ready to venture out again. How invigorating, she thought to herself. The Queen couldn't remember the last time she had actually had time to spare for such niceties. A vacation. She supposed she had one of those already since her arrival, a getaway and a refuge from Winter. Her nobles had yet to chime in, cause a diplomatic incident with Summer, or even question her whereabouts (though the latter was sparingly asked). Mab also wondered if Aurora was holding her end of distracting her well enough. She must have been, the Lord Marshal wasn't in the position she was out of luck; Aurora was not someone to cross - that much Mab had come to respect and admire for someone Summer-born.

She noticed the little fae out there with his friend and smirked lightly. "Oh to be young and full of options. I do miss those days," she said to no one in particular. The cultists had gathered her things during the night, presumably on the assumption she was going with the rest and one of them murmured their readiness to assist loading her belonging in. It wasn't as though Mab brought anything with her upon arrival to this realm, truth be told she had taken it a certain delight to visiting Oktoberfest and bought a few trinkets. Some were small, some were large, and some were necessary to decorate the place she had been given by Fritz.

Now it was only a matter of deciding if she wanted to go or not. Hopping planets was child's play, like hopscotch, it was her duties that she had not attended to that were at the forefront of her thoughts. But this was life, and even Winter inside her appreciated the fleeting beauty of it.

"What's another weekend," she told herself with a small smile creeping at the edge as she nodded her acknowledgement of the cultist behind her to pack her things into the transport.