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

[Torsiedelle]

Ah, the golemn. Torii looked back at the paper woman sheepishly and held up her plate. "Is Gio here? I brought something for her."

[Giovenith]

"Mmmm..." Pippa-Michelle smiled but shook her head, opening the door further to reveal the empty pink and purple room. "Puzzle, Pretzels..." A slender finger pointed in the direction down the hall the painters had left.

[Torsiedelle]

"Ah, um okay. Thank you."

Torii got the picture. "Um, if Marcus comes out, tell him I have something for him, too? I expected them both to be up and about by now. I'm gonna go catch up with those, two, so thank you.", She waved, turning around and walking back down the hall. "Nice seeing you, Pipa!"

Where were they? maybe the kitchen or something, she didn't know. Torii hoped she'd find them in the halls. They couldn't be too far off.

[Giovenith]

Oh, poor Willow... Giovenith sighed inside, having not even attempted to follow the roommate as she believed he needed space. As a god, she knew well the things that could insue when someone's personal sense found a conflict with their faith. It was a talk for another time, if any time at all. She wished Celestia, whatever sort of goddess she was, luck with that one. Wondering where to go from here, she turned to head back to-

Oh. Dammit.

Much sooner than she had expected, there was Torii, faster approaching than she could conceivably escape from. A bitter taste filled her mouth, but Willow's recent words still rang in her head. She sucked in her lips and cheeks and tried not to exude too much displeasure.

"Morning," she greeted, with an audible tension.

[Charlia]

Should she knock? She wanted to knock, but what if she was still mad about yesterday? She wasn't at the rally, which was really weird. No, Torii thought, no use in holding back. Gio could handle it, and it was better to get everything out there than hold it all in and let it bubble.

Torii knocked on Giovenith's door. She felt nervous. Would her friend like their gift? Food always seemed to help.

.......

In the lobby, a female voice spoke in Charlotte's ear.

"Boo."

She jumped slightly, and then laughed nervously. "Oh. Hi. Who are you?" ...Was that a joke about me being dead? ...is that insensitive? I don't know... I have such a hard time with this... I hope that's not insensitive. Or... or is she...

[The BranRiech]

"I'm going out!" Shouted a familiar voice. The door to Yuna and Drova's apartment opened for a moment as the older of the siblings walked out. Drova hadn't been out in a while, too busy cooped up in his room doing fuck-all. Yuna had informed upon him the contents of the meetings and such, so he wasn't clueless, but he didn't know too much more than what she was able to impart upon him.

His wings were splayed out in a stretching motion, the feathers on the ends brushing up against the walls on either side of the hall.

"Should go say hi to Torii . . ." He muttered to himself, heading off in search of his friend.

[Torsiedelle]

Torii gulped. "Um, hi. Morning, Gio."

Torii showed the plate from their place, containing bits of fried potatoes. "My sister made these.", She said. "So I could share with you and the others. You've never had our fried potatoes, right? She likes to make them spicy."

Torii lowered the plate, feeling like talking about food could only get you so far. "She hasn't been feeling really well lately, and she was really stressed out yesterday. I think she's been kind of hard on herself since her birthday.", She said. "When I told her that you all might appreciate her cooking, she perked up a little and made this, so this is her little gift."

.........

It was a girl, around Charlotte's age, dressed in conspicuous Eastern clothing with tan skin. Red hair flowed down around her, while a golden Faravahar pendant hung loosely around her neck.

"My name? Jasmine.", She told Charlotte. She wasn't at the meeting last night, so her knowledge of the girl was limited. "And you? I like to find company with other loners. Crowds aren't my thing."

[Tsuyoi Tekikoku]

After grabbing the keys to her room, the young lady rushed up the stairs, she had someone important to meet whom she missed alot . She reached a door, slowly opening the door, go spy on a sickly Tsu, bed ridden by a sickness that made the poor girl to tired to do much. Luckily, her wings don't seem to affected, they sneezed and coughed every now and then but were still capable of doing a a few tasks well enough to take care of her.

The sickly Tsu smiled weakly as her older sister peered threw the door before finally opening it wide. "Edge..you came.." She said coughing in a rasky voice. "Katya will be so pleased to see you again..I'd hug you...but I feel like a M4 Sherman going down a hill ran me over.."

Tsu piped out other cough, her sister frowned. "Poor thing..I hope you get better soon.." Edge put her bags down, the wings took them to other part of the room. Edge kneeled next to her sister. "I'm going to explore the rest of the apartment, get some rest and let the wings take care of you, I'll cook you some of mom's special soup later." She stood up and waved goodbye to her sick sibling before exiting the apartment, she sighed and walked back down to the lobby, her sentient parasite tail observed and watched its new environment.

[Germanic Templars]

"Hmm? Oh?, Katya lifted her head, rubbing her eyes. Someone at the door? Shit, where were her mints?

After a few moments of silence, the door opened up, Katya standing to the side. She was surprised to see the man standing before her. "Mr. Thriller!", She said, "Good morning! I didn't expect a visit from you. Um, how can I help you?"

How could she? the man was a 6'5" emperor who fought wars, and she was just a skinny little woman who cooked and cleaned for her sister. It couldn't be a battle he wanted her for. Maybe he just wanted to stop by? That was probably it. Oh, the apartment was a mess, though...

"If you want to come in, please forgive the mess. We don't keep our apartment very tidy. Um, there's a chair by the window, or the kitchen counter, or the bed, I don't mind."

Thriller smiled at Katya as he walked into the apartment. "No worries there, Katya, I only came to chat for a little, see how you are doing since last night, ya know, you were rather frazzled by what Bran said and such." His eye glanced around the room. Indeed it was a mess, but it was home and he had no room to judge either.

"I'm good, I tend to pace when I talk anyway, so it is alright, but I thank you for the offer." He remarked as he made his way over to the kitchen counter.

[Charlia]

It was a girl, around Charlotte's age, dressed in conspicuous Eastern clothing with tan skin. Red hair flowed down around her, while a golden Faravahar pendant hung loosely around her neck.

"My name? Jasmine.", She told Charlotte. She wasn't at the meeting last night, so her knowledge of the girl was limited. "And you? I like to find company with other loners. Crowds aren't my thing."

"I'm Charlotte..." She nodded. "Me too. Crowds are the worst." You're afraid of crowds. And you know why. Oh, shut up! I don't like crowds, that's all. You're afraid of your own shadow. I am not! You were yesterday. That was not my shadow!

[Giovenith]

A peace offering of some sort, or at least a preventive to strife. It was nice, not at all an insult, but still she was critical. Would this be yet another sorry without understanding, designed to save Torii grief rather than to demonstrate a motivation to make changes? Giovenith didn't know. Still, she chose to listen to Willow's advice and bury her bitterness until a time when it was provoked. No need to spit in anyone's face.

"That's very kind of you," Giovenith took the potatoes. "Let's take them to the kitchen."

--

Meanwhile, Willow had to act swiftly so that there would be time to set up the show. He planned only to ask two groups he knew had artists, first stop making his way to the raptor home. It was a short comment, briefly said by Arthur on the island, but Willow remembered the mention that the Doctors Von Eldritch had a butler who could paint. It was definitely worth a check up, hoping that the butler would be altruistic, as he made his way to the Victorian home.

[Torsiedelle]

Jasmine snickered. "Yeah, that's why I prefer solitude. It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte! Tell me, are you new here? Were you at the political rally last night? I personally stayed home to clean my apartment."

..........

Katya let Thriller in and closed the door. It would keep the air in; Katya and Torii kept the apartment at approximately sixty-four degrees.

"I was in a bad mood.", She said. "We had a disagreement over that Septimus fellow. Bran said that he was our only hope as a representative, so we should support him, but I'm skeptical of him.", She said. "He doesn't seem as good of a politician as our cultists allies who brought him here made him out to be, and besides, nobody knew him before March."

She gave Thriller a happy glance. "I think someone like you would have been a much better candidate. More natural, and more well-known. You have weight here."

While her guest sat at the counter, Katya sat at the edge of her bed. "So Bran thought that I was being just like my sister, or acting bigoted, because I didn't support this politician. You know how it is, right? Here in these Western countries, if you don't totally support the runner for the party that supports minorities and civil rights, then you're a racist or a bigot, that entire mentality. I hate it. I also didn't want to feel like I was being forced to support one side, because that isn't what Democracy is about. Of course, now I don't even think I can vote. Of course, that doesn't make me too mad; me and my sister don't exactly believe in Democracy anyways, but still, a lot of our neighbors feel otherwise."

She chuckled. "So, is that what you wanted to know? I mean, I haven't exactly gotten to what you want yet. That wasn't the reason I snapped at Bran, but it sure built up to it."

....

"That sounds like a good idea.", Torii smiled. "I wanted to save some for Marcus and Yuna, too, and Drova. There's enough for four people. I mean, not a big meal, but it can fill you up. We usually have this every morning.", She said.

"And I'm sorry about any bad feeling from last night. I mean, I didn't say anything bad, right? I'm just worried about everyone. Kale and Nick kind of cheered me up, though. They were really enthusiastic at that rally. Were you tired or something last night?"

[Charlia]

Jasmine snickered. "Yeah, that's why I prefer solitude. It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte! Tell me, are you new here? Were you at the political rally last night? I personally stayed home to clean my apartment."

"Yes... and yes. It was... interesting, to say the least." So, she doesn't know... yet. It might even be on television... so everyone would know. Everyone... She shuddered. What have I done?

[Giovenith]

What might have otherwise been answered by sighs and cheerful reassurances was this time met by a prolonged silence from the godling. A blank expression looked from Torii, to the potatoes, to the floor, to the wall. Giovenith began to quietly hold her breath, struggling within between the by the book response and truth.

"Do you understand why people became upset, Torii?" she finally blurted, turning around and making her way toward the kitchen while expecting her to follow. Standing in the halls wasn't recommended... neither was revealing meetings, so she quickly tagged on: "What was said in the middle of golf score talk, before the soup was served." Hopefully the teen would understand both the direct parts and the coding.

[Torsiedelle]

Geeze. Torii didn't expect that. Wait...golf score? Soup?

...oh! That was right? the halls! The halls! Torii played along and nodded. "Oh, yeah..."

She followed Gio, close beside her. "Yes, I understand.", Torii said. "I can see why everyone was upset, but...maybe she didn't know how to make that hole without getting a little dirty in the process. I mean, she's not a brilliant golfer. She has her flaws and bad moments, and all she wants to to be improve. Maybe she felt like she wasn't getting anywhere and just got frustrated."

"I'm not saying that it was acceptable, but she tried, and she really beats herself up over each mistake. I should know just how much she yells at herself over that. I'd probably be the same if I was so fixed on being a good player.", She said. She pointed. the kitchen was right down the hall. "We've both made some stupid plays, but I think she deserves a little lenience, whereas I know that if I do something dumb, then I can let people be mad at me. She's not like those other bad golfers."

......

"It looked like it was interesting, seeing all these people come back from it.", Jasmine said. "Well, to be honest, I ain't got much else to discuss here. Why are you down, though? You look down."

[Germanic Templars]

Katya let Thriller in and closed the door. It would keep the air in; Katya and Torii kept the apartment at approximately sixty-four degrees.

"I was in a bad mood.", She said. "We had a disagreement over that Septimus fellow. Bran said that he was our only hope as a representative, so we should support him, but I'm skeptical of him.", She said. "He doesn't seem as good of a politician as our cultists allies who brought him here made him out to be, and besides, nobody knew him before March."

She gave Thriller a happy glance. "I think someone like you would have been a much better candidate. More natural, and more well-known. You have weight here."

While her guest sat at the counter, Katya sat at the edge of her bed. "So Bran thought that I was being just like my sister, or acting bigoted, because I didn't support this politician. You know how it is, right? Here in these Western countries, if you don't totally support the runner for the party that supports minorities and civil rights, then you're a racist or a bigot, that entire mentality. I hate it. I also didn't want to feel like I was being forced to support one side, because that isn't what Democracy is about. Of course, now I don't even think I can vote. Of course, that doesn't make me too mad; me and my sister don't exactly believe in Democracy anyways, but still, a lot of our neighbors feel otherwise."

She chuckled. "So, is that what you wanted to know? I mean, I haven't exactly gotten to what you want yet. That wasn't the reason I snapped at Bran, but it sure built up to it."

Thriller briefly pondered on the thought of being a candidate for it, but shook it off after remembering why he stays here. "As nice of a comment that is, I cannot run for any political power here, it wouldn't look too goo for me since I already have an empire. I mean, as good of a leader as I am, I probably wouldn't make it far since I associate with metas, anthros, cyborgs, and aliens.. Oh, can't forget about animals too." Thriller pushed himself off from the counter and walked over to Katya, continuing his nonchalant opinion. "Besides, I may also be in the same boat as you with that Septimus guy. Seriously, I never heard of him until now, and by judging of what I heard last night when he was answering questions, well... Lets say he didn't seem too strong to me, however, I will note that he seems to have the backing of all who live here. The "abhumans" as they are dubbed. Tch, one sided grouping if you ask me."

Thriller sat on the bed next to Katya, giving a respectable amount of space between them. "Katya, democracy.... Is a complicated thing. Trust me. That if at any point, is the worse form of it. Now what i would do if someone called me racist or a bigot for that, I would return back to that old mentality of when I was in the army and give'em the "i don't give a fuck" look and walk away. Fuck it, there ain't any use talking to a closed minded person, it's just as useful as teaching a blind man to walk without him having his hands in front of him or any other tool to help." Thriller looked at her while adjusting the strap on his eye patch that was starting to pinch him on the side of his head. Stubborn band was useless and was a bit worn from years of service. "I think I got a good understanding between what happened last night, just wanted a bit of background on it really."

[Charlia]

"It looked like it was interesting, seeing all these people come back from it.", Jasmine said. "Well, to be honest, I ain't got much else to discuss here. Why are you down, though? You look down."

"...I... well, I had a secret, and now everyone knows because I asked a stupid question and probably made things harder for everyone, and now everyone has to put up with me being a burden, and I can see people staring at me like they want to ask me stuff but are too scared, and it's just..." She sighed. "It's just hard right now."

[Torsiedelle]

"Thank you, Sir."

Katya smiled. "I mean, I don't want to paint Bran as a bad guy. I just feel like I'm not very important right now, and I can't help but feel like every time I say something, I mess up, and that's starting to make our abhuman neighbors not like us. I don't know what I'm saying right now, really. I just think this entire fiasco is bringing us all to odds. Minerva and I snapping at each other, them supporting Septimus, I'm not, and I don't want people to think I'm against them. I mean, why would I be against my friends, who I spent three years with already, but god forbid I be skeptical of the shady guy who our shady "allies" support."

"Anyways, I'm glad you're satisfied. Will you be staying longer, or do you have business to attend to?"

........

"Ah, I see."

Jasmine snickered again. "No such thing as stupid questions, and I ain't scared to ask. "What is it? You're actually an alien? Part dinosaur? I've seen weirder here."

[Giovenith]

"That would be an acceptable way of putting it if there wasn't already a repeated history," the fellow teen replied with some chill, leading the way downstairs. "One is allowed so many bad swings before they are seen as independable, especially when the whole season is at stake. A good athlete should not scoff at the words of their benefactors, it is foolish to dismiss the warnings of those who stand to lose the most from the game. I would know, wouldn't I?"

In a way, Giovenith was both grateful and worried about the coded golf talk. On one hand, the avoidance of direct reference felt like a safe way to dance around outright fire, but she also feared the slip up of something too literal. They would likely have to tuck into an apartment soon anyway.

[Torsiedelle]

"That would be an acceptable way of putting it if there wasn't already a repeated history," the fellow teen replied with some chill, leading the way downstairs. "One is allowed so many bad swings before they are seen as independable, especially when the whole season is at stake. A good athlete should not scoff at the words of their benefactors, it is foolish to dismiss the warnings of those who stand to lose the most from the game. I would know, wouldn't I?"

In a way, Giovenith was both grateful and worried about the coded golf talk. On one hand, the avoidance of direct reference felt like a safe way to dance around outright fire, but she also feared the slip up of something too literal. They would likely have to tuck into an apartment soon anyway.

Well, yes, but my sister doesn't really have a repeated history of that, does she?", Torii said. "I mean, yeah, I have quite the history, and I'm not going to lie about that, but my sister? She was pregnant, and then withdrew from everything for a year. She didn't have the time to mess up like I did, and now she's still getting used to everything since she's gotten more active. Have some faith in her. I mean, she's more trustworthy than I am, so who knows? Maybe she can come to be a great golfer."

[The BranRiech]

Golf?

Drova shook his head, hearing some familiar voices down the hall from him. While he wasn't specifically looking for someone, the opportunity to greet some friends was too great to pass up considering it had been a few days since he'd seen them. The Prince swiftly changed directions, feathers rustling somewhat with the sudden motion, and he began to head down the hall, towards the voices.

It wasn't very long until he had found the source. Gio and Torii were walking together in the halls, discussing Golf for whatever reason. He had no inkling of thought that it was anything but sports-related, so he had no reason to think otherwise.

As he fumbled with something to say, his eyes drifted somewhat to Torii, but he shook his head as he looked back up at them.

"What . . . What is golf?" He asked, chuckling as he ended his greeting.

[Charlia]

"Ah, I see."

Jasmine snickered again. "No such thing as stupid questions, and I ain't scared to ask. "What is it? You're actually an alien? Part dinosaur? I've seen weirder here."

"I..." She tilted her head, embarrassed. "I'm... well, I'm dead. Murdered, actually, and the killer hasn't been brought to justice, which is probably why I'm still here... if you had seen my body, you'd understand."

[Giovenith]

"None of that is relevant at all to what lead up to people getting upset, you really don't understand why," Giovenith said with some exasperation. "And frankly, these days I often think you flat out don't want to. It has severely tired many of us, including me." She was out of sports metaphors, and began to consider finding an excuse to withdraw to privacy if this was to continue. She wanted to keep Willow's advice, but felt that would be difficult if Torii was already so far off the mark in her impressions of what had angered the sisters' neighbors.

Enter Drova, poor Drova who neither knew golf nor the real meaning behind the talk. "Hello, Drova." How would they handle this?

[Torsiedelle]

"Yeah, maybe I don't understand because of all this damn golf talk.", Torii rolled her eyes. "And I think you don't expect much of me. I understand why those words upset you guys too well. Believe me, it won't happen again, from Katya. God, maybe the reason she's been freaking out the last few weeks is because she's expected to be like me."

Torii was getting tired of Gio's shit. God, they act like her sister is the only person to say something offensive. They needed to chill the hell out. "Seriously, I get it, division this, civil rights and the whole "us versus them" bullshit. Maybe I try not to think about it because it's all really frustrating me, and I feel like I'm going to be getting yelled at no matter what stance I take.", She said. "Seriously, I just want everything to go back to normal, but even if I try to be nice, I guarantee that someone will find a way to spin that for their own genocidal antics. Enough with the goddamn witch hunts, we're not the enemy."

"Thank god, Drova's here.", She mumbled. What a better person to show up so that they could ignore the laughably childish politics of Bielefield. "Hey, Drova. Golf's a game, a really boring one, too.", She said. "We were just rambling to each other, right, Gio? Anyways, why don't we change the subject? I'm not even a big sports fan. By the way!", she held up her plate, "My sister made potatoes for you guys!"

...........

"Oh, well, um, that sounds bad.", Jasmine nodded. "Sorry for your, um, loss. Does it bother you, being undead?"

[The BranRiech]

To Drova at least, the conversation couldn't have gotten more confusing right as Torii decided to drop the pretense of secrecy. Who was getting mad at who here? He shook his head, looking at both of his friends. Torii had gone and started ranting even before he could reply to Gio's greeting. While he looked a little shocked, he kept his composure well, smoothing out his elegant shirt that hung loosely from his slender form.

"I suppose, not my kind of game if it's boring, but I think I can guess the conversation wasn't really about golf? If it's not my place to ask, then I won't." He nodded, the words directed to both Gio and Torii. "But I was just looking to say hello. I'd like to find some things to do today if that's alright, and food as well?"

He smiled.

"I'd love some breakfast."