Personification Life: EPIC (IC Thread XI) [CLOSED]

[CAT XIII]

Otonako smiles, "I'm into rock music mostly but I like more or less all music. I especially love guitars, that's my baby over there," she pauses to point at her guitar, "None of your crazy hardcore stuff though, I prefer it when you get the tune rather than the guitar screaming, if you know what I mean by that."

She decides to tell him about the band she belongs to, "I am, or was, actually in a band. We're called "Thirteenth Girl Dead", you probably haven't heard of us but we're pretty famous locally, where we come from."

As Torii pets Nick, Otonako thinks "You know what? I think I'm going to like it here."

[Torsiedelle]

"A band girl, huh?", Torii said. "I never was in a band, but me and Marcus - he's really cool - both play our guitars. I like all kinds of Rock and American Country, though I play soft stuff on my acoustic. I like metal and hard rock, though."

Torii couldn't pinpoint it, but the new girl reminded her of someone. She shrugged it off. "So you're only a year younger than I am. That's cool. All of us younger people have a little club. We just like to hang out together and have fun. Marcus, like I said, is really cool. He#s like a brother to me, and the. There are Drove and Yuna, who you'll meet soon enough. They're not human, just saying, but I love'em both."

She couldn't hide a blush. She and Drova were still married, and they had a lot to work out. She missed him. It was then that she went even redder, remembering someone else.

"Oh, then there's Gio. She's a really gifted artist, and really mature. She's kept me out of a lot of trouble.", Torii admitted. "And Myra is the other girl, who was with the adults earlier. She reminds me of myself. Kale is a plant girl...like, she can manipulate plants and stuff. Oh, my sister is only two years older than I am, but she doesn't hang out with us. She's really nice, though. She's just awkward. Anyways, I think you should get along well enough here. If they can all tolerate me, then they'll love you."

[New Aksarben]

Torii listened with interest to Sakarias. Her heart skipped a beat when he mentioned the Soviet Union. "So the USSR never collapsed where you were from?", She asked, a look of sincere regret on her face. "That sounds amazing to me...no offense to you, but it's just me. I'm a Communist. My Mom and Dad grew up when the Soviet Union was still around. For my world, it collapsed and just became Russia and the near beyond, and that was in 1991. I was born in 1996. I never got to see the real Soviet Union."

She sighed. "But I have been lucky enough to visit across the border to Russia once. I love it. Sorry if I sound like some crazy nationalist, but I'm really passionate about my heritage.", She blushed.

Oh, was that Nick? Torii beamed. She squatted down to nuzzle the kitty with her nose and giggled. "I haven't seen you in a while! Yeah, you two, this is Nick. He's awesome."

The old synth nodded, though his expression was relatively dark and somber. The synth gave out a slight mechanical sounding sigh as he sat down on a chair near to where the group had congregated. "Well, it didn't collapse, for sure. It went out with a bang, like the rest of the world. Hard to collapse slowly when you and china duke it out nuclear style. Then the rest of the world joined in and everything fell apart. Pretty sure I died during that, but I have no memory of that time." He shrugged, setting his violin case across his knees and idly tapping it.

"Oh, and in terms of instruments, I play the violin. Have most of my life, though I'm incredibly out of practice as of late. Hard to practice when you're on the run or fighting for your life you know?" He smirked a bit before frowning once more, looking back to the lease he'd been given. That talking cat though... So strange. Was that normal here? He'd seen giant versions of mutated animals, but none of them could talk to his knowledge.

[Chedastan]

Romulus noted what Volker had said to them, and figured they should probably start to get a move on. He quickly looked over the two other members that'll be joining their team, Maghrl and Sozewe; he already knew what the Jedi could do from what he seen of him during the Varg Quest, but he could only suspect that the Sith would probably be just as similar, the more the merrier then! "Alright then, so since all four of us are here and accounted for, let us start heading up to the roof, it would be best that if we weren't too late in getting there." He said to the three as he then started towards the elevator to bring them upwards.

Once the elevator opened, he got in and held the doors and gestured for the rest of his team to follow suit and come in, where once they did so they would finally get started on what was needed of them. Before the doors closed themselves, he merely glanced at the residents convening with the two newer ones. He knew he'll likely get to know them more sometime later, he would inevitably have to of course, as he needed to know what they were capable of in a fight.

[New Aksarben]

Maghrl nodded, and trotted into the elevator following the General Romulus. "Yessirree sir, you bet." He replied, grinning up at the larger than average human as his purple furred form slipped past him in the elevator. He was pretty used to working under him, and due to their interactions at recruiting Varg he probably had a good enough handle on Maghrl's normal lingo by now, so his newer speech should be even easier! The little jedi thumbed at his lightsaber only a bit nervously, shunting the emotion away to replace it with the logic that they'd be ultimately fine. A Sith, Jedi, Romulus and this reptilian woman would be good enough for a simple task like fetching some fuel.

These newcomers looked interesting too. And was that a talking cat? Reminded him of the late Master Ikrit, actually, though more like a feline and less like what humans called a rabbit.

[Fvaarniimar]

I'm awesome! Nick nuzzled back, purring loudly - although the purr paused when Marcus and stopped when Drova was mentioned.  That hadn't been a pleasant day, and his powers revealed that; the happy, satisfied feeling was suddenly replaced by hurt, fear, and...was that a bit of anger?  That, however, was brief, as Nick continued to enjoy snuggling and listening to the conversation.

Instruments were cool. "I wonder if I could learn to play one..." he mused.  Maybe he could borrow someone's pots or pans? Torii would see his mental image of playing them, assuming enough nerve endings were in contact, and then one of - "What's being in a band like, Otakano - er - Okatano?" <I really hope I didn't mispronounce it...mispronounce twice? One was wrong, I guess.>

[CAT XIII]

She laughs a little at the mispronunciation, "My name is Otonako, don't worry though, I'm used to hearing it pronounced wrongly, it's even more difficult for people to spell."

"Being in a band is cool, at least from my experience. We joined together with a love of music and our strange names. One of us is half Mexican and half Japanese, one of us is American with a weird name and one of us is actually Japanese, then there's Kinaka and I who just happen to have Japanese names. My parents gave me a Japanese name as I explained earlier and then there's Kinaka who is one of these people who comes from a place but has relations worldwide- so she was named after her aunt's cousin's Japanese daughter or something like that.

Anyway there's me, Otonako Irizari, I play lead guitar and sing backup, then there's Rya Loro who plays bass, Reina Osashi who is the lead singer, Kinaka Tora who plays the drums and Saya Maroko on keyboard (although she usually prefers to play piano).

We have a band uniform which you can usually find us wearing, so pretty much what I'm wearing now except the others have a different colour of skirt. Mine is red, Rya's is blue, Reina's is yellow, Kinaka's is pink and Saya's is purple.

Some of our songs include "Don't Let Me Go", "Mice May Bite but Homework Can Kill" and "Everyone Thinks We're Weird". Our first and only album so far, which we actually released, is called "We Made A Band, This is the Album".

Basically we're a bunch of sarcastic weirdos who make music together," she smiles as she finishes speaking.

[Torsiedelle]

"Sounds fun."

Torii tried shrugging off Nick's emotions. She was trying to forget the trouble she had caused. She chuckled, noting Nick's happy attitude, and continued to play with one of his eras as she looked back at Otonako again. "Band uniforms are neat. I wish I could have been in a band.", She said. "But I never had the chance, or the people. I probably would've bombed anyway, because I get emotional and all that, and bands are stressful, and I'd yell, then get frustrated at my failure and then have to take my medication, but I ran out last month, so too bad for me."

She paused and took a moment to gather her thoughts, then chuckled and snorted again, back to her regular old self. She spoke up again, "but nevermind me. I like to play with a close friend over a band anyways. That's why I have Marcus. Like I said, he's amazing."

......

"Agreed.", Sozewe nodded. "Time is money, so to speak. If it means helping outhere, then I see no reason not to take up the job."

He crossed his arms and waited quietly in the back of the group. He wanted to examine Romulus and the strange reptilian woman more closely. They were his new teammates, after all.

[CAT XIII]

Otonako's hair goes a shade darker as Torii speaks,

"That's understandable. It can be very stressful being in a band, fortunately all of us get on very well so when one of us is having a difficult time we open up about it. I think that's what keeps us together."

"The good thing about playing a guitar in a punk rock band is that you can sort of take all that energy out on the music- at least, that's what I tend to do. It's nice that you have a close friend that you enjoy making music with, it's fun when you can just play music without an audience there to judge you and just rock out a little," she sighs remembering the times when they'd mess about after they finished practising.

"Sorry, I rambled on a bit there. Hopefully you got the message of what I was trying to say."

[Fvaarniimar]

"Being in a band sounds cool." Idly, the cat observed, <She still isn't using the past tense.>  Blink. She isn't using <it. Could that mean something?> He lifted a foot to scratch, careful of Torii's hand.

Nick really wasn't sure what that meant. It seemed a little mean to comment...it didn't even occur to him that gossiping might not be nice either.

[CAT XIII]

Otonako shrugged a little, still smiling though.

She went back to her own thoughts for a moment. When she'd left, she still hadn't found Rya or Saya. She'd left Aquario, Kinaka and Reina to find the others on their own and the truth was that the whole situation was mainly her fault.

"Um," she started, "Is there any way I could contact my friends?"

[Mincaldenteans]

One neither described princesses, nor for that matter diplomats, as slinking.  Perhaps a princess glided elegantly; a diplomat might march.  Or stride.

Cats slunk.*  Spies slunk.

And, although it was entirely unbecoming of her station and she wasn't on any sort of intelligence mission, Naaliiaszz Rmwtyliin Saagve Annvyeelee Fvvarniimalasaakuuliia slunk, keeping to shadows and in general avoiding most people she hadn't gotten to know by the time of Demens' appearance.  Such had been the case for some weeks, save in the hydroponics area, the hospital, 9C and 9A.

That had by this time become the hospital and her apartment.  The hydroponics people had been friendly but the technology confusing, and with her guardian - well, there had been tension.  If Rmwtyliin had been being honest with herself, she would have had to admit to a rather large role in exacerbating it.

Glancing nervously at the elevator, she checked to make sure that lunch (courtesy of Kwa'a the Infuriating) was packed.  The doors opened; bracing herself, she stepped through and fluidly pressed the 5.  Surprisingly enough, she didn't while away the time by styling hair, having learned of the need for sterilization.  While it would be permissible prior to her shift, after several re-washings of her hands she'd resolved to train herself to avoid doing so while on duty.

Instead she practiced English.  "Ah-ee ah-mm thrteen ihrs oldd."  "I ggo ttu hohspeetl."  "Ah-ee ahm, ih-oo arr, shzhee eez, wee -" Ding! Nodding to Duncan, she stepped off.  "Gooddah-ee, Ahnnahis!"

If her superior wasn't feeling chatty, working in silence would be fine.

Pristine, quiet, orderly. That was the hospital most of the time and its silence was a welcome as she entered it, leaving her small list of items at the front desk for Alexia to pick up later. There was barely a scent of incense that caught Anais' nose from afar, it's aromatic distinctiveness had lingered from the previous night when she was here to go over the carefully constructed sigils in her part of the hospital. The design had taken weeks, with more than days over a chalkboard in Sandy's laboratory as she reworked a rituals that incorporated a few from his books and teachings. Their approach to magic was almost night and day, but there were very few similarities between that yielded a more efficient way for Anais to summon spirits without overtaxing her. She was grateful for that, as tending to large groups weighed a heavier cost. Alchemy, on the other hand as she found out, was not really her taste. The ritualist appreciated the dedication and preparation it took to make the potions Sandy used, it simply didn't catch on to her. It caught on to Alexia, who felt it more versatile for her. The monk had spent her spare time helping concoct the healing balm while Anais concentrated on the delicate and esoteric works of ritual craft.

In the end, and after a few sleepless nights toiling away at spells and equations, it produced a carefully designed area in her section of the hospital. A room large enough for ten people in a circle, each equally spaced apart and dotted with specific incense from the guild's left over stores along with common herbal incense bought from the village. Other ornate decor were made of shells, chitin, pieces of bone, tied or adorned with leather and white paint that denoted the sigils specific to her communing and restorative magic. Uncommon, although added due in part to studying with Sandy, were some local crystals (of which Cherry had to trade away her two remaining bottles of rare wine), that helped Anais focus her spirit summoning. They were positioned in the inner circle, where she would normally stand, along with a few personal touches that helped bridge and cement her call to the ether.

Anais must have gone over the design a dozen times since she finished it. Each time, it was to impart or trace the lines upon the inner sanctum and the sigils that marked the area. The room was heavy in power and only a sensitive could feel the heady energy that permeated in the room. She was proud of the work, having never settled down in her years of traveling to take the time and create a place that would work for her. She broke a soft smile, highly anticipatory of the good she could do with such healing room.

A voice cut in and Anais turned to bow her head in greeting. She still had trouble pronouncing the young lady's names, and it seemed vise versa, though the Ritualist was not going to correct Rmwtyliin for the attempt. She was trying, that's what mattered. "Rmw-tyli-in," she greeted by first name, albeit a bit clumsily, "Good morning. What brings you here today?"

[Fvaarniimar]

"My shift. I believe it is this morning." Only a twitch of Rmwtyliin's hand betrayed her nervousness. the healer was merely uninformed, or thrown off by her early arrival. I [i]think I arrived early...[/i] Over an hour early, in fact. All I did was ask about the papers on her shelf! She certainly hides something, and... Rmwtyliin suddenly scowled. Did she really have to yell? Why did she trust Giovenith, another stranger, with whatever the great big secret was?

Why not me?! She basically said - Uh-oh. Unclench hands. Avoid looking at them or Anais. Duncan finished - too long a pause - perhaps - she has pride in - "I could spend some time admiring the effort that went into your section. I guess we might have that time! I see no patients... I have no wish to interrupt your work, but if you could teach me something..." Deep breath. "I would like to help you or learn from you? I can however go review medicines."

Skipping her shift was unthinkable. Demens had made it clear that everyone needed to help. At least this way Rmwtyliin could feel that she was trying.

[Swith Witherward]

ROOF
The tubs were floating right where the last group had left them. Noise from inside the hangar indicated that people were about, and a plume of strangely-scented smoke drifting from the doors told Nila that at least one Somebody was a cultist. The tiny construct trailed behind Romy, her feet making a soft scuffling sound as she tread across the asphalt patches.

"The tubs are safe," she advised both newcomer Force-users, unsure if either had used them before. "And they have autopilot."

She wasted little time in selecting her favorite tub (she had applied non-skid "flower" "decals to the bottom of it for sake of her sharp nails) and then nodded at the others before opening her shower curtain sail. "To the Gatehouse!"

But tubs don't listen to Residents. Hers bobbed in place, and she had no choice but to await the others.


Minerva flicked away a bit of ash as she exhaled another plume. "At least we're almost at that point," she sighed in relief at Insidious' news, "And as long you all aren't overworked getting there. I'm glad to see people have pulled together to contribute."

That was putting it mildly. The cultist leader was over the moon about it. Such a departure from the early years when they were all trying to kill each other in the halls, or trying to trump each other when it came to who could do the most damage.

"I think we can call this job done," she nodded at the neatly stacked weapons. "Coffee? You can tell me what you need to store the ReAnima properly. I'm sure there's a solution to be had somewhere."


RACHE AND WILLOW
Rache wasn't too comfortable with the prospect of Cloud Duster using his limited funds. For one, it meant they would be in his debt. For another, it meant they had to keep dragging him along.

"Aw, let him have his joy," he winked at Willow and Pansy. "If he wants to take it upon himself, that's fine. It's for the greater good, of course."

The daemon-pony flapped to catch up with Cloud Duster. "You mentioned a familiarity with where we're going. It's been a long time since I've been anywhere near Groundtown. I'm sure much has changed. What can you tell me about it?"

[Primordial Luxa]

Insidious

The Luxan nodded and the two of them made their way to the kitchen to get coffee. Insidious took hers black but she slipped a pair of red pills into it which sparked as the melted. Her skin took on a dark brown texture as she drank the substance so that she almost looked like her beverage.

“Storing ReAnima is all able manipulating the rate of entropy based tangents. It’s not really difficult it just requires a lot of raw materials. We need to create a sort of...quantum fridge that runs on some very rare materials. We can make those materials fine with our alchemical configuration but we need raw materials to change into those more exotic substances.”

“You might have noticed Primordial going out the woods several times a week to collect wood? Well we turn all the wood into the strange materials we need to power our tech. It's a fine substitute for the time being but ideally we would like to recycle the apartments waste and be a bit more efficient. Although I expect some people might take issue with us using their trash as matter fuel, privacy and what not.”

“So I’m not exactly sure what sort of ideas you have but i’d love to hear them. Right now we can store about thirty doses of ReAnima for a month before they go back. If we could use the apartments trash we could increase that to about fifty doses and keep them fresh for half a year.”

[Chedastan]

As the construct got into her tub, likewise the General got into his too, apparent one that was more likely to support his size. Romulus already had everything that he would likely need on his person that was from the building (expect for some tea or coffee!), though knowing somewhat of the procedure in place at the Gatehouse and of the possible nature of their mission, he would likely need some more equipment for their job. He then looked at the hydrogen gauge in his suit, and saw that he had just enough to possibly last for a prolonged day mission with active combat, so basically he was on fumes. So if their mission were any longer and they haven't acquire any hydrogen by then, he'll be dragging around his suit the whole time which wouldn't be fun in the slightest. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

[New Aksarben]

Maghrl hopped into one of the tubs as well, though he was curious what it even was. He'd never seen something that, upon a quick rub of his cheek against the interior surface, seemed to be made of porcelain or something similar. Also seemed to have some sort of curtain on it, though neither seemed to be doing their original purpose. What a strange device, the Jedi thought. Maybe it was something related to cleanliness. It did look like a bath after all, just less.... advanced? Very strange.

"Maghrl ready, you bet!" He called to the others, mimicking what Nila had done with the curtain thing. Maghrl wondered how this thing would have any sort of locomotion either. It didn't seem to have any sort of repulsorlift or engine on it after all! But Maghrl had been learning to just trust the people who said things worked, especially because of this 'magic' stuff.

------

Sakarias smiled softly as he saw the younger ones conversing so excitedly about music, and contented himself to simply resting on the chair, more comfortable than he'd been in a damn long time. No such thing as a cushion in the apocalypse after all. Sitting quietly without having to do anything itself was a pleasure the synth had forgotten. He hummed to himself softly to not distract the two girls from their conversation. Oh and the cat too. That was still freaking him out a bit though, why could that cat speak? Sakarias supposed that would be a mystery for another time.

While he wasn't busy, the synth set to work again at reading through the lease he'd been given by the gentleman at the desk, tapping the violin case it was resting on idly and softly. It all seemed logical, though some of it used terminology he just wasn't familiar with anymore. But once he had reached the end of the document he nodded and signed it as requested. He stood up carefully, his mechanical joints creaking a bit with age and wear as he went back over to the lobby desk and handed the man working there the lease again.

"Just one question, do we have to pay for these accommodations, or is this Mr. Demens expecting payment through service. Like those who retrieved me seemed to be residents, I'm assuming." He asked, scratching his chin idly as he handed the pen he'd borrowed back as well, no use holding onto that after all.

[Tiltjuice]

Montilt Productions strikes again

Chrys and Brit

"You don't have to keep talking like that," Platinum directed at Chrys as she and her magician walked through the door. "It's demeaning and Clover already told me everything."

Little time was wasted. Clover's magic gently pulled the two from the bed and propped the cinnamon toast between their teeth before beginning to rummage through a box she had brought with them. They soon found themselves being equipped with tight-fitting yet comfortable books, vests, and straps.

"The four of us are going downward to put an end to whatever is going on down there," Platinum said as she geared herself up. A bit of her own magic tied the two womens' hair up in an elegant but practical fashion, and set goggles atop their heads. The glass within them was specially designed to see in the dark. "And the goal is to be back before sundown. Before we go though, Brit, you were there. I need you to tell me everything you remember.

How dare you? a voice that vaguely resembled hers chimed; but the peals were hollow and tinkling, reminiscent of sounds a carillon cast from Field’s metal might have produced. Cold sweat sheeted down her back and legs. For all that she was so relatively unaffected by the past, two millennia of her lifestyle had left her as akin to a Bloodletter as it was possible for a human to get. The brush of Clover and Platinum’s magic blunted the edge of the turbulent bloodlust, somehow, and her muscles tensed in protest.

Brit looked forward. Her eyes focused on nothing, seeming to pierce clear through the space in front of her to see what others couldn’t. As if the answer was beyond and only she could find it. The memories of the past day were still somewhat fresh in her mind, but she’d rather forget them. When a few minutes had passed, she refocused and looked between Clover and Platinum, before lowering her head to give the same stare down through the floor.

“It was a setup. Arrow attacked me when I went to go see the Princess. Not wanting to be outdone, I fought back. We ended up down there, in the dark caverns. Chills ran up and down my spine. There was evil in that place. Anyone could feel it. It was suffocating. I didn’t notice it too much because I was more preoccupied with Arrow’s selfishness and narcissism. But when she ran ahead I tried to catch up. That was when I fell under the effect of that rotten magic. I was back home, and everything seemed right, but it was a living nightmare. It toyed with my mind and emotions, and threatened to drag me into the very depths from which it had come.”

She took a breath as she shuddered.

“I hate to admit that if it weren’t for Arrow, I probably would’ve been stuck there and left at the mercy of whatever that was.”

You are here for others now, a fainter, tart voice interjected. Her eyes darkened slightly as Brit recounted her story. Her own powers manifested themselves now, heating up the air around Brit.

Mirare rattled in its sheath.

[Tiltjuice]

Insidious

The Luxan nodded and the two of them made their way to the kitchen to get coffee. Insidious took hers black but she slipped a pair of red pills into it which sparked as the melted. Her skin took on a dark brown texture as she drank the substance so that she almost looked like her beverage.

“Storing ReAnima is all able manipulating the rate of entropy based tangents. It’s not really difficult it just requires a lot of raw materials. We need to create a sort of...quantum fridge that runs on some very rare materials. We can make those materials fine with our alchemical configuration but we need raw materials to change into those more exotic substances.”

“You might have noticed Primordial going out the woods several times a week to collect wood? Well we turn all the wood into the strange materials we need to power our tech. It's a fine substitute for the time being but ideally we would like to recycle the apartments waste and be a bit more efficient. Although I expect some people might take issue with us using their trash as matter fuel, privacy and what not.”

“So I’m not exactly sure what sort of ideas you have but i’d love to hear them. Right now we can store about thirty doses of ReAnima for a month before they go back. If we could use the apartments trash we could increase that to about fifty doses and keep them fresh for half a year.”

The communal kitchen was largely empty, its only occupants being Luce and a surprisingly well-kept old copy of the Underworld Times. The broadsheet lay across the table, with a paper cup of oolong tea on the other side of the table. Vague scribbles in neat capital letters dotted the pale gray page.

The two women entering the room passed without notice initially, as he flicked the point of his pencil back and forth between the crossword clues and neat boxes. That changed as he drained the last of his tea and stood to get a refill.

"Hello, Captain. Hello, Insidious. What brings you here?"

[Fvaarniimar]

About to say, "No, we're ridiculously far away," the cat reconsidered. Travel for recruiting happened instantaneously. Maybe running a phone line through the nearest gate wouldn't be allowed, but...who said they couldn't do anything at all? It was possible, after all, to communicate with the Building while on missions.

Besides, he was getting sick of people's homesickness.

"Maybe. I don't know if it will work - or be allowed - or if you can help - but the Tech Priests, who live downstairs, got our phones working and..." Just how did one explain comms for interdimensional retrieval missions? "Worked out comms for our interdimensional retrieval missions."

As for the questions Sakarias was asking himself, he'd just gotten a pretty large clue; the position of Nick's head had been such that the synth had been able to see that the cat's mouth had been closed almost the entire time he was speaking. It remained shut as he continued. "You could ask about being part of that."

[CAT XIII]

"Oh. Don't worry, I was just wondering." Otonako looked a little beaten.
She sat there staring into space, seemingly in another world. Her friends would be ok without her, she'd just have to get used to this world now, maybe she would go back to them someday. At least nobody here knew about her past...well not yet anyway. Her hair went a crazy shade of blue then to a violent red and back again until her hair looked like a light show.
She felt the immense pain of what she'd done all over again. "That was then and this is now," she thought, "I won't do anything like that again. This is my shot at a new life, right here right now. There's nobody like Saya or her brother here. They're all really nice people, from what I've seen so far anyway."
She snapped out of it and went over to pet Nick,
"So, um, what are we doing next?"

[Mincaldenteans]

Deck 5, Medical Bay... I mean, Hospital

Teaching the young woman the basics of magic would be difficult, well, this design anyway. While she knew every nuance, every key point and how the energy flowed from one end of the line to close, the ritualist would be at lost on how to verbalize it without confusing the poor girl. There was, however, a few things that Rmwtyliin could assist without any magical aptitude, "This piece of magic is a bit more complex than I could explain in short time," Anais confessed, "Much of what you see took weeks to figure out on a chalkboard before I laid down the first line. I... couldn't possibly explain how it was done, or what was done to make it work, not without confusing you. But," she gave a small hopeful smile so as not to deter Rmwtyliin from curiosity, "There are things you can help with should this place ever have an urgent need. Let me show you."

Anais moved around the young girl, the chitin and shell fragments that lined her outfit rang in a dull tune as she moved around to see the first point in the design. Her feet stopped at a beaten bowl of dried herbs and fruit; she knelt down to feel the energy coursing in and out of it. She looked up, "The designs here require that a circle be closed at all times: it helps me focus and heal others more efficiently. However, should there be an influx of people, the circle must be able to accommodate for the transient nature of patients being attended to. If I'm unable to do it myself, I may ask others, and if you're here - I may ask you - to remove certain links within the design to help patients in without disrupting the circle."

She took the bowl in both hands, waited for a second, and slowly removed it, feeling the power of the circle wane for just a moment before readjusting itself to compensate for the missing link. "Move this bowl first when you bring patients in. Place it outside the line, like so," Anais instructed and laid the bowl of herbs and fruit down to her left. She pointed to two other 'nodes' within the design: another bowl filled with fragments of bones and shells and a leather made talisman lined with beads, colored string, and tiny Canthan script in white. "Then remove those two, the bowl and the talisman after, in the same fashion. After you bring others into the circle, place these items back in the order you removed them."

Anais couldn't elaborate what it meant to her to have it placed back in order. And how could she? It was a broad term that made sense to her, but often had different meanings to others and she learned long ago not to assume mutual understanding on the matter. However, the ritualist could feel the lines of power snap back and magnify as she slid the displaced bowl back on the line and moved her hands away. It almost sang, like a fleeting echo of a melody as it readjusted to the familiar bowl of herbs and fruit. She studied the line, the node, and the felt the power of her magic work its way back to normalcy.

Standing back up, Anais dusted her bone and chitin skirt, "You won't always be called upon to handle this, but doesn't hurt to be aware of it. On to practical matters, how has your medical training fared so far? I know Sandy was teaching a few basic lessons."

[Giovenith]

Brit and Chrys

Chrys’ trembling anger was cut through by the appearance of a small bag filled with what might have been a familiar scent.

“Your name,” Lily Lightly ventured, her magic being the one to offer the bag. “It is short for ‘Chrysanthemum,’ isn’t it? I had some chrysanthemum in my press books…” The purple unicorn blushed and smiled sheepishly. “They’re precious now because of the winter, but I figured you all need them more than I do.”

Clover paused from adjusting her own darkness goggles and smiled at the offer. “Lily’s talent is utilizing flowers and other things that smell wonderful. She’s the best.”

Lily’s blush deepened at the compliment. “I obviously can’t grow the flowers myself, but I always did my best to either find the few that eke out in our mountains, or just get good deals from the Earth pony folk. Caer Gloriana is a brighter place with them, and I hope that your adventure down there will become brighter too with their scents.” Lily’s magic laced a yellow ribbon around the small bag and pulled it tight, creating a small bag necklace to offer to Chrys. “I cast a small nostalgia charm on it as well. The scents will remind you always of better times, and of those who love you.” The maid turned to nod at Brit. “If all the terrible things you say about down there are true, then I reckon that happiness will be your greatest weapon of all down there.”

Three more bags flew over to the rest of the members of the party, each with their own personalized scent to them. Lily had chosen pine and other forest smells for Brit, but like Chrys’ charm, the natural essence mixed together with a distinct smell of distant home, filled with open arms, accepting smiles, and a promise of something that was so rarely guaranteed: hope. Around each ribbon was also a small golden ring, which Clover inquired on.

“Almost forgot,” Lily perked, pointing the trinkets out. “Don’t want none of you getting lost either, so I tied an ethereal thread around each of those rings on your bags that leads right back here to this very room.”

“An ethereal thread?” Clover tilted her head.

“Ethereal thread,” Lily chimed with a bright smile, lifting her hoof up in the air to cup something. A small glimmer of light ran across an invisible line she was holding. “It’s so fine you can only just see it! It will never break and it will never tangle, and you will always be able to see it when you want to. It is the ultimate tool to finding your way home. Just follow the thread.”

The ethereal thread twinkled and flashed this way and that whenever the mares shifted their eyes with the intent of spotting it. Magical indeed. Clover, as the most practiced magician, nodded in approval, but her smile fell when she looked around at the faces of the rest of her group. For all Lily’s talk of charms and hominess, nopony’s spirits looked too high. Brit was clearly still discomforted from whatever she had experienced below and her tussle with Arrow, Chrys seemed to be radiating a seething redness for some unknown reason, and Platinum – well, Platinum seemed caught up in another world. Her light lavender eyes never left the small flower pouch Lily had placed in her hoof but they did not seem to see it; her ears were drooping low and her face sunken. All in all the air around them seemed thick and curdled enough to cut with a knife. It unsettled the sorceress-in-training, making her wonder about the stability of their current mission. She cleared her throat, which roused the princess from her stupor.

For her part, Platinum pulled out a familiar tool: The astrolabe that had helped bring them here to begin with. She fiddled with it, and as it did, it released a shimmering smoke that showed off the stars of the night sky. “You are all familiar with how the sun and moon work, yes?” she asked. “The Earth is round, and when unicorns transition day and night, we are truly swapping the sun, moon, and stars to opposite sides of the planet. The royal astrolabe is designed to always show off the sky of where it is currently night. On the other side of this world, alien and unfathomable as it might be, the stars are reversed from how we normally see them on our side of the globe… unicorn.” The princess demonstrated by lighting up the seven stars that formed the constellation of their race, pointing out it’s slightly different position from the night sky of above. “Because of this, we can use the astrolabe to tell the time. As our side of the globe transitions to night, the positions of the stars in the astrolabe shift to the opposite position. So even though we will be deep underground, we will always know the current state of the outside world.”

It seemed a rather complicated way to tell the time, but to a race whose whole existence was centered around the workings and majesty of the Heavens, one might suppose that for the proper unicorns in the room it would be no issue.

“And I have the map and water,” Clover added in, nodding. “So with all that, we should be ready to brave what’s down there.” The youngest unicorn turned to smile at Brit and Chrys. “I can’t thank you two enough for agreeing to help us out of the goodness of your hearts. When this is through and we send you home, we will make sure to keep your names immortalized in the history books as heroes of the tribe from the great beyond! We will make a tapestry of you!”

Princess Platinum nodded along in agreement, though enthusiasm still did not strike her. “You have my word of it. But first we must complete it what we set out to do…”

With everything set in place, the small group made their way down the short hall in the princess’ room from which Arrow and Brit had first emerged. Carefully, Clover used her magic to pull away the stones and reveal the same dark tunnel from the night before. Biting her lip, Clover reached out to gently hold Brit’s hoof, figuring that the dimensional traveler would need the most support in this. “Brit, are you feeling okay enough to lead the way…?”

Rache and Willow

Cloud Duster smiled and nodded gently to the daemonpony. "I don't know how long you have been absent, but the Earth pony land has been largely the same as far as I know. Our city is in the north-west..." he held out a foreleg and slowly shifted it. "... and more to the north below, there are large open fields that are not used by, but belong to, Groundtown. Very scenic." He pulled his foreleg back. "But they keep it clear specifically to watch for us, and for the witches in the mountains across the land. When we fly overhead there are no treetops to lurk behind. When we descend from the clouds upon the ground, they see us long before we see them."

The colt lead the four of them along through a neighborhood as he explained these things to Rache, encouraging Willow and Pansy to fly ahead so he could keep an eye on everypony at once. The sky was white and the breeze nipped their noses, but it was the far preferable condition compared to the raging windgos’ wrath that could strike at any time. He also kept a steady eye on the homes they passed, taking brief but critical note of each one, searching for something.

"The ground-dwellers can come across as overkill in their self-defense," Duster continued. "It is compensation. They are no weaker a race, but they oft find themselves having to put in the extra effort to remind the rest of us. Their magic doesn’t quite have the showmanship of the unicorns and us, if you know what I mean. That is why they lynch when we step out of line, to send a firm message that spellcasting and weather brigades do not scare them, that though they provide the food, they are not our servants. They’re not perfect though. There are ways to remain undetected…”

Cloud Duster’s sentence trailed off as his attention was suddenly grabbed by something up ahead, and he left Rache behind with a leap through the air over the heads of the rest of the group to make his way to the front of a very large cloud home where an elderly mare was making her way to the front door. He struck up a conversation, though it was too far off to hear precisely what they were saying. Willow, far enough ahead to see what was happening but also too far to hear, looked over his back and shrugged at his companion. Pansy kept her eyes on the display and blinked, slowly lowering her ears in slight discomfort. The grey stallion urged her to back up with him near Rache.

“I really hope he isn’t wasting our time with this,” said Willow, visibly irritated. “Does he understand how urgent this is? We can’t stick around here forever.”

Pansy was at first inclined to ask what the huge rush was until she remembered her own conversation with Cloud Duster last night. About how her two new friends would inevitably want to find their family and get out of dodge as fast as possible. There was a small bolt of pain to her heart at this memory and at Willow’s harsh urgency. You really don’t want to stay here with me after all… she thought glumly to herself, allowing her hair to fall over her face as she looked downward. I understand though. I wouldn’t choose me either.

She shook her head.

No, don’t be selfish. There are other ponies they love at risk, and you were assigned to help them. It can’t be all about me, I’m just the new friend, not their treasured family. Stay in the game, Pansy! Make the last times worth it, like Cloud Duster said… Her yellow foreleg reached how to pat Willow’s side. “Have faith, Willow. He’s been helping us, hasn’t he?”

Willow looked at Pansy’s hoof, then at her face, and raised an eye. “Yes?”

“He helped us with the ghoulings, and at the museum, and finding that veteran who knew the way, so surely he must be helping us now…” She popped open her wings and forced a smile. “Things are already so hard, can’t we please try to be happy with each other? Just for now?”

Willow was caught off guard. His eyes flicked back and forth between Pansy and Rache, considering what both had told him in regards to their host. Rache was a supernatural emotion-eater who said Cloud Duster was a twisted little shit on the inside that they needed to ditch as soon as possible, but Pansy had also reminded him of the rather reasonable point that outside of preternatural instincts, the blue Private had honest-to-Celestia been doing genuinely helpful things for them. Rache seemed to think they could make it on their own without him, and he was a daemon, so for some reason Willow felt that lent credence to his survivalist estimations. But Pansy was a fellow pony, so it also made the artist consider whether or not her instincts in judging fellow members of their own species were perhaps a bit more on point than a daemon’s. Probably they could get along fine without their current host, but was it necessary? He was kind of odd, but was that really threatening, or was it just… odd? Willow was feeling more than a little frazzled with this question along with so many others jumping around in his hea-

“Sorry for the wait,” speak-of-the-devil’s voice suddenly chimed behind Willow.

“AH-“ Willow tried to yelp in surprise, again not having heard the other young stallion’s approach, only to be cut off by said young stallion’s hoof.

“Shhh,” Cloud Duster hushed patiently. “Screaming in the morning is rude.”

“What were you talking about with that lady over there?” Pansy asked, curiously.

“Shooting the breeze, casual inquiries,” he said, releasing Willow’s mouth. “Asking her if she needed help with anything. You two can go along ahead now, I need to finish telling Rache about the lay-out.”

“What about the money?” Willow asked with some annoyance, narrowing his eyes and wiping at his mouth.

“It’s coming,” Cloud Duster reassured with a nod. “We’ll have plenty of food for your family to enjoy in no time, Willow. Do as Rache said. Let me have my joy.”

Reluctantly, the two meeker ponies retook their spot at the far front of the casual flight, and Cloud Duster reclaimed his spot next to Rache. “What was I saying? Oh right. Most of the western woods belongs to Groundtown, but the little bit that falls directly below Cynisca is ours – they’re way off to the side, a strip really, so their tops would not hide a swarm. There’s not much stopping the farmer tribe from exploring the place, but they generally steer clear out of a desire to not run into us. Few pegasi go down there as well. Ground nature scares them. It doesn’t scare me though.” He shook his head with just the slightest sliver of pride peeking through at that statement. “So I know how to lurk there. There are also the parts where our mountains bleed into the forest, uncertain zones, but also largely unexplored by both. I know my way there as well. All those places could be of use, either if you’d like to remain more discrete in your search, or on the chance that perhaps your friends weren’t captured at all and are hiding somewhere below.”

[Swith Witherward]

GATEHOUSE
The tubs parked themselves in their customary place, and Nila hopped out and entered the Gatehouse. The soft thrills and warbles percolating from her could only mean one thing: Buttons was inside. If Buttons was there, Nila would be going on the mission. The thought pleased her to no end. After all, when they had first fired up the Gates, Rodbey had quickly volunteered to send something adorably indestructible through, and that test subject was the lizard.

The large exo snuffled a greeting to her pilot before patiently returning her attention to Myra; the girl was fitting her with a Tracer.

"Oh, hello!" the teen made a final adjustment to Button's collar, and then smiled at General, Force users and construct. "It's pretty standard. Supply run."

Myra gestured towards the lockers with a fistful of tracers crammed in her hand. "The gear you've stowed away for missions is still there. You'll have to rely on NLA as medic on this one, because they aren't going to spare a doc for a simple mission. And these are your tracers," Myra handed out the tiny devices as she continued, "I'll track them from here. You gotta have one on your person to go through the Gateway, and you need one to get back, so don't lose it. If you flat-line, or lose power, you’ll be sucked back to the Gatehouse. If you’re wounded, your tracer will alert the construct. Comms are through Buttons. You each have a card and ear piece waiting for you in your locker."

She settled into the hard chair once more to tap her fingers against thin air though, from her perspective alone, data streamed onto the multiscreen display in front of her. "Go in, find two canisters of fuel-grade hydrogen, grab a drum of oil, and get out alive. There's some seriously wild er, wildlife. Like big shit with teeth. From what I can tell, it's a tropical setting. And it's raining. Like really hard. There's an abandoned compound not too far from the Gate, due north of it. I uploaded the data already. The Gate will bring the dimension into focus, and you only have a moment to step through before Dweezel - um, that's what I named the Guardian - before he closes it."

The Guardian (herein now named Dweezel, the poor thing) seemed impassive as usual. Its hideous form continued to shift, obscuring the eye from identifying it as anything recognizable.

"Signal when you're ready to return," The teen held up a small orb. "Who wants to be in charge of the databall? It's going to relay all the important stuff... or the stuff we can determine without actually setting foot through the Gate."


LOBBY
Volker had amused himself by studying Sakarias' odd skin, but thought it best not to stare once the newcomer brought them both back to the business at hand. He offered an innocent shrug to the Synth. "I suppose we pay by doing?" Few people ever bothered to actually pay the rent. "And we finds other means of supporting ourselves when we're not doing for Demens."

Head now cocked in curiosity, the cultist chanced a rude question or six. "How much you know about why you are here? And what is it you do? And if you do not know why you are here, I might give you some insight, but no guarantees."


THE WARREN
Thaddeus had ten million things to tend to, none of them actually important. He set aside his project and waved away protests as his lighter brought life to the stub of a cigarette clenched between his lips. Opa was "Mnum tech", and he knew little about it. With Septimus on a walk-about, some of the old cyborg's fears were coming home to roost. How badly was the machine damaged? Would they have parts for repairs? He would have taken the damn thing apart to work on fabricating vital things but for the fact that Marcus had grown attached to it. It was now a He, and his feelings were to be taken into account.

Feelings. Lovely.

His first glimpse of the droid revealed nothing too far amiss. Until the face came into view. The fuck had the machine done to itself? A soft, wheezing sigh escaped his nostrils.

"Good morning, Opa," he presented himself directly in front of the machine's optical scanners. "What can I do for you today?"


THE DINING ROOM
"Good morning, Luce," Minerva cast a friendly smile in his direction before going through the motions of tea procurement. "I've missed seeing you about! Insidious and I were just discussing the hospital, and ReAnima." She glanced at the Luxan, "And waste material. The trash recycled as a fuel source."

The cultist leader eased herself into the chair across from Luce and gestured for Insidious to join them. "I suppose waste is waste. If people have issues with privacy, they can keep some of those things back and we'll continue to obliterate it, business as usual." Minerva dunked her teabag, snorting at the notion of anyone in the Building protesting their garbage going to good use. "Insidious, what sorts of things can you use? Plastics and paper, or are you thinking more organic like peels and rinds?"

[New Aksarben]

GATEHOUSE
The tubs parked themselves in their customary place, and Nila hopped out and entered the Gatehouse. The soft thrills and warbles percolating from her could only mean one thing: Buttons was inside. If Buttons was there, Nila would be going on the mission. The thought pleased her to no end. After all, when they had first fired up the Gates, Rodbey had quickly volunteered to send something adorably indestructible through, and that test subject was the lizard.

The large exo snuffled a greeting to her pilot before patiently returning her attention to Myra; the girl was fitting her with a Tracer.

"Oh, hello!" the teen made a final adjustment to Button's collar, and then smiled at General, Force users and construct. "It's pretty standard. Supply run."

Myra gestured towards the lockers with a fistful of tracers crammed in her hand. "The gear you've stowed away for missions is still there. You'll have to rely on NLA as medic on this one, because they aren't going to spare a doc for a simple mission. And these are your tracers," Myra handed out the tiny devices as she continued, "I'll track them from here. You gotta have one on your person to go through the Gateway, and you need one to get back, so don't lose it. If you flat-line, or lose power, you’ll be sucked back to the Gatehouse. If you’re wounded, your tracer will alert the construct. Comms are through Buttons. You each have a card and ear piece waiting for you in your locker."

She settled into the hard chair once more to tap her fingers against thin air though, from her perspective alone, data streamed onto the multiscreen display in front of her. "Go in, find two canisters of fuel-grade hydrogen, grab a drum of oil, and get out alive. There's some seriously wild er, wildlife. Like big shit with teeth. From what I can tell, it's a tropical setting. And it's raining. Like really hard. There's an abandoned compound not too far from the Gate, due north of it. I uploaded the data already. The Gate will bring the dimension into focus, and you only have a moment to step through before Dweezel - um, that's what I named the Guardian - before he closes it."

The Guardian (herein now named Dweezel, the poor thing) seemed impassive as usual. Its hideous form continued to shift, obscuring the eye from identifying it as anything recognizable.

"Signal when you're ready to return," The teen held up a small orb. "Who wants to be in charge of the databall? It's going to relay all the important stuff... or the stuff we can determine without actually setting foot through the Gate."

The squib grinned brightly up at the human, who even sitting was taller than the diminutive alien. "Dweezel name well, Maghrl thinkser" Maghrl complimented, nodding firmly and padding over to the locker to rifle through it for his other saber. He had thought it'd not be much of a need to have both unless on mission, so had left it up here when given the chance. One saber was deadly enough as it was. The squib extricated his secondary saber with a bit of effort, for some reason he'd also stuffed it full of random bits and bobs already.

Oh well, a Squib would be a Squib.

"Mag most def could hold onter databall thingy. Though fight twohandedish, might not best choice be convey information toos. Sosewe maybe? Or General, better lead grouping." The squib finished up his thoughts on the matter, his large ears swiveling at the smallest sounds as he glanced over at Dweezel, idly wondering what he'd feel like if he rubbed his fur up against him. Maybe he tasted like coffee, or sugar? Might also taste like toxic waste or bile, but only one way to find out, which the Squib wouldn't do be cause he was also slightly concerned it'd try to eat him for touching its shifting form.

---

[quote="Swith Witherward";p="28357916"]LOBBY
Volker had amused himself by studying Sakarias' odd skin, but thought it best not to stare once the newcomer brought them both back to the business at hand. He offered an innocent shrug to the Synth. "I suppose we pay by doing?" Few people ever bothered to actually pay the rent. "And we finds other means of supporting ourselves when we're not doing for Demens."

Head now cocked in curiosity, the cultist chanced a rude question or six. "How much you know about why you are here? And what is it you do? And if you do not know why you are here, I might give you some insight, but no guarantees." /quote]

"That'd be best. Wasn't able to grab my caps anyway, and I have no idea if you'd even take that as currency. Either way, I'm used to earning my keep by doing as well." The synth frowned a bit, scratching at his chin a bit more. The air felt strange, it wasn't dry and dusty, and for once his built in Gieger counter wasn't ticking off. He thought a bit about what he'd been told, and realized it hadn't been much at all. Something about a Mr. Demens, helping him, or whatever it was all about. Didn't get a choice in the matter either it seemed. Oh, whatever, just another group needing help or something of the sort. A few more of his servos creaked and sounded out through the holes in his skin, which the normal person tended to find a bit disconcerting.

"Honestly, I barely have any idea. I just showed up in that place with the tubs with this group around me, after losing consciousness in the middle of a fight against bandits. They mentioned something about a Mister Demens or something similar and brought me here. I'm a violinist though, if you didn't notice the instrument I'm carrying around. Also a carpenter by trade, but I prefer the former occupation immensely. Aside from fixing up fences and buildings I can't say what I'd be useful for." The old Synth shrugged and frowned a tiny bit, pursing his lips together at the same time. Closer up the skin was more obviously nonhuman, though it seemed to act and move in just about the same capacity as it.