Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Tiltjuice]

Deader, on its irregular prowl throughout the building, found itself passing through the communal dining room in merry disregard of the Reserved sign. There, it found a strange exoskeletony being passed out on the floor.

It glanced down thoughtfully.

"I could use a test subject, but this thing does not seem to be alive."

A tendril of robes reached out and grabbed Ki-Rek around the leg. Deader dragged the alien out and up to the third floor, leaving him by Kei's door, in the mistaken conclusion that he was one of the goddess' statues she'd left lying around randomly. The being scribbled a quick note.

Found him wandering about. Didn't know your statues can move. Magic? -Deader

[Primordial Luxa]

The man nodded intently as Jacob spoke obvious he knew more than he was letting on but he didn’t seem to think highly enough of these people to inform them. He pulled a small metallic device from his pocket as Jacob spoke and turned a piece of it several times before responding. “Did you find anyone in the device? It should have had some occupants, some people that may have looked like me?”

The creature had begun to stalk back to the central group and gave a brief whistling noise at the man who simply nodded in reply. The creature seemed sentient but it was hard to tell as the lack of discernable features made its intention hard to distinguish.

[Mandicoria]

Mandi was walking down the hallway, drinking from his water bottle as he looked around. Wondering about the place, and the inhabitants of it. He heard from his briefing that there was once another who went by the name of Mandi, and the gruesome death he suffered. However, that didn't matter to him, for that was long LONG before he even came. What did matter to him was that Scandi was near, and posed an immediate threat to his plans. He had to think of a way to deal with any plan Scandi may have thought of to keep Mandicoria from establishing a presence in Bielelfeld.

As soon as he finished his thoughts he noticed someone, or better yet something. It was Scandi, the monster of Scandavia, the killer of his squad. Mandi felt as if his heart skipped a beat when he saw Scandi for the first time since the war. When he was about to hide, Scandi managed to notice him almost immediately. Which had a devilish smile appear on Scandi's face, for nothing cheered him more than to instill fear into Mandi's heart.

[The BranRiech]

Not knowing anything about the situation, but having some of his own questions he'd like to ask, Bran stepped up next to Jacob, hoping to get a better look at the guy. If this was a year ago, he'd be able to make a guess that he was Luxan, but now? He had no idea with all the people showing up and going. He hadn't seen his Luxan friends in a while, but he definitely didn't forget them.

Now though, he was drawing blanks to where (Or when, even) this guy was from.

--

As if on que, Kei's door slid open, revealing the goddess. She was simply dressed, some sweatpants and a loose tank-top, indicative of her lazy mood this morning. All she wished was to sit around, but the light thump she heard outside her door was cause for an investigation, but not without a coffee mug in hand.

"That's new, but pretty bitchin'." She shrugged, noting the alien on the floor in front of her, post-it note and all.

This was definitely not a statue of hers, but hell, if she could get away with it, it would be at some point. But then she needed consent and all that fun stuff, because it really wasn't doing any harm at the moment, unlike the allspice jerk, who proved to be nice scenery now.

She set her coffee on a table, and carried the . . . Thing inside, splaying it on her luxurious couch.

[Swith Witherward]

Again, Yuna took it all in, listening to what Will had to say, talking about family, about teen hearts, and what Yuna wanted to do . . .

"I guess I never thought you guys had family." She smiled. "Who do you have then? Everyone has family somewhere." She asked, suddenly interested in Will's backstory. She only knew what he told her, and it wasnt much besides what she'd been taught.

"Eh, nevermind. What do you think I could do? I mean, I have no idea about anything that you guys do, or where I'd fit in."

A strange expression crept to the corners of Will's eyes, fleeting in nature and seeming to plead to remain on topic. No one ever asked, you see. They never thought of cultists as much more than objects akin to a barking dog in a yard or a lamp post on the corner. He held his breath and hoped they'd cross that invisible boundary to touch upon the mysterious side but Yuna flitted to the next subject. The cultist breathed out a soft sigh of relief tainted by a sense of sorrow.

"We'll find a spot for you, Yuna," he reassured her. "You can't truly be one of us, of course. You'd have to die and become a host, and that's not a very pleasant thing to be. But you have a place in this weird, wild world. We just need to figure out what it is. There's plenty of time, too. You're young. Anyway, I've kept you far too long. Your friends should be awake now. I can send you back with some extra biscuits for their breakfast."

He waved the tea set away and unfolded his legs.

Xanthe considered his words. A small smile crept onto her lips. "You are at times impossible to find, especially now that you're on your mission. I tried. Even the map couldn't locate you. But I'll continue to try for as long as I can."

The breeze kicked up more leaves and the made the pines sigh. Xanthe's eyes were drawn towards the surrounding vegetation again. It was so pristine, so perfect. "This place is beautiful. Is that why you chose this planet? Was it always so unspoiled here?"

--

"Me? Change? Never," Blythe snorted although she was blushing intensely, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of lavender. It meant a lot to her that Pride would say such a thing. She felt as if the entire universe couldn't touch her. In fact, even if it tried, she would refuse to fall victim to it. Not when she had Superbia as her heart's keeper. She reflected upon all the silly things they'd done and anticipated all the future things still left undone or not even started yet.

"Someday I'll walk the universe beside you. For now, I'm happy to walk the Building's hallways with you. I only hope that future me is still adept at keeping your spirits up when you get too serious and bogged down by things."

Her tail tip wagged and wiggled playfully. She hadn't a real care in the world, other than her time's Superbia and his grief. She'd see him through that, no matter what. Tar tears and wailing wouldn't drive her away.

"I never choose this planet, "Lucius replied. He gently held onto her hands and looked her in her eyes and said, " We choose this planet. You and me." He smiled at her. The breeze that swept through was calm as the moment before them. The little glow that came off of the archangel/god was only more so visible by his smile.

---

"Well my love, my most beautiful daemon. And I will be with you, never stop loving you, and keep you safe from a world that would try to harm us." He said softly.

Xanthe's eyes met Lucius'. She believed him, and believed in him. The future held so much promise. But this was the future, and the Archangel in front of her was older and wiser than the one from her own time. His hands warmed her just as his words warmed her heart and, at that moment, there was nothing in the universe that could come between them.

"I love you." It was the simplest and best reply, uncluttered by nonsense words or insecurities, and came from her heart's core. She was content. The time would soon come when she'd leave Earth with her Lucius and seek out the world with him. That moment would be the prelude to a divine symphony that would build over time to fill all Gliese with music. She knew then that she would stand beside him forever, facing all the hardships that life... and the Templars... would throw at them.

She squeezed his hands in affirmation and stood on her toes to kiss his mouth. "I can't wait. Let's hope the you of the past doesn't take too long to figure all this out."

--

Blythe purred and rubbed her cheek against his chest. "You own half my soul," she reminded him. "And we've been to hell and back together. Don't worry. I'll be here while you weather your grief over Charumati. There's no place I'd rather be, unless of course it's Purgatory, but only if you're there with me under the olive tree."

Her head turned to observe the sleeping demon on the ground. "You know, you're pretty cute when snoozing. It almost seems a shame to wake you. But we have to get back. We have to finish this weird quest Samuel and Xanthe started. And we gotta find Lucius again. I swear, that angel is always off in his own world, lost and busy and forgetting to stop to eat the flowers."

[Swith Witherward]

Mandi was walking down the hallway, drinking from his water bottle as he looked around. Wondering about the place, and the inhabitants of it. He heard from his briefing that there was once another who went by the name of Mandi, and the gruesome death he suffered. However, that didn't matter to him, for that was long LONG before he even came. What did matter to him was that Scandi was near, and posed an immediate threat to his plans. He had to think of a way to deal with any plan Scandi may have thought of to keep Mandicoria from establishing a presence in Bielelfeld.

As soon as he finished his thoughts he noticed someone, or better yet something. It was Scandi, the monster of Scandavia, the killer of his squad. Mandi felt as if his heart skipped a beat when he saw Scandi for the first time since the war. When he was about to hide, Scandi managed to notice him almost immediately. Which had a devilish smile appear on Scandi's face, for nothing cheered him more than to instill fear into Mandi's heart.

"Hello."

The crisp British greeting came from ahe tall woman leaning against the hallway wall. A shock of red hair tumbled around her shoulders and framed dark eyes. She was beautiful but even the most casual observer would sense that the beauty belied a deadliness. Elegant fingers played with a key, rotating it this way and that as she observed the newcomer.

"I take it you're new here. Rudolf sent me to find you. You didn't stop by the reception desk. Neither did that one." The red locks shook as she gestured towards Scandi with her head.

[Swith Witherward]

A certain cat who had curled up in a ball and gone to sleep after having flipped out for, as far as he knew, no reason, mewed and jerked awake, his claws scratching the upholstery of the chair on which he lay. Multiple emotions had hit within instants of each other: excitement, relief, nervousness, satisfaction, apprehension, nostalgia, fear. Tense, high strung, and a bit confused (as the emotions would continue for a few minutes, then spike in intensity as whatever had actually caused them occurred), the large-headed medium-sized dark brown cat with white whiskers slowly padded downstairs and into the lobby, where a flyer caught his eye. Apparently a babysitter was needed during school hours.

A pale salmon tongue started to frantically lick a sepia paw. Nick was glad that a job which a cat feasibly could perform had become available, as he'd been a bit afraid that he would be unable to pay the rent.

On the other hand... Was he actually up to it? It was satisfying to have found a possible job, but... He had little experience with kids, almost none of it good. There had been that day in the shelter... But that wasn't much of a qualification. Although it had shown him that maybe some kids were okay... He'd almost forgotten it.

The cat adopted the posture of the Sphinx in Egypt- good for relaxing without falling asleep- and tried to let the memory wash over him. However, a far less pleasant one kept coming to mind; Nick stood up and abandoned that, but was left with some lingering doubts. What if it happened again? He'd hardly be able to babysit without the sit-ee knowing that he wasn't normal. He'd probably need to communicate with them.

Then again... They could be nice... And if the alternative was leaving... Nick jumped onto a chair next to Rudolf's desk, and from there onto the desk itself, where he nuzzled the man's hand.

<That ad on the bulletin board. (Image of the "Help Wanted- babysitter needed during school hours" flier.) How do I get in touch with whoever put it up?>

Rudolf's fingers scratched Nick under his chin. "Guten tag. I wondered where you'd got to, Nick," he purred in his German accent.

He glanced to where Nick was focused and then gently put the cat on his shoulder. "We look at it, ja?" he rose and crossed the room.

"You want to babysit?" he asked the cat, once again stroking his neck with a fingertip. "Might be a challenge if there's need of diapers changed, but you have the right heart for it." Rudolf hadn't forgotten about the kittens and was still saddened that no one had responded to the flier about them. "Let's see if there's a number listed? We could call. Well, I call, you just listen in and tell me what you want said, ja?"

[ApertureScienceInc]

After a moment of smooth vertical movement, the doors opened up to an empty hallway and a continuation of the blue line on the floor. Although there was nobody in sight at work, the telltale low hum of machinery filled the building. The line ended at a door labeled in blue lettering, Department of Non-Automated Resources.

Well then. I guess I better follow it. He walked through the hall, following the blue line. After reaching the door, he thought for a moment. Do I knock or walk in. Is it an office or...wait, it's obviously not an office. He twisted the handle in opened the door. Tsanis then walked in.

Inside was a small office, a cube four meters in length, width, and height. A desk sat in the corner, with only two slots for input and output. No paper to be found, but a pencil cup full of pens. The design of the office was white with rounded corners, like the rest of the building.

Behind the desk, sat a robot in a light blue suit. It's face a rigid smooth plastic white with a smile molded permanently on. Its blue, unblinking, eye lights were fixed on Tsanis.

"Hello Tsanis! And thank you for choosing Eldritch Incorporated! I see you desire employment at our fine company? If you don't mind me asking, why don't you tell me what you hope to achieve?" the robot asked with a more masculine voice than the one on the phone, but it was not dissimilar to the other voice. Very cheerful and friendly, with not a drop of malice to be found.

[Mandicoria]

-snip-

Mandi looked up nervously, as he knew Scandi was rushing over right now as the figure talked to him. "I could've swore the Mandicorian government already took care of those things for me." He nervously stated, as he turned and saw Scandi slowly approaching.
"Why hello, Mandi, long time no see.~" Scandi said as he reached them both, examining the nervous look on Mandi's face. He knew Mandi was afraid, has been ever since the war.

[Swith Witherward]

Mandi looked up nervously, as he knew Scandi was rushing over right now as the figure talked to him. "I could've swore the Mandicorian government already took care of those things for me." He nervously stated, as he turned and saw Scandi slowly approaching.
"Why hello, Mandi, long time no see.~" Scandi said as he reached them both, examining the nervous look on Mandi's face. He knew Mandi was afraid, has been ever since the war.

Minerva handed a key to Mandi. "8A. That's eighth floor. And you?" she turned towards Scandi, "8C. Also eighth floor."

She looked between the two, sensing their emotions as easily as if she were smelling a perfume. "Neither of your governments have jurisdiction here," she spoke leisurely yet conveyed authority. "I'm Captain Minerva Blackwater, at your service, and part of my job is to keep the peace for O.C. Demens, the landlord. Now, we thrive on plots and conspiracies, hatreds and malice. We enjoy a good fight. But never in the Building. Kill, maim, fuck or slaughter each other to your heart's content - outside these walls. You'll find brochures downstairs, and you each have mailboxes in the foyer. There's a communal kitchen and dining room on the second floor, and a recreational room should you wish to watch TV or play the piano. We have a library and indoor pool with attached gym. Summer here is glorious with many things to do. And, if you're up for a drink... although both of you are too young for alcohol in Bielefeld... you can go to Chaos Restaurant for some socializing and a decent meal."

She smiled (a genuine one for her) and added, "We have several other nation personifications here, and they're wonderful people to talk with. There's a common bond you might just enjoy. Just be on guard. Some townies don't like dazzles like us. Others love them. Oh, and we might have an invasion by nightfall. No, no the ship landing on the roof. Different invasion. Any questions?"

[Mandicoria]

Mandi looked up nervously, as he knew Scandi was rushing over right now as the figure talked to him. "I could've swore the Mandicorian government already took care of those things for me." He nervously stated, as he turned and saw Scandi slowly approaching.
"Why hello, Mandi, long time no see.~" Scandi said as he reached them both, examining the nervous look on Mandi's face. He knew Mandi was afraid, has been ever since the war.

Minerva handed a key to Mandi. "8A. That's eighth floor. And you?" she turned towards Scandi, "8C. Also eighth floor."

She looked between the two, sensing their emotions as easily as if she were smelling a perfume. "Neither of your governments have jurisdiction here," she spoke leisurely yet conveyed authority. "I'm Captain Minerva Blackwater, at your service, and part of my job is to keep the peace for O.C. Demens, the landlord. Now, we thrive on plots and conspiracies, hatreds and malice. We enjoy a good fight. But never in the Building. Kill, maim, fuck or slaughter each other to your heart's content - outside these walls. You'll find brochures downstairs, and you each have mailboxes in the foyer. There's a communal kitchen and dining room on the second floor, and a recreational room should you wish to watch TV or play the piano. We have a library and indoor pool with attached gym. Summer here is glorious with many things to do. And, if you're up for a drink... although both of you are too young for alcohol in Bielefeld... you can go to Chaos Restaurant for some socializing and a decent meal."

She smiled (a genuine one for her) and added, "We have several other nation personifications here, and they're wonderful people to talk with. There's a common bond you might just enjoy. Just be on guard. Some townies don't like dazzles like us. Others love them. Oh, and we might have an invasion by nightfall. No, no the ship landing on the roof. Different invasion. Any questions?"

"I don't believe I have anything to say. How about you, Mandi?~" Scandi looked at Mandi with a devilish grin. "Wait, what's the legal drinking age here?" Mandi looked at Minerva while trying his best not to even make a small glance at Scandi. "Mandi, I believe its best not to question what has already be-"
"Shut up, Scandi." Mandi replied sternly while maintaining eye contact with Minerva. Scandi gave an angered stare at Mandi, the type of stare that says "You have a lotta nerve saying that."

[Fvaarniimar]

A certain cat who had curled up in a ball and gone to sleep after having flipped out for, as far as he knew, no reason, mewed and jerked awake, his claws scratching the upholstery of the chair on which he lay. Multiple emotions had hit within instants of each other: excitement, relief, nervousness, satisfaction, apprehension, nostalgia, fear. Tense, high strung, and a bit confused (as the emotions would continue for a few minutes, then spike in intensity as whatever had actually caused them occurred), the large-headed medium-sized dark brown cat with white whiskers slowly padded downstairs and into the lobby, where a flyer caught his eye. Apparently a babysitter was needed during school hours.

A pale salmon tongue started to frantically lick a sepia paw. Nick was glad that a job which a cat feasibly could perform had become available, as he'd been a bit afraid that he would be unable to pay the rent.

On the other hand... Was he actually up to it? It was satisfying to have found a possible job, but... He had little experience with kids, almost none of it good. There had been that day in the shelter... But that wasn't much of a qualification. Although it had shown him that maybe some kids were okay... He'd almost forgotten it.

The cat adopted the posture of the Sphinx in Egypt- good for relaxing without falling asleep- and tried to let the memory wash over him. However, a far less pleasant one kept coming to mind; Nick stood up and abandoned that, but was left with some lingering doubts. What if it happened again? He'd hardly be able to babysit without the sit-ee knowing that he wasn't normal. He'd probably need to communicate with them.

Then again... They could be nice... And if the alternative was leaving... Nick jumped onto a chair next to Rudolf's desk, and from there onto the desk itself, where he nuzzled the man's hand.

<That ad on the bulletin board. (Image of the "Help Wanted- babysitter needed during school hours" flier.) How do I get in touch with whoever put it up?>

Rudolf's fingers scratched Nick under his chin. "Guten tag. I wondered where you'd got to, Nick," he purred in his German accent.

He glanced to where Nick was focused and then gently put the cat on his shoulder. "We look at it, ja?" he rose and crossed the room.

"You want to babysit?" he asked the cat, once again stroking his neck with a fingertip. "Might be a challenge if there's need of diapers changed, but you have the right heart for it." Rudolf hadn't forgotten about the kittens and was still saddened that no one had responded to the flier about them. "Let's see if there's a number listed? We could call. Well, I call, you just listen in and tell me what you want said, ja?"

<Y-you think I'd actually be good at this?> Nick's mental voice wavered a bit, sounding surprised and vulnerable. As for the telephone- had Nick been human, he'd be turning red. <I guess I didn't think that- the telephone that is- through...> As it was, he stuck a paw on Rudolf's arm (which freed up his nose and hence the rest of his snout) and began to lick the other paw. <Thanks. For everything.>

The medium sized feline snuggled up against Rudolf's arm, ears pricked.

[Swith Witherward]

"I don't believe I have anything to say. How about you, Mandi?~" Scandi looked at Mandi with a devilish grin. "Wait, what's the legal drinking age here?" Mandi looked at Minerva while trying his best not to even make a small glance at Scandi. "Mandi, I believe its best not to question what has already be-"
"Shut up, Scandi." Mandi replied sternly while maintaining eye contact with Minerva. Scandi gave an angered stare at Mandi, the type of stare that says "You have a lotta nerve saying that."

Minerva rolled her eyes at the pair. "Well, luvs, welcome to Bielefeld. Omelets for breakfast tomorrow, if Bran gets off his ass. Ta!"

She shook her head as she walked away. It wasn't the first time various nationals had issues between them. It wouldn't be the last. All would be well as long as they didn't tear the place apart with their foolishness. The cultist leader nodded to a few people in the hall and then set off in search of the steam-driven cyborg she'd seen earlier.

[Giovenith]

Giovenith was hungry.

Fuck, she hated it when that damn pony was right.

Such harsh thoughts arose mainly from her fatigue, as Giovenith was still quite cranky from her recent experiences, but solace could be taken in that she was not the type to randomly thrash out in this kind of emotional setting. Not outwardly, anyway. She groaned in harmony with her stomach and reluctantly shuffled her way back down to the lobby, planning on stealing a granola bar or two and then running back to her mattress as soon as she could manage.

Things were busy, as she had left them. Quite a few new people were wandering about, and Giovenith wondered what paths they would be set on in their time here. It was quite inevitable, she admitted, to avoid rolling onto a bizarre road when settling down in the Building. No use fighting it, though she was still rather pissed about the place her own had currently dumped her at. But speaking of discord, Giovenith's feeling-more-sensitive than normal hearing caught onto what certainly didn't sound like friendly chatter between buddies.

They appeared to be both teenage boys, though who could really tell for sure with the kinds of people who moved here. Little sprites of bitterness and hatred flitted and popped around them like malicious soda fizz. One of them's smile betrayed cockiness. Fantastic. Root beer mix for disaster. They better not start shooting.

"Hey," Giovenith called out in what was a measured tone for her state of mood (largely coming out as exhausted and dispassionate, but with volume), and calmly approached the two, gently placing up her hands to them. "Come on, are we being very nice now? You new?"

[Tiltjuice]

As luck would have it for Chrys, one of the objects (if you could consider a person an object) of her search practically bumped into her. Fiddling with his smartphone, Ray had barely enough time to recognize that there was indeed a person in his path: he abruptly stopped, and planted a surprised yet apologetic expression on his muzzle.

"Sorry! Excuse me," his voice emitted in a quieter, more submissive tone as he swerved back from Chrys. He stood perhaps a foot away, and stowed his phone and the business that was on it: Defender 'CivSec' issues, largely revolving around the need for contractors. Business didn't do well when you didn't have anyone who needed what you offered.

Of course, in an effort to make small talk, Ray went ahead and added to his initial response. "Hello Chrys, are you looking for someone? Sorry I wasn't paying attention, won't happen again."

The woman in armor jerked back as much in equal surprise. By now her eyes had returned to their normal jade green. "Yes, actually. I was going to visit my sister in the clinic, to see how she'd recovered after Allspice. And to find Hans, and you. Would you like to join - "

The clinic door swung open and Chrys took two quick steps toward it, hoping to find Tasia back in her right mind. Then the red hair and tannish skin of the person stepping through registered, and her expression fell again. A Sister, but not my sister.

"She'll be out of there soon enough," said Dora, rubbing her face a bit self-consciously and with a degree of surprise. "Ogoti and his staff do good work. I promised I'd meet him again later, since we never did get around to having drinks. It's always one thing after another, isn't it? And hello, Ray," she said to her former boss.

[Motoneuron]

Not knowing anything about the situation, but having some of his own questions he'd like to ask, Bran stepped up next to Jacob, hoping to get a better look at the guy. If this was a year ago, he'd be able to make a guess that he was Luxan, but now? He had no idea with all the people showing up and going. He hadn't seen his Luxan friends in a while, but he definitely didn't forget them.

Now though, he was drawing blanks to where (Or when, even) this guy was from.

--

As if on que, Kei's door slid open, revealing the goddess. She was simply dressed, some sweatpants and a loose tank-top, indicative of her lazy mood this morning. All she wished was to sit around, but the light thump she heard outside her door was cause for an investigation, but not without a coffee mug in hand.

"That's new, but pretty bitchin'." She shrugged, noting the alien on the floor in front of her, post-it note and all.

This was definitely not a statue of hers, but hell, if she could get away with it, it would be at some point. But then she needed consent and all that fun stuff, because it really wasn't doing any harm at the moment, unlike the allspice jerk, who proved to be nice scenery now.

She set her coffee on a table, and carried the . . . Thing inside, splaying it on her luxurious couch.

Ki watched his mentor stalking silently through the jungle, the mentor’s sleek, segmented form let him silently slip through the foliage. Ki’s heart pounded as he watched the deadly alien approached his prey, suddenly disappearing with a shimmer of light before and reappearing just as suddenly on top of the creature. It didn’t even have time to cry out before the sharp claws silenced it forever, Ki marveled at his mentor’s skill with a mix of fear and admiration, wondering how he could ever live up to such amazing skill.

Ki suddenly jerked awake, his heart raced and he felt oddly confused and disturbed by the dream. He could see now how they’d made him idolize those murders and try to be just like them. He couldn’t see it then, he had been too young, too naïve… Ki’Rek’s mind stopped in his tracks as he became acutely aware that he had no idea where he had just woken up. He thought back and remembered finding this strange place, accepting refuge from strange people and eating strange food all without a second thought. He mentally kicked himself but figured if they wanted him dead he probably would be by now. Since he was already here he might as well figure out what here was and what was going on.

He looked around the room, trying to decipher where he was at when he saw her. She was a tall fleshy creature, he had seen others like her but none with wings like that. He scanned her and decided that she wasn’t an immediate threat but had no idea what power she held or if she would be a threat in the future. He decided that even though what she said may be false, the fastest way to find out what was happening would be to talk to her.

“Hello” He said a bit reluctantly, “Might I ask where I’m at?”

[Swith Witherward]

Kale has reserved the room but Hans had found a use for it. Valentine's Day had come and gone and, although he was over his bit of quiet jealousy, he felt there were other ways to compete for Chrys' mighty hand. He'd bought a bouquet of chrysanthemums from the florist to give to her and had set it on a table near the window to brighten her day.

The problem with cultists is that they tended to go overboard. Why have one when you can have all? Why settle for a single color... although most of the flowers were red... when you can have every color. Indeed, the time spent cooped up with Minerva's Lads had affected Klaus' Men to the point where they had begun to appreciate that excess was indeed good. They'd yet to taste purple but they hadn't turned their back on that possibility.

The other problem with cultists was that they're like ants going after a melted Popsicle on the sidewalk. It always starts with just one. Then another comes along to see where the first one went, and more come along because obviously the first two ants were up to something fun. Cultists hate being excluded. If something proves interesting enough... and to a cultist, watching paint dry was somewhat interesting... then more and more would swarm and contribute to the general din.

The third and final problem with cultists was their insanity. To believe in something is to make it so. There were many theories as to how and why this happened but the majority of people just explained it away as "Well, they're Klaus' Men". Even Minerva's lot were at a loss when trying to fathom their quirks.

One bouquet became two. Two became six. Someone found chalk and drew on the walls, and those in turn became more. What good are flowers if you can't do anything with them? They'll just die. And so the chalk had come out again and applied to the corners of the floor, and now small chrysanthemum fields swayed in the breeze coming from an open window.

And then the inevitable happened. The insane ones asked for a sane explanation and, upon hearing of Hans' quest to outdo Dia in the romance department, threw themselves in full force and sought out Minerva's Lads. Love wasn't too far off from lust, was it? More chalk. Now there were Roman pillars in all four corners of the room. The Lads brought it silken purple fabric to adorn the windows and form a curtain between kitchen and dining room. Someone prodded Cuisine from his bed and set him to work in the kitchen. The rich smells of good cooking burst from the dining room and flooded the entire building.

None of these magical knuckleheads had any idea what Roman music sounded like, so they settled for WWII era jazz. And togas. There had to be togas for Rome. More chalk and a life-size statue of Fate herself adorned the center of the room, festooned with flower garlands and old Germanic coins for luck. Tables were set and chairs brought in. Now it had become a party.

And poor Hans, who just wanted to show his beloved that he cared for her, stood awestruck with his vase of flowers cradled in his arms and wondered just what the fuck the other ants were further plotting.


In the lobby below, Rudolf smiled and carefully turned so as to not unbalance Nick on his shoulder. "Chrys? Ja, you're needed in the dining room. Everyone's invited." He returned to the want ad and left her and her group to make a decision.


And back upstairs, four of the Men stationed themselves near the door to welcome Hans' heartsong in with song just as the first course of food was brought out of the kitchen and into the floral room. Cultists darted out again to deliver greetings and invitations, at times simply stuffing them under doors or pressing them into people's hands.

[Tiltjuice]

"Me?"

Chrys didn't know what to make of the sudden address from Rudolf. She'd not been able to remember ever exchanging words with him. Her brow furrowed. "Well, I - "

And then Rudolf had returned to his newspaper, and she was even more confounded. A glance at Dora showed the other woman had just about as much of an idea what this was about as she did, and the same for Ray.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later, unless you two come along?" So saying, the blonde drifted lightly up the stairs. Still in uniform as she was, the sound of her movement was a bit more noticeable than it had been when she'd been in her Druid priestess' garb - synthetics versus cotton. She smelled some kind of food as she neared the communal dining room. Well, that was only to be expected. Was there some kind of party going on?

A slender arm lifted and Chrys pushed open the door, stepping inside curiously. Her lips parted slightly in surprise, again, as she caught sight of the army of toga-clad cultists, the flowers, the WWII jazz, and the statue of Fate. And Hans with his vase. Her eyes softened as she moved toward him.

"Was this your idea?" she chimed, smiling reservedly, with a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. "I particularly enjoyed the chorus, you know." She waved in appreciation at the four singing Men. And there was, possibly, an odd flicker of green light in her gaze.

[Altito Asmoro]

There is an invitation.

Slipped under the door, he picked it up and read it. Supposed to be an invitation to the apartment players meeting. And as it will be a good meeting...right? No need to be unsafe. Raka went for a quick shower then he ate a quick lunch, a fried rice with egg and a glass of hot milk. After that, he wore a black shirt and black jogging pants, and to safet more, put a pistol on his pocket and an armor of kevlar on his shirt.

He went outside to the room of the meeting.

[The BranRiech]

"Well, fortunately enough, you're actually alive." Kei grumbled, looking at Ki as he woke up. She realized just then that she'd left her wings deployed, and shrugged. Hell, this was her own apartment. "My name's Kei, and you can call me that. This is my apartment as well."

Again, it was burning at her. She needed more shit for her collection, well, not literal shit, but just stuff in general.

"Hey, you wouldn't be interested in modeling, right? I'm a . . . Sculptor, who's a little bit short of an art collection so far." She asked, knowing he'd say no anyways, but hey, what if he didn't? "Could always show you what I have already." She grinned.

She wasn't planning anything, but only making small talk, hopefully.

"Gah, so who're you anyways?"

--

"I'll uh, yeah, take a few biscuits." Yuna nodded. She was a bit weirded out thinking that Will had died at some point, and that he was a host? What the hell did that even mean? This only fueled Yuna's imagination though, and she was already thinking up scenarios about how this all happened, but, breakfast was more important at the moment, and she nodded again.

"Yeah, I really need to go. Need to make sure all my friends don't hate the other now."

[Fvaarniimar]

Kale has reserved the room but Hans had found a use for it. Valentine's Day had come and gone and, although he was over his bit of quiet jealousy, he felt there were other ways to compete for Chrys' mighty hand. He'd bought a bouquet of chrysanthemums from the florist to give to her and had set it on a table near the window to brighten her day.

The problem with cultists is that they tended to go overboard. Why have one when you can have all? Why settle for a single color... although most of the flowers were red... when you can have every color. Indeed, the time spent cooped up with Minerva's Lads had affected Klaus' Men to the point where they had begun to appreciate that excess was indeed good. They'd yet to taste purple but they hadn't turned their back on that possibility.

The other problem with cultists was that they're like ants going after a melted Popsicle on the sidewalk. It always starts with just one. Then another comes along to see where the first one went, and more come along because obviously the first two ants were up to something fun. Cultists hate being excluded. If something proves interesting enough... and to a cultist, watching paint dry was somewhat interesting... then more and more would swarm and contribute to the general din.

The third and final problem with cultists was their insanity. To believe in something is to make it so. There were many theories as to how and why this happened but the majority of people just explained it away as "Well, they're Klaus' Men". Even Minerva's lot were at a loss when trying to fathom their quirks.

One bouquet became two. Two became six. Someone found chalk and drew on the walls, and those in turn became more. What good are flowers if you can't do anything with them? They'll just die. And so the chalk had come out again and applied to the corners of the floor, and now small chrysanthemum fields swayed in the breeze coming from an open window.

And then the inevitable happened. The insane ones asked for a sane explanation and, upon hearing of Hans' quest to outdo Dia in the romance department, threw themselves in full force and sought out Minerva's Lads. Love wasn't too far off from lust, was it? More chalk. Now there were Roman pillars in all four corners of the room. The Lads brought it silken purple fabric to adorn the windows and form a curtain between kitchen and dining room. Someone prodded Cuisine from his bed and set him to work in the kitchen. The rich smells of good cooking burst from the dining room and flooded the entire building.

None of these magical knuckleheads had any idea what Roman music sounded like, so they settled for WWII era jazz. And togas. There had to be togas for Rome. More chalk and a life-size statue of Fate herself adorned the center of the room, festooned with flower garlands and old Germanic coins for luck. Tables were set and chairs brought in. Now it had become a party.

And poor Hans, who just wanted to show his beloved that he cared for her, stood awestruck with his vase of flowers cradled in his arms and wondered just what the fuck the other ants were further plotting.


In the lobby below, Rudolf smiled and carefully turned so as to not unbalance Nick on his shoulder. "Chrys? Ja, you're needed in the dining room. Everyone's invited." He returned to the want ad and left her and her group to make a decision.


And back upstairs, four of the Men stationed themselves near the door to welcome Hans' heartsong in with song just as the first course of food was brought out of the kitchen and into the floral room. Cultists darted out again to deliver greetings and invitations, at times simply stuffing them under doors or pressing them into people's hands.

The awkwardly-proportioned cat helped Rudolf to help him keep his balance by shifting his weight to the man's other shoulder. Unfortunately for Nick's dignity, he overcompensated slightly and Rudolf would find his nose getting lightly bumped by a furry posterior.

The cat attempted to lick his butt, but couldn't quite reach it from his current position. A paw stretched out. Nick licked that instead.

<Erm... Whoops? Uh, is your nose okay? Um...>

[Morlodania]

She shook. "Waiting for something to happen? I can sympathize with that. Fortunately, you're in Bielefeld, so you shouldn't have long to wait. There's a lot of newcomers, as I said. And I popped into the communal dining room briefly, on my way down, just to see if anyone was there. Nobody, but I did see a sign that said it was reserved by someone named Kale for an event of some kind. You and the rest of the crowd could go check things out, maybe." She waved a hand around the lobby, the armor covering her forearm catching the light for a moment.

"I tend to be the kind that waits. Comes with age, I suppose. Apparently, I look far younger than I am... Might have something to do with these mechanical parts I have, dunno for certain." Jorgen shrugged, his mechanical shoulder clicking as he did so. "I have no real need to go to see... Whatever that is in the dining hall. If it is important, I'll be brought to it. Otherwise, I'll simply finish my book and be done with it, go to the Library and get another." Jorgen shrugged. "Not in the mood to head down to Chaos. I'll stay here and read some more. No reason not to." At this point, however, he looked around, scanning the room, and saw one of the women he had seen earlier... Although he hadn't caught her name. This, of course, was Minerva, however, Jorgen didn't know that. He nodded to the girl he was talking to, muttering a goodbye nonchalantly, and walked away, keeping one eye on the woman he had seen earlier as he did so.

[Primordial Luxa]

The man on the roof nodded intently as Jacob spoke obvious he knew more than he was letting on but he didn’t seem to think highly enough of these people to inform them. He pulled a small metallic device from his pocket as Jacob spoke and turned a piece of it several times before responding. “Did you find anyone in the device? It should have had some occupants, some people that may have looked like me?”

The creature had begun to stalk back to the central group and gave a brief whistling noise at the man who simply nodded in reply. The creature seemed sentient but it was hard to tell as the lack of discernable features made its intention hard to distinguish.

---

It had been nearly three weeks since Primordial and Insidious had been discovered on the beach by Kei and the pair was finally beginning to recover from their experience. Both had spent most of their time in Ogoti’s care eating and sleeping great amounts however with the help of the demons assisting them they had accelerated the process restoring a portion of their lost vitality. It was because of this that Prim was able to walk again so soon although which the aid of pair of leg braces and a cane. Although it was incredibly painful in ways that hurt even him he decided that physical injury and therapy were just words and began attempting to navigate the halls of the building once again.

He quickly ran into the Chaos Cultists wandering around handing out invitations and accepted his with a quivering hand. He debated internally for several moments about whether he was fit to attend such a gather but eventually decided that nothing worse could come of it and began to make his way over to designated room.

[Giovenith]

Willow blinked and dryly spat out (having no hands to initially grip the thing with when someone had thrust it onto him) the invitation to teeter on one of his hooves in front of him and read.

"A part in the dining room," he remarked to Cerril, eyes skimming the print. "I guess that's where the meet and greet is now. Huh. Along with your son, I suppose quite a few new ponies..." He of course meant 'people.' "... have arrived here. There's a good sense of community here."

Willow wondered if this was a thing here, like how Pinkie Pie threw a welcome party for every new resident of Ponyville. Taking a quick sweep around the lobby, he did notice a few people he hadn't caught wandering around the halls before. Giovenith was talking with two arguing hyoo-mun boys, as well as a few others wandering in, out, or loitering about the lobby. He'd describe many as strange, if he had a clearer sense of what strange was to the humans.

"Well," Willow sucked through his teeth and blew it out with a click, swinging his gaze back to Cerril. "I'll let you know something Mister Cerril, ponies need others. We're social creatures, so it is good for our health, even a loner like myself needs some contact with the outside world. And I'll admit, with most of my original circle and all of my biological family missing, my career in all but smoldering flames, and thawing out from initial paranoia, I think I could use to the opportunity to stop being such an intolerable, obnoxious drudge for once and do something, dare I say, social." The grey pegasus spun around a foreleg and tapped it to his front in mock-dramatics. "You? Or will your foal be disconcerted by the strangers?"

[The Carlisle]

Kale was lying her head against the table in the dining room. She had spent most of the night running back and forth fetching things for the party. Even after all her work, she still wasn't done with it. She had the tables covered with linen and some nice china, some room cleared for a dance area, a cd player for music, and a table set off to the side for food. But after all that work along with everything that happened today she was exhausted. She had a lot of energy, but she even had her limits.

Her eyes were weak and she could barely sty conscious. She surrendered herself to her desires and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

---

In her dreams she could here movement. Footsteps all around her, people moving things. She could hear music in the background. Scents filled her nose, scents of deliciousness. She started drooling. "Mom? Is that you?" she mumbled, "You making dinner? Or is it brunch." She slowly opened her eyes, waking from her slumber. She was surprised at what she saw. She was still in the dining room but it was different. The decorations were changed. It seemed to be a random combination of decorations. The arrangement of everything was changed as well.

Kale was awake now. Who wouldn't after witnessing this? She was a little peeved that her arrangements were completely changed in favor of something else, but deep down she felt glad. From looking at things, this actually looked like a place to party. It was much better than the shoddy job she did last night.

Kale looked around and spotted Hans with a vase of chrysanthemums. She got up from her chair and walked over to him. "Morning Hans," she said, "So..... what the hell is happening? It seemed like my reservation was discarded in favor of... this. Not really mad though. It actually looks like a place to party."