Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Mincaldenteans]

"Huh?" The girl stood up and walked over to the front desk. "Thank you I was wondering what I might be able to d-" The girl stopped mid-sentence as her eyes zeroed in on the name of the city. Bielefeld. She had a sudden and dramatic change in mood. She thought that maybe something had happened on some sort of trip with the addition of too much alcohol, however a ludicrous reasoning it'd be since she was only twenty and wasn't old enough to drink. Now, she quickly grasped the severity of her situation. She went a bit pale, felt her heart beating irregularly fast, and was having a shortness of breath. She swallowed hard and looked up from the form at Myra. "T-tell me...what kind of uh...history does this place have? What are the residents like?"

Myra tilted her head at the reaction from this new person. Well this was odd. Most people came in here looking perplexed (such was the norm she had been getting accustomed to), but this girl looked a bit scared, apprehensive. Shrugging, "Um, well we've got a myriad of different people here. Cultists, timecops, raptors, ponies, humans, fae, aliens... we're sorta cobbled together and generally everyone here is nice. As for history," Myra smirked lightly and sat back, "Oh I don't even know where to really start. I mean people go about their business, sometimes I see things on pass by, other times you've got people wandering in here. All in all though, the residents here are usually open to meeting newbies."

[The BranRiech]

"Hi, Mr. Nikanor.", Torii waved. "Um, I was thinking Chaos, but do you want to go somewhere else? It's totally up to you, you know. I'm just a girl, and I remember Papa always saying that the man took charge and decided the date. I like the sound of that. It's kind of nice...."

She shook her head. She was rambling. "Oh, but yea, wherever is fine with me. I'm just glad we can do this. As long as the restaraunt is nearby, I'll follow."

"You know you can call me Bran, right?" Bran asked, scratching his head as he considered what Torii was thinking. Did she think this was an actual date or something? He was married, and quite happily so as well, so he definitely hoped that Torii wasn't expecting that sort of thing, but then again, Torii always was a little weird in his opinion, with the two sharing many different experiences together, not all of them positive in some regards. "Well, I guess we could just go to Chaos, but I kinda' want to try what else the town has to offer."

--

"And that's why I'd never own a white apartment. Mind if I use your shower?" Natiya asked in regards to Khro's request that they clean themselves before sitting on anything. Her clothes were quite dirtied as well, and she assumed that there was some sort of futuristic washing machine to use someplace. "And my clothes as well, I'd rather not track dirt and soot everywhere." She nodded, eyes panning over the apartment, the white furniture almost hurting her eyes. She wasn't going to question her preferences, but Natiya definitely wasn't a fan of the whole thing.

Well, at least it all matched.

[Giovenith]

What was the first thing you thought of when someone asked you about the most recognizable painting?

Was it the Mona Lisa, or perhaps The Scream? Sistine Chapel ceiling was always a good answer. The farmer and his daughter of American Gothic were always patient with those who begged for their memory, and The Persistence of Memory welcomed the slight pun. All were good answers, experienced in the gazes of previous generations of onlookers, basking the simplest form of immortality we knew. But even quiet legends had beginnings, and each had long since been outlived and outmatched by something greater at all their inceptions. Warm trail of pinks and oranges, blissful red queen untouched by the careless trotting of history and its players. Imagination was powerful, but we could only do so much--clay would crumble, and paper wither away with time. When all our pens and inks, wires and strings, woods and metals, papers and paints were scattered someplace forgotten, the true most recognizable painting would remain, chuckling fondly as she watched us all bewildered down below.

"I still can't believe it does that by itself," Willow remarked, taking in the sunset and he leaned slightly out Giovenith's window. He was at first in awe, but then scrunched a frown as he reflected on the facts of this world with displeasure.

"Every day and night," Giovenith confirmed happily, as she sat on the floor nearby whiting the canvases. It always mattered little to her if stains got in her carpet or on her clothes. "It's a big kid, it can take care of itself."

But could they? "I always thought a princess was the best part of a sunset or sunrise, or moonrise and moonset," Willow tilted his head, continuing to judge what he still regarded as some unnatural miracle. "It meant she was there, still keeping us all on track. As always."

Giovenith considered this, and tried to imagine what it'd be like to carry the knowledge everyday that something as core to life as night and day were a conscious manipulation. It wasn't too hard, it was how humanity had thought of the cycle for a majority of its time on earth. But back then, everyone thought the sun belonged to them, different pantheons all being credited for the same project. Ra, Helios, Sunna, Amaterasu. But apparently in some other world, somewhere, all knew and recognized the name of... what was it? Celestia. Princess Celestia. Lovely name.

"Your goddess raised you right, I'm sure she knows you can get along without her," the godling reassured, propping up the canvas by her knees.

"She cares for all ponies," the pegasus hopped down on his four legs and walked away from the window, giving it a disenchanted glance backward. "I'd rather have not been one of those miraculous few to put that caring to the test." He backpedaled a little, "Not that I don't appreciate you and all else here. It's an interesting world Giovenith, it really is. I'm not afraid of it anymore."

"But still confused," Giovenith set aside the brush crossed her arms with a somewhat knowing smirk, becoming something other than a whimsical child. "Maybe it's not the world you're afraid of anymore, but the realization of such."

"I fear not knowing fear?" Willow asked skeptically, walking over and picking up a brush in his teeth to assist with the whiting.

Giovenith leaned against her bed and shrugged. "Fear is an important aspect, you know. Not always pleasant, not always working positively, but important none the less. It let's us know where we belong." She smiled, "From the child running to his mother from the shadow he thought he saw in the woods, to the lost wanderer in another land, fear is the sheep dog barking us back home. That's why it needs to be outrun if we are to ever experience anything new beyond our warm hearths." Giovenith carefully wiped off a few smudged onto her clothing, taking care in what kind of shapes they create. "But you had no choice in outrunning it, even if you wanted to listen, and now it's gone. You're worried without it, you may never find your way back where you belong."

"You truly waste no space crafting your explanations," the pony spoke through his teeth, which were still gripped around the wooden handle as he spread the basic coat all over the canvas. Setting it down for better annunciation, he continued. "But I understood, none the less. No, I guess I don't want to, say, settle for this place."

"We all know what you want, but you mustn't hurt yourself with yearning," Giovenith said. "You'll always be an Equestrian, you'll always be of Celestia and her pantheon. No one, and nopony, can take that away from you. But there's never anything wrong with adding onto who you are when we find ourselves having to go with the flow."

The Equestrian considered the wide new world stretched beyond this safe fortress he'd come to call a second home, all with no small amount of anxiety. This world with it's thinking earth, technology, and implied violence and struggle. Willow often felt like an intruder, trying to be subtle but ultimately bumbling through a large dance he didn't know the steps to, with no door out in sight. Like the polite but infuriated flicking glances of dancing patrons, the pony didn't think this world was ever going to be inviting of his clumsy ways toward it. Was he to learn the steps, would that earn him a place on the floor? How?

"It's easier said than done," he finally sighed, looking down and flattening his ears.

"I know it is, believe me. But you're off to a good start," the daughter of Pearlelei reassured, picking up her brush and continuing the whiting. Once it was complete, it'd be ready for any kind of picture. "You're an artist, soon others will see your work with my assistance. There is no greater way for you to present your soul. Don't worry; Equestria will always be waiting for you. It's not going anywhere. Explore."

Willow took a deep breath and absorbed his friend's words, standing tense but strong as he allowed them to seep into small wounds like burning medicine. From his time around her, Willow had long since discovered Giovenith's special talent; she knew where the small things lived. The small things we were all born with and learned to ignore sometimes when we got older and busier, like basic pleasures and basic depressives. Not exactly filing your taxes properly, or getting rich, or knowing if things would turn out your way, but recognizing just how gnarled you became trying to figure it all out. She hung around long enough to diagnose, then dug up the right roots and replanted them into a more comfortable position as best she could, like the invisible touch of some New Age healer. His morbid side sometimes wondered if she could rip things apart as easily, but his content self knew she never would. Feeling his own roots crickety-crack into place, he came back up to awareness and nodded.

"Thank you," Willow said, coolly. "I'll try."

"I know you will."

"I know you know."

[Tiltjuice]

Izzat a bird?

She had remained partially concealed in the overgrowth but had poked her nose into the fading sunlight when the civet and honey badger began their play. The leaf game seemed interesting enough but the other two animals were much larger than she. They had quick claws and probably more teeth in their heads than she did, plus they could sit on her and that would be her end.

She took a few steps forward with her fluffy rump lowered and ears towards the sun. The Spotty-stripey and the Grumbler-claws seemed at ease with the bird, but nothing was certain in life. Large ears rocked towards the group and her whiskers quivered. Many things were uncertain but what was certain was the calm attitudes of the other creatures. Plus they might have food. Or even be food. Well, maybe not. The bird was huge. Maybe the other two would take it down and she could snatch intestines while they were chewing?

She approached a few steps more, and then some more, and then some more. Little drips and drabs of pitter-patters carried her across the leaves and between Spotty-stripey and Grumbler-claws. Her head tilted and she observed the bird.

Izzit dead?

It didn't look too dead. That is to say that it might be almost dead or even fake dead. She could hear its heart beating, though, so she wouldn't proclaim the large bird as edible until it was very dead. The little fennec had never seen a bird this close before. She cautiously took a step beyond the Spotty/Grumbler front line and leaned as far forward as possible to sniff at the sleek creature. She couldn't understand his feathers... they reminded her of scales almost, or prickles... or his funny wings. His feet and beak meant that he was a bird, so what did all this mean?

The penguin turned when he felt something poking at his feathers. He turned slightly away from Stripey and kept an eye on Big Claws, who seemed not to care about much of what was going on.

The source of the tickling - a set of whiskers from a smaller creature. With big ears. Strange; there were very few animals he knew with big ears. It seemed to be all triangles. Very odd. He waved his beak in the air and then waddled over eagerly, almost recklessly curious to meet the canid newcomer as most of his kind were. His flippers didn't crunch through leaves; they slapped against the grass as he meandered, some blades still sticking out of his beak. The bushy tail was the only exception to the triangles, and that contrast looked strange. He stretched out a flipper.

[Tiltjuice]

Dora's smile held an otherworldly quality to it, something undefinable.

"You and I aren't the same, and yet we are. Trust me when I say life has mysteries for us all." She nodded to the daemonette, who swabbed down Katya's arm for fluids and her back for the anesthetic.

"Stay still, all right? Enough drama for one day." And before Katya could register anything else, the catheter was in and the pump whooshing. The daemonette was efficient and professional, and Dora had moved off a few paces, bridging the gap among the three women.

"Um...yea, sure...."

Katya looked back at Dora, a little strange, but thought that maybe she was just not thinking right. It was hard, trying to understand that in pain. Now, the nurse was taking care of her. That was good, too, since the entire fiasco was about to come to its climax.

"Say, after this, what will we do?", She asked. "I don't know how I'll take this...I'm going crazy, I swear, ha. What's the procedure? Dora? Nurse?"

The daemonette answered; Dora, being sterile and too young to remember her sisters' birth, had absolutely no idea.

"We wait until you're fully dilated before you can push. The whole process will take between 12 and 14 hours, since it's your first child. Please keep breathing evenly, and relax as much as you can. I'll keep monitoring throughout."

[Tiltjuice]

Sapphire giggled at MB's little ear twirling. "Your a funny little creature."

The clock on the wall struck the time for lunch. The scientist that worked in the lab walked out chattering about work and other subjects as they piled onto the elevator. Sapphire watched them leave before looking back at MB. "Okay, now is out time to get in there."

MB stopped his ear twirling. There was a slight pause.

I feel like there should be suspense music. You feel need? He hopped onto the floor and made ready to follow Sapphire. I can follow; can't operate door, only eat through it. Would be bad thing? Probably bad.

[Monfrox]

"I see..." The girl replied, taking the time to jot down her information. There was no doubt about it, she was in brackish waters now. Once she finished filling out the form, she handed it in and took the key and information papers off the table before heading straight for the stairs. This place may very well be her undoing, but it was better than dying of exposure at least. She tried to flip through her iPod and get some music to calm her down if not give her a sense of bravado. A favorite. A song that, while reserved, instilled a sense of invincibility.

She took a deep breath and let the sounds enter her ears, slowing her stepping cadence to have her left foot fall on every downbeat and even humming along she went. One might say she secretly wished to live up to the song and have it be applicable to herself in some sense. For now, at least, she'd do her best to embody the chorus lyrics and continue to live despite her new crisis. She walked with her head down towards the floor allowing her hat to hide the top part of her face and with her hands in the pockets of her zip-up hoodie.

[Torsiedelle]

"Hi, Mr. Nikanor.", Torii waved. "Um, I was thinking Chaos, but do you want to go somewhere else? It's totally up to you, you know. I'm just a girl, and I remember Papa always saying that the man took charge and decided the date. I like the sound of that. It's kind of nice...."

She shook her head. She was rambling. "Oh, but yea, wherever is fine with me. I'm just glad we can do this. As long as the restaraunt is nearby, I'll follow."

"You know you can call me Bran, right?" Bran asked, scratching his head as he considered what Torii was thinking. Did she think this was an actual date or something? He was married, and quite happily so as well, so he definitely hoped that Torii wasn't expecting that sort of thing, but then again, Torii always was a little weird in his opinion, with the two sharing many different experiences together, not all of them positive in some regards. "Well, I guess we could just go to Chaos, but I kinda' want to try what else the town has to offer."

"Then I guess we'll see another restaurant then!", Torii said matter-of-factly. "So, after you?"

Of course, Torii did think of it as a date, but not as Bran would have thought. She didn't mean to imply any romance, nothing of the sort. It's just how she would describe what they were going to do; they dressed up, went to a nice place, and had dinner. There was nothing to it, she thought.

"Yea, I know I can call you that, but I just got used to calling you Mr. Nikanor. So, um...", She sighed. It sounded weird to her, but she'd try to act a little more like her age. "So, Bran...um....wow, that sounds weird. I'll have to get used to calling you that. How long have I been saying "Mr. Nikanor"? It's been a while now, huh?"

"Um...yea, sure...."

Katya looked back at Dora, a little strange, but thought that maybe she was just not thinking right. It was hard, trying to understand that in pain. Now, the nurse was taking care of her. That was good, too, since the entire fiasco was about to come to its climax.

"Say, after this, what will we do?", She asked. "I don't know how I'll take this...I'm going crazy, I swear, ha. What's the procedure? Dora? Nurse?"

The daemonette answered; Dora, being sterile and too young to remember her sisters' birth, had absolutely no idea.

"We wait until you're fully dilated before you can push. The whole process will take between 12 and 14 hours, since it's your first child. Please keep breathing evenly, and relax as much as you can. I'll keep monitoring throughout."

Katya half-screamed and let her head back. "Twelve to fourteen? Whyyyyyy!? I just want everything to be over.", She choked out. "Why?"

She started to wipe tears from her eyes and breath heavily, trying to calm down. "Please tell me I can take it easy for a little bit. I won't be able to take this shit."

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

"Oh time travel, did you have a choice? I'm Jonathan Davenport, accountant for an era yet to be." the man introduced himself, extending his hand to shake. "Let me guess, you come from Victoria's Britain? Or are you from an alternate timeline that is not quite the same?" he asked. For a simple number cruncher, Jonathan seemed very knowledgeable.

Sir reginald said," yes sir i do come from the jolly old Victorian Era. I got sent to the future because i shot a wizard in India because he was terrorizing the village. He was wounded when i was reloading he said a spell in Hindi That sent me into this era. When i arrived in future i thought it was a dream so i shot a killed a tiger but i was nearly arrested for so called poaching. I escaped now i am here". Then he took a sip of his gin and tonic.

"Well that is quite the story. What do you plan to do now? Look for a way back?" Jonathan asked, reluctant to direct him towards the very dangerous individuals that possessed time traveling capabilities. He wanted to see what he could do to help the fellow out. His eyes focused on the drink before him and the things the drink was suppressing, worries about those dangerous people finding him. He thought he was safe because he was not who they sought, but that changed when his co-worker turned up dead in the very building.

---

Meanwhile, the raptors smelled fresh blood in the air. New people were always fun to mess with, especially those who had not seen them before. Neil and Gretta exited apartment 2A in incognito. It was a great opportunity to test the new Gene Masker now that they were done with their covert meeting discussing plans for world domination. "So many new smelling people, not to mention the ones we missed meeting because we were gone." Neil commented as he sniffed the air. "Quite, I haven't used this look in years. Let us see what happens to those familiar and unfamiliar." Gretta replied as they entered the lobby.

[Monfrox]

The girl, enraptured in her mind's own world and not even able to look up, stopped dead when a shadow caught her eye with its slightest flicker of movement. She halted on her feet and almost jolted, which was her recoiling from taking another step forward and possibly running smack into whoever was there, if anyone was there. Many a times did she follow through with the same process, only to realize that there was no one in front of her and it was just her imagination. This time though, when she looked up, she did see someone. "Sorry." She said as she put her head back down and side-stepped out of their way. She couldn't help but think one thing, though. Was that Jim Carrey just now?

[Cerillium]

ATTENTION PLAYERS We are moving to the new thread early to celebrate PL's 2nd birthday. Dab created this one year ago today. The new IC thread celebrates that moment - it was posted at the exact hour and minute as the very first thread. FREEFORM We're on freeform still. Several small stories are taking place. We'll work towards Creepfest later this month. I haven't had time to respond to many posts. I need to be at work in 3 hours. New IC Link: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=312474. Players, do not post HERE. MOVE TO THE NEW THREAD.