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

[Northwest Slobovia]

Amanda got out of the truck next, happy to be out of that dark, bouncing hell. She was not happy to have found herself in a Brutalist police state. What sort of judge were they were about to face, and in what sort of travesty of a court?

She approached the guards frisking people. "I'll make this easy for all of us. My gun is in a shoulder holster under my left arm, and I've got a can of pepper spray clipped to my waistband at my right hip. Do you want me to open my coat, or are you going to do it?" The guard to her right shouldered his shotgun, but didn't raise all the way. It hardly mattered; the blast would cut her in half wherever it was aimed.

Lennox eyed Amanda suspiciously, his eyes scanning her entire upper body. She added in answer to his unspoken question: "It's a good suit, and a good shoulder rig."

"You open it. Don't move too fast." He shot back.

Amanda gave a curt nod. "I'll take it nice and slow." And she did, gradually unbuttoning her overcoat and unbuckling it, then doing the same for her suit jacket. With both hands, she held her coat and and jacket lapels away from her, allowing Lennox to disarm her; he took the gun first.

The implant scanner operator said nothing to her. He apparently found her phone uninteresting, and if his machine picked up the alchemetical cures in another pocket, he wasn't interested in them.

[Swith Witherward]

OPERATION: BO PEEP

Time had run out. They linked their arms and stepped forward on the three, and entered the Garden of Shadows just as the first morning light pierced the heavens to banish the lingering stars. The woods around them breathed a sigh and grew silent, and the song and wolves' eyes, and the doubts and bad memories ceased. Time seemed to hold its breath.

Ocho untangled himself from Kale's arm and lifted himself to his full height to sniff the air. Daylight compromised his vision, but this pregnant twilight was prime for last minute hunting. His nose detected nothing new other than the grassy odor of sheep scat. It wasn't until he was standing on his toes that he was able to actually see the ground below the sheep, however, and what he saw sent bitter chill coursing down his spine.

The sheep's robin's egg blue wool clashed horribly with the red rust stains smearing their mouths and darkening their chests. They grazed in earnest, but not upon the manicured lawn. Sharp teeth plucked at whatever morsels remain attached to the bones scattered by their feet. Little woolly lambs capered between the mess, play-butting each other or else galloping hither and tither to snap up flies.

A yearling skirted away from its occupied mother, its wool shifting to a pleasant purple shade as it trotted towards the newcomers. Tender eyes and forward-facing ears took in these strangers in its domain. Their foreign smells made them neither prey nor predator, in its mind. It paused ten feet from Kale, and inhaled her green smells. She was different from the others. The wool darkened to a smokey grey hue. She smelled like breakfast.

Its lips parted to reveal sharp teeth and a black tongue. The lamb bleated, and Nila staggered as she absorbed the wave volleyed at Kale.

"Do something," she urged the group, "Before the adults notice us and decide we're a threat."


KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM: FEAST MAKING!

The pale glow coming through the dining room windows captured strands of Giovenith's hair, casting them in a delightful light. Marcus sighed, his smile broadening at her words. Willow's call robbed him the opportunity to reply, however.

"Yeah, I'll help," he nodded. After all, the lizard was probably still in her basket. He could assist getting things set up in the dining room while Giovenith and her companions worked, and then drop by the lizard's apartment in an hour or two. "I suck at cooking, but I can arrange the tables. Maybe put some cloths on them. You know, make it kinda formal and fancy."

Deuce was fine with game preparation, especially as Hans' pockets had provided several fat, fresh birds. He set himself to work at his station, a song humming between closed lips.

An hour passed, and several dishes had been put together and sat in the fridge, awaiting the oven later. The chefs paused to take a break, drifting into the rearranged dining room with coffee or tea in their hands, and pulling up chairs to ease their feet. It was a nice opportunity for the newcomers to ask questions or perhaps share their own stories.

Rache took the opportunity to ask Willow about something that had been on his mind ever since the night before. He hauled a bench to a table for the Pony's comfort and chose a chair for himself.

"Willow, your home. The place you were before you came here? I'm sorry. I don't know the name," he apologized as he added sugar to his coffee, "This place - what is it like? Does it have many people like you? Are there humans?"

Marcus settled near the window in order to keep an eye out for his father's returning truck. As happy as he was to be back in Giovenith's good graces, there were still some things to sort. Drova was all of them. He set his coffee down and then waved at the winged teen. "Hey, Drova, grab some sugar packets on your way over, could ya?"


THE CHICKENING

It was a good time for the Chickening People to get to work as well. The morning light was sufficient enough for some of them to evaluate the yard. Over the course of an hour, Bran had procured tools and other necessities from the priests. The spare wood from the garage leaned against the building wall, and the group took a quick break to ponder the coop's location and materials.

It was decided to elevate the structure some, and Hans' pockets provided some quick mix cement bags (because "so there"). Holes were dug, mix was poured, and now the builders had time to spare for discussion while the stuff dried. Some remained, and found patio chairs and a table to cluster around. The rest headed to the village to inquire about metal.


The blacksmith was already at work in his shop when the Residents arrived. His hammer strikes rang out in the crisp morning air, and his forge's flames cast a warm glow from beneath his shop door.



LIBRARY
"Trust me, I'm not higher," Minerva darkly chuckled. "The avatar I follow is on the outs with the greater good, so to speak. I'm just as much a castaway as everyone else, currently."

She crossed her legs with a sigh. Reduced to only a few Lads, no contacts outside the Building, and a shitpile of things that needed to be sorted before lunch, the cultist leader found herself suddenly very grateful for Primordial's company. It wasn't often that she had a chance to touch base with Residents. His insight and perspective were often useful to the situations at hand.

"I don't see them as a lesser species," she ventured. "They're simply different, and march to their own drums. Like us, many of them are also cut off. It's that sequestration that bothers me, to be frank. Try as I might, I can't make contact with any of my forces. I think it's safe to presume our gods must be respecting Demens' territory."

This was getting off the subject, however. Minerva steered it back on course. "There's talk of appointing leaders. Voices for various groups in the Building. Internal relations, not external. We have a bloody Representative for that.

"Of course, Adrastus speaks for his priests. I'm not certain who speaks for the Building's security, although I'd hoped people might consider my long and faithful service here when looking for someone to guide this group. And of course, the healers have Sandy to voice their needs and concerns. Our magic users could likewise use a point of contact. Someone we can go to when we need to organize magical defenses or procure special items. Someone who can take the time to network with the others in the Building, although that means he or she must put their own agenda aside."

She let out a small laugh. "Of course, you and I are chaos. We follow Chaotic gods, and that puts some people off. I can personally recall your dedication during the Raptor invasion. I know you do good work. However, much like people are loath to have me lead fighters - lest I corrupt them, I suppose - they hesitate to have you be the contact point for the magic users. To be blunt, they worry that you'll either try to solve everything using Luxan tech, or else that you won't understand that there needs to be equal say among all the magic users."

"They do have some valid points," she continued. "Your magic is extremely dark. Grim and graphic, as is befitting a servant of the Great Old Ones. My own brand is hedonistic, rife with drug use and orgies. We would have a lot to overcome if people are to trust us. But you and I have been here a very long time, Primordial. We know this Building. We know Demens' snark. If we weren't dedicated to our jobs, we wouldn't be here at all."



APARTMENT 4J

Shortly after my new assignment, but prior to departing for Dyste, I paid Scel a visit. They kept her in perpetual tenebrae, as was their wont. I could see her glittering eyes in the dark, and the warmth of her breath comforted me as I curled against her. We spoke of many things, each more absurd than the last. That was our way. It was how we whiled away lonely hours.

Their attempts to "civilize" me through indoctrination courses at their Academy had done little to benefit me, but the Academy's library was vast and, when I was Good, they granted me access. The knowledge there broadened my own. Scel, my logic, devoured the material from afar. She was restless that night. I desired nothing more than to preen, and I occupied myself with that while she peculated her thoughts. I had almost soothed myself to sleep when I felt her claw stir.

"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more'," she prodded my side, no longer content to simply postulate her rhetoric to thin air. Her question was quoted from a book, of course. "Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.'"

I honestly didn't want to ponder anything of this nature. What tremendous moment was worth our current plight that I should choose to relive both positive and negative moments perpetually? Of course, nobody is ever alone when the Mind insists upon reflection, and she continued to prod me until I acknowledged her query.

"I would kill the demon," I nipped her paw until she retracted the claw's tip from my side. "There is nothing in our life worth repeating. I would take his skull. It would negate him ever bothering anyone else ever again. I don't believe in N'tiskt. Neither do you. We are misotheist now. We must be Good."

"I refuse to be "Good". It is Evil. It is Heresy."

That was why she was incarcerated, of course. You can never fully silence Logic. It will eternally seek Truth and cast light upon it, so you fetter it and pretend it doesn't exist.

How foolish was I in my hasty answer that night for, not more than a month later, a single night changed my life. That was the tremendous moment when I first met Septimus Itum.

I often dwelt upon Him. My last memories of him end abruptly; the movie pauses and the viewer hushes and awaits the story to begin once more, only to discover the scene is skipped. This lost segment plagued me for nearly a century. Of course, I had no way of knowing we would one day be reunited. Amor fati, indeed.

[Fvaarniimar]

<Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...>  While Nick had followed Sandy's thought process and hence had known that his eyes were about to close, he still felt some disappointment as the magical colors faded from view.

<I'm supposed to close mine as well...I don't want Sandy mad but...>  The thought of closing his eyes in an environment this unfamiliar made the small creature a little uneasy, and he blinked every few seconds.

Until, of course, they stepped across.

---

Nick's eyes opened - <the fireworks?> - instants before the sheep moved forward.  <Shit!  It's sniffing US!>  (Ten feet was a little too far for Nick to determine that only one of the three was of interest.)  It seemed the sheep were really a threat - <I smell blood.>  Dead rodents and a few wounds and metal - all associated with the scent.  Prey.  <They'll eat us...>  Despair.  Nick clung, paws occasionally twitching - part of him really wanted to jump off, hide in the vegetation.  Sandy would see a closeup of grass blades... those spooky lupine eyes came again to mind.  Maybe not.  <...could I hide in something Kale grew?  Maybe that's ->

His ears swiveled forward; his whiskers twitched; his eyes widened. <Maybe that could work!>  Sandy would understand that 'that' now referred to hiding everyone with tall plants, not just Nick. <We need to distract, but we don't know how. We could get more (Image of a clock) And...what if we did something about the smell?> The man would suddenly be quite aware of the scents of the party through the feline's nose - not bad, but hardly discreet. An image accompanied it, though hardly necessary - the sniffing sheep. <You have a spell which strengthens senses...can you do the reverse? Maybe I should talk to - 'Kale, c-'> "Ould you gr -" Awkward.

<Not loud - they'll hear - Kaleisclose, whisper. Not loud, whisper...> "Kale, could you grow some tall plants so we can hide? Uh, we need a distraction and if they eat us that won't help."

[Primordial Luxa]

Sheep

Aegis muttered a prayer to the Gate and the Key as he walked across the threshold with the rest of his team hoping that such an entity has some presence even here. Once he and the rest of the group were safely across however he began scanning the woolly gang which they were supposed to be dealing with. He immediately noticed one of the younger ones sauntering up to the group and giving Kale a look which seemed filled with a hunger that made Aegis’s skin crawl. However he wasted no time and with a practiced motion placed a dimensionally transcendent round into his rifle, the round was filled with a series of kinetic detonations folded and compressed with strange alien geometry so that the bullet had a explosive capability similar to that of a hand grenade.

He aimed the rifle higher above the treeline making such that none of the force or energy from the shells breach would strike anything in the clearing and hoped that any shrapnel would impact the branches and leaves below in case any of the other burrow dwellers were nearby. But his military expertise told him this was a safe action that would only create a loud sound. He hoped that it would scare the young ones off to their hiding places where the other burrow dwellers were waiting as well as draw the adults away from their children. He also figured since Nila seemed confident in their ability to block out the pain from people and Ocho wouldnt be on the front line a little screaming would be alright so long as Kale and the others were able to quickly contain them like planned.

“Ba Ba Black Goat have you any young?” he hummed with a sinister tone just like his mother had before pulling the trigger releasing the weaponized mixture of human and Xothian engineering. It peeled loudly across the sky creating an aesthetically pleasing tone when mixed with the fledgling daylight and it would most likely be heard by anyone nearby including the waiting Burrow dwellers..

“Yes sir, yes sir a Thousand and one.” He pulled another round out of his pocket in case the first shell did do the trick.

“One that can slither, one that ooze, one that drip slime wherever it can move.” He continued humming before raising his voice and active his helmets noise dampeners. “Alright guys loud and distracting, stick the plan and stick together. Sandy, Nila if either of you require an eldritch boost just tell me and I can try to funnel my own energies into your abilities.”

[Tiltjuice]

THE CHICKENING

Despite the sun having risen, it was still somewhat brisk. Chrys had exchanged a smile and a brief hand-squeeze with Hans, although there had still been something off or unusual about him. She'd resolved to ask him about it when she got back; but for the time being she found herself guiding a small group to the village's blacksmith. Possibly guarding as well, but for the moment there were no foes in sight, and so she pressed her hand against the door hoping to feel its warmth. She disagreed rather severely with cold.

Balling it up, she knocked twice and called out.

"Hello, could we have a moment?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Sandy stepped into the Garden of Shadows and scanned its edges for anything that might be a hoary wood and listened with Nick's ears for the sound of running water, in the hope of getting an idea of where to lead the adults. He let Nick keep an eye on the nearby sheep until his attention was pulled away by Nick's question. He turned to overlay his color vision onto the sheep as he answered.

<You have a spell which strengthens senses...can you do the reverse?>

No, that's beyond my abilities; a sensory mage should be able to reverse their own spells, but sorcery has different rules. A ripple of magical impressions passed through Sandy's mind: he thought of Kale as a mage, working magic by force of will in a narrow domain, but Sandy learned spells from books and repeated practice.

<...could I hide in something Kale grew? > [...] "Kale, could you grow some tall plants so we can hide? Uh, we need a distraction and if they eat us that won't help."

Sandy caught Nick's suggestion before he spoke it, and he was ready with a quiet addendum when he finished. "I'd recommend grass, and no higher than the sheep are tall, so we can see them and they can't see us. Make the grass flower, and give the flower-stalks a strong scent if you can, to confuse the sheep's sense of smell. But let's see if we need it first."

He aimed the rifle higher above the treeline making such that none of the force or energy from the shells breach would strike anything in the clearing and hoped that any shrapnel would impact the branches and leaves below in case any of the other burrow dwellers were nearby. But his military expertise told him this was a safe action that would only create a loud sound. He hoped that it scare the young ones off to their hiding places where the other burrow dwellers were waiting as well as draw the adults away from their children.

Oh, shit! Hadn't Ocho just warned him against that? He dearly hoped Nila could deal with the expected consequences.

Sandy muttered a hurried, "And now we see if words rattled with a silvery tounge, or if what gleamed most brightly is golden" and cast a silent fountain of golden skyrockets shot with silver streaks, making it as large as he could. He hoped the local magic would give it a little endurance in case Nila's abilities weren't up to the test. Sandy watched the nearest sheep in Nick's motion-sensitive vision; that should catch their first twitches of action: he'd need to know whether to walk, run, leap, or fly away from them... or maybe even chase after them if the message he got was entirely misleading.

[The Carlisle]

Into the Garden of Shadows

Kale stepped into the Garden of Shadows, breathing out when passing on to the opposite side. Entering felt as if she was entering another realm. Not just because of the differing surroundings and the sheep, but the overbearing magic leaving her mind and the voices silencing themselves. She couldn't help but feel a bit relieved from being released from it. But she remembered quickly where she was and what her task is. She needed to focus and be aware.

She fixated herself on the sheep, their colors clearly contrasting them from the green field. Kale quickly noticed the red and blue clash of the sheep's wool, quickly finding out why. The plant girl tensed up a bit, noticing them feeding on bloody red and white messes of plucked corpses at their feet. She took a deep breath, steeling herself and rationalizing it. They were carnivores. They were not like sheep she knew, who ate grass for their sustenance, but more like wolves who hunted and scavenged. This wasn't an unnatural thing, but an animal filling its ecological niche. It wasn't a monster, but a creature molded by its environment to sustain on meat. It still didn't change the fact that they were dangerous, but it helped Kale view these creatures as another part of the nature here, like the plants she analyzed.

And she was helping disturb their lives for the good of other people. They were animals, but Kale still felt bad about it. But she had to do it. This was beyond her choice.

One of the lambs seemed to notice her, its colored changed as it walked and stopped in front of her. What did the little lamb think? No doubt that it had thoughts wired into its very being, one being hunger. The loud bleat confirmed that, though it was mostly deafened by Nila's magic. Kale did not fault the sheep for viewing them as food. Who faults the hungry lions for hunting sick and weak people. Of course, she was not about to let them have an easy meal. Just like all prey, she was gonna make it difficult to do just that. And she had one big advantage.

Kale listened to what Nick and Sandy said, taking in what they suggested. Grass tall enough for them to walk and see them, and not enough for them to see the group. The scented flowers intrigued her a bit. She didn't consider them being sensitive to smells, but it made sense for predators. And she knew how to make her flowers smell like all sorts of things! She learned a lot from her times pranking people, and bad smells was one of them. Of course, she knew a lot of good smells as well. But they probably needed a combination of both to mask their scent. But she needed to be ready to execute that plan when the time came. And she needed to necklace off.

Kale took a deep breath. She grasped her necklace, pulling it off her head. Instantly, she felt the connection to her magic return, within her grasp once again. She lowered her arms, her necklace tightly held within her left hand. She took deep breathes, preparing herself mentally for its use. She needed to be focused. No mistakes, no more.

BANG!!! a loud noise sounded off across the field from them. Kale was startled by the noise, looking around and seeing Aegis pointing his rifle across the field. She then caught Sandy casting off his firework magic as well, creating a bright light. She looked away from the display, focusing her gaze back onto the sheep and positioning her arms into her usual stance. She had no clue how the sheep will react to this display, but she was prepared to act if things didn't go favorably.

[Chedastan]

Romulus had felt so filthy and foolish to have even said that fake cover title, when he himself had knew he had been in the right of knowing the Nifid's plan wouldn't work at all. He would had said he was sorry to all the Wilhelms, and Maccabees right there, but the trucked slowed and came to a stop. Thank Wilhelm this ride's over. The General felt relieved to not risk hitting his head on something again, nor have to feel another awful bump. But now they had to face this Judge. As they were about to get out of the truck, he would agree with the Representative that honestly was the only thing they had left to work with.

As his eyes felt the harsh light, he squinted only briefly, as his eyes quickly adjusted themselves, years of wielding a bright as hell magical sword sort of helped with that. As he waited for his turn to come up, he eyed the general aesthetic the place had, and he thought what he saw at the checkpoint looked bad. From what he could tell now, Urbem Ascalon looked like one of those authoritative, totalitarian places that casually oppresses its residences and visitors, that would at least explain the security attitude, might be the only reason this place still stands for what he knew. Only problem the Wilhelm Imperium have had with these places is they don't normally play nice with them, and they tended to suck out the nearby resources with non-optimal efficiency. For those reasons alone they're typically prioritize for campaigning first as soon as they come across them. Assets in their areas had to be protected for future Imperium purposes... If only the Imperium was here to do that now.

But it all just left the General wondering what exactly these people had to be fearful of to justified this much militarization. There had to be another factor to it that wasn't just people like those in the Building, another neighboring warring city or two could be likely. Constantly exchanging pot shots with one another, and building up for the full-scale war that wouldn't happen, or at least not anytime soon.

"Next!" Lennox called.

And already it was his turn to go up to be process. He remained as calm and as complying as he could be to avoid another incident like before, as that would be the worst possible thing to do right now, and again would likely result in certain death, better not argue with anything then. As he got out of the truck, several guards begun to look wary at him. Especially given he stood taller than practically all of them.

"Be careful of Big Boy there, he's a little attach to his toys from what I heard." He heard from the same guard that called him. Romulus would had glare at him, but he didn't think that'll go too well, and it'll be kinda pointless anyway, better not waste the effort he supposed.

As he was then frisked by guards, to which nothing of any real interest was found on his person. He was then preceded into the bunker for scanning. There they found his enhancement organ implants nestled in his body, but upon further inspection, it was found that nothing really malicious could be done directly with the implants. Though it was noted that the General would take much more effort than a average human to take down. His gauntlets on the other hand may be a problem.

"Sir, can you remove your gauntlets?" The operator asked him.

"No, I'm afraid. They're fused to my hands, I can't take them off." He gave the straightest answer he could give, it was the only thing he even could give at all. He had them on since he was a General and received his sword, it would be madness to think he could causally take them off as he so pleases.

The operator further inspected them, finding that they were just gauntlets made out of some strong material, and nothing much more advance or magical to them. Still though, it could be that the gauntlets possibly wouldn't be that much of an issue, given that the General has complying quite well thus far, and wasn't showing any malice. And the gauntlets would probably only serve in fighting as over gloried boxing gloves, due to the lack of any enhancements to them. The love box was still a possibility for him, but was it worth doing for just metal boxing gloves? No, that'll be unprofessional.

"I'll need to put you in a love box, Sir. One moment please."

He sighed. "Oh Wilhelm." He muttered.

[Fvaarniimar]

Rmwtyliin was still trying to figure out a way to fit Romulus' claim to be a general of the Wilhelm Imperium into the plan -

- perhaps due to incompetence?  He might be...skilled...at...fighting, but he certainly did not seem competent at the checkpoint.  It will be believable, I think...so 'I am Romulus Aphrodisiac, formerly General of the military section 'Wilhelm Imperium' of the Nifidium, demoted because I was incompetent.  I am now Rodney's guard.'  Something about the idea worried her - a few moments later she figured out what.   He acts like his position means a lot to him.  He was willing to call himself a captain, but incomp -

Having been rather desperate, the kid had kind of latched on to the first plan that seemed viable; she listened in irritation as Amanda and Septimus spoke.  The story would not work if half the group was unwilling to stick to it.  Ugh.  It is unfair, I tried to play along!  Stupid men.  The girl glared in the direction of Septimus' voice - although she did nod at his warning. Rahmulus gave identification... (He also tried to say my name yesterday...respected me by making an effort) Amanda is correct - given the Building and the Burrows, it would be very difficult to make the story work...stupid Rodney came up with that stupid plan (stupid man, pretending to know what he was doing) which seemed good which fell through AND NOW I AM STUCK ON MY OWN AND WHAT IF I CANNOT DO THIS AND THEY KILL ME?! She placed her hands on her head as someone yanked off the bag.

"Duncan, translate please," she whispered rather snappishly, listening as Septimus was processed... 'You DO NOT treat assistants in that manner, child!'  "Sorry," she whispered.  Duncan had neither done any wrong nor even overstepped what a Fvaarniimarn man (of her time) would be permitted; he was a loyal translator and companion.  Starting to reach for her pocket to grab him a nut, she remembered the situation; her hand half-swatted her hair in her haste to raise it.  The fact that said hair didn't budge was a testament to the effort she'd put into securing the updo. 

It is a mere weapons check!  That was not so bad - she suppressed the urge to laugh in relief, face contorting for a few moments.  Nevertheless, she hung back, waiting and listening and watching... I cannot make another mistake.  I do not want to end up in a Love Box - it has a nice name but the context -

--

Romulus stepped forward. Five. One more set of footsteps, and this short reprieve would be over. Soon - too soon - another was called.

"Next."  Rmwtyliin listened for the sixth set of footsteps. They didn't come. We need to obey. Maybe this other was just as nervous. I have watched enough. Someone MUST GO NOW.

Hyperventilating, Rmwtyliin trembled as she took a first, hesitant step.  Soon, however, she had squared her shoulders, adopted excellent posture, and controlled her expression, even managing the tiniest bit of a smile.

They are confiscating weapons for rulers' safety.  I have no weapons...well, knives are weapons.  Should I hand over the nut peeler?  It is not threatening.  They were upset when I grabbed the phone which is not either.  We should not reach for things.  One last step brought her to Lennox. He'd looked odd from afar. Now she wondered whether he was a cyborg, an alien - or merely an armored guard.  Better not...  Amanda said...  "I will make this easy."

The short teen leaned away reflexively as the weapon poked her.  "Hold still!"  Eyes very wide, she did her best to comply, standing stiffly as her heartbeat echoed in her ears.  The thumping was something to focus on.  She did, even trying to breathe in on every fifth beat.

"I have a sharpened stone in a pouch around my neck.  It is for peeling nuts and is not very sharp."  Her speech was slightly rhythmic.  Duncan's probably was not.

"Blunt weapon.  We need to confiscate it."  Rmwtyliin looked at them incredulously; it fit in the palm of her rather small hand twice over.  Maybe you think it is an arrowhead?  Arrows were dangerous - at least, the kind which weren't blunt with linen padding glued to their tips.  Said pouch was grabbed and rifled through; several other items within it were confiscated in the process of finding said 'blunt weapon.' The lens' confiscation surprised her least - it was mostly for starting fires and that could be dangerous.  However, these were items from home.  She wanted to beg for their immediate return, but the items were potentially dangerous and they were to meet with a dignitary. "Please, handle them gently."  While the nut-peeler likely would be fine, the lens could be scratched, even shattered.  Her eyes widened as Lennox removed and shook the stoppered nutshell holding cooling ointment, and again as the wooden needle was removed.

"Here, put your purse back on."  Complying, she realized that, with that done, the rest of her would be checked.  Inwardly she cringed at the thought of a strange foreign man's hands on her body - outwardly she stood, rather stiffly, and took the patdown with only occasional wincing, still focusing on her heartbeat.  It proved quite uneventful - although Lennox did open the girl's coat pockets after feeling lumps, neither hair accessories nor watches nor runes nor nuts proved cause for concern, and her other clothing concealed nothing save those things clothing conceals and some undergarments.  She did however start shivering once her coat was removed, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Lennox.

Soon enough the awkward procedure had finished.  They had been advised to be quiet - but the others had been speaking.  Rmwtyliin herself had needed to speak.  More speaking probably would not hurt, and it might help to placate them with pleasant words. The Naaliiasz had been taught to be generous with compliments, and she had one!  "Your city inspires awe, with its lovely tall towers and many lamps."  Calculated as the compliment was, it was sincere; Rmwtyliin did find Urbem Ascalon awe-inspiring, especially now that she could see it more clearly.  Granted, it wasn't entirely a good sort of awe-inspiring!  This city was a scary place.

The compliment elicited eyerolls.  A kiss-up.  Lennox turned his attention to the rodent on Rmwtyliin's shoulder.  The role it played had been obvious almost from the start.  "That thing translates for you?"

"Duunkyn."  It was pretty much the only time in the conversation that Rmwtyliin's voice did not sound meek.  "Duunkyn translates for me - very well." 

"Alright."   One of the guards grabbed something, holding it up.  "Can we put Mr. Dune-kin in this cage?"

Rmwtyliin looked at the naked mole rat, gently lifting him off of her shoulder.  "Duunkyn, they want you in a cage.  It might protect you..."  He scampered in.  She pushed her lips out, and nodded when told to walk over to the bunker - although she didn't quite obey.  In her relief to be away from the scary weapon, the Fvaarniimarn ran halfway (cage clutched to her chest) before reddening and slowing to a brisk walk.

The scanner didn't turn up anything that unusual.  It might register elevated heart rate and similar signs of fear.  Similarly, blood tests would indicate that the girl was human, although if DNA was checked some genes might not be familiar; as an example, a few such genes produced her soft yellow complexion.  She was, after all, from an alternate reality.

[The BranRiech]

"Sugar?"

He almost repeated the word like he was being interrogated, hearing it coming from Marcus at least. It made Drova jump a little, still holding the empty breakfast in his hands as it seemed like everyone was preparing for yet another meal. "Yeah, I got it." He reasserted his mind, processing the request through all the uncertainty of Marcus' feelings towards Drova. Was their friendship still at risk, or was it even a friendship to begin with?

The Prince twisted his back, the bones in his back popping.

His eyes darted across the counter's smooth top, resting on the small wire basket filled with sugar. Homing in on them, he swooped in and grabbed a handful as he approached Marcus.

[Cerillium]

OPERATION BO PEEP

As everyone knows, several things happening at once can only fall under one classification: Pandemonium. Alas, when it is Residents doing several things all at once, you safely tag on: SNAFU before silently praying that it doesn't melt into a solid FUBAR.

Such was the case in the Garden of Shadows.

BOOM!

The sharp crack of Aegis' firearm caused the sheep's heads to swivel -- not towards the man, but straight up.

TINK!

The round struck something invisible yet obviously solid.

FWISH!

Sandy's fancy fireworks exposed a strange crack in the the dawn sky.

TIK!... CRACKLE, CRACKLE... CRACK!... PLINK!

The final sound was the soft ejection of a tiny fragment as the strange dome splintered. Sheep heads followed the glittering fragment as tumbled through the air to land amid the flock.

BLEAT!

Anyone fluent in mutant sheepspeak? Of course not. Permit me to translate: "Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck! The sky's falling!"

The entire flock blushed a putrid green before wordlessly bolting in all directions. Ocho's eyes locked on to the sudden movement. The pupils dilated. Prey drive: engaged. His tensed body shivered, the muscles rippling in anticipation, then he exploded into action. Sharp claws propelled him across the green. Sheep began to fly through the air as his forward-most limbs swiped at them.

But you see, several things DID happen simultaneously. The blossoming fireworks had caught Nila's attention.

"OOOOOOH! PRETTY GLITTERMAN! MINE MINE MINE!"

And that is the worst thing you'd ever want to hear tumbling from a construct's mouth. Glittery objects were cherished objects. Nila nimbly hurled herself right over Aegis' head, knocking his firearm askew as she landed upon Sandy's back. Sharp little talons dug into his clothing, sparing his skin (lucky man) as she gained his shoulders. Her hands flashed to bat at the magic but, of course, the fireworks weren't something tangible no matter how hard she grabbed. Her fiddleheaded brain sought to snatch, and she lifted herself higher until Sandy lost his balance. Fortunate wizard, clever wizard, the fireworks did not die. Er, perhaps that made him unfortunate?

Nila picked herself off the ground just as the thade sprung. Her eyes widened. "Noooo! Ocho! Wait for me!"

Torn between following him and the pretty glitterman's magic, she danced on the spot. No, glitterman was hers. She claimed him. Someone else might come along and reclaim him before she had the opportunity to stuff him into her sleeping basket. No fairsies!

Her tiny arms wrapped around Sandy's midsection. He found himself hefted onto her shoulder -- oh yes, constructs are incredibly strong little shits! Nila's call rang through the dawn fog as construct, wizard, staff and sparks set off across the field. "GLITTER GLITTER GLITTER EEEEEeeeEEEE!" Sadly for Sandy, the only viable view available as he jostled upon her shoulder was of the other Residents and the lone yearling.

That yearling! He didn't really qualify as a lamb given how close he was to the cusp of adulthood. Aegis' gun had fired just as he prepared to leap upon Breakfast Plant. The resulting nose caused the creature to put a little too much effort into his spring. Instead of landing in front of Kale to snap off her kneecaps, the hapless sheep landed directly on her. More accurately, Kale's face was suddenly enveloped in soft, putrid green wool.

BLEAT!

Do me a solid and reference the translation above.

The panicking sheep lost all interest in Breakfast as its little legs wrapped around Kale's head and scattered pellets down her front. Hey, you'd shit too, if you thought the sky was falling.

As for Aegis and Nick? Fate's a sassy bitch, ain't it? A small section of the flock booked straight for them, their eyes wide in horror and their tongues lolling from their mouths. They'd bowl them over in three... two... oh my!

[Primordial Luxa]

Ascalon
Insidious gave Septimus an unrecognizable hand motion that one could easily understand from context was not a flattering gesture where she was from and then turned away to stew in her anger.”I panicked and over reacted I’m well aware. Just be happy I didn’t actually decide to bring any weapons in that purse. I just got tasered enough to kill a normal person you don’t have to rub it in, the shocks already got the point across.” Her skin was flashing with a variety of brightly colored shapes and symbols all of which reminded an onlooker of a poisonous bug or venomous plant with her organic patterns. She didn’t enjoy any part of Septimus’s derogatory tone especially after being tasered, beaten and arrested for trying to hang onto her clothes and lipstick. Even though the sensation had been invigorating in all ways possible it did leave her very cross.

She tried to exit the car last since she figured that she needed a moment to gather herself and subside her rage and get back to an emotional place where she wouldn’t lash out at the nearest people. It was hard to say the least and it would have been harder if this was Insidious’ first day being herself because her mind was also currently bubbling with her typical fatalism, nihilism and drugs which would have been a bad combination for someone without her stability and liver. Stability was the optimal word since sanity was something of hers which had been violently exercised by the Luxan educational board and replaced with pieces of emotion and logic that stopped her from being a total psychotic mess of neurosis, paranoia and abnormal psychology. It was the stability rather than sanity that separated the raving cultist from the civilized ones.

So when she exited the vehicle she took in the surroundings with a passive expression and a blank apathetic look as her O.D.I.N. passively processed and recorded in its own subtle alien ways. Such an action was highly stealthy and completely harmless as well as something which her body was constantly doing so she didn’t think about turning it off until she overheard talk of a scanner from further up the line and assumed that such things were frowned upon. Even then she only shut off the passive scanning function in order to retain her depth perception. Her skin had returned to its seething grey and black pattern of vines and tentacles which coalesced around her body.

She tried not to let her hedonistic grin peak through turning the pat down. Her exterior of calmness remained even during the scan and she happily deactivated her cybernetics when they were pointed out by the overseer. However the vast majority of her upgrades such as her changing skin, advanced strength and other physiological abnormalities were biological in nature and so didn’t have the option of removal or deactivation. However to confirm that her cybernetics were turned off she was given a metallic headband with a set of interior sensors which would allow them to keep tabs on her eye and vitals in case she did try to reactivate her O.D.I.N. later. Finally the only thing else she was wearing was her jewellry which had the obvious marking of technology and which housed various conventional devices such as cell comms and internet systems, she relinquished these as well handing them over her finger rings, nose rings, toe rings, earrings, bracelets, anklets, and necklaces. Once she was even more naked than her usual self she followed behind the rest of her friends towards their next location.

Library
“The separation is nightmarish.” He nodded and a look of exhaustion seemed to take hold of his young features causing it warp as pieces of him turned to his more aged persona which usually only reared it head when he used too much of The Art. “I’m used to receiving dreams from all sorts of places and since I got here my sleep has been perversely changed, my dreams are changing, I fear my pantheons influence might not be seeping in nearly as much. Dear gods i’d rather die than have peaceful nights sleep.”

When she spoke about internal representative he seemed to perk up slightly and mused “Well I suppose I could nominate you for a security position and you could nominate me for a magic one. I always have appreciated how reliable you are, but I can see why other might worry about your lovely hedonist and warp charged style. None the less I’m sure both our records speak for themselves and with a little coercion the others could be made to focus on our accomplishments and not out strangeness.”

“Normally the only reason I resort so much to my own technology and magic is because it’s all I have. you know what they say ‘When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail’. But if I had the ability to more easily connect with the other magic users I could afford to not rely so much on myself and as you say table my typical agenda. But I’ve always thought of myself as a more democratic soul, but I suppose it never hurts to give other too much voice so I promise i’ll try to address those concerns.”

Woolly Bowl 2015
Aegis stared for a moment with a worried look at the strange cracking which was playing across the sky after his shot and he worried that some sort of magical anomaly had been rupted by his none-earthy weaponry. Perhaps this was the strange phenomena which the Harpy had spoken of when she referred to being trapped outside, or perhaps this was just an excretion of the vast magic that seethed viscously around these woods.

However Aegis did not have the luxury of pondering this for a long time because he was quickly sent to his knees by the wild movements of Nila who sent his gun skidding through the air to lay on the grass several meters from him. He suddenly looked about in curiousity about what Nila reason was for jostling him and quickly became angered when he saw it was strange Auromania affliction which had her violently fascinated by Sandies luminescent magic. He then cast his vision to the sheep to see what state they were in and his mood improved as he saw that the various creatures were indeed fleeing as intended, but he worried suddenly that too many of them were fleeing. They needed to keep the adults here and he turned to yell at Kale that they needed to do something when a group of the stampeding creatures trampled their way straight into him.

In an attempt to avoid any serious violence against the creatures he used his shoulders and bodyweight as a buffer merely knocking his assailant away from him with an impact from his shoulder or a sudden grapple in order to redirect them away from him and towards their target. In many ways it was light trying to walk through a the rapids of a raging stream, and he found it easier to stay put and rely on his strength than to risk walking and falling to be savaged by trampling hooves. Truthfully the effectiveness of such a strategy would depend entirely on the age of the creatures coming towards him for it would most likely work better on the young one than the mature adults.

[Giovenith]

t was nice to feel one's bones settle back into place as they took a hot chocolate break from hard work, and the relief was made even more pleasant by Giovenith's ears catching a friendly request from Marcus to Drova. She made herself smaller in her seat by smiled, hoping the two would patch things up for Torii's sake. Though if anything, she was glad Torii wasn't here to witness their clashing in the first place, her friend didn't tend to take these things calmly.

Willow, meanwhile, was letting his own black brew settle into his nerves when Rache sat near and laid down a common enough conversation starter. It was pretty easy to forget that Rache was a bloodthirsty war daemon sometimes given how--what was the word? normal?--his words and actions tended to be in contrast to the stereotypical image of supernatural war entity. Somewhere out there, a metal fan would be pissed off.

"No humans," the artist said, stirring his cup to encourage the coffee to cool. "Tons of 'people' like me though, given it's name. Equestria, horses' country."

It wasn't a very small request to accurately summarize one's own country, at least if you wanted to be honest and not devolve into either hyper-patriotic or anti-nationalistic drivel, but far from impossible. It was something he found himself doing numerous times, mostly for Giovenith. He stole a moment to organize his facts in his head as he took a deep sip of his beverage.

"It's in another dimension," he started off, figuring that statement alone cleared up a lot of potential questions. "And the primary home of the pony species, though we have citizens from all walks of life there--one of my neighbors was a zebra. Ponies come in three races each with different abilities: pegasus such as myself, unicorn, and Earth pony, who have neither wings nor horn." He didn't throw in Crystal ponies, given Crystals were basically just Earth ponies with sparkly coats as a side effect of their city's stray force field magic. "Save for our leaders, who are alicorns. They are all three races at once, with wings, horns, and connection with the Earth, so as to unite all ponies and equally understand each race's specific needs and grievances. They all hold the title of "Princess," and there are three total..."

Actually four, but Willow had left shortly before the apotheosis of Twilight Sparkle to princesshood, so he didn't have any way of knowing that.

"Giovenith says that they are our gods, my pantheon of worship," he continued, pouring more coffee into his cup. "And examining their nature, I would have to agree, though the specific linguistics this dimension has for such concepts were previously unknown to me. They are all sacred, but generally the one believed to be most important is Princess Celestia, as she is the oldest among them and the most visibly active figurehead. She is the one we swear upon and look to in times of peril. She is benevolence, life, and enlightenment, but also the deadly, ravaging inferno when she needs to be--such is the nature of the sun. She and her sister, Luna, literally control day and night, our planet would not have the hourly cycle without them."

It was the faith of Celestia that made Willow something of a benevolent hypocrite; he'd question all the other gods infinitely, yet here he was stranded in the middle of an alternate dimension and Celestia's reliability hadn't gotten a second thought from him. It went to show that even he could have his lapses in judgment with the divine.

"As I think I've hinted enough by now, the country is in very good condition," he topped it off, finishing off his coffee. "We're a superpower on our planet, and it's a very safe, productive place to live. We have a culture based on cooperation and goodliness, and our magic makes it so there is never any starvation or natural disasters so long as everypony does their part. Everything is very fair and very happy. The other kingdoms sometimes stereotype us as childish, spoiled, and effeminate, but I personally see that as coming from jealousy. "All rainbows and sunshine" we may be, but rainbows and sunshine indicate fertility and prosperity, so they can shove it."

[Cerillium]

THE CHICKENING

The hammering ceased. A heavy thud indicated the blacksmith placed his tool aside, and soon shuffling could be heard as his feet carried him to the door. The door rolled open wide upon iron wheels. Heat rippled into the chill morning, and the forge's light cast the blacksmith in silhouette. He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. "Dunnae let the heat out."

The shop was warm and inviting if not a little dirty from his trade. A traditional stone and brick hearth occupied the shop's center, but the blacksmith himself also had a collection of modern appliances, and there was no mistaking the nearby oxyacetylene blowtorch for something medieval. The coke forge's coals bathed the shop in umber tones, dancing off tools neatly arranged on pegs as well as the assorted anvils at his disposal. A car engine resting on blocks in a corner, and several swords hung upon the wall, shed some light on the degree of his talents.

The blacksmith himself was a massive man toned by a lifetime at his craft. A heavy leather apron wrapped around his thick waist, and coal dust streaked the sinewy arms poking out of grungy, rolled sleeves. Time and heat had weathered his face yet his eyes, so crisp and green, betrayed a soul warmer than the furnaces he tended. Those eyes regarded Chrys and her companions now.

He set his broad hands on his hips. "Aye? Sommat can I do for you?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Woolly Bowl 2015

TINK! ... TIK!... CRACKLE, CRACKLE... CRACK!... PLINK!

Tink? Sandy raised his eyes and then his head, wearing a worried expression. The sky should not go t-- Oh, shit! There's a roof up there! What the hell does that mean? That the roof was illuminated by what should have been a foot-tall display would have concerned him more, but the cause was obvious and Seen. Spells were the arcane hand-pumps Sandy used to pull the water of magic up through through immeasurable distances of arid mundanity. This time he'd hit a gusher, and magic poured from his spigot. He'd need a butterfly touch on the pumphandle next time.

Movement exploded in Nick's vision, and Sandy snapped his gaze down to try to make sense of the streaking blurs. He caught only the sickly color of the scattering sheep before something much larger landed on his back and snapped the connection he had with Nick. Stunned, Sandy reeled forward.

...

Her tiny arms wrapped around Sandy's midsection. He found himself hefted onto her shoulder -- oh yes, constructs are incredibly strong little shits! Nila's call rang through the dawn fog as construct, wizard, staff and sparks set off across the field. "GLITTER GLITTER GLITTER EEEEEeeeEEEE!" Sadly for Sandy, the only viable view available as he jostled upon her shoulder was of the other Residents and the lone yearling.

"Nila, put me DOWN!", Sandy shouted at the back of her head, futilely trying to lever himself out of her bear hug. The position was awkward for spellcasting, and with magic flowing like cheap beer at a frat party, Sandy wanted something more stable before he tried anything. She had him around the waist. Fine: two can play at that game. He shrunk his stick down to pencil size and slid it into a pants pocket.

Next up: he tried to pinch off the gusher. The magic was strong, Visible, and flowing through him, so it seemed like a straightforward matter. He thought he got it, and while he waited for the spell to die out, he moved on to his next task.

He walked his hands up Nila's back, trying to get them on her shoulders before swinging his legs around her torso. He'd be upright in their mutual grasp then.

[Charmera]

THE CHICKENING

The hammering ceased. A heavy thud indicated the blacksmith placed his tool aside, and soon shuffling could be heard as his feet carried him to the door. The door rolled open wide upon iron wheels. Heat rippled into the chill morning, and the forge's light cast the blacksmith in silhouette. He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. "Dunnae let the heat out."

The shop was warm and inviting if not a little dirty from his trade. A traditional stone and brick hearth occupied the shop's center, but the blacksmith himself also had a collection of modern appliances, and there was no mistaking the nearby oxyacetylene blowtorch for something medieval. The coke forge's coals bathed the shop in umber tones, dancing off tools neatly arranged on pegs as well as the assorted anvils at his disposal. A car engine resting on blocks in a corner, and several swords hung upon the wall, shed some light on the degree of his talents.

The blacksmith himself was a massive man toned by a lifetime at his craft. A heavy leather apron wrapped around his thick waist, and coal dust streaked the sinewy arms poking out of grungy, rolled sleeves. Time and heat had weathered his face yet his eyes, so crisp and green, betrayed a soul warmer than the furnaces he tended. Those eyes regarded Chrys and her companions now.

He set his broad hands on his hips. "Aye? Sommat can I do for you?"

"We're looking for metal for a chicken coop." Remarked Asdra, looking around. Most of the set up came as no surprise to her, seeing as it was most of the stuff she would use anyway. She folded her arms as she then looked to the man himself. Seemed like the sterotypical blacksmith one thought about when regarding her profession. It was especially interesting when people imagined her to look somewhat more like this man. "Got anything we can use?" She commented, before moving towards the car engine, regarding it. "Did you build this one or are you just working on it?" She remarked. Once again allowing herself a small smile. She rarely built anything as complex as an engine, though she could probably work out how. She was often asked, however, to put runes on engines to make them go faster.

[The Carlisle]

Stampede of Cuddliness

As Kale looked back form the display, her vision was filled with green. She felt her self falling, and then, darkness....

Was she dead? Everything was muffled and she could feel a weight, though very soft, pressing down on her. Was this what death was like? She felt around, grasping onto more soft fuzziness. No, this wasn't death! It was the lamb, on top of her face and.... ugh... Kale could feel it, the rain of soft wet pellets down on her front torso. She ignored to the best of her ability the sheep's defecation on her and focused on getting it off her. She grasped her magic, weaving with her powers.

The grass immediately around her and the lamb grew and clumped together, twisting and turning, creating ropey grass tendrils. The tendrils quickly wrapped around the lamb's main body, each going from belly to back once or twice, getting a firm grip. When they were secure, the tendrils raised the lamb up, releasing Kale from the weight of the nearly grown sheep.

Kale sat up quickly, ignoring the sheep shit, and looked around to see what happened. She was surprised to see Nila carrying Sandy off, and tensed up at the incoming stampede. They were about to hit Aegis, Nick and herself!

Kale thought quickly, crosssing her arms and grasping her magic. She needed to act fast. She remembered parts of the plan and adjusted them accordingly. Bad smells warded off predators. Skunks even scared off bears and wolves with it. The same can be done with these sheep. Bad smelling flowers between the stampeding sheep and her, Aegis and Nick. Hopefully it will ward them off. With her plans made, Kale grasped her magic and weaved her thoughts into actions.

[Highfort]

The Man Who Would be Magistrate

Lennox snorted. Damn civvies and their little toys, always trying to pull a fast one on him or his boys. Everyone in the Uppers submitted to the Judge - it was less a question of if and more a question of when? No one was indomitable, at least if they didn't want to get a shiv in their side or a bullet in their back. As he nodded, observing the sequestration of the last of the newcomer's goods, the tell-tale sign of scraping and grunting alerted him to the Love Boxes' arrival.

"Well, well, boys, your accommodations have arrived," he offered a grin and a chuckle as he gestured toward Thaddeus and Romulus, "Just sit tight and we'll get you all locked in so you can meet the Boss."

Septimus' eyes narrowed, though he said nothing. Boss. Judge. Whoever this man was, he seemed to crave power and if the cyborg was right he'd be accumulating it as rabidly as he did titles. And that would pose a serious problem for the Building and its well-being, which of course meant it posed a serious problem for the aforementioned apartment's Representative. Gears began to turn in his head. Their first impression would have to be a lasting one, and they'd already fucked up the initial approach.

"Maurice, Wilkins, drop 'em here," Lennox acknowledged the efforts of two helmet-wearing guards as they and their exoskeleton-shelled bodies ceased pushing what appeared to be two tall, jet-black, and heavy monoliths. There was nothing inviting in their shadow, nothing remotely loving in their imposing visage. The helmet-less head of Judge's Boys strode forward to slap his gloved hands against the cold surface of the monoliths, each finger and palm leaving ripples as a subtle shift of matter occurred. Openings materialized in front, the interior obscured by imposed darkness.

"Maurice, take Mr. Usseio and escort him to his Love box; Wilkins, you have Mr. Aphrodisiac," Lennox chuckled at the man's name. Poor bastard must've been sired by a whore or a drunk to get a family name like that. Still, it wasn't any sweat off his back. The Judge liked freaks - he thrived on them. Perhaps the old 'General' could open up a club, have naked freak girl with swirly skin be the headliner. He smiled at the thought - never could have too many clubs in the Uppers.

The insertion proceeded with no incidents and Lennox's fingers ran over the monolith's sides once more, securing the cyborg and the officer behind a mysterious matter barrier that obscured sight, though all sounds were still clear-as-day through the monoliths.

Following this, a contingent of exoskeleton-wearing guards, all facets of personality and individuality obscured behind black helmets, marched up behind the Building's group: two guards each for Septimus, Rodney, Amanda, another two to escort the Love Boxes, two for the little kid with the translating rodent, and four for the headband-wearing naked girl who called herself "Insidious". Lennox wasn't about to argue with her own self-assessment - if she wanted more security, she could have it. He wouldn't be intimidated - but he also didn't intend to be killed.

"Everyone get in position, Boss wants to meet 'em ASAP," Lennox brought up the rear, rifle raised and ready to fire at the first sign of trouble, "Take it easy, visitors. Don't try nothing and we won't do nothing. Forward."

The scraping of wheels across the floor indicated that the monoliths had begun their slow locomotion, propelled under their own power - the source unknown and unclear from the smooth, minimalist design. Guards kept pace with the Love Boxes, just as they kept pace with the visitors. Eyes darted between the visitors hands, legs, and faces, intent on dispatching them at the first sign of trouble. There was none.

Bright floodlights indicated that the group had made their way into the fog-covered courtyard, skin tingling on Septimus' back as he felt the gaze of snipers in high towers on his head. One slip and the rest would be watching his brains nourish the soil and redecorate the fountain in the center of the yard - the only remotely-friendly installation on the Brutalist fort in the middle of a bleak district.

Doors opened on the other side of the courtyard, and once again they were ushered into a room. This one, however, was more reflective of the compound's moniker. Quiet piano music filled the visitors' ears and fuzzy, crimson carpet was disturbed beneath their feet. If they were paying attention, the visitors would have seen cheap replicas of famous Terran as well as Gallimaufryan art were hanging on the walls. In the center, flanked by two guards with raised rifles, lay an easy chair. Propped back, the footrest up, and the drink cup occupied by a glass of wine, it contained the man they'd all been looking for - the man who fancied himself the justice and the magistrate of the Uppers, the Defender of the Downtrodden, the Friend of the Freaks.

The Judge.

Sunglasses went from being propped up on his forehead to obscuring his eyes as he sat up, running a hand through whitened hair as a smile curled onto his lips and wrinkles further betrayed his age. A baritone voice greeted the ragtag group from Demens' Towers, and he opened his arms in greeting.

"So you're the fiends that made so much trouble at the Border Patrol's checkpoint," he laughed, a genuine laugh that Septimus almost believed was friendly.

The guns and the quiet guards assured him that, whether it was or wasn't, the group was only as valuable to the Judge as he wanted them to be. If the old man wanted them dead, they'd be corpses soon enough. He wondered if Rodney had planned for this sort of contingency.

"Septimus Alsius Itum, Representative of Demens' Towers," the cyborg began, hoping to start the conversation on a professional note despite the clear disadvantage they were at, "We hail from the aforementioned Building, just got here recently. We apologize for the incident at the gates. Some of us-"

He offered a nod at Insidious and the Love Box containing Romulus, voice never wavering as he completed what he hoped was a good pitch, "-are new to this world as well as this planet. They'll adapt, you'll see. We have skills we can offer - I believe we can work out an excellent arrangement if you'll just look past our first impression."

"And what makes you think I need men and women of your skill?" he cracked his knuckles, hand going to his side to toy with a holstered revolver before he brought his fingers up to rub his bearded chin, "I brought you here because you're interesting - if you have any skills to offer, that's a bonus."

"Well if all you wanted was a freak show, you could've just asked. We'll dance for a pretty penny," Septimus snorted, eyebrow raised at the cavalier attitude of the man. This man ran the Uppers? He owned this compound?

"Well... Obviously, it's not just that," A chuckle interrupted the man's explanation, "You see, you agitated a lot of potential customers, put the Border Patrol on-edge, and focused all the UA Council's attention back on the Uppers. You've just made a right mess of my day and I cannot possibly let that go unpunished. It would be unjust and wouldn't befit my title. I am the Judge - not a judge but the Judge. The Uppers is my territory and as you've gone and messed with it, a trial is in order."

Up went the revolver, twirling in his hands and glinting in the soft candlelight of the Palace's Throne Room.

"So, what has Demens brought in? What has the universe shat out to live on this little rock with the other miscreants, freaks, mutants, and cyborgs?" the Judge flicked the revolver toward Amanda and licked his lips, "What about you? What's your deal? You don't look like them - you, the kid, and the stiff in the suit. What the hell are normies like you doing tagging along with a naked bitch, two cyborgs, and a power-armor wearing thug with delusions of grandeur?"

[Fvaarniimar]

A furry head turned towards the crack. <What -> And the lizard pounced.

<AhhhhhhhhhhhOh no attack wait that looks like the one -> (and the connection broke) from earlier. Resident. Sandy had felt a bit of confusion before Nick's paws had been jolted out of position.

The cat himself, however, hung on for a few more moments before a quick nosing of Sandy's ear. <Sorry!> He jumped, landing next to Aegis instants before the sheep stampede reached them.

As the woolly wave approached, instincts Nila had triggered continued. Ears further flattened. Hair puffed up as his back arched. He growled. The vocalization did not involve the collar.

"HHHHIISSSSS!"

Of course, any progress the cat had made in frightening off the sheep might well have been undone by his next action - he dashed behind Aegis.

[Swith Witherward]

THE CHICKENING

"Metal chicken coop?" he ran a hand through his sooty hair as he considered what he had lying about. "Aye, I have sommat might do. Guess you know about Fiends? Make the roof strong."

The girl had an ease about her as she crossed the shop. Most would stay back, daunted by heat and flames. This newcomer was a duck to water. Curious, he joined her beside the engine. "And, aye, I'm building that. Parts are hard to come by. I machine what I can't find. She doesn't look like much, but I take my time. Bit of effort here. Bit more there. Work on it when the mood strikes me."

A brow raised. "Interested in engines?"



CHEFS

"Thanks," Marcus nodded to Drova before emptying a packet into his mug.

The young man hadn't given much thought into what he'd do if Drova favorably replied, and hadn't really considered a topic. He cast his mind about before settling on the one that made the most sense.

"So, what do you think about all this?" his pursed lips momentarily betrayed his own vexation with the setting. "I mean, one minute, we're good. The next, we're in rural hell. Not that I mind the setting. I wasn't expecting to be stuck here. I thought it was a weird dream."

His eyes darted towards Giovenith. "And where is this place? The way my father talks, it's not on any cosmic map. Have you ever heard of it, Giovenith? Drova, what about Yuna? She's a priestess, right? Has she heard of Gallimaufry?"


Rache whistled lowly. No humans? Must be a nice break - a place in the universe without all the species' baggage. Willow's explanation wasn't overly complicated except for the part about alicorns. Few deities bothered to control the sun's rise and fall. The fact that Willow's gods were still invested in their creations touched the daemon.

"So, Equestria is a benevolent monarchy then? Your princess-gods are both ruler and deity?" He fished a cigarette from Hans' pocket, pausing to light it and to exhale a cherry-scented plume away from Willow's face. "Although you'll forgive me for saying a little chaos is good for strengthening things, but there's also something to be said for magic ridding a world of natural disasters and starvings. Cuts down on disease and suffering, too, I imagine. You can focus on the important shit in life. Not waste time."

A second drag, another plume. Rache's mind mulled over the culture shock the pony might have experienced. He snorted. "This isn't anything like Equestria. Someone can live their whole life in one place, never really appreciating it until forced to leave it. Others love it but, having been removed from it, find themselves adrift and forlorn. You seem to cope well, Willow."


LIBRARY

"Nothing seems to seep in here," Minerva growled. "And nothing seems to get out. Certainly not messages. I can't say that pleases me."

She put her own frustrations aside. This wasn't the time nor the place to vent them. They would eventually figure out enough about the dimension to make sense of it. Patience was one of Minerva's virtues, after all.

"I'll continue to put in a good word for you. Might want to visit the various mages, wizards and godlings. See if they need anything. At the very least, we can coordinate the Building's defenses."

The cultist leader sighed and allowed her shoulders to relax. How long had it been since she'd been this pent up? "I'm not too worried about the defenses, to be honest. I doubt this world has ever seen anything like Drones and Nifid. The Building can take of itself, but that doesn't mean we can't shore it up a bit more."

[Primordial Luxa]

Library
Primordial sucked the terribly morbid look that had crept back into himself regaining his more healthy image but a spattering of wrinkle nests still remained on his cheeks. “I will try and contact all of the other fellow arcane manipulators which I can and perhaps we can produce some protective standing stones for the yard, something to offer us an additional level of defense. I know that Insidious has created a ring of spirit traps just beyond the tree line and I can most likely see if we could link its arcanotech cluster with some additional sorcerers.”

“Perhaps it’s the fatalist in me but I can’t help but worry that this place is filled with nightmares just as bad as we had back on earth.” He said while standing up “Well Minerva it has be an absolute pleasure talking to you but you’ve given me much to do and think about, and I hope you would excuse me to begin preparations on such issues.”

[Swith Witherward]

Woolly Bowl 2015
A bit collab'ed, a bit purloined, and a wee bit tweaked...

“Oh hai, Glitterman!” Nila’s arms released Sandy’s waist, one at a time, her palms coming to rest under each buttock to support him. She snaked her reptilian head under his arm to keep watch on the terrain. Her pace hadn’t slackened. Not with Ocho plowing ahead.

The sparkles were gone yet Sandy was the sparkle-maker. It only seemed fair that she keep a hold of him in case they needed more. He was a wizard and, according to everything Nila had ever read about them, wizards were handy in a pinch. He could do Things, and make Things. He was-

“MAGIC!” the shout was capped with a maniacal stream of high pitched giggles. For a brief moment, Nila considered the fact that she, too, was wielding magic through him. But magic-users casts things, didn’t they? She could cast him. Yes, this was logical.

The construct’s stride elongated, and then she sprung into a high, arching leap. Her body spun, g-forces pulling their bodies apart. She retained a hold of his pants bottom, however, and used her momentum to lob him across the meadow.

“Go long!” she cried in glee as the hapless wizard sailed a good hundred feet over the sheep.

Sandy flew in a high arc, flailing his arms for the first few seconds, before realizing this was exactly what he needed for spellcasting. With the Critique of the Chill up, it took him until then to realize he’d lost more than his pants, and was momentarily ashamed, flinging his arms across his waist and bursting to a rosy blush, neatly offsetting the sheep’s sickly green. The conjured a sparkly fig-leaf to replace his missing shorts.

He’d been planning to change form anyway, and now his choice was made for him. He’d need wings, and he had only one way to get them. Sandy carefully chanted the Greek syllables of Apollonius' Fifth Metamorphosis, finishing his casting just in time to spread his wings.

“Oh no!” Nila’s feet skidded across the wet grass as she came to a halt. She stared at the trousers and briefs in her hand, then cast a fretful look towards the direction Sandy had gone… a direction opposite of where she thought she’d flung him.

Constructs had terrible aim sometimes.

She slapped her hands over her eyes as the man’s body twisted into the Pegasus, then squealed as the wings spread and he gracefully sailed right into Kale.

She might have helped had the sheep not run her over at that exact moment.


Kale was too focused on her magic to notice the incoming Sandy, the buds of her flowers just starting to rise when Sandy collided with her. The collision knocked to girl down, jarring her focus away from her magic.

Kale rubbed her head and back, hit by an object. She looked, seeing a pegasus in front of her. Kale had no clue that Sandy could change into one, so she assumed at first that this was just some random pegasus. Thus why she was extremely confused as to why a pegasus had hit her. She then realized her concentration on her magic broke. She looked away from the pegasus, frantically looking at what happened.

The plants, disconnected from Kale, grew at a nigh random way. The stems grew up, down, left, right, and sideways; bending at precise 90 degree angles. The flowers stems interlocked and crossed over each other, forming a barrier that looked more like the Windows pipe screensaver than a wall. When the stems stopped growing, the buds on the tips bloomed into a black and white colored flower patterned like a skunk tail.

Sandy struck Kale with one of his wings, and the impact spun him around and entangled his legs in the mass of rectilinear skunk-flower plants. Nevertheless, he looked around at the skunk-flower garden, Meanwhile In an attempt to avoid any serious violence against the creatures, Aegis continued to use his shoulders and body weight as a buffer. He remarkably well until Kale's pipe plants sprang from the ground. -

Sandy MIGHT have nodded approvingly, and raised a forehoof to make something that looked surprisingly like an OK sign, despite having only a single digit on his hoof, and Kale MIGHT have looked away from the skunk-flower barrier, looking at the pegasus holding a hoof to her. She MIGHT HAVE BEEN confused as to why the pegasus was holding their hoof up and why a pegasus was suddenly here, that MIGHT HAVE prompted her to ask “Who are you?”

MIGHT, dear readers, if the mood sheep hadn't come on with an intensity undeterred by smelly flowers, strong shoulders, white flanks or annoying constructs. They hit the Residents like a load of bricks, tearing through the pipe screensaver wall and trampling everything. The plants tangled in their wool, and they uprooted them in their haste. Aegis' knees buckled, and he found himself crowd surfacing atop their backs, the same as Kale. The pegasus' legs, still tangled in the garden, were about as effective as a helium balloon's string.

The solid woolly swarm banked sharply to avoid the invisible dome, and then doubled back in earnest, taking the trio with them. Nila was just rising, with Sandy's trousers atop her head, when they reached her. The smell was awful. Oh, just awful, as each white and black bud became bruised and thrashed by the flock. The lizard squeaked and bolted, her churning legs kicking aside stripped bones and flesh-tattered skulls. The sheep (and hapless riders, and towed pegasus) closed the distance all the while.

Nick... where had that cat gotten to?! Oh there he was, curved claws dug into a woolen back, his bottle brush of tail standing straight up in fright as his steed lunged forward with the rest. Whether he jumped there, or landed there, wasn't important. He was alive and well and caught up with the rest as the herd made a blistering fast run towards the middle of the Garden of Shadows.



Library

"Mhm," Minerva lazily yawned into her palm, "And I have some things to look into. Bran, chiefly. He's supposed to be in charge of this chicken coop business."

She left the library with Primordial, but opted to stop by the dining room first. The Chefs seemed to be on break, and so she altered her course to see if the others were out back near the construction zone.

[The BranRiech]

"Engines." Bran mouthed, looking over at the handmade piece of machinery. The only engines he'd ever seen that were built by single people were small wooden-powered things that could power a car when gas was being rationed back home. They puffed black smoke, and choked pedestrians walking by, but they still worked, and required at least some sort of knowledge to build.

Bran's experience regarding engines was a bit more complicated and detailed, though he highly doubted his ability to forge an engine from nothing but the raw materials, so the blacksmith before them instantly gained respect in the former Air-Force engineer's eyes. "And well, like she said, we just need a bit of metal, what would you say would be enough to keep those things out? There's a possibility that we could build the coop on a roof as well, would that change anything?"

He smiled, appreciating the efforts of Asdra to get them started, also quite interested in engines as well.

Unlike the girl though, Bran shied away from the flames, refusing to get to close to them. He'd dealt with fire all his life, yet still remembered what happened when fire went out of control, the scar still on his chest from where a stray turbine blade grazed him.

--

Drova smiled, nodding awkwardly. It was obvious that he still wasn't comfortable speaking with Marcus, but it was more of instinct rather than a genuine anger, or a fear. His wings trembled, his mind going through the thousands of things he could say, trying to root out anything that would possibly provoke another argument. He wasn't walking on egg-shells yet, but he could see the carton in the distance.

"Here? Well . . ."

Drova sighed, the smile vanishing.

It returned a moment later.

"I really like it. And uh, Gallimaufry? Not sure, you'd have to ask her." He finally said, nodding as he leaned back on the counter. "But back to my thoughts, eh? There's no pressure here, like, at all. Back where we were, in Bielefeld, I felt like there was so much stress, so much pressure. Kinda' like Torii, I could have been whisked away at any moment, Yuna and I being called back for something stupid. We would have had to have left with little notice, but here, there's no responsibility. There's no Kingdom I have to take the reigns of here, no expectations of my higher manners."

Drova glanced to Gio, smiling at his friend, before returning his gaze to Marcus.

"I feel free, if that's what you meant. But the circumstances of us being here? I suppose the Gods willed it, but then I'd be lying to myself."

[Charmera]

THE CHICKENING

"Metal chicken coop?" he ran a hand through his sooty hair as he considered what he had lying about. "Aye, I have sommat might do. Guess you know about Fiends? Make the roof strong."

The girl had an ease about her as she crossed the shop. Most would stay back, daunted by heat and flames. This newcomer was a duck to water. Curious, he joined her beside the engine. "And, aye, I'm building that. Parts are hard to come by. I machine what I can't find. She doesn't look like much, but I take my time. Bit of effort here. Bit more there. Work on it when the mood strikes me."

A brow raised. "Interested in engines?"

"Engines." Bran mouthed, looking over at the handmade piece of machinery. The only engines he'd ever seen that were built by single people were small wooden-powered things that could power a car when gas was being rationed back home. They puffed black smoke, and choked pedestrians walking by, but they still worked, and required at least some sort of knowledge to build.

Bran's experience regarding engines was a bit more complicated and detailed, though he highly doubted his ability to forge an engine from nothing but the raw materials, so the blacksmith before them instantly gained respect in the former Air-Force engineer's eyes. "And well, like she said, we just need a bit of metal, what would you say would be enough to keep those things out? There's a possibility that we could build the coop on a roof as well, would that change anything?"

He smiled, appreciating the efforts of Asdra to get them started, also quite interested in engines as well.

Unlike the girl though, Bran shied away from the flames, refusing to get to close to them. He'd dealt with fire all his life, yet still remembered what happened when fire went out of control, the scar still on his chest from where a stray turbine blade grazed him.

"That's the plan." Remarked Asdra as she looked at the enginee, inspecting it's metalwork. She respected the Smith's boundaries and did not touch it, after all she wouldn't want someone touching her stuff. When she was asked about the engine, she nodded. "Anything metal really. We happen to share a skillset." She remarked. Though she highly doubted he could do all the things she could do and vise versa. "I don't often get to make these things from scratch, but I've been asked to make special modifications to engines in the past.

She noted Bran. She had not talked to him at all really, but she noticed his fear of the fires. One she could guess likely came from experience. She could tell a forge virgin from someone who knew their way around an anvil, but she noticed he seemed more wary than normal and he didn't seem to have the same enchantment with fire people tend to have. Still, she could be wrong. She was an expert on metal, not the ones who used it.

[Fvaarniimar]

With all the pandemonium, Nick didn't know how he had ended up riding a sheep.  Nor did he care. His high-pitched meows of terror might well be audible to those wolves in the forest if they still lurked - and if they could be heard despite the general din.  His claws were hooked through matted wool in much the same manner as they not infrequently gripped Willow's sweater and similar textiles, and his main goal was to NOT FALL OFF. 

If Nick's powers were functioning normally, the sheep would be even more frightened, as well as having something along the lines of <I'monasheep/predator isitgonnaeatme heeeeeeelp! WE'REGOINGTODIE! Musthangon.> running through its brain every few seconds.  Whether or not it felt that, however, it would probably feel something else - pain.  In those first panicky milliseconds the cat's claws had been extended and in a position to pierce skin. While he'd yanked them out quickly upon realizing that he was on another creature (one whose attention he really did not want) some damage had been done - several pricks around a millimeter deep, and several short scratches not much more shallow.

<Ew, what's that smell?!> His nose turned up, but - awful as it was - the scent helped shock some sense back into the furball, allowing him to think about more than just his need to mew in terror. Nose in the air and hence facing upwards, he spotted Pegasus. 

The first time Nick had met Sandy, the latter had been in that form.  He'd established a two-way link to communicate then - he'd done so minutes before - <I want to get back to the group but not to be squashed like those stinky -> His muddled mind finally connected the stench to his earlier suggestion.  Kale took <my advice!>  It <didn't> help us, though...  That train of thought petered out.  The sheep might have felt confused.

Other trains of thought, including the above loop, had continued in the meantime. <- buds - Can I force one?>  He'd been able to guide movements and alter perceptions through them.  Maybe he could steer his steed?

Can the other five see me?  <Hey!>  Perhaps the loud yowl accompanying it would be audible.  Nick's intent however:
"Hey!  Over here..."  It seemed that the second time was the charm; unless the Garden of Shadows was messing with it, the collar had activated.

Or maybe he could - they bolted like prey - <Freeze!> It wasn't just the word, although that was part of it.  The feline pictured a mouse, focusing on it and by extension the sheep being still and feeling nothing.  He'd done this to mice before - not to sheep.

If it worked exactly as intended, the sheep would be paralyzed and numb for a few minutes, likely resulting in a collapse.  It probably would not have worked perfectly even under normal conditions - Nick was used to applying this to small animals, with a great deal of nerve ending contact relative to body size, not creatures larger than he with brains perhaps more complex than those of rodents.  (In the case of it working partially, numbness would be more likely than paralysis, as Nick had recently numbed creatures of similar size and as it less drastically affected normal functioning; an effect might also end up localized, primarily affecting nerves closer to Nick.)