Fantasy Come Winter's Light

[FeMChara]

"There are a few hopes, if you survive long enough-and if you become strong enough. And you have the right of it." He told Singhit. "Your hopes are either to find the Sun-or find the Empress Veil. No, I don't know where it is-but I know it exists." He turned and went pale. "Go. Hide where Mizu was."


Their animas had died down in the time they had spoken, leaving largely no sign of their having been there. He looked terrified.

 

[Esbilon]

"Hide? While glowing like the Sun you keep talking about? In the middle of a block party with literally thousands of people around? How exactly are we going to manage that?"

 

[Arynne]

"Wait -- are you saying that voice was--" begins Trina in utter horror.


"Hide? Hide from what? Where?"

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

"That voice was everyone who ever doubted you being proven a fool! That voice was an acknowledgment by the cosmos that you were meant for greater things. Don't worry. It can't be wrong! It's simple ontology!"


Singhit had gotten over his fingers, but his eyes are gleeful. Manic, almost.


"Don't you see? Or, well, I suppose you wouldn't. I have just studied the motonic eddies rolling--"


But here he is almost certainly interrupted by someone more cognizant of the gravity of the situation.

 

[Flowing Ink Words]

"Well... now that we're not glowing like special effects had fun with us..." she states calmly... "I have an idea. I'm pretty sure I can pull some strings to get us somewhere to crash that won't be questioned too much. Hell, they might even know you." She nods to Kip as she says this. "IF you are who I think you are. Customers of a sort." She grins. "We can theorize on what we all heard, or saw, more when we are somewhere that is less likely to be looked in on shortly. Otherwise, we could try one of the other two places I mentioned... unless someone has a better idea?"

 

[Epiphany]

Anne takes in the explanations offered, the introductions, the theories and the disagreements. Then she speaks, swiftly and forcefully and with a voice that's clearly used to yelling if needbe over soldiers.


"Kip, Mizu, Sophia, it's nice to meet you. I'm Anne. And if there's one thing I know, you don't stay where you're spotted. It doesn't sound like you're coming, Doctor," she says to Asra Steven. "Fine. We'll get out of sight where Mizu was, find a place and go from there. But I want your contact information, a cell number, an email, anything."


She looks at the rest of the group, then motions towards Mizu's previous hiding spot with her head. "Let's go." And she walks away from the group, clearly expecting everyone to follow in her wake.


On the way, she leans close to Mizu (if she comes) and says "Half a dozen people in a studio? I don't think so. Beyond the tight fit, if something goes wrong we'll all be boxed in there with likely no more than two escape routes. Let's consider that second option if you've got it available."

 

[Flowing Ink Words]

"It should be, barring more disasters... though we might get stuck answering some tough questions..." Mizu replied as she tug out her phone from her pocket as she leads the group through the crowds. It's easier to -not- be noticed as a group when your in a bigger group.

OldMann

left

Well, I guess you were right. Can I borrow the penthouse you usually leave open here in town for a day or two? It seems I have some digging to do that might involve a need for some extra space...

Once Mizu sends off the text, she also pings a few of her other contacts in the media contacts set, seeing if anyone is out of town for the party to avoid the crowds, and if they would mind Mizu and some guests respectfully using their pad for a few days... After all, a backup plan never hurts. Once the messages are sent, she pockets her phone once again and just frowns. "What a strange day this has turned out to be..."

 

[Mei]

Morena follows quietly behind Anne and whoever else follows. She looks over everyone that introduced themselves and mulled over how she could do it herself.


"I'm Morena. Morena Angelo." She finally says as she decides to just go with the simple approach. It's hard to tell where her eyes are focused on, or if they are focused on anything at all, but she remains pretty quiet after that.

 

[Ludek]

(Kip)


Kip continues at man "Dude, you are sooo .. anyway, you are thief and you are asking us to help you in heist after you fucked up. What you don't say or you are just glossing over is that you want us to sacrifice our current life and become fugitives .. I presume it would make us quite dependent on you. And you justify all of it by some convenient heresy. I choose to stay and won't hide."


And continues to o the newly exalted : "Don't worry about me and what I can say .. this whole thing if already filmed with all our faces and it's hitting bigtube(*) right now.. you can't count on anonymity. Anyone seeking you will have your names, whole story by next day or sooner. I or anyone staying won't do any more harm this man is trying to manipulate you. Do whatever you want I'm staying and if you run I suggest sewers .. it should hide glow"


Pauses and then adds: "We should meed say within year or half let's meet there and compare stories, at very least you may need to know if this dude is telling truth .. or as I believe how much he is lying. Or you make call .. I will try to keep my number."


(*)OOC: bigtube analog of youtube from RL. Just neded name to insert.

 

[FeMChara]

((Ludek: The glow is gone.))


============================) The Hanged Man


The group left just as three people cut their way through the canvas of one of the tents-seeing nothing of them but their backs. It was just as well. One kept his hood up, though it didn't hide any part of his face. Not in daylight. Dr. Asra Steven took stance and flared up with fire. "You won't kill me without being marked by i-rrrch-"


"Oh, but we will." Said the unhooded one, grinning.


"For the Green Prince's sake, let's just get rid of the man, shall we?" An irritated voice spoke up, female in tone and timbre. She went to the Dragonblood's side, now with an arrow just over his heart. She pulled it out and stabbed him with a plain switchblade knife, going under his ribs. She wiped her hand and knife off on his shirt, taking off his wallet, checking it. "It's as it was said in the Convention on Loyalties said. Dr. Steven was the traitor. It's done, my involvement is ended." She pocketed the knife and standing.


"It is not done." Came the third's voice. "Look at the briefcase. The package has been compromised. We may have a bigger issue than the traitor. We won't be finding the ones that just left here, not enough to find them on-but soon. Soon we'll have them. They won't be able to help but reveal themselves."

 

[Epiphany]

Anne had hooked her arm around Kip's and hauled him out of the soon-to-be-exposed tent area, just before those three came to deal with the professor. She leans in as she frogmarches him in front of her.


"Dude, relax. The man's a thief but he's made us his accomplices. Before we just turn ourselves in, let's take stock and figure out our situation. Maybe call a few people who have a better clue than we do. I'm not saying we hide. I'm saying we figure things out first and act from a position of having a clue."


"As for cameras?" Anne looks around at the tent areas they're passing through on the way to Mizu's hiding spot. "Not a lot of people back here, most everyone's paying attention to the concert. But just in case someone is watching."


She proceeds to briefly flash whatever secret, invisible agents there might be about, though she largely has her back to the rest of the group when she does it.


Turning back to Kip and the others, she shrugs and says "Because fuck them."


Turning over to Mizu, Anne says "Let us know when you have an answer. In the meantime, anyone else have a backup hiding spot option? I've got...uh, my house but it's got my parents and four brothers in it. Let's just say it won't be quiet or discreet. At all."

 

[Arynne]

Trina is still very pale. "So we're not...we're actually...wait, what about the professor guy? If we're in danger, what about him?" She turns around.

 

[Esbilon]

"I've got enough money to put us up in a hotel, or an Airbnb or something," Sophia says after looking over her shoulder to the tent, "paying by cash should be enough to make that not too conspicuous. My available homes are a bit too far away, sadly."


Turning to Trina, she says "he apparently did not feel compelled to come along, and if he thought we were in danger, he'd probably also have a decent idea of how much danger he was in himself. At this point, messing with his plan does not seem like a good idea."

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

"I have a hotel room," Singhit begins. "All of my posters are there, and my laptop with a copy of my data. I am going to need those. My findings on the epigenetic properties of the metanormal flux at Site VS-722 are of critical importance to the future of world energy infrastructure. I won't take long; just give me the address and I'll hop a bus over so we can plan our escape."


Clearly, he has not watched enough action movies.

 

[Mei]

"Take someone with you." Morena speaks up after a good chunk of time being silent. "It isn't safe for any of us to be alone. We should use the buddy system."


The tall young woman runs a hand through her hair, lifting up her shaggy locks out of her eyes. "Partner up with the other guy here. That way public restrooms won't be a problem."

 

[Flowing Ink Words]

Mizu, reluctantly, offers the address of the penthouse level of a not too posh hotel, as well as her phone's number. She frowns as her phone hasn't had a reply yet. "I'll follow along with one of you if you need to pick up things. I have my bare minimums with me or spares already where we're headed, I guess. Should we assume bad things have happened if someone doesn't make it there by, let's say, midnight?"

 

[Mei]

Morena shrugs at the offer. "Home's a long way for me. I was only planning on staying here a day. And I don't have a steady paycheck. I just get paid whenever I have a fight."

 

[FeMChara]

Mizu's phone went off, announcing a new message received.

OldMann

left

Well, I guess you were right. Can I borrow the penthouse you usually leave open here in town for a day or two? It seems I have some digging to do that might involve a need for some extra space...

right

You may. Wait there with your company. We have much to discuss. Take care with your new friends and their friends as well.

Anne too got a message.

Caw caw MFs

left

You enjoying getting out of the house for once? Told you it would be fun! :P Sorry I couldn't meet you there but shit came up I had to deal with. I'll make it up with oh, I dunno. How about dinner at the Red Dragon's? See ya.

The crowd heeded none of them, Kosche looking nervous. "You know, I got a terrible feeling about that place. Just better to go on... where ever. I'm Kosche, my parents own the nature preserve outside of town." She keeps rubbing her head, looking disconcerted.


However, the purple sign of Saturn would not come off.

 

[Ludek]

(Kip)


He follows Anne arguing about need to stay then he musters his resolve and stops walking and talks while trying to get his arm free.


"Listen Anne I'm big boy not your younger brother, I know what I'm doing .. I don't want to run period. There is another path for me .. you will hear about me in radio and TV you will see. Why do you trust this guy he just sold all of you fishy story wraping it heresy? I don't. There is also thing about veryfinig at least part of his story .. let me do it. As I said earlier you can call me or we can meet there in a half year. I have plan I will make myself stone for day or so, so you will have time to hide and I will have alibi not to tell much about all of you and whole thing."


OOC (just heads up for GM): My plan is to give money to the hiding party, use drugs Kip have to get stoned, before drugs start working use remaining cash call and pay taxi to be brought home (and be eventually be carried to Kip's flat). Then Kip will start working to become celebrity like Philip Deled or Lionel Kes or other widely known big names. And yes in mean Kip will be selling drugs

 

[Arynne]

"My e-book's in my backpack," says Trina, still not entirely convinced. "But...I mean I have a job. I have rent to pay. Is this just a temporary lying low, or is this going to be like The Fugitive?"


The words, Be careful what you wish for keep running through her head.

 

[Esbilon]

"Look," Sophia says, her eyes glancing over the others, "that guy was a professor at the Heptagram, he's not an idiot, and he's not prone to going off on thing that aren't important. Whatever's happened to us, he played a part in making it happen, and his advice was for us to hide, at least for now. I'm not terribly happy with doing that, certainly not for long, but I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt at least for a few hours. A few hours we can spend figuring out if there's any available information and who and what we've become, and what kind of danger, if any, that puts us in."

 

[Mei]

Morena stands firmly and shakes her head, causing her locks to flop side to side. This conversation was a little too familiar for her liking. She's made mistakes and she'd be damned if someone else repeated them in front of her. She turns her head in Kip's direction, and one could assume she's looking at him. "Do you want your loved ones to get hurt because you are being reckless? If someone is after us, we need to distance ourselves from people we don't want getting hurt in the crossfire. Use some caution."

 

[Flowing Ink Words]

"... You know, the fact he already -knows- is almost more annoying then the fact he agreed to this." Mizu grumbles after she looked at her phone. "Which means the old geezer either is looking for us, or is in on this. And if this is his idea of another joke..." She pauses. "I'm going to guess temporary. I hope so at least. I have a job I'd like to keep myself..." She shrugs. "Guess I get to introduce you all to the old man after all..."

OldMann

left

Well, I guess you were right. Can I borrow the penthouse you usually leave open here in town for a day or two? It seems I have some digging to do that might involve a need for some extra space...

right

You may. Wait there with your company. We have much to discuss. Take care with your new friends and their friends as well.

left

Why am I not surprised that you already knew about this? Be there when I get there.

 

[Esbilon]

Sophia looks at Mizu with a bit of a frown, "just who is this Old Man? And do you have a guess as to his knowledge or interest in us? Could he have been working with Professor Steven?"

 

[Flowing Ink Words]

"Guy who pulled me up out of the slums several years ago, offered me a chance to learn the job I have..." Mizu frowns. "As for who he is past that? You've got me. For all I know he could have -been- our Professor until he spoke. I've never learned his name or seen his face unmasked." Mizu shrugs. "I ... will admit I owe him favors, but I wouldn't say I trust him very far with much. But he always seems to know what the hell is going on. It's quite maddening somedays."