Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
"No, but I worry about the plans we might be given. That professor said our...enhancement came from..."
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Fantasy Come Winter's Light
- Thread starter FeMChara
- Start date
Flowing Ink Words
Agent of the Library. No not that Library.
"You were given a tool. What you use it for, is up to you." Mizu offers with perhaps a surprising amount of bluntness. "Or, as someone once taught me...A hammer may be used to destroy a building, to break a man's skull, or to build a new building. Does this make the hammer itself evil?" She shrugs. "As for worrying about plans we're being given? Oh, that I'm doing, trust me..." She frowns. "...Even if that means doing something a strange old man in a mask who've I've never understood the motivations of asked me to do: keep the lot of you, and your friends, safe." She pauses a moment. "ANd given I didn't tell him about you, that ought to just really mark in everyone's book how fucked up my day has gotten." Mizu grins a smile that you'd expect to see on someone who just had their favorite treat. "I'll worry about tracking down the dealer after I get the majority of us somewhere realtively safe... and if where we are going proves not to be that place... then I'll pull strings to find us somewhere else, given likely every hotel within reason is likely packed due to the party."
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
"I think the carpentry analogy has run its course," Sophia says dryly, "whatever this is, it's quite a bit more than any tool I've seen. It comes with a light show, who's to say it doesn't come with more or less subtle changes in our behavior? Though I haven't noticed any such in myself or Kosche," she adds turning to her class mate who is still glowing faintly violet. "Am I acting differently?" She asks, with a hint of fear in her voice. She'd really hate it if she was somehow not herself any more.
FeMChara
Lazy Seer
Kosche is not glowing-the mark on her forehead just isn't going away. "Not that I can notice." She stated. "Though I don't really know many of you, everyone is acting pretty human. No calling home? Hm. Well, okay." She led them into the parking garage to a sleepy guard who waved them on. "Isn't the party not done yet? Oh well." He is almost asnore.
Kosche snickered at him and found an old indeed station wagon, unlocking it quickly and pressing a button-old it was but it had been very nice for its year or at least given good repair.
The inside smells pleasantly of old leather and she gets into the driver's seat, opening the dash. She has a few envelopes and a small notebook with pen attached. She goes through them and frowns. "That's not right. My backup IDs are gone. And so is my registration." She shoved it back and got out cash.
"So where to go?" She takes out a phone and gets on Doodle Maps.
=================} The Alchemist
Heck laughs. "More like I need to clean you up, moron. You must have got shit that was laced. Come on. I'll take you home to sober up. No good to go tripping. Bad things happen and your high gets messed up. Maybe even drives you insane."
He started guiding Kip out of the block party. He wasn't about to leave him alone.
They passed a small golf cart-like vehicle passing by them with black trash bags, the woman driving it in the proper brown uniform. The dull roar of the crowd quieted only a moment.
"Today, we have the great pleasure to announce that in two weeks time, the grand, historical journey to Mars begins. Allow me to introduce our intrepid explorers..."
The young people before the crowd looked so ordinary, their names ordinary.
Yet somehow, two names would slip the crowd's memory.
Kosche snickered at him and found an old indeed station wagon, unlocking it quickly and pressing a button-old it was but it had been very nice for its year or at least given good repair.
The inside smells pleasantly of old leather and she gets into the driver's seat, opening the dash. She has a few envelopes and a small notebook with pen attached. She goes through them and frowns. "That's not right. My backup IDs are gone. And so is my registration." She shoved it back and got out cash.
"So where to go?" She takes out a phone and gets on Doodle Maps.
=================} The Alchemist
Heck laughs. "More like I need to clean you up, moron. You must have got shit that was laced. Come on. I'll take you home to sober up. No good to go tripping. Bad things happen and your high gets messed up. Maybe even drives you insane."
He started guiding Kip out of the block party. He wasn't about to leave him alone.
They passed a small golf cart-like vehicle passing by them with black trash bags, the woman driving it in the proper brown uniform. The dull roar of the crowd quieted only a moment.
"Today, we have the great pleasure to announce that in two weeks time, the grand, historical journey to Mars begins. Allow me to introduce our intrepid explorers..."
The young people before the crowd looked so ordinary, their names ordinary.
Yet somehow, two names would slip the crowd's memory.
Flowing Ink Words
Agent of the Library. No not that Library.
Mizu gives the address again... It's not quite a posh neighborhood... and she mentions something about a penthouse suite. Mizu sighs. "Somehow, I think you and I, Kosche, can expect having this happen with annoying frequency for a while. It's just a hunch." She settles in. after taking the bow off her shoulder and unstringing it. "At this point, I want a good bar of chocolate and an explanation of why things are going -quite- so strange. And I have reasons to think we're heading towards someone who can do that. After that, we'll have to make sure the dealer isn't dead in a ditch somewhere."
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Trina does what she always does when she gets nervous or when she's trying to think: she pulls a sketchpad out of her bag and starts drawing.
"Well, I have a studio apartment too, but it's not secret or anything. And it's pretty small.
"I...was thinking of maybe going to Professor Okonkwo's house--she was my faculty advisor in college. She and I were really close...we still e-mail each other all the time. I bet she'd put me up and not tell anyone. And it's a big house..."
"Well, I have a studio apartment too, but it's not secret or anything. And it's pretty small.
"I...was thinking of maybe going to Professor Okonkwo's house--she was my faculty advisor in college. She and I were really close...we still e-mail each other all the time. I bet she'd put me up and not tell anyone. And it's a big house..."
Mei
Bare-fisted fo' life
"I live all the way in Versino, so I won't be much of a help." Morena replies after a long silence on her behalf. "Well, I'm not help in that regard."
Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
Anne listens to all of the conversation with an increasingly impending headache. Then she waves a hand emphatically and shakes her head.
"Hold on. I know we all have things to do. None of us planned on this, whatever the hell it is, happening to us. Maybe we can safely get back to doing those things, maybe not. But right now, let's focus and save the speculation for later. We need to relocate from this public area to a private area. Mizu's got a spot lined up, let's all meet up there."
"Alright, Singhit's got some important stuff that can't wait for a pick up? Fine, you're with me. I'll drive you. Everyone else, in Kosche's van. We'll meet up at the Old Man's place. From there, we'll figure out the following."
Anne lifts her hand up and ticks off fingers as she speaks.
"1. What happened to us."
"2. If there's any sign that anyone's after us, if there's media coverage of us, whatever."
"3. We figure out if and when it's safe to approach our homes and loved ones, whether to just head back to our lives or just to pick up things for a few days."
"4. If things are looking dicey, we make a plan for getting supplies, food, whatever we need."
"5. ...There isn't a 5 yet. We need to actually sit down, gather intel and plan first. All we've done so far is plan to plan. So let's get to it."
The green-haired girl gives Kosche a meaningful look and says "Thanks for taking them. We'll see you soon."
Then she bumps into Singhit in a friendly way and says "Come on, handsome, you're with me. Let's get your stuff."
"Hold on. I know we all have things to do. None of us planned on this, whatever the hell it is, happening to us. Maybe we can safely get back to doing those things, maybe not. But right now, let's focus and save the speculation for later. We need to relocate from this public area to a private area. Mizu's got a spot lined up, let's all meet up there."
"Alright, Singhit's got some important stuff that can't wait for a pick up? Fine, you're with me. I'll drive you. Everyone else, in Kosche's van. We'll meet up at the Old Man's place. From there, we'll figure out the following."
Anne lifts her hand up and ticks off fingers as she speaks.
"1. What happened to us."
"2. If there's any sign that anyone's after us, if there's media coverage of us, whatever."
"3. We figure out if and when it's safe to approach our homes and loved ones, whether to just head back to our lives or just to pick up things for a few days."
"4. If things are looking dicey, we make a plan for getting supplies, food, whatever we need."
"5. ...There isn't a 5 yet. We need to actually sit down, gather intel and plan first. All we've done so far is plan to plan. So let's get to it."
The green-haired girl gives Kosche a meaningful look and says "Thanks for taking them. We'll see you soon."
Then she bumps into Singhit in a friendly way and says "Come on, handsome, you're with me. Let's get your stuff."
Mei
Bare-fisted fo' life
Morena nods in agreement and starts to wander over towards Kosche. The tall dark complected woman looks over the Chosen of Saturn with an appraising eye... Well, what might be one, hair and all. "Well, we really need to do something about that mark on your forehead once we get to the place."
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
"Here." Trina pulls out a pink bandana from her bag. "I keep one in here for fencing practice -- good to keep your hair out of the way when you've got a helmet on. Umm...don't worry, this one's been washed."
Shining Lotus Sage
Avatar of Vanity
"Okonkwo? The artist-engineer who solved Caliguo's Tabula Fractura? Oh, dear, I've been hoping fo— er, yes. I suppose it can wait. Trina, right? Please do remind me to ask about her when we meet up again." By now, he's calling over his shoulder while he hurries after Anne.
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
"Uh, yeah. She wrote Roots and Mazes: The Prehuman Origins of Puzzle-Based Architecture--well, talk to you later."
FeMChara
Lazy Seer
Kosche puts on the bandana and starts up the car. "Pray we don't get pulled over." She muttered. Once everyone with her is in the car, off she goes towards the Old Man's residence. It's a bit of a drive but she drives fairly carefully.
The townhouse looks curiously average when they get to it, with an attached garage carpark, the door already open. There is a rather average but well-kept car on one side, slightly vintage but nothing visibly special. "That's creepy. But useful. Who else feels they're Goldilocks?"
The townhouse looks curiously average when they get to it, with an attached garage carpark, the door already open. There is a rather average but well-kept car on one side, slightly vintage but nothing visibly special. "That's creepy. But useful. Who else feels they're Goldilocks?"
Flowing Ink Words
Agent of the Library. No not that Library.
Mizu deadpans. "And the porrage was juuuuust right." She unbuckles her seatbelt. "No, I'm more worried that I just walked into a trap ten years in the making. Let's get everyone inside." She pulls out her phone to send two messages...
"Alright. Let's get inside and get things settled... I think I still have some spare things in the guest room here I can loan out for large shirts and the like if need be." She pauses. "Assuming this -isn't- a trap. if it is, well... we'll have other concerns then?" She offers this in a surprisingly cheery tone.
((OOC notes: DDeal is Kip's 'nickname' in Mizu's phone. ))
DDeal
We made it in one peice.
OldMann
You may have found some things of yours missing. It isn't all that has been wiped away. Do not allow the other with you to call home. As soon as you can arrive, much will be explained.
Majority has arrived. Two others arriving after picking up required things. One left on his own and wouldn't listen. Checking up on him now.
"Alright. Let's get inside and get things settled... I think I still have some spare things in the guest room here I can loan out for large shirts and the like if need be." She pauses. "Assuming this -isn't- a trap. if it is, well... we'll have other concerns then?" She offers this in a surprisingly cheery tone.
((OOC notes: DDeal is Kip's 'nickname' in Mizu's phone. ))
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Trina looks down at her slightly built self. "Maybe I should have gone back to my apartment after all..."
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
Sophia shrugs, "I'll be OK. Wouldn't be the first time I've gone a few days without getting around to a proper change of clothes. That said, we should probably include a shopping trip in our plans. And yeah," she replies to Kosche's comparison, "a bit. We'd better not start pilfering before we know what's going on. Well, have a better idea, odds are properly knowing what's what will be some time in the coming."
Mei
Bare-fisted fo' life
Morena just silently watches the others talk, but decides to give her bit of 'input'. "Just as long as you're careful and take someone with you, I don't see the harm in a shopping trip."
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Trina shifts slightly from foot to foot. With her red hair, she looks like a flickering flame.
"It doesn't seem right, somehow, that the whole world's been turned upside-down and we still have to plan shopping trips, of all things. I know every adventure includes mundane inconveniences, but still...when does the red pill kick in?"
"It doesn't seem right, somehow, that the whole world's been turned upside-down and we still have to plan shopping trips, of all things. I know every adventure includes mundane inconveniences, but still...when does the red pill kick in?"
FeMChara
Lazy Seer
Into the townhouse they went, the front door unlocked. The front was a not quite spartan living space with a couch at one end and an older TV set. The walls were institutional white, the floors wood with a throwrug here and there. It was a familiar sight for Mizu-some training had happened here but mostly, it happened in a preposterously large basement. Above were a number of rooms and a bathroom. The main floor had this room, a dining room, a kitchen, a well-stocked pantry, a second bathroom, a meditation room and his office, which Mizu had never seen in the decade it had been her home. Yet for its plainness was some scent unlike any other, a scent that whispered more clearly of home than any silk rugs. "You're on time. Good." Came a gruff, familiar voice.
An old man in a mask of carved jade stepped down in front of the group. His hands and most everything was sparce, thin as if every unnecessary thing had been boiled away by the long years of his life-and he looked very old; but not frail. The flat, iron-like bands of muscle on his arms and legs, the build of his shoulders, they did not say old man-it said old master.
"Heavens forbid I be given more than the greenest of the Sun's Chosen." He sounds irritated at everything around him and impatient yet something cautious lies in his tones. "My student calls me old man and I suppose that or Jiji will do." Gramps, huh?
"None of you who exalted together need worry about the curse among yourselves-but you and you now-" He pointed at Mizu and Kosche; "-suffer the curse all Sidereals do: to be forgotten by the world. None outside this room will remember you. You will be eminently forgettable-but there is a way around it-but old friends, family, school, records-even computer records will be gone. Such is the curse of arcane fate laid upon us for our part in the rebellion. Now... as for the rest of you. The rest can wait for the other three to arrive. They will be here soon enough."
Kosche looked agog, silent in shock.
An old man in a mask of carved jade stepped down in front of the group. His hands and most everything was sparce, thin as if every unnecessary thing had been boiled away by the long years of his life-and he looked very old; but not frail. The flat, iron-like bands of muscle on his arms and legs, the build of his shoulders, they did not say old man-it said old master.
"Heavens forbid I be given more than the greenest of the Sun's Chosen." He sounds irritated at everything around him and impatient yet something cautious lies in his tones. "My student calls me old man and I suppose that or Jiji will do." Gramps, huh?
"None of you who exalted together need worry about the curse among yourselves-but you and you now-" He pointed at Mizu and Kosche; "-suffer the curse all Sidereals do: to be forgotten by the world. None outside this room will remember you. You will be eminently forgettable-but there is a way around it-but old friends, family, school, records-even computer records will be gone. Such is the curse of arcane fate laid upon us for our part in the rebellion. Now... as for the rest of you. The rest can wait for the other three to arrive. They will be here soon enough."
Kosche looked agog, silent in shock.
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Flowing Ink Words
Agent of the Library. No not that Library.
Mizu tilts her head. "... Okay. That explain my Club Zero card's vanishing into the ether. And -finally- a name?" She eyes the old man up. "And I have many questions but one that is really bugging me.... how long did you know this was going to happen to me?"
Mizu tilts her head. "... also, I admit, that's a much nicer mask. And thank you, for letting us take some time to catch our breath, assuming this is what it appears to be." she states dryly as she finds a spot along the wall to lean. She doesn't sit down.
"... and wow, that's going to make my old job a whole lot more difficult." She finally adds as she starts laughing. "So I take it I can expect my cell phone to stop working due to the contract for it getting lost any time now?"
Mizu tilts her head. "... also, I admit, that's a much nicer mask. And thank you, for letting us take some time to catch our breath, assuming this is what it appears to be." she states dryly as she finds a spot along the wall to lean. She doesn't sit down.
"... and wow, that's going to make my old job a whole lot more difficult." She finally adds as she starts laughing. "So I take it I can expect my cell phone to stop working due to the contract for it getting lost any time now?"
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Trina bites her lip. "Then...that voice was really from the Sun? I always thought the Sun's voice would sound more, well...hot. The Sun hates being subdued. And more, well..."
Her voice trails off. How to describe the difference between the comic villain --who always gets paddled soundly and put on a leash in children's books and festival pageants -- and the warm, golden, somehow regal voice in her head?
"Then again, I always thought the stories about the Princes Who Conquered the Sun were a religious metaphor..."
Her voice trails off. How to describe the difference between the comic villain --who always gets paddled soundly and put on a leash in children's books and festival pageants -- and the warm, golden, somehow regal voice in her head?
"Then again, I always thought the stories about the Princes Who Conquered the Sun were a religious metaphor..."
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Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
Shortly after the van arrives, Anne and Singhit pull up. They'd made their original trip across town in record time, with Anne nimbly handling the car like a pro (if showing only marginal respect for traffic laws). With Singhit's Punjabi Bhangra music playing off her stereo system, by the time they reached the hotel, Anne was starting to get into it. The actual retrieval of Singhit's effects went smoothly and by the time they made their way back across town to the meet-up spot, Anne was attempting to sing along with some of the catchier tunes. Great voice! No grasp of the language...
As they pull up in the driveway and park, Anne glances over at Singhit and says "Guess we should go in. So what's so important that you had to pick it up before coming here, anyway?"
Presumably, the two will carry on their conversation on the walk into the house.
As they pull up in the driveway and park, Anne glances over at Singhit and says "Guess we should go in. So what's so important that you had to pick it up before coming here, anyway?"
Presumably, the two will carry on their conversation on the walk into the house.
Shining Lotus Sage
Avatar of Vanity
"My research!" he half-cheers, holding up the briefcase and cardboard tube that were, apparently, so important. "I've discovered evidence of iterative methylation in hyla colombiana—" You can almost hear the italics in his voice. He doesn't come down from his jargon high for a while, but some time around getting into his Methods paragraph he does mention collecting samples from the area around Hacarí.
"...I predicted, the slash-and-burn agriculture they're doing is reorienting the flow of wood essence closer to the very lake where the all the defoliant run-off is collecting! If my theories of ley line entanglement are..."
"...I predicted, the slash-and-burn agriculture they're doing is reorienting the flow of wood essence closer to the very lake where the all the defoliant run-off is collecting! If my theories of ley line entanglement are..."
Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
As the two of them walk up the driveway to the door, Anne pauses and gives Singhit full eye contact, something she hasn't done much of throughout the conversation. Or monologue as the case might be. She knocks, announcing them.
Then she says "Huh. Hacarí? I was in Hacarí about two months ago believe it or not. My scale was deployed to support militia in the region in stamping out illegal drugs in the area. I remember seeing the slash and burn and, yeah, the locals aren't shy about using defoliant. I don't know shit about ley lines but you might need to recheck your research, Professor. That whole area got dusted with something military grade about two months ago." She grimaces and looks at her reflection in the door window while waiting for someone to answer. "I don't know what it'll do to plants or that lake but St. Ceila knows what it did to people."
With some visible effort, she keeps her composure.
Then she says "Huh. Hacarí? I was in Hacarí about two months ago believe it or not. My scale was deployed to support militia in the region in stamping out illegal drugs in the area. I remember seeing the slash and burn and, yeah, the locals aren't shy about using defoliant. I don't know shit about ley lines but you might need to recheck your research, Professor. That whole area got dusted with something military grade about two months ago." She grimaces and looks at her reflection in the door window while waiting for someone to answer. "I don't know what it'll do to plants or that lake but St. Ceila knows what it did to people."
With some visible effort, she keeps her composure.
Shining Lotus Sage
Avatar of Vanity
Singhit winces in sympathy, and the gesture seems to interrupt his entire flow of thought. There are several seconds of silence from him, before he ventures a response.
"I have seen photographs. Yes. That does lend a bit more urgency to my presentation. I was... making arrangements to join the clean-up efforts there, to compare the aftermath to... Well, you know." He shuffles from foot to foot, aware of Anne's discomfort but completely unable to interpret it.
"I have seen photographs. Yes. That does lend a bit more urgency to my presentation. I was... making arrangements to join the clean-up efforts there, to compare the aftermath to... Well, you know." He shuffles from foot to foot, aware of Anne's discomfort but completely unable to interpret it.
