Trog's Tavern CCLII

[Sniccups]

J looks through the door with a shocked expression.

"yes... YES! IT WORKED! Oh, sorry... did I disturb something?"

But she isn't really paying attention. She can't think of anything but the possible uses of this potion.

[UncleWolf]

Summoning Table

"Thas' because it's a rule." The abyssal young lady points out after a couple more bites of her food. "Giving out my name means people can control me. First rule of summonin' and dealing with Powers from Above or Below or Sideways." She explains. "But if you really want to call me something, call me Sal. It ain't my name, but it'll do." She says as she reaches down to adjust her head. "And I just don't like tomatoes is all."

Theo doesn't say anything, deciding to simply enjoy his food while letting his daughter do all the talking.

[Zefir]

Fade looks around, Peole in some kind of talking aren't that much of possible employees. And some others finding the magic of Trog's is also rather normal around here.
So he heads futher on heading for the bar and taking a seat. He orders just some water. he is here for work so no NukeCola today.

[Recaiden]

Omiko stares, wondering for a moment how someone can just not like tomatoes. That's spitting on thousands of years of culinary history right there! But then she remembers this kid is literally from hell, or something. And her dad's world is a backwater; she can't just have her tastebuds repaired. Of course their appreciation of food will be weird. Her own continuity's demons mostly had weird tastes too.
""No thanks, kid. That's a rough deal, if summoning-things can't give out their names."
How curious. It doesn't work like that for them.
"Visit this old world often, or is this a special occasion?"

---

You know, Fade, Nuka-Cola's not alcoholic. Just radioactive.

A notepad and pencil appear on the bar in front of Fade. It reads

"How did you close the door like that?"

There is no obvious source for this note. Just the bartender filling the glass of water he ordered, a little ways away.
But with magical detection or extremely super-human senses, he might notice the invisible, inaudible, near-undetectable half-demon Ein, who looks to be a sort of bug-girl more than anything else. She does have to breathe, you see, and the chaotic air currents are not completely damped by the magic.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Armstrong flexes thoughtfully. "Well... I suppose it is alright. As long as the closet remains intact." He raises a fist in salute. "May the fruits of your scientific endeavors be leveraged for the benefit of all mankind!"

"Ahah, yeah! Thank you." Leslie gestures for Algernon to come back into the tavern and closes the door behind him.

[Zefir]

Omiko stares, wondering for a moment how someone can just not like tomatoes. That's spitting on thousands of years of culinary history right there! But then she remembers this kid is literally from hell, or something. And her dad's world is a backwater; she can't just have her tastebuds repaired. Of course their appreciation of food will be weird. Her own continuity's demons mostly had weird tastes too.
""No thanks, kid. That's a rough deal, if summoning-things can't give out their names."
How curious. It doesn't work like that for them.
"Visit this old world often, or is this a special occasion?"

---

You know, Fade, Nuka-Cola's not alcoholic. Just radioactive.

A notepad and pencil appear on the bar in front of Fade. It reads

There is no obvious source for this note. Just the bartender filling the glass of water he ordered, a little ways away.
But with magical detection or extremely super-human senses, he might notice the invisible, inaudible, near-undetectable half-demon Ein, who looks to be a sort of bug-girl more than anything else. She does have to breathe, you see, and the chaotic air currents are not completely damped by the magic.

Sure it is not, but he likes it and he is not here to do what he likes more what he has to.
Fade ha no special few, thought he notice shadows most people don't. Does she throw a shadow?
He takes the look around, but since he didn't saw anyone to replie he just pushes away the pad. Strange things happen here.

[Recaiden]

No, no shadow either.
But seeing Fade push the paper away, Ein reveals herself, snapping into view and going to underline the word 'How' on the pad. An answer is desired.

[UncleWolf]

Summoning Table

"Sal" shrugs with her headless shoulders. "S'aint so bad. I'm immortal so I call it an even trade. An' yeah, I come on up here every summer and winter when my courses are on hiatus. Gonna be workin' for my internship soon." She admits before taking a final bite of her food, washing it down with the last of her soda as well. "I get to help shepherd the souls of the contractually damned down to their proper infernal realm. You know, like those who get Valve games. You'd be surprised how often they add little bits about souls into their EULA." She points out, sounding completely serious.

[Zefir]

No, no shadow either.
But seeing Fade push the paper away, Ein reveals herself, snapping into view and going to underline the word 'How' on the pad. An answer is desired.

Fade looks at the new appeared person. It appears he is less suprised then you might think. maybe it's just that he can't show emotions.

"I grabed it and closed it. How else do you do it?" He is not wrong, but his shadow grabed it's shadow.^^

[Recaiden]

[Summoning Table]

Contracts! How quaint.
"Yeah, immortality's a pretty nice perk, ah?"
Speaking of- well, they don't have anything to do with perks or contracts, but Omiko's order of food arrives. She picks up a gyros, unhinges her jaw, and swallows it whole. Really seems to call into question her whole concern about the flavor of tomatoes.
"What kinda work does that train you for? Are you headed for a career more about collecting souls, or handling them once they get down there?"

[Bar]

Ein grinds her teeth slightly and shakes her head before scribbling down a new comment.

"You didn't touch it, though"

She wasn't paying attention to the shadows.

[UncleWolf]

Summoning Table

"Eh, my mom's a Ferryman. We're born to shepherd souls about the infernal realms. Usually mortal ones, but it also means we provide safe transport from one realm to the next fer all the infernal diplomats and demons and devil-folk that have to go wanderin' about." She explains before gesturing with her head in one hand towards Theo. "And my pop is a Dullahan who reaps the souls of those who overstay their welcome an' help them move on. So there's that goin' for me too."

[Zefir]

[Summoning Table]

Contracts! How quaint.
"Yeah, immortality's a pretty nice perk, ah?"
Speaking of- well, they don't have anything to do with perks or contracts, but Omiko's order of food arrives. She picks up a gyros, unhinges her jaw, and swallows it whole. Really seems to call into question her whole concern about the flavor of tomatoes.
"What kinda work does that train you for? Are you headed for a career more about collecting souls, or handling them once they get down there?"

[Bar]

Ein grinds her teeth slightly and shakes her head before scribbling down a new comment.

She wasn't paying attention to the shadows.

[Bar]

Fade looks at the note. Then turns to her.

"I used the shadow, but why can't you speak?"

[Recaiden]

[Summoning Table]

"Going right into the family business, huh? I never would have been able to manage that; my tutor never really traveled at all. But it sounds like you have less latitude to do anything but the job you're born with."
Omiko shakes her head.
"You don't have a ton of options, huh?"

[Bar]

Ein clicks her tooth-enclosing mandibles a few times to demonstrate. Bug-person, no lips as such. She could pronounce a few letters, at least t, s, ǀ, ǃ, ǂ, ǁ. But it'd be an uphill battle. Speech isn't what they're made for.

"Most people can't touch shadows. Very useful. How do you do it? Natural or taught?"

Then she twists to make sure her own shadow (she casts one like normal now that she's visible) isn't too close to Fade.

[Zefir]

"It's a gift." Fade replies, he doesn't know himself how he got it, just that he can do it.

[Westhart]

The door to the tavern opens, silently shutting as a tall person enters. There's not much to make out from the heavy, leather coat the person's wearing, and whoever it is makes no move to pull off the hood as they silently sit down at a table, watching the patrons, waiting for an opening to speak with whomever the person had come to meet. She waves off a server, not really bothering to see who it was, as she only drank rarely... extremely rarely. She looked around, not seeing Fade as she winced a bit at the volume, her sensitive ears slowly adjusting. She begins toying with a small coin, a coin that appears to be made of either brass or copper, or some alloy of the two.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The door clashes yet differently with the rest of the tavern as the spring draws it closed behind Tall Lady.

"Oh, interesting... Ah, miss?"

A woman with dark curly hair and a labcoat that's slightly too small approaches the newcomer. She seems to be fidgeting with a coin and waiting for someone, so Leslie probably isn't interrupting anything by doing so.

"Could you tell us where you came from just now? I, ah, don't mean to be rude. We're testing a theory about how that door works."

[Recaiden]

Ein twists her jaws in a way that might be smiling or might be glaring, and writes something else out in response.

"What a wonderful gift. "Interested in learning more about it? "Sharing it? "Let us know."

If Fade doesn't know where his shadow abilities came from, it's likely innate, something they could acquire, given time.

[Westhart]

Liadi looks up, the coin stopping as her hand gently stops it in its rotations. She blinks a few times, one brow raised. "I came from a decent sized city, somewhere near a bakery judging by the scents there... What sort of theory?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Well, ah, it's a portal that seems to move around, right? It looks like it can shift pretty much anywhere as an exit, but I think there are only so many entrances. I mean, the door was marked wherever you found it, right?"

It may have been, but for a brief moment upon opening, it adopted the center's pink and yellow motif before shifting back to match the urban environment Liadi had come in from.

"Do you remember the name of the city?"

[Zefir]

Ein twists her jaws in a way that might be smiling or might be glaring, and writes something else out in response.

If Fade doesn't know where his shadow abilities came from, it's likely innate, something they could acquire, given time.

Fade would be confuesed if he can show his emotional state or even understand it.

"I don't think I can share it and I know more then just how to close a door."
"Do you have any special abilities?"

Liadi can see Fade talking to a bug-girl at the bar. He didn't got a cellphone to call so he doesn't really know that she looks after him.

[UncleWolf]

Summoning Table

"Of course I've got plenty of choices. Just because I'm unnaturally predisposed to 'aving certain talents doesn't mean I didn't get no freedom in choosing what I wanted to do." The half-demon points out with a frown. "S'not like a half-breed like me isn't desperately wanted by both the infernal realms an' the spiritual. Hell, it's why my mum made the contract with my father to have me." She adds, reaching over to take a sip of her soda before realizing she'd just emptied it. "Coulda gone into anything from Reapin' to working as an Accountant in the realm of greed, to corruptin' the holy do-gooders through various savory means, ya know? I want to be a Shepherd because that's what I want to be. That's all there's to it."

[Westhart]

Liadi nods, "Yes, it was marked for a moment." She pauses, then chuckles to herself, shaking her head ruefully. "I have no idea what the name of the city was..." She sees Fade, then looks back to the woman who'd asked her the question, not breaking off the conversation. He could wait a moment, and if not then she'd just have to find him again.

[Recaiden]

[Bar]

"I can become visible."

At which point Ein stops projecting herself into the perceptible world, and disappears with no sound, no trace.

[Summoning Table]

The cat-thing nods. "That's not bad then. How lucky to be born so...exceptional." The palms of her hands split open into fanged mouths which stretch out to take bites of their own serving of her meal.

"So what'd you get out of it?" Omiko asks of the half-demon's dad.
"To put the conversation back on more solid footing."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Liadi nods, "Yes, it was marked for a moment." She pauses, then chuckles to herself, shaking her head ruefully. "I have no idea what the name of the city was..." She sees Fade, then looks back to the woman who'd asked her the question, not breaking off the conversation. He could wait a moment, and if not then she'd just have to find him again.

"Ah. I, ah, guess I should have expected that." Leslie smiles nervously and adjusts her glasses. "This place, Inside, kind of blurs together after a while, right?"

She follows Liadi's gaze to the guy at the bar. "Is that the person you were looking for?"

[Zefir]

[Bar]

Fade looks at the board then at the disapearing bug girl.

"That's called invisible." he correkts her. It's noemal to correct people if they don't say what they do.He likly waits for the answer since he doesn't really have a need for becoming more visible.

[Westhart]

Liadi shrugs at the mention of te city, “Eh, it’s a strange place, although I’ve seen ones that are both bigger, and stranger…“ She nods in regard to Fade, “Indeed, he supposedly has a bit of information regarding business of mine. However he's current;y conversing with another, so I'm open if there's other questions you wish to ask?”

[Recaiden]

After listening to Fade's answer, Ein reappears and shakes her head, hair/leg/tentacles bouncing this way and that.

No. Normally, invisible always. But since Becoming, we can 'turn off'. Be noticed. I am particularly good at it.

This is true; there's only one better navigator of visibility states among her people.
She flicks to the next page of her notepad.

What I meant about special abilities- -we can make you stronger.

She doodles a picture of Fade with a big monstrous shadow, colored in very dark.

[Zefir]

Fade looks at the last lines.

"Does this mean your people know about that ability? maybe they invented it?"

[Recaiden]

Ein shifts unclearly.

Didn't invent it. Learned it from our enemies, far away.

She neglects to mention that none of the individuals with shadow abilities made it to the Nexus. After all, the muk can still help him.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Liadi shrugs at the mention of te city, “Eh, it’s a strange place, although I’ve seen ones that are both bigger, and stranger…“ She nods in regard to Fade, “Indeed, he supposedly has a bit of information regarding business of mine. However he's current;y conversing with another, so I'm open if there's other questions you wish to ask?”

"Oh, ah, okay..."

Leslie's difficulty reading the situation is apparent on her face. Whatever business Liadi is here for, it's clearly private, but also probably unpleasant. It's as though she's looking for excuses to put it off.

Well, Leslie can provide that much.

"Hmm... actually, could you come to our table and describe the place you came from to us? I was wondering if we could pick a destination based on a description, and it could be a good test."