Inside 65: A Very Busy Intersection

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

Sam double-shrugs.
"It's alright. It doesn't really bother me. I had to cook so much pork at my old job. Just...think about it next time, alright?" he says, with a patient voice. It sounds like he's given this speech before.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lots of Hope Hospital]

Cora crosses her arms and turns her head away. Laela was totally being unfair!

[Lots of Hope Hospital]

Laela turns up her nose with a petulant 'Hmph!' and says no more. When she licks her lolly, she does so with particular relish, hoping to get a rise out of Cora. But she can probably be taken home or what have you.

Run Down Street

Cassidy looks up at the eyes, expression unreadable through the mask.

"This a joke? Gonna negotiate from behind a camera like a fifth rate Mr. Johnson?"[/COLOR]

[Lots of Hope Hospital]

"Cora, you should at least apologize to Laela for hurting her." Cessie remarks. "I know it was a accident, but you have to tell her that."

Run Down Street

"I do not know that that reference mean, but I prefer negotiating before violence. Now, what do you want? I'm perfectly willing to negotiate, as far as my position allows that is." The voice replies.

Meanwhile, teal-hair has fallen silent, now standing very still.

[Earl of Purple]

Peaceview Park

"I spotted an alleyway on the way here. Could we go there and practice? I'm interested in seeing you, as well. I don't know much about combat, but with skills like the ones I witnessed in myself, I should learn." Although getting a staff big enough for her to use would probably be a little tricky, without it looking more like a walking-stick.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

Sam double-shrugs.
"It's alright. It doesn't really bother me. I had to cook so much pork at my old job. Just...think about it next time, alright?" he says, with a patient voice. It sounds like he's given this speech before.

[Razadelli's]

"I'll try. I'm sorry." Aly says, her red eyes wide.

[Devixer]

Run Down Street

Cassidy snorts. Alright, she'll play along. "Stop shoving your new pixie dust on kids. That's my terms."

Peaceview Park

"We certainly may. I am beginning to feel that returning home will be harder than I thought, so I have plenty of time. And if you wish to see how I fight, you are welcome to."

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

Sam looks like he's about to say something, but then there food arrives, and he's stuffing his face. Sam doesn't eat in a disgusting manner or anything and he doesn't make a mess. But it's certainly not dignified.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

It seems these two are a matched pair as Aly'ithra digs in to her burger with gusto. She feels a little guilty about the bacon, but it's too tasty to feel that way for long. She was hungry, and this was food she didn't have to worry about eating delicately, or that it might be poisoned. About halfway through her sandwich, she pauses to wipe some BBQ sauce off her face and dips a fry into her milkshake.

"So, do you have any hobbies?" She asks, before popping the chocolatey coated fry into her mouth.

[Earl of Purple]

Peaceview Park

"If you cannot recall how you got here, how did you think to return home?" Makuro also can't remember how she got here. Though, she also can't recall where she came from, meaning she doesn't have a home.

She'll head towards the alleyway.

[bc56]

A (mostly) empty street
An unusual asteroid, perfectly spherical, hurtles toward the ground, a tail of fire streaming in its wake. (It's small enough to get through the DOOM shield, only about 12ft across.) The sphere has one occupant, an ogre-sized, four-armed, green-skinned Demon named Tethrik, who is currently regretting some of his lifestyle choices, namely the one to start a labor union in Hell. The banished demon is sure that this will be the end, as his vessel has no windows that he can see through, and, in fact, method of escape at all. With an earth-shaking thud, the meteor hits the street, making a small crater in it. Thankfully, no one was injured in the impact. The meteor cracks open, and groaning can be heard from inside.

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

It seems these two are a matched pair as Aly'ithra digs in to her burger with gusto. She feels a little guilty about the bacon, but it's too tasty to feel that way for long. She was hungry, and this was food she didn't have to worry about eating delicately, or that it might be poisoned. About halfway through her sandwich, she pauses to wipe some BBQ sauce off her face and dips a fry into her milkshake.

"So, do you have any hobbies?" She asks, before popping the chocolatey coated fry into her mouth.

[Razadelli's]

Sam stops to think.
"Well, Sherrel got me into video games and some shows but I try not to waste too much time with those. I've gone out to the Hunting Grounds for stuff when I want to impress my boss but I've never done anything risky there because I don't know squat about armor or anything. And I've been told I have a good singing voice." he says, pondering things. He works such long shifts that he doesn't always have time for hobbies.

[Recaiden]

Some people make it their business to try to keep up with all the meteors, crashed spaceships, and fallen angels that crash down in the Nexus.

Here's one now. Or at least, someone who reports to an authority who keeps track of such things. Anchor happened to be in the city today, and that makes her the one who was sent to the landing crash site. A red-cloaked wizard woman, galloping down the street on the back of a unicorn, pulling up at the crater just after it forms.
And the thing is cracked open...
"Anyone in there?"

[bc56]

There's a grunting sound from inside, followed by a short grunt of pain. "Yeah. Could you help me break this open?"

[Recaiden]

Anchor dismounts, whispering a word to the unicorn which returns it to the form of a little figurine, and heads over to the crater, careful of any heat.
"Yeah, I mean, yes, in a moment."
She takes the spellbook from her belt and flips through its pages. Finding the right one, she commands the meteor shell to Shatter into several pieces. The spell is painful to listen to, but it should widen the crack a great deal.

[bc56]

An empty street
The meteor blows into several pieces. Tethrik steps out. He is a creature the size of an ogre, with dark green skin and four arms. The upper pair of arms end in wicked, serrated blades, while the bottom two are muscular humanoid arms with numerous spines on their forearms. He is not unharmed. With every movement, especially of his lower left arm, he winces in pain. Stone shrapnel from the meteor is embedded in his body. Miraculously, through this ordeal, the white T-shirt that Tethrik wears is undamaged, its "Knaves of Labor" logo still proudly displayed across the creature's chest. "Thanks. I don't know if I would have had the strength to get out of there on my own"

[Recaiden]

Anchor snaps the spellbook shut and slings it at her side again, her eyes (hidden behind sunglasses) taking in the creature.
"What happened to you?"
It's really the only question to ask.

[bc56]

An empty street
"It's a long story. I tried to organize a labor union. Where I come from, such an action is hated. We're supposed to obey our superiors, even if they order us to commit suicide. I tried to rally the labor force for better workplace conditions, so they put me in that, (gestures to the destroyed meteor) shot me into space, and slapped this onto my arm to boot." Tethrik holds up his lower left arm. A metal band is wrapped around it. The flesh near the band is burned black and oozing a strange fluid which is presumably blood.

If Anchor is sensitive to people and their speech,
she may notice that Tethrik seems to be hiding something. If she is knowledgeable in alchemical substances, she may recognize the metal of the band as cold iron, a substance harmful to most demons.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

Sam stops to think.
"Well, Sherrel got me into video games and some shows but I try not to waste too much time with those. I've gone out to the Hunting Grounds for stuff when I want to impress my boss but I've never done anything risky there because I don't know squat about armor or anything. And I've been told I have a good singing voice." he says, pondering things. He works such long shifts that he doesn't always have time for hobbies.

[Razadelli's]

"Oh really?" Aly'ithra grins, "Maybe you can sing something for me later. I could play music?" she offers.

[Recaiden]

"You'll want that off soon as you can, then?" Anchor suggests. She recognizes the band right away, and it makes her cautious of what he might be up to.
"I read about the violence against labor unions in school, but I never hear about that sort of thing these days. Seems a bit much to launch you into space over. I mean, I only launch people into the depths when they've tried to kill me and there's some reason I can't do likewise."

[bc56]

"Floating in the void, potentially for aeons, is a fate worse than death. You're deprived of your senses and fully aware. The magic in the sphere keeps you alive, but doesn't make you sleep. For all I know, it's been millennia since I was last outside that prison. Yeah, the bracelet. If you could cut that off, I'd be much obliged." Tethrik holds out his arm.

If Anchor noticed that Tethrik was hiding something before, she can tell that he isn't now.

[Recaiden]

"Exactly! I mean, they coulda just killed you, that's plenty of an example, I think. One second."
Anchor takes a step back when Tethrik holds out his arm. She'd rather not get close to that thing.

Opens the spellbook again, flips back to the same page - why not? - and calls up her power to Shatter the band. It's normal, dry, wizardly magic. Nothing untoward should happen. Breaking things is one of the few spells she's mastered.
If the band stays locked on his arm, well, she can try more serious measures. But this probably works.

One might notice that Anchor's shadow doesn't follow her movements.

[bc56]

An empty street
The shatter spell goes off, but it does not break the armband. The band, protected by magic, holds firm against it. "Tough luck. Got something stronger?"

Tethrik notices the shadow, but says nothing. However, if Anchor has been noticing his body language, she will see that Tethrik is on his guard now, unsure of what the shadow will do.

[Recaiden]

"Um, yeah. I'll cut it off. Hold real still."
Anchor holds a hand straight out to her side, and her shadow draw a sword and offers it up to her, the weapon becoming solid (and evidently heavy) when she takes hold of it. It's a silly oversized weapon, the blade longer than Anchor is tall. She grips it tightly, hefts it up overhead, and swings it down on the edge of the armband. It's a magical sword, enchanted to cut through the defenses of demons, but as long as Tethrik really does stay still, at this angle, he shouldn't be harmed. Maybe a bruise.

One would be forgiven for not calmly standing still as someone you just met draws a sword and swings it at you, even if it's to help you. But she really isn't trying to hurt him.

[bc56]

An empty street
Unfortunately for Anchor, Tethrik not only is taken aback by someone swinging a giant sword at him, he recognizes the sword as a demon-slayer. He immediately parties the swing with the blade on his upper left arm, deflecting it downward toward the street. "What're you trying to pull! Do you think I wouldn't notice of you took a swing at me with a blade SPECIFICALLY designed to hurt my kind!?" He assumes a defensive stance, keeping his left side back from Anchor.

[Recaiden]

Anchor lets the sword hang in her off hand, not trying to fight.
"This is just my sword. I mean, I didn't pick it out of a long lineup or anything, I didn't even know what your kind was until just now. Since that band wouldn't crack, it's gotta be cut off." The thought occurs to her that it might be easier to cut his arm off, slip off the iron, and sew it back on. But she thinks better of suggesting it.

"Unless you have a better idea?"

[bc56]

An empty street
"Alright. But no funny business. I'd rather not wait the few months it would take to grow back a limb." Tethrik offers the arm again, but remains poised to defend himself.

[Recaiden]

"You were trapped for maybe millenia and now you're worried about one season?"
"But ok, no funny business." she agrees.
Anchor hefts the sword again, sets it against the band to take the measure of where it is, then draws back and swings again to strike the restraint off.

Anchor is a little leery of releasing a literal demon, but feels too much sympathy for being trapped in iron to just leave him.

[bc56]

The blade hits home this time, cutting through the band. Once it's off, Tethrik rubs the burnt scar where it was. "That's not going to go away anytime soon. Thanks. I'm Tethrik. And you are?" The demonic bloodlust in him screams, Kill her! Rip her apart and drink her blood! Now, while she doesn't expect it!, but Tethrik shakes it off, restraining himself for now.

[Recaiden]

Anchor kicks the broken band to send it away into the gutter, and hands the sword off to her shadow, the weapon rapidly losing depth as it leaves her hand.
"Anchor Danir, Heroine, Slayer of Storms, Ring of the goddess Message Alkania, First Animus, etc. etc."
She offers a hand to shake.
"Pleased to meet you, Tethrik."

[bc56]

An empty street
As the broken band skitters away, Tethrik moves to intercept it. He removes a pouch from his belt and places the fragments inside, careful not to touch it. "A keepsake," he explains. He shakes Anchor's hand, his grip firm and somewhat crushing. Grab her! Pull her off her feet and crush her throat! Tethrik continues to fight his instincts, releasing Anchor after a second or two. He asks, "What year is it?"

[Recaiden]

"What year is it? 3. I mean, that's probably not it your years, if you came through space." Anchor admits, stretching out her hand.
"The Nexus has a bundle of calendars." she explains, unaware of or uncaring about his violent impulses.

Her shadow flickers down into the crater, examining the meteor capsule.