Inside 67: Shadow over Innside

[Chaotic Bob]

[Ominous Alley]

Yurioc ceases his influencing pretty much immediately, with that sort of reaction.
Perhaps the creature is mentally booby-trapped?
We cannot allow the zombie to jeopardize the city.
This isn't a thought that gets directed towards the zombie, just Ibby and Xeni.

The latter of which has been trying to not escalate things, but if the zombie is going to completely lose it, he won't really have a choice.
For now, he just has his hands up forward in a peaceful gesture, not actually releasing any magic.
Just thinking about it. Maybe if he turns the ground directly below the zombie to a sand pit and then glasses it around its legs?
"You are making a simple situation very complicated. We need to fix the girl. Please put her down."

[Deathkeeper]

[AEB- Anchor and Alex]

"We help people help themselves. Direct intervention is usually decided by the higher-ups. Um, visiting your forest sounds lovely. We'll do that sometime, I'm sure." she says innocently. What could possibly go wrong?

[Shadowcaller]

Unfortunate Meeting

Nora groans as she gets up to her feet and takes a look around to make sure they didn't crush anyone. When she sees that the coast is clear, she helps Faith to her feet before rushing over to the car to look over the operatives. "Hey, you guys okay?" She asks before grinning. "Bet you thought you wasted me too. Come on, hurry up. Gotta get you three out of here. Car's unmarked, right?" She asks before using brute force to rip the door off if it won't open naturally.

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]

"I haven't been able to pull off any...believable perceptions that aren't copies. But it shouldn't be impossible."
Doubtless it will lead to people seeing through the illusion and freaking out, but perhaps, on the whole, it would help.
Sophia leads them downward, under the Red Zone and into the sewers, catacombs, and ruins that can found beneath the city. In the process she slowly moves to the same place as her illusionary counterpart and returns to visibility to replace it.
"You're aware of how unusual you are, but do you have the same problem then? Is there no one who looks more comforting to these creatures who might speak for you?"

Unfortunate Meeting

Faith slowly gets up and looks around before cursing loudly as she sees what once was the floor of her apartment.
Meanwhile, Therese is reaching for Nimix who hurriedly backs away, only causing him to bump into the railings of his own car. "Ahhh!!! It wasn't my fault!"
"K-kill you!"
This leaves the gnoll to reply to Nora's question as the other two are busy being dumb. "Umm... can't we drive away? Or, ah, teleport...?" Driving away does seem rather difficult from their current position...
The gnoll opens the door for her and steps out hesitantly. The dust of the broken floor still lingering in the air around them.

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]

Tauron seem to have to think a moment before he replies to that. "Admittedly, I don't have any agents capable of advanced communication at the moment. My faction has never been too concerned about communication, so when I appeared in this dimension there was no one I could turn to for that, and I myself found myself thoroughly lacking. I hope to find someone to help me soon however." He stops to look around at their new surroundings. "But, if I may ask you, why are your base so far removed from everything?"

[billtodamax]

Ominous Alleyway

Anastasia starts to calm, glancing down at her charge. Right. Unconscious girl. Her meaty hand takes Layne by the chest and holds her out to Ibby, moving very slowly and precisely. She's still panting heavily, trembling slightly with some burden. You. Not him. She turns her glare toward Xeni at that.

I guess that's permission?

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Felandria and King in Rags

I'm glad you're on hour side, Felandria dear. Torlan leans into Felandria as she speaks. If you ever require my assistance you need but ask. She adds.

Ellrinna and Dipsnig

Quite. You must pursue your goals with dedication. Bledig approves.

[Rebonack]

[Ominous Street]

"Thank you, miss, for understanding," Ib'bahali says, holding out his arms to carefully take the woman. He looks like a pretty thin, bookish sort of guy. But in spite of that he's apparently strong enough to gently lay the woman on the least filthy part of the ground that he can find.

Or better yet?

If there was a couch or something in the building the ogre had been nice enough to smash through. That would be a pretty good spot to do his work as well.

"This may take a bit of time," he says as he draws a piece of ulexite from his satchel and begins waving the cloudy white stone over the woman's head. Images... flickers... play across the naturally transmitting surface of the crystal. Helps to visualize things that the natural eye can't, in the hands of a practiced diviner. A crystal ball is good for viewing things afar off. A ulexite tablet is good for revealing what's nearby. Once he's found what he needs, Ibby will begin to surgically target memories. Not for outright removal, but for subtle modification. Depending on how long ago the woman first encountered the Yellow Sign, it will take more time for the process to be finished. The simplest solution is often the best. He won't aim to remove memories, as such, simply to twist them. Specifically, memories cementing the form of the Yellow Sign in the woman's mind. Should all go well, the augur's magic will place a perceptional filter over the Yellow Sign. Instead of a lurid yellow glyph, Layne should perceive (and recall) the wholly innocuous logo of the Blue Oyster Cult.

This, of course, all presupposes that nothing decides to interrupt Ib'bahali while he's doing his delicate work. Like, say, Layne waking up and pepper spraying him in the face.

"Our jaundiced nuisance draws power from awareness of him. As such, it is imperative that the only people who should know about all this are those working to put a stop to it," Ibby explains. "To have his sign in your memory is to have him in your memory. If you have a way to deface your memory of the sign, mister mouse, it would be wise to do so. I can apply a perceptional filter to you as well as an extra layer of protection."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Ominous Street]

"Oh come on, I found the problem in the first place!"
Xeni looks a bit put out that Anastasia is deliberately edging him out, but is at least pretending to be adult enough to just sit back down.
And not cross his arms with an immature pout. (He's definitely doing that)

The mouse is completely ignoring him, focused in on Ibby and his workings.
I have segmented away that portion of my memories. Is that insufficient?

[KerfuffleMach2]

[A Quiet Commercial Area]

Alysha nods a bit.

Oh yeah, there's a bunch of stuff. And I've been gone for a while, so there's probably a bunch I don't even know of. I mean, the space station where I parked my ship? Wasn't there last time.

At the shoe comment, she giggles. Oh, I'm sure we could find some. Might be hard, though.

----------------------------------

[Autumnal Equinox Ball - Ivaz]

Ivaz laughs. No, see, job means boss. I don't do that.

She leans forward, elbows on the table, mostly empty glass dangling from the tips of her fingers. Such a pose offers a unique view of the front of her dress. She gives a wide, toothy grin at the fae.

I much more of a take charge kind of gal.

She sips from her glass, draining the last of the liquid from it. Damn. She was gonna need another soon. And the one Eiriol offered is still in front of her.

So, just being a winter fae means you get an invite? Must not be a lot of winter fae, then. And now invites to summer? Seems a bit rude not to invite at least a few summer representatives.

[Hattish Thing]

[Ominous Street]

Layne, unable to resist mental magics, remains unconscious, her mind thoroughly violated, memories successfully tampered with.

[Mee]

Bayt Alshay

Iamar watches as Naku takes that first bite of shawarma, and she can't help but pay attention to her reaction, even though she has no idea why. Must've just been a sense of anticipation - she knew how it would taste, of course, but she'd never introduced someone to her own culture or cuisine before, and she wanted to know how she would like it. Yes, that had to be it.

The corners of Iamar's lips turn upwards, and she nods. "I am happy to hear so. In my home, it isn't terrible uncommon to see folks set up to sell foods like this."

Bayt Alshay

"That is . . . absolutely amazing." Naku says, before pausing to wipe at the corner of her mouth with a finger. "Back where I am from this . . .
Well. I have never even heard of anyone selling food such as this." She then proceeds to devour several more bites of the delicious food.

[Celticbear]

4972 Darkwood Lane

The door is answered by a dark elf man. He is wearing a pair of skintight black pants, a white shirt, and a red vest, as well as bronze cape with a pattern of peacock feathers embroidered into it and a hat with three peacock feathers stuck in it rests at a jaunty angle on his head. He strangely seems to have no trouble turning the doorknob, despite having to reach up to his head height to grab it."Welcome! I presume you saw my ad on the wall? Come on in, make yourself at home. We have a lot to discuss." If the outside of the house is strange, this room is stranger. The far wall is not made from the same plaster and paint as the others, but is constructed from a strange black metal with a slight bulge toward the entrance, a high tech looking door set into the center of it. In addition, the room has no furniture, being completely barren save for the strange wall and a doormat right inside the door, upon which is resting a pair of combat boots far too large for any humanoid feet.

Know what they say about big feet- ah that joke's old.

Kurrack kinda stumbles to a corner, his green skin shimmering in the light outside as if he were wet. In fact he must have just came from some sort of pool.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[AEB - N&I]

A tight-lipped smile is the best Ithuriel can manage for the moment. She's having a hard time working out if Einion is just unaware of how grossly offensive his comments were, or if it's a deliberate thing to provoke a reaction. It has to be deliberate, right? But it could just be an attempt at humour that went too far...

And of course, him being the host, he's hardly going to be challenged on much today, is he? Perhaps he is just genuinely clueless, surrounded by people who smile and nod and laugh along with him.

Doesn't make it any easier on poor Naku though.

"I'm curious, since you've mentioned it, what is it like to be in the winter court?" A fairly vague question, but hopefully their host will be only too delighted to speak of his domain and less focused on the vampire thing. Ithuriel gives Naku an encouraging little smile and lets her aura flare up a little, bathing Naku in soft, calming golden light - it probably touches on Einion too, given their proximity. No easy way to avoid that, unfortunately.

[billtodamax]

Ominous Alleyway

Anastasia is pacing back and forth between Layne and Xeni, occasionally slamming her fist into a nearby wall. Xeni is getting the full force of her glare as Ibby works.

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Jack, Kramolagh and Feia

Maldwyn motions to Brynmor to take the talking corpse away from the table, and the giant fae does so, covering the now spurting wound with one hand as he drags her toward a nearby door and out of polite company (or attempts to, rather).

When the blood spray bounces off of Kram the fae waves his hand again, and instead of distastefully splashing on the food or the table (these settings are very expensive) the blood will congeal quickly in the air into a small sphere, before drifting into Maldwyn's waiting hand where it disappears seamlessly.

Trouble in paradise, perhaps? He leans forward toward Feia and Kramolagh, resting his head on his hands. Spill the beans!

[Arkhosia]

[AEB - Marina, Cantata, Fettina]

Fettina seems to be very keenly interested in the two, and she shoots Cantata smile when she learns her name. "Sort of hard to dance with three," says she, "Unless the sweet Cantata here was implying another kind of dance." Cantata's paper disappears into Tina's dress.

Fettina will take the proffered seat with a whisper of thanks, her motions betraying her less refined manners and graces. Especially when she downs half the nearest champagne glass. "Oh sheesh, there were that many eyes on us?" says Tina, her voice shocked but her face betraying a catlike amusement. "Who is this Onion guy?"

AEB - Martatina?

Oh my! Cantata's eye's widen, a hand going over her mouth in scandal - though the shimmer in her eyes and the quirk of her eyebrows indicates its nothing more than playful jest. It's an attitude she certainly seems to tend towards, always eager to have a little fun and fool around a little. Just because she seems to love the finer things in life, flitting across a ballroom floor and flirting with shiny chrome angels, doesn't mean the songstress lacks a more coarse and unrefined side.

My my dear, so forward~ she flirts, giggling at the way her newest companion moves. Perhaps Fettina will catch a minute shift in the composed woman's expression as she tucks the paper away for later; was that relief? Was... was Cantata actually the slightest bit worried that she wasn't going to hold onto her phone number?

The Onion question earns another amused smile, and the songstress turns to give Marina an interested look, resting her chin on a folded hand.

[Rebonack]

[Ominous Street]

Ib'bahali does his best not to be distracted by the ogre's random bursts of directionless violence that could, potentially, be turned on him at any given moment. That's one of the downsides with reanimation. Sometimes the result can be unpredictable.

"That's less than ideal, I'm afraid," Ibby replies as he works. "Being in possession of the Yellow Sign, even unknowingly, is enough to allow inroads. Of the Great Old Ones, our yellow friend is one of the more insidious examples in that respect. With most of their kind, this sort of cognitohazardous effect is only propagated by contact with the being in question. I believe it stems from our yellow friend's strong connection to the spheres of perception and form. Thankfully, it requires quite a bit more prolonged contact than, say, gazing upon the time-rending form of Ghatanothoa."

It takes a few minutes more, but soon Ibby finishes his work. The unconscious woman's memories and perceptions of the elements related to the Yellow King should now censor themselves for her own safety. Not enough so that it should cause cognitive dissonance, but certainly enough to prevent her skull from erupting into a writhing nest of tentacles.

"Miss?" Ibby calls out as he rises, looking up at the ogre zombie. "Would you be willing to watch over our friend until she awakens? It has come to my attention that she has produced several, ah, infected objects which should still be nearby."

That is, of course, a problem.

Ibby glances over at Xeni and Yurioc. "Could you two take care of that problem? A nearby art gallery preparing to show some of her work. I'm not sure if I can seal this... orifice in reality. Or at least, I don't think it would be wise to spare the time and preparation required. I can set up a baffle to turn eyes away that will last a few hours at least, but it will take me several minutes to weave the effect and I believe time may be of the essence."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Ominous Street Corner]

Unfortunate. I was hoping to keep the details imprisoned, in case they were of value later. I shall sear them from my mind, instead.
Yurioc may be a little mouse, but he is enormously competent with messing with mind (except Anastasia's, but she's a weird zombie thing that doesn't count).
Frying out a portion of his own memories isn't too hard.

Just a shame to sacrifice knowledge.

Over a little ways, trying to skirt out of Anastasia's immediate arm reach, Xeni prepares to set out with a frown.
"...oh, she did say she was a painter. Who saw this symbol quite some time...back...oh we missed our chance to contain this before it started a long time ago, awesome."
But! On the bright side, she conveniently gave him the address to her latest venue, so that part was a lucky break.
"Guess we'll just cauterize this part then have to figure out the rest as we go. C'mon Yu, you can help me put out the fires."

...I wish you were being metaphorical, but I know you better than that.
With a despondent tone, Yurioc will move from Ibby's shoulder, to Xeni's so they can leave the crime scene!
To ostensibly set fire to a bunch of paintings.

[billtodamax]

Ominous Alleyway

Anastasia stops glaring at Xeni long enough to turn back toward Ibby. ...Fine. She says, after some thought. She moves over to Layne, standing in the corner of the wrecked building, glaring out into the gloom. This looks pretty likely that it's going to get all these weirdos to go away so that works for her.

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Again the empty plates are whisked away, only to be replaced by what looks to be desert - a small mocha fondant served with a light dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar, along with a side of rasberry sorbet. The cold tartness of the sorbet does wonders cutting through the rich, decadent fondant. Delicious, as all the courses have been.

Cantata, Fettina, Marina

Einion. Marina says, smiling as she corrects Fettina. It's pronounced like ay-nyon. He is our host, we had... words. I believe it was on the invitation? She adds, unsure. But... yes, most everyone caught a glance. She adds, smiling at the pair. It was very impressive. She's just going to ignore the question about other sorts of dances. Maybe on the second date, Fettina.

[Rebonack]

[Ominous Street]

"Good, very good. Godspeed to you both," Ib'bahali says as the mouse and doppelganger duo depart for a round of X-TREME! art criticism.

And then?

He'll start casting the baffle over the Yellow Sign.

It doesn't erase it or anything.

That would be quite a bit harder to accomplish given that it is firmly lodged in reality like a bot-fly maggot burrowed under someone's skin. Sure, he could probably do it. But it would take carefully drawing out an array of sealing inscribed with an array of erasure and that ritual would be an enormous time sink that would gobble up valuable resources. He has no idea how many of these portal-signs have been rent open thus far and the task of closing them will no doubt be Herculean in its scope.

No, for now they need to focus on swift triage while they figure out how to address the problem at its root.

To that end, he begins weaving the baffle. A simple trick of information deprivation. There are many features that tend to draw one's eye to particular things. This spell, by contrast, pushes the eye away. The information is flagged as unimportant and unworthy of noticing, just like countless other bits of sensory information that the brain doesn't even bother to store in short term memory. The spell won't last for more than half a day. Probably less with the Sign's caustic effect on reality. But as a means to staunch a gushing wound? It'll have to do.

As he works he casts a sidelong glance at the ogre.

"You seem unusually lucid for one having been reanimated. I, ah, I don't suppose you know why that is?" he asks her, a tone of curiosity creeping into his voice. It'll take a bit to finish the baffle and conversation helps ease anxiety and pass the time.

[billtodamax]

Ominous Street

Anastasia's glare fixes itself on Ibby. Right. She was still here.

There's a profound and awkward silence as she processes the question.

No. She says, simply.

Anastasia is not very good at conversations.

[Hattish Thing]

[Ominous Street]

Worryingly enough, the remnants of the yellow sign offer no legitimate backlash when it comes to successfully placing the baffle upon the sinister symbol, almost as if the baffling of the signwas too inconsequential a thing to be of great concern to whatever entity likely controlled the way in which the signs functioned.

At that moment, however, Layne begins to stir.

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

This somewhat run-down gallery appears to have fallen on hard times, judging by the faded paint and crumbling bricks. Despite the grungy appearance, a number of patrons clad all in fairly grimy clothes have formed a small line just outside the gallery. Many of them appear to be lower-class.

The gallery opens in a few moments.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

Odd name for a gallery, is a thought that some should probably be having here.
But the situation is a bit too concerning for such silly things.

"Handle the people, Yu."
From on Xeni's shoulder, Yurioc looks over the crowd of people and gives a little mousey sigh.
That usual blue glow pulses from his eyes as a wave of thought moves outwards.

For anyone without any good mental defenses, the gallery begins to abruptly rumble, shake, and collapse.
A cackling howl rises from within the crumbling building and inexplicable, hideous forms can be seen moving beyond the dust.

It's a bit of mental tampering, aimed at making the place generally incredibly unsafe and terrifying to go to for any average person.

Which is an opportunity that Xeni will take to slip up towards the front of the line. Subsequent action varies a little here, depending on whether the door is still locked or not.

[Earl of Purple]

AEB- Jack, Kram, Feia, Fey

When the fey's neck breaks and it starts to spew blood from its gaping neck-hole, Jack pales and gags. She'll look for something she can vomit into without causing much mess, but she's not got long to look- fifteen seconds or so. If she manages it, she'll use it, whatever it may be- a bucket of ice and champagne would be perfect, as that's not nearly so horrific to clean up. If she fails, she'll try to puke onto the floor, out of the way.

AEB- Godfather & Fade

"My business is being a smart leprechaun. We make gold, but it don't last. It disappears, after an hour or so. Nobody trusts our gold, so if we want to make a living, we have to be smart, deal in silver. I do loans, gambling, and a bit of protection. Also crack down on some drugs; pixie dust especially. Don't take it, buy it or deal it, and we'll get on." It's made from real pixies. "And they didn't really switch. They just... One of 'em would be happy to spend the night with a one-legged troll, didn't care who or what. The other decided to go for a man after the break up to try something new." Which obviously wasn't enough to keep them together.

[Rebonack]

[Ominous Street]

Ib'bahali looks suitably disappointed at that reply. "I expected as much, but one can't fault a scholar for trying."

And then?

He notices the damsel in distress beginning to rouse!

He finishes up his work on the baffle, not terribly surprised that there wasn't a reaction against it. Great Old Ones tend to be a bit more lucid than Outer Gods, but their perceptions of such fine things tends to be limited. No doubt Hastur's attention would be drawn to destroying a Sign, but to simply obscure it for a few hours? What are hours in the eyes of beings who experience reality with the cadence of aeons?

That's a lack of perspective he can leverage in his favor.

A deck of cards in a fine ivory box is quickly retrieved from his satchel, shuffled, cut, and examined. This process is repeated a few times until Ibby seems satisfied with the result. A reading on the nonsense leading up to this point to give him a suitable, if somewhat vague, idea of what had transpired before he volunteered his aid to the psychic mouse. It would be helpful to have his story straight, after all. He knows all to well that the right information at the right time can easily sway the direction the narrative takes. Once she awakens properly he can help calm her and get her home if need be.

[Recaiden]

4972 Darkwood Lane

The door is answered by a dark elf man. He is wearing a pair of skintight black pants, a white shirt, and a red vest, as well as bronze cape with a pattern of peacock feathers embroidered into it and a hat with three peacock feathers stuck in it rests at a jaunty angle on his head. He strangely seems to have no trouble turning the doorknob, despite having to reach up to his head height to grab it."Welcome! I presume you saw my ad on the wall? Come on in, make yourself at home. We have a lot to discuss." If the outside of the house is strange, this room is stranger. The far wall is not made from the same plaster and paint as the others, but is constructed from a strange black metal with a slight bulge toward the entrance, a high tech looking door set into the center of it. In addition, the room has no furniture, being completely barren save for the strange wall and a doormat right inside the door, upon which is resting a pair of combat boots far too large for any humanoid feet.

Know what they say about big feet- ah that joke's old.

Kurrack kinda stumbles to a corner, his green skin shimmering in the light outside as if he were wet. In fact he must have just came from some sort of pool.

Cute guy. Ostentatious outfit, but then he was expecting people.

"An unusual home, if I may say so."
Anima brushes her feet on the doormat and strolls inside, smiling at Kurrack's joke despite what a tired phrase it is.
"Perhaps we should get right to business."

[Autumnal Equinox Ball]

You'd have such a time. Promises Meinir, continuing to eat her pork chop. Doesn't it sound fun, Alex?

"We help people help themselves. Direct intervention is usually decided by the higher-ups. Um, visiting your forest sounds lovely. We'll do that sometime, I'm sure." she says innocently. What could possibly go wrong?

Such a time. Could be any sort of time.
"That's settled then. Now, you're okay letting those higher-ups make all the decisions? I mean, it doesn't bother you? I would hate not getting to pick a course."

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]

Tauron seem to have to think a moment before he replies to that. "Admittedly, I don't have any agents capable of advanced communication at the moment. My faction has never been too concerned about communication, so when I appeared in this dimension there was no one I could turn to for that, and I myself found myself thoroughly lacking. I hope to find someone to help me soon however." He stops to look around at their new surroundings. "But, if I may ask you, why are your base so far removed from everything?"

"You had much the same problem as us, then." Perhaps not quite as intensely.

"We're out here for historical reasons. When we first arrived we weren't in a position to travel far. But it's worked out well. We don't get in anyone's way, we're hard to reach for people who want to give us trouble, our excavation doesn't cause any trouble, we have all the space we need. Excepting all the monsters down here, but that's what warrior flights are for." They move first through old ruins, then areas that have been cleared of debris, then finally to the edge of the base's tunnels, broad round passages coated in a slick purplish membrane.

"Tell me, what is your faction, exactly?"

At this point another alien appears from invisibility. They're similar to Sophia, but not quite the same. The upper arms are boneless tapering tentacles. The antennae are longer and more clustered together, trailing behind their head. And they're not wearing an ominous concealing robe, which lets one examine the carapace plates more closely, see how much the stalker does resemble the human woman one of them used to be.
"Our volunteer, Fay."

[bc56]

4972 Darkwood Lane

"Yes, let's." The more they hear the drow talk, Kurrack and Anima may become more certain that something is off with his voice. It's far deeper than would be expected from someone of his stature and seems to be coming from a few feet above his head. "There's something I want. A device which I need to solve a puzzle. There's only one problem. It's in Hell." He pauses. "I'm not confident enough in my own skills to break in on my own, so I would like to hire you two as bodyguards and assistants for the trip. I will pay quite handsomely for the service." The drow reaches to his belt pouch and pulls out a fistful of glittering rubies, which he shows to the two visitors. "Half down, half on completion, of course."

[billtodamax]

Ominous Alleyway

Anastasia crouches down over Layne as she begins to stir. Hello. He has gone. It's not... entirely clear who Anastasia is talking about. Xeni, I guess?

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Anchor and Alex

You need to make your mark, Alex. Meinir agrees. Passivity just shows the higher ups that they don't need to consider your opinions when they make the decisions. Alex your parents are worried about your future prospects.

[Zefir]

Spoiler: Pre

Show

Ominous Alleyway

Certainly all these people think their words are important, but Anastasia knows better and ignores most of them. She takes Layne into one arm and uses the other to shake her gently. Wake up Layne! She starts walking back towards the hole she made in the building, stopping at Ib'bahali. Move. She says in her dull monotone.

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Anchor and Alex

You'd have such a time. Promises Meinir, continuing to eat her pork chop. Doesn't it sound fun, Alex?

Fade and The Fairy Godfather

It sounds to me like you've had the worst sort of luck. Ilar says, consoling Paddy.

Derryth finally rouses from her sulk to speak. Some women don't know what a good thing they have when they see it. Some men too. She adds, glancing at Fade moodily.

AEB- Jack, Kram, Feia, Fey

When the fey's neck breaks and it starts to spew blood from its gaping neck-hole, Jack pales and gags. She'll look for something she can vomit into without causing much mess, but she's not got long to look- fifteen seconds or so. If she manages it, she'll use it, whatever it may be- a bucket of ice and champagne would be perfect, as that's not nearly so horrific to clean up. If she fails, she'll try to puke onto the floor, out of the way.

AEB- Godfather & Fade

"My business is being a smart leprechaun. We make gold, but it don't last. It disappears, after an hour or so. Nobody trusts our gold, so if we want to make a living, we have to be smart, deal in silver. I do loans, gambling, and a bit of protection. Also crack down on some drugs; pixie dust especially. Don't take it, buy it or deal it, and we'll get on." It's made from real pixies. "And they didn't really switch. They just... One of 'em would be happy to spend the night with a one-legged troll, didn't care who or what. The other decided to go for a man after the break up to try something new." Which obviously wasn't enough to keep them together.

AEB- Godfather & Fade

Fade doesn't seem to get Derryth's attemp to blame him.

"Your business sounds rather shady." Fade comments. "Haven't you thought about getting something to deal that has less dangerouse customers? Some people don't seem to be able to take the risk you do and I guess your previouse wifes count as them."

Felandria nods eagerly as Iamar talks, playing it cool.

She looks around, peering around corners, looking for suspicious shadows.

Here, shadow kitty.....

[Fishery]

Some time will pass and all workes expect the one in the office, will be gone. The lights are dimmed down to save energy and you are sure it would be out if not for you. At first the only moving shadows are yours or sometimes the machines when a light swings in the wind comming from the river entrance.

Then suddendly you see a movement in the shadows. something small moves at the wall. It's aiming for the not so obviouse truck exit. which is located on the opposite wall of the entrance you cam in. Whatever it is, the sound of cats from outside rises up.

[Murkus]

AEB - Martatina?

Oh my! Cantata's eye's widen, a hand going over her mouth in scandal - though the shimmer in her eyes and the quirk of her eyebrows indicates its nothing more than playful jest. It's an attitude she certainly seems to tend towards, always eager to have a little fun and fool around a little. Just because she seems to love the finer things in life, flitting across a ballroom floor and flirting with shiny chrome angels, doesn't mean the songstress lacks a more coarse and unrefined side.

My my dear, so forward~ she flirts, giggling at the way her newest companion moves. Perhaps Fettina will catch a minute shift in the composed woman's expression as she tucks the paper away for later; was that relief? Was... was Cantata actually the slightest bit worried that she wasn't going to hold onto her phone number?

The Onion question earns another amused smile, and the songstress turns to give Marina an interested look, resting her chin on a folded hand.

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Again the empty plates are whisked away, only to be replaced by what looks to be desert - a small mocha fondant served with a light dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar, along with a side of rasberry sorbet. The cold tartness of the sorbet does wonders cutting through the rich, decadent fondant. Delicious, as all the courses have been.

Cantata, Fettina, Marina

Einion. Marina says, smiling as she corrects Fettina. It's pronounced like ay-nyon. He is our host, we had... words. I believe it was on the invitation? She adds, unsure. But... yes, most everyone caught a glance. She adds, smiling at the pair. It was very impressive. She's just going to ignore the question about other sorts of dances. Maybe on the second date, Fettina.

[AEB - Martatina]

"Oh, honey, I have no idea what you mean," says Tina, taking note of everything that passes over Cantata's face. As desert begins to arrive, the chrome gal digs in, taking a moment between bites to glance at Marina.

"Oh! Yeah! On the invitation, right." You did get one of those, right Tina? "And thank you. It was my first time doing it, too. I'm naturally graceful, though." Tina gives a serious nod.

[UncleWolf]

Unfortunate Meeting

Nora facepalms and sighs. "Can't drive or teleport away. No time. We're not going to be able to stick around so start running before Intersection arrives." Nora tells them before reaching into the car to just drag everyone out of it. She'll confiscate the teleportation gun however once everyone is out and give it a once over. Unsure of how to work it, she'll just flip switches, turn knobs, pull levers and eventually hold it inside the car before pulling the trigger and letting go as fast as possible so both the gun and the car teleport away as she pulls her arm back. There's a chance she'll lose the arm of course, but she'll live.

[Mee]

Autumnal Equinox Ball

Naku and Ithuriel

Ithuriel's comment causes Einion to laugh loudly. I'm sure you will. He says, and Ithuriel will catch a brief wink from he as he says it. Keep a close, close eye on her Ithuriel.

Well, unless they want you to of course. Einion says to Naku, before eating some of his salad. There's a pause as he chews. I could hardly hold you to higher standards than my court, after all! His comment spurns another bought of laughter. He sure does like laughing.

AEB: N&I

Naku nods a few times. She supposes that's fair. Not holding her to higher standards than his own court.
That was fair.
Everything is just . . . fine.
The food doesn't seem quite as good, though. The laughter as genuine.

[AEB - N&I]

A tight-lipped smile is the best Ithuriel can manage for the moment. She's having a hard time working out if Einion is just unaware of how grossly offensive his comments were, or if it's a deliberate thing to provoke a reaction. It has to be deliberate, right? But it could just be an attempt at humour that went too far...

And of course, him being the host, he's hardly going to be challenged on much today, is he? Perhaps he is just genuinely clueless, surrounded by people who smile and nod and laugh along with him.

Doesn't make it any easier on poor Naku though.

"I'm curious, since you've mentioned it, what is it like to be in the winter court?" A fairly vague question, but hopefully their host will be only too delighted to speak of his domain and less focused on the vampire thing. Ithuriel gives Naku an encouraging little smile and lets her aura flare up a little, bathing Naku in soft, calming golden light - it probably touches on Einion too, given their proximity. No easy way to avoid that, unfortunately.

The light does help, even just a bit. But Naku is honestly just glad that the subject has changed.

[Deathkeeper]

AEB- Anchor and Alex

Alex smiles deviously.
”Oh, I’ll get my turn. But showing ambition this soon would reflect poorly on me. Patience is an important virtue. I’ll push when I’m in a position to do so.” Alex promises them.
Then she goes back to eating.