Home 24: A house in this market?

[Shadowcaller]

[[Sagittarius Roof]

Fettina wishes she had the time to react to all of... that. The sudden, terrifying, terrific feelings for Nora. The resurgence of glorious feeling throughout her body. The trembling in her legs.

But instead, someone seems to decide to puppet her. A voice she recognizes. She snatches at her throat at first, confused, slapping at her lips. She tries to point at her mouth and shake her head as she looks at the newly transformed Nora. Distracting, but not distracting enough to take attention away from this horrible experience.

Then it gets worse. As she hears all these details, and learns of Nora's employment, Fettina narrows her eyes and puffs up her cheeks. Her fists get propped on her hips. Oh, geeze. She's furious. When she's finally allowed to speak again, she takes a deep, laboured breath and says, "Nora-- Nora, you work for that bitch!" She tries to puff up some more, but Nora did say Tina was her 'good friend'. That makes a girl like Fettina pause. And Nora did seem pretty confused and upset herself... "Well, look, this isn't cool! And I'm not going to see her again! Now tell her to stop puppeting me!"

[Tieflings and Vampires and Sneks Oh My]

Vampirism has perks that Valerie had never imagined before. She passes out a grilled cheese sandwich to each of her four daughters as they wait (mostly) patiently at the table with more spring in her step than she's had for months. It's so good to not be tired. She spins back to the counter and dishes the last sandwich onto a plate... and sets it aside for Astrana. Not being able to enjoy the meal with the kids is a downside. You win some and lose some.

[Sagittarius Roof]

"She's right. Can't talk like this. Just call me. Now." "Tina" remarks and the next moment Tina will feel that she is fully in control of her body once again. No outside influences.

[Tieflings and Vampires and Sneks Oh My]

"Aren't you going to eat with us? I know that you still can." Astrana remarks as she enters the kitchen, carrying a child with rather peculiar hair. Seems like she managed to sneak through the front door without them hearing her. She still even have her shoes on as well as her business clothes. "Hey girls..." She smiles at her children, waiting for their reactions now.

[Gullara]

[Tieflings and Vampires and Sneks Oh My]

Oh! "Well that's not exactly ri-" Valerie cuts off as she turns around. The spatula in her hand clatters to the floor.

There's a moment of silence before the girls erupt. "Whaaat?" "Why do you have a baby?" "What's her name?" "She's got snakes on her head!" The girls clamour off their chairs and surround their mom. It's gonna be hard to get a word in edgewise like this.

Valerie still stands by the counter, looking at the baby in her girlfriend's arms. This just doesn't add up. "...Astrana?"

[Recaiden]

The Annex

Putting it into the head's a good idea, and the exact location does help determine what it does. As it happens, however, inserting it is painful. Even if Yone's using painkillers, it's hurting as the soul fragment trapped within the spike is forcibly spliced into Yone's own soul. There should also be a bit of blood, but the art of Hemalurgy is messy, and using it will ensure that the body will reform itself around the spike.

Where Yone has placed the spike provides a slight boost to her sight. Her eyes are slightly sharper, now, but the charge has been dissipating for a very long time. It's a very small boost, and... Well, I'm not sure how the boost will manifest itself.

It's curious. My head doesn't hurt, but my field does. For just a few moments, as the magic of the spike skitters into unused corners of the library of myself. Then everything around the annex looks just a little different. My eyes still look the same, solid glowing lights. At least, I think they do? I check a mirror - okay, yes, they're fine.

But the real change is elsewhere. We would call this effect a codex of the Blade. A sort of magic I don't do, don't want to do, and really shouldn't have been able to benefit from. But now I can sense a doorway to another node in the field. Could that be a vulnerability?

[BC's HQ]

Oliver's not the best at climbing without gear at the best of times, and setting up the gear would take too long. He starts trying to roughly gauge whether jumping into the broken furniture would hurt him badly enough he couldn't complete the mission.

It's not that long of a fall. If he jumped down intentionally, he can expect bruises, maybe a cracked rib.
He'd be fine.

[154 Oceanside Drive]

Sekhmet gazes in wonder at everything. The cityscape itself is strange to her, neither skyscrapers nor suburbs exist in her homeworld. As the group walks, she continues to talk. "Not where I lived. I was the only one I know of in the entire city. So this is where you live?" She asks as they arrive at the house.

"This is where I live - renting just a part of the place." Honeysuckle explains. "They're my friends who are staying with me while they're in town."
As they get closer, it becomes apparent that the house is not just large, but constructed to a larger scale. Honeysuckle has to stretch up over her head to work the lock and doorknob, and inside the proportions are monumental.
"Well, there's plenty of people like you around here, Sekhmet."
Surely she feels some kind of way about the prospect of meeting other tieflings.

[bc56]

154 Oceanside Drive

"More like me?" Sekhmet looks a bit worried. A thousand "what if"s are flying through her head. She shakes her head to clear it. "I guess that's a good thing." She doesn't comment on the size of the building. Maybe that's just normal around here.

[CosmicHobbit]

[BC's HQ]


It's not that long of a fall. If he jumped down intentionally, he can expect bruises, maybe a cracked rib.
He'd be fine.

[BC's HQ]

After only a moment of hesitation, Oliver jumps into the softest thing he can see down there, trying to suppress any gasps of pain that might give him away. If all goes well, he'll start burrowing into the furniture, finding a place where he's out of sight from up above.

[Arkhosia]

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

At that, Fettina just flashes her newest gal-pal a wink. And in answer to the latter statement... "If you let me keep it a little while, I can order a replicant fabric and have one of my gadgets sow it up like nothing happened. Trust me, I've been around that block a few times."

She gets up to fetch Cantata a... frankly gigantic shirt, one that will travel nearly down to her knees. The baggy thing reads 'CALL ME DADDY' in bold on the front. Tina displays no shame whatsoever. "Here, get cozy."

Those amber eyes light up at the offer, and Cantata can't help but lean a little closer as she nods assertively. I would love that, she types, fingers flitting across the touchpad with energy. She'll stay seated up as the angel disappears to fetch something to wear....

And what a shirt it is! The sight is far too much for the usually-suave maiden to handle, and she devolves into a fit of silent laughter for a few seconds, a hand moving to her face as she gains control of herself. If Fettina is any good at lip-reading, she might notice her mouth "oh god" - it seems that even after a couple years, reflexes like that die hard. My, what a style~ Is all she types before slipping it on, a couple gentle snickers nonwithstanding, before looking back towards the angel and giving her an inquisitive look. What do you think?

[Recaiden]

[BC's HQ]

Oliver flops down onto an old bench, and then slides between a desk and a beanbag.

"Was that...?" comes a voice from the far hall.
"...nothing, I guess. This is the worst hideout sometimes."

The footsteps fade away.

Climbing out and continuing on his way, he'll find another obstacle: just a locked door.

[154 Oceanside Drive]

It's not normal. But they end up in a room with lots of drape-covered windows, normal-sized furniture; a large bed and dresser, cushions, numerous cabinets. A sitting area near the window is full of tools like a workbench: gears and springs, wrenches and saws.

"Eh. I never really fit in with 'my own' people, so if you're not too excited about it..." That would make extra sense for a tiefling.

"Make yourself at home."

[bc56]

154 Oceanside Drive

Unsure of how to make herself at home, Sekhmet sits down on whatever appears the most comfortable. She has a lot to take in from her arrival and the short walk still, so she just sits in silence, at least at first, and contemplates. Everyone at home must be worried sick by now.

[CosmicHobbit]

[BC's HQ]

Oliver flops down onto an old bench, and then slides between a desk and a beanbag.

"Was that...?" comes a voice from the far hall.
"...nothing, I guess. This is the worst hideout sometimes."

The footsteps fade away.

Climbing out and continuing on his way, he'll find another obstacle: just a locked door.

Oliver grins. This should be easy. He takes out a lock-picking kit he always keeps on him, and gets to work on figuring out what type of lock it is.

[Murkus]

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

Those amber eyes light up at the offer, and Cantata can't help but lean a little closer as she nods assertively. I would love that, she types, fingers flitting across the touchpad with energy. She'll stay seated up as the angel disappears to fetch something to wear....

And what a shirt it is! The sight is far too much for the usually-suave maiden to handle, and she devolves into a fit of silent laughter for a few seconds, a hand moving to her face as she gains control of herself. If Fettina is any good at lip-reading, she might notice her mouth "oh god" - it seems that even after a couple years, reflexes like that die hard. My, what a style~ Is all she types before slipping it on, a couple gentle snickers nonwithstanding, before looking back towards the angel and giving her an inquisitive look. What do you think?

Fettina will fold up Cantie's dress with care, then, scanning it with an appraising eye and her silvery lips pursed. She turns around just in time to catch the silent peals of laughter, and she grins at the sight. "Oh my gods, you are just the cutest thing," says Tina. She folds up her wings and flops down beside Cantie. "And it isn't just the shirt either. But what I think is we should snap some pictures of you in that and set your friends to chattering. Or maybe freaking out a little."

Tina gives the songstress an openly sultry wink. "Or maybe ending up in big, big shirts at Daddy's apartment is a regular thing for you, hm?"

[UncleWolf]

[[Sagittarius Roof]

Fettina wishes she had the time to react to all of... that. The sudden, terrifying, terrific feelings for Nora. The resurgence of glorious feeling throughout her body. The trembling in her legs.

But instead, someone seems to decide to puppet her. A voice she recognizes. She snatches at her throat at first, confused, slapping at her lips. She tries to point at her mouth and shake her head as she looks at the newly transformed Nora. Distracting, but not distracting enough to take attention away from this horrible experience.

Then it gets worse. As she hears all these details, and learns of Nora's employment, Fettina narrows her eyes and puffs up her cheeks. Her fists get propped on her hips. Oh, geeze. She's furious. When she's finally allowed to speak again, she takes a deep, laboured breath and says, "Nora-- Nora, you work for that bitch!" She tries to puff up some more, but Nora did say Tina was her 'good friend'. That makes a girl like Fettina pause. And Nora did seem pretty confused and upset herself... "Well, look, this isn't cool! And I'm not going to see her again! Now tell her to stop puppeting me!"

[Sagittarius Roof]

"She's right. Can't talk like this. Just call me. Now." "Tina" remarks and the next moment Tina will feel that she is fully in control of her body once again. No outside influences.

Sagittarius Roof

"I'll call in a bit, Boss." Norael says before looking thoroughly thoughtful, clasping her fingers in front of her face as she stares off into nothingness. She seems to be thinking a fair bit before "speaking" more. "You realize that by refusing to go back to her there is little chance of someone being unable to remove this completely without it spreading or leaving lingering effects, right? This has backfired once and I'm not sure I want to risk it again next month." Nora tells her once Tellysandra is gone. "That's going to leave only a couple other options. either you put up with this permanently or I go and try to convince her to teach me how to do this sort of magic so I can do it later. Your choice."

Underside

The Wolfen Shaman was certainly far from mechanically minded but he could recognize an impressive machine when he sees one. His ears stay straight up out of interest, twitching new directions every once in a while as he hears the chisels work. "That...is quite the impressive piece of industry. I would hate to think of how much work this would take if it was all done by hand with mallet and brute force." He admits before shaking his head, at a loss as to what to elaborate upon. He was certainly out of his element here. It made him quite glad that his people didn't have familial names to worry about.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tieflings and Vampires and Sneks Oh My]

"Her name is Maha. She was given to me by an entity and she has no where else to go." Astrana briefly explains. "So I brought her here until we can figure out what to do with her." She eyes her children "Be careful about the snakes though girls, and never look her in the eyes. Maha is a gorgon and she can be dangerous if you aren't gentle with her."

[Gullara]

[Tieflings and Vampires and Sneks Oh My]

The girls strain to see the baby, going on their tip toes and pulling themselves that little bit higher by Astrana's clothes. "She's a tiefling like us!" Jaazha declares, and that just prompts a new round of chatter. It's rather loud and boisterous, and the inevitable happens. Maha starts to cry! The girls clam up all at once. Oops.

Valerie stoply steps across the room, her eyes on the child. She stops a few steps away and tries to lock eyes with Astrana. She has some serious explaining to do.

[Arkhosia]

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

The songstress blushes and responds by averting her eyes with a dismissive gesture. it's only a mostly exaggerated response; a quick little glance of affection probably gives that act away, assuming Fettina is quick enough to catch it before Cantata scoots over to give the angel some room. Those torn-up stockings form quite an amusing contrast beside that giant shirt.

She snickers. Not at all, but sending acquaintances atitter sounds like fun~ She reaches around to squeeze the angel closer with a lopsided smirk and a cheeky quirk of the eyebrow, but her bravado doesn't do much to conceal her reddened cheeks. For all her suave performance, she doesn't seem quite as shameless and daring as she pretends to be.

[Recaiden]

[154 Oceanside Drive]

Unsure of how to make herself at home, Sekhmet sits down on whatever appears the most comfortable. She has a lot to take in from her arrival and the short walk still, so she just sits in silence, at least at first, and contemplates. Everyone at home must be worried sick by now.

Shockwave retires to a sort of bowl in the corner of the room, where they become more of a shapeless flame than they were before.

"Did you ever see much of your own city?" Neverest inquires. "You seem to have had a lot to worry about."

Honeysuckle vanishes back into the rest of the house for the moment.

[BC's HQ]

Oliver grins. This should be easy. He takes out a lock-picking kit he always keeps on him, and gets to work on figuring out what type of lock it is.

It's a pin tumbler cylinder lock, pretty standard except for the extra security pin.
It might frustrate a beginner, but surely not someone of Oliver's caliber.

Spoiler: Beyond the locked door

Show

Behind the door it's as if he's not in the same ruin at all. The floor is level, or perhaps we should say the ground is level, for it's dirt covered in fresh green grass, the walls painted(?) to give the impression of wide-open spaces.

There's a smoldering campfire with a pot of soup suspended over it, a tablet computer resting on a stand nearby, and a small empty table.
On the left, a reinforced metal door with an electronic lock. Across the space, a dark opening where the light of the fire doesn't reach. To the right, a perfectly ordinary door.

[bc56]

154 Oceanside Drive

Sekhmet nervously replies, "Well, uhh." She has a pained expression, like she finds this a very uncomfortable topic. She breathes deeply, "No, no." Her voice is wavering, and there's a look of echoed terror in her eyes, like she's waking up from a nightmare. Her hands are shaking.

[Recaiden]

"That's a shame." the elemental says softly.

A little more aware of these things but still not really knowing Sekhmet well enough to have much idea how to help her, Neverest holds a mittened hand out to Sekhmet and begins going on about something pretty much unrelated.
"I remember back when I first arrived in the Nexus - we had to leave our home, you see, because the sun was going out - well, it was a disaster when we got here. All the things people call 'magic', well, we'd never seen any of them. Plus given how the environment isn't suited for us..." A nervous laugh. "I literally didn't believe things right before my eyes."

[bc56]

154 Oceanside Drive

Sekhmet doesn't respond, remaining frozen in fear by whatever's running through her head. She finally snaps out of it and flops backwards onto the chair. A quick examination will reveal that she's crying, tears welling up in her eyes and streaming over her cheeks. It doesn't seem like Neverrest said the wrong thing, just that Sekhmet is overwhelmed right now.

[Morty]

[Underside]

The letters are the same goblin script Cheasadh has been seeing all over, listing names of many goblins who came before her new family. Some lack last names, some are placeholders where the name was lost or unknown, but they're all there. Now she can see her own name being written next to Brinika's, Rapnuk's and Tralka's.

"The names are written," the archivist says, once the chisels stop and the machinery pulls the slabs deeper into the chamber. "Now no one can remove them without cutting away the rock, which would be the crime of crimes."

At this profound proclamation, Brinika squeaks and hugs Cheasadh exuberantly as their parents look on, smiling.

"See? We're as sisters as we can be now!"

Reelshka rocks Balthuk in her arms a little.

"Let's go upstairs to check how drunk the archivists are and then go somewhere nice to celebrate."

[Recaiden]

"Nice going." murmurs the fire.

Neverest just goes "Hmm." to themselves, then gets a handkerchief from the dresser and sets it down next to Sekhmet. Seems like she might need that.
Then they sit by Shockwave and quietly talk about their trip to Inside, the schedule, timing, inventory and prices at the market, and other such day-to-day concerns.
They want to help, but trying to force Sekhmet to deal with things immediately would probably just make it worse.

Of course, she might go further to pieces and jump out the window, or jump to the conclusion that they dragged her to the Nexus, or something like that.
There's always risks.

[bc56]

154 Oceanside Drive

Sekhmet doesn't move. It's been a strange and stressful day, and despite how nice these strangers are, she's still terrified, of being in a strange place, of an event in her past, and of what might be happening at her home right now. She continues to lie still, her breathing slowing back towards normal levels and her tears gradually drying up.

[Earl of Purple]

Underside

Cheasadh watches her name being carved with great interest, not that she can actually read it yet. When Brinika gives her an excited hug, she hugs back just as enthusiastically. She's really happy she's officially Brinika's sister now.

[CosmicHobbit]

[BC's HQ]


It's a pin tumbler cylinder lock, pretty standard except for the extra security pin.
It might frustrate a beginner, but surely not someone of Oliver's caliber.

Spoiler: Beyond the locked door

Show

Behind the door it's as if he's not in the same ruin at all. The floor is level, or perhaps we should say the ground is level, for it's dirt covered in fresh green grass, the walls painted(?) to give the impression of wide-open spaces.

There's a smoldering campfire with a pot of soup suspended over it, a tablet computer resting on a stand nearby, and a small empty table.
On the left, a reinforced metal door with an electronic lock. Across the space, a dark opening where the light of the fire doesn't reach. To the right, a perfectly ordinary door.

[BC's HQ]

Oliver chuckles softly. "When will they learn this doesn't keep us out?" he whispers, before getting to work on actually unlocking the door.

He unlocks it quickly, and walks into the room. He's confused momentarily, but shrugs. Wouldn't be an HQ if it was all ruins, now would it? He immediately walks over to the tablet computer, seeing if he can get into it, and if he can if there's anything worthwhile in it.

[Murkus]

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

The songstress blushes and responds by averting her eyes with a dismissive gesture. it's only a mostly exaggerated response; a quick little glance of affection probably gives that act away, assuming Fettina is quick enough to catch it before Cantata scoots over to give the angel some room. Those torn-up stockings form quite an amusing contrast beside that giant shirt.

She snickers. Not at all, but sending acquaintances atitter sounds like fun~ She reaches around to squeeze the angel closer with a lopsided smirk and a cheeky quirk of the eyebrow, but her bravado doesn't do much to conceal her reddened cheeks. For all her suave performance, she doesn't seem quite as shameless and daring as she pretends to be.

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

Fettina is always quick enough to catch things like that. She does seem a little surprised Cantata is so bold as to slip an arm around her, but Tina is nothing if not adaptable. The neon girl returns the gesture. And it feels like maybe there should be something more... but this damn body is keeping her from going anywhere with it.

"Well, come on! Whip it out," She sticks her tongue out as she says that last part. They sure are close together now... Tina can at least enjoy that much. Especially with that lovely shade of red in Cantie's cheeks. "And take some pictures, I mean."

[Sagittarius Roof]

"Um, you realize that she did this to me for fun and I have no reason to believe she won't do something even more horrible if I go back there, right?" Fettina snarks angrily, the color in her cheeks growing hot. "She kidnapped me, Nora. She broke into my house and had some freak grab me. Just to get at MERC. My friends at MERC. And she did this to me, and whatever else we are now, on some stupid whim."

"You forgot option three. I go and figure out how to fix it myself," she says, storming off toward the roof exit with her fists clenched. She still can't believe Nora works for that awful woman... But with everything taken into consideration, she can't help but add, "Thank you. For trying. I'm sorry about whatever happened to you now, but I guess your boss can fix it." That's added with a note of disbelief, but no further anger. Nora didn't know. Maybe Nora doesn't know what kind of person Telly is, or that KABAL exists at all. Tina sure hoped not at least...

Then she is gone, unless stopped.

[UncleWolf]

Underside

"Hopefully not a place that's too nice. I'm ashamed to admit I left my white tie at GLoG." Pathfinder jokes, reaching down to set an arm around his beloved to keep her close as they walk. It almost seemed like he was trying to show his family off proudly. Well, he was, but it seemed like it too. "Or my shirt. Or shoes."

Sagittarius Roof

No. Norael says, her tone hard and bitter. "No. You don't get to just throw a "Thank you" at me after all of that and then leave like it's nothing until I get in a retort." Well, if her voice didn't tell Tina she was upset and angry, the blue of her wings and hair brightening was certainly a sign. She doesn't approach Tina however, allowing her to leave if she wished, but Tina would have to slam the door in her face in a manner of speaking to do so. "I put my neck on the chopping block for you tonight and have paid for it. Now I find myself one of the few classes of entities I despise, and it feels like tonight's being thrown back in my face for events I couldn't possibly have known about." Despite her lack of mouth, she clearly feels hurt, somewhat disgusted, and more than a little angry, but despite her clenched fists she won't make a threatening motion towards Tina. Despite what felt like a rather weak thank you, it was something else Tina had emphasized that bothered and hurt her more.

"For Atom's Sake, Tinael, I thought I was one of your friends too, but if your friends at MERC matter more, fine. I get it. Go talk to them instead of the one trying to fix the Atom-Damned problem and might actually have enough leverage to do so." She growls before just spreading her wings and launching off the rooftop, heading towards the ocean to go cool off.

[Deathkeeper]

Aran's Condo

"Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be happy? You look great. But I wasn't sure how you'd take it, and... I'm not really good at this." He does grin and look Aran up and down with the first bit. "It's faster than usual, but I'd say you're absolutely fantastic." He nods, and will go over to give his witch a hug.

[Aran’s Condo]

Being hugged now is odd. Being hugged by Ursagridd before involved Aran having his face crushed against the spirit’s chest. But now they’re much closer in size, even if the spirit’s strength is still far more than even his great size would indicate. And the tightness of the squeeze also makes it more apparent how large both of them are in the middle. But Aran has to break away.
”What do you mean, faster?”

[Earl of Purple]

Aran's Condo

"Ah, well... You saw how thin Ingrid was, yes? And how thin her unicorn was? They've been together for... Hm. Twenty years, I think? Quite a while. As my witch, you draw on my power. I am a spirit, my body is made of my power. As a result, over time, your body would change to match mine. Like Ingrid's has changed to match her unicorn's. I didn't bring it up sooner because... Well, it takes a long time, and most of the time it's not noticed." Ursagridd does know the name of Ingrid's unicorn, as it happens, but for unicorns names are powerful. Ursagridd's a small god, in some respects, so he needs his name to be known for power; unicorns are different, and are forced to appear when their name is spoken by a mortal. The black ones- and the red ones, but Aran's not met one of those- tend to resent this. Ursagridd's not going to tell Aran the unicorn's name except in rather specific circumstances.

[Deathkeeper]

[Aran’s Condo]

Aran crosses his arms and glares at Ursa.
”Well, that’s not an excuse, but we’ve only been together a few hours, so I’ll trust that you were going to tell me at some point. But this means there’s no point in trying to- look, I can’t go out like this. You’re going to have to get me some clothes.” Though Aran absolutely dreads the idea.
A pause.
”Wait when you say match, do you mean exactly?” Because Aran is not quite so tall, shoulders not so broad, muscle not so thick and belly not quite so bulging. Ursagridd still has him beat.

[Earl of Purple]

Aran's Condo

"I could create some furs for you to wear whilst we shop for clothes. They'd be part of me, though, so it'd help if we stayed together. Otherwise they might dissipate and return to me." A step up from illusionary clothes, but only just. "Of course I'd tell you. I'm not a naturally deceitful being." Bears aren't exactly subtle. "No, not exactly. We won't look like twins. Your colouration won't change, and you won't be exactly as tall or as wide. But there'd be a resemblance." It does raise the question of what would have happened if he'd accepted the deal offered by the coal-fire elemental, but Ursagridd won't be able to answer.

[Deathkeeper]

[Aran’s Condo]

Aran looks nervously down at himself, and at Ursagridd.
”Well I mean, don’t we already have a resemblance? Are you suggesting that I still have growing to do?” He’s also not sure if he likes the idea of going shopping while stuck to Ursagridd the whole time.