[Nexus] Inside 48

[The Bushranger]

[Angie's Clinic]

She rolls her eyes at him then gives him a spot of whiskey in his coffee, then helps herself to some as well. And if he cares to notice the bottle looks almost brand new, apparently she hasn't been doing that much drinking by herself. She considers having John over as a special occasion and is willing to treat herself a bit.

He does indeed notice this, and smiles in approval.
Then raises his mug of Irish coffee in a toast.
"To friends. Old, new, and re-found."


[Sitar's Strings]

Becky smirks at Clarissa's chosen tactic. She couldn't have done it better herself!
...and allows her hand to rest on the shapely rear of her companion in crime. Delivering a squeeze to exhibit how pleased she is by her conduct. Without caring who sees!

[happyturtle]

Sitar's Strings

Spoiler

Show

[Sitar's Strings]

Becky! Restraint! Willpower! ... Who is this doppelganger and what did did she do with the real Becky?

Oh noes! Mean old Mister Starling forbids public displays of affection on his property and is looking forward to expelling Clarissa from his respectable restaurant! Whatever should the sagacious, diabolical vixen do? She hasn't the wherewithal to defy his angry, angry bellowing! He must remit her sins! She must renounce her pride in who she is! But woe is she for she can do nothing to save herself from his wrath!

Nothing but instigate it herself! Jeopardy and ugly, senseless hatred! How sweet! Mmmm! Candy. Candy! This is to Clarissa as chocolate is to the standard human being.

She demands more! More! And so, a Machiavellian plan is born!

This guy... He's a powerful man. To resist temptation as he did, he must be a boss or maybe even the boss. The big boss. The head honcho. The rancid milk. The speciest toupee. And she's "borrowed" something of his... Something high-quality. Plainly fancy. Obviously a prized possession. A symbol of status! And he's not even trying to assert his dominance in the sanctity of his own haven by taking what is rightfully his. No fun! No fun at all! Hmm...

Further investigation is called for. How will the target react to the stimuli provided?

Clarissa licks the palm of her hand and attempts to run a smear campaign against Brian! Watered-down Clarissa slobber! Have a complimentary pint on the shirt!

"Such stinging words! Grr! Get out! Get out! Or what? You'll yell at us more?"

Clarissa clears her throat with a lady-like ahem before openly mocking Brian, attempting to imitate his voice and body language to a tee!

"Balderdash! Everything that spills out of your mouth is garbage! Garbage I tell you! You can keep the fashion-impaired hat-thing! I'm a blue blood, not nouveau riche and I don't care about it! I purchased one for every day of the month! Sometimes two! I'm patently superior to you since you aren't human and are stronger than me and smarter than me and soooo much more attractive than me and all that! My grandparents had gills and my parents rode dinosaurs! I'm three hundred steps behind you evolution-wise and I'd rather breed exclusively with my kind so that my offspring are as weak and pathetic as I am! Genetic purity is the answer to all of the problems my species faces! You've never heard of an extinct species having problems now, have you? What? Who are you? Where am I? Manning a ship owned and operated by the haters that could easily be scuppered by the non-humans I spit on?"

[Sitar's Strings]

Becky smirks at Clarissa's chosen tactic. She couldn't have done it better herself!
...and allows her hand to rest on the shapely rear of her companion in crime. Delivering a squeeze to exhibit how pleased she is by her conduct. Without caring who sees!

Starling takes the abuse, getting Clarissa saliva on him. He takes out a handkerchief and wipes his face, but there's nothing to be done for his shirt. "Excellently done. I haven't seen such a puerile display of insolence since I was ten. Of course the schoolyard bullies I remember didn't dress like strumpets or attempt libertine relations in an eating establishment. Will you continue disrupting my wardrobe, or do you have another purpose for being here?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Sitar's Strings]

At a later...or perhaps earlier (who knows in this crazy place?) point in time to the events currently unfolding...

A gentleman enters the restaurant, eyes quickly searching for the fellow he's looking for. His white-gloved hand gently closes the door behind him as he steps inside, striding towards Brian Starling's VIP booth, cane gently tapping against the floor along the way.

The gentleman certainly seems well dressed. Right from the smart, expensive, freshly polished black shoes, past the neat grey suit with handkerchief neatly folded over the breast pocket, right up to his black silk top hat. Clearly a man with a lot of money to spend, since such an outfit can hardly have been cheap.

"Would you, sir, be Mr Brian Starling?" The gentleman asks, stopping a few paces away from the booth.

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street]

Amid the bustle and buisness of Inside was a particularly well known street on which one could find just about any item one's heart was set on.. For the right price, of course.

Tending to her deceptively meger stall was a short, black furred, impish creature that seemed to be more cat than anything save for a few mild reptilian traits similar to those of a salamander. Well, 'tending' for a given value of the word. Really, she seemed to be busying herself with a strange contraption that looked to be made out of a few rather cloudy flasks and tubes as well as what appeared to be a hookah sized for a dragon. The contraption appeared to be venting streams of light bluish-green smoke as well as emitting a low whistle.

That aside, there was quite an impressive array of unguents, potions, oils, salves, tinticures, elixers, and salts to chose from laid out and clearly labled.

[The Alexandrian]

[Sitar's Strings]

Woah there, Becky! Lust can't handle that level of... Lust? Lust!

Resistance is futile.

Countdown sequence initiated...

Oh no. Good gods... What have you done, Becky?!

"Funny you should ask. I'm here to abduct and reeducate your staff. Come with me if you want to live!"

Lust attempts to sway on over to Emily and take her hand in marriage! There might be a tangible, hedonistic, and immediate reward in store for Emily if she cooperates with Lust!

Lust's willpower is all but depleted. She has to finish her mission!

But Starling's patience level is well beyond anything she's ever seen! His superpowered tolerance is over 9000!

[Beans]

Rachel follows her wife's lead, stretching included.

So, where to now?

[Park]
Anywhere!
Mights also nice to going home though...
The grey-skinned girl giggles, starting to stand.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Park]
Anywhere!
Mights also nice to going home though...
The grey-skinned girl giggles, starting to stand.

Yeah, that sounds good. We can check out other areas tomorrow.

Rachel will hold out her arm for Alilia to take.

((Sorry for the slow posting lately. I blame shenanigans.))

[Beans]

[Park]
She takes her hand and will walk back home with her!

[ThirdEmperor]

[Market Street]

Uh, I do hate to disturb you from your work, but this is an alchemist's store, correct?

Standing outside the catamander's stall is a young man, looking painfully out of place in these bustling surroundings. Although his outward appearance is nothing special in the Nexus- Broad shouldered but thin, green eyes flecked with amber and gold impurities, straw-colored hair poking out from beneath his stars-and-moon patterned wizard hat- his body language clearly marks him as a recent arrival, trying to shrink back whenever one of the 'monstrous' races passes close by, his eyes darting about the place in nervous amazement.

I hope I'm not making myself a bother, but, ah, I have been trying to locate specific ingredients and reagents for some time now and I was pointed towards your stall.

Which is quite clearly the only reason he's talking to her, being quite clearly disturbed by the catamander's bizarre appearance and unable to keep from staring. Not that the Wizard means any harm. No, he's simply clueless and very, very lost.

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street]

"Just- Just a moment!" Nephea said as she grabbed a rather stained clay cup as the whistling of the contraption reached a constant, high pitch. Grabbing the end of one tube, she placed it over the cup as a viscous, dark green liquid dribbled out the end. Its mildly unplesant appearance aside, it did have the merit of smelling quite enticing... Which might be a clue as to why the catamander took a small sip of it before making a small face and adding what would clearly be sugar from a tiny pot nearby. "'Thé du marais.' Pretty well named if you ask me. Supposed to be good for your health but it's better as a quick lunch if you can stomach the consistancy." she said, apparently not minding the stares. She was used to them by now. Besides, it drew people to her stall, didn't it?

"So! Welcome to Solution Solutions! Solvents for your ills, chills, and adventuring thrills! You need ingrediants? I've got what you're looking for!" the catamander said proudly as she sat up straight. "...Well, most likely I should say."

[ThirdEmperor]

Market Street

What an odd and complicated device, all for making a drink of some sort. Thè du marais... The Wizard's sure he knows that phrase, heard it's components before in one of his half-forgotten linguistics classes, furrowing his brow and clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in thought.

Tea? Bog tea? Sounds foul, not at all the sort of elegant fare normally given the honor of retaining their foreign names. But the Wizard isn't here about tea or the catamander's odd tastes in it. No, no, mustn't get distracted. With so much here to be distracted by, he'd never be done asking silly questions if he let himself start.

Yes, I am in need of, ah.. Pausing a moment, the Wizard pats down the pockets of his heavy woolen coat until he finds the list, then begins reading off the first few items. Etheric salts, Corlen's root, silverhemmed bellflowers, sulfur, purified springwater, charcoal from a rowan tree... He looks back up from the parchment, seeming concerned. The etheric salts more than the others. I've yet to find any at all, or any who know of them even.

[Reinholdt]

Magnificus Theater Auditions

There's not an issue with smoking here. After all the director of the play is here, going over a copy of the script while smoking a cigar himself.

"Ok, so you're here to audition right, good. So which part you picking, see?"

Magnificus Theater Auditions

"I don't know yet. What parts are there?" The Admiral asks, not fully familiar with this particular production.

[ThePhantom]

Magnificus Theater Auditions

The director finally looks up and grins upon taking in the Admiral.

"Well, I think you are a prime fit for one of the title cast. All the bones makes a perfect Death, see. Save a bit on costume. Just have to sure that you got the lines down."

The director holds out a copy of the script.

(Here's a link to the storyGodfather Death)

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street]

"That's one thing to call it, yeah. It tastes better than what it sounds like.. Both in name and the actual sound it makes." the catamander said as she took a second sip of the aptly named liquid. "I've got a few more cups if you'd like to try some. Goes great with a hint of moon sugar... No not that kind. The sort made from dried dandilion juices. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to make the distinction because I look feline and all." Nephea said as she scratched behind an ear. "I mean, I've got the other kind too but in rather limited quantities for good reason. Can make a knockout psychic enhancer with the right ingredients if you don't mind the splitting headaches when it wears off, though.

"But etheric salts, eh? The sulphur is pretty standard as is the spring water. Doraji is usually a good substitute for that kind of bellflower and I think I know a guy with some fresh moutain ash so that'll just take about a day or so.. I know I've got the root though. Powdered form. But etheric salts... Where have I heard that.." Nibbling on a.. It could be either a finger nail or a claw but it was rather hard to tell with her. Either one or possibly both but she appeared to be thinking hard about it. "Hmm.. Are we talking about the powdery remains of dried ectoplasm or the solvent you get from boiling off water from the Astral Sea? Actually, describe it to me. I might know it by a different name. What'cha planning on mixing up anyway?"

[ThirdEmperor]

Market Street

The references to moon sugar, the 'other' kind of moon sugar and it's connections to felines are all lost on the Wizard, who can only nod his head and go Hmm.. in a manner he hopes seems wise. Except when he's offered a cup of bog tea of course. Then he finds his words again quite quickly. Ah, no thank you, but thank you very much for offering.

Etheric salt, it's the seventh and most common of the etheric minerals? But these people don't know what those are, do they? At the very least, Sigil didn't. And the odds of a merchant knowing about such a thing when a scholar of magic did not seem very low to the Wizard. It is, uh, like salt, but holds a connection to the etheric plane. It has a slight blue radiance and color and is found in dead lakes that once held magical power, or washed up within brine pools?

[Mindfreak]

An Alleyway
Wow.
That's some strong chitin
The man, however, isn't out of tricks.
After all, the blade wouldn't let him die that easily...right?
Right?
"My lord! Protect me!" shouted the man!
As the Chrysalid tries to attack the man, it should find itself bouncing off of the air around him!
The man will then try to use the confusion that may follow for the Chrysalid bouncing off of air to run and scoop up his sword!
It's quite important for his survival!

---

Inside - Krystal and The Lady
The Lady looked down.
"Yeah...I'd rather not talk about it."

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street]

Nephea shrugged and took another gulp from her tea when the wizard refused, having to chew on it slightly. She had to admit that it was like the vegimite of tea where by the time one realized just how aweful the texture was, one was addicted to it. Well, not quite but close enough.

"Ah, I see. Where I'm from, we called that 'ghost salt.' You'd expect us to call the powdered ectoplasm that but.. Well, I didn't make the discovery so I can't really say much about it." she said. "I have just a bit left but if you need more, I could use the help getting another batch."

[Slii Arhem]

Parkspace

The tips of Mintbalm's fingers brush Kate's cheek and and with a slight magic spark a small patch of orange scales appears there. Kate takes a step back, and reflexively reaches up and touches the spot. "Wha-"

The mosquito is surely foiled by all the movement and the sudden scales on the planned landing place.

Parkspace

Mintbalm flinches and pulls her hand back, "Gah, sorry, I totally spaced about that. One of the things is that when I touch people or animals, they change a little temporarily. It's only for an hour or two, but that's why I was wearing the cloak and stuff. Can't believe I forgot that already."

[The Bushranger]

[Sitar's Strings]

"Come on and live a little, Captain Paladin," Becky drawls to Starling, reasoning that with the size of the clearly surgically-implanted stick he has he must be poised to out-Miko Miko. "You know you'll like it once you try it, all you have to do is take the plunge and say yes for once in your life. After all..." she purrs, swaying as she follows Clarissa, her hips swaying with every step, "we are, as it is, only human..."

[Lost_Deep]

Parkspace

Kate doesn't say anything for a bit, just kind of rubbing the scales slightly...

"Only an hour or two? Really? Well, that's a nice change." She rubs them a bit more, like she's trying to rub them off, but stops after a second.

[Devixer]

Dodgy Blind Alley

You should be giving your rookies stun rods so they don't shoot your colonel when they panic.

Depending on the caliber of the guns used to shoot the Chrysalid, the bullets may range from completely ineffective to barely puncturing its armor. The Chrysalid moves to the left and tries to swipe across another thug with one of its blade-limbs.

The zombie starts to stand up soon after being implanted with a Chrysalid embryo.

An Alleyway

A Chrysalid's chitin will deflect small arms fire and even some laser-based weaponry. A thrown knife isn't gonna do much of anything.

The Chrysalid bounces off the air as it tries to grab the man. It chitters and hisses, trying to move around for a better position.

[happyturtle]

Sitar's Strings

Spoiler

Show

[Sitar's Strings]

Woah there, Becky! Lust can't handle that level of... Lust? Lust!

Resistance is futile.

Countdown sequence initiated...

Oh no. Good gods... What have you done, Becky?!

"Funny you should ask. I'm here to abduct and reeducate your staff. Come with me if you want to live!"

Lust attempts to sway on over to Emily and take her hand in marriage! There might be a tangible, hedonistic, and immediate reward in store for Emily if she cooperates with Lust!

Lust's willpower is all but depleted. She has to finish her mission!

But Starling's patience level is well beyond anything she's ever seen! His superpowered tolerance is over 9000!

[Sitar's Strings]

"Come on and live a little, Captain Paladin," Becky drawls to Starling, reasoning that with the size of the clearly surgically-implanted stick he has he must be poised to out-Miko Miko. "You know you'll like it once you try it, all you have to do is take the plunge and say yes for once in your life. After all..." she purrs, swaying as she follows Clarissa, her hips swaying with every step, "we are, as it is, only human..."

Emily is caught by the Clarissa aura that Starling seems able to resist. Her eyes glaze over and she heads towards the two skanks intruders, but Starling now gets visibly angry for the first time. He snatches Emily by the upper arm, hard enough to cause her to cry out in pain.

With his other hand he takes out his phone to press and hold a speed dial button. While the other line rings, he pulls Emily into a one-armed hug without releasing her arm. He'll be damned if he's going to let inhuman monsters carry off and rape an innocent teenage girl!

[Earl of Purple]

The Sitar's Strings

Emily is the waitress here.

"OK then. Follow me." The demon-in-human-form will lead his merry band of arsonists to...

Kribulkin Street- Red Zone

The house inhabited by the kobold clan is quite easy to distinguish; the industrious little dragon-people have boarded up the second storey windows and the door has been bricked shut whilst a large living room window has been mostly bricked up, with a ladder leading to a small aperture that the kobolds use as a door. "I've seen very few adults- maybe ten. The clan's quite small." Although those ten adults are looking after ten children, and quite a lot of eggs.

An Alleyway

The child remains on its wall, staring down at the unfolding scene below. It temporarily considers jumping down to try and claim the murderer, but the Chrysalid is too large and too tough to fight off. So it sits, and watches.

[ThirdEmperor]

Market Street

Ugh, vegemite. I'm far from a picky eater, but that stuff's just plain weird.

Ghost salt? The Wizard's never heard it called that before. Certainly has little enough to do with ghosts. But the catamander sounds sure, and she would be the expert here, so he'll trust her that he's not being cheated. Yes, that sounds about right.

And I would be glad to help you. Except. Except... Not to be rude, but this would not involve going against the law, would it? It's just that, I've never heard of an unattended deposit. All of them are owed to the university or the empire where he's from. Even if you did dsicover a new one, the most you'd get would be a finder's fee from one or the other, princely on it's own but a pittance compared to the actual worth.

[Reinholdt]

Magnificus Theater Auditions

The director finally looks up and grins upon taking in the Admiral.

"Well, I think you are a prime fit for one of the title cast. All the bones makes a perfect Death, see. Save a bit on costume. Just have to sure that you got the lines down."

The director holds out a copy of the script.

(Here's a link to the storyGodfather Death)

Magnificus Theater Auditions

"No surprise there." The Admiral says, having expected such a role. Though not particularly bothered by it, or he wouldn't have come. Admittedly, he hopes he doesn't end up typecast in future productions.

He'll take the script copy and sit down to read it over.

[Jacklu]

Kribulkin Street- Red Zone

Latalla looks at the building and grins.

Oh boy! I can't wait to get in there and kill all those filthy kobolds! That'll show them to... uh.... why are we burning them alive again?

>.< Yes, now she finally wonders why she came along for the ride. No problem, I'm sure they have completely rational reasons for wanting to exterminate the kobolds. Perhaps the lizard people have been eating babies or something.

[Slii Arhem]

Parkspace

Kate doesn't say anything for a bit, just kind of rubbing the scales slightly...

"Only an hour or two? Really? Well, that's a nice change." She rubs them a bit more, like she's trying to rub them off, but stops after a second.

Parkspace

"Sorry about that. I really should've been more careful. So what've you been up to now that you're back to normal kinda?" Mintbalm asks curiously, reaching for the cloak so she can put it back on before she accidentally messes with Kate's anatomy even more.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Inside - Krystal and The Lady
The Lady looked down.
"Yeah...I'd rather not talk about it."

Krystal senses she touched a soft spot there.

Oh...okay. Sorry.

She looks around a little before speaking again.

Well, guess I should introduce myself a little more. Let's see...I'm a mutant. Hence the hair and eyes. I'm not from the Nexus originally. I'm from Earth, though now that I've found out that there's a bunch of different realities, I don't really know which Earth. She gives a sort of nervous chuckle, and figures that she's talking too much and that she should give the Lady a chance to respond.

[Lost_Deep]

Parkspace

"Not much, I was only given the extra body yesterday... and was turned into a half-gold dragon the night before..."

Kate shifts a little bit. "And the day before... I've been getting changed a lot. It's getting tiring."

[McBish]

[Angie's Clinic]

He does indeed notice this, and smiles in approval.
Then raises his mug of Irish coffee in a toast.
"To friends. Old, new, and re-found."

Angie raises up her cup to that and takes a long sip.

"So what are you up to for the rest of the night?"

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

[Hank's Hookah's.]

An exhausted looking Calvin ducks inside looks around quickly and then slumps into a comfy couch with a small sigh ordering up some hookah. He flips open the book of poems Charity lent him.