Zone One, Corner Of Seventh and Ninth Street - Just Another Day In Wonderland

Hello Michella,
It's been a while... and probably still will be. Don't think I'm any closer to finding a way out of this tin can.
Assuming that's even where I am. Seems like every day there's more people on the streets, calling the whole spaceship idea a big hoax by the folks in charge.

Either way, doesn't matter to me. I just want out of here. I want to see meet you again.

It was hard not to feel claustrophobic when he could look up in the 'sky' and see the mechanisms that were keeping it working. With his eyes closed, as they often were, Leo could stare directly at the sun and watch as the metaphorical gears ticked away behind it. Celestial Surro-something. If the name was anything to go by, asking around about it wouldn't make it any easier for him to understand.

"Understand that not everything is meant to be understood." - probably someone with a PhD.

"Would you shut up with all the questions, you pube-headed shit-for-brains?" - definitely someone without a PhD.

Well, maybe it wasn't so bad here, if it meant he was galaxies away from his coworker. Leo huffed to himself and turned his attention back to the street, just in time to watch Bondrewd greet the small congregation that had gathered around their usual coffee joint. A couple of them he recognised- the storeowner with the fake body, the Draughtsmen volunteer whose body was ever-shifting- but the rest of them were unknown to Leo. It didn't surprise him that Bondrewd could fill in the blanks- he'd long since come to realise that the scientist's magnetism wasn't just for show. He was charismatic, personable, all the things that Leo wasn't, the sort of person that attracted others to him like flies to honey.

In light of being reminded of that, Leo could only offer an awkward smile and wave after Bondrew's magnanimous greeting. The three strangers- Violet, Johanna, and Shinano, as Bondrewd had called them- each of them had something going on that Leo couldn't decipher with his eyes closed. But the same could be said for near everyone in this strange city of theirs, so he didn't think much more of it. When Prushka split off from the group and skipped towards the café door, Leo eagerly followed in her steps.

"Morning Moko." he greeted the storeowner, his discomfort evaporating as he was welcomed in turn by the homely scent of roasted beans. Leo tilted his head at Johanna and Elerin, both crowded around the coffee tray. "Good business today? Hope there's still seats in there for us."

The collar of Leo's bulky jumper rustled to life, a bulge circling his neck until a small head with disproportionately wide eyes peeked out from the fabric. Lured out by the tantalising aroma of coffee, Sonic the monkey stared greedily at Moko's tray from the small gap between Leo's collar and his perpetually unkempt hair.

Zone Six

Helena smiled, her eyes lightning up at Everett’s words.

“Glad to hear it,” she took a sip from her drink. “It sometimes feels like there’s just not enough hours in the day between my job at the hospital and my excursions with the Draughtsmen, so I’ll take any chance to goof off a little that I can get.”

Heh. Time like this reminded her that the little blue devil wasn’t so bad after all.

Zone One

Aldehydes, furans, pyrazines, phenols. 2-furfurylthiol, guaiacol, and traces of 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate. A familiar, complex smell - the aroma of coffee. A mix of volatile compounds that combined to form something more meaningful than its long list of components.

As she looked around from her seat inside the cafe, Maia filed that observation away under 'useful metaphors' with a slight smile. The android's frayed, but clean military cloak and arrays of webbing and pouches and holsters were a little incongruous with the establishment's picturesque cottage decor - but then, such incongruity was the norm in Concordia. She fit in just as little as all the other patrons making their way in and out of the cafe, really. A volatile mix, more complex than the sum of its parts. Yes, she liked that.

Most humans found the smell of coffee to be pleasant, and Maia found that she agreed, although for different reasons. Rather than a signal that preceded a stimulating drink, to her the smell was associated with people she liked, and with work she found agreeable. Maybe this was why she had felt drawn to finish her preliminary assessments for the upcoming briefing here, instead of in her quarters, which would have been the more logical choice.

The door opened, and a familiar face stepped inside, interrupting Maia's introspection. This was probably a good thing, mission briefings were not a good time to examine your own logic. Additionally, the face belonged to her sister, which was always an agreeable sight.

"Prushka." Maia called out, smiling and lifting a hand to wave. "I have a table."

Edited by LittleMako on Jan 12th 2021 at 9:54:30 PM

Zone 1 - Everlasting Diet

She sits there, in an office now over a century old. Her robes are simple, green trimmed with red. She wears the traditional hat of a minister of Zhaojūn. All of this is exactly as is expected. To the citizens of Concordia, it was as if she had always been there. Herself, Jengbish, a few other scattered individuals. The first brave souls who had thought to hammer out some form of order and harmony where none had previously existed.

One of her beastfolk stands beside her. One of those who made it through her trials with grace and dignity intact, and was remade in the peafowl's image. He seems to enjoy the change. The wings do suit.

She beckons for water, and a glass is placed before her. The Diet has concluded the day's meetings. The rest it can be spent in peace and quiet on matters of state. But first, there is the matter of this meeting. Myn had desired to speak with her. He was running late now. She eyes the clock on the wall. How much longer to wait? Ten minutes, she decides. Or the doorman will tell him to return tomorrow.

Zone Six: Rum-Eyed Rufus’s

Once she got confirmation that Helena and Grumpy Man were totally about to become BF Fs, Jester snaked her arms back from around their shoulders and clapped her hands together excitedly, before resting her hands on her hips in triumph. “You know what this means~!” Jester declared, before all but pivoting 180 degrees on one foot, and making her way into the bar proper. “It’s~time~to~cele~brate~!” Jester cheered, marching with wide, straight kicks affixed to every syllable, a gait that both cleared the way for and brought her up to the edge of the bar with somewhat obnoxious efficiency. Leaning her elbow on the table and slipping on her best face for ordering Adult Beverages, Jester spent a solid few seconds flitting indecisively between which of Rufus’s eyes to look into before eventually just staring at something shiny over his shoulder and letting his imagination fill in the rest. “As you can see, my friend and I are feeling kind of blue,” Jester said with a snicker, before swiping her finger triumphantly through the air, “so for him, I want your fanciest Happy Hour drink, with extra happy~! As for me, I only do the hard stuff.” She said, emphasizing the word by bringing her fist down onto the counter with a soft thud. “Hot chocolate, with extra marshmallows!”

After a few minutes, Jester would then wander on back over to Helena and Everett, carrying a piping-hot mug of steaming-chocolate and bobbing-marshmallows in one hand, and a multi-colored fruit-salad monstrosity of a cocktail in the other, half of the stringy fruit decorations toppling off of the overly-decorated brim as she handed it over to her fellow blue-skinned denizen, revealing the suitably-cheery beverage beneath in the process. “To new people, and pretty doggies!” Jester would say, before attempting to clink her glass against that of Everett’s and Helena’s, and then taking a sip—only to instantly recoil and waggle her tongue in regret, one hand batting at the air to direct wind-flow towards her mouth. “Ah! Too hot! Too hot!”

But as Jester began the long and laborious task of blowing on the hot chocolate until it was within human (or, at least, tiefling) limits, she lapsed into small-talk. “So this is Helena, and she’s really good at healing people on the outside. I’m pretty good at it too, but I can also like, heal people on the inside, by making them all happy and feeling good about themselves, so I’m kind of a double-threat. Really modest too, so I guess that makes it a triple threat? And I’m sure I’ll think of some other stuff later.”

“How about you?” Jester said, cocking her head curiously to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever caught your name before. And you’re like a gardener, right? I’ve seen some of your flowers, they’re really pretty!”

Edited by Uncandescent on Jan 12th 2021 at 8:45:14 AM

Zone 4 - Konohana Park

Neraida, being unobservant as usual, was quite startled by Elliot's sudden greeting. She barely managed to not back into a tree before it got through her head that he was just saying hello. He also didn't seem to know any more about the park than she did, and just for a moment, she was relieved that she had found a (somewhat) kindred soul.

"Whatever time it may be," she responded, "it is pleasant all the same. My world has none like it - I assume yours is the same, at least in that respect?"

Zone Six - Egress

Amaterasu could only look sadly as Setsuna stomped ahead. It pained her to see the oni so upset. Even after all the time they'd known each other, Setsuna still had issues with her anger, squeezing that doll to keep her hands from swinging at someone's head.

Hopefully she would find peace soon.

Shaking her head a moment to clear her thoughts, Amaterasu followed the others in. She'd been here before, mostly because of how it accommodated various nonhuman body types. Amaterasu dragged a large cushion out of a corner and next to the tables the other had set at, before ordering her drink.

Amaterasu took her bowl of sake, expertly balancing it on her head as she brought it back and laid it next to the cushion. Amaterasu spun a few times and plopped herself down, happily lapping up some sake.

She huffs in amusement at Jester's antics. "To friends, new and old." She toasts with them, before taking another tongueful of drink.

While the others talk, Amaterasu's focus suddenly shifts, her head snapping to look at the small machine that just wheeled itself into the bar. A robot resembling a cartoonish beetle, which immediately beelined for one of the other patrons.

Her tail twitched, leaving a small, rapidly fading ink stain on the cushion, as Amaterasu resisted the urge to cleave the offending machine in half. As much as she loathed the Egg Man, it wouldn't do to cause a scene over something so trivial.

That, and the machine seemed to have come with purpose. Amaterasu strained her ears to try and overhear the distant conversation, to see if the Egg Man was up to anything nefarious enough to require her intervention.

Setsuna — Zone 6, Egress

By now, Setsuna was sitting in the far corner of the bar, guzzling down the biggest bottle of sake she could find. She slammed it on the table, only to smash both the bottle and the table to pieces. She grumbled and groaned, tearing off her soaked jacket and tossing it away. It could land in someone's face for all she cared and she'd be too wasted to give a damn. Besides, it was getting way too hot for her tastes. Cuz hot was bad. So jacket was bad.

Perfect sense.

She needed another drink. She could still think, and thinking was also bad. Or it was when she didn't have anything she wanted to think about. She thought her friends would be here, but most of them were nowhere to be seen. Probably over at Moko's or something. The only one there was Helena and she was with the stupid-ass demon lady. She would've stomped over to the stupid-ass demon lady and tear her a new one, but Ammy wouldn't like that, would she? But she was still damn pissed. If she didn't hit something, someone's head was gonna roll and it sure as Yomi's wouldn't be hers.

But damn if she was sober enough to see anything she could hit. So instead, she sat there and waited for something to help alleviate the awfulness that was her existince.

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 12th 2021 at 11:02:55 AM

Elliot, Zone 4 - Konohana Park.

"Not that I've seen. Plenty of forests, caves and farmland but nothing like this. Even the few towns back home were lucky to have a fountain and bench or two." Elliot admitted with a slightly sheepish smile as he looked around, slightly wary of the trees but otherwise glanced around before placing the messenger bag down.

Well, it's not like the deliveries or orders were terribly urgent, there was plenty of time to spare.

"Kind of stands out compared to the rest of the city, considering all the buildings and whatnot. But that's not a bad thing!"

Edited by TheRealWren on Jan 13th 2021 at 4:58:36 AM

Kayné Ainsel—Zone Six, Industrial District, Egress Eternal

Kayne had frozen momentarily as the oni threatened violence, hand subconsciously venturing to her belt where no gun was holstered, and let out a bated breath as things simmered down due to Amaterasu's influence. Smiling thinly at the interplay between Everett and Helena, she paid for Everett's meal, though she had to rummage through her pockets for a little before she eventually drudged up enough marks to pay for it.

The street doctor pushed the plate that Everett's meal rested on towards its intended recipient as it arrived, and nodded once again to reassure him that things were alright. With that done, she turned to Helena, respectfully dipping her head in a slight bow. "Doctor Helena, it's good to see that you're well, and out and about like this. It looks like healers work hard, no matter in what dimension or universe they're in," she said, chuckling at her own little joke at the end, but quickly getting back to the matter at hand.

"I wish I could say that the rest of my schedule was clear today, but I have a favor to ask of you—or, well, your assistant," Kayne said, pressing on, and dipping her head in the direction of Jester. "I'm not religious, but faith is important to many of my patients. Lately, there's been a lot of graffiti being drawn on the statues of various gods, and it's been affecting the mood of my patients negatively. If it keeps up, they won't heal as well, and..."

"...I'm sorry, this is probably too forward," she apologized. "But I heard that your assistant is a bit...antsy in the hospital, so it might be good for her to get out once in a while and do something else. I'll be cleaning and scrubbing those statues for the rest of the day, but it would be wrong to poach her for a job that only I should be doing, and I'm not sure if it's proper, um—please give me your permission on this matter."

She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, the digits of her mismatched prosthetic leg tapping nervously against the wooden floor of the bar as she awaited Helena's answer.

Moloch "Moko" Kothys—Zone One, Central Business District, Corner of Seventh & Ninth Street

Since Violet was a little busy with her work at the moment, Moko took the liberty of placing a sample on her table, winking kindly at her before taking up his post beside his shop front—a hand-painted sign reading Kothys' nailed to it—once more. He nodded at Johanna Faust, and held out the tray of coffee to those gathered in front of him. "Yes, I'm trying a new kind of bean and brew today, so giving out samples is a way of gauging public interest in it before I start selling it properly. Complimentary sugar and cream is on the counter inside, and if you choose to order anything more it'll cost marks. Thank you for your kind patronage," he said, also answering Elerin's question in the process.

Soon, Bondrewd arrived, and Moko dipped his head—well, the head on his construct-body—at him, a respected colleague of his wearer. Without even looking, he pulled open the door behind him and ushered Prushka in with his free hand. He was, after all, considered an excellent provider of customer service. "Good morning, sir Bondrewd, and miss Prushka," Moko called out. "If you see Kayne today, please give my regards to her. She's probably working hard elsewhere even if she promised me to take a break today."

Leo was also offered coffee from the tray, and his monkey was likewise given a smaller cup of the stuff to placate it. It was a determined little thing, and Moko was prepared for this sort of situation. "Business is good as usual," he answered, smiling. "And don't worry, I'll always have seats ready for everyone."

The inside was cozy and wood-paneled, and everything was painted in shades of white and cream. Wooden furniture predominated, though everything was lovingly made and decorated quite tastefully. The potted plants and mismatched patterned tablecloths gave the place a quite homey feel. The coffee was brewed in boilers behind the counter, and the big brass-fitted sunroof had been rigged to let in fresh air with a system of pulleys and brassy gears. It was currently open.

"Come in if you'd like," Moko welcomed his customers. "There's plenty of room. Tell me if you'd like a menu, I also serve sandwiches and pastries. Prices for drinks are also posted up front. You can also sit for a while and rest, I don't mind."

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 13th 2021 at 5:56:20 AM

Zone Six; Egress Eternal - Rum-Eyed Rufus and the Crew

Rum-Eyed Rufus punched some numbers into the cash register, shook up a large glowing cocktail, and grinned brightly at Marima.

"Under the sun? Ah, there's always new things under those old hoagies. Even this sun, even though I've heard rumors that it ain't quite real."

The minotaur snorted, slid a frothing mug down the bar, then leaned in close to the red-haired woman. His nose-ring shone, as bright as the chrome all around them. Elvis picked up and started wailing about being stuck on someone.

"You're Dola, aren't you?" he asked. "That woman they call the Captain. Had a few fences pass this way, swearing that they'd snuck some phony papers right out from under your nose… don't know if they were serious, or if they were just trying to play themselves up, but all the same, I'm surprised to see you looking so bored."

He was perfectly genial, or at least as genial as one could be while talking about contraband, but perhaps having a giant bull's head dulled one's sense of danger.

"Rufus, you git, this isn't what I asked for!"

Rufus craned his head to look at the offender, a little old lady with three eyes.

"Oho?" he boomed. "Well, I may be a git, ma'am, but that is what you ordered! Andy? Customer's mad! Pacify her a bit, will ya?"

"Sure, Rufus! Um, sorry, old woman, but violence isn't allowed here in our establishment, and I don't want to have to pick you up and… no, I'm a lot stronger than I look… yes, I suppose I am a rock..."

"Andy is staff," said Rufus, turning back to Marima. "She's been with me forever, same as Miss Ainsel over there, and the Princess Kaguya… old friends, we are, or at least old fellow-sufferers in the great game of life, although these days some of us suffer slightly less than others. All in good sport."

"No, I don't have innards, but I do have rights, I think, but… oh dear, please don't throw that..."

"Take this, you bum!" yelped the old woman.

Rufus grinned. With a crick of his neck, he dipped his right horn up and around and caught the mug aimed squarely at his head.

"Haha!" he crowed. "Not a drop spilled! And this is for you, from one captain to another, with my heartiest good wishes."

Andy picked up the old woman and walked towards the door. Rufus laid the mug down in front of Marima, then stopped, seemingly distracted.

"If I'm not wrong, that's Ms. Setsuna there, isn't it? Of that charming little shop? Yes, I'd recognize that gigantic dainty figure anywhere! Well, it seems to be time for an introduction! Addward? Addward, come here and introduce yourself!"

And as Rufus stepped in-between the two women, his hands clapped firmly and familiarly on their shoulders, a ball of rage escaped from his girlish tormentor's hands and rocketed across the floor.

"Rufus!" screamed the long furry thing. "Your ship has been tormenting me for the past two hours!"

He was long. He was furry. His little beady eyes were filled with rage, and his teeth were seething with the fires of economic fury.

In short, he appeared to be a rather small and very angry pine marten.

Rufus gave Addward a conciliatory shake, pausing only just long enough to let him escape.

"Captain Dola, Ms. Setsuna, Ms. Setsuna, Captain Dola… oh, and this is my ATM, Addward. Automagic Teller Marten. He's been out of work for the longest time, but instead of enjoying his retirement, he seems to get angrier with every passing day. I wonder why."

"Not pleased to meet you," sulked Addward, scooting around the table leg and curling up in a petulant ball. "Hayek's head, this place is worse than Midas."

Violet; Zone One - CBD, Corner of Seventh and Ninth Streets

The man with the top-hat calls me but I do not know he is calling me until he mentions my typewriter and then I know that it has to be me. He mentions something called coffee which I have heard of because it was given to us in the steel tins, only I did not have any steel tins because I ate in the Major's tent because he would never let me near the men, and he said Violet don't ever go to their barracks at night understand but I did not understand because surely they were on our side?

But the Major's orders have to be obeyed so I did not ask why, and the men never did invite me to the barracks at night so they must have been good men and not bad, not like the Major's brother's men who tried to do bad things to me.

This man with the top-hat does not look like he will do bad things to me. And he is offering me something to drink and maybe it will fill my stomach so I can go without food today. And then I will have food tomorrow for sure which is good.

I open my mouth to accept but then the foxear woman comes over to me and says that she wants me to type something for her which is good because I will be paid but is not good because I will not have the coffee to drink. I take her ten marks and open my mouth again to inform the top-hat man about the change in circumstances.

"You are asking me to take a break," I say. "I cannot have a break. There is a customer here."

When I speak it seems my tongue is too slow for my brain and the words I want to say stick like wet mud in my mouth. I did not learn words very long ago and so they treat me like most of the soldiers treated me, they do not look at me and sometimes they spit when I pass by.

"I will transcribe this report," I say to the foxear woman. "Thank you very much."

Thank you very much is something that polite people say even if they do not entirely feel it or understand what it means.

I take a new sheet of paper from my desk drawer and yesterday's backing sheet and put them together. I press the carriage release, pull the carriage to the left, turn the platen knob to feed the paper in, align the paper so that the margins on top are exactly the same as the margins on either side, and with that completed I start to type the report up.

Judder judder judder ding goes the typewriter, ding like a bicycle bell and not a spent shell, judder judder judder like a small train and not a tank.

I like typing because I do not have to think about what I am writing only type what they are telling me. People like to talk to me while I am doing it but I am not really listening only looking at the keys and maybe they think I am a good listener because of that. I like to make sure that every typeslug hits the paper perfectly and this is hard to do with my arms but it is still something that I do not hate.

Soon I am done with the report and it is perfect. I release the paper by hitting the paper release and I put the backing sheet away and I hand it to the foxear woman.

"Is this satisfactory? Thank you very much."

There is something wet and sour on my blouse and when I look down I see that something brown and hot is steaming and it is all over the bottom of my machine too.

This must be coffee.

Edited by troydenite on Jan 13th 2021 at 7:30:38 AM

Zone 4 - Konohana Park

"Certainly not," Neraida agreed with Elliot. "I must give thanks to Amaterasu for creating this place - even if her standards for natural beauty do not quite line up with mine, it is a welcome difference, as you say."

This person was certainly interesting - he came from a wilder place than this city, it seemed, and judging by the messenger bag he had set on the ground, used to traversing long distances. Whatever drove her to ask her next question, the simple fact that she was now speaking to someone else who was both interested in continuing a conversation with her and appreciative of nature's place in the world made her smile a little.

"Oh, but I have been quite lax in requesting your name, sir. May I inquire as to what it may be?"

Zone Six; Industrial District

Your words felt cringeworthy the second they left your mouth. But the smile Helena gives you seems genuine. You think that maybe, just maybe, you’re being too hard on yourself.

The thought won't last. It never does. But for now, you return her smile with a tentative one of your own. "Yeah, that's understandable."

Jester come back soon after that. Your smile morphs into… something else at the sight of the drink she offers you. That thing should have a biohazard symbol on it or something. It ought to be outlawed by the Geneva Convention. It's a crime against the eyes and (probably) good taste, too.

But you've already accepted the offer. It would be rude to refuse now. So you murmur, "Thanks," and take the glass from the demon-girl's hand. You turn away slightly, feeling self-conscious as you lift the drink to your lips. The split in your lower lip makes sipping impossible, so you've had to adapt over the years. Fortunately, you have some control here.

Unfortunately, what you're about to do probably looks as weird as it feels.

The two halves of your lip flex outward and clap onto the glass to help hold it in place. It's not a perfect seal, but it'll do. You tilt your head back and let the liquid flow into your mouth.

You resist the urge to gag. It tastes as sweet as it looks, which is about what you expected. If you were still mortal, you're sure that one sup would have given you diabetes.

You lower the glass to swallow that mouthful and check how much is left. Plenty, unfortunately. And the glass won't drain itself.

And so, you grit your teeth and take another drink. As you do so, Jester introduces Helena before asking about you. You take a moment to swallow—you can practically feel your teeth rotting—before you answer.

"My name's Everett. And, yeah, I work in the gardens." You know that, and she knows that. She’s come up to you a few times while you were working there to offer you doughnuts for reasons you don’t quite understand. You never accepted them, but she left them anyway. "Erm… Thank you. For this, and for saying that. And for the doughnuts, of course."

Then Amaterasu calls for a toast. For a moment your expression turns sombre. "To friends," you say, and after clinking glasses you practically knock it back that time. That was a mistake: you suddenly feel a sensation like a spike driving into your brain. You close your eyes and shake your head to clear it out, without much success.

Kayné's back. Kinda felt like she disappeared for a second. Maybe she just couldn't get a word in edgewise up 'til now. Or maybe it's you. You tilt the glass and peer into its depths. Not much left. And this is why you normally don't drink. Just because you're a dog doesn't mean you can't get drunk.

God. Not dog. The dog-who-is-god is over there.

You can’t help but snort at that. Dog-who-is-god…

Hang on. What's Kayné saying? Graffiti? Statues?

"I can…" You blink. Your tongue feels thicker than normal. "I can help whiff that. I can… I can whip up a rainstorm an… scour ‘em clean…" You blink again and trail off, because Kayné seems to be slowly splitting down the middle like an amoeba. Or trying to, anyway. And there's a weird black ellipse forming right in the middle of her body, slowly getting wider…

Oh. That's what's going on. You're going cross-eyed. Or as near to cross-eyed as you can get with these goggles of yours.

You let out a sound that's half-laugh, half-sob. “I think I mmmmmay have had a little too much too fast...”

Setsuna

Setsuna had taken another swig from the other bottle under the table when Rufus went and touched her on the shoulder. She spun around, near whacking him with the bottle before she saw who it was.

"Oh! Uh, sorry! I think. I mean, it's not like I ever think, cuz if I did, I wouldn't be trying to strangle someone for petting a doggy and making Ammy mad and being a stupid fuck-up even after six months cuz I'm trying I'm really trying, really really but it's still not fucking working and hey, did you know there's two of you? Two big fuzzy wuzzy bull people. That's, uh, that's real... real fuzzywuzzyuggy..."

She wobbled back and forth, the two Rufus's sliding in and out as she began slurring her words like an inebriate. "Seriously, like, someone should tell you there's two of you cuz, uh, that's... that's not legal or something, ya know? I mean, if there wuz two of me, like, I'd go bash their brains out, yeah? Cuz two of me is... it's bad, yeah? Cuz I'm bad. So if there's two of me, and one of me is bad, then that's... really fucking bad. I think?"

It was only then that she noticed Addward curled up around the table leg. Almost an answer to her prayers. "**OOOOO, FLUFFY WUFFY!" She lazily picked him up and hugged him her in her big red arms, holding him against her chest like squeezing a Furby. "FLUFFYWUFFYGHUGGYWUGGY!"

And again.

And again and again and again.

And again and again and again and again and again and...

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 13th 2021 at 1:30:06 PM

Zone One, Corner Of Seventh and Ninth Street

"Good to hear." Leo replied to Moko, taking the proffered coffee and then scrounging around in his pocket for marks- sure, it was free, but if it was as good as Kothys brews usually were then it deserved some compensation. Plus, well, he didn't really know what to do with his excess funds now that he wasn't saving them up to send to his sister. "It's hard finding a coffee shop in this place with a good atmosphere, it'd suck to see this one go."

While Leo was distracted by his pocket, there was a sudden burst of air as the monkey by his neck became a blur and then re-materialised on his shoulder with cup in hand. Sonic squeaked in triumph and chugged back the hot liquid. Sliding out a pair of bills from the little nook sown into his pocket, Leo dropped them on the tray. "Thanks. Don't let Sonic have too much though- he didn't sleep for two days the last time he had too much caffeine..."

Leo's gaze wandered as he talked, naturally drawn by the odd sound coming from across the street. He'd never seen a typewriter out of a movie or two and, even with as strange and eclectic as this place was, it was still a surprise to find one manned by a person on the street corner. Watching the typebars dance violently back and forth gave Leo a front row seat to the coffee cup tipping over and emptying its contents all over the poor woman's front.

He cringed instinctively, wracked by the pain of Having Been There™. Leo performed his own little dance on the spot as he looked around and failed to see anything that could help, then he turned on his heel and hurried into the café proper. "Here Prushka, hey Maia-!" he said, pushing his free coffee into the hands of the former and dumping Sonic on the table where the android was seated. From there he ran to the counter and grabbed a fistful of napkins, returning to the café's entrance at a speed that would make his simian companion proud (if said companion hadn't been currently eyeing Maia in lieu of a spoken greeting).

Leo came to a sharp stop in front of Violet, bundle of napkins held out towards her (having realised at the last moment how untoward it'd be to try and clean her blouse for her). "A-Are you alright? Here, you can- ack!" Now up close, he could see that the coffee had spilled all over the typewriter too. It wasn't an electronic one, maybe, he didn't think so, but would coffee still mess it up? What about the ink, where did it keep the ink? He took a napkin from the bunch and hastily wiped at the machine with the speed and panic of someone who had no idea what they were doing.

Zone Six

Helena greeted Kayne with a nod. The quirky little lady had made a name for herself through her high ranking in the Draughtsmen and technological prowess. The two women shared the unique distinction of being the two people in the city most people turned to when they lost a limb, due to their advanced prosthesis and advanced healing ability respectively.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Miss Kayne. You’re correct about that – between my patients and Jester, sometimes I don’t know which one brings me more stress during the day.”

She gave a lighthearted chuckle as she took a sip from her drink.

“I’m off the clock right now, so feel free to borrow Jester at your leisure. She’s a real go-getter, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind lending you her help.”

Truthfully, she had more than a slight suspicion that Jester was the culprit, given… well, everything she knew about her, for starters. But while Helena was many things, she wasn’t a cop. And besides, it would be just a little funny if she had to clean up her own graffiti.

>:3

That was the face Helena made for but a brief moment. It was the face she made when she decided to get even with the blue devil in the form of some light japery on certain occasions. Usually after she’s had some drinks. And usually the day after that there’d be some profuse apologizing on her part. Then Jester would say something like “don’t worry, we’re still totally bros” except not with those words because she doesn’t really talk like that. The point is, it couldn’t be denied – Helena could be pretty cool sometimes.

Anyways, she snapped back to reality once Everett started talking about his garden.

“Interesting… plants can have a vital role in medicine, you know. Jester sometimes gathers medicinal herbs for the hospital – perhaps some of yours have made their way to me as well?”

Then Ammy proposed a toast, to which Helena was glad to oblige.

“To friendship!”

She clinked her glass with the others and gave Ammy a thorough puppy petting.

Shinano

Shinano takes a few seconds to look over the typed up report and finding it is satisfactory for what she needed it for she carefully put the paper away, and with a bow said, "Thank you...Miss Violet it is what I heard to expect...from what I had heard of your work" With that said she decides that she'll go to Kothys's to have a small meal before she heads to the Draughtsmen's Guild to hand in the report.

A faint scent of coffee coming from nearby causes Shinano to pause and turn back to where Violet is and sees that somehow a cup of coffee had been spilt on Violet and someone was frantically wiping away at her typewriter as apparently it had also been caught in the coffee explosion. hesitated about if there was anything she could do to help or just leave the man to clean up without having another person getting in his way.

Kayné Ainsel—Zone Six, Industrial District, Egress Eternal

Kayne's face hardens in a mix of determination and sorrow as she, too, finally joined in on the toast, whispering "To friends, old and new," just loud enough that it could be faintly heard over the din of the watering hole's patrons. Then, looking into her cup of apple cider and finding her own reflection there, she giggled a little and sipped it slowly.

"Don't forget to eat, Everett," she reminded the rain god gently. "Before you get so drunk that you'll throw it all back up again. Be careful when you try to walk home...ah, sorry, the doctor side of me is showing. My bad, but do try to enjoy yourself responsibly."

"Jester, dear," she called out to the blue tiefling girl. "I've just gotten permission from Helena to ask you to help me with something. Do you mind following me after this merry gathering? I've a task you might give me a hand with—because doing it with only one good arm is hard, you see!"

Kayne laughed a little awkwardly at her own joke, and added "I'm Doctor Kayné Ainsel—Helena might have mentioned me to you previously. I've certainly ended up in her care once or twice due to overworking myself. Anyhow, she's told me a lot of things about you. I look forward to working with you, should you agree to it."

She took another slow sip of her cider, savoring the fruity taste. It wasn't an alcoholic beverage, since she needed her wits about her for the rest of the day, but it was a close enough imitation of the real thing, anyways. And it was bubbly and sparkly and fun to drink. That probably did it for her.

Moloch "Moko" Kothys—Zone One, Central Business District, Corner of Seventh & Ninth Street

After taking care of the needs of all his current customers, Moko saw that the coffee he had given Violet had spilled onto her table and her dress. Leo and Shinano were hanging around her, probably to see if she was alright. Leo in particular seemed very frantic about the whole thing.

Oh dear.

Moko excused himself for a bit and then ran out with a few wet wipes. These weren't ordinary wet wipes—they were sold to get rid of stains and such, thank goodness for necessity mothering marvelous inventions like these—so he was confident that they would help the situation.

"P-Pardon me, sir Leo," he said, approaching slowly and in such a way that he wouldn't startle anyone. "And miss Violet. I hadn't meant to give you the coffee when you were busy, or to have it spill over on you so suddenly. This is all my mistake, really. If you take a few of these wipes and use them on your dress, it should wipe out the stains, even if your dress is going to be wet for a little bit longer. I spill things on myself all the time, really, it's going to be alright..."

"Why don't you come inside, miss Violet?" Moko suggested, looking sheepish. "I feel terrible for disturbing you and causing your dress to almost be ruined. And your typewriter's soaked, but if anything's wrong with it, m-my dear Kayné can help you fix it. She fixes a lot of things for free nowadays, I'm sure she won't mind. C-Come in, now, out of the cold while your dress dries."

If his construct body had any sweat glands, he would have been sweating bullets. Still, Moko tried to keep himself calm as he performed damage control on the situation. "And I'll let you order a sandwich or a pastry off the menu on the house to make up for this," he added, just to keep up his customer service. "And something hot to drink with your meal if you'd also like that."

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 14th 2021 at 11:05:22 AM

Zone 4 - Konohana Park

"So the wolf goddess was responsible for all this...?" Elliot didn't make much of an effort to mask his surprise. Wasn't what he was expecting to say the least and Neradia's comment had him a little confused. "Well, I guess one person's view of paradise is just passable for others. What were you hoping it'd be? I mean, as long as it doesn't end up turning into an overgrown jungle or forest, it should be fine!"

...Hey, it was a big park and stranger things had happened before. Heck, it was kinda hard to resist the idea to drop everything and explore. Or just relax and enjoy the scenery. Although the fact it'd be impolite and thought of running into tiny fluffy harbinger of doom kept the young man grounded. Somewhat.

"It's quite alright~! I think we've both been a little distracted by the park. Elliot Etirina. Pleased to meet you, Miss."

With a small smile, Johanna took the offered sample of coffee while balancing her books under her arm. There was barely time for a sip before a crowd had started to gather around and a familiar voice spoke up. She turned her head to spot Bondrewd approaching with his daughter in tow. Her smile shifted to a smirk as she started to piece together why so many were starting to gather.

The magical practitioner inclined her head toward her fellow intellectual and raised the small sample cup of coffee in greeting. "Good morning. It seems either this new blend has quite the alluring smell or I've found the secret headquarters of the Draughtsmen. Perhaps a bit of both." With the commentary out of the way, she resumed downing the sample of caffeinated life.

Now that she was set to continue ignoring the natural desires of her body, Johanna took a moment to stretch out her back. She turned, intending to compliment the brewer, but saw that he was busy with that woman with the typewriter. There was already another young man trying to help out, so she stayed out of it. Her attention shifted back to the helmeted man.

"So, off on another expedition today? Think you can bring me back a souvenir this time that I can poke around with? Things have been slow."

Zone Six; Industrial District

Your eyes blink, one at a time. You feel a crooked smile—the kind only a drunk could make—worm its way onto your face. "Mmmmmmmmmmmnnnno promises, but I’ll try, Doc." Her head has nearly separated into two distinct parts now. She might want to get that checked...

There's a shout. You whirl toward it, and the world whirls with you. It keeps going when you've stopped, until you realize that's wrong. It's the world that's stopped, and it's you that keeps going—almost spinning out of your chair. Somehow you right yourself at the last second, but the back of your hand feels wet. Drink must've slopped out. Oh, well.

There’s a red, white, and black blur somewhere in the distance. You think it might be Setsuna, but you can't swear to it. You're pretty sure it's where the shout came from, though. It’s doing… something… to something else you can't quite make out. You blink again, squint, and try to focus. No dice. You can't make out what's in the blur's hands.

Probably doesn't matter. False alarm.

Right, the food. What did you even order, anyway? You can't remember. Then again, maybe Kayné ordered something for you. You look down at the table. There’s a plate in front of you that wasn't there before. And on it…

Your breath hitches.

On that plate is a double-decker hamburger, all-dressed, with a generous spread of crispy golden-brown fries and some coleslaw. You haven't seen one worthy of the name in more years than you care to count.

You can't help it. You choke up. "It's… so beautiful."

Your empty glass lies forgotten on the table. Your fingers wrap around the bun, gingerly, like you're scared that you're about to wake up from the most wonderful dream. You bring it to your mouth and take a tentative bite.

Your tongue lights up with the taste of ketchup and mustard. Lettuce crunches audibly as you start to chew. Onions, tomato, cheddar cheese and seasoned Angus beef, all blend together, filling your mouth and your taste buds with wonders you had all but forgotten.

At least half a minute goes by before you finally swallow. Tears leak from your goggles as it goes down.

"I literally cannot remember the last time I ate something this good." The admission slips out of you quietly, unintentionally. You set the burger down as gently as you would lay a baby into its crib, before dipping a fry into the coleslaw and popping it into your mouth. Your stomach growls, demanding that you sate your hunger right now. But you can't—no, you won't.

This needs to be savoured. You know this, because you have no idea when you might eat this well again.

You start reaching for another fry, but pause. Hadn't Helena asked you something?

"Sorry, think I space out for a second," you say as you turn toward her. You're not as drunk as you were a minute ago, but you must still be a little tipsy because you see two halos hanging over her head and two pairs of glowing blue eyes looking back at you. "What were we talking about, Helena?"

By the time the little machine had finished its chittering, a knife had promptly planted itself onto the floor with a thwip, piercing into the wood below the beetlebot. It had been thrown not by the man the machine was ranting at, but by someone nearby: a woman wearing a green and black cloak which clouded everything but her suspicious eyes. In fact, there was a noticeable number of people in cloaks in the bar that day, all of them sitting around one table, occupied only by one man.

"Man, you sure like to complain." The man known as Greed groaned, rolling his eyes behind the outrageously gaudy dark teashade glasses, which barely hid his abnormal purple eyes- abnormal in relation to humanoid creatures, which more often than not trended towards the usual brown and black and blue and green. There was nothing normal about Greed, though. The man dressed as if vests with puffy collars had ever been on style, and his posture screamed 'hooligan'- even now, his feet were placed atop the table, boots tapping gently against it to the tune of the song.

With one hand busy serving himself a nice glass of mead, Greed lowered one of his feet so that the beetle machine could use his leg as a ladder. Once the machine had reached the table top, Greed would once again put his boots back on the table, now crossing his legs in a display of ultimate 'chillaxing'. "Me comin' out to meet you... that's not how it works. Usually it's the other way around. And they don't send messengers too." He reached down and grabbed the knife, tapping his finger against the hilt like a mother tsk-tsking a child. "They usually beg to me in person."

Greed threw his hand back, sending the knife flying to the air, until it landed in the arms of the woman that had thrown it. Once he finished his beer (and slammed it down on the table, because of course he would do that), the man rolled his neck and looked back at the woman, grinning. "Did ya catch it?" He asked, and she nodded. He looked down at the beetle, his grin now elevated to the level of 'shit-eating.' "She caught it. Pretty cool, huh?"

Edited by Stratofarius on Jan 13th 2021 at 7:33:18 AM

Zone 4 - Konohana Park

"Were you unaware? The creation of this park is somewhat of a local legend. People say that when Amaterasu helped build the city with the First Farers, she did her utmost to aid them and that the creation of this park was part of that effort. As for what I hoped it would be, a forest would have been most pleasant."

Neraida lapsed into a distant frown for a moment, then remembered that she was actively talking to someone and smiled again.

"Then again, perhaps it would have reminded me too much of home, and questioning a goddess on the basis of provided shelter would most likely prove unwise." Neraida shrugged, evidently unconcerned that Amaterasu might take a discussion of the park's suitability as an offense punishable by divine smiting. "Please do forgive my train of thought - now that you have told me your name, sir Etirina, I shall do so in kind. My name is Neraida Argrove, and I am quite pleased to meet you as well."

"If throwing around a knife like a schoolboy holding a baseball is your idea of 'cool', then yes, it most certainly is cool."

Considering the fashion stylings of the man who metaphorically was in the room alongside him, Greed was rather normal. Even considering the pastiche of thousands of cultures that this world and that not every species even had the proper limbs to wear pants, there's only so far you can go up before the 2000s-era belts and zippers look passes you by in the fashion travesty race. Greed's business partner, wherever he was, had no boundaries, moral or textile.

"What you call complaining, I might refer to as constructive criticism," the machine said, the sarcasm getting right through those tinny speakers with no problem. "It's hardly a normal day when you have me, Dr. Ivo Robotnik as your customer. If I were in your shoes, I would learn to embrace the peculiarities of our meeting!" The beetleborg raised its stubby, chrome pincers as if trying to mime the movements of its unseen controller. "But I suppose we can't have everyone around here emulating my better qualities. That's just asking too much."

From its new home atop the counter, the machine had little space to move between the drinks of others, but that was going to be a concern for it to solve and not its creator. The simplistic eyes on its front narrowed as it mimed again, and it said "To cut to the end, I have a need that requires fulfillment quickly, and discreetly. Whatever depressants you have access to, and in bulk. I have the means to pay, but I'm sure you knew that."

Zone 4 - Konohana Park

Admittedly, considering the nature of the city and only really noticing the park today, Elliot's surprise at both a goddess actually creating something and at what else the city...ship could have, was clear on his face as he gave a sheepish smile.

"Eheh, guess I'm a bit too busy taking shortcuts when making deliveries and exploring stuff outside the city instead of actually looking around to notice places like this in it."

And the mention of forests couldn't help but make Elliot grin.

"Well, you'd be spoiled for choice back home. I mean, a lot of them are big enough to practically be a maze and monsters could be a problem...and the ones I'd heard about in one Yggdrasil even moreso. Which is a little crazy since it's a forest in a giant tree...but they're rather pretty. Like a forest constantly looking like it's the season of autumn, apparently the story was they first thought the entire forest was on fire."

It did take him a moment to notice he was somewhat rambling on and hadn't exactly seen those forests inside Yggdrasil himself and ...and the fact at how Neradia addressed him had gotten him a tiny bit flustered.

"Y-You don't need to be too formal, Lady Argrov- I-I mean, Neradia. ...Or however you'd prefer to be addressed. Just Elliot is fine but..."

Edited by TheRealWren on Jan 14th 2021 at 4:12:21 AM