Where am I? What's going on?
Forever and a Day
Irra was fairly certain that she'd never met anyone as egotistical as the greedy mutt. Not exactly difficult, because the amount of other sentients she'd met before today could be counted on one hand, but still. The huntress truly despised him, and was preparing to draw her knife when the beast's keeper pulled him back. Irra turned her glare to said keeper.
"Keep your pet away from my prey."
Then a small... creature... with a metallic scent raised a bottle of unidentified liquid in Irra's direction, before giving her what sounded like a compliment and taking a sip.
"Yes, a mindless brute like that is no match for a true hunter. If he oversteps his bounds again, his master will not be able to save him."
With her meal unfortunately gone, Irra glanced around for something else to catch her interest before turning back to the metal thing.
"There certainly are many unusual beasts here. This will be an entertaining hunt."
An Ordinary Oddball
Kayne tensed as Rufus glared at her, and relaxed again as he mentioned that he had work for her to do.
"Well, my hat and I are a party, and that's been quite enough to get me this far, at least," she said neutrally. "What's the quest?"
Moko murmured gibberish while sleeping on Kayne's head. Kayne tapped him gently to wake him up.
"Why didn't you remind me to pack supplies?" she asked with a slight edge to her voice.
"...Why didn't you remind me to remind you to pack supplies?" he mumbled. "...Oh."
"Oh indeed. We're without provisions, tools, credits...and worst of all we don't have any writing supplies!" She said that last bit as if the world was ending.
"Barter's the main transaction back home, is it not?" Moko said. "You don't like using Coalition credits anyhow."
"I don't like using credits in Coalition State-controlled places. But other places deserve actual money. Not our usual kitbashed deal."
"There's no helping it," Moko said, crossing his arms smugly.
"Just...just give us the quest," Kayne sighed tiredly and looked at Rufus with resigned eyes.
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Breath of the Sun
Forever and a Day
"He is not a pet." Lamb said, calmly, the unblinking eye-lights of her mask staring at Irra. "We are Kindred. Eternal Hunters, who bring all living things to their end. Twin halves of the same whole. To threaten Wolf is to threaten Lamb."
"And if you threaten Lamb, I will devour you." Snarled Wolf, though he didn't step from Lamb's side.
"But your time is not yet come. So let us set aside anger." As she spoke, Lamb rose from the table, Wolf at her side, and an ornate longbow slung across her back. Her hooves clip-clopped on the ground, but Wolf's gliding motion was eerily silent. "For we have a 'job' to do."
Kindred now stood beside Kayne and Moko. Wolf peered quizzically at the money-creature, but made no motion to attack it, floating boredly around Lamb.
"I hope I get to chase something. This kitten bores me." He grinned, almost drooling with the thought of a fresh kill.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
"...Thank you, sir." She sounded entirely unsure as she pushed a small pile of coinage over to him. As long as he didn't say it was too little, she didn't care how much. Soon, a second pile appeared, slightly larger...
"And you wouldn't happen to have a container on you that can hold this...drink...safely? It's for the road, as they say."
Why would she need a master of the law to drink something...?
If there was some universal currency that could simply be given out by the nearest weasel, that means that this princess probably wanted in on that. It was going to be a real process, though.
One of her arms disappeared into her endless linens, bustling around as it occasionally returned to surface with a few extra bills or coins to hand off to the weasel. As she did, she decided to be impolite yet again and speak to someone a few seats down from her.
"If you want to chase something, why come to a labyrinth? There's plenty of fields with mice and rabbits for a dog such as you," she asked Wolf. It was phrased as a question...but you could probably tell that it wasn't entirely sincere.
Mancunian Candidate
Girimehkala, Forever and a Day
"Figured," said Girimehkala, gulping down the rest of his peanuts. "You better start gettin' used to all this, missy, and you better do it quick. Most people round these parts find it rude to stare. See him over there? Big fat guy in the suspenders? And the garters? Name's Viscera, calls himself the greatest lover in all six floors. Got a certificate, too. Had a fan of his in here this morning, real romantic type, just would not stop staring at the man's nipples. Didn't say nothin', didn't try to hide it, just kept on starin', lickin' his lips, like he was lookin' at a piece of prime rib on the spit. Well, Viscera don't much appreciate being, whatchacallit, objectified. Didn't say a damned word, just drifted over all seductive-like, and then he picked up a bottle and shoved it right up his - you ain't listenin' to a word I'm saying, are you?"
She wasn't. He stopped, following her eyes, and frowned deeply as he ate his cigarillo. Spiteful inevitability was glared up at him from the counter, reminding him of the tiny, tiny bite marks littering his fingers.
"Ah, piss," he said. "It's Addward."
He pulled a battered credit chit from his pocket, plucked from a dead man's fingers, which followed it out and scattered over the countertop. Viscera was a generous enough sort, provided you didn't try to stop him.
"Alright, you little piece of shit. What do I get for..." he checked the chit, and sighed from the bottom of his fundament. "0.616 recurring bitcoin?"
Edited by OG-Sama on Nov 13th 2018 at 5:59:45 AM
One Brunch Man
Forever and a Day
“You two must be really fun at parties.” Magicaloid said to the Kindred, her faux-cheer carefully straddling the line between oblivious sincerity and biting sarcasm, her eyes following the backs of the departing dealers of death before naturally straying back to the huntress who was far more friendly, if no less prone to throwing out threats like arrows from the other’s quiver. "You know what, that’s exactly what I said, when I got here.” Letting her features continue to glide from one trapper-keeper to the next, she contemplated her options as the steady stream of liquid settled into an innocuous background fizz. I wonder which one of them we should try and take with us… I mean, it’s not like we need two of the same kind, right? The staff chick’s more friendly, but the creeps with the masks probably wouldn’t talk as much, so I wouldn’t have to pretend to HOLY SHIT!
A hand clamped over her own mouth was the only thing preventing her mouthful of liquid from spewing out over the table, as she turned slightly to behold the spectacle of her traveling companion emptying out her palace of frills like it was Fort Knox. The half-heard spiel about the animal’s specialty and abilities trickled up to the forefront of her mind, and her brightly-colored eyes narrowed into slits; call it a marten all you want, but she knew a weasel when she saw one.
Whatever Kaguya’s next offering of cash may be, Magicaloid would attempt to intercept it, slapping her hand down on top of the pile of coins and/or bills. “Hey there Princess, I just have a few questions for our guest here.” She said, in that moment resembling a pink-eyed cobra to Addward’s mongoose more than anything else. “Such as, exactly who or what decides the process for turning Japanese yen into local currency? How does the gap between centuries of our otherwise identical currencies affect local inflation, if at all? How would we turn our money back into potable currency for our home dimensions, assuming we come back in one piece? And most importantly—” Magicaloid had been leaning in increasingly with every passing second, and flashed a grin just as biting as her furry opponent’s despite not actually showing any teeth, “—how do we know you’re not ripping us off?”
Edited by Uncandescent on Nov 13th 2018 at 1:37:14 PM
If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~
She slowly turned her nose up at the weasel, turned her eyes down at him, turned on a switch that made her picturesque face seem more disdainful, perhaps even disgusted than it seemed it could ever be a moment before.
"Aaahhh...is that it, then? I thought that an establishment like this might not have such...undesirables in its midst," she coldly said, suddenly making Rufus complicit in this crime. "Is that your game, creature?"
Edited by wikkit on Nov 13th 2018 at 10:50:00 AM
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Forever and a Day
With the fish war settled, Andradite brushed herself off, and realized that the bar had become a little crowded. The fact that almost everyone was substantially taller than her wasn't new, she'd grown used to slipping and weaving between patrons, and for ow she found herself a bar stool to sit and watch. She nonchalantly waved to Kayne as Rufus pointed her way, then let out a small, eager hum as a certain small fuzzy colleague made his entrance.
"Hello, Addward. You're looking very glossy today." She commented, leaning down and resting her chin on her hands, watching intently as the marten performed his magic. Just as intently as she'd watched him every other time she'd seen the ATM over the past month, in fact. One day, maybe, she'd figure out how he did it. For now, she could probably draw him a pretty good portrait, if she had paper and charcoal.
The gem glanced up as the person in the wide and frilly dresses shot Addward a dirty look, her gaze flicking between her and the small pink and white metal person who was calling Addward's desirability into doubt.
"If you're too mean to him, he'll bite you." She pointed out calmly.
There was no possible way that Addward could actually emote; for one thing, his face was entirely too furry. His nose, however, which was twitching like a marshmallow on a hotplate, showed more than enough of his disdain.
"40,000 li? Those celestial bits of dirt? I haven't seen this since... well, since the last time someone tried to pawn this junk off on me! You'll be lucky to get a coin out of all this, lady!"
He skittered around Kyxe's stones, drew himself up over the now-empty spot, blinked, then announced, with no small amount of vitriol:
"Five hundred cryptcoins! Next!"
In Kyxe's palm were five bright blue coins. On their heads were the likeness of a black man in aviators and an extravagant feather boa. On their tails were the numerals XXIII and the words Century Token. On and around both sides were embossed, in perfect seriousness:
The Century Tokens felt vaguely ethereal, and slightly unreal to the touch. It was as if they were made of light.
Meanwhile, Addward turned his wrathful gaze upon Girimekhala's navel.
"The answer, rakshasha, is Absolutely Nothing, unless you also have the wallet password, a Second Information Age internet-capable device and a way to actually transfer the assets over to our bank! What do you take me for, a moron? I wasn't born last century, you know!"
"Now, Addward," said Rufus, pouring Kaguya's drink into a sturdy-looking canteen, "be nice. Giri is an old friend. Even if he does take a while to rematerialise."
"Recurring, my snout!" snapped Addward, gnawing on a stray finger in his rage. "I may be magic, but even I can't deal with that cryptocurrency rubbish! It's so... so primitive! So slow! Just like this pachydermous piker!"
Rufus shrugged, pried the finger out of his furry friend's mouth, then swept up the rest and popped them into the incinerator.
"I'm afraid we don't have Wi-Fi here. Or at least, no-one can actually remember the password. Tell you what, Giri, I'll take that chit and credit your account directly. Think of it as thanks for eating those two drunks the last time you were over. Addward?"
"One hundred cryptcoins!" squeaked Addward. "And I hope they clog your trunk, you elephantine emo, you!"
All one hundred of the coins appeared in all of Girimehkala's hands, unevenly spread out of pure spite.
"Alright, what now? Bring it on, you wastes of spac..."
It was at this point that Makoto stepped in with her barrage of questions. First, Addward opened his mouth. Then Addward closed his mouth. Then Addward began to undulate, his tiny muscles rippling in a tiny dance of gargantuan rage, his teeth popping like penguins headed straight for a meat grinder.
"Firstly..." he began - and then he had to stop, because the firstly was so incredibly long and high that it sounded like a dying cat in helium. Rufus adjusted his tricorne and smiled patiently, his fingers in his ears.
"Firstly," managed Addward at last, "the mechanics of Cashian multiversal economic theory are so complicated that your entire world would probably die trying to work it out. Secondly, the Bank does. Thirdly, I don't care about your country. Fourthly, if you threw yourself into this disaster of an adventure without any forethought, YOU PROBABLY HAVE NO CHANCE OF RETURNING HOME TO BEGIN WITH! HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY DIGNITY! I SPEND EVERY DAY..."
"Ten minutes of every day," translated Rufus.
"DOING THIS BACK-BREAKING WORK..."
"Dispensing magical coins."
"AND WHAT DO I GET FOR IT? SASS FROM A GIRL WHO LOOKS LIKE A MOTHER-FLIPPING VACUUM CLEANER!"
"Reasonable questions from a girl who looks very charming," smiled Rufus. "Do you polish that head?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"And I think that's enough for the next fifteen minutes," said Rufus, plugging Addward with one finger and shoving him underneath the bar. "Sorry about that. He'll be alright, just give him time. Bit of a high-strung animal, he is. Completely honest, too."
"YOU COG! YOU SPROCKET! YOU OVERGROWN TRANSISTOR!"
Without so much as looking down, Rufus gave a few gentle taps to his enraged handful. There was, at last, blissful silence in the 20 kHz range.
"Now, about that quest. It has to do with Andy here," he said, indicating the Gem with a tilt of his horned head. "It all started six months ago..."
See, Andy wasn't always with me. I mean, sure, it may seem like it, what with how close we are, but I didn't even know there were things like her until I walked into Old Maken's Shop of Mysteries, down on Market Street. It's the only place that's really open anymore here in Dive, that and this tavern. And Old Maken, he's a handful, but you never know what new recipes he might have in that place of his. So I'm in there, browsing all cow-like, and he says, Rufus, what says you to some cheap labor? And I says, Maken, you old bastard, you know I don't do slaves, only employees!
Now, this tickles him something fierce, and we laugh about it for far too long, until finally I put the nanospatula down and say, But really, Maken, what have you stepped in this time?
And then he gives me the box, and let me tell you, when I open it, I see the most beautiful crystal statue I've ever since in my life, all broken in pieces, staring up at me like a shattered green Madonna. And I say, Maken, this is beautiful, but how is a cracked statue going to help me do the dishes?
And he says, This ain't no statue, boss. Stand over that window and let that sun in. Well, Andy put herself together right there, and let me tell you, it was the shock of my life. Not because it was strange or anything - I've seen this Galatea stuff before - but because she ripped the box. And let me tell you, when her heels come down on your toes they hurt something fierce, even in these boots.
Well, I did buy her, but only because Old Maken warned me that Mama Jupiter would get her elsewise. Forgot to mention that third place, but then again, those are always open. And people have some strange tastes.
Best hundred grand I ever spent in my life. She's been a right darling, Andy has. But see, there's this question, and it's been burning a hole in my spyglass this entire time.
How in Taurus does a pawn-shop owner get his hands on a girl in a box, huh?
Edited by troydenite on Nov 16th 2018 at 2:36:12 AM
AKA Nixer
Forever and a Day
High-strung indeed, Kyxe thought distastefully once the rodent had disappeared, studying her new coins in an only mildly intrigued manner before slipping them into her jacket pocket. Churlish. No matter, though. He still did the exchange. Though perhaps next time a bit of encouragement might be in order...
“Hold on a moment, you bought a living being?” she asked as Rufus's story broke through her inner thoughts. “I've... that's very odd. I haven't heard of such a thing before. I don't know what to think of it. But that aside...”
Her face gained a microexpression of pensiveness as she mulled over his last question. “Perhaps... well, the only reason I can think of is a plant. Potential spy. Are you an altür, friend?” she abruptly accused in a jarringly detached tone—and all too suddenly she was next to the crystalline woman, a bright flash of plasma expunging from her hand with an audible crack and congealing into the shape of a dangerous-looking dagger, positioned inches away from Andradite's neck.
There was a dreadful silence of about three seconds before the Rellanorth regained a look of awareness and finally took it away, letting the construct dissipate into a harmless shower of sparks as she stepped back a couple of paces.
“...Or... or perhaps not. Jumping to conclusions. Could even be on the wrong side. Forgive me, I'm still adjusting. Tensions are high; if you'd... if you'd excuse me a moment...”
Without another glance towards them she turned on her heel and stalked away, clearly tense and agitated. She was making for the door out, by the looks of it—and her face was flushed azure again.
Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 15th 2018 at 2:22:37 PM
bork
Where am I? What's going on?
Forever and a Day
Irra's gaze followed the metal girl as she and her friend argued with an angry marten about the strange blue stones he was giving out and the bull-man who owned the place tried to mediate.
Despite their volume, the discussion itself wasn't particularly interesting, and by the time the bull-man started his story, Irra had stopped listening in favor of observing the other patrons.
That's when it happened. The small woman with the pale skin moved almost faster than the eye could see and held an oddly glowing knife to the stone girl. Irra smiled. Finally, another hunter.
The huntress moved to cut off the retreating girl before she reached the exit, stepping in front of her without warning and looking down at the face of the much shorter woman.
"How nice to see another lady of the hunt here. For a time, I thought I would need to rely on scavengers and herbivores for the journey ahead. Names are unimportant in the wilderness, but the voice of nature knows me as Irra. What do I call you?"
AKA Nixer
Forever and a Day
Still caught up in the process of inwardly berating herself, Kyxe very nearly smacked herself full-force against Irra due to her distraction. Thankfully, she managed to register her presence to stop just before she ended up embarrassing herself further, and craned her neck up at the taller woman in acknowledgement.
Oh, excellent. Here she was supposed to be as a trained diplomat, and already she was coming across more as a savage hunter. Not her preference when interacting with people outside her culture, but she couldn't help but feel relieved and mildly pleased that this one in particular seemed accepting and almost respectful of that trait of hers. She might've taken a few steps back in regards to the others with that little stunt, but at least she was getting the approval of one for now. Better than nothing, she supposed.
“Lieutenant Kyxe Seng. Though I suppose you don't care for titles too much. And as much as I would've preferred to keep that aspect of myself latent during my time here, I admit I probably wouldn't have been able to anyway. Although what you saw just then was perhaps more of a soldier's instinct—but nonetheless, you're still accurate. I have been known to be partial to hunts when I can get them,” she clarified with another of her rubbery, almost-smiles pulling at her lips. No emotion fuelled it, however. It was purely mimicry for the sake of being social. To be fair, it looked a little better than her previous one—but there was still this underlying sense of discomfort in it that made it come across more as a grimace.
“Do forgive my... earlier outburst. I'm usually much more composed than this,” she added quietly, her expression vanishing back into impassiveness as she glanced back to Andradite in what might have been regret. If that's what that rumbling noise that accompanied the look meant, at least.
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
Kayne scratched her head pensively and stated, "Well, from what I know, pawn shops buy things from anybody. Curios, second-hand tools, that kind of thing. Maybe a random passerby dropped her off...?"
Moko felt the need to add his own commentary. "But that leaves the question about how the passerby got the box in the first place."
"It's (almost) out of the question. A crystalline girl in pieces is far too strange for any old passerby to carry around. No, she came in a box, which implies some kind of official business."
"What kinds of people use boxes?" Moko asked.
"The only kinds I know of are private couriers and delivery-people...So that's where we'll start," Kayne deduced, then did a double take and snapped to attention in front of Rufus.
"Sorry for going on that tangent. So, you want us to find out who delivered...Andy...to the pawn shop, right? Or conduct an investigation about it? Something along those lines?"
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Breath of the Sun
Forever and a Day
"So you just want to find something? Boring." Wolf grumbled, but Lamb placed a hand on his head.
"Think of it as a chase, dear Wolf." She ran her hand through his shadowy fur. "We shall hunt for this knowledge as we hunt all living things. And if that knowledge tries to flee..."
"Then it gets my teeth!" Wolf finished, grinning. "Fine then! Let the hunt begin."
He glided over to Andradite and started circling around her and sniffing, vigorously inhaling the gem-person's scent, before he turned to the door, gesturing for Lamb to follow him. She strode over to the bar's entrance, but paused and turned back.
"Wolf has found the scent. Those who wish to follow us are welcome."
And without another word she left, the sound of paws and hooves echoing as the Kindred sped off to find Old Maken and question him.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
An Ordinary Oddball
Kayne shrugged and then turned to follow the Kindred. "Well, I'm off. See you all in a bit, hopefully," she said.
That plasma-generation of the bird-woman's was interesting. It looked like it had come straight from her skin! She had to go and ask for the specifics later.
But for now, she had an investigation to conduct. Kayne would really rather be fixing things, though.
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Forever and a Day
Even as she felt her body vibrating with Addward's indignant voice, Andradite turned to look up at Rufus with a small smile.
"I'm glad Rufus bought me. Working here has been very interesting. Much more interesting than the inside of a box."
She still wasn't entirely sure about why Madam Jupiter's place would have been bad to work at, though. She'd never been inside, but it certainly seemed popular with adventurers, almost as popular as the bar. Another of Dive's enduring mysteries.
"Wait, Rufus... if you actually have a quest ready for this, does that mean - !"
Her question was cut off as the pale person with the eyes put an energy knife to her neck. Andradite blinked and looked between the knife and Kyxe, eyes widening slightly in surprise.
"... What's an altur? I know I'm definitely not a plant."
The knife, and the knife-making person, left almost as soon as they came, leaving the gem to frown in confusion and inspect her tie for spark damage. She looked up as one with the hat chimed in... and then wandered away too! She blinked again, even as the strange dog-thing from before snuffled and sniffed around her* .
"Wait, wait - Rufus and I already talked to Maken about it months ago." She called after them. "He got me off a wandering merchant. And they must have got me from the ones who shattered me. At least, I assume so. I can't actually remember much between that and waking up in the Shop of Mysteries. Ah, but - if I can find those people, I might be able to find the way back to my world."
"I thought we'd hit a dead end, though." She finished, glancing back at Rufus with a look of growing excitement.
One Brunch Man
Forever and a Day
Magicaloid’s features slid from sly to static as the beginning of the creature’s screeching rebuttal, keeping her features still and her victorious glee hidden with a herculean effort of will until he essentially screamed himself into both a tirade and a timeout. Sliding her torso sideways on the top of the bar like a lioness after a successful hunt, Magicaloid braced her cheek with her fist and grinned far more genuinely, if no less predatorily, at the cow-man who had laid down the law. “I assume you can provide documentation for everything he just said, right?” She asked, her unoccupied index finger tapping a section of the countertop in front of her as if designating the landing spot for a lunar module. “Because talk is cheap, but my time is not.” Magicaloid finished off with a victory swig of her mystery liquid, feeling admittedly a bit too self-congratulatory over having outsmarted what was basically a talking rodent.
This brief pause gave Rufus the opportunity to start his story, and prompted Magicaloid to listen even after her gulp was finished, still feeling more than a little heady from fumes both success- and chemical-based. She gave a small, non-committal “Hm.” at the conclusion of the story, followed by a rolling shrug of her robotic shoulders. “I’m sorry to say—Andy, was it?—but this doesn’t sound like much of a mystery at all. Doesn’t it make more sense that someone just thought they could make a quick buck selling something shiny they found on the side of the road? No offense or any—”
Magicaloid’s next words died along with any remaining bacteria on her tongue as her head, having turned during the sentence until it was angled enough at Kaguya to include her in the conversation, caught sight of the lunar princess in the middle of dumping what appeared to be a liquid thundercloud out of a melting tin can. “Um.” Magicaloid said, confusion momentarily steamrolling tact and questions marks alike. “What are you doing.”
Edited by Uncandescent on Nov 15th 2018 at 12:35:09 PM
If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~
That was what Kaguya simply said, after the little marten's furious economic rage subsided. She had remained very still, beyond her expression softening, for the whole rant. Indeed, she almost seemed absorbed in what he had to say.
It didn't really show, though. She pushed the pile (and I do mean pile) of cash to him expectantly. "So, will you now exchange my cash for me, little stoat?"
On the topic of this burgeoning little quest they had given to them, Kaguya had her own thoughts. Lest you think of her as some kind of expert in the lives of crystalline entities, she could only piece this together through her own point of reference: rabbits.
People like rabbits. They have them for slightly less varied reasons than you might a precious stone woman, but they're popular. When they end up elsewhere, it's either because they run away...or the owner stopped liking them.
Now, that's just presuming that someone did this to her, and she didn't cause an accident. If she did just end up tripping and falling, breaking her body apart, that'd be well up there on the list of "lame mysteries" that Kaguya had been a part of.
One such mystery was the time that she wondered who had been eating all of Eientei's popsicles.
It was Tewi, as always.
Beloved Tewi.
She was about to ask the nice bullman a question herself, having figured that someone so invested in this girl would obviously have asked some questions before, but she was busy multitasking and being asked dumb questions.
"I'm pouring a drink into a different container," she warmly replied to Makoto. It was a cloudy white drink that smelled strongly saccharine, and the only thing that made it seem odd was the steamy vapor rising from it. Kaguya didn't dare look away from her task, focusing heavily on not spilling this monstrosity on herself or anyone around her.
"I'll assume you also meant to ask why I'm doing this. It's pretty simple: one, this is expensive and I'd like to be at least a little frugal with my funds. Two, it's something that melts through steel...the best value is something with more than one use."
The princess finished, popping the cap onto the canteen very firmly. Now a little more clear, she looked up to Rufus and asked "I'm sure you would've asked this already, sir. It might save us time. Did you think to talk to this store owner about any details he might have known?"
Edited by wikkit on Nov 16th 2018 at 1:10:28 AM
Where am I? What's going on?
Forever and a Day
Lieutenant. That was a name. Hopefully the other hunter didn't mind if she shortened it. As for what she was saying...
"Keep it latent? Why? A hunter's spirit is something to be proud of, what separates us from... them." Irra unsubtly pointed to the woman in the fancy robes with that statement. "As for your... outburst, as you put it, I welcome it. It was what let me recognize one of my own. Besides, I don't think you were in any danger of actually injuring her. That woman smells of stone; a knife would not pierce her. If she were less... talkative, it would be a sign of worthy prey."
Irra moved to sit on a nearby stool so that her conversation partner was no longer eye-level with her chest and continued.
"Once our preparations are complete, I would like you to accompany me on this hunt, Sister."
AKA Nixer
Forever and a Day
Kyxe sighed, moving to lean up against a wall near Irra as the latter sat down.
“Exactly. It separates us from them. But if your society hammers in a completely opposite culture to everyone's instincts, then you've hit a problem. Aentolin is like that. It pretends to be 'civil' and 'privileged' when in actuality it's a city of animals. So that warped sense of order gets taught to the younger generations, and then...”
She trailed off, motioning to herself to get her point across. “You get the idea. I'm supposed to be a diplomat; acting as a mediator to foreign groups in an attempt to provide a good impression of my kind. But even if that was my instincts acting up, it wasn't a justified thing for me to do if I'm trying to...”
She struggled for further words, before eventually giving up out of frustration—clawing her fingers against her temple and resting against them. From what she'd gathered from Irra so far, she was a pure huntswoman with an exceptional sense of predatory instinct and a less-than-exceptional sense of social cues. She wasn't too sure if the whole mess that was her home city's politics would hit home with her, and so she instead diverted to the comment of the knife.
“It's more than a mere knife. It is a construct; formed with plasma,” she explained, raising her arm in order to demonstrate. A pulse of light seemed to spread down it in a sort-of veinlike pattern, before building up into her palm and eventually beginning to crackle out—molding itself into a long rod before thinning further into the shape of a blade. Or the basic geometrical approximation of one, rather. She then tossed it from hand to hand—demonstrating how the glowing object trailed arcs of plasma onto her skin once it was forcefully separated.
“I wouldn't touch it. For a creature without sufficient heat insulation, it will cause third degree burns on contact. If it doesn't melt your entire finger initially, that is,” she warned, holding the thing up for the huntress to study more before moving to dissipate it with a flick of the wrist. Or at least, that was the plan—except the construction violently bubbled and warped as it was released and the alien woman immediately buckled into herself in sudden pain.
The knife seemed to destroy itself more violently than it had before, drastically malforming before simply tearing itself asunder. Kyxe—still clutching her abdomen—let out a ragged breath, before straightening herself again; the slits on her neck stretching open and letting what appeared to be hot steam spray out. Her face was flushed for a third time, but this looked more feverish. Thankfully, the more steam escaped her neck, the more she seemed to recover.
“I... I'm sorry. Imbalanced strain discharge. My own fault. Common side-effect. For... for me at least,” she finally managed to gasp as her breathing levelled out, slumping onto a stool a space away from Irra as she tenderly massaged her now-closed neck. “I'd... really be honoured to take up that offer, but...”
Her lips twisted into a grimace as she briefly looked up and around at the other patrons, before pulling the hem of her shirt up as discreetly as she could muster. Almost immediately, a grotesque malformation was apparent on the lower right of her stomach—saturated blue and somehow both swollen and shrivelled into itself at the same time. A large, jagged line of scar tissue was across it; either some old injury from battle or the result of a failed attempt at fixing the abhorrent deformation.
”...I truly don't think I'd do anything more than burden you.”
Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 16th 2018 at 9:34:47 AM
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Where am I? What's going on?
Forever and a Day
Irra was a simple woman. Not unintelligent by any means, but simple. For as long as she could remember, it had just been her, the voice of nature, and the hunt, and that was all she needed. Suffice to say, Lieutenant's explanation of societal pressures flew mostly over her head. But she thought she understood enough.
Before Irra could say anything on that matter, though, she was treated to a display of both her new friend's power and her weakness.
"Burden me? Hah! Even with your injury, you would be less of a burden than anyone else here. You have the instinct that they lack. I would ally myself with a wounded hunter over healthy prey any day."
She paused and leaned back in her seat.
"As for your... Aentolin, was it? It sounds like a den of fools. Nobody has the right to force another into acting like someone they are not. Instincts exist for a reason. Denying them will only make you unhappy."
AKA Nixer
Forever and a Day
Kyxe managed to bring herself to attempt a grateful half-smile at the huntress' words as she covered her deformation again, but was still clearly troubled—judging by how she brought her legs up onto the seat and hugged her knees.
“I suppose... but I'll be honest, I don't really want to hurt anything,” she admitted in a small voice. “Animals are one thing if it's for sustenance. My kind hunt their own meals as tradition anyway. But these instincts... it's like they're attuned for anything breathing. People included. You're right; Aentolin is a mess—but sometimes I wonder if it's better for them to pretend to be civilised rather than expose what they're really like.”
Still, she smiled again at Irra if only for the intention. Ish. The expression was still off in appearance, and probably would be for the foreseeable future. She warbled once more to make up for it, though—and despite the gesture being alien, it was much better a genuine expression from her own culture than a pure mimicry of another.
“But thank you. I'm honoured you're not put off by my... natural inadequacy. Perhaps I won't have to say no to your offer, then. I'll just have to watch my back,” she reconsidered, seeming a little more cheered and stretching out once again. Only to revert back into her lizard-like stare as all replications and pretenses of human expression fell away at her sudden realisation of Irra's blatant lack of substantial coverings.
“...All that aside, aren't you cold?” she bluntly asked.
Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 17th 2018 at 3:30:41 PM
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The Forever and a Day
"We most certainly have not reached a dead end!" laughed Rufus, pulling his hand back to give Andradite a hearty slap on the back before clearly thinking better of it.
"Or well, we have," he continued, "but it's highly possible that these fine people won't. An investigation is the right term, hat girl! I'd love to go, but you see, I just can't find the time, and the weekend is so far away. Not that there is a weekend on this establishment. Or this planet. Woes of the owner."
"I am not a stoat, you dressed-up moon monkey!" squeaked Addward from underneath the bar. "I am a marten!"
"Sorry," said Rufus to Kaguya, scratching one horn with a furry finger. "You'd do best to try Addward again after you come back. Old Maken couldn't tell us anything aside from what Andy said, and trust me, I asked. Then again, it's not like Old Maken has the best of memories, so there might be something I missed that you might be able to get out of him."
"I am a proud and noble member of mustela magica! I am the bane of counterfeiters! I am..."
"You'd best get going," said Rufus, already applying very gentle pressure. "Andy, could you show them to the shop? Oh, and get me some new towels while you're at it. The pink ones."
Old Maken's Shop of Mysteries was, on the whole, not the most mysterious of places. It was shadowy, of course, but that was more thanks to the dusky Dive night than anything else. It was vaguely purple, but that was probably due to the smooth lavender stone that the whole of Dive seemed to be made of. It was larger than it seemed, but that was mostly because of the shelves and racks that cluttered every square inch of it, just barely arranged to allow walking space between. Even the lighting was bog-standard: hexed white torches, with the occasional flickering fluorescent tube for flavor.
As to what cluttered the shelves... standard Artifacts Inc. power-cells, large and small whetstones, nylon rope, cup ramen, fluorescent glowsticks, pocket gnome-bait. Disappointingly mundane stuff, really. It was all very much like your standard multiversal general store, if the general store had been put together in an antiques boutique by an IKEA crew.
"If you're looking for some powder for that old shot-spitter of yours, it's right there. In the paper packets, next to the Zippos. Two for a coin, boss."
The man behind Garbhán was as wizened as his voice. He was vaguely Asiatic but not quite, very old but not quite, and his gnarled back looked ready to either give out or suplex him at any given moment. His hair was pure white, and protruded in patches from his bald spotted pate.
"Nice arm, by the way," smirked Old Maken, eyes twinkling with the charm of an imp and the savvy of a long-time store-owner. "Hella stylish."
He doddered around, leaning on his stick to face the entrance, where Kindred and Kayne would find themselves.
"Ah, welcome. Hope you ain't here to mark your territory. Already got one wolf on the premises."
Edited by troydenite on Nov 19th 2018 at 1:25:40 AM
Where am I? What's going on?
Forever and a Day
Despite a bit of mumbled rambling, Lieutenant seemed much more cheerful than she had been only moments ago, which brought a smile to Irra's face. She was new to this whole "having friends" thing, but it seemed like she was off to a good start. And then said friend asked her a complete non-sequitur of a question.
"Cold? I suppose it is a bit chillier here than it was back home, but it isn't too bad. Why do you ask? If you're cold, I can start a fire."
Forever and a Day
“Perhaps my kind are just short then. I was regarded decently tall for a female of my own species,” Kyxe mused, before performing a slightly stilted rendition of a shrug. “No matter. I'll just have to watch myself. When my valen spoke of certain ‘differences’ between us and other so-called hominids I didn't think he meant that we were so comparatively... well, tiny.”
She almost seemed a little ashamed by that fact, but she soon shook it off as she glanced over to the rather lethal beverage that had been given to Kaguya. She cocked her head to one side in thought, warbling in thought.
“That doesn't seem... healthy,” she finally spoke. “Is this a regular practice in other parts? Consuming liquids that'd surely disintegrate your internal functions? Because I see no charm in that myself.”
She would've loved to hear the reply to this remark, but then Rufus provided them with quite the important thing. Local currency.
Thankfully, she still had her military pay, and so excused herself and carefully approached the thing. The membrane across her eyes slid back into place on instinct, and she felt her fangs bare for but a moment, but she managed to shove that latter action back at least. The former she couldn't do much about.
Once she reached the creature, she knelt down to its level and fished out something from one of her inside pockets. A handful of glittering objects. Specifically a pile of iridescent stones, if one looked closely at them. Most of them were prism-shaped and reddish in reflectivity, though some looked crystal clear and hexagonal. Though in every one of them, the light bounced around in quite a disorienting way.
“40,000 lī to exchange, please,” she requested the creature in as polite a tone she could replicate without inwardly wincing. She had quickly realised how ridiculous she might seem to the others while in this expectant position looking into the eyes of a rodent; and as such the previous feeling of awkwardness that she'd felt upon first entering the place returned with reinforcements. She blushed in embarrassment—and also in a fascinating shade of saturated blue.
Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 13th 2018 at 1:15:51 PM
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