Mallside 10

[Gullara]

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=0B5bKlQSiirV-S3RiZkR1QmlkNEk

Mallside is the biggest shopping center in Nexus, containing more stores than you count, which range from all purpose marts to outlets catering to specific needs. The only Nexus mall worth going to also contains a trendy two level food court that sells items ready to go on the first floor, and provides a more formal and relaxed environment on the second. As if all that were not enough, it boasts a state of the art arcade (the Neon Coliseum) as well, which is complete with its own laser tag arena!

The tall, sleek modern building stands proud in the center of Market Street, its doors open to all comers, whether they're browsers, customers, or just people who want to enjoy the mall's atmosphere.


Stores and Locations


Stores



Arcane Threads Shadowcaller
Arcane Threads Arcane is a cloth store run by an humble nerubian called Kaz’than and is said to house every type of clothing imaginable. It doesn't contain armors or other things that could be considered combat wear however, magical or otherwise. Just simple clothing. Kaz’than has the ability to summon any piece of clothing within the store to his person, making him rather effective in finding what a PC might need. Otherwise the store looks like any other clothing store you can find in any industrial country in the real world, just far larger than it appears outside, like a tardis but only filled with clothing.

Azik's Enchantments Halae
A creature stands outside the shop, though many wouldn't consider it a creature - He is a warforged, a living golem. Covered in what appears to be adamantine plates, he looks up and down the mall's walkway, his longcoat shifting with his movement. As it moves, one can see a multitude of wands, schema, and scrolls all attached to several belts around his waist and upper legs. On his eyes he wears a pair of blue tinted shades, despite his lack of ears, and the metal orbs that serve as his eyes glow green behind these spectacles. He takes the time to call out to those passing in a metallic voice:

"Azik's Enchantments is open for business! Come find a potion, a wand, a scroll to fit any need! We have spellbooks for beginners and experts! Weapons of all shapes and sizes, and armor unlike anything you've ever seen! Come find what you're looking for here!"

And then he heads back inside. So much work, so little time. Inside is as strange as outside, with magic trinkets lining the walls on shelves, but all behind the counter, to keep any stupid kid with the idea to steal something from doing so. You can find just about anything magical here, and that which you can't find, Azik the Warforged can make within a more than reasonable timeframe.

Barkhouse Bestiary Rebonack
Over the entrance hangs a sign with a silhouette of a dog baying at the name. 'Barkhouse Bestiary'. Given the unusual wooden make of the store this appears to be a double-pun.

It looks like a pet store!

The architecture is quite different from the rest of the mall. In fact, it looks almost like the shop had been grown out of living wood inside of its room instead of assembled. All smooth, organic curves here. Cages and aquariums abound, holding all fashion of different animals.

The store itself is split into areas holding animals supplies and the animals themselves. Small mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, even giant spiders! This place has it all!

Another sign inside the store states that they take custom orders.

Lando the Jediwizard and Divaonar the starspawn both work here. Lando is an elderly bearded man in a brown jedi robe and a frumpy wizard hat. Divaonar is a half-drow boy (most of the time) usually dressed in fairly modern apparel.

Erin's Emporium Gulaghar
Erin's Emporium takes up only a small space in the mall, but its entire front is covered in windows, showing off the much larger space within. On display are countless weapons, ranging from flashy to functional to mind boggling. If it is a weapon, you can find it here, whether it is a sword or a futuristic explosive. Further, they offer the same wide variety in defense devices.

Ferzag's Fantastic Films Leostales
A place where you can buy any movie ever made (and some never made) on any platform (dvd, vcr, laserdisk, holographic projection etc..). You can also buy movies that have been lost over time such as London After Midnight. Sadly, any details will be forgotten after viewing them.

The store also sells TV shows and has its own streaming service.

Golbin Market WarKitty
The sign over the door simply says "Market", printed in crude lettering on a wooden board. The arch leads to a pool framed with various plants, and a sign saying, "herbs, 1 tear each or equivalent trade." The pool looks rather out of place in the mall, admittedly.

The market itself is accessed by jumping into the pool. This will not get the individual wet, and they will emerge on the the other side next to an identical pool in a brightly colored field of tents, stalls, wagons, and other such places to buy. Pretty much anything can be bought here - but currency is not accepted, and most items come with a drawback.

Hoarders Rebonack
Before you looms the cave-like entrance of Hoarders bookstore. Everything in the place has a rough-hewn stone motif, though the floor is smooth and level. Heatless torches light the cavern and burn a little brighter when someone nearby opens a book from off the shelves.

Books of all fashion can be found here, from the mundane to the magical. If aid is required one of the half-dragon employees will be more than happy to lend a claw.

The Book Wyrm himself is rarely seen. Though some say he'll occasionally disguise himself as a customer and wander the store...

Lucy's Diamonds Gulaghar
Lucy's Diamonds is a small shop. The owner, an older woman by the name of Lucy Skye, stands behind a single glass case that runs the length of the left wall. It acts as a display as well at the counter. Across from it are another two smaller glass displays. At the back of the store and behind the counter is a door.

Magmart Lord Magtok
An absurd mash-up of K-Mart, Wall-Mart, Target, and every other vile retail chain, MagMart is staffed by an unswervingly loyal Magbots, lobotomized talking cats that are too brain-dead to know any better, several voodoo spirits, and a pickle jar that everyone insists is a sentient being that only communes with those who truly believe in it.

Here you can find everything from curtains to carpets, macaroni to monkeys on motorcycles, groceries to zombies. The staff is always happy to help (or else), and if you aren't entirely satisfied with your shopping experience, you can pay a small fee to watch the MagMart employee of your choosing get fired out the MagMart complimentary employee morale cannon.

Mask Parade Gulaghar
The interiour of the store is filled with row upon row of simple, wooden shelves. The only break in the shelves is to allow customers to walk to the counter on the far wall.

The shelves are filled with countless masks of a wide variety. Similarly, the walls are covered from floor to ceiling in masks. Behind the counter the masks almost seem to form a spiral shape while elsewhere they are arranged in neat rows. Without exception the masks are finely crafted.

The owner of the store is an unassuming man. His eyes are always focused on those who are in his shop. Perhaps to reassure the customers, or unsettle them further, the corners of his lips are always turned up in a friendly smile. He is known only as The Mask Salesman.

Mental Menagerie Slii Arhem
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had chosen a new career, married a different spouse, or maybe just had the time to take a load off once in awhile? Wonder no more. From instantaneous vacations to new and exciting thoughts, gain the benefit of decades of research and lifetimes of backbreaking toil without all the hassle of doing things the old fashioned way. We are the Mental Menagerie, and we sell experience.

On The Right Foot Halae
This shop is a bit odd compared to most of the humanoid-centric shops around, specifically in that it's what appears to be a footwear store for non-plantigrade feet. To those unaware, plantigrade feet are the form that most primates, including humans, have, so when referring to non-plantigrade we're looking at things like hooves, bird feet, lizard feet, and similar.

Clasps, wrappings, covers, specially modified soles and, if all else fails, cobbling are all available here, ready to suit the needs of just about any form of leg that comes through the door.

While non-standard feet are the focus of the shop, there's also a section based around tails and wings - piercings for membranous wings, dyes for feathers, rings for tails, and slipcovers to go on over said extra limbs, to keep them warm in the cold weather.

The girl behind the counter is a tiefling, indetifiable from her mostly human nature - a pair of curling ram horns, a muscular tail, and a pair of hooves are the obviously inhuman parts of her body. She has light auburn hair, freckles, and a slim figure. What she chooses to wear is a comfortable tee shirt, jeans, a pair of navy blue covers on her hooves, and a plain golden ring near the base of her thick tail. She's got a long face that, while cute, isn't particularly beautiful.

Her nametag calls her Halae, and she waits behind the counter near the entrance for whomever stops into the shop. Being the owner and proprietor is difficult. Except on slow days. Like today, given the store just opened and she didn't have enough money to pay for much advertising.

Pontius's Custom Constructs Earl of Purple
The sign above the door is large, stating its name. On either side of the door are two humanoid figures, one made of polished marble and very realistic, the other simply hewn from logs and blocks of wood. The figures have glowing blue eyes, and turn to watch passers by. On the door is a sign- "Thieves may be pounded into a bloody pulp."

Within, there are many statues, both humanoid and not, and of every imaginable material, all with glowing eyes of various colours. There are two doors in the back, one leading to a freezer unit and the other to a chamber filled with bubbling cauldrons.

Prof. Pi's Potions (And Alchemy) LordDeathkeeper
The name above is printed on the sign along with the image of a bubbling flask above the door of this shop. On display from the window is a fine view of the inside of the store, which is neatly organized into a number of sections containing ingredients, supplies, and components of various forms of alchemy along with an enormous assortment of completed potions, all sitting neatly on shelves. That and a pair of little signs:
"Taste Testers Wanted" and,
"Familiars and all folk welcome- but please No Pets."
The shopkeeper and owner, if anyone had to describe him, would describe him as male, wearing a white labcoat and dark pants, with a set of spectacles perched on his nose and a fine mustache below that. Unfortunately while that description is almost always accurate it's often the best anyone can ever give, since his appearance changes with every visit. More often than not he's a two-and-a-half foot tall black-and-white rat-man, his furry hands gloved as he works on some bubbling pot in front of him, waiting for customers.

Swordfish Gulaghar
On the inside of this shop a massive forge dominates the far wall from the entrance. All manner of smithing equipment is carefully placed around the large room that dominates most of the building. Lining the two side walls are many tools for its craft, while lining the far wall are the products of that craft.

Swords, swords of all shapes and sizes. Some brutally efficient, simple weapons and others pieces of art that are no less functional. Each and every sword is obviously the work of a master.

And the master is always present. A great robot moves around the room, always working and experimenting with its remarkable talent. The machine is a hulking, bronze coloured humanoid. The robot has a number of slides and doors, implying there's more to it than is immediately apparent. Finally, at its head is a glass dome, filled with water. Dominating the container is a great carp, as big as a man. It gazes at it's work with eyes that know little more than hate. Hate and its new inspiration.

Word travels quickly of this bizarre master swordsmith. Though it is quite fearsome, the quality of its blades are unmatched.

Unsullied Bazaar Shadowcaller
With a great golden cupola, this shop towers over nearby shops making it easily recognizable. The cupola itself is held up by tall columns which appears to have been made of marble. Floating near the cupola is the illusion of blue-glowing letters spelling out "The Unsullied Bazaar". Anyone with true sight will see that underneath the illusion are slightly less fancy blocks of letters spelling out the very same thing.

Beyond the pillars a strangely modern-looking shop opens up with large surfaces and clean white walls mixed in with gold framing them in. Everyone might not notice it, but any customers entering the store have to pass a field which stops people who haven't paid for their wares.

There aren't actually any shelves around however, instead there are illusion-interfaces which directly interacts with anyone entering the store, showing them a rich selection of arcane wares sold at a almost suspiciously cheap price.

These aren't your standard arcane wares either, most of them seem modern in their design and functions with for example a cell phone-like devices which according to the information can teleport you everywhere you want within the nexus and hold telepathic calls with other users.

There is a storekeeper however, a strange energy being in bandages (http://images.wikia.com/wowwiki/images/e/e6/Ethereal_Soul-Trader.jpg) who appears to be the only one working there.


Bunny Ears Boutique
Cecily's Millinery und Hat Magic
Cinema 26
Electronics Aslyum
Erin's Emporium
Gadgets and Gizmos
Haemonics
Jurga's Bargain Hut
M'usic Imporium
Neon Coliseum
Mystique Physique




Food Court



Carcosa Burger Rebonack
Before you looms a food-court eatery of cyclopedia monoliths and impossible archways and angles of masonry that by all means should not exist. It's difficult to tell whether the entrance is a vast gateway in the wall or a yawning pit in the floor.

Once one steps inside they will be met with an overpowering sense of- oh. Wait. It looks like a normal burger place on the inside. Yellow, white, and grey predominate the decor.

The people working the counter look a little strange (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Ironack/BurgerKingInYellow.png) though... They'll take orders in typical cheerful food-service fashion. Should one glance back toward the kitchen they'll get a good view of shoggoths blebbing off hunks of flesh to be grilled.

They make their ground beef fresh! Carcosa Burger! Our food is maddeningly good!

Menu:
Shoggoth Burger: Grilled fresh and piled high with crispy veggies and slathered in Carcosa Burger's famous Color Out of Space sauce! Can be ordered double, with cheese, with bamhacon, with mushrooms, and with avocado for extra charge. Best eat it fast before it crawls off your plate!

Deep One Fillet: Not actually breaded Deep One, just deep fried fish on a burger. Comes with tartar sauce and cheese.

Giant Penguin Burger: A delicious breast fillet of giant penguin breaded and grilled to perfection.

Totally Normal Chicken Nuggets: They're just chicken nuggets. They can be ordered in dark or light meat. They can be ordered with a variety of dipping sauces. There is nothing strange or unusual about them in any way. You suspect nothing!

Monolith Fries: Potato hunks fried to perfection. They come in traditional geometry or non-Euclidean crisscut. Nom them instead of staring at them for too long...

Elder Thing Frosties: Delicious milkshakes made from only the finest ice-cream chilled with Antarctic ice that hasn't seen the light of the sun for eons! They come in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

Fountain drinks are also available! Nuka-Cola, Fox-Cola, Llamanaid, Root-beer, and orange!

Chester's Grille KerfuffleMach2
Chester's Grille serves grilled subs, fries, onion rings, ice cream, and soda. Normal subs include turkey, steak, chicken, veggie, ham, burger, and salami. People can combo any of those, and choose from many toppings. The subs are grilled up right there, within minutes, so they're always served hot. The fries and onion rings can have cheese, bacon, ranch, or other toppings on them as well. Chester puts up a weekly special, which is a sub that isn't normally on the menu.

Dana's Place Gulaghar
On the upper floor of the food court is a pleasant, little ice cream parlor. Black and white checkered patterns and the colour red are prominent in the parlor's decoration. Along the right wall is a long counter, it's glass top reveals a multitude of pails of ice cream. For seating a number of bar stools allow customers to sit at the counter and several booths line the opposite wall.

The proprietor is a cheery young woman named, unsurprisingly, Dana. She took over the shop after her father, Roger, retired. He can still be found helping his daughter on occasion.

Behind the counter on the wall is where the selection of icecream is listed. The selection is simply vast. From soft serve to hard ice cream to sundaes to blizzards. If it's ice cream it can be found here.

Krikebulin's Kobold Cuisine Earl of Purple
This restaurant has a distinct mine-like décor, or at least a cavern one. The floor is flat and smooth, but the walls are decorated to resemble rough-hewn stone and the lights are crafted to resemble glowing crystals. Or maybe they really are glowing crystals. The tables and chairs are generally low, but there's a few set aside for the especially tall being, and all the chairs are open to one side to enable beings with tails to sit comfortably. To one side of the room is a large tank with several large, white, blind cave-crickets walking within it. Darting amongst the tables are three-foot-tall reptilian creatures vaguely resembling certain small, bipedal dinosaurs, though the fact these are wearing chainmail uniforms and carrying menus, meals or drinks reveals that these are the kobold waiters.

Outside, there's some more chairs and tables, though these are of a more standard size, though not design. There's a large slate blackboard detailing today's meat of the day. There's some more kobolds here, too, taking orders and delivering food.

Restaurante Enchante Ashen Lilies
Situated at one end of the Food Court's fancier second level, this restaurant, a tasteful, art deco construction of warm browns and oranges, Restaurant Enchante is what might be called 'a cut above' most of the other restaurants that grace Mallside. The restaurant is split into three sections - Smoking, Non-Smoking and Outdoors, and upon entering, one would be led by one of the young (and highly-attractive) waiters and waitresses, dressed in identical sparkly red dinner jackets, to their chosen table.

Indoors is atmospheric and moody; the light is dim, all flickering candles and haze (actual cigarette smoke in the Smoking section, harmless mist in the other), and the rectangular tables and heavy armchairs shy away in the secluded nooks and twists of the restaurant, even the ones in the open seemingly a private island of intimacy amongst the hushed whispers and spangly-garbed waitstaff drifting past.

Outdoors however, is a different affair. Round, plastic tables and clean white chairs mill about under a bright, clear sky, always perfectly sunny or starry no matter what the actual weather conditions might be outside, and drinks flow freely from the bar at one end, amidst friendly conversation and the ever-present servers rushing to and fro.

Each section has a raised stage discretely thrusting out from one of the walls, where Pond, the famed, trans-dimensional all-Marid string quartet do their nighttime performances, as well as an assortment of lesser ensembles throughout the day, ready to provide whatever mood required. The cuisine, though frighteningly expensive, is representative of a vast array of cultures and styles, and is all masterfully prepared by some of the most talented chefs in the entire multiverse, willingly or not.

The owner of Restaurant Enchante, the half-succubus Lillanthil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11864073&postcount=558), may occasionally be found drifting through one of the sections of the Restaurant in whatever expensive fashion of the day, making light conversation and generally checking on things within.

Finally, the Restaurant also does birthdays, proposals, wedding receptions, and other events, provided reservations are made first.

The Roost Devixer
This coffee house doesn't look like anything fancy. People enter the small café adorned with simple, wodden furniture and make their order at the service counter. The person who serves is always a human by the name of Aiden, dressed in jeans and a leather coat, usually wearing an apron as well. As he goes into the kitchen to prepare their order, they go to sit at one of the wooden tables. The amount of time it takes for their order to arrive depends on how busy it is - after all, there's only one employee.

The Roost's specialty is in coffee and breakfast. Aiden will serve your drink however you want, even if he silently gripes about you wanting sugar in it. He'll also cook a multitude of breakfast items, including eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausage, just about anything that would compose a typical Earth breakfast.


Hansel's Bakery
Hooters
Santa Muerte's Sweets
Tarin's Tealeaves and Tarot
Zombie A-Taco-Lypse




Other Locations



Aurora Fountain
As any good mall should have, Mallside has its own fountain, and an elaborate one at that. In the center of the food court, with dozens of varying statues and sculptures spraying out water, Aurora Fountain attracts a great deal of attention due to the varying colors of water is shoots out. Tossing coins or currency into the fountain is encouraged, and is rewarded by a change of color of the donator's choice. It's also rumored that if you fervently wish something and toss a coin in, that wish just might come true... but it is only a rumor.

Employee Access Hallways Gulaghar
Throughout the mall there are long corridors hidden from public view, tucked away underneath and behind the various shops. These are the routes used by maintenance crews, and utilized for deliveries, among other things. The ceilings within the hallways are covered with wiring and ventilation ducts, eschewing aesthetics for efficacy. Only employees are allowed access to these areas, but sometimes the doors are left unlocked and other people can enter if they know where to look... so long as they don't let the Mall Kopz catch them.

Deeper into these hallways warning signs are erected regularly. DANGER, KEEP OUT, and other such messages act as a deterrent. Deeper yet and a huge blast door acts as the last barrier to any wanderers. There's no indication why such a door exists deep in the mall, but there's no clear way to get past it. It'll have to remain a mystery.

Security Room Gulaghar
Behind a door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only' is the security room for the mall. Monitors line all unoccupied sections of wall in the large room. They display feeds coming from the numerous security cameras around the mall. Watching these monitors are a number of orks, the Mall Kopz (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?154882-Nexus-Character-Directory&p=11223222#post11223222). Perhaps the most important fixture in the room is the mammoth coffee maker. It can brew no fewer than ten pots of coffee at once and can be found in the center of the room. A number of gretchins keep the room in pristine condition despite the destructive nature of the orks. A single door labeled 'Keep Out' opposite the entrance is the only other way out of the room. Please disregard any loud noises heard from this room.

Rules and OOC
Mallside is meant to be a peaceful location used as an alternative to taverns and pubs for characters to congregate and meet each other. With this in mind, here are a few general rules to follow.

1. Please don't have huge fights in Mallside, or even particularly open fights. A fight in a big mall could be cool, I admit, but this isn't a tavern. Brawls are much more out of place here, and again, it gets in the way of the mall's purpose. If a character or characters would start a fight, they will endure the Wrath of the Kopz*.

2. Please don't have characters approach a scene with the intention to kill, or worse. It interferes with the mall being a mostly peaceful thread. The Mall Kopz have an uncanny knack for being around just when someone is going to suffer a grisly fate, and to pursue such an action will incite the Wrath of the Kopz*.

3. As for low key crimes and struggles, please do! It's a great source of conflict and interaction, and I would hate to stifle it. Just make sure everyone involved is okay with it and that it doesn't break any of the above rules. If the conflict does escalate beyond what is appropriate for the thread, prepare for the Wrath of the Kopz*. Typically this happens when the Mall Kopz are alerted to the conflict. So bad guys, keep it quiet!

4. Mallside is a public thread, so please try and keep scenes content appropriate. Exhibitionist couples and others that may want to violate this rule in other ways will find that Kopz show up in the most uncanny of places.

* The Wrath of the Kops
The Mall Kopz will not tolerate their peace being disturbed. In the event that their wrath has been incurred, expect that the conflict will come to an abrupt end. The orks do not exist to act as another force for antagonists to fight. They exist to bring to an end any conflict that breaks the thread rules. Upon the Kopz arriving on the scene, they will proceed to drive out or forcibly eject the offending party. This does not mean that anyone is banned from the mall or that the orks will give them trouble the next time they're shopping for groceries. What it means is that the offending party is ejected for the duration of the scene, and only that long.

If you are at all uncertain about these rules, please bring it up in OoC or ask Gulaghar specifically.


Now, here are some not rules, but some OOC notes!

- Feel free to make stuff up. While the PC shops should hopefully take care of most needs, every once in a while you need something else. When that time comes, you can mention an NPC store, or a stall, or something. Mallside is big, it can take it. If you want it to be more permanent, just ask to have it put into the first post.

- Don't think about the layout of Mallside much. Like Inside, it changes as convenient, following only those conditions explicit in the descriptions of the locations.

- Mallside is more than just a shop! It's a hang out spot, feel free to roam around.

Archive
Mallside 9: Waaagh!
Mallside VIII: OrksOrksOrks!
Mallside VII: Darth Mall
Mallside VI
Mallside V
Mallside IV
Mallside III
Mallside II
Mallside: You Do Not Know the Power of the Mallside

This thread is managed by Gullara. I will create the new thread when this one reached 50 pages. Please contact me for updates to the OP.



Thinking about roleplaying in the Nexus? Come say hi in our Discord (https://discord.gg/ypGmhv3Ufx)!

[Chaotic Bob]

[Concourse]

Kray is happy she's happy, but still isn't sure if this is a good idea.
Oh, well.
She takes a deep breath and leads them to the Goblin Market for their second meeting.


Goblin Market

The goblin market's pool and sign are there as usual. Right now the marigolds and zinnias seem to be in bloom. The water is warmer than it was, and absolutely clear and still.

'Lara' pauses as they arrive at the Market, taking a look around. There's a moment of confusion, followed by largely innocent curiosity.
"This place has been here in the mall the whole time, and I've never noticed?"

She really shouldn't be so surprised. She's known this city since before its current name, the appearance of a new place is fairly common.
It has been some time since she's taken the time to explore without distraction however, and it is a bit of a scene change.

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Market]

Kray looks down at Lara and the pool.
”Yeah it opened up last year. I think. You have to jump in the pool. You won’t get wet if you do.” she promises.

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

As if in response, a single ripple runs across the surface of the pool, and for a moment it's reflecting red and purple and gold.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Goblin Market]

A pool as a portal...rather classical."
Kids these days are all about their free-standing portals to eldritch locations!

Hesitation from another fear leads her to cautiously waving a foot over the portal, as if testing the air.
"Still out..."
After the moment passes, she leans the rest of the way forward and lets gravity finish the job.

[Deathkeeper]

Goblin Market

Kray shrugs and jumps after her. She’s done this before and doesn’t mind it.

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

The water shimmers and ripples, and the pair find themselves standing next to a desert oasis. A couple of horses are grazing nearby, and the sun is just starting to edge towards the horizon. Visible a ways away (difficult to tell in this distance) is a mess of houses carved into cliffs, pitched tents, various wooden dwellings, sod houses, and all sorts of other types of dwellings. A little ways before the market is a small hut made of mud and reinforced with logs, with a printed blanket covering a sturdy farmhouse-style door, and smoke rising from the chimney.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Goblin Market]

A wildly different environment sure seems to agree with the portal idea.

Lara frowns at the fact that they're in a desert, but is at least happy she wasn't wearing thick clothing beforehand.
"I'm guessing we just go towards the buildings?"

Kray's the experienced one here. Lead away!

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Market]

Kray frowns. "It's changed appearance. I hate when they do that."
On the plus side, now a cow-girl looks right at home. It's a shame Kray didn't bring her wide-brimmed hat. She did bring her gun, though.
Slightly annoyed, Kray starts hoofing it down to the market, passed the small hut.

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

As the pair passes by the hut, the smell of roasting corn drifts out on the smoke from the chimney. The door is open (was it open before?) and only a blanket covers the doorway. Some form of lean canine is lying inside, silhouetted against the fire.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Goblin Market]

"Are all these buildings shops?"
Lara inquires after Kray, as she slows and turns near the hut.

She doesn't enter the building, in case Kray answers no and this is actually someone's home, but she does get close enough to try to look around a bit around the blanket-door.

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Market]

”I think all of them were at the last version...” Kray says, puzzled. She finds herself with a strong craving for hot food right about now. She leans into the doorway, just her head and shoulders inside the building.
”Hello?”

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

The hut turns out to be occupied only by a black coyote. Ears of dark blue corn are roasting over a fire; more dried corn sits next to a mortar and pestle. Inside, the hut contains a modern style storage bed in one corner, a blanket on the floor, and a wide variety of woven baskets. Despite the food on the fire, no one appears to be there, but the coyote leans his head on his paws and looks at them with wide gold eyes, ears upright and slightly forward towards the door.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Goblin Hut]

Whoops, she thought it was asleep.
Then again, coyotes and other such mammals tend to have rather good senses...and she wasn't being particularly quiet, she supposes.

Having the decency to look somewhat abashed about acquiring its attention, Lara gives a small finger wave around Kray's shoulder (since it would appear she has moved further up).
"Oh, um, hello! Sorry to wake you, was just curious."

Normal coyotes don't talk, but this is the Nexus.
The likelihood of it being normal is closer to 0 than 2 -2 = 0.

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Market]

Kray narrows her eyes. She won’t fall for fairy tricks twice. Maybe.
She kneels down, leaning forward to get more on level with the canid.
”Sorry to intrude. Did you lay out this food, or someone else? We weren’t sure if this was another place of sale.” she suggests trying to see if the creature is sapient.

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

The coyote backs up few steps, then morphs into a man. He's slim, but toned, and wearing only a pair of blue jeans, with jet black hair flowing over tan shoulders.

I thought I might have some visitors. Here, there are plates in the corner. He gestures to the appropriate corner as he pulls the corn off the fire.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Goblin Market]

"Oh, thank you for the offer, but I don't need to eat anything currently."
While sounding mostly just like a polite decline, it's also a tad bit literal.
When was the last time she actually ate something? Months? Years?

Lara's smile twitches downward very briefly, before she casts a glance at Kray.
"Although I suppose if my friend is hungry...?"
They can help themselves? She wouldn't be offended.

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Market]

Well, that’s a little embarrassing. Kray should have thought of that before she said such things. In that pose. She stands up hastily, hooves clicking on the boards.
”Yes well, a meal sounds nice, so long as it is freely given.” She trusts Lara to watch if anything suspicious happens. But poisoning her seems pretty pointless.

[WarKitty]

Coyhouse

The man smiles. Certainly, I wouldn't dream of harming a guest who hasn't caused any problems...especially not a pretty lady.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

That sounds...slightly odd to Lara's ears, though she's not entirely sure why.

Another glance back at Kray and a hesitant shrug.
"That sounds, um, good? We appreciate it?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Coyhouse]

Kray’s ears droop. Was that a compliment for her? Now she’s really embarrassed that she did that earlier. Not that she’d normally care, but this handsome guy is probably a fairy and she refuses to flirt with any more fairies.
”I’m not- um, thank you.” she mutters, trying to get her mitts on food and chow down before she has to get complimented any more and consider it.

[Slii Arhem]

[Krikebulin's - Leaving]

Gustav adds an extra particularly fancy coin as a tip as they make their way out. He glances down at Knibs and shrugs awkwardly, "I-I...y'know, I might not be the most deserving of this wealth, but my bloodline earned it over thousands of years. Does it bother you that much, seeing me be so frivolous with it? But, um, sure. If it's that big a deal not to let other people in, I can agree to those terms."

And with a swift, cheeky head-pat and a particularly mischievous grin, Gustav dashes towards the nearest exit.

Can you really blame him? He managed to behave himself for a whole meal!

Krikebulin's - Leaving

"It's not that, it's just... doesn't anyone ever question where you get it all from? Why you're paying people what it probably costs them to rent their store space for a month just for a single meal or a nice outfit? It invites a lot of scrutiny and questions for someone so interested in keeping secrets!" Knibs gets all this out in one big breath as he swiftly bounds out of his chair, knocking it noisily to the ground and vaulting over the table towards Gustav's fleeing form. He takes the head pats in stride in favor of addressing something that is really bothering him, but takes the time to make four hopping, zig-zagging dashes past Gustav's longer-limbed but heavier than a determined gobbun. His last bound takes him right past Gustav's left flank, and he reaches out to try to brush a hand past the larger man's thigh in a brief moment of mischievous contact.

Did Gustav just get goosed?

"TAG!" And then off goes the gobbun, cackling madly and taking deep lungfuls of air to fuel his hyperactive acrobatics.

[WarKitty]

Coyhouse

The man thinks for a moment. I should introduce myself. My name's Latrans. And who might my guests be?

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Latrans...Name doesn't seem to ring any bells, at the moment.
Hardly surprising, given how many come and go and how long it's been.

Still, she's a bit disappointed.
"You may call me Lara."

[Deathkeeper]

[Coyhouse]

Kray looks up from her food and tries to smile politely after wiping her mouth.
"Call me Kray." she says, deciding not to give her full name. It doesn't match right now anyway.

[WarKitty]

Coyhouse

The man smiles broadly, reaching over to pick up a bowl of blueish flour. And what brings you to the market today? It is not a safe place for mortals - or even folk like me.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Kray was the one who wanted to drop by, really, so Lara won't take that away from her.

"Oh, I'm along here to...keep Kray company."
Sort of. Kinda? She intended to mostly help with morale boosting.

[Deathkeeper]

[Coyhouse]

Kray sighs.
”I’m here to right a wrong done to me here. A resident bestowed this shape upon me. I’m not a fan.” she says.
Even if she did have more fun at the beach party than she expected. Or would admit.

[WarKitty]

Coyhouse

Really now, a pretty lady like you? Well, we will have to see... Saying that, Latrans picks up a handful of the flour and blows it at Kray...who finds herself standing in a desert cave next to the man. With her face covered in flour.

Meanwhile, Lara sees the two of them disappear. The bowl has transported itself to the table.

[Deathkeeper]

[Coy...cave?]

Kray sputters, rubbing the flour out of her eyes.
”I’m not really a pretty lady-“ she stops, seeing her new surroundings.
”You better have a good reason for this.”

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Lara has picked up some interesting reaction times from somewhere, jerking forward almost the moment the dust approaches Latrans' mouth. It wasn't an immediate conscious movement, just a trained action from a lost memory.

Yet, still too slow.
...

A brief flicker of monstrous rage and sickened despair fight on her face, before carefully forced neutrality takes the field.
"Relax... Still have options. Always have options. Relax."
She mutters to herself while her gaze sweeps the room.

Something simple to test on. A small stool? A statuette?
Something she can take a handful of dust to blow on, so she can find out if it was the powder being magical or the coyote man.

Hopefully the former.

[WarKitty]

Definitely a Cave

Come now, don't be so modest! Now let's get going. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a shiny black card.We should stop at the White Buffalo shop first.

Coyhouse

The hut is fairly bare, but there's an assortment of pots and pans around, some clothing, a stack of firewood, and other accouterments one would expect in a living area.

[Deathkeeper]

[Definitely a Cave]

Kray gapes at the credit card.
"Wait, what? You're taking me shopping? Why? If this is your idea of a date, asking works better than kidnapping." she assures the strange hairy pretty-boy, looking at him closely with suspicious eyes.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Wood... That'll do. It's a product of life, which sometimes matters with these things.
Where does she remember that from?

Lara shovels more innane worries to the back of her mind and does what she can to imitate Latrans' action, only blowing on the stack of wood instead of Kray, holding thoughts of the new friend center in her mind.
Sometimes this, too, matters.

[WarKitty]

Definitely a Cave

As far as I see, a pretty lady like you is going to have to learn how to be one if she wants to get anywhere. Now, you coming?

Coyhouse

As Lara does that, Latrans appears directly in front of the woodpile in a puff of flour, dusting it off his pants, grinning, and holding a hand out to her.

[Deathkeeper]

Definitely a Cave

Kray sputters.
”And you expect to teach me by kidnapping me and taking me to a store? I don’t trust random fairies, even polite ones. Maybe especially not polite ones.” Kray exclaims, making sure she knows that her gun is still there. It is. She wouldn’t dream of drawing it now. Who knows what he’d do if she did. But its presence is comforting.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Well that wasn't the expected result at all.

Lara frowns and takes a step back, instead of accepting the hand.
"I would hope you're offering some explanation, before expecting anything from me..."

[Terumitsu]

[Food Court]

"I go where people ask me to, mostly, so it really depends of there's trouble, right." Kitsuki explains. Apparently there's not much need for ghost busting at this place. then again, it's not like she and Obriane are widely known... "But maybe someday we might get a job there. Spirits have a habit of making trouble before long." She smiles at a private joke.

"Oh? Sounds like experience is talking there." Alva replied, a little curiosity in her tone. Only just a little, though. It could be responded to or passed by without incident. Of course, that same curiosity was also currently the reason why she was suddenly looking around as something had just registered to her ears. Sure, this place was noisy but some things were easier to catch than others.. In particular, the noise from a store dedicated to a surprisingly eclectic collection of video sets, view-screens, and comparatively mundane televisions had caught her ears with constant mentions of the city of Riverside. If she weren't disguised right now, she'd have at least one ear pointed in that store's direction but for now she was settling with pushing off her uneasy feelings and giving Kitsuki her attention.

[WarKitty]

Definitely a Cave

Kray sputters.
”And you expect to teach me by kidnapping me and taking me to a store? I don’t trust random fairies, even polite ones. Maybe especially not polite ones.” Kray exclaims, making sure she knows that her gun is still there. It is. She wouldn’t dream of drawing it now. Who knows what he’d do if she did. But its presence is comforting.

I wouldn't exactly call myself a fairy. Unless you're talking about my preferences, in which case - only sometimes. the man states with a wry smile. But in this case it might help what's ailing you.


[Coyhouse]

Well that wasn't the expected result at all.

Lara frowns and takes a step back, instead of accepting the hand.
"I would hope you're offering some explanation, before expecting anything from me..."

Oh, but explanations are boring! the man grins wickedly. But I can promise you that your friend won't come to any harm from me.

[Deathkeeper]

[Definitely a Cave]

Kray blinks. Huh. Well. That was a factoid she hadn’t expected to be dropped but moving on...
”If I could look like my real self from visiting a store I assure you I’d already be me again. Unless you know some crazy places I don’t.” she insists.

[Gullara]

"Oh? Sounds like experience is talking there." Alva replied, a little curiosity in her tone. Only just a little, though. It could be responded to or passed by without incident. Of course, that same curiosity was also currently the reason why she was suddenly looking around as something had just registered to her ears. Sure, this place was noisy but some things were easier to catch than others.. In particular, the noise from a store dedicated to a surprisingly eclectic collection of video sets, view-screens, and comparatively mundane televisions had caught her ears with constant mentions of the city of Riverside. If she weren't disguised right now, she'd have at least one ear pointed in that store's direction but for now she was settling with pushing off her uneasy feelings and giving Kitsuki her attention.

[Food Court]

"Well, the rules aren't all the same around here, but certain spirits have something they want above all else. When it comes to the ones you see, they'll pursue that thing to the point where it can interfere with people." Kitsuki explains. She doesn't have a technical understanding of this stuff, but she's had enough experiences to basically have a wrap on it. "The powerful ones can be pretty disruptive about it. Most of my job is separating them from people one way or another."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

"I find it difficult to trust promises from mysterious powers. I've been on the bad side of loop holes before."
Quite a few of them.

Lara takes a couple steps further back around the table, frowning rather unhappily.
"I'm okay with boring. Explanations would be very appreciated."

[WarKitty]

Definitely a Cave

Oh, but see, it's the whole experience. And a bit of magic. This place isn't exactly what you'd call "normal stores," you know.

Coyhouse

Very well. I sent your friend off on a trip that should help with their, well, problem. Think of it as an extended therapy session. He smiles lightly. Now your problem, of course...you've got a bit of a mess caged up, haven't you?

[Deathkeeper]

[Definitely a Cave]

Kray huffs, arms crossed. But she eyes the man.
”Oh, fine. I don’t have much of a choice, anyway. But I want there to be truth between us. None of the secret junk I dealt with last time. Alright?” she holds out a hand.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall - Closed Scene]

Professor Affidavit is sitting at a table in the food hall, reading a newspaper, a faint whisp of steam coming off a cup of coffee in front of him, there for appearance rather than to be consumed. He is, after all, just a hologram. While he technically could "drink" the coffee, it'd just be sitting somewhere inside his body until he decided to, uh, get rid of it.

Aside from him, there's a distinct lack of other people within the food hall. There's a few people, but they're seated about as far away from him as they possibly can. It's all very quiet, very calm, very...suspicious.

It took quite a while to set it all up, but Affy has gone to considerable lengths to subtly redirect people away from the area and away from him in particular. Now he's just sitting there, waiting for Shazhan. Hopefully this low-level mass mental manipulation is a reasonably impressive trick as an opener.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyhouse]

Ugh. Faeries. Faerie friends. Whatever he is.
Always somehow knowing what they shouldn't reasonably know and abusing said privilege.

'Lara's frown slowly ascends into a practiced neutrality, the better to desperately restrain an upsurge in terror and bloody rage.
"I see. You're meddling for...what reason? If it was just the kindness of your heart I don't think this is the way to do it."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall - Closed Scene]

The figure who approaches the table is clad in a travel-worn cloak with a hood pulled over their head. Beneath where one might expect clothing is only black bandages from which a faint red glow can be seen escaping through the gaps. The only ornaments the figure carries are the two golden ornate bracers it wears.

The figure makes a bow once it stands before the table. "I apologize for my disheveled appearance, but I came across some unexpected difficulties."

[WarKitty]

Definitely a Cave

Coyote smiles and says I will try, at least. I promise you if nothing else there's no harmful magic in any of these shops, nor any you would disapprove of.

Coyhouse

The man actually takes a step back. Some things, helpful or not, only work if the true nature is not revealed. This is one of them. Your friend's enchantment can be cured, but the cure is unlikely to work if they are aware of what is going on.

[Deathkeeper]

Definitely a Cave

Kray looks away, letting her hand drop.
”Oh, fine. But you better be buying. Show me whatever it is you want me to see.” she mutters.

[WarKitty]

Into the desert!

Coyote leads Kray outside to a fully restored Ford Thunderbird, grabbing a beaded suede shirt from across the seat as he does so and shrugging it on. He lowers the hood and motions for Kray to get in, then takes off towards the town.

[Deathkeeper]

Into the Desert

”Well, it’s a little small, but it’s a nice ride.” says the minotaur, still feeling a bit irritable.
She gets in without too much trouble though, laying back in the seat. Rassa’s form is much smaller than Krayger was originally.

[WarKitty]

Into the Desert!

As soon as Kray is in, Coyote takes off into the desert, quickly pulling onto a highway and into a town (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?568095-Silly-Plots-3-With-government-backing-we-can-make-it-very-silly&p=23341560#post23341560)...

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

There are some truly immersive game experiences here in the coliseum. Some have you put on a headset that displays the game, others will take place in a small chamber for a full immersion VR experience, and still others are able to beam the experience straight into your nervous system.

And yet, despite all the available options, Cassidy is inserting a coin into an old, isolated Space Harrier machine, after her last run only went for 2 million points. "Damn rock swarm, I'll get you this time..."

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart - Closed Scene

Our cyborg steps into the storefront, determined to squeeze every last cent out of his own tarnished legacy. He had already looted pretty much everything worth grabbing from the standalone store in Inside; now it was time for Mallside's MagMart to get the same treatment. He reaches for the CLOSED sign instinctively, nearly flipping it to OPEN before he catches himself, as if it were just another day of business and shoppers and tricking all those fantasy worlders into spending their gold here so he could exchange it elsewhere at a massive profit.

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long, long year, stole many a man's soul and faith," the cyborg sings along, as the Mall's background music system plays a certain Rolling Stones classic. A man of wealth and taste, hah. I can still remember when people could still say that about us, Magtok. Well, maybe not the taste part, but definitely the wealth. There were probably more than a few people who might've compared us to the devil, too. They weren't wrong to do so, either.

Enough of that nonsense and nostalgia, though. We have things to do, merchandise to sort through. The Magtok plushies are worthless, but we might still be able to make use of all the canned food. We'll definitely need another shaving kit, since Needs accidentally broke the last razor, and you could certainly use some more WD-40 and chrome polish. We'll need a lot of bleach to deal with the horrible fungus and molds and such growing in the MagCave, and maybe a few mop buckets and sponges and flamethrowers, too. Needs asked him to get a few of these orange candles for an important ritual before the winter solstice, and these gray business suits look decent enough when paired with a purple tie, right? We won't have to worry about looking hideous or unMagtoklike when these robes get all worn out and gross, which is becoming more and more inevitable with every passing day of continuous wear and tear. The other MagClone should've let us bring at least five sets of robes with us, not just two. Ugh, thank gods the nearby gym has showers, or we'd probably stink to high heaven by now.

"Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name, oh yeah, but what's confusin' you is just the nature of my game," Magtok sings to himself, following Mick Jagger along note for note, trying his best to keep his mind off of what he's become lately. He was great once, you know. The entire world could guess his name, and fear it, too. Now he's rooting around in what's left of his own store, just trying to keep himself together. Oh man, if only all his friends and enemies could see him now, stealing tubes of toothpaste from the ashes of his own corporate empire, looting camping supplies from his own metaphorical corpse. What a loathsome creature we've become. What a lowly, auto-cannibalistic carrion-eater, this Magtok is.

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Did you just die to friggin' rocks? A woman with bright red hair - dyed, rather than natural - has approached Cassidy in the middle of her game. She's holding a crudely made spear behind her head, hands resting on either side. Its tip looks like a glass shard that's been lashed to the metal haft by electrical wire. Her grey jumpsuit has been zippered open to the waist, exposing the black tank top she wears underneath - the arms and top half tied around her waist to keep it secure. A satchel that practically bulges with stuff hangs at her side.

What, you fall asleep? She asks, before bursting into laughter.

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

A tap on the storefront glass echoes through the abandoned market, and Magtok might just find himself regretting all that longing for the past he was doing just a couple of seconds ago. That noteriety came with its own drawbacks, and now one of those unfortunate sights is standing right outside.

It might take a short few seconds for Magtok to recognize the woman before him in more casual attire of a dark blue skirt and a white t-shirt, but the golden-haired cat girl before him was unmistakably Caelynn. Sure, she’d definitely aged a fair amount, she looks to be in her mid 30s, though it hasn’t tarnished her beauty terribly - if anything, it gave her a bit of a more mature sort of allure - but what Magtok might notice most of all is that she looks a lot less vivacious and wide-eyed than the last time they met. Now she looks tired, world-weary... butbtheres stull a spark of determined enthusiasm in those purple eyes, even if it’s not quite as bright as before.

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

"...Arkhosia?" No dummy, it's Caelynn. The ostensibly good one, even though AMEN's Arkhosia was never that evil, and HALO's Caelynn never that heroic. You can tell because Arkhosia had darker hair and Caelynn was blonde and also because they looked nothing at all like each other you self-absorbed clod. Good thing she can't hear you from here, you idiot. Time apparently hasn't been very kind to her. That's not to imply she looks old and unsightly, she doesn't, I mean time has very literally been quite mean, and aged her an entire decade, whereas from the cyborg's perspective, it's only been like...what, three years since they last saw each other? It's hard to tell sometimes, when the passage of time has to be checked and double-checked against the collective memories and experiences of clones in pockets of the Nexus moving at different rates, but we're pretty sure it's been like three years. She's lost the baby bump, which is no surprise at all, because catgirl pregnancies don't normally last a dozen years.

"Crap," the cyborg mutters, fishing a ring of keys out of his pocket as he heads towards MagMart's entrance. She wants to talk, doesn't she? More likely than not, about those embarrassing old days when he acted like a complete bastard towards everyone. She's bound to ask questions about what we're doing these days, and why we're pushing a shopping hovercart through an empty, closed-down MagMart, loading up on various cleaning solutions, personal hygiene products, and whatever else isn't nailed down and hasn't spoiled. This is going to be all kinds of difficult, but a combination of morbid curiosity and guilt compels us to go forward instead of telling the controversial ex-girlfriend to get lost.

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

"Hey Caelynn. You uh...you caught me at a weird time. I was just about to do some focus market research before MagMart has its grand reopening sale. Hence the cart," he explains. Lies, of course. All of it, lies. Even now, the cyborg's pride is too swollen and bloated to admit weakness, to let even a sliver of reality poke through. The only real difference between the Magtok then and the Magtok now is this one feels the guilt and shame of his duplicity much more acutely, even as he hurriedly rushes to concoct even more deceit and dishonesty to account for whatever else the catgirl might say next.

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

Caelynn quirks an eyebrow- nuts, she didn’t buy it - but doesn’t question any of Magtok’s statements. Whether this is a relief or an affront to the cyborg’s dignity because she isn’t interested in his own personal goings on is anyone’s guess.

”...look, we need to talk. It’s about my daughter.” A general tone of reluctance highlights just how uneasy she is to speak with him, and Magtok might get the impression that perhaps the previous time when he was an awful bastard towards everyone might have cut deeper for the cat than he thought.

Then again, she definitely looked like she put a little bit of effort in looking presentable, so maybe there’s more to it.

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

The cyborg shakes his head. "She's not ending the world. If she didn't start chanting eldritch prophecies and quoting scripture in a low baritone in her toddler years, she's not going to start now, at the age of..." Quick, take a guess based on how much Caelynn's aged since you last saw her, and then deduct five years to flatter her! "Seven? Eight?" Hey, I said deduct five years, not ten. Let's not go overboard, cyborg. For all of our guilt over our past rancid terribleness, she's still the mother of Reinholdt's child. That means we keep her an arm's length away, got it? Actually, being emotionally distant is how we treat everyone, better make that two arms' length, just to be safe.

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

”Twenty.” Caelynn corrects almost instantly, without so much as a pause.
...huh. I guess she’s aged even better than previously thought!
”But that’s not why I’m here.” The catgirl continues, taking a moment to compose herself and think out what she’ll say next.
”She’s in the Nexus now. How I know, I’m not quite sure, but I just do. And I think we both know Reinholdt is too.” A little bit of unease slows her down, a degree of hesitation separating her otherwise direct and concise words.

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

"Reinholdt doesn't do much more than sleep around and go on quests promising exotic loot and magical treasure these days. If she doesn't agree to follow him into The Fabled Tomb of the Pharaoh God King Tutenkahblufish and mentions their blood relation before things can get weird, she should be fine," Magtok answers dismissively, turning his shopping cart around and advancing towards some-wait hold on, did she say twenty?!

"Twenty. She...got caught in some sort of time rift, right? Aged twice as fast as her mom?" he asks, looking back at her over his shoulder. No way. For twenty years to have passed, she'd have to have been...what, horrifyingly underage that whole time? No, someone would've said something. We wouldn't have dated a fifteen year old girl. Reinholdt, as repulsive as he is, wouldn't have knocked one up. Maybe her species just ages with slightly more grace than human beings do. A long, elfy lifespan, without the pompousness or living in magical trees elves are known for.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"I'm sorry, did you see the rocks spitting fire at me? This crap's harder than it looks." Despite her words, Cassidy can't help but crack up herself as she starts a new game. She wasn't gonna get to the top of the high scores playing like that. She briefly looks over at the woman that's come over. "You always carry spears here? There's kids around, ya know."

A brief description, since her directory post is out of date: Cassidy's hair is styled in a sidecut, with red highlights to compliment its natural black. She's dressed in a cheap black suit, though with the jacket open, and only a sports bra underneath, leaving her abs exposed.

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

A rather amused exhale slips from the catgirl's lips before she responds, a tinge of her old, bubbly self showing. "Glad to know I look young for my age." It was a little indirect of an answer, but it certainly cleared things up a little. Phew, that was close... though now it begs the question; just how much younger does she look? Was he dating a 30 year old back then? Never mind, this didn't clarify things much at all.

"It's not just Reinholdt I'm worried about... It's you." Another uneasy pause passes before a visibly uncomfortable Caelynn continues, glancing down at her shoes a little guiltily. "I... I know you owe me nothing, I was a horrible partner and I'm frankly surprised you continued to have anything to do with me whatsoever after... after everything, but I need to ask." Her visage turns up a little timidly to look up at Magtok. "Please, don't let her get caught in the crossfire of whatever stupid feud you two spark up again? She's... she's got her own problems to deal with, and I don't want her to endure what happened to me all those years ago."

[Chaotic Bob]

Coyhouse

The man actually takes a step back. Some things, helpful or not, only work if the true nature is not revealed. This is one of them. Your friend's enchantment can be cured, but the cure is unlikely to work if they are aware of what is going on.

Strangely, the step back seems to help. The emotions quiet somewhat, enough to feel like she's more in control.
However tentative that state always is. How very very tentative.
Stay asleep. Please.

Take a breath, focus on the matter at hand.
"But that doesn't answer the question. Why are you doing this, 'helping', at all?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Affidavit looks up, smiles, folds the paper away and motions for Shazhan to take a seat. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a dimmer switch for the blue light emitted from his eyes, so he does his best to avoid staring directly at the figure. "I can't really judge someone else based on their appearance when I'm just a walking trick of the light. Please, take a seat. I've made sure we won't be disturbed by passers-by."

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

Magtok plucks a candy bar from a shelf, turning it about in his hands to check the expiration date, because that's so much easier than making eye contact right now. Drat, no good. Several years past no good, in fact. Some chocolate might've made a handy distraction from this little chat right about now. I suppose we could just pretend to be really interested in the list of ingredients and nutritional information, but Caelynn's not going to buy that kind of evasive nonsense, is she? I mean, maybe when you first met her, possibly, but she's not that innocent fifty(?)-year-old girl anymore.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not really dealing with Reinholdt right now. I left for like three years, so now I've got an entire MagCave to rebuild, gotta get the cloning tanks fixed up, all the spooky science monsters need to be put back in their cages, and-" Shut up. Nobody cares, Magtok. Certainly not Caelynn. This isn't the answer she's looking for, and you know, if you really are as busy as you say, and trying to be a better person like you keep insisting upon, it shouldn't be any trouble at all to make the promise she wants to hear, should it?

"...Sure, fine. No women, no children, no sins of the father. I won't so much as say a rude word to her, I promise," Magtok concedes with a heavy sigh, going through the various chocolates in search of something that won't have a sapient mold growing beneath the wrapper. It's an entirely foolish, hopeless endeavor; the primary ingredient is the same for every one of them. "You make me sound like I wasn't the absolute worst back then, Caelynn. Like I'd ever done anything right. I was a monster to you. The old Magtok probably would've gotten her involved in the feud out of spite, just because you asked me not to." Come on now; that's a bit of an exaggeration, Magtok. No, you probably would've just settled for telling Alexis about every little bad thing her dad had ever done, and then left her to her own devices in the hopes she'd commit patricide on her own initiative.

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

What? It ain't lewd or nothing is it? She says, glancing at the end of her spear. She didn't pick a shard that- nah, nah it's fine.

Whatever, they'll find out about it eventually anyway. Hell you aren't even wearing a shirt. She says as she peers around the side of Cassidy, casually checking her out. If she's impressed she isn't showing it.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"Wh- lewd? No, I'm talking bout bringing weapons around here. Jeez, you kids these days and your lewd stuff." Cassidy doesn't look a day older than 26.

She briefly glances at the woman in time to catch her checking her out, but she focuses on her game, weaving her way through obstacles until she reaches the first boss. "Psh, I'm plenty covered. Hell, nowadays people cant even see my ink."

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Pffft. As long as they don't yell too loud they won't have to learn about it. The woman keeps her attention focused on the screen now that Cassidy's playing again. She watches in silence for a little while before piping up again. What ink ya got anyway. Cool snake or something?

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

Cassidy lets herself grin as she passes the second stage, where she had died before. This run was going a lot better.

"Hm? Well, I've got a cobra on my lower arm," She moves her left forearm a bit for indication, "But I've got lots of ink. Both my arms are covered now, and I'm getting a thing of a wolf and a dragon on my back. What about you? You got anything?"

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

Caelynn breathes a sigh of relief, and the exhaustion on her face eases, as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Not a great burden, there's still a fair bit of tiredness in her face, but there is a noticeable difference. She shifts her weight a little, the unease disappearing as her hand rests on her hip.

As Magtok's comments shift toward his own moral character, the catgirl raises an eyebrow, confusion creeping into her countenance. "I don't think you were that bad? And besides, it's not like I was blameless either. I really was awful back then."

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

"I was a card-carrying member of the Association of the Malicious, Evil, and Nefarious, Caelynn. Maybe not the most loyal AMENite, since I broke you out of your cell just because, but-" Magtok shakes his head. Trying to best Caelynn in the 'I was the worst person ever' Olympics is a waste of time, no matter how much worse we may have actually been, and talking about how we broke her out of AMEN's torture chambers doesn't help our case at all, either. He instead reaches out for a pack of gum. Gum doesn't expire after three years in a sealed container, right? We should totally be able to chew this gum without any issues, surely.

"Don't let her step foot in Riverside; it's a warzone right now. Some demon army is the new big evil menace these days, and they stomped all over VIGIL at least once, so they're not to be underestimated. GLoG should still be as safe as ever, even with the cat hanging around the campgrounds, but Mallside and the Dancing Fox Inn are still indisputably the safest places in the world, because fights just do not happen there, ever. The usual rules about tavern fights and fey-infested parks and signing weird contracts with strangers still apply, of course," Magtok explains, all in one breath. I hope Caelynn got all of that the first time, because the tin man definitely isn't repeating himself. Being even a little bit friendly and helpful and cooperative is agony, when all he wants to do is disappear or telewarp away.

"Honestly, this might be one of the safer points of Nexus history. I don't think AMEN even exists anymore. If she just makes friends, stays out of the bad places, and doesn't hang around the bad people, she should be fine." Magtok isn't sure if he can actually believe that, but it sounds halfway true, right? Things definitely used to be a lot more violent than they are now, and poor (60-something?) Caelynn looks overwhelmed with stress about her baby coming to the Nexus. A little half-lie won't hurt.

"Can I get you anything else while you're here? No charge, since I'm feeling nice and I don't have the cash registers up and running yet. Just keep in mind it's been like three years, so lots of the stuff around here has probably expired. A few cans of soup? A winter jacket? An awkward hug and assurance that you're a good mom and she's lucky to have you watching out for her? I don't see any long-overdue apologies in this aisle, but I can check in the back and see if we have any in stock."

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

On my ankle yeah. She has a swear word one of her friends did with a makeshift tattoo gun made out of a needle and a ballpoint pen. There a good place around here to get it done? I haven't been here long. It's unclear whether she means here as in the Mall or here as in the Nexus.

[Arkhosia]

MagMart

"I was a card-carrying member of the Association of the Malicious, Evil, and Nefarious, Caelynn. Maybe not the most loyal AMENite, since I broke you out of your cell just because, but-" Magtok shakes his head. Trying to best Caelynn in the 'I was the worst person ever' Olympics is a waste of time, no matter how much worse we may have actually been, and talking about how we broke her out of AMEN's torture chambers doesn't help our case at all, either. He instead reaches out for a pack of gum. Gum doesn't expire after three years in a sealed container, right? We should totally be able to chew this gum without any issues, surely.

"Don't let her step foot in Riverside; it's a warzone right now. Some demon army is the new big evil menace these days, and they stomped all over VIGIL at least once, so they're not to be underestimated. GLoG should still be as safe as ever, even with the cat hanging around the campgrounds, but Mallside and the Dancing Fox Inn are still indisputably the safest places in the world, because fights just do not happen there, ever. The usual rules about tavern fights and fey-infested parks and signing weird contracts with strangers still apply, of course," Magtok explains, all in one breath. I hope Caelynn got all of that the first time, because the tin man definitely isn't repeating himself. Being even a little bit friendly and helpful and cooperative is agony, when all he wants to do is disappear or telewarp away.

"Honestly, this might be one of the safer points of Nexus history. I don't think AMEN even exists anymore. If she just makes friends, stays out of the bad places, and doesn't hang around the bad people, she should be fine." Magtok isn't sure if he can actually believe that, but it sounds halfway true, right? Things definitely used to be a lot more violent than they are now, and poor (60-something?) Caelynn looks overwhelmed with stress about her baby coming to the Nexus. A little half-lie won't hurt.

"Can I get you anything else while you're here? No charge, since I'm feeling nice and I don't have the cash registers up and running yet. Just keep in mind it's been like three years, so lots of the stuff around here has probably expired. A few cans of soup? A winter jacket? An awkward hug and assurance that you're a good mom and she's lucky to have you watching out for her? I don't see any long-overdue apologies in this aisle, but I can check in the back and see if we have any in stock."

At the mention of Riverside, Caelynn's face blanches a little (heh). "I'm not sure I could keep Alexis from going there if I tried, and I have a sinking feeling that something like that will attract her like a moth to a flame." She sighs, slumping a little. "I don't know just what it is with her, it's like she just can't help but throw herself into the most dangerous situations she can find... though knowing her parents, I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Despite the worries this news has given her though, the rest of Magtok's comments do seem to do the trick at easing her fears a fair amount, a greater deal of relief creeping into her expression.

"...a hug would be nice." From the shy little blush and glance away that follows this response, Magtok might get the sense that she hasn't had anything even resembling a gesture like that in a loooong time.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"Not here in Mallside, least not that I've seen. Most of my stuff was done back home, but I've found a couple folks in the city. Good people." Cassidy's ability to converse while focusing on a game is uncanny, though she does lose her first life on the third stage with a wince.

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Ha. She laughs as Cassidy loses a life. Why're you playing this piece of crap anyway? They got like VR stuff over there. Are there prizes? It would make sense if she were playing this one for prizes.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"VR, pfh." Cassidy rolls her eyes. "Everything's gotta be an experience when you can slot it straight into your brain. You get over simsense real quick when you've been in real shootouts and you've actually gotten laid in your life, kid." Did she really just call a woman that looks the same age as her 'kid?' "But quick stuff like this? I can get behind it. Helps me relax."

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

What're you tryin' to say huh? She says, whipping her spear around to point it at Cassidy, suddenly aggressive. You think I friggin' haven't? Think this is just for show huh? She looks pretty mad! That wasn't a very nice thing to say Cassidy. :smallmad:

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

Cassidy barely even reacts to the spear being pointed at her, despite being unarmed and thoroughly distracted. "Frag me, are you always this high-strung? Reactions like that'll get you in trouble with some way crankier folks than me around here. Maybe you should play one of these pieces of crap; pretty sure Outrun's here too."

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

"She'll be okay, Caelynn. Alexis is going to be alright," the cyborg insists, awkwardly wrapping his arms around the emotionally vulnerable catgirl as he promised a moment ago. That offer of a hug was partially meant in jest, but gods, look at her. Caelynn is barely holding it together while her baby runs off to get murdered or raped or tortured to death. One of the only things worse than loss is the uncertainty and confusion that precedes it, the vivid nightmare scenarios the imagination concocts as it prepares for the worst, and it sounds like Caelynn's been suffering through all of that non-stop since before she even got here. A moment or two of hug-induced discomfort is the least we could do, really. Well...maybe more than a moment or two, depending on how long Caelynn keeps the hug going. It's a hug for her benefit; she can decide when to let go and pull away.

"The war's almost over anyway; it's probably too late for her to get involved," Magtok assures her, even though he has absolutely nothing at all to back up that claim, no reason to believe it, and hasn't stepped foot in Riverside since his return. It was going on when the previous MagClone was scouting out the Nexus for the collective's return, though, wasn't it? It can't be that far from its conclusion, right?

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Well that makes her feel a little silly, doesn't it? I'd frig em up. She says, putting the spear butt down and leaning on it. None of the weirdos I've seen here so far look that tough.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

Cassidy loses her second life, complete with a second wince. "Yeah, I said that too the first time I came here. Trust me, you'll be changing your tune sooner or later."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Affidavit looks up, smiles, folds the paper away and motions for Shazhan to take a seat. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a dimmer switch for the blue light emitted from his eyes, so he does his best to avoid staring directly at the figure. "I can't really judge someone else based on their appearance when I'm just a walking trick of the light. Please, take a seat. I've made sure we won't be disturbed by passers-by."

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Really now, through science or simple intimidation?" Shazhan asks as he indeed takes a seat. "Its curious, you are not too different from my people like this. I've yet met a being in this nexus that could make such a claim until now."

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart]

Caelynn hugs the cyborg with a fair bit more enthusiasm, her embrace surprisingly tight. Then again, considering her how utterly shaken and fretful she had been, it wasn't that shocking; nor is the way she holds him tight, sinking into the hug almost desperately, as if she wanted to forget everything else, or the almost uncomfortably long duration for which it lasts. She sniffles a little before separating from him almost reluctantly, stepping back and wiping a couple tears that had started to well up in her violet eyes.

T-thanks, I... I needed that. It's... been a while since I had anyone to talk to. she admits, a little embarrassed. Seventeen years spent out in a faraway world, and no bonds to show for it whatsoever. Maybe she'd just been too focused on her daughter, too focused on learning and practicing the work she made a living with during that time... too scared to form one after what she had been through, too scared to disappoint someone and **** it up all over again....

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Pfft, sure. She is unconvinced. Man you really suck at this game huh? Just stop getting hit, idiot. She seems pretty blatantly fishing for a reaction here, smirk plastered across her face.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

Cass cackles, a similar grin spreading across her face. "Hey, you're more than welcome to try it yourself. Unless you're scared of this piece of 80s tech?"

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

She scowls a little and tries to push Cass out of the way of the game and seize the controls for herself. Show you who's friggin' scared. She mutters, mostly to herself. Assuming that this interruption in play wasn't enough to end the last life on the machine she'll immediately take over and likely die as she figures out the controls.

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

Blegh. Better hug her again, just to be safe. It doesn’t sound like she got all of that emotional gunk out of her system with the first hug, after all. Yikes, we figured she would’ve found someone to help her raise Rein’s kid, but apparently not. Hope the bastard of a cat at least set her up with a trust fund or child support payments or something. He almost undoubtedly didn’t, though. Rotten scumbag animal...

“Caelynn? I need you to do me a favor,” Magtok insists, pulling back with his hands still resting on the (80-something?) catgirl mom’s arms, and staring intently down at those tired violet eyes, to make it clear this is serious business right now.

“I need you to, don’t question it, don’t argue, just repeat after me three times: ‘Magtok is a manipulative asshat. I’m an emotional wreck right now and not thinking clearly. I should think carefully about everything I do and say, especially around him.’ Three times.” As odd and bizarre as this might sound, his severe tone suggests she really isn’t going to be able to just laugh off this bit of eccentricity and continue on. This nonsense is a prerequisite if she wants to continue this conversation at all.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

Cass is just laughing as she's shoved away from the machine, and the woman quickly loses the last available life. "Eh, that doesn't have to count. Here, I'll even buy your game." She inserts another coin into the machine, so that she can play a full run herself.

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

The first two lives go... poorly. She dies pretty quickly to the second wave of enemies the first life in then tanks it almost immediately after to the next. Dumb game doesn't even work right. I moved out of the way! The third life however she seems to have gotten into a bit of a groove. She manages to beat the first boss and gets all the way to the second before dying the final time. Crappy boss never even used that attack against you. You got lucky alright. The boss used that attack quite often but it seems like this woman didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"The hell are you talking about, the boss has one attack!" Cassidy's laughing, but there isn't anything mean behind it. "But hey, two and a half million isn't that bad for your first go. These games are harder than they look, yeah?"

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Yeah whatever. I guess that's her conceding the point? She scoops up her spear from the ground and looks around trying to spot anyone more interesting. Nah, guess not. Hey how long were you gonna be playing this dumb game anyway? Wanna get out of here? She asks, looking Cassidy right in the eyes, one of her eyebrows quirked.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"You got pretty into that dumb game, you know." That grin still hasn't left Cassidy's face, but it grows a little confused when the woman asks her to leave. "I mean, I was gonna hit the skeeball, but what the hell, I got nothing planned for today. Why not?"

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

She grins widely. Nice. I'm Violet. She says, finally introducing herself. You got somewhere nearby? She shifts her satchel further up on her shoulder and starts walking towards an exit.

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"Cassidy." She sticks her hands in her trouser pockets as she walks beside Violet. "I mean, yeah, but it ain't much. I don't exactly rake in the money, so I'm squatting where I can."

[billtodamax]

Neon Coliseum

Works for me. Violet says, tilting the spear over her shoulder. I need to find somewhere to crash. And somewhere to fence all this junk. She says, hefting her satchel. Violet stealing is a crime! :smallmad:

[Devixer]

Neon Coliseum

"There's plenty of places that'll fence for ya, the police barely have a handle on it." Cassidy don't encourage her!

She'll lead Violet to the house where she is currently crashing.

[Arkhosia]

MagMart

Blegh. Better hug her again, just to be safe. It doesn’t sound like she got all of that emotional gunk out of her system with the first hug, after all. Yikes, we figured she would’ve found someone to help her raise Rein’s kid, but apparently not. Hope the bastard of a cat at least set her up with a trust fund or child support payments or something. He almost undoubtedly didn’t, though. Rotten scumbag animal...

“Caelynn? I need you to do me a favor,” Magtok insists, pulling back with his hands still resting on the (80-something?) catgirl mom’s arms, and staring intently down at those tired violet eyes, to make it clear this is serious business right now.

“I need you to, don’t question it, don’t argue, just repeat after me three times: ‘Magtok is a manipulative asshat. I’m an emotional wreck right now and not thinking clearly. I should think carefully about everything I do and say, especially around him.’ Three times.” As odd and bizarre as this might sound, his severe tone suggests she really isn’t going to be able to just laugh off this bit of eccentricity and continue on. This nonsense is a prerequisite if she wants to continue this conversation at all.

Unfortunately for Magtok, twenty years is a looooong time for emotional gunk to build up over, and there's a lot that Caelynn still needs to get out of her system. This second hug lasts just a hairs-breadth longer than before if Magtok waits for her to part first. If not, the end of her embrace is a little more reluctant and lingering. Pulling apart from the cyborg she stares back at him with newfound worry and a small spark of curiosity. What was it? Had she done something wrong? Is it something important, some debt he feels she owes him? That's the gist of what thoughts flow through Caelynn's mind before Magtok continues, the feline quickly grasping the serious tone of the situation.

...And as swiftly as Magtok explains the favor, the fretful gaze shifts to mild befuddlement. But even so, the catgirl doesn't protest. Nodding, she repeats after him; her voice wavers a little at first, but only for a short while.
'Magtok is a manipulative asshat. I’m an emotional wreck right now and not thinking clearly. I should think carefully about everything I do and say, especially around him.
Magtok is a manipulative asshat. I’m an emotional wreck right now and not thinking clearly. I should think carefully about everything I do and say, especially around him.
Magtok is a manipulative asshat. I’m an emotional wreck right now and not thinking clearly. I should think carefully about everything I do and say, especially around him."

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart

A hand runs through Caelynn's hair after she's finished the mantra, fingers brushing against her ear, before turning her head to accommodate the lips of the cyborg moving forward to press against her own. Unlike the hugs, he pulls away quickly here, not giving Caelynn more than a moment to realize what's going on before the moment is over. "Good girl," he whispers, even though our most generous of estimates still put her age at least five years past his own. Twenty years ago, he was clearly the older of the two, but now, not so much. Nexus time is funny like that. He pulls back and returns to his shopping hovercart, finally tossing in that pack of gum he was looking at a few minutes ago.

"Okay, give me ten minutes to finish up what I'm doing here, and then I'm taking you out for dinner. Remember what I said, and don't get attached. We're two very broken people with a lot of stress and issues to work through right now, and the worst thing we could do is try to rekindle a romance that was inherently dysfunctional and manipulative and never going to work. It's just dinner. Just dinner, okay?" Uh huh. Yeah, sure. Who are you trying to convince here, Magtok? Caelynn, or yourself? If you know what a terrible idea this really is, why are you so determined to run headlong into it?

[Arkhosia]

MagMart

A hand runs through Caelynn's hair after she's finished the mantra, fingers brushing against her ear, before turning her head to accommodate the lips of the cyborg moving forward to press against her own. Unlike the hugs, he pulls away quickly here, not giving Caelynn more than a moment to realize what's going on before the moment is over. "Good girl," he whispers, even though our most generous of estimates still put her age at least five years past his own. Twenty years ago, he was clearly the older of the two, but now, not so much. Nexus time is funny like that. He pulls back and returns to his shopping hovercart, finally tossing in that pack of gum he was looking at a few minutes ago.

"Okay, give me ten minutes to finish up what I'm doing here, and then I'm taking you out for dinner. Remember what I said, and don't get attached. We're two very broken people with a lot of stress and issues to work through right now, and the worst thing we could do is try to rekindle a romance that was inherently dysfunctional and manipulative and never going to work. It's just dinner. Just dinner, okay?" Uh huh. Yeah, sure. Who are you trying to convince here, Magtok? Caelynn, or yourself? If you know what a terrible idea this really is, why are you so determined to run headlong into it?

[MagMart]

Caelynn flinches almost imperceptibly as Magtok reaches outwards, but doesn’t attempt to retreat or draw away from his touch. The only responses she manages to make are a soft gasp and a faint blush before he presses on, his own lips pressing lightly against her own and parting before it can fully register. An almost uncharacteristically girlish blush floods the older woman’s countenance as the cyborg draws back, still too stunned by the unanticipated show of affection.

The following statement and cautionary comments earn a simple nod from the catgirl; not a completely stunned and unresponsive one, she was definitely cognizant, definitely taking in what Magtok had said, but the stunning effect his advance had made still lingered. ”O-of course, I’ll... I’ll try not to let it become anything else.” of course, that statement holds as much water as Magtok’s own. Caelynn couldn’t deny that she still had more than lingering affections and hopes to rekindle them into something built on a true foundation rather than lovestruck admiration and stroked egos... and unwilling to recognize that even now, any relationship they formed would be unavoidably shaped by their own feelings of nostalgia, of what they had before.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Intimidation is too, mmm, overt. I'm trying to avoid drawing too much attention to myself these days. Did you perhaps feel any particular draw towards a store on your way here? A feeling like you were just being driven in a certain direction, perhaps? It's, mmm, subtle, but I've no idea how it'd work on one such as yourself. It'd take a strong mind with a certain degree of awareness to disregard the effects. But as you can see-" Affy gestures around him, "It'd be very obvious if someone like that showed up." Affy pauses to give irony its chance to make a fool of him.

Nothing?

No?

Good.

"And I, for my part, would be very keen to learn more about what you are. I've a lot to catch up on these days, but my history with the Nexus is extensive. And I've never encountered anyone quite like you. What really counts as my body these days is sort of open to interpretation, I guess. You could consider this a body. You could consider the network of cables running through Inside to be my body. You could consider- well, no, that last one's a secret." He lets out a quiet chuckle.

[Lord Magtok]

MagMart => Mallside Parking Lot

"I'm serious. Don't be fooled by all of this...this show of self-awareness and guilt stuff," Magtok insists, gesturing towards himself with a circular motion, trying to make it clear that lies and deception and trickery are all that he is. "I'm really not much better; I've just acknowledged what I've done wrong before. I think I've already lied to you twice today. Not about any of the Alexis stuff-"that bumps us up to at least three lies now"-I mean the other things I said."

One of the few things he wasn't lying about was needing ten minutes to finish up his business in MagMart, however. An orange-robed MagClone appears to teleport the shopping hovercart's contents once, and then again when our Magtok refills it. I think he's called 'Ned' or something. Magtok said 'Needs Food' once or twice, but he was probably just talking about groceries. 'Ned' gets into something of a tense standoff with Magtok when he thrusts a box of contraceptives towards him and Magtok refuses to accept the 'gift,' but a few mumbled words between the two pass, and Ned eventually relents, saying he'll leave the box in the car, and murmuring something that starts with 'lib-.' A library, maybe? Liberace? Is it liberalism? Is Magtok getting back into politics? I can sorta see how getting Caelynn pregnant would cause trouble if he were running for mayor, maybe.

"Alright, I'm done here. Sorry about you had to see all of that. My brother means well, but he's..." He's a Magtok, just like you are. That's more or less what you were thinking, even if you'd never actually admit it, right? A fellow Magtok, with almost all the same baggage that comes with being such a loathsome creature. At least this one seems to actually care about you, though. I can't see any of the other clones ever trying to protect one another. You should think about that, next time the two of you fight over something stupid and petty.

Anyway, now there's just the matter of getting out of here. Magtok isn't about to have Caelynn walk to the restaurant like some kind of disgusting peasant. The Riftline is full of filthy animals, so that's out, too. He'd like to just snap his fingers and be at their destination, but with the MagCave in its current state, he doesn't have access to his old telewarp technology either. This means we're stuck with walking out to the parking lot, wandering about in search of the pickup truck, and trying to come up with a decent lie explaining why we're driving a stupid pickup truck instead of one of the Magmobiles. Great. You know, she saw through that one lie about the MagMart reopening sale; she's bound to pick up on this one, too. Maybe you should just try telling her the truth. I mean, honesty is the best policy, right? Just tell her your situation isn't going so great, that the MagCave is under repairs, and-

"...Nope. No, sorry, I can't do this. I can not ****ing do this, I'm done, sorry, goodbye. I'm not-" What?! Magtok, you can't have an emotional breakdown now, we haven't even found the pickup truck yet! What good is running away from Caelynn when you don't even know where to run to? She's only like a couple of meters away, she can still see you! All you're doing is making things more difficult for yourself when she inevitably catches up and asks what the hell is wrong with you right now.

[Arkhosia]

[MagMart -> Mallside Parking Lot]

Caelynn watches the two Magtoks interact with each other with unconcealed amusement and mild curiosity; she wasn't entirely sure she'd actually ever seen two of his clones in the same place before, although to be fair it has been a while since she'd last seen any of them at all in the first place. It's fine, I don't see why you would need to apologize for anything." It wasn't anything disconcerting or dramatic, it didn't pull her into any sort of petty squabble or heated fight between the two, so it wasn't like there was that big of a deal to be made out of the whole kerfuffle.

What does provoke more of a reaction, however, is Magtok's sudden breakdown and flight - or, more accurately, attempted flight; Caelynn attempts to grab onto the collar of his robe, yanking him back. "Look, I don't know what's bothering you so greatly, but could you at least talk to me about it instead of just running away and leaving me with more guilt, self doubt and abandonment? If-If you don't want to actually do this, that's fine. Say it." The catgirl's tone turned a little harder, more firm, and she tried to make eye contact with the cyborg as she made her point. Magtok might have recognized that all those fears of what could be for her daughter were what was so responsible for her state of mind, but had he stopped to consider that perhaps it went both ways, that Caelynn was haunted by a lack of closure as much as uncertainty? The nebulous lack of clarification on just what existed between the two, of just how Magtok felt about her, and the worst case scenarios that she had been left to assume were true all along?

[WarKitty]

Strangely, the step back seems to help. The emotions quiet somewhat, enough to feel like she's more in control.
However tentative that state always is. How very very tentative.
Stay asleep. Please.

Take a breath, focus on the matter at hand.
"But that doesn't answer the question. Why are you doing this, 'helping', at all?"

Believe it or not, some people actually like to help. I share space with the fey, but I am not exactly one of them. My kind live off of the memories and stories of mortals. One of my personal favorites... here the man launches into a story about a helping forlorn maiden that ends with her being paired off with a mountain spirit and has an amazing amount of manufacturing totemic genitalia in the middle. Once finished with this, he concludes So anyway - corncake?

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyote House]

Well that wasn't really where she was expecting this to go.
"Er...very interesting story?"

'Lara' glances down at the mention of corn cake, before slowly shaking her head.
"No...thank you. So you're helping for the sake of the story?"

[Lord Magtok]

Mallside Parking Lot

Magtok comes to a halt quickly enough, not wanting to be choked by the front of his own collar if he can avoid it. He takes a deep breath and tries to sort out what he's going to say in response. As always, there's the usual assortment of white lies and mistruths and half-truths parading about in front of him, but for once, he manages to push them all aside, mostly. "What I want is for you to have a fun, happy evening that takes your mind off of Alexis and helps deal with all that stress that's currently tearing you apart, Caelynn. Doing something nice for you like that would make me feel a little less guilty about everything, so at the time, taking you out to dinner sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately for us both, I can't do that without ruining it for you. I'm a compulsive liar and a manipulative bastard. I'm not just throwing the word 'compulsive' around for fun, either. I lie the way normal people breathe, Caelynn. The way fish swim. If I sense even the slightest opening, if I think I know something and you don't, I take that opening and I fill it with lies. I have to actually stop and think about what I'm saying to not lie; it's just instinctual at this point. I mean, for gods' sake, it's been less than twenty minutes and I've lied to you how many times now?" Too many to count. More than one should be able to fit in a conversation of that size.

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm trying to be a better person, Caelynn, but I just...I can't. I don't have a better person buried within me. I always told myself I could stop the whole villain thing any time I felt like it, that I could be a genuinely good person if I ever really wanted to, but that was the biggest lie of them all. I want to, but I can't. The selfish scumbag who left you to rot because of some stupid feud with a cat is still here. Leave him here, if you know what's good for you. Leave me," he pleads, already falling into despair because he's certain none of this is going to work. No, if he was brave, if he really cared, if he really wanted her gone and wasn't making some stupidly convoluted trap to win her sympathy and pity, he'd just call her a stupid whore bitch and watch her storm off in tears. It'd hurt them both in the short-term, sure, and it'd be a lot more difficult to say such a thing than what he's saying now, but it'd guarantee that she'd never go near him again. She'd be safer and happier that way. Everyone would be safer and happier if he just never came back to the Nexus.

[Arkhosia]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

Whether the trap was made consciously, or if Magtok can add compulsive manipulator to the list of pejoratives and insults he labels himself with, the effect is undeniable. Caelynn falls for it (and him) hook, line and sinker. Tears well up in her eyes as the cyborg concludes his confession, but she doesn't step away from him, doesn't run for the hills like she clearly should. No, instead the stupid cat pulls him into a tight, empathetic and emotional hug. After all, he clearly needs one.

"You think I don't know what I'm getting into here? I like you, but I'm not lovesick-" Suuuuuure. "Just because I blame myself so much for what happened doesn't mean I don't recognize your own responsibility for... well, that whole mess. But after what I did, I owe you this. I owe you some goddamn comfort. And if you let me down, if you make me hurt... well, I only have myself to blame for ignoring my own common sense and chasing after a pipe dream, don't I?"

[Lord Magtok]

Mallside Parking Lot

Magtok isn't about to turn down a free hug. He does need it, even if he knows he doesn't deserve it. Last time he tried to engage someone in a conversation this personal, it ended with him flipping a table at Trog's and holding her at gunpoint until he could back away and out the door. They were supposed to just meet for a drink and catch up on old times or something, and then something Ithuriel said made him feel threatened or manipulated and he just completely snapped. This is a considerable step up from that, I think.

"I'm also poor now. Technically homeless. Will that scare you off?" He asks, half-kidding, a silly smile trying to pierce the gloom and doom that's been cast over them. Wow, bringing out the big guns now, huh Magtok? There is that 'technically' you sneaked in there hurting your case, however, and the fact that you've still got your arms around her when you ask that. You know, this is the third hug so far, and once again, you're leaving it up to her to decide when to break it off. Maybe you should stop that. This is just a theory, but I think you'd have a much better chance of scaring her off if you didn't let these hugs last for so damn long.

"The other Magtoks sent me back to the Nexus after our three year or so hiatus with just a pickup truck I've been sleeping in, and Needs, who you met a couple minutes ago." Oh right, 'Ned.' The Magtok with the orange robe and a vague sensation of nausea when you look at him for too long. What's his deal, anyway? Magtoks aren't supposed to use magic, and yet Needs was very clearly vanishing the contents of that shopping hovercart with a hocus, a pocus, and a ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu fhtagn.

"All we've got is a wallet full of cash, anything we can loot from the MagMarts, and a ruined MagCave full of horrible doom and terror that I've been ordered to fix up and bring back into working condition, even though it's more of an adventurer's dungeon crawl to explore and loot for treasure than an actual home right now." Right around this moment, the end of this sentence, something happens to Magtok, though it's not immediately obvious at the time. He keeps talking, even though he was supposed to just stop there, supposed to keep things mostly positive and make it clear that The Great and Legendary Lord Magtok is more than qualified to handle the difficult tasks ahead of him, because he's just that great and legendary. He chooses instead to explain exactly how overwhelmingly difficult his situation really is, and just...slips. He goes too far He's never been good at knowing when to stop talking, you know.

"It is impossible, that place is a ****ing deathtrap labyrinth of evil. It's got cyberwolves, laser geese, haywire machinery, you name it. It's even worse than it sounds, because guess what? If I die, my memories don't go to the next Magtok, because there are no functional cloning tanks right now and everything that's happened to me personally, to this Magtok, will be effectively gone forever. The other Magtoks won't return my calls and won't let me abort the mission until the MagCave's working again and I'm jumping at shadows constantly and I don't know how everyone else lives with only one life because I spend every day terrified some old enemy is going to show up and shoot me dead, as a joke, and then get all confused when another Magtok doesn't immediately show up to scold them for it! I already had a close call in a job interview where the guy tried to call my bluff when I held a gun to my head. I'm scared and alone and gods, I'm not even the first Magtok to get thrown at this problem! There was a Magtok; he was sent a year ago to scout things out, and he vanished! I haven't found any signs of him anywhere! I-" Whoa, Magtok, calm the **** down! Take a few deep breaths, and hug the catgirl again if you need to. Breathe in, then out. In, then out. Okay listen, there's trying to make someone feel bad for you to garner sympathy and pity, but that's not what just happened here. You went five miles down the highway past Unconscious Manipulation Town and took the first exit into Nervous Breakdown City. That's twice in a row now. You were on the verge of hyperventilating a moment ago. You used the word 'and' to string something like three or four sentences together without stopping to breathe. Worse yet, you admitted weakness, spoke openly about vulnerability, something you normally hate doing, and made it clear that if Caelynn murdered you in this parking lot right now, nobody would ever know. That's not normal Magtok behavior. I'm starting to think maybe you need a night off even more than she does, cyborg. I think you need at least four more hugs if you plan on getting through your mission without some kind of lethal stress-induced accident. Let's do this stupid date thing, okay?

[Arkhosia]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

Admitting his own destitute status doesn't do much to faze Caelynn; it was kinda obvious from the way that he was looting borrowing from the stocks of his own store that perhaps the cyborg wasn't in the most secure of financial positions nowadays... although it was maybe just slightly worse than even the foolish old woman before him had speculated. "Heh, not a chance. I'm not entirely that much better." The remark is punctuated as she timidly separates from Magtok - this time not out of longing or desire, but an unwillingness to cut the hug shorter than he needs. Her response is not quite true, but not entirely false either; Caelynn had done modestly well in these past near-twenty years running a small clinic, but while she wasn't poor by any means, she certainly wasn't anywhere near wealthy.

Aside from that small remark, Caelynn abstains from interrupting Magtok further. Particularly when his letting out the truth turns to near emotional breakdown. Listening with concern and worry, she nods in understanding, waiting for the cyborg to compose himself before speaking. "That's... certainly more stress and terror than even I've had to deal with. I think you need this even more than I do, frankly." The catgirl steps closer to him, inclining her gaze to better meet his. "If you want, I wouldn't mind lending a hand - it's not like I have much more to do besides fret for my daughter anyways... but that conversation can wait 'til later." Reaching out to take Magtok by the hand. almost as if to lead him onward, Caelynn smiles at him with an almost playful little glimmer in her eyes. "Now, where is that pickup truck I've heard so much about?~"

[Lord Magtok]

Mallside Parking Lot

"Down t-this way, I think? H-how's The Olympian sound? It's sort of a bar, arcade, and restaurant. Not fancy or anything, but I know the owner; we can maybe cash in a favor. We'll have to take the shuttle up to Skyside to get there, but it's in the slightly-less-awful part of the city, so we should be okay," Magtok explains, wearing a slightly weary, pained smile as he tries to push past his little meltdown from a moment ago.

"Actually no, that was a lie to make you feel safer. I have no idea what parts of Skyside are less awful; I haven't been there in years. If Felandria can run a business there, it's probably okay, though." Magtok, she's a giantess. What kind of slavers are going to try to pick a fight with someone as huge as she is? It could be smack-dab in the most slaver-infested part of Skyside, and it'd still be relatively safe and profitable.

"I'll drive you home after, just in case. Or we'll just-oh, there's the truck. Let's get going." He caught himself very nearly about to suggest they share the pickup truck for the night, if there's no safer option. No. We are not doing that. That sounds like poor, homeless people talk, and we are not...well, we are poor and homeless, but we can still aspire to something a little more dignified and classy than that when out on a date with a pretty catgirl. We're not Reinholdt, thank you.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"My people? A dangerous question." Shazhan sounds amused. "Answering would be a criminal act, thankfully that has been a non-issue for quite some time now. However, I don't make a habit of breaking the law for free but despite our perceived differences we aren't too different." He gestures at some dwarves at a nearby table. "Like you we consist of particles that together form a coherent intelligence. Switch the particles around and you get nothing, but in the right order you get something truly remarkable. The difference being that the energy that make up our bodies do not decay like yours, but the bonds that form this coherence do however." He gestures at the bandages that form his left arm. "This is the most crude method we use to form coherence however, but the advantage is that its much easier for us to reform our coherence if it for some reason would be scattered. It does happen to your people a lot. Far too easy to break those bodies of yours down, which is why choose to form a different kind of coherence, yes?"

[Arkhosia]

Mallside Parking Lot

"Down t-this way, I think? H-how's The Olympian sound? It's sort of a bar, arcade, and restaurant. Not fancy or anything, but I know the owner; we can maybe cash in a favor. We'll have to take the shuttle up to Skyside to get there, but it's in the slightly-less-awful part of the city, so we should be okay," Magtok explains, wearing a slightly weary, pained smile as he tries to push past his little meltdown from a moment ago.

"Actually no, that was a lie to make you feel safer. I have no idea what parts of Skyside are less awful; I haven't been there in years. If Felandria can run a business there, it's probably okay, though." Magtok, she's a giantess. What kind of slavers are going to try to pick a fight with someone as huge as she is? It could be smack-dab in the most slaver-infested part of Skyside, and it'd still be relatively safe and profitable.

"I'll drive you home after, just in case. Or we'll just-oh, there's the truck. Let's get going." He caught himself very nearly about to suggest they share the pickup truck for the night, if there's no safer option. No. We are not doing that. That sounds like poor, homeless people talk, and we are not...well, we are poor and homeless, but we can still aspire to something a little more dignified and classy than that when out on a date with a pretty catgirl. We're not Reinholdt, thank you.

"That sounds positively delightful, no matter what neighborhood it's in." The catgirl squeezes his hand to accentuate the emphasis. Her playful little smile grew momentarily as Magtok rectifies his lie, noting the tiny little show of honesty with approval. "Sounds like a plan. Home is a bit of a strong word at the moment, right now it's just a nice little hotel room in a grey zone of Inside, but as for the future... who knows?" Caelynn responds, moving to the passenger side door. She hadn't planned for her visit to be more than just that, a short couple of days back before leaving again, but after this... well, it's liable to change.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Your kind are quite secretive then, hmm? Fortunate for me that you're more, mmm, enterprising then. You're quite right, of course. Bodies of flesh are weak and vulnerable and far too much of a liability. I got rid of mine a long time ago. Not many people take the same sort of precautions." Very people take the same number of precautions as Affy, even if they are capable of protecting themselves in similar ways. He's quite thorough about it. "It sounds like "aging" for you comes in the form of the gradual loss of coherence then? Fascinating. Ah, but we're not here to write a book on your kind, are we? I don't mind some more idle conversation if you wish, but I'm happy to get down to business if you'd prefer."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan nods thoughtfully. "Mmm... I do like the sound of business. Perhaps we should first start with what you are interested in getting for me, I do already have a wish list for myself of objects and people I would to acquire."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"People?" Affy asks, raising an eyebrow. There's a sly grin to accompany that raised eyebrow though - he's intrigued, not concerned. "I was perhaps, mm, hoping I could provide something new of interest to you that wouldn't necessarily be on your list. But please, list away, I'm curious to see what sort of things capture your attention. We all have our little collections..."

[CosmicHobbit]

[Haemonics]

Chaos walks into Haemonics, looking like a man on a mission. He walks right up to the counter and waits for somebody to say something to him.

Chaos is wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, as well as combat boots. He has blond hair cut at his shoulders and black, rectangular glasses. The most strange part about him are his piercing red eyes, which definitely aren't human.

EDIT: Seeing as happyturtle doesn't post here anymore, Chaos gets some dragon blood and leaves.

[Felandria]

Nommin’ On Pretzels!

As promised, Felandria and Reinholdt have arrived at the mall and Felandria has treated Rein to a big soft pretzel with optional dipping sauce from the pretzel kiosk that any mall in the multiverse is legally required to have, lest they get officially downgraded to “shopping center”.

Mmm, so soft and warm.

How’s yours?

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Ah, let's see then." A holographic wrist computer appear on Shazhan's wrist and he touches a holographic button on it.
A holographic list appears and as Shazhan moves his finger across the "computer" a number of the items listed become highlighted and enlarged.



Wenomir's Sword, "the answer"
A set of Cybernetic Eyes from prominent Magtok Clones
The Full Skeleton of Reinholdt
The Royal Crown of house Sky of Skyside.
Kirk Locke's Jade Hand
Vax Teplos
Ellrin and his collection
The teeth of the dragon Nyneve
The daemonic essence of Jezebel
The Complete Staff "The Daybringer"
Ambrosia Ithil


"A few selected examples, should give you an idea of what I'm on about. Some of these took quite some research to even find out about."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"A collector with an eye for the unusual, the valuable, the unique. You have very ambitious tastes. I admire that. Though some of these seem like they come with quite a bit of risk to them - if you ever went after these yourself, your life would likely be in serious jeopardy." Affidavit folds his arms and rests them on the table with a curious smile on his face, "As far as I know, I'm the only person walking around the Nexus in this sort of form. Am I going to find myself on that list of yours?"

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan chuckles. "Well, of course. Do not worry though, the point of this list, as you so acutely observed, was to show just how ambitious it is. So ambitious in fact that a great deal of the things on it will never come to fruition. While I believe that I made sure that my coherence in never truly in danger there are so many other things that you can lose than your life. Either way, while I am a collector, I am also practical. Simply see it as a list of things that I admire, since isn't that what really drives us? The things that we don't have." The ethereal moves his index finger down slightly and a new name appear on the list,
Affidavit

[Reinholdt]

[Nommin' on Pretzels]

Reinholdt is forced to shift into humanoid fey form to enjoy his pretzel. It's really not healthy for small cats to eat large pretzels. Probably. It's questionable healthy for humanoids too. But it is delicious.

"It's good, thank you. The cinnamon dip really makes it exquisite."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Ah. Ahaha, oh, it's good to know there are still people like you in the Nexus." The Prof looks absolutely delighted. What a joy it is to encounter someone possessing ambition without an unhealthy obsession in such works of fiction as gods and godhood. There's been far too much god talk lately. "You're quite right of course - we are driven by that which we do not have, what we don't know, what we haven't achieved yet." Affy chuckles, "A problem I've found myself wrestling with lately. What do you do when you've achieved everything you set out to do? Perhaps, mm, I should've taken a page from your book, hmm? I should've made a much longer list to begin with. Ah, I apologise, it's been a while since I've had such an intellectually stimulating conversation - let me know if you tire of this chat, and I'll get on with demonstrating what I'd like to offer you."

[Felandria]

[Nommin' on Pretzels]

Reinholdt is forced to shift into humanoid fey form to enjoy his pretzel. It's really not healthy for small cats to eat large pretzels. Probably. It's questionable healthy for humanoids too. But it is delicious.

"It's good, thank you. The cinnamon dip really makes it exquisite."

I’m glad you like it, they’re really nummy.

So, any good furniture places here?

Oh, what do you think in terms of color, I know he has that whole purple thing going, but I feel getting him a purple couch is a little on the nose.

[Reinholdt]

[Pretzels]

"Don't you want to be on the nose for furniture so it doesn't clash with anything else?" Reinholdt thought that was the goal.

He ends up shrugging though. "I wouldn't know. I don't know a thing about furniture. Haven't bought any my whole life." So he definitely doesn't know if there's any good stores around here for that sort of thing.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan leans back in his chair, and while his "face" isn't able to form any human expression his eyes seem to shine especially bright when Affy chuckles. "Indeed." He agrees, sounding amused. Suggesting the glow might signify enthusiasm. "There was a time when I seemed to have lost a clear purpose, until I learned that I must create my own. There is no other force than ourselves that can drive us to accomplish the impossible. But speaking of which, I get the idea that you are a master of doing just that so tell me of these offers of yours."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"That's one way of putting it. But, mmm, if you do the impossible, it just means you didn't understand what was possible to begin with. Still, I see your point - to many people it would certainly seem imopssible." Affidavit twirls his cane and gives it one firm tap against the ground. "I have the privilege of being responsible for the existence of a truly unique form of life. In all my time in the Nexus, I've never seen anyone even come close to creating the same sort of thing I did. Something utterly unique - something that only I could provide."

As Affy talks, a thin layer of fluid-like metal slides off from every metal object in sight - handrails from the escalators behind them, from the frame of every table, every chair, including the one Shazhan is sitting on. Myriad pools of mercurial metal scattered all over the food hall.

Another tap of the cane.

"My Creations. Living metal creatures, so much more than the automatons everyone always mistook them for. At first, their design was simple, my inspiration very...mundane. I built them to mimic various forms of life. But the Nexus is a wonderful place for inspiring the mind. I learned. They grew more advanced, very quickly."

The various pools of metal slither over towards them, forming one large pool by the side of their table.

"The Creations, such as they are, exist on their own now, without my guidance. But that doesn't stop me from making a new one. Our friend here has a sort of, mmm, distributed form of intelligence. As a whole it is quite advanced. As it divides itself up, each part can function on its own in steadily simpler manners. But it's still enough to, say, record everything in this food hall. And when each little piece is such a simple creature, it becomes practically undetectable. You'd notice a whole anthill, yes? But would you notice a single ant sneaking into your house every day to watch you?"

[Felandria]

[Pretzels]

"Don't you want to be on the nose for furniture so it doesn't clash with anything else?" Reinholdt thought that was the goal.

He ends up shrugging though. "I wouldn't know. I don't know a thing about furniture. Haven't bought any my whole life." So he definitely doesn't know if there's any good stores around here for that sort of thing.

I guess you’re right.

I suppose it’s Electronics Asylum for you, though.

Especially since the alternative is MagMart.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan's eyes flare again as soon as Affy uses the word "unique".
He then leans forward, folding his mummified hands together as the professor starts explaining.
Immediately as Affy finishes, the ethereal speaks up, asking a question that he must have had all this time. "Why did you make these beings? You say they are independent from you, was this always the purpose? To me, a machine is something that only does what its tasked to do, but once it does more it becomes something else. So, were creations of yours intended as tools that became something more, or was the goal always to make something that would eventually break free?"

[Reinholdt]

I guess you’re right.

I suppose it’s Electronics Asylum for you, though.

Especially since the alternative is MagMart.

[Pretzels]

"Right. The Electronics Asylum." Reinholdt affirms, not telling Felandria that the stuff he's buying is far too shady to be held in that type of store. Generally not sold in malls at all. But that's ok. He knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a girl and they all like money.

"I'll trust you to pick out some good furniture! Good luck! I'll meet you back here when you're done." Reinholdt turns to head off to go get his illicit shopping out of the way.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"The goal was to create a new form of life and then perfect it. Machines are, mm, too limited. Even a self-learning machine can't evolve in the way my creations did. To say they broke free is a little inaccurate. Hmm, consider our friend here with its distributed intelligence." Affidavit nods to the pool of metal and with the signal from the cane, it starts to divide into smaller and smaller pieces.

"When I abandoned my original body, I took up residence within the creations' mental network. In this case each new creation does not diminish the overall intelligence as this thing does when it divides, but there was only ever one me. So while my intelligence did not diminish, my personality, my sense of self was gradually distributed over more and more bodies."

The pools continue to divide, rapidly, tens become hundreds become thousands until they're all so tiny that they're barely visible. "This, essentially, is what happened to me. I became distributed over so many bodies that eventually it became impossible to observe the me within them. All this was expected. All this was prepared for. The me sitting before you is the "backup" of sorts. The real me is still in the creations somewhere, but it'd be a monumental task to ever draw him back out. He achieved his goal - they stand on their own without need for guidance any more. I have no desire to pursue a similar course, but making a single new creation, made to your exact specifications insofar as is possible? Well, that's something I can quite happily do. And you would have quite the collector's piece."

[WarKitty]

[Coyote House]

Well that wasn't really where she was expecting this to go.
"Er...very interesting story?"

'Lara' glances down at the mention of corn cake, before slowly shaking her head.
"No...thank you. So you're helping for the sake of the story?"

Something like that. And she did seem like a nice person. But I don't suppose you've encountered too many nice powers, have you?

[Chaotic Bob]

[Coyote House]

That isn't a suspicious topic direction at all.
Although perhaps, mostly just worrying?
"When you live in darkness, you can't be surprised by the lack of light."

Somewhat melodramatic, but she did always devote herself to helping the less-than-happy portions of the world, where positivity was lacking.
Things were even going pretty well, up until they weren't anyway. One bad decision and it was a very literal end to everything positive in her life.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazans attention turns to the creation as Affy indicates it. "So not completely unlike my own kind then. Many individuals, all linked up to one another in a greater "hive-mind"." He observes.
"But having something like that... well, what did you say you wanted in exchange again?" The shine in his eyes indicate that they considering this interesting at the very least.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"I'm not sure there is any degree of individuality left among the Creations, but it doesn't sound dissimilar." At what point does a hive mind cease to be a whole made up of many individuals and instead becomes an individual with many bodies?

"As for what I'd like in return..." Affidavit pauses, smiling slightly, his eyes focused on Shazhan. Seems he's got the ethereal's interest, yes? This certainly seems promising. He quietly, rhythmically taps his cane as he contemplates the question. Of course he already has an answer, but sometimes it's fun to drag things out just a little to try and entice the other person just a little more.

"I would like access to KABAL's services, ideally some form of, mmm, priority access if such a thing can be arranged. And I'd be delighted if you could offer me some form of technology unique to your kind that might similarly capture my interest."

[Lord Magtok]

Just Outside Arcane Threads

"We'll get you something to eat later, Fidelia," Saint Lazarus promises as she leads the way through Mallside, garbed in her usual feudal-era plate armor, her zweihänder sitting in a scabbard tied to her back, obnoxiously defying historical accuracy and efficiency as it hangs there, almost useless in any sort of situation where she'd actually need to use it. Mallside is usually good about keeping people from causing that kind of trouble, though. I'm sure everything will be fine.

[Arkhosia]

Just Outside Arcane Threads

"That's fine, I can wait." Fidelia reassures Lazarus as she follows close behind, a threadbare jacket far too large for her wrapped around a scrawny form in a worn tee and torn leggings. She shivered at the feeling of her bare feet on the tiles of the mall, glancing around the place with a slight sense of wonder. She'd never been in a mall before - the paid security tended to throw her kind out anyways - and the relative opulence next to the dirty streets of Skyside or Jen's respectable apartment was new to her.

[Lord Magtok]

Just Outside Arcane Threads => Arcane Threads

"So I don't know if there's any sort of designs you like, or aesthetic you're really into, but I was thinking we'd start with a pair of shoes, some socks, and just two or three full outfits, and try to keep it under [a fairly modest budget]," Saint Lazarus explains, leading the way into the store. It used to be nice, shopping in places like this for herself. Nowadays it's just too much trouble for Jen to show her face here. She knows her mom still comes here now and then, hell, she's seen her mom walking around in Mallside before. Nearly had a heart attack before she remembered that her mom can't see through helmets and also that her heart doesn't actually function anymore.

[Arkhosia]

Arcane Threads

"...I'm, uh, not really sure either." The urchin look a little sheepish at this admittance. Not having much of a luxury when it came to clothing was just something she was used to, and it had never really hit her until just now that most people had a much better selection than whatever they could snatch from an outdoor display, found discarded on the streets, or scrounged up enough money to buy from the local Magvation Army.

Nodding curtly at the restrictions and inwardly repeating them to herself to help remember - as well as making a mental note to look up what "aesthetics" were - Fidelia will drift towards the aisles, looking through them curiously. There were so many different designs, so many vibrant colors and fresh, new articles of clothing. It was a degree of choice that was far beyond what she was used to. Eventually though, her drifting comes to a stop, and the woman pauses in front of a rack of skirts, myriad in style, color and length. She just kind of stares at them for a few moments, as if oddly afraid to touch them.

[Lord Magtok]

Arcane Threads

"You're allowed to go change and try clothes on over there, Fidelia," Saint Lazarus explains, pointing out the dressing room I hope Arcane Threads actually has so I don't look like a complete dingus, assuming things about a location that doesn't belong to me.

"We don't get charged for the clothes unless you decide you like them enough to take them home. We've got at least two or three hours to spare, and I hear this place has everything, so take as long as you need. I'm here if you need anything. Figure out what's you," she says, leaning against a wall, trying to look casual in medieval plate armor.

[Arkhosia]

Arcane Threads

Fidelia nods, but it's not nearly with the same attention that she normally would. Like she's only sort of registered what Lazarus had said, more focused on her own thoughts than the vigilante's words. Taking a small step forward, the woman reaches out, hesitantly lifting one of the skirts off of the rack. She holds the black garment gingerly, staring at it for a second.

"I... I just realized I've never worn a skirt before." She speaks quietly, slightly more to herself than to Lazarus in particular. That's... that's what girls are supposed to do, right? Wear skirts, go to school, look pretty? Go home and spend time with people they cared about every day? Things Fidelia never really got to do, especially not since her father passed all those years ago. But now, she might be able to have those things she missed.

Pressing the garment close to her chest, Fidelia takes a deep breath, wiping away a tear from her eye. A small little smile forms on her lips, and she tucks it under her arm, before turning to start looking through the other racks. She's still kind of drifting, a little unsure, but she seems... happier, feeling a little better about herself.

[Lord Magtok]

Arcane Threads

Jenette Saint Lazarus more or less remains put, keeping a close eye on Fidelia, giving her a thumbs up when something she picks out looks like it might be the right size for her, and mostly just trying to let Fidelia make her own choices without Saint Lazarus's own opinions and tastes muddying the waters here. If that means Fidelia ends up coming out of the changing room wearing tye-dye shirts and striped leggings, or formal white button-up shirt with bright red short shorts, so be it. Let Fidelia have her fun for now. She'll save the 'maybe you should try something a little more sane' talk for when it's time to ring everything up with the cashier.

[Arkhosia]

Arcane Threads

Fidelia spends a while trying on new outfits of all sorts - nothing as outlandishly atrocious as a tuxedo and short shorts, but she certainly takes the time to experiment and try new things, looking towards Lazarus for approval. In the end she returns with a pair of sneakers, some plain white socks, a pair of comfy cargo pants and a tank top, a mid-length black skirt, simple stockings and pink sweater, and a green tee shirt, hoodie and jeans. "These... these aren't too pricey, right?" She asks with measured hope, suspecting that she was probably a dollar or two over budget.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan appears to be considering this offer for a moment. "Is there any specific kind of technology that you're especially interested in? My people have a disdain for weapons, but as I always say, any technology sufficiently advanced can be used as a tool for mass destruction if you try hard enough. I should mention that owning any of my people's technology will automatically brand you as a criminal by their laws. But I suspect that such concerns stopped mattering to you eons ago. Even the goblins are getting away with it these days."

[Lord Magtok]

Arcane Threads

"You're good, Fidelia." Saint Laz assures her, as the clothes are rung up. In actuality, Fidelia is a few dollars over the budget, but that's fine. Saint Lazarus isn't going to mention it. Jen will just take it out of her food budget and make Fidelia eat dog food later. It simply means she'll need to work harder and take on wealthier-looking criminals to make rent this month. Maybe tear through that one bar owned and operated by one of the Skyside gangs she's been harassing recently. That's fine, though. Fidelia seems like she hasn't been allowed to be happy or optimistic about anything in a really, really long time. What kind of hero would she be if she didn't splurge a little now and then to help the downtrodden feel less trod upon?

"Okay, now before we head to the food court, was there anything else you might need, while we're here?" Saint Laz figures the beggar girl's probably too overwhelmed by this show of generosity as is, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

[Arkhosia]

Arcane Threads

Fidelia nods, but even so, she keeps an eye on the cost as the garments get rung up, wincing a little bit when she notices that she had indeed gone a little over budget. She didn't know a pair of stockings could be so costly! Maybe she should offer to put them back... but the reassuring response convinces the beggar to let the matter go. It would be rude of her to insist on this matter, to argue over a tiny little thing when Jen had gone out of her way to be so charitable already. Instead, Fidelia makes a mental note to hold onto the receipt if she can; maybe she can find a way to repay the cost in the future.

"No, I think this is all I need." she answers, giving Lazarus a warm and grateful little smile. She had food and shelter now, she had clothing, and she still had her knife. What else could she need?

[Lord Magtok]

Arcane Threads => Food Court

"Alright, well then let's get something to eat and talk about your whole life debt thing." Saint Lazarus nods, figuring she can probably have Fidelia set up with a part-time job, a halfway decent apartment in Inside, and an excuse to get out of the life debt in a matter of months, probably. Maybe pretend to not notice some thug with a knife behind her, so Fidelia can stab the guy in the back or something. She'll need some kind of armor of her own, though. Something lightweight and innocuous, like those seemingly normal clothes with the armor plating that hardens when struck. Not everyone can ignore a dozen bullets to the chest as easily as Saint Lazarus can.

[Arkhosia]

Arcane Threads => Food Court

"Alright, well then let's get something to eat and talk about your whole life debt thing." Saint Lazarus nods, figuring she can probably have Fidelia set up with a part-time job, a halfway decent apartment in Inside, and an excuse to get out of the life debt in a matter of months, probably. Maybe pretend to not notice some thug with a knife behind her, so Fidelia can stab the guy in the back or something. She'll need some kind of armor of her own, though. Something lightweight and innocuous, like those seemingly normal clothes with the armor plating that hardens when struck. Not everyone can ignore a dozen bullets to the chest as easily as Saint Lazarus can.

The smaller woman nods, a smile still on her face. It sounded like a good plan to her, and she wasn't going to object. It had been... a while since she last ate, and the offer of not just food, but (relatively) fresh, warm food straight from a storefront as opposed to something scraped together and reheated over a makeshift fire was something she just couldn't refuse.

As they enter the food court, Fidelia's eyes widen at the sight. Wow. That's... a lot of options. I mean, she wasn't clueless, she knew there were plenty of different styles of cuisine, but it was one thing to know and another thing entirely to see it with her own eyes as she looked around the spacious dining area. Glorious Arstotzkan Meat Hub, Krikebulin's Kobold Cuisine, Eden's Eatings, Chik-Fil-a... frankly, Fidelia wasn't sure how people were expected to choose in the first place!

So, being so utterly at a loss, Fidelia does the next best thing; "A-anywhere you'd recommend?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"I suppose it depends what you consider a weapon. Look at how quiet it is in here - in the right hands, a sustained period of subtle manipulation like this could bring a country to its knees." There's a certain hint of satisfaction to that statement as if Affy has proven that statement true before. "I'll tell you what does matter to me at the moment - any methods of protection, particularly against arcane magic, outside that which I'm already familiar with. How, mmm, does your kind protect themselves from harm?"

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Mostly by transporting themselves out of harms reach, or transporting the harm out of theirs. My people are nomadic by nature, we don't really need to gather resources for our survival so why have permanent homes? But if you do have such places in need of protection, there are alternatives. Powerful shields are something they have access to and I know for a fact that most weapons on this plane can't break through them. There is a problem though, while I easily could hand over a shield projector they don't last very long without direct access to the nether, the place where my people come from. Its energy is used to fuel a lot of our technology, which is also why its closed to outsiders. That way even if 'lesser beings' would get their hands on our technology they wouldn't be able to use it for very long. Think it as a heavily encrypted reality server that can transfer energy to anything that can access it." Shazhan explains. "Even I must use batteries to fuel the gadgets I've managed to salvage. It's the reason very few ever leave the collective. They have full control of who can access what and as soon you break the laws, they cut you off."

[Lord Magtok]

A Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Saint Lazarus shrugs. She isn't really sure what to recommend. It's been almost an entire year since she's been capable of eating at any of these places...well, except maybe Carcosa Burger, if the rumors are true. She'd rather eat at a place that openly serves human flesh, rather than one that's merely rumored to do that, though. She'd have to go alone, too. Can't go bringing Fidelia to a place like that, risk her getting ground up into a combo platter. It'd be a real waste, since she's not even close to being in the right shape for that. Not enough lean meat, nowhere near enough fat, and far too scrawny to even justify all the time and prep involved in preparing her for human consumption. Why, it's-oh god she's thinking about eating Fidelia again. Stop it, zombie brain! She's our friend, not food!

"I dunno. Kobold Cuisine's kinda weird, and Chik-Fil-a is just that silly gimmick place. I'm surprised Carcosa wasn't shut down or something. Oh, I never really got to try Eden's or Glorious Arstotzkan Meat before it was too late! Always wanted to, never found time." Oh, there's an idea! Make Fidelia eat the food and tell her what it's like! It'll almost be like being able to eat food herself again, sorta.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"The nether, hmm?" Affy rubs his chin thoughtfully, "A shield projector certainly sounds interesting, and I dare say I'd be able to rig up some alternate method of powering it, given enough time. I'd just need to design something to modify the output of an energy source to match the form it'd be drawn on from the nether. Sort of, mmm, purifying the energy, as it were." He leans forward, an eager expression on his face, "But perhaps there's room to expand our collaboration here. If it's enough to power their entire civilisation, this nether must be a near-limitless energy source, yes? I wonder if we couldn't engineer a way of accessing it that escapes their detection."

[Arkhosia]

A Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Fidelia considers the narrowed-down options presented, hesitating a little, before eventually settling on Glorious Arstotzkan Meat Buffet. I mean, with a name like that, it's gotta be good right?

Well, not so much. There's plenty of colorful cuisine - schnitzel, blutwurst currywurst, Konisburg meatballs- but there's also potatoes, bread, and an unappetizing concoction labeled "Street Rat Stew" - and something tells Fidelia that may be a descriptor rather than a fancy name. Eventually though, the woman decides upon a hefty helping of goulash and a side of diced and seasoned potatoes, a glass of Vita-Cola and some bratwurst. Finding the pair a seat, she certainly doesn't waste any time digging in, stuffing down the steaming hot food with relish. Sure, it may be a pale imitation of the quality a real restaurant or a home-cooked meal offers, but to Fidelia, it's positively divine.

[Lord Magtok]

A Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

If Saint Lazarus were still Jenette, she imagines watching Fidelia eat all this would be the worst. The smell alone would have her insisting upon stealing a potato or something, surely. Fortunately...or maybe unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, nothing like that happens. Watching Fidelia eat all of that is like watching someone eat sand, or maybe gravel, or even pizza with slices of pineapple on it. Laz just feels nothing.

"Hey Fidelia, I don't know what your intentions are with this life debt thing, but just as a reminder, I do a lot of murdering bad guys and then eating them later," Laz starts, figuring that some conversation might help distract herself from the sapiovore angst. It might also ruin Fidelia's appetite, but whatever. She can always take her leftovers home and save them for later, right? "I don't know how involved in that sort of thing you want to get, or if you'd rather stick to the sidelines and just take armor repair and sword maintenance classes, but we should probably figure it out soon. Romero likes you, but I've got rent and expenses to think about. I don't mind helping, really, I don't, but I'm not rich enough to keep doing it forever for free." The budget's being stretched pretty thin as is, and when the majority of one's income comes from looting dead muggers and selling their stuff at the pawnshop, making regular bill payments can be almost as challenging as hunting dangerous criminals for a living.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"The nether, hmm?" Affy rubs his chin thoughtfully, "A shield projector certainly sounds interesting, and I dare say I'd be able to rig up some alternate method of powering it, given enough time. I'd just need to design something to modify the output of an energy source to match the form it'd be drawn on from the nether. Sort of, mmm, purifying the energy, as it were." He leans forward, an eager expression on his face, "But perhaps there's room to expand our collaboration here. If it's enough to power their entire civilisation, this nether must be a near-limitless energy source, yes? I wonder if we couldn't engineer a way of accessing it that escapes their detection."

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"It's an venue that I and many else have attempted to explore. The issue is that this energy isn't just powering my people's civilization, it actually makes them up." Shazhan leans backward as he seems to want to keep a certain distance between them, then gesturing at himself. "I mentioned how I'm a form of coherent energy, yes? Well, that energy originally comes from the nether. The entire realm is literary made up by what could become new ethereals. We're attuned to it in a way that I'm afraid i can't really properly describe as there is no equivalent to humans. I guess it could be like feeling the wind or the direction of a stream underwater, though that isn't the best analogy either. Let's just say that it would be like you'd be stealing fetuses from a hospital. Eventually someone would notice. It isn't just a remote energy source like oil or running water, its quite literary what we are. That energy have just been molded, like your universe have eventually molded star stuff into meat brains, into a pattern you recognize as a sapient being."

[Arkhosia]

A Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Ha! If you think that's going to make Fidelia falter in zealously glutting herself on this delicious meal... well, you'd be right, but only a little. She slows down briefly as Jen's words make her recall the sight of extra-rare bandana boy shank, but the hot scent of bratwurst swiftly distracts and rejuvenates whatever appetite the memory had ruined.

"Nothing to it. It just... doesn't feel right if I don't repay it. Especially after... that." The girl shudders, a sense of melancholy briefly cast across her features. Not exactly pleasant memories. But Fidelia doesn't dwell on them, her mood brightening as she swiftly shifts gears to just how she could do her part."Well... I don't mind getting involved. I've been in plenty of fights before, gotten pretty good with a knife." she gestures idly with a forkful of potato as she responds, taking a bite between sentences "But I could do repairs, too... I can actually make metal heal, sorta. Don't... really know how I do it, though."

It was something the street rat had first discovered a couple years ago when the venerable old switchblade she was using at the time snapped in half, holding the two broken pieces together in disbelief before watching in shock as her frantic refusals that this couldn't be happening suddenly came true. but even after all that time, and a few other moments of stubbornly willing for nicked blades, broken locks or rusted-out ladders to mend, Fidelia still didn't have a clue. She suspected it probably had something to do with the strange blemishes upon her thigh, but that was as far as she got.

[Lord Magtok]

A Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Saint Lazarus raises an eyebrow (nobody can even see it, so why am I mentioning it?) before removing one of her gauntlets, setting it down on the table. After that's done, she stands up, places her foot on her seat, and unfastens one of her greaves, setting the slightly dented metal shinguard on the table next to the gauntlet. She briefly pauses after that, thinking about drawing her sword from its scabbard and pointing out the nicks and minor structural damage to the blade, but that can wait until later, when they're not in a public space where drawing a large two-handed sword could be looked upon with fear and distaste.

"Alright. Well, a couple of the fingers on the greave pinch at the tips, because they were smashed in that last fight, and there's a bullet hole in the back of the left greave from when someone shot me in the back of the calf a couple weeks ago. No big deal really, but the unwanted ventilation shaft could be a problem if I stepped in a puddle," Saint Lazarus explains, sitting back down and turning the greave around so Fidelia can see the teeny bullet opening for herself. ""Can you show off your magic here and now, or do you need special conditions to make it work?" If Fidelia thought Jen wasn't going to want a demonstration right here and now, she was way off. It's magic! It's magic that could help her specifically, since all her equipment is metal! This is a fantastic opportunity, provided Fidelia doesn't need to sacrifice a newborn or something to cast her spells.

[Arkhosia]

Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Finishing off the last few bites of goulash, Fidelia watches as Jen wordlessly strips off the two pieces of armor, tilting her head ever so slightly in confusion. It wasn't that warm in the food court and her armor couldn't be *that* stifling... right? She'd never worn armor before, but she understood that metal wasn't great for insulation.

"Sure! I'll see what I can do...." The woman's green eyes brighten, and she reaches out to accept the punctured greave. Jen wasn't the only one eager here; Fidelia instantly recognized this for what it was. She was getting an opportunity to start giving back to the woman who had saved her and who she owed so much already... and it also gave her a chance to maybe even impress her a little bit.

Drawing the armored plate nearer, she wrapped her smaller hands around either end, closed her eyes, took a deep breath... and focused. At first, nothing seems to happen... but after a second, the metal begins to glow faintly, and time seems to almost reverse. The flared-in puncture gradually folds back in and the edges flow into each other, bonds reforming into what they once were. The weathered face of the greave starts to ease, and the faint scarring of the elements from months of use subsides. It won't be pristine, glinting in the artificial lighting of the food court... but it will look less battered, at least.

Fidelia repeats the same process with the gauntlet next, slowly and carefully setting the components back down upon the table. A small little smile spreads upon the urchin's face as she gently inclines her head to look back up towards Jen as she does so, her eyes seeking a sign of approval. Jen's own eyes might note that the action was not without cost, however; Fidelia is a little paler, and she's actually feeling slightly dizzy. The recompense for such a reversal was some of the erstwhile beggar's energy, and it had left her a little worn down and disoriented. She tried to hide this, though; no sense in making Jen feel bad it!

[Lord Magtok]

Slightly Noisier Part of the Food Court

Silly Fidelia, you can't hide what's written all over your face. Not without a helmet like Saint Lazarus's, anyway. A bare, unarmored hand gently takes hold of her chin, turning her head this way and that. Yep, just as suspected. The magic takes a lot out of the girl, and this was some fairly minor damage, so Laz won't be able to just run through a barrage of machine gun fire and expect to have all the holes sealed up the very next evening. Not so long as the homeless girl's stamina can be drained this quickly.

"Maybe with some cardio, and a better diet..." the ghoul knight mumbles to herself, something vaguely resembling a plan coalescing into existence in her head. Just have to do what she can to work past years of malnutrition and beatings and everything else the streets have done to Fidelia. Of course, the street rat herself probably won't be nearly as excited when she finds out what her debtor has in mind, but what's an early morning ten mile jog or two between friends?

[Arkhosia]

Somewhat Louder Section of the Dining Area

”J-Jen, please... I’m fine...” The woman protests weakly as the knight examines her. She reaches up to grasp the hand clutching her chin, wrapping her surprisingly delicate fingers around the ghoul’s wrist... but Fidelia can’t bring herself to actually pull it away, and her hand merely lingers in a gentle grasp until Jen withdraws. As much as she doesn’t want the knight to fret about her wellbeing, Fidelia isn’t willing to relinquish the physical contact. It’s a pleasant feeling, something she can barely remember experiencing... well, not in a friendly or kind manner, at least.

This response shouldn’t halt Jen’s examination, nor her train of thought, however, and the street rat stares back at the knight with a shyly questioning look as the gears begin to turn behind her metal carapace. She doesn’t speak further however, simply waiting for the thought to be concluded. She certainly had no idea about what the knight might have in store of her, or else she might not have been so quiet.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Hmm..." Affidavit frowns, tapping his cane lightly, contemplating this little problem. "Well, whether or not they would notice is rather dependent on just how much capacity the nether has, hmm? Assume we're able to find a way in without being detected - as long as we weren't taking it from the same place, I rather suspect we could get away with it. And it doesn't seem like much of a moral dilemma if your kind is already willing to use that energy for purposes other than creating life. Food for thought, perhaps, but something to plan out another time I think." Back to the matter at hand for now - what can Shazhan do for him right now? "I suspect I could probably rig anything you provide to run off some alternate energy source. Protection remains my primary concern, but if there are issues with keeping any such device powered, perhaps something more suitable for, mmm, experimenting with?"

[Lord Magtok]

Somewhat Louder Section of the Dining Area

"You're not. There'll be lots of chances to use your power, but if it makes you this drained, you'll have to be careful with it," the ghoul insists, before backing off and letting Fidelia have her chin back. Alternatively, maybe practice makes perfect here? It's unlikely Fidelia needed to use her power more than every few months out in the streets of Skyside, but with Saint Lazarus's regularly scheduled criminal beatdowns, her armor is bound to pick up a few dents and scratches that Fidelia could practice on.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"I did not mean to pose it as a moral dilemma..." Shazhan pauses for a moment. "Ah, fetuses do have a special status among your people, don't they? My bad. Metaphors doesn't seem to be my strong suit. But what I meant to convey with it was that all nether has to potential to become a sapient being. But at the same time, it also has the potential to become simple fuel. I suppose the closest comparison would be those medical treatments humans use where they grow parts of a human simply to use as spare parts of another. But that aside, currently I don't have a way of coming in undetected. If I had, I would have already used it. Of course, you seem to have far more scientific resources than KABAL do, so perhaps if I could have a peek at it i could see something that could be used to become undetected."

"As for an alternative power source, I am open to experimenting with it. While these devices are supposed to be hardwired to the nether, the goblins have already reversed engineered a lot of them so its possible. Especially for a person of your caliber."

[Arkhosia]

Moderately More Cacophonous Cafeteria

Fidelia's lips start to part as she attempts to formulate a response, but she pauses nearly an instant later. Reason prevails and she seals her mouth shut, opting instead for a reluctant nod. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was the truth. And if she was to repay Jen like she swore she would, she would have to take care of herself. What help can she be in a state like this?

"Y-you're right, I'm sorry. I... I should know better." The urchin's gaze lowers a little, folding her hands in her lap. After a moment, she adds with a chuckle, "I guess I'm getting a little eager to do my part. I've never gone shopping before like this, and it feels... well, special."

[Lord Magtok]

Appreciably More Boisterous Division of the Mall's Cuisine Sector

"It's not that big of a deal. I mean, it's the least I can do for my new life-debtee sidekick roommate...squire?" Saint Lazarus tilts her head to one side. None of those terms felt especially great, in part because she's still not entirely on board with this whole life debt thing. There's a sizable portion of her that doesn't feel she deserves any kind of help, let alone something as extreme as a life debt's worth of help. She just saved your life so she could eat, Fidelia, it's not that big of a deal. Your savior is just some gross zombie monster who's probably going to get shot to pieces while trying to take down a gang, and then thrown into a dumpster somewhere, thrashing about desperately for flesh as she's buried in a landfill somewhere until the last motes of necromantic energy keeping her base instincts intact wink out of existence. It's not something you should lionize or be inspired by in this way.

[Recaiden]

One morning, Honeysuckle turns up.
She's meeting Felandria here once the latter gets back from the Olympian. Sure, they might live in the same place, but they're very busy people! Meeting here makes more sense.
The blindfold she has on sparkles like the stars, but her ears and tails droop a bit. This day out might well make her nervous enough to need another day out. :smalltongue:

[Arkhosia]

Quite Notably Loquacious and Din-Filled Quarter of the Area in Which Sustenance May Be Acquired

"Fair point." Fidelia acquiesces, smiling a little. It was nice to hear Jen call her something like that. She pauses for a second, thinking, before moving to stand up. She grabs her tray, ready to throw away the last couple remnants of her meal. "...I'm ready to go when you are. Is... there anything else we need to do first?"

[Felandria]

One morning, Honeysuckle turns up.
She's meeting Felandria here once the latter gets back from the Olympian. Sure, they might live in the same place, but they're very busy people! Meeting here makes more sense.
The blindfold she has on sparkles like the stars, but her ears and tails droop a bit. This day out might well make her nervous enough to need another day out. :smalltongue:

A wild Fel appears!

Her hair in a ponytail, she’s wearing jeans, a tee shirt and sneakers.

Hey, Honeysuckle, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.

Ready for pampering and pretzels?

[Lord Magtok]

Food Place, But Loud

"Nope. There's a gang-owned bar in Skyside I was hoping to check out, though," the ghoul admits, squinting at and wordlessly judging Fidelia beneath her helmet as she throws out perfectly good food. Dammit, Fidelia, there are starving ghouls out there who'd kill for a meal like that! They frequently do kill for meals like that! How can you just throw away entirely serviceable leftovers?! God, we're starting to think just like mom, aren't we? Jenette's mother had similar complaints almost every night when she was a child, fussing over her vegetables. Man, Laz would kill just to be able to eat those vegetables again, even if it meant broccoli every night for the rest of her life. Being an obligate carnivore sucks.

"I'd probably have to go unarmored, though. Someone may've seen a knight beating up small-time street gangs in the area, and the armor stands out a little." More so than being a zombie does, Lazarus? Let's face it, there's no way you're not attracting unwanted attention if you head up there. You're not the kind of person who can blend into a crowd anymore, no matter how you dress or what you do with your hair.

[Recaiden]

A wild Fel appears!

Her hair in a ponytail, she’s wearing jeans, a tee shirt and sneakers.

Hey, Honeysuckle, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.

Ready for pampering and pretzels?

Honeysuckle's ears perk up at sound of the approaching HALO-leader/mayor/landlord/arcade operator/demigoddess.
"Hey Fel. Nah. Just got here myself."
She waves towards the mall and its doubtless-inferior pretzels.
"Lead the way."

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's Place

A second date with Caelynn. We told ourselves this wouldn't happen. We told her it wouldn't happen. We had plenty of good reasons for it to not happen. We acquired another good reason for it to not happen when we found out Libitina was still alive and in need of rescue. Why is it happening?

Well, allow me to explain. See, as it turns out, hosting the Nexus's biggest Halloween party, entertaining all manner of degenerate scum and ruthless psychopaths in your home, that stuff makes your life more stressful, not less. Magtok was already on the precipice as is because of his home's frequent attempts to eat and/or disembowel him, the business with those Inevitables and Krammy, as well as his looming apocalypse situation, if Affidavit's information proves accurate. That's why the party shoved him right off the edge, Fake Libby's mere presence what little composure and tranquility he had left. It became impossible to deny that he was having trouble managing the stress and keeping his life from completely falling apart when Reinholdt of all people was the one to offer him emotional support back there. Ugh.

Anyway, that's why we're here, to relax a little, de-stress after all that excitement and misery. That's why we're out getting ice cream at the mall. We're taking it easy today, skipping the regularly scheduled daily expedition into the MagCave's dangerous depths. We're dating catgirls, not conducting Nazi experiments on geese. We're thinking about what flavor of ice cream to get, not researching what legendary weapon or sacred relic to quest for and then slay a dragon with. We're reluctantly holding hands, not firearms. Yep, today is the day everything is fine, nothing goes wrong, and we stop thinking about death for a little while! The Nexus owes us at least one good day, so why not this one?

"If I remember right, Dana's Place is down this way. Best ice cream in the city. Maybe in the entire Nexus, if you don't count that place in Skyside that sells evil magical ice cream made from the souls of enslaved orphans," the cyborg explains. Magtok, that Skyside place...you made it up just now, didn't you? It doesn't actually exist, right? Right? I mean, as crazy as Skyside gets, they couldn't possibly have a place like that floating up there, right?

...Magtok, please tell me you were joking.

[Arkhosia]

Loud Food

"Sounds like a plan." Fidelia replies simply, turning back towards Jen. "Hopefully I can keep up. I don't exactly have any special durability or anything...." Normally she wouldn't have brought up such a tiny worry, but she can't exactly pay her debt if she's dead. Best to warn Jen, just in case.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"I did not mean to pose it as a moral dilemma..." Shazhan pauses for a moment. "Ah, fetuses do have a special status among your people, don't they? My bad. Metaphors doesn't seem to be my strong suit. But what I meant to convey with it was that all nether has to potential to become a sapient being. But at the same time, it also has the potential to become simple fuel. I suppose the closest comparison would be those medical treatments humans use where they grow parts of a human simply to use as spare parts of another. But that aside, currently I don't have a way of coming in undetected. If I had, I would have already used it. Of course, you seem to have far more scientific resources than KABAL do, so perhaps if I could have a peek at it i could see something that could be used to become undetected."

"As for an alternative power source, I am open to experimenting with it. While these devices are supposed to be hardwired to the nether, the goblins have already reversed engineered a lot of them so its possible. Especially for a person of your caliber."

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"My people? Well, that's an interesting thing to say." Affy smiles as his form abruptly shimmers and shifts between a variety of different humanoids before settling back on his usual self. "This is simply how I choose to look. Without any sort of flesh-y body to prove otherwise any more, I could be anything." The Prof chuckles - it's not a statement made with any seriousness, but you never know...

"I am open to collaborate on some of this, for sure. I have my own secrets I have to keep, but if you can give me an understanding of how they protect the nether, I dare say I can provide something that'd get us around it."

[Reinholdt]

[Dana's Ice Cream]

She's told old for ice cream, Rein told Civvy.
No one's too old for ice cream, Civvy replied.

Thus somehow, Reinholdt ended up inviting Blanche to get some ice cream. Sure a treasure hunt might be more exciting, but it's important to build up to those kind of things. Besides, Blanche seemed super jumpy all the time, so taking her into a cramped dungeon full of traps and monsters didn't seem like the kind of father-daughter bonding that she needs right now.

Besides, this way Rein can grill her all about the most important things.
"And you're sure this Nigel guy wasn't trying to move in on you and take advantage of you? I mean he was pretty sketchy..." Nigel was like the least sketchy person at that party. Even the babies were twice as sketchy as Nigel.

Speaking of sketchy, is that Magtok headed towards the exact same ice cream shop from the opposite direction? Oh geeze. Can't he ever get rid of that guy? This is supposed to be Rein and Blanche day. Not Rein and Blanche and Magtok and... Caelynn?! So she actually did hook up with him again? Rein wasn't sure if Magtok made that up just to dig at Rein a little or something. He's honestly surprised Mag is giving her a second chance.
...
Reinholdt visibly picks up the pace just a little in order to try to get to the door first and hold it open for Blanche, Caelynn, and his arch-nemesis while giving a forced smile and an 'After you'. If there's going to be an awkward day out, there's no way he's going to let Magtok out polite him.

[Arkhosia]

Dana's Ice Cream!

A second date indeed! But while Magtok's motivations might have been propelled by stress and worry, Caelynn's were far simpler. She was there simply because she wanted to spend time with him. That first date had rekindled some long-unresolved feelings from before she left the Nexus, and brought back to the surface the affections she held for the cyborg. And besides, it had been so long since the catgirl had gotten a chance at romance. How could she not accept!

"Well I'm glad you're taking me here instead. It's nice to know even you have standards." Caelynn jests, giving the cyborg an affectionate little smile. "...Then again, I'm probably a point against you there." Her grin turns into a bit more of a smirk there, and she punctuates her remark with a squeeze of his hand. Her behavior was playful and casual... but just below the surface, she was ecstatic. It showed in the slight spring in her step, and a glimmer of youthful exuberance in her tired eyes.


---

...And as Caelynn nears hand in hand with Magtok, Blanche follows Reinholdt, idly wondering why she had agreed to this so quickly. I mean, it's ice cream. What's so special about that? There were so many other, more productive, things she could be doing now. Like practicing at the range, or looking into some odd jobs she could run. Being a member of VIGIL had plenty of benefits, but ammo was expensive. Weapons, explosives and utilities even more so.

"Dad, please, he didn't try anything." She protests. "He seemed more concerned than anything else, honestly. I don't know why, it's not like he was responsible or anything." Punctuating the comment with a shrug, Blanche couldn't help but smile just a little bit. As exasperating as it was to keep insisting "no everything is fine stop worrying about me", it was frankly a little endearing. To know that Reinholdt was already treating her like his daughter after a scant handful of weeks made her feel a little cheerier, more like she belonged. But the smile faded a little as her mind wandered. How often had she taken her mom's concerns for granted, dismissed them outright and even fought with her? They were still friendly, but she could have treated her better -

And that's when Blanche spots the other group. Whereas Reinholdt tries to go with the flow, adapt to the situation... his daughter is a little too surprised to take it all in stride. She freezes, eyes wide in surprise as she stares at the pair. It takes a second for her to find her voice again, and when she does, it's soft, quiet. Vulnerable. "...mom?"

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's

Yikes. This wasn't planned. In fact, this was exactly the sort of familial reunion we were trying to avoid. Caelynn made it pretty clear that Blanche wasn't supposed to know about her mom's return to the Nexus just yet. Most adult children don't react too well to finding out their parent tracked them down and followed them across the cosmos just to make sure they weren't getting into any trouble. Wow, and you've even got Reinholdt here, for added awfulness. This is all kinds of ugly and unfortunate.

"Blanche, Reinholdt. This is...unexpected," Magtok remarks, biting his tongue on a thousand or so far less civil greetings he could've employed instead. Blegh, he'd suggest up and leaving to Caelynn, but Reinholdt is here. It would look like he was conceding defeat if he just let those two have all the ice cream just to avoid any sort of confrontation. Nope, it looks like the only dignified option is to stay the course, and try his best to avoid getting clawed to pieces in the inevitable catfight. Nothing in this life can ever be easy, can it? Not even ice cream. It's still a great deal less awful than the sort of drama and terror he usually has to deal with, however, so he's not too worked up about this. I mean, this is probably going to be mostly Turath family drama, and none of our business, really. If we're lucky, we might not even get involved at all!

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"But you were, ah... hmm, you seem lack a word for it, born? Conceived? Flesh-birth? No matter, what I want to say is, you came from the womb of a mother-female, correct? Or were you made in some other way?" But then Shazhan shakes his head before Affy will be able to answer. "Actually, you don't need to answer that. Not really important. What is though is that the nether is like one gigantic heavily encrypted server. Not exactly comparable but I'm quickly running out of metaphors here. Point is, just accessing at all probably won't be possible from afar. We would need an actual physical port of entry first which in practical terms means that we need access to one of my people that is still a part of the collective."

[Reinholdt]

[Dana's Ice Cream]

Magtok didn't even attempt to race Reinholdt to the door. Rein feels practically insulted. Is Magtok even trying in this relationship anymore?

"Caelynn. Magtok," What impressive acknowledgement skills this group of people have. Caelynn just needs to complete the circle to make it fully ridiculous... Wait. Did Blanche not know her mom was dating Magtok? Yeah, Rein would be horrified too if that was his mom. Poor girl. Rein tries to put one hand gently on her back and rub it so she isn't just standing there in a vulnerable daze of 'omg mom why are you embarrassing me?!'

"Come on inside." Rein's standing there with one hand holding the door and the other trying to calm his shell shocked daughter and no one's getting in the parlor. The ice cream does not come out on delivery!

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Well, since you did ask, no. I was not born in the traditional sense. Think of me, mmm, closer to a clone perhaps? Though not exactly..." Such engaging conversation. This little get together has been very worthwhile if only for that. But this is leading to some very interesting opportunities now. "I wonder how far your server analogy works here, hmm. We need the physical point of entry, but what about once we're in? Can we create a backdoor, a secret entrance just for ourselves? Can we perhaps find a way to mimic the means in which one of your kind still in the collective access the nether? We'd still need one to begin with, but then we might be set indefinitely thereafter. There's opportunity here, definitely."

[Arkhosia]

Dana's Place

Caelynn turned a little pale as the four of them stood there, with an expression of shock that suggested the blonde was also definitely internally panicking right now. "A-Alexis, I-" She starts to speak, but her stuttering attempt to make an excuse for not telling her she was there, to apologize, to... hell, she wasn't even quite sure to be frank - is cut short as her daughter runs over and pulls her mother into a tight hug.

"I-I'm sorry mom, I-I should have stayed in touch, I should have told you were I went." Blanche apologizes with heartfelt emotion in a rare display of vulnerability as she lets go, pulling back a step. The two certainly stood apart - one was toned and tanned, a harder edge in her eyes and a more utilitarian style to her garb, while the other was soft and casually-dressed, a warmer and more calm aura about her. Yet it was impossible to deny that they were family even still, from the features they shared to the care in their expressions.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm not angry at you, I never really was." The reassurance tone changed as Caelynn registered the tension between the two men, and she spoke next with a more gentle and careful manner. "Maybe we should go inside? We... we can talk if you want." she offers, to which Blanche gives a gentle nod, taking a deep breath as she composes herself. And with that, Caelynn will lead the four in, with a motherly smile towards her daughter but a wary glance towards Reinholdt and Magtok.

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's Place

Magtok bites his tongue and keeps his mouth shut as he heads inside, keeping an eye on the cat and a protective hand over his wallet as he does so. So many pithy remarks and passive-aggressive insults kept locked away, just to maintain some semblance of peace and decorum. Blegh, at least there's ice cream in our very near future.

"If anything happens and you need to leave, just say the word," he whispers as he passes by Caelynn. Okay, so he doesn't keep his mouth completely shut, but at least he's not inciting anything this time, right?

[Reinholdt]

[Dana's Place]

Ah. Huh. Well it looks like mother and daughter have a lot to talk about. Alright then. This was their moment. Reinholdt will fall into step after they enter, quietly joining them and giving them space to talk it out. Oh yeah. And Magtok was there too.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

That of course begs the question who the person Affy was cloned from came into being. But Shazhan won't get into that right now. "I'm afraid my expertise is a bit lackluster at this point. I've never had the privilege to see the inner workings of the nether. They literary erased the memories of those who aren't supposed to know about the peculiars. One of the many reasons I decided to leave the collective. Didn't like my mind being altered, something I suspect you'd agree with." The ethereal nods. "But that information can be obtained. We just need a plan to find one of my people first, which means we have to visit Seaside, or hope one of them visits the mainland I suppose. I should mention that there is another one like me, disconnected from the collective. But they aren't as experienced as me in the ways of your world so they won't really be able to help that much."

[Felandria]

Honeysuckle's ears perk up at sound of the approaching HALO-leader/mayor/landlord/arcade operator/demigoddess.
"Hey Fel. Nah. Just got here myself."
She waves towards the mall and its doubtless-inferior pretzels.
"Lead the way."

Felandria will escort Honeysuckle to the mandatory Pretzel Kiosk, where they are currently making more pretzels at the side where one can watch them be made.

I tried to make pretzels once, couldn’t ever get the shape right.

They just ended up lumps.

[Recaiden]

"It takes practice. You have to know how far the dough will expand in your oven."
Honeysuckle reassures her. Everyone reduces their attempt to a mangled loaf now and then.

She orders two of the newly baked pretzels, extra cheese. Fel is paying for them, right? :smallbiggrin:

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Well, I half-agree with you, Shazhan." Affy grins, twirling his cane and gently tapping his head with it. "My mind is unassailable. A legacy of dealing with those who didn't respect my privacy taught me to take precautions. But anyone else's mind...well, that's a different matter." And that's the idea, isn't it? "We should pay a visit to Seaside. Acquire one of your kind, knock them out, scoop out all the information we need - and then we can build our own access point."

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, lots of things, but Affy's keeping a positive view on this.

"Give me some toys, and you shall have your personalised Creation. Give me the keys, and I will ensure that we have our own private access point to the nether. Sound good?"

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

Shazhan waves his hand dismissively. "Ah, you misunderstand. Others minds are no concern of mine. To me there is hardly any difference between indirectly and directly making a person do what you want. The second alternative is usually far more time and energy consuming for my taste. Also tend to work up others a lot more." The ethereal shakes his head. "But either way, 'knocking out' one of my people is easier said than done. Still, I will find a way to do it. We have a deal then." He pauses. "So how do we signify this gentleman accord? A handshake seems out of the question, and not really that creative either way."

[Felandria]

"It takes practice. You have to know how far the dough will expand in your oven."
Honeysuckle reassures her. Everyone reduces their attempt to a mangled loaf now and then.

She orders two of the newly baked pretzels, extra cheese. Fel is paying for them, right? :smallbiggrin:

Of course she is!

She takes a warm bite and shivers slightly with pleasure.

Yes, numminess conirmed.

Wouldn’t you agree?

[Arkhosia]

Dana's Place

Magtok bites his tongue and keeps his mouth shut as he heads inside, keeping an eye on the cat and a protective hand over his wallet as he does so. So many pithy remarks and passive-aggressive insults kept locked away, just to maintain some semblance of peace and decorum. Blegh, at least there's ice cream in our very near future.

"If anything happens and you need to leave, just say the word," he whispers as he passes by Caelynn. Okay, so he doesn't keep his mouth completely shut, but at least he's not inciting anything this time, right?


[Dana's Place]

Ah. Huh. Well it looks like mother and daughter have a lot to talk about. Alright then. This was their moment. Reinholdt will fall into step after they enter, quietly joining them and giving them space to talk it out. Oh yeah. And Magtok was there too.

The two would presumably find a table to sit down at soon enough, a nice booth with Blanche and Reinholdt on one side and Caelynn and Magtok on the other. It wasn't ideal, since it didn't stop the two men from glaring at each other to their heart's content - practically encouraged it, frankly - but any other set-up would just mean they were glaring across from each other and between mother and daughter as they talked, and that would have been much more awkward. Especially with the moment of uneasy silence that hung as both parties sat across from each other.

"So... how have you been? Has... has the Nexus been treating you alright?" Caelynn asks, attempting to break the ice as her daughter shifts a little uncomfortably in her seat. "It's been alright, nothing too crazy or interesting so far. I... I found a place with VIGIL, I think it's right for me." Her mother frowns a little, but nods. "You... well, you know how I feel about your military work, but I understand. I'm not going to stop you anymore." she attempts to reassure. Hopefully your choices will turn out better than mine here. There's... a reason why I never told you about my life here before I left."

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's Place

"Your mother was a notorious bank-robber," Magtok interjects. "Caelynn 'Calamity Cat' Turath, most wanted criminal and gang leader in the land. She'd raided every last savings and loan, every depository, credit union, and federal reserve. She was the roughest, toughest, sharp-shootingest, hard-drinkingest outlaw to ever stop a train just by looking at it. She knew it wouldn't last forever, though. One day, her belly began to swell, and as the cops began to circle her hideout, she knew her daughter deserved a better life than she'd had here, constantly on the run, always afraid someone might try to claim the bounty on her head or start a coup. So she hopped into the nearest portal and took off, to start a new life in a new world, where Johnny Law and her own gang would never track her down."

Magtok shrugs, leaning back in his seat and trying his hardest to keep a smirk from spreading across his face as he watches Blanche's own face to see if she's buying this absurd fable even a little. "The rest of us tried to keep going, but without our fearless leader, there wasn't a whole lot else we could do. Reinholdt here did a few years in the Imperial Penitentiary, and I got out mostly unscathed because of my impeccable canary impersonation and friends in high places, but the others were either stupid, unlucky, or both. We're all that's left of the old gang now."

[Reinholdt]

[Dana's Place]

"You mean you sung like a canary and ratted us both out, you little weasel," Reinholdt declares with mock indignation and very minor hand slapping the table. "Don't think for a second you're off the hook for what you did to Major Mime. The moment I find where you hid the loot, you're done. Buried. Snitches get stitches for a reason, but that's far too good for the likes of you." Rein finds it particularly easy to glare Magtok down for these false accusations. Does he actually hate Magtok for these invented crimes? Are Magtok's real crimes good enough to warrant inserting the hatred into these fake ones?

Or maybe, if you recall, Reinholdt has always and forever been far too good of an actor. He banked his life and a number of apocalypses on it after all. To the point where it's hard to tell where his real emotions actually begin.

Rein turns to Blanche to directly address her. "Calamity Cat's always insisted Magtok didn't do it. That he somehow got scotch free just because. She was always sweet on him behind my back. He's the primary reason me and your mom split like we did. Well that, and one of us was in hiding across time and space and the other in jail." There's a little implied bitterness towards Caelynn as well. "If I knew... If I knew you existed, I would have busted out years ago, no matter what it took."

[Arkhosia]

Dana's Place

At first, Blanche seems a little relieved at her mother's words... but then she registers "before I left", and a look of confusion begins to take shape. One laced with shock, and a fleeting tinge of... betrayal, perhaps?

But before the woman can start to inquire further, Magtok begins to weave a fabulous tale - a story of bandits and desperadoes, of a long buried yet temptingly romanticized past that hints at wild escapades, edge-of-your-seat intrigue and budding romances... all told with the effortlessly glib and expertly convincing style that Magtok had mastered throughout the years. It was just like he cautioned while frantically trying and spectacularly failing to drive Caelynn away a few weeks before; he thought on his feet and improvised lies like a fish swam through water.

And Rein was certainly no slouch either; his own flawless performance could give the greatest names to grace the silver screen quite a run for their money as he easily slipped into the grand saga, and never did either of them give Blanche a reason to suspect it was all an act. It's fairly debatable whether or not you could view this exhibition as evidence that the two could easily have been friends in another life, or a sign that they were fated to be rivals. They worked together seamlessly, but such closely tied skill breeds competition.

Their hapless mark just sits there, stunned, taking in the fantastic fabrication with a look of stunned disbelief. It... it didn't sound right at all, it couldn't be true. It was too fanciful, but the way they said it just sounded so... true.

But sadly, or perhaps mercifully enough, Caelynn is nowhere near that talented an actor. The creeping grin she was struggling to hold back finally shows as she bursts into laughter, shattering the delicate spell Reinholdt and Magtok has woven.

"Oh, Pilecki, how I wish it were true...." Caelynn finally remarks, wiping a tear from her eye.
But her daughter's eyes only narrow. "Enough with the stories, the lies." She snaps a little, her tone becoming a little harder. "I stopped lying to you, I'm finally willing to let you back into my life, and..."
She trails off as the older woman nods gently, her mirthful grin softening. "Of course, Alexis. No more secrets."
"...Promise?"
"Promise."

And so, with a deep breath, Caelynn begins to tell her own story. A less glamorous tale for sure, but one much less fabricated. "I didn't grow up on a spacefaring world like I raised you on, but in a place a little different, a frontier world of monsters centuries behind anything our home ever saw. I grew up all starry-eyed with my head filled with tales of the men and women who fought those monsters, and eventually I became one. Then, I found myself lost in the Nexus, as so many others do, and tried to continue fighting villains and monsters and helping others. It wasn't long before I found myself wrapped up in things with Magtok, and actually took me on a date... and here, after gesturing to the cyborg to indicate who he was, Caelynn sighs, looking down. "And during that date, I made both the worst and best mistake of my life when I met your father, and let my clueless, thoughtless, starry-eyed self get talked into a one-night stand with a man Magtok despised.
Blanche's expression shifts from shock to brief judgement, to a slight wince and a sympathetic glance towards the cyborg... and then a terrible realization. "Wait, you... you don't mean-"

Caelynn nods. "Yes... that's how I ended up pregnant with you." she admits with a bit of shame. "You see why I was so unwilling to tell the truth? But, well, even with the regret and the shame and self-hate I felt afterwards, I still had you... and while the decision that caused you may be the greatest regret I've ever had... the decision to keep you, to bring you into the world and hold you in my arms, to raise you... it was the best choice I've ever made in my entire life. She wipes away a joyful tear as she looks back towards her daughter, voice cracking a little with emotion. Blanche, for her part, just seems... well, overwhelmed. Unable to reply, holding back a sniffle of her own as a heartfelt smile sneaks into the edges of her mouth.

"A lot happened after that, none of it terribly important. More messiness between the three of us, a little bit of us being a point of contention between them... but mostly, people that they'd both pissed off going after you and me as a way to hurt them. It got bad enough that I didn't think It was safe for me to raise you here... so I left, brought you elsewhere to a distant world, and tried to bury the past." She chuckles, looking back towards Reinholdt and Magtok. "Obviously, that didn't last."

[Recaiden]

Of course she is!

She takes a warm bite and shivers slightly with pleasure.

Yes, numminess conirmed.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Honeysuckle gobbles up half the pretzel, barely taking time to chew or taste it.
Guess she was hungry?
"Mhm!" she manages with a mouthful of bread.
"They're not bad. Good even."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Frankly, for what we're discussing I almost think a contract is in order. Almost." The Prof chuckles, "I think a more appropriate way to conclude this would be to agree on when and where we'll next meet up. And if you feel like providing me with a list of requirements now, I can have your Creation waiting for you. If you'd like more time, that's fine too. And since I requested this meeting place, it seems only fair to me that I let you choose where we meet next." Does that cover everything? Well, not quite. "Oh, and I think perhaps a verbal acknowledgement that, upon our success, we shall both have equal access to the nether."

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's Place

Ugh, the melodrama. Magtok very nearly rolls his eyes as he sits there and tries not to space out as he hears the whole thing all over again. Caelynn sure knows how to make her entire life story sound like a much bigger deal than it actually was. Blegh, the lie was better. It was so much more fun and exciting than all of this tears and sniffling nonsense. No group hugs and sentimentality and touching mother-daughter moments of buried shame and secret trysts. He wasn't anywhere near the sort of victimized martyr Caelynn makes him sound like here, either. In fact, we should probably point that out, before Blanche gets the wrong idea.

"Rein had a kid from a prior relationship, some kind of demon child that grew up in the span of like a week and unleashed horrible biblical plagues on the world before someone killed it dead before it could destroy us all," Magtok explains rather casually, as if he were merely reading a passage from a history book, rather than a very real chapter of his own life where he stupidly got an innocent kid killed because he didn't think about the potential consequences of his actions. That blood was on his hands, Happy's adoptive child died right in his arms, and even if she got resurrected later, that didn't change the fact that he'd put a little kid's life on the line just to try to make a point. If you really study his eyes as he talks, you can see it. You can see the pile of bodies he's locked away in the darkest recesses of his mind, the casualties of apocalypse wars and deadtime and endless stupid bickering.

"I went a little nuts and started a public uproar because I was worried your mom's womb might've been gestating the sequel to all of that. Now, obviously that didn't happen, and I looked pretty ****ing stupid when it didn't happen, but I think I knew it was unlikely all along and I just wanted an excuse to be a jerk. I couldn't do much to Reinholdt that I wasn't already doing without going to war with all of HALO, so I just focused my wrath on your mom instead. We were all pretty awful to each other, Blanche. We all acted like trash, and I can't guarantee there's not going to be more stupid drama later, but I promised your mom to keep you out of it. Now, can we go back to never talking about this ever again? Because I'd much rather never talk about this again, if that's alright with everyone else. There was supposed to be ice cream or something planned, and I already did my weekly recital of reasons for Reinholdt to hang himself on Tuesday," Magtok tries to maintain a nonchalant attitude about it all, to act above all the things he's done and said back then, but it doesn't work out at all. There's a strong undercurrent of bitterness in his tone. Honestly, the only thing stopping him from killing Rein right here and now is that it'd make a big ugly mess, and then there'd still be a dozen or so Reinholdts still out there who'd see that murder as an excuse to escalate their stupid little games. Definitely not worth the momentary satisfaction he'd get from ending one of their lives. Nope, the only winning move in this stupid rivalry is not to play.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Frankly, for what we're discussing I almost think a contract is in order. Almost." The Prof chuckles, "I think a more appropriate way to conclude this would be to agree on when and where we'll next meet up. And if you feel like providing me with a list of requirements now, I can have your Creation waiting for you. If you'd like more time, that's fine too. And since I requested this meeting place, it seems only fair to me that I let you choose where we meet next." Does that cover everything? Well, not quite. "Oh, and I think perhaps a verbal acknowledgement that, upon our success, we shall both have equal access to the nether."

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"That sounds fair to me. A verbal agreement it is for now then." Shazhan nods in acknowledgement. "But as for specifications... you might have to discuss that with my 'partner in crime'. In design I'm but an amateur but they, ah, she has a keen interest in these sort of things. Besides, I believe they would like to meet you at some point. You seem to have a few things in common."

[Reinholdt]

What? We're getting into this here? Now? In front of everyone? And who the heck is Pilecki? Caelynn's god? Reinholdt sits there, steadily growing more uncomfortable and uneasy until Magtok tries to meekly gloss over the most important moment of Reinholdt's life like some paid revisionist historian. Ah. And for a while there, Reinholdt was feeling guilty about what he had done to Magtok that Thanksgiving. Now he remembers there's no need to feel bad about anything he's pulled on Magtok at all.

"Before I killed HIM," Rein interjects in regards to Shepherd, eyes narrowed at Magtok with barely constrained fury. It was one thing to try and pretend Reinholdt wasn't the one who had to take that responsibility, but it's another to pretend his son wasn't a real, actual breathing person.

The pink eyed man holds it together somehow though through the rest of it. "I admit to still being rather bitter at the time, knowing I was leaving the Nexus and not able to get proper restitution for the time Magtok shot my old girlfriend right in front of me, so I pulled a **** move on him and your mother got trapped in the middle," Rein says through clenched teeth, fully aware of all the double entendres. "But that's pretty much the long and short of it." Reinholdt finalizes the whole thing by standing.

"Right. Ice cream. What flavor?" He intends to go to the counter and order for them and give himself those precious brief seconds to breathe. Rein will linger just long enough to get their orders.

[Arkhosia]

Mallside

Blanche studies the two men as they respond to her mother's story, and both of them will feel the full brunt of her piercing gaze as her cerise eyes shift back and forth from cyborg to catboy. She notes perfectly well the weariness, that all-too-familiar haunted look in that eye, the bitterness on both sides and the fury in her father's gaze.

"I wanted to know, and now I know. I don't think there's any reason left to keep talking about it." Blanche answers, leaning back a little and crossing her arms. She couldn't help but chuckle a little bit; there was something funny about the fact that such a bitter rivalry seemed to tie them together. Then she frowned. "But, after all of that, why the hell are both of you even back together again?" Her eyes narrow again as she interrogates Caelynn once more, only turning away to request a simple cone of vanilla when Reinholdt asks.

"Well, I... I don't know how to explain it, really." Caelynn responds, looking down awkwardly. "I just... well, it's been so long for me that it doesn't bother me much anymore. And besides... I still like him, and when I'm with him, I feel so much lighter, so much happier. He makes me happy, and it hasn't been unhealthy so far." She glances back to Magtok with a shy, affectionate smile as she speaks. Hopefully, she'll finish the lovey-dovey explanation before Reinholdt returns; if Blanche is looking slightly awkward hearing this, one can only imagine how he would feel.

[Lord Magtok]

Are You Seriously Using Mallside As A Location Tag In The Mallside Thread?

"Before you were forced to kill it," Magtok insists, before standing up out of his chair to face Reinholdt. "Gods, you really think that was some great self-sacrifice? Shooting your stupid demon son, who you only knew for like half a week, who probably spent the whole time quoting scripture and speaking in tongues? You had him for the sole purpose of destroying the world, you weren't dad of the year, don't give me that bull****. Cat, if you weren't hiding the brat away in some magical castle of unbreakable glass, I would've happily pulled the trigger for you. Everyone was lining up outside your door to do it!"

No wait, that's not what happened. Magtok didn't say any of that.

"Ask if they have that flavor that scrubs away your sapience and leaves you a primal, animalistic monster that rapes interns," the cyborg retorts. "Gods, shooting your stupid girlfriend didn't even come close to making us even. Nothing I could do to you would even the score. Do you know how long it took Sunny to recover from what you did? And don't bother saying 'Oh, that didn't count, that was Prime.' All Magtok actions count for me because I don't do anything to separate myself from the past Magtoks. Have you done anything at all to separate yourself from him? You're still Reinholdt, Treasure-Hunter Extraordinaire, aren't you? Still mooching off of GLoG and insisting that you're seeking redemption while plotting these elaborate revenge fantasies against whoever's slighted you this Tuesday, right? Still don't know how to keep things in perspective, right? Instead of plotting to destroy the entire world because you're feeling suicidal, instead you go infiltrating my home and spending every day in the same building where my children sleep. How did that not make us even after I shot Ermine in a room full of magical healers? If you didn't think we were even, then why didn't you-

Oh right, of course. You only settled for the cloning tech because I gave it to you ahead of schedule, and you couldn't justify staying undercover any longer than that, huh? What else were you going to do to me as Winston the Intern if I hadn't stupidly trusted you enough to just give you all the cloning information you wanted? Who was else was going to die, cat? Riss? Pat and the kids? Maybe you'd go after Sunny again? Maybe plant bombs and kill all of us in one go? No, I'm sure it was much more creative than just a couple bombs. I got lucky, I'm sure, dodging whatever big plot you actually had in mind by just giving you the win. Not that it mattered, because the stupid weasel you were doing the big heist for was gone right after, wasn't she?

See, that's the difference between us, cat. I don't want this stupid rivalry label you've attached to us. I don't spend my evenings dreaming up elaborate ways to ruin your life. I don't send clones in disguise to infiltrate HALO and kill your family. I don't impregnate your dates. When I suspect your daughter might be apocalyptic, I wait, I don't break into your home and kill us both going after her. I don't take this nearly as far as you have, each and every time. Do you get it yet? Do you see it, Reinholdt? Proper restitution would be you suffering. Proper restitution would be your home and family being subjected to this kind of backstabbing and betrayal. Proper restitution would be me nerve gassing the girl you walked down the aisle as her surrogate father, getting her consciousness removed and her body used by everyone in the area. I am above that kind of thing, however. Seriously, aside from a few harsh, well-deserved words, the only thing you can recall me ever doing to you that wasn't in self-defense is shooting Ermine in the knee; what does that say about us, about our dynamic? It says I'm better than you, cat, and always have been."

No, no, gods no! He didn't say any of that, either! Definitely not that! Caelynn and Blanche are right there, he couldn't get away with talking like that! He discards that hypothetical approach to the conversation as well, putting it in the same trash bin as the battle plans where he'd try to kill Rein here in the ice cream shop before getting shot to death by the cat or beaten unconscious by the Mall Kopz.

"Cookies and cream, thanks," he answers, with a sort of distant, fifty yard stare, as all of the more fun approaches to this ice cream social are quietly deleted and abandoned. A hand reaches out for Caelynn's own, to give it a squeeze and try to keep him from going down the path that'd end in everyone yelling at each other and ruining everything. We're supposed to be a good guy now, like Pilecki. No more petty feuding, no more stupid rivalries. It doesn't matter who's right or wrong, who's been wronged harder and who owes the other revenge. We haven't got the time or patience for any of it anymore. Let the cat stew in his miserable little world; we can be better.

[Felandria]

Honeysuckle gobbles up half the pretzel, barely taking time to chew or taste it.
Guess she was hungry?
"Mhm!" she manages with a mouthful of bread.
"They're not bad. Good even."

Felandria beams with delight and gives Honeysuckle a hug.

Yay!

See, told you they were nummy.

They make you feel warm and safe.

Now let’s head over to the spa, get ourselves taken care of.

[Recaiden]

"Safe? Hmm, I-eep!"
Honeyusckle is unexpectedly hugged!
She hugs her back as best she can, tails waving.
"After you. I'd get lost. Probably. Mall is a little confusing." It's all very busy when you can't see it.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[An Oddly Quiet Food Hall]

"Of course. Just give me a time and a place, and I'll be there." The Professor smiles, with just a hint of eagerness. There's a very real desire to tap into this nether, to extort an entire race for his personal gain.

Why, it almost feels like the good old days again.

"And I'm sure I'd be delighted to meet your associate."

[Felandria]

"Safe? Hmm, I-eep!"
Honeyusckle is unexpectedly hugged!
She hugs her back as best she can, tails waving.
"After you. I'd get lost. Probably. Mall is a little confusing." It's all very busy when you can't see it.

Gotcha.

Felandria will, if allowed, take Honeysuckle by the hand and lead her to

[The Floofadoodle Spa And Cafe]

Where they will enter and await service.

[Arkhosia]

Die-In-A-Fire-Side DX Dana's Place

Caelynn's glance lingers as she notices Magtok's expression, and she tugs gently on his arm in an attempt to pull his mind back out of whatever miasma is plaguing it. "Hey, let's move to a different table, dear. I'm not going to let you dwell on the past when we can still make this into something enjoyable for the both of us~" She suggests, trying to defuse the palpable sense of tension while spinning the action into something positive rather than a concession of defeat. But in case her words aren't enough, she emphasizes her words by leaning over and giving the half-metal man a smooch on the cheek and a warm smile, causing Blanche to cringe. Ew, a public display of affection from her mom!

"This, uh, doesn't mean I have to hang out with Renee now, right?"

[Recaiden]

Felandria is allowed. Just don't forget that you're giant and walk too fast.

Ah, this is much nicer than the business of the mall proper. Odd distinctive spa products and odd materials, all in their own place.
"What should we start with?"

[Lord Magtok]

Dana's Place

"Oh, you've already met Renee? Great, did she tell you that you'll be sharing a bunk bed and calling her step-sister?" Magtok, please. That's your volunteer bedwarmer's daughter. Poor Blanche doesn't deserve this kind of teasing and abuse.

"...I'm kidding. I'm kidding! Don't have a heart attack, it's nothing that serious. The cat's still your dad, just pretend I don't exist," he insists, before letting himself be dragged away to another table by Caelynn. That doesn't count as involving her in the petty feud nonsense, right? We're still in the clear for now, I think.

[Mee]

[The Floofadoodle Spa And Cafe]

Where they will enter and await service.

The Floofadoodle Spa and Cafe

They said it could never be done.
That it just simply makes no sense.
That no one in their right mind would ever even make the attempt.

Some things shouldn't be combined, they said.
But what if there is a demand for a spa and a cafe?!
It's an untapped market!

The excessively pink and very floofy kitsune owner and proprietor of the Nexus' only Spa and Cafe excitedly bounces her way over to the duo. "HellowelcomehowcanIhelp!?" She asks in one long, breathless vocalization.

[Felandria]

The Floofadoodle Spa and Cafe

They said it could never be done.
That it just simply makes no sense.
That no one in their right mind would ever even make the attempt.

Some things shouldn't be combined, they said.
But what if there is a demand for a spa and a cafe?!
It's an untapped market!

The excessively pink and very floofy kitsune owner and proprietor of the Nexus' only Spa and Cafe excitedly bounces her way over to the duo. "HellowelcomehowcanIhelp!?" She asks in one long, breathless vocalization.

The floofy kitsune’s enthusiasm is infectious and Felandria is giddy.

Hi there!

My friend, Honeysuckle, and I are both here for the works.

My name’s Felandria, I made an appointment.

[Recaiden]

"I-wow."
Honeysuckle marvels at the proprietor.

"How do you get your fur so...big!?"
You see, she's a kitsune as well. But she is black rather than pink, and not really very floofy at all.

[Leostales]

Erin's Emporium

Metalhead enters Erin's Emporium. "I was told that an alchemist could help to fix this device of mine." he says slightly loudly, hoping someone will hear..

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

The clerk will direct Metalhead towards the back of the store, where a young blonde woman with glasses, wearing a white labcoat, is labouring over an intricate pattern etched into a silvery breastplate, with a collection of filters and vials around her. She turns to face the customer.

"I'm told you need my help with something," she says.

[Leostales]

[Erin's Emporium]

"Yes, this device functions as a time machine and computer." he says holding out the small sphere. "It was destroyed by a quantum tsunami. Its powered by technology and death magic. Can you fix it?"

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

Dorota examines the sphere.

"You'd have to leave it to me for a while, but I believe I can do it. How is the magic normally delivered to it?"

[Leostales]

[Erin's Emporium]


"Death Energy isn't magic, its a form of energy that is 'created' when someone dies. Both the device and myself have special tuning forks that collect the energy. Though it does a better job at it than me," he admits. "The problem isn't so much with the energy, its with the circuits. If you can fix them I'll take care of the rest. And yes, I don't mind waiting. Also, do you know where a decent place to rent a garage and get a residence would be?"

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

Dorota decides not to argue the finer points of what is and isn't magic. This is a customer, so she'll just help him.

"I'm familiar with energy-conducing circuits, so this should be no problem. I'm afraid I don't have much in terms of the other advice, though."

[Leostales]

Erin's Emporium

"That's ok, I think can figure it out," he assures her. "If that's all I'll just leave. I'll come back and pick it up after I've taken care of those things."

[Mee]

The floofy kitsune’s enthusiasm is infectious and Felandria is giddy.

Hi there!

My friend, Honeysuckle, and I are both here for the works.

My name’s Felandria, I made an appointment.

[The Floofadoodle Spa And Cafe]

Wait. She had an appointment book? She takes appointments?!
And her sister didn't inform her?! There will need to be a severe talk with the secretary next time she's arou-wait she's her own secretary and the appointment is penned in on the calendar in bit pink letters.

"Y-yes! Of course! The works! Right this way, please."


"I-wow."
Honeysuckle marvels at the proprietor.

"How do you get your fur so...big!?"
You see, she's a kitsune as well. But she is black rather than pink, and not really very floofy at all.

"Iiii-" wait, branding. Now is the time to sell your product! Your own Floof Be Floofy Shampoo. Just
Gotta.
Sell it.
"Dunno!"
Dangit

[Leostales]

Erin's Emporium, 24 Hours Later

Metalhead arrives the next day, at which it should be finished.

"How much would this cost by the way?" he asks handing her some bills.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium, 24 Hours Later]

Metalhead will be directed into Dorota's laboratory, where the sphere is sitting atop a pedestal inscribed with an intricate and oddly asymmetrical pattern. It makes eyes water if you focus too much on it. It's smoking, as well. But the device is as good as new.

"It wasn't easy, but I managed it," the alchemist says. "It's not cheap, but luckily as a MERC member you're entitled to a discount."

[Leostales]

[Erin's Emporium, 24 Hours Later]

"Thank you very much," Metalhead says, paying for the item. When he touches it, he can feel the extra death energy working to touch up any last injuries he received in his fight with Angrizz. "Guess I'll go now. Thanks again."

Outside the store
Just as he's about to go, a man approaches him, he looks like a walking beehive wearing an argyle sweater and a long green overcoat. "Hello, Metalhead, its good to see your capitalist shell again." He hands Metalhead a piece of paper. "Good luck, you're going to need it." With that, he turns and leaves. Metalhead looks at the piece of paper, shudders, and heads back in the store.

Erin's Emporium Again
Metalhead heads up to the main counter. "Excuse me, but do you have anything good for fighting vampires?"

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium, 24 Hours Later]

The elderly clerk is still there and a bit surprised to see him so soon.

"Vampires are many and varied, but we have wooden stakes and various incendiaries that tend to be effective against them."

[Leostales]

Erin's Emporium

"Excellent, I'll order the following,
*30 wooden stakes
*Two revolvers
*Some holy symbols, if available
*A silver knife
*A silver sword
*120 silver bullets

And I'd like them immediately, if possible."

He seems stressed, for an android that is.

[Morty]

[Erin's Emporium]

The clerk enters the items into the computer and soon enough, a clay golem wearing overalls brings a package to Metalhead.

"Here You Go, Sir," he rumbles, as the clerk presents Metalhead with a bill.

[Leostales]

Erin's Emporium

"Excellent," Metalhead says paying the man and grabbing his purchase. "I need to go now, sorry if anything seems weird."

In his haste Metalhead forgets the piece of paper on the desk. Curiously enough it doesn't have anything to do with vampires, all it is is a poster showing a picture of a cheerful man in a pinstriped suit with an American flag in the background. Underneath the picture are the words, "Elect Leo Redlodge 2024"

[Felandria]

[The Floofadoodle Spa And Cafe]

Wait. She had an appointment book? She takes appointments?!
And her sister didn't inform her?! There will need to be a severe talk with the secretary next time she's arou-wait she's her own secretary and the appointment is penned in on the calendar in bit pink letters.

"Y-yes! Of course! The works! Right this way, please."



"Iiii-" wait, branding. Now is the time to sell your product! Your own Floof Be Floofy Shampoo. Just
Gotta.
Sell it.
"Dunno!"
Dangit

Felandria follows along, escorting Honeysuckle.

I don’t know about you, Honeysuckle, but I could really use a massage right now.

[CosmicHobbit]

[Outside The Neon Coliseum]

Oliver is here, and wondering at how big the place is. You see, he's never been here before, and is used to the slums, so he's a little...overwhelmed, would be a good way to put it. He's been wandering around for a bit, but is now standing outside of the Neon Coliseum, debating whether or not he should go in. He loves games, but arcades are at their best when he has someone to play games with, which he does not.

[Recaiden]

[The Floofadoodle Cafe and Spa]

"That sounds worth doing." Honeysuckle says, a bit distracted by the floof and the giantess and everything.
It's not the most relaxing thing, in the short term.
But she can probably avoid anything going really wrong.

[Outside The Neon Coliseum]

"Go on in, kid; the arcade won't bite." Telue chides Oliver on her way into the Colosseum. Neither she nor her hovering suitcase even slow down.

[CosmicHobbit]

[Outside the Neon Coliseum]

Oliver raises an eyebrow, but shrugs and walks on in. As he enters, he says, to Telue, "I know that much. But really, what's the point of an arcade if you're alone? If I wanted to play games alone I would stay at my house!"

Oliver is a clean-shaven, slightly overweight human with pale skin, black hair, and grey eyes. If you would like more about him, I have a link to his character profile in my signature!

[Recaiden]

"The arcade keeps games we don't have in our homes, and just as importantly, attracts other players."
Telue says, heading to the counter to get a bunch of tokens. She's a wiry Japanese woman who is old enough to qualify for a seniors discount but who would protest that since people live so long in her world, she's barely middle-aged. We're not going to believe that, though. People there don't stay young any longer, even if they routinely live to 150. Her nails are painted in rainbows and her hair is up in a bun. Her outfit is fancier than one would usually wear to an arcade. Silk, tassels, outlandish colors. And quite old-fashioned.
"What sort of thing do you play?"

((If you want to know more, Telue is the most recent character added to the directory. But there's not a lot there yet.))

[CosmicHobbit]

Oliver also heads to the counter. "You'd be surprised at how many games they've ported. I wouldn't be surprised if all the games here could be played at home!" In response to the arcade attracting players, Olive thinks a moment, then says, "I suppose you're right about that. I actually never thought about that."

[Mee]

Felandria follows along, escorting Honeysuckle.

I don’t know about you, Honeysuckle, but I could really use a massage right now.


[The Floofadoodle Cafe and Spa]

"That sounds worth doing." Honeysuckle says, a bit distracted by the floof and the giantess and everything.
It's not the most relaxing thing, in the short term.
But she can probably avoid anything going really wrong.


"Okay!" The kitsune says, clapping and hopping a bit.
"Then please, feel free to lie down, and I will be riiight with you!"

And with that, feel free to skip me, and just assume it's quiet nice, comfortable, and pleasantly enjoyable! After all, she is quite good at her job.

[Recaiden]

[The Floofadoodle Cafe and Spa]

Off to the massage tables then!
Honeysuckle, hopefully, manages to avoid losing her blindfold or anything like that.
"Fel, how do you find time to do things like this? I barely can. And I don't run any organizations." But then, Fel probably has fewer normal-person jobs to do. And she can see; I'm sure that helps.


[Neon Colosseum]

"I don't know. They have some rather intricate peripherals here." Telue counters.

"More importantly, I didn't bring any game consoles with me to this weird little world." Didn't think of that, did you Oliver? :smalltongue:

"So, you up for a game?"

[CosmicHobbit]

[Neon Coliseum]

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry, didn't think of that." Oliver makes a mental note to remember not everyone has game consoles in the future.

He nods. "I'm down. What'll it be then?"

[Mee]

[The Floofadoodle Cafe and Spa]

Off to the massage tables then!
Honeysuckle, hopefully, manages to avoid losing her blindfold or anything like that.
"Fel, how do you find time to do things like this? I barely can. And I don't run any organizations." But then, Fel probably has fewer normal-person jobs to do. And she can see; I'm sure that helps.


Floofadoodle Spa and Cafe

"Well before we can do that!" The kitsune says, checking her official notes on the palm of her hand, "first you must get cleaned.
This way, this way!" She says, guiding them back to the showers! "Feel free to bathe, please. Head through the door on the far side of the shower after cleaning. There will be clothing provided before exit the shower."

And she directs them towards a wall full of doors, each door leading to a rather large, private shower with an exit door on the far side, and all of which have some specially tailored light clothing for the person going through, to preserve modesty once they finish showering.

[Recaiden]

People tend to assume everyone else is like them, if not in every detail, at least in general strokes like 'able to get a NexCube to play games on if that's what they do for fun'. But the world is much stranger than that.
She can't expect Oliver to always think of such things.

It looks like Telue is in the chair of a racing game, one hand on the wheel.
"This one's pretty good."

[Felandria]

Floofadoodle Spa and Cafe

"Well before we can do that!" The kitsune says, checking her official notes on the palm of her hand, "first you must get cleaned.
This way, this way!" She says, guiding them back to the showers! "Feel free to bathe, please. Head through the door on the far side of the shower after cleaning. There will be clothing provided before exit the shower."

And she directs them towards a wall full of doors, each door leading to a rather large, private shower with an exit door on the far side, and all of which have some specially tailored light clothing for the person going through, to preserve modesty once they finish showering.

Felandria enters her shower, her clothes are dropped outside mere moments after she goes in.

NekkidFel wets and washes her hair, rinses off, shakes a little to dry herself off and puts on her assigned clothing.

[Recaiden]

Exactly the sort of complicating detail she had been dreading!

Honeysuckle goes through the door into the bafflingly large shower. They could have put a bathtub in here. Probably.
She gets showered and changed as carefully as she can, and spends a good while drying off her tail and ears. So she'll look ridiculously floofy when she finally emerges from the far side of the shower.

[CosmicHobbit]

People tend to assume everyone else is like them, if not in every detail, at least in general strokes like 'able to get a NexCube to play games on if that's what they do for fun'. But the world is much stranger than that.
She can't expect Oliver to always think of such things.

It looks like Telue is in the chair of a racing game, one hand on the wheel.
"This one's pretty good."

Oliver nods. "Sounds good to me!" He sits in the seat of another copy of the game. "First one to the finish line, or some other win condition?"

[Mee]

Felandria enters her shower, her clothes are dropped outside mere moments after she goes in.

NekkidFel wets and washes her hair, rinses off, shakes a little to dry herself off and puts on her assigned clothing.


Exactly the sort of complicating detail she had been dreading!

Honeysuckle goes through the door into the bafflingly large shower. They could have put a bathtub in here. Probably.
She gets showered and changed as carefully as she can, and spends a good while drying off her tail and ears. So she'll look ridiculously floofy when she finally emerges from the far side of the shower.

"Wonderful!" The excessively floofy entrepreneur says when they both exit. "Now if you will follow me again!"
And she leads them around a corner, maybe just a few feet, really. "And here we are!" The steam parts for a moment, revealing a large, large, hot, steaming collection of hot springs! The water is hot, but not tooooo hot, and the room has been vacated to leave these two space.
"Massages will be after you two have had time to soak, relax, and let your muscles unwind a bit. Please; enjoy your stay." She says with a deep bow, waving a hand towards any of the hot springs the two might desire.
After that, she'll slip away, leaving behind a little bell to ring to gain her attention from the front desk when they're ready to go.
Other than that, she slips off back to man the desk, and make some cookies, leaving the two in the natural hot springs.

[Felandria]

"Wonderful!" The excessively floofy entrepreneur says when they both exit. "Now if you will follow me again!"
And she leads them around a corner, maybe just a few feet, really. "And here we are!" The steam parts for a moment, revealing a large, large, hot, steaming collection of hot springs! The water is hot, but not tooooo hot, and the room has been vacated to leave these two space.
"Massages will be after you two have had time to soak, relax, and let your muscles unwind a bit. Please; enjoy your stay." She says with a deep bow, waving a hand towards any of the hot springs the two might desire.
After that, she'll slip away, leaving behind a little bell to ring to gain her attention from the front desk when they're ready to go.
Other than that, she slips off back to man the desk, and make some cookies, leaving the two in the natural hot springs.

Felandria will find an appropriately sized spring and gently lower herself in, removing the provided clothing as she does.

She sighs with delight.

Aw, yes, this is the stuff.

[Recaiden]

[Neon Colosseum]

"First to the finish. That's what makes it a proper race."
Telue decides, picking out a course and a car.
3...2...1...and they're off!

[Floofadoodle Spa and Cafe]

So there's a whole procedure. Huh.
And that looks like the last they'll see of the floofy entrepreneur for ... a few minutes.

Honeysuckle pauses at the edge of the springs. She had just dried off for the massage.
And what if- no, don't even think about it.
She gathers herself up and jumps into the springs, splashing hot water all about.

"Okay. Yeah. Pretty nice."
She doesn't even wonder how they got seemingly natural springs inside an artificial mall in the middle of the city. That's not even strange.

[CosmicHobbit]

[Neon Colosseum]

"First to the finish. That's what makes it a proper race."
Telue decides, picking out a course and a car.
3...2...1...and they're off!

Neon Colosseum

Oliver chooses the largest car possible, which probably isn't very large considering this is a racing game. He plays rather recklessly, trying to get past opponents by ramming them to the side. He handles turns like a pro, though.

[Recaiden]

"Some people might comment that this is a racing game, and not a fighting game." Telue comments drily the second time the armored van smashes her car off-course.
"But I think that might be missing the point."
She's pretty good at choosing an efficient path for catching back up when such misfortune strikes.

[CosmicHobbit]

[Neon Colosseum]

"Fair point, even if it does miss the mark a little," he responds. "You'd be surprised how many people just can't come back from a well-timed strike." He sees her pass him again and comments, "Though you don't seem to be one of those people."

[Recaiden]

"People who give up too easily." Telue says, smiling slightly.
She'll probably win the first race or lap, but won't keep doing so well as Oliver gets some familiarity with the game.

[CosmicHobbit]

Telue does indeed win the first race, but Oliver just says, "Time to buckle down," and puts in another coin. Turning to her, he says, "That is, unless you want to quit while you're ahead."

[Recaiden]

"It would be unsporting to play anything less than two games of three." Telue responds, placing another token in her game.
This time, she picks a slightly heavier car and tires with better grip.

[CosmicHobbit]

[Neon Colosseum]

Oliver nods. "Right. Good to know you're a good sport." He picks his armored car again. Apparently he has just one working strategy, and even then it only works half the time.

[Recaiden]

No good reason not to take the same strategy twice. Can't get good if you don't practice.
"Well, I do try to make the game fun, is all." Really, good sportsmanship isn't that special, no need to comment on it.
And they're off!

[CosmicHobbit]

[Neon Colosseum]

Oliver gets smarter about what cars he rams, choosing to just try and pass the bigger ones. The look of concentration on his face is a lot more intense than is necessary for a game.

[Recaiden]

So, with Telue in a heavier car than last time, it really does come down to maneuvering.

And I think Oliver will win this time. Telue's reflexes are only so-so, and he's taking this quite seriously.