HALO 183: The Not Remotely Gritty Reboot

[Morty]

[Rein's Office ==> Vehicle Bay]

"I think I know all I need to for now. I'll be there soon."

Dorota leaves, rather hurriedly and trying not to show that having to pack in thirty minutes makes her rather nervous. Still, she'll arrive on time with a travel bag.

[5a Violista]

[Shooting Range]

The catgirl finds a sufficiently cool gun.

Marin nods. "Yeah!"

She takes it over to the actual shooting part, and gets herself in a comfortable position so that she can start shooting at the target.

She does...decently. Takes a little bit to get used to the gun's recoil, the distance the bullet drops, to align the sights, and everything else.


[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

So it looks like Rein needs a more diverse range of thoughts, then. Just thinking about those things can't be healthy.

Carlie, of course, doesn't have any questions. After all, Rein's the one who already knows Kitsuki and so it'd probably be better for him to ask questions, right? Well, she kind-of did have a question about what's the easiest way to find a babysitter, but Rein has who-knows-how-many clones, so one of them might be okay with doing it. Not to mention, there's probably a couple people around HALO who'd be okay with doing it. And, if all else fails, she's sure she could probably convince Magtok to do it.

Luckily, he does ask a question. And it's a good question, too! Carlie bites her lip and listens for the answer while pretending to not be listening that intently. After all, romance novels are best when you can talk to someone else about them but not everyone likes them.


[=> Vehicle Bay]

Harley Holly, a black-haired (dark-skinned) half-elf (who should have met up at Rein's Office but didn't) shows up at the Vehicle Bay. She has a small pack, too. "Sorry," she apologizes. "Manja didn't want to go to sleep." Plus, (possibly more importantly) she had to stop the baby from growing venomous spines along her arm, but that was a lot easier than getting her to sleep.

As she gets closer, she spots Dorota. Oh! Yeah! They've met before! Holly smiles. "Hi," she says. "Good to see you again. Hope you're doing well."

[Reinholdt]

[Vehicle Bay]

Reinholdt is hear, packing the back of the stealth buggy with his gear. It's a bit of a waste because they aren't going to use the stealth feature at all. Rolling up invisibly on a group of wired, twitchy people with guns who are actively trying to find stealthy things is a recipe for disaster.

Still, he'll offer to take both of their stuff and put in the back as well for them, flashing Holly a smile. "It's quite alright. I bet you she sensed adventure and wanted to go with." It's in her blood as they say.

Once the stuff's set, he'll hop into the driver's seat.

[Morty]

[Vehicle Bay]

Dorota looks between Reinholdt and Holly. Did the two of them have a child together? Sure sounds this way. Needless to say, this isn't something she has any real input on.

"I'm doing quite well, thank you. And I'm about to go on my first field mission."

[5a Violista]

[Vehicle Bay]

Holly hands over her pack so it can get put in.

"Yeah, probably. Luckily, she gets to sleep easier than I did when I was that age," she adds. She climbs into the buggy.

She turns to Dorota again: "Ooh, your first time?" she asks. "Glad I could share this with you."

[Reinholdt]

[Vehicle Bay]

"Here we go," Reinholdt warns before flipping a few switches.

There is a low, but annoying warning signal as the vehicle follows tracks to a platform and the whole thing starts to rise up, like a bubble escaping the base. A shame it's not see through, but the platform will reach the top of its ascent and stop, the dome surrounding them folding downwards to reveal they're now above water. A small bridge forms between the platform and the land in a manner not unlike clockwork pop ups books. The stealth buggy continues to follow the tracks, a guided journey until they reach land, whereupon they're safely deposited and free to explore on their own.

So Rein revs up the engine, much more than necessary and they take off with a bit of a jolt, journeying onwards!

[Gullara]

[Laboratory]

Dorota blinks. She wasn't expecting that question.

"Do you mean from Sizewell? I can't say it's occurred to me."

"I Would Be Willing To Donate A Small Portion Of My Clay In the Name Of Better Understanding," Sizewell rumbles. "Dorota Has Been Able To Patch Up Small Injuries With Fresh Clay Before."

[Laboratory]

"That would be excellent, thank you. Can you facilitate that? I wouldn't want to risk harming Sizewell." Bontu smiles with closed lips.

"So you can just add clay to him and it becomes part of him?" Korrina quirks an eyebrow. "Is he even limited to this shape if you can do that? What's the core of Sizewell?"

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Tapping his pen to the paper, Rein ponders. "Yeah, I guess. She's been pretty much on my mind all the time since I found out I suppose." His only other thoughts have been how charming he finds Carlie and how much he hates Magtok, with a smidgeon of how positively grow HALO.

"Just, the more I read and buy and talk to people, the less ready I feel." Reinholdt finally grabs his own strawberry and chews on it deliberately before pouring himself a glass of merlot to drink. "Though this was supposed to be about you two! I'm getting off track. Do you read any steamy romance novels Kitty?" Rein asks, looking for some common hobbies.

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

So it looks like Rein needs a more diverse range of thoughts, then. Just thinking about those things can't be healthy.

Carlie, of course, doesn't have any questions. After all, Rein's the one who already knows Kitsuki and so it'd probably be better for him to ask questions, right? Well, she kind-of did have a question about what's the easiest way to find a babysitter, but Rein has who-knows-how-many clones, so one of them might be okay with doing it. Not to mention, there's probably a couple people around HALO who'd be okay with doing it. And, if all else fails, she's sure she could probably convince Magtok to do it.

Luckily, he does ask a question. And it's a good question, too! Carlie bites her lip and listens for the answer while pretending to not be listening that intently. After all, romance novels are best when you can talk to someone else about them but not everyone likes them.

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

It's a shame Carlie doesn't ask, because Kitsuki certainly could give her at least one suggestion! Oh well.

The kitsune quirks and eyebrow and glances between Rein and Carlie. "I can't say I get a lot of reading time. I do like to watch my soaps, though, so I can appreciate the drama." When it's not being used as a distraction box for the children, that is.

[Morty]

[Laboratory]

"I'm... not certain, to be honest," Dorota admits. "I presume it's the metal core that conducts the Divine Fire. I haven't really tested this hypothesis, just patched up some everyday wear and tear."

"I Register Damage, Though I Would Not Call It Pain. I Have Speculated That My Natural Shape Is The One I Had Upon Awakening. Thus Adding More To It Would Not Be Accepted By My Body, But Restoring It To Its Original Shape Is. It It Is A Difficult Hypothesis To Test."

[Reinholdt]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Being healthy is probably overrated, but Rein wouldn't know.

"Ah," Rein says, slightly disappointed. "I don't know much about those. I just picked up Nymph of My Dreams to see how it compares to the new movie that just came out." That is about the entirety of Rein's experience with either of those things.

"Which Soap is your favorite?"

[Recaiden]

The catgirl finds a sufficiently cool gun.

Marin nods. "Yeah!"

She takes it over to the actual shooting part, and gets herself in a comfortable position so that she can start shooting at the target.

She does...decently. Takes a little bit to get used to the gun's recoil, the distance the bullet drops, to align the sights, and everything else.

Honeysuckle does...less decently.
She's used to the recoil, and the drop, and adjusting the gun. And we know that she can aim just fine.
But she's nervous, and overdoes everything.
The shots have no precision to them at all.

So, to distract from that, she brings up something completely different.
"When mentioned getting another tail, didn't think you really would."

[5a Violista]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh, I haven't been able to read that yet," Carlie comments to Rein. But! And! With this monocle, she might be able to read it without having to wait for the baby to be born.

She turns back to Kitsuki. "If you do find time, I'd definitely recommend getting some books to read. I've always liked 'em better than watching things."



[Shooting Range]

Oh, no! Not having precision is bad!
When they take a break to look at their targets, Marin should probably help her by getting behind her and making her more nervous or something, and keeping her steady or something.

"Yeah, I didn't think," the catgirl says, taking a shot, and then finishing the sentence, "so either."

"Definitely felt -" shot "- weird. Really itchy." Shot. "Still not used to it." Shot. "Had to alter half my clothes." Reload, look away. "Sometimes I can feel them rubbing up against each other."

She leans back to get a better look at Honeysuckle's. "Um...if I may..." she starts, as she tries to figure out what she wants to ask, "were you born with those? Or, did it take a while to get used to them?"

[Felandria]

Electrical Room

A series of Pikachus happily nom apples as Felandria finishes loading their food supply.

She sets the basket aside and presses a button on the intercom.

Attention all HALO members, please gather in THAT room in one hour, we are having a staff meeting.

[Recaiden]

[Shooting Range]

Well, it might not help her aim, but it probably is still good to do.

Honeysuckle's tails swish up a bit.
"Born with- bang! -one of them. Got- bang! bang! -the other a few years back. Mysterious- bang! -circumstances. Took while to get used to, right? Kept forgetting one. But good now."

[That Room]

Honeysuckle arrives on the hour mark, clearly in a hurry, coming to the end of an unsteady run at the door of the room, still putting on the other sleeve of her lab coat.
Then she slouches against the wall and tries to look nonchalant.

[5a Violista]

Harley decides that, since she can't get the baby to sleep, even after feeding her, she should probably go to the meeting as a bunnygirl.

[THAT room]

Carlie, a bunnygirl, shows up in THAT room. Black hair, darkish skin, black fur on her ears, etc. Contrasts with the (thankfully, quiet) baby she's holding. (The baby has white hair, pink eyes, both cat and bunny(?) ears(?) with pink tips, a long fluffy tail...)

She stays standing, just by the side of the door in case she needs to quickly leave.

[Morty]

[THAT room]

Dorota arrives. She's not sure what this meeting is about and she's not exactly used to those. In Erin's she was left to her own devices as long as she produced what the store needed; alchemists back home were likewise not the type for big meetings. She takes up a place away from the baby that Carlie brought in. Hopefully it doesn't start crying or something worse...

[Reinholdt]

[THAT Room]

Reinholdt was already here. Not that he expected this meeting at all, but it's more impressive if you're already here.

More importantly, it means Rein has time to nap on the chair he's acquired. Pre-meeting naps are key to one's survival. So there's a blue cat just sleeping in someone's chair. Presumably his own.

[Gullara]

[Laboratory]

((Will post here later.))

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Being healthy is probably overrated, but Rein wouldn't know.

"Ah," Rein says, slightly disappointed. "I don't know much about those. I just picked up Nymph of My Dreams to see how it compares to the new movie that just came out." That is about the entirety of Rein's experience with either of those things.

"Which Soap is your favorite?"

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh, I haven't been able to read that yet," Carlie comments to Rein. But! And! With this monocle, she might be able to read it without having to wait for the baby to be born.

She turns back to Kitsuki. "If you do find time, I'd definitely recommend getting some books to read. I've always liked 'em better than watching things."

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh I love 'As the River Flows'. It's actually shot in Riverside, you know. I've seen where they set up some outdoor sets." Kitsuki perks up. "But I won't bore you with the details." She laughs. ((Please don't make me describe it, I know nothing about soaps.))

Kitsuki looks back at Carlie. "Well sure, you can give me some recommendations. You never know, I might find some free time." Maybe a bit unrealistic, but stranger things have happened.

[Zefir]

[THAT Room]

Likely a few minuts after the meeting is called a little green stuff animal is sitting in one of the chars. He might not even be visible unless you take the same seat. When Carlie comes in with she will hear the sound of a grabling hook and a little rope coming from a seat near the entrance. a moment later a little green stuff animal swing away to a seat as far away as possible. He's not afraid of her, but babys allways try to tear him apart. he just can't handle it.

[Reinholdt]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh. Uh, I haven't gotten that far," Rein assures Carlie, despite having read 11 of the 15 chapters last night.

He rubs his neck and turns back to Kitty. "Riverside, huh? Gosh it's so absolutely different from the city ten years ago. I didn't mean to split it into four pieces, I swear. Finally feel comfortable going back there at least." Rein gives a small smile. "Bound to be a great setting for drama entertainment though. I'll check it out if I find the time." Maybe between naps.

[5a Violista]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh, really?" Carlie says, about the soap opera. "I was living in Riverside before here, so I'll have to check that out to see everywhere that I've been." Carlie is expecting it to have the pacing of a telenovela, so if it's an actual soap opera then the pacing might bore her a bit and make her drop it, though.

She glances at Rein.
...
Is he joking about breaking apart Riverside? Or not? She can't really tell right now, so she just laughs along.

"Um," um, um. Sure, put her on the spot to make a recommendation. She doesn't really know enough about Kitty to know what sorts of books she'd like the most, or what subgenre would be the best, so she decides to go with a basic one that's easy for anyone to get in to. "Um, so, maybe some good ones to read would be some Regency Romances. One and Only is pretty good, and so is Night of the Knight, but the one I'd recommend the most is probably The Accidental Wife. It's about this couple who, well, they meet as he kisses her, who he thought was a maid, in order to make himself seem loose and unfaithful, trying to push away one of his suitors so he could get back to spying, but it turns out she was actually the orphaned heir to a dukedom whose uncle was trying to get rid of her so that he could be the sole heir and so sees this as the chance to blackmail him and marry her off with quasi-fraudulent marriage papers by the end of the first chapter but, well, that's its basic premise."

Basically, it's a pretty good book.


[Shooting Range]

Marin takes only two more shots before deciding that her target is just shot-up enough.
She sets down her gun and waits for everyone else to finish.

While waiting, she responds: "Yeah? I see." She looks at both tails again. "I guess we're basically the same, then."

[Recaiden]

Honeysuckle finishes shooting just a little while after.
Those last few shots were pretty good, actually.

"Guess so." And they may well have a little bit to wait for the range to be cleared. Honeysuckle sets her gun aside carelessly.
"Suppose should be flattered, huh? Trying to be more like me already."
Things are closer back on stable, less nervous footing.
"Let's our targets."
As they probably go to do that, Honeysuckle explains "So, try to practice with that rifle, because I can rely on guns, right? But mostly, actually shoot with this visor."

[5a Violista]

As Honeysuckle finishes up, Marin decides to watch the target.

"Oh! Good job!" she says, seeing the last couple shots.

Once it's safe, yeah, they go to get the targets and replace them with new ones. "Yeah," she says, thinking she's understanding. "Right."

"You can shoot with the visor?" she asks, for clarification to make sure she heard that right. Yeah, she did say something about destructive vision at the spa, or something. "How's that work?"

Marin walks back to the safe line, holding her own target in front of her. "Not my best, but...still kinda good."

[Recaiden]

"Thanks!"

Honeysuckle holds her own target up in front of her, apprehending the widely scattered pattern of holes in it.
"Hmm, not my day."

"Okay, so, anything look at heat up really fast. Less strong on me, so my eyelids are fine, but can totally burn my hand if hold it up." Ask how she knows.
"Have to actually see it, so can't burn the inside of my visor - no light."
"Where my two eyes focus, happens much much more. So the visor opens tiny slits where I wanna aim, and..."

Back behind the safe line, she can demonstrate. Honeysuckle brings a hand up to the side of the visor, below her temple, and there's a little disturbance at the center of Honeysuckle's new target, a puff of darkness and a tiny wisp of smoke. She moves and turns her head and it happens again. And again. And then a line of burning darkness slices the target in half, top to bottom.
"Like that!"

[Gullara]

[Laboratory]

"I'm... not certain, to be honest," Dorota admits. "I presume it's the metal core that conducts the Divine Fire. I haven't really tested this hypothesis, just patched up some everyday wear and tear."

"I Register Damage, Though I Would Not Call It Pain. I Have Speculated That My Natural Shape Is The One I Had Upon Awakening. Thus Adding More To It Would Not Be Accepted By My Body, But Restoring It To Its Original Shape Is. It It Is A Difficult Hypothesis To Test."

[Laboratory]

"I think that makes sense. The body and soul are intrinsically bounce. They inform each other. Yet the ego is dominant. You can't simply introduce something foreign to the body and expect it to take." Onyeka says while nodding.

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh. Uh, I haven't gotten that far," Rein assures Carlie, despite having read 11 of the 15 chapters last night.

He rubs his neck and turns back to Kitty. "Riverside, huh? Gosh it's so absolutely different from the city ten years ago. I didn't mean to split it into four pieces, I swear. Finally feel comfortable going back there at least." Rein gives a small smile. "Bound to be a great setting for drama entertainment though. I'll check it out if I find the time." Maybe between naps.

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Oh, really?" Carlie says, about the soap opera. "I was living in Riverside before here, so I'll have to check that out to see everywhere that I've been." Carlie is expecting it to have the pacing of a telenovela, so if it's an actual soap opera then the pacing might bore her a bit and make her drop it, though.

She glances at Rein.
...
Is he joking about breaking apart Riverside? Or not? She can't really tell right now, so she just laughs along.

"Um," um, um. Sure, put her on the spot to make a recommendation. She doesn't really know enough about Kitty to know what sorts of books she'd like the most, or what subgenre would be the best, so she decides to go with a basic one that's easy for anyone to get in to. "Um, so, maybe some good ones to read would be some Regency Romances. One and Only is pretty good, and so is Night of the Knight, but the one I'd recommend the most is probably The Accidental Wife. It's about this couple who, well, they meet as he kisses her, who he thought was a maid, in order to make himself seem loose and unfaithful, trying to push away one of his suitors so he could get back to spying, but it turns out she was actually the orphaned heir to a dukedom whose uncle was trying to get rid of her so that he could be the sole heir and so sees this as the chance to blackmail him and marry her off with quasi-fraudulent marriage papers by the end of the first chapter but, well, that's its basic premise."

Basically, it's a pretty good book.

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Kitsuki laughs lightly. "Sounds like my kinda stories. I'll keep those in mind then."

The kitsune gives Rein a funny look. He says odd things sometimes, but this one she remarks on. "What do you mean you didn't mean to split it?"

Meanwhile, apparently Annie is getting tired. She's been leaning against her mom quietly for the last little bit, but it looks like she's just dozed off.

[Reinholdt]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Reinholdt raises an eyebrow. "Just the first chapter?!" Yikes! Well... Actually that kind of makes sense. It's true for a lot of adventurers as well. Why wouldn't it hold true for romance novels?

He looks back to Kitty as if weighing whether or not to tell the story. "Well... It's as I said. It was a while ago, let's see..." Rein spends a moment remembering how it even started. "So I don't know if either of you heard of Melody, but she used to be a... close friend of mine. She had an island she used to operate off of to help local villages and stuff. So I'm visiting the island one day and she has these two kids that aren't hers that some guy dropped off while he went looking for the girls' mother. What were they six and eight? Something like that."

It even takes a moment to think (look up) their names. "Estia and Lyanna! Oh they were just adorable all the time. Anyways, it had been a long time since their dad dropped them off so Melody asked me to look for him. This brought me to the outskirts of Riverside, where I was ambushed and attacked. Much cleaner, more carefully run city back then. Well, cause everyone, and I do mean everyone in that city, worked for one guy. Had the whole mob crime boss thing going and I wasn't welcome. Uhh... Johan. That was his name."

"Ambush! Pew pow!" Rein says suddenly, getting back on track with some sudden gesticulations. "I managed to subdue my attackers and interrogate them. Imagine my surprise when one of them was actually Estia and Lyanna's missing mother! Jessie, Jess... No Jezebelle. That was her name. Anyways, she explained that she wasn't missing at all, she was being blackmailed to stay and work for Johan... None other than the girls' father. He had actually kidnapped the kids, though they didn't know it, and left them on the island where Jezebelle couldn't find them in order to use them as hostages to keep her in line." Reinholdt's stomach starts to knot up as he thinks about it.

He also starts to lower his voice, glancing at Annie from time to time. Thank goodness she had fallen asleep. "So I cut her free and told her where her kids were and to tell them that their father had died in the Great Catpeople War that was going on at the time. In exchange, she told me where Johan's hideout was and the password I needed to get in. What she failed to mention was that was less of a hideout. And more of an exclusive brothel. Trafficking in unwilling..." Rein trails off, but they probably get an idea of just how bad it really was.

"Look, I found the guy, gave him half a second to repent and then I killed him, alright?" Rein says, looking away from them both and cutting to the point. "And not just killed him. I was pretty angry by that point. I left... a message that anyone who even dared to take his place would receive the same treatment thrice over. Then I got the women out of the city and we ran. Week later and I hear Riverside is in shambles from the infighting with a dozen factions or something vying for control. All I know is it just about stayed that way until the BloodMoon Vampire Migration managed to stabilize it into four sides."

Rein was half-jesting earlier, but he had forgotten how gruesome the story really was and now wishes he had never brought it up.

[5a Violista]

[Shooting Range]

Marin can't decide whether she wants to watch Honeysuckle or the target as she does this, so...

She watches Honeysuckle. It's probably pretty clear why.
Noticing that Honeysuckle's going to do it again, she quickly turns to look at the target to see what happens over there on the vertical shot.

"Wow!" the catgirl exclaims. "You're basically a superhero! That's really cool."


[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

"Of course it has to go fast: the big draw of romance is the growing relationship and the challenges they face, so you have to make sure the characterization and core conflict gets across pretty fast." So, yeah, like adventurers.

So, it's kind-of nice hearing this story about Riverside. Carlie knows...like, one of the people in that story. Jezebelle. It's a nice story. "Sounds like it was pretty interesting. Honestly, sounds like it's better off broken like it is now." She reaches over to grab another strawberry, and...
...
they're all gone.
That's too bad. "I'd probably have done the same, in the same situation."

[Recaiden]

Whyever would she want to watch Honeysuckle instead of the range? Mystifying.

"Hehe, yeah!" Honeysuckle says brightly. She wasn't sure Marin would react well. It's a weird power, and could be scary.
"Don't think could actually go out 'n fight evildoers or whatever, though."
"Could you?"

[Felandria]

[THAT Room]

Felandria enters the room, a folder full of paperwork under one arm, she walks over to her chair and takes a seat.

Morning, everyone!

I called this meeting to go over things, talk about current projects, figured we can help each other be more efficient.

So, first things first, is there anything you need to talk to me or Reinholdt about?

Anything we can help with?

[Gullara]

[A Bunny Meeting Kitty]

Kitsuki's eyebrows quirk up. That's... surprising. She knows Rein's been around here a long time, but how long actually? What he's describing seems so distant. "I never knew about any of that. You don't really hear anything about what the city was like before it was the way it is now." Though even in Kitsuki's time the city has changed plenty. "But I bet all that was just another day in the life of the Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire." She mimics his traditional flourish and finishes with a cheeky wink.

[5a Violista]

[Shooting Range]

Yeah, I guess it is a little mystifying.

"To be honest," Marin says, "I don't think I'm actually any good at superheroing stuff." She leans against a table, with most her weight on an arm. Remembering the most recent visit with Jade and also her other experience saving someone's life in combat, she says, "Sure I suppose there are some small things I can do, but...not really anything 'superhero'-worthy."


[THAT Room]

The bunnygirl Carlie thinks for a bit.
...
Okay, with the exception of the occasional investigation that she's done, she doesn't really have any 'current projects'. Sure, she wants to learn more biology stuff that she doesn't know, but that's not really something anyone else can help with.

She shakes her head, but says, "I haven't got anything that I'm working on, but if someone does need help, then I'm probably available." So long as frequent baby breaks or advanced warning is given, obviously.