Home 24: A house in this market?

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

She isn't a teenager and she's still only ten.

Khannie has just finally moved on to her next evolutionary stage. It's understandable. She HAS been training quite a bit. And this was quite the battle, too. It's just that she's been in human form for every single battle and that's basically like pressing B while evolving, right?

Right.

"I evolved," Khannie mutters, staring at the swirly purple armor plates on the backs of her paws. "And that thing blew up my kangaskhanite AND my pearl. Why did I open up the safe I'm going to be in so much trouble Dad is going to kill me."

She takes several deep breaths, doing her best to calm down.

Part of that calming down involves putting the Dark Glasses on Commissar's nose.

The other part of calming down involves looking at the carved slab of rock she pulled out of the chest.

"Where have I seen this thing before...?" she wonders aloud, turning it over.

On the back is a little paper label marked 'The Dragon Stone of Bleak Falls Barrow'.

Khannie makes a snorting noise and stuffs it back in the chest.

"Nah, we're not doing that," she laughs as she gathers her Ghost gear back up. "I'm big enough to wear this stuff again, but it's all human shaped instead of... whatever I evolved into shaped."

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

The glasses don’t really do anything for Commissar’s face, but somehow they make him bite things better.
”Big Boss loves you! He won’t be mad!
But
Maybe go home? Play dumb?
Or find tailor.”
Tailors to add tails to outfits are pretty much dime a dozen.

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

"All of a sudden going on a quest was the most important thing I could do," Khannie says, giving her head a little shake. "And I think I was seeing little pictures of people when they talked? It seemed normal then, but now that I'm thinking about it I think it was a little crazy."

Just a little bit.

But why is her head clear now? Maybe because she evolved?

Why would that help?

Khannie honestly isn't sure.

Experimentally, she tries slipping one of her boots on and is surprised to discover that the futuristic material warps and deforms to fit her digigrade feet.

"Oh, cool! Maybe I don't need a tail-tailor then?" she quips as she begins suiting up. The hood is even nice enough to make holes for her ears and horns. Handy! "There's something weird going on. And I started feeling weird as soon as I saw Miss Veronica on TV. Maybe that's what's making everyone else feel weird, too?"

Lots of questions.

Few answers.

After a bit of hesitation, Khannie snags the dragon stone, too. Maybe it'll look good on top of her dresser?

"If there are people acting crazy, that means there will be lots of people in trouble. And that means we need to keep helping. Remember, they probably don't know what they're doing, so try not to set them on fire TOO much."

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

Commissar sits, tail wagging.
”What if...Brain weird again?” he asks her, trying to get the right words out.
He’s trying to make a good point, Khannie.

How do you know you won’t go a little crazy again?

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

Huh.

Turns out that wasn't a cave at all.

It was an old warehouse.

Upon getting outside, Khannie seems pretty befuddled about that.

"I dunno?" she admits. "I just feel like I'll be okay. That whatever it was? I beat it. And I'm not going to let the fear that maybe I didn't stop me from helping people! I still want to join NERD if I can..."

She really does.

Even if she's going to have to figure out how to cast Alter Self.

Do they allow pokemon to join? Probably not.

"We should be on the lookout for people who need to be rescued, okay?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

A superhero group that shuns people based on their species in the Nexus probably wouldn't get far.
But maybe they would stop her if they knew she was ten.
"Yes! Look! Find people! Questing!" Commissar barks happily, running a few circles around her for good measure. Seems she got him excited to be helpful again.

[Arkhosia]

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]]

"Aw, honey, that sounds sucky. I've got enough of a rollercoaster going on in here without other people's moods bleeding over into mine," says Tina, making a rising and falling gesture next to her temple."Curiosity, huh? Well I guess that's not wrong..." Fettina rubs her chin as she peers into Cantie's eyes. She lets that gaze linger a moment. "Hey, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. It's not like it's really invasive or anything, and you don't have full control over it."
"Now," says Fettina, hopping her hips closer on the couch until she's nearly in Cantie's lap, getting her face very close to the poor songstress'. She tries to slide a hand onto Cantie's cheek. "Tell me who hurt you so I can go kick their ass."

Sagittarius Towers - Night

"Well I guess that's not wrong" earns a knowing little titter before their gazes meet, and Cantata's amber orbs stand transfixed as they stare into Fettina's own. The emotions in those eyes are easy to read. Cantata likes her, likes her a lot, even if there's a tinge of nerve and anxiety dancing in the background - and why wouldn't there be? She's an enigmatic sort by design, sharing little of her true self, and yet here she's found herself speaking easily, jumping at the chance to tell Fettina two of her most personal aspects.

Soon, Fettina shifts nearer, and Cantata feels an uncharacteristically nervous flutter as the pianist moves so intimately close to her, a pleasant little shiver running through her cheek as that chomed palm comes to rest against it. The tension doesn't last long, though; Fettina speaks, and the empath can't help but smile warmly with a soft little titter.
It may be a little late for that, she playfully assures. But... she begins, before the impulse hits her. Without warning, she leans closer, planting a soft little peck on Tina's cheek and drawing back with a gentle blush. I'll gladly tell you how they got their ass kicked.

[Recaiden]

Oliver searches their face for deception. Having lied quite a bit and learned how to disguise markers of doing it, he knows how to look for those markers. While doing this though, Oliver simply says, "Thanks, though I guess I should wait to say that until the boss gets back."

His horrible shark-lizard face betrays no sign of deception. He is kind of looking at Oliver sidelong, as if sizing him up, but he has to do that, given where his eyes are.
"Let's hope you live up to it. Now, the first important thing is that everyone's got a story. What's yours? The real one. One sentence only."

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

Right!

So.

Looking for trouble.

Our heroes pass a group of elves.

They're hugging trees.

Then a vampire sitting in a shady alcove counting grains of sand.

"Oh! There's a pokemart," Khannie says, pointing to a squat building with the ubiquitous pokeball emblem on the front. "I can get some re-fills for my potion injector there, c'mon."

And in she goes!

The little bell jangles above the door as she steps inside. It's your average pokemart. Small. Cramped. Packed full of things crammed into shelves. And of course there's someone standing behind the counter staring blankly off into space. Not because they're an NPC. No. Obviously it's because working in retail like this is terrible.

"Hey," pipes up the clerk. "No pokemon allowed outside their balls inside the shop."

He points an accusing finger at Commissar.

Not at Khannie, though. Probably because she's wearing a full futuristic outfit and just looks like an alien or something.

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

Commissar immediately droops and begins whimpering.
”But But But. Must stay with Ghost. Big Boss orders.” he protests.
That’s entirely unfair!
It’s prejudice! Or something!

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

The clerk just... stares for a moment or two before giving a long-suffering sigh. "Ugh. You're one of those talking pokemon. Whatever. Just don't pee on the floor."

Seems he mostly doesn't want trouble.

Khannie collects a trio of totally bog-standard potions and sets them down on the desk. "Just these."

"That'll be ₽ 300..."

Thankfully Khannie has a little pouch for holding money!

...not like the pouch a kangaskhan normally has. She doesn't have one of those. No, just a little compartment on her belt. She forks over the cash, collects the potions, and heads outside to sit down on the curb. Out comes her injector, which she locks onto the side of the potion bottle, causing the fluid inside to slowly drain.

"Did the guy in the store seem like he was acting weird to you?" Khannie asks. He mostly just seemed bored to her. She still hasn't figured out why some people are acting so strange and others aren't. There must be something they all have in common...

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

It is good that Commissar was let in. Because if Khannie told him to wait outside he would have refused. He can’t disobey the Big Boss’ orders to protect Khannie at all costs. And that means he had to watch her at all times. Vigilantly!
”Not weird. Just MEAN.” he decides.

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

"I think sometimes grownups get mean when they don't like their job," Khannie reasons. "Maybe he wanted to be a great pokemon trainer, but he was bad at it? Now he sells stuff to trainers that are better than him."

Khannie's trying to give the grumpy clerk the benefit of the doubt, here.

Once the three potions are used up, she tosses the spent bottles in a nearby recycling bin and hops to her feet!

"Okay, now we just need to find some more people to help, right? Where do you think we should look-"

"Hey, you guys are looking for someone to help?" calls the clerk from inside. "I... uh... could use a hand with a problem."

Hmmm...

He was just being mean.

Khannie gives Commissar a questioning look. What does the dog think?

[Reinholdt]

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

"It's okay. I'm over it. I swear," Tina assures, just as she slams a drawer in the kitchen a little hard. She shudders and shakes her head, just trying to listen... then her eyes widen.

"Wait, if I Telly eats it, this stupid angel bod goes away?" Tina perks up, clapping her hands together. "Oh my gods! I got it! I'm gonna hire MERC to kill Telly! They hate her anyways!" Tina perks up, wings spreading.

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

Rein just glances away for a moment when Tina swears she's over it with a slam. Very few actually get over it that quickly, but there's no point in pointing that out either unless this were a full blown intervention of some sort. And it's not. Best to let Tina deal with it in her own way.

"Whoa, hold on." Rein says, holding up his hand and trying to temper Tina's hopes a little. "It doesn't always work like that. It's not a bad start, certainly, but some curses don't care if their caster is alive. And some magics just take years to fade even if you do off the caster. You'll still be rolling the dice on this if you take her out." It's a solid plan, just not a guaranteed to work one.

"Beyond that, I do know of one other potential answer for this. But I've never sought it out before." Reinholdt hesitates, wondering if he should even share this info. It could be just as costly.

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

Commissar looks at Khannie.
He looks at the ‘Mart door. Then back at Khannie. Considers.
”Only big problem.” he decides. They’re a super team, you know. They can’t just solve any problem.

[billtodamax]

Driving Nigel

Long drive huh? Nigel says, not really expecting a response. The dude literally just grunted last time he asked him a question. He decides not to finish his drink before struggling into his suit, setting his drink in the hopefully existent cupholder in the opposite seat. He's happy to accept that the suit fits him given the everywhere cameras Kram already showed him. Really got to get around to figuring out how to turn those off when he showers. Regardless, once he arrives he'll be dressed (albeit scruffily) and about halfway through his second drink (a manhattan).

[Rebonack]

[Starting Quests]

Khannie gives a brief nod and glances back inside. "What did you need help with?"

"Oh, uh, well, this shifty looking guy broke into our display case earlier and stole some evolution stones," the clerk says. "We would call the police, but they're busy since most of the non-humans Inside are kind of going crazy right now."

Ah!

Confirmation that something is up!

Khannie knew it!

"So you want us to find the thief and get your rocks back?" Khannie asks.

"Uh, yeah, that's basically it. If it isn't too much trouble."

[Deathkeeper]

[Starting Quests]

To be fair, Khannie might have known what was going on if she watched the news like this guy has, since Faith explained everything in her broadcast.
”Hmmmm.” Commissar ponders. He goes over and sniffs at the display case. Probably too many people in here to pinpoint the smell of the culprit.

[Murkus]

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

"******* magic!" Fettina rants, leaning onto the kitchen counter as she seems to study the pattern there furiously. As Rein brings up a possible alternative, she raises her gaze to him again. "Rein... please, I'll try anything. You've got to help me fix this. If it's something weird or gross, well, it's worth hearing about at least."

[Sagittarius Towers - Night]

Fettina looks into Cantata's eyes expectantly, transfixed. What was it about Cantie that had her so stricken? She hadn't felt attracted to an ordinary human like this since... since before the Nexus.

Cantata felt right though. Felt good to be with... even when she couldn't feel anything she would normally want to feel around the songstress. That was new. So much of Fettina's attraction was normally a physical thing... and she could think of maybe only one other person in her life who tugged on her heart as well as her body. It wasn't as strong a feeling as with Cantie... but then, they'd only just begun, hadn't they?

And then a peck! Oh goodness. Fettina's face lights up. Nobody except Kirk had put their lips on her since the change. Oooh...

"Well," Fettina says after she recovers, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. Her face spits in a grin that could outshine the sun. "Tell me, sugar. Tell me all about it."

[Hattish Thing]

Driving Ms. Nigel

Long drive huh? Nigel says, not really expecting a response. The dude literally just grunted last time he asked him a question. He decides not to finish his drink before struggling into his suit, setting his drink in the hopefully existent cupholder in the opposite seat. He's happy to accept that the suit fits him given the everywhere cameras Kram already showed him. Really got to get around to figuring out how to turn those off when he showers. Regardless, once he arrives he'll be dressed (albeit scruffily) and about halfway through his second drink (a manhattan).

The driver merely looks back through the mirror at the front of the vehicle, his response not quite a selection of words, but rather a combination of sound assembled in the vague shape of a word. "Mm, urh-hurh." Mr. Bloch remains silent for the rest of the trip, allowing Nigel to prepare more or less in peace.

Finally, the vehicle parks out in what appears to be the middle of a wide open field, before stopping, the hovercraft settling onto the ground.

[billtodamax]

Driving Nigel

Nigel looks out the door before deciding that there's probably not a nicer seat out there than there is in here so he reclines with the door open, enjoying the last of his Manhattan. If he's given a couple minutes he'll eventually slide a black russian through to the front seat for the large unpleasant man who drove him all this way. It's quite nice if he's the sort of person to appreciate alcohol instead of looking for the closest thing to methylated spirits.

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

Emily's apartment is a relatively stark affair - the only furniture in the living room is a TV on a stand, an oversized beanbag chair, and a pair of queen mattresses pushed together to make something approximating a very long bed with sheets made of canvas rolled over them. The kitchen, on the north side, is relatively large and open, with glassless "window" in the wall opening into the living room/bedroom. Through said window, one can see Emily working with a smile on her face and a hum in her voice, her hands working dexterously to chop vegetables in spite of the oversized palms and stubby, clawed fingers. Whatever she's making in there smells good, the scents wafting throughout the living area.

Throughout her apartment, one can see the signs of her habitation. The walls (and sometimes ceiling) here and there have scrape marks from where her large body rubbed up against them, likely by accident, a place for a light fixture that seems to have been removed hangs from the ceiling. A few of Emily's massive clothes are sitting in a pile at the base of her bed, all modified from clothing designed for obese humans and adjusted through sewing on the mutant's part - generally, the legs near the bottom have been cut off, or the arms removed, allowing the outfit to sit on her body without covering a whole lot more than the vital parts. Still, some clothing seems to have been things she had custom made - that bra sitting at the foot of the pile certainly isn't something she jury rigged out of a normal outfit, and there's even a formal black dress one might have noticed hanging in a closet by the entryway (though one could be forgiven if they thought it was a tent at first glance).

The gigantic superheroine is currently dressed in a black wig, a pair of oversized jeans (which are nonetheless a good fit for her), a black shirt that loops around both her back and her neck to hold itself in position, and a large pink and frilly apron with the words "Kiss The Cook" embroidered upon them. A one-eared, one-eyed cat with the nametag of 'Uno' lounges on a cupboard above the stove. Every time Emily adds a new thing to the pot, she first briefly raises it up to give Uno a sniff; while he isn't interested in most of the materials, the sea bream she mixes in does get his attention briefly. It seems to be just a normal, calm day. For now.

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

The smell of food does a number to overpower the sudden influx of pine scent emanating from her closet.
The fact that it’s day hides the light from under the door.
But even if Emily isn’t anywhere near it, neither distance or wood will hide the sudden sound of pounding and panicked shouting coming from the closet door.

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

Emily frowns, looking towards the closet. Did someone break through a wall or something? But then she catches a whiff of the pine scent. To her cat, she says, "Uno, watch the pot," and then moves off to investigate.; It's only a few moments before she finds the source - her closet, and opens it up to see what the racket is.

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

There’s a rush of forest air as Emily opens the door, and deposited onto her floor is a large (but not as large as her)...horse...person?
He bounces quickly to his hooves. He’s about the height of a normal human, extremely well muscled, tanned young and bare-chested. He has the lower body of an equally strong looking pony, reddish-brown with a more bright red tail that matches his red-headed human half. His body bears a number of tattoos, swirling and knotting down his left arm and chest in blue and green. His face is bare of them but shows some stains of paint recently washed off.

He seems to have been carrying quite a bit of gear, based on the straps hanging off of him, but most of it seems to have torn off, leaving a single large bag and a sword in a scabbard at his side.
”Ah, sweet sweet rescue! Now if only I can- aaaaiiiiiie!”
Sorry, Emily. Wherever he’s from, you’re still kind of scary looking.

[CosmicHobbit]

Oliver thinks a moment, then says, "Greedy thief turned good. Little bit more to it than that, but you said one sentence." This is true. Oliver has decided that he'll get further if he uses the truth to his advantage.

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

Emily's frightening appearance might be dulled somewhat by the bright pink kitchen-wear she's sporting. She takes the horse-boy's panic in stride, however, after confirming that he's not a threat, she reaches into check the back wall of her closet - feeling around with her hand, she finds that it's solid once more. Very strange. Another thing that might interrupt his terror is the incredible smell of bouillabaisse, a classic french dish of fish and stew.

The large crocodilian woman picks up a broken bow off the floor of her closet, and holds it out towards the other hybrid, "Yours, I assume?" she asks, "I'm guessing you botched some kind of teleport and ended up in my closet," She speaks with an American accent, and one can tell from the intonation she uses that she's a woman, if the breasts and hair don't tip you off. In spite of this, her voice is rough and scratchy, loud and deep.

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

The teen’s panic calms down shockingly swiftly when he’s spoken to, though he still needs a moment to catch his breath.
”I whatted a what now? M’ bow!” he takes the carved wooden fragment with a look of utmost despair. He almost seems like he’s about to cry.
”I’m so sorry, ‘Cos, butcha gave me quite the scare. So sorry for entering uninvited, though I wish I could tell ya how it is I entered in the first place.” he says, scratching his head. To Scaleback’s nose, he smells like sweat, horse, and alcohol, but not enough of the latter that he would have been black-out drunk recently.

[Halae]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

"... Alright, where exactly did you come from? Are familiar with the term 'Nexus' at all?" Emily is quite patient, though from the way her nose is crinkling, she doesn't appreciate the smell he's brought into her home.

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

The lad’s tail tosses in confusion. She’s quite blunt. But then, she deserves to be testy; he could have broken something. And she is a reptile. He’s never met a kindly one of those. Except maybe those little sun-bathing fellows who come out in the summer.
”I’m from the forest of Serrisil, Ma’am. ‘Fraid I can’t say I’ve heard the word before. Oh, but you can call me Domhnall!” he says, beaming. His teeth are shockingly white for someone of his apparent technological level.