Home 25: Still making mortgage payments

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Dr. Valiance takes another deep breath through his strange inhaler device, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he does so. Oh, that made everything feel so much better. "Oh, it's fruity this week." Is that watermelon, or passion fruit? It was hard to tell with these things, chemically produced fruit flavoring all tasted the same at some point. "Okay, I'm going to try to speak really clearly now." He grunts as he rises up out of his seat, stuffing his 'inhaler' back into his labcoat. "Before the colors all start blurring together, that is!" Oh, this is so irresponsible, but he could just feel a panic attack building up.

He adjusts his teashades before tapping his knuckles against the sink. "No, you are not dead. I'm honestly relieved." There's a nervous chuckle there as he continues. "Although, you know - at this point, it would have been easier if you were." Oh, right. Now what? This was a whole other issue entirely. She knew what had happened, if that sort of thing got out, he could kiss his potential partnership with VIGIL goodbye. He'd have to find a way to make certain nothing like that ever got out, but how? He wasn't just going to shoot her. That's terrible. "Oh - oh, yeah. You're gonna wanna change out of that."

With a frown, he goes on to explain. "Your swimsuit, you don't want anything even potentially inflammatory near that new skin of yours." He purses his lips, unsure of how to proceed. "I've some sterile clothes in the back, the kind of things biohazard docs wear. Don't ask why - that's a long story." Would taking a shower help at this point? Um, maybe? Probably not, though. "There's a shower, too. You know, for scrubbing the dead people clean. Works just as well for the living, though." Maybe now was a good time to set some ground rules. "You're probably really eager to get out of here, yeah? That's fair, I would be too. Um, you should know that the doors are voice-controlled, and obviously, there aren't any windows to crawl on out of, so. I wouldn't try it."

Nicodemus continues to be very casual. "So, running won't work. Also, I wouldn't try stabbing me or whatever. That also won't work, as the doors only respond to my voice, which - you know - should be pretty obvious. Otherwise, what would the point of voice-controlled doors be?" He steeples his fingers together before spinning in his swivel chair. "So, yeah. Rest assured, you're stuck here - we both are - until I can figure out what to do about this whole situation."

"That's probably a lot to take in. Are you alright?"

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Is she alright?
No, not really. She's locked in here with a sketchy guy who just used some kind of mind-altering substance on himself. It seems like he doesn't want to hurt her, but -- and this may just be the morphinelike substance talking -- but she's getting the impression that if she makes herself a nuisance, then...
So that's why she nods, and says, "Yes, I'm alright enough." Carbon monoxide poisoning takes weeks to get over, though. As long as she doesn't need to breathe too much, then she'll be fine.

If only she had brought here purse. There's definitely some tools in there that would help her get out, with enough time. Maybe through a vent or something?

If there's any more stuff on her skin, she definitely ought to wash it off. Marin feels her swimsuit - in certain spots, it's sticking to her. Not to mention all the other stuff that's probably on her. Is that thing that gave her the rash still on her? That would need to be washed off, too. So, Marin nods. "I'll...go shower," she announces.

So, she goes to shower and change out of the swimsuit. Ouch, even the water feels weird on her skin now.

And then she goes to change into the sterile clothes. Looking down at the white jumpsuit, she frowns. It's...unfortunate. The clothing collars are too low.
She's got on a collar that looks like it belongs on a pet, with an empty space at the front. It's very visible. It's very upsetting. She looks around for something better - like a scarf or a turtleneck or something, but can't find one. . . . as long as she keeps her distance from her, she'll be fine, right?

Finally, after spending long enough to build up her courage, she heads out of the changing room, in an effort to better understand where she is and if there really is no way out.

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Around twenty minutes pass as Marin disappears into the showers. The shower area reeks of blood and formaldehyde. It's altogether unpleasant and likely keeps Marin at edge. After six or so minutes, eerie music starts blasting from the crematorium chambers, back where she was nearly incinerated. Although the tune itself is bright and preppy, its heavily muffled from Marin's position. To make matters worse, the sound quality coming off of the good doctor's faulty radio isn't good to begin with, resulting in a somewhat off-putting sound. As the music plays, Marin will be free to explore as she likes.

Unfortunately, there's not much to explore. Only four rooms are contained within the pneumatic doors; the crematory proper, a room dedicated to the preparation of bodies, a set of bathrooms, and a makeshift laboratory. The rooms are all sparsely furnished and windowless. It seems as if there's no way out. As she finishes exploring her surroundings, Dr. Valiance rounds a corner. He jumps a little as he nearly bumps into her before stumbling back. "Oh, there you are! Scared me half t-to death, nearly." He's got a small plate held before him, upon which several slices of toast have been assembled. "Bet you're hungry."

Hopefully Marin would appreciate the offering. Not that it was much, but still. If he would eventually have to kill her, the least he could do was try to feed her. He chuckles nervously before stepping back again. "While you were in the shower I took it upon myself to heat up some tea. Microwave only, I'm afraid. Also - yeah, the toast. " Val will begin to lead the way back to the crematory. "I hope you don't mind that the butter's fake." Once they arrive back within the crematory, Dr. Valiance will gesture towards a spot on the floor. "I'm sure you're probably still thinking about finding some way outta here, but I promise you there isn't. So, might as well sit down and talk a little."

At that, he'll turn off his radio and slide gently down onto the cold floor, plate held in his lap. "Oh, forgot. Tea's on the counter, while you're up, would you mind handing me mine? It's the chipped cup. Yours is the white one. Not that it matters, they're the same. I just like my tea a little cooler." Too hot and he'd just burn his very sensitive tongue. He laughs. "It'd be pretty weird if I tried to poison you at this point. Wouldn't accomplish much." If he wanted her dead, it'd have been way easier to just not open the incinerator! "Why don't you tell me your name? We're probably going to be here for a while, so..."

"I think it'd be best if we got to know one another!"

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Actually, she's not really all that hungry yet. Depending on how long they're in here, she might need to eat in case an opportunity starts.

She takes about half of the slices of toast, but doesn't eat it yet - wary that it, of course, might knock her out or something. 'Wouldn't accomplish much'? Actually, it would: if he was panicking and let her out, and now that he has had time to calm down and think things through he changed his mind.

So, she takes half of the slices but just holds onto them: he'll eventually start eating the other half, right?

Asking her to bring him some tea brings back some awful memories. The distaste in her mouth makes her lose the appetite to drink something - and, besides, tea would be a lot easier to poison than toast. So, she only grabs his tea. It takes a few moments to swallow her distaste, but after that she brings him his tea: "Here you go, master," she says, largely out of habit but with sarcasm tacked on because she hates doing things like this.

However, she actually does agree with getting to know each other. People generally don't want to kill people they know, so humanizing herself in front of him would significantly increase her chance of survival.
She sits on the floor but waits until he eats some toast for her to eat some herself.

"My name's Marin," she says. What else would be good to say... "I work as a repairwoman at a small store, but I'm hoping to get a better job soon. I've always wanted to learn to make robots, so I've been teaching myself how to fix them and things like that." Anything else that would be good to add as an introduction? Not that she can think of.

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Val cannot help but notice the fact that Marin seems hesitant to eat her accepted food. I mean, that's fair. He wouldn't be particularly trusting of himself in her position, he had accidentally poisoned her once already. Well, not literal poison, but. Close enough to be problematic. "Hm, clearly we need to work on trust! We're gonna get through this together, I promise." At that, he takes a bite of his toast. "Ah, I love this stuff. Tastes so much like the real thing." It was difficult to make conversation given the circumstances. And the hallucinogens. He reaches for his tea with a warm smile, though he grows visibly uncomfortably at her 'master' comment.

With a small exhalation, he mutters something. "Oh, uhh." Was this some kind of... weird cat person thing? "You can just call me, uhh - well. Just Val will work, for now." Couldn't use his real name for something like this now could he? "Marin is a very nice name, as far as names go. Any idea if it means anything?" Once she mentions robotics, he perks up. Another pleasant surprise! "Oh really? You know, I'm something of a roboticist myself."

"What draws you to something like that?" He takes a sip of his tea. Ah, just right.

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

After seeing Val start to eat his, Marin decides she can eat hers.

But, she finds it a little weird - he says they're going to get through it together, but he could literally just walk out, right? "Yeah, it does taste like the real thing," she says. She's also a glad that she successfully made him a little uncomfortable.

"Okay, Val." His name.
"I don't know if my name means anything," she says. It probably does. Names generally mean things. "Um...I've just always wanted to do things like working on machines, but I never had the chance to learn." She raises her legs to her chest, and eats another toast. "Recently, however, I've had to fix up some robots so I figured that was the best chance to start teaching myself."

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

As Marin takes a bite out of her piece of toast, the gravity of the situation sets in for Val. This got out of hand so fast. Just thinking about it was enough to feed that sinking feeling down in his gut. Best to try to ignore that as much as possible, but there was still this nagging thought in the back of his mind; her life was in his hands. His eyes grow somewhat vacant for a second or so before he snaps back to the conversation at hand. "Oh, yeah. What were we saying?" He blinks once or twice. Oh, right! Names and stuff. "Oh, yeah. Um, well - it's still a nice name." He takes another sip of his tea, slurping loudly at the rim.

Conversation was dying down, and again, that nagging thought! Keep talking. "Repair work is noble, there's not much glory in it. Mostly just hard work." Finally, he notices her collar and raises a brow. "Say, what... is that? 'Round your neck."

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

"Thanks."
"It's fun to do that work, but it also doesn't pay very well," the catgirl says. That's the whole reason she went for the free sunscreen in the first place.
She bites some toast.

Marin doesn't want to talk about the collar. So, she dismisses the question with, "It's nothing," and very obviously changes the subject. "What about you? You sell sunscreen, you kidnap girls, you do robotics, you make toast, you handle medicines and drugs..." She lists off the things she knows he does. "Is there anything you don't do or are you a jack-of-all-trades sort of guy?"

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Things were becoming a little awkward again. Not enough of a dosage for him, or maybe he had built up a bit of a tolerance for the stuff at this point. There's only one solution! "No, that it doesn't! Few things do. People like us, c-creators - things are never easy for us." At that, he retrieves his weird inhaler and takes a deep breath. Oh, that did it for sure. Immediately he felt calmer, looser. He no longer had much of an appetite, though. "Hrrgnh. Mmrff. Ha - ha!" Fortunately, this completely takes his mind off of Marin's collar. "Okay, some things. First off! I didn't intend on k-kidnapping you, I thought you had died." His words are occasionally slurred now.

He slurps at his tea before finishing the whole thing off. "I don't shell shunscreen either! That wash for testing." Dr. Valiance giggles to himself before continuing. Man, everything felt so much more manageable now, how lovely. "It'sh a... solar-powered biotic gel. Regeneratesh tissue when exposed to ultraviolet raysh. I dunno why it got all wonky with you, I think? It may have had shomething to do with dander or something. I dunno yet." Then she questioned his other various interests. He rises up before promptly tossing his empty teacup through the air. "Microbotshhh, catch!" On his command, several tiny drones fly out from hidden places throughout the room!

The drone closest to the teacup fires off some sort of stasis ray, causing the teacup to hover in the air before it even hits a wall. "But, yeahh. Dronesh, robotics, shome cybernetic type stuff. Pretty cool, right? I got my fingersh in all of the science pie. You know, I used to work for space doctors?

"Oh, and... the drugsh, that's kind of a - uhh - side project?"

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

When he says again that he didn't intend on kidnapping her, she again responds by saying, "I'm not dead, though." So obviously he should let her go.

Maybe she can convince him to say the voice-activated commands to open the doors? Especially if he's this drugged up. "By the way," she adds, "How do you even open up the doors? If you keep on taking more of that, I don't think you'll be able to say the commands."

She looks over at the drone. Honestly, that drone is kinda cool. She does have to admit that it's pretty cool.
"So," she adds, trying a different angle, "if it was all an accident with testing and stuff, doesn't that mean you can let me go now? The rashes are gone, so there's no point in keeping me in here anymore." But what is she doing? trying to reason with a guy who's hopped up on some unknown medication. She's afraid that if she says the wrong thing...

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

Dr. Valiance shrugs before scratching at his chin. Christ, she was right. What was he thinking, keeping her here in a place like this? Then again, if VIGIL got the wrong idea, that'd be it. If he just explained things, maybe there'd be a chance it'd all be forgiven, but that was quite a risk to take. "Yeah, well - erm, no?" A long sigh. This was hard to say. "None of thish was supposed to happen, but now - well, you've seen all of this." It would take ages to find another deadsite as convenient as this one. "Plus, you know, it really wouldn't be good for me if anything like thish got out. Doesn't shine down well on my record." Still, was that worthwhile justification for just keeping her here? What's the endgame?

The good doctor is interrupted mid-response by a loud clicking noise seemingly originating from the pneumatic door to the south. He glances groggily towards the door before sniffing a little. "Huh. That'sh strange. I don't - don't think that'sh supposed to be making that sound." He blinks once or twice. Christ, now the whole room was spinny, and warm! "Wait, ha! Can - can you even hear that?" Just then, an explosion rocks the room and likely temporarily deafens its occupants. As the ringing fades and the smoke settles, the iron door falls in on itself, crashing to the ground with an earth-shattering thud.

Should Marin glance towards Val, she'll discover that he appears to have hit his head during the explosion and now lies unconscious. Before she can do much else, however, a trio of heavily armed skysiders clad in torn leather and decorative chain march on through the door, futuristic (if poorly maintained) blasters held before them. All three point their guns towards Doctor Valiance, but one keeps a cybernetic eye on Marin. A second later, a seven foot tall lizardman, the group's apparent leader, squeezes on inside.

He points a clawed appendage towards Marin and Valiance before grunting an order. "Doc's out. Grab the girl." At that, one of the thugs steps forward to smash Marin upside the head with the butt of his rifle.

[5a Violista]

[Skyside - Deadsite #2 (Abandoned Crematorium)]

No?
...Hopefully when he's less drugged, he'll let her out.

That will, of course, have to wait: she turns to the door and stands up: could this let her get out? Whatever's happening...
Explosion.
Marin looks around, trying to reorient herself after that explosion. Wha-?

Her head gets hit.
In pain, she collapses.
After that, she really doesn't feel like moving.

[Recaiden]

"Because I can't get inside it without triggering the wards that would summon the angels, and I could not defeat them. My father bound him, before he met my mother. He was a softer man then, though enough of my grandfather remained for the Hive to access his practice. Even if I got past the wards without triggering them, or convinced the angels that responded that I was not trying to access the knowledge or power the Hive of Secrets represents- a hard sell, given my family history- I am not sure I could defeat my grandfather even in his current, much weaker state." That's one good reason not to kill his grandfather, sheer inability.

"The chapel? Was there anything in there of interest? My great-uncle blocked it off after conjuring an imp of greater power than he expected. He planned on binding it to his father's grave to serve as a guard. I take it you did not discover the imp. I wonder when that got out." Too long ago for easy chasing, if Benedict could even be bothered to try recovering it. By now, it's likely dead or bound anyway- or else carved itself a niche somewhere as it slowly gains power.

"I would say rather that it knows secrets about you that have been revealed to some degree in its presence, which given its power probably includes most of this house. Which is another reason why I don't just kill it. If I went in unprepared, it could probably kill me. If I did prepare and went in with a plan, I would have to make that plan elsewhere or it would have counters for my efforts." Benedict knows it isn't omniscient, but it is nearly so in the immediate area- and doesn't know where that area ends.

Miri nods slowly.
Benedict wasn't the one to create this mess, and he's not in a position to fix it, either.
"I understand. It's stuck this way."

"The chapel had a metal book about enchanted machines, a wand that slows things, a weird eyeball, a rod that hurts you if you touch it, and a bunch of rot." she summarizes quickly, not mentioning the living books or the skeleton that Arron is using. Nothing in the chapel was really terribly interesting, right?

Benedict's words have done a fair job discouraging Miri from messing with the mausoleum. If it's just secrets around here, that means they devil would need to go to other places she's been to be really useful - or at least that's her first guess.

[Halae]

[Kathy's Shop]

Kathy might notice that she has managed to surprise Fayyaad. Both with the bold move of grabbing his tail and the feeling of her hand on it. He shivers slightly.

"I think few swordsmen could keep up with your machine. But your plan to attract handsome men has clearly worked like a charm. Knowing how to dance has certainly helped me meet people as well. Along with being so devilishly charming, of course."

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I found out that one of my patients has a more severe problem with abusive parents than I'm used to," Sophie says. "Remember when I asked you for a way to enter someone's dreams? This is about the same person. Her troubles... aren't over, to put it mildly. She has consented to my telling you about it, so maybe I ought to start at the beginning."

[Kathy's Shop]

"And humble too, hmm?" Kathy says, one eyebrow raised, "I imagine you've got all sorts of things you're planning right now, don't you?"

[Mouchabière Residence]

Trick nods, sitting down, "Well, I'm always willing to listen. I'm guessing the trouble has something to do with infernal power, if you're coming to me about it, though. What exactly is the problem?"

[Gullara]

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

"Yes, is this the home of a 'Obriane Bellamy', miss? My name is Jaahlyn and I have a contract with her, ah, 'other self'? Does that sound at all familiar to you?" She raises her eyebrow, hopefully that Kitty won't look at her as if she was crazy.

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Kitsuki's eyes narrow. "You better tell me exactly what you're talking about right now or you're going to leave immediately." Well she doesn't not know what Jaahlyn is talking about. She also doesn't become any more welcoming.

[Family Reunion]

Astrana had almost forgotten of Val's parents way of greeting people. Though by the looks of it Val had managed to manage all the awkwardness of her sex change and wings so that was nice. Sometimes she suspected her unusual appearance had helped since if they could accept a tiefling into their life they could accept about just anything.

But in retrospect it would have been smart to make a call to her parents before they went through with that ritual. But perhaps Val didn't want to concern them? Whatever the case, she had never brought it up. Her family, her decisions.

"Likewise, Mr. Marco." She replies with a wide smile as she repeats his gesture. "If you don't mind me calling you that of course." She figured he might find it too formal.

[Family Reunion]

Valerie did warn them before they arrived, as Astrana might remember, son they weren't totally taken off guard.

"Oh no, please, just Marco. We're family." He insists. "Come, sit with us. We were waiting for you to get home. It's so good to have the family all together for real." The big man beams. They've never actually gotten to meet their granddaughters in person before, given the complications of inter-world travel. Though Astrana knows they've had many video chats across the tenuous network Valerie was able to get through some old contacts.

"We have to thank you so much for letting us stay here, Astrana. I don't think we could've done this move without your help." Piera adds.

[Shadowcaller]

[Family Reunion]

"Don't mention it, you're all part of the family now." She smiles as she reaches into the pocket of her skirt. "Speaking of which, there's something I've been considering for some time now. I don't know if this is the right occasion for it, but now that we're all gathered here..." Astrana takes out a small box and goes down on one knee before Valerie. "Val, I know this might come as a surprise considering my past but will you marry me?" She inquires as she opens it, revealing two golden rings inside. She had made sure there wasn't any silver in them.

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Ick, tough crowd.

The satyr swallows nervously. At least Kitty seemed to have some clue what she was saying then given the reaction. "I really would like to, ma'm. I understand my presence here might be unwanted, complete stranger as I am. But the entity I'm talking about signed a contract with me and unfortunately that means that your fiancee is also going to be affected by its terms and the least unfair thing for me to do would be to inform her of them before I'd be obligated to fulfill them. Perhaps I could simply leave it in written form if that's less intrusive? I have it right here." She pats one of the pockets in her coat. "I'm willing to answer any questions you might have while I'm here, or simply show myself out if you so wish. But understand that I would not have even made this contract if I hadn't been forced to."

[Gullara]

[Family Reunion]

Valerie's eyes go wide and she stares at Astrana with dumbfounded shock. Was this... Her mouth drops open and she scrambles to her feet. "Astrana, oh my god. Yes! Of course yes!" She leans over to cup Astrana's face in her hands and kiss her. After a moment she'll get the idea to help Astrana to her feet, and then kiss her again.

The four older girls get up off the floor and all cluster around their moms. "You're getting married?" "Is it a ring? I wanna see."

Marco sits back down next to his wife and takes her hand. The two watch them with big smiles. Piera fans her face as though she can dry up the tears before they overflow. They keep quiet otherwise to let the family have their moment.

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Kitsuki looks at her a moment longer, and then just closes the door.

...

She slides the chain free and opens the door fully. She crosses her arms, and a sharp wind blows past them to accompany the motion. There's no open window. "Tell me. Everything."

[Morty]

[Kathy's Shop]

Fayyaad's tail wraps itself around Kathy's hand and touches her wrist. She might feel that it's getting warm, if her hands can perceive temperature.

"I might. Are you interested in hearing any? Or maybe you have designs on your own?

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie slides in closer to Trick, snuggling in close and resting her head on the tiefling's shoulder. Trick probably expected that, since her wife tends to seek out physical contact when upset.

"That's part of it. Sekhmet is a tiefling. Or so she thought. It turns out she's actually... more of a half-fiend, I guess you could call it. Her mother is infernal royalty. Which does give her powers she finds hard to control and that apparently set her on fire once. And of course, a mother who wants to bend her to her will. She's trapped somewhere now, but I don't expect it to last."

[Halae]

[Kathy's Shop]

"Perhaps it'd be more... instructive to show, rather than tell?," Kathy leans towards Fayyaad, bringing herself closer to him but if he wants to go in for the kiss she's offering, he'll have to meet her halfway.

[Mouchabière Residence]

"Hmm. Her powers shouldn't be impossible to control, with the right teaching, but there's only a few people qualified to teach that sort of curriculum, and all of them are extremely potent hellbound warlocks or archfiends. I could look her over, see what I can do, but my specialty is more in necromancy and spirit magic, not planar conflux manipulation," Trick's tail snakes around Sophie's waist, holding her close, and her hand moves around her shoulders, "The binding, though, should be able to be reinforced if done properly. Alternately, unmaking a fiend, even royalty, is possible; they're basically just souls given shape and physicality due to their density. If you wanted to attack her head on, I could probably set up a ritual to fight her, if I had some of her daughter's blood. Neither is a perfect solution, though."

[Morty]

[Kathy's Shop]

More than willing to accept such a clear invitation, Fayyaad leans in to kiss Kathy. She'll find he's quite good at it, and the hand he puts on her hip as he does so also gets a little warmer.

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie leans into Trick contentedly. It does a lot to make her feel more relaxed, even with all that she has to think about.

"I think she'd appreciate it, dear. I don't know if she has anyone to teach her about it safely. She seemed at a loss when she told me about it. As for fighting her mother..." She sighs deeply. Here it comes. "I don't know what I want to do about it. I don't think I'm a match for some kind of devil-queen. But I know I could be, if I wanted to. I just don't know if I do."

[Halae]

[Kathy's Shop]

Kathy's own metallic hand moves over to Fayyaad's shoulder, and soon she'll be pressing herself up against him. The tiefling will find that it's... awkward. No matter how good Fayyaad himself is, Kathy is either having difficulty really getting into it, or she's such an amateur at this that she doesn't know what she's doing at all.

[Mouchabière Residence]

"That's the question, I suppose," Trick says, turning that over in her head, "I know you thrive on pacifism. There's, I think, a few ways to approach this, but let me start it with this; do you think there will ever stop being physical conflict in the world, with or without weapons?"

[Morty]

[Kathy's Shop]

The close proximity of Kathy's body doesn't make Fayyaad unaware that things aren't quite going smoothly for her. He pulls away for a moment, keeping his hands on her shoulder and back, while his tail brushes against her leg.

"Is everything alright?" he asks quietly.

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I know it won't," Sophie admits. "And I know someone has to stand between the innocents and those who would abuse them."

[Halae]

[Kathy's Shop]

"... Yeah. I just..." she rubs her forehead a moment, "Just haven't done this very often, is all. I'm not used to being this close to someone, physically," military training says the only reason to let someone come this close is to grapple them, which leads into strangling and body locks. She's not quite ready to go that far with Fayyaad yet.

[Mouchabière Residence]

"And who do you feel should be the ones taking that burden on themselves? To protect others?" Trick asks, knowing where that path of questioning goes.

[Shadowcaller]

[Willa and Corvus' House]

Libra stares dumbfoundead at Zee for a moment before she resumes in her usual style. "Er, why yes! Of course." She quickly replies to Corvus. "I mean, if I ask really nicely that is." She mumbles under her breath.
"Just... give me a second." And with that, Libra disappears in a puff of black smoke.

[Aeontholian Mindscape]

Many worlds were watched by the oni. But the keyword is watched, never interacted with.
But sometimes exceptions could be made even for the most senseless of reasons. Or perhaps because of it.

"YOOHOO!!! L-LUNA?! I, uh, I'm no one important but I got this really great candidate you should- um, might want to consider. You know, as a t-tip?" Her voice is projected but little else, the space becoming perfectly empty again once the sound of her voice fades into it.

[Family Reunion]

Astrana return the kiss on both occasions, two tears running down her face as well as she embraces Val. "G-go ahead, girls." She mumbles while absentmindedly holding out the rings for them to see. "Just... be careful with them." Then she just holds Valerie close for a moment and laughs at nothing in particular.

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Jaahlyn looks like a deer, or perhaps more accurately goat, caught in headlights as Kitty suddenly opens the door.

"Um..." She points just past the kitsune, almost looking like she's making a diverting maneuver before turning to run away. "Indoors m'am or do you want me to stay..." Pausing she looks to the left and then to the right and quickly decides that no, it's probably not a good idea to discuss this in the staircase of an apartment building and will, if Kitty allows it, step inside.

"I shall try to get to the point then, m'am. The, ah, entity contacted me a long time ago for a changeling contract..." Jaahlyn begins as soon as she moved past her host.
But she pauses and turns to the kitsune. "So when you said 'everything', what did you mean? Do you know what a 'changeling' is?" To say that she looks nervous is an understatement.

[Morty]

[Aeontholian Mindscape]

The mindscape is silent for some time, but then it fills with bright, harsh moonlight. The sound of a warhorn and a trample of hooves ring through it. Soon, a great figure appears, of an armor-clad person on a powerful warhorse. They're wearing a suit of lamellar armor, shining like the moon, as is their horse. Their helmet is adorned with the horns of some kind of great beast and a cape made out of dragon-wings flies behind them. In their right hand is an axe in the shape of a crescent moon. The shapeshifting witch-deity of the moon has arrived, and it seems this is the shape they chose to take.

"And why would 'no one important' call me here? To tell me who I should choose? I would hear their plea with much curiosity."

[Kathy's Shop]

"I thought that might be it," Fayyaad says gently. "I'm glad you're trying to reach out to someone again. And I'm glad it's me. We can take it as slow or as quick as you'd like... just tell me what you want."

[Mouchabière Residence]

"The ones strong enough. The ones who have done it before, to spare the innocents from having to do it." Sophie sighs. "It's pointing to me no matter which way I turn it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Aeontholian Mindscape]

As the space is filled Libra too comes into being but now just as a mere featureless shade cowering before the rider.
"Oh, g-great!" Phew, that was easier than Libra thought it would be. She through Luna simply wouldn't respond and she would have to go through all the trouble of making some knock-off version of Luna.

"Since there's a horse-woman, uh, Willa... something..." Think now, you had a pitch in mind when you decided to do this. "She has fallen in love with your favored and is ready to, ah, pierce the... veil o-f mor-mortality for it. Yes, she was just now ready to sacrifice everything to be with him. Even bargain with treacherous otherworldly entities. Now, they have turned upon her and everything seems lost, all her struggles in vein. Wouldn't it be ironic if she too became favored? They might hope that she will turn solar but no, she's visited by his very patron."

Besides the Libra-shade the room where Corvus, Willa and Zee are still standing can be seen. The three seemingly frozen in time as it does not exist here.

[Morty]

[Aeontholian Mindscape]

"Corvus? I remember him well." Luna begins to circle around Libra on their massive warhorse. "But who are you, 'no one important', to call me here through time and space to plead on her behalf?"

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

"A pity. I hoped Mistress Mildred was in there. She seems to have gone missing at some point in the last century, which should be tricky for a sapient book. I have questions for her." She was mentioned by the raksha Benedict summoned. He really hopes she wasn't the book handed over to the fiend. "The Painstick is an interesting artefact. Alas, one of my ancestors was a big fan. He made three copies, that I know about. One of them serves as a curtain rail in my bedroom. That surviving book... I should like to have a look at that. I will head down there myself tomorrow, I think. Have a proper look. The eye sounds particularly interesting." The wand isn't worth mentioning; Benedict can probably duplicate it, though possibly without the boost to weight.

[Shadowcaller]

[Aeontholian Mindscape]

"Uh, I am that otherworldly entity she contacted. She is the reason I reached out to you. She wanted to become immortal but she didn't say how and... well, I did say I was unpredictable." The shade nods.

[Recaiden]

Miri only gives the slightest sign of recognizing the name - but then, the rakshasa did mention it, so how strange is that?
Then she adopts an expression of puzzlement. "I...guess one doesn't touch curtain rods very often."

"Well, that's all I came here to say. I'll bring the book by here, and then get back to mnemomancy."
And Miri turns to do just that.
Go get the metal folio, bring it to Benedict, and then return to the guest rooms and try to remember. Unless Arron or Mildred interrupt, which they probably will.