HALO 184: Red and Grey All The Way

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Sometimes you think something makes sense and it very much doesn't. Artie thought that there was a chance of getting teleport sickness and was worried about portals when she's super long so she decided to get here via shuttlepod which ended up being significantly more tight than she expected given her size. The serpentine fey manages to extricate herself from the pod and ensures that she has neither torn her nice new silk blouse nor bent one of her wings. She's glad that she gave herself small decorative ones for cooling and not full-sized flying ones. She'd have broken them for sure.
But she'll need a moment to collect herself so she stays there for a moment, glittering under the lighting and letting the smell of perfume waft through the room. Hm, she might be overdoing it on that one.
[closed-ish]

Entrance Hall

As Artie is considering how to present herself there is another buzz from the portal and with a slam someone runs straight into her as they come running right out of the portal. "Ouff!"

A whole bag of items goes flying through the air as the person drops it.

Was quite an impact there.

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

Artie is collided with! It is quite difficult to entirely knock her over given the weight of her long, muscular body. Still, she flushes immediately and moved to help pick up the dropped items.
”Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I’ve been here fifteen seconds and I’m causing a traffic jam. No matter what I do I take up so much space.”
The wings on her head flap in frustration. She’s only somewhat aware of them. She has no idea why they had to be so expressive.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Yes, I pictured the other person running into her like they'd run into a pole.
As a result, the hooved woman appears rather woozy from that experience. "Uuhh...ehh..." She remarks as she's gently rubbing her head.
But as her black eyes shot up to look at Artie she seems to instantly recover. "D-don't trouble yourself, lady. I'm completely to blame." She quickly moves in to snatch away a scroll before Artie can pick it up. "I didn't look where I was going."

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

”Oh, are you sure? I mean, I was just coiled in front of the portal. You’d probably have tripped if I didn’t have my front here. Am I sitting or standing when I don’t have legs?” The lady pulls away at the woman’s insistence but doesn’t seem to be accepting the satyr’s status as being to blame.
”I hope you didn’t sprain your ankles on my account. I’m still getting used to taking up this much floor space.”

[Reinholdt]

[Reinholdt's Office - Hot Magtok and Hot Harley]

Hah! This has her completely flustered. She'll drop her disguise and give up this sill-MMPH!

Wait! She wasn't supposed to do that. Those soft, tender lips pressed to his, intermingled with the cold, cybernetic metal. It... It...
It feels good.
Far better than it should.

Rein's surprise (and nothing else, honest) lets the kiss linger far longer than it should. Long enough for the door to swing open and Harley see what's happening. Hearing the sound of it brings Reinholdt's senses back to him and he pulls back suddenly. He makes some gagging noises and tries to brush his tongue clean with his hand.

"Oh! Eww! Magtok kisses, gross! UGH!" He definitely is going over the top with this one and may be trying too hard in an effort to salvage... whatever disaster this is.

[Felandria]

[Reinholdt's Office - Felandria]

"Cool hero types stay just that. They only become memories and stories, never gods." Hercules may have made it to Olympus, but he wasn't a worshipped god as far as Rein knows.

"I mean, if you're looking for a group of inexplicably devoted worshippers, I happen to know one. You just have to convince them to worship you instead of Venus." Venus the dryad, not the other one. "What exactly do you want to be the goddess OF? What's your domain goals?"

Felandria takes a sip from her water bottle.

Well, see, that’s one thing.

I don’t think I really get to choose, necessarily, I think it’s more of a thing where a domain finds you?

I’m not sure I can just decide to be the goddess of, i dunno, chocolate or games or anything.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

"Oh no, not at all." She demonstrates this by tapping her right hoof into the floor twice before bending down to pick up some more of the bags spilled contents.
There's little staw dolls, masks, iron nails, candles, and other occult items which the satyr quickly collects and puts back in the bag.
But as soon as she picked up the items underneath her she stops and turns to Artie. "I am completely unharmed in fact. Very important for hooved people like me you understand. Least our owners should put us down." A moment of silence.
"I'm so sorry, lady. That was my miserable attempt at a joke." The woman smiles sheepishly (or perhaps goatily). "Is there perhaps anything I can help you with? People usually go to HALO for that reason, not that I'm a member."

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

Artie actually almost looks offended but moves on.
”I was going to inquire about job openings, actually. I, well, my entry into House Wadjet has greatly increased my spatial needs as you can plainly see.” She gestures at her thirty feet of tail.
”So I’m badly in need of funds. Ah, I would offer you my old shoes, but I don’t think your hooves are the size mine used to be.” Her smile seems to return on that joke.
Now there is a confusing statement if ever there was one.

[5a Violista]

[Reinholdt's Office - Hot Magtok and Hot Harley]

After opening the door, Harley freezes.

...

Seeing two guys she's made out with kiss each other is giving her very weird feelings, especially if one of them does look like a woman. Did Rein finally find out that she used to date Magtok and is doing this to prank her? Is he in on it and was the one who planned it? Is this finally comeuppance for her and Magtok pranking HALO with snake oil? are her first several thoughts.


Julia realizes that everything's going wrong when someone else barges in and then Rein suddenly changes the way he's acting.
She quickly hits 'send' on the message to wipe it faster, lets him pull away, and then heads to the door, intending to shove past Harley and out the door as the text-to-speech plays. "Forgive me, but I really must go, but do-" it plays.


Fortunately, Harley realizes there's a time and place for pranks like this, and it's definitely not while there's an infiltrator-impostor going around, so she steps to the side to get in Juliane's way, blocking her from leaving. "Tell me who you are," she demands.
As Juleka starts typing to answer that, Harley immediately follows it up with, to keep her a little off-balance, "And don't forget to explain why you were kissing my man."
Julieka has to backspace to delete her initial answer and start a new one.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Jaahlyn looks to be about to start picking up the rest of the items but stops when Artie mentions hoof shoes.
She stares at the other woman for a moment as if trying to discern if she was actually hiding hooves anywhere. Were there tiny ones underneath carrying up that snake-body...?

But staring wasn't very polite and something else this woman had said now caught her attention. "...House Wadjet? You're a memeber of it... lady?" She asks as if in disbelief.

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

Artie seems a little embarrassed.
"Oh, well, in most senses. Taking my predecessor's Role was...unscheduled. So they've given me the rest of my mortal lifespan before they throw me into my eternity of duties. So I am of the Court yes, but I am not an Orobou on duty so to speak." Of course this means she doesn't really NEED tons of money in the long run but she does need it to make the rest of her incarnated time to be pleasant.
"Oh and please call me Artesia. Are you one of our associates? So far no one has recognized the name."

[Recaiden]

Another day, Honeysuckle is back, looking for someone.
Zee wasn't able to help. But she did meet a helpful wizard along the way, and he agreed with Reinholdt's other suggestion.
The next person to ask about this mysterious problem is Maria.
And the best way to find Maria is to go to the [Library].

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Scheduled...?

Jaahlyn's eyes narrows for a brief moment, but then she's suddenly all smiles. "Erm, I guess could say that, lady Artesia. My name is Jaahlyn Hesperos and I've acted as a servant to your house for... a long time now." She finishes her introduction by making an elegant bow.

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

Artie scoots to the side a little so she isn't blocking the portal. But she does look absolutely delighted at the introduction.
"That's wonderful! I'm sorry if I don't recognize your name. My Mask was supposed to go to someone more knowledgeable. Now I'm scarcely a week in and I'm no closer to knowing all the names I should have learned.
Oh, but you don't need to go 'serving' me at all. I was supposed to be finishing my degree to be a doctor; I'm supposed to be serving the public." She waves her hands; she's clearly not keen on having 'servants' merely because of Libra's meddling into her status.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

"Remembering my name isn't nessecary, lady Artesia. It's- ah." She suddenly looks down at her bag as she seems to recall something.
"...perhaps I could at least show you to an actual HALO member while I'm making this delivery? It's to a group of warlocks that are stationed here."

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

”That sounds like a good plan. But there’s no need to put yourself down so. Servant or not you’re still you. I will do my utmost to remember your name, Jaahlyn.”
She did not give a Court at Artie’s question so she must be one of the psychopomps Vez mentioned. But that shouldn’t suggest she should be so self-deprecating.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

The satyr appears unsure how to react to that statement for a moment but finally settles for a nod. "I'll explain later, lady Artesia. I, ah, understand you are new to this but there are many rules that needs following when you're fey." She then picks up the rest of the items and makes her way into the base.

She waits a moment for Artie to catch up. "But if you don't mind me asking you a question first, how did you end up in this situation?"

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

"Yes, I spoke to my supervisor. But none of the rules he outlined for me indicated that I should be rude to people."
She sighs at the question.
"I may have complained to someone with more power than sense while drunk about some of my life problems. And she decided that the best way to solve the problem was to cause all of this without asking me at any point. I'm just going to have to make the best of it."

[Reinholdt]

[Reinholdt's Office - Felandria]

Reinholdt stares for a moment. Then shakes his head.

"You'll not become a goddess if you just wait for a domain to fall into your lap. You need to go out there and seize one. Become the embodiment of that idea in all your actions and in all your words. That's your truest path forward."

[Reinholdt's Office - Hot Magtok and Hot Harley and Hot Water]

Oh thank Eve this hot Magtok was taking Harley's fire for the kiss. Rein didn't want to have to try and explain it.

What Rein does do is pour himself some rum and slam it back in a surprisingly short amount of time. He doesn't swallow it at first, rather swishing it instead. Letting the alcohol kill all the lingering Mag-cooties that she may have gotten in Rein's mouth. Only after a few moments of this does he down the drink and set it aside. Time enough, presumably for Magtok to come up with an answer as Reinholdt closes in behind her so she has nowhere to run to. He won't touch her though. He's had quite enough of that, thank you.

If Magtok starts lying about who she is, he'll just up and say, "I know you're Juleka."
He just... doesn't know who Juleka is. Or what she wants.

[Library]

Unsurprisingly Maria is in here, as is true 22 hours of the day. Sometimes she's even made to work as the librarian so she's sitting at the front desk even. 'work' might be a strong word though. She's primarily reading the heavy tome in front of her and taking notes.

And does not look up when Honeysuckle comes in.

[Purple Eagle]

[Slavic Engineers]

When Svetlana asks Vlad if she's got a good body, he gives her a crooked smile that looks like he's trying to avoid breaking into giggle fits. "...I mean, if you're just going to lob it over the plate like that..." Vlad chuckles. "Yes, I would say you have a fine body. Very... well-machined." His hands trace out curves imitating her sides and hips as he talks, seemingly without thinking about it.

He takes a moment to look around the lab, taking in the view of all the screens and...

And is that what he thinks it is?

Vlad walks up to the metal skeleton, stroking his beard in thought. No... no, this wasn't a GAL. The skeleton was metal, not plastic. Not to mention, he didn't see any holo-projectors on it, at least not from here. Svetlana was presumably working on a convergent design; something meant to serve a similar function, and therefore similarly-formed. "Interesting stuff you've got here."

[Slavic Engineers]

"Why, thank y-" Svetlana turns back to smile at him, trailing off when she sees the crooked smile and the hands tracing her curves. "... typical. Well, you are not wrong...!" She finishes, chuckling and shaking her head. Men!

Once they're in the lab proper, she notices him studying the metal skeleton and then make his comment. "Yes, it is a commission for a client of mine, still in the metal-skeleton phase. The end result will be a body, quite like mine, but shaped to be identical to the client." To note, the metal skeleton looks like a human skeleton, just metallic. "Why, do you recognize the technology? Because it appears to me that you indeed do."

[Ironsmith]

[Slavic Engineers]

"Why, thank y-" Svetlana turns back to smile at him, trailing off when she sees the crooked smile and the hands tracing her curves. "... typical. Well, you are not wrong...!" She finishes, chuckling and shaking her head. Men!

Once they're in the lab proper, she notices him studying the metal skeleton and then make his comment. "Yes, it is a commission for a client of mine, still in the metal-skeleton phase. The end result will be a body, quite like mine, but shaped to be identical to the client." To note, the metal skeleton looks like a human skeleton, just metallic. "Why, do you recognize the technology? Because it appears to me that you indeed do."

[Slavic Engineers]

"Well... yes and no." Vlad says, stroking his beard. "The technology looks similar to some Terahn-developed service drones I've had the pleasure of working with. Galatalos, or just 'GALs' for short. They were designed to mimic the human form so as to be capable of taking over jobs that normally require a human. The designers chose to have them remain skeletal like this for economic reasons; the less space it took up, the more easily all of its parts could be fit into a single fabrication session." He chuckles a little. "Some assembly required, obviously. It looks like you're going another direction with it, though."

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Artie's answer seem to puzzle Jaahlyn more than anything. "I see." The way Artie described it made it seem like she didn't want to get into details however so she wouldn't press the issue. "I hope things work out for you then. But again, if you need any help at all I can be at your service."

The the satyr falls silent as they approach a ring transporter. "Their compound is actually outside the base, connected by this portal. I could just go inside there and turn over these supplies myself if you rather want to stay here. I should just be away for a few minutes tops."

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

Artie rubs the side of her head, by one of her wings.
"Oh, I know it sounds completely ridiculous. I don't think my superiors even understand entirely what happened either. The Nexus throws a wrench into everything.
If you insist I might need some help moving. Adapting a home to being a thirty foot serpent is about as complex as you’d expect, hence my needs here.”
She eyes the portal.
”If you don’t want me with you, sure. I suppose I would complicate your delivery. And I’ve never been sure about portals when you’re this horizontal.” She was always a bit nervous about them even with only being as long as your usual centaur. The idea of your front and back being in totally different places simply seems unnerving.

[5a Violista]

[Reinholdt's Office - Hot Magtok, Hot Harley, and Hot Water]

Don't worry.
Harley will probably confront him later about it.
(Or, alternatively, she'll just say she understands and that 'seduction's a valid technique')


"I am the great Magtok and I was kissing him to make him fall under my spell," the text-to-speech finally says.
Juliekana turns around and sees Rein just behind her, disproving her.
She quickly starts typing again, backspaces a little, then types more.
"No I am Magtok I can prove it."

Harley raises an eyebrow: "Oh, yeah? Then what's your opinion of moustaches?" she asks.
Julienne starts typing, but Harley reaches up and grabs the text-to-speech device from her before she can finish. "Wrong," she says. She gets up into her space, similar to what Rein did earlier. "Since you're here, presumably you know who I am. And I know what you are." Harley grabs Julia's hand and starts shapeshifting...making Julie's hand grow stiff so she can't move it. "So I'll ask you once. Who sent you? Was it the Obsidian Empress? Or are you my sister's?"

Juliette leans back and glances at text-to-speech in Harley's hand, then back at Harley, and back at the device.
She doesn't answer.

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

"They would probably be fascinated by you, that's true. Would be all over you in fact now that I think about it. Fey is something they take any chance to study and you're former mortal too, yeah? That'd make them go crazy, no doubt." Jaahlyn muses, perhaps talking to herself more than Artie for a moment there. "So perhaps we shall return there later once you've gotten in touch with HALO's actual members." She makes a curt bow. "So if you excuse me for a moment then, Lady Artesia."

Then Jaahlyn disappears into the portal.

But true to her word she's only gone for a few minutes and soon returns without the bag.

"I'm back, shall we head off to see the actual members now?" She pauses. "I assume you would like to join the science division, yes?"

[Deathkeeper]

Entrance Hall

"Well, I suppose it's fine if we want to keep them waiting if they're going to be rushing to take measurements and pull at my wings." she seems to realize something.
"They're not too much? The wings, I mean. They're very good at regulating my heat but I can't help but feel like they make me look silly."
She almost seems surprised at Jaahlyn's assessment until she remembers she already mentioned her major.
"And yes, we can go see the members now."

[Shadowcaller]

Entrance Hall

Once more Jaahlyn seems puzzled by Artie's question. "I'm no judge of wings I'm afraid, Lady Artesia. I suggest asking someone with more experience with, ah, wing aesthetic instead." The satyr glances at Artie's wings as if she had just noticed them. "The only advice I can offer is if you hesitate is to go with brings you most comfort."

"But let's go, I have a pretty good idea who you want to meet." Gesturing for Artie to follow her, Jaahlyn trots off to Dorota's office.

As they arrive the satyr gently knocks on the door. "M'am? I'm coming from the fourth tower." Technically true. "I found someone that would want to meet you at the entrance hall."

[Morty]

[Dorota's Office]

Dorota opens the door to face the two newcomers. Her hair seems to be... standing up a little, as if from electricity. It's unclear what caused it. She's not wearing a labcoat and this isn't a lab, so she probably wasn't in the middle of any experiments.

"Uh. Hello, I'm Dorota Séregon. How can I help you?"

[Deathkeeper]

Dorota’s Office

Artie does her best to look presentable. She thinks that she looks quite nice but well, not everyone thinks incredibly long, shimmery snake-folk are what you would expect at a job interview. Hence her questions tl Jaahlyn.
”Good morning, Ma’am. Well to put it bluntly I was here to ask if HALO’s team was recruiting. My name is Artesia. I’m ah, something of a chemist and medic.”
That is to say, she has been given the supernatural position of Chemist and is currently in medical school.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dorota's Office]

Jaahlyn opens the door for Artie and waits for her to enter before she does so to. Closing it after her. "I'm Jaahlyn Hesperos, miss. I work for the fourth tower." The satyr presents herself with a bow. "I came across Lady Artesia while making a delivery so I figured I'd present her to you once I had finished my task." Evidently Jaahlyn seemed to know more about Dorota than she knew about her.