Seaside 6: Six at the Beach

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker chuckles even as he struggles with the box.
”Yeah that’ll happen on your first day. You have to brace your legs a bit differently. You’re used to your center of mass being higher. Just look at what I do, I guess. Of course I’m wider and have less muscles so you don’t have to do nearly as much.”
Of course he’s gasping for air within short order. But oddly he doesn’t seem all that bothered about it, just taking breaks before trying again.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie, who is in a bit of a hurry thanks to the prospect of imminent sunlight, doesn't wait for Codebreaker to catch his breath again and instead just lift the chest in its entirely and throws it into the back of the car, which causes it to wobble a little from the sudden change in weight. "All right, let's go."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

"Cool. Just tell me where I'm going." Despite the pile of fancy cars he has at his place Codebreaker is actually a slow, careful driver.
But he's more than willing to speed things up for the poor strigoi. Even if at this point this humble narrator doesn't think the word has actually been used in front of Codebreaker so he doesn't know it.
"You know if it helps at all I meant what I said. You look good, man. Try bathing a little bit more and you'd almost look approachable."

[bc56]

Team Quest

Batsael pouts. She shouldn't have wasted time with that shot, she should have gone for the magazine. Now she missed out on a lot of kills! She lines up for another shot at the pirate goblin captain's head.

Selekhael focuses. Mishnehel isn't the only one who wields Growth. She targets the fire, wills it to grow larger, more powerful.
And it does.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

"Cool. Just tell me where I'm going." Despite the pile of fancy cars he has at his place Codebreaker is actually a slow, careful driver.
But he's more than willing to speed things up for the poor strigoi. Even if at this point this humble narrator doesn't think the word has actually been used in front of Codebreaker so he doesn't know it.
"You know if it helps at all I meant what I said. You look good, man. Try bathing a little bit more and you'd almost look approachable."

[Shrine]

"It doesn't." Kyrie growls. "My home is down closer to the beach. 3350 Sleeping Link Lane. It's the one made of brick."

Shouldn't be hard to spot, then. Although the street in question is about fifteen minutes away under ideal traffic conditions; going all the way down there might not be the best idea. It comes down to how much Codebreaker is willing to risk some questionably-safe driving.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

"Wait, you got a place here? Wow. I thought you said it was a shack." He speeds up.
"I mean it, dude. You look less like a werewolf and more like your average, if slightly furry dad. You should take a load off a little. Sure you're going to need to spend some time exercising if you want to get back to your old self but you can take this time to take care of yourself. Live a little. Bathe more than once a month. I'll even forgive your remaining debt if you did that. This can't stop you from being there for those kids." he's trying to be supportive of him even while he drives (quickly) through the streets.

[Earl of Purple]

Team Quest

Mishnehel ducks as the bombardment lands, which means she's stopped firing her Metastatic Mitrailleuse. She'll resume firing afterwards, not too willing to give the goblins much of a break to recover and potentially repair their ship. She'll concentrate her fire around the flames that Selekhael is enhancing, making them harder to put out in her own way. By trying to kill everyone that tries.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

"Wait, you got a place here? Wow. I thought you said it was a shack." He speeds up.
"I mean it, dude. You look less like a werewolf and more like your average, if slightly furry dad. You should take a load off a little. Sure you're going to need to spend some time exercising if you want to get back to your old self but you can take this time to take care of yourself. Live a little. Bathe more than once a month. I'll even forgive your remaining debt if you did that. This can't stop you from being there for those kids." he's trying to be supportive of him even while he drives (quickly) through the streets.

[Streets (Moving Quickly)]

Bathe more than once a month? What kind of neat freak did Codebreaker take him for?

"There are... a lot of things wrong with what you just said." Kyrie begins. "First, I still look like a werewolf; just a slovenly, unthreatening one, and since my job involves putting out an intimidating presence, no, that is not an improvement." He scowls. "Second, while we're on the subject of my job, I can't afford to take any more time off of it than I already do; Trog's needs a bouncer on the weekends, too, and while I'm not there, I'm letting Zee down. Yeah, I don't like this body, but I'm going to just have to work through that for now." He taps the glove box irritably. "And the debt? I'm not letting that go. Maybe it's only money to you, but to me... it's a matter of honor. I am not letting that go because something bad enough for you to take pity on me happened. I am still a knight of Maesda, no matter what happens to me."

That's about the time the clouds part and a full burst of sunlight floods the car cab, once again setting Kyrie aflame.

[Deathkeeper]

Streets

Codebreaker clearly was about to open his mouth to protest but instead what comes out is a swear. He reaches back and grabs a jacket to throw over Kyrie to protect him from the sun. Then he slams the gas pedal, cutting off a white sedan that blares its horn.
Codebreaker swings a hard left, wheels screeching as he mashes his garage button.
It takes a minute but after one crazed trip the pair of them are sitting in a car with the garage closed.
"Please be alive please be alive." he hustles to the other side of the car and attempts to check if Kyrie is still manner of alive.

[Ironsmith]

[Garage]

Well, either Codebreaker's tires had sprung a leak in the process of driving into the garage, or that high-pitched whine was Kyrie, recovering slowly from a series of bad sunburns and their further irritation by means of a sudden change in momentum with a seatbelt pressed against him.

The good news is, Codebreaker will be able to quickly confirm that his tires are fine. Kyrie, less so.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's House

Codebreaker gingerly attempts to drag Kyrie out of the car and into the house proper. There's some soft couches out in the wing by the garage anyway.
"Please don't die on me. And don't regenerate into anything any bigger." He gasps as he tries to heave the strigoi to the couch. He's even heavier than that box of coins!

[Ironsmith]

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie makes a gesture that is either a clumsy attempt to swat Codebreaker's hand away or a dismissive wave, but is comically ineffective at providing any real discouragement either way. He's too badly burned to even argue.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

Poor Kyrie is going to get dragged along the floor to the couch. Luckily it's mostly soft carpet.
...except that one slightly sharp shard of wood from the hole he punched in the wall last week.
Still besides that one splinter he should get to the couch without too much hassle. Codebreaker at least does his best to fan Codebreaker with a fan and fetching him some water (not that he thinks Kyrie will drink it).
So instead he just...kinda sits there and hopes he gets better. He at least busies himself by going to close every curtain in the house.
There's a lot of windows.

[Ironsmith]

[Codebreaker's Home]

Fortunately, Kyrie does recover, and pretty quickly at that, all things considered. He's back up on his feet within the hour, though he still spends all that time with a miniature wooden stake in his back, which is... fun. He mutters irritably to himself as he tries to scratch it out, but even with his newly-un-screwed-up body, he finds reaching for something along the arch of his back to be difficult, and can't quite seem to manage it.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's House

Presently, Codebreaker returns, flipping the lights on low. He seems to be holding a pair of shorts and an old hoodie.
"Hey buddy. You doing ok? All your hair grow back in right? I brought you some clothes." Given the amount of weight Kyrie gained CB's surprised his pants managed to survive that much strain in the waistband. Or maybe they didn't but they got to the car fast enough.

[Ironsmith]

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie groans as he sits up, checking his pelt at Codebreaker's suggestion. Yeah, he was right... there were indeed several bald spots where his fur had yet to grow back in. But, on the plus side, it was growing back in, and without any of the dirt or grime or paint or anything stuck to it, so Kyrie smells less like someone who hasn't bathed in a few weeks and more like a freshly-cooked hamburger.

Not that he'd appreciate the analogy, mind.

"Only thing hurt is my pride." He grumbles.

Oh no, he's dying.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

"Well, you look pretty good for someone who seemingly pissed off some god twice in the same morning. Um. Both times were happening while you were bashing the form a gave you but it wasn't Them, I promise." Obviously they would smite someone with red and blue divine light, not sunlight.
Codebreaker sets the close down beside Kyrie.
"These don't fit me anymore anyway. So feel free to keep them. I think your belt looks liable to burst any second so at least take the pants." he nods with a smirk.
"Sun's up too so you're stuck here for the day.
...
do you...sleep?"

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker's Home

"Well, you look pretty good for someone who seemingly pissed off some god twice in the same morning. Um. Both times were happening while you were bashing the form a gave you but it wasn't Them, I promise." Obviously they would smite someone with red and blue divine light, not sunlight.
Codebreaker sets the close down beside Kyrie.
"These don't fit me anymore anyway. So feel free to keep them. I think your belt looks liable to burst any second so at least take the pants." he nods with a smirk.
"Sun's up too so you're stuck here for the day.
...
do you...sleep?"

[Codebreaker's Home]

"Only as a matter of habit." Kyrie groans and stretches, accepting the clothes and giving them a tentative sniff. He sighs inwardly as he realizes he's definitely going to have to change; with his waist size going up about a foot, none of his current clothes will fit him. Which sucks, because he just got them. Money wasted, it seems.

He presses his claws to his forehead as he considers the implications of what just happened. Codebreaker was right; Kyrie had seen this method of smiting before, and it had nothing to do with a.

It was Absum. His own god.

Which means, at some point in this exchange, he screwed up royally.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

"Okay well that means I can play host since I got sleep in while you were working. Please, forget about what I said about you and this place. I'm not going to cast you out at a time like this." I mean, seriously. Now that Codebreaker has spent time with vampires and a werewolf he can say that the latter is definitely preferable. Even if he's reasonable sure he'd be immune on principle.
"So uh, welcome back to my abode. Watch the front, we're still working on it. Can I get you anything? Like really dude you were on fire just say the word." he clicks his perfectly-manicured claws together. Really he just feels bad for the guy. "You're kinda stuck here for the whole day. And summer days are long. So we can always watch movies or something. You like any games?"

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker's Home

"Okay well that means I can play host since I got sleep in while you were working. Please, forget about what I said about you and this place. I'm not going to cast you out at a time like this." I mean, seriously. Now that Codebreaker has spent time with vampires and a werewolf he can say that the latter is definitely preferable. Even if he's reasonable sure he'd be immune on principle.
"So uh, welcome back to my abode. Watch the front, we're still working on it. Can I get you anything? Like really dude you were on fire just say the word." he clicks his perfectly-manicured claws together. Really he just feels bad for the guy. "You're kinda stuck here for the whole day. And summer days are long. So we can always watch movies or something. You like any games?"

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie lets out a little sigh and starts changing right then and there. "Well... I suppose I could indulge myself." He strokes his chin thoughtfully, his pants down around his ankles. "...I don't suppose you have a chess set here?"

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker’s Home

Well. If Kyrie is trusting him to not make a big deal of this he won’t. But wow that’s more trust than he was expecting.
He’s a little disappointed that Kyrie doesn’t wear silly boxer shorts like the guy in Ghosts and Goblins. But hopefully what he is wearing is stretchy…
”I mean, maybe? But I do have a whole crazy sound system and theater down in the basement. We could use it for once! It’s a little more exciting than chess. Also um.
I’m not gonna lie I think that’s one of the games I can’t not cheat at. Boss makes it really easy to guess things with limited numbers of outcomes. But yeah. There any movies? Video games? Anything? I can try to find a regular old board if that’s all you want…”

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker’s Home

Well. If Kyrie is trusting him to not make a big deal of this he won’t. But wow that’s more trust than he was expecting.
He’s a little disappointed that Kyrie doesn’t wear silly boxer shorts like the guy in Ghosts and Goblins. But hopefully what he is wearing is stretchy…
”I mean, maybe? But I do have a whole crazy sound system and theater down in the basement. We could use it for once! It’s a little more exciting than chess. Also um.
I’m not gonna lie I think that’s one of the games I can’t not cheat at. Boss makes it really easy to guess things with limited numbers of outcomes. But yeah. There any movies? Video games? Anything? I can try to find a regular old board if that’s all you want…”

[Codebreaker's Home]

More saliently, fur covers everything.

For his part, Kyrie just doesn't see anything wrong with getting changed like this. They were both guys here. No new sights for either of them. Aside from not actually being a locker room, it was just like a locker room. And it only takes him a moment to get dressed. Of course, Codebreaker is likely to forget about this when Kyrie asks him a life-changing question:

"What in Absum's name is a video game?"

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

This is something CB was honestly expecting. Kyrie seems to be pretty darned old-fashioned. He at least seems to know what phones are.
"Look, how about you just come with me and I'll take care of you, okay? I know what you said about taking a break. But take today off, at least." he gestures to a nearby door, behind which is a set of stairs leading to a lavish theater and game room. Spared entirely from Kyrie's wrath it still has all its soft seats and (somewhat dusty) TVs and consoles and its theater-style snack bar.

[Ironsmith]

[Codebreaker's Home]

"...I don't see how I have much of a choice, really." Kyrie admits. "Can't go outside without burning up. Unless you have a tunnel down to the shoreline, I'm pretty much stuck here anyway." He was reasonably sure Codebreaker didn't have such a tunnel. If he did, he probably would've used it instead of the panic room.

"So... if I'm stuck here, yeah, okay, fine. Show me what these video games are."

[Rebonack]

[Team Quest]

Here comes the next round!

Lapis is waiting for Radiant Lance to refresh, so she spends her turn reinforcing their bunker and doing a scan on the pirate captain! They already go tactical information on him, so this second scan will enhance accuracy even more! Adding a bit of extra bullet-vacuum to her sister's short definitely doesn't hurt.

Boom.

Headshot.

"Good shooting Eao!"

The goblin topples over backwards, but Batsael will be able to tell that didn't actually slay the redcap. He IS really mad now, though!

As for the rest of the crew they're scrambling to try to put out the flames, but the suppressing fire and the stoking fire REALLY aren't helping them out at all!

Another explosion rocks the back of the ship as a barrel full of powder goes off. Kablewy! The vessel is still floating, but it's in pretty bad shape.

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

"Well my slightly-less-round-but-equally-furry-friend, I'm glad you asked. Take a seat." he gestures at the plush couch. It's huge and soft, probably what you expect from CB at this point.
He pushes some buttons and dusts off his gear and shortly thereafter a gritty fantasy world is displayed upon the massive flatscreen with a knight in the forefront.
"Take this controller. You use it to control what's going on. Just follow the tutorials." he explains briefly.

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker's Home

"Well my slightly-less-round-but-equally-furry-friend, I'm glad you asked. Take a seat." he gestures at the plush couch. It's huge and soft, probably what you expect from CB at this point.
He pushes some buttons and dusts off his gear and shortly thereafter a gritty fantasy world is displayed upon the massive flatscreen with a knight in the forefront.
"Take this controller. You use it to control what's going on. Just follow the tutorials." he explains briefly.

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie lets out a discontented grunt but does as Codebreaker suggests. It takes him surprisingly little time to pick up the game in question, but his manual dexterity is still somewhat low and he's not very good at it. Furthermore, the specific game Codebreaker chose seems to bother him a bit; there's no indication he's actually enjoying it very much. After about ten minutes, he sets the controller to the side and sighs. "This is what passes for entertainment these days, huh?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

"Wow, that's a really cute way of processing damage. Is that...what's the word, ablative armor, I think? Reactive armor? Do you mind telling me a little about how it works? Not enough for me to steal the design or figure out how to undermine it, of course. Just whatever you're comfortable with. Idle chatter between two of the only minds in this half-modern, half-fantasy world capable of appreciating such handiwork," the cyborg pleads, eyes glowing in fascination as his giant mech stomps forward, pulling a fist back in preparation for a massive uppercut.

"It's fine if you don't. Honestly, I can figure it out on my own when I'm studying your corpse later, anyway," he shrugs, before swinging his own fist to mimic the Janus Engine's mighty melee strike.

[War Machine]

Quin waits until the Janus engine begins its swing, then adroitly dodges the massive machine's fist. Despite his size, he's still quick, and as the fist passes him, he fires a pair of blasts from his chest cannons at the passing limb.

"I won't leave a corpse if you manage it. My data will simply cease to be, fractured and deleted." He says darkly. "I am a sentient program brought into your reality; given physicality through an unknown means. I do not know if it's even possible if you could replicate the manner in which I process damage."

[Deathkeeper]

Codebreaker's Home

Codebreaker looks disappointed but not for the reason you might think.
"Oh no, this is a niche title known for being sadistically difficult for no reason. I just wanted to see how you'd react. Let me get you something more cheery." Though for the record OCB beat that game with even bigger mitts than Kyrie's so that's no excuse!
CB next puts on a significantly brighter and more cartoony game, not hesitating to delete the save file of his predecessor because of course it still only has one save slot. Kyrie likes training, right? Should be fine.

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker's Home

Codebreaker looks disappointed but not for the reason you might think.
"Oh no, this is a niche title known for being sadistically difficult for no reason. I just wanted to see how you'd react. Let me get you something more cheery." Though for the record OCB beat that game with even bigger mitts than Kyrie's so that's no excuse!
CB next puts on a significantly brighter and more cartoony game, not hesitating to delete the save file of his predecessor because of course it still only has one save slot. Kyrie likes training, right? Should be fine.

[Codebreaker's Home]

"That? Difficult?" Kyrie scoffs. "No, that's an embarrassment. What kind of knight, with any degree of sanity, had only three attacks to his name? Especially if he's just going to stand there like the greenest of rookies when it turns out his opponent had a shield and a better plan for using it than just holding it in the way. Nine-tenths of fighting with a shield is deflecting, you can't be at all surprised when your opponent decides to do it!" He huffs. "That had about as much in common with a real challenge as I do with a... oh, how did she pronounce it? Chee-ha-wa? Chee-wa-ha? Chay-ha-ha? Something like that. Tiny dog, is the point." He leans back, running a clawed hand over his snout. "No, what gets me is the setting. That's a light version of the past ten years of my life and it's already depressing. Who looked at that and thought 'hey, this'll be fun'?"