Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:45:58 GMT -5
-- philosopherQueen [PQ] opened a memo on board TEAM KOUSEI. -- PQ: Good evening, everyone! I assume, given the manifold challenges this game seems to love to throw at us, you are likely feeling just as tired as I am. PQ: Well, this impeccable noble lady has some good news for you! We are going to have a CHRISTMAS PARTY! PQ: That is, I hope we are. I am going to throw one. You are free to simply tell me to take a long walk off a short pier. The joke will be on you since I can fly. PQ: Anyway, I figure it would be a great time to get together, have fun, celebrate something POSITIVE amidst all this tragedy, and further the relations of those of us who do not know each other! PQ: We are likely going to bring gifts, so feel free to alchemize something for each person. You need not worry too much on getting the right gifts for each member, as the goal here is to just have fun! PQ: Mistletoe is optional, but I know a few of you who might decide to sneak some in. PQ: I am looking right at you, Dahlia. PQ: I will be hosting and providing all food, you need not make any yourself unless you wish to. PQ: Now, for time! As you may remember, my previous attempt at a group breakfast ended in disaster in part due to the sleepiness of many involved. Such a thing I shall not stand to occur twice! PQ: Therefore, we are having this in the evening, so you lazy Yankees can get your beauty sleep. The time shall be tomorrow at 6:00 pm UCT-6 (Central time for Americans, I do believe). PQ: For those of us from civilized hemisphere of our old world, check this for how it stacks up against your superior time zone: www.worldtimezone.com/ PQ: If anyone has any questions or wishes to arrange quick transport to my land, feel free to contact me! PQ: Merry Christmas!END OF ACT 2
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:47:25 GMT -5
INTERMISSION The snow lightly falling outside the Von Hayek mansion had never seemed more appropriate, and the mansion itself never more brimming with festive decoration and cheer. What had been in Christmases past--if a cheerful and welcome one--had now taken on the flavor of respite. Decorating the abode's grandiose halls and sweeping rooms had become a sacralization and celebration of the normal in the sea of chaos that had surrounded their past few days. Lights hung from every buttress, every arch over a doorway, every conceivable place one could put them as if a particularly festive spider had had its way with the old mansion. The smell of just about every kind of Christmas food that could be cooked wafted through the air, creating a buffet of smells to match the literal buffet awaiting the guests. Yet even when it seemed that they had decorated as much as possible, one of the servants or another would get an idea and off they would go again. Despite the festivities being in part an escape from the sudden change in their environment, the servants HAD come very quickly to take advantage of the alchemizer and other such tools for their projects. One involved the creation of a life-size Santa in his sleigh with all the reindeer including Rudolph, which was then hung from the foyer's high ceiling by strong, difficult to see wire that was also made via alchemy. Elsewhere a large, almost man-size snowflake was hung on the wall, which constantly played low-level piano christmas music (so as to be festive but not distracting). Frieda, one of the maids, had largely taken over leadership for such alchemy projects, and the grand Christmas tree that stood tall in the main hall was largely her own project. Using the enlarger addition to the alchemizer, she had crafted something truly awe-striking, towering to just below the mansion's highest ceiling. Lorelei's ability to fly, as it had been with other projects like the santa one, had come in handy for decorating the tree with the manifold baubles and lights that covered it. But a scant few minutes before she had just put the angel on the top of the tree. Now she sat in one of the large lounge chairs in the foyer, next to Florian (who was busy thumbing through a hefty tome of Christmas stories to find the perfect one to tell), idly tossing the crucifix that hung around her neck this way and that in her hands. The guests would soon be arriving...
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:48:05 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) ===> ===> ===> ===> >Arrive. "My ears are still ringing you goddamn lunatic."
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:49:04 GMT -5
At the sound of the stately front doors swinging wide open (and the loud complaint by one instantly recognized as Zach Lombardi), Lorelei quickly went to stuff the crucifix down her shirt only to realize that, for once, she was wearing something cut too low to allow that sort of thing. Oh, well... It is not like it really matters anyway. Somber religious contemplation: off. Perfect ladylike host mode: on! True to her thoughts, Lorelei immediately sprung up from her seat and walked quickly towards her new guests, smiling brightly and holding out her arms in welcome. " Zach! Thank yo ufor coming." She gave her old friend a quick hug before turning towards his companion. " And you must be Zach's sister, yes? It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lorelei Catarina Kurfurstin Von Hayek. Welcome to my home!"
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:49:22 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) Sis extended her hand in greeting as the two stepped into the enormous mansion. "That's me. I take it he's already told you the basics?" Lorelei shook the offered hand, nodding. " Yes, indeed, along with some stories regarding your reactions to his shenanigans." The older woman smirked and rolled her eyes. "Perfectly justified, I'd say. Where's everyone?" " You are the first to arrive, actually! Fashionably early, I am sure." Zach laughed. "How'd we beat Peter and Guardian?" Lorelei shrugged. " I do not know!" She turned and began leading the way into the main hall, nevertheless making sure to keep her view (most of the time) on her guests as they followed. It's terribly unladylike not to look at someone as you talk to them, after all. " As for Guardian, I do not know if he shall in fact be coming--he did not répondez s'il vous plaît. And as for Peter, well, knowing him he shall either arrive randomly or has something planned," she remarked with a smile. As if on cue, Zach's phone buzzed in his pocket. SHOW PESTERLOG -- absoluteTranquility [AT] started pestering inaneFixation [IF] -- AT: Technically I don't show up for another two minutes so SHH IF: what are you-
Zach saw something move in the corner of his eye. He looked into the small mirror glued to the inside of his shades and sure enough, there Peter was hiding behind a potted plant. IF: oh. "He's uh, on his way." Lorelei's brow quirked in curiosity and a bit of confusion to boot. " If he was 'on his way', would he not be already here...?" She shook her head rapidly as if to shake loose the confusing thoughts that gripped her mind. " Nevermind. Bizarre temporal shenanigans, I am sure." Lorelei led the way into the spectacularly decorated main hall. The great Christmas tree towering over her from behind, she turned to her guests and once again held her arms out in a gesture of welcome. " So! Here we are. I must say, not to be arrogant about it, we have quite out-done ourselves this year! Even the most lavish Von Hayek Christmas celebration has not equaled this! Feel free to help yourself to anything the banquet table has to offer!" Before Lorelei had even turned back towards the two, Sis was already at the table filling her assorted bowls and plates. Zach didn't seem too surprised at her behavior. "Don't mind her. Usually on Christmas we have, like, a pumpkin pie and some sandwiches and then we watch TV all day." The host merely giggled in response. " 'Tis no worry at all, that is what it is there for! And I did indeed make sure to stock the table with some vegetarian options for you, Zach, as promised." "Hey, thanks! So do I put the presents under the tree or is it different in-" There was now a large, grey-wrapped box in the room that Zach was sure had not been there before. He had a decent idea of what was inside it, though. "Oh, god." " No, it is the sa-..." Confused and a little bit worried, Lorelei turned in the direction Zach was facing, looking in vain for whatever it was her friend had noticed. " What is it? What is the matter?" ===> "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" " AAAAAUUUUUGH!" Lorelei shot up into the air like a white rocket, recoiling so far in shock that she almost made it to the ceiling before stopping. A moment's worth of blinked eyes and a frozen stare was enough for Lorelei to grasp the situation. " Pfftheh...Heheheeheeheeheehahahahahaha! I knew it!" Far more delicately she floated back down to earth in front of Peter and gave him a hug. " I knew you had something planned! I just did not know what and that was my downfall! Ahahahahahahaha!" As one Peter, conspicuously red in the face, hugged his friend, the second iteration of him from the other room walked over to retrieve a large sack from the box. As he dumped it's contents, five smaller but similarly wrapped boxes, onto the floor beside the tree, Zach laughed. "Okay I know there's more to this." Both Peters responded at once. "Well do you want me to spoil it? Lorelei relinquished her hug and stepped back, hands clasped behind her back and smirking. " Two Peters? I do not know if we have enough food for two Peters!" A joke and nothing more, of course, given the food on the table looked like it could feed a small army and Lorelei knew nothing about her crush's eating habits besides. " I suppose it would be best to simply leave the mystery unsolved for now." One of them opened his mouth to comment about how 'only two is wishful thinking', but was interrupted by an alarm from his watch. "Woah, gotta' go!" He disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving a single Peter currently in the room. "Uh... Yeah I'll probably be doing that a lot." "IIIII'm not sure I like where this is going." "Shh."
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:50:00 GMT -5
As if on cue to interrupt during a momentary lull in the conversation, the mansion's rather high-class doorbell (for even the doorbell carried aristocratic airs in this household) rang out to fill the void. Lorelei quickly excused herself from the conversation to make a brisk pace towards the front door once again. What awaited her was a welcome, if rather strange, sight. Two figures stood--or rather, one stood and one floated--before the door. Page Caldwell, with her usual nervous-but-sincere smile, wore an outfit that Lorelei could only presume was made while visiting Dahlia. The glowing blue sprite to her left could be no one else but her father, clad in gear that would have made Dumbledore inquire as to who exactly was his masterful arcane tailor. Lorelei smiled and, just as before, spread her arms wide in greetings. " Welcome, Page and Mr. Caldwell! You are right on time! Peter and Zach have already arrived." " O-oh, good, I guess," Page remarked after receiving a hug from Lorelei. " I was afraid we were going to be late, I think." "See?" Page's father remarked, chuckling. "I told you we'd be fine. No need to worry, Sweetheart." he paternally mussed up her hair, in much the same fashion as Dahlia had before which in turn reminded the young Caldwell of her father. Lorelei chuckled, then turned and lead the way into the main hall. " As I was saying to Zach and his sister, I think this has been the most elaborate christmas celebration the Von Hayek mansion has ever thrown! The alchemy technology is likely partially to blame, of course." "Man, if your rich girl friend finds it elaborate, I can't wait to see how we'll view it..." the mighty hobowizard quipped in a low tone to his daughter, receiving a small giggle in response. Soon, as they drew into the main hall along with the other guests, his question was answered. The little homeless family from the back streets of Dublin could do nothing but gape, mouths wide open, at the magnificent splendor. Eyes darted this way and that at each amazing new sight, and Page could only mutter one thing: " Whoa..."
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 20:53:00 GMT -5
((Zuki's post))
For those close enough to hear, the sound of a fist knocking on wood echoes through the foyer. "I'm here?" Not waiting for acknowledgement, Gita stepped over the threshold. Trying not to boggle at the elaborate decorations, she continued, "Lor', I got your memo, I've got my [strk]sh-[/strk] stuff, and--" At the sound of another voice--one somewhat well known that instantly brought a smile to the young Von Hayek's face--she quickly excused herself from the Caldwells' gawking at the decorations to briskly trot back towards the stately front door. Her smile only grew wider when she saw her old friend, and quickly moved to embrace her. "Welcome, Gita, welcome! I am glad you came!" Instinctively she moved to kiss Gita's cheek, but stopped herself with her lips but an inch from her friend's face. "...Hah, caught myself that time!" It is, to Gita's credit, a marginally less extreme reaction than the first time this happened. Marginally. Don't blush don't blush don't aw shit I'm bright red "...Don't stop yourself on my account." She managed, lamely. "All right, if you insist!" Lorelei closed the gap, kissing Gita on the cheek, then let go of the hug and pulled back. "And that was your daily dose of European culture. Do you not feel so culturally sensitive now?" ...! "Ah. Yea. Cultural sensitivity is go." the fuck does that even mean Struggling not to stand there like a light-headed derp, Gita cast about for a change of topic. "...like what you did with the place. Decorations-wise." Of course, Gita's embarrassment was hard to miss, but once again Lorelei simply assumed it was due to a rather shy and easily embarrassed disposition combined with the kiss itself--far more likely, in her mind, than her old friend being deeply and truly in lesbians with her. She berated herself for a moment for taking what Gita said literally--wondering if instead it was a bit of american slang she missed--but ultimately decided that dwelling on it would only make things worse. "Oh, thank you! I must say, I cannot take very much of the credit! My familly has seized upon this opportunity as a somewhat return to normalcy and have all thrown themselves into it with a vigor I have never seen. Just wait until you see the tree! 'Tis right this way, if you would follow me." With that, Lorelei turned and led the way towards the main room where the others were gathered. Lorelei's relentless cheer and reassuring presence are, gradually, a welcome distraction. Christmas, however incongruous, is about the furthest one could possibly get from the visions and whispers that gripped Gita hours before. "Woah. That is one...that is a hell of a tree." She shuffles tree-wards, and decaptchalogues a set of identical boxes. "It all goes here?" The entire time, Gita's looking around, eyes jumping from decoration to decoration, from person to person. It's not awe or wonder, like Page and her fatherly wizardsprite. More...uncertainty. Been a long time since Gita was at a party. "Yes indeed, my friend. Now the last person we are waiting on is Miss Asher, who I do believe intends to arrive fashionably late anyway, if I know her. In fact, I would not put it past her at all to arrange some sort of way to ensure she is last to arrive.." ===> A lone figure sat out in the cold and snow, some great distance from the welcoming hearth fires and cheer of the party. Yet, despite some part of him clamoring for the warmth and socialization involved, Guardian did not believe it was a place he belonged. He was not here to partake, but to observe, for a shadowy and enigmatic employer for shadowy and enigmatic reasons. >Guardian: Contact Shadowy and Enigmatic Figure -- guardianGrognard [GG] began pestering spiraMirabilis [SM] -- GG: Hey, Kid. GG: Gita just arrived, so the rest of 'em are there. GG: Guess it's time for you to make your ~~~~fantastic appearance~~~~ GG: ... GG: How the fuck did I even pronounce those tildes anyway?
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 20:54:40 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) "So..." "SHH." And then someone knocked on the door. " I'm here?" ===> !!! this is bad no time to think use your instincts[/i] ===> instincts no ===> -- absoluteTranquility [ AT] began pestering inaneFixation [ IF] -- AT: What are you doing in my precious box? IF: please don't tell gita i'm in here i really don't think i want to talk to her right now AT: If you don't now you'll kind of have to whenever Lor tells her you're here IF: tell them i'm in the bathroom or something IF: just IF: look last time i saw her was kind of embarassing for both of us and now my sister is here to rub it in and i really don't want to deal with this in front of everyone. AT: So you're hiding in a box until someone opens it? AT: That doesn't sound very well thought out at all AT: I thought you were supposed to be a genius or something. :P IF: yeah yeah i've never been good at thinking things through. :/ IF: just i guess buy me some time to figure something out is what i'm saying? AT: Time you say?? AT: Why yes I think I can do that AT: I happen to be something of an expert in that particular field AT: (ask anyone who isn't guardian) AT: And I don't have to be anywhere for... AT: about twelve minutes? AT: So yes I think I can help you not get caught by the lady with the broadsword. AT: So quick before they get in- " Woah. That is one...that is a hell of a tree. It all goes here?" IF: D: AT: shit
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 21:02:07 GMT -5
SM: Thanks, oldtimer. You're the best. SM: And by best I of course mean a distant but appreciable second. Behind me, in case we're still taking notes. SM: :D GG: At least it's better than third place. GG: Bronze is just "you tried your hardest but no one gives a fuck about you!" SM: Harsh. Harsh, but true. Anyway, thanks, really. Wouldn't want anyone thinking I gave too many fucks, getting the wrong idea or anything. But I should probably haul my happy blue ass over there before they really start to miss me. GG: Yeah, 'cause contacting me to absolutely make sure you're last there is totally not giving fucks. SM: One last thing before I go, though. GG: What? SM: You haven't been skulking around my planet, covertly trolling me, have you? GG: Nah, I've got better things to do. Your session is so ass-deep in anomalies I can barely keep up with them, much less devote brainspace to trolling some kid. Why do you ask? SM: Just curious. -- spiraMirabilis [SM] ceased pestering guardianGrognard [GG] -- ===> Aw man... it's this bright on the outside, I can hardly wait to see what's inside. Standing at the door to the Von Hayek mansion, Dahlia grumbled to herself, tugging at the black fur of her coat's collar. Who decided this was a good idea again? Oh well, at least I won't be cold this time. Dahlia raised one hand and poked halfheartedly at the doorbell. It wasn't that she wasn't glad to be here -- not entirely, anyway. She just had a lot going on lately. But she promised herself she'd try to enjoy it... and besides, she grinned to herself, it's not like I didn't bring my own fun along. Another poke at the doorbell, and she waited, hands clasped behind her back, still grinning. The doors swung open for the fourth time that evening, and just as before a smiling scion of the Von Hayek family awaited within the beckoning and warm confines of the mansion. " And here she is, fashionably late as expected! Welcome, Dahlia." " Better watch it. You tell me I'm getting predictable and I'll show up early next time, and nobody wants that. Trust me." Dahlia chuckled, sliding past Lorelei in her fluttering black coat, more than a little thankful she managed to dodge the... physical greeting from last time. Lorelei chuckled and led the way towards the main hall. " Oh, I do not know, it might not be so bad! Nice outfit, by the way." " Thanks. Made it myself." Dahlia let that one hang a moment before snickering quietly. " Alchemy: father of stupid jokes everywhere. So I take it everyone's waiting in rapt anticipation of my fantastic appearance?" It was, as always, more than a little hard to tell what was serious and what was irony, with Dahlia. Sometimes they were even the same thing. " But of course, Dahlia, we have all been on the edge of our seats! Poor Page fell off hers at least twice, and my behind hurts something fierce. Would it truly have killed you to arrive earlier?" Lorelei batted back, tone all humor and playfulness. " Oh, it definitely would've. See," Dahlia began, gesticulating meaninglessly as they went, " us crazy alien science-babies are made with bombs in our heads, and if we ever show up early -- boom, there we go. Or if we piss the overlords off too much, which is why I make damn sure nobody ever takes me seriously." She shot a wry, sideways grin at Lorelei. While she wasn't much for hanging out with most people, this banter was something she actually missed from the one time Lorelei visited. At times like this, they felt a whole lot more like sisters than anything else -- assuming one could get past the fact that they were polar opposites otherwise. " Why, that is positively unacceptable!" Lorelei exclaimed, filled with the fakest of all righteous indignations. " We must find a way to rid you of these evil overlords casting a shadow over your space baby life!" She punctuated this statement by pounding her fist into her open palm. " We shall overcome this evil with ~CHRISTMAS SPIRIT~! That is how it works, right? That is what all the cartoons said. Speaking of which..." On cue, she ushered Dahlia into the lavishly decorated main hall with a sweep of her arms. " Here we are!" " Hoooly s--nowflakes." " Yes, the snowflake is rather nice too. It plays music!" Lorelei commented, grinning widely at her friend's surprise. Dahlia quickly bounced back to snarky jokes mode. " So, where's Santa, so I can sit on his lap and have my picture taken?" She grinned at Lorelei. " ...Y'know, like when you're in the mall and..." Lorelei chuckled. " You shall have to ask Peter about that, given he has the santa costume around here. Something tells me he would not be very quick to humor your request, alas." "Alas" nothing, you would probably feel a bit jealous and you know it, Von Hayek. Dahlia's grin wilted. " You are really not getting this, and-- oh, just never mind." She sighed, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. " Besides, I'm pretty sure that lap's got your name on it. Like, all over it." She summoned up her most impish of smirks for that one. In the game of words between Lorelei Von Hayek and Dahlia Asher, the score ticked up to 0-1, Asher. Lorelei's face exploded in scarlet, and her words only dug things deeper. " Whatwhat? No, that's absolutely absurd! Ahahaha, you're silly. So silly. Oh hey, look, there's Page! She hasn't noticed you've come in yet, I guess, too busy eating! Ahahahaha! Hey, Page, it's Dahlia!" Page, sure enough, poked her head up from the banquet table, mouth still full of turkey. Caught off guard, she quickly chewed and swallowed, only to find that the she'd been more than a little too quick. Coughing and wheezing, she nevertheless managed to struggle out a " Hi, Dahlia!" while her father patted her helpfully on the back. Dahlia smiled and waved to Page, up-and-down, as one might when waving off someone's concern -- or, in this case, overreaction. " Hey now, don't go dying on my account. I'll still be around once you've had a chance to eat." Part of her wanted to go over there and talk to Page, particularly the way she had left things last time they spoke, but... man, that's a lot of people. And her father, Dahlia figured. Instead she simply chuckled to herself and kept on walking, heading for the grand Christmas tree that was the focal point of the room. There she produced a light-blue sylladex card, and from it retrieved five darker-blue envelopes which she placed under the tree -- each containing, as she knew, yet another light-blue sylladex card with a present in it. Yeah, it really doesn't get much more meta than this. Satisfied with her arrangements, Dahlia made herself welcome to a comfortable-looking chair, a comfortable distance away from the dining table where the others had gathered. If Mohammad will not go to the mountain... then the mountain must come to Mohammad.
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 21:02:26 GMT -5
===> ===> ===> AT: Smooth. ===> " Cookie?" Gita has sidled away from the main table, made a show of looking over the (admittedly rather elaborate) Yule tree, and offered a plate laden with baked goods to her friend. Not actually making eye contact, she goes on, " The pfeffernusse is a centuries-old family secret, or something." There have been more tepid introductory overtures in paradox space. But not many. { } IF: aw fuck is she coming over here?? IF: she is isn't she??? AT: That she is. AT: Just calm down and stop panicking, because giant boxes are suspicious enough when they're not gasping for air. IF: I'M NOT PANICKING Dahlia glanced up to the newcomer, and Creepy Santa followed suit -- which is to say, she subtly tilted the decidedly unsettling Christmas mug towards her guest. " It's a good thing you decided to clarify." She grinned wryly, assessing the situation as best she might in the half-second she had. A girl, not dressed in the same uniforms as the help. Either someone's sister, or Gita -- and if Dahlia had done her job right, all but Gita would have been adequately warned away by now. Hopefully. " Or I might have had to accuse you of coming up with cute nicknames." Dahlia wagged a finger at Gita -- again shaking the Santa mug back and forth -- before finally taking her up on her offer. " Not bad, though." She added quickly: " The cookie, that is. The other... well, let's stick with 'Dahlia'." " If I tried to give you a 'cute' nickname, Dahlia, it sure wouldn't be 'Cookie,'" Gita replied, as she leaned against her friend's chair, facing those gathered at the table. (Which meant she was no longer facing The Mug.) " You're obviously much more of a 'Peaches.'" Lorelei looked amazing in that low knit top that showed her shoulders off, Gita thought. Gita also thought about how much she'd rather not be caught staring, and returned her mind to the snarky banterfriend beside her. " Have you been lovingly harrassed and entreated to join the rest of our happy crew, yet?" Dahlia actually chuckled at that, setting the mug down in her lap for a moment now that she was no longer in immediate danger of-- wait, no, there she goes talking about joining the rest of the crew. Defense mode activated, mug back up. Also that's some really tasty hot cocoa. An added bonus. " I contemplated taking Lorelei up on her offer. Then I realized I was an idiot and went back to not doing that." She grinned sharply, sarcastically. " This gives me a better vantage point anyway, so I can keep an eye out." " Yeah?" Gita asked Dahlia, tone light. " What for?" Dahlia stuck her arm out to the side, and raised it to place her hand just in front of Gita's face. With a quick flick of her wrist, akin to a stage magician's sleight of hand, she materialized a card from her sylladex and held it up for her friend to view. The icon depicted a fishing pole, with a large and obvious sprig of mistletoe in place of a hook. " Opportunities." Her grin as she tilted her head back to look up at Gita was positively devilish. { } IF: what? IF: what's going on?? IF: what opportunities??? AT: Uh AT: Fishing. IF: BULLSHIT IF: WHO ARE THE FISH AT: Irrelevant. AT: Probably. IF: D: A pause. Dahlia was running around a christmas party with mistletoe. A Christmas party...with Zach and Lorelei. Obviously, the flush on Gita's face indicates annoyance. Not anything else she might have briefly considered. "...You're a terrible person, Dahlia Asher." " And damn good at it." Dahlia began humming quietly, which eventually blossomed into full (though quiet -- and, really, oddly melodic) song. " You're a monster, Dahlia Asher~... your heart's an empty hole~..." She trailed off to quiet humming to finish the verse, and then nothing once again. " Y'know, Gita. You're a lot less crazy in person than I thought you'd be." It was as sincere as Dahlia ever got. And as complimentary. " Hey. I've got a head full of yammering demons, but that won't make me crazy, yanno?" Crazy. Hoo boy. That was a doozy of a word to be thinking about, considering the...events...prior to her arrival at Lorelei's Christmas party. But Dahlia hadn't meant to touch a never--well, okay. Any more than she always did. Truth be told, Dahlia's terminal irreverence was something Gita appreciated about her friend. Not treating the weirdness of her living situation like the end of the world had been part of that. " Speaking of crazy demons...that mug." " What?" Dahlia grinned the shit-eatingest grin, and wagged the half-empty mug back and forth, again facing it towards Gita. Her flawless mock-sincerity only made it more horrifying. " Y'got a problem with hot cocoa?" ===> Those cold, dead, ceramic eyes. That goblin nose. Help me, the mug silently pleaded. End my pain. Gita's shudder was exaggerated--but not completely faked. " Goddamn soulless, is what it is." " Asher family tradition." Dahlia set the mug down on her lap again. " The Professor" (as there was no way in hell she was going to call her 'mom') " makes it her mission in life to collect the tackiest, most garishly tasteless holiday mugs possible, amongst the boundless masses of other junk she brings back as souvenirs. So we made them a family holiday tradition, instead of... y'know..." She paused, glancing down to the mug and turning it around in place so she could more clearly see its face. Bah, that's not so bad. A quiet sigh revealed perhaps a bit more of her true feelings than she'd have liked. " ...actually celebrating a holiday like normal human families do." Dahlia scanned the (perhaps overly) decorated room, and rolled her eyes. " Because this is so clearly normal." " I don't think 'normal' exists anymore. We're gonna have to make do with freaky from here on out." { } IF: amen to that AT: Speak for yourself. :P " That's okay." Dahlia smiled -- an actual, real smile. " I like freaky."
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:04:46 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) >Peter: Talk to Mysterious Stranger SHOW PESTERLOG IF: oh, come on. IF: you can't possibly think anything is still normal. AT: This is the new normal, get used to it. :V AT: I like it better than the old normal, really. AT: The old normal was boring as all fuck, but I get the sneaking suspicion that I'm the only one who even knew what 'normal' felt like? IF: what's that supposed to mean? AT: Well you five were... AT: >SUPER MEGA ULTRA RICH AT: >Homeless and living in a library AT: >A mad scientist AT: >A hacker with dark gods in her brain AT: >Rased on an island smack in the middle of scenic fucking nowhere AT: And... AT: I was........ AT: A kid from Canada. AT: With a weird eye and a shitty home. IF: uh IF: ... IF: huh. SHOW PESTERLOG AT: Believe me, you wouldn't miss it either. AT: OH AT: Your girlfriend left, she's over here talking to Lor now AT: (i should probably listen to this this sounds really important) IF: oh thank g- IF: FUCK IF: NO. IF: NOT YOU TOO. IF: IT'S NOT IF: WE'RE IF: NO. AT: XD AT: Yeah you don't have to worry about me I'm about to be replaced by another me anyway AT: We- ===> Hold that thought. Someone is pestering you. It's you. SHOW PESTERLOG -- absoluteTranquility [AT] began pestering absoluteTranquility [AT] -- AT: Actually there's been a bit of a change in plans... AT: Long story. AT: What?? AT: Yeah, someone's going to- AT: Fuck hold on. AT: There AT: Someone's going to show up soon and kind of piss all over those sweet plots AT: Someone you haven't seen in a while. (Since yesterday, even!) AT: If you feel happy about it at all, I reccommend slamming your face into the wall so you feel less bad about it later. AT: The fuck. AT: Is this about polo douche? AT: That would be Spoilers! AT: But seriously yes. AT: And he is indeed quite the massive douche. AT: Anything else actually would be spoilers though so AT: Bye! -- absoluteTranquility [AT] ceased pestering absoluteTranquility [AT] -- AT: Son of a bitch. IF: :I
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 21:06:17 GMT -5
((Zuki's post)) " Hey, Lor'," Gita piped up as she re-took her seat at the main table. " You'll be gratified to know that Scrooge Asher is doing just fine back there. Did I miss anything?" Lorelei smiled as her friend sat down beside her. " Oh, nothing terribly special. Peter is talking to some ~mysterious stranger~ who I have a bit of a hunch on the identity of, let us say... Florian has just been telling some stories--none of the war ones, just old stories of friends and humorous situations. I am glad to hear Dahlia is doing well, though." She cast a glance back towards Dahlia, then back to Gita. " That mug is terribly unsettling, though, is it not?" ===> oh god yes.[/i] Not that Gita would let on about that, mind.... " Oh, I dunno. It's not that bad, is it? Tacky, sure, I'll give you." " It was spawned from the very bowels of Satan and I will hear no more of it~" Lorelei said with a tone full of cheer and humor to contradict her dire words. " By the by, how are you feeling? I would hate to have you fall asleep straight into a bowl of cereal again!" She punctuated the remark by sticking her tongue out at Gita--unladylike at a dinner table, perhaps, but this was not meant to be a terribly formal event anyway. At Lorelei's questioning, Gita put on a smile, doing her best not to look distressed in the least. " Oh! Uh. I'm fine. No faceplants here." Oh god I really did plant my face in the cheerios, didn't I? Guh. " I made sure to have a nap right before coming here, and everything." Not for the first time, Gita wished Lorelei didn't make her so tongue-tied in person. She was perfectly capable of being eloquent. Or not mumbling. Lorelei, of course, completely missed the true nature of Gita's embarrassment. With a dismissive wave of her hand she remarked, " Oh, do relax, Gita. I hardly mind that it happened, you need not worry. I am just glad you will not be getting that lovely face of yours covered in cereal again!" This time, Gita's blush-hiding technique was to look down and very carefully examine the plate of cookies before her. " C'mon. You're just saying that... Quick quick quick change the subject... " Oh! Oh. Your Land...are the quests and everything going well? I mean, Zach and I saw the pillar of light, and..." Once again Lorelei found herself idly wondering just why Gita blushed so fiercely over what was, to her, naught but a simple comment--and once again, in ignorance, chalked it up to a simple easily-embarrassed temperament when dealing directly with others. It was quickly set aside, however, at the mention of her land. " Ah, yes! I do recall promising you I would tell you what happened when I returned to the caverns, yes? Well, that pillar of light--which I am still rather surprised you saw--is part of the story. The climax, if you will." This, then, would have to do with Angels that haunted Lorelei's Land. And, just possibly, the angelic Lorelei that haunted Gita's mindscape? Either way, Gita listened with rapt attention. " Go on," Lorelei continued in her best storyteller tone, mimicking her family's own resident teller of tales great and small, the servant Florian. " The story starts upon my return to the haunted, darkness-filled caverns that had overcome me hours before. I stood before the gaping maw, trying my best to summon up my courage. Just for added moral support, I contacted my troll friend Khirun, and kept the conversation window open with her as I went into the cavern. This time, I went in with light already shining from my drill, and though the darkness dimmed it, it could not destroy it. " The journey down alone was perilous, and more than once I almost gave into the despair that haunted the area. The whispers scraped against my mind and the darkness swarmed about me, filling my with thoughts of depression, fear, surrender--desperately seeking to quell the light I brought into its domain. Fortunately, Khirun's help was invaluable, as a sort of tether to the outside world and a mind not befuddled by the darkness. Yet, eventually, the darkness began to affect Khirun somehow through our chat. Then it became more difficult, as we each had to support each other in turn. Eventually, though, as we continued onward I smelled that..." Lorelei stumbled in her otherwise picture-perfect storytelling here, voice cracking just a bit as she continued: " ...well, a familiar smell. It was the darkness impersonating the horrified, hanging corpse of Adelle once again, of couse." Some part of Gita's mind grumbled that -she- wanted to be one that was there for Lorelei, when it was dark and scary. It was quickly pushed aside. " Adele? Really? Oh, Lor', I'm sorry." What kind of sick game thought that was fair play? Lorelei offered a reassuring smile in response. " It is okay, you need not worry about me. Anyway, to continue the story, some time was spent spooking me with the fake Adelle before it suddenly appeared behind me, entered the area that my light touched--something I thought impossible for the darkness--and grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth so I could not even scream. I dropped my drill and the light I had kept up since entering faded, and darkness ruled again. For a time I thought I was doomed... " But then I just...became angry. I was more angry than I have ever been in my entire life. I was sick and fed up of all that was happening and had reached the breaking point. To quote that American movie, I was 'mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore.' Directing that into my will, and without the aid of my drill, I brought the light back all around me, brighter than ever before. I destroyed the fake Adelle and took a Gordian Knot solution to the problem: I sensed what direction the darkness was strongest towards, and shot a beam of light greater in height and width than any man who has ever lived towards it. The hope magic tore through the walls of the labyrinth but stopped dead at a miniscule black gem on a pedestal, becoming absorbed into it. This was the core of the darkness, what caused its presence here." Her friend frowned, considering this next development. " How'd you know that? And what'd you do about it? Just shove more GAR at the problem, Dai-Gurren style?" " I could...sense it,I suppose. It was sort of like knowledge that came in a realization immediately upon seeing it. A gnosis of sorts." She chuckled softly. " That is what I pretty much ended up doing, yes. I tried for a little while to see if there was any sort of artful way to destroy it, but ended up just blasting it with as much magic as possible. Everything I threw it absorbed, so I kept throwing more and more and more... I recall that all around me was white, and still I could not overcome it. Yet, I did not give up, and soon enough I broke through. All of the magic the core had absorbed suddenly exploded out, utterly destroying the caverns as it shot into the sky. That was the enormous beam of light you saw." Gita imagined this as best she could. Gita remembered her experiences on Derse, just hours before. She shivered. " Oh-oh. Wow. I was, you know, I was a little bit worried about you when I saw that? I mean, we had no idea what it meant." " Well, I was quite fine! Extremely tired, but fine. After that I just rested and talked with Khirun until I was ready to fly back to the angels. They, as seems to be their wont, left me with some answers and more questions. Specifically they mentioned how my victory set me down the creator path of Hope (the choice being a creator and destroyer) and a bit more about that whole 'transformation process' they keep alluding to." " T-t-transformation." Lorelei raised a curious eyebrow. " Is something the matter, Gita...?" The idea of a transformation process, of course, did scare Lorelei a bit, but did not seem to warrant such a severe reaction by someone not going through this "transformation". " "No, just--don't worry about it." Gita pulled the grin back onto her face. " Derse dreams, you know? I don't want to get you worked up all over something I haven't figured out yet. Jumping to conclusions is a bad mix with prophecies, and all." Just because she looks like that in your head doesn't mean that's what's really going on. Like you even know what's going on in your head, Gita[/color] " Derse dreams?" She gave her friend a worried, fearful look. " I know you said I should not worry about it, but... well, you can talk to me about anything, just to let you know. I am here if you need me." Lorelei cleared her throat and bounced right back to storyteller mode. After all, if Gita genuinely did not want to speak about it at the moment, dwelling on it would only make it worse. She would speak on it when she was ready, and Lorelei was satisfied enough knowing that Gita knew she was there for her. " Anyway... I asked the angels something like 'what if I do not want to go through this "transformation"?' I swear they almost laughed when I said that, and told me that I already had. That I always have. They mentioned that I would never make any other choice, which just makes no sense to me... How can something be set in stone and yet a choice? That seems more like the grim dictum of fate than choice..." Goddamn spooky, angels. Like this game doesn't have enough stuff like that already. " ...Yeah. Yeah. Fate's funny like that, isn't it? When it throws something into your path that makes itself like she's always been there, and you don't know what to do about it?" Gita chewed the back of a knuckle in thought. " But when the world doesn't give us any choices about how to act or what happens next, we can still change how we feel." " I just wish I knew what it meant so I would know what to feel about it...yet they keep saying that I should have patience because I will learn soon enough." Lorelei sighed. " They did end up starting my training with the hope magic, though. And apparently I will eventually be trained by some 'Mother of Angels' as well? Their creator or something... I cannot help but wonder if she is some sort of god..." Idly, without even truly realizing she had done it, she fiddled with the crucifix visibly hanging from her neck. Impulsively, Gita reached out and hugged her friend. It was a brief, tight, squeeze--and she immediately pulled back afterwards, so as not be noticed lingering. Okay. Probably immediately. " Sorry, Lorelei," Gita offered, smiling widely at Lorelei. " That part I can't help you with. The only 'gods' I hear about are more like demons." Lorelei mirrored the smile with an extra tint of thankfulness in her eyes. " Thank you, Gita. I suppose time will tell, hmm? As the angels remind me over and over again." She paused for a moment in pensive thought. " Well, besides that, they also explained the difference between being a creator and destroyer of hope, if you want me to talk about that?" " Mmmmm." Relaxing now, Gita tucked her legs up in front of her and curled up on the chair's seat--being careful not to flash or reveal too much in her starry black-and-blue dress. " If you'd like, Lorelei. " Well, I have no real reason to blabber on about it unless you have curiosity which needs to be filled." She spared another admiring look at Gita's clothes. " I forgot to mention this when I arrived, but your outfit is positively lovely, by the way. Did you alchemize it or already own it?" Once more, blush colored Gita's cheeks. But also, pride! She noticed! It's lovely! SUCCESS. " Alchemy. Using some astrological codes, and a photo of a little black-and-white number I'd always admired. I'm glad you've got the fire roaring in here though--the walk over was freezing!" " Any price to pay for fashion, hmm?" She giggled lightly. " You know, that reminds me of a story from where I went to school back before all this. There was this young woman about my age named Gunda Von Houfhaussen, and she loved elaborate dresses..." ===>
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:13:29 GMT -5
"Um." A soft sound, almost beneath notice were it not for the relative familiarity of the owner's voice. A certain visibly awkward young girl stood just to the side of Dahlia's chair (for even if it technically belonged to the Von Hayeks, her hind quarters had long since conquered it this day), carrying a plate laden with the banquet table's manifold offerings. Page Caldwell fidgeted for a few moments as Dahlia turned to notice her, and then offered the plate to her friend. "I...brought you food, I guess. I mean, I figured I needed to repay you for that sandwich I ate over at your house, I think.. I, um, didn't know what you liked, really, so there's just...kind of everything on there, sort of. Help yourself, perhaps? Or not, if you're not hungry, I suppo..." Her voice trailed off into nothingness, never quite completing the sentence it started. Dahlia, as she did before, quickly assessed her options... though, really, there wasn't all that much assessing to do in this case. Of all the people at the party, Page was on the short list of the most tolerable ones to be bothered by. Maybe even at the top of it. Not that she'd admit that out loud. "Shh." She chuckled quietly and held up a finger to Page, and took the plate before the girl could psych herself entirely out of conversation. She even smiled gratefully when she did so, and set the Santa mug on a nearby end table, at least temporarily lowering the unspoken defensive field around her position. "This is fine... and really, you don't owe me anything. You were there and there was food -- even I'm not that much of a jerk." Page instinctively matched Dahlia's smile with a soft one of her own, and walked around to the front of the chair. "Well, thank you, anyway, of course." She paused for a moment as realization hit: "...Come to think of it, trying to pay you back with someone else's food is kind of silly anyway, I guess. I'd have to feed you myself but I can't really cook and the library isn't exactly made for that kind of thing, really..." "I think we'll all have a lot bigger things to worry about than who owes who dinner from now on. Some of us more than others." Dahlia's expression soured briefly... but lit up again just as quickly as an idea occurred to her. "...Ahem, anyway. Pull up a chair, would ya? We can share that end table if you want to go get yourself some food too." A roguish grin. "And maybe it'll help keep the natives away, if it looks like I'm busy." Page giggled lightly and set about to finding a nearby chair. "Should we set up a stake perimeter as well, maybe?" "Nah... I'm looking to keep out humans, not vampires." Wait for it... Page snorted with laughter. "Oh, really?" With a little bit of strain for her weak arms, she dragged up what was probably the single largest, most comfortable-looking lounge chair in the room, and jumped up into the waiting leather cushion. "With how pale you are, I'm wondering if you're just scared, perhaps." Whoa! The kitten has claws! ...There may be hope for you yet, kid. "Really," Dahlia lilted, in her best fake Romanian accent, "vhy must you be so cruel? I just vant a little companionship. The nights are so chilly on this planet." She chuckled, shaking her head. After a few bites of food, she continued in perfect conversational deadpan (and, fortunately, her normal tone, because Dahlia wasn't quite certain how long she could take herself seriously talking like that). "Besides, we all know I'm a space alien, not a vampire. I don't think they make alien vampires. Except that one really awful movie..." Really? Because your lines sometimes sound like something from that movie, I think. ...Ahaha, no, that's way too mean, definitely. And not true, besides, really. A most mischievous of grins--far out of Page's normal character--appeared for a few moments, but Page quickly enough moved on. "Maybe you're an alien version of a vampire, perhaps? Like, with a neat name in some alien language and with different powers, perhaps." Humor, of course, was a common enough coping mechanism, especially for Dahlia. While the whole broaching of the topic of Dahlia's alien nature made her a bit uncomfortable and worried, she tried her best to follow suit with the joking. After all, if Dahlia wanted to talk about it, she would. Treating the issue like something to always be tip-toed around wouldn't help. Right? Page sure hoped she was right. Dahlia was quiet for a long moment, staring off into the distance somewhere beyond a distant window. "Hey Page," she began, voice unusually soft; wistful, even, perhaps. "If I--" She cut off sharply, grinning and shaking her head at her own foolishness. "Nah, never mind." How can you ask her a question when you don't even know what you want? 'If I really am an alien -- if I'm some monster, some horrible thing...' What then? What would you ask her? 'Will you still be my friend?' Don't be stupid... Delta. Dahlia laughed again, shaking her head and waving the whole thing off with one hand. "So how are you liking the party? The... 'festivities'. And so forth." Her sadness and nervousness could not, of course, pass by the CALDWELL EMOTIONAL RADAR(tm) without detection. She gave Dahlia a worried look and, as was her wont, instantly began to blame herself. "I'm sorry, was it the joking around, maybe? I mean, I just thought I was going along with things and you didn't want to talk about it and treating it humorous would help, perhaps. Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt y-" Another raised finger silenced Page's verbal stumbling. "Shh." A long pause, finger held aloft. "...Shh." After a long moment, Dahlia lowered her hand, shaking her head once more, smiling the nearest to an apologetic smile Page had ever seen on her face. "Don't worry about it, honestly. It's... well, I mean. It's not you. It's me." Beat. Dahlia suddenly bowed her head in shame, groaning and rubbing at her forehead with one hand. "Jesus fuck, I just said that, didn't I? Like I actually just said it. I seriously just said 'it's not you, it's me'." Another dramatic sigh, and she buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe I said something that cheesy. Just... just shoot me now, my life is over." And another exaggerated groan -- just long enough for Dahlia to drag her hands down her face, and lift it to look to Page with a broad grin. It was all in good humor. It was all a joke. (Except the parts that weren't.) Page couldn't help but giggle and laugh at the jokes on the surface, but the CALDWELL EMOTIONAL RADAR(tm) wasn't quite ready to stop pinging, nor its owner quite ready to drop the subject of Dahlia's almost-question. Dahlia had to know that she could at least ask Page anything she wanted. "Well, you can ask me anything, definitely. Or tell me anything too. What were you going to ask, perhaps?" FFFFFFFFFFF- Poor, clueless kid. Haven't you learned by now, Dahlia Asher? You can't escape the radar. No one escapes the radar. "Fine." Dahlia grumbled resignedly. Instinct bade her reach for the Santa mug, to reestablish her conversational defensive perimeter... but something told her that at this point, nothing short of waving it in Page's face would dissuade her, and perhaps not even that. And she didn't quite feel like being branded a sociopath. At least, not moreso than she already was. "I guess, with all that's been going on lately... all that stuff in the lab, on top of all this Sburb craziness -- which, lest we forget, is already ten pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag -- and with all this stuff with me, and... y'know... well, the lab. The meteor." A pause. She still wasn't quite sure how to word it. Honestly, the thought had never really even crossed her mind at any point prior to yesterday. "I hope, when all's said and done, that we'll all still be friends." That wasn't the question she wanted to ask. But it was close enough. "...God that was fucking cheesy. Don't tell anyone else I said all that, alright?" Page smiled her sweetest, brightest smile. The "It's ok, don't be afraid" smile she had shown Dahlia in their first meeting. The one that seemed to light up any room she was in. The one utterly without guile or hidden meaning. "Of course we will, definitely! I don't see why we wouldn't, not at all! And it's okay to be cheesy sometimes, really. Maybe you ARE an alien vampire from that movie, perhaps?" That one she couldn't resist, even if part of her worried it was the wrong thing to say. Oh, you want cheesy, do you? In her mind's eye, Dahlia leapt up, striking her best dramatic pose with that fluttering black coat like a vampire's cloak, holding a sleeve briefly over the bottom half of her face before faking a lunge at Page's neck, to the smaller girl's horror and her own amusement. But Dahlia was scheming to put other people in compromising situations (so said her mistletoe-on-a-fishing-pole), not herself. It wouldn't do to fall prey to her own ploy simply because she got carried away having fun with Page. It had been fun, though. Dahlia sighed. But smiled, too.
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:17:42 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) The moment's silence between Page Cadlwell and Dahlia Asher was suddenly pierced by a deafening roar... ...from the former's stomach. Page turned a shade that would be all too appetizing were her friend truly a creatue of the night and nervously ran a hand through her hair. " Oh... Um... That was...kind of loud, wasn't it?" She didn't even know WHY she was still hungry! She had, after all, already gone through one plate of food at the banquet table before coming to offer Dahlia some food of her own. Yet, it seemed, that was not enough for her leviathan appetite. Where that appetite came from, however, Page couldn't say. " Um... I'm just going t-to... Go... take up your offer to share that table of yours, perhaps." Utterly embarrassed, Page leaped up from her chair and walked quickly back towards the banquet table. Dahlia simply chuckled to herself, nodding her silent okay on the matter -- not that Page ought need it, but in this case, it was best to be certain. When the girl was an adequate distance away, Dahlia leaned over, on pretense of picking up her Santa mug again, and cupped a hand briefly over her mouth aimed boxwards. " Psst. You can come out now, Solid Schmuck. She's gone." ! "Uh... thanks. I think." ===> ===> "Can you just, kind of, not tell anyone about this? Please?" " I have no intention of making your life any more miserable than you have inevitably already managed with that stunt..." Dahlia snatched up her mug and settled back into the chair, pausing for a sip (and dramatic effect) before continuing matter-of-factly. If only he could see the grin she was hiding behind that loathsome Santa. " ...at least, not yet." If that abhorrent mug had been resting on the armrest, feet from Dahlia's face, it would still have obscured her shit-eating grin. ===> "What-" Try as he might, Zach could not avert his gaze. Every second his eyes spent locked with those of the soulless, bastardized Kringle felt like an eternity, every moment the end of another existence. ===> "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." -Donald Trump, business tycoon. "WELP time to hide some more goodbye." That's about when he dashed off. Page returned, plate laden with food and eyes laden with curiosity. " What'd I miss?"
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:18:45 GMT -5
===> So it continued for some time. Shenanigans were had, conversations were made, and food was devoured. After roughly a half hour of this, the young hostess beckoned her comrades around the great tree with a siren call none could resist: "So, I do believe it is time to open presents! What shall the order be? By entry into the game, perhaps?" Peter did a quick count on his fingers to check that order before offering his suggestion. "How about you go first 'cause it's your party, and then the rest of us go in that order?" "Oh, I am going second anyway, and it is precisely because I am the host that it would be unladylike to vaunt myself ahead of others." She picked up a medium-sized box--festively red and green wrapping paper with the words "Froehliche Weihnachten" in flowing silver script emblazoned on it--from underneath the tree and set it down before Peter. "This is from me!" Lying in wait underneath the paper and tinsel were a myriad of papercraft supplies, as well as various patterns--some from the internet, some created via alchemy with such subjects as consorts, skaia and the planets, and other various notable structures within the game. "Oh, thanks! It's not going to blow up, is it?" Peter shook the box violently as he asked this, knowing from the weight and the sound it made that whatever was in there would not explode, or even become damaged. "I was hoping that wasn't gonna' happen more than- wait, spoilers." He tried to suppress a shit-eating grin before it could show on his face, but couldn't help but smile when he saw what was in the box. "Oh man I am going to make all kinds of things, you don't even know." Lorelei matched him grin for grin. "Well, I am quite glad you like it! I was more than a little worried that I would not be able to match whatever diabolical scheme you have in mind for my own present." She picked up another box from under the tree and handed it off. "Aaaand this is from Page." Page's gift was a small, flat box wrapped in wrapping paper clearly alchemized from some catalogue within her library, as it was not the kind that any normal person would simply purchase from a regular store--bright red, with little pictures of santa driving his sleigh over it and snowflakes dotted across. Within was what, at first, seemed a simple eyepatch. However, the trick to the eyepatch was that while it did not allow any others to see past it, Peter could see through it just fine. As Peter took the eyepatch from the box, he could see right away that it was effectively a less efficient Solid Eye, without the additional features like the HUD or the telescope or pesterchum. He still thanked Page, of course, and stowed the gift safely away in his sylladex. Who knows, it might be useful later if he ever needed a non-electronic eyepatch. "Alright so I think that makes Zach next? Or are we doing like client-server order and not entry order and it's Dahlia?" ... He hoped nobody took that the wrong way. Quick, Lorelei, which way should you go to minimize any potential uncomfortableness about John's death? ...I HAVE NO IDEA. Time to pull a Lombardi and just wing it, then. "Um. Well, client-server order is fine." She, perhaps a little too quickly, turned and retrieved the present from Dahlia to hand it off to Peter. Aaand she took it the wrong way. Just stop talking now, dumbass. "Uh... alright." Peter took the present from her hand, an envelope containing a sylladex card containing... Time Traveler's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations "Ha" Anyway, he was now down to the last two. Some kind of alien-looking shock staff from Zach, clearly alchemized, and an ornate brass pocketwatch from Gita, clearly awesome. You can never have too many watches. "You're up, Lor!"
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:19:19 GMT -5
" That it is! I have been wondering for quite some time just what your dastardly plan has been, soooo..." Lorelei rummaged through the various grey boxes, all gifts from Peter, to find the one addressed to the Von Hayek. She took a few moments to try and figure out what might be inside just based off the size of the box--a habit she'd had since the first Christmas she could remember. Sure, one could just tear open the present to see what was inside, but where was the fun in that? She turned the box this way and that, tested the weight, shook it a bit with her ear pressed up to i- " You know, most people do that the night before Christmas." Not that 'most people' included Dahlia, of course, this being the closest thing to a normal Christmas she'd experienced in nearly ten years. But she still took the opportunity to snark anyway; still leaned in with that impish grin, and feigned a grab for the box herself. " ...Unless you're trying to make sure it's not something horrbly mushy that you don't want us all to see." She leaned back then, kicking her feet back up onto a low endtable she'd brought for just that purpose, her grin the smuggest of the smug. Lorelei snorted, but the red color on her cheeks was fairly unmistakeable. " Come on, don'tbesilly!" She immediately cut to the chase and tore open the wrapping paper with all the ferocity of a lioness sinking its claws into a tasty wildebeast or some other miscellaneous african prey animal. What lay waiting inside at first baffled her. ===> " Human Action...?" Then, of course, she noticed the scrawl in black ink on the cover, detailing the supremely eloquent recommendation by the gift-giver. Curiosity thoroughly piqued, she turned to one of the first pages. ===> That got a bit of a chuckle out of her. Out of curiosity she flipped ahead to a random page, and found a drawing that provoked a sudden and clamorous, " Pfffthahahahahaha, what?!" ===> Somewhere along the way--and Lorelei found herself intensely wondering just how the shift occurred--the whimsical word-swapping in the first pages became a dramatic and tense story featuring Ludwig Von Mises facing down against two dastardly mustachioed villains named Pepe L'fwanch and Jacques Strappe of the equally dastardly French nationality. For the benefit of the audience, she began to read aloud: " When I regained consciousness, the first thing I noticed was the stench of musty jungle air, permeated by familiar French cuisine. An old brie recipie, passed through the ranks of Les Salauds Capitalistes ever since the sinister organization had been formed. They must be behind the mime uprisings, I had begun to think, when I sighted two recognizable and highly unwelcome shillouettes huddled in a doorway. "Strappe." "Loodveeg." As they started toward me, grim-faced and with stale baguettes in hand, I readied the chainsaw hidden within my bionic foot, and began to form my escape plan. " The chainsaw in the bionic foot was just too much, and Lorelei could read no further for the giggle fit that held her in its clutches. When she finally regained some semblance of control, she snapped the book shut and favored her new friend with a hug. " Seems I am going to have quite a bit of reading to do. Thank you, Peter." "Haha, you have no idea." It was true. He'd been working on this for no fewer than six iterations of yesterday. Peter hugged his crush back and muttered nervously, "I, uh, think Page is up." " Ah, yes, of course!" She let go and returned to the pile of gaudily-wrapped presents from Page to find the one labeled for herself. The box was roughly the size of Peter's present, and Lorelei's first prediction was that it was yet another book. Nevertheless, for the sake of the audience, she did not undergo her regular rigmarole regarding gifts this time. Just as before, she tore into the present with incredibly unladylike fervor. Sure enough, the prize waiting within was a book, but none Lorelei had ever seen before. The gold script on the front claimed the book to be "The Illustrated Guide to Friendleadership". Thoroughly perplexed, Lorelei opened the thick tome and turned to a random page. This she noticed was an excerpt from the Anabasis. She turned a few more pages to find bits of Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations"--another one of Churchill's speeches and so on. Each relevant excerpt was followed by a bit that summed up the relevant friendleadery lessons to be found within that portion. " This is amazing, Page! Did you alchemize this?" Page nodded with a delighted smile that her gift was well-received. " Yes, I did. I found a bunch of relevant books in the library and just kind of threw them together in alchemy until I got that, I think." As with Peter, Lorelei gave Page a friendly hug in thanks. " Next is Dahlia, correct? Haha, I cannot wait to see what sort of abomination THIS is." She picked out the dark blue envelope addressed to her and pulled the sylladex card from within. " Sunglasses...? Ahaha! Kamina-style, too." " Well, you know," Dahlia chuckled, grinning and leaning back in her chair, hands clasped behind her head, " it's like they say: your future's so bright, you gotta wear shades." She suddenly snapped forward, elbows resting on her knees, chin on one hand and gesturing pointedly with the other. " Now, before you get on me about buying you stuff you already own -- first off, how the heck do you figure out a present for the girl who's got everything?" She lifted her head to glance around, only barely suppressing a roll of her eyes. " Like literally everything." Back to elbows-on-knees, and back to grinning and wagging a finger. " And secondly, you never wear the pair you have. Prescription glasses, I know, get in the way of stuff like that. So look closely at the back." Lorelei dutifully put the glasses in her sylladex, pulled them back out, then turned the glasses around. " Ah, clip-ons, then! Excellent!" She clipped the glasses onto her own prescription ones and favored her friend with a smile. " Thank you, Dahlia. I assume you wish to skip the hug that I gave Peter and Page, hmm?" " Never saw Kamina hugging Kittan, so let's skip the mushy stuff, yeah." Dahlia waved it off, then settled back into her chair, still grinning. She was actually pretty proud of herself for actually coming up with something useful, given how literally impossible Lorelei would be to shop for. " Alchemized 'em from the DVDs plus an old pair of clip-ons I found lying around the lab, so who knows, maybe they'll even transform if you channel enough Spiral Power through 'em, not that I'd be able to test that sort of thing." A pause, staring off into the distance briefly. " Not that I know what 'Spiral Power' would be in this place." She shrugged. " Oh well. Dumb joke anyway. Oh, right, and Merry Christmas and all that." " Well, the angels DID say that my white magic was my own will, so maybe that works? Merry Christmas and all that to you as well, my friend." Still wearing those lovely shades, she turned back to the presents. Let us seeee... I have already received my present from Zach in the form of my drill, so next shall beee...Gita!" Lorelei retrieved her final gift from underneath the tree: a small box. Once agains he resisted the urge to try and figure out what it was before opening it and ripped into the wrapping. What awaited inside was a small, beautiful little pendant necklance, the pendant being what appeared to be half of an angel wing. " Wow... This is absolutely gorgeous, Gita, thank you!" She took out the necklace and held it up to the light. " You know, this looks just like the wings of a symbol I saw quite a bit around the angels' meadow. Did you alchemize this from anything related to my element or something, or is that coincidence?" " Yeah, it is? Hell of a coincidence, then..." Gita smiled, pleased. In truth, the alchemization sequence had included some of the art she'd created in months past, trying to process the visions and prophecies that a life dreaming on Derse left one prey to. " I'm...I'm glad it turned out to be appropriate in more ways than one." " I truly wonder if coincidences even exist anymore." She took off the crucifix that she had been wearing up to that point, captchalogued it, and then put the new necklace on. " There, how does it look?" " Beautiful. You look beautiful." Gita couldn't stop smiling. Impulsively, she reached forward before Lorelei had the opportunity, and hugged her. "" Merry Christmas." " Hehehe, thank you, Gita." She hugged her friend back warmly, somewhat surprised that Gita had acted first but by no means unwelcoming. " Merry Christmas to you as well. " I do believe, though, that is all for me? Very well, I suppose next in line is P-" "Not quite," came a thoroughly distinguished, accented voice from the room's entrance. "You have one more you've forgotten to open." Lorelei's already bright golden eyes only lit up further as she turned towards the sound. " Opa!" Sure enough, the pater familias of the Von Hayek household stood at its source, carrying a small golden envelope, much the size of Dahlia's, addressed to his scion. Lorelei hardly paid any attention to that at first, though, being far too busy running up to her grandfather to hug him. "I'd compliment you for your timing, sir," Florian remarked from his chair with a shit-eating grin that even Dahlia might be proud of, "had I not heard you waiting in the other room for just this moment." Grandfather muttered something under his breath that almost sounded like scheisse but quickly changed the subject: "If we may ignore the dreadfully disobedient servant for a moment, I have your final gift for the night." He handed off the envelope to his scion, who proceeded to tear the envelope with just as much enthusiasm as she had her presents before (making sure not to harm anything within, of course). Waiting within was a sylladex card of, not shades, but A painting for her wall--though, unlike the original book illustration, this painting version was rendered in actual color. " Wow...deja vu!" In answer to her grandfather's wordless questioning look, she continued: " Oh, I was just thinking about the poem this was from earlier! It is a long story. The gift is quite wonderful, thank you." She hugged her grandfather once again to reinforce the point. "Truly? I was not aware it was from a poem. I simply found this in a painting sale and thought you would like it," he responded, returning the hug. " Anyway, we should probably not hold up the proceedings any longer, yes?" she returned to her place under the tree, but stopped before going for Page's presents. " Speaking of which, why do I not speed this along a bit by placing each remaining person's gifts in a pile and letting them open at will?" She followed suit with her plan and this time sat with the rest of the group around the tree, joined by her grandfather who stood behind. " Page, I do believe you are next!"
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:19:52 GMT -5
" Oh, all right, I guess." Upon being called on, Page delicately made her way to center-stage, careful not to step on any of those around her, and eyed the pile of presents with her name on it. Naturally, the first thing that caught her eye (or rather, her ears) was one domed package that seemed to be emitting faint amounts of rustling noises. She picked the gift up and sat down with legs crossed and set the gift in her lap, then proceeded to--quite unlike her predecessor--unwrap it with extreme care. First the bits of tape holding the ends together were taken off, then the gift unwrapped in the opposite way it was wrapped, care always being taken to never rip the paper. Though it took some time, Page soon enough found what awaited underneath: " A...bird, perhaps...?" "CAW" "Yeah. The rest of them flew off but I guess this one was clipped or something?" Peter shrugged and retrieved a bag of feed from his inventory. "I always hated these guys but you seem like you'd be good at taking care of it. Or him or her or whatever." " Well..." her word hung dead in the air as her mind frantically attempted to get back into gear. A living breathing animal was the last thing she expected to get this Christmas, particularly given the Earth's recent lack of existence. About the only experience she had with birds was when some kind old ladies would notice her watching them feed pigeons and offer her some seeds to throw herself. " ...Ravens are pretty smart, right? I think it might be fun to take care of him, maybe. Thank you! I'll have to think about what to name her later, definitely." The bird was now a "her", at least. For some reason that seemed to fit to Page. " I guess I shall move on too..." Her eyes strayed over Dahlia's gift, but something in her told her to save that for last, much as she did not understand the impulse, " Zach, I think." The large green box, alas--or perhaps fortunately indeed for the onlookers--had no wrapping paper to meticulously disassemble. Page merely needed to take the top off the giant rectangle and look within. ===> " A gun...maybe...? Named...Lucy, I guess?" She couldn't help but cast a questioning look at Zach, as rude as it might be, thoroughly unable to hide her anxiety at the thought of using an actual firearm. "Sort of! It's not a normal rifle, more like a coilgun. Those didn't actually exist until yesterday so I had to pull most of the design out of my rear, but it shoots paperclips and works fine." " Oh, paperclips?" The anxiety immediately dissolved into confusion and more than a bit of mirth at the idea. " Ahehehe...Heeheehahaha... Wait, um, what's a coilgun?" Zach pointed at the large cylinder attached to one side of the gun. "Basically it uses magnets to launch things instead of gunpowder. That's the power supply." As Page watched, he pointed out each feature of his invention and gave a brief explanation. "Trigger, barrel, these ring things are the magnets, this thing on the back is where you dump the paperclips. Don't fire this near credit cards or computers and please don't point it at anyone." The credit card bit was a joke, of course, but Zach was quick to nudge the barrel of the gun away from the servant Page had absentmindedly aimed towards. " Oh, right. I'm sorry..." Chastised, Page--purely out of habit formed in the last few days--put the weapon into her strife specibus, only to find, very much to her surprise when she thought about it, it actually worked. " ...Huh. I guess that works in paperclipkind, possibly?" "...It does? I mean, uh, of course it does! Why wouldn't it?" " I guess next up iiiiiisssss...Lorelei, I guess." The Von Hayek's present was quite a large and hefty square box. Page delicately unwrapped it (foregoing her tendency to put the presents in her lap given she could barely even lift this one) and removed the box's lid. The first item at the top was an immaculately folded jacket, obviously very thick and soft for protection against cold weather, and with her paperclip sign emblazoned on the front. It was only when she picked this up, however, that she saw the gifts that made the primary amount of the bulk and weight. " Whoa..." Gold. Not just small bits of gold, but actual gold bars like those stored away in giant vaults underground with top-notch security. Six were inside, and Page could barely lift one up to show the crowd. " The gold was the original Christmas present, and was going to be given along with an invitation to stay at the Von Hayek manor for you and your father before this calamity struck," Lorelei, still wearing her bizarre Kamina shades, explained matter-of-factly as if there was nothing odd about this gift at all. " Personally, of course. I was not about to allow the vagaries of the postal service interfere with my attempts to aid your situation once again--there should be about five million euros worth in there. The coat I made with alchemy recently since gold has little use besides use in alchemy anymore. Speaking of which, if anyone wants any gold at all--be it for alchemy or to see if you can trade with your particular brand of mentally-challenged planet-dwellers--just let me know. Fortunately, the vault underneath the mansion where our wealth is stored still remains." Zach raised his hand. "Can I have some to sell to the turtles?" he asked, almost deadpan enough to sound serious. " Of course, so long as you do not use it to unfairly affect our little wager," Lorelei responded, utterly convinced he was, in fact, serious--after all, why wouldn't he be? " Um..." Page timidly interjected, " I...wow, that's...really really nice, Lorelei, definitely! Thank you! I...thank you so much, without a doubt!" The poor girl had to quickly stifle tears that threatened to form. More than the coat and the gold, the idea of Lorelei offering to personally take her and her father in touched the young Caldwell deeply. Lorelei smiled softly in response. " You are very welcome, Page. It is and would have been my pleasure." " R-right, um..." Page sniffled softly and had to wipe her eyes on the sleeve of her classy outfit. Don't start crying at a christmas party don't start crying at a christmas party don't don't don't, definitely! Quick, next present, I think! " Uhhh...Gita's present, I suppose!" From the Hero of Heart Page received two books alchemized together into one MEGABOOK, neither of which she had read yet. Page thanked her dearly and moved on to the final one: " Now, Dahlia's gift, I think." Page took the blue envelope and opened it carefully, then picked the card out to examine. " Oh, a brush, I think?" No mere brush, though, but what looked to be a very intricate, beautiful, and old brush indeed. On cue her memory brought up a moment shortly after she and Dahlia had first met, when the other girl had remarked that her hair was nice and even better if beaten into shape. " Is that a piece of paper underneath, perhaps...?" Dahlia tensed, sucking a sharp breath through her teeth, fingers flexed briefly as if she intended to leap up and grab the card -- which was in fact what briefly crossed her mind, this being not quite the way she'd intended Page to find that. Of course, she'd also not intended for it to be necessary in the first place, and so she resigned herself to inevitable embarrassment with a quiet sigh, folding her hands on her lap as calmly as she might, and doing her best to smile in a way that wouldn't be too indicative of her chagrin. " Ah... yeah, go ahead." You can't escape the radar. No one can escape the radar. Page fixed Dahlia with a worried look and responded, " Are you sure, maybe? I can read it later if you want, definitely." Oh god now it sounds even worse than it is. Dahlia gave a dismissive wave, shaking her head, her grin now a bit more honest about her shame at the matter. " No, seriously, it's alright. I'm just... really, really, really bad at gifts that aren't completely stupid or, y'know, trollish. Go ahead and read it." She chuckled quietly at her own misfortune. " Nono, I like the brush, definitely!" Page punctuated it with a rapid shake of her head that sent her curls flying this way and that and skewed the hat on top of her head. " You should not feel bad, without a doubt!" Nevertheless, she did as she was told and captchalogued the card, then took it out again. Along with the brush was a small note that read in blue ink " IOU: one (1) gift that actually doesn't suck" " ...or give me this IOU, not at all. The gift doesn't suck, assuredly. Thank you, indubitably!" " Stop being so grateful," Dahlia grumbled, " or you're gonna make me regret the whole thing." Despite that, though, she managed half a smile. " I'd hold onto that IOU though. Who knows, maybe one day the world might go crazy and I'll actually stop being bad at presents." She shrugged, grinning jokingly. Of course she didn't expect that would happen, y'know, ever. " Well, ok, I guess." She captchalogued each item separately. " You really don't have to, though. Actually...isn't it your turn now, perhaps?" " ...Huh, so it is. Well then, looks like it's time for the most important part of this little get-together." Dahlia leaned forward, elbows on knees again, grinning with chin resting atop clasped hands. " By which I of course mean the part where Dahlia gets to stop being terrible at presents, and receive a few."
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 21:27:40 GMT -5
The sad truth, of course, is that this would be the first time in her entire life Dahlia had experienced that -- a proper Christmas, gathering with friends and family (okay a bit less family), around a tree, the whole deal. Sure is a good thing she didn't actually care about silly things like that. In some nominal recognition of the way it had been done to this point, Dahlia went for Peter's gift first. Rectangular and not nearly so tall as it was wide, it rattled with a chorus of distinctly metallic noises when she picked it up, and again when she gave it a single shake. "This sounds like a kitchen drawer full of knives." She pointed to a round protrusion on the end, a knob handle or something of the like, with a wry grin. "By which I mean it even looks like a kitchen drawer full of knives." She tore off the wrapping paper, looking rather more enthusiastic than her snaky commentary might indicate. To nobody's surprise, it was precisely what it looked like: quite literally, a kitchen drawer, stuffed full of whatever knives Peter could find. The knives, drawer and all, quickly vanished into her sylladex. "Aw, that's sweet of you. I'll be sure to think of you any time I stab something." She smiled then, the most disturbingly saccharine smile imaginable. Yeah, she sort of scares me too. "Next is..." Dahlia looked over the expectant faces of her assembled friends, settling on Lorelei, and wagged a finger at her. "No, y'know what, you are way too interested in seeing my reaction. I can see that one coming a mile away. We're skipping you for now." Dahlia returned her attention to the pile of gifts nearby. Page would be next, but... no, for whatever reason, she felt a little nervous about that one. An unusual feeling, but she waved it off, and moved on to-- ...Is that a blue envelope with her own name on it? Of course that's a blue envelope with her name on it. Why, it's completely absurd to think that Dahlia had been surprised to see that, and there was definitely no suppressing of nervous laughter when she held it up for the others to see. "Of course I got myself a gift. Like they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself." Envelope open, card captchalogued (...recaptchalogued?), contents retrieved: Dahlia held the chain of a simple disc-shaped pendant, perhaps an inch and a half across, of matte black material and marked on both sides by a white, six-armed spiral design. "See how awesome this is? It's pretty darn awesome." She put the pendant on and tucked it safely under her shirt. "Next victim, hm..." Dahlia retrieved Zach's gift next. She lifted the box to shake it... Zach rushed forward to grab the box before she could. "NO" Dahlia tilted her head, hand still hanging in midair. "...No?" She lowered her hand, eyes narrowing slightly, already fighting a grin. "Don't tell me it explodes." He handed the box back to her as carefully as he could. "Okay, I won't tell you. But if you like your hands, please don't shake it." Okay, no shaking. Dahlia was, in fact, rather exceptionally fond of her hands. Instead, she carefully unwrapped and unboxed her gift. She stared at them for a moment. "Knives? You gave me exploding knives?" A brief pause. A wicked grin blossomed on her lips. "You gave me exploding knives. Ehehehe..." She captchalogued the incredibly dangerous weapons and gave Zach a hearty thumbs-up, still grinning as she imagined all the things she could do with something like that. "Alright, you are officially cool in my book. Mostly." Next up... Gita. Why not Lorelei? Because she's had a year to figure out how best to troll me. This is either going to be great or terrible. So, waiting on that. Why not Page? Because reasons. Shut up. "Alright, so..." Dahlia snatched up the gift-wrapped package Gita had brought from the pile nearby, and turned her best mock-suspicious look to her friend. "This one's not going to explode, is it?" ""Why ever would you get that idea, Dahlia?" Gita responded, grinning mischeviously. Dahlia gave several sharp nods Zachward, her expression halfway between grin and grimace. "Are you putting me in the same league as him, Dahlia? Really? Please. Just open the damn box." Box: open, grin: impish. "You know me so well. An official Alien Science brand knife, the custom Alien Science Shiv, made just for me. Isn't that right?" Her chuckle was brief, as she became quickly absorbed in playing with the shiny, star-patterned butterfly knife, flipping it to and fro and back and forth between her hands, spinning it through her fingers and such. Joke or not, she clearly appreciated the gift. "I know what's important to you: Only classy implements of personal destruction needed apply at the alchemiter." "...but if I'd known everyone else was getting knives it would have been a new cravat or something. Help how do I fashion." "Well that one's pretty easy." Dahlia didn't even stop playing with the knife to respond, clearly having far too much fun whirling it around in ways that would cause most people to lose fingers. "You just ask yourself: what would Dahlia look good in?" After a second's pause, she snapped the knife shut loudly, grinning broadly. "Trick question, Dahlia looks good in everything." Gita snapped her fingers. "THAT'S why I didn't go for the threads: it wouldn't have been special enough for the ninja who already looks great in everything." Dahlia shrugged. "Eh, so it goes." Pause. "Wait, forget I said that. Well, forget I said it that way. Wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction." She chuckled to herself, shaking her head slowly. "But really, thanks. This whole thing's tough enough without freaking out over figuring out just the right gift, and I can assure you I'll be getting all kinds of use out of this. As thanks, I promise I won't use you for target practice. The rest of you, well..." She trailed off there, simply grinning and scanning the crowd. "She's joking," Lorelei remarked to the crowd, some of whom were looking nervous, one of whom--who happened to be the grandfather of the speaker--quite appropriately staring daggers at Dahlia, with that unmoving and stern gaze that made lesser people wilt instantly. Only at his granddaughter's consoling did the iron glare abate. "Perhaps it's time to move on to the next present, hmm?" "Man, you really wanna see my reaction to that gift there." Dahlia turned her grin towards Lorelei, sloooooooowly reaching over to the pile of gifts and leaving her hand hovering over Page's gift-wrapped box for exactly as long as it took Lorelei to take a breath in preparation to say something, then quickly grabbed Lorelei's gift instead. "I suppose I can't disappoint my audience forever." She gave the box a quick shake. "Hm... rather less weighty than gold bullion. Which I should probably be thankful for since your planet has managed to singlehandedly destroy the market by being made of the stuff." "Terrible, is it not? The fabled Von Hayek store of wealth--over a billion francs--rendered for naught with one swift stroke of fate's cruel hand. Also, just open the present for the love of the Virgin!" "You are in one heck of a hurry there -- my Troll Sense is tingling like crazy. Which is an accomplishment, really. This better be a good one!" Dahlia dispensed with all pretense of delicacy and simply tore the wrapping off, holding aloft... ...a box set of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic DVDs, a stack of posters of the same, and a plush Twilight Sparkle. Silence pervaded for but a moment as onlookers gazed at her new treasure, only broken by the high-pitched giggle fit of one Page Caldwell accentuated by the chortles of a few of the servants. Oh it is on now. It is on like Donkey Kong. "Aww, Lorelei, you shouldn't have!" Dahlia very nearly squeaked her mock exuberance. She lowered the gifts slowly, as if reluctant to deprive onlookers of this view of glory. "You're just entirely too sweet. Here I was, worried that you might not give me a cool gift, but you gave me something better..." She hugged her armful of gifts, smushing her cheek comically against the plush pony, which just made her oddly earnest smile even sillier-looking. "...you gave me friendship." After a certain point, sarcasm loops right back around to sincerity. "And it is, after all, magic~" Lorelei responded, smiling like the cat who ate the canary. "I am glad you adore it, Dahlia! It comes from the deepest part of my heart!" After a certain point, sarcasm loops right back around to sincerity. "Well then, I'll definitely have to find time somewhere in my busy schedule of swindling retarded blue lizards out of quest rewards to watch this. Wouldn't want all that magic and friendship to go to waste." Dahlia set the stack of presents on the nearby endtable. Demon Santa eyed Twilight Sparkle in a way that seemed distinctly hungry. "And that just leaves Page." Dahlia retrieved the small, gaudily-wrapped box, and somehow failed to make fun of it. She turned the small box over a few times in her hands, then looked to Page. "It's not a knife, is it?" Grin. Page grinned right back and shook her head. "No, I'm afraid it isn't, absolutely. Sorry that Lorelei and I broke the pattern, I guess!" "I'm sure I'll find some way to overcome the disappointment at the distinct lack of stabbing implements." Having put on quite enough of a show for the past two gifts, Dahlia simply opened this one, without fanfare or dramatic pauses. She retrieved from the small box a locket, in the shape of a six-pointed star, and her eyes immediately went wide as saucers. "Page, I--..." She shook her head, laying the locket back down in its box. "I can't take this." Page frowned in a manner shockingly similar to a puppy recently bequeathed a boot to the head. "Why not...? Sorry, do you not like it, perhaps?" Dahlia shook her head quickly. "Ah, no, I--" Shit. She doesn't know. She doesn't know! Dahlia again plucked the locket from its box. "It's lovely." Fake it. "Did you alchemize this?" But you can't escape the radar, Dahlia. (Un)fortunately, as Page took in Dahlia's reaction, her mind went first to a possibility that was not the truth of the matter: "Oh, did you see me wearing it before, perhaps? Don't worry, I made another one for me." She pulled another locket, a perfect match for the one given to Dahlia, from underneath her shirt. "Um, try opening it up. It plays music, probably. That music always helped me when I was feeling sad or lonely or distressed, definitely. I just figured, with..." a pause as Page tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible, "all that's been happening it might help you too, maybe." Dahlia nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah, yeah, that whole... alien science baby thing." She shrugged, as nonchalantly as she might. "I'll live. I'm just relieved I'm not depriving you of your... nifty little..." She toyed with the locket, turning it over in her hand, but not opening it yet. "...thing, here. I just wanted to make sure, since I saw you wearing it earlier." And not a moment before. "I'm feeling pretty chill right now, so I think I'll save the music for later, like after I get frustrated at some idiotic land quest thing, or something." "Ok, that's good, definitely." And there was that same smile, the pure and guileless one. "I hope it helps, without a doubt." "I'm sure it will." Dahlia stared at the locket for a long, silent moment, smiling almost imperceptibly. It already has. She finally put the locket on, with a slight metallic clink as it tapped against the pendant she was already wearing. Her gaze lingered briefly on the chains of both, black and tarnished gold, like some majestic sun against the night sky. She shook her head to clear it, and looked to her companions. "Well then, I guess that means Zach's next?"
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:29:42 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) "Yeah-"[/color] ===> Zach returned from the tree, brandishing all five of his presents at once as well as a stupid grin. "...I think I'm up." As he began to carefully lower the boxes, one large, heavy grey one slipped from his arm and landed on the fancy carpet below. It made a noise that, and don't quote me on this, sounded very much like breaking. An embarassed Lombardi peeled back the lid to reveal the shattered remains of a computer. "Nice." "I can fix that..." "Yeah, probably." Zach stowed the wreckage in his new wallet. "Thanks though..." "I couldn't bear the thought of one of you filthy console peasants making it through the apocalypse without one. Also it helps having extra co-op partners." Zach laughed. And then he stopped laughing and opened the next present, a small one in a blue envelope that he was pretty sure wouldn't break if he dropped it. Inside that was, as with everyone before him, a sylladex card containing the real present, a... "Is that a fire extinguisher?" Zach dumped the contents into his arms and sure enough was awarded a metal cylinder labeled "CLASS Z EXTINGUISHER, EMERGENCIES ONLY". "...I'm not sure if I resent this or not." he said, fighting a grin. Dahlia shrugged, making no effort whatsoever to combat any grins. " Little bit from column A, little bit from column B? You could say 'I resemble that remark', if you were feeling prankish." She paused, brow furrowed slightly. " Except it's less a remark and more a-- oh, whatever. I figure, if I can be both mocking and potentially helpful, why not? It's not like winning this game is a bad thing." "True that." Zach placed the tube in a card, but before putting it back in the wallet he took out a green sharpie and scrawled 'EMERGENCY COUNTERMEASURES' across the front. He then stowed it away next to, and this should come as a surprise to no one, several other extinguishers marked the same way. "...Maybe you should carry one around too, those knives can start some pretty sick fires." " I took note of the code. Been keeping a text file of everything I encounter." Dahlia held up one hand, and her ringputer projected a screen into the air, filled with eight-letter codes and the names of objects, along with occasional notations of what alchemy combination produced them. " But my life's been free of knife-related incidents to this point, so I'm pretty confident I'm safe there." "Suit yourself!" Zach was no stranger to unforseen accidents, and several major ones over the years had turned him rightfully paranoid. The extinguishers came about around two years ago, when a project of his detonated his phone and scorched his hands. For once the accident hadn't been his fault, but of course that's not important right now. "So... Page's gift now? Let's go with that." He wasted no time in tearing away the ugly wrapping paper, revealing a box filled with several blueprints and diagrams. While they would have been confusing to most people, Zach could clearly tell they were meant to be. In order, the papers showed detailed schematics of a kitchen sink, a digital clock, an Italian sports car, a Boeing 747, the library's plumbing system, and a Russian nuclear reactor. Specifically, one of the four found in Chernobyl. He was now pretty sure Page had no idea what these were. "Wow, er... thanks!" He glanced nervously back at the reactor blueprints. "Where'd you find these, exactly?" " Um, just around the library, I think. Sorry if you don't like them but they looked important, I guess." "Yeeeah they're probably pretty important. I think I'll keep them somewhere very, very safe until I need them." Well, maybe not all of them. A plane would be nice. Anyway. Of the two remaining presents, Zach was more curious about Lorelei's. The green bag Gita had left was almost certainly filled with cookies or something similar, but he had absolutely no clue what the heavy, gold-wrapped box contained. He decided to open it first and save the most edible for last. He tore off the wrapping paper unceremoniously as he had with the two previous non-envelope gifts and found himself staring into a box filled with very expensive, very high-quality power tools. He was pretty sure everyone could hear him making little squeaking noises, and did not care. "YES. YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON RIGHT NOW!" " I figured you might enjoy such a gift," Lorelei remarked, chuckling to herself at Zach's reaction. " I do hope they come in handy despite alchemy probably making them somewhat obsolete." "Obsolete, my ass! These are awesome!" Zach stowed everything in individual cards and gave his friend a hearty thumbs-up, grinning all the while. "In fact, screw alchemy. I'm making my own toys from now on." " Hahahahaha! Have fun, then. I shall look forward to the mega cannon or whatever it is you shall end up making with the means I have provided." Mega cannon, nuclear reactor, what's the difference? Zach held up his final present, the bag of probably cookies from the new friend who almost certainly hated him. "Last one. These aren't going to- ah whatever." Instead of rehashing that, he just peeked into the bag to find exactly what he'd expected. A bunch of non-lethal, non-explosive cookies that wouldn't hurt or kill him. With a relieved smile, he turned to her and simply said, "Thanks." She didn't quite make eye contact--not that Gita was especially in the habit of doing so when talking to people, anyways. " You're welcome. They're home-made." Zach figured that to mean she was still mad. Not that he could blame her. He took one cookie and stowed the rest away. "Well, it's your turn now."
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:30:53 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) " Is it now?" Gita hmmm'ed over the wrapped gifts and envelopes, and grabbed one at random. " Whose is this? Page? You're going first." Gita made a show of examining the box: hefting it at different angles, tapping it, before roughly tearing it open. " Can't imagine what'll be inside--" " Hah! Book! 'A Cross-Cultural Compilation of Indigenous..etc, etc.' Shocking turn of events. Of course it's a book. Did you alchemize this, or, wait--" Gita flipped it open and examined the publisher's information. " Hah, perfect. This wasn't in-print in the U.S., did you know? Pain to get ahold of.." She grinned at the shy girl. " Thank you. It was a good gift." " I'm glad to hear it, definitely!" Page beamed. " It's, um, a bunch of different books on mythologies and such put together, I think." Something that the sheer girth of the tome could attest to. One could kill a man with that book. " Ginormous books full of footnotes and citations are the best kind for something like this. Anyone can tell a story; but where did it come from?" She switched her attention, going next for the little envelope. " Okay, so this is Asher's." Which means that inside the envelope is a captchalogue card. And on the captchalogue card... " Dahlia, I know you suck at Real Christmas, but are you really just giving me a gift-wrapped box?" Gita mock-scowls at Dahlia, looks back at the card, shrugs, and adds it to her sylladex. And then, of course, one must de-captcha the box... " Well. It's been wrapped nicely, as boxes go. That's something." " I am awesome at wrapping. Like some kind of ironic wrapping ninja." Dahlia grinned, leaning forward to retake her elbows-on-knees position of anticipation. " Really though, given alchemy, it'd be pretty lazy of me to stop there. Go ahead and open it. You're either gonna laugh or hit me. Possibly both." So Gita artfullly snagged one of Dahlia's new kitchen knives, and carefully cut the paper; lifting the lid to reveal... " Bot-Off Robot Repellent." " Really." She gave her friend an incredulous look over the rims of her glasses...but it was merely a pretext to lean and swipe for Dahlia's head with the lid of the (exquisitely-wrapped, beribboned) box. Dahlia didn't even so much as attempt to dodge, taking her well-deserved retaliation to the side of the face without losing that grin for even a moment. " Hey, y'know. Tough to talk to people who have been zapped unconscious. Which I suppose means I actually have to admit to enjoying our conversations every now and then, but, eh. All brilliant plans have their downsides." She snickered and stuck her tongue out at her long-suffering snarkfriend. " The True Meaning of Christmas has warmed your heart, surely." Dahlia again chuckled, launching for the second time that evening into a few quiet bars of song. " You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch~... you really are a heeeeeeeel~..." If she wasn't singing such an obviously jokey song about herself, it might have even sounded pretty. " Lor'? Can I do yours next?" " They are your presents, my friend, I do not see why you need to ask!" With the same care (and the same plundered kitchen knife) used for Dahlia's gift, Gita unwrapped Lorelei's. " Woah, a new telescope!" That you can't use at all because there aren't any STARS in the not-sky and you won't see any more for--shut up.. " It's--thank you. It was really, really, thoughtful." " That I got prior to this whole Sburb calamity, and its usefulness given all that has happened is perhaps negligible at best, alas. However, there is something else there that I made via alchemy, which I hope may at least be interesting." Gita noticed the second object in the box, and pulled it out. " And this is..." a large, leather-bound portfolio, with several sheets of vellum paper inside. She took one in both hands, carefully holding it up. " Looks like...an antiquated star chart. But not for Earth, so...?" She looked at Lorelei, questioning. " How did you make this?" " Captcharoids of the sky, combined with an actual star chart that was in our library. It is a star chart of the NEW stars! I figured it might be of some interest to you." Considering what she'd seen in the 'sky' of the Incipisphere of late... " It may, at that." Gita smiled warmly. " If nothing else, they're fascinating." " Suppose I'm not done here yet. Hey, Peter, whatcha got for me?" A penultimate box was selected, paper torn, and box opened, to reveal... " Papercraft. Rosie the Robot." 0____0 " Peter, where did you even find this?" "Man, you do not want to know." Actually, Peter had dredged the base up from that part of the internet so he wasn't entirely kidding. He repressed a shudder. "BUT, there you go. Keep it with your other robot houseguest merchandise." " Yeah. Yeah. That's a plan." And so the papercraft was carefully set aside, placed in the box with BotOff Robot Repellent. " Is that every--oh. Huh. All right Zach, let's get this over with." Rip. Tear. Unbox. ===> At the base of the primary blade was engraved a single word. SORRY. This is impractical, absurdly dangerous...and cooler than I want to admit. " Feh. It's Christmas. I can forgive you, this once." Zach didn't have a lot to say, but wore a relieved smile on his face. When he'd arrived at the mansion, his main goal had been to, at the very least, get off of Gita's bad side. She seemed cool, he'd thought, like someone he might actually get along with were she not ready to gut him in his sleep. Mission more or less accomplished, he supposed. "...thanks. I'll try not to screw it up again." " Well, it seems that is that!" Lorelei clapped her hands together excitedly. " Merry Christmas, everyone!"
|
|
SW
Mustardblood
Posts: 106
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://i.imgur.com/Sn6IifL.jpg","color":"71a6d2"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ffffff
Mini-Profile Text Color: cccccc
|
Post by SW on Jul 9, 2015 21:34:09 GMT -5
And so it went. Presents were doled out, merriments were had, and the group of six fortunate, unfortunate children variously dispersed and rejoined and dispersed again throughout the party. Some, of course, did a bit more dispersing than others. It would surprise exactly no one that Dahlia was the poster child for the "screw this 'socializing with others' nonsense" movement, but there was at least a portion of her distance that was rather less rebellious, and rather more calculating. She stood back and, with careful eye, watched the patterns of movement as the various occupants of the main room -- servants, her friends, and Zach -- milled about in aimless holiday cheer. Up above, she sighted low-hanging ornaments, or long garlands of tinsel draped from place to place, and on more than one occasion caught herself surreptitiously measuring the angles with her fingers. It simply wouldn't do to be caught too early. Of particular note to Dahlia, if perhaps simply because she recognized him from before, was Jeeves Florian, who idled near the banquet table in convenient proximity to one of the aforementioned low-hanging decorations. He would make a fine target for the test cast, and experience suggested he was of good enough humor to not be too offended at the prank. Or, at least, contractually obligated not to stab her and/or blow her up for it, which was more than could be said for the others. Not that any of this was especially important to Dahlia, who had already fished her 'weapon of choice' from her sylladex, and drew back in preparation... The reel of the FISHLETOE (not a product of alchemy, but simply a regular everyday fishing pole with the hook replaced by a large sprig of fake mistletoe Dahlia had found in a box of equally lame Christmas decorations in a closet) unwound with a high-pitched whirring as the mistletoe, trailed by near-invisible carbon-fiber fishing line, sailed through the air across the large main room. It came to a stop almost exactly where she had intended, line draped over the hanging ornament, mistletoe hanging just a few inches above the middle-aged servant's head. Just as an unsuspecting young woman was passing by, Dahlia tugged twice on the line, making the mistletoe 'dance' just above Florian's head... then simply waited, fighting as best she might to suppress quiet snickering. All those within a certain radius of the victims suddenly fell silent as the grave. Victim A, the servant known as Florian, eyed the instrument of his misfortune with a confused eye for a moment before realization dawned, with an amused chuckle quick on its heels. With a good-natured shrug, he placed his hands on the the maid mired in this mess with him and kissed her on the lips to the cheers of those nearby. Success! This time Dahlia did spare a quiet snicker, though mostly for the thought of her next targets, as the present ones had handled it with adequate good humor. She reeled the line back in with a quick jerk, and began sighting her next cast. "Heh. Glad someone else thought of this." Sis was now standing in the shadows behind our resident fisher(wo)man, arms crossed and smirking. "Whahuh?" Dahlia sputtered incoherently for the split-second it took to realize someone had managed to sneak up on her. Clearing her throat quietly to spare a moment in which to gather her wits, Dahlia simply nodded at first in response, taking time to size up the newcomer before saying anything. "I figure someone's gotta liven up this party. For my own entertainment if nothing else." She grinned and offered her free hand. "Dahlia Asher. Enchanted, I'm sure." "Thought so. Zach's sister." Lombardi gave her hand a quick shake, then nodded to the fishing poleletoe. "I would've brought mine but someone 'borrowed' it." From her tone, one might gather that the rod had actually been either stolen or destroyed. Maybe both. Since these are the Lombardis, maybe that's not surprising. Sister? Huh. So that's who... Dahlia shook her head. Time enough to ponder the interesting coincidences later. Right now, there were fish to catch. And by fish we mean people. And by catch we mean-- oh never mind. "If you find his suffering even half as amusing as I do..." With that, she grinned, her wickedest, grinchiest grin, and drew back the FISHLETOE once more, sighting a loose gathering of Zach, Gita, Lorelei, and Peter... "Um, Dahlia...?" With a sort of stealth and quiet uniquely her own, Page seemed to appear from nowhere near Dahlia, seeking shelter from the dreaded fishletoe near the caster itself--after all, Dahlia wasn't about to mistletoe herself. Right? Right. "Gah!" Dahlia yelped in unexpected surprise, whirling about-face and flailing in thoroughly undignified fashion to keep a grip on the fishing pole she had fumbled mid-cast in her surprise, so thoroughly certain she was that nobody else would manage to surprise her. After all, she was a ninja, right? It's not like she got out-ninja'd very often. Except, y'know, every single time she'd interacted with anyone who wasn't an imp thus far. "Oh, uh..." Dahlia covered a quiet cough with one hand, the other doing its level best to (unsuccessfully) hide the fishing pole behind her back. "Hey, Page. Ah... what's up?" "Oh, sorry, I was just coming here to-" Something above the two of them caught Page's eye, and her slightly embarrassed look morphed instantly into a look of sheer horror, "...keep...away...from the...mistletoe...I guess..." Dahlia quirked a brow at Page's slowdown, and when curiosity outweighed common sense followed her gaze upward. A few frantic waves of the fishing pole revealed the situation was hopeless: fumbling in mid-cast, Dahlia had inadvertently hit the overhead decoration that she had aimed past previously, and her sudden turn had done nothing but thoroughly tangle the fishing line around it. No amount of struggling would free the dangling mistletoe overhead now. Dahlia stuck her arm straight out to one side, and dropped the fishing pole noisily to the floor, sighing and rubbing her forehead with the other hand. She was trapped, Zach's sister had abandoned her at some point without her noticing (seriously how do I keep getting out-ninja'd by literally everyone?), and it was her own fault. Her plans had once again blown up in her face. As usual. As before, the area again fell silent, save scattered chuckles -- while Dahlia had managed to get away with it once, it was sort of hard not to notice someone waving a fishing pole around after a while, so it was pretty clear that this was karma coming 'round. Dahlia briefly considered faking it -- but people who wear trademark electric-blue lipstick don't get to fake it. In the end, she simply shrugged. "Hell, why not?" "Wh-wha-?" Any further confusion was silenced by the sudden proximity of those electric-blue lips, their owner having grabbed Page by the scarf and pulled her in for a sudden (and somewhat clumsy) kiss. Dahlia held her there for a moment, and even briefly closed her eyes -- just to really sell the joke, of course -- then just as suddenly released her, taking a half-step back and gesturing grandiosely to Page, whose previously-unadorned lips were now smudged with that same Cherenkov Blue. Dahlia herself, of course, was definitely not blushing, even the slightest bit. Nope. Not at all. Really. Even if the Bard was COMPLETELY DEFINITELY NOT blushing, the Page did so more than enough for the both of them. Much like Dahlia, her plan had backfired completely, and she was simply left standing stock-still where she stood, trying and failing to say something beyond stuttering all over the place. "O-oh god, you...I...D-Dahlia, y-...I mean... I didn't e-e-expect!.. Not that I didn't... I mean.. I-I-I-I... Ohgod they'reallstaring Ishouldjustshutup Iguess..." Thoroughly mortified, the shy little girl just buried her face in her hands and waited for people to stop paying attention to her. Dahlia recovered rather more quickly (given both time and impetus to do so by Page's sputtering), and grinned slyly as she waved off the crowd's surprise. "It's alright folks -- she just needs some air, is all." And with that Dahlia swept in, her coat fluttering dramatically and very intentionally -- just as one might expect of a space vampire, after all -- just before she scooped Page up, striding purposefully (but not too quickly, lest she let on that she wanted to get away from there too) towards and then straight out the door, looking for all the world like some hellspawned lovechild of Dracula and Ziggy Stardust. Only younger. And female. And far more stylish. And also not actually a vampire or even really a human. So basically not like that at all.
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:42:28 GMT -5
"So, uh..." Dahlia had set Page down on the porch just outside the door -- safely away from the others, but no further into the cold than strictly necessary, given neither of them were especially fond of it. Staring off towards the sky, not facing entirely away from Page this time, but definitely not looking at her, Dahlia fidgeted uncomfortably, hands stuffed in her pockets. "Sorry, about all that. That sorta blew up in my face in exactly the wrong way, and you caught the fallout." A brief pause. "...Not that there's a right way for things to blow up in one's face, come to think of it. Anyway, don't think too much of it -- I just couldn't let it look like that wasn't totally intentional. I'll try to warn you next time I'm about to drag you into one of my jokes." "Oh, no, it's... I mean, it's not because you..." Page ran a hand through her hair. Just what was she trying to say, anyway? She took a few moments to compose herself before trying one more time: "I mean, it's not because you kissed me, it's just..all those people, and I didn't expect my first kiss to go like that, I guess. Uh. Sorry for surprising you and causing that, really..." Of course, she had to apologize for SOMETHING here. It was still Page Caldwell, after all, self-blamer extraordinaire. "Oh." Well, that's not as bad as--... And then the gravity of what Page said sank in on her. "...Oh." Dahlia turned to Page, looking equal parts chagrinned and apologetic, and more than just a little bit out of her element. "That's... that's a thing, isn't it? I mean, a first kiss and all, that's a thing. A thing that most people think about. A pretty important thing, even. Hoo boy..." Welp, looks like you really put your foot in it this time, Asher. Let's see you stumble your way out of this one. Oh, no, I've made it worse, I think! Page matched Dahlia's expression exactly and quickly moved towards damage control. "N-no, I mean, it's not really important to me or anything, so don't worry, not at all... It was just...unexpected, I guess." "Still, sorry. I just... forget, sometimes." Dahlia gestured idly -- meaninglessly -- with her hands as she spoke, as if to grasp for some concept she couldn't quite express. "What I mean is, I'm sort of out of touch with a lot of things. Even ignoring the whole space-baby thing, the sum total of my in-person interaction with other people prior to this game was my mother, her tutors, and maybe some shopkeepers on the mainland or whatever. So I didn't even stop to think that maybe that's a thing, even if I knew -- y'know, academically -- knew about it beforehand, from seeing it mentioned on the internet. Mostly because I don't really even... like people, really. I mean, like them that way, or even in general." Dahlia chuckled quietly, her grin more than just a bit embarrassed. If Dahlia had been paying a bit more attention to herself, she might marvel at the fact that she was explaining herself, her own motivations and feelings -- something she never did. But then, if she had been paying more attention, this might not have happened to begin with. "I'll be honest here. My default state is a bemused, vaguely loathing snark and sarcasm. I probably hate things for fun, just so I'll have better ammo to throw at them. The only friendships I have are built on a mutual dislike of some particular thing. With Gita, it's definitely stupidity." That one earned a slightly more honest laugh. "So it just never even occurs to me that something like that might be important. Actually liking things -- liking people -- is sort of anathema to my very existence." Dahlia certainly did paint an... interesting picture of herself, and seemed quite proud of it besides. Never mind that it was tough to tell how much was true, how much she wished was true, how much was just puffery with no substance behind it, and how much of it was a lie she had told long enough that she'd convinced even herself. Page fixed her friend with an analyzing, almost disbelieving gaze as she took in all that Dahlia said. "I...don't think that's true, really..." she remarked before she could catch herself. "Uh, sorry, I...don't mean to say I know you more than you know you, but, um... Well, what about us, perhaps? You said we're friends, so what do we hate together, really? And you're friends with Lorelei, right? Sorry, I'm probably acting like some sort of know-it-all here, I think.. I'll just...stop talking now, probably..." "Lorelei?" Dahlia's eyes narrowed, and her grin widened. "Lorelei hates bad politics." She chuckled as she paced over to lean against the nearby wall of the house, by the door. "Which suits me just fine, seeing as I hate all politics, and about a million other things besides. So we hate the bad ones together. Hates willfully ignorant stupidity, too, which conveniently enough is how we met." Dahlia paused, frowning thoughtfully. "Well, when I say met, I mean talked to online. And when I say talked to I mean she banned my sorry ass for trolling the everloving shit outta some halfwit lummox. It's entirely possible I went too far, but, eh, whatever." That thoughtful frown faded to a subtly wistful smile. "Guess you could say not much changed in all that time. At least, not me." Page simply remained silent, caught between a desire to argue about Dahlia's definition of friendship and not step on her toes or seem like a bother. After all, from what admittedly little she had interacted with Dahlia, it still seemed that she had a tendency to paint a darker picture of herself than reality. Dahlia squinted curiously at Page, but she hardly had the young Caldwell's capacity for reading faces (lest she might actually stop reading the Professor's "strained but constant affection" as "concealed but overwhelming disappointment"). She did know, at least, to take the silence as a signal to continue after a few seconds of it. "As for you? I'll confess, I'm as stumped as you are. Maybe we do hate something together -- but I couldn't even think of what it might be. You're just too decent; I don't think you'd be able to hate something if it came up and bit you. Maybe impale it with an icicle after you pried its fangs outta your scrawny posterior, but not hate it." Dahlia trailed off a bit there, miming a stabbing motion with her hands, in memory of the battle at the consort village. After a few long, silent moments, she sighed, tipping her head back to rest it against the outside wall of the house, eyes closed. "No, I think that's not it either. I think... maybe, you remind me of something I lost, a long time ago..." Moving only her eyes, she opened them to glance sideways to Page. "Did I ever tell you the story of the very lonely little girl, from the very lonely little island?" Page's eyes filled with curiosity at the mere mention of "story". They were, after all, her favorite things in the world! Particularly if this story let her know more about this enigma that she had befriended in the past few days. "No, I don't think so. Do I know the star of this story, perhaps?" she asked, smirking quite cheekily. "Heh. You might." Dahlia turned her eyes again skyward, a smile for once free of snark or sarcasm spreading across her lips. "I think, once upon a time, I knew her too." And so the Page heard the Bard's tale, for the first time, but certainly not the last. She told the Page about the lonely little girl's fascination with the stars, and wove a fairytale of a kindly mother's love befitting a fairy princess. She told the Page about the girl's isolation, even in the city, even when they traveled far away. About the girl's fear and sadness at being left alone, even for a while, in a distant, unfamiliar place. And of course, in the end she told the part about the other little girl -- the mousy, unassuming little thing who came along, and had no business whatsoever being as brave as she was, but she was -- who made the lonely little girl from the lonely little island feel a little less afraid, and even a little less alone. She told Page this story, but of course, she's not going to tell us quite yet. Maybe sometime later. You know, at the appropriate time. For now, though, the only people who know just how the story goes are Dahlia, Page, and maybe David, if he listened close enough. ...Wait, who's David? "...Is that a motorcycle, maybe...?!" "...That... definitely looks a whole lot like a motorcy--" > ???: Crash party. Literally.
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:42:58 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) ===> ===> ===> ===> "Shit." Before even turning to see whose party he'd inevitably wrecked, the owner of the once-motorcycle yelled, "I CAN PAY FOR THAT..." Page merely stared on in horror, as flashbacks of the day they entered Sburb filled her mind--particularly Lorelei's reaction when an ogre destroyed her favorite painting. She peered back through the veil of time to the foulmouthed devil which had replaced her ladylike friend once incensed, and in those burning golden eyes Page Caldwell saw her own death. " Lorelei is going to kill you, without a doubt..." "Yeah, yeah. She can take it up with my lawyer. Me." Whoever he was, he seemed surprised to see the two little girls sitting on the front porch when he turned around. "Aw, 's the party over already? I heard there was free food." " Ah, actually, we were just about to head back inside." Dahlia seemed rather less perturbed at the whole statue thing. What would that matter to someone who had a vault full of gold under the mansion? ...Then again, gold didn't matter much either, all things considered. Whatever. Dahlia shrugged, and turned to head back in. " Plenty food left, and being as you're not a corpse or an imp, that means you're on the guest list by default." Probably. " This isn't going to go we-" The world exploded in light and heat. The tall, stately doors of the Von Hayek mansion swung open so fiercely it was a miracle they were not blown straight from their hinges. The culprit stood in the doorway, foot extended, and let out a banshee's scream. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The specter, the angel of death in the doorway began walking with quick, determined steps towards the new arrival, leaving white footsteps that lingered for but a moment in her wake. Wreathed in light, eyes burning so brightly that her golden eyes could not be seen through it, she looked for all the world an angry goddess, clutching the sinners before her in her hands. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" Page, for her part, quickly hid behind Dahlia. " We should...probably move, I think..." she muttered into Dahlia's ear. Dahlia shook her head, sparing even a quiet chuckle, though she also took care to keep her response private to Page. " No way man, I'm staying for the fireworks." She grinned wryly. " She's really gotta work on that whole 'caring about things' thing..." The MYSTERIOUS DOUCHEBAG had had an AK-47 trained on the figure since it had burst through the ornate doors of the mansion, but was quick to lower it once he recognized the shining 'monster' as a little human girl. In fact, now that he knew the source of all that power, he looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "I, uh, blew up your Jesus?" "'BLEW UP MY JESUS'?! YOU DIDN'T JUST BLOW UP SOME FUCKING RUN OF THE MILL JESUS!" She finished her march up to the MYSTERIOUS DOUCHEBAG and continued, pointing her finger again and again at him like it was a weapon as she spoke. "YOU COCKSUCKING ASSBITING TWO-BIT EVEL KNIEVEL RIPOFF, WHAT YOU JUST DETONATED WITH YOUR PISSANT MOTORBIKE WAS A SCULPTURE MADE BY THE RENAISSANCE ARTIST PIETRO TORRIGIANO IN 1520, COMMISSIONED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY FAMILY! IT'S BEEN IN MY LINE FOR GENERATIONS, YOU GUTTERBLOODED FILTHY DICKMONGREL OF A PEASANT! AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO SAY YOU CAN 'PAY' FOR IT?! LOOK AROUND, DO YOU SEE ANY FUCKING USE FOR THOSE FLIMSY PIECES OF PAPER IN YOUR WALLET, MUCH LESS SOMEONE VERSED IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF ANTIQUE RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE?! YOU MUST JUST HAVE A GIANT FLACCID COCK IN YOUR BRAIN, WHICH EXPLAINS YOUR COMPLETE AND UTTER INABILITY TO GRASP BASIC CONCEPTS! I SHOULD TEAR YOUR LAUGHING CUNTWIPING FACE OFF INTO LITTLE STRIPS, FORCE FEED THEM TO YOU UNTIL YOU CHOKE, THEN RIP OFF YOUR HEAD AND FUCK YOUR SKULL!" "AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" This kept going for several seconds after Lorelei's berzerker rant, as the douchebag seemed to find his impending demise hilarious for whatever reason. "You've gotta' be KIDDING me! You're what, fourteen? A little girl wingin' lasers everywhere and cussing her mouth off in that high-pitched voice!" He turned to Page and Dahlia. "C'mon, I can't be the only one who thinks that's hilarious!" A disembodied, seemingly female voice spoke up from somewhere on (we'll call him) MD's person. "What he means is 'sorry I broke your shit.' His words, not mine." " ...What was that??" Dahlia simply remained quiet and let Page handle things, being far too busy clamping a hand over her own mouth and trying not to laugh. MD what'shisname smirked. "Yeah, that. I was gonna' say something but then you started yelling. And kid, that is-" "I'm his operator. We'll leave it at that." "...Sure." "I DON'T CARE WHO EITHER OF YOU ARE! GET THE FUCK OFF MY PROPERTY, YOU MALADJUSTED CUNTJUGGLING DULLARD, OR I SWEAR TO THE DIVINE GOD I SHALL FORCE YOU OUT!" Just to prove her point, Lorelei formed some of her magic into a pulsing ball in her right hand and raised said hand threateningly. Douche just rolled his eyes. "Put that down, kid. You're gonna' hurt yourself." "Seriously, don't-" At some point during the commotion the remaining three players had gathered at the door. Peter was now standing next to Lorelei, holding one arm between her and the stranger. "It's a statue, it's not worth killing someone over, we don't even know who this-" The unfinished sentence hung in the air as the Seer gaped at the man standing in front of him. Truth was, he did know who this was. He had punched Peter in the face yesterday, true enough, but seeing him again had caused more distant memories to surface. No, he thought. That's impossible. Is it? Is it really? "...Dad?" It was like a switch was flipped in the young Von Hayek, and instantly the white light died away and Lorelei turned to Peter, equal parts shocked and confused. " This man is your father? I mean, I was not going to kill him anyway, but... I thought you said he died?" "I- He did! At least I was pretty sure he did! What-" Surprised and suspicious, as he had every reason to be, Peter turned his left eye on the man he was sure had been killed eight years ago. Unfortunately, whatever it had been able to see before, the eye could make nothing out after the blow it had taken. "Who the hell are you?" MD raised his hands in apparent confusion. "Look, whoever you think I am..." The stranger's voice trailed off as his eyes shifted to the Seer's damaged one. "...Actually, you do look kinda' familiar. I think I might've-" "Punched me in the face, yes." "Right. Sorry 'bout that. Seriously though did your eye look different before? The space baby had one kinda' like it." " ...Space baby?" Dahlia suddenly blurted out, wide-eyed and with absolutely no regard for things like propriety and waiting one's turn. She pushed off the wall and was suddenly next to (and even slightly in front of) Lorelei. Hands stuffed in her pockets, she made the best possible show of being cool and calm about this, but... well, let's be honest with ourselves here. " What's this about a space baby?" Pause. Dahlia's brow furrowed, and she frowned with mild disappointment as the other possibility occurred to her. " ...Unless it's just some cute nickname or something." Whoever he was, the only response he had to that was dry laughter. "I wish. Meteor came in one day and blew up my damn house. When I went to see what was left, some baby was crawling around the wreckage!" Peter winced. He knew what that meant, even if nobody else did. This man was exactly who he'd thought he was. "So I took him in, ran some tests, then dropped him with someone who could actually take care of him." Right on cue, whatever had been left of the statue crumbled to the ground (almost drowning out a wail of despair from the former statue's owner). "In retrospect it might've been funny to make him a ninja like the other one. Ah well." It was like someone had dropped a bomb in Dahlia's head. Her eyes were wide as saucers; if her jaw could have hit the porch, it would have. Several times she moved to speak, only mustering a feeble whisper on the third or fourth try. " ...there was another...?" Dahlia suddenly launched into motion. First she pointed sharply at the mysterious newcomer, then whirled on her heel to face Peter, seizing him by the lapels and briefly pulling him closer to examine him. Then she relaxed her hold again, keeping one hand where it was, and turning once more to point at the stranger. And finally, she found her voice. " Do you mean..." Breathe. Think, Dahlia. Stay calm. " ...to tell me... that Peter's an alien too?" Back to Peter, grabbing his jacket in both hands. So much for calm. " I have a brother! I have a brother. I have an alien science baby space vampire... something... brother!" For a moment she seemed giddy with happiness -- then froze still with a quiet gasp, resuming her prior expression of abject shock. " Oh god, that means... you too... I'm sorry, Peter-- three years, like that, in a lab, like a specimen..." Another short pause; just as suddenly as she grabbed Peter, she shoved him away and turned to stalk two steps towards the Mysterious Douchebag, who at this point had fully earned his name, even if it was entirely in Dahlia's mind. " And you." Dahlia pointed a finger up, just short of the mysterious man's chin. Though she scowled with obvious anger, it was just as obvious from her eyes that she was on the verge of tears. " How could you? How could you let them do that to us? We were children! Children! Not some thing to be kept in a lab! Not some... some..." She trailed off, hand slowly dropping and expression fading to weary sadness. " ...science experiment..." "Us?" It took a moment, but recognition seemed to register on the man's face. " Ohhhhh. So you're the professor's kid! Er. You know what I mean." His eyes scanned Dahlia for a moment, as if to confirm something. "You do kinda' look like her. Not the point though. Kid, whatever those guys did, I had nothing to do with it. Only reason I knew about you at all is 'cause I owed your mom a favor, and she needed papers." Notably he did not deny experimenting on Peter, something the latter tried to register as thoughts raced through his head. Dahlia's frown returned, though more thoughtful this time. " Papers. So she could claim I was her real kid and not some... alien meteor baby. Makes sense." She took a step back and stuffed her hands back into her pockets, taking a moment to try to analyze the man before continuing. If her mother had taught her anything, it was to be thorough. Which means... " So, what do you know about us?" Scientist mode: on. "Not a hell of a lot! None of my tests told me anything weird. You guys are space humans as far as I care." Peter had heard enough. Instead of waiting for further explanation from the man who had apparently abandoned him, he retrieved his trusty portal gun from his inventory and began looking for a suitable place to dump him. ===> ===> " Peter...?" The Seer did not answer Lorelei. He wore a pained yet focused expression as he aimed the barrel of the gun towards the dead center of the blue orb floating above them. One pull of the trigger later, the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device swung towards the not-so-mysterious douchebag's feet. "It's time for you to leave." "What the fuck is that thing supposed to b-WOAH!" A portal opened beneath him, throwing (well, dumping) him across half of a planetary system in less than a second. The brief glimpse of checkerboard landscape told Peter his aim had been adequate, and that was good enough for now. A flick of a switch closed both portals, stranding his father on the Battlefield until the bastard could hitch a ride off. Lorelei let out a low, appreciative whistle and performed a clap that would make golf spectators weep with shame at their inadequacies. " Much more effective than my plan of knocking him out with magic and leaving him in some turtle home, I must say." While Peter normally would have agreed, maybe even congratulated himself on doing something like that, now he just seemed confused and angry. Hurt, even. His dad was alive, sure, but he'd abandoned him. Peter had known about the Sburb meteors for a while now, so that came as no surprise to him. Tests were probably just a part of that package with scientist parents, and since he had been young enough to not remember it, he didn't even mind. But he'd grown up without parents, believing that the ones he'd had were kind, respectable people who'd died young. Not... whatever that was. But no, apparently what he'd had was some asshole who dumped him with some random lady and faked his own death so that he wouldn't have to deal with a son. "...god damn it." Lorelei gazed at Peter, her features a mixture of pity and sympathy--if not empathy. After all, how could a woman who had always known her family line, generations back to a germani warlord who had appeared from the historical dark spot of tribal german society to serve as a personal warlord for the Roman Empire, truly know what Peter was feeling? The idea of not knowing one's family, or particularly abandonment by that family, was unthinkable to a Von Hayek. Nevertheless, though she could not know the particular pain, pain she knew well enough, and without prompt or hesitation she stepped forward and embraced Peter. She said nothing, for nothing could truly be said, merely offered her comfort and acceptance in the only way she knew how. ===> "...Thanks."
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:47:09 GMT -5
((Ripcord's post)) "...Where are we?" Zach looked around at the unfamiliar interior. After that guy on the motorcycle showed up and more or less literally crashed the party, Peter and Lorelei had headed off somewhere to talk, and [WHATEVER THE HELL PAGE AND DAHLIA DID]. Zach had wandered off into one of the mansion's many hallways, not finding much to talk about with the various servants and not exactly eager to talk to Gita. But for whatever reason, she had followed him. He kind of wished he'd told her he had no idea where they were going before getting them hopelessly, hopelessly lost, but neither had spoken at all until now. The soft clap of a palm meeting a forehead echoed in the room. " You're lost? Figures. Of course you're lost." Not that Gita had had much of anything better to do at all: Dahlia had obviously needed her privacy after the mistletoe debacle (and Gita wasn't inclined to risk having it dangled over her own head). Lorelei was...too comfortable to spend much time aroud. Gita was afraid she'd open her mouth and say something stupid and impossible to take back if she spent too much time with the girl. Page and Peter were...eh. She'll get to know them later. So that left Zach. Why'd he go running off? What was his deal? Zach gave his head a nervous scratch. "Uh... yeah, it kind of does." He figured his sense of direction had died along with countless brain cells over his years of 'inventing'. By now, Zach was used to finding his way back to places through (sometimes hours of) trial and error. He wasn't sure he could say the same for his follower, though, and felt kind of bad for leading her nowhere. "I really should've told you that, huh." " You shoulda. Do you want to backtrack, or just keep going until we find some stairs or an elevator?" "I, uh," Normally he would head back the way he had come, but with how things had been going... "Honestly, I'm not in much of a hurry to get back. Are you?" Gita glanced out a window. Yep, that sure was a motocycle wreck. " ...you know, not really. Keep 'sploring?" Snooping around Lorelei's house was a weird sort of educational. Zach turned and headed up another flight of stairs. Company-wise, Gita may not have been his first choice but he really couldn't complain at this point. Besides, this might be a good time to at least try and get to know the girl he'd been seeing in his dreams for the last eight years. "So why'd you follow me?" Gita climbed after, heeled sandals clicking. " You looked like you knew where you were going? I wanted to rummage around in Lor's house? You're not boring, at least." She shrugs. i'm not? "Eh, sorry to disappoint. It's good excersize, at least?" " Same as the imps and ogres, sure." She walked faster, moving on ahead of him, and picked a door in the hallway at random. What Zach saw over her shoulder only served to reinforce his 'eccentric European billionaires' view of the Von Hayek ancestors. A room, likely an attic, loaded with suits of old plate armor, hunting trophies going back for generations, paintings of various family members, and a whole bunch of other assorted knicknacks that he guessed were historically significant and probably worth more than he was. "...Well." " Well, damn." And Gita bee-lined for the cavalry saber mounted on the wall in a glass case. Zach was already standing in front of a suit of armor,running a gloved hand over the antique metal chestplate. "...yeah. Man, do you know what I could do with-" He cut himself off before he started to rant,not wanting to bug Gita more than he had to. Gita has already moved on. " Do you see that?" She points to an animal head mounted on the wall. " That. Is a fucking european bison. A wisent. Those are extinct!" Well, technically so was everything else. Zach walked up to pat the thing on the forehead. He'd never heard of a wisent before, but the creature's bulk reminded him of something he'd seen in a Dersite tabloid. A picture of one of the army's Rooks being grown in some kind of vat. Then he recalled something the Bodyguard had told him. Maniacal would be a good word to describe his grin. "Maybe not." Gita jerks her head towards Zach, suddenly alarmed. " Wait, what? How would you even...no. No. Lombardi, seriously?" "Seriously! Remember where Dersites come from?" " You want to drop Hairy here in a cloning tank." Her tone is accusatory. "Why not??" Zach could actually think of several reasons why not, but ignored them because come on. " Because the last time you alchemized anything it was a flying bathtub with two rocket packs and you want to make bison-monsters that will probably escape and stampede, and then we'lll have to punch them in the face, Dr. Frankenstein. I know how this works by now. You can't make anything safe." He laughed and turned to his companion. "Okay, that's probably true. But can you honestly say that any part of that sentence wasn't awesome?" " I'm not very fond of the part where I get trampled underfoot." Gita rolled her eyes again. Seriously, is this guy for real? "Eh, I'll put them in pens or something. It's just a thought." He shrugged. Obviously if he was going to do this, it would have to be after thinking a few things through. Zach decided to shelve the idea for now. When he stopped petting the beast's head, Gita noticed something. " Why keep the gloves on inside? They make you feel cool or something?" Zach winced. Usually people didn't ask about that, which was fine because he didn't exactly enjoy answering. "Oh. No, it's, uh... Look." He pulled his right hand free, revealing a palm covered in deep, painful looking cuts and burn scars. They weren't fresh, probably a couple years old at the very least, but the injuries clearly hadn't recieved any real medical attention when they'd been recieved. "Long story. And this one wasn't my fault." Hell, Gita winced! " You build with those? You're not a nutcast so much as a masochist. What qualifies as 'not your fault?'" >Minutes in the past (lots of them, actually) IF: welp set it up like you said. let's see if this works. ===> -- philosopherQueen [ PQ] started pestering inaneFixation [ IF] -- PQ: Hello, I- IF: one sec. ===> "What-" ===> ===> "...Bad advice. I guess I have to take the blame for listening but she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. She probably did." One might expect him to sound mad but instead he came off as embarassed. And why shouldn't he be? Any twelve year old worth his salt should've been able to spot bad information regarding prototype energy transformers and their output, especially ones they made themselves. I mean, come on. " She? Bad advice about what?" Gita pressed. "Eh, just an old project. Trying to transfer a bunch of energy remotely between stuff so I didn't have to trip on wires every two hours. It blew up my phone while I was using it so I'm not really sure it was a safe idea, but it worked." Zach retrieved a (sane, normal) mug of hot cocoa from his wallet before continuing. " 'She' was just some troll. Her chumhandle was spiraMirabilis." He took a sip, apparently unaware of what he'd just said. " ..." " Spira...Mirabilis, you say." "Yeah." >... >... >...! "AW!" " ...Well. Shit. I think I even rememember when she told me about this. What do, Zach?" Gita...may actually have words with Dahlia later about this. Trolling's all well and good, until somebody loses an eye. He thought Dahlia had been acting weird around him. Now he knew why. And once again, when he had every right to be upset, he merely seemed annoyed. With himself, even. "Just... forget it. That was years ago, she probably doesn't even remember anyway. I don't think guilt-tripping her would help anyone." Haha, silly Zach. Dahlia doesn't know how to feel guilt! Gita cross her arms, and gave him a small glare. " Doesn't mean I shouldn't say something to her about it!" "Like what? We were twelve! Everyone's an idiot when they're twelve. Even Lorelei was literally in the middle of ordering a dangerous weapon when that happened." " Sure, but not everybody's malicious." Zach sighed. "Alright, whatever. But can you hold off on it? I really don't want to fuck up christmas any more than Evel Knievel already did." " Sure thing, I'll ruin Fucksgiving instead." "Eh?" Zach wasn't sure what she meant but that sounded like an awesome holiday. " You know, Fucksgiving. Wherein, during the period right after Christmas, one demonstrates precisely how many fucks are given: i.e., none. Traditional Fuckgiving Observances include sitting around on the couch in your underwear, playing video games, completely inverting your sleeping habits by staying up so goddamn late/early, and eating bacon." Gita paused, looked thoughful for a moment, and went on. " And if you try and tell me it's not a real holiday I will fight you.." He was right, it was an awesome holiday. "Now why the hell would I do that?" " No idea." Zach laughed. "Well, it's going on my calendar. You think everyone's done moping yet? They should know it too." " Better than wandering lost up here forever. I keep wondering if we're going to push aside a grandfather clock and fall down a shaft into an underground lair with a giant penny, or something" "I bet if we look hard enough we'll find her hidden swimming pool filled with gold coins." " Let's just ask for directions, Zach." Though her tone was sarcastic, Gita was smiling. "Heheh, fine." see? she's not so bad.
|
|
Naevius
Mustardblood
Posts: 201
Identifies as: Male
|
Post by Naevius on Jul 9, 2015 21:47:54 GMT -5
>Peter: Enjoy party Peter cannot enjoy the party because he is too busy ANGSTING. Or at least being moderately annoyed about the fact that his father was, apparently, a raging dickmunch who abandoned him and faked his own death, then showed up eight years later in another dimension to punch him in the face and blow up a statue that belonged to his crush. On Christmas, even. He figured most people would be moderately annoyed as well, and by extension would not mind if he excused himself from the festivities. However, there WAS one who minded, if not the excusing himself from the festivities, moping on Christmas. This young lady walked into Peter's peripheral vision, smiling with her hands behind her back. " Come now, Peter, do you not know it is against the rules to be sad on Christmas? You risk having the Yuletide Thought Police on your tail." "Are they going to beat me with candy canes if they catch me?"[/color] " And poke you with sharpened ones! 'Tis really quite brutal. Fortunately, I think I might have an idea to save you from such a gruesome fate. Would you care to follow me?" If it had been anyone else, the answer would surely have been 'no' or 'no thank you', or maybe 'piss off', but Lorelei... Well, every other time they'd talked, Peter had come out of it feeling that much better. Surely it couldn't hurt. "Uh... sure. Lead the way." Lorelei smiled all the brighter and promptly turned to lead the way. " Excellent! Oh, and by the way, we are going outside, so you shall need a coat." As if she had planned the motion from the very start, she fetched one of the warmer, more comfortable jackets she owned--and black to boot--and handed it off to Peter. " This should fit you, I hope?" Peter donned the coat which, to his surprise, fit rather well. Better than his santa and blinking computer coats had, at least. "Oh hey, thanks. Maybe I can wear this one without Guardian flipping his shit." "Uh... long story." Lorelei chuckled and continued leading the way towards a long, high hallway filled with various knickknacks like suits of armor, grand, stately paintings of the noble members of the Von Hayek family, and an assortment of fantastical (but very likely fake) mounted animals, like one that was clearly a combination of a monkey's upper half and a fish's lower half to create some sort of chimpanmermaid. Volkard Von Hayek, in addition to being quite a successful naval captain of the burgeoning German fleet prior to World War I, had quite a fascination with zoological oddities. " I had no idea Guardian was so fashion-obsessed!" ===> ===> ===> "Oh man, you have no idea. He was either yelling into his mic or smashing his face into his keyboard, I'm not sure which, but he really hates this other coat I made." A little off-topic, but all things considered that may have been a good thing. "Said it looks just like one a universe-destroying superdemon wears on weekends or something. I'm not sure what but he was literally beating himself up about something like five minutes after I put it on." " ...Riiiiiiight. Well, that is certainly something I shall have to ask him about? Later, though." She came upon the end of the hallway to a very grand circular stairway with marble stairs and polished mahogany railing and began to ascend. " He does seem a rather...eccentric one, yes?" Even Peter, who at this point was starting to get used to the various forms of bullshit that came with extensive time travel, couldn't argue with that one. "Yyyep. I mean, he almost seems kind of sane at first, then he starts time traveling and it's like 'what is this guy ranting about', and when you finally get used to that you see what he keeps in his wallet and suddenly you want to stay a hundred yards away from the guy at all times? I hope that's not normal side effects." " Well, I shall endeavor to act as your ballast to reality, then, just in case." After a rather considerable climb, they finally arrived at the very top of the staircase. Here there were no other rooms to be found, no grand hallways stretching this way or that, but merely one unassuming door positioned at the top through which the cold air of the Land of Gold and Snow slowly seeped through. Lorelei pulled out her own jacket--a red number matching her top--put it on, and opened the door to a grand view of the night sky. She walked out onto a small balcony made specifically for this place and gestured about. " Prior to Sburb, this was the highest point in my mansion. I used to, as a child, come up here many a night to watch the stars. I am glad to see that the view is still as magnificent as it was before our impromptu move." Oh yeah, the 'view'. It probably spent more time staring at the players than any of them spent watching it. Peter wasn't actually sure whether to tell Lorelei the truth about the 'stars'. On one hand, it was probably something everyone needed to know. On the other, he knew by now that having an enormous dark... thing looming over you, watching your every movement didn't exactly help you sleep. "Uh-" "Well... Yeah, it is." Lorelei brushed away the snow that lightly covered where they stood with a flick of the wrist and a deft use of her own magic. From the depths of her sylladex she pulled two very soft and comfortable-looking cushions. She placed them side-by-side and sat down in one, beckoning for Peter to sit in the other with a pat of her hand upon the fabric. As Peter took a seat next to his friend, part of him wondered why she had brought him up here, and another part wondered why she carried the pillows around with her. " You know..." Lorelei began, looking out onto the glistening white landscape of her land with bits of gold gleaming from places far away, " this is actually where I first decided to pursue the dream I had until the advent of this game of ours: to become a nobel prize-winning economist. Perhaps something of a pipe dream, given the heterodox nature of the school of economics I ascribe to..." She turned her gaze to Peter with a smile and inquisitive look. " Did you ever have anything you wanted to do? Before this, or now after all that has happened? It need not be as high-profile as my own." Peter had heard the question before, dozens of times from his various teachers. He hadn't had an answer for them either, but this was the first time he'd ever wished he had. "Not really, no. I mean, I wanted to be 'a astralmaut' when I was five, but..." " Hehehe. Well, we are still young, after all. Before...we need not contemplate the future seriously in any real regard. Now, however..." She looked back up to the "stars" and continued: " I wonder what it will be like, to live in a new universe of our own creation? What will we even do? Will we have to build everything from scratch, live as subsistence farmers like the days of yore..? Or will all this alchemy technology come with us?" Fortunately, Peter had already asked someone (as in the only guy who would actually know) about this. Or he would ask him soon as a reminder, and read his answer in a memo in the past. A memo he had yet to make. It would all have been very confusing if he'd mentioned any of that, though, so he just repeated the answer he'd gotten. "Guardian said we keep some of the machines from in here, but I kinda' don't think it would hurt to know how to do all of that stuff on our own?" " Certainly. I do believe Zach may be our best hope in that regard. As much as I might pick on him for his stubborn refusal to use alchemy instead of his own efforts, that stubbornness may end up being crucial to our future. I wonder what I would even do with all six of us there? I guess simply...help out where needed. I hardly think I would be of too much use, really. An upbringing of mine does not a good farmer or builder make." Ohh no. Peter would not stand for that self-doubt bullshit from anyone but himself, and especially not from Lorelei. "Hey, come on! You'll probably be the only reason we get anywhere after this. I can't see those guys cooperating to save their own lives without you around." Maybe not entirely true, but there would be a lot more arguing and broken things. "Plus you've got your magic. Who even knows what you'll end up being able to do with that?" Lorelei smiled appreciatively and nodded. " I suppose, physical faults aside, there is always room for a friendleader, hmm? And I did use the magic, thanks to the angels' training, to do things like help with the lavish decorations inside. I daresay you would be quite useful as well, Peter. To have mastery over and the ability to travel through time...it must be a daunting power, but likely extremely powerful when used well." "Eh, mostly I use it for messing around." His tone said he was joking but come on, everyone knows that's half true. He wouldn't deny it, either. "What was that thing about your economics school? Why's that a bad thing?" No, he hadn't learned anything while defacing improving the book, no, he had no idea what Lorelei had been talking about earlier, yes he was actually curious, and yes, he was trying to keep the conversation away from his father. " Oh, the heterodox nature of Austrian economics? Well, it would make it awfully hard to win the nobel prize when the judges disagree with your methodology. I suppose I always hoped I'd do something so amazing they would be forced to recognize me--after all, they did give the prize to Friedrich Hayek, ironically." A slight smirk. " No relation, as intersting as it would be. But I cannot imagine this is all terribly fascinating to you anyway. What about you? Did you ever have a favorite subject in school?" Another curious question by a curious Lorelei. She couldn't help herself, really. She really did want to know more and more about Peter McCormac. "I think it might be more interesting if I understood any of the words." Favorite class, though. Hoo boy, that was a tough one. He'd always been kind of a slacker, and by 'kind of a slacker' I do of course mean 'usually unconscious during class'. One class did stand out, though. "Well, science was always fun. Mostly 'cause nobody knew how lab safety worked, but there's nothing wrong with a little shkadenfrood." "..." "I don't think that was right." Lorelei giggled lightly. " Schadenfreude, mon mignon." Perhaps confusing for any listener to throw in a french term of endearment along with the proper pronunciation of the german word, but Lorelei couldn't help but use her language skills to flirt a little bit without Peter knowing. Because Peter didn't know French, after all. There was nothing more indubitable in the universe. Right? Haha. WRONG. "Uh... merci, je ne savais pas que." Okay, maybe he had paid attention in one class. Lorelei's face lit up like a burning christmas tree at being caught in the act. While she didn't quite hear what he said, she sure enough had noticed the "merci" and subsequent correct grammar. The subsequent conversation, for the sake of the reader and the writers, shall be written in English. Rest assured, however, that it was another language entirely spoken between them. " I...you!... Y-you speak French?" "I, uh, thought I already told you that..." Clearly he wasn't as on top of his time shit as he thought. Lorelei shook her head quickly, so thoroughly embarrassed by this little snafu that she felt like just hiding her face into the cushion until the embarrassment stopped. " Nonono...nope, no, I did not know. Not at all..." Rather than the cushion, she used her hands to cover her face. " Oh, what a thoroughly unladylike thing to be caught doing!." Grandfather would never let her hear the end of it if he caught wind, and she had just recently got a tongue-lashing over bashing open the front door to face off against Peter's father. "oh man. I, um... I won't tell anyone." " R-right, well...th-thank you..." Lorelei took a deep, steadying breath and finally released her face from the iron bars of her fingers. " Well... I am sorry for embarrassing you like that, then, with my uncalled for nicknames... Well, not uncalled for. They are perfectly called for, but um...well, yes...Ahem." It seemed all those speech classes were continuing to pay off for the young Von Hayek. Peter looked like he was trying not to bury his own face. "It's alright. Not the first time, either. The nicknames, not the embarassing god why am i still talking" " Well, I can see why... I mean, uh... By the Virgin, why am I still talking? I almost wish something would interru-" ===> ===>
|
|